JPH0221424A - Data recording system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To make it possible to obtain an optimized system for forming cards suitable for high-speed reading by recording data more in a transverse direction than in a longitudinal direction. CONSTITUTION: A modulated beam 27 is focused onto an optical data storage device strip 15 of the cards on a drum 11 by a focusing optical system 29. At the time the data cards 13 held on the surface of the rotating drum 11 move by passing the focusing beam, data spots are recorded by the beam within one of plural pieces of the parallel tracks on a recording medium 1 extending in the transverse direction across the respective cards. The tracks are aligned in the direction of the drum rotation along the width of the cards. The additive tracks are recorded by moving the relative lateral positions between the beam and the cards on the drum. As a result, the use of the high-speed card reader using a CCD array is made possible.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention This invention relates to optical data storage devices, and more particularly to systems for recording optical data on cards.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In U.S. Patent Section 4,360,728, Drexler (D.
Rexler discloses a data card writing and reading system in which a laser light source emits a beam directed at the card. A first servo is used to locate the lateral edge of the laser recording material on the card in a coarse mode of operation, and then in a fine mode of operation to identify a data path that lies at a predetermined distance from that edge. A control mirror is mounted for rotation. A second servo-controlled mirror is mounted for rotation to scan the beam in a fine mode of operation along the length of the card. Coarse control of the longitudinal position of the card is achieved by movement of a movable holder supporting the card. During recording, the beam creates light scattering or absorption bits that represent data bits within the laser recording material.

Using a reduced power laser beam, a photodetector detects the difference in reflectance between the pit and the surrounding material.
Data is read.

In U.S. Patent Section 3,654,624, Bec.
ker et al. disclose a laser recording system in which a flat, elongated recording strip is wrapped around the surface of a drum. The drum is rotated with respect to the laser beam during recording and playback operations. A servo-controlled linear positioning mechanism moves the laser beam laterally in the direction of drum rotation to enable selection of any one of a number of spaced parallel scan lines on the recording strip. Ru.

In applications of card duplication, such as for publication on demand, approximately 10 cards, all containing the same or similar information,
There is a need to record data from one to several thousand data cards. A typical card writer/reader has a recording rate of approximately 10,000 data spots per second. Thus, approximately 30 minutes would be required to fill a single card with 2 megabytes of data. Although the laser can generate pulses at speeds in excess of 2oo, ooo per second, the continuous acceleration and deceleration involved in the movement of the card in conjunction with a fixed laser reduces the overall recording speed. or vice versa. The need to synchronize the laser beam pulse with the speed and position of the card also reduces recording speed.

In prior US Patent Application Serial No. 937,648, a data card recording system was disclosed that records identical data on each of a plurality of data cards supported along the peripheral surface of a drum.

The drum is mounted for rotation and may have a peripheral flange for gripping the longitudinal edges of the cards. Alternatively, the drum may include a pair of concentric cylinders with cards mounted between the cylinders. A light source emits a light beam that is directed toward the card along an optical path.

The drum may be transparent to the light beam or may have an aperture or transparent window in which the card is mounted on the inside rather than the outside of the drum. Additionally, the system includes a data control circuit communicating with the data source and having at least one memory location for storing data segments to be recorded on the data card. A modulator, such as an acousto-optical modulator, may be electrically connected to the data control circuit and positioned within the optical path to modulate the light beam in response to the data segment. Alternatively, the semiconductor laser may be directly modulated by current control methods. Each of the cards has a strip of laser recordable optical data storage material disposed thereon so that as the drum rotates, the modulated beam
Create data spots corresponding to stored data segments in one of a plurality of parallel tracks on each of the data cards on the drum.

The tracks of data are aligned in the direction of drum rotation.

The relative traverse position between the beam and the card is movable by moving the elements within the beam path so that additional data segments can be recorded in multiple parallel tracks on each of the cards. A data control circuit in communication with the drive control synchronizes the light beam modulation rate to the drum speed. Recording is complete when each data card is filled with identical information or when all data segments have been recorded. A photodetector may be positioned to read the tracks on the card and measure the changes in optical contrast defined by the data spots formed on the tracks, and thereby the data recording is accurate. prove. The same or a separate photodetector may provide automatic focus control of the light beam. The same or further photodetector may provide servo-tracking of the light beam.

Although the system described above replicated cards very quickly, the cards produced were not suitable for all applications, especially high speed reading. The purpose of this invention was to devise a high speed data card recording system that is optimized to make cards suitable for high speed reading.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The above objects have been met with a data recording system for recording identical data on each of a plurality of data cards supported around the periphery of a drum, thereby producing duplicate cards. Alternatively, the data on each card may be different, or a combination of some of the same and some of the different i). The drum is mounted for rotation about an axis and the data card has an elongated strip of optical recording material with the length of the elongated strip parallel to the axis of the drum.

In contrast to previous drum recording systems where the longitudinal direction of the recording medium is parallel to the direction of drum rotation, in the present invention its width direction is parallel to the direction of drum rotation. As the drum rotates, each card passing a laser writer or equivalent has the same or a different data segment written until the drum makes one complete revolution;
The laser writer is then translated for the card and the next segment of data is written with the same or different data segment for each card. After the next drum rotation is completed, the process continues to repeat until all cards are completely written.

The advantages of recording data widthwise rather than vertically are:
A high-speed card reader that uses a CCD array to read across the width of the card as the card is advanced through a card processing device that allows the card to pass under a CCD array placed on the data strip. It must be usable. By placing the optical recording strip parallel to the drum axis, existing commercially available data card readers may be used.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a data card recording system includes a rotatable drum 11 supporting a plurality of data cards curved around the drum's peripheral surface.

Each data card includes a card base 14 and a strip 15 of laser recordable optical storage material disposed on the base 14. Data cards typically have approximately 54
The banknote holder has a width dimension of mm and a vertical dimension of about 85 mm. These dimensions are preferred and not critical. This is because such a size easily fits into a bill case, and the conventional size has been adopted for automatic deposit/withdrawal machines and similar devices. With cards of these dimensions, an 11 inch (27.9 cm) diameter drum can support 16 cards, as shown in FIG. Smaller drums, such as those of FIGS. 3-8, which have a diameter of about 5 inches (12.7 cm), support only seven cards.

Card base 14 is dielectric, typically a plastic material such as polycarbonate, polyvinyl chloride or similar materials. Alternatively, card base 14 may be a metal film. Card base 14 may be either opaque or transparent. card base 1
4 must be transparent when used in a transparently readable strip 15. The strip 15 is typically about IQmm to 54mm wide and extends the length of the card. The strips may be applied by any conventional method that achieves flatness and adhesion to the card base. A transparent protective laminate sheet made of polycarbonate plastic or other material may cover the strip 15 to protect it from dust and scratches.

The laser-recordable optical data storage material forming the strip 15 may be one of the developed reflective recording materials with direct read-after writing capability.

Typical recording media are U.S. Pat.
No. 4,298,684 and No. 4,269,91
No. 7 and No. 4.284.716,
All of which are assigned to the assignee of this invention.

These media include suspensions of reflective metal particles within organic colloids and form highly reflective, low melting temperature laser recordable media. Data is recorded by forming a spot of reduced reflectance that contrasts with the surrounding area of the reflective layer itself. The reflectance of a spot within the area is approximately 1
A strip area reflectance of about 50% is preferred; thus, a contrast ratio of about 5:1 is sufficient to read the data, although a contrast ratio of 2:1 or even lower is sufficient to read the data. Creates a contrast ratio of Alternatively, a medium with reflective spots in low reflectance regions may be used. Media read by light transmission through the card may also be used. Erasable materials may be used, such as magneto-optic and amorphous-crystalline recording materials. As discussed below, pre-recorded data may be present prior to recording.

As indicated by arrow A, drum 11 is rotatable about a drive shaft 17 on the drum cylindrical axis. A motor 19 to which the drive shaft 17 is connected provides the rotational force for rotating the drum 11. Typically, drum 11 rotates at a speed of about 1100 rpm to 1000 rpm. Position encoder 18 measures rotational speed and also indicates the completion of each drum rotation. The laser 21 is
A laser light beam 23 is directed along an optical path onto a card 20 mounted on a drum 11. A modulator 25 positioned in the optical path modulates the optical beam 2 in response to data.
Modulate 3. The resulting modulated beam 27
is focused onto the optical data storage strip 15 of the card on the drum 11 by focusing optics 29 . Data is written where previously recorded information was not written. Current modulation may be used in semiconductor lasers.

As the data card 13, held on the surface of the rotating drum 11, moves past the focused beam, the data card 13 is moved in one of a plurality of parallel tracks on the recording medium extending widthwise across each of the cards. , a data spot is recorded by the beam. Tracks are aligned along the width of the card in the direction of drum rotation. Additional tracks are recorded by moving the relative lateral position between the beam and the card on the drum. This is achieved by moving the focusing optic 29 and thus moving its optical axis laterally or changing the orientation of its optical axis, thereby slightly redirecting the optical path of the forward beam in both cases. obtain. Alternatively, servo-controlled mirrors may be used, as described in commonly assigned US Pat. No. 4,360,728. Furthermore, the lateral position of the drum 11 may be varied by varying the length of the shaft 17 between the drum 11 and the motor 19 with a solenoid. Alternatively, a stepper motor may be used. The focused beam should deliver sufficient laser pulse energy to the surface of the recording material to create a spot. Typically 10 milliwatts depending on the recording material
40 milliwatts is required. A 40 milliwatt semiconductor laser focused to a 5 micron beam size can record at temperatures of about 200° C. and create a spot in less than 5 microseconds. The wavelength of laser 21 should be compatible with the recording material.

A data source 31 is connected to the data control circuit via a data bus 35. The data source 31 may be a semiconductor memory internal to the card writing system, or it may be an external peripheral such as an optical card reader, disk drive or keyboard. When the data source 31 is an optical card reader, the whole system can be called a card duplicator. Data control circuit 33 is typically a microprocessor and includes at least one data register 37 for storing data segments read from data source 31. Data control circuit 33 outputs an electrical signal corresponding to the data segment stored in register 37, which is transmitted along line 39 to modulator 25 for modulating laser light beam 23 in response to the data segment. Occur. An electrical signal output is generated as many times as there are data cards 13 on drum 11 for the same data segment so that each card records the same information. After a trunk of data has been recorded on each data card 13 on drum 11,
Data control circuit 33 generates electrical signal outputs corresponding to different data segments for recording on adjacent segments of data on each card. Preferably, data control circuit 33 has a second data register similar to register 37 to read and store the next data segment while the signal for a current data segment is being output. The data system @J33 sends a synchronization signal from the position encoder 18 to the bus 42 after each drum rotation.
Receive via. Data control 33 may then send a signal over bus 4 to reposition the recording beam to the next track. Recording continues until all data in the data source 31 has been recorded or until the data card 13 is filled.

Figure 2a shows four parallel bands of data 201, 203, 205 and 20 for replication onto many cards.
7 is shown. Each band can be computer output data or any form of optically recorded digital data. In some replication systems, data is recorded and read in the same manner that alphanumeric data is typically read from books. That is, the data within the band is read from left to right, starting at the top of the band and progressing downward. However, in this invention,
Data is recorded in the band 201 in the width direction rather than in the vertical direction. As seen in Figure 2a, the data in band 201 is recorded in rows, the first row or "track" 209 having a first bit 211 in the upper left corner;
and has the 52nd bit 213 recorded in the lower left corner.

The next successive bit in the sequence of data bits containing band 201 is placed in a track adjacent to track 209, with the 53rd bit at the top of the track and the 104th bit at the bottom, the adjacent bit 21
Found in 3. A card the size of a bill holder is 3500.
track. In the replication process described in connection with FIGS. 1 and 2, tracks are recorded one at a time and bits are recorded sequentially.

A problem arises in the widthwise recording operation when more than one band has to be duplicated.

Over many times, the data card will hold many parallel bands. A J-do band such as band 201 having 3500 tracks of 52 bits may be recorded in a manner that allows recording operations of all 182000 bits sequentially. However, the second
The multi-band arrangement shown in Figure a cannot be replicated in bit-sequential order if the preparation speed is to be maximized. The second band 203 includes 182,000 bits that follow the bits of the first band 201. Similarly, third and fourth bands 205 and 207 are each comprised of data bits that sequentially follow the data bits contained in the preceding band.

Rather than reproducing bands 201-207 in a single fashion, the data source 31 shown in Figures 1 and 2 reads all bands from all cards into memory and stores them in a bitmapped image file. Relocate data to . The data segment read by data register 37 of data control circuit 33 is then read from band 201-
207.

For example, the first data segment contains bits 1-52 from band 201 and bits 18 from band 203.
2,001-182,052 and bits 364,001-364°052 from band 205 and band 207
bits 546,001-546.052 from . After the first data segment is recorded in a single pass on each card, the second data segment is read from the bitmap by the data control circuit. The second data segment consists of the tracks of canister 2 in each band 201-207 and is written on the next pass or drum revolution. Each data segment is sequentially read from the bitmap in the data source and sequentially recorded on a plurality of cards until each card holds a replica of the mask shown in FIG. 2a.

Returning to FIGS. 1 and 2, the data control circuit 33
It also communicates with drive control or servo 41 via bus 43 . Drive control 41 sends electrical a to motor 19 along line 45 to cause motor 19 to start, stop, speed up or slow down. Data control circuit 33 and drive control 41 together synchronize the light beam modulation with the rotational speed of the drum. Instead, rotational speed is sensed using position encoder 18.

This signal is used by the data control 33 to synchronize the modulation rate of the modulator 25 and the rotational speed of the drum 1.

Detector arrangement 47 may be placed in reading relation relative to the track to provide feedback to data control circuit 33 and drive control 41. The detector device 47 connects these control elements 33 via four electrical signal lines.
and communicate with 41.

In FIG. 1, the data card 13 is read by reflection;
Therefore, the detector device 47 detects the card 13 on the drum 11.
It is positioned in a light reflection relationship related to. Beam splitter 51 directs the modulated beam 27 to card 13;
and can be used to direct reflected light from card 13 to one or more detectors 59 and 63. In FIG. 2, the data card 13 is read by optical transmission, so that the detector device 47 is positioned in optical transmission relation relative to the card 13. In FIG. A mirror 53 in drum 11 may be used to direct transmitted light from card 13 to one or more detectors 59 and 63.

In the two-detector device 47 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2,
A second beam splitter 55 directs a portion of the light from the card 13 through a focusing lens 57 to five reading detectors and a second portion through a pair of lenses 61 to an autofocus detector. 6
Direct to 3. Typically 50% of the light is directed to read detector 59 and 5096 of the light is directed to autofocus detector 53.

Other detector arrangements may also be used. For example, a l1l-detector such as detector 59 may be used. In the detector arrangement shown, autofocus is used to effect a change in either the focal length of the focusing optic 29 or the distance between the focusing optic 29 and the card 13 on the drum 11. Detector 63 communicates with focusing optics 29 via bus 65, thereby transmitting modulated beam 27.
sharply focus on card 13. To confirm proper data recording, the read detector 5 detects when or immediately after the data is written by sensing the change in optical contrast defined by the data spots formed on the tracks of the card. reads the data. The detector 59 also includes pre-recorded clocking marks,
It may be used to read the beginning and end of track marks and other track codes to aid in synchronizing data writing. Prerecorded marks may not be necessary in precision high speed recorders.

In the case of precision high speed recorders, it is desirable for the recording beam to move more smoothly in the absence of a track guide than in steps. In this case, the beam can be moved in a uniform manner in a helical scan by a precision screw. Preferably, the cards are mounted in a skewed manner and each card is offset from the next so that the laser recorded data is parallel to the card edges. The degree of skew and offset will be determined by the data track pitch.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, drum 67 is rotatably mounted on shaft 69 and motor 7
1. The drum may be mounted for rotation about either a horizontal or vertical axis. The base 73 supports a frame 75 having an upright arm 77 to which one motor 71 is attached. The drum shown has a peripheral surface 79 large enough to accommodate a number of data cards 81 the size of a billfold.

As noted above, larger drums that can accommodate large numbers of data cards may also be used and similarly configured.

Focusing optics 29 with at least one lens 30
is positioned outside drum 79 to focus a modulated light beam onto card 81 for writing data spot 85 . The focusing optical element 29 is connected to the card 8
1 may also be directed to a detector arrangement 47 shown in FIG. Servo track guides may be provided on the card 81 for feedback and motor control in reading and writing spots 85 in the tracks between the track guides. The track guide may be aligned in the direction of travel of the rotating drum. Servo track guides may not be necessary for precision high speed recorders. Alternatively, track guides and other indicia may be written with a laser when data is being written on a card that does not have pre-recorded indicia.

The drum 67 includes a peripheral surface or cylinder 79 and a circular side wall 87 connected to one edge of the cylinder 79.
including. A plurality of transverse flanges 89 are spaced around the periphery of the drum for supporting and retaining data cards.

As shown in FIG.
7 or alternatively may be offset, and the drum is driven by a connecting pulley and the drive shaft is mounted either on the side wall 87 or on the disc in the rim 91 opposite the side wall 87. may be attached. Grooves 93 and 94 on the sides of transverse flange 89 secure data cards to the seven external peripheral surfaces of the drum. As shown in FIG. 4, data card 81 is somewhat flexible and can be bent so that it slides into grooves 93 and 94 in flange 89.

In FIGS. 5 and 6, an alternative (r) embodiment of drum 95 includes two concentric cylinders 97 and 99;
Card holding slot 101 between cylinders 97 and 99
has. Multiple data cards may be installed within slot 101. The outer cylinder 99 is transparent to the modulated laser light beam used to record on the card and may be formed from transparent plastic or a metal frame structure 1 with a light transparent window 105.
03 may be included. The window 105 may consist of an open area within the frame 103, or may be made of transparent plastic,
It may also be formed from glass or other materials provided with a frame. Similarly, the inner cylinder 97 may be formed from a transparent material or may include a frame with a transparent window. The inner cylinder need not be transparent to the recording light beam when using a reflectively read data card, and may be formed from a hard opaque material such as metal. When used to support transparently read cards in the configuration shown in FIG. 2, both the outer and inner cylinders must be transparent.

The frame 103 of the outer cylinder 99 has a pair of rings 107 and 109 connected by struts 111. The strut 111 extends inwardly of the internal cylinder 97;
Thereby, a transverse barrier is provided within the slot 101 to keep the card from slipping. A rigid base 112 is attached to ring 107 and internal cylinder 97 and provides a means for attaching motor shaft 113. Slot 101 is open at one edge opposite base 112 to allow access of a data card into slot 101 .

In a third embodiment shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the drum 115 includes a frame 117 having a window 119. In the third embodiment shown in FIGS. Window 119 may be an open area as shown, or alternatively may be formed from a transparent material such as glass or plastic. The frame 117 includes the pillars 12
It has a pair of rings 121 and 123 connected by 5.

Each strut has a flange 12 mounted on its interior surface.
7 and a flange 12 for holding a data card.
7 with a groove 129. Rigid base 131 is attached to one of the rings for attaching motor shaft 133 to the drum.

In FIG. 9, an optical card reader of the type described in US Pat. No. 4,634,850 and commercially available from Nippon Coinco Co., Ltd. is shown. This reader serves a master data card 115 which forms the data source 31 of the system of FIGS. 1 and 2 and is placed in reading relationship therewith. Cards 115 are typically received within a card transport 111 that includes rails 113 that support the cards. The transport 111 is
Data strip 11 held by card 115
9 includes a read head 117 mounted for scanning 9.

Read head 117 holds a linear CCD array 121. A linear array has a row of detectors that spans laterally at least one row of data on strip 119 at a time. As the card is moved in the direction indicated by arrow A by the automatic card transport mechanism, the strip 119 moves past the read head 117 so that the strip 119 passes under the linearity detector array 121. . This allows the tiny data spots on the strip to pass under the read head 117.

FIG. 10 shows a data spot 14 in a data cell 143.
1 shows a linear detector array 121 passing over a portion of the grating. Data cells 145 and 147 are in the same column as the other data cells depicted, but are empty.

The linearity detector array 121 includes a plurality of detectors 151.1 arranged to sense the light reflected from each cell.
53 and 155. In this case, three detectors observe cell 143 and process detection spot 141
It's within. Since the detector is a CCD device, the detector output is
It is sensed by shifting the charge level from one end of the linear array to the other. The charge level is measured with respect to voltage, with the highest amount of reflectance defined as the highest or lowest voltage state, and the lowest amount of reflectance defined as the opposite voltage state. Threshold levels are defined between maximum values, and the outputs from many detectors observing one cell can be polled to determine whether a spot is present within the cell. For example, if two of the three detectors have voltage levels indicative of a spot, the presence of a spot is attributed to a particular cell. However, if only one detector cell shows a spot, the cell is determined to be empty, and the single detector reporting the spot is believed to have detected foreign material within the cell. Detector array 121 generates electrical signals corresponding to the spots during interception. These signals are used by data control 3 of FIGS. 1 and 2 for storage of data segments corresponding to tracks of data.
3 along bus 35. Tracks are written one after the other until all cards have been written. However, if the card has more than one band of data, the entire card is read into memory and converted to an ordered bitmap before reading the data segment across the width of the card.

A high speed data card useful for card duplication, such as in publishing on demand, by using any of the drums described in FIGS. 3 through 8 in the system of FIGS. 1 and 2. A recording system is obtained. The system can record several data cards at once with the same or different data at an average rate of 2 seconds per card. Instead of taking three weeks to record 1000 cards, the job can be completed in less than a day and a half. By using a rotating drum,
Not only is multi-card recording possible, but it simplifies synchronization of card position and data and results in fewer recording errors compared to previous round-trip systems.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a data card recording system for reflective cards. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a data card recording system for transparent cards. FIG. 2a is a schematic representation of data for recording on the cards of FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. FIG. 3 is a side view of a first embodiment of a drum for the system of FIGS. 1 and 2; FIG. 4 is an end view taken along line 4--4 of FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of a drum for the system of FIGS. 1 and 2; FIG. 6 is a side cross-sectional view of the drum of FIG. 5 taken along line 6--6 of FIG. 5; FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a third embodiment of a drum for the system of FIGS. 1 and 2; 8 is a side cross-sectional view of the drum of FIG. 7 taken along line 8--8 of FIG. 7; FIG. 9 is a plan view of a high speed optical card reader for use with cards made using the system shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. FIG. 10 is a detailed view of the detector cells in the card reader of FIG. 9 aligned to read data spots. In the figure, 13.20.81 is a data card, 15 is an elongated strip, 11, 67.79.95 is a drum,
17 is the axis of the drum, 79 is the peripheral surface of the drum, 209 is a parallel track, 89, 127 is a flange, 31 is a data source, 23.27 is a light beam, 201, 203, 205,
207 is a data band, 85 is a data spot, 97.
99 is two concentric cylinders, 103, 1.17 is a circular frame member, 105, 119 is a transmission window, 25 is a modulation means, 47, 59, 63, 151, 153, 155 is a detector, 111 is a transport It is a means. Patent Applicant: Drexler Q Technology Corporation F/G, -5°b -6°

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] (1) A data recording system for data cards suitable for high-speed recording and reading, including a plurality of data cards, each data card having a length and a width, and capable of recording arbitrary data. an elongate strip of material is mounted thereon, the length of the elongate strip being mounted parallel to the length of the card, and comprising a drum rotatable in a predetermined direction with respect to an axis, the drum having a circumferential surface; , having support means thereon for supporting the data card in a position where the length of the data card is parallel to the axis of the drum; A system comprising a light beam means for writing a data segment in one of a plurality of parallel tracks on the card, said track being aligned parallel to the width of said card. (2) the support means is provided around the periphery of the drum and aligned transversely to the direction of drum rotation;
2. The system of claim 1, including a fixed flange whereby a longitudinal edge of the data card is retained between the flange and the drum periphery. 3. The system of claim 2, wherein the plurality of data cards are supported around the exterior of the drum. (4) A data recording system for a data card suitable for high speed recording and reading, comprising a drum mounted for rotation in a predetermined direction about an axis;
The drum has a periphery and support means for supporting a plurality of data cards along the periphery of the drum, each data card having a length and a width, the drum having a laser recordable optical data storage. An elongated strip of device material is positioned on each data card parallel to the length of the card, and the data card is mounted on the drum, with the longer side of the elongated strip of laser recordable material aligned with the axis of the drum. parallel, for forming a bitmap data image and for resolving the image to be recorded into a series of data segments arranged in a line to form elongated parallel bands of data; a data source having means for forming;
each band of data has data segments oriented lengthwise across the data band, the data bands being readable one after the other; storage means for communicating with a data source and storing the data segments; a light source for emitting a beam of light directed along an optical path to a plurality of data cards; and modulation means for modulating the beam of light in response to said data segments, said beam being directed from one card to the next. sequentially creating a data spot corresponding to a data segment in one of a plurality of parallel tracks on each of the data cards, said tracks being aligned in the direction of rotation of the drum; transport means for changing the relative position between the plurality of data cards, wherein additional data segments are recorded in another of the plurality of parallel tracks on each of the data cards; ,system. (5) the support means includes a fixed flange provided around the periphery of the drum and aligned transversely to the direction of rotation of the drum, such that the longitudinal edge of the data card is attached to the flange; held by the pressure of
The system according to claim 4. 6. The system of claim 5, wherein the plurality of data cards are supported along the outside of the drum periphery. 7. The system of claim 5, wherein the plurality of data cards are supported against an interior of the drum periphery, and the drum periphery is at least partially transparent to the light beam. (8) the drum includes two concentric cylinders, the data card is mounted between these two cylinders, and further, an external one of the cylinders is at least partially transparent to the light beam; 7. The system of claim 6, wherein: (9) the drum includes two circular frame members;
5. The system of claim 4, wherein it is spaced apart from a plurality of crossbars connecting two frame members together. 10. The system of claim 9, wherein at least two of the crossbars are provided with windows that are at least partially transparent to the light beam. (11) further comprising detector means positioned adjacent one of the parallel tracks on the drum for sensing a change in optical contrast defined by the data spot formed on the parallel track; The system according to claim 4. (12) such that at least a portion of said light beam is reflected from one of said data cards to said detector means;
12. The system of claim 11, wherein the light source and the detector means are positioned. (13) said light source and said detector means such that a periphery of said drum is at least partially transparent to said light beam and at least one of said data cards is between said light source and said detector means; 12. The system of claim 11, wherein the container means is positioned.