Apparatus for optically recording a sound record area on a strip of film

Claim 1

AN APPARATUS FOR RECORDING ON A LIGHT SENSITIVE AREA OF A STRIP OF FILM A SOUND RECORD AREA IN THE FORM OF CONTINUOUS, PARALLEL SOUND RECORD LINES OF EQUAL LENGTH AND EXTENDING SUBSTANTIALLY LENGTHWISE OF THE FILM, SAID APPARATUS COMPRISING FILM SUPPORT MEANS INCLUDING CYLINDRICALLY CURVED FILM GUIDE MEANS FOR SUPPORTING SAID FILM AREA IN A CYLINDRICALLY CURVED POSITION DURING RECORDING, LIGHT MODULATING MEANS FOR MODULATING LIGHT IN ACCORDANCE WITH SOUND TO BE RECORDED, OPTICAL MEANS INCLUDING A ROTARY CARRIER ROTATABLE ABOUT THE GEOMETRIC AXIS OF SAID GUIDE MEANS, MEANS FOR ROTATING SAID LENS CARRIER, SEVERAL LENS MEANS SUPPORTED BY SAID CARRIER AT EQUAL RADIAL DISTANCE AND AT EQUAL CIRCUMFERENTIAL SPACING, SAID LIGHT MODULATING MEANS DIRECTING MODULATED LIGHT UPON SAID LENS MEANS AND SAID LENS MEANS BEING FOCUSED UPON SAID FILM AREA, DRIVE MEANS FOR CONTINUALLY AND LINEARLY MOVING SAID LENS CARRIER AND SAID GUIDE MEANS RELATIVE TO EACH OTHER IN THE DIRECTION OF SAID GEOMETRIC AXIS, THE RATES OF SAID ROTARY AND LINEAR MOTIONS BEING CORRELATED TO DISPLACE THE LENS CARRIER AND THE FILM GUIDE RELATIVE TO EACH OTHER BY A PREDETERMINED EQUAL DISTANCE BETWEEN THE END OF EACH SWEEP OF A LINE IMAGE AND THE BEGINNING OF THE NEXT SUCCEEDING SWEEP OF A LINE IMAGE, WHEREBY A SUCCESSION OF PARALLEL LINE IMAGES IMPINGES UPON SAID FILM AREA DURING ROTATION OF SAID LENS CARRIER, THE LENGTH OF EACH OF SAID LINE IMAGES CORRESPONDING TO THE LENGTH OF SAID ARRAY, AND LIGHT OBTURATING MEANS FOR GRADUALLY REDUCING THE LIGHT VALUE OF EACH LINE IMAGE NEAR THE END OF ITS SWEEP PATH AND GRADUALLY AND CORRESPONDINGLY INCREASING THE LIGHT VALUE OF EACH LINE IMAGE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SWEEP PATH OF THE NEXT ADJACENT LINE IMAGE IN SAID ARRAY.