Digital light deflector utilizing co-planar polarization rotators

Claim 1

A SCANNER FOR PROVIDING SELECTIVE DEFLECTION OF A BEAM OF PLANE POLARIZED RADIATION, COMPRISING: DEFLECTION MEANS INCLUDING: SERIES OF COPLANAR, LINEARLY ARRANGED POLARIZATION PLATES, EACH OF WHICH ROTATES THE PLANE OF POLARIZATION OF A PLANE, POLARIZED BEAM 90 DEGREES, ONLY UPON ACTIVATION; MEANS FOR SELECTIVELY ACTIVATING SAID POLARIZATION PLATES; A FIRST BIREFRINGENT MEDIUM, ADJACENT AND PARALLEL SAID SERIES OF POLARIZATION PLATES, FOR TRANSMITTING SAID BEAM IN EITHER A FIRST OR A SECOND DIRECTION, DEPENDING UPON THE PLANE OF POLARIZATION OF SAID BEAM; MEANS FOR RETRANSMITTING THROUGH SAID DEFLECTION MEANS THOSE BEAMS WHICH ARE TRANSMITTED IN SAID SECOND DIRECTION BY SAID FIRST BIREFRINGENT MEDIUM, INCLUDING: A SECOND BIREFRINGENT MEDIUM, ADJACENT AND PARALLEL SAID SERIES OF POLARIZATION PLATES, FOR TRANSMITTING SAID BEAMS OF RADIATION IN A FIRST OR SECOND DIRECTION DEPENDING UPON THE PLANE OF POLARIZATION OF SAID BEAMS; FIRST AND SECOND RETURN MEANS PARALLEL SAID SERIES OF POLARIZATION PLATES, FOR REFLECTING SAID BEAMS; SAID FIRST RETURN MEANS HAVING TRANSPARENT REGIONS THEREIN, THROUGH WHICH BEAMS EXIT FROM SAID SCANNER; FIRST AND SECOND ROTATION MEANS, SAID FIRST ROTATION MEANS BEING POSITIONED BETWEEN SAID FIRST BIREFRINGENT MEDIUM AND SAID FIRST RETURN MEANS AND PARALLEL THERETO, SAID SECOND ROTATION MEANS BEING POSITION BETWEEN SAID SECOND BIREFRINGENT MEANS AND SAID SECOND RETURN MEANS AND PARALLEL THERETO, FOR ROTATING THE PLANE OF POLARIZATION OF SAID BEAMS 90 DEGREES WHEN SAID BEAMS ARE PASSED THROUGH SAID ROTATION MEANS, ARE REFLECTED FROM SAID RETURN MEANS, AND ARE RETRANSMITTED THROUGH SAID ROTATION MEANS.