Photography – With film drive – Mechanical detail
Reexamination Certificate
2000-01-26
2001-09-04
Adams, Russell (Department: 2851)
Photography
With film drive
Mechanical detail
C396S006000, C396S535000, C352S130000, C355S030000, C015S100000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06283645
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates generally to the field of photography, and in particular to cameras. More specifically, the invention relates to a camera with a film debris catching comb.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Film and cameras that are all in one, commonly referred to as single-use or one-time-use cameras, have become well known. The one-time-use camera is a simple point-and-shoot type comprising an opaque plastic main body part that supports a conventional film cartridge in a cartridge receiving chamber, an unexposed filmstrip substantially prewound from the film cartridge onto a film spool in a film supply chamber to form an unexposed film roll, a fixed-focus taking lens, a film metering mechanism with a rotatably supported metering sprocket that engages the filmstrip, a manually rotatable film winding thumbwheel coaxially engaged with a film spool inside the film cartridge, a single-blade shutter for exposing successive sections of the filmstrip, a manually depressible shutter release button, a rotatable frame counter for indicating the number of exposures remaining to be made on the filmstrip, a direct see-through viewfinder having front and rear viewfinder lenses, and in some models an electronic flash unit. A pair of opaque plastic front and rear cover parts house the main body part between them to complete the camera. The rear cover part connects to the main body part and/or to the front cover part to make the main body part light-tight. A decorative cardboard outer box or label at least partially covers the front and rear cover parts and has respective openings for the taking lens, etc.
After each picture is taken with the one-time-use camera, the photographer manually rotates the thumbwheel in a film winding direction to similarly rotate the film spool inside the film cartridge. This winds an exposed section of the filmstrip from a rear backframe (exposure) opening in the main body part into the film cartridge, and advances an unexposed section of the filmstrip from the unexposed film roll to the backframe opening. The rewinding movement of the filmstrip the equivalent of slightly more than one frame width rotates the metering sprocket in engagement with the filmstrip to decrement the frame counter to its next lower-numbered setting and to pivot a metering lever into engagement with the thumbwheel. When the metering lever engages the thumbwheel, further rotation of the thumbwheel is prevented. Manually depressing the shutter release button to take another picture pivots the metering lever out of engagement with the thumbwheel to permit renewed rotation of the thumbwheel. After the maximum number of exposures available on the filmstrip have been made, and the filmstrip is completely wound into the film cartridge, the one-time-use camera is given to a photofinisher who separates the rear cover part from the main body part and removes the film cartridge with the exposed filmstrip from the cartridge receiving chamber. Then, he removes the exposed filmstrip from the film cartridge to develop the negatives and make prints for the customer. Most of the used parts such as the electronic flash unit can be recycled, i.e. reused, to remanufacture the one-time-use camera.
Prior Art Problem
During original or remanufacture of the one-time-use camera, the filmstrip is prewound continuously from the film cartridge in the cartridge receiving chamber and over the backframe opening to form the unexposed film roll on the film spool in the film supply chamber. Conversely, after each picture is taken, the filmstrip is advanced incrementally in an opposite direction from the unexposed film roll on the film spool in the film supply chamber, over the backframe opening, and into the film cartridge in the cartridge receiving chamber. In each instance, debris originally on the filmstrip or picked up in the camera may fall off the filmstrip and into the backframe opening. The debris which has fallen into the backframe opening may partially occlude each section of the filmstrip at the backframe opening during picture-taking.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the invention, a camera comprising a backframe opening over which successive sections of a filmstrip are moved to be exposed, and a pair of parallel film rails having longitudinal film support surfaces that support each section of the filmstrip over the backframe opening, is characterized in that:
a film debris catching comb is positioned between the film rails, proximate the backframe opening, and inwardly of the longitudinal film support surfaces to remove any debris from each section of the filmstrip before that section is moved over the backframe opening to be exposed.
More specifically, a camera comprising a backframe opening with a pair of spaced opposite ends across which successive sections of a filmstrip are moved for each section of the filmstrip to be advanced over the backframe opening, and a pair of parallel film rails having longitudinal film support surfaces that support each section of the filmstrip over the backframe opening, is characterized in that:
a pair of parallel film debris catching combs are positioned between the film rails, proximate respective ones of the opposite ends of the backframe opening, and inwardly of the longitudinal film support surfaces to remove any debris from each section of the filmstrip before that section is advanced over the backframe opening; and
one of the film debris catching combs is positioned inwardly of the film support surfaces farther than the other comb.
REFERENCES:
patent: Re. 35856 (1998-07-01), Pearson
patent: 579949 (1897-04-01), Brownell
patent: 1314523 (1919-09-01), Kroedel
patent: 2351371 (1944-06-01), Smith
patent: 3384318 (1968-05-01), Nerwin et al.
patent: 5142316 (1992-08-01), Tanii et al.
patent: 5546148 (1996-08-01), Janson, Jr.
patent: 5585876 (1996-12-01), Kobayashi
patent: 5604557 (1997-02-01), Kobayashi et al.
patent: 5841516 (1998-11-01), Miyawaki et al.
Boyd James D.
Cramer Michael P.
Smith Stephen J.
Adams Russell
Eastman Kodak Company
Fields Roger A.
Whittington Kenneth J.
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