Photography – With data recording – Removable semiconductor memory
Reexamination Certificate
1998-05-19
2001-02-20
Mathews, Alan A. (Department: 2851)
Photography
With data recording
Removable semiconductor memory
C396S208000, C396S513000, C396S538000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06192201
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a film cartridge with an IC memory, an apparatus that uses it, and a method of using it, and more particularly to a film cartridge with an IC memory, an apparatus that uses the film cartridge with the IC memory such as a camera, a photofinishing apparatus and a film image reproducing apparatus, and a method of using the film cartridge with the IC memory including a procedure for reading information from the IC memory.
2. Description of Related Art
There has been proposed an advanced photographic film in which a magnetic layer is formed on one side of a silver halide film (U.S. Pat. No. 5,130,745). A film cartridge for containing the film and a camera that uses the film cartridge have also been developed, and they have become standardized worldwide.
As shown in FIGS.
19
(A) and
19
(B), in the above-mentioned new standard film cartridge
100
, a continuous photographic film
103
is wound on a spool
102
and is contained in a substantially cylindrical cartridge shell
101
, which has a light-shielding structure. A light-shielding door
104
is provided at one end of the cartridge shell
101
. The film
103
is entirely contained in the cartridge shell
101
and the light-shielding door
104
protects the film
103
from external light, if the film cartridge
100
containing the unexposed film has not been loaded in the camera yet or when the film cartridge
100
containing the exposed film is out of the camera. The light-shielding door
104
is opened and closed by inserting a door driver (not shown) into a door driving hole
106
and rotating the door driver.
A data disk
105
is provided at one side (a reference side) of the cartridge shell
101
, and the data disk
105
rotates in association with the spool
102
. A bar code indicating film information such as type, sensitivity and a number of frames to be exposed of the film
103
is printed on the outer surface of the data disk
105
. Circular, square, X and semicircular holes
111
,
112
,
113
and
114
are punched at the other side of the cartridge shell
101
. A white sectorial piece (not shown) is provided at the back of the holes and is fixed to the spool
102
, and one of the circular, square, X and semicircular marks is shown in white in accordance with a position of the sectorial piece.
In the film
103
, a silver halide photosensitive layer is formed on a surface
103
F of a film base, and a magnetic recording layer is formed on the reverse surface
103
R of the film base. A plurality of perforations
121
are punched at the edge of the film
103
, and they specify each frame
120
. Exposure information such as the type of a light source and a focal length on the exposure, and a user's message such as a title of a photograph can be magnetically recorded in magnetic record areas
124
,
125
at the top end and bottom end of each frame.
When the film cartridge
100
is loaded in the camera, the camera reads the bar code information on the data disk
105
with an optical reading mechanism, and detects the position of the sectorial piece, thereby automatically recognizing the film information and the used status of the film. If the camera recognizes that the film cartridge
100
contains a film in which at least one unexposed frame remains, the light-shielding door
104
is opened and the spool
102
is rotated in a predetermined direction, so that the film
103
can be automatically fed to the first unexposed frame.
After all the frames on the film
103
are exposed, a rewinding mechanism of the camera rewinds film
103
into the cartridge shell
101
, and the light-shielding door
104
is closed. Then, the sectorial piece that is fixed to the spool
102
is stopped at the X hole, so that the X hole is shown in white to indicate that the film cartridge
100
contains the film
103
on which all the frames have already been exposed.
There has been proposed a film image reproducing apparatus using the film cartridge
100
containing the film
103
that is developed. The film image reproducing apparatus automatically transports the film
103
from the film cartridge
100
, and reads the frame image using an image pickup unit. The film image reproducing apparatus is then able to output image signals representing the read frame image to a TV monitor and/or a personal computer.
In the apparatus such as the camera and the film image reproducing apparatus that use the film cartridge
100
, there is provided in a cartridge loading chamber a spool drive shaft and a door driver, which are inserted into the spool
102
and the door driving hole
106
, respectively, of the film cartridge
100
. Guide shafts that are inserted into the spool
102
and the door driving hole
106
, respectively, are provided on the inside face of a chamber door on the cartridge loading chamber. When the film
103
is transported, the spool
102
and the door driving hole
106
are pivotally supported by the spool drive shaft, the door driver and the guide shafts in such a manner as to prevent the cartridge shell
101
from being in contact with the inner wall of the cartridge loading chamber. Thereby, the cartridge shell
101
is able to float (this will hereinafter be referred to as a shell floating state).
Since the spool
102
is rotatably arranged with play in the cartridge shell
101
, the cartridge shell
101
has freedom in the shell floating state. This prevents the film
103
from being damaged by the cartridge shell
101
while the film
103
is transported.
The applicant of the present invention has proposed a film cartridge provided with an IC memory unit (Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. 7-287323). Since terminals of the IC memory unit are provided on a cartridge shell of the film cartridge, positions of the terminals cannot be fixed during the shell-floating. Thus, a contact area of each terminal on the cartridge shell must be large enough so that the terminal comes into contact with each of the contacts on the cartridge loading chamber without fail in view of the movement amount of the cartridge shell while the shell is floating. In this case, it is impossible to provide a plurality of terminals on the limited surface area of the cartridge shell.
The terminals on the cartridge shell are arranged on a side that is perpendicular to a direction in which the cartridge is loaded in the cartridge loading chamber. For this reason, the loading of the film cartridge into the cartridge loading chamber does not cause the contacts on the cartridge loading chamber to rub the terminals on the cartridge shell. Hence, a reliable electrical connection between the contacts. On the cartridge loading chamber and the terminals on the cartridge shell may become impossible due to corrosion on the terminals, the adhesion of dust, or the like.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide the film cartridge with the IC memory having the cartridge shell that is able to be positioned.
It is another object of the present invention to provide the apparatus using the film cartridge with the IC memory that allows the cartridge shell to float when the film is transported, and that positions the cartridge shell when the information is read from or written to the IC memory.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide the apparatus using the film cartridge with an IC memory that is able to carry the current through the contact parts without fail when the information is read from or written to the IC memory.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide the method of using the film cartridge with the IC memory, in which the information is read from and written to the IC memory without disturbing the transportation of the film.
To achieve the above-mentioned objects, the present invention is directed to a film cartridge that comprises: a continuous photographic film; a cartridge shell containing the film, an inside of the cartridge shell being substantially cylindrical, the cartridge shell havi
Fuji Photo Film Co. , Ltd.
Mathews Alan A.
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