Package making – Group forming of contents unit and subsequent or further... – Layer – stack – or column
Reexamination Certificate
2001-07-02
2004-08-24
Gerrity, Stephen F. (Department: 3721)
Package making
Group forming of contents unit and subsequent or further...
Layer, stack, or column
C053S147000, C053S389200, C053S389400
Reexamination Certificate
active
06779320
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of and an apparatus for manufacturing a self-developing instant photography film unit.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the recent popularity of instant cameras, self-developing instant photography film units are being mass-produced. An instant photography film unit comprises a mask sheet having an image frame which defines a picture size in its center, a photosensitive sheet having a photosensitive layer coated on a transparent or opaque support layer, a transparent sheet for extending a developing solution between itself and the photosensitive sheet, and a pair of rails or spacers disposed between the photosensitive sheet and the transparent sheet for defining a gap therebetween for the passage of the developing solution therein. A pod or container which stores the developing solution and a trap for trapping an excessive developing solution are attached to the mask sheet at respective opposite side edges of the image frame of the mask sheet.
Various types of instant photography film units have been known in the art. For example, according to one type of instant photography film unit, the photosensitive sheet is joined to the upper surface of the mask sheet, and the transparent sheet is joined to the upper surface of the photosensitive sheet by the rails interposed therebetween, and the pod and the trap are wrapped in the side edges of the mask sheet that are folded onto the transparent sheet perpendicularly to the rails. According to another type of instant photography film unit, the photosensitive sheet and the transparent sheet are stacked in a given order on the mask sheet, and the rails are attached so as to extend from the photosensitive sheet to the transparent sheet, and the pod and the trap are attached to the mask sheet perpendicularly to the rails.
There have been proposed various processes for manufacturing an instant photography film unit. For example, Japanese patent publication No. 62-55772 discloses one such proposed process for manufacturing an instant photography film unit. According to the disclosed process, as shown in
FIG. 11
of the accompanying drawings, sheets
1
,
2
, one of which is a photosensitive sheet whereas the other is a transparent sheet, are joined to each other by a joining unit
3
, and a rail web
4
is cut into a rail
5
that is heat-sealed over the sheet
2
, which is wider than the sheet
1
, transversely across the sheet
1
.
The joined sheets
1
,
2
are then cut along the central line of the rail
5
by a cutter
6
, and then bonded to a mask sheet
8
by a heat sealer
7
. In a peripheral edge joining station
9
, the entire edge of the sheet
2
is bonded to the mask sheet
8
in surrounding relationship to an image zone opening defined in the mask sheet
8
. In an attaching station
10
, a solution pod
11
and a trap
12
are bonded to respective opposite sides of the mask sheet
8
, and thereafter folded onto the opposite sides of the mask sheet
8
in a folding station
13
. Then, the assembly is sealed in a sealing station
14
, and the mask sheet
8
is cut off in a cutting station
15
, thus producing an instant photography film unit.
The conventional arrangement requires that the worker store a certain number of manufactured instant photography film units into a case. In order to prevent the instant photography film units from being irradiated with extraneous light, the worker needs to package the instant photography film units in a dark chamber. Therefore, the packaging process has been considerably tedious and time-consuming. Accordingly, the process of packaging the manufactured instant photography film units to produce film unit packages has been considerably cumbersome and makes it impossible to perform the entire manufacturing process efficiently.
The sheets
1
,
2
and the mask sheet
8
are exposed to temperature changes and humidity changes in the heat sealing process. Particularly, the photosensitive sheet is susceptible to humidity, and tends to shrink in the manufacturing process. When the sheets
1
,
2
shrink, the mask sheet
8
to which these sheets
1
,
2
are attached is displaced in the direction in which it is fed, making it difficult to attach the pod
11
and the trap
12
in accurate positions with respect to the opening in the mask sheet
8
, and the instant photography film units tend to be severed at different positions. As a consequence, it is impossible to manufacture high-quality instant photography film units.
According to the above conventional method, the pod
11
and the trap
12
are bonded by heat sealing after they have been supplied one to each side of the mask sheet
8
. Therefore, it is time-consuming to join the pod
11
and the trap
12
, and hence the entire process for manufacturing instant photography film units cannot be made more efficient.
In the above manufacturing method, the pitch time of each of the steps, particularly those steps requiring heat bonding, ranging from the supply of the sheets
1
,
2
to the completion of instant photography film units, is relatively long. Since the pitch times of the steps are determined on the basis of the pitch times of the heating bonding steps, undesirable idle times are present in the entire process, making it impossible to carry out the entire process for manufacturing instant photography film units efficiently.
After the joined sheets
1
,
2
have been cut along the central line of the rail
5
, the sheets
1
,
2
are bonded to the mask sheet
8
. Therefore, a structure is required for accurately positioning the severed sheets
1
,
2
on the mask sheet
8
. The positioning structure makes the entire system and process complex, and also makes the cost of manufactured instant photography film units high.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is a general object of the present invention to provide a method of and an apparatus for manufacturing an instant photography film unit automatically and efficiently from the fabrication of an instant photography film unit to the packaging thereof.
A major object of the present invention is to provide a method of and an apparatus for manufacturing an instant photography film unit by controlling the feeding of a continuous member to position the continuous member easily and highly accurately.
A primary object of the present invention is to provide a method of and an apparatus for manufacturing an instant photography film unit by efficiently supplying a developing solution container and an excessive developing solution trapping member at an image frame of a continuous member for thereby speeding up a manufacturing process.
Another primary object of the present invention is to provide a method of and an apparatus for manufacturing an instant photography film unit with an effectively simplified process and arrangement for efficiently and economically manufacturing an instant photography film unit.
The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which preferred embodiments of the present invention are shown by way of illustrative example.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3607285 (1971-09-01), Chen
patent: 3752723 (1973-08-01), Bruneau
patent: 4042395 (1977-08-01), Tone et al.
patent: 4312939 (1982-01-01), McCole
patent: 5023163 (1991-06-01), Simizu et al.
patent: 5188580 (1993-02-01), Rutledge et al.
patent: 5479691 (1996-01-01), Shimizu et al.
patent: 5606842 (1997-03-01), Sakamoto et al.
patent: 6070392 (2000-06-01), Berman et al.
patent: 6141852 (2000-11-01), Shimizu et al.
patent: 62-55772 (1987-11-01), None
patent: 1-285948 (1989-11-01), None
Kambara Takayuki
Kataoka Hideaki
Kikuchi Hisashi
Shiino Tatsuo
Shimizu Makoto
Fuji Photo Film Co. , Ltd.
Gerrity Stephen F.
Sughrue & Mion, PLLC
Weeks Gloria R
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