Photography – Disposable or recyclable camera
Reexamination Certificate
1998-09-04
2001-02-27
Gray, David M. (Department: 2851)
Photography
Disposable or recyclable camera
C396S411000, C396S538000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06195506
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a photo film take-up spool and shaft. More particularly, the present invention relates to a photo film take-up spool and shaft for winding photo film to be used in a lens-fitted photo film unit.
2. Description Related to the Prior Art
A lens-fitted photo film unit is pre-loaded with unexposed photo film of a 135 type, and operable for taking exposures in a manner of a camera. The lens-fitted photo film unit includes a cassette containing chamber and a photo film roll chamber between which an exposure aperture is disposed. The cassette containing chamber contains a cassette shell of a photo film cassette. The roll chamber contains a roll of the unexposed photo film drawn from the cassette shell. Two types of lens-fitted photo film units are known: a two-spool type and a one-spool type. The two-spool type includes a cassette spool and also a take-up spool about which the roll is formed by winding the photo film. The one-spool type includes a cassette spool but not a take-up spool. An apparatus for producing products of the one-spool type includes a take-up shaft, about which a roll of photo film is formed by winding the photo film in a factory. The take-up shaft is moved into the roll chamber, places the roll in the roll chamber, and moved away from the roll chamber, to load the lens-fitted photo film unit with the roll of which the center does not have a spool.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,884,087 and 4,954,857 (corresponding to JP-A 64-544) discloses a photo film take-up shaft in which a take-up slot is formed longitudinally and openly at a distal end thereof. A pressing spring plate is disposed inside the take-up slot, to nip a leader of photo film between the spring plate and a confronted wall inside the take-up slot. The take-up shaft is rotated to wind the photo film in a roll form thereabout. JP-A 5-204094 discloses a photo film take-up spool in which a take-up slot is formed longitudinally. Hooks are formed on the inside of the take-up slot. Perforations are formed in a leader of photo film, and engaged with the hooks. The take-up spool is rotated to wind the photo film thereabout.
In a lens-fitted photo film unit, photo film is moved into a cassette as much as one frame each time an exposure is taken. When a final frame is exposed, the photo film is wound to include the entirety of the photo film having the leader into the cassette. If the lens-fitted photo film unit is a two-spool type, the leader is smoothly detached from the take-up spool after the exposure on the final frame. The lens-fitted photo film unit is forwarded to a photo laboratory, where the cassette is removed. The photo film as exposed is removed from the cassette, and is developed and subjected to printing, by techniques known in the field of the photo finishing.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,832,275 discloses a photo film cassette in which a leader of photo film is pre-contained entirely in a cassette shell and rotation of a spool in an unwinding direction causes the leader to advance to an outside. The photo film contained in this includes a support and an emulsion layer formed thereon. The support is formed of annealed polyethylene naphthalate (A-PEN) having great rigidity and advantage of great easiness in advancement of the photo film. The photo film has the leader, an effective exposure area and a trailer. In the effective exposure area, two perforations are associated with each of frames. No perforation is formed in the leader or the trailer.
However the take-up spool or shaft disclosed in JP-A 5-204094, having the hooks for engagement with perforations in the leader of the photo film, cannot be used with the photo film in which no perforation is formed in the leader.
The take-up shaft disclosed U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,884,087 and 4,954,857 (corresponding to JP-A 64-544) is usable in fashion irrespective of existence of perforations. However a shortcoming lies in that an irrecoverable fold is inevitably formed in the photo film leader in an edge position between the take-up slot and a cylindrical face of the spool core. Once folded, the highly rigid photo film cannot recover its original condition without the fold. If the suggestion of U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,884,087 and 4,954,857 (corresponding to JP-A 64-544) is combined with a leader-advancing cassette, a problem still remains: the leader of the photo film cannot be advanced to the outside of a cassette shell due to the fold, even when the spool is rotated in an unwinding direction when treating the photo film cassette in a photo laboratory.
JP-A 61-156033 discloses a spool which is used for photo film and in which an edge of an entrance of a take-up slot formed through a spool core is rounded off by way of a curved face with a radius of curvature nearly ⅓ time as long as a radius of the core for the photo film. This curved face can prevent the leader from having a fold. However the inclined face is likely to cause the leader to have at irrecoverable curl. Once curled, the highly rigid photo film cannot recover its original condition without the curl. If the suggestion of JP-A 61-156033 is combined with a leader-advancing cassette, the problem still remains: the leader of the photo film cannot be advanced to the outside of a cassette shell due to the curl, even when the spool is rotated in an unwinding direction.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the foregoing problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a photo film take-up spool and shaft for winding photo film safely without creating irrecoverable folds or curl in a leader of the photo film.
In order to achieve the above and other objects and advantages of this invention, a take-up spool has a core having a substantially cylindrical shape. A nip device is disposed inside the core, for nipping a leader of photo film in removable fashion. At least one curved face is formed between the inside of the core and a cylindrical face of the core and at a radius of curvature 0.4-0.85 time as long as a radius of the core, for preventing the leader secured to the core from being sharply bent.
The take-up spool is incorporated in a lens-fitted photo film unit. The take-up spool is disposed in a roll chamber in rotatable fashion. The photo film is drawn from a cassette. The leader of the photo film is secured to the take-up spool about which the photo film is wound in a form of a photo film roll.
In a preferred embodiment, a take-up slot is formed in the core, for receiving insertion of the leader. The curved face is formed in connection to at least one of two walls of the take-up slot.
The nip device is confronted with one wall of the two walls of the take-up slot, and presses the leader inside the take-up slot against the one wall.
In a variant, first and second core halves are defined by the take-up slot splitting the core, and comprise the nip device.
For another type of lens-fitted photo film unit, a take-up shaft for production of the lens-fitted photo film unit includes a shaft body having a substantially cylindrical shape. A nip device is disposed inside the shaft body, for nipping a leader of photo film in removable fashion. At least one curved face is formed between the inside of the shaft body and a cylindrical face of the shaft body and at a radius of curvature 0.4-0.85 time as long as a radius of the shaft body, for preventing the leader secured to the shaft body from being sharply bent.
The leader of the photo film is secured to the take-up shaft which is rotated to wind the photo film thereabout in a form of a photo film roll. The take-up shaft is inserted in the roll chamber to insert the photo film roll.
In a preferred embodiment, a take-up slot is formed in the shaft body, for receiving insertion of the leader. The take-up slot has first and second walls, and the curved face is formed in connection to at least the first wall of the take-up slot.
The take-up slot is formed openly in a distal end of the shaft body, and after inserting the photo film roll, the shaft body is moved away from the roll chamber in an axial d
Kumamoto Syunji
Noji Fumio
Yamazaki Takeshi
Fuji Photo Film Co. , Ltd.
Gray David M.
Sughrue Mion Zinn Macpeak & Seas, PLLC
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