PHOTOMECHANICAL CAMERA

• US 3,813,682 A
• Filed: 11/20/1972
• Issued: 05/28/1974
• Est. Priority Date: 11/20/1972
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Noriaki Mori, Shigenori Matsui, Yoshio Miyauchi, Yoshio Nagao, Yukio Nishikawa
• Original Assignee: Noriaki Mori, Shigenori Matsui, Yoshio Miyauchi, Yoshio Nagao, Yukio Nishikawa
• Inventors: Nishikawa, Yukio, Nagao, Yoshio, Miyauchi, Yoshio, Mori, Noriaki, Matsui, Shigenori
• Primary Examiner(s): Horan, John M.
• Application Number:
  US05/308,267
• Time in Patent Office: 554 Days
• Field of Search: 95/31 355/3,16 352/183
• US Class Current: 396/441
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 27/323 Copying cameras G03B27/34 - G03B27/70 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 27/60 using a vacuum or fluid pressure

Abstract

A photomechanical camera for use with a roll film has a vacuum suction box disposed in a camera housing and having a perforated front wall facing the lens system of the camera. An endless conveyor belt of a perforated material extends around the suction box and has a front run extending in substantially parallel and close contact relationship with the suction box front wall so that air is sucked into the suction box through the perforations in the belt and the suction box front wall. A length of film severed off and fed from the roll film onto the front run of the conveyor belt is sucked against the belt in the front run thereof and is conveyed toward an exposure position in which the center of the length of film in alignment with the optical axis of the lens system. Drive of the belt is so controlled that the motion of the belt is interrupted when the length of film is reached by the exposure position whereby the film is retained by the vacuum force in the exposure position during the exposure thereof.

Claims

1. A photomechanical camera for use with a roll film, said camera comprising:

a. a camera housing;

b. means in said housing for drawing a part of the film from said roll and feeding the drawn film part towaRd an exposure position in which the center of said fed film part is aligned with the optical axis of said camera;

c. a conveyor means including a belt member of a perforated material so arranged in said camera housing as to have a run substantially perpendicular to said optical axis, said run including said exposure position therein;

d. means for driving said belt member to cause the same to be moved in said run in a direction extending from said drawing and feeding means to and past said exposure position, said driving means comprising an electric motor drivingly connected to said film drawing and feeding means and to said conveyor belt member;

e. means for sucking air inwardly of the loop of said conveyor belt member through the perforations in said conveyor belt member, said sucking means being operative to exert vacuum force to said film part through the perforations in said conveyor belt member in said run for sucking said film part against said conveyor belt member in said run while said conveyor belt member is driven in said direction whereby said film part is conveyed by said conveyor belt member from said drawing and feeding means toward said exposure position;

f. means disposed between said film drawing and feeding means and said sucking means for severing said drawn and fed film part from said roll film; and

g. means for controlling the operation of said driving means so that said conveyor belt member is stopped just at a time when said film part is moved to said exposure position, whereby said film part is retained in said exposure position by said vacuum force during exposure of said film part, said controlling means including;

i. a first means for maintaining said electric motor in its inoperative position;

ii. an initiation switch for energizing said motor;

iii. a second means for interrupting the operation of said motor and causing said film severing means to operate when a desired length of film is fed onto said conveyor belt member;

iv. means automatically operative to again energize said motor when the operation of said film severing means is finished; and

v. a third means for again interrupting the operation of said motor when said severed length of film is reached by said exposure position and for causing said sucking means to positively hold said length of film on said conveyor belt member in said exposure position.

2. A camera as defined in claim 1, in which said first, second and third means are cams, respectively, said cams being provided on a member driven by said motor.

3. A camera as defined in claim 2, in which the distance between said first and second cams corresponds to the dimension of the length of film fed onto said conveyor belt member and the distance between said second and third cams corresponds to the distance between said optical axis and said film severing means minus one half the dimension of said length of film fed onto said conveyor belt member.

4. A camera as defined in claim 2, in which said member driven by said motor is a cam drum having a peripheral surface formed therein with cam grooves.

5. A camera as defined in claim 1, in which said first, second and third means are formed by a timer.

6. A photomechanical camera for use with a roll film, said camera comprising:

a. a camera housing;

b. means in said housing for drawing a part of the film from said roll and feeding the drawn film part toward an exposure position in which the center of said fed film part is aligned with the optical axis of said camera;

c. a conveyor means including a belt member of a perforated material so arranged in said camera housing as to have a run substantially perpendicular to said optical axis, said run including said exposure position therein;

d. means for driving said belt member to cause the same to be moved in said run in a direction extending from said drawing and feeding means to and past said exposure position;

e. means for sucking air inwardly of the Loop of said conveyor belt member through the perforations in said conveyor belt member, said sucking means being operative to exert vacuum force to said film part through the perforations in said conveyor belt member in said run for sucking said film part against said conveyor belt member in said run while said conveyor belt member is driven in said direction whereby said film part is conveyed by said conveyor belt member from said drawing and feeding means toward said exposure position, said sucking means comprising a suction box, an electrically powered vacuum pump, and a conduit pneumatically connecting said pump with said suction box;

f. means for controlling the operation of said driving means so that said conveyor belt member is stopped just at a time when said film part is moved to said exposure position and whereby said film part is retained in said exposure position by said vacuum force during exposure of said film part; and

g. means for controlling the supply of vacuum to said suction box comprising an electrically responsive pressure regulation valve disposed in said circuit and a switching circuit electrically connected to said valve, said valve having first and second regulating positions, said first position causing a relatively low amplitude of vacuum to reach said suction box, and said second position causing a relatively high vacuum to reach said suction box, said switching circuit being adapted to switch said valve to said first regulating position when said film part is being conveyed toward said exposure position and to said second regulating position when said film part is in said exposure position during its exposure.

7. A camera as defined in claim 6, in which said pressure regulating valve, in said first regulating position, causes a vacuum to reach said suction box which is sufficient to suck said film part against said conveyor belt member while said belt is in motion, and which, in said second regulating position, causes a vacuum to reach said suction box which securely holds said film against said conveyor belt while said belt is stationary.

8. A camera as defined in claim 6, in which said suction box has a substantially flat perforated wall portion extending in substantially parallel and close contacting relationship with said run of said belt member, the arrangement being such that at least one of the perforations in said flat wall portion of said suction box is in registration with a perforation in said conveyor belt member in an area covered by said film part.

9. A camera as defined in claim 6, in which said film drawing and feeding means comprises a film feed roll drivingly connected to said driving means and a pressure roll in rolling contact with said feed roll, said conveyor means further including a drive roll disposed adjacent one of the top and bottom ends of said suction box and at least one guide roll disposed adjacent the other end of said suction box, said conveyor belt member extending around said drive and guide rolls, said drive roll being drivingly connected to said driving means.

10. A camera as defined in claim 6, further comprising means disposed between said film drawing and feeding means and said sucking means for severing said drawn and fed film part from said roll film.