MICROFILM PROVIDED WITH COLOR CODES AND DEVICE FOR RECORDING AND REPRODUCING SUCH CODES

• US 3,835,297 A
• Filed: 05/09/1973
• Issued: 09/10/1974
• Est. Priority Date: 02/05/1970
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Mutsuhiro Inoue, Shunzo Inoue
• Original Assignee: Mutsuhiro Inoue, Shunzo Inoue
• Inventors: Inoue, Shunzo, Inoue, Mutsuhiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Cook, Daryl W.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kilgore, Robert M.
• Application Number:
  US05/358,485
• Time in Patent Office: 489 Days
• Field of Search: 204/114 117/17 96/1R,1PE,1PS,1E,1PC 346/74P 235/61.12N,61.12R,61.11E,61.11R,61.11F,61.7B,61.6E 250/219D,256 340/146.3K 35/35,48 40/53 353/26 355/41
• US Class Current: 235/469
• CPC Class Codes: G03C 11/02 Marking or applying text
• CPC Class Codes: G03D 15/00 Apparatus for treating processed material
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 1/126 by photographic or thermographic registration recording apparatus for measuring instruments G01D15/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 17/00 Methods or arrangements for effecting co-operative working between equipments covered by two or more of main groups G06K1/00 - G06K15/00, e.g. automatic card files incorporating conveying and reading operations

Abstract

The invention consists in a microfilm provided with color index codes of at least two colors other than the colors for recording information on the microfilm, to thereby increase the facility to search for the index codes and accordingly a desired type of information recorded in the recording frames of the microfilm represented by such color codes. The invention also consists in a code recording device for additionally forming the said color index codes on a photographed microfilm in a light environment, and a reproducing device for reproducing the color index codes formed on the photographed microfilm.

Claims

1. An information searching device for searching a desired information recording frame of a microfilm, which has a series of information recording frames and iindex codes, in response to said frames, said index codes consisting of color codes composed of at least two colors other than the colors used in said information recording frames, and of a plurality of color marks arranged in the form of matrixes comprising:

means for feeding said microfilm, light source means for irradiating said index codes of said microfilm thus fed, a plurality of detecting means provided in the same number as those of said color marks of said index code fOr independently detecting individual colors of each color mark of said index codes, said detecting means having at least one photoelectric element generating a detecting signal sensitive to the spectrum corresponding to a color of said color mark, converting means for switching the spectral sensitivity of said photoelectric element so that said photoelectric element of said detecting means selectively sensitizes to spectrums corresponding to at least two colors of said index codes, control means, actuated by color index code information signals, for controlling said converting means in order that said photoelectric element of said detecting means be sensitized in response to the spectrum corresponding to a color of said color marks forming an index code corresponding to a desired information recording frame to be searched, and microfilm stopping means, coupled to said detecting means, for stopping said microfilm when all of the detecting means generate detecting signals at the same time.

2. An information searching device according to claim 1, wherein said converting means is disposed in front of said photoelectric element and includes color filters corresponding in number to said color marks, each filter having a filter portion for transmitting the light having the wave length in a specific range, and a motor for shifting said color filter, said control means is connected to a driving circuit for said motor and includes a positional control circuit to rotate said motor with a predetermined value in order that said filter portion for transmitting the light having the wave length in a specific range is properly positioned in front of said photoelectric element.

3. An information searching device according to claim 1, wherein said detecting means have photoelectric elements corresponding in number to the colors of aid code marks, said photoelectric elements having individual spectrum sensitivites corresponding to said colors, and said converting means includes a photoelectric supporting member for supporting thereon said photoelectric elements, respectively, and a motor for displacing said photoelectric supporting member, and said control means is connected to a driving circuit for said motor and includes a positional control circuit to rotate said motor with a predetermined value in order that said photoelectric element, having a specific spectrum sensitivity receives light from said color marks.

4. An information searching device according to claim 3, wherein said control means includes a first voltage generating circuit for generating a predetermined voltage in association with said converting means, a second voltage generating circuit for generating a predetermined voltage in response to an input information signal corresponding to an index code for searching a desired information recording frame, and a differentiation circuit, to which is applied the output voltages from said first and from said second voltage generating circuits, for generating a difference voltage between them, said differentiation circuit being connected to said converting means and switching said converting means in response to an output voltage thereof.