Order entry process for magnetically encodable film with dedicated magnetic tracks

• US 5,021,820 A
• Filed: 03/02/1990
• Issued: 06/04/1991
• Est. Priority Date: 10/07/1988
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
• Original Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
• Inventors: Wash, Michael L., Robison, Gary L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Mathews, A. A.
• Application Number:
  US07/488,496
• Time in Patent Office: 459 Days
• Field of Search: 354/21, 354/105, 354/106, 354/109, 354/75, 354/76, 355/27, 355/40, 355/41, 355/77, 352/37, 352/92, 352/236, 360/1, 360/3, 360/2
• US Class Current: 355/40
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 2217/244 Magnetic devices
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 27/462 in enlargers, e.g. roll film printers
• CPC Class Codes: G03D 15/001 Counting; Classifying; Marking
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 5/633 of cinematographic films or slides with integral magnetic track

Abstract

A virtually transparent magnetic layer is included as an additional layer in a color negative film. Information exchange between various users of the film--such as the camera user, the dealer and photofinisher--is carried via plural longitudinal magnetic tracks on the film, each track being dedicated to the writing and reading of a predetermined set of related parameters. The photofinisher13 dedicated track locations fill the exposed image area of each frame. The camera-dedicated tracks lie along the edges of the film between the film perforations, the perforations being widely spaced for this purpose. The order entry process of the invention responds to data on the dedicated magnetic tracks on the film to govern the process and to store data governing order entry and photofinishing.

Claims

1. An order entry method using an operator terminal interface for processing an elongate film strip having successive frames, a virtually transparent magnetic layer and tracks recorded in said magnetic layer, each track being generally associated with a corresponding one of said frames, different ones of said tracks containing data relating to different predetermined data categories, said film strip having a leader wherein lies one or more tracks, said leader tracks having first, second and third fields or sets of fields which are dedicated to the recording, respectively, of customer identification data, order instruction data and reorder instruction data, said method comprising the steps of:

reading data recorded in said first and second fields or sets of fields;

prompting said operator terminal interface to input customer identification data if said first field or set of fields is empty or lacks such data and recording such identification data in said first field or set of fields of said leader;

prompting said operator terminal interface to input order instruction data if said second field or set of fields is empty or lacks such data and recording such instruction data in said second field or set of fields of said leader; and

prompting said operator terminal interface to input reorder instruction data if said second field or set of fields contains data indicating that said film has been processed previously, recording such reorder instructions in said third field or set of fields of said leader, and sorting said film strip for printing without developing.