Patent ID: 6135378
Filing Date: 2000-10-24
Classification: G03B

Abstract:
A portable, hand-held apparatus which is manually operable by a single operator for manually removing film from a film magazine in the dark, the film magazine being equipped with a film slot opening/closing mechanism, said apparatus comprising:a cartridge for receiving the film magazine therein;a manually operated rotatable knob mounted at one end of said cartridge and which is engageable with a spool core of the film magazine to rotate the spool core;a manually operated film slot opening/closing lever mounted on a side of said cartridge and which opens a film slot of the film magazine;a film removing mechanism mounted on said side of said cartridge and extending radially therefrom, said film removing mechanism having a film guide in an upper portion thereof and a manually operated film release lever slidably mounted on a lower surface thereof;said film guide guiding film which comes out of a film slot when the film is unwound as the rotatable knob is rotated;a film release member disposed in the film removing mechanism to be slidable along a direction substantially identical to a direction of slide movement of the film release lever and connected directly to said film release lever, said film release member being constructed of a resilient, thin plate, said film release member being inserted into the opened film slot when said film release lever is slidably moved in order to remove the film from a film engagement claw of the spool core of the film magazine so that an end of the film is no longer engaged with the spool core;said film slot opening/closing lever, said rotatable knob and said film release lever being adapted to be handled in one hand of said operator, whereinsaid film guide has a slant in the vicinity of the film slot and leads the film obliquely upward and provides a path for enabling insertion of said release member into the opened film slot.