A light-tight plastic cassette for a roll of light-sensitive photographic material, which may be readily assembled, and is constituted by an extruded tubular body portion and molded end caps. The end caps have uniformly spaced outer and interior flanges forming a channel engaging the end margins of said body portion, said interior flange having along its corner portions extensions which have an axial dimension exceeding the axial dimension of the outer flange.

The present invention relates to a light-tight cassette for holding a roll 
of light-sensitive photographic material. 
The invention relates in particular to a cassette for photographic material 
for use in phototype-setting apparatus. 
In such application of photographic material use is made of a known package 
constructed from a blank of corrugated paperboard which has been cut and 
folded to form an elongated square-shaped box with an elongate slot 
through which the photographic material may be pulled out of the box. The 
light-tightness of this package is ensured by a black plastic bag into 
which the roll of photographic material is wrapped and which extends with 
its open end through the slot of the box over a distance of about one 
centimeter. 
The mentioned package itself is cheap as a consequence of the kinds of 
materials used for its construction. However, the assembling and filling 
are time consuming and thereby the overall costprice of the product is 
unfavourably influenced. 
Furthermore, the mentioned package has a non-attractive appearance, and it 
raises quite often problems in connection with light-tightness, and for 
some types of photographic material it may be insufficiently moisture 
proof. 
The present invention aims to provide an improved package, in particular 
for the mentioned type of photographic material, which does not show the 
disadvantage of the prior art package. 
In accordance with the present invention, a light-tight cassette for 
holding a roll of light-sensitive photographic material a shell portion of 
approximately square which includes an extruded generally square tubular 
body portion of resilient material, the body being open at both of its 
ends and having adjacent one of its corners a slit extending the entire 
axial dimension thereof, the opposite edges of the slit having integral 
tongues projecting in generally parallel relation inwardly of said corner, 
to define a narrow egress opening for passage of the photographic material 
out of the cassette. A shaped end cap closes each such open end of the 
body portion, each cap having uniformly spaced outer and inner flanges 
extending around its periphery to form a channel engaging the end margins 
of the body portion periphery to compress the same to render the cassette 
light-tight at its open end when the cap is in position, the interior 
flange having extensions along at least the corner portions thereof 
projecting inwardly substantially past the interior limits of the outer 
flange, one of these corner extensions being interrupted to receive the 
end portion of the inwardly projecting tongues therebetween. The cap also 
has an inwardly projecting hub for rotatably supporting the roll of 
photographic material, the axial dimension of said hub exceeding the axial 
dimension of said channel. Strips of compressible material are fitted to 
the mutually facing surfaces of said tongues which form said egress 
opening, thereby to render the cassette light-tight over its length when 
the cap is in position. 
The following are preferred but optional features of the cassette according 
to the present invention. 
The shell portion in open at both ends, and there is provided an end cap 
for closing each such open end. This configuration is particularly 
interesting since it may permit the shell portion of the cassette to be 
made by extrusion, and the end caps to be made by injection moulding from 
a suitable plastic. 
The two lips make part of two adjacent wall sections thereby to form a 
mouth which is situated close to a corner of the shell portion. 
The end caps are of symmetric construction in case two end caps are used, 
thereby to permit one type of end cap to be used for closing both ends of 
the shell portion. 
The portions of the inner flange which are situated between the corner 
portions of an end cap have a height which is so much reduced with respect 
to the height of the corner portions, that a roll of photographic material 
positioned on the hub is capable of protruding freely between the corner 
portions of said inner flange subject only to the limit of the inner face 
of the shell portion. 
Both lips are provided with curved end portions thereby to provide a 
widened opening at the internal end of the mouth whereby a smooth guidance 
for the photographic material is obtained for new as well as for nearly 
completed rolls thereof.

Referring to FIG. 1, a cassette 10 for holding a roll 37 of light-sensitive 
photographic material comprises a tubular body portion 11 and two end caps 
12 and 13. The web 14 of photographic material is pulled off the roll 37 
through a slot-like opening 15 which extends between the two end caps. In 
the figure, the photographic material has been illustrated as being 
transparent. 
The body portion 11 is illustrated in detail in FIG. 2, and comprises four 
flat wall sections 16 to 19 joined by corner portions curved through 90 
angular degrees, and two tongues 20 and 21. The tongues are in fact 
integral extensions of the adjacent wall portions that are inwardly angled 
over 90.degree. with respect to adjacent wall section 16 and generally 
parallel to the other adjacent wall section 19 and define together a mouth 
or slotlike egress opening 15. Strips 22 and 23 of light-excluding 
compressible material such as velvet or felt ribbon line the mutually 
facing surfaces of the tongues 20 and 21, as shown on an enlarged scale in 
FIG. 3. The inner end portions 24 and 25 of the lips are curved or flared 
as shown in order to provide a widened inlet for the mouth so that a web 
emanating from a fresh roll may be as smoothly pulled through the mouth as 
a web pulled from a nearly consumed roll. In addition, the curved end 
portions 24 and 25 increase the stiffness or rigidity of the lips 20 and 
21. Considerable stiffness to these lips has already been imparted as a 
consequence of the disposition of the lips at an angle, 90.degree. in the 
present case, with respect to the wall section 16. Because of the 
combination of these measures, a overall high resistance to deformation of 
the mouth is obtained. This feature is quite very important in the case of 
cassettes of a relatively great length, bearing in mind that the only 
places where force can be applied to urge or bias the lips 20 and 21 
towards each other are the lateral ends of the lips where the end caps 12 
and 13 fit over the shell portion, so that even a slight bending of the 
lips along their length can result in insufficient pressure between the 
central portions of the linings 22 and 23. 
The simple design of body portion 11 lends itself particularly to 
manufacture from plastic by extrusion. An additional advantage of such 
manufacturing technique is that the body portion is available in unlimited 
sizes since the required lengths for the shell portion may simply be cut 
from an extruded, appropriately shaped tubular stack. The mentioned 
technique offers an almost ideal solution to the problem of providing 
cassettes for rolls of photographic material of different widths, the 
lengths of such rolls being constant for quite a number of different 
widths. Suitable plastics for the shell portion are polyvinyl chloride, 
polystyrene, ABS, polyethylene, etc. 
An end cap for the cassette is illustrated in detail in FIGS. 4 and 5. The 
cap has an end wall 26 of generally square shape, a first or outer flange 
27 of substantially constant i.e. axial dimension extending around the 
periphery of the end wall 26, and a second or inner flange 28, which lies 
internally of the flange 27 and is spaced therefrom over a distance which 
is slightly in excess of the wall thickness of the body portion 11. The 
flange 28 has an interruption or notch at 29 to allow the lips 20 and 21 
of the shell portion to extend therethrough towards the interior of the 
cassette. The flange 28 is extended inwardly, at least at the corner 
portions, a length substantially exceeding the axial dimension of the 
flange 27. The purpose of these extensions at the corners of the end cap 
is to facilitate the correct angular registration of the end cap with 
respect to the shell portion 11, before the flange 27 engages said shell 
portion whereby the fitting of the end cap to the shell portion in a 
darkroom is greatly facilitated. 
The length, i.e. axial dimension of the flange 28 need not be constant but 
may, on the contrary, vary from a maximum as indicated by a in FIG. 5 to a 
minimum as indicated by b, which may be equal to the length of the flange 
27. The reduced length of the intermdiate sections of flange 28 may have 
two favourable effects. 
First, where the reduced length is such that the full height of the hub 32 
becomes exposed, then a roll of photographic material which is positioned 
on the hub may protrude freely between the more elevated corner portions 
of the flange subject only to the limit of the inner face of the body 
portion. This is shown by the circle 38 indicated in broken lines in FIG. 
4 which illustrates the maximum diameter of a roll to be used in a 
cassette which is arranged as described hereinbefore. If the flange 28 
were not partially cut away as described, then the maximum diameter of a 
roll would be limited to the one illustrated by the circle 39. The 
difference between the two roll diameters may appear very small, but it 
should be considered that for a wall thickness for the flange of, for 
instance, 1.5 mm and a roll diameter of 90 mm, the difference in length of 
material wound onto the roll may amount to about 8%. 
Second, where the transitions from the extensions to the shorter 
intermediate section of the flange 28 does not occur abruptly but rather 
progressively or gradually as illustrated by the inclined edges 30 and 31, 
these inclined edges may be helpful in closing the cassette if for one 
reason or other the corresponding wall of the body portion were slightly 
bent or warped towards the interior rather than perfectly straight. If in 
such case the flange 28 would have a uniform height, it would require 
considerable skill from the operator to slide the bent wall of the body 
over the flange 28. However, with a flange which decreases in length 
progressively from the corners towards the centre, such occasionally 
warped central portions of the body are progressively urged outwardly as 
the end cap is being put in place, so that finally the rim of the body 
portion is smoothly engaged between the flanges 27 and 28. 
The hub 32 is arranged centrally of the end cap for rotatably supporting a 
roll 37 of photographic paper wound on a core 34, as illustrated partially 
in cross-section in FIG. 5. The length of the hub is greater than the 
maximum length of the flange 28, and offers thereby the advantage that, 
for a roll which is located within the body portion, the hub of the end 
cap may be properly brought into engagement with the core of the roll 
before the cap makes engagement the body portion itself. A collar 33 on 
the hub determines a limit for the core 34 containing the roll 37 and 
insures that the edge of the paper wound onto the roll remains apced from 
the free rim of the flange 27 by a small distance, for instance a distance 
of one millimeter. 
Finally, rib members such as 35 and 36 fitted on the inner surface of the 
end wall 26 provide sufficient stiffness for said end wall. 
An end cap as described lends itself in particular to manufacture from 
plastic by injection molding. Known plastics for said manufacture may be 
polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, etc. 
The end caps may be permanently secured to the ends of the body portion by 
adhesive bonding. In case of a cassette, however, which is intended for 
re-use by the customer, it is necessary for one end cap to be removably 
fitted to the body portion. 
In the simplest way, such removable fitting may be achieved by the natural 
resilience or elasticity of the materials used for the manufacturing of 
the body portion and the caps, so that the caps remain sufficiently firmly 
clamped on the shell portion to permit transport and manipulation of the 
cassette on the one hand, but yet may be pulled by the operator from the 
shell portion without the use of special tools as the cassette must be 
reloaded in the dark-room on the other hand. It will be understood that in 
the case of a removable end cap, additional measures may be taken for 
retaining such cap on the shell portion. Such measures may comprise the 
provision of a self-adhesive tape at the ends of the cassette, as 
illustrated by a tape 60 or a label 61, see FIG. 1. 
It will be understood that the cassette according to the present invention 
is not limited to the described embodiment. The tongues 20 and 21 may for 
instance be displaced more towards a corner of the body portion, so that a 
configuration as illustrated in FIG. 6 may be obtained. 
The hub of the end caps may also be formed as an embossed portion of the 
end wall 26. The ribs 35 and 36 may also be embossed portions of the end 
wall 26, rather than stiffening members provided on the internal surface 
of the wall 26, illustrated in FIG. 4. 
A cassette wherein the latter features are incorporated is illustrated in 
detail in FIGS. 7 to 10. 
Referring to FIG. 7, the body portion is provided with tongues 40 and 41 
which can be considered as inwardly folded extensions of the corresponding 
wall sections 42 and 45. Both tongues have a flat portion which extend 
over a distance indicated by c, so that they define a mouth which is 
inclined at an angle of about 15.degree., as indicated by the angle 
.alpha. comprised between the line of symmetry 46 of the mouth and the 
plane of the wall section 45. 
In spite of the asymmetric configuration of the mouth of the body portion, 
the latter can be closed by end caps of symmetric configuration. This has 
the great advantage that end caps of a single design may now replace both 
left and right hand end caps which are required in the embodiment of the 
cassette illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 5. 
Referring to FIGS. 8 to 10, the end cap comprises a wall 47 which has an 
uninterrupted outer flange 48 and, inwardly thereof and parallel 
therewith, a second inner flange 49 which is interrupted notched at one 
corner thereof in the present figure the left hand upper corner 50 in FIG. 
8. The extremities 51 and 52 of the interrupted flange 49 lie 
symmetrically with respect to a diagonal line 53 of the end cap. The 
symmetric construction is also apparent from FIGS. 9 and 10 wherein d 
equals f. It is clear that the described cap may be used on both ends of 
the shell portion shown in FIG. 7, the flange extremity 51 sliding between 
the wall section 42 and the innerside of the lip 40, and the flange 
extremity 52 sliding between the wall section 45 and the inner side of the 
tongue 41, at one end of the portion, whereas at the other end of the 
portion the flange extremity 51 engages the wall section 45 and the tongue 
41, and the flange extremity 52 engages the wall section 42 and the tongue 
40. 
The end cap further comprises a hub 54 and rib members 55 to 58 of embossed 
construction. The advantages of these constructions are material savings 
in general, and a greater rigidity of the end cap in particular. An 
additional advantage of the rib members 55 to 58 may be formed by their 
abutting support of the lateral ends of a roll of photographic material. 
Thus, in the modified embodiment of cassette there is no collar 33 as in 
the cassette illustrated in FIG. 4 for providing a lateral support for the 
core of the roll of material but, on the contrary, the end faces of the 
roll of material are in direct abutting contact with the raised rib 
members of the end caps. Since these rib members offer a substantial 
contact area for the roll, the pressure on the edges of the photographic 
material is sufficiently low for preventing damaging of said material, and 
for keeping wear of the rib surfaces within acceptable limits. 
If the height of the rib members 55 to 58 is such that the plane of the 
inner surfaces of said ribs is clear of the flange 48, as indicated by the 
distance e in FIG. 9, then it is ensured that the photographic material 
may be pulled out of the cassette without risk of its edges rubbing on the 
rim of the flange 48. 
Finally, it will be understood that the light-tightness of the described 
cassette will be ensured by strips of compressible light-excluding 
material similar to the strips 22 and 23 described hereinbefore, and that 
both end caps or, as the case may be only one, are arranged for removable 
fitting to the body portion. 
The cassette according to the present invention will mostly be sufficiently 
moisture-proof if manufactured in plastic with a wall thickness of 1 to 2 
mm. In the case of certain types of photographic material which are 
particularly sensitive to moisture, the cassette containing a roll of 
fresh material may be hermetically sealed in a usual wrapper laminate 
consisting of paper, aluminium and polyethylene bonded together. Such 
wrapper may then provide protection against moisture during the period the 
cassette is stored. For a cassette which is reloaded by the user, the 
fresh roll of photographic material as supplied by the photographic 
manufacturers may be wrapped in such moisture-proof wrapper.