Film end holder for photographic printer

Abstract: A film end holder (2) includes a rectangular and hollow main body (4) and a guide plate (7) projected upward from the main body. First (2) and second (30) film end holders are attached to both sides of the work table (5) of a photographic printer (12). The trailing end portion of an developed photographic film (6) is inserted in the hollow of the first film end holder while the leading end portion is inserted in the passage of the film carrier (19) of the work table. Accordingly, in the beginning, the developed photographic film is looped between the first film end holder and the film carrier. The leading end portion being advanced from the film carrier during printing is guided by a guide plate to enter the hollow of the second film end holder. Thereafter, a loop is formed between the film carrier and the second film end holder. Therefore, the photographic film will never be brought into contact with the floor to protect it from dust and scratches.

Description: The present invention relates to a film end holder for a photographic printer according to the preamble of claim 1 and to a photographic printer according to the preamble of claim 6 for preventing an developed photographic film from being in contact with the floor. Minilabs have been widely used, which includes a photographic film processor and a photographic printer. After an exposed photographic film in a photographic film cassette is pulled out and developed by the film processor, it is subjected to a printing process by the printer. The printer has a compact main body and a work table which is mounted to the front of the main body and provided thereon with a film carrier. The main body has an exposure section and a developing section. An exposure opening is formed in the film carrier. In printing, the leading end of the developed photographic film is inserted into the film carrier, which then feeds the developed photographic film to position frames thereof one by one to the exposure opening to print the images of the frames to a color paper sequentially. The entire length of the developed photographic film is longer than the height of the work table and the width of the printer. Therefore, when printing several frames located in the leading or trailing end portions of the developed photographic film, the other opposite end portion hangs down from the work table to be in contact with the floor. As a result , the opposite portion is subjected to dust and scratches. In view of the above problem, there was introduced a clamp device as disclosed in EP-A-320 454 (corresponding to US-A-4 931 831 or Japanese Laid-Open Publication No. 1-222251). In a first embodiment the clamp device consists of a roller for pressing an end portion of a developed photographic film with its own weight and a bracket for supporting the roller so as to rotate and move up and down. The bracket is attached to a work table. The roller presses the end portion of the developed photographic film to loop the photographic film to make the length of the developed photographic film less than half the entire length of the developed photographic film. However, it takes a high product cost to make the clamp device with the roller capable of rotating and shifting within the bracket. In a further embodiment, EP-A-320454 describes a photographic printer and a film end holder for use therewith, as taken into consideration in the preamble of claims 1 and 15. The film end holder is also of the clamp type, and contains an elongated tongue, which is on one end thereof rotatably mounted to the printer by means of a bracket. The free end of the tongue lies flat on the work table, and is inclined upwardly, away from the work table. A blade spring is mounted to the underside of the tongue, near the rotational axis. A film end when advanced by the printer, will move beneath the tongue, by slightly shifting it, and will thereafter be forced between the blade spring and the tongue, and will be clamped therebetween. When the film is further advanced, the tongue will be rotated by an angle of more than 90° up to 180° for allowing the film to form a loop. Further, US-A-5,138,371 (corresponding to DE-A-3 823 076) discloses a L-shaped clamp arm attached rotatably to a work table. A portion of the clamp arm presses an end portion of a developed photographic film to form a loop. The end portion of the developed photographic film is slipped off from the clamp arm when the loop is gone. This clamp device requires an exclusive work table the same as in US-A-4,931,831. Therefore, it cannot be used for the printers now in operation. In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention to provide a film end holder which has a simple structure and is made at low cost. It is another object of the present invention to provide a film end holder which can be used for photographic printers now in operation. In order to achieve the above and other objects of the present invention, a film end holder according to claim 1 and a photographic printer according to claim 6 are provided. The film end holder has a rectangular main body for receiving an end portion of an developed photographic film and a guide plate projected upward from the main body for guiding the end portion of the developed photographic film being advanced from a film carrier into the main body. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a mounting plate is formed integrally with and perpendicularly to the main body. The mounting plate is attached on the work table and its end portion is covered by a mat. In a photographic printer of the present invention, first and second film end holders are attached to both sides of the work table. Prior to printing, a trailing end portion of a developed photographic film is inserted in the first film end holder while a leading end thereof is threaded in a film carrier. The developed photographic film hangs down from the work table into a loop form and will not be brought into contact with the floor. When the leading end Is advanced through the film carrier to reach the second film end holder during the printing, it is guided by the guide plate to enter into a main body of the second film end holder. After the leading end runs against the bottom of the main body, the portion of the developed photographic film having been subjected to printing is looped. According to the present invention, it is not necessary to add any alteration to the work table since the film end holder is attached. Also, the leading end portion is guided by the guide plate into the film end holder, which saves the trouble of inserting it into the film end holder by hands, contributing to improvement of operational efficiency. Further, the main body of the film end holder is provided in its bottom with the holes to prevent dust from being gathered thereon, so there is no danger that the end portion of the developed photographic film would be scratched. Because the film end holder has a simple structure, its manufacture is easy and its product cost is low. The above and other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent to the person skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the invention when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a film end holder attached to a work table; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a photographic printer in which the film end holders are attached to both lateral sides of the work table; Fig. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an exposed photographic film in the middle of the printing process; Fig. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the exposed photographic film in the end of the printing process; and Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a film end holder of another embodiment. Referring to Fig. 1, a film end holder 2 has a thin main body 4 with a hollow 3, a guide plate 7 and a mounting plate 8 which is attached to a work table 5 with a double-sided adhesive tape 11. The guide plate 7 leads the leading end portion of an developed photographic film 6 being advanced over the work table 5 into the main body 4 through an inlet 3a of the hollow 3. When attaching the mounting plate 8 to the work table 5, the inlet 3a is positioned to be approximately in the same plane as the work table 5. Holes 9 are formed in the bottom of the main body 4 so as to prevent dust from being accumulated. The main body 4, the guide plate 7 and the mounting plate 8 are formed integrally of slippery plastic so as to protect the developed photographic film 6 from scratches. The joint of the main body 4 and the mounting plate 8, and an end of the guide plate 7 are chamfered. When the mounting plate 8 is attached to the work table 5, a stepped portion is created on the upper surface of the work table 5 to cause the leading end of the developed photographic film 6 to be caught by the stepped portion. Therefore, a mat 10 is placed on the work table 5 between the film carrier 19 and the main body 4 so as to overlap with the mounting plate 8. It is preferable to determine the length of a short side A of the hollow 3 to be in a range of 8 mm to 15 mm in order to facilitate insertion and withdrawal of the end portion of the developed photographic film 6 while preferable to determine the length of a long side B of the hollow 3 to be 80 mm or more in order to allow insertion and withdrawal of Brownie films. Also, the height C of the main body 4 should be determined to be in a range of 100 mm to 200 mm so as to prevent the end portion of the developed photographic film 6 from slipping out of the main body 4. Further, the length D of the guide plate 7 should be determined to be in a range of 20 mm to 30 mm in order to prevent the developed photographic film 6 from climbing over the guide plate 7. Fig. 2 illustrates a photographic printer 12 to be used in a minilab with a pair of film end holders 2 attached thereto. The printer processor 12 has a main body 15 and the work table 5 attached to the front of the main body 15. The main body 15 consists of a developing section 16 and an exposure section 17. Under the work table 5 is provided with a light source section 18. The developing section 16 has a developing tank, a fixing tank, a rinsing tank and a dryer unit, etc. therein. The exposure section 18 has a printing lens, a shutter and a magazine containing a roll of color paper, etc. The light source section 18 has a lamp, color correction filters and a mixing box. A pair of film end holders 2 are attached to the lateral sides of the work table 5. A film carrier 19 is disposed on the work table 5. A reference numeral 20 is a keyboard. The film carrier 19 is constructed of a base plate 22 with a passage 21 for passing the developed photographic film 6 and a pressure section 23 mounted on the base plate 22 openably. The base plate 22 contains a film feeding mechanism consisting of feed rollers 24, 25 (see Fig. 3) and a motor. The film feeding mechanism is driven by the keyboard 20 to feed the developed photographic film 6 through the passage 21 into the direction indicated by an arrow. An exposure opening 26 is formed in the pressure section 23. The operation of the above embodiment will be described now. In printing the developed photographic film 6, the trailing end portion of the developed photographic film 6 is inserted in the left film end holder 2. Then, the leading end of the developed photographic film 6 is inserted in the film carrier 19. It is to be noted that after the leading end portion of the developed photographic film 6 is inserted in the passage 21 of the film carrier 19, the trailing end portion of the developed photographic film 6 may be inserted in the left film end holder 2. In this condition, the developed photographic film 6 forms a loop between the left film end holder 2 and the film carrier 19 so that the length of the developed photographic film 6 hanging down from the work table 5 is less than a half the entire length of the developed photographic film 6. Therefore, the trailing end of the developed photographic film 6 will not be brought into contact with the floor. Upon operating the keyboard 20, the feed rollers 24, 25 are rotated by the motor to feed the developed photographic film 6 to position a first frame thereof to the exposure opening 26. Then, the keyboard 20 is again operated to print the image of the first frame on the color paper. Thereafter, the motor is driven to position a second frame to the exposure opening 26 to be ready for next printing. Repetition of the printing causes the leading end of the developed photographic film 6 to be fed out of the film carrier 19 to slide over the mat 10. When the frames of the developed photographic film 6 have been further printed, the leading end of the developed photographic film 6 is brought into contact with the guide plate 7, which changes the advancing direction of the developed photographic film 6 downward to make the leading end of the developed photographic film 6 enter the hollow 3 of the main body 4 through the inlet 3a. After the leading end of the developed photographic film 6 reaches the bottom of the main body 4, the developed photographic film 6 forms a loop on the right side of the work table 5. Then, after each frame printing, the larger the right loop becomes, the smaller the left loop becomes. If the leading end portion of the developed photographic film 6 is extremely curved to head upward, the advancement of the leading end of the developed photographic film 6 is obstructed by the guide plate 7, necessitating that the leading end of the developed photographic film 6 is put into the main body 4 with hands. When the printing operation reaches near to the end, the trailing end portion is pulled out of the left film end holder 2 and slid over the work table 5. As soon as the last frame is printed, advancement of the developed photographic film 6 is developed film 6 is nipped by the feed rollers 25 as illustrated in Fig. 4. In this condition, the developed photographic film 6 is looped between the film carrier 19 and the right film end holder 2 so that it will never touch the floor. Removal of the developed photographic film 6 from the work table 5 can be easily performed by pulling the leading end portion as well as the trailing end portion of the developed photographic film 6. Fig. 5 illustrates another embodiment according to the present invention, wherein a film end holder 30 consists of a main body 31 and a removable guide plate 34. The main body 31 has an inlet 39 and grooves 32, 33 along which the guide plate 34 is inserted. A mounting plate 35 and main body 31 have double-sided adhesive tapes 38 consisting of peelable papers 36 and adhesives 37 in order to attach the film end holder 30 to the work table 5. The film end holders are attached to the both sides of the work table of the printer but the left film end holder may be omitted. In that case, the developed photographic film is wound and disposed on the work table 5. Further, if the mounting plate 8 can be pressed against the work table 5 firmly by the mat 10, the double-sided adhesive tape is not necessary. Although the present invention has been fully described by way of the preferred embodiments thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings, various changes and modifications will be apparent to those having skill in this field. Therefore, unless otherwise these changes and modifications depart from the scope of the present invention, they should be construed as included therein.

Claims: A film end holder (2,30) for a photographic printer (12) having a work table (5) and a film carrier (19) disposed on said work table (5), so that a developed photographic film (6) can be threaded through said film carrier (19) for printing, said film end holder (2,30) comprising: a main body (4,31) having an inlet (3a,39) for removably receiving an end portion of a developed photographic film (6), said photographic film (6) being stocked in a loop form between said main body (4,31) and said film carrier (19) when the end portion of said photographic film (6) is inserted in said inlet (3a,39); mounting means (8,35) for attaching said main body (4,31) to a side of said work table (5) such that said inlet (3a,39) approximately coincides with the upper surface of said work table (5); and a guide plate (7,34) for guiding the end portion of said photographic film (6) having been advanced from said film carrier (19) over said work table (5) into said inlet (3a,39), characterised in that said inlet (3a, 39) is in the shape of a thin rectangle ; said main body (4,31) is in the shape of a box having a bottom, side walls, and including a thin hollow (3) formed in said main body (4,31) and connected to said inlet (3a,39) for receiving said photographic film (6); said mounting means include a mounting plate (8,35) to be fixed to said main body (4,31) so photographic film (6) in a loop form between said film end holder (2,30) and said film carrier (19), said film end holder (2,30) comprising: a main body (4,31) having an inlet (3a,39) for removably receiving an end portion of a developed photographic film (6); mounting means (8,35) for attaching said main body (4,31) to a side of said work table (5) such that said inlet (3a,39) approximately coincides with the upper surface of said work table (5); and a guide plate (7,34) for guiding the end portion of said photographic film (6) having been advanced from said film carrier (19) over said work table (5) into said inlet (3a,39) characterised in that said inlet (3a, 39) is in the shape of a thin rectangle ; said main body (4,31) is in the shape of a box having a bottom, side walls; said mounting means include a mounting plate (8,35) extending from one long side of said inlet (3a,39) approximately perpendicularly to said main body (4,31) in the same plane of said inlet so that the plane of said inlet extends parallel to the upper surface of the work table and is fixedly positioned approximately in the same plane of the upper surface of the work table (5), one long side of said inlet (3a,39) being arranged adjacent to the upper surface of said work table (5); said box further including a thin hollow (3) formed in said main body (4,31) and connected to said inlet (3a,39) for receiving said film (6); said guide plate (7,34) is arranged to extend from the other long side of said inlet (3a,39) so as to face the mounting plate and inclined toward said mounting plate and said work table (5) such that said guide plate (7,34) is able to change the advancing direction of said film (6) downwardly as to extend from one long side of said inlet (3a,39) approximately perpendicularly to said main body (4,31), and approximately in the same plane as the inlet (3a,39) so that when the film end holder is attached to a side of said work table the plane of said inlet is parallel to the upper surface of the work table and positioned approximately in the same plane of the upper surface of the work table; and said guide plate (7,34) is arranged to extend from the other long side of said inlet (3a,39) and inclined toward said mounting plate (8,35) for guiding said film (6) into said inlet (3a,39). A film end holder (2,30) as recited in claim 1, wherein said mounting plate (8,35) includes a double-sided adhesive tape (11,38) for attachment on the upper surface of said work table (5). A film end holder (2,30) as recited in claims 1 or 2, wherein said main body (4,31) is provided in its bottom with at least one hole (9) to prevent dust from being accumulated on the bottom. A film end holder according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the width of said inlet (3a,39) at the short side (A) of the hollow (3) is in the range of 8mm to 15mm. A film end holder according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the height (C) of said main body (4,31) perpendicular to said inlet (3a,39) is in the range of 100mm to 200mm. A photographic printer (12) for printing a developed photographic film (6), said printer (12) having a work table (5) and a film carrier (19) disposed on said work table (5), so that said photographic film (6) can be threaded through said film carrier (19), said photographic printer (12) comprising at least one film end holder (2,30) disposed on a side of said work table (5) so as to removably receive an end portion of said photographic film (6) to stock said with respect to said work table (5) for guiding said film (6) into said inlet. A photographic printer of claim 6, wherein a first film end holder (2,30) is disposed on a side of said work table (5) for removably receiving a trailing end portion of said film (6), and a second film end holder (2,30) is disposed on the other side of said work table (5) for removably receiving a leading end of said film (6). A photographic printer (12) as recited in claim 6 or 7 wherein said film carrier (19) has a pair of feed rollers (25) by which the trailing end portion of said photographic film (6) is nipped slightly and from which said trailing end portion is easily removable at the end of printing. A photographic printer (12) as recited in any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein said hollow (3) extends perpendicular to said upper surface of said work table (5). A photographic printer (12) as recited in any one of claims 6 to 9 wherein said mounting plate (8,35) is attached to the upper surface of said work table (5) via a double-sided adhesive tape (11,38). A photographic printer (12) as recited in any one of claims 6 to 10, wherein said mounting plate (8,35) is integrally formed with said main body (4,31). A photographic printer (12) as recited in any one of claims 7 to 11 further comprising a mat (10) disposed on the upper surface of said work table (5) between said film carrier (19) and said mounting plate (8,35) of said second film end holder (2,30) so as to overlap said mounting plate (8,35). A photographic printer (12) as recited in any one of claims 6 to 12, wherein said main body (4,31) is provided in its bottom with at least one hole (9) to prevent dust from being accumulated on the bottom. A photographic printer (12) as recited in any one of claims 6 to 13, wherein said guide plate (7), said main body (4) and said mounting plate (8) are integrally formed of plastic. A photographic printer (12) as recited in any one of claims 6 to 14, wherein said guide plate (34) is attached removable to said main body (31). A photographic printer (12) as recited in claim 15, wherein said guide plate (34) is inserted along a pair of grooves (32,33) formed in respective lateral inside surfaces of said main body (31). A photographic printer (12) according to any one of claims 6 to 16, wherein the width of said inlet (3a,39) at the short side (A) of the hollow (3) is in the range of 8mm to 15mm. A photographic printer (12) according to any one of claims 6 to 17, wherein the height (C) of said main body (4,31) perpendicular to said inlet (3a,39) is in the range of 100mm to 200mm.

Inventors: HORIUCHI SATORU, HORIUCHI, SATORU, Horiuchi, Satoru, c/o Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd.
Applicants: FUJI PHOTO FILM CO LTD, FUJI PHOTO FILM CO., LTD.
Application year: 1993
Main classification: G03B27
IPC codes: G03B27