Continuous film take-up apparatus

Abstract: A continuous film take-up apparatus (1) for taking up a plurality of films (F) comprising a guide/feeder unit (20) and a drive unit (10). The guide/feeder unit further comprises a tilt guide (22b) for guiding the film and a film take-up amount detection unit (40) for detecting the amount of film taken up by detecting the inclination of the tilt guide.

Description: The present invention relates to a continuous film take-up apparatus for taking up a plurality of films in succession into a film magazine. For efficiently printing onto a photographic film in a photographic printing apparatus, the film is fed to the printer continuously from a film magazine in which a plurality of films spliced with one another using adhesive tapes are wound on a reel. For taking up the films into the film magazine, a conventional method includes splicing the films by hand and manually winding the films into the film magazine. However, such a manual work for splicing films and taking them up in the film magazine requires considerable amounts of time and labor and the efficiency cannot be increased. We, the inventors of the present invention, have developed and proposed a continuous film take-up apparatus for feeding a plurality of films in succession to a photographic printing apparatus - see the post-published EP-A-0 654 700. The continuous film take-up apparatus allows the films to be continuously wound on a reel without splicing as with the conventional manner. In particular, the leading end of each film is placed not over but under the trailing end of a preceding film so that the films can be fed by friction out of the film magazine. The continuous film take-up apparatus does not provide for overlapping the films with the leading end of a film placed under the trailing end of the preceding film automatically. This requires manual work which is not efficient. Even if the continuous film take-up apparatus satisfying the abovesaid demands becomes attainable, it would be necessary to know in advance the maximum length of the film which can be fed into the film magazine. Suppose a mechanism is provided to measure the overall film length precisely, it will increase the cost and complicate the operation. What is needed to know is only the limit amount over which the film cannot be wound up. There is no need to know the change in the take-up amount moment by moment. An object of the present invention is to provide a continuous film take-up apparatus having a film take-up amount detection means which is economical and simple in structure. According to the present invention, this objective is solved by a continuous film take-up apparatus according to claim 1. It is an advantage of the present invention to provide a continuous film take-up apparatus which can detect the limit over which the film cannot be wound up. Preferred embodiments of the present invention are laid down in the further subclaims. According to the present invention, the film take-up amount detection means is provided. As a plurality of film webs are wound up in the continuous film take-up apparatus, the diameter of the film roll increases, and the leading end of the tilt guide together with its inclination change gradually. Preferably, the inclination of the tilt guide is optically detected by the detection means. The film take-up amount can be detected by the signal outputted by the detection means. The detection means is economical and simple in structure. Thus, the limitation of film take-up amount can be reliably detected. Hereinafter, the present invention is illustrated and explained by means of preferred embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a schematic view of one embodiment of a continuous film take-up apparatus not part of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same; Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view taken along line III-III of Fig. 2; Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are explanatory views showing how it operates; Fig. 7 is a schematic view showing the taking up of a film in a film magazine; Fig. 8 is a schematic view of the embodiment of the film take-up apparatus of the present invention in which a film take-up amount detection unit is provided; Fig. 9 is a sectional view taken along line IX-IX of Fig. 8; and Figs. 10 and 11 are explanatory views showing how it operates. Fig. 1 is a schematic view of the entire arrangement of a continuous film take-up apparatus 1. The apparatus 1 is installed in an outer casing which is not shown for simplifying the description. The continuous film take-up apparatus 1 allows a film magazine (film supplier) 2 to be detachably mounted thereon. The film magazine 2 is not limited to the shape shown. The film magazine 2 comprises a magazine casing 3, a cover 4, a magazine reel 5 on which a film F is wound, and a film hold-down 6, the latter two being contained in the magazine casing 3. The film magazine 2 is loaded from the left side to the C-shaped space of an inner casing 1a of the continuous film take-up apparatus 1 as shown in Fig. 1. In order to detachably mount the film magazine 2, a pin 3a mounted to the front end of the magazine casing 3 is coupled to a receptacle 1b provided on the innermost side wall of the C-shaped space of the inner casing 1a. There are also shown a film hold-down plate 7, a gear 8 mounted on one side of the magazine casing 3, a reel detector 9 and a magazine sensor switch 3X. The film take-up apparatus 1 comprises a drive unit 10 for rotating the magazine reel 5 in the film magazine 2 and a guide/feeder unit 20 for guiding and feeding the film into the film magazine 2. The drive unit 10 transmits the power from a take-up drive motor 11 via a belt 12 to a drive gear 13. As the drive gear 13 rotates the gear 8, the magazine reel 5 takes up the film F. The guide/feeder unit 20 comprises a pair of feed rollers 21 for feeding the film F and a guide 22 for guiding the film F. The feed rollers 21 are driven through a roller shaft 24 by a motor 23. The lower one of the feed rollers 21 is connected through a one-way clutch 24a to the roller shaft 24 for rotation only in the direction of arrow shown in Fig. 1. The guide 22 comprises an infeed guide 22a and a tilt guide 22b. The latter is driven by a part of power of the motor 23. The infeed guide 22a is fixedly mounted to the side plate of the inner casing 1a. A substantially C-shaped guide bracket 25 is pivotably mounted at both sides on the roller shaft 24 which extends crosswise through the two side plates of the inner casing 1a (as shown in Fig. 2). The sides of the guide bracket 25 are formed in a rectangular shape. The upper feed roller 21 and the tilt guide 22b are mounted on the guide bracket 25. The tilt guide 22b is pivoted around a support pin 26. When the guide bracket 25 is in horizontal position (Fig. 1), the tilt guide 22b is supported horizontal at the point P of the guide bracket 25. It tilts down when the guide bracket_ 25 turns. The tilt guide 22b comprises a guide frame 22b 1 for guiding the film F and a guide box 22b 2 placed over the guide frame 22b 1 , as shown in Fig. 3. A film hold-down 27 is provided in the guide frame 22b 1 so as to project and retract from the front end of the box while being slightly movable up and down. The film hold-down 27 is pivotably pinned to a guide block 27b which is slidably mounted on a guide rod 27a extending through the guide box 22b 2 . The guide block 27b is tensioned by ropes 27d so that it can resist against the yielding force of springs 27c, as shown in Fig. 3. Also, a guide roller 28 is mounted to the front end of the guide frame 22b 1 . When the tilt guide 22b is tilted with its front end (or left end in Figs. 1 and 3) moving downward, the ropes 27d will slacken and allow the springs 27c to expand. As the result, the film hold-down 27 will project from the guide box 22b 2 . The infeed guide 22a has a film inlet 29 provided in the upstream end thereof and a photoelectric sensor PH1 to detect the leading and trailing ends of the film F transferred through the film inlet 29. As shown in Fig. 2, a detect disk 30 is disposed beside the lower feed roller 21 to detect the rotation of the roller and has a roll 31 mounted to the side thereof. An arm 32 is mounted so as to be pivotable around a pin secured to the inner casing 1a. As the detect disk 30 rotates with the feed roller 21, the roll 31 is turned counter-clockwise to come into contact with the arcuate end of the arm 32 and lift up the arm 32. A toothed plate 33 with a gear formed on part equivalent to 1/8 of a circle is fixedly mounted to the side of the arm 32. Also, a gear 34 arranged in mesh with the toothed plate 33 is fixedly mounted to the guide bracket 25 so as to be rotatable relative to the roller shaft 24. In operation, when the arm 32 is turned by the movement of the roll 31, the gear 34 rotates to tilt the guide bracket 25. On the guide bracket 25, a return spring 35 is disposed vertically to hold back the rotation. In addition, a stopper 36 is mounted to the inner casing 1a for the state where the rotation of the guide bracket 25 has been returned back to its original state. The detect disk 30 has an aperture provided in the flange portion thereof and a photoelectric sensor PH2 is provided at a corresponding position. The operation of the continuous film take-up apparatus will now be explained. First, the film F is fed through the film inlet 29 into the apparatus (until it reaches between the two feed rollers 21). Upon detection of the leading end of the film F by the photoelectric sensor PH1, the motor 23 will start rotating. The rotation of the motor 23 is transmitted via the belt 23a to the roller shaft 24 which in turn rotates the detect disk 30 and the feed rollers 21. The roll 31 on the detect disk 30 will be moved from its original position shown in Fig. 1 in the counter-clockwise direction until it hits the arm 32. As the roll 31 runs further, the arm 32 will start tilting about its pivot pin. Then, the toothed plate 33 coupled to the arm 32 turns about the pin and rotates the gear 34. The guide bracket 25 linked to the gear 34 is thus turned (or tilted) about the roller shaft 24 until it comes to the position shown in Fig. 4 (the stop position can be preset by determining the number of pulses for the motor 23). Before the tilt guide 22b tilts, the film F is fed to about 15 mm from the front end of the tilt guide 22b. When the guide roller 28 reaches the bottom of the magazine reel 5, the film F comes to the front end of the tilt guide 22b. (This feeding amount can be determined by the diameter of the feed roller 21 and its rotating angle). As the feed rollers 21 further rotate, the film F passes under the film hold-down plate 7 and loosens as shown in Fig. 4. When the tilt guide 22b tilts, the film hold-down 27 will slide and protrude from the guide box 22b 2 of the tilt guide 22b to hold the leading end of the film F to avoid curling. The film hold-down 27 is mounted to the guide block 27b so as to be slightly turnable about the pin. When the tilt guide 22b tilts, the guide block 27b tensioned with the ropes 27d are pressed forward by the springs 27c to move out from the guide box 22b 2 . When the tilt guide 22b stops tilting, the take-up drive motor 11 will start rotating to transmit the rotation through the belt 12 to the drive gear 13. The drive gear 13 will mesh with the gear in the film magazine to rotate the magazine reel 5. When the trailing end of the film F is detected by the photoelectric sensor PH1, the take-up motor 11 will stop after feeding a predetermined amount and cease the winding. The motor 23 starts and drives the roll 31 to its original angular position (Fig. 1) and simultaneously, the tilt guide 22b and the guide bracket 25 are returned back by the operation of the return spring 35 (until the guide bracket 25 hits the stopper 36 and the tilt guide 22b gets in horizontal). By then, the trailing end of the film F has passed the tilt guide 22b but stays at the guide roller 28 as shown in Fig. 5. Accordingly, when the succeeding film is fed as described, it will come under the preceding film F as shown in Fig. 6 due to the initial operation of the apparatus. The take-up operation can then be commenced by starting the take-up drive motor 11. As a plurality of the films are wound on the magazine reel 5 in the same manner, the guide roller 28 at the front end of the tilt guide 22b touches the film roll at a higher location thus allowing the tilt guide 22b to move a less distance about the support pin 26. For resetting the magazine reel 5 and the tilt guide 22b, the take-up drive motor 11 and the film feed motor 23 are started by pressing a standby switch mounted on the outer casing (not shown). Then, through detecting the aperture in the gear 8 with the reel detector 9, the film hold-down plate 7 is placed at its initial position as shown in Fig. 2. Similarly, upon the photoelectric sensor PH2 detecting the aperture in the detect disk 30, the roll 31 is halted at its original position. When the film magazine 2 (film supplier) is fully loaded with the films, it is unloaded from the continuous film take-up apparatus and may be set to the film feeder inlet of a photographic printing apparatus for feeding of the films without loss of time. A plurality of films are stored in the film magazine 2, as shown in Fig. 7, with the leading end of each film being overlapped with and more particularly, placed under the trailing end of a preceding film. As the result, the leading end of every film can be released out from the film magazine 2 as is driven by the friction with the trailing end of the preceding film. Hence, such a troublesome film splicing operation in the prior art will be eliminated. It is understood that the present invention is not limited to the guide/feeder unit of the embodiment where the leading end of the film is placed under the trailing end of the preceding film with the tilt guide 22b being tilted down about the pivot pin towards the film magazine 2 but any other appropriate method may be utilized in the guide/feeder unit. For example, a linear guide in the guide/feeder unit is provided in a tilted form for moving to and from the film inlet of the film magazine 2 so that its front end when moving away from the film magazine 2 can draw back in the upper rear direction to lift up the trailing end of a taken-up film. Fig. 8 shows the embodiment of the present invention in which a film take-up amount detection unit 40 is provided. Fig. 9 is a sectional view taken along line IX-IX of Fig. 8. The film take-up amount detection unit 40 is provided with a photoelectric sensor 41 and a detect disk 42. The detect disk 42 is fixed to the tilt guide 22b. The photoelectric sensor 41 is attached to one side of the guide bracket 25 through a support piece 43 and a sensor bracket 44. The photoelectric sensor 41 comprise light emitting and receiving elements. The light is blocked when the detect disk 42 is inserted therebetween. When it is removed, a light receiving signal is generated and converted into an electric signal. By combining the photoelectric sensor 41 attached to the guide bracket 25 and the detect disk 42 fixed to the tilt guide 22b, the film take-up amount can be detected. Now the operation of the film take-up amount detection unit is explained with reference to Figs. 10 and 11. As shown in Fig. 10, when the first web of film F is wound in the continuous film take-up apparatus, the front end of the tilt guide 22b is pivoted down. The film F is fed forward with the guide roller 28 on the bottom of magazine reel 5. In this state, the photoelectric sensor 41 pivots downward with the guide bracket 25, whereas the detect disk 42 does with the tilt guide 22b. Fig. 10 shows the state in which the leading end of the web of film is about to be wound onto the reel 5. In this state, the photoelectric sensor 41 is blocked by the detect disk 42 although the tilt guide 22b and the guide bracket 25 are slightly inclined with each other compared to the state when they are horizontal. Thereafter, as the film F is fed to the film magazine 2 by the continuous film take-up apparatus and is wound on the magazine reel 5, the diameter of the film roll will increase gradually. The guide roller 28 provided at the front end of the tilt guide 22b is thus lifted. In this state, the roll 31 mounted to the detect disk 30 stops the motor 23a while lifting the arm 32, and the toothed plate 33 on the arm is kept in engagement with the gear formed on the guide bracket 25. Thus, the guide bracket does not pivot even if the diameter of the film roll increases. When the diameter of the film roll reaches a predetermined amount and thus the guide roller 28 is lifted, the detect disk 42 which has blocked the light no longer intervenes in the light path of the photoelectric sensor 41. The photoelectric sensor 41 detects that the diameter of the film roll has reached the predetermined amount and outputs a signal. Now the apparatus is reset to the original state shown in Fig. 8. If a film is still being wound up when the photoelectric sensor detects that the diameter of the film roll has reached the predetermined amount, the apparatus will reset to the original state after the taking-up operation has finished. The film is ordinarily about 1/10 mm thick. Thus, the maximum length of the film taken up to the magazine reel 5 can be estimated beforehand based on the relation between the film length and the diameter of the roll. Therefore, by presetting the position where the light blocking is released, the take-up amount of film can be detected by use of the movement of the tilt guide 22b. As described above, by using the film guide (or tilt guide) in this invention also as a detecting arm, the take-up amount can be detected in a simple manner with low cost.

Claims: A continuous film take-up apparatus (1) for feeding a plurality of films in succession into a film magazine (3) having a film take-up reel (5) comprising: a guide/feeder means (20) for guiding and feeding a plurality of films (F) into said film magazine (2); and a drive means (10) for driving said film take-up reel (5) in said film magazine (2), said guide/feeder means (20) is movable towards said film magazine (2) to place the leading end of a film under a film hold-down plate (7) of the reel (5) or under the trailing end of a preceding film wound on the reel (5) and away from said film magazine (2) while lifting up the trailing end of the film from the reel (5), so as to form a roll of films on said take-up reel; characterised in that : said guide/feeder means (20) comprises a tilt guide (22b) for guiding the films, said tilt guide (22b) can be inclined for moving towards said film magazine (2) and comprises means (28) for contacting the reel (5) or the films taken up by said reel (5), wherein a film take-up amount detection means (40) is provided for detecting the amount of film taken up by detecting the inclination of said tilt guide (22b) when contacting said reel or the films taken up by said reel which inclination changes as the diameter of the roll of films taken up on said reel gradually increases. A continuous film take-up apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a guide roller (28) is provided at the leading end of the tilt guide (22b) as the means for contacting the reel (5) or the film taken up by said reel (5). A continuous film take-up apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the tilt guide (22b) is pivotably supported by a support pin (26). A continuous film take-up apparatus according to one of the claims 1 to 3, wherein the tilt guide (22b) comprises a guide frame (22b 1 ) for guiding a film, wherein a film hold-down (27) is provided in said guide frame (22b 1 ). A continuous film take-up apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said film hold-down (27) is pivotably pinned to a guide block (27b) which is slidably mounted on a guide rod (27a) extending along the guide frame (22b 1 ). A continuous film take-up apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said film hold-down (27) is mounted on the guide block (27b) so as to be slightly turnable about a pin. A continuous film take-up apparatus according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the guide block (27b) is slidable on a guide rod (27a) in accordance with the motion of the tilt guide (22b). A continuous film take-up apparatus according to any one of the claims 1 to 7, wherein said film take-up amount detection means comprises an optical detection means (41) for detecting the the inclination of said tilt guide (22b).

Inventors: MURAKAMI MOTOAKI, MURAKAMI, MOTOAKI
Applicants: NORITSU KOKI CO LTD, NORITSU KOKI CO., LTD.
Application year: 1995
Main classification: G03B27
IPC codes: G03B27, G03D15