Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US5903789?ie=ISO-8859-1&dq=6,034,652
Timestamp: 2015-05-03 22:32:11
Document Index: 432288990

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 14', 'art 12', 'art 12', 'art 12', 'art 12', 'art 12']

Patent US5903789 - Camera with actuator for opening closed door and retracting sprocket wheel ... - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign inAdvanced Patent SearchPatentsA camera including a normally closed door moveable to be opened, and a sprocket wheel retractable from a film engageable position, is characterized in that an actuator is moveable simultaneously to move the door open and to retract the sprocket wheel from its film engageable position....http://www.google.com/patents/US5903789?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US5903789 - Camera with actuator for opening closed door and retracting sprocket wheel from film engageable positionAdvanced Patent SearchPublication numberUS5903789 APublication typeGrantApplication numberUS 08/898,095Publication dateMay 11, 1999Filing dateJul 22, 1997Priority dateJul 22, 1997Fee statusLapsedPublication number08898095, 898095, US 5903789 A, US 5903789A, US-A-5903789, US5903789 A, US5903789AInventorsDennis R. Zander, Timothy A. Peter, Sr.Original AssigneeEastman Kodak CompanyExport CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (4), Referenced by (5), Classifications (5), Legal Events (4) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetCamera with actuator for opening closed door and retracting sprocket wheel from film engageable position
US 5903789 AAbstract
A camera including a normally closed door moveable to be opened, and a sprocket wheel retractable from a film engageable position, is characterized in that an actuator is moveable simultaneously to move the door open and to retract the sprocket wheel from its film engageable position.
1. A camera comprising a door moveable to be opened, and a sprocket wheel retractable from a film engageable position, is characterized in that:a latch for securing said door closed is supported to be manually moved to release the door to permit the door to be opened; and an actuator is supported for movement to simultaneously both move said door open and retract said sprocket wheel from its film engageable position automatically when said latch has been moved to release the door to permit the door to be opened. 2. A camera as recited in claim 1, wherein said door is supported to be pivoted to open, and said actuator is supported to be translated to simultaneously both pivot said door open and retract said sprocket wheel from its film engageable position.
3. A camera as recited in claim 2, wherein said actuator includes a cam for retracting said sprocket wheel from its film engageable position when the actuator is translated to pivot said door open.
4. A camera as recited in claim 3, wherein said cam has a rigid terminal edge that extends in the same direction as said actuator is translated for supporting said sprocket wheel in the film engageable position.
5. A camera as recited in claim 4, wherein a parallel pair of film rails define a film exposure plane, and said rigid terminal edge longitudinally extends parallel to said film rails to support said sprocket wheel relative to the film exposure plane.
6. A camera as recited in claim 5, wherein said sprocket wheel has a central hub, and said rigid terminal edge supports said central hub when said sprocket wheel is in the film engageable position.
7. A camera as recited in claim 2, wherein said sprocket wheel is supported to be pivoted from its film engageable position, and said actuator includes a cam for pivoting said sprocket wheel from its film engageable position when the actuator is translated to pivot said door open.
8. A camera comprising a door moveable to be opened, and a sprocket wheel retractable from a film engageable position, is characterized in that:an actuator is supported for movement to simultaneously both move said door open and retract said sprocket wheel from its film engageable position; and a spring is connected to said actuator and has sufficient force to move the actuator for the actuator to simultaneously both move said door open and retract said sprocket wheel from its film engageable position. Description
Reference is made to commonly assigned application Ser. No. 08/898,096 entitled CAMERA WITH ACTUATOR FOR MOVING SPROCKET WHEEL TO FILM ENGAGING POSITION WHEN DOOR CLOSED and filed Jul. 22, 1997 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,799,220 in the name of Dennis R. Zander.
The invention relates generally to the field of photography, and in particular to cameras. More specifically, the invention relates to a camera with an actuator for simultaneously opening a closed door and retracting a sprocket wheel from a film engageable position.
Commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,493,358 issued Feb. 20, 1996 discloses a camera including a normally closed door moveable to be opened, and a sprocket wheel retractable from a film engageable position. When the door is opened, a return spring is allowed to urge a pivot a link bar on which the sprocket wheel is rotatably supported to the film engageable position.
The cross-referenced application discloses a camera comprising a door moveable to be closed, a sprocket wheel having respective teeth for entering successive spaced perforations in a filmstrip to engage the filmstrip and being moveable to a film engaging position for one of the teeth to enter one of the film perforations, and an actuator moveable to move the sprocket wheel to its film engaging position when the door is moved to be closed. The actuator has a compliant member which yields elastically when the actuator is moved to move the sprocket wheel to its film engaging position, but one of the teeth comes to rest against a limited section of the filmstrip between two of the film perforations rather than the tooth entering one of the perforations. Thus, the compliant member acts to prevent the tooth from perforating the limited section of the filmstrip.
A camera comprising a normally closed door moveable to be opened, and a sprocket wheel retractable from a film engageable position, is characterized in that:
an actuator is moveable simultaneously to move the door open and to retract the sprocket wheel from its film engageable position.
FIG. 1 is a rear perspective view of a camera according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, showing a rear door for a cartridge receiving chamber closed;
FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of the camera as shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a is a rear perspective view of the camera, showing the rear door opened; and
FIG. 4 is a side elevation view of the camera as shown in FIG. 3.
Referring now to the drawings, FIGS. 1-4 partially show a camera 10 comprising a main body part or frame 12 and a front cover part 14. A combined rear and bottom cover part is not shown in order to be able to depict interior components of the camera 10.
The main body part 12 includes a cartridge receiving chamber 16 for a conventional 35 mm film cartridge 18 that has a filmstrip 20 with a protruding leader portion 22, a backframe opening 24 for exposing successive imaging areas of the filmstrip, a parallel pair of identical film rails 26 for supporting each of the imaging areas in a film exposure plane at the backframe opening, an exposed film take-up spool 28 rotatably supported in a take-up chamber 30, a manually rotatable thumbwheel 32 coaxially connected to the spool for being rotated in a film take-up direction (clockwise in FIG. 1) to similarly rotate the spool, and a sprocket wheel 34 having respective evenly spaced teeth 36 for entering successive similarly spaced perforations 38 in the filmstrip to drivingly engage the filmstrip. The thumbwheel 32 is drivingly connected to the sprocket wheel 34 via a gear and shaft train, which includes gears 40, 42 and 44, to cause rotation of the thumbwheel in the film take-up direction (clockwise in FIG. 1) to similarly rotate the sprocket wheel. The sprocket wheel 34 has a central hub 46 that protrudes through a slot 48 in the main body part 12 to be end-connected to a pivot arm 50 to rotatably support the sprocket wheel. The pivot arm 50 is pivotable about a shaft end 52 to move the sprocket wheel 34 between a film engaging position for one of the sprocket teeth 36 to enter one of the film perforations 38, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and retracted from the film engaging position to separate the sprocket tooth from the film perforation, as shown in FIG. 3 and 4.
A rear door 54 is pivotally connected to the main body part 12 at a pivot pin 56 for opening movement to uncover the cartridge receiving chamber 16 and for closing movement to light-tightly cover the cartridge receiving chamber. A manual latching slide 58 for normally securing the rear door 54 closed in a well known way is translated to the right in FIG. 1, against the reverse urging of a return spring (not shown), to release the rear door, to permit the rear door to be opened. See FIG. 3.
An actuator slide 60 is supported at several fixed supports 62, 64 and 66 of the main body part 12 for translation to the left in FIGS. 1 and 2 and to the right in FIGS. 3 and 4. A helical tension spring 68 has its opposite ends connected to the main body part 12 and to the actuator slide 60 to urge the actuator slide to the left in FIGS. 1 and 2. A finger-like rigid projection 70 of the rear door 54 abuts a resilient (compliant) inclined cantilevered extension 72 of the actuator slide 60, when the latching slide 58 secures the rear door closed. The cantilevered extension 72 is less compliant than the tensile (pulling) force the spring 68 exerts on the actuator slide in FIGS. 1 and 2, to prevent the cantilevered extension from yielding elastically to the tensile force of the spring.
The sprocket hub 46 extends through an elongate opening 74 in the actuator slide 60 that is defined by a continuous cam profile 76. The cam profile 76 has a rigid inclined positioning edge 78 that is moved against the sprocket hub 46 to pivot the sprocket wheel 34 to its film engaging position in FIGS. 1 and 2, when the actuator slide 60 is translated to the right in FIGS. 3 and 4, and a rigid inclined retracting edge 80 that is moved against the sprocket hub to retract the sprocket wheel from its film engaging position, when the actuator slide 60 is translated to the left in FIGS. 1 and 2. A rigid terminal edge 82 of the cam profile 76 that is located adjacent the inclined positioning edge 78 longitudinally extends parallel to the two film rails 26 to support the sprocket hub 46 to hold the sprocket wheel 34 in the film engaging position, and a rigid terminal edge 84 of the cam profile that is located adjacent the inclined retracting edge 80 longitudinally extends parallel to the two film rails to support the sprocket hub to hold the sprocket wheel retracted from the film engaging position.
When the latching slide 58 is manually translated to the right in FIG. 1, contrary to the reverse urging of the return spring (not shown), to release the rear door, to permit the rear door to be opened, the helical tension spring 68 is free to automatically (spontaneously) translate the actuator slide 60 to the left in FIGS. 1 and 2. When the spring 68 translates the actuator slide 60 to the left in FIGS. 1 and 2, the cantilevered extension 72 of the actuator slide is pulled against the projection 70 of the rear door 54 to pivot the rear door open. See FIGS. 3 and 4. Concurrently, the inclined retracting edge 80 of the cam profile 76 is moved against the sprocket hub 46 to retract the sprocket wheel 34 from its film engaging position. Then, the terminal edge 84 of the cam profile 76 that is located adjacent the inclined retracting edge 80 supports the sprocket hub 46 to hold the sprocket wheel 34 retracted from the film engaging position. See FIGS. 3 and 4.
When the rear door 54 is manually closed, the projection 70 of the rear door is swung against the cantilevered extension 72 of the actuating slide 60 to translate the actuating slide to the right in FIGS. 1 and 2 contrary to the reverse urging of the spring 68. Concurrently, the inclined positioning edge 78 of the cam profile 76 is moved against the sprocket hub 46 to pivot the sprocket wheel 34 to its film engaging position. Then, the terminal edge 82 of the cam profile 76 that is located adjacent the inclined positioning edge 78 supports the sprocket hub 46 to hold the sprocket wheel 34 in the film engaging position. See FIGS. 1 and 2.
If the sprocket wheel 34 is pivoted towards its film engaging position, but one of the sprocket teeth 36 comes to rest against a narrow section of the filmstrip 20 between two of the film perforations 38 rather than the tooth entering one of the perforations, the cantilevered extension 72 of the actuator slide 60 will yield elastically in deference to the projection 70 of the rear door 54. This prevents the tooth from perforating the narrow section of the filmstrip.
16. cartridge receiving chamber
20. filmstrip
22. protruding leader portion
24. backframe opening
26. pair of film rails
28. exposed film take-up spool
30. take-up chamber
32. thumbwheel
34. sprocket wheel
36. sprocket teeth
38. film perforations
42. gear
44. gear
46. sprocket hub
48. slot
50. pivot arm
52. shaft end
54. rear door
58. latching slide
60. actuator slide
62. fixed support
64. fixed support
66. fixed support
68. helical tension spring
70. projection
72. inclined cantilevered extension
74. elongate opening
76. cam profile
78. inclined positioning edge
80. inclined retracting edge
82. terminal edge
84. terminal edge
Patent CitationsCited PatentFiling datePublication dateApplicantTitleUS3319550 *Aug 21, 1964May 16, 1967Zeiss Jena Veb CarlPhotographic cameras having a device for locking its film loading aperture and a device for disengaging the filmUS3994006 *Aug 20, 1975Nov 23, 1976Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd.Film forwarding mechanismUS4239362 *May 10, 1979Dec 16, 1980Nippon Kogaku K.K.Camera film advancing apparatusUS5493358 *Feb 15, 1995Feb 20, 1996Eastman Kodak CompanyDeployable support for film threading in camera* Cited by examinerReferenced byCiting PatentFiling datePublication dateApplicantTitleUS6276846Jan 6, 2000Aug 21, 2001Eastman Kodak CompanyFilm platen retracted from over backframe opening in camera to uncover film support deployed to guide film leaderUS6369873Jun 13, 2000Apr 9, 2002Eastman Kodak CompanyThermal processing system and method including a kioskUS6386769 *Mar 15, 2000May 14, 2002Canon Kabushiki KaishaApparatus having device for opening and closing cover of film cartridge chamberUS6658206 *Feb 22, 2002Dec 2, 2003Concord Camera Corp.35 mm promotional camera and a system for promoting consumer loyaltyWO2003073163A1 *Feb 21, 2003Sep 4, 2003Concord Camera Corp35mm promotional camera and a system for promoting consumer loyalty* Cited by examinerClassifications U.S. Classification396/411, 396/536International ClassificationG03B17/00Cooperative ClassificationG03B17/00European ClassificationG03B17/00Legal EventsDateCodeEventDescriptionMay 11, 2007LAPSLapse for failure to pay maintenance feesNov 29, 2006REMIMaintenance fee reminder mailedSep 24, 2002FPAYFee paymentYear of fee payment: 4Jul 22, 1997ASAssignmentOwner name: EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY, NEW YORKFree format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:ZANDER, DENNIS R.;PETER, TIMOTHY A., SR.;REEL/FRAME:008853/0402Effective date: 19970722RotateOriginal ImageGoogle Home - Sitemap - USPTO Bulk Downloads - Privacy Policy - Terms of Service - About Google Patents - Send FeedbackData provided by IFI CLAIMS Patent Services