Film transport and registration system for motion picture camera

Claim 2

In a camera, the combination of film transport and film registration systems cooperating with each other in a timed sequence for registration of a film for exposure of one frame, and following exposure, to transport the film for registration and exposure of another frame, said film transport system comprising means for intermittent lateral motion of said film, said film registration system comprising a base member, pilot pin means extending from base member, an aperture plate positioned adjacent said base member, an arm, said aperture plate and said arm hinged on a common axis, a pressure plate mounted on said arm, said pilot pin means being arranged for positioning a film between said aperture plate and said pressure plate, said pressure plate and said aperture plate being disposed substantially parallel to each other in the seated position of said film on said pilot pin means, means for lifting said arm and said aperture plate together on said axis, to transfer said film by said aperture plate from said pilot pin means to said film transport system, and following transport of said film by said film transport system, for lowering said arm together with said pressure plate and said aperture plate, to transfer said film from said transport system to said pilot pin means by said pressure plate, for seating said film on said aperture plate, and means for tilting said pressure plate with respect to said aperture plate during said lifting of said arm, said pressure plate in said tilted position rocking down over said film in said seated position on the aperture plate.

Claim 3

In a camera as defined in claim 1, said means for lifting said arm and said aperture plate together including a catch member On said arm adapted to engage said aperture plate, and said film transport system comprising pin means.

Claim 4

In a camera, the combination of film transport and film registration systems cooperating with each other in a timed sequence for registration of a film for exposure of one frame, and following exposure, to transport the film for registration and exposure of another frame, said film transport system comprising a slideable member which is movable laterally in a reciprocable manner, pull-down pin means depending from said slideable member, said film registration system comprising a base member, fixed pilot pin means extending from said base member, a hinged aperture plate positioned adjacent said base member, a hinged arm, said aperture plate and said arm hinged on a common axis, a pressure plate, said pressure plate mounted on said arm adjacent said aperture plate, a spring biased connection between said pressure plate and said arm, said pressure plate being disposed adjacent to and spaced from said aperture plate, said pilot pin means being adapted for seating a film on said pilot pin means between said aperture plate and said pressure plate, said aperture plate and said pressure plate being substantially parallel in said seated position of said film therebetween, means on said arm arranged to contact said aperture plate during lifting of said arm from its initial position, to lift said aperture plate together with such pressure plate away from said base member, and thereby to lift said film from said pilot pin means by said aperture plate, and capture said film on said pull-down pin means of said film transport system, said slideable member carrying said pull-down pin means and said captured film being movable laterally a predetermined distance to another predetermined position of said film, said film at said last-mentioned predetermined position being stripped from said pull-down pin means by said pressure plate and then seated on said aperture plate and registered on said pilot pin means, during downward movement of said arm to its initial position, together with said aperture plate and said pressure plate, means associated with said spring biased connection so that during said lifting and downward movement of said arm, said pressure plate has a slight tilt with respect to said aperture plate, whereby upon seating of said film on said aperture plate and in registration with said pilot pin means, said pressure plate makes contact with said film on said aperture plate substantially at one point, and then rocks down on the film as the pressure plate returns to its initial position corresponding to the initial position of said arm, until a substantial area of the surface of said pressure plate is in contact with said film.

Claim 5

In a camera, the combination of film transport and film registration systems cooperating with each other in a timed sequence for registration of a film for exposure of one frame, and following exposure, to transport the film for registration and exposure of another frame, said film transport system comprising a slideable member which is movable laterally in a reciprocable manner, pull-down pin means depending from said slideable member, said film registration system comprising a base member, fixed pilot pin means extending from said base member, a hinged aperture plate positioned adjacent said base member, a hinged arm, said aperture plate and said arm hinged on a common axis, a pressure plate, said pressure plate mounted on said arm adjacent said aperture plate, a spring biased connection between said pressure plate and said arm, said pressure plate being disposed adjacent to and spaced from said aperture plate, said pilot pin means being adapted for seating a film on said pilot pin means between said aperture plate and said pressure plate, said aperture plate and said pressure plate being substantially parallel in said seated position of said film therebetween, means on said arm arranged to contact said aperture plate during lifting of said arm from its initial position, to lift said aperture plate together with such pressure plate away from said base member, and thereby to lift said film from said pilot pin means by said aperture plate, and capture said film on said pull-down pin means of said film transport system, said slideable member carrying said pull-down pin means and said captured film being movable laterally a predetermined distance to another predetermined position of said film, said film at said last-mentioned predetermined position being stripped from said pull-down pin means by said pressure plate and then seated on said aperture plate and registered on said pilot pin means, during downward movement of said arm to its initial position, together with said aperture plate and said pressure plate, means associated with said spring biased connection so that during said lifting and downward movement of said arm, said pressure plate has a slight tilt with respect to said aperture plate, whereby upon seating of said film on said aperture plate and in registration with said pilot pin means, said pressure plate makes contact with said film on said aperture plate substantially at one point, and then rocks down on the film as the pressure plate returns to its initial position corresponding to the initial position of said arm, until a substantial area of the surface of said pressure plate is in contact with said film.

Claim 6

The device as defined in claim 3, including means for moving said slideable member of said film transport system laterally in one direction and then in the opposite direction, while said film registration system remains inactive, and means for actuating said arm of said film registration system to lift said film onto said film transport system and then to strip said film from said transport system and to seat same on said pilot pin means, said actuating means for said film registration system being inactive while said moving means for said film transport system is in operation.

Claim 7

The device as defined in claim 4, said moving means for said slideable member of said film transport system comprising a first cam means and said actuating means for lifting and lowering said arm of said film registration system comprising a second cam means.

Claim 8

A device as defined in claim 5, wherein said first cam means and said second cam means are mounted on a common drive shaft for synchronized rotation of said first and second cam means.

Claim 9

A device as defined in claim 3, said pressure plate being bevelled at its opposite ends to facilitate said rocking motion of said pressure plate with respect to said aperture plate.

Claim 10

A device as defined in claim 3, said spring biased connection between said pressure plate and said hinged arm comprising a bracket member connected to said arm, stud means connected to said pressure plate and supporting said pressure plate on said bracket member, spring means associated with said stud means, said stud means arranged to permit relative movement between said bracket member and said pressure plate, said spring means normally biasing said pressure plate away from said bracket member; and said means on said hinged arm arranged to make contact with said aperture plate comprising an extending lug.

Claim 11

A device as defined in claim 3, said spring biased connection between said pressure plate and said arm comprising a bracket member, a plurality of studs passing through said bracket member and mounted for slideable movement thereon, the heads of said studs abutting said bracket member, said studs being connected to said pressure plate and supporting said pressure plate on said bracket member, a compression spring mounted around each of said studs, said compression spring abutting said pressure plate and said bracket member at opposite ends, said springs normally biasing said pressure plate away from said bracket member, with the heads of said studs in contact with said bracket member; and said means on said hinged arm arranged to contact said aperture plate being an outwardly extending lug mounted at a lower end of said hinged arm and adapted to contact an end portion of said aperture plate when said hinged arm is lifted.

Claim 12

A device as defined in claim 9, said lug in the lowermost position of said hinged arm being disposed a short distance below the aperture plate, so that when said arm is raised and first makes contact with said aperture plate, said pressure plate carried on said arm is caused by said spring biased stud connection to tilt said pressure plate with respect to said aperture plate.

Claim 13

A device as defined in claim 3, said fixed pilot pin means comprising at least two pilot pins, one of said pilot pins being a master pilot pin, said pilot pins being received in apertures in said aperture plate and permitting lifting of said hinged aperture plate and lowering thereof with respect to said pilot pins, said pull-down pin means comprising a plurality of pull-down pins, said pull-down pins being disposed in substantially the same plane as said pilot pins, at least one of said pull-down pins being disposed opposite to and in alignment with at least one of said fixed pilot pins during the lifting of said hinged arm and the capture of said film on said pull-down pins, and at least one of said pull-down pins being positioned opposite to and in alignment with at least one of said fixed pilot pins, during stripping of said film from said pull-down pins for seating on said pilot pins, during downward movement of said arm to its initial position.

Claim 14

The device as defined in claim 11, wherein said slideable member of said film transport system carrying said depending pull-down pins is disposed for movement laterally in a direction substantially parallel to the aperture plate in the raised uppermost position of said hinged arm and aperture plate, and wherein said pilot pins and said pull-down pins each has a bevelled end, the ends of oppositely disposed aligned pull-down and pilot pins having substantially parallel bevelled ends which are disposed a short distance from each other when the film is transferred from the pilot pins to the pull-down pins, and when the film is stripped from the pull-down pins for registration on the pilot pins.

Claim 15

The device as defined in claim 12, said pressure plate being bevelled at its opposite ends, the central portion of said pressure plate end disposed between the fixed pilot pins being substantially flat, whereby during the lowering of said hinged arm to transfer said film from said pull-down pins to said pilot pins, said tilted pressure plate first makes contact with said film against said aperture plate adjacent said master pilot pin and thereafter rOcks down over the film until the entire surface of said pressure plate disposed between said pilot pins is in contact with said film, thereby ironing out the film for registration and seating on said aperture plate.

Claim 16

The device as defined in claim 11, said pressure plate containing a slot for receiving and permitting longitudinal movement of the lower end portions of said pull-down pins.

Claim 17

A device as defined in claim 6, said spring biased connection between said pressure plate and said arm comprising a bracket member, a plurality of studs passing through said bracket member and mounted for slideable movement thereon, the heads of said studs abutting said bracket member, said studs being connected to said pressure plate and supporting said pressure plate on said bracket member, a compression spring mounted around each of said studs, said compression spring abutting said pressure plate and said bracket member at opposite ends, said springs normally biasing said pressure plate away from said bracket member, with the heads of said studs in contact with said bracket member; and said means on said hinged arm arranged to contact said aperture plate being an outwardly extending lug mounted at a lower end of said hinged arm and adapted to contact an end portion of said aperture plate when said hinged arm is lifted, and including a shutter disposed for rotation below said aperture plate, said shutter being mounted for rotation on said common drive shaft for said first and second cam means, and synchronized for opening said shutter for exposure of said film while said hinged arm of said film registration system is in its lowermost position and remains inactive.

Claim 18

The device as defined in claim 15, wherein said slideable member of said film transport system is reciprocated in said opposite direction while said shutter is opened for exposure of said film, and during inactivation of said film registration system.

Claim 19

The device as defined in claim 15, said pressure plate being bevelled at its opposite ends to facilitate the rocking motion of said pressure plate with respect to said aperture plate, said fixed pilot pin means comprising at least two pilot pins, including a master pilot pin, said pilot pins being received in apertures in said aperture plate and permitting lifting of said hinged aperture plate and lowering thereof with respect to said pilot pins, said pull-down means comprising a plurality of pull-down pins, said pull-down pins being disposed in substantially the same plane as said pilot pins, at least one of said pull-down pins being disposed opposite to and in alignment with at least one of said fixed pilot pins during the lifting of said hinged arm and the capture of said film on said pull-down pins, and at least one of said pull-down pins being positioned opposite to and in alignment with at least one of said fixed pilot pins, during stripping of said film from said pull-down pins for seating on said pilot pins, during downward movement of said arm to its initial position, and wherein said slideable member of said film transport system carrying said depending pull-down pins is disposed for movement laterally in a direction substantially parallel to the aperture plate in the raised uppermost position of said hinged arm and aperture plate, said pressure plate containing a slot for receiving and permitting said movement of the lower end portions of said pull-down pins, and wherein said pilot pins and said pull-down pins each has a bevelled end, the ends of oppositely disposed pull-down and pilot pins having substantially parallel bevelled ends which are disposed a short distance from each other when the film is transferred from the pilot pins to the pull-down pins, and when the film is stripped from the pull-down pins for registration on the pilot pins.

Claim 20

The device as defined in claim 3, said film transport system comprising a slideable plate, a pull-down arm pivotally mounted on said slideable plate, said pull-down pin means comprising a pair of sPaced pins depending from said pull-down arm, a first cam connected to said slideable plate for lateral movement of said slideable plate and said associated pull-down arm, a drive shaft, said first cam being mounted on said drive shaft for rotation thereon, said fixed pilot pin means comprising a pair of fixed pilot pins, one of said pilot pins being a master pilot pin, said pull-down pins being spaced farther apart than said pilot pins, for a distance of one frame of a film, said pilot pins and said pull-down pins being positioned in substantially the same plane, the ends of said pull-down pins being bevelled in opposite directions and the ends of said pilot pins being bevelled in opposite directions, one pair of opposed pull-down and pilot pins being positioned opposite to and in alignment with each other, in one lateral position of the film transport system, and the other pair of pull-down and pilot pins being disposed opposite to and in alignment with each other in another lateral position of the transport system, the bevelled ends of oppositely disposed pilot and pull-down pins being parallel and spaced from each other a distance such that said bevelled ends overlap, to permit transfer of a film from the pilot pins to the pull-down pins, and vice versa.

Claim 21

The device as defined in claim 18, said fixed pilot pins being disposed in apertures in said aperture plate and permitting tilting movement of said aperture plate with respect to said pilot pins, said spring biased connection between said pressure plate and said arm including a bracket mounted on and extending outwardly from said hinged arm, at least two studs mounted for slideable movement in apertures in said bracket, the opposite ends of said studs being connected to said pressure plate for supporting said pressure plate adjacent said aperture plate, a compression spring mounted around each of said studs and abutting said pressure plate and said bracket for normally biasing said pressure plate away from said bracket, said means on said hinged arm arranged in contact said aperture plate comprising an outwardly extending lug disposed beneath said aperture plate in the lowermost position of said arm, and after a slight upward movement of said hinged arm makes contact with the outer end portion of said aperture plate to lift same together with said pressure plate, and a second cam mounted on said drive shaft for lifting said hinged arm for transferring said film from said pilot pins to said pull-down pins, and for lowering said hinged arm to transfer said film from said pull-down pins to said pilot pins.

Claim 22

The device as defined in claim 19, said pressure plate being tilted slightly with respect to said aperture plate when said lug on said hinged arm makes contact with said aperture plate, said tilted relation being maintained during said lifting and lowering of said hinged arm, said pressure plate being bevelled at its opposite end portions extending beyond the fixed pilot pins, said pressure plate making contact with the film on said aperture plate during downward movement of said hinged arm, at substantially the center of said master pilot pin, and upon further downward movement of said hinged arm, said biased spring connection causes said pressure plate to rock down against the film on the aperture plate until the entire central portion of said pressure plate disposed between said pilot pins is entirely in contact with said film, to iron out same for registration on said fixed pilot pins.

Claim 23

The device as defined in claim 20, wherein said pull-down arm is arranged for lateral movement in a plane substantially parallel to the aperture plate when said aperture plate is in its uppermost tilted position, to permit transport of said film laterally parallel to said aperture plate, the forward pair of opposed pilot and pull-down pins being disposed opposite each other during transfer of the film from the pilot pins to the pull-down pins, and the rear pair of opposed pull-down and pilot pins being disposed oppoSite each other during transfer of the film from the pull-down pins to the fixed pilot pins.

Claim 24

The device as defined in claim 20, including a shutter mounted for rotation on said drive shaft below said aperture plate, said shutter being open to permit exposure of said film during the period of inactivation of said hinged arm by said second cam, said slideable plate of said film transport system being activated to reciprocate said pull-down plate back to its initial position while said shutter is open during film exposure.

Claim 25

In a camera, a film registration system comprising a base member, pilot pin means, an aperture plate positioned adjacent said pilot pin means, said pilot pin means extending from said base member through said aperture plate, a pressure plate disposed adjacent said aperture plate, said pilot pin means being arranged for positioning film between said aperture plate and said pressure plate, means for tilting said pressure plate with respect to said aperture plate, said last mentioned means including an arm, said aperture plate and said arm hinged on a common axis, said pressure plate mounted on said arm adjacent said aperture plate, a spring biased connection between said pressure plate and said arm, means on said arm arranged to contact said aperture plate during lifting of said arm from its initial position, to lift said aperture plate together with said pressure plate and said film therebetween away from said base member, means associated with said spring biased connection so that during lifting and downward movement of said arm, said pressure plate has a slight tilt with respect to said aperture plate, said pressure plate in said tilted position contacting said film in its seated position on said aperture plate, whereby upon seating of said film on said aperture plate and in registration with said pilot pin means, said pressure plate makes contact with said film on said aperture plate substantially at one point, and then rocks down on the film as the pressure plate returns to its initial position corresponding to the initial position of said arm, until a substantial area of the surface of said pressure plate is in contact with said film.

Claim 26

In a camera, a film registration system comprising a base member, pilot pin means, an aperture plate positioned adjacent said pilot pin means, said pilot pin means extending from said base member through said aperture plate, a pressure plate disposed adjacent said aperture plate, said pilot pin means being arranged for positioning film between said aperture plate and said pressure plate, means for tilting said pressure plate with respect to said aperture plate, said last mentioned means including an arm, said aperture plate and said arm hinged on a common axis, said pressure plate mounted on said arm adjacent said aperture plate, a spring biased connection between said pressure plate and said arm, means on said arm arranged to contact said aperture plate during lifting of said arm from its initial position, to lift said aperture plate together with said pressure plate and said film therebetween away from said base member, means associated with said spring biased connection so that during lifting and downward movement of said arm, said pressure plate has a slight tilt with respect to said aperture plate, said pressure plate in said tilted position contacting said film in its seated position on said aperture plate, whereby upon seating of said film on said aperture plate and in registration with said pilot pin means, said pressure plate makes contact with said film on said aperture plate substantially at one point, and then rocks down on the film as the pressure plate returns to its initial position corresponding to the initial position of said arm, until a substantial area of the surface of said pressure plate is in contact with said film.