System for scanning information recorded on a plurality of magazine contained filmstrips

Claim 3

An apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein said first means includes means for disposing a plurality of said filmstrip-containing magazines in side-by-side horizontal arrays and in vertical arrays, one above the other, so as to position said magazines in a plurality of rows and columns thereof and said second means includes a fixture having a carriage supporting said means for engaging and driving said filmstrip, and means for guiding said fixture in a path parallel to said rows of magazines, a vertical guideway for guiding said carriage vertically past said rows of magazines and means for guiding said vertical guideway in a direction parallel to and in the direction of said rows of magazines, means for selectively power driving said second means in a first direction parallel to said rows of magazines and means for power driving said carriage along said vertical guideway, control means for said power means for predeterminedly aligning said filmstrip engaging means of said second means with the filmstrip of a selected magazine, power means for operating said filmstrip engaging means to cause it to engage a filmstrip of a magazine with which it is aligned, means associated with said filmstrip engaging means for driving the filmstrip engaged, thereby, in a fixed path and scanning means supported by said second means and movable therewith for scanning the recordings of said filmstrip as it is driven and for generating information defined by the characteristics of the recordings scanned.

Claim 4

An apparatus in accordance with claim 2, wherein said scanning means comprises photo-optical means for scanning said filmstrip as it is driven and for generating electrical signals representative of the information scanned.

Claim 5

An apparatus in accordance with claim 3, wherein said scanning means comprises a television camera.

Claim 6

An apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said filmstrips each contain frame indicating recordings including at least one recording associated with each document recording of the filmstrip for indicating the frame location and eighth means including means for scanning said frame indicating recordings as the filmstrip is driven by said fourth means and generating signals representative of the recordings scanned, and means for receiving and applying said frame indicating signals to controlling the operation of said fourth means to preposition a selected frame recording in the scanning field of said sixth means whereby the information defined by the selected frame may be scanned by said sixth means and presented to said means for displaying said information in visually monitorable form.

Claim 7

An apparatus in accordance with claim 5 wherein said eighth means is supported adjacent said second means and is in operative alignment with said filmstrip whereby it may scan said frame indicating recordings upon operation of said third means effecting relative movement between said first and second means and the operation of said fifth means driving said second means to cause movement of said filmstrip.

Claim 8

An apparatus in accordance with claim 6 wherein said eighth means comprises a photoelectric cell operable to scan frame indicating marks along a border portion of said filmstrip.

Claim 9

An apparatus in accordance with claim 6 wherein said eighth means comprises a photoelectric cell operable to scan said frame indicating recordings of said filmstrip and to generate pulses a pulse each time a frame recording is scanned thereby and counting means for receiving said pulses and controlling operation of said third means.

Claim 10

In an electro-optical scanning system employing filmstrips containing tandem arrays of image frames supported in a plurality of magazines which magazines are fixedly arrayed with respect to each other and an electro-optical scanning means for scanning selected frames of the filmstrips of selected magazines, the improvement comprising: a conveying means, filmstrip drive means supported by said conveying means and including a drive motor, means for automatically operating said conveying means to bring said filmstrip drive means into alignment with a selected filmstrip of a selected magazine, means for operatively coupling said filmstrip drive means with the filmstrip with which it is aligned, means for controlling operation of said filmstrip drive means motor to cause the filmstrip to which said filmstrip drive means is coupled to be driven along a fixed path, first scanning means for scanning individual frames of the filmstrip driven along said fixed path and means operatively connected to said first scanning means for visually presenting monitorable images of the frames scanned by said first scanning means, second scanning means for scanning said filmstrip as it is driven and generating signals with the movement of said filmstrip which signals are indicative of the movement of said filmstrip along said fixed path and the movement of the individual frames of said filmstrip past said first scanning means, means for receiving and utilizing the signals generated by said second scanning means to control the movement of said filmstrip along said fixed path and to align a selected frame of said filmstrip with said first scanning means to permit said first scanning means to scan said selected frame.

Claim 11

In an electro-optical scanning system employing filmstrips containing tandem arrays of image frames supported in a plurality of magazines which magazines are fixedly arrayed with respect to each other and an electro-optical scanning means for scanning selected frames of the filmstrips of selected magazines, the improvement comprising: a conveying means, filmstrip drive means supported by said conveying means and including a drive motor, means for automatically operating said conveying means to bring said filmstrip drive means into alignment with a selected filmstrip of a selected magazine, means for operatively coupling said filmstrip drive means with the filmstrip with which it is aligned, means for controlling operation of said filmstrip drive means motor to cause the filmstrip to which said filmstrip drive means is coupled to be driven along a fixed path, first scanning means for scanning individual frames of the filmstrip driven along said fixed path and means operatively connected to said first scanning means for visually presenting monitorable images of the frames scanned by said first scanning means, second scanning means for scanning said filmstrip as it is driven and generating signals with the movement of said filmstrip which signals are indicative of the movement of said filmstrip along said fixed path and the movement of the individual frames of said filmstrip past said first scanning means, means for receiving and utilizing the signals generated by said second scanning means to control the movement of said filmstrip along said fixed path and to align a selected frame of said filmstrip with said first scanning means to permit said first scanning means to scan said selected frame.

Claim 12

A scanning system in accordance with claim 9 wherein each of said filmstrips contain a plurality of frame indicating recordings including at least one frame indicating recording located adjacent to each of the frames of image information recorded thereon, and wherein said second scanning means comprises photo-optical scanning means for scanning said frame indicating recordings as the filmstrip is driven by said filmstrip drive means and means for passing the output of said photo-optical scanning means to said means utilizing said signals to control the movement of said filmstrip along said fixed path.

Claim 13

A system in accordance with claim 9 wherein said filmstrip drive means and said second scanning means are supported by said conveying means adjacent each other and each is simultaneously moved by said conveying means into operative location with respect to the filmstrip which is selected for scanning by said first scanning means.