Easy-to-load roll-film camera

Claim 1

In a camera for use with a perforated strip of film rolled in a magazine formed to include a mouth protruding tangentially therefrom for feeding out the film, in combination: (a) a body having a magazine chamber and a spool chamber at opposite ends thereof, the magazine chamber being for accommodating the magazine; (b) a takeup spool rotatably mounted in the spool chamber for winding up the film unrolled from the magazine in the magazine chamber; (c) at least one film catcher blade of arcuate cross section pivotally mounted on the takeup spool along one edge of said blade extending parallel to the axis of the takeup spool, the opposite edge of the film catcher blade being biased away from and normally held separated from the surface of the takeup spool; (d) at least one projection formed on the outer surface of the film catcher blade in the vicinity of said opposite edge thereof for engagement, upon rotation of the takeup spool in a predetermined direction, in one of the perforations in the film unrolled from the magazine, the film catcher blade being held against the surface of the takeup spool in spite of the biasing force when the film is wound up by the takeup spool; (e) a back cover pivotally mounted on the end of the body where the magazine chamber is disposed; (f) a magazine orienting member pivotally mounted on the inside surface of the back cover and biased to press the magazine into the magazine chamber, the magazine orienting member being effective, during the closure of the back cover, to engage the mouth of the magazine so as to correctly orient the magazine in the magazine chamber; and (g) a magazine cradle rotatably fitted in the magazine chamber so as to make frictional contact with the magazine, the magazine cradle being operatively coupled to the magazine orienting member and coacting therewith to correctly orient the magazine in the magazine chamber when the back cover is closed.