Photographic camera

Claim 1

A photographic camera adapted to be loaded with a film cassette having a cylindrical body portion and a tongue portion extending from the peripheral surface thereof in a generally tangential direction, the leader of the film contained in the cassette body projecting through an exit slit formed in the tongue portion, which camera comprises a camera body having a film aperture, an openable backlid member extending over the film aperture, a film chamber for receiving the film cassette and a film take-up mechanism for winding up the film from the cassette body, the film chamber and the film take-up mechanism being disposed on opposite sides of the film aperture, wherein the improvement comprises a film chamber member defining a film chamber having an opening the shape and the dimensions of which are selected so that the cassette can only be inserted thereinto in a predetermined orientation by movement in its axial direction, thereby holding the inserted cassette in place; a guide member for guiding the leader into the camera body when the cassette is inserted into the film chamber; said guiding member having a film guide slit extending over the film aperture and a film cutter means positioned outside said take-up chamber between the film aperture and the film take-up chamber to cut film which overlies completely the film aperture and resides in said slit, said film chamber member being mounted so that said opening thereof is exposed to permit insertion of the cassette when the backlid member is opened, said film cutter means comprising a first shearing blade mounted on said camera body parallel to the plane of the film in said slit and having a cutting edge extending transversely of the path of travel of the film, and a second, movable shearing blade mounted on said cover with a cutting edge located to be closely adjacent and parallel to the cutting edge of the first shearing blade when the cover is closed, whereby the leading end portion of a film leader extending beyond the film aperture and over said first shearing blade is automatically cut in response to closure of the backlid member, said backlid member is pivotally mounted on said camera body for pivotal movement between open and closed positions on an axis extending in the direction of film feed whereby the pivotal movement of said back lid member moves said second shearing blade relative to said first shearing blade to produce a shearing action between the cutting edges thereof and thereby cut the film when the back lid is closed at a position downstream of the film aperture.