US5343272A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Film drive assembly
Assignee: Eastman Kodak Co
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Filing: 1993-05-20
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Granted: 1994-08-30
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Expires: 2013-05-20
Abstract
Abstract A film drive mechanism for positioning film relative to the optical stage of a commercial printer. The mechanism includes a film drive assembly and a mount base assembly. The film drive assembly includes an elongated frame member, a feed spool mounted on one end of the frame member, a takeup spool mounted on the other end of the frame member, and guide means for moving the film between the spools along a longitudinal feed path. The film drive assembly is mounted for lateral movement on the mount base assembly. The film drive assembly is adjusted on the mount base assembly for a particular width of film by a selector knob positioned on a selector shaft carried by the film drive unit and including a plurality of tabs selectively coacting with a detent in a guide shaft carried by the mount base. Fine adjustment of the film drive assembly relative to the mount base assembly to accommodate the cropping requirements of each frame of the film is accomplished by a driven pulley carried by the film drive assembly and threadably engaging the selector shaft with the selector shaft restrained against rotation so that rotation of the pulley moves the film drive assembly along the axis of the selector shaft.
Inventors
- 👤 Ray Hicks
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-10 02:12
CPC Classifications
G; G03; G03B; G03B27/00; G03B27/32; G03B27/52; G03B27/62; G03B27/6271; G03B27/6285
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 14
Claim 1
Independent Claim
252 words
A film drive mechanism for use with photographic equipment of the type including an optical stage defining an optical center line, the assembly comprising: a film drive assembly including a frame member, a feed spool mounted on the frame member, a take up spool mounted on the frame member, and guide means for moving the film between the spools along a longitudinal feed path; a mount base assembly defining a central aperture therein adapted to be positioned proximate the optical stage of the photographic equipment; mounting means including means mounting the film drive assembly on the mount base assembly with the longitudinal path of the film passing over the mount base assembly aperture and means mounting the film drive assembly for lateral movement on the mount base assembly to move the longitudinal center line of the film path relative to the optical center of the photographic equipment; a selector mechanism including coacting interengaging means on the mount base assembly and on the film drive assembly having a plurality of selectable interengaged positions providing a respective plurality of gross lateral positions of the film drive assembly relative to the mount base assembly corresponding to a respective plurality of film width sizes; and vernier means operative in any interengaged position of the coacting interengaging means to move the film drive assembly relative to the coacting interengaging means to finely adjust the lateral position of the film drive assembly relative to the optical center line of the photographic equipment for each frame of the film.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
252 words
A film drive mechanism for use with photographic equipment of the type including an optical stage defining an optical center line, the assembly comprising: a film drive assembly including a frame member, a feed spool mounted on the frame member, a take up spool mounted on the frame member, and guide means for moving the film between the spools along a longitudinal feed path; a mount base assembly defining a central aperture therein adapted to be positioned proximate the optical stage of the photographic equipment; mounting means including means mounting the film drive assembly on the mount base assembly with the longitudinal path of the film passing over the mount base assembly aperture and means mounting the film drive assembly for lateral movement on the mount base assembly to move the longitudinal center line of the film path relative to the optical center of the photographic equipment; a selector mechanism including coacting interengaging means on the mount base assembly and on the film drive assembly having a plurality of selectable interengaged positions providing a respective plurality of gross lateral positions of the film drive assembly relative to the mount base assembly corresponding to a respective plurality of film width sizes; and vernier means operative in any interengaged position of the coacting interengaging means to move the film drive assembly relative to the coacting interengaging means to finely adjust the lateral position of the film drive assembly relative to the optical center line of the photographic equipment for each frame of the film.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
38 words
A film drive assembly according to claim 1 wherein: the selector mechanism includes a shaft extending laterally of the film drive assembly and the vernier means is operative to move the film drive assembly relative to the shaft.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
18 words
A film drive assembly according to claim 2 wherein: the shaft is carried by the film drive assembly.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
58 words
A film drive assembly according to claim 3 wherein: the shaft includes a portion extending in cantilever fashion from the film drive assembly; and the selector mechanism further includes a selector member mounted on the free end of the shaft portion and rotatable about the axis of the shaft portion to selectively provide the plurality of interengaged positions.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
56 words
A film drive assembly according to claim 4 wherein: the means mounting the film drive assembly for lateral movement on the mounting base assembly includes at least one laterally extending guide rail on the mounting base assembly; and the selector mechanism further includes a keeper structure on the guide rail for coaction with the selector member.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
52 words
A film drive assembly according to claim 3 wherein: the film drive assembly includes a nut member threadably engaging the shaft; and the vernier means includes drive means operative to generate relative rotation between the shaft and the nut member so as to move the film drive assembly relative to the shaft.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
26 words
A film drive assembly according to claim 6 wherein: the shaft is held against rotation and the drive means is operative to rotate the nut member.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
43 words
A film drive assembly according to claim 7 wherein: the drive means includes an electric motor mounted on the film drive unit; and the nut means comprises a pulley driven by the motor and having an internal thread engaging threads on the shaft.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
242 words
A film drive mechanism for use with photographic equipment of the type including an optical stage defining an optical center line, the film drive mechanism including a film drive assembly including a frame, a feed spool mounted on the frame, a take up spool mounted on the frame, and guide means for moving the film between the spools along a longitudinal feed path; a mount base assembly defining a central aperture adapted to be positioned proximate the optical stage of the photographic equipment; and mounting means including means mounting the film drive assembly on the mount base assembly with the longitudinal path of the film passing over the mount base assembly aperture and means mounting the film drive assembly for lateral movement on the mount base assembly to move the longitudinal center line of the film path relative to the optical center line of the photographic equipment, characterized in that: coacting interengaging means are provided on the film drive assembly and the mount base assembly; the film drive assembly is grossly laterally adjusted relative to the mount base assembly to accommodate a particular width of film by interengaging the coacting means on the film drive assembly and mount base assembly in a selected position corresponding to the particular film width; and the film drive assembly is thereafter finely laterally adjusted for each frame of the film by adjusting the lateral position of the film drive assembly relative to the interengaged coacting means.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
242 words
A film drive mechanism for use with photographic equipment of the type including an optical stage defining an optical center line, the film drive mechanism including a film drive assembly including a frame, a feed spool mounted on the frame, a take up spool mounted on the frame, and guide means for moving the film between the spools along a longitudinal feed path; a mount base assembly defining a central aperture adapted to be positioned proximate the optical stage of the photographic equipment; and mounting means including means mounting the film drive assembly on the mount base assembly with the longitudinal path of the film passing over the mount base assembly aperture and means mounting the film drive assembly for lateral movement on the mount base assembly to move the longitudinal center line of the film path relative to the optical center line of the photographic equipment, characterized in that: coacting interengaging means are provided on the film drive assembly and the mount base assembly; the film drive assembly is grossly laterally adjusted relative to the mount base assembly to accommodate a particular width of film by interengaging the coacting means on the film drive assembly and mount base assembly in a selected position corresponding to the particular film width; and the film drive assembly is thereafter finely laterally adjusted for each frame of the film by adjusting the lateral position of the film drive assembly relative to the interengaged coacting means.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
88 words
A film drive mechanism according to claim 9 wherein: the coacting means on the film drive assembly and the mounting base assembly comprises a keeper structure on the mounting base assembly, a selector shaft on the film drive assembly, and a selector knob mounted for rotation on the selector shaft and including a plurality of circumferentially spaced tabs sized for interengaging coaction with the keeper structure and selectively adjustable along the axis of the shaft to provide a plurality of preset positions corresponding to the respective film widths.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
63 words
A film drive mechanism according to claim 10 wherein: the means mounting the film drive assembly for lateral movement on the mounting base assembly includes a guide rail carried by the mounting base assembly, slidably mounting the film drive assembly, and extending parallel to the selector shaft; and the guide rail includes a detent sized to receive the tabs of the selector knob.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
41 words
A film drive mechanism according to claim 11 wherein: the fine lateral adjustment of the film drive assembly is accomplished by an internally threaded pulley mounted on the film drive assembly and threadably engaging a threaded portion of the selector shaft.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1997-08-29 | 1998-02-28 | 1998-08-30 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2001-08-29 | 2002-02-28 | 2002-08-30 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2005-08-29 | 2006-02-28 | 2006-08-30 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |