Method and Apparatus for Roll Packing a Film Strip

This invention relates to a method and apparatus for roll packing photographic film, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for automatically roll loading a strip of 35 mm film into a cylindrical film case or "patrone."

Rolls of 35 mm camera film are typically packed by winding a strip of precut film on the spool of a patrone P, as shown in FIG. 6, and a technique for automatically winding a film on a patrone in this manner is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,940,232.

In this conventional technique the following steps are performed at a plurality of work stations arranged in the form of a turret: a spool or winding core is supplied to a spool holding means, the end portion of a precut film is adhered to the core of the spool with a tape, a patrone or cylindrical shell is supplied and the wound spool is held in such a manner that it can be readily inserted into the patrone, the spool is then inserted into the patrone, and patrone caps are supplied and fitted over the ends of the patrone.

In this machine, before the film is wound in the patrone the component parts such as the spool, the film, the patrone, and the end caps are supplied at the different stations, and these elements are then assembled one at each station to complete the patrone. Therefore, it takes a considerably long period of time to complete the necessary assembling and packing operations. Furthermore, in the conventional machine a variety of component parts are independently supplied, and therefore the overall size and space requirements of the machine are relatively large. In addition, all of the assembling and packing operations must be carried out in a darkroom to avoid exposing the photosensitive film materials, and in assembling the component parts very accurate position detection and alignment sensors must be employed which increases the cost and complexity of the machine. Further if malfunctions occur in the machine all of the steps or processes must be suspended, whereby the overall efficiency of the machine is greatly reduced.

Accordingly, an object of this invention is to provide a method and apparatus for automatic film packing in which all of the drawbacks accompanying the above-described conventional technique are eliminated, and wherein a loaded film patrone is produced in a dark room by fewer steps than before.

These objects are achieved by disassembling a pre-assembled patrone by axially separating the spool and one end cap thereof from the other end cap and outer shell, engaging the end of a precut film strip with the spool shaft, winding the film to a predetermined length, and then reassembling the component parts.

In the prior art the spool, the outer shell, and the end caps are sequentially assembled in a darkroom. In this invention, on the other hand, the patrone is assembled in an ordinary, lighted room, and is then supplied to a darkroom where the film winding operation is effected. The work performed in the darkroom is therefore considerably simplified as compared with the prior art, and the initial assembly of the patrone in a lighted room leads to more positive and efficient work results.

The preassembled patrone is partially disassembled during the film winding process in the darkroom. The spool, the outer shell, and the end caps are always held on one and the same axis, however, whereby reassembly can be smoothly and readily achieved after the film has been wound on the spool. Further, since the component parts supplied to the apparatus involve only the film strips and the assembled patrones, the space occupied by the supply system is relatively small.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram, partly in section, of a film winding apparatus according to this invention,

FIGS. 2 and 3 are sectional views taken along lines A--A and B--B in FIG. 1, respectively,

FIG. 4 shows a side view for describing a method of disassembling a patrone,

FIG. 5 shows a sectional diagram for describing the engagement of a film with a spool shaft, and

FIG. 6 shows a diagram, partly in section, of a partone loaded with a film.

In FIG. 1, reference character P designates a patrone obtained by assembling a spool 1, end caps 2 and 2a, and an outer shell 3. A film F is to be wound in the patrone, and is formed to have a predetermined length and configuration.

Reference numeral 4 designates a chuck for engaging one end of the spool 1, 5 is an air cylinder which is reciprocated in the direction of the spool shaft as shown by the arrow (a), and 6 is a chuck for engaging the other end of the spool. A reversible electric motor 7 is adapted to drive the chuck 6 through a clutch 8. A capper 9 is provided for fitting a disassembled cap 2 back onto the shell 3 again, and reference numeral 10 designates an air cylinder adapted to reciprocate the capper 9 in the direction of the spool shaft as shown by the arrow (b). Magnetic arms 12 and 12a are for loading a patrone P into the apparatus and for unloading it from the apparatus, respectively. Reference numerals 13 and 13a designate rotary solenoids for turning the arms 12 and 12a, respectively, as indicated by the arrows (c) and (d), 14 and 14a are chucks adapted to engage the sides of the shell 3, and 15 and 15a are air cylinders for radially reciprocating the chucks 14 and 14a with respect to the assembled patrone P as indicated by the arrows (e) and (f), respectively, although both air cylinders are not always required if one of the chucks 14 or 14a is fixed.

Reference numeral 16 designates a stand for the chucks 14 and 14a, 17 is an air cylinder for reciprocating the stand 16 in the direction of the arrow (g) (same as (a)), 18 is a groove in a base plate 19 for guiding the stand 16, and 20 through 25 are mounting brackets for the various elements, such as the air cylinders and motors.

Reference numerals 26 and 26a designate a pair of guide plates for introducing the film F to a port 3p of the patrone P, and 27 and 27a are a pair of drive rollers for moving the film along the guide plates 26 and 26a. The guide plates are movable in the direction of the arrow (h), or in the radial direction of the spool 1, by a shifting mechanism (not shown).

The operation of the apparatus will now be described with reference to the various processes performed thereby.

The patrones are assembled in a normally illuminated room in advance, and are individually supplied to the pivotable arm 12 through a hopper (not shown). In this operation the patrone is supplied in such a manner that the port 3p thereof is oriented in a predetermined direction in order that when the patrone is moved to the position indicated by the solid lines in FIG. 2, the port 3p is aligned with the guide plates 26 and 26a for the film F.

The arm 12 (or 12a) is provided with a magnet for attracting and holding the shell 3 of the patrone P. When the patrone has been passed to the arm 12 (as sensed by conventional detecting means), the solenoid 13 is actuated to rotate the arm in the direction of arrow (c), to thereby deliver the patrone to a winding station as indicated by the solid lines in FIG. 2.

Upon arrival of the patrone at the winding station, the air cylinder 5 is operated to move the chuck 4 to the left in the direction of arrow (a) in FIG. 1, whereby the chuck 4 pushes against one end of the spool 1 until the other end of the spool abuts against the chuck 6. Thus, the patrone P is firmly held by the chucks 4 and 6. The solenoid 13 is then released, and the arm 12 is returned to the position indicated by the two-dot chain line. Thereafter, the air cylinder 17 is operated to move the stand 16, including the chucks 14 and 14a, to the left along the groove 18 in the direction of arrow (g), stopping at the winding station. The stop position control of the stand 16 can be achieved by adjusting the stroke of the operating rod of the air cylinder 17 to a predetermined value. Upon the arrival of the stand 16 at the winding station, both of the air cylinders 15 and 15a are operated simultaneously, so that the chucks 14 and 14a move toward the center of the shell of the patrone to push the walls thereof inwardly. As a result, the end cap 2 is disengaged from the shell 3. Under this condition, the air cylinder 17 is again operated to move the stand 16 back to the right. During such movement, since the two ends of the spool 1 are held by the chucks 4 and 6, the cap 2 is removed from the shell 3 and the spool 1 and cap 2 are left at the winding station, as shown in FIG. 4.

The film F to be wound in the patrone P, which has been previously cut to a predetermined length and configuration, is inserted between the guide plates 26 and 26a until the end portion of the film is engaged and held by the rollers 27 and 27a. The predetermined length and configuration of the film are as specified by, for example, Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS) K7519-1964. Where a hole for engaging the end of the film F is provided in the spool 1 together with a projection member, a mating hole for engaging the projection member is provided in the end of the film.

After the above steps have been completed, the end portion of the film F is engaged with the spool 1 for the purpose of subsequently winding the film onto the spool. The method of engagement depends on the configuration of the spool, but will be described with reference to the spool having an engaging hole 1p and a projection 1q, as shown in FIG. 5, wherein reference character 1r designates a position detecting notch on part of the spool shaft, and 26r is a projection on the end of the guide plate 26 for engaging the notch 1r.

When the stand 16, as shown in FIG. 4, is returned to the right and the patrone P is disassembled, the guide plates 26 and 26a are fed by a driving mechanism (not shown) in the direction of arrow (h) in FIG. 2, whereby the end portions of the guide plates 26 and 26a are brought to a position adjacent the surface of the spool shaft. Thereafter, the motor 7 is operated to rotate the chuck 6 at a low speed to turn the spool 1 in the direction of the arrow (i) in FIG. 5 until the projection 26r of the guide plate 26 engages the notch 1r of the spool 1. The spool is then stopped with the engaging hole 1p in alignment with the film guiding direction of the guide plates 26 and 26a. As this spool positioning operation is carried out after the spool 1 has been withdrawn from the shell 3, a variety of methods for accurately detecting the position of the engaging hole 1p are available.

With the spool 1 stopped at the predetermined position the drive rollers 27 and 27a on the guide plates 26 and 26a are slowly driven to advance the end portion of the film F toward the spool 1, until it enters the hole 1p and engages the projection 1q.

When the end of the film F is engaged with the spool 1, the guide plates 26 and 26a are returned to their original positions and the operation of the drive rollers 27 and 27a is terminated. Thereafter, the motor 7 is operated to rotate the spool 1 at a high speed through the chuck 6, to thereby wind the film F thereon. When the film is wound to a predetermined length (the entire length minus the length of the end portion which remains exposed through the port 3p of the patrone P), the operation of the motor 7 is suspended. In this operation, the end portion of the film which has not been wound on the spool 1 is sandwiched between the drive rollers 27 and 27a.

Thus, the process of winding the film on the spool is completed, and since the film is wound on the withdrawn spool the surface of the film cannot be damaged by the inner wall of the shell 3 and the port 3p.

Upon completion of the winding operation, the stand 16 is moved to the left again in the direction of arrow (g) to return the shell 3 to the winding station. As a result, the film F wound on the spool 1 is automatically inserted into the shell 3 and the unwound end portion of the film is extented or exposed through the port 3p of the shell. The gap of the port 3p can be increased by decreasing the compression force of the chucks 14 and 14a.

Upon the insertion of the film into the shell, the compression force of the chucks 14 and 14a is increased to positively secure the shell. Thereafter, the air cylinder 10 is operated to push the capper 9 in the direction of arrow (b) via the frame 11. As a result, the cap 2 previously removed from the shell 3 is pushed back again and snapped over the end of the shell by the capper 9, which is then moved back to its original position.

After the patrone P has been thus reassembled, the cap 2 and the shell 3 may be staked together so that the cap is more positively secured to the shell. The other cap 2a which is not removed from the shell 3 may be stacked thereto before the patrone P is brought to the winding station.

Since all of the steps from the diasemmbly of the patrone P to its reassembly are carried out on the same axis of the spool 1, the positional alignment of the disassembly parts can be readily carried out in a dark room, and the movement or operation of the device can be greatly simplified. During the reassembly of the patrone all of the disassembled parts are returned to their original positions, whereby the reassembly operation can be positively and accurately carried out.

When the capper 9 is returned to its original position and the winding of the film F is completed, the chucks 14 and 14a are moved apart in opposite directions, as indicated by arrows (e) and (f), and the stand 16 is thereafter returned to its original position. The solenoid 13a is then operated to rotate the arm 12a into magnetic engagement with the patrone, whereafter the air cylinder 5 is operated to withdraw the chuck 4 and release the patrone. The solenoid 13a is then energized to rotate the arm 12a in the direction of arrow (d) to remove the patrone P from the winding station. The completed articles thus removed are then transferred to the following work station, such as a packager, by a conveyor or the like.

In the disassembly of the patrone P, the spool 1 may be removed in either direction, depending upon the space available and the relationship with adjacent work stations.

The chucks 14 and 14a may also be so designed that one of the chucks is fixed, while the other is movable. In this case, it is preferable that the end of the shell 3 closest to the cap 2 is more strongly squeezed than the end nearest the cap 2a to facilitate the removal of the cap 2 and the shell 3.

Instead of moving the shell with the spool 1 being fixed, the spool may be moved in either axial direction with the shell 3 being fixed.