Fuji Photo Film Company, Limited

Fujifilm Corporation

Fumio Yuito

Yuji Suzuki

Ryo Mori

Masaya Morita

Syunji Kumamoto

Masaaki Sakaguchi

Shinsuke Aoshima

Used articles of different types are sorted into individual types through a sorting line, and are feed to disassembling lines that are provided for the respective article types. The sorting line is provided with a type discriminating section and a sorting section. In the sorting section, a number of sorting mechanisms are provided for the respective article types, and are arranged sequentially along a conveying direction of the articles. The individual sorting mechanism sorts out articles of a designated type on the basis of discrimination data from the type discriminating section. A controller counts the number of discriminated articles separately from type to type, and controls the sorting mechanisms depending upon the count of each type, to feed the sorted articles either to a corresponding one of the disassembling lines through a respective supply line, or to a buffer section.

Method and apparatus for sorting article

A fluid dispenser dispenses a fluid alternately from one of a pair of ports () that are provided on opposite ends of a syringe () by moving a piston () back and forth inside the syringe. A pair of stirrers () are provided in the syringe on opposite axial sides of the piston. The stirrers may each individually rotate on an axis that extends in parallel with the moving direction of the piston. A pair of stirrer driving rings () are mounted on an outer periphery of the syringe in correspondence with the stirrers. Magnets () are embedded in the stirrers and the stirrer driving rings such that the stirrer is rotated by magnetic fields that are generated from the stirrer driving ring, as the stirrer driving ring is rotated by a motor ().

Fluid dispenser and lens inspection device

A fluid dispenser dispenses a fluid alternately from one of a pair of ports ( ) that are provided on opposite ends of a syringe ( ) by moving a piston ( ) back and forth inside the syringe. A pair of stirrers ( ) are provided in the syringe on opposite axial sides of the piston. The stirrers may each individually rotate on an axis that extends in parallel with the moving direction of the piston. A pair of stirrer driving rings ( ) are mounted on an outer periphery of the syringe in correspondence with the stirrers. Magnets ( ) are embedded in the stirrers and the stirrer driving rings such that the stirrer is rotated by magnetic fields that are generated from the stirrer driving ring, as the stirrer driving ring is rotated by a motor ( ).

To manufacture a film unit, a filmstrip is advanced out of a cartridge shell by rotating a spool of the cartridge shell through a spool drive shaft. The spool drive shaft stops when the filmstrip is advanced a predetermined length out of the cartridge shell. A rotational position of the spool at the stop of the spool drive shaft is detected based on a rotational position of the spool drive shaft. The cartridge shell is disengaged from the spool drive shaft while the rotational position of the spool and the advanced length of the filmstrip are maintained unchanged. The spool of the cartridge shell is engaged with a film supply shaft, after adjusting a rotational position of the film supply shaft to the rotational position of the spool, while the leading end of the filmstrip is secured to a winding shaft. The filmstrip is wound into a roll by rotating the winding shaft.

Method for manufacturing lens-fitted photo film unit

Apparatus for manufacturing lens-fitted photo film unit

A lens-fitted photo film unit containing photo film having a pair of perforations per frame along through a limited length of frame recording portion available for photographing frames. The photo film is previously drawn from a cassette shell, its trailing end secured to a spool of the cassette shell, so as to be wound into the cassette shell one frame after each exposure. According to the invention, the photo film is drawn from the cassette shell as far as a frame of the frame recording portion that is the nearest to the trailing end, and is set in a position one frame or more farther than an exposure position of the film unit, when loading the photo film in the film unit. A slot is formed through the film unit, for permitting insertion of a tool to set a shutter device to its charged position, without the need for winding the photo film. Alternatively, the shutter device is designed to be charged by use of rotation of a film winding wheel, independently of the perforations.

Lens-fitted photo film unit with slot for checking shutter operation

A web drive control apparatus for continuously driving a web at a constant speed and stopping it at a desired position along a web drive line, comprises a web surface inspector for detecting a predetermined significant surface condition of a surface of the web. This inspector outputs an appropriate electric signal as a timing signal and a drive controller causes the web drive to start a deceleration of the web upon receiving the timing signal so as to stop part of the web where the significant surface condition is detected at a predetermined station along the web drive line. An activator, which is manually turned on and off, is provided to provide the line controller with an activation signal to enable the line controller to perform the decleration of the web.

Web drive control apparatus

Web splicing method and apparatus for use in a web supply line are disclosed in which the following ends of first and second webs respectively wound around first and second old rolls are respectively spliced to the leading ends of first and second webs wound around first and second new rolls to thereby unwind the first and second spliced webs simultaneously and successively and the first and second spliced webs are superposed on each other at a predetermined meeting point before they are supplied. In the web splicing method and apparatus, the timing of start of splicing of the second web is controlled in accordance with the time of completion of the splicing of the first web so that the relative positions of the respective spliced portions of the first and second webs can be shifted from each other by a preset distance or the relative positions thereof can be made to coincide with each other.

Method and apparatus for splicing webs

A control system for a web cutting line has a cutter for cutting a web of indeterminate length advanced along a web cutting line into sheets, and an end cutting shear for severing that part of the web that extends along the web cutting line from the major or upstream part of the web that has not yet reach the cutting line. A first defect sensor is disposed near the end cutting shear for detecting surface defects in the web, and a second defect sensor is disposed near the first-mentioned cutter for detecting a defective part of the web that includes a surface defect. The number of acceptable sheets that is expected to be obtainable from that part of the web that extends along the cutting line is estimated, based on the distribution of surface defects detected by the first defect sensor, and the number of acceptable sheets already cut off from the web is added to this estimated number. The end cutting shear is actuated to cut off that part of the web extending along the cutting line when the sum of the estimated number and the counter number of acceptable sheets reaches a predetermined total.

Growing community of inventors

Kanagawa, Japan

Fumio Yuito