Eastman-kodak Company

John Robert Siemer

J David Cocca

Marcello D Fiscella

A photographic film camera adapted to receive a film cassette having a rotatable radial bar code data disk mounted at one end thereof is provided with a variable gain opto-sensor circuit responsive to the radial bar code for generating a sensor output signal having transitions through a logic threshold normally representative of transitions between data elements on the data disk. A microcontroller adapted to read the data from the data disk compensates for a noisy, corrupted by establishing a first gain setting and selectable other gain settings at the opto-sensor circuit during generation of the sensor output signal, and by counting logic threshold transitions in the output signal such that if the transition count for the first gain setting is other than a count corresponding to a fixed number of bar code data elements on the data disk, the opto-sensor gain is adjusted to one or more of the selectable other gain settings until the transition count corresponds to the fixed number of bar code data elements.

Apparatus and method for setting radial bar code disc sensor gain in a

A camera and method of camera operation for automatically determining usage condition of film in a cartridge utilizing a cartridge radial bar coded data disc to discriminate among a plurality of possible initial angular settings of the film spool during a film loading operation. The possible initial angular settings can be representative of exposed, partially exposed, fully exposed or processed film. At the start of film loading, the spool is rotated in the reverse direction and bar code element transition counts sensed by a pair of angularly spaced opto-sensors are accumulated. A count comparison between the two sensors is initially made to determine if the film is unexposed and, if so, film loading proceeds in normal manner, otherwise an alternative action is taken. In a simple camera, the loading is terminated. In a more sophisticated MRI capable camera, when the count comparison indicates the film is not unexposed, the camera controller calculates an angular position of one of the sensors relative to a predetermined reference position on the data disc, based on sensed element transitions and known element widths, to discriminate among spool settings indicative of partially exposed film, fully exposed film and processed film with appropriate actions initiated depending on the discriminated spool position.

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Rochester, NY, United States of America

John Robert Siemer