Fuji Photo Film Company, Limited

Fujifilm Corporation

Kiichiro Kitagawa

Koichi Takahashi

Hideaki Kataoka

Tomoyuki Takahashi

Seiji Tsuyuki

Kazunori Mizuno

Minoru Ono

Katsuyoshi Asakura

Kuniharu Kitagawa

Masahiro Enomoto

Akihiko Fujii

Seiji Oodate

A magnetic tape cartridge includes a reel around which a magnetic tape is wound, a cartridge case rotatably accommodating the reel, a reel lock for locking rotation of the reel relative to the cartridge case, a resilient member urging the reel lock toward the reel, a release pad for disengaging the reel lock by displacing the reel lock against an urging force of the resilient member, so as to allow rotation of the reel, and a pivot provided on the reel lock at a position facing with and slidably contacting a contact surface of the release pad in a manner allowing rotation of the release pad. The pivot and the contact surface are both made of resin, and the contact surface is made of a resin having a higher hardness than the pivot.

Magnetic tape cartridge

In a digital instant camera, a fixed exposure head emits a printing light to an instant film contained in a film pack, and a spreading roller performs a developing process. While the instant film is conveyed by the spreading roller toward the outside of the camera, the exposure head emits the printing light in synchronism with the conveyance of the instant film. A conveyance speed of the instant film is suddenly increased at the moment that a developer pod provided on the instant film is broken by the spreading roller. A brake roller, however, prevents the conveyance speed from suddenly increasing. In virtue of the brake roller, the printing light may be surely emitted to the instant film.

Optical printer for exposing an instant film

A film unit picking device including a picking claw for engaging an edge of a film unit loaded in a film unit cassette, subsequent to exposure by a exposure unit and advancing the film unit into a bite of a pair of processing liquid spread rollers, wherein the picking claw can be shifted between a first position at which the picking claw is off or slightly touched to the film unit and a second position at which the picking claw can be engaged with a trailing edge of the film unit in connection with the movement of the picking claw to advance the film unit. The picking claw is swingably mounted on a sliding plate being capable of reciprocally moving in a film unit advancing direction and being urged toward the film unit to be engaged with by a spring disposed between the sliding plate and the picking claw.

Film unit picking device

An instant camera is used with a photo film pack, which includes plural photo film units of a self-processing type. Each of the photo film units includes a processing solution pod for containing processing solution. There is an exposure surface which is exposed by photographic subject light and on which the processing solution is spread for processing. A case contains a stack of the plural photo film units. A photo film outlet causes the photo film units to exit. The instant camera has a pack chamber loaded with the photo film pack. An exposure aperture is formed to open in one face of the pack chamber, and sets the exposure surface of the photo film units inside the photo film pack. A set of first and second spreader rollers press and convey an exposed one of the photo film units advanced from the pack chamber, and squeeze the solution pod to spread the processing solution on the exposure surface. A spread control wall is disposed between the photo film outlet and the spreader roller set, pushes the photo film unit advanced from the photo film outlet, and controls distribution of the processing solution on the exposure surface.

Instant camera

An instant photo film pack contains has a light-tight bag, which contains a stack of ten photo film units of a self-processing type in a light-tight manner. The light-tight bag has a bag component constituted by one belt-shaped sheet, and a tab projecting from the bag component. The bag component is formed by attaching one portion to another in a peelable manner. When the tab is pulled in one direction, attachment of the bag component is peeled, to strip the bag from the photo film units in a form of the belt-shaped sheet.

Instant photo film pack and instant camera for use with the same

A photographic film cassette includes a spool housed within a cassette shell in which rotation of the spool causes a film leader of a photographic film to advance externally of the cassette shell. Circumferential lips are formed on flanges of the spool to project toward a film roll, and contact edges of an outermost turn of the film roll to prevent the film roll from loosening. A separating claw mechanism is formed in a film passageway defined by the cassette shell, and separates the film leader from the film roll to guide the film leader to a film passage mouth. Guide projections are formed inwardly from the separating claw in the cassette shell, and press peripheral edges of the flanges to be spaced from the film roll. The film roll is released from the circumferential lips, while avoiding loosening of the film roll.

Film cassette with film separating claw

A photographic film cassette has photographic film wound on a spool and contained in a cassette shell. Rotation of the spool in the unwinding direction causes a leader to advance through a passageway and exit from a passage mouth. The passageway is defined by a pair of opposed inside faces. The first inside face confronts the emulsion surface of the photographic film, and the second inside face confronts its back surface. A separator claw is formed adjacent to the first inside face, and separates the leader from the roll. The separator claw is formed to project only to a small degree so that the photographic film is prevented from being rubbed and scratched thereby, even when the diameter of the roll is minimized. In a preferred embodiment, a camera for use with such a leader-advancing cassette has a receiving port, which is open to the inside of a cassette receiving chamber, and receives the photographic film as exited from the cassette. A front wall of the receiving port is formed so as to prevent the photographic film from being rubbed and scratched by the first inside face of the cassette.

Photographic film cassette and camera for use therein

A photographic camera has a fork disposed in a cassette receiving chamber to be coupled to a spool core of a photographic film cassette. Photographic film from the photographic film cassette is wound on a take-up reel disposed in a photographic film take-up chamber. A magnetic head is disposed on a frame of an exposure aperture, and reads/writes data on a magnetic recording area of the photographic film. A brake pad applies load to the fork, and keeps the photographic film in such a tension as to ensure flatness during the one-frame feeding. A guide member is formed to project from an inner wall of the photographic film take-up chamber. When a photographic film leader is advanced into the photographic film take-up chamber, the photographic film leader is guided downstream from the take-up reel against a curling tendency.

Photographic camera having an improved film transport mechanism

A photographic film cassette has first and second shell halves constituting the cassette shell. At least one first engaging portion is formed on the first shell half. At least one second engaging portion is formed on the second shell half for being engaged with the first engaging portion so as to join the two shell halves integrally. The second engaging portion is disengaged from the first engaging portion to disassemble the cassette shell in order to take out the photographic film with the spool. In accordance with a another embodiment, at least one joining member is engaged with the two shell halves.

Photographic film cassette

A photographic film cassette where rotation of a spool causes a film leader to advance to an exterior of a cassette shell from a film chamber through a film passageway. A pair of flanges are provided on both ends of the spool. Round ridges formed on inside surfaces of the flanges are in contact with edges of an outermost convolution of a roll of film. The roll of film is thereby prevented from loosening. A plurality of radially extending slits formed on the flanges in a radial manner divides the flanges into sections. The resistance of the flanges is reduced when the flanges are spread for releasing the film leader by spreaders. In another preferred embodiment, a plurality of holes or openings is formed on the flanges in order to reduce the resistance of the flanges against a spreading force for releasing the film leader.

A pair of flanges are rotatably and pivotably support on a spool of a film cassette near its two ends for defining positions of both lateral edges of photographic film. Each flange consists of a disk and a circumferential lip. A pair of lips are formed on the disks in the flanges along peripheries thereof and project face to face with each other for contact with edges of an outermost turn of the film. The film is prevented from loosening by the lips. Ridges inside a cassette shell force the flanges to pivot, with respect to the axis of rotation of the spool, against the film wound in a roll. Both side faces of the film wound in a roll are partly clamped in a state with the flanges out of the vertical relative to the spool. Both lateral sides of a leading end portion of the film are cut off. An interval between the lateral edges of the film is smaller than a minimum interval between opposing circumferential edges of the lips. In a preferred embodiment, a pair of projections are formed on an inside of the cassette shell near the film passageway for projecting to be in contact with the circumferential edges of the lips, and keep the flanges out of the vertical in addition to the ridges.

A photographic film cassette has a spool lock mechanism, which is unlocked by a camera member when the film cassette is loaded in a camera. When the unlocked spool is unwound by a camera mechanism, a leader end of a film roll coiled on the spool is advanced outwardly from the interior of the cassette passing through a film passage mouth. When the spool is wound after the photographic film is exposed, the exposed photographic film is wound on the spool. During this winding operation, the film leader end is retained in the film passage mouth by an arresting hook. When the film in the film cassette is not exposed, an indicator shows an unexposed state, but shows an exposed state after the film in the film cassette has been exposed.

Growing community of inventors

Kanagawa, Japan

Kiichiro Kitagawa