Magnasonics, Inc.

Rod A Wayne

Ronald E Stein

A film cleaning apparatus and method is disclosed where apparatus includes a feed reel and a take-up reel, and a film path created by a number of particle transfer rollers. Also in the film path is a region of high humidity followed by two buffing rollers for polishing the film to be cleaned. Two of the rollers are connected to a vibration generator mechanism. Vibration of the rollers is caused by a rotating disk having two embedded magnetic elements which pass closely adjacent to magnetic elements at the end of rollers' shafts. As the rotating magnets pass by the two shafts, a repulsion force causes the shafts to move away. Connected to each of the shafts is an O-ring which acts as a compression spring that biases its respective shaft back to its starting position after the magnetic elements have moved away from each other. By rotating the disk with the magnetic elements at 3600 rpm a vibration is set up in the shafts at a rate of 7200 times per minute. The region of high humidity is created by a vapor generating apparatus which includes a water container, a float meter, a reservoir, electronics to sense the position of the float so that a valve may be opened or closed, a transducer to excite the water and increase the amount of water vapor and a pump to move the water vapor from the reservoir to a cylindrical tube through which the film to be cleaned is passed. The particle transfer rollers have an outer layer of polyurethene for picking up dust, dirt and other debris from the film. The rollers have a quick release mechanism to allow the polyurethene layer to be removed and cleaned or replaced with a fresh polyurethene layer.

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Pickering, Canada

Rod A Wayne