Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
  • G03D—APPARATUS FOR PROCESSING EXPOSED PHOTOGRAPHIC MATERIALS; ACCESSORIES THEREFOR
  • G03D15/00—Apparatus for treating processed material
  • G03D15/001—Counting; Classifying; Marking
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
  • G03D—APPARATUS FOR PROCESSING EXPOSED PHOTOGRAPHIC MATERIALS; ACCESSORIES THEREFOR
  • G03D15/00—Apparatus for treating processed material
  • G03D15/10—Mounting, e.g. of processed material in a frame

Definitions

• This invention relates to a method for automatically packaging photographic prints and an apparatus for implementing the method.
• Photographic prints are currently transferred from the photographic laboratory to the retailer in suitable paper envelopes, in which the prints are simply grouped together to form a pack.
• An object of the invention is to provide an apparatus able to automatically insert photographic prints into the transparent pockets of a holder, by which the prints can be preserved without any time limit.
• a further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus which is able to effect this insertion in different ways, ie which enables the prints to be inserted in an ordered manner into the holder pockets independently of whether the holder is of concertina type, book type or in the form of multiple sheets for an album.
• a further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus which combines considerable reliability with a high speed of operation, able to withstand the intense operating rate of a photographic laboratory.
• the invention foresees the use of an apparatus in characterised by comprising:
• - a continuous reel of a web formed from two two superimposed sheets joined together along a longitudinal edge and comprising equidistant transverse joining lines defining pockets open at the other longitudinal edge of said web, and a plurality of reading marks spaced apart by a distance equal to the distance between the axes of said pockets, - a reader for said marks,
• a rotary magazine of horizontal axis comprising a plurality of radial boxes and rotated in angular steps corresponding to the width of each box, - means for dividing the pack of prints of each order into sub-packs and for positioning these in front of those two boxes of the magazine lying diametrically in the same horizontal plane,
• Figure 1 is a schematic plan view of the apparatus according to the invention
• Figure 2 is an enlarged perspective view of an inserted for inserting the prints into the boxes of the rotary magazine
• Figure 3 is a schematic partial cross-section through the apparatus on the line III-III of figure 2;
• Figure 4 shows a further embodiment in the same view as figure 1.
• the apparatus according to the invention comprises a structure 2, which can be ideally divided into two parts, one relative to the feed of a packaging web 4 and the other relative to the feed of the prints 6 and their insertion into the pockets 8 of said web.
• the web 4 is formed from a sheet of transparent plastics material folded along its longitudinal central line and comprising a plurality of pairs of transverse joining lines 10 which define pockets.
• the transverse joining lines 10 can consist for example of welding and gluing lines along the two folded halves of the plastics sheet, the pockets hence being closed on three sides and open on the fourth side, this coinciding with that edge of the web opposite the folded edge.
• the transverse joining lines 10 do not extend throughout the entire width of the web but terminate at certain distance from that longitudinal edge opposite the folded edge, to hence define two free flaps which can be opened out to facilitate the opening of the pocket for inserting the prints, as will be apparent hereinafter.
• a reading mark 12 is provided between the two joining lines of each pair.
• the web 4 is wound to form a reel supported on the structure 2 by two shoulders 14, which also delimit a table 16 for the advancement of the web, which unwinds from said reel.
• a table 16 for the advancement of the web, which unwinds from said reel.
• idle rollers 18 the purpose of which is to maintain the web adhering to the table
• rubber-coated rollers 20 driven by a suitable motor (not visible on the drawings) for driving the web 4 towards the end of the table 16, at which a transverse cutter 22 is provided.
• a transverse cutter 22 is provided along the advancement table 16 there is also provided a reader 21 for the marks 12, a pair of wideners 23 being provided in proximity to the edge corresponding to the two widenable flaps of the web 4 in order to space said flaps apart during the insertion stage.
• This zone comprises an endless conveyor 24 for the packs of prints 6, consisting of a succession of compartments 26, each essentiially in the form of a tray with raised edges which is hinged to the adjacent trays and secured to a pair of chains 28, for its movement parallel to the advancement table 16 of the packaging web 4.
• the two chains 28 extend between deviation sprockets 30, one of which is motorized.
• a rotary magazine indicated overall by 32.
• This comprises a cylindrical body 34 of diameter approximately equal to the length of each comparte ent 26, measured along the longitudinal axis of the conveyor 24, and a plurality of fins 36 extending radially from said cylindrical body 34 to define a plurality of radial boxes 38.
• a magazine having its radial fins supported not by a cylindrical body but by an endless belt or chain extending between deviation rollers could be provided. In all cases, taking account of the maximum number of prints constituting each order, the preferred number of radial boxes is forty.
• each fin 36 is slightly greater than the length of the prints 6, whereas the width of each fin 36 is just greater than one half the width of the prints 6, so that when a print is housed in a corresponding box 38, just less than one half of it projects radially outwards.
• each roller inserter comprises a pair of coaxial rubber-coated rollers 42', 42" close to the rotary magazine 32 and constantly coupled to an electric motor, not visible on the drawings, for their rotation.
• the rollers 42', 42" are mounted on the same shaft 44, on which the rollers of the other inserter are mounted so that all the rubber-coated rollers can be driven by the same motor.
• the arm 52',52" is connected by a rod 54',54" to an overlying electromagnet 56',56" which depending on whether it is energized or not energized maintains the rubber-coated roller 50',50” either raised or resting on the pack of prints 6 positioned in the underlying compartment 26',26".
• a pusher for pushing the prints 6 from the box 38 of the rotary magazine 32 into the pockets 8 of the packaging web 4.
• This pusher comprises a vertical pin 68 mounted on a bracket 70 to which a cable 72 is fixed and lies parallel to the axis of the magazine 32 between two pulleys 74,74', one of which is motorized.
• the vertical pin 68 is secured to the bracket 70 via two inclined slots 82, which result in the pin undergoing slight vertical movement before being dragged in a horizontal direction by the cable 72.
• the inclination of these slots is chosen so that the movement of the pin towards the packaging web takes place with the pin raised, whereas the opposite movement towards the compartmentalized conveyor takes place with the pin lowered.
• the apparatus according to the invention also comprises a sorting accessory 58 for the prints 6, for particular packaging requirements which will be described hereinafter.
• the accessory 58 which is applied to the structure 2 in a position overlying the endless conveyor 24, consists substantially of a tray 60 for containing a pack of prints 6, and a pair of rubber-coated rollers 62 rotating constantly in opposite direction and mounted on arms 64 which enable them to be brought into contact with or spaced from the top print of the pack of prints contained in the tray 60.
• Guides 66 are provided on both sides of the tray 60 to accompany the prints 6 into the underlying compartments of the endless conveyor in the manner described hereinafter, after they have been extracted one by one from said tray 60.
• the apparatus according to the invention also comprises a microprocessor which controls the entire working cycle and operates the various actuators on the basis of stored logic and external signals received from various sensors which in themselves do not form part of the invention but are referred to as and when required in the following description of operation.
• Concertina-type packaging To achieve this type of packaging, which does not require the use of the sorting accessory 58, the operator firstly sets the chosen operating mode via the keyboard 76, and then places the pack of prints 6 relative to each order on a compartment 26 of the endless conveyor 24, and using the keyboard sets the total number of prints to be inserted into the packaging web 4. This number can be read from the pricing label present on the processing envelope from which the pack of prints 6 has been extracted, but could also be machine- read using a conventional reader not forming part of the invention.
• the packaging web 4 the initial part of which has been unwound from the reel, presents a pocket 8 aligned with the second compartment 26" of the conveyor 24 and with the facing box 38" of the magazine 32, and has its flaps widened because of the presence of the widener 23.
• the correct positioning of the pocket 8 is ensured by the reader 21 reading a mark 12 on the web.
• the compartment 26 containing the pack of prints 6 to be inserted is brought into the position 26', in which the first inserter 40' lies.
• a sensor halts the conveyor 24 and starts an automatic sequence comprising activation of the electromagnet 56' causing the rotating rubber-coated roller 50' to descend onto the pack of prints 6, the withdrawal of the top print from the pack and its transfer below the rubber-coated roller 42', the raising of the rubber-coated roller 50' to prevent withdrawing the next print, the introduction of the print 6 into the facing radial box 38' of the rotary magazine 32 by the rubber-coated rollers 42', the advancement of said magazine through one step and the new descent of the rubber-coated roller 50' to repeat the cycle on the next print, and so on until one half of the prints forming the pack have been transferred into the successive boxes 38 of the rotary magazine 32.
• the pack is formed from eighteen prints, the first nine, ie the
• a command is fed to the conveyor 24 to cause it to advance through two positions, so that the compartment containing the remaining prints 6 of that order assume the position 26", and at the same time a command is fed to the rotary magazine 32 to cause it to advance through an angle equal to the complement to 180° with reference to the 1st print, so that on termination of this complementary rotation the free box immediately preceding that occupied by the 1st print is in a position facing the compartment 26".
• the list print, which has undergone a rotation of 180° now finds itself overturned with respect to its original position, ie with respect to the prints which are still contained in the compartment 26".
• the second inserter 40" is caused to start a new automatic sequence comprising the descent of the rubber-coated roller 50" onto the pack of prints for withdrawing the 10th print, its introduction below the rubber-coated rollers 42", the raising of the rubber-coated roller 50", the introduction of the 10th print into the radial box 38" adjacent to that occupied by the 1st (overturned) print, the operation of the motorized pulley 74 for driving the cable 72, the raising of the pin 68, its horizontal advancement towards the packaging web 4, the introduction of the 1st (overturned) and 10th prints into the facing pocket 8 of said web 4, the descent of the pin 68, its return travel to the initial position, the advancement of the packaging web 4 through one step, the advancement of the rotary magazine 32 through one step, the descent of the rubber-coated roller 50" for introducing the 11th print into the radial box which has just been freed of the 1st print, and the continuation of the aforedescribed automatic sequence, which leads to the introduction of the 2nd (
• any arching of the prints can be overcome by the presence of a longitudinal roller 78 which causes the two prints to adhere to the surface along which they advance towards the facing pocket 8.
• the system operating logic On termination of the packaging cycle, ie after the 9th (overturned) print and 18th print have been inserted into the ninth pocket of the web 4, the system operating logic, which already knows the total number of prints to be packaged, causes the web 4 to advance idly to the cutter 22, which separates this packaged web portion from the remaining part of the web to be packaged. Hence on termination of the packaging cycle a web portion 4 is obtained in which the first pocket is occupied by the 1st and 10th prints, the second by the 2nd and 11th prints and so on until the ninth which is occupied by the 9th and 18th prints.
• the two prints are mutually reversed, ie both the photographic images face outwards and are hence visible through the side walls of the corresponding pocket, and in addition are arranged so that after viewing the prints from one side of the continuous web portion 4, is is necessary only to turn the web round to view from the other side.
• an arrow 80 is printed on the free flaps of the pockets 8 to indicate the direction of unwinding of the web from the reel, this same arrow indicates the direction in which the pockets have to be turned round to view the photographs in the sequence in which they have been taken.
• the apparatus of the invention has been described with reference to an operating sequence in which for reasons of simplicity it has been assumed that the various stages follow each other; in reality however the operating sequence can comprise superimposed stages to reduce the average time of each packaging cycle.
• the rotary magazine can be located with the prints pertaining to another order, and in addition the web 4 can be advanced simultaneously with the return stroke of the pin 68 and the transfer of a print from the compartment 26" to the underlying radial box 38" of the rotary magazine 32.
• the sorting accessory 58 has to be used, this being positioned above the conveyor 24.
• the operator places the pack of prints to be book-packaged on the tray 60 of the sorter 58 and uses the keyboard to set the total number of prints to be handled, as in the preceding case.
• the two counter- rotating rubber-coated rollers 62 are alternately caused to descend onto the pack of prints, to withdraw them one by one and place them on the two compartments 26 of the endless conveyor 24, they being spaced apart by one compartment.
• the endless conveyor 24 is then made to advance until the compartment containing the odd prints reaches the position 26" and the compartment containing the even prints reaches the position 25'.
• a plurality of separate pockets 8 is obtained, which can all be joined together along a transverse edge to obtain a book in which the various pockets can be turned one by one to allow the prints 6 to be viewed in the order in which they were taken. It should be noted that in this described example, as illustrated on the drawings, the prints are overturned about an axis parallel to a major side, the prints being inserted into the pockets of the continuous web parallel to this major side.
• the continuous web is arranged with its longitudinal axis perpendicular to the overturning axis of the prints, the formation of the book package requiring the various pockets to be joined together along a major side, ie along a side perpendicular to the longitudinal web axis for correct viewing of the prints.
• the sorting accessory 58 has to be used, the operator placing the pack of prints to be packaged on its tray 60 with the image facing downwards and the last photograph at the bottom. He then starts the packaging cycle by setting on the keyboard the total number of photographs to be handled and the number of pockets which each album sheet has to contain.
• the sorter 58 divides the pack of prints 6 into two sub-packs in which groups of N prints are deposited alternately, where N is the number of pockets of each sheet.
• the two extractor rollers 62 are alternately caused to descend N times onto the pack of prints, to transfer the first group of N prints into the underlying left compartment 26 of the endless conveyor 24, a second group of N prints into the underlying right compartment, a third group of N prints into the left compartment and so on, until the pack has been consumed.
• the extractor is then advanced until the two compartments 26 with the two sub-packs of prints are positioned in front of the rotary magazine 32, in the positions 26' and 26".
• the two sub-packs are then treated in accordance with the already described concertina packaging method but with the following differences: - the cutter is periodically made to cut the web of pockets into portions of N pockets, forming the album sheets;
• the system logic which has alreay memorized the number of prints to be handled and which knows that a multiple m of 2N prints will be housed in m completely filled sheets whereas the remaining prints will be house in another only partly filled sheet, causes this residual number of prints to be inserted into the initial pockets of the continuous web, and then advances the web to obtain the first sheet, even if this is only partly filled.
• the basic principles of the present invention remain unchanged, whereas the endless conveyor is replaced by the print sorter 58, which is necessarily present and feeds two trays 80',80" which face the two horizontal boxes 38',38" of the rotary magazine 32 and are provided with two roller inserters 40',40".
• the axis of rotation of the magazine 32 and hence the overturning axis of the prints 6 is parallel to the minor side of the prints, the prints being inserted into the pockets 8 of the web 4 in a direction perpendicular to its longitudinal axis.
• the inserter 68 feeding the prints 6 from the boxes of the rotary magazine 32 to the facing pocket 8 of the web 4 moves perpendicular to the axis of said rotary magazine, its drive cable 72 being indicated schematically by a sashed line in figure 4.
• the boxes 8 are closed on the side opposite the print insertion side, so that the closure wall also forms a stop for halting the prints in a position projecting from the respective boxes and acts as guide for them during their insertion into the pockets of the web 4.

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• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Photographic Processing Devices Using Wet Methods (AREA)
• Container Filling Or Packaging Operations (AREA)
• Auxiliary Devices For And Details Of Packaging Control (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (4)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=26332564

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (7)

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• 1992
  • 1992-02-17 CA CA002101936A patent/CA2101936A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1992-02-17 JP JP4504151A patent/JPH06504632A/ja active Pending
  • 1992-02-17 EP EP19920904615 patent/EP0572459A1/en not_active Withdrawn
  • 1992-02-17 AU AU12394/92A patent/AU1239492A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1992-02-17 WO PCT/EP1992/000329 patent/WO1992015044A2/en not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 1992-02-20 PT PT10014692A patent/PT100146A/pt not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 1992-02-21 IE IE920544A patent/IE920544A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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