JPH04255844A - Photographic film cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a photographic film cartridge which can be used in a low-cost camera and which can perform photographing or can be distributed at a laboratory without difficulty in the case that an IC has a defect or even in the case that data recorded in a magnetic recording area disappears. CONSTITUTION:A projecting and recessed part 19 or a bar code sheet or a pattern sheet for transmitting data such as the characteristic of the film to a camera side at the time of loading the film is provided on a cartridge main body 13 where a semiconductor for storing information is incorporated or the surface of the outside wall of the cartridge main body where the film with a magnetic recording area is housed.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a photographic film cartridge which is equipped with means for feeding film out of the main body of the cartridge by rotating the spool and transmitting data regarding the film to a camera when the film is loaded.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a photographic film cartridge has been known that can be loaded into a camera without having to pull out the leading end of the photographic film from the cartridge body in advance, and that also simplifies the feeding mechanism on the camera side. It is being This photographic film cassette has a structure in which the leading end of the film is housed within the main body of the cassette, and the leading end of the film is sent out from a port portion of the cassette by rotating a spool shaft in the film feeding direction. On the other hand, a photographic film cartridge with an information storage semiconductor (hereinafter referred to as "IC") has been proposed as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 1-289948 or No. 1-27242. This IC is a semiconductor that can be arbitrarily written, read, and erased, and terminals connected to it are provided on the outer wall of the main body of the cartridge. By providing an external connection terminal etc. that comes into contact with this terminal on the camera or photo printer, information can be transmitted from the IC-equipped photo film cartridge to the camera, or vice versa, and from the photographer and distributor to the developing device. It is easy to transmit information to other locations or vice versa. Also, international publication WO90/042
As is known from No. 05, a photographic film having a transparent magnetic recording layer formed thereon has been proposed. This magnetic recording layer is used as a magnetic recording area for information such as the film type, film sensitivity, and other characteristics of the film itself, as well as frame number, etc., and is also used as a recording area for photographic information by the magnetic recording device built into the camera. It is used as a recording area for print data by the printer's magnetic recording device. If you use photographic film with such a magnetic recording area, for example, it will be possible to automatically read film sensitivity information and read out the position of each photographed frame using a readout device built into the camera. During print processing, by recording the customer code and print data on the photographic film itself, it is possible to improve the efficiency of reprint work.

0003

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, it is difficult to obtain various data from the IC or the magnetic recording area, and to store the film with the magnetic recording area. In order to write photographic data, etc., electrodes, magnetic heads, and a C that processes the information taken in from these are required.
Since a PU and the like are required, a camera loaded with such a photographic film cartridge becomes extremely expensive. Therefore, low-cost cameras cannot accommodate these photographic film cartridges. Further, if a photographic film cartridge containing a film with a magnetic recording area is mistakenly placed on a TV, speaker, etc. that generates a strong magnetism, various data recorded in the magnetic recording area will be lost. Furthermore, if there is a defect in the IC of a photographic film cartridge with an IC, the film information will not be input to the camera, so there is a problem that the film cannot be used even if there is no defect in the film or the cartridge itself. . Furthermore, since the developing process differs depending on the type of film, at the laboratory, before the developing process, the cartridges are sorted out according to the type of film. At this time, with an IC-equipped cartridge, it is necessary to touch a dedicated terminal one by one to read the data, and with a film-containing cartridge with a magnetic recording area, after locating the beginning of the film, the data is read using a dedicated reader. Because it is necessary, it takes time to allocate patrones in both cases.

The present invention was made in consideration of the above background, and can be used in low-cost cameras, and can also be used in cases where there is a defect in the IC or data recorded in the magnetic recording area is lost. However, the purpose is to provide a photographic film cartridge that can be used for shooting and sorting in a laboratory.

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention incorporates an information storage semiconductor for writing film characteristics and shooting data into the main body of a photographic film cartridge, and also writes data such as film characteristics when loading the film. A signal section for transmitting to the camera side is provided on the outer wall surface of the cartridge body. Furthermore, a magnetic recording area for writing film characteristics and photographic data is provided on the film surface, and a signal section for transmitting data such as film characteristics to the camera side when the film is loaded is provided on the outer wall surface of the cartridge body.

[0006]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In FIG. 2 showing the appearance of a photographic film cartridge according to the present invention and FIG. 3 showing a cross section of the photographic film cartridge, this photographic film cartridge 10 has a spool 12 on which a film 11 is wound.
It is rotatably stored inside. The leading end of the film 11 is completely housed within the cartridge main body 13, and by rotating the spool 12 exposed on one side of the cartridge main body 13, the film 11 is ejected from the leading end to the discharge port 13a of the cartridge main body 13. It is designed to be sent to the outside from. Incidentally, reference numeral 14 is a separating claw for separating the leading end of the film 11 from the rolled lower film.

[0007] At the side end of the cartridge body 13, there is an IC1.
5 is included. This IC15 is a semiconductor in which information can be written, read, and erased.
Terminals 16a and 16b electrically connected to 5 are exposed to the outside. Information such as photographic data can be transmitted by connecting these terminals 16a, 16b to, for example, an external connection terminal on the camera side at predetermined terminals.

The cartridge main body 13 has upper and lower cases 1
7 and 18, which are optically tightly fixed by ultrasonic welding or the like. The joint between the upper and lower cases 17 and 18 is raised in the shape of a hill, and an uneven portion 19 is formed there. The uneven portion 19 is composed of a plurality of breakable claws 17a to 17g and 18a to 18g, and by appropriately breaking them off, film characteristics that vary depending on the type of film, such as film sensitivity, number of frames, and latitude, can be adjusted. etc. can be expressed. In this embodiment, the claw 18e is broken off as a signal part, and the film 11
A concavo-convex pattern is formed corresponding to the characteristics of. Therefore, for example, when loading the cartridge, the claws 17a to 17g,
If a plurality of protrusions that are pressed and moved downward by 18a to 18g are provided on the camera side, the film characteristics of the film 11 will be transmitted to the camera side by the movement or non-movement of the protrusions.

The uneven portion 19 may be formed by forming the uneven shape using pieces of a mold and replacing the pieces depending on the type of film. Furthermore, although the uneven portion 19 is formed at the joint between the upper and lower cases 17 and 18, the present invention is not limited thereto as long as it is on the outer wall surface of the cartridge main body.

[0010] The operation of the above configuration will be briefly explained below. When the photographic film cartridge 10 according to the present invention is loaded into the cartridge chamber of the camera, the terminals 16a, 16
b is brought into contact with the connection terminal on the camera side, the uneven portion 19 presses the protrusion on the camera side, and the uneven pattern is input to the camera side. As a result, characteristics of the film 11, such as sensitivity, number of frames, latitude, etc., are inputted from the uneven portion 19, and initial settings for frame advance and exposure control are performed. Furthermore, photographic data is written into the IC 15 via terminals 16a and 16b each time one frame is photographed, and is used as printing data during printing.

Note that information regarding the film may be input into the IC 15 in advance, and when the film is loaded, the information may be read out on the camera side and used for camera control.
is a delicate electronic component, and if it breaks down, the camera will not work. However, in the present invention, since the information on the film 11 is reliably input to the camera side by the uneven portion 19 which is a physical shape representation, even if a trouble occurs in the IC 15, it is possible to take pictures without any trouble. In addition, since the device for detecting the uneven pattern of the uneven portion 19 can be created with a simple configuration, it can be easily installed even in a low-cost camera that cannot be equipped with an expensive device for reading and writing information to the IC 15. Therefore, it can also contribute to lowering the cost of cameras.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. The photographic film cartridge 20 shown in FIG. 3 has a nearly transparent magnetic recording area 22 on the base surface of a film 21, which is made by mixing a small amount of magnetic powder and a binder.
, 23 are provided to record photographic data for each frame 21a, and a barcode sheet 26 on which an optical display, a so-called barcode, is printed is affixed to a part of the outer wall surface of the cartridge main body 25 as a signal part. It is. This barcode sheet 26 records film characteristics such as film sensitivity, number of frames, latitude, etc., and is read by an optical reading device on the camera side when the photographic film cartridge 20 is loaded into the camera. . Note that the magnetic recording areas 22 and 23 can also be provided by a magnetic stripe method.

A photographic film cartridge 30 shown in FIG. 4 is similar to the photographic film cartridge 20 described above.
1 has magnetic recording areas 22 and 23 for recording photographic data for each frame 21a, and a non-conductive pattern sheet 33 is provided as a signal part on a part of the outer wall surface of the cartridge main body 32 made of conductive resin. It is pasted. This pattern sheet 33 has a pattern opening 33a as shown in the figure, and when the photographic film cartridge 30 is loaded into a camera, the conductive terminal on the camera side comes into contact with the outer wall surface of the cartridge main body 32 exposed through the pattern opening 33a. The information on the film 21 is then read. Note that the non-conductive pattern can also be formed using insulating ink.

In this way, photographic film cartridge 20,
30, information such as film characteristics can be read from the outer wall surface of the cartridge main body, so there is no need to perform a film cue operation when sorting the cartridges according to the type of film, and the cartridges can be sorted in a short time.

The main body 32 of the cartridge is made of non-conductive resin, and the pattern portion of the pattern sheet 33 is made of conductive ink or a conductive seal (conductive paint seal, metal foil seal). You can do it like this.

Further, the material of the photographic film cartridge 10 equipped with the above-described IC and the photographic film cartridges 20 and 30 capable of magnetic recording may be a general non-conductive resin, but as a countermeasure against static electricity, the material has a surface resistance of at least 1×.
It is preferable to use a conductive resin having a resistance of 1013Ω or less. A conductive resin having a resistance of 1×10 6 Ω or less is not preferable because it increases the material cost and also damages the cylinder of the molding machine because metal filler or the like is mixed into the resin.

[0017]

As described above, the photographic film cartridge of the present invention stores data such as film characteristics on the outer wall surface of the cartridge body incorporating an information storage semiconductor or the cartridge body housing a film having a magnetic recording area. Since a signal section is provided that transmits the signal to the camera side when loading the film, it can be used with low-cost cameras that do not have information storage semiconductors or devices that exchange data with the magnetic recording area. Even if the data recorded in the magnetic recording area is lost, images can be taken and distributed in the laboratory without any problems. Furthermore, since there is no need for an information storage semiconductor or a device for reading data from the magnetic recording area, the degree of freedom in designing the camera body is increased, and it is possible to contribute to lower costs of the camera. Further, by providing the signal section on the outer wall surface of the cartridge main body, it is possible to accurately combine the types of film and the cartridge main body during production, and this process can also be easily automated.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing main parts of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the appearance of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line III-III of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

10, 20, 30 Photo film patrone 11, 2
1 Film 13, 25, 32 Patrone body 15 IC 17a to 17g, 18a to 18g Claw 19 Uneven portions 22, 23 Magnetic recording area 26 Barcode sheet 33 Pattern sheet

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A photographic film cartridge in which a spool wound with film is rotatably housed in a cartridge main body, and the film is fed out of the cartridge main body by rotating the spool. , an information storage semiconductor for writing film characteristics such as film sensitivity, number of frames, and latitude as well as photographic data for each photographed frame, and an information storage semiconductor provided on the outer wall surface of the cartridge body to write data such as film characteristics to the camera side when loading the film. A photographic film cartridge characterized by comprising a transmitting signal section. 2. A photographic film cartridge in which a spool around which a film is wound is rotatably housed within a cartridge body, and the film is fed out of the cartridge body by rotating the spool, wherein a spool is provided on the film surface. , a magnetic recording area in which film characteristics such as film sensitivity, number of frames, latitude, etc. and photographic data for each photographed frame are written; and a magnetic recording area provided on the outer wall surface of the cartridge body, which transmits data such as the film characteristics to the camera side when loading the film. A photographic film patrone characterized by comprising a signal section.