US1517542A - Motion-picture take-up apparatus - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 2, 1924.

INVENTOR -G o MA, W BY A TTORNE YS Patented Dee. 2, 1924.

NITED STATES PATENT oFFics.

JOI-IN DOIIER'ILY, 0F COXSACKIE, NEW YORK, lISXS'SIIIGrNOR T0 SUPER-IOR PROJECTOR, INC., 0F COXSACKIE, NEW YORK, Ay CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

MOTION-PICTURE TAKE-UP APPARATUS.

Application filed January 1e, 1923. serial No. 612,920.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, Jol-IN DoHEn'rY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Coxsackie, in the county of Greene and Sta-te of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Motion-Picture Take-Up Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention relates to take-up or winding devices particularly adapted for use with moti-on picture projecting apparatus, which invention will best be under stood from the following description and the appended drawings in which I have shown an illustrative embodiment of my invention.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a take-up mechanism of a moti-on picture projecting machine, with some of the parts broken away on the line 1-1 of Fig. 2 for the sake of clearness; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the illustrative form of apparatus; Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 is a more or less diagrammatic representation of the film and guide rollers looking from the left of Fig. 1.

Like reference characters `indicate like parts in the several views.

In the illustrative embodiment, repref sents a portion of the usual base or supportv for a motion picture apparatus, and 11 a portion of the projecting head which carries the usual film-moving mechanism.

In the specific arrangement illustrated, the machine is driven from a power shaft 12 through spiral gears 13, 14. The gear 14 is connected to a vertical shaft 15 carriedin suitable bearings and motion is transmitted to the driving gears 16, 17 in the machine head through a spiral gear 18 on the shaft 15. The hlm-feeding sprocket 19 is driven by a gear 20 from the gear 17, the sprocket 19 turning continuously while the machine is in motion to feed the film 11 downward from the projecting machine head in the usual manner.

Supported o-n the base 10 by a bracket 21 is a reel shaft 22 sup orted in suitable bearings and arranged tophave connected thereto the usual reel 23.

The film F passing from the sprocket 19 is guided between pairs ofguide rollers 24, 25 to the reel 23.

The arrangement described above is a usual one, and further description thereof will beunnecessary to `those skilled in the art.

As the film is taken up by the reel 23, the diameter of. the roll increasesl in size, so that 1f the turningv movement or torque of the reel is constant, the tension 'on the film becomes so great that/it may ybreak when the roll is small, if this torque is suiiicient to take up the film when the roll is large.

By my invention I have provided means by which the torque can be maintained substantially constant,'regardles`s of the `size of the roll of film Ion ythe reel23.

The shaft 22 vand .with it ythereel 23 is driven by *a friction member 26 connected to the shaft 22 and having its periphery contacted by a driving friction disc 27 connected to the shaft 15 by means of a pin 28 projecting through a slot 29 in the shaft 15, so that while the disc 27 is turning with the shaft 15, it may be moved longitudinally of the shaft. Above the disc 27 i-s a washer 30 bearing against the hub of the disc 27 a spring 31 around the shaft 15 pressing against the washer and abutting at the other end against a collar 32, screw-threaded on a fixed abutment 33. By screwing the collar 32 on the abutment 33 which is attached to the shaft 15, the pressure of the spring 31 on the disc 27 may be adjusted.

Between the washer 30 and the disc 27 is located a cup member 34 connected by pins 35 with slots in the end of a lever 36 pivoted at 37 in the frame and connected at its yopposite end by a connecting rod 38 with a lever 39 on a shaft 40 carried in the head of the machine and having at its opposite end a lever 41 carrying the roller 42 which engages in a loop in the film F passing from the sprocket 19 to the guide rollers 24.

The cup member 34 is free to slide vertically on the hub of the disc 27 and, Iof course, is non-rotatable, and preferably I provide a ball-bearing construction between the walls of the cup 34 and the hub of the disc 27, so that there will be so little friction between the two that there will be substantially no tendency for the cup 34 to rotate. This ball-bearing arrangement is illustrated best in Fig. 3, but it will be understood that it is not essential to my arrangement.

With the parts in the positions shown in the drawings, the spring 31 is exerting its full pressure on the disc 27 to give the v titi greatest frictional contact between the disc 27 and the friction member 26, so that the torque on the reel 23 will be the greatest possible. This would be the condition. when the roll of hn 'on the reel 23 is the largest. lVhen the roll is small, however, this torque would produce a tension on the film F between the rollers 24 and the sprocket 19 to draw the roller 42 to the left of Figa and this, in turn, Would force the connecting rod 3.8 doWnWa-rdl and lift the 01113134. up until it contacted with the Washer 30 and relieve some of the pressure o'the spring 3l on the disc 27, thus decreasing the torque on the shaft 22. This release would, in turn, relieve the tension on the film F and permit the roller 42 to move back toward its original position. In other Words, by my arrangement the pressure of. thespring 3l, and With it the torque on the shaft 22, are controlled bythe tension of` the iilm7 so that this tension may be maintained substantially constant, regardless of the size of the roll of film onthe reel v23.

It will be understood that the arrangement which l have illustrated is merely one embodiment of my invention and that the construction may be varied Within iride limits. i

I claim:

In a take-up device tor motion picture apparatus, a reel, a film-feeding roller, a movable roller enga-ged by the lilm as it passesk from the film-feeding roller to the reel and arranged to be moved by the tension on the film,V a. friction disc connected to said rech. a driving shaft at right-angles to the axis oit the reel, a driving' disc connected to said. shaft and movable longitudinally thereof, a iixed abutment on said shaft, al movable abutment on said shaft and adapted to bear against said driving disc, a spring between said abutments and connections betiveensaid movable abutment and said movable roller arranged to move said movable abutment again-st the pressure et the spring when the movable roller is moved by the tension of the `tilm.

JOHN DOHERTY.

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