Feichtinger, Carl A. (Rochester, NY)
Welch, Richard D. (Rochester, NY)

05/409523

10/08/1974

10/25/1973

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Eastman Kodak Company (Rochester, NY)

242/597.300

242/597.600, 242/611.200

B65H75/18; G03D3/13; G11B15/66; B65H17/02

242/68.3 287/52.07

Huckert, John W.

Mccarthy, Edward J.

Gremban S. W.

This is a continuation-in-part application of Ser. No. 216,554, filed Jan. 10, 1972, abandoned.

We claim

1. The combination of a core and a spindle assembly which is adapted to discriminate between a correct core which is to be placed on the spindle assembly, and an incorrect core of the same general size, but which is to be blocked from placement on the spindle assembly, said combination comprising:

2. The invention according to claim 1 wherein said correct core has an aperture through the center thereof to permit said core to be placed on the spindle assembly, said aperture including an eccentric keyway-like slot, and said positioning means including a spring-biased key-like latch means which is operative to:

3. The invention according to claim 2 wherein said positioning means comprises a generally radially extending plate, said blocking surface comprises a screw head on said plate radially spaced from said axis, and the core which is assembled on said spindle assembly includes a generally cylindrical axially extending projection which telescopes in relation to said screw head.

4. The invention according to claim 2 wherein said positioning means comprises a generally radially extending plate, the plate having an annular groove formed therein whose center lies on said axis, and the core which is fully assembled on said spindle assembly includes a generally cylindrical axially extending projection which telescopes into said groove.

5. The invention according to claim 1 wherein said spindle assembly includes means for coupling said correct core to said spindle assembly to enable said correct core and said core support means to be rotated together, and means for permitting rotation of correct cores and for blocking rotation of incorrect cores, said last-mentioned means comprising:

6. The invention according to claim 1 wherein said correct core includes an aperture extending through the center thereof and an eccentric blocked keyway-like slot communicating with the aperture, the slot extending only for a portion of the axial extent of the aperture, and said spindle assembly includes means for coupling said core to said spindle assembly to enable said correct core and said core support means to be rotated together, said coupling means being adapted to permit rotation of correct cores and to block rotation of incorrect cores, said coupling means comprising:

7. The invention according to claim 1 wherein said positioning means includes a spring-biased latch means which is operative to:

8. The invention according to claim 7 wherein said correct core includes an aperture extending through the center thereof, and an eccentric blocked keyway-like slot communicating with the aperture, the slot extending only for a portion of the axial extent of the aperture, and said spindle assembly includes spring-biased latch means operative to fit within an unblocked keyway-like slit formed in an incorrect core for maintaining the generation of a signal by said signal means by blocking the return of said rod from the rearward position.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to spindle assemblies for supporting strip-storage cores. More particularly, the invention is directed to spindle assemblies which are adapted to support certain "correct" cores for rotation and which block the placement of other, i.e., "incorrect," cores on the spindle assemblies.

2. Description of the Prior Art

In the art of processing photographic film, exposed film to be processed may be received by a processor in a cartridge from which it must be removed to be processed. In practice, it may be desirable to remove a number of film types from a number of cartridges at a particular cartridge opening station and at the station wind respective film types on respective cores. The cores with film wound thereon may then be transferred to respective processing stations. As the above operations take place in the dark, an error may occur wherein a core with one type of film wound thereon is placed in a processing machine which is adapted to process another type of film. A need has developed, therefore, for a system wherein cores for all types of films may be assembled on a spindle at the cartridge opening station, and the correct films wound thereon, but wherein only cores containing respective film types may be assembled on the spindles of respective processing stations.

In the prior art, as represented by U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,347,485; 3,375,995; and 3,547,366, it is known to provide spindle assemblies which discriminate between various film reels. The techniques described in the above patents, however, require that the reels have different-sized spindle openings, e.g., Super 8 size and regular 8 size, and further require spindle adapters or two sets of spindles to accept respective reels.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides a spindle assembly and strip-storage core combination wherein only a respective core may be fully assembled on a respective spindle assembly to allow film to be payed off the core, but wherein other cores having spindle openings identical to that of the respective core are barred from being assembled on the spindle assembly.

The invention provides a strip-storage core and spindle assembly wherein a correct core and its respective spindle assembly are adapted to telescope in relation to each other, whereas incorrect cores are blocked from telescoping with the assembly and thus cannot be fully assembled on the spindle assembly.

The invention and its advantages will become more apparent in the detailed description of the preferred embodiments presented below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a strip-storage core for use in accordance with the teachings of the invention,

FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 2A--2A of FIG. 1, and shows in phantom certain features of a different core,

FIG. 2B is a view similar to that of FIG. 2A, but shows a core having a keyway which is blocked for a portion of its extent,

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of one embodiment of a spindle assembly and shows in phantom a core assembled thereon,

FIG. 4 is a top planar view of the spindle assembly shown in FIG. 3,

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the spindle assembly and core combination taken on the line 5--5 of FIG. 3 and shows in phantom certain features to be described below,

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the invention,

FIG. 6A is a segmental cross-sectional view of a modification of the embodiment of FIG. 6,

FIG. 7 is an embodiment of the invention which is similar to that of FIG. 6, but modified to cooperate with cores having a blocked keyway,

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of still another embodiment of the invention, and

FIG. 9 depicts an embodiment of the invention which is similar to that of FIG. 8, but modified to cooperate with cores having a blocked keyway.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2A, a strip-storage core 10 is shown, which core comprises a generally cylindrical ring-like wall 11 having a peripheral surface 12 about which strips or film of the same width as surface 12 may be wound, the surface 12 having a film slot opening 14 therein. The core includes a wall 15 which defines an aperture 16 through which a spindle may be inserted for supporting the core for rotation. The wall 15 defines a slot-like keyway 18. A radially-extending wall 20 connects the wall 15 to the ring-like wall 11. Intermediate the surface 12 and the wall 15, another ring-like wall 22 extends axially for a distance beyond that of the walls 11 and 15. This is a key aspect of the invention: In order to distinguish between cores which are to carry different film types, the radius of the ring 22 may be made different for each respective film type. Thus, a ring 22 having the diameter of that shown in FIG. 2A may be used exclusively for one film type, say, Kodacolor-X negative film, and a different core for use with, say, Ektacolor film, may have a smaller ring diameter (see, for example, ring 22', in phantom, on FIG. 2A). Kodacolor-X and Ektacolor are trademarks of Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, New York. In addition to differences in ring (22) diameters, cores of different film types may be further distinguished by providing certain cores 30 -- in FIG. 2B -- each with a keyway 31 which is blocked for a portion of its extent.

With reference to FIGS. 3 through 5, a core 10 is shown fully assembled on a non-rotatable spindle assembly 40. The spindle assembly 40 may comprise the feed portion of a photographic processor wherein film on the core 10 is played out from the core, conveyed through various processing tanks, and wound on another core which contains only processed film. The structure of the spindle assembly 40 will be described in relation to its operation. To assemble a correct core 10 on the spindle assembly 40, the core 10 is pushed axially against spring-biased key latches 41,43 which are mounted in niches 45,47, respectively, formed in a spindle portion 44. The key latches, which are urged apart by a compression spring 49, pivot toward each other about pins 50,51, respectively, to fit within the core aperture 16 as the core 10 is slidably moved onto the spindle portion 44. When fully assembled, the core ring 22 telescopes over a back plate 42 of the spindle assembly, the key latches 41,43 springing apart to cooperate with back plate 42 to position and lock the core 10 on the spindle assembly 40. With the core 10 locked on the spindle portion 44, the core 10 is free to rotate -- but with limited axial movability -- upon a plastic sleeve 53 which covers part of the spindle portion 44 equal to the axial extent of aperture 16. As the core 10 rotates, any film which is wound thereon can be removed from the core. An incorrect core 10' is shown in phantom in FIG. 5. The core 10' has a ring diameter 22' which is of smaller radial dimension than that of plate 42. When an attempt is made to assemble the core 10' on the spindle assembly 40, the core 10' abuts with the plate 42, and is blocked from telescoping with the plate 42. Since the core 10' cannot be fully assembled onto the spindle assembly 40, one of the key latches 41,43 -- which are non-rotatable -- will spring into the keyway 18 of the core 10' and block the core from rotating so that no film on the core 10' can be played out. Thus, the arrangement of a discriminating ring (22), together with a key latch and keyway combination, has helped to assure correct processing for a given film product.

While the plate 42 is shown as being of smaller radial dimension than that of ring 22, it should be appreciated that the invention in its broader aspects embraces the feature of a non-circular plate 42 and also the feature of a plate 42' which is larger in, say, diameter than the core ring 22, but wherein an annular groove 52' is formed in the plate 42, ring 22 being adapted to telescope into and rotate within groove 52'.

With reference to FIG. 6, a rotatable spindle assembly 60 is shown. The spindle assembly is adapted to discriminate against cores having an incorrect ring (22) diameter and/or cores which have a blocked keyway. A core 10 is assembled on the spindle assembly by moving the core 10 first over a spring-biased key latch 62 which is mounted in a niche 63 formed in a spindle 64. The key latch is adapted to pivot counterclockwise (looking at FIG. 6) about a pin 66 when in contact with core 10. As the ring 22 of the core 10 telescopes within an annular groove 67 formed in a back plate 68, the core 10 is fully assembled and the spring 69 returns the key latch 62 back to its original position to lock the core 10 on the spindle 64. The spindle 64 is rotatively mounted in conventional bearings 70. The bearings 70 are mounted in a fixed annular collar 71 which has at its front end radially inwardly directed teeth 73 which are adapted to mesh with a toothed member 74. The member 74 is suitably keyed to the spindle 64 so that it may rotate with the spindle 64, and is also movable axially relative to the spindle 64 from a first position where it is engaged by teeth 73 and blocked from rotating to a second position, as shown, where it is disengaged and free to rotate. A spring or set of springs 75 urges member 74 into engagement with the teeth 73, but when a correct core 10 is fully assembled on the spindle 64, the ring 15 of the core engages a pair of fingers 79 (both wider than keyway 18) formed on the toothed member 74 and which extend through apertures 80 in the back plate 68 and forces the member 74 to move from the aforesaid "engage" position to the "disengage" position. A core 10 which is fully assembled on the spindle 64 is keyed for rotation with the spindle 64 by a keypin 82 on the spindle 64, which pin fits within keyway 18 of the core. The locking of the core 10 on the spindle 64 maintains the toothed member 74 in the "disengage" position. Rotation of the core 10, e.g., by playing out film which is wound thereon, causes the spindle 64, toothed member 74, and back plate 68 to rotate -- as an assembly -- with the core 10. An incorrect core when placed on spindle 64 cannot be rotated because it is blocked from engaging fingers 79 -- thereby blocked from disengaging the toothed member 74 from the teeth 73 -- because (1) the core has a different ring (22) diameter and cannot telescope into the groove 67, and/or (2) the core has a blocked keyway 31 and is barred from telescoping into the groove 67 by the key pin 82. Thus, again it is demonstrated that the complementary features of the spindle assembly and a correct core cooperate to allow the core to be fully assembled on the spindle assembly.

In FIG. 6A, a modification of the spindle assembly 60 of FIG. 6 is disclosed in which back plate 68 containing groove 67 is replaced by a flat plate 68' free of grooves and of a lesser width equal to the width of plate 68 measured at groove 67. To discriminate against incorrect cores 10' having rings 22' of smaller or larger diameter than correct ring 22 shown in FIG. 6, headed cap screws 69' have been screwed into suitably positioned tapped holes 71' in plate 68' to engage rings 22' of all cores 10' other than the correct core and prevent complete final movement inwardly of the core onto the spindle. Accordingly, by omitting the cap screw 69' in alignment with correct ring 22, the correct core 10 can be fully assembled on the spindle assembly as illustrated in FIG. 6A. However, if an attempt is made to mount an incorrect core 10' on the spindle assembly as seen dotted in FIG. 6A, the ring 22' thereof will engage one of the cap screws 69' preventing ring 15 from engaging fingers 79 and latch 62 from latching core 10. Consequently, toothed member 74 remains in engagement with teeth 73 and spindle 64 cannot be rotated. The advantage of the spindle assembly modification of FIG. 6A is that by utilizing a single back plate and selectively inserting cap screws in selected holes, the spindle assembly can discriminate against a number of different cores and be responsive to only a particular selected core corresponding to the presence and absence of the cap screws. The selected core to which the spindle assembly is responsive can be readily changed by removing and inserting the desired cap screws.

An additional feature of the spindle 64 is that it includes a coaxial center spindle 85 which is dimensioned to accept, say, 35mm reels with a square hole. The outer shaft of the spindle 64 may be removed to uncover the center spindle 85 by depressing the center spindle latch 86 which is mounted in a niche 87 formed in the spindle 64. The latch 86 is pivotable about a pin 88 and has one of its ends coupled to a spring 89 and another end projecting through an aperture 90 in the niche 87 to engage with a groove 91 in the center spindle 85. When one end of the center spindle latch 86 is depressed, the other end thereof releases from the groove 91, thereby allowing the outer shaft of the spindle 64 -- which is coupled to main shaft 92 by plugs (not shown) which fit in respective sockets in main shaft 92 -- to be moved axially to the right (of FIG. 6) and unplugged from main shaft 92.

With reference to FIG. 7, spindle assembly 60 may be modified to accept only cores with a particular ring (22) diameter and with a blocked keyway. Cores with different ring (22) diameters or with keyways that are not blocked are effectively discriminated against. The modification indicates the removal of the keypin 82 from groove 93 formed in the spindle 64 and replacing the toothed member 74 with another toothed member 94 which differs only in the shape of fingers 95, 96. Whereas in the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, both of the fingers 79 are wider than the keyway 18 and thus engage the ring 15 of the core 10, one of the fingers (95) of the embodiment of FIG. 7 is of narrower width than the blocked keyway 31 of the core 30 and will fit within the keyway 31. Placement of the core 30 on the spindle 64 forces the finger 95 to enter the keyway 31 and to engage the blocked portion thereof. When the core 30 is fully assembled on spindle 64, the core 30 will be locked in place by the key latch 62. The toothed member 94 will then be in the "disengage" position relative to the teeth 73, and the core 30 and spindle 64 will be free to rotate. Only a core with a blocked keyway and the correct ring (22) diameter can move the toothed member 94 to the disengage position. In this embodiment, the finger 95 provides the additional function of keying the core 30 to the shaft 64, which function is performed in the embodiment of FIG. 6 by the keypin 82. Finger 96 is of short length and does not contact the ring 15. If desired, the finger 96 may be removed without adversely affecting the operability of the embodiment shown in FIG. 7.

In FIGS. 8 and 9, a spindle assembly 100 is shown for discriminating between cores with different ring (22) diameters and types of keyways. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 8, only a core 10 with the ring (22) diameter shown and with an unblocked keyway can be fully assembled on the spindle 101. The correct core 10 telescopes into an annular groove 102 formed in a plate 103 which is integral with the spindle 101. The core 10 is locked in its assembled position by a spring-biased key latch 109. In addition to functioning as a locking means, the key latch 109 functions as a cam which, upon placement of a core on the latch 109, cooperates with a cam follower 104 that is mounted on a spring-loaded rod 105. The rod 105 is axially movable within the spindle 101 and has, at its forward end, a clevis 106 which supports a cam follower 104 and, at its rearward end, a connection to a switch 108. As the latch 109 is displaced downward by passage of the core 10 thereover, the rod 105 is moved rearward to close the switch 108 to actuate an alarm or a conventional electrical spindle brake. When the core 10 is fully assembled on the spindle 101, the latch 109 returns to its original position, allowing the rod 105 to move forwardly, thereby causing the alarm to cease or the spindle brake to release to permit the spindle to rotate in bearings 70. The spindle 101 is keyed to the core 10 by the keypin 111 which also prevents cores with a blocked keyway from being fully assembled on the spindle 101. A core with an incorrect ring (22) diameter or with a blocked keyway maintains the latch 109 in a depressed position, the switch 108 being therefore kept closed . . . which is to say that the alarm sounds or the spindle 101 is braked until the incorrect core is removed from the spindle.

In FIG. 9, the spindle assembly 100 is adapted to accept only a core 30 with the correct ring (22) diameter and with a blocked keyway 31. In this embodiment, the keypin 111 is removed from the groove 112 in the spindle 101 and a keypin 113 inserted in the groove 112. This arrangement so locates the keypin with respect to the blocked portion of the core that the spindle 101 may rotate with rotation of core 30. In addition, a spring-biased back-latch 115 is pivotally mounted to the spindle 101. When a correct core 30 is mounted on the spindle 101, the key latch operates as described above, and moves the rod 105 rearwardly to close the switch 108 (which cooperates with the alarm/brake means, as above). The backlatch 115 is held depressed by the blocked keyway portion of the core 30, and the rod is free to return to its forward position when the core 30 is fully assembled on the spindle 101. When a core with a correct ring (22) diameter, but without a blocked keyway, is attempted to be assembled on the spindle 101, the rod 105 is blocked from returning to its forward position by movement (as shown in phantom) of the spring-loaded back-latch 115 into the unblocked keyway of the core. In this position, the back-latch 115 abuts against the projection 116 on the rod 105, and the alarm continues to sound or the spindle brake continues to be operative to prevent rotation of the spindle 101 and the incorrect core. The incorrect core may then be removed, the back-latch being manually depressed to return the rod 105 to its forward position. Discrimination against cores with incorrect rings (22) is similar to that described for the embodiment shown in FIG. 8.

Embodiments of the invention have been described relative to the use of "cores." The term "cores" as used herein is intended to include various types of storage devices for webs -- e.g., reels, spools, cartridges, etc. -- which devices are intended to be assembled on spindles. An important feature of the invention is the telescoping of a correct core with the spindle assembly, and modifications of the invention may include the use of rings or other projections either on the cores or on, say, the back plate with complementary recesses on the back plate or cores, respectively.

The invention has been described in detail with particular reference to preferred embodiments thereof, but it will be understood that variations and modifications can be effected within the spirit and scope of the invention.