US3468498A - Supply roll spindle assembly for cinematographic projectors - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 23, 1969 1.. J. BUNTING 3,468,498

SUPPLY ROLL SPINDLE ASSEMBLY FOR CINEMATOGRAPHIC PROJECTORS Filed Nov. 24, 1967 11 Sheets-Sheet l Q 22 ms m, W M

LIHIIIHM FIG.I

LESLIE J. aumm's INVENTOR.

q 1969 L. J. BUNTING 3,468,498

SUPPLY ROLL SPINDLE ASSEMBLY FOR CINBMATOGRAPHIC PROJECTORS Filed Nov. 24, 1967 11 Sheets-Sheet LESLIE J. HUNTING INYENTOR.

Sept. 23, 1969 L. J. BUNTING 3,468,498

SUPPLY ROLL sPINDLE ASSEMBLY FOR CINEMATOGRAPHIC PROJECTORS 11 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Nov. 24, 1967 LESLIE J. BUNTING INVENTOR.

"BY Qma/Qm fi -y p 3, 1969 L. J. summc 3,468,498

SUPPLY ROLL SPINDLE ASSEMBLY, FOR CINEMATOGRAPHIC PROJECTORS Filed O 2 1967 ll Sheets-Sheet 4' "2 use Fl O F|G 9 u-zsus .1. auu'rms INVENTOR.

(fMOM L. J. BUNTING Sept. 23, 1969 SUPPLY ROLL SPINDLE ASSEMBLY FOR CINEMATOGRAPHIC PROJECTORS Filed Nov. 24, 1967 l1 Sheets-Sheet LESLlE J. BUNTING INVENTOR.

Sept. 23, 1 969 1... J. BUNTING SUPPLY ROLL SPINDLE ASSEMBLY FOR CINEMATOGRAPHIC PRQJECTORS Filed NOV. 24, 1967 ll Sheets-Sheet 6 LESLIE a. BUNTING INVENTOR.

I Sept. 23, 69 1.. J. BUNTING 3,468,498

SUPPLY ROLL SPINDLE ASSEMBLY FOR CINEMATOGRAPHIC PROJECTORS Filed Nov. 24. 1967 11 Sheets-Sheet as i LESLIE J. HUNTING INVENTOR.

Sept. 23, 1969 L. J. BUNTING 3,468,498

SUPPLY ROLL SPINDLE ASSEMBLY FOR CINEMATOGRAPHIC PROJECTORS Filed Nov. 24, 1967 11 Sheets-Sheet a LESLIE J. BUNTING INVENTOR.

gem/212 M Sept. 23, 1969 J. aum'ms SUPPLY ROLL SPINDLE ASSEMBLY FOR CINEMATOGRAPHIC PROJECTORS Filed NOV. 24, 1967 11 Sheets-Sheet 9 Sept. 23, 1969 Filed Nov. 24, 1967 L. J. aumms 3,468,498

SUPPLY ROLL SPINDLE ASSEMBLY FOR CINEMATOGRAPHIC PROJECTORS ll Sheets-Sheet 10 I- l I83 FIG. 20

LESLIE J. BUNTING INVENTOR.

Sept. 23, 1969 L. J. BUNTING 3,468,498

SUPPLY ROLL SPINDLE ASSEMBLY FOR CINEMATOGRAPHIC PROJECTORS Filed Nov. 24, 1967 11 Sheets-Sheet 11 ml I 3 h 582 382 358i 433 FIG. 23

. 427 g m LESLIE a. BUNTING 428 429 INVENTOR.

BY Q/Qli United States Patent U.S. Cl. 242-207 5 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A supply roll spindle assembly for use in a cinematographic projector is selectively adjustable to allow free rotation of a film supply roll mounted thereon or to establish between said supply roll and a rotating power input member a selected one of three different modes of torque transmitting cooperation.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS Reference is made to commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 685,616, entitled cinematographic Projectors or the Like and Cartridges for use Therewith, filed in the names of John J. Bundschuh and Robert J. Roman on Nov. 24, 1967.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates principally to equipment such as cinematographic projectors or tape transducers adapted to be loaded with supply rolls of elongate strip material, and particularly to such equipment which is convertible to accommodate such supply IOlls either in the form of unenclosed reels or in the form of cartridges.

To simplify the use of equipment of the type mentioned above, considerable attention has been directed toward providing means whereby such equipment can be threaded automatically upon being loaded with a supply roll housed within a cartridge; thereby facilitating the handling and storage of the supply rolls and eliminating manual threading operations.

A cartridge-loaded self-threading cinematographic projector system which is generally representative of the aforementioned type of equipment, and which includes a film stripping and threading mechanism and other projector and cartridge features related to those incorporated in the illustrative preferred embodiment of the present invention, is disclosed in commonly assigned copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 643,502, entitled cinematographic Cartridge Projector Apparatus, filed in the names of John J. Bundschuh, Robert J. Roman and Kenneth W. Thompson on June 5, 1967. In this construction, a film supply roll wound onto a hub member is housed within a cartridge provided with axial openings through which the hub member can be rotatably supported and driven by a film supply spindle member when the cartridge is operatively positioned on the projector. With the cartridge so positioned on the projector, the film roll is radially accessible to a stripping mechanism movable into temporary engagement with the roll through another cartridge opening; such mechanism being adapted to separate the leading end of the strip from the roll and to feed it along a predetermined threading path.

Further details and features of this general type of film stripping and threading mechanism and of film supply cartridges adapted for use therewith are also disclosed in related U.S. Patent 3,429,518 which issued from U.S. application Ser. No. 706,703 filed Feb. 19, 1968 which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 470,499, entitled Automatic Film Stripper, filed in the name of Edward S. McKee on July 8, 196-5 and now abandoned;

Patented Sept. 23, 1969 "ice and U.S. application Ser. No. 643,503, entitled Cartridge for Reel of Strip Material, filed in the names of John J. Bundschuh and Kenneth W. Thompson on June 5, 1967.

By employing means of the type disclosed in the aboveidentified applications, it is therefore possible to provide projectors or related devices capable of being loaded or unloaded almost instantaneously by an unskilled operator, and if desired, to provide additional means which allow the device to function entirely automatically from the time the cartridge is loaded thereon and the projection cycle is initiated until such time as the cartridge is again fully rewound following completion of the machine cycle. Furthermore, the adoption of such a system need in no way preclude the employment of other refinements, such as means in a cinematographic projector for allowing the film to be projected either forwards or backwards at an adjustable rate of speed or for allowing it to be partially rewound to permit a desired film sequence to be repeated.

In spite of the foregoing advantages, however, presently known machines of this type are not entirely suitable for applications in which both cartridges and conventional supply reels may be appropriate for different purposes. Although equipment has previously been developed for the purpose of overcoming this disadvantage, the means employed therein to allow a cartridge loaded machine to also accommodate conventional reels have sacrificed operating convenience as well as desirable features or functional characteristics which would be available by the use of two separate machines.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The principal object of the present invention i to overcome those limitations previously associated with selfthreading cartridge systems by allowing machines incorporating such systems to be loaded conveniently with supply cartridges of different sizes and also with supply reels, without sacrificing the convenience or performance capabilities of such machines in either mode of operation thereof. Briefly, this objective is accomplished through the cooperation of several novel innovations, including: the employment of means for supporting cartridges of different sizes in predetermined relation to the stripping mechanism and to the supply spindle drive member engaged with the supply roll hub members within the cartridges; adapting the supply spindle assembly to be movable to either a position at which that assembly supports and drives the supply roll within a supply cartridge loaded onto the machine, or to another position at which a supply reel can be accommodated by the spindle assembly without interference with the stripping mechanism; and providing means whereby the leading end of the strip material on a supply reel can be threaded manually into the machine in a convenient manner.

Due to the substantially greater amount of strip material that can be accommodated by supply reel as compared to supply cartridges, considerations of maximum roll diameter and momentum require changes in the mode of operation of the machine according to whether the material is supplied from a reel or from a cartridge. In the case of a cinematographic projector, for example, the use of a film supply reel dictates the employment of film tension control means which are incompatible with maintaining the film within corresponding tension limitations while a cartridge is being used. Similarly, the possibility of rewinding the film into a supply cartridge through the film gate becomes impractical in conjunction with the use of a film supply reel, which preferably should be rewound directly from the film take-up reel. In view of these and other related considerations, the subject invention therefore also includes means for automatically adjusting various mechanisms of a projector or analogous machine to perform in accordance with the requirements imposed by 3 the type of supply roll unit with which the machine is loaded.

In addition to the above-mentioned relatively basic features, the illustrated preferred embodiment of the invention also comprises numerous other refinements and improvements of previously known projector components or assemblies, many of such improvements and refinements being equally applicable to other types of projectors or analogous machines.

These and other important objects and features encompassed by the invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of a cinematographic projector system comprising an illustrative preferred embodiment thereof, reference being made to the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters denote like elements.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of the right side of the overall projector, showing a film cartridge in loaded position and indicating in broken lines the positions assumed by the film reels and the film supply spindle arm when the projector is converted to accommodate such reels;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the projector shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the projector illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, showing a film supply reel supported by the raised film supply spindle arm;

FIG. 4 is a perspective illustration of the film cartridge shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 and of the portion of the projector which cooperates with the cartridge to locate and support the latter in loaded position;

FIG. 5 is an elevational view of the opposite side of the portion of the projector shown in FIG. 4, depicting the mechanism by which the cartridge is releasably latched in loaded position;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged partial cross sectional view taken along the line 66 of FIG. 5, illustrating the manner in which the cartridge is releasably retained in loaded position by the latch members shown in FIGS. 4 and 5;

FIG. 7 illustrates the profile of an alternate film cartridge, viewed from the same direction as the cartridge shown in FIG. 1 but adapted to accommodate a smaller roll of film;

FIG. 8 corresponds to an enlarged portion of FIG. 1, partially cross sectioned and broken away and supplemented with phantom views to depict the positions of various elements of the film stripping and threading mechanism of the subject projector;

FIG. 9 is a cross sectional front view of the camshaft assembly employed to operate various elements of the projector;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged cross sectional view of the film guide and snubber structure shown in FIG. 8, taken along the line 1010 of that figure;

FIG. 11 is an elevational view of the portion of the projector shown in FIG. 8, taken from inside the projector to show the arrangement of internally located components of the control assembly and the film stripping and threading mechanism;

FIG. 12 is a partially cross sectioned rear elevational view of the film stripping and threading mechanism and of the control assembly shown in FIGS. 8 and 11;

FIG. 13 is a view from the same viewpoint as FIG. 11, depicting the relative positions assumed by the various illustrated elements of the film stripping and threading mechanism and of the control assembly prior to or following completion of the film stripping and threading phase of the operating cycle of the projector;

FIG. 14 corresponds to FIG. 13 and shows the relative positions of the illustrated elements during the film stripping and threading phase of the operating cycle with the projector adapted to accommodate a film cartridge;

FIG. 15 corresponds to FIGS. 13 and 14 and shows the 4 relative positions of the illustrated elements during the film stripping and threading phase of the operating cycle with the projector adapted to accommodate a film supply reel;

FIG. 16 is an exploded perspective view of the principal components of the film gate and film pulldown mechanism and of the actuating device employed to open and close the film gate and to adjust the film winding and rewinding mechanism at appropriate times during the operation of the projector;

FIG. 17 is a somewhat schematic top plan view of a portion of the structure shown in FIG. 16;

FIG. 18 is a front elevational view of a portion of the structure shown in FIG. 16, showing the relative positions of the illustrated components when the film gate is in a closed condition;

FIG. 19 corresponds to FIG. 18 and depicts the relative positions of the illustrated components when the film gate is in an open condition;

FIG. 20 is a somewhat schematic right side elevational view of the projector, illustrating the driving and shifting means associated with the film winding and rewinding mechanism;

FIG. 21 is a top plan view of a portion of the structure shown in FIG. 20;

FIG. 22 is a partially cross sectioned rear elevational view of the film take-up spindle assembly and of the shifter bar connected thereto; and

FIG. 23 is a partially cross sectioned rear elevational view of the film supply spindle assembly and of portions of the adjusting members associated therewith.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION To summarize the illustrated preferred embodiment of the present invention, without regard to specific structural and operational details hereinafter explained in detail, reference is first made only to FIGS. 1-3. From these three figures, it is apparent that the projector comprises a generally rectilinear casing member 11 including a housing 12 which extends laterally toward the right side of the projector and supports a forwardly facing projection lens assembly 13. To simplify subsequent explanations of the projector apparatus, the side of the projector shown in FIG. 1 will be referred to throughout the following disclosure as the right side and references to right or left movement of laterally movable projector elements will be made in the same sense unless otherwise specified. correspondingly, the terms front and back and forward and rearwar will be used throughout the disclosure with reference to the front of the projector as shown in FIG. 3. Similarly, references to clock-wise or counterclockwise rotation of various elements of the projector mechanism will be made from the viewpoint of either FIG. 1 or FIG. 3.

Above housing 12, rotatable take-up reel drive member 14 extends beyond vertical wall member 15 in coaxial alignment with a corresponding pulley member, which rotates constantly in a clockwise direction during opera tion of the projector. Drive member 14 is adapted to receive either a relatively small film take-up reel, as shown at 16 in FIGS. 1 and 2, or a larger take-up reel shown at 17 in FIG. 3 and in broken lines in FIG. 1. A similar rotatable drive member 18 likewise extends beyond wall member 15 through mechanism plate 19 in coaxial align ment with another pulley member which is constantly rotated in a counterclockwise direction. This drive member is carried by support arm 21, which is movable about shaft 22 between the lower position shown in solid lines in FIGS. 1 and 2 and the raised position shown in broken lines in FIG. 1 and in solid lines in FIG. 3.

With the arm in its lower position, reel drive member 18 is adapted to receive a film reel, housed within a cartridge loaded onto the projector as shown at 23. To accommodate the film 24 supplied by such a cartridge, the film take-up reel 16 can be of a size generally equivalent to the size of the cartridge as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. When the arm is in its raised position, however, substantially larger conventional uninclosed film supply and take-up reels can be installed on the respective drive members 18 and 14, thereby allowing greater lengths of film to be projected without interruption. To distinguish between conventional uninclosed film supply reels and film supply reels housed in film cartridges, the latter reels will hereinafter be referred to as spools. Thus, the term reel mode of operation will be understood to refer to the operation of the projector with a film supply reel mounted on the raised support arm, as opposed to the term cartridge mode of operation, which relates to the use of the projector employing a film supply cartridge aligned with drive member 18 of the lowered support arm.

Cartridge mode of operation To operate the projector utilizing a film supply cartridge 23, support arm 21 is moved to its lower position and latched in place by a latch member 25, shown in FIGS. and 21, which also serves to releasably retain the arm in its raised position. The film cartridge is then moved laterally into its illustrated position adjacent the cartridge plate, where it is releasably latched in place with the cartridge spool in coaxial driving engagement with drive member 18. During this phase of the projectors operating cycle, drive member 18 is positively connected to the corresponding pulley member so that the cartridge spool is rotated in a counterclockwise direction, tending to maintain the film in a tightly wound condition thereon.

To initiate the film stripping and threading operation, the operator manually depresses ear 26 to a position in which it is releasably retained by a latch mechanism. This causes stripper finger 27 to enter the slotted base portion of the cartridge and thereafter moves stripper belt member 28 in a counterclockwise direction about shaft 29 to bring stripper belt 30 into contact with the periphery of the roll of film on the film supply spool. Concurrently, drive member 18 is released from driving connection with the rotating pulley member so that the cartridge film spool can rotate freely. correspondingly, drive member 14 is coupled to its pulley member through a frictional clutch adapted to slip under a torque load proportional to the weight of the take-up reel, as determined partially by the amount of film wound thereon.

As described in the above-identified US. patent application Ser. No. 470,499, the stripper belt is constantly driven in a counterclockwise direction. Therefore, its peripheral engagement with the film supply roll rotates the film roll in a clockwise direction. Accordingly, the leading end of the film is separated from the roll by the stripper finger and is delivered out of the cartridge through a narrow guide path defined between a portion of the stripper belt and an adjacent edge of the stripper finger.

As the leading end of the film emerges beyond the path defined between the stripper belt and the stripper finger, it enters a curved guide channel established between stationary film guide member 31 and movable snubber member 32, which is pivotable downwardly about pin 33 but biased temporarily into firm resilient engagement with the guide member during the stripping and threading operation. This curved guide channel directs the leading end of the film downwardly into engagement by the film advancing mechanism of the projector, whereby it is advanced intermittently past a projection position aligned with the projectors optical system. Beyond the film gate, the leading end of the film proceeds into a pivotally supported channel member 34 which delivers it into contact with the hub of take-up reel 16. As is well known in the projector art, the hub of the take-up reel is provided with a plurality of teeth adapted to engage the edge perforations in the film, whereby the film is automatically attached to the hub upon being brought into contact therewith.

When the film has been engaged by the film advancing mechanism, its presence at a predetermined location is detected by an appropriate sensing device which then allows ear 26 to return to its initial position, thereby initiating the projection phase of the operating cycle. This causes the stripper finger and the stripper belt members to retract from the cartridge to their respective positions shown in FIG. 1 and releases the snubber member for downward pivotable movement about pin 33 against the influence of leaf spring 35, so that the snubber thereafter serves to stabilize the film tension between the gate and the supply reel in the manner well known in the prior art.

As the film is being projected, it can be stopped and displayed in reverse by manually moving control lever 36 from its illustrated raised (forward) position to an extreme downward (reverse) position. Additionally, the projector is provided with a review mechanism by means of which the operator can rewind and then reproject any desired portion of the film by manually moving control lever 37 to a rearward position to temporarily actuate the film rewinding mechanism.

The inner end of the roll of film 24 on the film supply spool within the magazine is attached to the core of the spool. Therefore, when all of the available film has been unwound from the cartridge, the resulting tightening of the film between the gate and the spool causes the snubber member to pivot downwardly to a position in which trigger lever 38 is engaged and depressed by shoe member 39 on the snubber member. Such depression of the trigger member initiates the rewind phase of the projectors operating cycle by opening the gate and withdrawing the film pulldown claw therefrom, by reestablishing positive rewinding rotation of drive member 18, and by releasing drive member 14 from the corresponding pulley member to allow the take-up reel to rotate freely as film is unwound therefrom. Thus, the film is automatically rewound entirely into the cartridge through the film gate whereupon the rewound cartridge can be removed from the projector.

Reel mode of operation To convert the projector to accommodate a conventional film supply reel 40 on drive member 18, arm release ear 41 is moved forwardly against the resistance of spring 42, thereby withdrawing latch tooth 43 from opening 44 in the curved front wall member 45 of arm 21 (FIGS. 20 and 21). Due to the location of ear 41, it is inaccessible whenever a cartridge is loaded onto the projector, thereby preventing the arm from being released from its lowered position until the cartridge has been removed. Upon releasing the latch, the arm can be moved to its previously described raised position where it is releasably retained by the reception of the latch tooth within a second opening 46 in wall member 45. Such movement of the arm automatically readjusts the film supply spindle assembly to establish frictional engagement between drive member 18 and the related pulley member through a drive unit corresponding to the one employed with the take-up reel, whereby the torque applied to the drive member is proportional to the weight of reel 40 supported thereon.

Since the internal structure of the film cartridge comprises essential elements of the film stripping means described above, that mechanism is ineffective when supply reel 40 is mounted on drive member 18. Therefore, when the operator now depresses ear 26, the stripper finger and the stripper belt member remain in their respective inoperative positions shown in FIG. 1. However, a guide roller 47, which remained in the inoperative position shown in FIG. 1 during the above-described mode of operation, now moves automatically into contact with the constantly moving stripper belt 30. Thus, when the operator manually removes the leading end of the reel loaded film 48 from the supply reel and inserts it in the nip between the drive belt and the roller, the stripper belt serves to drive the film through the guide channel between guide member 31 and the temporarily immovable snubber member 32,

7 whereby the end of the film is threaded through the gate and attached to the take-up reel as previously described. Upon the release of ear 26, guide roller 47 retracts to its inoperative position and the snubber member is released so that the projection phase of the operation cycle can proceed, as related above.

During the projection of film 48, the projector can be adjusted manually by means of lever 37 to display the film either forwards or backwards. However, since the projector is not adapted to rewind the film through the film gate except when loaded with a film cartridge, the film review mechanism is rendered inoperative when the film supply spindle arm is in its raised position.

In this mode of operation, the film is not attached to the supply reel. Upon completion of the projection phase, therefore, the trailing end of the filmstrip will have been separated from the film supply reel and wound onto the film take-up reel, and must be reattached manually to the supply reel in order to be rewound thereon. When this has been accomplished, the film supply spindle assembly is manually adjusted to establish positive driving connection between the film supply reel and the corresponding pulley member, thus causing the supply reel to rewind the film by overpowering the opposing torque frictionally applied to the take-up reel. When the rewinding operation has been completed, the supply spindle assembly is manually readjusted to reestablish the weight sensitive frictional engagement of the supply reel with the pulley member, whereupon the supply reel can be removed from the projector and replaced to prepare the projector for another operating cycle. If arm 21 is moved to its lower position to convert the projector to its cartridge mode of operation before the film supply spindle assembly has been thus manually readjusted, the lowering of the arm automatically accomplishes this result to insure proper subsequent functioning of the apparatus.

Film cartridge and mounting means The illustrated film cartridge used with the subject projector is of the same general type disclosed in the aboveidentified pending U.S. patent applications Ser. Nos. 470,499, 643,502, and 643,503, and is supported in its loaded position by means disclosed and claimed in commonly assigned copending US. application Ser. No. 685,588, entitled Cartridge, filed in the name of John J. Bundschuh, on Nov. 24, 1967. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 8, such a cartridge comprises a lower body member 49 which cooperates with a removable top cover member 50 to define an internal compartment adapted to substantially enclose a film spool 51. From the generally fiat base 52 of the cartridge, side walls 53 and 54 extend upwardly and join semi-cylindrical side wall members 55 and 56, which cooperate with the similarly curved top wall member 57 of the cover member to laterally enclose the film spool. As shown at 58, a vertical slot extends upwardly through the base portion of the cartridge and into the spool compartment to allow access to the film roll by the stripper finger and the stripper belt member. The trailing end of the strip of film wound onto the film spool is attached to the hub 59 thereof by means of a pin adapted to wedge the end of the film in a corresponding hole extending axially into the hub. The head of the pin, shown at 61, projects beyond the corresponding face of the film spool and into an enlarged opening 62 in the face of the cartridge viewed in FIG. 4. This feature of the illustrated cartridge is disclosed and claimed in commonly assigned copending US. application Ser. No. 685,597, entitled Cartridge and Reel Alignment Means, filed in the name of Arthur H. Crapsey on Nov. 24, 1967. Thus, the pin serves not only to attach the film to the reel hub, but also serves to insure proper orientation of the spool in the cartridge by virtue of the fact that it can be accommodated freely within opening 62, but not within the smaller opening 63 (FIG. 7) in the opposite end wall of the cartridge.

Referring now specifically to FIG. 4, it will be seen that the face of the cartridge adapted to be positioned adjacent the mechanism plate when the cartridge is in its loaded position is provided with a rib structure comprising a pair of parallel vertical ribs 65 and 66 extending outwardly from that face and joined by a similar transverse rib 67 partially encircling opening 62. The corresponding portion of the projector mechanism plate 19 is also illustrated in FIG. 4 and includes a recess 68 adapted to mate closely with the rib structure of the cartridge. Accordingly, when the cartridge is properly located in loaded position adjacent the mechanism plate, the cartridge rib structure is received snuggly within the corresponding recess of the mechanism plate, thus laterally immobilizing the magazine and insuring that the film spool is centered therein when the axial bore 69 of the film spool is in mating engagement with drive member 18. At the bottom of recess 68 in the mechanism plate, a plurality of coplanar positioning pad members 71 are adapted to engage corresponding face surfaces of the cartridge rib structure to locate the loaded cartridge in parallel relation to the mechanism plate with the film spool in alignment with the film take-up reel and with other film engaging elements of the projector.

To releasably retain the cartridge in its loaded position, latch levers 72 and 73 are pivotally attached to the interior face of the mechanism plate by studs 74 and 75, as shown in FIG. 5. At their diagonally opposed ends, the latch levers define latch ears 76 and 77 extending through corresponding openings 78 and 79 in the mechanism plate. A spring 81 attached between the latch levers applies a resilient clockwise force to both levers (counterclockwise as viewed in FIG. 5), thereby urging the latch cars into overlapping relation to the adjacent portions of recess 68. As the cartridge ribs 65 and 66 enter recess 68 during the installation of the cartridge, the sloped end faces 82 and 83 of ears 76 and 77 are engaged respectively by correspondingly sloped face surfaces 84 and 85 of ribs 65 and 66, thereby camming the ears outwardly against the influence of spring 81. When the cartridge has been moved sufiiciently to bring the rib structure into seating engagement with positioning pads 71, however, ears 76 and 77 are received respectively in corresponding cartridge openings 86 and 87 extending inwardly beyond ribs 65 and 66, thereby'allowing the ears to be moved into latching engagement with the adjacent internal rib surfaces by spring 81, as shown in FIG. 6. Hence, it will be apparent that the cartridge is held in positive con tact with the positioning pads by the latch ears and is prevented from moving laterally by the mating engagement of the cartridge rib structure with recess 68 in the cartridge plate.

FIG. 4 also depicts a rib member 88 extending forwardly from the mechanism plate and corresponding to the profile of the base portion of the cartridge. This structure serves to facilitate the alignment of the cartridge ribs with recess 68 during the cartridge loading operation and also provides a film guide channel 89. It should be noted, however, that the adjacent lateral surfaces of rib member 88 and the cartridge are spaced slightly apart when the cartridge is in loaded position to prevent interference with the accurate orientation of the cartridge by the reception of the cartridge ribs in recess 68.

To remove the cartridge from the projector, latch release ear 90 is manually depresed to rotate latch lever 72 in a counterclockwise direction, against the influence of spring 81, whereby the opposite end 91 of lever 72 displaces lever 73 in the same rotational direction by engagement with lip 92. Accordingly, both latch ears are withdrawn from latching engagement with the cartridge ribs, as shown in broken lines in FIG. 6.

Since the accurate location of the film cartridge relative to the projector is determined entirely by the cartridge rib structure rather than by peripheral surfaces of the cartridge, different cartridges with dissimilar peripheral dimensions can be employed without sacrificing accurate cartridge orientation. For example, FIG. 7 illustrates a profile of an alternate cartridge 93 that might be subsituted for the one shown in FIG. 4, et al., such cartridge being adapted to accommodate only a relatively small film spool. As represented in phantom lines, the face of cartridge 93 opposite the one illustrated is of course provided with locating ribs substantially identical to those of the cartridge shown in FIG. 4.

Since only two latch ears are provided by the latch mechanism illustrated in FIGS. 4, and 6, it will be seen that sloped surfaces 94 and 95 and the corresponding cartridge openings 96 and 97 are superfluous to the particular arrangement depicted in FIGS. 4 and 5; these additional latching means being provided in the cartridge to allow its employment with projectors having additional or dilferently arranged latching ears.

Film stripping mechanism The film stripping mechanism employed in the subject projector is of the same general type described in the above-identified pending US. patent applications Ser. Nos. 470,499, 643,502 and 643,503, and embodies many of the novel features covered by these disclosures in combination with further improvements hereinafter described.

Stripper finger As best illustrated by FIG. 12, et al., a sleeve member 100 extends horizontally from stripper finger 27 through slot 101 in the mechanism plate and is rotatably supported by elongate pin 102 on stripper arm 103, to allow pivotal movement of the finger about the axis of that pin. The stripper arm, in turn, is rotatably attached to the mechanism plate by stud 104. At the end of pin 102 opposite the stripper finger, a roller 105 (shown in FIGS. 11-13) straddles the arcuate lower edge 106 of cam plate 107 mounted on the mechanism plate by pedestals 108. This roller assists in maintaining arm 103 in parallel relation with the mechanism plate as the arm is rotated about stud 104 to move sleeve 100 along slot 101. By this arrangement, the stripper finger is also maintained in parallel relation with the mechanism plate and in alignment with the film roll 109 on the film spool within the loaded cartridge 23, and is movable into contact with the roll through cartridge slot 58.

Stripper belt member As shown in FIGS. 9 and 12, the stripper belt member 28 includes a drive pulley 111 attached to the external end of shaft 29, which constantly rotates in a counterclockwise direction. The drive pulley is straddled by elongate side plates 112 and 113 vertically aligned with the cartridge film roll and pivotally supported at one end by rotating shaft 29. Between the side plates, two idler pulleys, not shown, are rotatably supported by studs 114 and 115 (FIG. 1). The stripper belt 30 comprises a resilient endless loop which is trained around the three pulleys and extends beyond the upper edges of the side plate. This belt, therefore, is constantly driven by the drive pulley and is movable into driving engagement with the film roll by angular movement of the entire stripper belt member about shaft 29.

Stripping operation When stripper arm 103 has been moved to its opera tive position in response to depression of car 26, by the control mechanism which will be separately described in detail, pin 102 is located as shown at '102(a). Therefore, the engagement of tooth 117 of the stripper finger with the periphery of the film roll by means of spring 118 causes the stripper finger 27 to assume an operative position determined by the size of the film roll. Similarly, when the same control mechanism pivots stripper belt member 28 upwardly into resilient contact with the film roll, its operative position will also be determined by the size of the film roll. For example, in FIG. 8, a relatively small film roll is illustrated in solid lines at 109, with the periphery of a larger roll being represented by broken line 109(a). In like manner, the respective operative positions of the stripper finger and the stripper belt member in engagement with roll 109 are shown in broken lines at 27(a) and 28(a), with the corresponding positions of the same members engaged with roll 109(a) being depicted at 27(1)) and 28(b). From this illustration, it is apparent that the lower edge 119 of finger 27 is generally tangential to the film roll and in spaced substantially parallel relation to the adjacent portion of the stripper belt, regardless of the size of the film roll. Thus, as the roll is driven in a clockwise direction by the belt, the leading end of the film is separated from the roll by the tooth of the stripper finger and is driven into guide channel 89 along a path established between the belt and the adjacent lower edge of the stripper finger. Due to the close adjacency of the edge of the stripper finger to the belt, this film path is sufiiciently narrow to prevent buckling and possible damage to the film therealong in the event that the movement of such film is blocked at some point beyond that path.

Cam plate In moving from its inoperative position to an operative position as shown at 27 (a) or 27 (b), the stripper finger must be rotated in counterclockwise relation to stripper arm 103 about the axis of pin 102 by spring 118. However, it should also be apparent that the tooth of the stripper finger must not initially engage the film roll at an angle that would block movement of the finger to its operative position. Also, the path of movement of the finger must be such as to avoid interfering engagement with adjacent members of the projector, e.g., with guide roller 47. To meet these requirements, a cam follower arm 121 is attached to sleeve in fixed angular relation to the stripper finger and includes a cam follower lip 122 adapted to engage curved edge surface 123 of cam plate 107 under the influence of spring 118. Thus, the cooperation of lip 122 with curved cam surface 123 determines the counterclockwise rotation of the stripper finger relative to the stripper arm in accordance with the angular position of the stripper arm during its rotational movement about stud 104. Consequently, prior to engagement with the film roll, the tooth of the finger member follows the path shown in broken lines at 124. Accordingly, regardless of the size of the film roll, it is encountered by the tooth at an angle such that further movement of the stripper arm can move the finger into its operative position by sliding the tooth along the film roll at an acute angle thereto.

During the sliding movement of the tooth along the roll, the tooth is rotated in clockwise relation to the stripper arm against the influence of spring 118. As a result, the cam follower arm is also pivoted away from cam surface 123 to a position as illustrated at 121(a) or 121(b), thereby allowing the tooth to be maintained in firm resilient contact With the film roll wtihout interference from the cam arrangement.

Guide roller Guide roller 47 is rotatably supported in alignment with striper belt member 28 by a shaft 131 extending through an arcuate slot 132 in the mechanism plate as shown in FIG. 8. Shaft 131, in turn, is attached to a roller lever 133, shown in FIGS. 11-15, which is pivotally supported by pivot stud 134. Accordingly, the roller is movable between an inoperative and an operative position, as shown respectively in solid and broken lines in FIG. 8, in response to corresponding movement of lever 133 by the hereinafter described control mechanism.

When the projector is loaded with a film cartridge, the corresponding lowered position of arm 21 automatically causes the roller to remain in its inoperative position, in which it is located out of the movement path of the stripper finger. However, when arm 21 is raised to convert the projector to its reel mode of operation, the stripper finger and the stripper belt member are disabled from moving from their respective inoperative positionsv and the roller is allowed to move to its operative position in response to depression of ear 26. In this position, the roller is resiliently engaged with moving stripper belt 30, so that the manual insertion of the end of the film 48 on the supply reel into the nip of roller 47 and belt 30 causes the film to be driven into guide channel 89 by the belt, until the roller is subsequently returned to its inoperative position by the control mechanism upon upward movement of ear 26.

Film guide and snubber Still referring principally to FIG. 8, it will be seen that film guide member 31 is rigidly attached to the exterior surface of the mechanism plate by rivets 142 and pivotally supports snubber member 32, which is attached to the guide member by pivot pin 33. As shown in FIG. 10, the respective lower and upper surfaces of the guide member and the snubber member cooperate to define a film guide passageway 144 when the snubber is pivoted upwardly against the guide member, as illustrated. At the end of these two members adjacent film guide channel 89 on the mechanism plate, the surfaces defining the film passageway diverge to form a tapered throat 145, in alignment with that channel. Accordingly, as the leading end of the film emerges from the guide channel under the influence of the stripper belt, it is pushed through passageway 144, and thereby delivered downwardly into the film gate.

Leaf spring 35 is attached to the mechanism plate by a rivet 146 and bears upwardly against lug 147 on the snubber member to resiliently urge the snubber member into its depicted position adjacent guide member 31. Thus, during the projection of the film, the snubber member serves to stabilize the tension of the portion of film between the film gate and the supply reel or spool by moving downwardly against the influence of spring 35 in response to momentary increases in such tension; similar devices being well known in the projector art. To be effective for this purpose, however, the snubber member must be capable of being pivoted away from the guide member quite easily. For that reason, the upward force exerted on the snubber by spring 35 is insufficient to insure that the snubber will remain in contact with the guide member to preserve the closed passageway as the film is being fed therethrough by the stripper belt. Therefore, lug 147 is provided with a pin 148 extending through arcuate slot 149 in the mechanism plate so that a snubber blocking lever incorporated in the control mechanism can engage the inner end of that pin to resiliently retain the snubber member temporarily in its raised position under the influence of a much stronger spring. Alternatively, the invention could of course be embodied in a projector of the well-known type in which the film movement is controlled by one or more sprocket members in which case the snubber member would not be needed as a tension regulating device and could remain in its raised position.

FIG. 8 also illustrates the previously mentioned shoe member 39 extending downwardly from the snubber member above trigger lever 38, which projects through slot 151 in the mechanism plate. The purpose of this shoe is to depress the trigger lever to initiate the film rewinding phase of operation when the snubber member is moved to its lowermost position by the increase in film tension accompanying withdrawal of all of the available film from the film magazine loaded onto the projector.

CAM CONTROL MECHANISM Cam drive means The cam control mechanism of the subject projector is illustrated in detail in FIGS. 9 and 12-15. The central element of this mechanism is shaft 29, which extends freely through the bore of a multiple lobe cam member 156 located between the mechanism plate and support plate 157. The support plate is mounted rigidly to the mechanism plate by pedestals as indicated at 158 in FIG. 12 and rotatably supports sleeve portion 159 of the cam member, which is keyed to disk member 161 beyond the support plate by a drive key shown at 162. At the opposite end of the cam member shaft 29 is rotatably supported in the mechanism plate by bushing 163 attached to elongate side plate 112 of the stripper belt member 28. At the external end of the shaft, belt drive pulley 111 is attached thereto between the side plates 112 and 113 of the stripper belt member, as shown in FIG. 12.

Throughout the operation of the projector, shaft 29 is rotated constantly in a counterclockwise direction by spur gear 164 attached to the internal end of the shaft and meshed with a smaller spur gear 165 rotatably supported on stub shaft 166 and driven by pulley 167 through a drive belt mechanism described below with reference to FIGS. 20 and 21.

To rotate the cam member intermittently with shaft 29, a dog member 168 is pivotally mounted to disk member 161 by a pin 169 and is biased by spring 171 to urge dog ear 172 toward engagement with the multiple toothed peripheral surface of hub member 173 of gear 164, as best illustrated by FIGS. 11 and 12. Thus, when the dog ear is received between two of the teeth of the constantly rotating hub member 173, the cam member is coupled positively to shaft 29 for rotation therewith.

In order to engage and disengage the cam member from shaft 29, a clutch operating lever 174 is pivoted to support plate 157 by pin 175 and is urged upwardly by spring 176 to bias lower lever ear 177 into contact with the periphery of disk member 161. In this position, lever ear 177 is adapted to be engaged by lip 178, which extends beyond disk 161 from dog member 168, thereby holding dog car 172 out of engagement with hub member 173 and allowing the cam to remain at a stationary initial position as shaft 29 rotates. When ear 26 is depressed manually to the bottom of mechanism plate opening 179, however, ear 177 is moved downwardly beyond lip 178 as the upper lever ear 180 simultaneously moves downwardly into contact with disk 161 as shown in broken lines in FIG. 11. Accordingly, the dog member immediately pivots about pin 169 under the influence of spring 171 to engage ear 172 with hub member 173, thereby coupling the cam member to shaft 29. As soon as the cam has rotated through an angle of approximately 120 degrees, however, the corresponding rotation of disk 161 brings lip 178 into contact with lever car 180, whereupon the cam member is again immobilized at its intermediate position by the disengagement of the dog ear from the hub member. As shown at 181, a spring loaded pivotal latch member is adapted to retain lever 174 temporarily in its depressed position by engaging upper lever car 180, thus causing the cam member to remain at its intermediate position until the latch member is released from ear 180 by solenoid 182. The solenoid, in turn, is connected to an appropriate power source, not shown, through a normally open switch device 183 (FIGS. 16 and 17) provided with a sensing finger 184 extending into the film gate to close the switch in response to the presence of film within the gate. Therefore, lever 174 remains in its lower position until the film has been fed into engagement with the projectors film advancing mechanism, whereupon latch member 181 is released from car 180. When this occurs, lever 174 is returned to its raised position by spring 176, whereby the disengagement of ear 180 from lip 178 again temporarily engages the cam member to shaft 29 to restore the cam and clutch members to the initial condition shown in FIG. 11.

Cam member Cam member 156 comprises a cylindrical hub 1S5 concentric with the bore of the cam member at one end thereof, and four differently profiled cam lobes; namely, stripper finger lobe 186, reset lobe 187, roller and snubber lobe 188, and stripper belt lobe 189. The respective profiles of these lobes are shown in FIG. 13 with the cam member illustrated in its initial position, and it will be understood that the lobes remain at all times in the same angular relation to one another. The reasons for the particularillustrated profiles of the different lobes will be apparent from subsequent explanations of the functions performed by the cam member. "However, it should be noted that by changing the lobe profiles, the cam member could be adapted to be rotated through each complete revolution in two successive angular movement of other than l'and 240 degrees, such angles having been chosen somewhat arbitrarily to reduce the maximum torque requiredlto rotate the cam member from that which would be needed if the cam were rotated successively through more nearly equal angles.

Film stripper The operation of stripper finger 27 is controlled by the cam control mechanism through slide bar 191, which is supported at one end by legs 192 and 193 slidably stradding cam hub 185, and at its opposite end by an L- shaped ear 194 extending beyond lip 195 and receive through hole 196 in stripper arm 103. Cam follower ear 197, located between the legs of the slide bar is adapted to engage the periphery of stripper finger lobe 186, and is urgedtoward the cam by a spring symbolically represented' at 198. (For purposes of clarity, spring symbols corresponding to the one shown at 198 are employed in the accompanying drawings to represent springs acting in various directions, as indicated by the arrowhead of each such symbol, but such symbols do not necessarily indicate the positions or types of springs best adapted to produce the forces thereby illustrated.)

A stripper belt control lever 199 is pivoted to the mechanism plate by pivot stud 201 and is provided with a cam follower ear 202 biased toward engagement with the stripper belt lobe 189 of the cam member by a spring 203. At the end of lever 199 adjacent the cam member, the lever is provided with a slot 204. This slot receives the end of astud 205, which is rigidly attached to the side plate of the stripper-belt member adjacent the mechanism plate and extends through the mechanism plate via an arcuate slot shown in broken lines at 206 in FIG. 8.

When the cam member is in its initial position, slide bar 191 and lever 199 are located as shown in FIG. 13 by the resilient engagement of their respective cam fol lower ears with the corresponding cam lobes, thereby maintaining the stripper finger and the stripper belt member in their inoperative positions as represented in solid lines in FIG. 8.

Upon manual depression of ear 26, the cam member revolves to its intermediate position. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 14, slide bar 191 effects movement of the stripper finger to its operative position as cam follower ear 197 is maintained in contact with cam lobe 186 by spring 198. During such movement of the cam member, cam lobe 189 also presents a decreasingly smaller radius to cam follower ear 202 of lever 199. At the opposite end of that lever, an ear 207 thereon is in alignment with the curved edge surface 208 of stripper arm 103. Therefore, as the cam member commences its rotational movement from its initial position, lever 199 is blocked by the engagement of ear 207 with surface 208, allowing cam lobe 189 to move out of engagement with cam follower ear 202. By the time the cam member reaches its intermediate position, however, the movement of stripper arm 103 by slide bar 191 has brought the stripper finger to its operative position and has aligned notch 209 in the stripper arm with ear 207. Thus, since ear 207 is no longer blocked, spring 203 can now pivot the slotted end of lever 199 upwardly, to thereby rotate the stripper belt member about shaft 29 and into resilient driving engagement with the film roll on the cartridge spool. By incorporating this feature, the present invention therefore further assures proper functioning of the film stripping mechanism by avoiding film unwinding rotation of the film roll by the stripper belt until the stripper finger is operatively positioned in engagement with the roll.

Selector slide Selector slide 215 is supported for vertical sliding movement by stationary pins 216 extending through slots 217 in the slide and is biased upwardly by a relatively strong spring 218. As long as arm 21 is latched in its lower position to allow the projector to accommodate film cartridges, the slide plate is also retained in. its lower position, as shown in FIGS. 11-14, against the influence of spring 218, by the engagement of slide lip 219 by abutment finger 221 attached to the movable arm 21. When arm 21 is raised, however, spring 218 moves the selector slide upwardly to the position shown in FIG. 15, defined by the engagement of pins 216 with the lower ends of slots 217.

As long as the selector slide is in its lower position, a notch 222 in the slide is adapted to receive lip of slide bar 191 as that bar moves to the position shown in FIG. 14 to operate the film stripping mechanism. When the selector plate is raised as shown in FIG. 15, however, notch 222 is above the path of movement of lip 195. Therefore, as the cam member rotates from its initial position to its intermediate position, lip 195 encounters edge surface 223 of the selector slide, which blocks further movement of the stripper finger from its inoperative position by preventing cam follower ear 197 from being retained in contact with cam lobe 186 by spring 198. Additionally, since lever 199 cannot rotate about pivot stud 201 to move the stripper belt member into operative position until arm 103 has pivoted sufficiently to align notch 209 with ear 207, which cannot occur as long as slide bar lip 195 is blocked by the selector slide, it is apparent that the stripper belt member also remains in its inoperative position.

The position of the selector slide also determines the operativeness of guide roller 47 by allowing the roller to move from its inoperative position to its operative position only when the projector is in the reel mode of operation. This is accomplished by means analogous to those just described, as will be hereinafter explained in connection with describing the roller positioning elements of the control cam mechanism.

For reasons later explained, the projector is adapted to rewind film through the film gate only when loaded with a film cartridge. Therefore, still another function of the selector slide is to prevent the initiation of the cartridge rewinding phase of the projector cycle except when arm 21 is positioned to accommodate a film supply cartridge. This function is performed by providing the selector slide with a lateral ear 224 extending beneath trigger lever 38. During the cartridge mode of operation, ear 224 is below the lowermost position of the trigger lever defined by slot 151 in the mechanism plate, as shown in FIG. 13, and therefore has no effect on the operation of the trigger. In the reel mode of operation, however, the raised position of the selector slide illustrated in FIG. 15 locates ear 224 in overlapping relation to the lower portion of slot 151 immediately below the trigger lever so that the trigger can be depressed only by a force sufficient to overcome the heavy spring 218 urging the selector slide upwardly. Since the film advancing mechanism is incapable of applying sufiicient tension to the film to produce such a force on the snubber member, the trigger member is thus rendered inoperable by the snubber member. Although the trigger could still be released manually, such an operation could not be performed accidentally due to the substantial resistance of spring 218.

Guide roller Guide roller lever 133 is pivotally supported by stud 134 attached to the mechanism plate and is provided with a cam follower ear 227 extending upwardly from the base member 228 of the lever and urged toward engagement with cam lobe 188 by spring 229. When the cam member is in its initial position, the engagement of ear 227 with lobe 188 displaces lever 133 against the influence of spring 229, as shown in FIG. 13, whereby roller 47 at the top end of the lever is located at its inoperative position depicted in solid lines in FIG. 8.

If selector slide 215 is in its lower position, i.e. during the cartridge mode of operation, a blocking ear 230 on the selector slide is disposed immediately above base member 228 of the lever, as illustrated in FIG. 13. Consequently, during rotation of the cam member, the roller is maintained in its inoperative position by the engagement of the lever base member with blocking ear 230, as shown in FIG. 14, while the stripper finger and the stripper belt perform the film stripping operation. Conversely, when the projector is adjusted to the reel mode of operation, the corresponding raised position of the selector slide removes blocking ear 230 from the path of movement of base member 228, allowing cam follower ear 227 to follow cam lobe 188 under the influence of spring 229. Accordingly, the roller moves into resilient contact with the stripper belt as the stripper belt member and the stripper finger are retained in their respective inoperative positions by the selector slide.

During either type of threading operation, it is of course essential that the film advancing mechanism be adjusted to its forward projection condition so that the film will be engaged by that mechanism and thereby moved away from rather than toward the supply roll. Therefore, an interlock device is employed to prevent car 26 from being depressed unless control lever 36 is in its raised (forward) position. As illustrated in FIGS. 11, 16 and 20, this device comprises a cam slide 231 slidably supported for vertical movement of studs 232. At its lower end, the cam slide is bifurcated as shown at 233 to straddle the adjacent end of control lever 36 so that the vertical position of the slide plate corresponds to the position of the control lever. A blocking slide 234 is similarly supported for horizontal sliding movement by studs 235 and is biased rearwardly by a light spring 236 to maintain the rearward end by the blocking slide in contact with cam surface 237 along the adjacent edge of the cam slide. Accordingly, as long as control lever 36 is in its raised (forward) position, its blocking slide is located as shown in solid lines in FIGS. 11 and 20, with its upwardly extending leg 238 behind the path of movement of car 26. Upon movement of control lever 36 to its lower (reverse) position, however, the corresponding movement of the cam slide brings the sloped upper portion of cam surface 237 into engagement with the blocking slide, thereby camming the latter slide forwardly to position leg 238 directly below car 26 as shown in broken lines in FIGS. 11 and 20. Consequently, it will be apparent that leg 238 prevents downward movement of the ear so long as the projector is adjusted for reverse projection, thus positively eliminating the employment of the threading mechanism until lever 36 is returned to its raised position.

Snubber As previously described, snubber member 32 is pivotable downwardly from film guide member 31 about pivot pin 33 against the resistance of a relatively Weak leaf spring 35, but is held in contact with the guide member under a substantially stronger resilient force during the film threading operation. This is accomplished by means of snubber blocking lever 239, which is pivotally mounted on stud 134 and provided with cam follower car 240 aligned with cam lobe 188. A relatively strong spring 241 biases the rearwardly projecting arm 242 of lever 239 in an upward direction, thereby maintaining cam follower ear 240 in constant engagement with cam lobe 188.

When the cam member is in its initial position, arm 242 is depressed against the resistance of spring 241 to the location shown in FIG. 13. In this position, the arm is vertically aligned with pin 148 extending from the snubber member through the mechanism plate, but is below the lowermost position of that pin as shown in broken lines in FIGS. 8 and 13. Consequently, the snubber blocking lever in no way influences the movement of the snubber member produced by variationsin film tension. Whenever the cam member is rotated to its intermediate position, however, arm 242 is raised into engagement with pin 148 as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, thereby resiliently biasing the snubber member against film guide member 31 under the combined forces of the relatively weak leaf spring 35 and the substantially stronger spring 241.

Reset lever As will be described below in detail, the depression of trigger lever 38 releases a latched spring loaded mechanism to initiate the cartridge rewinding phase of the projectors operating cycle. Therefore, still another function performed by the cam member is to reset that mechanism during the subsequent film stripping operation in preparation for another operating cycle.

To perform this resetting operation, reset lever 243 is centrally supported for pivotal movement by the upper selector slide support pin 216, with the forwardly extending leg 244 of the lever located directly above cam lobe 187. The rearwardly extending leg 245 of the same lever projects above the adjacent end of the cocking arm 246 illustrated in detail in FIGS. 16-18 and shown in cross section in FIGS. 13-15.

For purposes of understanding the operation of the reset lever, it will be understood that the end of the cocking arm below the reset lever is resiliently biased to the position shown in cross section in FIGS. 11 and 13; and that the spring loaded mechanism is reset by depressing the lever to the position shown in cross section in FIGS. 14 and 15 and then allowing it to return to its former raised position. Accordingly, as the cam member rotates from its initial position to its intermediate position, the periphery of cam lobe 187 causes the rearwardly extending leg 245 of the reset lever to move downwardly with sufficient force to depress the cocking arm. Thereupon, as the cam member continues to rotate through the remainder of a single revolution, the radius of cam lobe 187 engaged by leg 244 decreases, allowing the reset lever to be restored to position shown in FIG. 13.; During the projection of the film on a film supply reel, the spring loaded mechanism cannot be released due to the .fact that the trigger member is automatically disabled by the selector slide. Therefore, since the spring loaded mechanism remains cocked, the subsequent downward andupward movement of the reset lever serves no useful purpose, but need not be prevented inasmuch as it cannot interfere with the operation of the projector.

FILM GATE ASSEMBLY Gate and film advancing structure The film gate assembly of the subject projector is depicted by FIGS. 16-20, with various elements of the assembly having been omitted in different figures --for purposes of clarity. Viewed collectively, FIGS. 16, 17 and 20 illustrate the overall construction of this assembly, including the film advancing mechanism and the structure employed to open the gate during a cartridge rewinding operation.

From the three above-mentioned figures, it will be seen that the film gate, as such, comprises a stationary gate member 251 rigidly supported by vertical support plate 252 and defining a vertical channel structure 253 extending downwardly from a rearwardly sloped film guide lip 254. A movable gate member 255 includes a channel portion 256 extending downwardly from a forwardly sloped film guide lip 257 and adapted to mate loosely within channel structure 253 to define a vertical film passageway shown at 258 in FIG. 17. Except during the cartridge rewinding operation, the film within this passageway is resiliently sandwiched between the surfaces of the gate members adjacent thereto under the influence of springs 259, which bias the movable gate member in a rearward direction. As illustrated in FIG. 20, the film gate is positioned with diverging film guide lips 254 and 257 located directly below the lower end of the guide channel defined between filmguide member 31 and snubber member 32, so that the leading end of the film emerging from that channel during the film threading operation is guided into passageway 258 between the gate members. Similarly, the open throat portion 2-60 of lower film guide member 261 is located directly below film passageway 258 to receive the end of the film as it emerges from the gate, thereby causing the film to be further guided into throat 262 of channel member 34, through which it is delivered to the hub of the take-up reel. As shown at 263, a snubber shoe is adapted to resiliently engage the film along the adjacent curved portion of lower guide member 261; the principal function of this shoe being to control the film tension between the gate and the take-up reel during reverse projection of the film.

In FIG. 16,- it can be seen that a projection aperture 265 is provided in the movable gate member along the film passageway and merges into vertical claw receiving slots 266, extending above and below the aperture. Corresponding aligned openings, not shown, are of course also provided in the stationary gate member, thereby defining a film projection location along the axis of the projectors optical system represented by projection lamp 267 and lens 268.

The film advancing mechanism of the projector is generally similar to the one described in commonly assigned pending US. patent application Ser. No. 648,282, entitled Film Pull Down and Control Mechanism For a Motion Picture Projector, filed in the name of Thomas G. Kirr on June 23, 1967. In this mechanism, a claw plate 271 is mounted to support plate 252 between ball bearings shown at 272, which provide for vertically oriented up and down movement of the claw plate while also defining a vertical pivot axis about which film claws 273 can move into or out of the claw receiving slots in the gate members. Behind the claw plate, rotary shutter blade 274 and cam member 275 are attached to shaft 276 of drive motor 277, which constantly rotates in a counterclockwise direction. A cam follower roller 278 projects rearwardly from the claw plate and is urged downwardly into contact with the peripheral cam surface 279 of the cam member by a spring 281, whereby that cam surface imparts predetermined vertical movement to the claw plate. The face of the cam member is provided with two concentric cam surfaces 282 and 283, of different configurations. A cam follower pin 284, slidably supported by bushing 285 in control lever 36 is adapted to be aligned selectively with either of the two cam surfaces by moving the externally accessible end of the control lever shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 to either its raised or its lower position, thereby pivoting the lever about stationary pivot stud 286. The fiat rearwardly facing surface of the claw plate adjacent the front end of the cam follower pin is rocked rearwardly into resilient contact with the pin by spring 287. Accordingly, the rotation of the cam member causes claws 273 to move both vertically and into and out of engagement with the perforations in the film within the gate passageway. By virtue of the configurations and phase relationships of cam surfaces 279, 282 and 283, movement of the control lever to its raised position causes the film to be advanced downwardly through the gate for normal projection, whereas moving the lever to its lower position causes the film to be displayed in reverse as it is moved upwardly through the gate by the claws. The pending patent application just referred to also discloses means for enabling this type of film advancing mechanism to be adjusted to a still projection condition in which a single film frame may be projected as long as desired; and it should be apparent that such a feature could be incorporated readily into a projector embodying the present invention.

Gate opening mechanism During the cartridge rewind operation, the film is rewound into the film cartridge through the film gate. Therefore, it is essential that the gate be open during this operation, i.e. that the film claws be retracted and that the movable gate member be moved out of intimate resilient contact with the film. For this purpose, cam finger member 291 is mounted to support plate 252 by studs 292 extending through corresponding slots 293 in fingers 294 and 295, thereby allowing lateral movement of the cam finger member between its retracted position shown in FIGS. 16- 18 and its operative position shown in FIG. 19. The cam finger member is biased toward its operative position by a spring wire 296 extending between finger ears 297 and bowed about stationary pin 298 attached to the vertical support plate.

Except during a cartridge rewinding operation, the cam finger member is retained in its retracted position by a latch member 299, pivotally mounted to latch support bar 301 by pin 302 and urged into latching engagement with lip 303 of the cam finger member by spring 304. The latch support bar is pivotable about stationary stud 305 but is biased into contact with a fixed abutment member 306 by spring 307 with sufficient force to overcome the opposite influence of spring wire 296.

As long as the cam finger member remains in its retracted position, the rearwardly slanted cam tongues 308 and 309 at the ends of fingers 294 and 295 are in spaced parallel relation to corresponding forwardly slanted tongues 311 and 312 of the movable gate member, but are not in contact with the latter tongues. Similarly, a rearwardly slanted tongue 313 at the end of claw disabling finger 314 of the cam finger member is positioned in adjacent parallel relation of the corresponding sloped edge portion 315 of claw plate 271, beyond engagement therewith.

Trigger lever 38 is pivoted on stationary stud 316 with the end of the lever below snubber shoe member 39 biased upwardly by spring 317. A connecting link 318 is pivotally attached to the opposite end of lever 38 by pivot stud 319, and extends downwardly therefrom behind depending leg 321 of cocking arm 246. A light spring 322 biases the connecting link toward ear 323 of the cocking arm, whereby that ear is received between link tongues 324 and 325, to limit vertical movement of the link. As long as the trigger lever is raised and the cam finger member is retracted, the lower tongue 325 of the connecting link is positioned below horizontal ear 326 of the latch member. When the trigger lever is depressed, however, either manually or by the snubber :shoe member, the resulting upward movement of tongue 325 lifts latch car 326 to disengage latch member 299 from lip 303 of the cam finger member, whereupon that member is moved immediately to its operative position by a spring wire 296. Accordingly, the forward displacement of gate member tongues 311 and 312 by finger tongues 308 and 309 pivots the movable gate member forwardly about a vertical axis defined by the engagement of fulcrum edges 327 of movable gate ear 328 with the adjacent concave surface 329 of the stationary gate member, thereby moving the channel portion of the movable gate member out of intimate contact with the film in the gate. Concurrently, tongue 313 at the end of claw disabling finger 314 displaces the sloped edge portion 315 of the claw member forwardly

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