JPH0426088B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a film cassette used, for example, in an endoscope camera.

A film cassette for an endoscope is comprised of a film supply section and a film winding section with a bridge in between. A spool for winding the film is rotatably housed in the film winding portion of the film cassette, and an engaging claw integral with the spool is exposed on the top surface of the film cassette. On the other hand, an endoscope camera has an opening/closing lid pivotally attached to the back side of the camera body, and the film cassette is loaded into a cassette storage chamber within the camera body by opening the opening/closing lid.

In this case, since the film cassette is loaded into the cassette storage chamber by sliding it from the back of the camera body in the direction of the optical axis, it is necessary to avoid interference between the film winding shaft on the camera side and the film cassette during loading. The film winding shaft is movable up and down, and when a film cassette is loaded, the film winding shaft is retracted upward, and after loading, it is lowered and engaged with an engaging claw of the film cassette.

However, making the film winding shaft movable up and down increases the height of the camera body by the stroke thereof, and it also becomes mechanically complex. Furthermore, when taking out the film cassette from the camera after photographing, it is necessary to take out the film cassette while retracting the film winding shaft upward, and the film cassette must be attached and removed.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and its object is to connect a spool constituting a film winding section to an outer cylinder for film winding, an inner cylinder that engages with a film winding shaft of a camera, and an inner cylinder that engages with a film winding shaft of a camera. The rotational force of the inner cylinder is transmitted to the outer cylinder via a gear mechanism, and the inner cylinder is movable in the thrust direction, making it easy to attach and remove the film cassette from the camera. The purpose of this invention is to provide a film cassette that can be used in a variety of ways.

The present invention will be described below based on an embodiment shown in the drawings. 1 and 2 show a film cassette for an endoscope, and 1 is a cassette body. The cassette main body 1 is comprised of a film supply section 3 and a film winding section 4 with a bridge 2 in between. An unexposed film 5 of, for example, 8 mm or 16 mm is housed in the film supply section 3 in a wound state, and one end of the film is connected to a spool 20, which will be described later, of the film winding section 4.

3 and 4 show an endoscope camera, and 6 is the camera body. This camera body 6
A cassette storage chamber 7 into which the cassette main body 1 is loaded is provided inside. An opening/closing lid 9 for opening and closing the opening 8 of the cassette storage chamber 7 is pivotally mounted on the back side of the camera body 6.

The opening/closing lid 9 is opened and the cassette body 1 is slid from the rear of the camera body 6 in the direction of its optical axis to be loaded into the cassette storage chamber 7.

Next, the cassette main body 1 will be explained in detail based on FIG. 2, FIG. 5, and FIG. 6. 10
11 is a lower case, and 11 is an upper case. A first cylindrical section 12 forming the film supply section 3 and a second cylindrical section 13 forming the film winding section 4 are integrally molded into the lower case 10 together with the bridge 2. Further, the case 11 is provided with lids 14 and 15 that close the upper openings of the first and second cylindrical parts 12 and 13. Further, an opening 1 is provided at the bottom of the second cylindrical portion 13.
6, and a guide portion 17 projecting upward is provided on the opening edge of the opening portion 16. Also,
The lid body 15 also has an opening 1 facing the opening 16.
8, and a guide portion 19 projecting downward is provided at the opening edge of the opening portion 18. These guide parts 17 and 19 are connected to openings 16 and 18.
The spool 20 is rotatably fitted between the guide portions 17 and 19.
The spool 220 is composed of an inner cylinder 21 and an outer cylinder 22, and the inner cylinder 21 is rotatably fitted into the openings 16 and 18 provided at the upper and lower parts.
2 is rotatably fitted into guide portions 17 and 19 provided at the upper and lower portions. Therefore, the inner cylinder 21 and the outer cylinder 2
2 is eccentric. The inner cylinder 21 has a bottom portion 23 exposed from the opening 16,
At the top thereof, an engaging claw portion 2 exposed from the opening 18 is provided.
4 are provided. Further, the outer peripheral surface of the inner cylinder 21 is provided with wide external teeth 25 in the axial direction,
Internal teeth 26 having a narrower width than the external teeth 25 are provided on the inner circumferential surface of the holder. The outer teeth 25 and the inner teeth 26 mesh at a part of the circumference to form a gear mechanism 27, and the inner cylinder 21 is movable in the thrust direction relative to the outer cylinder 22. The rotational force is transmitted to the outer cylinder 22, and the film 5 can be wound around the outer peripheral surface of the outer cylinder 22. Therefore, the outer circumference of the outer cylinder 22 is the film storage chamber 28.
is formed. Further, a flange portion 29 is formed on the outer peripheral wall of the upper end of the inner cylinder 21, and a compression spring 30 is interposed between the flange portion 29 and the lower surface of the lid body 15.
The inner cylinder 21 is always urged downward with respect to the outer cylinder 22, that is, in the direction in which the engaging claw portion 24 is retracted from the opening 18. Therefore, the upper surface of the inner cylinder 21 is held flush with the outer cylinder 22 and the lid 15.

Next, the camera body 6 will be described in detail based on FIG. 7. That is, 34 is a support member provided in the cassette storage chamber 7, which includes a plurality of support stands 36 protruding from the bottom 35 of the cassette storage chamber 7.
It is fixed by. Therefore, this support member 35 is spaced apart from the bottom 35 of the cassette storage chamber 7, and a pivot shaft 37 is pivotally supported on the front edge thereof. The opening/closing lid 9 is attached to this pivot shaft 37.
The lower end of the cassette storage chamber 7 is pivoted to open and close the opening 8 of the cassette storage chamber 7. Furthermore, support walls 38, 38 are bent at both ends of the support member 34 and stand along both side surfaces of the cassette storage section 7. A slide plate 39 is provided on the side facing the winding section 4. This slide plate 39 is formed in an L-shape, with its vertical plate 40 facing the outer surface of the support wall 38 and its horizontal plate 41 facing the lower part of the support member 34, respectively. Furthermore, the vertical plate 40 of the slide plate 39 has elongated holes 42 and 42 in the vertical direction.
are bored, and these long holes 42, 42 are connected to the support wall 38.
Pins 43, 43 protruding from are inserted. Therefore, the slide plate 39 is supported by the pins 43, 43 which engage with the elongated holes 42, 42 so as to be slidable in the vertical direction, and is constantly urged upward by the urging spring 44. Further, a push-up pin 45 is protruded on the horizontal plate 41 of the slide plate 39, and a through hole 45a is bored in the support member 34 facing the push-up pin 45. The push-up pin 45 faces the inner cylinder 21 in the film winding section 4 of the cassette body 1 loaded onto the support member 34, and comes into contact with the bottom 23 of the slide plate 39 when it rises to compress the inner cylinder 21. It is designed so that it can be pushed up against the restoring force of the spring 30. That is, the inner cylinder 2 of the spool 20 is moved against the claw portion 47 of the film winding shaft 46 provided at the upper part of the cassette storage chamber 7.
1 can be pushed up and the engaging claw portion 24 thereof can be engaged.

Further, a notch portion 48 is provided in the vertical plate 40 of the slide plate 39, and an engaging stepped portion 49 is formed at the lower end of this notch portion 48. Further, a lock lever 51 is pivotally supported on the support wall 38 facing the notch 48 and is rotatable about a pin 50, and is biased counterclockwise by a biasing spring 52. . The upper end of the lock lever 51 is provided with an operating part 54 that faces the pressing part 53 protruding from the back surface of the opening/closing lid 9, and the lower end is provided with an engaging part that can be freely engaged with and detached from the engaging stepped part 49. 55 are provided. This lock lever 51 responds to the opening/closing lid 9, and when opened, rotates counterclockwise due to the restoring force of the biasing spring 52, and the engaging portion 55 engages with the engaging stepped portion 49 and slides. The plate 39 is locked in the lowered position, and when the plate 39 is closed, the pressing part 53 presses the acting part 54 and rotates it clockwise to retract the engaging part 55 from the engaging stepped part 49 to release the lock. It's summery.

Next, the camera body 6 configured as described above
The operation of attaching and detaching the cassette body 1 to and from the cassette body 1 will be explained. When the opening/closing lid 9 of the camera body 6 is open, the lock lever 51 is rotated counterclockwise by the force of the biasing spring 52, as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. Therefore, the engaging step portion 55 engages with the engaging step portion 49 of the slide plate 39 and holds the slide plate 39 in a lowered state. In this state, when the cassette body 1 is inserted into the cassette storage chamber 7 of the camera body 6 from behind in the direction of the optical axis, the cassette body 1 is placed on the support member 34 of the cassette storage chamber 7. After loading the cassette main body 1 into a predetermined position in the cassette storage chamber 7, when the opening/closing lid 9 is closed, the operating portion 54 of the lock lever 51 is opened.
is pressed by the pressing portion 53 of the opening/closing lid 9. Therefore, the lock lever 51 rotates clockwise against the restoring force of the biasing spring 52, and its engaging portion 55 is disengaged from the engaging stepped portion 49 and is held as shown by the solid line in FIG. Ru. When the slide plate 39 is unlocked, the slide plate 39 slides upward by the restoring force of the biasing spring 44. Therefore, the push-up pin 45 penetrates through the through hole 45a and projects upward,
It comes into contact with the inner tube 2 in the film winding section 4 of the cassette main body 1. At this time, the inner cylinder 21 is urged downward by the compression spring 30, but is pushed up by the restoring force of the urging spring 44, which is stronger than the spring force of the compression spring 30, and is therefore pushed up by the push-up pin 45. The inner cylinder 21 rises, and the engaging claw part 2 of the inner cylinder 21
4 engages with a claw portion 47 of a film winding shaft 46. Therefore, the rotation of the film winding shaft 46 is controlled by the inner cylinder 2 through the engaging claw portion 24 that engages with the claw portion 47.
1, and the rotation of the inner cylinder 21 is transmitted to the outer teeth 25 and the inner teeth 2.
6, the film 5 in the film supply section 3 can be wound up by the outer cylinder 22.

Further, when photographing is completed and the cassette body 1 is to be taken out from the camera body 6, the opening/closing lid 9 of the camera body 6 is first unlocked. Next, the slide plate 39 is slid downward against the restoring force of the biasing spring 44 by appropriate means. As a result, the push-up pin 45 is also lowered, and the inner cylinder 21 of the cassette body 1 is lowered by the restoring force of the compression spring 30, and the engaging claw portion 24 is disengaged from the claw portion 47 of the film winding shaft 46. The upper end of the inner cylinder 21 is flush with the outer cylinder 22 and the lid 15. Therefore, when the opening/closing lid 9 is opened using its pivot shaft 37 as a fulcrum, the lock lever 51 is rotated counterclockwise by the restoring force of the biasing spring 52, and its engaging portion 55 engages with the engaging stepped portion 49. engage. Therefore, the slide plate 39 is locked in the lowered state, and the cassette main body 1 can be taken out from the cassette storage chamber 7 to the rear.

In this way, when attaching and detaching the cassette body 1 to and from the camera body 6, the cassette body 1 can be attached and detached from the rear of the camera body 6 without moving the film winding shaft 46 up and down as in the conventional case, and after loading, the opening/closing lid 9 can be closed. By sliding the slide plate 39 in conjunction with the opening/closing lid 9, the engaging claw portion 24 of the film winding section 4 can be automatically engaged with the claw portion 47 of the film winding shaft 46.

In the above embodiment, the outer cylinder 22 is provided eccentrically with respect to the inner cylinder 21, and the outer teeth 25 and the inner teeth 2
6 are meshed with each other, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and may be configured as shown in FIG. That is, the inner tube 21 and the outer tube 22 are provided concentrically, and both upper and lower ends of the tubes are connected to the cassette body 1.
A planetary gear 56 is provided between the inner cylinder 21 and the outer cylinder 22, and the planetary gear 56 meshes with the outer teeth 25 of the inner cylinder 21 and the inner teeth 26 of the outer cylinder 22. It is something that

As explained above, the present invention includes a spool constituting a film winding section, an outer cylinder for winding the film, an inner cylinder that is movable in a thrust direction to engage with a film winding shaft of a camera, and an inner cylinder that is movable in a thrust direction to engage with a film winding shaft of a camera. It is constructed with a gear mechanism that allows movement in the thrust direction, but engages in the rotational direction to transmit the rotation of the inner cylinder to the outer cylinder, so that the film winding shaft can be moved up and down when the film cassette is attached to and removed from the camera. It can be easily attached and detached without any hassle. Therefore, the structure on the camera side is simplified and the camera can be made smaller. Moreover, since the gear mechanism is used to transmit the rotational force from the inner cylinder to the outer cylinder, by changing the gear ratio, even if the amount of film winding at one time on the camera side is constant, it is possible to The amount can be varied. Therefore, even if the screen size differs depending on the endoscope or camera,
The frame feed pitch can be adjusted according to the size, which also has the effect of making effective use of the film.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 7 show embodiments of the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is a plan view of a film cassette, FIG. 2 is a front view of the film cassette, and FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway view of an endoscope camera. FIG. 4 is a rear view, FIG. 4 is a side view, FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional front view of the film winding section, FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line shown in FIG. 5, and FIG. 7 is a part showing the internal structure of the camera. FIG. 8 is a partially cutaway front view showing another embodiment of the present invention. 2... bridge, 3... film supply section, 4...
...Film winding section, 20...Spool, 21...
...Inner cylinder, 22...Outer cylinder, 27...Gear mechanism, 46
...Film winding shaft.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a film cassette in which a film supply section and a film winding section are formed with a bridge in between, the spool constituting the film winding section is engaged with a film winding outer cylinder and a film winding shaft of a camera. It consists of an inner cylinder that can move within a predetermined range in the thrust direction, and a gear mechanism that allows the inner cylinder to move in the thrust direction but engages in the rotational direction to transmit the rotation of the inner cylinder to the outer cylinder. A film cassette characterized by: