GB2083652A

GB2083652A - A film strip with a data carrier and a process for its production

Info

Publication number: GB2083652A
Application number: GB8127419A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Agfa Gevaert AG
Current assignee: Agfa Gevaert AG
Priority date: 1980-09-10
Filing date: 1981-09-10
Publication date: 1982-03-24
Also published as: DE3034032A1; JPS5778530A; DE3034032C2; GB2083652B

Abstract

The invention relates to a film strip comprising a data carrier and to a method for producing it. The film strip, more particularly a miniature film (1) provided with perforations (6), with light markings (8) along its edges and with cut-away areas at its beginning and end, is provided with a space (4) for visually readable data and with a space (3) for machine-readable data. The visual data may be applied by writing, perforating or by spark erosion, and the machine readable data can be magnetic. The data carrying area can be attached to the film, or can be provided by severing a web coated with e.g. a magnetic stripe 3', an electrosensitive strip 4' and photographic emulsion 5' transversely to the direction of web feed. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION A film strip with a data carrier and a process for its production This invention relates to a film strip comprising a data carrier, more particularly to a miniature film comprising perforations along its edges, light markings along its edges and cut away areas at its beginning and end and to a process for its production.

It is known that film strips can be provided with identification marks in addition to perforations for feeding the film in a camera. The identification marks are applied optically or by heat to the edges of or between the perforations in the photographically unexposed emulsions during production of the film and become visible after the film has been developed. The identification marks include the frame numbers which are associated with the individual frames, the type of film, an indication as to whether the film is a safety film or arrows which enable the emulsion side to be distinguished from the uncoated side (DIN 4510).

It is also known that perforations or stampings may be applied to the front part of the film projecting freely from the cartridge during production of the film to indicate the number of possible exposures, the number of the production batch or other abbreviations used by the manufacturer.

The film strips are produced by cutting 30 to 40 narrow strips from a wide web of film coated over its entire width with photographic emulsion and winding these strips into narrow rolls. In the case of miniature film, the rolls are 35 mm wide. The individual rolls are then perforated and provided with the identification marks mentioned above in a separate operation and, at a distributing point, are cut away at their beginning to form narrowed leading portion for threading the film into the camera spool and at their end to form a tongue for fastening the film strip to a film spool in the cassette.

The leading portion may be stamped or perforated by needles for identification purposes. The film strips are then attached to spools and introduced into film cassettes to protect them against light.

It is known from U.S. Patent No. 3,513,738 that film strips 35 mm wide and 250 mm long may be punched out from a narrow web of film transversely to its direction of travel for sensitometric purposes and that the film strip thus obtained may be provided with identification marks on the emulsion side and, at their beginning and end, with perforations to enable the strip of film to be engaged.

Unfortunately, this known machine is not suitable for producing miniature films of the kind described above.

Known film strips are neither intended nor suitable for accommodating a sufficient amount of information, as is required for the modern, efficient processing of films. The perforations or stamping at the beginning of the film can only accommodate a small amount of information and it is difficult to analyse by machine. Light markings can only be read after the film strip has been processed, i.e. exposed and developed, and are thus unsuitable for preliminary analysis.

Accordingly, the object of the present invention is to provide a film strip of the type mentioned at the beginning and an inexpensive process for its production by which it is readily possible to store all the date required for identification of the film and logistic data in such a way that, as and when necessary, the optical data may be visually read and also electronically retrieved by machine.

According to the invention there is provided a film strip with a data carrier, wherein the strip of film is provided at its free front end with a space for visually readable optical data and with a space for machinereadable data.

Preferably, the film strip is a miniature film provided with perforations, light markings along its edges and cut-away areas at beginning and end.

The invention also provides a process for producing a film strip according to the invention, wherein the film strip is cut over its entire length from a web of film unwound from a supply roll transversely to the unwinding direction and to the direction of travel of the web, the web of film being coated or printed in such a way that, at its front end, the strip of film has a coating-free space, a space for magnetic data, a space for visually readable data and then, over the remainder of its length, a coating of photographic emulsion, and wherein, during cutting of the web, the film strip is simultaneously perforated, lightmarked and cut away at its beginning and end in a single operation and the spaces for the machinereadable magnetic data and visually readable optical data are provided with the manufacturer's data.

By the provision of the data spaces in accordance with the invention on the front part of the film strip available for gripping, the film strip is able to store and release data at any time. The data required for the use of the film, such as for example the film values, the batch number, the frame numbers and frame size, the sensitivity of the film, the necessary development process and the name of the manufacturer, may actually be applied during the production of the film strip.

These data are magnetically stored in a space provided with magnetic paste. If these data are to be readable, even without any magnetic aids, to provide the photographer with useful information, they are made as visually readable optical data in another space, for example by perforations or stamping with needles or even by an electrosensitive process, in which case an electrical spark discharger writes on an electrosensitive coating. The photographer may then obtain the necessary information from these readable data.

If the film strip is introduced into a camera, the camera may be electronically controlled by the magnetically readable data. The camera reads the sensitivity of the film and controls the exposure time or stop number accordingly. The picture size could also be controlled. According to the frame number read off, the camera may be stopped after the last exposure to rewind the film strip into the cassette.

It is also possible however for the camera itself to store data in areas specially provided in the data spaces in order to enable the camera to control itself or subsequent processing stages. If a film strip is introduced into the camera and exposed, the camera is able to store the number of photographs taken on the film in the data space. If a film is accidentally introduced into the camera for a second time, the camera will not feed the film strip and so avoid double exposures. The camera may also store the exposure times and stop number and, before the film is removed, may transfer these data for the individual exposures to the data space.

The data spaces are also of considerable advantage to the photographer, providing suitable means are available for applying data. After the film strip has been exposed in the camera, the data space (or both data spaces) may be provided with the photographer's name, address and instructions from the photographer himself or from a dealer for the subsequent processing of the exposed film. The data are an integral part of the film strip. A film strip having data spaces can no longer be lost in the post or at the processing laboratory.

Films arriving at a developing centre may be sorted fully automatically without any danger of incorrect development which would result in the loss of the photograph on the film strip. Atthe sorting station, the sorting machine reads the development process required for the film strip and guarantees that the strip is correctly developed.

In the laboratories and printing stations, the printing instructions, such as the number of enlarge menus to be made from the individual photographs, the size of the enlargements and the required surface finish of the enlargements, may automatical ly follow from the data stored on the film strip. The film strip and prints may also be returned by automatic addressing, using the photographer's address stored on the data spaces, without any danger of dispatch to the wrong address.

For security reasons, certain data, such as for example, the photographer's name and address, may be stored both in the space for magnetically readable data and also in the space for visually readable optical data. The magnetic data may be made readable by a data translator or may even be transferred by a data translator to the space for visually readable optical data so that additional monitoring is possible by comparing data.

A process for producing film strips provided with data carriers according to the invention is surprising- ly simple and advantageous.

To this end, a web of film from which the film strips are to be produced is coated by a cascade coater or by a curtain coater in such a way that it has a a narrow region for the leading portion of the film which is either uncoated or is coated with a layer of Magneton, an adjoining region which is free from coating or is coated with a layer of Magneton or with an electrosensitive material, a third region which is coated with an electrosensitive material or with a layer of Magneton and a final region which is coated in the usual way with a photographic emulsion.

The choice of the coating sequence depends on whether the film strip is to have an optically readable space or a magnetically readable space at its beginning and also on whether the optically readable space is to be provided with data by perforation and stamping or with electrosensitive writing.

The individual film strips are then cut from the web of film thus coated, transversely to the direction of travel of the web. The completed film strip provided with perforation, light marking, cut-away areas at its beginning and end and with identification data may thus be produced on line in a single operation, carried off and attached to a film spool and wound into a film cartridge in lightproof manner either immediately or after intermediate storage.

It has been found to be of particular advantage where the film strip is produced in this way that the edges of the film web which cannot be used from a film strip because of uneven coating and which, hitherto, have always had to be cut off can be used in the process according to the invention because the edges in question are situtated in photographically unimportant parts of the film strip, namely in the leading portion of the film and the film tongue. In addition, all flaws in the length of the film web which are not discovered during inspection, and which hitherto have made one or more adjacent film strips unusable, now fall in one frame or between two frames of the film strip and, in many cases, do not cause any damage or spoil only one exposure.

In addition to simplifying the application of the data spaces, the advanced process for producing film strips, particularly miniature strips, also simplifies the production of film strips to a considerable extent by saving a whole series of operations and material and enables the quality of the film strips to be improved.

The present invention also relates to other processes for applying the data spaces to a film strip.

The data spaces may also be applied by bonding, welding or pressing to a film strip produced in the usual way from narrow rolls of film.

It is also possible to apply to a film strip a leader which contains both the leading portion of the film and also the data spaces.

The data spaces also have another advantage so far as the film strip is concerned. By coating the film strip with Magneton paste or by applying electrosensitised materials, the film strip is rendered impermeable to light in the vicinity of the data spaces. The layers applied additionally protect the film strip against premature exposure in the cassette.

One embodiment of the film strip and its production is described in detail in the following with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein; Figure 1 shows a film strip with data spaces.

Figure 2 schematically illustrates the production of a film strip from a web of film.

Figure 1 shows a film strip 1 with data spaces 3, 4 which has been unwound a short way from the film spool 10 and withdrawn from the film cassette 9. For miniature films, the film strip normally has perforations 6, light markings 7 which identify the film batch and light markings 8 for the frame numbers. At its front end, the film strip 1 is cut away to form the leading portion 13 of the film, on the surfaces 2 of which simple film features, such as the type of film or number of exposures, may be stamped or pun ched.

The film strip 1 shown in Figure 1 differs from hitherto known film strips in that it has two data spaces 3, 4 between the leading portion 13 and the actual surface 5 coated with photographic emulsion.

One of the data spaces 3 or 4 is intended for machine-readable data, to this end, is coated with a magnetic paste.

The manufacturer, the camera, the photographer, the distributor or a further processing centre may record data in this space by machine.

The data then stored in this space may be machine read by means of data readers or may be used for automatically controlling the camera, the development process, for sorting films or as instructions for the copying process.

The other of the data spaces 4 or 3 is intended for data readable with the naked eye. This space may be uncoated and provided with perforations containing the information either by needle punching or by stamping. It is also possible to perforate or heat this space with laser beams in such a way that the data can be read, This space is advantageously coated with an electrosensitive material and the data applied by spark erosion.

The space may also be designed to be written on by the actual customer using only a ball-point pen.

This second data space contains the information required by the photographer, such as the type of film and the number of exposures on the film strip, the type of exposure (artificial light or daylight), the sensitivity of the film etc. The name and address of the photographer may also be readably applied to this space, as may the photographer's requirements concerning development and enlargement details, such as the frame number, size and paper surface.

Important data may be applied both as machinereadable magnetic data and also as visually readable optical data to the spaces 3, 4 to allow additional mutual control.

Figure 2 shows an advantageous process for producing a film strip with data carriers. A web 11 of film is simultaneously coated with several photographic layers one above the other in the usual way in a coating machine, for example a multiple cascade coater or a curtain coater. At the same time, the web is coated along one edge with a magnetic paste and an electrosensitive material. There are thus formed on the web a wide strip 5' coated with photographic emulsion, a narrow strip 4' coated with an electrosensitive material, a strip 3' coated with Magneton paste and an uncoated strip 2'. However, the strip 2' may also be coated with Magneton paste or with a coloured gelatin emulsion for identifying the film as a data-carrying film.

For producing the film strip 1 from the web 11, the web 11 is unwound and the film strip 1 is cut off therefrom (arrow) transversely to the unwinding direction and direction of travel using a multiple tool.

During this cutting operation, the perforations 6 (Figure 1 ) the leading portion 13 of the film, the film tongue 16 and a fastening hole 15 for attaching the film strip 1 to the spool 10 are punched out, the light markings 7, 8 are applied to the film strip 1 and the data spaces 3 and 4 are provided with the manufacturers' data simultaneously in a single operation.

The completed miniature film is thus formed in a single operation, being carried off on-line from the multiple tool, delivered to a film spool 10, threaded in and wound into a cassette 9.

At its beginning 13 projecting from the cassette 9, the film thus produced has a part 2 for inserting the film into a camera spool, then a space 3 provided with a magnetic paste for machine reading and a space 4 coated with an electrosensitive material for optical reading and, adjoining this space 4, the photographic photosensitive emulsion layer 5. The uncoated edges 17 of the web 11 may remain on the film strip 1 because, being situtated at the beginning and end of the film, they do not cause any problems, so that the entire width of the web may be used for the length of the film strip.

The strips of material for the data spaces may also be bonded or laminated onto the web 11 or the film strip 1. The film strip coated with photographic emulsion may also be provided with a leader which is provided with the leading portion 13 of the film and with the data spaces 2 and 3 and is thus attached to the actual film strip.

Claims

1. A film strip with a data carrier, wherein the strip of film is provided at its free front end with a space for visually readable optical data and with a space for machine-readable data.

2. Afilm strip according to claim 1, wherein the film strip is a miniature film provided with perforations, light markings along its edges and cut-away areas at its beginning and end.

3. A film strip according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the space for visually readable optical data is provided with needle perforations or stampings for making the data visible.

4. Afilm strip according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the space for visually readable optical data is provided with an electrosensitive coating on which the data may be produced by spark erosion.

5. Afilm strip according to any preceding claim, wherein the space for machine-readable data is provided with a magnetic coating and the data are designed to be applied and retrieved magnetically by machine.

6. Afilm strip according to any preceding claim, wherein the same data or different data are storable in the spaces for visually readable optical data and for machine-readable magnetic data.

7. Afilm strip according to claim 6, wherein in that the magnetically readable and visually readable optical data stored in the spaces of the film strip are designed and arranged in such a way that they may be used for controlling a camera, a developing process, an automatic copying machine and logistics.

8. Afilm strip according to claim 6, wherein the magnetically readable and visually readable optical data stored in the data spaces of the film strip are able to be applied to the data spaces by the film manufacturer, by a camera, by a dealer, by the developing process or by the automatic printing machine.

9. Afilm strip substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

10. A process for producing a film strip according to claim 1, wherein the film strip is cut over its entire length from a web of film unwound from a supply roll transversely to the unwinding direction and to the direction of travel of the web, the web of film being coated or printed in such a way that, at its front end, the film strip has a coating- free space, a space for magnetic data, a space for visually readable data and then, over the remainder of its length, a coating of photographic emulsion, and wherein, during cutting of the web, the film strip is simultaneously perforated, light-marked, cut-away at its beginning and end in a single operation and the spacesforthe machine-readable magnetic data and visually readable optical data are provided with the manufacturer's data.

11. A process according to Claim 10, wherein the film strip is a miniature film strip.

12. A process for producing a film strip, substantially as herein described with reference to Figure 2 of the accompanying drawings.

13. A process for producing a film strip according to claim 1, wherein the spaces are applied by bonding, welding or pressing to a film strip produced in the usual way from a roll of narrow film.

14. A process according to claim 13, wherein the film strip is a miniature film strip provided with perforations, light markings and cut-away areas at its beginning and end.

15. A process for producing a film strip according to claim 1, wherein the film is cut away at its beginning and the data spaces are separately applied to a leader strip and attached as a leader to the film strip coated with photographic emulsion.

16. A process according to claim 15, wherein the film strip is a miniature film strip provided with perforations, light markings and a cut-away area at its end.

17. A process for producing a film strip substantially as herein described.