Photographic film cleaner
AssigneeEastman Kodak Company
InventorRobert J. Blackman
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A cleaning device for removing dust particles and other impurities from the surface of data carriers such as photographic film. Two counter-rotating brushes sweep across the film surface to remove the impurities while air flows on either side of the film sweep away the impurities. The air flows are created by two counter-rotating fans, the armatures of which also rotate the brushes. The fans remove the need for a separate vacuum source. A slot facilitates the passage of the film through the brushes while a static eliminator removes charged particles from the film after it exits the brushes. The stiff brushes aid in overcoming static charges that may be on the film surface. In a further embodiment only one of the two brushes is driven by a fan and the other brush rotates freely and is biased toward the driven brush.
Claims24
A photographic film cleaner having an aperture for receiving a length of film having first and second planar image retaining surfaces and apparatus for cleaning dust particles from said first and second planar image retaining surfaces of the film passed through the aperture and further comprising:
- first and second rotatable brushes for sweeping the first and second planar film surfaces, respectively, each of the first and second rotatable brushes having an axis of rotation generally perpendicular to the first and second planar surfaces;
- rotating means for rotating the first and second brushes;
- and
- first and second fan means coupled to said rotating means and rotatable with said first and second rotatable brushes, respectively, for creating first and second respective air flows away from the first and second brushes, respectively, for drawing away dust particles cleaned by said first and second rotatable brushes from said first and second planar image retaining surfaces of the film.
A photographic film cleaner having an aperture for receiving a length of film having first and second planar image retaining surfaces and apparatus for cleaning dust particles from said first and second planar image retaining surfaces of the film passed through the aperture and further comprising:
- first and second rotatable brushes for sweeping the first and second planar film surfaces, respectively, each of the first and second rotatable brushes having a circular, planar surface from which brush bristles extend and an axis of rotation;
- means for mounting said first and second rotatable brushes for rotation about their axes so that the brush bristles on the bristle bearing planar surfaces thereof are in mutual opposed, overlapping contact and define a cleaning gap therebetween;
- rotating means for rotating at least the first brush about its axis;
- and
- fan means coupled to said rotating means and rotatable with said first brush, respectively, for creating an air flow away from the first and second brushes, respectively, for drawing away dust particles cleaned by said first and second rotatable brushes from said first and second planar image retaining surfaces of the film when film is introduced into said aperture and drawn through said gap therebetween.
Apparatus for cleaning at least one surface of an elongated data carrier having first and second planar surfaces, said apparatus having an aperture for receiving the elongated data carrier and further comprising:
- first and second rotatable brushes for sweeping the first and second planar surfaces, respectively, each of the first and second rotatable brushes having a circular, planar surface from which brush bristles extend and an axis of rotation;
- means for mounting said first and second rotatable brushes for rotation about their axes so that the brush bristles on the bristle bearing planar surfaces thereof are in mutual opposed, overlapping contact and define a cleaning gap therebetween;
- rotating means for rotating at least the first brush about its axis;
- and
- fan means coupled to said rotating means and rotatable with said first brush, respectively, for creating an air flow away from the first and second brushes, respectively, for drawing away dust particles cleaned by said first and second rotatable brushes from said first and second planar surfaces of the data carrier when the data carrier is introduced into said aperture and drawn through said gap therebetween.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.