The invention concerns a device for the collection of photographic material.
The device according to the invention is suitable to be used in centralized collection points for photographic material of the self-service type in order to allow a more rational and at least partly automated management of said photographic material and to prevent users from defrauding the collection points.
The state of the art includes commercial outlets, such as department stores or similar, in which there is a self-service system to collect photographic material.
Said photographic material, for example rolls of film, throwaway cameras, negatives to be reprinted and suchlike, is placed by the customer in appropriate envelopes on which the identification of the customer, and the information concerning the processing required, are written manually.
This self-service system uses collection and distribution points which usually comprise a work plane used by the customers to fill in the empty envelopes, and one or more containers, equipped with introduction slits, into which the customers introduce the completed envelopes filled with the photographic material.
These containers, or simply the envelopes contained therein, are taken in at the end of the day, or periodically, by the workers from the photographic processing laboratories in which the processing requested is carried out. When it is ready, the photographic material is re-delivered to the shop it came from to be distributed to the customers.
Every envelope is equipped with a detachable ticket which the customer keeps and uses as a receipt to collect the processed photographic material.
The same identification code is written on the ticket and on the envelope, thus achieving a univocal correspondence between the tickets and envelopes delivered which facilitates and speeds up the subsequent delivery operations.
The delivery may be assisted by a worker who, having received the ticket with the identification code, looks for and delivers the corresponding envelope to the customer; it may also be carried out by automatic distributors suitable to read and recognize the tickets, or other identification means, for example a card issued to the customer.
The most sophisticated self-service collection points use electronic interface means, usually consisting of a processor, a monitor, a key board and a printer.
In this type of collection points it is possible to know in real time the number of envelopes collected and those being processed, and also to do statistics.
In computerized collection points, instead of writing the identification data and the type of processing required manually on the envelope, the customers input the information required through the key board.
The data keyed in by the customers is then printed automatically on an adhesive label to be applied to the envelope, or directly printed on the envelope.
At present, however, both in manually managed and computerized collection points, there is no efficient control able to verify that the customers, after having filled in the envelope, insert the photographic material in the envelope and introduce it into the collection containers provided for this purpose.
Consequently, the collection devices such as have been used until now can easily be defrauded by the customers.
In fact, businessmen working in this field often complain of cases of clients who follow the procedure of compiling the envelope, keep the relative ticket, and then do not introduce the envelope into the container, or introduce the envelope without the photographic material, and then go to the collection point to ask for damages for the loss or non-delivery of the photographic material.
Document U.S. Pat. No. 3,778,596 describes a device for the automatic collection of envelopes containing material to be deposited in banking institutions. The device has the disadvantage that it does not include means suitable to recognize whether or not the envelope contains objects; this gives the opportunity for dishonest clients to compile the deposit slip on the envelope with data which do not correspond to the content of the envelope, and to insert an empty envelope into the collection device.
Another disadvantage of the device is that it can only receive substantially flat, paper objects, due to the configuration of the reception tray which has to be able to slide below a shield which prevents the client""s hands from passing. Therefore, this device cannot be adapted for the collection of photographic material such as rolls of film or throwaway cameras.
WO-A-89 08901 describes a vending machine for automatic collection for processing of photographic film, which involves manual comparison by an operator emptying the machine of the number of envelopes collected and the number of receipt tickets issued. This is not an automatic procedure and does not necessarily detects fraud involving the insertion of empty envelopes.
The present Applicant has devised and embodied this invention to overcome this shortcoming and to obtain other advantages as explained hereafter.
A first purpose of the invention is to prevent users from defrauding the self-service collection points for photographic material.
A second purpose of the invention is to simplify and make more rational the operations to collect and distribute the photographic material, allowing an at least partly automated management of the latter operations.
A third purpose of the invention is to reduce to a minimum the manual operations of the worker, and the probability of mistakes made thereby, and also to allow the data concerning the photographic material collected to be continuously monitored.
The device according to the invention comprises at least a containing means, such as a sack, a box or similar, inside which the envelopes containing the photographic material can enter only if they have pre-determined requisites.
Said requisites, which may be established on different occasions, may comprise: verifying the identification code of the envelope and/or that the data compiled by the customer is correct, determining the weight of the envelope, verifying the presence of the photographic material and suchlike.
The device according to the invention, therefore, prevents users from carrying out any illicit actions to the detriment of the collection points and particularly from pretending to introduce the envelopes into the containing means or from introducing empty envelopes.
According to the invention, the device comprises detection means located upstream of the collection zone and functionally associated with closing means suitable to allow or prevent the passage of the envelopes into said collection zone.
According to one characteristic of the invention, the detection means are suitable to verify that the envelopes introduced by the users respect pre-determined and defined requisites.
According to another characteristic of the invention, the collection device can be functionally associated with an electronic processing unit in order to allow an automated management of the photographic material collected.