SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide for a drive mechanism such as a Geneva Mechanism for intermittently moving a load, such as film, in a motion picture projector; where the time for intermittent motion is reduced, the load on the mechanism is reduced, the load on the object being moved is reduced, or some combination thereof.
The present invention relates to a Geneva Mechanism for intermittently driving a load. The mechanism comprises: a rotating driver having a drive pin; and a star wheel operationally associated with a load which is to be intermittently driven, with the star wheel comprising a plurality of radially extending slots, and each of the radially extending slots being curved along a substantial portion of its length. The drive pin of the rotating driver is engageable with one of the radial extending slots to drive the star wheel in an incremental angular manner, such that a drive pin load on the drive pin and forces applied to the load operationally associated with the star wheel remain in control, and the star wheel reaches a peak acceleration and deceleration in a continuous and controlled manner.