US1197533A - Photographic developing process. - Google Patents

Description

F. W. NORTON.

PHOTOGRAPHIC DEVELOPING PROCESS.

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FRANK W. NORTON', 0F CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA.

PHOTOGRAPHIC DEVELOPING PROCESS.

4Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept, 1916.

i Application led .T uly 19. 1915. Serial No. 40,786.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK W. NORTON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cedar Rapids, in the county of Linn and State of Ioiva, have invented certain new and useful Improvements iir Photographic Developing Processes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to the art of developing. fixing and Washing photographic prints, and specifically to a method or process by which a large number of such prints may be treated simultaneously.

Mechanism by means of which the process is carried out is shown and described in Iietters Patent No.1,074,572, issued to me on the .tliirtieth day of September, 1913. The same conforms, in the main, to the mechanism shown in the accompanying drawings, forming a. part of this specification, in Which- Figure l is a. viewiii perspective of apparatus adapted for the working of the -piocess. Fig. 2 shows how a bunch of prints may be handled. Fig. 3 is a vertical section of one cell or unit in a series of liquid-holding tanks commonly used in the,

practice -of the process. Fig. 4 shows a re movable container for a. pack of printsheets, by lnieans of which they are most conveniently handled.

' following:

The essential steps in the process are the First, a thorough immersion of the prints, preferable separate when so immersed, in water, or other suitable liquid, thereby to prevent their sticking together 'duringthe subsequent steps of the process.

Second, assembling the Wet sheets vin a fairly symmetrical pack. This may be done in the act of immersingthe sheets in a rather deep tray, the operator simply slipping each sheet in the liquid edgewise, so as to'thoroughly Wet both sides, and stacking the sheets neatly .in the tray, Without effort or loss of time. y

Third, placing a pack of such assembled Wet. sheets edgewise down in a tank but little larger than the pack, and'con'taining the de-.l sired liquid or solution agitated by therein edgewise of the sheets, and allowing the `pack to remain therein the requisite lengthof time.

air forced l vFinally, separatingr the sheets, after reinoval from the tank, andv permitting them to dry.

The foregoing applies as Well to the various operations incident to development, as to the Whole series of operations. That is to say, the process applies as Well to development, rinsing, fixing and final Washing, considered se arately, s tothese operations in a series. n practice the process yis even more useful as applied to fixing, or to iinal Washing, than to developing or rinsing, since either of the former operations consume much more time than either of the latter. Normally the sequence of operations is: immersion to thoroughly Wet the prints and prevent sticking together inthe pack; assem.

development might be done separately, and` the pack arranged after such rinsing, but the process would still apply to the subsequent operations of fixing and Washing. In practice it is of course desirable to treat the prints en masse in all operations following the initial immersion preceding' developnient, but it is not absolutely necessary so to do in the practice of the process.

In the drawings I have shown the simple apparatus necessary to the carrying out of the process.y

The` numeral l refers to a tank having a separate. series of conipartments,'2, 3, 4 and 5. In the normal order of operations 2 would contain developer, 3, clear water, preferably flowing, the Water being ad mitted through a supply pipe 6 and the over flow 'passing out at l2." In 4- would be placed the hypo or fixing solution, and in 5 clear, flowing Water, as in 3. It has not been deemed necessary to illustrate the apparatus for the first step, though this step is of the .pan Will 'serve for the preliminary,immer-` sion and vassembling of the sheets horizontally, or the transferring container 13, having a perforated bottom 14' may be sunk in a tank of clear Water, and the prints slipped into it separately and edge down.. Once so assembled the pack is the most easily transferred from one compartment to another in the general tank, though such pack, l0, may be handled. as shown in Fig. 2. V

ln practice all of the compartmentsof the general tank are supplied with mening water, or rather piped therefor from a general supply-pipe 7, each provided with a. faire S. The pack should be suitably supported above the water inlet, and alsothat of the an', as by a perforated false bottom D. Air under pressure is admitted to each c nnpartinent through a pipe Il. The direction of the incoming air should be edgewise of the sheets, and preferably from the bottom of the tank, the sheets standing on edge while subjected to the action of the agitated liquid. By this simple process excellent results are secured, and at a rate of production almost incornparaliily L greater than would he possible in any single treatment of thc prints without greatly increased labor.

In order to obtain the highest efficiency in the apparatus where a large production is sought, there should be a larger number of cells provided for the fixing and `Washing operations than for that of development, inasmuch as they require much more time, as previously set forth.

In the normal sequence of operations it i is to he considered that the rinsing;r of the prints after immersion in the developer, might, to a` limited extent, be dispensed with,

i its .main purpose being* to wash ofi' developer solution, arrest further development, and prevent adultcration of the hypo hath with developer. Subject to these objections, which in extended operations would he serious, the pack might, with satisfactory results hc passed a number of times, more or less, from the developer directly to the hypo. In extended operations, however, for which the process is peculiarly adapted the rinse is to he considered as one of the es sentia] operations in normal dcvclopnwnt, as hereinlue'lore stated. i, i

liavlng` thus described my invention, claim: l. An improved process in thewdevelop inout of photographicprints, which consists in innncrsing the prints in liquid to n'event subscrpient adherence, asuinibling` the wet sheets in a pack, immun'sinnr the pack, edge down, in a suitable hath into which air un' memes der pressure is forced edgewise of the pack, und finally removing from the bath separating and drying.

2. An improvement in the method of treating photographic prints in the development thereof, which consists in immersing each sheet in liquid so as to wet its entire surface, assembling a pack of the Wet sheets in a suitable container adapted to admit liquid freely from below, iinmersing the pack while o l' ld in a suitable bath in which air under pressure is forced edge' wise of the pack, and finally removing from the container, separating and drying the sheets. l

3. An improved method of developing photographic prints, which consists in first immersing the prints in liquid to thoroughly wet the surface of each sheet, assembling the Wet sheets in a pack, exposing the pack to the action of developing, fixing and washing baths, into which air under pressure is forced edgewise of the pack, and finally removing from the bath separating the sheets and drying them.

An improved method of developing photographic prints', which consists in imnlersing the sheets in liquid to thoroughly wet both surfaces of each sheet, assembling' the sheets in a pack4 and in a container adapted to admit liquid freely from below, and successively imnmrsing said pack while so held, inl developing, fixingr and washino' baths into which air under pressure is force edgewise of the sheets, and finally removing from the bath separating and drying the sheets. V

An improved :method of developing photographic prints, which consists in thoroughly wetting both surfaces of cach print, assembling the wet prints in a pack, immers-- ing the pack, edge dovro, in successive baths l of developer, rinseevater, hypo, and Washwater, into which baths air under pressure is forced in a direction edgewise of the pack, and finally removing from the bath slqnu'ating and drying said prints.

ln testimony whereof l affix my signature `in presence of two witnesses.

FRANK lV. NQRTON.

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