US3683781A - Automatic processor - Google Patents

Automatic processor Download PDF

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US3683781A
US3683781A US802490A US3683781DA US3683781A US 3683781 A US3683781 A US 3683781A US 802490 A US802490 A US 802490A US 3683781D A US3683781D A US 3683781DA US 3683781 A US3683781 A US 3683781A
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bar
carrier
carriers
track
along
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Wilbus G Allen
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    • G—PHYSICS
    • G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
    • G03D—APPARATUS FOR PROCESSING EXPOSED PHOTOGRAPHIC MATERIALS; ACCESSORIES THEREFOR
    • G03D13/00—Processing apparatus or accessories therefor, not covered by groups G11B3/00 - G11B11/00
    • G03D13/003—Film feed or extraction in development apparatus
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
    • G03B—APPARATUS OR ARRANGEMENTS FOR TAKING PHOTOGRAPHS OR FOR PROJECTING OR VIEWING THEM; APPARATUS OR ARRANGEMENTS EMPLOYING ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ACCESSORIES THEREFOR
    • G03B17/00—Details of cameras or camera bodies; Accessories therefor
    • G03B17/48—Details of cameras or camera bodies; Accessories therefor adapted for combination with other photographic or optical apparatus
    • G03B17/50—Details of cameras or camera bodies; Accessories therefor adapted for combination with other photographic or optical apparatus with both developing and finishing apparatus
    • G03B17/53—Details of cameras or camera bodies; Accessories therefor adapted for combination with other photographic or optical apparatus with both developing and finishing apparatus for automatically delivering a finished picture after a signal causing exposure has been given, e.g. by pushing a button, by inserting a coin
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
    • G03D—APPARATUS FOR PROCESSING EXPOSED PHOTOGRAPHIC MATERIALS; ACCESSORIES THEREFOR
    • G03D3/00—Liquid processing apparatus involving immersion; Washing apparatus involving immersion
    • G03D3/02—Details of liquid circulation
    • G03D3/06—Liquid supply; Liquid circulation outside tanks
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
    • G03D—APPARATUS FOR PROCESSING EXPOSED PHOTOGRAPHIC MATERIALS; ACCESSORIES THEREFOR
    • G03D3/00—Liquid processing apparatus involving immersion; Washing apparatus involving immersion
    • G03D3/08—Liquid processing apparatus involving immersion; Washing apparatus involving immersion having progressive mechanical movement of exposed material
    • G03D3/10—Liquid processing apparatus involving immersion; Washing apparatus involving immersion having progressive mechanical movement of exposed material for plates, films, or prints held individually

Definitions

  • One screw has sections of differing pitch for feeding the carrier at difiering rates for differing treating intervals constituting multiples of the cycle of the operator, and the other has sections for traversing the carrier between tanks.
  • Transfer devices at the ends of the track shift carriers between the track and an overlying return bar which is associated with a conveyor for full loop movement of carriers, several being stored on the return bar.
  • An alternate form has a second processing track.
  • This invention relates to automatic processors for moving articles step by step relative to a series of treating or processing stations for a predetermined sequence of operations and, more particularly, to an automatic processor for immersing an exposed film strip successively in different baths arranged in series, thereby to carry out the developing, washing and other steps required for the processing of a particular type of film.
  • the processor is adaptible to many different processing situations, it is particularly well suited for use in a coin-operated automatic photographic apparatus of the type that typically is installed in a public place to make one or more exposures of a customer on a film strip, then to process the film strip through a series of tanks containing the requisite baths for the strip, and finally to deliver the completed photograph or photographs to the customer.
  • the apparatus is actuated by the insertion of an appropriate coin in a receiver to set up the proper, lighted environment in a booth or the like and, after a preselected delay permitting the subject to position himself before a camera, activates the camera to make the exposure or exposures. Then the exposed strip is delivered to a carrier to be advanced by an automatic processing mechanism past the series of processing tanks in a darkroom environment, the carrier having a film holder that is dipped in each successive tank for a preselected time interval. When the processing is completed, the strip is fed out of the cabinet of the apparatus for delivery to the customer.
  • an automatic processor used in this manner must be reliable so as to avoid malfunctioning between the periodic servicing calls made by the vending machine personnel.
  • the service required should be relatively simple in view of the nontechnical nature of the personnel who service the apparatus periodically to replenish the various chemical solutions, which become exhausted and to some extent contaminated by interchange of the different chemicals after prolonged periods of use.
  • the general object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved automatic process that is easily adaptible to virtually any desired sequency of operations and number of processing steps that might be required by a particular film strip, and specifically those steps required for color film processing wherein widely varying time intervals are used for different treating operations, and to achieve this flexibility and versatility in a commercially practical processor that is relatively simple and compact in construction, easy to service, trouble-free in operation, capable of processing several strips in close succession, and highly effective for the processing of color film or the like.
  • a preferred embodiment of the processor utilizes a pair of spaced track bars along which the film carriers are slidable, with devices for transferring carriers one by one from one bar to the other and then back to the first bar for a full loop system, with a dual drive for feeding each carrier along one bar relative to each processing tank in a lowered position at a feed rate and for a time interval selected for that particular tank, independent of the intervals required for other tanks, and for tranversing the car riers in a raised position between tanks, and including means for operating in timed relation with the feed drive to shift the carriers back and forth between the raised and lowered positions at appropriate times.
  • the invention also resides in the novel manner of returning carriers along the second track preparatory to re-use; the construction of the processor to expedite and facilitate servicing; and the overall arrangement for maintaining positive control of each carrier at all times during the processing.
  • FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the basic parts of an automatic processor embodying the novel features of the present invention, shown in combination with a photographic apparatus of the general type with which the processor may be used in a coin-operated machine.
  • FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view taken generally from the rear side of FIG. 1 and showing different positions and carriers along the processing path, in relation to the dual drive and the operating means.
  • FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-section taken substantially along the line 3-3 of FIG. I, and showing alternate positions of the processing tanks and one of the transfer devices.
  • FIG. 4 is a fragmentary plan view of part of the tank arrangement as viewed from the line 4-4 of FIG. 3.
  • FIG. 5 is a fragmentary cross-section taken along the line 5-5 of FIG. 4.
  • FIG. 6 is a fragmentary cross-section taken along the line 6-6 of FIG. 4.
  • FIG. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view taken substantially along the line 7-7 of FIG. 1 and illustrating the film-raised and film-lowered positions of a carrier and a film holder thereon.
  • FIG. 8 is a broken-away fragmentary side elevation of the opposite side of the film holder shown in FIG. 7.
  • FIG. 9 is a cross-section taken along the line 99 of FIG. 8.
  • FIG. 10 is an enlarged cross-section taken substantially along the line 10-10 of FIG. 1, with parts shown in moved positions.
  • FIG. 11 is a fragmentary cross-section similar to part of FIG. 10 and illustrating the beginning of a transfer of a carrier at one end of the processor, immediately before the carrier is moved to the position shown in FIG. 1.
  • FIG. 12 is an elevational view taken from the rear side of the processor, in the direction of the arrow 12 of FIG. 1.
  • FIG. 13 is a fragmentary end view from the left end in FIG. 12, as indicated by the line 13-13 thereof.
  • FIG. 14 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken substantially in horizontal plane through the dual drive members, along the line 14-14 of FIG. 13, with central portions broken away.
  • FIG. 15 is a plan view of the processor.
  • FIG. 16 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view taken substantially along the line 16-16 of FIG. 15.
  • FIG. 17 is a fragmentary plan view of the carrier shown in FIG. 16. v
  • FIG. 18 is a fragmentary crosssection taken from the side of the carrier as indicated by the line 18-18 of FIG. 17.
  • FIG. 19 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 11 with parts in moved positions illustrating the discharge of a processed film strip.
  • FIG. 20 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-section taken substantially along the line 20-20 of FIG. 19.
  • FIG. 21 is an elevational view of parts shown fragmentarily in FIG. 20.
  • FIG. 22 is a fragmentary perspective view of one section of the series of tanks, shown with the tank-supporting means and a servicing cover preparatory to removal of the tank section from the processor.
  • FIG. 23 and FIG. 24 are fragmentary cross-sections taken substantially along the line 2323 of FIG. 22 and illustrating different conditions of a latch for holding the cover on the tank section.
  • FIG. 25 is a schematic diagram of the fluid system and components thereof for operating the processor.
  • the invention is embodied in an automatic film proces sor 40 for carrying an exposed film strip 41 (FIGS. 1 and 7-9) from a loading station at 42, step by step through a series of treating stations for the various steps involved in processing the film strip, and then to a discharge station at 43 for removal from the processor.
  • a primary use of such a processor is in coin-operated photographic machines of the type typically found in bus stations and other'public places for exposing, developing and delivering and direct-positive film strip in a completely automatic operation and entirely in response to the insertion of a coin of a selected denomination in the machine.
  • An illustrative photographic apparatus is shown at 44 in FIG. 1 as including a camera having a conventional lens-and-shutter apparatus 45 positioned beside a film strip 41 that extends downwardly from a supply roll 47 through a pair of feed rolls 48 and past the lens into a guide 49 provided with additional feed rolls 50, the two sets of feed rolls being driven by selectively operable motors 51 and 52 to draw the strip off the supply roll 47 preparatory to taking the pictures, and to feed the trip through the guide 49 to the loading station 42 of the processor 40 after the pictures have been taken.
  • a reciprocating cut-off knife 53 is operated by a motor 54 to sever the exposed lower portion 41 from the supply strip after the pictures have been take, and a coin-actuated control mechanism, shown generally at 55, is provided to initiate and control the picture-taking operation.
  • the insertion of a coin in the control mechanism 55 actuates the mechanism to initiate the automatic picture-taking sequence in a conventional manner.
  • the control mechanism actuates the camera through electrical lines 57 to expose the portion of the strip that is alined with the lens, and then energizes the feed motor 51 through electrical lines 58 and 59 to drive the rolls 48 and feed the strip downwardly by a preselected increment, thereby bringing an unexposed portion of the film into alinement with the lens.
  • the control mechanism 55 is set to make two or more exposures, with appropriate film feeding between successive exposures.
  • the cut-off motor 54 is actuated through electrical lines 60 to reciprocate the knife 53 and sever the strip above the last exposure, thereby releasing the exposed portion for delivery to the loading station 42 through the guide 49.
  • the feed rolls 50 are driven momentarily to discharge the severed strip through the guidewhile the rolls 48 are feeding a fresh portion into alinement with the lens preparatory to initiation of the next picturetaking sequence.
  • the coin in the control mechanism 55 may be released at any appropriate time into a coinstorage box 61.
  • the processor is housed in an open-sided box-like frame having upright end walls 62 and 63 connected by a bottom wall 64, and includes a plurality of tanks supported in a row, herein in a straight line, on the bottom wall to form the treating' stations through which each exposed film strip 41 is carried after being discharged from the photographic apparatus 44.
  • Each tank has an open upper end through which the strips are lowered into and removed from the tank as they are moved sequentially from one tank to the next.
  • the processor includes at least one film carrier 65, and preferably several, for receiving strips one-by-one at the loading station 42, and has means supporting the carriers for movement along a path passing all of the tanks and controlling the motion of the carriers to dip each film strip successively into each of the treating tanks in moving along its path. Then, upon arrival of the carrier 7 at the discharge station 43, the developed strip is ready for removal from the carrier for delivery to the customer.
  • the present invention contemplates a new and improved automatic processor 10 that is easily adaptible to any sequence of operations required for the processing of color film, including materially differing time intervals in different processing stations, and in which each film strip is advanced with independent sequential control permitting the simultaneous processing of several film strips in closely spaced relation so as to accommodate successive customers without need to delay until one strip has been processed before starting the processing of another.
  • the basic invention provides a highly versatile and effective processor that was designed to make color photography practical in commercial self-photography machines.
  • the basic elements of the processor 10 include a main track formed by an elongated horizontal bar 67 defining the path for the film carriers 65 past all of the processing tanks, dual drive means 68 and 69 operable to move each carrier along the bar past each of the tanks at a preselected feed rate for the particular tank, and to move the carrier between adjacent tanks at a selected traverse rate, and mechanism operable automatically at each tank to move the carrier into a film-lowered position for processing of the film through the tank at the selected feed rate, each carrier being moved automatically at the end of the selected processing interval into a filmraised position for traversing to the beginning of the next tank.
  • the processor 10 also includes an elongated return track in the form of a bar that is spaced from the main track 67, automatic transfer devices 71 and 72 adjacent the exit and entrance ends of the main track for removing each carrier 65 from the main track and placing it on the return track 70 at the end of a sequence and returning carriers one-by-one to the main track upon demand, as required for the processing of film strips 41 discharged by the photographic apparatus 44, and drive means for moving the carrier along the return track from adjacent the exit end of the main track to adjacent the entrance end thereof.
  • the processor defines a full loop circuit for film carriers and advances each carrier independently and automatically through the processing portion of the circuit with a preselected sequence of timed motions to accomplish the required processing operations before returning the carrier toward its starting point preparatory to re-use.
  • the present invention pertains to an automatic processor that is adaptible for use with processes involving almost any sequence of time and varying operations, and thus is particularly well suited for film processing involving a number of operations performed under carefully controlled chemical conditions with meticulous timing of each critical treatment, it is not concerned with an actual sequence of operations to be used, the actual chemicals required, or the actual time interval for any operation. lnstead, the improved processor 10 is designed to be programmed simply and effectively to produce the sequence for a practical process, whatever its requirements may be, and to be adjusted easily to accommodate any later changes that may be deemed necessary as the technology changes.
  • a representative process may include immersion in one or more developers, in stop or hardening baths, as appropriate, in bleaching solutions, and in a wash or rinse after one or more of the other steps.
  • the particular chemicals, times, washes and the like will vary with the nature of the emulsions of the particular direct-positive paper that is to be used.
  • a row of ten tanks is disposed in a temperature-controiling jacket 66 along the main track 67 for a hypothetical process comprising ten different treating steps, the tanks being of different sizes selected to fit the volume requirements of the various steps of the hypothetical process.
  • each film strip 41 being immersed in the first tank at the left very close to the loading station 42 beneath the guide 49 of the photographic apparatus 44 and progressing sequentially across the frame to the last tank at the right preparatory to being delivered to the customer.
  • each carrier 65 has a body 75 of generally horseshoe-shaped cross-section, as viewed in a vertical plane and-shown most clearing in FIGS. 2, 17 and 18.
  • This cross-section defines a seat having a part-cylindrical wall 77 for resting on and partially encircling the track bar, and a restricted entry slot 78 extending from the underside of the body into the part-cylindrical portion.
  • This entry slot is narrower than the diameter of the bar but wider than the reduced-diameter sections 73 and 74 so as to permit the carriers 65 to be fitted onto and removed from the bar adjacent its ends.
  • the carrier bodies are freely slidable along the bar and also are rotatable about the bar.
  • each carrier 65 is in the form of an elongated hollow holder 79 of basically conventional form, preferably composed of sheet metal and having an open upper end for receiving a film strip 41, herein through a funnel-like inlet 80 for guiding the strip into the holder.
  • the holder has at least partly open sidewalls spaced to lie on opposite sides of the strip while permitting the free circulation of developing chemicals through the holder in contact with the strip.
  • one side of the holder is formed with inclined slots 81 separated by fins 82, and the other sidewall is open except for connecting tabs 83 as shown in FIG. 8.
  • the film strip is held primarily adjacent its longitudinal edges as shown in FIG. 9, and preferably is lightly gripped within the holder to prevent accidental displacement as the holder is immersed in a treating tank.
  • an elongated arm 83 is fastened at one end to the body and projects outwardly therefrom at a preselected angle, generally radially of the track bar 67, and the holder is suspended from a pivot 84 between the outer end of the arm and the upper end of the slotted sidewall of the holder.
  • the film-lowered and film-raised positions of a carrier are shown in FIG. 7 in full and broken lines, respectively, the holder 79 being disposed within one of the tanks when the carrier 65 is turned to the filmlowered position, and being lifted to a level well above the tanks as the carrier is turned to the film-raised position. It will be seen that the two preferred angular positions of the carrier body producing these positions of the film holder are separated by an angle 85 (FIG. 7) of almost degrees.
  • each carrier arm 83 is an upwardly offset, right-angled bend, and the inner and outer portions of the arm, joined respectively to the body 75 and to the holder 79, are coaxially alined.
  • some of the tanks may extend only part way rearwardly to the rearmost portion of the row of tanks to afford greater versatility in the arrangement of tanks for optimum relative volumes of the various baths, as shown by the first and seventh tanks in FIGS. 1 and 15, the rear walls 87 and 88 of these tanks being forwardly offset partitions.
  • the dual drive means 68 and 69 for alternatively feeding and traversing each carrier 65 along the track bar 67 and two elongated lead screws which extend between the end walls 62 and 63 of the frame, parallel to the track bar 67, and are joumaled at their ends in the end walls.
  • the feed screw 68 is spaced forwardly from the track bar, that is, generally between the latter and the row of treating tanks, and the traversing screw 69 is behind the track bar, both screws being disposed at a level somewhat below the level of the track bar.
  • the feed screw 68 On the feed screw 68 are a plurality of axially spaced helical thread sections (see FIG. 14) of differing pitches that are engaged to advance a carrier from left to right (FIGS; 1 and 15) along the screw and the track bar 67 at rates determined by the pitch of the particular section.
  • the feed rates can be varied in accordance with the needs of the various processing steps to produce materially differing time intervals for different steps without regard to the axial length of the tanks.
  • the tanks may be sized in accordance with the volume requirements of the process, so that all of the chemicals will become substantially exhausted at the same time, after processing a given number of film strips, for optimum economy of operation.
  • thetanks may be of the same width, longitudinally of the track, and threads of similar length but materially different pitches may be used to provide the different intervals.
  • variations in tank width also may be used in obtaining the desired time interval, particularly if volume requirements also are different.
  • the feed screw 68 comprises a central shaft 89 (FIG. 14) joumaled at its ends in anti-friction bearings 90 in the end walls 62 and 63 of the frame, with a series of tubular sleeves of selected lengths, corresponding generally to the tank widths, telescoped snugly onto the shaft between the end walls and abutting against each other in end-to-end relation, the helical flights of the screw thread sections being wrapped around and soldered to the outer sides of the tubular sleeves.
  • a snap ring 94 Adjacent the right end (FIG. 1) of the feed screw 68 is a snap ring 94 (FIG. 14) that is removably anchored to the screw shaft 89 and abuts against the last screw section 68n, wherein herein is a blank spacer sleeve formed without any screw flight.
  • This end of the screw shaft extends through the bearing 90 in the end wall 63 and is rigidly attached to a gear 95 outside the wall for driving the screw.
  • the opposite end of the screw shaft has a threaded end 97 outside the other end wall 62 with a nut 98 threaded on the shaft and tightened against the wall.
  • the traversing screw 69 is the same in basic construction, similar parts other than the screw sections being indicated in the drawings by the same, but primed, reference numerals.
  • the first screw section 690 abuts against the end wall 62 and the bearing 90' therein, and the remainder of sections 69b-69n fill the space between the first section and a snap ring 95' on the screw shaft 89' adjacent the end wall 63, the last section 69n being a blank spacer.
  • a drive gear 99 is fast on the shaft 89' outside the end wall 63 and preferably meshes on one side with the gear 95 so that the drive rates of the two lead screws are directly interrelated according to the ratio provided by the two gears.
  • a third gear 100 also meshes with one of the drive gears to drive both screws, this gear being power-driven by a motor 101 (FIGS. -12 and 19) suitably mounted on the inner side of the end wall 63 with its shaft 102 projecting through the wall to the gear 100.
  • a fan 103 on the opposite projecting end of the shaft circulates air within the frame.
  • each thread section is removably telescoped onto its shaft and is readily removable therefrom for replacement in case a change in length or pitch (and therefore time interval) is deemed desirable.
  • the result is a versatile and flexible dual drive system in which each segment of feeding and each segment of traversing may be tailored quickly and easily to the requirements of the process to be performed.
  • each lug is movable into interfitting, engaged relation with the flights of its associated screw as an incident to turning of the carrier about the track bar between the two angularly spaced positions described.
  • each carrier 65 rests on top of the feed screw 68 as the carrier advances along the track, the projection of the lug outwardly from the carrier being greater than the radial height of the screw flights.
  • Advantage is taken of this arrangement to agitate the film holders 79 within the tanks for effective liquid circulation and exposure of the strips to the chemicals, all in an extremely simple manner as an incident to the axial feeding of the carrier.
  • the shaft 89 of the feed screw 68 is eccentrically mounted in the bearings 90 to produce an up-and-down camming action by the screw sections against the feed lug during each revolution of the feed screw.
  • This camming action is applied through the feed lug to the carrier body 75 at a point spaced outwardly from the track bar 67, and thus cooperates with gravity to raise and lower the film holders continuously with a gentle, agitating motion that is effective to maintain motion between the film strip and the treating liquids.
  • each screw thread section on the feed screw 68 is a gap 109 (see FIG. 14) in the thread, separated from the next thread section by one of the shoulders 93 which, in effect, form stops for holding the feed lug 104 in a dwell position at the end of each feed section preparatory to rotation of the carrier 65 to the film-raised position for traversing the next tank.
  • the leading end portion of each thread section of the traversing screw 69 is axially alined with or overlaps the dwell gap 109 in a feed section so as to receive the traversing lug 105 and initiate traversing of the carrier during such rotation.
  • each traversing screw section axially overlaps the leading end of the next feed section so as to move the carrier and the lug into alinement with the feed section before the carrier is rotated back to the feed position, and has a gap 109 for a dwell of the traversing lug adjacent a stop shoulder 93.
  • THE OPERATOR FOR ROTATING THE CARRIERS Turning or rotation of the carriers 65 between the two angularly spaced positions at the beginning and end of each timed interval is accomplished by mechanism including an operator 110 mounted on the frame for periodic movement between a raised, pick-up position and a lowered, traversing position, and engageable with a coupling abutment 111 on each carrier dwelling at the end of a feed section to shift the carrier from the film-lowered position to the film-raised position, thereby to terminate treating in one tank and initiate traversing of the carrier to the next tank. Moreover, the operator herein holds the carrier in the film-raised position during traversing, and returns it to the film-lowered position after the carrier has been moved into alinement with the next tank.
  • the coupling abutment 111 on each carrier 65 is an upwardly facing surface on a plunger 112 (see FIG. 16) projecting rearwardly from the rear side of the carrier body 75, the plunger comprising a generally cylindrical sleeve telescoped over a rearward extension 8312 of the carrier arm 83 and secured thereto with a lost-motion connection formed by a pin 113 extending through alined holes in the sleeve and an elongated slot in the arm extension.
  • a spring 114 is coiled around the arm extension 83b and compressed to urge the plunger rearward until the pin abuts against the rear end of the slot, thus holding the plunger yieldably in an extended position.
  • the pin also prevents the plunger from turning about the extension and thereby holds the abutment surface 111 in an upwardly facing position, the rear end of the plunger sleeve being beveled at 115, downwardly and forwardly to form a cam surface on the plunger.
  • the operator 110 comprises an elongated operating bar 117 (see FIGS. 2, 12 and 14) parallel to the track bar 67 and of approximately the same length, means at the ends of the bar supporting the latter for up and down movement behind the track bar, preferably along an arc concentric-with the track bar, and a series of operating abutments I18 spaced apart along the operating bar for engagement with the coupling abutments 111 of the carriers at appropriate points along the track.
  • the ends of the operating bar are fastened, as by welding, to the free ends of two parallel arms 119 each telescoped loosely at its other end over an enlargement on the end of the track bar so as to pivot in unison about the axis of the track bar.
  • the length of the arms is such that the operating abutments 118 are spaced the same distance from the axis of the track bar as are the coupling abutments 111 on the carriers 65 moving along the track bar, and thus swing along the same are about the bar.
  • the operating abutments herein are downwardly facing, axially elongated shoulders on split sleeves 120 telescoped on the operating bar 117 and clamped adjustably in spaced positions thereon by means of screws connecting flanges on the two halves of each sleeve.
  • the split sleeves may be slid to any selected longitudinal positions, according to the spacing of the thread sections on the tranversing screw 69, and then fixed in place, both angularly and longitudinally, by tightening the clamping screws.
  • One abutment is provided for each transition from one tank to another.
  • a reciprocating actuator 121 (FIGS. 7, l2 and 25) is attached to the bar and operated on a timed basis providing a selected minimum treating cycle constituting one cycle of the operator, with longertreating cycles in multiples of the minimum cycle.
  • the actuator is a fluid-powered cylinder disposed in an upright position with its lower end pivoted between two L-shaped brackets 122 on the bottom wall of the frame and with a piston rod 123 projecting upwardly out of its upper end to a pivot 124 approximately midway between the ends of the operating bar.
  • the bar is disposed below the level of the two lead screws 68 and 69 in its lowered position and is almost directly above the traversing screw 69 in its raised position.
  • stop plates 125 and 127 (see FIGS. 3, and 11) on each of end walls 62 and 63 engageable with the arms 119 of the operator.
  • a spring 128 is stretched between the operating bar 117 and the upper portion of the frame to assist the cylinder in raising the bar.
  • the cylinder 121 is of the double-acting type and is controlled by a valve 129 (see FIGS. 3 and 25 through which fluid under pressure is admitted alternately to lines 130 and 131 leading to the opposite end portions of the cylinder.
  • the condition of the valve is controlled by a solenoid 132 which is actuated by two timing motors 133 and 134 (FIGS. 12 and 28) to provide the minimum dwell of the operator in the raised position, for example, for a period on he order of two seconds, followed by a downstroke, a dwell in the lowered position for any selected interval sufficient for traversing, such as one second, and an upstroke to return the operator to the raised position.
  • the timing motors control the dwell interval of the operator 110 in the raised position by maintaining the solenoid 132 deenergized with the valve 129 in the condition shown in full lines in FIG. 26 in which a pressure line 135 communicates with the line leading to the lower end of the cylinder 12] to maintain the piston rod 123 extended.
  • the solenoid is energized to shift the spool 137 of the valve to the right to the broken-line position in which the pressure line communicates with the line 131 leading to the upper end of the cylinder, thus retracting the piston rod to lower the operator 117.
  • the selected interval for the lowered position is then timed before the solenoid is deenergized to return the valve spool to its full line position and thereby extend the piston rod and raise the operator.
  • Each operating abutment 118 is positioned along the operating bar 117 to engage the coupling abutment 111 on a plunger 112 of a carrier 65 dwelling on the track bar 67 at the end of a section of the feed screw 68 during a downstroke of the operator 110, thereby to swing the plunger down with the operator while turning the carrier about the track bar to the film-raised position, raising the film holder 79 out the tank wherein the treatment has been completed. It will be seen that this raising motion of each film holder is in a vertical plane and is free of any movement longitudinally of the track.
  • the rate of flow of exhaust fluid out of the lower end of the cylinder 121 through the line 130 and the valve 129 is controlled, as shown in FIGS. 26 and 27, by a restriction 138 formed by a manually adjustable needle valve 139 partially closing a bleed passage 140, and also by a regulating plunger 141 positioned by'the operator 117 and controlling the escape of fluid through a second bleed passage 142.
  • Both of these bleed passages open into the valve bore 143 adjacent the solenoid 132 so as to receive exhaust fluid from the line 130 when the spool 137 is in the dottedline position to deliver air from the pressure line 135 to the line 131 leading to the upper end.
  • the combined flow areas of these two bleed passages control the rate of downward movement of the operator 110 and the accompanying upward movement of the film holders 79.

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US802490A 1969-02-26 1969-02-26 Automatic processor Expired - Lifetime US3683781A (en)

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Cited By (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO1989006832A1 (en) * 1988-01-21 1989-07-27 Eastman Kodak Company Track system for moving processor in and out of cabinet
US5589902A (en) * 1992-03-30 1996-12-31 Kis Photo Industrie (Sarl) Integrated automatic installation for taking photographs or sequences of photographs
US5619744A (en) * 1995-09-21 1997-04-08 Tebo; Michael E. Film processor
US5664253A (en) * 1995-09-12 1997-09-02 Eastman Kodak Company Stand alone photofinishing apparatus
US5752123A (en) * 1996-12-02 1998-05-12 Cheng; Jeng-Kuo Automatic X ray developing device
US6148148A (en) * 1989-02-28 2000-11-14 Photostar Limited Automatic photobooth with electronic imaging camera
USRE38447E1 (en) * 1995-09-12 2004-03-02 Eastman Kodak Company Stand alone photofinishing apparatus

Citations (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2194345A (en) * 1939-03-06 1940-03-19 Winans Theodore Fonville Automatic film processing machine
US2544644A (en) * 1947-08-09 1951-03-13 Philip S Allen Film-strip carrier actuating mechanism for automatic photographic apparatus
US2748678A (en) * 1953-02-25 1956-06-05 Berlant Sigmund Developing tank
US3000288A (en) * 1957-05-15 1961-09-19 Autolab Corp Apparatus and method for processing photographic elements
US3196772A (en) * 1961-08-01 1965-07-27 Ralph A Sickles Apparatus for intermittent immersion of articles in liquid baths
US3443503A (en) * 1965-06-11 1969-05-13 Jaernhs Elektriska Ab Developing apparatus for photographic film,particularly x-ray film
US3492932A (en) * 1967-08-25 1970-02-03 Edward Van Baerle Machine for processing photograph films and prints

Patent Citations (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2194345A (en) * 1939-03-06 1940-03-19 Winans Theodore Fonville Automatic film processing machine
US2544644A (en) * 1947-08-09 1951-03-13 Philip S Allen Film-strip carrier actuating mechanism for automatic photographic apparatus
US2748678A (en) * 1953-02-25 1956-06-05 Berlant Sigmund Developing tank
US3000288A (en) * 1957-05-15 1961-09-19 Autolab Corp Apparatus and method for processing photographic elements
US3196772A (en) * 1961-08-01 1965-07-27 Ralph A Sickles Apparatus for intermittent immersion of articles in liquid baths
US3443503A (en) * 1965-06-11 1969-05-13 Jaernhs Elektriska Ab Developing apparatus for photographic film,particularly x-ray film
US3492932A (en) * 1967-08-25 1970-02-03 Edward Van Baerle Machine for processing photograph films and prints

Cited By (9)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO1989006832A1 (en) * 1988-01-21 1989-07-27 Eastman Kodak Company Track system for moving processor in and out of cabinet
JP2648520B2 (ja) 1988-01-21 1997-09-03 イーストマン・コダック・カンパニー キャビネットに対してプロセッサを出し入れ運動させるためのトラック装置
US6148148A (en) * 1989-02-28 2000-11-14 Photostar Limited Automatic photobooth with electronic imaging camera
US6298197B1 (en) 1989-02-28 2001-10-02 Photostar Limited Automatic photobooth with electronic imaging camera
US5589902A (en) * 1992-03-30 1996-12-31 Kis Photo Industrie (Sarl) Integrated automatic installation for taking photographs or sequences of photographs
US5664253A (en) * 1995-09-12 1997-09-02 Eastman Kodak Company Stand alone photofinishing apparatus
USRE38447E1 (en) * 1995-09-12 2004-03-02 Eastman Kodak Company Stand alone photofinishing apparatus
US5619744A (en) * 1995-09-21 1997-04-08 Tebo; Michael E. Film processor
US5752123A (en) * 1996-12-02 1998-05-12 Cheng; Jeng-Kuo Automatic X ray developing device

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