US3762290A

US3762290A - Print separating device for processing camera

Info

Publication number: US3762290A
Application number: US00268930A
Authority: US
Inventors: D Harvey
Original assignee: Eastman Kodak Co
Current assignee: Eastman Kodak Co
Priority date: 1972-07-05
Filing date: 1972-07-03
Publication date: 1973-10-02
Anticipated expiration: 1990-10-02
Also published as: FR2191750A5; DE2333550A1; GB1433601A; JPS4945722A

Abstract

In a camera adapted to expose and initiate processing of a selfprocessing film unit, the film unit including a print card separably attached to a pod assembly having a carrier sheet with a transverse stiffening bar at its leading end, a novel device is provided for separating the print card from the pod assembly during film unit processing and for directing the pod assembly to a storage position. The device includes an arcuate guide member having outer and inner parts. The outer part engages the stiffening bar and thereby directs the pod assembly in an arcuate path away from the print card and toward the storage position. The inner part engages the narrower carrier sheet and thereby prevents the sheet from buckling as the pod assembly is moved in the arcuate path.

Description

I United States Patent 1 [111 3,762,290

Harvey Oct. 2, 1973 PRINT SEPARATING DEVICE FOR Primary Examiner-Richard M. Sheer PROCESSING CAMERA Attorney-W. H. J. Kline et al.

[75] Inventor: Donald M. Harvey, Webster, NY. [73] Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company, [57] ABSTRACT Rochester, NY. In a camera adapted to expose and initiate processing of a self-processing film unit, the film unit including a [22] Flled' July 1972 print card separably attached to a pod assembly having |2ll Appl. No.: 268,930 a carrier sheet with a transverse stiffening bar at its leading end, a novel device is provided for separating the print card from the pod assembly during film unit lg? processing and for directing the pod assembly to a Stop l4 lg 22 age position. The device includes an arcuate guide I l 0 care member having outer and inner parts. The outer part engages the stiffening bar and thereby directs the pod [56] References cued assembly in an arcuate path away from the print card UNITED STATES PATENTS and toward the storage position. The inner part engages 3,424,072 1/1969 Hodgson et al 95/13 the narrower carrier sheet and thereby prevents the 3,636,845 H1972 Harvey 95/13 sheet from buckling as the pod assembly is moved in 3,680,456 8/1972 Nerwin 95/13 the arcuate 3,690,238 9/1972 Nerwin 95/13 p 12 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures SHEET 10F 4 PATENIEDucI 2197a,

FIG. 2

PRINT SEPARATING DEVICE FOR PROCESSING CAMERA CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS Reference is made to the following commonly assigned, copending US. Patent applications, all filed concurrently with this application:

Ser. No. 268,932 entitled PHOTOGRAPHIC FILM UNIT, Ser. No. 268,940 entitled FILM HANDLING IMPROVEMENT, Ser. No. 268,936 entitled TRANS- LATABLE STRIPPING AND GUIDING MECHA- NISM, and Ser. No. 268,935 entitled FILM PACK WITH RESILIENT WASTE HANDLING MEANS, all filed in the name of Donald M. Harvey;

Ser. No. 268,975 entitled FILM PACK, filed in the name of Chester W. Michatek; and

Ser. No. 268,948 entitled FILM UNIT PROCESS- ING MECHANISM, filed in the names of Henry S. Adamski and Guilford E. Kindig.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to cameras that expose and initiate processing of a film unit including an image-recording or print unit separably attached to a pod assembly having at its leading end a transverse stiffening bar, and specifically to means in such a camera for separating the print unit from the pod assembly during film unit processing and for directing the pod assembly to a storage position.

The general type of film unit with which a camera incorporating the present invention is intended to be used is disclosed in the above-cross-referenced U.S. Patent application Ser. No. 268,932. Such a film unit comprises a generally rectangular, photosensitive, image-recording unit orprint card separably coupled at its leading edge portion to a processing-tluid-container unit or pod assembly. The pod assembly includes a flexible, resilient supporting element or carrier sheet that is permanently coupled to a rupturable pod of processing fluid and separably coupled to the print card. At the leading end of the film unit, a transverse stiffening member or bar is permanently coupled to the carrier sheet, as disclosed in the above-cross-referenced US. Patent application Ser. No. 268,940. Preferably, a plurality of such film units are initially housed in stacked relation to one another in a film pack or magazine that is disposable after all of the available film units have been exposed and processed.

Following the exposure of each successive film unit, that unit is moved endwise, leading end or pod assembly first, by a supplemental feeder device to insert the stiffening bar of its carrier sheet into a processing nip defined by a pair of juxtaposed processing members. The rearward one of the two processing members comprises a roller that is rotatably driven by an appropriate drive mechanism to propel the entire film unit through the processing nip, from one side of the nip to the other, in a predetermined movement plane. The hydraulic pressure developed in the processing fluid pod as it passes through the nip ruptures a sealed area of the trailing edge portion of the print card typically is provided with a socalled trap, which receives and retains any excess fluid delivered beyond the exposed area of the print card. As the stiffening bar passes beyond the processing nip, it is engaged by guide means that direct it rearwardly partially around the roller and into a storage compartment located in the film pack casing behind the unexposed film units therein. When the leading edge portion of the print card emerges from the nip, it misses the guide means, and the inherent stiffness of the print card causes the card to continue moving generally along the predetermined movement plane so that it pulls free of the pod assembly and emerges from the camera through an appropriate slot in the camera housing. Each successive film unit is exposed and processed in the same manner, whereby all of the exhausted pod assemblies are delivered into the storage compartment in stacked relation to one another and are discarded along with the disposable film pack casing.

Although a number of different film unit and separating device constructions have been proposed, involving different combinations with respect to the relative widths of the print cards, carrier sheets, and stiffening bars, the present invention is concerned primarily with the type of film unit in which only the lateral edge portions or tips of the stiffening bars extend beyond the lateral edges of the print card. As explained in detail in the aforementioned US. Patent application Ser. No. 268,932, this type of film unit achieves optimum compactness of the film pack commensurate with allowing the fingers of the supplemental feeder device to straddle the pod assembly and the print card to retain the unexposed film units in proper position during the removal and processing of the exposed film unit. If the tips of the stiffening bar thus project beyond the lateral edges of the print card, the guide members can be located along the path of movement of the card beyond the roller nip and can be spaced apart sufficiently to straddle the print card so that its movement is not influenced by the guide means. However, to operate successfully, the lateral edge portions of at least the leading end portion or section of the carrier sheet must also be guided around the roller. Otherwise, the carrier sheet is likely to bow between the guide members rather than push the stiffening bar along those members. Accordingly, previously proposed film units of this type have employed a carrier sheet that is wider than the print card and a stiffening bar that is wider than the carrier sheet, thereby significantly increasing the overall width of the film pack and correspondingly decreasing the compactness of both the film pack and the camera in which it is used. Such a film unit and guide means used therewith are disclosed in detail in the aforementioned US. Patent application Ser. No. 268,940.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The principal object of the present invention is to. provide a camera with a simple and reliable device for automatically removing and storing the pod assembly of a self-processing film unit of the above-described type wherein only the stiffening bar at the leading end of the pod assembly is wider than the print card.

Briefly, that and other objects are realized in accordance with the present invention by use of a stationary guiding device that includes inner guiding means located beyond the roller nip behind the path of movement of the print card, to engage the carrier sheet of the pod assembly and guide it rearwardly around the rearward roller toward the film storage compartment within the film pack, and outer guiding means straddling the path of movement of the print card beyond the roller nip, to engage the tips of the stiffening bar and thereby divert that bar rearwardly around the rearward roller so that it brings the carrier sheet into engagement with the inner guiding means.

Various means for practicing the invention and other advantages and novel features thereof will be apparent from the detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the invention presented below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the invention presented below, reference is made to the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numerals denote like elements and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a self-processing film unit of the type used in conjunction with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the film unit shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a film pack including a plurality of film units of the type shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 and a storage compartment for receiving waste elements of the film units;

FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view illustrating the relation of the film pack shown in FIG. 3 to basic components of the film processing mechanism of a camera in which the film pack is installed;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of the camera structure shown in FIG. 4, illustrating the guide members to which the present invention is specifically directed; and

FIGS. 6 8 are enlarged side-elevational views of a portion of the film pack and camera structure shown in FIG. 4, partially cross-sectioned along line 6-6 of that figure, illustrating successive stages in the operation of I the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Because photographic cameras and film units of the self-processing type are well known, the following description is directed in particular to elements forming part of, or cooperating directly with, the present invention, elements not specifically shown or described herein being selectable from those known in the art.

Illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings is a film unit 10 which comprises a print card 12, sometimes referred to as an image-recording portion or unit, and a processing fluid container or pod l4 permanently attached to a supporting element or carrier sheet 16.

As best shown in FIG. 2, the print card 12 comprises a photosensitive sheet 18. and a transparent cover or process sheet that is permanently attached to the photosensitive sheet along its lateral and trailing edge portions as shown by shaded areas 22. For purposes of clarity, permanent connections between the different elements of the film unit are depicted by areas shaded with dots, and separable connections are illustrated by areas shaded with dashes.

Mask sheets

24 and 26 are permanently bonded to the corresponding outer faces of the photosensitive and process sheets and include

respective openings

28 and 30 that define the image or picture area of the print card. The trailing end portions ,of the two

sheets

18 and 20 are provided with respective

rectangular openings

32 and 34 which are staggered relative to one another so that each opening 32 straddles the separating bar between two of the confronting openings 34. A very thin sheet of moistureresistant material 36 is folded and cemented to itself along its lateral edges 38 and is bonded to the confronting surfaces of the photosensitive and process sheets along its leading edges as shown by bonding areas 40. Sheet 36 thus forms an envelope that is open at its leading end to receive excess processing fluid driven beyond the picture area of the print card during the processing operation. Because the envelope provided by sheet 36 lies between the

opposed openings

32 and 34 in the two

sheets

18 and 20, the envelope can expand slightly into those openings to accommodate the excess processing fluid. The staggered alignment of

openings

32 and 34 tends to prevent the fluid from being squeezed out of the trap by accidental finger pressure. This particular type of print card or image-recording unit is referred to as a preregistered integral unit with a permanently connected trap. The term preregistered refers to the condition that the photosensitive sheet and the process sheet are superposed or registered prior to exposure, preferably at some stage during manufacture of the film unit, and the term integral denotes that the two sheets are maintained in superposed or registered relation to each other during and after processing. It should be noted that the permanently connected trap feature of the illustrated film unit is not essential to the present invention, which is equally applicable to film units having other types of trap structures.

The carrier sheet 16 of the film unit is made of thin resilient sheet material, preferably plastic, and is permanently attached at its leading edge portion to a transverse metal stiffening member or bar 42 of the type disclosed in greater detail in the aforementioned U.S. Patent application Ser. No. 268,940. The lateral edge portions or tips 44 of the stiffening bar extend beyond the lateral edge portions of the carrier sheet, the leading end portion or section of the carrier sheet being substantially the same width as the print card. The stiffening bar thus comprises a widening element which defines the leading end of the film unit. The trailing end portion or section of the carrier sheet preferably is cut to define a tongue. 46 that is narrower than the width of the print card. This tongue, in turn, is separably coupled or bonded to card 12 by means of a rupturable adhesive 48 applied to the trailing end surface of the tongue confronting the corresponding portion of mask sheet 24.

The two

sheets

18 and 20 of the print card are rectangular and coextensive with each other and are permanently joined along their lateral edge portions so that their central exposure regions are maintained in registration but can be spread apart sufficiently to permit the distribution of a processing composition or fluid therebetween. The photosensitive sheet 18 is exposed through the transparent process sheet 20, and, after processing, the print card is viewed from the opposite side, thus providing a positive, right-reading image without recourse to image-reversing mirrors or the like in the camera. The processing fluid introduced between the two sheets is opaque, and therefore prevents further exposure of the photosensitive emulsion from occurring while the image-recording unit or print card is removed from the camera but before the processing fluid has had time to complete its processing function.

The so-called pod 14 that initially contains the processing fluid composition is permanently cemented to the carrier sheet 16 between the leading end of the print card and the stiffening bar at the leading end of the carrier sheet. As best shown in FIG. 2, the processing fluid pod comprises a single sheet 50 of tough, vapor-impervious material that is chemically inert to the caustic processing fluid, representative examples of which are disclosed in a number of patent references well known to those skilled in the art of self-processing film units. Typically, the pod sheet 50 comprises a web of paper or plastic laminated to a thin layer of lead foil that provides an inert and impermeable lining in contact with the processing fluid. Sheet 50 is folded along one edge as shown at numeral 52 and is sealed along its lateral margins 54 by a permanent cement or adhesive or by means of an appropriate heat-sealing operation or the equivalent. A rupturable or separable transverse joint or seal 56 extends between the permanently sealed margins 54, thus defining a rupturable separation between the processing fluid chamber 58 and the funnel portion 60 of the pod. The funnel portion 60, in turn, is inserted between the leading edge portions of the photosensitive and process sheets but is not cemented or otherwise mechanically attached to the print card. When the processing fluid pod passes through the nip defined by two opposed pressure members in the camera, the resulting hydraulic forces developed within chamber 58 cause joint 56 to rupture, so that the processing fluid is delivered between the two sheets of the print card through funnel portion 60 and is distributed across the exposed image area of the photosensitive sheet. As previously described, excess processing fluid driven beyond the exposed image area is received in the envelope or chamber provided by trap sheet 36.

A plurality of film units of the type described above are supplied in a film pack or magazine 62, best illustrated in FIG. 3. The box-like casing 64 of the film pack is made of plastic or sheet metal and includes a forwardly facing exposure window 66. The film units initially are housed in stacked relation to one another in a film compartment 68, partially shown in FIG. 6, their print cards being in alignment with exposure window 66. A spring-loaded pressure plate is located behind the film units in the film compartment and is biased forwardly to compress the stack of film units against the front wall 70 of the casing. A support spring 72, also shown in FIG. 6, is carried by the pressure plate and resiliently urges the pod portions of the film units forwardly against guide rails 74 carried by the casing front wall 70. Initially, an opaque cover element is located forward of the forwardmost film unit to protect that unit from ambient light. The cover element is substantially identical to the film units except that no pod is provided on its carrier sheet 76 and an opaque disposable card 78 is substituted for the print card. The forward edge 80 of the casing end wall 82 is located slightly rearward of the plane defined by the cover element or the forwardmost film unit to permit that cover element or film unit to be moved endwise, substantially in that plane, out of the casing through exit opening 84. A pair of longitudinal slots 86 in the casing front wall, shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, are open at one end to opening 84 and allow a feeder mechanism to engage the stiffening bar of the cover element or the forwardmost film unit and initiate its endwise movement out of the casing.

As shown in FIG. 3, the leading end portion of the film pack casing is sufficiently wide to accommodate the stiffening bars of the cover element and the film units, and the remainder of the casing conforms to the width of the print cards to maintain the film units in stacked alignment with one another in the film compartment. Further details of the film pack structure and the specific manner in which the stiffening bars are positioned and engaged by the feeder mechanism are disclosed more fully in the above-cross-referenced US. Patent application Ser. No. 268,975.

Behind the portion of the film pack initially containing the film unit pods, film pack casing 64 extends beyond end wall 82 to provide a shute or porch 88. The I rearward edge 90 of end wall82 is spaced from the casing back wall 92 to provide an entrance opening 94 through which waste elements of the film units can be inserted into an internal storage compartment 96. Internal guide ramps 98 extend along the side walls 100 of the wider portion of film pack casing 64 and terminate at internal ribs 102 adjacent to the transition between the wider and narrower portions of casing 64. The confronting internal surfaces of walls 100 are spaced apart slightly more than the width of the film unit stiffening bars, and the transverse distance between ramps 98 and between ribs 102 is less than the width of the stiffening bars but more than the width of the carrier sheets so that the ramps and ribs can engage only the tips 44 of the stiffening bars. At the end of porch 88, retaining walls 104 extend toward each other from side walls 100 and are spaced by a distance that is less than the width of the leading end portion or section of carrier sheet 16 but greater than the width of the trailing end portion or section or tongue 46 of the carrier sheet.

The housing 106 of a camera adapted to use film pack 62, as illustrated partially in FIGS. 4 8, is provided with a hinged cover door 108 that can be opened to permit insertion of the film pack into the housing. Within the housing, the camera .contains a processing mechanismincluding a slidably supported feeder plate 1 l0 and a pair of juxtaposed processing members such as

rollers

112 and 114. The rearward or drive roller 112 is rotatably supported in fixed relation to the camera housing by the reception of its end shafts 116 in corresponding bearing holes 118 in support plates 120 and is adapted to be driven in the direction shown by arrow 122 by an appropriate drive mechanism, not shown.

The end shafts 124 of the forward roller 114 similarly are carried in bearing holes 126 of a bracket 128, shown partially in FIGS. 4 and 5, which is pivotally attached to the camera housing by pins 130. A pair of relatively strong springs 132 bias bracket 128 rearwardly to provide a firm but yieldable pressure at the roller nip, which is aligned with an exit slot 134 in the adjacent end wall of the camera housing. A pair of resilient flaps 136 preferably are provided across slot 134 to prevent light or foreign matter from entering the camera through that slot.

When the film pack is in its operative position in the camera housing, as illustrated, it is engaged by appropriate suport surfaces, not shown, whereby the photosensitive surface of a film unit exposable through exposure window 66 is located in coincidence with the focal plane of the camera lens. This location of the film pack within the camera housing also aligns the cover element or forwardmost film unit with the nip defined by the processing rollers and causes fingers 138 of feeder plate 110 to extend into the film compartment through slots 86 as shown in solid lines in FIGS. 4 and 6.

After the film pack has been inserted into the camera and the cover door has been closed, but before the first available film unit can be exposed, energizationof the processing mechanism causes the feeder plate to move fingers 138 to the position shown in broken lines in FIG. 6 and to initiate the rotation of roller 112 in the direction shown by arrow 122. Because specific details of the drive mechanism that actuates the feeder plate and the drive roller are not necessary to an understanding of the present invention, such details have been omitted from this disclosure. Suitable means adapted to perform those and related functions are disclosed in the above-cross-referenced U.S. Patent application Ser. No. 268,948.

As fingers 138 move from the position shown in solid lines in FIG. 6 to the position shown in broken lines in that figure, they engage the trailing edges of the tips 44 of the stiffening bar attached to the leading end of the cover element and thereby force the cover element endwise to introduce that bar into the roller nip as shown at numeral 42a. By reference to FIGS. 4 6, it will be seen that the forward roller 114 is provided with reduced-diameter segments 140 at its opposite ends to allow fingers 138 to drive the stiffening bar completely into the roller nip. As soon as the stiffening bar has entrered the nip, the rotation of roller 112 drives the bar through the nip and roller 114 is concurrently rotated in the opposite direction shown by arrow 142. Because of the inherent flatness and resilience of the carrier sheet, the stiffening bar emerging from the roller nip tends to continue moving tangentially of the rollers in substantially the same movement plane toward the camera exit slot 134.

The separating device to which the invention specifically is directed comprises a pair of guide shoes or fenders 144, illustrated in FIGS. 4 8. As best shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, guide shoes 144 are mounted on the camera housing adjacent to the respective ends of

rollers

112 and 1 14 at the side of the roller nip opposite to the film pack exit opening 84. By reference to FIG. 5, it will be seen that each of the guide shoes comprises an outer guide member or part 146 and an inner guide member or part 148, which for explanatory purposes are partially differentiated by an imaginary broken line 150.

The outer guide part 146 of each of the guide shoes defines an arcuate guide face or surface 152 that confronts an end portion of roller 112 and extends into and across the tangential movement plane of the stiffening bar emerging from the roller nip. Each reduced diameter end portion 140 of roller 1 14 accommodates the adjacent portion of the confronting outer guide part 146, the flat inner faces 154 of parts 146 being spaced apart laterally by a distance less than the width of the stiffening bar but more than the width of the carrier sheet and the print card. The inner guide parts 148 of the guide shoes similarly define arcuate guide faces or surfaces 156 confronting roller 112 and aligned with and conforming to the laterally adjacent guide surfaces 152 except for relieved or recessed introduction portions 158, the function of which is explained below. It is important to note that the inner parts 148 of the guide shoes terminate in longitudinal guide surfaces 160, which are located adjacent to and behind the aforementioned tangential movement plane of the cover element or film unit emerging from the roller nip. The inner faces 162 of the inner guide parts 148 are spaced apart by a distance less than the width of the leading end portion or section of the carrier sheet but greater than the width of the narrower trailing end portion or section or tongue 46 thereof.

As the stiffening bar of the cover element emerges from the roller nip, the tips 44 thereof encounter the adjacent guide surfaces 152 of the respective outer parts of the guide shoes, which divert or deflect the bar away from the aforementioned movement plane and partially around roller 112 toward the chute or porch of the film pack. The relieved introduction portions 158 of guide surfaces 156 are spaced farther than the main portions 157 of those surfaces from roller 112 in order to prevent possible jamming if the stiffening bar flexes slightly between the two guide shoes as the bar moves to a position at which it is adjacent to both the inner and outer guide surfaces of those shoes. As shown at numeral 42b in FIG. 6, the stiffening bar is thus guided or directed into the porch where its tips engage the curved film pack ramp surfaces 163 in rearward alignment with the outer parts of the respective guide shoes. Because the inner guide surfaces 156 can engage the lateral edge portions or margins of the leading end portion or section of the carrier sheet, it will be apparent that those guide surfaces continue to direct the carrier sheet toward the storage compartment after the stiffening bar has been driven beyond the guide shoes. By the time the leading edge portion of the cover element card 78 emerges from the roller nip, as shown in solid lines in FIG. 7, the corresponding stiffening bar has encountered ribs 102 at the end of the storage compartment so that further endwise movement of carrier sheet 76 is curtailed. The inherent stiffness of the cover element card causes it to continue moving in the generally flat tangential movement plane in engagement with support surfaces 160 of the inner guide parts 148. The flat inner faces 154 of the outer guide parts 146 serve to guide the card along a substantially straight path as it moves away from the roller nip in said plane. As such movement occurs, the connection between the cover element carrier sheet 76 and card 78 is peeled apart, as shown in solid lines in FIG. 7, and roller 112 continues to drive the cover element card out of the camera through exit slot 134, as shown in broken lines in FIG. 7. When the carrier sheet has become separated from the cover element card, its inherent resiliency causes it to resume its previous generally flat condition. Because the trailing end portion or section or tongue 46 of the carrier sheet is narrower than the spacing between the inner guide shoe surfaces 162 and between the confronting edges of retaining walls 104, the tongue can pass between those structures, as shown in broken lines in FIG. 7, so that it assumes a position adjacent to the back wall 92 of the film pack casing with the wider portion of the sheet straddled by guide ramps 98.

After the forwardmost film unit has been exposed, the drive mechanism again is energized and caused to perform in the manner described above to feed the stiffening bar of that film unit into the nip defined by the two rollers. The subsequent movement of the pod through the roller nip produces internal hydraulic pressure that ruptures the pod seal 56 along the funnel portion of the pod and allows the processing fluid to be squeezed outof the pod and through the funnel so that it enters the print card between the leading edge portions of the photosensitive sheet and the process sheet. After enteringthe film pack porch, as shown in FIG. 8, the stiffening bar of the film unit carrier sheet 16 encounters the preceding carrier sheet and is guided along the forward surface of that sheet into the storage compartment. The stiffness of the print card 12 causes it to become separated from the carrier sheet and funnel of the corresponding pod assembly in the manner described above, whereby the print card emerges through slot 134 as the carrier sheet assumes the position shown in broken lines in FIG. 8 because of its inherent resiliency.

By repeatin'gthe same operations of the feeder plate and rollers after exposure of the successive film units, all of the waste elements of those units are delivered to the storage compartment in stacked relation to one another, thus eliminating any need for the photographer to handle such elements. Because only the tongues of the carrier sheets can extend between the retaining walls 104 at the end of the filmpack porch, the tendency of those sheets to assume a flat condition prevents them from accidentally falling out or being withdrawn from the storagecompartment.

The invention has been described in detail with particular reference to the preferred embodiment thereof, but it will be understood that variations and modifications can be effected within the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a camera adapted to expose and initiate processing of a self-processing film unit, the film unit having a leading end and including a generally rectangular image-recording unit separably coupled to a fluidcontainer unit, the image-recording unit having a leading edge and a pair of lateral edges, the fluid-container unit extending beyond the leading edge and including a supporting element coupled to a widening element defining the leading end, the widening element including lateral tips extending laterally beyond the supporting element and beyond the lateral edges, the camera including a pair of pressure members having end portions and defining a nip through which the film unit is movable, leading end first, from a first side of the nip to a second side thereof in a predetermined movement plane to initiate the processing, a device located adjacent to the pressure members at the second side of the nip for separating the fluid-container unit from the image-recording unit after the processing has been initiated, said device comprising:

first means defining a pair of outer guide surfaces spaced from and confronting the end portions of one of the pressure members and extending into said movement plane to engage the lateral tips of the widening element and to divert the widening element away from said plane and partially around said one of the pressure members, said outer guide surfaces being spaced apart sufficiently to straddle all of the film unit except the widening element thereof; and second means defining at least one inner guide surface spaced from and confronting said one pressure memberbetween said outer guide surfaces and disposed outside said plane to engage the supporting element of the fluid-container unit and guide the fluid-container unit partially around said one pressure member after the widening element has been diverted away from said plane by said outer guide surfaces.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said outer and inner guide surfaces include arcuate surfaces in alignment with one another to facilitate movement of the fluid-container unit partially around said one pressure member.

3. A device as claimed in claim ll wherein said inner guide surface includes a first portion adjacent to said plane and a second portion extending from said first portion away from said plane, said first portion being spaced farther than said second portion from said one pressure member to facilitate movement of the fluidcontainer unit partially around said one pressure memher.

4. A device as claimed in claim ll wherein said at least one inner guide surface includes a pair of spaced inner guide surfaces located adjacent to said outer guide surfaces respectively.

5. A device as claimed in claim 4, the supporting element of the fluid-container unit including a leading end portion having a first width and a trailing end portion having a second width less than the first width, wherein said inner guide surfaces are spaced from each other by a distance less than the first width but greater than the second width.

6. A device as claimed in claim ll wherein said second means further defines at least one support surface adjacent to and substantially parallel with said plane and extending away from said inner guide surface to support the image-recording unit in said plane as the fluidcontainer unit is diverted from said plane and partially around said one pressure member.

7. A device as claimed in claim 6 wherein said at least one support surface includes a pair of spaced support surfaces located adjacent to said outer guide surfaces respectively.

8. In a camera adapted to expose and initiate processing of a self-processing film unit, the film unit including a print card and a pod assembly, the print card having a leading edge portion and lateral edge portions defining a first width, the pod assembly including a resiliently flexible carrier sheet, a processing fluid pod, and a transverse stiffening member, the carrier sheet including a leading end section having lateral edge portions defining a second width substantially equal to or less than the first width and a trailing end section having a third width less than the second width, the pod having a fourth width less than the second width, the stiffening member having lateral edge portions defining a fifth width greater than the first and second widths, the leading edge portion of the print card being separably coupled to the trailing end section of the carrier sheet, the stiffening member being permanently coupled to the leading end section of the carrier sheet, the pod being permanently coupled to the carrier sheet between the print card and the stiffening member, the camera including a pair of juxtaposed pressure members having end portions and defining a nip through which the film unit is movable, pod assembly first, from I a first side of the nip to a second side thereof in a predetermined movement plane to initiate the processing, a device for separating the pod assembly from the print card after the processing has been initiated, said device comprising:

a pair of outer guide members disposed at the second side of the nip in confronting relation with the end portions of one of the pressure members and extending into said movement plane to engage the lateral edge portions of the stiffening member and to deflect the stiffening member away from said plane and partially around said one pressure member upon movement of the film unit through the nip, said outer guide members being spaced apart by a distance greater than the first width but less than the fifth width; and

a pair of inner guide members disposed at the second side of the nip in confronting relation with said one pressure member between and adjacent to said outer guide members and extending away from said plane to engage the stiffening member and the lateral edge portions of the leading end section of the carrier sheet and to guide the stiffening member and the carrier sheet partially around said one pressure member upon deflection of the stiffening member away from said plane by said outer guide members, said inner guide members being spaced apart by a distance greater than the third width but less than the second width.

9. A device as claimed in claim 8 wherein said outer and inner guide members include arcuate surfaces aligned with one another and confronting said one pressure member to guide the stiffening member and the carrier sheet along an arcuate path between said surfaces and said one pressure member.

10. A device as claimed in claim 8 wherein each of said inner guide members includes an arcuate surface confronting said one pressure member to guide the stiffening member and the carrier sheet along an arcuate path between said surface and said one pressure member, said surface including a first portion adjacent to said plane and a second portion extending from said first portion away from said plane, said first portion being spaced farther than said second portion from said one pressure member to facilitate movement of the stiffening member and the carrier sheet along said path.

11. A device as claimed in claim 8 wherein each of said inner guide members includes a support surface adjacent to said plane and extending in a direction substantially parallel with said plane and away from the nip to engage the lateral edge portions of the print card and thereby support the print card in said plane as the stiffening member and the carrier sheet are deflected away from said plane and partially around said one pressure member, said support surface of one inner guide member being spaced from said support surface of the other inner guide member by a distance greater than the third width but less than the first width.

12. A device as claimed in claim 8 wherein each of said outer guide members includes a guide surface transverse to said plane and extending in a direction away from the nip to guide the print card along a substantially straight path in said plane as the stiffening member and the carrier sheet are deflected away from said plane and partially around said one pressure member, said guide surface of one outer guide member being spaced from said guide surface of the other outer guide member by a distance greater than the first width to receive the print card therebetween.

*zg gg TINTTTD STATES TATTNT oTTTcT @EMWHCATE M @WRREMWN Patent N 3.762.290 Dated October 2, 1973 Inventoflsc) Donald M, Harvey It is certified that error appears in The above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

w On the first page, at code line [22], after Filedz", the date "July 3, 1972" should read July 5, 1972-.

Signed and sealed this 15th day of January 197M.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M.FLETCH ER,JR. RENE D. TEGTMEYER Attesting Officer Acting Commissioner of Patents *zg gg UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CETKFICATE OF CORREfiTION Patent No. 3.. 762 290 Dated October 2 1973 Inventor(s Donald M. Harvey It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

. "'1 On the first page, at code line [22], after "Filedz", the date "July 3, 1972" should read -July 5, 1972-.

Signed and sealed this l5th-day of January 197M.

SEAL) Attest EDWARD M.FLETCHER,JR. RENE D. TEGTMEYER I Attest ing Officer Acting Commissioner of Patents

Claims

1. In a camera adapted to expose and initiate processing of a self-processing film unit, the film unit having a leading end and including a generally rectangular image-recording unit separably coupled to a fluid-container unit, the image-recording unit having a leading edge and a pair of lateral edges, the fluidcontainer unit extending beyond the leading edge and including a supporting element coupled to a widening element defining the leading end, the widening element including lateral tips extending laterally beyond the supporting element and beyond the lateral edges, the camera including a pair of pressure members having end portions and defining a nip through which the film unit is movable, leading end first, from a first side of the nip to a second side thereof in a predetermined movement plane to initiate the processing, a device located adjacent to the pressure members at the second side of the nip for separating the fluid-container unit from the image-recording unit after the processing has been initiated, said device comprising: first means defining a pair of outer guide surfaces spaced from and confronting the end portions of one of the pressure members and extending into said movement plane to engage the lateral tips of the widening element and to divert the widening element away from said planE and partially around said one of the pressure members, said outer guide surfaces being spaced apart sufficiently to straddle all of the film unit except the widening element thereof; and second means defining at least one inner guide surface spaced from and confronting said one pressure member between said outer guide surfaces and disposed outside said plane to engage the supporting element of the fluid-container unit and guide the fluid-container unit partially around said one pressure member after the widening element has been diverted away from said plane by said outer guide surfaces.

3. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said inner guide surface includes a first portion adjacent to said plane and a second portion extending from said first portion away from said plane, said first portion being spaced farther than said second portion from said one pressure member to facilitate movement of the fluid-container unit partially around said one pressure member.

4. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said at least one inner guide surface includes a pair of spaced inner guide surfaces located adjacent to said outer guide surfaces respectively.

6. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said second means further defines at least one support surface adjacent to and substantially parallel with said plane and extending away from said inner guide surface to support the image-recording unit in said plane as the fluid-container unit is diverted from said plane and partially around said one pressure member.

8. In a camera adapted to expose and initiate processing of a self-processing film unit, the film unit including a print card and a pod assembly, the print card having a leading edge portion and lateral edge portions defining a first width, the pod assembly including a resiliently flexible carrier sheet, a processing fluid pod, and a transverse stiffening member, the carrier sheet including a leading end section having lateral edge portions defining a second width substantially equal to or less than the first width and a trailing end section having a third width less than the second width, the pod having a fourth width less than the second width, the stiffening member having lateral edge portions defining a fifth width greater than the first and second widths, the leading edge portion of the print card being separably coupled to the trailing end section of the carrier sheet, the stiffening member being permanently coupled to the leading end section of the carrier sheet, the pod being permanently coupled to the carrier sheet between the print card and the stiffening member, the camera including a pair of juxtaposed pressure members having end portions and defining a nip through which the film unit is movable, pod assembly first, from a first side of the nip to a second side thereof in a predetermined movement plane to initiate the processing, a device for separating the pod assembly from the print card after the processing has been initiated, said device comprising: a pair of outer guide members disposed at the second side of the nip in confronting relation with the end portions of one of the pressure members and extending into said movement plane to engage the lateral edge portions of the stiffening membeR and to deflect the stiffening member away from said plane and partially around said one pressure member upon movement of the film unit through the nip, said outer guide members being spaced apart by a distance greater than the first width but less than the fifth width; and a pair of inner guide members disposed at the second side of the nip in confronting relation with said one pressure member between and adjacent to said outer guide members and extending away from said plane to engage the stiffening member and the lateral edge portions of the leading end section of the carrier sheet and to guide the stiffening member and the carrier sheet partially around said one pressure member upon deflection of the stiffening member away from said plane by said outer guide members, said inner guide members being spaced apart by a distance greater than the third width but less than the second width.