US525849A - Apparatus for develop - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.)

- E. P. MAOKUSIOK.

APPARATUS FOR DEVELOPING, &c., PHOTOGRAPHS. No. 525,849.

O p w m\ Patented Sept. 11, 1894.

I F I I I I Q l l I l l X I I I I I I I l I l I 1 1 l l l l l ll UNITE STATES PAT NT OFFICE.

- ELMER 1 MAcKUsIoK, OF NEw YQRK,"N. 1%., ASSIGNOR TO THE FALK AUTOMATIC PHOTO. COMPANY, on SAME PLACE.

APPARATUSFOR DEVELOPIN c, 860., PHOTOGRAPHS. I

S'PEOIFICATION forming part t Letters Patent No. 525,849, dated Septeniber 11, 1894.

To all whom it may concern.-

lie it known that I, ELMER F. MACKUSICK, a OltlZGH of the United States, residing in the city, county,'and State of New York, have i iventedan Improvement in Apparatus for Developing, Toning, which the following is a specification.

various chemical Solutions for the purpose of developing, fixing and toning the pictures. These operations have required cons derable handling'of the paperin conducting the same over its entire course and have consequently been unreliable, and the being 1n a wet condition, the same is e torn and the Web broken or otherwise injured by the handling or by unequal tension, and the pictures were lnJlII'Gd or overtimed by the delay.

e presentimprovement is made with reference to conveying the advancing end of the paper automatically through the various tanks containing the chemical solutions and applying at every turn of the paper in its strain upon With this object in the picture surface or the back surface, so that these surfaces are left free for Application filed March 16,1894. Serial No, 503,880. (No man) or water as required will have shown a wet condition is passe the surfaces may be Washed unobstructedly between onechemical action and another.

In the drawings, Figure l is a plan view. Fig. 2 is an elevation partially in section. Fig. 3 is a cross section of the apparatus. Fig. 4 is an elevationin larger size at one end of one of the'upper rollers.' Fig. 5 is a detached'view of the cross-bar at one end and a section .of one band. Fig. 6 is a section of one of the lower roller s,'and Fig. 7 is a plan, sectional, at one end, of one of the lo'werrollers' The number of tanks or vessels made use of for holding the different chemical solutions vary according to the nature, of thework to be done, and the chemical solutions in such tanks are prepared and applied with reference touthe developsired manner. I have shown for example ten tanks marked respectivelyA B O D E F GH I and J, but the tanks may be more or less numerous and may be either larger or smaller according to the solutions or liquids which they are to contain'a'nd according to whethert e paper is to be immersed once or more often in a given solution; and these tanks ma'y'be of anysuitable sired size and shape. I long near the upper edges of the tanks in the .range of 'tanks there are bearers or beams 'K suitably afiiixed to the tanks and receiving ment of the pictures in any well known or de-- materialand-of the dethe adjustable two-part journal boxes or bearings 7 8 for the rollers that extend across the tanks from one bearer K to the other, and upon the outer ends of the shafts or'arbors of the rolls there are gear wheels 0 that are driven by screw pinions N upon the lo'ngi tudinal shaft L which is supported by suitable bearing or journal boxes upon the side ofone of the bearers K below such wheels O,

pinions and wheels are to be and the screw of'uniform size so that all the rolls are driven at the same speed, and any suitable power is" applied. to the shaft L to rotate the same. I

a pulleyat L adapted to the reception of a driving belt.

I have found that when a strip of paper .in d over a smooth cylindrical roller, bubbles of air are-often confined between theroll and the paper, and in so doing the paper'is liable to' become wrinkled V or injured. To avoidthis difficulty I make use of rollers Q that are grooved longitudinally in order that the air of the bubbles that may intervene between the paper and the roll may escape through the longitudinal channels or grooves and pass off at the ends of such grooves, and l find it advantageous to employ at intervals rollers R that are provided with divergent helical grooves that act by the rotation of the roller to aid in spreading the paper transversely and lessening the risk that might otherwise exist of longitudinal folds in the paper, and in portions of the apparatusI find it advantageous togroove the rollers with peripheral grooves, as shown at R, and the paper from the roller 6 passes over the first roller P which is plain and beneath the presser roller U which is preferably of rubber, so that the paper passes through between these rollers with regularity as it is drawn off the roll.

It is to be understood that the paper for the roll is first prepared with proper chemicals and then exposed under negatives to the action of light in another apparatus and contains the latent picture to be developed, and the paper is rolled up ready to be developed, fixed and toned in the apparatus herein described within a dark room, as it is necessary to avoid white light until after the pictures have, passed through the fixing solutions- I make use of two endless belts, pref-v erably made of rubber, each containing one or more metallic wires or narrow strips, so as to render suchbelt inelastic without interfering materially with its flexibility, and in all of the rollers made use of, near their ends, are, narrow peripheral grooves adapted to the reception of the belts, and these. belts pass over the rollers that are at the top of the tanks and under rollers T that are located near'the bottoms of the respective tanks.

These rollers T are each upon an arbor or axis received at its ends into the slots of vertical channel bars 4: that-are placed against the inner surfaces of the tanks at opposite sides, and these tank rollers are kept down at the proper places either-by their own weight or by rods or bars introduced into the chan nel of the bars over the arborsof the rollers and secured in placeif necessary, and each of these rollers T is made of glass, metal, rubber, celluloid, or other suitable material which will not contaminate the solutions into which they maybe submerged. Pulleys upon the arbor near each end and adjacent to the chan-' nel bars are provided, such pulleys being grooved for the reception of the bands of rubber 9 before mentioned, so that these endless bands pass over the rollers above the tanksg and descend below the submerged rollers,- as

indicated in Fig.2, and after passing the entire series the bands return either above or below 'thetanks to the entrance end. It is now to be understood thatin applying this apparatus, one end of thephotographic trip is connected by a cross-bar l0 .to-th e en less bands 9, and said cross-bar and the bands carry the strip of paper through the respective solutions with regularity and with but little strain upon the paper because the bands and the paper are moved along with regularity and uniformity by the rollers that are over the tanks, and such paper is only subjected to the strain necessary for drawing the same through the solution between one of the upper rollers and the next,and the air that may be confined in the form of bubbles between the wet paper and the rollers, escapes freely through the grooves or channels of the rollers so as not to interfere with the paper as it rests upon the surfaces of such rollers.

Some of the tanks are larger than others for the reception of more than one tank roller TV 1 have shown two rollers T in the tanks A E H and J and three rollers T in the tanks F and G, and in some instances it is advisable to apply a tank roller T at the upper part of the tank and below the surface of the solution, so that the paper remains immersed the proper length oftime within one solution.

It is necessary in some instances. to freely wash the paper between one immersion and another in the chemical solutions, and. with this object in view-a water pipe V is provided with branches V V and cooks for regulating the volume of water, and these branches V5 V I are perforated, and the paper of the roll hangs down as a loop below the respective branches of the pipes and is kept in position by the Weight of a distending roll W, so that the sprays of water abundantly wash the picture surfaces of the photographicpaper before onterin'g another solution or before drying such paper. I have shown the paper-as distended by the rolls W between the tanks B and C, G and H, and-a branch V perforated to spray the Water upon the surface of the roll of paper is provided for washing the paper after it leaves the last tank J, and such paper may then be received upon a canvas web 'Y to be taken to a suitable drying chamber; and it is advantageous to employ a sqn eegee or scraper Z having arubber or other soft edge toremove the surplus water from thepaper before it passes tothe drying chamber.

1 vusually provide below the tanks a gutter M, preferably lead-lined, and inclined toward the middle, into which the water passes from betweenv the tanks in the respective washing operations, and it is also advantageous to employ stoppers 11' in the bottoms of the respective tanks, so that the contents of the tanks can be run ofi when desired.

I claim as my invention- 1. In an apparatus for developing, fixing and toning photographs, a series of tanks for containing the chemical solutions, a series of rollers crossing thetop edges of the tanks, mechanism for rotating the rollers at a. uniform surface speed,.tank rollers in the'lower parts of the respective tanks, an endless belt composed of two inelastic bands passing over the upper rollersand below-the tank rollers adjacent to the respective ends, and means for upper ends of the tanks and mechanism for connecting the strip of photographic paper rotating the rollers ata uniform surface speed,

4-!- The combination in an apparatus for detanks, substantially as set forth. D g, fixing and toning photographs, of 5. The combination in an apparatus for dea range of tanks for holding the chemical soveloping, fixing and toning photographs, of

15 ers for. the photographic paper, and endless an endless belt passing over the rollers and eX- elts composed of strips of rubber incasing tending down into the respective tanks and metallic wires for carrying the web of phobetween one tank and another, such belt being g phio paper through the respective solu composed of two inelastic bands at theends tions, substantially as set forth. of the respective rollers so as to come at the 20 3. u an apparatus for developing, fixing edges of the photographic paper, and means and toning photographs, aseries of tanks for for connecting the end of the photographlc containing the chemical solutions, a series of paper to such endless belt, and a perforated rollers crossing the top edges of the tanks, a pipe for spraying water upon the paper belongitudinal shaft with screw pinions and tween one tank and another, substantially as 2 5 gears on the axes of the respective rollers -for set forth.

rotating the rollers at a uniform surface speed, 6. The combination in an apparatus for detank rollers in the lower parts of the respectveloping, fixing and toning photographs,;of & ive tanks, an endless belt composed of two range of tanks for containing the chemical inelastic bands passing over the upper rollsolutions,an inclined gutter undersuch tanks 0 ers and below the tank rollers adjacent to the stoppers in the tanks for allowing the contents 3 0 the paper and leaving both surfaces of the less belt passing over the respective rollers substantially as set forth.

4. The combination in an apparatus for deceive the photographic paper between them 0 veloplng, fixing and toning photographs, of a for carrying such paper through the respectrange of tanks for containing the chemical ive tanks, substantially as set forth.

solutions, vertically slotted channel bars con- Signed by me this 27th day of February, nected to the interior surfaces of the tanks, 1894,

tank rollers having their axes extending into .MAOKUSICK- 4 5 t e channel bars and by which thevrollers are Witnesses:

guided and held in position near the bottoms GEO. T. PINCKNEY,

of the respective tanks, rollers crossing the A. M. OLIVER.

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