Patent GB-780707-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to automatic photographic apparatus
Inventor: FRITZ CONRAD M
IPC: G03B17/53
Filed: 1954-11-22
Abstract: 780,707. Automatic photographic apparatus. AUTO-PHOTO CO. Nov. 22, 1954, No. 33739/54. Class 98(1) A photographic apparatus for automatically exposing and processing a series of photographs on a strip of film (preferably on the insertion of a coin) and which is provided with a plurality" of film strip carriers so that further film strips can be exposed before a previous one has been fully processed, the carriers being arranged on a support which can be reciprocated and moved stepwise in an endless horizontal path so that selected carriers can be dipped in turn into a series of tanks arranged adjacent to the carriers and containing the processing solutions, is characterized in that those film carriers which are required for the exposed film strips are swung into an operating position so that they are dipped in turn into the processing solutions in the tanks and those film carriers which are not required are kept in an inoperative position where they are not dipped into the processing solutions, there being means for automatically feeding an exposed strip into an empty film carrier and deliver it from the apparatus. Fig. 1 shows a general view of a booth according to the invention comprising a camera chamber 32 containing an automatic camera 34 which chamber is divided from processing chamber 33 by a wall 31. The processing chamber contains 14 tanks 41 containing developing, fixing and toning solutions and water for intermediate rinsing, the tanks being arranged in a circle with their inner walls 42 defining a circular opening which will accommodate the seven film strip carriers 129 when they are lowered in their inoperative positions as shown in Fig. 1. The complete carrier means 43 is supported on a column 51 which can be raised or lowered and rotated in steps of 1/14th of a revolution by a main motor 46. Indexing of film carriers. Fig. 8 shows the manner in which the film strip carriers 129 are supported in a spider 121 which is supported by the column 51. Each arm 122 of the spider carries a fixed portion 123 to which caan 126 is pivoted at 124. Fixed to the cam is a plate 127 which carries rods 128 which support the film strip carrier 129. An overcentre spring 137 ensures that the carrier moves either to its extreme outer position up against the stop 139 or to its extreme inner position up against the stop 138. The movement of the carrier between these positions is brought about by selector pins 131, 132 one or other of which is lowered to contact the cam surface 126 of each carrier just before it comes up to the first of the processing tanks 41a. If that carrier is wanted, selector pin 132 will be down (as described later) and will engage the rear surface 136 of the cam 126 as the spider 121 is rotated one step in a clockwise direction and push that carrier into the outer position. If the carrier is not required, selector pin 131 will be down while pin 132 will be raised so that pin 131 will engage the front surface 134 of cam 126 if that carrier is in its outer position and return it to the inner position, or if the carrier is already in its inner position it will remain there, since selector pin 132 is elevated and will not then engage the cam surface 136. Selector and timing mechanism. This is supported from the underside of partition 31, Fig. 11 showing this underside view as seen from line 11-11 in Fig. 1, and Fig. 12 showing the side view as seen from line 12-12 in Fig. 11. The selector pins are pivoted to a T-shaped member 154 which is pivoted at 156 and has a slot which engages with a pin 152. The pin 152 projects through a slot 153 in the bracket 141 which depends from the shelf 31 and is fixed to a bar 146 which is slidable in respect to bracket 141 by means of pin and slots 149. The bar 146 butts up against a second bar 144, also slidable on bracket 141 by means of pins and slots 149 and the bars 144 and 146 are kept in abutment by a spring 147. Bar 144 is fixed to the armature 143 of a solenoid 142 and the assembly is normally kept urged towards the left by a spring 151, When the solenoid. is energized, bar 144 is pulled towards the right against the action of spring 151, and the spring 147 pulls bar 146 to the right and thus actuates selector pins 131, 132 via the pin 152. Thus, when the solenoid is not energized pin 131 is down as shown but when the solenoid becomes energized pin 131 is raised and pin 132 is lowered. The timing of a complete processing operation is effected by ratchet wheel 161 which is urged in a counter clockwise direction by a spring 163, but normally prevented by rotating by a pawl 169 which is held in engagement with the ratchet by spring 173. When the solenoid 142 is energized, however, and the bar 146 moved to the right, a projection 174 on bar 146 engages a pin 172 on pawl 169 and disengages it from the ratchet 161 so that the latter rotates until a pin 166 on this ratchet comes up against a stop pin 167. This occurs whenever a coin is inserted but the pawl 169 is returned to the engaged position by de-energization of the solenoid 142 before processing commences, and then every other time the carrier spider 121 rises it rotates pawl 161 one tooth backwards by raising a pin 183 to which a collar 184 carrying a pin 186 is attached, the pin 186 engaging the underside 176 of another pawl 170, a pivoted tooth 177 of which engages a tooth of ratchet 161. This only occurs every other time spider 121 is raised since (as seen in Fig. 8) the spider is provided with holes 188 through which pin 183 is allowed to pass on alternative indexings. Pawl 161 has 8 teeth and thus a full cycle comprises 16 stepwise rotations of spider 121 and this ensures that when only one carrier is in use this same carrier is not used all the time. At the end of a cycle', when ratchet 161 has been rotated fully backwards, a pin 164 on ratchet 161 strikes a bar 189 which is pivoted at 191. This raises the far end of the bar 189 and opens a switch 193 in the circuit of the main motor 46. Film feed and withdrawal mechanism. When the selected carrier has been raised from the first tank 41a (which is a rinse bath), its mouth comes up between a pair of rollers 204 (see Fig. 8) between which the exposed film strip from the camera has been fed. At the same time the cam 126 of that carrier strikes a switch 212 (Fig. 11) starting a motor which rotates rollers 204 and feeds the film into the carrier. As soon as the spider drops slightly from its fully raised position, switch 212 is released and the motor stops, Similarly, when a film-containing carrier is raised from the Last tank 14b. its mouth comes up between rollers 218 (Fig. 8) and the cam 126 strikes a second switch 226, starting a motor 224 (Fig. 1) which rotates rollers 218 and withdraws the film from the carrier. The film is then passed round drying rollers (not shown) driven by a chain 223 (Fig. 1) from the same motor 224, and is ejected from the delivery unit 216 to a discharge shoot 222. Sequence of operations. When the apparatus is at rest and before a coin has been inserted the parts of the apparatus are as shown in Figs. 1, 11 and 12. On insertion of coin in slot 36 (Fig. 1) a circuit is completed which starts the camera motor. The camera may be of the type described in U.S.A. Specification 2,534,214 or in British Specification 780,708. When the film is being advanced after the second frame has been exposed, a cam on the camera shaft momentarily closes a circuit through a relay which closes contacts to energize the solenoid 142. This results in raising of selector pin 131, lowering of selector pin 132 and release of the pawl 169 so that the ratchet 161 spins round until its stop 166 comes up against stop 167 as previously described. Pin 164 thus releases arm 189 and the switch 193 is closed to start the main motor 46. This causes a slight lowering of spider 121 (on arm 51) and then the spider is rotated 1/14th revolution whereupon the cam 126 of the first carrier is caught by the depressed selector pin 132 and the carrier is moved into an outer position over the first tank 41a as shown in Fig. 8. The spider is then completely lowered so that the extended carrier is dipped into the first tank 41a which contains rinsing water, and the spider is then agitated up and down a number of times so that the carrier remains in the liquid. The spider is then elevated to its fullest extent, a knob 53a on the top of the carrier assembly engaging a socket 53b on the underside of shelf 31 (see Fig. 11) to provide accurate centring. The up and down movements of the spider are cam operated and the mechanism is the same as that described in Specification 780,706 which describes also the stepwise rotation of the carrier and further means to ensure accurate registering of the carrier with the timing and selector mechanism arranged under shelf 31. During the time in which the first carrier is in the rinsing bath the remaining two frames have been exposed in the camera, the film has been fed down between rollers 204 and a cam on the camera shaft has stopped the camera motor. When the spider 121 is fully raised the cam 126 of the extended carrier 129 closes switch 212 as previously described and this operates a cut-off solenoid in the camera to sever the exposed film strip as described in U.S.A. Specification 2,534.214 and the film strip is fed into the carrier. At the same time, closing of switch 212 completes a circuit which returns the relay mentioned above to its initial position so that solenoid 142 is de-energized. Selector pin 132 is thus raised, selector pin 131 is lowered and pawl 169 engages ratchet 161. In this position the spider, pin 183 is not raised since it falls into one of the holes 188 in the spider. The spider then falls slightly as before and is rotated another 1/14th of a revolution so that the extended carrier comes over the first developer bath 41c. The next carrier remains in its inner posit