Pako Corporation

Jerry A Caflisch

Conrad E Lee

Larry I Bass

John D Ockuly

A dryer apparatus for drying sheets of photosensitive material which eliminates reflective artifacts. The dryer apparatus includes a plurality of pairs of opposed drive rollers which support a sheet of photosensitive material in a generally planar sheet drying path. The pairs of opposed drive rollers are spaced longitudinally along the sheet drying path. The drive rollers are rotated to move the sheet in a first longitudinal direction along a path. A plurality of pairs of opposed dryer nozzles face the sheet drying path from each planar side thereof, with each pair of opposed dryer nozzles being between adjacent longitudinally spaced pairs of drive rollers. Each dryer nozzle includes a laterally disposed air inlet through which air is forced by a blower toward the sheet. A laterally extending guide is provided adjacent each roller for guiding the sheet along the sheet drying path. These guides create no obstruction to air flow between the air inlets of the dryer nozzles and the sheet of photosensitive material.

Photosensitive sheet dryer

Film processor

A processor of photosensitive material having a plurality of tanks for containing fluids, one of which is a wash tank for containing wash water, and a top cover, including a movable front portion for covering the tanks when the processor is in operation is provided with a spring-loaded valve for controlling draining of wash water from the wash tank. The spring-loaded valve includes a U-shaped spring attached to the top of the wash tank. Connected to the spring is a plunger which extends vertically down into the drain hole. The plunger is equipped with a gasket for sealing the drain hole when the cover is in its lowered closed position. The spring has an adjustable striker extending upward to contact the bottom of the processor cover. When the processor cover is in its normal operating position, the striker is depressed and the spring is compressed. This seals the gasket against the bottom of the tank and prevents draining. When the front portion of the top cover is removed so that it no longer contacts the striker, the spring expands, lifting the plunger and opening the drain.

Automatic wash tank drain/fill apparatus for processor of photosensitive

A processor for processing undeveloped photographic film discs mounted on a spindle assembly has a conveyor to intermittently convey the spindle assembly along a generally horizontal conveyor path. The spindle assembly is conveyed to a plurality of processing and drying stations on the conveyor path. At each processing station, the spindle assembly and film discs mounted thereon are rotated at a first rate of rotation and the film discs are contacted with processing fluids. At a first drying station, the spindle assembly and film discs are rotated at a second higher rate of rotation. At the second drying station, the spindle assembly and film discs are again rotated at the first rate of rotation. Tempered air is blown through the drying stations and a movable dryer hood encloses the drying stations to prevent fluid from being cast from the spinning film discs into the rest of the processor and to direct the tempered air through the drying stations. The dryer hood is synchronized with the conveyor to intermittently move out of the way when the spindle assembly is advanced by the conveyor along the conveyor path.

Dryer apparatus for film disc processor

A roller drive assembly particularly designed for conveying photographic material through a processor unit and including a plurality of transport rollers positioned to define a predetermined path for a strip of photographic material, certain of said rollers having their axes coplanar and parallel to each other and one of said coplanar rollers being connected to a source of rotational power, one set of crank arms being respectively fixed to one end of said coplanar rollers and disposed in parallel relation to each other and a second set of crank arms fixed to the other end of said coplanar rollers and disposed in parallel relation to each other, a connecting bar pivotally connected the crank arms in each set to maintain the parallel relation of the arms in each set and to provide positive driving connections between the coplanar rollers set, said sets of crank arms being disposed in sufficiently out-of-phase relation to each other to prevent said connecting bars from moving over center and reversing the driving direction of some of said coplanar rollers.

Growing community of inventors

Minneapolis, MN, United States of America

Jerry A Caflisch