Polaroid Corporation

John P Kirby

George D Whiteside

Frank S Silveira

Lawrence M Douglas

Peter P Clark

Alan D Ball

Kenneth J Launie

Richard Paglia

Paul F Neely

Jason D Silver

A photographic apparatus for use with self-developing film wherein the apparatus comprises a light-tight housing assembly having a film unit exit for allowing the film units to exit the housing assembly; an exposure control assembly including a shutter button; the exposure control assembly includes a biased carriage assembly movable between ambient, strobe and strobe charge positions in response to manual displacement thereof; a spread roller assembly including spread rollers for spreading the processing fluid in the film units; a manually operable drive mechanism is mounted in the housing assembly for bidirectional linear movement between extended and retracted positions and carries a pick for engaging and advancing a topmost film unit of the film stack into the nip, and for rotatably driving the spread roller member in response to pulling of the drive mechanism by an operator to process the film unit and eject the same from the exit; and, an interlocking assembly cooperates with the shutter button and the drive mechanism to prevent the drive mechanism from moving until the shutter button is actuated, and preventing the drive mechanism from being reinserted into the housing assembly until the drive mechanism has been pulled sufficiently so that a film unit has been processed by the spread roller member and exits the housing assembly.

Self-developing camera

A multiple focal length folding imaging device includes a first and second housing which are operably joined together for movement relative to one another so that the second housing is movable relative to the first housing between at least a first position and a second position. The first housing is formed to at least partially receive therein the second housing, such that when the second housing is in the first position, the second housing is at least partially received within the first housing. The second housing includes an exiting aperture for allowing exiting of at least one image recordable unit therefrom when in the second position, and when the second housing is in the first position, the exiting aperture is at least partially disposed within the first housing so that the at least one image recordable unit cannot exit from the exiting aperture. Furthermore, the imaging device includes a lens movement mechanism for transferring linear motion to rotational motion so that different lens systems can be readily moved into the optical path of the imaging device.

Folding photographic method and apparatus

An ultrasonic transducer assembly capable of being operated in a corrosive and/or abrasive environment that might otherwise degrade transducer performance and/or damage transducer related components. The assembly includes an ultrasonic transducer of the type having a vibratile diaphragm supported at its periphery by a support housing and having the diaphragm center portion spaced a predetermined distance from a protective perforated cover. A channel is provided in the transducer between opposite sides of the vibratile diaphragm to avoid temperature induced pressure differentials between gases (air) present in the space immediately adjacent opposite diaphragm surfaces. A plastic film is adhesively attached to the outer surface of this diaphragm-protecting cover and the entire transducer is enclosed within an outer housing. A flexible seal engages the plastic film and an outer housing surface. With this arrangement the outer housing interior is divided into two isolated spacial volumes with one volume being in direct communication with the atmosphere and with the other volume (formed by the outer housing, plastic film and flexible seal) forming a chamber that completely isolates the entire ultrasonic transducer from its operating environment. A tube couples the interior of the transducer containing chamber to a corrosive gas and foreign particle free environment at a remote protected location for the purpose of neutralizing any performance-degrading and/or protective film distorting pressure differentials between the two spacial volumes while avoiding direct contact between the transducer and/or related components and environmental components in the atmosphere potentially harmful to transducer performance, during such pressure neutralization.

Ultrasonic transducer for use in a corrosive/abrasive environment

Growing community of inventors

Peabody, MA, United States of America

John P Kirby