Fischer Industries, Inc.

Other

Warren G Fischer

Thomas P Muchisky

Leonard P Krystal

Robert L Burbury

A combined, temperature-controlled chemical recirculation and replenishment system including a first conduit defining a recirculation loop conducted between the drain and the inlet of a reactant tank. A pump recirculates reactant chemical through the first conduit, and a controllable heater is connected to the first conduit for heating the reactant chemical. The heat sensor is connected to the heater for sensing the temperature and outputting the temperature signal to a controller. A second conduit is connected between a replenishment tank and the pump. A controllable valve is connected in the second conduit. A controller is connected both to the heater and to the controllable valve. The controller receives the temperature signal from the sensor and is responsive to that temperature signal to activate the heater to maintain the reactant at the optimum temperature. The controller is also responsive to the temperature signal for opening the controllable valve when the reactant is at the optimum temperature, thereby allowing replenishment reactant to flow through the second conduit and to enter the recirculation loop via the pump.

Replenisher system for x-ray film processor

The front-filling system consists of a pair of fill buckets located on the front of the processor housing. The fill buckets are connected to the internal solution tanks by fill tubes such that fluid in the fill buckets will be delivered to the solution tanks as solution is added during filling or replenishment. The fill buckets are provided with movable lids, to minimize evaporation and accumulation of debris, and the fill buckets are physically separated to prevent cross-contamination during the filling process. The fill buckets, or portions thereof, may be made of transparent material to aid in observing solution levels and solution condition. The fill buckets are positioned and sized to allow for easy filling and replenishment, and for easy observation of solution levels and solution condition without removal of top lids or top housings. The fill buckets each have front over-flow sluices, to eliminate any possibility of overflow within the interior solution tanks.

Solution filling system for a film processor apparatus

A film processor is provided with a top-drop film system which, in the perferred embodiment includes a slot in the top housing cover of the processor, an inclined-plane film guide directly beneath the slot, and a pair of opposing rollers positioned at the bottom edge of the film guide. The top-drop slot allows films to be dropped into the processor, rather than hand-positioning and hand-feeding each film. The specific roller locations and film guide angle allows films to be fed into the processor automatically and consistantly without 'snapping' or over-bending, and without need for operator presence or attention. The inclined-plane film guide is designed for easy removal for cleaning. The guide is mounted in precise-angle slots to maintain angle consistency. The extra width of the top-drop slot allows panoramic films to be processed in a sideways configuration, thereby increasing processing speed by 30% over comparable prior art devices.

Top-drop film feed system

The rack of the invention consists of a hard plastic extrusion having a bowed profile. The bow shape creates a basin that better retains the solution on the rack. The rack is comprised of three sections where the middle section is bowed slightly more than the outer sections to enhance the rack's ability to retain liquid. Enlarged slots are formed in the rack through which the liquid solution is pumped and a plurality of apertures have been added to the middle section of the rack to facilitate the flow of solution through the rack.

Rack for automatic film processors

The front, back and bottom walls of the tanks containing the solutions are constructed of rollers which are arranged in abutting rolling contact so as to form a liquid-tight seal with one another. The rollers are constructed of relatively soft rubber such that film can be passed between adjacent rollers in the side walls directly into the solution.

Roller tank

A cast aluminum body has a plurality of stainless steel conduits and an electrical heating element cast therein. Water is circulated through one of the conduits, and the fluid to be heated is circulated in the remaining conduits. The electrical heating element heats the aluminum casting in response to a signal created by a heat sensor located in the fluid to be heated. As the temperature of the aluminum casting rises, the heat will be transferred from the aluminum to the conduits and then to the fluid passing through the conduits. In this regard, the casting of the conduits in the aluminum body results in a very intimate contact between the cast aluminum and stainless conduits which provides very efficient heat transfer. When the fluid to be heated attains the desired temperature, the sensor deenergizes the heating element. The water circulating through one of the conduits and the aluminum body act as a heat sink to substantially eliminate any undesirable heating of the aluminum body after the heating element is shut off.

Heat exchanger

X-Ray film processor

X-ray film processor

A full sized, heavy-duty X-ray film processor operating on 20 amps. of 120 volt power supply. The processor posesses a heater for its developer, another for its fixer, and several for its drying section. The machine switches the power between the heater for the developer solution and one of the heaters for the drying section to limit its current demand. The heater for the fixer solution and another of the dryer's heaters may also not operate simultaneously to further control the processor's total current demand. By limiting the current required for its operation, the heavy-duty processor, which can develop about 175 films of size 14 inches by 17 inches per hour, operates on no more than 20 amps. of the usual 120-volt house current. The processor's circuit also includes a cycling motor which effectively turns off most of the processor's current-using components for a majority of the time. The insertion of a film into the processor, however, turns on the required components for proper film processing.

X-ray film processor with switching heaters

An X-ray film processor requiring access only on its top and on one side in order to both receive undeveloped film and deliver developed negatives. The processor takes in the film by moving it in a horizontal direction over the tanks of solution and the drying area. It then reverses the horizontal direction of the film to pass it through the usual solutions and drier. The film finds its way to a receptacle located below the processing portion of the apparatus and with an opening facing the same direction as the processor's inlet. The containers of solutions and the drier determine the space required for the processor.

Growing community of inventors

Kane County, IL, United States of America

Warren G Fischer