Apparatus for liquid immersion motion picture film projection

Claim 1

A MOTION PICTURE PROJECTOR COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION: A FILM DRIVE HOUSING HAVING VERTICAL END WALLS AND AN OPEN BOTTOM; FIRST AND SECOND TOOTHED SPROCKET DRIVES ATTACHED TO THE INTERIORS OF RESPECTIVE ONES OF SID END WALLS, SAID FIRST AND SECOND TOOTHED SPROCKET DRIVES BEING ADAPTED FOR SYNCHRONOUS OPERATION, SAID FIRST TOOTHED SPROCKET DRIVE BEING OPERABLE FOR CONTINUOUSLY LOWERING A FILM STRIP AT ABOUT THE LONGITUDINAL CENTER OF SAID HOUSING, SAID SECOND TOOTHED SPROCKET DRIVE BEING OPERABLE FOR CONTINUOUSLY PULLING THE FILM STRIP UPWARD AT THE ASSOCIATED END OF SAID HOUSING; A FILM GATE DISPOSED BENEATH SAID SECOND TOOTHED SPROCKET DRIVE AND SUPPORTED FROM THE ASSOCIATED END WALL OF SAID HOUSING, SAID FILM GATE EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY BELOW SAID OPEN BOTTOM OF SAID HOUSING AND INCLUDING GUIDE MEANS FOR GUIDING THE FILM STRIP VERTICALLY UPWARD TO SAID SECOND TOOTHED SPROCKET DRIVE; ATTACHMENT MEANS CARRIED BY AT LEAST ONE WALL OF SAID HOUSING; AN OPEN-TOPPED TANK HAVING FIRST AND SECOND END WALLS ADAPTED TO ENGAGE THE LOWER EDGES OF RESPECTIVE END WALLS OF SAID HOUSING, SAID FIRST AND SECOND END WALLS HAVING FIRST AND SECOND WINDOWS RESPECTIVELY FORMED IN THE UPPER PORTIONS, THEREOF, SAID WINDOWS BEING DISPOSED SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO EACH OTHER IN HORIZONTAL ALIGNMENT; ADDITIONAL ATTACHMENT MEANS CARRIED BY AT LEAST ONE WALL OF SAID TANK, AND CO-OPERABLE WITH SAID ATTACHMENT MEANS OF SAID HOUSING IN VERTICALLY SLIDABLE RELATIONSHIP THEREWITH; LATCH MEANS FOR LOCKING SAID TANK BENEATH SAID HOUSING IN ENGAGEMENT THEREWITH; A BODY OF LIQUID, HAVING AN INDEX OF REFRACTION APPROXIMATELY THE SAME AS THAT OF A FILM TO BE PROJECTED, WHICH FILLS SAID TANK UP TO AND ABOVE SAID WINDOWS; A LIGHT SORUCE, SUPPORTED FROM SAID HOUSING, DISPOSED EXTERNALLY TO SAID TANK ADJACENT TO SAID FIRST WINDOW AND GENERATING A LIGHT BEAM WHICH ENTERS SAID TANK THROUGH SAID FIRST WINDOW, PASSES THROUGH SAID BODY OF LIQUID WITHIN SAID TANK, AND LEAVES SAID TANK THROUGH SAID SECOND WINDOW; SAID FILM GATE HAVING AN APERTURE WHICH IS ALIGNED WITH SAID WINDOWS WHEN SAID TANK IS IN ITS LOCKED POSITION, AND BEING ADAPTED TO SUPPORT THE FILM STRIP IN SAID APERTURE WITH BOTH SURFACES THEREOF IN DIRECT CONTACT WITH SAID BODY OF LIQUID; SAID TANK BEING AT LEAST TWICE AS WIDE AS THE FILM STRIP AND SID FIRST TOOTHED SPROCKET DRIVE BEING LATERALLY OFFSET RELATIVE TO SAID FIRST WINDOW SO THAT THE FILM STRIP IS LOWERED INTO SAID BODY OF LIQUID BESIDE SAID LIGHT BEAM IN A SLACK, SLIGHTLY TWISTED LOOP; FLUID OUTLET MEANS FORMED IN THE CENTRAL PORTION OF THE BOTTOM OF SAID TANK; FLUID INLET MEANS FORMED IN THE END OF THE BOTTOM OF SIAD TANK ADJACENT SAID FIRST END WALL, AND INCLUDING MEANS FOR DISPERSING THE INCOMING FLUID; AND FLUID RECIRCULATING MEANS INTERCOUPLING SAID FLUID OUTLET MEANS AND FLUID INLET MEANS; THE OPERATION BEING SUCH THAT THE FILM STRIP MAY BE THREADED INTO SAID FIRST AND SECOND TOOTHED SPROCKET DRIVES AND SAID FILM GATE, SAID TANK MAY SEPARATELY BE FILLED WITH SAID BODY OF LIQUID, AND SAID TANK MAY THEREAFTER BE ATTACHED TO SAID HOUSING AND LOCKED IN PLACE SO AS TO IMMERSE THE FILM STRIP AND SAID GATE APERTURE IN SAID BODY OF LIQUID WITHOUT DISTURBING THE POSITION OF THE FILM STRIP.