Photographic process and apparatus

Claim 1

PROCESS FOR THE MULTISTEP TREATMENT OF A PLANE SHET OF PHOTOGRAPHIC MATERIAL AT A PREDETERMINED TEMPERATURE IN A MULTIPLICITY OF SEPARATE TREATING STEPS WHICH PROCESS COMPRISES THE SUCCESSIVE CONTACTING OF SAID SHEET WITH A MULTIPLICITY OF DIFFERENT TREATING SOLUTIONS, EACH BEING IN THE FORM OF AN UPRIGHT VERTICAL LAYER OF TREATING SOLUTION, HAVING TWO OPPOSITE MAJOR FACES, AND THE VERTICAL LAYERS BEING ARANGED IN SIDE-BY-SIDE RELATIONSHIP WITH THEIR MAJOR VERTICAL FACES ESSENTIALLY PARALLEL TO EACH OTHER, AND MAINTAINING THE TEMPERATURE IN EACH OF SAID LAYERS AT ABOUT SAID PREDETERMINED TEMPERATURE BY FLOWA UNIDIRECTIONAL STREAM OF TEMPERATURE CONDITIONING WATER OF ABOUT THE SAME TEMPERATURE AND IN FORM OF A LAYER SUCCESSIVELY IN A ZIG-ZAG PATTERN AROUND EACH OF SAID UPRIGHT LAYERS OF TREATING SOLUTIONS SUCH THAT SAID STREAM OF TEMPERATURES-CONDITIONING WATER FLOWS IN THE CASE OF EACH LAYER IN A PATH DOWNWARDLY ALONG ONE OF THE MAJOR VERTICAL FACES, PASSES UNDERNEATH THE LAYER AND THEREAFTER FLOWS UPWARDLY ALONGSIDE THE OPPOSITE MAJOR VERTICAL FACE OF EACH OF SAID LAYERS.