Photographic processing apparatus

Claim 1

IN A PHOTOGRAPHIC PROCESSING APPARATUS FOR APPLYING PROCESSING LIQUID TO SHEETS OF PRINT STOCK TO DEVELOP LATENT IMAGES THEREON, THE COMBINATION OF: CONTAINER MEANS HAVING AN INPUT END AND AN OUTPUT END WITH THE CONTAINER MEANS FORMING A RECEPTACLE ADJACENT ITS INPUT END FOR AN ACTIVATING SOLUTION AND FORMING A RECEPTACLE NEAR ITS OUTPUT END FOR A STABILIZER SOLUTION; A SERIES OF UPPER ROLLERS ABOVE THE LIQUID LEVEL OF THE PROCESSING LIQUID AND A SERIES OF LOWER ROLLERS COOPERATIVE THEREWITH TO ENGAGE THE SHEETS AND TRANSPORT THE SHEETS FROM THE INPUT END OF THE CONTAINER MEANS TO THE OUTPUT END ACROSS THE PROCESSING LIQUID ABOVE THE LEVEL THEREOF; THE ROLLERS OF BOTH SERIES BEING RELATIVEL CLOSE TOGETHER AND FORMING A SUBSTANTIALLY CONTINUOUS BANK OF ROLLERS FROM THE INPUT END OF THE CONTAINER MEANS TO THE OUTPUT END TO KEEP THE SHEETS UNDER CLOSE CONTROL INCLUDING RELATIVELY SHORT SHEETS AND SHEETS OF LIMP FABRIC, SOME OF THE LOWER ROLLERS BEING PARTIALLY IMMERSED IN THE PROCESSING LIQUID TO APPLY THE PROCESSING LIQUID TO THE UNDER SURFACES OF THE SHEETS, A FINAL LOWER ROLLER ON THE OUTPUT END BEING ABOVE THE LIQUID LEVEL OF THE PROCESSING LIQUID AND COOPERATING WITH A CORRESPONDING UPPER ROLLER TO SQUEEGEE THE SHEETS, SAID ROLLERS BEING DIVIDED INTO A FIRST GROUP ABOVE THE ACTIVATING SOLUTION AND A SECOND GROUP ABOVE THE STABILIZER SOLUTION; POWER MEANS; A DRIVE SHAFT CONNECTED TO THE POWER MEANS AND EXTENDING BETWEEN THE TWO GROUPS OF ROLLERS PARALLEL THERETO, AND MEANS INCLUDING GEARING FOR ACTUATION OF THE ROLLERS BY THE DRIVE SHAFT, SAID GEARING INCLUDING TWO GEAR TRAINS ON OPPOSITE SIDES, RESPECTIVELY, OF THE CONTAINER MEANS FOR DRIVING THE TWO GROUPS OF ROLLERS RESPECTIVELY, SAID DRIVE SHAFT HAVING TWO GEARS ON ITS OPPOSITE ENDS WHICH ARE MEMBERS OF THE TWO GEAR TRAINS RESPECTIVELY, ALTERNATE GEARS OF EACH OF THE TWO GEAR TRAINS BEING UNITARY WITH THE ROLLERS RESPECTIVELY OF THE SERIES OF LOWER ROLLERS, SAID GEAR TRAINS BEING SEPARATE FROM EACH OTHER TO PREVENT MIGRATION OF THE ACTIVATING SOLUTION ALONG THE GEARING TO THE STABILIZER SOLUTION.