Flexible material transport mechanism

Claim 1

A MACHINE FOR PROCESSING EXPOSED GELATIN-COATED FILM OR PHOTOGRAPHIC PAPER COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF MODULAR UNITS OPERATIVELY INTERCHANGEABLY AND DETACHABLY CONNECTED IN SERIES AND HAVING A FEED MODULAR UNIT HAVING A MOTOR DRIVINGLY CONNECTED TO SHAFT AND GEAR MEANS, AT LEAST ONE TANK MODULAR UNIT HAVING TANKS FOR PROCESSING PHOTOGRAPHIC FILM OR PAPER OPERATIVELY MOUNTED IN SERIES, EACH OF SAID TANKS HAVING A REMOVABLY MOUNTED PHOTOGRAPHIC FILM OR TRANSPORT MECHANISM MOUNTED THEREIN, SAID MECHANISM HAVING TWO END PLATES SUPPORTING A PLURALITY OF HORIZONTALLY DISPOSED SHAFTS MOUNTED BETWEEN AND PROJECTING THROUGH SAID END PLATES, A PLURALITY OF SPACED ROLLERS CONCENTRICALLY MOUNTED ON EACH OF SAID SHAFTS TO TURN THEREWITH, OUTSIDE SHAFTS WITH ROLLERS POSITIONED GENERALLY IN AN ELONGATED SYMMETRICAL U-SHAPED PATTERN IN SAID END PLATES, WITH SAID ROLLERS OF EACH SHAFT IN SPACED INTERLOCKING RELATION WITH THE ROLLERS OF EACH ADJOINING SHAFT, AN INSIDE VERTICAL ROW OF LIKE SHAFTS WITH ROLLERS CENTERED AND IN STAGGERED RELATION TO SAID SHAFTS WITH ROLLERS OF THE LEGS OF SAID INSIDE SHAFTS BEING IN CLOSE FACE OF EACH ROLLER ON SAID INSIDE SHAFTS BEING IN CLOSE PROXIMITY WITH THE FACE OF THE ROLLER OF AN OUTSIDE SHAFT, SAID ROLLERS ON THE SAID INSIDE SHAFTS, SPACED IN INTERLOCKING POSITION WITH THE ROLLERS ON EACH ADJOINING SHAFT ON SAID INSIDE ROW, TWO SPACED DIRECTING SHAFTS WITH ROLLERS INTERLOCKINGLY AND OPPOSEDLY MOUNTED IN THE TOP PORTION OF SAID END PLATES, OPPOSED FEED SHAFTS WITH ROLLERS INTERLOCKINGLY MOUNTED ON THE SIDES OF SAID END END PLATE NEAR THE TOP THEREOF AND TWO OPPOSED EJECTION SHAFTS INTERLOCKINGLY MOUNTED NEAR THE TOP OF THE OTHER SIDE PORTION OF SAID END PLATE, SPROCKET MEANS MOUNTED ON SAID SPROCKET MEANS, CHAIN MEANS DRIVINGLY MOUNTED ON SAID SPROCKET MEANS GEARING MOUNNTED ON SAID TANK UNIT, AT LEAST ONE DRIVE SHAFT MOUNTED BETWEEN SAID END PLATES, COUPLING MEANS CONNECTING SAID DRIVE SHAFT TO SAID GEARING, SAID GEARING DRIVINGLY CONNECTED TO SAID GEAR MEANS TO ROTATE ALL THE SHAFTS, THE SHAFTS OF THE INSIDE VERTICAL ROWS ROTATING IN OPERATION IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS FROM THE ROTATION OF THE SHAFTS OF THE SAID U-SHAPED PATTERN, SAID TANKS WITH SAID TRANSPORT MECHANISM MOUNTED THEREIN POSITIONED IMMEDIATELY ADJACENT TO EACH OTHER IN SAID MODULAR UNIT, OUTSIDE EJECTION SHAFT ROLLERS INTERLOCKING WITH OUTSIDE FEED SHAFT ROLLERS OF ADJACENT TRANSPORT MECHANISM, A CROSSOVER SHAFT HAVING ROLLERS MOUNTED THEREON REMOVABLY MOUNTED BETWEEN ADJACENT END PLATES OF TRANSPORT MECHANISMS AND INTERLOCKING WITH ADJACENT FEED AND EJECTION ROLLERS OF ADJACENT TRANSPORT MECHANISMS, AND DRIER MEANS MOUNTED ADJACENT TO SAID TANK UNIT, SAID DRIER MEANS RECEIVING WET PROCESSED FILM FROM SAID FILM TRANSPORT MECHANISM OF SAID ADJACENT TANK UNIT, AND DRYING SAME.