Apparatus for developing and fixing a thermodevelopable photographic medium

Claim 1

The apparatus claimed in claim 1 wherein the gas intake apertures of each dispersing duct are disposed in an evenly spaced row and the gas-dispersing apertures are disposed at regular intervals in at least two parallel rows.

Claim 2

An apparatus for developing photographic medium comprised of a developing chamber having a film intake slot and a film exit slot, a film transport means for conveying the photographic medium through the developing chamber, a heating means positioned within the developing chamber for uniformly heating and developing the photographic medium, a gas-dispersing means for supplying entraining gas flow over the surface of said medium as it is conveyed through said chamber and an exhaust means operatively coupled to said gas dispersing means for maintaining said gas flow and removing the chemical components driven from the photographic medium during the heating thereof, said exhaust means including exhaust ducts positioned centrally within the developing chamber on opposite sides of the path of said photographic medium therethrough and positioned therein so as to be heated by said heating means to prevent precipitation of the removed chemical components, said exhaust ducts comprising means defining exhaust duct intake slots for exclusive communication with the developing chamber, and including means for varying the width of said exhaust duct inlet slots.

Claim 3

An apparatus for developing photographic medium comprised of a developing chamber having a film intake slot and a film exit slot, a film transport means for conveying the photographic medium through the developing chamber, a heating means positioned within the developing chamber for uniformly heating and developing the photographic medium, a gas-dispersing means for supplying entraining gas flow over the surface of said medium as it is conveyed through said chamber and an exhaust means operatively coupled to said gas-dispersing means for maintaining said gas flow and removing the chemical components driven from the photographic medium during the heating thereof, said exhaust means including exhaust ducts positioned centrally within the Developing chamber on opposite sides of the path of said photographic medium therethrough and positioned therein so as to be heated by said heating means to prevent precipitation of the removed chemical components, said exhaust ducts comprising means defining exhaust duct intake slots for exclusive communication with the developing chamber, the ration between the cross-sectional area of each said exhaust duct inlet slot and its corresponding exhaust outlet port falls in the range from about 1:3 to about 1:10.