Apparatus for processing strips of photographic material or the like

Claim 2

In an apparatus for wet treatment of strips of photographic material, a combination comprising spaced first and second pairs of rotary transporting members defining a substantially horizontal path for lengthwise travel of strips; and upper and lower liquid discharging chambers disposed between said pairs of transporting members and respectively located above and below said path, each of said chambers having at least one liquid admitting inlet and at least one outlet for discharging a stream of liquid against the respective side of a strip advancing along said path, said chambers further having passages along which the liquid flows from the respective inlets toward the respective outlets and internal surfaces flanking said passages from above and sloping upwardly in the direction of liquid flow toward the respective outlets, said outlets being located at the highest points of the corresponding upwardly sloping surfaces and communicating with said passages at said highest points so that said passages are completely filled with liquid before the liquid enters said outlets.

Claim 3

A combination as defined in claim 1, wherein the internal surface of said lower chamber is an uninterrupted surface.

Claim 4

In an apparatus for wet treatment of strips of photographic material, a combination comprising spaced first and second pairs of rotary trasporting members defining a substantially horizontal path for lengthwise travel of strips; and upper and lower liquid discharging chambers disposed between said pairs of transporting members and respectively located above and below said path, each of said chambers having at least one liquid admitting inlet and at least one outlet for discharging a stream of liquid against the respective side of a strip advancing along said path, said chambers further having substantially horizontal first passages and substantially vertical second passages along which the liquid flows from the respective inlets toward the respective outlets and internal surfaces flanking said first passages from above and sloping upwardly in the direction of liquid flow toward the respective outlets, said first passages communicating with the respective second passages in the regions of the highest points of the respective sloping surfaces.

Claim 5

In an apparatus for wet treatment of strips of photographic material, a combination comprising spaced first and second pairs of rotary trasporting members defining a substantially horizontal path for lengthwise travel of strips; and upper and lower liquid discharging chambers disposed between said pairs of transporting members and respectively located above and below said path, each of said chambers having at least one liquid admitting inlet and at least one outlet for discharging a stream of liquid against the respective side of a strip advancing along said path, said chambers further having substantially horizontal first passages and substantially vertical second passages along which the liquid flows from the respective inlets toward the respective outlets and internal surfaces flanking said first passages from above and sloping upwardly in the direction of liquid flow toward the respective outlets, said first passages communicating with the respective second passages in the regions of the highest points of the respective sloping surfaces.

Claim 6

In an apparatus for wet treatment of strips of photographic material, a combination comprising spaced first and second pairs of rotary transporting members defining a substantially horizontal path for lengthwise travel of strips; and upper and lower liquid discharging chambers disposed between said pairs of transporting members and respectively located above and below said path, each of said chambers having at least one liquid admitting inlet and at least one outlet for discharging a stream of liquid against the respective side of a strip advancing along said path, said chambers further having first passages along which the liquid flows from the respective inlets toward the respective outlets and internal surfaces flanking said first passages from above and sloping upwardly in the direction of liquid flow toward the respective outlets, the width of said first passage of said upper chamber substantially exceeding the height thereof and said upper chamber further coMprising a substantially vertical second passage communicating with the respective outlet and a partition disposed between the passages of said upper chamber and defining a narrow throttling gap for overflow of liquid from said first into said second passage of said upper chamber.

Claim 7

In an apparatus for wet treatment of strips of photographic material, a combination comprising spaced first and second pairs of rotary transporting members defining a substantially horizontal path for lengthwise travel of strips; and upper and lower liquid discharging chambers disposed between said pairs of transporting members and respectively located above and below said path, each of said chambers having at least one liquid admitting inlet and at least one outlet for discharging a stream of liquid against the respective side of a strip advancing along said path, said chambers further having first passages along which the liquid flows from the respective inlets toward the respective outlets and internal surfaces flanking said first passages from above and sloping upwardly in the direction of liquid flow toward the respective outlets, the width of said first passage of said upper chamber substantially exceeding the height thereof and said upper chamber further coMprising a substantially vertical second passage communicating with the respective outlet and a partition disposed between the passages of said upper chamber and defining a narrow throttling gap for overflow of liquid from said first into said second passage of said upper chamber.

Claim 8

A combination as defined in claim 4, wherein said vertical passage extends downwardly from said gap and said gap communicates with the topmost portion of the first mentioned passage of said upper chamber.

Claim 9

In an apparatus for wet treatment of strips of photographic material, a combination comprising spaced first and second pairs of rotary transporting members defining a substantially horizontal path for lengthwise travel of strips; and upper and lower liquid discharging chambers disposed between said pairs of transporting members and respectively located above and below said path, each of said chambers having at least one liquid admitting inlet and at least one outlet for discharging a stream of liquid against the respective side of a strip advancing along said path, said chambers further having first passages along which the liquid flows from the respective inlets toward the respective outlets and internal surfaces flanking said first passages from above and sloping upwardly in the direction of liquid flow toward the respective outlets, the width of said first passage of said upper chamber substantially exceeding the height thereof and said upper chamber further comprising a substantially vertical second passage communicating with the respective outlet and a partition disposed between the passages of said upper chamber and defining a narrow throttling gap for overflow of liquid from said first into said second passage of said upper chamber, the width of said gap being at most equal to the width of the outlet of said upper chamber.

Claim 10

In an apparatus for wet treatment of strips of photographic material, a combination comprising spaced first and second pairs of rotary transporting members defining a substantially horizontal path for lengthwise travel of strips; and upper and lower liquid discharging chambers disposed between said pairs of transporting members and respectively located above and below said path, each of said chambers having at least one liquid admitting inlet and at least one outlet for discharging a stream of liquid against the respective side of a strip advancing along said path, said chambers further having first passages along which the liquid flows from the respective inlets toward the respective outlets and internal surfaces flanking said first passages from above and sloping upwardly in the direction of liquid flow toward the respective outlets, the width of said first passage of said upper chamber substantially exceeding the height thereof and said upper chamber further comprising a substantially vertical second passage communicating with the respective outlet and a partition disposed between the passages of said upper chamber and defining a narrow throttling gap for overflow of liquid from said first into said second passage of said upper chamber, the width of said gap being at most equal to the width of the outlet of said upper chamber.

Claim 11

A combination as defined in claim 6, wherein the outlet of said upper chamber and said gap constitute narrow slits.

Claim 12

In an apparatus for wet treatment of strips of photographic material, a combination comprising spaced first and second pairs of rotary transporting members defining a substantially horizontal path for lengthwide travel of strips; and upper and lower liquid discharging chambers disposed between said pairs of transporting members and respectively located above and below said path, each of said chambers having at least one liquid admitting inlet and at least one outlet for discharging a stream of liquid against the respective side of a strip advancing along said path, said chambers further having first passages along which the liquid flows from the respective inlets toward the respective outlets and internal surfaces flanking said first passages from above and sloping upwardly in the direction of liquid flow toward the respective outlets the width of said first passage of said upper chamber substantially exceeding the height thereof and said upper chamber further comprising a substantially vertical second passage communicating with the respective outlet and a partition disposed between the passages of said upper chamber and defining a narrow throttling gap for overflow of liquid from said first into said second passage of said upper chamber, the width of said second passage being a multiple of the width of at least one of said outlets.

Claim 13

In an apparatus for wet treatment of strips of photographic material, a combination comprising spaced first and second pairs of rotary transporting members defining a substantially horizontal path for lengthwide travel of strips; and upper and lower liquid discharging chambers disposed between said pairs of transporting members and respectively located above and below said path, each of said chambers having at least one liquid admitting inlet and at least one outlet for discharging a stream of liquid against the respective side of a strip advancing along said path, said chambers further having first passages along which the liquid flows from the respective inlets toward the respective outlets and internal surfaces flanking said first passages from above and sloping upwardly in the direction of liquid flow toward the respective outlets the width of said first passage of said upper chamber substantially exceeding the height thereof and said upper chamber further comprising a substantially vertical second passage communicating with the respective outlet and a partition disposed between the passages of said upper chamber and defining a narrow throttling gap for overflow of liquid from said first into said second passage of said upper chamber, the width of said second passage being a multiple of the width of at least one of said outlets.

Claim 14

In an apparatus for wet treatment of strips of photographic material, a combination comprising spaced first and second pairs of rotary transporting members defining a substantially horizontal path for lengthwise travel of strips; and upper and lower liquid discharging chambers disposed between said pairs of transporting members and respectively located above and below said path, each of said chambers having at least one liquid admitting inlet and at least one outlet for discharging a stream of liquid against the respective side of a strip advancing along said path, said chambers further having first passages along which the liquid flows from the respective inlets toward the respective outlets and intErnal surfaces flanking said first passage from above and sloping upwardly in the direction of liquid flow toward the respective outlets, the width of the said first passage of said upper chamber substantially exceeding the height thereof and said upper chamber further comprising a substantially vertical second passage communicating with the respective outlet and a partition disposed between the passages of said upper chamber and defining a narrow throttling gap for overflow of liquid from said first into said second passage of said upper chamber, the width of said second passage being a multiple of the width of said gap.

Claim 15

In an apparatus for wet treatment of strips of photographic material, a combination comprising spaced first and second pairs of rotary transporting members defining a substantially horizontal path for lengthwise travel of strips; and upper and lower liquid discharging chambers disposed between said pairs of transporting members and respectively located above and below said path, each of said chambers having at least one liquid admitting inlet and at least one outlet for discharging a stream of liquid against the respective side of a strip advancing along said path, said chambers further having first passages along which the liquid flows from the respective inlets toward the respective outlets and intErnal surfaces flanking said first passage from above and sloping upwardly in the direction of liquid flow toward the respective outlets, the width of the said first passage of said upper chamber substantially exceeding the height thereof and said upper chamber further comprising a substantially vertical second passage communicating with the respective outlet and a partition disposed between the passages of said upper chamber and defining a narrow throttling gap for overflow of liquid from said first into said second passage of said upper chamber, the width of said second passage being a multiple of the width of said gap.

Claim 16

In an apparatus for wet treatment of strips of photographic material, a combination comprising spaced first and second pairs of rotary transporting members defining a substantially horizontal path for lengthwise travel of strips; and upper and lower liquid discharging chambers disposed between said pairs of transporting members and respectively located above and below said path, each of said chambers having at least one liquid admitting inlet and at least one outlet for discharging a stream of liquid against the respective side of a strip advancing along said path, said chambers further having first passages along which the liquid flows from the respective inlets toward the respective outlets and internal surfaces flanking said first passages from above and sloping upwardly in the direction of liquid flow toward the respective outlets, the width of said first passage of said upper chamber substantially exceeding the height thereof and said upper chamber further comprising substantially vertical second passage communicating with the respective outlet and a partition disposed between the passages of said upper chamber and defining a narrow throttling gap for overflow of liquid from said first into said second passage of said upper chamber, the width of said second passage exceeding five times the width of said outlets and said gap.

Claim 17

In an apparatus for wet treatment of strips of photographic material, a combination comprising spaced first and second pairs of rotary transporting members defining a substantially horizontal path for lengthwise travel of strips; and upper and lower liquid discharging chambers disposed between said pairs of transporting members and respectively located above and below said path, each of said chambers having at least one liquid admitting inlet and at least one outlet for discharging a stream of liquid against the respective side of a strip advancing along said path, said chambers further having first passages along which the liquid flows from the respective inlets toward the respective outlets and internal surfaces flanking said first passages from above and sloping upwardly in the direction of liquid flow toward the respective outlets, the width of said first passage of said upper chamber substantially exceeding the height thereof and said upper chamber further comprising substantially vertical second passage communicating with the respective outlet and a partition disposed between the passages of said upper chamber and defining a narrow throttling gap for overflow of liquid from said first into said second passage of said upper chamber, the width of said second passage exceeding five times the width of said outlets and said gap.