Film unit

Claim 2

A film unit as claimed in claim 2 further comprising: a trap for collecting any excess of the processing fluid from between said photosensitive and process elements, said trap bEing releasably coupled to said elements and permanently attached to said card for separation from said elements with said card after the initiation of the processing.

Claim 3

A film unit as claimed in claim 1 wherein said photosensitive and process elements together define an image-recording unit having two lateral edges and an end edge, and wherein said card underlies said image-recording unit and extends outwardly from said image-recording unit beyond said lateral edges and said end edge.

Claim 4

A film unit as claimed in claim 1 wherein said photosensitive and process elements define a plane, and wherein said card is strippably coupled to said photosensitive and process elements by means providing a coupling that strongly resists separation of said card from said elements by forces acting substantially in said plane, but that only weakly resists separation of said card from said elements by forces acting at a significant angle to said plane.

Claim 5

A film unit as claimed in claim 1 wherein said card is strippably coupled to said photosensitive and process elements by means providing a coupling that is strong in shear but weak in peel.

Claim 6

A film unit as claimed in claim 1 wherein said card comprises a sheet of polyester material at least .003 inches thick.

Claim 7

A film unit as claimed in claim 1 wherein said card comprises a sheet of polyester film base material approximately .005 inches thick.

Claim 8

A film unit as claimed in claim 1 wherein said card comprises a sheet of acetate material at least .005 inches thick.

Claim 9

A film unit as claimed in claim 1 wherein said card comprises a sheet of acetate material approximately .007 inches thick.

Claim 10

A self-processing film unit comprising: an image-recording unit, including a photosensitive element and a process sheet, for recording a photographically useful image; and a resiliently flexible card strippably coupled to said image-recording unit, said card having sufficient resiliency to return, without assistance, to a generally flat condition after being bent from such condition through an angle of approximately 180* about a radius of from one-eighth to three-eighths of an inch.

Claim 11

A film unit as claimed in claim 11 wherein said radius is one-eighth of an inch.

Claim 12

A self-processing film unit comprising: an image-recording unit for recording a photographically useful image, said image-recording unit including a photosensitive element and a process sheet permanently attached to said photosensitive element; and a resiliently flexible card strippably coupled to said image-recording unit, said card having a bending resiliency equal to or greater than that of a 0.003-inch-thick sheet of polyester film base material.

Claim 13

A self-processing film unit comprising: an image-recording section including a photosensitive element for recording a processable latent image and a process sheet permanently attached to said photosensitive element for aiding in processing the latent image; and a resiliently flexible card strippably coupled to said image-recording section for facilitating handling of said film unit, said card having a bending resiliency approximately equal to that of a .005-inch-thick sheet of polyester film base material.

Claim 14

A film unit as claimed in claim 14 including means for supplying a processing fluid to said image-recording section between said photosensitive element and said process sheet, said supplying means being permanently attached to said card and releasably engaging said image-recording section between said photosensitive element and said process sheet.

Claim 15

A self-processing film unit comprising: an image-recording portion including a photosensitive element for recording a processable latent image and a process sheet permanently attached to said photosensitive element for aiding in processing the latent image; a container for supplying a processing fluid to said image-recording portion between said photosEnsitive element and said process sheet to effect processing of the latent image, said container being substantially empty and generally flat after supplying the processing fluid to said image-recording portion; and a sheet of resiliently flexible material strippably coupled to said image-recording portion and permanently attached to said container for strippably coupling said container to said image-recording portion, said sheet having sufficient resiliency in flection to return said sheet and said container, without assistance, to a generally flat condition after the processing fluid has been supplied to said image-recording portion and said sheet and said container have been bent from such condition for a short duration into an arcuate configuration having a radius of approximately three-eighths of an inch.

Claim 16

A film unit as claimed in claim 16 wherein said image-recording portion has two lateral edges defining a width dimension, and wherein said sheet has a width dimension greater than said width dimension of said image-recording portion to facilitate stripping of said sheet from said image-recording portion.

Claim 17

A self-processing film unit comprising: an image-recording portion for recording a latent image that is processable to establish a visibly presentable image, said image-recording portion including permanently registered photosensitive and image-receiving layers for recording the latent image and for supporting the visibly presentable image, respectively; means for supplying a processing fluid to said image-recording portion to initiate processing of the latent image; and a resiliently flexible strip of sheet material underlying and attached to said supplying means and releasably coupling said supplying means to said image-recording portion, said strip, with said supplying means attached thereto, having sufficient flexibility to be bent, after the processing has been initiated, from a generally planar configuration into a semi-cylindrical configuration having a radius of approximately one-eighth of an inch, without significantly exceeding its elastic limit, and sufficient resiliency to return itself, with said supplying means still attached thereto, from said semi-cylindrical configuration to substantially such generally planar configuration.

Claim 18

A self-processing film unit comprising: a preregistered, integral image-recording portion including a photosensitive element for recording a processable latent image and a process sheet for aiding in distributing a processing composition over siad photosensitive element to effect processing of the latent image; supply means for supplying the processing composition to said image-recording portion, said supply means including a rupturable containing section for the processing composition and means extending from said containing section into removable engagement with said image-recording portion for directing the processing composition from said containing section to said image-recording portion between said photosensitive element and said process sheet; and a substantially straight strip of resiliently flexible sheet material securely attached to said supply means and strippably coupled to said image-recording portion for facilitating removal of said supply means from said image-recording portion and for facilitating handling of said supply means after said removal, said strip having sufficient resiliency to become substantially straight again, without external assistance, after said strip has been bent into a semi-cylindrical configuration and said supply means has been substantially exhausted of the processing composition.

Claim 19

A film unit as claimed in claim 19 wherein said strip has a resiliency approximately within the range of resiliency of polyester film base material between .003 and .007 inches thick.