Photographic apparatus including improved aperture plate

Claim 2

A photographic system comprising: a cassette comprising a cassette housing for retaining a strip of photographic film material, said cassette housing including an opening in an edge wall thereof configured to present at least an incremental section of such film strip for cooperation with other apparatus for providing a photographic program with such film strip, and an apparatus comprising an aperture plate configured to engage at least a portion of such presented incremental section of such film strip and support such portion of such incremental section in a predetermined focal position when such cassette is operatively positioned within said apparatus, means for receiving said cassette with such presented incremental section of such film operatively located on said aperture plate, said receiving means being configured for translation of such presented incremental section laterally across said aperture plate as said cassette is operatively located in said receiving means, said aperture plate including a longitudinal channel laterally bounded by spaced film margin engaging surfaces for supporting the margins of such film strip when such film strip is operatively located on said aperture plate, and said aperture plate including a ramp-like portion extending substantially from the bottom of said channel to one of said margin engaging surfaces so as to urge said film out of said channel and to said one margin engaging surface when such film strip is translated laterally across said aperture plate towards said one margin engaging surface during the operation location of such film on said aperture plate, and means for cooperating with such incremental section of such film strip so as to provide such photographic program therewith when such incremental section is located in said predetermined focal position.

Claim 3

Photographic apparatus for use with a photographic film handling cassette having a housing configured for retaining a strip of photographic film and an opening in an edge wall of such cassette housing configured to present an incremental section of such film strip for cooperation with means of said apparatus for providing a photographic program with such film strip, said apparatus comprising an apparatus housing, means for receiving such film cassette in an operative location in said apparatus housing and for supporting such incremental section in a predetermined focal position, said supporting means including an aperture plate configured to engage at least a portion of such presented section of such film strip so as to support such incremental portion in such predetermined focal position when such cassette is operatively positioned within said receiving means, said receiving means being configured for translation of such presented incremental section laterally across said aperture plate as such cassette is operatively located in said receiving means, said aperture plate including a longitudinal channel laterally bounded by spaced film margin engaging surfaces for supporting the margins of such film strip when such film strip is operatively located on said aperture plate, and said aperture plate including a ramp-like portion extending substantially from within said channel to at least close to one of said margin engaging surfaces so as to urge such incremental section out of said channel and to said one margin engaging surface when such incremental section of such film strip is translated laterally across said aperture plate towards said one margin engaging surfaces during the operative location of such film on said aperture plate.

Claim 4

Photographic apparatus for use with a photographic film handling cassette having a housing configured for retaining a strip of photographic film and an opening in an edge wall of such cassette housing configured to present an incremental section of such film strip for cooperation with means of said apparatus for providing a photographic program with such film strip, said apparatus comprising an apparatus housing, means for receiving such film cassette in an operative location in said apparatus housing and for supporting such incremental section in a predetermined focal position, said supporting means including an aperture plate configured to engage at least a portion of such presented section of such film strip so as to support such incremental portion in such predetermined focal position when such cassette is operatively positioned within said receiving means, said receiving means being configured for translation of such presented incremental section laterally across said aperture plate as such cassette is operatively located in said receiving means, said aperture plate including a longitudinal channel laterally bounded by spaced film margin engaging surfaces for supporting the margins of such film strip when such film strip is operatively located on said aperture plate, and said aperture plate including a ramp-like portion extending substantially from within said channel to at least close to one of said margin engaging surfaces so as to urge such incremental section out of said channel and to said one margin engaging surface when such incremental section of such film strip is translated laterally across said aperture plate towards said one margin engaging surfaces during the operative location of such film on said aperture plate.

Claim 5

The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said ramp extends along a substantially length of said channel and provides an inclined surface extending from substantially the bottom of said channel to said one margin engaging surface.

Claim 6

The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said ramp extends upwardly from a bottom central portion of said channel to the edge of said one margin engaging surface which defines one edge of said channel.

Claim 7

A photographic system comprising: a cassette comprising a cassette housing for retaining a strip of photographic film material, an opening in an edge wall of said cassette housing configured to present a length of such film strip for cooperation with other apparatus for providing a photographic program with an incremental section of such presented length, and a pressure plate member located in said cassette housing behind such presented length, said pressure plate including a longitudinal pressure plate channel formed by a pair of laterally spaced members, said spaced members configured for engaging and supporting only the margins of one side of such film strip; an apparatus comprising an apparatus housing, an aperture plate, means for receiving said film cassette in an operative location in said apparatus housing when said cassette is inserted in said receiving means such that such presented length of such film strip is translated laterally across said aperture plate and to a seated position thereon, said aperture plate including means for contacting a portion of the opposite side of such presented length of such film strip intermediate the margins thereof so as to urge such intermediate portion towards said pressure plate and into a predetermined focal position partially within said pressure plate channel and between said spaced members of said pressure plate, said apparatus including means for cooperating with such incremental section of such film strip so as to provide such photographic program therewith when such incremental section is located in said predetermined focal position, said aperture plate including a longitudinal aperture plate channel laterally bounded by spaced apart film margin engaging surfaces configured for supporting the margins of such film strip when such film strip is operatively located on said aperture plate, and said apparatus further including a ramp-like portion extending substantially from the bottom of said aperture plate channel to one of said film margin engaging surfaces so as to urge said film out of said aperture plate channel and to said one margin engaging surface when such film strip is translated laterally across said aperture plate towards said one margin engaging surface during the operative location of said cassette within said receiving means.

Claim 8

A photographic system comprising: a cassette comprising a cassette housing for retaining a strip of photographic film material, an opening in an edge wall of said cassette housing configured to present a length of such film strip for cooperation with other apparatus for providing a photographic program with an incremental section of such presented length, and a pressure plate member located in said cassette housing behind such presented length, said pressure plate including a longitudinal pressure plate channel formed by a pair of laterally spaced members, said spaced members configured for engaging and supporting only the margins of one side of such film strip; an apparatus comprising an apparatus housing, an aperture plate, means for receiving said film cassette in an operative location in said apparatus housing when said cassette is inserted in said receiving means such that such presented length of such film strip is translated laterally across said aperture plate and to a seated position thereon, said aperture plate including means for contacting a portion of the opposite side of such presented length of such film strip intermediate the margins thereof so as to urge such intermediate portion towards said pressure plate and into a predetermined focal position partially within said pressure plate channel and between said spaced members of said pressure plate, said apparatus including means for cooperating with such incremental section of such film strip so as to provide such photographic program therewith when such incremental section is located in said predetermined focal position, said aperture plate including a longitudinal aperture plate channel laterally bounded by spaced apart film margin engaging surfaces configured for supporting the margins of such film strip when such film strip is operatively located on said aperture plate, and said apparatus further including a ramp-like portion extending substantially from the bottom of said aperture plate channel to one of said film margin engaging surfaces so as to urge said film out of said aperture plate channel and to said one margin engaging surface when such film strip is translated laterally across said aperture plate towards said one margin engaging surface during the operative location of said cassette within said receiving means.

Claim 9

Photographic apparatus for use with a photographic film cassette for providing a photographic operation with progressive incremental sections of a cassette retained photographic film strip, the cassette including a housing configured for retaining the film strip, the film strip including on one side thereof an emulsion layer configured for providing recorded images in a usable portion intermediate the film margins, the cassette housing having an opening in an edge wall thereof configured for presenting a length of the film strip for the photographic operation, means for guiding the film strip across the cassette housing opening with said one side of the film strip facing inwardly of the cassette housing, the guiding means including a pressure plate located within the cassette housing and configured for supporting the margins of the presented length of the film strip at the housing opening, the pressure plate including an elongated channel substantially aligned with the longitudinal axis of the presented length of the film strip, the channel being laterally bounded by a pair of laterally spaced, longitudinally extended members, each member respectively having a film margin engaging surface configured for providing contact solely with the margins of the one side of the film strip, said apparatus comprising: an apparatus housing; means for receiving the film cassette in an operative location in said apparatus housing; means configured for cooperating with the cassette pressure plate when the cassette is operatively positioned in said receiving means so as to urge the portion intermediate the margins of the presented length of the film strip towards the pressure plate and partially into the channel thereof so as to laterally bow the film strip into a precise curved focal location without contact to the usable portion of the emulsion layer, said cooperating means including an elongated aperture plate having an aperture therein configured for passing light rays to or from an incremental section of the film strip, said aperture plate including means for defining a substantially flat film margin reference plane configured to engage at least the margins of the film strip and at least one pad located along the longitudinal axis of said aperture plate and extending out of said reference plane towards the pressure plate so as to engage and urge the intermediate portion of the presented length of the film strip slightly above the reference plane and into the pressure plate channel, and said apparatus includes means for spacing the pressure plate and aperture plate such that said margin engaging surfaces of the pressure plate members are spaced from said aperture plate reference plane a distance slightly exceeding the thickness of the film strip margins so as to define a gap therebetween for loosely confining the film margins while preventing extension of the bow of the film to the bottom of the pressure plate channel.

Claim 10

Photographic apparatus for use with a photographic film cassette for providing a photographic operation with progressive incremental sections of a cassette retained photographic film strip, the cassette including a housing configured for retaining the film strip, the film strip including on one side thereof an emulsion layer configured for providing recorded images in a usable portion intermediate the film margins, the cassette housing having an opening in an edge wall thereof configured for presenting a length of the film strip for the photographic operation, means for guiding the film strip across the cassette housing opening with said one side of the film strip facing inwardly of the cassette housing, the guiding means including a pressure plate located within the cassette housing and configured for supporting the margins of the presented length of the film strip at the housing opening, the pressure plate including an elongated channel substantially aligned with the longitudinal axis of the presented length of the film strip, the channel being laterally bounded by a pair of laterally spaced, longitudinally extended members, each member respectively having a film margin engaging surface configured for providing contact solely with the margins of the one side of the film strip, said apparatus comprising: an apparatus housing; means for receiving the film cassette in an operative location in said apparatus housing; means configured for cooperating with the cassette pressure plate when the cassette is operatively positioned in said receiving means so as to urge the portion intermediate the margins of the presented length of the film strip towards the pressure plate and partially into the channel thereof so as to laterally bow the film strip into a precise curved focal location without contact to the usable portion of the emulsion layer, said cooperating means including an elongated aperture plate having an aperture therein configured for passing light rays to or from an incremental section of the film strip, said aperture plate including means for defining a substantially flat film margin reference plane configured to engage at least the margins of the film strip and at least one pad located along the longitudinal axis of said aperture plate and extending out of said reference plane towards the pressure plate so as to engage and urge the intermediate portion of the presented length of the film strip slightly above the reference plane and into the pressure plate channel, and said apparatus includes means for spacing the pressure plate and aperture plate such that said margin engaging surfaces of the pressure plate members are spaced from said aperture plate reference plane a distance slightly exceeding the thickness of the film strip margins so as to define a gap therebetween for loosely confining the film margins while preventing extension of the bow of the film to the bottom of the pressure plate channel.

Claim 11

The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said margin engaging surfaces of the pressure plate are substantially coplanar, the pressure plate channel is of given depth, and said pad extends out of said reference plane to a height substantially less than the given depth of the pressure plate channel.

Claim 12

The apparatus of claim 6 wherein aperture plate includes a pair of said pads with one pad located at each of the longitudinal ends of said aperture.

Claim 13

The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said spacing means comprises at least one spacer member mounted on said aperture plate and configured for spacing the pressure plate therefrom, said spacer member being extended out of said aperture plate film margin reference plane toward the pressure plate a distance configured for spacing the pressure plate margin engaging surfaces from said aperture plate reference plane a distance slightly exceeding the thickness of said film strip margins.

Claim 14

The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said aperture plate includes an elongated channel aligned with the film axis and laterally bounded by a pair of laterally spaced, longitudinal extended members having film margin engaging surfaces defining said film margin reference plane.

Claim 15

The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said aperture plate includes an elongated base plate having on one surface thereof a pair of raised members whose uppermost surfaces are substantially coplanar and define said film margin reference plane, said raised members extending along said base plate substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis thereof and defining a longitudinal channel therein whose bottom surface is defined by said one surface of said base plate, said raised members being spaced apart a distance substantially approximately equal to or slightly greater than the width of the usable intermediate portion of the film strip, at least one spacer member extending from said one surface to a height exceeding that of said raised members and configured to contact the pressure plate and define said gap for the film margins, said spacer member being spaced laterally of the longitudinal axis of said base plate and to one side of said aperture plate channel and one of said raised members, an aperture located between said raised members, and a pair of pads of relatively short longitudinal length located between said raised members in said channel, each of said pads extending from said one surface of said base plate to a height exceeding that of said raised members so as to engage the intermediate portion of the film strip and urge the intermediate portion into the pressure plate channel.

Claim 16

The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said at least one pad is of relatively short longitudinal length as compared to the length of said raised members, and the film engaging surface of said pad is convexly shaped in a plane transverse to the longitudinal axis of said aperture plate.

Claim 17

The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said pad extends out of said reference plane to a height configured to bow the emulsion layer of the film strip 0.001 inch into the pressure plate channel, and said gap for confining the film margins being configured for limiting the bow of the film strip into the pressure plate channel to approximately 0.002 inch.

Claim 18

A photographic system comprising: a photographic film cassette comprising: a cassette housing having an opening in an edge wall thereof; a photographic film strip retained within said cassette housing, said film strip including on one side thereof an emulsion layer configured for providing recorded images in a usable portion intermediate the film margins; means for guiding the film strip across said cassette housing opening with said one side of the film strip facing inwardly of said cassette housing so as to present a length of said film strip for cooperation with photographic apparatus for providing a photographic operation with an incremental section said said presented length of said film strip, said guiding means including a pressure plate located within said cassette housing and configured for supporting the margins of said presented length of said film strip at said housing opening, said pressure plate including an elongated channel substantially aligned with the longitudinal axis of said presented length of said film strip, said channel being laterally bounded by a pair of laterally spaced, longitudinally extended members, each member respectively having a film margin engaging surface configured for providing contact solely with the margins of said one side of said film strip; said apparatus comprising: an apparatus housing; means for receiving the film cassette in an operative location in said apparatus housing; means configured for cooperating with said pressure plate when said cassette is operatively positioned in said receiving means so as to urge a portion intermediate the margins of the presented length of the film strip towards said pressure plate and partially into the channel thereof so as to laterally bow said film strip into a precise curved focal location without contact to the usable portion of the emulsion layer, said cooperating means including an elongated aperture plate having an aperture therein configured for passing light rays to or from an incremental section of said film strip, said aperture plate including means for defining a substantially flat film margin reference plane configured to engage at least the margins of said film strip, at least one pad located along the longitudinal axis of said aperture plate and extending out of said reference plane towards said pressure plate so as to engage and urge the intermediate portion of said presented length of said film strip slightly above the reference plane and into said pressure plate channel, and means for spacing said pressure plate and aperture plate such that said margin engaging surfaces of said pressure plate members are spaced from said aperture plate reference plane a distance slightly exceeding the thickness of said film strip margins so as to define a gap therebetween for loosely confining said film margins while preventing extension of the bow of said film strip to the bottom of said pressure plate channel.

Claim 19

A photographic system comprising: a photographic film cassette comprising: a cassette housing having an opening in an edge wall thereof; a photographic film strip retained within said cassette housing, said film strip including on one side thereof an emulsion layer configured for providing recorded images in a usable portion intermediate the film margins; means for guiding the film strip across said cassette housing opening with said one side of the film strip facing inwardly of said cassette housing so as to present a length of said film strip for cooperation with photographic apparatus for providing a photographic operation with an incremental section said said presented length of said film strip, said guiding means including a pressure plate located within said cassette housing and configured for supporting the margins of said presented length of said film strip at said housing opening, said pressure plate including an elongated channel substantially aligned with the longitudinal axis of said presented length of said film strip, said channel being laterally bounded by a pair of laterally spaced, longitudinally extended members, each member respectively having a film margin engaging surface configured for providing contact solely with the margins of said one side of said film strip; said apparatus comprising: an apparatus housing; means for receiving the film cassette in an operative location in said apparatus housing; means configured for cooperating with said pressure plate when said cassette is operatively positioned in said receiving means so as to urge a portion intermediate the margins of the presented length of the film strip towards said pressure plate and partially into the channel thereof so as to laterally bow said film strip into a precise curved focal location without contact to the usable portion of the emulsion layer, said cooperating means including an elongated aperture plate having an aperture therein configured for passing light rays to or from an incremental section of said film strip, said aperture plate including means for defining a substantially flat film margin reference plane configured to engage at least the margins of said film strip, at least one pad located along the longitudinal axis of said aperture plate and extending out of said reference plane towards said pressure plate so as to engage and urge the intermediate portion of said presented length of said film strip slightly above the reference plane and into said pressure plate channel, and means for spacing said pressure plate and aperture plate such that said margin engaging surfaces of said pressure plate members are spaced from said aperture plate reference plane a distance slightly exceeding the thickness of said film strip margins so as to define a gap therebetween for loosely confining said film margins while preventing extension of the bow of said film strip to the bottom of said pressure plate channel.

Claim 20

Photographic apparatus for use with a film cassette having a cassette housing configured for retaining a strip of photographic film material, an opening in an edge wall of such cassette housing configured to present a length of such film strip for cooperation with said apparatus for providing a photographic program with an incremental section of such presented length, and a pressure plate member located in such cassette housing behind such presented length and configured for supporting at least a portion of one side thereof, said apparatus comprising an apparatus housing, an aperture plate, means for receiving such film cassette in an operative location in said apparatus housing when such cassette is inserted in said receiving means such that such presented length of such film strip is translated laterally across said aperture plate and to a seated position thereon, said apparatus including means for cooperating with such incremental section of such film strip so as to provide such photographic program therewith when such incremental section is located in a predetermined focal position on said aperture plate, said aperture plate including a longitudinal aperture plate channel laterally bounded by spaced apart film margin engaging surfaces configured for supporting the margins of such film strip when such film strip is operatively located on said aperture plate and a ramp-like portion extending substantially from the bottom of said aperture plate channel to one of said film margin engaging surfaces so as to urge such presented length of such film strip out of said aperture plate channel and to said one margin engaging surface when such film strip is translated laterally across said aperture plate towards said one margin engaging surface during the operative location of such cassette within said receiving means.

Claim 21

Photographic apparatus for use with a film cassette having a cassette housing configured for retaining a strip of photographic film material, an opening in an edge wall of such cassette housing configured to present a length of such film strip for cooperation with said apparatus for providing a photographic program with an incremental section of such presented length, and a pressure plate member located in such cassette housing behind such presented length and configured for supporting at least a portion of one side thereof, said apparatus comprising an apparatus housing, an aperture plate, means for receiving such film cassette in an operative location in said apparatus housing when such cassette is inserted in said receiving means such that such presented length of such film strip is translated laterally across said aperture plate and to a seated position thereon, said apparatus including means for cooperating with such incremental section of such film strip so as to provide such photographic program therewith when such incremental section is located in a predetermined focal position on said aperture plate, said aperture plate including a longitudinal aperture plate channel laterally bounded by spaced apart film margin engaging surfaces configured for supporting the margins of such film strip when such film strip is operatively located on said aperture plate and a ramp-like portion extending substantially from the bottom of said aperture plate channel to one of said film margin engaging surfaces so as to urge such presented length of such film strip out of said aperture plate channel and to said one margin engaging surface when such film strip is translated laterally across said aperture plate towards said one margin engaging surface during the operative location of such cassette within said receiving means.

Claim 22

A photographic system for use with a strip of photographic film for providing a photographic operation with progressive incremental sections of the photographic film strip, the film strip including on one side thereof an emulsion layer configured for providing recorded images in a usable portion intermediate the film margins, said system comprising a pressure plate configured for supporting the margins of a predetermined length of the one side of the film strip, said pressure plate including an elongated channel substantially aligned with the longitudinal axis of the predetermined length of the film strip, said channel being laterally bounded by a pair of laterally spaced, longitudinally extended members, each member respectively having a film margin engaging surface configured for providing contact solely with the margins of the one side of the film strip, and means configured for cooperating with said pressure plate so as to urge the portion intermediate the margins of the predetermined length of the film strip towards said pressure plate and partially into said channel to longitudinally bow the predetermined length of the film strip into a precise curved focal location without contact to the usable portion of the emulsion layer, said cooperating means including an elongated aperture plate having an aperture therein configured for passing light rays to or from an incremental section of the predetermined length of the film strip, said aperture plate including means for defining a substantially flat film margin reference plane configured to engage at least the margins of the film strip and at least one pad located along the longitudinal axis of said aperture plate and extending out of said reference plane towards said pressure plate so as to engage and urge the intermediate portion of the presented length of the film strip slightly above said reference plane and into said pressure plate channel, and means for spacing the pressure plate and aperture plate such that said margin engaging surfaces of said pressure plate members are spaced from said aperture plate reference plane a distance slightly exceeding the thickness of the film strip margins so as to define a gap therebetween the loosely confining the film margins while preventing extension of the bow of the film to the bottom of said pressure plate channel.

Claim 23

A photographic system for use with a strip of photographic film for providing a photographic operation with progressive incremental sections of the photographic film strip, the film strip including on one side thereof an emulsion layer configured for providing recorded images in a usable portion intermediate the film margins, said system comprising a pressure plate configured for supporting the margins of a predetermined length of the one side of the film strip, said pressure plate including an elongated channel substantially aligned with the longitudinal axis of the predetermined length of the film strip, said channel being laterally bounded by a pair of laterally spaced, longitudinally extended members, each member respectively having a film margin engaging surface configured for providing contact solely with the margins of the one side of the film strip, and means configured for cooperating with said pressure plate so as to urge the portion intermediate the margins of the predetermined length of the film strip towards said pressure plate and partially into said channel to longitudinally bow the predetermined length of the film strip into a precise curved focal location without contact to the usable portion of the emulsion layer, said cooperating means including an elongated aperture plate having an aperture therein configured for passing light rays to or from an incremental section of the predetermined length of the film strip, said aperture plate including means for defining a substantially flat film margin reference plane configured to engage at least the margins of the film strip and at least one pad located along the longitudinal axis of said aperture plate and extending out of said reference plane towards said pressure plate so as to engage and urge the intermediate portion of the presented length of the film strip slightly above said reference plane and into said pressure plate channel, and means for spacing the pressure plate and aperture plate such that said margin engaging surfaces of said pressure plate members are spaced from said aperture plate reference plane a distance slightly exceeding the thickness of the film strip margins so as to define a gap therebetween the loosely confining the film margins while preventing extension of the bow of the film to the bottom of said pressure plate channel.

Claim 24

The apparatus of claim 15 wherein said aperture plate includes an elongated base plate having on one surface thereof a pair of raised members whose uppermost surfaces are substantially coplanar and define said film margin reference plane, said raised members extending along said base plate substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis thereof and defining a longitudinal channel therein whose bottom surface is defined by said one surface of said base plate, said raised members being laterally spaced apart a distance substantially approximately equal to or slightly greater than the width of the usable intermediate portion of the film strip, at least one spacer member extending from said one surface to a height exceeding that of said raised members and configured to contact said pressure plate and define said gap for the film margins, said spacer member being spaced laterally of the longitudinal axis of said base plate and to one side of said aperture plate channel and one of said raised members, an aperture located between said raised members, and a pair of pads of relatively short longitudinal length located between said raised members in said channel, each of said pads extending from said one surface of said base plate to a height exceeding that of said raised members so as to engage the intermediate portion of the film strip and urge the intermediate portion into the pressure plate channel.

Claim 25

Photographic apparatus for use with a film handling cassette having a housing configured for retaining a strip of photographic film, such cassette housing including an elongated opening in an edge wall thereof configured to present a length of such film for exposure operations, an elongated pressure plate of given lateral width, such lateral width being defined by first and second spaced apart edges of such pressure plate, such pressure plate being located in said cassette housing behind and in substantially longitudinal alignment with such presented length of such film strip so as to support at least a portion of such presented length of such film strip for cooperation with said apparatus, such cassette housing including a pair of opposed side walls whose inner surfaces define the laterally spaced edges of such elongated opening, such pressure plate being loosely mounted between such side walls and configured for location of such first edge of such pressure plate against the inner surface of one of such cassette side walls responsive to external means, said apparatus comprising: an apparatus housing; means for receiving such film cassette in an operative location in said apparatus housing, and an elongated aperture plate located in operative relation to said receiving means, said aperture plate including means for engaging such film strip and for cooperating with such pressure plate, when such film cassette is in its operative location in said apparatus housing, to position such film in a predetermined position, and said aperture plate including first means for engaging such inner surface of such one cassette side wall and second means, laterally spaced from said first means, for positively engaging such pressure plate, and said receiving means including means for urging such inner surface of such one side wall into engagement with said first means such that such pressure plate is held between such inner surface of such one side wall and said second means thereby fixedly locating such pressure plate over said aperture plate.

Claim 26

Photographic apparatus for use with a film handling cassette having a housing configured for retaining a strip of photographic film, such cassette housing including an elongated opening in an edge wall thereof configured to present a length of such film for exposure operations, an elongated pressure plate of given lateral width, such lateral width being defined by first and second spaced apart edges of such pressure plate, such pressure plate being located in said cassette housing behind and in substantially longitudinal alignment with such presented length of such film strip so as to support at least a portion of such presented length of such film strip for cooperation with said apparatus, such cassette housing including a pair of opposed side walls whose inner surfaces define the laterally spaced edges of such elongated opening, such pressure plate being loosely mounted between such side walls and configured for location of such first edge of such pressure plate against the inner surface of one of such cassette side walls responsive to external means, said apparatus comprising: an apparatus housing; means for receiving such film cassette in an operative location in said apparatus housing, and an elongated aperture plate located in operative relation to said receiving means, said aperture plate including means for engaging such film strip and for cooperating with such pressure plate, when such film cassette is in its operative location in said apparatus housing, to position such film in a predetermined position, and said aperture plate including first means for engaging such inner surface of such one cassette side wall and second means, laterally spaced from said first means, for positively engaging such pressure plate, and said receiving means including means for urging such inner surface of such one side wall into engagement with said first means such that such pressure plate is held between such inner surface of such one side wall and said second means thereby fixedly locating such pressure plate over said aperture plate.

Claim 27

The apparatus of claim 18 wherein said second means for engaging engages such second edge of such pressure plane, said first and second means being laterally spaced apart a distance equal to such lateral width of such pressure plate.

Claim 28

The apparatus of claim 18 wherein said means for urging such inner surface of such one side wall comprises spring means attached to said receiving means and reacting against the outer surface of such one side wall.

Claim 29

The apparatus of claim 19 wherein said first means for engaging such inner surface of such one cassette side wall comprises a surface integrally formed with said aperture plate and said second means for engaging such second edge of such pressure plate also comprises a structural portion of said aperture plate.

Claim 30

The apparatus of claim 21 wherein said structural portion of said aperture plate comprising said second means for engaging further comprises at least one upstanding projection from said aperture plate which positively engages such second edge of such pressure plate.