Photographic processor

Claim 1

Apparatus for processing photographic film comprising a box open at the top for holding processing equipment, the box having front and back walls, a removable cover mounted on the open top, the cover having front and rear walls spaced substantially farther apart than the front and back walls of the box, the cover including a wide shelf portion extending horizontally from an inner margin at the front wall of the box to the front wall of the cover to close off the gap resulting from the wider spacing of the front and rear walls of the cover relative to the front and back walls of the box, the cover having an inner light-tight partition extending between the inner margin of the shelf and the top of the cover to form an outer compartment, with the shelf forming the bottom wall of the outer compartment, a door in the partition hinged at the top to permit the door to swing open inwardly and up against the top of the cover and to drop under the action of gravity to a closed position, the front of the cover having a pair of openings for access to the outer compartment, a pair of short flexible sleeves secured to the cover around the respective access openings, each sleeve forming a cuff adapted to fit the wrist of a user when the hands are inserted through the sleeves and into the outer compartment, the outer compartment and shelf forming a light-tight work area when the user's hands are inserted through the sleeves, in which light-sensitive film can be unloaded from its container, the partition and the door when closed forming a light-tight barrier between the outer compartment and the interior of the box so as to allow the hands to be safely removed from the sleeves after the film is transferred through the door to the processing equipment in the box.