Process and apparatus for photographically enlarging and developing an image

Claim 2

A process of photographically enlarging and developing an image in which unexposed light-sensitive material is advanced from a roll of such material to an image receiving location, exposed to an image at such location, the exposed material is severed from the roll and advanced through image activating or developing means and image stabilising means, characterised in that the material advanced to the image receiving location by feed rollers disposed downstream of such location is supported at such location in a substantially vertical plane by such feed rollers, the material at the image receiving location is exposed to an enlargement of the image to be reproduced and subsequently advanced from the image receiving location by said feed rollers and the exposed material is severed from the roll after advancement beyond the feed rollers.

Claim 3

A process according to Claim 1 characterised in that the exposed material is severed by the guillotine action of a knife edge displaced in a direction substantially normal to the general plane of the exposed material at the severing location.

Claim 4

Apparatus for photographically enlarging and developing an image comprising means for advancing unexposed light-sensitive material from a roll of such material to an image receiving location, means for exposing the material at such location to an image of the image to be reproduced, means for severing the exposed material from the roll and means for advancing the severed material through image activating or developing means and image stabilising means, characterised in that material advancing means comprises a pair of feed rollers disposed downstream of the image receiving location operable to draw the material from the roll to the image receiving location, to support the material suspended therefrom in a substantially vertical plane during exposure of the material when at such location and to advance the material from such location after exposure, the means for exposing the material at such location comprises means for projecting an enlargement of the image to be reproduced on to the material at such location and the means for severing the exposed material is disposed downstream of the feed rollers and is operable to sever the exposed material after advancement beyond the feed rollers.

Claim 5

Apparatus for photographically enlarging and developing an image comprising means for advancing unexposed light-sensitive material from a roll of such material to an image receiving location, means for exposing the material at such location to an image of the image to be reproduced, means for severing the exposed material from the roll and means for advancing the severed material through image activating or developing means and image stabilising means, characterised in that material advancing means comprises a pair of feed rollers disposed downstream of the image receiving location operable to draw the material from the roll to the image receiving location, to support the material suspended therefrom in a substantially vertical plane during exposure of the material when at such location and to advance the material from such location after exposure, the means for exposing the material at such location comprises means for projecting an enlargement of the image to be reproduced on to the material at such location and the means for severing the exposed material is disposed downstream of the feed rollers and is operable to sever the exposed material after advancement beyond the feed rollers.

Claim 6

Apparatus according to Claim 3 characterised in that the means for projecting an enlargement of the image to be reproduced is operable to project at the image receiving location an enlargement of the order of 10 x 10.

Claim 7

Apparatus according to Claim 4 or 5 characterised in that the means for advancing the severed material through image activating or developing means and image stabilising means comprises at least one set of transport rollers disposed downstream of the severing means and means is pro-vided for driving the feed rollers and the transport rollers synchronously.

Claim 8

Apparatus according to Claim 3, 4 or 5 characterised in that means is provided responsive to interruption of drive to the feed rollers to actuate the severing means.

Claim 9

Apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 6 including a light source for projecting the image to be reproduced and characterised by the provision of a timing control circuit operable sequentially to switch on said light source, switch off said light source after a predetermined time interval, activate said feed rollers to advance the exposed material from said light receiving location and draw an unexposed part of said material to said location, de-activate said feed rollers, actuate said severing means, and advance said severed material through the image activating or developing means and the image stabilising means.

Claim 10

Apparatus according to Claim ? characterised in that the timing circuit includes a cam timer for controlling said predetermined time interval and a further cam timer for controlling the dwell time of the severed material in each of said image activating or developing means and the image stabilising means.

Claim 11

Apparatus according to any one of Claims 3 to 8 characterised in that the feed rollers are mounted on shafts carried at their ends in bearing blocks each formed with two elongate slots of equal width and extending in mutually perpendicular directions and each shaft having a diameter less than the width of the slots and sufficiently large to constrain the shaft to movement in the direction of length of the slot whereby the shafts are constrained to move in mutually perpendicular directions.

Claim 12

Apparatus according to any one of Claims 3 to 9 characterised in that the severing means comprises a knife edge displaceable in a direction normal to the general plane of the material at the severing location to sever the exposed material by a guillotine action.

Claim 13

Apparatus according to Claim 10 characterised in that the knife edge is carried on a cutting member secured through spaced connecting rods to the armatures of two solenoids which, when energised displace the knife edge in a cutting stroke in said direction.

Claim 14

Apparatus according to Claim 11 characterised in that each connecting rod is slidably supported in a bearing block mounted on a base plate and a fixed cutting block is associated with the base plate and formed with a knife edge receiving slot arranged to receive the knife edge at the end of the cutting stroke.