Photographic apparatus

Claim 2

A photographic apparatus comprising: a housing including a bottom wall; means for supporting a film unit within said housing at an exposure plane disposed at an inclined angle relative to said bottom wall; means for advancing a film unit, subsequent to exposure, along said inclined exposure plane toward the exterior of said housing; means for defining an expandable lighttight chamber adapted to be extended from said housing for receiving a film unit from said advancing means and thereafter to be retracted into said housing for transporting a film unit therewith to a storage position within said housing; and meanS coupling said expandable chamber to said housing for progressively expanding said expandable chamber in a direction substantially normal to said bottom wall as said chamber is extended from said housing to enclose the inclined path of travel of a film unit and for progressively contracting said chamber as said chamber is retracted into said housing to facilitate storage of said chamber within said housing.

Claim 3

A photographic apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein the volume of said chamber is at a maximum when said chamber reaches its terminal point of extension from said housing.

Claim 4

A photographic apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein the volume of said chamber is at a minimum when said chamber reaches its terminal point of retraction into said housing.

Claim 5

A photographic apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said chamber is configured to include a pair of expandable side walls.

Claim 6

A photographic apparatus as defined in claim 4 wherein said chamber is configured to further include an expandable front wall.

Claim 7

A photographic apparatus comprising: a housing including a bottom wall; means for supporting a film unit within said housing at an exposure plane disposed at an inclined angle relative to said bottom wall; means for advancing a film unit, subsequent to exposure, along said inclined exposure plane toward the exterior of said housing; means for defining an expandable lighttight chamber adapted to be extended from said housing for receiving a film unit from said advancing means and thereafter to be retracted into said housing for transporting a film unit therewith to a storage position within said housing, said means for defining said expandable lighttight chamber including a drawer coupled to said housing for movement along a plane substantially parallel to said bottom wall of said housing and elongated members coupled to said housing for movement along a plane substantially parallel to said inclined exposure plane, said elongated members being operatively associated with said drawer to form expandable side walls of said chamber; and means coupling said expandable chamber to said housing such that it progressively expands as it is extended from said housing to enclose the inclined path of travel of said film unit, and progressively contracts as it is retracted into said housing to facilitate storage of said chamber within said housing.

Claim 8

A photographic apparatus comprising: a housing including a bottom wall; means for supporting a film unit within said housing at an exposure plane disposed at an inclined angle relative to said bottom wall; means for advancing a film unit, subsequent to exposure, along said inclined exposure plane toward the exterior of said housing; means for defining an expandable lighttight chamber adapted to be extended from said housing for receiving a film unit from said advancing means and thereafter to be retracted into said housing for transporting a film unit therewith to a storage position within said housing, said means for defining said expandable lighttight chamber including a drawer coupled to said housing for movement along a plane substantially parallel to said bottom wall of said housing and elongated members coupled to said housing for movement along a plane substantially parallel to said inclined exposure plane, said elongated members being operatively associated with said drawer to form expandable side walls of said chamber; and means coupling said expandable chamber to said housing such that it progressively expands as it is extended from said housing to enclose the inclined path of travel of said film unit, and progressively contracts as it is retracted into said housing to facilitate storage of said chamber within said housing.

Claim 9

A photographic apparatus as defined in claim 6 wherein said means for defining said expandable lighttight chamber further includes an opaque curtain supported over said drawer, said curtain being coupled to said elongated members which are operative to vary the distance between said curtain and said drawer as said drawer and said elongated member are extended from and retracted into said housing.

Claim 10

A photographic apparatus as defined in claim 7 wherein said elongated members are operative to elevate a curtain above said inclined exposure plane to prevent said film unit from engaging said curtain as a film unit is advanced from said housing.

Claim 11

A photographic apparatus as defined in claim 7 wherein said drawer includes a front wall operatively associated with said curtain to form an expandable front wall of said chamber.

Claim 12

A photographic apparatus comprising: a housing including a bottom wall; means for supporting a film unit within said housing at an exposure plane disposed at an inclined angle relative to said bottom wall; means for advancing a film unit, subsequent to exposure, along said inclined exposure plane toward the exterior of said housing; a drawer, extendable from said housing along a plane substantially parallel to said bottom wall, for receiving a film unit from said advancing means, and thereafter retractable into said housing for transporting a film unit to a storage position therein; elongated members coupled to said drawer and movable along a plane substantially parallel to said inclined exposure plane for extending and retracting said drawer; and a curtain operatively associated with said drawer and said elongated members for forming an expandable lighttight chamber around the path of travel of a film unit, said curtain being movable by said elongated members away from said drawer to expand the volume of said chamber as said drawer is extended from said housing and being movable toward said drawer as said drawer is retracted into said housing to decrease the volume of said chamber.

Claim 13

A photographic apparatus comprising: a housing including a bottom wall; means for supporting a film unit within said housing at an exposure plane disposed at an inclined angle relative to said bottom wall; means for advancing a film unit, subsequent to exposure, along said inclined exposure plane toward the exterior of said housing; a drawer, extendable from said housing along a plane substantially parallel to said bottom wall, for receiving a film unit from said advancing means, and thereafter retractable into said housing for transporting a film unit to a storage position therein; elongated members coupled to said drawer and movable along a plane substantially parallel to said inclined exposure plane for extending and retracting said drawer; and a curtain operatively associated with said drawer and said elongated members for forming an expandable lighttight chamber around the path of travel of a film unit, said curtain being movable by said elongated members away from said drawer to expand the volume of said chamber as said drawer is extended from said housing and being movable toward said drawer as said drawer is retracted into said housing to decrease the volume of said chamber.

Claim 14

A photographic apparatus as defined in claim 10 wherein said drawer includes a pair of side walls which are adapted to cooperate with said elongated members to form expandable side walls of said lighttight chamber.

Claim 15

A photographic apparatus as defined in claim 10 wherein said drawer includes a front wall operatively associated with said curtain to form an expandable front wall of said chamber.

Claim 16

A photographic apparatus as defined in claim 10 further including means within said chamber for biasing a film unit toward said bottom wall of said housing, upon disengagement from said advancing means, to reorient and align a film unit for transport to said storage position within said housing.

Claim 17

A photographic apparatus as defined in claim 10 wherein said advancing means is coupled to said elongated members for reciprocally driving said expandable chamber between its extended and retracted positions.

Claim 18

Photographic apparatus of the self-developing type comprising: means for supporting a relatively flat photosensitive element on an exposure plane; means for distributing a processing composition on an exposed photosensitive element; means for carrying an exposed photosensitive element in an expandable processing chamber to another position within the photographic apparatus; and means for moving an expandable processing chamber including support means having a slot formed therein, said support means being carried by a fixed portion of the photographic apparatus and being movable on a second plane angularly disposed with respect to the exposure plane, and drive means operatively associated with said support means and movable on a plane substantially parallel to the exposure plane whereby an exposed photosensitive element is moved from an exposure position to another position within the photographic apparatus while being maintained in a distortion-free condition, said drive means including rack means and pinion means and said rack means comprising at least one elongated member guided for movement in a direction parallel to the exposure plane while cooperating with said support means for driving said support means along said second plane, the cooperative drive connection between said rack means and said support means including a pin carried by said rack means and said slot formed in said support means thereby accommodating an angular movement of said rack means with respect to said support means.

Claim 19

Photographic apparatus of the self-developing type comprising: means for supporting a relatively flat photosensitive element on an exposure plane; means for distributing a processing composition on an exposed photosensitive element; means for carrying an exposed photosensitive element in an expandable processing chamber to another position within the photographic apparatus; and means for moving an expandable processing chamber including support means having a slot formed therein, said support means being carried by a fixed portion of the photographic apparatus and being movable on a second plane angularly disposed with respect to the exposure plane, and drive means operatively associated with said support means and movable on a plane substantially parallel to the exposure plane whereby an exposed photosensitive element is moved from an exposure position to another position within the photographic apparatus while being maintained in a distortion-free condition, said drive means including rack means and pinion means and said rack means comprising at least one elongated member guided for movement in a direction parallel to the exposure plane while cooperating with said support means for driving said support means along said second plane, the cooperative drive connection between said rack means and said support means including a pin carried by said rack means and said slot formed in said support means thereby accommodating an angular movement of said rack means with respect to said support means.

Claim 20

Photographic apparatus of the self-developing type comprising: means for supporting a relatively flat photosensitive element on an exposure plane; means for distributing a processing composition on an exposed photosensitive element; means for carrying an exposed photosensitive element in an expandable processing chamber to another position within the photographic apparatus; and means for moving an expandable processing chamber including support means having at least one slot formed in a portion thereof, said support means being carried by a fixed portion of the photographic apparatus and being movable on a second plane angularly disposed with respect to the exposure plane, and drive means operatively associated with said support means and movable on a plane substantially parallel to the exposure plane whereby an exposed photosensitive element is moved from an exposure position to another position within the photographic apparatus while being maintained in a distortion-free condition, said drive means including rack means and pinion means said rack means including at least one drive pin cooperating with said one slot formed in said portion of said support means so that movement of said support means at an angle relative to the direction of movement of said drive means is permitted as said processing chamber expands and shrinks during reciprocating movement thereof.

Claim 21

Photographic apparatus of the self-developing type comprising: means for supporting a relatively flat photosensitive element on an exposure plane; means for distributing a processing composition on an exposed photosensitive element; means for carrying an exposed photosensitive element in an expandable processing chamber to another position within the photographic apparatus; and means for moving an expandable processing chamber including support means having at least one slot formed in a portion thereof, said support means being carried by a fixed portion of the photographic apparatus and being movable on a second plane angularly disposed with respect to the exposure plane, and drive means operatively associated with said support means and movable on a plane substantially parallel to the exposure plane whereby an exposed photosensitive element is moved from an exposure position to another position within the photographic apparatus while being maintained in a distortion-free condition, said drive means including rack means and pinion means said rack means including at least one drive pin cooperating with said one slot formed in said portion of said support means so that movement of said support means at an angle relative to the direction of movement of said drive means is permitted as said processing chamber expands and shrinks during reciprocating movement thereof.