Abstract: A one-piece clip of flexible metallic plastic material has a first section which can be separably affixed to a belt conveyor, and an elongated slotted second section. A web of photosensitive material is caused to extend through the slot of the second section so that its leader is located at one side and the next-following portion of the web is located at the other side of the slot. The leader is then folded against the respective major surface of the second section, and the web is form-lockingly connected to the second section. The form-locking connection can be established by one or more pairs of complementary tooth-shaped protuberances which extend into the slot and penetrate into and through the folded portion of the web behind the leader, by securing the leader to the next-following portion of the web by a clamp in an enlarged window-like portion of the slot, or by bonding a small part of the leader to the next-following portion of the web in such window-like portion of the slot.

Abstract: An arrangement for wet processing webs of photographic paper includes a housing, a set of parallel driven shafts mounted in an upper portion of the housing, and a set of parallel driven shafts mounted in the lower portion of the housing. Each shaft carries first web-contacting rollers on its end portions and a group of second web-contacting rollers on its central portion. A band-engaging roller is arranged between each first roller and the corresponding group of second rollers. A first conveyor band is trained over the set of band-engaging rollers nearest one end of the respective shafts while a second conveyor band is trained over the set of band-engaging rollers nearest the other end of the respective shafts. The conveyor bands are provided with gripping elements which clamp webs of photographic paper entering the housing so that the conveyor bands can draw the webs through the housing.

Abstract: A web of photographic paper is trained over several rollers so that it can be advanced along a meandering path through successive chambers in a developing machine. At least one of the rollers is mounted on a driven shaft with the interposition of a coupling which engages the shaft with the roller when the tension of the running web which is trained over such roller exceeds a certain value. The roller is normally held against rotation under the action of the web and/or under the action of the bearing which is rotatable on the shaft and yieldably maintains the roller in a position of coaxiality with the shaft. A braking device for holding the roller against rotation has a first plastic ring which is rotatably mounted on the shaft and is connected to or made integral with the bearing for the roller, and a second plastic ring which surrounds and is in frictional engagement with the first ring. The second ring is held against rotation with the first ring by a partition or by another stationary part of the machine.

Abstract: An arrangement for transferring photosensitive materials from cassettes of different types and configurations into the interior of a handling machine, such as a developing machine, includes an external wall of the machine which is provided with an input slot, and a plurality of support members which are interchangeably mountable, in a light-sealing manner, at a region of the external wall which surrounds the input slot. Each of the support members is provided with a through opening which registers with the input slot in the mounted position of the respective support member. Each of the support members has a receiving side which is configurated compatibly with a portion of a cassette of a certain type so that the latter portion can be introduced into the receiving side of its associated support member and establish a light-sealing contact therewith. Holding members may be provided on the support member which cooperate with compatible portions of the cassette to hold the latter on the support member.

Abstract: An arrangement for introducing photosensitive strips into and for transporting the same through the interior of a developing machine includes an attaching compartment at the input part of the machine adjacent to a region into which the leading end of the respective strip is introduced through an input slot, the compartment having two opposite open ends one communicating with the exterior and the other with the interior of the machine. A lid is mounted on the walls bounding the compartment for pivoting between its open and closed positions and is latched in its closed position by a latching device. A separating slide is mounted on rails arranged at the other end for movement across the same between its open and closed positions. The opening of the lid is accomplished by gripping a handgrip which actuates a switch that commences the operation of a drive moving the slide into its closed position. Then, the latching device releases the lid, and the lid is opened.

Abstract: A cassette containing a stack of film units having overlapping positive and negative sheets has a housing with first and second side walls having first and second openings, and a light-admitting aperture between the two side walls. The film units are stored in a first compartment of the housing adjacent to the aperture in such a way that the foremost unit is in register with the opening in one of the side walls. A discrete withdrawing strip for each film unit has an inner portion adhering to the rear side of the respective unit and an outer portion extending outwardly through the opening in the other side wall. The withdrawing strips form a bundle which extends through a channel connecting the first compartment with a second compartment behind the stacked film units.

Abstract: An arrangement for treating photographic paper bands which run in parallel paths has at least one treatment station in which the bands are transported with a predetermined speed and treated, winding spools for winding the bands after treating in the treatment station and located downstream of the treatment station, drives for driving the winding spools independently of the transportation of the bands in the treatment station and with a speed exceeding the speed of transportation of the bands in the treatment station, an accumulating station for accumulating the bands between the treatment station and the winding spools so that a loop of the bands is formed in the accumulating station, and a switch for switching the drive on and off in dependence upon a size of the loop of the bands in the accumulating station.

Abstract: A combined exposing and developing apparatus for film units wherein a negative sheet overlaps and extends beyond a positive sheet has an exposing unit in which the uppermost film unit of a stack of such units in a cassette is exposed to light. The developing unit has a casing which is adjacent to a compartment for cassettes and has two advancing rolls which pinch the leader of the negative sheet of a freshly exposed film unit in response to manual pivoting of a carriage for the advancing rolls by way of a rotary knob. The leader of the negative sheet is automatically separated from the positive sheet by a separating device in response to rotation of the knob before the two sheets advance through separate channels which are filled with a developing liquid. The sheets are thereupon reunited and moved into the nip of two squeezing rolls which are driven by the knob and wipe off the surplus of developing liquid before the reassembled film unit enters a diffusion chamber below the compartment for cassettes.

Abstract: An apparatus for exposing and developing film units which have pairs of overlapping positive and negative sheets and must be subjected to a diffusion treatment subsequent to treatment with a liquid developing agent has an exposing unit above a light duct which is disposed above a compartment for cassettes containing stacks of superimposed film units. The compartment is located above a diffusion chamber and is adjacent to a relatively small casing for a developing unit containing a liquid developing agent and provided with pairs of advancing rolls for the transport of freshly exposed film units from the cassette in the compartment, through the casing and the developing agent therein, and thereupon into the diffusion chamber. The developing unit has a device which temporarily separates the sheets of a film unit during transport through the developing agent.

Abstract: Apparatus for introducing the leaders of webs of exposed photographic paper which is confined in cassettes into a dark chamber preparatory to threading of webs through a developing machine has a feed table with a channel for admission of webs into the chamber and an adapter with an open-and-shut housing for cassettes of different sizes. One section of the housing is separably mounted on the feed table and has an aperture in register with the channel as well as a pair of advancing rolls which lighttightly seal the internal compartment of the housing from the aperture and can be driven in opposite directions to advance the leader of a web into and through the channel. Another section of the housing is pivotable between open and closed positions to respectively afford access to and to lighttightly seal the internal compartment. The one section has pairs of internal platforms serving as supports for differently dimensioned cassettes.

Abstract: Apparatus for introducing webs of exposed photographic paper into a developing machine has a feed table with one or more channels communicating with a chamber below the table. The effective length of each channel can be varied by a plate-like selector which is slidable on the table and has several apertures each movable into register with the respective channel to define with the latter a passage for the leader of a web which is stored in a cassette on the table and is about to be introduced into the chamber for attachment to a threading strip which advances the leader through the tanks of the developing machine. The selectors can be locked in selected positions by discrete detent devices and have indicia to indicate their positions with respect to the feed table.

Abstract: A reel for photographic paper has a hollow cylindrical core and two disk-shaped flanges having centrally located extensions received in the respective end portions of the core. The inner side of each flange tapers outwardly in a direction from the periphery of the core toward the periphery of the respective flange. The extensions have ribs which penetrate into the inner surface of the core, and the core is further coupled to each flange by a rubber hose which surrounds the respective extension and is biased against the inner surface of the core by an endless helical spring which surrounds a conical end face of the corresponding extension.

Abstract: Apparatus for simultaneous viewing of front and rear surfaces of webs of exposed and developed photographic paper has a frame which supports a rearwardly and upwardly inclined transparent pane constituting the front panel of a box. The frame has a rear wall which is normal to the pane and carries two spindles extending in parallelism with the plane of the pane and serving to support supply and takeup reels for a web of photographic paper whereby the rear side of the web portion between the reels lies against the front side of the pane and the front side of such web portion is observable from the front side of the frame.