Photographic copy apparatus with cropping feature

An improved photographic copy apparatus, usable with an original picture to be copied and photosensitive imaging recording material that each have respective different first and second normalized image area formats, for previewing the original picture and selecting a portion thereof that is proportional to said first format of the recording material and thereafter projecting an image of the selected portion onto the recording material for exposure, said copy apparatus being of the type including means for locating image recording material of said first format in position for exposure, projecting means, including a lens having an optic axis, for projecting an image of the selected portion of the original picture of said second format onto the image recording material at said exposure position for exposure, means for controlling the exposure, a first picture holder for supporting the original picture in optical alignment with the lens axis, and a previewing station including a second picture holder for supporting an original picture for viewing and selection of the portion to be copied wherein the improvement comprises:

• means for mounting said first picture holder for movement transversely relatively to said lens axis so that said first picture holder may be located at a selected projection position wherein the selected portion of an original picture supported in said first picture holder is in optical alignment with said lens axis for image projection onto the image recording material at said exposure position;
• means, cooperatively associated with said previewing station and said second picture holder thereat, for defining a portion selecting frame having a normalized format corresponding to said first format of said recording material and being proportioned in scale to the image area dimensions of the original picture so that when an original picture supported in said second holder, and said selecting frame are in optical superposition, the user may visually determine that portion of the picture within the bounds of said selecting frame that will be projected by said lens;
• means for mounting one of said second picture holder and said selecting frame for movement relative to the other so that said selecting frame may be located with respect to any selected portion of the entire image area of a picture supported in said second picture holder;
• and
• means for coupling said movably mounted one of said second picture holder and said selecting frame to said first picture holder such that said first picture holder is automatically moved, in response to movement of said movably mounted one of said second picture holder and said frame, to a corresponding selected projection position wherein it will locate for image projection the same selected portion of the original picture bounded by said selecting frame after the original picture is transferred from said second picture holder to said first picture holder.