Ultrasonic cleaning in batch photoprocessing equipment
AssigneeEastman Kodak Company
InventorsFaye Transvalidou, Patrick M. Reed
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A photographic processor includes a cleaning arrangement which comprises a transducer and an ultrasonic probe. In the system and method of the present invention, a cleaning cycle can be automatically initiated in a batch photographic processor. The automatic cleaning cycle involves the selected control of the transducer and the ultrasonic probe so as to place the probe in contact with cleaning solution in the processor, and the application of ultrasonic energy to the cleaning solution. In order to enhance the cleaning operation during a cleaning cycle, a circular processing drum of the photographic processor can be rotated slowly or intermittently to allow enough cleaning energy to be delivered to various components of the photographic processor.
Claims23
A photographic processor comprising:
- a circular processing drum for processing photographic film;
- a disk positioned inside the drum and having one or more sets of disk teeth along an outer perimeter of the disk, said disk teeth being capable of interengaging with holes along an edge of photographic film to be processed to transport the photographic film along a film path in said processing drum;
- and
- a cleaning arrangement comprising a transducer and a probe, said transducer and said probe being adapted to provide ultrasonic energy to a cleaning solution provided in said processing drum during a cleaning stage of the photographic processor to clean components of said photographic processor.
A photographic processing apparatus for processing photographic media, the processing apparatus comprising:
- a processing chamber for processing photographic media;
- and
- a cleaning arrangement comprising a transducer and a probe, said transducer and said probe being adapted to impart ultrasonic energy to cleaning solution provided in said processing chamber during a cleaning stage of said photographic processing apparatus.
A method of operating a photographic processor to process photographic media, the method comprising the steps of:
- inserting photographic media into a circular processing drum;
- supplying and discharging processing solution into and from said processing drum during a processing stage to process the photographic media;
- supplying a cleaning solution to the processing drum during a cleaning stage;
- contacting said cleaning solution with an ultrasonic probe;
- and
- selectively activating said ultrasonic probe in contact with said cleaning solution to impart ultrasonic energy to said cleaning solution and clean components of the photographic processor.
A method of cleaning a photographic processor, the method comprising the steps of:
- supplying a cleaning solution in said processor chamber;
- contacting said cleaning solution with an ultrasonic probe;
- and
- selectively activating said probe in contact with said cleaning solution to impart an ultrasonic energy to said cleaning solution and clean components of the photographic processor.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.