US3677636A

US3677636A - Transportable photographic enlarger

Info

Publication number: US3677636A
Application number: US884475A
Authority: US
Inventors: Leo Stein
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1969-12-12
Filing date: 1969-12-12
Publication date: 1972-07-18
Anticipated expiration: 1989-07-18

Abstract

A photographic enlarger having means for mounting the enlarger inside a carrying case, said mounting means adapted to move the enlarger with respect to the case to an operating position where photographic enlargements may be made. The mounting means is adapted to conduct the heat generated in the enlarger during operation to the carrying case where it is dissipated to the atmosphere. The enlarger has a moveable standard containing the enlarging lens with means for locking the standard in the desired position.

Description

[451 July 18,1972

United States Patent Stein FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS [54] TRANSPORTABLE PHOTOGRAPHIC 603,730 6/1948 GreatBritain...........................355/2l ENLARGER Primary Examiner-Samuel S. Matthews Assistant Examiner-Richard A. Wintercom [22] Filed:

Attorney-Morgan, Finnegan, Durham & Pine ABSTRACT [21] Appl. No.: 884,475

A photographic enlarger having means for mounting the enlarger inside a carrying case, said mounting means adapted to move the enlarger with respect to the case to an operating position where photographic enlargements may be made. The

323 3B3 n7 5 21 3% 1 m n w m5 3 8 U" l n" I n 5 "n 5 u n L mi C swm Um. 1]] 218 555 III mounting means is adapted to conduct the heat generated in the enlarger during operation to the carrying case where it is dissipated to the atmosphere. The enlarger has a moveable standard containing the enlarging lens with means for locking the standard in the desired position.

2,797,615 Coleman..............................355/l8 X 7 Claim, 5 Drawing Figures Patented July 18, 1972 3,677,636

2 Sheets-Sheet l l I l x z I INVESTOR. i LEO STEIN ll 1 ATTORNEYS Patented July 18, 1972 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVESTOR. 515m LEO , M S ZMI A 7' TURN E Y5 TRANSPORTABLE PHOTOGRAPHIC ENLARGER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates basically to a photographic enlarger having a carrying case in which it may be easily transported and which also serves as a heat dissipation means during operation. The enlarger itself is provided with a locking means which securely locks the moveable standard into the position desired.

2. Description of the Prior Art At the present time photographic enlargers are primarily used in dark rooms of photography studios under essentially ideal conditions. Under such conditions there is no need for enlargers having a carrying case and other means to make them suitable for less than ideal conditions. There are, however, situations where photographic enlargers are required to be used under conditions far less than the ideal conditions of a dark room.

One such situation is in the military where combat photographs must be processed in the field, sometimes under very adverse conditions. In a combat situation it is necessary that the equipment be easily transportable and also unaffected by disturbances produced by explosions and heavy military equipment. Other situations outside of the military also require photographic enlargers having similar attributes, such as scientific or archaelogical expeditions, etc.

In addition, there are many amateur photographers who process their own photographs who do not have the available space for a permanent dark room. These amateur photographers, therefore, must store their equipment when not in use and since an enlarger is a bulky piece of apparatus some problems are encountered.

There is, therefore, a need in the photographic art for an enlarger which is easy to transport, easy to store, easy to set up in operation, and relatively unaffected by local disturbances.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The transportable photographic enlarger of the present invention is basically comprised of a carrying case and an enlarger mounted to said case. More specifically, the enlarger is comprised of a sheet metal lamphouse, a standard adjustably connected to the lamphouse, and means for moveably mounting the enlarger to the carrying case. The carrying case is also sheet metal.

The carrying case serves as a portable protective enclosure for the enlarger when the enlarger is not in operation. From the nesting position within the carrying case, the enlarger may be moved to an operating position by means of the moveable mounting. In the operating position the carrying case provides a suitably sturdy support for the enlarger. The moyeable mounting provided with the enlarger acts as a path to conduct the heat produced in operation to the carrying case where it is transmitted to the surrounding atmosphere by convection.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will be described and understood more readi ly when considered with the attached drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective elevational view of the enlarger in the storage position within the carrying case;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the enlarger in the operating position, and a portion of the carrying case;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the enlarger and a portion of the carrying case; 7

FIG. 4 is a detailed view of the means for mounting the enlarger to the carrying case; and

FIG. 5 is a detailed view of the support for the enlarger in the operating position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The transportable enlarger of the present invention, as can best be seen in FIG. 1, is basically comprised of enlarger l0,

LII

carrying case 12, and mounting means 13. As can be seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, the enlarger 10 is comprised of a lamphouse 18, an adjustable standard 32, and enlarging lens system 34. The lamphouse 18 as depicted in FIG. 4, includes the light bulb 50, condensing lens system 48, and frame 47 for negative 52 which may be a 2% inch by 2% inch negative or a 35 mm negative. The adjustable standard 32 is comprised of an upper section 31 and a lower section 33. The upper and lower sections of the standard are connected by rods 36 and bellows 35 forms an expansible photographic chamber between the lower section of the standard and, a location on the housing immediately below the film trainer, as best seen in FIG. 2. Rods 36 additionally serve to firmly support the lower section of the standard which houses the enlarging lens system 34. A threaded sleeve 44, which extends in the direction of movement of the standard, is attached to upper section 31 and is slidably engageable with rod 38 which is attached to lamphouse 18. Pin 40 having a female thread section 42 at its end is engageable with threaded sleeve 44 and is held in engagement by spring 46. The thread section 42 and threaded sleeve 44 thus form engagable serrated surfaces. Since the serrated sleeve 44 moves axially with the standard, the fixed serrated section 42 engages the sleeve 44 at various positions throughout its extent, depending upon the position of standard.

The carrying case 12 which houses enlarger 10, when in the non-operating or nesting position, has one open side through which the enlarger is moved to the operating position. Door 30 is provided to close the open side of the carrying case thereby making a protective enclosure for the enlarger. Angle mounts 24 are attached to each side wall 26 of the carrying case and serve to support the mounting means 13 of the enlarger when the enlarger is in the operating position. Each angle mount 24 is provided with a hinge 28, as best shown in FIG. 5, whereby the mount may be moved out of the way when not in use. Easel 54 is carried in the bottom of the carrying case and is easily moved to the position shown in FIG. 3 when the enlarger is in the operating position.

Mounting means 13 is comprised of arms 16 pivotally attached to lamphouse 18 of the enlarger and hingedly attached to the rear wall 14 of the carrying case as best depicted in FIG. 4. One end of arm 16 is attached to hinge 20 which in turn is attached to rear wall 14. The other end of arm 16 is attached to lamphouse 18 by pin 22 and is held away from the lamphouse by spring 23 disposed between arm 16 and lamphouse 18.

In operation, door 30 is opened thereby exposing enlarger 10 as shown in FIG. 1. The enlarger may then be grasped by the operator and moved to the operating position by swinging the enlarger through the open door of carrying case 12. Anns 16 are held close to lamphouse 18 against the force of spring 23 until the arms are aligned with mounts 24 when they are released and allowed to rest thereon as clearly shown in FIG. 2. In this position, standard 32 may be moved up or down to focus the image on the photographic paper carried on easel 54 through disengagement of the section 42 42 from sleeve 44 by pulling the pin 40 outwardly, and moving the standard by hand to the desired position.

When the operator has adjusted the enlarger as desired, he is ready to project the image on the photographic paper by activating the light bulb 50 which, for field use, may be a 12 volt bulb lighted by an automobile battery. The heat generated by the bulb 50 is conducted away from lamphouse 18 by means of the contact of pin 22 with the lamphouse; the heat is then conducted through arm 16 to the carrying case 12 where it is dissipated into the atmosphere.

In order that the compact enlarger disclosed above may be suitable for easy transportation it should be constructed of a strong and light material. In addition, the material should have good heat conductive qualities. In practice, it has been found that aluminum metal may be satisfactorily employed.

It is to be understood that the above description of the instant invention is not to be construed as restrictive thereof and 1. A photographic enlarger adapted for transportable use,

I comprising:

a housing constructed for external support;

means carried by the housing for illuminating a photographic film image;

a standard carrying an enlarging lens system axially movable relative to the housing for varying the degree the enlargement of the film image emanating from the enlarging lens system, the standard including an axially extending upper portion movable with the standard and having a serrated outer surface; and

retaining means including a complementary, serrated locking member associated with the housing and engageable with the outer surface of the axially extending portion to secure firmly the standard in a selected position relative to the housing.

2. The photographic enlarger of claim 1, wherein the axially extending portion is enclosed by the housing.

3. The photographic enlarger of claim 1, wherein the standard includes a plurality of axially extending rods slidably supported by the housing, the enlarger also comprising a bellows assembly forming an expansible photographic chamber intermediate the condensing lens and the enlarging lens systems and located in a space defined between the rods.

4. A photographic enlarger adapted for transportable use, comprising:

a housing constructed for external support;

means carried by the housing for illuminating the photographic film image;

a standard carrying an enlarging lens system axially movable relative to the housing for varying the degree of the enlargement of the film image emanating from the enlarging lens system;

retaining means associated with the housing and selectively engageable with the standard to secure the standard in an axial position producing the desired degree of enlargement;

a carrying case including an openable side for gaining access to the enlarger; and

at least one mounting arm pivotally supporting the enlarger for alignment in the vertical position and pivotally mounted to the case, the arm being movable between the first position in which the enlarger is located wholly within the carrying case and a second position wherein the enlarger is vertically supported free of any surfaces of the carrying case.

5. The photographic enlarger of claim 4, wherein the housing is located at least partially outside the carrying case in the vertical position, the enlarger further comprising: an easel slidably supported at the bottom of the carrying case and movable from a position within the carrying case to a position at least partially outside the carrying case for support-ing photosensitive material below and in optical alignment with the enlarging lens system.

6. The photographic enlarger of claim 4, wherein the housing, the mounting arm and at least portions of the carrying case are constructed from a material having high heat conductivity to conduct heat from the enlarger to the environment.

7. The photographic enlarger of claim 4, comprising a mounting arm pivotally supporting the enlarger housing on each of a pair of opposite sides thereof and extending parallel to one another, each such mounting arm being resiliently biased away from the housing and deflectable toward the housing, a support extending inwardly of the carrying case from each of opposite vertical sides of the carrying case adjacent the opening, the mounting arms being engageable with the support members when in the normally biased position away from the housing, and being disengageable from the support members when moved toward the housing.

Claims

1. A photographic enlarger adapted for transportable use, comprising: a housing constructed for external support; means carried by the housing for illuminating a photographic film image; a standard carrying an enlarging lens system axially movable relative to the housing for varying the degree the enlargement of the film image emanating from the enlarging lens system, the standard including an axially extending upper portion movable with the standard and having a serrated outer surface; and retaining means including a complementary, serrated locking member associated with the housing and engageable with the outer surface of the axially extending portion to secure firmly the standard in a selected position relative to the housing.

4. A photographic enlarger adapted for transportable use, comprising: a housing constructed for external support; means carried by the housing for illuminating the photographic film image; a standard carrying an enlarging lens system axially movable relative to the housing for varying the degree of the enlargement of the film image emanating from the enlarging lens system; retaining means associated with the housing and selectively engageable with the standard to secure the standard in an axial position producing the desired degree of enlargement; a carrying case including an openable side for gaining access to the enlarger; and at least one mounting arm pivotally supporting the enlarger for alignment in the vertical position and pivotally mounted to the case, the arm being movable between the first position in which the enlarger is located wholly within the carrying case and a second position wherein the enlarger is vertically supported free of any surfaces of the carrying case.