X RAY CASSETTE FILM WITHDRAWING APPARATUS

At an unloading station 5, an X- ray film 22 is removed from a cassette 1 and is fed by rollers 6, 7 at a relatively high speed V1. Subsequently the film is fed to a developing machine 8 at a relatively low speed V2 by a pair of rollers 9, 10. The film is conveyed from the unloading station 5 to the developing machine 8 by means of a conveying system 11 comprising two pairs of rollers 12, 13 and 14, 15 which are driven in unison by a common variable speed drive 18. When a sensor 19 detects a leading end of the film 22 the rollers 12 to 15 are driven at a speed V1 which matches that of the rollers 6, 7, but are slowed to a speed V2 which matches that of the rollers 9, 10 when the sensor 19 detects the trailing end of the film. As illustrated, the system 11 can be arranged along a line between the unloading station 5 and the developing machine 8. Alternatively (Figure 2, not shown) it can be oriented at right-angles to and on one side of this line, with the drive (18') being reversed as well as having its speed changed when the sensor 19 detects the trailing end of the film. In this case, deflectors (23a, 23b) are provided to alter the direction of travel of the film appropriately. In a further embodiment (Figure 3, not shown) a selector device (25) can be provided to deflect the film from the unloading station 5 selectively to the conveying system 11 or to a film storage magazine (24).