JP2000098574A - Automatic developing machine for silver halide photographic sensitive material - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain an automatic developing machine for silver halide photographic sensitive material capable of obtaining a large jetting quantity and rapidly executing the processing by forming an orifice with a orifice material so that the contact angle of the orifice material which comes into contact with processing liquid stored in a jetting chamber may be controlled within a specified extent. SOLUTION: A jetting channel is constituted of the jetting chamber 30, a conversion element 32 for converting an electrical signal so as to instantaneously vary the capacity of the jetting chamber 30, and the orifice 22 through which the pressurized processing liquid in the jetting chamber 30 is pressed out. The contact angle of the orifice 22 forming material to the processing liquid in use is controlled to be >=20 deg. and <=60 deg.. Thus, the jetting quantity of the silver halide photographic sensitive material processing liquid per unit time becomes larger than the jetting quantity of an ink-jet printer, etc. In this case, the silver halide photographic sensitive material processing liquid whose viscosity is lower than the viscosity (>=2.5 cp) of ink used for the ink-jet printer is made usable.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an automatic processor for a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material. More specifically, it is excellent in high-speed processing ability and stability against continuous injection, and is less likely to cause injection failure due to air bubble mixing, clogging, dripping, etc.
In addition, the present invention relates to an automatic developing machine for a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material, which has improved processing speed and uniformity of a light-sensitive material and improved image density characteristics at the time of rapid processing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, the processing amount of photosensitive material (light-sensitive material) per mini-lab has decreased due to a rapid increase in mini-lab stores, and the renewal rate of a developing solution in a light-sensitive material processing tank has decreased. . For this reason, the processing liquid is easily deteriorated, which causes instability of the processing performance. In addition, when a simple type automatic developing machine is installed in a mini-lab store, there is an increasing demand for a simple type automatic developing machine which does not require maintenance such as cleaning of equipment and can omit daily equipment management. I have.

In order to meet such demands, a processing solution for processing a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material is stored in a highly airtight container (for example, processing means stored in a closed container such as an ink jet head), and the processing solution is stored in the container. A technique for supplying the emulsion surface of the light-sensitive material via the gas phase is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-32.
No. 4455 ”.

[0004] The ink jet type head disclosed in this publication is configured to spray very small droplets because it is necessary to form a fine image. Therefore, the supply amount of the processing liquid supplied is considerably small, and if this technique is used as it is as the processing liquid supply means, the processing liquid amount supplied to the emulsion surface of the light-sensitive material tends to be insufficient, and it is necessary to perform the processing. There is an absolute shortage of color developing agents and the like, which is a factor that delays the reaction time in the processing step.

For example, US Pat. No. 4,900,093 discloses a technique in which the number of ink jet nozzles (ie, orifices) is increased to enable high-speed processing, and this technique is applied to a silver halide photographic material. It has been found that mere conversion to a processing apparatus for processing does not provide a sufficient image density due to an insufficient supply liquid amount.

Of course, in this technique, in order to maintain a more stable injection of the processing liquid, maintenance such as cleaning the head portion as the processing liquid supply means to prevent clogging or the like is required. It has been found that clogging of the orifice itself is likely to occur.

[0007] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-324455 discloses
Is a technique for processing a light-sensitive material mainly for redox amplification processing. Since the amount of silver applied to the light-sensitive material for redox amplification processing is overwhelmingly smaller than that of a normal light-sensitive material, it is insufficient even when applied to the processing of a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material which is a target of the present invention. Only an effect was obtained, and it turned out that it is not practical.

Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-211832 discloses
Is a technique relating to a method of supplying transfer water to a photosensitive material in an image forming method of forming a diffusible dye image by thermal development and transferring the image to a dye fixing element. It has not been possible to solve the processing characteristics specific to the target silver halide photographic light-sensitive material, that is, problems such as the stability of the processing liquid jetting.

[0009]

As described above, in a situation where minilab shops are rapidly increasing in response to the demand for faster processing in recent years, management of equipment is simple and high-speed processing is possible. There is a demand for a new automatic developing machine.

However, since the above-described ink jet head is originally configured to spray very small droplets, it is not possible to supply a sufficient processing liquid necessary for the reaction.
In addition to this, when driving such as simultaneously injecting the processing liquid from a plurality of orifices for a long time causes a problem that it becomes difficult to stably supply a required amount of the processing liquid. . For this reason, it is an essential technical subject to increase the injection amount of the processing liquid significantly and to perform stable injection.

In order to achieve this object, for example, increasing the driving frequency of the conversion element or increasing the driving voltage can be mentioned. However, while the supply amount of the processing liquid can be ensured, the formation of the meniscus in the orifice portion becomes unstable, and the injection stability also deteriorates.

To prevent this, the number of injection channels may be increased, but there is a problem that the cost and the degree of orifice integration cannot be increased.

Increasing the number of orifices provided in the ejection channel is effective in that there is a high possibility that the processing solution can be supplied sufficiently, but it is effective as in the case of a processing solution for a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material. It has been found that when a water-soluble solution is jetted, not only a sufficient jetting amount cannot be obtained yet, but also the jetting stability is lacking.

Further, unlike ordinary ink jet printers, it is necessary to continuously eject the processing liquid from all the orifices (nozzles) for a long period of time, so it has been found that the conventional orifice configuration tends to cause ejection failure.

As is well known, the processing solution for silver halide photographic light-sensitive materials contains no organic solvent at all and is mainly composed of water, unlike ink for ink-jet paper. Therefore, when the contact area with air increases, drying due to evaporation tends to occur. Further, since the photographic processing liquid has a very high salt concentration of the inorganic salt as compared with the ordinary ink, a precipitate of the inorganic salt is easily generated by local drying. Therefore, a serious problem of clogging of the orifice occurs.

Further, the processing speed for continuous processing is as follows:
Since the processing liquid supply means is faster than the inkjet,
It has been newly found that bubbles are easily mixed in the processing liquid. When air bubbles are generated, a pressure loss in the injection chamber occurs, which may cause poor injection. It has also been found that once air bubbles enter the injection chamber, it is very difficult to discharge the air bubbles to the outside of the injection chamber.

Therefore, the first object of the present invention is to stably obtain a large jetting amount even when jetting a processing solution for a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material which has not been subjected to a prescription operation for increasing the viscosity. Another object of the present invention is to provide an automatic processor for a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material which can be rapidly processed.

A second object of the present invention is to provide an automatic processor for a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material capable of obtaining a high image density during rapid processing.

Third, use for a long time,
An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic developing machine for a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material, in which bubbles in an orifice and clogging hardly occur even when the use is temporarily stopped.

A fourth object of the present invention is to provide an automatic developing machine for a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material, in which processing unevenness such as density unevenness of a processed image is hardly generated.

[0021]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, in the automatic developing machine for silver halide photographic light-sensitive material according to the present invention as described in claim 1, a halogenated material having a viscosity of 2.5 cp or less. A silver halide is provided by arranging an ejection chamber containing a processing solution for a silver photographic light-sensitive material, two or more orifices communicating with the ejection chamber, and at least two or more ejection channels each including a conversion element for changing the volume of the ejection chamber. An orifice material comprising a processing solution supply means for a photographic light-sensitive material, wherein the contact angle of the orifice material with which the processing solution accommodated in the ejection chamber comes into contact is 20 ° or more and 60 ° or less. It is characterized by being formed by.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the automatic developing machine for a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material, in the processing liquid supply means, a conversion element for changing a volume of the ejection chamber is a piezoelectric element.

The automatic developing machine for a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material according to claim 3 has means for heating the silver halide photographic light-sensitive material from which the processing solution for the silver halide photographic light-sensitive material is jetted to 35 ° C. or more. It is characterized by the following.

In the automatic processor for a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material according to the present invention, in the processing liquid supply means, the arrangement pitch W of the orifices provided in each of the ejection chambers and the diameter R of the orifice on the ejection side are determined. Ratio (W
/ R) is set in the range of 2 to 25.

In the automatic processor for a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material according to claim 5, the supply amount of the processing solution per second is set in the range of 0.01 ml to 2.5 ml in the processing solution supply means. It is characterized by the following.

The automatic developing machine for a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material according to claim 6, wherein the processing solution has a solute concentration of 0.2% by weight or more.

The automatic developing machine for a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material according to claim 7, wherein the supply amount of the processing solution in the supply means is set in a range of 5 to 100 ml per 1 m ^{2 of the} light-sensitive material. .

An automatic developing machine for a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material according to claim 8, wherein the processing solution is a color developing solution.

[0029]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Next, an embodiment of an automatic developing machine for a silver halide photographic material according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

The automatic developing machine for a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material according to the present invention is a processing liquid supply means for spraying a predetermined processing liquid onto the silver halide photographic light-sensitive material and applying the processing liquid to the surface of the light-sensitive material. At least. In addition, an automatic developing machine is constituted by heating means for the photosensitive material, bleaching / fixing means, stabilizing means, drying means and the like. The contents of each means are shown below.

(Treatment Liquid Supply Means) In the present invention, the supply of the treatment liquid is performed by the injection channel. The ejection channel is at least filled with a treatment liquid to be ejected and is an ejection chamber which is a pressure chamber to be pressurized, a conversion element which converts an electric signal to instantaneously change the volume of the ejection chamber, and is pressurized. An orifice (nozzle) through which the processing liquid in the ejection chamber is extruded.

The size of the injection chamber is 0.1 mm in length and width.
× (0.1 to 3.0 mm square) × about 5 mm｝ is preferable. The injection chamber is preferably formed by attaching a grooved stainless steel (SUS), a metal such as titanium, and a thin plate such as plastic.

One injection chamber is provided with at least two orifices. From the viewpoint of increasing the injection amount, it is better to increase the number of orifices, but from the viewpoint of injection stability, from 2 to 64, more preferably from 3 to 32
Individual is good. This number is determined by the supply amount of the processing solution required by the photosensitive material, the yield of the orifice body (plate), and the like.

The processing liquid supply means of the present invention has at least two or more injection channels from the viewpoint of the stability of the supply amount and the injection amount of the processing liquid. More preferably from 2 to 10
There are zero.

In order to stably jet the processing solution for a silver halide light-sensitive material, the ratio (L / R) of the length L of the orifice to the diameter R of the jet side of the orifice is 5 to 200.
Is more preferable, the range is more preferably 10 to 100, and the particularly preferable range is 20 to 50. This is because the value of 20 to 50 selected as the number of orifices is a value capable of more stably jetting the processing liquid and supplying a sufficient processing liquid.

Here, the length L of the orifice is 0.1 mm
Is preferably from 10 mm to 10 mm, more preferably from 0.5 mm to
5 mm. The latter value is the optimum value in consideration of mechanical strength and the like. The diameter R of the orifice is preferably 0.03 mm to 0.1 mm on the ejection surface side. This range is selected because it is difficult to cause clogging of the processing liquid, liquid dripping, and mixing of bubbles into the injection chamber.

The ratio (W / R) of the distance W between the orifices of the adjacent ejection channels (arrangement pitch in the photosensitive material transport direction) to the diameter R of the orifice on the ejection surface side is selected in the range of 5 to 30. Is preferred. More preferably, 10-2
5 range. If the value of (W / R) is too large, uneven development tends to occur. Conversely, if the value is too small, liquid dripping or the like due to mechanical resonance of a diaphragm that separates the ejection chambers described later easily occurs. is there.

As a conversion element provided in the processing liquid supply means, in addition to a type such as a spray bar, which applies a sudden pressure to an injection chamber by compressed air or a solenoid to spray a processing liquid, a volume fluctuation caused by a piezoelectric element is also used. A method of injecting the processing liquid by pressurizing the inside of the injection chamber by bumping a small amount of liquid or by bumping the liquid can be considered.

When a piezoelectric element is used, a piezoelectric element using a piezo element is preferable. This is a relatively small occupied volume, and a displacement amount (0. 0) sufficient to inject the processing liquid without applying a very large voltage as a driving voltage.
5 to 5.0 μm).

As a material of the piezo element, barium titanate, lead titanate, and titanate / lead zirconate can be used as is well known. The shape of the piezo element is columnar, and its sectional shape may be circular or square.
When an electric field is applied to a columnar piezo element, the amount of strain in the longitudinal direction of the element is large. The direction of the applied electric field may be the same direction or a direction orthogonal to the vibration (expansion and contraction) direction.

Next, the material of the member (liquid contact portion) that comes into contact with the processing liquid will be described. The liquid contact portion is a member that directly constitutes a liquid supply path from a tank (not shown) in which the processing liquid is stocked to the liquid that is ejected by the processing liquid supply means. Say. Specifically, it is the entrance of the ejection chamber of the processing liquid supply means, the wall surface of the ejection chamber, or the like.

As the liquid contact portion, vinylidene chloride resin, vinyl chloride resin, epoxy resin, liquid crystal polyester, polyimide resin, polystyrene, polyethylene terephthalate, polyphenylene sulfide and the like are preferable. For ceramic and glass ceramic materials, FOTFORM
Glass, FOTOFORM OPAL GLASS-Ceramic, FOTOCREAM Glas
s-Ceramic (Hoya glass) or the like is preferable, and stainless steel materials such as SUS302, SUS303, and SUS30
4, SUS304L, SUS316 and the like are preferable. Further, nickel, tantalum Ta, chromium, silicon, silicon dioxide and the like can be used.

In the present invention, an orifice material having a contact angle of not less than 20 ° and not more than 60 ° with respect to the treatment liquid, which is in contact with the treatment liquid, is used as a material of the wall surface forming the orifice among the members which come into contact with the treatment liquid. Is done.

Here, the contact angle of the material with the processing solution to be used is measured using a flat plate specimen obtained by the same material and the same forming method as the material. Specifically, it was measured based on the liquid method by the measurement method of the contact angle θ described in “New Experimental Chemistry Course 18: Interfaces and Colloids”, page 97 (issued by Maruzen on October 20, 1977). .

In this measuring method, a flat plate sample 50 having a mirror-finished smoothness is horizontally placed in a container 51 filled with saturated vapor of a liquid to be measured as shown in FIG. A small amount of a droplet 53 is formed by dropping using the droplet 52.

The size of the droplet 53 is set so that the contact diameter is about 3 mm or less. The contact angle θ is generally measured with a reading microscope equipped with a goniometer (magnification: about 20 times). FIG.
(B) illustrates the principle, in which the dropped liquid is illuminated from the front with light passing through opalescent glass or parallel light passing through heat ray absorbing glass. The measurement accuracy is about ± 1 °. Measure the left and right angles of the droplet. The figure shows a measurement example on the right side. Then, measurements are made at several different locations on the same solid surface, and at least ten values are obtained, and the average value is defined as the contact angle θ.

The contact angle θ of the present invention can be adjusted by changing one or both of the orifice material and the processing liquid.

As the orifice material, considering the viewpoint of corrosion resistance to a processing solution for a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material, vinylidene chloride resin, vinyl chloride resin, epoxy resin, liquid crystal polyester, polyimide resin, polystyrene, polyethylene terephthalate, polyphenylene Sulfide, ceramic, glass ceramic (FOTFORM Gl
ass, FOTOFORM OPAL GLASS-Ceramic, FOTOCREAM Glass-Ce
ramic), SUS302, SUS303, SUS304, SUS304L, SUS316, nickel, tantalum Ta, chromium, silicon, silicon dioxide and the like can be used.

On the other hand, the viscosity of the processing solution for a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material can be adjusted by changing various prescription factors. For example, the viscosity can be adjusted by adding various surfactants.

In the present invention, the contact angle of the orifice forming material with the processing solution used is set to 20 ° or more and 60 ° or less, so that the amount of processing solution jetted per unit time for the silver halide photographic material can be reduced by an ink jet printer or the like. More than in the case of. In this case, a processing solution for a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material having a lower viscosity than that of an ink for an ink jet printer (2.5 cp or more) can be used. That is, a processing solution for a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material which is usually used (2.0 cp or less) can be used as it is as a processing solution of the present invention.

When the contact angle θ becomes 20 ° or less,
When the meniscus of the processing solution for a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material formed in the orifice is destroyed, bubbles are easily mixed into the processing solution, and the pressure in the chamber is reduced, so that an ejection failure is likely to occur. . It has been found that when θ is 60 ° or more, it is difficult for air bubbles once mixed into the ejection chamber to be exhausted from the orifice and the inside of the ejection chamber to the outside.

The supply speed of the processing liquid applied (supplied) to the photosensitive material refers to the volume per second of the processing liquid ejected from the orifice and supplied to the photosensitive material. In this embodiment, the processing liquid supply speed is preferably from 0.01 ml / sec to 2.5 ml / sec, more preferably from 0.1 ml / sec to 1.0 ml / sec from the viewpoint of processing speed. If the supply speed is low, the processing speed is low, and if the supply speed is too high, the supply may be excessive, and from this viewpoint, the latter range is particularly preferable.

The distance Y between the ejection surface of the orifice and the emulsion surface of the light-sensitive material is preferably 50 μm or more and 10 mm or less, and more preferably 1 mm or more and 5 mm or less. This is because if the distance to the photosensitive material is too short, the processing liquid may be scattered, and if it is too far, the straightness of the processing liquid may be deteriorated. The latter value is most suitable as satisfying these conditions.

(Means for Heating Sensitive Material) The automatic developing machine of the present invention preferably has means for heating the photosensitive material (sensitive material). As the heating means, a heat drum, a heat belt, a drier, infrared irradiation, high frequency electromagnetic wave irradiation, or the like can be used. The photosensitive material may be heated at any time, such as before or after the supply of the processing liquid. However, from the viewpoint of processing speed, it is preferable that the photosensitive material be heated before the processing liquid is supplied. This is because the permeation of the processing solution into the photosensitive material becomes smooth.

The temperature of the light-sensitive material itself when heated is preferably 35 ° C. or more and 100 ° C. or less, and more preferably 40 ° C. or more and 80 ° C. or less from the viewpoint of rapid processing. If the temperature is higher than 100 ° C., there is a problem in the heat resistance of the photosensitive material, and if the temperature is lower than 35 ° C., the rapid processing performance is insufficient.

In order to prevent the photosensitive material to be processed from adversely affecting the emulsion surface, it is preferable to heat the photosensitive material from the side opposite to the emulsion surface.

(Processing Step) The automatic developing machine of the present invention can be used in a developing step, a color developing step, a bleaching step, etc., rather than in a processing step of removing unnecessary substances from a photosensitive material such as a bleach-fixing step, a fixing step, and a stabilizing step. It is preferably used in a treatment step in which a dye is formed or an oxidation reaction occurs. Among these processing steps, the developing step and the color developing step are preferable. Further, in order to prevent tar from being generated by oxidation of the developing agent, from the viewpoint of storage stability, the automatic developing machine of the present invention is particularly useful in the color developing step. It is better to apply.

(Treatment Solution) The treatment solution used in the present invention is:
It includes not only ordinary processing liquids, but also liquids that cannot complete the processing reaction by themselves. Therefore, it includes all the solutions containing components that can contribute to the processing of the photosensitive material, and further includes only water. The components that can contribute to the processing of the photosensitive material include not only color developing agents and alkali agents, but also components that do not contribute much to the processing reaction, such as surfactants.

The processing solution for a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material of the present invention has a viscosity at 25 ° C. of 2.5 cp or less, preferably 2.0 cp or less. In order to achieve such a viscosity, it is essential that a material for increasing the viscosity of the processing solution, for example, a water-soluble polymer that does not affect the processing performance be used as much as possible. This is preferred so as not to impair the rapid processing suitability of the automatic processor for silver halide photographic light-sensitive materials. When the viscosity is 2.0 cp or less, the silver halide photographic light-sensitive material itself used in an ordinary developing station can be used.

In this automatic developing machine, a liquid containing all of the processing liquid components required in the processing step may be supplied to the photographic material at one time, or the necessary components may be contained in a plurality of liquids and separated. May be supplied to the photosensitive material. When a plurality of liquids are separately supplied, the time for completing the supply of all the liquids is preferably as short as possible from the viewpoint of processing speed, and is preferably within 5 seconds, preferably within 1 second. This is to prevent a difference in the processing reaction time due to the difference in the processing liquid. Plural, for example, 2
In the case where the processing liquid is supplied to the photosensitive material by dividing it into two types of processing liquids, two processing liquid supply units may be provided before and after the photosensitive material in the transport direction.

In the automatic developing machine of the present invention, the solute concentration of the processing solution used is selected to be 0.2% by weight or more and 20% by weight or less. Of these, 0.4% to 20% by weight is preferable,
Particularly preferred is 1.0% to 10% by weight.

The supply amount of the processing liquid from the processing liquid supply means is:
The photosensitive material is preferably from 5 ml (milliliter) to 100 ml, and more preferably from 15 ml to 5 ml per m ² squared.
The amount of 0 ml is preferable from the viewpoints of ensuring the development processing and preventing dripping of the emulsion surface of the photosensitive material after supplying the processing liquid.

(Color Development Processing) The automatic developing machine of the present invention
As described above, it is preferable that the present invention is applied to the developing step, particularly to the color developing step. The color development processing solution may be divided into several partial constituent solutions, and also includes a solution having no ability to complete the color development reaction by itself. Therefore, a solution that constitutes a part of the color developing solution such as a solution containing only the color developing agent and the preservative, a solution containing only the alkali agent, a solution containing only the surfactant, and simple water is also included in the color developing solution referred to herein. Shall be

A processing solution having the ability to complete the color development reaction by itself may be supplied to the emulsion surface of the light-sensitive material. However, components necessary for the color development reaction are contained in a plurality of separate processing solutions. May be supplied separately and mixed on the emulsion surface of the light-sensitive material to perform color development processing. Color development processing in which necessary components are contained in multiple processing solutions and supplied separately,
The concentration of the components can be increased, which is preferable from the viewpoint of rapid processing.

The processing time of the color development processing step is 3 seconds or more,
In particular, 5 seconds or more and 30 seconds or less are preferable for stably completing the color development processing reaction, and especially 8 seconds or more and 20 seconds or less are preferable from the viewpoints of deterioration of the color developing solution, drying of the color developing solution, and the like. .

Here, the processing time in the color development processing step means a processing solution used in the next step (for example, bleaching step, bleach-fixing step) after supplying the color developing solution to the light-sensitive material (emulsion side). Or the time until the photosensitive material is immersed in a processing solution for performing the next step.

(Silver halide photographic light-sensitive material) Examples of the light-sensitive material processed by the automatic developing machine of the present invention include a silver halide color photographic light-sensitive material containing silver iodobromide or silver bromide.
Silver halide monochrome photographic materials and the like can be used. Of these, a silver halide color photographic light-sensitive material containing a silver chloride emulsion and a silver halide monochrome photographic light-sensitive material are preferred.

A silver halide photographic light-sensitive material containing a silver chloride emulsion preferably has at least one emulsion layer containing a silver halide emulsion in which 90% or more of the silver chloride is silver chloride. More preferably 95-100
A silver halide photographic light-sensitive material containing a silver halide emulsion in which mol%, most preferably 98 to 100 mol% is silver chloride, is preferred from the viewpoint of processing progress.

(Examples) Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a schematic structural view of a main part of an automatic developing machine according to the present invention. A heating means 110 for heating the silver halide photographic light-sensitive material P is provided upstream of the transport path of the silver halide photographic light-sensitive material P processed by the processing liquid. The heating means 110 includes a heating drum 111. An outlet-side roller 112 is provided above the heating drum 111. On the left side of the heating drum 111 is an inlet-side roller 113. A pressure belt drive roller 114 is provided on the left side of the exit side roller 112 and below the entrance side roller 113. A pressure belt 115 is stretched over an outlet roller 112, an inlet roller 113, and a pressure belt drive roller 114, and extends over a 90 ° circumferential surface of the heating drum 111.
The photosensitive material P is pressed and conveyed to the heating drum 111 by being moved while being pressed. Thus, the photosensitive material P is heated.

Downstream of the heating drum 111 in the transport path of the photosensitive material P, there is a developing means 120. The development processing means 120
It has a processing liquid container 125 for storing a first liquid for processing the photosensitive material P. The processing liquid container 125 is sealed from the outside air. A color developing solution is supplied from the processing liquid supply means 1 to the emulsion surface of the photosensitive material P heated by the heating means 110 via a gas phase.

There is a second heating means 130 for further heating the photosensitive material P once from the upstream side to the downstream side of the photosensitive material conveying path where the processing liquid is supplied via the gas phase by the processing liquid supply means 1. . The second heating means 130 includes a heating roller 1
31, a driving roller 132, and a heating belt 133. The heating belt 133 includes a heating roller 131 and a driving roller 132.
Has been passed over. The heating roller 131 is located on the upstream side of the transport path of the photosensitive material P to which the processing liquid is supplied via the gas phase by the processing liquid supply unit 1, and heats the heating belt 133.

A driving roller 132 located downstream of the heating roller 131 on the conveying path of the photosensitive material P drives the heating belt 133. Thus, the photosensitive material P is heated in a state where the heating belt 133 is heated. Then, the processing liquid is supplied via the gas phase to the emulsion surface of the photographic material P being heated by the second heating means 130. The photosensitive material P, to which the processing liquid has been supplied to the emulsion surface, is further heated by the second heating means 130.

Thereafter, the photosensitive material P which has been color-developed by the developing means 120 is subjected to bleach-fix processing in a bleach-fix processing liquid tank BF, and is stabilized in a stabilization processing tank ST.

The photosensitive material emulsion surface temperature is set to 60 ° C. by the heating drum 111 having a surface temperature of 60 ° C. The surface temperature is 50 ° C
Is heated from the support surface side of the photosensitive material P using the heating belt 133, and the temperature of the photosensitive material emulsion surface temperature is kept at 50 ° C.

The processing liquid supply means 1 used in this embodiment can be of a serial type for the photosensitive material P as shown in FIG. 2A or an array type as shown in FIG. 2B. . In the case of the serial system, when the processing liquid supply means 1 is reciprocating in the horizontal direction, the photosensitive material P is continuously conveyed in the direction of the arrow, so that a required amount of processing liquid is uniformly applied (supplied) to the photosensitive material P. ) Is done. In the array system, the processing liquid is simultaneously sprayed over one line, so that the processing liquid supply means 1 can be fixed.

The embodiment shown below is a processing liquid supply means 1 adopting the serial system shown in FIG. 2A, an example of which is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the processing liquid supply means 1 includes a processing liquid supply main body (head main body) 10 and a support means 14 for supporting a processing liquid supply pipe 12. Although the details of the scanning drive unit of the processing liquid supply unit 1 are not shown, it can be realized by using a well-known scanning drive unit such as a belt drive or a gear (rack, pinion system) drive.

The processing liquid supply body 10 is provided with a plurality of injection channels 20. In the embodiment, five ejection channels 20A to 20E are provided in parallel in an array at equal intervals, and a plurality of ejection channels 20A to 20E are provided in each of the plurality, in this example, five lines arranged in a line shape. A processing liquid 24 is sprayed onto the photosensitive material at a predetermined speed from an injection port (orifice) 22 at a predetermined speed. The orifice 22 has a circular cross section, but may have an elliptical shape or a rectangular shape.

Details of the processing liquid supply main body 10 are shown in FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II of FIG. 3, FIG. 5 is a top view thereof, and FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II of FIG. 3. Since the five injection channels 20A to 20E have the same configuration, FIG.
Shows only the configuration of one injection channel 20A.

The injection channel 20 A is provided with the processing liquid 24.
The injection chamber 30A into which the injection chamber 30A is injected (see FIG. 3), five orifices (injection ports) 22A to 22E communicating with the injection chamber 30A, and a conversion element 32A for changing the volume of the injection chamber 30A. Is done.

The inner surface of the orifice body 34 is formed as a concave portion 35A for the injection chamber 30A, and a plurality of orifices 22A to 22E are formed in the bottom surface of the concave portion in a line in a line at an equal pitch Q. In addition, a plate body, in this example, a vibration plate 36 is adhered so as to close the injection chamber 30A, and in the example shown, a concave portion 38 provided on the left side portion of the orifice body 34 is used for a buffer tank. The buffer tank 38 and the ejection chamber 30A are formed of a processing liquid supply narrow tube 4 having a narrow flow passage area.
It is communicated by 0A.

The processing liquid 24 supplied from a processing liquid tank (not shown) is temporarily stored in the buffer tank 38, and a part of the stored processing liquid 24 is partially stored in the introduction thin tube 40A.
Is injected into the injection chamber 30A through the nozzle. The processing liquid 24 is injected so as to completely fill the inside of the ejection chamber 30A.

The orifices 22A to 22E are formed so as to have a tapered shape as shown in FIGS.
The thickness L is the length of the orifice. The taper is formed because, in combination with the selection of the diameter R, even if the liquid level in the orifice opening becomes as shown by the broken line in FIG. This is to prevent infiltration into the vehicle. This prevents bubbles from being mixed into the ejection chamber 30A even during continuous ejection.

The injection chambers 30A to 30E provided in the respective injection channels 20A to 20E are substantially at the center, in this example, immediately above the orifice 22C, and as shown in FIG. Converted elements 30A to 30E are arranged one by one. In this example, a piezoelectric element, particularly a piezoelectric element using a piezo element, is used as the conversion elements 30A to 30E.

As shown in FIG. 6, a piezoelectric element having a prismatic shape is used, one end of which is fixed to the vibration plate 36 and the other end of which is fixed to a support member 42 having a hollow concave portion.

As shown in FIG. 7, when a predetermined voltage (positive / negative driving pulses Pa, Pb shown in FIG. 9) is applied to the piezoelectric element 32A from the driving circuit (pulse generating circuit) 44, the piezoelectric effect of the prismatic body is generated by the piezo effect. The element 32A is shown in FIGS.
In the direction of arrow a.

Since the expansion and contraction are directly transmitted to the diaphragm 36, the diaphragm 36 is biased toward the ejection chamber 30A. This deviation results in a volume change (volume change) in the ejection chamber 30A, and this volume change causes a strong pressure change to the internal processing liquid 24. Due to this pressure change, the processing liquid 24 is ejected to the outside through the orifices 22A to 22E. When the processing liquid 24 is injected, the injection chamber 30
The pressure in A decreases, and the processing liquid 24 is replenished from the buffer tank 38 through the supply hole 40A. Piezoelectric element 32
When the expansion and contraction of A is repeated, the processing liquid 24 is continuously jetted from the orifices 22A to 22E. Drive pulse Pa, P
If the frequency b is increased, the processing liquid to be jetted becomes in the form of droplets.

Therefore, the length L, the diameter R, the jetting speed of the processing liquid 24 and the like of the orifices 22A to 22E are all factors contributing to the supply amount of the processing liquid to the photosensitive material P and the optimum jetting conditions as described above. Becomes

Injection chamber 30A touched by processing solution 24
Are coated with stainless steel. SUS304L as described above for stainless steel
Etc. can be used. Similarly, the orifice 22
A to 22E also had their walls coated with SUS304L.

The vibration plate 36 is adhered and fixed to the orifice body 34 and the support member 42 with, for example, an epoxy resin adhesive. The vibration plate 36 can be formed of a sheet using SUS304L.

The above-described five conversion elements 32A to 32B provided in each of the injection channels 20A to 20E are originally driven at the same time. However, there is a possibility that the vibration plate 36 will resonate due to mutual vibration. Therefore, this resonance phenomenon is avoided by providing a phase difference φ between the drive pulse Pa applied to the odd-numbered conversion elements 20A, 20C and 20E and the drive pulse Pb applied to the even-numbered conversion elements 20B and 20D. I have.

Since one cycle is 2π and 2π = 360 ° = 0 °, the phase difference φ can range from 10 ° to 180 °. Among them, a range of 90 ° to 180 ° is preferable because the resonance phenomenon can be suppressed to a minimum. The example in FIG. 9 is a case where the driving is performed with a phase difference φ of 180 ° which is least affected by resonance.

The driving pulses Pa and Pb are 1 KHz to 10 K
A frequency on the order of Hz is preferred. Drive pulses Pa, P
The duty of b is preferably about 1: 5, where Px is the pulse width. The voltages of the drive pulses Pa and Pb are determined by the characteristics of the piezoelectric element used and the extent to which the piezoelectric element is expanded or contracted.

The arrangement of the injection channels 20 may be such that the even-numbered injection channels are stepped as shown in FIG.

The following processing liquid ejection test was carried out using the processing liquid supply means 1 having the above configuration and the processing liquid supply means having the same configuration except that the orifice material was changed as shown in Table 1. Was.

(Example of Processing Solution) (The following color developer formulation is per liter) Sodium sulfite 0.1 g Diethylene pentaamine pentasodium acetic acid 3.0 g Polyethylene glycol # 4000 15 g Bis (sulfoethyl) hydroxylamine Disodium 16g Tinopearl SFP 2g Potassium carbonate 33g Sodium p-toluenesulfonate 20g CD-3 12g Potassium hydroxide 8g Adjust the pH to 11.0 using potassium hydroxide or sulfuric acid.

While using such a developing solution,
The frequency of the driving pulse was 8 KHZ, and the processing liquid was continuously jetted to the photosensitive material P by a serial processing liquid supply unit 1 using a piezo element as a piezoelectric element. Drive voltage is 8
At 0 V, the measurement was performed with the phase difference between the drive pulses Pa and Pb being 0 °. The number of injection channels used was 32, and the processing liquid supply means 1 having a total of 256 orifices was used. The orifice pattern used was that shown in FIG. The orifice interval in the same injection channel 20 is 0.3 mm,
The orifice pitch Q of the adjacent channel is 1 mm. Then, an experiment was conducted in which a processing liquid supply means in which the orifice material was changed as shown in Table 1 was used to process a photosensitive material that had been subjected to ordinary wedge exposure. The results are shown in (Table 1). The following steps were performed after the color development step.

(A) Bleaching-fixing step and stabilizing step The processing was carried out using the processing solution for Konica Corporation under the processing conditions of Process CPK-2-28.

(B) Processing time Processing step Processing time Color development processing 8 seconds Bleaching and fixing processing 27 seconds Stabilization processing 27 seconds × 3 (c) Photosensitive material QA paper type A6 manufactured by Konica Corporation exposed to light by a usual method. (Having an emulsion layer containing a silver halide emulsion comprising 99.9% or more of silver chloride). (D) Heating condition The surface temperature of the photosensitive material was adjusted to 60 with a heating drum having a surface temperature of 60 ° C.
Heat to ° C.

The contact angle θ of the orifice material with the processing solution was measured, and the spectral reflection maximum density at 550 nm of the processed photographic material was measured. Further, the degree of temperature unevenness of the processed image was observed and evaluated according to the following evaluation criteria. ：: No density unevenness is observed at all. Δ: Slight density unevenness is observed, but there is no practical problem. X: There is a level of density unevenness at which there is a practical problem.

[0100]

[Table 1]

In this (Table 1), a small amount of aqueous solution of sodium perfluorooctylsulfonate was added as a treatment liquid of Experiment No. 6 marked with * so that the contact angle θ became the indicated value. Was used.

As is clear from Table 1, when the contact angle of the orifice material to the treatment liquid is 20 ° or more and 60 ° or less, a practically sufficient color density of 2.15 to 2.20 or more is obtained. The density unevenness of the image was good.

Next, with the same configuration as in the experiment of (Table 1), 1
After repeating the cycle of time drive and stop for 2 hours twice,
The injection test of all the orifices was performed, and the state of the orifice injection was evaluated according to the following evaluation criteria. The results are shown in (Table 2). ：: There is no problem spouting from all orifices. △: Some do not spout at one or two orifices. ×: Some do not spout at three or more orifices.

[0104]

[Table 2]

As is clear from Table 2, when the contact angle of the orifice material with the treatment liquid was not less than 20 ° and not more than 60 °, a good ejection state was obtained.

Next, a small amount of polyethylene glycol # 4000 was added to the treatment liquid using the same treatment liquid supply means as in (Table 1), and then the treatment liquid was adjusted to have the viscosity shown in (Table 3). An experiment was conducted in which the photosensitive material subjected to normal wedge exposure was newly processed again. Then, the spectral maximum reflection density at 550 nm of the processed photosensitive material was measured. Table 3 shows the results.

[0107]

[Table 3]

As is clear from Table 3, when the viscosity of the color developing solution, which is a processing solution for a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material, is set to 2.7 cp, the color developing solution is compared with the cases of 1.9 cp and 2.3 cp. It can be seen that the color density decreases and the development progress is delayed. Therefore, in the present invention, the viscosity of the processing solution is set to 2.5
Selected below CP.

Further, a processing liquid supply means using a piezo element as a conversion element for changing the volume of the injection chamber and a commercially available bubble jet method (a droplet is discharged from an orifice by utilizing a bumping phenomenon generated by instantaneously heating the inside of an aperture) 4 hours continuous driving was performed under the same conditions as in the experiment in Table 1 except that the processing liquid supply means using a head of (jetting method) was set to 0.01 ml of processing liquid supply per second. Was.

As a result, the processing liquid supply means of the present invention
While the operation continued to be stable even after a lapse of time, the processing liquid requesting means using a bubble jet type head generated liquid dripping at the orifice 30 minutes after the start of driving, and the jetting became unstable. Density unevenness appeared in the later image. Therefore, it was found that it was effective to use a piezoelectric element as a conversion element.

Next, the heating drum 111 and the heating belt 13 were used by using the processing liquid supply means 1 in which the orifice material used in the experiment (1-2) in Table 1 was SUS304L.
Except that the amount of heat generation was adjusted by changing the voltage applied to No. 3 and the emulsion surface temperature was changed as shown in (Table 4), the same processing as in the experiment 1-2 in (Table 1) was performed. The maximum and minimum spectral reflection densities at 550 nm of the processed photosensitive material were measured. The results are shown in (Table-4).

[0112]

[Table 4]

From Table 4, it can be seen that when the processing solution for a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material of the present invention is jetted, the silver halide photographic light-sensitive material has a means for heating to 35 ° C. or more and 100 ° C. or less. It can be seen that the density and the minimum density are sufficient and the image density characteristics during rapid processing are excellent.

Further, the same number (1) as in the above (Table 1)
In the processing liquid supply means 1 used in the experiments of -1) to (1-4), the orifice pattern was changed, and the ratio of the arrangement pitch W of the orifices provided in each ejection chamber to the diameter R of the orifice (W / R) was changed as shown in (Table-5).

The other conditions were the same as those in the experiment of (Table 1), the length L of the orifice was 1 mm, the diameter R of the orifice was 0.05 mm, and the number of treatment liquid supply was 1 second. 7000 times, supply amount is 0.07ml / sec
The supply amount of photosensitive material per 1 mm ² was set to 20 ml. After repeating the cycle of driving for 1 hour and stopping for 2 hours three times, the ejection test of all orifices was performed, and the state of ejection of orifices and the image after processing were examined. The degree of density unevenness was observed and evaluated according to the following evaluation criteria. The results are shown in (Table-5).

The evaluation of the orifice is as follows. ：: There is no eruption from all orifices. ：: Some do not erupt in one or two orifices. X: Some do not erupt in three or more orifices. ：: No density unevenness is observed at all. Δ: Slight density unevenness is observed, but there is no practical problem. ×: There is a level of density unevenness at which there is a practical problem.

[0117]

[Table 5]

As is apparent from Table 5, when the ratio (W / R) of the arrangement pitch W of the orifices to the diameter R of the orifice on the injection side is set in the range of 2 to 25, good results are obtained. A jet state was obtained, and the level of density unevenness of the image was good.

Using the processing liquid supply means 1 in which the orifice material used in the experiment (1-2) of Table 1 was SUS304L, the supply amount of the processing liquid per 1 mm ² to the photosensitive material was kept at 20 ml. The treatment was performed in the same manner as in the experiment of (Table-1) except that the supply amount of the treatment liquid for one second was changed as shown in (Table-6). The results are summarized in (Table-6).

[0120]

[Table 6]

As can be seen from the above results, by setting the processing liquid supply amount per second to 0.01 ml to 2.5 ml, a good jet state can be obtained and the color density is high.

Using the processing liquid supply means 1 in which the orifice material used in the experiment (1-2) in Table 1 is SUS304L, the amount of dissolved water at the time of adjustment was adjusted while the composition of the processing liquid was the same. To change the solute concentration,
The treatment was performed in the same manner as in the experiment of (Table 1) except that the supply amount of the treatment liquid per m ² was changed as shown in (Table 7). The results are collectively shown in (Table-7).

[0123]

[Table 7]

As can be seen from the above results, by setting the supply amount of the processing liquid per 1 m ² to 5 ml to 100 ml, the contamination of the photosensitive material transporting portion is improved, the clogging of the orifice 22 is improved, and the color density is improved. It was also found to improve.

Also, the processing liquid supply means 1 in which the orifice material used in the experiment (No. 1-2) of (Table 1) is SUS304L was used to perform the bleach-fixing process in the same manner as in the experiment of (Table 1). The stabilization treatment step was performed using the same treatment liquid supply means 1 whose treatment orifice material was SUS304L, and the solute concentration of the stabilization treatment liquid of Konica Corporation process CPK-2-28 was adjusted to (Table-8). 550 n of the light-sensitive material after irradiation for 200 hours with a xenon fade meter having an irradiation intensity of 80,000 lux after being processed as shown.
The state of the maximum spectral reflection density at m was observed.
The results are summarized in (Table-8). ：: Density unevenness is not observed at all. Δ: Slight density unevenness is observed, but there is no practical problem. ×: There is a level of practically problematic density unevenness.

[0126]

[Table-8]

As is evident from Table 8, when the solute concentration of the processing solution is 0.2% by weight or more, the stabilized processing solution is applied uniformly, and the image density characteristics during rapid processing are reduced. It turns out that it is excellent even after irradiation.

[0128]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The following remarkable effects can be obtained. First, since the viscosity of the processing solution for a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material is selected to be less than a predetermined value, it can be supplied stably even with a large injection amount, and the processing speed can be increased. Can be achieved. In addition to this, a processing solution for a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material, which is used in an ordinary developing station, that is, a processing solution which has not been subjected to a prescription operation for increasing the viscosity can be used. Of course, even if such a treatment liquid is used, liquid dripping does not occur.

Second, since there is no unevenness in color development, high quality development processing can be realized. Third,
There is no bending of the injection direction and no contamination of the orifice body (plate) constituting the orifice at the time of injection of all the orifices, and maintenance performance can be greatly improved.

Fourth, the orifice is less likely to be clogged even when used for a long period of time, and the amount of waste liquid can be reduced. Have.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a main part processing step diagram showing an embodiment of an automatic developing machine for a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a difference in a scanning method of a processing liquid supply unit.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a processing liquid supply unit and a photosensitive material.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken on line II of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a plan view in which a part of FIG. 2 is removed.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a piezoelectric element as a conversion element and a driving circuit thereof.

FIG. 8 is a view showing the expansion and contraction direction of the piezoelectric element.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of a driving pulse.

FIG. 10 is a partial plan view similar to FIG. 6, showing another embodiment of the injection channel.

FIG. 11 is a view showing a jig for measuring a contact angle of an orifice material and a measuring method.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 processing liquid supply means 10 processing liquid supply main body 20 (20A to 20E) injection channel 22 (22A to 22E) orifice 24 processing liquid 30 (30A to 30E) injection chamber 32 (32A to 32E) conversion element (piezoelectric element) 38 buffer Tank 110, 130 Heating means P Photosensitive material

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. An automatic developing machine for a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material comprising a plurality of processing steps, comprising: an injection chamber containing a processing solution for a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material having a viscosity of 2.5 cp or less; And at least two or more ejection channels each formed of a conversion element for changing the volume of the ejection chamber are arranged so as to constitute a processing solution supply means for a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material. Wherein the contact angle of the orifice material with which the processing solution contained therein comes into contact with the processing solution is 20 ° or more and 60 ° or less. Developing machine. 2. The automatic developing machine for a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material according to claim 1, wherein in the processing liquid supply means, the conversion element for changing the volume of the ejection chamber is a piezoelectric element. 3. The silver halide photographic light-sensitive material to which the processing solution for a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material is jetted is heated to a temperature of 35 ° C. or higher.
2. An automatic developing machine for a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material according to claim 1, further comprising means for heating the material to a temperature of not higher than 00.degree. 4. In the processing liquid supply means, the ratio (W) of the arrangement pitch W of orifices provided in each ejection chamber to the diameter R of the ejection side of the orifices is defined as (W
2. An automatic developing machine for a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material according to claim 1, wherein / R) is set in a range of 2 to 25. 5. The silver halide photographic light-sensitive device according to claim 1, wherein the supply amount of the processing solution per second is set in a range of 0.01 ml to 2.5 ml in the processing solution supply unit. Automatic developing machine for materials. 6. The automatic developing machine for a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material according to claim 1, wherein the solute concentration of said processing solution is 0.2% by weight or more. 7. A processing liquid supply amount in said supply means,
^{2. The} automatic developing machine for a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material according to claim 1, wherein the amount is set in a range of 5 to 100 ml per m < ² > of the light-sensitive material. 8. The automatic developing machine for a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material according to claim 1, wherein said processing solution is a color developing solution.