JP2001117206A - Development processing device and processing liquid replenishing tank - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a processing liquid replenishing tank which is capable of surely recovering the processing liquid leaking to the upper part of a tank body when stirring the processing liquid and a development processing device for a photographic sensitive material having the processing liquid replenishing tank. SOLUTION: The replenishing tank 51 of this device is provided with a stirring rod insertion hole 514 which is opened in the prescribed position of an upper part 511 of the tank body and is slidably inserted with a stirring rod 516 in an axial central direction (direction B) and a processing liquid recovering hole 514 which is opened in a position lower than the stirring rod insertion hole 514 independently from the hole and recovers the processing liquid leaking to the upper part 511 of the tank body from a clearance between the stirring rod 516 and the stirring rod insertion hole 514 by accompanying sliding of the stirring rod 516 into the tank body 515 and therefore the processing liquid leaking to the upper part of the tank body may be surely recovered when stirring the processing liquid.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus and a processing solution for developing a photographic material, such as a photographic film or a photographic paper, by developing the photographic material by passing the photographic material through a processing solution filled in a processing tank. Refill tank.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a developing apparatus for a photographic light-sensitive material of this kind has been provided with a plurality of processing tanks in which a plurality of types of processing liquids are individually filled, and a photographic light-sensitive material such as a photographic film or photographic paper. Are sequentially immersed in the processing liquid in each processing tank to be developed.

When replenishing the processing solution into the processing tank of such a photographic light-sensitive material developing apparatus, water and 1-3
It is necessary to stir and dissolve (mix) various kinds of processing materials after putting them in the replenishment tank. For this reason, the user inserts the stirring rod from the processing liquid injection opening and slides (pulls out and pushes) the processing liquid in the axial direction to stir the processing liquid. However, when the stirring (mixing) is performed manually, the processing liquid may spill out from the processing liquid injection opening during the stirring operation with the stirring rod, or the processing liquid attached when the stirring rod is taken out may fall around. The environment was deteriorating.
In addition, the apparatus body is stained by the spilled processing liquid,
The machine body rusted and the life was shortened. Furthermore, a stir bar is required for each processing solution, and storage is difficult. If used incorrectly, chemicals attached to the stir bar may be mixed and the processing capacity of the development processing apparatus may be reduced.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, a stirring rod insertion hole 904 is provided separately from the processing liquid injection opening 902 in the upper tank body 901 of the auxiliary tank. It was decided to collect the liquid. In this case, the stirring unit 90 provided at the tip of the stirring rod 903
3a has a size such that it cannot pass through the gap between the stirring rod 903 and the stirring rod insertion hole 904. Since the stirring rod 903 is dedicated to each auxiliary tank, the stirring rod 903 is provided in the auxiliary tank. Thus, the processing capacity of the development processing apparatus was prevented from lowering due to misuse.

[0005]

However, even in the prior art as shown in FIG. 6, since the processing liquid is scattered during stirring by the stirring rod 903, the notch 904a cannot be made too large. On the other hand, the amount of the processing liquid adhering to the stirring rod 903 is small at the beginning of the operation of pulling out the stirring rod 903, so that it can easily pass through the small notch 904a. However, the processing liquid after passing through the stirring rod 903 falls by gravity and thereby gathers and grows below the stirring rod 903 during the drawing operation. The grown droplet cannot pass through the small cutout portion 904a during the pushing operation of the stirring rod 903, and as a result, leaks out to the upper portion 901 of the tank body and is not collected in the inside 905 of the tank body.

The present invention provides a processing liquid replenishing tank capable of reliably collecting a processing liquid leaking to an upper portion of a tank body when the processing liquid is agitated, and a developing device for a photographic photosensitive material provided with the processing liquid replenishing tank. The purpose is to do.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, a first aspect of the present invention is a replenishment tank for replenishing a processing tank in which a processing liquid for development processing is filled with the processing liquid, In the treatment liquid replenishment tank which is opened at a predetermined position on the upper part of the tank body and has a stirring rod insertion hole through which the stirring rod is slidably inserted in the axial direction, the processing liquid replenishment tank is located at a position lower than the stirring rod insertion hole on the upper part of the tank body. A processing liquid recovery hole is provided that is opened independently of the stirring rod insertion hole, and recovers processing liquid leaked to the upper portion of the tank main body from the gap between the stirring rod and the stirring rod insertion hole with the sliding of the stirring rod inside the tank main body. Thus, the processing liquid replenishment tank is constituted.

According to this configuration, the gap between the stirring rod and the stirring rod insertion hole is reduced, so that the amount of the processing liquid leaking to the upper portion of the tank body due to the scattering caused by the sliding of the stirring rod is reduced. Further, when the stirring rod slides through the stirring rod insertion hole, the stirring rod comes into contact with the peripheral edge of the stirring rod insertion hole to drop the processing liquid attached to the stirring rod into the tank body, a so-called draining effect. Therefore, the amount of the processing liquid leaking to the upper portion of the tank main body due to the adhesion to the stirring rod is also reduced. The processing liquid that has once leaked to the upper part of the tank from the gap between the stirring rod and the stirring rod insertion hole is dropped by gravity through the processing liquid collection hole that is independently opened at a position lower than the stirring rod insertion hole. It is reliably collected inside.

Further, if the stirring rod insertion hole is provided on the inclined surface formed in the upper part of the tank body (claim 2), when the stirring rod slides and passes through the stirring rod insertion hole, the stirring rod insertion hole is provided below the stirring rod. The side contacts the peripheral edge of the stirring rod insertion hole, and the drainage effect is more easily generated, so that the amount of the processing liquid leaking to the upper portion of the tank main body due to adhesion to the stirring rod is further reduced.

Further, if a taper portion is formed at least on the left and right around the lower part of the stirring rod insertion hole and guides the processing liquid leaked to the upper part of the tank main body to the processing liquid collecting hole (claim 3), the stirring rod and the stirring rod are formed. The processing liquid once leaked to the upper portion of the tank main body from the gap with the rod insertion hole is collected by the tapered portion, guided to the processing liquid recovery hole by gravity drop, and is reliably collected inside the tank main body. The tapered portion may be constituted by, for example, a wall surface of an uneven portion formed on the upper portion of the tank body.

Further, if the processing liquid collecting hole is a hole having a predetermined shape having an opening area capable of collecting the processing liquid leaked to the upper part of the tank main body into the tank main body by gravity (claim 4), the stirring is performed. The processing liquid that has once leaked to the upper portion of the tank body from the gap between the rod and the stirring rod insertion hole overcomes the surface tension from the processing liquid recovery hole and is reliably recovered inside the tank body by gravity.

Further, if the replenishing tank is made of a material having durability and chemical resistance (claim 5), the storage of the processing liquid is stabilized, and the replenishing tank is made of a slide of the stirring rod. It will withstand repetition enough.

Further, if the developing apparatus is provided with the processing liquid replenishing tank according to any one of claims 1 to 5 (claim 6), the developing apparatus can exhibit the above-mentioned effects.

[0014]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a view showing a schematic configuration of a photographic light-sensitive material developing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this figure, a photographic light-sensitive material developing apparatus 10
Includes an exposure unit 20 located at an upper part, a development processing part 30 located at a lower part, and a drying processing part 40 located at a front part.

The exposing section 20 moves a magazine 21 in which a photographic photosensitive material P, which is a long photographic paper, is wound and stored on a roll R, and a photographic photosensitive material P pulled out from the magazine 21 to a downstream side. A transport roller 22 for transporting, a cutter 23 for cutting the photographic photosensitive material P to a predetermined length, a suction unit 24 for sucking and holding the photographic photosensitive material P, and a suction unit 2
A film image projection unit 25 that exposes and prints a film image on the photographic photosensitive material P sucked and held by 4 and a transport roller 26 that transports the exposed photographic photosensitive material P to the downstream development processing unit 30 Have.

The developing section 30 includes a developing tank 31 filled with a developing solution, a bleach-fixing tank 32 filled with a bleach-fixing solution, a first stabilizing tank 33 filled with a stabilizing solution, The second stabilization tank 34, the third stabilization tank 35, and the fourth stabilization tank 36 are connected to each other. In addition, each processing tank 31
A transport roller unit 37 composed of a plurality of transport rollers 371 is disposed in each of the rollers 36 to 36, and the exposed photographic photosensitive material P is developed by the transport roller unit 37 into a developer,
The paper passes through the bleach-fixing solution and the stabilizing solution in order, and is transported from the upstream side to the downstream side. This development processing unit 30
The detailed configuration will be described later.

The drying section 40 includes a heater (not shown) provided in the drying chamber 41, a fan (not shown) for feeding the heat of the heater into the drying chamber 41, transport rollers 42 and 43, and the like. The developed photosensitive material P is transported by the transport roller 4
The photographic photosensitive material P, which has been conveyed from the development processing unit 30 side by 2 and 43, and has been dried, is discharged to the outside.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are diagrams showing a main part of the development processing section 30. FIG. 2A is a plan view thereof, and FIG.
It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view in a line. In these figures, each of the processing tanks 31 to 36 has an upper surface formed in an opening shape, and one side (lower side in the figure) of the upper part of each of the processing tanks 31 to 36.
A developing sub-tank 61 filled with a developing solution, a bleach-fixing sub-tank 62 filled with a bleach-fixing solution, a first stabilizing sub-tank 63 filled with a stabilizing solution, a second stabilizing sub-tank 64, a third Stabilization sub tank 6
The fifth and fourth stabilization sub-tanks 66 are provided side by side.

Each of these processing sub-tanks 61 to 66 includes:
It constitutes a part of each of the processing tanks 31 to 36,
Like the processing tanks 31 to 36, the upper surface is formed in an opening shape. The first, second, third, and fourth stabilization sub-tanks 63, 64, 65, and 66 have liquid passages 67, 68, and 69 formed at upper edges between adjacent stabilization sub-tanks. The processing liquid can flow through the passages 67, 68, 69. A lid is provided at each opening of each of the processing tanks 31 to 36 and each of the processing sub-tanks 61 to 66, but is not shown.

The developing tank 31 and the developing sub-tank 61 are circulated through a through hole 312 formed in the bottom surface 311 of the developing tank 31 and a through hole 612 in the bottom surface 611 of the developing sub tank 61. Pipe 71
Are connected by The development processing sub-tank 61
A filter 72 is provided inside the developing sub-tank 6.
The processing liquid in 1 is taken into the circulation pipe 71 via the filter 72. The circulation pipe 71
A circulation pump 73 is provided in the middle of the process. As a result, the processing liquid in the development processing sub-tank 61 is supplied to the development processing tank 31 through the circulation pipe 71 by the circulation pump 73.
The processing liquid is supplied to the bottom surface side of the inside, and the processing liquid circulates between the development processing tank 31 and the development processing sub-tank 61 via the circulation pipe 71. The branch pipe 7 is connected to the circulation pipe 71.
The discharge pipe 75 is connected to the discharge pipe 75 via an outlet 4, and an opening / closing valve 76 is disposed on the discharge port side of the discharge pipe 75. Depending on the arrangement of the circulation pipe 71, the discharge pipe 75 may be directly connected to the bottom of the developing tank 31. Other processing tanks 32-36 and other processing sub-tanks 62-66 have the same configuration.

A development processing sub-tank 61, a bleach-fix processing sub-tank 62, and a fourth stabilization processing sub-tank 66
Although not shown in the drawings, a liquid level sensor for detecting the level of each processing liquid, a water replenishing unit for replenishing water to maintain the concentration of each processing liquid constant, And a replenishment tank for replenishing (supplying). The replenishment tank will be described later in detail. Further, a waste liquid tank is disposed adjacent to the developing processing tank 31, the bleach-fixing processing tank 32, and the first stabilizing processing tank 33, but these are also not shown. When the processing liquid is replenished from the replenishment tank, the waste liquid overflowing from the development processing tank 31 is discharged to the waste liquid tank.

In the photographic light-sensitive material developing apparatus 10 constructed as described above, the processing sub-tank 61,
At 62 and 66, the processing liquid and water are replenished from the replenishing tank and the water replenishing unit as needed, while the circulation pumps 73 of the processing sub-tanks 61 to 66 are continuously operated and taken in via the filter 72. Each processing sub-tank 61-
The processing liquid in 66 is sent to the bottom surface side of each of the processing tanks 31 to 36 via the circulation pipe 71, whereby the processing liquid in each of the processing tanks 31 to 36 is circulated. In this state,
The photographic light-sensitive material that has been printed in the exposure unit 20 sequentially passes through the processing tanks 31 to 36, whereby the developing process is performed in a uniform state without any bias. The photographic light-sensitive material after the development processing is dried in the drying processing unit 40 and discharged to the outside. When the processing liquid is replaced, the open / close valve 76 of the discharge pipe 75 is opened, and the old processing liquid in each of the processing tanks 31 to 36 is discharged to the outside via the discharge pipe 75.
When the discharge of each processing liquid is completed, a new processing liquid is filled into each of the processing tanks 31 to 36 from each opening. Thus, the developing process can be restarted in a good state.

FIG. 3 is a view showing the arrangement of the processing solution replenishment tank in the state where the maintenance doors 10a, 10a of the photographic photosensitive material developing apparatus 10 according to the present invention are opened. In FIG. 3, replenishing tanks 51 to 53 are provided side by side in correspondence with the respective processing tanks 31 to 36 in order to replenish the processing liquids in the respective processing tanks 31 to 36. More specifically, a replenishment tank 51 is provided corresponding to the development processing tank 31, a replenishment tank 52 is provided corresponding to the bleach-fix processing tank 32, and a replenishment tank 53 is provided corresponding to the stabilization processing tanks 33 to 36. Have been. The replenishment tank 51 stores a developing solution, the replenishment tank 52 stores a bleach-fixing solution, and the processing tank 53 stores a stable processing solution.

FIG. 4 is a view showing details of the replenishment tank, and FIG.
Is a partially enlarged view thereof, and the description will be continued with reference to FIGS. Since the refill tanks 52 and 53 have the same configuration, the refill tank 51 will be mainly described below.

In the upper part 511 of the tank main body of the replenishing tank 51, the processing liquid injection opening 512, the processing liquid collecting hole 513, and the A rod insertion hole 514 is provided.

The processing liquid injection opening 512 is an opening formed substantially horizontally (or slightly inclined toward the front side for convenience of the injection work) for injecting the processing liquid into the inside 515 of the tank body. Is covered with a lid 512a hinged so that the user can open and close in the direction A in each figure. When the processing liquid is injected, the lid 512a is opened and the processing liquid is injected into the tank body 515 from the outside, At other times, the lid 512a is closed to prevent paper powder and the like from entering the inside 515 of the tank body from outside.

The stirring rod insertion hole 514 is an opening through which the stirring rod 516 is slidably (pulled out, pushed in) in the axial direction (direction B in FIG. 5) and is located behind the processing liquid injection opening 512. It is formed on a slope that climbs toward it. Accordingly, when the stirring rod 516 inserted into the stirring rod insertion hole 514 is pulled out most, the operation side jumps over the processing liquid injection opening 512 and extends to the outside of the apparatus in which the maintenance doors 10a and 10a are opened. In the most pushed state, the tip is 515 inside the tank body.
Extends to the vicinity of the innermost bottom surface of the. Thus, a slide space for the stirring rod 516 is secured, and the processing liquid in the tank body 515 can be effectively stirred.

The inside diameter of the stirring rod insertion hole 514 is
6 and the stirrer rod insertion hole 514 as small as possible to reduce the amount of the processing liquid leaking from the gap.
In order to smoothly perform the slide operation of 6, a stirring rod 5
16 is slightly larger than the outside diameter. However, the amount of the processing liquid adhering to the stirring rod 516 easily passes through a small gap because the amount of the processing liquid at the beginning of the operation of pulling out the stirring rod 516 is small. By dropping, the stirring rod 5
Gather and grow below 16. The grown droplet cannot pass through the small gap during the pushing operation of the stirring rod 516, and as a result, leaks out to the upper portion 511 of the tank body (in the present embodiment, unlike the conventional example, a notch is formed in the gap. Since it is not provided, the amount of the treatment liquid leaking to the upper portion 511 of the tank body is reduced, but it is difficult to completely eliminate the leakage.)

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the processing liquid collecting hole 5
13 is provided independently at a position lower than the stirring rod insertion hole 514 so that the processing liquid leaking from the gap to the upper portion 511 of the tank main body is collected into the inside 515 of the tank main body. In this way, the processing liquid collecting hole 513 is provided independently of the stirring rod insertion hole 514 because the gap is made as small as possible to reduce the leakage due to the scattering of the processing liquid during stirring. When passing through the insertion hole 514,
The processing liquid attached to the stirring rod 516 comes into contact with the peripheral edge of the stirring rod insertion hole 514 and drops by gravity into the tank body interior 515.
This is because a so-called draining effect is generated, and the leakage of the processing liquid attached to the stirring rod 516 is reduced. In particular,
As described above, the stirring rod insertion hole 514 is inserted into the upper part 5 of the tank body.
When provided on the inclined surface formed in 11, the axial center direction of the stirring rod 516 is inclined downward, and the lower side of the stirring rod 516 always comes into contact with the peripheral edge of the stirring rod insertion hole 514, so that the above-mentioned drainage effect becomes remarkable. . On the other hand, in the conventional example, the notch is provided on the lower side, which is a passage of the processing liquid attached to the stirring rod, even though the gap is reduced, so that such an effect cannot be obtained. Was.

Further, the processing liquid recovery hole 513 allows the processing liquid leaked to the upper portion 511 of the tank main body to be moved by gravity to the inside of the tank main body 511.
15 has an opening area that can be collected. Specifically, the round hole having a diameter of about φ4 mm is used because a diameter smaller than this diameter makes it difficult to drop by gravity due to the influence of the surface tension of the processing liquid. However, if the diameter is too large, the processing liquid may leak out of the hole due to scattering of the processing liquid during stirring, so that the effect is rather adverse. The shape of the hole need not be a round hole, but may be any shape such as a long hole or a slit.

Since the stirring rod insertion hole 514 is provided on the inclined surface formed in the tank main body upper part 511 as described above, the processing liquid recovery hole 513 located at a position lower than the stirring rod insertion hole 514 is formed. Although the processing liquid can be guided by gravity drop, in the present embodiment, the processing liquid leaked to the upper portion 511 of the tank body is further formed by the tapered portion 517 formed so as to surround the processing liquid injection opening 512 and the processing liquid recovery hole 513. The liquid was surely guided to the processing liquid recovery hole 513. Specifically, the tapered portion 517 has a concave portion formed in the upper portion 511 of the tank body and has a tapered wall surface. However, the wall surface of the projection may be tapered as long as the processing liquid is guided to the processing liquid recovery hole 516. Further, the tapered portion 517 does not necessarily need to be formed so as to surround the processing liquid injection opening 512 and the processing liquid recovery hole 513, and at least the processing liquid injection opening 51 may be formed.
2 is formed on the left and right around the lower part of the processing liquid 2, and the processing liquid
13 may be led. If the tapered portion 517 is formed in a mortar shape, the flow of the processing liquid becomes even smoother.

The stirring bar 516 is provided in the same manner as in the prior art.
At the end, a column-shaped stirring section 518 for stirring the treatment liquid in the tank body interior 515 is provided. By setting the outer diameter of the stirring section 518 larger than the outer diameter of the stirring rod, the stirring section 518 cannot pass through the gap between the stirring rod insertion hole 514 and the stirrer 518. Doubles. That is, since the gap is made as small as possible, if the stirring rod 516 is completely pulled out from the tank main body upper part 511 by mistake, it is difficult to reinsert it. Therefore, by providing such means, there is no possibility that the stirring rod 516 may be completely pulled out of the tank main body upper part 511 by mistake. Further, with such a configuration, it is possible to prevent the storage capacity of the stirring rod 516 and to prevent the processing ability of the development processing apparatus from being lowered due to misuse.

The tank body of the refill tank 51 is made of a synthetic resin material having chemical resistance and durability, such as polypropylene or polyethylene, and has a thickness of 0.2 to 2.0.
mm. The contents of the replenishment tanks 51 to 53 can be appropriately set according to the apparatus main body, and in the case of the present apparatus, all are set to about 10000 cc.

In the lower portion 519 of the tank body, a processing liquid supply opening 520 and a sensor mounting port 521 are provided side by side. The processing liquid supply pipe 58 is connected to the processing liquid supply opening 5.
The processing liquid supply pipe 58 is further connected to a processing liquid supply opening (not shown) formed in the processing tanks 31 to 36. Although not shown, the sensor attached to the sensor attachment port 521 is for detecting a low level in the replenishment tank.

From the replenishment tanks 51 to 53 to the processing tank 31
A processing liquid supply pump 59 is provided in a supply path of the processing liquid supply pipe 58 extending from the processing liquid supply pipe 58 to the processing liquid supply pipe 59. As the processing liquid supply pump 59, an electromagnetic pump or the like can be used. By operating the processing liquid supply pump 59, the replenishment tank 5
By supplying the processing liquid from 1 to 53 to the processing tanks 31 to 36 and detecting the low level with the sensor, the supply of the processing liquid can be automatically stopped.

Next, the operation of stirring the processing liquid in the replenishing tank 51 will be described in detail. First, the lid 512a of the processing liquid injection opening 512 of the replenishment tank 51 is opened. Then, a predetermined amount of water and a chemical (in some cases, a concentrated liquid) are injected from the processing liquid injection opening 512 in a predetermined order according to the replenishment tank 51. Thereafter, the lid 512a of the processing liquid injection opening 512 is closed. And stirring rod 5
Slide 16 several times in the axial direction. Then, the replenishing tank 5 is stirred by the stirring section 518 at the tip of the stirring rod 516.
The processing liquid in 1 is stirred and mixed. At this time, even if the processing liquid in the replenishment tank 51 scatters or the processing liquid adheres to the stirring rod 516, the processing liquid has a small gap between the stirring rod 516 and the stirring rod insertion hole 514, In addition, most of the water does not pass through this gap due to the water drainage effect described above, so that the amount leaking to the upper portion 511 of the tank main body is very small, and the stirring operation can be easily performed. In addition, even if the processing liquid leaks, it is collected by the tapered portion 517 and the processing liquid collecting holes 51 are collected.
3 and is reliably recovered in the tank main body 515 by gravity by overcoming the surface tension from the processing liquid recovery hole 513, thereby improving the working environment and eliminating the possibility that the processing liquid adheres to the apparatus main body. Thereafter, by operating the replenishment pump 59, the processing liquid mixed and stirred in the replenishment tanks 51 to 53 is supplied to the processing tanks 31 to 36 through the processing liquid supply pipe 58.

In the above embodiment, the stirring rod 516 is installed obliquely at a high place on the upper part 511 of the tank body.
Depending on the shape and arrangement of the tank, the stirring rod 516 may be installed vertically. Further, the number of the processing liquid collecting holes 513 is not limited to one, and two or more processing liquid collecting holes 513 may be provided around the stirring rod 516.

In the above-described embodiment, the developing device for a photographic photosensitive material is applied to the developing process of photographic paper as a photographic photosensitive material, but can be applied to the developing process of a film as a photographic photosensitive material. It is.
Further, the present invention can be applied to a development processing apparatus having both functions of photographic paper development processing and film development processing.

In the above embodiment, the replenishment tank 51
Although 53 are arranged inside the apparatus main body, they may be externally provided outside the apparatus main body.
Can be increased.

[0040]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the gap between the stirring rod and the stirring rod insertion hole is reduced, and the leakage to the upper part of the tank body is caused by the scattering of the stirring rod caused by sliding. The amount of the processing solution is reduced. Further, when the stirring rod slides through the stirring rod insertion hole, the stirring rod comes into contact with the peripheral edge of the stirring rod insertion hole to drop the processing liquid attached to the stirring rod into the tank body, a so-called draining effect. Therefore, the amount of the processing liquid leaking to the upper portion of the tank main body due to the adhesion to the stirring rod is also reduced. The processing liquid that has once leaked to the upper part of the tank from the gap between the stirring rod and the stirring rod insertion hole is dropped by gravity through the processing liquid collection hole that is independently opened at a position lower than the stirring rod insertion hole. It is reliably collected inside. Therefore, the user can perform the stirring operation without worrying that the processing liquid leaks to the upper portion of the tank main body, so that the working efficiency is improved, the working environment is improved, and the processing liquid adheres to the apparatus main body. It does not cause corrosion.

Further, since the stirring rod insertion hole is provided on the inclined surface formed in the upper portion of the tank body (claim 2), when the stirring rod slides and passes through the stirring rod insertion hole, the stirring rod is inserted under the stirring rod. The side contacts the peripheral edge of the stirring rod insertion hole, and the drainage effect is more easily generated, so that the amount of the processing liquid leaking to the upper portion of the tank main body due to the adhesion to the stirring rod can be further reduced.

Further, a taper portion formed at least on the left and right around the lower part of the stirring rod insertion hole and guiding the processing liquid leaked to the upper part of the tank body to the processing liquid recovery hole is provided (claim 3). The processing liquid once leaked to the upper portion of the tank main body from the gap with the rod insertion hole is collected by the tapered portion, guided to the processing liquid recovery hole by gravity drop, and is reliably collected inside the tank main body.

Further, the processing liquid collecting hole is a hole having a predetermined shape having an opening area capable of collecting the processing liquid leaked to the upper portion of the tank main body into the tank main body by gravity (claim 4). The processing liquid that has once leaked to the upper portion of the tank body from the gap between the rod and the stirring rod insertion hole overcomes the surface tension from the processing liquid recovery hole and is reliably recovered inside the tank body by gravity.

Further, since the replenishment tank is made of a material having durability and chemical resistance (claim 5),
The storage of the processing liquid is stabilized, and the replenishment tank is sufficiently resistant to repeated sliding of the stirring rod.

Further, since the developing apparatus is provided with the processing liquid replenishing tank according to any one of claims 1 to 5 (claim 6), a developing apparatus having the above-mentioned effects can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a developing device for a photographic photosensitive material according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2A and 2B are diagrams illustrating a configuration of a development processing unit in the development apparatus of the photographic photosensitive material illustrated in FIG. 1, wherein FIG.
FIG. 2B is a sectional view taken along line XX of the development processing unit shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an arrangement of a replenishment tank in a developing processing unit.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing details of a replenishment tank.

FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing details of a conventional replenishment tank.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Development processing apparatus 20 ... Exposure part 30 ... Development processing part 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36 ... Processing tank 40 ... Drying processing part 51, 52, 53 ... Replenishment tank 58 ... Processing liquid supply pipe 59 ... Replenishment Pump 511: Upper part of the tank main body 512: Processing liquid injection opening 513 ... Processing liquid recovery hole 514 ... Stirrer rod insertion hole 515 ... Inside of the tank main body 516 ... Stirrer rod 517 ... Tapered part 518 ... Stirrer

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2H098 AA01 AA03 AA05 BA03 BA04 BA15 BA18 BA37 CA02 DA05 DA06 DA21 DA28 EA05 2H112 AA11 AA14 AA15 BA08 BB18 EA12 EA13 EA16 EA20 EB10

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A replenishing tank for replenishing a processing tank into which a processing liquid for development processing is filled, wherein the replenishing tank is opened at a predetermined position on an upper portion of the tank body, and a stirring rod is provided in an axial direction. In the processing liquid replenishment tank provided with a stirring rod insertion hole to be slidably inserted, at a position lower than the stirring rod insertion hole in the upper part of the tank body, the opening is opened independently of the stirring rod insertion hole, and the stirring rod slides. A processing liquid replenishing tank provided with a processing liquid collecting hole for collecting, inside the tank main body, the processing liquid leaked from the gap between the stirring rod and the stirring rod insertion hole to the upper portion of the tank main body. 2. The processing liquid replenishing tank according to claim 1, wherein the stirring rod insertion hole is provided on an inclined surface formed at an upper portion of the tank main body. 3. A tapered portion formed at least on the left and right around the lower portion of the stirring rod insertion hole and guiding the processing liquid leaked to the upper portion of the tank body to the processing liquid recovery hole. Replenishment tank for processing liquid. 4. The processing liquid recovery hole according to claim 1, wherein the processing liquid recovery hole is a hole having an opening area capable of collecting the processing liquid leaked to the upper portion of the tank main body into the tank main body by gravity. The processing solution replenishment tank according to any one of the above. 5. The replenishing tank is made of a material having durability and chemical resistance.
5. The processing solution replenishment tank according to any one of items 4 to 4. 6. A developing apparatus comprising the processing liquid replenishing tank according to claim 1.