JP2002333698A - Drying equipment for photosensitive material - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide drying equipment for photosensitive materials constituted in such a manner that drying efficiency can be improved by blowing hot air even in a direction switching path, the degrees of freedom in design, such as low setting of the entire part of the equipment by reducing the distance between a lower conveyance path and an upper conveyance path can be assured and the effective utilization of the lower space of the drying equipment is made possible. SOLUTION: Plural sets of conveyance roller pairs 35, 35 and 35 are disposed in the direction switching path 202 so as to attain the relative positional relation for obtaining a conveyance force by the rigidity possessed by the photographic paper P, and guide members 100 are disposed between the conveyance rollers.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a photosensitive material drying apparatus, and more particularly to a technique applied to a photosensitive material processing apparatus for processing photographic paper as a photosensitive material.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Exposure printing is performed on an emulsion surface of photographic paper (hereinafter, also referred to as paper), and then sequentially passed through processing tanks containing processing liquids for development, fixing, and stabilization, and then dried. A photographic processing apparatus configured to discharge to the outside later has been put to practical use.

On the other hand, the applicant of the present application has disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-830.
No. 59 proposes a photographic drying apparatus which can be downsized. According to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 08-114908, a plurality of transport roller sets are disposed along a vertical transport path, and drying is performed while transporting photographic paper. It has been proposed that photographic paper be dried by blowing air. That is, in the above-described proposal, drying is performed in the process of transporting the photosensitive material along the transport path formed by the downward transport path, the direction change path, and the upward transport path that are directed upward.

[0004]

However, according to the above-mentioned proposal, a direction change is performed in which the photographic paper conveyed along the lower conveyance path is turned to the upper conveyance path for conveying the printing paper upward. The path is configured to drive a large-diameter roller, provide a plurality of small-diameter driven rollers that abut against and follow the outer peripheral surface of the large-diameter roller, and provide a guide member between each driven roller. In this method, the photographic paper is guided so that the emulsion surface of the photographic paper is in close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the large-diameter roller, whereby the direction is changed so as to be directed upward from below.

For this reason, during the passage of the large-diameter roller, the large-diameter roller hinders the blowing of hot air, so that the distance (that is, the height) between the lower transport path and the upper transport path is reduced.
In this case, sufficient drying by warm air blowing can be performed in the process of transporting the photographic paper.

However, the inability to temporarily blow hot air on the turning path as described above causes a decrease in drying efficiency, and when the distance between the lower conveying path and the upper conveying path is increased, the overall height of the apparatus is increased. There is a problem that the space under the drying device cannot be used effectively.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and it is possible to improve the drying efficiency by blowing hot air also on the turning path, and to reduce the distance between the lower conveying path and the upper conveying path. It is an object of the present invention to provide a photosensitive material drying apparatus which can secure a degree of freedom in design such as setting the whole apparatus low by making the apparatus small, and which can effectively utilize the space below the drying apparatus.

[0008]

Means for Solving the Problems The above-mentioned problems are solved,
In order to achieve the object, according to the present invention, a plurality of sets of conveying rollers are disposed along a conveying path, and a photosensitive material drying apparatus for drying in a process of conveying the photosensitive material along the conveying path. A plurality of sets of conveying rollers provided so as to have a relative positional relationship to obtain a conveying force with the rigidity of the photosensitive material to constitute the conveying path including a direction changing path, and A drying chamber formed with a first opening for supplying warm air toward the space between the roller sets, and a second opening for flowing warm air into the room, A circulation flow path for collecting warm air that has contributed to drying and directing the air toward the second opening; an air supply unit that is disposed in the middle of the circulation flow path to perform air supply; Heating means disposed downstream of the air supply of the means, for heating the air supply and generating hot air; It is characterized by having a.

Further, a guide member is provided between the pair of transport rollers disposed on the direction change path to guide the photosensitive material so as to be directed to the pair of transport rollers on the downstream side. Is further provided.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. An apparatus for processing photographic paper as a photosensitive material will be described below.
It goes without saying that the present invention is also applicable to a drying device for drying the developed negative / positive film.

First, FIG. 1 shows a photosensitive material processing apparatus 1 (hereinafter, referred to as a photosensitive material processing apparatus 1).
FIG. 2 is a front view in which a cover and the like provided detachably with respect to a housing 2 are removed to show the entire configuration of the apparatus (referred to as an apparatus 1).

In FIG. 1, the apparatus 1 is large in a front view, and a printer (photo printing) unit 3 and a processor (developing processing) unit 5
And a dryer section 6 provided with a drying device 15 described below.
It is composed of three parts, which are vertically long on the left and right and flat in the front and back (front and back directions on the paper surface) as shown in the figure.
The occupation area is minimized. The main parts are designed to be easily accessible from the front, so that they can be easily used for various tasks that must be performed on a daily basis.

The photographic paper P exposed by the printer unit 3 is transferred via the transport unit 8 to the developing processing tank 11, the fixing processing tank 12, and the stabilizing processing tank 13 of the processor unit 5 disposed downstream of the printer unit 3. , Is turned in the direction of the arrow by a reversing roll (not shown), and is conveyed by the rack unit 14. And, through the stabilization tank 13, the dryer section 6
After being sent to the drying unit 15 and dried, it is introduced into the direction changing device 16, and then sorted by size,
It is configured to be sent to a large-size tray 18 or a normal-size belt conveyor 17 and finally discharged to the outside of the apparatus 1.

On the other hand, a replenishing tank 24 for the developing solution, a replenishing tank 25 for the fixing solution, and a replenishing tank 26 for the stabilizing solution for replenishing the processing solution are provided on the lower side, and these tanks are stored in containers in advance. In order to introduce the various concentrated processing liquids, a developer container 20 whose opening is sealed with a sealing member,
The fixing solution container 21 and the two stabilizing solution containers 22 and 23 are set as shown in FIG.

A power supply unit is provided in the housing 2 occupying the space below the drying unit 15, and a processor for performing various controls related to each of the processing tanks is provided on the power supply unit. A control unit 9 is provided and configured to control the entire apparatus.

Next, FIG. 2 is a front view showing a main part of the drying device 15 of FIG. In this figure, the drying chamber 30 is
It is formed as a rectangular box, and a plurality of transport rollers 35, 35 are disposed in a U-shape that is concave downward inside the drying chamber 30 as shown in the figure to form a transport path 60 shown by broken lines. Then, the photographic paper is dried during the conveyance.

That is, the photographic paper P conveyed from the processing tank with the emulsion surface Pa facing upward is introduced in the direction of the arrow from the upper left of the drawing, turned by the rollers 50 so as to face downward, and then faces downward. The sheet is conveyed through a left conveyance path 60a, a bottom conveyance path 60b near the bottom surface, and a right conveyance path 60c facing upward, and is sent out of the drying chamber 30 upward.

The left transport path 60a and the bottom transport path 6
A drying chamber 32 for blowing hot air in a direction indicated by an arrow F2 through a number of nozzles 33, which are first openings, is provided in a space surrounded by Ob and the right transport path 60c. The drying chamber 32 is configured to temporarily store hot air supplied by a fan motor described later in order to introduce the drying chamber 32 in the direction of arrow F1 through the second opening 31 on the side surface, thereby increasing the internal pressure. Arrow F through a number of nozzles 33
It is configured to blow out in two directions.

On the other hand, a roller 50 for conveying the photographic paper P by bringing the photographic paper P into contact with at least 90 degrees, which is the angle θ, is disposed on the upstream side of the conveyance path serving as the entrance of the drying chamber 30 as shown in the figure. The photographic paper P is turned downward. Four sponge rollers 44 are provided on the outer peripheral surface of the roller 50 so as not to damage the emulsion surface. When the sponge rollers 44 are driven synchronously with the roller 50, the nip between the rollers causes the conveyance force of the photographic paper to move. I'm trying to get

The transport roller sets 35, 35, 35 are formed of a soft material including sponge for forming the transport paths 60a, 60b, 60c, so that the transport rollers are transported without any damage even if they come into contact with the emulsion surface Pa. It is a soft roller that generates a force, and three transport rollers 35 are rotatably supported at their shaft portions by bearings (not shown). Roller gears shown by broken lines are fixed to these three shaft portions, respectively. Further, a roller chain sprocket having teeth which mesh with the roller chain 46 is further fixed to the shaft of the upper transport roller 35. The photographic printing paper P is deformed by the three conveying rollers 35 to generate a conveying force on the back surface Pb side.

With the above arrangement, when the roller chain 46 is moved in the direction of the arrow, the rollers are driven in full synchronization in the direction of the arrow, and the photographic paper is conveyed as shown in the figure. Further, between the transport rollers 35, air is supplied so that warm air from the nozzle 33 acts on the emulsion surface Pa side, thereby promoting drying of the emulsion surface. In addition, according to FIG. 2, 20 sets of conveying rollers are provided along the conveying path 60 as shown in the figure, but it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and may be 20 sets or more. No.

Next, FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of the drying device 15 in which the drying chamber 32 in FIG. 2 is omitted. In this drawing, the components already described in FIG. 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. The transport path 60 indicated by a two-dot chain line in the drawing is a small-size printing. The paper P is formed so as to be conveyed in two rows on the left and right, so that the processing speed is increased. In order to carry the paper in two rows in the left and right directions, the carry roller 35 has the entire length as shown in the figure.

On the other hand, the configuration in which the warm air flows into the drying chamber in the direction of arrow F1 through the second opening 31 contributes to the drying by passing between the conveying rollers 35, 35, 35. The hot air whose temperature has dropped is recovered through a recovery port 77 shown by a broken line, introduced in the direction of arrow F <b> 3, and sucked at the intake port 73 of the fan motor 72. Then, the air supply generated by the driving of the fan motor is guided to the downstream heater 71 in the direction of arrow F <b> 4 through the discharge port 74 in the direction of the arrow F <b> 4, and is heated to pass through the second opening 31 through the drying chamber 32. It constitutes a circulation channel introduced therein.

That is, in the front view of the drying unit composed of the duct, the fan motor and the heater of FIG. 4 and the right side view of FIG. 5, the drying unit passes between the transport rollers 35, 35 and 35 and contributes to the drying. The hot air whose temperature has dropped is collected through the collection port 77 of the duct 78 and is sucked from the intake port 73 of the fan motor 72 in the direction indicated by the arrow F3. Is formed in the duct 70 so as to be directed to a plurality of heaters 71 on the downstream side through the air passage, and is formed as a circulation flow passage which is heated as the air passes and is introduced into the drying chamber 32 from the second opening 31. ing. Further, a thermistor 90 provided at the collection port 77 is provided.
Performs temperature detection to control the temperature of the heater.

FIG. 6A is a front view of the rectifying member 81 for uniformly adjusting the temperature distribution unevenness of the hot air heated by the heater 71, and almost coincides with the second opening 31. It has an outer shape.

As shown in the drawing, the rectifying member 81 is a metal punching metal having a thickness of 1 to 2 mm formed by pressing innumerable 3 mm through holes 81 a in a zigzag manner. It has a matching outer shape and is bent upright on four sides, and is fixed to the inner wall of the second opening 31 with a screw (not shown) or fixed downstream of the heater 71 of the duct 70. are doing.

By the rectifying member 81 arranged as described above, the warm air having the temperature partially raised by the heater 71 and having an uneven temperature distribution is sufficiently mixed before passing through the through hole 81a. Thus, the temperature is made uniform.

FIG. 6B is a front view of a rectifying member 82 made of expanded metal. Hot air having a temperature distribution that is partially raised by the heating heater 71 and has an uneven temperature distribution has a diamond shape. Before passing through the opening 82a, the mixture is sufficiently mixed in the foreground, and the temperature is made uniform. The rectifying member may be any member as long as it is a member having a heat-resistant temperature of 80 ° C. or higher, which allows sufficient mixing before passing heated air, or a plurality of rectifying members may be provided.

Next, FIG. 7A is a front view of the drying device 15, and FIG. 7B is a sectional view taken along line XX of FIG. 7A.
In this drawing, the same reference numerals are given to the components already described and the description is omitted, and the transport path is changed to a lower transport path 200 for guiding and transporting the photographic paper P downward as shown in the figure. And an upper transport path 201 for guiding and transporting upward. The direction change path 202 is arranged in a zigzag pattern as shown in the figure, and has a relative positional relationship in which the conveyance force is obtained by the action of the reaction force generated at the time of deformation due to the rigidity of the printing paper P. , A plurality of sets of transport rollers 35, 35,... A guide member 1 is provided between the lower transport rollers 35 for guiding the transport rollers 35 toward the downstream transport roller set.
00 and 100 are provided. These guide members 1
7 is formed in a comb shape as shown in FIG. 7 (b), and is configured to pass between the transport rollers 35, 35, 35 and pass warm air that has contributed to drying.

In the drying apparatus configured as described above, the external power is transmitted, the transport roller is rotated, and the hot air generated by energizing the heating heater and the fan motor passes through the rectifying member to generate the temperature. The hot air of a predetermined temperature maintained in a state where the distribution unevenness disappears is introduced into the drying chamber 32, and the preparation for the drying is completed, and the print is passed through the processing tank and becomes a somewhat wet state. Paper P is the emulsion surface P
In the transporting process in which a is transported upward, it is sufficiently dried and transported upward. In addition, since the transport path 60 can be formed in a U-shape as viewed from the front in FIG. 7 and the hot air can be blown also in the direction changing section 202, sufficient drying can be performed even if the height H is reduced. Becomes possible. Further, the space below the drying device 15 can be effectively used as a storage portion for the processor control unit 9.

[0031]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Drying efficiency can also be improved by blowing hot air on the reversing path, and the degree of freedom in design can be ensured, such as reducing the distance between the lower transport path and the upper transport path and setting the entire apparatus low. It is possible to provide an apparatus for drying a photosensitive material in which the space below the apparatus can be effectively used.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view illustrating a main part of an overall configuration of a photosensitive material processing apparatus 1. FIG.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the drying device 15 of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a front view of a drying unit.

FIG. 5 is a right side view of the drying unit.

6A is a front view of a rectifying member 81, and FIG. 6B is a front view of a rectifying member 82. FIG.

FIG. 7A is a front view of a drying unit, and FIG.
-It is X-ray arrow sectional drawing.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 photo printing and developing device 3 printer unit 4 exposure unit 5 processor unit 6 dryer unit 31 second opening 32 drying chamber 33 nozzle (first opening) 35 transport roller 71 heating heater 72 fan motor 70, 78 duct (circulation) (Part of the flow path) 77 Collection port 100 Guide member

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A photosensitive material drying apparatus in which a plurality of sets of transport rollers are disposed along a transport path, and drying is performed in a process of transporting the photosensitive material along the transport path. A plurality of sets of conveying roller sets provided so as to have a relative positional relationship to obtain a conveying force are provided to constitute the conveying path including a direction change path, and a temperature is set between the conveying roller sets. A drying chamber having a first opening for blowing air and a second opening for flowing hot air into the room; and collecting hot air that has passed between the transport roller sets and contributed to drying. A circulating flow path that faces the second opening; an air supply unit that is provided in the middle of the circulation flow path to perform air supply; and a downstream side of the air supply of the air supply unit. Heating means provided to heat the air supply and generate warm air. Drying device for photosensitive material. 2. A guide member disposed between the transport roller sets disposed on the direction change path, for guiding the photosensitive material to be directed to the downstream transport roller set. The apparatus for drying a photosensitive material according to claim 1, further comprising: