JP2003202657A - Automatic developing machine for silver halide photographic sensitive material - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an automatic developing machine for silver halide photographic sensitive material which does not cause developing irregularity at the background part of a digital image by improving the contact constitution of the cut paper P1 of color paper to a surface type guide and a pair of nip rollers in each processing tank such as a color developing processing tank so as to restrain the occurrence of the developing irregularity on the cut paper P1 at a transition part. <P>SOLUTION: In this automatic developing machine for developing the cut paper of the silver halide color paper on which the digital image is printed especially, a pair of feeding nip rollers is provided on the entrance side and the exit side of a U-turn feeding part where the photosensitive emulsion surface of the cut paper turns outside respectively, and a top roller is provided at the top of the U-turn, then the surface type guide is provided on a more outside than a standard feeding path between a pair of feeding nip rollers on the entrance side and the exit side and the top roller, and the cut paper is fed in contact with only the top roller other than the leading edge and the trailing edge of the cut paper. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic processor for a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material for image printing, which exposes and develops a color paper as a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material, and particularly, between a plurality of processing steps. It is characterized by the improvement of the transition part for transporting a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a developing process for subjecting an exposed light-sensitive material to a predetermined developing treatment, an image-exposed silver halide photographic light-sensitive material (color paper) is sent to a color developing step of an automatic processor. The color developing tank is sequentially sent to a downstream processing step, for example, a bleach-fixing processing tank, through a transfer path and a transfer path in the crossover section.

During each processing step, the upper part of each processing tank is shown in FIG.
As shown in the perspective view of Fig. 1, a transition part is provided so that the silver halide photographic light-sensitive material (color paper) sent out from the development processing solution in the processing tank onto the liquid surface is guided into the processing tank on the downstream side. There is. As shown in FIG. 7, the crossover portion has rib-shaped guides 108 and 109 and nip roller pair 10 having ribs 108A and 109A in which the contact with cut paper P1 of silver halide photographic light-sensitive material (color paper) is minimized.
7 is used. Also, although not shown, a conveyance-free curved portion of a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material (color paper such as photographic paper) can be rotated between a pair of drive nip rollers and is not drive-free. Some have a structure with a roller structure.

Since the crossover portion is installed outside the liquid between the processing steps, the processing reaction of the silver halide photographic light-sensitive material (color paper) does not proceed uniformly like in the processing liquid tank, and the halogen For the processing solution that is brought out of the processing tank by the silver halide photographic light-sensitive material (color paper) and adheres to the emulsion surface, and for the member of the transition area that contacts the silver halide photographic light-sensitive material (color paper) of the transition area. The adhering processing liquid components may adhere to the photosensitive emulsion surface of the color paper to be transported next, and the processing reaction may progress unevenly on the photosensitive emulsion surface, causing processing abnormalities such as uneven development and density fluctuations. Was sometimes.

[0005]

The problem to be solved by the present invention is to prevent the occurrence of processing abnormalities such as development unevenness and density fluctuation in the transfer section installed outside the liquid between processing steps,
An object is to propose an automatic processor for silver halide photographic light-sensitive materials, which can provide processed images of high quality.

Further, conventionally, the printing of an image photographed on a photographic film (hereinafter referred to as a film) such as a reversal film or a negative film onto a light-sensitive material typified by color paper such as photographic paper is performed by projecting light projected from the film onto the light-sensitive material. Incident on the surface of the photosensitive material with this projection light, analog exposure
(Direct exposure) method is used. On the other hand, in recent years, a printing apparatus using digital exposure, that is,
An image recorded on a film is photoelectrically read, the read image is converted into a digital signal, various kinds of image processing are applied to the image data for recording, and the photosensitive material is modulated by the recording light according to the image data. A digital photographic printer has been put into practical use, which exposes an image to record an image (latent image), develops it, and outputs it as a print. In a digital photographic printer, a film is photoelectrically read, and gradation correction or the like is performed by image (signal) processing to determine an exposure condition. Therefore, it is possible to combine print images by image processing, edit print images such as image division, color / density adjustment,
Various image processing such as contour enhancement can be performed freely,
You can output the processed print freely according to the application. Further, the image data of the print image can be supplied to a computer or the like, and can be stored in a recording medium such as a magnetic card. Further, according to the digital photographic printer, it is possible to output a print having a better image quality, which is excellent in resolution, color / density reproducibility, etc., as compared with the conventional direct exposure print. Such a digital photographic printer is composed of an input device having a scanner (image reading device) and an image processing device, and an output device having a printing device and a developing device. The scanner makes the reading light emitted from the light source incident on the film, obtains the projection light carrying the image photographed on the film, and forms this projection light on an image sensor such as a CCD sensor by an imaging lens. Then, the image is read by photoelectric conversion and sent to the image processing apparatus as image data (image data signal) of the film.
The image processing apparatus performs predetermined image processing on the image data sent from the scanner and sends it to the printing apparatus as output image data (exposure condition) for image recording. If the printing apparatus is, for example, an apparatus that uses light beam exposure, it modulates the light beam according to the image data sent from the image processing apparatus, deflects this light beam in the main scanning direction, and performs main scanning. By conveying a photosensitive material (printing paper) in a sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the scanning direction, the photosensitive material is scanned and exposed (printed) by a light beam to form a latent image, and then back printing is performed. In the developing machine, the exposed photosensitive material is subjected to a predetermined developing process and the like, and the image photographed on the film becomes a print.

Analog exposure in which projection light of a conventional film is incident on a photosensitive material and the photosensitive material is surface-exposed by the projection light.
In the (direct exposure) method, in order to directly reproduce the effect of the dye particles of the film and the effect of the film development level without correction, or for the lens that adjusts the projection light of the film on the photographic paper, for example, the central part and the peripheral part. In order to reflect the slight difference in the light amount of the light and the slight deviation of the exposure time due to the mechanical movement of the shutter for the adjustment of the exposure amount of the projection light, for example, a scene of the sea or sky, or a uniform background of gray gradation of intermediate gradation It was difficult to achieve perfect uniform density in the scene. Therefore, even if extremely minute density unevenness occurs in the development processing step, it is buried in other factor factors, it is almost difficult for a human to discriminate, and it is less likely to cause a failure. However, according to the above digital photographic printer, it is possible to output a print having a better image quality, which is excellent in resolution, color / density reproducibility, etc., as compared with the conventional direct exposure print. Ultra-fine density unevenness in the development process that could not be distinguished by the exposure (direct exposure) method (Silver halide photographic light-sensitive material (photographic paper) is transported to the color development tank and the subsequent section to the next processing step. When being processed, in the processing liquid,
And irregularly interrupted streak-like or spot-like sensitization or desensitization failure that may cause uneven development due to slight uneven contact with the guide member in the transport path outside the processing liquid)
It became possible to determine that the cause of the failure. Especially in the case of value-added prints (calendars, postcards, design prints, etc.) in digital photo printers, images that have undergone digital image processing are often formed, and the background is finished in a uniform halftone or with a certain gradation. The feature is that it is processed into a different image, and even if slight unevenness occurs in such an image,
A serious failure occurs in the image area.

The present invention eliminates the drawbacks of the prior art and automatically develops a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material capable of sufficiently high quality processing even for a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material subjected to digital exposure processing. The purpose is to provide a machine.

[0009]

This object is achieved by any of the following technical means (1) to (11).

(1) After the rolled silver halide photographic light-sensitive material is cut into a predetermined length, the silver halide photographic light-sensitive material having the predetermined length is conveyed, and the image to be recorded is exposed in the exposure section. In an automatic developing machine for silver halide photographic light-sensitive materials having a plurality of processing steps of dipping and transporting a used silver halide photographic light-sensitive material into a processing liquid tank, an upstream processing step is provided between the plurality of processing steps. A crossover portion is provided between subsequent downstream processing steps, and the transport path of the crossover portion is such that the silver halide photographic light-sensitive material is sent out from the processing tank of the upstream processing step onto the liquid surface and further downstream processing step. U-turn curved conveying section is formed so as to be guided into the processing tank of FIG. 3, and a nip roller pair is provided on each of the entrance side and the exit side of the transition section to form a U-turn curve. The top of the transport section Section rollers are provided, and a sheet guide is provided between the nip roller pair on the input side and the output side and the top roller outside the standard conveying path of the silver halide photographic light-sensitive material, so that the U-turn curved conveying section is halogen-free. An automatic developing machine for a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material, characterized in that it has a structure in which only the top roller and a pair of the nip roller on the input side and the nip roller on the output side are in contact with each other except the front end and the rear end of the silver photographic light-sensitive material.

(2) The predetermined length of silver halide photographic light-sensitive material is color paper, and the light-sensitive emulsion surface of the color paper is conveyed on the side in contact with the top roller of the U-turn curved conveyance section. An automatic developing machine for silver halide photographic light-sensitive materials according to item (1).

(3) The plurality of processing steps include a color developing step and a bleach-fixing step, and the silver halide photographic light-sensitive material is transferred from the color developing processing tank of the color developing step to the bleach-fixing processing tank of the bleach-fixing step. The automatic developing machine for a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material according to item (1) or (2), wherein the crossing portion is the U-shaped curved conveying portion.

(4) One roller of the nip roller pair on the entrance side and the exit side of the crossover portion is a hard flat roller having a substantially uniform outer diameter and is in contact with the emulsion side of the color paper. The nip roller pair conveying means has a substantially flat surface guide provided between the pair of nip rollers and the top roller on the emulsion side of the color paper. The automatic developing machine for silver halide photographic light-sensitive materials according to item (2) or (3).

(5) After the rolled silver halide photographic light-sensitive material is cut into a predetermined length, the silver halide photographic light-sensitive material of the predetermined length is conveyed, and the image to be recorded is exposed in the exposure section. In an automatic developing machine for a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material having a plurality of processing steps of dipping and transporting a used silver halide photographic light-sensitive material into a processing liquid tank, the silver halide photographic light-sensitive material having the predetermined length is colored paper. In addition, a transition portion is provided between the upstream processing step and the subsequent downstream processing step between the plurality of processing steps, and the transport path of the transition portion is such that the color paper as the silver halide photographic light-sensitive material is upstream. It is sent to the liquid surface from the processing tank of the processing step,
U is introduced so as to be introduced into the processing tank of the processing process on the further downstream side.
A turn-shaped curved conveyance section is formed, and the emulsion surface of the color paper is conveyed on the side in contact with the top roller of the U-turn-shaped curved conveyance section, and the transition section has an entrance side of the transition section. A nip roller pair is provided on each of the transfer side and the output side, and a planar guide is provided on the photosensitive emulsion side of the color paper on the upstream side of the nip roller pair on the input side of the transfer section so as to contact the standard conveyance path of the color paper. An automatic processor for silver halide photographic light-sensitive materials, characterized in that a sheet-like guide on the emulsion side of the color paper is provided outside the standard conveying path of the color paper on the downstream side of the pair of nip rollers on the output side.

(6) After the rolled silver halide photographic light-sensitive material is cut to a predetermined length, the silver halide photographic light-sensitive material having the predetermined length is conveyed and the image to be recorded is exposed in the exposure section. In an automatic developing machine for a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material having a plurality of processing steps of dipping and transporting a used silver halide photographic light-sensitive material into a processing liquid tank, the silver halide photographic light-sensitive material having the predetermined length is colored paper. In addition, a transition portion is provided between the upstream processing step and the subsequent downstream processing step between the plurality of processing steps, and the transport path of the transition portion is such that the color paper as the silver halide photographic light-sensitive material is upstream. It is sent to the liquid surface from the processing tank of the processing step,
U is introduced so as to be introduced into the processing tank of the processing process on the further downstream side.
A turn-shaped curved conveyance section is formed, and the emulsion surface of the color paper is conveyed on the side in contact with the top roller of the U-turn-shaped curved conveyance section, and the transition section has an entrance side of the transition section. A nip roller pair is provided on each of the output side and the output side, and a surface guide is provided between the nip roller pair and the top roller outside the standard conveyance path of the color paper. A surface guide is provided on the emulsion side of the color paper so as to be in contact with the standard conveying path of the paper, and a photosensitive emulsion of the color paper is provided outside the standard conveying path of the color paper on the downstream side of the nip roller pair on the exit side of the crossing section. An automatic developing machine for silver halide photographic light-sensitive materials, which is provided with a surface-shaped guide on the surface side.

(7) The guide surface of the upstream side guide of the nip roller pair on the entrance side of the transition section and the guide surface of the downstream side guide of the nip roller pair on the exit side of the transition section are substantially free of irregularities. The automatic developing machine for silver halide photographic light-sensitive materials according to item (5) or (6), which is formed by a surface.

(8) In the pair of rollers of the transition part,
The roller on the side of the color paper that comes into contact with the emulsion surface should be a plastic hard roller that has a substantially flat outer diameter outside the part that comes into contact with the color paper and has almost no surface material. Characteristic (5) ~
An automatic developing machine for silver halide photographic light-sensitive materials according to any one of (7).

(9) The plastic hard roller is characterized by being made of a material selected from polypropylene, polyethylene, high molecular weight polyethylene, ultra high molecular weight polyethylene, fluororesin, phenol resin, polyphenylene ether, polyphenylene oxide, and polyphenylene sulfide ( 5) An automatic developing machine for silver halide photographic light-sensitive materials according to any one of items 8 to 8.

(10) The automatic developing machine for silver halide photographic light-sensitive material as described in any one of (1) to (9), wherein the top roller is a driving roller.

(11) The exposed silver halide photographic light-sensitive material, wherein the color paper is exposed by an exposure unit that performs digital exposure such that the color paper is exposed by recording light modulated according to digital image data of an image to be recorded. The automatic developing machine for silver halide photographic light-sensitive materials according to any one of items (1) to (10).

The silver halide photographic light-sensitive material of the above-mentioned predetermined length is passed from the carry-in path through the entrance side nip roller pair, the top roller, the exit side nip roller pair, and the carry-out path in the cross section of the standard conveyance path. This is the transport path that passes through in a state where the length of the roll-shaped photosensitive material before being cut to a specified length differs slightly from the outer circumference of the photosensitive material and the portion close to the core due to the influence of curl and environmental conditions. There is.

[0022]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, an example of a specific example relating to the present invention will be shown as an embodiment, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Further, in this embodiment, there are assertive expressions for terms and the like, but they show preferred examples of the present invention, and do not limit the meaning or technical scope of the terms of the present invention.

A silver halide color paper (hereinafter also simply referred to as a color paper) P as a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material is cut into a predetermined length, and an exposed cut paper P1 subjected to digital image exposure is used. An automatic developing machine for silver halide photographic light-sensitive materials to be developed, especially an automatic developing machine for digital image printing (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as an automatic developing machine), is a large number of silver halide photographic light-sensitive materials in which digital images are continuously printed. This is an automatic processor for processing cut paper P1 as a material.

In the following, regarding the automatic developing machine 8 of the present embodiment, FIG. 1 which is a schematic configuration diagram of the printer processor 5 in which the automatic developing machine 8 is combined with the digital image automatic printing apparatus 7, and the present embodiment. 2 which is a schematic configuration diagram of the automatic developing machine 8 of FIG.

The automatic developing machine 8 of the present embodiment is a digital image automatic printing device 7, which is a silver halide photographic photosensitive material for printing such as color paper (color photographic paper) or color print film printed by digital exposure. The cut paper P1 made of a material (hereinafter collectively referred to as color paper P) is developed to obtain a print, and the finished print is sent to the sorter 9.

The digital image automatic printing device 7 draws out the color paper P from the color paper magazine M in which the color paper P is stored in a roll shape by a length corresponding to the print size, and a pull-out roller pair 75. A cutter 76 that cuts the cut color paper P into a length according to the print size, and a feed roller pair 77 that feeds the cut paper P1 that is the leading color paper cut by the cutter 76 to the digital exposure stage 74. And a digital exposure stage 74 that conveys the cut paper P1 exposed downstream in the conveyance direction after the cut paper P1 is sent to a predetermined printing position for digital scan exposure, and a cut conveyed from the digital exposure stage 74. Paper P
Sending roller pair 7 for rapidly sending 1 to the accumulating section 79
8 and an accumulation conveying section 79 for rapidly receiving the cut paper P1 delivered by the delivery roller pair 78 and delivering the cut paper P1 to the automatic developing machine 8 at the transport speed of the automatic developing machine 8. ing.

Further, after being conveyed to a predetermined reading position,
A film carrier 7 for scanning and moving frame images of a photographic film (negative) printed on the cut paper P1.
2 and an illuminating section 71 for illuminating the frame image of the photographic film located at the scan movement position of the film carrier 72,
A projection lens 73 for projecting image information of a frame image of a photographic film illuminated by the illumination unit 71, and the projection lens 7
CCD 91 for color-separating an image by 3 and reading for each color
And an AD converter 92 for AD-converting the read image information and a memory 93 for temporarily storing the conversion information. Further, the image processing board 94 performs color gradation processing and sharpness processing. It is also possible to check while using the monitor 94A. This is the digital image input section or reading section 90A.

The information of the input section or the reading section 90A thus obtained is stored in the memory 95 for the next output, and the driver 96 causes the laser beams 97 of three colors to be generated as digital image information, and the polygon mirror is used. 98 and Fθ
An image is formed on the cut paper P1 conveyed in the sub-scanning direction by the lens 99. This is the digital image output section or writing section 90A.

Then, as shown in FIG. 2, the automatic developing machine 8 processes the cut paper P1 conveyed from the automatic digital image printing apparatus 7 at a constant speed to process the cut paper P1 having the finish printed thereon. As a result, a plurality of liquid tanks are provided side by side as a processing liquid container for storing the processing liquid to be brought into contact with the cut paper P1 in order to process the cut paper P1. That is, the cut paper P1 printed by the automatic digital image printing apparatus 7 is cut in order to perform color development processing.
1. A color development processing tank 110 which stores a color development solution to be brought into contact with 1 and is immersed in the color development solution to perform color development processing, and a bleach-fixing solution for bleach-fixing the color-developed cut paper P1. In order to stabilize the bleach-fixing processing tank 120 that stores the bleach-fixing solution and bleach-fixes it by immersing the cut paper P1 in the stored bleach-fixing solution, the cut-paper P1 is a stabilizing solution. The three stabilization treatment tanks 130A, 130B, 1 for transporting the cut paper P1 along the transport path while being dipped in
30C, a drying chamber 160 for drying the stabilized cut paper P1, and a sorter 9 for sending out and collecting the color paper dried in the drying chamber 160 as a finished print.

A method of transporting the silver halide photographic light-sensitive material cut into a predetermined length after cutting the roll-shaped long silver halide photographic light-sensitive material into a predetermined length (method by cut paper treatment) Does not cut the light-sensitive material in the middle, and after the exposure, back printing, development processing, drying, etc. have been completed in a long state, the light-sensitive material is finally cut into a predetermined length to form one print. Compared with the method, it is not necessary to cut out the cutting edge of the photosensitive material on the adjacent print screens, so that the running cost can be significantly reduced.

In these processing tanks, the cut paper P1 is conveyed by providing flat guides 114 and 115 and a nip roller pair 111 having no unevenness, and two nip roller pairs 174 and 178 are provided in the transfer section 170 to the next tank. The top roller 177 at the top of the U-turn and the planar guides 175 and 176 connecting them are arranged. Then, the cut paper P1 is conveyed in each processing tank so as to make a U-turn with the emulsion surface inside, and at the transition portion 170 to the next tank, it is conveyed so as to make an U-turn with the emulsion surface outside.

In particular, in the transition section 170 extending from the color development processing tank 110 to the bleach-fixing processing tank 120, the color development processing is continuously performed not only in the liquid but also outside the liquid, and the surface guide and the nip roller are The emulsion surface side of the cut paper P1 which comes into contact will appear as development unevenness even if the contact is slightly interrupted unless it is brought into a state where the width direction of the cut paper P1 comes into uniform contact.

As shown in the front view of FIG. 3, the transfer section 170 includes holders 171A mounted on the rack 171 and
171B, 171C, 171D, 171E, 171F,
A sheet guide 172, a nip roller pair 174, a sheet guide 175, a top roller 177, a sheet guide 176, and a nip roller pair 173 are attached to 171G, respectively. The planar guide 172, which is a guide for feeding the cut paper P1 to the pair of nip rollers 174, is arranged on the standard conveyance path S of the cut paper P1, and the planar guide 17 is provided.
Reference numerals 5 and 176 are arranged apart from the standard conveyance path S to the outside, and the planar guides 173 are arranged farther outside than the standard conveyance path S and arranged.

Therefore, among the planar guides that come into contact with the emulsion surface side, in particular, the planar guides 172, 173 of the transition portion 170.
The contact surfaces of 175 and 176 were made to be a uniform smooth surface having substantially no unevenness. Further, each nip roller 111,
The flat rollers 111A and 174A of the side of 174 and 178 which are in contact with the emulsion surface are made uniform with the same roller diameter and made of a hard material.

As described above, a pair of conveying nip rollers are provided at the entrance side and the exit side of the U-turn conveying section with the emulsion surface facing outside, and a top roller 177 is provided at the top of the U-turn. By providing surface guides 175 and 176 between the pairs 174 and 178 and the top roller 177 outside the standard conveyance path, the U-turn conveyance section whose photosensitive emulsion surface is on the outside is the photosensitive emulsion of the cut paper P1 which has been exposed. Even if the front and rear ends of the surface are conveyed in contact with the planar guides 175 and 176, the top paper 177 is conveyed only in contact with the top roller 177 except the front and rear ends of the exposed cut paper P1.

That is, when the cut paper P1 of the color paper P is conveyed through the transition section 170 in the state shown in the schematic diagrams of FIGS.
At that time, the surface guide 175, the top roller 177, and the surface guide 176 move in contact with each other, but the central portion forming the screen never touches the surface guides 175 and 176.
In the state of (c), neither the front end, the rear end, nor the central portion touches the planar guides 175 and 176, and in the state of FIG. 4D, the rear end touches the planar guide 175 and then touches the rear guide 176. Will be transported to the processing tank.

A planar guide 172 is provided on the entrance side (upstream side) of the nip roller pair 174 on the entrance side of the transfer rack of the transfer section 170 so as to substantially coincide with the standard transfer path of the exposed cut paper P1. The tip of the cut paper P1 is surely gripped by the nip roller pair 174. On the exit side (downstream side) of the nip roller pair 178 on the exit side of the transfer rack of the transfer section 170, a planar guide 173 is provided apart from the standard transfer path of the cut paper P1. As a result, the developer is almost exhausted, but the surface guide in an unstable state in which the developer still remains is not touched, that is, the development is not caused, and the process is moved to the next processing tank. . The planar guide 173 is a position where the photosensitive emulsion surface of the paper does not come into contact with the guide in the normal transportation process, and functions to assist the transportation in an irregular transportation state (when skewed, misaligned, or jammed). It is a guide member.

As described above, the contact surfaces of the planar guides 115, 172, 173, 175, and 176, which are in particular in contact with the emulsion surface side, are substantially smooth and have no unevenness.
A preferable surface shape is, for example, the transition part 17 outside the liquid.
Surface guides 175, 17 in contact with the emulsion surface side at 0
As shown in FIG. 5 (a), 6 is preferably finished by the stainless material in a smooth shape, or as shown in the perspective view in FIG. 5 (b), molded and manufactured by the resin material. . Thus, as an example of the present embodiment, SUS
There is a guide of a shape in which 316 material is cut as a part of a cylinder, and as another example, a guide of a shape cut as a part of a cylinder formed by polypropylene resin molding, and as a planar guide having substantially no unevenness, 1.0 mm or less, preferably 0.2 mm or less, as the tolerance of the cylindricity of the guide surface with which the emulsion surface of the silver halide photographic light-sensitive material is in contact when viewed from the width direction and the direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the silver halide photographic light-sensitive material. Are preferred. The surface roughness of the guide surface in contact with the emulsion surface of the silver halide photographic light-sensitive material is preferably Ra of 1.6 s or less, more preferably 0.4 s or less. The planar guides 172 and 173 that come into contact with the emulsion surface side of the transition part 170 outside the liquid are also molded and manufactured from the resin material, and are also smoothed from the stainless material as shown in FIG. 5 (c). Is also preferable.

Further, the flat rollers 111A and 174A on the side in contact with the emulsion surface of the nip rollers 111 and 174, respectively.
Each of the rollers has a substantially uniform outer diameter and is made of a hard material.

A flat roller in which the outer diameter of the roller in contact with the emulsion surface side is substantially uniform is shown in FIG. 6 (a).
SUS with a flange integrally molded with polyphenylene sulfide resin as a flange as shown in the side sectional view of
It has a structure in which a concentric phenol resin pipe material is adhered and fixed to a shaft made of 316, and silver halide photographic light-sensitive materials (photographic paper of all sizes and types processed by the above-mentioned automatic processor for digital image formation are processed. 6) is finished so that the roller outer diameter of the portion in contact with the emulsion surface side comes into contact with a flat portion having a substantially uniform surface, as shown in FIG. 6B. As shown in (4), the flat shape is not limited to the portion where the silver halide photographic light-sensitive material does not come into contact, such as the roller end. Although an actual roller has a slight difference in outer diameter in manufacturing, the substantially uniform outer diameter of the roller means that the outer diameter tolerance is preferably within 100 μm, more preferably within 50 μm. To do.

The effect of making the surface material of the flat roller, which has a substantially uniform roller outer diameter in the portion in contact with the emulsion surface side of the nip roller pair, a hard material having almost no elasticity is that it is attached or adsorbed to the roller surface. It is possible to prevent the processing solution components from being transferred to the silver halide photographic light-sensitive material and causing uneven development such as sensitization and desensitization. Further, it is preferable that the liquid is less likely to soak into the inside of the roller surface, and uneven development and minute density fluctuation can be eliminated.

In the pair of nip rollers 174 and 178 used in the transfer path of the transfer section 170, the surface material of the flat rollers 174A and 178A contacting the emulsion surface side is a hard material having almost no elasticity. The hard material is preferably a material selected from polypropylene, polyethylene, high molecular weight polyethylene, ultra high molecular weight polyethylene, fluororesin, phenolic resin, polyphenylene ether, polyphenylene oxide, and polyphenylene sulfide.

Further, the surface material of the flat roller 111A that contacts the emulsion surface side of the nip roller pair 111 used in the conveying path in the color development processing tank 110 is also a hard material having almost no elasticity, and the hard material. Is preferably a material selected from polypropylene, polyethylene, high molecular weight polyethylene, ultra high molecular weight polyethylene, fluororesin, phenolic resin, polyphenylene ether, polyphenylene oxide, and polyphenylene sulfide.

The surface located between the nip roller pairs 111, between the nip roller pair 111 and the nip roller pair 174, or between the nip roller pair 178 and the nip roller pair 111 of the next bleach-fix processing tank 120, which is disposed on the side of the emulsion surface. In the shape guides 115, 172, 173, the surface guide 115 in the liquid in the processing tank is made of a plastic material, and the surface guides 172, 173 in the aerial transition section 170 are made easy for cleaning, maintenance, etc., It is desirable to use stainless steel.

In the curved transition section 170 connecting the conveyance path in the color development processing tank 110 and the conveyance path to the next step, the nip roller pairs 111, 174, 178 used are used.
It is desirable that the soft rollers 111B, 174B, and 178B that come into contact with the base surface side of the cut paper P1 be made of an elastic rubber material. The rubber material is preferably silicone rubber or ethylene propylene polymer rubber. The rubber hardness is preferably 40 to 80 degrees.

As described above, according to the present invention, the rolled silver halide color paper P is cut and exposed by the digital image automatic printing device 7 for digital exposure, and is immersed and conveyed in the processing liquid tank for processing. Automatic processor 8
In the color developing process, in the color developing processing tank 110 and in the transfer route of the transition section 170 to the next step, all members contacting the photosensitive emulsion surface are uniformly contacted in the width direction. However, especially the transition part 170
In the above, there is progress of development with a slight amount of developing solution carried by the cut paper P1, and uneven development is likely to occur due to non-uniform contact with the pair of nip rollers or the top roller as guides and conveying means. In order to suppress this as much as possible, in the transition part 170, the first nip roller pair 174
On the entrance side of the sheet, the contact between the sheet-shaped guide as a guide and the cut paper P1 is still sufficiently clinging with the developing solution, and does not show the effect of causing uneven development,
How to reliably cut the paper P to the nip roller pair 174
1 is sent, and after that, nip roller pair 17
8 to the planar guide 173 on the output side of the top roller 17
No contact was made except for smooth uniform contact with No. 7.

The top roller 177 is a driving roller rather than a free roller, and the nip roller pair 17
It is preferable to synchronize the driving of 4,178 and the speed.

The present invention can be applied to any automatic developing machine for silver halide photographic light-sensitive materials, but the applied color paper is modulated according to the digital image data of the image to be recorded. In the case of an exposed silver halide photographic light-sensitive material that has been exposed in the exposure section that performs digital exposure such as exposure with recording light, a large effect that never causes defects such as streak-like development unevenness on the screen background Exert.

As a result, the occurrence of uneven development on the cut paper P1 onto which the digital image was printed at the transfer section 170 could be suppressed.

Even if the color paper P is not cut paper P1 and is subjected to digital exposure and development processing with a long roll, the same good results as when the cut paper P1 is handled can be obtained.

[0051]

According to the present invention, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of development unevenness on the cut paper P1 on which the digital image is printed at the transition portion. As a result, an automatic developing machine for silver halide photographic light-sensitive materials, in which development unevenness does not occur, in combination with a planar guide in each processing tank such as a color development processing tank and a means for uniform contact between the nip roller pair and the cut paper, It has become possible to provide an automatic processor that exhibits great effects for printing digital images.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a printer processor in which an automatic developing machine of the present invention is connected to a digital image automatic printing apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of an automatic developing machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing a configuration of a transition portion.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a conveyance state of cut paper in a transfer section.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the shape of each planar guide in the transition portion.

FIG. 6 is a side sectional view of a flat roller.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a conventional rib-shaped guide.

[Explanation of symbols]

5 Printer Processor 7 Digital Image Automatic Printing Device 8 Automatic Developing Machine 9 Sorter 90A Reading Section 90B Writing Section 110 Color Development Processing Tanks 111, 174, 178 Nip Roller Pair 111A, 174A Flat Rollers 111B, 174B Soft Roller 114 Surface Guide 115, 172, 173, 175, 176 planar guide 120 bleaching / fixing processing tank 170 crossover 171 racks 171A, 171B, 171C, 171D, 171E,
171F, 171G holder 177 Top roller P Color paper P1 Cut paper

Continued front page    (72) Inventor Tsutomu Sueoka             7 Koni, 591 Kamihirose, Sayama City, Saitama Prefecture             Within Ka Corporation F-term (reference) 2H098 AA02 BA23 CA02 CA28 CA45                       HA02

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A roll-shaped silver halide photographic light-sensitive material is cut into a predetermined length, and then the image to be recorded is exposed in an exposure section while the silver halide photographic light-sensitive material having a predetermined length is conveyed. In an automatic developing machine for silver halide photographic light-sensitive materials, which has a plurality of processing steps of dipping and transporting a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material in a processing liquid tank, an upstream processing step and that between the plurality of processing steps A crossover portion is provided between subsequent downstream processing steps, and the transport path of the crossover portion is such that the silver halide photographic light-sensitive material is sent out from the processing tank of the upstream processing step onto the liquid surface, and further downstream of the processing step. A U-turn curved conveyance section is formed so as to be guided into the processing tank, and a nip roller pair is provided on each of the entrance side and the exit side of the transition section to form a U-turn curved conveyance section. Rough top of the section Is provided, and a sheet guide is provided between the nip roller pair on the input side and the output side and the top roller outside the standard conveyance path of the silver halide photographic light-sensitive material, so that the U-turn curved conveyance section is halogenated. An automatic developing machine for silver halide photographic light-sensitive materials, characterized in that it has a structure in which only the top roller and the pair of nip rollers on the input side and the output side are in contact with each other in addition to the front and rear ends of the silver photographic light-sensitive material. 2. The silver halide photographic light-sensitive material of the predetermined length is color paper, and the light-sensitive emulsion surface of the color paper is conveyed on the side in contact with the top roller of the U-turn-shaped curved conveyance section. An automatic developing machine for silver halide photographic light-sensitive materials according to claim 1. 3. A process for transferring a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material from a color development processing tank of a color development step to a bleach fixing processing tank of a bleach-fixing step, wherein the plurality of processing steps include a color development step and a bleach-fixing step. 3. The automatic developing machine for silver halide photographic light-sensitive materials according to claim 1, wherein the portion is the U-turn-shaped curved conveying portion. 4. One of a pair of nip rollers on the entrance side and the exit side of the crossover portion is a hard flat roller having a substantially uniform outer diameter so as to come into contact with the emulsion surface side of the color paper. The conveyance means by the pair of nip rollers is characterized in that it has a substantially flat surface guide provided between the pair of nip rollers and the top roller on the emulsion side of the color paper. 4. An automatic developing machine for silver halide photographic light-sensitive materials according to claim 2 or 3. 5. A roll of silver halide photographic light-sensitive material is cut into a predetermined length, and then the image to be recorded is exposed in an exposure section while the silver halide photographic light-sensitive material of the predetermined length is conveyed. In an automatic developing machine for silver halide photographic light-sensitive materials having a plurality of processing steps of dipping and transporting a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material into a processing liquid tank, the silver halide photographic light-sensitive material of the predetermined length is color paper. There is provided a crossover portion between the upstream processing step and the subsequent downstream processing step between the plurality of processing steps, and the transfer path of the crossover portion has a color paper as a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material in the upstream processing step. A U-turn-shaped curved conveying section is formed so as to be sent out from the processing tank of the process onto the liquid surface and guided into the processing tank of the downstream processing step. U The turn-shaped curved conveying unit is conveyed on the side in contact with the top roller, and the transition unit is provided with a pair of nip rollers on the entrance side and the exit side of the transition unit, and the upstream side of the nip roller pair on the entrance side of the transition unit. A surface guide is provided on the photosensitive emulsion side of the color paper so as to contact the standard conveyance path of the color paper, and the color paper is provided outside the standard conveyance path of the color paper on the downstream side of the nip roller pair on the exit side of the crossover section. An automatic processor for silver halide photographic light-sensitive materials, characterized in that a surface guide on the side of the emulsion is provided. 6. A rolled silver halide photographic light-sensitive material is cut into a predetermined length, and then the image to be recorded is exposed in an exposure unit while the silver halide photographic light-sensitive material having a predetermined length is conveyed. In an automatic developing machine for silver halide photographic light-sensitive materials having a plurality of processing steps of dipping and transporting a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material into a processing liquid tank, the silver halide photographic light-sensitive material of the predetermined length is color paper. There is provided a crossover portion between the upstream processing step and the subsequent downstream processing step between the plurality of processing steps, and the transfer path of the crossover portion has a color paper as a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material in the upstream processing step. A U-turn-shaped curved conveying section is formed so as to be sent out from the processing tank of the process onto the liquid surface and guided into the processing tank of the downstream processing step. U The turn-shaped curved conveying section is conveyed on the side in contact with the top roller, and the transition section is provided with a pair of nip rollers at the entrance side and the exit side of the transition section, and a surface is provided between each nip roller pair and the top roller. Is provided on the outer side of the standard conveying path of the color paper, and a planar guide is provided on the photosensitive emulsion side of the color paper so as to be in contact with the standard conveying path of the color paper on the upstream side of the nip roller pair on the entrance side of the crossing section. An automatic development for silver halide photographic light-sensitive material, characterized in that a surface guide on the emulsion side of the color paper is provided outside the standard conveyance path of the color paper on the downstream side of the nip roller pair on the exit side of the transition section. Machine. 7. The guide surface of the upstream side guide of the nip roller pair on the entrance side of the transition portion and the guide surface of the downstream side guide of the nip roller pair on the exit side of the transition portion are substantially even surfaces. 7. The automatic developing machine for silver halide photographic light-sensitive materials according to claim 5, wherein the automatic developing machine is formed. 8. The roller of the pair of rollers of the crossover portion, which is in contact with the emulsion surface of the color paper, has a flat outer surface having a substantially uniform roller outer diameter at the portion in contact with the color paper. The automatic developing machine for silver halide photographic light-sensitive materials according to any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein the material is a plastic hard roller having almost no elasticity. 9. The plastic hard roller is made of a material selected from polypropylene, polyethylene, high molecular weight polyethylene, ultra high molecular weight polyethylene, fluororesin, phenol resin, polyphenylene ether, polyphenylene oxide, and polyphenylene sulfide. 9. An automatic developing machine for silver halide photographic light-sensitive materials according to any one of 5 to 8. 10. The automatic developing machine for silver halide photographic light-sensitive materials according to claim 1, wherein the top roller is a driving roller. 11. The exposed silver halide photographic light-sensitive material, wherein the color paper is exposed in an exposure unit that performs digital exposure such that it is exposed by recording light modulated according to digital image data of an image to be recorded. The automatic developing machine for silver halide photographic light-sensitive materials according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that it is present.