JP2006154478A - Photosensitive material processor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a processor of a photosensitive material which performs stable application of a processing solution to the photosensitive material without being affected by materials of a support of the photosensitive material. <P>SOLUTION: The photosensitive material processor including at least an application roller for applying the processing solution to the photosensitive material and a processing solution supply means for supplying the processing solution to the application roller is characterized in that the processing solution supply means is a slot die comprising a manifold and a slit. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a processing apparatus for processing a photosensitive material with a processing solution.

  Photosensitive materials such as films, photographic papers, and printing plates are processed with a processing solution such as a developer, a fixing solution, a stabilizing solution, and washing water after an image is recorded. As a processing apparatus for a photosensitive material that performs such processing, the photosensitive material is transported into a processing tank in which a processing liquid is stored by a transporting means constituted by a plurality of pairs of transporting rollers, and the photosensitive material is immersed in the processing liquid. An immersion type processing apparatus that performs processing by doing so is known.

  In such an immersion type processing apparatus, the processing solution deteriorates due to processing fatigue associated with the processing of the photosensitive material or fatigue with time due to carbon dioxide or oxygen in the atmosphere. The deterioration of the processing solution is restored. For this reason, the components of the treatment liquid at the start of the treatment are different from the components of the treatment liquid when the treatment is performed while replenishing thereafter, and it is impossible to continue the uniform treatment. In addition, such an immersion type processing apparatus has a problem that the amount of processing liquid used and the amount of waste liquid are large, the running cost is high, and the maintainability of the apparatus is poor.

  As a photosensitive material processing apparatus for solving such problems, for example, JP-A-62-237455, JP-A-6-8956, JP-A-6-27677, JP-A-2001-174970. As described in JP-A-2001-312036 (Patent Document 1), instead of immersing the photosensitive material in the processing solution, only a processing solution necessary for processing the photosensitive material is used. 2. Description of the Related Art A coating type processing apparatus that performs coating and processing is known.

  However, in the processing apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-312036 (Patent Document 1), the gap between the tip end portion of the slot die and the photosensitive material planar member is substantially 1.0 mm or less. It is suitable when a metal such as aluminum is used for the body. However, when a flexible material such as a film or paper is used for the support of the photosensitive material, the support itself is flexible and has low waist, and environmental temperature and humidity. In some cases, it is very difficult to carry the curl so as not to contact the tip of the slot die in the coating width direction. For this reason, defective transport and poor development due to contact have occurred.

As a processing apparatus suitable for a photosensitive material using the flexible material as a support, a processing apparatus having a processing liquid supply unit and a coating roller is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-62948 (Patent Document 2). However, with such a processing liquid coating mechanism, for example, when processing a wide range of photosensitive materials, it is difficult to uniformly supply a small amount of processing liquid to the coating roller in the coating width direction as the coating width increases.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-312036 (first to third pages, FIG. 1) Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-62948 (first page to third page, FIG. 4)

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a photosensitive material processing apparatus that stably applies a processing solution to a photosensitive material without being affected by the material of the photosensitive material support.

The above object of the present invention has been achieved by the following invention.
(1) In a photosensitive material processing apparatus having at least an application roller for applying a processing liquid to a photosensitive material and a processing liquid supply means for supplying the processing liquid to the application roller, the processing liquid supply means includes a manifold A photosensitive material processing apparatus, characterized by being a slot die comprising a slit and a slit.
(2) The photosensitive material processing apparatus according to (1), further including a diffusion film that contacts the coating roller and diffuses a processing solution in a width direction of the coating roller.
(3) The photosensitive material processing apparatus according to (1) or (2), wherein the processing liquid flowing out from the slit tip of the slot die is supplied to the coating roller via a diffusion film.
(4) The slot die includes one flat plate (21) from which a groove for forming the manifold is cut out, and two flat plates (22) and (2) that sandwich and fix the flat plate (21) from both sides. 23), and abuts the film (F1) for forming the slit and the coating roller between the flat plate (21) and one of the flat plate (22) or (23). (1) The photosensitive material processing apparatus according to (1), wherein the photosensitive material processing apparatus is simply manufactured by interposing a diffusion film (F).

  With the photosensitive material processing apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to stably apply a processing solution to a photosensitive material without being affected by the material of the support of the photosensitive material.

  The photosensitive material processing apparatus of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a processing solution coating section of a photosensitive material processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  It has a coating roller 1 for applying a processing solution to the photosensitive surface of the photosensitive material P and a slot die 2 for supplying the processing solution. The application roller 1 is preferably a wire bar obtained by winding a metal wire around a metal roller, for example. The diameter of the application roller 1 is preferably about 10 mm to 30 mm. The diameter of the wire wound around the coating roller is usually about 0.3 mm to 1.0 mm, but can be arbitrarily determined depending on the desired amount of treatment liquid applied. The coating roller 1 is preferably rotated in the same direction as the photosensitive material transport direction at least during processing of the photosensitive material.

  Instead of using a wire bar as the application roller 1, the surface of the application roller 1 may be threaded or grooved.

  A photosensitive material support member 3 is disposed at a position facing the coating roller 1 with the photosensitive material P interposed therebetween. The photosensitive material support member 3 has a length equivalent to that of the application roller 1 in the application width direction, and is provided below the application roller 1. When a roller is used as the photosensitive material support member 3, the diameter of the backup roller 3 is about 1.0 to 2.0 times the diameter of the coating roller 1. As the material of the backup roller 3, for example, silicon rubber, chloroprene rubber (CR), nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR), or ethylene / propylene rubber (EPDM) can be used. Further, although a backup roller is used as the photosensitive material support member 3 as one embodiment of the present invention, the photosensitive material support member 3 does not have to be a roller for the purpose of supporting the photosensitive material. A flat plate having a length equivalent to that of the coating roller 1 can be provided at a position facing the lower side of the application roller 1.

  The processing apparatus of the present invention is characterized by using a slot die 2 as means for supplying a processing liquid to the coating roller 1. As a result, uniform processing can be realized over the entire width of the photosensitive material. The slot die 2 basically includes a manifold 4 and a slit 5. The slot die 2 is provided with a processing liquid supply port 6 for sending the processing liquid, and is connected to the manifold 4. The manifold 4 is for extending the inflowing processing solution in the width direction, and is provided across the width direction of the slot die 2. After the processing liquid is once filled in the width direction in the manifold 4 and supplied to the slit 5, the outflow flow rate from the slit 5 can be made uniform in the width direction. The treatment liquid supply port 6 may be normally provided at one center in the width direction of the slot die 2, but may be provided at a plurality of locations in the width direction of the slot die 2. The cross-sectional shape of the manifold 4 is circular in this aspect, but is not limited to this and may be any shape. Further, the cross-sectional area of the manifold 4 does not have to be constant in the width direction of the slot die 2. For example, in order to further improve the flow rate uniformity in the width direction of the outflowing processing liquid, the cross-sectional area is gradually decreased toward the end. May be.

  Although not shown in FIG. 1 for convenience, both ends of the manifold 4 of the slot die 2 in the coating width direction and the same ends of the slit 5 are plugged so that the processing liquid does not flow out. In this case, the stopper is applied so that the length of the slit 5 in the width direction is the same as or slightly larger than the coating width of the photosensitive material to be processed.

  The material of the slot die 2 is not particularly limited as long as the corrosion resistance and mechanical accuracy with respect to the processing liquid can be satisfied. For example, stainless steel is preferable. In addition, chrome-plated general plastics and plastics can be used. In addition, when manufacturing with a metal, in order to exclude the stress distortion at the time of machining, you may anneal beforehand.

  The slot die 2 is provided at a position facing the upper part of the coating roller 1 in parallel. In addition, the slot die 2 is disposed so that the slit front end portion is located upstream from the center of the circle of the application roller 1 in the transport direction. The treatment liquid 11 flowing out from the slit 5 is supplied upstream from the center of the application roller 1.

  In the figure, reference numeral 10 denotes a processing liquid storage tank for storing the processing liquid 11. The processing liquid supply means for supplying the processing liquid 11 in the processing liquid storage tank 10 to the slot die 2 is constituted by a pump 8, a valve 9 and a pipe 12. The pipe 12 connects the storage tank 10 and the processing liquid supply port 6 of the slot die 2, and a pump 8 for feeding the processing liquid and a valve 9 for stopping the feeding of the processing liquid 11 are arranged therebetween. .

  The photosensitive material P is conveyed from left to right in the drawing by a photosensitive material conveying roll pair 14 which is one of photosensitive material conveying means. Reference numeral 13 denotes detection means for detecting the photosensitive material P being conveyed, and a contact type or non-contact type detector is used.

  In the case of controlling the coating amount on the photosensitive material P with high accuracy, a flow meter (not shown) is arranged in the path of the processing liquid piping, and the pump 8 and the valve 9 are fed back based on the flow meter signal. A configuration to control can be taken.

  The supply flow rate of the processing liquid to the slot die 2 can be determined by multiplying the desired wet coating amount of the processing liquid, the photosensitive material coating width, and the photosensitive material conveyance speed, respectively.

  The coating amount of the treatment liquid in the present invention is preferably 100 ml or less per square meter. If the coating amount is reduced in this way, uniform processing of the front end portion of the photosensitive material becomes difficult. For this reason, in the present invention, before the photosensitive material P reaches the application roller 1, a signal detected by the detecting means 13 is sent to the processing liquid supply control means 15, so that the processing liquid supply means in advance causes the slot die 2 to move. The processing liquid 11 is caused to flow out from the tip of the substrate.

  By performing the control as described above, the processing liquid 11 that has flowed uniformly from the tip of the slot die 2 in the coating width direction is supplied in the coating width direction above the coating roller 1, and the supplied processing liquid 11 is applied to the coating roller. 1, the liquid 11 flows downward, and a liquid pool 11 a of the processing liquid 11 is formed between the coating roller 1 and the photosensitive material support member 3. At this time, since the photosensitive surface of the photosensitive material P is brought into contact with the application roller 1 by the photosensitive material support member 3, the processing liquid 11 applied to the photosensitive surface of the photosensitive material P is an opening portion by a groove of the application roller 1. To measure a certain amount. Accordingly, a certain amount of processing solution necessary for development is always applied to the photosensitive surface of the photosensitive material P that has passed between the photosensitive material support member 3 and the coating roller 1. Further, by rotating the application roller 1, even if the processing front end portion of the photosensitive material P is slightly curled, it can be reliably guided to the application roller.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the diffusion film 7 can be brought into contact with the coating roller 1 in the coating width direction. FIG. 2 a shows the diffusion film 7 brought into contact with the application roller 1 on the upstream side in the conveying direction of the application roller 1. The treatment liquid that has flowed out from the tip of the slot die 2 is guided to the upper part of the contact portion between the coating roller 1 and the diffusion film 7 and is made more uniform in the coating width direction. The uniformized processing liquid similarly forms a liquid pool through the gap (the groove of the coating roller) between the diffusion film 7 in contact with the coating roller 1 and the coating roller 1. By bringing the diffusion film 7 into contact with the application roller 1 in this manner, even application can be performed even if the amount of treatment liquid applied is further reduced.

  As a method of bringing the diffusion film into contact with the coating roller 1, as shown in FIG. 2b, the diffusion film 7 can be disposed in the slit 5 of the slot die 2. The lower end portion of the diffusion film 7 is in contact with the surface of the application roller 1 with elasticity. The diffusion film 7 and the slot die 2 are preferably integrated, and details will be described later with reference to FIG.

  The diffusion film 7 is made of a plastic film having a thickness of about 50 to 400 μm, and is attached to the slit 5 of the slot die 2. As the material of the diffusion film 7, for example, polyvinyl chloride, fluororesin, polyphenylene sulfide, or the like can be used.

  In the processing apparatus of the present invention, it is preferable to use a slot die that is low in cost and easily manufactured as the slot die 2. Hereinafter, a simply manufactured slot die will be described. FIG. 3A is a side view of the slot die, and FIG. 3B is a side view of the slot die disassembled into its constituent members. It has the flat plate 21 from which the groove | channel 24 for forming a manifold was cut out, and the flat plates 22 and 23 which pinch | interpose and fix this flat plate 21 from both sides. A slit film F1 for forming a slit is interposed between the flat plate 21 and one of the flat plates 22 and 23 (between the flat plates 21 and 23 in the drawing). The supply port 25 supplies the processing liquid to the groove 24. Two or more supply ports 25 may be provided.

  As shown in FIG. 3, it is preferable to make the length of the lower end part of the flat plates 21 and 23 which form a slit the same, and to make the other flat plate 22 shorter than them. The length of the lower end portion of the slit film F1 for forming the slit is preferably the same as that of the flat plates 21 and 23, but it is allowed to be slightly longer or slightly shorter. The upper end length and the left and right end lengths of the film F1 are preferably the same as those of the flat plates 21 and 23.

  The slit film F1 inserted between the flat plates 21 and 23 is for forming a slit continuous with the manifold between the flat plates 21 and 23, and a film having the same thickness as the slit thickness designed in advance is used. It is done. The material of the film is preferably a plastic film such as polyvinyl chloride, fluororesin or polyphenylene sulfide, and the thickness is generally about 50 to 300 μm. The slit film F1 is not particularly limited as long as the slit film F1 has a shape that forms a slit in the lower portion of the slot die. For example, as shown in FIG. 5a, it is possible to use a slit film F1 having a shape in which only the lower end portion is opened and both side end portions 31a and 31b and the upper end portion 32 are sealed, but preferably has the shape shown in FIG. 5b. . The slit film F1 in FIG. 5b closes both side end portions 31a and 31b and the upper end portion 32 by opening only the lower end portion in the same manner as in FIG. 5a. Further, a plurality of flaps 33a to 33d are integrally formed on the upper end portion 32. Have. The flap has a length interposed (positioned) inside the slit.

  FIG. 6 shows a plan view of the slit film F1 shown in FIG. A groove 24 forming a manifold is cut out on the flat plate 21, and both side end portions 31a and 31b and an upper end portion 32 of the film F1 are overlapped so as not to cover the groove 24 (however, in the present invention, It is also possible to cover part of the groove 24 to such an extent that the function of the manifold is not hindered). Although not shown, slits 40 indicated by diagonal lines are formed by further overlapping the flat plate 23 thereon. The slit 40 is connected to the manifold (groove 24), and the liquid supplied to the manifold and distributed in the width direction passes through the slit 40 and becomes a uniform flow rate in the width direction and is applied to the photosensitive material or the like. Is done. What is important here is to keep the thickness of the slit 40 uniform in the width direction, and the flaps 33a to 33d of the film F1 perform this function. That is, by inserting this flap into the slit 40 and fixing the flat plates 21 and 23 with bolts or screws, a slit having a uniform thickness in the width direction can be easily formed. Reference numeral 30 in FIGS. 5 and 6 is a hole for fixing with a bolt or a screw.

  The simple slot die used in the present invention forms a slit with a very simple combination of interposing the slit film F1 between the flat plates 21 and 23, but the coating width (the length in the width direction of the slot die). As the length increases, the thickness of the slits sways in the coating width direction. This shake can be eliminated by simple means of interposing (positioning) the flaps integrally provided in the slit film F1 in the slits at appropriate intervals. The shape of the flap for ensuring a uniform flow in the slit will be described below.

  The number of flaps described above is appropriately selected depending on the coating width, but even if it is one, the effect is sufficiently obtained. Preferably, it is good to provide at intervals of 3 to 20 cm. More preferably, it is provided at intervals of 3 to 10 cm. The width of the flap is preferably about 5 to 20 mm, and is preferably large enough to insert a bolt or screw for fixing, and should not be made larger than necessary. The shape of the flap is preferably a shape with a thin tip. For example, a triangle, a mountain shape, a semicircle, and the like. This flap partially interrupts the flow of liquid from the manifold to the slit, but it is necessary to generate a uniform flow in the width direction at the tip of the slit (portion where the liquid flows out). From this meaning, the shape and number of flaps and the position of the tip are selected. Among other things, the shape of the flap and the position of the tip are important. As described above, the shape is preferably tapered, and the position of the flap tip must be inside (above) the slit tip. The distance between the flap tip and the slit tip varies depending on the shape of the flap tip, but is preferably 1 mm or more, and more preferably 2 mm or more.

  As shown in FIG. 5b, it is preferable to assemble the slot 33 integrally with the slit film F1, but it is preferable to assemble the slot die. However, the slit film F1 and the flap 33 are separated and the flap 33 is made independent. May be interposed. The tip shape of the flap 33 and the position of the tip in this case are the same as described above. In any case, the slit film F1 and the flap 33 have the same thickness.

  As the material of the flat plate 21, the flat plate 22, and the flat plate 23, plastic resin such as acrylic, polycarbonate, and vinyl chloride, and stainless steel can be used, and stainless steel is preferably used. The thickness of the flat plate 21 influences the size of the manifold 24 by the cut-out groove. In the present invention, the cross-sectional area (cross section perpendicular to the width direction) of the manifold 24 is preferably in the range of 10 to 100 square millimeters, particularly preferably 10 to 80 square millimeters, and more preferably 10 to 50 square millimeters. Accordingly, the thickness of the flat plate 21 is suitably about 1 mm to 8 mm. Moreover, although the flat plate 21 and the flat plate 23 form a slit, the surface on which the slit is formed needs to be polished smoothly. The flat plates 21 and 23 were made of cold-processed stainless steel (2B) and mechanically polished NO. 4 is preferably used. The thickness of the flat plate 23 is 1 mm to 8 mm. The flat plate 22 is made of relatively thick stainless steel in order to suppress bending and the like when the flat plates 21 and 23 are made of thin stainless steel. The thickness of the flat plate 22 is suitably about 5 to 15 mm.

  The size of the groove 24 cut out in the flat plate 21 for forming the manifold is as described above for the cross-sectional area, and the length in the vertical direction (direction in which the liquid falls) varies depending on the thickness of the flat plate 21. However, the length of the groove 24 in the vertical direction is suitably about 5 to 20 mm. Further, the length in the width direction of the groove 24 is appropriately set depending on the coating width, but it is preferable that the length is approximately the same as or slightly longer than the coating width. Normally, the coating width and the width direction length of the slit 40 are designed to be about the same, but the width direction length of the groove 24 described above is long enough to uniformly spread the liquid falling through the slit 40 in the width direction. If so, it may be shorter than the coating width.

  The cross-sectional area of the manifold (groove 24) does not have to be constant over the width direction of the slot die. For example, in order to further improve the flow rate uniformity in the width direction of the outflowing processing liquid, the cross-sectional area is gradually reduced toward the end. You may let them.

  When a simple slot die and a diffusion film are combined, a structure as shown in FIG. FIG. 4A is a side view of the slot die, and FIG. 4B is a side view in which the slot die is disassembled into its constituent members. The diffusion film F is interposed between the flat plate 23 and the slit film F1. Further, the length of the lower end portion of the diffusion film F can be determined in accordance with the diameter of the application roller to be used, which is a length that can contact the application roller. The upper end length and the left and right end lengths of the film F are preferably the same as those of the flat plates 21 and 23.

  In the photosensitive material processing apparatus, the processing liquid supply means includes at least a coating roller for applying a processing liquid to the photosensitive material and a processing liquid supply means for supplying the processing liquid to the coating roller. However, even if a flexible material such as film or paper is used for the photosensitive material support member, the photosensitive material processing device is a slot die consisting of a manifold and a slit. It was found that the conventional concern that defects are likely to occur can be solved. In addition, by using a slot die as the processing liquid supply means, even when the coating width becomes long, it is difficult to supply a small amount of processing liquid to the coating roller uniformly in the coating width direction. I found what I could do.

The schematic side view of the processing apparatus which shows an example of this invention Schematic side view of processing equipment using diffusion film Side view and dismantling side view of simple slot die Side view and disassembled side view combining a simple slot die and diffusion film Plan view of film F1 Plan view when film F1 is superimposed on flat plate 21

Explanation of symbols

1 Coating roller 2 Slot die 7, F Diffusion film

Claims (4)

  In a photosensitive material processing apparatus having at least an application roller for applying a processing liquid to a photosensitive material and a processing liquid supply means for supplying the processing liquid to the application roller, the processing liquid supply means includes a manifold and a slit. A photosensitive material processing apparatus, wherein the photosensitive material processing apparatus is a slot die.   The photosensitive material processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a diffusion film that contacts the coating roller and diffuses a processing solution in a width direction of the coating roller.   The photosensitive material processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processing liquid that has flowed out from the slit tip of the slot die is supplied to the coating roller via a diffusion film.   The slot die includes one flat plate (21) from which a groove for forming the manifold is cut out, and two flat plates (22) and (23) that sandwich and fix the flat plate (21) from both sides. A diffusion film for contacting the coating roller and a film (F1) for forming the slit between the flat plate (21) and one of the flat plate (22) or (23) 2. The photosensitive material processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the photosensitive material processing apparatus is simply manufactured by interposing (F).

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