JP2589840B2 - Photosensitive material developing device - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a photosensitive material developing apparatus for developing a photosensitive material such as a film.

[Conventional technology]

A developing apparatus for developing a photosensitive material such as a film or a photographic paper generally has processing units such as a developing tank, a bleaching tank, and a fixing tank arranged in series and linearly. The photosensitive material is inserted from the other side and taken out from the other side. For this reason, the portion for inserting the photosensitive material into the developing device and the take-out portion after the development is completed are arranged on the opposite side of the developing device. Is low.

On the other hand, conventionally, a drying unit is arranged above a developing tank, a bleaching tank, etc., and after developing and bleaching, the photosensitive material taken out of the washing tank is returned to the upper part of the developing tank while being dried while the photosensitive material is inserted. There is also used a device in which the and the take-out unit are brought close to each other. However, in this case, since the photosensitive material take-out part for accumulating the photosensitive material after drying is disposed at the upper part of the developing device, the photosensitive material in a long state in which images of many exposures are continuously recorded is used. If it is used, the photosensitive material at the take-out portion prevents the insertion of a new photosensitive material into the developing tank, and is not applicable. Therefore, only a so-called sheet-shaped photosensitive material cut to a predetermined length is applicable. Further, since the drying unit and the collecting unit are arranged above the developing tank, it is necessary to remove the drying unit and the collecting unit from the upper part of the developing device when the developing tank is repaired, which complicates the operation.

Conventionally, each processing tank is placed vertically one above the other, and a developing device that sequentially lifts the photosensitive material from a lower processing tank to an upper processing tank, and a vertically disposed sheet-like photosensitive material operating section. A developing device having a processing tank arranged in an arc shape has also been proposed, but it has disadvantages such as the incorporation of processing liquid between the processing tanks and the inability to continuously transport the photosensitive material. Also, the arrangement of inserting from above and sending horizontally to the back, and sending while developing from the back side to the near side requires a long time until the start of processing, so that the total processing time is long and inefficient.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-described circumstances, and has as its object to provide a developing device for automatically transporting a photosensitive material, wherein a photosensitive material developing device in which an insertion portion and a removal portion of the photosensitive material can be arranged close to each other. It is.

[Means for solving the problem]

According to the present invention, a plurality of processing units in which a photosensitive material is sequentially immersed and the processing conveyance direction is bent in a plan view, a temperature adjustment space disposed between these processing units, Temperature control means for taking out the processing liquid from the section, adjusting the temperature of the processing liquid, and returning the processing liquid to the processing section again via the temperature control space.

For this reason, in the present invention, the photosensitive material that is sequentially immersed in the plurality of processing units moves in a substantially arcuate shape when viewed in a plan view and moves. Since they can be arranged close to each other, the operator can operate the insertion portion and the take-out portion of the photosensitive material at the same position.

Further, a temperature control space is provided between the plurality of processing units, and the temperature control means returns the processing liquid taken out of the processing unit to the processing unit again through the temperature control space. The adjustment space is arranged on the side of the development processing unit, so that a large installation space is not required, and a compact developing device in which the processing unit and the temperature adjustment space are alternately arranged can be provided. The temperature control space can return the circulating treatment liquid to the processing section through the openings formed in the side walls of the respective processing sections, and by providing a large number of openings, a stable circulating liquid flow can be formed.

By providing a bending guide at the upper part of the temperature control space to send out the photosensitive material taken out of the pre-processing part to the next processing part, the upper part of the temperature control space is closed and the photosensitive material smoothly moves from the pre-processing part to the next processing part. Can be transported.

(Example of the invention)

1 and 2 show a developing device 10 to which the present invention is applied.

In the developing device 10, a developing tank 14, a bleaching tank 16, a fixing tank 18, and washing tanks 22 and 24, which are processing units, are radially arranged around the drive unit 12 at regular intervals with respect to the drive unit 12. Each of these processing tanks is formed in a box shape having an open upper end, and has a rectangular shape in plan view as shown in FIG.
Are adjacent to each other through ~ 25D. Temperature control tank 25A-25
D has a triangular planar shape formed with a narrower dimension toward the drive unit 12.

In this embodiment, the method of inserting the photosensitive material into the developing tank 14 (direction of arrow A) and the direction of taking out the photosensitive material from the washing tank 24 (direction of arrow B) are parallel and opposite to each other.
If the operator is positioned leftward facing the drive unit 12 in FIG. 2, the operator can face both the developing tank 14 as an insertion section of the photosensitive material F and the washing tank 24 as an extraction section.

The number of these processing tanks can be arbitrarily changed, and the inserting direction and the removing direction of the photosensitive material F are not necessarily required to be arranged in parallel, as long as they are arranged close to the front of the worker. Good. Further, as a pre-processing device for the developing tank 14 and a post-processing device for the washing tank 24, a printing device for photosensitive material,
A loading device, a drying device and the like can be arranged.

As shown in FIG. 2, the photosensitive material F is attached to a reader L with an adhesive tape 27, and the leader L leads the photosensitive material F. Openings P are formed at regular intervals in the center of the reader L in the width direction, and two photosensitive materials F are connected to the reader L in this embodiment.

A transport rack 26 as a transport device is disposed inside each processing unit. As shown in FIG. 3, these transport racks 26 are erected in parallel with a pair of side plates 28 and 32 connected to each other by a bottom plate 34. The upper rotating shaft 36 is attached to these side plates 28 and 32.
And a lower rotating shaft 38, and a transport belt 44 is wound around a sprocket wheel 42 arranged at the center.

The transport belt 44 is endless, and projections 44A projecting from the inner peripheral surface at regular intervals mesh with the sprocket wheel 42, receive rotational driving force from the sprocket wheel 42, and project from the outer peripheral surface at regular intervals. Engages with an opening P of a reader L provided at the front end of the photosensitive material F to apply a driving force for transporting the photosensitive material to the reader L.

Guide plates 46 are attached to the side plates 28 and 32, and various components for smoothly guiding the photosensitive material in the processing section are attached to these guide plates. Both ends of the upper rotating shaft 36 are inserted into cutouts 48 formed in the respective processing tanks for positioning, and one end of the upper rotating shaft 36 protrudes from each processing unit toward the driving unit 12 and has a leading end. A bevel gear 52 is fixed. As shown in FIG. 2, these upper rotating shafts 36 are arranged so as to extend in the radial direction from the drive unit 12.

In the drive unit 12, a motor 54 is disposed at a lower portion, and an output shaft 56 has a vertical axis, and a large-diameter bevel gear 58 is fixed thereto. The large-diameter bevel gear 58 is formed such that the pitch conical angle is larger than the pitch conical angle of the bevel gear 52, and the bevel gears 52 whose axes are horizontal are each a large-diameter bevel gear.
Meshing with part of 58. Therefore, the driving force of the motor 54 is changed to a substantially right angle through the large-diameter bevel gear 58 and the bevel gear 52 constituting the transmission means and transmitted to the upper rotation shaft 36 of each processing unit at the same rotation speed. Has become.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, each of the temperature control tanks 25A to 25D corresponds to an upstream processing unit. That is, the temperature adjusting tank 25A is the developing tank 14, the temperature adjusting tank 25B is the bleaching tank 16, and the temperature adjusting tank 2 is the same.
5C corresponds to the fixing tank 18. The temperature control tank 25D is arranged between the washing tanks 22 and 24 and corresponds to these washing tanks. A plurality of openings 61 are formed in the partition wall between the temperature control tanks and the processing units corresponding to them, so that the processing liquid from these temperature control tanks is pumped to each processing unit. Has become. More specifically, a processing liquid is led out from each processing unit by a pipe 63 and sent to each temperature control tank. A pump 65, a heater 67, and a sensor 100 are arranged at an intermediate portion of the pipe 63 so that the taken out processing liquid is adjusted to a predetermined temperature and then sent to a temperature adjustment tank. Note that the heater 67 and the sensor 100 may be arranged in a temperature control tank. As a result, the processing liquid derived from each processing unit is maintained at a predetermined temperature via each temperature control tank, and is returned to each processing unit again through the opening 61.

A crossover main body 62 is mounted on the upper portion of the developing tank 14 as clearly shown in FIG.
The crossover body 62 is formed in a substantially box shape by a leg plate 62A disposed on the outside of the bend of the photosensitive material F guided and bent in a plan view, and a leg plate 62B disposed on the inside of the bend. Guide plates 68, 68 for guiding the reader L between the processing units as shown in FIG.
A plurality of sets (71 sets, 72 sets) are fixed vertically (four sets in this embodiment).

These guide plates are bent around the drive unit 12 as viewed in plan. In addition, guide notches 68A, 69A, 71A and 72A are formed on the lower surfaces of these guide plates for feeding the leader L drawn from the previous processing tank to the next processing tank. Each of these notches has an arc shape, and has different radii of curvature.

That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the leader L and the photosensitive material F are moved from the liquid level C, which is the outlet of the previous processing tank, until they are inserted into the liquid level D, which is the inlet of the next processing tank. The lengths must be equal at both ends in the width direction for uniform development processing. However, the exit C and the entrance D are not parallel to each other but are inclined about the drive unit 12 (angle θ), and the movement trajectories of the reader L and the photosensitive material F are viewed in a plan view by the second arrow FD, It is bent like FC. Therefore, if the reader L or the photosensitive material F is conveyed with the same radius of curvature at the widthwise inner end G and the widthwise outer end H of the photosensitive material F between the processing units, the photosensitive material F is moved between the exit C and the entrance D. And the developing time of the photosensitive material in the next processing tank is different between the width direction inner end G and the width direction outer end H.

Therefore, the radius of curvature RG of the width direction inner end G is smaller than the radius of curvature RH of the width direction outer end H, and the degree of bending is large, and the height J of the width direction inner end G is the width direction outer end. H
Notch of each guide plate 68-72 so that it is larger than height K of
68A to 72A have been determined. As a result, the widthwise inner end G and the widthwise outer end H of the reader L and the photosensitive material F move the same distance from the exit C to the entrance D.

A lid plate 76 is provided above the temperature control tank between the processing units. The cover plate 76 has a curved surface that is fitted to the upper end of each temperature control tank. That is, the bent portion 76A whose both ends are bridged between the processing tanks and the end surfaces 76B and 76C are combined. The bent portion 76A closes the open upper end of each processing section to prevent evaporation of the processing liquid from the temperature control tank. In addition, a protruding piece 76D that is engaged with the inside of the temperature control tanks 25A to 25D is extended from the end face 76B.

As shown in FIG. 4, these cover plates 76 are provided with a plurality of rectangular openings 78, and the photosensitive material guide rollers 82 project from each other. The guide roller group 82 includes an inner guide roller 86 and an outer guide roller 8 that are supported by a support shaft 84.
8, and the support shafts 92 and 94 have an inner guide roller 96 and an outer guide roller 98 which are supported. These spindles 84, 92,
Numeral 94 is arranged in a substantially radial direction with the drive unit 12 as a center. The support shaft 84 is arranged higher on the side closer to the drive unit 12 and lower on the far side, and is supported by the end surfaces 76B and 76C of the cover plate 76.

Also these inner guide rollers 86, 96, outer guide rollers
Numerals 88 and 98 have a drum shape in which the middle part in the axial direction is concave so that the image surface of the photosensitive material to be guided is not damaged.

The inner guide roller 86 is at a high position, and the outer guide roller 88
Is located at the low position because the movement trajectory of the leader L and the photosensitive material F has a small radius of curvature at the widthwise inner end G as shown in FIG. This corresponds to a large radius and a low position. Therefore, the same moving distance can be secured between the exit C and the entrance D not only in the leader L but also in the photosensitive material F wound around each guide roller.

Auxiliary support shafts 92 and 94 provided before and after the support shaft 84 have substantially horizontal axes. However, like the support shaft 84, the auxiliary support shafts 92 and 94 are arranged in the radial direction from the drive unit 12 to remove the photosensitive material F from the support shaft 84 in FIG. Are guided along the movement trajectory.

 Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described.

After each processing tank is filled with a predetermined amount of a processing liquid such as a developer, a bleaching liquid, and a fixing liquid, a crossover main body 62 is mounted and maintained in a light-shielded state.

As shown in FIG. 2, the photosensitive material F is attached to the leader L with an adhesive tape 27, and the leader L is inserted into the developing device 10 and led to sequentially develop the pair of photosensitive materials F. That is, the opening P of the leader L inserted into the developing tank 14 is engaged with the projection 44B of the transport belt 44. Since the transport belt 44 is rotated by receiving the driving force of the motor 54, the leader L is drawn into the developing tank 14 along the transport belt 44 and is inverted at the lower end to be raised. After ascending, it is fed between each guide plate and the guide roller group 82.

Since the leader L has a higher rigidity than the photosensitive material F, it is guided along the inner peripheral surface of each guide plate in an attempt to maintain a linear state. In this case, since the radius of curvature of the notch 68A of the guide plate 68 is the smallest and the radius of curvature of the notch 72A is the largest, the leader L moves as shown in FIG. A locus is drawn, and as a result, the widthwise inner end G and the widthwise outer end H have the same moving distance between the exit C and the entrance D.

When the leader L is inserted into the bleaching tank 16 and receives a tensile force on the conveyor belt 44 in the bleaching tank 16, the photosensitive material F connected to the reader L also receives a tensile force. Since the photosensitive material F has a lower rigidity than the leader L, the photosensitive material F is guided while being wound around the guide roller group 82.

Also in this guide roller group 82, the inner guide roller 86 is arranged at a higher position than the outer guide roller 88, and the inner guide roller 96 and the outer guide roller 98 are arranged in the radial direction of the drive unit 12, so The material F also draws the movement trajectory shown in FIG. 5 similarly to the leader L, and moves by the same movement distance between the exit C and the entrance D.

As a result, even if the transport trajectory between the reader L and the photosensitive material F moves while bending in a substantially semicircular shape as shown in FIG. The photosensitive material F placed in each of the processing tanks is inserted in each processing tank at the same time, and the same developing processing is performed.

In this way, the reader L and the photosensitive material F pass through each processing tank, are sent out from the washing tank 24, and are sent to the next step such as a drying unit.

As shown in FIG. 2, the transport trajectory of the leader L is arranged so as to be bent in each processing section and the temperature control tank in plan view, and the transport direction of the photosensitive material in each temperature control tank is mutually opposite. Due to the difference, even if the liquid repelling occurs due to the rigidity of the reader L or the photosensitive material F that is trying to return straight in a state where the end of the photosensitive material F is opened from the transport unit, the liquid repelling direction is set to the next processing tank. The processing solution does not enter the processing liquid mixing direction, but jumps out in a different direction, so that mixing of different types of processing liquids can be prevented. In addition, it is possible to prevent the processing liquid in the processing unit or the temperature control tank from causing resonance due to various vibrations.

In the present invention, the configuration of the transport rack in each processing tank is not limited to the above embodiment, and various configurations can be applied.
The combination of the drive unit 12 and the large-diameter bevel gear 58 for transmitting the driving force of the motor 54 to the upper rotary shaft 36 in the drive unit 12 is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and the meshing pitch circle is a cone or a plane. Combinations of bevel gears or spur gears, each meshing with a portion of a gear, can be used. As an example, a crown gear can be used as a large gear, and a spur gear can be used as a small gear.

〔The invention's effect〕

Since the present invention has the above-described configuration, it has an excellent effect that the insertion portion and the take-out portion of the photosensitive material can be arranged close to each other and the arrangement space can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a developing apparatus to which the present invention is applied, with a crossover body removed, FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a state with the crossover body removed, and FIG. 3 is an exploded view showing a transport rack. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the crossover section, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the movement locus of the leader and the photosensitive material in the crossover section. 10 developing device, 12 driving unit, 14 developing tank, 16 bleaching tank, 18 fixing tank, 22 washing tank, 25A to 25D temperature control tank, 61 opening.

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] A plurality of processing sections in which the photosensitive material is sequentially immersed and the processing and transporting direction thereof is bent in a plan view; a temperature adjustment space disposed between the processing sections; A photosensitive material developing device, comprising: a temperature adjusting means for removing the processing liquid from the processing unit, adjusting the temperature of the processing liquid, and returning the processing liquid to the processing unit again via the temperature adjustment space. 2. The photosensitive material developing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a bent guide path for feeding the photosensitive material taken out of the preprocessing section to the next processing section is provided above the temperature control space.