JP2657570B2 - Drying equipment - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a drying apparatus for drying a silver halide light-sensitive material (hereinafter simply referred to as a light-sensitive material) after wet processing.

<Prior Art> Examples of a photosensitive material processing apparatus for performing wet processing include automatic developing machines (for color paper, color negative, etc.) and silver halide photographic copying machines.

The automatic developing machine sequentially performs development, bleaching, fixing, washing and stabilization processing on the photographed photosensitive material (for example, a color negative film) in a processing section, and then drying the photosensitive material in a drying section to form a negative image or a positive image. To get an image.

Further, the silver halide photographic copying machine sends a photosensitive material (eg, sheet color paper) supplied from a paper feeding unit to an exposure unit to expose the same, and sends the exposed photosensitive material to a processing unit for development and bleaching. Fixing and washing are sequentially performed, and the photosensitive material is dried in a drying unit to obtain a copy of an original image.

A drying device provided in a drying section of such a photosensitive material processing apparatus includes a duct surrounding a photosensitive material transport path,
It has a fan and a heater for supplying hot air into the duct, and blows hot air onto the wet photosensitive material conveyed in the duct to dry it.

However, in such a conventional drying apparatus, since the volume of the internal space of the duct is large, despite the fact that a large amount of hot air is supplied, the hot air that actually hits the surface of the photosensitive material and contributes to the removal of moisture is removed. There is the disadvantage that the amount is small and therefore the drying time is long.

In particular, in a wet copying machine or an automatic developing machine, a long drying time is a major obstacle in shortening the entire processing time.

In addition, a large amount of air is heated, which consumes a large amount of energy and generates a large amount of exhaust heat, which adversely affects the environment in which the equipment is installed, such as increasing the temperature and humidity. There is also a disadvantage that (preheating) takes time.

Since the preheating time is long, the drying device cannot be turned on and off every time the photosensitive material is processed, and the drying device must be operated regardless of whether the photosensitive material is being processed or not. Therefore, the energy consumption also increased in this respect.

Further, the conventional drying apparatus has the following disadvantages relating to the emulsion layer of the photosensitive material.

In the conventional drying device, about 70 to 95% of the hot air that has been supplied into the duct and contributed to the drying is recovered, and is supplied again into the duct. Therefore, when a large amount of photosensitive material is continuously dried, high-humidity hot air (the drying temperature is increased because the drying is not performed unless the relative temperature is lowered)
And there is a disadvantage that film quality defects such as reticulation (cracking) occur on the emulsion surface of the photosensitive material.

Conversely, if the drying temperature is lowered so that the drying gas does not become highly humid, when a large amount of photosensitive material is continuously dried, it is dried well at first, but gradually becomes poorly dried.

<Problem to be Solved by the Invention> An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a drying apparatus which has good drying efficiency, particularly has a short drying time, consumes less energy, and can be downsized.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a drying apparatus capable of preventing occurrence of film quality defects such as reticulation on an emulsion surface of a photosensitive material.

<Means for Solving the Problems> Such an object is achieved by the present invention of the following (1) to (6).

(1) An apparatus for drying a silver halide photosensitive material, comprising: a housing having a slit-like shape having a thin internal space; and means for supplying a drying gas to the internal space of the housing. The drying device includes a plurality of drying units, wherein the drying unit mainly performs constant-rate drying, a first drying unit;
A drying apparatus mainly comprising a second drying section for performing rate-decreasing drying, wherein drying conditions can be set for each drying section.

(2) An apparatus for drying a silver halide photosensitive material, comprising: a casing having a thin internal space in a slit shape; and means for supplying a drying gas to the internal space of the casing. The thickness of the internal space in the vertical direction with respect to the silver halide light-sensitive material is 3 to 1000 times the thickness of the silver halide light-sensitive material, and in the internal space, the drying gas is transferred in the transport direction of the silver halide light-sensitive material. The drying device comprises a plurality of drying units, and drying conditions can be set for each drying unit.

(3) the thickness of the inner space in the vertical direction with respect to the silver halide light-sensitive material is 3 to 1000 times the thickness of the silver halide light-sensitive material, and in the inner space, the drying gas is exposed to silver halide light. The drying device according to the above (1), in which the material flows in the conveying direction of the material.

(4) The housing is provided with a nozzle as a means for supplying the drying gas, and the nozzle moves in the direction of transport of the silver halide photosensitive material in the direction of 5-60
The above (1) to (3) installed at an angle of ゜
Any of the drying equipment.

(5) The above (1) to (4) having a dehumidifier for the drying gas.
The drying device according to any of (4).

(6) The above (1) wherein a planar heating element is provided on the inner wall of the housing.
The drying device according to any one of (1) to (5).

<Operation> In the present invention having such a configuration, the internal space of the housing through which the photosensitive material passes is formed in a slit shape having a small thickness in the thickness direction of the photosensitive material (in particular, 3 to 1000 times the thickness of the photosensitive material). By doing so, the volume can be greatly reduced, a small amount of drying gas can be flowed at high speed, and as a result, drying can be performed in a short transport path in a short time, and energy consumption for heating can be reduced. ,
Prevention of adverse effects on the indoor environment and downsizing of the device can be achieved.

And the drying device of the present invention, a plurality of drying units, in particular,
It has a first drying section for constant-rate drying and a second drying section for reduced-rate drying, and optimizes drying conditions such as temperature, humidity, air volume (flow rate) of drying gas for each drying section. Can be set. In the first drying section, drying is performed with relatively high-temperature and low-humidity air, and in the second drying section, drying is performed with relatively low-temperature air, so that the drying efficiency is improved and the drying time is further reduced. In addition, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of film quality defects such as reticulation on the emulsion surface of the photosensitive material.

<Embodiment> Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the drying apparatus of the present invention shown in the accompanying drawings will be described in detail.

FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are vertical cross-sectional views schematically showing a configuration example of a drying apparatus of the present invention. In the drawings, the same members are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description of the same items is omitted.

As shown in FIG. 1, the drying apparatus 1a of the present invention has a box-shaped casing 2 having a rectangular cross section.
The entrance 4 of the photosensitive material S is formed at the left end in the figure, and the exit 5 of the photosensitive material S is formed at the right end in the figure. In this specification, the inlet 4 side is described as “front”, and the outlet 5 side is described as “rear”.

An inner space 3 penetrating from the inlet 4 to the outlet 5 is formed in the housing 2, and the inner space 3
Has a thin slit shape in the thickness direction (vertical direction in the figure). That is, the cross section of the internal space 3 has a slit shape. The dimensions of the internal space 3 will be described later in detail. In the illustrated example, the internal space 3 has a flat shape. However, in the present invention, the internal space 3 may have an appropriately curved shape as long as the passage of the photosensitive material S is not hindered.

A pair of rollers 30, 31, and 32 for nipping and transporting the photosensitive material S are installed near the entrance 4 of the housing 2, in the middle of the housing 2, and near the outlet 5 of the housing 2, respectively.

A first drying unit 103 is formed on the front side of the center roller pair 31, and a second drying unit 105 is formed on the rear side.

The first drying unit 103 and the second drying unit 105 are independently provided with air circulation systems as a supply unit for a drying gas (hereinafter, represented by air).

In the first drying section 103, on the surface (emulsion surface) S _A side and the back surface S _B side of the photosensitive material S, the circulation of air respectively symmetrical structure is installed. This circulation system has a duct 6a.

Further, a vicinity of the inlet 4 of the housing 2, on the surface S _A side and the back surface S _B side of the photosensitive material S, a pair of nozzles 8a communicating with the inner space 3 each is installed. These nozzles
A slit-shaped blowing opening is formed at the tip of 8a, and the front end of the duct 6a is connected to the base of the nozzle 8a.

The nozzle 8a is installed such that its tip is inclined rearward at an inclination angle as described later.

A pair of recovery ports 7a is provided near the roller pair 31 of the housing 2, and the rear ends of the ducts 6a are connected to these recovery ports 7a.

A propeller-type fan 9a is installed in a portion of the duct 6a where the internal space is enlarged. In addition, fan 9a
A heater 10a is installed in the duct 6a on the front side.

Further, the fan 9a is provided with a controller 11a capable of adjusting the amount of air blown by the fan 9a.

Further, the heater 10a is provided with a controller 12a capable of adjusting the calorific value of the heater 10a.

The drying conditions in the first drying unit 103 are determined by these controllers 11a and 12a. The drying conditions will be described later.

Note that the inlet 4 of the housing 2, in order to facilitate the introduction of the photosensitive material S, on the surface S _A side and the back surface S _B side of the photosensitive material, the inclined surfaces 4a of the gap distance rearward gradually decreases formation In addition, a barb (step portion) is formed at the tip of the inclined surface 4a to suppress the air ejected from the nozzle 8a from flowing backward and coming out of the inlet 4.

In this configuration example, by supplying air respectively from the surface S _A side and the back surface S _B side of the photosensitive material S, and between the rear surface of the surface S _A and the inner wall 2A of the photosensitive material S passing through the inner space 3
Between the S _B and the inner wall 2B, are respectively airflow formed, thus, can be a photosensitive material S is prevented from close contact with the inner wall 2A, 2B of the housing 2. In consideration of such prevention of the adhesion of the photosensitive material S, in order to maintain the balance of the air flow, the photosensitive material S
It is preferable that the shape and the installation angle α of the nozzles 8a provided on the front surface side and the back surface side are symmetrical and that the air supply amounts are also equal.

Also, in the second drying unit 105, the first drying unit 103
The same circulation system as the above, that is, duct 6b, recovery port 7b, nozzle 8b, fan 9b, heater 10b and controller 11b,
12b is installed.

Note that a slit-shaped opening 13 through which the photosensitive material S passes is formed in front of the outlet 5.

The opening 13 has a convergent shape so that the photosensitive material S can easily pass therethrough and the air leak is small.

The structure of the supply means of the drying gas in the first drying section 103 and the second drying section 105 is not limited to the illustrated one. For example, a dehumidifier 15 to be described later may be provided in the middle of the ducts 6a and 6b. Also, not only in the form of circulating air,
All or a part of the air provided for drying may be exhausted to the outside.

The constituent material of the housing 2 is not particularly limited, but is preferably a material having heat resistance, preferably a material having heat insulation. As a specific example, the casing 2 is made of various ceramics such as alumina, zirconia, asbestos, and glass wool, or a metal such as stainless steel, aluminum, hastelloy, titanium, copper, or a copper-based alloy. There is a case where a heat insulating material such as asbestos, felt, aluminum foil, glass wool or the like is joined to the outer wall of the body.

The total length of the housing 2 is not particularly limited, and is appropriately determined according to the transport speed of the photosensitive material S and drying conditions described later, but is generally preferably about 100 to 1000 mm, particularly preferably about 150 to 600 mm.

The length of the casing 2 in the first drying unit 103 is 50 to 5
The length of the housing 2 in the second drying unit 105 is preferably about 50 to 500 mm.
In particular, it is preferable to be about 70 to 300 mm.

The thickness T of the internal space 3 of the housing 2 is preferably about 3 to 1000 times, particularly preferably about 5 to 100 times, the thickness of the photosensitive material S, and more preferably about 10 to 30 times. More preferred.

If the thickness is less than three times the thickness of the photosensitive material S, troubles such as adhesion accidents and cracks on the photosensitive material S easily occur during drying,
In addition, when it exceeds 1000 times, the volume of the internal space 3 becomes large,
This is because the effects of the present invention may not be sufficiently exhibited depending on the drying conditions.

The thickness T of the internal space 3 may gradually increase or decrease from the front to the rear, that is, the internal space 3 may be tapered.

Thereby, the flow velocity of the air in the longitudinal direction of the internal space 3 can be changed. For example, when the flow rate of air in the first half of drying is large (T gradually increases toward the rear), the second half of drying or gradual drying occurs, and particularly in a light-sensitive material having a small hardener and a light-sensitive material having a thick emulsion layer. On the other hand, there is an effect of preventing film quality deterioration. In the opposite case (T gradually decreases toward the rear), the drying tends to be slightly rapid even in the latter half of the drying, and the drying pass (time) is particularly short for photosensitive materials having a thin emulsion layer, which is preferable.

Although not shown, as means for preventing the photosensitive material from adhering, the inner walls 2A and 2B of the housing 2 are attached to, for example, Japanese Patent Application No. 62-2776.
Provision of the same material as the "flexible member protruding toward the inside (for example, a loop-shaped fiber)" shown in No. 78, or as a means for preventing the photosensitive material from swinging, is provided on the inner walls 2A and 2B in the longitudinal direction of the housing. It is possible to provide a protruding part, a groove part or other guide member which extends to the side.

The inclination angle α of the nozzles 8a and 8b is preferably about 5 to 60 °, particularly preferably about 10 to 45 °. If α is less than 5 °, the size of the housing 2 becomes large, so that it is difficult to design compactly. If α exceeds 60 °, backflow to the inlet 4 tends to occur.

The transport of the photosensitive material S in the housing 2 is performed as follows.

When the length of the photosensitive material S is longer than the distance between the adjacent roller pairs 30, 31 and 31, 32 (hereinafter, referred to as the adjacent roller pair), the rotation is performed by the rotational force of each roller 30, 31, and 32. Will be

That is, before the rear end (front end) of the photosensitive material S comes off the roller pair 30, the front end (rear end) of the photosensitive material S is sandwiched by the roller pair 31.
Since the front end of the photosensitive material S is sandwiched by the roller pair 32 before the rear end of the photosensitive material S does not come off from the roller pair 31, the photosensitive material S divides the internal space 3 of the housing between the roller pairs 30, 31, and 32. It is pinched and transported by at least one.

When the length of the photosensitive material S is shorter than the distance between the adjacent roller pairs, the photosensitive material S moves at a high speed after flowing through the internal space 3 after the rear end of the photosensitive material S is disengaged from the front roller pair 30. After being conveyed rearward from the airflow (hereinafter referred to as air conveyance), and after the front end of the photosensitive material S reaches the rear roller pair 31,
It is nipped and transported by the roller pair 31, and further, the roller pair 3
Similar conveyance is performed between 1 and 32.

In such a drying apparatus 1a, circulation of air in the first drying section 103 and the second drying section 105 is performed as follows. When the fans 9a and 9b are operated, the pressure inside the recovery ports 7a and 7b becomes negative pressure, and the air supplied for drying flows into the upper and lower recovery ports 7a and 7b of the housing 2 as shown by arrows in FIG. After being sucked and flowing in ducts 6a and 6b and passing through fan 15, heaters 10a and 10b
To a predetermined temperature, and is again ejected from the nozzles 8a and 8b to the internal space 3 of the housing 2 and flows backward in the internal space 3 of the first drying unit 103 and the second drying unit 105 at high speed. To form

In this state, when the wet photosensitive material S nipped and transported by the roller pair 30 is introduced into the inlet 4 and passed through the internal space 3, first, the first drying unit 103 mainly performs constant-rate drying. After passing through the roller pair 31, the second drying unit 105 mainly performs drying at a reduced rate.

Thereafter, the photosensitive material S is nipped and conveyed by the roller pair 32,
The vehicle exits the housing 2 through the exit 5.

The drying conditions in the first drying unit 103 and the second drying unit 105 in the drying device 1a will be described.

In the first drying unit 103, drying conditions are set such that constant-rate drying is mainly performed, and in the second drying unit 105, drying conditions such that reduced-rate drying (including conditioning drying) is mainly performed. I do.

The constant rate drying means that the photosensitive material S
Refers to a region where the reduction rate of the water content of the emulsion layer is constant, and reduced drying refers to a region where the reduction ratio of the water content decreases and the water content reaches equilibrium.

After the point at which the moisture content reaches an equilibrium, it is called refining drying.

Specifically, the average flow velocity (linear velocity) of air in the internal space 3 in the first drying unit 103 is about 0.3 to 60 m / s,
It is preferably about 20 m / s, and the temperature (drying temperature)
Is preferably about 50 to 150 ° C., particularly preferably about 70 to 120 ° C.

The average flow velocity (linear velocity) of the air in the internal space 3 in the second drying section 105 is about 0.1 to 40 m / s, particularly 0.5 to 10 m / s.
It is preferable that the temperature is relatively lower than that of the first drying section 103, that is, about 30 to 100 ° C., particularly 40 to 80 ° C.
It is preferable to set the temperature to about ° C.

By setting the drying conditions as described above, the photosensitive material S
The drying efficiency can be improved, drying can be performed in a shorter time, and the occurrence of poor film quality such as reticulation and poor gloss on the emulsion surface of the photosensitive material can be prevented.

Such drying conditions include the transport speed of the photosensitive material S, environmental conditions such as the temperature and humidity of the outside air, the degree of wetting of the photosensitive material S before drying, the layer structure and type of the photosensitive material S (particularly, the back surface S). _It is preferable to determine in consideration of the presence or absence of gelatin in _B ), the form of processing (continuous processing, processing of a small number of sheets), and the like.

FIG. 2 shows another configuration example of the drying apparatus of the present invention. Drying apparatus 1b shown in the figure is the surface S _A side and the back surface S _B side of the photosensitive material S, and has a circulation of drying gas, respectively symmetrical structure.

One ends of ducts 14a and 14b are connected to a recovery port 7a provided on the rear side of the first drying section 104 and a recovery port 7b provided on the rear side of the second drying section 106, respectively.

Further, these ducts 14a and 14b join and are further connected to the intake side of the dehumidifier 15.

The dehumidifier 15 is, for example, one using a normal refrigerant such as an air conditioner, one using an electronic cooling element utilizing the Peltier effect (Japanese Patent Application No. 63-221796), or a desiccant such as calcium chloride, silica gel or the like. Various structures can be used, such as a simple structure in which a (hygroscopic agent) is placed and air containing moisture passes therethrough. Of these, a dehumidifier using an electronic cooling element is preferable because it is small in size, has high dehumidification capacity, and consumes little power.

Further, the dehumidifier 15 preferably has a variable dehumidifying ability, and in particular, can set the humidity on the exhaust side.

One end of a duct 16 is connected to the exhaust side of the dehumidifier 15,
A propeller-type fan 17 is provided in a part of the duct 16 where the internal space is enlarged.

Further, the duct 16 extends forward from the fan 17 and branches into branch ducts 18a and 18b. The front ends of the branch ducts 18a and 18b are connected to the base ends of the nozzles 8a and 8b, respectively, as described above.

In the middle of the branch ducts 18a and 18b, dampers 19a and 19b capable of continuously or stepwise adjusting the degree of opening in the branch ducts are provided.

Further, the fan 17 is provided with a controller 20 capable of adjusting the amount of air blown by the fan 17.

On the inner walls 2A and 2B of the housing 2 in the first drying unit 104, the sheet heating elements 21a are respectively installed.

Further, the inner walls 2A and 2A of the housing 2 in the second drying unit 106
B also has a planar heating element 21b. These planar heating elements 21a and 21b generate heat when energized, and heat the air blown into the internal space 3 from the nozzles 8a and 8b and the passing photosensitive material S, respectively.

The planar heating elements 21a and 21b are provided with controllers 22a and 22b capable of adjusting the amount of heat generated, respectively.

Examples of such planar heating elements 21a and 21b include a panel heater with a built-in heater, an oil circulation panel heater, a planar heating element containing various conductive fillers, and a heater element coated with an insulating material. Among them, those containing a conductive filler and those obtained by coating a heater element with an insulating material (such as an organic material, ceramics, or a mixed material thereof) are particularly preferable.

In addition, as the conductive filler, for example, an organic conductive filler such as carbon-based material such as carbon black, graphite, and carbon fiber, iron, aluminum, titanium,
An inorganic conductive filler such as a metal powder such as nickel or a metal oxide powder such as titanium dioxide, iron oxide, zinc oxide, and magnesium oxide may be used.

Specific examples of such a planar heating element include:
And the like.

A mixture of carbon and paper fibers in a heat-resistant resin (Toho Rayon Co., Ltd., manufactured by Toho Veslon Co., Ltd.) A mixture of carbon black and a heat-resistant resin (Kaken Co., Ltd.) Inorganic conductivity Paint (HMC11)
1)) Product name: NR-Ceramics plate heater (Nippon Steel Corporation) Product name: NR-Fluorine resin plate heater (Nippon Steel Corporation) Product name: Samicon Super 340 ( Sakaguchi Electric Heat Co., Ltd.
Product name: Idemitsu planar heater (made by Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd.) Teflon submersible panel heater, Product name: Heat Freon (manufactured by Norton, Taniguchi Seisakusho) Product name: Thin heater F-1, F-2 (manufactured by Narasaki Sangyo Co., Ltd.) In the case where a negative resistor type, that is, one having a negative resistance temperature coefficient (negative characteristic) is used as the sheet heating elements 21a and 21b as described above. There are the following advantages. That is, this type of
The current value decreases with the temperature rise of the sheet heating element, that is, the calorific value decreases, and has the property of converging to a constant temperature.Therefore, the drying temperature is detected by a thermistor, and based on this, the drying source is detected. The drying temperature can be kept constant without performing control such as energizing and de-energizing.

Therefore, there is no need to provide a control means or the like for keeping the drying temperature (heat generation amount of the sheet heating element) set by the controllers 22a and 22b constant, which contributes to simplification of the structure of the drying device.

The surfaces of the sheet heating elements 21a and 21b are preferably smooth or have irregularities in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the photosensitive material S. It is preferable that the surfaces of the heating elements 21a and 21b are as soft as possible.

Further, for the purpose of protecting the sheet heating elements 21a and 21b, preventing the photosensitive material from being scratched, and improving the transportability, the sheet heating elements 21a and 21b are used.
A coating film may be provided on the surfaces of the a and 21b exposed to the internal space 3.

In the planar heating elements 21a and 21b, a difference may be provided in the heat generation amount (total amount) between the inner wall 2A side and the inner wall 2B side. In this case, in order to improve the drying efficiency, the calorific value of the planar heating elements 21a and 21b on the emulsion surface side of the photosensitive material S, that is, on the inner wall 2A side should be increased (for example, increased by about 30 to 300%). preferable.

Thus, the planar heating elements 21a and 21a on the inner wall 2A side and the inner wall 2B side are
As a method of providing a difference in the calorific value in 1b, a method of providing a difference in the amount of electricity to each of the sheet heating elements 21a, 21b, a method of providing a difference in the installation area or operating area of the sheet heating elements 21a, 21b, How to install different types of planar heating elements 21a, 21b,
Or a combination of these methods.

Further, in the illustrated example, the sheet heating elements 21a and 21b are installed on the inner walls 2A and 2B of the housing 2, but they may be installed on the outer wall of the housing 2 or embedded in the wall. Is also good.

In this case, the constituent material of the housing 2 is a metal material (for example,
It is preferable to use a material having excellent heat conductivity, such as stainless steel, aluminum, copper, and titanium.

In the drying device 1b, the first drying unit 104 and the second drying unit 106
The drying conditions in are determined by the amount of air blown by the controller 20, the opening degree of the dampers 19a and 19b, the amount of heat generated by the planar heating elements 21a and 21b by the controllers 22a and 22b, and the dehumidifying ability of the dehumidifier 15.

Note that, unlike the illustration, the dehumidifier 15 may be installed on the rear side of the fan 17, and in particular, the dehumidifier 15 is installed for each of the branch ducts 18a and 18b, and the jet air is ejected by the nozzles 8a and 8b. The humidity can be set individually.

Further, a dehumidifier can be provided only in the branch duct 18a.

In such a drying device 1b, circulation of air in the first drying section 104 and the second drying section 106 is performed as follows. When the fan 17 is operated, the pressure inside the recovery ports 7a and 7b becomes negative pressure, and the air supplied for drying is, as shown by arrows in FIG.
Each is sucked by 7b, flows in ducts 14a and 14b,
Thereafter, they merge and reach the dehumidifier 15. This air is
After being dehumidified by the dehumidifier 15, it is introduced into the duct 16,
After passing through the fan 17, it is further divided into branch ducts 18a and 18b, and is jetted from the tips of the nozzles 8a and 8b into the internal space 3, and the internal space 3 of the first drying section 104 and the second drying section 106 respectively. At, a high-speed flow is formed backward.
When this air passes through the internal space 3, the sheet heating element 21
Heated by a, 21b.

In this state, when the wet photosensitive material S nipped and transported by the roller pair 30 is introduced into the inlet 4 and passed through the internal space 3, first, the first drying unit 104 mainly performs constant-rate drying. After passing through the roller pair 31, the second drying section 106 mainly performs the drying at a reduced rate.

Thereafter, the photosensitive material S is nipped and conveyed by the roller pair 32,
The vehicle exits the housing 2 through the exit 5.

The drying conditions in the first drying unit 104 and the second drying unit 106 in such a drying device 1b will be described.

In the first drying unit 104, drying conditions are set such that constant-rate drying is mainly performed, and in the second drying unit 106, drying conditions are set such that mainly reduced-rate drying (including temper drying) is performed. I do.

Specifically, the average flow velocity (linear velocity) of the air in the internal space 3 in the first drying unit 104 is about 0.3 to 60 m / s, particularly 1 to 20 m / s.
And the temperature (drying temperature) is 50 to
It is preferably about 150 ° C, particularly about 70 to 120 ° C.

The average flow velocity (linear velocity) of the air in the internal space 3 in the second drying unit 106 is about 0.1 to 40 m / s, particularly 0.5 to 10 m / s.
It is preferable to set the temperature at the first drying section 104.
Relatively low temperature, that is, about 30-100 ° C, especially 40-8
The temperature is preferably set to about 0 ° C.

The average humidity (relative humidity) of the air in the internal space 3 in the first drying section 104 and the second drying section 106 is 1 to 80%.
It is preferred to be about RH, especially about 40-60% RH.

As described above, the first drying unit 104 and the second drying unit 106
When dehumidification is performed independently in each of the above, it is preferable that the humidity in the first drying unit 104 is set to be lower than the humidity in the second drying unit, and the former is 1 to 40% RH.
And the latter is preferably about 30 to 90% RH.

In this case, the humidity in the first drying section 104 and the second drying section 1
The difference (absolute value) from the humidity in 06 is 20% RH or more, especially 30
It is preferable to set it to about 50% RH.

In the drying device 1b, the degree of dehumidification may be different between the front side and the back side of the photosensitive material S. In this case, it is preferable to supply air of lower humidity to the emulsion surface side of the photosensitive material S.

By setting the drying conditions as described above, the photosensitive material S
The drying efficiency can be improved, drying can be performed in a shorter time, and the occurrence of poor film quality such as reticulation and poor gloss on the emulsion surface of the photosensitive material can be prevented.

In the drying devices 1a and 1b having such an air circulation system,
Since the hot air used for drying is reused without being exhausted to the outside, energy consumption can be reduced, and the amount of heat and steam released to the outside of the device is small, so the installation environment (temperature, humidity) of the device There is no effect on

The type of the photosensitive material S to be dried by the drying device of the present invention is not particularly limited. For example, a color negative film, a color reversal film, a color photographic paper, a color positive film,
Various photosensitive materials such as color reversal photographic paper, photographic photosensitive material for plate making, X-ray photographic photosensitive material, black-and-white negative film, black-and-white photographic paper, photosensitive material for micro and the like.

Further, the drying apparatus of the present invention is used alone or in a state of being incorporated in various photosensitive material processing apparatuses such as an automatic developing machine, a wet type color copier, a video printer processor, and a color paper processing machine for plate inspection. be able to.

As described above, the configuration of the drying apparatus of the present invention has been described with reference to some configuration examples. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, three or more drying units may be provided. In this case, each of the drying units may be a combination of any configuration or any other configuration in the drying devices 1a and 1b.

Further, the drying apparatus 1a, 1b are both photosensitive material surface S _A side and the back surface S _B side independent air supply system S (fans, ducts, heater, dehumidifier) has the,
The present invention is not limited to this, and a single air supply system may be provided, and the air may be supplied from the air supply system to the nozzles 8a and 8b on the front and back sides of the photosensitive material.

Further, the first drying units 103 and 104 and the second drying units 105 and 106
A temperature sensor and a humidity sensor for detecting the temperature and humidity in the internal space 3 of the housing 2 or each duct in the above are provided, and the fans 9a, 9b, 17,
The output of the heaters 10a and 10b, the planar heating elements 21a and 21b, and the dehumidifier 15 may be automatically controlled. In this case, the change over time in the water content of the emulsion layer of the photosensitive material S depends on the transport speed of the photosensitive material S, environmental conditions such as the temperature and humidity of the outside air, and when the photosensitive material S is wet before drying, the layer structure of the photosensitive material type (in particular, the presence or absence of gelatin on the back surface S _B), the processing mode (continuous process, small number process) differs by such, when performing such control, preferably it is possible to obtain a more appropriate drying conditions.

<Effects of the Invention> As described above, according to the drying apparatus of the present invention, the drying efficiency is good, the drying time can be particularly shortened, and the energy consumption can be reduced.

In addition, the size of the apparatus can be reduced and the structure can be simplified by reducing the thickness of the housing, reducing the size of the fan and the heat source based on the reduced supply of the drying gas, and omitting the control means for the drying temperature.

In each of the plurality of drying units, drying conditions,
That is, since conditions such as the temperature, humidity, and air volume of the drying gas can be set, the drying time can be further reduced, and reticulation of the emulsion surface of the photosensitive material can be prevented, and the film quality can be improved. It can be.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are longitudinal sectional views each schematically showing a configuration example of a drying apparatus of the present invention. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1a, 1b Drying device 103, 104 First drying unit 105, 106 Second drying unit 2 Housing 2A, 2B Inner wall 3 Internal space 4 Inlet 4a … Slope 5… Outlet 6a, 6b… Duct 7a, 7b… Recovery port 8a, 8b… Nozzle 9a, 9b… Fan 10a, 10b… Heater 11a, 11b, 12a, 12b… Controller 13… … Openings 14a, 14b …… Duct 15 …… Dehumidifier 16 …… Duct 17 …… Fans 18a, 18b …… Branch ducts 19a, 19b …… Dampers 20 …… Controllers 21a, 21b …… Sheet heating elements 22a, 22b ... Controller 30, 31, 32 ... Roller pair S ... Photosensitive material S _A ... Front surface S _B ... Back surface

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] An apparatus for drying a silver halide photosensitive material, comprising: a housing having a thin inner space in a slit shape; and means for supplying a drying gas to the inner space of the housing. The drying device includes a plurality of drying units, the drying unit includes a first drying unit that mainly performs constant-rate drying, and a second drying unit that mainly performs reduced-rate drying, A drying apparatus characterized in that drying conditions can be set for each drying section. 2. A drying apparatus for a silver halide photosensitive material, comprising: a housing having a slit shape having a thin internal space, and means for supplying a drying gas to the internal space of the housing. The thickness of the inner space in the vertical direction with respect to the silver halide light-sensitive material is 3 to 1000 times the thickness of the silver halide light-sensitive material. The drying device is characterized in that the drying device is configured by a plurality of drying units, and drying conditions can be set for each drying unit. 3. The thickness of the internal space in the direction perpendicular to the silver halide light-sensitive material is 3 to 10 times the thickness of the silver halide light-sensitive material.
2. The drying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the drying gas flows in a transport direction of the silver halide photosensitive material in the internal space. 3. 4. The housing is provided with a nozzle as a means for supplying the drying gas, and the nozzle is connected to the conveying direction of the silver halide photosensitive material by 5 to 60 ° with respect to the conveying direction. 4. The device according to claim 1, wherein the device is inclined at an angle.
Any of the drying equipment. 5. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a dehumidifier for said drying gas.
The drying device according to any one of items 1 to 4. 6. The drying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a planar heating element is provided on an inner wall of the housing.