JP3738898B2 - Photographic paper processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention includes a processing liquid tank for holding a processing liquid for developing an exposed photographic paper, and a transport mechanism for transporting the photographic paper in the processing liquid in the processing liquid tank. The transport mechanism relates to a photographic paper processing apparatus including a pair of transport rollers that are rotationally driven while sandwiching the photographic paper therebetween.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In the above photographic paper processing apparatus, from the viewpoint of ensuring the photographic paper conveyance force for both of the conveyance roller pairs, the peripheral surface is generally made of a material having a hardness exceeding 35 degrees (according to the test method of JIS K6301). At the same time, the conveying roller pairs are attached by coil springs or the like that are stretched around both ends of the shaft members of the conveying roller pair so that a pressing force of about 100 gf is generated on the contact surfaces (nips) of each other. As a result, the following problems were observed (Note that this about 100 gf is the pressing force applied to the contact surface between the conveying rollers, in other words, the photographic paper to be conveyed. It is representative of a preferred example of clamping force and can take any value between about 100 gf and about 700 gf, depending on the various applications of the photographic paper processing apparatus).
[0003]
That is, particularly when the leading edge of the photographic paper enters between the pair of conveying rollers in a state where the leading edge is inclined with respect to the axis of the conveying roller pair, the corner of the photographic paper that has entered earlier is damaged ( Liquid stagnation is likely to occur, and defects in appearance such as a substantial increase in the actual thickness of the paper are often manifested).
[0004]
In addition, in a configuration in which a pair of conveyance rollers is made sufficiently long and, for example, a cut photographic paper having a standard size of 89 mm × 127 mm or the like is conveyed simultaneously in three rows, compared to a photographic paper passing through two lanes on both sides. There was a tendency for insufficient conveyance force to be applied to the photographic paper passing through the center lane, resulting in poor conveyance. This phenomenon can be prevented by making the shape of the conveying roller into a barrel shape (or a crown shape) whose diameter is larger at the central portion, but it is processed into a special shape with a lathe or the like. The cost required to do this was high and could not be said to be a reasonable measure.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks of the photographic paper processing apparatus according to the prior art exemplified above, and the conveyance roller pair with the leading edge of the photographic paper inclined with respect to the axis of the conveyance roller pair. It is an object of the present invention to provide a photographic paper processing apparatus in which liquid corners or other damages are unlikely to occur even when the photographic paper enters between the two.
[0006]
Another object of the present invention is to make the pair of conveying rollers sufficiently long in view of the above-mentioned drawbacks of the conventional photographic paper processing apparatus exemplified above, for example, three rows of standard size cut photographic papers, etc. Even in the configuration where the paper is conveyed at the same time, it is not necessary to take the means of making the shape of the conveying roller into a barrel shape, and it is equivalent to the photographic paper passing through the center lane for the photographic paper passing through the two lanes on both sides. It is an object of the present invention to provide a photographic paper processing apparatus capable of applying the above-mentioned pressure bonding force.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, a photographic paper processing apparatus according to the present invention has the characteristic configuration described in claims 1 to 4 in the claims.
That is, the photographic paper processing apparatus according to claim 1 of the present invention is
A treatment liquid tank for holding a treatment liquid for developing the exposed photographic paper, and a conveyance mechanism for simultaneously conveying the photographic paper in three rows in the treatment liquid in the treatment liquid tank, The transport mechanism is a photographic paper processing apparatus including a pair of transport rollers that are rotationally driven while sandwiching the photographic paper therebetween, and the transport roller pair is pressed between about 100 gf and about 700 gf against each other. a biasing means force is biased to generate, each transport roller has an outer diameter dimension along the axial direction of the roller and presents a constant cylindrical, the printing paper transport roller pair In order to suppress the formation of liquid stagnation at the corners of the photographic paper when conveyed in a posture inclined with respect to the at least one of the rollers constituting the conveying roller pair is in the range of 10 to 25 degrees. It has a peripheral surface made of an elastic material with a certain hardness. It is characterized constitute a Rukoto.
[0008]
With such a characteristic configuration, in the photographic paper processing device according to claim 1 of the present invention, the leading edge of the photographic paper is inclined with respect to the axis of the pair of conveying rollers. Even when entering between the pair of conveyance rollers, the pressing force for pressing the pair of conveyance rollers to each other is changed particularly in the photographic paper processing apparatus that does not cause significant liquid stagnation or other damage at the corner portion where the photographic paper has entered in advance. It became possible to get without . Further, it has been found that in the photographic paper processing apparatus according to claim 1 of the present invention, a roller having an accurate cylindrical peripheral surface can be obtained at a reasonable processing cost.
Incidentally, for example, in a configuration in which the conveyance roller contacting the emulsion surface side of the photographic paper has a peripheral surface with a hardness exceeding 25 degrees, the nip side of the photographic paper is still inclined between the conveyance roller pair. When approached, a phenomenon was observed in which liquid stagnation occurred at the leading corner of the photographic paper. In addition, it has been found that it is difficult to obtain a roller having an accurate cylindrical peripheral surface at a reasonable processing cost in a configuration in which one of the conveying roller pairs has a peripheral surface having a hardness of less than 10 degrees. .
[0009]
Also, in paper processing apparatus according to claim 1 of the claims of the present invention, for example, when to convey simultaneously cut paper standard size three columns or the like, with respect to the printing paper passing through the both sides of the two lanes It was possible to apply the same pressing force and conveying force as the photographic paper passing through the central lane, and a good conveying state could be secured in all three lanes. For this reason, the processing cost for making the conveying roller a special shape such as a barrel is not increased.
[0010]
Further, in addition to the above-described configuration, the transport mechanism includes a center roller that contacts the base surface side of the photographic paper, an emulsion surface side of the photographic paper, and a circumferential surface before and after the center roller. A pair of adjacent side rollers, and a biasing mechanism that presses the pair of side rollers in the direction of the front and rear circumferential surfaces of the center roller, and one of the center roller and the side roller has an angle of 35 degrees. The center roller and the side roller may be composed of a soft roller having a peripheral surface with a hardness in the range of 10 to 25 degrees.
[0011]
With such a configuration, even when the photographic paper enters between the pair of conveyance rollers while being inclined with respect to the axis of the conveyance roller pair, the corner of the photographic paper is not liable to spill or other damage. In addition, in a configuration in which the conveyance roller pair is sufficiently long, for example, in a configuration in which standard size cut photographic paper is conveyed simultaneously in three rows, the shape of the conveyance roller does not need to be a barrel shape, and all three lanes are good. With one of the center roller and the side roller maintained in a state that can secure a proper conveyance state, a peripheral surface (PPE or other synthetic resin or Therefore, it is possible to further reduce the cost of the entire photographic paper processing apparatus.
Furthermore, in this configuration, another unloading and loading roller pair (for example, an overrack roller) 10 disposed above the liquid surface for drawing out the photographic paper from the processing liquid tank and transferring it to the adjacent processing liquid tank is 10. When configured with a soft roller having a peripheral surface with a hardness in the range of ˜25 degrees, the amount of processing liquid brought into the downstream processing liquid tank from the upstream processing liquid tank (called carry-over) is reduced. As a result, an effect of about 20% reduction compared to the conventional configuration was obtained. This is presumed to be a phenomenon based on an increase in the contact area of the side rollers pressed against the photographic paper being conveyed.
[0012]
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of embodiments using the drawings.
[0013]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
A photographic paper processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described based on a photographic printer as a specific embodiment thereof.
[0014]
(Overall configuration of photo printer)
The photographic printer 100 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 includes an exposure processing unit Ex that exposes a given image onto photographic paper, and a development processing unit De that develops the exposed photographic paper.
The exposure processing unit Ex is pulled out of a photographic paper magazine 1 capable of storing a long unexposed photographic paper LP in a roll shape, and a drawer roller unit 2 for drawing out the photographic paper LP from the photographic paper magazine 1 by an appropriate length. The cutter 3 for cutting the photographic paper LP, the rectangular sheet-like photographic paper SP made by the cutter 3, the exposure table 4 fixedly supported, and the image given to the photographic paper SP supported on the exposure table 4 An exposure unit EU that performs the exposure operation, an intermediate transport mechanism 8 that receives the exposed photographic paper SP from the exposure table 4 and delivers the photographic paper SP to the development processing unit De so that the emulsion surface of the photographic paper SP faces outward. .
[0015]
The exposure table 4 is disposed at substantially the same level with a rubber film-like endless belt 5 having a width larger than that of the photographic paper LP, and support rollers 6a, 6b, 6c for supporting the endless belt 5 at at least three points. In order to convey the portion of the endless belt 5 stretched between the two support rollers 6a and 6c from the cutter 3 to the intermediate conveyance mechanism 8, these supports are supported based on an instruction from a control device (not shown). A drive motor M1 that rotates at least one of the rollers 6; In addition, a large number of through holes (not shown) are formed on the entire surface of the endless belt 5, and the photographic paper SP is endless with a negative pressure formed by the suction device 7 disposed on the back side of the endless belt 5. It is fixed on the belt 5.
[0016]
The leading end of the photographic paper SP provided from the cutter 3 is fixed on the endless belt 5 by the suction device 7, and subsequently, based on the rotational drive of the endless belt 5 and the subsequent stop of the endless belt 5, the exposure unit EU. Arranged immediately below. The exposure unit EU has a projection exposure unit that projects a light beam emitted from the white light source 15a in the lamp house 15 and transmitted through the photographic film F on the film carrier 14 onto the photographic paper SP via the zoom lens 16 or the like. 1 exposure unit EUa and 2nd exposure unit EUb which has the digital exposure head 17 which can carry out the scanning exposure of the photographic paper SP.
The intermediate transport mechanism 8 receives the photographic paper SP from the endless belt 5 that is rotated again after the exposure operation by the exposure unit EU, and the roller pair assembly 9 while rotating the roller pair assembly 9 by about 90 °. It comprises a transfer mechanism (not shown) that transfers to the transfer roller mechanism 10 to the development processing unit De located above.
[0017]
(Configuration of development processing section)
The development processing unit De is partitioned into six processing tanks 11 that hold processing solutions such as a color developer, a bleach-fixing solution, and water for washing by vertically extending partition walls 11a. As illustrated in FIG. 3, in each processing tank 11, a transport rack 21 for guiding the photographic paper SP received from the delivery roller mechanism 10 to the processing liquid in each processing tank 11 one after another is arranged. .
Further, downstream of the last processing tank 11, a drying processing section Dr for drying the photographic printing paper SP that has been subjected to development, and a discharge port 12 for discharging the completed photographic print to the outside of the photographic printer are provided. ing.
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, each transport rack 21 is detachably accommodated in each processing tank 11 from above and below. Each transport rack 21 includes a submerged rack 22 that is almost entirely accommodated in the processing tank 11 and an overhead rack 23 that is detachably mounted on the submerged rack 22.
[0018]
(Configuration of submerged rack)
The submerged rack 22 includes a large-diameter center roller 25 disposed in the center in the photographic paper transport direction, and two side rollers 24a and 24b disposed so as to sandwich the center roller 25 from both sides. A plurality of pairs of conveying rollers 24a, 25, and 24b are arranged side by side in the vertical direction. Each pair of side rollers 24a and 24b is operated by a coil spring (not shown), and a pressing force of about 100 gf is always applied between the nips toward the front and rear peripheral surface portions of the center roller 25 disposed therebetween. Energized to occur.
Each of the conveying roller pairs 24a, 25, 24b is rotated in a predetermined direction (arrow direction in FIG. 3) by a driving mechanism described later, and conveys the photographic paper SP in the processing liquid in each processing tank 11. More specifically, the conveyance roller pair composed of the center roller 25 and the upstream side roller 24a conveys the photographic paper SP downward, and the conveyance roller pair composed of the center roller 25 and the downstream side roller 24b is The photographic paper SP is conveyed upward. The side rollers 24a and 24b are configured to be driven to rotate at the same peripheral speed as the center roller 25 by the action of a series of pinion gears engaged with each other.
When the printing paper SP is conveyed, the center roller 25 comes into contact with the base surface B of the printing paper SP, and the side rollers 24a and 24b come into contact with the emulsion surface E of the printing paper SP.
[0019]
The center roller 25 is a hard roller whose peripheral surface is made of PPE (polyphenylene ether) having a hardness of 35 degrees (according to a test method of JIS K6301). On the other hand, the side rollers 24a and 24b are soft rollers whose peripheral surfaces are formed of an olefin elastomer having a hardness of 15 degrees.
More specifically, the center roller 25 is formed by covering the circumferential surface of a rigid cylindrical core material with a PPE lining by extrusion molding, and is formed by attaching bearings to both ends. The side rollers 24a and 24b are formed by covering the peripheral surface of a rigid cylindrical core made of SUS with an olefin elastomer lining by injection molding in a mold. Each of the center roller 25 and the side rollers 24a and 24b has a cylindrical shape whose outer diameter is constant in the axial direction, and an L-size printing paper (length in the transport direction: 127 mm, width: 89 mm) is 3 It is long enough to be processed in parallel at the same time.
[0020]
(Overhead rack configuration)
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a pair of carry-in rollers 27a and 27b are provided on the inlet side of the overhead rack 23 detachably mounted on each submerged rack 22, and on the outlet side. A pair of carry-out rollers 28a and 28b is provided. The pair of carry-in rollers 27a and 27b are interlocked at the same peripheral speed as the center roller 25 and the side rollers 24a and 24b of the submerged rack 22, and the photographic paper SP is transferred to the uppermost transport roller pair 24a, Hand to 25. On the other hand, the pair of carry-out rollers 28a and 28b are similarly interlocked at the same peripheral speed as that of the center roller 25 and the side rollers 24a and 24b, and when the photographic paper SP is pulled out from the processing tank 11, the next adjacent to the lower side. Is handed over to the next processing tank 11 corresponding thereto. The carry-in rollers 27a and 27b and the carry-out rollers 28a and 28b are biased by a coil spring (not shown) so that a pressing force of about 100 gf is always generated between the nips in a direction close to each other. Has been.
The carry-in rollers 27a and 27b and the carry-out rollers 28a and 28b are soft rollers whose peripheral surfaces are formed of an olefin elastomer having a hardness of 15 degrees, and the peripheral surfaces of the rigid cylindrical core material made of SUS are placed in the mold. It is formed by coating with an olefin elastomer lining by injection molding. The carry-in rollers 27a and 27b and the carry-out rollers 28a and 28b also have a cylindrical shape whose outer diameter is constant in the axial direction, which is also sufficient for processing L-size photographic paper in three rows simultaneously in parallel. Have a length. The carry-in roller 27a and the carry-out roller 28b constitute a carry roller that contacts the emulsion surface E side of the photographic paper SP.
[0021]
(Physical properties of soft roller materials)
The materials constituting the peripheral surfaces of the soft rollers, that is, the side rollers 24a and 24b of the submerged rack 22 and the carry-in rollers 27a and 27b and the carry-out rollers 28a and 28b of the overhead rack 23 have the following physical properties. It is an olefin elastomer.
Hardness (according to JIS K6301 test method): 15 degrees Specific gravity (according to JIS K6758 underwater substitution method): 0.9
-MFR (according to JIS K6758 test method): 0.5 g / 10 min (test conditions: 230 ° C., 2.16 kg)
-Tensile fracture strength (according to JIS K6301 test method): 4.7 MPa (test condition: No. 3 dumbbell, tensile speed of 500 mm / min)
-Tensile elongation at break (according to JIS K6301 test method): 930% (Test conditions: No. 3 dumbbell, tensile speed of 500 mm / min)
-Tear strength (according to JIS K6301 test method): 10 N / mm (with B-type test piece)
-Compression set (according to JIS K6301 test method): 36% (test condition: 70 ° C x 22 hours)
-Permanent elongation (according to JIS K6301 test method): 6% (Test conditions: 100% x 10 minutes-10 minutes)
[0022]
(Driving mechanism for each transport roller)
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, a stationary support shaft 62 is horizontally provided at the top of each submerged rack 22, and a drive gear 64 is rotatable near the tip of the support shaft 62. It is supported. Further, a transmission gear 74 and a bevel gear 66 are fitted on the support shaft 62 so as to rotate integrally with the drive gear 64. Therefore, the rotational movement in the direction of the arrow shown in FIGS. 5 to 6 obtained by the drive gear 64 by a drive mechanism not shown in the figure is, on the other hand, the transmission gear 74, the transmission gear 76 linked to the transmission gear 74, and the transmission gear. Is transmitted to the carry-out rollers 28a and 28b via the input gears 78b and 78c arranged on the overhead rack 23 so as to mesh with the input gear 76, and at the same time, the input gears 78a and 78d directly meshed with the input gears 78b and 78c; The directly connected carry-in roller pair 27a, 27b is rotated in the opposite direction to the carry-out rollers 28a, 28b. On the other hand, the rotational movement in the direction of the arrow obtained by the drive gear 64 is a set of bevel gears 66 and 68, a transmission shaft 70 directly connected to the one bevel gear 68, and each input link linked to the transmission shaft 70. The side rollers 24a and 24b that are transmitted to the center rollers 25 through the bevel gears 72 and pressed against the center rollers 25 are also opposite to the center rollers 25 through the pinion gears 29, 30, and 30. It is rotated in the direction.
[0023]
(Example)
When an L-size color photographic paper (length: 127 mm, width: 89 mm along the transport direction) having a thickness of about 0.2 mm is flown through the development processing unit De having the above-described configuration (C -41 process), the following conveyance characteristics were obtained.
[0024]
(1) Evaluation of liquid spill amount:
The amount of liquid stagnation (length along the conveyance direction of the liquid smoldering part) formed at the corner of the photographic paper tip when the color photographic paper is intentionally tilted by about 7 ° is In the same manner, about 30% of the liquid stagnation amount when the side roller of the submerged rack is a roller having a hardness of 20, and the amount of liquid stagnation when the side roller of the submerged rack is a roller having a circumferential surface with a hardness of 35 degrees. Only about 5%.
[0025]
(2) Evaluation of conveyance force:
The transporting force of the submerged rack was determined by measuring the traction force applied to the photographic paper sandwiched between the side roller and the center roller of the submerged rack by a weighted measuring instrument, and was defined as the transporting force. The obtained transport force value varies depending on the processing tank 11 and, when the L color color photographic paper is flowed in parallel in three rows, there is some variation for each lane aligned in the axial direction of the roller. Although it was seen, a sufficient conveying force was confirmed even at the location showing the minimum value.
In addition, when the L color color photographic paper is flowed in parallel in three rows, the conveyance power of the central lane is clearly lower than that of the lanes on both sides, and conveyance failure occurs on the photographic paper of the central lane. There was no trend. Therefore, special measures such as making the shape of the transport roller a barrel with a larger diameter at the center as a countermeasure, such as when using a roller having a circumferential surface with a hardness of 35 degrees as the side roller of the submerged rack There is no need to take
[0026]
(3) Carryover evaluation:
The amount of the processing liquid brought into the adjacent processing liquid tank by the L color color photographic paper was determined as carry-over (processing liquid carry-in amount). The carry-over value obtained in the treatment liquid tank having the configuration according to the present invention is based on the conventional method using a roller having a peripheral surface with a hardness of 35 degrees on the side roller of the submerged rack and the carry-in and carry-out rollers of the overhead rack. Compared to the carry-over value indicated by the transport rack having the structure, a decrease of about 20% was confirmed.
[0027]
(4) Evaluation of formability and workability of roller:
A soft roller made of an olefin-based elastomer and having a peripheral surface with a hardness of 15 degrees is the same technology as a conventional hard roller having a peripheral surface with a hardness of 35 degrees, with a reasonable yield by injection molding using a mold. It was confirmed that it could be produced.
[0028]
[Another embodiment]
<1> In the above-described embodiment, the peripheral surface of the soft roller is formed of an olefin-based elastomer, but if it has a hardness in the range of 10 to 25 degrees, a styrene-based elastomer and an olefin / styrene mixture It may be formed of a system elastomer or rubber or urethane foam.
[0029]
<2> In the above embodiment, the center roller of the submerged rack is constituted by a hard roller having a circumferential surface with a hardness of about 35 degrees. However, the center roller may be composed of a metal hard roller such as aluminum or stainless steel. Moreover, you may comprise both a center roller and a side roller with the soft roller which has the hardness of the range of 10-25 degree | times. Or, contrary to the above embodiment, the center roller is composed of a soft roller having a hardness in the range of 10 to 25 degrees, and the side roller is a hard roller having a circumferential surface with a hardness of about 35 degrees, or aluminum or You may comprise with metal hard rollers, such as stainless steel. Similarly, in these configurations, when the photographic paper enters between the conveying roller pair in an inclined state, liquid corners and other damage are unlikely to occur, and a standard size cut photographic paper (L plate) ) In three rows or the like simultaneously, it is not necessary to take a means for making the shape of the conveying roller into a barrel shape, and the photographic paper passing through the center lane is different from the photographic paper passing through the two lanes on both sides. The effect of applying an equivalent crimping force is obtained.
[Brief description of the drawings]
1 is a perspective view showing an external appearance of a photographic printer according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic front view showing main components of the photographic printer shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is used in a development processing section of the photographic printer shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing one of the transport racks. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing the submerged rack and the overhead rack that constitute the transport rack of FIG. 3. FIG. FIG. 6 is a cutaway side view showing the main part of the transport rack.
100 Photo Printer 1 Printing Paper Magazine 3 Cutter 4 Exposure Stand 11 Processing Tank 21 Transport Rack 22 Submerged Rack 23 Overhead Rack 24 Side Roller 25 Center Roller De Development Processing Unit Dr Drying Processing Unit EU Exposure Unit Ex Exposure Processing Unit LP Printing Paper ( Roll or long)
SP photographic paper (rectangular sheet)

Claims (4)

A treatment liquid tank for holding a treatment liquid for developing the exposed photographic paper, and a conveyance mechanism for simultaneously conveying the photographic paper in three rows in the treatment liquid in the treatment liquid tank, The transport mechanism is a photographic paper processing apparatus including a pair of transport rollers that are rotationally driven while sandwiching the photographic paper therebetween.
Biasing means for biasing the conveying roller pairs so that a pressing force of about 100 gf to about 700 gf is generated on the contact surfaces of each other;
Wherein each of the conveying rollers are presents a constant cylindrical outer diameter along the axial direction of the roller,
In order to suppress the formation of liquid stagnation at the corners of the photographic paper when the photographic paper is conveyed in a posture inclined with respect to the conveying roller pair, at least one of the rollers constituting the conveying roller pair is A photographic paper processing apparatus having a peripheral surface made of an elastic material having a hardness in the range of 10 to 25 degrees.   The transport mechanism includes a center roller that contacts the base surface side of the photographic paper, a pair of side rollers that contact the emulsion surface side of the photographic paper and are adjacent to the front and rear circumferential surfaces of the center roller, A biasing mechanism that presses the pair of side rollers in the direction of the front and rear circumferential surfaces of the center roller, and one of the center roller and the side roller has a circumferential surface with a hardness exceeding 35 degrees. 2. The photographic paper processing device according to claim 1, comprising a hard roller, and the other of the center roller and the side roller is a soft roller having a peripheral surface with a hardness in the range of 10 to 25 degrees.   The photographic paper processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the elastic material has a hardness of about 15 degrees.   4. The elastic material according to claim 1, wherein the elastic material is an elastomer obtained by mixing one or more kinds selected from the group including olefin-based, styrene-based, and mixed systems. Photographic paper processing equipment.

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