JPH01213661A - Drying mechanism and automatic developing machine provided therewith - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To have a photosensitive material drying-processed at high speed by setting the nozzle pitch and the slit width of a slit nozzle and a distance between the slit nozzle and the photosensitive material which passes through a conveyance path so that a heat conduction factor in drying with warm wind is within a specified range. CONSTITUTION:In a driving part 1, while the photosensitive material is fed by the feeding roller group of a baking roller 40, plural nozzle ducts 50 are respectively disposed on both surface sides of the photosensitive material P along the conveyance path and water unsaturated heated air is blown to the photosensitive material P from each two slit nozzles 51 of the nozzle ducts 50 to dry it. Now, the heat conduction factor in drying with warm wind is set to be within 140-200kcal/m<2>.hr. deg.C according to the shape and the arrangement of the slit nozzle which blows the water unsaturated heated air. Thus, the photosensitive material which has been developing-processed can be swiftly drying-processed without increasing a drying temperature, etc.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a drying mechanism for drying a developed photosensitive material and an automatic developing machine having the drying mechanism.

[Prior Art] For example, automatic processors are used to develop general photosensitive materials, but they are especially popular in hospitals and other places for developing X-ray photosensitive materials, where it is essential to know the imaging results quickly. . In many conventional automatic processors for processing X-ray photosensitive materials, the processing time from loading to unloading is about 90 seconds, partly due to the relationship with the photosensitive material. However, there is a strong desire to know the photographic results more quickly, and if the above-mentioned processing time can be reduced to about half, to about 45 seconds, it will be possible to meet this desire.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] By the way, the biggest problem in shortening the processing time of an automatic processor to about 45 seconds or less is that the drying of the photosensitive material becomes insufficient. In other words, for example, if you change the processing liquid in an automatic processor that takes about 90 seconds to one that can be developed in a short time and increase the feeding speed of the photosensitive material, drying may occur even if the development process is sufficient. It may be insufficient. Furthermore, if the feeding speed of the photosensitive material is increased in order to perform rapid processing, less water is removed by squeezing or sucking at the squeeze section.

Therefore, one way to increase the drying speed is to increase the speed and volume of the water-unsaturated heated air that is blown onto the photosensitive material, thereby increasing the drying capacity. increase power,
It is necessary to increase the diameter of the blower, which increases noise, makes it difficult to secure an installation space, and increases the size of the device. Further, if the drying temperature is higher than 50°C, problems such as deformation of the photosensitive material and deterioration of image quality will occur, so it is preferable to keep the drying temperature lower than 50°C.

As a result of various research and experiments on drying photosensitive materials, the inventors were able to shorten the drying time by improving the heat transfer coefficient of hot air drying without increasing the drying temperature, drying air speed, or air volume. It has been found that it is easy to obtain drying conditions that allow sufficient drying even when the image quality is not deteriorated.

This invention has been made based on the above-mentioned knowledge, and the first invention provides a drying i-structure capable of drying a photosensitive material at high speed without increasing the drying temperature, drying air speed, or air volume. It is intended to. Another object of the second invention is to provide an automatic processor which is small in size, has low noise, can be dried quickly, and can obtain a sufficiently dried photosensitive material with good image quality in a short period of time.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the drying mechanism of the first invention includes a nozzle duct arranged along a conveyance path through which the developed photosensitive material is conveyed, and The duct has a plurality of slit nozzles on the upstream and downstream sides of the conveyance passage that blow out moisture-unsaturated heated air toward the conveyance passage, and the nozzle pitch and width of the slit nozzles and the difference between the slit nozzle and the conveyance passage are The heat transfer coefficient of hot air drying is 140 to 200 Kcaλ/
m”・hr・℃.

Further, an automatic developing machine according to a second aspect of the invention is characterized by having the drying mechanism described above.

[Function] In the drying mechanism of the first invention, the heat transfer coefficient of hot air drying is 140 to 200 KcaJl/rn" depending on the shape and arrangement of the slit nozzle that blows out the moisture-unsaturated heated air.
- It is set to be hr-t, so that the developed photosensitive material can be quickly dried without increasing the drying temperature.

In addition, since the second invention has the drying mechanism as described above, it is possible to dry quickly with a simple configuration by improving the heat transfer coefficient of hot air drying without increasing the capacity of a drying fan etc. It is possible to obtain a sufficiently dry photosensitive material with good image quality in a short time.

[Example] Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail based on the accompanying drawings.

This automatic developing machine is equipped with a developing section, a squeezing section, and a drying section. First, the photosensitive material and processing solution processed in the automatic developing machine will be explained.

Photosensitive materials The photosensitive materials processed with this automatic processor have excellent sensitivity, fog, and graininess even when processed at high speeds, such as ultra-fast processing where the total processing time is 20 to 60 seconds.
In addition, a silver halide photosensitive material is used that has at least a small amount of gelatin and is less likely to cause blackening due to abrasions or pressure desensitization.

This photosensitive material is a silver halide photosensitive material that has at least one hydrophilic colloid layer on a support. A silver halide photosensitive material having a water content of 10 to 2 Q g/m'' is used.

There are various ways to adjust the water content to this range, but the melting time of the silver halide photosensitive material should be 8 minutes or more and 45 minutes or less, and a hydrophilic colloid layer including a photosensitive silver halide emulsion layer should be used. The amount of gelatin on the side with
By setting the water content to 3.50 g/'m'', a photosensitive material having the water content as described above can be produced.

Also, the water content is preferably 11-18 g/m”
and more preferably 12 to 16 g/m''.

Furthermore, as mentioned above, the melting time is 8 minutes ~
It is preferable to set it as 45 minutes, but it is more preferable to set it as 12 minutes - 40 minutes.

Melting time can be determined, for example, by immersing a piece of material cut into 1 cm x 2 cm pieces in a 1.5% aqueous solution of caustic soda kept at 50°C without stirring, and measuring the time until the emulsion layer dissolves. can.

To obtain the desired melting time, adjustment means can be used using hardeners.

For this purpose, all conventionally known hardeners can be used, either alone or in admixture.

That is, for example, chromium salts (chromium alum, chromium acetate, etc.), aldehydes (formaldehyde, glyoxal,
glitaraldehyde, etc.), N-methylol compounds (
dimethylolurea, methyloldimethylhydantoin, etc.), dioxane derivatives (2,3-dihydroxydioxane, etc.), active vinyl compounds (1,3,5-triacryloyl-hexahydro-2-triazine, 1゜3-vinylsulfonyl-2- active halogen compounds (2,4-dichlor-6-hydroxy-3-
triazines, etc.), mucohalogen acids (mucochloric acid,
Mucophenoxychloroic acid, etc.) can be used.

Preferred hardeners are aldehyde compounds such as formaldehyde, glyoxal, S-triazine compounds such as 2-hydroxy-4,6-cyclotriazine sodium salt, vinyl sulfone compounds, and the like.

The amount of hardening agent used is influenced by the presence of hardening agents, hardening agents, etc., but is preferably lXl0-
It is used in the range of 'mol/g gelatin to lXl0-' mol/g gelatin. More preferably 5X10-'
It is used in mol/g gelatin to 5 x 10-3 mol/g gelatin.

Typical specific examples of hardeners that can be used are listed below, but the invention is not limited thereto.

Typical hardening agent examples ■ IICIIO ■ Cll0 ■ Cll1C11O Below margin ■ 0IIC-(CIlZU1CII
O■ CI CIhC0N11COCllzCj!
■ Cff1C1l□C00CII□C1h00C
CIhCβ■ Cll3COC! (ID Cll5COCIIzCl■ @C11□= C11SOs (Cll□), SO□C
11-C1h@C(C1l!SO□C1l -C
I+□)9 [phase] Cll z −ClIC0
OCOCII C1l□■ C1l t”
C1l -OCllF C112CIl, O1+ The following processing method for silver halide photosensitive materials will be explained.

In a method for processing a silver halide photosensitive material in which at least one hydrophilic colloid layer is provided on a support, the water content of the silver halide photosensitive material is 10 to 20 g when developing with a roller conveyance type A developing machine. /m2.

Processing Solution In this preferred embodiment, the development process is carried out using a developer containing a compound represented by the following formula [IA] and/or a compound represented by the following formula [II A].

-Math [IA] 1! 1 ($ General formula [1 Iris A]!! (In the formula, R,, R2, Rs, R4 and R5 are each hydrogen atom, lower alkyl group, alkoxy group, carboxy group,
represents an alkoxycarbonyl group, a sulfo group, a halogen atom, an amino group, or a nitro group, and each group includes those having a conversion group) Next, - formula [IA] or general formula [+1
Typical specific examples of the compound represented by [A] are listed below, but the invention is not limited thereto.

- Exemplary compound I of formula [IA]-15-nitroindazole, ! -25-aminoindazole, l-35-p-toluenesulfonamide-indazole, ■-45-chloroindazole, ! -55-benzoylacetamino-indazole, ! -65-cyanoindazole, I-75-p-nitropenzoylaminoindazole, ■-81-methyl-5-nitroindazole, ! -96-nitroindazole 1-10 3-methyl-5-nitroindazole and 1-11 4-chloro-5-nitroindazole.

General formula [! Among the compounds of A], nitroindazoles are preferred for use in this developer. A particularly preferred compound is 5-nitroindazole, which has the following structural formula.

Next, typical examples of the compound represented by the general formula [II A ] will be listed, but the invention is not limited thereto.

Exemplary compound (■-1) (n -2) (II
-.11) II Processing of photosensitive materials These materials are suitable for ultra-rapid processing, and for example, a preferred embodiment includes processing in an automatic processor with a total processing time of 20 to 60 seconds.

In this preferred embodiment, the amount of gelatin in the wood-philic colloid layer (including the silver halide emulsion layer) on the side having the photosensitive silver halide emulsion layer on the support is 2.00 to 3.0.
In this embodiment, it is 50 g/m'. When the gelatin amount is within this range, there are fewer coating failures than when the gelatin amount is less than 2.00 g/m'', and the drying properties are better than when it is more than 3.10 g/m''. And the amount of gelatin is more preferably 2,40 to 3.30 g/m! and 2°50 to 3.1
5 g/m'' is more preferable, and by adopting such an aspect, sensitivity, yellow staining, etc. can be further improved.

This photosensitive material may have a photosensitive emulsion layer formed on one side or both sides of the support, and preferably,
A photosensitive emulsion layer is formed on both sides of a support to provide a double-sided photosensitive material. In this preferred embodiment, the average grain size of the silver halide grains used in the silver halide emulsion layer is from 0.30 to 1.20 μm, more preferably from 0.30 to 1.20 μm.
．． 40-1.00 μm, most preferably 0.40-0.
An embodiment in which the thickness is 80 μm can be mentioned.

Here, the grain size of silver halide grains refers to the length of the ribs when converted to a cube of equal volume, and the average grain size is the arithmetic mean thereof.

The wet film pressure at the time of application is preferably in the range of 35 to 85 μm, more preferably in the range of 40 to 75 μm, and most preferably in the range of 47 to 70 μm. If the wet film thickness is too thick, the burden during drying will increase, so measures such as increasing the amount of drying heat and decreasing the coating speed will be required, which will reduce production costs, productivity, etc. If the wet film thickness is too thin, it may be difficult to achieve uniform coating without failure.

This wet-a film thickness means that when one or more coating liquids are simultaneously layered and coated on a support, the thickness is measured immediately after the coating liquids are applied (in JA terms, before drying begins). The wet film thickness (μm), which refers to the sum of the thicknesses (μm) of the film in the wet state of the state), is determined by the following formula. That is, wet eJ film thickness (μm) - (total supply distance of coating liquid (j!/
m1n)xlooo)/(coating speed (m/min)x
Coating width (m))

Moreover, this wet n film thickness refers to the thickness of the coating liquid in each application when the coating is repeated several times, that is, when the coating is applied and then further coated after drying.

In this preferred embodiment, when the wood-philic colloid layer on the side of the photosensitive silver halide emulsion layer consists of 2N or more,
Example B is one in which the surface tension of the coating liquid forming the uppermost layer is 6 dyne/cm or more lower than the surface tension of the coating liquid forming the hydrophilic colloid layer adjacent to the uppermost layer. This difference in surface tension is more preferably 8
d y n e / cm or more, and 10 d y
Most preferably, it is ne/cm or more.

To obtain such a difference in surface tension, at least one surfactant may be used in the top layer.

A surfactant may or may not be used in the layer adjacent to the top layer, and if used, it may be the same as or different from that used in the top layer.

Various types of surfactants can be used as the surfactant.

Next, the grain size distribution of the silver halide grains used in the light-sensitive silver halide emulsion layer of this light-sensitive material is arbitrary, but may be monodisperse. Here, monodisperse means that 95% of the grains are Within ±60% of the number average particle size, preferably 4
It is a dispersion system whose size falls within 0%.

As the silver halide in this silver halide emulsion, any one used in ordinary silver halide emulsions, such as silver bromide, silver iodobromide, silver iodochloride, silver chlorobromide, and silver chloride, is used. However, it is preferable to use silver iodobromide.

When silver iodobromide is used, it is preferable that the silver iodide content is 1
0 to 0.5 mol% is used, more preferably 6 to 1 mol%, particularly preferably 4 to 1.
5 mol% is used. At this time, a material containing a trace amount of silver chloride may be used, for example, less than 2 mol % of silver chloride may be used.

The silver halide grains used in the silver halide emulsion may be obtained by any of the acid method, neutral method, ammonia method, and other methods.

The silver halide grains may have a uniform distribution of silver halide components within the grain, or may be core/shell grains in which the silver halide composition differs between the inside and the surface layer of the grain.

Further, in the case of silver halide grains in which the inner core of the grains is composed of silver iodobromide, it is preferable that the grain has a uniform solid solution phase.

Specifically, the term 1-yen purchase can be explained as follows.

That is, as defined in JP-A-56-110926, when performing X-ray diffraction analysis of silver halide grain powder, the surface index of silver iodobromide [ 200] peak half width Δ20 snow 0.30 (de
g) means the following. The conditions for using the diffractometer at this time are: the scanning speed of the goniometer is ω (deg/m1n), the time constant is r (see),
When the reserving slit width is γ (mm), ωr
/γ≦10.

The silver halide grains used in the silver halide emulsion may be grains in which a latent image is mainly formed on the surface, or grains in which a latent image is mainly formed inside the grains.

Silver halide grains used in silver halide emulsions may have regular crystal shapes such as cubes, octahedrons, and dodecahedrons, or irregular crystal shapes such as spherical or plate shapes. In these particles, any ratio of (100) planes to (111) planes can be used. Further, the particles may have a composite form of these crystal forms, or particles of various crystal forms may be mixed.

For example, a silver halide emulsion containing silver halide grains in which at least the surface of the silver halide grains is a (110) crystal plane consisting essentially of silver bromide or silver iodobromide can be preferably used. The average grain size of the silver halide grains (grain size represents the diameter of a circle with an area equal to the projected area) is preferably 5 μm or less, but 0.1 to 5 μm.
The thickness is preferably .mu.m, particularly preferably 0.4 to 2 .mu.m.

Furthermore, silver halide emulsions can be optically sensitized to a desired wavelength range using dyes known as sensitizing dyes in the photographic industry. Sensitizing dyes may be used alone, but 2
A dye that does not itself have a spectral sensitizing effect along with a sensitizing dye, or a compound that does not substantially absorb visible light, which may be used in combination with a sensitizing dye, and a strong color that enhances the sensitizing effect of the sensitizing dye. A sensitizer may also be included in the emulsion.

In general, as the sensitizing dye, cyanine dyes, merocyanine dyes, complex cyanine dyes, complex merocyanine dyes, holopolar cyanine dyes, hemicyanine dyes, steryl dyes, and hemioxanol dyes are used.

Particularly useful dyes are cyanine dyes, merocyanine dyes and complex merocyanine dyes.

In one preferred embodiment, at least one sensitizing dye selected from the group of compounds represented by the following formulas [11, [II] and [I11] is added to the photosensitive silver halide emulsion layer. be.

- Formula [I], [I! ], [When an embodiment using any of the 11th compounds is adopted, ortho-sensitization is performed, and further improvements are made particularly in pressure desensitization and abrasion blackening. In other words, the regular type uses large particles for the legs, which require high sensitivity, so it has poor pressure desensitization and scratch blackening performance, but the ortho type has high sensitivity due to dye sensitization. can be done. As a result, pressure desensitization and scratch blackening performance can be further improved.

General formula [N, [Summer! ] and [Il+] are as shown below.

R heat (X-)--+ (II) (X-)i, 1 (1[1) (x-) h+1 [In each of the above formulas, Xl, X2, and X3 are anions, 2.
and Z is a group of nonmetallic atoms necessary to complete a substituted or unsubstituted carbon ring, n represents 1 or 2 (however, when forming an inner salt, n is 1)] In formula [1], R+, R2, and Rs each represent a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group, alkenyl group, or aryl group, provided that at least one of R and R represents a sulfoalkyl group or a carboxyalkyl group. Take.

In the formula [If 1, R, and R have the same meanings as R and R3 above. R3 represents a hydrogen atom, a lower alkyl group, or an aryl group.

In formula [+11], R2 and R are each substituted or unsubstituted lower alkyl group, R8 and RIO are lower alkyl groups,
Represents a hydroxyalkyl group, a sulfoalkyl group, or a carboxyalkyl group.

Specific examples of the compounds represented by the above [1] [11] [1111, methods of using the same, etc., can be found in, for example, JP-A No. 61-1999.
It is disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 80237.

Furthermore, it is advantageous to use gelatin as a binder (or protective colloid) for silver halide emulsions;
Wood-philic colloids such as gelatin conductors, graft polymers of gelatin and other polymers, other proteins, W conductors, cellulose conductors, and synthetic hydrophilic polymeric substances such as copolymers may also be used. Can be done.

This gelatin preferably contains 40% by weight or less of components with an average molecular weight of 100,000 or less, preferably 35Ii% or less of components with an average molecular weight of 100,000 or less, and 35 to 20% by weight. is particularly preferable, and
For components with an average molecular i of 50°000 or less, 301i
% or less, particularly preferably 25 to 10% by weight.

Here, the average molecular weight is the weight average molecular weight determined by the gel vermiagemi cyclomatograph method (hereinafter referred to as "rGPC method").

An example of the conditions for the GPC method is shown below.

■Column: Sepharose CL4B (manufactured by Pharmacia Fine Chemicals) Length 80cm, T-35℃, φ15nm■Separated liquid: 0
．． 2M C)IsCOOI(10,2M(1,(O
ONa aqueous solution flow rate 0. 29 m1L7 mm Verister pump (manufactured by ATTO) ■Detector: Ultraviolet absorption spectrophotometer (UV: wavelength 254n
m) ■Sample for analysis: Gelatin with an absolute amount of 25 mg To calculate the % salt of components with an average molecular weight of 100,000 or less from a chart obtained by GPC, use α component (average molecule) t100
Draw a line perpendicular to the baseline from the peak position obtained for ゜000), and calculate the area to the right of the vertical (calculate the ratio of the area of the low molecular weight portion to the total area).

In order to reduce the components having an average molecular weight of too, ooo or less in this gelatin, the following methods 1 to 2 are carried out.

■ When extracting gelatin from raw materials such as bones and skin, remove the gelatin extract at the initial stage of extraction.■ In the manufacturing process from gelatin extraction to drying, the processing temperature of gelatin liquid is set to 40℃.
Do not exceed ℃.

■ Dialyze the gelatin gel with cold water (15°C) (Tha
Journal of Photographic 5
science23 33 (1975)).

■ Fractionation method using isopropyl alcohol (G,
5iainsby, Discuss of Smell Faraday Society
's 5ociety) Engineering 8 288 (1954)).

■ Adsorption method using a polymer adsorbent such as styrene-divinylbenzene copolymer resin.

The average molecular weight is 1 by using the above methods alone or in combination.
It is possible to obtain gelatin containing 0.00.000 or less components in an amount of 40% or less.

Then, add components with an average molecular weight of 100.000 or less to 4or
By using gelatin containing nz% or less in the hydrophilic colloid layer, almost no scum is generated even during automatic development processing, and the hydrophilic colloid layer can be used for silver halide emulsion layers, surface protection layers, intermediate layers, filters, etc. Examples include layers.

When gelatin is used as a binder for a silver halide emulsion, the jelly strength of the gelatin is not limited, but it is preferably 250 g or more (value measured by baggy method).

Jelly strength here refers to the photographic gelatin test method (197
It represents the jelly strength according to the baggy method (PAGE method) described in item 5 (Published by Joint Council for Photographic Gelatin Testing Methods).

Photographic emulsion layers and other hydrophilic colloid layers of light-sensitive materials are
1f hardener that cross-links binder (and protective colloid) molecules and increases film strength! Hardening can be achieved by using one or more of them. Hardeners can harden photosensitive materials to the extent that there is no need to add hardeners to the processing solution.2
It is also possible to add a hardening agent to the processing solution.

As hardening agents, aldehyde-based, aziridine-based (for example, PB Report, 19,921. U.S. Pat. No. 2.950)
．． No. 197, No. 2,984.404, No. 2,983.
611, 3,271.175, Japanese Patent Publication No. 46-40898, and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 50-91315), isoxazole type (for example, U.S. Pat. No. 331.809) epoxy systems (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 3,047,394, West German Patent No. 1.085.663, British Patent No. 1.033.
518, - those described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 48-35495), vinyl sulfone type (for example, PB Report 19,920. West German Patent No. 1.100.942, West German Patent No. 2.337,412, 2.54S, No. 722, 2
．． 835.518, 2.742.308, 2.
749.260, British Patent No. 1.251.091,
Patent application No. 45-54236, No. 48-110996,
U.S. Patent No. 3.539.644, U.S. Patent No. 3,490.91
1), acryloyl type (e.g. Japanese Patent Application No. 48-27949, U.S. Patent No. 3,640)
, 720), carbodiimide systems (for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2.938.892 and 4,0
Specifications of No. 43.818 and No. 4,081.499,
Special Publication No. 46-38715, Patent Application No. 1509-1983
5), triazine type (for example, West German Patent No. 2.41o, n3, West German Patent No. 2,553,915, US Pat. (described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 52-12722), polymer type (
For example, British Patent No. 822,061, U.S. Patent No. 3,
623.878, 3.396.029, 3.2
Specifications of No. 26,234, Japanese Patent Publication No. 4'1-18571
No. 1, No. 47-18579, No. 47-48896), maleimide-based, acetylene-based, methanesulfonic acid ester-based, (N-methylol-based:) hardeners alone or Can be used in combination.

As a useful combination technique, for example, West German Patent No. 2.4
No. 47,587, No. 2,505,741i, No. 2.5
14,245, the specifications of U.S. Patent No. 4.047.957, U.S. Patent No. 3,832.181, U.S. Patent No. 3.840.370, JP-A-48-43319, U.S. Pat.
No. 52-127329, Special Publication No. 48-32364
Examples include combinations described in each publication of the issue.

A plasticizer can be added to the silver halide emulsion layer and/or other wood-philic colloid layer of a light-sensitive material using a silver halide emulsion for the purpose of increasing flexibility.

Among these, a preferred compound is trimethylolpropane. When a diol base or a polyol base such as trimethylolpropane is used, the amount used is preferably 0.01 to 1% by weight, more preferably 0.1 to 100% by weight, particularly preferably 0.00% by weight, based on the gelatin. 1~10!
+! The amount is %.

A dispersion (latex) of a water-insoluble or sparingly soluble synthetic polymer may be contained in the photographic emulsion layer or other lignophilic colloid of a light-sensitive material using a silver halide emulsion for the purpose of improving dimensional stability. can.

As poorly soluble synthetic polymers, for example, British Patent No. 807
．． No. 864, No. 1.186.899, Special Publication No. 1977-4
No. 3125, No. 49-2549.9, U.S. Patent No. 2,
No. 376.005, No. 2.853,457, No. 2.9
No. 58.884, 3. or+z.

No. 674, No. 3.287, 289, No. 3,411.9
No. 11, No. 3゜488.708, No. 3.525,62
No. 0, No. 3.807.290, No. 3.835.71S
No. 3,645.740, etc. can be preferably used.

11F? [As an inhibitor, British Patent No. 1.466.6
No. 00, Research Day Logger (Reserc)
h Disclosura) No. 15840, No. 11i
No. 25a, No. 18830, U.S. Patent No. 2.32'1.
No. 828, 2. llB1. No. ll5B, 3゜206
．． No. 312, No. 3,245,833, No. 3.428.
No. 451, No. 3,775,128, No. 3.943, 4
No. 98, No. 4.02S, No. 342, No. 4,025,46
No. 3, No. 4,025.691, No. 4.025°704
Compounds described in No. 1, etc. can be preferably used.

Surfactants particularly preferably used as 1F7E inhibitors are represented by the following formulas [IV], [V], [v+] and/or [■].

-Math [V] 1? E-8 2G(:lI x(:1ttON-rt
11-Formula (V) General formula [v1] In the formula, R3' is a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group, alkenyl group, or aryl group having 1 to 30 carbon atoms, and A' is a 10-group, -3-group, -COO- group, -N-R+. ' group, -
Co-N-R,. ' group, -So, N-R,. ' group (here, RIG' represents a hydrogen atom, Ii!, a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group).

R2', Rs'-R7'-Re' represents a hydrogen atom, a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group, aryl group, alkoxy group, halogen atom, acyl group, amide group, sulfonamide group, carbamoyl group or sulfamoyl group.

In the formula, Rs' and R6' are substituted or unsubstituted alkyl groups, aryl groups, alkoxy groups, halogen atoms,
Substituents on the phenyl ring, such as acyl, amide, sulfonamido, carbamoyl, or sulfamoyl groups, may be asymmetric.

R4'' and R%' represent a hydrogen atom, a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group, or an aryl group.

Ra'' and Rs', Re' and Rt'' and R8' and R
e'' may be linked to each other to form a substituted or unsubstituted ring.

nl * nt + ns and R4 are the average degree of polymerization of ethylene oxide, and are numbers from 2 to 50.

Moreover, m is an average degree of polymerization, and is a number from 2 to 50.

General formula [■] Revised-A °-(CIlIC7110 side 71-11 formula R
f represents a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group, alkenyl group, or aryl group having 1 to 30 carbon atoms and partially or entirely substituted with a fluorine group.

A' is the same as in general formula [IV], and B represents an alkenylene group, an alkylene group or an arylene group.

E represents a water-soluble group, and ns represents a number from 0 to 50.

Specific examples of the compounds represented by the general formula [rvl, [Vl, [Vl ] or [■]] include the following.

Below are blank spaces - Exemplary compounds of the formula [IV] 1. C+ +l1z3COO(CII2CIIzO
) 5l12, C, +11ffO(C+12CII
IO) I! Exemplary compounds of I+-Yoshiki (V) The following margins are C, II, and so on.

Exemplary compound of formula (Vl) 7゜1140CII zcIl x)-no
0((:II xclI to) nilC4119
-L Cn1b-t11eOclIxc!
1t3-reo 0+CII*C
I+10) riftC+tlltsC
+xllzsC*Ib4, +1□-
t10゜Cs1l + l-L Cs1l□-
-Exemplary compound 11゜slh C+F+5CONCIhCIIiS(hNjlCs 1
1 t CsF+tSOJ(CilsCIIxO)i(C1lx
)esOsNa13°14°C11lff ■Cg11+JOtN(CIlzCIIxO,+1) Representative examples of fluorine-containing surfactants suitable for use in the practice of the present invention include the following 1 to 5z.

1, F3O-(CFt)t-C00II2,
11- (CFx) 4-COO113, CFs-(
CFt) s'cOOONlla4, Ib (CF
x) + 5-COO115, F2O-(CFI)t-
30 bar 6, 117 (CFz) *-CIlz-O5Os
Na? , 11- (CF,) s-CIlx-O
5OJa8, ll-(Ch) &-C11〇-1'-011■ ↑ 9, ll-(CFt) 5-C1b-0-P-
Off↑ 10, lI-(CFx) l @-CI1m-0-
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t*-C1li-0-C11x-C1li-CIl
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x-C1lx-C1lt-SOsNa22, II-
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z-OCC-C1lz-C1lx-SOJa03Na SO,Na SOJa 03Na 03Na Cllz-SOJa 30, C1411is-CIl-Coo-CIlz
-CF3I 0sNa 32, Cl411-5-C11-CONII-CI
lx-'CFt-CIIFt0Ja 34, P3(knee (CFx)i-C00(-(:1
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Il, -CIhO), IIC11°, 1 37, FsC-(CFz)a-CONll-C11
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lt-CIli-0-5OsNa40, F3C-(
cp, ), -SOyo-N-CIliCOOI1C351s 41, 1'3C-(CFt) t-5ow-N-Cl
h-C11□-〇-5O311(:xlls NaO,S 44, 1l-(CFtCFt)4-C11!-0-(C
II□CIlyo0)tel! 45, Na0sS-C1
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-C110 (C11ICIIIO)! Heat 11C11゜50, F+vCv-0-(C11x(:l1zO)
+e-CIIzCII□-01lThe photographic emulsion layer and/or other hydrophilic colloid layers of this light-sensitive material include coating properties, slip properties, emulsion dispersion, adhesion prevention, and photographic properties (development acceleration, hardening, enhancement, etc.). Various surfactants can be used for the purpose of improving (feeling, etc.).

A-olefin polymers (e.g. polyethylene,
flexible reflective supports such as synthetic paper, cellulose acetate, cellulose nitrate, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene terephthalate, polycarbonate,
Examples include films made of semi-synthetic or synthetic polymers such as polyamide, flexible reflective supports prepared by providing reflective layers on these films, glass, metals, ceramics, and the like.

In addition, silver halide photosensitive materials can be manufactured by subjecting the surface of the support to corona discharge, ultraviolet irradiation, flame treatment, etc. as necessary, and then directly or directly improving the adhesion, antistatic property, dimensional stability, and abrasion resistance of the support surface. It may be coated with an undercoat layer of IN or higher to improve properties, hardness, antihalation properties, friction properties and/or other properties, and JP-A-52-1
No. 04913, No. 59-18949, No. 59-199
It is preferable to use the subbing treatment described in No. 40 and No. 59-19941.

In producing this light-sensitive material, the silver halide emulsion layer and other layers can be coated and dried by various methods.

This silver halide photosensitive material can be exposed using electromagnetic waves in a spectral region to which the emulsion layer constituting the photosensitive material is sensitive, and any of various types of light sources can be used.

The black and white development process includes a development process, a fixing process,
A water washing process is performed. In the case where a stop treatment step is performed after the development treatment step or a stabilization treatment step is performed after the fixing treatment step, the water washing treatment step may be omitted. Further, the developing agent or its precursor may be incorporated into the photosensitive material, and the developing process may be performed using only an alkaline solution, or the developing process may be performed using a lithium developer as the developing solution.

The black-and-white developer used in black-and-white development processing is the so-called black-and-white first developer used in the processing of color photosensitive materials, or the black-and-white developer used in the processing of black-and-white photosensitive materials. It is possible to contain various additives that are added to.

A hardening agent can also be included in the preferably used developer.

The pH value of the developer thus prepared was 41.
It is selected to be sufficient to provide sharpness and contrast, preferably in the range of about 8 to 12, particularly about 9.0 to 10.5.

In the present invention, the development processing temperature and time are determined in relation to each other and in relation to the total processing time, preferably for example at 30-40° C. for 10-20 seconds.

The developed and fixed photosensitive material is washed with water and dried. Washing or fixing is carried out to almost completely remove dissolved silver salts, for example, preferably at about 20 to 50°C for 5 to 12 seconds, and drying is carried out at about 40 to 100°C, but it is possible to make this apparatus more compact. Due to the constraints, the drying time is preferably 40 to 50°C, and the drying time can be changed as appropriate depending on the processing condition.
Usually it takes about 5 to 15 seconds.

Next, an automatic developing machine for processing this photosensitive material will be explained. As an automatic developing machine whose processing time is 20 seconds to 60 seconds, a roller conveyance type is preferable.

An example of an automatic developing machine according to the present invention that is preferably used is shown in FIG. Although this automatic developing machine is compact in size with a height, width, and depth of about 800 mm or less, it is capable of processing about 500 cut films per hour. In addition, approximately 251 replenishment tanks will be installed at 2
It is also possible to incorporate it individually, and in that case, the dimensions of height, width and depth can be kept to about 1200.800,800 mm or less.

This automatic developing machine has a processing time of about 45 seconds, about 90 seconds, and 1
Selection processing is possible for about 8080 seconds, and the processing time is 4
When the processing time is approximately 5 seconds, the transport speed is approximately 2500 mm/min, and processing is performed at approximately 500 sheets per hour; when the processing time is approximately 90 seconds, the transport speed is approximately 1500 mm/min, and processing is performed at approximately 300 sheets per hour.
During the processing time of about 18,080 seconds, the conveyance speed is about 630 mm/min, and about 140 sheets are processed per hour.

Operation Section A The main body 1 of the apparatus is designed to block external light, and an operation panel 10 is provided on the upper front side thereof, and the necessary operation switches and indicators are attached. This switch performs operations such as starting and stopping the operation, changing the conveyance speed, setting the processing temperature, displaying the IA buried water temperature, and indicating a malfunction. Shown in spray 11. Furthermore, audio part 1
2, interactive display using audio is also possible.

Photosensitive material loading section B Photographed photosensitive materials are inserted into the insertion slot 20 provided at the upper rear side of the main body 1 or 51 sheets at a time.
0 is provided with a sensor 21 for setting the insertion interval of the photosensitive material. That is, for example, the processing time is 45
In the case of approximately seconds, the insertion is performed at intervals of 2 seconds, and the distance between the inserted photosensitive material and the next inserted photosensitive material is set to approximately 60 mm. Further, when the processing time is about 90 seconds, the insertion interval is set to about 3 seconds, and the distance between the photosensitive materials is set to about 45 mm.

Further, this photosensitive material loading section B is provided with a photosensitive material width detection means (not shown), which detects the width of the photosensitive material and outputs the information to the control section. The control section calculates the area of the photosensitive material based on this information, and uses this information as a reference for replenishing the processing liquid.

Photosensitive material unloading section C A photosensitive material unloading section C is provided on the side opposite to the photosensitive material loading section B of the apparatus main body 1, and the dried photosensitive material is discharged after being developed into the basket 30.

Inside the transport system main body 1, a transport system composed of rollers is provided between a photosensitive material input section B and a photosensitive material output section C. This conveyance system transports the photosensitive material in y, 2 and 'i.
As shown in figure J3, developer tank E, fixing tank F, washing tank G1
It is configured to be conveyed to the squeeze section H and the drying section (2) in this order. A rubber roller can preferably be used as this roller, and examples of the rubber material include silicone rubber or ethylene propylene rubber (e.g. EPD).
M) is preferably used.

The rollers of this conveyance system can be constructed by arranging rollers made of different materials at predetermined locations, for example, as shown by the symbols in FIG. It is preferable because the properties are improved.

That is, the beta roller (containing mica) 40 is placed in the main conveyance path, and the development 4! In E, an EPDM rubber roller (hardness: 50° C.) 41 is placed at a predetermined location. Developer tank E
A silicon rubber roller (hardness 5
0° C.) 42 and a silicone rubber roller (lead) 43 are arranged facing each other and squeeze the developer. Fixing tank F
In the washing tank G, a beta roller (with a collar) 43 is disposed at a relatively gently curved portion of the conveying path, and conveys while guiding.

In addition, in the squeeze part H, a silicone rubber roller (hardness 50
℃) 42 are arranged on the carry-in side and the carry-out side to squeeze the moisture on the photosensitive material, and a water absorption roller 44 is disposed in the latter stage to further absorb the moisture remaining on the photosensitive material. . In the drying section I, a beta roller (containing mica) 40 is arranged in consideration of transportability and heat resistance.

Each roller in the conveyance system is provided with a spring as shown in FIG. 4, which applies a predetermined pressure to the photosensitive material.

For example, at point a, the spring length is 82 mm and the crimp force is 300.
~350g, the spring length is 150mm at point b, and the spring length is 133mm at point C where the pressing force is 400~450g%C.
The crimp force is 400 to 450 g, and the spring length is 2 at point d.
At 50mm, the pressing force is 4 with EPDM rubber rollers 41 on both sides.
00 to 450 g, and the spring length is 150 m at the location where the pressing force is 200 to 2508% e with the lower EPDM rubber roller 41.
m, crimping force is 400-450g, f.

At point g, the spring length is 150mm and the pressure is 400~4
At points 50g and h, the spring length is 228mm, and the pressing force is 400 to 450g with the bake rollers 43 on both sides, and the pressing force is 200 to 250g with the lower beta roller 43, and at the points i and j, the spring length is 85.90mm. Crimping force is 30 each
0-350g, ni, j! The spring length is 150mm at the location.
At the points where the pressing force is 400 to 450 g%m, the spring length is 224 mm, and the pressing force is 43 on both sides.
400 to 450 g, the lower baking roller 43 has a crimping force of 200 to 250 g, the spring length is 72 mm at the point n and the crimping force is 950 to 100,100 O, and the spring length is 82 mm and the crimping force is 600 to 650 g at the point p. , at point q, if the spring length is 85 mm, the pressing force is 550 to 600.
At the point 8% r, the spring length is 82 mm and the crimp force is 600.
At the point of ~650g%S, the spring length is tlomm and the pressing force is set to 450~500g.

As with the roller material, the pressure setting of these conveyance systems is such that, like the roller material, the photosensitive material can be conveyed at high speed without being damaged during conveyance, and in order to improve squeezing properties, for example, the pressing force should be strong or bent at the squeezed part. It is set according to the function of each part, such that it is weak in some parts.

As a result, the slip rate in this conveyance system is significantly improved as shown in FIG. Here, the slip rate is expressed by the following formula.

The surface roughness of these rollers is Rmaxxo, 1 to 100μ
Good transportability and image quality can be maintained over a wide range of m. This is much more advantageous than conventional automatic processors, which maintain conveyance performance and image quality by setting Rmax in the range of 1 to 15 μm (note that the roller surface roughness Rmax is based on JIS standard B -0601)
.

In addition, the number of rubber rollers is usually 1 to 8 in the developing section, and for example, up to a 30 degree change in the hardness of the rubber roller used, there is no noticeable effect on image quality. When using a hardness of 60 degrees over time, there is no negative effect when using a hardness. There is no problem even if the hardness changes or the hardness distribution has a wide range, so there is a lot of freedom, and there is almost no problem even if the hardness distribution varies (The hardness is based on the rubber hardness specified in JIS standard -6301. ).

Furthermore, the insertion distance of the photosensitive material to be processed (the distance between the rear end of the photosensitive material inserted first and the front end of the photosensitive material inserted later) can be shortened to 5 to 80 mm (conventionally, it could be shortened by 40 mm). mm), it is possible to perform rapid processing, increase the number of sheets to be processed, and improve processing capacity by up to 20% compared to conventional methods.

In addition, the total number of rollers can be reduced, for example, for a machine with the same processing capacity, it is possible to reduce the number of rollers by about 20 (for example, compared to the conventional 1
(85 rollers compared to 0.00 rollers), and the ratio of the number of facing rollers/total rollers can be increased to a range of 0.5 to 1.0 (previously about 0.145), which reduces processing time. ,
Also, image quality can be maintained.

The rollers of this conveyance system are driven at a constant speed, and the path length is, for example, 51°0 mm at the photosensitive material loading section B, and the developing section 41E.
621 mm in fixing tank F, 348.8 mm in washing tank G
306.2mm at the squeeze part H, 242.4mm at the drying part! 344.5mm, total 1913.9mm
is set to

Therefore, if the processing time of the photosensitive material is about 45 seconds,
1.2 seconds at photosensitive material loading section B, 14 seconds at developer tank E and transition section
．． 6 seconds, fixing tank F and transition section 8.2 seconds, washing tank G and transition section 7.2 seconds, squeeze section H 5.7 seconds, drying section 8
．． It is set to 1 second, and each part performs short-time processing.

Furthermore, in the case of rapid processing in which the total processing time is 20 to 60 seconds, for example, developing tank E1, fixing tank F, washing 4! By changing the bath length in H and drying section I, for example, developing tank E
and 10 to 20 seconds at the transition section, and 4 to 15 seconds at the fixing tank F and transition section.
seconds, 5 to 12 seconds at the washing tank G and transition section, and 5 to 12 seconds at the drying section I.
It is possible to set it within a range of 15 seconds.

Developing 4m1E, fixing tank F, washing 4! The IG developing unit E, fixing unit 41F, and washing unit 41G are constructed by integrally forming three units to prevent liquid leakage, and the capacity of the developing tank E is ! 6. Of
, the capacity of the fixing tank F is 9.71, and the water washing is 4! ! The capacity of G is 8
．． It is set to 7k.

In addition, a non-oral liquid level sensor is installed in tank 8 to detect the liquid level and to manage the liquid amount. In addition to the method using electrodes, the liquid level sensor can be an ultrasonic sensor, an optical sensor that detects the liquid level based on the transmittance of the liquid using a pair of light emitting part and light receiving part, or a non-contact type sensor. . By controlling the liquid level of the processing liquid, it is possible to eliminate variations in processing time and to control the processability of the photosensitive material. In addition, in order to eliminate variations in processing time, the rollers are operated at a constant speed m even if the voltage or load changes. A drive motor that does not cause speed variations in j is selected. In addition, to make it possible to change the processing time depending on the type of photosensitive material, you can change the speed by one-touch switching (and automatically change the temperature setting at the same time), and automatically change the speed by automatically determining the type of photosensitive material. This is so that it can be done. In this case as well, the changed speed remains constant.

The developing tank E, the fixing tank F, and the washing tank G each have a tank (not shown) for controlling the temperature, and the temperature regulating tank is formed of a molded product, and can also be formed integrally with the processing tank.

Moreover, by paying attention to the shape, it is possible to form the container so that no liquid remains when the liquid is discarded. For example, a 750W two-wood heater is used for the temperature control tank of the developing tank E, and a single 50W heater for the fixing tank F is used for the temperature control tank of the fixing tank F. A temperature sensor is provided to detect the temperature. As this temperature sensor C, for example, a thermistor, platinum sensor, or silicon sensor is used. Information from the temperature sensor is input to the temperature control section, which controls the eight liquids at appropriate temperatures.

Processing solution replenishment Regarding the processing solution replenishment amount, the developer solution replenishment amount is 5 to 40C.
C/quarter cut, fixer replenishment amount can be in the range of 10 to 70 cc/quarter cut, and processability and image quality can be maintained with this replenishment amount. Conventionally, the developer replenishment amount was 33 (+10%, -0%
) cc/4 cut cutting fluid replenishment amount to 63 (+10%, -0%
) It is possible to reduce the amount of replenishment compared to cc/4 cuts. Although the amount of water for washing is set to 1.5 to 341 m1/min, the processability and image quality can be maintained even if the amount is set to the conventional 1.5 to 517 m1n.

Furthermore, even without a fixing filter, scum and dirt occur less frequently and can be completely eliminated (conventionally, there are filters for both development and fixing).

The water content of the silver halide photosensitive material at the end of the water washing process is measured in accordance with the following procedure. That is, 20c
The sample was exposed to the light necessary to obtain the maximum density of 20 cm x 20 cm, and was then processed using automatic development xx-soo (manufactured by Konica Corporation).
The main structure is shown in Figure 1), and the developer was developed at a temperature of 35°C for 25.24 seconds in a developer with the following composition. Fixing for 19.19 seconds at 30°C, flow rate 3JZ using 20°C water
/min for 12.87 seconds. Composition of developer and fixer: Potassium sulfite 55.0g Hydroquinone 25.0g 1-phenyl-3-
Pyrazolidone 1.2g boric acid
10.0g Sodium hydroxide 21.0g
Triethylene glycol 17.5g 5-nitropenzimidazole 0.10g glutaraldehyde m
Sulfite 15.0g glacial acetic acid
16.0g potassium bromide 4.0
g Add 2.5 g of triethylenetetramine hexaacetic acid to make tX.

Ammonium thiosulfate 130.9g Anhydrous sodium sulfite 7.3g Boric acid
7.0g acetic acid (90wt%)
5.5g Sodium acetate trihydrate
25.8g Aluminum sulfate 18 hydrate 14.6
g Sulfuric acid (50wt%) 6.77g Add water to finish to ij2.

Remove the sample from the rinsed squeeze rack and measure its weight within 60 seconds. The weight at this time is defined as W stomach (g).

The above operations are performed at 25° C. and 55% RH.

Next, after sufficiently drying the sample, the sample was heated at 25°C for 1 hour or more.
It is left to stand under conditions of 55% RH, and its weight is measured. Letting this be wd (g), the water content is calculated from the following formula.

Water content (g/m2) (W stomach - Wd) x (1000
cm'/20cm x 20cm) Next, a method for measuring melting time will be explained. A sample cut into 1 cm x 2 cm is immersed in a 1.5% caustic soda aqueous solution kept at 50°C without stirring, and the time until the emulsion layer is eluted is measured. In other words, after the sample is immersed, the emulsion layer is eluted. The time it takes to start is the melting time.

Squeeze Section, H The roller of the squeeze section H in this automatic developing machine is constructed as described above, but the roller material, squeeze characteristics, etc. will be explained in more detail.

Two pairs of silicone rubber rollers 42 with smooth surfaces are arranged from the water washing JtG side, and these rollers preferably have a silicone rubber layer capable of retaining water, but are not limited thereto, and any squeezing feed roller having a rubber layer may be used.

Next, water-absorbing poroelastic N (Kuraray Co., Ltd.) clear water I
A pair of water-absorbing rollers 44 are disposed, each of which has a surface layer made of synthetic leather (trade name "Clarino") which is in pressure contact with the surface of the roller.

In addition, a staggered arrangement of 6
Silicon rubber rollers 42 are disposed on two of the three rollers that contact the upper and lower surfaces of the photosensitive material, respectively, and two rollers that contact the lower and upper surfaces of the photosensitive material, respectively. Its surface layer is a smooth silicone rubber layer. 1 that contacts the top side of the photosensitive material
A bake roller 40 is disposed on each roller, and is made of Bakelite with a smooth surface, but a roller whose surface layer is made of carbon-containing ABS resin or the like may also be used.

Then, a water-absorbing roller 44 that absorbs water is brought into contact with the silicon rubber roller 42 at the front stage, which has a smooth surface and does not absorb water, and the beta roller 40 at the next stage and the silicone roller 42 at the rear stage have porous holes that absorb water and do not come into contact with the photosensitive material. A water absorbing roller 42 having a surface layer made of a high elastic layer is disposed.

A pair of water absorbing rollers 44 for transporting the photosensitive material to the drying section I are arranged downstream of the six rollers arranged in a staggered arrangement.

Among the above roller groups in the squeeze part H, the washing tank G
As shown in FIG. 6, the two pairs of silicone rubber rollers 42 on the sides are for squeezing and dewatering the water W carried from the washing tank G onto the photosensitive material P. After that, the disposed water absorbing rollers 44, the water absorbing rollers 44 of the staggered arrangement rollers, the water absorbing rollers 44 on the feeding side to the drying section I, etc. are removed from them as shown in FIG. It absorbs more water than it evaporates.

Therefore, at least two pairs of silicone rubber rollers 42 are required as shown in the illustrated example so that sufficient dewatering cannot be performed in the squeeze section H. However, even if the logarithm is increased too much, the transport path for the photosensitive material becomes longer, and the processing time of the automatic processor cannot be shortened unless the speed of the photosensitive material is increased. Furthermore, the torque required to rotate the roller pair becomes large, resulting in the problem that the load on the motor, drive gear, etc. increases. Therefore, it is preferable that the number of silicone rubber rollers 42 be increased to about three pairs at most.

rlt water roller 4 of silicone rubber layer la 4z on washing tank G side
4, as shown in figure f%3, absorbs water on both sides of the photosensitive material in the same manner as the water absorbing rollers 44 arranged in a staggered arrangement, but instead of this, the number of water absorbing rollers is increased in the staggered arrangement. Good too.

The staggered silicone rubber rollers 42 contact the photosensitive material over a larger area than the pressure contact rollers. Therefore, the water-absorbing roller 44 whose surface layer absorbs water efficiently absorbs the water on both sides of the photosensitive material and uniformly reduces the water.

The bake roller 40 and the silicone rubber roller 42 are rollers with smooth surfaces that do not absorb water, and are used to facilitate the feeding of the photosensitive material. It is preferable to thereby absorb moisture adhering to the surface of the roller that does not absorb water. Instead of the water absorbing roller, a sliding member that absorbs water may be brought into contact with the roller.

The squeeze characteristics of the beta roller 40, silicone rubber roller 42, and water absorption roller 44 are shown in FIG.

Furthermore, FIG. 9 shows the squeeze running characteristics of this automatic processor. This figure shows that the moisture content of the photosensitive material in the carryover before squeezing is 2.7 to 2.8 (g/4-cut, The moisture content of the later photosensitive material was 2.2 for the conventional one.
~2.3 (compared to less than g/4-cut, the moisture content after squeezing is 1.7 depending on the roller material, roller arrangement, etc.)
It can be reduced to ~1°8 (g/4 cut).Furthermore, by processing with a photosensitive material with a reduced amount of gelatin, by using a photosensitive material,
The moisture content of the light-sensitive material after squeezing can be further suppressed to 1.1 (g/4 cut or less).

Drying section I The drying section I is constructed as shown in Figure 3@1 and Figures 1O to 13. That is, the cleaning water is further squeezed out or absorbed by the roller group of the squeeze section H and sent to the drying section I.

In the drying section I, the photosensitive material is fed by a group of feed rollers of the bake roller 4o. During this time, a plurality of nozzle ducts 50 are arranged on both sides of the photosensitive material P along the conveyance path, and water-unsaturated heated air is blown onto the photosensitive material P from each two slit nozzles 51 of the nozzle ducts 50. and dry.

The heated air from the slit nozzles 51 and others in the drying section I is blown onto the photosensitive material P by a blowing fan 52 through the outside air intake 53 and the circulation hole 54m provided in the chamber wall 54 of the drying section I through the return duct 55. The outside air indicated by arrow A and the circulating air indicated by arrow port are sucked in and sent into the riser duct 56, and the air heated by the heater 57 provided in the middle extends from the riser duct 56 into the drying section I. This is carried out by entering the nozzle duct 50 and blowing out from two slit nozzles 51 provided in each nozzle duct 50 onto the surface side of the photosensitive material P as shown by the arrows in FIGS. 10 and 13. In order to prevent the internal pressure of the drying section (1) from increasing due to the intake of outside air by the ventilation fan 52 and the evaporation of moisture from the photosensitive material P, the drying section (2) is discharged outside as shown by arrow 2 in FIG. 10, and developed by the exhaust fan 58! It is discharged to the outside of the machine together with the air shown by the arrow in FIG. 1 from the upper space from E to washing tank G.

Each nozzle duct 50 is provided with two slit nozzles 51, as shown in FIG. 13, so that the directions of the heated air blown out from them toward the conveyance path are inclined inward from each other rather than parallel. Further, an exhaust hole 50a is provided to release the air between both slit nozzles 51 on the side opposite to the conveyance path as shown by the arrow H. As a result, the water-unsaturated heated air blown from the two nozzles 51 into a turbulent state becomes easier to flow along the surface of the photosensitive material P.
Then, the heated air that has captured the evaporated water from the photosensitive material P escapes to the back side of the nozzle duct 50 through the exhaust hole 50a, so that the back pressure at the outlet does not particularly increase, and the rotation speed of the blower fan 52 causes the slit nozzle to flow. It is possible to easily increase the blowing air speed and air volume in step 51, effectively increasing the drying speed, shortening the drying time, and obtaining a sufficiently dried photosensitive material.

In order to sufficiently dry the photosensitive material P in the drying section I,
When drying the photosensitive material P, a constant rate drying stage and a decreasing rate drying stage occur. In the constant rate drying stage, most of the heat supplied to the photosensitive material P by heated air is taken away as latent heat of evaporation for a few minutes attached to both sides of the photosensitive material P, and the surface temperature of the photosensitive material P is heated. This is a drying process in which the temperature is kept constant lower than the temperature of the air, and in the lapse rate drying stage, once the moisture adhering to the surface of the photosensitive material P disappears, the subsequent evaporation of moisture is caused by the moisture in the emulsion layer. Since the amount of heat that comes out in six rows on the front surface is controlled, the amount of heat supplied by the heated air is greater than the latent heat taken away by the evaporated water, and the next step where the surface temperature of the photosensitive material P increases is reached. This is the drying process. According to the drying section I provided with the above-mentioned nozzle duct 50, the drying speed in both the constant rate drying stage and the decreasing rate drying stage can be increased, but the drying is truly sufficient and there is no deterioration in image quality. In order to obtain a developable photosensitive material, the drying speed in the constant rate drying stage is increased to shorten the drying time, and in the decreasing rate drying stage, the photosensitive material P is fed out.
When the photosensitive material P is sent out by the
The drying speed should be such that the surface temperature of the photosensitive material P reaches the temperature of the heated air without evaporation of water from the drying process.

This point will be explained with reference to FIGS. 14 and 15.

Figure 14 shows the nozzle duct 5 arranged as shown in Figure 1.
0, No. 1, 3. ...15, and nozzle 5 on the left
1 is designated as No. 1, 2.degree. 4, . . . 16 in order from the top, heated air at 45.degree. At the wind speed shown in the table,
For example, FIG. 14 shows a drying curve when the photosensitive material P is sprayed at a conveyance speed of 2552 mm/min, a total processing step passage time of 45 seconds, and a drying section passage time of 8.1 seconds. The blowing speed is equal to 5
The drying curve is shown under the same conditions except that the speed was 2 m/sec.

Table 1, No. 140. In FIG. 15, the solid line is the water content change curve of the photosensitive material P, and the dotted line is the surface temperature change curve of the photosensitive material P.

In the example shown in FIG. 14, the time of the constant rate drying stage is shortened, and the decreasing rate drying stage is performed when the photosensitive material P is placed at the lowest slit nozzle 51.
The spraying is approximately the same as the water evaporates from the photosensitive material P when the photosensitive material P moves out of position. by this,
A photosensitive material can be obtained in which the water in the emulsion layer is almost completely dried and there is no deterioration in image quality. On the other hand, in the example in Figure 15,
When the constant rate drying stage is passed and the decreasing rate drying stage is entered, the amount of heat supplied to the photosensitive material P by the heated air becomes significantly greater than the amount of water in the emulsion layer that evaporates to the surface, so the surface temperature rapidly increases. The temperature of the heated air is quickly reached, the surface dries, and the gelatin on the surface of the emulsion layer hardens.

This effect prevents the evaporation of water in the emulsion layer, resulting in uneven drying in which a large amount of water remains in the emulsion layer, and also causes glare on the surface and deterioration of image quality.

In the drying section of the automatic developing machine, in order to set the blowing air velocity of each slit nozzle 51 to the wind speed shown in Table 1, it is necessary to appropriately change the entrance area of the nozzle duct 50 to the riser duct 56, and to For example, the 11th r
This can be done relatively easily by providing a baffle plate as shown by the reference numeral 70 at i, or by providing a damper. Moreover, obtaining the drying curve as shown in FIG. 14 is not limited to the example shown in Table 1, but it is also possible to obtain the slit nozzle 51 in the constant rate drying stage and the slit nozzle 5102 group in the decreasing rate drying stage. Even if the wind speed is the same within the group and ff1ffi is changed by making the wind speed of the slit nozzles 51 in the upstream group wider than the slit width of the slit nozzles 51 in the downstream group through circulation, the slit nozzles 5
The wind speed is blown onto the photosensitive material P by making the distance from the conveyance path No. 1 closer on the downstream side than on the downstream side.

Even if the air volume is changed, by further providing a heater 71 in the rising duct 56 as shown in the stt diagram, or by further providing a heater in the nozzle duct So, the upstream nozzle duct 50 and downstream nozzle Apart from the air supply pipe from the return duct 55 to the riser duct 56 for the duct 50, the upstream slit nozzle 51 supplies the circulating air with a larger amount of outside air than the downstream slit nozzle 51. Even if highly heated air is blown out, a drying curve as shown in FIG. 14 can be obtained.

In addition, one way to increase the drying speed is to increase the speed and volume of the water-unsaturated heated air that is spray stitched onto the photosensitive material to increase the drying capacity. It is necessary to increase the shaft power of the blower and to enlarge the diameter of the blower, which causes problems such as increased noise, difficulty in securing installation space, and an increase in the size of the device.

As a result of various studies and experiments on drying photosensitive materials, the inventors have determined that the nozzle pitch of the slit nozzle, the slit width, and the passage between the slit nozzle and the conveyance path can be adjusted without increasing the drying temperature, drying air speed, or air volume. The distance between the photosensitive material and the heat transfer coefficient of hot air drying is 140 to 200c.
By setting all/m″・hr・℃,
It has been found that it is possible to easily obtain drying conditions that allow sufficient drying even if the drying time is shortened and do not degrade image quality.

That is, in an automatic developing machine, the drying rate is dominated by constant rate drying as described above up to the last line at the drying end point. This constant rate drying formula is expressed as:

R: constant rate drying rate (kg/m” ・hr) h: heat transfer coefficient (kcai/m2 ・hr-t) DB; drying temperature (
1) WB: Wet temperature (℃) λω: Latent heat of vaporization of water (k c a J! / kg g
) Here, (DB-WB) and λω are determined by environmental conditions.

Further, h is expressed as Nllmk-R,'-P,''(R,xf (v)).

Nll: Nusselt number (indicating the strength of heat transfer) L2 representative length λ: heat conduction! l (kc aJl/m-hr ・t)
Nu: Reynolds number (indicates the state of wind flow) Pr Nibrantl number (indicates the boundary layer of wind temperature and speed) 1(, m, n: coefficient (determined for each state) V: wind speed (m/s ) In the case of air, P y 40 , 7 n = 1 / 3 In addition, in the case of forced convection, m40.78, so h-g (
v) When rewritten into a simple formula, it becomes h Kasumi C-G'・76.

C is a geometric coefficient h) determined by experiment, depending on the nozzle position, nozzle pitch, nozzle diameter, etc. of the slit nozzle.

Also, G is G=p・A1　・v−3esOO.

ρ: Hot air density (kg/m") At: Nozzle opening ratio Therefore, the value of C changes depending on the nozzle shape and position, and the value of G changes depending on the wind speed. As a result, the heat transfer coefficient h changes. , increasing the heat transfer coefficient improves the drying rate.

In this case, in order to keep the nozzle shape and position the same as before, change the G value depending on the wind speed, and make the processing time about 45 seconds, the specifications of the drying section must be set as shown in the table below. .

In this way, it is possible to increase the capacity of the drying section by increasing the wind speed, but this requires a significant increase in the heater capacity, a larger blower diameter of the drying fan, an increase in the size of the equipment, an increase in noise, and a large increase in the size of the drying fan. This is undesirable because it causes problems such as an increase in shaft power.

Therefore, the drying air volume was reduced to 50m3/m as before.
In order to enable rapid processing, the heater capacity is about 1.5X2KW/220V, the drying temperature is about 45℃, and the value of C is increased depending on the nozzle shape and position, and the heat transfer coefficient is 140 to 200Kcal. ! /m"-hr・'c,
Preferably, the heat transfer coefficient is 140 to 200 KcaJ! /m
2-hr・℃.

This heat transfer coefficient is 140 to 200KcaJ2/m2
・hr・℃ is shown in FIG. 13 and FIGS. 16 to 19.

In FIG. 13, a preferred configuration of the slit nozzle 51 of the nozzle duct 50 is shown.

That is, as a preferable example, the slit width DI is 2 mm, the distance from the center of the slit of one slit nozzle 51 to the center of the other slit nozzle 51, that is, the nozzle pitch D2, is 33 mm, and the photosensitive material and the tip of the slit nozzle 51 are The distance between the photosensitive material and the nozzle D3 is 4.8.
It is set to mm. In this way, the slit nozzle 5
By setting the shape and position of 1, 140 to 2
00Kcaj! /m2・hr・t: heat transfer coefficient, more preferably 160-180 K Ca 117 m
""The heat transfer coefficient in hr・℃ is obtained.

An example of obtaining this heat transfer coefficient will be shown below.

In Figure 16, the slit width D1 of the slit nozzle 51 is 2 m.
The heat transfer coefficients were obtained by moving the distance D3 between the photosensitive material and the nozzle to a range of 3 to 8 mm for the distances of m, 3 mm, and 4 mm, respectively. In this case, other drying conditions are the same as in the case where the processing time is about 90 seconds.

From this figure, if the drying air volume is 15 m'/min, the slit width D1 is J! L]t is 14 m'/mi
Although it is preferable that it can be used at about n, if the air volume is increased, a predetermined heat transfer coefficient can be obtained even when the slit 41iDl is 3 mm or 4 mm.

Although this slit width D1 is not particularly limited, a range in which a predetermined heat transfer coefficient can be obtained is determined by factors such as air volume, wind speed, amount of heat, slit pitch D2, and distance D3 between the photosensitive material and the nozzle.

FIG. 17 shows the changes in the photosensitive material-nozzle opening path 1 m 1 D 3 with the wind speed being 14 m/s and the nozzle pitch D 2 being 32 mm, 33 mm, and 34 mm.
In this case as well, other drying conditions are the same as in the case where the processing time is about 90 seconds.

From this figure, when the nozzle pitch D2 is 33 mm,
It is preferable to use a distance D3 between the photosensitive material and the nozzle in the range of 2 to 7 mm, but in the case of 32 mm, the distance between the photosensitive material and the nozzle opening 1iD3 is in the range of 3 to 5 mm, and in the case of 34 mm, the distance D3 between the photosensitive material and the nozzle is set to 6 mm. It can be used in the range of ~7mm.

This nozzle pitch D2 and photosensitive material - nozzle open circuit! 1II
D3 is also not particularly limited, but the range within which a predetermined heat transfer coefficient can be obtained is determined by factors such as air volume, wind speed, amount of heat, and slit width D1.

In this way, the slit is wide! , the heat transfer coefficient is 14 due to the nozzle pitch D2 and the photosensitive material-nozzle opening 11D3.
If the drying air volume is set to 0 to 200 KcaIL/m' Hhr/°C, preferably 160 to 180 KcaA/m' Hhr/°C, for example, the drying air volume is set to about 12 m'/min and the drying temperature is about 45°C. , 20-6
It is possible to perform processing in about 0 seconds. In addition,
It is not limited to the embodiments shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, but can be set arbitrarily within a range that provides a predetermined heat transfer coefficient.

Moreover, in this case, the pressure is measured in the static pressure measurement range D4 shown in FIG. In this case, the nozzle duct 50 has an exhaust hole 5.
When 0a is provided, a static pressure distribution as shown in FIG. 18 is obtained, and there is no negative pressure, and the static pressure is made uniform, which is preferable.

Further, as shown in FIG. 19, it is preferable to provide an exhaust hole 50a in the nozzle duct 50, because air containing moisture can be exhausted during drying, and drying performance is improved.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, the drying mechanism of the first invention has a nozzle duct disposed along the conveyance path through which the developed photosensitive material is conveyed, and this nozzle duct is located on the upstream side of the conveyance path. and on the downstream side, each has a plurality of slit nozzles that blow out moisture-unsaturated heated air toward the conveyance path, and the nozzle pitch of the slit nozzles, the slit width, and the distance between the slit nozzle and the photosensitive material passing through the conveyance path. The heat transfer coefficient of hot air drying is 140 to 200Kcai/m'・hr・
℃, so the drying temperature, drying wind speed,
By improving the heat transfer coefficient of hot air drying without increasing the air volume beyond a predetermined value, sufficient drying can be achieved even if the drying time is shortened.

Further, since the automatic developing machine of the second invention has the drying mechanism, it has a simple configuration by improving the heat transfer coefficient of hot air drying.
It is small in size, has low noise, and can be dried quickly, making it possible to obtain a sufficiently dried photosensitive material with good quality on both pages in a short period of time.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure M1 is a side view of an automatic developing machine to which this invention is applied;
The figure is a partial front view of the operation unit, Figure 3 is a schematic diagram showing the conveyance system, Figure 4 is a schematic diagram showing the setting of the pressure force of the conveyance system, Figure 5 is a diagram showing the conveyance characteristics, and Figure 6 7 is a diagram showing the squeeze condition of the photosensitive material, FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the roller material and squeeze performance, FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the squeeze characteristics of the automatic developing machine, and FIG. 10 is a plan view of the drying section. , FIG. 11 is a front view of the drying section, FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the nozzle duct, FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 10, FIGS. 14 and 15 are diagrams showing the drying time, Figure 16 shows the nozzle slit width and heat transfer coefficient, Figure 17 shows the distance between the photosensitive material and nozzle and the heat transfer coefficient, Figure 18 shows the static pressure distribution, and Figure 19 shows the drying characteristics. FIG. In the figure, A is the operating section, B is the photosensitive material loading section, C is the photosensitive material unloading section, D is the transport system, E is the developing tank, F is the fixing tank, G is the washing tank, H is the squeeze section, and l is the drying section. 50 is a nozzle duct, 51 is a slit nozzle, and 50a is an exhaust hole. Patent applicant Konica Co., Ltd. Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 7 Running link 1 missing number (travel l kit t77) Roller pick and squeeze 111'! Fig. 8 (g/p cut) 1 Runni〉ri〈crest, & (a/≠τ72) White inkstone inkstone embossed machine's swine support Fig. 11 Drying time (sand) Fig. t4 Fig. 15 Torch length Book entry t line & t (m''/'n1n) No. 1. 1. To hi konii F, compliance 4 (Fig. 16 Fig. 17 Nu blasphemy ± Weir Q's procedural amendment December 26, 1985) 1. Indication of the case Patent Application No. 38982 of 1989 2. Name of the invention Drying mechanism and automatic developing machine having the drying mechanism 3. Person making the amendment Relationship to the case Patent applicant address 1-26 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo Number 2 Name (1
27) Konica Co., Ltd. 4 Agent Address: 160 Address: 4-29-4 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo (11 Yari) Threshold (1) "Nv" on page 79, line 19 of the specification "R1"
I am corrected. (2) 'Ar: Nozzle frontage ratio' in line 17 of page 80 of the same ministry is changed to 'Af, nozzle opening ratio, A, b, nozzle width (m), N: number of nozzles Pa, drying process distance (m) As a result, the drying formula of an automatic processor is corrected as follows: Ll Transport speed (m/m1n) R, Drying capacity per sheet of two-cut film (expressed in g/four-cut film).

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A nozzle duct is arranged along a conveyance path through which the developed photosensitive material is conveyed, and this nozzle duct supplies water-unsaturated heated air to the upstream and downstream sides of the conveyance path, respectively. The heat transfer coefficient of hot air drying is 140, and the nozzle pitch of the slit nozzles, the slit width, and the distance between the slit nozzles and the photosensitive material passing through the conveyance path are determined by the heat transfer coefficient of 140. ~200Kcal
Drying mechanism set to /m^2・hr・℃. 2. An automatic developing machine having the drying mechanism according to claim 1.