JPH01284854A - Photosensitive material processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make an air contact area of a processing liquid small, and also, to decrease the use quantity of the processing liquid by forming a processing tank like a hollow plate, and also, specifying the inner size thickness of a processing space. CONSTITUTION:In a processing tank 20 for developing a sensitized material F such as an X-ray film, etc., a longitudinal hollow plate-like development processing space 22a is provided, and the inner side thickness of the space 22a is set to 1.5-50 times of swelling thickness of the sensitized material F. When this device 1 is used in a bright room, a photographed cassette containing part 10 is coupled to a cassette holding part 21 of the tank 20, a processing liquid injecting part 23 is coupled to a fitting member 32, and thereafter, the sensitized material F is dropped won into the space 22a and brought to development processing. In this regard, when the inner size is under 1.5 times, the processing liquid is not supplied uniformly to the sensitized material F, therefore, an uneven processing is generated, and on the other hand, when the inner size exceeds 50 times, a large quantity of processing liquid is required.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Field of Application 1] The present invention relates to a photosensitive material processing apparatus suitable for use in, for example, a clinic, small-scale hospital, or small-scale printing industry.

[Conventional technology] In medical diagnosis, X-ray photographs are often used for diagnosis.
Therefore, various X-ray imaging devices are used. In this case, for developing the X-ray film after imaging, a normal type developing processing device is used, except for devices in which the developing processing device is provided integrally with the X-ray imaging device.

This conventional developing processing apparatus is designed on the premise of continuously handling a large amount of photosensitive material, so its basic structure consists of several vats in a darkroom, as shown in Figure 5. 101 to 103 are prepared, and several types of chemical solutions necessary for development processing, such as a developer solution, a bleach-fix solution, and a washing solution, are filled in a separate vat, and an appropriate conveyance device 1 is placed on top of the vat.
04 to sequentially guide the photosensitive material F to be developed into each of the vats 101 to 103 for predetermined development processing.

Such processing is performed not only on X-ray films but also on various sheet (cut) photosensitive materials.

[Problem to be Solved by the Invention 1] However, for this type of developing processing apparatus, (1) the existence of a dark room with poor operating conditions during the developing processing is an essential condition.

(2) It is necessary to fill each vat with 5 to 101 chemical solutions at all times, and therefore a large amount of thermal energy is required to maintain these large volumes of chemical solutions at appropriate temperatures.

■ Because the top surface of the vat is wide open, the contact surface between the filled chemical solution and the air becomes too large, causing significant changes in concentration due to oxidation and evaporation of the chemical solution, making it difficult to maintain good developing conditions. Deteriorates the performance of chemical solutions necessary for

■ The facilities and equipment required for the developing process are complicated, and a large installation space is also required.

There are various potential problems in terms of operation, performance, or cost, and these problems may appear as drawbacks during use.

In other words, these problems are not particularly disadvantageous in cases where large amounts of photosensitive materials are constantly processed, but for example, there are not many opportunities for diagnosis using X-ray photographs,
Even if there is, it will not be continuous processing.In small-scale processing such as use in clinics or small hospitals,
This appears to be a major drawback.

These problems are common not only when developing photosensitive materials for X-ray photography in cars, but also when developing small amounts of photosensitive materials using liquid processing materials, so it is hoped that a solution to them will emerge. It was waiting.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a novel photosensitive material processing apparatus that eliminates the various drawbacks of conventional developing processing apparatuses.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The structure according to claim 1 of the present invention for achieving this object is a development processing apparatus for a photosensitive material, in which a flat development processing space capable of accommodating a photosensitive material to be developed is provided. a processing tank having a processing tank, an insertion opening for the photosensitive material provided near an upper part of the processing tank, a processing liquid injection part provided in the processing tank, and a drainage liquid provided near a lower part of the processing tank. and a processing liquid supply means connectable to at least the processing liquid injection part, and the internal thickness of the development processing space is in the range of 1.5 to 50 times the swelling thickness of the photosensitive material. This is because it is set within.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the photosensitive material processing apparatus according to the first aspect, the processing tank is provided with a movable shutter member at a position near the opening at its upper end.

[Function] The effect of claim 1 of the present invention with this configuration is that by configuring the development processing tank in the shape of a vertically elongated hollow plate, the air contact area of the processing solution during development processing is set to be extremely small.
Prevents the occurrence of negative effects due to oxidation phenomena and evaporation,
Moreover, the amount of various processing liquids required for one development process is reduced, so that even in the case of a small-scale development process, there is no cost disadvantage.

[Example] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on an example shown in the drawings. The photosensitive material to be developed may be of a so-called quarter size and a general size, such as an X-ray film. Assume a sheet (cut) photosensitive material with a swelling thickness of .

FIGS. 1 and 2 show a schematic perspective external view of a developing processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and a schematic cross-sectional view taken along the line AA'.

In both figures, 1 is a development processing apparatus which is an embodiment of the present invention;
Its basic configuration includes a cassette storage section 10 containing photographed photosensitive material F, a hollow flat processing tank 20 that stores photographed photosensitive material F during development processing, and a developer solution necessary for development. Each f!, bleach-fix solution, etc. It comprises a supply means 30 for supplying the processing liquid and the washing liquid to the processing tank 20.

In such a basic configuration, the cassette main body 11, which forms the basic part of the cassette storage section IO, has a thin flat space 11a therein for accommodating the photographed photosensitive material F. Further, the lower end of the cassette main body 11 has a connecting step 12 for removably attaching the entire cassette storage portion 10 to the upper opening portion of the processing tank 20. 1
Reference numeral 3 denotes an opening/closing lid provided on one side of the cassette main body 11, which is configured as a pull-out lid with a light-tight structure in order to load unexposed photosensitive material into the flat space 11a.

Reference numeral 14 denotes an opening through which photographed photosensitive material F is taken out from below the cassette main body 11, and an appropriate light-shielding flocked fabric 15 is pasted on the inner surface of the opening to maintain the light density of the flat space 11a. A 15 is a safety shutter provided to shut off the opening 14 in a light-tight manner, and is constructed as a drawer member having a light-tight structure. Reference numeral 17 indicates photographed photosensitive material F in the cassette storage section 10 at least during development.
The discharge operation knob is configured to rotate roller means (not shown) made of synthetic rubber or the like that contacts the lower end side edge portions of the photosensitive material F downward through the opening 14. be done.

The cassette holding section 21, which forms a part of the processing tank 20 in the form of a hollow flat plate, is made of a rigid material such as a light-shielding synthetic resin.
The structure is such that it can receive and hold the coupling step 12 of the embodiment. In addition, the cassette holding section 21 includes:
Labyrinth 21a with a light-tight function around its upper opening
is provided, and is configured to maintain light tightness when coupled with the cassette storage portion IO, and further includes a pullout type movable shutter 21b as a light shielding means for blocking the upper opening in a light and liquid tight manner. and a light shielding member 21c for ensuring light tightness and liquid tightness when the shutter 21b is pulled out.

Note that the cross-sectional shape of the opening has, for example, an inner length of about 26 mm.
It is configured into a rectangular shape having dimensions of 0 mm and an inner thickness of the space of about 5 ml11 (dimensions not including the inner surface sticking member).

A tank body 22 is fixedly connected to the lower end of the cassette holding part 21 by an appropriate fixing means, and is made of an appropriate chemical-resistant material, and is made of a rectangular long side with an inner diameter of about 3 mm.
20 mm, the inner length of the short side (in the illustrated example, the horizontal direction) is approximately 2
It is formed in the shape of a hollow flat plate that surrounds the development processing space 22a with a length of 60111 m and an internal thickness of about 5 mm (dimensions not including the inner surface sticking member 22b). Note that the tank body may be formed from a rigid material or from a flexible material.

Then, an inner surface sticking member 22b made of a flocked material in which short fibers are flocked is attached to the inner wall of the tank body. This flocking prevents the photosensitive material from coming into close contact with the inner wall, and the agitation effect during development prevents uneven processing, resulting in uniform processing performance.

In the present invention, the value of the internal thickness of the space is set within a range of 1.5 to 50 times the swelling thickness of the photosensitive material to be developed.

If the inner diameter is less than 1.5 times, the processing liquid will not be uniformly supplied to the photosensitive material, resulting in uneven processing. Moreover, if the ratio exceeds 50 times, a large amount of processing liquid will be required, and the processing liquid will be wasted, especially when performing disposable processing.

The swelling thickness of the photosensitive material is defined as the swelling thickness of the emulsion layer.
It can be easily determined experimentally.

Reference numerals 23 and 24 are a processing liquid inlet and a liquid drain provided at the upper and lower positions of one side of the tank body 22, and as shown in FIG. Threaded plug member 2 formed as a structure having 23a and 24a and small holes 23b and 24b, and having an appropriate structure.
In the state where it is screwed together with 3c and 24c (state when not developing),
It is configured to be light-tight and liquid-tight. Incidentally, at least the processing liquid injection part 23 is configured to be in a light-tight and liquid-tight state when it is connected to the member 32, which will be described later.

Reference numeral 25 denotes a dry air injection section provided at an upper position on the other side of the tank body 22. Its structure is similar to that of the processing liquid injection section 23 and the liquid drainage section 24, and includes a dedicated threaded plug member 25c. Equipped with.

In this example, the tank body with a flat plate-shaped internal space is a vertical wall-mounted type to save space and improve the ease and reliability of liquid discharge and injection. Depending on the situation, it may be of a horizontal type where the internal space is horizontal, if necessary.

Reference numeral 26 denotes a stirring member that is movable up and down at the lower end of the tank body 22. As shown in FIG. A plurality of liquid passage holes 26b formed in the plate 26a, a rod 26c that fits into the lower end of the tank body 22 so as to be able to move linearly in the vertical direction, and light tightness and liquid tightness when the rod 26c moves up and down. and an O-ring 26d for maintaining the same.

Reference numeral 27 denotes a cam mechanism for moving the stirring member 26 up and down at a predetermined period, and is composed of a cam 27a that contacts the lower end of the rod 26c and a drive shaft 27b that rotates the cam 27a at an appropriate speed. Ru. Reference numeral 28 denotes a metal fitting for hanging the entire processing tank 20 on, for example, a room wall W, and has locking holes 28a at appropriate locations to engage with locking hooks W on the wall. Reference numeral 29 denotes a pedestal mounted on the wall of the entire processing tank 20 to maintain its posture.

Now, the supply means 30 for supplying processing chemicals etc. into the tank body 22 includes a common vibrator 31 made of a light-shielding material,
Appropriate mounting includes a member 32 with a male thread that engages with the female thread 23a of the IA processing liquid injection part 3, a pump 33 with a multi-way switching valve, and an appropriate number of branch pipes each made of a light-shielding material. 34, and a storage container 35 in which processing chemicals such as developer and fixer and water for washing are stored in respective compartments. In addition, the tank body 22 and the common vibrator 31
The bonding with is not limited to this example, and various structures are possible.

The pump 33 described above is configured to be driven manually or by an electric pump driven by an appropriate power source such as a commercial power source, and is equipped with an appropriate heat-retaining means capable of maintaining at least various processing chemical solutions at appropriate temperatures. (not shown) is preferably provided.

36 is a recovery vibrator for recovering the processing chemical liquid in the tank body 22, and the female thread 24a of the liquid drainage part 24 is attached to the tip of the recovery vibrator.
A connecting portion 38a having a male screw threadedly engaged with the connecting portion 38a is attached. Reference numeral 37 denotes an electric dryer for drying the photosensitive material F after washing with water, and is equipped with an insertion vibrator 37a at its tip, which is connected to the dry air injection part 25 by an appropriate means during drying. Note that this electric dryer is provided as necessary.

Next, the usage and operation of the developing processing apparatus 1 having such a structure will be explained based on the mode of use under daylight.

The cassette storage unit 10, which has been attached to a suitable photographic device and photographed has been completed, is transported to the installation location of the developing processing apparatus 1 of the present invention with its safety shutter 16 closed, and then moved to the connecting stage 12.
It is connected to the cassette holding part 21 of the processing tank 20 via the cassette holding part 21 of the processing tank 20. After the cassette storage section 10 and the processing tank 20 have been connected in this way, the tank main body 22
The plug member 23c is removed from the processing liquid injection part 23, and the supply means 30 is attached thereto by connecting the member 32 and inserting one of the branch vibes 34 of the supply means 30 into the developer compartment of the storage container 41. do.

After the cassette storage section 10 and the processing tank 20 are connected, the labyrinth Ha on the cassette holding section 21 side maintains the light-tight state between the two 10 and 20.
In this state, both the safety shutter 16 of the cassette storage section 10 and the movable shutter 21b of the cassette holding section 21 are pulled outward, and the flat space 11a of the cassette storage section 10 and the development processing space 22a of the tank body 22 are pulled outward. communicate with.

In this state, the lower end of the photographed photosensitive material F in the flat space 11a comes into contact with the roller means, so the discharge operation knob 17 is rotated to transfer the photosensitive material F to the opening 14 of the cassette storage section 10. from there into the developing processing space 22a. After the photosensitive material F is accommodated in the development processing space 22a, the pump 33 of the supply means 30 is operated to supply the developer in the storage container 35 maintained at an appropriate temperature to the common vibrator 31 and the mounting member. 32 - Inject the processing liquid into the development processing space 22a via the processing liquid injection part 23. By this operation, approximately 416 mft of developer is injected into the developing processing space 22a. After injecting the developer, the cam mechanism 27
The agitating member 26 is driven to move up and down, and the photosensitive material F in contact with the elevating plate 26a is periodically displaced in the developer, thereby carrying out development processing for a predetermined time while providing sufficient agitating action. In this case, the presence of the liquid passage hole 26b facilitates the eight shifts of the developer by the vertical movement of the elevating plate 26a. In the case of a developing processing apparatus that is not equipped with the stirring member 26 and the cam mechanism 27, the stirring action is applied, for example, by sufficiently rubbing the tank body 22 with fingers.

Now, after the development process for a predetermined period of time is completed, the draining section 24
Remove the stopper member 24c screwed onto the
6, and the recovery pipe 36 is screwed together.
into the developer compartment of the storage container 35, and the used developer is collected from the small hole 24b of the drain 24.

After the collection of the developer is completed, the plug member 24c is screwed onto the drain portion 24 again to return the development processing space 22a to a light-tight and liquid-tight state, and the multi-way switching valve of the pump 33 is switched. The branch vibrator 34 inserted into the fixer compartment is connected to the common vibrator 3.
1, the pump 33 is operated again to inject the fixer into the developing processing space 22a. Then, perform the prescribed fixing process in the same manner as in the development process, and
When the fixing process is completed, the plug member 24c of the liquid drain section 24 is removed again and the used fixer liquid is collected into the storage container 35.

After the fixing process is completed, the multi-way switching valve of the pump 33 is switched while the plug member 24c of the drain section 24 is removed, and the branch vibrator 34 inserted into the washing water section is
is communicated with the common vibrator 31, and the pump 33 is operated to wash the fixed film F with water. In this case, the used rinsing water is directly discharged to the outside from the small hole 24b of the drain section 24.

After the water washing operation is completed, remove the plug member 25c from the dry air injection part 25, insert the tip portion 37a of the dryer 37 into the hole, and operate the dryer 37 for a predetermined period of time to blow hot air into the developing processing space 22a. The wet photosensitive material F is fed and dried. The dry air in this case is also discharged to the outside from the small holes 24b of the liquid drainage section 24 in the same way as the washing water.

After the drying process is completed, the cassette storage unit 10 is removed from the processing tank 20, and the developed photosensitive material F is taken out from the upper opening of the processing tank 20 using an appropriate means to complete the series of development processes. do.

The presence of the inner surface pasting member 22b pasted on the inner periphery of the development processing space 22a means that the photosensitive material F is
floating in the processing liquid and the operation of the stirring member 26 is smooth,
It also helps the stirring action of the processing liquid.

On the other hand, when using the photosensitive material processing apparatus 1 according to the present invention in a darkroom, open the opening/closing i13 of the cassette storage section 10, take out the photographed photosensitive material F directly from the cassette storage section 10, and hold it in the cassette. It is introduced into the development processing space 22a through the upper end opening of the section 21, and the above-mentioned development processing is performed. Therefore, when implementing the present invention as a developing processing apparatus used only in a dark room, the structure required to connect the cassette storage section 10 and the processing tank 2o, the safety shutter 1
It should be noted that there is no need to install the movable shutter 21b and the like.

As explained in detail above, in the developing processing apparatus according to the present invention, when configured as claimed in claim 1, the amount of various chemical solutions required for one development processing can be reduced. , the consumption of thermal energy required for keeping warm is reduced accordingly.

■ When developing under daylight, the developing space is completely sealed, and even when developing in a dark room, the air contact area in the developing space is significantly reduced, so there is no adverse effect on the chemical due to oxidation or evaporation. It can be excluded.

(2) The structure of the developing processing device is simple and robust, and since it has a flat plate configuration, for example, if it is wall-mounted, it can be installed in a small amount of space.

It has many advantages that could not be obtained with conventional development processing apparatuses.

In addition to these advantages, the structure according to claim 2 also has the following advantages: (1) Development can be carried out under daylight, so development can be carried out under favorable operating conditions.

It has extremely beneficial advantages.

Therefore, even in the case of small-scale development processing,
This has the effect of quickly performing high-quality processing at low cost.

Although an embodiment using an X-ray film has been described above, the present invention is not limited thereto, and various modifications can be made without changing the gist thereof. For example, in the illustrated example, a cam mechanism is used to stir the processing liquid, but it may be replaced with other vibration applying means, and a processing tank or the like may be used as a means for supplying the processing liquid, etc. It is also possible to configure a circulation type between the storage container and the storage container. In this case, the processing time corresponding to each processing liquid and the time required for injection and recovery of the processing liquid should be investigated in advance, and a work sequence based on this should be set so that automatic control can be performed. Then, an automatically controlled developing device can be provided.

The photosensitive materials that can be used in the photosensitive material processing apparatus of the present invention include various photosensitive materials for X-rays, printing, general sheet films, photographic paper, and the like.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, when the present invention is used, it is possible to realize a novel photosensitive material processing apparatus that can eliminate the various drawbacks of the conventional developing processing apparatus described above.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective external view showing an example of a photosensitive material processing apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line A-A' in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a section cut along B in FIG. 1.・A partial cross-sectional view showing the structure of the C ground section and the D ground section, Fig. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing the movable stirring member shown in Fig. 1, and Fig. 5 schematically shows a conventional developing processing device. It is an explanatory diagram. Explanation of symbols 1...Photosensitive material processing device F...Photographed photosensitive material 1O...Cassette storage section 11...Cassette main body 11a...Flat-shaped space part 12...Joining step part 13
...Opening/closing lid 14...Opening part 15...
Light-shielding flocked blanket 16...Safety shutter 17...
Ejection operation knob 20...processing tank 21...cassette holding part 21a...labyrinth 21b...movable shutter 21c...light shielding member 22...tank body 22a''/development processing space 22b...inner surface Pasting member 23...processing liquid injection part 24...drainage part 2
3a ・24a ・25a... acid screw 23b ・24
b ・2Sb...Small hole 23c ・24c ・25c・
... Plug member 25 ... Dry air injection part 26 ... Stirring member 26a ... Lifting plate 26b ... Liquid passage hole 26c ... Rod 26d ... O-ring 27 ... Cam mechanism 27a ...Cam 2
7b... Drive shaft 28... Wall hanging is metal fitting 28
a... Locking hole 29... Pedestal 30... Supply means 31... Common vibe 32... Mounting member 33... Pump 34... Branch pipe
35...Storage container 36...Recovery vibe
36a...Connection part 37...Dryer
37a...Insert vibrator W...Room wall W
'...Latching hook 1 To 11 C゛1 Guun FIG, 1 FIG, 3 FIG, 4 26 / 26b 26°

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A processing tank having a flat plate-shaped development processing space capable of accommodating a photosensitive material to be developed, an insertion opening for the photosensitive material provided near an upper portion of the processing tank, and a processing tank provided in the processing tank. a processing liquid inlet, a liquid drain provided near a lower portion of the processing tank, and a processing liquid supply means connectable to at least the processing liquid injection part; A photosensitive material processing apparatus, wherein the thickness is set within a range of 1.5 to 50 times the swelling thickness of the photosensitive material. (2) The photosensitive material processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processing tank is provided with a light shielding means that can be opened and closed in the vicinity of an opening at its upper end.