JPH0156983B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a photographic processing liquid container, and more particularly to a photographic processing liquid container that can easily store processing waste liquid in a waste liquid chamber even when there is no pressure on the processing waste liquid. [Prior Art] In general, photographic processing of silver halide photographic materials includes development, fixing, washing, etc. in the case of black and white photographic materials.
In the case of color photosensitive materials, steps such as color development, bleach-fixing (or bleaching and fixing), washing, and stabilization are performed using a processing solution that has one or more of these functions. In photographic processing in which a large amount of light-sensitive material is processed, the components consumed during processing are replenished, and on the other hand, components that increase in the processing solution due to processing (for example, bromide ions in the developer, bromide ions in the fixer) are replenished. A method is used to maintain the performance of the processing solution at a constant level by removing components (such as silver complex salts) and keeping the processing solution components constant. A portion of the processing solution is discarded in order to remove the increasing components in the photographic processing described above. In recent years, the system has been changing to a system in which the amount of replenishment fluid, including the washing water used as a replenishment fluid for washing, has been drastically reduced due to pollution and economic reasons. It is led out through a drain pipe, diluted with waste water from flushing water, and disposed of in a sewer, etc. On the other hand, due to constraints from water resources, rising water supply and drainage costs, the ease of installing automatic processors, and the work environment around automatic processors, in recent years stabilization treatments have been used to replace washing with water, and Photographic processing using automatic developing machines (waterless automatic developing machines) that do not require piping for water supply and drainage is becoming popular. In such a process, it is said to be desirable to omit cooling water for keeping the temperature of the process liquid constant. In such photographic processing, the waste liquid from the automatic developing machine is only the waste liquid of the processing liquid using the replenisher, and the amount of waste liquid is significantly smaller than that in the case where water washing is performed. Therefore, the piping outside the machine for supplying and draining liquid can be omitted, which is considered to be a disadvantage of conventional automatic processors, as it is difficult to move after installation to install the piping, the foot space is narrow, and installation is difficult. This eliminates all disadvantages such as the high cost of piping work and the high cost of energy required to supply hot water, and the extremely large advantage of being compact and simple enough to be used as an office machine is demonstrated. . However, although conventional automatic processing machines were certainly compact, they required at least a photographic processing solution container to supply the processing solution and a waste solution container to store the waste solution. There was a minimum of space for six in total, two each for development, bleach-fixing, and water-washing alternative stabilization processing. By the way, Japanese Patent Publication Nos. 55-55942 and 56-131155
No. 58-52065 and Japanese Utility Model Application No. 56-94754 disclose a technique in which one waste liquid container is divided into two by a diaphragm. According to these techniques, the processing liquid supply container and the waste liquid container can be provided in one container, which certainly results in a reduction in space. [Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, when trying to store waste liquid in one of the two compartments, if there is not enough pressure to push the diaphragm apart and allow the waste liquid to enter the room, the waste liquid will not flow in. It was discovered that the system would stop working or overflow. For this reason, it may be possible to install a pump in the waste liquid line as a means of applying pressure, but
It has the disadvantage of high cost. Therefore, the technical object of the present invention is to provide a photographic processing liquid container having a waste liquid chamber that can easily store waste liquid without applying any pressure to the waste liquid. [Means for Solving the Problems] As a result of extensive studies, the present inventor has found that in a container having a waste liquid chamber for storing waste liquid of a photographic processing solution for a photographic light-sensitive material, the waste liquid chamber can be used for any liquid having an opening. The liquid waste chamber is located above the liquid supply chamber containing liquid, and the waste liquid chamber is provided with a liquid absorbing substance, and the waste liquid chamber is structured so that it can descend while floating on the liquid in the liquid supply chamber. The inventors have discovered that the technical problems can be achieved by the following methods, leading to the present invention. A preferred embodiment of the invention is that any liquid supply chamber is a photographic processing liquid supply chamber. Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are schematic cross-sectional views showing one embodiment of the present invention, and show a state in which a photographic processing liquid is stored in a liquid supply chamber and before a liquid-absorbing substance absorbs waste liquid. show. In each figure, reference numeral 1 is a photographic processing liquid container body, the lower half of which is mostly used as a liquid supply chamber 2 that stores an arbitrary liquid, and the upper half of the inside of which is slightly filled with photographic processing liquid. A waste liquid chamber 3 is provided in which liquid waste flows and is stored. The liquid stored in the liquid supply chamber 2 may be any type of liquid, but it is preferably a replenisher or a starting liquid for the photographic processing solution. Preferably, it is floating in the processing liquid. That is, as the photographic processing liquid flows out from the liquid supply chamber 2 through the opening 4, and as the waste liquid accumulates in the waste liquid chamber 3 through the opening 5, the waste liquid chamber 3 due to its own weight.
It is preferable to have a configuration in which the angle is lowered. In this case, as shown in FIG. 1, the waste liquid chamber 3 may be formed into a floating box shape that descends according to the amount of liquid reduced in the liquid supply chamber 2, or as shown in FIG. may be formed into a bellows shape that extends depending on the amount of liquid stored. In the former case, the inner wall of the container body 1 and the waste liquid chamber 3
It is preferable that the space between the outer wall and the outer wall of the outer wall is not necessarily liquid-tight. Also,
The box-shaped waste liquid chamber 3 may be formed of a lightweight material with a specific gravity of less than 1, such as expanded polystyrene. Of course, the upper part of the waste liquid chamber 3 in the present invention may be open. Note that it is preferable that the openings 4 and 5 be threaded so that a lid can be attached thereto. Reference numeral 6 denotes a liquid-absorbing substance, which is housed in the waste liquid chamber 3 so that it expands when liquid is absorbed and can absorb a large amount of liquid. The storage amount of the liquid-absorbing substance 6 may be arbitrarily determined depending on the purpose. Note that 7 in the figure indicates a tube. The liquid-absorbing substance 6 is preferably a substance that absorbs the waste liquid and expands by itself when the waste liquid flows in from the opening 5, and a highly liquid-absorbing resin is preferably used. As the highly liquid-absorbing resin, for example, those listed below can be used. Seed polysaccharides include guar gum, locust bean gum, quince seed gum, tara gum, etc. Seaweed polysaccharides include carrageenan, alginic acid, furcellan, agar, etc. As a resin polysaccharide, arabinogalactan gum,
Gum Arabic, Gum Tragacanth, Gum Karaya, etc. Fruit polysaccharides such as pectin. Rhizome polysaccharides include starch, konnyaku, and konjac. Furthermore, xanthan gum, xanthuro, gardlan, succinoglucan, schizophyllan, pullulan, gelatin, casein, albumin, sierrac, etc. Starch derivatives, guar gum, locust bean gum derivatives, cellulose derivatives that have been oxidized, carboxymethylated, hydroxyethylated, hydroxypropylated, carboxymethylhydroxypropylated and aminated. As alginic acid derivatives, ammonium alginate, alginate propylene glycol ester, etc. Vinyl-based products include Poval, polyvinylpyrrolidone, polyvinyl methacrylate, etc. As acrylic type, sodium polyacrylate, polyacrylamide, etc. Others, such as polyethylene oxide. Next, preferred examples of the super absorbent resin used in the present invention will be listed. (A) Grafted starch system (A-1) Starch-acrylonitrile graft polymer (A-2) Starch-acrylic acid graft polymer The above (A-1) is disclosed in JP-A-49-43395 and US Patent No. 4134863. The above (A-2) can be produced by the method described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 53-46199.
It can be manufactured by the method described in No. (B) Acrylic acid type (B-1) Sodium polyacrylate type (B-2) Vinyl alcohol-acrylic acid copolymer type The above (B-2) can be used repeatedly by natural drying and/or forced drying. . (C) A polymer having a repeating unit having the structural formula shown below () or (), more preferably having 10 to 70% by weight of () and/or (), and containing other ethylenically unsaturated monomers. A polymer formed by copolymerizing with a polymer, In the above formula, R is a hydrogen atom, a methyl group or a halogen atom, Z is an oxy group or an imino group, n is 0 or 1, and R ¹ is an alkylene group having 1 to 6 carbon atoms. (including substituted alkylene groups), a cycloalkylene group or an arylene group having 5 to 6 carbon atoms, an arylene alkylene group or an arylene bisalkylene group, where the alkylene moiety has 1 to 6 carbon atoms. and said arylene moiety (optionally substituted) has 6 to 10 carbon atoms,
And for example

[Formula] -OH, -C≡N,

[Formula] or

[Effect]

A liquid supply chamber 2 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is filled with a photographic processing liquid. From this state, the processing liquid is supplied through the opening 4 to an automatic developing machine (not shown). The waste liquid from the automatic developing machine is sent into the waste liquid chamber 3 through the opening 5. At this time, the waste liquid to which no pressure is artificially applied comes into contact with the liquid-absorbing material 6 in the waste liquid chamber 3 and is absorbed. If this absorption continues, the liquid-absorbing substance 6 expands, the waste liquid chamber 3 becomes heavy, and at the same time the liquid in the liquid supply chamber 2 decreases.
The waste liquid chamber 3 descends while floating on the liquid in the liquid supply chamber 2. In the case of the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the bellows-shaped waste liquid chamber 3 is extended. Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto. The photographic processing liquid container main body 1 is not limited to the illustrated form.
Other forms may be used, and specifically, for example, the form shown in FIG. 3 may be used. That is, the reference numeral in the same figure indicates the first
The same reference numerals as in the figures and FIG. 2 indicate corresponding member names. The embodiment shown in FIG.
In this example, the side wall of the waste liquid chamber 3 is made of a flexible sheet, and as the waste liquid chamber 3 sinks, the flexible sheet hangs down toward the liquid supply chamber 2 side. Furthermore, although the shape of the liquid-absorbing substance 6 is illustrated as a layer, it is not limited to this, and may be in any shape, such as a round shape or a square shape. Further, the manner in which the liquid-absorbing substance 6 is provided is not limited, and for example, it may be placed on the bottom of the waste liquid chamber 3, or it may be fixed to any part of the waste liquid chamber 3. [Examples] The details of the present invention will be explained below using specific examples, but the embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto. After printing Sakura Color SR paper (manufactured by Konishiroku Photo Industry Co., Ltd.), continuous processing was performed using the following processing steps and processing solution. Standard processing steps (1) Color development 38°C 3 minutes 30 seconds (2) Bleach fixing 38°C 1 minute 30 seconds (3) Stabilization 25°C to 35°C 3 minutes (4) Drying 75°C to 100°C Approx. 2 Separation solution composition [Color development tank solution] Benzyl alcohol 15ml Ethylene glycol 15ml Potassium sulfite 2.0g Potassium bromide 1.3g Sodium chloride 0.2g Potassium carbonate 24.0g 3-Methyl-4-amino-N-ethyl-N-(β
-methanesulfonamidoethyl)aniline sulfate
4.5g Fluorescent brightener (4,4'-diaminostilbenzsulfonic acid derivative) (trade name Keikol PK-Conc (manufactured by Nippon Sokako Co., Ltd.)) 1.0g Hydroxylamine sulfate 3.0g 1-hydroxyethylidene-1, 1-Diphosphonic acid 0.4g Hydroxyethyliminodiacetic acid 5.0g Magnesium chloride hexahydrate 0.7g 1,2-hydroxybenzene-3,5-disulfonic acid disodium salt 0.2g Add water to make 1 and hydroxylate with potassium and sulfuric acid
The pH shall be 10.20. [Color developer replenisher] Benzyl alcohol 20ml Ethylene glycol 20ml Potassium sulfite 3.0g Potassium carbonate 30.0g Hydroxylamine sulfate 4.0g 3-Methyl-4-amino-N-ethyl-N-(β
-methanesulfonamidoethyl)aniline sulfate
6.0g Fluorescent brightener (4,4'-diaminostilbenzsulfonic acid derivative) (trade name Keikol PK-Conc (manufactured by Nisso Kako Co., Ltd.)) 2.5g 1-hydroxyethylidene-1,1-diphosphonic acid 0.5 g Hydroxyethyliminodiacetic acid 5.0g Magnesium chloride hexahydrate 0.8g 1,2-hydroxybenzene-3,5-disulfonic acid disodium salt 0.3g Add water to make 1, and adjust the pH with potassium hydroxide.
10.70. [Bleach-fix tank solution] Ferric ammonium ethylenediaminetetraacetate dihydrate 60.0g Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid 3.0g Ammonium thiosulfate (70% solution) 100.0ml Ammonium sulfite (40% solution) 27.5ml Add water to bring the total volume to 1, Adjust the pH to 7.1 with potassium carbonate or glacial acetic acid. [Bleach-fixing replenisher] Ferric ammonium ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid dihydrate 80.0g Ammonium thiosulfate (70% solution) 150.0ml Ammonium sulfite (40% solution) 50.0ml Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid 5.0g Add water to bring the total volume to 1. . The pH of this solution is 6.8±0.1. [Water washing alternative stable tank fluid and replenisher] Ethylene glycol 1.0g 1-hydroxyethylidene-1,1-diphosphonic acid (60% aqueous solution) 1.0g Ammonia water (ammonium hydroxide 25% aqueous solution)
Adjust to pH 7.0 with 2.0g water and sulfuric acid. Fill an automatic processor with the above color developer tank solution, bleach-fix tank solution, and stability tank solution, and add the above color developer replenisher and bleach-fix replenisher every 3 minutes while processing the Sakura Color SR paper sample. A running test was performed while replenishing the stable replenisher through a metered cup. The amount of replenishment was 190 ml per 1 m ² of color paper to the color developing tank, 150 ml of bleach-fixing replenisher to the bleach-fixing tank, and 250 ml of washing substitute stabilizing replenisher to the stabilizing tank. . The stabilization tanks of the automatic processor are the first to third tanks in the direction of sample flow, and the final tank is replenished and the overflow liquid from the final tank is allowed to flow into the previous tank. Furthermore, a multi-tank countercurrent system was adopted in which this overflow liquid also flows into the preceding tank. Example 1 Three photographic processing solution containers made of polypropylene having the configuration shown in FIG. A waste liquid chamber consisting of a container was floated, and 20 g of a super absorbent resin (Sumikagel N-100, manufactured by Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd.) was placed in the waste liquid container. When the above-mentioned three types of replenishing liquids were replenished into the automatic developing machine and the respective overflow liquids were allowed to flow naturally into the waste liquid container, the overflow liquids were absorbed by Sumikagel N-100, and the waste liquid container gradually settled. , the water could be stored without overflowing. Example 2 The super absorbent resin in Example 1 was Sumikagel S.
-50, made by Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd. When a similar experiment was carried out, the overflow liquid was absorbed by Sumikagel S-50, and the waste liquid container gradually settled, allowing water to be stored without overflowing. Example 3 A bellows-shaped waste liquid container shown in FIG. 2 made of a polyethylene sheet was made, and when the overflow liquid was introduced in the same manner as in Examples 1 and 2, the bellows gradually extended and water could be stored without overflowing. Comparative Examples 1 to 3 Similar experiments were conducted in Examples 1 to 3 without using the superabsorbent resin, and in all cases, the overflow liquid did not flow in naturally, overflowing, and could not be stored.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are schematic cross-sectional views showing one embodiment of the present invention, and show a state in which a photographic processing solution is stored in a supply chamber and before a liquid-absorbing material absorbs waste liquid. vinegar. FIG. 3 is a schematic sectional view showing another embodiment of the present invention. 1: Photographic processing liquid container body, 2: Liquid supply chamber, 3:
Waste liquid chamber, 4: opening, 5: opening, 6: liquid-absorbing substance.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A container having a waste liquid chamber for storing a waste liquid of a photographic processing solution for a photographic light-sensitive material, wherein the waste liquid chamber is located above a liquid supply chamber having an opening and storing an arbitrary liquid. 1. A photographic processing liquid container characterized in that the waste liquid chamber is provided with a liquid-absorbing substance, and the waste liquid chamber has a structure that allows the waste liquid chamber to descend while floating in the liquid in the liquid supply chamber. 2. The photographic processing liquid container according to claim 1, wherein the arbitrary liquid supply chamber is a photographic processing liquid supply chamber.