JPH0213948A - Method and device for processing of photographic sensitive material - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To ease and simplify film transportation and to reduce the volume of a processing and waste liquid by supplying the processing liquid between rollers positioned on the emulsion surface side of a photographic sensitive material and the photographic sensitive material while transporting the photographic sensitive material crimped between two pairs of the rollers to a vertical direction, thereby executing the photographic processing. CONSTITUTION:The processing liquid to be supplied to the 1st paired rollers 2A, 2B disposed to face each other on both sides of a film 1 is a color developing soln. CD. The 2nd paired rollers 4A, 4B having the similar constitution are disposed to face each other below the rollers 2A, 2B. The 2nd roller 4A has the constitution similar to the constitution of the 1st roller 2A except that the processing liquid supplied thereto is a bleach-fix bath BF. The film 1 is crimped between these two pairs of the rollers and is transported in the vertical direction. The photographic processing is executed by supplying the respective processing liquids CD, BF between the rollers 2A, 4A positioned on the emulsion surface side of the film 2 and the film 1. The film transportation is eased and simplified in this way and the volume of the processing liquid and waste liquid is reduced.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for processing photographic materials in the form of rolls or sheets (including direct positive color vapor, hereinafter simply referred to as film); More specifically, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for processing a film that can be developed with a small amount of processing solution and that produces a small amount of waste solution.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, various methods have been used to develop film, such as dipping, coating, spraying, and spraying, but in general, processing is carried out in each processing tank arranged horizontally. This process is carried out by a dipping treatment method in which a solution is stored, the film is immersed in this solution, and the film is conveyed through a plurality of guide rollers while being curved to be sequentially processed.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In such immersion processing, minilab systems are being developed in response to recent demands for smaller amounts of processing liquid, shorter processing times, and smaller installation spaces.

However, even in such an improved minilab system, problems remain in film transport, waste liquid handling, etc. In other words, the small developing machine used in the minilab system consists of a color developing tank, a bleach-fixing tank (or a bleaching tank/fixing tank).
and a water-washing substitute stabilization tank, these tanks are arranged side by side, and a large number of film transport rollers are provided in each tank and in the weighing area. This is because the film is conveyed while curving between many rollers.

During transport, the film may come off the rollers and cause a film jam.

Furthermore, the processing liquid is stored in various locations and replenished according to the decrease in amount, but after a certain amount of use, fatigue reaches its limit and the processing liquid must be replaced. Therefore, the generation of waste liquid is unavoidable, and the problem arises as to how to dispose of this waste liquid.

Furthermore, the processing solution (particularly the color developing solution) must be heated to an appropriate processing temperature, and since the entire processing solution must be heated, there is a problem in that it takes time to warm up the temperature at the start of processing.

Furthermore, even though it has been miniaturized, if the tanks are placed side by side, it will require at least three tanks and enough space for the notification machine.
Further miniaturization is desired. It is also possible to stack the tanks, but this poses a maintenance problem and is not practical.

Therefore, the present invention simplifies and simplifies film transport, eliminates the disadvantages of transport, enables a reduction in the amount of processing liquid and waste liquid, requires almost no bulking up at the start of processing, is maintenance free, and is compact. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a film processing method and an apparatus for the same.

[Means for Solving the Problems] A film processing method of the present invention that achieves the above object includes at least two pairs of rollers arranged in parallel with an interval, and a distance between each pair of rollers. The film is sandwiched and conveyed in the vertical direction, and photographic processing is performed by supplying a processing liquid between the film and a roller located on the emulsion side of the film.

Further, in the film processing apparatus of the present invention that achieves the above object, a first roller pair is formed by a roller having a seven-shaped groove formed in parallel to the longitudinal direction on the surface and a roller arranged in parallel with the roller. A second roller pair having a similar configuration is formed below the first roller pair, and each roller of the first roller pair and the second roller pair is capable of transporting the film in the vertical direction. A processing section is formed between the emulsion surface of the film and the roller having the seven-shaped groove.

[Function] In the present invention, a pair of rollers simultaneously performs film transport and development processing functions, and since a plurality of this pair of rollers are arranged vertically in parallel, for example, color development processing (CD
), bleach-fixing treatment (BF), washing alternative stabilization treatment (
sb), etc., the process in which the film is conveyed in the vertical direction,
processing becomes possible. Furthermore, the processing liquid that is continuously supplied between the pair of rollers is supplied only to the emulsion side of the film, and is applied and consumed as the film is transported.
Sufficient coating and development is possible even with a small supply. Moreover, because the process is carried out in small quantities, almost no waste liquid is generated.

Additionally, since each process is performed during the vertical film transport process, compared to horizontal processing (conventional minilab systems), transport rollers are omitted.

The film transport mechanism is simplified and simplified, eliminating problems such as clogging during film transport.

Furthermore, since only one pair of rollers are stacked in multiple stages,
The space can be reduced, there are no maintenance problems, and, for example, the liquid can be easily heated by heating the entire inside of the device, and compared to liquid heating, there is an advantage that the time required for warming up is shorter.

Incidentally, the beat coating method is conventionally known as a film coating method (Japanese Patent Publication Nos. 58-57231 and 33-8).
No. 977) does not disclose coating and developing, and does not even suggest a developing method in which roller pairs are arranged in multiple stages. Furthermore, application with a brush etc. is also considered,
Since uniform coating is not possible, processing stability is lacking, and there are also drawbacks in that automation and labor-saving are lacking.

[Example 1] Hereinafter, an example of a processing apparatus suitable for the processing method of the present invention will be explained based on the accompanying drawings.

The following discussion will refer to direct color paper or simply referred to as film. It goes without saying that the present invention can be applied not only to color films but also to monochrome films.

In the figure, l is a film that is conveyed from top to bottom.

2A and 2B are the 10th pair arranged opposite to each other with the film 1 sandwiched therebetween. The 10th pair 2A, 2B may be made of metal, rubber, plastic acid, etc., and preferably is made of rubber.

The surface of the roller 2A located on the emulsion surface side of the film 1 among the tenth rollers is provided with grooves 3 in the longitudinal direction in order to diffuse the processing liquid to the emulsion surface and spread it sufficiently. Or preferable.

The shape of the groove 3 is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, a pyramid-shaped 7-shaped groove as shown in the figure, or a lattice-type or diagonal-line groove used in gravure coating. Although a mesh roll as described in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 46-27506 may be used, the seven-shaped groove described above is most preferable.

Although it is preferable that the grooves 3 are formed across both ends of the roll 2A in order to eliminate air bubbles, they may be formed only in the area where the emulsion surfaces come into contact or in a slightly wider area. This is because when the viscosity of the liquid is low, it is necessary to consider prevention of liquid leakage from both ends of the groove.

It is preferable that the contact pressure of the tenth pair 2A, 2B can be adjusted as appropriate depending on the film conveyance speed, the viscosity of the coating liquid, etc. Usually 5 to 100 kg/cm'' is preferable.

The conveying speed is preferably 1 to 20 cm/sec, and the coating liquid viscosity is preferably 10 to 500 cp.

In a non-example, the processing liquid supplied to the 10th pair 2A and 2B is, for example, a color developer (CD).

The means for supplying the color developer (CO) is not particularly limited.

It is sufficient if it is continuously supplied according to the application consumption. As a feeder, reference may be made to Utility Model Application No. 49-111509, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

Note that the drive mechanism for the rollers 2A and 2B can be any known means and is preferably configured to be variable speed.

Below the 10th pair 2A, 2B, a 20th pair 4A, 4B having a similar configuration is provided oppositely. Furthermore, the second
The 10th La pair 2 is the same as the 10th La pair 2, except that the 0-La pair 4A is a processing liquid supplied thereto, such as a bleach-fix solution (BP).
It has the same configuration as A, and the 20th-Ra vs. 4B
has the same configuration as the 10th-RA pair 2B, so its explanation will be omitted.

Although the 10th La pair 2A, 2B and the 20th La pair 4A, 4B are provided on the same axis in the drawing, they are not limited to this,
Further, the sizes thereof may be shown as being the same, or may be the same or different. Below the 20th pair of rollers 4A, 4B, there may or may not be a pair of rollers for stabilization as an alternative to water washing, for example.

In the above embodiments, the case where the film is conveyed from the top to the bottom has been explained, but the object of the present invention can also be achieved when the film is conveyed from the bottom to the top.

Regarding film transport, although the illustration shows a case in which the film is transported in a straight line from top to bottom, the present invention is not limited to this. Any other roller (
For example, a squeeze roller 5.6) may be interposed.

In addition, when providing the squeeze roller 5.6, it should be placed immediately before the BF liquid pool and at any arbitrary location behind the second rollers 4A and 4B (
It is determined in relation to processing time. ) is preferably provided.

Furthermore, the number of films to be conveyed is not limited to one, but it is also possible to add one more film with the emulsion side reversed. In this case, the illustrated processing liquid may be similarly supplied to the U side of the film (on the drawing). Although it is preferable that the type of treatment liquid be the same on the left and right sides, there are 64 different types of treatment liquid. For example, the CD process may be performed on the right side, and the BF process or water washing process may be performed on the left side.Although it is preferable that the left roller is not provided with grooves, the present invention is not limited thereto.

However, depending on the shape of the groove, it is possible to eliminate problems in transporting the film.

In the present invention, the tenth-ra pair 2A, 2B, ! It is also possible to incorporate the 20-ra pairs 4A, 4B into a single device.

In this case, the compactness of the entire device is (b) iF corresponding to the compactification by the roller fire. Even within this compact apparatus, there is the problem of oxidative deterioration of the color developing solution, as in the past. For this reason, it is also preferable to fill the inside of the apparatus with an inactive gas such as N2. In order to obtain N2, it is also preferable to separate and collect N2 and 0□ in the air using an oxygen enrichment membrane, zeolite, or the like.

In addition, CD processing of the film is performed from the time when it comes into contact with the CD liquid and is applied until it is contacted and applied with the BF liquid in the next process, and the BF treatment is performed from the time when it comes into contact with the BF liquid and is applied. This is until the BF solution is squeezed 6 times. however,
II: If the squeeze means 5 is provided in front of the BF liquid reservoir, then the squeeze means 5 will be used.

t Also, the film is direct positive (color)
/ When the CD liquid does not contain a fogging agent, fogging exposure means is provided between the 10th pair 2A, 2B and the BF liquid reservoir.

The present invention will be explained in detail below along with its operation.

1 The 10th pair 2A, 2B and the 2nd pair shown in FIG.
0-La pair 4A, 4B with a diameter of 15mm, @ 100
A mm (7) rubber roller was used. Of these rollers, 2A and 4A have 7-shaped grooves 3 with a width of 1 mm and a depth of 1+ nm.
were placed at 1 mm intervals.

A CD liquid was dropped between the emulsion side of the film (direct positive color paper) 1 and the roller 2A, and a BF liquid was dropped between the roller 4A and the emulsion side of the film (direct positive color paper) 1. The processing liquid passed between the grooves 3 and diffused onto the emulsion surface, resulting in a coating thickness of approximately 1004 m. The viscosity of the coating liquid at this time is CD liquid or J8cp, and B
The F solution was 25 cp. Also, exposed film is 1~
The film was conveyed at a speed of 20 cm/sec, and the film pressure was between 5 to OK g/cm''.

After the above treatment, a water washing alternative stabilizing treatment was performed, and prints with good processing performance were obtained.

[Effects of the Invention] According to the present invention, it is possible to simplify and simplify film transport, eliminate the disadvantages of transport, reduce the amount of processing liquid and waste liquid, and eliminate the need for warming up at the start of processing, making it maintenance-free. It is possible to provide a film processing method and an apparatus therefor that enable compactization.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic front view showing an embodiment of the present invention. 1: Film 2A, 2B: 10th-ra 3: Groove 4A, 4B: 20th-La 5.6 Nisquiz means 1: Film 2A, 2B = 10th-ra 3: Groove 4A, 4B = 20th-ra 5.6: Squeeze means Figure 1

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. At least two pairs of rollers are arranged in parallel with an interval,
The photographic material is conveyed vertically between the two pairs of rollers, and a processing liquid is applied between the rollers located on the emulsion side of the photographic material and the photographic material. 1. A method for processing a photographic material, which comprises supplying and performing photographic processing. 2. As a roller located on the emulsion side of the photographic material,
2. The method for processing a photographic material according to claim 1, wherein the material has grooves on its surface. 3. A first roller pair is formed by a roller having a V-shaped groove formed in parallel to the longitudinal direction on the surface and a roller arranged in parallel with the roller, and a similar structure is formed below the first roller pair. The rollers of the first roller pair and the second roller pair are press-fitted to be able to convey the photographic light-sensitive material in the vertical direction, and A processing apparatus for photographic light-sensitive materials, characterized in that a processing section is formed between the emulsion surface and the roller having the V-shaped groove.