JPH02278258A - Device for processing photographic sensitive material - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily judge whether normal circulation is executed or not and to well maintain the function of a processing liquid by detecting the flow rate of the circulated processing liquid, counting the number of the pulses generated according to the detected rate and comparing and judging the pulse number generated within the prescribed time at the time of the normal circulation and the counted pulse number. CONSTITUTION:This device has a circulating means for circulating the processing liquid in a processing tank, a flow rate detecting means 90, a pulse generating means 92, and a counting means 96 for counting the pulse number. Whether the normal circulation is executed or not is easily judged by detecting the flow rate of the circulated processing liquid, counting the number of the pulses generated according to the detected rate, and comparing and judging the pulse number generated within the prescribed time at the time of the normal circulation and the counted pulse number. The circulating rate is increased or decreased while the counted pulse number is fed back to the circulating means.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to reflected light or transmitted light that illuminates a manuscript or an original picture;
Alternatively, the present invention relates to a photographic material processing apparatus that replenishes a processing replenisher to a processing liquid tank in accordance with the amount of processing such as development, bleaching, fixing, etc. of a photographic material exposed to light obtained by photoelectrically converting an electric signal.

[Conventional technology]

Generally, when replenishing processing replenishment liquid for processing such as development into the processing liquid tank in an automatic developing device that uses silver halide photographic light-sensitive materials, the amount of replenishment is calculated according to the size of the photographic light-sensitive material to be exposed and the number of sheets to be processed. are doing.

That is, the replenisher is replenished based on the processing area of the photographic material to maintain predetermined processing conditions.

However, images obtained by exposing photographic materials have various densities, and these densities also vary depending on the exposure conditions G2, and even if the image size is the same, the exposure amount is non-uniform. Therefore, when a photographic light-sensitive material having such a non-uniform exposure amount is developed, the development rate of the photographic light-sensitive material also becomes non-uniform. This development rate is one of the factors that greatly affects the amount of developer replenishment. That is, the higher the value of the developing rate, the faster the developing ability decreases, and a large amount of developer needs to be replenished. Specifically, there is a case where a large number of high-density originals are processed.

On the other hand, if the development rate is low, a small amount of developer needs to be replenished, and this applies when a large number of low-density originals are processed.

Therefore, if the processing replenisher is replenished simply based on area factors, it may become over-replenished, making it impossible to maintain the correct processing conditions, and as a result, the finished condition of the photographic material may deteriorate. It can also have an impact. For this reason, workers have to visually check the finished state of photographic light-sensitive materials at regular intervals and manually correct the amount of processing liquid to be refilled based on their experience, making the work complicated and difficult to handle, especially in offices. In silver halide photographic color copying machines, it is difficult to manually correct the amount of processing liquid to be refilled.

On the other hand, Japanese Patent Application No. 63-232593 discloses an apparatus that calculates the amount of replenisher to be refilled based on various conditions other than the processing area and replenishes the replenisher. This device appropriately replenishes the calculated replenishment amount of replenisher to maintain the function of the processing liquid.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In order to maintain good performance of the processing liquid, it is necessary to circulate the processing liquid to keep the concentration, temperature, etc. of the processing liquid in the processing tank uniform. Therefore, if the processing liquid is not reliably circulated, the temperature of the processing liquid in the processing tank may rise partially, causing components of the processing liquid to precipitate or the concentration of the processing liquid to become uneven.
Unable to maintain good processing performance.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, and to provide a photographic material processing apparatus that can reliably circulate a processing liquid and easily detect circulation abnormalities.

[Means and effects for solving the problems] The above-mentioned object of the present invention is to provide a photographic material processing apparatus in which a processing liquid for processing a photographic material is stored in a processing tank, the processing liquid in the processing tank being a flow rate detection means for detecting the flow rate of the processing liquid flowing through the circulation means, a pulse generation means for generating a pulse according to the detected flow rate, and a pulse generated by the pulse generation means within a predetermined time. This is achieved by a photographic material processing apparatus comprising a counting means for counting the number of pulses, and a control means for controlling the circulation operation of the processing liquid based on the number of pulses counted by the counting means.

In other words, by detecting the flow rate of the circulating processing liquid, counting the number of pulses generated according to the detected amount, and comparing and judging the number of pulses generated within a predetermined time during normal circulation with the counted number of pulses. It is possible to easily determine whether normal circulation is being performed, and the amount of circulation can be increased or decreased while feeding back the counted number of pulses to the circulation means.

In addition, when adjusting the temperature of the processing liquid, temperature adjustment is made easier by detecting the circulating flow rate of the processing liquid and increasing or decreasing the circulation amount.
It is also possible to change photographic properties.

Furthermore, a circulation means is installed via the processing replenisher supply means,
By providing the flow rate detection means downstream of the processing replenisher supply means and controlling the circulation, replenishment control and circulation control of the processing replenisher can be easily performed.

Therefore, if it is determined that normal circulation is not occurring, it is possible to promptly respond to the abnormality of the processing equipment, such as by displaying a message to that effect on the processing equipment or stopping the operation of the processing equipment. Liquid fatigue can be prevented.

In the present invention, the processing solution for photographic light-sensitive materials includes a color developer, a black-and-white (B/W) developer, a bleach solution, a bleach-fix solution, a fixer, a stabilizer, etc. Any liquid may be used as long as it can be treated by immersion.

The present invention can be applied to processing various color photosensitive materials.

Typical examples of color photosensitive materials include color print films, color reversal films for slides or televisions, and color reversal papers. The present invention also includes “Research Disclosure”
It can also be applied to the processing of black-and-white light-sensitive materials using a three-color coupler mixture described in the magazine Nα17123 (published in July 1978).

Furthermore, the present invention can also be applied to the processing of black and white photographic materials.

In the present invention, the fogging treatment performed when using a direct positive photographic light-sensitive material is carried out by a photofogging method and/or a chemical fogging method.

Full-surface exposure, that is, fogging exposure in the photofogging method is performed after imagewise exposure, before and/or during development. The imagewise exposed light-sensitive material is immersed in a developer solution or a pre-bath of the developer solution, or is taken out from the solution and exposed before drying. Most preferably, the material is exposed in the developer solution.

The nucleating agent used when carrying out the chemical fogging method can be contained in the light-sensitive material or in the processing solution for the light-sensitive material. Preferably, it can be contained in a photosensitive material.

Here, the nucleating agent is a substance that acts during surface treatment of an internal latent image type silver halide emulsion that has not been fogged in advance to directly form a positive image. In the present invention, it is particularly preferable to perform a fogging treatment using a nucleating agent.

When a nucleating agent is contained in a light-sensitive material, it is preferable to add it to the internal latent image type silver halide emulsion layer, but as long as the nucleating agent is adsorbed to the silver halide by diffusion during coating or processing. , may be added to other layers such as intermediate layers, undercoat layers and back layers.

When adding a nucleating agent to the processing solution, use a developing solution or
Low pH as described in Publication No. 8-178350
It may be contained in the O pre-bath.

Furthermore, two or more types of nucleating agents may be used in combination.

Furthermore, a nucleation accelerator can be used to enhance the action of the nucleating agent. Nucleation accelerators include tetrazaindenes, triazaindenes and pentazaindenes, which have at least one mercapto group optionally substituted with an alkali metal atom or an ammonium group, and JP-A-63 Compounds described in JP-106656 can be added.

[Embodiments] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a silver salt photographic color copying machine which is an embodiment of the present invention.

The apparatus main body 10 is provided with a paper feed section 12 on the right side, an exposure section 14 and a processing section 16 above, and a drying section 18 on the left side. In addition, this silver halide photographic color copying machine can be loaded with a pair of magazines 20° and 22 at the top and bottom, and photosensitive materials 24 and 26 are housed inside these in the form of rolls, and are rolled out from the tip. The paper is taken out to the paper feed section 12. - For example, 24 is a photosensitive material most suitable for copying color photographic originals, and 26 is a photosensitive material most suitable for copying color printed originals.

In addition, since the processing of the photosensitive material 24 and the photosensitive material 26 in this apparatus and the copying machine is the same, the processing of the photosensitive material 24 will be explained below.

The photosensitive material 24 pulled out from the magazine 20 is fed to the paper feed section 1.
2 to an exposure window 28, and an image of a color original 32 on a transparent original platen 30 provided above the exposure section 14 is exposed. This color original 32 is pressed onto the original table 30 by the original holder 34, and the light source unit 3
The image of the color original 32 illuminated by the light source 38 in the photosensitive material 6 and reflected by the plurality of mirrors 40 passes through the optical means 42 and is exposed to the photosensitive material 2 in the exposure window 28 by opening the shutter 44.
4.

The middle part of the conveyance trajectory of the photosensitive material 24 (the first part from the exposure window 28)
A switching guide 50 is provided at the lower part of the figure, so that the direction can be changed so that the photosensitive material 24 sent vertically downward is guided to the processing section 16 when necessary. Note that when the shutter 44 is in the closed state, the reflected light from the reference white plate and the original image is reflected by the shutter 44, and is photometered by a plurality of (six in this embodiment) photosensors 43, and the white level value and Exposure control data is determined by the control device 45 based on the reflection density obtained from the image photometric value. (Prescan) In the photosensor of this embodiment, two each of red (R), green (G), and blue (B) are arranged, and the average value of these photometric values is taken as the reflection density, and the photometric density value is The highest value was set at 2°0.

This control device 45 centrally controls each function of the entire device, and also has a function of obtaining concentration information for determining the amount of replenishment of developer replenisher.

The processing section 16 is successively provided with a developing tank 46, a bleach-fixing tank 47, and a washing tank 48, 49, and the photosensitive material is developed, bleached, fixed, and washed with the processing liquid filled into these tanks. 24 is sent to the drying section 18. In addition, the developer tank 46, bleach-fix tank 47, washing tank 4
At 8.49, there are replenishment tanks 60 and 62.64 below.
is installed, so that replenishment fluid can be replenished to various types as needed.

The drying section 18 dries the photosensitive material 24 after washing with water and sends it onto the take-out tray 54 .

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the processing section 16. As shown in FIG.

The processing section 16 includes a developing tank 46 for developing the exposed photosensitive material 24, a bleach-fixing tank 47 for performing bleaching and image fixing on the developed photosensitive material 24, and a photosensitive material 24 after the image fixing process. It consists of a washing tank 48 and 49 for washing with water. Various types 46, 47, 48, 49 are designed to minimize the contact area between the liquid in the tank and the outside air.・Nyatta 200, 2
02,204.206. Processing section 6 is a tank 60 for replenishing the developer tank 46 with developer.
, a tank 16 for replenishing the bleach-fixing tank 47 with bleach solution.
6. Tank 6 for replenishing the bleach-fixing tank 47 with fixing solution
2. The washing tanks 48 and 49 are provided with a tank 64 for replenishing the washing liquid (water), and each tank is replenished with the liquid as appropriate. The liquid in each tank 6062, 64, 166 is pumped through a filter 170° 172, 174, 176 by a pump 171, 173, 175, 177, as shown by a solid line. will be replenished. Here, a tank 60 for replenishing developer, fixer, and water.
, 62.64 is a deformable bag 161, 1 made of vinyl or the like.
63 and 165 contain each replenisher. Overflow liquid from each type is collected between the respective tanks 60° 62, 64 and bags 161, 163, 165 as shown by dotted lines.

In addition, the tank 64 containing water replenishes water to the washing tanks 48 and 49, and the transport roller pairs 180 to 187, which transport the photosensitive material 24 over various areas, are connected to the transport rollers 181 and 187.
182, 183, 184, 185,], 87, water is supplied to cleaning devices 190-198 for cleaning the roller pairs indicated by 182, 183, 184, 185, ], 87. The supplied water is supplied to roller pairs 181, 182, 183, 187 by cleaning devices 190 to 198,
Clean the roller surface.

Next, the control device 45 will be explained in detail with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of photosensors 43 that receive light reflected by a shutter 44 (reflected light from a color original) are connected to a multiplexer 70 via a current-voltage conversion circuit 66 and a voltage amplification circuit 68. has been done. The output side of multiplexer 70 is connected to control device 45 via A/D converter 72 .

The control device 45 includes a CPU 74, a RAM 76, and a ROM 78.
, a human output boat 80, a clock IC (RTC) 77, and buses 82 such as a data bus and a control bus that connect these, among which a RAM 76, an RTC 7
7 is backed up by 7 batteries.

An output signal line from the A/D converter 72 is connected to an input/output board 80. Further, the input/output boat 80 is connected to the multiplexer 70 and controls switching of input/output signals of the photosensor 43 in the multiplexer 70.

Furthermore, signal lines from various setting switches (not shown) on the operation panel 84 are connected to the input/output boat 80, and these include: ■ Magnification setting, ■ Copy number setting, ■ Paper size setting, ■ Photosensitive material selection. ■Density adjustment setting, 0 color adjustment value setting,
■Various setting conditions such as start settings can be entered.

Also, from this input/output boat 80, ■exposure unit control signal (
(scan control signal, color density control signal), ■Paper feed section control signal (photosensitive material transport control signal, photosensitive material cutting control signal),
(2) Processor section control signals (replenishment liquid replenishment signal, temperature control signal, photosensitive material transport signal within the processing section) and other control signals that control the operation of each section of the apparatus are output.

Therefore, the control device 45 scans the color original 32 according to the setting conditions set by the operation panel 84.
The conveyance and development process of the photosensitive material 24 are centrally controlled, a series of operations are synchronized, and the work is performed accurately.

Here, the control device 45 also controls the amount and timing of replenishment of the replenisher to the developer tank 46. That is, the control device 45 performs normal replenishment that replenishes each time the photosensitive material 24 is processed, evaporative replenishment that replenishes the amount of developer that has evaporated when adjusting the temperature of the developer, and evaporation replenishment that replenishes the amount of developer that has evaporated when adjusting the temperature of the developer. Intermittent replenishment, which replenishes the amount of developer that has evaporated during idle conditions, and replenishment when the developer level in the developer tank 46 drops below the specified level when the power is turned on, or when the developer level drops below the specified level during operation. Controls liquid level detection and replenishment.

Next, the circulation operation and replenishment operation of the processing liquid in the processing tank will be explained using a developer as an example. Note that the operations for circulating and replenishing the bleaching solution and fixing solution are the same as those for developing, and will therefore be omitted.

FIG. 4 shows a flow path circle representing the flow of the developer.

The developer replenisher to be replenished into the developer tank 46 is pumped up from the tank 60 by the pump 170, and is supplied to the developer tank 46 through a flow path shown by a solid line passing through the flow path dC. At the same time as the developer replenisher is supplied, the developer in the developer tank 46 is pumped 1
02, it is circulated through the flow path shown by the solid line, which passes through the flow path ab. Also, when the developer replenisher is not refilled, the developer tank 4
The developer in 6 is pumped by a pump 102 into channels ae-c or a-a-e-c depending on the detection capability range of the flow rate sensor 90.
It is circulated through a flow path shown by a dotted line that passes through e-c and flow path a-b. Valves 104 and 106 are pumps 102 and 170, respectively.
It operates in synchronization with the flow path to fully open, half open, and fully close to adjust the flow rate of the developer or developer replenisher. In addition, flow path C
is provided with a flow rate sensor 90, which detects the amount of liquid flowing through the channel C and feeds back the circulation amount and replenishment amount to the pumps 102, 170 to control the circulation and replenishment operations.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a control device that circulates the developer and replenishes the developer replenisher.

The control device includes a flow sensor 90 that detects the amount of processing replenisher supplied to the processing liquid tank and the circulating amount of developer, and sequentially generates pulses at regular intervals in response to the amount detected by the flow sensor. A pulse generating means 92 that converts the calculated replenishment amount into pulses and generates the pulses, and a CPU that controls the operation of the pumps 102 and 170 based on the number of generated pulses.
etc., a counting means 96 for counting the number of pulses generated within a predetermined time, a storage means 98 for storing the number of pulses corresponding to a preset flow rate or replenishment amount, and a counting means 94 for counting the number of pulses generated within a predetermined time, a storage means 98 for storing the number of pulses corresponding to a preset flow rate or replenishment amount, and a counter 94 for counting the number of pulses generated within a predetermined time. and calculation means 100 for comparing and calculating the number of pulses.

The control means 94 includes a pulse generation means 92, a storage means 98,
It is connected to the counting means 96, the calculating means 100, the valves 104, 106, and the pumps 102, 170, and the valves 104, 106 and the pump 102 are connected based on the number of pulses generated within a predetermined time.
．． ．． 170 to control replenishment and circulation operations. For example, when warming up after starting the device and when adjusting the temperature of the developer, circulate a small amount of the developer.
During processing of light-sensitive materials, a large amount of developer is circulated. When controlling the circulation operation when adjusting the temperature of the developer, the control means 94
also controls the amount of circulation by the pump 102. Further, the control means 94 is connected to a display section 110, and displays an abnormality message and instructions for replacing the filter on the display section 110 when there is an abnormality in the circulation operation.

FIG. 6 is a timing chart for circulation and replenishment operations.

At T1, the pump 102 operates simultaneously with the power ON of the apparatus, and the valve 104 directs the developer in the developer tank 40 to the flow path a.
-e-c or flow path a-e-c and flow path a-b.

At T2, at the same time as the development process of the photosensitive material 24 is started, the replenishment operation is started and the pump 170 is driven. At the same time, the valve 104 directs the developer in the developer tank 46 to the flow path a.
The valve 106 opens so that the replenisher in the tank 60 flows into the flow path C.

At T3, the valve 106 closes at the same time as the replenishment ends and the drive of the pump 170 stops, and the valve 104 closes the developer tank 40.
The developing solution inside is opened to flow into channel ae-c or channel ae-c and channel a-b.

At T4, when the development process of the photosensitive material 24 is completed,
Pump 102 is driven to reduce the flow rate of developer circulating through channels ae-c.

At T5, when the development process of the next photosensitive material 24 is started, the replenishment operation is simultaneously started and the pump 170 is driven. At the same time, the valve 104 opens to allow the developer in the developer tank 46 to flow into channels a-b, and the valve 106 opens to allow the replenisher in the tank 60 to flow into the channel C.

Thereafter, replenishment and circulation operations are similarly controlled.

Next, replenishment and circulation control will be explained.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of replenishment and circulation control after the device is powered on.

When the power of the apparatus is turned on in step S2, the circulation pump 102 is driven in step S4, and the valve 104 is opened in step S6 to form a flow path including flow path ae-c or flow path a-b. The developer in the developer tank 46 is circulated through channels ae-c, ae-c, and a-b during warming up. Then,
In step S8, the circulation amount during warming up is set to be large.

When the circulation starts, then in step S10, the routine moves to a circulation amount determination routine to be described later, and it is determined whether the circulation amount is appropriate.

Next, in step S12, it is determined whether the developing process of the photosensitive material has started. If it is determined that the developing process has not started yet, the process returns to step S10 and it is determined whether the circulation amount is appropriate.

If it is determined in step S12 that the development process has started, the circulation amount is set to a large value in step S14. Note that since the circulation amount has already been set to a large value in step S8, the actual setting position remains unchanged.

Next, in step 316, the valve 106 is opened to open the flow path d.
-c, and in step 31.8 valve 104 is switched to form streams 8a-b. Then step 32
At 0, the replenishment pump 170 is driven to start replenishing the developer replenisher.

When replenishment is started, then in step S22, the routine moves to a replenishment amount determination routine to be described later, and it is determined whether the replenishment amount is appropriate.

Next, in step S24, it is determined whether or not the developer replenisher is being replenished, and if it is being replenished, the process returns to step 322 and it is determined whether the amount of replenishment is appropriate.

If it is determined in step 324 that replenishment has been completed, the drive of the replenishment pump 170 is stopped in step S26, and then in step S30, the valve 104 is switched to Road a
- form b.

Next, in step 332, it is determined whether or not the photosensitive material is being developed, and if so, the circulation amount is set to a small value in step S34. Therefore, the amount of vN rings is small when the photosensitive material is not subjected to development processing.

After reducing the circulation amount in step 332, the process returns to step SlO to determine whether the circulation amount is appropriate.

Next, the circulation amount and replenishment (2) judgment routine will be explained with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a flowchart of the circulation amount and replenishment amount judgment routine, and the control means 94 shown in FIG.
controlled by

In step S335, when the flow rate set value Re obtained by pulse-converting the set circulation amount or the set replenishment amount is read from the storage means 98, in step S36, the flow rate sensor 90
The number of pulses generated by the pulse generating means 92 is read based on the flow rate detected by.

Next, in step 33B, the number of pulses generated is counted by the counting means 96 to obtain an actual measurement value Cp. Then,
In step 340, the set value Re and the measured value Cp are compared. Then, if the set value Re and the measured value Cp match or are similar, the process returns in step 342.

Further, in step 340, the set value Re and the actual measured value Cp
If there is a large difference between the two, it is determined in step 343 whether it is being circulated or replenishing, and if it is being circulated, it is determined that there is an abnormality in step S44, and this fact is displayed on the display unit 108.

Also, in step S40, the actual measured value Cp is set to the set value Re.
If the amount has not been reached and it is determined in step S43 that the replenishment amount is not being circulated, the process returns to step S36 and replenishment is continued until the actual value Cp reaches the predetermined replenishment amount.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the present invention, the flow rate of the circulating processing liquid is detected, the number of pulses generated according to the detected amount is counted, and the number of pulses generated within a predetermined time during normal circulation is compared with the counted number of pulses. By making this determination, it is possible to easily determine whether normal circulation is being performed, and the amount of circulation can be increased or decreased while feeding back the counted number of pulses to the circulation means.

In addition, when adjusting the temperature of the processing liquid, temperature adjustment is made easier by detecting the circulating flow rate of the processing liquid and increasing or decreasing the circulation amount.
It is also possible to change photographic properties.

Further, by providing a circulation means via the processing replenisher supply means and providing a flow rate detection means downstream of the processing replenishment supply means to control the wX ring, replenishment control and circulation control of the processing replenisher can be easily performed. It can be carried out.

Therefore, if it is determined that normal circulation is not occurring, it is possible to promptly respond to the abnormality of the processing equipment, such as by displaying a message to that effect on the processing equipment or stopping the operation of the processing equipment. Liquid fatigue can be prevented.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a silver halide color copying machine, Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a processing section, Fig. 3 is a block diagram of a control device, Fig. 4 is a diagram showing the flow of processing liquid, Fig. 5 6 is a timing chart of replenishment and circulation control, FIG. 7 is a flowchart of replenishment and circulation control, and FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a replenishment amount and circulation amount determination routine. Symbols in the figure: 10 - Main body 12 - Paper feeding section 14... Exposure section 16 - Processing section 18 - Drying section 20.22... Magazine 24. 26... - Photosensitive material 30... Document table 34--Document presser 3 days...-Light source 42--Optical means 44--Shutter 46--Developing tank 48.49...Washing tank 54...-Eject tray 0.62, 64.166 66 ...-Current-to-voltage conversion circuit 70...-Multiplexer 72--A/D converter 74--CPU 78--ROM 82--Bus 90--Flow rate sensor 92--Pulse generating means 94-- Control means 98-Storage means 76...RAM 8〇-Person output boat 84--Operation panel 96--Measuring means 100--Calculating means 2--Original 6--Light source unit 0--Mirror 3- ... Photo sensor 5 - Control device 7 - Bleach-fix tank 0 - Switching guide tank - Pump button - Display section 71° ■ 73° 75° 177 - Pump diagram

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A photographic material processing apparatus in which a processing liquid for processing a photographic material is stored in a processing tank, comprising a circulation means for circulating the processing liquid in the processing tank, and a flow rate of the processing liquid flowing through the circulation means. A flow rate detection means for detecting a flow rate; a pulse generation means for generating a pulse according to the detected flow rate; a counting means for counting the number of pulses generated by the pulse generation means within a predetermined time; A photographic material processing apparatus comprising: a control means for controlling the circulation operation of a processing liquid based on the control means; (2) A photographic material processing apparatus in which a processing liquid for processing photographic material is stored in a processing tank, wherein the flow rate detection means, counting means, pulse generation means, and control means are activated when adjusting the temperature of the processing liquid. The photographic material processing apparatus according to claim (1).