JPH03256043A - Device for developing photosensitive material - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To arrange the insertion part and discharge part of a photosensitive material close to each other by providing a guide plate outside a bent conveyor path between the outlet and inlet and forming the circular inner periphery for guiding a leader and plural winding rollers for guiding the photosensitive material arranged inside the conveyor path. CONSTITUTION:Four guide plates 68, 69, 71 and 72 are vertically fixed to the lower surface of a cover main body 64, the guide notches 68A, 69A, 71A and 72A for sending a leader drawn out of the preceding processing tank into the succeeding processing tank are formed on the lower surfaces of the guide plates, and the radii of curvature are made different from one another. A group 82 of guide rollers are provided below the guide plate to guide the photosensitive material, the inner guide roller 86 and outer guide roller 88 are pivoted on a supporting shaft 84 which is radially arranged with a driving part 12 as the center, and the side of the supporting shaft 84 close to the driving part is made higher than the side far from the driving part. As a result, the leader and photosensitive material are surely guided along the bent conveyor path, and the insertion part and discharge part of the photosensitive material are arranged close to each other.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a photosensitive material developing apparatus for developing photosensitive materials such as films.

[Conventional technology]

A developing device for developing photosensitive materials such as film and photographic paper has processing sections such as a developing tank, a bleaching tank, and a fixing tank arranged in series and in a straight line. The photosensitive material is inserted from one side and taken out from the other. For this reason, the part for inserting the photosensitive material into the developing device and the part for taking it out after development are located on opposite sides of the developing device, making it difficult for the operator to insert and take out the photosensitive material at the same time. is low.

In contrast, conventionally, a drying section is placed at the top of the developing tank, bleaching tank, etc., and the photosensitive material taken out from the washing tank after development and bleaching is dried and returned to the top of the developing tank, where the photosensitive material is inserted. A device in which the extractor and the extractor are located close to each other is also used. However, in this case, the photosensitive material take-out section for accumulating the dried photosensitive material is placed at the top of the developing device. When used, the photosensitive material in the removal section obstructs the insertion of a new photosensitive material into the developing tank, resulting in a decrease in work efficiency, such as waiting until the removal is complete before inserting a new photosensitive material. Further, since the drying section and the accumulation section are disposed above the developer tank, it is necessary to remove the drying section and the accumulation section from the upper part of the developing device when repairing the developer tank, which makes the work complicated.

Conventionally, the processing tanks were stacked one on top of the other, and the areas around the developing device that sequentially lifted the photosensitive material from the lower processing tank to the upper processing tank, and the operating section for the vertically arranged sheet-like photosensitive material. A developing device with processing tanks arranged in an arc has also been proposed;
There are problems such as the inability to continuously transport photosensitive materials.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned facts, and an object of the present invention is to provide a developing device for automatically conveying a photosensitive material, in which an insertion section and an ejection section for the photosensitive material can be disposed close to each other. It is.

[Means to solve the problem]

In the present invention, a leader attached to the tip of the photosensitive material leads the photosensitive material into the processing tank, and the photosensitive material is not arranged in parallel between the outlet of the pretreatment section and the entrance of the subsequent processing section. The apparatus comprises: a guide plate disposed outside the curved conveyance path between the outlet and the entrance and formed with an arcuate inner circumferential circle for guiding the reader; and a photosensitive material guide disposed inside the curved conveyance path. The invention is characterized by having a plurality of winding rollers.

In the present invention, the photosensitive material from the outlet of the pre-processing section to the inlet of the next processing section is not arranged in parallel between the exit and the inlet. The conveyance direction is bent with respect to the conveyance direction inside the processing tank. The leader moves along the arcuate inner peripheral surface of the guide plate to guide the photosensitive material, and when the leader passes, the photosensitive material is guided by a plurality of winding rollers and moves. Therefore, even if the conveyance path of the reader and the photosensitive material is bent, the conveyance can be ensured through a portion of the crossover.

[Embodiments of the invention]

FIG. 1.2 shows a developing device 10 to which the present invention is applied.

In this developing device IO, a developing tank 14, a bleaching tank 16, a fixing tank 18, and a washing tank 22.2, which are processing parts, are arranged around the drive unit 12.
4 are arranged radially at equal intervals with respect to the drive unit 12. Each of these processing tanks is formed into a box shape with an open top end, and as shown in FIG. It has become.

In this embodiment, the direction in which the photosensitive material is inserted into the developing tank 14 (direction of arrow entry) and the direction in which the photosensitive material is removed from the washing tank 24 (direction of arrow B) are parallel and opposite to each other. If the operator positions himself to the left facing the drive unit 12 in FIG. 2, he can face both the developer tank 14, which is the insertion part for the photosensitive material F, and the washing tank 24, which is the removal part.

The number of these processing tanks can be changed arbitrarily, and the insertion and removal directions of the photosensitive material F do not necessarily need to be arranged parallel to each other, as long as they are arranged close to the front of the operator. good. Further, as a pre-processing device for the developer tank 14 and a post-processing device for the washing tank 24, a photosensitive material printing device, a loading device, a drying device, etc. can be provided.

As shown in FIG. 2, the photosensitive material F is attached to a leader L using an adhesive tape 27, so that the leader L leads the photosensitive material F.

Openings P are formed at regular intervals in the center of the reader L in the width direction, and two pieces of photosensitive material F are connected to the reader L in this embodiment.

A transport rank 26, which is a transport device, is arranged inside each processing section. As shown in FIG. 3, these transport racks 26 have a pair of side plates 28, 32 connected to each other by a bottom plate 34, and are erected in parallel.

These side plates 28, 32 have an upper rotating shaft 36 and a lower rotating shaft 3.
8 are pivotally supported, and a conveyor belt 44 is wound around sprocket wheels 42 arranged at the center of each.

This conveyor belt 44 is endless, and protrusions 44A protruding from the inner circumferential surface at regular intervals engage with the sprocket foil 42 and receive rotational driving force from the sprocket foil 42. Protrusions 44B protruding from the outer circumferential surface at regular intervals It engages with the opening P of the leader L provided at the tip of the photosensitive material F, and applies a driving force for transporting the photosensitive material to the leader L.

At the lower end of this transport rack 26, the reader L and the photosensitive material F are connected to each other.
is reversed, thereby drawing a U-shaped movement trajectory. A reversing roller 47A is pivotally supported at the reversing portion of this U-shaped trajectory, and the leader L is separated from the conveyor belt 44 together with a guide plate 47B, and after being wound around the reversing roller 47A and reversed, the protrusion of the conveyor belt 44 is again It is designed to be raised by engaging with 44B.

Guide plates 46 are attached to the side plates 28, 32, and various parts for smoothly guiding the photosensitive material within the processing section are attached to these guide plates. Both ends of the upper rotary shaft 36 are inserted into notches 48 formed in each processing tank for positioning, and one end of the upper rotary shaft 36 protrudes from each processing section in the direction of the drive 6'B12 to form a tip. A bevel gear 52 is fixed to the portion. As shown in FIG. 2, these upper rotating shafts 36 are arranged to extend radially from the drive section 12.

In the drive unit 12, a motor 54 is disposed at the bottom, and its output shaft 56 is vertically arranged, and a large diameter bevel gear 58
is fixed. The large-diameter bevel gear 58 has a pitch cone angle larger than that of the bevel gear 52, and each of the bevel gears 52 whose axis is horizontal meshes with a part of the large-diameter bevel gear 58. . Therefore, the driving force of the motor 54 is transferred to the large-diameter bevel gear 58 constituting the transmission means.
The direction of the signal is changed approximately at right angles via the bevel gear 52, and the signal is transmitted to the upper rotating shaft 36 of each processing section at the same rotational speed.

As shown in FIG. 1, a crossover portion 62 is disposed above each processing section for receiving and passing the bevel gear 52 between the processing sections and for closing the open upper end of each processing section. As shown in FIG. 4, this crossover portion 62 is housed within a cover body 64. This cover body 64
is the leg plate 6 from the end on the driving part 12 side and the end on the opposite side.
6.67 are suspended, and the lower ends of these leg plates 66.67 are placed on the upper ends of the adjacent processing sections so that the crossover portion 62 is placed between the adjacent processing sections. .

Notches 66A and 67A are provided near the peripheral side of the leg plates 66 and 67.
are formed, and flexible pieces 66 are inserted between these notches and both sides.
B, 67B. The cover body 64 is positioned at the top of each processing tank by inserting the protrusions 66C167C formed inside the flexible pieces 66B and 67B into the circular holes 28A and 32A formed in the side plates 28 and 32 of the transport rack 26. It is set to be fixed.

On the lower surface of the cover body 64, there are four guide plates 68,
9. Guide plate 71 A guide plate 72 is fixed vertically. These guide plates are bent around the drive section 12 when viewed in plan. Furthermore, guide notches 68A, 69A, 71A, and 72A are formed on the lower surfaces of these guide plates for feeding the -da L drawn out from the previous processing tank to the next processing tank. All of these notches are arcuate and have different radii of curvature.

That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the reader L and the photosensitive material F are moved from being pulled out from the liquid level C, which is the outlet of the previous processing tank, until being inserted into the liquid level, which is the inlet of the next processing tank. The lengths must be equal at both ends in the width direction for uniform development.

However, the exit C and the entrance are not parallel to each other but are inclined with respect to the drive unit 12 (included angle θ), and the movement locus of the leader L and the photosensitive material F is the second arrow FD when viewed in plan. F.C.
It is bent like this. Therefore, if the reader L or the photosensitive material F is conveyed with the same radius of curvature at the inner end G in the width direction and the outer end H in the width direction at the crossover portion 62, the photosensitive material F is transported at the exit C and the entrance. As a result, the development time of the photosensitive material in the next processing tank will be different between the inner end G in the radial direction and the outer end H in the width direction.

Therefore, the radius of curvature RG of the inner end G in the width direction is smaller than the radius of curvature RH of the outer end H in the width direction to increase the degree of bending, and the height J of the inner end G in the width direction is smaller than the radius of curvature RH of the outer end H in the width direction. H
The notches 68A to 72A of each guide plate 68 to 72 are determined to be larger than the height K of the guide plates 68 to 72. As a result, the inner end G in the width direction and the outer end H in the width direction of the reader L and the photosensitive material F move the same distance while going from the exit C to the entrance.

As shown in FIG. 4, a meandering prevention plate 74 for preventing the photosensitive material F from meandering is fixed between the guide plate 69 and the guide plate 71 via a mounting plate 75. This mounting plate 75 is made of a flexible material and is inserted into the movement locus of the reader L, but when the reader L moves, it bends to allow the reader L to pass, and after the reader L has passed, a pair of photosensitive It is designed to fit between the materials F and prevent the photosensitive material F from meandering in the width direction.

In the crossover portion 62, a guide roller group 82 is provided below the guide plate for guiding the photosensitive material. In the guide roller group 82, an inner guide roller 86 and an outer guide roller 88 are supported by a support shaft 84 arranged in a radial direction with the drive section 12 as the center. The support shaft 84 is arranged so that the side closer to the drive unit 12 is higher and the side farther away is lower, so that the cover body 64
They are inserted and supported into circular holes 64A and 64B formed in the.

The inner guide roller 86 and the outer guide roller 88 are the drive unit 1
The spindle 84 is inclined from the horizontal plane so that the side closest to 2 has a small diameter and is in a high position, and the side far away has a large diameter and is in a low position (
angle φ). Further, these rollers 86 and 88 are drum-shaped rollers having a recessed middle portion in the axial direction, as shown in FIG.

Flange portions 86A, 86B and flange portions 88A, 88B are provided at both axial ends of the inner guide roller 86 and the outer guide roller 88, respectively.
This prevents the photosensitive material F wound around 6A and 88B from meandering in the width direction. As shown in FIG. 5, the inner guide roller 86 has a small diameter and is in a high position, and the outer guide roller 88 has a large diameter and is in a low position.
The locus of movement corresponds to that the inner end G in the width direction has a small radius of curvature and is at a high position, and the outer end H in the width direction has a large radius of curvature and is at a low position. Therefore, it is possible to ensure the same moving distance not only for the reader L but also for the photosensitive material F between the exit C and the entrance.

Auxiliary support shafts 92 and 94 are provided before and after the support shaft 84, and an inner guide roller 96 and an outer guide roller 98 are supported respectively. These auxiliary support shafts 92 and 94 have substantially horizontal axes, but like the inner guide roller 84, the drive unit 12
The light-sensitive material F is arranged in the radial direction from the center to guide the photosensitive material F along the movement locus shown in FIG. The inner guide roller 98 and the outer guide roller 98 are also drum-shaped rollers having a small diameter in the axial middle part, so that the widthwise center part of the photosensitive material F, that is, the image surface, does not come into contact with the rollers.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained.

After each processing tank is filled with a predetermined amount of processing liquid such as a developing solution, a bleaching solution, a fixing solution, etc., a crossover portion 62 is mounted and maintained in a light-shielded state.

As shown in FIG. 2, the photosensitive materials F are attached to the leader L using an adhesive tape 27, and by inserting the leader L into the developing device 10 and leading the photosensitive materials F, the pair of photosensitive materials F are sequentially developed. That is, it is inserted into the developer tank 14.
The opening P engages with the protrusion 44B of the conveyor belt 44. Since the conveyor belt 44 rotates under the driving force of the motor 54, the leader L moves along the conveyor belt 44 to the developer tank 1.
4, and at the same time it is reversed at the lower end and raised. After rising, it is sent between each guide plate and the guide roller group 82.

Since the leader L has higher rigidity than the photosensitive material F, it tries to maintain a straight state and is guided along the inner peripheral surface of each guide plate.

In this case, since the radius of curvature of the notch 68A of the guide plate 68 is the smallest and the radius of curvature of the notch 72A is the largest, the leader L moves so that the inner end G in the width direction protrudes largely upward as shown in FIG. Draw a trajectory, resulting in exit C
and the entrance, the inner end G in the radial direction and the outer end H in the width direction.
are the same distance traveled.

When the reader L is inserted into the bleach tank 16 and is subjected to a tensile force by the conveyor belt 44 in the bleach tank 16, the photosensitive material F connected to the leader L is also subjected to a tensile force.

Since this photosensitive material F has a lower rigidity than the leader L, it is guided while being wound around the guide roller group 82.

Also in this guide roller group 82, the inner guide roller 86 is arranged at a higher position than the outer guide roller 88, and the inner guide roller 96 and the outer guide roller 98 are arranged in the radial direction of the drive section 12, so that the photosensitive Similarly to the leader L, the material F also follows the movement locus shown in FIG. 5, and moves by the same distance between the exit C and the entrance.

As a result, even if the conveyance trajectory of the leader L and the photosensitive material F is bent in a substantially semicircular shape as shown in FIG. The photosensitive materials F placed in the photosensitive materials F are inserted into each processing tank for the same time and are subjected to the same development process.

In this way, the reader L and the photosensitive material F pass through each processing tank, are sent out from the washing tank 24, and are sent to the next process such as a drying section.

FIG. 7 shows a second embodiment of the invention.

In this embodiment, three developing tanks 14A and 14 are used as developing tanks.
B and 14C are used, and three washing tanks 24A, 24B, and 24C are provided as washing tanks to improve processing capacity. Between these developing tanks and washing tanks, use Cheno 18.
2. The driving force is transmitted. Further, a bleach-fixing tank 18A is provided between the bleaching tank 16 and the fixing tank 18B. Further, a photosensitive material insertion processing section 184 is provided on the upstream side of the developing tank 14A, and a post-processing section 186 such as drying is provided on the downstream side of the washing tank 24C.

In addition, temperature control equipment for these processing tanks 192, 194, 196, 198 is installed between each processing tank arranged radially.
may be placed respectively.

In the present invention, the configuration of the transport rack in each processing tank is not limited to the above embodiment, and various configurations can be applied. In addition, in the drive section 12, the driving force of the motor 54 is transferred to the upper rotating shaft 3.
The combination of the drive unit 12 and the large-diameter bevel gear 58 for transmitting the transmission to the drive unit 6 is not limited to the above embodiment, but a combination of bevel gears or spur gears each meshing with a part of a large gear whose meshing pitch circle is conical or flat is used. be able to. - For example, a crown gear can be used as the large gear and a spur gear can be used as the small gear.

〔Effect of the invention〕

Since the present invention has the above-described structure, even if the conveyance path of the reader and the photosensitive material is bent in plan view, the reader and the photosensitive material can be reliably guided along the bent conveyance path, and the photosensitive material can be inserted and taken out. This has the excellent effect of allowing the parts to be placed close to each other.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing a developing device to which the present invention is applied, with a crossover part removed, Fig. 2 is a plan view showing a crossover part removed, and Fig. 3 shows a conveyance rank. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a portion of the crossover, FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the movement locus of the leader and photosensitive material in a portion of the crossover, and FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of a portion of the crossover. FIG. 7 is a plan view showing the second embodiment. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10...Developing device, 12...Drive part, 14...Developing tank, 16...18...22...24...26...62...68.6 8A1 82...86.9 88 .9 Bleaching tank, fixing tank, washing tank, washing tank, transport rack, part of the crossover 1. 71.72... Guide plate, 9A, 71A, 72A... Notch, Guide roller group,... Inner guide roller,... Outer guide roller.

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A photosensitive material developing device in which a leader attached to the tip of the photosensitive material leads the photosensitive material into the processing tank, and the photosensitive material is not arranged in parallel between the exit of the pretreatment section and the entrance of the subsequent processing section. a guide plate arranged on the outside of the curved conveyance path between the outlet and the entrance and formed with an arcuate inner circumferential circle for guiding the reader; and a guide plate arranged inside the curved conveyance path for guiding the photosensitive material. A photosensitive material developing device comprising a plurality of winding rollers.