JPH0346656A - Photosensitive material processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make the processing of developing simple and quick, to reduce the use quantity of processing liquid and to prevent the irregularity of the processing from occurring by housing a long photosensitive material in a container in the state that it is wound in a spiral state, pouring the processing liquid to the gap between the adjacent photosensitive material along the longitudinal direction of the photosensitive material, holding the gap with the aid of the flow of the liquid and processing the photosensitive material. CONSTITUTION:The long photosensitive material F such as a film is housed in the light shielding container 2 in the state that it is wound in the spiral state. Then, the processing liquid is supplied from the neighborhood of the central part thereof or the like. By making the processing liquid flow to the gap 20 between the adjacent photosensitive material F along the longitudinal direction of the photosensitive material F, the photosensitive material F is processed. At this time, the adjacent photosensitive material F is prevented from contacting each other by the flow of the liquid formed to the gap 20 of the photosensitive material F and the fixed gap 20 is held. Therefore, the processing liquid can be almost uniformly supplied to the whole area of the photosensitive material F. Thus, the processing of developing is made simple and quick and the use quantity of the processing liquid is reduced. Besides, the irregularity of the processing is prevented from occurring.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION <Industrial Application Field> The present invention relates to a photosensitive material processing apparatus that processes a long photosensitive material in a batch manner.

<Prior Art> A tank-type developing device has conventionally been used to develop a long length of photographed film in a batch manner.

This developing device consists of a flat cylindrical tank with a light-blocking lid and a spiral separator housed inside the tank. Pull out the film from the cartridge and wrap it around the separator, then put the film together with the separator into the tank, then add developer and close the lid, shake the tank to perform development, then add fixer and wash. The solution is replaced with water one after another, and fixing and washing are performed in the same manner.

However, such development processing requires winding the film into the separator and replacing the processing solution multiple times, which is time-consuming and labor-intensive, and has poor operability.

In addition, such development processing must be performed in a dark room,
In the absence of such equipment, for example, it would be inconvenient to immediately develop press photographs at the reporting site and send them electronically to the headquarters.

Furthermore, a developing device using a cylindrical tank has the disadvantage that a relatively large amount of processing time (for example, about 500-1000 +++j of developer) is required to develop one film.

To solve this problem, a technique is known in which the photographed film is processed while it is stored in the cartridge.

That is, a developing solution is supplied into the cartridge from the end face of the cartridge, and a developing solution is applied to the film wound around the core in the width direction of the film, and then the same operation is performed for the fixing solution and washing water. This is what we do.

However, in this method, the film is wound somewhat tightly around the winding core, and there are parts where adjacent films are in contact or in close contact with each other, so the developer, etc. is not sufficiently supplied to these parts, resulting in uneven development. There is a drawback.

<Problems to be Solved by the Invention> The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art, and its purpose is to enable simple and quick development processing and to reduce the amount of processing liquid used. Another object of the present invention is to provide a photosensitive material processing apparatus that does not cause processing unevenness.

〈Means for solving problems〉 Such objects are achieved by the present invention as described below.

That is, in the present invention, a long photosensitive material is spirally wound and stored in a container, and a processing liquid is flowed along the length of the photosensitive material into the gap between adjacent photosensitive materials to process the material. The photosensitive material processing apparatus is characterized in that the gap is maintained by the liquid flow.

<Function> According to this configuration, a long photosensitive material such as a film is stored in a spirally wound state in a light-shielding container,
Processing is performed by supplying a processing liquid from near the center of the photosensitive material and allowing the processing liquid to flow along the longitudinal direction of the photosensitive materials through gaps between adjacent photosensitive materials.

At this time, the liquid flow formed in the gap between the photosensitive materials prevents adjacent photosensitive materials from coming into close contact with each other and maintains a constant gap distance, so that the processing liquid is supplied almost uniformly over the entire area of the photosensitive material, and Prevent unevenness.

<Embodiments> Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the photosensitive material processing apparatus of the present invention shown in the accompanying drawings will be described in detail.

1 and 2 are perspective views showing a configuration example of a photosensitive material processing apparatus of the present invention, and FIG.
4 is a sectional view taken along the line IV--IV in FIG. 2. FIG.

As shown in these figures, the photosensitive material processing apparatus 1 has a container 2 composed of a container body 3 and a lid 4. As shown in FIG.

The container body 3 has a flat cylindrical shape, and a passage 31 is formed protruding from its outer periphery through which a film F, which is a long photosensitive material, enters and exits. The width of the passage 31 gradually decreases toward the tip, and a slit-like opening 310 is formed at the tip of the passage, the width of which is narrow enough to allow the film F to pass through.

A winding core 5, which will be described later, is installed at approximately the center of the container body 3, passing through the bottom 32 of the container body 3 (see FIGS. 2 and 3). A sealing member 33 for maintaining liquid tightness and light-shielding properties within the container 2 is provided at a portion where the winding core 5 passes through the bottom portion 32 of the container body.

In addition, in other positions of the bottom 32 of the container body 3, the bottom 32
A drain pipe 11 is installed that passes through the drain pipe 11 . A valve 12 is provided in the middle of this drain pipe 11.

A drain port 34 for discharging the treated liquid is formed on the side of the passage 31 of the container body 3, and a pipe 8 is connected to the drain port 34.
are connected (see Figure 4).

As shown in FIG. 5, a pair of squeegees 35 are attached to the tip of the passage 31 to cover the slit-shaped opening 310. This squeegee 35 is composed of a thin part 351 whose thickness gradually decreases toward the tip, and a mounting part 352 formed integrally with this thin part 351. They are fixed with an adhesive, and in this state the thin parts 351 of both squeegees are in close contact with each other, providing night-tightness and light-shielding properties.

When the film F passes, the thin part 351 is pushed open by the film F, and the film F passes between the two thin parts 351.

Even in this case, since both surfaces of the film F and both thin portions 351 slide while being in close contact with each other, night tightness and light shielding properties are maintained.

This squeegee is made of elastic materials (elastomers) such as various rubbers such as natural rubber, neoprene rubber, silicone rubber, and neoprene butadiene rubber, soft resins such as fluorocarbon resin, silicone resin, and Teflon, or two of these. It is preferable to use a combination of the above.

Note that normally, the adhesion force between the thin wall portions 351 is given by the elastic force of the thin wall portions, but it is possible to mix a magnetic material into the thin wall portions 351 (for example, a rubber magnet) to attract the thin wall portions to each other. It is also possible to provide or increase adhesion.

Note that the photosensitive material processing apparatus of the present invention can be used in both a dark room and a bright room. When used in a bright room, it is preferable that the tip of the passage 31 be structured so that the film outlet of the cartridge can be directly connected thereto in a light-tight manner.

The lid 4 has a shape corresponding to the container body 3 so as to cover the upper opening of the container body 3, and has a retaining portion on its outer periphery that tightly engages with the outer periphery of the upper end of the container body 3. 41 is formed.

A protrusion 42 is formed approximately at the center of the lid 4, through which the tip of the winding core 5 is inserted into the inside of the lid. Thereby, the winding core 5 is connected to the protrusion 42 and the sealing member 3.
This is supported by two points.

Note that this protrusion 42 also functions as a handle when operating the lid body 4.

By attaching the lid 4 and the squeegee 35 in this manner, the liquid-tightness and light-shielding properties of the container 2 are ensured.

The constituent material of the lid 4 is not particularly limited, but it is preferable to use elastic materials such as the various rubbers and soft resins mentioned above. This is because it has excellent adhesion to the container body 3, and improves liquid-tightness and light-shielding properties.

Now, the winding core 5 has a hollow tubular shape with a closed tip, and a slit 51 extending in the axial direction of the winding core 5 is formed on the outer circumference inside the container 2 (see FIGS. 3 and 3). (See Figure 4).

This slit 51 is for inserting the leading end of the film F and fixing the leading end of the film F to the winding core 5.

Further, on the outer circumference of the winding core 5 in the container 2, a large number of small holes 52 passing through the inside and outside of the winding core 5 are formed almost uniformly. This small hole 52 is for spouting the processing liquid sent from the base end side of the winding core 5 into the container.

The diameter of the small holes 52 is preferably about 0.05 to 5 mm, and the number of small holes 52 formed is preferably about 20 to 200.

The base end of the winding core 5 is exposed outside the container 2, and a rod-shaped handle 53 for rotating the winding core 5 in a predetermined direction is provided on the outer periphery of this base end.

As shown in FIG. 3, the base end of the winding core 5 has a reduced diameter.
It is connected to one end of the pipe 7 via a rotary joint that maintains night-tightness.

The other end of this pipe 7 is connected to the discharge side of the pump 10. Further, one end of the aforementioned pipe 8 is connected to the suction side of the pump 10.

A valve 13 is installed in the middle of the pipe 8. This valve 13 is like a three-way stopcock, and is like a three-way stopcock.
(upstream side of pipe 8), boat B (downstream side of pipe 8), and boat C that opens to the atmosphere, and by rotating the cock,
Any two of boats A, B, and C can be selected to communicate with each other.

The pipe 8, valve 13, pump 10, pipe 7, rotary joint 6, and winding core 5 constitute the main part (outside the container) of the processing liquid circulation system.

A branch pipe 9 is connected to the pipe 8 between the pump 10 and the valve 13, and this branch pipe 9 further connects three pipes 91 to 91.
It branches into 93.

The processing liquid supply section 14 includes, for example, three tanks 15 and 16.
and 17 are installed, and these tanks 15, 16 and 17 store a developer solution N1, a bleach/fix solution N2, and a wash water N3, respectively. Note that these processing steps N to N3 are examples for processing color negative films, and the type of processing liquid and the number of tanks thereof are as follows:
It is not limited to this.

During each processing night N to N3 of the tanks 15 to 17, the lower ends of the tubes 91 to 93 are submerged to near the bottom of the tank.

Further, in the middle of the main pipes 91 to 93, there are provided valves 95 to 97 for opening and closing the flow paths, respectively.

Note that, unlike the illustrated example, a processing liquid circulation system and a processing liquid supply system may be provided separately.

Next, a method of processing film F using photosensitive material processing apparatus 1 will be explained.

Open the lid 4 of the container 2, pull out a part of the leader of the film F stored in the cartridge from the cartridge, pass it between a pair of squeegees 35, and then insert the leading end of the film into the slit 51 of the winding core 5. do.

Next, the lid 4 is attached to the container body 3. This results in
The inside of the container 2 is shielded from light.

Next, the handle 53 of the winding core 5 is operated to rotate the winding core 5 counterclockwise in FIG. 4.

As a result, film F is pulled out from the cartridge,
It passes between the squeegees 35, enters the container, and is wound around the winding core 5.

When almost the entire length of the film F is pulled out from the cartridge, the rear end of the film F is cut, and the winding core 5 is further rotated to place the rear end of the film F into the container 2.

After the entire film F is stored in the container in this manner, the winding core 5 is slightly rotated in the opposite direction to the above-mentioned direction to adjust the condition of the film F in the container 2. As a result, the film F becomes spirally wound within the container 2, as shown in FIG.

In this case, it is preferable that the adjacent films are separated by a predetermined gap 20, but due to curling of the film F, the adjacent films may come into contact or come into close contact with each other.

Further, in the illustrated example, it is preferable that the emulsion side of the film F is on the inside.

Next, a processing liquid is supplied into the container 2. The process will be described below.

[1] Open the developer injection valve 95, close the valves 12, 96 and 97, put the valve 13 in a state where boats A and C communicate with each other, and operate the pump 10. As a result, the developer N in the tank 14 is transferred to the tube 91. Branch pipe 9, pipe 8, pump 10,
The liquid passes through the tube 7, the rotary joint 6, and the winding core 5 in sequence, is ejected from the small hole 52, and is injected into the container 2.

At this time, the air in the container 2 is exhausted from the boat C of the valve 13 via the drain port 34 and the pipe 8.

Developed lr in container 2! When the i, N + is injected to almost the full amount, the pump 10 is stopped.

[2] Close the developer circulation valve 95, bring the valve 13 into communication between boat A and boat B, and operate the pump 10 again. As a result, as shown by the arrow in FIG. 4, the developer N spouted from the small hole 52 flows spirally through the gap 20 of the adjacent films F toward the outside from near the center of the container 2. The liquid passes through the passage 31, drain port 34, pipe 8, pump io, pipe 7, rotary joint 6 and winding core 5 in this order, and is ejected from the small hole 52 again.

While the developer N1 is being circulated in this manner, the emulsion surface of the film F comes into contact with the developer, and development processing is performed.

As mentioned above, even when adjacent films F are in contact or in close contact with each other, the gap 20 is maintained at a constant distance by the liquid flow of the developer N1 flowing through the gap 20, and therefore,
The developer N1 is uniformly supplied over the entire area of the film F, and uneven development is prevented.

Note that the circulation amount of the developer N1 (discharge amount of the pump 10) is as follows:
0.02～S! It is preferable to set it to about /min.

Further, the developing time is preferably about 0.5 to 5 minutes.

[3] Draining the developer When the development process is completed, the valve 12 is opened and the developer N1 in the container 2 is drained from the drain pipe 11.

At this time, the valve 13 is brought into communication between the boat A and the boat C, and air is introduced into the container 2 through the boat C1 pipe 8 and the drain port 34.

In addition, the valve 13 is placed in a state where the boats B and C are in communication with each other, and the pump 10 is operated to blow out the developer remaining in the circulation system during the process from the small hole 52 into the container 2. Drainage of the liquid from the drain pipe 11 can also be promoted by forcibly feeding air into the container 2 and pressurizing the inside of the container 2.

5 [4] Open the bleach/fix solution injection, circulation, and drainage valve 96, close the valves 12, 95, and 97, put the valve 13 in a state where boat A and boat C are in communication, and turn on the pump 10.
By operating the bleach/fix solution N2 is injected into the container 2 in the same manner as in [1] above.

Thereafter, the valve 96 is closed, and the bleaching/fixing solution N2 is circulated in the same manner as in [2] above to bleach and fix the film F. In this case as well, based on the same principle, the bleaching/fixing solution N2 is uniformly supplied over the entire area of the film F, thereby preventing uneven processing.

In addition, the circulation amount of bleaching/fixing solution N2 is as follows: The rate is preferably about 0.02 to 2 thoughts/min.

Further, the bleaching/fixing time is preferably about 0.5 to 5 minutes.

After bleaching and fixing, the liquid is drained in the same manner as above.

[5] By opening the cleaning water injection, circulation, and drainage valve 97, closing the valves 12, 95, and 6 96, placing the valve 13 in a state where boat A and boat C are in communication, and operating the pump 10, Cleaning water N3 is injected into the container 2 in the same manner as in [1] above.

Thereafter, the valve 97 is closed, and the cleaning water N3 is circulated in the same manner as in [2] above, thereby cleaning the film F. In this case as well, the same principle is used to uniformly supply the cleaning water N11 over the entire area of the film F, thereby preventing uneven cleaning.

Note that the circulation rate of the cleaning water N3 is preferably about 0.02 to 21/min.

Further, the cleaning time is preferably about 0.5 to 5 minutes.

After the cleaning process, the liquid is drained in the same manner as described above.

In addition, in the above [11 to [5], when the pump 10 is turned on
, OFF and opening/closing operations of each valve may be performed automatically or manually.

After the development, bleaching/fixing, and washing processes are completed as described above, the lid of the container 2 is opened, the processed film F is taken out, and it is dried.

In the illustrated example, the processing liquid is supplied from near the center of the spirally wound film F (
4), the processing liquid is supplied from the outer peripheral side of the film F, that is, from the passage 31, and after flowing through the gap 20 of the film F,
It may be configured such that the liquid is drained near the center.

In the present invention, the type of photosensitive material to be processed is not particularly limited, and examples include various films such as color negative film, color reversal film, color positive film, black and white negative film, and reversal color paper for direct photography.

<Effects of the Invention> As described above, according to the photosensitive material processing apparatus of the present invention, photosensitive materials can be processed quickly with simple operations.
The amount of processing liquid used is also small.

Furthermore, since the flow of the processing liquid prevents the films from coming into close contact with each other, uniform processing can be performed over almost the entire area of the photosensitive material.

Additionally, the device itself is small and convenient to carry.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the top side of a configuration example of a photosensitive material processing apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the bottom side of a configuration example of the photosensitive material processing apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line Ill--Ill in FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along IV-IV II in FIG. 2. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional plan view showing an enlarged end portion of the passage in the photosensitive material processing apparatus of the present invention. 9 Explanation of symbols 1...Photosensitive material processing device 2...Container 3...Container body 31...Passway 310...Slit-shaped opening 32...Bottom 33...Seal member 34... Drain port 35... Squeegee 351... Thin wall part 352... Mounting part 4... Lid body 41... Engagement part 42... Projection part 5... Winding core 51... Slit 52...Small hole 53...Handle 6...Rotary joint 0 7.8...Pipe 9...Branch pipe 91.92.93...Pipe 95.96.97... Valve 10... Pump 11... Drain pipe 12.13... Valve 14... Processing liquid supply section 15.16.17... Tank 20... Gaps A, B, C... Boat F...Film N1...Developer N2...Bleach/Fixer N3...Washing water application Rido Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A long photosensitive material is spirally wound and stored in a container, and processing is performed by flowing a processing liquid along the length of the photosensitive material into the gap between adjacent photosensitive materials, and the liquid flow A photosensitive material processing apparatus characterized in that the apparatus is configured to maintain the gap by: