JPH05307254A - Photosensitive material processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a photosensitive material processing device without using much rinse liquid and enable developing processing of the photosensitive material to be carried unit without having processing ununiformity caused. CONSTITUTION:A rinse tank 11 is provided between a developing tank and a fixing tank, rolls 12a and 12b which are partially immersed in a rinse liquid 13 of a rinse tank 11 in rotating and carries a photosensitive material 1 are provided, and a circulation path 21 and a pump P which allow the rinse liquid 13 to flow out of the rinse tank at once and to return to circulate are provided. Thus, a mixing of a developer into a fixing tank is prevented and consuming amount of the rinse liquid and a waste liquid amount can be reduced.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a photosensitive material processing apparatus for developing a photosensitive material such as an exposed photographic film by immersing it in a processing solution. More specifically, it relates to processing by mixing processing solutions having different functions. The present invention relates to a photosensitive material processing apparatus configured to prevent unevenness.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A photosensitive material processing apparatus for developing an exposed photographic material such as a photographic film or photographic paper is developed by immersing the photosensitive material from a developing tank to a fixing tank and then to a washing tank. Some are configured to do. Taking the case where the photosensitive material is conveyed from the developing tank to the fixing tank as an example,
Since the photosensitive material is conveyed to the fixing tank with the developing solution adhered thereto, the developing solution mixes with the fixing solution during continuous development processing, resulting in uneven processing. Therefore, the applicant of the present application filed JP
As disclosed in JP-A-2123839, there is provided a photographic material processing apparatus which comprises a rinse tank in an aerial portion (crossover portion) between a developing tank and a fixing tank, rinses the developing solution with the rinse solution, and then conveys it to the fixing tank. Proposed. According to this proposal, the photosensitive material is rinsed and then conveyed to the fixing tank.
The processing unevenness can be eliminated.

[0003]

However, if the amount of fresh liquid is small, unevenness in processing occurs. Therefore, in order to perform sufficient rinsing, it is necessary to continue supplying a large amount of fresh liquid to the rinse tank. At the same time, it is necessary to continue draining. However, the continuous flow of the fresh solution means that the amount of the waste solution containing the developer solution increases, which is not preferable from the aspects of environment and cost. An object of the present invention is to provide a light-sensitive material processing apparatus configured so that development processing of a light-sensitive material can be performed without processing unevenness without using a large amount of rinse liquid.

[0004]

The above object according to the present invention is achieved by the following constitutions (1) to (3). (1) In a light-sensitive material processing apparatus for sequentially exposing exposed light-sensitive material to a predetermined processing solution for development, a rinse tank is provided between a developing tank and a fixing tank, and at least the rinse solution in the rinse tank is A photosensitive material processing apparatus comprising: a pair of rollers for conveying the photosensitive material in a partially immersed state; and a circulation path for circulating the rinse liquid between the rinse tank and the outside.

(2) In a light-sensitive material processing apparatus in which exposed light-sensitive materials are sequentially dipped in a predetermined processing liquid to perform development processing,
A rinse tank is provided between the developing tank and the fixing tank, and a roller pair is provided for conveying the photosensitive material in a state of being at least partially immersed in the rinse solution in the rinse tank, and the rinse solution is provided in the rinse tank. A photographic material processing apparatus, characterized in that a circulation path is provided between the rinsing liquid and the outside, and the rinsing processing is performed in a state where the concentration of the developing solution brought into the rinsing solution is 70% or less.

(3) A photosensitive material processing apparatus for sequentially exposing exposed light-sensitive material in a predetermined processing liquid to perform development processing,
In a processing device in which the final roller for conveying the photosensitive material in the developing tank is in the developing solution, a rinsing tank is provided between the developing tank and the fixing tank, and at least a part of the rinsing solution is immersed in the rinsing solution. A pair of rollers for conveying the photosensitive material, and a circulation path for circulating the rinse liquid between the rinse tank and the outside are provided.

[0007]

According to the above-described photosensitive material processing apparatus, the rinse tank is provided between the developing tank and the fixing tank, and the pair of rollers for conveying the photosensitive material in the rinse tank at least partially immersed in the rinse liquid is provided. Therefore, the photosensitive material is rinsed by the rinse liquid while being conveyed by the rollers, and it is possible to prevent the developer from mixing into the fixing tank. Furthermore, since a circulation path is provided to let the rinse solution once out of the rinse tank and to recirculate into the rinse tank, even if the developer solution is mixed in the rinse solution, it does not stay near the roller, and a fresh rinse solution is obtained. Good rinsing can be performed with a small amount of rinsing liquid without continuously supplying the liquid. Therefore, the waste liquid amount and the consumption amount of the rinse liquid can be significantly reduced.

The developing solution is brought into the rinsing solution while continuing the rinsing. However, if the developing solution concentration in the rinsing solution is up to 70%, the rinsing process can be satisfactorily performed without supplementing the rinsing solution. As a matter of course, the smaller the amount of the developer brought into the rinse solution is, the better. However, the developer concentration in the rinse solution is 20%.
% To about 30%, the processing can be carried out in the same manner as a fresh rinse solution without any processing performance problem, and processing can be satisfactorily carried out up to a developing solution concentration of 70%. If the photosensitive material after coming out of the developing solution is sandwiched by the carrying rollers, the developing solution that has adhered is removed to some extent by the squeeze function of the carrying roller, so the rinse solution is less contaminated, but after development In the structure without the squeeze function, the developer adhering to the photosensitive material enters the rinse tank as it is, so that the rinse solution becomes dirty immediately.

However, according to the present invention, even if the rinse liquid is slightly contaminated as described above, it can be rinsed evenly. Therefore, the present invention is particularly suitable for an apparatus in which the photosensitive material emitted from the developing solution is introduced into the rinse tank without being squeezed.
If a floating lid is installed on the developer for the purpose of lowering the opening ratio of the liquid surface (ratio of gas-liquid contact area to liquid volume), the final roller of the developing tank will be located in the liquid and the squeeze function will be lost. However, the present invention is suitable for such a device. That is, even if the amount of the developing solution carried out from the developing tank by the photosensitive material is large, the photosensitive material is surely rinsed by the rinsing process, so that the effect of preventing the developing solution from being mixed into the fixing solution is great. If a large amount of the developing solution is taken out by the photosensitive material, the rinse solution becomes soiled more quickly, but this prevents the carrying-in to the fixing solution.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. Note that FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing the overall configuration of the photosensitive material processing apparatus, and FIGS. 2 to 6 are for explaining various configuration examples of the rinse tank and their functions. In the description of this embodiment, the overall structure of the photosensitive material processing apparatus will be described first, and then the rinse tank will be described.

The photosensitive material processing apparatus 100 is configured to develop the exposed photographic photosensitive material 1. The photographic photosensitive material 1 is a guide member 2 and a guide roller shown on the left side of the drawing. 3 is conveyed to the developing tank 105.

In the housing 101, from left to right, a developing tank 105, a fixing tank 106, and three washing tanks 1
08 and the drying part 109 are installed in order. The rinse tank 11 is provided at the crossover portion A from the developing tank 105 to the fixing tank 106, and the structure and operation thereof will be described in detail later. Each of the tanks from the fixing tank 106 to the washing tank 108 is provided with a conveying roller 111 as shown in a part of the developing tank 105.
Illustration is omitted. The photosensitive material 1 is immersed in the developing solution while being conveyed by the conveying roller 111 and the reversing roller 112 provided in the developing tank 105.

The photosensitive material 1 dipped in the developing solution is conveyed to the rinsing tank 11, is sandwiched by the pair of rollers 12a and 12b, and is conveyed to the fixing tank 106 side. It is washed by 13 and conveyed to the next fixing tank 106. In addition, the rinse tank 1 shown in FIG.
1 is a schematic diagram, and its configuration and action will be described later in detail with reference to FIG. Then, the photosensitive material 1 immersed in the fixing solution is conveyed to the washing tank 108, and the photosensitive material 1 immersed in the three washing tanks 108 and washed is conveyed to the drying section 109. Drying section 109
Is configured to blow hot air into the conveying path of the photosensitive material 1 as indicated by an arrow, and the photosensitive material 1 dried by the hot air is discharged from the automatic developing device 100.

Next, the structure and operation of the rinse tank 11 will be described. When the configuration of the rinse tank 11 shown in FIG. 1 is more specifically shown, as shown in FIG. 2, the rinse tank 11 is provided with a circulation path constituted by a pipe line 21 and a pump P. That is, a circulation path is provided between the bottom of the rinse tank 11 and the upper opening. Therefore, if the pump P is driven after supplying the rinse liquid 13 to the rinse tank 11, the rinse liquid 13 is supplied from the bottom portion of the rinse tank 11 to the upper portion of the rinse tank 11 via the pipe line 21. Will circulate between the rinse tank 11 and the outside.

On the other hand, the lower part of the roller 12b is the rinse liquid 13
Since the photosensitive material 1 is soaked in the roller 12, when the photosensitive material 1 is rotated in the direction of the arrow, the rinse liquid 13 adheres to the roller 12b and is pumped up. Therefore, the photosensitive material 1 is rinsed while the photosensitive material 1 is sandwiched between the rollers 12a and 12b and conveyed, and the photosensitive material 1 after the rinse is conveyed to the fixing tank 106. Photosensitive material 1
As a matter of course, the developer that has adhered is rinsed off into the rinse liquid when rinsing is performed. However, according to the configuration of this embodiment, the rinse liquid 13 is provided by providing the circulation path.
Flow back, the rinsed developer is
There is no stagnation in the vicinity of b, and the photosensitive material 1 is rinsed by the rinse liquid 13 that contains the developing solution but is diluted with water or the like.

Therefore, the rinse liquid 13 can be used without waste until the developer reaches a predetermined content, and the amount of liquid used is greatly reduced as compared with the case where the rinse liquid is kept flowing. be able to. By the way, it cannot be denied that the concentration of the developer in the rinse liquid 13 gradually increases if the rinse is continued. Therefore, the problem is how much photosensitive material can be processed uniformly with one liquid supply. An example of an experiment conducted by the inventor of the present application in this regard will be described below.

That is, the case where the amount of the developer brought in by the light-sensitive material 1 is 2.5 ml (amount per quarter size of the light-sensitive material, the same applies hereinafter) will be described as an example. Replenishment amount of rinse liquid 13 is 2.5-5 ml
The degree is enough. On the other hand, in the case of the conventional running water system, the liquid supply amount was sometimes 100 ml. And about the concentration of the developing solution in the rinse solution 13. The developer concentration in the developer tank is 7
A uniform treatment can be performed up to about 0%, and 30 to 50% from the standpoint of both rinse solution replenishment and rinse processability.
It has been found to be preferable to use it at a moderate concentration. As described above, according to the configuration of the present embodiment, by circulating the rinse liquid 13, good processing can be performed even when the concentration of the developer is increased to a certain degree, and the amount of the used liquid as well as the amount of the used liquid is used. It has been revealed that can be significantly reduced.

Next, the other structure of the rinse tank 11 will be explained in sequence. As shown in FIG. 3, rollers 22a and 22b are provided in addition to the rollers 12a and 12b, and the photosensitive material 1 being conveyed is rinsed at two places. It may be configured as follows. With this configuration, the rinse effect is further improved. The circulation path of the rinse liquid 13 may be the same as described above. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the circulating rinse liquid 13 may be refluxed from the upper portion of the photosensitive material 1 into the rinse tank 11. In the illustrated case, the emulsion surface of the light-sensitive material 1 is the lower surface, but since the rinse liquid 13 is pumped up by the lower rollers 12b and 22b as in the above-mentioned examples, the emulsion surface is rinsed in the same manner as described above. Efficient cleaning is also performed on the developer adhering to the upper surface.

There is a developing tank 105 in which the vicinity of the liquid surface is covered with a lid 105a to form a passage for the photosensitive material 1. In this type of structure, the area of the developing solution in contact with air [cm] with respect to the opening ratio (developing solution volume [cm ³ ])
² ]) is 0.1 or less, and the amount of evaporation of the developer can be reduced. However, since the final roller 200 in the developing tank 105 is in the developing solution, the amount of the developing solution carried out by the photosensitive material 1 is large. Therefore, in the case of the conventional running water type rinse tank, the waste liquid amount of the rinse liquid is significantly increased. However, by applying the rinse tank 11 of the present embodiment, it is possible to increase the waste liquid amount of the rinse liquid. Good development processing can be performed. Further, when the rinse tank 11 having a configuration in which the rinse solution 13 in the rinse tank 11 overflows to the developing tank 105 as shown in FIG. 5, the developing solution carried out by the photosensitive material 1 is returned to the developing tank 105. Since it can be reused, it is not necessarily wasted even if the amount of the developer adhering to the photosensitive material 1 and taken out increases.

[0020]

EXAMPLES The present invention will be described below based on examples. Example 1 (Photosensitive material): Fuji Photo Film Grandex photosensitive material GA100 (processing solution): Fuji Photo Film GR- as a developing solution
GR-F1 manufactured by Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. was used as the fixing solution, and water was used as the rinse solution. However, in order to shorten the time until the rinse liquid becomes dirty, the developer concentration was set to 20% in advance at the start of processing.

(Processing device): The rinsing portion of the film processor FG360A manufactured by Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. between development and fixing was modified so as to circulate the rinsing liquid as shown in FIG. The final conveying roller pair in the developing tank is completely immersed in the developing solution.

Under the above conditions, 350 sheets of four-section photosensitive material were continuously processed, and the change of the developer concentration in the rinse solution according to the number of processed sheets is shown in FIG. As is clear from the result of FIG.
It can be seen that as the number of processed sheets increases, the concentration of the developing solution in the rinsing solution increases, and the developing solution adhering to the photosensitive material is reliably removed and rinsed. Table 1 shows the evaluation of the processed photosensitive materials according to the number of processed sheets. In the table, the symbol ◯ indicates a good result and is suitable for practical use, Δ indicates a slight defect but it is practical, and × indicates a defect and is not practical.

[0023]

[Table 1]

As shown in Table 1, even if the number of processed sheets increased, there was no fog or overall unevenness, but the developer concentration was 7
It was found that when the content exceeds 0% (after processing 300 sheets), unevenness due to dripping of the developer occurs at the trailing edge of the photosensitive material, making it impractical. On the other hand, when the developer concentration is 60% to 70%, slight unevenness of sagging is seen at the trailing edge of the photosensitive material.
It was within a practical range. Further, when the developer concentration was 55% or less, there were no problems and the processing was satisfactory.

In this embodiment, the concentration of the developing solution in the rinsing solution was set to 20% at the start of processing, but it goes without saying that even if the concentration is less than this, good processing can be performed. From the above,
It was found that by performing the rinse treatment by circulating the rinse liquid, the developer in the rinse liquid can be used without any practical problems up to 70%, and at 50% or less, particularly excellent treatment can be performed. Therefore, in consideration of the replacement of the rinse liquid, if the developer concentration in the rinse liquid is about 20% to 50%, the rinse liquid can be replaced less frequently, and the waste liquid can be reduced. It can be seen that the invention is effective.

If the final conveying roller pair in the developing tank is in the air or near the liquid surface, the photosensitive material is squeezed.
The carry-in of the developing solution into the rinse solution is reduced, the progress of stains in the rinse solution is delayed, and good processing can be performed for a long period of time. On the other hand, when the conveying roller pair is in the developing solution, the photosensitive material is conveyed to the rinsing tank without being squeezed, so that the amount of the developing solution taken out is large, but the rinsing effect in the rinsing tank is large. The carry-out amount of the developing solution also depends on the transport speed of the photosensitive material, and the carry-out amount increases as the transport speed increases.

FIG. 8 is a graph showing the relationship between the carrying speed and the carry-out amount. In the figure, the relationship indicated by reference sign a is when the pair of conveying rollers is in the liquid, and the relationship indicated by reference sign b is when the pair of conveying rollers is slightly out of the liquid surface. When the pair of transport rollers is in the liquid, the carry-out amount increases only by slightly increasing the transport speed. Therefore, when the transport speed is high, the above-described rinse treatment is extremely effective.

When the aperture ratio of the developing tank is defined as aperture ratio = [gas-liquid contact area (cm ² ) / liquid volume (cm ³ )], the present invention is effective even when the aperture ratio is small. Can be said. It is effective to reduce the aperture ratio in order to reduce the fatigue of the developing solution due to air oxidation. For example, a configuration is adopted in which a floating lid or a cover is provided on the liquid surface to cover the liquid surface as much as possible. However, in such a configuration, the pair of rollers that convey the photosensitive material cannot be arranged in the vicinity of the liquid surface, and thus the roller pair must be arranged in the liquid. If there is a roller pair in the solution, the squeeze function of the photosensitive material does not exist as described above, and the carry-out amount of the developer increases, so it is effective to rinse the photosensitive material with the rinse section having the above-described configuration. come.

[0029]

As described above, the light-sensitive material processing apparatus according to the present invention is provided with a rinse tank between the developing tank and the fixing tank, and is rotated in the rinse tank while partially immersed in the rinse liquid. On the other hand, a roller for conveying the photosensitive material was provided, and a circulation path for circulating the rinse liquid once outside the rinse tank was provided. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the developing solution from being mixed with the fixing solution due to the rinsing solution rinsing the photosensitive material while being conveyed by the rollers provided in the rinsing tank.

Further, since the rinse solution is circulated, the developer rinsed in the rinse solution does not stay in the vicinity of the roller and a good developing process can be performed, and the rinse solution is rinsed until the developer reaches a predetermined concentration. A liquid can be used, and various effects such as the amount of waste liquid and the amount of rinse liquid used can be reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a photosensitive material processing apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram illustrating the configuration and operation of a rinse tank.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing a second example of a rinse tank.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing a third example of a rinse tank.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram showing a fourth example of a rinse tank.

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram showing a fifth example of a rinse tank.

FIG. 7 is a graph showing the relationship between the number of processed sheets and the developer concentration in the rinse liquid.

FIG. 8 is a graph showing a relationship between a photosensitive material conveying speed and a liquid carry-out amount.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Photosensitive material 11 Rinse tank 12a, 12b, 22a, 22b Roller 13 Rinse liquid 100 Photosensitive material processing device 105 Developing tank 106 Fixing tank 108 Washing tank 109 Drying section 200 Roller A Crossover section

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A photosensitive material processing apparatus for sequentially exposing an exposed photosensitive material to a predetermined processing solution for development processing, wherein a rinse tank is provided between a developing tank and a fixing tank, and the rinse solution in the rinse tank is provided. A photosensitive material processing apparatus, characterized in that a roller pair for conveying the photosensitive material in a state of being at least partially immersed in the roller is provided, and a circulation path for circulating the rinse liquid between the rinse tank and the outside is provided. .. 2. A photosensitive material processing apparatus for sequentially exposing exposed light-sensitive material to a predetermined processing solution for development processing, wherein a rinse tank is provided between a developing tank and a fixing tank, and the rinse solution in the rinse tank is provided. A pair of rollers for conveying the photosensitive material in a state of being at least partially immersed in the rinsing liquid is provided, and a circulation path for circulating the rinsing liquid between the rinsing tank and the outside is provided, and the development carried in the rinsing liquid is provided. Liquid concentration is 70%
A photosensitive material processing apparatus, characterized by performing a rinsing process in the following state. 3. A photosensitive material processing apparatus for sequentially exposing exposed photosensitive material to a predetermined processing solution for development processing, wherein the final roller for conveying the photosensitive material in a developing tank is in the developing solution. A rinse tank is provided between the developing tank and the fixing tank, and a roller pair is provided for conveying the photosensitive material in a state of being at least partially immersed in the rinse solution in the rinse tank, and the rinse solution is provided in the rinse tank. A light-sensitive material processing apparatus, characterized in that a circulation path is provided between the outside and the outside for circulation.