JPH0566541A - Photosensitive material processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain excellent photographic performance by preventing a processing irregularity and a tailing phenomenon. CONSTITUTION:This device has a processing tank main body 3 and a rack 4 loaded therein and a narrow processing space 5 is formed between them. Specific processing liquid is put in this processing space 5 and a photosensitive material S is conveyed by rollers 6 and 7 in the processing space 5, dipped in the processing liquid, and processed. In the rack 4, plural jet control chambers 9 which are recessed from the processing space 5 are formed and nozzles 10 are installed on their bottom part sides. A discharge opening 32 formed in the bottom part 31 of the processing tank main body 3 is linked to the respective nozzles 10 through a conduit 13, a pump 15, and a conduit 14 to form a circulation passage for the processing liquid. The processing liquid which is sucked out of the discharge opening 32 through the operation of the pump 15 is supplied to the respective nozzles 10 through the circulation passage, and jetted out of openings 11 into the jet control chambers 9 to generate vortexes, which collide against the emulsion surface of the photosensitive material S.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a light-sensitive material processing apparatus for wet-processing a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material (hereinafter referred to simply as a light-sensitive material) in a narrow processing space.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is known a technique for developing a photosensitive material using a processing tank having a slit type processing space in which the width of the photosensitive material in the thickness direction is narrow (hereinafter referred to as slit development). (Kaisho 63-131138).

In this slit development, since the area of the open portion of the processing space, that is, the portion in contact with the atmosphere is small, the evaporation or deterioration (oxidation) of the processing liquid is small, and since the volume of the processing space is small, the processing liquid is small. In the case of the method of processing while replenishing, the replacement ratio of the replenishing liquid which is a new liquid becomes high,
Good photographic properties can be obtained even when the replenishing amount of the replenishing liquid is small, and in the system where the replenishing liquid is not replenished, the amount of the processing liquid filled in the processing tank can be small.

Therefore, there is an advantage that the amount of the running liquid is greatly reduced in both the replenishing system and the non-replenishing system of the processing liquid.

On the other hand, when such slit development is applied to, for example, an automatic film developing machine, there are the following problems.

That is, since the amount of the processing liquid filled in the processing space is small, the concentration rising rate of the substance eluted from the film is high, and the processing liquid is difficult to mix due to the narrow processing space. The liquid composition of the treatment liquid becomes non-uniform along the direction, and once such non-uniformity occurs, it tends to expand. For this reason, there are drawbacks such as uneven processing, variations in photographic properties, and tail flipping phenomenon.

Therefore, in such slit development, it has been proposed to attach a device for circulating and stirring the processing liquid in the processing space (Japanese Patent Application No. 01-200909,
Japanese Patent Application No. 02-198789). However, in these inventions, since the ejection port of the nozzle for ejecting the processing liquid faces the emulsion surface of the light-sensitive material so as to face the emulsion surface, the processing liquid jet from the nozzle directly collides with the emulsion surface vigorously. After all, unevenness in processing and variations in photographic properties occur.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a photosensitive material processing apparatus capable of preventing unevenness in processing and obtaining good photographic properties while taking advantage of the advantages of slit development.

[0009]

The above object is achieved by the present invention described in (1) and (2) below.

(1) A light-sensitive material processing apparatus for wet-processing a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material, wherein a processing tank having a narrow processing space and the silver halide photographic light-sensitive material are conveyed by a predetermined path. It has a transfer means and a processing solution circulating means for circulating the processing solution in the processing tank, and the processing solution circulating means has a function of adjusting a jet flow of the processing solution, and is recessed from the processing space. At least one jet adjusting chamber having a shape, and a nozzle having a jet outlet at the bottom of the jet adjusting chamber,
The processing liquid is sucked from the processing space and has a flow path for supplying the nozzle to the nozzle, and a pump installed in the middle of the flow path. The processing liquid ejected from the nozzle is supplied to the jet adjustment chamber. To form a vortex and to cause the vortex to collide with at least the emulsion surface of the silver halide photographic light-sensitive material.

(2) The photosensitive material processing apparatus according to the above (1), wherein the jet flow adjusting chamber has a shape expanding toward the processing space.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The photosensitive material processing apparatus of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the preferred embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a sectional side view showing a structural example of a photosensitive material processing apparatus of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the photosensitive material processing apparatus 1 includes a processing tank main body 3 and the processing tank main body 3
There is a processing tank 2 which is composed of a rack 4 which is preferably detachably loaded therein.

The processing tank main body 3 has a substantially V-shaped cross section, and its bottom portion 31 has an arc shape. A discharge port 32 for the processing liquid is formed in the bottom portion 31 of the processing tank body 3.

The rack 4 is composed of a block-shaped member having a tapered surface corresponding to the processing tank main body 3, and a roller 6 for conveying the photosensitive material S is installed at the lower end thereof. The rack 4 may be composed of either a solid member or a hollow member. In the case of the hollow member, the rack 4 is lightweight and has a heat insulating effect, so that it is excellent in retaining heat of the treatment liquid. There is.

Between the inner surface of the processing tank body 2 and the outer surface 41 of the rack 4 with the rack 4 loaded in the processing tank body 2,
A narrow processing space, that is, a processing space 5 having a slit-shaped cross section is formed between the inner surface of the processing tank main body 2 and the outer peripheral surface of the roller 6. In the processing space 5, for example, a developing solution, a bleaching solution, a bleach-fixing solution, a fixing solution, washing water, a stabilizing solution,
It is filled with a predetermined processing liquid such as a stop liquid and a preparation liquid according to the use of the processing tank 2.

The width T of the processing space 5 (distance in the thickness direction of the photosensitive material S) is 4 to the thickness of the photosensitive material S to be processed.
It is preferably about 100 times, particularly about 8 to 40 times. With such a value, the light-sensitive material S can be transported without any trouble, and scratches on the emulsion surface due to transportation can be prevented.

Rollers 7, 7 for loading and unloading the photosensitive material are installed near the photosensitive material inlet 51 and outlet 52 of the processing space 5, respectively. These rollers 7
May be installed on either the processing tank main body 2 side or the rack 4 side.

The roller 7 and the roller 6 as described above constitute a conveying means for the photosensitive material S. That is, when the rollers 6 and 7 are driven and rotated, the photosensitive material S is fed into the inlet 51.
Is carried into the processing space 5, passes through the processing space 5, and is immersed in the processing liquid for processing during this time, and then the outlet 52.
Be shipped from. In the illustrated configuration example, the photosensitive material S is conveyed so that its emulsion surface (photosensitive surface) faces the rack 4 side.

The means for transporting the photosensitive material S is not limited to the roller as shown in the figure, and for example, a method of pulling and transporting the photosensitive material by a plate-shaped or long film-shaped reader may be used. You can

Such a photosensitive material processing apparatus 1 has a processing liquid circulating means 8 for circulating the processing liquid in the processing tank 2. The structure of the processing liquid circulating means 8 will be described below.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the rack 4 is formed with a plurality of jet adjusting chambers 9 that are recessed from the processing space 5, that is, open to the outer surface 41 of the rack 4. A nozzle 10 is installed on the bottom side of each jet adjustment chamber 9. The opening 11 of the nozzle 10 is located at the bottom of the jet adjustment chamber 9, and communicates with the jet adjustment chamber 9 through the opening 11.

In the rack 4, the processing liquid flow path 1 is provided.
2 is formed, and this flow path 12 is branched so as to communicate with each nozzle 10. This flow path 12 is open to the upper part of the rack 4.

One end of the pipe line 13 is connected to the discharge port 32 formed in the bottom portion 31 of the processing tank body 3.
The other end of is connected to the suction side of the pump 15 for circulating the processing liquid.

On the discharge side of the pump 15, a pipe line 14 is provided.
Is connected to one end, and the other end of the conduit 13 is connected to the flow path 1
It is connected to the upper part of the rack 4 so as to communicate with 2.

The discharge port 32, the conduits 13 and 14 and the flow path 12 form a flow path for sucking the processing liquid from the processing space 5 and supplying it to each nozzle 10.

The type of the pump 15 is not particularly limited, and for example, a centrifugal pump is preferably used. The discharge amount of the pump 15 (processing liquid circulation amount) is not particularly limited, but is about 0.2 to 10 times the actual volume of the processing space 5 per minute,
Particularly, it is preferable to set it to about 0.3 to 3 times.

A heater 16 is installed in the middle of the conduit 14. The heater 16 heats the processing liquid passing therethrough to a temperature suitable for the processing, for example, 20 to 50 ° C. The kind of the heater 16 is not particularly limited, and for example, a sheath heater or a ceramic heater can be used.

It should be noted that such a heater may not be provided in the treatment liquid circulating means 8 but may be provided in another place. in this case,
It is preferable to install the heater inside the processing tank such as the inner surface of the processing tank main body 2 or the outer surface 41 of the rack 4 in order to improve thermal efficiency and downsize the apparatus.

As the conduits 13 and 14, for example, flexible tubes made of a resin such as soft polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene, polypropylene and fluororesin can be used. Further, the flow path 12 may also be composed of a tube or the like similar to the conduits 13 and 14.

A plurality of jet adjusting chambers 9 and nozzles 10 are preferably formed along the processing space 5, and usually about 1 to 10 and especially about 3 to 5 are preferable.

In the processing liquid circulating means 8 as described above, when the pump 15 is operated, the processing liquid in the processing space 5 is discharged from the discharge port 32 by suction of the pump, flows through the pipelines 13 and 14, and passes through the heater 16. When heated, it is heated to an appropriate temperature, is further supplied to each nozzle 10 through the flow path 12, is ejected from the opening 11 of the nozzle 10 into the jet adjustment chamber 9, and forms a vortex 20 to be described later to form a processing space. It collides with the emulsion surface of the light-sensitive material S passing through 5. Further, this processing liquid flows in the processing space 5 toward the bottom portion 31, and again the discharge port 32.
Discharged from.

In the first half of the processing, that is, in the processing space 5 before the photosensitive material S passes through the roller 6, the conveying direction of the photosensitive material S and the flow direction of the processing liquid are in the same direction (parallel flow).
Thus, in the latter half of the processing, that is, in the processing space 5 after the photosensitive material S has passed the roller 6, the conveying direction of the photosensitive material S and the flow direction of the processing liquid are opposite directions (counter flow). Thereby, the processing efficiency is improved and more excellent photographic properties are obtained.

By changing the installation position of the discharge port 32, the ratio of the parallel flow to the counter flow in the processing space 5 can be set arbitrarily (so that the above effect can be maximized). For example, if the discharge port 32 is provided in the vicinity of the inlet 51, the inside of the processing space 5 is in a substantially counterflow state. Such a configuration is particularly advantageous when the treatment liquid is washing water or a stabilizing liquid.

The behavior of the treatment liquid jet in the jet adjustment chamber 9 will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, the treatment liquid jet ejected from the opening 11 of the nozzle 10 has a transverse cross-sectional area that rapidly expands inside the jet adjustment chamber 9. When entering, a Karman vortex is mainly formed to form a vortex 20, and the vortex 20 collides with the emulsion surface of the photosensitive material S. In the past, the processing liquid jet ejected from the opening of the nozzle collided linearly with the emulsion surface of the photosensitive material S, but in the present invention, as the vortex 20, that is, the processing liquid jet is appropriately disturbed and becomes slow. In addition, since it collides with a wide range from multiple directions, uneven processing and photographic characteristics (sensitivity, gradation, etc.)
Can be effectively prevented.

As a side effect, in the case where the amount (flow velocity) of the processing liquid jetted from the nozzle 10 is the same as the conventional one, in the present invention, the processing liquid jet colliding with the photosensitive material S is slower than the conventional one. Therefore, the deformation (curving, twisting, etc.) of the photosensitive material S due to the collision of the jet flow, swinging, and vibration are suppressed, and the transportability of the photosensitive material S can be improved.

In order to form such a vortex 20, it is preferable that the jet adjusting chamber 9 has a shape that widens from the opening 11 of the nozzle 10 toward the processing space 5 as shown in the drawing. In this case, the shape of the inner surface of the jet adjusting chamber 9 is not particularly limited, and the cross section as shown in FIG. 2 is a parabola, a hyperbola, an arc, an elliptic arc, any other curve, or a straight line,
Alternatively, any combination of these may be used.

Further, in order to favorably form the vortex 20, the inner surface of the jet adjusting chamber 9 may be provided with, for example, pleats, grooves, recesses,
You may form a convex part, a step part (all are not shown), etc.

The average flow velocity of the liquid flow when colliding with the photosensitive material S is about 30 to 90% of the flow velocity at the time of jetting from the opening 11,
In particular, it is preferable to set it to about 50 to 70%.

The flow velocity of the treatment liquid at the time of ejection from the opening 11 of the nozzle 10 is not particularly limited, but is usually 0.5 to
It is preferably about 5 m / s, particularly about 1 to 2 m / s.

3 and 4 respectively show the nozzle 10
It is a front view showing an example of the opening shape of.

The nozzle 10 shown in FIG. 3 is formed of a tubular member extending along the width direction of the photosensitive material S, having a closed front end and a base end communicating with the flow channel 12, and having an outer peripheral surface thereof. The circular openings 11A are preferably arranged at equal intervals in a line along the nozzle longitudinal direction.

The diameter of the opening 11A is about 0.5 to 5 mm, preferably about 1 to 3 mm.
The installation interval of A is about 3 to 50 mm, preferably about 5 to 20 mm.

For the nozzle 10 having such a structure,
The jet adjustment chamber 9 may be formed for each one or several openings 11A, or may be formed over the entire longitudinal direction of the nozzle 10.

In a conventional slit developing photosensitive material processing apparatus having no jet adjusting chamber 9, when a nozzle having such a circular opening is used, a linear processing liquid jet is formed, which is the same as the photosensitive material S. Since it collides with the emulsion surface of No. 3, the diameter of the opening and the installation interval must be strictly adjusted in order to suppress processing unevenness. However, in the present invention, the jet flow is adjusted from the nozzle 10 by the action of the jet adjusting chamber 9 as described above. Since the generated jets are made uniform and collide with the emulsion surface of the photosensitive material S, the influence of the shape, size (diameter, etc.) of the opening 11A, installation interval, etc. is small, and the range of these designs can be widened.

The nozzle 10 shown in FIG. 4 is formed of a tubular member extending along the width direction of the photosensitive material S, having a closed front end and a base end communicating with the flow channel 12, and having an outer peripheral surface thereof. A slit-shaped opening 11B is formed along the nozzle longitudinal direction. In the opening 11B having such a shape, the processing liquid is ejected uniformly in the width direction of the photosensitive material S, and thus more excellent effects such as prevention of processing unevenness can be obtained.

The slit width t of the opening 11B is 0.5 to
It is preferably about 10 mm, especially about 1 to 3 mm.

For the nozzle 10 having such a structure,
The jet adjusting chamber 9 is formed over the entire length of the nozzle 10. The slit-shaped opening 11B
May be divided into a plurality of parts along the longitudinal direction, and in this case, the jet flow adjusting chamber 9 may be formed for each of the divided slit-shaped openings.

Needless to say, the shape of the opening of the nozzle 10 is not limited to the illustrated configuration example.

The photosensitive material processing apparatus of the present invention may be either of a system in which the above processing solution is circulated and a system in which a new processing solution is replenished or a system in which no replenishment is carried out. In the case of the method of replenishing the treatment liquid, the replenishment amount can be reduced by, for example, about 5 to 35% as compared with the conventional case by suppressing the deterioration of the treatment liquid and improving the treatment efficiency.

In the illustrated photosensitive material processing apparatus 1, the emulsion surface of the photosensitive material S is conveyed so that it faces the rack 4, but in the present invention, the emulsion surface of the photosensitive material S is in the processing tank. It may be conveyed so as to face the main body 3 side, and in this case, the jet adjustment chamber 9 and the nozzle 10 are installed on the processing bath main body 3 side.

The jet adjusting chamber 9 and the nozzle 10 may be installed on both the rack 4 side and the processing tank main body 3 side regardless of the direction of the emulsion surface of the photosensitive material S.

In the light-sensitive material processing apparatus of the present invention, the kind of the light-sensitive material S to be processed is not particularly limited and may be color or black and white. For example, color negative film, color reversal film, color positive film, color photographic paper, color reversal photographic paper, black and white negative film, black and white reversal film, X-ray photographic light sensitive material, black and white photographic paper, black and white reversal photographic paper, microfilm and the like. ,
The size is also not particularly limited.

In the light-sensitive material processing apparatus of the present invention, the type, prescription, concentration, etc. of the processing liquid used are not particularly limited.

When the light-sensitive material processing apparatus of the present invention is used for black-and-white development processing, the black-and-white developing solution used is dihydroxybenzenes (for example, hydroquinone), 3-
Known developing agents such as pyrazolidones (for example, 1-phenyl-3-pyrazolidone) and aminophenols (for example, N-methyl-p-aminophenol) can be used alone or in combination.

When the light-sensitive material processing apparatus of the present invention is used for color development processing, the color developer used is generally composed of an alkaline aqueous solution containing a color developing agent.

Color developing agents are known primary aromatic amine developers such as phenylenediamines (eg 4-amino-N, N-diethylaniline, 3-methyl-4-amino-N, N-diethylaniline, 4 -Amino-N-ethyl-N-β-hydroxyethylaniline, 3-methyl-
4-amino-N-ethyl-N-β-hydroxyethylaniline, 3-methyl-4-amino-N-ethyl-N-β
-Methanesulfonamidoethylaniline, 4-amino-
3-methyl-N-ethyl-N-β-methoxyethylaniline and the like) can be used.

The color developing solution may further contain a pH buffer, a development inhibitor or an antifoggant.

If necessary, a water softener, a preservative,
Organic solvents, development accelerators, dye-forming couplers, competitive couplers, fogging agents, auxiliary developing agents, viscosity imparting agents, polycarboxylic acid type chelating agents, antioxidants, alkali agents, solubilizing agents, surfactants, defoaming agents. It may contain an agent or the like.

The processing temperature of the color (color-forming) or black-and-white developing solution in the present invention is preferably 30 ° C to 50 ° C, more preferably 33 ° C to 42 ° C.

The bleaching solution used in the light-sensitive material processing apparatus of the present invention contains a bleaching agent. Examples of the bleaching agent include iron salts of polycarboxylic acids, red blood salts, bromate compounds, cobalt hexamine and the like. Among these, potassium ferricyanide, sodium ethylenediaminetetraacetate (III) and irondiaminetetraacetate (I)
II) Ammonium is particularly useful.

The fixing solution or the bleach-fixing solution used in the light-sensitive material processing apparatus of the present invention contains a fixing agent.

Examples of the fixing agent include ammonium thiosulfate, sodium thiosulfate (hypo), ammonium halide, thiourea and thioether.

The bleach-fixing solution contains this fixing agent and the bleaching agent.

In addition to the fixing agent, the fixing solution or the bleach-fixing solution can usually contain a preservative such as sodium sulfite and the like, and a fixing aid such as an acid agent, a buffer and a hardening agent.

Further, the bleaching solution or the bleach-fixing solution includes US Pat. Nos. 3,042,520 and 3,241,966.
In addition to the bleaching accelerators described in JP-B No. 458506 and JP-B No. 45-8636, the thiol compound described in JP-A No. 53-65732, various additives can be added.

As the washing water used in the light-sensitive material processing apparatus of the present invention, tap water, distilled water, ion-exchanged water, etc. can be used, and these may contain various additives as required. be able to.

Examples of the additives include chelating agents such as inorganic phosphoric acid, aminopolycarboxylic acid and organic phosphoric acid, bactericides for preventing the growth of various bacteria and algae, antifungal agents, magnesium salts, aluminum salts and the like. Hardening agents, drying loads, and surfactants for preventing unevenness.

LE West, "Water Quality Crit
eria "Phot. Sci. and Eng., vol.9No.6 P344〜359 (196
It is also possible to add the compounds described in 5) and the like.

As the stabilizing solution used in the light-sensitive material processing apparatus of the present invention, a processing solution for stabilizing a dye image is preferably used. For example, a liquid having a buffering capacity of pH 3 to 6, a liquid containing an aldehyde (for example, formalin), and the like can be used.

If necessary, various additives such as a fluorescent whitening agent, a chelating agent, a bactericidal agent, an antifungal agent, a hardener, and a surfactant can be added to the stabilizing solution.

The light-sensitive material processing apparatus of the present invention is, for example, a large automatic processor, a small automatic processor (minilab), a wet copying machine, a printer processor, a video printer processor, a photographic print making coin machine, a color paper for plate inspection. It can be applied to various photosensitive material processing devices such as a processor.

Although the photosensitive material processing apparatus of the present invention has been described above with reference to the illustrated structural examples, the present invention is not limited to these.

[0074]

As described above, according to the light-sensitive material processing apparatus of the present invention, the advantages of slit development can be utilized while preventing the occurrence of processing unevenness and tail tailing, and providing good photographic properties (sensitivity, sensitivity,
Gradation and the like) can be obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional side view showing a configuration example of a photosensitive material processing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional side view of a nozzle and a jet flow adjusting chamber in the photosensitive material processing apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing an example of the shape of the opening of the nozzle in the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing an example of the shape of the nozzle opening in the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Photosensitive Material Processing Device 2 Processing Tank 3 Processing Tank Main Body 31 Bottom 32 Outlet 4 Rack 41 Outer Surface 5 Processing Space 51 Inlet 52 Outlet 6, 7 Roller 8 Processing Liquid Circulating Means 9 Jet Adjustment Chamber 10 Nozzle 11 Opening 11A Opening (Circular) 11B Opening (slit shape) 12 Flow paths 13 and 14 Pipes 15 Pump 16 Heater 20 Eddy current

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Tadashi Kuniyoshi 2076 Inoguchi, Nakai-cho, Ashigaragami-gun, Kanagawa Prefecture Berne Co., Ltd.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A light-sensitive material processing apparatus for wet-processing a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material, the processing tank having a narrow processing space, and a transfer for transferring the silver halide photographic light-sensitive material through a predetermined path. And a processing liquid circulating means for circulating the processing liquid in the processing tank, wherein the processing liquid circulating means has a function of adjusting the jet flow of the processing liquid, and has a shape recessed from the processing space. Of at least one jet adjusting chamber, a nozzle having a jet outlet at the bottom of the jet adjusting chamber, a flow path for sucking the processing liquid from the processing space and supplying the nozzle to the nozzle, and a flow path installed in the middle of the flow path. And a pump configured to form a vortex in the jet adjusting chamber with respect to the processing liquid ejected from the nozzle, and to make the vortex collide with at least the emulsion surface of the silver halide photographic light-sensitive material. Specially A photosensitive material processing apparatus. 2. The photosensitive material processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the jet flow adjusting chamber has a shape expanding toward the processing space.