JPH0812413B2 - Automatic developing device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial application field) The present invention is to continuously develop, fix,
The present invention relates to an automatic developing device that performs a developing process by sending to each process of washing.

(Technical Background of the Invention) Conventionally, a roller transport system, a loop transport system, and a horizontal transport system have been known for performing continuous development processing of a film. The roller transport method transports a deep processing liquid tank vertically by a large number of rollers, but has a problem that the processing liquid tank becomes deep and large. The loop transfer method is a method in which a film is stretched between rollers arranged above and below the processing liquid tank and transferred, but it has the same problem as the roller transfer method. In the horizontal transport method, the processing liquid is sprayed onto the film that is transported horizontally to perform development.However, in order to perform high-speed processing, the distance in which the processing liquid contacts the film, that is, the path in the horizontal direction becomes longer. However, there has been a problem that the apparatus becomes large.

On the other hand, the film transfer speed may change due to changes in resistance in the film passage as it is transferred through each processing tank. When the transport speed fluctuates in this way, the development density of the film fluctuates, resulting in a problem that the finished quality of the process becomes uneven.

(Object of the Invention) The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and is suitable for high-speed processing and downsizing, and is capable of stabilizing the processing quality even if the film transport speed varies. An object is to provide a developing device.

(Structure of the Invention) According to the present invention, the object
In an automatic developing apparatus for sequentially performing development processing by sequentially carrying out development, fixing, and water washing steps, at least one processing step is performed by ultrasonic waves radiating ultrasonic waves from below toward a film transferred in a processing solution. Generating means, speed detecting means for detecting the transport speed of the film, preheating means for heating the film contained in the processing liquid prior to the processing, and the transport speed of the film so that the development finish density becomes constant. And a preheating temperature control device for correspondingly changing the preheating temperature of the film.

That is, the present invention presupposes that the processing speed is increased by ultrasonic waves, and when the transport speed of the film changes, the preheating temperature is changed in response to this change in speed.

(Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a view showing an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a developing process, FIG. 2 is a view showing a processing liquid pack, FIG. 2A is an external perspective view thereof, and FIGS. 2B and 2C. Shows the internal state before and after use, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line III-III in FIG.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 20 denotes a developing tank.
Has a film guide portion 22 having an arcuate bottom in a side view, and a vibrating portion 24 opening obliquely in the film running direction (rightward direction) so as to cross the film guide portion 22. A pair of feed rollers 26 for loading the film 12 on which a latent image of a micro image is formed into the processing tank 20 is provided at the left end of the film guide portion 22, and a pair of feed rollers 28 for carrying out the film 12 are provided at the right end. ing. Feed roller 26 on the loading side
Is composed of, for example, a heat roller incorporating an electric heater 26A made of a ceramic element having a large heat capacity.
It can be heated to a predetermined temperature by itself.

A liquid level control lid 30 is made of, for example, neoprene rubber or polyurethane rubber and has an arc-shaped cross section.
It is attached to the lid plate 34 via 32. This liquid level control lid
A gap of about 3 to 4 mm is formed between the film 30 and the bottom surface of the film guide 22, and the film 12 is guided by the guide groove 31 (FIG. 3) so as to travel through this gap. That is, as shown in FIG. 3, a groove 31 into which the left and right edges of the film 12 are inserted is formed in the processing tank 20, and the film 12 is guided and transferred by the groove 31. Here, the film 12 is controlled so that its emulsion surface 12A faces upward.

A vibrator 10 having a diameter of 25 mm is attached to the bottom of the vibrating part 24,
The perpendicular line of the vibrator 10, that is, the central axis X which is the direction of maximum directivity, crosses the film 12 obliquely in the film running direction. The film 12 is set so as to be in the near-field of the transducer 10 on its central axis X, for example, 10
It is desirable to set it within the range of up to 50 mm. Here, the short-range sound field refers to a range closer to the oscillator 10 than a position farthest from the oscillator 10 among the positions where the sound pressure propagating in the treatment liquid is periodically maximized. By transporting the film 12 obliquely with respect to the central axis X within this range, the film 12 can be uniformly processed without being affected by the uneven sound pressure.

The processing liquid is supplied to the processing tank 20 so that the processing liquid always has a constant level. That is, the processing liquid is supplied from the processing liquid tank 36 to the pump 38.
Is sent to the constant liquid surface tank 40, and is held at a constant liquid surface height in the tank 40. From here, the metering pump 42 sends the processing liquid into the film guide portion 22 on the upstream side of the vibrating portion 24. . The processing liquid flows over the partition wall of the loading chamber 44 of the downstream side of the film guide section 22, that is, the lower side of the feed roller 28, flows into the loading chamber 44, and enters the processing liquid pack 46 therefrom.

The processing solution pack 46 is made of waterproof paper in a box shape, and the processing solution tank 36 made of a flexible plastic container is housed on one side of the new processing solution pack 46 before use.
A water-absorbing polymer 48 is contained on the other side (Fig. 2B).
On the upper surface of the treatment liquid pack 46, a treatment liquid outlet 46a and a waste liquid inlet 46b which respectively communicate with the treatment liquid tank 36 and the water absorbing polymer 48 are opened, and after these are sealed with a thin film material,
Further, the upper surface thereof can be opened and closed with adhesive seal lids 46c and 46d. The processing liquid pack 46 includes these seal lids 46.
With c and 46d opened, they are placed on a vertically movable tray 49 (FIG. 1), and are pushed upward by this tray 49 and loaded. At this time, the processing liquid inflow pipe is connected to the pump 38.
The processing liquid discharge pipe 44a communicating with 38a and the loading chamber 44 breaks a thin film blocking the processing liquid outlet 48a and the waste liquid inlet 48b,
The treatment liquid tank 36 and the water-absorbing polymer 48 communicate with each other.

Therefore, when the treatment liquid in the tank 36 decreases, the tank volume 36 decreases, but the water-absorbing polymer 48 gels and the second c
It expands as indicated by 48A in the figure. When the processing liquid in the tank 36 runs out and the pack 46 is replaced, the tray
You can lower 49 and let the pipes 38a, 44a exit the pack 46. Although the waste liquid is gelled, there is no danger of the liquid spilling, but the processing liquid outlet 46a and the waste liquid inlet 4 are provided by the seal lids 46c and 46d.
Blocking 6b is even more secure. As a result, handling of the processing liquid becomes very simple.

The height of the partition wall of the loading chamber 44 accommodating the feed roller 28 determines the height of the processing liquid surface in the processing tank 20, and, for example, based on the arc-shaped bottom of the film guide portion 22. It is desirable to set it to about 7 mm. Reference numeral 50 is a pipe for discharging the processing liquid in the vibration unit 24 to the tank 46.

Therefore, a fixed amount of the processing liquid is
And the liquid level is kept constant by the partition wall of the loading chamber 44. The film 12 is fed at a constant speed by the rollers 26 and 28, and moves downward in the film guide portion 22 of the processing tank 20 while drawing a convex arc. Since the feed roller 26 on the inlet side of the processing tank 20 is a heat roller, this roller 26
The film 12 is heated to an appropriate temperature when being sandwiched and fed. The vibrator 10 generates ultrasonic waves at a constant frequency (for example, 1.7 MHz) and constant energy, and the ultrasonic waves strike the film 12 at an angle. Therefore, the film 12 can move within the ultrasonic wave irradiation region including the central axis X by a distance larger than the periodic interval of the ultrasonic wave intensity, and is not affected by the ultrasonic wave periodic intensity.

Ultrasonic waves do not heat the entire processing solution,
It has the function of selectively heating polymer substances such as 12 as a sound absorbing material. As shown in FIG. 3, the amount of the processing liquid on the upper surface of the film 12 is significantly smaller than the amount of the processing liquid below the film 12, so that the processing liquid on the upper surface of the film 12 is quickly heated. Since the emulsion surface 12A of the film 12 is located on the side of the heated processing liquid, the processing of the film 12 is performed very quickly. Further, since the film 12 is preheated by the feed roller 26, the processing speed in the processing liquid is increased and the processing by irradiation of ultrasonic waves is accelerated.

In FIG. 1, 60 is a preheating temperature control device, and 62 is a speed detecting means for detecting the conveying speed. The speed detecting means 62 is formed by a rotary encoder or the like that detects the rotation speed of the feed roller 26. The transport speed V of the film 12 detected by the speed detecting means 62 is input to the management device 60, and the preheating temperature corresponding to the transport speed V is obtained.

The management device 60 controls the temperature of the heater 26A to a predetermined temperature by the heater circuit 64. That is, when the transport speed changes in the course of processing due to the resistance change of the transport path of the film, the development density changes with the speed change, and therefore the management device 60 gradually lowers the preheating temperature when the transport speed decreases. However, as the speed increases, the preheating temperature is controlled to increase, and the development finish density is controlled to be constant.

In this embodiment, since the liquid level control lid 30 is located close to the upper surface of the film 12, the liquid level control lid 30 keeps the film 12 and the processing liquid on the upper surface warm and enables the uniform processing. Further accelerate processing. If the liquid level control lid 30 is made of a polymer material such as the above-mentioned polyurethane rubber or neoprene rubber, the lid 30 itself can be heated by the sound absorbing function. Therefore, the heating of the film 12 is further promoted and the treatment is promoted. Neoprene rubber is particularly preferable because it has excellent heat resistance. At this time, if the upper surface of the liquid level control lid 30 is held by the lid plate 34 via the heat insulating material 32 as in this embodiment, the heat retaining effect of the liquid level control lid 30 is further improved and the processing is further promoted. Therefore, it becomes possible to perform good processing without processing unevenness in a short time.

In this embodiment, since the central axis X of the vibrator 10 intersects in the running direction of the film 12, the ultrasonic wave promotes the movement of the processing liquid in the running direction of the film, and almost new processing is performed in the processing tank. The treatment can be continued using the liquid.

Although one vibrator 10 is used in this embodiment, a plurality of vibrators 10 may be used in the present invention. 2 in Figures 4A and 4B
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an embodiment using a single circular vibrator 10 and a cross-sectional view of this embodiment seen from the film transfer direction. In this embodiment, the vibrators 10 and 10 are arranged so that the central axes X of the vibrators 10 and 10 are gathered near the film 12.

5A and 5B are a perspective view of an embodiment using three rectangular vibrators 210 and a cross-sectional view of this embodiment seen from the film transfer direction. Here, the ultrasonic wave emission direction (center axis X) of each transducer 210 is gathered toward the vicinity of the film 12. In the examples of FIGS. 4A, 4B, 5A, and 5B, the surface of the treatment liquid is raised by ultrasonic vibration. The liquid surface treatment lids 130 and 230 press the ridges to prevent an unstable flow of the treatment liquid and make the flow uniform. Note that 132 and 232 are heat insulating materials.

In these embodiments, the liquid level control lid 30 is provided above the film 12.
Although the present invention is provided, it goes without saying that the present invention also includes those without this.

Although the liquid level of the processing tank 20 is kept constant at the height of the partition wall of the loading chamber 44 in this embodiment, the liquid level may be controlled by using another liquid level sensor and a drain valve. Good. Since the treatment liquid oxidizes and deteriorates after a long period of time, when deterioration of the treatment liquid occurs, the valves 50 are opened while the pumps 38 and 42 are operated, and the treatment liquid in the treatment liquid tank 36 is sent to the water absorbing polymer 48. It may be gelled and discarded.

Although the present invention is applied to the developing process in the above embodiments, it may be applied to other processes.

FIG. 6 is an overall view of an automatic developing apparatus using the developing processing apparatus of FIG. In this figure, A, B, and C represent developing, fixing, and washing devices, respectively, which are processing devices almost similar to those in FIG.
A fixing solution and a cleaning solution are used. Further, the preheat management device that changes the preheat temperature according to the amount of processing is preferably provided in the developing device A, which has the largest influence on the development density, but may be provided in the other devices B and C.

In this figure, reference numeral 100 denotes a supply reel of a photographed film that has not been subjected to the development processing, and reference numeral 102 denotes a take-up reel that winds the developed film. Undeveloped film 12 is a drive roller
The toner is guided to the developing device A by being sandwiched between the contact roller 104 and the contact roller 106. At this time, the leading edge and the trailing edge of the film 12 are
Detected by 108. The rotation of the contact roller 106 is monitored by an encoder (not shown). Film 12
Is preheated by the feed roller 26 of the processing apparatus A, subjected to development processing, fixed by the apparatuses B and C and washed with water, and then wound on the take-up reel 102. The film 12 may be preheated also in the feed rollers 26 of the devices B and C. At this time, the exit roller 110 rolls on the film 12 coming out of the water washing device C, and the rotation of the exit roller 110 is monitored by an encoder (not shown). In the vicinity of the exit roller 110, an exit sensor 112 is configured to monitor the leading edge and the trailing edge of the film 12.

This device operates as follows. First, the photographed film 12 is set on the reel 100, and the power switch (not shown) is turned on, so that the pumps 38 and 42 operate to keep the processing liquid at the specified liquid level. Starts spinning. When the film 12 is fed from the reel 100 while being sandwiched between the rollers 104 and 106, the leading end of the film 12 is detected by the entrance sensor 108, and the vibration of each of the processing devices A, B, and C is detected based on the output of the sensor 108. The child 10 turns on and starts vibrating.
The film 12 is processed by each of the processing devices A, B, and C and then wound on the take-up reel 102. At this time, when the exit sensor 112 detects the end of the film 12, the vibrator 10 is turned off and the vibration is stopped.

In this apparatus, films (jams) in the apparatuses A, B, and C are detected as follows. Ie entrance sensor
If the exit sensor 112 does not detect the leading edge of the film within a certain time after the leading edge of the film 12 has been detected, it is determined that the jam has occurred. Also, since the feed amount of the film 12 can be determined by an encoder that detects the rotation of the contact roller 106 and the exit roller 110, the sensors 108, 112
If the roller 110 stops while is ON (during film passage), it is determined that a jam has occurred. It should be noted that if the sensor 112 detects the end of the film within a fixed time after the sensor 108 detects the end of the film, it may be determined as normal and it may be confirmed that the development is normally performed.

In the case of this embodiment, the film transport speed V is not from the feed roller 26 but from the inlet roller 104 and the outlet roller 110.
Of course, the speed may be calculated from the speed of.

(Effect of the invention) As described above, the present invention provides a preheating means for treating a film entering a treatment liquid in promoting treatment by using ultrasonic waves in at least one treatment step of development, fixing and washing with water. The heating can be performed prior to, and the preheating temperature is changed according to the film transport speed. In this way, since the processing is accelerated by the ultrasonic waves, the processing step of the film can be shortened and therefore the processing tank can be downsized. Also, since the preheat temperature is changed according to the transport speed, even if the film transport speed changes during processing for some reason, it is possible to keep the development finish density constant and always perform appropriate processing stably. It will be possible.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a view showing a development processing tank which is an embodiment of the present invention,
FIG. 2 is a view showing a treatment liquid pack, FIG. 2A is an external perspective view thereof, FIGS. 2B and 2C are views showing internal states before and after use, and FIG. 3 is III in FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line III-III. FIGS. 4A and 4B and FIGS. 5A and 5B are diagrams showing other arrangement examples of the vibrator and the like. FIG. 6 is an overall view of an automatic developing device using the developing device of FIG. 10, 210 …… Resonator, 12 …… Film, 20 …… Treatment tank, 2
6 ... Sending roller as preheating means, 26A ... Heater, 60 ... Preheating temperature control device, 62 ... Conveyance speed detecting means, A ... Developing device, B ... Fixing device, C ... Washing device, V: Transport speed.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An automatic developing apparatus in which a film, which has been photographed, is successively sent to each process of developing, fixing and washing to continuously develop the film, wherein at least one processing step is a film transferred in a processing solution. Ultrasonic wave generation means for irradiating ultrasonic waves from below toward the film, speed detection means for detecting the transport speed of the film, preheating means for heating the film entering the processing liquid prior to the processing, and development finish density And a preheating temperature control device that changes the preheating temperature of the film in accordance with the transport speed of the film so that the temperature is constant.