JPH11156177A - Liquid feeder and its cleaning device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a liquid feeder in which the generation of foams is scarce and also provide a cleaning device for cleaning a feed pipe of the liquid feeder quickly and at a high cleaning degree. SOLUTION: A liquid is fed into a storage tank 3 through a feed pipe 1, and the feed pipe 1 is moved in compliance with the movement of liquid level so that a discharge outlet 10 of the feed pipe 1 is located in the vicinity of liquid level of the storage tank 3. A cleaning pipe 4 connectable with the discharge outlet 10 of the feed pipe 1 is provided, and when the feeding of liquid is finished, the feed pipe 1 is cleaned quickly and at a high cleaning degree.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a liquid supply apparatus and a cleaning apparatus for pipes thereof, and more particularly to a supply apparatus for a coating liquid for silver halide photographic materials and a cleaning apparatus for pipes thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material is prepared by adding various additives to a silver halide mother emulsion in a melting tank to prepare a coating emulsion, and the prepared emulsion is temporarily stored in the melting tank through a supply pipe. It is stored in a tank, guided from the storage tank to an application device, and applied on a support to produce. If air bubbles are present in the emulsion during coating on the support, the air bubbles are dried with the air bubbles remaining on the surface of the coating layer, resulting in a foam failure. Since the bubble failure significantly reduces the quality of the photographic material, it is necessary to remove a part or all of the bubble failure portion when finishing the photographic material into a final product. Air bubbles in the emulsion for coating are generated when adjusting the emulsion for coating in the dissolution tank or when supplying the emulsion from the dissolution tank to the storage tank through the supply pipe. Since it is sent directly to the coating device in the process, the probability of occurrence as a foam failure is high,
This is a serious problem that lowers the quality and productivity of photographic light-sensitive materials.

As a conventional technique for solving such a problem, in supplying a liquid to a storage tank, a device for supplying the liquid along a wall of the tank so as to prevent generation of bubbles, a tank at the bottom or in the liquid. There is a device that has an outlet for the adjustment liquid supply pipe, but the former cannot sufficiently prevent the formation of bubbles, and the latter does not allow the bubbles generated during liquid preparation to rise to the liquid level without rising to the liquid level. However, there is a problem that it remains.

Further, as described above, in the production process of the silver halide photographic light-sensitive material, the coating solution adjusted in the dissolving tank is sent to the storage tank and temporarily stored in the storage tank. The stored coating solution is applied to the support over several hours to several tens of hours to produce a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material. In this manufacturing process, it is an important issue to maintain the cleanliness of the dissolution tank, the storage tank, the liquid supply pipe, and the coating device.

The degree of washing required for a silver halide photographic emulsion adjusting device is extremely severe. Even if the same type of silver halide photographic emulsion is mixed in a very small amount, photographic performance is significantly adversely affected. As described above, cleaning of the apparatus is a very important operation, and particularly cleaning of the liquid supply pipe is the most difficult and time-consuming operation.

[0006] As for the cleaning of the supply pipe, there is a method of removing the supply pipe from the storage tank and cleaning it after completion of the liquid feeding, or cleaning the tank together with the tank after using the entire amount of the liquid in the storage tank. In the former case, when the liquid is a photosensitive halide emulsion, the entire room in which the storage tank is installed must be a dark room, and the latter takes a long time before cleaning can be started, so it has adhered to the piping. There is a problem that the emulsion hardens and is difficult to remove.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and provides a liquid supply apparatus with less generation of bubbles and cleans a supply pipe of the liquid supply apparatus. An object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning device that can be performed quickly and with a high degree of cleaning.

[0008]

According to the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for supplying a liquid to a storage tank through a supply pipe, wherein the supply pipe is configured to supply the liquid when the liquid is supplied. The supply pipe is moved in accordance with the liquid level so that the outlet of the supply pipe is located near the liquid level of the storage tank.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the liquid supply device has a sensor for detecting a liquid surface position of the storage tank, and the supply pipe is connected to the supply pipe in accordance with a detection signal of the sensor. The position of the discharge port is moved.

The invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that, in the invention according to claim 1, the liquid is a coating solution for a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the cleaning device for the supply pipe of the liquid supply apparatus according to the first aspect, further comprising a cleaning pipe connectable to an outlet of the supply pipe inside the storage tank. It is characterized by.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of a liquid supply apparatus and a cleaning apparatus thereof according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of the liquid supply device.

The coating liquid supply device shown in FIG. 1 mainly comprises a cleaning chemical liquid tank 5, a dissolution tank 2, a storage tank 3, and a pipe connecting these tanks. The cleaning chemical tank 5 is a tank for storing a cleaning chemical, and is provided with a pipe so that a chemical and a diluent can be introduced from above, and a valve is provided in the middle of the pipe. As the cleaning solution, for example, an alkali such as sodium hydroxide,
Sodium hypochlorite, protease, surfactant,
Organic solvents and the like can be used alone or in combination,
It can be selected according to the degree of contamination of the coating liquid supply device and the type of emulsion.

A valve 14 is provided downstream of the cleaning chemical tank 5.
And a pump 6 are provided.
The flow rate of the cleaning solution in the inside can be adjusted. Pump 6
A valve 15 is provided on the downstream side of the tank 5. The valve 15 is a three-port valve, which can selectively supply either the cleaning liquid or pure water from the tank 5.
The pure water may be hot water.

A valve 12 is provided downstream of the valve 15. Downstream of the dissolution tank 2, a valve 11
And the valve 12 are provided. The valve 11 is a drain valve, and the valve 12 is a three-way valve that selects either the liquid from the dissolving tank 2 or the liquid from the cleaning chemical tank 5 and sends it to the storage tank 3. .

A storage tank 3 is provided downstream of the valve 12. As shown in FIG. 2, the storage tank 3 includes:
The supply pipe 1 connected to the melting tank 2 is inserted through the upper lid 17. A cleaning pipe 4 is inserted from above at an appropriate interval adjacent to the supply pipe 1. The washing tube 4 is arranged near the upper lid 17 so as not to be immersed in the liquid. The lower end of the washing tube 4 is folded back into a U-shape, and the opening end faces upward. A stirring blade 18 for gently and uniformly stirring the coating liquid is provided in the lower central portion of the storage tank 3.
Is provided. The coating liquid stored in the storage tank 3 is supplied to a coating device (not shown) via a valve 16 and coated on a support to produce a silver halide photosensitive material. When feeding the solution from the dissolving tank 2 to the storage tank 3, it is important that the outlet 10 of the supply pipe 1 is always located near the liquid surface so that the stored solution is not disturbed and bubbles are not generated. Therefore, in the illustrated embodiment, the outlet 10 of the supply pipe 1 is raised in accordance with the rise in the liquid level, and the outlet 10
Are always located near the liquid surface. Supply pipe 1
In order to always position the discharge port 10 near the liquid level, the liquid level position is detected by the load cell sensor 19 for measuring the weight,
The position of the supply pipe 1 in the vertical direction is controlled according to this detection signal. This sensor includes an ultrasonic sensor, a pressure sensor, and the like in addition to the load cell, and these may be appropriately selected and used.

Various examples of the positional relationship between the liquid level and the outlet 10 of the supply pipe 1 are shown in FIG. The discharge port 10 of the supply pipe 1 may be immersed in the liquid as shown in FIG. 3 (a), or may be located almost at the liquid level as shown in FIG. 3 (b). When the outlet 10 of the supply pipe 1 is bent, the outlet of the outlet 10 of the supply pipe 1 may be completely immersed in the liquid as shown in FIG. A part of the outlet may be immersed in the liquid as shown in FIG. If the outlet 10 of the supply pipe 1 is bent as in the examples of (c) and (d), the discharged liquid is supplied in the horizontal direction of the liquid surface, so that bubbles are less likely to be generated in the liquid. There are advantages. 3A to 3D.
Are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited to these forms, and the design can be changed as appropriate depending on the viscosity of the liquid, the outlet diameter, and the like.

The coating solution adjusted in the dissolving tank 2 is transferred to the storage tank 3 through the supply pipe 1. Immediately after the liquid feeding is completed in this way, the supply pipe 1 is washed for cleaning the supply pipe.
And the cleaning pipe 4 are connected to each other, and the cleaning liquid is supplied from the cleaning liquid tank 5 to clean the supply pipe. Next, an embodiment of a liquid supply apparatus according to the present invention and a cleaning procedure thereof will be described.

The supply pipe 1 allows the connection between the supply pipe 1 and the washing pipe 4 after the liquid supply from the dissolving tank 2 to the storage tank 3 is completed. The outlet of the supply pipe 1 has a shape as shown in FIGS. This is to prevent bubbles from forming when the coating liquid is poured into the storage tank 3, and (a) has a trumpet-shaped tip. In (b), the tip is bent by 90 °. In (c), the tip is bent and has a trumpet shape. (D) is one whose tip is bent by about 45 °. The shapes shown in FIGS. 4A to 4D are merely examples, and are not limited to these shapes. The flow rate when the application liquid is supplied from the supply pipe to the storage tank is weakened, and the foam is formed. The design may be changed as needed. The shape of the connected washing pipe 4 is designed according to the shape of the outlet of the supply pipe 1.

FIG. 5 shows an example of a method of connecting the supply pipe 1 and the washing pipe 4. The washing pipe 4 is composed of a straight pipe 7 and an arcuate pipe 8 folded in a U-shape, and is usually arranged above the inside of the storage tank 3. The supply pipe 1 is formed of a straight pipe part, and can move up and down according to the liquid level of the storage tank as described above. The distance a between the central axis of the linear pipe 7 of the cleaning pipe 4 and the central axis of the tip 9 of the arcuate pipe 8 is the central axis of the linear pipe 7 of the cleaning pipe 4 and the central axis of the supply pipe 1. Are arranged so as to be equal to the distance b between the two. When cleaning the inside of the pipe, the outlet 10 of the supply pipe 1 is used.
Is moved above the outlet 7 of the washing pipe 4, the washing pipe 4 is rotated by 180 ° about the straight pipe part 7, and the outlet 10 of the supply pipe 1 and the tip 9 of the washing pipe 4 are rotated. And the supply pipe 1 is lowered to connect the discharge port 10 of the supply pipe 1 and the distal end 9 of the cleaning pipe 4.

Next, the valve 11 of the melting tank 2 shown in FIG.
And at the same time as washing and draining the inside of the dissolution tank 2,
Valve 12 on the valve 15 side, valve 15 on the pure water side,
The valve 13 is switched to the discharge side, and the residual liquid in the supply pipe is discharged and preliminarily washed.

Next, the valve 15 is set to the pump 6 side,
3 is switched to the side of the cleaning solution tank 5, the pump 6 is operated, and the supply pipe 1 is cleaned with the cleaning solution prepared in advance in the cleaning solution tank 5, and returned to the cleaning solution tank 5. In this way, the cleaning agent liquid is circulated, and the supply pipe 1 is present in the circulation path, whereby the supply pipe 1 is cleaned.

After the cleaning, the valve 15 is switched to the pure water side and the valve 13 is switched to the discharge side again, and the final cleaning is performed with pure water.
When the coating liquid of the same component is used continuously in the storage tank 3, it may be washed with only warm water or pure water.

As described above, according to the embodiment of the present invention, since the cleaning is performed not by immersion cleaning but by circulation, the cleaning effect of the chemical can be exhibited very efficiently according to the flow speed of the cleaning chemical. The stain component of the emulsion for use can be reliably removed. In addition, it is more preferable from the viewpoint of efficiency that the cleaning chemical is appropriately selected according to the components of the coating liquid and mixed and used. Further, in order to prevent bubbles from being generated at the time of liquid supply, the supply pipe 1 can be moved up and down, and the supply pipe 1 is cleaned by effectively using a liquid supply device in which the tip is located near the liquid surface. Therefore, there is an advantage that the supply pipe 1 can be quickly cleaned in the storage tank and the cleaning device can be configured very simply.

[0025]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for supplying a liquid to a storage tank through a supply pipe, wherein the supply pipe has an outlet of the supply pipe when the liquid is supplied. Because it is moved in accordance with the movement of the liquid surface so that it is located in the vicinity of the liquid surface, the generation of bubbles in the coating liquid is small, and even if bubbles are generated,
Since it is generated on the surface of the coating solution, there is no possibility that bubbles are mixed in the coating solution and remain.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the liquid supply apparatus according to the first aspect, a sensor for detecting a liquid surface position of the storage tank is provided, and the outlet of the supply pipe is provided in accordance with a detection signal of the sensor. Is moved, the position of the supply pipe can be accurately controlled, and the generation of bubbles in the coating liquid can be effectively prevented.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the liquid is a coating solution for a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material. In, the generation of bubbles is small in the coating solution for silver halide photographic light-sensitive materials, and even if bubbles are generated, since they will be generated on the surface of the coating solution, no bubbles remain in the coating solution, and The position of the supply pipe can be accurately controlled, and the generation of bubbles in the coating liquid can be effectively prevented.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cleaning pipe connectable to an outlet of the supply pipe inside the storage tank for cleaning the supply pipe. As a result, it is not necessary to take out the supply pipe out of the tank and wash it, so that the silver halide can be washed efficiently without exposure to silver halide. In addition, since the washing can be performed immediately after the completion of the liquid feeding, the washing can be efficiently performed before the coating emulsion solidifies.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an overall configuration of a liquid supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view showing a storage tank in the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing various positional relationships between a supply pipe and a liquid surface that can be used in the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing various examples of a supply pipe that can be used in the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a side view showing a connection example of a supply pipe and a washing pipe which can be used in the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 supply pipe 3 storage tank 4 washing pipe 10 outlet

Claims (4)

[Claims] An apparatus for supplying a liquid to a storage tank through a supply pipe, wherein the supply pipe is arranged such that an outlet of the supply pipe is positioned near a liquid level of the storage tank when the liquid is supplied. A liquid supply device characterized in that the liquid supply device is moved in accordance with the movement of the liquid surface. 2. The liquid supply device according to claim 1, further comprising a sensor for detecting a liquid surface position of the storage tank, wherein a position of an outlet of the supply pipe is moved according to a detection signal of the sensor. The liquid supply device according to claim 1, wherein 3. The liquid supply apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the liquid is a coating liquid for a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material. 4. A cleaning apparatus for a supply pipe of a liquid supply apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a cleaning pipe connectable to an outlet of said supply pipe inside a storage tank. .