JPH117116A - Photosensitve material processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize heat developing processing suitable for the exposed state of each image even when the images having different photographing conditions are consecutively exposed and recorded by controlling a heating value decided by the product of temperature and heating time based on the exposed state of each image frame. SOLUTION: An image frame number corresponding to each surface heater 50 is grasped by reading magnetic information recorded on film 12 by a magnetic head 38, and a controller 56 turns on a solenoid 54 by time in accordance with the photographing condition corresponding to the image frame number and turns off the solenoid 54 after the lapse of time. While a heat developing processing part 48 sets a heat developing processing time for every image frame and the energizing time of the solenoid 54 is controlled based on the photographing condition, the film 12 and a processing sheet 58 are pressured and heat-developed by the surface heater 50 and a pressure plate 52. Namely, the heating value decided by the product of the temperature and the heating time is controlled by controlling either the pressuring time of every surface heater 50 or the temperature of the surface heater 50 for every image frame simultaneously heat-developed by the surface heater 50 group based on the exposed state of each image frame.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a long photothermographic material in which a plurality of images are continuously recorded, and a processing member provided with components necessary for developing the photothermographic material. ,
The present invention relates to a photosensitive material processing apparatus for forming an image on the photothermographic material by heating in a state in which the photosensitive material is superposed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a method known as conventional color photography, a photosensitive material for photographing (a so-called color negative film) is usually a layer for recording a blue light to form a yellow dye image, and a magenta dye for recording green light. A layer that forms an image, and a layer that forms a cyan dye image by recording red light, the developer is oxidized in the process of reducing silver halide grains containing a latent image to silver during development processing, A reaction (coupling) between the oxidized product and the coupler forms a dye image. Undeveloped silver halide and developed silver are removed in the subsequent bleach-fixing step to obtain a color negative film from which a dye image has been formed and from which undeveloped silver halide and developed silver have been removed.

Conventionally, light transmitted through a dye image of a color negative film is applied to a color paper,
The dye image is printed on color paper and exposed, and the same development is performed.
A color print was obtained through a bleaching and fixing process.

On the other hand, there is also known a method in which an image formed on the color negative film is photoelectrically read and then subjected to image processing to obtain image data for recording, and an image is obtained on another image recording material by using the image data. ing. In particular, digital printers have been developed in which the above image data is converted into digital signals, and a photosensitive material such as color paper is scanned and exposed by a laser beam modulated in accordance with the digital signals to produce a finished print. No., published in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No.

The above method is based on the premise that an image is formed by performing normal development, bleaching, and fixing (wet processing) on a photographed color negative film. The process is complicated.

For this reason, the present applicant has proposed an apparatus for forming an image on a photothermographic material by heating the photothermographic material in a state of being superposed on a processing member (containing a mordant). (For example, Japanese Patent Application No. 8-1206
No. 19).

According to this, an image can be formed by a simple method without performing complicated development, bleaching and fixing processes on a photothermographic material to which an image has been exposed as in the prior art. Since a liquid containing a chemical such as a processing liquid is not used, maintenance can be improved.

[0008]

However, in the heat development process, for example, even if the photothermographic material is a single long film and each image frame is photographed under different photographing conditions, the same heat development is performed. (Pressurization at the same temperature and for the same time), it may not be possible to perform proper thermal development. For example, if the set conditions are based on a normally-exposed image, an image photographed under the image will have an insufficient heat development processing time, and an image photographed under the image will have an excessive heat development processing time.

In consideration of the above facts, the present invention provides a heat development method suitable for the exposure state of each image, even if images of different photographing conditions are continuously exposed and recorded in a photothermographic material which is subjected to heat development simultaneously. It is an object to obtain a photosensitive material processing apparatus capable of performing processing.

[0010]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
Heating a long photothermographic material on which a plurality of image frames are continuously recorded, and a processing member having components necessary for developing the photothermographic material in an overlapping state A photosensitive material processing apparatus for forming an image on the photothermographic material, provided independently for each of the plurality of image frames, for thermally developing and transferring a predetermined number of frames simultaneously. A surface heater group, and a conveying unit for conveying the photothermographic material and the processing member to the surface heater group,
A pressurizing means which is provided independently for each of the plurality of image frames and presses the photothermographic material and the processing member at the position of the surface heater group so as to overlap and adhere to each other; and controls the temperature of the surface heater of the surface heater group. Temperature control means, and based on the exposure state of each image frame, for each image frame simultaneously subjected to thermal development processing by the group of surface heaters, at least the pressing time or temperature of each surface heater by the pressing unit. Thermal development condition control means for controlling one of the temperatures of the surface heaters by the control means to control the amount of heat determined by the product of the temperature and the heating time.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a plurality of image frames exist on the photothermographic material and may be recorded under different conditions. Performing the thermal development process under different conditions for each image frame one by one
In order to reduce work efficiency, a plurality of surface heaters are provided for each image frame (surface heater group). By associating different surface heaters for each image frame, the temperature can be controlled by the temperature control means for each surface heater, and the pressing time by the pressing means can be changed for each surface heater. That is, the thermal development conditions can be determined for each of a plurality of image frames for which thermal development is performed simultaneously.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the exposure condition of the image frame is set at least in steps, and the amount of heat is controlled for each step.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the exposure condition of the image frame is divided stepwise, and the amount of heat is controlled for each of the divided ranges, so that the control becomes relatively rough and the heat development condition is determined. The control time required to perform the control can be reduced.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or the second aspect of the present invention, the exposure conditions of the image frame are four stages of under, normal, over, and super over. The amount of heat is set for each, under the largest amount of heat, below, normal, over, super-over is controlled so that the amount of heat decreases in the order of, the exposure conditions of the image frame,
At least steps are set, and the temperature is set for each step.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, images recorded on a film by photographing with a camera are usually classified into four types of under, normal, over, and super over after wet development, and printed on photographic paper. Is changed in these four steps. Therefore, in the case of dry development as in the present invention, the image to be visualized can be made almost a normal image by performing the development in the same four stages as described above and performing development. .

[0016]

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural view of a photosensitive material processing apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment.

The film 12 pulled out of the patrone 20 containing the photographed film 12 loaded in the patrone loading section 18 is conveyed while being held between the roller pair 14. The film 12 nipped and transported by the roller pair 14 is
First, the exposure information reading unit 16 is reached.
The exposure information reading unit 16 recognizes a shooting state of an image for each frame recorded on the film 12.

In the present embodiment, as the film 12,
An APS (Advanced Photo System) is applied, and a magnetic head 38 for reading information recorded on a magnetic recording layer (not shown) at the time of photographing is provided. Shooting conditions for each image frame read from the magnetic head 38 (in this embodiment, under, normal, over,
4 steps of super over) and memory 4
0 is stored.

In the case of a film 12 having a magnetic recording layer, such as an existing 35 mm film, a mark or a mark (for example, a number of holes corresponding to the photographing conditions are provided in a base area around an image frame) at the time of photographing. It is sufficient if a sensor (not shown) for reading this symbol or mark is provided, and the number of holes detected by this sensor is counted, and the number of holes is stored in the order of detection. Good.

A water application section 24 is provided downstream of the exposure information reading section 16. The water application section 24 includes an application tank 26. The application tank 26 is formed in a dish shape, and is filled with water as a solvent for image formation. A supply roller 28 is disposed at an end of the coating tank 26 on the upstream side in the transport direction of the film 12, and a squeeze roller 30 is disposed on an end on the downstream side in the transport direction of the film 12. Therefore, the coating tank 2
In a state where water is filled in the film 6, water is applied to the film 12 fed by the supply roller 28, and further,
Excess water is removed by being nipped and conveyed by the squeeze roller 30.

A replenishing tank 32 is provided below the coating tank 26.
Is arranged. The replenishment tank 32 is filled with water as an image forming solvent, and is connected to the coating tank 26 via a pipe 34, a pump 36, and the like. Thereby, the water in the replenishing tank 32 can be fed to the application tank 26 by filling, and the water in the application tank 26 can be discharged (returned) to the replenishing tank 32.

Near the downstream side in the transport direction of the water application section 24, a superposition section 42 on which a processing sheet 58 is provided is provided, and the film 12 which is nipped and transported by the squeeze roller 30 and the roller pair 44 are provided. The processing sheet 58 that is nipped and conveyed is overlapped (the film 12 is an upper layer).

The processing sheet 58 is wound up and stored on a layer on the supply reel 22 and is sequentially pulled out from the uppermost layer to superimpose the film 12 thereon, and after the heat development processing described later, the film 12 , And are sequentially wound up on a take-up reel 44.

The laminated film 12 and the processing sheet 58 are brought into close contact with each other at a predetermined pressure by passing through the laminating roller 46. In addition, since water is applied, these are securely adhered.

A heat development processing section 48 is provided downstream of the laminating roller 46. The thermal development processing section 48
A plurality of (six in this embodiment) surface heaters 50 are arranged on a straight line. The size of the surface heater 50 is
The image frame size recorded on the film 12 (for example, 1
6: 9). A plurality of pressure plates 52 are provided so as to face each surface heater 50. The pressing plate 52 has a telescopic rod 5 of a solenoid 54 on its back side.
4A is attached to the extensible rod 54A.
Is in a retracted state (when the solenoid 54 is off), a predetermined gap is formed between itself and the surface heater 50. Here, when the solenoid 54 is energized, the telescopic rod 54A is extended, and the pressing plate 52 can be moved in the direction of the surface heater 50. In addition,
The energization and non-energization of the solenoid 54 are independently controlled by a signal from a controller 56 (see FIG. 3). Further, the temperature of the surface heater 50 is also controlled by the controller 56, but different temperature control can be performed for each of the surfaces similarly to the solenoid 54 (in the present embodiment, the temperature of the surface heater 50 may be common). .

The controller 56 also controls the conveyance of the film 12 and the processing sheet 58, and linearly conveys the superposed film 12 and the processing sheet 58 between the surface heater 50 and the pressing plate 52. After stopping at a predetermined position (the position where the image frame and each surface heater 50 face each other), the control to energize the solenoid 54 is performed. For this reason, the film 12 and the processing sheet 58 are
0 and the pressure plate 52 are held at a predetermined pressure.

Here, the image frame number corresponding to each surface heater 50 is grasped by reading the magnetic information recorded on the film 12 by the magnetic head 38. The solenoid 54 is turned on for a time corresponding to the corresponding photographing condition, and the solenoid 54 is turned off after the elapse of the time.

For example, the solenoid 54 for normal photographing
The reference energizing time is t seconds, and the photographing conditions are normal, normal, under, normal, over,
If it is under, the energizing time of the solenoid 54 is t seconds, t seconds, t + α seconds (α is a positive number), t seconds,
t-α seconds and t + α seconds.

That is, the thermal development processing section 4 of the present embodiment
Reference numeral 8 denotes a configuration in which the heat development processing time can be set for each image frame, and the energizing time of the solenoid 54 is controlled based on the photographing conditions obtained in advance. In this configuration, the film 12 and the processing sheet 58 are pressed by the pressure plate 50 and the pressing plate 52 to perform heat development.

Here, when the film 12 is heated in a state of being superimposed on the processing sheet 58, the film 1 reacts with the mordant contained in the processing sheet 58 to cause the film 1 to react.
The diffusible dye is released or diffused imagewise from the color material contained in the film material 2 and a part or all of the diffusible dye is
Removed from Thereby, at least three color images are formed on the film 12.

A roller pair 60 is provided on the downstream side of the heat development processing section 48, and the film 12 and the processing sheet 58 which have been subjected to the heat development are nipped and transported to the peeling section 62.

The peeling section 62 is provided with a peeling claw 64.
The tip of the peeling claw 64 is the film 12 and the processing sheet 5
8 are separated from each other with the peeling claw 64 interposed therebetween, and the processing sheet 58 is wound on the take-up reel 44 as described above. On the other hand, film 1
2 is transported toward a take-out port 74 by being nipped by a pair of rollers 66, and reaches an image reading section 68 disposed near the take-out 74.

The image reading section 68 digitally reads an image on the film 12 which has been developed by heat development (that is, read by a CCD sensor or the like), and transmits an image signal to, for example, a digital printer (not shown). You can do it.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described. The operator loads the patrone 20 containing the film 12 with the image recorded on each frame into the patrone loading section 18 of the photosensitive material processing apparatus 10 and starts the thermal development processing of the film 12, and the film 12 is pulled out and the roller pair 14
, And reaches the exposure information reading unit 16 first.
In the exposure information reading section 16, the magnetic head 38
The exposure information, that is, the state at the time of shooting is read from the magnetic recording layer of the film 12 being conveyed. Thus, whether the shooting is under, normal, over, or super over can be classified and stored in the memory 40 together with the image frames.

The film 12 is continuously conveyed, reaches the water application section 24, passes through the inside of the application tank 26, and is applied with water.

The film 1 coated with water in this manner
2. After the excess water is removed by the squeeze roller 30,
It is transported to the bonding roller 46.

On the other hand, the processing sheet 58 is
The film 12 and the processing sheet 58 are superposed on the bonding roller 46 as a result. in this case,
Since the water is applied to the film 12, both are surely adhered to each other.

Film 12 and processing sheet 5 adhered to each other
8 is transported to the thermal development processing section 48 and is transported linearly between the surface heater 50 and the pressure plate 52. Here, the top frame (the first frame is the image frame of frame No. 1, and the second and subsequent frames are the top frames that have not been thermally developed.
..) is positioned on the leftmost surface heater 50 in FIG.

The surface heaters 50 of the group of surface heaters are controlled at substantially the same temperature, and feedback control or the like is performed so as to maintain this temperature.

In this state, each image frame faces each surface heater 50, and the controller 56 energizes the solenoid 54 to extend the telescopic rod 54A.
The pressing plate 52 is moved toward the surface heater 50. As a result, the film 12 and the processing sheet 58 are
And the surface heater 50 are held at a predetermined pressure.

The controller 56 reads information from the memory 40 of the exposure information reading section 16 and determines a heat development time for each image frame. Turn off 54.
For example, as shown in FIG. 2, when the reference energizing time of the solenoid 54 at the time of normal shooting is t seconds, and the shooting conditions are normal, normal, under, normal, over, and under from the left of FIG. 1. , 5 from the left in FIG.
The first solenoid 54 is turned off first, then the first, second, and fourth solenoids 54 from the left in FIG. 1 are turned off, and finally the third and sixth solenoids 5 from the left in FIG.
4 is turned off (t seconds, t seconds, t + α seconds (α
Is a positive number), t seconds, t-α seconds, t + α seconds).

Here, when the film 12 is heated while being superposed on the processing sheet 58, the diffusible dye is released or diffused imagewise from the color material contained in the film 12, and one of the diffusible dyes is diffused. Part or all of film 1
2 removed. Thereby, at least three color images are formed on the film 12. Since water adheres to the film 12 as described above, the film 12 is uniformly heat-developed.

As a result, the pressurizing and heating time can be determined independently for each image frame, and a substantially uniform image can be obtained even under different photographing conditions.

When heating for a predetermined time is completed, the film 1
2 and the conveyance of the processing sheet 58 are restarted.

After the conveyance of the film 12 and the processing sheet 58 is resumed, the film 12 is nipped by the pair of rollers 60 and
2, the film 12 and the processing sheet 58 are peeled by the peeling claw 64 of the peeling section 62, and the processing sheet 5
8 is taken up on a take-up reel 44.

On the other hand, the film 12 is conveyed by a pair of rollers 66 toward a take-out port 74 and sent out to the take-out port 74. Thereafter, by reading the image recorded on the film 12 digitally by the image reading section 68 and inputting the read image data to a digital printer or the like, a photographic print of each frame image of the film 12 can be obtained. .

In the present embodiment, the heat development processing time is controlled independently, but the temperature of the surface heater 50 may be controlled independently. Further, although the heat development processing time is divided into four stages, the invention is not limited to this, and may be divided into a plurality of stages, or may have a characteristic that changes continuously.

As described above, according to the photosensitive material processing apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, a film 12 on which an already exposed image (a photographed image) is formed by heating.
By using a processing sheet 58 having a layer containing a mordant for developing the film 12 on a support, heat development processing can be easily performed without performing complicated development, bleaching, and fixing processing as in the related art. To form an image.

In the photosensitive material processing apparatus 10, since water as an image forming solvent is applied to the film 12 before the film 12 and the processing sheet 58 are overlapped, the diffusible dye is easily diffused, 12 can be performed more effectively.

In this embodiment, water as a solvent for forming an image is applied to the film 12, but it may be applied to the processing sheet K or the film 1 may be applied.
2 and the processing sheet 58 may be applied.

In the above embodiment, the film 12
An example using the color material-containing photothermographic material of the present invention was described as above, but the support contains at least a photosensitive silver halide, a binder, and a dye-donating coupler, and has a photosensitive wavelength region and the dye. The coupler-containing photothermographic material of the present invention having at least three types of photosensitive layers in which the hues of the dyes formed from the donor couplers are different from each other may be used.

[0052]

As described above, the light-sensitive material processing apparatus according to the present invention can be applied to a heat-developable light-sensitive material which is simultaneously subjected to heat development, even if images under different photographing conditions are continuously exposed and recorded. It has an excellent effect that a heat development process suitable for an exposure state can be performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a photosensitive material processing apparatus according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a characteristic diagram showing a relationship between an exposure state of a film and a heat development time.

FIG. 3 is a control block diagram of the photosensitive material processing apparatus according to the present embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference Signs List 10 photosensitive material processing apparatus 12 negative film (heat-developable photosensitive material) 16 exposure information reading part 24 water application part 48 heat development processing part 50 surface heater 52 pressurizing plate (pressurizing means) 54 solenoid (pressurizing means) 56 controller (temperature) Control means, heat development condition control means) 58 Processing sheet (processing member)

Claims (3)

[Claims] An elongated photothermographic material on which a plurality of image frames are continuously recorded and a processing member provided with components necessary for developing the photothermographic material are superposed. A photosensitive material processing apparatus that forms an image on the photothermographic material by heating in a state, provided independently for each of the plurality of image frames, and simultaneously images a predetermined number of frames, A group of surface heaters for performing thermal development transfer, a conveying unit that conveys the photothermographic material and the processing member to the group of surface heaters, provided independently for each of the plurality of image frames, and Pressing means for superimposing and contacting the photothermographic material and the processing member; temperature control means for controlling the temperature of the surface heaters of the surface heater group; and Heat development processing simultaneously with heater group For each image frame to be applied, at least one of the pressurizing time of each surface heater by the pressurizing unit or the temperature of each surface heater by the temperature control unit is controlled to calculate the heat amount determined by the product of the temperature and the heating time. A photosensitive material processing apparatus comprising: 2. The photosensitive material processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the exposure condition of the image frame is set at least in steps, and the amount of heat is controlled for each step. 3. An exposure condition of the image frame is under,
There are four levels of normal, over, and super over, and the amount of heat is set for each step. Control is performed so that the amount of heat is the largest for under and the amount of heat is smaller for normal, over, and super over in the following order. The photosensitive material processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: