JPS62246058A - Photographic processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To perform temperature control over processing liquid by providing a control means which judges an abrupt rise in the output of a temperature sensor arranged nearby a heater for the processing liquid to detect the temperature of the processing liquid and then powers down the heater. CONSTITUTION:Two temperature sensors 38 and 40 are embedded in a heater body 34. The temperature sensors consist of resistance bulbs 38A and 40B as part of a bridge circuit and are arranged at both axial ends of the heater body 34 to detect the temperature of the developer 18 before and after the developer passes through the heater body 34 as unbalanced voltages. The signal lines 38B and 40B of the sensors 38 and 40 are wired to a microcomputer 42 and a solid-state relay which supplies and cuts off a current to a heater wire 36 is controlled by this microcomputer 42, thereby controlling the temperature of the developer 18 to set temperature. Thus, the temperature and the quantity of circulation are compensated, so the temperature of the processing liquid is held invariably proper, so that no defect in development is caused.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention is used in a photographic processing apparatus for processing light-sensitive materials, and particularly relates to a photographic processing apparatus capable of circulating a processing liquid.

[Prior Art and Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In photographic processing equipment, the processing capacity of the developer in the developer tank decreases depending on the processing of photographic paper, so replenisher must be periodically replenished. There is a need.

By the way, in general, in a photographic processing apparatus, the developer is stirred by circulating the developer in the developer tank to prevent the fatigue solution from staying at the edge of the photographic paper, thereby eliminating developing defects and saving replenisher fluid. That's what I do.

In this case, as the developer is circulated, its temperature drops, so a heater is installed in the middle of the circulation path to keep it at an appropriate temperature.

However, conventional heaters are usually disposed separately from the circulation path, which limits the space for the entire photoprocessing apparatus.

In addition, the appropriate temperature of the developer is, for example, 38°C, and in order to maintain this temperature, it is preferable to detect the temperature of the developer flowing through the circulation path and control the heating by the heater, which requires complicated wiring. Therefore, it is necessary to provide compensation.

In view of the above-mentioned problems, the present invention aims to provide a photographic processing apparatus capable of controlling the temperature of the processing liquid and uniformly heating the circulating liquid.

[Means and effects for solving the problems] The photographic processing apparatus according to the present invention includes a processing liquid tank containing a processing liquid for processing a photosensitive material, and a processing liquid tank that also supplies the processing liquid to the processing liquid tank again. a circulation device having a circulation path guided by a pump; a heater placed in the circulation path to heat the processing liquid; a temperature sensor placed close to the heater to detect the temperature of the processing liquid; The present invention is characterized by comprising a control means for determining whether or not the output of the temperature sensor has suddenly increased, and for stopping power supply to the heater.

Therefore, the dry cooking detection means can determine that the processing liquid is not flowing into the circulation path when the temperature of the temperature sensor downstream of the heater rises rapidly.

Since the temperature and circulation amount are compensated in this way, the temperature of the processing liquid is always kept at an appropriate temperature, and development defects do not occur.

Embodiment FIG. 1 shows a photographic processing apparatus to according to this embodiment.

The photosensitive material 12 to be processed in this photoprocessing apparatus TO is guided by a rack (not shown) and transported in the direction of arrow A in FIG.

The photographic processing apparatus 1ilo is equipped with a developer tank 14 and a fixer tank 16, and after the exposure process is completed in the previous step, the photosensitive material 12 is transported to the developer tank 14 and then further transported to the fixer tank 16. It has become so. Note that this transportation is carried out in a meandering manner within each tank as shown in FIG. 1 by the guidance of the rack.

The developer tank 14 and the fixer tank 16 each contain a developer 18.
and constant 2 liquid 20 are respectively filled. Further, a circulation device 22 for circulating the developer 18 and the fixer 20 is installed in the developer tank 14 and the fixer 4@16. This circulation amount a! The same device 22 is installed on the developer tank 14 side and the fixer tank tegs, except for the heater portion, and the circulation device 22 on the developer tank 14 side will be described below.

A water supply pipe 26 and a drainage pipe 28 are attached to the side wall 24 of the developer tank 14, and a pump 30 sucks out the developer 18 from the developer tank 14 and sends it back into the developer tank 14 via a filter 32. It looks like this. As a result, the developer 18 in the developer tank 14 is constantly kept flowing.
It will be stirred.

A cylindrical heater body 34 is interposed in the water supply pipe 26 between the filter 32 and the developer tank 14 .

As shown in FIGS. 2(A) and (B), the heater body 3
4 is attached via a flange 31 and a gasket 33 so that its axis is coaxial with the axis of the water supply pipe 26, and its pipe line 34A communicates with the water supply channel 26A, so that the developer 18 to be circulated is It passes through this conduit 34A.

A heater wire 36 serving as a heat source is embedded in the heater body 34, and by passing a current through the heater wire 36, the heater body 34 is heated, and the developer 1B flowing in the pipe 34A is heated.
can be heated.

Two temperature sensors 38, 40 are also embedded in this heater body 34. Each temperature sensor is a resistance temperature detector 38
A and 40B, which are part of a bridge circuit, are arranged at both wheel ends of the heater body 34, and are connected to the developer 18.
The temperature before and after passing through the heater main body 34 can be detected as an unbalanced voltage.

Signal lines 38B and 40B of the temperature sensors 3B and 40 are wired to a microcomputer 42, and a solid state relay 37 (see FIG. 4) that conducts and interrupts current to the heater wire 36 is connected to the microcomputer 42. It is controlled by a computer 42. That is,
The temperature of the developer 18 is controlled to be maintained at a set temperature.

Note that the control of this microcomputer 42 will be described later.

The heater body 34 is made of a material with good thermoelectric conductivity such as ceramic, so that the entire heater body 34 can be heated uniformly and the heater wire 36 can be easily buried during molding. There is.

The heater wire 36 has two heating wires 36A, one for low power and one for high power.
36B, and current can be passed through either or both of them as necessary.

A cylindrical body 44 that accommodates the heater body 34 is disposed on the outer periphery of the heater body 34. The water supply pipe 26 passes through the axial center of both end faces of the cylindrical body 44, and the other parts are closed. One ends of two pipes 46 and 48 are attached to the circumferential surface of the cylindrical body 44, which serves as water supply and drainage pipes for the circulation system in the fixer tank 16.

The other ends of these two pipes 46.48 are therefore attached to the side wall of the fixer tank 16, and the pipes 46.4
Eight pipe lines 46A and 48A communicate with the inside of the fixing liquid tank 16 and a channel 50 provided between the cylindrical body 44 and the heater main body 34, respectively.

This allows the fixer 20 to be circulated.

This fixer 20 is converted into a developer 1 using one heater main body 34.
8 and can be heated at the same time.

As shown in FIG. 1, an inverter circuit 54 is interposed in the motor 52 that operates the pump 30, and a signal line 53 of the inverter circuit 54 is connected to the microcomputer 42.

Thereby, the rotation speed of the motor 52 can be changed steplessly in accordance with the frequency conversion of the inverter circuit 54. Therefore, the change frequency (Fl) is set according to the degree of deterioration of the developer 18 corresponding to the number of processing of the photosensitive material 12, hardness or normal image quality processing, the rotation of the motor 52 is changed, and the rotation of the motor 52 is changed. The circulating amount of the developer 18 flowing through can be easily adjusted.

Note that when processing a high-tone image quality to a soft-tone image quality, the circulation speed in the developer tank 14 (the flow state of the developer 18) is set to a static state, with a circulation amount smaller than the circulation amount for processing normal image quality. It is designed to be in a state close to . On the other hand, when processing to obtain high-contrast image quality, a large amount of circulation is used.

A replenishment tank 64 is disposed near the developer tank 14, and a replenishment tank 64 is provided with a replenisher 62 containing a developing agent in response to a decrease in the developer 18 depending on the processing amount of the photosensitive material 12 or a decrease in developing ability. can be replenished.

That is, a replenishment vibro 8 is attached to the side wall 66 of the replenishment tank 64, and a filter 70 and a pump 72 are interposed in the middle of the replenishment vibro 8. Refill fluid 6
2 is passed through a filter 70 and then supplied to the developer tank 14.

The driving power for the motor 74 is supplied to the microcomputer 42 via a solid state relay 73 (see FIG. 4).
When a predetermined processing area of the photosensitive material 12 has been reached, the pump 72 is controlled to operate for a certain period of time (TS).

Furthermore, this microcomputer 42 has a photosensitive material 1.
Processing machine detection sensor 7 that detects the width dimension and number of sheets processed in 2
8 signal MA80 is connected.

As shown in FIG. 3, the base 81 of the processing amount detection sensor 78 is disposed at the entrance of the photosensitive material 12 in the developer tank 14.

A rectangular hole 82 is provided in the middle part of the base 81.
The photosensitive material 12 passes through this rectangular hole 82 and enters the developer tank 14.
It is designed to lead to. A light emitting section 84A and a light receiving section 84B of a photoelectric switch, which use light in a wavelength range that does not sensitize photosensitive materials, are attached to the upper surface and f of the rectangular hole 82, respectively.

A plurality of light emitting portions 84A and light receiving portions 84B of the photoelectric switch are arranged along the width direction of the photosensitive material 12, and depending on the width dimension of the photosensitive material 12, some of the light emitting portions aB8
The width dimension of the photosensitive material 12 can be obtained by cutting off the optical signal from the photosensitive material 4A and calculating the conduction state of each photoelectric switch using the microcomputer 42.

The processing amount detection sensor 78 uses a plurality of lever-type limit switches to perform mechanical detection that conducts the leading end of the photosensitive material 12 when it is transported and breaks the conduction when the rear end passes. Measures may be applied.

The microcomputer 42 also stores the conveyance speed of the photosensitive material 12, so that the processing amount of the photosensitive material 12 is calculated as an area, and the necessary replenisher 62 is calculated.
The amount of replenishment is calculated.

Control by the microcomputer 42 will be explained in detail below.

The microcomputer 42 includes an empty cooking detection means, a poor circulation detection means, and a dashed line detection means, which will be explained separately.

First, the dry cooking detection means will be explained according to FIG.

The temperature sensor 40, that is, the downstream temperature (one port) is converted into a digital signal by an A/D conversion circuit 88, and then input to the CPU of the microcomputer 42 via an interface 90.

A set temperature (TC: ) is input into the microcomputer 42 in advance by a temperature setting device 92.

This set temperature (TC) and the downstream temperature (1 mouth) are compared.

After this is compared, the heater wire solid state relay 37 and the warning buzzer 1 are connected via the interface 90.
00 is connected to the operating solid state relay 104.

Next, 1wJ ring failure is detected by determining this by the difference in temperature of the developer before and after the heater main body 34 in one day when the flow velocity of the developer 14 flowing in the water supply pipe 26 and the drain pipe 28 drops. , it is configured to control.

Downstream temperature measured by temperature sensor 38.40 (TO
) and upstream temperature (TO) is A/I) conversion circuit 87.88
After digital conversion, these temperature differences (TU-1 mouth) are calculated.

The microcomputer 42 records the temperature difference (
TO) is input, these are compared to determine an appropriate frequency (FO), and the inverter circuit 54 is operated via the interface 90 to adjust the circulation amount.

1. The disconnection detection means sequentially measures the rate of increase from the upstream temperature (Ttl) to the downstream temperature (TO) over a certain period of time while power is being supplied to the heater wire 36, and determines the conduction state of the temperature sensor 38.40. If there is no temperature rise, a warning buzzer 100 or the like is used to issue a warning.

That is, after the flow temperature (completed) and the downstream temperature (1 port) are each converted into digital signals by A/D conversion circuits 87 and 88, they are inputted to the CPU of the microcomputer 42 via the interface 90. There is.

The microcomputer 42 calculates the temperature rise from upstream to downstream, and outputs it if there is no change. When outputting, a signal is sent to the solid state relay to cut off the power supply to the heater wire 36 via the interface 90. 37, and the solid state relay 104 for operating the warning buzzer 100 also sends the signal.

The operation of this embodiment will be explained below.

When the photosensitive material 12 is transported and processed within the processing liquid Jl'l 14, the processing capacity decreases accordingly.

This is because the fatigue solution accumulates around the photosensitive material 12 and the developing agent contained in the developer 18 decreases as the photosensitive material 12 is processed. The developer 18 is circulated by a circulation device 22 and constantly stirred.

As a result, uneven development can be prevented by IF, and the developer 18 can be used without waste.

The developer 18 is sucked out by the pump 30 to the first drainage channel 28A, passes through the filter 32 to the water supply channel 26A, and flows into the developer tank 14 again. Here, water supply channel 2
A cylindrical heater main body 34 is interposed in the middle of 8A, and the developer 18 is heated here to an appropriate temperature of 38°C.
After that, the developer reaches the developer tank 14, so there is no temperature drop due to circulation.

Moreover, since the heater main body 34 has 2 m long heating wires 36A and 36B of low power and high power buried therein, the applied power can be changed as needed.

Further, since the heater body 34 is made of ceramic, the heater wire can be easily embedded during molding, and the developer 18 passing through the heater body 34 can be heated uniformly, so there is no temperature unevenness.

A cylindrical body 44 is disposed on the outer periphery of the heater body 34, and when the fixer 20 is f1g5, it passes through a chamber 50 provided by this cylindrical body 44, so that the fixer 20 is heated together with the developer 18. can do.

The following description will be made according to the control flowcharts shown in FIGS. 5(A) to 5(G).

First, as shown in FIG.
Next, when it is determined in step 201 that the process has started, the temperature difference (TO) during proper circulation is read in step 202, the circulation pump 30 is activated, and power is supplied to the heater wire 36 (hereinafter referred to as turning on the heater) (step 202). 204, 206).

After turning on the heater, empty cooking detection control is executed in step 208, and then 'g4 ring defect detection control and disconnection defect detection control is executed (step 21O1212).

In step 214, the circulating amount of developer is controlled, and in steps 218 and 218, temperature control and replenishment amount are controlled, respectively.

Next, if the development process is to be continued in step 220, the process moves to step 208.

As shown in FIG. 5(B), in the subroutine of step 208, the downstream temperature (TO) is determined in step 222.
is the temperature (TL
), it is determined that empty cooking is occurring, and step 224
In step 226, the power supply to the heater 1iA3B is cut off (hereinafter referred to as turning off the heater), and then in step 226 the warning buzzer 100 is turned on.
A worker can know this before it happens.

When the warning buzzer 100 is deactivated in step 22B, the process moves to step 200.

In step 222, the downstream temperature (TO) is changed to the temperature (TL
), return to the main routine.

Next, the 'Oa ring defect detection control routine will be explained according to the flowchart of FIG. 5(C).

In step 230, the downstream temperature (1 port) and the upstream temperature (Tυ
) is compared with the set temperature (TO). Here, if the temperature difference is higher than the set temperature (To), it is determined that the circulating amount of the developer 18 is decreasing, and this correction frequency (FO) is read (step 232).

Next, in step 234, the current frequency and the correction frequency (FO
), and if the current frequency is low, step 23
6, the frequency of the inverter circuit 54 is increased. This is repeated in step 234 where the current frequency and correction frequency (FO
) become equal, the process moves to step 238, the frequency is fixed, and the process moves to the main routine.

Thereby, even if the pump 30 is operating normally and the circulating amount of the developer 18 is reduced due to clogging of the filter 32, etc., the circulating amount can be adjusted automatically.

Note that in step 230, the temperature difference is determined as the set temperature (TO).
If it is lower than , return to the main routine here.

After moving to the main routine in step 238, the process moves to a subroutine for wire breakage detection control shown in FIG. 5 (CD).

First, in step 240, it is determined whether the heater is on, and if it is determined that the heater is on, step 24
2, the downstream temperature (TD) and upstream temperature (Tt
Compare the temperature increase between 1) and 1). Here, if the temperature does not rise within a certain period of time, it is determined that the temperature sensor 38, 40 (resistance temperature detector 38A, 4OA or signal line 38B, 40B) itself is disconnected, and the process moves to step 244 to turn off the heater. Then, in step 246, the warning buzzer 100 sounds.

When the warning buzzer lOO is deactivated in step 248, the process moves to step 200.

Note that if the heater is not turned on in step 240 and if there is a temperature difference in step 242, it is determined that the condition is normal, and the process moves to the main routine.

Next, circulation amount control will be explained according to the flowchart of FIG. 5(E).

If it is determined in step 250 that @director needs to be changed, the process moves to step 252, and the corresponding frequency (Fl) is read.

When no photosensitive material is sent to weight A, this is detected by the throughput detection sensor 78 and the circulation rate is controlled to about half the normal rate (41/min) to prevent oxidation of the developer 18, etc. When changing from normal image quality to soft-tone image quality, it is preferable to reduce the amount of circulation and process the developer 18 in a nearly stationary state, and when changing to high-tone image quality. It is preferable to increase circulation for
The frequency (Fl) is then calculated according to these purposes.

In step 254, the current frequency and the frequency (Fl
) is compared, and if the current frequency is higher, the frequency of the inverter circuit 54 is lowered in step 256;
Increase the frequency of 4. This process is repeated until one frequency becomes equal, and the process moves from step 254 to step 260, where the frequency of the inverter circuit 54 is fixed, and then the process moves to the main routine.

As shown in FIG. 5(F), in the temperature control subroutine, in step 262, the downstream temperature (TO) and the set temperature
C'), and the downstream temperature (TO) is the set temperature (TO
), the heater is turned off and the process returns (step 264); if the downstream temperature (TO) is lower, the heater is turned on in step 265 and the process returns.

By repeating this, the temperature of the developer 18 can be brought close to the set temperature and the temperature can be kept uniform.

FIG. 5(G) shows a subroutine for controlling the replenishment amount.

In step 266, the number of processed photosensitive materials 12 is integrated by the area of the photosensitive material 12 and the processing speed, and it is determined whether a predetermined number of processed items (area ia) has been reached. If the photosensitive material 12 has not reached the predetermined number of processed surfaces (surface m), the process returns.

Further, when the photosensitive material 12 reaches a predetermined processing number (area), after reading the appropriate replenishment time (TS), the pump 72 that transports the replenisher 62 to the developer tank 14 is activated (step 267 , step 268).

When the replenishment time ends, the pump 72 is stopped and the process returns (steps 270, 272).

In this way, in the circulation device 22 applied to this embodiment,
The microcomputer 42 performs temperature control, circulation amount control, and replenishment amount control, and also compensates for poor circulation of the developer 18, dry cooking, and disconnection of the signal line, so the developer 18 is maintained in an optimal state. No developing defects will occur.

In this embodiment, the circulation device 22 installed in the developer tank 14 has been described, but the circulation device 22 may be used as a circulation device for other processing liquid tanks such as the fixer tank 16.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, the photographic processing apparatus according to the present invention includes a processing liquid tank containing a processing liquid for processing a photosensitive material, and a pump for pumping the processing liquid from this processing liquid tank back to the processing liquid tank. a circulation device equipped with a circulation path for guiding the processing liquid; a heater placed in the circulation path for heating the processing liquid; a temperature sensor placed close to the heater for detecting the temperature of the processing liquid; It is characterized by having a control means for determining whether or not the sensor output suddenly increases and stops power supply to the heater, so that the temperature of the processing liquid can be controlled and the circulating liquid can be heated uniformly. It has the excellent effect of being able to

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a piping diagram of the photographic processing apparatus according to this embodiment, Figs. 2 (A) and (B) are perspective views and cross-sectional views of the heater section, and Fig. 3
The figures are a perspective view and a sectional view of the processing amount detection sensor, FIG. 4 is a control block diagram, and FIGS. 5(A) to (G) are fi control flowcharts.

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) A circulation device comprising a processing liquid tank containing a processing liquid for processing a photosensitive material, a circulation path for guiding the processing liquid from this processing liquid tank to the processing liquid tank again by a pump, and the circulation path. a heater placed in the heater for heating the processing liquid; a temperature sensor placed close to the heater for detecting the temperature of the processing liquid; and a temperature sensor placed near the heater to detect the temperature of the processing liquid; A photographic processing apparatus comprising: a control means for stopping power supply to the apparatus. (2) The above-mentioned claim is characterized in that the heater is composed of a cylindrical heater body and a heat source embedded in the heater body, and a pipe line of the heater body is communicated with the circulation path. The photographic processing device according to paragraph (1). (3) Claim (2) characterized in that the heat source includes two power circuits, one low power and one high power.
Photographic processing equipment as described in Section.