JPS63274955A - Drying temperature control method for photographic film processing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To maintain a cumulative drying level by setting a sufficient reference drying temperature for processing a film with a prescribed quantity within a prescribed time, calculating periodically a cumulative processing quantity of the film processed within its time, and comparing this film quantity and the cumulative processing quantity. CONSTITUTION:In the beginning, the number of sheets of a film P, the cumulative number of sheets A1, A2 and A3 of every one minute, and their total A are initialized, and also, a reference drying temperature T is stored. This cumulative number of sheets A is compared with the prescribed number of sheets L1 determined in advance, and when decided to be negative, it is decided to be dryable enough at the present temperature, and the reference drying temperature is not changed. On the other hand, when decided to be affirmative, it is decided to have exceeded a prescribed number of sheets, the cumulative number of processing sheets A and a prescribed number of sheets L2(L2>L1) determined in advance, and to what extent the former has exceeded the number of processing sheets is decided. Unless the cumulative number of sheets exceeds the number of sheets L2, it is decided to be dryable and the reference drying temperature is raised a little. Also, when the number of sheets A has exceeded L2, it is decided to be a drop of the drying capacity and the reference drying temperature is raised greatly.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention is used in photographic film processing machines, and particularly relates to a drying temperature control method for controlling the temperature of a drying section depending on the amount of film processed.

[Prior Art] In a drying device used in a photographic film processing machine, especially an automatic processing machine, when the power of the automatic processing machine is turned on, the fan and heater installed in the duct that guides outside air to the drying chamber are also activated. When turned on, hot air is supplied into the drying chamber to heat it.

In this case, regardless of the temperature and humidity of the outside air, the outside air taken in from the outside air intake is heated by a heater to lower the relative humidity, and the temperature of the film to be dried is raised by hot air to evaporate moisture. This allows hot air containing moisture to be exhausted outside the machine.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, when drying a film using such an apparatus, as described above, regardless of the amount of film processed per unit time, moisture adhering to the front and back surfaces of the film is removed. In order to remove the film, the environment inside the drying room deteriorates over time, such as when the humidity increases in many processing facilities, resulting in insufficient drying, which can cause films to adhere to each other and cause uneven drying. becomes. For this reason, a heater and a fan that can handle the maximum processing of film with a waiting time of about 20 seconds are required, making the device itself large and expensive.

In consideration of the above-mentioned facts, the present invention aims to provide a drying temperature control method for a photographic film processing machine that can maintain a necessary and sufficient drying level with the minimum necessary energy (hot air temperature and air volume).

[Means for Solving the Problems] The drying temperature control method for a photographic film processing machine according to the present invention is a method for controlling a drying temperature for a photographic film processing machine, in which a film is inserted into a main body of a photographic film processing machine, and after processing, the film is dried and discharged. In a drying temperature control method used in a processing machine to control drying air for drying a film, a reference drying temperature sufficient to process a predetermined amount of film within a predetermined time is set, and the drying temperature is set for the predetermined time. The method is characterized in that the cumulative processing amount of the film actually processed within the period of time is calculated periodically, the predetermined amount of the film is compared with the cumulative processing amount, and the drying reference temperature is corrected based on the comparison result. It is said that

[Function] When the film is inserted into the main body of the photographic processing machine, the amount of film inserted is detected. For example, the number of films can be used as the amount of film inserted. To do this, the number of films can be easily detected by placing a limit switch or the like in the film conveyance path so that the limit switch is turned on every time the film passes. In this case, the condition is that the films being conveyed one by one have substantially the same shape. In addition, a photoelectric sensor is used to make the film pass along the optical axis from the light emitting side to the light receiving side.
This leading shaft may be cut off each time the film passes through.

After the film is developed, it goes to a drying section where it is dried and discharged. The development process includes development, fixing,
This includes various treatments such as washing with water. The drying air is controlled to a standard drying temperature, allowing optimal drying conditions to be obtained.

Here, since the environment (temperature and humidity) of the drying section changes over time depending on the amount of film processed (number of sheets processed) within a predetermined time, in the present invention, the A standard drying temperature for drying air is determined according to the number of films (number of sheets), and this predetermined amount (predetermined number of sheets) is compared with the cumulative amount of film actually inserted (cumulative number of sheets processed). Based on this, the reference temperature of drying air is corrected.

In other words, since the amount of film processed per unit time (number of sheets processed) differs depending on the insertion interval, the environment of the drying section, which fluctuates due to this, can be adjusted to the cumulative amount of film processed (accumulated number of sheets) that is actually processed on a regular basis. By correcting the standard drying temperature of the drying air accordingly, it is possible to restore the optimum state.

[Embodiment] FIG. 1 shows a schematic structure of an automatic processor IO to which the present invention is applied.

The film 14 inserted into the automatic developing alO through the entrance 12 is guided by a guide roller 16, passes through a developing tank 18, a fixing tank 20, a washing tank 22, and then reaches a drying chamber 24. Developing tank 18, fixing tank 20 and washing tank 22
A rack 28 constituted by a plurality of guide rollers 26 is housed inside, and the film 14 is immersed by this rack 28 from the liquid surface to the bottom of the six tanks, turned over, and guided to the liquid surface again. It has become.

Also, between the developer tank 18 and the fixing tank 20, and between the fixing tank 20
A guide roller 30 is arranged between the washing tank 22 and the washing tank 22, and the film 14 is guided to the adjacent tank in sequence, and a plurality of roller pairs 32 are arranged between the washing tank 22 and the drying chamber 24. The film 14 is guided to the drying chamber 24.

Note that these roller pairs 32 have the function of squeezing some of the water adhering to the film 14.

The drying chamber 24 is provided with a plurality of conveyance rollers 34 arranged evenly in the vertical direction in FIG. are doing. A guide plate 36 is installed at the bottom of the drying chamber 24.
is arranged so that the film 14 is turned toward the right side wall of the developing machine frame 10A in FIG. There is.

A motor 42 is attached to the drive roller 38 via a belt 44, and the driving force of this motor 42 drives the drive roller 38.
is rotating. The rollers disposed in the automatic developing device 4110 are connected to the drive roller 38 by a chain or belt (not shown), and are driven to rotate simultaneously.

The drying chamber 24 has an air intake duct 46 in a part of its partition wall 24A.
and an exhaust duct 48 are attached to communicate with the outside of the automatic processor 10. A heater 50 is installed in the intake duct 46.
A fan 52 is provided, and after the outside air introduced into the intake duct 46 by the fan 52 is heated by the heater 50, this warm air is supplied to the drying chamber 24. From the exhaust duct 48, the film 14 is produced by the hot air.
The moist air after the transport roller 34 is dried is discharged to the outside of the automatic developing machine 10.

Here, a drying air temperature detection sensor 54 is provided in the drying chamber 24 to detect the temperature of the drying air.

Further, a film detector 60 is arranged near the insertion port 12, and an automatic developing machine 1 is installed as a throughput of the film 14.
The number P of films 14 inserted into the 0 is detected. Examples of the film detector 60 include a photoelectric sensor whose optical axis is blocked by the film and an IF switch that can be turned on and off by transporting the film.

Note that the dry air temperature detection sensor 54 and the film detector 6
0 is input to the control device 62.

As shown in FIG. 2, the control device 62 includes a CPU 64, R
AM66, ROM68. A microcomputer 74 consisting of a manual port door 0 and an output port door 2;
D converter 76, anlog gate 78, and driver 80
It is equipped with

The dry air temperature detection sensor 54 is connected to an A/D converter 76 via an analog gate 78.

The output of A/D converter 76 is connected to input port 0. The film detector 60 is a microcomputer 7
4 is connected to the input side of door 0.

Motor 42. The heater 50 and the fan 52 are connected to the output side of the driver 80, and are each driven by a control signal from the output port door 2.

In addition, in the microcomputer 74, the CPU 64 calculates the number of films obtained by the film detector 60 every predetermined time (1 minute in this embodiment),
AI, A2. Always update the cumulative sheet aA of A3) and store it in RAM.
66. Further, the drying temperature setting T can be stored in the RAM 60, and this may be stored or set at any time using an operation knob (not shown) or the like. Furthermore, R
A first predetermined number level LX (in this embodiment, L 1 = 4), which is the limit of the number of sheets to be dried, which is calculated by the CPU 64 according to the drying setting temperature T, is stored in the AM 60, and this first predetermined number level L1 is compared with the actual number of sheets to be processed, and the drying set temperature T is corrected. Note that in this embodiment, the first predetermined number of sheets level L,
A second predetermined sheet number level L2 (L2=8 in this embodiment), which is larger than the above, is also calculated and stored in the RAM 60.

The operation of this embodiment will be explained below with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 3 and the time chart of FIG. 4.

First, in step 100, the number of film sheets P, the cumulative number of sheets per minute A! , A2, A3 and their total A
etc. are initialized, the drying set temperature is stored as T, and the process moves to step 102. This drying setting temperature is determined by the number of films processed within a predetermined time and the heater 50.
It is predetermined in consideration of the capacity of the fan 52, etc.

In step 102, it is determined whether or not the power source is turned on, and if a positive determination is made, the process proceeds to the next step 104. In step 104, the heater 50 and fan 52 are operated to raise the temperature inside the drying chamber 24. In step 106, the temperature of the drying air is controlled according to the drying set temperature T, and when it reaches the drying temperature, the process moves to step 108, where the film 14
transportation will begin. At the same time, the time counter shown in FIG. 4 is activated. Note that dry air temperature control is always performed while the power is on. A film detector 60 is attached near the film insertion slot 12, and in step 110, based on the output of this film detector 60,
Film 14 is detected. When a film is detected, a pulse signal is output as shown in FIG. If film 14 is detected, the process moves to step 112 and the number of films P is detected.
is incremented and the process proceeds to step 114. Further, while no film is being detected, that is, during an interval, step 112 is skipped and the process proceeds to step 114.

In step 114, it is determined whether one minute has elapsed since the start of the detection of the film 14. If one minute has not elapsed, the process returns to step 110 to continue detecting the film. Also, 1
If the minute has elapsed (time of inversion of the time counter in Figure 4), the process moves to step 116, where the variable ■ (initial value = 0) is incremented, and then the process moves to step 118, where the above-mentioned 1
Substitute the number of films accumulated in minutes into A1 and step 1
Move to 20. In step 120, the number of films P is reset, and then in step 122, it is determined whether the variable I is 3. If the determination is negative, all temperature control data (AX, A2, A3) are present. If it is determined that there is not, the process returns to step 110 and steps 110 to 120 are repeated. Step 1 from step llo
20 is repeated three times, the variable I becomes 3, and step 122
An affirmative determination is made and the process moves to step 124. That is,
Now that all of the data A1, A2, and A3 have been collected, correction of the temperature setting is started (see arrow A in FIG. 4).

In step 124, the sum of these data A1, A2, and A3 is calculated to obtain the cumulative number of processed sheets A, and then the process moves to step 126. In step 126, this cumulative number of processed sheets A is equal to the predetermined number of processed sheets L! If the determination is negative, it is determined that sufficient drying is possible at the current temperature, and the process proceeds to step 12B, where the drying set temperature is not changed and the process proceeds to step 136. In addition, if an affirmative determination is made in step 126, it is determined that the predetermined number of sheets to be processed has been exceeded, and the process proceeds to step 130, where the cumulative number of sheets to be processed A is compared with a predetermined number of sheets to be processed L2 (L2>Ll), and the amount Determine whether the number of sheets to be processed has been exceeded. The cumulative number of processed sheets is the predetermined number L2
If the drying temperature is not exceeded, it is determined that drying is possible, and after raising the drying setting temperature slightly (2° C. in this embodiment), the process moves to step 136. In addition, if the cumulative number A of 81 missed sheets exceeds L2, it is determined that the drying ability has decreased (high humidity or low temperature), and the drying temperature setting is increased (5° in this example).
C) After the increase, the process moves to step 136. When the drying set temperature T is corrected as described above, the temperature control of the drying air is performed based on this correction value.

In step 136, the value of the data A2 is assigned to AI (see FIG. 4 [A1]), and then in step 138, the value of the data A3 is assigned to A2 (see FIG. 4 [A2]). This is the cumulative number of processed sheets A from the current moment until 3 minutes ago.
In order to get be. In step 140, 2 is assigned to the variable I, and the process proceeds to step 142, where it is determined whether the processing has ended. If the process has ended, the temperature control is ended, and if the process is to continue, the process moves to step 110 to obtain the number P of films to be conveyed from the current time to one minute later.

After one minute has passed, I becomes 3 in step 116, so
In step 118, new data is assigned to A3 ([A3]), and the cumulative number of processed sheets A from the current time to 3 minutes ago
(See FIG. 4 [A]) can be obtained.

By recreating the control described above, it is possible to detect the number of films processed within 3 minutes from the current moment every minute.
The environment inside the drying chamber, which changes over time depending on the number of films 14 to be processed, can always be kept in an optimal state.

Further, in this embodiment, only the temperature within the drying air needs to be detected, and a sensor for detecting the temperature and humidity of the outside air is not required, leading to cost reduction.

In this embodiment, the film processing amount may be determined by the number of processed films or by calculating the area of the film.

[Effects of the Invention] This invention has an excellent effect in that a necessary and sufficient drying level can be maintained depending on the wind temperature and the wind i).

[Brief explanation of drawings]

11M is a schematic structural diagram of the automatic developing machine according to this embodiment, FIG. 2 is a control block diagram, FIG. 3 is a control flowchart, and FIG. 4 is a time chart. 10..., automatic developing machine, 14... film. 24...Drying room, 50 Heater, 52...Fan, 54...Drying air temperature detection sensor, 60...Film detector, 62...-control device, 74...Microcomputer.

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) Insert the film into the main body of the photographic film processing machine,
It is used in photographic film processing machines that dry and discharge the film after processing, and in the drying temperature control method that controls the drying air for drying the film, it is used to process a predetermined amount of film within a predetermined time. Set a sufficient standard drying temperature, periodically calculate the cumulative amount of film actually processed within the predetermined time, compare the predetermined amount of film with the cumulative amount, and calculate the comparison result. A drying temperature control method for a photographic film processing machine, comprising correcting the drying reference temperature based on the following.