JP3002683B2 - Photosensitive material processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a photosensitive material processing apparatus, and more particularly, to a photosensitive material processing apparatus having a drying section for drying a photosensitive material processed with a processing solution.

[Prior art] In a photosensitive material processing apparatus for processing an exposed photosensitive material,
For example, there is a type in which a photosensitive material is developed, fixed, washed with water, and the processed photosensitive material is dried while being conveyed in a photosensitive section.

There are two types of drying of the photosensitive material: a hot air drying method in which hot air is applied to the photosensitive material for drying, and an infrared drying method in which infrared light is applied for drying. This drying improves the finished image quality and increases the processing amount. This is an important factor in reducing energy consumption and simplifying and miniaturizing the device.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In the hot air drying method, soft drying is possible without drying unevenness, and the finished image quality of the photosensitive material is good, but drying takes time. For this reason, it is conceivable to lengthen the transport distance of the drying unit or increase the heater capacity.
The equipment becomes larger and the energy cost increases.

In addition, the infrared drying method can increase the drying temperature and improve the drying ability. However, there is a difference in the residual moisture between the blackened portion and the blank portion of the photosensitive material, or the drying is sufficiently performed. In such a case, the gelatin layer in the blackened portion or the white spot is hardened first and becomes glaring, and the image quality tends to be deteriorated.

The inventors of the present invention have conducted various studies on the drying of the film. As a result, the moisture content of the photosensitive material and the surface temperature of the photosensitive material change with the elapse of the drying time. From this, a photosensitive material drying curve as shown in FIG. 1 is obtained. I was able to.

The solid line in FIG. 1 shows how the residual moisture content of the photosensitive material changes with the elapse of the drying time. Since the intersection of the left vertical axis and the solid line is the drying time = 0, the remaining photosensitive material remains unchanged. Moisture content is 100%.

The broken line in FIG. 1 shows how the surface temperature of the photosensitive material changes as the drying time elapses, and the intersection of the right vertical axis and the broken line shows the temperature of the drying section.

 The following can be seen from FIG.

As the drying time elapses, the residual moisture content of the photosensitive material decreases, but the surface temperature of the photosensitive material remains constant until the residual moisture content of the photosensitive material reaches a certain value.

When the drying time exceeds a certain value, the residual moisture content of the photosensitive material decreases smoothly, but the surface temperature of the photosensitive material rises to the temperature of the drying section.

From the above, it can be seen that two drying regions are generated in drying the photosensitive material. These will be referred to as a constant rate drying area and a decreasing rate drying area.

In the constant-rate drying area, the amount of heat for evaporating the moisture adhering to both surfaces of the photosensitive material (hereinafter referred to as “evaporation latent heat” of moisture on the surface of the photosensitive material) is contained in the emulsion in the photosensitive material. This is a dry region in which the amount of heat used to release the moisture present on the surface of the light-sensitive material (hereinafter, referred to as the "diffusion heat" of the water in the emulsion layer) is larger. Accordingly, the residual moisture content of the photosensitive material decreases as the drying time elapses (see the solid line). However, since the surface of the photosensitive material is in a wet state, the surface temperature of the photosensitive material is the temperature of the heated air used for drying. It is kept substantially constant at a temperature (tw ° C.) lower than (t ° C.) (see broken line).

The decay rate drying area is the "diffusion heat" used to bring out the moisture contained in the emulsion in the photosensitive material to the surface of the photosensitive material.
Is a dry region in which the latent heat of evaporation of moisture adhering to both surfaces of the photosensitive material is larger. Therefore, the latent heat of evaporation of the moisture transferred to the surface of the photosensitive material decreases, and the amount of heat for increasing the surface temperature of the photosensitive material increases. (T ° C.) (see the broken line).

During drying, especially in the rate-decreasing dry area, as the moisture in the emulsion layer decreases, the `` diffusion heat '' used decreases,
The drying of the light-sensitive material is completed when the water content in the emulsion layer becomes substantially zero.

Here, the residual moisture content of the photosensitive material, which is the boundary between the constant rate drying area and the decreasing rate drying area, is called a critical moisture content, and that point is called a critical moisture content point.

That is, the critical water content point is a critical point at which the "latent heat of vaporization" is constant, specifically, a point at which moisture adhering to the photosensitive material surface during drying of the photosensitive material has almost disappeared.

Fig. 1 shows that the temperature t in the drying section is 45 ° C and the relative humidity is 40%.
This is an example in which a Konica Corporation SR film was used as the photosensitive material. The limit moisture content in this case is 10-25%,
The surface temperature tw of the photosensitive material in the constant-rate drying region was 32 ° C.

The critical water content varies depending on the photosensitive material depending on the emulsion film thickness, composition, layer structure, etc., and the surface temperature tw of the photosensitive material also varies depending on the photosensitive material and the drying conditions.

From the above, drying unevenness due to the difference in drying method is
In the hot air drying method, it takes time to dry the constant rate drying area.In the infrared drying method, the drying time in the constant rate drying area can be shortened. I found that it was the cause.

The present invention solves such a problem, and shortens the drying time to improve the processing ability, and also causes the image quality degradation peculiar to a photosensitive material in which white spots and blackened parts are caused by processing with a processing solution. It is an object of the present invention to provide a photosensitive material processing apparatus capable of preventing the occurrence of an image and improving a finished image quality.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the problems and achieve the object, the present invention is configured as follows.

The invention according to claim 1 includes: “a processing unit that processes a photosensitive material in which a blank portion and a blackened portion are generated by being processed by a processing solution, using a processing solution; and a drying unit that dries the photosensitive material. In the photosensitive material processing apparatus, the drying unit performs infrared drying in a constant-rate drying region, and performs hot-air drying without performing infrared drying in a decreasing-rate drying region. Processing equipment. ].

According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to prevent image quality degradation peculiar to a photosensitive material in which white spots and blackened portions are generated by processing with a processing solution while shortening the drying time and improving the processing capacity, and the finished image quality Can be improved.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processing section processes the photosensitive material with a fixing solution next to a developing solution. ].

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a photosensitive material processing apparatus, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a developing tank of the photosensitive material processing apparatus.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral A denotes a photosensitive material loading unit for loading the exposed photosensitive material, B denotes a processing unit for processing the loaded photosensitive material, C denotes a squeezing unit for squeezing the processed photosensitive material, and D denotes a processing unit. Drying section for drying the photosensitive material
Numeral denotes a photosensitive material unloading section for unloading the processed photosensitive material.

Photosensitive Material Loading Port A The photographed photosensitive material F is inserted one by one from an insertion port 20 provided at a position above the apparatus main body 1, and an insertion detection sensor 21 is provided in the insertion port 20 so that the photosensitive material F The insertion is detected and input to the control unit. Accordingly, the transport system of the apparatus main body 1 is driven, and the drying unit D is driven to increase the drying temperature. Further, the insertion of the photosensitive material F is detected, and an insertion interval according to the processing time is set.

The photosensitive material carry-in section A is provided with a photosensitive material width detecting means (not shown) for detecting the location of the photosensitive material and outputting the information to a control section. The area of the material is calculated and used as a reference for replenishing the processing solution.

Processing Unit B The processing unit B is provided with processing tanks such as a developing tank 30, a fixing tank 31, and a washing tank 32, and transport racks 33, 34, 35, and 36 each having a feed roller group are detachably provided. It can be removed when cleaning the processing tank and transport rack. The transfer racks 33 to 36 have turn portions 33a to 36a for changing the transfer direction of the photosensitive material, respectively, and change the transfer direction from below to above at the bottom of the processing tank.

Crossover portions 37 and 38 are provided between the developing tank 30 and the fixing tank 31 and between the fixing tank 31 and the washing tank 32.
The photosensitive material conveyed in 3 and 34 is sent from the developing solution to the transfer section 37, and the developing solution is squeezed by the rollers of the transfer section 37 and sent to the fixing tank 31. In the fixing tank 31, the photosensitive material is conveyed by the conveyance rack 35 and sent from the fixing solution to the transfer section 38. The fixing liquid is squeezed in the transfer section 38 and sent to the washing tank 32, and the processing solution is transferred to the subsequent processing tank. Is prevented from being brought in.

The transport mechanism provided in the developing tank 30 includes transport racks 33 and 34 having turn portions 33a and 34a.The transport racks 33 and 34 are arranged in parallel in the photosensitive material transport direction. The transfer portions 33 and 34 are disposed in the processing solution, and the photosensitive material F is sent in the developer solution without coming out of the air at the transfer portions 39, thereby enabling continuous development processing.

As shown in FIG. 3, the developing tank 30 is provided with a circulating system 40 for adjusting the temperature of the developing solution.
Is driven from a suction part 42 provided at the bottom of the developing tank 30 to a heater 44 via a pipe 43, and a blowing part 46 provided at an upper part of the developing tank 30 via a pipe 45 heated by the heater 44.
And circulates through the developing solution to keep the temperature of the developing solution constant. The developer can be replenished from supply units 47 and 48 provided before or after the circulating pump 41 of the circulation system 40, or supplied from a supply unit 29 provided above the developing tank 30. You may.

The transport racks 33 and 34 arranged in the developing tank 30 are arranged side by side, and the length L1 in the vertical direction is reduced to about half as compared with the case where one is formed, and the length L2 in the horizontal direction is correspondingly longer. Has become. Therefore, the length of the developing tank 30 in the vertical direction is reduced by half and becomes shallow, and the length in the horizontal direction is correspondingly increased.

The temperature distribution of the developer in the developing tank 30 is shown in Tables 1 and 2 in comparison with the case where the transport rack shown in FIG. 5 is provided in the developing tank shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 shows the developing tank 100 of the comparative example, and FIG. 5 shows the transport rack 110 of the comparative example. In the developing tank 100, a vertically long transport rack 110 is arranged.

The transport rack 110 has a shorter horizontal length L3 and a longer vertical length L4, and the transport length is the same as the transport lengths of the transport racks 33 and 34 of the embodiment shown in FIGS. It is similar.

Therefore, the developing tank 100 is shorter in the horizontal direction and longer in the vertical direction in accordance with the transport rack 110, and the replenishment of the circulating system 40 with the liquid in the current tank is the same as in the above embodiment.

Table 1 shows the temperature distribution when the set temperature of the developer is set to 35.0 ° C., and the temperature measurement points are shown by a to j in FIG.
And in FIGS. 4A to 4E.

In the developing tank 100 of the comparative example shown in FIG. 4, the temperature distribution is as large as 0.5 ° C. or more because it is long in the longitudinal direction, but the developing tank 30 of the embodiment shown in FIGS. In addition, the temperature distribution is as small as 0.2 ° C. or less because it is short in the vertical direction.

Table 2 shows the developing tank 30 of the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 and FIG.
In the developing tank 100 of the comparative example shown in FIGS. 4 and 5,
Low temperature (5 ° C) from the supply section 49 above or the circulation system 40
Shows the temperature distribution when the developer is replenished, and the temperature measurement points are the same as those shown in Table 1 above.

Also in this case, the temperature distribution of the developing tank 30 of this embodiment is smaller than the temperature distribution of the developing tank 100 of the comparative example.

2 and 3, the photosensitive material F carried in from the photosensitive material carry-in portion A is transported downward from the upper surface of the developer by the transport rack 33, and is turned upward by the turn portion 33a. And transported to the transport rack 34 by a transfer section 39 provided in the developer. Similarly, in the transport rack 34, the developer is transported downward from the upper surface of the developer, is turned upward by the turn part 34a, and is turned upward.
To the fixing tank 31.

In this manner, when the photosensitive material F is transported in the developing solution in the shallow developing tank 30 in three different directions, namely, the turn parts 33a and 34a and the crossover part 39, the photosensitive material F passes through the developing tank 30 having a temperature variation. Since the photosensitive material F is transported repeatedly, a uniform developing effect can be obtained. Further, at the time of this direction change, the developer is stirred by the photosensitive material F, and without using a special stirring means,
The temperature and concentration of the developer can be kept constant.

On the other hand, in the comparative example shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the transport rack 110 is long and the turn portion is located at the bottom of the developing tank, so that a uniform developing effect cannot be expected. Further, a stirring action cannot be expected.

Table 3 shows the processability of this example and the processability of the comparative example.

However, the temperature distribution width of 0.5 ° C. was prepared by putting a low-temperature processing solution into a processing tank and then adding a high-temperature processing solution. By stopping the circulation, the width of the temperature distribution can be widened.

As described above, in the comparative example shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, if there is a temperature distribution of the developing solution, only one U-turn conveyance is performed, so that the silver particles of the processed image are not constant or the distribution unevenness or the like occurs. This results in poor graininess. In addition, since the stirring action is small, these also cause unevenness in circulation or unevenness due to the conveying roller, and the image quality of the photographic product is reduced.

On the other hand, in this embodiment, since there are a plurality of turn portions, uniform processing properties can be obtained even in a processing tank having a temperature variation. Further, in this embodiment, as shown in Tables 1 and 2, the temperature distribution of the developing solution is small, and the stirring action is also performed by the photosensitive material, so that the image quality of the photographic product is improved.

Further, in this embodiment, the developing tank 30 is shallow,
When cleaning the processing tank 30 and the transport racks 33 and 34, the transport racks 33 and 34 are short and lightweight, so that they can be easily taken out and assembled from the processing tank 30, and further handled during cleaning and the like.

In this embodiment, the developing tank 30 is made shallow and two transport racks 33 and 34 are used. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a plurality of transport racks may be used. Further, a plurality of fixing tanks and their transport racks can be used in the same manner.

In the above embodiment, by providing the transition portion in the processing liquid, the processability is stabilized. If there is a crossover portion outside the liquid, there are problems such as the liquid being discharged into the air and being oxidized, and the photosensitive material being squeezed by the roller outside the liquid, causing uneven squeezing.

As described above, the transport rack arranged in one processing tank is provided with a plurality of turns for changing the transport direction of the photosensitive material, and the turn section changes the direction of the photosensitive material and transports the photosensitive material. The liquid is stirred. Furthermore, by providing the transport rack with a plurality of turns, the length in the vertical direction can be reduced, and accordingly, the processing tank can be made shallower, and the temperature distribution of the processing liquid can be reduced. it can.

Furthermore, even in a processing tank having a temperature distribution, uniform transfer performance can be obtained because the processing tank is repeatedly transported a plurality of times.

Therefore, it is possible to prevent uneven processing of the photosensitive material with a simple structure and improve the image quality of the photosensitive material without using a special means such as a processing liquid stirring means or a circulation system for controlling the temperature of the processing liquid. . In addition, a plurality of transport racks having a turn portion are provided, and since the transfer portion of the transport rack is disposed in the processing liquid, the transport rack is configured with a plurality of transport racks that are short in the vertical direction, and the processing tank becomes shallower accordingly. When cleaning processing tanks and transport racks, the transport rack is short and lightweight, so that the photosensitive material being processed is not exposed to air, allowing removal and handling from the processing tank while enabling stable processing. Becomes easier.

Squeeze section C Squeeze section C The squeeze section C uses a group of rollers 40 to squeeze or suck the washing water of the photosensitive material F and send it to the drying section D so that the photosensitive material can be dried efficiently.

Drying Section D In the drying section D, the photosensitive material F is transported by the transport rollers 50 and transported along the transport path R formed. An infrared heater 51, a reflection plate 52, and a guide 53 are provided at the front stage of the drying unit D, and an infrared drying unit D1 that receives and dries infrared rays of the infrared heater 51 is disposed.
A hot air drying section D2 is provided for drying the photosensitive material F by blowing moisture-unsaturated heated air onto the photosensitive material F.

In the drying section D, as shown by the drying curve A of the photosensitive material in FIG. 6, the infrared drying is performed by the infrared drying section D1 in the constant rate drying area of the photosensitive material, and the hot air drying section is performed in the decreasing rate drying area. Hot air drying with D2 is performed.

In general, in a photosensitive material, the blackened portion has a higher moisture content due to the white spots, so that the drying capacity exceeds the limit moisture content (decreasing dry area) and reaches the limit moisture content (constant rate drying area). Is performed, the drying of the blackened portion is not completed even though the drying of the blank portion has been completed.

Further, depending on the layer structure and composition of the photosensitive material, the surface of the photosensitive material may be hardened as the drying proceeds, and moisture in the blackened portion of the emulsion cannot transfer to the surface of the photosensitive material. It may be uneven.

In this embodiment, by adopting a hot air drying method in a reduced-rate drying area after exceeding the critical moisture content of the photosensitive material to be dried, the blackened portion and the white spot are dried at substantially the same speed. did. As a result, it is possible to dry the photosensitive material uniformly without causing deterioration such as hardening of the photosensitive material in the decreasing rate drying region.

In addition, in the constant-rate drying region, since an infrared drying method having a high drying ability is employed up to the limit moisture content, quick drying is possible regardless of the blackened portion.

This embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIG. The drying curve B in FIG. 6 is a graph of the residual moisture content of the photosensitive material and the drying time when the drying step is performed only by the hot air drying method, and the drying curve C is the photosensitive material when the drying step is performed only by the infrared drying method. A graph of the residual moisture content and the drying time, and a drying curve A is a graph of the photosensitive material residual moisture content and the drying time when the drying method of this embodiment is used.

From FIG. 6, it can be seen that the drying time is the shortest when the drying is performed only by the infrared drying method, but the drying is performed by the infrared drying method even after exceeding the limit moisture content (reduction rate drying area) as described above. If performed, drying unevenness is likely to occur. Therefore, in this embodiment, the drying is performed to near the critical moisture content of the photosensitive material by the infrared drying method, and thereafter the drying is performed by the hot air drying method to prevent uneven drying.

The discrimination between constant rate drying and reduced rate drying is performed by the discriminating means 200,
A constant rate drying area and a reduced rate drying area of the photosensitive material are determined based on the physical characteristics of the photosensitive material processed by the processing unit. Based on this determination, the control means 201 performs infrared drying using the infrared heater 51 as the infrared drying means 202 in the constant rate drying area of the photosensitive material, and performs the hot air drying means 20 in the decreasing rate drying area.
Dry with warm air using 3. This discriminating means 200 measures the surface temperature of the photosensitive material and discriminates it at a certain temperature or higher, or measures the moisture content of the photosensitive material and discriminates it by a certain water content, or discriminates by the slope of the temperature rise in the drying unit. It is possible to make the determination means 20
The configuration of 0 is simplified.

In the first embodiment, the drying capability of the infrared heater 51 is changed from 100% of the moisture content of the photosensitive material to the previously determined limit moisture content of the photosensitive material within the time when the photosensitive material passes through the drying section. By setting so as to perform the drying, the constant-rate drying area was performed by infrared drying. In this case, the critical moisture content of the photosensitive material to be used must be determined in advance by measuring the surface temperature of the photosensitive material, measuring the water content, and the like. If there is no variation in the critical moisture content depending on the type of photosensitive material used, the capacity of the infrared heater 51 may be kept constant, but if there is variation in the critical moisture content depending on the type of photosensitive material used, use the heater. It is necessary to reset the capability of the infrared heater 51 according to the photosensitive material, and the capability of the infrared heater 51 is switched manually or by detecting the type of the photosensitive material. With this configuration, drying according to the photosensitive material and the processing state can be performed.

Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the discriminating means 30 is provided in the drying section D1.
0 and control means 301 for performing ON / OFF control of the infrared heater 51
The ON / OFF control of the infrared heater 51, which is the infrared drying means, may be performed based on the information of the determination means 300. The determination means 300 in this case is a temperature sensor that measures the slope of the temperature rise in the drying unit,
By controlling the capability of the infrared heater 51 from the information of the temperature sensor, the constant-rate drying region is performed by infrared drying. The determining means 300 can be replaced with a measuring means for measuring the surface temperature of the photosensitive material and the moisture content of the photosensitive material.

Table 4 shows the evaluation of dry image quality according to this example in comparison with the far-infrared drying method, near-infrared drying method, and temperature drying method.

Thus, the infrared ray + hot air drying method of this embodiment is as follows.
The image quality is improved as compared with the far-infrared drying method and the near-infrared drying method, and the drying ability is improved as compared with the warm-air drying method.

The moisture evaporated in the drying section D is exhausted through the exhaust duct 60 and exhausted from the exhaust duct 61 of the processing section B together with the exhaust fan 62.
Is discharged to the outside by the drive of.

Photosensitive material unloading section E A photosensitive material unloading section E is provided on the side of the apparatus main body 1 opposite to the photosensitive material unloading section A. After developing processing is performed in the basket 70, dried and processed photosensitive material F is provided. Is discharged.

[Effect of the Invention] It is possible to prevent image quality degradation peculiar to a photosensitive material in which white spots and blackened portions are generated by processing with a processing solution.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the relationship between the drying time and the residual moisture content of the photosensitive material, and the relationship between the drying time and the surface temperature of the photosensitive material. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the photosensitive material processing apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a developing tank in the photosensitive material processing of the comparative example, FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a developing tank in the photosensitive material processing apparatus of the comparative example, FIG. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a drying curve of the photosensitive material in a drying section of the photosensitive material processing apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a photosensitive material processing apparatus of a second embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, reference symbol D denotes a drying unit, D1 denotes an infrared drying unit, D2 denotes a hot air drying unit, 200 and 300 denote discriminating units, 201 and 301 denote control units, 202 denotes an infrared drying unit, and 203 denotes a hot air drying unit.

Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Toshio Fujisaka 1 Sakuracho, Hino-shi, Tokyo Inside Konica Corporation (56) References JP-A-3-102348 (JP, A) JP-A-2-149845 (JP, A) JP-A-2-140741 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G03D 15/02

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] An apparatus for processing a photosensitive material, comprising: a processing section for processing a photosensitive material that generates white spots and blackened areas by processing with the processing liquid, using a processing liquid; and a drying section for drying the photosensitive material. The photosensitive material processing apparatus, wherein the drying section performs infrared drying in a constant rate drying area and performs hot air drying without performing infrared drying in a decreasing rate drying area. 2. The processing section according to claim 1, wherein the processing section processes the photosensitive material with a developing solution followed by a fixing solution.
3. A photosensitive material processing apparatus according to claim 1.