JPH0815839A - Photograph processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a processor for photographically processing a photosensitive material exposed by an automatic photograph booth provided with a module unit constituted so as to invariably maintain the thermodynamic and chemical state of the processor so as to invariably maintain the image quality of photographs and continuously arranged for the simplification of maintenance. CONSTITUTION: This processor is provided with the plural pieces of modules one each for respective processing stages and the respective modules are constituted of a circulation pump 4 for guaranteeing continuous invariable action by a reactant in a certain period, a measuring pump 5, an overflow pipe 7, an ejection pipe 8, a used processing solution housing tank 9, a tank 10 for housing a fresh processing solution and a bath 1 provided with a transportation pipe system and a roller transporter. Every time the exposed photosensitive material is developed, the prescribed amount of the processing solution is sent to the bath 1 by the pump 5 and the equal amount of the processing solution from the bath is sent from the overflow pipe into a waste solution tank 9.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a photographic processor for processing exposed positive or negative photosensitive material in several stages. The apparatus of the present invention is particularly suitable for mounting in an automated photo booth, but is not necessarily limited to this application.

[0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Devices for the automatic processing of photosensitive materials in several stages have been known for some time. In this type of apparatus, a photosensitive material composed of a flexible support coated with a photosensitive emulsion comprises a plurality of chambers containing a solution of a chemically treated product which acts on the photosensitive material. It is moved by a mechanical device for moving through. Usually one chamber is provided for carrying out one particular process step.

Photosensitive materials usually require several processing steps, each processing step being set by the manufacturer of the photosensitive material, the particular type of solution, the length of processing time, the processing temperature and It features a processing method.

In the prior art apparatus, as is generally known, the quality of the photographs produced by the developing device changes over time, so in order to obtain photographs of constant image quality, a filter should be used. It may be necessary to replace it, change the processing temperature, or repeat the flush.

Moreover, prior art devices use mechanical arms, baths, bottles, loading motors, feed motors and feed motors, and thus present transmission problems. As a practical matter, constant maintenance work is required, including weekly cleaning, bath level and bottle consumption checks, and changes in concentration caused by contamination and natural evaporation of treated products.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention eliminates the above problems and uses a continuous solution using a technical solution that maintains the thermodynamic and chemical states of the processing equipment unchanged. The purpose of this invention is to simplify the problems of mechanical maintenance by providing a modular processing device and a transport structure.

These conditions are maintained by an automated system that includes a group of pumps and a container containing a reserve of process liquid and a waste container.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a photographic processing apparatus for processing exposed photosensitive material in several stages, in which the photographic processing apparatus is arranged in series. A module unit, the number of which is at least equal to the number of some photographic processes the photosensitive material has to undergo during subsequent steps, each module unit being A bath and a device for transporting the photosensitive material, the transport device comprising: i. Two side elements connected together by a connecting bar and provided with holes for assembly, ii. A gear shaft mounted in the hole such that a sprocket wheel is located outside one of the side elements, iii. A roller for transporting the photosensitive material carried and displaced by the shaft between the two side elements, the transport roller carrying the photosensitive material transported on the central part of the roller. The surface of the transport roller of the transport device has a cross-section that increases slightly from both ends toward the center to maintain alignment and alignment, and the surface of the transport roller within the transport device and its identification. Selected for its rigidity, flexibility, spongy quality or impermeability by photographic processing carried out at position b, and additionally an overflow tube for maintaining a constant level of processing liquid in the bath, b). A hydraulic control group, the hydraulic control group comprising: i. A tank containing fresh processing liquid, ii. A tank containing the used processing liquid connected to the overflow tube for receiving the used processing liquid from the bath, iii. A metering pump for introducing a predetermined dose of processing liquid into the bath before processing each exposed portion of the photosensitive material, iv. It is an object of the present invention to provide a photographic processing apparatus, which is provided with a circulating pump for keeping the processing liquid in the bath in a moving state while processing the photosensitive material.

According to a further feature of the invention, the transport roller is constructed of a material whose flexibility changes depending on the process to be performed, and the transport roller aligns the transported film material regardless of its width. Therefore, it has a gradually increasing diameter toward the center.

The apparatus of the present invention can be used to process exposed photosensitive material using either a positive or negative process.

Moreover, since the photosensitive material can be automatically aligned during transportation through various processing and transport devices, it is not limited to the use of photosensitive material of a particular width, but for photographic materials. Both continuous and single piece films can be processed.

[0012]

Other features of the present invention are illustrated in more detail in the enclosed drawings. The device according to the invention comprises several modular baths completely closed by a cover to prevent evaporation. For example, the number of baths can be 5, and the bath volume is about 2 liters. Since these five baths were manufactured using modular components, it would be sufficient to describe one modular unit to describe the entire system.

In FIG. 1, a bath designated by the numeral 1 is inserted into a module pass system 2 and the photographic film immersed in the liquid 3 in the bath 1 is surrounded by the flow generated by a circulation pump 4. Circulating pump 4 draws liquid from the bottom of the bath and returns it to the center of the transport module, as described below.

This bath is also connected to another hydraulic regeneration circuit which makes it possible to keep the quality of the treatment liquid in the bath constant. This regeneration circuit comprises a batching pump 5 for adding a set amount of treatment liquid to the bath 1. The metering pump 5 adds the treatment liquid through the same suction pipe 6 used by the circulation pump 4. The metering pump 5 adds this set amount of processing liquid each time a picture is taken and a processing cycle has to be performed.

The level of the processing liquid in the bath 1 is kept constant by an overflow pipe 7 formed integrally with the bath 1. This overflow pipe 7
Is connected to a waste liquid recovery tank, that is, a processing tank 9 by a discharge pipe 8. A supply tank 10 containing a fresh treatment liquid is connected to a metering pump 5 via a suction pipe 11.

The hydraulic circuit obviously comprises a conventional control valve and a tube 12 which allows the liquid to be completely drained from the system.

Each bath is equipped with a thermostatically controlled heating device to maintain the desired temperature.

The operation of pumps 4 and 5 is commanded by an intervening series of time counts each time a picture is taken.

In addition, a night timer is used to compensate for the lack of regeneration during the overnight rest period.

As the metering pump, it is preferable to use a bellows pump that delivers a set amount of processing liquid each time the exposed photosensitive material is developed. This set amount reaches 3 cm ³ for each development cycle in certain embodiments. As a result, preferably 3c
An equal amount of processing liquid of m ³ is supplied to the waste liquid tank 9 by the overflow pipe 7.
To be removed in.

The transport of the light-sensitive material through the various processing steps is carried out using similarly modular construction drives, or transport modules, located in each bath.

The structure of the transport module is illustrated in FIG. This transport module comprises side elements 13, 13 held together by a structural bar 15 secured by bolts.
It consists of. The side elements 13, 13 are provided with holes inside which the shaft 16 is rotatably mounted (see FIG. 3). At one end of the shaft 16, the sprocket wheel 1
7 are integrally formed.

A roller 19 is mounted on the shaft 16. The roller 19 has a synthetic structure and has a surface composed of a material which varies depending on the type of developing material and photosensitive material used.

These rollers, called "flexible rollers", are sponge-like materials, silicone resin materials, polyvinyl chloride,
Alternatively, it is made of a sponge-like material covered with a flexible silicone resin sheath. The soft nature of these rollers provides a special help when impregnating the photosensitive material with the active substance and gives a better interaction, among other things being trapped between the hard roller and the emulsion on the photosensitive material. Prevents scratches or markings often caused by the presence of dust or crystallized residue obtained.

The rollers 19 are individually and selectively "soft".
Alternatively, it can be configured to be "hard" or have an intermediate consistency between soft and hard, but is constructed in a modular structure, as described below.

Referring to FIG. 3, as mentioned above, each shaft 16 having a sprocket wheel 17 is a fixed module element. As can be seen from FIG. 3a, an intermediate tube 18 of plastic material is frictionally fixed to the shaft 16 in order to form a flexible sponge-like surface on the roller. This intermediate tube 18 is preferably constructed of a deformable material and preferably has a polygonal cross section with an outer surface 20 that is textured to generate friction. On the middle tube 18,
A sleeve 21 made of a sponge-like material is inserted.
The sleeve 21 is moved integrally with the intermediate tube 18 and the shaft 16. The synthetic roller configured as described above and flexible when contacting the photosensitive material also serves to bring the processing liquid into close contact with the photosensitive material by absorbing and releasing the processing liquid itself which is in pressure contact with the photosensitive material itself. Suitable for ((A) of FIG. 3)

This type of roller has the cross section illustrated in FIG. An outer sheath 22 (FIG. 3 (c)) may be mounted on the sponge-like sleeve 21 if the roller is sufficiently flexible and pressurizes, but the surface tissue is not required to be spongy. A cross-sectional view of this type of synthetic roller is illustrated in FIG.

On the other hand, if it is necessary to make this roller of a hard material, this synthetic roller can be made of a shaft 16 and a sleeve 23 of hard plastic material, which sleeve 23 and Axis 16
It is fixed by a pin 24 fitted in a corresponding hole formed in the.

Synthetic rollers of this type can preferably be arranged in the transport module. The preferred materials used to construct this synthetic roller are polypropylene for the shaft 16, polyvinyl chloride which is deformable for the tube 18, polyurethane foam for the sponge sleeve 21, silicon for the outer sheath 22. Resin, and hard polyvinyl chloride or silicon resin for the hard sleeve 23.

FIG. 8 is a diagrammatic representation of the roller positions in various modules for various types of processing, numbered.

In the case of five modules for processing colored films, module number 1 represents the input module including additional rollers numbered 10 and 11, and the selection of various types of rollers is as follows. Shown in the table.

In this table, the following abbreviations have been used and have the meanings given: Module number of the MOD series SPG Roller with sponge-like surface SIL Silicon resin roller GUA Sponge roller coated with silicon resin sheath PVC Polyvinyl chloride MOD SPG SIL GUA PVC 1 6-7-8-9-11 11 1- 4-5 3-10 2 2-3-5-4-6-1 7-8-9 3 All modules 4 All modules 5 2-3-5-6-7-1-4 8-9

A further characteristic of the invention is that the roller 19 has a diameter which increases slightly towards the center, and thus
It has a "convex" shape. This shape keeps the strip of photosensitive material passing through the roller 19 in perfect alignment. This shape of the roller 19 serves to straighten the flexible material even if it is introduced at an angle. For this reason, the device according to the invention does not comprise any side guides for the photosensitive material, since the "convex" shape of the roller 19 acts as a guide.

A further advantage of this type of roller is that it is possible to insert photosensitive material of any width, the width of the photosensitive material not obviously reducing the processing effect.
And not limited to the normal development cycle, but only limited by the maximum width of the roller. As a practical matter, a developing machine with rollers for photosensitive material having a maximum width of 25 cm can process sheets having a width of up to 2 cm. In one particular case approximately 120 m
A roller having a width of m can pass a photosensitive material having a width of approximately 40 mm without any alignment problems. Transfer from one bath to another is accomplished by moving from a roller in one module to a roller in the next module where the photosensitive material is further processed.

From the above description, it can be seen that the present invention has the following advantages.

The treatment liquid in each bath is kept on a permanent liquid surface. This treatment liquid is an active liquid.
It is kept at about the same density as ct) and guarantees a constant and uniform development quality and avoids a decrease in the effect which causes a color change.

Treatment product (treatment product)
Significant savings in ct) are obtained with the important result of preventing the generation of messy chemical waste that is difficult to dispose of.

The developed product operates such that when the apparatus is operated, the processing solution is sucked up from a position several centimeters upward from the bottom of the bath and the processing solution is pressurized and returned between the module rollers. It is kept uniform by the circulation pump 4.

It is not necessary to provide a fixed guide for the photosensitive material to automatically align on the rollers and move directly from one bath roller to the next. This means that the rollers in each module squeeze out and hold the process liquid, so that the level of product contamination is low when moving from one bath to the next.

A further advantage is the elimination of product contamination and oxidation by crystallized residues formed on the side and top guides not provided in the device according to the invention. By using self-aligning rollers, it is possible to process photographic material that is fed as a continuous strip or discontinuously in the form of a piece of film. Moreover, the device is capable of processing both positive and negative materials.

In summary, this device is easy to use, reliable, economical in treating agent consumption, gives a certain quality to the product, lowers production cost, has high flexibility and maintenance cost. It is characterized by being able to reduce.

While the present invention has been described in considerable detail above,
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that this device can be manufactured using means technically equivalent to those described above without departing from the scope of the invention.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a diagram of a module unit in a device according to the invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a roller transport group in a module unit.

FIG. 3 a part shows an intermediate tube fixed on the axis of a transport composite roller structure, b part shows a sleeve of sponge-like material fitted in the intermediate tube, c part shows a sponge sleeve. Figure 5 shows the outer sheath fitted over.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of an intermediate tube mounted on the shaft shown in part a of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a transport composite roller structure.

FIG. 6 is a view showing another example of the transporting synthetic roller structure.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing still another embodiment of the transporting synthetic roller structure.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of distribution of various structures in the transportation apparatus illustrated in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Bath 3 Liquid 4 Circulation Pump 5 Metering Pump 7 Overflow Pipe 8 Discharge Pipe 9 Waste Liquid Recovery Tank 10 Fresh Treatment Liquid Storage Tank 11 Suction Pipe 13 Side Element 15 Connecting Rod 16 Shaft 17 Sprocket Wheel 18 Intermediate Pipe 19 Roller 20 Outer surface 21 Sleeve 22 Sheath 23 Sleeve

Claims (13)

[Claims] 1. A photographic processing apparatus for processing exposed photosensitive material in several stages, said photographic processing apparatus comprising several modular units arranged in series, the number of said modular units being said At least equal to the number of some photographic processes the photosensitive material has to undergo during the subsequent steps, each module unit a) transporting the processing liquid (1) and transporting said photosensitive material A device for performing i. Two side elements (13) connected together by a connecting bar (15) and provided with assembly holes, ii. A gear shaft (16) mounted in the hole such that a sprocket wheel (17) is located outside one of the side elements, iii. A roller (19) for transporting the photographic material carried by the shaft (16) and displaced between the two side elements, said transport roller (1
9) has a cross-section that increases slightly from both ends toward the center to align and maintain the photosensitive material transported in the center of the roller, the transport of the transport device The surface of the roller (19) is selected for its rigidity, flexibility, spongy quality or impermeability by the location of the roller in the transport device, the photographic processing performed at that particular location, and in the bath. An overflow pipe (7) for maintaining a constant liquid level of the processing liquid, and b) a hydraulic pressure control group, the hydraulic pressure control group including: i. A tank (10) for containing fresh processing liquid, ii. A tank (9) containing the used processing liquid connected to the overflow pipe (7) for receiving the used processing liquid from the bath, and iii. A metering pump (5) for introducing a predetermined dose of processing liquid into the bath prior to processing each portion of the exposed photosensitive material, iv. A photographic processing apparatus comprising: a circulation pump (4) for keeping the processing liquid in the bath in a moving state while processing the photosensitive material. 2. A photographic processing device according to claim 1, wherein a transport roller in a module unit is integrally mounted on the shaft (16) mounted on the side element and on the shaft (16). And a sleeve (23) of a hard plastic material forming a rigid synthetic roller. 3. The photographic processing device according to claim 2, wherein the hard plastic material forming the sleeve is polyvinyl chloride or silicon resin. 4. A photographic processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a transport roller in a module unit constitutes a flexible synthetic roller capable of collecting and releasing processing liquid while entraining the photosensitive material. An inelastic deformable intermediate tube which is in coaxial contact with the shaft (16) mounted on the side element (13) and which is mounted on and driven by the shaft. (1
8) and a photographic processor comprising a sleeve (21) of sponge-like plastic material mounted on and in driving contact with said tube (18). 5. Photographic processing apparatus according to claim 4, characterized in that the roller is flexible on the sponge-like sleeve (21) in order to constitute a flexible synthetic roller having a smooth impermeable surface. Sheath of plastic material (2
A photographic processor further comprising 2). 6. A photographic processing device according to claim 1, wherein the shaft (16) is made of polypropylene and the shaft (16) and the tube (18).
Photographic processing apparatus having ridges for increasing friction between and. 7. The photographic processing apparatus according to claim 4, 5, or 6, wherein the inelastic deformable plastic material from which the tube is manufactured is polyvinyl chloride, And a photographic processor in which the tube has a hexagonal cross section with ridges on its outer surface to increase friction. 8. The photographic processing apparatus according to claim 4, 5, 6, or 7.
A photographic processor in which the sponge-like plastic material from which the sleeve is manufactured is polyurethane foam. 9. The photographic processing device according to claim 4, wherein the flexible plastic material from which the sheath is manufactured is a silicon resin. 10. A photographic processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the photosensitive material is a strip of photographic material or a portion of photosensitive material. 11. A photographic processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the exposed photosensitive material is a photographic positive or a photographic negative. 12. The photographic processing device according to claim 1, wherein the number of the module units is 5. 13. The photographic processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a lid is attached to the top of the bath to prevent evaporation of the processing liquid. apparatus.