JPH1069052A - Photosensitive material processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To develop an image exposed on a photosensitive material by a simple method, and to suppress the uneven density caused in developing. SOLUTION: The film F stuck to a processing sheet 60 by sticking rollers 82 is heated and developed through a photosensitive material carrying belt 74 at a thermal developing part 66. As for the photosentisive material carrying belt 74 used in this case, the surface coming into contact with the film F is smoothened, then, the film F is uniformly pressurized and heated. After the end of thermal developing, the film F is separated from the processing sheet 60 by a roller 90C.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a processing sheet for developing an image on a silver halide light-sensitive material by superposing the silver halide light-sensitive material on which an image has been exposed and heating the same. And a photosensitive material processing apparatus for developing an image of a silver halide photosensitive material using the method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, squirrel films (photosensitive materials) used for printing newspapers, magazines, etc., are similar to photographic films.
An image is formed by performing development, fixing processing (wet processing), and the like using a liquid containing a chemical such as a processing liquid.

[0003]

However, in such a conventional photosensitive material processing apparatus, as described above, development,
Fixing is required, and the process is complicated.

Further, since a liquid containing a chemical such as a processing liquid is used as a processing agent, the management thereof is troublesome, and the deterioration of the apparatus due to contamination of the apparatus or the like has been caused.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned facts, has a simple developing process, can improve the maintainability, and further has a density generated when an image is developed on a photosensitive material. An object of the present invention is to provide a photosensitive material processing apparatus capable of suppressing unevenness.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a light-sensitive material processing apparatus according to claim 1 is characterized in that an image-exposed silver halide light-sensitive material and an exposed silver halide light-sensitive material are exposed on the silver halide light-sensitive material. Coating means for applying an image forming solvent to at least one of the processing sheets containing a chemical for thermally developing an image, and the silver halide light-sensitive material, wherein the silver halide light-sensitive material and the processing sheet are superimposed and transported. A transport belt whose surface on the material side is smoothed, heat developing means for heating and thermally developing the superposed silver halide photosensitive material and the processing sheet via the transport belt; and A separating means for separating the silver halide photosensitive material from the processing sheet.

According to the photosensitive material processing apparatus of the present invention, an image forming solvent is applied to at least one of the processing sheet and the silver halide photosensitive material to which the image has been exposed by the application means.

Thereafter, the processing sheet and the silver halide photosensitive material are overlaid and thermally developed by a thermal developing means. Here, since the processing sheet contains an agent for developing the image exposed on the silver halide photosensitive material, by heating the superposed silver halide photosensitive material and the processing sheet, The silver halide photosensitive material is developed to form an exposed image. In the thermal developing means, the silver halide photosensitive material is transported by a transport belt whose contact surface is smoothed, and is developed by being heated via the transport belt.

When the heat development is completed, the silver halide light-sensitive material and the processing sheet are separated by a separating means.

As described above, according to the light-sensitive material processing apparatus of the present invention, the silver halide light-sensitive material to which an image has been exposed can be processed by a simple method without performing complicated developing and fixing processes as in the prior art. The image can be developed. Also,
Since a liquid containing a chemical, such as a processing liquid, is not used, it is not necessary to store and replenish such a liquid, clean the apparatus, and the like, thereby improving the maintainability of the apparatus related to image formation. Furthermore, since the surface of the conveyor belt used for thermal development has a smooth surface on the side of the silver halide photosensitive material, uniform heat treatment can be performed, resulting in a poor finished state of the surface of the conveyor belt. It is possible to suppress uneven density and transfer of the mesh of the conveyor belt.

The silver halide light-sensitive material of the present invention comprises:
The support preferably contains a photosensitive silver halide emulsion having a silver chloride content of at least 70 mol%, a hydrophilic binder, and a basic metal compound which is hardly soluble in water on a support.

The processed sheet preferably contains a chemical compound containing a complex forming compound for metal ions constituting the basic metal compound, a physical development nucleus and a silver halide solvent.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the photosensitive material processing apparatus according to the first aspect, the transport belt includes a web in which heat-resistant fibers are woven in a mesh shape, and the web has a predetermined thickness. And a heat-resistant elastic material layer having an elasticity applied, wherein the smoothing of the transport belt is performed by polishing the heat-resistant elastic material layer.

According to the photosensitive material processing apparatus of the present invention, the transport belt used for performing the thermal development is constituted by a web in which heat-resistant fibers are woven in a mesh shape and a heat-resistant elastic material layer having elasticity. Is done. The heat-resistant elastic material at this time is a material having a heat-resistant temperature which is higher than a predetermined temperature, in this case, a heating temperature at the time of thermal development, has a small thermal expansion within this heat-resistant temperature range, and has elasticity. Therefore, the transport belt has excellent elasticity. The surface of the conveyor belt is smoothed by polishing. Therefore, smoothing of the conveyor belt can be performed with high accuracy by relatively simple means such as grinding. Other methods of smoothing the conveyor belt include a method of sandwiching the conveyor belt between a pair of rollers.

The heat-resistant fiber in the conveyor belt is preferably a heat-resistant silicon core, and the heat-resistant elastic material is preferably conductive silicon rubber.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows the internal structure of the photosensitive material processing apparatus 10. As shown in FIG. 1, the main body 12 of the photosensitive material processing apparatus 10 is formed in a box shape. An exposure device 11 that exposes an image to the film F and discharges the image is disposed on the right side (the direction of the arrow R) of the photosensitive material processing device 10.

On the right side of the main body 12, an undeveloped film F
Is provided with a slit-shaped insertion port 14 through which the developed film F is discharged. A tray 18 for receiving the film F discharged from the discharge port 16 to the outside of the main body 12 is formed at an upper portion of the main body 12.

The photosensitive material processing apparatus 10 of the present embodiment develops a film F (for example, B5 to A0 size) for forming a binary image used for printing newspapers, magazines, and the like. The film F in this embodiment corresponds to the silver halide light-sensitive material of the present invention, and has on a support a photosensitive silver halide emulsion having a silver chloride content of at least 70 mol%, a hydrophilic binder, and a water-insoluble solvent. Contains basic metal compounds.

A door (not shown) is provided on the left side of the main body 12 in the direction of the arrow L. The door can be opened and closed to expose the inside.

On the right side inside the main body 12, there is provided an insertion buffer section 24 for temporarily suspending the film F inserted from the insertion port 14.

The insertion buffer section 24 includes the transport rollers 2
6. The branch guide 28 and the transport roller 30 are arranged in this order. The transport roller 26 is driven by the motor
Is rotated at a speed corresponding to the insertion speed of the transfer roller 30.
Is rotated by a motor 34 at a speed corresponding to the processing speed of the photosensitive material processing apparatus 10. However, the rotation speed of the transport roller 30 is lower than the rotation speed of the transport roller 26.

The branch guide 28 includes a solenoid 36
1 is switched to a horizontal state shown by a solid line in FIG. 1 and a vertical state shown by an imaginary line. When the state is switched to the vertical state, the rotation speed of the transport roller 30 is slower than the rotation speed of the transport roller 26. The film F can be slackened between the transport roller 26 and the transport roller 30 as indicated by imaginary lines.

An insertion sensor 38 for detecting passage of the leading end of the film F is provided between the insertion opening 14 and the transport roller 26.
Is provided.

The insertion buffer section 24 can absorb a speed difference between the processing speed of the photosensitive material processing device 10 (for example, 30 mm / sec) and the processing speed of the exposure device 11 (for example, 100 mm / sec).

On the downstream side of the transport roller 30 in the transport direction of the film F, a photosensitive material carry-in section 40 and water as an image forming solvent are applied, and a water application section 42 as an application means is provided. The water at this time is not limited to so-called pure water, but includes water in a widely and generally used sense. Further, a mixed solvent of water and a low boiling point solvent such as methanol, DMF, acetone, diisobutyl ketone and the like may be used. Further, a solution containing an image formation accelerator, an antifoggant, a development terminator, a hydrophilic heat solvent, a preservative, a fungicide and the like may be used.

The photosensitive material carry-in section 40 has an insertion buffer section 24
There are provided a plurality of transport rollers 44 for transporting the film F transported from the water application section 42 to the water application section 42. In the middle of the film transport path of the photosensitive material loading section 40,
A standby sensor 46 for detecting the passage of the leading end of the film F is provided.

An application tank 48 is arranged in the water application section 42. The application tank 48 is formed in a dish shape, and the inside is filled with water as a solvent for image formation. The application tank 48 is provided with an arc-shaped guide 51 for immersing the film F in water.

Above the coating tank 48, there is provided a squeeze roller 50 which is composed of horizontally arranged rollers 50A and 50B, and which removes excess water adhering to the film F and conveys it upward. The rotation center of the roller 50A and the rotation center of the roller 50B are on the same horizontal plane, and the squeeze roller 50 conveys the film F right above.

The water application section 42 includes a replenishment tank and a pump (both not shown) for replenishing the application tank 48 with water.

Inside the main body 12, a processing sheet unwinding section 52 is provided on the left side, and a processing sheet winding section 54 is provided above the processing sheet unwinding section 52.

A supply shaft 58 rotated by a motor 56 is detachably provided in the processing sheet unwinding section 52. A long processing sheet 60 is wound around the supply shaft 58 in a roll shape. .

On the other hand, a winding shaft 64 rotated by a motor 62 is detachably provided at the processing sheet winding section 54, and the processing sheet 60 sent from the supply shaft 58 is wound around the winding shaft 64. To take. The supply shaft 58
The take-up shaft 64 can be removed from the main body 12 by opening a door (not shown) provided on the left side surface of the main body 12.

The processing sheet 60 in this embodiment is
Is constituted by coating a layer containing a complex forming compound for a metal ion constituting a basic metal compound, a physical development nucleus and a silver halide solvent on both sides of a support. Therefore, the processing sheet 60 wound once on the winding shaft 64 in the processing sheet winding section 54 after being used once in the heat development processing is moved from the processing sheet unwinding section 52 to the winding shaft 64.
Then, by re-attaching the supply shaft 58 to the processing sheet winding section 54, it can be used again.

At a substantially center of the main body 12, a heat developing section 66 as a heat developing means is provided. In the thermal developing section 66, a plurality of hot plates 68A to 68E are arranged in an arc shape.

Each of the hot plates 68A to 68E has a built-in flat heater and temperature sensor (not shown), and is heated to a predetermined temperature by the heater.

Below the lowermost hot plate 68A, a roller 70 is disposed on the right side of the transport path of the film F indicated by a dashed line. On the side of the hot plate 68E of the heat developing section 66, a hot plate 106 is further arranged along the transport path of the film F, and on the right side of the hot plate 106, below the transport path of the film F. A roller 72 is provided. The hot plate 106 is used for heating and drying the film F.

Roller 70, hot plates 68A-68E, hot plate 1
The photosensitive material transport belt 74 as a transport belt whose surface in contact with the rear surface of the film F is polished and polished is wound around the roller 06 and the roller 72. The photosensitive material transport belt 74 further includes a roller. 76 and 78. The rollers 70, 72, 76, 78 are connected to each other by a timing belt (or a chain or the like) (not shown), and are rotated by a motor 80.

Below the roller 70, a bonding roller 82 composed of a roller 82A and a roller 82B is disposed. The roller 82B is rotated by a motor 84, and the roller 82A is urged toward the roller 82B by a spring (not shown).

A roller 86 around which the processing sheet 60 is wound is disposed below the supply shaft 58. The processing sheet 60 sent out from the supply shaft 58 is wound around the roller 86, and then the above-described laminating roller. It is transported along the hot plates 68 </ b> A to 68 </ b> E via 82.

At positions facing the hot plates 68A to 68E,
An urging device 88 is provided. The urging device 88 includes rollers 90A, 90B, 90C, and these rollers 90A, 90B.
And a belt 92 that is wound around 90B and 90C and biases the processing sheet 60 toward the outer peripheral surfaces of the hot plates 68A to 68E. The rollers 90A, 90B, and 90C are connected to each other by a timing belt (or a chain or the like) (not shown), and are rotated by a motor 94.

Above the urging device 88, a processing sheet drying section 96 is provided. The processing sheet drying unit 96 includes hot plates 98A and 98B for heating the processing sheet 60, a fan 100 for blowing the processing sheet 60, and a holding roller 102 for bringing the processing sheet 60 into contact with or close to the heating plates 98A and 98B. I have.

A film drying unit 104 is provided downstream of the thermal developing unit 66 in the transport direction of the film F.
The film drying unit 104 includes a hot plate 1 for heating the film F.
06 and a fan 108 for blowing air to the film F.

On the downstream side of the film drying section 104 in the transport direction of the film F, a roller 110 for nipping and feeding the film F between the photosensitive material transport belt 74 wound around the roller 72 and a rear end of the film F A rear end sensor 118 for detecting passage, a substantially U-shaped conveyance guide 112, a conveyance roller 114, and a conveyance roller 116 are arranged in this order. The transport roller 114 and the transport roller 116 are connected to each other by a timing belt (or a chain or the like) (not shown), and are rotated by a motor 119.

The film F conveyed by the photosensitive material conveying belt 74 wound around the roller 72 and the roller 110
Is discharged from the discharge port 16 to the outside of the main body 12 through the conveyance guide 112 by the conveyance roller 114 and the conveyance roller 116.

A control device 140 is provided at the lowermost portion of the main body 12, and controls the entire operation of the thermal development processing of the photosensitive material processing apparatus 10. The control device 140 includes a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, and the like (not shown).

Here, the roller 82 of the laminating roller 82
The rotation center of the roller A and the rotation center of the roller 82B are on the same horizontal plane, and the tangent P ₁ between the roller 82A and the roller 82B.
Are the rollers 50A and 50B of the squeeze roller 50
Directly above the tangent line P ₂ of the. As a result, the film F to which water has been applied is conveyed directly above by the squeeze roller 50.

Since the rotation center of the roller 82A of the bonding roller 82 and the rotation center of the roller 82B are on the same horizontal plane, the film F is further conveyed, and the rear end of the film F in the conveyance direction is separated from the squeeze roller 50. However, the latter half of the film F in the transport direction is transported by the laminating roller 82 while maintaining the vertical state by its own weight. Therefore, the film F coated with water is superimposed on the processing sheet 60 at a constant angle from the front end to the rear end.

As described above, the film F and the processing sheet 60
Is always superimposed while maintaining a certain angle,
The development unevenness of the film F can be suppressed. The direction of the film F entering the laminating roller 82 is most preferably in the vertical direction (vertical direction), but there is no problem even if the film F is slightly inclined within ± 15 °. If the angle of entry of the film F is more than 15 ° with respect to the vertical direction, the film F is bent by its own weight when the rear end in the transport direction of the film F is separated from the squeeze roller 50, and the film F and the processing sheet 60 Since the contact angle suddenly changes and the state of the contact portion changes, there is a possibility that band-like processing unevenness may occur in the film F, which is not preferable.

The photosensitive material transport belt 74 used in the thermal development in the thermal development section 66 has a web, which is a mesh-like heat-resistant silicon core, and is coated on the web to smooth the film F side. It is composed of conductive silicon rubber. Next, with reference to FIG. 2, a description will be given of a manufacturing process of the photosensitive material transport belt 74. In addition, FIG.
FIG. 2B is a view showing a web knitting state in the photosensitive material transport belt 74, and FIG. 2B is a view showing the photosensitive material transport belt 7 before polishing.
FIG. 2C is a cross-sectional view of a coarse belt 206 described below, which is No. 4.
Is a sectional view of the photosensitive material transport belt 74 after polishing.

First, as shown in FIG. 2A, a web 202 is manufactured by knitting a heat-resistant silicon core 200 (for example, Nomex (trade name, manufactured by DuPont)) in a mesh shape. Thus, the web 202 is made of the heat-resistant silicon core 2.
Since it is formed in a mesh shape using 00, it is very excellent in elasticity. The direction of arrow M is the direction of the web 202.
The direction in which the film F is conveyed by the photosensitive material conveying belt 74 using is shown.

In this embodiment, the heat-resistant silicon core 2
Use Nomex with a diameter of 0.35 mm as 00,
The thickness of the web 202 was about 0.35 mm.

Next, as shown in FIG.
02 is coated with a conductive silicon rubber 204 to form a rough belt 206. As shown in FIG. 2A, since the web 202 has the heat-resistant silicon core 200 woven in a mesh shape, a space exists between the heat-resistant silicon cores 200. Due to the effect of this space, the rough belt 2
The upper surface T of the conductive silicon rubber 204 is uneven.

In this case, the conductive silicon rubber 204
In this embodiment, the thickness Y of the coating is 0.4 mm to 0.1 mm.
About 5 mm is preferable.

Finally, as shown in FIG. 2C, the conductive silicone rubber 204 coated on the surface of the rough belt 206 is used.
The upper surface T is ground and polished to produce the photosensitive material transport belt 74. By this polishing process, the surface of the conductive silicon rubber 204 has no irregularities and is smoothed.

The polishing in the present embodiment is performed so that the thickness Z of the conductive silicon rubber 204 of the photosensitive material conveying belt 74 obtained after the polishing is about 0.3 mm. Therefore, the thickness of the photosensitive material transport belt 74 is 0.65 mm.
About. In addition, the finished state of the surface by polishing in the present embodiment is such that the center line average roughness Ra is about 1.6a.

The photosensitive material transport belt 74 manufactured by the above steps is wound around each roller in the heat developing section 66 such that the polished surface comes into contact with the film F when the film F is transported. Used.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the flow of the heat development process performed by the control device 140.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. Photosensitive material processing apparatus 10 having the above configuration
Then, when the exposed film F discharged from the exposure device 11 is inserted into the insertion port 14 and the leading end of the film F is detected by the insertion sensor 38, in step 302,
The transport roller 26 is driven at a speed corresponding to the speed at which the film F is inserted.
Is rotated, and the transport roller 30 is rotated at a speed corresponding to the processing speed of the photosensitive material processing apparatus 10 to transport the film F to the inside.

The processing speed of the film F in the photosensitive material processing apparatus 10 (after the transport roller 30) is slower than the insertion speed of the film F.
The branch guide 28 is switched to the vertical state shown by the imaginary line, and the rear side in the transport direction of the film F hangs down, for example, as shown by the imaginary line in FIG. Whether or not the film F has been nipped by the transport roller 30 can be determined by counting the elapsed time from the time when the leading end of the film F is detected by the insertion sensor 38.

The film F transported by the transport roller 30
Is transported to the water application section 42 by the transport roller 44 of the photosensitive material loading section 40. The film F is immersed in the water stored in the application tank 48, and then the excess water is removed by a squeeze roller 50 and transported right above.

When the leading end of the film F is detected by the standby sensor 46 and a predetermined time has elapsed, that is, when the leading end of the film F reaches just before the entrance side of the laminating roller 82, in step 304, the photosensitive material transport belt 74 and the belt The film 92 and the processing sheet 60 are transported at the same speed as the transport speed of the film F. As a result, the film F coated with water and the processing sheet 60 are bonded by the bonding roller 82, and are conveyed to the heat developing unit 66. At this time, the transport rollers 114 and 116 are simultaneously rotated at a speed at which the film F can be transported at the same speed as the transport speed of the thermal developing section 66.

Thereafter, the film F passes over the hot plate 68 of the heat developing section 66 in a state of being superposed on the processing sheet 60, and is heated to form an image on the film F. Since water adheres to the film F and the belt 92 presses the processing sheet 60 against the film F, the film F and the processing sheet 60 are uniformly thermally developed in a state of being in close contact with each other.

When the film F and the processing sheet 60 are conveyed to the rear end of the heat developing section 66, the processing sheet 60 is separated from the film F by a roller 90C as a separating means, and after being dried in the processing sheet drying section 96, Winding shaft 64
It is wound up.

On the other hand, at step 306, the roller 90C
The rear end of the film F peeled off from the processing sheet 60 and dried in the film drying unit 104 is
Then, a determination is made as to whether or not a detection has been made, and when a detection has been made, an affirmative determination is made, and the process proceeds to step 308.
The transport driving of the thermal developing unit 66 and the processing sheet 60 is stopped. At this time, the transport roller 114 and the transport roller 116
Since is still rotated, the film F is continuously transported.

In step 316, it is determined whether or not the film F has been discharged from the discharge port 16 onto the tray 18 via the conveyance guide 112, the conveyance rollers 114, and the conveyance rollers 116. The determination as to whether the film F has been discharged onto the tray 18 is made based on the transport time of the film F. That is, the rear end of the film F is the rear end sensor 118
It is determined that the film F has been discharged to the tray 18 when a predetermined time, which is experimentally obtained in advance, elapses after the detection of.

When it is determined that the film F has been discharged onto the tray 18, in step 318, the transport driving of the film F by the transport rollers 114 and 116 is stopped.

As described above, the film F having an image (photographed image) exposed using the photosensitive material processing apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment is complexed on a support in the presence of a reducing agent and water. By superimposing with a processing sheet 60 having a layer containing a forming compound, a physical development nucleus and a silver halide solvent, an image is easily formed by heat development without performing complicated developing and fixing processes as in the related art. can do.

Further, in the photosensitive material processing apparatus 10, since water as an image forming solvent is applied to the film F before the film F and the processing sheet 60 are overlapped, a complex-forming compound for metal ions or silver halide is applied. The solvent and the like are easily diffused, and the process of developing an image on the film F can be more effectively performed.

Further, in the photosensitive material processing apparatus 10, since the surface of the photosensitive material transport belt 74 which is used for thermal development and which comes into contact with the film F is smoothed by polishing, the photosensitive material transporting belt 74 is used for thermal development. Heat and pressure can be uniformly applied to the film F, whereby density unevenness can be suppressed.

In this embodiment, water as an image forming solvent is applied to the film F. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and water may be applied to the processing sheet 60. It may be applied to both the film F and the processing sheet 60.

Further, in the present embodiment, the case where the photosensitive material transport belt 74 is manufactured using the heat-resistant silicon core 200 and the conductive silicon rubber 204 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. Any material may be used as long as it has elasticity, heat resistance, and durability.

Further, in the present embodiment, the case where the smoothing of the transport belt is performed only for the photosensitive material transport belt 74 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this.
The operation may be performed only on the belt 92, or may be performed on both the photosensitive material transport belt 74 and the belt 92. When both the light-sensitive material transport belt 74 and the belt 92 are smoothed, it is possible to further suppress the density unevenness and the transfer of the mesh of the belt as compared with the case where only one of them is smoothed.

[0074]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The image exposed silver halide light-sensitive material can be easily heat-developed to form an image without performing complicated developing and fixing processes as in the past, and at the same time it is used during heat development. Since the surface of the conveyor belt on the side of the silver halide photosensitive material is smoothed, there is an effect that thermal development can be performed on the silver halide photosensitive material without uneven density and transfer of the mesh of the conveyor belt.

Further, since a liquid containing a chemical such as a processing liquid is not used, the maintenance and replenishment of such a liquid and the cleaning of the apparatus are not bothered, and the maintenance of the apparatus can be improved. It also has an effect.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a photosensitive material processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are diagrams for explaining a photosensitive material conveying belt according to the present embodiment, in which FIG.
(B) is a sectional view of the rough belt, and (c) is a sectional view of the photosensitive material transport belt.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a flow of a heat development process in the control device of the photosensitive material processing apparatus of the present embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 photosensitive material processing apparatus F film (silver halide photosensitive material) 42 water application section (application means) 52 processing sheet unwinding section 54 processing sheet take-up section 60 processing sheet 66 heat development section (heat development means) 74 photosensitive material conveyance Belt (conveying belt) 82 Laminating roller 90C Roller (separating means) 92 Belt 200 Heat resistant silicon core (heat resistant fiber) 202 Web 204 Conductive silicon rubber (heat resistant elastic material)

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Hideaki Iijima 1250 Takematsu, Minamiashigara-shi, Kanagawa Fuji Machine Industry Co., Ltd.

Claims (3)

[Claims] An image forming solvent is applied to at least one of a silver halide light-sensitive material exposed to an image and a processing sheet containing a chemical for thermally developing the image exposed on the silver halide light-sensitive material. Coating means, a transport belt having a surface on the silver halide photosensitive material side smoothed, which transports the silver halide photosensitive material and the processing sheet in an overlapping manner, and the superposed silver halide photosensitive material. Heat developing means for heating and thermally developing the processing sheet via the transport belt; andseparating means for separating the heat-developed silver halide photosensitive material from the processing sheet. Material processing equipment. 2. The transport belt is composed of a web in which heat-resistant fibers are woven in a mesh shape, and a stretchable heat-resistant elastic material layer applied to the web to a predetermined thickness. The photosensitive material processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the smoothing is performed by polishing the heat-resistant elastic material layer. 3. The photosensitive material processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said heat-resistant fiber is a heat-resistant silicon core, and said heat-resistant elastic material is conductive silicon rubber.