JPH04107452A - Processing device for photosensitive material - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To contrive the enhancement of the processing efficiency and to reduce the use quantity of the processing solution by supplying a replenishing solution of the processing solution in a continuous processing path so as to form a flow in the same direction to the conveying direction of a silver halide photosensitive material. CONSTITUTION:The continuous processing paths 71-76 are formed by being connected successively plural processing rooms 6A-6E with the narrow paths and in the narrow paths at least one pair or more of blades 15 are disposed so that, when the photosensitive material does not pass through, the tip parts are brought into contact with each other. Accordingly, even when the photosensitive material passes through, the liquid flow is formed through the minute clearances between the photosensitive materials and the blades, so that the interception of the liquid flow with the blades is full and the mixture of the liquid between each processing room 6A-6E is prevented. The replenishing solution of the processing solution is supplied into the continuous processing paths 71-76 so as to form a flow in the same direction to the conveying direction of the silver halide material. Thus the processing efficiency at the processing with the development, bleaching, and fixation, etc., is improved and the reduction of use quantity of the processing solution is contrived.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION <Industrial Application Field> The present invention relates to a photosensitive material processing apparatus for processing a silver halide photosensitive material (hereinafter sometimes abbreviated as photosensitive material or photosensitive material) after exposure.

<Prior art> Black and white photosensitive materials are processed through steps such as black and white development, fixing, and water washing after exposure, while color photosensitive materials are processed through steps such as color development and water washing after exposure.
It is processed through processes such as desilvering, water washing, and stabilization.

Black and white developer for black and white development, fixer for fixing, color developer for color development, bleach, bleach-fix, fixer for desilvering, tap water or ion exchange water for washing, A stable night is used for the stabilization process, respectively.

The temperature of each processing solution is usually adjusted to 30 to 40°C, and the photosensitive material is immersed in these processing solutions to be processed.

Such processing is usually performed by a processing device such as an automatic processor.

In such cases, in recent years there has been a demand for environmental conservation and resource saving, and it is desired to reduce the amount of each processing liquid used.

In accordance with this actual situation, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-131138 discloses that when the surface area of the liquid surface part is SCm2, the volume is Vcm3, and the opening degree Kcm-' is =S/V, the liquid level part is A processing tank is disclosed in which the processing path is configured to satisfy ogK≦-1,8X10-'V-1,5, and has a substantially slit-like processing path.

Furthermore, in JP-A No. 1-267648, a partition member is installed in a processing tank having the same processing space as a normal processing tank,
A processing tank is shown divided into a plurality of processing chambers.

Furthermore, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-130548 discloses a processing tank having a slit-shaped processing path, in which a partitioning member is installed in the processing path to partition the tank into a plurality of processing chambers.

When a processing tank having a substantially slit-like processing path or a processing tank divided into a plurality of processing chambers as described above is used as a developing bath, a bath having bleaching ability, or a bath having fixing ability, the processing It has also been shown that it is preferable to process the photosensitive material by supplying the liquid so that the flow is in the same direction as the conveyance direction of the photosensitive material (JP-A-63-216050, JP-A-64-
No. 26855, JP 2-130548, JP 2-1
No. 30548).

This is because, in the above processing tank, the processing efficiency is improved by regulating the supply direction of the processing liquid as described above.

Furthermore, for the purpose of improving processing efficiency, the present applicant has proposed that ``a plurality of cleaning chambers formed of block-shaped members and sequentially connected by narrow passages, and a photosensitive material so as to pass through each of the cleaning chambers sequentially. (Japanese Patent Application No. 1-27034).

In addition, in such a photosensitive material processing apparatus, an apparatus has been proposed which is applied to processes other than washing (washing) such as development and desilvering (Japanese Patent Application No. 1-90422).

In addition, the applicant has proposed a "photosensitive material processing apparatus in which a processing tank is removably loaded with a rack having a plurality of processing chambers connected by passages and a conveying means for sequentially passing the photosensitive material through each processing chamber." a first chamber including a processing chamber through which the photosensitive material first passes in the processing tank;
A partition member is installed on the rack side to partition the area from the second area including the processing chamber through which the photosensitive material passes last, and an end of the partition member engages with the inner surface of the processing tank to separate the first and second areas. 2
They have also proposed a photosensitive material processing apparatus characterized in that it is configured to substantially block the flow of processing liquid between regions (Japanese Patent Application No. 1-248930).

These devices actually allow the equipment to be made smaller, and have the effect of further improving processing efficiency compared to processing tanks with a processing channel or slit-like structure as described above. .

In this way, processing efficiency is improved because each processing chamber is connected by a narrow passage, so there is almost no mixing of processing liquids between each processing chamber, and each processing This is thought to be because the concentration ratio of the liquid composition of the indoor processing liquid is maintained.

Furthermore, for the purpose of further improving processing efficiency, the present applicant has provided a continuous processing path having a plurality of processing chambers sequentially connected by narrow passages in the processing tank, and the silver halide photosensitive material is A photosensitive material processing apparatus configured to carry out processing by contacting a processing liquid filled in each processing chamber while sequentially passing through each processing chamber, wherein at least one pair of photosensitive material is provided in each narrow passageway. A photosensitive material processing apparatus characterized in that the blades described above are installed such that the tips of the blades are in contact with each other when the silver halide photosensitive material is not passing through. ” (Japanese Patent Application No. 155667/1999).

In this case, since the blade has a large effect of blocking the liquid flow, the flow of the processing liquid between each processing chamber is blocked, and the effect of maintaining the concentration ratio of the processing liquid composition in each processing chamber is It has been confirmed that the processing efficiency is significantly improved compared to the conventional method.

The applicant has also conducted various studies with the aim of further improving processing efficiency and reducing the amount of processing liquid used when using a processing device equipped with the above-mentioned blade pair as a various processing bath. However, new knowledge has been obtained, which I would like to propose here.

<Problems to be Solved by the Invention> The purpose of the present invention is to solve problems in processing such as development, bleaching, fixing, etc.
An object of the present invention is to provide a photosensitive material processing apparatus that can improve processing efficiency and reduce the amount of processing liquid used.

<Means for Solving the Problems> The above object is achieved by the present invention having the following configuration (1).

(1) The processing tank has a continuous processing path having a plurality of processing chambers sequentially connected by narrow passages, and a processing solution for processing the exposed silver halide photosensitive material is provided in the continuous processing path. , a blade is disposed in each of the narrow passages, and the silver halide photosensitive material is sequentially conveyed to the processing chamber for processing, the silver halide photosensitive material A photosensitive material processing apparatus characterized in that a replenisher of the processing liquid is supplied to the continuous processing path so that a flow occurs in the same direction as the conveyance direction of the photosensitive material.

Effects> In the present invention, a plurality of processing chambers are successively connected through a narrow passage to form a continuous processing passage, and the narrow passage includes:
At least one or more pairs of blades are installed so that their tips come into contact with each other when the photosensitive material does not pass through.

Therefore, even when the photosensitive material is passing through, the liquid flow occurs through the small gap between the photosensitive material and the blade, so that the blade greatly blocks the liquid flow, and mixing of the liquid between the processing chambers is prevented.

Further, when the photosensitive material is not passing through, there is almost no liquid flow.

In the present invention, as a general rule, the replenisher for processing solutions such as developer and fixer is supplied so that when the photosensitive material is carried in, the solution flows into the J processing chamber, where the photosensitive material is first transported, out of each processing chamber. replenish to.

At this time, since the sensitive material has not reached the blade installation position, no liquid flow occurs. However, with the present invention, the number of times the liquid is refilled is increased (and the amount of refill per time is very small) compared to normal refilling, so there is no risk of the liquid overflowing in such a situation, and there is only a slight The liquid level will only rise and there will be no problem.

Thereafter, the photosensitive material passes through the first blade point in the continuous processing path, and at this time, the liquid is conducted through the small gap between the photosensitive material and the blade.

Since the sensitive material has not reached the other blade points, the liquid will not be conductive in principle, but since the liquid barrier properties are not 100%, even if the sensitive material does not pass, there will be a slight sensitivity. A liquid flow in the same direction as the material transport direction (parallel flow) is formed.

In addition, the sensitive material used in the present invention is mainly intended for long rolls, and in this way, when the leading edge of the sensitive material reaches the last blade in the continuous processing path, the liquid is replenished every time in parallel flow. There will be a constant flow.

By adopting such a flow, processing efficiency is significantly improved.

Such improvement in processing efficiency can only be achieved by regulating the flow of the processing solution as described above. This cannot be obtained with other configurations such as

In addition, for the purpose of reducing the amount of processing liquid used, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 131138/1982 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2676/1999 are consistent with the present invention.
No. 48 and JP-A No. 2-130548, even if the flow of the processing liquid is the same as that of the present invention, there are problems in transportability and in many cases the processing efficiency is poor. The present invention also improves these.

<Example> Examples will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional side view showing a -(M example) when the photosensitive material processing apparatus of the present invention is applied to a development processing apparatus that performs color development processing, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line III-III in FIG. 1. As shown in these figures, the photosensitive material processing apparatus 1 of the present invention has a vertically long It has a processing tank 2.

A rack 3 is removably loaded into the processing tank 2. This rack 3 has side plates 31 and 32, and several block-shaped members (hereinafter referred to as block bodies) 4 are installed between these side plates.

These block bodies 4 are made of, for example, polyethylene, polypropylene, polyphenylene oxide (PPO), A
It is made of hard materials such as Plus Deck such as BS resin, phenol resin, polyester resin, and polyurethane resin, ceramics such as alumina, or various metals such as stainless steel and Decnium. In particular, polypropylene has excellent moldability, is lightweight, and has sufficient strength.
Preferably, it is made of plastic such as PP01ABS resin.

Moreover, although the block body 4 is a solid member in the illustrated example, it may be configured as a hollow member (manufactured by blow molding, for example).

Such a block body 4 provides five processing chambers 6Δ, 6B, and 6C1, which are spaces for developing the photosensitive material S.
6D and 6E are formed.

Each of these processing chambers 6A to 6E is filled with a color developer]00.

In the illustrated configuration, the volume of the processing chamber-chamber light is 20~
It may be about 3000 mβ.

In addition, vertically adjacent processing chambers 6A and 6B, 6B and 6C1
Narrow passages 71, 72, 73 and 74 are formed between 6C and 6D and between 6D and 6E to connect both processing chambers.

Furthermore, similar passages 75 and 76 are formed in the upper portions of the processing chambers 6A and 6E for carrying in and carrying out the photosensitive material S, respectively. The width of these passages 7] to 76 (
The effective slit width is preferably about 0.5 to 5 mm, which is about 5 to 40 times the thickness of the photosensitive material S.

With such a width, the photosensitive material S can be transported without any trouble.

In addition, in the illustrated configuration, the length of the passage between the processing chambers is 1
The length is preferably about 0 to 200 mm, preferably about 20 to 60 mm.

In this way, the processing chambers 6A to 6E and the passages 71 to 76 form a continuous processing path.

A pair of blades 15 is installed in each of the passages 71 to 74, as shown.

The pair of blades 15 are attached to the block body 4 so that their tips are in close contact with each other when the photosensitive material S is not passing through.

The structure is such that when the photosensitive material S passes through, the tip portion is pushed out by the entry of the photosensitive material S.

FIG. 4(a) shows an enlarged view of the processing path 71 portion in FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 4(a), the blade 15 is composed of a base portion attached to the block body 4 and a tip portion whose thickness gradually decreases toward the tip, and the two blades are used in combination. Further, the blade 15 is shown in FIG.
), the base portion and the tip portion may have the same thickness.

At this time, the average inclination angle of the tip of the plate 15 with respect to the surface of the photosensitive material S is generally about 30 to 60 degrees, and particularly preferably about 30 to 45 degrees.

In addition, the entire length of the blade 15 including the base part, which is the attachment part of the block body 4, is the effective slit width (w) of the passage.
The length may be longer than this length, but it is generally preferable to set it to 10 to 50 mm, which is 2 to 20 times this length, and particularly preferably 3 to 50 mm.
It is preferable to set it to 15 to 25 mm, which is ~10 times.

It is preferable that the overlap between the tips of the pair of blades 15, which are disposed opposite each other, is approximately 0.5 to 10 mm, particularly approximately 1 to 5 mm, when the sensitive material is not passing through.

Further, the thickness may be the length of the blade 15], O0 or more, or 0.5 mm or more, generally 07 to 2 mm, particularly 1 to 5 m.
It should be m.

By setting such conditions, it is possible to ensure close contact between the tips of the blades 15 when the photosensitive material S does not pass through, and to effectively block the flow of the color developer 100. In addition, when the photosensitive material S passes through, the color developing solution 100
The distribution of these products can also be minimized.

The material of the blade 15 is, for example, natural rubber, chloroprene rubber, nitrile rubber, butyl rubber, fluororubber, isoprene rubber, butadiene rubber, styrene-butadiene rubber,
Elastic materials such as various rubbers such as ethylene propylene rubber and silicone rubber, soft plastics such as soft polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene, polypropylene, ionomer resins, fluorine resins, and silicone resins, and color developing solution 1
There is no particular restriction as long as it does not adversely affect the color developing solution 100, such as dissolving in the color developer 100, but silicone rubber is particularly preferred.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, processing chambers 6A, 6B,
One pair of conveyance rollers 8 is installed near the center of each of 6D and 6E, and three pairs of conveyance rollers 8 are installed in the processing chamber 6C. Further, a pair of conveyance rollers 8 are installed near the photosensitive material entrance of the passage 75 and near the photosensitive material exit of the passage 76, respectively.

Each of these conveyance rollers 8 is connected to the side plate 3 at its rotating shaft 81.
1.32, both of the pair of rollers are driven to rotate, and the photosensitive material S is conveyed by sandwiching it between the rollers.

As shown in FIG. 2, the drive mechanism for the conveyance rollers 8 includes a bevel gear 83 fixed at a predetermined location on a main shaft 82 extending vertically in the figure, and a bevel gear 83 fixed at one end of the rotating shaft 81 of each conveyance roller 8. When the bevel gear 84 is engaged with the bevel gear 84 and the main shaft 82 is rotated in a predetermined direction by the operation of a drive source (not shown) such as a motor, one of the conveying rollers 8 of the pair of rollers is rotated. There is. Then, each conveyance roller 8
A gear 85 is fixed to the other end of the rotating shaft 81, and the rotation of one roller 8 of the roller pair is transmitted to the other roller 8 by meshing with this gear 85.

The constituent material of each conveyance roller 8 is durable, color development r'f
It is preferable that the material has chemical resistance to fl 100, such as various rubbers such as neorene and EPT rubber, elastomers such as Sunbrain, Thermolan, and Hytrel, hard vinyl chloride, polypropylene, polyethylene, ABS resin, PPO, and nylon. , polysecure (
ROM), phenolic resin, polyphenylene sulfite (PPS), polyether sulfone (PES), polyether ether ketone (PEEK), various resins such as Teflon, ceramics such as alumina, metals with corrosion resistance such as stainless steel, titanium, Hastelloy, etc. or a combination of these.

A guide 9 for guiding the photosensitive material S is installed between the conveying roller 8 and the passages 71 to 74 in the processing chambers 6A, 6B, 6D, and 6E.

The guides 9 are composed of a pair of plate-shaped members, and are placed facing each other with a distance between them through which the photosensitive material S passes.

Further, a reversing guide 10 is installed between the conveying rollers 8 in the processing chamber 6C, which is curved in an arc shape and changes the direction of the photosensitive material S along this curved portion.

These guides 9 and 10 are made of, for example, molded plastic deck or metal plates.

Further, it is preferable that the guide 9.1o has substantially uniform openings (not shown) passing through the guide. This allows the color developer 100 to flow and promotes circulation, thereby improving development efficiency. .

The guides 9 and 10, the conveyance rollers 8, and their drive system constitute means for conveying the photosensitive material S.

Above the processing chamber 6A, one end is open and the other end is a passage 75.
A liquid supply path 11 communicating with the block body 4 is formed through the block body 4 . Further, above the processing chamber 6E, a drain passage 12 is formed passing through the block body 4 and having one end open and the other end communicating with the passage 75.

On the other hand, the processing tank 2 is provided with a liquid supply pipe 13 and a drain pipe 14 that penetrate the side wall thereof and are open to the inner surface of the processing tank. Then, with the rack 3 loaded in the processing tank 2, the liquid supply path 11 and the liquid supply pipe 13, and the liquid drain path 12 and the liquid drain pipe 14 are connected, respectively.

The liquid supply pipe 13 is for supplying (replenishing) the replenisher Rtoo of the color developer 100, and the drain pipe 14 is for replenishing the color developer 100 that has been exhausted after processing due to overflow or the like.
overflow? Night OF +. . It is for discharging.

A plate-shaped partition member 17 is installed in the rack 3 .

As shown in FIG. 5, this partition member 17 partitions a first region 18 indicated by diagonal lines on the left side of the figure and a second region 19 indicated by crossed diagonal lines on the right side of the figure.
This is to block the distribution of 00.

The first region 18 is a processing chamber 6 through which the photosensitive material S first passes.
A, and in the illustrated example, it also includes the processing chamber 6B that passes through second.

The second region 19 is the processing chamber 6 through which the photosensitive material S passes last.
E, and in the illustrated example, it also includes the processing chamber 6D that passes through second to last.

As shown in FIG. 2, both ends of the partition member 17 ] 71.1
72 is formed with a taber (width gradually decreases toward the bottom in the figure), while 21 on both side walls of the processing tank 2 corresponding to this is formed.
．． 22 also has a tapered shape with the same angle. As a result, when the rack 3 is inserted into the processing tank 2, the ends 171, 172 of the partition member 17 engage with the inner surfaces of the side walls 21, 22 of the processing tank 2, and the first area 18 and the second area 19 are separated. compartmentalize.

At this time, the engaging portion comes into close contact with the rack 3 due to its own weight, and substantially prevents the color developer 100 from flowing.

Note that if a sealing member such as a gasket made of an elastic material is installed on this engaging portion, for example, the end portions 171 and 72,
This is preferable because the blocking properties of the color developer 100 are further improved.

The taper angles of the ends 171, 172 of the partition member 17 and the side walls 21, 22 of the processing tank 2 are not particularly limited, but are preferably about 2 to 10 degrees with respect to the vertical direction.

Note that the same material as the block body 4 can be used for the partition member 17, and the partition member 17 and each block body 4 and side plates 31 and 32 may be made by joining different members. It may be formed integrally.

Next, the usage and operation of the photosensitive material processing apparatus 1 having the above configuration will be explained.

When starting the processing of the photosensitive material S, the color developer 100 is supplied from the liquid supply port 13, and the processing chambers 6A to 6E and the narrow passages 71 to 74 are filled with the color developer 100.

At this time, as described above, since the blade 15 is configured to block the flow of the color developer 100 when the photosensitive material S does not pass, a sheet-like material is used instead of the photosensitive material S when the color developer 100 is supplied. It is preferable to convey the material to ensure smooth supply. Alternatively, each of the processing chambers 6A to 6E may be provided with a liquid supply port to supply the color developing solution 100.

In this state filled with the color developer 100, the photosensitive material S is placed in the color developer 100 in the passage 75 above the processing chamber 6A.
At the same time, the color developer 10 is supplied from the liquid supply pipe 13.
Replenishment of 0 is started.

The reason why replenishment of the color developer 100 is started at the same time as the processing of the photosensitive material S is started as described above is because the blade 15 has a great blocking effect on the color developer 100.
This is because the color developer 100 does not substantially flow until it enters the blade 15.

In this case, strictly speaking, until the tip of the photosensitive material S reaches the blade 15 installed in the passage 71 below the processing chamber 6A,
Even if the replenisher R+oo is replenished, the color developing solution 100 will not be distributed.

However, in the present invention, the number of times of replenishment is increased (every 5 to 30 seconds) than usual (every 30 to 90 seconds), and the amount of replenishment per time is extremely small (0.5 to 10 mj per time). Therefore, as described above, the liquid level rises only slightly until it reaches the blade 15, and problems such as backflow from the liquid supply pipe 13 do not occur.

In this way, the photosensitive material S passes through the processing chamber 6A, as indicated by the arrow in the figure, and reaches the blade 15 installed in the passage 71.

At this time, the liquid is conducted through this blade 15.

At this point, the photosensitive material S is not passing through the other blades 15, so in principle it can be said that there is no conduction of the liquid, but even when the photosensitive material S is not passing, the liquid is 10.0%
It's not blocked. Therefore, even in such a state, a flow in the same direction as the light-sensitive material (parallel flow) is formed in the entire continuous processing path including the processing chambers 6A and 6B.

In addition, the photosensitive material S in the present invention is mainly long-wound, including paper, etc., and even if it is not long-wound, it may be 1.3 times or more the distance between adjacent blades in the continuous processing path. Preferably, those having a length of 2 times or more are targeted.

Therefore, after the leading edge of the photosensitive material S reaches the blade 15, the photosensitive material S passes through the blade 15 at a few places (at least at one point).

First, the photosensitive material S that is mainly processed is a long roll.
To explain this representatively, when the photosensitive material S is then transported to the processing chambers 6B and 6C16D in this order and passes through the blade 15 installed in the passage 74, the replenisher R4° is applied.

The color developer 100 constantly flows in a parallel flow every time it is replenished, and this liquid flow is formed during processing.

On the other hand, in cases other than long winding, the liquid is conducted at the part of the blade 15 through which the photosensitive material S passes, and the liquid is not completely shut off at other parts of the continuous processing path, so parallel flow is prevented throughout the continuous processing path. A liquid stream will be formed.

However, it is important that the liquid flow at the point where the photosensitive material S directly contacts the color developer] and OO is a parallel flow, and in this sense, if the photosensitive material satisfies the conditions of the present invention, There is essentially no difference in the effect of improving development efficiency.

In the above, the transport speed (linear speed) of the photosensitive material is 0.3 to 10 m/min, and it can be said that the above phenomenon occurs instantaneously.

In addition, in the case of a long-wound photosensitive material, the flow velocity of the liquid flow formed in the gap between the blades after each replenishment after the tip of the photosensitive material passes the last blade is usually 10 to 500%.
cm/min.

On the other hand, in the case of non-long-wound photosensitive materials, the flow velocity in a state where the photosensitive material is present in all blade portions is the same as that of the above-mentioned long-wound photosensitive materials.

In addition, if such a photosensitive material exists in a part of the blade, the flow rate of the liquid flow in the part where the photosensitive material passes is 1.
~50 cm/min.

Furthermore, in the case where, in principle, the liquid does not flow due to the blocking effect of the blade, the flow rate of the liquid flow that occurs during replenishment is about 1 to 50 cm/min.

Then, at the same time as the processing is completed and the photosensitive material S is carried out from the color developer 100 in the passage 76 above the processing chamber GE, replenishment is stopped.

In this case, the photosensitive material S will come into contact with fresh color developer 100 at the beginning of the development process.

In addition, since the blade 15 has a high liquid blocking ability and the color developer 't('2100) is replenished as described above, the degree of freshness of the color developer 100 is large in the processing chamber 6A.
The processing chambers 6B, 6C, 16D, and 6E gradually become smaller, and the concentration ratio of the liquid composition in each processing chamber is maintained extremely well.

Also, due to the squeeze effect of the blade 15, the photosensitive material S
Unwanted substances produced by the development reaction carried on the film are removed.

This also improves the development efficiency.

As described above, as a result of being able to improve development efficiency, the amount of replenishment of the color developer can be reduced by 15 to 15% compared to the conventional processing tank.
It can be reduced by about 40%.

Even if the amount of replenishment of the color developer is reduced in this way, there is no problem in photographic performance such as image density, sensitivity, fog, or gradation.

Furthermore, the fruiting device that can improve development efficiency can be made smaller.

Furthermore, when the photosensitive material S is not passing through (unprocessed), the blade 15 blocks the flow of the color developer 100, so that mixing of the color developer 100 hardly occurs. As a result, even when processing is stopped for a long period of time and then resumed, efficient development processing can be carried out immediately.

The timing of replenishment and the amount of replenishment described above may be controlled using known control methods and means.

In the illustrated example, one pair of blades 15 are provided in each of the passages 71 to 74.
Although the configuration is such that a plurality of pairs are installed, the present invention is not limited to this, and a plurality of pairs may be provided.

When using a plurality of pairs, the number is usually 2 to 5 pairs, and all blades may have the same shape, or blades with different lengths may be used in combination.

By providing a plurality of pairs, the squeezing effect and liquid blocking performance can be improved, and thereby the amount of replenishment can be further reduced. For example, if the number of pairs is increased from one to two under the same conditions, the reduction will be about 10 to 30% when there are two pairs compared to when there is one pair.

Further, in the illustrated example, a blade pair is used in the narrow passage of the processing space, and it is preferable to use a blade pair, but a single blade may be used depending on the case.

When using a single blade, install the blade so as to block a narrow passage, and fix one end (base) to the passage wall.
The photosensitive material S may be passed through a gap formed between the other end (tip) and the wall surface of the passage.

In the above, the configuration is such that replenishment is performed at the same time as processing, but in addition to this, replenishment may be performed during non-processing.

In the illustrated example, the number of processing chambers is five, but the number is not limited to this (it can be various depending on the purpose and use, and is usually 3 to 30).

In the above description, the photosensitive material processing apparatus of the present invention is applied to a development processing apparatus that performs color development processing, but the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to equipment that performs various processing.

However, treatments with water washing ability and treatments with stabilizing ability are excluded.

In the illustrated example, a color photosensitive material is used as the photosensitive material S, but the photosensitive material in the present invention may be any of various color and black and white photosensitive materials as long as the length satisfies the conditions. Examples include color paper, color negative film, color reversal film, color positive film, color reversal photographic paper, photographic light-sensitive material for plate making, X-ray photographic light-sensitive material, black-and-white negative film, black-and-white photographic paper, and light-sensitive material for microphotography.

Therefore, in the case of a color photosensitive material, the processing solution in the present invention includes, in addition to the color developing solution shown in the figure, a bleach solution, a bleach-fix solution, a fixing solution, a first black and white developer for reversal processing, etc. In the case of materials, they are developer, fixer, etc.

Any of the processing apparatuses filled with each of these processing liquids can improve processing efficiency and reduce the amount of replenishment for the same reason as the developing processing apparatus shown in the drawing.

The replenishment amount for each treatment liquid can be set as follows compared to a conventional treatment tank.

L no Nigokou Danjuku bleaching solution 10-40% reduction Bleach-fix solution 10-40% reduction Fixer 10-40% reduction] Black and white developer 10-40% reduction Kokuohokuchi Rando J1 material developer 10- 40% Reduction Fixer 10-40% Reduction" The processing solution mentioned in Section 2 may be any known processing solution.For details of these processing solutions, please refer to "Fundamentals of Photographic Engineering" edited by the Photographic Society of Japan, published by Corona Publishing Co., Ltd. Published (1978) P2
99r Chapter 4 Development Process", etc. can be referred to.

Further, the replenisher is used for the purpose of keeping the processing performance of the processing liquid constant in continuous processing, and often has a composition almost the same as that of the processing mother liquor used at the start of the processing.

The photosensitive material processing apparatus of the present invention includes, for example, a wet copying machine,
It can be applied to various photosensitive material processing devices such as automatic developing machines, printer processors, video printer processors, coin machines for making photo prints, and color paper processing machines for plate inspection.

Although the configuration examples of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these.

<Effects of the Invention> According to the present invention, processing efficiency can be improved in processing such as development, bleaching, bleach-fixing, and fixing.

As a result, the amount of replenishment of the processing liquid can be reduced.

The present inventor conducted various experiments in order to confirm the above effects. An example is shown below.

Experimental Example 1 After exposing a long-roll color paper Super HG paper manufactured by Fuji Photo Film ■, it was exposed to light using a color paper processing machine PP-600 manufactured by Fuji Photo Film (Kiyomi), and processed in a color developing tank for 4 hours. The treatment was carried out according to the following processing steps under round conditions.The processing agent used was processing agent CP-25Q manufactured by Fuji Photo Film ■, and the washing water used was water deionized by the same company's deionization production machine FR8S. In addition, each replenisher for cp-25Q was used as the replenisher.

Processing process Warm - once Time - Ichitomo Ko 1 Feng No Enoyori color development 38℃ 1 minute 40 seconds 360m flood /
m” 17 flood bleach fixing 35°G 60
Seconds 180mj/m299Water ■ 33~35°C2
0 seconds 4 Floodwater ■ 33-35℃
20 seconds -4p water wash■ 33~35℃ 20 seconds
364mj/m24j drying 70-80℃
50 seconds -- (3-tank countercurrent method for washing ■-■) Such treatment is referred to as treatment IA.

In Process IA, the same process was carried out except that the color developing tank was changed to the photosensitive material processing apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 to 3.

The equipment in this case is as follows.

(1) Capacity per processing chamber - 250mj (2) 3mm in passage (3) Length of passage between treatment chambers 50mm (4) Blades (one pair for each passage between treatment chambers) Thickness: 1mm (overall (same thickness) Length: 25 mm Overlap of tips: 3 mm (when not passing through sensitive material) Material: silicone rubber Average inclination angle: 45° (5) Distance between adjacent blades in processing path 20 mm (6) Material conveyance speed (linear speed): 78 cm/min (7) Flow rate of color developer in the gap between the blades during replenishment during running equilibrium: 360 cm/min This process is referred to as process IB.

In processing IB, the liquid supply/drainage port of the photosensitive material processing device is reversed so that the color developer is supplied first to the processing chamber 6E, and the flow of the color developer is directed in the direction opposite to the conveyance direction of the photosensitive material (counter flow). ) was processed in the same way.

This is referred to as a processing IC. In this case, the flow rate of the color developer in the gap between the blades during replenishment during running equilibrium is 360 cm/min.

In processing IB, the liquid supply/drainage port of the photosensitive material processing device is alternately changed every 1/4 of the color development processing time (25 seconds), and the flow of color developer is controlled by parallel flow, counter, etc. at regular intervals. The process was the same except that it was changed to a flow. The flow rate during replenishment at running equilibrium is:
In each case, the processing is almost the same as processing IB and IC.

This is called processing ID.

In the process IB, the color developer replenisher was replenished at a rate of 6 mj every 10 seconds during the process.

Processing IA to processing ID are summarized in Table 1.

Note that the replenishment amount in the table is the amount that provides satisfactory photographic performance in running processing.

Table 1 1 person (conventional) 17j -360+
nj/m21B (invention) 250X5 mA
Parallel 300mj/m2IC (comparison)
250X5 mA counter 420m
j/m21D (comparison) 250X5 mj
Average: 360 mj/m2 As is clear from Table 1, the amount of replenishment of the color developer can be reduced in the process IB of the present invention in which the flow of the color developer is in parallel flow.

In addition, in JP-A-63-2003, the processing path is substantially slit-shaped.
When the processing tank No. 131138 was used and the color developer flow was set to the same parallel flow as Processing IB, the developing efficiency was inferior to Processing IB (relative sensitivity expressed in log E under the same running conditions was 0). It was also found that there was a problem with the transportability of the photosensitive material.

Furthermore, in the processing tank disclosed in JP-A No. 2-130548 in which a partitioning member was installed in the processing path in the processing tank, although an improvement in development efficiency was observed, there still remained a problem in the transportability of the photosensitive material.

On the other hand, a partition member is installed in a processing tank that has the same processing space as a normal processing tank to divide it into multiple processing chambers.
In the processing tank of No. 267648, the processing tank of JP-A-63-131138 is slightly inferior in developing efficiency compared to Processing IB, and there are also problems in the transportability of the sensitive material. I understand.

Experimental Example 2 GRANDEX WHI ITE manufactured by Fuji Photo Film ■
After exposing the photosensitive material V Kakashi 3100 (A4 size), it was processed in the following processing steps using a GRANDEX processing machine FG-680A manufactured by Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. under the conditions of 3 rounds in a developing tank.

The processing agent is GRANDEX manufactured by Fuji Photo Film ■.
The treatment agent GR-Di was used, and the washing water was tap water. In addition, a replenisher was prepared using the above-mentioned processing agent.

Processing process Warm-once 吋-all Supplementary J-ri EZ-Yo-rei development 34℃ 30 seconds 250mj/
m2171 fixing 34℃ 30 seconds 1
20mj/m217j Washing with water 34℃ 3
0 seconds 2ゑ7m217 flood drying 50°C3
6 seconds -- Such processing is referred to as processing 2A.

In Process 2A, the same process was carried out except that the fixing tank was changed to the photosensitive material processing apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 to 3. The equipment in this case is as follows.
However, the number of processing chambers was set to three.

(1) Capacity from processing chamber to kiln exit: 400mj (2) 3mm in passage (3) Length of passage between processing chambers: 30mm (4) Blades (one pair for each passage between processing chambers) Thickness: 1m
m (same thickness throughout) Length + 25mm Overlap of tips: 1mm (when not passing through sensitive material) A quality: Silicone rubber Average inclination angle: 45° (5) Distance between adjacent blades in processing path 5mm (6) Conveying speed (linear speed) of the sensitive material: 68 cm/min (7) Flow rate of the fixer in the gap between the blades during replenishment during running equilibrium: 10 cm/min This process is referred to as process 2B.

In Process 2B, the same process was carried out except that the liquid supply/discharge port of the photosensitive material processing apparatus was reversed and the flow of the fixing liquid was set as a counter flow.

This is called process 2C. Note that the flow rate of the fixer in the gap between the blades during replenishment during running equilibrium is 10
cm/min.

In Process 2B, the fixer replenisher was replenished at a rate of 4 mj every 5 seconds during the process.

Processes 2A to 2C are summarized in Table 2.

Note that the replenishment amount in the table is the amount that provides satisfactory photographic performance in running processing.

Table 2 Capacity Flow Refill amount 2A (conventional) 17j -120m
j/m22B (invention) 400X3 ml
Parallel 100m9/m22C (comparison)
400X3 mj counter 135mj
/m2 From Table 2, the effects of the present invention are clear.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional side view showing an example of the configuration of a photosensitive material processing apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line II-II in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. 1. FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b) are enlarged cross-sectional views showing the blade portion in FIG. 1, respectively. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the first region and the second region in the photosensitive material processing apparatus of the present invention. Explanation of symbols]...Photosensitive material processing apparatus 2...Processing tank 21.22...Side wall 3...Rack 31.32...Side plate 4...Block bodies 6A to 6E...Processing chamber 71 to 76...Pathway 8...Conveyance roller 81...Rotating shaft 82...Main shaft 83.84...Bevel gear 85...Gear 9...Guide 10...Reversing guide 11...・Liquid supply path 12...Drainage path 13...Liquid supply pipe 14...Drainage pipe 15...Blade 17...Partition member 17], 172...End portion 18...No. 1 area 19...Second area 1, OO...Color developer S...Photosensitive material patent applicant Representative of Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. Patent attorney Yo Ishii - Patent attorney Masu 1) Tatsuya FIG , 1 FIG・2 F1″′ I G 5 Hi 1 θ ,′F (b)

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) The processing tank has a continuous processing path having a plurality of processing chambers sequentially connected by narrow passages, and a processing solution for processing the exposed silver halide photosensitive material is provided in the continuous processing path. , a blade is disposed in each of the narrow passages, and the silver halide photosensitive material is sequentially conveyed to the processing chamber for processing, the silver halide photosensitive material A photosensitive material processing apparatus characterized in that a replenisher of the processing liquid is supplied to the continuous processing path so that a flow occurs in the same direction as the conveyance direction of the photosensitive material.