JPH0511618B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a photosensitive material developing device for developing an exposed photosensitive material with a developer, and in particular to a photosensitive material most suitable for producing a lithographic printing plate. It relates to a developing device.

[Background technology and matters to be solved]

Automatic processors that process large numbers of lithographic printing plates
The photosensitive material is conveyed while being held between a plurality of pairs of rollers, and during this conveyance, a developer is applied to the exposed surface of the photosensitive material to perform a developing operation. This developer is applied to the exposed surface of the photosensitive material by spraying or the like, dissolves or swells the exposed or exposed area, and then is removed by rubbing with a brush.

Since the developer used after this development is different for negative and positive light-sensitive materials, it is not possible to develop these light-sensitive materials alternately with one automatic developing machine.

In consideration of the above facts, the present invention is capable of alternately developing a negative light-sensitive material and a positive light-sensitive material, and is capable of developing a negative light-sensitive material and a positive light-sensitive material alternately without mixing the two types of developing solutions. Among the developing solutions supplied to the photosensitive layer, those that are not substantially used for removing the non-image area photosensitive layer and are not exhausted are recycled, and the other developer is used to remove the non-image area photosensitive layer. It is an object of the present invention to provide a photosensitive material developing device that can reduce the processing amount of the developing solution and improve the versatility of the device by discarding the developing solution that has become exhausted after being used for removal.

[Summary and operation of the invention]

A conveying path for conveying the photosensitive material in the hanging direction; a pair of first zones installed along the conveying path for supplying a developer to the front and back surfaces of the photosensitive material, respectively; a pair of measuring means for leaving a predetermined amount of developer on the surface; a second area provided downstream of the pair of measuring means for developing the photosensitive material with the predetermined amount of developer;
circulation means for again supplying the developer supplied in the zone and removed by the metering means to the first zone, and one of the pair of zones and metering means is selected and used depending on the type of photosensitive material to be conveyed. It is characterized by

Therefore, in the present invention, by selectively using the pair of first zones and measuring means according to the type of photosensitive material, even if negative photosensitive material and positive photosensitive material are fed alternately, the switching of these devices allows Can be dealt with easily and quickly.

If the conveyance path is vertical and the first area, metering means, and second area are provided facing the front and back sides of the photosensitive material, it becomes possible to develop the front and back sides of the photosensitive material at the same time. That is, by vertically transporting the photosensitive material, the developer supply in the first area can be made to correspond to the front and back surfaces of the photosensitive material, and both the front and back sides of the photosensitive material have photosensitive layers. It is possible to supply an appropriate amount of developer for each object.

In the first zone where a relatively large amount of developer is supplied, the supplied developer is removed by the metering means leaving only a predetermined amount. This first zone is long enough to prevent development by the developer from proceeding when the developer is supplied to the exposed surface of the photosensitive material, and long enough to allow the supplied developer to spread over the entire area of the photosensitive material. It is in line with the length. Therefore, the developer removed in this first zone is not fatigued by the development process and can be recycled for use.

The photosensitive material that has passed through the metering means and has reached the second area is developed by the metering means using a predetermined amount of developer remaining. Since the developer used for development in this second zone has suffered development fatigue and fatigue due to contact with air, it is made disposable.

As a result, the developer that is circulated in the first zone does not become fatigued, and the developer that is used for development in the second zone is disposable, so that a fatigue-free developer is always supplied. , stable development is performed. Further, since the amount of the disposable developer in the second zone is extremely small compared to the developer supplied in the first zone, the overall amount of developer consumed is reduced.

[Embodiments of the invention]

FIG. 1 shows a developing device to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

In this developing device, the printing plate 10 is conveyed along a conveyance path B in the direction of arrow A after exposure to perform a developing operation. This conveyance path B is horizontal on the insertion table 11, but becomes vertical thereafter.

The printing plate 10 that is conveyed while being held between a plurality of pairs of guide rollers 12 is divided into a first area 14, 15 and a second area 1.
6. Automatic development occurs through the third zone 17 and fourth zone 18.

The first zones 14 and 15 have basically the same construction, and in this embodiment, the negative photosensitive material is in the first zone 14.
As a result, the first area 15 of the positive photosensitive material allows the developer to be supplied to the exposed surface of the photosensitive material.

In the first area 14, a spray 22 is applied to the front and back surfaces of the printing plate 10 sent out from a pair of guide rollers 20.
24 corresponds to the printing plate 10, and the developer is applied to the front and back surfaces of the printing plate 10.

Further, in this first zone 14, wire bars 26 and 28 are arranged on the front and back sides of the printing plate 10 to meter the developer applied thereto. Each of the wire bars 26 and 28 has a structure in which a wire 32 of a predetermined diameter is tightly wound spirally around a shaft 30, and is formed between the outer periphery of this wire 32 and the printing plate 10 held therebetween. The space is printed version 1
The amount of coating and developing solution applied to 0 is measured. That is, the printing plate 1 is held between the wire bars 26 and 28 and sent out to the second area 16L.
0, only a predetermined amount of the developer (liquid film thickness 300 μm or less) remains by this measuring means, and the remaining developer is removed and falls onto the trays 34, 36.

Piping 38, 40 is connected to the trays 34, 36, and the trays 34, 36 are connected with pumps 42, 44.
The developer solution inside can be circulated to the sprays 22 and 24.

This first zone 14 is such that the developer applied onto the printing plate 10 is transferred to the wire bars 26 and 2 together with the printing plate 10.
The length is such that the exposed surface of the printing plate 10 does not start developing by the time it reaches the printing plate 1.
The developing solution applied to the exposed surface of the printing plate 10 is long enough to cover the entire width of the printing plate 10 (direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper in FIG. 1).

Here, the wire bars 2 of the first areas 14 and 15
6 and 28 can be moved toward and away from each other by a guide mechanism (not shown). That is, when conveying a negative photosensitive material, the wire bars 26, 28 in the first area 14
wire bars 26, 2 in the first area 15 are close to each other to sandwich the printing plate 10.
8 are spaced apart from each other so as not to come into contact with the printing plate 10. Conversely, when a positive photosensitive material is fed, the wire bars 26 and 28 in the first zone 14 are separated, and the wire bars 26 and 28 in the first zone 15 are brought closer to hold the printing plate 10. .

In the second zone 16L, the printing plate 10 sent from the first zone 14 is conveyed while being accelerated by a development acceleration rubbing roller 46 that can nip only when necessary, and then squeeze rollers 48 and 50 scrape off the developer after development. It's becoming like that. Therefore, in the case of a positive light-sensitive material, the developer is metered in the first zone 15, and the development span is the second zone 16M.

Trays 52, 54 are disposed below these squeeze rollers 48, 50, and a pipe 58 having a valve 56 in the middle allows the developer to be discharged after development. A spray for cleaning these squeeze rollers 48, 50 may also be provided.

In the third area 17, water washing is performed as necessary. That is, this third area 1
At 7, cleaning water is sprayed from spray nozzles 76 and 78 onto the printing plate 10 that is being conveyed while being held between a pair of guide rollers 49 and 51 that move toward and away from each other when cleaning is required, so that the printing plate 10 that passes can be cleaned. It's becoming like that.

Trays 53, 55, a valve 57, and a pipe 59 arranged below these guide rollers are designed to store and then discharge the washing water after washing. After passing through the third section 17 , the conveyance path B passes through a plurality of pairs of guide rollers 59 and is bent in the horizontal direction to reach the fourth section 18 .

In this fourth area 18, finishing processing is performed. That is, in this fourth zone 18, the finishing agent is sprayed from the spray nozzles 68, 70 onto the printing plate 10 being conveyed while being held between the pair of guide rollers 60, 62 and between the pair of guide rollers 64, 66, and passes through. The printing plate 10 is adapted for finishing treatment.

Note that in each of the above configurations, the conveyance path B of the printing plate 10
The roller facing is rotated by receiving a driving force from a driving means (not shown).

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained.

The exposed printing plate 10 is conveyed on the conveyance path B in the direction of the arrow A, and reaches the first area 14 via the guide rollers 12 and 20.

Here, if the printing plate 10 is a negative photosensitive material, the first area 14 as shown in FIG.
The wire bars 26 and 28 of the first section 15 are kept close to each other, and the wire bars 26 and 28 of the first section 15 are kept separated. The squeeze rollers 48 and 50 in the second area are kept close to each other at all times.

The printing plate 10 being sent to the first zone 14 is coated with a developer by means of sprays 22 and 24;
This developer does not develop the exposed surface of the printing plate 10 due to the short length of the first zone 14, and most of it is removed by the wire bars 26,28. Therefore, although the removed developer is again applied to the printing plate 10 from the sprays 22 and 24 via the pipes 38 and 40, no development fatigue occurs. Furthermore, since the circulating developer has a small contact area with the atmosphere, there is little fatigue over time due to carbon dioxide absorption.

Note that the wire bars 26 and 28 may be rotated, or even if they remain stationary, the weighing operation can be performed appropriately.

Also, the length of this first area 14 is the length of the spray 22,
Since the developer applied from 24 is long enough to spread over the entire area of the printing plate 10, the developer applied from the wire bars 26 and 28 is long enough to spread over the entire surface of the printing plate 10. A uniform developer solution measured by wire bars 26 and 28 is applied. This uniformly applied developer passes through the first area 15, but since the wire bars 26 and 28 are separated from each other in the first area 15, the printing plate 1
It never touches 0.

Note that when the end of the printing plate 10 is detected by a sensor (not shown), application of the developer from the sprays 22 and 24 is stopped.

The printing plate 10 that has reached the second area 16L is gradually developed until it reaches the squeeze rollers 48 and 50.

The time taken to reach the squeeze rollers 48 and 50 can be adjusted by the rotational speed of each guide roller. After development, it passes through the third zone 17, but if necessary, squeeze rollers 49, 51 are nipped and cleaning water is sprayed from the spray nozzles 76, 78 to perform a cleaning process, and then it reaches the fourth zone 18. .

Since the developer removed at the end of the second zone 16L has been fatigued by the development process, the pipe 58
It is disposed of through the waste and is considered disposable. As a result, exhausted developer solution is not recirculated to the sprays 22,24.

The printing plate 10 sent from the third area 17 to the fourth area 18 is coated with a finishing agent by a spray nozzle 68, excess finishing agent is removed by guide rollers 64 and 66, and the printing plate 10 is sent out, completing the development process. do.

Next, when developing a positive photosensitive material after exposure, the wire bars 26 and 28 in the first area 14 are separated, contrary to the state shown in FIG. 1, and the wire bars 26 and 28 in the first area 15 are bring them closer.

Thereafter, the second, third, and fourth areas are subjected to the same processing as the development of the negative photosensitive material, and the developer is removed in the second area 16 by squeeze rollers 48 and 50.
Thereby, development of positive light-sensitive materials can be carried out appropriately as well as development of negative light-sensitive materials.

FIG. 2 shows a second embodiment of the invention, in which the wire bars 26, 28 in the first zone 14 and the wire bars 26, 28 in the first zone 15 of the first embodiment are fed into a printing plate. It moves in the direction of the arrow C in the thickness direction of 10 and is inserted into and retracted into the conveyance path B. Therefore, in this embodiment, unlike the first embodiment shown in FIG. It can be made even lower.

In the above embodiments, a spray nozzle was used for applying the developer, but other developer supply means such as an application roller may be used.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, in the photosensitive material developing device according to the present invention, it is possible to develop a negative photosensitive material and a positive photosensitive material alternately without mixing two types of developers, and among the developers supplied to the photosensitive layer, The developer solution which is not substantially used for removing the photosensitive layer in the non-image area and is therefore not exhausted is recycled, while the developer solution which has been used for removing the photosensitive layer in the non-image area and is exhausted is discarded. This has the excellent effect of reducing the processing amount of developer and improving the versatility of the apparatus.

Furthermore, by conveying the photosensitive material in the hanging direction, it is possible to develop the photosensitive material having photosensitive layers on both the front and back surfaces.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an embodiment of a photosensitive material developing apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the arrangement of wire bars corresponding to the right side view of FIG. 1 showing a second embodiment of the present invention. It is. 10...Printing version, 14,15...First area, 1
6L, 16M...Second area, 17...Third area,
18...Fourth area, 20...Guide roller, 2
2, 24...Spray, 26, 28...Wire bar, 48, 50...Squeeze roller.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A conveying path for conveying the photosensitive material in the hanging direction, a pair of first zones that are provided along this conveying path and supplying a developer to the front and back surfaces of the photosensitive material, respectively, and a pair of measuring means for leaving a predetermined amount of developer on the front and back surfaces; a second area provided downstream of the pair of measuring means for developing the photosensitive material with the developer remaining in the predetermined amount; and supplying in the first area. and circulation means for supplying the developer removed by the measuring means to the first zone again, and one of the pair of zones and the metering means is selected and used depending on the type of photosensitive material to be conveyed. Characteristic photosensitive material developing equipment.