JPH03209245A - Device and method for developing silver halide photographic sensitive material - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To well stir a processing soln. and to prevent uneven development of a sensitive material in the transverse direction by fitting a specified processing vessel and a specified means to circulate the processing soln. CONSTITUTION:A sensitive material S is transferred in a shallow passage of 1-50mm depth in a processing vessel 1. A processing soln. is fed by a circulating pump 8 from a feed tube 7 into the vessel 1 through a circulation path 9, discharged from a discharge tube 6 and fed again by the pump 8. During this circulation, the sensitive material is transferred in the vessel 1 and processed by contact with the processing soln. The processing soln. is well stirred and uneven development of the sensitive material in the transverse direction is prevented.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a developing device and method used for processing silver halide photographic materials such as color films and color papers. It is used for so-called press use, where it is carried to the shooting site, processed on-site, and quickly transmits the film image to the headquarters of the newspaper company.
The present invention also relates to a developing device and a method for obtaining a small and simple automatic developing device that is ideal for home hobby use.

[Conventional technology]

In the case of press photography, which values speed, if the shooting location is relatively close to the newspaper company's headquarters or bureau, the undeveloped film itself is rushed from the location to the headquarters for processing.

However, when the shooting site is a remote location, it is common practice to develop the photographed film and then electronically transmit the image.

To develop such photographic film for press, you can use a nearby processing service facility, such as a so-called mini-lab, but such facilities may not necessarily be able to handle urgent processing. Furthermore, since it is not available at night, development is generally done manually, such as by hand or by plate development.

In addition, some people use commercially available automatic developing machines for press use, or small manual developing machines for hobby use.

Conventionally, in cine-type continuous film automatic processing machines, processing liquid is stored and prepared in a plurality of processing tanks arranged in series, and each of these processing tanks has a processing solution for transporting the film. The film is transported through each processing tank according to the rotation of a group of transport rollers arranged in the transport pipe, and is sequentially immersed in each processing tank, and finally dried. The structure is such that it is dried in the unit and discharged outside.

Conventional photo-processing machines on the market are relatively large, so they require a special truck, pan, or other vehicle to transport them to the filming location, and still require many manual operations, and the processing time is long ( Because of the time required, it has not become widespread.Furthermore, since most of the small developing machines for hobby use are operated manually, they are no different from manual development such as plate development, and processing requires skill, so they are hardly used.

Therefore, among the press, there are two things that need to be considered: ■ It must be small and lightweight, making it convenient to carry, and preferably, it can be carried by a person without the need for a small passenger car. ■ Film transportation and processing liquid Processes such as handling, processing temperature adjustment, drying, etc. are automatically controlled, so no skilled skills are required for operation; ■Processing performance is good and stable; ■Processing time is fast; ■Easy to operate erroneously. The emergence of a compact automatic developing machine for press use that satisfies the requirements of low maintenance costs and light maintenance has been awaited.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

The inventors of the present invention have worked diligently to develop a compact automatic developing machine that satisfies the above-mentioned requirements and is optimal for press or hobby use.

During this development process, the biggest bottleneck in miniaturizing automatic processors was how to bring the photosensitive material into good contact with the new processing solution to improve its developability.

Conventionally, the processing liquid has been stirred for this purpose, and the means for doing so are (1) a so-called jet stirring method in which the processing liquid is jetted from its jet nozzle and projected onto the emulsion surface of the photosensitive material; ) a method in which a rotating roll is placed in contact with the photosensitive material; and (3) a method in which a stirring blade is placed perpendicular to the transport direction and is moved back and forth in the transport direction to stir the processing liquid. It has been adopted.

However, method (1) requires disposing the spray nozzles uniformly on the surface of the photosensitive material, and as a result, the space for disposing the spray nozzle group becomes large, which impedes miniaturization of the apparatus. The renewability of the processing liquid differs between the center of the injection nozzle and its periphery, leading to a high risk of uneven development.

In method (2), unless the rotating roll is in contact with the emulsion surface, it is not possible to renew the processing solution.
The rotating roll is provided in contact with the emulsion surface, but the contact of the rotating roll with the emulsion surface damages the emulsion surface and causes uneven development.

Method (3) is effective for these methods, but
The stirring area tends to be localized, and therefore there is a high risk of localized uneven development.

On the other hand, in JP-A-1-114847, the gap is 0.
．． It has been proposed to allow a photosensitive material to pass through a slit-like passageway of 3 to 50 mm, and to provide a flexible member facing into the passageway in order to prevent the photosensitive material from being scratched or unevenly processed during the passage. ing.

However, it is actually extremely difficult to prevent damage to photosensitive materials, and because the processing liquid does not circulate and the passageway is narrow, the processing liquid tends to stagnate in certain areas. If the machine is operated for a long time, uneven development will occur.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an excellent agitation property of a processing liquid, to prevent uneven development of a photosensitive material, and to also prevent damage to the photosensitive material.

[Means to solve the problem]

The device of the present invention for solving the above problems has a passage path of a portion through which a photosensitive material passes from 1 to 50 m on both surface sides thereof.
A processing tank having a narrow slit of m, and processing liquid distribution means for distributing and circulating a processing liquid from one side of the slit passageway in the conveying direction or the width direction of the photosensitive material to the other. It is something to do.

Further, in the method of the present invention, the photosensitive material is conveyed through a narrow slit of 1 to 50 mm on both surface sides of the passage through which the photosensitive material passes, and the slit passage is conveyed in the conveying direction or width of the photosensitive material. A processing liquid distribution means for distributing and circulating the processing liquid from one direction to the other is provided, and the processing liquid distribution means allows the processing liquid to flow through the slit passage at a moving speed of 60 cm/min or more. It is characterized by this.

[Effect]

In the present invention, since the photosensitive material is passed through a narrow slit passage of 1 to 50 mm, the amount of developer can be reduced and the temperature can be easily adjusted.

In addition, in this type of developing device, the development processability is primarily influenced by the fluidity of the processing solution with respect to the photosensitive material.
According to the present invention, when the processing liquid is distributed and circulated from one side of the photosensitive material in the transport direction or the width direction to the other, new processing liquid is always supplied to a certain part of the photosensitive material, so that uneven development processing is ensured. is prevented.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, the present invention will be further explained in detail by various embodiments with reference to the drawings. Note that the silver halide photographic material of the present invention is not limited to the type thereof.

The developing device consists of a developing tank, a bleaching tank, a bleaching/fixing tank, a fixing tank,
It consists of an appropriate combination of a stabilizing tank, rinsing tank, washing tank, etc.

FIGS. 1 to 3 show a first embodiment of the structure of one unit processing tank for configuring the developing device suitable for developing color paper.

The processing tank 1 has a width slightly wider than the width of the photosensitive material S,
It is composed of a curved tank with a narrow gap d and has an almost circular arc shape, and the processing liquid is distributed inside the tank as described below, and the photosensitive material S is transported from the population 2 toward the exit 3. It is now possible to do so. During this conveyance, a conveying force is applied by, for example, the inlet nip roll 4 and the outlet nip roll 5, and a guide groove 1a is provided in the processing tank l, as shown in FIG. 3, so that the photosensitive material S passes through a predetermined position. There are several ways to form .

On the other hand, a trumpet-shaped processing liquid discharge pipe 6 and a supply pipe 7 are formed at the inlet end and the outlet end of the processing tank 1, respectively, and these are communicated by a circulation path 9 having a circulation pump 8 in the middle. has been done.

In the apparatus configured in this way, the processing liquid is supplied by the circulation pump 8 through the circulation path 9 from the supply cylinder 7 into the processing tank 1, is discharged from the discharge cylinder 6, and is then returned to the circulation pump 8.
During the process of being circulated through the circulation path 9, the photosensitive material S is conveyed through the processing tank l. At this time, the photosensitive material S is brought into contact with the processing group and is processed.

On the other hand, since the processing liquid deteriorates as the processing continues, new processing liquid can be replenished from the processing liquid tank 10 if necessary, and the degraded processing liquid can be discharged from the system through the discharge path 11. Furthermore, when adjusting the temperature of the processing liquid in order to improve processing performance, it is preferable to provide a temperature regulator 12 in the circulation path 9 for the processing liquid to adjust the temperature. The temperature adjustment is performed while detecting the temperature of the processing liquid in the circulation path 9 or the processing tank l.

The temperature of the treatment liquid is preferably 30°C or higher, particularly 33°C or higher.

In the present invention, the width d of the processing tank 1 is a narrow slit of 1 to 50 mm. The processing liquid is then circulated through this narrow slit. As a result, a small amount of processing liquid is sufficient, and furthermore, the processing liquid is reliably fluidized and stirred in the processing tank 1, and the photosensitive material S and the processing liquid are updated well. In addition, since a small amount of processing liquid is sufficient, the temperature adjustment of the processing liquid can be easily controlled.

The fluidity of the processing liquid influences the development processability of the photosensitive material S. In order to obtain good development processability, the moving speed of the processing liquid is 60 cm/min or more, more preferably 3 m/min or more, when expressed as processing liquid flow rate/cross-sectional area of the slit.
Particularly desirable is 5 to 30 m/min.

In order to fluidize the processing liquid, a countercurrent flow, a forward current flow, a flow perpendicular to the transport direction of the photosensitive material S (that is, a flow in the width direction of the photosensitive material S), etc. can be adopted. The first embodiment described above is an example of countercurrent flow, which is suitable for color paper, but forward flow is preferred for color negatives. The reason for this is that in the case of color negatives, unlike color paper, they are not stiff and may become wavy as a result of fluid agitation of the processing liquid. Note that in the case of color paper as well, forward flow can be used when conveyance performance is important.

FIG. 4 shows a second embodiment, in which the processing liquid is caused to flow in the direction of the photosensitive material S and is also circulated.

Further, in order to circulate the processing liquid, a blow-off pump 2° having rotary vanes 20a is used. That is, a processing liquid blowout tube 21 is disposed on the inlet side of the processing tank 1 so that the processing liquid hits the photosensitive material S obliquely, a discharge tube 22 is provided on the outlet side, and these are connected to the circulation path 2.
3, and a blowing pump 20 is provided near the blowing cylinder 21.

The pump for the stirring material structure of the present invention is preferably of a 2o rotary vane tube type in order to eliminate uneven development of the photosensitive material.

As shown in FIG. 4, when the processing liquid blowout tube 2I or discharge tube 22 is disposed in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the photosensitive material, preferably the length of the contact portion is equal to the width of the photosensitive material. 1/2
It is preferably the same or more, more preferably the same or more.

Under such a configuration, the processing liquid is injected into the processing tank 1 through the blowout tube 21 by rotation of the rotating blade 20a. Due to the fluidized stirring of the processing liquid that accompanies this jetting, the photosensitive material S
and the processing liquid are brought into contact with each other. Further, if necessary, a sub-blowing pump 24 can be provided in the middle of the processing tank 1, as shown in the figure, in order to promote fluidization.

In the first and second embodiments, the width of the supply cylinder 7 or the blowing cylinder 21 is at least 1/4, preferably at least 1/2, particularly at least 3/4 of the width of the photosensitive material S to be developed. suitable.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a third embodiment, in which a supply port 30 is provided on the outlet side of the bending treatment tank 1, and a discharge port 31 is provided on the inlet side. In this case, the processing liquid is supplied into the processing tank 1 from the outlet side, then goes to the inlet side, is discharged from the outlet 3I on the inlet side, and is again discharged from the supply port 30 by the circulation pump 8. It is supplied.

6 and 7 show a fourth embodiment in which the processing liquid is moved in the width direction of the photosensitive material S, in which a processing tank 40, 41 longer than the width of the photosensitive material S is moved along the width direction of the photosensitive material S. established,
A circulation pump 42.43 having a rotary vane is provided at one end thereof, and one end and the other end of the processing tank 40.41 are connected by a circulation path 44.45. In addition, the processing tank 40.
41 is disposed vertically, so a sealing means (not shown) is provided between the lower end and the photosensitive material S to prevent the processing liquid from leaking.

In this example, a processing liquid is distributed across the width of the photosensitive material S to be processed. Further, as shown in the drawing, the driving source of the circulation pumps 42, 43 is shared by the adjacent processing tanks 40, 41. That is, a sprocket is provided on the output shaft of the drive motor 46, and the sprockets are fixed to the shafts of the rotating blades of the circulation pumps 42 and 43, respectively, and these are wrapped around with a chain 47.

The present invention has a short processing time and is effective in recent color processing with high reactivity. Color photosensitive materials used in the method of the present invention include, for example, color paper, color reversal film, color negative film for photography, color Examples include reversal film, negative or positive film for motion pictures, and direct positive color light-sensitive materials.

As the silver halide emulsion for the light-sensitive material, any known silver halide emulsion can be used. For rapid processing, high silver chloride emulsions, especially those with a silver chloride content of 80 to 100 mole percent, are preferred. In the case of light-sensitive materials for color printing, silver chlorobromide emulsion (for rapid processing, silver chloride is preferably 90 mol% or more), and in the case of color light-sensitive materials for photography, silver iodobromide emulsion (silver iodobromide emulsion) The silver content is preferably 2 to 15 mol%). Silver halide grains are spherical, cubic, octahedral, rhombic dodecahedral, tetradecahedral, etc., and tabular (preferably aspect ratio 5 to 20) are used for high-sensitivity photosensitive materials.
) is preferred. These particles may be particles consisting of a uniform phase or may be particles consisting of a multilayer structure. Further, the particles may be surface latent image type particles or internal latent image type particles.

The particle size distribution may be polydisperse or monodisperse (preferably standard deviation/average particle size≦15%), but the latter is preferred. These silver halide grains may be used alone, or may be used in combination depending on the purpose.

As a photographic emulsion, Research Disclosure +- (R
D) vol, 176 Item Na176431
(I, n, I[) (December 1978).

The emulsion used is usually one that has been subjected to physical ripening, chemical ripening, and spectral sensitization. Additives used in such processes are Research Disclosure Vol. 176, Nα17
643 (December 1978) and Volume 187, N
α18716 (November 1979), and the relevant parts are summarized in the table below.

Additive type RD17643 RD187161
Chemical sensitizers, page 23, page 648, right column 2 Sensitivity enhancers Same as above, pages 23-24 3 Spectral sensitizers 4 Supersensitizers 5 Brighteners 6 Antifogging agents and stabilizers 7 Coupler 8 Organic solvents 9 Light absorption agent, filter dye, ultraviolet absorber, stain inhibitor, dye image stabilizer, hardener, binder, plasticizer, lubricant, coating aid, surfactant 17, static inhibitor, specific configuration of the processing section and conveyance system, page 648, right. Column ~ Page 649 Right column Page 24 Page 24-25 Page 649 Right column Page 25 Page 25 Page 25-26 Page 649 Right column ~ Page 650 Left column Page 650 Left-Right column Page 25 Right column Page 25 Page 26 Page 6 26 Page 27 6 Pages 26 to 27 Page 27 Page 51 Left column Same as above Page 50 Right column Same as above Same as above Treatment liquid composition, processing temperature and time settings, etc. are not limited to those described above, and are based on processing performance. There are various variations for the purpose of improvement and shortening of processing time, as well as in relation to the composition of the processing solution, etc., and which one to select among these is absolutely dependent on the automatic processing machine to which the present invention can be applied. It is not a limiting element.

An example of color negative processing with respect to the composition of the processing liquid, the structure of the processing tank, the processing time and the processing temperature used in the automatic processor of the present invention is as shown in the following example.

〔Example〕

The effects of the present invention will be clarified by Examples below.

(Example 1) (I) Composition example of processing solution■ Color developer (CD) Potassium carbonate 33g Sodium hydrogen carbonate 2.5g Potassium sulfite 5.0g Sodium bromide 1.4g Potassium iodide 1.2■ Human axylamine Sulfate 2.5g Sodium chloride 0.6g 4-amino-3-methyl-N=ethyl-N-(β-hydroxylethyl)aniline sulfate 4.8g Sodium ethylenediaminetetramethylenephosphonate 3.0g Potassium hydroxide 1. Add 2g water to 11 and adjust pHI to 0.06 using potassium hydroxide or 20% sulfuric acid.

■ Bleach solution (BL) 1.3-Propylenediaminetetraacetic acid ferric ammonium salt 0.3 mol Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid disodium 10g Ammonium bromide 150g Glacial acetic acid 50g Add water and lI! Close and adjust the pH to 4.4 using aqueous ammonia or glacial acetic acid.

■Fixer (Fix) Ammonium thiosulfate 200g Ammonium thiocyanate 150g Anhydrous sodium bisulfite 12g Sodium metabisulfite 2.5g Disodium ethylenediaminetetraacetate 1.0g Sodium carbonate 10g Thiourea 10g Add water and 17! Bind and ply using acetic acid and aqueous ammonia.
Adjust to i-17,0.

■ Stabilizing liquid (ST) Hexamethylenetetramine 2g 1.2-benzisothiazolin-3-one 0.05g
CJI+900 (CHZCHJ effect H1mf add water 1
1 and pH 7 using aqueous ammonia and 50% acetic acid.
Adjust to 5.

(I[) Example of configuration of processing section (tank) ■Color development (CD) ■Bleaching (BL) ■Fixing (Fix) ■Stability (ST) (III) Processing time and processing temperature side time Temperature (°C) ■Color development (CD) 1'37'' x 2 tanks 38±0.
3 (IIl/l tank) ■ Bleaching (BL) 45”
38±5■Fix 45”
x2 tank 38±52 tank power Runter current system % formula % 3 tank counter current system It was set in the automatic developing machine shown in Figure 8. The moving speed of the treatment liquid was 10 m7 minutes. 48 on the color negative film below
When processing was performed by applying a wedge-shaped exposure at 5CMS at 00°, good results were obtained in all cases.

■, Super HRnlO02 manufactured by Fuji Photo Film ■,
II HG2003,
”HG400
4. ”H
RII16005, Eastman Kodak product Kodacolor Gold 100 6, /'
2007・”
4008, ”
16009, Ephter
25// Breath 400〃
Press I 60010,
Made by Konica Konica Color GXIIlooll,〃
Konica Color GX 20012,〃
Konica Color GX 40013,〃
Konica Color GX 3200 (Example 2) Next, a specific example of color paper processing will be shown.

(1) Composition example of processing solution ■ Color developer (CD) Water 80
0@1 Potassium chloride 2.0g
Diethyl hydroxylamine diethylene triamine pentaacetic acid Kodak CD-3 Potassium carbonate triethanolamine ethylene diamine tetrakis methylene phosphonic acid water was added to make 11.

■Bleach fixative (BF) ammonium sulfite ammonium thiosulfate Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid Iron ammonium dihydrate Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid Add water to make 1ffi and add glacial acetic acid. (25%) to adjust the pH to 5.5.

■ Stabilizer (ST) 1.5 g of 5-chloro-2-methyl 4-isothiazolin-3-one 5.0 g 3.0 g 6.0 g 5 g 10 g 4 g 0 g 0 g g Aqueous ammonia 0.02 g 2-Methyl-4-isothiazolin-3-one 0.02g ethylene glycol 1.0g 2-octyl-4-isothiazolin-3-one 0.01g1-
Hydroxyethylidene-1,1-diphosphonic acid (60x aqueous solution) 3.
0gBtCI+ (45% aqueous solution)
0.65gMg50.7H□0
0.2g 25% ammonia water
Add 2.5 g of water to make 1 liter, and add ammonia water and H,S
O, at po7. o.

(n) Configuration example of processing section ■Color development (CD) ■Bleach-fixing (strong) ■Stable (ST) (III) Processing time and processing temperature Side processing time Processing temperature Processing solution volume Color development (CD) 45' (22 , 5” x 2 tanks) 35
°C 1.71 Bleach-fix (strong) 45"(22,5" x 2
tank) 35℃ 1.71 stable (ST) 90″(
22.5" x 4 tanks) 35°C 3.41 The above processing process was carried out using an automatic developing machine with unit processing tanks shown in Fig. 4 and the overall structure shown in Fig. 9. At that time, the processing solution was heated to 35°C. While controlling the temperature, Konica Color QA Paper, Fuji Color Super FA Paper, and Eastman Kogtsuku 2001 Paper were exposed and processed to give a uniform gray tone.
The moving speed of the treatment liquid was 8 m/min.

As a result, a good finish was obtained with no uneven development or scratches.

(Example 3) The temperature of the color developing solution was changed, and the circulation speed of the color developing solution (processing solution amount/cross-sectional area of the slit) was changed as shown in Table 1. The color development time is the time required to obtain sensitometry equivalent to that at that temperature, and Konica Color QA is set so that the reflective blue density at zero circulation speed is 1.0.
Table 1 shows the reflected blue density when the paper was exposed and processed.

(The reflective blue density was measured using PDA-65.) As can be seen from Table 1, when the processing temperature is 30°C or higher, the development promotion effect of the present invention is large, and the circulation speed of the present invention is 0. ．．
It turns out that 6 m/volume or more is preferable.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, the processing liquid has excellent stirring properties,
In particular, uneven development processing in the width direction of the photosensitive material can be prevented.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the first embodiment, FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view thereof,
Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view thereof, Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the second embodiment, Fig. 5 is a plan view of the third embodiment, Fig. 6 is a plan view of the fourth embodiment, and Fig. 7 is a plan view of the fourth embodiment. The vertical sectional view, FIGS. 8 and 9, are schematic diagrams of an example of the overall configuration of the automatic developing machine. 1... Processing tank, 4.5... Nip roll, 6...
Discharge tube, 7... Supply tube, 8... Circulation pump, 9...
・Circulation path, 20.24...Circulation pump, 20a...
Rotating blade, 21...Blowout pipe, 22...Discharge pipe,
23... Circulation path, 30... Supply port, 3I... Discharge port, 40.41... Processing tank, 42.43... Circulation pump, S... Photosensitive material. Fig. Fig. 4 Fig. 3 Fig. Fig. Fig. A a, , , , O

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A processing tank in which a passage through which the photosensitive material passes has narrow slits of 1 to 50 mm on both surface sides, and the slit passage is directed from one side of the conveyance direction or the width direction of the photosensitive material to the other. 1. A developing device for a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material, comprising a processing liquid distribution means for distributing and circulating a processing liquid. (2) The photosensitive material is conveyed through a narrow slit of 1 to 50 mm on both surface sides of the passage through which the photosensitive material passes, and from either the conveying direction or the width direction of the photosensitive material in the slit passage. A processing liquid distribution means for distributing and circulating the processing liquid toward the other side is provided, and the processing liquid distribution means allows the processing liquid to flow through the slit passage at a moving speed of 60 cm/min or more. A method for developing silver halide photographic materials.