JPH03210558A - Automatic developing device for silver halide photographic sensitive material - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To miniaturize the above device by attaching and detaching a stirring plate which is nearly parallel with a photosensitive material to and from the photosensitive material surface, without bringing the plate into orthogonal contact with this surface so as to stirr processing liquids. CONSTITUTION:The stirring of the processing liquids 2 to 5 is executed by attaching and detaching the stirring plate 20 which is nearly parallel with the photosensitive material P to and from the photosensitive material P surface without bringing the plate into orthogonal contact therewith. The stirring effect of the processing liquid is, therefore, acted over the entire part of the photosensitive material P in the processing liquids if one sheet of the large stirring plate 20 is prepd. and is moved back and forth. The entire part of the processing liquid is thus stirred and fluidized. Since one sheet each of the stirring plates 20 is basically used for each one of the processing tanks 2 to 5, the construction is simple. The device is miniaturized in this way.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an automatic developing device used for processing silver halide photographic materials such as color films and color papers. It is used for so-called press use, which is carried to the scene, processed on the spot, and quickly transmits the image to the newspaper company's headquarters, etc., or at home. This article relates to a small and simple automatic developing device that is ideal for 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, in a small number of cases, commercially available automatic developing machines for press use are used, and small manual developing type developing machines for hobby use are used.

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 on the transport rack, and is sequentially immersed in each processing tank, and finally dried in a drying unit. The structure is such that it is discharged to the outside.

Conventional automatic developing machines for press use on the market are relatively large, so they require a special truck, pan, or other vehicle to transport them to the shooting site, and there are still many manual operations, and the processing time is long. For this reason, it has not become widespread. In addition, since most of the small hobby developing machines are operated manually, they are hardly used because they require skill and skill to perform processing, similar to manual development such as plate development.

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
In order to effectively bring the processing solution into contact with the entire photosensitive material in the processing solution in a fluid state, a large number of stirring blades are required, and each stirring blade must be fixed to the reciprocating shaft. This makes it difficult to miniaturize, and
This resulted in dead areas where the stirring action was insufficient, resulting in an insufficient stirring effect as a whole.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an automatic developing device for silver halide photographic materials that has excellent agitation properties for processing liquids, has a simple and highly reliable stirring means, and can be downsized. It is in.

[Means to solve the problem]

The above-mentioned problem is to prevent the transport means for transporting the photosensitive material through the processing liquid in the processing liquid tank and the stirring plate, which is approximately parallel to the photosensitive material, from contacting (approaching or separating) the surface of the photosensitive material perpendicularly to the surface of the photosensitive material. This problem can be solved by having a stirring means for stirring the processing liquid.

[Effect]

In the present invention, the processing solution is stirred by moving a stirring plate substantially parallel to the photosensitive material toward and away from the surface of the photosensitive material without contacting it perpendicularly to the surface of the photosensitive material.

Therefore, by preparing two large stirring plates and moving them back and forth, the processing solution can be stirred over the entire photosensitive material in the processing solution, and the entire processing solution can be stirred and fluidized. , the stirring effect is improved. Furthermore, since one stirring plate is basically used for one processing tank, the structure is simple and miniaturization is easy.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, the present invention will be further explained in detail by various embodiments with reference to the drawings. Although the silver halide photographic light-sensitive material of the present invention is not limited to the type thereof, the following description will take a silver halide photographic light-sensitive film as an example.

1 to 4 show the first embodiment. As shown in FIG.
, a first stabilizing tank 4 and a second stabilizing tank 5 are separated by a partition wall 6. Further, as can be seen from FIG. 2, a constant temperature water tank 7 is provided below the bottom of the treatment tank 1.
This constant-temperature water tank 7 has baffle walls 8 spaced apart from the tank wall at alternate positions and forming flow ports 8a, so that the temperature-controlled hot water flows in an S-shape on a plane, as shown in FIG. ing. Further, a temperature regulating tank 9 provided on the right side of the second stabilizing tank 5 is provided with a constant temperature regulating heater 10 , and hot water whose temperature is controlled here is supplied to the developing tank 2 from an inflow hole 12 by a circulation pump 11 . At the lower position, it flows into the constant temperature water tank 7.

On the other hand, the photosensitive material, for example, the silver halide color paper P, is conveyed while being undulated vertically in an S-shape. During this transportation process, the paper is processed with the corresponding processing liquid in the processing tank and is discharged from the apparatus as developed color paper P.

A conveyance means, a guide means, and an agitation means are provided so that the color paper P passes through a predetermined path and also so that the color paper P is always brought into contact with new processing liquid.

That is, a pair of nip rolls 13, 14 for conveyance are arranged on the inlet side and the outlet side of each type 2 to 5, and some of them are shared. Each of these nip rolls 13.1
In the fourth group, for example, a chain 15 driven by a drive motor (not shown) is disposed on one side of the processing tank 1, and this chain meshes with a gear fixed at the end of the nip roll.
It is designed to be commonly driven and rotated. moreover,
In order for the color paper P to pass through a predetermined path, a plurality of guide plates 16 are provided, for example, arranged vertically orthogonally to the color paper P at intervals in the width direction of the color paper P.

On the other hand, in order to agitate and fluidize each processing liquid and supply a new processing liquid to the emulsion surface (in the illustrated example, the upper surface) of the color paper P, a stirring plate 20 is provided which is approximately parallel to the color paper P being conveyed. The stirring plate 20 is supported by a reciprocating support rod 21 that is perpendicular to the color paper P, and this support rod 21 is reciprocated in a direction perpendicular to the color paper P by a reciprocating drive means to be described later. The agitation plate 20 is moved toward and away from the emulsion surface of the color paper P without being in perpendicular contact with the emulsion surface of the color paper P, thereby agitating the processing liquid.

The reciprocating mechanism of the stirring plate 20 is as shown in FIG.
The driving gear 2 is attached to one guide plate 15 of the guide plates 16 and 16.
A driven gear 23 is engaged with the driven gear 23. A crank arm 24 is pivotally connected to the driven gear 23. A holding shaft 25 is provided at the other end, and the supporting rod 2 is supported by this holding shaft 25.
A stirring plate 20 is supported via a bracket that constitutes 1. Further, the holding shaft 25 is attached to the guide plate 16.
They are respectively engaged with guide grooves 18a formed in 16.

In this mechanism, when the driving gear 22 is rotated by a drive motor (not shown), the driven gear 23 rotates, and along with this rotation, the crank arm 24 moves up and down according to the principle of a rotating crank mechanism, thereby causing the stirring plate to move up and down. 20 will reciprocate up and down.

In this case, the drive source for the reciprocating motion can be used in common with the drive source for the nip rolls.

FIG. 5 shows another example, in which a color paper P is conveyed through a vertically long processing tank 30.
Further, a stirring plate 31 is arranged vertically, and this stirring plate 31 is made to reciprocate in the horizontal direction.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, which show the principle, in the present invention, when a stirring plate that is approximately parallel to the photosensitive material is brought close to and separated from the surface of the photosensitive material without contacting it perpendicularly to the surface of the photosensitive material, the When the processing liquid flows toward the surface of the photosensitive material, it flows in the opposite direction when the material is separated, thereby stirring the processing liquid. During this process, the processing liquid on the surface of the photosensitive material is renewed.

In the present invention, the minimum distance d between the stirring plate 20 or 31 and the photosensitive material (see FIG. 3) is 0.5W to 5W.
0 mn is preferable. Moreover, the stroke of the reciprocating motion is not limited, but is preferably 1 to 100 strokes, and the reciprocating frequency is preferably 5 to 600 strokes/min.

On the other hand, in the above example, one stirring plate is provided for one processing tank, but the stirring plate may be divided into a plurality of parts in the width direction and/or transport direction of the photosensitive material. Preferably, the width of the stirring plate is at least 1/2 of the width of the photosensitive material.

The surface of the stirring plate, particularly the side surface of the photosensitive material, may be smooth, but it may also be provided with irregularities in order to improve the flow of the processing liquid.

The agitation system of the present invention can be applied to the transport system of commonly used automatic processors, and the transport systems preferably used in combination are short leader single system, guide transport, roller transport, and cine system. . Further, it is preferable for ease of handling that the stirring plate be incorporated into a rack for transporting the photosensitive material.

It is preferable to use a drive motor for conveyance as the drive source for the conveyance plate in order to reduce the size and cost of the automatic developing material.

Further, when a separate drive motor is provided, it is possible to easily increase the stirring reciprocating speed, which is preferable for powerful stirring for rapid processing.

In the present invention, a stirring plate that is substantially parallel to the photosensitive material has a shape that allows the processing liquid to be stirred when the stirring plate is moved toward or away from the photosensitive material; therefore, the processing liquid is stirred. This includes the fact that they are not exactly parallel but are angled obliquely, as shown in FIG. Also,
Orthogonal to the surface of the photosensitive material means that the direction of movement intersects with the photosensitive material, and does not have to be exactly perpendicular to the photosensitive material. However, for efficient agitation, a near-vertical direction of motion is preferred.

Further, as the stirring plate, as shown in FIG. 9, instead of being a plate, a stirring plate 40 having unevenness may be used. Also, the first
As shown in Fig. O, the stirring plate 31 is fixed to an eccentric cam 41, and the eccentric cam 41 can be rotated and reciprocated for approaching and separating.

In addition, in the above-mentioned reciprocating stirring, in the case of developing processing at room temperature without temperature control means, in the case of color photographic light-sensitive materials, the desired stirring hardening is weak, and the performance of the color photographic light-sensitive materials cannot be fully brought out. Color photographic light-sensitive materials have a multilayer structure and have the disadvantage that the balance between the upper layer and the lower layer is lost. It is possible to improve the reactivity of the processing liquid by
A good color photographic light-sensitive material can be obtained without scratches or uneven development, and as the temperature of the processing solution increases, the improvement in development performance by stirring becomes very effective. In this case, if the treatment temperature is 33℃ or higher, it will work more effectively, and 35℃
The above is quite effective.

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 Na17a 43
1 (I, Il, 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 listed in Research Disclosure Vol. 176, N117.
643 (December 1978) and Volume 187, 1
1Ja18716 (November 1979), and the relevant parts are summarized in the sweep table.

Additive type RD17643 1 Chemical sensitizer page 23 2 Sensitivity enhancer 3 Spectral sensitizer 4 Super sensitizer 5 Brightener 6 Antifogging agent and stabilizer 7 Coupler RD18716 Page 648 right column Same as above page 648 right column ~ Page 649 Right column Page 649 Right column Page 25 Page 24 Pages 24-25 Pages 23-24 Organic solvent light absorber, filter dye 1O Ultraviolet absorber 11 Stain inhibitor 12 Dye image stabilizer 13 Hardener 14 Binder 15 Plasticizer agent, lubricant 16 Coating aid, surfactant 17 Static inhibitor However, there are various variations for the purpose of improving processing performance and shortening processing time, and in relation to the composition of the processing liquid. Absolute limitations for applicable automatic processors Same as above, page 25, right column, page 650, left to right column, page 25, page 26, page 651, left column, page 26, same as page 27, page 650, right column, pages 26-27, same as above, page 27, page 25, page 25- Page 26, page 649, right column to page 650, not an element in the left column.

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 the following examples.

(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■ Hydroxylamine sulfate Salt 15g Sodium chloride 0.6g 4-Amino-3-methyl-N-ethyl-N-(β-hydroxylethyl)aniline sulfate' 4.8g Sodium ethylenediaminetetramethylenephosphonate 3.0g Potassium oxide 1.2g Water The pH was adjusted to 10.06 using potassium hydroxide or 20% sulfuric acid.

■ Bleach solution (BL) ■, 3-Propylenediaminetetraacetic acid ferric ammonium salt 0.3 mol Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid disodium 10g Ammonium bromide 150g Glacial acetic acid 50g Add water to make 11, and use ammonia water or glacial acetic acid. Adjust the pH to 4.4.

■ Fixer (Fix) Ammonium periosulfate 200g Ammonium thiocyanate 150g Anhydrous sodium bisulfite 12g Sodium metabisulfite 2.5g Disodium ethylenediaminetetraacetate 1.0g Sodium carbonate 10g Thiourea 10g Add water to make 11, and acetic acid and ammonia water to pH
Adjust to 7.0.

■ Stabilizing liquid (ST) Hexamethylenetetramine 2g 1.2-benzisothiazolin-3-one 0.05g
Add water to make 11, and adjust to pH 7.5 using aqueous ammonia and 50% acetic acid. t■) Configuration example of processing section (tank) ■Color development (CD) ■Bleaching (BL) ■Fixing (Fix) ■Stability (ST) (I) Example of processing time and processing temperature Time Temperature (''C) ■Color development (CD) 1'37" x 2 tanks 38±0.
3 (il/1 tank) ■ Bleaching (BL) 45"
38±5■Fix 90”
38±5■ Stable (ST) 30” x 3 tanks 38
±53 tank force under current method The above-mentioned processing steps and processing solution were set in an automatic developing machine shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 in which the unit processing tank shown in FIG. 5 was installed in series. The reciprocating speed of the stirring plate was 60 reciprocations/min, and the stroke was 20 am. 480 on the color negative film below
When processing was performed by applying a wedge-shaped exposure at 5 CMS at 0°, good results were obtained in all cases.

1. Super HRII1002 manufactured by Fuji Photo Film ■
, // HG200
3, 〃HG400 4, // HRI1
16005, Eastman Kodak product Kodacolor Gold 100 B-u 2007-
n 400B
-n 16009,
// Efter 25
〃Brace 400〃Press 160010, manufactured by Konica ■
Konica Color GXnlOoll, Konica Color GX 20012, u
Konica Color GX 40013, ,
// Konica Color GX 3200 (Example 2) Next, a specific example of color paper processing will be shown.

(I) Composition example of processing solution ■ Color developer (CD) Water 800m
l Potassium chloride 2.0g
Diethylhydroxylamine 5.0g Diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid 3.0g Kodak CD
-36.0g Potassium carbonate 25g Triethanolamine 10g Ethylenediaminetetrakismethylenephosphonic acid 1.5g Water was added to make the solution 11, and the pH was adjusted to 10.1 with KOH and sulfuric acid.

■ Bleach-fix solution (BF) Ammonium sulfite 14g Ammonium thiosulfate 70g Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid iron ammonium dihydrate 50g Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid 2g Add water and 11
The pH was adjusted to 5.5 with glacial acetic acid and aqueous ammonia (25%).

■ Stabilizer (ST) 5-chloro-2-methyl-4-isothiazolin-3-one 0.02g2-
Methyl-4-isothiazolin-3-one 0.02g Ethylene glycol 1.0g 2-octyl-4-isothiazolin-3-one o,otgl-
Hydroxyethylidene-1,1-diphosphonic acid (60% aqueous solution) 3.
0gBiC1g (45% aqueous solution)
0.65gMg5O47HzOO, 2g 25% ammonia water Add 2.5g water to make 11, and adjust the pH to 7.0 with ammonia water and HISO.
And so.

(n) Example of configuration of processing section ■Color development (CD) ■Bleach-fix (BP) ■Stable (ST) (I [) Example of processing time and processing temperature Processing time Processing temperature Processing solution volume Color development (CD) 45" 35 ℃ 1.
1 Bleaching room wear (BF) 451 35℃ 1.
1 Stable (ST) 45” x 2 tanks 35℃ 1
．． 71 The above processing steps are carried out using the automatic developing machine shown in Figs. 1 to 3, and while controlling the temperature of the processing solution, Konica Color QA Paper, Fuji Color Super FA Haha, and East Mango Duck 2001 Paper are made into a uniform gray tone. exposed and processed as follows. In addition, when reciprocating the stirring plate, the stroke was 15 m, the frequency was 30 times/min, and d was 5 ■.

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

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, the processing liquid has excellent stirring properties,
The stirring means is simple and highly reliable, and has advantages such as being able to be made smaller.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of the first embodiment, FIG. 2 is a plan view thereof, and FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the operating principle of the stirring plate in the unit processing tank.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an example of a reciprocating mechanism, FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the operating principle of another stirring plate in a unit processing tank, FIG. 6 is a schematic front view of the overall configuration of an automatic developing machine, and FIG. Its plan,
FIGS. 8 to 1O are schematic diagrams of modified examples of stirring plate movement. 1... Processing tank, 7... Constant temperature water tank, 10... Constant temperature control heater, 13.14... Nip roll, 16...
Guide plate, 20.31.40... Stirring plate, 21...
Support shaft (support bracket), P...Color paper Figure 4 Figure 1Q Figure 11 ==;=

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A conveying means for conveying the photosensitive material through the processing solution in the processing solution tank and a stirring plate that is approximately parallel to the photosensitive material are moved closer to each other and separated from each other without coming into orthogonal contact with the surface of the photosensitive material. 1. An automatic developing apparatus for silver halide photographic materials, comprising a stirring means for stirring a processing liquid.