JPH0456961A - Drier - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To shorten drying time, to reduce energy consumption, and to miniaturize a device by simplifying structure by forming the thickness of the internal space of a cabinet in the thickness direction of a photosensitive material in thin slit shape, and arranging a plane heater on the wall part of the cabinet. CONSTITUTION:The internal space 3 piercing from an entry 4 to an exit 5 is formed at the cabinet 2, and the thickness T in the thickness direction of a passing photosensitive material S of the internal space 3 is formed in thin slit shape. The plane heaters 10 are arranged on the internal walls 2a, 2b of the cabinet 2, respectively, and the plane heaters generate heat by energizing an energizing means, which heat the air blown in the internal space 3 from a nozzle 8 and the passing photosensitive material S. Thereby, satisfactory drying efficiency can be obtained, especially, the drying time can be shortened, and also, the energy consumption can be saved. Also, the miniaturization and the simplification of the device can be attained by realizing the thinning of the cabinet, down-sizing of a fan and a heat source, etc., based on the reduction of the supply quantity of gas for drying.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION <Industrial Application Field> The present invention relates to silver halide photosensitive materials (hereinafter referred to as
This invention relates to a drying device for drying photosensitive materials (simply referred to as photosensitive materials).

<Conventional technology>? Examples of photosensitive material processing apparatuses that perform v-type processing include automatic processors (for color paper, color negatives, etc.), silver halide photocopiers, and the like.

An automatic processor sequentially develops, bleaches, fixes, washes, and stabilizes photographed photosensitive material (for example, color negative film) in a processing section, then dries the photosensitive material in a drying section to produce a negative image or positive image. It is something that gives you an image.

In addition, in a silver halide photocopier, a photosensitive material (for example, a sheet of color paper) supplied from a paper feed section is sent to an exposure section for exposure, and the exposed photosensitive material is sent to a processing section for development and development.
Bleaching, fixing, and washing are sequentially performed, and the photosensitive material is dried in a drying section to obtain a copy of the original image.

The drying device installed in the drying section of such a photosensitive material processing apparatus has a duct that surrounds a conveyance path of the photosensitive material, and a fan and a heater for supplying warm air into the duct. In this method, hot air is blown onto the wet photosensitive material being transported inside to dry it.

However, in such conventional drying equipment, because the volume of the internal space of the duct is large, even though a large amount of hot air is supplied, the hot air actually hits the surface of the photosensitive material and contributes to the removal of moisture. The disadvantage is that the amount is small and therefore the drying time is long.

Particularly in wet-type copying machines and automatic processors, the long drying time is a major obstacle to shortening the overall processing time.

In addition, since a large amount of air is heated, energy consumption is large, and a large amount of heat is emitted to the outside (it has an adverse effect on the installation environment of the equipment, such as temperature rise, etc.). Another drawback is that it takes time to heat up (preheat).

Note that the preheating time is long (due to the long preheating time, it is not possible to turn the drying device on and off each time the photosensitive material is processed, and the drying device must be kept running regardless of whether the photosensitive material is being processed or not. This also led to an increase in energy consumption.

In addition, in order to obtain optimal drying conditions with good drying efficiency, it is necessary to keep the drying temperature constant. To do this, it is necessary to detect the temperature of the hot air and control the amount of heat generated by the heater based on this. This has led to the complexity of the structure of the device.

Furthermore, the conventional drying apparatus has the following drawbacks regarding the emulsion layer of the photosensitive material.

In conventional drying devices, about 70 to 95% of the hot air that is supplied into the duct and contributes to drying is recovered and supplied into the duct again. Therefore, when a large amount of light-sensitive material is continuously dried, the drying is performed using high-humidity hot air, which has the disadvantage that film quality defects such as reticulation (cracks) occur on the emulsion surface of the light-sensitive material.

On the other hand, if the temperature of the drying gas is kept low so that the drying gas does not reach a high temperature, then when a large amount of photosensitive material is continuously dried, the drying will be good at first, but gradually the drying will become poor.

<Problems to be Solved by the Invention> The purpose of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art, to achieve good drying efficiency (particularly short drying time, and low energy consumption), to have a simple structure, and to An object of the present invention is to provide a drying device that can be downsized.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a drying apparatus that can prevent film quality defects such as reticulation from occurring on the emulsion surface of a light-sensitive material.

<Means for Solving the Problems> Such objects are achieved by the present invention described in (1) and (2) below.

(1) A drying device for drying a photosensitive material by passing the photosensitive material through the interior space of the housing while supplying a drying gas to the interior space of the housing, wherein the interior space of the housing is a drying device for drying the photosensitive material. It has a slit shape with a thin thickness in the thickness direction.
A drying device characterized in that a planar heating element is installed on the wall of the casing.

(2) The drying device according to (1) above, wherein the planar heating element has a negative temperature coefficient of resistance.

In the present invention having such a configuration, the internal space of the housing through which the photosensitive material passes is formed into a slit shape with a thin thickness in the direction of the thickness of the photosensitive material, thereby significantly reducing its volume and reducing the size of the housing. A large amount of drying gas can be flowed at high speed, resulting in drying in a short time with a short conveyance path, saving energy,
It is also possible to prevent adverse effects on the indoor environment and downsize the device.

In particular, planar heating elements consume less energy, and because they are thin plates, they do not take up much installation space.Moreover, when using a planar heating element with a negative temperature coefficient of resistance, it is possible to control the amount of heat generated. Since this is not necessary, the structure is further simplified.

Further, in the present invention, since the temperature and humidity of the drying gas can be set to optimal values, the drying efficiency is high (and film quality defects such as reticulation do not occur on the emulsion surface of the photosensitive material).

<Embodiments> Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the drying apparatus of the present invention shown in the accompanying drawings will be described in detail.

FIGS. 1 to 3 are longitudinal cross-sectional views each showing an example of the structure of the drying apparatus of the present invention. It should be noted that members facing in each figure are indicated by the same reference numerals, and descriptions of similar items will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 1, the drying device 1a of the present invention has a box-shaped housing 2 with a rectangular cross section.
An inlet 4 for the photosensitive material S is formed at the left end in the figure, and an outlet 5 for the photosensitive material S is formed at the right end in the figure. In this specification, the entrance 4 side is referred to as the "front" and the exit 5 side is referred to as the "rear J".
It will be explained as follows.

The housing 2 has an internal space 3 penetrating from an inlet 4 to an outlet 5.
is formed, and this internal space 3 has a slit shape with a thin thickness T in the thickness direction (vertical direction in the figure) of the photosensitive material S passing through. That is, the cross section of the internal space 3 has a slit shape. The dimensions of this internal space 3 will be detailed later. In the illustrated example, the internal space 3 has a flat shape, but in the present invention, the internal space 3 may have an appropriately curved shape as long as the passage of the photosensitive material S is not hindered.

A pair of nozzles 8 that communicate with the internal space 3 are installed near the entrance 4 of the housing 20 on the SA side (emulsion side) and the back side S (upper and lower sides in the figure) of the photosensitive material S, respectively. ing.

A slit-shaped blowout opening is formed at the tip of these nozzles 8, and a fan (air blower 1) is formed at the base end of the nozzle 8.
6 exhaust lower is connected.

Moreover, the nozzle 8 is installed with its tip inclined toward the rear.

In this case, the inclination angle α of the nozzle 8 is preferably about 5° to 60°. If α is less than 5°, the size of the housing 2 will increase, making it difficult to design compactly.
Furthermore, if α exceeds 60°, backflow to the inlet 4 is likely to occur (
Because it will be.

Incidentally, in order to easily introduce the photosensitive material S into the entrance 4, an inclined surface 4a is formed on the front surface SA side and the back surface S side of the photosensitive material so that the gap distance gradually decreases toward the rear.
At the tip of the inclined surface 4a, a step is formed to prevent the air ejected from the nozzle 8 from flowing backwards and exiting from the inlet 4.

In this configuration example, the front surface SA side and the back surface S of the photosensitive material S,
The photosensitive material S passing through the internal space 3 is supplied with a drying gas (hereinafter referred to as air) from each side.
between the front surface SA and the inner wall 2a, and between the back surface S and the inner wall 2b.
Air currents are formed between the two, thereby preventing the photosensitive material S from coming into close contact with the inner walls 2a and 2b of the housing 2. When preventing such adhesion of the photosensitive material S, the shape and installation angle α of the nozzle 8 installed on the front side and the back side of the photosensitive material S are made symmetrical in order to maintain the balance of air flow. Preferably, the amounts supplied are also equal.

Planar heating elements 10 are installed on inner walls 2a and 2b of the housing 2, respectively. This planar heating element 10 generates heat by being energized by an energizing means (not shown), and the air blown into the internal space 3 from the nozzle 8 and the photosensitive material S passing through it.
to warm up.

Examples of such a sheet heating element 10 include a panel heater with a built-in heater, an oil circulation panel heater, a sheet heating element containing various conductive fillers, and a heater element coated with an insulating material. Among these, those containing a conductive filler and those in which the heater element is coated with an insulating material (such as an organic material, ceramics, or a mixed material thereof) are particularly preferable.

Examples of the conductive filler include organic conductive fillers such as carbon-based materials such as carbon black, graphite, and carbon fibers, metal powders such as iron, aluminum, titanium, and nickel, or titanium dioxide, iron oxide, and iron oxide. Examples include inorganic conductive fillers such as metal oxide powders such as zinc oxide and magnesium oxide.

Specific examples of such planar heating elements include those shown below (1) to (2).

■ Carbon and paper fibers mixed with heat-resistant resin (
Toho rayon side, manufactured by Toho Veslon■) ■ A mixture of carbon black and heat-resistant resin (
(manufactured by Kaken ■) ■ Inorganic conductive paint (■ rHMc111 manufactured by Himax
■ Product name: NR-ceramic plate heater (manufactured by Nippon Steel) ■ Product name: NR-Fluororesin plate heater (manufactured by Nippon Steel) ■ Product name: Samicon Super 340 (Sakaguchi electric heating) ■ Product name: Idemitsu surface heater (manufactured by Idemitsu Kosan ■) ■ Teflon submersible panel heater Product name: Heatflon (manufactured by Two-Tone, Noguchi Seisakusho ■) ■ Product name: Thin heater F-1, F -2 (Narasaki Sangyo■
Furthermore, the planar heating element IO is preferably a negative register type as shown in (1) and (2) above, that is, one having a negative resistance temperature coefficient (negative characteristic).

This type of heating element has the property that as the temperature of the sheet heating element increases, the current value decreases, that is, the amount of heat generated decreases, and the temperature converges to a constant level. The drying temperature, which will be described later, can be kept constant without performing control such as turning on or turning off electricity to the heat generating source based on the temperature.

Therefore, there is no need to provide a control means for controlling the drying temperature (heat amount of the planar heating element) (which contributes to simplifying the structure of the drying device).

The surface of such a planar heating element 10 is preferably a smooth surface or one having unevenness formed in a direction perpendicular to the direction of travel of the photosensitive material S. Preferably, the surface of body 10 is as soft as possible.

Furthermore, a coating film may be provided on the surface of the sheet heating element 10 exposed to the internal space 3 for the purpose of protecting the sheet heating element IO, preventing scratches on the photosensitive material, improving transportability, and the like.

Such a planar heating element 10 is preferably installed at least in the first half of drying, that is, on the front side of the housing 2.
As a result, drying is performed at a relatively high temperature in the first half of the drying process, thereby improving drying efficiency and preventing film quality defects.

The size (installation area, especially operating area) of the planar heating element 10 is not particularly limited, but is preferably set to the following value.

The width of the planar heating element 10 (in the width direction of the photosensitive material) is
It is preferable that the width is larger than the width of the inner space 3, and it is particularly preferable that the width of the inner space 3 is about the same as the width of the inner space 3.

The length of the planar heating element IO (photosensitive material transport direction) is approximately 174 to 374, particularly 1/3 to 2/3, of the total length of the internal space 3.
It is preferable to set it as approximately.

Further, a difference may be provided in the calorific value (total amount) of the planar heating element 10 between the inner wall 2a side and the inner wall 2b side. In this case, in order to improve the drying efficiency, it is preferable to increase the calorific value of the planar heating element 10 on the emulsion side of the photosensitive material S, that is, on the inner wall 2a side (for example, by about 30 to 300%).

In this way, the planar heating elements 10 on the inner wall 2a side and the inner wall 2b side
As a method of providing a difference in the amount of heat generated between the planar heating elements 10 and
Examples include a method of providing a difference in the installation area or operating area of the heaters, a method of installing different types of planar heating elements IO, or a combination of these methods.

Further, in the illustrated example, the planar heating element 10 is placed on the inner wall of the housing 2.
a, 2b, but they may be installed on the outer wall of the housing 2, or may be buried within the wall.

In this case, the constituent material of the housing 2 is preferably a material with excellent heat conductivity, such as a metal material (for example, stainless steel, aluminum, copper, or titanium).

Alternatively, the sheet heating element 10 divided into several parts may be installed on the inner walls 2a, 2b, etc. of the housing 2, so that the amount of heat generated, that is, the drying temperature can be adjusted according to the area of the sheet heating element to which electricity is applied. can.

The thickness T of the internal space 3 of the housing 2 is 3 times the thickness of the photosensitive material S.
It is preferably about 1000 times, particularly about 5 to 100 times.

If the thickness is less than 3 times the thickness of the photosensitive material S, troubles such as adhesion accidents and scratches on the photosensitive material S are likely to occur during drying, and if it exceeds 1000 times, the volume of the internal space 3 becomes thick ( This is because, depending on the drying conditions, the effects of the present invention may not be fully exhibited.

Note that the thickness T of the internal space 3 may gradually increase or decrease from the front to the rear, that is, the internal space 3 may have a tapered shape.

This allows the flow velocity of air in the longitudinal direction of the internal space 3 to be varied. For example, if the air flow velocity in the first half of drying is high (T gradually increases toward the rear), the second half of drying will be slow drying, especially for light-sensitive materials with less hardener or thick emulsion layers. It has the effect of preventing film quality deterioration. In the opposite case (T gradually decreases toward the rear), there is a tendency for a rather rapid turn in the latter half of drying, which is particularly suitable for light-sensitive materials with thin emulsion layers, as the drying path (time) becomes shorter.

The photosensitive material S is transported within the housing 2 in the following manner.

The length of the photosensitive material S is the length of the housing 2 (more precisely, the length of the entrance 4
distance between the side conveyance roller 30 and the exit 5 side conveyance roller 31)
If the length is longer, the rotational force of the conveyance rollers 30 and 31 is used.

That is, before the rear end (front end) of the photosensitive material S does not come off the transport roller 30, the leading end (rear end) of the photosensitive material S is pinched by the transport roller 31, so that the photosensitive material S
is held in the internal space 3 of the housing by at least one of the transport rollers 30 and 31, and is transported.

When the length of the photosensitive material S is shorter than the length of the housing 2,
After the rear end of the photosensitive material S comes off the conveyance roller 30, the photosensitive material S is conveyed backward by the high-speed air flow flowing through the internal space 3 (hereinafter referred to as air conveyance), and the leading end of the photosensitive material S is moved away from the conveyance roller 30. After reaching the roller 31, it is held and conveyed by the rollers 31. In addition, even in this case, the internal space 3
A pair of driven and rotating conveyance rollers, a roller conveyance system such as a circulating endless belt, a belt conveyance system, or the like may be provided.

In such a drying device 1a, air sent out from the exhaust lower by operation of the fan 6 is ejected from the tip of the nozzle 8 into the internal space 3, forming a high-speed flow toward the rear in the internal space 3 of the housing. This air is heated by the planar heating element 10 when passing through the internal space 3 and is discharged from the outlet 5.

In this state, when the wet photosensitive material S, which is held and conveyed by the pair of conveyance rollers 30, is introduced into the inlet 4 and passed through the internal space 3, hot air flowing at high speed and the surface S of the photosensitive material S, and back surface S, and these surfaces S
,,S.

also receives heat from the planar heating element IO, thereby removing moisture from these surfaces Sa and Sl and drying them.

Thereafter, the photosensitive material S is pinched and conveyed by a pair of conveyance rollers 31 and exits from the housing 2 through the outlet 5.

The drying device 1b shown in FIG. 2 has a configuration in which a plurality of nozzles are provided along the longitudinal direction of the housing 2. The drying device 1b shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, nozzles 8, 8' and 8'' are installed in the upper and lower parts of the housing 2 in order from the front to the rear, and a branch duct 9 branching from the vicinity of the exhaust lower of the fan 6 connects the nozzle 8. ' and 8'' at the proximal end.

The nozzles 8' and 8'' are similar to the nozzle 8 described above.

For the same reasons as mentioned above, it is preferable that the shape, installation angle, arrangement, etc. of each nozzle be symmetrical on the front and back sides of the photosensitive material S, and that the total amount of air supplied be equal.

In this way, when multiple pairs of nozzles are provided, when the airflow ejected from the nozzle 8 is attenuated due to pressure loss, new air is ejected from the nozzle 8 and the nozzle 8'' behind it. This can be recovered by doing this.

Therefore, such a configuration is advantageously applied when the length of the housing 2 is relatively long, when the photosensitive material S is conveyed by air, and when the drying efficiency is increased.

In addition, in the drying device 1b, the total length of the housing 2 is sufficiently long, preferably 20 times or more, more preferably 1
00 to 100 times.

In this drying apparatus 1b, planar heating elements 10 similar to those described above are installed on the inner walls 2a and 2b between the nozzles 8 and 8' and between the nozzles 8' and 8'.

The drying device 1c shown in FIG. 3 has a dehumidifying means for removing moisture from drying air, and circulates and reuses the air after drying.

The drying device 1c shown in the figure has symmetrical air circulation systems on the front side and the back side of the photosensitive material of the housing 2, respectively. This air circulation system has a duct 12 and a housing 2
Near the outlet 5 of the duct 12 is a collection port 1 which is the rear end of the duct 12.
3 is installed. Further, a slit-shaped opening 11 through which the photosensitive material S passes is formed on the side thereof. This opening 11 has a convergent shape so that the photosensitive material S can easily pass therethrough and there is little air leakage.

A dehumidifier 14 is installed in the middle of the duct 12, and a propeller-type fan 15 is installed in the expanded interior space of the duct 12 in front of the dehumidifier 14. Further, the duct 12 is extended forward from the fan 15, and the duct 12 is extended forward from the fan 15.
The front end of Nozzle 2 is connected to the base end of the nozzle 8 .

Further, on the inner walls 2a and 2b of the housing 2, planar heating elements IO similar to those described above are installed.

The dehumidifier 14 may be, for example, one using a normal refrigerant like an air conditioner, one using an electronic cooling element using the Peltier effect (Japanese Patent Application No. 63-221796), or one using a desiccant such as calcium chloride or silica gel. Various configurations can be used, such as a simple configuration in which a moisture absorbent (hygroscopic agent) is placed and air containing moisture is passed through it.

Among these, dehumidifiers using electronic cooling elements are preferable because they are small, have high dehumidifying ability, and consume little power.

In such a drying device 1c, air circulation is performed as follows. When the fan 15 is activated, the collection port 1
3 becomes negative pressure, and the air containing a lot of moisture after drying discharged from the outlet 5 is sucked into the upper and lower recovery ports 13 of the housing 2, passes through the inside of the duct 12, and reaches the dehumidifier 14. This air is dehumidified by the dehumidifier 14, then passes through the fan 15, and is again ejected from the nozzle 8 into the internal space 3 of the housing 2, forming a high-speed flow. is heated by a planar heating element lO,
After that, you will reach exit 5.

In a drying device IC having such an air circulation system and dehumidifying means, the hot air used for drying is reused without being exhausted to the outside, so energy consumption can be reduced and the amount of heat released to the outside of the device can be reduced. and because the amount of water vapor is small,
There is no effect on the installation environment (temperature, humidity) of the equipment (in addition, at the beginning of drying, drying is performed using high temperature, low humidity air, so drying efficiency is high and drying can be done in a shorter time. , film quality defects such as reticulation and gloss defects do not occur.

In addition, in such a drying device IC, the degree of dehumidification may be made different between the front side and the back side of the photosensitive material S. In this case, lower humidity air is supplied to the emulsion side of the photosensitive material S. Preferably.

In addition, in the drying apparatuses 1a to 1c of the present invention, the constituent material of the housing 2 is not particularly limited, but it is preferable to use a material having heat resistance, preferably having heat insulating properties. As a specific example, the housing 2 may be made of various ceramics such as alumina, zirconia, asbestos, or glass wool, or a metal such as stainless steel, aluminum, Hesteroy, titanium, copper, or a copper-based alloy, or the housing 2 may be made of the metals mentioned above. Examples include cases in which heat insulating materials such as asbestos, felt, aluminum foil, and glass wool are bonded to the outer wall of the building.

The preferred range of the average flow velocity (linear velocity) of air in the internal space 3 of the housing 2 in the drying device of the present invention is shown for each component side as follows:
As per 1 below.

Note that the bottom row in Table 1 shows the average flow velocity of air in the duct in the conventional drying device.

Moreover, the average flow velocity of air in Table 1 is calculated from the following formula.

U=V/S U: Average flow rate of air ■; Air supply amount (flow rate) S: Cross-sectional area table of internal space 3 l In addition, when air conveyance is performed in the drying devices 1a to lc, the values in Table 1 are Average flow rate increases from 0 to 50%, especially from O to 2
It is preferable to increase the amount by 0%.

Further, the drying temperature (temperature of the atmosphere in the internal space 3) in the drying device 1axlc is preferably about 30 to 120°C, particularly about 40 to 90°C.

In this case, the drying temperature usually changes from the start to the end of drying, but at this time, the difference T between the maximum temperature T wax and the minimum temperature T win of the atmosphere in the internal space 3
wax-T win is about 20 to 100℃, especially 30℃
The temperature is preferably about 80°C.

In addition, in the drying equipment M 1 a = 1 c, the humidity of the atmosphere in the internal space 3 gradually increases from the front to the rear, and in particular, the relative humidity at the drying start part (near the outlet of the nozzle 8) The difference (absolute value) between the humidity and the relative humidity at the end of drying section (near exit 5) is 30%RH or more, especially 50~
It is preferable to set the RH to about 90%RH.

By setting the drying temperature and humidity as described above, film quality defects such as reticulation can be reliably prevented.

In the drying device of the present invention, since the internal space 3 of the housing 2 is in the form of a thin slit, its volume is significantly reduced compared to conventional devices. As a result, the internal space 3 of the housing 2
A small amount of air can be passed through at high speed (see Table 1).

When the photosensitive material S is passed through air flowing at high speed, the amount of air that collides with the surface of the photosensitive material per unit time increases, so that drying can be performed in a shorter time than in the past.

Further, since the amount of air used for drying is small, the energy consumption for heating is small, and the preheating time at the start of drying is short. Furthermore, even if the drying devices 1a and 1b are open types (no air circulation), the amount of exhaust air and waste heat to the outside is small, so there is no negative impact (temperature rise, etc.) on the installation environment of the device. .

In addition, in the case of a circulation type dryer like the dryer 1c, the heat held in the air after drying is reused, which further reduces energy consumption, and there is almost no exhaust heat or waste heat to the outside. Therefore, there is no problem of adverse effects on the installation environment of the equipment.

Furthermore, if a dehumidifying means is provided like the drying device 1c, the drying efficiency will be greatly improved, and drying will be possible in a shorter time. Therefore, film quality defects such as reticulation and gloss defects on the emulsion surface of the light-sensitive material can be prevented.

The type of photosensitive material S to be dried by the drying device of the present invention is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include color negative film, color reversal film, color photographic paper, color positive film, color reversal photographic paper, photographic material for plate making, and X-lit photograph. Examples include various photosensitive materials such as photosensitive materials, black and white negative films, black and white photographic paper, and microphotosensitive materials.

Further, the drying device of the present invention can be used alone or incorporated into various photosensitive material processing devices such as an automatic developing machine, a wet color copying machine, a video printer processor, and a color paper processing machine for plate inspection. be able to.

Although the structure of the drying device of the present invention has been described above with reference to some structural examples, the present invention is not limited to these. For example, the structure of any of the drying devices 18 to 1c may be combined. or other configurations.

Further, the drying devices 1a to IC are all for photosensitive material S.
The front SA side and the back side S have independent air supply systems (fans, ducts, planar heating elements, dehumidifiers), but are not limited to this, and have a single air supply system. The air may be supplied from this air supply system to nozzles on the front side and the back side of the photosensitive material in a branched manner.

<Effects of the Invention> As described above, according to the drying apparatus of the present invention, drying efficiency is high, particularly drying time can be shortened, and energy consumption can be reduced.

In addition, the device can be made smaller and the structure can be simplified by reducing the thickness of the housing and reducing the amount of drying gas supplied (by reducing the size of the fan, heat source, etc., and omitting the drying temperature control means, etc.).

Further, by setting the temperature of the drying gas and the temperature conditions, it is possible to prevent reticulation on the surface of the emulsion of the photosensitive material and to improve the film quality.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1, FIG. 2, and FIG. 3 are vertical cross-sectional views each showing an outline of a configuration example of a drying apparatus of the present invention. Explanation of symbols la, l b, l c-・Drying device 2...
Housing 2a, 2b...Inner wall 3...Inner space 4...Inlet 4a...Slope 5...Outlet 6...Fan 7...Exhaust port 8.8', 8''... - Nozzle 9... Branch duct 10... Sheet heating element 11... Opening 12... Duct 11... Opening 13... Recovery port 14... Dehumidifier 15... Fan 30. 31...Transport roller S...Photosensitive material SA...Surface S6...Back side Patent applicant Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. Agent Patent attorney Sumima Ishii Patent attorney
Increase 1) Tatsuya procedural amendment (voluntary)

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A drying device for drying a photosensitive material by passing the photosensitive material through the interior space of the housing while supplying a drying gas to the interior space of the housing, wherein the interior space of the housing is a drying device for drying the photosensitive material. A drying device characterized in that the drying device has a slit shape with a thin thickness in the thickness direction, and a planar heating element is installed on the wall of the housing. (2) The drying device according to claim 1, wherein the planar heating element has a negative temperature coefficient of resistance.