JPH0462658B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a developing tank used for developing exposed photosensitive film, and in particular, a developing tank suitable for use in developing a long photosensitive film. This relates to processing tanks.

[Conventional technology]

2. Description of the Related Art A developing tank containing a developing solution used in dental clinics and research institutes where photosensitive films are developed relatively frequently has a surface that comes into contact with the atmosphere.

Since the processing solutions (developer, fixer, etc., hereinafter simply referred to as "processing solutions") stored in these development tanks are used relatively frequently, it is cumbersome to return them to the sealed container each time they are used. Yes, usually
It is left in a developing tank, etc.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

In general, the characteristics of the processing liquid used for development deteriorate with the number and frequency of development processing, so in order to obtain stable development effects, it is necessary to manage changes in the characteristics of these processing liquids and replenish or replenish them in a timely manner. Although it is necessary to replace the processing liquid, as mentioned above, if it is used or left in a developing tank or the like that has a liquid surface that comes into contact with the atmosphere, the processing liquid will be oxidized by contact with the atmosphere at the liquid surface, and its characteristics will deteriorate. Because the deterioration is accelerated, the time for replenishment and replacement is lost, resulting in valuable images becoming unclear.

On the other hand, processing liquid that adheres to the liquid surface of processing equipment such as developing tanks and rollers dries and solidifies or crystallizes when it comes into contact with the atmosphere;
In addition, since small irregularities are formed, these may cause problems such as damaging the film to be processed or the processing equipment.

Especially when processing long films continuously,
The processing liquid that is pulled up to the surface along with the film dries, solidifies, crystallizes, and accumulates around the transfer path of the film, which can damage the film to be processed and peripheral equipment, so these areas should be cleaned frequently. is forced.

The present invention can solve the above problems, that is, first, it can suppress deterioration due to oxidation on the liquid surface of the processing liquid to be accommodated, and also prevent dry solidification and crystallization on the liquid surface of the processing liquid. A second object of the present invention is to provide a developing tank that can easily maintain the characteristics of the developer contained therein.

[Means for solving problems]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has the following configuration. That is, the developing tank according to the first aspect of the present invention includes a liquid chamber for storing a developing solution therein, and has slit-shaped openings in the upper and lower parts thereof through which the photosensitive film can be inserted and removed.
The top of the upper opening is submerged in water, the lower end of the lower opening is immersed in a separated liquid having a higher specific gravity than the developing solution, and a developing solution supply port is provided between the upper and lower parts and the opening. This is also the case in Book 2.
In addition to the structure of the first invention, the developing processing tank according to the present invention is characterized in that the liquid chamber is divided into a plurality of chambers by a slit-like constricted portion through which the photosensitive film can pass, and the supply port for the developing processing liquid is divided into a plurality of chambers. It is installed in a chamber located at the bottom of the liquid chamber.

[Effect]

In the first invention, the liquid chamber is provided with a liquid chamber for storing the processing liquid therein, and the upper part of the opening provided in the upper part of the liquid chamber is submerged with water, and the lower end of the upper part of the opening has a specific gravity higher than that of the processing liquid. Since it is immersed in the separated liquid, the upper liquid level and the upper opening of the processing liquid contained in the liquid chamber are exposed to the submerged layer, and the lower liquid level and the lower opening are exposed to the atmosphere due to the separated liquid. The processing liquid is prevented from being oxidized at the upper and lower liquid levels, and from drying, solidifying, and crystallizing at the upper and lower openings.

Since the upper and lower openings are slit-shaped through which the photosensitive film can be inserted and removed, the photosensitive film is transferred from the upper opening to the lower opening or vice versa, allowing it to contact and react with the processing liquid in the liquid chamber. In addition, the contact area of the processing liquid in the liquid chamber with the submerged water at the upper opening and the contact area with the separation liquid at the lower opening are narrowed, and these submerged liquids are reduced. and diffusion mixing at the interface with the separated liquid is suppressed.

In addition, since a processing liquid supply port is provided between the upper and lower openings, when new processing liquid is supplied from this supply port, this new processing liquid is transferred to the supply port in the liquid chamber. The processing liquid existing in the upper part, that is, a part of the existing old liquid is pushed out through the opening and discharged, and is mixed with the existing old liquid to partially restore the characteristics of the processing liquid in the liquid chamber. Further, the processing liquid pushed out and discharged from the upper opening is diluted by mixing with the submerged water above the upper opening.

In addition, in the second invention, the liquid chamber is divided into a plurality of chambers by a narrow portion of a slit through which the photosensitive film can pass, and the supply port for the developing processing liquid is located at the lowest part of the liquid chamber. Therefore, when a new processing liquid is supplied from the processing liquid supply port provided in the lowest chamber, this new processing liquid will overflow the entire existing processing liquid in each liquid chamber. The existing treatment liquid cannot be mixed quickly with the liquid and is forced upward through multiple liquid chambers.
With the supply of this new processing liquid, the existing old solution is sequentially discharged from the upper opening, ensuring that the characteristics of the processing liquid in the liquid chamber are restored.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

First Embodiment FIG. 1 is a front sectional view illustrating the concept of a developing tank according to an embodiment of the first invention.

In FIG. 1, 1 is a container, and the container 1
is provided with a liquid chamber containing a processing liquid 7 therein, a slit-shaped opening 2 protruding upwardly at the top thereof through which the film 10 is inserted and taken out, and a slit-shaped lower opening 3 at the bottom through which the film 9 is passed. is provided to protrude diagonally downward, and the upper and lower openings 2 and 3
A liquid supply pipe 4 is provided at a lower position between the two.

5 is a water tray, and the water tray 5 is a container 1.
It is disposed above to surround the upper opening 2, and has a side wall height that can maintain the water level of the submerged water 8 injected therein higher than the upper end of the opening 2.

Reference numeral 6 denotes a separation liquid tank, which is disposed below the two containers 1 with the lower openings 3 facing each other, supports these containers 1, and is injected into the inside. The liquid level of the separated liquid 9 can be maintained at a height such that the lower openings 3 of the container 1 are immersed in each other.

According to the development tank having the above configuration,
Submerged water 8 is injected into the water tray 5 to cover the top opening 2 with a water layer, and a separation liquid 9 having a high specific gravity such as fluorocarbon is injected into the separation liquid tank 6 to open the bottom opening. 3 is immersed in the container 1 to cut off contact between the treatment liquid 7 filled in the container 1 and the atmosphere,
It is possible to prevent the processing liquid 7 from being oxidized and prevent characteristic deterioration due to oxidation.

The processing liquid 7 has a higher specific gravity (around 1.2) than water, and the separated liquid 9 has a higher specific gravity than the processing liquid 7. Therefore, the processing liquid 7 filled in the container 1 is mixed with the container 1 due to the difference in specific gravity. By filling the processing liquid 7 in the container 1 until it reaches the slit-shaped upper and lower openings 2 and 3, the contact area with the submerged water 8 above and the separated liquid 9 below is narrowed. This makes it possible to suppress diffusion and mixing at the interface between the processing liquid 7, the submerged water 8, and the separated liquid 9.

Furthermore, the upper end of the upper opening 2 of the container 1 is also covered with water 8, and the lower end of the lower opening 3 is immersed in the separation liquid 9, so that the processing liquid 8 around the ends of the upper and lower openings 2 and 3 is Dry solidification and crystallization can be completely prevented.

On the other hand, each time or as needed during development processing, an appropriate amount of submerged water 8 is injected into the water toilet 5, and while overflowing, a small amount of new processing liquid 7 is supplied into the container 1 via the liquid supply pipe 4. A part of the old processing liquid 8 existing in the upper part of the pipe 4 is poured into the water tray 5 from the upper opening 2.
It can be extruded to the side and mixed with the existing old processing liquid 8 to restore some of its properties.

In addition, the processing liquid 8 pushed out to the water tray 5 side is
It can be mixed and diluted with the submerged water 8 in the water tray 5 and discharged together with the submerged water 8.

Then, one of the two containers 1 is filled with a developer and the other is filled with a fixer, and the film 9 is passed through the container continuously as shown in FIG. 1, thereby forming a long film. continuous processing is possible.

In this embodiment, a water tray 5 is arranged on each container 1, and submerged water 8 is poured into these to cover the water on the upper opening 2. However, instead of this, two containers are provided. 1 and the separation tank 6, the upper end of which is higher than the upper end of the upper opening 2 of each container 1 may be provided, and the submerged water 8 may be poured into the tank.

Second Embodiment FIG. 2 is a front sectional view illustrating the concept of a developing tank according to an embodiment of the second invention.

In FIG. 2, 11 is a container, and the container 11 is provided with a liquid chamber for storing a processing liquid 17 therein,
A slit-shaped upper opening 12 through which the film 20 enters and exits is provided in the upper part thereof, projecting upwardly, and a slit-shaped lower opening 13 through which the lower film 20 passes through is provided in a downwardly projecting manner, and the liquid chamber is It is divided into a plurality of chambers by a slit-like narrow section 15 through which the film 20 can pass, and a liquid supply pipe 14 is provided in the lowest chamber.

Reference numeral 16 denotes a water tank, which accommodates and supports two containers 11 arranged diagonally with their lower openings 23 facing each other. 11 upper opening 1
An overflow port 21 is provided at a height that is higher than the upper end of each upper opening 12 and maintains the water level of the submerged water 18 injected therein higher than the upper end of each upper opening 12.

23 is an electric heater, and the electric heater 22
is electrically connected to power supply and control means (not shown), and is configured to raise the temperature of submerged water 18 injected into the water tank 16 in a controllable manner.

According to the development tank having the above configuration,
A separation liquid 19 having a high specific gravity, such as fluorocarbon, is injected into the bottom of the water tank 16 to immerse each lower opening 13, and an overflow port 2 is placed in the upper part.
In addition to obtaining the effect described in the first embodiment described above by injecting submerged water 18 until it overflows from the water tank 1 and covering each upper opening 18 with a water tank, a new treatment liquid 1 can be obtained.
7, this new processing liquid 17 cannot quickly mix with the entire existing processing liquid 17 in the container 11, which is divided into a plurality of chambers by the slit-like constriction 15, and passes through the plurality of chambers. In order to sequentially push up the existing processing liquid 17 upward, as this new processing liquid 17 is supplied, the existing old processing liquid 17 is sequentially discharged from the upper opening 2 to recover the characteristics of the processing liquid 17 in the container 11. It is also possible to obtain the effect of making it more reliable.

Furthermore, one of the two containers 11 is filled with a developer and the other is filled with a fixer, and the film 20 is passed through both containers 11 successively as shown in FIG. Continuous development processing of long films is possible, and by raising the temperature of the submerged water 18 in the water tank 16 with the electric heater 22, the developing solution and fixing solution in each container 11 are controlled to an appropriate temperature, increasing the efficiency of the development processing. can be increased.

Note that in this embodiment, the narrowed portion 1 of the container 11
5 was formed by constricting the wall of the container, but this can be done, for example, by arranging a pair of film feed rollers to form a constricted portion, or by arranging a partition plate with slit-like holes. Other constriction methods may be applied, such as forming the constriction by a constriction, and it is also more preferable to provide a stirring means for the processing liquid in each chamber separated by each constriction to ensure the development process. be.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, the development processing tank according to the present invention is
When continuously developing a long photosensitive film, it is possible to prevent the oxidation of the developer used, prevent its deterioration, reduce the consumption and replacement frequency of the developer, and also This makes it possible to effectively partially replace the solution at any time, and facilitates the control of the characteristics of the developer used, which has great practical effects.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a front sectional view illustrating the concept of a developing tank according to an embodiment of the first invention, and FIG. 2 is a front sectional view illustrating the concept of a developing tank according to an embodiment of the second invention. 1... Container, 2... Upper opening, 3... Lower opening, 4... Liquid supply pipe, 5... Water tray, 6... Separated liquid tank, 7... Processing liquid, 8... Submerged, 9... Separation liquid, 10... Film. 11... Container, 12...
Upper opening, 13... Upper opening, 14... Liquid supply pipe,
15... Strict area, 16... Water tank, 17... Processing liquid, 18... Submergence, 19... Separation liquid, 20... Film.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A liquid chamber containing a developing solution is provided inside, and slit-shaped openings are provided at the upper and lower parts of the chamber through which a photosensitive film can be inserted and removed, and the upper opening is flooded with water. the lower end of the lower opening is immersed in a separation liquid having a higher specific gravity than the developing processing liquid, and
A developing processing tank characterized in that a developing processing solution supply port is provided between upper and lower openings. 2. A liquid chamber containing a developing solution is provided inside, and slit-shaped openings are provided at the upper and lower parts of the chamber through which the photosensitive film can be inserted and removed.The upper opening is flooded with water, and the lower opening is The lower end of the is immersed in a separation liquid having a higher specific gravity than the developing processing liquid, and
A developing processing tank characterized in that the liquid chamber is divided into a plurality of chambers by a slit-like constriction portion through which a photosensitive film can pass, and a developer supply port is provided in the lowest chamber.