JP2724267B2 - Photosensitive material processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a photosensitive material processing apparatus in which the combination and arrangement of a pair of transport rollers are specified, in order to rapidly develop a photosensitive material.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A function of a photosensitive material processing apparatus is to develop a photosensitive material as quickly as possible.
Conventionally, improvements in processing solutions such as a developing solution have been repeatedly made in order to cope with the speeding up of the development processing, but there is a limit in improving the so-called chemical processing method alone.

On the other hand, as a response from the photosensitive material processing apparatus side, for example, an improvement method such as stirring and replenishment of a processing solution or temperature control has been proposed and put to practical use.

[0004] However, in addition to the complicated and expensive photosensitive material processing apparatus, it has not always been effective in terms of speeding up the processing of the photosensitive material.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and specifies a combination and arrangement of conveying and conveying rollers having different surface hardnesses so that a photosensitive material can be processed quickly. An object is to provide a material processing apparatus.

In a conventional photosensitive material processing apparatus, a pair of transport rollers having the same surface hardness is generally used. However, a photosensitive material processing apparatus using a pair of transport rollers having different surface hardness is disclosed in, for example, It is disclosed in, for example, JP-A-63-151944.

However, this makes the surface hardness of the roller, of which at least a part thereof is exposed from the developer surface, of the rubber roller pair for conveyance disposed between the developing bath and the fixing bath 40 degrees or less. Thus, the development unevenness caused when the processing time is shortened is suppressed, and it is not enough to process the photosensitive material promptly.

[0008]

According to the present invention, there is provided a photosensitive material processing apparatus in which a photosensitive material is nipped and transported by a plurality of transport roller pairs provided in transport paths in processing tanks for developing, fixing, and washing. In the photosensitive material processing apparatus for processing, a transport roller pair provided in at least the development processing tank of the processing tank is a combination of a transport roller having a surface made of a hard material and a transport roller made of a soft material, and the photosensitive material is The conveying roller made of the hard material and the conveying roller made of the soft material are sequentially exposed to the photosensitive material so that the material is curved each time it is sandwiched between the pair of conveying rollers and a tensile force or a compressive force is sequentially applied to the surface of the photosensitive material. It is characterized by being rearranged in the opposite position of the material.

[0009]

In the photosensitive material processing apparatus having the above structure, at least the pair of transport rollers provided in the developing tank is constituted by a combination of a transport roller having a hard surface and a transport roller having a soft material.

[0010] For this reason, since the transport roller having a hard surface dents the surface of the transport roller made of a soft material, the photosensitive material is kept in contact with the transport roller in a developing treatment tank while being sandwiched between the transport roller pair. The surfaces are curved, one surface receiving a tensile force and the other surface receiving a compressive force. Also,
The transport rollers made of a hard material are combined so as to be sequentially positioned on opposite sides of the photosensitive material along the transport direction of the photosensitive material. Therefore, while the photosensitive material is being conveyed,
A tensile force or a compressive force is sequentially applied. by this,
Both surfaces of the photosensitive material are repeatedly expanded and contracted, so that the compatibility between the photosensitive film of the photosensitive material and the developing solution is improved, and the processing is accelerated.

[0011]

(Schematic Structure of Photosensitive Material Processing Apparatus) As shown in FIG. 1, a photosensitive material processing apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a developing tank 14 Tank 1
6, a washing tank 18, a squeeze section 60 and a drying section 20. In this embodiment, as the photosensitive material 12, an X-ray film having a photosensitive film coated on both surfaces is shown.

In the developing tank 14, a developing solution is stored, and a rack 24 having a pair of conveying rollers 22 according to the present embodiment is provided.
Are disposed in a state of being immersed in the developer. The transport roller pair 22 includes a combination of a transport roller 22A integrally formed of a hard material and a transport roller 22B integrally formed of a soft material. In the present embodiment, as an example, as a soft material, silicone rubber having a low hardness of about 40 degrees is used, and as a hard material, bakelite having a hardness of about 70 degrees, a phenol resin, or the like is used. As shown in FIG. 2, the transport rollers 22A and 22B are combined so as to be sequentially located on the front side 12A and the rear side 12B of the photosensitive material 12 along the transport direction of the photosensitive material 12. In addition, this transport roller pair 22
Are driven by a motor (not shown).

Similarly, in the fixing tank 16, a rack 28 containing the fixing liquid and having the conveying roller pair 22 is provided. Further, the washing tank 18 contains washing water, and a rack 42 provided with the transport roller pair 22 is provided. As described above, in the photosensitive material processing apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, the transport roller pair 22 is disposed in all of the processing tanks of the developing tank 14, the fixing tank 16, and the washing tank 18. The pair 22 may be provided only in the developing tank 14.

Developing tank 14, fixing tank 16, and washing tank 18
A circulation pump 30 is disposed below the circulating pump 30. The circulating pump 30 is used to heat the developing solution in the developing tank 14, the fixing solution in the fixing tank 16 and the washing water in the washing tank 18 by a circulating pump 30, respectively. It is circulated while exchanging heat in the exchanger. Gases and water vapor generated in these processing units are discharged by the exhaust fan to the photosensitive material processing apparatus 1.
Exhausted outside 0.

The space between the developing tank 14 and the fixing tank 16 and the fixing tank 1
A crossover rack 32 is provided at an upper portion between the washing tank 6 and the washing tank 18. This crossover rack 32
Is provided with a transport roller 34 for transporting the photosensitive material 12 from upstream to downstream and a guide 36 for guiding the photosensitive material 12.

As a result, the photosensitive material 12 sent into the photosensitive material processing apparatus 10 from the insertion port 38 is transferred to the developing tank 1
4 and is transported in a developer by a transport roller pair 22 to be developed. The developed photosensitive material 12 is sent to the fixing tank 16 by the crossover rack 32, where it is conveyed in the fixing solution by the conveying roller pair 22 and subjected to the fixing process. The photosensitive material 12 that has been subjected to the fixing process is sent to the washing tank 18 by the crossover rack 32 and subjected to the washing process.

The squeezing section 60 includes the washing tank 18 and the drying section 2.
It is arranged between 0. The squeezing unit 60 includes a conveying roller 62 that conveys the photosensitive material 12 to the drying unit 20 while squeezing the washing water attached to the photosensitive material 12 conveyed from the washing tank 18, and a guide 6 that guides the photosensitive material 12.
4 and a squeeze rack 66 having

A transport roller 68 for transporting the photosensitive material 12 is provided in the drying section 20 in a vertical direction. A plurality of hot air supply units 70 for blowing hot air to both surfaces of the photosensitive material 12 are provided between the transport rollers 68 with the transport path of the photosensitive material 12 interposed therebetween. Thereby, the photosensitive material 1
2 is dried in an optimal state.

On the outer wall of the photosensitive material processing apparatus 10,
A receiving box 72 for storing the photosensitive material 12 sent from the drying unit 20 is provided.

Here, how the transport roller pair 22 used in the photosensitive material processing apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment acts on the photosensitive material 12 will be described with reference to FIG. 3 (enlarged portion A in FIG. 2). Will be explained.

The outer peripheral surface of the transport roller 22A made of a hard material provided in the processing tank is driven to rotate in a state of being cut into the outer peripheral surface of the transport roller 22B made of a soft material.

When the photosensitive material 12 is sandwiched between the pair of conveying rollers 22, the photosensitive material 12 bends, the back side 12B of the photosensitive material 12 contracts under a compressive force, and the front side 12A expands under a tensile force.
As a result, the photosensitive films coated on both surfaces of the photosensitive material 12 expand and contract, and the familiarity with the developing solution is improved, and the developing process is accelerated.

Next, when the photosensitive material 12 reaches the transport roller pair 22 on the downstream side (see FIG. 2), the photosensitive material 12
The front side 12A receives a compressive force and contracts, and the back side 12B receives a tensile force and expands. That is, while the photosensitive material 12 is transported downstream by the transport roller pair 22, the photosensitive films coated on both surfaces of the photosensitive material 12 expand and contract alternately and repeatedly. This further improves the familiarity with the developer and accelerates the development process.

In the above, the operation of the transport roller pair 22 in the developing tank 14 has been described. However, such an operation is the same in the fixing tank 16 and the washing tank 18.

That is, since both surfaces of the photosensitive material 12 are alternately and repeatedly expanded and contracted by the conveying roller pair 22, in the fixing tank 16, the compatibility between the fixing solution and the photosensitive film coated on both surfaces of the photosensitive material 12 is satisfied. As a result, the fixing process is accelerated, and the rinsing process with the rinsing water is accelerated in the rinsing tank 18.

As described above, when the transport roller pair 22 is disposed in all the processing tanks of the developing tank 14, the fixing tank 16, and the washing tank 18, the time required for processing in each processing tank of the photosensitive material 12 is greatly increased. Be shortened.

As described above, in this embodiment, the case where the transport roller pairs 22 are provided in all the processing tanks has been described. However, the transport roller pairs 22 need not necessarily be provided in all the processing tanks. That is, it is clear from the following comparative experimental examples that a sufficient effect can be obtained only by disposing the transport roller pair 22 at least in the developing tank 14. (Comparative Experimental Example) As shown in FIG. 1, a transport roller pair 22 is constituted by a transport roller 22A and a transport roller 22B in the developing tank 14 of the photosensitive material processing apparatus 10, and the axial center distance is about 8 cm. Material 1
An X-ray film having a photosensitive film coated on both sides, which is generally well known as No. 2, was subjected to a developing process by nipping and transporting the film in a developing solution.

At this time, the transport roller 22A and the transport roller 22B constituting the transport roller pair 22 are formed by combining the materials and hardness shown in A, B and C in the following table.
The development was carried out under the same conditions.

[0029]

[Table 1]

Here, the relative exposure amount Δlog shown in the table
E is the same density D in the characteristic curve showing the relationship between the density D (vertical axis) and the exposure amount E (horizontal axis) shown in FIG. 4 (D = 1.2 in this experimental example). shows the difference in log E-log E _o when was the E _o exposure required to obtain.

This characteristic curve shows that as the exposure E decreases,
The correlation indicates that the concentration D decreases, in other words,
If the processing time is shortened, the characteristic curve shifts to the right,
This means that the density D decreases at the same exposure amount E.

The solid line shown in FIG. 4 indicates the combination of the material and hardness shown in Table C, that is, the transport roller 22A.
5 shows a characteristic curve in the case where a conventional transport roller pair 22 in which each of the transport roller 22B and the transport roller 22B are formed of a phenol resin having a surface hardness of 70 degrees is used.

The alternate long and short dash line indicates the combination of the material and hardness shown in Table B, that is, the transfer roller 22A is formed of phenol resin having a surface hardness of 70 degrees, and the transfer roller 22B is formed of EPT rubber having a surface hardness of 50 degrees. A characteristic curve in the case of using the conveying roller pair 22 applied to the present embodiment described above is shown. Further, the broken line indicates a combination of the material and hardness shown in Table A, that is, the conveying roller 22A is a phenol having a surface hardness of 70 degrees. A characteristic curve is shown in the case of using a pair of transfer rollers 22 applied to the present embodiment in which the transfer roller 22B is formed of resin and formed of silicon rubber having a surface hardness of 30 degrees.

According to this comparative example, as shown in FIG. 4, when the characteristic curve indicated by the solid line is used as a reference, the characteristic curve indicated by the one-dot chain line is shifted to the left, and the characteristic curve indicated by the broken line is further shifted to the left. It is shifted toward. That is, the same density D (1.
In order to obtain 2), B is greater than C in relative exposure ΔlogE
However, the relative exposure amount ΔlogE of A is lower than that of C by about 0.02 and that of A is lower by about 0.07 than 0.07 (see Table).

As can be determined from this comparative example, in the photosensitive material processing apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment, the characteristic curve can be shifted to the left, and the desired density D can be reduced in that short time. Obtainable.

In the above description, the photosensitive material 12
Although the X-ray film in which the photosensitive film is coated on both sides of the film is exemplified, the photosensitive film does not necessarily need to be coated on both sides, and in addition to the X-ray film, for general photography, graphic art, It goes without saying that the present invention can be applied to each photosensitive material for a scanner and a CRT image recording.

In manufacturing the transport rollers 22A and 22B constituting the transport roller pair 22, it is not always necessary to integrally form the rollers. You may wear it.

[0038]

As described above, in the photosensitive material processing apparatus according to the present invention, the combination of the transport rollers having different hardnesses and the arrangement in the processing tank are specified, so that the photosensitive material can be processed quickly.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural view showing a photosensitive material processing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing a position of a pair of conveying rollers provided in the photosensitive material processing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing a state in which a pair of conveying rollers disposed in the photosensitive material processing apparatus of the present invention expands and contracts the photosensitive material.

FIG. 4 is a glove showing a correlation between an exposure amount and a density when a material and a combination of transport rollers constituting a transport roller pair provided in the photosensitive material processing apparatus of the present invention are changed.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 photosensitive material processing device 22 transport roller pair 22A transport roller 22B transport roller

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A photosensitive material processing apparatus in which a photosensitive material is nipped and transported by a plurality of pairs of transport rollers disposed in a transport path in each of processing tanks for developing, fixing, and washing, wherein at least one of the processing tanks The transport roller pair provided in the developing tank is a combination of a transport roller whose surface is made of a hard material and a transport roller which is made of a soft material, and the photosensitive material is bent and bent every time the photosensitive material is nipped by the transport roller pair. The transport roller made of the hard material and the transport roller made of the soft material are sequentially recombined and arranged at opposite positions of the photosensitive material so that a tensile force or a compressive force is sequentially applied to the surface of the material. Material processing equipment.