JP4239092B2 - Development processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

  In the present invention, the submerged rack for transporting the photosensitive material in the developing solution in the developing tank and the photosensitive material sent from the previous developing tank are transferred to the next developing tank above the surface of the developing solution. The present invention relates to a development processing apparatus that includes an upper guide that is fed in and a lid that can be freely opened and closed above the upper guide.

  As a technique related to the development processing apparatus configured as described above, there is one described in Patent Document 1. In this Patent Document 1, a submerged rack is set for each of a plurality of development processing tanks, and an overhead rack (an upper guide of the present invention) is detachably attached to the upper part of the submerged rack. The photographic paper (photosensitive material of the present invention) is conveyed into the developing solution by a plurality of conveying rollers, and the photographic paper fed out from the submerged rack is sent to the overhead rack. In this overhead rack, the photographic paper is fed by the carry-in roller. After receiving, the conveyance mode is set so that the photographic paper is fed into the submerged rack in the next development processing tank by the carry-out roller. Moreover, in this patent document 1, the cover (cover body of this invention) which can be opened and closed freely is provided in the upper part of the development processing tank.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-13656 (paragraph numbers [0024] to [0026], [0035], FIGS. 1 to 9)

  In the development processing apparatus configured as in Patent Document 1, maintenance can be easily performed by opening the lid (cover of Patent Document 1) and removing the upper guide (overhead rack of Patent Document 1) from the submerged rack. Is. However, for example, after the upper guide is removed and maintenance is performed, the development process may be erroneously started without attaching the upper guide. When development processing is performed without attaching the upper guide in this way, there is room for improvement in that the photosensitive material is not properly conveyed and cannot be processed.

  For the purpose of eliminating such inconvenience, a sensor that electrically detects that each upper guide is properly mounted is provided, and it is determined based on a signal from this sensor that the upper guide is not properly mounted. In such a case, it is conceivable to make a notification, but such a configuration not only requires a plurality of sensors, but also realizes normal operation even when development processing liquid adheres to the sensors and wiring. Therefore, the insulation must also be taken into consideration, the structure is likely to be complicated, and it is difficult to adopt in terms of increasing the cost.

An object of the present invention is to rationally configure an apparatus that allows an operator to correctly recognize the situation when the upper guide is not properly attached to the submerged rack.

A feature of the present invention is that the submerged rack for transporting the photosensitive material in the developing solution in the developing tank and the photosensitive material sent from the previous developing tank are subjected to the next developing process above the liquid surface of the developing solution. In a development processing apparatus that includes an upper guide that is fed into a tank and includes a lid that can be freely opened and closed above the upper guide.
A restriction piece that can be switched between a restriction posture and an allowance posture with respect to the submerged rack is urged toward the restriction posture side, and is also in contact with the restriction piece in the restriction posture against the lower surface side of the lid. A pressing member that forms a protruding member that prevents the closure of the lid, contacts the restriction piece when the upper guide is mounted on the upper part of the submerged rack, and switches the restriction piece to the allowable posture. Is formed in the upper guide .

This configuration, or when not wearing the upper guide relative to the rack in the liquid, as when it is in a position raised upper guide relative to the rack in a liquid, in a situation that does not properly seat the upper guide, restricting Since the piece is in the restricting posture, when the lid is operated in the closing direction, the protruding member formed on the lower surface side of the lid comes into contact with the restricting piece and cannot be set in the complete closing posture. Further, when the upper guide is properly attached to the submerged rack, the restricting piece is in the allowable posture, and when the lid is operated in the closing direction, the protruding member formed on the lower surface side of the lid is in contact with the restricting piece. Since it does not hit, the lid can be set to an appropriate closed posture. That is, without employing the structure with a sensor for detecting that the upper guide is properly installed, it can be judged from the position of the lid during the operation of the lid that the upper guide not properly mounted. As a result, when there is a situation that does not properly seat the upper guide relative to the rack in the solution, developing apparatus can fix properly wearing the upper guide the situation operator is correctly recognized from the orientation of the lid reasonable Structured.

  In the present invention, the restricting piece is supported at the upper position of the submerged rack so as to be swingable around a support shaft in a lateral orientation, and is configured to maintain the restricting posture by a biasing force of a biasing means. A contact portion that switches to the permissible posture upon receiving a pressing force from the pressing piece is formed on the restriction piece, and the upper guide is properly mounted on the submerged rack in which the restriction piece is formed. At this time, the pressing piece of the upper guide may come into contact with the contact portion so that the regulating piece is swung to the side away from the projecting member.

With this configuration, if not properly installed the upper guide for the rack in the liquid, restricting piece by the urging force from the urging means to maintain regulatory posture, also proper upper guide relative to the rack in the liquid In this case, the pressing piece of the upper guide comes into contact with the contact portion of the restricting piece, so that the restricting piece is switched to the allowable posture against the urging force from the urging means. As a result, it is possible to easily determine whether or not the upper guide is properly mounted from the attitude of the lid, while having a relatively simple structure that includes a regulating piece swingable with respect to the upper guide . It became.

  The present invention includes a sensor for detecting that the lid body is in the closed position, and when it is determined that the lid body is not in the closed position based on a signal from the sensor, the fact that the lid body is not in the closed position is notified. Control means may be provided.

With this configuration, when the lid is not in the closed posture, the control means grasps and notifies that the lid is not in the closed posture based on a signal from the sensor. In other words, if the upper guide is not properly attached and the lid cannot be set to an appropriate closed posture, it can be determined from the posture of the lid that the upper guide is not properly attached and the lid is It is possible to grasp that there is no proper closed posture, and it is possible to properly grasp the state of the lid.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a photographic film (an example of a photosensitive material) set in a film supply unit A formed at the front end of the housing 1 is sent to a plurality of development processing tanks B inside the housing for development. A film processor as a development processing device is configured to perform processing, dry the photographic film F after the development processing by the drying mechanism C, and send the photographic film F to the film discharge portion D disposed at the top of the housing 1 after the drying. ing.

  An operation unit E having a keyboard 2 and a liquid crystal display 3 is formed at a position parallel to the film supply unit A at the front end of the housing 1, and a microprocessor is installed inside the housing 1 at this lower position. The control device 4 (an example of the control means) is provided. In the film supply section A, a space for setting a cartridge of 135 size or 240 size photographic film is formed in the openable / closable cover 5, and a leader (not shown) is provided at the front end of the photographic film F in this space. After the cartridge is set and the cover 5 is closed, an instruction to start development processing is given from the operation section E, whereby the reader is pulled in by a plurality of rollers 6 in the space, and the photographic film F is developed. It is configured to start processing.

  The drying mechanism C includes a plurality of rollers 8 for transporting the developed photographic film F to the drying chamber 7 and a blower 9 for supplying heated air to the drying chamber 7. The part D is composed of a lower case Da that receives the photographic film F fed from the drying chamber 7 and a transparent upper case Db that can be opened and closed.

  The development processing tank B includes one color developing tank CD, one bleaching tank BL, two fixing tanks FIX, three stabilization tanks STB, and one water replenishing tank WT by molding a resin material. The processing tank unit 10 is integrally formed as a single processing tank unit 10, and the processing tank unit 10 is a sub tank formed at a position continuous with a portion where a plurality of development processing tanks d (a general term for four types of development processing tanks) are formed. 10S is integrally formed. Although not shown in the drawing, the sub tank 10S includes a liquid level sensor that measures the liquid level of each developing solution L and a liquid temperature sensor that measures the temperature of each developing solution L. And a replenishment system for replenishing the developing solution L and water W.

  The processing tank unit 10 and the sub tank 10S store development processing liquid L (a general term for four types of development processing liquids), the supplementary water tank WT stores water W, and each development processing tank d has a photograph. A submerged rack 20 (an example of a transport mechanism) for sending the film F is provided, and an upper guide 30 for feeding the photographic film F sent from the submerged rack 20 to the next submerged rack 20 is provided. .

  Below the processing tank unit 10, a plurality of processing solution tanks T for storing concentrated color developing solution, bleaching processing solution, fixing processing solution, and stable processing solution are arranged. A lid 15 that opens the upper part of the developing tank B is openably and closably provided at the upper part of the casing 1, and an upper cover 16 that opens an area extending from the upper side to the side of the sub tank 10S is attached to and detached from this side part. A lower cover 17 that opens the sides of the plurality of processing liquid tanks T is detachably provided at the lower part.

  As shown in FIG. 3 to FIG. 6, the submerged rack 20 includes a resin frame 21, a transport roller 22 supported inside the frame 21, and a pair of pressure rollers 23 that are pressure-bonded to the transport roller 22. A plurality of sets or one set is provided, and a guide portion 21G for guiding the reader is formed in the frame 21. Further, the input gear 25 and the drive are driven with respect to the drive shaft 24 supported in a laterally penetrating manner at an upper position of the frame 21. And a gear 26. A plurality of transmission gears 27 that mesh with the drive gear 26 and transmit power to the conveying roller 22 and the pressure roller 23 are provided on the side surface of the frame 21. As shown in the figure, the drive shaft 24 is integrally provided with a bowl-shaped body 28 having a position where an intermediate portion between the input gear 25 and the drive gear 26 is set and the entire circumference of the drive shaft 24 is increased in diameter. Is formed. The frame 21 has a pair of positioning members 29 protruding therefrom.

  Inside the processing tank unit 10, a main transmission shaft 13 in which a plurality of worm gears 12 are formed is arranged at a position near the development processing tank d in a posture along the direction from the front end to the rear end of the housing 1. An electric motor M for driving and rotating the main transmission shaft 13 is provided on the front end side of the housing 1. The drive shaft 24 can be driven to rotate by the power from the main transmission shaft 13 by engaging the input gear 25 with the worm gear 12.

  Further, a support portion 10A for receiving the positioning member 29 and a recess 10B for holding both ends of the drive shaft 24 are formed in the processing tank unit 10, and the support portion 10A The position of the submerged rack 20 is determined by contacting the positioning member 29 and holding the drive shaft 24 in the recess 10B. Although not shown in the drawing, inside the processing tank unit 10, a lock fitting for preventing the lifting of both ends of the drive shaft 24 held at the position of the recess 10B is provided.

  As shown in FIG. 5, a restriction piece 41 is provided that swings around a support shaft 40 in a lateral orientation with respect to the upper end position of the frame 21 of the plurality of submerged racks 20. The restricting piece 41 includes a restricting portion 42, a contact portion 43, and a spring receiving portion 44, and serves as a biasing means for the spring receiving portion 44 so as to set the restricting posture in which the restricting portion 42 protrudes upward. The urging force of the spring 45 is applied.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, the restricting piece 41 is maintained in the restricting posture by the urging force of the spring 45 when the upper guide 30 is not properly set, and prevents the lid 15 from being closed. Thus, the operator recognizes that the upper guide 30 should be properly set. As shown in FIG. 5B, when the upper guide 30 is properly set, the pressing piece 30A formed on the upper guide 30 abuts against the abutting portion 43 to apply a pressing force. As a result of swinging the restricting portion 42 around the support shaft 40 against the urging force of the spring 45 and switching the restricting piece 41 to an allowable posture, a projecting plate 15P as a projecting member formed on the lower surface of the lid 15 is obtained. The lid 15 is allowed to be moved to a proper closing posture, and on the contrary, when the upper guide 30 is not attached or is not set properly, The restricting posture in which the restricting portion 42 protrudes upward by the urging force of the spring 45 is maintained, and the restricting portion 42 contacts the protruding plate 15P, so that the lid 15 cannot be closed. .

The upper guide 30 is arranged so as to be inserted into the upper space of the submerged rack 20, and as shown in FIG. 2, the color developing tank CD is photographed at the upstream end position in the conveying direction of the photographic film F. The front guide 30F having one guide structure for guiding the film F and the three guide structures are integrated so as to sequentially send the photographic film F from the color developing tank CD to the bleaching tank BL and the two fixing tanks FIX. an intermediate guide 30M formed in a middle guide 30M sequentially Send photographic film F from the fixing tank FIX three stabilizing tank STB (same structure as the intermediate guide 30 M), stabilizing tank of the downstream end position in the transport direction The rear guide 30 </ b> R is configured to send the photographic film F from STB to the drying mechanism C. Further, the front guide 30F and the two intermediate guides 30M have a simple structure that only guides the photographic film F along a curved path, but the rear guide 30R includes a plurality of squeeze rollers SR that are driven to rotate. .

  The intermediate guide 30M as the upper guide 30 is a resin molded product, and has the following structure. That is, as shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, the central space 32 at the upper position and the cleaning water reservoir 33 having a structure opened upward with respect to both side portions of the central space 32 are integrally formed with resin. A plurality of rib-shaped guides having a pair of side walls 34 integrated with the lower surface side of the washing water storage portion 33 and a guide portion 35A having an arcuate shape at the lower end side at an intermediate position between the pair of side walls. The body 35 is formed, and three resin guide rollers 36 are idle-supported across a pair of side walls. Although not shown in the drawing, a plurality of openings for sending cleaning water to the guide body 35 are formed in the bottom wall of the central space 32. The guide roller 36 has a structure in which a roller body 36B made of a flexible resin is externally fitted to the shaft body 36A, and a large number of protrusions are formed on the outer periphery of the roller body 36. Since the upper guide 30 is configured in this way, when the photographic film F is fed, first, the tip of the leader comes into contact with the guide portion 35A of the guide body 35 and is guided in the direction of the next development processing tank d. Thereafter, the photographic film F comes into contact with the guide roller 36, and the guide roller 36 is rotated to be smoothly fed. In addition, an opening through which the restriction piece 41 is inserted is formed in the intermediate guide 30M, and a space that allows downward movement of the protruding plate 15P is formed.

  A bearing hole 34A (an example of a bearing portion) for supporting both ends of the shaft body 36A of the guide roller 36 is formed in the side wall 34, and a groove G continuous with the bearing hole 34A is formed on the surface of the side wall 34. Further, a through hole H is formed in the bottom wall 33A of the washing water storage space 33 at a position continuous with the upper end of the groove G. The bearing hole 34A has a shape in which a circular hole V into which the shaft body 36A is inserted and a vertically long opening W connected to the upper side of the hole V, and the width of the vertically long opening is defined as the groove G. The width is set equal to the width of. By forming the through hole H in this way, as will be described later, the cleaning water W supplied to the cleaning water storage portion 33 is sent downward from the through hole H, and is formed above the bearing hole 34A via the groove G. By being guided to the circular hole V from the opening W positioned, the cleaning water W is supplied to the inner surface side and the outer surface side of the side wall 34 of the bearing hole 34A, and the shaft body 36A of the guide roller 36 and the bearing hole 34A. Are simultaneously washed to reliably wash away the developing solution L at these sites.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the lid 15 is made of resin and is supported so as to be swingable and openable via a hinge 18 with respect to the apparatus main body. The projecting plate 15P is formed integrally with the lower surface of the lid body 15. In addition, a permanent magnet PM is provided on the swing end side of the lid body 15, and a magnetic sensor S for determining the attitude of the lid body 15 from the magnetic force of the permanent magnet PM is provided on the apparatus main body side. The positional relationship between the permanent magnet PM and the magnetic sensor S may be reversed. When the control device 4 determines that the lid body 15 is not in the closed posture based on the signal from the magnetic sensor S. Displays (notifies) characters and images indicating that they are not in the closed posture, and sets the processing mode so that the development processing of the photographic film F cannot be started.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 to 7, first, second, third, and fourth supply pipes 51, 52, 53 having a plurality of nozzles N for sending cleaning water are formed on the lower surface side of the lid 15. , 54, and an electric pump P that supplies water from the supplementary water tank WT to the four supply pipes as cleaning water W, and a flexible pump that supplies the cleaning water from the pump P to a plurality of supply pipes A pipe 55 is provided. The plurality of nozzles N of the first supply pipe 51 are disposed above the drive gear 26, and the plurality of nozzles N of the second supply pipe 52 are above one wash water storage portion 33 of the intermediate guide 30M. The plurality of nozzles N of the third supply pipe 53 are arranged above the central space 32 of the intermediate guide 30M, and the plurality of nozzles N of the fourth supply pipe 54 are the other wash water storage section of the intermediate guide 30M. 33 is disposed above. In this way, the cleaning mechanism is configured by the pump P that sends out the water in the replenishing tank WT as the cleaning water W, the flexible pipe 55, and the first, second, third, and fourth supply pipes 51, 52, 53, and 54. ing.

  When the development processing of the photographic film F is performed in this film processor, the liquid level of the development processing liquid L is lowered due to the development processing liquid L adhering to the photographic film F and being taken out. When such a liquid level drop occurs, the control device 4 replenishes the corresponding development processing tank d with the development processing liquid L from the corresponding processing liquid tank T and the water W from the replenishing water tank WT. When the liquid level of the development tank d is lowered due to evaporation of water, the control device 4 replenishes the corresponding development tank d with water W from the water replenishment tank WT, Even when a predetermined amount of the photographic film F is developed, the control device 4 controls the corresponding developing processing solution L and the above-described processing unit L in order to suppress the deterioration of the developing processing solution L from the processing solution tank T. From replenishment tank WT Has become performs processing to replenish the water W to the corresponding developing tank d. The mechanism for managing the developing solution in the developing tank d in this way is called a developing solution management mechanism K (see FIG. 9).

  That is, an outline of the control system of the film processor can be shown as shown in FIG. 9, and the control device 4 is operated from the magnetic sensor S in addition to the operation and the stop based on the operation on the operation unit E. As described above based on the signal, a character or an image is displayed (notified) on the display 3 that the lid 15 is not in the closed position, and the development process of the photographic film F cannot be started. It is configured to control the supply of the photographic film F from the supply unit A, the control of the electric motor M, the control of the drying mechanism C, the management of the development processing liquid by the development processing liquid management mechanism K, and the control of the pump P. ing. And when operation which stops a film processor in the said operation part E is performed, the said control apparatus 4 will drive the said pump P only for setting time on the basis of this operation, and it will wash water W in each site | part. The control form is set so that the operation of the entire film processor is stopped after supplying the film.

As described above, according to the present invention, the upper guide 30 is appropriately mounted as in the case where the upper guide 30 is not attached to the submerged rack 20 or the upper guide 30 is in a position where the upper guide 30 is lifted with respect to the submerged rack 20. When the cover 15 is not mounted, the restricting piece 41 is in the restricting posture. Therefore, when the lid 15 is operated in the closing direction, the protruding plate 15P formed on the lower surface side of the lid 15 is the restricting portion 42 of the restricting piece 41. Will not be able to be set to a completely closed posture. Further, when the upper guide 30 is properly attached to the submerged rack 20, the restricting portion 42 of the restricting piece 41 is in the allowable posture, and when the lid 15 is operated in the closing direction, the lower surface side of the lid 15 Since the projecting plate 15P formed in this manner does not contact the restricting portion 42, the lid 15 can be set in an appropriate closed posture. That is, without employing the structure with a sensor for detecting that the upper guide 30 is properly mounted, can determine that the upper guide 30 is not properly mounted from the orientation of the lid 15, the liquid in the rack 20 On the other hand, when the upper guide 30 is not properly attached, the operator can correctly recognize the situation from the posture of the lid 15 and the upper guide 30 can be properly attached.

[Another embodiment]
The present invention may be configured as follows in addition to the embodiment described above.

(A) In order to set the restriction piece to the restriction posture, a weight that swings the restriction piece toward the restriction posture by its own weight may be provided as the urging means.

(B) The present invention can be applied to a development processing apparatus intended for silver salt type photographic paper as a photosensitive material.

Perspective view of film processor Longitudinal side view of film processor Top view of the film processor with the lid open Longitudinal section of processing tank unit Sectional drawing which shows the state which removed the upper guide and the state set appropriately Sectional view showing the positional relationship between the submerged rack and the upper guide Sectional view showing the system for cleaning the bearing hole of the guide roller Partially cutaway perspective view showing a system for supplying cleaning water to the bearing hole Block circuit diagram showing the control system of the film processor

Explanation of symbols

4 Control device 15 Cover 15P Protruding member 20 Submerged rack 30 Upper guide 30A Pressing piece 40 Support shaft 41 Restricting piece 45 Energizing means d Development processing tank F Photosensitive material L Development processing liquid S Sensor

Claims (3)

An in-solution rack for conveying the photosensitive material in the developing solution in the developing tank, and an upper guide for feeding the photosensitive material sent out from the previous developing tank to the next developing tank above the level of the developing solution; A development processing apparatus provided with a lid that can be freely opened and closed above,
A restriction piece that can be switched between a restriction posture and an allowance posture with respect to the submerged rack is urged toward the restriction posture side, and is also in contact with the restriction piece in the restriction posture against the lower surface side of the lid. A pressing member that forms a protruding member that prevents the closure of the lid, contacts the restriction piece when the upper guide is mounted on the upper part of the submerged rack, and switches the restriction piece to the allowable posture. Is a development processing apparatus formed on the upper guide . The restricting piece is supported at the upper position of the submerged rack so as to be swingable around a support shaft in a lateral orientation, and is configured to maintain the restricting posture by an urging force of an urging means. In response to the pressing force from the pressing piece to form a contact portion that switches to the allowable posture,
When the upper guide is properly mounted on the submerged rack in which the restricting piece is formed, the pressing piece of the upper guide comes into contact with the contact portion, thereby separating the protruding member from the projecting member. The development processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the regulating piece is configured to swing.   A control unit for detecting that the lid is not in the closed position when it is determined that the lid is not in the closed position based on a signal from the sensor; The development processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising:

Images