JP4291806B2 - Photographic processing agent set and photographic processing agent supply method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a photographic processing agent set including a plastic container having a so-called bottle shape and a photographic processing agent supply method.

  Conventionally, plastic containers have been used as containers for storing chemicals, foods, and the like from the viewpoints of weight reduction, impact resistance, chemical resistance, and the like.

  The plastic container is given a certain thickness due to the flexibility of its material and maintains its strength. This increase in strength causes the plastic container to be difficult to crush, and is discarded after use (in the present invention, even if it is once collected and stored for recycling, it is included in the concept of “disposal”). )), There is a problem that the hollow portion of the plastic container becomes bulky due to the existence of a useless volume.

  Considering the ease of crushing at the time of disposal, reducing the thickness of the plastic container too much leads to a decrease in the self-supporting property and shape preservability of the entire container. In particular, in a container having a certain height, when the container is originally used with contents such as liquid, the lower part of the container swells and becomes unstable such that it falls down with a simple impact.

  In addition, when the plastic container is opened upside down and the plastic container is turned upside down in order to take out the filling of the plastic container, the internal pressure of the container decreases due to outflow of liquid, etc. There was a case where the crushing was likely to occur and the shape was deformed. The deformation of the shape is inconvenient in subsequent cleaning and the like, and there is a problem that the reuse becomes impossible.

  On the other hand, there are a wide variety of directions where it is desired to increase the capacity of the container. For example, a container for a photographic processing agent for supplying a photographic processing agent (in the present invention, a “photographic processing agent container” is filled with a photographic processing agent. In this case, such a large capacity has been desired. From the viewpoint of space efficiency, such an increase in capacity is preferably dealt with by reducing the area of the bottom surface as much as possible and extending the height direction, that is, by elongating it.

  In the case of an elongated plastic container, considering the shape in order to ensure the self-supporting property and the shape preservation property of the entire container while maximizing the thinning, it is conceivable that the entire container is first made cylindrical. By adopting a cylindrical shape, even when contents such as liquid are put, the force does not concentrate on one point on the side of the container, and it can be supported on the entire side of the container, which is advantageous in ensuring independence. .

  However, when a cylindrical plastic container is packed, for example, a large dead space is generated between the containers, and the space efficiency is extremely poor. In addition, since the cylindrical plastic container does not have the apex portion as a column on the side of the container, the shape preservability tends to be reduced, i.e., the container is easily crushed due to a decrease in the internal pressure of the container when it flows out, and the shape is deformed. There is a possibility that.

  In order to improve space efficiency, when the entire container is simply a square cylinder, when the contents such as liquid are put, the entire container tends to be twisted due to the concentration of force on a specific part of the container side. , Low self-supporting and shape preservation.

  In order to reinforce the torsion of the rectangular tube-shaped container, it is conceivable to provide a so-called rib-like thick portion on the flat part of the side surface of the container, so-called ribs. If the rib is on the inside, the problem of deterioration of the cleaning property inside the container at the time of disposal is incurred. If the rib is on the outside, the problem of space efficiency reduction due to the protrusion of the rib is caused. Each occurs.

  Therefore, a shape that can satisfy all of the thinness, self-supporting property / shape preservation property, and high space efficiency has not yet been obtained in an elongated plastic container.

  The requirements for plastic containers as described above are particularly strong in photographic processing agent containers for supplying photographic processing agents to automatic processors such as film processors and printer processors, have a certain amount of capacity, are elongated, have a space There is a demand for an environmentally friendly plastic container that is highly efficient, self-supporting and preserving shape, and can be easily crushed. Further, for the photographic processing agent container, chemical resistance is required, for example, the liquid to be filled is a strong alkali in the developing processing solution, and when the photographic processing agent is set in an automatic processor for supplying the photographic processing agent. Dimensional accuracy is also required.

The plastic containers described above are delivered by being stored one by one in an outer container in order to provide independence. However, the operator takes out the plastic containers from the outer container and puts them one by one in an automatic processor. It must be loaded and replenished, and work efficiency is not good.
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 5-13914

  In view of the above facts, an object of the present invention is to enable replenishment of different types of photographic processing agents to an automatic processor at the same time.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, at least two plastic containers are filled with different types of photographic processing agents, and these plastic containers are stored in a line in a rectangular parallelepiped cardboard box. And the plastic container has a substantially rectangular bottom, a substantially rectangular barrel having four planes rising from each side of the bottom , and an area of a portion surrounded by a horizontal cross section from the barrel. It has a small mouth portion and a shoulder portion having a shape squeezed from the trunk portion toward the mouth portion, the mouth portion is closed by a seal member that can be perforated, and the holes are arranged in a row on the upper surface of the cardboard box. opened, the and from the hole to protrude said outlet portion of the plastic container, the cardboard box is cut anywhere other than the center portion in the arrangement direction of the plastic container arranged in a row It is characterized by having a lack.

In the first aspect of the present invention, at least two plastic containers filled with different types of photographic processing agents are stored in a line in a rectangular parallelepiped cardboard box. By loading this cardboard box into the automatic processor, it becomes possible to replenish different types of photographic processing agents to the automatic processor, and the labor of the operator is greatly reduced.

In addition, holes are formed in a row on the upper surface of the cardboard box, and the mouth of the plastic container projects from the holes. When the operator sets the cardboard box in a predetermined position of the automatic processor with the mouth facing downward, the mouth is opened by a predetermined means for opening the mouth provided in the automatic processor. It is plugged. For this reason, an operator can replenish the photoprocessing agent without accidentally leaking the photoprocessing agent or soiling hands or clothes, and the burden on the operator's attention and the like is reduced.

Further, the cardboard box is provided with a notch at an arbitrary location other than the central portion in the arrangement direction of the plastic containers. Providing projections that fit into the notches at corresponding locations in the automatic processor can also avoid the risk of replenishing the photographic processing agent at the wrong location in the automatic processor.

The invention described in claim 2 is characterized in that the different types of photographic processing agents are at least two types of photographic processing agents selected from photographic processing agents for the purpose of development, bleaching and fixing.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, at least two kinds of photographic processing agents of development, bleaching and fixing can be replenished at the same time, and the burden on the labor of the worker is greatly reduced.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the plastic container has an internal volume of 800 to 3,000 ml, and is a rectangular diagonal length constituted by a length H of the barrel portion and an outer periphery of a horizontal section of the barrel portion. The ratio (H / L) to the thickness L is 2 to 4, and the average thickness of the body portion is 0.2 to 0.7 mm.

In the invention according to claim 3 , the inner volume is 800 to 3,000 ml, and the ratio of the length H of the trunk portion to the diagonal length L of a square formed by the outer periphery of the horizontal section of the trunk portion (H / L) is an elongated plastic container having 2-4.

  By making the body of the plastic container a substantially rectangular tube-shaped body, high space efficiency can be obtained, and by simply reducing the average thickness of the body to 0.2 to 0.7 mm, it is easy It will be environmentally friendly.

The invention according to claim 4 is characterized in that each vertex of a quadrangle formed by the outer periphery of the horizontal cross section of the body portion has an arc shape having a curvature radius R = 3 to 20 mm.

In the invention according to claim 4 , each of the quadrangular vertices formed by the outer periphery of the horizontal cross section of the trunk portion has an arc shape with a curvature radius R = 3 to 20 mm, thereby providing good independence and shape preservation. be able to.

The invention according to claim 5 is characterized in that the photographic processing agent is a replenisher.

The invention described in claim 6 is characterized in that the photographic processing agent set described in any one of claims 1 to 5 is loaded into an automatic processor.

  Since the present invention has the above-described configuration, different types of photographic processing agents can be simultaneously replenished to the automatic processor.

  FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a plastic container 10 according to the first embodiment as an example of the plastic container of the present invention. 2 shows the photographic processing agent container 10 in a front view, and FIG. 3 shows the photographic processing agent container 10 in a bottom view.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the plastic container 10 has a bottom 10d having a substantially quadrangular shape (see FIG. 3) and four planes that rise vertically from each side of the bottom 10d. From the trunk | drum 10c, the area of the part enclosed by the horizontal cross section is smaller than the said trunk | drum 10c, and the shoulder part 10b which has the shape narrowed down from the trunk | drum 10c toward the mouth 10a. It is a container in the shape of an elongated bottle.

  In the present invention, “substantially a quadrangle” is not a perfect quadrangle shape, for example, even if each vertex has a rounded shape having a certain radius of curvature, or Even if each side draws a gentle curve, it means that the shape captured as a whole is a quadrangle.

  First, each part of the bottom part 10d, the trunk | drum 10c, the shoulder part 10b, and the opening | mouth part 10a in this invention is defined as follows using FIG.

  The trunk portion 10c is a range in which the filled content is mainly present when the plastic container 10 is erected and filled with the contents as shown in FIG. A range that has a fixed shape no matter where you take it. Note that slight differences in shape due to minute distortion of the container itself, shrinkage of the resin, and the like are included in the category of “constant shape”.

  The bottom portion 10d is a portion that is located below the trunk portion 10c and closes the opening of the trunk portion 10c when the plastic container 10 is erected as shown in FIG. The range that becomes.

  The shoulder portion 10b refers to a portion having a shape that is narrowed from the trunk portion 10c toward the mouth portion 10a, and refers to a range in which the area of the horizontal cross section decreases toward the mouth portion 10a. Here, “the shape squeezed toward the mouth portion 10a” means that the area of the portion surrounded by the horizontal cross section gradually or rapidly decreases from the trunk portion 10c toward the mouth portion 10a. It is formed in such a manner that it finally becomes the shape of the horizontal section of the mouth portion 10a and is connected to the mouth portion 10a (see JIS Z 0108, “bottle”).

  The mouth portion 10a refers to the entire portion positioned on the shoulder portion 10b when the plastic container 10 is erected as shown in FIG. 2, and includes the lid 12 when the lid 12 is provided. The concept.

  The plastic container 10 has an internal volume in the range of 800 to 3,000 ml. If the internal volume is less than 800 ml, there is no problem such as a decrease in container self-sustainability and shape preservation, and if it exceeds 3,000 ml, self-sustainability without increasing the thickness, adding a rib structure, or changing the overall shape. It is difficult to obtain shape preservability. In the present invention, the internal volume is a volume of liquid or the like filled up to the height S of the upper end of the body portion 10c of the plastic container 10 in FIG.

  The average thickness of the trunk portion 10c is 0.2 to 0.7 mm, preferably 0.3 to 0.6 mm. By reducing the average thickness of the trunk portion 10c in this way, the plastic container 10 can be easily crushed and is environmentally friendly (excellent in disposal).

  Moreover, in the trunk | drum 10c, it is also possible to make the wall thickness of each apex periphery thicker than another part. By doing in this way, it can be set as the plastic container 10 with higher self-supporting property and shape preservability, but since it becomes disadvantageous for discardability, it is better not to make it extremely thick. If the average wall thickness is 0.2 to 0.7 mm and the maximum wall thickness is 0.7 mm or less, there is no problem even if the difference in wall thickness between each apex and other portions is large.

  The average thickness of the bottom 10d is 0.8 to 5 mm, preferably 0.8 to 3 mm. In this way, by increasing the average thickness of the bottom 10d, the self-supporting property of the entire container can be further increased. If it is less than 0.8 mm, it is difficult to ensure the self-supporting property of the plastic container 10, and if it exceeds 5 mm, discardability is reduced and materials are wasted, which is not preferable.

  In addition, the thickness of the mouth part 10a and the shoulder part 10b can improve the shape preservation | save property of the whole container by making average thickness thick like the bottom part 10d. If the thickness of the mouth portion 10a and the shoulder portion 10b is too thin, the shape preservability of the entire container cannot be maintained. Therefore, it is desirable to make the average thickness at least thicker than that of the body portion 10c. Therefore, the preferable range of the average thickness is the same as that of the bottom portion 10d.

  4A is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 2 (horizontal cross section of the body portion 10c). The outer periphery of the horizontal cross section of the trunk portion 10c substantially forms a quadrangle. Thus, by making it the substantially cylindrical body 10c, space efficiency becomes high.

  The ratio (H / L) between the length H of the body 10c in FIG. 2 and the diagonal length L of the quadrangle represented by FIG. 4 (A) is in the range of 2 to 4, and the entire plastic container 10 As it is elongated.

  FIG. 4B is an enlarged view of the upper right apex portion of the quadrangle represented by FIG. In this way, each vertex of the quadrangle formed by the outer periphery of the horizontal section of the body portion 10c is formed into an arc shape, thereby serving as a rib provided on the side surface of the container. Shape preservation can be provided.

  The arc shape of each vertex at this time has a curvature radius R of 3 to 20 mm, preferably 3 to 15 mm. When the radius of curvature R is less than 3 mm, the plastic container 10 cannot be provided with good self-supporting property and shape preservability, and when the inside of the plastic container 10 is to be cleaned, the vicinity of the apex is cleaned. The nature will decline. On the other hand, if the radius of curvature R exceeds 20 mm, the body portion 10c becomes nearly cylindrical and the space efficiency decreases, and the apex portion as a column disappears and the shape preservability decreases. Crushing due to the decrease is likely to occur, and the shape may be deformed.

  Any plastic material can be used for the plastic container 10 described above. Examples thereof include polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and vinyl chloride (PVC). However, although PET has excellent impact resistance and can be molded with high accuracy by an injection blow molding method that can reduce the thickness and weight, it has insufficient chemical resistance, and particularly preserves alkaline chemicals such as photographic developers. Not suitable for. Although PP is excellent in chemical resistance, it does not have sufficient impact resistance at low temperatures. Furthermore, although PVC has high chemical resistance, the problem of disposal has become serious due to the inclusion of chlorine. In particular, the generation of dioxins accompanying combustion has become a social problem.

In contrast, PE has high chemical resistance, excellent impact resistance, does not generate harmful gas even when burned, and is easy to reuse as a resource. Widely used as a material. Therefore, it is preferable to use PE which does not have the above-mentioned various problems as a material for the plastic container 10. In particular, HDPE is preferable in that it has higher strength and higher barrier properties than LDPE, and is excellent in moldability in injection blow molding described later. On the other hand, LDPE is preferable in terms of high moldability and easy thinning as compared with HDPE and high impact resistance.

As described above, the plastic container 10 of the first embodiment has a certain capacity, has high space efficiency, is self-supporting and has shape preservability, is excellent in disposal, and has chemical resistance and dimensional accuracy. In particular, it is useful as a container (photographic processing agent container) used for the purpose of filling a photographic processing agent. Here, the photographic processing agent container has an outlet port closed by a sealing member that can be perforated by a cylinder or a rod on the inner periphery of the mouth. Examples of the photographic processing agent include a color developer, black and white developer, bleach solution, adjustment solution, reversal solution, fixing solution, bleach-fix solution, and stabilizer.

  The plastic container 10 may have a corrugated cardboard or plastic outer box, or may be manufactured by integral molding with the outer box.

  In addition, if a plurality of plastic containers 10 are stored in a cardboard box and loaded in an automatic developing machine in that state, different types of photographic processing agents can be replenished at the same time, greatly reducing the labor of the operator. Is done.

  As described above, when the plastic container 10 is stored in the cardboard box, the plastic container 10 has a self-supporting property, so that the storing operation is easy. In addition, when a plurality of plastic containers 10 are stored in a cardboard box, the plastic container 10 is substantially a rectangular tube shape, so that there is almost no dead space between the plastic containers 10.

  An example of a cardboard box containing a plurality of such plastic containers is shown in FIG. In FIG. 5, a cardboard box 100 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and plastic containers 10A, 10B, and 10C each having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape are stored in a line. The plastic containers 10A, 10B, and 10C are filled with photographic processing agents for the purpose of development, bleaching, and fixing, respectively. Circular holes 104A, 104B, 104C are opened on the upper surface of the cardboard box 100, and the openings 106A, 106B, 106C of the plastic containers 10A, 10B, 10C are formed from the holes 104A, 104B, 104C. It protrudes.

  An operator simply sets the corrugated cardboard box 100 at a predetermined location of an automatic developing machine (not shown) such as a film processor or a printer processor, and replenishes three types of photographic processing agents at the same time: development, bleaching, and fixing. This can greatly reduce the labor burden on the operator.

  Further, the cardboard box 100 is set at a predetermined position of the automatic processor with the mouths 106A, 106B, and 106C facing downward, and the mouths 106A, 106B, and 106C provided in the automatic processor are opened. If the mouths 106A, 106B, and 106C are opened by a predetermined means, the operator replenishes the photographic processing agent without accidentally leaking the photographic processing agent or soiling hands or clothes. This reduces the burden on the operator's attention.

  Furthermore, a notch 108 is provided at an arbitrary location other than the central portion of the cardboard box 100 in the container arrangement direction, and a convex portion (not shown) that fits into the notch 108 is provided at a corresponding location of the automatic processor. Further, it is possible to avoid the risk of replenishing the photo processing agent in the wrong place of the automatic processor.

  Examples of the method for forming the plastic container 10 of the first embodiment include any blow molding methods such as a direct blow molding method and an injection blow molding method, and any molding method may be used.

  However, in the direct blow molding method, it is relatively easy to reduce the thickness and weight. However, as the thickness is reduced, the entire plastic container 10 is reduced in thickness due to the molding principle, and the mouth 10a and the shoulder 10b are also reduced. The wall thickness becomes thin. The reduction in the thickness of the mouth portion 10a is not preferable because the fitting property with the lid 12 is deteriorated and there is a possibility of leading to liquid leakage. On the other hand, the reduction in the thickness of the shoulder 10b is not preferable because it leads to a decrease in the shape preservability of the entire plastic container 10. In addition, the direct blow molding method can adjust the thickness distribution by parison control, but the adjustment range is narrow and it is difficult to make the thickness uniform. Therefore, the obtained molded product of the plastic container 10 may be insufficient in dimensional accuracy.

  On the other hand, the injection blow molding method is equivalent to the direct blow molding method in terms of reducing the thickness and weight, but the thickness distribution can be designed, so the mouth portion 10a and shoulder portion 10b are made thicker than the body portion 10c. According to this method, it is possible to obtain a molded product of the plastic container 10 that is free from liquid leakage, has high self-supporting property and high shape preservation, and has excellent dimensional accuracy.

  Next, a second embodiment relating to a photographic processing agent supply method and a photographic processing agent supply apparatus using the plastic container 10 shown in FIGS.

FIG. 6 shows an automatic processor 110 provided with a photographic processing agent supply apparatus 112 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In the automatic developing machine 110, as shown in FIG. 7, a plurality of supply chambers 116 are formed by partition walls 114, and a photographic processing agent supply device 112 is provided in each of these supply chambers 116. It has been. Normally, a plurality of photographic processing agent supply devices 112 are required for each type of photographic processing solution such as a developer and a fixing solution, and FIG. 6 shows an example in which six photographic processing agent supply devices 112 are provided. . (In FIG. 6, the partition wall 114 is omitted for convenience of illustration.)
The upper part of each supply chamber 116 can be opened and closed by an open / close door 118 pivotally supported by the automatic processor 110. The opening / closing door 118 is opened, and the photographic processing agent container 120 can be put into the supply chamber 116 from above.

  The photographic processing agent container 120 is the plastic container 10 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 described above, and the photographic processing agent container 120 contains a liquid photographic processing agent. The outlet 22 of the mouth portion 10a for taking out the photographic processing agent is closed with a seal formed in a thin film shape with aluminum or plastic.

  As shown in FIG. 7, each supply chamber 116 is separated by a partition wall 124 into a front-side supply chamber 126 (on the side opposite to arrow B) and a back-side supply chamber 128. A replenishing tank (not shown) is located below. From the front side of the partition wall 124, a holding plate 130 that is a holding base is provided so as to be positioned above the replenishing tank. The holding plate 130 is formed with a holding hole 132 opened on the front side (opposite side of the arrow B). When the photographic processing agent container 120 is inverted and inserted into the holding hole 132 from the opening, The shoulder portion of the photographic processing agent container 120 (shoulder portion 10b in the plastic container 10) contacts the inner surface of the holding hole 132, and the photographic processing agent container 120 is held above the replenishing tank.

  A driving unit 136 is fixed to the partition wall 124 and is disposed in the back supply chamber 128, and an elevating unit 138 is disposed below the driving unit 136. Two pistons 140 project upward from the elevating part 138, and these pistons 140 are accommodated in two cylinders (not shown) provided in the drive part 136, so that the elevating part 138 is supported so as to be movable up and down with respect to the drive unit 136. Further, a rack plate 142 formed with a rack protrudes upward from the elevating unit 138, and this rack meshes with a pinion (not shown) in the drive unit 136. The pinion can be rotated by driving a motor (not shown) in the drive unit 136, and the lift unit 138 can be moved up and down.

  A substantially L-shaped perforated pipe 144 protrudes from the front surface of the elevating part 138 toward the front side, passes through a longitudinally long hole 146 formed in the partition wall 124, and the front end side faces upward. The tip of the perforated pipe 144 is positioned below the outlet 122 of the photographic processing agent container 120 with the photographic processing agent container 120 set on the holding plate 130. The outer diameter of the perforated pipe 144 is slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the outlet 122 so that the photographic processing agent flows between the perforated pipe 144 and the outlet 122.

  The tip of the perforated pipe 144 is formed in a hemispherical shape, and a plurality of discharge ports 148 are formed in this hemispherical portion.

  A supply unit 150 is disposed further behind the drive unit 136 and the elevating unit 138. A cleaning water pipe 152 and a drying air pipe 154 pass through the front wall of the supply unit 150. The washing water pipe 152 and the drying wind pipe 154 are substantially separated at the middle in the supply unit 150, and the insertion hole is provided with either one of the washing water pipe 152 or the drying wind pipe 154 by a valve (not shown). Communicate and shield the other.

  The cleaning water pipe 152 and the drying air pipe 154 are combined into one collecting pipe 164 in the supply unit 150 and protrude upward from the upper surface of the supply unit 150. The collecting pipe 164 is connected to the elevating part 138 via the flexible pipe 166, and further connected to the perforated pipe 144 through the elevating part 138.

  The washing water pipe 152 is connected to a washing water tank provided in the automatic developing machine 110, and the washing water in the washing water tank is supplied by a bellows pump.

  On the other hand, the drying air pipe 154 communicates with an air collecting device provided in the automatic developing machine 110, and the warm exhaust air in the automatic developing machine 110 collected by the air collecting device is supplied by a fan. . That is, the automatic processor 110 is provided with heating means such as a heater for maintaining the processing solution at a predetermined temperature. Conventionally, the heat around the heating means is heated by a fan or the like as warm exhaust air. It is discharged outside the automatic processor 110. The warm exhaust air in the automatic processor 110 that has been released to the outside is collected by the air collecting device and supplied to the dry air pipe 154 by the fan.

  Next, a method for supplying the liquid photographic processing agent contained in the photographic processing agent container 120 by the photographic processing agent supply apparatus 112 of the present embodiment will be described.

  First, the door 118 is opened, and as shown in FIG. 7, the photographic processing agent container 120 is inserted into the holding hole 132 of the holding plate 130 and the photographic processing agent container 120 is set. In this state, the photographic processing agent container 120 is held above a replenishing tank (not shown) with the outlet 122 facing downward.

  Next, the control device rotates the pinion in the drive unit 136 to raise the elevating unit 138. As a result, the perforated pipe 144 is also raised, and the tip of the perforated pipe 144 breaks through the aluminum or plastic thin film seal that closes the outlet 122, and the outlet 122 is opened. There is a gap between the outlet 122 and the perforated pipe 144, from which the photographic processing agent flows out and is replenished to the replenishing tank. At this time, the discharge port 148 at the tip of the perforated pipe 144 is located in the photographic processing agent container 120. The photographic processing agent container 120, which is a plastic container 10, is excellent in shape preservability, so that it is not easily crushed due to a drop in the internal pressure of the liquid when it flows out, and even if it is crushed to some extent, the photographic processing agent container itself is preserved in shape. The shape is restored by the nature.

  When the outflow of the photographic processing agent is finished, the valve is driven to close the drying air pipe 154 and to connect the washing water pipe 152. Then, the cleaning water in the cleaning water tank is discharged from the discharge port 148 through the cleaning water pipe 152, the collecting pipe 164, the flexible pipe 166, and the perforated pipe 144 by a predetermined means. As a result, the photographic processing agent container 120 is washed away by washing away all the photographic processing agent that has adhered to the inner surface of the photographic processing agent container 120. Since the photographic processing agent container 120 is not deformed by crushing in the opening process, the inner surface of the container can be completely cleaned without causing a liquid pool or the like in the deformed portion.

  Next, the valve is driven, the drying air pipe 154 is communicated, and the washing water pipe 152 is closed. When the fan is operated, the warm exhaust air in the automatic processor 110 is discharged from the discharge port 148 through the dry air pipe 154, the collecting pipe 164, the flexible pipe 166, and the perforated pipe 144. As a result, all of the cleaning liquid adhered to the inner surface of the photographic processing agent container 120 by the warm exhaust air is evaporated, and the photographic processing agent container 120 is dried.

  Next, the motor in the drive unit 136 is reversed to lower the perforated pipe 144, and the photographic processing agent container 120 is removed from the holding plate. Since nothing remains in the photographic processing agent container 120, it can be reused as it is or discarded for recycling.

  The replenishing tank is replenished with the photographic processing agent in the photographic processing agent container 120 and washing water, and the replenishing tank is further replenished with water in order to obtain a photographic processing solution having a desired concentration.

  Note that, not only when the photographic processing agent is liquid, but also when it is in the form of a paste or powder, replenishment of the photographic processing agent, washing of the photographic processing agent container 120, and drying are performed in the same manner as described above. Can do. In particular, when the photographic processing agent is in a paste form, the pasty photographic processing agent can be diluted with washing water to form a liquid and flow out from the outlet 122. Does not remain. Further, even when the photographic processing agent is in the form of powder and has absorbed and solidified moisture in the photographic processing agent container 120, the solidified photographic processing agent is dissolved by the washing water and is taken out as a liquid. Therefore, no photographic processing agent remains in the photographic processing agent container 120.

  As described above, according to the photographic processing agent supply apparatus 112 of the present embodiment, the photographic processing agent can flow out by opening the outlet 122 simply by raising the perforated pipe 144. At this time, the photographic processing agent container is excellent in shape preservability, so that it is not easily crushed due to a decrease in the internal pressure of the liquid when the liquid flows out. Restore.

  Further, since the washing water is discharged from the discharge port 148 of the perforated pipe 144 and the photographic processing agent in the photographic processing agent container 120 is washed away, the photographic processing agent does not remain in the photographic processing agent container 120 and there is no waste. At this time, since the photographic processing agent container remains in its original form, the inner surface of the container can be completely cleaned without causing a liquid pool or the like in the deformed portion.

  Further, since the warm exhaust air is discharged from the discharge port 148 of the perforated pipe 144 to evaporate the cleaning water remaining in the photographic processing agent container 120 and dry the photographic processing agent container 120, the photographic processing agent container The 120 can be reused as it is or discarded for recycling.

  In addition, since the cooling air in the automatic processor 110 is used as the warm exhaust air, the photographic processing agent container 120 can be dried in a short time without wasting energy.

  In the second embodiment, a photographic processing agent supply method (photographic processing) having a drying step (means) for discharging dry air into the photographic processing agent container 120 to dry the inside of the photographic processing agent container 120. Although the agent supplying apparatus) has been described, it is possible to perform the steps up to the cleaning step (means) without the drying step (means), take out the photographic processing agent container 120 as it is, and use it for reuse or recycling.

  Moreover, it can be said that the container for photographic processing agents used for the photographic processing agent set of this invention has the following characteristics.

  The first is that the bottom surface has a substantially rectangular bottom, a plane that rises perpendicularly from each side of the bottom, a substantially cylindrical body, and the area of the portion surrounded by the horizontal section is A plastic photographic processing agent container comprising a mouth smaller than the part, and a shoulder having a shape squeezed from the body part toward the mouth part, and having an inner volume of 800 to 3,000 ml, The average thickness of the part is 0.2 to 0.7 mm, and the ratio (H / L) between the height H of the body part and the diagonal length L of the quadrangle formed by the outer periphery of the horizontal section of the body part 2-4, each vertex of a quadrangle formed by the outer periphery of the horizontal cross section of the trunk is an arc shape with a radius of curvature R = 3-20 mm, and is made of high-density polyethylene or low-density polyethylene, The average wall thickness is 0.8mm ~ 5mm and photo It is closed by a seal member which can be perforated by the opening sense agent is filled cylindrical body or rod.

  Second, it must be molded by the injection blow molding method.

  Third, a holding step of holding the plastic photographic processing agent container above the replenishing tank of the automatic processor so that the mouth portion faces downward, and the sealing member of the plastic photographic processing agent container An opening step for opening the mouth by pressing the tube from below, and a cleaning step for cleaning by discharging cleaning water into the plastic photographic processing agent container from the discharge port formed in the cylinder. The photographic processing agent supply method is characterized by comprising:

  The fourth is provided with a holding means for holding the plastic photographic processing agent container above the replenishing tank of the automatic processor so that the mouth is on the bottom, and the automatic processor can be moved up and down. A cylinder that presses the seal member of the plastic photographic processing agent container held by a holding unit from below to open the mouth, a discharge port formed in the cylinder, and an automatic processor. And a supply means for supplying cleaning water to the cylinder and discharging it from the discharge port.

It is a perspective view which shows the plastic container which is the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a front view which shows the plastic container which is the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a bottom view which shows the plastic container which is the 1st Embodiment of this invention. (A) is the AA cross section in FIG. 2, (B) is an enlarged view of the upper right vertex part of the square represented by (A). It is a perspective view which shows an example of the cardboard box which accommodated the several plastic container. It is a perspective view of the automatic processor provided with the photographic processing agent supply apparatus which is the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the outline of the photographic processing agent supply apparatus which is the 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

10, 10A, 10B, 10C: Plastic container 10a: Mouth part 10b: Shoulder part 10c: Body part 10d: Bottom part 112: Photographic processing agent supply device 120: Photographic processing agent container (plastic container)
122: outlet 130: holding plate (holding means)
112: Holding hole (holding means)
144: perforated pipe (cylinder)
148: Discharge port 150: Supply section (supply means)

Claims (6)

Filled in different photographic processing chemicals are each at least two plastic containers, and have these plastic containers are accommodated in a state arranged in a row in a cardboard box having a rectangular parallelepiped shape, the plastic container, substantially A quadrangular bottom, a substantially quadrangular cylindrical body consisting of four planes rising from each side of the bottom, a mouth area smaller than the body, and an area of a portion surrounded by a horizontal cross section, and from the body Having a shoulder with a shape squeezed towards the mouth,
The mouth is closed by a sealing member that can be perforated , holes are opened in a row on the upper surface of the cardboard box, and the mouth of the plastic container protrudes from the hole ,
The photographic processing agent set , wherein the cardboard box has a notch at any location other than the central portion in the arrangement direction of the plastic containers arranged in a row . The photographic processing agent set according to claim 1, wherein the different types of photographic processing agents are at least two types of photographic processing agents selected from photographic processing agents for development, bleaching and fixing purposes. The plastic container has an internal volume of 800 to 3,000 ml, and a ratio (H / L) of a length H of the barrel portion and a square diagonal length L constituted by an outer periphery of a horizontal section of the barrel portion. 3 is a photographic processing agent set according to claim 1 or 2. The quadrangular vertex formed by the outer periphery of the horizontal cross section of the trunk portion has an arc shape having a radius of curvature R = 3 to 20 mm. Photographic processing agent set. The photographic processing agent set according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the photographic processing agent is a replenisher. A method for supplying a photographic processing agent, wherein the photographic processing agent set according to any one of claims 1 to 5 is loaded into an automatic processor.

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