JPH0217098B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Application of the Invention] The present invention relates to an aeration device for a developing device, which is connected to a bleach tank of the developing device and supplies a required amount of air to the bleaching solution.

[Background technology]

Film development, especially color film development, generally involves development, bleaching (re-halogenation treatment),
It consists of fixing, washing, stabilization, and drying, and usually requires more developing steps than black and white film.

For this reason, in recent years, the entire process of film development has been automated using a conveyor system. In this developing device, the film is pulled out from the cartridge by a supply mechanism, passes through processing tanks for developer, bleach, fixer, washing water, and stabilizer by a conveyor, and then passes through a dryer to a predetermined amount. Developed film is now accumulated in a box.

In addition, a liquid temperature control tank (hereinafter referred to as the temperature control tank) is connected to the bleach tank to maintain the bleach solution at an appropriate temperature at all times, and a pump circulates the bleach solution between the two tanks. There is. In order to further improve the bleaching performance of the bleaching solution, the outlet end of an air supply device is disposed in the bleaching solution tank to supply air to the bleaching solution.
This is generally called aeration and utilizes the fact that oxygen in the air chemically accelerates the bleaching action.

However, in this type of aeration device, a large number of air bubbles accumulate on the liquid surface of the bleaching liquid tank, and the overflowing air bubbles may be scattered into the developer tank, thereby adversely affecting film development. For this reason, in the past, the partition wall between the bleach solution tank and the developer tank was raised to prevent air bubbles on the liquid surface from scattering or flowing into the developer tank, which hindered the miniaturization of the developer device. ing.

[Purpose of the invention]

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an aeration device for a developing device that prevents bubbles from overflowing even when the developing device is downsized and can supply sufficient air.

[Structure of the invention]

The aeration device for a developing device according to the present invention includes a temperature control tank that is connected to a part of a bleach tank and adjusts the temperature of the bleach solution, and a temperature control tank that is installed in a connecting passage between the bleach tank and the temperature control tank and that allows the bleach solution to flow in both directions. An aeration device for a developing device, comprising a circulation pump for forced circulation between tanks, and an air supply means for sending air into the bleach solution in the temperature control tank to promote the bleaching effect, wherein the bleach solution tank and The lower part of the temperature control tank is connected with an auxiliary pipe, and the bleaching liquid in the auxiliary pipe is moved to the temperature control tank by a pushing means, and the air supply means is installed below the auxiliary pipe, and air is supplied through the auxiliary pipe. is supplied to the temperature control tank.

[Action of the invention]

According to the present invention, the area for connecting the air discharged from the air supply means to the bleaching solution can be increased by the length of the auxiliary pipe while leaving the depth dimension of the temperature control tank unchanged, and as a result, Conversely, if there is no need to change the contact area with air, the amount of air supplied can be reduced. If the air supply amount is reduced, the amount of bubbles accumulated in the temperature control tank will also be reduced, and even if the temperature control tank is made small, the bubbles will not overflow to the outside of the temperature control tank.

As described above, in the present invention, a sufficient aeration effect can be obtained by supplying a small volume of air using the air supply means. Furthermore, the generation of bubbles in the temperature regulating tank can be reduced, and there is no need to make the temperature regulating tank larger than necessary in order to prevent bubbles from overflowing. Therefore, the developing device can be downsized.

[Embodiments of the invention]

FIG. 1 shows a developing device 12 incorporating the aeration device of the present invention. The outside of the developing device 12 is covered with a frame 14 to block all external light. Further, the lower part of the frame 14 is supported on a floor 18 by a plurality of support legs 16.

The frame 14 includes a plurality of processing tanks 20, 22, 24, 2 extending vertically by a partition wall 33.
6, 28, 30, and 32 are formed in an aligned state. The processing tank 20 is filled with a developing solution, the processing tank 22 is filled with a bleaching solution, the processing tank 24 is filled with a fixing solution, the processing tanks 26 and 28 are filled with washing water, and the processing tank 30 is filled with a stabilizing solution. A heater 34 and a fan 35 are arranged below the heater 32 to blow hot air upward.

Further, guide rollers 36 are provided below each of the processing tanks 20 to 32 and on each partition wall 33, and a guide 37 is provided with a predetermined gap between the guide rollers 36 and the partition wall 33.
is compatible. Furthermore, sprockets 38 are installed above and below each of the processing tanks 20 to 32, and a belt 40 for transporting the film is suspended thereon.

The belt 40 has an endless shape and has many protrusions (not shown) formed on its inner surface, and rotates counterclockwise when a motor (not shown) rotates the sprocket 38. For this reason, the upper sprocket 3
8 are connected by one endless chain (not shown), so that the power of the motor is transmitted to each sprocket 38 at the same time. Furthermore, a plurality of protrusions 5 are provided on the outer surface of the belt 40 at predetermined intervals.
2 is formed.

On the other hand, the film 42 is housed in a cartridge 46 in a state where it is wound onto a spool 44 as shown in FIG. In this embodiment, the leading ends of the two films 42 pulled out from the spool 44 are fixed to one leader 48, so that the two films 42 can be conveyed simultaneously.

The leader 48 is a flexible synthetic resin sheet that is slightly more rigid than the film 42, and has a plurality of square holes 50 along the center in the hand direction. By aligning them, the film 42 is conveyed.

A film supply device 54 is installed on the upper entrance side of the developing device 12 (on the left side in FIG. 1), and its upper part is covered by a cover 56 that can be opened and closed. This film supply device 54 is provided with a pedestal 58 on which each cartridge 46 of the film 42 connected to the leader 48 can be placed.

A pair of conveyance rollers 60 are provided between the pedestal 58 and the guide roller 36, and the conveyance rollers 60 function to convey the leader 48 and the film 42 to the conveyor line. pedestal 58 and conveyance roller 60
A cutter 62 is arranged between them, and the entire amount of film 42 is removed from the cartridge 40 by a control means (not shown).
When the film 42 is pulled out, the end of the film 42 is cut off.

A film stacking device 64 is installed on the upper exit side of the developing device 12 (on the right side in FIG. 1). In this film stacking device 64, a guide 66 is connected to the end of the frame 14, and a conveying roller 68 is provided on the lower surface of the guide 66. A collection plate 70 is arranged at the tip of the guide 66 with a predetermined gap, and a hook 7 is provided on the upper inner surface of the collection plate 70.
2 stands out.

For this reason, the film 42 and the leader 48 that have undergone each development process are pulled out by the conveying roller 68, and then moved upward along the lower surface of the guide 66 and the inner surface of the accumulation plate 70, and the protrusion 52 of the leader 48
(see FIG. 2) engages the hook 72.

Therefore, the film 42 and the leader 48 are transported as follows.

First, pull out the tips of the two films 42 from the patronate 46, and place them on the leader 4 as shown in FIG.
Attach to the rear end of 8. Next, the cover 56 of the film supply device 54 (FIG. 1) is opened, each cartridge 46 is set on the pedestal 58, and the leader 48 is placed on the conveying roller 60 below. When the cover 56 is closed in this state, the leader 48 is sandwiched between both transport rollers 60, and when a predetermined switch is turned on, the leader 48 and the film 42 are transferred to the guide roller 3.
6. It is sent out between the guides 37.

The leader 48 and film 42 are connected to the upper guide 3
The direction is changed downward at 7, and the square hole 5 of the leader 48
0 fits into the protrusion 52 of the belt 40. Therefore, even if the end of the film 42 comes off the transport roller 60, the leader 48 and the film 42 are immersed in the developer in the processing tank 20 by the belt 40.

On the other hand, when the entire amount of the film 42 is pulled out from the cartridge 46, the cutter 62 is operated and the end of the film 42 is cut off from the cartridge 46.

The leader 48 and the film 42 once descend inside the processing tank 20, and then the lower guide roller 36 and the guide 3
After passing between 7 and 7, it is reversed and conveyed upward. Since guide rollers 36 and guides 37 are also provided above the partition wall 33, the leader 48
The film 42 is then turned downward again and sent to the next processing tank 22.

In this manner, the leader 48 and the film 42 pass through each of the processing tanks 20 to 32, and the film 42 is subjected to color development, bleaching, fixing, washing, stabilization, and drying processing. After completing each step, the leader 48 and film 42 are suspended from a hook 72 through between the transport rollers 68 of the film stacking device 64, the lower surface of the guide 66, and the inner surface of the stacking plate 70.

FIG. 3 shows an aeration device 10 of this embodiment.
In this aeration device 10, a temperature control tank 74 is installed on the back side of the processing tank 22. The temperature control tank 74 is connected to the processing tank 22 via a pipe 76.
The bleaching solution 78 flows from the processing tank 22 to the temperature control tank 74 due to a difference in liquid level H.

A temperature regulating tank 74 (not shown) is provided with a temperature regulator to maintain the bleaching solution 78 at an appropriate temperature at all times. The temperature control tank 74 is made of a light-shielding material and its upper surface is closed with a cover 80 so that the bleaching solution 78 inside is not exposed to light.

The lower part of the processing tank 22 and the temperature control tank 74 are connected by a pipe 82, and a pump 8 is installed in the middle of the pipe 82.
4 is interposed so that the bleaching solution 78 is forcibly circulated in the direction of the arrow. Therefore, the bleaching solution 78 is always maintained at an appropriate temperature, and the bleaching solution 78 is kept at an appropriate temperature by the stirring effect.
8. Prevent fatigue.

One end of the pipe 82 penetrates the bottom of the temperature control tank 74 and enters the bleaching solution 78, and a film 86 is attached to its tip. This film 86
serves to remove impurities and precipitates from the circulating bleaching solution 78.

An auxiliary pipe 88 is further connected to the bottom of the temperature control tank 74 , and the auxiliary pipe 88 extends downward, is bent, and is connected to the lower side surface of the temperature control 22 . Also,
An air pump 90 is connected to the bent portion of the auxiliary pipe 88, and its outlet 90A enters the auxiliary pipe 88 upward. air pump 90
improves the bleaching performance by supplying air in the form of bubbles 92 to the bleaching solution 78.

The aeration device 10 of this embodiment configured as described above operates as follows.

The bleaching liquid 78 in the temperature control tank 22 has a liquid level difference H.
As a result, the temperature control tank 7
4, and if the temperature is lower than the optimum temperature, it is heated by a heater (not shown), and if the temperature is higher, the heater is turned off or it is cooled by a cooler (not shown).

The bleaching solution 78 at an appropriate temperature is forced to flow into the pipe 82 by the action of a pump 84, and at this time is cleaned by a filter 86. The bleaching liquid 78 in the pipe 82 is sent into the temperature control tank 22 along the direction of the arrow by the action of the pump 84.
For this reason, the bleaching solution 78 is circulated clockwise in FIG. 3, so that it is always maintained at an appropriate temperature and the stirring effect prevents partial fatigue of the solution.

On the other hand, the bleaching liquid 78 in the auxiliary pipe 88 is pumped up by the pump 84.
Due to the liquid level difference H between the processing tank 22 and the temperature control tank 74 caused by the drive of the temperature control tank 7 from the processing tank 22,
Move to 4. Therefore, the air bubbles 92 supplied from the outlet 90A of the air pump 90 are pushed upward together with the bleaching solution 78. Therefore, compared to the case where the outlet 90A is placed directly in the temperature control tank 74, the length of contact between the bleaching solution 78 and the air increases from 1 to L, and the aeration effect becomes more than three times as large.

That is, since the air contact area of the bleaching liquid 78 increases by the vertical dimension of the auxiliary pipe 88, the capacity of the air pump 90 can be reduced to one-third. If the amount of air supplied is reduced, the amount of bubbles accumulated in the temperature control tank 74 will also be reduced and will not overflow to the outside.

Furthermore, when a portion of the air bubbles 92 exits from the narrow auxiliary pipe 88 to the wide temperature control tank 74, they disappear quickly due to the pressure difference even if there is a large amount of air. Furthermore, since the bleaching liquid 78 flows into the temperature regulating tank 74 through the pipe 76, the bubbles accumulated on the liquid surface of the temperature regulating tank 74 will not flow back into the processing tank 22.

As a result, even if the temperature control tank 74 and the air pump 90 are downsized, a sufficient aeration effect can be obtained.

In the above embodiment, the pump 84 is used as a pushing means, and the bleaching solution 78 and Although the air bubbles 92 are pushed up into the temperature control tank 74, other devices may be used as pushing means to forcefully supply them. Further, this aeration device 10 can be easily incorporated into a conventional developing device.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, the aeration device for a developing device according to the present invention connects the lower part of the bleach solution tank and the temperature control tank with the auxiliary pipe, and pushes up the bleaching solution in the auxiliary pipe to the temperature control tank. By moving the air supply means below the auxiliary pipe and supplying air to the temperature control tank through this auxiliary pipe, the contact area between the bleaching solution and the air is increased, so a small capacity pump can be used. A sufficient aeration effect can be obtained.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figure 1 is a side view of the developing device, Figure 2 is a plan view showing how the film is attached to the reader, and Figure 3 is the side view of the developing device.
FIG. 10...Aeration device, 12...Developing device, 22...Processing tank, 74...Temperature control tank, 76...
Pipe, 78...Bleach solution, 82...Pipe, 84
... pump, 86 ... filter, 88 ... auxiliary pipe, 90 ... air pump, 90A ... outlet, 92 ... bubble.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A temperature control tank that is connected to a part of the bleach tank and adjusts the temperature of the bleach solution, and a circulation pump that is installed in the connecting passage between the bleach tank and the temperature control tank to forcibly circulate the bleach solution between the two tanks. and an air supply means for sending air into the bleach solution in the temperature control tank to promote the bleaching effect, in which an auxiliary pipe is connected below the bleach solution tank and the temperature control tank. At the same time, the bleaching solution in the auxiliary pipe is moved to the temperature control tank by a push-up means, and the air supply means is installed below the auxiliary pipe, and air is supplied to the temperature control tank through the auxiliary pipe. Characteristic aeration device for developing device.