JPH065372B2 - Photo developing method and apparatus - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a photographic developing method and apparatus in which the aging of a developing solution is prevented.

[Conventional technology]

Photosensitive materials such as photographic paper and film are sequentially subjected to development processing and fixing processing by a photographic development device. The developer used for this development processing includes a developing agent having a reducing action, an alkaline agent that activates the developing agent more, and an antioxidant for preventing the developing agent from being oxidized by oxygen in the air. And a sensitizer, an antifoggant, and the like.

A conventional developing tank has a box shape, and a transfer device such as a roller or a belt is attached in a state of being immersed in a developing solution. The exposed photosensitive material is transferred in a state of being immersed in a developing solution by a transfer device, and a developing process is performed during that time. Since the composition of this developing solution changes due to its use and becomes fatigued, the developing ability is lowered and it becomes impossible to finish it to a desired concentration. Therefore, in order to keep the developing ability constant, a replenishing port is formed in the lower part of the development processing tank, and a new developing solution is replenished from this. Then, an outlet is formed in the upper part of the development processing tank, and the developing solution whose developing ability is lowered is discharged as a developing waste solution.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

The causes of fatigue of the developer include changes with time and changes in processing, and it is necessary to replenish the developer with new developer according to these changes. The processing change is caused by developing the photosensitive material, and since the processing change is proportional to the photosensitive material to be processed, a new developing solution may be replenished according to the processing amount. The change with time is fatigue caused by air in contact with the developing solution, one of which is oxidation of the developing solution by oxygen in the air and the other is decrease of pH by carbon dioxide gas in the air. Since this change with time greatly changes depending on the development conditions, it is difficult to determine the replenishment amount of the developing solution corresponding to this change with time.
Therefore, conventionally, when an appropriate period of use has elapsed, the test photosensitive material (control strips) exposed using a density wedge is developed, and the degree of fatigue of the developer is checked by checking the finished density, It decides when to correct the replenishment amount of the developer and when to replace the whole developer. However, since this management work requires specialized knowledge, it can be said that it is practically difficult to apply it to minilabs that are becoming widespread at present.

In order to carry out development processing rapidly, it is necessary to increase the pH of the developer and use it at a high temperature. Under such active developing conditions, the above-mentioned change with time is quite large, which requires a large amount of developer replenishment.

The present invention is intended to solve the various drawbacks described above.

[Means for solving problems]

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention fills the space in the development processing tank with air deoxidized by contacting with the development waste liquid.

The deoxidation of air can be performed by passing air through the developing waste liquid using a deoxidizing tank, or by spraying the atomized developing waste liquid. To replenish the deoxidization tank with the development waste solution, a cartridge containing the development waste solution overflowed from the development processing tank may be used, and the cartridge may be replaceably attached to the deoxidation tank.

Another invention is a development processing tank in which a space is formed between a stored development solution and a lid, a deoxidation tank for storing a development waste solution discharged from the development processing tank through a pipe, and the deoxidation tank. It is provided with an air blowing means for blowing pressurized air into the developing waste liquid in the tank, and a pressure feeding means for sending the air deoxygenated in the deoxidizing tank to the space of the developing processing tank.

Since the developing solution contains a developing agent having a reducing action and an alkaline agent for activating the developing agent, the air can be deoxygenated by contacting the exhausted developing solution with air. . The deoxygenated air is
Since it becomes an inert gas, there is no fear that even if it comes into contact with the developer in the development processing tank, it will be oxidized and fatigued.

In order to effectively deoxidize the air, it is desirable to heat the developer waste solution or add an alkali to the developer waste solution.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

[Structure of Example]

The development processing tank 10 is in the shape of a box with an open top, and a developer 11 is stored therein. The development processing tank 10 has a replenishing port 12 for replenishing a new developing solution at a lower part thereof and an overflow port 13 at an upper part thereof. The replenishing port 12 is connected to a replenishing solution tank 15 via a pipe 14, and a pump 16 provided in the middle of the pipe 14 supplies a predetermined amount of developing solution to the developing treatment tank 10.
Supplied within. As described below, deoxygenated air 5
4 is filled in the developer tank 15, but a waste liquid reservoir 17 is provided in the overflow port 13 in order to prevent the air 54 from leaking out from the overflow port 13. The developing waste liquid, after entering the waste liquid reservoir 17, goes over the finish 17a and is then sent to the deoxidizing tank 19 through the pipe 18.

Below the development processing tank 10, two rollers 20, 21 are provided.
Is arranged, and one roller 22 is arranged at a position slightly lower than the overflow port 13. These rollers 20-22 are rotated at the same speed by a motor,
While the photosensitive material 23 is immersed in the developing solution 11, the photosensitive material 23 is transported at a constant speed, and a developing process is performed during that time.

The deoxidizing tank 19 contains the developing waste liquid 25 sent from the developing treatment tank 10, and an air blowing pipe 26 is immersed in the developing waste liquid 25. The air blowing pipe 26 has a plurality of small openings 26a, and the air pumped from the air pump 27 is ejected from the openings 26a. This air floats in the developing waste liquid 25 as minute bubbles, and oxygen contained in the air at that time causes the developing waste liquid 2 to become oxygen.
Removed with 5 developing agents. A circulation pipe 24 is provided to increase the contact efficiency with the developing waste liquid 25.
The deoxygenated air in the upper part of the deoxidizing tank 19 is returned to the pump 27 and jetted again into the developing waste liquid 25. If a plurality of deoxidizing tanks are connected in a cascade and air is sequentially passed through the plurality of deoxidizing tanks, deoxidation can be sufficiently performed. In this case, the circulation pipe 24 may not be provided in each deoxidation tank.

A pipe 28 is connected to an upper portion of the deoxidizing tank 19, and air deoxidized by a pump 29 interposed in the pipe 28 is stored in an air tank 30. The air tank 30 is connected to a lid 32 via a pipe 31 and is adjusted to a pressure higher than the atmospheric pressure by a pressure adjusting valve 33 before being pressure fed into the development processing tank 10.

Since the developing waste liquid is continuously supplied from the developing treatment tank 10 to the deoxidizing tank 19, a pipe 35 for overflowing the excess developing waste liquid is connected.
Excess developer waste solution is stored in the cartridge 36 through the cartridge 5.

In order to efficiently perform deoxidation, it is preferable to heat the development waste liquid 25 to activate it, and then contact it with air in this state. For this purpose, a heater 37 is attached to the bottom of the deoxidizing tank 19, and the development waste liquid is kept at 20 to 80 ° C., preferably 30 to 60.
C., more preferably 35 to 50.degree. Further, in order to enhance the reducing action of the developing waste liquid and promote deoxidation, the contact tank 38 containing the alkali is connected to the pipe 39.
Is connected to the deoxidizing tank 19 via a pump, and the pump 40 is operated in accordance with the supply amount of the developing waste solution, and the alkali in the tank 38 is sent to the deoxidizing tank 19 and added to the developing waste solution 25.

A collar 10a bent outward is provided at the upper end of the development processing tank 10, and a collar 32a of the lid 32 is airtightly stacked on the collar 10a and fixed so as not to come off. An entrance 42 and an exit 43 of the photosensitive material 23 are formed in the lid 32, and a roller 44 is arranged in a position close to the entrance 42, and the exit 43 is formed.
The rollers 45 are respectively arranged at positions close to. At the outlet 43, a pair of squeegees 46 made of a flexible material such as rubber are arranged, and the photosensitive material 2
The developer adhered to both sides of No. 3 is scraped off.

The upper portion of the lid 32 is formed in a V shape with a concave center, and the exposed developer is collected and dripped at the center of the development processing tank 10 and is not immersed in the developer 11. It is prevented from dropping and adhering to the photosensitive material 23. Further, a water-repellent material 47 such as Teflon or silicon resin is lined on the inner surface of the lid 32 to prevent the evaporated developer from adhering thereto. The entrance 28
It is desirable to provide a shutter at the outlet 29 and open it to a minimum size only when the photosensitive material 23 passes.

Rollers 50 and 51 are arranged on both sides of the lid 32, and the rotation amount of one roller 50 is measured by the length measuring unit 52.
Measured at. The drive circuit 53 is controlled according to the processing amount of the photosensitive material measured by the length measuring unit 52, whereby the pump 16 adjusts the liquid supply amount.

[Operation of Example]

The developing treatment tank 10 contains a developing solution 11, and the space surrounded by the lid 32 and the developing solution 11 is filled with deoxidized inert air 54. The deoxygenated air 54 is kept at a pressure higher than atmospheric pressure in order to prevent fresh air from entering through the inlet 42 and the outlet 43. The exposed photosensitive material 23 is a roller 50.
Is fed by the and passes through the inlet 42 of the lid 32 into the interior thereof. The photosensitive material 23 that has entered the lid 32 is
After passing through No. 4, it is immersed in the developing solution 11. The photosensitive material 23 immersed in the developing solution 11 is
2 and 21, and development processing is performed for a certain time between them. The photosensitive material 23 discharged from the developer 11 is guided by the roller 45 toward the outlet 43, and the developer adhering thereto is scraped off by the squeegee 46 arranged at the outlet 43, and then guided by the roller 51 to be fixed. It is sent to a tank (not shown).

Since the developing solution 11 is in contact with the deoxidized air 54, it is hardly affected by the air.
Depending on the light-sensitive material to be processed, the developing ability is lowered due to a change in processing. Therefore, a new developer may be replenished only in accordance with this process change. Therefore, the length measuring unit 52 checks the amount of the processed photosensitive material from the rotation amount of the roller 50, drives the pump 16 in accordance with this amount, and develops the new developer stored in the replenisher tank 15. It is supplied into the processing tank 10. Then, the developing solution whose developing ability is lowered is discharged from the overflow port 13 as a developing waste solution and flows into the deoxidizing tank 19 by gravity.

The developing waste liquid 25 contained in the deoxidizing tank 19 is heated by the heater 37 and added with the alkali sent from the catalyst tank 38. The fresh air or the air circulated by the circulation pump 24 is pumped by the pump 27 and sent to the air blowing pipe 26, ejected from the opening 26a into the developing waste liquid 25, and becomes air bubbles inside the developing waste liquid 25. It is deoxygenated when ascending. The deoxidized air is sent to the air tank 30 by the pump 29 and is stored therein. Then, the pressure is adjusted to a pressure slightly higher than the atmospheric pressure by the pressure adjusting valve 33, and then the pressure is sent to the inside of the lid 32 to fill the inside thereof. The developing waste liquid 25 overflowed from the deoxidizing tank 19 is sent to the cartridge 36 through the pipe 35 and is stored therein.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, the space in the development processing tank is filled with the air deoxidized by contacting with the development waste liquid,
It is possible to prevent the developing solution from being oxidized by oxygen in the air and undergoing a change over time, and moreover, since the developing waste solution is used to deoxygenate the air, the effect of reusing resources is great.

The present invention can prevent the developer from changing with time, and therefore has the following practical effects. That is, high pH,
Since active developing conditions advantageous for rapid processing such as high temperature can be stably used and the concentration of the antioxidant contained in the developing solution can be lowered, it is possible to reduce the concentration of the developing agent as in the case of color development. It is possible to improve the efficiency of image formation such as coupling equivalence in the image forming process utilizing an oxidant. Further, since the developer needs to be replenished only in accordance with the change in processing, the developer can be easily managed and the developer replenishment amount can be reduced. Furthermore, since the evaporation of the developing solution is reduced, it is possible to effectively prevent the surrounding environment from being contaminated by the developing solution.

Further, the present invention is provided with a deoxidizing tank for containing the developing waste liquid discharged from the developing processing tank through a pipe, and an air blowing means for blowing pressurized air into the developing waste liquid in the deoxidizing tank. Efficient deoxidization can be performed by utilizing the developing waste liquid without using an oxygen agent or the like. Further, since the pressure feeding means for sending the air deoxidized in the deoxidizing tank to the space of the development processing tank is provided, the space of the development processing tank can be filled with the deoxidized and inert air. It is possible to suppress the change with time due to the oxidation of. Moreover, the deoxygenation tank, the air blowing means, and the pressure feeding means can automatically deoxidize the air and replenish the development processing tank with the deoxidized air.

[Brief description of drawings]

 The drawings are schematic diagrams showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention. 10 ... Development processing tank, 11 ... Developer 12 ... Replenishing port, 13 ... Overflow port 19 ... Deoxidizing tank, 23 ... Photosensitive material 25 ... Development waste liquid 26 ... Air blowing pipe 32 ... Lid 54 ... Deoxidized air.

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A photographic developing method characterized in that the space of a developing processing tank containing a developing solution is filled with air deoxidized by contacting with a developing waste solution. 2. The photographic developing method according to claim 1, wherein the developing waste liquid is heated. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein air is passed through the developing waste liquid to deoxidize the developing waste liquid.
The photographic development method described in the item. 4. The photographic developing method according to claim 1, wherein an alkali is added as a catalyst to the developing waste liquid. 5. A development processing tank in which a space is formed between the stored development solution and a lid, a deoxidation tank for containing a development waste solution discharged from the development processing tank through a pipe, and the deoxidation tank. Photographic developing apparatus comprising: an air blowing means for blowing pressurized air into the developing waste liquid inside; and a pressure feeding means for sending the air deoxygenated in the deoxidizing tank to the space of the developing processing tank. . 6. The photographic developing device according to claim 5, wherein the inner surface of the lid is coated with a water repellent material. 7. The photographic developing device according to claim 5, wherein the central portion of the lid is inclined so that its height is lower than that of the peripheral portion. 8. The photographic developing device according to claim 5, wherein the deoxidizing tank is provided with a heater for heating the developing waste liquid. 9. A pipe for supplying a catalyst contained in a catalyst tank is connected to the deoxidation tank, as claimed in any one of claims 5 to 8. Photo development equipment. 10. The photographic developing device according to claim 9, wherein the catalyst is an alkali.