JPH0664323B2 - Cleaning method for automatic developing equipment - Google Patents

Description

Description: FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an automatic development processing apparatus, and more specifically, to development, fixing, washing with water, or stabilization of a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material after exposure or after image recording. The present invention relates to an automatic developing device configured to automatically clean a transfer section when sequentially transferring the respective processing tanks to be processed.

(Prior Art) A silver halide photographic light-sensitive material (film) that has been exposed or after image recording is completed is conveyed to the inside of an automatic developing device and automatically developed. Here, first, the film is conveyed into a developing tank that stores a developing solution for development, and then passed through a fixing tank that stores a fixing solution.
The developing treatment of the film is performed by transporting the cleaning water or the stabilizing solution into a water tank for storing the cleaning water or the stabilizing solution, or by spraying the cleaning water or the stabilizing solution directly onto the film by spraying or the like.

Next, after squeezing the water or the stabilizing liquid adhering to the film with a roller or the like constituting the squeeze part,
Transferred to the drying section and set to a predetermined temperature (for example, about 50 to 60 ° C)
It is dried by blowing hot air and then stored in a predetermined place.

By the way, in such an automatic developing apparatus, as described above, various processing solutions such as a developing solution for developing the film and a fixing solution are contained in respective tanks, and these processing solutions are stored. A film developing section is provided between the tanks,
A transfer unit (crossover transfer unit) for transferring to the fixing unit and the cleaning unit is provided. This transfer unit is, for example,
It is composed of a rack including rollers and guide plates. Therefore, when the film is transferred to each processing tank as described above, the processing liquid mainly adheres to the rack due to the transporting action of the film. in this case,
If the treatment liquid remains on the rollers or guide plates for a long period of time and is dried, it will oxidize or solidify in some cases, so the durability is poor and the film should pass through each treatment tank. When this happens, this may adhere and cause uneven processing. Therefore, it has heretofore been indispensable to clean the rack regularly (for example, every day or once a week) in the transfer section.

(Problems to be solved by the invention) However, in order to clean the transfer section, an operator disassembles the automatic developing device or, after removing the transfer section from the apparatus, manually cleaning the rack or the like. Must be done by. Moreover, it is necessary to clean the transfer unit itself relatively frequently, and the cleaning work of the transfer unit becomes considerably complicated for the operator, and the time required for the cleaning work becomes large, Further, it has been pointed out that by repeatedly scraping and cleaning the roller surface, the roller surface may be scratched or the smoothness of the roller surface may be impaired.

Therefore, there is a demand for a technique for automatically and periodically cleaning the rack of the transfer unit in the automatic developing device without the worker performing the cleaning work by himself.

On the other hand, when clean water is used in such an automatic cleaning means, tap water should be used in order to prevent deterioration of stability and adverse effects on photographic performance when mixed with a developing solution or a fixing solution. Is considered most appropriate. However, in the case of using ordinary tap water, if the automatic developing device is operated for a longer period of time, water stains or the like may occur in the cleaning device for the rack of the transfer section. Even if the apparatus is installed and maintenance is facilitated, there is a disadvantage that the cleaning device for the transfer part rack needs to be artificially washed during a long period of use.

The present invention has been made to solve all the above inconveniences.

(Means for Solving Problems) In the method of cleaning an automatic developing device for automatically developing an exposed silver halide photographic material, the present inventor develops, fixes and rinses the photographic material. Or, at least one crossover transfer section cleaning pipe line is disposed in at least one crossover transfer section arranged between the tanks for sequentially transferring to each processing tank for stabilization treatment, and ultraviolet irradiation is performed. , Magnetic field irradiation, ion-exchange resin treatment, and addition of at least one antifungal means of at least one compound selected from aminopolycarboxylic acids and phosphonic acids, is supplied from the conduit to the cloth. It has been found that all of the above inconveniences can be overcome by a cleaning method for an automatic developing device, which is characterized by removing the processing liquid adhering to the over-transfer portion.

When ordinary tap water is used in the above-mentioned cleaning pipe, it does not adversely affect photographic performance and the like, but water stains and the like are generated in the pipe, and in particular, the washing water supply (injection) part (for example, a plurality of parts) to the transfer part. (Small holes, slit-shaped openings, etc.) may be clogged, and an artificial cleaning operation is required for this.

On the other hand, as washing water for the transfer rack, washing water or stabilizing water used in washing treatment or stabilizing treatment performed after development and fixing (or bleaching and fixing) in the developing treatment of the silver halide photographic light-sensitive material. It is also possible to use a part of the liquid, and there is known a technique of adding various antibacterial agents to these washing water or stabilizing liquid in order to prevent the generation of scale. However, the cleaning water for the transfer part rack may be mixed in the developing solution or the fixing solution after cleaning, and at that time, the action of these antibacterial agents may deteriorate the stability of the developing solution or the fixing solution, or may deteriorate the photographic performance. Since it causes a problem such as adversely affecting the coating solution and further inhibiting the aluminum hardening reaction in the fixing solution, the washing water or the stabilizing solution containing these antibacterial agents is simply used as it is in the transfer section rack of the present invention. Not applicable to clean water.

The present inventor uses the water provided with a specific antifungal means as the washing water of the above-described automatic transfer section rack cleaning device so that the transfer section rack can be cleaned without adversely affecting the photographic performance and the like. The inventors have found that water stains do not occur in the conduit, which makes maintenance free for a long period of time.

The antifungal means used in the present invention is one of ultraviolet irradiation, magnetic field irradiation, ion exchange resin treatment and addition of a specific compound, or a combination thereof. The addition of a specific compound is preferable.

There is a method of passing a magnetic field as one of the methods of applying the antifungal effect in the present invention. Passing the magnetic field means passing wash water for cleaning the transfer portion (hereinafter simply referred to as wash water) through the magnetic field generated between the positive electrode and the negative electrode of the magnetic field.

The magnetic field used in the present invention is obtained by using a ferromagnetic material such as iron, cobalt, and a permanent magnet made of nickel,
Alternatively, it can be obtained by passing a direct current through a coil or the like, but is not particularly limited, and any means capable of forming a magnetic field can be used. The magnetic field may be formed by using one magnet to form magnetic lines of force, or two magnetic fields (positive and negative electrodes) may be opposed to each other to form magnetic lines of force between opposing magnets.

As a method of passing the cleaning water through the magnetic field used in the present invention, a permanent magnet or the like that forms a magnetic field is used in the water stock tank and / or
Alternatively, there is a method of moving (including rotating) a permanent magnet provided outside the liquid, or moving the water by stirring or circulating the water. A particularly desirable method is a method in which water is circulated by fixing a permanent magnet to a part or all of the inside or outside of the circulation pipe.

In the present invention, the method of irradiating the cleaning water with ultraviolet rays is carried out by a generally commercially available ultraviolet lamp or an ultraviolet irradiation device, and preferably the output of the ultraviolet lamp is 5 W to
800 W (tube output) is preferable, but not limited to this. Further, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the wavelength of ultraviolet rays is in the range of 220 nm to 350 nm.

In the present invention, the method of treating with an ion exchange resin is carried out by passing water through a mixed bed column packed with a commercially available H-type strongly acidic cation exchange resin and OH-type strongly basic exchange resin to obtain calcium or magnesium ions in water. Is a method of remarkably removing. A method having the same meaning as this includes using distilled water as the washing water of the present invention.

Regarding the method using ultraviolet rays, for example, JP-A-60-263939
For example, a method using a magnetic field is described in detail in JP-A-60-263940, and a method using an ion exchange resin is described in detail in Japanese Patent Application No. 61-131632.

As one of the antifungal means in the present invention, in the method of adding a specific compound, there are aminopolycarboxylic acids as the antifungal compound, and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) is a specific compound as the aminopolycarboxylic acid. ,
Diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid, ethylenediamine-N-
(Β-oxyethyl) -N, N ′, N′-triacetic acid, propylenediaminetetraacetic acid, nitrilotriacetic acid, cyclohexanediaminetetraacetic acid, iminodiacetic acid, alkyliminodiacetic acid,
Dihydroxyethylglycine, ethyletherdiaminetetraacetic acid, glycoletherdiaminetetraacetic acid, ethylenediaminetetrapropionic acid, phenylenediaminetetraacetic acid,
1,3-diamino-2-propanoltetraacetic acid, triethylenetetraminehexaacetic acid, hydroxyethyliminoacetic acid, oxybis (ethyleneoxynitrilo) tetraacetic acid, malic acid, and sodium and potassium salts of these polycarboxylic acids.

Specific examples of the phosphonic acids in the present invention are compounds represented by the following general formulas (I) to (IV).

General formula (I) General formula (II) General formula (III) R ₁₄ N (CH ₂ PO ₃ M ₂ ) ₂ General formula (IV) l = 0,1,2 In the formula, R _{1 to} R ₆ are each a hydrogen atom, a hydroxyl group, an alkyl group (having 1 to 3 carbon atoms, such as a methyl group, an ethyl group, a propyl group), an amino group, an alkoxy group ( Carbon number 1
3), for example, methoxy group, ethoxy group, etc., alkylamino group (preferably having 1 to 3 carbon atoms), arylamino group (preferably having 6 to 8 carbon atoms), aryloxy group (preferably having 6 to 6 carbon atoms) 8) is represented.

R _{7 to} R ₁₃ are hydrogen atom, hydroxyl group, -COOM, -PO ₃
M _{2 represents} an alkyl group (having 1 to 3 carbon atoms, such as a methyl group, an ethyl group, a propyl group).

R ₁₄ represents a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group (having 1 to 3 carbon atoms, such as a methyl group, an ethyl group or a propyl group). Further, M represents an alkali metal such as sodium atom and potassium atom. m represents 0 or 1.

Specific compounds represented by the above general formulas (I) to (IV) include the following.

Compound (1) Compound (2) Compound (3) Compound (4) Compound (5) Compound (6) Compound (7) Compound (8) Compound (9) Compound (10) Compound (11) Compound (12) Compound (13) These compounds are preferably added in the form of sodium salt and / or potassium salt.

Particularly preferred among these compounds are ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid, ethylenediamine-N-hydroxyethyl-N, N ',
Aminopolycarboxylic acids such as N'-triacetic acid, propylenediaminetetraacetic acid, triethylenetetraminehexaacetic acid, ethylenediaminetetramethylenephosphonic acid, sodium salt of 1-hydroxyethylidene-1,1-diphosphonic acid, potassium salt, ammonium salt And so on.

It is sufficient to use one kind of the compound group of the present invention as the cleaning water for cleaning the transfer section used in the present invention, but two or more kinds may be used in combination.

The compound of the present invention is preferably 0.02 g per 1 wash water.
Contained in the range of ~ 20g, more preferably 0.05g ~ 5g
Is.

The water subjected to the specific mildew-proofing means of the present invention may be used only as washing water for cleaning the transfer portion and may be stored in the present automatic developing device, but preferably, the water subjected to the present mildew-proofing means. Is used as washing water or a stabilizing solution in the developing treatment, and a part of the washing water or the stabilizing solution is diverted to the washing water for cleaning the transfer section. Further, preferably, the water which has been subjected to the present antifungal means can also be used as the diluting water for the developing and / or fixing solution concentrate in the developing treatment.

Most preferably, all the washing water for cleaning the transfer part, the washing water (or the stabilizing solution) and the diluting water for the developing and / or fixing solution are shared by the water which has been subjected to the antifungal means. It is possible to store this water in only one stock tank.

The particular antifungal means of the invention is similar in that it does not adversely affect development or fixing.

In the case of the method of adding the specific compound of the present invention and providing the antifungal means, the method of adding the compound includes, for example, the following methods.

1) The compound of the present invention is added to a tank of washing water or water used for washing water (or a stabilizing solution), dissolved, and the solution is supplied.

2) The concentrated liquid in which the compound of the present invention is dissolved and tap water are mixed at a constant ratio and supplied as washing water or washing water (or stabilizing solution).

3) Tap water is first supplied to the transfer part cleaning device and / or the washing or stabilizing tank, and then a certain amount of the concentrated liquid of the compound of the present invention is added.

The automatic developing device used in the present invention may have other steps such as bleaching, stopping, intermediate washing and the like in addition to the developing (color or black and white), fixing, washing or stabilizing steps, and the fixing is bleaching. It may be a bleach-fixing step which also has a function.

Examples of the silver halide photographic light-sensitive material used in the present invention include black-and-white light-sensitive materials such as X-ray light-sensitive materials and plate-making light-sensitive materials, as well as color light-sensitive materials such as color negative films and color papers.

Next, preferred embodiments of the automatic developing apparatus according to the present invention will be given and described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 indicates an automatic developing device according to the present invention. A film carrying-in port is formed in the automatic developing device 10, and a film detecting section 16 is provided in the vicinity of the film carrying-in port. The film detection unit 16 includes an insertion roller 18, a detection roller 20 and a micro switch (not shown), and the detection roller 20 is conveyed to the film A.
When it is inserted between the detection roller 20 and the insertion roller 18, it is configured to be displaced vertically upward. The micro switch is located between the detection roller 20 and the insertion roller 18
It is detected that one film A has been inserted.

A first rack forming a transfer unit in the vicinity of the detection unit 16.
24 are provided. The first rack 24 is a curved guide plate.
The film A, which includes 26, is sent to the developing unit 28 with its advancing direction deviated by 90 °.

A developing solution is stored in a tank 30 constituting the developing section 28, and a developing rack including a plurality of rollers and a guide plate is provided in the rank 30. A second rack 34 is provided at the terminal end of the developing rack, and in this case, the second rack 34 has a pair of roller pairs 36 and a guide plate 40a, which is curved.
Includes 40b and rack cleaning line 42.

As shown in FIG. 1, the conduit 42 includes a guide plate 40a and a roller pair 3
A plurality of small holes 44, 46 are formed in the outer peripheral portion of the conduit 42 so as to face the guide plates 40a, 40b and the roller pair 36. The pipe line 42 is connected to a washing water supply pipe (not shown) to a water washing section 64 (to be described later) via an electromagnetic valve (not shown), and a part of the film washing water is selectively small hole 44 under the switching action of the electromagnetic valve. It is designed to eject from 46. Further, the developing portion 28 and the fixing portion 48 are partitioned by the wall 43 below the pipe line 42.

Further, the outlet side of the second rack 34 constitutes a fixing section 48, and the fixing section 48 includes a fixing rack having a plurality of rollers and a guide plate. The fixing rack is mounted in the fixing liquid stored in the tank 52, and the third rack 54 is arranged at the end portion of the fixing rack.

The third rack 54 is a guide plate 6 that is curved with the roller pairs 56 and 58.
It has 0a, 60b, 60c and a rack cleaning conduit 62. In this case, the pipe line 62 is directed toward the guide plate 60b and a plurality of small holes 6
1 is formed, and the others are configured in the same manner as the above-mentioned pipe line 42, and a plurality of small holes (not shown) are formed respectively, and at the same time, from the small holes 61 through the driving action of the solenoid valve (not shown). The cleaning water is jetted to the three racks 54. Further, the lower wall 63 can partition the fixing portion 48 and the water washing portion 64.

Then, a water-washing rack that constitutes the water-washing section 64 is arranged on the outlet side of the third rack 54, and the water-washing rack is immersed in the water-washing water stored in the tank 68, and its outlet side is provided to the squeeze section 70. To face. The squeeze section 70 is composed of a pair of rollers 69 and a guide plate 71, and the film A, which is conveyed vertically upward from the water washing section 64, is deviated by 90 ° and conveyed to the drying section 74.

As shown in FIG. 1, if a squeeze roller cleaning tank 72 (see Japanese Patent Application No. 61-163217) is provided below the squeeze roller pair 69 to wash the rollers therebelow, the squeeze roller is accumulated in the wash water. It is preferable because the thiosulfate that can adhere to the can be effectively washed.

In the drying section 74, a roller group 75a composed of a plurality of rollers contacting one surface of the film A, and a roller composed of a plurality of rollers contacting the other surface of the film A and arranged alternately with the roller group 75a. And a group 75b. The roller group 75a side is provided with a plurality of air blowing tubes 76a facing the respective rollers of the roller group 75b, and the roller group 75b side is provided with a plurality of air blowing tubes 76b facing the respective rollers of the roller group 75a. Are installed. In this case, the air outlet pipe 7
The slits 6a and 76b are provided with slit-like openings for drying air for ejecting warm air toward the film A conveyed between the roller groups 75a and 75b.

A pair of rollers (not shown) is provided on the outlet side of the drying section 74, and a pair of rollers (not shown) is arranged vertically below the pair of rollers. A film storage section is provided further below the roller pair.

The automatic developing device according to the present embodiment is basically constructed as described above, and its operation and effect will be described below.

The exposed film A reaches the detection section 16 through a film carry-in port formed in the automatic developing device 10 via a transport system (not shown).

When the film A passes through the detecting section 16, the micro switch is turned on and the film A is automatically developed by the developing device 10.
It is determined that it has been loaded into the house. Then, the detection unit 16
The film A that has passed through is transferred vertically downward through the first rack 24 under the driving action of the control unit for the developing unit (not shown), and then is held by the developing rack and immersed in the developing solution in the tank 30. It Further, the film A is conveyed in the tank 30 to the second rack 34 side with its traveling direction deviated by 180 °. The film A reaching the second rack 34 is transferred to the fixing rack with the traveling direction thereof deviated by 180 ° through the guide plates 40a and 40b and the roller pair 36 provided therein, and is transferred to the fixing unit 48 in the tank 52. Is introduced into the fixer stored in. The film A is a developing unit.
As with 28, it was transferred vertically upward, and the third rack 54
Guide plates 60a, 60b, 60c and roller pairs 56, 58 provided on the
After being conveyed in the vertical downward direction via the washing machine, it is washed in the tank 68 of the washing section 64 via the washing rack. After the cleaning, the film A is conveyed to the squeeze unit 70 to squeeze the water adhering thereto, and then introduced into the drying unit 74.

In this case, the film A is transferred by sliding its both side surfaces on the roller groups 75a and 75b, and hot air (about 55 ° C.) blown out from the dry air blowing openings of the plurality of air blowing tubes 76a and 76b on the way. ), All the water adhering to both sides of the film A is evaporated. Therefore, when the film A is finally stored in the film storage portion via a pair of rollers (not shown), the film A is preferably dried at the end of the developing process.

Here, the respective racks 34, 54 are arranged in association with the tanks 30, 52 for storing the respective processing solutions, and the films A to which the processing solutions are attached are conveyed to the racks 34, 54. Therefore, Rack
Since the developing solution and the fixing solution adhere to 34 and 54, respectively, it is necessary to clean the racks 34 and 54 to remove the adhering developing solution and the fixing solution. Therefore, for example, the second rack 34
The operation of cleaning the above will be described below.

First, the conveyance of the film A to the automatic developing device 10 is stopped, and a solenoid valve (not shown) is switched to supply the cleaning water to the pipe line 42 under its action. The cleaning water introduced into the pipe 42 is ejected to the outside from a plurality of small holes 44, 46 and is supplied to the guide plates 40a and 40b and the roller pair 36 which are arranged in the vicinity of the pipe 42. Therefore, the guide plates 40a and 40b and the roller pair 36 are cleaned. After all, the second rack 34 can be used without disassembling the automatic developing device 10.
The developer adhering to the guide plates 40a, 40b and the roller pair 36 constituting the above can be automatically and efficiently removed by the cleaning water supplied from the pipe line 42. In this case,
If the roller pair 36 is rotated, the cleaning water will be
Since it is reliably supplied to the entire surface of 36, the second rack
It becomes possible to perform the cleaning work of 34 more effectively.

On the other hand, also in the third rack 54, the guide plates 60a, 60b, 60c and the roller pair 56 are provided in the conduit 6 as in the second rack 34 described above.
It will be easily appreciated that the cleaning water sprayed from 2 is suitable for cleaning.

In the present embodiment, a plurality of small holes (44, 46, etc.) are provided in the rack cleaning pipelines 42 and 62, but the same effect can be obtained by forming a slit-like cleaning water injection opening. Needless to say

In the above-described embodiment, the pipelines 42, 62 are connected to the washing water supply pipe to the washing unit 64 via the electromagnetic pump, but the washing water stored in the tank 68 of the washing unit 64 is used. It is also possible to supply to the pipe lines 42 and 62 by a pump.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment,
For example, various improvements and design changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention, for example, the number of rack cleaning pipelines provided in the transfer section can be increased or decreased as necessary. Is.

(Embodiment) An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.

Example 1 FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a main part of a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material processing apparatus used in the present invention.

16 is a film detection unit, 30 is a developing tank, 52 is a fixing tank, 68 is a washing bath tank, 72 is a squeeze roller washing tank,
74 is a drying unit, A is a film, 36 is a developing-fixing crossover rack roller pair, 56 is a fixing-washing crossover rack roller pair, 42 is a developing-fixing crossover rack roller pair automatic cleaning device, and 62 is Fixing-washing crossover rack roller pair automatic cleaning device and 69 are squeeze roller pairs.

The film inserted from the exposed film carry-in port of FIG. 1 passes through the film detecting section 16 and is developed in the developing tank 30, and the unexposed silver halide is fixed and removed in the fixing tank 52. Next, the film is transferred to the washing bath tank 68 to remove the fixer component contained in the film film,
The squeeze roller pair 69, which is immersed in the bath of the squeeze roller cleaning tank 72 at the upper part of 68, removes the washing water containing various chemicals from the film, and the sensitive material and / or the processing agent components on the roller surface are washed off. Since fresh water to the cleaning tank 72 is set to be supplemented as the water during this period in the 68 and 72 are sequentially supplemented in the direction of 72 from 68, S ₂ O ₃ salts adhering to the squeeze roller pair 69 The washing of such chemicals is effectively performed, and water can be saved, so that the silver concentration can be maintained high and the silver recovery efficiency is increased. Further, a part or all of the washing waste liquid can be transferred to the fixing tank 52 for use.
The film thus washed with water is stored via the drying section 74.

Furthermore, at the end of the development work of one day, the roller pair 36 of the crossover that comes out of the liquid surface between the developing and fixing steps and the roller pair 56 of the crossover that comes out of the liquid surface between the fixing and washing steps The anti-mildew roller of the invention is a crossover rack roller automatic cleaning device that cleans the adhered substances on the roller surface by intermittently blowing out 10 small holes over the entire width of the rotating roller which rotates 80 ml of water each. 42 and
62 installed. The cleaning water of the crossover roller was allowed to drip into the developer tank and the fixer tank as it was.

The following experiment was conducted using the automatic processor having the above-mentioned configuration.

Development tank 30 7.5 Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. developer for X-ray sensitive material RD-V.
20 ml of the starter was added to 1 to fill the developer tank, and thereafter, 50 ml of the replenisher was replenished each time a 4-section size (10 inch × 12 inch) sheet was developed.

Fixing tank 52 7.5 Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. X-ray fixing solution for sensitive material Fuji F
Was filled in the fixing tank, and thereafter, the replenishing solution was replenished in an amount of 60 ml each time when development processing was performed on one sheet of four-section size.

Washing bath tank 68 6.0 Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid / disodium / dihydrate 0.5 g /
First filled with aqueous solution, then squeeze roller cleaning tank
The entire wash water was overflowed from the wash bath tank 68 while maintaining the liquid level so that the overflow liquid was replenished from 72.

Squeeze roller washing tank 72 300 ml First, fill the aqueous solution with the same composition as the washing bath tank 68, and then add 60 ml of the aqueous solution with the same composition each time it is developed into a quarter size sheet, keeping the solution level Overflowed to.

Crossover rack cleaning water From the stock tank (about 25) of the same composition as the aqueous solution supplied to the above 72 to 68, 80 ml of each is added to the crossover rack automatic cleaning devices 42 and 62 by the bellows pump at the end of the development work of one day. Was supplied, and the whole area of the rotating roller was sprayed through small holes to be cleaned.

The sensitive material used is HRS, a medical X-ray photographic sensitive material manufactured by the same company.
The developing and fixing temperatures are 35 ° C., the washing temperature is between 20 and 25 ° C., the developing time is 23 seconds, and the overall Dry to Dry processing time is 110 seconds.

The running experiments as described above were continued for 50 months / day, for three months each.

In this way, I continued running for three months with the crossover roller installed every day, but the small holes in the crossover rack roller cleaning device did not get clogged with water and there was no water buildup inside the device. Therefore, the water stain did not adhere to the surface of the treated film. The washing water of the 68 and 72 tanks did not generate water marks, did not cause precipitation of aluminum, and the washability of the photosensitive material after treatment was good, and not only did the surface not get dirty, but daily maintenance of the automatic processing machine. Easy maintenance (cleaning the rollers of the crossover, washing the washing tank, etc.) is now possible.

Example 2 A running experiment was conducted in the same manner as in Example 1 except for the points described below.

[Supply Water to Washing Bath Tank 68 and Squeeze Roller Washing Tank 72] Tap water is supplied to 72/68 only when the photosensitive material is processed, and 72 to 68 is supplied.
Overflowed to. 8% wt /% of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid / disodium / dihydrate at the end of the development process in one day
72 to 68 while diluting 40 ml of vol aqueous solution with tap water 20 times
Supplied to. The next day's development work was also carried out by supplying ordinary tap water.

[Crossover rack roller wash water]

Similar to the above, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid disodium
An 8% wt / vol aqueous solution of dihydrate was supplied into the cleaning device while being diluted 20 times with tap water, and was blown out from the small holes at the end of the day's work to clean the surface of the squeeze roller.

In this way, we continued running for three months with the crossover rollers installed daily, but the small holes in the crossover rack roller cleaning devices 42 and 62 did not become clogged with water, and the surface of the film was treated with water marks. It has never been attached to.

Of course, no water marks were generated in the 68 and 72 tanks, and there was no day-to-day maintenance of the automatic processing machine, which enabled easy maintenance work.

Example 3 (1) Preparation of Silver Halide Emulsion An appropriate amount of ammonia was added to a container heated to 55 ° C. containing gelatin, potassium bromide and water, and pA in the reaction container was then added.
While maintaining the g value at 7.60, add an aqueous solution of silver nitrate and an aqueous solution of potassium bromide containing hexachloroiridium (III) so that the molar ratio of iridium to silver is 10 ^-7 moles by the double jet method to obtain an average particle size. Is 0.70
Two types of monodisperse silver bromide emulsion grains of μ and 0.40 μ were prepared by changing the amount of ammonia. In these emulsion grains, 98% of the total number of grains were present within ± 40% of the average grain size.
In the latter stage of grain formation, 1 × 10 ⁻³ mol of potassium iodide was added per mol of silver. After desalting these emulsions, adjust the pH.
After adjusting 6.2 and pAg to 8.6, gold and sulfur sensitization was performed with sodium thiosulfate and chloroauric acid to obtain desired photographic properties. When the (100) face / (111) face ratio of these emulsions was measured by the Kubelka-Munk method, it was 93/7.

(2) Preparation of Emulsion Coating Solution 0.5 kg of each of the above two emulsions was weighed in a container and heated to 40 ° C. to dissolve the emulsion, and then the following infrared sensitizing dye in methanol (9 × 10 ⁻⁴⁾ Mol /) 30 cc, aqueous solution of the following supersensitizer (4.4 x 10 ^-3 mol /) 130 cc, methanol solution of the following sensitizer improving agent (2.8 x 10 ^-2 mol /) 35 c
c, 4-Hydroxy-6-methyl-1,3,3a, 7-tetrazaindene aqueous solution, coating aid dodecylbenzene sulphonate aqueous solution, thickener polypotassium-p-vinylbenzene sulphonate compound aqueous solution Was added to prepare an emulsion coating solution.

(Infrared sensitizing dye) (Supersensitizer) 4,4'-bis [4,6-di (naphthyl-2-oxy) pyrimidin-2-ylamino] stilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid disodium salt Agent) (3) Preparation of coating solution for surface protective layer of light-sensitive material layer To 10 wt% gelatin aqueous solution heated at 40 ° C, thickener sodium polystyrene sulphonate aqueous solution, matting agent polymethylmethacrylate fine particles (average particle size 3.0 μm ),
Hardener N, N'-ethylenebis- (vinylsulphonylacetamide), coating aid t-octylphenoxyethoxyethaneethanesulphonate aqueous solution and polyethylene surfactant as antistatic agent A coating solution was prepared by adding an aqueous solution of a fluorine-containing compound.

C ₈ F ₁₇ SO ₂ N (C ₃ H ₇ ) CH ₂ COOK and C ₈ F ₁₇ SO ₂ N (C ₃ H ₇ ) (CH ₂ CH ₂ -O ₁₅ H (4) Preparation of back coating solution to 10 wt% aqueous gelatin solution 1kg was warmed, thickeners polystyrenesulfonic Huong aqueous solution of sodium Batsuku aqueous dye solutions of the following (5 × 10- ² mol /) 50 cc, hardeners N, N'
A coating solution was prepared by adding an ethylene bis- (vinylsulphonylacetamide) aqueous solution and a coating aid sodium t-octylphenoxyethoxyethanesulphonate aqueous solution.

(Back dye) (5) Preparation of coating liquid for surface protective layer of backing layer 10 wt% gelatin aqueous solution heated to 40 ° C., thickening agent sodium polystyrene sulphonate aqueous solution, matting agent polymethylmethacrylate fine particles (average particle size 3.0 μm), A coating solution was prepared by adding a coating auxiliary agent, an aqueous solution of sodium t-octylphenoxyethoxyethanesulphonate, an aqueous solution of a polyethylene-based surfactant as an antistatic agent, and an aqueous solution of a fluorine-containing compound having the following structure.

C ₈ F ₁₇ SO ₂ N (C ₃ H ₇ ) CH ₂ COOK and C ₈ F ₁₇ SO ₂ N (C ₃ H ₇ ) (CH ₂ CH ₂ -O ₁₅ H (6) Preparation of coating sample Back layer described above The coating solution was coated together with the coating solution for the surface protective layer of the backing layer on one side of the polyethylene terephthalate support so that the coating amount of gelatin was 4 g / m ^2, and then on the opposite side of the support (2). The emulsion coating solution containing the near-infrared sensitizing dye described above and the coating solution for the surface protective layer are applied so that the coating silver amount is 3.5 g / m ² and the swelling percentage of the coating film is 100%. Thus, the amount of the hardener in the coating film for the surface protective layer was adjusted for coating.

(7) Method of measuring swelling rate a) The coated sample was subjected to the ink incubation treatment at 38 ° C. and 50% relative humidity, b) the thickness of the layer was measured, and c) dipping in distilled water at 21 ° C. for 3 minutes, And d) measuring the percentage change in layer thickness compared to the layer thickness measured in step b).

<Processing> The compositions of the concentrated solutions of the developing solution and the fixing solution are as follows.

<Developer concentrate> Potassium hydroxide 56.6g Sodium sulfite 200g Diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid 6.7g Potassium carbonate 16.7g Boric acid 10g Hydroquinone 83.3g Diethylene glycol 40g 4-Hydroxymethyl-4-methyl-1-phenyl-3-pyrazolidone 5.5g 5 -Methylbenzotriazole 2g Adjust to 1 with water (adjust to pH 11.00).

Replenisher Kit size 5 <Fixer concentrate> Ammonium thiosulfate 560g Sodium sulfite 60g Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid / disodium dihydrate 0.10g Sodium hydroxide 24g Adjust to 1 with water (adjust to pH 5.10 with acetic acid) Replenisher Liquid kit size 5 <Water stock tank liquid> Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid disodium salt / dihydrate 0.5g / 60 seconds processing with automatic developing machine Dry to Dry Developing tank (30) 7.5 35 ℃ x 11.5 seconds Fixing tank (52) 7.5 35 ℃ × 12.5 seconds Water washing tank (68) 6.0 20 ° C × 7.5 seconds Squeeze roller washing tank (72) 200 ml Water stock tank 25 Dry 50 ° C However, although a heater was used to maintain the temperature of both developer and fixing tank, it was cooled. No water was used.

When the development processing was started, each tank was filled with the following processing solutions.

Developing tank: Add 333 ml of the above concentrated developer solution, 667 ml of water and 10 ml of an aqueous solution containing 2 g of potassium bromide and 1.8 g of acetic acid to adjust the pH.
It was 10.50.

Fixing tank: 250 ml of the above fixing solution concentrate and 750 ml of water Washing tank (68) and washing tank (72): The same composition as the above stock tank solution The above photosensitive material B4 size (25.7 cm x 36.4 cm) 1 sheet is processed 20 ml of developer concentrate and 40 ml of stock tank water in the developing tank each time 10 ml of fixer concentrate in the fixing tank and overflow liquid of the washing tank (68) 30 ml From the squeeze roller washing tank (72) to the washing tank (68) in stock tank water ( The running treatment was continued for 3 months by replenishing 60 ml in the direction opposite to the film direction. At the end of the development work for one day, the stock tank liquid was supplied to the roller cleaning devices 42 and 62 of the crossover rack by 80 ml pumps and blown out from the small holes to clean the rollers 36 and 56, respectively. During this period, a new replenisher was added in the same manner if the developer, fixer and water were all consumed. During this period, high-performance photographic characteristics were obtained by easy operation without any maintenance except supply of the replenisher stock solution and water.

Further, the same procedure was carried out as described above except that the following were used in equimolar amounts instead of the infrared sensitizing dye, the supersensitizer and the sensitizing material storability improver used in the preparation of the emulsion coating solution. However, exactly the same result was obtained.

(Infrared sensitizing dye) (Supersensitizer) 4,4'-bis [2,6-di (naphthyl-2-oxy) pyrimidin-4-ylamino] stilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid disodium salt Agent) (Effects of the Invention) As described above, according to the present invention, the rack cleaning pipe is provided in the transfer section for transferring the photographic light-sensitive material to each processing tank in order to perform development or the like, and the rack cleaning pipe is specified from the pipe. The anti-mold means is supplied as cleaning water to remove the treatment liquid adhering to the rack. For this reason, it is possible to automatically and quickly perform the cleaning work of the transfer section, which was conventionally performed by the worker himself. Furthermore, the maintenance of the transfer section cleaning device becomes easier. As a result, the cleaning operation of the transfer section, which has to be performed relatively frequently, is simplified, and the automatic developing device can be operated more efficiently.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an internal explanatory diagram of an automatic developing apparatus according to the present invention. Fig. 2 shows the transfer section (crossover section) in the automatic processor.
FIG. 10 ... Automatic developing device, 16 ... Film detecting unit, 24 ... Lack, 28 ... Developing unit, 30 ... Developing tank, 34 ... Lack, 36 ... Roller pair, 40a, 40b ... Guide plate, 42 …… Pipeline, 44,46 …… Small hole, 48 …… Fixing section, 52 …… Fixing tank, 54 …… Rack, 56,58 …… Roller pair, 60a, 60b, 60c…
… Guide plate, 61 …… Small hole, 62 …… Pipeline, 64 …… Washing section,
68 …… washing bath tank, 69 …… squeeze roller pair, 70 ……
Squeeze section, 72 ... Squeeze roller cleaning tank, 74 ... Drying section.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A method for cleaning an automatic developing apparatus for automatically developing an exposed silver halide photographic light-sensitive material, the method comprising developing, fixing and washing or stabilizing the photographic light-sensitive material sequentially into respective processing tanks. At least one crossover transfer part cleaning pipe for transfer is provided in at least one crossover transfer part provided between the respective tanks, and ultraviolet irradiation, magnetic field irradiation, ion exchange resin treatment and amino treatment are performed. Water treated with at least one antifungal means of addition of at least one compound selected from polycarboxylic acids and phosphonic acids is supplied from the conduit to remove the treatment liquid adhering to the crossover transfer section. A method for cleaning an automatic developing device, comprising: