JP3174381B2 - Development processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a developing apparatus for developing a film or photographic paper, and more particularly to a control for automatically maintaining the components and concentrations of a processing solution at a constant level.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As is well known, a color film is formed by coating a photosensitive material containing a photosensitive material in multiple layers on a plastic support, and the photosensitive material may be silver halide (eg, AgCl, AgBr, AgI) is used. A color paper (color photographic paper) transferred from a developed color film has the same structure, and the photosensitive material is applied in multiple layers on a paper support.

A color film after imaging is developed by performing a plurality of processing steps in a film development processing apparatus. Specifically, a series of steps such as a color developing step, a bleaching step, a fixing step, and a stabilizing step are performed. In the development of photographic paper, the bleaching step and the fixing step may be performed in the same processing tank.

[0004] Each processing solution used in each of these steps is:
The components, concentration, and pH must be proper. If any of the values deviate from the proper values, development becomes extremely poor. As is well known, in a color development step, a film is put into a developer having a color development action, and silver (Ag) and a dye are generated by a chemical reaction. At this time, A
The halogen (for example, Br) separated from g is released from the film and mixed into the developer.

In the bleaching step and the fixing step, silver and silver halide in the film are dissolved and removed. With this,
Only the so-called dye image remains in the film, and the silver image is removed. Thereafter, a stabilization step is performed, whereby unnecessary chemicals are washed. The developed image is transferred from the film to a color paper coated with a photosensitive material by exposure. The development of the color paper is performed by a color paper development processing apparatus. In the apparatus, basically the same steps as those of the above color film developing apparatus are executed, and finally, the printed image is printed. A color paper is obtained. Although the above description is for a color film and the like, development is performed in substantially the same steps for a black and white film and the like.

In a conventional developing apparatus, a replenisher (usually a replenisher) dedicated to each step is prepared for each step in order to replenish the processing liquid which is insufficient in each step as the processing is performed. When the processing liquid runs short due to the execution of the processing, the normal processing liquid is automatically replenished. Here, the normal replenisher is composed of one or a plurality of predetermined chemicals that are insufficient with the processing.

The replenishment will be specifically described by taking a development processing step as an example.

In the developing step, a developing solution is placed in a processing tank. This developer is composed of various agents such as a developing agent, a preservative, a development accelerator, and a pH adjusting agent. Incidentally, the developing solution contains not only an agent replenished from the outside but also an agent dissolved from the film (for example, Br acting as a development inhibitor).

As is well known, a developing agent has a function of reducing exposed silver halide to silver by reduction, and a function of forming a dye in cooperation with a coupler in a film.

Therefore, if the developing process is continued, the developing agent in the processing solution in the developing tank becomes insufficient, and it is necessary to replenish the developing agent. Therefore, a replenisher is usually prepared,
It is replenished. Here, the replenisher usually contains a developing agent as a main component and further contains a preservative and the like.

Here, the preservative is composed of a chemical that is easily oxidized such as sulfite, hydroxylamine, or a mixture thereof, and is intended to prevent oxidation of the developing agent by being oxidized by itself. .

However, if a preservative is added in an excessively large amount to the developing solution, the color developing action is weakened and an adverse effect is caused. Contains a constantener.

[0013] By the way, conventional color development processing has been carried out by so-called experts mainly in a so-called color lab specializing in the color development processing. At present, a small development system called a mini lab is provided by many camera stores and the like. , And even people who do not know much about development (for example, preparation of a developing solution) can perform high-quality development. Note that this minilab includes, for example, a film developing device and a color paper developing device with a printer. In recent years, a system in which these two devices are integrated has been put to practical use.

Therefore, it is desirable that such a device handled by a non-expert automatically maintains the components and concentrations of the processing solution. In addition, there is a similar demand in a development processing apparatus handled by an expert in order to avoid complexity.

Therefore, in a conventional developing apparatus,
For example, the processing length of a development target is counted, and the normal replenisher is automatically replenished in each processing step accordingly.

Therefore, for example, in the conventional developing process, when the development proceeds to some extent and the amount of the developing solution decreases, the counter value indicating the film processing length becomes constant or in accordance with the progress speed of the counter value. Usually, the replenisher was replenished, and the component ratio of the developing solution was kept constant.

[0017]

However, in the above-mentioned mini-labs, since they are installed in ordinary camera stores, the frequency of use differs greatly depending on each device, and sometimes they are not used for several days or even one week at all. .
Then, during that period, the normal replenisher is not replenished because the process is not performed. In this case, oxidation of the preservative by air in the processing solution in the developing tank is promoted, and the component balance of the developing solution is lost.

That is, oxidation of the preservative acting as an antioxidant of the developing agent is gradually promoted in an unprocessed state, and the antioxidant effect is gradually reduced. As a result, the oxidation of the developing agent increases, and the developing ability of the developing agent decreases, resulting in defective development. Heretofore, when such a problem occurred when the apparatus was not used, a specialist engineer had to adjust the components of the processing solution, so that the cost was increased and the development quality control was complicated. The above problem is not limited to the developing solution, and similar problems occur in other processing solutions.

In the prior art, water is supplied to the processing liquid in accordance with the counter value or the like to maintain the concentration of the processing liquid constant. Since water evaporates more than the value, there has been a demand for a device capable of automatically replenishing necessary water according to the concentration of the processing solution.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and replenishes a normal replenisher and an adjusted replenisher in a well-balanced manner, or appropriately replenishes water, regardless of the frequency of use of the developing device. It is another object of the present invention to provide a developing apparatus capable of automatically maintaining the components and concentrations of the respective processing solutions within a certain range.

[0021]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a developing apparatus including a processing tank into which a developing object is loaded and unloaded. And a normal replenisher tank containing a normal replenisher containing a first agent for performing the first agent and a second agent for preventing the first agent from being oxidized. A normal replenishing means for replenishing the processing tank, an adjusting replenishing tank containing an adjusting replenisher containing the second agent as a main component, and a replenishing liquid discharged from the processing tank by overflow.
Measuring device for analyzing the content of specified components in discharged effluent
And an adjustment replenishing unit that replenishes the processing tank with the adjusted replenisher according to the content analysis result of the measurement device, and replenishes the adjusted replenisher when the predetermined process is not performed. Thus, the reduction of the second drug due to oxidation is compensated for.

Further, the invention according to claim 2 provides the treatment tank
Are provided, and the normal replenishment tank and the
And the adjustment replenishment tank is provided, and the measuring device is
Multiple storage tanks for storing effluents from multiple processing tanks
Discharging the storage tank selected from the plurality of storage tanks
An analysis tank to which a liquid is supplied.
For each effluent supplied to the tank,
The content of the constant component is analyzed .

Further, the invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that the processing
Measure the specific gravity of the processing solution in the tank, and send the measurement result to a specific gravity signal
Specific gravity measuring means for outputting as the specific gravity signal,
Supply water from the water tank into the treatment tank according to the weight.
Water replenishing means, wherein the specific gravity measuring means comprises a specific gravity meter
And a specific gravity calculating unit, wherein the specific gravity meter is a case fixed to the device, and a float that is housed in the case and moves up and down according to the specific gravity while projecting an upper end including a magnet piece above the water surface, In the vicinity of the upper end of the case, a plurality of magnetic sensors are arranged at different positions vertically at equal intervals, and a plurality of magnetic sensors are arranged at equal intervals at the case in the case. Yes and water level sensors that are the
The specific gravity calculation unit is configured to determine a value detected by the magnetic sensor
The specific gravity calculation is performed from the detection value of the water level sensor group .

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the measurement
The instrument measures the pH of the effluent in the tank for analysis.
Including a pH measuring instrument, and measuring the pH measuring instrument
A warning device for providing a warning when the value is equal to or more than a certain value is provided .

[0025]

[0026]

According to the construction of the first aspect, the normal replenishing tank containing the normal replenisher and the normal replenishing means are provided, so that the processing is performed in accordance with the processing amount of the predetermined processing as in the conventional case. The tank is usually replenished with replenisher. Therefore, when the predetermined process is in the execution state, replenishment similar to the conventional one is performed.

On the other hand, when the state in which the predetermined processing is not performed continues, the adjustment replenishing means replenishes the adjustment replenisher from the adjustment replenishment tank to the processing tank.

Here, since the replenishment liquid mainly contains the second chemical functioning as an antioxidant for the first chemical, the predetermined treatment is not executed, and the second chemical decreases due to oxidation. In this case, it is possible to supplement the second drug and prevent the first drug from being oxidized.

Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to replenish the replenisher according to the execution state and the non-execution state of the predetermined processing, and to stabilize the components of the processing liquid.

According to the second aspect of the present invention,
Inside multiple storage tanks that store effluents from multiple processing tanks
Is selected from the storage tank, and the effluent of the selected storage tank is
Is supplied to the analysis tank and supplied to the analysis tank.
Contain specified components for each of the treatment tanks
The amount is analyzed. Further, according to the third aspect of the present invention, the water replenishing means replenishes water into the processing tank based on the specific gravity measured by the specific gravity meter disposed in the processing tank, and adjusts the concentration of the processing liquid. be able to.

[0031] Then, according to the configuration of the third aspect, by detecting the magnetism of the magnetic strip which is arranged at the upper end of the float by the magnetic sensors, the measurement of specific gravity is carried out. In this case, since the water level sensor group is provided, the specific gravity can be measured without depending on the fluctuation of the liquid level.

[0032] According to the 請 Motomeko 4 described further, when the measurement value measured by Peha measuring instrument is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, a warning is performed, the user of the developing device of the maintenance by the warning Determine the need.

[0033]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic external view of a developing apparatus according to the present invention.

The development processing device 8 is for developing a color film or a color paper in this embodiment. In the following description, it is assumed that color film development is performed.

In this apparatus 8, from the left side, a color developing tank (D) 10, a bleaching tank (B) 12, and a first fixing tank (F1).
14, second fixing tank (F2) 16, first stabilizing tank (S1) 1
8, the second stabilization tank (S2) 20, the third stabilization tank (S3) 2
2 are respectively arranged and passed from film D to S3.

Here, the first fixing tank 14 and the second fixing tank 1
Numeral 6 communicates with the inside, so that the processing liquid flows from the first fixing tank to the second fixing tank. Similarly, the first stabilizing tank 16, the second stabilizing tank 18, and the third stabilizing tank 22 are in communication with each other, and there is a flow of the processing liquid from the first stabilizing tank to the third stabilizing tank.

Each tank has a main tank 10a, 1
2a, 14a, 16a, 18a, 20a, 22a and sub-tanks 10b, 12b, 14b, 16b, 18b, 2
0b and 22b.

Further, the apparatus 8 is provided with a water tank 24 for supplying water to each processing tank. The tank 26 in the apparatus 8 contains a normal replenisher (d) to be replenished to the color developing tank 10, and the tank 28 contains a normal replenisher (b) to be supplied to the bleaching tank 12. The tank 30 contains a normal replenisher (f) to be supplied to the fixing tanks 14 and 16, and the tank 32 contains a normal replenisher (s) supplied to the stabilization tanks 18, 20, and 22. It is a thing. As these ordinary replenishers, replenishers similar to the conventional replenishers are used.

In the present invention, tanks 34, 36, 38, and 40 containing various adjustment replenishers are provided for replenishing various chemicals mainly lacking when the apparatus is not used.

The tank 34 is for storing an adjustment replenisher (d ') to be replenished to the color developing tank 10 and a tank 36.
Is a tank for storing an adjusted replenisher (b ') to be replenished in the bleaching tank 12, a tank 38 is for storing an adjusted replenisher (f') to be replenished in the fixing tanks 14 and 16, and a tank 40 is provided therein. Is a tank for adding an adjusting replenisher (s') to be added to the stabilizing tanks 18, 20, 22. These adjustment replenishers will be described later in detail.

Next, the components of each processing solution will be described for reference.

The color developing solution (D) is composed of the following chemicals in the same manner as in the prior art.

[0044]

[Table 1] The components of the color developing solution are merely examples, and various components have been conventionally used. Usually, the replenisher (d) is constituted by the chemicals shown in Table 1 (at different concentrations), but the development inhibitor is removed or added in a small amount. In this embodiment, the adjusted replenisher (d
As'), preservative 1 shown in Table 1 or a mixture of preservative 1 and preservative 2 is used. That is, as described later, when the color development is not performed,
Since the preservative 1 and the preservative 2 for preventing the oxidation of the developing agent in the color developing solution (D) are oxidized and their antioxidant action is reduced, they are replenished during such non-development. An adjusted replenisher (d ') is prepared as a replenisher.

The bleaching solution (B) contains a chelate compound (Fe
(II), a liquid obtained by mixing Fe (III) + EDTA) and ammonium bromide, and its normal replenisher (b) is also composed of almost the same chemicals.

The fixing solution (F) is composed of the chemicals shown in Table 2 below.

[0047]

[Table 2] The normal replenisher (f) is composed of the drugs shown in Table 2. Here, in this embodiment, the fixing solution (F)
As the replenisher (f '), a liquid containing a preservative 3 as a main agent shown in Table 2 is used.

That is, when the fixing process is not performed, oxidation of the preservative in the fixing solution proceeds, and it is necessary to prevent oxidation of the fixing agent.
Replenish preservative 3 with.

The stabilizer (S) is composed of formalin and a surfactant, and its replenisher (s) is usually composed of the same chemical.

In the present embodiment, the replenisher (b ') to be replenished to the bleaching tank 12 and the replenisher (s') to be replenished to the stabilizers 18, 20, and 22 are not particularly prepared. When a need arises for replenishment of a solution containing a drug composition different from those of the normal replenishers, tanks 36 and 4
The supply of the adjustment replenisher can be performed by utilizing 0.

Next, a color developing step will be described as an example of a processing step with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 schematically shows a cross section of the color developing tank 10 containing the color developing solution (D). As described above, the color developing tank 10 includes the main tank 10a and the sub tank 10b.

A film 42 is provided inside the main tank 10a.
The film is fed at a constant speed and is taken in and out of the main tank 10a. In the sub tank 10a, the filter 4
4. Temperature control heater 46 and thermistor 48
Are arranged, and the temperature is controlled by the controller 50.

A specific gravity meter 52 for measuring the specific gravity of the color developing solution (D) is arranged in the main tank 10a, and the specific gravity meter 52 will be described later in detail with reference to FIG. Incidentally, the specific gravity meter 52 may be arranged in the sub tank.

A pump 54 is provided below the sub tank 10b.
The color developer (D) is circulated between the main tank 10a and the sub tank 10b by driving the pump 54. The color developing solution overflowing from the main tank 10a passes through a tube 56 and is sent to an analyzer / measurement apparatus described later with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 2, in this embodiment, the supply of each replenisher and the supply of water are controlled by a controller 50. Specifically, each of the tanks 24, 26, and 3 is controlled.
4 and a pump 58 provided between the sub tank 10b and
60 and 62 are controlled by the controller 50 to control the replenishment amount of water or replenisher.

The controller 50 is connected to a counter 64 for counting the film processing amount, that is, the film length, and receives a count signal. Further, a display 66 and an alarm 68 are connected to the controller 50. The operation of the controller 50 will be described later in detail with reference to FIG.

Next, the specific structure of the hydrometer will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

FIG. 3 shows the main tank 10 shown in FIG.
The specific structure of the hydrometer 52 arranged at a is shown. A lower case 74 is fixed to the wall surface of the main tank 10a via two fixing arms 70 and 72, and an upper case 76 is screwed to the lower case 74. That is, the lower case 74 and the upper case 76 can be separated from each other. By removing the upper case 76, the float 78 described below can be replaced.

The float 78 accommodated in the case rises and falls according to the specific gravity of the processing solution 80 (for example, the color developing solution D), and has a weight 78a at its lower end.

The upper portion of the float 78 is formed to have a small diameter, and a magnetic piece 80 is provided at the upper end.

On the other hand, in the upper case 76, a plurality of magnetic sensors 82a for detecting the magnetism of the magnetic piece 80 are arranged. These magnetic sensors 82a are vertically arranged at equal intervals, for example, 20 at a distance of 2 mm. Is done. In the present embodiment, the magnetic pieces 82a are arranged spirally around the upper end of the float 78.

On the other hand, near the water surface of the lower case, a water level sensor 84a composed of a resistor or the like is arranged. Specifically, similarly to the arrangement structure of the magnetic sensors 82a, 20 magnetic sensors 82a are arranged vertically at equal intervals, for example, 2 mm. Here, the water level sensors 84a are also spirally arranged. In the figure, reference numeral 86 denotes an opening for discharging the overflowing processing liquid, and the lower case 7
4, an opening is formed in the side wall and the lower wall.

With the above configuration, the float 78 moves up and down according to the ratio of the processing liquid 80, and the magnetism of the magnetic piece 80 is detected by one of the magnetic sensors 82a. That is, the position of the magnetic sensor 82a having the largest detection value among them indicates the vertical position of the float.

However, since the case of the hydrometer itself is fixed, it is necessary to determine the height of the water level. For this reason, the plurality of water level sensors 84a described above are arranged. Here, it can be determined that the time when the resistance value indicated by the series of water level sensors 84a sharply changes is the level of the water level. Although not shown in FIG. 3, each magnetic sensor 8
2a and the output signal of the water level sensor 84a are shown in FIG.
Are output to the controller 50 shown in FIG. Incidentally, the hydrometer is arranged for each tank.

Next, an analysis / measurement apparatus will be described with reference to FIG.

Each of the main tanks 10a, 12a, 14a,
Each processing liquid overflowing from 18a is temporarily stored in storage tank 88. Here, the storage tank 88 is arranged for each processing liquid, and a constant processing liquid is always stored in each storage liquid. If the storage amount exceeds a certain amount, each processing liquid is separated into a waste liquid tank (not shown) and discarded.

An electromagnetic valve is provided at the lower part of each storage tank 88, and by turning on / off the electromagnetic valve,
Any one of the treatment liquids is selected and supplied to an analysis tank 90 provided below the storage tank 88. In the vicinity of the analysis tank 90, a light source 94 for emitting predetermined measurement light is provided.
And a light receiver 96 that receives the measurement light emitted from the light source via the measurement tank 90.

The motor 9 is provided in the measuring tank 90.
A stirrer 100 rotated by 8 is provided.
Further, a pH sensor 104 immersed in the buffer solution 102 is prepared near the measurement tank 90 except during measurement, and the pH sensor 104 is transported to the measurement tank 90 by the transport mechanism 106 during pH measurement.
A pipe for supplying various liquids is guided to the measuring tank 90 via an electromagnetic valve.

The analyzer / measurement device configured as described above has a pH measurement function, a predetermined component amount measurement function, and a (turbidity) transparency measurement function. These functions will be described in detail below.

When a request for pH measurement occurs for any of the processing liquids stored in the storage tank 88, a predetermined amount of the processing liquid is stored in the measurement tank 90. And
The driving of the transport mechanism 106 guides the pH sensor 104 into the measuring tank 90, whereby pH measurement is performed. The detection signal is output to the controller 50 shown in FIG.

In this embodiment, a pH measurement is performed on the bleaching solution (B) and the fixing solution (F).

Next, the measurement of the component amount will be described. In the present embodiment, the measurement of the component amount includes two measurements, namely, the measurement of the component amount of the preservative and the measurement of the Br amount.

When measuring the component amount of the preservative, either a color developing solution (D) or a fixing solution (F) is put into a measuring tank 90 in a fixed amount, and in that state, the reagents 1 and A predetermined amount of the titrant 1 is introduced into the predetermined amount measuring tank 90. Thereafter, the measuring light 4 of the light source 94 emits light, and the light is received by the light receiver 96. Here, for example, if discoloration occurs, the measurement of the amount of the preservative in the treatment liquid is performed by the above titration from the change in the amount of measurement light. The measurement of the component amounts is exactly the same for Br, in which case the reagent 2 and the titrant 2 are introduced into the measurement tank 90.

In this embodiment, the transparency of the stable liquid (S) is measured in order to grasp the state of the stabilizing liquid (S). In this case, first, a certain amount of the stabilizing liquid is put into the measuring tank 90, and then light emission by the light source 94 and light reception by the light receiver 96 are performed.
The transparency is determined from the amount of received light.

During the measurement, the inside of the processing tank 90 is washed by injecting the washing water.

Next, a specific operation of the controller 50 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 shows only main circuits in the controller 50.

The normal replenisher replenishment control unit 108 shown at the upper right in FIG. 9 receives the count signal from the counter 64 shown in FIG. 2, that is, a signal indicating the film length, and supplies the normal replenisher to each processing tank. Replenishment is performed. That is,
A normal replenisher depending on the processing amount is replenished to each treatment tank. Specifically, this control is performed by controlling the operation of a replenishment control pump (for example, 60) provided between each processing tank and each tank.

In FIG. 5, a density (specific gravity) calculation unit 110 shown at the upper left in the figure inputs a specific gravity signal of a specific gravity meter provided in each processing tank, and calculates the specific gravity of each processing tank from the signal. Things. The calculation result is supplied to the water replenishment controller 11.
Sent to 2. The water replenishment control unit 112 determines whether or not the specific gravity of each processing tank is within an appropriate range, and supplies a necessary amount of water to the processing tank whose specific gravity has increased due to evaporation or the like. Specifically, a pump (for example, 58) provided between the water tank 24 and each processing tank is controlled to supply a predetermined amount of water.

Conventionally, since a specific gravity meter was not provided, the specific gravity was artificially measured to replenish the water, which was very complicated. However, according to the present embodiment, the specific gravity was automatically measured. Water can be automatically replenished and the proper specific gravity can always be managed.

The light receiving signal from the light receiver 96 shown in FIG. 4 is input to the preservative amount calculating section 114, where the amount of the preservative as a titration result is calculated from the received light amount indicated by the light receiving signal. The amount of the preservative, which is the result of this calculation, is output and displayed on the display 66, and the adjusted replenisher replenishment control unit 116
Is output to The adjustment replenisher replenishment control unit 116 replenishes the processing tank with an adjustment replenisher containing a preservative when the amount of the preservative in the processing liquid becomes equal to or less than a predetermined value.

More specifically, with reference to FIG. 2, when the state in which the color developing process is not performed continues for a certain period, the oxidation amount of the preservative in the color developing solution (D) increases. Therefore, the developing agent may be oxidized. Therefore, in this embodiment, the amount of the preservative is measured and the controller 5
By the action of 0, it becomes possible to replenish the replenishing solution (d ′) containing the preservative from the tank 34 to the developing tank 10. This prevents oxidation of the developing agent. In addition,
When the processing is performed, the normal replenisher (d) is supplied to the developing tank 10 as in the conventional case, and the normal replenisher contains a certain amount of a preservative in addition to the developing agent. Therefore, there is no need to replenish the adjustment replenisher. Incidentally, as shown in FIG. 5, a timer 118 may be provided, and when the developing process is not performed for a certain period of time, a pre-calculated amount of the adjusting replenisher may be automatically added to each processing tank.

Here, in this embodiment, the replenishment with the adjusting replenisher is performed for the color developing tank 10 and the fixing tanks F1 and F2. As for other processing tanks, an adjustment replenisher may be prepared as needed, and the replenisher may be replenished with the normal replenisher when it is in a non-processing state.

In FIG. 5, a Br amount calculating section 120 receives a light receiving signal and calculates the amount of Br in the processing liquid from the light receiving amount indicated by the light receiving signal. And to the warning determination unit 122.

The turbidity calculator 124 receives the received light signal and calculates the turbidity indicating the transparency of the stable liquid from the amount of light indicated by the received light signal. I have.

Further, the pH signal output from the pH sensor 104 is input to a pH calculating unit 126, where the pH is calculated from the signal value, and the calculation result is output to the warning determining unit 122 in the same manner as described above.

Here, the warning determination section 122 determines whether or not the values of Br amount, transparency, and pH deviate from preset tolerances, respectively. If any of the values are out of the allowable value, the controller 5
A signal is output to an alarm 68 connected to 0, for example, to make an alarm by a buzzer or an alarm by display. Therefore, the user of the developing apparatus can confirm the operation of the entire developing apparatus by the screen of the display 66 and the alarm of the alarm 68. As described above, since it is not necessary to perform the measurement of the amount of the complex component or the complicated pH measurement, the labor of the user is greatly reduced.

In the above description, the developing apparatus for developing a color film has been described. However, the present invention can be applied to a developing apparatus for color paper having substantially the same configuration.

As described above, according to the development processing apparatus of this embodiment, when the development processing is in the execution state, the normal replenisher is replenished as in the conventional case, and when the state in which the development processing is not performed continues. The adjustment replenisher is replenished so that the components of the processing solution can always be maintained within a certain range regardless of whether the replenisher is used or not.

Further, in the apparatus of this embodiment, since a hydrometer, a component amount measuring device and a pH sensor are provided, the specific gravity of the processing solution can be managed and the components in the processing solution can be grasped. By such a comprehensive management of the processing solution, there is an effect that the optimum developing state can be always maintained. Therefore, a maintenance-free development processing apparatus can be basically provided.

[0090]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Even when the predetermined processing is not executed, the replenishment of the adjustment replenisher prevents the oxidation of the first chemical and maintains the appropriate development processing. Further, according to the present invention, there is an effect that water can be replenished in accordance with the specific gravity of the processing liquid and the concentration of each processing liquid can be made uniform. Further, according to the present invention, there is an effect that the specific gravity can be accurately measured while monitoring the height of the water level by the water level sensor.

[0091] Further, according to the present invention performs a pH measurement of the treatment liquid by measurement and pH measurement instrument containing the Jo Tokoro component, there is an effect that it is possible to generate a warning if necessary.

As described above, according to the present invention, there is an effect that a maintenance-free developing apparatus capable of automatically managing each processing solution can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view showing a schematic external appearance of a developing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic structure of a color developing tank 10 and replenishment control of a replenisher.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a section of a hydrometer.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing a schematic configuration of an analysis / measurement device.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a specific main configuration of the controller 50.

[Explanation of symbols]

 D Color developer B Bleach F1, F2 Fixer S1, S2, S3 Stabilizer d Normal replenisher for color developer b Normal replenisher for bleach f Normal replenisher for fixer s Normal replenisher for stabilizer d ' Adjustment replenisher for color developing solution f 'Adjustment replenisher for fixing solution 8 Developing device 50 Controller 52 Hydrometer

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A developing apparatus including a processing tank into and from which a development target is put and taken, and a first chemical for performing a predetermined processing on the development target and a first chemical agent thereof.
A normal replenishment tank containing a normal replenisher containing a second chemical for preventing oxidation of a chemical; and a normal replenisher for replenishing the processing tank with the normal replenisher according to a processing amount of the predetermined processing. An adjusting and replenishing tank containing an adjusting and replenishing solution containing the second agent as a main component, and a effluent discharged from the processing tank by overflow.
A measuring device for analyzing the content of a predetermined component, and an adjusting and replenishing means for replenishing the processing tank with the adjusting replenisher in accordance with the content analysis result of the measuring device , wherein the predetermined process is not executed. In the developing apparatus, the adjustment replenisher is replenished when the state is in a state to compensate for a decrease in the second chemical due to oxidation. 2. The development processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of said processing tanks are provided, and said measuring device includes a plurality of storage tanks for storing the effluents from said plurality of processing tanks.
And the effluent of the storage tank selected from the plurality of storage tanks
Anda analytical tanks supplied with respect to the discharge liquid supplied to the tank for the analysis, each treatment
A developing apparatus characterized in that the content of a predetermined component is analyzed for each treatment tank . 3. The developing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the specific gravity of the processing solution in the processing tank is measured, and the measurement result is obtained.
Specific gravity measuring means for outputting as a specific gravity signal, and water from the water tank according to the specific gravity indicated by the specific gravity signal.
Water replenishing means for supplying into the treatment tank , wherein the specific gravity measuring means comprises a specific gravity meter and a specific gravity calculating unit, wherein the specific gravity meter is housed in the case, and a case fixed to the apparatus. A float that moves up and down according to the specific gravity while projecting an upper end including a magnet piece above the water surface, and a plurality of magnets arranged near the upper end of the case while displacing each other vertically at equal intervals. A plurality of water level sensors arranged at equal intervals while making the positions of the sensors different from each other up and down , wherein the specific gravity calculating unit is configured to detect a value detected by the magnetic sensor and the water level.
A developing apparatus for performing a specific gravity calculation from a detection value of a sensor group . 4. The developing apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein said measuring device is a device for discharging a liquid discharged from said tank for analysis.
And a warning when the measured value of the pH meter is a certain value or more.
A developing device provided with a warning device for performing the following .