Cleaning and liquid contact with solids – Apparatus – Sequential work treating receptacles or stations with means...
Reexamination Certificate
2001-05-25
2003-02-04
Stinson, Frankie L. (Department: 1746)
Cleaning and liquid contact with solids
Apparatus
Sequential work treating receptacles or stations with means...
C134S06400P, C134S12200P, C134S12200P, C134S073000, C134S068000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06513539
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a submerged conveyance structure for photosensitive material. More specifically, it relates to a submerged conveyance structure for photosensitive material, the structure being applied to a photosensitive material processing device for executing predetermined processing by processing solutions stored in processing tanks, by conveying a photosensitive material to adjacent processing tanks via a path with a blade provided in a partition wall between the processing tanks.
2. Description of the Related Art
In an automatic developing device (such as a film processor, and a printer processor) used in a laboratory, a photosensitive material (such as film and color paper) is processed.
The film and the color paper are processed by being successively conveyed through processing tanks housing water or processing solutions for color development, bleaching fixation, washing with water, and stabilization.
The solution component composition and amount of the processing solution in each tank varies depending on the processing of the film or the color paper.
Therefore, new solution or water is replenished to each processing tank from a replenishing tank according to the amount of film or color paper processed so as to maintain the solution component composition and amount of the water or solution.
Recently, submerged conveyance by a process in which a washing tank is partitioned by a submerged seal such as a roller or a blade has been proposed for water washing tanks and such.
Conventional water washing tanks have a structure in which a photosensitive material is conveyed in the air once (so-called crossover) when the material is conveyed from a previous water washing tank to a next water washing tank. However, in submerged conveyance, by using a partition such as a roller or a blade in the crossover, the distance by which the material is conveyed is shortened so as to reduce processing time.
However, there has been the problem that, in such a submerged conveyance system, if there is a gap at the roller or the blade in the partition portion, solution is leaked from the previous bath to the next bath, whereby the solution concentration of the latter rises and water washing ability becomes poor.
Therefore, sealability between tanks drastically influences water washing ability in the submerged conveyance structure. In order to maintain water washing efficiency, it is necessary to increase the amount by which the washing water is replenished. Of course, it can be-expected that increasing the replenishing amount results in an increase of solution that is wasted.
Furthermore, even in tanks other than the water washing tanks, processing solution performance is reduced by solutions in respectively adjacent tanks becoming mixed.
Therefore, in order to maintain high performance and reduce the amount by which the solutions must be replenished, there has been a demand for a sealing method with little leakage amount.
However, the blade is a part that is movably deformed when the photosensitive material is conveyed, and it is thus extremely difficult to maintain the sealing property.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a submerged conveyance structure for photosensitive material, with the structure being capable of reliably preventing, with a small number of parts, leakage of solutions among processing tanks.
A submerged conveyance structure for photosensitive material pertaining to a first aspect of the present invention has a main body, the main body including a photosensitive material conveyance path for passage of a photosensitive material, the photosensitive material conveyance path formed in partition walls between processing tanks in which processing solutions are stored; a sheet-like blade, the blade disposed in the photosensitive material conveyance path and having an elasticity capable of allowing passage of the photosensitive material with respect to the photosensitive material conveyance path while preventing passage of the processing solutions; and a mounting member for mounting the blade to the photosensitive material conveyance path; wherein the photosensitive material conveyance path has a first tilted surface provided at the upstream side of the direction in which the photosensitive material is conveyed, the first tilted surface facing one surface of the photosensitive material and tilted by an acute angle toward the upstream side of the direction in which the photosensitive material is conveyed, with respect to a photosensitive material passage route, a second tilted surface provided at the upstream side of the direction in which the photosensitive material is conveyed, the second tilted surface facing the other surface of the photosensitive material and tilted by an acute angle toward the upstream side of the direction in which the photosensitive material is conveyed, with respect to the photosensitive material passage route, and a slit hole provided at the downstream side of the direction in which the photosensitive material is conveyed, the slit hole opening toward one of the first tilted surface and the second tilted surface, the slit hole being formed lengthwise in a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the photosensitive material is conveyed, and the blade covers the slit hole in a state in which an end edge extending in the longitudinal direction at the side facing the slit hole elastically contacts one of a path upper wall surface and a path lower wall surface of the photosensitive material conveyance path, and a vicinity of the end edges of both sides in the longitudinal direction and a vicinity of the end edge on the opposite side with respect to the side elastically contacting either one of the path upper wall surface and the path lower wall surface are nipped by the mounting member and at least one of the first tilted surface or the second tilted surface having the slit hole.
Photosensitive material processed by processing solutions in processing tanks is conveyed by a conveyance device such as a roller to be sent to an adjacent next processing tank via a photosensitive material conveyance path for successive predetermined processing.
Here, when the photosensitive material passes through the photosensitive material conveyance path, since the photosensitive material is conveyed between the blade and the path upper wall surface or the path lower wall surface while being slid against both, adjacent solutions cannot be mixed with each other. Moreover, when the rear end of the photosensitive material (with respect to the direction in which the photosensitive material is conveyed) passes along the photosensitive material conveyance path, the blade elastically contacts the path upper wall surface or the path lower wall surface to therefore prevent mixing of the adjacent solutions with each other.
Moreover, since the blade covers the slit hole in the state with the portions other than the portion contacting the photosensitive material (i.e., the vicinity of the end edges of both sides in the longitudinal direction and the vicinity of the end edge on the opposite side with respect to the side elastically contacting either one of the path upper wall surface and the path lower wall surface) nipped by the mounting member and at least one of the first tilted surface and the second tilted surface having the slit hole, the sealing property can further be made certain at the portions other than the portion that contacts the photosensitive material.
The submerged conveyance structure for a photosensitive material according to the present invention, the first tilted surface and the second tilted surface are preferably tilted with respect to the photosensitive material passage route in a range of 10° to 80°. Further, one of the first tilted surface and the second tilted surface preferably includes screw holes and projections along the longitudinal direction. Furthermore, the blade preferably includes circula
Fuji Photo Film Co. , Ltd.
Stinson Frankie L.
Sughrue & Mion, PLLC
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