Fuji Photo Film Company, Limited

Junichi Kose

Shinichi Matsuda

Motoharu Komori

Minoru Yamada

Nobuyuki Seto

Akira Sugiyama

Yasuhiro Kawai

Takashi Naoi

Kimitaka Kameoka

Ryouei Nozawa

Tomoyuki Takiue

Yasunobu Tanaka

Yoshiyasu Matsuzaki

Miyuki Endo

Ryoei Nozaki

A photosensitive material drying apparatus equipped with a plurality of rollers, which are disposed along a direction of transport of a photosensitive material and form a transport path and which are able to provide heat to the photosensitive material, and a plurality of hot air supplying portions, which blow hot air toward the photosensitive material. The rollers and the hot air supplying portions are disposed such that portions having drying irregularities which occur on surfaces of the photosensitive material, due to the photosensitive material receiving heat from the rollers and from hot air blown from the hot air supplying portions, in accordance with irregularities in a transport speed of the photosensitive material due to driving irregularities in a substantially uniform cycle of the rollers, are scattered substantially evenly on the surfaces of the photosensitive material along the direction of transport thereof. Unevenness on the surfaces of the finished photosensitive material drying irregularities can thereby be prevented.

Photosensitive material drying apparatus

A method of controlling the temperature of drying air in a photosensitive material drying apparatus for drying the photosensitive material processed by processing solutions. The method comprises the steps of: calculating an environmental absolute humidity Z.sub.E of a vicinity of the photosensitive material drying apparatus; calculating a processing amount S of the photosensitive material per unit time; calculating a drying air temperature T.sub.D on the basis of the environmental absolute humidity Z.sub.E and the processing amount S of the photosensitive material so that a difference between the drying air temperature T.sub.D and a wet-bulb temperature TW in the photosensitive material drying apparatus falls within a predetermined range of a value; and controlling a heater for heating the drying air on the basis of the drying air temperature T.sub.D.

Method of controlling drying air temperature of photosensitive material

Sheets of photosensitive material are processed through a processor comprising a series of developing, fixing, washing and drying sections, the drying section 14 including a plurality of conveyor rollers 42, a drive shaft operatively coupled to the rollers, and a plurality of nozzles 50 for injecting hot air against the traveling sheets. The rollers 42 and/or the nozzles 50 are arranged in the drying section so as to satisfy at least one of the relationships (1) and (2):

Processing of photographic silver halide photosensitive material and

A photosensitive material drying apparatus includes rollers forming a film transport passage and warm-air supplying chambers respectively disposed in the vicinity of the rollers. A pair of warm-air discharging portions is formed in each warm-air supplying chamber in such a manner as to straddle the roller and project toward the film transport passage. Each warm-air discharging portion blows warm air onto a film portion in proximity to and upstream of a roller-contacting portion of the film or a film portion in proximity to and downstream of another roller-contacting portion of the film. An exhaust hole for exhausting the warm air blown onto the film away from the transport passage side is formed in the warm-air supplying chamber between extensions of the warm-air discharging portions. A warm-air exhaust portion for exhausting the warm air blown onto the film is formed between adjacent ones of the warm-air supplying chambers as well. Accordingly, the warm air blown onto the film can be exhausted efficiently from the vicinity of the photosensitive material.

A photosensitive material processor having a processing tank for processing a photosensitive material includes a circulating pipeline having a circulating pump for circulating a liquid in the processing tank; a first pump for supplying for supplying a stock solution to a mixing tank; a second pump for supplying a dilution liquid to the mixing tank; a supply pipeline for connecting the mixing tank and a portion of the circulating pipeline upstream of the circulating pump so that the processing solution prepared in the mixing tank is supplied to the processing tank; and a controller for controlling the first and second pumps so that a ratio of periods of discharge of the liquids becomes a predetermined ratio and for operating the circulating pump when the stock solution and the dilution liquid are supplied to the mixing tank by predetermined amounts. Accordingly, in a case where the processing solution is supplied to an empty processing tank, since the circulating pump is operated when the stock solution and the dilution liquid are supplied to the mixing tank by predetermined amounts, the processing solution is sucked by the circulating pump, and air is prevented from remaining in the supply pipeline and the like.

Photosensitive material processor

In a method of drying a photographic light-sensitive material by use of drying air, the amount of light-sensitive material which can be processed within a predetermined time at a set temperature of the drying air is compared with the totalized amount of the light-sensitive material to be actually processed within the predetermined time, and, on the basis of the result of this comparison, the set temperature of the drying air can be adjusted. An apparatus for drying photographic light-sensitive material by use of drying air is arranged so that the amount of light-sensitive material to be actually processed within a predetermined time is detected by a detecting sensor and the thus-detected amount is compared with the amount of light-sensitive material which can be dried. If the amount of light-sensitive material to be actually processed exceeds the amount of light-sensitive material which can be processed, such a display is conducted that the apparatus is not ready for insertion of further light-sensitive material. Accordingly, the light-sensitive material can consistently be dried at a proper drying temperature.

Method of and apparatus for drying photographic light-sensitive material

An apparatus for detecting circulating liquid flow in a machine for automatically processing a photographic light-sensitive material is disclosed in which a branch pipe opened at a position higher than a liquid level of a processing liquid is vertically provided on the suction side of a circulating pump of a processing liquid circulating system provided outside a processing tank for circulating the processing liquid in the processing tank. A liquid level detecting electrode is provided in said opening portion so that the lower end of the electrode is positioned on the same level as or a position a little lower than the liquid level of the processing tank. A contact electrode is provided so as to be in contact with the processing liquid.

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Kanagawa, Japan

Junichi Kose