JP2000002973A - Container for photographic treating agent composition - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a container for a developer compsn. which has excellent stable storage property for the developer compsn., excellent handling property and compact size and which can be used in a state that is attached to a developing machine and automatically washed after used for reuse. SOLUTION: This container for a developer compsn. has an almost rectangular or square cross section with 40 to 100 mm longer side and 0.7 to 1.0 ratio of the short side to the long side, or has a circular cross section with 40 to 100 mm inner diameter. Its height is 2.0 to 4.0 times as the length of the longer side or inner diameter of the cross section, and the inclined angle from the cylindrical part to the opening is 15 to 45 deg.. The container consists of a high density polyethylene(HDPE) having 0.951 to 0.969 g/cm3 density as a single structural material. The container is adaptable for such an automatic developing machine having functions to attach the container, to discharge the photographic treating compsn. in the container to a replenisher liquid reservoir, and to clean the inside of the vacant container.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a container for a photographic processing agent composition used for processing a silver halide color photographic light-sensitive material. Handleability of the processed photographic processing agent composition,
The present invention relates to a container for a photographic processing agent composition having excellent properties such as transportability and storage stability and suitable for development processing by an automatic developing machine.

[0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Generally, processing of silver halide photographic light-sensitive materials, for example, processing of silver halide color photographic light-sensitive materials,
It comprises an image stabilization step such as a color development step, a silver removal step and a water washing step. In each step, an aqueous solution containing one or more processing chemicals (called a processing liquid) is used except for the water washing. . Since each processing solution has a relatively low concentration, it is generally economical, storage space, or work-related to manufacture a processing solution ready for use by a processing chemical manufacturer, transport it to a lab, and store it. And is generally supplied in a concentrated state, that is, as a concentrated liquid treating agent.

[0003] However, the liquid treating agent has the disadvantage that the components contained therein are liable to be oxidized by air and the components are liable to react with each other. Therefore, in order to prevent this and ensure long-term storage stability, measures such as dividing the liquid treatment agent into a plurality of parts or storing the liquid treatment agent in a container having a low oxygen permeability to prevent oxidation are adopted. Have been. In particular, in the case of a color developer in which stability over time is important, it is usual to use a liquid processing agent divided into three parts: an alkaline agent part, a color developing agent part, and a preservative part such as hydroxylamine. However, from the viewpoint of transportation to a color developing laboratory and handling at the developing laboratory, it is desired that each processing agent is not divided into a plurality of parts but is composed of one part.

[0004] When the processing composition is a developer composition, it must be made of a material capable of preventing air oxidation. As an oxygen impermeable container, a glass container has been used before, but there is a risk of breakage and handling is inconvenient. For this reason, containers made of a composite material in which a plastic material with low oxygen permeability and a plastic material that is stable to the treatment agent are laminated have been used. It was a disadvantage from a viewpoint. The term "reuse" in the present specification means that used containers are recycled into new containers through a recycling process and used, and "reuse" in which the same containers are repeatedly used. Note that this is not the case.

To be recyclable, it must be made from a single component material, but many recyclable single plastic materials have high oxygen permeability, Insufficient protection against air oxidation, chemically inadequate stability against strong alkaline developing agents and oxidizing bleaching agents, or both .

[0006] For many plastic materials,
A further disadvantage is that colored stains are caused by the developing agents. A color developing agent in a color developing material for a color light-sensitive material is a p-phenylenediamine derivative, and among them, 4-amino-3-methyl-N-ethyl-N- (β-
Acid salts of hydroxyethyl) aniline and 4-amino-3
-Methyl-N-ethyl-N-([beta] -methanesulfamidoethyl) aniline acid salt, these color developing agents cause strong non-washable colorations in containers of plastic material, This makes recycling plastic containers difficult.

[0007] On the other hand, with the spread of color photography, in addition to independent specialized laboratories, photoshops and small retail laboratories called minilabs or microlabs among large retail stores have increased in the market. are doing. In over-the-counter development,
Unlike specialized laboratories, there are no skilled professionals, so it is necessary to save labor as much as possible. Therefore, it is desirable to improve the safety of the entire work, and to automate and simplify the equipment, especially for equipment such as automatic developing machines and photographic printers. It is desired that the liquid does not adhere to hands, does not spill on the floor and becomes dirty, and clean handling can be performed.

As described above, for a photographic processing composition,
In particular, the container for the developer composition has stability of a processing agent to be filled, simplification of a developing operation, transportation and other handling properties,
Since it is directly or indirectly related to many aspects such as the reusability of containers, improvements have conventionally been made in response to market demands for these properties. However, it has not been able to sufficiently respond to market demands, and further improvements have been demanded.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to meet various requirements for the above-mentioned treating agent composition, and more specifically, it is possible to recycle a container, An object of the present invention is to provide a container for a photographic processing agent composition which is excellent in storage stability, handleability, and compactness of the agent composition, and which can simplify the developing operation by automatic compounding and incorporation into a developing machine. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a container for a photographic processing agent composition which can be easily washed without coloring the used container and which can be sent to a recycling process for reuse without discarding.

[0010]

For the above objects,
A great deal of effort has been made on materials, treatment agent prescription, container design, work, etc., and despite the progress made individually, it was still possible to achieve a sufficient solution for the purpose. In view of this fact, the inventor of the present invention has conducted intensive studies on the assumption that the connection of the related components, particularly the functional connection of both the material and the form of the treatment agent container, will solve the problem. As a result, when a container having a specific shape using a specific resin described later is used, the container can be used by being attached to an automatic developing machine, and a used container can be recycled and used. The present invention has been found to satisfy the object of the present invention. That is, the present invention is achieved by the following configurations.

1. A mouth for allowing the treatment agent composition to flow out, a lid or a seal member for closing the mouth, a bottom provided on the side facing the mouth, and the treatment agent composition substantially interposed between the mouth and the bottom. A container for a photographic processing agent composition, comprising: a columnar portion to be stably stored; and a shoulder portion connecting the columnar portion and the mouth portion, and a projection surface of the columnar portion on the bottom surface has a length of a long side. Is 40
100 mm and the ratio of the short side to the long side is 0.7-1.
0 rectangle or square, or 40 to 100 mm inside diameter
The ratio of the height of the columnar portion to the above-mentioned long side or inner diameter is 2.0 to 4.0 times, and the inclination angle (the angle formed with the bottom surface) from the columnar portion of the shoulder toward the mouth portion ) Is 15 to 45
°, a high-density polyethylene (HDPE) having a density of 0.951 to 0.969 is made as a single constituent resin, and a container for a photographic processing agent composition is mounted. A container for a photographic processing composition, which is used in an automatic developing machine having a function of discharging a photographic processing composition to a replenisher storage tank and washing an empty container. In addition, the length of the long side and the short side on the projection surface on the bottom surface of the columnar part means the length of the long side and the short side of the inner law, which do not include the thickness of the columnar part. In addition, at the inclination angle formed from the columnar portion of the shoulder toward the mouth, when the columnar portion is a quadrangular prism, the angle between the surface including the long side of the shoulder and the bottom surface, and the short side of the shoulder. There are two angles of inclination,
In the present invention, both of these two inclination angles are equal to 15 degrees.
Means in the range of 範 囲 45 °.

2. Melt index is 0.3 to 7.0
g / 10min (ASTM D1238, load 2.16)
(2) The container for a photographic processing agent composition according to the above (1), wherein the container is a container in which the high-density polyethylene (kg) is a single constituent resin.

3. 3. The container for a photographic processing agent composition according to the above item 1 or 2, which is produced by a blow molding method.

4. 4-Amino-3-methyl-N-ethyl-N- (β-hydroxyethyl) aniline, 4-amino-3-methyl-N-ethyl-N- (β-methanesulfamidoethyl) aniline Or the container for a photographic processing composition according to any one of the above items 1 to 3, which contains an alkaline concentrated liquid color developer containing at least one of the salts thereof.

[0015] 5. Attach the container with the mouth of the container facing downward in the processing agent container mounting part provided in the developing machine, discharge the photographic processing agent composition in the container to the replenisher storage tank, and after discharging, insert through the downward opening. The photographic processing agent composition according to any one of the above items 1 to 4, wherein the photographic processing agent composition is used in an automatic developing machine having an automatic washing mechanism for washing the inside of an empty container by a water stream jetted from a nozzle. Container.

The present invention will be described in more detail. A typical application form of the present invention is a form suitable for simplification and automation of development work in a storefront development laboratory and the like,
Specifically, the developer, bleaching agent, bleaching agent, fixing agent and the like as described in 5 above, each processing agent composition constituting the kit is mounted in an automatic developing machine with the mouth part down in a container, The mouth of each container is automatically opened, the treatment agent is discharged to each replenishment tank, and then the cleaning water is sprayed from a nozzle inserted into each container to wash the inside of the container,
The washing wastewater also flows into the replenishing tank and is used for preparing a replenishing solution, and the container thus washed is sent to a recycling process for reuse.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems of the present invention, the shape of the container is improved so that the water sprayed from the nozzles can be distributed throughout the inside of the container when cleaning the inside of the container. It is understood that it is important to manufacture the column in the form of a container. In other words, regarding the shape of the container, the columnar portion substantially storing the treating agent composition has a projection surface on the bottom surface having a length of the long side (inside). Method) is a rectangle or a square having a length of 40 to 100 mm and a short side (inner method) to a long side of 0.7 to 1.0, or a circle having an inner diameter of 40 to 100 mm. The ratio to the long side or inner diameter is
It is 2.0 to 4.0 times, and the inclination angle (angle formed with the bottom surface) from the columnar portion of the shoulder toward the mouth is 15 to 45 °, so that it is easy to handle and fit to the developing machine. Is satisfied, and the cleaning property in the container after discharging the developer composition is ensured.

In consideration of the fact that a plastic bottle cannot be formed into a square or rectangular shape with a strict cross section at the time of molding, and has a shape with rounded corners, the description of the cross section of the container in this specification is given. In the description, "square" or "rectangle" is correctly described as "almost square"
Although "almost rectangular" and "almost" should be described, "almost" is omitted in this specification. In the following description of the present specification, when the cross section of the container is described as “square” or “rectangle”, it is to be understood that the above meaning “almost” is included.

When the ratio of the height to the long side or the inner diameter is lower than the above range, the area to be cleaned while a certain amount of water flows down the inner wall is reduced, and the impact pressure of the cleaning water is weakened. The effect is reduced and it is no longer possible to clean sufficiently with a limited amount of water.

On the other hand, if the height of the container is higher than the above range, the cleaning effect of the highest part (bottom portion of the container) in the container is reduced, and it is necessary to increase the water pressure in order to sufficiently clean the container. Cleaning is impossible. Therefore, in order to exhibit the maximum cleaning effect with a limited amount of water, the above-mentioned ratio between the height and the inner diameter or the long side is optimal. This ratio is between 2.0 and
It is 4.0 times, and more preferably 2.5 to 3.5 times. The angle of inclination from the columnar portion of the shoulder toward the mouth (the angle between the shoulder and the bottom) is 15 to 45 ° from the viewpoint of easy flow of the attached matter.
, Preferably 20 to 40 °, more preferably 25 °
３５35 °.

The preferred length of the long side is 50 to 90 m
m, more preferably 60 to 80 mm. The preferable ratio of the short side to the long side is 0.8 to 1.0, more preferably 0.9 to 1.0, and further preferably 0.95 to 1.0.
In the case of a cylindrical container, the preferable inner diameter is 50 to 90 m.
m, more preferably 60 to 80 mm. When the developer composition container satisfies such a condition, it can be washed to a residue-free state with a small amount of water.

Further, in order to satisfy the handling property and the suitability for mounting to a developing machine, a large container exceeding the above-mentioned range requires a large washing pump and a spray nozzle which are not preferable for over-the-counter developers. Further, in a small container having an inner diameter or a long side smaller than the range of the above dimensions, the amount of the required container material per unit volume is bulky and uneconomical, and the handling and the adaptability to the device are deteriorated. Further, it is not preferable from the viewpoint of the effect of washing and removing colored deposits on the inner wall of the container due to the combination of thickness and material described later.

Next, the material of the container will be described. The container has a single component resin of high density polyethylene (HDPE) having a density of 0.951 to 0.969. The component which adheres to the inside of the container and becomes dirty is a substance in which an aromatic primary amine is involved (presumed to be an oxide such as a color developing agent or an insoluble colored substance derived therefrom). For cleaning and removal, in addition to the fact that the shape of the container is processed as described above, a remarkable effect can be obtained when the material of the container is made of high-density polyethylene having the above density. Polyethylene inherently has the disadvantage of high air permeability, but high-density polyethylene (HDPE)
Among polyethylenes, the degree of molecular orientation is high and the air permeability is relatively low, which alleviates this weak point.

If a material having a high air permeability is used, the idea of reducing the permeability by increasing the thickness of the container is naturally considered. However, in addition to an increase in the weight of the container and an increase in the material cost, the following is required. As described above, it was found that the washing property was not favorable.

HDPE has the effect of reducing air permeability by the choice of its shape and density.
Even if there is an adhering substance, an unexpected effect that the cleaning and removing action itself is excellent is recognized. This washing and removing action is that the container wall has an appropriate range of thickness to maintain appropriate flexibility and the oxygen barrier property is effectively acting on the method of forming deposits and the washing and removing property. it is conceivable that.
An appropriate thickness for maintaining this flexibility is an average weight per unit surface area of the container of 0.04 to 0.09 g / cm ² . The average weight referred to herein means the weight averaged over the columnar portion (excluding the neck, shoulder, and bottom) of the container. In other plastic containers such as low density polyethylene (LDPE), polypropylene, and polyethylene terephthalate, such an effect is not recognized even if the shape is the same. In addition, in order to recycle the container, the polyethylene container has the advantage that the route for collecting and reusing the waste plastic is most developed, and the cost required for the recycling is small.

An HDPE container requiring high dimensional accuracy, such as a container for a developer composition, is desirably manufactured by a blow molding method. In particular, high dimensional accuracy is ensured by the injection blow molding method. Further, it is also preferable to add stretching to the injection blow molding method. Containers manufactured by a molding method based on these hollow molding methods also contribute to improving the cleanability. This is probably because the smoothness of the wall surface and the orientation of the polymer molecules are affecting. In order to manufacture a polyethylene container having a size of about 0.5 to 5.0 liters suitable for the present invention by the injection blow molding method, AST
The melt index of HDPE obtained by the method of MD1238 under the conditions of a load of 2.16 kg and a temperature of 90 ° C. is preferably in the range of 0.3 to 7.0 g / 10 min. In addition, the value of the melt index described in another part of this specification is also a value obtained under this condition.

[0027]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail. In the following description, the terms developing agent, bleaching agent and fixing agent are the same as developer, bleaching agent and fixing agent, respectively. These terms are
It refers to a product in which a treatment agent composition (a concentrated liquid in the present invention) is filled in a container, and the treatment agent composition and the container are related to each other.

[Material of Container] The container of the concentrated liquid developer of the present invention will be further described. HDPE used for the container of the concentrated liquid developer composition includes pigments that do not adversely affect the alkaline developing composition such as carbon black, titanium white, calcium silicate, and silica; calcium carbonate;
2,6-di-t-butyl-4-methylphenol (BH
T) and other additives, dicetyl sulfide, tris (laurylthio) phosphite, other known antioxidants such as amines, thioethers and phenols, slip agents such as stearic acid or metal salts thereof, 2-hydroxy- A known ultraviolet absorber compatible with polyethylene, including 4-n-octyloxybenzophenone;
If necessary, a known plasticizer compatible with polyethylene may be added. The total amount of these additives is desirably 50% or less of the total amount of the mixture of the plastic raw materials. Preferably, the ratio of polyethylene (HDPE) is 85% or more and does not contain a plasticizer, and more preferably, the ratio of polyethylene (HDPE) is 95% or more and does not contain a plasticizer.

The cap of the container does not necessarily need to be HDPE, and may be, for example, LDPE, but is preferably HDPE. But HDPE
However, it is not necessary that the HDPE has the same density and melt index as the container body, and an appropriate grade of HDPE is selected depending on the ease of molding as a cap and the confidentiality of the fitting part with the mouth of the container body. be able to. Also, only the sealing portion of the cap of HDPE, that is, the fitting portion with the mouth portion of the container body, is used for the LD having a density of 0.91 to 0.94.
It can also be PE. The use of such a small amount of LDPE does not affect the recycled use of polyethylene.

Further, as another embodiment of the present invention, a container which does not necessarily have a cap, which is not provided with a cap to be fitted to the mouth and which is sealed with a polyethylene sheet capable of being perforated may be used. In addition, the size and shape of the mouth are not constituent elements of the present invention, but the inner diameter is 20 to 40 mmφ,
More preferably, it is desirably a cylindrical shape having a diameter of 25 to 35 mmφ. In the case of the bottle according to the present invention, the cap is preferably manufactured by injection molding or injection blow molding,
It is not necessarily limited to them.

[Usage Form of Container] When filling the developer composition into the container, it is more appropriate to consider the safety against air oxidation and the buffering against impact than to fill the developer composition up to the mouth of the container. It is preferable to provide an upper space portion (called a head space). In addition, it is better to fill the upper space with nitrogen to eliminate the contact with oxygen in the air in order to ensure stability over time, but the present invention is not necessarily limited to such a filling method. Not done.

With the container made of the HDPE of the present invention, the developer composition is stable, there is no coloring of the container and there is no deposit on the container wall, the contents are easily discharged, and the container is then washed with water. Since only a small amount of water is required, it is advantageous to combine the developer in a container of the present invention with an automatic developing machine having a container washing mechanism not only from the viewpoint of reusing the container, but also from the viewpoint of saving water and reducing the amount of wastewater. .

When the processing composition in the container is a color developing composition, a tar-like suspended matter or an insoluble precipitate is liable to be generated particularly by air oxidation. These sometimes adhere to the inner wall of the container and color the container. This coloring is thought to initially start from mere adhesion, but the coloring component is adsorbed and further penetrates and diffuses inside the container material,
Dye polyethylene. Dyed containers hinder recycling and must be excluded. The present inventors
It has been found that the coloring of the container is affected not only by the stability of the color developing agent but also by the smoothness of the inner surface of the container. In a container having a smooth inner wall, colored insoluble matter is less likely to adhere to the inner wall, and therefore, there is less risk of coloring the container. In order to obtain a container having such a smooth inner surface, the HDP having the above-mentioned melt index value (0.3 to 7.0 g / 10 min) is used.
It is desirable to manufacture by injection hollow molding method using E.

The HDPE container of the present invention is a developing system in which each processing agent container is mounted in an automatic developing machine having an automatic washing mechanism while the processing agent in the container is automatically charged into a replenishing tank. It is particularly preferably applied. Specifically, this automatic developing machine / developer processing agent system is mounted with the opening of the container facing downward in the processing agent container mounting portion provided at the top of the replenishing tank of the developing machine, and the processing agent in the container is After being automatically charged into the replenisher tank, the inside of the container is washed with a certain amount of water, and the water used for washing is introduced into the replenisher tank and used as water for adjusting the replenisher, and the obtained replenisher is used. Since the treatment is performed using a liquid, various requirements such as non-waste water, simple operation, automatic operation, stability of the developer composition, and container recyclability are met.

In a particularly preferred embodiment, when a container filled with the developing developer composition is mounted on a developing machine, the seal portion of the cap is pierced at the tip of the nozzle by a mechanism for automatically breaking the cap seal of the container, and the inside of the bottle is closed. A mechanism is provided for smoothly discharging the developer composition into the developing replenishing tank. Subsequently, the inside of the container is automatically spray-cleaned to wash away the chemical components adhering to the vessel wall, and the water used for the cleaning can be used for preparing a replenisher.

When the inside of the container is washed with spray water from a nozzle, a preferred embodiment of the present invention is to insert a washing nozzle into the container and perform spray water washing, as will be described later. The cleaning effect is large when the injection direction of the nozzle is obliquely upward and the angle formed with the vertical axis is within 60 °, preferably within 15 to 40 °.

A system for loading a container of such a developer composition into an automatic developing machine is disclosed in, for example, JP-A-6-82988 and JP-A-8-220722. It is clean without human intervention, can be handled cleanly, and recycling of waste containers is easy. In addition, the washing water is used as a part of the dilution water of the developer, and is not a waste liquid. The concept of such a system is based on a small-volume, easy-to-handle container capable of maintaining the fluidity of the contents for a long period of time, filled with the highly concentrated developer composition embodied in the present invention. This can be realized only for the first time.

[Embodiment of Developing Process Using Developer Container of the Present Invention] As a specific example of the present invention, a storage case containing a container filled with each processing agent composition is attached to an automatic developing machine. A description will be given of a development processing system for automatically opening and automatically replenishing a replenisher, but the application of the present invention is not limited to this. FIG. 1 shows an outline of a printer processor 10 to which the present invention is applied, and FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the printer processor 10.

The photographic paper P, which has been subjected to print exposure from the negative in the printer section occupying the left half of the printer processor 10, is transferred to the processor section 7 on the right side of the printer processor.
The developing solution is sent to a developing tank 74 in 2 and is subjected to development, and then conveyed to an adjacent bleach-fixing tank 76, where a bleach-fixing process is performed. The photographic paper P that has been subjected to the bleach-fixing process is transported to a plurality of rinsing tanks 79 in which rinsing water is stored. After the rinsing process, the photographic paper P is transported to a drying unit 80 located above the rinsing tank 79 and dried. You. Printing paper P discharged from the drying unit 80
Are discharged to the outside of the printer processor 10 while being sandwiched by the plurality of pairs of rollers, and are stacked.

On the other hand, the processor section 72 is provided with a supplementary section shown in the lower part of FIG. The replenishing section includes a mounting section 300 in which a processing agent kit (described later) is mounted and a replenishing tank section in which a replenishing solution is managed. The mounting section 300 mainly manages the processing agent kit and controls the processing agent kit. Automatic opening, automatic cleaning and drying are performed. In the replenishment tank part, the replenishment tank (347,
349, 351), the replenishment pump operation, and the circulation stirring pump (described later) are managed. The developing unit 74 and the bleach-fixing tank 76 are connected to the processor unit 7.
The replenisher is replenished from a replenisher tank (347, 349, 351 or the like) installed in the apparatus 2.

(Treatment Agent Kit) In this embodiment, when the replenisher in the replenishment tank runs short, the treatment agent cartridge 202 shown in FIG. 3 is mounted on the mounting portion 300 (see FIG. 2) provided on the upper front side of the casing 10A. ) And a processing agent (in this embodiment, a concentrated aqueous solution) is poured.

As shown in FIG. 3, the treatment agent cartridge 202 of this embodiment has a storage case (made of cardboard) 204.
The container 203 for the developer composition, the container 2 for the bleach composition
05 and a fixing agent composition container 207.

Since the containers 203, 205, and 207 have the same structure, the container 20 for the developer composition is described below.
Structure 3 will be described as a representative. As shown in FIG. 3, the container 203 is provided with a screw lid 208 protruding from the storage case 204. The center of the screw lid 208 is sealed by a sealing member, and is sealed by a cleaning nozzle 346 (1 in FIG. 5).
308).

In the present embodiment, the developer is
300 ml, the container 205 is filled with 1300 ml of the bleaching agent, and the container 207 is filled with 1300 ml of the fixing agent.

In the developing replenishing tank 347, a replenisher (3500 ml) is added to the developing tank 74 by adding 3700 ml of diluting water to 1300 ml of the developer.
00 ml), and in the bleach replenishment tank 349, 1300 ml of the bleaching agent was added to 700 ml of dilution water.
Then, a bleach replenisher (2000 ml as a finished solution) is prepared to be replenished into the bleach-fix tank 76, and 700 ml of dilution water is added to 1300 ml of the fixing agent in the fix replenisher tank. Fixing replenisher (200
0 ml). Bleach replenisher and fixer replenisher
Both are replenished to the bleach-fixing tank 76.

(Mounting Portion) As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the mounting portion 300 is covered with a mounting portion cover 302 that can be opened and closed. The mounting section 300 is provided with a holder 316 on which the processing agent kit 202 is mounted.

As shown in FIG. 3, cleaning nozzles 346, 348, and 350 are provided below the holder 316 at positions corresponding to the openings of the containers 203, 205, and 207. When 207 moves down,
The cleaning nozzle 346 is used to seal the container 203 (130 in FIG. 5).
8), the cleaning nozzle 348 pushes through the seal of the container 205 and the cleaning nozzle 350 pushes through the seal of the container 207 to enter the container and open the container.

As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG.
A funnel 352 having a lower end inserted into the developing replenishing tank 347 is disposed below the funnel 46, and a funnel having a lower end inserted into a bleaching replenishing tank (349 in FIG. 1) whose lower end is not shown in FIG. 354 are disposed, and the cleaning nozzle 35 is disposed.
0, a lower end of the fixing replenisher tank whose lower end is not shown in FIG.
351) is disposed.

(Structure of Processing Agent Kit and Its Container) Next, in the case of the photographic processing agent kit 202 according to one embodiment of the present invention, the processing agent containers 203, 205, and 207 are shown in FIG.
Is used. The configuration of the bottle will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 5, the bottle 1300 has a container body 1302. The upper end of the container body 1302 is an inclined portion whose diameter is gradually reduced, and is in contact with the mouth 1306. The mouth 1306 is formed in a cylindrical shape with a male screw 1304 on the outer periphery. The upper end of the mouth 1306 is open, and the above-mentioned replenisher can be taken in and out through the opening. Further, a polyethylene sheet 1308 as a sealing member is provided at the upper end of the mouth 1306.
Is arranged. This polyethylene sheet 1308
In the present embodiment, is formed with a cross-shaped nick, which is easily pierced by a constricted nozzle shown later.

The bottle 1300 includes a cap 1310 as a fixing member. This cap 131
0 is formed in a cylindrical shape with a bottom opening toward the mouth 1306, and a female screw 1318 corresponding to the male screw 1304 formed in the mouth 1306 is formed on the inner periphery thereof. The polyethylene sheet 1308 can be fixed to the mouth 1306 by pressing the polyethylene sheet 1308 with the bottom portion 1312 of the cap 1310 by screwing into the mouth. Further, a circular opening 1314 is formed in the bottom 1312 of the cap 1310 so that the polyethylene sheet 1308 can be pierced with the cap 1310 fitted.

(Operation of the present embodiment) Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. For example, when the photographic printing paper P is developed in the developing tank 74 (see FIG. 1), the replenishing pump 370 is operated in accordance with the development processing.
The developing replenisher once stored in the replenishing tank 347 is
And replenishes the developing replenisher with an amount corresponding to the amount consumed by the developing process in the developing tank 74. The same applies to the bleach-fix solution. When the liquid level in the replenishing tank 347 becomes equal to or less than a predetermined amount, the float switch 360 detects this, and an instruction to supply the replenishing liquid to the replenishing tank 347 is displayed on the monitor 460.

Next, the procedure for replenishing the replenisher into the replenisher tank 347 will be described with reference to FIGS. When the control device 460 (same as the monitor 460) is operated with the bottle 203 (1300 in FIG. 5) mounted on the mounting portion, the motor 328 is driven and the pipe 324 (not shown) is moved downward. And the piercing nozzle 346 is moved to the bottle 2
03 (1300 in FIG. 5) and penetrates the opening 1314 of the cap 1310 (208 in FIG. 3) and contacts the polyethylene sheet 1308.

From this state, the perforation nozzle 346 further approaches by the driving force of the motor 328, and the perforation nozzle 34
6 pierces the polyethylene sheet 1308 to open the polyethylene sheet 1308, and the replenisher (development replenisher) inside the container body 1302 flows down.

(Washing Water) As shown in FIG. 4, a PSR replenishing tank 426 for storing washing water (diluted water) for diluting the treating agent (concentrated suspension) is provided.

As shown in FIG. 4, a water tank 426 for storing washing water, washing water and dilution water is provided in the casing 10A.
A pipe 434 for feeding the liquid to the washing tank 79 and a pipe 436 (only one is shown as an example) for sending the liquid to the washing nozzles 346, 348, and 350 are connected to the bottom thereof. The water in the water tank is used as washing water, washing water and dilution water. The cleaning water passes through a pipe 436 from a water storage tank 426, and is connected to a developer container cleaning valve 450 via a container cleaning pump 440 on the way, and the leading end thereof is sent to cleaning nozzles 346, 348, and 350 for processing. The containers 203, 205, and 207 after the discharge of the agent are washed. In this way, after the treatment agent composition is discharged from the container, the cleaning water is jetted from each cleaning nozzle into the empty container to perform the cleaning. The washing wastewater is discharged to each replenishment tank and used as a part of the dilution water.

The replenisher flowing down from the bottle 1300 (container main body 1302) is supplied to the replenisher tank 347 via a pipe or the like. Here, when the bottle 1300 according to the present embodiment is applied, the operator can open and close the door 3.
02, the bottle 1300 is set (usually in the form of a storage case containing the developer composition kit), and the opening / closing door 30 is opened.
2 is closed and the motor 328 of FIG. 4 is only operated, and the opening operation and the refilling operation, that is, the operation of piercing the polyethylene sheet 1308 and refilling the replenisher into the replenishing tank 347 are performed inside the closed replenishing unit 300. Done in This eliminates the need for a troublesome operation of replenishing the bottle 1300 with the operator's hand, and also prevents the replenisher from splashing during replenishment and soiling the hands and clothes of the operator.

Further, the taken out empty bottle 1300 is recycled. In this case, the cap 1310
(208 in FIG. 3) is the mouth 1306 of the container body 1302.
Then, the polyethylene sheet 1308 can be removed and separated and collected for each material, or collectively as HDPE depending on the similarity of the material.
Here, when there are accompanying members such as the container body 1302, the cap 1310, the polyethylene sheet 1308, and the packing, each of them is an independent separate part including those, and the polyethylene sheet 13 for assembling them is included.
08 is brought into close contact with the mouth 1306 of the container body 1302.
Therefore, by removing the cap 1310 from the container body 1302, each component such as the polyethylene sheet 1308 can be easily removed and separated. In addition, unlike the case where the polyethylene sheet 1308 is directly fixed to the mouth 1306, the polyethylene sheet 1308 does not break or remain when the polyethylene sheet 1308 is removed, so that the number of working steps can be reduced. Alternatively, the cap 1310 may be omitted because there is a polyethylene sheet 1308 at the mouth. In still another embodiment, a packing may be omitted by providing a sealing member instead of the polyethylene sheet. The sheet 1308 in FIG. 5 is representative of each of the above-described plugging methods such as a polyethylene sheet.

[Developer Composition] The developer composition filled in the container of the present invention and incorporated into the kit is a concentrated liquid developer composition commonly used in the art. Usually, a bleach-fixing agent composition for the silver removing step is used in addition to the developer composition, and the latter is often further divided into a bleaching agent composition and a fixing agent composition. The container of the invention can be used. In addition, there are additional processing baths such as a washing substitute stabilizing bath and an image stabilizing bath, and a processing agent therefor may be included. Further, an additional processing bath such as a washing substitute stabilizing bath or an image stabilizing bath is not necessarily an object of the invention because its concentration is extremely low as compared with the processing baths in the developing step and the silver removing step.

The developer composition filled in the container of the present invention is an alkaline continuous phase liquid containing components contained in a usual color developing agent in a dissolved state. Among them,
Although it contains a color developing agent, in the present invention, 4-amino-3-methyl-N-ethyl-N- (β
-Hydroxyethyl) aniline, 4-amino-3-methyl-N-ethyl-N- (β-methanesulfamidoethyl) aniline or a salt thereof, or other p-
A phenylenediamine type color developing agent may be added as an auxiliary color developing agent. In recent years, some black-and-white photosensitive materials have been added so that a coupler is colored so as to develop black, and a black-and-white image is formed using a general-purpose general color developing solution. The composition is also applied to the processing of this type of photosensitive material.

The developer composition is used in the form of a development replenisher (or a further diluted developer) by mixing it with water (which may be washing water for a container) in a prescribed ratio at the time of use. However, the concentration of the aromatic primary amine developing agent in the working solution is preferably 2 to 200 mmol, more preferably 12 to 1 mmol per liter of the developing solution.
200 mmol, more preferably 12 mmol to 150
Dilute to make millimolar.

The developer composition contains a hydroxylamine derivative and a small amount of one or more sulfite ions depending on the kind of the light-sensitive material to be treated, and further contains other inorganic preservatives and organic preservatives. You may. These preservatives may not be incorporated in the single-part developer part but may be separate parts, and in that case, they may not be incorporated in the processing agent cartridge of the present invention. Organic preservatives are organic compounds that reduce the rate of deterioration of the aromatic primary amine color developing agent by being included in the processing solution of the photosensitive material, that is,
Organic compounds having a function of preventing air oxidation and the like of color developing agents, among others, hydroxylamine derivatives other than the above, such as mono- or dialkylhydroxylamine, alkoxyamino compounds, hydroxamic acids,
Hydrazides, phenols, α-hydroxyketones, α-aminoketones, sugars, monoamines, diamines, polyamines, quaternary ammonium salts, nitroxy radicals, alcohols, oximes, diamide compounds, fused rings Formula amines and the like are known as particularly effective organic preservatives.

Other preservatives include various metals described in JP-A-57-44148 and JP-A-57-53749;
No. 588, salicylic acids, alkanolamines described in JP-A-54-3532, polyethyleneimines described in JP-A-56-94349, U.S. Pat.
An aromatic polyhydroxy compound described in the specification of JP-A No. 4 and the like may be contained as necessary. In addition, alkanolamines such as triethanolamine other than the above may be added. Other cyclic amines as described in JP-A-63-239447, amines as described in JP-A-63-128340, and other amines as described in JP-A-1-186939.
Amines such as those described in JP-A-1-187557 can also be contained.

A chlorine ion, a bromine ion or an iodine ion may be added to the developer composition as required. The color developer usually contains halide ions in many cases, but the halide ions are usually released to the developer as a by-product of the development, so that it is often unnecessary to add them to the replenisher. The amount of halide ions in the replenisher, and therefore in the underlying developer composition, is set such that the halide ion concentration in the developing tank when the running equilibrium composition is reached is at an appropriate concentration level.

The color developing solution and the developing replenisher have a pH of 9.5 or more, preferably 10.0 to 12.0, more preferably 1 to 10.
0.1 to 11.5, the p of the developer composition
H is designed so that the color developer or replenisher prepared therefrom will provide such a pH. In order to stably maintain the pH, it is preferable to use various buffers. Buffers include carbonate, phosphate, borate, tetraborate, hydroxybenzoate, glycyl salt, N, N
-Dimethylglycine salt, leucine salt, norleucine salt,
Guanine salts, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine salts, alanine salts, aminobutyrate salts, 2-amino-2-methyl-1,3-propanediol salts, valine salts, proline salts, trishydroxyaminomethane salts, lysine salts, etc. Can be used. In particular, carbonates, phosphates, tetraborates, and hydroxybenzoates have excellent buffering capacity in the high pH range of pH 9.0 or higher, and have an adverse effect on photographic performance (such as fog) even when added to a color developer. ) And inexpensive, and these buffers are used in the developer composition.

Specific examples of these buffers include sodium carbonate, potassium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate, potassium bicarbonate, trisodium phosphate, tripotassium phosphate, disodium phosphate, dipotassium phosphate, and sodium borate. , Potassium borate, sodium tetraborate (borax),
Potassium tetraborate, sodium o-hydroxybenzoate (sodium salicylate), potassium o-hydroxybenzoate, sodium 5-sulfo-2-hydroxybenzoate (sodium 5-sulfosalicylate), 5-sulfo-
Potassium 2-hydroxybenzoate (potassium 5-sulfosalicylate) and the like can be mentioned. However, the invention is not limited to these compounds.
Particularly preferred buffering agent is potassium carbonate, which has the advantage that the specific gravity can be effectively increased without precipitation due to its high solubility. The amount of the buffering agent is added to the composition such that the concentration in the diluted color developing replenisher becomes 0.01 to 2 mol / l, particularly 0.1 to 0.5 mol / l. Is done.

To the developer composition, other color developing solution components, for example, various chelating agents which are precipitation inhibitors for calcium and magnesium, or which also improve the stability of the color developing solution can be added. For example, nitrilotriacetic acid, diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, N, N, N-trimethylenephosphonic acid, ethylenediamine-N, N, N ', N'-tetramethylenesulfonic acid, ethylenediamine N, N-disuccinic acid , N,
N-di (carboxylate) -L-aspartic acid, β
-Alanine disuccinic acid, 2-phosphonobutane-1,2,4
-Tricarboxylic acid, 1-hydroxyethylidene-1,1
-Diphosphonic acid, N, N'-bis (2-hydroxybenzyl) ethylenediamine-N, N'-diacetic acid, 1,2-
And dihydroxybenzene-4,6-disulfonic acid. These chelating agents may be used in combination of two or more as necessary. The amount of these chelating agents may be an amount sufficient to sequester metal ions in the color developer,
For example, it is added so as to be about 0.1 g to 10 g per liter.

An optional development accelerator can be added to the developer composition, if necessary. As a development accelerator,
Thioether-based compounds including the 6088 publication,
P-phenylenediamine compounds disclosed in JP-A-52-49829, and 4-phenylenediamine compounds disclosed in JP-B-44-30074 and the like.
Quaternary ammonium salts, amine compounds described in U.S. Pat.No. 2,494,903, polyalkylene oxides described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 37-16088, etc., and other 1-phenyl-3-pyrazolidones, imidazoles, and the like. It can be added accordingly.

An optional antifoggant can be added to the developer composition, if necessary. Examples of the antifoggant include, in addition to the alkali metal halides, organic antifoggants such as benzotriazole, 6-nitrobenzimidazole, 5-nitroisoindazole, 5-methylbenzotriazole, 5-nitrobenzotriazole,
-Chloro-benzotriazole, 2-thiazolyl-benzimidazole, 2-thiazolylmethyl-benzimidazole, indazole, hydroxyazaindolizine,
A nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compound such as adenine can be included. Further, various surfactants such as alkyl sulfonic acid, aryl sulfonic acid, aliphatic carboxylic acid and aromatic carboxylic acid may be added as needed. The color developing composition filled in the container of the present invention has been described above.

In addition to the developer composition, the container of the present invention may be used by being filled with a bleaching agent composition and a fixing agent composition used in the development processing together with the developer composition. As the bleaching composition and the fixing composition, known bleaching and fixing compositions can be used. Among the known bleaching agents, organic complex salts of iron (III) (for example, complex salts of aminopolycarboxylic acids) or organic acids such as citric acid, tartaric acid and malic acid, persulfates, hydrogen peroxide and the like are preferably used. .

Aminopolycarboxylic acids or salts thereof useful for forming an organic complex of iron (III) include biodegradable ethylenediaminedisuccinic acid (SS form), N-
(2-carboxylateethyl) -L-aspartic acid, beta-alanine diacetate, methyliminodiacetic acid, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid, 1,3-diaminopropanetetraacetic acid, propylenediaminetetraacetic acid, nitrilotriacetic acid, cyclohexane Diamine tetraacetic acid, iminodiacetic acid, glycol ether diamine tetraacetic acid and the like can be mentioned. These compounds may be any of the sodium, potassium, thylium or ammonium salts. Among these compounds, ethylenediaminedisuccinic acid (SS form), N- (2-carboxylateethyl) -L-aspartic acid, beta-alaninediacetic acid, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, 1,3-diaminopropanetetraacetic acid, methylimino Diacetic acid is preferred because its iron (III) complex salt has good photographic properties. These ferric ion complex salts may be used in the form of complex salts or ferric salts such as ferric sulfate, ferric chloride, ferric nitrate, ferric ammonium sulfate, ferric phosphate. And a chelating agent such as aminopolycarboxylic acid may be used to form a ferric ion complex salt in a solution. The addition amount of these organic iron (III) complexes is 0.01 to 1.0 mol / l, preferably 0.05 to 0.50 mol / l, more preferably 0.10 to 0.50 mol / l in the replenisher. Mol / l and the bleach composition is designed to be replenished at this concentration upon dilution.

Among the known fixing agents, thiosulfates such as sodium thiosulfate and ammonium thiosulfate; thiocyanates such as sodium thiocyanate and ammonium thiocyanate; ethylenebisthioglycolic acid;
A water-soluble silver halide dissolving agent such as a thioether compound such as 3,6-dithia-1,8-octanediol and a thiourea, which may be used alone or in combination of two or more to fill the container of the present invention. Can be used.
The amount of the fixing agent per liter is preferably from 0.3 to 2 mol, more preferably from 0.5 to 1.0 mol.

Further, the bleach-fixing solution may contain other various types of fluorescent whitening agents, defoamers or surfactants, and organic solvents such as polyvinylpyrrolidone and methanol. To the bleach-fixing solution and the fixing solution, sulfites, arylsulfinic acids, ascorbic acid and carbonyl bisulfite adducts, carbonyl compounds, buffers, chelating agents, fungicides and the like are added as preservatives as required. It goes without saying that the bleaching composition and the fixing composition are designed so that the above-mentioned bleaching replenisher and fixing replenisher can be prepared by diluting a specified amount of water.

[Photosensitive Material] The photographic photosensitive material for which the photographic developer composition filled in the container of the present invention is used is a general color photographic photosensitive material. Therefore, regardless of whether it is for photography or printing, color negative film,
The present invention can be applied to a container for accommodating the developing agent for any of a color reversal film and a color photographic paper, and for general, movie and professional use.

The photographic light-sensitive material according to the present invention is a well-known and ordinary material, and its structure, materials used, and technology used are described in, for example, Research Disclosure (hereinafter abbreviated as RD) No. 17643 (1978). Year 12
Mon., pp. 22-23, "I. Emulsion Production (Emulsion prepa
ration and types) "and No. 18716 (19
November 1979), p. 648, ibid. No. 307105 (19
Nov. 1989), pp. 863-865, and Grafkid, "Physics and Chemistry of Photography", published by Paul Montell (P. Glaf)
kides, Chemie et Phisique Photographique, Paul Mon
tel., 1967), Duffin's "Photoemulsion Chemistry", published by Focal Press (GFDuffin, Photographic Emulsio)
n Chemistry, Focal Press, 1966), "Production and Coating of Photographic Emulsions", by Zeligman et al.
L. Zelikman, et al., Making and Coating Photographi
c Emulsion, Focal Press, 1964) and the like.

The silver halide emulsion and other materials (additives, etc.) and photographic constituent layers (layer arrangement, etc.) applied to the light-sensitive material according to the present invention, and processing methods applied for processing this light-sensitive material And processing additives, EP 0,355,660 A2, JP-A-2-33144 and JP-A-62
Those described in the specification of U.S. Pat. No. 215272 or those listed in Table 1 below are preferably used.

[0077]

[Table 1]

As one embodiment of the present invention, the processing agent container-integrated developing system described above is for producing prints, but the present invention can be applied to general-purpose or movie general-purpose color negative films. In addition, Japanese Patent Publication No. 2-3615
And the film unit with lens described in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 3-39784. Suitable supports that can be used in the present invention are described, for example, in RD. No. 176
No. 18716, page 647, right column, 6
As described on page 48, left column, and page 879 of No. 307105, it is preferable to use a polyester support.

The container of the developer composition of the present invention contains γFe ₂ O
_The present invention is also applicable to the processing of a color negative film having a magnetic recording layer using a ferromagnetic iron oxide such as No. ₃ or a Co-coated ferromagnetic iron oxide such as Co-coated magnetite.

[0080]

The present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the following Examples, but it should not be construed that the present invention is limited thereto.

Example 1 In Example 1, the effect of each component of the container for a developer composition of the present invention was shown for a prismatic container. (1) Container-Container Molding The shape of the used developer composition container is schematically shown in FIG. 5, and its dimensions and other specifications are shown in Table A. The main body of the container is manufactured by hollow molding, and the cap is manufactured by injection molding. -Material of container For the container body, a plastic material having the type (material column) and density shown in Table A was used. Further, the numerical value described as M in the density column of Table A is based on ASTM D1238.
Is a melt index value measured under the conditions of a load of 2.16 kg and a temperature of 190 ° C.

(2) Preparation of Developer Composition Each of the 18 types of containers shown in Table A was filled with 1300 ml of the following color developing composition to prepare a container type color developing composition.・ Formulation of color developer composition

Fluorescent whitening agent A (described below) 12.0 g Fluorescent whitening agent B (described below) 12.0 g Dimethylpolysiloxane-based surfactant 0.35 g (Silicone KF351A / Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.) Ethylenediamine Tetraacetic acid 15.0 g Disodium-N, N-bis (sulfonatoethyl) hydroxylamine 30.0 g Tri (isopropanol) amine 30.0 g Potassium hydroxide 18.5 g Sodium hydroxide 24.0 g Sodium sulfite 0.60 g Potassium bromide 0.04 g Polyethylene glycol 400 30.0 g 4-Amino-3-methyl-N-ethyl-N- (β-methanesulfamidoethyl) aniline / 3/2 sulfate aqueous solution monohydrate 60. 0 g Potassium carbonate 100.0 g pH 13.0 Add water and add 1 liter

[0084]

Embedded image

[0085]

Embedded image

[0086]

[Table 2]

[0087]

[Table 3]

(3) Test method-Container filling and aging test Containers 1 to 18 shown in Table A were filled with the above developer composition until they reached the shoulder, and the mouth was 1.3 mm as shown in FIG. A thick polyethylene (LDPE) sheet was sealed. As can be seen from FIG. 5, this sheet is cut with a cross groove having a depth of about 1 mm so that the sheet is easily broken when the opening nozzle comes into contact with the groove. After packing these into a set of three pieces in a cardboard box storage case, the temperature was 40 ° C and the relative humidity was 70
% For 6 months.

Opening of Container, Discharging of Composition and Washing A sample of the above-mentioned container for treating agent composition was attached to the treating agent container attaching portion shown in FIG. 3, and was subjected to the method described in the present specification. The container was opened, the composition was discharged, and the inner wall of the container was washed. The largest part of the nozzle diameter is 20
mm, and its length is 50 mm (nozzle 346 in FIG. 3). This nozzle breaks the seal and discharges the composition to the developing replenishing tank. Then, water is sprayed from the tip of the nozzle under the following conditions. The operation of washing the inside of the emptied container was performed by the illustrated automatic developing machine. The water jet at the tip of the nozzle is
It is open conically at an angle of 30 ° upward with respect to the vertical axis, and the length of the tubular portion of the injection port is 5 mm. Further, the water was jetted at a pressure of 1.2 kg / cm ² and the flow rate of water jetted at a rate of 0.8 liter per minute for 20 seconds to continuously jet water for cleaning.

Observation and Evaluation Method After washing, the water was drained by maintaining the water in the reverse direction for 30 minutes, and then the state of washing inside the container was visually observed (one condition, that is, three observation results were obtained for one type of container). T). The observation results were classified and evaluated as follows.付 着 Neither deposit nor coloring is observed. ○ There is no adhering matter, but there is slight coloring. Δ: Slight deposits and slight coloring. X: The deposits are clearly left partially, and there is a little coloration. XX: Deposits remain on the entire surface and there is clear coloring.

(4) Test Results The results are indicated by 右, △, Δ, ×, XX on the right end of Table A.
In Table A, the underlined parts are outside the requirements of the present invention. When the length of the long side of the bottom surface, the ratio of the short side to the long side, the inclination of the shoulder, the material and the density deviate from the requirements of the present invention, cleaning of the inside of the container is insufficient. Particularly, low-density PE (LDPE) [container 13], polypropylene (PP) [container 14], polyethylene terephthalate (PET) [container 17], polyvinyl chloride (PV)
C) [Container 18] shows that even if it has the shape of the container of the present invention, the cleaning property is very poor. On the other hand, the samples having no underline, that is, the developer composition container of the present invention, did not show any stain of the coloring matter, and showed good results. Containers 15 and 16 are containers of the present invention, but are HDPE having a melt index outside the range of 0.3 to 7.0. Containers 1 and 12 are containers of the present invention and have a melt index of 0.3 to
HDPE within the range of 7.0 g / 10 min. Comparing these two, the melt index is 0.3-7.
It can be seen that HDPE in the range of 0 is more preferable.

Example 2 The effect of the container of the present invention was tested using the color developer composition for color paper in Example 1, while the color development for a color negative film was performed in Example 2. The effect of each component requirement of the container of the present invention is shown for a cylindrical container using the agent composition.

(1) Container Container Molding The used developer / developer composition container had a columnar shape as shown in Table B, and the other conditions were the same as in Example 1. -Material of container For the container main body, 11 types (plastic material column) and plastic materials having different densities shown in Table B were used. Further, the numerical value described as M in the column of density as in Table A is A
According to STM D1238, load is 2.16 kg, temperature is 190
It is the value of the melt index measured under the condition of ° C.

(2) Preparation of Developer Composition Each of the 11 types of containers shown in Table B was filled with the following color developing composition in an amount of 1300 ml each to prepare a container-form color developing composition.

Formulation of Color Developing Agent Composition Diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid 3.5 g Potassium hydroxide 2.75 g Sodium sulfite 0.048 mol Disodium-N, N-bis (sulfonatoethyl) hydroxylamine 6.0 g 4 -Amino-3-methyl-N-ethyl-N- (β-hydroxyethyl) aniline / sulfate 6.9 g Potassium carbonate 40.4 g Water was added and the total amount was 440 ml. Specific gravity (25 ° C) 1.100 pH 10.1

[0096]

[Table 4]

(3) Test method: The same method as in Example 1 was used to fill the container, test with time, open the container, discharge the composition, and wash. The observation and evaluation of the results were performed in the same manner as in Example 1.

(4) Test Results The results are indicated by ◎, △, Δ, ×, XX at the right end of Table B.
In Table B, the underlined parts are outside the requirements of the present invention. The inner diameter of the cylinder, the ratio of the inner diameter to the height,
When the inclination of the shoulder, the material and the density deviate from the requirements of the present invention, cleaning of the inside of the container is insufficient in any case. On the other hand, the sample without the underline, that is, the container for the developer composition of the present invention, did not show any stain of the coloring matter, and showed good results.

[0099]

According to the present invention, a container for a developer composition having a shape and a material specified by the present invention is mounted on an automatic developing machine specified by the present invention and is used. The adhesion of the coloring matter to the inner wall of the container is small, the stain is removed by washing, the container can be reused, and the handling in a small-scale developing facility is easy, and the workability is simplified. Therefore, it can be incorporated into an automatic developing machine and incorporated in a system for automatically preparing a replenisher, washing a container, and the like.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a printer processor of one embodiment using a container for a developer composition of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a printer processor of one embodiment using a container for a developer composition of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the vicinity of a mounting portion of the treatment agent composition container.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a developing replenisher system of a replenishing unit.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a container for a developer composition according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 73 photosensitive material processing amount detection means 122 display device (alarm means) 202 processing agent composition kit 204 processing agent composition storage case 346 developer nozzle cleaning nozzle 347 development replenishment tank 348 bleach bottle cleaning nozzle 349 bleach replenishment tank 350 Fixing agent bottle cleaning nozzle 351 Fixing replenishment tank 358 Upper level sensor 360 Lower limit level sensor (float switch) 1300 Container for developer composition (bottle) 1302 Container main body 1304 Male screw (screw) 1308 Sealing member (sheet) 1310 Cap 1312 Bottom when loaded 1314 Cap mouth

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An opening for discharging a developer composition, a lid or a seal member for closing the opening, a bottom provided on a side opposite to the opening, and a development sandwiched between the opening and the bottom. A container for a photographic processing agent composition, comprising: a columnar portion for substantially storing the agent composition; and a shoulder connecting the columnar portion and the mouth, wherein the projection surface of the columnar portion on the bottom surface has a long surface. Side length is 40-10
0 mm and a ratio of a short side to a long side is a rectangle or a square having a ratio of 0.7 to 1.0, or a circle having an inner diameter of 40 to 100 mm, and a ratio of the height of the columnar portion to the long side or the inner diameter is: 2.
0 to 4.0 times, an inclination angle (an angle formed with the bottom surface) from the columnar portion of the shoulder toward the mouth is 15 to 45 °, and a high density of 0.951 to 0.969. It is made of polyethylene (HDPE) as a single constituent resin, and is equipped with a container for a photographic processing agent composition, and the photographic processing agent composition in the container is discharged into a replenisher storage tank and emptied. Used in an automatic processor equipped with a function to clean the inside of the container
A container for a photographic processing agent composition, characterized by comprising: 2. The high-density polyethylene has a melt index of 0.3 to 7.0 g / 10 min (ASTM D
The container for a photographic processing agent composition according to claim 1, wherein the container is a container in which high-density polyethylene having a weight of 1238 and a load of 2.16 kg) is used as a single constituent resin. 3. The container for a photographic processing composition according to claim 1, wherein the container is manufactured by a blow molding method. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the container is 4-amino-3-methyl-N
-Ethyl-N- (β-hydroxyethyl) aniline, 4
-Amino-3-methyl-N-ethyl-N- (β-methanesulfamidoethyl) aniline or an alkaline concentrated liquid color developer containing at least one of their salts,
The container for a photographic processing agent composition according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the container is stored. 5. A processing agent container mounting portion provided in a developing machine is mounted with a mouth of the container facing downward, and the photographic processing agent composition in the container is discharged to a replenishing solution storage tank, and after discharging, the photographic processing agent composition faces downward. By the water jet squirting from the nozzle inserted through the mouth of
The container for a photographic processing composition according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the container is used for an automatic developing machine having an automatic washing mechanism for washing an empty container.