JP2001113219A - Supply apparatus for coating liquid for photographic photosensitive material - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a supply apparatus for supplying a coating liquid for a photographic photosensitive material from a storage container to a coating apparatus while precisely controlling the flow rate. SOLUTION: The supply apparatus 1 comprises a storage tank 10 storing a coating liquid for a photographic photosensitive material, an intermediate tank 11, a liquid-sensing line 31 for sending the coating liquid from the storage tank 10 to the intermediate tank 11, and a supply line 32 for supplying the coating liquid from the intermediate tank 11 to a coating apparatus 12. A flow rate control apparatus 30 controls a pressure adjustment valve 15 and an opening degree adjustment valve 29 corresponding to the flow rate in the supply line 32 detected by a flow rate detector 26 and the pressure in the intermediate tank 11 detected by a pressure detector 18 to precisely control the flow rate of the supply line 32.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for supplying a coating solution for a photographic material from a storage tank for storing the coating solution for the photographic material to a coating apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Coating solutions for photographic light-sensitive materials are coated in a multilayer state in which a plurality of very thin films are superimposed, and therefore contain a polymer protective colloid, such as an aqueous gelatin solution, and are stirred, dispersed, and dispersed. Bubbles are easily generated by performing operations such as liquid sending. If the coating solution is applied and dried while containing such bubbles, the bubbles break through the upper and lower layers, resulting in a serious coating defect. To prevent this, it is necessary to perform a sufficient defoaming treatment before the coating step. As a defoaming device used for such a purpose, for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 45-8319
There is known a defoaming device using an ultrasonic wave as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. HEI 10-125, 1988.

[0003] The ultrasonic defoaming device accommodates a liquid to be defoamed in a defoaming tank and irradiates the liquid with ultrasonic waves. When the liquid is irradiated with ultrasonic waves, cavitation occurs in which minute bubbles with a negative pressure are instantaneously generated in the liquid and subsequently disappear. This causes cavitation to be repeated, thereby removing the bubbles in the liquid. Therefore, when trying to increase the defoaming effect,
In order to increase the occurrence of cavitation, the output of the ultrasonic wave may be increased. However, if the output of the ultrasonic wave is excessively increased, there is a problem that corrosion occurs in the pipe for transferring the coating liquid, and the fine bubbles coalesce to form a large bubble.

As a defoaming method, there is a method utilizing reduced pressure. For example, in the defoaming method described in US Pat. No. 3,723,343, a liquid containing bubbles is mixed with water vapor in a pipe. A method of creating a turbulent flow and defoaming using a pressure change has been proposed. However, in this method, water vapor must be blown into the coating solution, and it is difficult to control the concentration of the solution, which is not practical.

On the other hand, as a means for supplying the coating liquid from the storage tank to the coating apparatus, a transfer method using a pump is generally used. There are various types of pumps,
For the purpose of transferring a liquid, a gear pump, a plunger pump, a rotary pump, a snake pump and the like are used. However, since these pumps have a structure in which a driving part such as a driving shaft directly contacts the liquid, it is necessary to seal the part. There are mechanical seals, ground seals, lip seals, and the like as seal (sealing) devices. However, since the coating liquid contains silver halide, metal silver precipitates on the sliding portion of the above-mentioned sealing device, There is a problem that an error occurs in the liquid sending flow rate.

Therefore, Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei 6-503512 proposes a method of transferring a coating solution under pressure without using a pump. Thereby, the problem of the sealing device described above can be solved.

[0007]

In the production of photographic light-sensitive materials, there has been a shift from a former mass production system to a low-volume, multi-product production system for supplying products of quality and performance according to customer needs. Also, in the process of supplying the coating liquid from the storage tank to the coating apparatus, one apparatus must cope with the production of a plurality of types, and the coating liquid must be transferred in a wide flow rate range.

[0008] However, the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 6-503 has been disclosed.
The method of transferring a coating solution under pressure described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 512 merely replaces the conventional transferring method from a pump to a pressurizing method, and has a means for transferring a coating solution in a wide flow rate range. Absent. Further, it is desired that the defoaming process performed during the transfer of the coating liquid is surely defoamed in a wide flow rate range to prevent coating defects.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide an apparatus for supplying a coating solution for photographic light-sensitive materials capable of coping with a wide flow rate range and reliably performing a defoaming process. .

[0010]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides an apparatus for supplying a coating solution for photographic light-sensitive material, which comprises: a storage tank for storing a coating solution for photographic light-sensitive material; In an apparatus for supplying a coating liquid for a photographic light-sensitive material for supplying a coating liquid, an intermediate tank for temporarily receiving the coating liquid transferred from the storage tank, and a coating liquid transferred from the storage tank to the intermediate tank. A liquid supply line to be provided, a transfer means provided in the middle of the liquid supply line and transferring the coating liquid, a pressure adjusting device provided in the intermediate tank, and adjusting the pressure in the tank, and the intermediate tank A pressure detector that measures the pressure in the tank, converts the measured value into a signal, a supply line from which the coating liquid is supplied from the intermediate tank to the coating device, and is provided in the middle of the supply line. A flow rate detector that measures the flow rate of the supply line and converts the measured value into a signal, is provided in the middle of the supply line, and an opening adjustment device that adjusts the opening of the supply line, and is provided in the middle of the supply line. A defoaming device for defoaming bubbles present in the coating solution passing through the supply line, the pressure detector, and the pressure received from the flow rate detector, and based on the measured values of the flow rate, The pressure control device and the flow control device that controls the opening control device to control the pressure and the opening so as to control the flow rate.

The liquid sending line is provided with a pressure fluctuation absorbing device for absorbing pressure fluctuations in the piping, and the pressure fluctuation absorbing device includes an air container connected to the liquid sending line and the liquid sending line. Based on a pipe pressure detector that detects the pressure in the line, based on the measurement value detected by the pipe pressure detector,
It is preferable that the pressure control device comprises a pressure adjusting device for adjusting the pressure in the air container. Further, the pressure fluctuation absorbing device is provided with a defoaming device for defoaming bubbles contained in the coating liquid passing through the liquid sending line, and the defoaming device is provided around the air container. And an ultrasonic vibrator attached to the air container and irradiating ultrasonic waves to the coating liquid using air in the air container as a medium. Further, it is preferable that the opening degree adjusting device includes an opening degree adjusting valve for variably increasing and decreasing the cross-sectional area of the supply line, and a driving unit for driving the opening degree adjusting valve.

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a supply device for a coating liquid for a photographic photosensitive material according to the present invention.
The supply device 1 includes a storage tank 10 in which a coating liquid for a photographic photosensitive material is stored, an intermediate tank 11 in which the coating liquid transferred from the storage tank 10 is temporarily received, and an intermediate tank 11 It comprises a feed line 31 for transferring the coating liquid to the tank 11 and a supply line 32 for supplying the coating liquid from the intermediate tank 11 to the coating device 12.
The supply device 1 converts the application liquid stored in the storage tank 10 into
The liquid is transferred to the intermediate tank 11 by the transfer means 22 provided in the liquid supply line 31, and when the intermediate tank 11 reaches a predetermined liquid amount, the coating liquid is sent out by a pressurizing method, and the
Supply to As the coating device 12, for example, an extrusion-type coating head is used.

A pressure tank 14 is connected to the intermediate tank 11 via a pressure control valve 15.
By adjusting the opening degree, the pressure in the intermediate tank 11 can be adjusted to a predetermined value. The intermediate tank 11 is provided with a stirrer 17, a pressure detector 18, and a level detector 19. The stirrer 17 is a rotating blade 33
Is rotated by a motor to stir the liquid in the intermediate tank 11 so as to be uniform throughout. The pressure detector 18 measures the pressure in the intermediate tank 11, and the level detector 19 measures the amount of liquid in the intermediate tank 11.

In the middle of the liquid sending line 31, the storage tank 1
A transfer means 22 is provided near zero, and a pressure fluctuation absorbing device 23 is provided near the intermediate tank 11. Storage tank 1
The photographic light-sensitive material coating solution stored at 0 contains a silver halide emulsion, a color coupler emulsion, a gelatin solution, a coating aid and the like. Further, as the transfer means 22, for example, a rotary pump such as a rotary pump is used.

The pressure fluctuation absorbing device 23 includes, for example, as shown in the schematic diagram of FIG. 2, an air container 33 connected in the middle of the liquid sending line 31, a pressure tank 36, a pipe internal pressure detector 37, And a pressure control device 39.
The volume of the air container 33 is considerably larger than the volume in the pipe of the liquid sending line 31, and is preferably 10 times or more. Thereby, the air container 33 can sufficiently absorb the pressure fluctuation in the liquid sending line 31 caused by the flow rate change. The air container 33 and the pressure tank 36 are connected via a pressure control valve 38, and the pressure in the air container 33 is adjusted to a predetermined value by adjusting the opening of the pressure control valve 38. be able to.

The pipe internal pressure detector 37 detects the pipe internal pressure of the liquid sending line 31 and sends it to the pressure control device 39. When receiving the detection value from the pipe internal pressure detector 37, the pressure control device 39 adjusts the pressure in the air container 33 by adjusting the pressure control valve 38 so that the pipe internal pressure of the liquid sending line 31 approaches a predetermined value. Control. Thereby, the pressure applied to the pipe of the liquid sending line 31 changes, and the pipe internal pressure is adjusted.

In the supply line 32, the flow rate detector 26,
A defoaming device 13, a pipe internal pressure detector 27, and an opening degree adjusting device 28 are provided. All the piping of the supply line 32
It is formed so as to have a downward slope from the intermediate tank side 11 toward the coating device 12 side.

As the flow detector 26, any one capable of precise flow measurement and capable of converting the measured flow rate into a signal and transmitting the signal in real time may be used. For example, an electromagnetic flow meter, a mass flow meter, A sonic flow meter, an oval flow meter, or the like is preferable.

The defoaming device 13 removes bubbles contained in the coating solution passing through the supply line 32 by ultrasonic waves, and supplies the defoamed coating solution to the coating device 12.
As shown in a sectional view of FIG. 3, for example, the defoaming device 13 includes a cylindrical defoaming tank 41, a heat retaining tank 42 formed in annular contact with the defoaming tank 41, and a heat retaining tank. An ultrasonic vibrator 43 attached so as to surround the outer wall 42
It is composed of

As the ultrasonic vibrator 43, for example, a ferrite magnetostrictive vibrator is used. The ultrasonic transducer 43 is
It is driven by the vibrator drive circuit 44. The vibrator drive circuit 44 has a function of controlling the amplitude by changing the drive current when the ultrasonic vibrator 43 vibrates. The control is performed by the data input from the bubble detection sensor 46 and the preset input unit 47. It is performed based on. Data such as the viscosity of the coating liquid is manually input to the preset input unit 47, and the flow rate and pressure data from the flow rate detector 26 and the pipe internal pressure detector 27 are automatically input.

The coating solution transferred by the pressurizing method enters the defoaming tank 41. In the middle of the supply line 32, the bubble sensor 4 installed upstream of the defoamer 13
6, the amount of air bubbles contained in the coating liquid is detected. This measurement data is input to the vibrator drive circuit 44. The vibrator drive circuit 44 sets the driving power of the ultrasonic vibrator according to the viscosity of the application liquid and the flow rate data set by the preset input unit, in addition to the bubble data. Thus, the ultrasonic vibrator 43 is driven, and the ultrasonic wave is irradiated into the defoaming tank 41 using the warm water in the heat retaining tank 42 as a medium. As a result, cavitation occurs in the defoaming tank 42, and bubbles contained in the coating solution are removed. A defoaming device using such an ultrasonic transducer is disclosed in, for example,
This is described in detail in JP-A-157103.

As the opening adjusting device 28, a device having a motor-controlled opening adjusting valve 29 shown in a sectional view of a main part of FIG. 4 is used. The opening adjustment device 28 includes an opening adjustment valve 29,
Valve box 48, servo motor 49, lead screw 5
0, a moving member 51, and a guide shaft 52. In response to a signal from the flow control device 30, the servomotor 49 is driven to rotate the lead screw 50.
The rotation of the moving member 5
1 moves up and down along the axial direction of the guide shaft 52. The opening control valve 29 is connected to a moving member 51 via a valve shaft 53.
It is fixed to. Thus, when the servo motor 49 rotates the lead screw 50, the opening degree control valve 29 moves up and down. The opening control valve 29 includes a conical valve head 54 and a valve contact surface 55 formed on the periphery of the valve head 54.

The valve box 48 is provided with a valve inlet 48a and a valve outlet 48b. The valve inlet 48a and the valve outlet 48b are connected to the pipe of the supply line 32, and the fed liquid enters the valve box 48 from the valve inlet 48a and exits from the valve outlet 48b. The flow rate of the liquid flowing through the valve box 48 increases as the opening control valve 29 moves upward, and decreases as the opening control valve 29 moves downward. When the valve is closed, the valve contact surface 55 firmly contacts the valve seat 48c and the valve outlet 38
Stop the flow to the b side. It should be noted that such an electric motor control type opening adjustment device is disclosed in, for example,
090 discloses this in detail.

The pressure measured by the pressure detector 18;
The flow rate measured by the flow rate detector 26 is converted into a signal and transmitted to the flow rate control device 29. The flow control device 29 that has received these measured values controls the flow rate in the supply line 32 to a predetermined value input in advance. An appropriate value of the opening degree of the supply line 32 is derived and transmitted to the pressure regulating valve 15 and the opening degree adjusting device 28.

The pressure regulating valve 15 and the opening degree regulating valve 29 are adjusted to match the values received from the flow control device 29, so that the pressure in the intermediate tank 11 and the opening degree of the supply line 32 are regulated.

In the above embodiment, the supply line 32
A defoaming device is provided only to remove bubbles in the coating solution, but in order to further increase the defoaming efficiency of the coating solution, the pressure fluctuation absorbing device 23 provided in the middle of the liquid sending line 31 includes: It is good to use what added the defoaming function. For example, it is possible to attach an ultrasonic vibrator so as to surround the outer wall of the air container 33 shown in FIG. 2 and irradiate the coating liquid with ultrasonic waves using the air in the air container 33 as a medium. As a result, the pressure fluctuation of the coating liquid passing through the liquid sending line 31 is absorbed by the pressure fluctuation absorbing device 23, and cavitation occurs due to the irradiation of the ultrasonic wave, thereby removing the bubbles contained in the coating liquid. . Note that an ultrasonic vibrator attached to the air container 33 may be a ferrite magnetostrictive vibrator or the like, and may be driven by the same control device as the above-described defoaming device 13.

[0027]

Embodiment In this embodiment, an electromagnetic flow meter manufactured by Yokogawa Electric Corporation was used as a flow detector in the supply device 1 shown in FIG. 1, but accuracy was not guaranteed in a wide flow range. Considering the set value of the flow rate to be performed, within the accuracy guarantee range guaranteed by the manufacturer's catalog value (accuracy is ±
The flow meter of the optimal type was selected in the flow region within 0.5%), and was replaced as necessary.

An example in which the accuracy of the flow rate when the coating liquid is supplied is evaluated using the supply apparatus 1 having the above configuration will be described below. When supplying the coating liquid, first, the intermediate tank 11 is filled with hot water, the bottom valve 11 a of the intermediate tank 11 is opened, and the supply line 32 is filled with hot water. When the hot water reaches the coating device 12, the bottom valve 11a is closed. In this state, the transfer means 22 is operated to feed the coating liquid from the storage tank 10 to the intermediate tank 11.

After the liquid amount indicated by the level detector 19 reaches a predetermined value, the operation of the transfer means 22 is stopped and the liquid supply to the intermediate tank 11 is stopped. Then, the pressure control valve 15 and the opening control valve 19 are adjusted so that the pressure and the opening are set in advance, and the bottom valve 11a is opened again to flow the application liquid to the supply line 32 and simultaneously defoam. Activating device 13
The supply of the coating liquid to the coating device 12 is started.

The pressure measured by the pressure detector 18;
The flow control device 30, which has received the flow rate measured by the flow rate detector 26, checks the pressure in the intermediate tank 11 and the supply line 3
An appropriate value of the opening degree 2 is derived, and the pressure control valve 15 and the opening degree control valve 29 are adjusted to match the values. In this manner, the supply device 1 adjusts the pressure at the time of sending out by the pressurization method and the opening degree of the supply line 32 to thereby apply the precisely controlled application liquid to the application device 12.
To supply.

When supplying the same flow rate of the coating liquid, the pressure applied to the intermediate tank 11 should be as high as possible,
The coating liquid can be supplied to the coating device 12 at a more precise flow rate by reducing the opening of the supply line 32. Therefore, the initial pressure applied to the intermediate tank 11 is set to 49 kPa, 98 kPa, and 196 kPa, and the preset flow rate values are set to 1 L / min, 5 L / min, 10 kPa.
The flow rate accuracy was evaluated for each case where the coating liquid was supplied to the coating apparatus 12 at L / min and 20 L / min.

Table 1 shows the flow rate accuracy under each condition.

[0033]

[Table 1]

According to this, when the pressure initially applied to the intermediate tank 11 is set to 49 kPa, the flow rate accuracy is not so good as ± 0.7% to 2.1%, but 98 kP.
With the setting of a, the accuracy is considerably improved to ± 0.5% to 0.7%, and when the setting is set to 196 kPa, the coating liquid is supplied with a high accuracy of ± 0.4 to 0.5%. It can be performed.

Further, even when the transfer means 22 is operated to simultaneously replenish the intermediate tank 11 while supplying the coating liquid to the coating apparatus 12, the pressure applied to the intermediate tank 11 should be as low as possible. The coating liquid can be supplied to the coating apparatus 12 at a more precise flow rate by increasing the opening degree of the supply line 32 while increasing the opening degree. Therefore, at the same time as the supply is started, the liquid amount data of the intermediate tank 11 detected by the level detector 19 is transmitted to the transfer means 22 so that the liquid amount of the intermediate tank 11 is decreased in a certain fluctuation range. The flow rate accuracy was evaluated for the case of the liquid. Also, the pressure initially applied to the intermediate tank 11,
The setting of the flow rate is the same as in the case where the operation of the transfer means 22 is stopped.

Table 2 shows the flow rate accuracy under each condition.

[0037]

[Table 2]

According to this, when the pressure initially applied to the intermediate tank 11 is set to 49 kPa, the flow rate accuracy is considerably poor at ± 1.5% to 3.5%, but when the pressure is set to 98 kPa, the accuracy is ± 1.5%. The accuracy is improved to 0.7% to 1.0%, and when the setting is 196 kPa, it becomes ± 0.4 to 0.5%, and the coating is performed with almost the same accuracy as when the operation of the transfer means 22 is stopped. Liquid supply can be performed.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described. In this example, a coating solution for a photographic light-sensitive material containing a silver halide emulsion, a color coupler emulsion, a gelatin solution, a coating aid and the like and having a viscosity of 120 cp was used. Is set to 2 L / min. Other configurations are the same as in the above embodiment. By using the supply device 1 having the above configuration, the pressure applied to the intermediate tank 11 is increased as much as possible, thereby increasing the internal pressure of the coating solution fed into the defoaming device 13 and thereby increasing the defoaming efficiency. An example of this is described below. First, when the pressure applied to the intermediate tank 11 is 0 kPa, that is, when the coating liquid is supplied to the coating apparatus 12 only by its own weight, the defoaming apparatus 1
No matter what value the drive voltage for driving the third ultrasonic vibrator 43 is adjusted, the coating liquid cannot be completely defoamed. However, the pressure applied to the intermediate tank 11 is 49 kPa
In this case, the driving voltage of the ultrasonic transducer 43 is set to 80 to 95.
When the pressure is 98 kPa, the drive voltage is 65 to 105.
V, the coating solution can be defoamed.
In the case of kPa, the defoaming of the coating liquid became possible when the driving voltage was 50 to 130 V. Thus, by increasing the pressure applied to the intermediate tank 11, the defoaming device 1
3 can increase the efficiency.

[0040]

According to the apparatus for supplying a coating liquid for photographic light-sensitive materials of the present invention, the pressure applied to the tank in which the coating liquid is received and the opening of the supply line for supplying the coating liquid are adjusted. Thereby, the flow rate of the coating liquid can be precisely controlled and supplied to the coating apparatus. Furthermore, by providing a defoaming device in the middle of the supply line and adjusting the pressure applied to the tank where the coating liquid is received, it is possible to efficiently defoam bubbles present in the coating liquid.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a supply device for a coating solution for a photographic light-sensitive material embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a pressure fluctuation absorbing device that absorbs pressure fluctuation in a liquid sending line.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a main part showing a defoaming device for defoaming bubbles contained in a coating liquid.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a main part showing an opening degree adjusting device for adjusting an opening degree of a supply line.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Storage tank 10a, 11a Bottom valve 11 Intermediate tank 12 Coating device 13 Defoaming device 15, 38 Pressure control valve 19 Level detector 22 Transfer means 23 Pressure fluctuation absorption device 26 Flow rate detector 27, 37 Pipe internal pressure detector 28 Opening degree Control device 29 Opening control valve 30 Flow control device 31 Liquid feed line 32 Supply line 33 Air container 36 Pressure control device 43 Ultrasonic vibrator 48 Valve box 49 Servo motor 50 Lead screw 51 Connecting plate

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Tetsuo Nomiyama 210 Nakanakanuma, Minamiashigara-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Takashi Ando 210 Nakanakanuma Minamiashigara-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd.F-term ( Reference) 2H023 EA00 4F042 AA22 BA06 BA12 CA01 CA04 CA07 CA09 CB08 CB10 CB18 CB24

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A photographic photosensitive material coating liquid supply apparatus for supplying the coating liquid from a storage tank for storing the photographic photosensitive material coating liquid to a coating apparatus, wherein the coating liquid transferred from the storage tank An intermediate tank that temporarily receives the liquid, a liquid feed line in which the coating liquid is transferred from the storage tank to the intermediate tank, and a transfer unit that is provided in the middle of the liquid feed line and transfers the coating liquid. A pressure adjusting device provided in the intermediate tank to adjust the pressure in the tank; a pressure detector provided in the intermediate tank to measure the pressure in the tank and convert a measured value into a signal; A supply line for supplying a coating liquid to the coating device from the supply line, a flow detector provided in the middle of the supply line, measuring a flow rate of the supply line, and converting a measured value into a signal; An opening adjustment device that is provided to adjust the opening of the supply line; a defoaming device that is provided in the middle of the supply line and that removes bubbles existing in the application liquid passing through the supply line; and the pressure. Detector, and the pressure received from the flow rate detector, and based on the measurement value of the flow rate, so as to be controlled to a predetermined flow rate,
An apparatus for supplying a coating solution for a photographic photosensitive material, comprising: a pressure control device; and a flow control device that controls the pressure and the opening by controlling the opening control device. 2. The liquid sending line is provided with a pressure fluctuation absorbing device that absorbs pressure fluctuation in a pipe, and the pressure fluctuation absorbing device includes an air container connected to the liquid sending line, It is characterized by comprising a pipe internal pressure detector for detecting the pressure in the liquid sending line, and a pressure adjusting device for adjusting the pressure in the air container based on the measurement value detected by the pipe internal pressure detector. An apparatus for supplying a coating liquid for a photographic photosensitive material according to claim 1. 3. The pressure fluctuation absorbing device is provided with a defoaming device for defoaming bubbles contained in the coating liquid passing through the liquid sending line, and the defoaming device is provided with the defoaming device. 3. The coating liquid for a photographic light-sensitive material according to claim 2, comprising an ultrasonic vibrator attached around the air container and irradiating the coating liquid with ultrasonic waves using the air in the air container as a medium. Feeding device. 4. The opening control device includes an opening control valve for variably increasing and decreasing the cross-sectional area of the supply line, and a driving unit for driving the opening control valve. An apparatus for supplying a coating solution for a photographic light-sensitive material according to any one of claims 1 to 3.