JP2003280166A - Drying device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve drying capacity and conveying performance with simple device constitution. <P>SOLUTION: A drying device 31 is equipped with a partition plate 35 having a nozzle 44 for blowing dry air to a photosensitive material 10a, a negative pressure generating pump 33 which forcibly discharges the air at an upper part 32a of a drying chamber 32 partitioned with the partition plate 35 to place the upper part 32a in a negative pressure state, a conveying means 34 which suctionally carries the photosensitive material 10a floating through the negative- pressure operation of the negative-pressure generating pump 33, a pipe 40 which blows mixed air of air discharged from the negative-pressure generating pump 33 and external air introduced from an outside air intake 46 as dry air from the nozzle 4, a lower part 32b of the drying chamber 32, a duct formed of a pipe 45, and a heater 36 which is provided halfway in the pipe 45 and heats the mixed air up to specified temperature. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for drying a recording medium while it is being conveyed in a conveying path.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an automatic processor such as a printer processor used in a photo lab, a photosensitive material such as photographic paper is cut into a cut sheet according to a print size, exposed,
After performing various printing processes such as back printing, it is conveyed to a developing device and sequentially subjected to various processes such as color development, bleach-fixing, washing with water and stabilization.

The photosensitive material after the development processing is conveyed to a drying device. A conventional drying device is provided with a conveying member that conveys a photosensitive material, a blower, a heater, and the like, and the air warmed by the heater is blown onto the photosensitive material by the blower to dry it. For example, in the drying device disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-83021, a heat roller having a heater built in its shaft core is used, and the heat from the heat roller heats the dry air.

Further, JP-A-8-281923, JP-A-10-62064 and JP-A-2000-3.
Japanese Patent No. 7598 describes a drying device that uses a pump or a fan to generate a negative pressure in the device. In these drying devices, the pressure of water vapor in the device is reduced by the action of negative pressure, and the moisture evaporated from the material to be dried is increased to enhance the drying ability of the device.

[0005]

However, in the drying device described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-83021, the heating efficiency is poor because the temperature of the drying air blown on the photosensitive material depends on the heat radiation from the heat roller. . Further, since a large number of rollers are used to convey the photosensitive material and a fan is used to blow dry air, there is a problem that the apparatus configuration is complicated and the apparatus cost increases. Further, a drying device for generating a negative pressure inside the device requires a new device such as a pump or a fan for generating a negative pressure, which also leads to a complicated device configuration and a high cost.

The present invention is intended to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a drying apparatus having a simple apparatus configuration and improved in drying capacity and transportability.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is an apparatus for drying a recording medium while conveying the recording medium in a conveying path, in which the recording medium is provided on the side facing the recording medium along the conveying path. A partition plate provided with a blowout hole for blowing dry air to the recording medium, and air in the space on the recording medium side partitioned by the partition plate are forcibly discharged to bring the space into a negative pressure state. It is characterized in that it is provided with a negative pressure generating means and a conveying means for sucking and conveying the recording medium floated by the negative pressure action of the negative pressure generating means.

Incidentally, a pipe line for blowing a mixed gas of the exhaust gas discharged from the negative pressure generating means and the outside air as dry air from the blowing hole, and a pipe line provided in the pipe line,
It is preferable to include a heating means for heating the mixed gas to a predetermined temperature. Further, it is preferable that the carrying means is provided with a width adjusting means for adjusting a width for sucking the recording medium by the carrying means in accordance with a width of the recording medium in a direction orthogonal to the carrying direction.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows a schematic internal configuration of a printer processor 2 embodying the present invention. The printer processor 2 includes a printer unit 3 and a processor unit 4. The printer unit 3 includes a magazine 5, a cutter 6, a back printing unit 7, an exposure unit 8, and a sorting unit 9. The strip-shaped photosensitive material 10 set in the magazine 5 is cut by the cutter 6 according to the print size, and becomes a cut sheet-shaped photosensitive material 10a (see FIGS. 2 and 3).
The photosensitive material 10a has a conveying path 11 indicated by a two-dot chain line in the figure.
Is conveyed toward the exposure unit 8 along with, and the frame number and correction data are printed by the back printing unit 7 on the way. Then, an image based on the image data is exposed and recorded on the recording surface of the photosensitive material 10a by the exposure unit 8. Thereafter, the exposed photosensitive material 10a is sorted into a single row or multiple rows (for example, two rows) by the sorting unit 9 according to the print size and the print quantity, and is conveyed to the processor unit 4.

The processor section 4 comprises a development processing section 12, a squeeze section 13, a drying section 14, and a sorter section 15. The development processing section 12 is provided with a developing tank 16, a bleach-fixing tank 17, and first to fourth washing tanks 18 to 21 in this order from the upstream side (left side in the drawing) of the photosensitive material 10a in the conveying direction. A predetermined amount of developer is stored in the developing tank 16, a predetermined amount of bleach-fixing solution is stored in the bleach-fixing tank 17, and a predetermined amount of rinsing solution is stored in the first to fourth washing tanks 18 to 21, respectively. Inside the developing tank 16 and the bleach-fixing tank 17, a carrying rack 22 including a plurality of carrying rollers for carrying the photosensitive material 10a into a substantially U-shape inside the tank.
Is provided. Further, in the water washing tanks 18 to 21, a plurality of conveying roller pairs 23 for conveying the photosensitive material 10a are provided. The photosensitive material 10a is provided on the transport rack 22.
And the conveying roller pair 23 conveys the inside of each of the processing tanks 16 to 21, and the developing process is performed during the conveyance.

A submerged squeeze portion 2 is provided on the partition wall between the washing tanks.
4 are provided. In the water washing tanks 18 to 21, the photosensitive material 10a is conveyed in the liquid through the in-liquid squeeze portion 24. The submerged squeeze portion 24 includes a thin plate-shaped blade (not shown) that elastically deforms. This blade allows passage of the photosensitive material 10a and blocks outflow of the washing liquid. The developed photosensitive material 10 a has its water droplets adhering to the surface thereof removed by the squeeze portion 13 and is conveyed to the drying portion 14. Instead of the submerged squeeze unit 24, the photosensitive material 10a may be conveyed in the washing tanks 18 to 21 by the conveying rack 22 and the conveying roller pair 23 like the developing tank 16 and the bleach-fixing tank 17. Good.

The drying unit 14 is provided with a drying device 31. As shown in FIG. 2, the drying device 31 includes a drying chamber 32, a negative pressure generating pump 33, a conveying member 34, a partition plate 35, and a heater 36. Drying room 32
Is divided by the partition plate 35 into the upper portion 32a and the lower portion 32.
and a carry-in port 3 into which the photosensitive material 10a is carried in from the squeeze section 13 on both side surfaces of the upper portion 32a.
7, and a carry-out port 38 through which the photosensitive material 10a is carried out to the sorter unit 15 is provided. The carry-in port 37 and the carry-out port 38 are sealed with a well-known seal member,
Moreover, the structure is such that the recording surface of the photosensitive material 10a is not scratched.

The negative pressure generating pump 33 forcibly discharges the air in the upper portion 32a of the drying chamber 32 to the pipe 40 via the pipe 39. Then, a pressure difference is generated between the upper portion 32a and the lower portion 32b of the drying chamber 32 to bring the upper portion 32a into a negative pressure state. Due to this negative pressure action, the photosensitive material 10a
Is levitated and sucked by the conveyor belt 41 described later.

The carrying member 34 includes a carrying belt 41, belt rollers 42 and 43, and a wind shield 5 as a width adjusting means.
1 (see FIG. 3). The conveyor belt 41 is a mesh belt such as a mesh belt, and is wound between the belt rollers 42 and 43. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the wind shield plate 51 is provided on the photosensitive material 10 of the conveyor belt 41.
a is provided on the side where it is sucked, is movable in the direction of the arrow, and is controlled by the main controller that controls the operation of each part of the printer processor 2 according to the width L1 of the photosensitive material 10a in the direction orthogonal to the transport direction. Signal for adjusting the width of suction of the photosensitive material 10a by the conveyor belt 41.

The partition plate 35 is provided with a plurality of nozzles 44 in a slit shape in the width L1 direction of the photosensitive material 10a. Dry air is blown from the nozzles 44 toward the recording surface of the photosensitive material 10a. The shape of the nozzle is not limited to the slit shape, and may be circular or elliptical. Further, the number of nozzles, the arrangement pitch, and the like are set in the photosensitive material 10a.
The width L1 can be appropriately changed according to various conditions.

The pipe 40, the lower part 32b of the drying chamber 32,
And the pipe 45 connecting these forms a conduit for blowing a mixed gas of the exhaust gas discharged from the negative pressure generation pump 33 and the outside air introduced from the outside air introduction port 46 from the nozzle 44 as dry air. The heater 36 is provided in the middle of the pipe 45 and heats the mixed gas to a predetermined temperature. The mixed gas heated by the heater 36 is blown to the lower portion 32b of the drying chamber 32 via the pipe 45 by the negative pressure action of the negative pressure generating pump 33, and the photosensitive material 10a of the photosensitive material 10a is blown from the nozzle 44 as the drying air. It is sprayed on the recording surface. With this configuration, it is not necessary to provide a fan that blows dry air, so that the device configuration can be simplified. Further, since the upper portion 32b of the drying chamber 32 has a negative pressure, the water vapor pressure around the photosensitive material 10a decreases, and the photosensitive material 10
It is possible to increase the amount of water evaporated from a and improve the drying ability of the device. In addition, heater 3
The arrangement position of 6 is not limited to the above, and may be incorporated in the partition plate 35 or may be arranged near the nozzle 44.

A throttle plate 47 capable of adjusting the amount of introduced outside air is attached to the outside air introduction port 46. This diaphragm 4
7 and the heater 36 are controlled by the main controller of the printer processor 2 so that the temperature of the dry air becomes optimum according to various conditions such as the type of the photosensitive material 10a, the conveying speed, the environment (temperature and humidity) of the outside air. It

The photosensitive material 10a conveyed from the squeeze portion 13 through the carry-in port 37 is transferred to the nozzle 44 of the partition plate 35.
The dry air blown from the sheet is conveyed while being pressed against the conveyor belt 41 by the negative pressure action of the negative pressure generating pump 33, and is sent out to the sorter unit 15 through the carry-out port 38, and the sorter unit 15 for each order. Be sorted.
In this way, since the recording surface of the photosensitive material 10a is conveyed in a state of being separated from the partition plate 35, the recording surface is not damaged by the contact between the photosensitive material 10a and the partition plate 35. Further, since the photosensitive material 10a is pressed against the conveyor belt 41 by the suction force by the negative pressure action of the negative pressure generating pump 33 and the floating force by the dry air from the nozzle 44, the photosensitive material 10a can be stably conveyed. it can.

The means for generating the negative pressure is not limited to the pump of the above embodiment, but a cross flow fan or the like may be used. As the heater, various heaters such as a ceramic heater and a silicon rubber heater can be used.

The present invention can be applied not only to the printer processor of the above embodiment, but also to a drying device of an ink jet printer for forming an image on a recording medium by ejecting ink droplets from an ink jet head.

[0021]

As described above, according to the drying apparatus of the present invention, the negative pressure generating means for forcibly discharging the air in the space on the recording medium side partitioned by the partition plate to bring the space into a negative pressure state. ,
Conveying means for sucking and conveying the recording medium floated by the negative pressure effect of the negative pressure generating means, and a conduit for blowing the mixed gas of the exhaust air and the outside air discharged from the negative pressure generating means as dry air from the blowing holes. Since it is provided in this pipe and has heating means for heating the mixed gas to a predetermined temperature, it is possible to improve the drying capacity and the transportability with a simple device configuration.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a printer processor embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a drying device.

FIG. 3 is a top view of the drying device.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 Printer processor 10, 10a Photosensitive material (recording medium) 11 Transport path 14 Drying section 31 Dryer 33 Negative pressure generating pump (negative pressure generating means) 34 Transport member 35 Partition Board 36 Heater (Heating means) 39, 40, 45 Piping 44 nozzles (blowing holes) 46 Outside air inlet 51 Wind shield (width adjustment means)

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An apparatus for drying a recording medium while conveying the recording medium in a conveying path, wherein a blow hole is provided on the side facing the recording medium along the conveying path to blow dry air on the recording medium. A partition plate, negative pressure generating means for forcibly discharging air in the space on the recording medium side partitioned by the partition plate to bring the space into a negative pressure state, and a negative pressure action of the negative pressure generating means. A drying device comprising: a transporting unit that suctions and transports the floating recording medium. 2. A pipe line for blowing a mixed gas of exhaust gas discharged from the negative pressure generating means and the outside air as dry air from the blowing hole, and a pipe line provided in the pipe line for predetermining the mixed gas. 2. The drying device according to claim 1, further comprising: a heating unit that heats to the temperature. 3. The width adjusting means for adjusting the width for sucking the recording medium by the conveying means according to the width of the recording medium in the direction orthogonal to the conveying direction. The drying device according to claim 1 or 2.