JP2006162298A - Ultraviolet ray irradiation device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a miniaturized ultraviolet ray irradiation device, while securing ultraviolet intensity to an irradiation object. <P>SOLUTION: The first reflecting plate 11A of the first lamp 3A (one ultraviolet lamp) is arranged slantingly so that ultraviolet rays reflected by the first reflecting plate 11A are condensed on the surface WA to be irradiated of a workpiece W, on the first condensing position 17 between a line L1 drawn vertically downward from the axis of the first lamp 3A to the workpiece W and a line L2 drawn vertically downward from the axis of the second lamp 3B (an ultraviolet lamp adjacent to one ultraviolet lamp on the second reflecting plate side) to the workpiece W. The second reflecting plate 13B of the second lamp 3B is arranged slantingly so that ultraviolet rays reflected thereby are condensed on the first condensing position 17 on the surface WA to be irradiated. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an ultraviolet irradiation device.

This type of UV irradiation device can be used, for example, to cure the ink rapidly after printing UV curable ink, or to cure the UV curable resin applied on the irradiated object. (See, for example, Patent Document 1).
For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the ultraviolet irradiation device 100 includes a plurality of straight tubular ultraviolet lamps 101 and a pair of reflectors 103 and 103 attached to each ultraviolet lamp 101. The reflectors 103, 103 are arranged substantially rearward of the ultraviolet lamp 101, have a cross-sectional elliptical arc shape that covers the entire length of the upper side and the side of the ultraviolet lamp 101, and reflect the ultraviolet rays emitted backward from the ultraviolet lamp 101. And plays a role of guiding to the work W side (in the drawing, the optical path of the ultraviolet ray is shown by a two-dot chain line; the same applies hereinafter).

Specifically, the reflectors 103 and 103 are arranged along an elliptical arc indicated by a dashed-dotted imaginary line in FIG. 3, the ultraviolet lamp 101 is arranged at the first focal point F1 of the elliptical point, and the second focal point F2. Coincides with the irradiated surface WA of the workpiece W (note that the second focal point F2 is located immediately below the ultraviolet lamp 101).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-300957 (FIG. 1)

By the way, since the ultraviolet irradiation device 100 is often incorporated in a printing press or other devices, there is a demand for miniaturization as much as possible.
Therefore, in order to reduce the size of the ultraviolet irradiation device 100 in the width direction (left and right direction on the paper surface), as shown in FIG. 4, the second focal point F2 is aligned with the irradiated surface WA of the workpiece W, and an imaginary line is used. It seems that the lengths of the minor axis a and the major axis b of the ellipse shown are adjusted so that a / b is smaller than that of FIG. 3, that is, the ellipse is flattened.
However, as shown in FIG. 4, when a / b is reduced, the ultraviolet lamp 101 and the reflectors 103 and 103 interfere with each other, and there is a problem that such an arrangement cannot actually be adopted.

On the other hand, when the major axis b of the ellipse is made shorter than that of FIG. 3 in order to eliminate interference between the ultraviolet lamp 101 and the reflectors 103, 103, the second focal point F2 is irradiated with the workpiece W as shown in FIG. There is a problem that the intensity of the ultraviolet rays irradiated to the workpiece W is lowered as a result of being deviated from the surface WA.
As described above, even if various ellipses are drawn and the reflector 103 is arranged along the ellipse, it is difficult to secure the ultraviolet intensity to the irradiated object equivalent to the conventional one while reducing the size. there were.
This invention is completed based on the said situation, Comprising: It aims at providing the ultraviolet irradiation apparatus reduced in size, ensuring the ultraviolet intensity to a to-be-irradiated object.

  As means for achieving the above object, the invention of claim 1 is an ultraviolet irradiation device comprising a plurality of straight tube type ultraviolet lamps arranged in parallel to irradiate the lower workpiece with ultraviolet rays. Each ultraviolet lamp includes a first reflector that encloses the entire length of the ultraviolet lamp from one side to the upper side, and a second reflector that encloses the entire length of the ultraviolet lamp from the other side to the upper side. The first reflecting plate of one of the ultraviolet lamps includes a line in which the ultraviolet rays reflected thereby drop vertically from the axis of the one ultraviolet lamp to the workpiece, and the second reflecting plate on the one ultraviolet lamp. And is arranged so as to be condensed on the irradiated surface of the workpiece at a condensing position between an axis of an ultraviolet lamp adjacent on the side and a line perpendicular to the workpiece. The second reflector of the ultraviolet lamp is an ultraviolet irradiation device characterized in that the ultraviolet rays reflected thereby are arranged so as to be condensed on the irradiated surface at the condensing position. is there.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, a gap having a predetermined interval is formed between upper end portions of the first reflecting plate and the second reflecting plate. The surrounding gas is exhausted.

<Invention of Claim 1>
As in the prior art shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, when the ultraviolet rays are to be collected directly under the ultraviolet lamp, it is necessary to arrange the reflection surface of the reflector along an ellipse.
Compared to this, as in the present invention shown in FIG. 2, the ultraviolet ray reflected by the first reflector of the one ultraviolet lamp is vertically lowered from the axis of the one ultraviolet lamp to the workpiece, The second reflector of the adjacent ultraviolet lamp is disposed so as to be condensed at a condensing position between the axis of the ultraviolet lamp adjacent to the one ultraviolet lamp and the line vertically lowered to the workpiece. When the ultraviolet rays reflected thereby are arranged so as to be condensed in the vicinity of the condensing position, the pair of reflectors are closed at a closer angle than the state along the ellipse indicated by the phantom line of the one-dot chain line. Therefore, the width of the ultraviolet irradiation device can be made narrower than that of the conventional one, and the ultraviolet irradiation device can be downsized.
Moreover, since the ultraviolet rays condensed by the first reflecting plate of one ultraviolet lamp and the ultraviolet rays condensed by the second reflecting plate of the adjacent ultraviolet lamp overlap each other, the ultraviolet intensity is increased.

<Invention of Claim 2>
According to the invention of this claim, the gas around the ultraviolet lamp is exhausted from the gap between the first reflector and the second reflector, and the ultraviolet lamp can be cooled.
In particular, according to the configuration of the present invention, since the pair of reflectors (the first reflector and the second reflector) are arranged at a closed angle as compared with the prior art, the gas can be smoothly exhausted and the cooling efficiency can be improved. Becomes higher.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
The ultraviolet irradiation device 1 according to the present embodiment includes a plurality of (three in the present embodiment) straight-tube ultraviolet lamps 3 (hereinafter referred to as “lamp 3”) arranged in parallel to irradiate the lower workpiece W with ultraviolet rays. (The work W flows in the left-right direction on the paper surface in FIG. 2).
In the following description, among the three lamps, the one located on the left in FIG. 2 is called the first lamp 3A, the one located inside is called the second lamp 3B, and the one located on the right is called the third lamp 3C.
Each of the lamps 3A, 3B, 3C is housed in box-shaped cases 5, 5, 5 that are formed in a rectangular parallelepiped as a whole and in which an opening (exit window) is formed on the lower surface.

As the lamps 3A, 3B, and 3C, mercury lamps, metal halide lamps, excimer lamps, black lights, and the like are applicable, and it is possible to irradiate ultraviolet rays having a wavelength suitable for UV resin curing (for example, a main wavelength of 365 nm). .
The first reflectors 11A, 11B, and 11C and the second reflectors 13A, 13B, and 13C are disposed substantially rearward of the lamps 3A, 3B, and 3C with respect to the opening direction of the cases 5, 5, and 5 (downward in FIG. 2). Has been. The first reflectors 11A, 11B, and 11C have a cross-sectional elliptical arc shape that surrounds the lamps 3A, 3B, and 3C over the entire length from one side (the left side in the drawing) to the upper side of each lamp 3A, 3B, and 3C. The plates 13A, 13B, and 13C have an elliptical cross section that surrounds the entire length of the lamps 3A, 3B, and 3C from the other side (right side of the drawing) to the upper side of the lamps 3A, 3B, and 3C. The first reflectors 11A, 11B, and 11C and the second reflectors 13A, 13B, and 13C serve to reflect the ultraviolet rays emitted rearward from the lamps 3A, 3B, and 3C and guide them to the openings. A gap S of a predetermined interval is formed between the upper ends of the first reflectors 11A, 11B, and 11C and the upper ends of the second reflectors 13A, 13B, and 13C. Chambers 15, 15, 15 are provided above the cases 5, 5, 5, and air around the lamps 3 A, 3 B, 3 C is drawn through the gap S by driving the cooling fan. Exhaust to the outside.

Next, the arrangement of the first reflectors 11A, 11B, 11C and the second reflectors 13A, 13B, 13C of the lamps 3A, 3B, 3C will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, the first reflecting plate 11A of the first lamp 3A (corresponding to “one ultraviolet lamp” in claim 1) has the ultraviolet light reflected by the first reflecting plate 11A as shown in FIG. Perpendicular to the workpiece W from the axis L1 of the second lamp 3B (corresponding to the “ultraviolet lamp adjacent to the one ultraviolet lamp on the second reflector side” in claim 1). Are arranged so as to be condensed on the irradiated surface WA of the workpiece W at the first condensing position 17 between the line L2 and the line L2.
The second reflector 13B of the second lamp 3B is disposed so as to be inclined so that the ultraviolet rays reflected thereby are condensed on the irradiated surface WA at the first condensing position 17.

Further, the first reflecting plate 11B of the second lamp 3B includes a line L2 in which the ultraviolet rays reflected by the first reflecting plate 11B are lowered vertically from the axis of the second lamp 3B to the workpiece W, and the third lamp 3C. It is arranged so as to be condensed on the irradiated surface WA of the workpiece W at the second condensing position 19 between the axis L and the line L3 perpendicular to the workpiece W.
The second reflector 13 </ b> C of the third lamp 3 </ b> C is disposed so as to be inclined so that the ultraviolet rays reflected thereby are condensed on the irradiated surface WA at the second condensing position 19.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the second reflecting plate 13A of the first lamp 3A is a line L1 in which the ultraviolet rays reflected by the second reflecting plate 13A are lowered vertically from the axis of the first lamp 3A to the workpiece W. On the further left side, it is arranged so as to be focused on the irradiated surface WA of the workpiece W. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the first reflecting plate 11C of the third lamp 3C has a line L3 in which the ultraviolet rays reflected by the first reflecting plate 11C are lowered vertically from the axis of the third lamp 3C to the workpiece W. On the right side, it is arranged so as to be condensed on the irradiated surface WA of the workpiece W.

Now, the effect of the ultraviolet irradiation device 1 of this embodiment will be described. In the ultraviolet irradiation device 1 of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the pair of reflectors 11 and 13 provided in the respective lamps 3A, 3B, and 3C is more than in a state along an ellipse indicated by an phantom line of a one-dot chain line. Since the arrangement is made at a closed angle, the width of the ultraviolet irradiation device 1 in the left-right direction on the paper surface can be made narrower than that of the conventional FIG. 3, and the ultraviolet irradiation device 1 itself can be downsized.
Further, the ultraviolet light collected by the first reflecting plate 11A of the first lamp 3A and the ultraviolet light collected by the second reflecting plate 13B of the second lamp 3B overlap on the irradiated surface WA, and similarly, the second lamp Since the ultraviolet rays collected by the first reflecting plate 11B of 3B and the ultraviolet rays collected by the second reflecting plate 13C of the third lamp 3C overlap on the irradiated surface WA, the ultraviolet intensity is the conventional one shown in FIG. Can be kept equal.

  Further, according to the ultraviolet irradiation device 1 of the present embodiment, the gas around the lamp 3 is exhausted from the gap S between the first reflecting plate 11 and the second reflecting plate 13, and the lamp 3 can be cooled. In particular, according to the configuration of the ultraviolet irradiation device 1 of the present embodiment, since the first reflecting plate 11 and the second reflecting plate 13 are disposed at a closed angle as compared with the prior art, the exhaust of gas becomes smooth and the cooling efficiency is improved. Becomes higher.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described with reference to the above description and drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention, and further, within the scope not departing from the gist of the invention other than the following. Various modifications can be made.
In the above embodiment, the number of lamps 3 is three, but may be two or four or more.

It is the top view which looked at the ultraviolet irradiation device from the lower surface side. It is XX sectional drawing of FIG. It is sectional drawing of the ultraviolet irradiation device of a prior art example. It is sectional drawing of the ultraviolet irradiation device of a prior art example similarly. It is sectional drawing of the ultraviolet irradiation device of a prior art example similarly.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Ultraviolet irradiation apparatus 3 ... Ultraviolet lamp 5 ... Case 11 ... 1st reflecting plate 13 ... 2nd reflecting plate 17 ... 1st condensing position 19 ... 2nd condensing position W ... Work WA ... Irradiated surface

Claims (2)

An ultraviolet irradiation device comprising a plurality of straight tube ultraviolet lamps arranged in parallel to irradiate the lower workpiece with ultraviolet rays,
Each ultraviolet lamp is provided with a first reflector that surrounds the entire length of the ultraviolet lamp from one side to the upper side, and a second reflector that surrounds the entire length of the ultraviolet lamp from the other side to the upper side.
Among the ultraviolet lamps, the first reflector of one ultraviolet lamp has a line in which the ultraviolet rays reflected thereby drop vertically from the axis of the one ultraviolet lamp to the workpiece, and the first ultraviolet lamp 2 is arranged so as to be condensed on the irradiated surface of the workpiece at a condensing position between the axis of the ultraviolet lamp adjacent on the reflector side and a line vertically lowered to the workpiece,
The second reflecting plate of the adjacent ultraviolet lamp is disposed so as to be inclined so that the ultraviolet light reflected thereby is condensed on the irradiated surface at the condensing position. apparatus. The gap around the ultraviolet lamp is evacuated from the gap between the upper ends of the first reflector and the second reflector, and the gas around the ultraviolet lamp is exhausted by the exhaust means. The ultraviolet irradiation device described.

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