JP2009073011A - Liquid jet device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a liquid jet device capable of fixing liquid that is jetted and reaches a target on the target completely. <P>SOLUTION: In an inkjet printer 11, long-length continuous paper 12 conveyed from a winding shaft 18 located on an upstream side is printed, and the continuous paper 12 that has been printed is dried and taken up by a take-up driving shaft 74 located on a downstream side. A printing area A where the continuous paper 12 is printed, and a forcible drying area B which is positioned on a more downstream side than the printing area A and where the continuous paper 12 that has been printed in the printing area A is forcibly dried with warm air by a forcible drying device 60 are provided at the middle position of a conveying path of the continuous paper 12. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid ejecting apparatus such as an ink jet printer.

  In general, an ink jet printer (hereinafter referred to as “printer”) is widely known as a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects liquid onto a target (for example, Patent Document 1). The printer of this patent document 1 is to continuously print a large number of unit images that are cut out later and used as labels on a printing tape (target), which is continuous paper. For example, the printer is stuck on a wrap film of fresh food. Label can be printed in small lots.

That is, the printer of Patent Document 1 performs printing by feeding a printing tape along a tape feeding path (conveying path) and ejecting ink (liquid) onto the printing tape in a printing area in the middle of the tape feeding path. Then, after the printed printing tape is naturally dried in the drying area in the middle of the tape feeding path, the naturally dried printing tape is wound up.
JP 2003-118136 A

  By the way, in the printer of Patent Document 1, a printed tape that has been printed in a limited drying area is naturally dried. For such a printing tape (label), glossy paper is usually used, but since a plastic film without an ink receiving layer is also used, the printed printing tape is difficult to dry. For this reason, in the printer of Patent Document 1 in which the printed printing tape is only naturally dried, the drying capacity is limited, and it is difficult to sufficiently dry the printed tape before winding the printed printing tape. There was a problem of being.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to such problems existing in the prior art. An object of the invention is to provide a liquid ejecting apparatus capable of sufficiently fixing a liquid ejected and landed on a target to the target.

  In order to achieve the above-described object, the liquid ejecting apparatus of the present invention ejects liquid onto a long target conveyed from the upstream side, and fixes the liquid that has landed on the target to the target. In the liquid ejecting apparatus configured to take up the liquid on the downstream side, a liquid ejecting region in which the liquid is ejected onto the target and a downstream side of the liquid ejecting region are disposed in the middle of the transport path of the target. And a forced fixing region that is positioned and forcibly fixes the liquid landed on the target to the target by forced fixing means.

  According to the present invention, since the liquid that has landed on the target is forcibly fixed to the target by the forced fixing means, the liquid that has been ejected and landed on the target is sufficiently fixed to the target within a limited forced fixing region. It becomes possible.

In the liquid ejecting apparatus of the present invention, the forced fixing region is a forced drying region in which the target after the liquid is ejected is forcibly dried by a forced drying unit,
The liquid that has landed on the target is fixed to the target by drying the target after the liquid has been ejected in the forced drying region.

  According to the present invention, the target after the liquid is jetted is forcibly dried by the forced drying means, and thus the target can be sufficiently dried in a limited forced drying region.

  In the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the aspect of the invention, the target is intermittently transported in units of a distance of the liquid ejecting area in the target transport direction, and the liquid is ejected in a stopped state in the liquid ejecting area. The forced drying region is set so that the distance in the target transport direction is a positive integer multiple of the distance of the liquid ejecting region.

  According to the present invention, since the target is intermittently transported in units of the distance of the liquid ejection area, the time for drying in the forced drying area is constant for each distance unit of the liquid ejection area. Accordingly, it is possible to uniformly dry the target after the liquid is ejected.

  In the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the aspect of the invention, a natural drying region for naturally drying the target is provided between the liquid ejecting region and the forced drying region in the target transport path.

  According to the present invention, the liquid jet region and the forced drying region are separated by the natural drying region. Therefore, the influence (for example, the liquid ejection varies due to heat propagation, wind direction, etc.) when the target is forcibly dried by the forced drying means in the forced drying area affects the liquid ejection to the target in the liquid ejection area. This can be suppressed.

In the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the aspect of the invention, in the natural drying region, the transport direction of the target is changed to a direction away from the liquid ejecting head that ejects the liquid.
According to the present invention, since the transport direction of the target is changed away from the liquid ejecting head in the natural drying region, the influence when the target is forcibly dried by the forced drying means in the forced drying region is affected by the liquid ejecting region. Thus, it is possible to effectively prevent the liquid from being ejected to the target. In particular, by changing the transport direction of the target in the natural drying region so that the liquid ejection region and the forced drying region do not line up in the same plane, the influence of forced drying on the liquid ejection to the target in the liquid ejection region ( For example, it is possible to suppress the wind).

In the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the aspect of the invention, a guide unit that guides the target along the transport direction is provided in the transport path of the target.
According to the present invention, it is possible to suppress the target from meandering and being transported in the target transport path.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment in which a liquid ejecting apparatus of the invention is embodied in an ink jet printer will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, when referring to “front-rear direction”, “left-right direction”, and “up-down direction”, the directions indicated by arrows in FIGS. 1 and 2 are used as a reference.

  As shown in FIG. 1, an ink jet printer 11 as a liquid ejecting apparatus sequentially prints on a feeding unit 13 that feeds a continuous paper 12 as a long target, and a continuous paper 12 fed from the feeding unit 13. A main body 14 that is performed and dried, and a winding unit 15 that winds the continuous paper 12 that has been printed and dried by the main body 14 are provided. That is, the main body portion 14 includes a rectangular parallelepiped main body case 16, and the feeding portion 13 is disposed on the left side of the main body case 16 on the upstream side in the conveying direction of the continuous paper 12 and the main body case 16 on the downstream side. The winding part 15 is arrange | positioned on the right side.

  The feeding portion 13 includes a support plate 17 extending leftward from the lower left end portion of the main body case 16, and the front surface of the support plate 17 is a vertical surface. A winding shaft 18 extending toward the front (front side in the direction orthogonal to the paper surface in FIG. 1) is rotatably supported with respect to the support plate 17 at the front end portion of the front surface of the support plate 17. A disc-shaped rotating plate 19 is provided at the proximal end of the winding shaft 18 so as to rotate integrally with the winding shaft 18.

  A continuous paper 12 previously wound in a roll shape is supported on the winding shaft 18 so as to be integrally rotatable with the winding shaft 18, and a rotating plate 19 is formed on both side edges of the continuous paper 12 wound in a roll shape. The side edge of the side is in contact with the front surface of the rotating plate 19. That is, when the continuous paper 12 previously wound in a roll shape is supported on the winding shaft 18, one side edge of the continuous paper 12 wound in the roll shape comes into contact with the front surface of the rotating plate 19. Thus, positioning in the front-rear direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the continuous paper 12 is performed. Note that glossy paper is used as the continuous paper 12 of the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the feeding portion 13 includes a plate-like feeding stand 20 that extends horizontally from the central portion of the left surface of the main body case 16 toward the left. A relay roller 21 is rotatably provided for winding the continuous paper 12 fed from the winding shaft 18 and guiding it to the upper surface of the feeding table 20.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a guide portion 24 as an elongated block-shaped guide means extending along the left-right direction is provided on almost the entire rear end edge on the rear end edge on the upper surface of the feeding table 20. . Furthermore, a guide block 25 is provided on the upper surface of the feeding table 20 as guide means disposed so as to face the left end portion of the guide portion 24. An area between the guide portion 24 and the guide block 25 on the upper surface of the feeding table 20 is a part of the transport path of the continuous paper 12, and the guide portion 24 and the guide block 25 are widths in the front-rear direction of the continuous paper 12. Are separated by the same distance.

  When the continuous paper 12 is conveyed toward the right side (the main body 14 side) along the upper surface of the feeding table 20, the front and rear side edges of the continuous paper 12 are in relation to the guide portion 24 and the guide block 25. By sliding, the continuous paper 12 is guided along the transport direction (here, the right direction). Note that the guide block 25 is movable in the front-rear direction on the upper surface of the feeding table 20, and when the width of the continuous paper 12 in the front-rear direction is changed, the guide block 24 is moved to move the guide unit 24. The distance between the guide block 25 and the guide block 25 is changed according to the width of the continuous paper 12 in the front-rear direction.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a base 30 as a flat plate-like base member that divides the inside of the main body case 16 vertically is located at a position slightly above the central portion in the vertical direction in the main body case 16 of the main body portion 14. The region above the base 30 in the main body case 16 is a printing chamber 31 for printing on the continuous paper 12. On the other hand, in the area below the base 30 in the main body case 16, three compartments 33, 34, and 35 that are partitioned in the left-right direction are formed. These three compartments are, in order from the left, a first compartment 33, a second compartment 34, and a third compartment 35.

  The left wall of the main body case 16 is provided with a carry-in port (not shown) for carrying the continuous paper 12 into the first compartment 33 from the upper surface of the feeding table 20. A pull-in driving roller 36 is rotatably provided so as to face each other at a close position. That is, the pull-in driving roller 36 is disposed at the left end portion of the first compartment 33.

  A relay roller 40 is rotatably provided on the right side of the pull-in driving roller 36 in the first compartment 33. Then, the continuous paper 12 drawn into the first compartment 33 by driving the drawing drive roller 36 is wound around the relay roller 40 so as to go to a position near the left end of the printing chamber 31.

  An elevating roller 42 that moves up and down based on driving of an elevating mechanism (not shown) is provided between the drawing drive roller 36 and the relay roller 40 in the first compartment 33. The continuous paper 12 is wound around the elevating roller 42 from below.

  Here, the length of the continuous paper 12 positioned between the pull-in driving roller 36 and the relay roller 40 becomes longer as the elevating roller 42 is lowered and shorter as the elevating roller 42 is raised. . That is, the transport distance of the continuous paper 12 between the pull-in drive roller 36 and the relay roller 40 becomes longer as the lift roller 42 is positioned on the lower side, and the pull-up drive roller 36 and the relay are relayed as the lift roller 42 is positioned on the upper side. The conveyance distance of the continuous paper 12 between the rollers 40 is shortened.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the continuous paper 12 is guided along the conveyance direction (here, upward) so as to vertically penetrate the base 30 at a position facing the relay roller 40 in the base 30. A guide device 43 is provided as guide means. A relay roller 46 is provided on the upper side of the guide device 43 in the printing chamber 31, and the continuous paper 12 is wound around the relay roller 46 from the lower left side and is conveyed horizontally in the right direction. Yes.

  A platen 48 as a rectangular plate-like support member supported on the base 30 is provided in a region on the right side of the relay roller 46 in the printing chamber 31. A conversion roller 49 is provided on the right side of the platen 48 so as to face the relay roller 46 with the platen 48 interposed therebetween. In this case, the upper surface of the relay roller 46, the upper surface of the platen 48, and the upper surface of the conversion roller 49 are flush with each other.

  The continuous paper 12 conveyed in the horizontal right direction from the relay roller 46 along the upper surface of the platen 48 is wound on the conversion roller 49 from the upper left side, and the conveyance direction of the continuous paper 12 is changed from the horizontal right direction to the vertical downward direction. Has been. Then, the continuous paper 12 whose conveyance direction is changed vertically downward by the conversion roller 49 is conveyed into the third compartment 35 through an insertion hole (not shown) provided in the base 30. .

  Guide rails 50 (indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 1) extending in the left-right direction are provided on both the front and rear sides of the platen 48 in the printing chamber 31, and the upper surface of the guide rail 50 is the upper surface of the platen 48. It is higher than the top surface. A rectangular plate-shaped carriage 51 is supported on the upper surfaces of both guide rails 50 so as to be capable of reciprocating in the left-right direction along the both guide rails 50. The carriage 51 moves in the left-right direction on both guide rails 50 based on driving of a drive mechanism (not shown).

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a rectangular plate-like slide plate 53 is supported on the lower surface of the carriage 51 so as to be slidable in the front-rear direction with respect to the carriage 51. A recording head 54 as a liquid ejecting head is supported on the lower surface of the slide plate 53. In addition, a plurality of valve units 55 that temporarily store ink as liquid are provided on the upper rear wall of the main body case 16 in the printing chamber 31. Each valve unit 55 temporarily stores inks of different colors.

  Each valve unit 55 is connected to the recording head 54 via an ink supply tube (not shown), and supplies each ink to the recording head 54 via each ink supply tube. A plurality of nozzle openings (not shown) are provided on the lower surface of the recording head 54, and the ink supplied from each valve unit 55 is conveyed from the nozzle openings onto the platen 48 and stopped on the continuous paper 12. Printing is performed by jetting toward the vehicle.

  Therefore, the area from the left end to the right end of the platen 48 where the continuous paper 12 is printed, which is in the middle of the transport path of the continuous paper 12, is a printing area A as a liquid ejecting area. The conveyance path of the continuous paper 12 is intermittently conveyed by the printing area A unit.

  In the main body case 16, a plurality of ink cartridges (not shown) containing inks of different colors are provided in a detachable state. Each of these ink cartridges (not shown) is connected to each valve unit 55 via an ink supply tube (not shown) so that ink can be supplied. Further, a pressurizing pump (not shown) for pressurizing the inside of each ink cartridge (not shown) is provided in the main body case 16, and each ink cartridge (not shown) is driven by driving the pressurizing pump. ) Is pressurized and supplied to each valve unit 55 via an ink supply tube (not shown).

  Flushing boxes 58 are provided on the left and right sides of the platen 48 on the base 30 to receive ink ejected from the nozzle openings (not shown) of the recording head 54 when performing flushing as needed during printing. ing. A maintenance unit 59 for performing maintenance such as cleaning of the recording head 54 is provided on the left side of the left flushing box 58 on the base 30. The maintenance unit 59 includes a cap 59a corresponding to the recording head 54, and the cap 59a can be moved up and down.

  The inside of the cap 59a communicates with a waste liquid tank (not shown) through a discharge tube (not shown). In addition, a tube pump (not shown) capable of sucking the inside of the discharge tube from the cap 59a side toward the waste liquid tank (not shown) side is provided at an intermediate position of the discharge tube. Then, when the cap 59a is lifted with the carriage 51 moved on the maintenance unit 59, the cap 59a contacts the recording head 54 so as to surround each nozzle opening (not shown) of the recording head 54. It is like that.

  Each tube of the recording head 54 is driven by driving a tube pump (not shown) with the cap 59a in contact with the recording head 54 so as to surround each nozzle opening (not shown) of the recording head 54. So-called cleaning is performed in which ink or bubbles thickened from the opening are forcibly discharged into the cap 59a. The discharged ink discharged into the cap 59a by cleaning is collected in a waste liquid tank (not shown) through a discharge tube (not shown).

  As shown in FIG. 1, the left side of the third compartment 35 is vertically positioned as a forced fixing unit and a forced drying unit for forcibly drying the continuous paper 12 that has been printed in the printing area A. A long forced drying device 60 is provided. Then, the continuous paper 12 that is wound around the conversion roller 49 and conveyed vertically downward passes through the forced drying device 60 and is turned upward to the reverse roller 61 that is rotatably provided below the forced drying device 60. It is wound around and is conveyed slightly diagonally upward to the right.

  As described above, the area from the upper end to the lower end in the forced drying apparatus 60 where the continuous paper 12 is forced to be dried in the middle of the conveyance path of the continuous paper 12 is defined as the forced drying area B as the forced fixing area. Yes. The distance of the forced drying region B in the transport direction (here, the vertical direction) of the continuous paper 12 is a positive integer multiple of the distance of the print region A in the transport direction (here, the left-right direction) of the continuous paper 12 (this embodiment). Is set to 1). Incidentally, in the present embodiment, the distance of the forced drying region B and the distance of the printing region A are set to be equal in the transport direction of the continuous paper 12.

  In addition, an area where the continuous paper 12 is wound around the conversion roller 49 between the printing area A and the forced drying area B in the middle of the conveyance path of the continuous paper 12 is a continuous area after printing in the printing area A. Since the paper 12 is an area that is naturally dried before being forcedly dried in the forced drying area B, the paper 12 is defined as the natural drying area C. In the present embodiment, the forced drying area B and the natural drying area C constitute a drying area as a fixing area.

  The continuous paper 12 conveyed from the reverse roller 61 obliquely upward to the right is wound around the relay roller 62 rotatably provided at the lower right end portion in the third compartment 35 from the lower left side. 35 is conveyed upward along the right wall of the body case 16. At the position between the reverse roller 61 and the relay roller 62 in the third compartment 35, the continuous paper 12 is placed on the lower side so as to apply tension to the continuous paper 12 after forced drying in the forced drying region B. A dancer roller 93 is provided as a pressing member that presses from above.

  In addition, an unillustrated unloading port for unloading the continuous paper 12 to the take-up unit 15 side is provided at a position corresponding to the upper end of the third compartment 35 on the right wall of the main body case 16. A feed driving roller 64 is rotatably provided in the chamber 35 so as to face the carry-out port at a close position. Then, by driving the feed driving roller 64, the continuous paper 12 is fed to the winding unit 15 side through the carry-out port.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the winding unit 15 includes a rectangular parallelepiped winding frame 68, and the height of the winding frame 68 is substantially the same as the height of the feed drive roller 64. A relay roller 69 is rotatably provided at the upper end of the front surface of the winding frame 68. The continuous paper 12 sent out from the carry-out port is wound around the relay roller 69 from the upper left side and is conveyed right below.

  At a position below the relay roller 69 on the front surface of the take-up frame 68, as a guide means for guiding the continuous paper 12 transported directly downward from the relay roller 69 along the transport direction (downward here). A guide device 72 is provided. A relay roller 73 is rotatably provided at a position below the guide device 72 on the front surface of the take-up frame 68, and the continuous paper 12 conveyed and guided downward via the guide device 72 is left on the relay roller 73. Is wound around and conveyed toward the lower right.

  A winding drive shaft 74 extending forward is supported on the front surface of the winding frame 68 diagonally to the right of the relay roller 73 so as to be rotatable with respect to the winding frame 68. The continuous paper 12 conveyed from the relay roller 73 toward the lower right is wound around the winding drive shaft 74, and the continuous paper 12 is wound around the winding drive shaft 74 by rotationally driving the winding drive shaft 74. Are wound up sequentially.

  A disc-shaped rotating plate 75 that rotates integrally with the take-up drive shaft 74 is provided at the base end of the take-up drive shaft 74, and the rotary plate 75 winds the continuous paper 12 by the take-up drive shaft 74. When taking, it functions as a guide for allowing the continuous paper 12 to be taken up accurately.

Next, the configuration of the forced drying device 60 will be described in detail.
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the forced drying device 60 includes a drying case 80 having a rectangular shape in cross section, and the drying case 80 has two left and right sides in the middle of the drying case 80. A partition plate 81 for partitioning into two compartments is provided. In the drying case 80, the right compartment of the partition plate 81 is a warm air feed chamber 82 into which warm air is fed, and the left compartment of the partition plate 81 is dried on the continuous paper 12 after printing. The drying chamber 83 is used.

  The partition plate 81 is formed with a large number of communication holes 81 a that allow the hot air feeding chamber 82 and the drying chamber 83 to communicate with each other. The communication holes 81 a are regularly arranged in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction over the entire partition plate 81. ing. That is, in the partition plate 81, a large number of communication holes 81 a are uniformly formed over the entire partition plate 81.

  Through holes 84 having a rectangular shape in plan view are provided at positions corresponding to the drying chamber 83 on both the upper and lower walls of the drying case 80 so as to penetrate the inside and outside of the drying chamber 83. Therefore, the continuous paper 12 conveyed from the conversion roller 49 is conveyed to the reverse roller 61 side through the upper through hole 84, the drying chamber 83, and the lower through hole 84 of the drying case 80. . In this case, when the continuous paper 12 is conveyed in the drying chamber 83, the surface that is the printed surface is opposed to the left surface of the partition plate 81.

  A blower fan 85 is provided on the rear side of the drying case 80, and a fan motor 86 for driving the blower fan 85 is provided on the upper surface of the blower fan 85. A blower port (not shown) is provided on the right end side of the front surface of the blower fan 85, and the blower port is located inside and outside of the hot air feed chamber 82 at a position corresponding to the hot air feed chamber 82 on the rear wall of the drying case 80. It faces the inlet 87 provided so that it may penetrate.

  In addition, a heater 88 is provided on the rear side of the drying case 80 and on the front left side of the blower fan 85, and the heater 88 is provided on a surface between the front surface and the left surface of the blower fan 85 (not shown). Facing the air intake. Therefore, by driving the blower fan 85, the air warmed by the heater 88 is sucked from the intake port (not shown) of the blower fan 85 and is sent as warm air from the blower port (not shown) of the blower fan 85. It is sent into the entrance room 82.

  Then, the hot air sent into the hot air feeding chamber 82 is uniformly blown to the surface of the continuous paper 12 conveyed through the drying chamber 83 from each communication hole 81a provided in the partition plate 81, The continuous paper 12 is forcibly and uniformly dried. Note that the arrows in FIGS. 3 and 4 indicate the warm air blown on the surface of the continuous paper 12.

Next, the configuration of the pressing unit having the dancer roller 93 will be described in detail.
As shown in FIG. 3, the pressing unit 63 as a pressing means includes a base 90 that is fixed to the inner bottom surface of the third compartment 35 (see FIG. 1) and whose upper surface is inclined to the left side. A coil spring 91 as an elastic member is erected on the upper surface of the pedestal 90, and a frame-like roller support member 92 is supported at the tip (upper end) of the coil spring 91. A dancer roller 93 is pivotally supported on the roller support member 92 so as to be rotatable with respect to the roller support member 92, and the dancer roller 93 is disposed on the back surface opposite to the printed surface of the continuous paper 12. It is in contact.

  In this case, the dancer roller 93 is always urged by the coil spring 91 through the roller support member 92 toward the upper side, which is the continuous paper 12 side. Accordingly, the dancer roller 93 always presses the back surface of the continuous paper 12 so as to apply tension to the continuous paper 12.

Next, the operation of the ink jet printer 11 configured as described above will be described.
Now, when the printing of the portion to be printed first on the platen 48 is completed, the continuous paper 12 is transported to the downstream side by the distance of the printing area A and the platen 48 is temporarily stopped. On the top, the second printing portion is conveyed and supported. At this time, most of the portion of the continuous paper 12 that has been printed first is located in the forced drying region B, and the remaining portion is located in the natural drying region C.

  Therefore, while the portion to be printed second is being printed, the continuous paper 12 is forcibly dried by the hot air being blown in the forced drying region B for the most part of the first printed portion. The remaining portion is naturally dried in the natural drying region C. Subsequently, when the printing of the second portion to be printed on the platen 48 is completed, the continuous paper 12 is transported to the downstream side by the distance of the printing area A and the second printed portion is temporarily stopped. A third printing portion is conveyed and supported on the top.

  Then, in the continuous paper 12, the portion that was positioned in the natural drying region C among the portions that have been printed first is positioned in the forced drying region B, and the portion that was positioned in the forced drying region B is the forced drying region. It is conveyed downstream from B. At this time, most of the second printed portion is located in the forced drying region B, and the remaining portion is located in the natural drying region C.

  Accordingly, the continuous paper 12 is forcibly dried by blowing hot air in the forced drying region B while the second printing is completed while the third printing portion is printed. At the same time, the remaining portion is naturally dried in the natural drying region C. In this way, printing is sequentially performed on the continuous paper 12 in units of the distance of the printing area A.

  And in this embodiment, while the continuous paper 12 is conveyed intermittently for every fixed time, since the distance of the printing area A in the conveyance direction of the continuous paper 12 and the distance of the forced drying area B are equal, The forced drying time of the continuous paper 12 in the distance unit of each printing area A in the forced drying area B is constant. In this case, if the distance of the forced drying area B is set to be a positive integer multiple (1, 2, 3 times,...) Of the distance of the printing area A, the continuous paper 12 is forcedly dried. The forced drying time in region B is constant.

  And even when the natural drying area C exists and the continuous paper 12 corresponding to the printing area A cannot be collectively inserted into the forced drying area B as in this embodiment, the continuous paper 12 is intermittently conveyed. As a result, the forced drying time in the portion inserted in the forced drying region B first and the forced drying time in the portion inserted later in the region where printing for one time on the continuous paper 12 is completed are total. Be the same.

  Therefore, since the continuous paper 12 for each distance unit in each printing region A is all dried uniformly, the entire continuous continuous paper 12 is also dried uniformly. In the present embodiment, glossy paper is used as the continuous paper 12 in which the ink after printing is particularly difficult to dry. However, since the continuous paper 12 after printing is sprayed with hot air in the forced drying region B, it is limited. In the forced drying region B thus formed, it is sufficiently dried in a short time. As described above, the area from the upper end to the lower end in the forced drying device 60 where the continuous paper 12 is forcibly dried in the middle position of the conveying path of the continuous paper 12 is a forced fixing area (forced drying area B). A good printed matter can be obtained by providing means for fixing the liquid (ink) printed on glossy paper (continuous paper 12) or the like.

  In addition, when glossy paper is used for the continuous paper 12, it may expand or wrinkle when dried after printing, and may loosen during transportation. In this regard, in the present embodiment, a dancer roller 93 that presses the continuous paper 12 so as to apply tension is provided immediately downstream of the forced drying region B in the conveyance path of the continuous paper 12. The slack of the paper 12 is effectively suppressed. Therefore, the continuous paper 12 is prevented from meandering in the front-rear direction during conveyance. At this time, the dancer roller 93 presses from the back surface opposite to the printing surface of the continuous paper 12, and therefore does not adversely affect the printed image printed on the continuous paper 12.

  Further, since the dancer roller 93 is supported by the roller support member 92 supported by the coil spring 91, even if the slackness of the continuous paper 12 pressed by the dancer roller 93 changes, the change amount of the coil spring 91 Absorbed by elasticity. For this reason, an appropriate tension is always applied to the continuous paper 12 by the dancer roller 93.

As described above, according to the embodiment described in detail, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) Since the continuous paper 12 after printing is forcedly dried by blowing hot air in the forced drying region B, the continuous paper 12 after printing is sufficiently short in the limited forced drying region B. Can be dried. For this reason, it can suppress that the continuous paper 12 after printing is wound around the winding drive shaft 74 in a state where drying is insufficient.

  (2) The continuous paper 12 is intermittently conveyed at regular intervals in units of the distance of the printing area A, and the distance of the forced drying area B is one time the distance of the printing area A in the conveyance direction of the continuous paper 12. Is set to For this reason, since the time for which the continuous paper 12 is dried in the forced drying region B for each distance unit of the printing region A becomes constant, the continuous paper 12 after printing can be uniformly dried.

  (3) Since the natural drying region C is provided between the printing region A and the forced drying region B in the conveyance path of the continuous paper 12, the printing region A and the forced drying region B are the natural drying region C. They are separated by a distance. In addition, the conveyance direction of the continuous paper 12 is changed from the horizontal right direction to the vertical downward direction by the conversion roller 49 in the natural drying region C, that is, the direction away from the recording head 54. For this reason, it is effective that the hot air blown to the continuous paper 12 when the continuous paper 12 after printing is forcedly dried in the forced drying region B adversely affects the printing of the continuous paper 12 in the printing region A. Can be suppressed.

  (4) In the conveying path of the continuous paper 12, the guide unit 24 and the guide block 25 are disposed immediately downstream of the winding shaft 18, the guide device 43 is disposed immediately upstream of the platen 48, and the guide device 72 is It is disposed immediately upstream of the winding drive shaft 74. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the continuous paper 12 from meandering and being conveyed immediately downstream of the guide unit 24 and the guide block 25, the guide device 43, and the guide device 72 in the conveyance path of the continuous paper 12. it can. Accordingly, the continuous paper 12 can be accurately conveyed to the main body 14 side by the guide portion 24 and the guide block 25, the continuous paper 12 can be accurately conveyed to the upper surface of the platen 48 by the guide device 43, and the guide Three effects that the continuous paper 12 can be accurately wound by the device 72 can be obtained at the same time.

  (5) Since a dancer roller 93 for applying tension to the continuous paper 12 after forced drying is provided at a position immediately downstream of the forced drying region B in the conveyance path of the continuous paper 12, printing is performed and forced drying is performed. Even if the continuous paper 12 is slackened, the tension can be suitably applied to the continuous paper 12 after the forced drying. For this reason, since the slackness at the time of conveyance of the continuous paper 12 after printing and forced drying can be eliminated, it is possible to prevent the continuous paper 12 from meandering at the time of conveyance.

  (6) Since the dancer roller 93 applies tension to the continuous paper 12 by pressing from the back surface opposite to the printing surface of the continuous paper 12, a printed image printed on the surface of the continuous paper 12 On the other hand, the dancer roller 93 can be prevented from being adversely affected.

  (7) The dancer roller 93 that applies tension to the continuous paper 12 is rotatably supported by a roller support member 92 supported by a coil spring 91. For this reason, even if the slackness of the continuous paper 12 pressed by the dancer roller 93 changes, the change can be absorbed by the elasticity of the coil spring 91, so that it is applied to the continuous paper 12 by the dancer roller 93. Variation in tension can be suppressed. That is, the tension applied to the continuous paper 12 by the dancer roller 93 can be stabilized.

(Example of change)
In addition, you may change the said embodiment as follows.
-At least one of the guide unit 24, the guide block 25, the guide device 43, and the guide device 72 may be omitted.

The conveyance direction of the continuous paper 12 is not necessarily changed in the natural drying area C.
In the conveyance path of the continuous paper 12, the natural drying area C may be omitted and the printing area A and the forced drying area B may be adjacent to each other.

  In the conveyance direction of the continuous paper 12, the distance of the forced drying area B may be twice or more than the distance of the printing area A. However, the distance of the forced drying region B needs to be a positive integer multiple of the distance of the printing region A.

The forced drying device 60 may be configured to omit the blower fan 85 and forcibly dry the continuous paper 12 after printing by the radiant heat of the heater 88.
An ultraviolet curable ink may be used as the liquid. In this case, it is necessary to arrange an ultraviolet irradiation device as a forced fixing means instead of or in addition to the forced drying device 60.

-Instead of the continuous paper 12, a long plastic film or the like may be used as a target.
In the above embodiment, the liquid ejecting apparatus is embodied in the ink jet printer 11, but other liquids other than ink (liquid bodies in which particles of functional material are dispersed or mixed in the liquid, flow bodies such as gels) May be embodied in a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects a liquid. The “liquid” in the present specification includes, for example, an inorganic solvent, an organic solvent, a solution, a liquid resin, a liquid metal (metal melt), and the like, as well as a liquid and a fluid.

Further, the technical idea that can be grasped from the above embodiment will be described below.
(A) In a liquid ejecting apparatus configured to eject a liquid onto a long target conveyed from the upstream side, dry the target after the liquid is ejected, and wind the target on the downstream side. A liquid ejection region in which the liquid is ejected onto the target, and a target that forcibly drys the target after the liquid has been ejected and located on the downstream side of the liquid ejection region, in the middle of the target transport path And a forced drying region forcibly drying by the liquid ejecting apparatus.

1 is a schematic front view of an ink jet printer according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of the printer. The front expanded sectional view of the forced-drying apparatus of the printer. The plane enlarged view of the forced-drying apparatus of the printer.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Inkjet-type printer as a liquid ejecting apparatus, 12 ... Continuous paper as a target, 24 ... Guide part as a guide means, 25 ... Guide block as a guide means, 43 ... Guide apparatus as a guide means, 54 ... Liquid ejecting A recording head as a head, 60 ... a forced drying device as a forced fixing means and a forced drying means, 63 ... a pressing unit as a pressing means, 72 ... a guide device as a guiding means, 91 ... a coil spring as an elastic member, 93 ... A dancer roller as a pressing member, A ... a printing area as a liquid ejection area, B ... a forced drying area as a forced fixing area constituting a fixing area, C ... a natural drying constituting a drying area as a fixing area region.

Claims (6)

In a liquid ejecting apparatus configured to eject liquid onto a long target conveyed from the upstream side, fix the liquid landed on the target to the target, and then wind the target downstream.
In the middle of the transport path of the target, a liquid ejecting area in which the liquid is ejected onto the target, and the liquid that is located downstream of the liquid ejecting area and landed on the target are forcedly fixed by the forcible fixing unit. A liquid ejecting apparatus comprising a forcible fixing region for forcibly fixing to a target. The forced fixing area is a forced drying area in which the target after the liquid is jetted is forcibly dried by a forced drying means,
The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the liquid that has landed on the target is fixed to the target by drying the target after the liquid is ejected in the forced drying region. The target is intermittently transported in units of the distance of the liquid ejection area in the transport direction of the target, and the liquid is ejected in a stopped state in the liquid ejection area,
3. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the forced drying region is set such that a distance in the transport direction of the target is a positive integer multiple of a distance of the liquid ejecting region. 4. The natural drying region for naturally drying the target is provided between the liquid ejecting region and the forced drying region in the transport path of the target. 5. Liquid ejector. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 4, wherein in the natural drying region, the transport direction of the target is changed to a direction away from the liquid ejecting head that ejects the liquid. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a guide unit that guides the target along a transport direction is provided in the transport path of the target.

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