JP2009243701A - Drying device and image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a drying device having high drying capacity and an image forming device comprising the drying device. <P>SOLUTION: A plurality of IR heaters 74 (four in an embodiment) of an ink drying device 102 are disposed at specific intervals in the paper transporting direction, and blowoff nozzles 112 and suction nozzles 116 are alternately disposed through the IR heaters 74 when viewed from the paper transporting direction. As hot air blown off from the blow-off nozzles 112 is sucked from the suction nozzles 116 in a short time to be recovered, stagnation of damp air is suppressed, and drying efficiency is improved. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a drying apparatus and an image forming apparatus, and for example, a drying apparatus that blows air from a blowing nozzle while applying heat energy to an object to be dried by a heat source, and an image forming apparatus including the drying apparatus. About.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, there is a drying apparatus including a heat source such as an IR heater and a nozzle that blows temperature-controlled air (hot air) in order to dry ink applied on a paper surface. For example, Patent Document 1 has a structure in which a heated air flow is blown to a surface to be printed of paper that has been conveyed by a hot air applying unit including a blowing unit and a heating unit to evaporate and dry moisture in the ink. Are listed.
JP 2004-142166 A

  In the structure described in Patent Document 1, since only the air blowing means exists on the paper surface, a part of the heated air flow that is blown flows in the paper surface width direction. In this case, since the humidity of the heated air increases as it approaches the edge in the width direction of the sheet, insufficient drying tends to occur.

  A part of the sprayed heated air flow also flows in the paper conveyance direction, but the humidity of the heated air increases toward the downstream side of this flow, so that insufficient drying tends to occur.

  In view of the above facts, an object of the present invention is to obtain a drying device having a high drying capacity and an image forming apparatus including the drying device.

  In invention of Claim 1, from the conveying apparatus which conveys a drying target object, the heat source arrange | positioned facing the said drying target object, the blowing nozzle which blows off gas toward the said drying target object, and the said blowing nozzle A suction nozzle that sucks the blown-out gas, and a portion in which the blowout nozzle and the suction nozzle are alternately arranged across the heat source when viewed in the transport direction of the object to be dried by the transport device. Existing.

  In this drying apparatus, while the thermal energy is applied to the object to be dried by the heat source, the drying object is dried by blowing the gas from the blowing nozzle. Since the gas blown from the blowing nozzle is sucked by the suction nozzle, air with high humidity (humid air) is collected by the suction nozzle on the object to be dried, and the stay is suppressed.

  And in this invention, when it sees in the conveyance direction of a drying target object, the part by which the blowing nozzle and the suction nozzle are alternately arrange | positioned on both sides of a heat source exists. Therefore, in the portion where the blowout nozzles and the suction nozzles are alternately arranged in this way, the humid air is collected by the suction nozzles in a short time. Moreover, it can also suppress that humid air flows into the width direction (direction orthogonal to a conveyance direction) of a drying target object. Thereby, it becomes a drying apparatus with high drying capability.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the blowout nozzles and the suction nozzles are alternately arranged in the entire range of the region where the heat source is arranged.

  That is, in the invention according to claim 1, the blowout nozzles and the suction nozzles may be alternately arranged in a part of the transport direction, but are arranged alternately in the entire range where the heat source is arranged. In some configurations, a higher drying capacity can be obtained.

  In invention of Claim 3, in the invention of Claim 1 or Claim 2, the whole opposing surface with the said drying target object of the said heat source is toward a drying target object at a fixed space | interval with a drying target object. It is formed to be convex.

  That is, there is no local recess on the surface of the heat source facing the object to be dried. For this reason, the air blown out from the blow nozzle smoothly flows along the facing surface of the heat source and is sucked in from the suction nozzle. Thereby, it becomes possible to improve a drying capability more.

  In invention of Claim 4, in the invention of any one of Claims 1-3, it has a heat-transfer member which connects the said heat source and the said blowing nozzle.

  With the heat transfer member, the heat of the heat source can be transmitted to the gas blown from the blow nozzle, and higher drying capacity can be obtained. Moreover, since the temperature of the gas blown from the blowing nozzle can be kept high even if the heat generation amount of the heat source for heating the temperature-controlled air (hot air) is reduced, the energy efficiency is increased.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, a droplet discharge head that discharges droplets onto a recording sheet, and the recording sheet on which droplets are discharged by the droplet discharge head are used as the object to be dried. The drying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, which dries the droplets.

  Therefore, drying can be performed in a short time by drying the recording sheet from which the droplets have been ejected using the drying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4. For example, drying is possible even if the recording sheet conveyance speed is increased, which contributes to high-speed image formation.

  Since the present invention has the above-described configuration, a drying device having a high drying capacity and an image forming apparatus including the drying device are obtained.

  Hereinafter, an image forming apparatus provided with a drying apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  First, the overall configuration of the image forming apparatus 10 will be described.

[Image forming apparatus]
As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment feeds and feeds paper to the upstream side in the transport direction of a sheet as a recording medium (hereinafter referred to as “paper”). A portion 12 is provided. On the downstream side of the paper feeding / conveying unit 12, a processing liquid applying unit 14 for applying a processing liquid to the recording surface of the paper along the paper conveying direction, an image forming unit 16 for forming an image on the recording surface of the paper, An ink drying unit 18 that dries the ink of the image formed on the recording surface, an image fixing unit 20 that fixes the dried ink on the paper, and a discharge unit 21 that discharges the paper on which the image is fixed are provided.

  Hereinafter, each processing unit will be described.

(Paper feed section)
The sheet feeding / conveying unit 12 is provided with a stacking unit 22 on which sheets are stacked, and a sheet feeding unit that feeds the sheets stacked on the stacking unit 22 one by one downstream of the stacking unit 22 in the sheet conveying direction. A paper portion 24 is provided. The sheet fed by the sheet feeding unit 24 is conveyed to the processing liquid application unit 14 via a conveying unit 28 configured by a plurality of roller pairs 26.

(Processing liquid application part)
In the treatment liquid application unit 14, a treatment liquid application drum 30 is rotatably disposed. The treatment liquid coating drum 30 is provided with a holding member 32 that holds the paper by sandwiching the leading end of the paper, and the paper is held on the surface of the treatment liquid coating drum 30 via the holding member 32. Then, the sheet is conveyed downstream by the rotation of the treatment liquid coating drum 30.

  Note that an intermediate conveying drum 34, an image forming drum 36, an ink drying drum 38, and an image fixing drum 40, which will be described later, are also provided with a holding member 32 in the same manner as the processing liquid coating drum 30. The holding member 32 transfers the paper from the upstream drum to the downstream drum.

  A processing liquid coating device 42 and a processing liquid drying device 44 are disposed above the processing liquid coating drum 30 along the circumferential direction of the processing liquid coating drum 30. The treatment liquid is applied to the surface, and the treatment liquid is dried by the treatment liquid drying device 44.

  Here, the treatment liquid reacts with the ink to aggregate the color material (pigment) and has an effect of promoting separation of the color material (pigment) and the solvent. The treatment liquid application device 42 is provided with a storage portion 46 in which the treatment liquid is stored, and a part of the gravure roller 48 is immersed in the treatment liquid.

  A rubber roller 50 is disposed in pressure contact with the gravure roller 48, and the rubber roller 50 comes into contact with the recording surface (front surface) side of the paper to apply the processing liquid. Further, a squeegee (not shown) is in contact with the gravure roller 48 to control the amount of treatment liquid applied to the recording surface of the paper.

  The film thickness of the treatment liquid is ideally sufficiently smaller than the diameter of a droplet (hereinafter referred to as “head droplet ejection”) ejected from the inkjet line head 64 described later. That is, since the ink floats in the processing liquid film, if the processing liquid film is thick, the ink dots float in the processing liquid and do not come into contact with the recording surface of the paper. For example, in the case of a droplet ejection amount of 2 pl, the average droplet diameter of the head droplet is 15.6 μm. The dots float in the processing liquid and do not come into contact with the recording surface of the paper. In order to obtain a landing dot diameter (diameter of a droplet in contact with the recording surface of the paper) of 30 μm or more with a droplet ejection amount of 2 pl, the treatment liquid film thickness is preferably 3 μm or less.

  On the other hand, in the treatment liquid drying device 44, a hot air nozzle 54 and an infrared heater 56 (hereinafter referred to as “IR heater 56”) are disposed close to the surface of the treatment liquid application drum 30. The hot air nozzle 54 and the IR heater 56 evaporate a solvent such as water in the processing liquid to form a solid or thin film processing liquid layer on the recording surface side of the paper. By thinning the treatment liquid in the treatment liquid drying step, the dots deposited by ink in the image forming unit 16 come into contact with the surface of the paper to obtain the required dot diameter, and react with the thinned treatment liquid. It is easy to obtain an action of agglomerating color materials and fixing to the paper surface.

  In this way, the paper on which the processing liquid has been applied and dried on the recording surface by the processing liquid application unit 14 is conveyed to an intermediate conveyance unit 58 provided between the processing liquid application unit 14 and the image forming unit 16.

(Intermediate transport section)
An intermediate transport drum 58 is rotatably provided in the intermediate transport unit 58, and the leading end of the sheet is held on the surface of the intermediate transport drum 34 via a holding member 32 provided in the intermediate transport drum 34. The sheet is conveyed downstream by the rotation of the conveyance drum 34.

(Image forming part)
An image forming drum 36 is rotatably provided in the image forming unit 16, and a sheet is held on the surface of the image forming drum 36 via a holding member 32 provided on the image forming drum 36. The sheet is conveyed downstream by the rotation of 36.

  Above the image forming drum 36, a head unit 66 composed of a single-pass inkjet line head 64 is disposed adjacent to the surface of the image forming drum 36. In this head unit 66, at least the basic color YMCK inkjet line heads 64 are arranged along the circumferential direction of the image forming drum 36, and are formed on the processing liquid layer formed on the recording surface of the paper by the processing liquid coating unit 14. An image of each color is formed.

  The treatment liquid has the effect of aggregating the color material (pigment) and latex particles dispersed in the ink into the treatment liquid, and forms an aggregate that does not generate color material flow on the paper. As an example of the reaction between the ink and the treatment liquid, by using a mechanism that contains acid in the treatment liquid and destroys and disperses the pigment dispersion by PH down, the color material bleeds, the color mixture between each color ink, and the ink droplet landing To avoid interference of droplets due to liquid coalescence.

  The ink jet line head 64 performs droplet ejection in synchronization with an encoder (not shown) that detects the rotational speed disposed on the image forming drum 36, thereby determining the landing position with high accuracy and at the same time. Irregular droplet ejection can be reduced without depending on the shake, the accuracy of the rotary shaft 68, and the drum surface speed.

  The head unit 66 can be retracted from the upper part of the image forming drum 36, and maintenance operations such as cleaning of the nozzle surface of the inkjet line head 64 and discharging of the thickened ink are performed on the head unit 66 at the upper part of the image forming drum 36. It is carried out by evacuating from.

  The sheet on which the image is formed on the recording surface is conveyed to an intermediate conveyance unit 70 provided between the image forming unit 16 and the ink drying unit 18 by the rotation of the image forming drum 36. Since the configuration is substantially the same as that of the intermediate conveyance unit 58, description thereof is omitted.

(Ink drying section)
An ink drying drum 38 constituting the ink drying device 102 is rotatably provided in the ink drying unit 18, and the upper part of the ink drying drum 38 is adjacent to the surface of the ink drying unit 18, and is also ink drying. A plurality of hot air nozzles 72 and IR heaters 74 constituting the apparatus 102 are provided. The hot air generated by the hot air nozzle 72 and the IR heater 74 dries the solvent separated by the color material aggregating action in the paper image forming unit, thereby forming a thin image layer. The detailed configuration of the ink drying unit will be described later.

  The paper on which the ink on the recording surface has been dried is conveyed to an intermediate conveyance unit 76 provided between the ink drying unit 18 and the image fixing unit 20 by the rotation of the ink drying drum 38. Since the configuration is substantially the same as that of the intermediate conveyance unit 58, description thereof is omitted.

(Image fixing part)
An image fixing drum 40 is rotatably provided in the image fixing unit 20. In the image fixing unit 20, latex particles in a thin image layer formed on the ink drying drum 38 are heated / pressurized. And has a function of fixing and fixing on the paper.

  A heating roller 78 is disposed above the image fixing drum 40 in the vicinity of the surface of the image fixing drum 40. The heating roller 78 has a halogen lamp incorporated in a metal pipe made of aluminum or the like having a good thermal conductivity. The heating roller 78 applies heat energy equal to or higher than the Tg temperature of the latex. As a result, the latex particles are melted and pressed into the irregularities on the paper for fixing, and the irregularities on the image surface are leveled to obtain glossiness.

  A fixing roller 80 is provided on the downstream side of the heating roller 78. The fixing roller 80 is disposed in pressure contact with the surface of the image fixing drum 40 so as to obtain a nip force with the image fixing drum 40. I have to. Therefore, at least one of the fixing roller 80 and the image fixing drum 40 has an elastic layer on the surface and a uniform nip width with respect to the paper.

  The sheet on which the image on the recording surface is fixed by the above-described process is conveyed to the discharge unit 21 side provided on the downstream side of the image fixing unit 20 by the rotation of the image fixing drum 40.

  In this embodiment, the image fixing unit 20 has been described. However, the image fixing unit 20 is not necessarily required because it is sufficient that the image formed on the recording surface can be dried and fixed by the ink drying unit 18.

  Next, the configuration of the ink drying device will be described in detail.

[Ink drying device]
As shown in detail in FIGS. 2 and 3, a plurality (four in this embodiment) of IR heaters 74 of the ink drying apparatus 102 are arranged at regular intervals in the paper transport direction. In particular, in the present embodiment, the IR heater 74 is arranged along a curved surface corresponding to the shape of the outer peripheral surface of the ink drying drum 38. Hereinafter, when it is necessary to particularly distinguish the IR heater 74, the IR heater 74A, the IR heater 74B, the IR heater 74C, and the IR heater 74D are distinguished in order from the upstream side in the paper transport direction. The region where the IR heater 74 is disposed is a region where the ink on the paper is substantially dried.

  Above the IR heater 74, an air supply pipe 104 and an exhaust pipe 106 are disposed adjacent to each other. An air supply fan 108 is provided inside the air supply pipe 104 and sends air in the direction of arrow F1. Furthermore, a hot air heater 110 for heating the air to be sent is provided inside the air supply pipe 104.

  The supply pipe 104 is branched into two under the hot air heater 110, and blowout nozzles 112A and 112B for blowing hot air toward the paper are configured. The blowing nozzle 112A is located between the IR heater 74A and the IR heater 74B, and the blowing nozzle 112B is located between the IR heater 74C and the IR heater 74D.

  In contrast, an exhaust fan 114 is provided in the exhaust pipe 106 to send air in the direction of arrow F2. The exhaust pipe 106 is branched into three under the exhaust fan 114, and suction nozzles 116A, 116B, and 116C for sucking air from the vicinity of the recording surface of the sheet are configured. The suction nozzle 116A is located upstream of the IR heater 74A in the paper conveyance direction, the suction nozzle 116B is located between the IR heater 74B and the IR heater 74C, and the suction nozzle 116C is located downstream of the IR heater 74D in the paper conveyance direction. ing.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, when viewed in the paper transport direction, the blowout nozzle 112 and the suction nozzle are sandwiched between the IR heater 74 in the entire range of the region where the IR heater 74 is disposed (region where ink is dried). 116 are alternately arranged.

  As shown in detail in FIG. 4A, the IR heater 74 has an elliptical outer peripheral surface when viewed in a direction orthogonal to the paper transport direction (the same direction as the axial direction of the ink drying drum 38). ing. For this reason, the facing surface 74F facing the sheet is convex toward the sheet, and there is no locally recessed portion on the facing surface 74F.

  The surface of the IR heater 74 opposite to the facing surface 74F is covered with a cover member 118 that is curved in an elliptical arc shape and is in surface contact with the IR heater 74. The cover member 118 is made of, for example, a material having a higher thermal conductivity than the material constituting the exhaust pipe 106 (suction nozzle 116), and acts as a heat transfer member of the present invention. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the material constituting the blowing nozzles 112A and 112B (the material branched from the air supply pipe 104) is also made of a material having high thermal conductivity (note that FIG. 2). In this way, a portion having a high thermal conductivity is indicated by a bold line, and a portion having a low thermal conductivity is indicated by a double line to distinguish them). Thereby, a part of the heat of the IR heater 74 acts on the air inside the cover member 118 through the blow nozzles 112A and 112B. However, since the materials constituting the air supply pipe 104 and the suction nozzle 116 have relatively low thermal conductivity, the heat of the IR heater 74 is prevented from being inadvertently transmitted to the air supply pipe 104 and the suction nozzle 116. .

  As shown in FIG. 2, a temperature sensor 120 is disposed in the vicinity of the hot air outlet in the outlet nozzle 112B (or in the outlet nozzle 112B), and the detected temperature data is controlled by the heater. Send to section 122. The heater control unit 122 controls the output of the hot air heater 110 based on this temperature data.

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.

  In the ink drying apparatus 102 according to the present embodiment, the thermal energy of the IR heater 74 is applied to the paper to heat the paper. Further, hot air from the blow nozzle 112A is blown out of the paper to dry the ink on the paper. That is, the ink in the ink can be effectively dried by evaporating the water in the ink with the thermal energy from the IR heater 74 and removing the humid air containing the evaporated water with the hot air from the blowing nozzles 112A and 112B. I can do it.

  In particular, in the case where the image fixing unit has a step of fixing ink on paper in the image fixing unit as in the image forming apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, when the ink is insufficiently dried, the fixing roller is used during pressurization in the fixing step. The image may be offset to 80, the fixing strength may be reduced, the image may be rubbed or peeled off, and the paper may be curled (curved) or curled (waved).

  Here, in this embodiment, when viewed in the paper transport direction, the blowout nozzles 112 and the suction nozzles 116 are alternately arranged with the IR heater 74 interposed therebetween. Therefore, as indicated by an arrow F3 in FIGS. 2 and 3, the hot air blown from the blowing nozzle 112 is sucked and collected by the suction nozzle 116 in a short time. That is, even if the hot air blown out from the blow nozzle 112 becomes moist air containing moisture, the moist air does not flow along the paper and is recovered, so that the drying efficiency is increased. In particular, in the present embodiment, the blowing nozzles 112 and the suction nozzles 116 are alternately arranged along the paper conveyance direction, and damp air is suppressed from flowing and staying in the paper width direction. Therefore, drying unevenness in the width direction of the paper is reduced, and the drying efficiency is increased. For example, it is possible to reduce drying unevenness particularly in the width direction for wide paper.

  In the present embodiment, damp air does not stay even when viewed in the paper transport direction. That is, for example, in a configuration in which the blowing nozzle and the suction nozzle are simply arranged along the paper conveyance direction and a flow of hot air in one direction along the conveyance direction is generated, moisture is accumulated toward the downstream side of the flow of hot air. As the humidity of the humid air increases, the drying efficiency decreases. In this embodiment, even when viewed in the paper transport direction, the moist air is collected in a short time, so that uneven drying efficiency from the upstream side to the downstream side in the paper transport direction is suppressed, and a high drying efficiency of a certain level or more is achieved. can get.

  As described above, in the ink drying apparatus of the present embodiment, high drying ability is obtained in both the width direction and the conveyance direction of the paper, so that uneven drying and insufficient drying of the paper surface are prevented, and high image quality can be obtained. It is possible to suppress problems such as image offset to the fixing roller 80 in the fixing process, image rubbing and peeling due to a decrease in fixing strength, paper curl (curvature), and curl (waves).

  Further, since the drying efficiency is increased, it is possible to reduce the output of the IR heater 74 and the output of the hot air heater 110 for obtaining a required drying capacity, thereby reducing the power consumption.

  Furthermore, since a high drying ability can be obtained, the time required for drying can be shortened, and it is possible to contribute to image formation at high speed.

  In the present embodiment, the cover member 118 and the blowing nozzles 112A and 112B are made of a material having high thermal conductivity, and part of the heat of the IR heater 74 passes through the blowing nozzles 112A and 112B from the cover member 118. Acts on the air inside it. For this reason, the heat energy of the IR heater 74, in particular, the heat energy that has not contributed to the heating of the paper can be used for the heating of the hot air.

  In addition, in the present embodiment, the facing surface 74F of the IR heater 74 is formed to be convex toward the paper, and there is no locally recessed portion on the facing surface 74F. As in the comparative example shown in FIG. 4B, when the local recess 74G exists on the facing surface 74F, the air flow from the blow nozzle 112 to the suction nozzle 116 is disturbed, and the humid air from the suction nozzle 116 is Smooth suction and exhaust may be hindered. In this embodiment, as can be seen from FIG. 4A, the hot air flows along the facing surface 74F, so that the humid air is smoothly sucked by the suction nozzle 116 and exhausted.

  As described above, in order to realize a smooth flow of hot air from the blowing nozzle 112 to the suction nozzle 116, the facing surface 74F does not necessarily have to be convex toward the sheet. For example, even if the facing surface 74F is formed in a flat shape, there is no local recess, so that hot air flows smoothly. Even if the opposing surface 74F has a concave shape as a whole, if the distance between the opposing surface 74F and the paper is constant in the paper transport direction, that is, the hot air flow direction, a smooth flow of hot air occurs. .

In the ink drying apparatus of the above embodiment, the temperature of the IR heater 74 and the temperature of the hot air blown from the blow nozzle 112A are appropriately set according to the type of paper and ink, the density of the image to be formed, and the like. For example, in an image forming apparatus corresponding to so-called chrysanthemum half-size paper, when the ink droplet ejection amount from the inkjet line head 64 is 10 to 15 g / m ² and the paper conveyance speed is 500 mm / sec, IR The surface temperature of the heater 74 is preferably about 180 to 360 ° C., and the temperature of hot air in the vicinity of the outlet of the blowing nozzle 112A is preferably 70 to 120 ° C. Moreover, it is preferable that the amount of blowing air from the hot air blowing nozzle 112A is 12 to 24 m ³ / min, and the blowing speed is about 6 to 20 m / sec. On the other hand, if the amount of suction from the suction nozzle 116 is greater than the amount of blown air, it is preferable because hot air can be reliably sucked. Specifically, the amount of suction is 2 to 4 times the amount of blown air. It is preferable.

  The distance between the IR heater 74 and the paper surface is preferably about 30 to 50 mm, and the distance (nozzle pitch) between the blowing nozzle 112 and the suction nozzle 116 is preferably about 50 to 150 mm.

  In the above, the blowout nozzles 112 and the suction nozzles 116 are alternately arranged across the IR heater 74 in the entire range of the paper conveyance direction in the region where the ink of the paper is dried, which is most preferable from the viewpoint of improving the drying efficiency. Even in a configuration in which the blowout nozzle 112 and the suction nozzle 116 are alternately arranged with a specific IR heater 74 interposed therebetween only in a part of the region where the IR heater 74 is arranged, in this way Since the humid air is sucked into the suction nozzle 116 and collected in a short time at the place where it is disposed, the drying efficiency can be improved.

  In the above, the ink drying device is configured to dry the paper while being transported along the ink drying drum 38. Therefore, the IR heater 74, the blowing nozzle 112, and the suction nozzle 116 are arranged in a curved shape along the ink drying drum 38. However, the present invention is also applicable to a configuration in which the ink on the recording surface is dried while the paper is transported in a flat shape. For example, the ink may be dried while the paper is held and conveyed on an endless belt. When the paper is transported in a flat shape as described above, the IR heater 74, the blow nozzle 112, and the suction nozzle 116 are also flat, and the blow nozzle 112 and the suction nozzle with the IR heater 74 interposed therebetween as in the present invention. It is possible to adopt a configuration in which 116 and 116 are alternately arranged.

  Furthermore, in the above description, the ink drying apparatus 102 that dries the ink on the paper is described as the drying apparatus of the present invention, but the application example of the drying apparatus is not limited to this. In the case of the image forming apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, the present invention may be applied to the processing liquid drying apparatus 44, for example. In particular, in the image forming apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, if the treatment liquid is not sufficiently dried, the ink formation in the image forming unit, which is a subsequent configuration, is insufficient, or a moisture layer is formed on the recording surface of the paper. As a result, the color material may float, causing a problem in image formation. By applying the drying apparatus of the present embodiment to the processing liquid drying apparatus 44, it is possible to reliably dry the processing liquid in a short time (high speed), so that the occurrence of the above-described problems can be suppressed.

  Furthermore, the present invention can be applied not only to an image forming apparatus but also to a drying apparatus that performs a drying process while conveying an object to be dried.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a side view illustrating an ink drying device of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a plan view schematically showing a part of an ink drying device of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. (A) is a side view of an IR heater constituting the ink drying device of the image forming apparatus of the first embodiment of the present invention, and (B) is a side view of an IR heater of a comparative example.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Image forming apparatus 12 Paper feed conveyance part 14 Processing liquid application part 16 Image formation part 18 Ink drying part 20 Image fixing part 21 Discharge part 22 Stacking part 24 Paper feed part 26 Roller pair 28 Conveyance part 30 Processing liquid application drum 32 Holding member 34 Intermediate Conveying Drum 36 Image Forming Drum 38 Ink Drying Drum 40 Image Fixing Drum 42 Processing Liquid Coating Device 44 Processing Liquid Drying Device 54 Hot Air Nozzle 56 IR Heater 58 Intermediate Conveying Unit 64 Inkjet Line Head 66 Head Unit 68 Rotating Shaft 70 Intermediate Conveying Unit 72 Hot Air Nozzle 74 IR Heater 76 Intermediate Conveying Unit 78 Heating Roller 80 Fixing Roller 102 Ink Drying Device 104 Air Supply Pipe 106 Exhaust Pipe 108 Air Supply Fan 110 Hot Air Heater 112 Blowing Nozzle 114 Exhaust Fan 116 Suction Nozzle 118 Cover Member (Heat Transfer Member) )
120 Temperature sensor 122 Heater controller

Claims (5)

A transport device for transporting an object to be dried;
A heat source disposed opposite the drying object;
A blowing nozzle that blows gas toward the drying object;
A suction nozzle for sucking the gas blown from the blow nozzle;
With
A drying apparatus in which there are portions where the blowout nozzles and the suction nozzles are alternately arranged across the heat source when viewed in the conveyance direction of the drying object by the conveyance apparatus.   The drying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the blowout nozzle and the suction nozzle are alternately arranged in the entire range of the region where the heat source is arranged.   The drying apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the entire surface of the heat source facing the drying object is formed so as to protrude from the drying object at a constant interval or toward the drying object.   The drying apparatus of any one of Claims 1-3 which has a heat-transfer member which connects the said heat source and the said blowing nozzle. A droplet discharge head for discharging droplets on a recording sheet;
The drying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the recording sheet on which droplets are ejected by the droplet ejection head is used as the object to be dried, and the droplets on the recording sheet are dried. An image forming apparatus.

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