JP2012047372A - Drying device and recording device equipped with the drying device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a drying device capable of suppressing decrease in drying efficiency in a drying region, and to provide a recording device equipped with the drying device.SOLUTION: The drying device includes: a conveying means that conveys a continuous sheet S on which recording is carried out by depositing ink, from an upstream side to a downstream side in a conveying direction; and a heater unit 22 that blows heated air from a blowing port 33 formed at a position opposed to the surface of the continuous sheet, on which the ink is deposited, in the middle of the conveyance path of the conveyed continuous sheet, to dry the ink deposited on the continuous sheet. A ceiling face in the drying region D, allowing the air blown from the blowing port to stay on the surface side of the continuous sheet, is formed with a lower face portion 31b, in which the blowing port is formed and which is disposed to cover the conveyance path from above, in a heater unit cover 31. In the lower face portion, a groove portion 39, which forms a stagnation space of the air by functioning as a resistance in the flow passage of the air flowing in the drying region, is provided at a position on a downstream side from the blowing port along the conveying direction.

Description

  The present invention relates to a drying apparatus and a recording apparatus including the drying apparatus.

  In general, an ink jet recording apparatus is widely known as a recording apparatus that performs recording by attaching a liquid to a recording medium. In such a recording apparatus, a drying apparatus for drying the recording medium on which the ink (liquid) is adhered is provided on the recording medium conveyance path (for example, Patent Document 1).

  This drying device includes a suction fan for taking in air from the outside, a heater for warming up the taken-in air, a blowout port for blowing out the warmed air (warm air) toward the recording medium in the middle of conveyance, And a circulation space that guides the warm air blown from the air outlet to the intake fan again. Then, the ink adhering to the recording medium is dried by circulating hot air and spraying it on the recording medium.

JP 2009-45861 A

  By the way, in the recording apparatus of Patent Document 1, the drying apparatus is provided at a position above the conveyance path of the recording medium, and the drying chamber is positioned at a position downstream of the drying apparatus in the conveyance direction of the recording medium from above and below both sides. A partition is formed by an upper partition wall and a lower partition wall facing each other. That is, the ceiling surface of the drying chamber (drying region) that allows the drying air blown from the blower outlet of the drying device to stay on the upper surface side of the recording medium on the downstream side of the transporting direction from the drying device is And an upper partition wall made of a sheet metal member different from the external cover is arranged in parallel in the transport direction so as to face the upper surface of the recording medium in the middle of transport. Therefore, warm dry air blown from the blower outlet of the drying device leaks out of the drying chamber through a gap or the like existing between the outer cover of the drying device and the upper partition wall made of a sheet metal member different from the cover. As a result, the drying efficiency in the drying chamber may be reduced.

  Therefore, it is conceivable that the entire ceiling surface is formed in a flat shape with a single member such as a part of the outer cover of the drying device so that no gap exists on the ceiling surface of the drying chamber. However, when the ceiling surface of the drying chamber is formed in a flat shape, the warm air blown from the blower outlet of the drying device flows along the ceiling surface of the drying chamber, so that the warm air does not reach the recording medium effectively. In addition, the drying efficiency of the recording medium may be reduced.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a drying apparatus capable of suppressing a decrease in drying efficiency in a drying region and a recording apparatus including the drying apparatus.

  In order to achieve the above object, the drying apparatus of the present invention is transported by a transport unit that transports a recording medium on which recording is performed by adhesion of liquid from the upstream side to the downstream side in the transport direction, and the transport unit. The recording medium adheres to the recording medium by blowing air heated toward the surface from an outlet formed at a position facing the surface of the recording medium to which the liquid adheres in the middle of the conveyance path of the recording medium. A drying unit that dries the liquid, and a ceiling surface of a drying region that allows the air blown out from the air outlet of the drying unit to stay on the surface side of the recording medium, and an outer shell of the drying unit Is formed by a bottom surface portion that is disposed so as to cover the transport path from above, and the bottom surface portion has the above-described air outlet than the air outlet. The feeding direction of the downstream-side position, provided stagnation space forming part for forming a stagnation space of the air by the flow resistance of the air flowing through the drying area.

  According to this configuration, since the stagnation space forming portion provided on the ceiling surface of the dry region becomes a flow path resistance, air is suppressed from flowing along the ceiling surface. A stagnation space where air stays with a slow movement is formed. In this state, when new air is blown out from the outlet of the drying means, the new air travels toward the recording medium facing the ceiling surface of the drying area so as to bypass the stagnation space near the ceiling surface. Will begin to flow. For this reason, the air blown out from the blowout port can effectively reach the recording medium. Therefore, it is possible to suppress a decrease in drying efficiency in the drying region.

  In the drying apparatus of the present invention, the stagnation space forming portion has the same shape in the width direction in which the cross-sectional shape when the stagnation space forming portion is cut along the transport direction intersects the transport direction of the recording medium. Yes.

  According to this configuration, the air stagnation space can be formed uniformly in the width direction of the recording medium in the vicinity of the ceiling surface of the dry region. Therefore, the uniformly heated air can reach the recording medium in the width direction. Therefore, the recording medium can be dried uniformly.

  In the drying apparatus of the present invention, the size of the stagnation space forming portion in the width direction intersecting the transport direction of the recording medium is larger than the size in the width direction of the recording medium and in the width direction of the air outlet. Smaller than size.

  According to this configuration, since the air stagnation space is formed over the entire width direction of the recording medium, the entire surface of the recording medium can be dried. On the other hand, the air stagnation space is smaller in size in the width direction of the recording medium than the air outlet that blows out the heated air, so that the heated air reaches an area other than the recording medium by diffusing unnecessarily. This can be suppressed. Therefore, it is possible to suppress a temperature rise in a portion where heating in the drying apparatus is unnecessary.

In the drying apparatus of the present invention, the air outlet of the drying means is arranged at a position closer to the upstream side in the transport direction in the bottom surface portion.
According to this configuration, the air outlet is provided at a position closer to the upstream side in the conveyance direction of the recording medium in the drying area, so that a long time for the air blown out from the air outlet to stay in the drying area is ensured. Can do. Therefore, the drying efficiency in the drying region can be increased.

  In the drying apparatus of the present invention, the air outlet of the drying means opens toward the downstream side in the transport direction, and the air taken in from the outside of the drying means is warmed to the air outlet. The inner wall of the flow path portion connected to the air outlet in the air flow path section for sending air has an upstream side in the transport direction in the recording medium with respect to the surface facing the recording medium where the air outlet in the drying means is formed. It inclines so that it may become upper.

  According to this configuration, the drying unit can spray heated air so as to have a smooth wind over a wide range against the recording sheet conveyed toward the downstream side in the conveyance direction. Therefore, the drying efficiency in the drying region can be further increased.

  In order to achieve the above object, a recording apparatus of the present invention is provided at a position downstream of the recording head with respect to the recording head for recording on a recording medium to be conveyed in the middle of the conveying path. And a drying device having the above-described configuration.

  According to this configuration, it is possible to obtain the same operation and effect as in the case of the drying device in the recording device.

1 is a schematic side view of a recording apparatus according to an embodiment. The schematic sectional drawing of a heater unit. It is a flow velocity distribution diagram showing the distribution of the average flow velocity of the hot air blown from the drying device, (a) is a flow velocity distribution diagram of the hot air when the groove portion is not formed on the lower surface portion of the heater unit, (b) Flow chart of warm air flow when a groove portion with a size of 2 mm in the conveying direction is formed on the lower surface portion of the heater unit, (c) is a groove portion with a size of 5 mm in the conveying direction on the lower surface portion of the heater unit. The flow velocity distribution map of the warm air in the case of.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is embodied in an ink jet recording apparatus (hereinafter also referred to as “recording apparatus”) which is a kind of recording apparatus and a drying apparatus included in the recording apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. In the following description, the terms “left-right direction”, “front-rear direction”, and “up-down direction” refer to “left-right direction”, “front-rear direction”, and “up-down direction” indicated by arrows in each figure unless otherwise specified. Direction ". In this case, the “left-right direction” corresponds to the width direction intersecting the recording medium conveyance direction, the “up-down direction” corresponds to the vertical direction, and the “front-rear direction” refers to the direction from the rear side to the front side. This corresponds to the medium conveyance direction.

  As shown in FIG. 1, an ink jet recording apparatus 11 that is an example of a recording apparatus according to the present embodiment includes a feeding unit 12 that feeds a continuous sheet S that is an example of a long recording medium, and a fed continuous sheet. A recording unit 13 that performs recording by ejecting ink onto S and a winding unit 14 that winds the continuous paper S on which recording has been performed by the recording unit 13 are provided.

  That is, in the recording apparatus 11, the feeding unit 12 is disposed at a position closer to the rear side on the upstream side in the conveyance path of the continuous paper S, and the winding unit 14 is disposed at a position closer to the front side on the downstream side. Is arranged. A recording unit 13 is disposed at a position between the feeding unit 12 and the winding unit 14. Further, a support plate 15 capable of supporting the continuous paper S is provided at a position near the rear side, which is the upstream side in the recording unit 13.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a winding shaft 16 extending in the width direction (left-right direction) orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the continuous paper S is rotatably provided in the feeding unit 12. The winding shaft 16 is supported so that the continuous paper S can be integrally rotated with the winding shaft 16 in a state where the continuous paper S is previously wound in a roll shape. That is, the continuous paper S is fed out of the winding shaft 16 by the rotation of the winding shaft 16 and is conveyed downstream in the conveying direction. Further, the first relay roller 17 for winding the continuous paper S fed from the winding shaft 16 and guiding it to the recording unit 13 is rotated in a state where the first relay roller 17 extends in the left-right direction at an obliquely forward position in the feeding unit 12. It is provided as possible. Then, the continuous paper S fed from the winding shaft 16 is wound around the first relay roller 17 from the lower rear side, whereby the continuous paper S is directed to the downstream side (front side) in the transport direction on the recording unit 13 side. Are transported horizontally.

  In the recording unit 13, two pairs of conveyance rollers 18 a and 18 b including a driving roller and a driven roller extending in the left-right direction are arranged at a position downstream of the support plate 15 in the conveyance direction (front side) with a space therebetween. ing. The transport roller pair 18a, 18b transports the continuous paper S downstream in the transport direction by the driven roller driven by the drive rotation of the drive roller while the continuous paper S is sandwiched between the drive roller and the driven roller. To do.

  The winding unit 14 has a second relay so as to face the first relay roller 17 on the upstream side (rear side) in the horizontal direction at a position on the downstream side (front side) in the transport direction with respect to the pair of transport rollers 18a and 18b. A roller 19 is rotatably provided. Then, the continuous paper S transported in the horizontal front direction from the first relay roller 17 on the upstream side is wound around the second relay roller 19 from the upper front side, whereby the transport direction of the continuous paper S Is switched from the horizontal rear direction to the front diagonally downward direction.

  A take-up shaft 20 is rotatably provided at a position obliquely below the second relay roller 19 in the take-up unit 14, and downstream of the continuous paper S in the transport direction with respect to the take-up shaft 20. The tip that becomes the end is wound. The continuous paper S is sequentially wound by the winding shaft 20. As described above, in the present embodiment, the feeding unit 12, the recording unit 13, and the winding unit 14 constitute a transport unit that transports the continuous paper S (recording medium) along the transport path.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a line head type recording head 21 is disposed above the recording unit 13 and at a position facing the support plate 15. The lower surface of the recording head 21 is a horizontal nozzle forming surface in which a plurality of nozzles (not shown) for ejecting ink are opened. The recording head 21 extends in the width direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the continuous paper S in the horizontal direction, and the length in the longitudinal direction corresponds to the maximum paper width of the continuous paper S. The recording head 21 performs recording by ejecting ink to the recording area of the continuous paper S conveyed to the downstream side (front side) while being in sliding contact with the upper surface of the support plate 15.

  Further, on the continuous paper S to which the ink ejected from the recording head 21 is attached at a position downstream of the recording path 21 (front side) in the recording unit 13 and between the conveying roller pair 18a and 18b. A heater unit 22 which is an example of a drying means for performing a drying process is provided. A controller 23 is electrically connected to the heater unit 22, and the temperature of the heater unit 22 is controlled by the controller 23.

Next, the heater unit 22 will be described in detail with reference to FIG.
The heater unit 22 extends in the width direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the continuous paper S in the horizontal direction, and the length in the longitudinal direction corresponds to the maximum paper width of the continuous paper S. As shown in FIG. 2, the heater unit 22 includes a cover 31 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape formed of a resin such as modified polyphenylene ether. A plurality of (five shown in FIG. 2) intake ports 32 are regularly formed at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction on the front surface portion 31a which is the front side (downstream side) of the cover 31. Further, a substantially rectangular air outlet 33 extending in the longitudinal direction of the cover 31 is formed at a position on the rear side (upstream side) of the lower surface portion 31 b which is the lower side in the vertical direction of the cover 31.

  In addition, a plurality of fans 34 for taking in air outside the cover 31 through the intake port 32 are provided in the cover 31 at a position facing the intake port 32. Further, an air flow path portion 35 for guiding the air taken from the air inlet 32 to the air outlet 33 is provided inside the cover 31. That is, inside the cover 31, inner walls 35a and 35b having a substantially J-shaped cross section are provided. The front end portions (one end portion) of the inner walls 35a and 35b are connected to the upper surface and the lower surface of the fan 34, respectively, while the rear end portions (the other end portions) are the rear side portions of the rear edge of the air outlet 33, respectively. And connected to the front side of the front side edge. An air flow path portion 35 in which air flows in the cover 31 is defined by both side surfaces (not shown) of the cover 31 and the inner walls 35a and 35b.

  A heater 36, which is an example of a heating unit, is provided at a position downstream of the fan 34 in the blowing direction and above the rear side (upstream side) of the air outlet 33 inside the air flow path 35. The heater 36 includes a heating element (not shown) that generates heat when electric power is supplied. In addition, the control unit 23 is electrically connected to the heater 36 via a heater driver (not shown) that switches between a power supply state (heat generation state) and a non-supply state (non-heat generation state) to the heater 36. Has been. Then, the heater unit 22 rotates the fan 34 in a state where the heater 36 generates heat, thereby heating the air taken in from the intake port 32 by the heater 36, and then using the heated air (warm air) to the continuous paper S. It comes to spray against.

  The inner walls 35a and 35b of the portion forming the air flow path portion 35 below the heater 36 are arranged such that the upstream side (rear side) is upward from the upstream side (rear side) in the transport direction toward the downstream side (front side). It is inclined to. Therefore, the heater unit 22 is configured to blow air (warm air) warmed by the heater 36 obliquely from the upstream side to the downstream side in the transport direction with respect to the continuous paper S.

  Further, a partition wall 37 having a substantially rectangular plate shape in plan view is formed on the lower surface portion 31b at a position above the lower surface portion 31b in the cover 31 in the vertical direction and on the downstream side (front side) in the transport direction of the air flow path portion 35. On the other hand, it arrange | positions in the aspect parallel to the perpendicular direction. The partition wall 37 has an end (one end) on the upstream side (rear side) in the transport direction fixed to the lower portion of the inner wall 35b, while an end (other end side) on the downstream side (front side) in the transport direction is the front surface portion. It is being fixed to the lower part of 31a. And the independent lower space part 38 partitioned by this partition wall 37, the front-surface part 31a of the cover 31, the lower surface part 31b of the cover 31, both the right-and-left both-sides part (not shown) of the cover 31, and the inner wall 35b of the air flow path part 35. Is formed at a position on the downstream side (front side) of the air flow path portion 35.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the heater unit 22 is arranged so as to cover the upper part of the recording area of the continuous paper S between the conveying roller pairs 18a and 18b from above by the lower surface portion 31b of the cover 31 in the heater unit 22. ing. Then, the hot air blown from the blower outlet 33 of the heater unit 22 toward the continuous paper S is retained by the surface of the continuous paper S, the lower surface portion 31b of the cover 31, and the transport roller pairs 18a and 18b. A drying region D for drying ink is formed. That is, the ceiling surface of the dry region D is formed by the lower surface portion 31 b of the cover 31. In this respect, the lower surface portion 31b has a blower outlet 33 formed in the outer surface constituting the outer shell of the heater unit 22 (drying means) and is downstream from the blower outlet 33 in the conveyance direction of the continuous paper S (recording medium). It functions as a bottom surface portion arranged so as to cover the conveyance path from above toward the side. In the present embodiment, the drying unit D for drying the transported continuous paper S is formed by the transport unit including the feeding unit 12, the recording unit 13, and the winding unit 14 and the heater unit 22. A drying device is configured.

  Further, the lower surface portion 31b extends along the width direction intersecting the transport direction of the continuous paper S to the downstream side (front side) of the air outlet 33 in the transport direction, and the size in the transport direction in the extending direction. A groove 39 having a rectangular shape in plan view with a constant L1 is formed. The groove portion 39 is opened so as to penetrate the lower surface portion 31b in the vertical direction, and the cross-sectional shape when cut along the transport direction (front-rear direction) is the width direction (that is, the left-right direction serving as the extending direction). In the same shape. In addition, the width 39 (width direction) of the groove 39 is larger than the width W2 of the continuous paper S and smaller than the width W3 of the outlet 33 (that is, W3). > W1> W2) (not shown). In addition, although this groove part 39 is opened so that the drying area | region D and the lower space part 38 may be connected, since the lower space part 38 is an independent space part, the warm air blown off from the blower outlet 33 is provided. Is prevented from leaking out of the drying region D through the groove 39.

Next, the operation of the recording apparatus 11 configured as described above will be described, particularly focusing on the drying process of the continuous paper S in the drying region D.
For example, when the recording process is started in the recording apparatus 11, the heater 36 of the heater unit 22 generates heat and the fan 34 is driven to start blowing hot air, and the continuous paper S is fed out from the feeding unit 12. It is transported from the upstream side to the downstream side in the transport direction. Subsequently, when the continuous paper S is conveyed to the recording unit 13, ink is ejected from the recording head 21 to the surface of the continuous paper S on the surface of the continuous paper S that slides on the support plate 15. The Then, the continuous paper S to which the ink is attached is further transported and passes through the drying region D. In the drying region D, warm air is blown toward the downstream side from the outlet 33 of the heater unit 22 located on the upstream side with respect to the surface of the continuous paper S being conveyed.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the result of measuring the average flow velocity of the warm air blown from the blower outlet 33 of the heater unit 22 to the drying area D. On the cut surface along the transport direction of the continuous paper S in the drying area D Shows the flow velocity distribution of hot air. 3B is a flow velocity distribution diagram of the hot air when the groove portion 39 having a size L1 (see FIG. 2) of 2 mm in the conveying direction is formed on the lower surface portion 31b of the heater unit 22. FIG. FIG. 3C is a flow velocity distribution diagram of the hot air when the groove portion 39 having a size L1 (see FIG. 2) in the transport direction of 5 mm is formed on the lower surface portion 31b. FIG. 3A is a flow velocity distribution diagram of warm air when the groove 39 is not formed on the lower surface portion 31b as a comparative example.

  3A to 3C show a case where warm air having an average flow velocity of 5 m / s is flowed from the upstream side of the air flow path portion 35 toward the downstream outlet 33. And in each figure, the area | region where the average flow velocity of warm air is 0-1 m / s is R0, the area | region of 1-2 m / s is R2, the area | region of 1-3 m / s is R2, the area | region of 3-4 m / s. Is R3, the region of 4 to 4.5 m / s is R4, and the region of 4.5 m / s or more is R5. Moreover, the arrow shown as the continuous line in Fig.3 (a)-(c) has shown the direction through which warm air flows. Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the distance L2 (see FIG. 2) from the front side portion of the front side edge at the air outlet 33 to the rear side portion of the rear side edge at the groove portion 39 is 4.7 mm, and the drying region D The distance H (see FIG. 2) from the surface of the continuous paper S conveyed inside to the lower surface portion 31b is 14 mm.

  As shown in FIG. 3A, when the groove 39 is not formed in the lower surface portion 31b of the heater unit 22, the region R3 exists in the majority of the drying region D, and the ceiling surface of the drying region D In the vicinity of the lower surface portion 31b, there are R4 and R5 regions from the outlet 33 to the downstream side in the transport direction. Moreover, most of the warm air blown out from the air outlet 33 flows in parallel to the lower surface portion 31b toward the downstream side. From these things, when the groove part 39 is not formed in the lower surface part 31b, the warm air blown out from the blower outlet 33 does not stay in the drying region D, but flows downstream along the lower surface part 31b at a high flow rate. It can be seen that it does not flow toward the continuous paper S.

  As shown in FIG. 3B, when the groove portion 39 having a size L1 of 2 mm in the transport direction is formed on the lower surface portion 31b of the heater unit 22, the region R2 exists in the majority of the drying region D. In addition, almost no region of R3 to R5 exists near the ceiling surface of the dry region D. A part of the warm air blown out from the blower outlet 33 is not parallel to the lower surface portion 31b but flows downward in the front side (downstream side). For these reasons, when the groove portion 39 having a size L1 of 2 mm in the conveying direction is formed on the lower surface portion 31b, the warm air blown from the outlet 33 is downstream at a high flow velocity along the lower surface portion 31b. It can be seen that it does not flow to the side, stays in the drying region D, and part of it flows toward the continuous paper S.

  As shown in FIG. 3C, when a groove 39 having a size L1 in the transport direction of 5 mm is formed on the lower surface portion 31b of the heater unit 22, the region R2 is located downstream in the transport direction in the drying region D. In addition, there is a region R1 on the upstream side in the transport direction and in the vicinity of the ceiling surface. Moreover, most of the warm air blown out from the air outlet 33 flows downward in the front side (downstream side). For these reasons, when the groove portion 39 having a size L1 of 5 mm in the conveying direction is formed on the lower surface portion 31b, the warm air blown from the outlet 33 is downstream at a high flow velocity along the lower surface portion 31b. It does not flow to the side and stays in the dry region D, and it can be seen that most of it flows toward the continuous paper S.

  As described above, when the groove portion 39 is formed on the lower surface portion 31b of the heater unit 22, the flow velocity of the warm air flowing near the lower surface portion 31b is slower than when the groove portion 39 is not formed. ing. That is, the groove portion 39 becomes a flow resistance of the warm air flowing along the lower surface portion 31b, and a stagnation space in which the warm air stays without flowing near the lower surface portion 31b is formed. Moreover, the warm air blown from the blower outlet 33 flows toward the front lower side as the flow velocity of the warm air near the lower surface portion 31b is slower. That is, the warm air blown from the blower outlet 33 flows toward the continuous paper S conveyed in the drying region D so as to bypass the stagnation space formed near the lower surface portion 31b. Therefore, the warm air blown from the blower outlet 33 reliably reaches the surface of the continuous paper S to which the ink has adhered. In these respects, the groove portion 39 functions as a stagnation space forming portion that forms a stagnation space of air (warm air) by being a flow path resistance of air (warm air) flowing in the dry region D.

  Although not shown, a substantially rectangular plate shape that regulates the direction in which the hot air is blown to the rear side edge of the outlet 33 and the front side edge of the front edge of the lower surface 31b instead of the groove 39. When the looper (guide plate) is provided, the flow velocity distribution of the warm air and the direction in which the warm air flows are substantially the same as when the groove portion 39 having a size L1 of 5 mm in the transport direction is formed on the lower surface portion 31b. . From this, it can be seen that the groove portion 39 formed in the lower surface portion 31b brings about substantially the same effect as compared with the case where a looper is provided in the air outlet 33. Therefore, a decrease in drying efficiency in the drying region D can be suppressed without increasing the number of parts in the heater unit 22.

  Moreover, since the cross-sectional shape when the groove part 39 cut | disconnects along a conveyance direction (front-back direction) is the same shape in the width direction, the uniform stagnation space in the width direction of the lower surface part 31b in the dry region D Is formed. Further, the width W1 of the groove 39 is larger than the width W2 of the continuous paper S and smaller than the width W3 of the outlet 33 in the width direction. Therefore, a stagnation space of air is formed over the entire width direction of the continuous paper S, and it is possible to spread the hot air over the entire surface of the continuous paper S and dry it uniformly. Further, in the region on the left and right ends in the width direction that does not correspond to the continuous paper S in the dry region D, an unnecessary stagnation space is not enlarged in the width direction, so that hot air is unnecessarily diffused in regions other than the continuous paper S. Does not flow.

  Further, in the drying region D, the warm air is blown toward the downstream side from the air outlet 33 provided at the relatively upstream position, so that the continuous paper S conveyed on the downstream side has a wide range. Hot air is blown for a long time. Then, the continuous paper S is conveyed to the winding unit 14 in a state where the ink on the surface is dry and is wound up by the winding shaft 20.

According to the above embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) Since the groove part 39 provided in the lower surface part 31b which forms the ceiling surface of the drying area D becomes flow path resistance, it is suppressed that an air flows along a ceiling surface, Therefore The ceiling in the drying area D A stagnation space in which air stays with a slow movement is formed near the surface. Then, when warm air is newly blown from the outlet 33 of the heater unit 22 in such a state, the new warm air faces the ceiling surface of the drying region D so as to bypass the stagnation space near the ceiling surface. It flows toward the surface of the continuous paper S. Therefore, the hot air blown from the blower outlet 33 can be effectively made to reach the surface of the continuous paper S. Therefore, a decrease in drying efficiency in the drying region D can be suppressed.

  (2) Stagnation of hot air blown out from the outlet 33 in the vicinity of the ceiling surface of the drying region D by the groove 39 formed so that the cross-sectional shape when cut along the conveying direction is the same in the width direction. The space can be formed uniformly in the width direction of the continuous paper S. Therefore, the uniformly heated air can reach the continuous paper S in the width direction. Therefore, the continuous paper S can be dried uniformly in the width direction.

  (3) Since the warm air stagnation space is formed over the entire width direction of the continuous paper S in the drying region D, the entire surface of the continuous paper S can be uniformly dried. On the other hand, the warm air stagnation space has a smaller size in the width direction of the continuous paper S than the outlet 33 through which the hot air is blown out, so that the hot air unnecessarily diffuses and reaches the area other than the continuous paper S. Can be suppressed. Therefore, it is possible to suppress a temperature rise in a portion where heating in the recording apparatus 11 is unnecessary.

  (4) Since the air outlet 33 is provided at a position closer to the upstream side in the transport direction of the continuous paper S in the drying area D, the time during which the hot air blown from the air outlet 33 stays in the drying area D is lengthened. Can be secured. Therefore, the drying efficiency in the drying region D can be increased.

  (5) The heater unit 22 can blow warm air over the wide range on the continuous paper S that is transported toward the downstream side in the transport direction. Therefore, the drying efficiency in the drying region D can be further increased.

In addition, you may change the said embodiment as follows.
The recording medium is not limited to the continuous paper S, and may be, for example, a continuous film or a long cloth. Further, the continuous paper S may be cut into a predetermined length during the conveyance. Furthermore, the recording medium is not limited to the long continuous paper S, and may be formed in a single-cut state having a predetermined size, for example.

  The recording head 21 is not limited to the line head type, and for example, a plurality of short recording heads may be arranged in a staggered arrangement in the width direction intersecting the transport direction of the continuous paper S. Alternatively, the short recording head may perform recording on the surface of the continuous paper S while reciprocating with the width direction of the continuous paper S as the main scanning direction.

  The recording apparatus is not limited to an ink jet recording apparatus that performs recording by ejecting ink (liquid) from a recording head (liquid ejecting head) 21, and recording that performs recording by a recording method other than liquid ejection such as stencil printing It may be a device.

  -The conveyance roller pair 18a, 18b is not limited to a long one, and may be one divided into a plurality in the width direction. The pair of transport rollers 18a and 18b is not limited to a pair formed by a drive roller and a driven roller, and may be only a drive roller that contacts the surface of the continuous paper S, for example. Further, the transport roller pair 18a, 18b may not be provided in the drying region D. However, in that case, a space area on the side where the heater unit 22 is provided and a space area on the side where the heater unit 22 is not provided are located upstream and downstream in the transport direction of the heater unit 22. It is desirable that hot air blown out from the air outlet 33 can be retained, for example, by providing a partition member for partitioning.

  The lower space 38 may not be provided in the cover 31 of the heater unit 22. However, in that case, for example, the groove portion 39 does not penetrate the lower surface portion 31b and the inside of the cover 31 and the drying region D do not communicate with each other, for example, warm air does not leak from the ceiling surface of the drying region D. It is desirable.

The blowing direction of the warm air is not limited to the oblique direction toward the downstream side in the transport direction of the continuous paper S, and may be, for example, a downward direction perpendicular to the continuous paper S.
-The blower outlet 33 is not restricted to what is arrange | positioned near the upstream of the conveyance direction in the lower surface part 31b, For example, you may arrange | position in different positions, such as the approximate center of the lower surface part 31b.

A plurality of groove portions 39 may be provided along the transport direction. Moreover, a plurality may be provided along the width direction intersecting the transport direction.
The groove 39 is not limited to one having a width W1 larger than the width W2 of the continuous paper S and smaller than a width W3 of the outlet 33, for example, continuous. It may be smaller than the width S2 of the paper S or larger than the width W3 of the outlet 33 in the width direction.

  The groove 39 may not have the same cross-sectional shape in the width direction when cut along the transport direction. However, in this case, the stagnation space is formed in the same direction in the width direction, for example, a plurality of grooves 39 having a short size W1 in the width direction are provided in a staggered arrangement in the width direction of the continuous paper S. It is desirable that

  The stagnation space forming portion provided in the lower surface portion 31b in order to form the stagnation space in the dry region D is not limited to the groove portion 39, and may have different shapes such as a convex portion and a concave portion. In short, it may be of a shape that functions as flow path resistance against the air that flows from the blower outlet 33 into the drying region.

  In the above-described embodiment, the recording apparatus adopting the inkjet method as the recording method is described. However, a recording device that ejects or discharges liquid other than ink may be employed. The present invention can be used in various recording apparatuses including a recording head that discharges a minute amount of liquid droplets. The droplet means a state of the liquid ejected from the recording apparatus, and includes a liquid having a granular shape, a tear shape, or a thread shape. The liquid here may be any material that can be ejected by the recording apparatus. For example, it may be in a state in which the substance is in a liquid phase, such as a liquid with high or low viscosity, sol, gel water, other inorganic solvents, organic solvents, solutions, liquid resins, liquid metals (metal melts ) And a liquid as one state of a substance, as well as a material in which particles of a functional material made of a solid such as a pigment or metal particles are dissolved, dispersed or mixed in a solvent. Further, representative examples of the liquid include ink and liquid crystal as described in the above embodiment. Here, the ink includes general water-based inks and oil-based inks, and various liquid compositions such as gel inks and hot melt inks. As specific examples of the recording apparatus, for example, a liquid containing an electrode material or a color material used for manufacturing a liquid crystal display, an EL (electroluminescence) display, a surface emitting display, or a color filter is dispersed or dissolved. It may be a recording device that injects a bio-organic matter used in biochip manufacture, a recording device that is used as a precision pipette and injects a liquid as a sample, a textile printing device, a microdispenser, or the like. In addition, a transparent resin liquid such as ultraviolet curable resin is used to form a recording device that injects lubricating oil pinpointed into precision machines such as watches and cameras, and micro hemispherical lenses (optical lenses) used in optical communication elements. You may employ | adopt the recording apparatus which injects etching liquid, such as a recording device sprayed on a board | substrate, and an acid, an alkali, etc. in order to etch a board | substrate. The present invention can be applied to any one of these recording apparatuses.

  D: Drying area, S: Continuous paper as an example of a recording medium, 11: Recording apparatus, 21 ... Recording head, 22 ... Heater unit as an example of drying means, 31 ... Cover, 31b ... Lower surface as an example of bottom surface Part, 33 ... air outlet, 35 ... air flow path part, 35a, 35b ... inner wall, 39 ... groove part which is an example of stagnation space formation part.

Claims (6)

Conveying means for conveying a recording medium on which recording is performed by adhesion of liquid from the upstream side to the downstream side in the conveying direction;
The heated air is blown out toward the surface from an air outlet formed at a position facing the surface of the recording medium on which the liquid adheres in the middle of the transport path of the recording medium transported by the transport means. Drying means for drying the liquid adhering to the recording medium,
The ceiling surface of the drying area in which the air blown from the air outlet of the drying means can stay on the surface side of the recording medium is formed, and the air outlet is formed among the outer surfaces constituting the outer shell of the drying means. And it forms with the bottom face part arrange | positioned so that the said conveyance path | route may be covered from upper direction,
A stagnation space forming portion that forms a stagnation space for the air by forming a flow path resistance of the air flowing in the drying region at a position downstream of the air outlet in the transport direction on the bottom surface portion. A drying apparatus characterized by being provided. The stagnation space forming portion has the same cross-sectional shape when the stagnation space forming portion is cut along the transport direction in the width direction intersecting the transport direction of the recording medium. Item 2. The drying apparatus according to Item 1. The size of the stagnation space forming portion in the width direction intersecting the transport direction of the recording medium is larger than the size of the recording medium in the width direction and smaller than the size of the air outlet in the width direction. The drying apparatus according to claim 1 or 2. The drying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the air outlet of the drying unit is disposed at a position closer to the upstream side in the transport direction in the bottom surface portion. The air outlet of the drying means is open toward the downstream side in the transport direction, and an air flow path section for heating the air taken in from the outside of the drying means and sending the heated air to the outlet The inner wall of the flow path portion connected to the air outlet of the recording medium is inclined so that the upstream side in the transport direction of the recording medium is upward with respect to the surface facing the recording medium where the air outlet of the drying unit is formed. The drying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the drying apparatus is characterized in that: A recording head for performing recording on the recording medium to be conveyed in the middle of the conveying path;
A recording apparatus comprising: the drying apparatus according to claim 1 provided at a position downstream of the recording head in the transport path.

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