JP2017106704A - Drying device and conveyance system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent condensation of solvent or water to a guide and recording medium due to a temperature difference at a dryer device.SOLUTION: This invention relates to a dryer device in which a transportation passage for winding an article to be transported and for heating and transporting the article is formed by arrangement of rollers including at least one heating roller and there is provided an exhausting means above the transporting passage. The rollers of the number of n at the same winding side in a horizontal direction of the transporting passage are arranged and the opposing rollers form the transporting passage to be returned back. When it is assumed that the rollers are applied as a first roller, a second roller, a (n-1)-th roller and n-th roller and the heating roller arranged at m-th order from below in a vertical direction is defined as m-th roller, the rollers are arranged in such a way that a vertical tangential line at the winding side of the article to be transported at the m-th roller and a vertical tangential line at the winding side of the articles to be transported at (m+1)-th roller may not be overlapped. m, n are integers and they satisfy the relations of n>m≥1, n≥2.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a drying apparatus and a conveyance system.

  2. Description of the Related Art Inkjet printers that record images, characters, and the like on a recording medium such as printing paper by discharging droplets (ink droplets) such as ink from nozzles of a liquid ejecting head are conventionally known. The ink jet printer includes a transport path for transporting a recording medium that is a transported object. Several types of ink jet printers are known. For example, a serial printer and a line printer. The serial printer ejects ink while moving the recording head in the main scanning direction, which is a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the object to be conveyed, in the conveyance path, and the conveyance operation in the sub-scanning direction, which is the conveyance direction of the object to be conveyed. In combination, the printing operation for the recording medium is executed. The line printer has a line head in which recording heads are arranged side by side in the main scanning direction in order to perform printing in a printing width corresponding to the width dimension of the recording medium. The printing operation is executed while moving the conveyed object relative to the line head.

  In recent years, inkjet printers have advanced printing image quality and printing operation speed by finely controlling ink droplet ejection timing and ink droplet size. However, since the image is formed by dropping droplets (liquid) onto the recording medium, as a problem for improving image quality and speed, the droplets adhering to the recording medium move adjacent to the surface of the recording medium. The problem of being mixed with droplets is known. In particular, in the case of a recording medium or the like having a coat layer, liquid droplets do not easily penetrate into the recording medium, and color mixing with adjacent ink droplets of different colors tends to occur. When color mixing occurs, a phenomenon such as color bleeding that makes the color boundary unclear is likely to occur. When color bleed occurs in the printing result, the sharpness of the printed image decreases. That is, the print image quality is degraded.

  In addition, due to the speeding up of the printing operation, if the recording medium is sent to the post-processing of the printing operation while ink penetration into the recording medium and drying of ink droplets adhering to the recording medium remain insufficient, the recording medium Problems such as ink transfer (picking) to the transport roller and ink transfer (blocking) between the overlapping recording media in the transport path are likely to occur. As countermeasures against picking and blocking, a technique for applying a powder material that prevents ink transfer after printing, and a technique for drying ink on a printing surface of a recording medium by arranging a drying device in a downstream process of a printing unit are known. .

  Among these, as a technique for drying ink, a system is known in which a heating roller having a built-in heat generation source is disposed inside a conveyance roller that forms a conveyance path. The method using the heating roller is a method in which the recording medium to be dried is brought into contact with the recording medium while being wound around a certain angle on the outer peripheral surface of the heating roller, and the ink is dried by heating at the time of contact.

  By the way, a heating roller system evaporates not only a water | moisture content but a solvent by heating ink at about 100 to 200 degreeC in a heating roller part. Thus, in order to dry the solvent and moisture, it is necessary to supply a necessary amount of heat within the time in contact with the paper. Therefore, when using a recording medium with a high basis weight that requires a large amount of heat, or when increasing the conveyance speed of the recording medium, it is necessary to use a plurality of heating rollers. In this case, the apparatus size and the operability of the paper can be taken into consideration by arranging the heating rollers in a staggered arrangement.

  In a drying apparatus in which a plurality of heating rollers are arranged in a staggered manner, the solvent and moisture evaporated and evaporated by the heating roller disposed below move upward along the rising airflow in the drying apparatus. In this case, the upper heating roller is surrounded by an atmosphere of a solvent or the like evaporated by the lower heating roller. The heating roller is provided with a guide for guiding the recording medium so that the recording medium is conveyed without being deviated from the conveyance path when the recording medium is loaded or conveyed. From the inside of this guide, the solvent evaporates as described above. Such solvent vapor may cause problems such as condensation in the guide and rusting of the guide.

  A technique for preventing adhesion of water droplets to a recording medium after fixing in an image forming apparatus having a fixing device that fixes an unfixed toner image on a recording medium by at least heating, is not prevention of adhesion of solvent vapor to a guide. It is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  The guide disclosed in Patent Document 1 has a wire-like member having a convex cross-sectional shape that extends in a direction having at least a recording conveyance direction component and protrudes without a corner portion with respect to the conveyance path side of the recording medium. And a holder for supporting the wire-like member so as to be spaced apart on a surface along the conveyance path.

  The guide installed around the conventional heating roller is in a state in which the guide itself obstructs the movement of the solvent and moisture evaporated by the heating roller to the upper part of the machine. On the other hand, the outside of the guide is in a state where it can receive the vaporized solvent and moisture that rises from around the heating roller immediately below. According to such a state, the solvent and water are condensed on the inside and outside of the guide due to the temperature difference between the guide and steam.

  Even when a wire member is used as in the guide disclosed in Patent Document 1, in a drying apparatus that supplies a necessary amount of heat to a heating roller used for drying continuous paper, recording is usually performed on a conveyance roller including the heating roller. A guide is installed to cover the portion around which the medium is wound. When continuous paper is wound around a heating roller, moist air containing solvent and moisture vaporized from the winding portion is surely generated. This wet air needs to be exhausted from a drying chamber in which a winding part and a heating roller are installed.

  In this case, if there is a conveyance path through which the recording medium passes in the direction in which the humid air moves, the wet air generated below the conveyance path adheres again to the recording medium passing through the upper conveyance path, and water droplets are generated. become. In this case, it cannot be solved even if the guide is constituted by a wire member and the humid air is efficiently removed from the winding portion.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to prevent condensation that occurs in a recording medium or a guide in a conveyance path due to evaporation of solvent or water from the recording medium in the conveyance path.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, according to one embodiment of the present invention, a transport path for winding and transporting an object to be transported is formed by an arrangement of rollers including at least one heating roller, and an exhaust unit is provided above the transport path. The rollers are arranged in such a manner that n rollers are arranged on the same winding side in the horizontal direction of the conveyance path, and the conveyance paths are folded between the opposed rollers. The m-th heating roller is arranged as the first roller, the second roller, the (n-1) -th roller, the n-th roller sequentially from the lower side in the vertical direction, and the m-th heating roller arranged from the lower side in the vertical direction of the transport path. Assuming that the roller is a vertical tangent on the winding side of the conveyed object in the m-th roller and a vertical tangent on the winding side of the conveyed object in the (m + 1) th roller, Strangely The rollers are arranged, characterized in that. However, m and n are integers, and n> m ≧ 1 and n ≧ 2.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent dew condensation that occurs in a recording medium or a guide in a labor path due to vaporization of solvent or water from the recording medium in the conveyance path.

It is a figure which shows the whole structure of the drying apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the conveyance system which concerns on embodiment of this invention which has arrange | positioned the drying apparatus downstream of the printing apparatus. It is a block diagram which shows the control structure which concerns on embodiment of a conveyance system. It is explanatory drawing which illustrates the airflow of a drying part by sectioning the chamber of the drying part in the drying apparatus concerning FIG. 1 in the center. It is a perspective view which shows the example of the 1st heating roller of FIG. 1, and the conveyance guide arrange | positioned around it. It is a perspective view which shows another example of the conveyance guide arrange | positioned around the 1st heating roller of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the example of the proximity separation mechanism with which the drying apparatus which concerns on this embodiment is provided. It is a figure which shows the whole structure of the drying apparatus which concerns on another embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining the example of arrangement | positioning of the roller in the drying apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which defines the term used for arrangement | positioning description of the roller which concerns on this embodiment. It is a figure explaining another example of arrangement | positioning of the roller in the drying apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a figure explaining the further another example of arrangement | positioning of the roller in the drying apparatus which concerns on this invention.

  The present invention relates to a drying device that dries while transporting an object to be transported. In the embodiment described below, a continuous long sheet-like member is exemplified as the conveyed object. Therefore, in the drying apparatus according to the present embodiment, the object to be transported is continuously transported along the transport path formed inside. In addition, the drying apparatus according to the present invention includes a heating unit in the conveyance member in a conveyance path formed by the conveyance members arranged with a predetermined arrangement. The object to be conveyed is conveyed while being dried using the heat from the heating means. Accordingly, the object to be conveyed does not have to be continuous as long as it is conveyed while being heated by the conveying member, and is applicable to a sheet-like member formed with a predetermined dimensional length.

  The conveying path provided in the drying apparatus according to the present invention is formed by arranging a plurality of conveying rollers as conveying members. Part or all of the conveying member is a heating and conveying roller provided with heating means. The drying apparatus according to the present invention prevents wet air generated around the heating and conveying roller from adhering to other heating and conveying rollers and surrounding components in the conveying path that is a drying process of the object to be conveyed. One of the main points is that exhaust can be efficiently performed.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a drying apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the drying device 1 includes a buffer 3, a drying unit 5, a cooling unit 7, a conveyance roller 9, and a nip roller 11 as its basic internal configuration. With these configurations, a conveyance path of the recording medium 13 in the drying apparatus 1 is formed. The recording medium 13 is an example of a transported object and is a long sheet-like member. The recording medium 13 is so-called continuous paper. The recording medium 13 is mainly conveyed by rotational driving of a conveyance roller 9 disposed on the downstream side of the conveyance path in the drying device 1. In the drying apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1, the recording medium 13 is discharged from the buffer 3 arranged below the upstream side (right side of the paper in FIG. 1) to the downstream side (left side of the paper in FIG. 1). It is conveyed toward the paper guide roller 15. That is, in FIG. 1, the recording medium 13 enters the drying apparatus 1 from the lower right and exits from the lower left. Thus, a conveyance path is formed so as to convey the recording medium 13 in a predetermined direction. The rollers other than the conveyance roller 9 may be idler rollers that do not include a drive source or rollers that include a drive source.

  The buffer 3 is provided at the entrance to the drying device 1. The buffer 3 adjusts the transport buffer amount of the recording medium 13 when the recording medium 13 is transported. The conveyance buffer amount in the buffer 3 is adjusted by controlling the rotation speed of the conveyance roller 9. That is, by controlling the rotation speed of the conveyance roller 9, a state in which the conveyance speed of the recording medium 13 is maintained at a constant speed can be formed. The buffer 3 is provided with a movable member 17 provided with two first buffer rollers 17a and second buffer rollers 17b arranged so as to be movable up and down. The transport buffer amount is changed depending on the vertical position of the movable member 17.

  The drying unit 5 is located on the downstream side of the buffer 3, and the recording medium 13 that has passed through the buffer 3 enters the drying unit 5. The area occupied by the drying unit 5 is closed by the chamber 6. The chamber 6 is insulated from the surroundings by a heat insulating material. Therefore, the space inside the chamber 6 of the drying unit 5 is hotter than the surroundings. In this space, a plurality of heating rollers 19 which are conveying members are arranged.

  A part of the heating roller 19 forming the conveying path may be a conveying roller that does not include a heating unit. The space inside the chamber 6 is heated by the heat generated by the heating roller 19. Therefore, a dedicated space heating device is not required in the drying unit 5. The heating roller 19 includes a heating element such as a halogen lamp inside, and is configured so that the heat of the heating element is transferred to the outer periphery of the roller.

  A plurality of heating rollers 19 are arranged in the chamber 6 of the drying unit 5. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the first heating roller 19a, the second heating roller 19b, the third heating roller 19c, the fourth heating roller 19d, the fifth heating roller 19e, the sixth heating roller 19f, and the seventh heating roller 19g. The heating rollers 19 are arranged in a predetermined arrangement. These heating rollers 19 are arranged in a staggered manner as shown in FIG. 1 when viewed from the side in the conveyance direction of the recording medium 13.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the conveyance path of the recording medium 13 changes the direction so that the conveyance direction of the recording medium 13 is folded back by approximately 180 degrees with an appropriate length, and the recording medium 13 is moved from the upstream side to the downstream side of the conveyance path. It is formed to face. That is, the heating roller 19 is disposed at a position where the conveyance direction of the recording medium 13 is turned back in the conveyance path. In the description of the present embodiment, when the plurality of heating rollers 19 exemplified above are described without distinction, the notation “heating roller 19” is simply used.

  Next, the conveyance path | route formed in the inside of the drying part 5 is demonstrated. As shown in FIG. 1, the recording medium 13 that has entered the drying unit 5 from the buffer 3 is wound around the outer periphery of the first heating roller 19a and conveyed in the horizontal direction. Next, the recording medium 13 is wound around the outer periphery of the second heating roller 19b disposed on the inner side of the drying unit 5 in the horizontal direction of the first heating roller 19a. In the reverse direction of travel (conveyance direction) is folded and conveyed. When passing through the second heating roller 19b, it moves upward in the vertical direction of the transport path. Next, the recording medium 13 is again wound inside the drying unit 5 by being wound around the third heating roller 19c disposed in the horizontal direction of the second heating roller 19b and outside the drying unit 5. It is conveyed horizontally to the side.

  Thereafter, the recording medium 13 is conveyed downstream while repeating the folding in the horizontal direction. As described above, the conveyance path formed inside the drying unit 5 is formed so as to repeat the horizontal movement of the recording medium 13 by the heating roller 19 and the vertical movement while folding the recording medium 13.

  Since the recording medium 13 is conveyed while being in contact with the heating roller 19 forming the conveying path, the recording medium 13 is dried by the heat from the heating roller 19.

  Next, the arrangement of the heating roller 19 that forms the conveyance path of the recording medium 13 will be described in more detail. In the following description, in the description of the position of the heating roller 19, the expression “winding side of the recording medium 13, anti-winding side” is used. First, “the winding side of the recording medium 13” and “the anti-winding side of the recording medium 13” will be described. FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of a part of the conveyance path formed by the arrangement of the heating roller 19. As shown in FIG. 10, the portion of the outer periphery of the heating roller 19 where the recording medium 13 comes into contact with the heating roller 19 and changes the conveyance direction is referred to as a “winding portion 190”. With respect to the conveyance direction of the recording medium 13, the conveyance direction in the horizontal direction is reversed to the reverse direction with the winding portion 190 as a base point. In this winding part 190, the side where the recording medium 13 is in contact with the outer periphery of the heating roller 19 is referred to as a “winding side”. Further, the opposite side of the winding side is referred to as “anti-winding side”. At this time, the recording medium 13 is moved in the height direction corresponding to at least the diameter of the heating roller 19.

  As already described, the heating rollers 19 forming the transport path are arranged in multiple stages spaced apart in the vertical direction from upstream to downstream in the transport direction of the recording medium 13 (see FIG. 1). In other words, assuming that the pair of heating rollers 19 arranged at the position where the conveyance direction of the recording medium 13 is folded back is one stage, these horizontal pairs are arranged in multiple stages inside the drying unit 5. ing. At this time, the arrangement of at least one of the heating rollers 19 at each stage is adjusted so that the vertical overlapping with the heating roller 19 at the other stage in the vertical direction is reduced.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 1, taking the positions of the first heating roller 19a disposed at the most upstream and the third heating roller 19c disposed above it as an example, the conveyance formed by these positions. In the horizontal direction of the path, the arrangement of the first heating roller 19a and the third heating roller 19c is adjusted to be different from each other.

  Next, the arrangement relationship of the heating rollers 19 in the conveyance path will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 shows only the arrangement relationship of the heating rollers 19 in the drying unit 5. In FIG. 9, the heating roller 19 arranged at the most upstream is referred to as a “first roller 191”. The heating roller 19 disposed downstream of the first roller 191 and immediately above the first roller 191 is referred to as a “second roller 192”. Similarly, the “nth roller 19n” is arranged at the most downstream side of the transport path. Note that n is an integer of 2 or more.

  In FIG. 9, paying attention to the positional relationship between the first roller 191 and the second roller 192, the first roller 191 and the second roller 192 have vertical tangents on the winding side of the recording medium 13 in the vertical direction of the transport path. Arranged so that they do not overlap. In FIG. 9, the vertical tangent on the winding side of the second roller 192 moves by the distance corresponding to L1 in the horizontal direction from the vertical tangent on the winding side of the first roller 191.

  Similarly, the n-th roller 19n and the (n-1) -th roller 19 (n-1) arranged downstream and immediately before the first stage of the n-th roller 19n do not overlap with each other in the vertical tangent line on the winding side. The vertical tangent of the n-roller 19n has moved from the vertical tangent of the (n-1) th roller 19 (n-1) by a distance corresponding to L (n-1).

  In other words, the conveyance path formed inside the drying unit 5 is formed so that the heating roller 19 is disposed at a position where the conveyance of the recording medium 13 in the horizontal direction is folded back, and the recording medium 13 is conveyed from upstream to downstream. ing. Each time the recording medium 13 is folded back by the heating roller 19, a conveyance path is formed so that the recording medium 13 moves upward in the vertical direction. In addition, the heating rollers 19 corresponding to the vertical relationship in the vertical direction of the transport path are disposed at positions where the vertical tangents on the winding side of the recording medium 13 do not overlap each other.

  Furthermore, in other words, when the drying unit 5 is viewed from above, the heating roller 19 has a relative position where the heating roller on the lower side in the vertical direction of the transport path is closer to the center of the chamber 6 than the heating roller on the upper side in the vertical direction. Arranged at the position.

  As described above, the heating roller 19 forming the conveyance path has different winding-side end surfaces of the recording medium 13 between the heating rollers 19 arranged at the same position in the vertical direction from the conveyance direction upstream to the conveyance direction downstream. It is arranged to be in position. When one heating roller 19 arranged in the conveyance path is used as a base point, the other heating roller 19 arranged downstream of the one heating roller 19 and on the same side in the vertical direction is It is arranged at a position moved to the non-winding side. Further, the other heating roller 19 disposed on the same side in the vertical direction upstream of the one heating roller is disposed at a position moved outward in the horizontal direction from the winding side of the one heating roller.

  In other words, referring to FIGS. 1 and 9, the conveyance path formed inside the drying unit 5 is formed so as to move the recording medium 13 in the vertical direction while folding the recording medium 13 in the horizontal direction. The horizontal folding of the recording medium 13 is performed by winding the recording medium 13 around the outer periphery of the heating roller 19. The length of the conveyance of the recording medium 13 in the horizontal direction becomes shorter as the conveyance path goes in the vertical direction. That is, the conveyance length in the horizontal direction of the recording medium 13 is longer in the upstream than in the downstream. This is because the heating roller 19 is moved so that the vertical tangent indicating the position of the winding side surface of the recording medium 13 in the heating roller 19 does not overlap with the upstream and downstream. Among the heating rollers 19 at the position where the recording medium 13 is folded back in the same direction in the horizontal direction, the heating roller 19 disposed upstream is more inside the drying unit 5 than the heating roller 19 disposed downstream. Come outside in space.

  As described above, the heating roller 19 is arranged so that the winding-side end surface positions of the heating rollers 19 facing each other in the vertical direction do not overlap each other as they go from upstream to downstream of the transport path. With the arrangement of the heating roller 19 as described above, when the humid air generated in the heating roller 19 on the downstream side of the conveyance path rises in the space inside the chamber 6, the heating roller 19 is not in contact with the upper heating roller 19. The air is exhausted to the outside of the chamber 6. As a result, the occurrence of condensation on the heating roller 19 can be prevented.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where all the rollers are the heating rollers 19 is illustrated. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and at least one roller may be the heating roller 19. Temporarily, one roller is the heating roller 19, and this heating roller 19 is arranged in the mth position from the first roller 191 in the vertical direction between the first roller 191 and the nth roller 19n. m roller 19m ".

  In this case, the m-th heating roller 19 has a vertical tangent on the winding side of the recording medium 13 with respect to a vertical tangent on the winding side of the (m + 1) -th arranged roller. It is arranged to be in the position moved to. As a result, when the humid air generated in the heating roller 19 (m-th) vertically below the transport path rises in the space inside the chamber 6, the heating roller 19 ((m + 1) th) vertically above the transport path. ) Is not contacted (not hit) and exhausted to the outside of the chamber 6. Therefore, an effect similar to the effect already described can be obtained.

Even in the case where there are a plurality of heating rollers 19, the vertical tangent on the winding side of each heating roller 19 (mth) is the next roller (m + 1th heating roller 19 or conveying roller). It is arrange | positioned so that it may become the position which moved to the horizontal winding side with respect to the vertical tangent of the winding side.

  As described above, when a roller having a heating function and a roller having no heating function are mixedly arranged, the roller is arranged at the (m + 1) th position with respect to at least the mth heating roller 19. The (m + 1) th roller is arranged so that the vertical tangent on the winding side of the roller is at a position moved to the winding side in the horizontal direction.

  In the space between the plurality of heating rollers 19, drying is performed by convection heat transfer using high-temperature air. The higher the heating roller 19 is, the higher the heating capability is. This is because the heat from the heating roller 19 on the upstream side is taken away by the recording medium 13 which is not the ink but the base material, and the heat is used for the ink. That is the case.

  Therefore, in the case of the heating roller 19 shown in FIG. 1, the two heating rollers 19 on the upstream side of the first heating roller 19a and the second heating roller 19b are for increasing the temperature of the recording medium 13. These have the ability to heat with a heat capacity sufficient to raise the temperature of the recording medium 13.

  Since the drying conditions differ depending on the weighing, printing area and printing density of the recording medium 13, and the temperature and humidity in the chamber 6, the heating capacity of the heating roller 19 is set according to the basis weight and the like. .

  The drying apparatus 1 includes a proximity separation mechanism 199 that enables the position of the winding-side end surface of the heating roller 19 in the horizontal direction to be moved. The proximity / separation mechanism 199 changes the interval between the winding-side end surface positions of the heating rollers 19 that are in a horizontal facing relationship between the heating rollers 19 that are arranged in pairs in the horizontal direction of the conveyance path of the recording medium 13. This is an interval change mechanism. By the proximity / separation mechanism 199, the heating rollers 19 can be adjusted so as to be arranged so as not to overlap each other in the vertical direction as described above.

  The structure of the proximity / separation mechanism 199 will be described with reference to FIG. The proximity / separation mechanism 199 is provided in each of the heating rollers 19 constituting the transport path. The proximity / separation mechanism 199 is configured by connecting a set of heating rollers 19 to a moving belt 197 that is stretched between a pair of rotational drive pulleys 198 by a connecting metal fitting 196. When one of the rotational drive pulleys 198 is rotationally driven by the horizontal movement motor 361, the corresponding ones of the heating rollers 19 connected to the moving belt 197 move in directions toward and away from each other.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 7, when the rotation driving pulley 198 is rotated clockwise by the horizontal movement motor 361, the first heating roller 19a and the second heating roller 19b move in a direction approaching each other. Of course, if the rotation direction of the horizontal movement motor 361 is set to be counterclockwise on the page, the first heating roller 19a and the second heating roller 19b move away from each other.

  The amount of movement of the heating roller 19 is set by a microcomputer unit 30 (FIG. 3), which will be described later, and is performed by the microcomputer unit 30 driving and controlling the horizontal movement motor 361. Note that the first heating roller 19a and the second heating roller 19b in the lowermost stage may be fixed, and the horizontal distance between the heating rollers 19 on the first heating roller 19a and the second heating roller 19b may be controlled. The latter is advantageous in terms of cost since one drive mechanism can be omitted.

  Returning to FIG. The recording medium 13 that has advanced from the drying unit 5 is conveyed to the cooling unit 7 constituted by eight guide rollers that are alternately arranged in the vertical direction. The recording medium 13 is cooled by being conveyed between the guide rollers. In this space (cooling unit 7), the temperature of the recording medium 13 can be controlled by blowing outside air and changing the transport distance. The change of the transport distance is performed, for example, by changing the vertical position of the lower four guide rollers relative to the upper four guide rollers.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a transport system 100 in which the drying device 1 is arranged on the downstream side of the printing device 21.

In the transport system 100 shown in FIG. 2, the recording medium 13 that has entered the printing apparatus 21 is supplied to the printing unit 27 via the first transport roller 23a and the first guide roller 25a. The printing unit 27 includes inkjet heads 27Y, 27M, 27C, and 27K that discharge Y, M, C, and K inks. The gaps between the inkjet heads 27Y, 27M, 27C, and 27K and the paper are about 1 to 2 mm. The recording medium 13 that has passed through the printing unit 27 is guided to the drying device 1 via the second guide roller 25b and the second transport roller 23b on the downstream side.

  The printing apparatus 21 has a printing surface drying unit 29 on the downstream side of the printing unit 27. This is for suppressing ink transfer (picking) when the ink discharged on the printing surface touches various rollers, and does not suppress blocking. Picking occurs in an undried state such that ink transfer occurs even with a short contact. In the blocking, although the ink is dried to the extent that picking does not occur, the recording surface of the recording medium 13 (the surface on which the ink is adhered) is formed by overlapping the recording medium 13 or winding the recording medium 13. This is a phenomenon in which the ink transfer adheres to other than the printing surface when a high pressure is applied.

  The roles of the printing device 21 and the drying device 1 in the transport system 100 according to the present embodiment are such that picking suppression is performed in the printing device 21 and blocking suppression is performed in the drying device 1.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a control configuration of the transport system 100 according to FIG. Reference numerals are assigned so as to correspond to the mechanical configuration of FIG.

  In FIG. 3, the drying apparatus 1 includes a microcomputer unit 30 that controls the device, an operation panel unit 32 that is operated by an operator, a conveyance roller unit 34 (conveyance roller 9 and nip roller 11), a gap control unit 36, a heating roller unit 38, and conveyance. The device includes a speed receiver 40, and the devices and sensors of these units are connected via a bus 42 via an I / O interface.

  The microcomputer unit 30 that functions as a transport control unit instructs the control of each device unit of the drying apparatus 1, performs a calculation necessary for the control, a ROM 302 that stores a program executed by the CPU 301, and a calculation result It is comprised from RAM303 which memorize | stores temporarily.

  The operation panel unit 32 is lit in accordance with the state of the drying device 1, the menu item being operated by the operator, the LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) 321 for displaying information such as the set temperature of the heating roller 19, and the state of the drying device 1. The blinking pattern changes, and is configured by an LED (Light Emitted Diode) 322 that notifies the operator of the state of the drying device 1 and a switch 323 for the operator to operate the drying device 1.

  The conveyance roller unit 34 controls a conveyance motor 341 that rotates the heating roller 19 and a brake 342. The drying device 1 and the printing device 21 and the drying device 1 and the control device 50 of the transport system 100 are connected by an I / F cable, respectively, and information on the transport speed of the recording medium 13 is transferred from the printing device 21 to the drying device 1. Sent via F cable. The transport speed information is converted into speed data in a form used by the transport speed receiver 40 to control the transport motor 341 of the heating roller 19 and used for speed control of the transport roller section 34. Further, the control device 50 transmits the weighing, printing area, and printing density information of the recording medium 13 to be printed, and is used for controlling the interval between the heating rollers 19.

  The interval control unit 36 includes a horizontal movement motor 361 and a plurality of position detection sensors 362. The position detection sensor 362 detects each position of the heating roller 19 and notifies the microcomputer unit 30 of the detected position. The microcomputer unit 30 drives and controls the horizontal movement motor 361 based on the respective positions of the heating roller 19, the weighing of the recording medium 13, the printing area and printing density, and the temperature and humidity in the chamber 6. By the driving control of the horizontal movement motor 361 by the microcomputer unit 30, the distance of the rotation center of the heating roller 19 that is opposed to each other in the horizontal direction is adjusted. That is, the arrangement of the heating rollers 19 is adjusted by the microcomputer unit 30. The horizontal movement motor 361 is configured to independently control the heating roller 19 in each pair of the heating rollers 19 in an opposing relationship.

  The heating roller unit 38 includes a heater lamp 381, a temperature detection sensor 282, and a humidity detection sensor 283. The temperature detection sensor 282 detects the temperature of each heating roller 19 and the temperature at a preset location in the chamber 6, and the humidity detection sensor 283 detects the humidity at a preset location, for example, the humidity at the top of the chamber 6. To the microcomputer unit 30.

  The microcomputer unit 30 controls lighting of the heater lamp 381 based on the sent temperature. Further, the microcomputer unit 30 is provided in each of the heating rollers 19 based on parameters sent from the control device 50 of the printing system provided in the transport system 100 including the printing device 21. An appropriate interval in the horizontal direction of the transport path is calculated. Here, the parameters are the weighing, printing area, and printing density information of the recording medium 13, and temperature information and humidity information in the chamber 6. Based on the calculated interval, the horizontal movement motor 361 is driven to move the heating roller 19 to an appropriate interval position.

  The winding end surface position of the heating roller 19 is data obtained by parameterizing the relationship between the weighing of the recording medium 13, the printing area, the printing density, the conveyance speed, the temperature in the chamber 6 and the humidity in advance using an actual machine. It is calculated and set based on the table. This data table is stored in the RAM 303. The microcomputer unit 30 refers to a data table stored in the RAM 303 based on a program for controlling the position of the heating roller 19 and calculates a change condition corresponding to a change in parameters such as weighing of the recording medium 13. The microcomputer unit 30 executes a process of setting the winding side end surface position of the heating roller 19 based on the change condition. As a result of this processing, in the drying apparatus 1, the position of the heating roller 19 is set so that the horizontal interval of the heating roller 19 is appropriate according to the progress of the printing process on the recording medium 13. As described above, according to the drying device 1 according to the present embodiment, the drying unit 5 can be controlled so that picking and blocking do not occur.

  Here, an example of a data table which is a change condition used for setting the winding-side end surface position of the heating roller 19 will be described with reference to Table 1 below.

  “Level” shown in Table 1 is a parameter for setting the winding side end surface position of the heating roller 19. The larger the number based on this level, the wider the interval between the winding side end face positions on the downstream side in the transport direction in the arrangement of the heating rollers 19. That is, as the number based on the level increases, the overlapping in the vertical direction of the heating roller 19 on the upstream side in the conveyance direction and the heating roller 19 on the downstream side in the conveyance direction in the arrangement of the heating rollers 19 decreases. Thereby, the upward flow of the humid air generated in the heating roller 19 can be made efficient.

  In Table 1, for example, when changing the position of the winding-side end surface (hereinafter referred to as “roller end surface position”) of the conveyed object in the horizontal direction of the heating roller 19 in the printing area, the printing area is divided into five stages. The case where the print area is the largest is “5”, and the case where the print area is the smallest is “1”. That is, the roller end surface position when the printing area is the largest is such that the end surface position on the downstream side in the transport direction is wider, and the overlapping of the heating rollers 19 in the vertical direction of the meandering transport path is reduced, so that the wet air Improve the flow upward. This is because if the printing area is large, the amount of ink increases accordingly, and the amount of wet air during drying increases.

  Similarly, the print density is divided into five stages, and is “5” when the print density is the highest, and “1” when the print density is the lowest. The arrangement of the heating roller 19 corresponding to each number is the same as in the case of the printing area. That is, the roller end surface position when the print density is the highest is such that the end surface position on the downstream side in the transport direction is wider and the overlapping of the heating roller 19 in the vertical direction of the transport path is reduced, so To improve the flow to This is because if the printing density is high, the amount of ink increases accordingly, and the amount of wet air during drying increases.

  Similarly, the printing speed is divided into five stages, and is “5” when the printing speed is the fastest, and “1” when the printing speed is the slowest. The arrangement of the heating roller 19 corresponding to each number is the same as in the case of the printing area and printing density. That is, when the printing speed is the fastest, the roller end surface position is wider on the downstream side in the transport direction and the overlapping of the heating rollers 19 in the vertical direction of the transport path is reduced, so that the wet air Improve the upward flow. This is because if the printing speed is high, the amount of processing per unit time increases accordingly, and the amount of wet air during drying increases.

  Similarly, the paper weighing, the temperature of the heating roller 19 (roller temperature), and the internal temperature / humidity (chamber temperature / humidity) of the chamber 6 are divided into five stages. The arrangement of the heating roller 19 corresponding to each number is the same as in the case of the printing area and printing density. When the paper weighing is heavy, the moisture content in the recording medium 13 increases accordingly, and the wet air during drying increases. In addition, when the roller temperature, which is the temperature of the heating roller 19, is high, the amount of wet air during drying increases accordingly, and when the chamber temperature and humidity are high, the amount of wet air during drying increases accordingly.

  Further, the roller end face position may be set by combining a plurality of parameter levels. For example, when the print area and the print density are combined, the maximum value of the numerical value indicating the level is “10”. Accordingly, the roller end surface position corresponding to the total value of each parameter is set by dividing the roller distance between the maximum value and the minimum value of the physical distance. In this case, the parameter used for setting the roller end face position is between “2” and “10”. Further, the roller end face position may be set using all the parameters set in the data table. In this case, the maximum value for determining the level is “30” and the minimum value is 6. That is, the roller end face position may be set by dividing into 24 levels from level “6” to level “30”.

  In the present embodiment, the level of each parameter set in the data table is 1 to 5, but weighting may be performed on the level of a specific parameter. For example, when the print area is weighted, the maximum value of the level of other items may be 5 and the maximum value of the print area may be 10. Furthermore, you may combine with each other item as mentioned above.

  FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the chamber 6 of the drying unit 5 including the heating roller 19 at the center. The airflow in the drying part 5 is demonstrated using FIG. Since the temperature of the heating roller 19 is controlled to a set temperature by a non-contact type temperature detection sensor (such as a thermopile) 382, it is not heated too much. For the same reason, there is no drying failure due to insufficient heating.

  The ink printed on the recording medium 13 by the printing unit 27 is heated to a gas by the heating roller 19, and passes through the exhaust duct 8, which is an exhausting unit connected above the rear wall 10 of the chamber 6 of the drying unit 5. Exhaust to the outside (in the direction of arrow C). At this time, an exhaust fan may be attached to the exhaust duct 8, or a suction device or the like outside the apparatus may be connected.

  As described above, the heating rollers 19 are alternately arranged in the horizontal direction, and are gradually arranged inward so as not to overlap in the vertical direction. An exhaust port 12 to which the exhaust duct 8 is connected is disposed at the upper part of the rear wall 10 of the chamber 6. The steam does not rise straight, but flows between the recording media 13 adjacent in the vertical direction, which are conveyed in staggered directions, toward the rear wall 10 of the drying unit 5 (in the direction of arrow A), and then rises to the exhaust port. Heading 12 (arrow B direction).

  As already described, the heating rollers 19 are arranged in a staggered pattern so as not to overlap the other heating rollers 19 in the vertical direction. In addition, the position of the winding-side end surface position between the heating rollers 19 arranged in multiple stages in the vertical direction has a vertical positional relationship so that the recording medium 13 is gradually narrowed as the conveyance direction of the recording medium 13 progresses from upstream to downstream. The heating roller 19 is arranged so as not to overlap. Thereby, even if the humid air generated by the lower heating roller 19 rises, it does not hit the heating roller 19 directly above, and it is possible to prevent dew condensation on the loading guide 20 and the recording medium 13.

  FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the first heating roller 19a and a conveyance guide disposed around the first heating roller 19a. FIG. 5A is a perspective view illustrating a state where a loading guide 20 as a conveyance guide is attached to the first heating roller 19a. FIG. 5B is a perspective view illustrating the loading guide 20. FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B are both perspective views, but the viewpoint directions are different.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, a loading guide 20 is attached around the first heating roller 19a, and is fixed so as to maintain a predetermined distance from the outer peripheral surface of the first heating roller 19a. As shown in FIG. 5B, the loading guide 20 includes a guide 22 and a holder 24. The guide 22 is a guide member formed in a substantially U shape by bending a wire with a curvature corresponding to the curvature of the surface of the heating roller 19, and holds the recording medium 13 around the first heating roller 19a. To move in the transport direction. The base of the guide 22 is supported by the holder 24. Other heating rollers 19 have the same configuration.

  With this configuration, the wet air generated around the first heating roller 19a flows upward from between the wires of the guide 22, so that the flow of the wet air is not hindered. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1, the heating roller 19 group is disposed so that the position of the winding side surface is shifted so that the rotation centers do not overlap each other in the vertical direction. For this reason, the heating roller 19 disposed below in the vertical direction in the transport direction does not hit the heating roller 19 disposed similarly above, but flows directly toward the exhaust port 12. Of course, the humid air generated in the lower part of the transport path in the vertical direction does not come into contact with the guide 22 of the other heating roller 19 arranged in the upper part of the transport path in the vertical direction.

  As described above, the exhaust configuration in the drying device 1 has a plurality of effects. Since the guide 22 covering the heating roller 19 has a wire configuration, first, the humid air generated around the heating roller 19 is exhausted by the exhaust equipment without contacting the recording medium 13 and surrounding components. Is done. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the condensation on the guide 22 and surrounding parts. Second, since the guide 22 is made of a wire, the surface area is reduced and the flow of wet air is good. The loading guide 20 is a member that is close to the heating roller 19 and is most likely to cause dew condensation due to a temperature difference between the inside and the outside. Can be prevented.

  The guide 22 is not limited to a wire. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, a loading guide 20a according to another embodiment may be configured using a guide 22a and a holder 24b of the heating roller 19 in the same manner as the loading guide 20 described above. The guide 22a provided in the loading guide 20a shown in FIG. 6 is formed by bending a plate-like member such as a sheet metal with a curvature corresponding to the curvature of the surface of the heating roller 19, and a plurality of ribs at regular intervals in the longitudinal direction of the curvature surface. 23 is a guide member in which 23 is formed. The loading guide 20a also holds the recording medium 13 around the heating roller 19 and guides it to move in a predetermined transport direction.

  The guide 22 a functions as a guide member in which the ribs 23 guide the conveyance of the recording medium 13, and the air holes 25 are formed in the concave portions between the ribs 23 by the heat transfer from the heating roller 19. It exhibits the function of allowing the humid air generated from 13 to pass upward. As a result, the humid air is exhausted by the exhaust system without contacting the recording medium 13 and surrounding parts. Therefore, it is possible to prevent dew condensation from occurring in the loading guide 20a and surrounding parts.

  In this embodiment, the recording medium 13 is used as a transported object, and an ink jet printer is used as an example of the printing device 21. However, the transported object may be a long or web-like paper or film. Including strips. The ink jet printer is exemplified as a representative example of a device that discharges a liquid that includes a liquid discharge head that discharges the liquid, and can be applied to any device that discharges other types of liquid.

  In the present embodiment, the lower side of the transport path in the vertical direction is the upstream side of the transport and the upper side is the downstream side of the transport, but the upstream and downstream positions in the transport path are reversed as shown in FIG. It may be. That is, the upper part in the vertical direction of the transport path may be the upstream side of the transport, and the lower part in the vertical direction of the transport path may be the downstream side of the transport. Thus, even if the upstream and downstream positions of the transport path are different, the same effect as that of the embodiment described above can be obtained.

  Next, another embodiment of the drying apparatus according to the present invention will be described. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an arrangement example of the heating roller 19 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 11, two heating rollers 19 are arranged on one side of the horizontal folding position of the conveyance path of the recording medium 13. For example, the first roller 191 disposed on the uppermost stream and the second roller 192 disposed on the downstream side and immediately above the first roller 191 are configured using two heating rollers 19, respectively. One of the heating rollers 19 may be a conveying roller without heating means.

  As in the present embodiment, the arrangement of the heating rollers 19 that form the conveyance path of the recording medium 13 inside the drying unit 5 is such that even if two heating rollers are arranged at the horizontal ends, moist air is not present. The exhaust system efficiently exhausts the gas without contacting the recording medium 13 and surrounding components. As a result, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of condensation due to wet air.

  Next, still another embodiment of the drying apparatus according to the present invention will be described. FIG. 12 is an example in which the heating roller 19 is disposed obliquely rather than in the horizontal direction. As shown in FIG. 12, a heating roller 19 is disposed so as to convey the recording medium 13 while folding the conveyance path. The lower side of FIG. 12 is the upstream side and the upper side is the downstream side, but this may be reversed. The vertical tangent of the winding side surface of the heating roller 19 disposed below the drying unit 5 in the vertical direction is more outward in the horizontal direction than the vertical tangent of the winding side surface of the heating roller 19 disposed above the vertical direction. That's fine.

  Even if the arrangement of the heating rollers 19 forming the conveyance path of the recording medium 13 in the drying unit 5 is slanted with respect to the horizontal direction as in the present embodiment, the moist air is in contact with the recording medium 13 and surrounding components. The exhaust system efficiently exhausts the gas without contact. As a result, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of condensation due to wet air.

  As described above, the drying device 1 in each embodiment forms a conveyance path for winding and heating the recording medium 13 by combining the plurality of heating rollers 19. The recording medium is heated by being wound around the heating roller 19, and excess solvent and moisture remaining on the printing surface are evaporated and dried.

  The conveying path of the recording medium 13 is such that the winding-side end surface of the recording medium 13 in the heating roller 19 disposed at the same position in the vertical direction downstream from the upstream in the conveying direction is the heating roller 19 upstream in the conveying direction. Is set on the inner side in the vertical direction (on the opposite side to the end face on the winding side).

  As a result, it is possible to prevent the vapor generated on the downstream side of the conveying path from adhering to the heating roller 19 and the guide 22 attached to the heating roller 19 to form dew condensation. Further, since the humid air generated and raised by the heating roller 19 directly below does not directly hit the recording medium 13, no condensation occurs on the recording medium 13.

  Moreover, according to the drying apparatus 1 in each embodiment, the guide 22 including the ribs 23 formed by sheet metal processing and the air holes 25 between the ribs 23 is provided on the outer peripheral portion of the heating roller 19. Thereby, the humid air generated by the heat transfer from the heating roller 19 is efficiently exhausted upward.

  Moreover, according to the drying apparatus 1 in each embodiment, the wet air generated by the heat transfer from the heating roller 19 is efficiently exhausted upward by forming the guide 22 with a wire-like member.

  In addition, according to the drying apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, an interval change mechanism (proximity separation mechanism 199) that changes the position of the winding-side end surface of the recording medium 13 in the heating roller 19 and winding based on a preset change condition. The heating roller 19 can be changed to an optimum arrangement by using a control means for changing the position of the hanging side end face. Here, as the changing conditions, the printing area and printing density, the conveyance speed of the recording medium 13, the temperature of the heating roller 19, and the temperature and humidity in the chamber 6 can be used. Further, by multiplying these plural conditions, the winding side end face position of each roller that is in an optimum arrangement can be set. Thus, the optimum arrangement of the heating rollers 19 can be set under various environmental conditions surrounding the recording medium 13 conveyed in the drying apparatus 1. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the condensation of the solvent or water due to the temperature difference inside the drying device 1 and the condensation of the solvent or water on the recording medium 13 from occurring.

  In addition, according to the transport system 100 already described, the above-described drying device 1 and the printing device 21 that is arranged in the preceding stage of the drying device 1 and prints on the recording medium 13 and transports to the drying device 1 are provided. Thus, the effects described above can be achieved.

  Further, according to the drying method according to the present embodiment, the plurality of heating rollers 19 are arranged so that the winding side surface positions do not overlap with each other in the vertical position of the conveyance path in the vertical direction. Even when heated and dried while being wrapped 13, the recording medium 13 can be dried while being conveyed without causing condensation on the guide 22 or the recording medium 13.

  Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention, and all the technical matters included in the technical idea described in the claims are all included. The subject of the present invention. The above embodiment shows a preferable example, but those skilled in the art can realize various alternatives, modifications, variations, and improvements from the contents disclosed in this specification, These are included in the technical scope described in the appended claims.

1 Drying device 6 Chamber 13 Recording medium (conveyed object)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 19 Heating roller 19a 1st heating roller 19b 2nd heating roller 19c 3rd heating roller 19d 4th heating roller 19e 5th heating roller 19f 6th heating roller 21 Printing apparatus 22 Guide 30 Microcomputer part 36 Space | interval control part

JP 2007-187821 A

Claims (10)

A drying device that forms a transport path for heating and transporting an object to be transported by an arrangement of rollers including at least one heating roller, and includes an exhaust unit above the transport path,
N rollers are arranged on the same winding side in the horizontal direction of the transport path, and the rollers are formed so that the transport path is folded back between the rollers,
The heating arranged sequentially from the lower side in the vertical direction of the transport path as the first roller, the second roller, the (n-1) -th roller, and the nth roller, and mth from the lower side in the vertical direction of the transport path Assuming that the roller is the m-th roller,
The roller is arranged so that the vertical tangent on the winding side of the conveyed object in the m-th roller and the vertical tangent on the winding side of the conveyed object in the (m + 1) th roller do not overlap.
A drying apparatus characterized by that. However, m and n are integers, and n> m ≧ 1 and n ≧ 2. The vertical tangent on the winding side of the object to be conveyed in the m-th roller has moved to the horizontal winding side relative to the vertical tangent on the winding side of the object to be conveyed in the (m + 1) roller. Position,
The drying apparatus according to claim 1. Each of the rollers has a guide member on an outer peripheral portion,
The guide member is formed of a plate-like member having a vent hole.
The drying apparatus according to claim 1 or 2. Each of the rollers has a guide member on an outer peripheral portion,
The guide member is formed of a wire-shaped member.
The drying apparatus according to claim 1 or 2.
A drying apparatus characterized by that. An interval changing mechanism for changing a horizontal position of the transport path of the roller;
Control means for changing the position in the horizontal direction based on preset change conditions;
The drying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising: The change condition is a print area and a print density to be printed on the transported object.
The drying apparatus according to claim 5. The change condition is a transport speed of the transported object.
The drying apparatus according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that The change condition is the temperature of the heating roller.
The drying apparatus according to any one of claims 5 to 7, characterized in that: The change conditions are temperature and humidity in a chamber in which the heating roller is disposed.
The drying apparatus according to any one of claims 5 to 8, wherein A drying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
A conveying system comprising: a printing device that is arranged in a preceding stage of the drying device and that prints the object to be conveyed and conveys the material to the drying device.