JP2024027441A - image recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an image recording device which can quickly perform printing while suppressing occurrence of dew condensation in a reading part.SOLUTION: An image recording device 100 includes: a housing 1; a conveyance path 33 on which a sheet S is conveyed; a recording head 24 for discharging a liquid to the sheet S; a heating part 26 which is positioned on the downstream from the recording head 24 in the conveyance direction of the sheet S, and heats the sheet S or the liquid attached to the sheet S; a reading part 30 which is positioned on the downstream from the heating part 26 in the conveyance direction, and reads an image recorded on the sheet S; an air duct 32 which is positioned above the conveyance path 33, between the heating part 26 and the reading part 30 in the conveyance direction, and has an inflow port 32AA opened downward and an outflow port 110 opened to the outside of the housing 1; and an air blower 112 for blowing air toward the outflow port 110 in the air duct 32. A normal vector 211 of a virtual plane 210 along the inflow port 32AA has a component facing to the heating part 26 side in the conveyance direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus that fixes liquid ejected onto a sheet by heating.

2. Description of the Related Art As an image recording apparatus that fixes liquid ejected onto a sheet onto the sheet by heating, for example, a printing apparatus described in Patent Document 1 is known. In the printing apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, the drying section cover is brought into close contact with the paper on the drying paper transport section, and the paper on which the colorimetric pattern has been recorded is dried by the radiant heat of the near-infrared lamp. After that, the near-infrared lamp is turned off, and the ventilation fan is activated to cool the interior surrounded by the drying section cover and the drying paper transport section. Then, the drying section cover is separated from the paper, and the recorded and dried paper is transported onto the colorimetric paper transport section.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2007-230171

In the printing apparatus described above, the ventilation fan is driven with the drying section cover in close contact with the paper on the drying paper transport section, so that moisture evaporated from the paper and ink by the radiant heat of the near-infrared lamp is difficult to reach the colorimeter. However, the printing apparatus described above has a problem in that printing takes time because it is necessary to move the lifting device up and down each time the recording head performs recording and the drying section performs drying.

An object of the present invention is to provide an image recording apparatus that can print quickly while suppressing dew condensation on a reading section.

(1) An image recording apparatus according to the present invention includes a housing, a conveyance path through which a sheet is conveyed within the housing, a recording head that discharges liquid onto the sheet, and a downstream side of the recording head in the sheet conveyance direction. a heating section that heats the sheet or the liquid attached to the sheet; a reading section that is located downstream of the heating section in the conveyance direction and reads the image recorded on the sheet; an air duct located above the path and between the heating section and the reading section in the conveying direction and having an inlet opening downward and an outlet opening outside the casing; and a blower that blows air toward the outlet. The normal vector of the virtual plane along the inflow port has a component pointing toward the heating section in the conveyance direction.

Moisture that evaporates from the sheet or the liquid on the sheet due to the heat of the heating section flows into the air duct from the inlet along with the air inside the housing, and is discharged from the outlet to the outside of the housing, preventing the moisture from reaching the reading section. Hateful. Therefore, the occurrence of dew condensation on the reading section is suppressed. Since the outlet opens toward the heating section, moisture evaporated by the heating section easily flows into the air duct. The sheet recorded by the recording head passes under the air duct and reaches the reading section, so printing can be done more quickly than when the ventilation fan is activated after the air duct is lowered and brought into close contact with the sheet. Can be done.

(2) The center of the inlet in the conveyance direction is located at a first projection position where the heating section is projected onto the conveyance path and a first projection position where the reading section is projected onto the conveyance path when viewed from the left and right directions perpendicular to the conveyance direction. It may be located downstream in the transport direction from an intermediate position between the second projection position and the second projection position.

After the sheet passes through the heating section, moisture evaporated from the sheet or the liquid on the sheet also tends to flow into the inlet.

(3) A dimension of the inflow port in the left-right direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction is equal to or greater than a dimension of the heating section in the left-right direction.

The heat from the heating section makes it easier for moisture evaporated from the sheet or the liquid on the sheet to flow into the air duct.

(4) The image recording apparatus according to the present invention includes a housing, a conveyance path through which a sheet is conveyed within the housing, a recording head that discharges liquid onto the sheet, and a downstream side of the recording head in the sheet conveyance direction. a heating section that heats the sheet or the liquid attached to the sheet; a reading section that is located downstream of the heating section in the conveyance direction and reads the image recorded on the sheet; an air duct located above the path and between the heating section and the reading section in the conveying direction and having an inlet opening downward and an outlet opening outside the casing; and a blower that blows air toward the outlet. The center of the inflow port in the conveyance direction is located at a first projection position where the heating section is projected onto the conveyance path and a second projection position where the reading section is projected onto the conveyance path when viewed from the left and right directions perpendicular to the conveyance direction. It is located upstream in the transport direction from the intermediate position between the projection position and the projection position. The normal vector of the virtual plane along the inlet has a component pointing toward the reading unit in the transport direction.

Moisture that evaporates from the sheet or the liquid on the sheet due to the heat of the heating section flows into the air duct from the inlet along with the air inside the housing, and is discharged from the outlet to the outside of the housing, preventing the moisture from reaching the reading section. Hateful. Therefore, the occurrence of dew condensation on the reading section is suppressed. Since the inlet of the air duct is located near the heating section and opens toward the reading section, after the sheet passes through the heating section, moisture evaporated from the sheet or the liquid on the sheet tends to flow into the air duct. The sheet recorded by the recording head passes under the air duct and reaches the reading section, so printing can be done more quickly than when the ventilation fan is activated after the air duct is lowered and brought into close contact with the sheet. Can be done.

According to the present invention, it is possible to print quickly while suppressing dew condensation from forming on the reading section.

(A) is a perspective view schematically showing the appearance of the printer 100, and (B) is a perspective view schematically showing the printer 100 with the housing cover 13 in the open position. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a longitudinal section of the printer 100 along line II-II in FIG. 1. FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the periphery of the air duct 32 in FIG. 2, including the inflow pipe 32A. FIG. 4 is a projection view in which the center 32AB of the inlet 32AA, the center 261AA of the heat transfer plate 261, and the center 30AA of the casing 30A of the CIS 30 in FIG. 3 are projected onto the conveyance path 33. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a cross section of the air duct 32 and its peripheral configuration along the line VV in FIG. 2. FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a virtual plane 210 along the inlet 32AA of the inflow pipe 32A in a modified example. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing the surroundings including an inflow pipe 32A of another modification. FIG. 8 is a projection view in which the center 32AB of the inlet 32AA, the center 261AA of the heat transfer plate 261, and the center 30AA of the casing 30A of the CIS 30 in FIG. 7 are projected onto the conveyance path 33.

Hereinafter, the printer 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be explained in detail. Note that the embodiments described below are merely examples of the present invention, and it goes without saying that the embodiments can be modified as appropriate without changing the gist of the present invention.

In the embodiment, the progress of the arrow from the starting point to the ending point is expressed as the direction, and the coming and going on the line connecting the starting point and the ending point of the arrow is expressed as the direction. The vertical direction 7 is defined based on the state in which the printer 100 is installed so that it can be used (the state in FIG. 1A). A front-rear direction 8 is defined with the side of the printer 100 where the discharge port 121 is provided as the front side. A left-right direction 9 is defined when viewing the printer 100 from the front.

[Casing 1 of printer 100]
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a printer 100 (an example of an image recording device) records an image on a sheet S using an inkjet recording method.

In the printer 100, the housing 1 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape and partitions an internal space 11 of the printer 100 from the outside. The housing 1 includes a housing case 12 and a housing cover 13. A discharge port 121 is formed in the front wall 122 of the housing case 12 . The discharge port 121 is a rectangular through hole that is elongated from side to side. The housing cover 13 is attached to the rear wall 123 of the housing case 12 by a bearing and a shaft (not shown). The housing cover 13 is placed in the closed position (the position shown in FIG. 1(A)) and the open position (the position shown in FIG. 1(B)) in the circumferential direction of the rotation axis 131 of the shaft (see FIG. 1(B)). Rotate between. The rotation axis 131 is parallel to the left-right direction 9. The housing cover 13 in the closed position closes the opening 124 at the upper end of the housing case 12, and the housing cover 13 in the open position opens the opening 124. Note that the configuration inside the housing 1 is not shown in FIG. 1(B). Furthermore, hereinafter, unless otherwise specified, the term "casing cover 13" means "casing cover 13 in the closed position."

[Internal configuration of printer 100]
As shown in FIG. 2, the printer 100 includes, in an internal space 11, a roll holder 21, a tensioner 22, a conveying section 23, a recording head 24, a support mechanism 25, a heater 26, a heater cover 27, ejection rollers 28A and 28B, and a standard. It includes a plate 29, a contact image sensor (referred to as "CIS") 30 (an example of a reading section), and an air duct 32.

[Roll holder 21]
A seat storage space 113 is defined by a partition wall 135 toward the rear and lower side of the interior space 11 . The roll holder 21 has a spindle and a flange, and is supported by a frame (not shown) within the sheet storage space 113. A roll body 209 is attached to the roll holder 21 . In the roll body 209, the sheet S is wound around a core tube. Note that the roll body 209 may be a sheet S wound into a roll without having a core tube. Further, the sheet storage space 113 may be capable of storing long fanfold paper or cut paper as the sheet S. The roll body 209 is attached to the spindle of the roll holder 21 so that the axis of the roll body 209 is parallel to the left-right direction 9. Further, the left end and the left and right center of the roll body 209 are positioned at a reference position within the internal space 11 when the roll body 209 is attached to the roll holder 21. The roll holder 21 supports the roll body 209 rotatably around the axis of the spindle. A gap 136 through which the sheet S passes is formed between the rear end of the partition wall 135 and the rear wall 123. The sheet S is pulled out from the roll body 209 and extends toward the tensioner 22 through the gap 136.

[Tensioner 22]
Tensioner 22 is located above partition wall 135 and near rear wall 123. The tensioner 22 is supported by frames (not shown) located near both left and right ends within the internal space 11, and extends in the left-right direction 9 between the frames. The tensioner 22 is movable in the front-rear direction 8 and is biased rearward by a spring. Tensioner 22 has a curved surface 221 facing outside of housing 1 . The sheet S is wound around the curved surface 221 from below, passes through the upper end of the curved surface 221, and extends toward the conveyance section 23 located in front of the tensioner 22. Tension is applied to the sheet S wound around the tensioner 22.

[Transport section 23]
In the conveyance section 23, a drive roller 231 and a pinch roller 232 are supported by a frame in front of the tensioner 22 and extend in the left-right direction 9. The pinch roller 232 contacts the upper end of the drive roller 231 from above. The drive roller 231 rotates around an axis parallel to the left-right direction 9 by power generated by a motor (not shown). The drive roller 231 nips the sheet S from the tensioner 22 with the pinch roller 232, and sends the sheet S from the nip to the conveyance path 33 leading to the discharge port 121. The sheet S is transported forward (an example of the transport direction) in the transport path 33.

[Recording head 24]
The recording head 24 is supported by the frame at a position in front of the pinch roller 232 and above the support mechanism 25 . The recording head 24 discharges ink (an example of liquid) from a plurality of nozzles 241 formed on the lower surface of the recording head 24 toward the sheet S supported by the support mechanism 25. As a result, an image is recorded on the recording surface of the sheet S using the ink. The recording head 24 receives ink from an ink tank (not shown) via a tube (not shown). The ink is a PP ink containing water, pigment, and thermoplastic resin fine particles.

[Support mechanism 25]
The support mechanism 25 is located in front of the pinch roller 232 and directly below the recording head 24, and is supported by a frame. The support mechanism 25 includes a conveyor belt 251 and support portions 252 that support the sheet S on both left and right sides of the conveyor belt 251. The conveyor belt 251 is rotated by power generated by a motor (not shown). Specifically, the conveying surface of the conveying belt 251 facing directly below the recording head 24 runs forward. As a result, the sheet S sent out from the transport section 23 is frictionally transported forward and sent to the heater 26 in front of the support mechanism 25. The support portion 252 has a support surface that extends forward, backward, left and right at approximately the same up and down position as the conveyance surface of the conveyance belt 251 . This support surface supports the sheet S conveyed directly below the recording head 24 and maintains the vertical distance between the nozzle 241 and the sheet S. Note that the printer 100 may adsorb the sheet S to the support surface using a suction mechanism (not shown).

[Heater 26]
The heater 26 (an example of a heating section) is supported by the frame in front of the support mechanism 25 and extends in the left-right direction 9. The heater 26 includes a heat transfer plate 261 and a film heater 262. The heat transfer plate 261 is made of metal and has a support surface that extends in the front, rear, left and right directions at approximately the same up and down position as the conveyance surface of the conveyance belt 251 . The sheet S sent out from the support mechanism 25 is conveyed forward on the support surface of the heat transfer plate 261. The film heater 262 is fixed to the lower surface of the heat transfer plate 261 and generates heat under the control of a controller (not shown). This heat is transmitted to the sheet S on the heat transfer plate 261 via the heat transfer plate 261.

[Heater cover 27]
The heater cover 27 is located at a slight distance upward from the heater 26, and extends in the front, back, left and right between the left wall 132 and the right wall 133 (see FIG. 1(B)) of the housing cover 13. The heater cover 27 covers the entire support surface of the heat transfer plate 261. Three spur rollers 271 are arranged one behind the other at a position on the left inside the heater cover 27. Similarly, three spur rollers 271 are lined up at a position closer to the right. Each of the spur rollers 271 is supported by the heater cover 27 so as to be rotatable around a rotation axis parallel to the left-right direction 9 . Each lower end of the spur roller 271 projects slightly downward from the lower surface of the heater cover 27 through a slit (not shown) formed in the lower surface of the heater cover 27 .

[Discharge roller 28A]
The discharge roller 28A is located in front of the heater 26. The discharge roller 28A extends along the left-right direction 9. The discharge roller 28A is rotatably supported by a frame (not shown). The discharge roller 28A is rotatable by power generated by a motor (not shown). The discharge roller 28A nips the sheet S with a spur roller 272 located above and conveys the sheet S toward a reference plate 29, which will be described later. The spur roller 272 is supported by a box-shaped spur holder 31 supported by a frame (not shown).

[Discharge roller 28B]
The discharge roller 28B is located forwardly away from the discharge roller 28A and at the rear of the discharge port 121. The discharge roller 28B extends along the left-right direction 9. The discharge roller 28B is rotatably supported by a frame (not shown). The discharge roller 28B can be rotated by power generated by a motor (not shown). The discharge roller 28B nips the sheet S with the spur roller 273 located above and conveys the sheet S toward the discharge port 121. The spur roller 273 is supported by a box-shaped spur holder 34 supported by a frame (not shown).

[Reference plate 29]
The reference plate 29 is supported by the frame at a position between the discharge rollers 28A and 28B in the front-rear direction 8. The reference plate 29 has a support surface that extends forward, backward, left and right at approximately the same up and down position as the conveyance surface of the conveyance belt 251. The support surface faces upward and is colored white.

[CIS30]
The CIS 30 is located between the ejection roller 28A and the ejection roller 28B, and directly above the reference plate 29. The CIS 30 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped housing 30A extending in the left-right direction 9, and has a light source, a distributed lens, and a licensor inside the housing 30A. CIS30 generates electricity according to the intensity of the reflected light received by the line sensor by condensing the reflected light emitted from a light source such as an LED and reflected by the sheet S onto the line sensor using a gradient index lens. Output a signal. The reading line of the CIS 25 is along the left-right direction 9. The length of the reading line of the CIS 25 is longer than the width of the maximum sheet S on which an image can be recorded in the image recording apparatus 100.

[Air duct 32]
As shown in FIG. 2, the air duct 32 is located above the heater cover 27 and the spur holder 31. The air duct 32 has an inlet pipe 32A having an inlet 32AA and an outlet pipe 32B having an outlet 110. As shown in FIG. 3, the inflow pipe 32A is located above the conveyance path 33 and between the heater cover 27 and the spur holder 31 in the front-rear direction 8. The inflow pipe 32A is formed in a box shape that is long in the left-right direction 9. The lower end of the inflow pipe 32A is inclined so that the height from the conveyance path 33 increases toward the rear. In this embodiment, the lower end of the inflow pipe 32A has a shape cut along a plane that faces diagonally downward to the rear. The inflow port 32AA opens rearward and diagonally downward at the lower end of the inflow pipe 32A. A dimension L1 of the inlet 32AA in the left-right direction 9 is larger than a dimension L2 of the heat transfer plate 261 of the heater 26 in the left-right direction 9 (see FIG. 5). Note that the dimension L1 of the inlet 32AA in the left-right direction 9 may be equal to the dimension L2 of the heat transfer plate 261 of the heater 26 in the left-right direction 9.

The inflow port 32AA is open toward the heater 26. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, a normal vector 211 of the virtual plane 210 along the lower end of the inflow pipe 32A has a component pointing toward the heater 26 side. When the normal vector 211 has a component pointing toward the heater 26 side, it means that when the normal vector 211 is decomposed into components in the front-back direction 8, the up-down direction 7, and the left-right direction 9, it has a component pointing backward. For example, the angle between the line segment of the normal vector 211 and the horizontal plane can be set to 30 degrees or 40 degrees. In this embodiment, the normal vector 211 has a component in a direction that starts from the center 32AB of the inlet 32AA in the left-right direction 9 and contacts the corner 261C where the upper surface 261A and the front surface 261B of the heat transfer plate 261 contact. have.

A center 32AB of the inlet 32AA in the front-rear direction 8 is located forward of the intermediate point between the CIS 30 and the heater 26 when viewed from the left-right direction 9. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the projected position 212 of the center 32AB of the inlet 32AA projected onto the conveyance path 33 is such that the center 261AA of the heat transfer plate 261 in the front-rear direction 8 is projected onto the conveyance path 33. Between the projected projection position 213 (an example of a first projection position) and the projection position 214 (an example of a second projection position) in which the center 30AA of the housing 30A of the CIS 30 in the front-rear direction 8 is projected onto the conveyance path 33. It is located forward of the intermediate position 215. The intermediate position 215 is a position that bisects the space between the projection position 213 and the projection position 214 in the front-rear direction 8.

As shown in FIG. 5, the outflow pipe 32B has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape that is elongated in the left-right direction 9. As shown in FIG. The upper end of the inflow pipe 32A is connected to the lower end of the front side of the outflow pipe 32B. The internal space of the outflow pipe 32B and the internal space of the inflow pipe 32A are in communication. The left end of the outflow pipe 32B is fixed to the inner surface of the left wall 132 of the housing cover 13. The right end of the outflow pipe 32B is fixed to the inner surface of the right wall 133 of the housing cover 13. The outlet 110 is located at the left end of the outlet pipe 32B. The outlet 110 is formed in the left wall 132 of the housing cover 13. The outlet 110 opens to the outside of the housing cover 13.

An exhaust fan 112 (an example of a blower) is arranged in the internal space of the outflow pipe 32B. Exhaust fan 112 is located near outlet 110. The outlet of the exhaust fan 112 faces the outlet 110. The suction port of the exhaust fan 112 faces to the right, which is the opposite direction to the outflow port 110. As a result, when the exhaust fan 112 is driven, an airflow 92 is generated in the air duct 32. The airflow 92 passes through the inlet 32AA from the space below the inlet 32AA, ascends the inflow pipe 32A, flows leftward in the outflow pipe 32B, and reaches the outside of the housing 1 through the outlet 110.

[Operation of printer 100]
When the printer 100 receives print data indicating an image to be recorded on the sheet S from an information processing device (for example, a PC) that can communicate with the printer 100, it executes image recording.

As shown in FIG. 2, during image recording, the roll holder 21, drive roller 231, conveyance belt 251, discharge roller 28A, and discharge roller 28B rotate. Thereby, the sheet S is let out from the roll holder 21 and conveyed to the tensioner 22.

The conveying unit 23 nips the sheet S from the tensioner 22 and sends it forward. The conveyance belt 251 frictionally conveys the sheet S sent out from the conveyance section 23 further forward by its own conveyance surface that runs forward. The support portion 252 is adjacent to the left and right of the conveyor belt 251 and supports the sheet S using its own support surface. The recording head 24 discharges ink from each nozzle 241 toward the sheet S supported by the support mechanism 25 based on print data. As a result, an image is recorded on the sheet S. The sheet S on which the image has been recorded is sent between the heater 26 and the heater cover 27, and is further transported forward on the support surface of the heater 26. Heat is applied to the sheet S by the heater 26. By heating, the thermoplastic resin fine particles on or within the sheet S are melted, and water is evaporated. Then, when the ink dries, the image is fixed on the sheet S.

The sheet S is further sent forward by the discharge roller 28A and the spur roller 272, and by the discharge roller 28B and the spur roller 273, and is discharged from the discharge port 121. The sheet S is conveyed on a reference plate 29 between the discharge rollers 28A and 28B. The CIS 30 optically reads the image recorded on the sheet S and outputs read data indicating the read result to the controller. The controller determines the quality of the image recorded on the sheet S based on the read data.

[Flow of steam through air duct 32]
When recording of an image is started and the sheet S on which the image has been recorded is heated by the heat transfer plate 261 of the heater 26, the ink and the moisture in the sheet S itself evaporate and steam is generated in the internal space 11. At this time, the exhaust fan 112 generates an airflow 92 that flows from the space below the inflow port 32AA into the air duct 32 through the inflow port 32AA, so the steam generated from the ink and sheet S rides on the airflow 92. After flowing into the air duct 32, it is discharged to the outside of the housing 1 (see FIG. 5).

[Effects of printer 100]
In the printer 100, vapor evaporated from the sheet S or the ink on the sheet S by the heat of the heater 26 flows into the air duct 32 from the inlet 32AA on the airflow 92, and is discharged to the outside of the housing 1 from the outlet 110. This makes it difficult for steam to reach the CIS30. Therefore, occurrence of dew condensation on the CIS 30 is suppressed. Since the inlet 32AA opens toward the heat transfer plate 261 of the heater 26, steam evaporated by the heater 26 easily flows into the air duct 32 through the inlet 32AA. The sheet S recorded by the recording head 24 passes under the air duct 32 and reaches the CIS 30, so it is faster than when the ventilation fan is activated after lowering the air duct 32 and bringing it into close contact with the sheet S. can be printed on.

In the printer 100, a projected position 212 obtained by projecting the center 32AB of the inlet 32AA in the left-right direction 9 onto the conveyance path 33 is an intermediate position between the first projected position 213 of the heat transfer plate 261 and the second projected position 214 of the CIS 30. It is located ahead of 215. Therefore, after the sheet S passes through the heater 26, vapor evaporated from the sheet S and the ink on the sheet S also easily flows into the air duct 32 through the inlet 32AA.

In the printer 100, the dimension L1 in the left-right direction 9 of the inlet 32AA is larger than the dimension L2 in the left-right direction 9 of the heat transfer plate 261 of the heater 26, so that the heat of the heater 26 evaporates from the sheet S or the ink on the sheet S. The vapor easily flows into the air duct 32.

[Modified example]
In the printer 100, the normal vector 211 has a component in the direction of contacting the corner 261C where the upper surface 261A and the front surface 261B of the heat transfer plate 261 contact (see FIG. 3). It may have a component oriented to contact the upper surface 261A, or it may have a component oriented to contact the front surface 261B of the heat transfer plate 261.

In the printer 100, the starting point of the normal vector 211 is set at the center 32AB of the inlet 32AA on the virtual plane 210, but it may be located inside the inlet 32AA on the virtual plane 210. For example, the starting point of the normal vector 211 may be set at the rear end or front end of the inlet 32AA on the virtual plane 210.

In the printer 100, the virtual plane 210 is along the lower end of the inflow pipe 32A, but it is sufficient if it is along at least the inflow port 32AA. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, when the lower end 217 of the inflow pipe 32A in the left-right direction 9 is formed in an upwardly bulging arc shape, the virtual plane 210 is the front end 217A and the rear end 217B of the lower end 217 of the inflow pipe 32A. It is sufficient if it contains at least the following.

In the printer 100, the projection position 212, which is the projection of the center 32AB of the inlet 32AA in the left-right direction 9 onto the conveyance path 33, is located forward of the intermediate position 215 between the projection position 213 and the projection position 214 (FIG. , see FIG. 4), as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, it may be located at the rear of the intermediate position 215. In this case, the inlet 32AA is formed so as to face the CIS 30 in the front-rear direction 8. In this case, for example, the normal vector 211 of the virtual plane 210 along the inlet 32AA has a component in a direction that contacts the rear surface 31A of the spur holder 31. In this way, after the sheet S passes through the heater 26, vapor evaporated from the sheet S and the ink on the sheet S tends to flow into the air duct 32 through the inlet port 32AA. Note that the normal vector 211 may have a component in a direction that contacts the housing 30A of the CIS 30.

1... Housing 24... Recording head 26... Heater (an example of a heating part)
30...CIS (an example of a reading section)
32AA...Inflow port 32AB...Center 32...Air duct 33...Conveyance path 100...Printer (an example of an image recording device)
110...Outlet 112...Exhaust fan (an example of a blower)
210... Virtual plane 211... Normal vector 213... Projection position (an example of the first projection position)
214...Projection position (an example of the second projection position)
L1...Dimension L2...Dimension S...Sheet

Claims (4)

A casing and
a conveyance path through which the sheet is conveyed within the housing;
A recording head that ejects liquid onto a sheet,
a heating unit that is located downstream of the recording head in the sheet conveyance direction and heats the sheet or a liquid attached to the sheet;
a reading unit located downstream of the heating unit in the conveying direction and reading an image recorded on the sheet;
an air duct located above the conveyance path and between the heating section and the reading section in the conveyance direction and having an inlet that opens downward and an outlet that opens to the outside of the casing;
A blower that blows air toward the outlet in the air duct,
In the image recording apparatus, the normal vector of the virtual plane along the inlet has a component that points toward the heating section in the transport direction. The center of the inflow port in the conveyance direction is located at a first projection position where the heating section is projected onto the conveyance path and a second projection position where the reading section is projected onto the conveyance path when viewed from the left and right directions perpendicular to the conveyance direction. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image recording apparatus is located downstream in the transport direction from an intermediate position between the projection position and the projection position. 3. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a dimension of the inflow port in the left-right direction perpendicular to the conveying direction is equal to or larger than a dimension of the heating section in the left-right direction. A casing and
a conveyance path through which the sheet is conveyed within the housing;
A recording head that ejects liquid onto a sheet,
a heating unit that is located downstream of the recording head in the sheet conveyance direction and heats the sheet or a liquid attached to the sheet;
a reading unit located downstream of the heating unit in the conveying direction and reading an image recorded on the sheet;
an air duct located above the conveyance path and between the heating section and the reading section in the conveyance direction and having an inlet that opens downward and an outlet that opens to the outside of the casing;
A blower that blows air toward the outlet in the air duct,
The center of the inflow port in the conveyance direction is located at a first projection position where the heating section is projected onto the conveyance path and a second projection position where the reading section is projected onto the conveyance path when viewed from the left and right directions perpendicular to the conveyance direction. It is located upstream in the conveyance direction from the intermediate position between the projection position and
In the image recording apparatus, the normal vector of the virtual plane along the inlet has a component that points toward the reading section in the transport direction.

Images