JP4581572B2 - Thermal fixing device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a thermal fixing device, and more particularly to a thermal fixing device for fixing an image formed of sublimation ink on a print material.

  Conventionally, for example, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, a printing material in which a fixing layer and a penetrating layer are sequentially laminated on a base material made of a flexible resin sheet or the like is conveyed from a printing apparatus to a thermal fixing apparatus. Printing systems are known. In the printing system of Patent Document 1, sublimation ink is ejected from a printer head by a printing apparatus configured in an ink jet system, and an image is formed on a permeation layer of a printing material. After that, the print material is heated by transporting it on the sheet heater in the order of the preheating part, the main heating part and the slow cooling part in the heat fixing device, and the sublimation ink of the permeation layer is sublimated and formed with the sublimation ink. The obtained image is fixed on the fixing layer.

  In the thermal fixing device of Patent Document 1, the amount of heat generated by the planar heaters provided in the preheating unit, the main heating unit, and the slow cooling unit is varied, and the print material is used in the preheating unit, the main heating unit, and the slow cooling unit. Heat to different temperatures. This absorbs the temperature difference from the outside air and prevents wrinkles and sublimation unevenness of the sublimation ink generated in the print material.

In such a so-called sublimation type printing system, an ink jet method is adopted in the printing apparatus, so that an image can be formed on a printing material having a large width dimension relatively easily, and no development process is required, and thus waste liquid is generated. It is also environmentally friendly. In addition, prints obtained by subjecting a print material using a resin sheet as a base material to image formation processing and heat treatment are relatively inexpensive and excellent in water resistance, and are used for signboards installed outdoors and for vehicles. Used for advertisements to be pasted on the outside.
JP 2004-181817 A

However, in the thermal fixing device of Patent Document 1, since the print material is conveyed in a horizontal state and sequentially passes through the preheating unit, the main heating unit, and the slow cooling unit, the preheating unit, the main heating unit, and the slow cooling unit are separated. There is a problem that it is necessary to provide a planar heater for each, and the cost becomes high.
Therefore, a main object of the present invention is to provide a thermal fixing device capable of simplifying the configuration and suppressing the cost.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the thermal fixing device according to claim 1 is a thermal fixing device for fixing an image formed of sublimation ink on a print material, and includes a heating unit that emits radiant heat, and a print. Heating by forming a housing in which the material and the heating means are disposed, a heating space in which the heating means is disposed in the housing, an upper space located above the heating space, and a lower space located below the heating space A plurality of adjusting members for respectively adjusting the amount of heated air flowing into the upper space and the lower space from the space, a cross flow fan provided in the heating space for sending the heated air in the heating space to the lower space, and via heating space from the upper space through the heating space or from the lower space to the lower space comprises a conveying means for conveying the printing material in the upper space, a plurality of adjusting members, in the housing The enclosure is partitioned into a heating space, an upper space, and a lower space, and the heated air in the heating space is allowed to flow into the upper space and the lower space, and also flows into the upper space and the lower space. Adjust the amount of air .

The heat fixing device according to claim 2 is the heat fixing device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of adjusting members are provided between the heating space and the upper space and between the heating space and the lower space. Each plate-like member has a plurality of through-holes configured such that the heated air in the heating space can pass therethrough and the area of the opening can be adjusted .

In the heat fixing device according to claim 1, the air heated by the radiant heat of the heating means flows into the upper space and the lower space from the heating space by convection so that the temperature of the upper space becomes lower than the temperature of the heating space. To lower the temperature of the lower space to be lower than the temperature of the upper space. Further, the amount of heated air flowing into the upper space and the lower space from the heating space is adjusted by the adjusting member , respectively, and the upper space and the lower space are kept at a predetermined temperature. In the casing in such a state, the printing material is conveyed from the upper space to the lower space via the heating space or from the lower space to the upper space via the heating space by the conveying means. Therefore, the print material can be heated to different temperatures in the upper space, the heating space, and the lower space without using a plurality of planar heaters, thereby simplifying the configuration and reducing the cost.

  In the heat fixing device according to claim 2, the plurality of through-holes of the plate-like member provided between the heating space and the upper space and between the heating space and the lower space are allowed to pass through the upper portion from the heating space. The amount of heated air flowing into the space and the lower space is adjusted. Therefore, by setting the size and number of the plurality of through holes in each plate-like member, the amount of heated air flowing into the upper space and the lower space can be easily adjusted, respectively. Can be kept at a predetermined temperature.

  According to the present invention, the configuration can be simplified and the cost can be reduced.

The case where the heat fixing device of the present invention is applied to a sublimation type printing system will be described below with reference to the drawings.
Referring to FIG. 1, a printing system 10 includes a controller 12 that controls the operation of each component of the printing system 10, a printing unit 14 that forms an image on the printing material P, and heat that heats the printed printing material P. A fixing unit 16 is included.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a controller 12 such as a general-purpose computer (personal computer) has an input unit 18 such as a keyboard and a mouse for an operator to input data and instructions, and a GUI (Graphical User Interface) and printing material. A display unit 20 for displaying an image to be formed on P is connected. The controller 12 is connected to a scanner 22 that operates in accordance with instructions from the controller 12 and acquires a frame image formed on a photographic film as image data.

  Such a controller 12 controls the operations of the print unit 14 and the thermal fixing unit 16 connected to the controller 12. In this embodiment, the thermal fixing device of the present invention is constituted by a controller 12 and a thermal fixing unit 16.

  In the print system 10, the print material P is conveyed from the print unit 14 configured to be separable from the print unit 14 to the heat fixing unit 16, and an image forming process is performed on the print material P by the print unit 14 and a heat process is performed by the heat fixing unit 16. A loop forming unit (not shown) is disposed between the print unit 14 and the thermal fixing unit 16. The loop forming unit absorbs the difference between the conveyance speed of the printing material P in the printing unit 14 and the conveyance speed of the printing material P in the thermal fixing unit 16.

  With reference to FIG. 2, the printing material P used in the printing system 10 is formed by sequentially laminating a fixing layer P2 and a permeation layer P3 on a flexible film-like substrate P1. The substrate P1 is made of PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) or the like, and the fixing layer P2 is made of a polyvinyl alcohol-based resin or a polyvinyl acetal-based resin, which is a resin having affinity for sublimable ink. Further, the permeation layer P3 is made of a fluororesin or a silicon resin that has no affinity for the sublimation ink, and is formed on the fixing layer P2 so as to be peelable. The print material P configured in this way is configured as a flexible sheet as a whole.

  Instead of the print material P, a material having affinity for the sublimable ink may be used for the base material, and a print material that can use the surface of the base material as the fixing layer may be used.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the print unit 14 includes a winding section 24 that winds the long print material P in a roll shape. The print material P unwound from the winding unit 24 is conveyed by a plurality of conveyance roller pairs provided in the print unit 14. A printer head 26 is disposed on the transport path of the print material P in the print unit 14.

  The printer head 26 includes an ink cartridge that contains sublimable inks of, for example, cyan (C), light cyan (LC), magenta (M), light magenta (LM), yellow (Y), and black (K). Each of the six sublimation inks accommodated in the ink cartridge of the printer head 26 starts sublimation from the permeation layer P3 (see FIG. 2) at about 80 ° C., and the fixing layer P2 without difficulty at about 170 ° C. to 200 ° C. (See FIG. 2).

  In the print unit 14, the sublimation ink is applied to the surface of the permeation layer P3 by discharging the sublimation ink from the printer head 26 while moving the printer head 26 in the width direction (main scanning direction) of the print material P. The image based on the image data acquired by 22 is formed in the permeable layer P3.

  The print material P on which the image is formed on the permeation layer P3 is supplied to the heat fixing unit 16 via the loop forming unit.

Next, the heat fixing unit 16 will be described in detail with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, the thermal fixing unit 16 includes a housing 28. The housing 28 is provided with an introduction port 28a for introducing the supplied print material P into the interior and a discharge port 28b for discharging the print material P in the housing 28.

  Partition plates 30a, 30b, and 30c are provided in the housing 28. The partition plate 30a is attached to the wall where the introduction port 28a is provided, and the partition plate 30b is attached to the wall below the partition plate 30a and where the introduction port 28a is provided. The partition plate 30c is provided so as to be aligned with the partition plate 30a in the arrow A direction with a predetermined interval. In addition, adjustment plates 32a, 32b, and 32c are disposed on the upper surfaces of the partition plates 30a, 30b, and 30c, respectively. In this embodiment, the partition plates 30a, 30b, 30c and the adjusting plates 32a, 32b, 32c correspond to the adjusting means.

  Here, the partition plates 30a, 30b, and 30c and the adjustment plates 32a, 32b, and 32c will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, the partition plate 30a and the adjustment plate 32a are shown.

  As shown in FIG. 4A, the partition plate 30a is formed with a plurality of (here, four) through holes 34 extending in the arrow B direction (the direction orthogonal to the arrow A direction) so as to be aligned in the arrow A direction. Is done. Two columnar fasteners 36 are provided on the upper surface of the partition plate 30a so as to sandwich the four through holes 34. The partition plates 30b and 30c are also configured in the same manner as the partition 30a except that the dimension in the arrow A direction and the number of through holes 34 are different. Three through holes 34 are formed in each of the partition plates 30b and 30c (see FIG. 3).

  As shown in FIG. 4B, the adjustment plate 32 a is formed with a through hole 38 having an opening having the same shape and area as the opening of the through hole 34. In the adjustment plate 32a, four through holes 38 are formed corresponding to the four through holes 34 of the partition plate 30a so as to be aligned in the arrow A direction at the same interval as the four through holes 34 of the partition plate 30a. Similarly, the adjustment plates 32b and 32c have three through holes 38 corresponding to the three through holes 34 of the partition plates 30b and 30c (see FIG. 3).

  Further, two through holes 40 are formed in the adjustment plate 32a so as to sandwich the four through holes 38 in correspondence with the two fasteners 36 of the partition plate 30a. The through hole 40 has a dimension in the arrow B direction slightly larger than the diameter of the end face of the fastener 36 and is formed to extend in the arrow A direction. Similarly, the adjustment plates 32b and 32c are each formed with two through holes 40 corresponding to the two fasteners 36 of the partition plates 30b and 30c (see FIG. 3).

  As shown in FIGS. 5 (a) to 5 (d), the adjustment plate 32a is arranged on the upper surface of the partition plate 30a so that each fastener 36 of the partition plate 30a penetrates the through hole 40 of the adjustment plate 32a. Is done. The adjustment plate 32a is restricted from moving in the direction indicated by the arrow B on the upper surface of the partition plate 30a as each fastener 36 penetrates the through hole 40 without any gap in the direction indicated by the arrow B. Similarly, the adjustment plates 32b and 32c are arranged on the upper surfaces of the partition plates 30b and 30c so that the fasteners 36 penetrate into the through holes 40 (see FIG. 3).

  5 (a) and 5 (b), the adjustment plate 32a is arranged on the upper surface of the partition plate 30a so that each fastener 36 of the partition plate 30a is located at the center of the through hole 40 of the adjustment plate 32a. The state is shown. At this time, as can be seen from FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B, the openings of the through holes 34 of the partition plate 30a and the through holes 38 of the adjustment plate 32a coincide.

  5 (c) and 5 (d), the fasteners 36 of the partition plate 30a are connected to the end portions of the through holes 40 of the adjustment plate 32a (the right side in FIGS. 5 (c) and 5 (d)). The state which has arrange | positioned the adjustment board 32a on the upper surface of the partition plate 30a so that it may be located in an edge part is shown. In other words, from the state shown in FIGS. 5 (a) and 5 (b), the adjustment plate 32a is slid in the direction of arrow A (the left side in the direction of arrow A in FIGS. 5 (c) and 5 (d)). The state is shown. At this time, as can be seen from FIGS. 5C and 5D, a part of the upper surface side opening of each through hole 34 is covered by the adjustment plate 32 a, and substantially the upper surface side opening of each through hole 34. The area of the part is reduced. Thus, by sliding the adjustment plate 32a in the arrow A direction within a predetermined range, the area of the upper surface side opening of each through hole 34 of the partition plate 30a is adjusted.

  Needless to say, the adjustment plate 32a can be slid to the right in the direction of arrow A from the state shown in FIGS. 5 (a) and 5 (b).

  Returning to FIG. 3, by providing the partition plates 30a, 30b, and 30c, the inside of the housing 28 is partitioned, and a lower space 42a, a heating space 42b, and an upper space 42c are formed in the housing 28 in order from the bottom. The

  In the lower space 42a in the housing 28, a pair of conveying rollers 44a, 44b, and 44c are provided in order so that the print material P introduced in the horizontal direction from the introduction port 28a is sent upward. The transport roller pair 44a is rotated by a stepping motor or the like, and feeds the print material P by a predetermined feed amount. The same applies to the conveyance roller pairs 44b and 44c.

  Between the conveyance roller pair 44a and 44b, a curved guide 46 for guiding the print material P from the conveyance roller pair 44a to 44b is provided. Similarly, a curved guide 48 for guiding the print material P from the pair of conveyance rollers 44b to 44c is provided between the pair of conveyance rollers 44b and 44c.

  In the upper space 42c in the housing 28, a pair of conveyance rollers 50a and 50b are provided in order so that the print material P that has passed between the partition plates 30a and 30c is sent obliquely downward toward the discharge port 28b. The transport roller pair 50a is rotated by a stepping motor or the like, and feeds the print material P by a predetermined feed amount. The same applies to the conveyance roller pair 50b.

  Curved guides 52a and 52b are provided between the conveying roller pair 50a and 50b, and a plate-shaped guide 54 is provided obliquely below the conveying roller pair 50b. The plate-shaped guide 54 is formed to have a slightly smaller dimension in the direction orthogonal to the arrow A direction (arrow B direction: see FIG. 4) than the discharge port 28b, and is disposed on the discharge port 28b so that the heating space 42b does not face the outside. It is attached. Above the plate-shaped guide 54, rollers 56a and 56b are provided that contact the print material P supported by the plate-shaped guide 54 from above and assist the conveyance. The print material P sent out from the transport roller pair 50 a passes between the curved guides 52 a and 52 b, is guided to the transport roller pair 50 b, is sent out from the transport roller pair 50 b, and is supported by the plate-shaped guide 54. It is discharged from the discharge port 28b.

  Further, lifts 58 and 60 that move up and down from the lower space 42 a to the heating space 42 b are provided in the housing 28. The lift 58 moves up and down with the operation of a ball screw driven by a stepping motor or the like, for example. The same applies to the lift 60.

  Referring also to FIG. 6A, the lift 58 corresponds to the feeding amount of the printing material P of the conveying roller pairs 44a to 44c while holding the vicinity of the front end portion of the printing material P by the pair of clamping members 58a and 58b. Move upwards at speed. As indicated by the alternate long and short dash line, the lift 58 stops when it reaches the vicinity of the partition plates 30b and 30c, and gives the leading end portion of the print material P to the conveying roller pair 50a. By moving the tip of the printing material P upward by the lift 58, the printing material P is continued from the conveying roller pair 44c to 50a, and further from the introduction port 28a to the discharge port 28b (see FIG. 3).

  Next, referring also to FIG. 6B, the lift 60 feeds the print material P of the conveying roller pairs 50a and 50b while holding the vicinity of the rear end portion of the print material P between the pair of holding members 60a and 60b. The vehicle moves upward at a speed corresponding to, and stops when it reaches the vicinity of the lift 58 as indicated by a one-dot chain line. In this way, the rear end portion of the print material P is moved upward by the lift 60, so that the rear end portion of the print material P does not oscillate in the lower space 42a and the heating space 42b, and the print material P can be stably provided. Can be transported.

  In this embodiment, the conveying means is constituted by the conveying roller pairs 44a, 44b, 44c, 50a, 50b and the lifts 58, 60.

  In the heating space 42b in the housing 28, a rod-shaped far infrared heater 62 extending in a direction orthogonal to the arrow A direction (arrow B direction: see FIG. 4) is provided between the partition plates 30a and 30b. The far-infrared heater 62 as a heating means is configured by housing a heating element such as a coiled nichrome wire in a quartz glass tube. The far-infrared heater 62 generates heat when power is supplied from a power supply unit (not shown) that operates according to instructions from the controller 12, and heats the print material P and air in the heating space 42b by radiant heat. In addition, a reflector 64 is provided in the heating space 42b so as to cover the surface opposite to the surface facing the print material P of the far-infrared heater 62. By providing the reflector 64, the radiant heat emitted from the far-infrared heater 62 is efficiently given to the print material P as indicated by a one-dot chain line. In this embodiment, the printing material P is conveyed so that the permeation layer P3 (see FIG. 2) that is the image forming surface faces the far infrared heater 62.

  In the lower space 42a located below the far-infrared heater 62, unheated high-density air stagnates, and the low-density air heated in the heating space 42b hardly flows. Therefore, a cross-flow fan 66 for sending air heated by the far-infrared heater 62 to the lower space 42a and a plate-like member for guiding the air heated by the far-infrared heater 62 to the cross-flow fan 66 are provided in the heating space 42b. 68 is provided. The cross flow fan 66 assists the temperature rise of the lower space 42a by sending a part of the air heated in the heating space 42b to the lower space 42a as indicated by a two-dot chain line. Assists air convection. The cross flow fan 66 is controlled by the controller 12 and, for example, starts sending air into the lower space 42a simultaneously with the start of heat generation of the far infrared heater 62.

  In the heat fixing unit 16 configured as described above, the print material P introduced from the introduction port 28 a is transported from the lower space 42 a to the upper space 42 c via the heating space 42 b, and radiant heat generated from the far-infrared heater 62. The print material P is heated by By heating the printing material P, the sublimation ink in the permeation layer P3 (see FIG. 2) sublimates, and the image formed by the sublimation ink is fixed on the fixing layer P2 (see FIG. 2).

  The temperature of the far-infrared heater 62 when the print material P is heat-treated is set to about 400 ° C. to 500 ° C., for example. Radiant heat generated from the far-infrared heater 62 heats the print material P and heats the air in the heating space 42b, and the temperature of the heating space 42b becomes, for example, about 180 ° C. Part of the air heated in the heating space 42b is sent into the lower space 42a by the cross flow fan 66, and air convection in the housing 28 is assisted.

  A part of the air heated in the heating space 42b and convected passes through the through holes 34 of the partition plates 30a and 30c and the through holes 38 of the adjustment plates 32a and 32c and flows into the upper space 42c. In other words, by passing the through holes 34 of the partition plates 30a and 30c and the through holes 38 of the adjusting plates 32a and 32c provided between the heating space 42b and the upper space 42c, the upper space 42c is passed from the heating space 42b. The amount of heated air flowing into the is adjusted. Thereby, the temperature of the upper space 42c is maintained at about 130 ° C., for example.

  If the temperature of the upper space 42c is higher than the predetermined temperature, the adjustment plates 32a and 32c are slid in the direction of arrow A, and the area of the upper surface side opening of each through hole 34 of the partition plates 30a and 30c. Should be set to be small. As a result, the amount of heated air flowing into the upper space 42c and thus the temperature of the upper space 42c can be easily suppressed.

  Further, part of the air heated and heated in the heating space 42b passes through the through holes 34 of the partition plate 30b and the through holes 38 of the adjustment plate 32b, and flows into the lower space 42a. In other words, the heat flowing from the heating space 42b into the lower space 42a by passing through the through holes 34 of the partition plate 30b and the through holes 38 of the adjusting plate 32b provided between the heating space 42b and the lower space 42a. The amount of air produced is adjusted. Thereby, the temperature of the lower space 42a is maintained at about 100 ° C., for example.

  If the temperature of the lower space 42a is higher than a predetermined temperature, the adjustment plate 32b is slid in the direction of arrow A so that the area of the upper surface side opening of each through hole 34 of the partition plate 30b is reduced. Set it to. As a result, the amount of heated air flowing into the lower space 42a and thus the temperature of the lower space 42a can be easily suppressed.

  In this way, the printing material P is sequentially conveyed through the lower space 42a, the heating space 42b, and the upper space 42c that are maintained at a predetermined temperature, so that a temperature difference from the outside air is absorbed, and wrinkles and sublimation generated in the printing material P are absorbed. The sublimation unevenness of the property ink is prevented. That is, in this embodiment, the lower space 42a, the heating space 42b, and the upper space 42c function as a preheating unit, a main heating unit, and a slow cooling unit, respectively.

  The print material P that has been heat-treated in the housing 28 is discharged from the discharge port 28b. Thereafter, the permeation layer P3 of the heated print material P is peeled off, whereby a clear image appears on the fixing layer P2.

  In such a heat fixing unit 16 of the printing system 10, air heated by the radiant heat of the far infrared heater 62 flows from the heating space 42b into the upper space 42c and the lower space 42a by convection, and heats the temperature of the upper space 42c. The temperature of the lower space 42a is raised so as to be lower than the temperature of the space 42b, and the temperature of the lower space 42a is raised so as to be lower than the temperature of the upper space 42c. Further, the amount of heated air flowing into the upper space 42c is suppressed by the partition plates 30a and 30c and the adjusting plates 32a and 32c. Similarly, the amount of heated air flowing into the lower space 42a is controlled by the partition plate 30b and the adjusting plate. It is restrained by the plate 32b. As a result, the upper space 42c and the lower space 42a are each easily maintained at a predetermined temperature. In the casing 28 in such a state, the print material P is conveyed from the lower space 42a to the upper space 42c via the heating space 42b. Therefore, the print material P can be heated to different temperatures in the upper space 42c, the heating space 42b, and the lower space 42a without using a plurality of planar heaters, and the configuration can be simplified and the cost can be reduced.

  The numbers and shapes of the through holes 34 provided in the partition plates 30a, 30b, and 30c and the through holes 38 provided in the adjustment plates 32a, 32b, and 32c are not limited to the above-described embodiment, and the partition plates 30a, 30b, As long as 30c corresponds to each of the adjusting plates 32a, 32b, and 32c, it can be arbitrarily set.

  Moreover, although the above-mentioned embodiment demonstrated the case where an adjustment means was comprised by the partition plates 30a, 30b, 30c and the adjustment plates 32a, 32b, 32c, the quantity of the air which flows into upper space and lower space is described. Any adjustment means can be used as long as it can be adjusted. For example, you may use the grating | lattice comprised using a some louver as an adjustment means.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the printing material P is transported from the lower space 42a to the upper space 42c via the heating space 42b has been described. However, the printing material P is transferred from the upper space to the lower space via the heating space. May be conveyed.

  Furthermore, although the case where the far-infrared heater 62 is used has been described in the above-described embodiment, any heating means can be used as long as the print material P and air can be heated by radiant heat. Instead of the far infrared heater 62, for example, a near infrared heater, a halogen heater, a nichrome wire heater, a sheathed heater, a silicon rubber heater, a semiconductor ceramic heater, a stainless steel foil heater, or the like can be used.

1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a printing system to which a thermal fixing device of the present invention is applied. It is a side view solution figure which shows an example of the printing material used for the printing system of FIG. It is a side view solution figure which shows the inside of the housing | casing of a heat fixing unit. It is a top view solution figure which shows a partition plate and an adjustment board, (a) shows a partition plate, (b) shows an adjustment plate. The arrangement | positioning aspect of the adjustment board in the upper surface of a partition plate is shown, (a) is a top-view solution figure which shows the state which made the several through-hole of a partition plate, and the several through-hole of an adjustment plate correspond, (b). FIG. 7 is a side view illustrating a state in which a plurality of through holes of the partition plate and a plurality of through holes of the adjustment plate are made to coincide with each other, and (c) illustrates a plurality of through holes of the partition plate and a plurality of through holes of the adjustment plate; FIG. 4D is a side view illustrating a state where a plurality of through holes of the partition plate and a plurality of through holes of the adjustment plate are shifted. It is a side view solution figure which shows the operation | movement of the lift within the housing | casing of a heat fixing unit, (a) shows the operation | movement of the lift which moves the front-end | tip part of a printing material, (b) moves the rear-end part of a printing material. The operation of the lift is shown.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Print system 12 Controller 14 Print unit 16 Thermal fixing unit 28 Case 30a, 30b, 30c Partition plate 32a, 32b, 32c Adjustment plate 34, 38, 40 Through-hole 36 Fastener 42a Lower space 42b Heating space 42c Upper space 44a, 44b , 44c, 50a, 50b Conveying roller pair 58, 60 Lift 58a, 58b, 60a, 60b Holding member 62 Far-infrared heater P Print material

Claims (2)

A thermal fixing device for fixing an image formed of sublimation ink on a print material,
Heating means for generating radiant heat,
A housing in which the printing material and the heating means are disposed;
A heating space in which the heating means is arranged in the housing, an upper space located above the heating space, and a lower space located below the heating space are formed, and the upper space and the lower space are formed from the heating space. A plurality of adjusting members for respectively adjusting the amount of heated air flowing into the
A cross-flow fan provided in the heating space for sending heated air in the heating space into the lower space; and the heating space from the upper space to the lower space via the heating space or from the lower space a conveying means for conveying the printed material into the upper space via,
The plurality of adjusting members are arranged in the housing to partition the housing into the heating space, the upper space, and the lower space, and allow the heated air in the heating space to pass through the upper space. And a heat fixing device that adjusts the amount of air that flows into the upper space and the lower space while flowing into the lower space and the lower space . The plurality of adjusting members include a plurality of plate-like members provided between the heating space and the upper space and between the heating space and the lower space, and each plate-like member is heated in the heating space. The heat fixing device according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of through holes configured to allow air to pass therethrough and to adjust an area of the opening .

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