JP4988328B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus using an ink jet process, and more particularly to quickly drying ink printed on a recording medium to enable stable printing on various recording media.

  Inkjet recording apparatuses that perform recording by discharging ink onto a recording medium are used in various applications. In order to quickly print on various recording media with this ink jet recording apparatus, it is necessary to dry and fix the ink ejected onto the recording medium. For example, Patent Document 1 It is disclosed in Patent Document 2, Patent Document 3, Patent Document 4, and the like.

  The ink jet recording apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a reflector and a heating unit using infrared rays immediately after a recording head of a carriage on which a recording head for ejecting ink is mounted. The movement is monitored, the amount of heating is controlled based on the monitored result, and the ink ejected to the recording medium by the recording head is dried and fixed.

  The ink jet recording apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 2 is provided with infrared heaters above and below a recording medium conveyance path so as to heat the recording area of the recording medium and dry the ink discharged onto the recording medium.

  The ink jet recording apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 3 is provided with heating means using a halogen heater or electromagnetic waves in a recording area of a recording medium, and the heating amount of the heating means is based on the type of recording medium, the type of ink, or the type of recording mode. Is controlling.

The ink jet recording apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 4 is provided with a halogen heater having a length equal to or larger than the width of the recording medium and a reflection plate on the downstream side of the recording head mounted on the carriage, and dries the ink discharged to the recording medium. I am doing so.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-136389 JP 2000-225696 A JP 2006-224460 A JP 2003-72059 A

  As shown in Patent Literature 1 to Patent Literature 4, a heating means using a halogen heater is used to dry and fix the ink ejected onto the recording medium. However, the halogen heater takes time to rise and prints. When started, the waiting time for rising to a predetermined temperature becomes long.

  Also, a large amount of heat is applied to the components inside the apparatus during printing on the recording medium, and the temperature of the entire apparatus rises, which may deteriorate the durability of the components.

  In order to solve such problems, the present invention can reduce the waiting time at the start of printing, efficiently dry and fix the ink printed on various recording media, and suppress the rise in internal temperature. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus.

The image forming apparatus of the present invention is an image forming apparatus that records an image by ejecting ink droplets from a recording head onto a recording medium, and the recording medium on which an image is recorded by the recording head and conveyed via a conveying path is discharged. A first paper discharge unit provided in a main body of the image forming apparatus, and an image is recorded by the recording head, and a recording medium branched and conveyed in the middle of the conveyance path is discharged. Is detachably attached to the main body of the image forming apparatus, a carbon heater that emits irradiation energy having substantially the same wavelength as the absorption wavelength of the humectant contained in the ink, and a reflector that reflects radiant heat from the carbon heater; And a drying unit having a downstream side of a conveyance path along which a recording medium is conveyed so as to pass from the recording head through the branch to the second sheet discharging unit. Conveying for drying the recording medium on which an image has been recorded by the drying means and discharging the recording medium to the second paper discharge means; and configured to be capable of switching between conveyance for discharging the discharge means, before Symbol drying means and said second sheet discharge means, characterized in that positioned outside the side surface of the apparatus main body.
Further, in an image forming apparatus for recording an image by ejecting ink droplets from a recording head onto a recording medium, a first paper discharge in which an image is recorded by the recording head and the recording medium transported through a transport path is discharged. And a second discharge unit that discharges the recording medium that is recorded by the recording head and branched and conveyed in the middle of the conveyance path. Drying means having a carbon heater that emits irradiation energy having substantially the same wavelength as the absorption wavelength of the moisturizing agent contained in the recording medium and a reflector that reflects radiant heat from the carbon heater; A recording medium on which a recording medium is conveyed so as to be directed to the second discharge unit, and the recording medium on which an image has been recorded by the recording head is dried by the drying unit. A conveyance for discharging the discharge means, the recording medium is configured to be switchable between conveyance for discharging the first sheet discharge means provided in the apparatus main body without drying in the drying unit, the drying means and The second paper discharge means is integrally detachable from the apparatus main body.
Further, in an image forming apparatus for recording an image by ejecting ink droplets from a recording head onto a recording medium, a first paper discharge in which an image is recorded by the recording head and the recording medium transported through a transport path is discharged. And a second paper discharge means for discharging the recording medium which is recorded in the apparatus main body of the image forming apparatus, the image is recorded by the recording head, and is branched in the middle of the conveyance path, and the recording head. A recording medium on which an image is recorded by the recording head, and a drying unit provided on a downstream side of a conveyance path along which the recording medium is conveyed so as to pass through the branch and toward the second sheet discharging unit Transporting the recording medium dried by the drying means and discharging it to the second paper discharge means, and transporting the recording medium to the first paper discharge means provided in the apparatus main body without drying by the drying means Can be switched between Is, the drying means and the second sheet discharge means, characterized in that detachable from the apparatus main body integrally.

Mounting the recording head, further comprising a carriage that reciprocates in a main scanning direction, the carriage, the drying means may be closed to the downstream side of the recording medium conveying direction from the recording head.

Further, the recording head is mounted, and further includes a carriage that reciprocates in the main scanning direction.
The carriage includes the drying unit disposed above a recording medium conveyance path on the downstream side in the recording medium conveyance direction from the carriage, and a second reflector mounted on the downstream side in the recording medium conveyance direction from the recording head. Yes it may be.

  Furthermore, the drying means may be provided in a paper discharge means that is detachable from the side surface of the apparatus main body.

Furthermore, the drying means may have a filter that blocks substantially the irradiation energy than the same wavelength as the absorption wavelength of humectant contained in the ink.

The power supplied to the drying unit may be controlled according to the type of recording medium .

Further, the amount of power supplied to the drying means may be variably controlled according to the type of recording medium, the total print amount, and the print mode .

This invention includes a carbon heater substantially emits radiation energy of the same wavelength as the absorption wavelength of humectant contained in the ink to form an image, the radiant heat from the drying means and a reflector for reflecting the radiation heat from the carbon heater Since the ink is dried, the ink that has been ejected from the recording head onto the recording medium to form an image can be efficiently dried and fixed.

  Further, since the rise time of the carbon heater is very short, the ink can be dried efficiently and quickly. Further, by reflecting the radiant heat by the reflector, the recording medium immediately after printing can be dried in the vicinity of the carriage, and the drying effect can be further enhanced.

  Furthermore, by mounting the drying means on the carriage downstream of the recording head in the recording medium conveyance direction, the entire width of the recording medium can be dried using a small carbon heater, thereby reducing power consumption. You can also.

  Further, the drying means is disposed above the recording medium conveyance path on the downstream side in the recording medium conveyance direction from the carriage, and a second reflector is provided on the downstream side in the recording medium conveyance direction from the recording head. The humectant contained in the ink forming the image recorded on the recording medium is surely dried, and the recording medium immediately after printing is dried near the carriage by the radiant heat reflected by the second reflector. And the ink can be dried efficiently.

  Furthermore, by providing the drying means on the paper discharge means that is detachable from the side surface of the apparatus main body, it can be applied only to a recording medium that is particularly poorly dried, and the price of the apparatus main body can be reduced.

  In addition, by providing the drying means with a filter that cuts off irradiation energy other than the wavelength substantially the same as the absorption wavelength of the humectant contained in the ink, the irradiation energy applied to other components in the apparatus can be reduced, Temperature rise in the apparatus can be prevented.

  Further, by controlling the power supplied to the drying means according to the type of the recording medium, it is possible to reduce the power consumption required for drying the ink.

  Furthermore, the amount of power supplied to the drying means is variably controlled according to the type of recording medium, the total amount of printing and the printing mode, so that the ink can be dried efficiently and quickly, and a good quality image can be stably produced. It can be fixed.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention. As shown in the figure, the ink jet recording apparatus 1 includes four ink cartridges 2 each containing ink of each color of cyan C, magenta M, yellow Y, and black Bk, and a plurality of nozzles. Four recording heads 3 to which ink is supplied, a carriage 4 on which the ink cartridge 2 and the recording head 3 are mounted, and a drying unit mounted on the carriage 4 and provided downstream of the recording head 3 in the recording medium conveyance direction. 5, a feed roller 9 that feeds the recording medium from the paper feed tray 6 or the manual feed table 7 that stores the recording medium to the printing unit 8, and a discharge roller 11 that discharges the recording medium on which characters and the like are recorded to the discharge tray 10. . As shown in the perspective view of FIG. 2, the drying means 5 includes a filter 15 that transmits only a predetermined wavelength band from a wavelength band of irradiation energy when the carbon heater 13, the reflector 14, and the carbon heater 13 are operated.

  As shown in the block diagram of FIG. 3, the control device 20 of the inkjet recording apparatus 1 includes a control unit 21, a scanning drive unit 22, a head drive unit 23, and a heater drive unit 24. The control unit 21 includes a main control unit 27 that manages the operation of the entire apparatus based on signals from the operation panel 25 and the host interface 26, and a storage unit 28 that stores various control programs and information sent from the host device. The scanning drive unit 22 drives a scanning motor 29 for main scanning and sub-scanning that drives the carriage 4 by a control signal from the main control unit 27. The head drive unit 23 drives the recording head 3 with a drive signal output from the main control unit 27. The heater control unit 24 controls the amount of power for operating the carbon heater 13 by a control signal from the main control unit 27.

  The operation when the image data sent from the host device is recorded on the recording paper by the ink jet recording apparatus 1 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  When image data is sent from the host device and the type of recording medium and the print mode are set (step S1), the main control unit 27 calculates the total print amount of the sent image data (step S2), and the calculated print It is determined whether or not the drying means 5 is to be operated based on the total amount and the type of recording medium (step S3). At this time, when printing on a recording medium having poor ink drying properties, it is determined that the drying means 5 is operated, and the type of the recording medium, the total printing amount, and the set printing mode, that is, printing at a high speed or in a steady mode is performed. As a result, the amount of power for operating the carbon heater 13 is calculated and sent to the heater control unit 24 (step S4). The heater control unit 24 variably controls the amount of power supplied to the carbon heater 13 according to the amount of power sent, and starts the drying operation by the drying means 5 (step S5). When the carbon heater 13 is operated, the main control unit 27 scans the carriage 4 along the guide rod 12 in the main scanning direction, and transfers image data from the nozzles of the recording head 3 to the recording medium sent to the printing unit 8 by the conveying roller 9. In response to this, ink is ejected to record characters and images (step S6). When an image or the like is recorded on the recording medium with the recording head 3 and the drying means 5 is operating, the humectant contained in the ink forming the image or the like recorded on the recording medium is dried. Dry by means 5. The recording medium having the image dried and fixed by the drying means 5 is discharged to the paper discharge tray 10 by the discharge roller 11 (step S7).

  When the recording head 3 discharges ink onto this recording medium to form an image and the drying means 5 dries the ink on which the image has been formed on the recording medium, the carbon heater 13 is used as shown in FIG. The irradiation energy is substantially the same as the absorption wavelength of water, the irradiation energy having the optimum wavelength for the absorption wavelength of the humectant in the ink can be irradiated, and as shown in FIG. Since the rise time of the heater 13 is very short compared to a quartz tube heater or a ceramic heater, the ink can be dried efficiently and quickly. Also, by reflecting the radiant heat by the reflector 14, the recording medium immediately after printing can be dried in the vicinity of the carriage 4, and the drying effect can be further enhanced. In addition, since the irradiation energy applied to other components is reduced by blocking the filter 15 other than the wavelength substantially the same as the absorption wavelength of the moisturizing agent in the ink, the temperature rise in the inkjet recording apparatus 1 can be prevented.

  Further, the drying unit 5 is mounted on the carriage 4 and reciprocated in the main scanning direction together with the recording head 3 so that the carbon heater 13 of the drying unit 5 has the same width as the carriage 4 and a small carbon heater 13 is used. Thus, the entire width of the recording medium can be dried, and power is supplied to the carbon heater 13 according to the type of the recording medium, so that the power consumption can be reduced.

  In the above description, the case where the drying means 5 is mounted on the carriage 4 has been described. However, as shown in the configuration diagram of FIG. 6, the length equal to the entire width of the recording medium is provided above the recording medium conveyance path on the downstream side of the carriage 4. The second reflector 16 may be provided on the downstream side of the recording head 3 in the conveyance direction of the recording medium. Also in this case, the moisturizing agent contained in the ink forming the image recorded on the recording medium is dried by the drying means 5 and radiant heat reflected by the second reflector 16 is used immediately after printing near the carriage 4. The recording medium can be dried.

  In the above description, the case where the drying means 5 is mounted on the carriage 4 or the case where it is provided on the upper part of the recording medium conveyance path on the downstream side in the recording medium conveyance direction from the carriage 4 has been described, but as shown in FIG. In addition, only a user who wants to use a recording medium with poor drying properties by providing a detachable second discharge tray 17 on the side surface of the inkjet recording apparatus 1 and arranging the drying means 5 on the second discharge tray 17. The second paper discharge tray 17 may be externally attached to the inkjet recording apparatus 1, and the second paper discharge tray 17 may be attached only when a recording medium with poor drying properties is used. As described above, the drying unit 5 is provided in the second paper discharge tray 17 and the moisturizing agent in the ink that has been ejected onto the recording medium having poor drying property to form an image is dried and fixed, whereby the inside of the ink jet recording apparatus 1 is obtained. In addition, it is possible to prevent the temperature from rising, and to reduce the price of the inkjet recording apparatus 1.

It is a block diagram of the inkjet recording device of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of a drying means. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of a control apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of an inkjet recording device. It is a characteristic view which shows the irradiation energy and rise time of a carbon heater. It is a block diagram of a 2nd inkjet recording device. It is a block diagram of a 3rd inkjet recording device.

Explanation of symbols

1; inkjet recording apparatus; 2; ink cartridge; 3; recording head;
4; Carriage, 5; Drying means, 6; Paper feed tray, 7; Manual feed table,
8; printing unit, 9; transport roller, 10; paper discharge tray, 11; discharge roller,
12; guide rod, 13; carbon heater, 14; reflector,
15; filter, 16; second reflector, 17; second discharge tray,
20; control device; 21; control unit; 22; scan drive unit; 23; head drive unit;
24; heater driving unit; 25; operation panel; 26; host interface;
27; main control unit, 28; storage unit, 29; scanning motor.

Claims (3)

In an image forming apparatus for recording an image by ejecting ink droplets from a recording head onto a recording medium,
The apparatus main body of the image forming apparatus includes a first paper discharge unit that discharges a recording medium on which an image is recorded by the recording head and conveyed through a conveyance path.
A second paper discharge unit for recording an image by the recording head and discharging the recording medium branched and transported in the middle of the transport path;
A drying means having a carbon heater that emits irradiation energy having substantially the same wavelength as the absorption wavelength of the moisturizing agent contained in the ink and a reflector that reflects radiant heat from the carbon heater passes through the branch from the recording head. Provided on the downstream side of the transport path along which the recording medium is transported toward the second paper discharge means,
The recording medium on which an image is recorded by the recording head is dried by the drying means and discharged to the second paper discharge means, and the recording medium is provided in the apparatus main body without being dried by the drying means. It is configured to be able to switch between conveyance to be discharged to the first paper discharge means ,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the drying unit and the second paper discharge unit are located outside a side surface of the apparatus main body . In an image forming apparatus for recording an image by ejecting ink droplets from a recording head onto a recording medium,
The apparatus main body of the image forming apparatus includes a first paper discharge unit that discharges a recording medium on which an image is recorded by the recording head and conveyed through a conveyance path.
A second paper discharge unit for recording an image by the recording head and discharging the recording medium branched and transported in the middle of the transport path;
A drying means having a carbon heater that emits irradiation energy having substantially the same wavelength as the absorption wavelength of the moisturizing agent contained in the ink and a reflector that reflects radiant heat from the carbon heater passes through the branch from the recording head. Provided on the downstream side of the transport path along which the recording medium is transported toward the second paper discharge means,
The recording medium on which an image is recorded by the recording head is dried by the drying means and discharged to the second paper discharge means, and the recording medium is provided in the apparatus main body without being dried by the drying means. It is configured to be able to switch between conveyance to be discharged to the first paper discharge means,
Before SL drying means and said second sheet discharge unit images forming device you wherein the detachable to the apparatus main body integrally.   In an image forming apparatus for recording an image by ejecting ink droplets from a recording head onto a recording medium,
  The apparatus main body of the image forming apparatus includes a first paper discharge unit that discharges a recording medium on which an image is recorded by the recording head and conveyed through a conveyance path.
  A second paper discharge means for recording an image on the recording head and discharging the recording medium branched and transported in the middle of the transport path;
  Drying means provided on the downstream side of the conveyance path along which the recording medium is conveyed so as to pass from the recording head through the branch and toward the second paper discharge means,
  The recording medium on which an image is recorded by the recording head is dried by the drying means and discharged to the second paper discharge means, and the recording medium is provided in the apparatus main body without being dried by the drying means. It is configured to be able to switch between conveyance to be discharged to the first paper discharge means,
  The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the drying unit and the second paper discharge unit are detachably attached to the apparatus main body.

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