JP5305152B2 - Inkjet recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inkjet recording device in which the diffusion of a VOC material to the open air is prevented; and when the VOC material is decomposed and absorbed, not an internal gas in the whole device but a gas in a limited space may be decomposed and absorbed, which is more efficient and can reduce the time required for the VOC decomposition and absorption. <P>SOLUTION: The inkjet recorder 1 arranges a delivery conveying part 21, a drying part 13, a discharged paper loading part 14, and a decomposition and absorption part 16 in a closed space 15 shielded from a recording head 12 in a body of the recorder. The closed space has a shutter 17 for opening and closing the closed space in order to carry in the paper printed by the recording head into the closed space and a door 18 for opening and closing a discharged paper ejection opening for taking out the paper loaded on the discharged paper loading part, on the upstream side in the sheet conveying direction of the delivery transportation part and on the downstream side in the paper conveying direction of the recording head. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus, and more particularly to a technique for removing volatile organic compounds (hereinafter abbreviated as VOC) generated in the apparatus.

  In recent years, sickness of sick house syndrome has attracted attention, and there is concern about the harmfulness of VOCs to the human body, and the VOC concentration is also regulated in various approvals such as Eco Mark and BA for office equipment. In contrast to electrophotography in which an image is formed by melting and re-fixing toner, the ink ejected onto paper dries, that is, the solvent that dissolves the coloring material vaporizes and is released into the air. Will occur. Further, when trying to develop a high-speed inkjet multifunction device, a paper drying unit is essential to prevent transfer of printed ink. At this time, it is expected that the ink is heated by the drying unit to generate a larger amount of VOC. Further, since the paper is heated by the drying unit, VOC continues to be generated from the printed paper accumulated in the stacking unit until the temperature is cooled. Thus, several proposals have been made regarding how to deal with these increased VOCs.

  As one example, Patent Document 1 discloses that the inside of the apparatus is airtightly arranged in a gap formed between a pair of rollers provided at a paper feed port and a discharge port of the recording paper, and the paper feed port and the discharge port, respectively. A sealing member is formed by a sealing member to be in a state and a paper feed cover that airtightly seals the recording paper stock portion located just outside the paper feed port from the outside of the device, and further heat generated inside the device is discharged outside the device. There has been proposed an image forming apparatus including a heat exchange unit for discharging and a gas processing unit for circulating processing of floating toner, ozone, water vapor, and other odorous gas.

  Further, Patent Document 2 discloses a housing that forms a substantially closed space by surrounding a fixing device while allowing the recording material to enter and exit, a fan that circulates air in an air circulation path in the housing, and an air circulation. There has been proposed an image forming apparatus that is provided with a filter that absorbs VOC in the road to improve VOC removal efficiency.

Further, Patent Document 3 discloses an image forming apparatus having a first suction fan that sucks air from the space around the output sheet on the discharge tray, and a filter that removes gas components and dust contained in the sucked air. Proposed.
In Patent Document 4, the atmosphere of VOC generated from the fixed sheet material discharged to the sheet material discharge unit is sucked by a suction means such as a fan provided in the image forming apparatus main body, and is included in the sucked air. There has been proposed an image forming apparatus that decomposes and purifies the VOC to be adsorbed by a purifying means such as an activated carbon filter or oxidizes it, and discharges it outside the apparatus.

  However, according to Patent Document 1, the image forming unit for electrophotography is sealed, but the discharge conveyance unit and the discharge sheet stacking unit are not sealed, so that volatile organic compounds leak out of the apparatus main body. . According to Patent Document 2, the electrophotographic fixing mechanism is sealed and sucked, but the paper discharge tray is not sealed, and the paper feed port and paper discharge port to the fixing mechanism are sealed. VOC leaks out of the main body of the device. Further, according to Patent Document 3, the air around the electrophotographic paper discharge tray is sucked to remove the VOC, and since the VOC generation source is not sealed, the VOC leaks out of the apparatus main body. Further, according to the above-mentioned Patent Document 4, VOCs that are discharged from the sheet discharged from the apparatus main body after being fixed by electrophotography are adsorbed or decomposed, so that the VOC leaks out of the apparatus main body.

  The present invention is for solving these problems, and prevents the VOC material from diffusing into the outside air. Also, when decomposing and absorbing the VOC material, the gas in a limited space is used instead of the internal gas of the entire apparatus. It is an object of the present invention to provide an ink jet recording apparatus that is more efficient because it only needs to be decomposed and absorbed and that can shorten the time required for VOC decomposition and absorption.

  In order to solve the above problems, an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention includes a recording head that discharges ink onto a sheet, a discharge conveyance unit that conveys a sheet printed by the recording head, and a conveyance unit that conveys the sheet from the discharge conveyance unit. Removes volatile organic compounds generated from the paper and the ink on the paper in the drying unit for drying the ink on the paper to be discharged, the discharge paper stacking unit on which the paper conveyed from the paper discharge conveyance unit is stacked Or it has the decomposition absorption part which decomposes | disassembles and absorbs. In the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention, the paper discharge conveyance unit, the drying unit, the discharge paper stacking unit, and the disassembly and absorption unit are arranged in a sealed space shielded from the recording head in the apparatus main body. In addition, this sealed space is used to carry the paper printed by the recording head into the sealed space on the upstream side in the paper transport direction of the paper discharge transport unit and on the downstream side in the paper transport direction of the recording head. The shutter includes a shutter that opens and closes the sealed space, and a door that opens and closes a discharge sheet take-out port for taking out sheets stacked on the discharge sheet stacking unit. In addition, the door is opened and closed while a predetermined time has elapsed after the shutter is opened and the printed paper is transported and stacked on the discharged paper stacking section by the discharge transporting section and the shutter is closed. This predetermined time is a time required for removing or decomposing and absorbing volatile organic compounds generated from the paper and ink on the paper by the decomposition / absorption unit. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the VOC material from diffusing into the outside air, and when the VOC material is decomposed and absorbed, it is only necessary to decompose and absorb the gas in a limited space instead of the internal gas of the entire device, so that the VOC decomposition absorption The time it takes can be made shorter.

  In addition, a detection sensor that detects that the concentration of the volatile organic compound in the sealed space is equal to or lower than a predetermined concentration and outputs a signal is provided in the sealed space, and opens and closes the shutter and the door based on the detection signal. . Furthermore, during printing, the shutter is opened and the door is closed. When the volatile organic compound is removed or decomposed and absorbed by the decomposition / absorption unit immediately after printing, the shutter and the door are closed. When the removal or decomposition and absorption of the volatile organic compound by the decomposition / absorption unit is completed and the detection sensor detects that the volatile organic compound has become a predetermined concentration or less, the door is opened. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent the VOC substance from being released to the outside air by opening and closing the shutter and the door by the output of the detection sensor.

  In the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention, a paper discharge conveyance unit, a drying unit, a discharge paper stacking unit, and a disassembly / absorption unit are arranged in a sealed space shielded from the recording head in the apparatus main body, and paper is carried into the sealed space. By controlling the opening and closing of the shutter and the door for removal, it is possible to efficiently perform the VOC removal and decomposition process and reliably prevent the VOC substance from being released to the outside air.

1 is a configuration diagram showing a schematic configuration of an ink jet recording apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the first embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the inkjet recording device which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the inkjet recording device of 2nd Embodiment.

  FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a schematic configuration of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The ink jet recording apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment shown in FIG. 1A mainly includes a recording head 12 that prints by ejecting ink onto paper 11 stored in a paper cassette 10, and printing on the paper 11. A drying unit 13 that dries the dried ink, and a discharge paper stacking unit 14 that temporarily stores the printed and dried paper 11, and at least the drying unit 13 and the discharge paper stacking unit 14 are sealed spaces. It is provided in the sealed space 15. In the sealed space 15, a decomposition / absorption unit 16 having a function of decomposing the VOC material in the space and a function of adsorbing and confining the VOC material is provided. Furthermore, a shutter 17 that slides up and down in the drawing by a driving means (not shown) only when the paper 11 is carried into the sealed space 15 and for the paper 11 to be discharged out of the apparatus. The door is provided with a door 18 that is unlocked and can be opened and closed only when the paper 11 is ejected to the outside of the apparatus by being provided at a discharge paper take-out port, and in the non-printing state, a shutter 17 is provided. And the door 18 is closed. A pair of paper transport rollers 19 for transporting the paper 11 stored in the paper cassette 10 to a paper transport belt 20, which will be described later, and two rollers for transporting the paper 11 for a predetermined scanning length in the sub-scanning direction. A paper conveyance belt 20 of an endless belt, and a paper discharge conveyance unit 21 that is disposed on the downstream side of the paper conveyance belt 20 and conveys the paper 11 through the lower part of the drying unit 13 to the paper discharge paper stacking unit 14. And are provided. In addition, as a method of decomposing in the decomposition / absorption unit 16, decomposition by electrolysis may be performed, or decomposition by a photocatalyst may be performed. As a method for adsorption, a means for allowing a gas containing VOC to pass through a filter and adsorbing to the activated carbon may be used, or a gas containing VOC may be passed through a solvent to incorporate the VOC substance into the solvent. Further, the wall 22 forming the sealed space 15 can be further sealed by reinforcing the joint 23 between the walls with a member having high adhesion such as a rubber packing 24 as shown in FIG. Further, as shown by a portion surrounded by a dotted line, the wall 22 may be integrated with a part of the casing of the apparatus main body.

Next, the operation of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the first embodiment having such a configuration will be described with reference to FIG. 2 showing the operation flow.
First, when a print instruction and print data are supplied from a host device to a control unit (not shown) and a print job is started (step S101), the paper 11 stored in the paper cassette 10 is fed by the paper transport roller pair 19. Ink is printed by the recording head 12 on the paper 11 which is conveyed to the paper conveying belt 20 and further conveyed by the paper conveying belt 20 in the sub-scanning direction for a predetermined scanning length (step S102). Thereafter, the shutter 17 is opened (step S103), and the printed paper 11 is conveyed into the sealed space 15, and then the shutter 17 is closed (steps S104 and S105). The printed paper 11 is conveyed by the paper discharge conveying unit 21 while passing directly under the drying unit 13, and the ink printed on the paper 11 is dried (step S106). The drying unit 13 is configured to light and dry a heater such as an infrared heater, a nichrome heater, or a PTC heater when the paper 11 printed with ink comes down. Then, the paper 11 that has passed through the drying unit 13 is discharged to the discharged paper stacking unit 14 (step S107). Next, the decomposition / absorption unit 16 is operated for a predetermined time to decompose and absorb the VOC in the sealed space 15 (step S108). The predetermined time is a time that is set in advance according to the number of printed sheets, the printing rate, the type of ink to be used, and the environmental temperature and humidity, and the VOC in the sealed space 20 under each condition is equal to or less than a specified value. Then, after the disassembly and absorption unit 16 is operated for a predetermined time, the door 18 can be opened and closed by releasing the lock of the discharge paper take-out port 18, and the user takes out the paper 11 from the discharge paper take-out port. After confirming that the door of the rear discharge sheet take-out port is closed, the door is locked (steps S109 to S111). At this time, the user is notified to close the door 18, or the door 18 is automatically closed and locked. It is determined whether the print job has been completed. If the print process has been completed, the operation of the present embodiment is terminated (step S112; YES). If not, the process returns to step S102, and the VOC is started from the print process. A series of processes up to the decomposition and absorption process is performed again (step S112; NO, steps S102 to S111).

  Thus, since the drying unit 13 and the discharged paper stacking unit 14 are arranged in the sealed space 15, the VOC generated when the ink printed on the paper 11 by the drying unit 13 is dried and the printed paper. 11 does not leak out from the sealed space 15 provided in the apparatus main body, and is further heated by the drying unit 13 by disposing the decomposition / absorption unit 16 in the sealed space 15. The VOC is efficiently decomposed and absorbed by the decomposition / absorption unit 16 only in the sealed space 15 generated from the paper 11. Therefore, the VOC does not leak out of the apparatus when the user takes out the printed paper out of the apparatus.

  FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing a schematic configuration of an ink jet recording apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1 denote the same components. The ink jet recording apparatus 2 of the present embodiment shown in the figure is provided with a detection sensor 25 in a sealed space 15 as a component different from the ink jet recording apparatus 1 of the first embodiment of FIG. This detection sensor 25 is a sensor that detects the whole or a part of the volatile organic compound and outputs a signal when the concentration is below a certain level. The shutter 17 and the door 18 provided in the sealed space 15 can be opened when the detection sensor 25 outputs a signal.

The operation of the ink jet recording apparatus of the present embodiment having such a configuration will be described with reference to FIG. 4 showing the operation flow.
First, when a print instruction and print data are supplied from a host device to a control unit (not shown) and a print job is started (step S201), the paper 11 stored in the paper cassette 10 is fed by the paper transport roller pair 19. Ink is printed by the recording head 12 on the paper 11 which is conveyed to the paper conveying belt 20 and further conveyed by the paper conveying belt 20 in the sub-scanning direction for a predetermined scanning length (step S102). Thereafter, after confirming that the output of the detection sensor 25 is present, the shutter 17 is opened (step S203; YES, step S204), and the printed paper 11 is conveyed into the sealed space 15 and then the shutter 17 is closed ( Steps S205 and S206). The printed paper 11 is conveyed by the paper discharge conveying unit 21 while passing directly under the drying unit 13, and the ink printed on the paper 11 is dried (step S207). Then, the paper 11 that has passed through the drying unit 13 is discharged to the discharged paper stacking unit 14 (step S208). Here, it is confirmed whether or not there is an output from the detection sensor 25 (step S209). If there is no output from the detection sensor 25, that is, if the VOC concentration in the sealed space 15 is equal to or higher than a predetermined concentration (step S209; NO), the decomposition / absorption unit 16 is operated until the VOC concentration in the sealed space 15 becomes lower than a predetermined concentration, and the VOC in the sealed space 15 is decomposed and absorbed (step S210). If there is an output from the detection sensor 25, that is, when the VOC concentration in the sealed space 15 is lower than a predetermined concentration (step S209; YES), the decomposition absorbing portion 16 is stopped and the door of the sheet discharge outlet is taken out. 18 is unlocked, and the door can be opened and closed. The user takes out the paper 11 from the paper discharge paper outlet, and after it is taken out, confirms that the door of the paper discharge outlet is closed and locks ( Steps S211 to S114). It is determined whether or not the print job is finished. If the print process is finished, the operation of the present embodiment is finished (step S215; YES). If not finished, the process returns to step S203, and the VOC is started from the print process. A series of processes up to the decomposition and absorption process is performed again (step S215; NO, steps S203 to S114).

  As described above, according to the second embodiment, when the VOC is generated in a larger amount than the set value, it is possible to prevent the leakage of the VOC to the outside of the apparatus even when the decomposition / absorption unit cannot completely absorb and absorb the VOC. . Further, by providing the detection sensor, if the VOC hardly occurs at the time of printing, it is not necessary to perform the decomposition / absorption operation, so that the user does not have to wait for the decomposition / absorption operation.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and it goes without saying that various modifications and substitutions are possible as long as they are described in the scope of the claims.

1, 2; inkjet recording apparatus,
10; paper cassette, 11; paper, 12; recording head,
13; Drying unit, 14; Discharged paper stacking unit, 15; Sealed space,
16; decomposition absorption part, 17; shutter, 18; door,
19; paper conveyance roller pair, 20; paper conveyance belt,
21; paper discharge conveyance unit, 22; wall, 23; joint,
24; rubber packing; 25; detection sensor.

JP 7-168487 A JP 2007-171921 A JP 2007-264077 A JP 2007-232949 A JP 2006-82287 A

Claims (5)

A recording head that ejects ink onto the paper, a paper discharge transport unit that transports the paper printed by the recording head, a drying unit that dries ink on the paper transported from the paper discharge transport unit, and the paper discharge Inkjet recording comprising: a discharge paper stacking unit on which paper transported from the transport unit is stacked; and a decomposition and absorption unit that removes or decomposes and absorbs volatile organic compounds generated from the paper and ink on the paper in the drying unit In the device
The discharge conveyance unit, the drying unit, the discharge paper stacking unit, and the disassembly and absorption unit are arranged in a sealed space shielded from the recording head in the apparatus main body,
The sealed space is for upstream of the paper discharge transport unit in the paper transport direction and downstream of the recording head in the paper transport direction to carry the paper printed by the recording head into the sealed space. An ink jet recording apparatus comprising: a shutter that opens and closes the sealed space; and a door that opens and closes a discharge paper takeout port for taking out the paper stacked on the discharge paper stacking unit.   Locking the opening and closing of the door while a predetermined time elapses after the shutter is opened and the printed sheet is transported and stacked on the discharged paper stacking section by the discharge transporting section and the shutter is closed. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1.   3. The inkjet recording according to claim 2, wherein the predetermined time is a time required for removing or decomposing and absorbing volatile organic compounds generated from the paper and ink on the paper by the decomposition and absorption unit. apparatus.   A detection sensor that detects that the concentration of the volatile organic compound in the sealed space has become a predetermined concentration or less and outputs a signal is provided in the sealed space, and the shutter and the door are provided based on the signal. 2. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ink jet recording apparatus is opened and closed.   During printing, the shutter is opened and the door is closed, and immediately after printing is completed, the shutter and the door are closed when the volatile organic compound is removed or decomposed and absorbed by the decomposition / absorption unit. After completion of printing, when the removal or decomposition and absorption of the volatile organic compound by the decomposition / absorption unit is completed and the detection sensor detects that the volatile organic compound has become a predetermined concentration or less, the door is opened. 5. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the ink jet recording apparatus is opened.

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