JP5401998B2 - Recording device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a recording apparatus typified by a facsimile or a printer, and more particularly to a recording apparatus provided with a drying apparatus that promotes drying of a recording medium.

Hereinafter, an ink jet printer as an example of a recording apparatus will be described as an example. In the ink jet printer, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, the recording paper is heated by a heater to evaporate water contained in the recording paper, and the air containing the water is exhausted by an exhaust device. is there. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-228561 discloses a printer including a drying unit that dries ink that has landed on a sheet by spraying warm air onto the sheet.
Japanese Patent No. 3075329 JP 2002-292841 A

  By the way, when performing extremely high speed recording using a recording head (so-called line head) configured to cover the paper width, for example, the recording paper is transported at high speed, so that the conventional drying means does not perform drying. There was a case where the ability was insufficient.

In order to compensate for this, it is necessary to increase the drying temperature and hot air jet speed. However, simply increasing the drying temperature will increase the size of the device. There is a risk that the recording quality will deteriorate.
Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and an object thereof is to further improve the drying ability while preventing an increase in the size of the apparatus and a decrease in recording quality.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, a recording apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a recording unit that performs recording on a recording medium, a conveying unit that conveys the recording medium, and superheated steam with respect to the recording medium. And a drying means for accelerating the drying of the recording medium by discharging the recording medium.

  According to this aspect, since the recording apparatus includes the drying unit that accelerates the drying of the recording medium by releasing the superheated steam to the recording medium, the superheated steam (saturated steam evaporated at 100 ° C. is normally used). Can be further improved by the action of the colorless and transparent H2O gas heated to a higher temperature under pressure, and the recording apparatus has an excellent drying ability while preventing the enlargement of the apparatus and the deterioration of the recording quality. Can be obtained.

  A recording apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention is provided with a recording unit for recording on a recording medium, a conveying unit for conveying the recording medium, and an upstream side of the recording unit, and heats the recording medium. Further, a recording execution preprocessing unit that humidifies the recording medium by releasing humidified air to the recording medium, and provided on the downstream side of the recording unit, releases superheated steam to the recording medium. And a post-recording processing section that promotes drying of the recording medium.

  According to this aspect, since the recording apparatus includes the drying unit that accelerates the drying of the recording medium by releasing the superheated steam to the recording medium, the drying efficiency is further improved by the action of the superheated steam. Therefore, it is possible to obtain a recording apparatus having an excellent drying ability while preventing an increase in the size of the apparatus and a decrease in recording quality.

  In addition, since the recording pre-processing means heats the recording medium, it can promote subsequent drying by overheating and also humidifies the recording medium in addition to heating, so that the moisture of the recording medium can be increased by heating. Even if it evaporates, this can be compensated for, and it is possible to prevent the recording medium from being deformed by heating, thereby preventing a decrease in recording quality.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect, the recording unit includes a plurality of recording heads along a conveying direction of the recording medium, and the recording medium is interposed between the recording heads. And a recording execution processing unit that accelerates drying of the recording medium by releasing superheated water vapor.

  According to this aspect, the drying means (processing section during recording execution) is provided between a plurality of recording heads provided along the conveyance direction of the recording medium, so that the ink discharged on the upstream side can be dried. When the ink is discharged to the downstream side, the drying ability can be further improved, and the recording quality can be further improved.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the third aspect, the recording medium heating temperature T1 in the recording execution pre-processing section, the recording medium heating temperature T2 in the recording execution processing section, and the recording execution are performed. These relationships with the recording medium heating temperature T3 in the post-processing section are set such that T1 <T2 <T3.

  According to this aspect, since the temperatures T1, T2, and T3 are set to satisfy T1 <T2 <T3, the temperature at the time of drying after the completion of recording (temperature T3) is set high. While drying is performed reliably, heating (temperatures T1 and T2) before and during recording (temperature T1, T2) is set to a low temperature to prevent adverse effects on the recording head. Further, heating (temperature T1) before recording is performed It is possible to prevent the recording medium from warping by setting the temperature low, and thus to prevent the recording quality from deteriorating.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 is a side view of an essential part of an ink jet printer (hereinafter referred to as “printer”) 1 as a recording apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view thereof, and FIGS. 3 and 4 are side cross-sectional views of a post heat unit 4. FIG. 5 is a plan view of a main part of a printer 1 ′ according to another embodiment.

  In the following, the left-right direction in FIGS. 1 to 5 is referred to as “paper transport direction”, the left direction in FIGS. 1 to 5 is referred to as “upstream side” of the paper transport direction, and the right direction is referred to as “downstream side”. I will say. In addition, a direction (vertical direction in FIG. 2) orthogonal to the paper conveyance direction is referred to as a “paper width direction”.

[First Embodiment]
The first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.
The printer 1 according to the present embodiment is a high-throughput ink jet printer that employs a so-called line head system that includes ink jet recording heads (recording means) 10A and 10B configured to cover a paper width. Recording is executed by ejecting ink from the recording heads 10A and 10B while moving the recording paper P as an example of the recording medium in the paper transport direction without reciprocating the ejection head in the paper width direction.

  More specifically, the printer 1 includes a preheating unit 2 including a heating / humidifying unit 9 as a “recording execution preprocessing unit” from the upstream side to the downstream side in the paper conveyance direction, and drying as a “recording execution processing unit”. The recording unit 3 including the unit 11A and the post heat unit 4 including the drying unit 11B serving as a “recording execution post-processing unit” are provided. A paper feeding device (not shown) is provided further upstream of the preheating unit 2, and the recording paper P is fed from the feeding device to the preheating unit 2.

The preheating unit 2 includes a conveying unit 5 that conveys the recording paper P, and a heating and humidifying unit 9 that heats and humidifies the recording paper P by discharging humidified air to the recording paper P.
The conveying means 5 includes a driving roller 7 driven by a motor (not shown) and a driven roller 8 that can be driven and rotated, and includes a conveying belt 6 that is engaged with these rollers. The conveying belt 6 has a large number of suction holes (not shown), and the recording paper P is adsorbed through the suction holes by a suction device (not shown) so as to be reliably conveyed downstream. It has become.

  The heating / humidifying means 9 heats and humidifies the recording paper P by directly injecting the saturated water vapor evaporated at 100 ° C. onto the recording paper P without heating. The configuration of the heating / humidifying means 9 is substantially the same as that of the drying means 11A, 11B described in detail later, but the drying means 11A, 11B heats the saturated water vapor evaporated at 100 ° C. to a higher temperature. While steam is sprayed on the recording paper P to accelerate drying, the heating and humidifying means 9 sprays the saturated steam evaporated at 100 ° C. onto the recording paper P as it is without being superheated steam. It differs in that it humidifies.

  The recording unit 3 provided on the downstream side of the preheating unit 2 includes a conveying unit 5, recording heads 10A and 10B, and a drying unit 11A. In the recording heads 10A and 10B, for example, ink discharge nozzles (not shown) for each color such as yellow, magenta, cyan, and black are arranged so as to be shifted for each color in the paper transport direction. Ink is supplied and discharged from an ink supply tube (not shown) from (not shown).

  Then, a small amount of ink dots are formed on the recording paper P by ejecting a necessary amount of ink droplets from each ink ejection nozzle. By performing this for each color, the recording can be completed by passing the recording paper P adsorbed on the transport belt 6 once. In addition, about the conveyance means 5 with which the recording part 3 is provided, since it is the same structure as the conveyance means 5 with which the preheating part 2 is provided, the description is abbreviate | omitted.

  The drying unit 11A is provided between two recording heads 10 provided at a predetermined interval along the transport direction, and overheats the recording paper P ejected by the upstream recording head 10A. By spraying water vapor, drying of the ink is promoted. The configuration of the drying unit 11A is substantially the same as that of the drying unit 11B described in detail later. The difference from the drying unit 11B is that the temperature of the superheated steam is set slightly lower than that of the drying unit 11B. (Details will be described later).

  Shielding plates 29 are provided on the upstream side and the downstream side in the transport direction of the drying unit 11A, and the superheated steam sprayed from the superheated steam spraying port (not shown) by the shielding plate 29 is transported in the sheet transport direction, particularly the recording head. It is shielded so as not to leak to the 10A and 10B sides.

  As a result, the air containing moisture released from the recording paper P does not move toward the recording heads 10A and 10B, or the movement thereof is mitigated, and the recording heads 10A and 10B and the surrounding configuration are condensed. It is preventing. In addition, the drop in the accuracy of the ink droplets is prevented to prevent the recording quality from being lowered.

  Next, the post heat unit 3 provided on the downstream side of the recording unit 3 includes a drying unit 11 </ b> B and a transport unit 5. The drying means 11B promotes ink drying by ejecting superheated steam onto the recording paper P ejected by the recording heads 10A and 10B as described above. About the conveyance means 5 with which the post-heat part 4 is provided, since it is the same structure as the conveyance means 5 with which the preheating part 2 and the recording part 3 are provided, the description is abbreviate | omitted.

Next, the configuration of the post-heat unit 4, particularly the drying means 11B among them will be described in detail. 3 and 4, the white arrow indicates the moving direction of the fluid (water vapor).
The drying means 11 </ b> B includes a tank 12, a steam generation device 14, a chamber 21, and a nozzle plate 22.

  Water q is stored in the tank 12, and the water q is supplied to the steam generator 14 through the supply pipe 13. The supplied water q is converted into steam by a heater 18 provided in the steam generation device 14 and mixed with a circulating gas (high-temperature and high-humidity air taken in from an inlet 23 described later) taken in by a humidifying fan 15 to be humidified. Air is fed into the chamber 21 through the supply pipe 20.

  In addition, valves 16 and 17 that can be opened and closed are provided in the vicinity of the humidifying fan 15, and when the drying is performed, the state shown in FIG. 3 is obtained, and the closed loop (suction port 23 → supply pipe 24 → humidification fan 15 → supply pipe). 20 → chamber 21 → suction port 23). Further, the supply pipe 20 is connected to the drying means 11A and the humidification heating means 9 provided on the upstream side of the drying means 11B. That is, in this embodiment, the tank 12 and the steam generator 14 are connected to the heating and humidification means 9 and the drying means. It is used as these common components of the means 11A, 11B.

  Next, a heater 19 is provided at the inlet of the chamber 21, and air containing saturated water vapor supplied via the supply pipe 20 is reheated to obtain superheated water vapor of 170 ° C. or higher, for example. On the other hand, the bottom surface of the chamber 21 (the surface facing the recording paper P) is constituted by a nozzle plate 22, and a plurality of discharge holes 22 a for discharging superheated water vapor are formed in the nozzle plate 22, from the discharge holes 22 a. Superheated water vapor is released toward the recording paper P, and the drying of the recording paper P is promoted.

  Incidentally, the drying method using superheated steam is a method of drying by applying colorless and transparent H2O gas (dry steam) obtained by heating saturated steam evaporated at 100 [deg.] C. to a higher temperature at normal pressure on the material to be dried. In order to exhibit an effective drying capacity, it is necessary to heat it to a predetermined temperature or higher (170 ° C. or higher). Since the drying speed increases as the temperature is increased, the temperature is adjusted as necessary. Reference numeral 25 denotes a temperature sensor, and reference numeral 26 denotes a humidity sensor. The temperature and humidity of the superheated steam sprayed by these sensors are monitored to control the temperature and humidity of the superheated steam. Similar temperature sensors and humidity sensors are also provided in the heating / humidifying means 9 and the drying means 11A.

  Next, a suction port 23 is provided around the nozzle plate 22, and the discharged superheated steam is recovered from the suction port 23 by the action of the exhaust fan 28, and is sent to the steam generator 14 through the exhaust pipe 24. It is sent and recycled.

  In the steam generating device 14, the valves 16 and 17 are set as shown in FIG. 3 to form a closed loop when superheated steam is sprayed onto the recording paper P, but are switched as shown in FIG. Air containing saturated water vapor can be discharged from the inside of the apparatus to the outside through 15 reversals.

  Reference numeral 27 denotes a shutter that is driven to open and close by a driving unit (not shown). By opening and closing the sheet as it enters and exits, the superheated steam is prevented from leaking to the outside, and thus the temperature inside the apparatus. In addition, energy efficiency is improved while keeping humidity constant. A similar shutter may be provided in the heating / humidifying means 9 and the drying means 10A.

  As described above, according to the printer 1 according to the present embodiment, the recording paper P is heated by the preheating unit 2 before recording is performed, so that the subsequent ink drying can be further promoted, and in addition to heating, humidification is performed. Therefore, even if moisture evaporates due to heating, this can be compensated for, and it is possible to prevent deformation of the paper due to heating, thereby preventing deterioration in recording quality.

  In addition, since the recording execution unit 2 and the post heating unit 4 are provided with drying means 11A and 11B that accelerate drying of ink by releasing superheated water vapor to the recording paper P, the drying efficiency is improved by the action of superheated water vapor. This can be further improved, and the enlargement of the apparatus and the deterioration of the recording quality can be prevented.

  Furthermore, since the drying means 11A is provided between the recording heads 10A and 10B provided in a plurality along the paper conveyance direction, the drying of the ink ejected from the upstream recording head 10A is promoted to some extent. By discharging ink from the recording head 10B on the downstream side, it is possible to further improve the drying efficiency and improve the recording quality.

  In addition, the temperature T1 of the recording paper P heated by the heating / humidifying means 9, the temperature T2 of the recording paper P heated by the drying means 11A, and the temperature T3 of the recording paper P heated by the drying means 11B. Each means is controlled so that these relationships satisfy T1 <T2 <T3.

  That is, the temperature at the time of drying (temperature T3) after the completion of recording is set to a high value to ensure the drying, while the heating (temperature T1, T2) before and during the recording is set to a low temperature. Thus, adverse effects on the recording heads 10A and 10B can be prevented, and heating before the recording (temperature T1) can be set at a low temperature to prevent warping of the recording paper P, thereby preventing deterioration in recording quality. It is possible.

  In addition, since each of the preheating unit 2, the recording unit 3, and the postheating unit 4 is provided with a dedicated conveying unit 5, it is possible to set an appropriate sheet conveying speed according to the processing in each part. And heating and humidification can be performed under a wide range of conditions depending on the recorded contents.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, another embodiment of the printer 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a plan view of a printer 1 ′ according to another embodiment. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the structure same as the printer 1 already demonstrated, The description is abbreviate | omitted below.

  In FIG. 5, reference numeral 2 ′ denotes a preheating part, reference numeral 3 ′ denotes a recording part, reference numeral 4 ′ denotes a post heating part, reference numeral 9 ′ denotes heating / humidifying means provided in the preheating part 2 ′, and reference numeral 11 </ b> A ′ denotes recording. The drying means provided in the section 3 ′ and the reference numeral 11B ′ indicate the drying means provided in the post-heat section 4 ′.

In the printer 1 already described, the tank 12 and the steam generator 14 are used as common components of the heating / humidifying means 9 and the drying means 11A and 11B. However, in the present embodiment, each of the dedicated tanks 12 is used. And a steam generator 14. Therefore, the temperature and humidity conditions can be easily and finely set in each of the preheating unit 2 ′, the recording unit 3 ′, and the postheating unit 4 ′.
Each embodiment described above shows a part of the embodiment of the present invention, and it goes without saying that the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto.

FIG. 3 is a side view of a main part of the printer according to the invention. FIG. 2 is a plan view of a main part of the printer according to the invention. The side sectional view of a post heat part. The side sectional view of a post heat part. The principal part top view of the printer which concerns on other embodiment of this invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Inkjet printer, 2 Preheating part, 3 Recording part, 4 Post heating part, 5 Conveyance means, 6 Conveyance belt, 7 Driving roller, 8 Driven roller, 9 Heating humidification means, 10 Recording head, 11A, 11B Drying means, 12 Tank , 13 Supply pipe, 14 Steam generation device, 15 Humidification fan, 16, 17 Shutter, 18, 19 Heater, 20 Supply pipe, 21 Chamber, 22 Nozzle plate, 23 Inlet, 24 Exhaust pipe, 25 Temperature sensor, 26 Humidity sensor 27 Shutter 28 Exhaust fan 29 Shield plate P Recording paper

Claims (4)

Recording means for recording on a recording medium;
Conveying means for conveying a recording medium;
A humidifying means provided upstream of the recording means, for humidifying the recording medium with saturated water vapor ;
A drying unit that is provided on the downstream side of the recording unit and that accelerates the drying of the recording medium with superheated steam obtained by heating the saturated steam ;
With
A recording apparatus comprising: saturated water vapor generating means for generating the saturated water vapor . The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of the humidifying unit and the drying unit includes the transport unit. The recording apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the recording unit includes a plurality of recording heads along a conveyance direction of the recording medium,
Between the plurality of recording heads, there is provided a recording-in-execution drying unit that accelerates drying of the recording medium by releasing the saturated water vapor heated with respect to the recording medium.
A recording apparatus. 4. The recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a heating temperature T1 of the recording medium in the humidifying unit.
And a recording medium heating temperature T2 in the drying means during recording and a recording medium heating temperature T3 in the drying means are set to T1 <T2 <T3. .

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