JP7013659B2 - Drying device and image forming device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a drying device and an image forming device .

There is an image forming apparatus that uses an ink ejection head to apply ink (droplets) to a recording medium such as continuous paper to form an image on the print surface of the recording medium. Such an image forming apparatus is provided with a drying apparatus for drying a recording medium to which ink is attached.

As such a drying device, for example, there is a drying device that dries the processing liquid applied to the recording surface of the paper by using a hot air nozzle and an infrared heater (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this drying device, hot air is blown from the hot air nozzle to the recording surface of the paper coated with the treatment liquid, and infrared rays are irradiated from the infrared heater. As a result, the treatment liquid applied to the recording surface of the paper is dried.

However, in the conventional drying device, when the amount of the treatment liquid applied on the paper is large and the hot air is blown on the printed surface of the paper, the treatment liquid may flow on the paper due to the pressure of the hot air. be.

One aspect of the present invention is to provide a drying device capable of suppressing the flow of droplets on a recording medium when the droplets attached to the recording medium are dried.

The drying device according to one aspect of the present invention is a drying device for drying a recording medium to which droplets are attached, and is a blowing device for blowing air to the recording medium, a heating unit for heating the recording medium, and the blowing device. The drying control unit includes a drying control unit that controls the speed of air blown to the recording medium by the supply unit, and the drying control unit has a droplet adhesion amount of the droplets adhered to the recording medium to be less than a predetermined amount. In that case, the recording medium is dried by controlling the speed of the blast and the heating by the heating unit, and when the amount of the droplets adhering is equal to or more than a predetermined amount, the blast from the blast supply unit is stopped. , The recording medium is heated by the heating unit.
The drying device according to another aspect of the present invention is a drying device for drying a recording medium to which droplets are attached, and includes a blower supply unit that blows air to the recording medium, a heating unit that heats the recording medium, and the above. It has a drying control unit that controls the speed of air blown to the recording medium by the air supply unit, and a plurality of air supply units are provided in the transport direction of the recording medium, and the drying control unit is provided on the recording medium. When the amount of the adhered droplets adhered is a predetermined amount or more, the blast supply unit arranged on the upstream side in the transport direction of the recording medium stops blowing air to the recording medium.
The drying device according to another aspect of the present invention is a drying device for drying a recording medium to which droplets are attached, and includes a blower supply unit that blows air to the recording medium, a heating unit that heats the recording medium, and the above. It has a drying control unit that controls the speed of air blown to the recording medium by the air supply unit, and a plurality of air supply units are provided in the transport direction of the recording medium, and the drying control unit is provided on the recording medium. When the amount of the adhered droplets adhered is the predetermined amount or more, the velocity of the air blown from the blower supply unit is smaller than that when the amount of the adhered droplets is less than the predetermined amount. The speed of the blast of the blast supply unit controlled and arranged on the upstream side in the transport direction of the recording medium is slower than the speed of the blast of the blast supply unit arranged on the downstream side in the transport direction of the recording medium. do.

The drying apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention can prevent the droplets from flowing on the recording medium when the droplets attached to the recording medium are dried.

It is a figure which shows typically the structure of the image forming apparatus which comprises the drying apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure explaining the control part. It is a flowchart explaining the drying method of the recording medium in which an image was formed. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the control method of the blast speed. It is a figure which shows an example of the information stored in the control information storage part. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the control method of the blowing speed using the drying apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of other information stored in a control information storage part. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the control method of the blowing speed using the drying apparatus which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of other information stored in a control information storage part. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the control method of the blowing speed using the drying apparatus which concerns on 4th Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of other information stored in a control information storage part.

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail.

[First Embodiment]
An image forming apparatus including the drying apparatus according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

<Image forming device>
FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of an image forming apparatus including the drying apparatus according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment includes an inkjet head unit (image forming unit) 20, a conveying unit 30, a drying device (drying unit) 40, and a control unit 50. In this specification, the XYZ three-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system is used, and the transport direction of the recording medium P is described as the + X direction. Further, in the present embodiment, a long roll paper is used as the recording medium P.

(Inkjet head unit)
The inkjet head unit 20 forms an image by adhering ink (droplets) to the printing surface of the recording medium P conveyed by the conveying unit 30. The inkjet head unit 20 has a plurality of ink ejection heads 21. In the present embodiment, the ink ejection head 21 is composed of four ink ejection heads 21K, 21C, 21M, and 21Y. The ink ejection heads 21K, 21C, 21M, and 21Y are arranged in the inkjet head unit 20 in this order from the upstream side to the downstream side in the transport direction (+ X direction) of the recording medium P.

Each of the ink ejection heads 21K, 21C, 21M, and 21Y has a plurality of ejection ports (nozzles) in a direction substantially orthogonal to the conveying direction of the recording medium P. The plurality of ejection ports are formed in the entire width in the width direction of the recording medium P (direction substantially orthogonal to the transport direction of the recording medium P). The ink ejection heads 21K, 21C, 21M, and 21Y have their respective ejection ports by a fixing mechanism (not shown) so as to maintain a predetermined gap (for example, about 1 mm to 2 mm) with the recording medium P conveyed by the conveying unit 30. It is supported.

Black K, cyan C, magenta M, and yellow Y inks are supplied to the ink ejection heads 21K, 21C, 21M, and 21Y from ink storage portions (not shown), respectively. The ink ejection heads 21K, 21C, 21M, and 21Y eject inks of black K, cyan C, magenta M, and yellow Y to the recording medium P conveyed by the conveying unit 30, respectively. As a result, an image is formed on the recording medium P.

The ink ejection head 21 is configured to eject ink from the ejection port by a driving means. The drive method of the drive means is not particularly limited, and for example, an on-demand type or a continuous injection type drive method can be used. As the on-demand type drive method, for example, a piezo method using a piezoelectric element such as PZT (lead zirconate titanate), a thermal method using thermal energy, an electrostatic actuator method using electrostatic force, or the like can be used. can. As the continuous injection type drive method, for example, a charge control method or the like can be used.

The ink contains a colorant such as a pigment or a dye and a solvent such as water or an organic solvent, and if necessary, a polymerization inhibitor, a surfactant, a photosensitizer, a pigment dispersant, or the like. May contain the components of.

(Transport section)
The transport unit 30 includes a main winding roller 31, a transport roller 32, a transport support member (platen) 33, a discharge roller 34, and a take-up roller 35. The transport unit 30 transports the recording medium P from the original winding roller 31 toward the winding roller 35.

The original winding roller 31 sends out the recording medium P wound in a roll shape to the downstream side (+ X side) of the recording medium P in the transport direction.

The transport roller 32 is arranged on the downstream side (+ X side) of the recording medium P in the transport direction with respect to the original winding roller 31. The transport roller 32 is composed of a pair of drive rollers 321 and a driven roller 322. The drive roller 321 and the driven roller 322 form a nip portion 32a in which the outer peripheral surfaces of the drive roller 321 and the driven roller 322 are in contact with each other with the Y-axis direction as the axial direction. The transport roller 32 transports the recording medium P set in the original winding roller 31 to the platen 33 facing the inkjet head unit 20 while sandwiching the recording medium P set in the transport roller 32 by the nip portion 32a of the transport roller 32.

The platen 33 is provided facing the inkjet head unit 20 while maintaining a predetermined gap from the ejection port of the ink ejection head 21. Black K, cyan C, magenta M, and yellow Y inks are ejected from the ink ejection head 21 to the recording medium P conveyed on the platen 33, and an image is formed on the recording medium P.

The discharge roller 34 is arranged on the downstream side (+ X side) of the recording medium P in the transport direction with respect to the drying device 40. The discharge roller 34 is composed of a pair of drive rollers 341 and a driven roller 342. The drive roller 341 and the driven roller 342 form a nip portion 34a in which the outer peripheral surfaces of the drive roller 341 and the driven roller 342 are in contact with each other with the Y-axis direction as the axial direction. The discharge roller 34 conveys the recording medium P dried by the drying device 40 to the downstream side (+ X side) while being sandwiched by the nip portion 34a.

The take-up roller 35 is arranged on the downstream side (+ X side) of the recording medium P in the transport direction from the discharge roller 34, and winds up the recording medium P transported from the discharge roller 34.

(Drying device)
The drying device 40 is provided on the downstream side of the recording medium P in the transport direction with respect to the inkjet head unit 20. The drying device 40 dries the recording medium P in which black K, cyan C, magenta M, and yellow Y inks are ejected onto the printing surface. The drying device 40 has a blower supply unit 41-1 to 41-4 and an infrared (IR) irradiation unit 42-1 to 42-4 as a heating unit. Of the blower supply units 41-1 to 41-4 and the IR irradiation units 42-1 to 42-4, the blower supply unit 41-1 is arranged on the most upstream side in the transport direction of the recording medium P. The blower supply units 41-1 to 41-4 and the IR irradiation units 42-1 to 42-4 are alternately arranged in the transport direction of the recording medium P.

Each of the blower supply units 41-1 to 41-4 blows air to the recording medium P to evaporate the solvent contained in the ink adhering to the recording medium P and dry the recording medium P. The blower supply units 41-1 to 41-4 are not particularly limited as long as they can blow air to the recording medium P. The blower supply units 41-1 to 41-4 can be composed of, for example, a blower means for taking in air from the outside, a heating means for warming the taken-in air, and a discharge port for blowing out the blower. The blower supply units 41-1 to 41-4 warm the air taken in from the blower means to a predetermined temperature by the heating means, and then blow air from the nozzle toward the recording medium P.

The temperature of the blast varies depending on the transport speed of the recording medium P, but is set to, for example, about 150 ° C to 200 ° C.

The IR irradiation units 42-1 to 42-4 irradiate the recording medium P with infrared rays to heat the recording medium P, evaporate the water contained in the ink attached to the recording medium P, and use the recording medium P to which the ink is attached. It is dried. The IR irradiation units 42-1 to 42-4 are not particularly limited as long as they can be heated by irradiating infrared rays. As the IR irradiation units 42-1 to 42-4, for example, a halogen lamp or the like can be used.

In the drying device 40, an image is formed by drying the ink with the blown air blown from the blower supply units 41-1 to 41-4 and the infrared rays emitted from the IR irradiation units 42-1 to 42-4. To. A specific method for drying the recording medium P on which the image is formed in the drying device 40 will be described later.

Further, the area of the drying device 40 is a closed space. The drying device 40 is provided with a heat insulating material around the drying device 40 to insulate the heat inside the drying device 40 so as not to leak to the outside of the drying device 40. As a result, the inside of the drying device 40 is a space having a higher temperature than the surroundings of the drying device 40.

After the recording medium P to which the ink is attached is dried by the drying device 40, the dried recording medium P is conveyed to the outside of the drying device 40. The recording medium P conveyed from the drying device 40 is taken up by the take-up roller 35.

In the present embodiment, the drying device 40 has a configuration including air blower supply units 41-1 to 41-4 and IR irradiation units 42-1 to 42-4, and IR irradiation units 42-1 to 42-4 are used as heating units. It is used, but is not limited to this. For example, instead of the IR irradiation units 42-1 to 42-4, the heating unit may be a heating unit using high frequency induction heating, a heating unit using high frequency dielectric heating, a heating unit using contact heating, or the like. good. When the contact heating is used, the heating body may be brought into contact with the back surface of the printing surface on which the ink is ejected in the recording medium P.

(Control unit)
The control unit 50 is connected to the ink ejection head 21, the transport roller 32, the ejection roller 34, the take-up roller 35, the drying apparatus 40, and other members constituting the image forming apparatus 10 in a controllable manner. The control unit 50 controls the amount of ink ejected from the ink ejection head 21, and the rotation speeds of the drive rollers 321, 341 and the take-up roller 35. Further, the control unit 50 controls the speed of the air blown from the air supply unit 41 to the recording medium P and the irradiation amount of infrared rays emitted from the infrared irradiation unit 42. In the following description, controlling the speed of the air (movement of air) blown from the air supply unit 41 to the recording medium P controls the speed of air blown to the recording medium P by the air supply unit 41. Corresponds to that.

The outline of the control unit 50 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a control unit 50. As shown in FIG. 2, the control unit 50 includes a head control unit 501, a transfer control unit 502, and a drying control unit 503.

The control unit 50 has a storage means for storing a control program and various storage information, and a calculation means for operating based on the control program. Each unit constituting the control unit 50 is realized by the arithmetic means reading and executing a control program or the like stored in the storage means.

Image data is given to the control unit 50 from the image input unit 504 for inputting information about the printed image from the outside. Further, the image data of the image input unit 504 is given to the maximum ink adhesion amount calculation unit 505, the maximum ink adhesion amount associated with printing the image is calculated, and then the maximum ink adhesion amount calculation unit 505 determines the maximum ink adhesion amount. Information is sent to the control unit 50. The control unit 50 calculates the speed of air blown to the recording medium P by the air blower supply unit 41 based on the information on the maximum ink adhesion amount sent from the maximum ink adhesion amount calculation unit 505.

The maximum amount of ink adhered means the maximum amount of ink adhered to the recording medium P per unit area. The maximum amount of ink adhered is determined by the amount of ink ejected from the inkjet head unit 20 to the recording medium P. That is, the maximum ink adhesion amount corresponds to the maximum ink ejection amount calculated based on the information regarding the printed image.

The head control unit 501 drives and controls the ink ejection head 21 of the inkjet head unit 20 based on the image data sent from the image input unit 504 to eject ink to the recording medium P. As a result, an image is formed on the recording medium P.

The transport control unit 502 rotationally drives the drive rollers 321, 341 and the take-up roller 35 of the transport unit 30, and transports the recording medium P from the upstream side to the downstream side of the recording medium P.

The drying control unit 503 includes a blower supply control unit 511, an infrared (IR) irradiation control unit 512, and a control information storage unit 513. The drying control unit 503 uses these to control the drying of the recording medium P on which the image is formed.

Further, the drying control unit 503 is based on the maximum ink adhesion amount, the speed of the air blown by the air blower supply units 41-1 to 41-4, the irradiation amount of infrared rays emitted from the IR irradiation units 42-1 to 42-4, or , The infrared irradiation amount is controlled.

In other words, the drying control unit 503 dries the recording medium P using blast and infrared rays, or dries the recording medium P only by blasting or infrared rays, based on the maximum amount of ink adhered.

The blower supply control unit 511 controls the speed of blown air to the recording medium P by the blower supply units 41-1 to 41-4 of the drying device 40 based on the maximum ink adhesion amount calculated by the maximum ink adhesion amount calculation unit 505. do. In other words, the blower supply control unit 511 controls the wind pressure due to the wind blown from the blower supply units 41-1 to 41-4 to the recording medium P. For example, if the blowing speed is high, the wind pressure with respect to the recording medium P is high, and if the blowing speed is slow, the wind pressure with respect to the recording medium P is low.

The IR irradiation control unit 512 turns on / off (ON / OFF) the IR irradiation units 42-1 to 42-4 of the drying device 40 based on the maximum ink adhesion amount calculated by the maximum ink adhesion amount calculation unit 505. Etc. Control the amount of infrared rays emitted from the IR irradiation units 42-1 to 42-4.

The control information storage unit 513 stores the control information 520A. The control information 520A is information in which the maximum ink adhesion amount, the on / off of the blower supply units 41-1 to 41-4, and the on / off of the IR irradiation units 42-1 to 42-4 are associated with each other.

The image forming apparatus 10 configured as described above operates as follows. That is, by rotating the drive roller 321, the drive roller 341, and the take-up roller 35, tension is applied to the recording medium P from the upstream side in the transport direction of the recording medium P. As a result, the recording medium P wound in a roll shape on the original winding roller 31 is unwound from the original winding roller 31. The recording medium P unwound from the original winding roller 31 is conveyed onto the platen 33 along the conveying direction (+ X direction) of the recording medium P.

The inks of black K, cyan C, magenta M, and yellow Y are ejected from the ink ejection heads 21K, 21C, 21M, and 21Y of the inkjet head unit 20 to the recording medium P conveyed on the platen 33. As a result, an image is formed on the recording medium P.

The recording medium P on which the image is formed is conveyed to the drying device 40. Then, the ink adhering to the recording medium P is dried by the blower supply units 41-1 to 41-4 and the IR irradiation units 42-1 to 42-4 of the drying device 40.

The dried recording medium P is conveyed to the take-up roller 35 by the discharge roller 34, and is taken up in a roll shape by the take-up roller 35.

(Drying method)
Next, a method of drying the recording medium P on which the image is formed by using the drying device 40 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method of drying the recording medium P on which the image is formed. As shown in FIG. 3, the control unit 50 calculates the blowing speed based on the maximum ink adhesion amount calculated by the maximum ink adhesion amount calculation unit 505 (step S11).

Subsequently, the drying control unit 503 controls the blower supply units 41-1 to 41-4 based on the calculated blower velocity (step S12).

As a result, the air is blown from the air supply units 41-1 to 41-4 to the recording medium P on which the image is formed according to the maximum amount of ink adhered to the recording medium P, and the recording medium P is dried. be able to.

In the present embodiment, the IR irradiation control unit 512 turns on the IR irradiation units 42-1 to 42-4 regardless of whether or not the blower supply units 41-1 to 41-4 are in operation. Therefore, since the recording medium P on which the image is formed is irradiated with infrared rays regardless of whether or not the air is blown, the recording medium P to which the ink is attached can be dried.

(Speed control method)
Next, in step S12 of FIG. 3, an example of a method in which the blower supply units 41-1 to 41-4 control the blower speed based on the calculated blower speed will be described with reference to FIG. .. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of a method of controlling the speed of blowing air. As shown in FIG. 4, in the control unit 50, in the drying control unit 503, whether or not the maximum ink adhesion amount D calculated by the maximum ink adhesion amount calculation unit 505 is less than a predetermined amount D1 (D <D1). (Step S21). In the present embodiment, the predetermined amount D1 is a value for controlling the on or off of the blower supply units 41-1 to 41-4. Further, according to the control information 520A as shown in FIG. 5, the predetermined amount D1 is 2.0 μl / inch ² .

In step S21, when the maximum ink adhesion amount D is less than the predetermined amount D1, the blower supply control unit 511 turns on the blower supply units 41-1 to 41-4 in the drying control unit 503 (step S22). As a result, warm air is blown to the recording medium P on which the image is formed by the blower supply units 41-1 to 41-4.

Therefore, in the drying device 40, air is blown to the recording medium P on which the image is formed from the upstream side to the downstream side in the transport direction of the recording medium P, and infrared rays are emitted from the IR irradiation units 42-1 to 42-4. Is irradiated. As a result, the recording medium P to which the ink is attached is dried.

In step S21, when the maximum ink adhesion amount D is a predetermined amount D1 or more, the blower supply control unit 511 turns off the operation of the blower supply units 41-1 to 41-4 (step S23). As a result, the air is not blown to the recording medium P on which the image is formed. Therefore, in the drying device 40, the recording medium P on which the image is formed is irradiated with only infrared rays by the IR irradiation units 42-1 to 42-4 from the upstream side to the downstream side in the transport direction of the recording medium P. , The recording medium P to which the ink is attached is dried.

As described above, when the maximum amount of ink adhered to the recording medium P is less than a predetermined amount, the air blown by the blower supply units 41-1 to 41-4 and the infrared rays emitted from the infrared irradiation units 42-1 to 42-4 are used. The recording medium P to which the ink is attached is dried using both of the above. On the other hand, when the maximum amount of ink adhered to the recording medium P is equal to or more than a predetermined amount, the blower supply units 41-1 to 41-4 do not blow air to the recording medium P and are irradiated from the infrared irradiation units 42-1 to 42-4. The recording medium P to which the ink is attached is dried using only the infrared rays.

It should be noted that the means for drying the recording medium P to which the ink is adhered depends on the maximum amount of ink adhered D, because both the blower and the infrared rays or only the infrared rays are used, so that the heating amount of the inks is different. Therefore, the drying speed of the ink differs. Therefore, the transport speed of the recording medium P may be appropriately adjusted according to the maximum ink adhesion amount D. For example, in step S21, when the maximum ink adhesion amount D is a predetermined amount D1 or more, only infrared rays are used as the means for drying the recording medium P. In this case, the amount of heat of the ink is smaller than that in the case where both the blower and the infrared rays are used as the means for drying the recording medium P. Therefore, in this case, the transfer control unit 502 controls the rotation speeds of the drive rollers 321, 341 and the take-up roller 35 to adjust the transfer speed of the recording medium P to be slower.

Here, for example, the control information storage unit 513 stores the control information 520A as shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the control information 520A stored in the control information storage unit 513. The control information 520A shows the relationship between the maximum amount of ink adhered to the recording medium P and the operations of the blower supply units 41-1 to 41-4 and the IR irradiation units 42-1 to 42-4. .. In FIG. 5, the maximum ink adhesion amount is classified into three types: when it is less than 2.0 μl / inch ² , when it is 2 μl / inch ² or more and less than 3 μl / inch ² , and when it is 3 μl / inch ² or more. In addition, these three types are classifications corresponding to, for example, a print mode.

According to the control information 520A of FIG. 5, in the drying control unit 503, when the maximum ink adhesion amount is less than 2.0 μl / inch ² , the blower supply units 41-1 to 41-4 are all turned on (ON). Ink. When the maximum ink adhesion amount is 2 μl / inch ² or more and less than 3 μl / inch ² , or when the maximum ink adhesion amount is 3 μl / inch ² or more, the blower supply units 41-1 to 41-4 are all OFF. Will be. As described above, there are two patterns of control by the drying control unit 503. In any case where the maximum amount of ink adhered is any of the above, the IR irradiation units 42-1 to 42-4 are turned on.

It is assumed that the maximum amount of ink adhered to the recording medium P is less than 2.0 μl / inch ² . In this case, referring to the control information 520A of FIG. 5, the blast supply control unit 511 turns on the blast supply units 41-1 to 41-4, and the IR irradiation control unit 512 turns on the IR irradiation units 42-1 to 42. Turn on -4.

On the other hand, it is assumed that the maximum ink adhesion amount D of the recording medium P is 2.0 μl / inch ² or more. In this case, referring to the control information 520A in FIG. 5, the blower supply control unit 511 turns on the IR irradiation units 42-1 to 42-4 while keeping the blower supply units 41-1 to 41-4 off. do.

When referring to the control information 520A of FIG. 5, the transport speed of the recording medium P is appropriately adjusted according to the maximum ink adhesion amount D of the recording medium P to ensure that the ink is dried. For example, when the maximum ink adhesion amount D of the recording medium P is 3.0 μl / inch ² or more, the ink drying means is only infrared rays. Therefore, in this case, the transport speed of the recording medium P is slowed down.

As described above, according to the drying apparatus 40 according to the present embodiment, the blower supply units 41-1 to 41-4 are controlled based on the maximum amount of ink adhered to the recording medium P. Therefore, it is possible to dry the recording medium P to which the ink is attached while controlling the blowing speed according to the maximum amount of ink adhered to the recording medium P.

That is, when the maximum amount of ink adhered per unit area of the recording medium P is large, the volume (surface area) of the ink adhered to the recording medium P tends to be large, and there is a possibility that the ink is easily affected by the blast. However, according to the present embodiment, when the amount of ink adhered per unit area is large, the influence of blown air is controlled to be small. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the ink adhering to the recording medium P during drying from causing a drying problem such as flowing on the recording medium P by blowing air. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the ink is dried while suppressing the deterioration of the quality of the recording medium P due to insufficient drying of the recording medium P due to the large amount of the ink adhering to the recording medium P. be able to.

Therefore, the drying device 40 can appropriately adjust the presence or absence of air blown even for paper such as offset coated paper for printing, which is difficult for ink to penetrate, according to the type of paper and the maximum amount of ink adhered. can.

The image forming apparatus 10 has a drying apparatus 40. Therefore, according to the image forming apparatus 10, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of set-off, picking, offset, and the like of the undried ink when the recording medium P is wound up by the winding roller 35. As a result, it is possible to prevent the print quality from deteriorating due to the undried ink adhering to the recording medium P, so that it is possible to stably provide a recording medium having excellent print quality. Note that picking refers to a phenomenon in which ink on a recording medium is peeled off, and offset refers to retransfer of ink adhering to a roller or the like to a recording medium.

In the present embodiment, the case of ink for inkjet as droplets has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. As the droplets, for example, a surface treatment liquid, a liquid for forming a component of an electronic element or a light emitting element, a liquid for forming an electronic circuit resist pattern, a liquid for three-dimensional modeling, or the like can also be used.

In the present embodiment, the case where the recording medium P to be conveyed is continuous paper such as roll paper has been described, but the recording medium is not particularly limited as long as it can be conveyed by a drying device. The recording medium may be, for example, continuous paper, coated paper, or resin film.

In the present embodiment, the ink ejection heads 21K, 21C, 21M, and 21Y are arranged in this order in the transport direction (+ X direction) of the recording medium P, but the ink ejection heads are not limited to this, and may be in any other order. ..

In the present embodiment, the ink ejected from the inkjet head unit 20 has four colors of black K, cyan C, magenta M, and yellow Y, but the type and number of ink colors are not limited to these. As the color of the ink, for example, red R, blue B, white W, light gray, light cyan, light magenta, or the like may be used instead of the above four colors. In addition to the above four colors, red R, blue B, white W, light gray, light cyan, light magenta, and the like may be added.

In the present embodiment, four blower supply units 41-1 to 41-4 and four IR irradiation units 42-1 to 42-4 are provided, respectively, but the present invention is not limited to these, and each of them is not limited to this. You only need one or more. Further, although the same number (four in this embodiment) of the blast supply unit 41-1 to 41-4 and the IR irradiation unit 42-1 to 42-4 are arranged, the blast supply unit and the IR irradiation unit are arranged. The number of may be different.

In the present embodiment, the blower supply units 41-1 to 41-4 and the IR irradiation units 42-1 to 42-4 are arranged alternately, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, any one of the blower supply units 41-1 to 41-4 and the IR irradiation units 42-1 to 42-4 may be continuously arranged side by side.

[Second Embodiment]
An image forming apparatus including the drying apparatus according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. The members having the same functions as those in the above embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted. Since this embodiment is the same as the drying method using the drying device according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 except for the method of controlling the blowing speed shown in FIG. 4, the blowing speed of the drying device is the same. Only the control method of is described. Further, the drying control unit 503 of the present embodiment is the same except that the control information 520A stored in the control information storage unit 513 shown in FIG. 2 is changed to the control information 520B, and thus is as shown in FIG. The figure explaining the control unit 50 is omitted.

An example of a method for controlling the air velocity using the drying device according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of a method of controlling the speed of blowing air using the drying device according to the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 6, in the control unit 50, in the drying control unit 503, whether or not the maximum ink adhesion amount D calculated by the maximum ink adhesion amount calculation unit 505 is less than a predetermined amount D1 (D <D1). (Step S31). In the present embodiment, the predetermined amount D1 is a value for controlling the on or off of the blower supply units 41-1 to 41-4. Further, according to the control information 520B as shown in FIG. 7, the predetermined amount D1 is 2.0 μl / inch ² .

In step S31, when the maximum ink adhesion amount D is less than the predetermined amount D1, in the drying control unit 503, the blower supply control unit 511 turns on (ON) the blower supply units 41-1 to 41-4 (step). S32). As a result, warm air is blown from the blower supply units 41-1 to 41-4 to the recording medium P on which the image is formed.

Therefore, in the drying device 40, air is blown to the recording medium P on which the image is formed from the upstream side to the downstream side in the transport direction of the recording medium P. Further, the IR irradiation control unit 512 turns on the IR irradiation units 42-1 to 42-4, and the IR irradiation units 42-1 to 42-4 irradiate the recording medium P on which the image is formed with infrared rays. As a result, the recording medium P to which the ink is attached is dried.

In step S31, when the maximum ink adhesion amount D is a predetermined amount D1 or more, the drying control unit 503 has the maximum ink adhesion amount D calculated by the maximum ink adhesion amount calculation unit 505 within a predetermined range (predetermined amount). It is determined whether or not it is D1 or more and less than D2 (D1 ≦ D <D2) (step S33). In the present embodiment, the predetermined amount D2 is a value for controlling the on / off of the blower supply units 41-1 to 41-4, similarly to the predetermined amount D1. Further, according to the control information 520B as shown in FIG. 7, the predetermined amount D2 is 3.0 μl / inch ² .

In step S33, when the maximum ink adhesion amount D is less than the predetermined amount D2, the blower supply control unit 511 keeps the blower supply unit 41-1 turned off (OFF), and the blower supply units 41-2 to 41-4. Is turned on (step S34). As a result, the air is blown from the air supply units 41-2 to 41-4 to the recording medium P on which the image is formed.

Therefore, in the drying device 40, the ink adhered to the recording medium P on which the image is formed by the IR irradiation unit 42-1 is slightly dried. After that, the recording medium P is heated by irradiating infrared rays from the IR irradiation units 42-2 to 42-4 while blowing air from the air supply units 41-2 to 41-4. As a result, the recording medium P to which the ink is attached is dried.

In step S33, when the maximum ink adhesion amount D is a predetermined amount D2 or more, the blower supply control unit 511 keeps the blower supply units 41-1 and 41-2 turned off, and the blower supply units 41-3 and 41- 4 is turned on (step S35). As a result, blown air is blown from the blower supply units 41-3 and 41-4 onto the recording medium P on which the image is formed.

Therefore, in the drying device 40, the ink adhered to the recording medium P on which the image is formed by the IR irradiation units 42-1 and 42-2 is dried to some extent. After that, the recording medium P is heated by irradiating infrared rays from the IR irradiation units 42-3 and 42-4 while blowing air from the air supply units 41-3 and 41-4. As a result, the recording medium P to which the ink is attached is dried.

Therefore, when the maximum amount of ink adhered to the recording medium P is a predetermined amount D1 or more, the blower supply unit 41-1 located on the upstream side in the transport direction of the recording medium P is turned off. When the maximum amount of ink adhered to the recording medium P is a predetermined amount D2 or more, the blower supply section 41-1 and the blower supply section 41-2 located on the downstream side thereof are turned off. In this way, as the maximum amount of ink adhered to the recording medium P increases, the number of blower supply units 41-2 turned off is increased.

As a result, on the upstream side where the recording medium P to which the ink is attached is dried, the recording medium P to which the ink is attached is dried only by irradiating the recording medium P with infrared rays and heating the recording medium P. Then, the recording medium P can be dried by drying the recording medium P to the extent that the ink does not flow by blowing air and then blowing the ink to the recording medium P.

Since the number of blower supply units 41-1 to 41-4 to be turned off differs depending on the maximum ink adhesion amount D, the amount of ink heated differs. Therefore, the drying speed of the ink differs. Therefore, the transport speed of the recording medium P may be appropriately adjusted according to the maximum ink adhesion amount D. For example, in step S33, when the maximum ink adhesion amount D is a predetermined amount D2 or more, the blower supply units 41-1 and 41-2 are turned off. Therefore, the ink drying means is infrared rays and blown air supplied from the blower supply units 41-3 and 41-4. In this case, the amount of heat of the ink is smaller than that in the case where infrared rays and four blowers supplied from the blower supply units 41-1 to 41-4 are used as the means for drying the ink. Therefore, in this case, the transfer control unit 502 controls the rotation speeds of the drive rollers 321, 341 and the take-up roller 35 to adjust the transfer speed of the recording medium P to be slower.

Here, for example, the control information storage unit 513 stores the control information 520B as shown in FIG. 7. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of control information stored in the control information storage unit 513. In FIG. 7, the maximum ink adhesion amount is classified into three types as in the case of the first embodiment described above. It should be noted that these three types are classified according to, for example, a print mode, as in the case of the first embodiment described above.

According to the control information 520B of FIG. 7, when the maximum ink adhesion amount of the drying control unit 503 is less than 2.0 μl / inch ² , the blower supply units 41-1 to 41-4 are all turned on. When the maximum amount of ink adhered is 2 μl / inch ² or more and less than 3 μl / inch ² , the blower supply unit 41-1 is turned off and the blower supply units 41-2 to 41-4 are all turned on. When the maximum ink adhesion amount is 3 μl / inch ² or more, the blower supply units 41-1 and 41-2 are turned off, and the blower supply units 41-3 and 41-4 are turned on. As described above, there are three patterns of control by the drying control unit 503. In any case where the maximum amount of ink adhered is any of the above, the IR irradiation units 42-1 to 42-4 are turned on.

It is assumed that the maximum amount of ink adhered to the recording medium P is less than 2.0 μl / inch ² . In this case, referring to the control information 520B of FIG. 7, the blast supply control unit 511 turns on the blast supply units 41-1 to 41-4, and the IR irradiation control unit 512 turns on the IR irradiation units 42-1 to 42. Turn on -4.

On the other hand, the maximum ink adhesion amount D of the recording medium P is 2.0 μl / inch ² or more and less than 3.0 μl / inch ² . In this case, referring to the control information 520B of FIG. 7, the blast supply control unit 511 turns off the blast supply unit 41-1 and turns on the blast supply units 41-2 to 41-4. Further, the IR irradiation control unit 512 turns on the IR irradiation units 42-1 to 42-4.

Further, it is assumed that the maximum ink adhesion amount D of the recording medium P is 3.0 μl / inch ² or more. In this case, referring to the control information 520B of FIG. 7, the blast supply control unit 511 turns off the blast supply units 41-1 and 41-2, and turns off the blast supply units 41-3 and 41-4. turn on. Further, the IR irradiation control unit 512 turns on the IR irradiation units 42-1 to 42-4.

When referring to the control information 520B of FIG. 7, the transport speed of the recording medium P is appropriately adjusted according to the maximum ink adhesion amount D of the recording medium P to ensure that the ink is dried. For example, when the maximum ink adhesion amount D of the recording medium P is 3.0 μl / inch ² or more, the ink drying means is infrared rays and blown air supplied from the blower supply units 41-3 and 41-4. Therefore, in this case, the transport speed of the recording medium P is slowed down.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the larger the maximum amount of ink adhered to the recording medium P, the more the blower supply section 41-1 on the upstream side to the blower supply section 41-4 on the downstream side in the transport direction of the recording medium P. In order, the blowing to the recording medium P is stopped. As a result, the ink adhered to the recording medium P can be dried using infrared rays to the extent that it does not flow by blowing air, and then further dried using blowing air. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of drying problems such as ink adhering to the recording medium P flowing during drying. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to efficiently and stably perform drying while suppressing the occurrence of problems in drying the ink during drying.

[Third Embodiment]
An image forming apparatus including the drying apparatus according to the third embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. The members having the same functions as those in the above embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted. Since this embodiment is the same as the drying method using the drying device according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 except for the method of controlling the blowing speed shown in FIG. 4, the blowing speed of the drying device is the same. Only the control method of is described. Further, the drying control unit 503 of the present embodiment is the same except that the control information 520A stored in the control information storage unit 513 shown in FIG. 2 is changed to the control information 520C, and thus is as shown in FIG. The figure explaining the control unit 50 is omitted.

An example of a method for controlling the speed of blowing air using the drying device according to the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of a method of controlling the speed of blowing air using the drying device according to the third embodiment. As shown in FIG. 8, in the control unit 50, whether or not the maximum ink adhesion amount D calculated by the maximum ink adhesion amount calculation unit 505 is less than a predetermined amount D1 (D <D1) in the drying control unit 503. (Step S41). In the present embodiment, the predetermined amount D1 is a threshold value referred to when controlling the speed of blowing air from the blowing air supply units 41-1 to 41-4. In the following description, the blowing speed is referred to as the blowing speed. Further, according to the control information 520C as shown in FIG. 9, the predetermined amount D1 is 2.0 μl / inch ² .

In step S41, when the maximum ink adhesion amount D is less than the predetermined amount D1, in the drying control unit 503, the blower supply control unit 511 turns on the blower supply units 41-1 to 41-4 to blow speed. Is adjusted to the spraying speed V1 (step S42). As a result, the air blowing supply units 41-1 to 41-4 blow air to the recording medium P on which the image is formed at a predetermined blowing speed V1.

Therefore, in the drying device 40, air is blown to the recording medium P on which the image is formed from the upstream side to the downstream side in the transport direction of the recording medium P at a predetermined blowing speed V1. Further, the IR irradiation control unit 512 turns on the IR irradiation units 42-1 to 42-4, and the IR irradiation units 42-1 to 42-4 irradiate the recording medium P on which the image is formed with infrared rays. As a result, the recording medium P to which the ink is attached is dried.

In step S41, when the maximum ink adhesion amount D is a predetermined amount D1 or more, the blower supply control unit 511 turns on the blower supply units 41-1 to 41-4. Then, the blower supply control unit 511 adjusts the blowing speed to a blowing speed V2 smaller than the blowing speed V1 (step S43). As a result, the blower supply units 41-1 to 41-4 blow air to the recording medium P on which the image is formed at a predetermined blowing speed V2.

Therefore, in the drying device 40, the blower supply units 41-1 to 41-4 are sprayed at a blowing speed V2 on the recording medium P on which the image is formed from the most upstream side to the downstream side in the transport direction of the recording medium P. Blow. Further, the recording medium P is irradiated with infrared rays from the IR irradiation units 42-1 to 42-4. As a result, the recording medium P to which the ink is attached is dried.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, when the maximum ink adhesion amount of the recording medium P is the predetermined amount D1 or more, the recording medium P from the blower supply unit 41-1 to 41-4 is more than when the maximum ink adhesion amount is less than the predetermined amount D1. Reduce the spray speed. Then, in the present embodiment, the ink is attached by using both the air blown from the blower supply units 41-1 to 41-4 and the infrared rays emitted from the infrared irradiation units 42-1 to 42-4. The medium P is dried.

In this embodiment, since the blowing speed from the blower supply units 41-1 to 41-4 is different depending on the maximum ink adhesion amount D, the heating amount of the ink is different, so that the drying speed of the ink is different. .. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the transport speed of the recording medium P may be appropriately adjusted according to the maximum ink adhesion amount D. For example, in step S41, when the maximum ink adhesion amount D is a predetermined amount D1 or more, the blowing speed from the blower supply units 41-1 to 41-4 is slow. In this case, the amount of heat of the ink is smaller than that in the case where the blowing speed from the blower supply units 41-1 to 41-4 is high. Therefore, in this case, the transfer control unit 502 controls the rotation speeds of the drive rollers 321, 341 and the take-up roller 35 to adjust the transfer speed of the recording medium P to be slower.

Here, for example, the control information 520C as shown in FIG. 9 is stored in the control information storage unit 513. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the control information 520C stored in the control information storage unit 513. In FIG. 9, the maximum ink adhesion amount is classified into three types as in the case of the first embodiment described above. It should be noted that these three types are classified according to, for example, a print mode, as in the case of the first embodiment described above.

According to the control information 520C of FIG. 9, when the maximum ink adhesion amount of the drying control unit 503 is less than 2.0 μl / inch ² , the blower supply units 41-1 to 41-4 are all turned on and sprayed. The speed is set to 30 m / s. When the maximum ink adhesion amount is 2 μl / inch ² or more and less than 3 μl / inch ² , or 3.0 μl / inch ² or more, the blower supply units 41-1 to 41-4 are all turned on and the blowing speed is increased. It is set to 10 m / s. As described above, there are three patterns of control by the drying control unit 503. In any case where the maximum amount of ink adhered is any of the above, the IR irradiation units 42-1 to 42-4 are turned on.

It is assumed that the maximum amount of ink adhered is less than 2.0 μl / inch ² . In this case, referring to the control information 520C of FIG. 9, the blower supply control unit 511 turns on the blower supply units 41-1 to 41-4 and sets the blowing speed to 30 m / s.

On the other hand, it is assumed that the maximum ink adhesion amount is 2.0 μl / inch ² or more and less than 3.0 μl / inch ² or 3.0 μl / inch ² or more. In this case, referring to the control information 520C of FIG. 9, the blower supply control unit 511 turns on the blower supply units 41-1 to 41-4 and sets the blowing speed to 10 m / s.

Further, the IR irradiation control unit 512 turns on the IR irradiation units 42-1 to 42-4 regardless of the case where the maximum ink adhesion amount is any of the above.

When referring to the control information 520C of FIG. 9, the transport speed of the recording medium P is appropriately adjusted according to the maximum ink adhesion amount D of the recording medium P to ensure that the ink is dried. For example, when the maximum ink adhesion amount D of the recording medium P is 2.0 μl / inch ² or more, the blowing speed from the blower supply units 41-3 and 41-4 is 10 m / s. In this case, the spraying speed is slower than when the maximum ink adhesion amount D of the recording medium P is less than 2.0 μl / inch ² . Therefore, in this case, the transport speed of the recording medium P is slowed down.

As described above, in the present embodiment, when the maximum ink adhesion amount of the recording medium P is equal to or more than the predetermined amount, the blowing speed from the blower supply units 41-1 to 41-4 is higher than when the maximum ink adhesion amount is less than the predetermined amount. Is slowing down. As a result, the ink adhered to the recording medium P can be dried by using both blown air and infrared rays. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of drying problems such as ink adhering to the recording medium P flowing during drying. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to efficiently and stably perform drying while suppressing the occurrence of problems in drying the ink during drying.

[Fourth Embodiment]
An image forming apparatus including the drying apparatus according to the fourth embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. The members having the same functions as those in the above embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted. Since this embodiment is the same as the drying method using the drying device according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 except for the method of controlling the blowing speed shown in FIG. 4, the blowing speed of the drying device is the same. Only the control method of is described. Further, the drying control unit 503 of the present embodiment is the same except that the control information 520A stored in the control information storage unit 513 shown in FIG. 2 is changed to the control information 520D, and thus is as shown in FIG. The figure explaining the control unit 50 is omitted.

An example of a method for controlling the speed of blowing air using the drying device according to the fourth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a method of controlling the speed of blowing air using the drying device according to the fourth embodiment. As shown in FIG. 10, the drying control unit 503 determines whether or not the maximum ink adhesion amount D calculated by the maximum ink adhesion amount calculation unit 505 is less than a predetermined predetermined amount D1 (D <D1) (step). S51). In the present embodiment, the predetermined amount D1 is a threshold value referred to when controlling the speed of blowing air from the blowing air supply units 41-1 to 41-4. Further, according to the control information 520D as shown in FIG. 11, the predetermined amount D1 is 2.0 μl / inch ² .

In step S51, when the maximum ink adhesion amount D is less than the predetermined amount D1, the blower supply control unit 511 turns on (ON) the blower supply units 41-1 to 41-4 in the drying control unit 503. Then, the blower supply control unit 511 adjusts the blowing speed from the blower supply units 41-1 to 41-4 to V1 (step S52).

As a result, the blower supply units 41-1 to 41-4 blow air to the recording medium P on which the image is formed at a predetermined blowing speed V1.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, in the drying apparatus 40, air is blown from the upstream side to the downstream side of the recording medium P in the transport direction to the recording medium P on which the image is formed at a predetermined blowing speed V1. Further, the IR irradiation control unit 512 turns on the IR irradiation units 42-1 to 42-4 and irradiates the recording medium P on which the image is formed from the IR irradiation units 42-1 to 42-4 with infrared rays to heat the recording medium P. Let me. As a result, the recording medium P to which the ink is attached is dried.

In step S51, when the maximum ink adhesion amount D is a predetermined amount D1 or more, the drying control unit 503 determines that the maximum ink adhesion amount D is within a predetermined range (D1 or more and less than D2 (D1 ≦ D <D2)). Whether or not it is determined (step S53). In the present embodiment, the predetermined amount D2 is a threshold value referred to when controlling the blowing speed from the blower supply units 41-1 to 41-4, similarly to the predetermined amount D1. Further, according to the control information 520D as shown in FIG. 9, the predetermined amount D2 is 3.0 μl / inch ² .

In step S53, when the maximum ink adhesion amount D is less than the predetermined amount D2, the blower supply control unit 511 turns on the blower supply units 41-1 to 41-4. Then, the blowing speed from the blower supply unit 41-1 is set to the blowing speed V2 slower than the blowing speed V1, and the blowing speed from the blower supply units 41-2 to 41-4 is set to the blowing speed V1 (step S54).

As a result, in the present embodiment, the blower supply unit 41-1 blows air to the recording medium P on which the image is formed at a predetermined blowing speed V2. After that, in the present embodiment, the air blower supply units 41-2 to 41-4 blow air to the recording medium P on which the image is formed at the blowing speed V1. Further, the IR irradiation control unit 512 turns on the IR irradiation units 42-1 to 42-4 and irradiates the recording medium P on which the image is formed from the IR irradiation units 42-1 to 42-4 with infrared rays to heat the recording medium P. Let me. As a result, the recording medium P to which the ink is attached is dried.

In step S53, when the maximum ink adhesion amount D is a predetermined amount D2 or more, the blower supply control unit 511 turns on the blower supply units 41-1 to 41-4. Then, the blowing speed from the blower supply units 41-1 and 41-2 is adjusted to the blowing speed V2 smaller than the blowing speed V1, and the blowing speed from the blower supply units 41-3 and 41-4 is adjusted to the blowing speed V1. (Step S55).

As a result, the air blower supply units 41-1 and 41-2 blow air to the recording medium P on which the image is formed at a blowing speed V2, and the air blower supply units 41-3 and 41-4 form the image on the recording medium. It is blown to P at a blowing speed V1. Further, the IR irradiation control unit 512 turns on the IR irradiation units 42-1 to 42-4 and irradiates the recording medium P on which the image is formed from the IR irradiation units 42-1 to 42-4 with infrared rays to heat the recording medium P. Let me. As a result, the recording medium P to which the ink is attached is dried.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, when the maximum ink adhesion amount of the recording medium P is within a predetermined amount range (D1 or more and less than D2), the blower supply unit 41-1 located on the upstream side in the transport direction of the recording medium P. Slow down the spray speed. When the maximum amount of ink adhered to the recording medium P is a predetermined amount D2 or more, the blowing speed of the blower supply unit 41-1 and the blower supply unit 41-2 located on the downstream side thereof is slowed down.

In this way, as the maximum amount of ink adhered to the recording medium P increases, the blowing speed of the blower supply unit 41-2 is slowed down. As a result, on the upstream side where the recording medium P to which the ink is attached is dried, the spraying speed is slowed down so that the ink is blown to the extent that the ink does not flow, and the recording medium P is dried. Then, after the ink is dried to some extent, the recording medium P is dried by blowing air at a speed faster than that on the upstream side.

Since the number of blower supply units 41-1 to 41-4 that slow down the blowing speed differs depending on the maximum ink adhesion amount D, the amount of ink heated differs. Therefore, the drying speed of the ink differs. Therefore, the transport speed of the recording medium P may be appropriately adjusted according to the maximum ink adhesion amount D. For example, in step S53, when the maximum ink adhesion amount D is a predetermined amount D2 or more, the blowing speed from the blower supply units 41-1 and 41-2 is slow. In this case, the amount of heat of the ink is smaller than that in the case where the blowing speed from the blower supply units 41-1 to 41-4 is high. Therefore, in this case, the transport control unit 502 controls the rotation speeds of the drive rollers 321, 341 and the take-up roller 35 to adjust the transport speed of the recording medium P to be slower.

Here, for example, the control information 520D as shown in FIG. 11 is stored in the control information storage unit 513. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the control information 520D stored in the control information storage unit 513. In FIG. 11, the maximum ink adhesion amount is classified into three types as in the case of the first embodiment described above. It should be noted that these three types are classified according to, for example, a print mode, as in the case of the first embodiment described above.

According to the control information 520D of FIG. 11, when the maximum ink adhesion amount of the drying control unit 503 is less than 2.0 μl / inch ² , the blower supply units 41-1 to 41-4 are all turned on and sprayed. The speed is set to 30 m / s.

When the maximum ink adhesion amount is 2 μl / inch ² or more and less than 3 μl / inch ² , the blower supply unit 41-1 is turned on and the blowing speed is set to 10 m / s. Further, the blower supply units 41-2 to 41-4 are all turned on, and the blowing speed is set to 30 m / s.

When the maximum ink adhesion amount is 3 μl / inch ² or more, both the blower supply units 41-1 and 41-2 are turned on, and the blowing speed is set to 10 m / s. Further, the blower supply units 41-3 and 41-4 are both turned on, and the blowing speed is set to 30 m / s.

As described above, there are three patterns of control by the drying control unit 503.

In any case where the maximum amount of ink adhered is any of the above, the IR irradiation units 42-1 to 42-4 are turned on.

The maximum ink adhesion amount D of the recording medium P is less than 2.0 μl / inch ² . In this case, referring to the control information 520D in FIG. 11, the blast supply control unit 511 turns on the blast supply units 41-1 to 41-4, and from the blast supply units 41-1 to 41-4. Adjust the spraying speed to 30 m / s.

On the other hand, the maximum ink adhesion amount D of the recording medium P is 2.0 μl / inch ² or more and less than 3.0 μl / inch ² . In this case, referring to the control information 520D in FIG. 11, the blast supply control unit 511 turns on the blast supply units 41-1 to 41-4. Then, the blowing speed from the blower supply unit 41-1 is set to 10 m / s, and the blowing speed from the blower supply units 41-2 to 44-1 is set to 30 m / s.

Further, it is assumed that the maximum ink adhesion amount D of the recording medium P is 3.0 μl / inch ² or more. In this case, referring to the control information 520D in FIG. 11, the blast supply control unit 511 turns on the blast supply units 41-1 to 41-4. Then, the blowing speed from the blower supply units 41-1 and 41-2 is set to 10 m / s. Further, the blower supply control unit 511 sets the blowing speed from the blower supply units 41-3 and 41-4 to 30 m / s.

The IR irradiation control unit 512 turns on the IR irradiation units 42-1 to 42-4 regardless of the case where the maximum ink adhesion amount is any of the above.

When referring to the control information 520D in FIG. 11, the transport speed of the recording medium P is appropriately adjusted according to the maximum ink adhesion amount D of the recording medium P to ensure that the ink is dried. For example, when the maximum ink adhesion amount D of the recording medium P is 3.0 μl / inch ² or more, the blowing speed from the blower supply units 41-1 and 41-2 is 10 m / s. In this case, the maximum ink adhesion amount D of the recording medium P is slower than the blowing speed (30 m / s) from the blower supply units 41-1 and 41-2 than when the maximum ink adhesion amount D is less than 2.0 μl / inch ² . Therefore, in this case, the transport speed of the recording medium P is slowed down.

As described above, in the present embodiment, as the maximum amount of ink adhered to the recording medium P increases, recording is performed in the order from the upstream side to the downstream side in the transport direction of the recording medium P among the blower supply units 41-1 to 41-4. The spraying speed on the medium P is slowed down. As a result, the ink adhered to the recording medium P is dried to some extent by blowing air at a slow speed on the upstream side in the transport direction of the recording medium P according to the maximum amount of ink adhered to the recording medium P, and then blown at a high speed. Can be dried with. Therefore, the ink adhered to the recording medium P can be dried by using both blown air and infrared rays. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to perform more efficient and stable drying while suppressing the occurrence of ink drying problems such as ink adhering to the recording medium P flowing during drying.

In the present embodiment, the blower supply units 41-1 to 41-4 control only blow / stop, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the blower supply units 41-1 to 41-4 of the present embodiment adjust both on / off (blower / stop) control and blow speed control from the blower supply units 41-1 to 41-4. You may try to do it.

As described above, the embodiments have been described, but the above embodiments are presented as examples, and the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. The above-described embodiment can be implemented in various other embodiments, and various combinations, omissions, replacements, changes, and the like can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. These embodiments and variations thereof are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are also included in the scope of the invention described in the claims and the equivalent scope thereof.

10 Image forming device 20 Inkjet head unit (image forming unit)
21, 21K, 21C, 21M, 21Y Ink ejection head 30 Transport unit 31 Main winding roller 32 Transport roller 33 Transport support member (platen)
34 Discharge roller 35 Take-up roller 40 Drying device (drying part)
41-1 to 41-4 Blower supply unit 42-1 to 42-4 Infrared (IR) irradiation unit 50 Control unit

Japanese Patent No. 5230490

Claims (5)

A drying device that dries a recording medium to which droplets are attached.
A blower supply unit that blows air to the recording medium,
A heating unit that heats the recording medium,
A drying control unit that controls the speed of air blown to the recording medium by the air blower supply unit, and a drying control unit.
Have,
The drying control unit
When the amount of the droplets adhered to the recording medium is less than a predetermined amount, the speed of the blast and the heating by the heating unit are controlled to dry the recording medium.
A drying device that stops blowing air from the blowing air supply unit and heats the recording medium by the heating unit when the amount of droplets attached is equal to or greater than a predetermined amount. The drying apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the heating unit includes an infrared irradiation unit that irradiates the recording medium with infrared rays. A drying device that dries a recording medium to which droplets are attached.
A blower supply unit that blows air to the recording medium,
A heating unit that heats the recording medium,
A drying control unit that controls the speed of air blown to the recording medium by the air blower supply unit, and a drying control unit.
Have,
A plurality of blower supply units are provided in the transport direction of the recording medium.
The drying control unit
When the amount of the droplets adhering to the recording medium is equal to or more than a predetermined amount, the air supply unit arranged on the upstream side in the transport direction of the recording medium stops blowing air to the recording medium. Device. A drying device that dries a recording medium to which droplets are attached.
A blower supply unit that blows air to the recording medium,
A heating unit that heats the recording medium,
A drying control unit that controls the speed of air blown to the recording medium by the air blower supply unit, and a drying control unit.
Have,
A plurality of blower supply units are provided in the transport direction of the recording medium.
When the amount of the droplets adhered to the recording medium is the predetermined amount or more, the drying control unit blows the air more than when the amount of the droplets adheres is less than the predetermined amount. The speed of the air blown from the supply unit is controlled to be small, and the speed of the air blown from the air supply unit arranged on the upstream side in the transport direction of the recording medium is arranged on the downstream side in the transport direction of the recording medium. A drying device that slows down the speed of the air blown from the air blower supply unit . An image forming unit that ejects droplets onto a recording medium conveyed by the conveying unit to form an image, and an image forming unit.
The drying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , and the drying apparatus.
Image forming apparatus having.

Images