JP4896912B2 - Drying apparatus and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a drying device for drying a recording medium and an image forming apparatus including the drying device.

  In an image forming apparatus such as a printing machine or an ink jet printer, an IR heater is often used in order to dry water or a solvent such as ink or processing liquid from a recording medium such as paper after drawing or applying a processing liquid. In order to increase productivity, the time for the recording medium to pass through the heater section is short, and the IR heater temperature is usually used at a high temperature of 100 ° C. to 800 ° C. or higher.

  For this reason, in Patent Document 1, an outer cover is provided outside the fixing unit, which is a heating element, so that the heating element is covered. For example, when a jam occurs in the recording medium, this is necessary for releasing the jam. It is necessary to open the outer cover. At this time, the power source of the heating element is turned off or dropped, but the fixing part and the metal parts in the vicinity thereof do not cool immediately. For this reason, a temperature display material is provided on the heat generating member, and when the temperature is equal to or higher than the set temperature, the letters “attention to high temperature” are displayed to urge the operator to pay attention.

Even when the outer cover is opened for maintenance inside the image forming apparatus, some inner covers are provided to prevent the IR heater from being touched, but the water heated by the IR heater is turned into steam. There is a case where it is trapped in the cover. For this reason, in Patent Document 2, a steam exhaust hole is provided in the upper cover of the heat fixing roller, and when the main body cover is opened, the shutter closes the hole and prevents the hand from entering.
JP 2002-14556 A JP 2002-229364 A

  However, in Patent Document 1, by alerting the worker, the worker works while paying attention to the heat generating components, and the work may be complicated. On the other hand, if the cover is not opened until the heat-generating component is cooled, drawing stops during that time, and in the case of a commercial drawing apparatus, productivity is lowered.

  Further, in Patent Document 2, a steam exhaust hole is provided in the fixing unit upper cover so that it can be freely opened and closed. When the jam is released, the shutter is closed to prevent the hand from entering, but if the fixing unit upper cover is not removed, it is released. In the case of a jam that can not be considered.

  In view of the above facts, an object of the present invention is to obtain a drying apparatus and an image forming apparatus that improve workability around a heater, such as jam removal.

The invention according to claim 1 is a drying device for drying a recording medium, and is disposed on the opposite side of the conveying means with a conveying means for conveying the recording medium and the recording medium being conveyed in between. comprising a heating device for drying the recording medium, it surrounds the heating means and insulating means having an opening provided for releasing heat energy emitted by the heating means to the conveying means side, wherein the thermal insulation means insulation An endless heat insulating belt formed of a material, and the heating means is disposed inside the heat insulating belt, and the heat insulating belt has fingers on the opposite side of the opening with the heating means interposed therebetween. A plurality of holes of a size that does not enter, a pair of rollers that rotatably stretch the heat insulating belt, a driving unit that rotates the roller and changes the position of the opening, and the heat insulating belt is the conveying unit Upon leaving al, by rotating the roller by said drive means, and having a control means for switching the position of the hole and the opening.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a conveying means for conveying the recording medium, and a heating means for drying the recording medium is disposed on the opposite side of the conveying means with the conveyed recording medium in between. is doing. In addition to surrounding the heating means, a heat insulating means is provided in which an opening for releasing heat energy from the heating means to the conveying means side is formed.

  By providing the opening in the heat insulating means, the recording medium conveyed by the conveying means is dried so that the heat energy generated by the heating means can be released to the outside through the opening. Further, by surrounding the heating means with the heat insulating means, it is possible to prevent the hand from touching the heating means directly. For this reason, workability in the vicinity of the heater such as maintenance (exhaust fan replacement) with the outer cover removed is improved.

In addition, by using an endless heat insulating belt formed of a heat insulating material as the heat insulating means, the recording medium conveying path by the conveying means can be either linear or drum-shaped. Further, by forming the heat insulating means in a belt shape, the number of parts can be reduced and the cost can be reduced as compared with the case where the upper cover and the lower cover of the heating means are separate parts. Further, heating means is disposed inside the heat insulating belt, and a plurality of holes are formed on the opposite side of the opening portion between the heat means in the heat insulating belt. Thereby, the vapor | steam generate | occur | produced with the heat of a heating means can be escaped outside through this hole. Moreover, since a finger does not enter from this hole, a hand does not touch a heating means directly.
Further, the heat insulating belt is rotatably stretched by the pair of rollers, and the position of the opening can be changed by rotating the rollers by the driving means. For this reason, when the jamming is released, the belt opening moves to the upper part of the heating means, so that the high temperature part cannot be touched. Further, since the heat energy released from the heating means is blocked by the heat insulating belt, it is not necessary to wait for the jam release processing until the temperature of the heating means cools, and the production loss is small.
When the heat insulating belt is separated from the conveying means, the driving means is rotated by the control means, and the heat insulating belt is rotated so that the positions of the openings and the holes are switched. In other words, the opening is usually located on the conveying means side of the heat insulating belt, but if the heat insulating belt is separated from the conveying means by jamming or the like, the heat insulating belt rotates and the opening puts the heating means in between. Move to the opposite side of the conveying means. For this reason, an opening part does not exist in the open part side comprised with a heat insulation belt and a conveyance means, and a hand does not touch a heating means directly from an open part side.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the drying apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, a contacting / separating means for contacting / separating the heating means including the heat insulating belt to / from the conveying means is provided.

In the second aspect of the present invention, the recording medium to be conveyed is jammed between the conveying means and the heat insulating belt by providing the contacting / separating means for contacting and separating the heating means including the heat insulating belt with respect to the conveying means ( In the case of being sandwiched), the heating means including the heat insulating belt can be separated from the conveying means, and the recording medium can be removed.

Invention of Claim 3 WHEREIN: When the said heating means is replaced | exchanged in the drying apparatus of Claim 1 or 2, the said rotating means is rotated by the said drive means, The control means which swaps the position of the said opening part and the said hole is provided. It is characterized by having.

In the invention described in claim 3 , when the heating means is replaced, the driving means rotates the roller and the heat insulating belt is rotated by the control means to exchange the positions of the opening and the hole. When replacing the heating means, workability is poor if the heat insulating belt must be removed. For this reason, it is desirable to exchange the heating means through an opening formed in the heat insulating belt. On the other hand, the opening is formed on the lower side (conveying means side) of the heat insulating belt, and it is better to replace the heating means from the upper side of the heat insulating belt (on the opposite side of the conveying means with the heating means in between). Sometimes it is good. Therefore, when the heating means is replaced, the heat insulating belt is rotated and the opening is disposed on the upper part of the heat insulating belt, whereby the heating means can be replaced from the upper part of the heat insulating belt, and workability is improved.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention, in the image forming apparatus, a recording head for ejecting droplets to the recording medium, any one of claim 1 to 3 for drying the droplets discharged from the recording head And a drying device as described above.

In the invention according to the fourth aspect , it is possible to obtain substantially the same effect as the effect of the invention according to any one of the first to third aspects.

  Since the present invention has the above-described configuration, the workability around the heater such as jam removal is improved.

  Hereinafter, an image forming apparatus provided with a drying apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

First, the overall configuration of the image forming apparatus 10 will be described.
[Image forming apparatus]
As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment feeds and feeds paper to the upstream side in the transport direction of a sheet as a recording medium (hereinafter referred to as “paper”). A portion 12 is provided. On the downstream side of the paper feeding / conveying unit 12, a processing liquid applying unit 14 for applying a processing liquid to the recording surface of the paper along the paper conveying direction, an image forming unit 16 for forming an image on the recording surface of the paper, An ink drying unit 18 that dries an image formed on the recording surface, an image fixing unit 20 that fixes the dried image on a sheet, and a discharge unit 21 that discharges the sheet on which the image is fixed are provided.

Hereinafter, each processing unit will be described.
(Paper feed section)
The paper feeding / conveying unit 12 is provided with a stacking unit 22 on which sheets are stacked, and downstream of the stacking unit 22 in the sheet conveying direction (hereinafter, the “sheet conveying direction” may be omitted). A paper feeding unit 24 is provided for feeding the papers stacked on the stacking unit 22 one by one.The paper fed by the paper feeding unit 24 is transported by a plurality of pairs of rollers 26. After passing through the part 28, it is conveyed to the treatment liquid application part 14.
(Processing liquid application part)
In the treatment liquid application unit 14, a treatment liquid application drum 30 is rotatably disposed. The processing liquid coating drum 30 is provided with a holding member 32 that holds the paper by sandwiching the leading end of the paper, and the paper is held on the surface of the processing liquid coating drum 30 via the holding member 32. In this state, the sheet is conveyed downstream by the rotation of the treatment liquid coating drum 30.

  Note that an intermediate conveying drum 34, an image forming drum 36, an ink drying drum 38, and an image fixing drum 40, which will be described later, are also provided with a holding member 32 in the same manner as the processing liquid coating drum 30. The holding member 32 transfers the paper from the upstream drum to the downstream drum.

  A processing liquid coating device 42 and a processing liquid drying device 44 are disposed above the processing liquid coating drum 30 along the circumferential direction of the processing liquid coating drum 30. The treatment liquid is applied to the surface, and the treatment liquid is dried by the treatment liquid drying device 44.

  Here, the treatment liquid reacts with the ink to aggregate the color material (pigment) and has an effect of promoting separation of the color material (pigment) and the solvent. The treatment liquid application device 42 is provided with a storage portion 46 for storing the treatment liquid, and a part of the gravure roller 48 is immersed in the treatment liquid.

  A rubber roller 50 is disposed in pressure contact with the gravure roller 48, and the rubber roller 50 contacts the recording surface (front surface) side of the paper to apply the processing liquid. Further, a squeegee (not shown) is in contact with the gravure roller 48 to control the amount of treatment liquid applied to the recording surface of the paper.

  Ideally, the treatment liquid film thickness is sufficiently smaller than the droplets of the head droplets. For example, when the droplet volume is 2 pl, the average diameter of the droplets of the head droplet is 15.6 μm, and when the treatment liquid film thickness is thick, the ink dots float in the treatment liquid without contacting the recording surface of the paper. To do. In order to obtain a landing dot diameter of 30 μm or more with a droplet ejection amount of 2 pl, it is preferable to set the treatment liquid film thickness to 3 μm or less.

  On the other hand, in the treatment liquid drying device 44, a hot air nozzle 54 and an infrared heater 56 (hereinafter referred to as “IR heater 56”) are disposed close to the surface of the treatment liquid application drum 30. The hot air nozzle 54 and the IR heater 56 evaporate a solvent such as water in the processing liquid to form a solid or thin film processing liquid layer on the recording surface side of the paper. By thinning the treatment liquid in the treatment liquid drying step, the dots deposited by ink in the image forming unit 16 come into contact with the surface of the paper to obtain the required dot diameter, and react with the thinned treatment liquid. It is easy to obtain an action of agglomerating color materials and fixing to the paper surface.

In this way, the paper on which the processing liquid has been applied and dried on the recording surface by the processing liquid application unit 14 is conveyed to an intermediate conveyance unit 58 provided between the processing liquid application unit 14 and the image forming unit 16.
(Intermediate transport section)
The intermediate transport drum 58 is rotatably provided in the intermediate transport unit 58, and the front end portion of the sheet is held on the surface of the intermediate transport drum 34 via the holding member 32 provided in the intermediate transport drum 34. The sheet is conveyed downstream by the rotation of the intermediate conveying drum 34.
(Image forming part)
An image forming drum 36 is rotatably provided in the image forming unit 16, and a sheet is held on the surface of the image forming drum 36 via a holding member 32 provided on the image forming drum 36. The sheet is conveyed downstream by the rotation of 36.

  Above the image forming drum 36, a head unit 66 composed of a single-pass inkjet line head 64 is disposed adjacent to the surface of the image forming drum 36. In this head unit 66, at least the basic color YMCK inkjet line heads 64 are arranged along the circumferential direction of the image forming drum 36, and are formed on the processing liquid layer formed on the recording surface of the paper by the processing liquid coating unit 14. An image of each color is formed.

  The treatment liquid has the effect of aggregating the color material (pigment) and latex particles dispersed in the ink into the treatment liquid, and forms an aggregate that does not generate color material flow on the paper. As an example of the reaction between the ink and the treatment liquid, acid is contained in the treatment liquid, pigment dispersion is destroyed by PH down, and the color material bleeds using a mechanism of aggregation, color mixing between each color ink, liquid mixture at the time of ink droplet landing Avoids droplet-interference caused by

  The ink jet line head 64 performs droplet ejection in synchronization with an encoder (not shown) that detects the rotational speed disposed on the image forming drum 36, thereby determining the landing position with high accuracy and at the same time. Irregular droplet ejection can be reduced without depending on the shake, the accuracy of the rotary shaft 68, and the drum surface speed.

  The head unit 66 can be retracted from the upper part of the image forming drum 36, and maintenance operations such as cleaning the nozzle surface of the inkjet line head 64 and discharging the thickened ink, the head unit 66 is moved to the upper part of the image forming drum 36. It is carried out by evacuating from.

The sheet on which the image is formed on the recording surface is conveyed to an intermediate conveyance unit 70 provided between the image forming unit 16 and the ink drying unit 18 by the rotation of the image forming drum 36. Since the configuration is substantially the same as that of the intermediate conveyance unit 58, description thereof is omitted.
(Ink drying section)
An ink drying drum 38 is rotatably provided in the ink drying unit 18, and an upper portion of the ink drying drum 38 is close to the surface of the ink drying unit 18, and a hot air nozzle 72 and an IR heater as a drying device. A plurality of 74 are provided (described later). The hot air generated by the hot air nozzle 72 and the IR heater 74 dries the solvent separated by the color material aggregating action in the paper image forming unit, thereby forming a thin image layer.

  The hot air is usually set to 50 ° C. to 70 ° C., although it varies depending on the sheet conveyance speed. The evaporated solvent is discharged together with air to the outside of the image forming apparatus 10, but the air is recovered. This air may be cooled by a cooler / radiator or the like and recovered as a liquid.

The sheet on which the image on the recording surface is dried is conveyed to an intermediate conveyance unit 76 provided between the ink drying unit 18 and the image fixing unit 20 by the rotation of the ink drying drum 38. Since the configuration is substantially the same as that of the intermediate conveyance unit 58, description thereof is omitted.
(Image fixing part)
An image fixing drum 40 is rotatably provided in the image fixing unit 20. In the image fixing unit 20, latex particles in a thin image layer formed on the ink drying drum 38 are heated / pressurized. And has a function of fixing and fixing on the paper.

  A heating roller 78 is disposed above the image fixing drum 40 in the vicinity of the surface of the image fixing drum 40. The heating roller 78 has a halogen lamp incorporated in a metal pipe made of aluminum or the like having a good thermal conductivity. The heating roller 78 applies heat energy equal to or higher than the Tg temperature of the latex. As a result, the latex particles are melted and pressed into the irregularities on the paper for fixing, and the irregularities on the image surface are leveled to obtain glossiness.

  A fixing roller 80 is provided on the downstream side of the heating roller 78. The fixing roller 80 is disposed in pressure contact with the surface of the image fixing drum 40 so as to obtain a nip force with the image fixing drum 40. I have to. Therefore, at least one of the fixing roller 80 and the image fixing drum 40 has an elastic layer on the surface and a uniform nip width with respect to the paper.

  The sheet on which the image on the recording surface is fixed by the above-described process is conveyed to the discharge unit 21 side provided on the downstream side of the image fixing unit 20 by the rotation of the image fixing drum 40.

  In this embodiment, the image fixing unit 20 has been described. However, the image fixing unit 20 is not necessarily required because it is sufficient that the image formed on the recording surface can be dried and fixed by the ink drying unit 18.

  Next, the drying apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 2A, in the ink drying unit 18, a plurality of hot air nozzles 72 and IR heaters 74 as a drying device are disposed on the top of the ink drying drum 38 in the vicinity of the surface of the ink drying drum 38. A drying unit 96 is provided.

  Here, as an example, the pair of IR heaters 74 arranged in parallel with the hot air nozzles 72 are alternately arranged so that the hot air nozzles 72 are arranged on the upstream side and the downstream side. In addition to this, a large number of IR heaters 74 are arranged on the upstream side to irradiate a large amount of heat energy on the upstream side to increase the temperature of moisture, and a large number of hot air nozzles 72 are arranged on the downstream side to blow off saturated water vapor. May be.

  On the other hand, on the downstream side of the hot air nozzle 72 located on the most downstream side, a drive roller 82 having a diameter larger than the height of the hot air nozzle 72 and the IR heater 74 is provided, and the shaft is driven by the drive motor 84 (see FIG. 5). The rotation around 86 is possible. The drive motor 84 is electrically connected to a control device 88 (see FIG. 5) disposed in the image forming apparatus 10, and the control device 88 is driven by ON / OFF of the image forming button 114 (see FIG. 5). The motor 84 is driven or stopped.

  A driven roller 90 having substantially the same outer diameter as that of the drive roller 82 is provided on the upstream side of the hot air nozzle 72 located at the most upstream side. The driven roller 90 is rotatable around the shaft 92. An endless heat insulating belt 94 (described later) is stretched around the driving roller 82 and the driven roller 90, and the upper and lower sides of the hot air nozzle 72 and the IR heater 74 are surrounded by the heat insulating belt 94. A hand is not directly touched to the heater 74. Both end portions in the width direction of the heat insulating belt 94 are covered with brackets (not shown).

  Then, the heat insulating belt 94 is rotated by the rotation of the driving roller 82 by the rotation of the driving roller 82, and the driven roller 90 is driven to rotate through the heat insulating belt 94. The heat insulating belt 94 is arranged in an arc shape so as to be concentric with the ink drying drum 38. Therefore, a guide for guiding the heat insulating belt 94 is provided between the driving roller 82 and the driven roller 90, although not shown.

  Here, the drying unit 96 is provided with a lock device 85 (see FIG. 5) electrically connected to the control device 88, and the drying unit 96 is in the locked state by the lock device 85 and the ink drying drum 38. However, when the jam release button 98 (see FIG. 5) is pressed, the lock state of the lock device 85 is released via the control device 88.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 3A, the drying unit 96 can move to the jam release position around the shaft 86 of the drive roller 82, and the drying unit 96 is separated from the surface of the ink drying drum 38.

  Here, as an example of a configuration that allows the drying unit 96 to contact and separate from the ink drying drum 38, for example, a pinion (contact / separation means) 140 is fixed to a shaft (contact / separation means) 92 of the driven roller 90; An arc-shaped rack (contact / separation means) 142 is provided on the apparatus main body 11 side of the image forming apparatus 10, and the rack 142 and the pinion 140 are engaged with each other.

  A drive motor 100 (contact / separation means, see FIG. 5) electrically connected to the control device 88 (see FIG. 5) is coupled to the pinion 140. When the drive motor 100 is driven, the pinion 140 rotates and the shaft 92 moves along the rack 142. Thereby, the drying unit 96 can be brought into and out of contact with the ink drying drum 38.

  Since the paper is transported between the drying unit 96 and the ink drying drum 38, it is necessary to open the space between the drying unit 96 and the ink drying drum 38 when paper jamming or the like occurs. Therefore, the drying unit 96 can be separated from the surface of the ink drying drum 38. Note that the present invention is not limited to this configuration as long as the shaft 92 can be moved around the shaft 86 of the drying unit 96.

  By the way, the heat insulating belt 94 is formed of a heat insulating material that is excellent in heat resistance and hardly conducts heat, and a member using an aramid fiber that is also used in a fire suit or a racing suit is most preferable, and has a heat resistance of about 1200 ° C. It has. In addition, silica fibers, ceramic composite fibers, glass fibers, and the like may be used depending on the required heat-resistant temperature.

  Here, as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2C (FIG. 2C is a bottom view of the heat insulating belt 94 shown in FIG. 2A), the ink drying drum 38 side of the heat insulating belt 94 is shown. A plurality of openings 104 and 106 are formed (under the heat insulating belt 94).

  The openings 104 and 106 are respectively formed in accordance with the size of the hot air nozzle 72 or the IR heater 74, and the heat of the hot air nozzle 72 and the IR heater 74 is transmitted through the opening 104 or the opening 106 to the ink drying drum 38. Is radiated to the side. Thereby, the ink contained in the paper conveyed by the ink drying drum 38 can be dried.

  However, if the openings 104 and 106 are too large, the strength of the heat insulating belt 94 will be insufficient, and the durability will be affected. For this reason, the cloth of the heat insulating belt 94 is thickened between the opening 104 and the opening 106 and at both ends in the width direction of the heat insulating belt 94.

  This not only improves the strength of the heat insulating belt 94 but also serves to hold the paper transported on the surface of the ink drying drum 38 and guard it from touching the IR heater 74. In addition, you may make it leave thin belt fabric 94A along the conveyance direction of the heat insulation belt 94 between the opening part 104 and the opening part 106. FIG.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B (FIG. 2B is a plan view of the heat insulating belt 94 shown in FIG. 2A), the heat insulating belt 94 is opposite to the ink drying drum 38. On the side (the upper side of the heat insulating belt 94), a plurality of small holes 108 (for example, φ10 mm, 30 mm pitch) large enough to prevent a finger from entering are formed so that steam generated by the heat of the IR heater 74 is released. . Since the small hole 108 has a size that does not allow a finger to enter, the hand does not directly touch the hot air nozzle 72 and the IR heater 74 through the small hole 108.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, when the space between the drying unit 96 and the ink drying drum 38 is opened, the openings 104 and 106 formed in the heat insulating belt 94 are constituted by the drying unit 96 and the ink drying drum 38. However, when the outer cover (not shown) of the image forming apparatus 10 is opened, the outer cover interlock switch 112 that is electrically connected to the control device 88 (see FIG. 5) is exposed. (See FIG. 5) is turned OFF, the drive motor 84 is driven by the control device 88, and the drive roller 82 rotates.

  As a result, as shown in FIG. 3A, the heat insulating belt 94 rotates and the openings 104 and 106 move to the opposite side of the opening 110 (upper side of the heat insulating belt 94) (details will be described later). Here, the position of the heat insulating belt 94 is read by a reflective sensor or the like (not shown) provided on the heat insulating belt 94, and the read data is transmitted to the control device 88. Based on this data, the position of the heat insulating belt 94 is controlled by the control device 88.

  For this reason, the small hole 108 side of the heat insulating belt 94 is exposed to the opening 110, but when the outer cover (not shown) is opened as described above, the hot air nozzle 72 electrically connected to the control device 88 and Since the power of the IR heater 74 is turned off and the image formation is also stopped, steam is hardly generated through the small hole 108.

  Incidentally, a maintenance mode switch 118 (see FIG. 5) is electrically connected to the control device 88, and when the IR heater 74 is replaced, the maintenance mode switch 118 is turned on. When the maintenance mode switch 118 is in the ON state, the drive motor 84 is driven by the control device 88 and the drive roller 82 rotates, so that the openings 104 and 106 of the heat insulating belt 94 are dried with ink as shown in FIG. Move to the opposite side of the drum 38.

  In this embodiment, the drive motors 84 and 100 are electrically connected to the controller 88, and the controller 88 drives the drive motor 84 to rotate the drive roller 82, or the drive motor 100 is driven to dry. Although the unit 96 is rotated, the driving roller 82 and the drying unit 96 may be rotated manually.

  Next, an example of the operation of the outer cover and the heat insulating belt will be described with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 6, when the main power supply 13 of the image forming apparatus 10 is turned on in step 100, the process proceeds to step 102. In step 102, it is determined whether or not the image forming button 114 is ON. When the image forming button 114 is turned on, the process proceeds to step 104.

  In step 104, the conveyance mechanism 116 such as a roller and a drum that conveys the sheet between the above-described sheet feeding and conveying unit 12 (see FIG. 1) to the discharging unit 21 (see FIG. 1) is driven, and the hot air nozzle 72 and The power of the IR heater 74 is turned on.

  If the image forming button 114 is not turned on in step 102, the process returns to step 102 again to determine whether or not the image forming button 114 is turned on.

  Next, in step 106, it is determined whether the image forming button 114 is turned off or the outer cover interlock switch 112 is turned off. Here, if the image forming button 114 is ON or the outer cover interlock switch 112 is not OFF, the state of step 104 is maintained.

  On the other hand, if the image forming button 114 is turned off or the outer cover interlock switch 112 is turned off in step 106, the process proceeds to step 108. In step 108, the transport mechanism 116 stops driving, and the hot air nozzle 72 and the IR heater 74 are turned off.

  Then, the process proceeds to step 110. In step 110, when the jam release button 98 of the ink drying unit 18 (see FIG. 1) is turned on, the process proceeds to step 112. In step 112, the drive motor 100 is driven, and as shown in FIG. 3A, the drying unit 96 rotates around the shaft 86 to the jam release position, thereby separating the drying unit 96 from the ink drying drum 38. Moreover, the drive motor 84 drives and the heat insulation belt 94 rotates. Thereby, the opening parts 104 and 106 of the heat insulation belt 94 move to the opposite side of the opening part 110 (the upper side of the heat insulation belt 94).

  Next, in step 114, it is determined whether or not the jam release button 98 of the ink drying unit 18 is turned off. In step 114, when the jam release button 98 of the ink drying unit 18 is turned off, the process proceeds to step 116.

  In step 116, the drive motor 100 is driven, and as shown in FIG. 2A, the drying unit 96 rotates around the shaft 86 and returns to the image forming position. In step 117, the drive motor 84 is driven, the heat insulating belt 94 rotates, and the openings 104 and 106 of the heat insulating belt 94 move to the ink drying drum 38 side (below the heat insulating belt 94).

  On the other hand, if the jam release button 98 of the ink drying unit 18 is not turned OFF in step 114, the process returns to step 114 again to determine whether or not the jam release button 98 is OFF.

  Next, in step 118, it is determined whether or not the outer cover interlock switch 112 is turned on. In step 118, when the outer cover interlock switch 112 is turned on, the routine proceeds to step 120, where it is determined whether or not to restart image formation. If the image formation is resumed in step 120, the process proceeds to step 122.

  If the outer cover interlock switch 112 is not turned on in step 118, the process returns to step 118 again to determine whether or not the outer cover interlock switch 112 is turned on.

  In step 122, the power of the image forming apparatus 10 is turned on, and the process returns to step 106 to determine whether the image forming button 114 is turned off or the outer cover interlock switch 112 is turned off. The

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step 110 that the jam release button 98 has not been turned ON, the process proceeds to step 124. In step 124, it is determined whether the maintenance mode switch 118 is ON. In step 124, when the maintenance mode switch 118 is ON, the process proceeds to step 126.

  In step 126, the drive motor 84 is driven and the heat insulation belt 94 rotates. As a result, the opening 104 and the opening 106 are disposed above the heat insulating belt 94, and the IR heater 74 can be replaced through the opening 106.

  Next, in step 128, it is determined whether or not the maintenance mode switch 118 is turned off. In step 128, when the maintenance mode switch 118 is turned OFF, the process returns to step 117, and the processes after step 117 are repeated. On the other hand, if the maintenance mode switch 118 is ON in step 128, the process returns to step 128 to determine whether or not the maintenance mode switch 118 is OFF.

  Incidentally, if the image formation is not resumed in step 120, the process proceeds to step 130, and it is determined whether or not the image forming apparatus 10 is to be stopped. If it is determined in step 130 that the image forming apparatus 10 is not stopped, the process returns to step 120 and the processes in and after step 120 are repeated. On the other hand, when the image forming apparatus 10 is stopped in step 130, the process proceeds to step 132, the main power supply 13 of the image forming apparatus 10 is turned off, and the operation ends.

  Next, the operation of the drying apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described.

  In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2A, the hot air nozzle 72 and the IR heater 74 of the ink drying unit 18 are surrounded by the heat insulating belt 94 so that the hot air nozzle 72 and the IR heater 74 are not touched directly. I have to.

  2A and 3A, when the drying unit 96 moves away from the ink drying drum 38, the controller 88 drives the drive motor 84 and rotates the heat insulating belt 94 to open the opening. 104 and 106 are moved to the opposite side of the ink drying drum 38.

  At the time of image formation, the openings 104 and 106 are located on the ink drying drum 38 side of the heat insulating belt 94, but when the heat insulating belt 94 is separated from the ink drying drum 38, the heat insulating belt 94 rotates to open the openings 104 and 106. 106 moves to the opposite side of the ink drying drum 38.

  For this reason, the openings 104 and 106 do not exist on the side of the opening 110 constituted by the drying unit 96 and the ink drying drum 38, and the hand does not directly touch the hot air nozzle 72 and the IR heater 74. Therefore, when the drying unit 96 is separated from the ink drying drum 38 due to paper jamming or the like, it is not necessary to perform the work while paying attention to the IR heater 74 so that the hand is not touched, and the workability around the IR heater 74 is improved.

  Further, since the heat energy released from the hot air nozzle 72 and the IR heater 74 is blocked by the heat insulating belt 94, it is not necessary to wait for the jam release processing until the temperature of the hot air nozzle 72 and the IR heater 74 is cooled, resulting in a production loss. Few.

  Further, in this embodiment, the heat insulating belt 94 is provided so as to be rotatable around the hot air nozzle 72 and the IR heater 74 so that the positions of the openings 104 and 106 can be changed. The workability is better when the IR heater 74 is replaced from above the unit 96.

  Therefore, when the IR heater 74 is replaced, the drive motor 84 is driven and the drive roller 82 is rotated so that the opening 106 is disposed on the upper side of the heat insulating belt 94 as shown in FIG. By doing so, it becomes possible to replace the IR heater 74 from the upper part of the heat insulating belt 94, and workability is improved.

  In addition, when the IR heater 74 is replaced, the maintenance mode switch 118 is in an ON state. In this state, the heat insulating belt 94 can be slightly rotated. Accordingly, when the IR heater 74 is replaced, the opening 106 can be moved a little with respect to the IR heater 74, which is convenient.

  Further, an endless heat insulating belt 94 formed of a heat insulating material is used for the drying unit 96, and the hot air nozzle 72 and the IR heater 74 are disposed inside the heat insulating belt 94, so that the upper portions of the hot air nozzle 72 and the IR heater 74 are arranged. Compared with the case where the cover on the side and the cover on the lower side are separate parts, the number of parts is reduced, and the cost can be reduced.

  In the present embodiment, the drum transport system using the ink drying drum 38 is described as the transport unit of the ink drying unit 18, but the transport unit of the ink drying unit 120 is configured as shown in FIG. A linear motion conveyance method using 122 or a chain may be used.

  In this case, the basic configuration of the drying unit 96 is the same. As shown in FIG. 7, the drying unit 96 is linearly formed so as to face the ink drying belt 122 arranged linearly. The unit 124 is arranged.

  Note that the arrangement of the hot air nozzle 72 and the IR heater 74 of the drying unit 124 is one of variations, and a large number of IR heaters 74 are arranged on the upstream side in the paper transport direction, and sufficient heat energy is given first. Thus, the configuration is such that the steam is blown off downstream, but the arrangement is not limited to this.

  Here, in the ink drying unit 18, the ink drying belt 122 is used instead of the ink drying drum 38, but it is also possible to convey a sheet from paper feeding to discharging with a single conveying belt.

  Here, in the linear conveyance system, the heat insulating belt 94 is used for the drying unit 124, but instead of the heat insulating belt 94, as shown in FIGS. A box 130 may be used.

  Specifically, the heat insulating box 130 is made to face the ink drying belt 122, a small hole 125 having a size that a finger cannot enter is formed in the upper plate 130A, and openings 126 and 128 are formed in the lower plate 130B. The upper part of the heat insulation box 130 is provided with a shutter plate member 132A formed of a heat insulating material in parallel with the upper plate 130A of the heat insulation box 130. The lower part of the heat insulation box 130 is provided with the heat insulation box 130. A shutter plate material 132B formed of a heat insulating material is provided in parallel with the lower plate 130A.

  The shutter plate member 132 is held so as to be slidable along the conveying direction of the ink drying belt 122. In addition, a solenoid 138 is disposed at one end of the shutter plate member 132, and the shutter plate member 132 is slid by the ON / OFF of the solenoid 138. The shutter plate members 132A and 132B may be slid together or may be moved separately.

  Further, a small hole 133 having substantially the same size as the small hole 125 is formed in the shutter plate material 132A, and openings 134 and 136 having substantially the same size as the opening portions 126 and 128 are formed in the shutter plate material 132B. Form.

  Then, due to the sliding movement of the shutter plate 132, the small holes 133 and 134, 136 coincide with the positions of the small holes 125 and the openings 126, 128 (see FIG. 8A), or the small holes 125 and the openings 126, 128. The small hole 125 and the openings 126 and 128 are opened and closed by shifting from the position (see FIG. 8B). Here, in a state where the openings 134 and 136 coincide with the positions of the openings 126 and 128, thermal energy is released from the hot air nozzle 72 and the IR heater 74 to the ink drying belt 122 side.

  Thus, since the shutter plate member 132 only needs to be slid, the drive mechanism for driving the shutter plate member 132 can be simplified.

  In the above embodiment, an image forming apparatus that discharges ink and forms an image on a sheet has been described. However, the liquid to be discharged is not limited to ink. For example, drying for various industrial applications, such as forming bumps for component mounting by discharging molten solder onto the substrate, and forming EL display panels by discharging organic EL solution onto the substrate The present invention can be applied to all devices.

1 is an overall configuration diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment. The drying apparatus which concerns on this Embodiment is shown, (A) is sectional drawing, (B) is a top view of the heat insulation belt shown to (A), (C) is a bottom view of the heat insulation belt shown to (A). is there. The drying apparatus which concerns on this Embodiment is shown, (A) is sectional drawing, (B) is a top view of the heat insulation belt shown to (A), (C) is a bottom view of the heat insulation belt shown to (A). is there. The drying apparatus which concerns on this Embodiment is shown, (A) is sectional drawing, (B) is a top view of the heat insulation belt shown to (A), (C) is a bottom view of the heat insulation belt shown to (A). is there. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. It is sectional drawing which shows the 1st modification of the drying apparatus which concerns on this Embodiment. (A), (B) is sectional drawing which shows the 2nd modification of the drying apparatus which concerns on this Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Image forming apparatus 11 Apparatus main body 18 Ink drying part (drying apparatus)
38 Ink drying drum (conveying means)
66 Head unit (recording head)
72 Hot air nozzle (heating means)
74 IR heater (heating means)
82 Driving roller (roller)
84 Drive motor (drive means)
88 controller 90 driven roller (roller)
92 Shaft (contact / separation means)
94 Insulation belt (insulation means)
96 Drying unit (drying equipment)
100 Drive motor (contact / separation means)
104 opening 106 opening 108 small hole (hole)
120 Ink drying section (drying device)
122 Ink drying belt (conveying means)
124 Drying unit (drying equipment)
125 holes 126 openings 128 openings 130 heat insulation box (heat insulation means)
133 Hole 134 Opening 136 Opening 140 Pinion (contact / separation means)
142 rack (contact and separation means)

Claims (4)

A drying device for drying a recording medium,
Conveying means for conveying the recording medium;
A heating unit disposed on the opposite side of the conveying unit with a recording medium to be conveyed therebetween, and drying the recording medium;
A heat insulating means that surrounds the heating means and is provided with an opening for releasing heat energy generated by the heating means to the conveying means side;
With
The heat insulating means is an endless heat insulating belt formed of a heat insulating material, and the heating means is arranged inside the heat insulating belt, and the heat insulating belt has the heating means interposed therebetween and is opposite to the opening. On the side, a number of holes that do not fit your fingers are formed,
A pair of rollers that rotatably stretch the heat insulating belt;
Driving means for rotating the roller and changing the position of the opening;
When the heat insulating belt is separated from the conveying means, the driving means rotates the roller to change the position of the opening and the hole;
A drying apparatus comprising: The drying apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a contacting / separating unit that contacts and separates the heat insulating belt and the heating unit with respect to the conveying unit . Wherein when replacing the heating means, by rotating the roller by the drive means, the drying apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the control means switching the position of the hole and the opening. It has a recording head which discharges a droplet to a recording medium, and a drying device given in any 1 paragraph of Claims 1-3 which dry a droplet discharged from said recording head. Image forming apparatus.

Images