Patent Publication Number: US-11654698-B2

Title: Drying apparatus and image forming system

Description:
INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE 
     This application is based on and claims the benefit of priority from Japanese patent application No. 2021-032628 filed on Mar. 2, 2021, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
     BACKGROUND 
     The present disclosure relates to a drying apparatus which dries a recording medium on which an image is formed with an ink while conveying the recording medium and an image forming system including the drying apparatus. 
     The image forming system including an inkjet type image forming apparatus includes a drying apparatus which dries an image formed on a recording medium, such as a paper sheet. 
     The drying apparatus irradiates the image (the ink) on the recording medium with light, evaporates moisture contained in the ink using energy generated when the ink absorbs the light, and then dries the image. In order to satisfy the conveyance performance of the recording medium and the quality of the image, it is necessary to keep the drying degree at a predetermined level to prevent an insufficient drying and an excessive drying. For example, the insufficient drying causes offset in which the ink is transferred to members in contact with the printed surface of the recording medium and then the transferred ink is further transferred to the recording medium, or image blur. Further, the excessive drying causes yellowing or curling of the recording medium, and the recording medium may be jammed or unnecessary electric power may be consumed. 
     To solve such a problem, it is necessary for a user to adjust the drying apparatus while performing test printing so as to achieve a drying degree of the recording medium corresponding to a printing purpose, and it is troublesome to adjust the drying apparatus. 
     On the other hand, there is a recording apparatus which controls a heat quantity of a heat source depending on to an amount of a black colored area of a recording data. Further, there is an inkjet recording apparatus which heats an ink supplied area depending on a size of a sheet. 
     However, the above recording apparatus and the inkjet recording apparatus do not consider the adjustment of drying degree, and it is difficult to eliminate the problems such as the offset and the curling described above. 
     SUMMARY 
     In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, a drying apparatus which dries a medium on which an image is formed with ink while conveying the medium includes a conveyance part, a heating part, a measurement part and a controller. The conveyance part conveys the medium in a predetermined conveyance direction. The heating part supplies energy to the image on the sheet conveyed in the conveyance part and dries the image. The measurement part measures a value accompanied with moisture contained in the medium. The controller estimates an amount of moisture contained in the medium based on the value measured by the measurement part, and controls at least one of the conveyance part and the heating part so as to change an amount of the energy supplied to the image based on the estimated amount of moisture. 
     In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, an image forming system included an image forming apparatus which forms an image on a sheet; and the drying apparatus drying the medium on which the image is formed by the image forming apparatus, while conveying the medium. 
     The other features and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following description. In the detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, and preferred embodiments of the present disclosure are shown by way of example in the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    is a perspective view schematically showing an image forming system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG.  2    is a front view showing an inside of a drying apparatus according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG.  3 A  is a plan view showing a heater of a heating part in the drying apparatus according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG.  3 B  is a plan view showing the heater of the heating part in the drying apparatus according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG.  4    is a block diagram showing a controller in the drying apparatus according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Hereinafter, with reference to the attached drawings, an image forming system and a drying apparatus according to one embodiment in the present disclosure will be described. 
     First, with reference to  FIG.  1   , the image forming system  1  including the drying apparatus  7  will be described.  FIG.  1    is a perspective view showing the image forming system  1 . L, R, Fr and Rr marked in each drawing indicate the left side, the right side, and the front side and the rear side of the image forming system  1 . 
     The image forming system  1  includes a sheet feeding apparatus  3 , an image forming apparatus  5 , the drying apparatus  7  and a post-processing apparatus  9 . The sheet feeding apparatus  3  stores a sheet and feeds the sheet to the image forming apparatus  5 . The image forming apparatus  5  is disposed on the left side of the sheet feeding apparatus  3 , and forms an image on the sheet fed from the sheet feeding apparatus  3  in the inkjet image forming manner based on image data, for example, transmitted from an external computer. The drying apparatus  7  is disposed on the left side of the image forming apparatus  5 , and dries the sheet on which the image is formed while conveying the sheet. The post-processing apparatus  9  is disposed on the left side of the drying apparatus  7 , and performs a post-processing on the sheet dried by the drying apparatus  7 . The sheet is an example of a medium in the present disclosure. 
     The image forming system  1  is further provided with an ultrasonic sensor  11  (see  FIG.  4   ) which detects a thickness of the sheet on which the image is to be formed. The ultrasonic sensor  11  is a transmission type sensor including a transmission part and a reception part which are disposed on both sides of an object to be detected (the sheet in the present embodiment), for example. The ultrasonic wave transmitted from the transmission part is received by the reception part, and the thickness of the sheet is detected based on a transmission amount of the ultrasonic wave. The ultrasonic sensor  11  is provided in the sheet feeding apparatus  3  or the image forming apparatus  5 , for example. 
     Next, the drying apparatus  7  will be described with reference to  FIG.  2   ,  FIG.  3 A ,  FIG.  3 B  and  FIG.  4   .  FIG.  2    is a front view showing the inside of the drying apparatus  7 .  FIG.  3 A  and  FIG.  3 B  are plan views showing a heater  51  of a heating part  23 .  FIG.  4    is a block diagram showing a controller  95  of the drying apparatus  7 . 
     The drying apparatus  7  includes a box-shaped housing  21 . The housing  21  has a parallelepiped inner space surrounded by a top plate, a bottom plate, a front side plate, a rear side plate, a left side plate and a right side plate. In the inner space, the heating part  23 , a conveyance part  25  and a suction part  27  are housed on the side of the image forming apparatus  5  (the right side). In the upper portion of the inner space, a cooling part  29  is housed on the side of the post-processing apparatus  9  (the left side). 
     In the upper portion of the right side plate of the housing  21  (the side plate on the side of the image forming apparatus  5 ), a reception port  31  through which the sheet (the medium) is received from the image forming apparatus  5  is formed. In the upper portion of the left side plate of the housing  21  (the side plate on the side of the post-processing apparatus  9 ), a discharge port  33  through which the sheet is transferred to the post-processing apparatus  9  is formed. Along a conveyance direction X from the reception port  31  to the discharge port  33 , the sheet is conveyed by the conveyance part  25  and the cooling part  29 . In the following description, the upstream side and the downstream side indicate the upstream side and the downstream side in the conveyance direction X. A direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction X is referred to as a width direction Y. 
     Next, the heating part  23  will be described. The heating part  23  includes a plurality of air blow fans  41 , a heater unit  43 , and a case  45  by which the air blow fans  41  are supported and in which the heater unit  43  is housed. 
     The case  45  is formed in a box-like shape whose lower surface is opened, and has an inner space long in the conveyance direction X surrounded by a top plate, a front side plate, a rear side plate, a left side plate and a right side plate. The top plate has a plurality of exhaust openings (not shown). To each exhaust opening, an exhaust fan  49  is connected through a duct  47 . By driving each exhaust fan  49 , the air in the case  45  is exhausted to circulate the air inside the case  45 . 
     The air blow fans  41  are supported by the top plate of the case  45 . The air blow fans  41  take the outside air in, and send it to the inner space of the case  45 . 
     The heater unit  43  includes a plurality of infrared heaters  51 , and a housing  53  in which the infrared heaters  51  are housed. 
     The housing  53  is formed in a box-like shape whose lower surface is opened, and has an inner space long in the conveyance direction X surrounded by a top plate, a front side plate, a rear side plate, a left side plate and a right side plate. A large number of through holes is formed over the top plate. 
     Each heater  51  has a thin plate-shaped carbon filament and a glass tube in which the filament is housed, for example. The filament irradiates light (infrared light) in all radial directions (360 degrees). As shown in  FIG.  3 A , the heaters  51  are disposed at equal intervals along the conveyance direction X in a posture along the width direction Y. The heaters  51  can be turned on and off individually. 
     Next, the conveyance part  25  will be described. The conveyance part  25  includes a conveyance belt  61  and a frame  63  which supports the conveyance belt  61 . The frame  63  has front and rear side plates which are long in the conveyance direction X and disposed at a predetermined interval in the front-and-rear direction. A drive roller  65  is rotatably supported between the upstream end portions of the front and rear side plates, and a driven roller  67  is rotatably supported between the downstream end portions of the front and rear side plates. 
     The conveyance belt  61  is an endless belt, and a large number of through-holes (not shown) are formed over the entire surface. The conveyance belt  61  is stretched around the drive roller  65  and the driven roller  67 . The drive roller  65  is connected to a conveyance motor  69  (see  FIG.  4   ). When the drive roller  65  is driven by the conveyance motor  69  to be rotated, the conveyance belt  61  travels in the counterclockwise direction in  FIG.  2    at the preset reference speed. The outer surface of the conveyance belt  61  along the upper track (along the direction from the upstream side to the downstream side) serves as a conveyance surface  61   a  on which the sheet is conveyed. A distance between the conveyance surface  61   a  and the heating part  23  is preset to a reference distance. The conveyance belt  61  traveling on the upper track is supported by a conveyance plate  71  supported by the front and rear side plates. A large number of through-holes is formed over the entire surface of the conveyance plate  71 . When the conveyance belt  61  travels, the rear surface (the surface opposite to the conveyance surface  61   a ) of the conveyance belt  61  traveling on the upper track slides along the conveyance plate  71 . 
     The conveyance part  25  is formed longer than the heating part  23  on the upstream side in the conveyance direction X. Specifically, the upstream end portion of the conveyance surface  61   a  of the conveyance belt  61  extends upstream of the upstream end portion of the heating part  23  and upstream of the reception port  31 . The downstream end portion of the conveyance surface  61   a  is positioned at substantially the same position as the downstream end portion of the heating part  23 , and is communicated with the cooling part  29 . 
     The frame  63  is supported by the housing  21  in a liftable and lowerable manner. To the frame  63 , a lift motor  73  (see  FIG.  4   ) is connected via a winding roller and a pulley (not shown), for example. When the lift motor  73  is driven, the conveyance part  25  is lowered from a conveyance position where the conveyance surface  61   a  faces the heating part  23  at the reference distance to a retract position where the conveyance surface  61   a  is lowered from the heating part  23  by a distance larger than the reference distance. When the conveyance part  25  is lowered to the retreat position, it becomes possible to treat the sheet jamming occurred on the conveyance surface  61   a . The description of the lifting and lowering mechanism for the conveyance part  25  is omitted. 
     Next, the suction part  27  will be described. The suction part  27  is provided in the inner space of the conveyance belt  61 . The suction part  27  includes a partition plate  81  and a plurality of (in the example, three) suction fans  83  which are supported by the partition plate  81 . The partition plate  81  has a bottom plate and partition walls, and divides the inner space into a plurality of (in this example, three) sections along the conveyance direction X. The upper surface of each section is opened and faces the conveyance plate  71 . 
     The suction fan  83  is attached to the bottom plate of the separation plate  81  so as to correspond to each section. The suction fans  83  have the same flow amount. When the suction fans  83  are driven, the air in the space above the conveyance belt  61  (the conveyance surface  61   a ) traveling along the upper track is taken in each section through the through-holes of the conveyance belt  61  and the through-holes of the conveyance plate  71 . 
     Further, a humidity sensor  91  is provided in the inside of the housing  21  of the drying apparatus  7 . In the embodiment, the humidity sensor  91  is provided in the case  45  of the heating part  23 . 
     Next, with reference to  FIG.  4   , a controller  95  of the image forming system  1  will be described. The controller  95  is electrically connected to the ultrasonic sensor  11  and the humidity sensor  91 . The detection results of the ultrasonic sensor  11  and the humidity sensor  91  are transmitted to the controller  95 . The controller  95  is further provided with a count unit which counts an accumulated value of dots constituting the image data of the image formed in the image forming apparatus  5 . The ultrasonic senor  11 , the humidity sensor  91 , and the count unit (the controller  95 ) are examples of a measurement part which measures a value associating with an amount of moisture contained in the sheet. 
     Further, the controller  95  is electrically connected to the heating part  23 , and turns on and off each heater  51  individually. The controller  95  allows to change a turn-on period and a turn-off period of each heater  51 . 
     Further, the controller  95  is electrically connected to the conveyance motor  69  of the conveyance part  25 , and controls the rotational speed of the drive roller  65  to travel the conveyance belt  61  at the predetermined conveyance speed or a conveyance speed slower than the predetermined conveyance speed. 
     Further, the controller  95  is electrically connected to the lift motor  73  of the conveyance part  25 , and controls the rotational direction and the rotational period of the lift motor  73  to lift and lower the conveyance part  25  (the frame  63 ) between the conveyance position and the retreat position. The controller  95  can also drive the lift motor  73  to lower the conveyance part  25  to the predetermined position between the conveyance position and the retreat position, or to lift the conveyance part  25  to a position closer to the heating part  23  than the conveyance position. The position closer to the heating part  23  than the conveyance position is set such that the sheet is not excessively heated. 
     An example of the drying operation of the drying apparatus  7  having the above configuration will be described with reference to  FIG.  2    to  FIG.  4    mainly. The sheet on which an image is formed by the image forming apparatus  5  (see  FIG.  1   ) is received in the conveyance part  25  through the reception port  31  of the drying apparatus  7 . As described above, since the upstream end portion of the conveyance surface  61   a  of the conveyance belt  61  extends upstream of the reception port  31 , the sheet discharged from the image forming apparatus  5  is placed on the conveyance surface  61   a  of the conveyance belt  61 . 
     The controller  95  drives the conveyance motor  69  at the predetermined reference rotational speed and rotates the drive roller  65  to travel the conveyance belt  61 . As a result, the sheet placed on the conveyance surface  61   a  is conveyed into the housing  21  through the reception port  31 . 
     Further, the air blow fans  41  of the heating part  23  are driven. The air taken in the inner space of the case  45  by the air blow fans  41  is sent downward and enters the inside of the housing  53  of the heater unit  43 . 
     Further, the suction fans  83  of the suction part  27  are driven. As a result, as described above, the air in the space above the conveyance belt  61  traveling along the upper track is taken in each section through the through-holes of the conveyance belt  61  and the through-holes of the conveyance plate  71 , and the pressure of the space above the conveyance surface  61   a  becomes negative. Then, the sheet conveyed on the conveyance surface  61   a  of the conveyance belt  61  is attracted to the conveyance surface  61   a.    
     The controller  95  estimates an amount of moisture contained in the sheet from the detection results of the ultrasonic sensor  11  and the humidity sensor  91  and the amount of the ink calculated in the count unit. Specifically, the controller  95  compares the intensity of the ultrasonic wave detected by the ultrasonic sensor  11  with the intensity of the reference ultrasonic wave in the case of the sheet having the predetermined thickness, and when the detected intensity is smaller than the intensity of the reference wavelength, it is estimated that the amount of moisture contained in the sheet is larger than the predetermined amount of moisture. The intensity of the reference ultrasonic wave is the intensity when one sheet set in the image forming system  1  is detected by the ultrasonic sensor  11 , for example. The predetermined amount of moisture is the amount of moisture when the sheet can be dried without causing the offset or the curling, for example. This method is referred to as a first estimation method. 
     Further, the controller  95  compares the ambient humidity detected by the humidity sensor  91  with the preset reference humidity, and when the detected ambient humidity is higher than the reference humidity, it is estimated that the amount of moisture contained in the sheet is larger than the predetermined amount of moisture. The reference humidity is the average humidity in the operating environment of the image forming system  1 , for example. This method is referred to as a second estimation method. 
     Further, the controller  95  compares the amount of ink calculated by the count unit with the preset reference amount of ink, and when the calculated amount of ink is larger than the reference amount of ink, it is estimated that the amount of moisture contained in the sheet is larger than the predetermined amount of moisture. The reference amount is the average value of the amount of ink amount used for forming the image on one sheet in the image forming system  1 , for example. This method is referred to as a third estimation method. 
     When it is estimated that the amount of moisture contained in the sheet is larger than the predetermined amount of moisture in any one of the first to the third estimation methods, the controller  95  turns on and off the adjacent heaters  51 A and  51 B alternately as shown in  FIG.  3 A . At this time, the controller  95  sets the turn-on period longer than the reference turn-on period. 
     On the other hand, when it is estimated that the amount of moisture contained in the sheet is not larger than the predetermined amount of moisture in any one of the first to the third estimation methods, the controller  95  turns on and off the heaters  51  for a fixed period. 
     By turning on and off the heater  1  as described above, the air entered in the housing  53  is heated by the infrared irradiated from the heater  51 . The heated air is blown to the sheet conveyed on the conveyance surface  61   a  of the conveyance belt  61  to dry the ink. 
     The sheet is conveyed on the conveyance surface  61   a  from the upstream side to the downstream side, and the ink is dried by the heating part  23 . 
     While the sheet is conveyed on the conveyance surface  61   a , the insides of the case  45  of the heating part  23  and the housing  53  of the heater unit  43  are under a high-humidity and high-temperature environment, and then the exhaust fan  49  (see  FIG.  1   ) is driven to circulate the air. 
     The sheet conveyed on the conveyance surface  61   a  to the downstream side is conveyed to the cooling part  29 . And, after cooled by the cooling part  29 , the sheet is conveyed to the post-processing apparatus  9  (see  FIG.  1   ) through the discharge port  33 . 
     As described above, according to the drying apparatus  7  of the present disclosure, when the amount of moisture contained in the sheet is larger than the predetermined amount of moisture, the turn-on period of the heater  51  is set to be longer than the reference period. Thereby, energy applied to the image (the ink) is increased so that the image containing a large amount of moisture can be dried adequately, and the yellowing and the curling are prevented. 
     Further, the controller  95  turns on and off the adjacent heaters  51  alternately, so that a temperature gradient on the conveyance surface  61   a  is made to be smaller, and it becomes possible to heat the sheet conveyed on the conveyance surface  61   a  uniformly. 
     Next, modified examples of the above embodiment will be described. As shown in  FIG.  3 B , the heaters  51  may be disposed in a lattice shape along the conveyance direction X and the width direction Y. When the estimated amount of moisture is larger than the predetermined amount of moisture, the controller  95  alternately turns on and off the heaters  51 A and  51 B adjacent to in the conveyance direction X and the width direction Y, and makes the turn-on period longer than the reference turn-on period. 
     In this modified example as well, when the amount of moisture contained in the sheet is larger than the predetermined amount of moisture, the turn-on period of the heater  51  is set longer than the reference turn-on period, so that an image having a large amount of moisture can be appropriately dried. Further, the heaters  51  adjacent to the conveyance direction X and the width direction Y are alternately turned on and off, so that the temperature gradient on the conveyance surface  61   a  can be made to be smaller, and the sheet conveyed on the conveyance surface  61   a  can be heated more uniformly. 
     Next, another embodiment will be described. 
     In another embodiment, if the estimated amount of moisture is larger than the predetermined amount of moisture, the controller  95  may control a wavelength of the infrared light irradiated from the heater  51  to be shorter. In this case, for example, a filter (not shown) for passing a predetermined wavelength is supported by the heating part  23  in a movable manner between a radiation position below each heater  51  and a retreat position separate from the heaters  51 . If the estimated amount of moisture is larger than the predetermined amount of moisture, the controller  95  moves the filter from the retreat position to the radiation position. Thus, the wavelength of infrared light irradiated from the heater  51  can be shifted to a short range. 
     Also in this case, when the amount of moisture contained in the sheet is larger than the predetermined amount of moisture, the energy of the irradiated infrared light is increased. Therefore, an image having a large amount of moisture can be appropriately dried. 
     In still another embodiment, if the estimated amount of moisture is larger than the predetermined amount of moisture, the controller  95  may control the conveyance motor  69  such that the conveyance speed of the sheet is set to be lower than the reference conveyance speed. In this case, since the period during which the sheet passes on the conveyance surface  61   a , that is, the period during which the infrared light is irradiated on the sheet is longer than in the case of the reference conveyance speed, the amount of energy received by the sheet is increased. Therefore, an image having a large amount of moisture can be appropriately dried. 
     In still another embodiment, if the estimated amount of moisture is larger than the predetermined amount of moisture, the controller  95  may control the lift motor  73  such that the conveyance surface  61   a  of the conveyance belt  61  is close to the heating part  23 . In this case, the distance between the heating part  23  and the sheet conveyed on the conveyance surface  61   a  becomes shorter than the reference distance, and the intensity of the infrared light irradiated on the sheet becomes strong, so that an image having a large amount of moisture can be appropriately dried. 
     In the above embodiment, when the ambient humidity is higher than the reference humidity (the first estimation method), when the thickness of the sheet is thicker than the reference thickness (the second estimation method), or when the amount of ink is larger than the reference amount (the third estimation method), the controller  95  estimates that the amount of moisture contained in the sheet is large. However, since the amount of moisture contained in the sheet is most affected by the ambient humidity, it may be estimated that the amount of moisture contained in the sheet is large at least when the ambient humidity is higher than the reference humidity (the first estimation method). Alternatively, the second estimation method or the third estimation method may be combined with the first estimation method. 
     When the amount of moisture contained in the sheet is estimated to be larger than the predetermined amount of moisture, the controller  95  may control both the heating part  23  and the conveyance part  25  so as to increase the amount of energy received by the image. For example, the turn-on period of the heater  51  of the heating part  23  may be set to be longer than the reference period, and the conveyance speed of the conveyance belt  61  may be set to be slower than the reference speed. 
     In the above embodiment, the ambient humidity, the thickness of the sheet, and the amount of ink are compared with the reference values to estimate the amount of moisture contained in the sheet, and when the estimated amount of moisture is larger than the predetermined amount of moisture, the amount of energy received by the image is increased. However, the reference values to be compared may be set to two or more levels to increase the amount of energy received by the image to two or more levels. Furthermore, the amount of energy received by the ink may be adjusted based on the absolute values of the ambient humidity, the thickness of the sheet, and the amount of ink. 
     Although the present disclosure has been described with respect to specific embodiments, the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described above. Those skilled in the art will be able to modify the above embodiments without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure.