Dual mode print drying apparatus

Abstract

The application provides a dual-mode printing drying device, which comprises a cabinet, the cabinet is provided with a first fresh air inlet, a second fresh air inlet, an air supply inlet, an air return inlet and an air exhaust outlet, the first fresh air inlet is adapted to an ink printing drying mode, and the second fresh air inlet is adapted to a water printing drying mode; the air supply inlet is connected with an air inlet of a drying oven, the air return inlet is connected with an air outlet of the drying oven, and an air exhaust channel is formed between the air return inlet and the air exhaust outlet; an air conditioner air path and a drying oven drying air path are constructed inside the cabinet, the first fresh air inlet and the second fresh air inlet are communicated with the air conditioner air path and the drying oven drying air path, and a heat exchange and dehumidification component is arranged in the cabinet; the air conditioner air path discharges low-temperature air passing through the heat exchange and dehumidification component to the outside of the cabinet, and the drying oven drying air path sends high-temperature air passing through the heat exchange and dehumidification component into the drying oven. The application realizes the adaptation of two printing drying modes through the two fresh air inlets, has strong universality, realizes heat recovery by using the heat exchange and dehumidification component, simultaneously completes workshop station cooling and drying oven drying, and reduces line equipment investment and operation energy consumption.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of drying equipment technology, specifically to a dual-mode printing drying equipment adapted to both ink and water-based printing operations. Background Technology

[0002] Existing industrial drying ovens generally adopt electric heating, gas heating or ordinary single-stage heat pump heating modes. During the drying process, high temperature and high humidity exhaust gas will be continuously generated inside the oven. Traditional equipment directly discharges the hot and humid exhaust gas to the outside. The exhaust gas carries a large amount of sensible heat and some latent heat, resulting in a huge waste of energy and high drying energy consumption costs.

[0003] Traditional drying systems in production lines generally employ a mixed airflow pattern of fresh air and internal recirculated air, heated by electric heating, steam heating, or gas heating. The mixed air is then sent into the drying oven by a fan to dry the materials. The high-temperature, high-humidity exhaust gas generated during the drying process is only partially recycled; the remaining high-temperature exhaust gas is directly discharged without any heat recovery structure. This results in a complete waste of the large amount of residual heat contained in the exhaust gas, leading to persistently high exhaust temperatures. This not only results in extremely high drying energy consumption but also causes carbon emissions to exceed standards and makes precise control of exhaust conditions impossible, failing to meet national low-carbon, environmentally friendly, and energy-saving emission reduction policies. Furthermore, traditional drying heat sources have inherent defects. Electric heating, steam, and gas heating are all direct energy conversion modes with low heat conversion efficiency and limited energy utilization. The direct discharge of exhaust gas also presents a double energy waste problem: on the one hand, the residual heat of the exhaust gas is lost; on the other hand, if environmental treatment is required before the high-temperature exhaust gas is discharged, additional energy is needed to cool it down, further increasing production energy consumption and operating costs. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of this application is to provide a dual-mode printing drying equipment that is compatible with both ink and water-based printing operations. It has good equipment versatility and production adaptability, and can realize waste heat recovery to reduce energy consumption and workshop cooling, thereby reducing equipment investment and operating energy consumption.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, this application provides the following technical solution:

[0006] A dual-mode printing and drying equipment includes a chassis and a first fresh air inlet, a second fresh air inlet, an air supply outlet, a return air outlet, and an exhaust air outlet disposed on the chassis. The first fresh air inlet is used to match the ink printing and drying mode, and the second fresh air inlet is used to match the water-based ink printing and drying mode. The air supply outlet is connected to the air inlet of the drying oven, and the return air outlet is connected to the air outlet of the drying oven. An exhaust channel is formed between the return air outlet and the exhaust air outlet.

[0007] The chassis contains an air conditioning duct and an oven drying duct. The first and second fresh air inlets are both connected to the air conditioning duct and the oven drying duct. The chassis is equipped with a heat exchange and dehumidification assembly. The air conditioning duct is used to discharge the low-temperature air that has been cooled down by the heat exchange and dehumidification assembly to the outside of the chassis. The oven drying duct is used to send the high-temperature air that has been heated up by the heat exchange and dehumidification assembly into the oven through the air supply and exhaust assembly for drying.

[0008] Further configuration: The first fresh air inlet and the second fresh air inlet are respectively equipped with control air valves. The first fresh air inlet and the second air inlet can be opened selectively through the corresponding control air valves to switch between ink printing drying mode and water-based ink printing drying mode.

[0009] Further configuration: The heat exchange and dehumidification assembly includes an evaporator, a compressor, and a condenser. The evaporator is located on the air conditioning duct and is used to absorb heat and dehumidify the airflow flowing through it. The evaporator, compressor, and condenser are connected by a pipeline to form a refrigerant circulation channel. The condenser is located on the drying duct of the oven and releases the heat absorbed at the evaporator to the airflow flowing through it through the refrigerant circulation channel.

[0010] Further configuration: The heat exchange and dehumidification assembly also includes a liquid storage tank and a gas-liquid separator, both of which are connected in the refrigerant circulation channel.

[0011] Further configuration: The air conditioning duct is equipped with an evaporator fan located on the air outlet side of the evaporator. The evaporator fan is used to deliver the low-temperature air that has been cooled by the evaporator to the outside of the casing.

[0012] Further configuration: The chassis is equipped with a mixing chamber, which is connected to the exhaust duct and the drying air path of the oven. A circulation valve is provided between the mixing chamber and the exhaust duct. The circulation valve is used to regulate the amount of hot and humid air entering the mixing chamber from the exhaust duct. The mixing chamber is used to mix the fresh air input from the drying air path of the oven with the hot and humid air input from the exhaust duct before it is delivered to the condenser.

[0013] Further configuration: The drying air path of the oven is equipped with an electric heating component on the air outlet side of the condenser. The electric heating component is used to supplement the airflow with heat when the condenser heating temperature is insufficient.

[0014] Further configuration: A blower is provided at the air supply outlet, and an exhaust fan is provided at the air exhaust outlet.

[0015] Further features: The chassis is equipped with an electrical control box, and the electrical control box has a heat dissipation vent.

[0016] Further configuration: The bottom of the chassis is provided with a base and detachable support components. The detachable support components are located at the four corners of the base and the base is suspended in the air.

[0017] Compared with existing technologies, the solution in this application has the following advantages:

[0018] 1. The dual-mode printing drying equipment involved in this application can realize two working modes: ink printing drying and water-based ink printing drying. The mode switching is achieved by setting two independent fresh air vents and controlling the opening and closing of the valves. The two modes share the internal air duct, heat exchange and dehumidification structure of the chassis. There is no need to replace internal components or modify the main body of the equipment. It can quickly adapt to the differentiated drying requirements of the two printing processes and has good equipment versatility and working condition adaptability.

[0019] 2. In the dual-mode printing drying equipment involved in this application, a refrigerant circulation loop is set up. The refrigerant absorbs heat from the fresh air in the evaporator, causing the fresh air flowing into the air conditioning duct to be cooled and dehumidified. The refrigerant, after absorbing heat and vaporizing in the evaporator, is compressed into a high-temperature, high-pressure gaseous refrigerant by the compressor and transported to the condenser located in the drying duct of the oven. The heat absorbed from the fresh air is released to the airflow in the drying duct of the oven, providing a basic heat source for the drying hot air. By setting up a heat exchange and dehumidification component, the heat released from the cooling and dehumidification of the fresh air is transported to the drying duct of the oven through refrigerant circulation to heat the drying airflow. The recovered heat serves as part of the heat source for drying, reducing the heat load of electric heating. Electric heating is only used for auxiliary heating. Furthermore, the low-temperature cold air generated by the evaporator is directly supplied to the workshop, eliminating the need for additional air conditioning equipment to produce cold air, reducing additional power consumption, thereby achieving overall energy saving of the equipment.

[0020] 3. In the dual-mode printing drying equipment involved in this application, the machine casing is equipped with a mixing chamber that mixes fresh air with the hot and humid return air from the oven. The mixing chamber is connected to both the oven drying air path and the exhaust air path. The hot and humid air discharged from the oven is controllably introduced into the mixing chamber through a circulating air valve, allowing it to mix with the fresh air entering the oven drying air path. This recovers and utilizes the waste heat that would otherwise be discharged with the exhaust gas, directly increasing the base temperature of the airflow entering the condenser. This significantly reduces the heat required for subsequent heating stages, alleviating the heat load on the condenser and the downstream electric heating components, and reducing electrical energy input. Furthermore, in conjunction with the refrigerant circulation loop for heat transfer across the air path, it recovers the heat released from the cooling and dehumidification of the fresh air while simultaneously recovering the waste heat from the oven return air, achieving dual heat recovery. This maximizes the retention of usable heat energy within the system and reduces reliance on external heating.

[0021] 4. In the dual-mode printing drying equipment involved in this application, the circulating air volume of the hot and humid return air entering the mixing chamber can be precisely controlled by the circulating air valve, so as to realize the controllable recovery and recycling of the return air waste heat. The mixing ratio is dynamically matched according to the different drying conditions of ink and water ink, without the need for continuous high-power supplementary heating, effectively reducing ineffective energy consumption. Compared with the fixed air volume and no dehumidification optimization working mode of traditional drying equipment, this application not only significantly reduces the overall operating energy consumption of the equipment, but also significantly improves the overall production efficiency by stabilizing the drying conditions and reducing the product defect rate.

[0022] Additional aspects and advantages of this application will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and will become apparent from the description or may be learned by practice of this application. Attached Figure Description

[0023] The above and / or additional aspects and advantages of this application will become apparent and readily understood from the following description of the embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0024] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall chassis of one embodiment of the dual-mode printing and drying equipment of this application;

[0025] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the chassis of one embodiment of the dual-mode printing drying equipment of this application, illustrating the structure of two fresh air inlets.

[0026] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of the chassis of one embodiment of the dual-mode printing and drying equipment of this application;

[0027] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the air inlet and return air outlet inside the casing of one embodiment of the dual-mode printing drying equipment of this application, for connection with the drying oven.

[0028] In the diagram, 1. Chassis; 11. First fresh air inlet; 12. Second fresh air inlet; 13. Air supply outlet; 14. Return air outlet; 15. Exhaust air outlet; 16. Cold air outlet; 2. Heat exchange and dehumidification assembly; 21. Evaporator; 22. Compressor; 23. Condenser; 24. Liquid receiver; 25. Gas-liquid separator; 3. Air supply and exhaust assembly; 31. Evaporator fan; 32. Air supply fan; 33. Exhaust fan; 4. Mixing chamber; 41. Circulating air valve; 5. Electric heating assembly; 6. Electrical control box; 61. Electrical control box heat dissipation vent; 7. Base; 71. Removable support component. Detailed Implementation

[0029] The embodiments of this application are described in detail below. Examples of these embodiments are shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions throughout. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and are only used to explain this application, and should not be construed as limiting this application.

[0030] It should be understood that the various steps described in the method embodiments of the present invention may be performed in different orders and / or in parallel. Furthermore, the method embodiments may include additional steps and / or omit the steps shown. The scope of the present invention is not limited in this respect.

[0031] The term "comprising" and its variations as used herein are open-ended, meaning "including but not limited to". The term "connection" can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection via intermediate components (elements). The term "one embodiment" means "at least one embodiment"; the term "another embodiment" means "at least one additional embodiment"; the term "some embodiments" means "at least some embodiments". Definitions of other terms will be given in the following description.

[0032] It should be noted that the concepts of "first" and "second" mentioned in this invention are only used to distinguish between devices, modules or units, and are not intended to limit these devices, modules or units to necessarily be different devices, modules or units, nor are they intended to limit the order or interdependence of the functions performed by these devices, modules or units.

[0033] To address the shortcomings of existing drying equipment, which mostly only supports a single printing mode and lacks versatility, and the high energy consumption resulting from traditional drying methods relying on direct electric heating, this application discloses a dual-mode printing drying device. Please refer to... Figures 1 to 4 It includes a chassis 1 and a heat exchange and dehumidification component 2 and an air supply and exhaust component 3 located inside the chassis 1. The chassis 1 is equipped with a first fresh air inlet 11, a second fresh air inlet 12, an air supply outlet 13, a return air outlet 14, and an exhaust outlet 15. The first fresh air inlet 11 is matched with the ink printing drying mode, and the second fresh air inlet 12 is matched with the water ink drying mode. Thus, two fresh air channels are set up to correspond to the two printing modes. At the same time, the chassis 1 has independent air conditioning air channels and oven drying air channels. It can output low-temperature air conditioning to improve the workshop working environment and output high-temperature drying hot air to the oven to meet the process conditions. This allows one device to realize both workshop cooling and oven drying functions at the same time, without the need for additional workshop air conditioning equipment, thus reducing the investment cost of the entire production line equipment.

[0034] Specifically, both the first fresh air inlet 11 and the second fresh air inlet 12 are simultaneously connected to the air conditioning duct and the oven drying duct. When either the first fresh air inlet 11 or the second fresh air inlet 12 is open, it can simultaneously provide fresh air to both the air conditioning duct and the oven drying duct, eliminating the need for two independent fresh air systems and effectively simplifying the overall piping structure. Furthermore, the first fresh air inlet 11 and the second fresh air inlet 12 are each equipped with a control valve. One of the two control valves can be selectively opened. When the control valve of the first fresh air inlet 11 is open and the control valve of the second fresh air inlet 12 is closed, the equipment operates in ink printing drying mode; when the control valve of the second fresh air inlet 12 is open and the control valve of the first fresh air inlet 11 is closed, the equipment operates in water-based ink printing drying mode. By switching the control valves on and off, the corresponding fresh air source is selected. Both modes share the air conditioning duct, oven drying duct, and heat exchange and dehumidification component 2 within the chassis 1, allowing for switching of operating conditions without replacing internal components, thus improving the equipment's applicability.

[0035] The air conditioning duct of this application is used to discharge the low-temperature air, which has been cooled by the heat exchange and dehumidification component 2, to the outside of the casing 1. The output end of the drying duct is connected to the air inlet of the drying oven through the air outlet 13. The drying duct sends the high-temperature air, which has been heated by the heat exchange and dehumidification component 2, into the drying oven through the air supply and exhaust component 3 for drying operations. Thus, this application can output low-temperature cold air to the workshop and improve the working environment, while simultaneously recovering and utilizing waste heat through the heat exchange and dehumidification component 2 to generate high-temperature hot air for drying, avoiding direct heat loss and reducing supplemental heating energy consumption.

[0036] The return air vent 14 of the casing 1 is connected to the air outlet of the oven. An exhaust channel is formed between the return air vent 14 and the exhaust vent 15. A portion of the hot air discharged from the oven is sent into the oven drying air path to mix with the fresh air. The return air can be recovered and preheated to increase the basic temperature of the mixed air, reduce the heat load of the subsequent heating process, and reduce the energy consumption of the equipment. The remaining hot and humid air from the oven is discharged to the outside of the casing 1 through the exhaust vent 15.

[0037] The heat exchange and dehumidification assembly 2 of this embodiment includes an evaporator 21, a compressor 22, and a condenser 23. The evaporator 21 is located in the air conditioning duct and is used to absorb heat and dehumidify the fresh air entering the air conditioning duct. At the same time, the evaporator 21, the compressor 22, and the condenser 23 are connected by pipelines to form a refrigerant circulation channel. The refrigerant flows in the refrigerant circulation channel. The compressor 22 provides power for the refrigerant circulation, so that the refrigerant absorbs heat at the evaporator 21 and moves to the condenser 23. The condenser 23 is located in the drying air duct of the oven, and the refrigerant heats the airflow flowing through the condenser 23.

[0038] Furthermore, the refrigerant circulation channel is also equipped with a liquid storage tank 24 and a gas-liquid separator 25. The liquid storage tank 24 is used to store liquid refrigerant and can adapt to the dynamic changes in the refrigerant circulation volume under different operating conditions. The gas-liquid separator 25 completes the gas-liquid two-phase separation of the return refrigerant, preventing liquid refrigerant from directly entering the compressor 22 and causing liquid slugging damage, ensuring that the medium entering the compressor 22 is gaseous refrigerant, ensuring the stable operation of the refrigerant circulation loop, and improving the reliability of the heat exchange system.

[0039] In the refrigerant circulation path, low-temperature, low-pressure gaseous refrigerant enters the evaporator 21, absorbs heat from the fresh air, undergoes a phase change and vaporizes, thus cooling and dehumidifying the fresh air. The vaporized gaseous refrigerant then enters the gas-liquid separator 25 through a pipeline. The gas-liquid separator 25 separates the refrigerant into gas and liquid phases, retaining the mixed liquid refrigerant and allowing only the gaseous refrigerant to be sent to the compressor 22. The compressor 22 compresses the gaseous refrigerant into high-temperature, high-pressure gaseous refrigerant and delivers it to the condenser 23. The high-temperature, high-pressure gaseous refrigerant releases heat to the airflow passing through the condenser 23, and the refrigerant itself condenses and liquefies. The liquefied refrigerant flows back to the liquid storage pipe, and the liquid refrigerant is then output from the liquid outlet pipe and flows back to the evaporator 21, where it absorbs heat and vaporizes again, thus completing the complete thermodynamic cycle. Evaporator 21 absorbs heat and dehumidifies fresh air in the air conditioning duct. The absorbed heat is not directly dissipated to the outside, but is transported to condenser 23 through a cold medium and released to provide a heat source for the airflow in the drying duct of the oven. Compared with relying entirely on electric heating to generate heat, it fully recovers and utilizes waste heat, significantly reduces the working time of electric heating component 5, and reduces the overall power consumption of the equipment.

[0040] The air supply and exhaust assembly 3 includes an evaporator fan 31 installed on the air outlet side of the evaporator 21. The evaporator fan 31 exhausts the low-temperature air after the evaporator 21 absorbs heat to the outside of the casing 1. The casing 1 has a cold air outlet 16 corresponding to the air outlet of the evaporator fan 31. The cold air improves the workshop working environment. At the same time, the heat extracted by the evaporator 21 from the fresh air is transferred to the drying air path of the oven for use through the refrigerant circulation path. This realizes internal heat circulation and recovery, reduces the energy input for external heat supplementation, and reduces the workload of electric heating. Under the premise of simultaneously meeting the two functions of workstation cooling and oven drying, the overall operating energy consumption of the equipment is significantly reduced. In addition, the evaporator 21 cools the fresh air. The water vapor in the fresh air condenses and precipitates when it encounters the cold air, so that the water vapor is separated from the fresh air and the basic moisture content in the fresh air is reduced.

[0041] The aforementioned air supply and exhaust assembly 3 also includes an air supply fan 32 and an exhaust fan 33. The air supply fan 32 is located at the output end of the drying air path of the oven and is used to deliver the high-temperature hot air after heating to the inside of the oven. The exhaust fan 33 is located at the exhaust port 15 to discharge the hot and humid air discharged from the oven to the outside of the casing 1.

[0042] In addition, a mixing chamber 4 is provided inside the casing 1. The mixing chamber 4 is connected to both the exhaust duct and the drying air path of the oven. A circulation valve 41 is provided between the mixing chamber 4 and the exhaust duct. The circulation valve 41 can adjust the circulation volume of the return hot and humid air from the oven into the mixing chamber 4. The return hot and humid air from the oven and the fresh air entering the drying air path of the oven are mixed in the mixing chamber 4. The mixed airflow is then heated by the condenser 23.

[0043] An electric heating element 5 is also installed on the air outlet side of the condenser 23 in the drying air path of the oven. The electric heating element 5 serves as an auxiliary heat source and forms a two-stage heating structure with the condenser 23. When the hot air temperature output by the condenser 23 cannot meet the requirements of the corresponding printing drying process, the electric heating element 5 can be activated to provide supplementary heating to the airflow, compensate for the heat gap, and raise the airflow to the process set temperature of the corresponding mode, ensuring that the hot air temperature delivered into the oven meets the standard. The electric heating element 5 is only used when the condenser 23 provides insufficient heat and does not need to be turned on continuously, which can reduce the proportion of electric heating operation and reduce the overall energy consumption of the machine. At the same time, the two-stage heating configuration can adapt to the different hot air temperature requirements of ink and water-based printing modes, improving the adaptability of the equipment under complex production conditions.

[0044] Based on the above structure, the dual-mode printing drying equipment of this application can realize two working modes: ink printing drying and water-based ink printing drying. Specifically, the control valves corresponding to the first fresh air inlet 11 and the second fresh air inlet 12 are controlled to open one of them to switch between the two working modes. The two working modes share the air conditioning air duct, the drying air duct of the oven and the heat exchange and dehumidification component 2 inside the chassis 1.

[0045] In the ink printing drying mode, the control valve of the first fresh air inlet 11 is opened, and the control valve of the second fresh air inlet 12 is closed, allowing fresh air to enter the casing 1 through the first fresh air inlet 11. The fresh air entering the casing 1 is split; one part enters the air conditioning duct, flows through the evaporator 21 for heat absorption, cooling, and dehumidification, forming low-temperature cold air that is discharged outside the casing 1 via the evaporator fan 31, thereby regulating the workshop ambient temperature. The other part of the fresh air enters the drying air duct of the oven, where it can first mix with the hot and humid return air regulated by the circulating air valve 41 in the mixing chamber 4. The mixed airflow is then delivered to the condenser 23, where the condenser 23 releases the heat absorbed by the refrigerant on the evaporator 21 side to heat the mixed air. If the output temperature of the condenser 23 cannot meet the target temperature requirement, the electric heating component 5 can be activated to provide supplementary heating for the mixed air, ensuring that the temperature of the mixed air entering the oven is suitable for the ink drying operation.

[0046] Meanwhile, after the drying operation is completed, a portion of the hot and humid air generated in the oven is returned to the mixing chamber 4 via the circulating air valve 41 to mix with fresh air for reuse. The remaining hot and humid exhaust gas is discharged outside the casing 1 through the exhaust duct. This application includes a lower explosive limit detector located downstream of the return air inlet 14 in the exhaust duct. This detector monitors the concentration of flammable solvent vapors inside the pipeline in real time, effectively reducing the safety risks caused by the accumulation of flammable gases. When the detected concentration exceeds the limit threshold, the return air circulation volume can be reduced and the exhaust volume increased to suppress the accumulation of flammable solvent vapors inside the air duct, ensuring the safe operation of the equipment. The exhaust vent 15 of the casing 1 can be connected to external environmental protection equipment. The hot and humid air generated in the oven is centrally discharged through the exhaust vent 15 and sent to the downstream environmental protection device for purification of solvent pollutants in the exhaust gas, meeting environmental emission requirements.

[0047] In the water-based ink printing drying mode, the control valve of the second fresh air inlet 12 is opened, and the control valve of the first fresh air inlet 11 is closed. Fresh air enters the machine casing 1 through the second fresh air inlet 12, first passing through the evaporator 21 for heat absorption and dehumidification to remove the ambient moisture carried by the fresh air. The dehumidified low-temperature fresh air after passing through the evaporator 21 is divided into two paths. One part is discharged to the outside of the machine casing 1 driven by the evaporator fan 31 to regulate the ambient temperature of the workshop; the other part of the dehumidified fresh air enters the drying air path of the drying oven and mixes with the hot and humid air returning from the drying oven in the mixing chamber 4. The dry fresh air can reduce the overall moisture content of the mixed air. The mixed air continues to be sent to the condenser 23 for heating. If the output temperature of the condenser 23 does not meet the process requirements of water-based ink printing drying, it is necessary to further separate the electric heating component 5 to assist in heating the mixed air. Then, after the temperature reaches the standard, the mixed air is sent into the drying oven through the blower 32 for the drying of water-based ink printed products. Similarly, a portion of the hot and humid air generated during the drying process in the oven is recycled to participate in the circulating air mixing, while the remaining hot and humid exhaust gas is discharged to the outside of the casing 1 via the exhaust fan 33.

[0048] In the dual-mode printing drying equipment of this application, under the ink printing drying mode, since solvent-based ink drying mainly removes organic solvents, the process focuses on controlling the hot air temperature and has a high tolerance for humidity. Therefore, deep dehumidification of the fresh air is unnecessary. The mixing chamber 4 mainly realizes the recovery of waste heat from the return air and is equipped with an optional lower explosive limit concentration detector to prevent solvent vapor accumulation, making it suitable for solvent-based ink drying. In the water-based ink printing drying mode, water-based ink drying mainly removes moisture. The process is highly sensitive to the moisture content of the drying hot air. High humidity environment can easily lead to quality defects such as incomplete drying, surface stickiness, and poor drying of water-based ink products. Therefore, this mode requires pre-dehumidification of the fresh air. The fresh air needs to be pre-dehumidified by the evaporator 21 to reduce the basic moisture content of the fresh air from the source. Furthermore, this mode has no risk of flammable solvent vapor volatilization and does not require monitoring of combustible gas concentration.

[0049] The chassis 1 also integrates an electrical control box 6. The electrical control box 6 is used to integrate and house the overall control components, circuits, and control modules, enabling integrated electrical control management of the various airflow components, heat exchange components, and detection components of the equipment. The electrical control box 6 has heat dissipation vents, allowing the heat generated by the electrical control components during operation to be promptly dissipated, effectively reducing the internal temperature of the electrical control box 6, ensuring the long-term stable and reliable operation of the electrical control system, and improving the overall electrical safety and service life of the machine.

[0050] The chassis 1 has a base 7 and detachable support components 71 at its bottom. The detachable support components 71 are respectively located at the four corners of the base 7, supporting the base 7 and making it suspended. This creates a ventilation gap at the bottom of the chassis 1, facilitating airflow and heat dissipation, and improving the overall heat dissipation effect. It also isolates the chassis from ground moisture, preventing long-term dampness and corrosion, and effectively protecting the internal pipes, electrical components, and heat exchange structure. Furthermore, the detachable support components 71 are detachable, facilitating equipment handling, leveling, installation, and subsequent bottom inspection and cleaning, significantly improving equipment installation adaptability and ease of maintenance.

[0051] In summary, the dual-mode printing drying equipment of this application has two working modes: ink printing drying and water-based ink printing drying. The mode switching is achieved by setting two independent fresh air vents and controlling the opening and closing of the valves. The two modes share the internal air duct, heat exchange and dehumidification structure of the chassis 1, without the need to replace internal components or modify the main body of the equipment. It can quickly adapt to the different drying requirements of the two printing processes and has good equipment versatility and adaptability to working conditions.

[0052] The dual-mode printing drying equipment of this application features a refrigerant circulation loop. The refrigerant absorbs heat from the fresh air in the evaporator 21, cooling and dehumidifying the incoming fresh air. The refrigerant, vaporized after absorbing heat in the evaporator 21, is compressed into a high-temperature, high-pressure gaseous refrigerant by the compressor 22 and transported to the condenser 23 located in the drying air path of the oven. The condenser releases the heat absorbed from the fresh air to the airflow in the drying air path, providing a basic heat source for the drying hot air. By incorporating a heat exchange and dehumidification component 2, the heat released from the cooling and dehumidification of the fresh air is transferred to the drying air path of the oven via refrigerant circulation to heat the drying airflow. The recovered heat serves as part of the drying heat source, reducing the heat load of the electric heating system, which is only used for auxiliary heating. Furthermore, the low-temperature cold air generated by the evaporator 21 is directly supplied to the workshop, eliminating the need for additional air conditioning equipment and reducing additional energy consumption, thus achieving overall energy savings for the equipment.

[0053] The casing 1 of this application is equipped with a mixing chamber 4 that mixes fresh air with the hot and humid return air from the oven. The mixing chamber 4 is connected to both the oven's drying air path and the exhaust air path. The hot and humid air discharged from the oven is controllably introduced into the mixing chamber 4 through a circulating air valve 41, where it mixes with the fresh air entering the oven's drying air path. This allows for the recovery and utilization of the waste heat that would otherwise be discharged with the exhaust gas, directly increasing the base temperature of the airflow entering the condenser 23. This significantly reduces the heat required for subsequent heating stages, alleviating the heat load on the condenser 23 and the downstream electric heating components 5, and reducing electrical energy input. In addition, in conjunction with the refrigerant circulation loop for heat transfer across the air path, the heat released from the cooling and dehumidification of the fresh air is recovered, while the waste heat from the oven's return air is also recovered, achieving dual heat recovery. This maximizes the retention of usable heat energy within the system and reduces reliance on external heating.

[0054] Meanwhile, the circulating air volume of the hot and humid return air entering the mixing chamber 4 can be precisely controlled through the circulating air valve 4, so as to realize the controllable recovery and recycling of the return air waste heat. The mixing ratio is dynamically matched according to the different drying conditions of ink and water ink, without the need for continuous high-power supplementary heating, effectively reducing ineffective energy consumption. Compared with the fixed air volume and dehumidification optimization working mode of traditional drying equipment, this application not only significantly reduces the overall operating energy consumption of the equipment, but also significantly improves the overall production efficiency by stabilizing the drying conditions and reducing the product defect rate.

[0055] The above description is only a partial embodiment of this application. It should be noted that for those skilled in the art, several improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the principle of this application, and these improvements and modifications should also be considered within the scope of protection of this application.

Claims

1. A dual-mode printing and drying device, characterized in that, It includes a chassis and a first fresh air inlet, a second fresh air inlet, an air supply outlet, a return air outlet, and an exhaust air outlet disposed on the chassis. The first fresh air inlet is used to match the ink printing drying mode, and the second fresh air inlet is used to match the water-based ink printing drying mode. The air supply outlet is connected to the air inlet of the oven, and the return air outlet is connected to the air outlet of the oven. An exhaust channel is formed between the return air outlet and the exhaust air outlet. The chassis contains an air conditioning duct and an oven drying duct. The first and second fresh air inlets are both connected to the air conditioning duct and the oven drying duct. The chassis is equipped with a heat exchange and dehumidification assembly. The air conditioning duct is used to discharge the low-temperature air that has been cooled down by the heat exchange and dehumidification assembly to the outside of the chassis. The oven drying duct is used to send the high-temperature air that has been heated up by the heat exchange and dehumidification assembly into the oven through the air supply and exhaust assembly for drying.

2. The dual-mode printing and drying equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first fresh air inlet and the second fresh air inlet are each equipped with a control valve. The first fresh air inlet and the second air inlet can be opened by the corresponding control valve to switch between ink printing drying mode and water-based ink printing drying mode.

3. The dual-mode printing and drying equipment according to claim 2, characterized in that, The heat exchange and dehumidification assembly includes an evaporator, a compressor, and a condenser. The evaporator is located on the air conditioning duct and is used to absorb heat and dehumidify the airflow flowing through it. The evaporator, compressor, and condenser are connected by a pipeline to form a refrigerant circulation channel. The condenser is located on the drying duct of the oven and releases the heat absorbed at the evaporator to the airflow flowing through it through the refrigerant circulation channel.

4. The dual-mode printing and drying equipment according to claim 3, characterized in that, The heat exchange and dehumidification assembly also includes a liquid storage tank and a gas-liquid separator, both of which are connected in the refrigerant circulation channel.

5. The dual-mode printing and drying equipment according to claim 3, characterized in that, The air conditioning duct is equipped with an evaporator fan located on the air outlet side of the evaporator. The evaporator fan is used to deliver the low-temperature air that has been cooled by the evaporator to the outside of the casing.

6. The dual-mode printing and drying equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, The chassis is equipped with a mixing chamber, which is connected to the exhaust duct and the drying air path of the oven. A circulation valve is provided between the mixing chamber and the exhaust duct. The circulation valve is used to regulate the amount of hot and humid air entering the mixing chamber from the exhaust duct. The mixing chamber is used to mix the fresh air input from the drying air path of the oven with the hot and humid air input from the exhaust duct before it is delivered to the condenser.

7. The dual-mode printing and drying equipment according to claim 6, characterized in that, The drying air path of the oven is equipped with an electric heating component on the air outlet side of the condenser. The electric heating component is used to supplement the airflow with heat when the condenser heating temperature is insufficient.

8. The dual-mode printing and drying equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, A blower is installed at the air supply outlet, and an exhaust fan is installed at the air exhaust outlet.

9. The dual-mode printing and drying equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, The chassis contains an electrical control box, which has a heat dissipation vent.

10. The dual-mode printing and drying equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, The bottom of the chassis is provided with a base and detachable support components. The detachable support components are located at the four corners of the base and the base is suspended in the air.

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