DRYING DEVICE AND METHOD FOR DRYING A VARNISH ON A BLANK OF AN ID, VALUE OR SECURITY DOCUMENT

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a drying device for drying a varnish on a blank of an identification, valuables, or security document, wherein the drying device comprises a drying housing that provides a receiving space for receiving the blank. Furthermore, the drying device comprises a hot air blower that is fluidically connected to the receiving space such that an air flow generated by the hot air blower is directed to the receiving space, wherein the generated air flow has a temperature that is higher than room temperature. Furthermore, the drying device comprises an extraction fan that is fluidically connected to the receiving space such that a negative pressure generated by the extraction fan leads to the extraction of the gas mixture present in the receiving space.Furthermore, the invention relates to a method for drying a varnish on a blank of an identification, value or security document using such a drying device.

[0002] Card-like identification, valuables, or security documents often have a small lacquered area applied to accommodate a signature. This lacquer layer must be dried, which can release harmful substances and unpleasant odors from conventional drying devices.

[0003] DE 10 2010 062 144 A1 describes a drying device for a printing press, wherein nozzles are provided to dry the printing material to be dried within a chamber.

[0004] GB 2 419 110 A also describes a printing press with a dryer. This includes a UV source to dry the web. A cooling fan is also provided to cool the web down again.

[0005] JP S60 964 A also shows a drying device for drying a web. Both the supply air flow and the exhaust air flow are located on the same side of the device.

[0006] JP 2001 314 799 A describes a drying device for drying a web in which the supply air and the exhaust air are supplied and discharged on the same side of the housing.

[0007] It is therefore the object of the present invention to provide a drying device and a method for drying which ensure that the paint field is dried with low levels of pollutants for the environment.

[0008] This object is achieved by the subject matter of independent claims 1 and 13. Preferred embodiments of the invention result from the features mentioned in the subclaims and also from the present disclosure as a whole.

[0009] The drying device mentioned at the beginning is characterized by the existing drying housing, the existing hot air blower and the existing extraction fan because when drying with hot air, immediate extraction takes place and pollutants or unpleasant odors cannot escape from the recording room undesirably.

[0010] According to the invention, the drying housing is formed from a first half-shell and a second half-shell, wherein the half-shells form the receiving space for the blank and, in particular, provide an area between them for inserting and removing the blank into the receiving space of the drying housing. Thus, according to the invention, a first of the half-shells is fluidically connected to the hot air blower, and a second of the half-shells is fluidically connected to the extraction blower. This facilitates the assembly and / or adjustment of the drying device when it needs to be adapted to different card formats.

[0011] For example, the blank of the ID, valuables, or security document is in strip form, with the strip connecting several cards together. The ID, valuables, or security document is preferably in ID1, ID2, ID3, or some other format, for example, in booklet form, similar to a passport-like item. The ID, valuables, or security document is generally a laminate made up of several document layers that are precisely bonded together under heat and increased pressure. These products must meet standardized requirements, for example, ISO 10373 (as of October 2020), ISO / IEC 7810 (as of December 2019), and ISO 14443 (as of June 2021).

[0012] In order to be able to introduce the air intended for drying into the receiving space in a targeted manner, it has proven advantageous if the hot air blower is assigned an air supply pipe which opens into the receiving space.

[0013] To ensure the most homogeneous and efficient drying conditions possible, and also to achieve a uniform temperature distribution on the surface of the blank, the free end of the air supply pipe is covered by a nozzle plate to introduce the air flow into the receiving space via a plurality of nozzles. The nozzle plate equipped with the nozzles preferably covers the entire flow cross-section of the air supply pipe.

[0014] It is possible for the nozzles of the nozzle plate to be formed with a cross-section that tapers towards the outlet side of the nozzle plate, which allows the speed of the divided air flow to be increased, resulting in an improved drying effect.

[0015] To prevent heat buildup on the nozzle plate, it has proven advantageous if the free end of the air supply pipe is positioned far enough inside the drying housing that an inner section of the air supply pipe is surrounded by the gas mixture during extraction. In particular, the free end of the air supply pipe is positioned far enough inside one of the two half-shells that they are surrounded by the gas mixture drawn in by the extraction fan; possibly with turbulence that leads to better mixing.

[0016] It has proven useful if the air flow provided by the hot air blower is introduced into the receiving space from a first direction, and if the gas mixture flow extracted by the extraction blower is discharged from the receiving space in a second direction, whereby the orientation of the first direction and the orientation of the second direction differ from one another and this deviation is not an integer multiple of 180 degrees. This ensures that the supplied air flow is directed into the drying housing in a targeted manner onto the paint field on the blank. The extraction, on the other hand, takes place at a different angle, thus ensuring that the freshly supplied hot air is not immediately extracted again due to an identical or identically opposite orientation.In this way, it is also possible for the blank in the receiving space to experience a flow on both its top and bottom sides during suction.

[0017] Such flow behavior around the blank is further promoted by the fact that the first direction is oriented perpendicular to the second direction.

[0018] In order to ensure uniform drying behavior and, in particular, to prevent gases from escaping from the receiving space into the environment, it has also proven advantageous if the drying housing contains a guide for the blank, which is arranged in such a way that the blank is surrounded by air on both its top and bottom during suction.

[0019] It is possible for the guide to extend into a guide section located outside the drying housing, which protrudes from the drying housing like a tongue. This tongue can have a bend that facilitates the insertion of the blank or strip of several blanks into the receiving space.

[0020] In order to influence the distribution of the flow within the receiving space in the desired manner, it has proven advantageous if at least one air guide plate is introduced into the receiving space.

[0021] It is advantageous if the drying housing, particularly in the area between a first half-shell and a second half-shell, is provided with a slot through which ambient air is drawn into the receiving chamber during suction. This ensures that only a gas mixture from the environment enters the receiving chamber and not the other way around, exiting from the receiving chamber.

[0022] In order to always maintain a negative pressure in the recording room, it is advantageous if the power of the hot air blower is lower than the power of the extraction blower, in particular if the extraction blower is operated with a higher power than the hot air blower.

[0023] To increase safety, the part of the drying housing to which the hot air blower is fluidically connected can be encapsulated by an additional enclosure, wherein the enclosure is formed, in particular, from two interconnected partial enclosures. Preferably, the half-shell of a multi-part drying housing to which the air supply pipe of the hot air blower is connected is encapsulated. This additional enclosure serves as contact protection, preventing operating personnel from burning themselves on hot parts.

[0024] The advantages, advantageous configurations, and respective effects associated with the drying device according to the invention apply equally to the method according to the invention. The method for drying a varnish on a blank of an identification, valuable, or security document using a drying device comprises the following steps: Inserting the blank into the receiving space; generating an air flow with the hot air blower and directing the air flow to the blank provided with the lacquer field in the receiving space, wherein the air flow has a temperature that is higher than room temperature; and extracting the gas mixture present in the receiving space with the extraction blower at the same time as supplying the air flow, wherein a larger quantity of gas mixture is extracted from the receiving space than is conveyed into the receiving space by the hot air blower.

[0025] This ensures that no pollutants or unpleasant odors from the recording room penetrate into the environment, as these are extracted prematurely using the hot air blower.

[0026] In order to even out the temperature distribution on the blank and, in particular, to achieve more uniform drying of the lacquer field, it has proven advantageous if the air flow generated by the hot air blower is divided by nozzles of a nozzle plate and then introduced into the receiving space in a divided manner.

[0027] Preferably, the air flow provided by the hot air blower is introduced into the receiving space from a first direction, while the flow of the gas mixture present in the receiving space extracted by the extraction fan is discharged from the receiving space in a second direction. The orientation of the first direction and the orientation of the second direction differ from one another, and this deviation is not an integer multiple of 180 degrees. This ensures that the supplied air is not immediately extracted again by the extraction fan. This leads to more uniform drying.

[0028] Preferably, the first direction is oriented perpendicular to the second direction. This allows the blank to be surrounded by a gas mixture on both surfaces during suction, resulting in more uniform drying of the entire blank.

[0029] It is generally noted that all features disclosed with respect to specific aspects or embodiments of the invention can also be combined with other aspects or embodiments of the invention in a technically reasonable manner. This also applies across different technical subject matters and subject matter categories. In particular, this also applies in part to individual features, unless explicitly stated herein or it is obvious from a technical contradiction that an inextricable functional-technical connection exists between certain features, which must be maintained to implement the invention.

[0030] The invention is explained below using an exemplary embodiment and its outline. Herein: Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a drying device; Figure 2 shows a side sectional view through the drying device according to Figure 1; and Figure 3 the detail A from Figure 2 .

[0031] Figure 1 shows a drying device 100 for drying a varnish on a blank 200 of an identification, valuable, or security document. The drying device 100 comprises a drying housing 102, which in this case is formed from a first half-shell 104 and a second half-shell 106, wherein the drying housing 102 with its two half-shells 104, 106 form an internal receiving space 108 for receiving the blank 200. It can be seen that the two half-shells 104, 106 can also be moved apart, for which purpose the lower part is guided on a rail, so that the drying housing 102 can be transferred into a maintenance position when the lower half-shell 106 is adjusted downward along the rail in the drawing.

[0032] The drying device 100 comprises a hot air blower 110 and an extraction fan 112. The hot air blower 110 is fluidically connected to the receiving space 108 via the first, upper half-shell 104 such that an air flow generated by the hot air blower 110 is directed to the receiving space 108. The generated air flow has a temperature that is higher than room temperature, i.e., the temperature prevailing around the drying device 100. A temperature sensor is present in the present case to determine the room temperature. The extraction fan 112 is also fluidically connected to the receiving space 108 such that a negative pressure generated by the extraction fan 112 leads to the extraction of the gas mixture present in the receiving space 108. In the present case, the extraction fan 112 is connected to the other of the two half-shells 106 via a pipe or hose.It can be seen that an air supply pipe 114 is arranged on the hot air blower 110 in order to guide the air flow into the receiving space 108. Instead of an air supply pipe 114, a hose that can withstand the thermal conditions created by the hot air blower 110 can of course also be used. Since the hot air blower 110 generates very hot air, an additional encapsulation 126 is assigned to that part of the drying housing 102, in this case the first half-shell 104, wherein the encapsulation 126 is formed in this case from two interconnected partial capsules 128, 130. This serves as contact protection so that operating personnel cannot burn themselves on hot parts of the drying device 100. In the perspective according to . Figure 1It can be seen that a tongue 132, in this case angled, of a guide 120 extending through the receiving space protrudes from the drying housing 110, which serves to facilitate the insertion of a strip from a plurality of interconnected blanks 200 of an identification, value or security document.

[0033] Out of Figure 2 , a side view of the drying device 100 from Figure 1, it can be seen that the hot air blower 110 is attached to a holder 134 in such a way that hot air is supplied from above in the drawing. Thus, the air flow generated by the hot air blower 110 is supplied to the receiving space 108 from a first direction 302, in this case from above. It can be seen that the extraction fan 112 is attached to a mounting wall 136 of the drying housing 102, in particular to the second half-shell 106, in such a way that the gas mixture flow extracted by the extraction fan 112 is discharged from the receiving space 108 along a second direction 304. The orientation of the first direction 302 of the supplied air and the orientation of the second direction 304 of the extracted gas mixture differ from one another, wherein this deviation is also not an integer multiple of 180 degrees.

[0034] In Figure 3 , detail A from Figure 2, it can be seen that the first direction 302 is oriented perpendicular to the second direction 304, which leads to a particularly efficient drying process. The suction is illustrated by partial circles.

[0035] It can be seen that the illustrated blank 200 rests on the guide 120, which results in a flow around the blank 200 both on its top side and on its bottom side during suction. Since the power of the hot air blower 110 in this case falls short of the power of the suction blower 112, a negative pressure is created within the drying housing 102, and thus in the receiving space 108, so that no unwanted gases escape from the drying housing 102. In this case, the drying housing 102 includes a slot 124, which serves to pass the blank 200 or the strip of blanks 200 through. Ambient air is also sucked in through this slot 124, since the negative pressure is intended to prevent any gases from escaping from the drying housing 102. It can be seen that the air supply pipe 114 opens into the receiving space 108 only within the drying housing 102, thus within the first half-shell 104.The free end of the air supply pipe 114 is covered by a nozzle plate 116, whereby the air flow is introduced into the receiving space 108 via a plurality of nozzles of the nozzle plate 116, which results in a more uniform air flow onto the surface of the blank 200. To further accelerate the divided air flow from the first direction 302, the nozzles of the nozzle plate 116 are formed with a cross-section that tapers toward the outlet side of the nozzle plate 106, i.e., on the side of the slot 124.

[0036] The free end of the air supply pipe 114 is located far enough within the first half-shell 104 that an inner pipe section 118 of the air supply pipe 114 is also surrounded by air during suction, which is indicated by the partial circles illustrated to the left and right of the pipe section 118. In the present case, an air guide plate 122 is additionally introduced into the receiving space 108 in order to reliably distribute the air flow or the flow of the gas mixture. In the present case, the air guide plate 122 is fastened to the free end of the air supply pipe 114, thus to the free end of the pipe section 118. It extends parallel to the first direction 302, along which the air flow provided by the hot air blower 110 enters the receiving space. In the present case, the air guide plate 122 is fastened to the nozzle plate 116 perpendicular to the latter.

[0037] The following describes the method for drying a varnish on a blank 200 of an identification, valuables, or security document using the drying device 100: First, a blank 200 is introduced into the receiving space 102. Subsequently, an air flow is generated using the hot air blower 110, wherein the air flow is directed to the blank 200 provided with the varnish field in the receiving space 108. The air flow has a temperature that is higher than the room or ambient temperature. Simultaneously with the supply of the air flow, the gas mixture present in the receiving space is extracted using the extraction blower 112, whereby more gas is extracted from the receiving space than is conveyed into the receiving space 108 by the hot air blower 108. When the air flow is introduced, the air flow generated by the hot air blower 110 is divided by the nozzles of the nozzle plate 116 and then introduced into the receiving space 108.

[0038] The air flow provided by the hot air blower 110 is introduced into the receiving space 108 from the first direction 302, in this case from above. The gas mixture extracted by the extraction fan is discharged from the receiving space 108 in a second direction 304, the first direction and the second direction being oriented perpendicular to each other. In this case, extraction occurs laterally.

[0039] Overall, the drying device 100 according to the invention and the method according to the invention are characterized by improved protection for the operator and for the environment, since no toxic gases escape from the receiving space 108 into the environment. List of reference symbols

[0040] 100Drying device 102Drying housing 104First half-shell (drying housing) 106Second half-shell (drying housing) 108Accommodating space 110Hot air blower 112Extraction fan 114Air supply pipe 116Nozzle plate 118Pipe section (air supply pipe) 120Guide 122Air guide plate 124Slot (drying housing) 126Encapsulation 128First partial capsule 130Second partial capsule 132Tab (guide) 134Holder 136Mounting wall (drying housing) 200Blank 302First direction 304Second direction

Claims

1. A drying device (100) for drying a coating on a blank (200) of an identification value or security document, comprising: - a drying housing (102) that provides a receiving space (108) for receiving the blank (200); - a hot air blower (110) connected to the receiving space (108) by means of fluid mechanics in such a way that an air flow generated by the hot air blower (110) is directed to the receiving space (108), wherein the generated air flow has a temperature that is higher than the room temperature; and - an exhaust fan (112) connected to the receiving chamber (108) in such a way that a negative pressure generated by the exhaust fan (112) leads to the extraction of the gas mixture present in the receiving chamber (108), characterized in that the drying housing (102) is formed from a first half-shell (104) and a second half-shell (106), in that the half-shells (102, 104) form the receiving chamber (108) for receiving the blank (200), and in that the first half-shell (104) is connected in a flow-mechanical manner to the hot-air blower (110) and the second half-shell (106) is connected in a flow-mechanical manner to the suction blower (112).

2. The drying device (100) according to claim 1, characterized in that the hot air blower (110) is assigned an air supply pipe (114) which opens into the receiving chamber (108).

3. The drying device (100) according to claim 2, characterized in that the free end of the air supply pipe (114) is covered by a nozzle plate (116) in order to introduce the air flow via a plurality of nozzles into the receiving chamber (108).

4. The drying device (100) according to claim 3, characterized in that the nozzles of the nozzle plate (116) are formed with a cross-section that tapers toward the outlet side of the nozzle plate (116).

5. The drying device (100) according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that the free end of the air supply pipe (114) is located so far inside the drying housing (102) that an inner pipe section (118) of the air supply pipe (114) is surrounded by the inner gas mixture when it is sucked out.

6. The drying device (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the air flow provided by the hot-air blower (110) is introduced into the receiving chamber (108) from a first direction (302), and in that the gas mixture flow extracted by the suction blower (112) is discharged from the receiving chamber (108) in a second direction (304), wherein the orientation of the first direction (302) and the orientation of the second direction (304) differ from each other and this deviation is also not an integer multiple of 180 degrees.

7. The drying device (100) according to claim 6, characterized in that the first direction (302) is oriented perpendicular to the second direction (304).

8. The drying device (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that a guide (120) for the blank (200) is provided in the drying housing (102) and is arranged in such a way that the blank (200) is surrounded by a gas mixture on both its upper side and its lower side during suction.

9. The drying device (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that at least one air guide plate (122) is inserted into the receiving chamber (108).

10. The drying device (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the drying housing (102) is provided in some areas with a slot (124) through which ambient air is sucked into the receiving chamber (108) during suction.

11. The drying device (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the output of the hot air blower (110) is lower than the output of the suction blower (112).

12. The drying device (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that the part of the drying housing (102) to which the hot air blower (110) is connected in a flow-mechanical manner is encapsulated by an additional encapsulation (126), wherein the encapsulation (126) is formed in particular from two interconnected partial encapsulations (128, 130).

13. A method for drying a coating on a blank (200) of an identification value or security document using a drying device (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 12, comprising the following steps: - Placing the blank (200) in the receiving chamber (102); - generating an air flow with the hot air blower (110) and directing the air flow to the blank (200) provided with the ink field in the receiving chamber (108), the air flow having a temperature which is elevated above the room temperature; and - Extracting the gas mixture present in the receiving chamber (108) with the suction blower (112) at the same time as supplying the air flow, wherein a larger quantity of the gas mixture is extracted from the receiving chamber (108) than is conveyed into the receiving chamber (108) by the hot air blower (110).

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that the air flow generated by the hot air blower (110) is divided by nozzles of a nozzle plate (116) and then introduced into the receiving chamber (108) in divided form.

15. The method according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that the air flow provided by the hot air blower (110) is introduced into the receiving chamber (108) from a first direction (302), and in that the gas mixture extracted by the suction blower (112) is discharged from the receiving chamber (108) in a second direction (304), wherein the orientation of the first direction (302) and the orientation of the second direction (304) differ from each other and this deviation is also not an integer multiple of 180 degrees.