Drying device and printing system

Abstract

To prevent the deterioration of image quality due to distortion of a fabric occurring during conveyance.SOLUTION: A drying device 1 which is located between a printing device 7 which performs printing on a first surface 5 of a fabric 3 which is conveyed in a conveyance direction F and a receiving device 9 which receives the fabric which has passed through the printing device includes a blowing unit 13 through which a gas 11 can be blown out onto the first surface 5, and a suction unit 17 which is located closer to a second surface 15 of the fabric 3 in a blowing direction B of the blowing unit 13 and can suck the gas 11. The blowing unit 13 is formed so that it blows out the gas 11 with the second surface 15 of the fabric 3 being supported, in a conveyable manner, by supporting members 14 and 20 respectively on the upstream side and the downstream side of the blowing unit 13 and the suction unit 17 in the conveyance direction F. Also, the blowing direction B in which the gas 11 is blown out is towards the downstream side in the conveyance direction F.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a drying device and a printing system that are located between a printing device that prints on a fabric being transported and a receiving device that receives the fabric that has passed through the printing device and that dries the fabric. [Background technology]

[0002] An example of a printer such as an inkjet printing device that has this type of drying device is disclosed in Patent Document 1. Patent Document 1 discloses a printer P that forms an image by printing on a sheet-like recording medium M with ink containing a sublimable dye. The printer P is provided with a loop forming unit L that forms a loop of the recording medium M between a printing unit 4 and a winding unit R1, and a drying means H1 that dries the ink on the recording medium M between the printing unit 4 and the loop forming unit L. The loop forming unit L is provided with a pair of conveying rollers 5 that nip and support the recording medium M. The pair of conveying rollers 5 is configured to form a slack portion in the recording medium M. After nipping the recording medium M with the slack portion formed, the conveying rollers 5 are rotated by a transmission mechanism (not shown) connected to the conveying mechanism 3 so as to maintain a conveying speed synchronized with that of the conveying mechanism 3. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-192780 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] When the recording medium is a fabric, depending on the type of fabric or the type of ink, it may not be desirable to nip and transport the fabric, on which ink has been ejected and printed (i.e., an image has been formed) between a pair of transport rollers before the drying process, from the perspective of preventing degradation of image quality. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] In order to solve the above problems, a drying device according to the present invention is a drying device that dries a fabric between a printing device that prints on a first side of a fabric and a receiving device that receives the fabric that has passed through the printing device, and includes a blowing section that can blow gas onto the first side, and a suction section that is located on a second side of the fabric in a blowing direction in which the gas is blown out from the blowing section and is capable of sucking the gas, and the blowing section is located upstream of the blowing section and the suction section in a conveying direction in which the fabric is conveyed, and the blowing section and the suction section in the conveying direction Downstream location At least one of The gas is blown onto the fabric in a state in which the second surface is supported by a support member, and the blowing direction of the gas is downstream in the conveying direction.

[0006] Further, a printing system according to the present invention includes a printing device that prints on a first surface of a fabric, a drying device that dries the fabric that has passed through the printing device, and a receiving device that receives the fabric that has passed through the drying device, wherein the drying device includes a blowing section that can blow gas onto the first surface, and a suction section that is located on the second surface side of the fabric in a blowing direction in which the gas is blown out from the blowing section and is capable of sucking the gas, and the blowing section is located upstream of the blowing section and the suction section in a conveying direction in which the fabric is conveyed, and the blowing section and the suction section in the conveying direction Downstream location At least one of The gas is blown onto the fabric in a state in which the second surface is supported by a support member, and the blowing direction of the gas is downstream in the conveying direction. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a printing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a drying device according to an embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a drying device according to an embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0008] The present invention will now be briefly described. In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a drying device according to a first aspect of the present invention is a drying device that dries a fabric between a printing device that prints on a first side of a fabric and a receiving device that receives the fabric that has passed through the printing device, and includes a blowing section that can blow gas (hot air) onto the first side, and a suction section that is located on the second side of the fabric in a blowing direction in which the gas is blown out from the blowing section and is capable of sucking the gas, and the blowing section is located upstream of the blowing section and the suction section in a conveying direction in which the fabric is conveyed, and the blowing section and the suction section in the conveying direction Downstream location At least one of The gas is blown onto the fabric in a state in which the second surface is supported by a support member, and the blowing direction of the gas is downstream in the conveying direction. Here, in the specification of the present application, "downstream of the conveying direction" in "the gas blowing direction is downstream of the conveying direction" is used to mean that the gas blowing direction has a component toward the downstream of the conveying direction, i.e., the gas is blown obliquely toward the first surface of the fabric to impart a conveying force.

[0009] According to this aspect, the blowing section blows the gas toward the first surface of the fabric being conveyed, and the suction section, which is located on the second surface side of the fabric in the blowing direction of the blowing section, sucks the gas. In other words, the fabric being conveyed through the area between the blowing section and the suction section arranged at a predetermined distance has its first surface subjected to a blowing force caused by the blowing of the gas from the blowing section, and its second surface subjected to a suction force from the suction section. The portion of the fabric in the region is located upstream of the blowing section and the suction section in the conveying direction. the blowing section and the suction section in the conveying direction Downstream location At least one ofThe second surface is supported by the support members so that it can be conveyed. In other words, the fabric is supported by the support members only at two points, one upstream and one downstream of the area, and the portion of the fabric in the area is conveyed in a floating state without contacting the surrounding members. Therefore, the portion of the fabric in the area takes on a curved shape, with the first surface being concave and the second surface being convex, due to the blowing force and the suction force. To summarize, the portion of the fabric between the blowing section and the suction section is floating and not in contact with the surrounding components, with the first surface receiving the blown gas and the second surface receiving suction, forming the curved shape. This allows the blown gas to easily pass through the mesh from the first surface side of the fabric to the second surface side. Furthermore, the blown gas that comes into contact with the fabric but does not pass through the fabric is sucked in by the suction force of the suction section located on the second surface side. Therefore, the fabric is effectively dried by receiving the blown gas and suction. The gas is blown out in a downstream direction in the transport direction. That is, the gas is blown obliquely onto the first surface of the fabric, so that a transport force is applied to the fabric. As can be understood from the above explanation, according to this aspect, gas is blown obliquely onto the first surface of the fabric and gas is sucked from the second surface of the fabric, so that the fabric can be effectively dried in a non-contact, floating state, and at the same time, a conveying force can be applied to the fabric, thereby making it possible to suppress deterioration of image quality due to deformation of the fabric during conveyance.

[0010] The drying device according to the second aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the first aspect, it is provided with a displacement detection unit 21 capable of detecting displacement of the fabric caused by at least one of the blowing of the gas from the blowing unit and the suction of the gas by the suction unit, and the output of the blowing unit and the output of the suction unit can be controlled based on the detection result of the displacement detection unit. Here, the "output of the blowing unit" refers to, for example, the number of rotations of the fan when a fan is used as the blowing unit, the amount of blowing per unit time, etc. Also, the "output of the suction unit" refers to, for example, the number of rotations of the fan when a fan is used as the suction unit, the amount of suction per unit time, etc.

[0011] According to this aspect, even if the curved shape of the fabric changes within the area, the change in the curved shape can be suppressed and the predetermined curved shape can be maintained by controlling the output of the blowing section and the output of the suction section based on the detection results of the displacement detection section. Furthermore, since the curved shape is created by the balance between the output of the blowing unit and the output of the suction unit, if this balance does not match the type of fabric, fluttering may occur in the curved shape. For example, if the fabric has a fine weave that makes it difficult for gas to pass through, if the output of the blowing unit is excessive, much of the blown gas will not pass through the weave of the fabric and will flow to both side edges in the width direction of the fabric. This may cause fluttering at those side edges. According to this aspect, the displacement detection unit detects the fluttering, so that the balance between the output of the blowing unit and the output of the suction unit can be adjusted to match the type of fabric, and the fabric can be brought into a state where the fluttering does not occur. Alternatively, the drying efficiency of the fabric can be further improved by repeatedly changing the degree of curvature of the fabric, i.e., by vibrating the fabric in a direction intersecting the surface of the fabric, while detecting it with the displacement detection unit.

[0012] The drying device according to the third aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the first or second aspect, at least one of the output of the blowing section and the output of the suction section can be controlled based on information regarding the type of fabric.

[0013] According to this aspect, at least one of the output of the blowing unit and the output of the suction unit can be controlled based on information about the type of fabric, thereby making it possible to appropriately set the curved shape of the fabric depending on the type of fabric, such as the thickness, coarseness, etc.

[0014] The drying device according to the fourth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the second or third aspect, the blowing section and the suction section can be controlled based on information on the width dimension of the fabric so that the blowing range of the gas blown out from the blowing section in the width direction and the suction range of the gas sucked by the suction section in the width direction are smaller than the width dimension.

[0015] If the blowing range and suction range are larger than the dimensions of the fabric in the width direction, the gas from the blowing section may flow around from the edge of the fabric in the width direction to the second surface side, which may cause flapping at the edge portion of the fabric, which is undesirable. According to this aspect, the blowing section and the suction section can be controlled so that the gas blowing range and suction range in the width direction are smaller than the width dimension of the fabric, thereby preventing the gas from the blowing section from flowing around from the edge of the fabric in the width direction to the second surface side, thereby preventing the fluttering.

[0016] A drying device according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is any one of the first to fourth aspects, characterized in that the drying device comprises a first drying chamber in which the blowing section and the suction section are housed, and a second drying chamber connected to the first drying chamber and into which the fabric that has passed through the first drying chamber is introduced, and the second drying chamber is provided with a heating section that heats the fabric.

[0017] According to this aspect, the drying device includes a first drying chamber that houses the blowing unit and the suction unit, and a second drying chamber that further has a heating unit and into which the fabric that has passed through the first drying chamber is introduced. This two-stage drying promotes drying of the fabric.

[0018] A drying device according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that in the fifth aspect, a portion 291 of the hot gas 29 produced by the heating section inside the second drying chamber and heating the first surface 5 is introduced into an area 31 on the blowing section 13 side inside the first drying chamber and blown out from the blowing section 13.

[0019] According to this aspect, a portion 291 of the hot gas 29, which is produced by the heating unit inside the second drying chamber and heats the first surface 5, is introduced into the region 31 on the blowout unit 13 side inside the first drying chamber. As a result, the gas blown out from the blowout unit becomes hot air, which can improve the drying capacity inside the first drying chamber.

[0020] A drying device according to a seventh aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the sixth aspect, the second drying chamber transports the fabric at an incline descending from upstream to downstream in the transport direction, and is connected to the first drying chamber upstream in the transport direction.

[0021] According to this aspect, a part of the hot gas that heats the first surface by the heating unit inside the second drying chamber becomes an upward flow along the inclined surface of the fabric that is transported in the inclined state, and the upward flow automatically flows into the first drying chamber, so that the hot air state of the gas blown out from the blowing unit can be realized with a simple structure.

[0022] A printing system according to an eighth aspect of the present invention comprises a printing device that prints on a first side of a fabric transported in a transport direction, a drying device that dries the fabric that has passed through the printing device, and a receiving device that receives the fabric that has passed through the drying device, wherein the drying device is a drying device described in any one of the first to seventh aspects.

[0023] According to this aspect, the printing system can obtain the same effects as any one of the first to eighth aspects.

[0024] A printing system according to a ninth aspect of the present invention is the printing system of the eighth aspect, characterized in that the printing device prints on the first surface of the fabric with a composition containing a pigment.

[0025] When a composition such as a printing ink contains a pigment, the pigment adheres to the first surface of the fabric in large amounts, unlike inks containing dyes. Therefore, when printing is performed with an ink containing a pigment, the image quality is more likely to deteriorate when the fabric before drying is nipped and transported between a pair of transport rollers than when printing is performed with an ink containing a dye. According to this aspect, the conveying force is applied to the fabric before drying by the blowing force and suction force of the gas, so that the fabric can be conveyed without being nipped by a pair of conveying rollers as in the conventional method, and therefore the problem of image quality degradation is unlikely to occur even if the ink contains a pigment.

[0026] [Embodiment] A drying device according to an embodiment of the present invention and a printing system including the drying device will be described below with reference to FIGS. In the following explanation, the three mutually orthogonal axes are referred to as the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis, as shown in each figure. The Z-axis direction corresponds to the vertical direction (the direction in which gravity acts). The X-axis and Y-axis directions correspond to the horizontal direction.

[0027] As shown in Figure 1, the printing system 100 of this embodiment includes a printing device 7 that prints on a first side 5 of a fabric 3 transported in a transport direction F, a drying device 1 that dries the printed fabric that has passed through the printing device 7, and a receiving device 9 that receives the fabric 3 that has passed through the drying device 1. Each component will be described in detail below.

[0028] <Printing device> In this embodiment, the printing device 7 is an inkjet printer capable of printing on fabric. The printing device 7 includes a print head 8 and a platen 10. In the region between the print head 8 and the platen 10, a composition 19 such as ink is ejected from the print head 8 onto the first side 5 of the fabric 3, with the second side 15 of the fabric 3 supported on the platen 10, thereby performing printing. In this embodiment, ink containing a pigment is used as the composition 19. Of course, the composition 19 is not limited to ink containing a pigment, and may be ink containing a dye.

[0029] The fabric 3 is conveyed by a conveying force from a conveying roller pair consisting of a drive roller 4 and a driven roller 6 located upstream of the print head 8 . The platen 10 is structured to support the second surface 15 of the fabric 3 by utilizing the suction force of the suction means to bring the second surface 15 of the fabric 3 into suction contact with the support surface of the platen 10 that faces the print head 8. The suction force is set to a level that does not interfere with the transport of the fabric 3 in the transport direction F. In this embodiment, a roll of fabric 3 is set in the unwinding unit 2. The unwinding unit 2 is controlled to unwind the roll of fabric 3 at the same speed as the feed speed of the drive roller 4. Here, the unwinding unit 2 may unwind the fabric 3 so that a slack portion of the fabric 3 is formed upstream of the drive roller 4. If the fabric is unwound while this slack portion is always present, it is not necessary to unwind the fabric at the same speed as the feed speed of the drive roller 4, thereby facilitating unwinding control.

[0030] <Receiving equipment> The receiving device 9 is configured with a winding section that winds up the printed and dried fabric into a roll. The receiving device 9 is controlled so that it winds up the fabric 3 at the same speed as the feed speed of the drive roller 4. Here, the receiving device 9 has a guide roller 34 located just before the winding start position and supporting the second side 15 of the fabric 3 so that it can be conveyed. The receiving device 9 may be configured to wind the fabric 3 so that a slack portion is formed between the receiving device 9 and the guide roller 34. If the fabric 3 is wound with this slack portion always present, it is not necessary to wind the fabric 3 at the same speed as the feed speed of the drive roller 4, thereby facilitating winding control. The guide roller 34 is a rotatable driven roller here, but it may also be a smooth guide with little conveying resistance.

[0031] <Drying equipment> As shown in Fig. 1, the drying device 1 is located between a printing device 7 that prints on a first side 5 of the fabric 3 transported in a transport direction F, and a receiving device 9 that receives the fabric that has passed through the printing device. Note that the transport direction F of the fabric 3 in the printing device 7, the transport direction F of the fabric 3 in the drying device 1, and the transport direction F of the fabric 3 in the receiving device 9 may be different from each other or may be the same. In this embodiment, the drying apparatus 1 includes a blowing section 13 capable of blowing gas 11 onto the first surface 5, and a suction section 17 located on the second surface 15 side of the fabric 3 in a blowing direction B in which the gas 11 is blown from the blowing section 13 and capable of sucking the gas 11. The blowing section 13 is configured to blow the gas 11 onto the fabric 3, which is supported by support members 14, 20 at positions upstream and downstream of the blowing section 13 and the suction section 17 in a conveying direction F in which the fabric 3 is conveyed in the drying apparatus 1. The support member 14 supports the second surface 15 at a position upstream of the blowing section 13 and the suction section 17 in the conveying direction F so that the second surface 15 can be conveyed. The support member 20 supports the second surface 15 at a position downstream of the blowing section 13 and the suction section 17 in the conveying direction F so that the second surface 15 can be conveyed. The blowing direction B of the gas 11 is downstream of the conveying direction F. Here, in the specification, "downstream of the conveying direction F" in "the blowing direction B of the gas 11 is downstream of the conveying direction F" means that the blowing direction B of the gas 11 has a component directed toward the downstream side of the conveying direction F, that is, the gas 11 is blown obliquely to the first surface 5 of the fabric 3 to impart a conveying force. The degree of obliqueness is set so that an appropriate conveying force is imparted depending on the type of fabric 3.

[0032] In this embodiment, blowout unit 13 is configured with a fan capable of blowing out gas 11 as wind. As shown in Fig. 1 , suction unit 17 is located on the second surface 15 side of fabric 3 at a predetermined distance from blowout unit 13 in blowing direction B of gas 11. In other words, blowout unit 13 and suction unit 17 are arranged so as to sandwich fabric 3 therebetween. Suction unit 17 is also configured with a fan capable of sucking in gas 11. The fabric 3 is conveyed through a region 18 between the blowing section 13 and the suction section 17 disposed at a predetermined distance, and its first surface 5 is subjected to the blowing force of the gas 11 blown from the blowing section 13, and its second surface 15 is subjected to the suction force from the suction section 17. The portion of the fabric 3 in region 18 is supported by the support members 14, 20 at positions upstream and downstream in the conveying direction F of the blowing section 13 and the suction section 17 so that the second surface 15 can be conveyed. In other words, the fabric 3 is supported by the support members 14, 20 at only two points, on the upstream and downstream sides of region 18, and the portion of the fabric 3 in region 18 is conveyed in a floating state without contacting the surrounding members. Therefore, the portion of the fabric 3 in the region 18 is curved by the blowing force and the suction force, with the first surface 5 being a concave surface and the second surface 15 being a convex surface.

[0033] In this embodiment, the blowing unit 13 and the suction unit 17 are configured so that their outputs can be increased or decreased. That is, the output of the blowing unit 13 can be adjusted by changing the rotation speed of the fan, the amount of air blown out per unit time, etc. Similarly, the output of the suction unit 17 can be adjusted by changing the rotation speed of the fan, the amount of air suctioned per unit time, etc. The blowing unit 13 may be configured to change the blowing direction B of the gas 11. If the blowing direction B of the blowing unit 13 is variable, it becomes easy to set an appropriate "diagonal" depending on the type of fabric 3. The blowing direction B may be changed, for example, by a louver window provided in a position that allows the gas 11 from the blowing unit 13 to pass through, or by a mechanism that can change the orientation of the blowing unit 13 itself. If the suction direction of the suction unit 17 is also variable, it can easily accommodate changes in the blowing direction B of the blowing unit 13.

[0034] In this embodiment, each of the support members 14 and 20 is configured as a driven roller, but may be a smooth guide with low transport resistance or the like. The support member 14 located in the upstream position is provided outside the printing device 7, at the discharge outlet 12 of the fabric 3. The support member 20 located in the downstream position is disposed inside the drying device 1. These support members 14 and 20 only need to support the fabric 3 at two points as described above, and therefore their installation positions are not limited to the above positions.

[0035] <Displacement detection unit> 1, in this embodiment, the drying device 1 is provided with a displacement detection unit 21 that can detect displacement of the fabric 3 caused by at least one of the blowing of the gas 11 from the blowing unit 13 and the suction of the gas 11 by the suction unit 17. The displacement detection unit 21 detects the displacement of the fabric 3 when its position changes in the region 18 as shown by the dashed line in FIG. The output of the blowing unit 13 and the output of the suction unit 17 are configured so that they can be increased or decreased based on the detection results of the displacement detection unit 21. The displacement detection unit 21 is a general optical detector equipped with a light emitting unit and a light receiving unit.

[0036] In this embodiment, the drying device 1 includes a control unit 23, which is configured to control the output of the blowing unit 13 and the output of the suction unit 17 based on the detection result of the displacement detection unit 21. Note that the control unit 23 does not have to be provided in the drying device 1, and a control unit included in the printing device 7 may be used. Alternatively, an external terminal such as a personal computer may be connected and used as the control unit.

[0037] In this embodiment, at least one of the output of the blowing unit 13 and the output of the suction unit 17 can be controlled based on information 25 relating to the type of fabric 3 . Here, as shown in Figure 1, the control unit 23 is configured to receive information 25 regarding the type of fabric 3, and to control at least one of the output of the blowing unit 13 and the output of the suction unit 17 based on the received information 25 regarding the type of fabric 3. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 16 denotes an inlet for the fabric 3 printed by the printing device 7, reference numeral 400 denotes an exhaust section that exhausts the gas 11 sucked by the suction section 17 to the outside, and reference numeral 42 denotes a temperature and humidity meter.

[0038] 1, the drying device 1 in this embodiment includes a first drying chamber 1A that houses the blowing unit 13 and the suction unit 17, and a second drying chamber 1B that communicates with the first drying chamber 1A via a communication port 22 and into which the fabric 3 that has passed through the first drying chamber 1A is introduced. The second drying chamber 1B is provided with a heating unit 27 that heats the fabric 3. The fabric 3 is sent from the first drying chamber 1A into the second drying chamber 1B through the communication port 22. The drying device 1 may be configured with only the first drying chamber 1A, but from the viewpoint of accelerating the drying of the fabric 3, it is desirable to configure it to also include the second drying chamber 1B.

[0039] As shown in FIG. 1 , the second heating chamber 1B heats air in a heating unit 27, and blows the generated hot gas 29 onto the first side 5 of the fabric 3 being conveyed through a plurality of slit-shaped openings 26. The fabric 3 receives the hot gas 29 blown through the openings 26 while the second side 15 is supported by a plurality of support rollers 28. At least one of the support rollers 28 is a rotatable driven roller. In this embodiment, the support rollers 28 are arranged offset relative to the openings 26 in the conveyance direction F. However, the arrangement of the support rollers 28 is not limited to this embodiment. For example, the support rollers 28 may face the openings 26 across the fabric 3. With this arrangement, some of the hot gas 29 from the openings 26 passes through the mesh of the fabric 3 and is blown onto the support rollers 28. This further suppresses flapping of the fabric 3 compared to when the hot gas 29 is blown onto the portions of the fabric 3 between the support rollers 28. Furthermore, the plurality of support rollers 28 are efficiently heated by the heat of the hot gas 29 that has passed through the mesh of the fabric 3, and the second surface 15 of the fabric 3 can be heated. A suction fan 30 is provided on the second surface 15 side of the fabric 3, and the suction force of this fan 30 acts on the second surface 15 of the fabric 3 to suck in the hot gas 29 used in the drying process. The fan 30 is configured to release a portion of the sucked hot gas 29 into the second heating chamber 1B for recycling, and to release the remainder outside the chamber.

[0040] In addition, in this embodiment, a portion 291 of the hot gas 29 produced by the heating section 27 inside the second drying chamber 1B and heating the first surface 5 is configured to be introduced into the area 31 on the blowing section 13 side inside the first drying chamber 1A and blown out from the blowing section 13. Furthermore, in this embodiment, second drying chamber 1B is provided with a plurality of support rollers 28 and a plurality of openings 26 so as to transport fabric 3 in an inclined state, descending from upstream to downstream in transport direction F. Second drying chamber 1B communicates with first drying chamber 1A through communication opening 22 on the upstream side in transport direction F. Part 291 of hot gas 29 becomes an upward flow along first surface 5 of fabric 3, which is in an inclined state, and automatically flows from communication opening 22 into region 31 on the blowout section 13 side of first drying chamber 1A. 1, reference numeral 24 denotes a discharge port for the fabric 3, and the fabric 3 leaving the discharge port 24 has its second surface 15 supported by a guide roller 34 and is wound into a roll by a receiving device 9. Reference numeral 32 denotes a temperature and humidity meter.

[0041] 2, in this embodiment, based on information 25 of the width dimension LM of the fabric 3, the blowout unit 13 and the suction unit 17 can be controlled so that the blowout range RB of the gas 11 blown out from the blowout unit 13 in the width direction and the suction range RA of the gas 11 sucked in by the suction unit 17 in the width direction are smaller than the width dimension LM. Information 25 of the width dimension LM may be obtained by providing a width detection sensor and using the width dimension LM detected by the width detection sensor, or may be obtained by having the user input the width dimension LM in advance. The blowing section 13 includes a plurality of fans 40, which are arranged at intervals in the width direction of the fabric 3. Although not shown, the corresponding suction section 17 also includes a plurality of fans, which are arranged at intervals in the width direction of the fabric 3.

[0042] 2 shows a case where the fabric 3 is set and conveyed on a conveying path formed by a platen 10 and the like, with the center position in the width direction aligned with the reference position. Since the fabric 3 is set in the center position, the position of the fabric 3 can be recognized by obtaining information on the width dimension LM of the fabric 3. When the fabric 3 has a large width dimension LM as indicated by the dashed line, the control unit 23 controls all six fans 40 to be ON. On the other hand, when the width dimension LM of the fabric 3 is small as shown by the solid line, the control unit 23 controls the two fans 40 on both sides of the six fans 40 to be OFF and the remaining four fans 40 to be ON. This makes it possible to make the blowing range RB and the suction range RA smaller than the width dimension LM of the fabric 3. Furthermore, even when the fabric 3 is set and transported on a transport path formed by a platen 10 or the like with one side of the center in the width direction aligned to a reference position, the position of the fabric 3 can be recognized if information on the width dimension LM of the fabric 3 is obtained, and therefore it can be controlled in the same way as the central positioning described above.

[0043] 3 shows a case where the fabric 3 is conveyed while being freely set in its position in the width direction on a conveying path formed by a platen 10 and the like. In this case, position information is also required to recognize the position of the set fabric 3. This position information 25 may be obtained by providing a position sensor and using the position information 25 detected by the position sensor, or the user may be allowed to input the position information in advance. When the fabric 3 changes from the position indicated by the solid line to the position indicated by the dashed line based on the width dimension LM and the position information, the control unit 23 controls the two right-hand fans 40 of the five fans 40 to be turned OFF and the remaining three fans 40 to be turned ON. This makes it possible to make the blowing range RB and the suction range RA smaller than the width dimension LM of the fabric 3. When the fabric 3 is in the position shown by the solid line, the two fans 40 on both sides of the five fans 40 are controlled to be OFF, and the remaining three fans 40 are controlled to be ON.

[0044] <Explanation of Effects of the Embodiment> (1) According to this embodiment, blowing section 13 blows gas 11 toward first surface 5 of fabric 3 being conveyed, and suction section 17, which is located on the side of second surface 15 of fabric 3 in blowing direction B of blowing section 13, sucks gas 11. In other words, fabric 3 being conveyed through region 18 between blowing section 13 and suction section 17, which is arranged at a predetermined distance, receives a blowing force from blowing gas 11 from blowing section 13 on first surface 5, and receives a suction force from suction section 17 on second surface 15. Furthermore, the portion of the fabric 3 in region 18 is supported by support members 14, 20 at upstream and downstream positions in the conveying direction F of blowing unit 13 and suction unit 17 so that second surface 15 can be conveyed. In other words, the fabric 3 is supported by support members 14, 20 at only two points, the upstream and downstream sides of region 18, and the portion of the fabric 3 in region 18 is conveyed in a floating state without contacting the surrounding members. Therefore, the portion of the fabric 3 in region 18 becomes a curved shape in which first surface 5 is concave and second surface 15 is convex due to the blowing force and the suction force. As can be understood from the above explanation, the portion of fabric 3 in region 18 between blowing section 13 and suction section 17 is floating and not in contact with the surrounding members, with first surface 5 receiving the blown-out gas 11 and second surface 15 receiving the suction force, resulting in the curved shape. This makes it easier for the blown-out gas 11 to pass through the mesh and flow from the first surface 5 side of fabric 3 to the second surface 15 side. Furthermore, the blown-out gas 11 that comes into contact with fabric 3 but does not pass through fabric 3 is sucked in by the suction force of suction section 17 located on the second surface 15 side. Therefore, fabric 3 is effectively dried by being blown out and suctioned by gas 11. The blowing direction B of the gas 11 is downstream of the conveying direction F. That is, the gas 11 is blown obliquely onto the first surface 5 of the fabric 3, so that a conveying force is applied to the fabric 3. As described above, gas 11 is blown obliquely onto the first surface 15 of fabric 3 and gas 11 is sucked from the second surface 15 of fabric 3, so that fabric 3 can be effectively dried while floating without contact, and at the same time, a conveying force can be applied to fabric 3. This makes it possible to suppress deterioration in image quality due to deformation of fabric 3 during conveyance.

[0045] Here, when the ink is of a type containing a pigment, unlike ink containing a dye, the pigment adheres in large amounts to the first surface 5 of the fabric 3. Therefore, when printing is performed with ink containing a pigment, the problem of image quality degradation is more likely to occur when the fabric before drying is nipped and transported by, for example, a pair of transport rollers, compared to when printing is performed with ink containing a dye. Therefore, it is considered to transport the fabric 3 using a transport means with a non-nip structure. For example, the non-printed side of the fabric 3 is attached to an adhesive belt, transported, and dried. However, when the fabric 3 is peeled off the belt, the fabric may stretch and deform significantly, requiring a process to correct this deformation in a subsequent process. Therefore, it is considered to reduce the adhesiveness so that the fabric 3 does not stretch and deform when peeled off the belt. However, this would result in insufficient transport force for the fabric 3, and reduced transport stability. In contrast to this, in this embodiment, as described above, the blowing direction B of the gas 11 is downstream of the conveying direction F. This allows an appropriate conveying force to be applied to the fabric 3 even if the fabric 3 is conveyed in a non-contact, floating state, taking into account that the composition 19 is a type containing a pigment.

[0046] (2) Furthermore, in this embodiment, even if the curved shape of the fabric 3 changes within the region 18, the change in the curved shape can be suppressed and the predetermined curved shape can be maintained by controlling the output of the blowing section 13 and the output of the suction section 17 based on the detection results of the displacement detection section 21. Furthermore, since the curved shape is created by the balance between the output of blow-out section 13 and the output of suction section 17, fluttering may occur in the curved portion if this balance does not match the type of fabric 3. For example, if fabric 3 has a fine weave that makes it difficult for gas 11 to pass through, if the output of blow-out section 13 is excessive, much of the blown gas 11 will not pass through the weave of fabric 3 and will flow to both side edges in the width direction of fabric 3. This may cause fluttering at both side edges. According to this embodiment, the displacement detection unit 21 detects the fluttering, and the balance between the output of the blowing unit 13 and the output of the suction unit 17 can be adjusted to match the type of fabric 3, thereby putting the fabric 3 in a state where the fluttering does not occur. Alternatively, the drying efficiency of the fabric 3 can be further improved by repeatedly changing the degree of curvature of the fabric 3, i.e., by controlling the fabric 3 to vibrate in a direction intersecting the plane of the fabric 3 while detecting it with the displacement detection unit 21.

[0047] (3) In this embodiment, at least one of the output of the blowing unit 13 and the output of the suction unit 17 can be controlled based on information 25 about the type of fabric 3. This allows the curved shape of the fabric 3 to be appropriately set depending on the type of fabric 3, such as the thickness and coarseness of the fabric 3.

[0048] (4) Furthermore, if the blowing range RB and the suction range RA are larger than the dimensions of the fabric 3 in the width direction, the gas 11 from the blowing section 13 may flow around from the end of the fabric 3 in the width direction to the second surface 15 side, which may cause flapping at the end portion of the fabric 3, which may be undesirable. In this embodiment, blowing unit 13 and suction unit 17 can be controlled so that blowing range RB and suction range RA of gas 11 in the width direction are smaller than width dimension LM of fabric 3. This makes it possible to prevent gas 11 from blowing unit 13 from flowing around from the end of fabric 3 in the width direction to the second surface 15 side, thereby suppressing the fluttering.

[0049] (5) In this embodiment, the drying device 1 includes a first drying chamber 1A that houses the blowing unit 13 and the suction unit 17, and a second drying chamber 1B that further includes a heating unit 27 and into which the fabric 3 that has passed through the first drying chamber 1A is introduced. This two-stage drying promotes the drying of the fabric 3. (6) In this embodiment, a portion 291 of the hot gas 29 produced by the heating unit 27 inside the second drying chamber 1B and used to heat the first surface 5 is introduced into the region 31 on the blowout unit 13 side inside the first drying chamber 1A. This causes the gas 11 blown out from the blowout unit 13 to be in a hot air state, thereby improving the drying capacity inside the first drying chamber 1A. (7) In this embodiment, part 291 of hot gas 29 that heats first surface 5 by heating unit 27 inside second drying chamber 1B becomes an upward flow along the inclined surface of fabric 3 that is transported in an inclined state. This upward flow automatically flows into first drying chamber 1A, so that the hot air state of gas 11 blown out from blowout unit 13 can be realized with a simple structure.

[0050] (8) Furthermore, since the printing system 100 of this embodiment is equipped with the drying device 1, the above-mentioned effects can be obtained. (9) In this embodiment, the printing device 7 prints on the first surface 5 of the fabric 3 using a composition 19 containing a pigment. When the composition 19, such as a printing ink, contains a pigment, the pigment adheres to the surface of the fabric, unlike ink containing a dye. Therefore, when printing is performed with an ink containing a pigment, the problem of image quality degradation is more likely to occur when the fabric 3 is nipped and transported between a pair of transport rollers before drying, compared to when printing is performed with an ink containing a dye. According to this embodiment, the conveying force is applied to the fabric 3 before drying by the blowing force and suction force of the gas 11, so that the fabric 3 can be conveyed without being nipped by a pair of conveying rollers as in the conventional method. As a result, even if the ink contains a pigment, the problem of image quality degradation is unlikely to occur.

[0051] Other Embodiments The drying device 1 and printing system 100 according to the present invention are based on the configuration of the embodiment described above, but it is of course possible to modify or omit some of the configuration within the scope of the gist of the present invention. The drying device 1 is not limited to being combined with the inkjet printer of the above embodiment, but may also be combined with, for example, a fabric washing device, or a coating material application device. In addition, in Figure 2, a structure has been described in which the blowing section 13 and the suction section 17 are controlled by switching multiple fans 40 ON and OFF so that the blowing range RB and the suction range RA are smaller than the width dimension LM of the fabric 3, but the blowing range RB and the suction range RA may also be adjusted using a shutter. [Explanation of symbols]

[0052] 1...Drying device, 1A...First drying chamber, 1B...Second drying chamber, 2...Feeding section, 3...Fabric, 4... drive roller, 5... first surface, 7... printing device, 8... print head, 9... receiving device, 10... platen, 11... gas, 12... exhaust port, 13... blowing portion, 14... support member, 15... second surface, 16... inlet, 17... suction portion, 18... region, 19... composition (ink), 20... Support member, 21... Displacement detection unit, 22... Communication port, 23... Control unit, 24... Discharge port, 25...information, 26...opening, 27...heating portion, 28...support roller, 29...hot gas, 291...part of hot gas, 30...fan, 31...area, 32...thermometer and hygrometer, 34... guide roller, 40... fan, 42... temperature and humidity meter, 400... exhaust section, 100...printing system, B...blowing direction, F...transport direction, LM...width dimension, RA: suction range, RB: blowing range

Claims

1. A drying device that dries the fabric between a printing device that prints on a first side of the fabric and a receiving device that receives the fabric that has passed through the printing device, a blowing portion capable of blowing gas onto the first surface; a suction section that is located on the second surface side of the fabric in a blowing direction in which the gas is blown out from the blowing section and that is capable of sucking the gas, The blowout unit is the gas is blown onto the fabric in a state in which the second surface is supported by a support member at least one of a position upstream of the blowing section and the suction section in a conveying direction in which the fabric is conveyed and a position downstream of the blowing section and the suction section in the conveying direction; The blowing direction of the gas is downstream of the conveying direction, a displacement detection unit capable of detecting displacement of the fabric caused by at least one of blowing of the gas from the blowing unit and suction of the gas by the suction unit, The output of the blowing unit and the output of the suction unit are controlled by a control unit based on the detection result of the displacement detection unit. A drying device characterized by:

2. The drying device according to claim 1, At least one of the output of the blowing unit and the output of the suction unit is controlled by the control unit based on information about the type of fabric. A drying device characterized by:

3. The drying device according to claim 1 or 2, The control unit is configured to control the blowing unit and the suction unit based on information about the width dimension of the fabric so that a blowing range of the gas blown out from the blowing unit in the width direction and a suction range of the gas sucked by the suction unit in the width direction are smaller than the width dimension. A drying device characterized by:

4. The drying device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, The drying device is a first drying chamber in which the blowing section and the suction section are accommodated; a second drying chamber communicating with the first drying chamber and into which the fabric that has passed through the first drying chamber is introduced, The second drying chamber is provided with a heating unit that heats the fabric. A drying device characterized by:

5. The drying device according to claim 4, a part of the hot gas generated by the heating unit inside the second drying chamber and heating the first surface is introduced into a region on the blowing unit side inside the first drying chamber and blown out from the blowing unit; A drying device characterized by:

6. The drying device according to claim 5, The second drying chamber is The fabric is conveyed in an inclined state descending from upstream to downstream in the conveying direction, The drying chamber communicates with the first drying chamber on the upstream side in the conveying direction. A drying device characterized by:

7. a printing device for printing on a first side of the fabric; a drying device that dries the fabric that has passed through the printing device; a receiving device that receives the fabric that has passed through the drying device; The drying device is a blowing portion capable of blowing gas onto the first surface; a suction section that is located on the second surface side of the fabric in a blowing direction in which the gas is blown out from the blowing section and that is capable of sucking the gas, The blowout unit is the gas is blown onto the fabric in a state in which the second surface is supported by a support member at least one of a position upstream of the blowing section and the suction section in a conveying direction in which the fabric is conveyed and a position downstream of the blowing section and the suction section in the conveying direction; The blowing direction of the gas is downstream of the conveying direction, a displacement detection unit capable of detecting displacement of the fabric caused by at least one of blowing of the gas from the blowing unit and suction of the gas by the suction unit, The output of the blowing unit and the output of the suction unit are controlled by a control unit based on the detection result of the displacement detection unit. A printing system characterized by:

8. 8. The printing system according to claim 7, the printing device prints on the first surface of the fabric with a composition containing a pigment; A printing system characterized by:

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