Drying device, method for preventing print media from falling off, and method for adjusting the position of a non-contact support member

Abstract

To prevent a printing medium from falling from a non-contact support member which supports the printing medium without contacting.SOLUTION: Falling prevention members 7l, 7r (first and second falling prevention members) are provided for air turn bars 6u, 6l, and falling preventive peripheral surfaces 711 (first and second falling preventive peripheral surfaces) of the falling prevention members 7l, 7r adjoin support peripheral surfaces 611 (first and second support peripheral surfaces) of the air turn bars 6u, 6l. In this constitution, a printing medium M shifts from the support peripheral surfaces 611 of the air turn bars 6u, 6I to the falling preventive peripheral surfaces 711 of the falling prevention members 7l, 7r if the printing medium is skewed. The falling preventive peripheral surfaces 711 of the falling prevention members 7l, 7r can support the printing medium M while leaving a gap Δ with a surface M1 of the printing medium M deviated by skewing.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a technique for drying a print medium having ink attached thereto by jetting gas. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a drying device that dries print media by spraying gas from nozzles onto print media with ink attached. This drying device is composed of an upper conveying section, a middle conveying section, and a lower conveying section stacked one on top of the other, with the print media passing through the upper conveying section, the middle conveying section, and the lower conveying section in that order. In particular, each conveying section has multiple nozzles arranged horizontally above the print media and multiple nozzles arranged horizontally below the print media. By spraying gas onto the print media from the upper and lower nozzles, the print media is lifted from the nozzles and transported horizontally.

[0003] In addition, two air turn bars arranged one above the other are provided to turn the print medium from the middle transport section to the lower transport section. These air turn bars change the direction of travel of the print medium while supporting it without contact by injecting gas onto the print medium. Specifically, the upper air turn bar changes the direction of travel of the print medium transported from the middle transport section from one side in the horizontal direction to the downward side, and the lower air turn bar changes the direction of travel of the print medium transported from the upper air turn bar from the downward side to the other side in the horizontal direction. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2020-148383 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In this drying device, the print medium is transported by floating transport in the sections between the middle transport section, the two air turn bars, and the lower transport section, and there are no components that support the print medium by contact. As a result, the print medium is easily affected by the wind generated by the gas sprayed from the nozzles of each transport section. As a result, the print medium may become skewed in the width direction and fall off the air turn bars.

[0006] This invention has been developed in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and aims to prevent the printing medium from falling off from a non-contact support member that supports the printing medium without contact, in a technology that dries the printing medium by spraying gas onto the printing medium. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] A drying device according to a first aspect of the present invention has a plurality of first upper nozzles arranged in a horizontal direction above a long strip-shaped printing medium having a printing surface on which ink is adhered and a non-printing surface opposite to the printing surface, and a plurality of first lower nozzles arranged in a horizontal direction below the printing medium, and includes a first transport unit that ejects gas onto the printing medium from the plurality of first upper nozzles and ejects gas onto the printing medium from the plurality of first lower nozzles, and transports the printing medium to one side in the horizontal direction with the printing surface facing downwards, a first support circumferential surface that faces the printing surface of the printing medium that has been transported to one side from the first transport unit, and a first a first non-contact support member having a plurality of first injection holes opening in the support circumferential surface, and supporting the printing surface of the printing medium in a non-contact manner by injecting gas from the first injection holes onto the printing surface of the printing medium, thereby changing the traveling direction of the printing medium from one side in the horizontal direction to the downward side; a second support circumferential surface facing the printing surface of the printing medium conveyed downward from the first non-contact support member, and a plurality of second injection holes opening in the second support circumferential surface, and supporting the printing surface of the printing medium in a non-contact manner by injecting gas from the second injection holes onto the printing surface of the printing medium, thereby changing the traveling direction of the printing medium from the downward side to the other side opposite to the one side in the horizontal direction; a second transport unit having a non-contact support member, a plurality of second upper nozzles arranged in the horizontal direction above the print medium transported from the second non-contact support member to the other side in the horizontal direction, and a plurality of second lower nozzles arranged in the horizontal direction below the print medium, and jetting gas onto the print medium from the plurality of second upper nozzles and jetting gas onto the print medium from the plurality of second lower nozzles to transport the print medium to the other side in the horizontal direction with the print surface facing upward; two first drop-out prevention members provided at both ends of the first non-contact support member in the width direction of the print medium; and two second drop-out prevention members provided on both ends of the second non-contact support member, the first drop-out prevention member having a first drop-out prevention peripheral surface adjacent in the width direction to the first support peripheral surface of the first non-contact support member, and the second drop-out prevention member having a second drop-out prevention peripheral surface adjacent in the width direction to the second support peripheral surface of the second non-contact support member, and when the printing medium moves obliquely and shifts from the first support peripheral surface to the first drop-out prevention peripheral surface, gas injected from the multiple first injection holes in the first support peripheral surface flows through a gap between the first support peripheral surface and the printing surface of the printing medium facing the first support peripheral surface towards the first drop-out prevention peripheral surface,A gap is formed between the first peripheral surface and the printing surface of the printing medium facing the first peripheral surface, and when the printing medium moves obliquely from the second peripheral surface to the second peripheral surface, the gas injected from the multiple second injection holes in the second peripheral surface flows through the gap between the second peripheral surface and the printing surface of the printing medium facing the second peripheral surface toward the second peripheral surface, forming a gap between the second peripheral surface and the printing surface of the printing medium facing the second peripheral surface.

[0008] A method for preventing print media from falling out according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a first transport unit that transports a long strip of print media having a printed surface with ink attached and a non-printed surface opposite the printed surface to one side in a horizontal direction with the printed surface facing downward, a first non-contact support member that changes the traveling direction of the print media transported to one side from the first transport unit from one side in the horizontal direction to the downward side, a second non-contact support member that changes the traveling direction of the print media transported to the downward side from the first non-contact support member from the downward side to the other side in the horizontal direction opposite to the one side, and a second non-contact support member that changes the traveling direction of the print media transported to the other side in the horizontal direction from the downward side. The method for preventing a print medium from falling out in a drying device equipped with a second transport section that transports the print medium, which has been transferred from the first non-contact support member to the other side in the horizontal direction with the printed surface facing up, includes a first fall-out prevention step of preventing the print medium from falling out of the first non-contact support member when the print medium is shifted and moves obliquely from the first non-contact support member to the first fall-out prevention member by using two first fall-out prevention members provided at both ends of the first non-contact support member in the width direction of the print medium; and a second fall-out prevention step of preventing the print medium from falling out of the first non-contact support member when the print medium is shifted and moves obliquely from the first non-contact support member to the first fall-out prevention member by using two second fall-out prevention members provided at both ends of the second non-contact support member in the width direction of the print medium. and a second fall prevention step of preventing the printing medium from falling off the second non-contact support member when the printing medium is shifted and travels obliquely from the support member to the second fall prevention member, wherein the first transport unit has a plurality of first upper nozzles arranged in a horizontal direction above the printing medium and a plurality of first lower nozzles arranged in a horizontal direction below the printing medium, and jets gas onto the printing medium from the plurality of first upper nozzles and jets gas onto the printing medium from the plurality of first lower nozzles, and the first non-contact support member has a first support circumferential surface facing the printing surface of the printing medium transported to one side from the first transport unit and an opening at the first support circumferential surface. the second non-contact support member has a second peripheral support surface facing the printing surface of the printing medium transported downward from the first non-contact support member and a plurality of second injection holes opening in the second peripheral support surface, and supports the printing surface of the printing medium in a non-contact manner by injecting gas from the second injection holes onto the printing surface of the printing medium; the second transport unit has a plurality of second upper nozzles arranged horizontally above the printing medium transported to the other side in the horizontal direction from the second non-contact support member;and a plurality of second lower nozzles arranged in a horizontal direction below the printing medium, wherein gas is sprayed onto the printing medium from the plurality of second upper nozzles and gas is sprayed onto the printing medium from the plurality of second lower nozzles, the first non-contact support member has a first non-contact peripheral surface adjacent in the width direction to the first support peripheral surface of the first non-contact support member, and the second non-contact support member has a second non-contact peripheral surface adjacent in the width direction to the second support peripheral surface of the second non-contact support member, In the first drop-off prevention process, the gas injected from the multiple first injection holes in the first support surface flows through the gap between the first support surface and the printed surface of the printing medium facing the first support surface toward the first drop-off prevention surface, forming a gap between the first drop-off prevention surface and the printed surface of the printing medium facing the first drop-off prevention surface; in the second drop-off prevention process, the gas injected from the multiple second injection holes in the second support surface flows through the gap between the second support surface and the printed surface of the printing medium facing the second support surface toward the second drop-off prevention surface, forming a gap between the second drop-off prevention surface and the printed surface of the printing medium facing the second drop-off prevention surface.

[0009] In the first aspect of the present invention configured as described above, the print medium is transported non-contact (in other words, floated) in the section from the first transport section to the second transport section via the first and second non-contact support members. Therefore, the print medium may be affected by the wind from the gas injected in the first and second transport sections, causing it to skew and fall off the first and second non-contact support members. In contrast, in the first aspect of the present invention, first and second drop-off prevention members are provided at both ends of the first and second non-contact support members, and the first and second drop-off prevention circumferential surfaces of the first and second drop-off prevention members are adjacent to the first and second support circumferential surfaces of the first and second non-contact support members. In this configuration, if the print medium skews, the print medium will shift from the first and second support circumferential surfaces of the first and second non-contact support members to the first and second drop-off prevention circumferential surfaces of the first and second drop-off prevention members. At this time, the gas injected from the multiple first and second injection holes provided on the first and second support circumferential surfaces of the first and second non-contact support members flows toward the first and second drop prevention circumferential surfaces through the gap between the first and second support circumferential surfaces and the printing surface of the print medium facing the first and second support circumferential surfaces. As a result, a gap is formed between the first and second drop prevention circumferential surfaces and the printing surface of the print medium facing the first and second drop prevention circumferential surfaces. In other words, the first and second drop prevention circumferential surfaces of the first and second drop prevention members can support the print medium while leaving a gap for the printing surface of the print medium that has shifted due to skew. In this way, it is possible to prevent the print medium from falling off the non-contact support members that support the print medium non-contactly.

[0010] The drying device may also be configured so that, in a side view from the width direction, the first support circumferential surface protrudes beyond the first drop prevention circumferential surface, and the second support circumferential surface protrudes beyond the second drop prevention circumferential surface. This creates a smooth airflow from the first and second support circumferential surfaces toward the first and second drop prevention circumferential surfaces, reliably creating a gap between the first and second drop prevention circumferential surfaces and the print medium. As a result, the first and second drop prevention circumferential surfaces can support the print medium while leaving a gap for the printing surface of the print medium that has shifted due to skew.

[0011] The drying device may further include a first fastening member that fastens the first fall-prevention member to the first non-contact support member and a second fastening member that fastens the second fall-prevention member to the second non-contact support member. In this way, the first and second fall-prevention members can be easily positioned by directly fastening them to the first and second non-contact support members.

[0012] The apparatus also includes a main body frame that supports the first transport section and the second transport section, a first positioning section that positions the first non-contact support member relative to the main body frame, and a second positioning section that positions the second non-contact support member relative to the main body frame, the first positioning section having a first rotation support section and a first position adjustment section, and both ends of the first non-contact support member are supported by the first rotation support section and the first position adjustment section, the first rotation support section supports the first non-contact support member relative to the main body frame so as to be rotatable in each of a rotation direction about a first horizontal rotation axis parallel to the horizontal direction and a rotation direction about a first vertical rotation axis parallel to the vertical direction, and the first position adjustment section adjusts the position of the first non-contact support member relative to the main body frame by adjusting the horizontal The drying device may be configured such that the first non-contact support member is supported relative to the main frame so as to be adjustable in both the horizontal and vertical directions, the second positioning unit has a second rotation support unit and a second position adjustment unit, and both ends of the second non-contact support member are supported by the second rotation support unit and the second position adjustment unit, the second rotation support unit supports the second non-contact support member relative to the main frame so as to be rotatable in both the rotation direction about a second horizontal rotation axis parallel to the horizontal direction and the rotation direction about a second vertical rotation axis parallel to the vertical direction, and the second position adjustment unit supports the second non-contact support member relative to the main frame so that the position of the second non-contact support member relative to the main frame is adjustable in both the horizontal and vertical directions.

[0013] This configuration includes first and second positioning units that position the first and second non-contact support members relative to the main frame. These first and second positioning units have first and second rotation support units and first and second position adjustment units, and both ends of the first and second non-contact support members are supported by the first and second rotation support units and the first and second position adjustment units. In particular, the first and second rotation support units support the first non-contact support member relative to the main frame so that it can rotate in both directions: rotation around first and second horizontal rotation axes parallel to the horizontal direction, and rotation around first and second vertical rotation axes parallel to the vertical direction. Furthermore, the first and second position adjustment units support the first and second non-contact support members relative to the main frame so that their positions relative to the main frame can be adjusted in both the horizontal and vertical directions. Therefore, the positions of the first and second non-contact support members relative to the main frame can be adjusted in both the horizontal and vertical directions. This allows the positions of the first and second non-contact support members to be adjusted so that the print medium does not fall off the first and second non-contact support members, which in turn prevents the print medium from falling off the non-contact support members that support the print medium in a non-contact manner.

[0014] The printing device may also be configured so that the first rotation support unit includes a first fixed bracket fixed to the main frame, a first horizontal rotation support member attached to the first fixed bracket, a first rotating member rotatably supported by the first horizontal rotation support member around the first horizontal rotation axis, a first vertical rotation support member supporting the first rotating member rotatably around the first vertical rotation axis, and a first fixed plate supporting the first vertical rotation support member and fixed to the first non-contact support member; and the second rotation support unit includes a second fixed bracket fixed to the main frame, a second horizontal rotation support member attached to the second fixed bracket, a second rotating member rotatably supported by the second horizontal rotation support member around the second horizontal rotation axis, a second vertical rotation support member supporting the second rotating member rotatably around the second vertical rotation axis, and a second fixed plate supporting the second vertical rotation support member and fixed to the second non-contact support member. With this configuration, the first and second non-contact support members can be supported so as to be rotatable in both the horizontal and vertical directions.

[0015] The drying device may also be configured to further include a gas supply unit arranged on a predetermined side of the first non-contact support member and the second non-contact support member in the width direction of the printing medium, a first duct connecting the gas supply unit to the predetermined end of the first non-contact support member to supply gas from the gas supply unit to the first non-contact support member, and a second duct connecting the gas supply unit to the predetermined end of the second non-contact support member to supply gas from the gas supply unit to the second non-contact support member, wherein the first non-contact support member injects the gas supplied by the first duct from a plurality of first injection holes, the second non-contact support member injects the gas supplied by the second duct from a plurality of second injection holes, the first rotating support unit supports the predetermined end of the first non-contact support member, and the second rotating support unit supports the predetermined end of the second non-contact support member. In this configuration, the first and second position adjustment units, where an operator adjusts the positions of the first and second non-contact support members, are located on the opposite side of the first and second ducts for supplying gas, allowing the operator to adjust the positions without being interfered with by the first and second ducts.

[0016] The first position adjustment unit includes a first movable bracket having a first main body mounting portion having a first vertical elongated hole parallel to the vertical direction and a first plate mounting portion extending horizontally from the first main body mounting portion and having a first horizontal elongated hole parallel to the horizontal direction; a first support plate facing the first plate mounting portion and attached to the first non-contact support member; a first main body fastening member inserted into the first vertical elongated hole of the first main body mounting portion to fasten the first main body mounting portion to the main body frame; and a first plate fastening member inserted into the first horizontal elongated hole of the first plate mounting portion to fasten the first plate mounting portion to the first support plate. The second position adjustment unit includes a second movable bracket having a second main body mounting portion having a second vertical elongated hole parallel to the vertical direction and a second plate mounting portion extending horizontally from the second main body mounting portion and having a second horizontal elongated hole parallel to the horizontal direction, a second support plate facing the second plate mounting portion and attached to the second non-contact support member, a second main body fastening member inserted into the second vertical elongated hole of the second main body mounting portion to fasten the second main body mounting portion to the main body frame, and a second plate fastening member inserted into the second horizontal elongated hole of the second plate mounting portion to fasten the second plate mounting portion to the second support plate. With this configuration, the positions of the first and second non-contact support members can be adjusted in both the horizontal and vertical directions.

[0017] The first position adjustment unit includes a first horizontal adjustment plate having a first pressure screw hole extending in the horizontal direction and a first through hole extending in the horizontal direction, the first horizontal adjustment plate being attached to the first non-contact support member; a first pressure screw threadedly engaged with the first pressure screw hole; the second position adjustment unit has a first tension screw inserted into the first through hole, a tip of the first pressure screw protruding from the first pressure screw hole towards the first plate mounting portion and abutting against the first plate mounting portion, a tip of the first tension screw protruding from the first through hole towards the first plate mounting portion and screwing into a first tension screw hole provided in the first plate mounting portion, a screw head of the first tension screw located on the opposite side of the first through hole to the first plate mounting portion and abutting against the first horizontal adjustment plate, when the first pressure screw is screwed into the first pressure screw hole towards the first plate mounting portion, the first plate mounting portion is separated from the first horizontal adjustment plate, and when the first tension screw is screwed into the first tension screw hole towards the first plate mounting portion, the first plate mounting portion is brought closer to the first horizontal adjustment plate, the second position adjustment unit has a second pressure screw hole extending horizontally and a second through hole extending horizontally, and a second horizontal adjustment plate attached to the second non-contact support member, The drying device may be configured so that it has a second pressure screw that screws into the second pressure screw hole and a second tension screw inserted into the second through hole, wherein the tip of the second pressure screw protrudes from the second pressure screw hole towards the second plate mounting portion and abuts against the second plate mounting portion, the tip of the second tension screw protrudes from the second through hole towards the second plate mounting portion and screws into a second tension screw hole provided in the second plate mounting portion, and the screw head of the second tension screw is located on the opposite side of the second plate mounting portion from the second through hole and abuts against the second horizontal adjustment plate, and when the second pressure screw is screwed into the second pressure screw hole towards the second plate mounting portion, it moves the second plate mounting portion away from the second horizontal adjustment plate, and when the second tension screw is screwed into the second tension screw hole towards the second plate mounting portion, it moves the second plate mounting portion closer to the second horizontal adjustment plate. In this configuration, the positions of the first and second non-contact support members can be adjusted in the horizontal direction by the simple operation of manipulating the first and second pressure screws and the first and second tension screws.

[0018] The first position adjustment unit has a first push-up screw hole extending in the vertical direction, a first vertical adjustment plate attached to the main body frame below the first main body mounting unit, and a first push-up screw that screws into the first push-up screw hole, a tip of the first push-up screw protruding upward from the first push-up screw hole toward the first main body mounting unit and abutting against the first main body mounting unit, and when the first push-up screw is screwed into the first push-up screw hole toward the first main body mounting unit, it pushes the first main body mounting unit upward, The drying device may be configured so that the second non-contact support member has a second push-up screw hole extending in the vertical direction, a second vertical adjustment plate attached to the main body frame below the second main body mounting portion, and a second push-up screw threaded into the second push-up screw hole, the tip of the second push-up screw protruding upward from the second push-up screw hole toward the second main body mounting portion and abutting the second main body mounting portion, and the second push-up screw pushes the second main body mounting portion upward when screwed into the second push-up screw hole toward the second main body mounting portion. With this configuration, the positions of the first and second non-contact support members can be adjusted in the vertical direction by the simple operation of operating the first and second push-up screws.

[0019] A drying device according to a second aspect of the present invention has a plurality of first upper nozzles arranged in a horizontal direction above a long strip-shaped printing medium having a printing surface on which ink is adhered and a non-printing surface opposite to the printing surface, and a plurality of first lower nozzles arranged in a horizontal direction below the printing medium, and includes a first transport unit that ejects gas onto the printing medium from the plurality of first upper nozzles and ejects gas onto the printing medium from the plurality of first lower nozzles, and transports the printing medium to one side in the horizontal direction with the printing surface facing downward, and a second transport unit that faces the printing surface of the printing medium transported to one side from the first transport unit. a first non-contact support member having a first support circumferential surface and a plurality of first injection holes opening in the first support circumferential surface, and supporting the printing surface of the printing medium in a non-contact manner by injecting gas from the first injection holes onto the printing surface of the printing medium, and changing the traveling direction of the printing medium from one side in the horizontal direction to the downward direction; a second support circumferential surface facing the printing surface of the printing medium conveyed downward from the first non-contact support member, and a plurality of second injection holes opening in the second support circumferential surface, and supporting the printing surface of the printing medium in a non-contact manner by injecting gas from the second injection holes onto the printing surface of the printing medium, and changing the traveling direction of the printing medium from the downward direction to the horizontal direction; a second transport unit having a second non-contact support member that changes the printing surface from one side of the printing medium to the other side opposite the one side of the printing surface in the horizontal direction; a plurality of second upper nozzles arranged in the horizontal direction above the printing medium that has been transported from the second non-contact support member to the other side of the horizontal direction; and a plurality of second lower nozzles arranged in the horizontal direction below the printing medium, and jetting gas onto the printing medium from the plurality of second upper nozzles and jetting gas onto the printing medium from the plurality of second lower nozzles to transport the printing medium to the other side of the horizontal direction with the printing surface facing upward; a main body frame that supports the first transport unit and the second transport unit; the first positioning section has a first rotation support section and a first position adjustment section, and both ends of the first non-contact support member are supported by the first rotation support section and the first position adjustment section, the first rotation support section supports the first non-contact support member relative to the main frame so that it can rotate in each of a rotation direction about a first horizontal rotation axis parallel to the horizontal direction and a rotation direction about a first vertical rotation axis parallel to the vertical direction, and the first position adjustment sectionThe first non-contact support member is supported relative to the main body frame so that the position of the first non-contact support member relative to the main body frame can be adjusted in each of the horizontal and vertical directions, the second positioning unit has a second rotation support unit and a second position adjustment unit, and both ends of the second non-contact support member are supported by the second rotation support unit and the second position adjustment unit, the second rotation support unit supports the second non-contact support member relative to the main body frame so that it can rotate in each of the rotation directions about a second horizontal rotation axis parallel to the horizontal direction and about a second vertical rotation axis parallel to the vertical direction, and the second position adjustment unit supports the second non-contact support member relative to the main body frame so that the position of the second non-contact support member relative to the main body frame can be adjusted in each of the horizontal and vertical directions.

[0020] A method for adjusting the position of a non-contact support member according to a second aspect of the present invention includes a first transport unit that transports a long strip of print medium having a print surface with ink attached and a non-print surface opposite to the print surface to one side in a horizontal direction with the print surface facing downward, a first non-contact support member that changes the traveling direction of the print medium transported to one side from the first transport unit from one side in the horizontal direction to the downward side, a second non-contact support member that changes the traveling direction of the print medium transported to the downward side from the first non-contact support member from the downward side to the other side in the horizontal direction opposite to the one side, and a second non-contact support member that changes the traveling direction of the print medium transported to the other side in the horizontal direction from the downward side. A method for adjusting the position of a non-contact support member in a drying device having a second transport section that transports a print medium to the other side in a horizontal direction with the print surface facing up, the method comprising: a first position adjustment step of adjusting the position of the first non-contact support member by a first positioning section that positions the first non-contact support member with respect to a main body frame that supports the first transport section and the second transport section; and a second position adjustment step of adjusting the position of the second non-contact support member by a second positioning section that positions the second non-contact support member with respect to the main body frame, the first transport section adjusting the position of a plurality of first non-contact support members that are arranged in the horizontal direction above the print medium. the first non-contact support member has a first support circumferential surface facing the printing surface of the printing medium transported to one side from the first transport unit and a plurality of first injection holes opening in the first support circumferential surface, and supports the printing surface of the printing medium in a non-contact manner by injecting gas from the first injection holes onto the printing surface of the printing medium; and the second non-contact support member has a first support circumferential surface facing the printing surface of the printing medium transported to the lower side from the first non-contact support member. the second conveying unit has a plurality of second upper nozzles arranged horizontally above the printing medium conveyed from the second non-contact support member to the other side in the horizontal direction, and a plurality of second lower nozzles arranged horizontally below the printing medium, and gas is ejected onto the printing medium from the plurality of second upper nozzles and from the plurality of second lower nozzles; the first positioning unit comprises a first rotation support unit,and a first position adjustment unit, wherein both ends of the first non-contact support member are supported by the first rotation support unit and the first position adjustment unit, the first rotation support unit supports the first non-contact support member relative to the main body frame so that it can rotate in each of a rotation direction about a first horizontal rotation axis parallel to the horizontal direction and a rotation direction about a first vertical rotation axis parallel to the vertical direction, the first position adjustment unit supports the first non-contact support member relative to the main body frame so that the position of the first non-contact support member relative to the main body frame can be adjusted in each of the horizontal and vertical directions, and the second positioning unit The device has a second rotation support section and a second position adjustment section, and both ends of the second non-contact support member are supported by the second rotation support section and the second position adjustment section, the second rotation support section supports the second non-contact support member relative to the main body frame so that it can rotate in each of a rotation direction about a second horizontal rotation axis parallel to the horizontal direction and a rotation direction about a second vertical rotation axis parallel to the vertical direction, and the second position adjustment section supports the second non-contact support member relative to the main body frame so that the position of the second non-contact support member relative to the main body frame can be adjusted in each of the horizontal and vertical directions.

[0021] In the second aspect of the present invention configured as described above, first and second positioning units are provided for positioning the first and second non-contact support members relative to the main frame. These first and second positioning units have first and second rotation support units and first and second position adjustment units, and both ends of the first and second non-contact support members are supported by the first and second rotation support units and the first and second position adjustment units. In particular, the first and second rotation support units support the first and second non-contact support members relative to the main frame so that they can rotate in both directions, that is, around first and second horizontal rotation axes parallel to the horizontal direction and around first and second vertical rotation axes parallel to the vertical direction. Furthermore, the first and second position adjustment units support the first and second non-contact support members relative to the main frame so that the positions of the first and second non-contact support members relative to the main frame can be adjusted in both the horizontal and vertical directions. Therefore, the positions of the first and second non-contact support members relative to the main body frame can be adjusted both horizontally and vertically. This allows the positions of the first and second non-contact support members to be adjusted so that the print medium does not fall off the first and second non-contact support members. As a result, it is possible to prevent the print medium from falling off the non-contact support members that support the print medium in a non-contact manner.

[0022] The drying apparatus may also be configured so that the first rotation support unit includes a first fixed bracket fixed to the main frame, a first horizontal rotation support member attached to the first fixed bracket, a first rotating member rotatably supported by the first horizontal rotation support member around the first horizontal rotation axis, a first vertical rotation support member supporting the first rotating member rotatably around the first vertical rotation axis, and a first fixed plate supporting the first vertical rotation support member and fixed to the first non-contact support member; and the second rotation support unit includes a second fixed bracket fixed to the main frame, a second horizontal rotation support member attached to the second fixed bracket, a second rotating member rotatably supported by the second horizontal rotation support member around the second horizontal rotation axis, a second vertical rotation support member supporting the second rotating member rotatably around the second vertical rotation axis, and a second fixed plate supporting the second vertical rotation support member and fixed to the second non-contact support member. With this configuration, the first and second non-contact support members can be supported so as to be rotatable in both the horizontal and vertical directions.

[0023] The drying device may also be configured to further include a gas supply unit arranged on a predetermined side of the first non-contact support member and the second non-contact support member in the width direction of the printing medium, a first duct connecting the gas supply unit to the predetermined end of the first non-contact support member to supply gas from the gas supply unit to the first non-contact support member, and a second duct connecting the gas supply unit to the predetermined end of the second non-contact support member to supply gas from the gas supply unit to the second non-contact support member, wherein the first non-contact support member injects the gas supplied by the first duct from a plurality of first injection holes, the second non-contact support member injects the gas supplied by the second duct from a plurality of second injection holes, the first rotating support unit supports the predetermined end of the first non-contact support member, and the second rotating support unit supports the predetermined end of the second non-contact support member. In this configuration, the first and second position adjustment units, where an operator adjusts the positions of the first and second non-contact support members, are located on the opposite side of the first and second ducts for supplying gas, allowing the operator to adjust the positions without being interfered with by the first and second ducts.

[0024] The first position adjustment unit includes a first movable bracket having a first main body mounting portion having a first vertical elongated hole parallel to the vertical direction and a first plate mounting portion extending horizontally from the first main body mounting portion and having a first horizontal elongated hole parallel to the horizontal direction, a first support plate facing the first plate mounting portion and attached to the first non-contact support member, a first main body fastening member inserted into the first vertical elongated hole of the first main body mounting portion to fasten the first main body mounting portion to the main body frame, and a first plate fastening member inserted into the first horizontal elongated hole of the first plate mounting portion to fasten the first plate mounting portion to the first support plate; The drying apparatus may be configured to include a second movable bracket having a second main body mounting portion having a second vertical slot parallel to the vertical direction and a second plate mounting portion extending horizontally from the second main body mounting portion and having a second horizontal slot parallel to the horizontal direction, a second support plate facing the second plate mounting portion and attached to the second non-contact support member, a second main body fastening member inserted into the second vertical slot of the second main body mounting portion to fasten the second main body mounting portion to the main body frame, and a second plate fastening member inserted into the second horizontal slot of the second plate mounting portion to fasten the second plate mounting portion to the second support plate. With this configuration, the positions of the first and second non-contact support members can be adjusted both horizontally and vertically.

[0025] The first position adjustment unit includes a first horizontal adjustment plate having a first pressing screw hole extending in the horizontal direction and a first through hole extending in the horizontal direction, and attached to the first non-contact support member; The second position adjustment section has a first pressure screw that screws into the first pressure screw hole and a first tension screw that is inserted into the first through hole, a tip of the first pressure screw protruding from the first pressure screw hole toward the first plate mounting portion and abutting against the first plate mounting portion, a tip of the first tension screw protruding from the first through hole toward the first plate mounting portion and screwing into a first tension screw hole provided in the first plate mounting portion, and a screw head of the first tension screw located on the opposite side of the first through hole to the first plate mounting portion and abutting against the first horizontal adjustment plate, when the first pressure screw is screwed into the first pressure screw hole toward the first plate mounting portion, the first plate mounting portion moves away from the first horizontal adjustment plate, and when the first tension screw is screwed into the first tension screw hole toward the first plate mounting portion, the first plate mounting portion moves closer to the first horizontal adjustment plate, and the second position adjustment section has a second pressure screw hole that extends horizontally and a second through hole that extends horizontally. The drying device may be configured so that it has a second horizontal adjustment plate attached to the second non-contact support member, a second pressure screw that screws into the second pressure screw hole, and a second tension screw inserted into the second through hole, wherein the tip of the second pressure screw protrudes from the second pressure screw hole towards the second plate mounting portion and abuts against the second plate mounting portion, the tip of the second tension screw protrudes from the second through hole towards the second plate mounting portion and screws into a second tension screw hole provided in the second plate mounting portion, and the screw head of the second tension screw is located on the opposite side of the second plate mounting portion from the second through hole and abuts against the second horizontal adjustment plate, and when the second pressure screw is screwed into the second pressure screw hole towards the second plate mounting portion, it moves the second plate mounting portion away from the second horizontal adjustment plate, and when the second tension screw is screwed into the second tension screw hole towards the second plate mounting portion, it moves the second plate mounting portion closer to the second horizontal adjustment plate. In this configuration, the positions of the first and second non-contact support members can be adjusted in the horizontal direction by the simple operation of manipulating the first and second pressure screws and the first and second tension screws.

[0026] The first position adjustment unit has a first push-up screw hole extending in the vertical direction, a first vertical adjustment plate attached to the main body frame below the first main body mounting unit, and a first push-up screw that screws into the first push-up screw hole, a tip of the first push-up screw protruding upward from the first push-up screw hole toward the first main body mounting unit and abutting against the first main body mounting unit, and when the first push-up screw is screwed into the first push-up screw hole toward the first main body mounting unit, it pushes the first main body mounting unit upward, The drying device may be configured so that the second non-contact support member has a second push-up screw hole extending in the vertical direction, a second vertical adjustment plate attached to the main body frame below the second main body mounting portion, and a second push-up screw threaded into the second push-up screw hole, the tip of the second push-up screw protruding upward from the second push-up screw hole toward the second main body mounting portion and abutting the second main body mounting portion, and the second push-up screw pushes the second main body mounting portion upward when screwed into the second push-up screw hole toward the second main body mounting portion. With this configuration, the positions of the first and second non-contact support members can be adjusted in the vertical direction by the simple operation of operating the first and second push-up screws. [Effects of the Invention]

[0027] As described above, according to the present invention, in a technology for drying a printing medium by spraying gas onto the printing medium, it is possible to prevent the printing medium from falling off a non-contact support member that supports the printing medium without contact. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0028] [Figure 1] 1 is a front view schematically illustrating an example of a printing system including a drying device according to the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a front view schematically showing a drying device according to the present invention. [Figure 3] FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged schematic view of the blower dryer of the upper conveying section. [Figure 4] 3 is a partially enlarged schematic view showing the blower dryers of the middle conveying section and the lower conveying section. FIG. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a perspective view schematically showing an air turn bar provided in the drying device and the configuration around the air turn bar. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a side view schematically showing an air turn bar provided in the drying device and the configuration around the air turn bar. [Figure 7A] FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a schematic view of a manner in which a fall-off prevention member is attached to an air turn bar. [Figure 7B] 10 is a diagram showing a schematic diagram of the relationship between the support peripheral surface of the air turn bar and the fall-off prevention peripheral surface of the fall-off prevention member when fastened together. FIG. [Figure 8] 5A and 5B are diagrams illustrating the function of a fall-off prevention member. [Figure 9] FIG. 4 is a perspective view schematically showing a position adjustment unit of the positioning mechanism. [Figure 10A] FIG. 4 is a plan view schematically showing a rotation support portion of the positioning mechanism. [Figure 10B] FIG. 4 is a side view schematically showing a rotation support portion of the positioning mechanism. [Figure 11] FIG. 10C is a perspective view schematically showing a biaxial rotating member included in the positioning mechanism of FIGS. 10A and 10B. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0029] Figure 1 is a front view showing a schematic diagram of an example of a printing system equipped with a drying device according to the present invention. In Figure 1 and the following figures, the horizontal X direction, the horizontal Y direction perpendicular to the X direction, and the vertical Z direction are indicated as appropriate. The X1 side and X2 side of the X direction are also indicated as appropriate. Here, the X1 side is the side facing the drying device 3 from the printing device 2 in the X direction, and the X2 side is the side opposite the X1 side in the X direction.

[0030] As shown in FIG. 1, the printing system 1 has a configuration in which a printing device 2 and a drying device 3 are arranged in this order in the X direction (arrangement direction). In this printing system 1, a long strip of printing medium M is transported roll-to-roll from a supply roll 11 to a take-up roll 12. The printing device 2 prints an image by ejecting aqueous ink onto the printing medium M using an inkjet method, and the drying device 3 dries the printing medium M to which the aqueous ink has adhered. The printing medium M is made of a film such as OPP (oriented polypropylene) or PET (polyethylene terephthalate). However, the material of the printing medium M is not limited to film and may be paper or the like. The printing medium M is flexible. In the following description, the surface of the printing medium M on which an image is printed will be referred to as the front surface M1, and the surface opposite the front surface M1 will be referred to as the back surface M2.

[0031] The printing device 2 includes a housing 21, a color printing unit 22 arranged within the housing 21, a white printing unit 23 arranged above the color printing unit 22 within the housing 21, and a transport unit 24 that transports the printing medium M using a plurality of rollers arranged within the housing 21. The color printing unit 22, the white printing unit 23, and the transport unit 24 are supported by the housing 21.

[0032] The color printing unit 22 has multiple (six) ejection heads 221 arranged in the traveling direction of the printing medium M above the printing medium M transported by the transport unit 24. Each of the multiple ejection heads 221 has a nozzle facing from above toward the surface M1 of the printing medium M passing below it, and ejects different color inks (water-based inks) from the nozzles using an inkjet method. Here, color ink refers to ink other than white, and includes inks such as cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. In this way, each of the multiple ejection heads 221 of the color printing unit 22 prints a color image on the surface M1 of the printing medium M by ejecting color ink from above onto the surface M1 of the printing medium M passing below it.

[0033] The white printing unit 23 also has a single ejection head 231 arranged above the printing medium M transported by the transport unit 24. The ejection head 231 has nozzles facing from above toward the surface M1 of the printing medium M passing below it, and ejects white ink (aqueous ink) from the nozzles using an inkjet method. In this way, the ejection head 231 of the white printing unit 23 ejects white ink from above onto the surface M1 of the printing medium M passing below it, thereby printing a white image on the surface M1 of the printing medium M. Then, the printing medium M on which the color image by the color printing unit 22 and the white image by the white printing unit 23 have been printed is transported by the transport unit 24 from the outlet 212 of the housing 21 and headed toward the drying device 6.

[0034] FIG. 2 is a front view schematically showing a drying device according to the present invention. The drying device 3 dries the printing medium M while transporting it in the X direction, folding it back as needed. The drying device 3 includes a housing 5 (drying oven) disposed on the X1 side of the housing 21 of the printing device 2. The housing 5 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape extending in the X direction. In addition, in the X direction, an inlet Ai is provided on the X2 side (the printing device 2 side) of the housing 5, and an outlet Ao is provided on the X1 side (the opposite side of the printing device 2) of the housing 5. The printing medium M discharged from the outlet 212 of the printing device 2 is carried into the housing 5 (drying oven) through the inlet Ai. After being dried in the housing 5, the printing medium M is discharged from the outlet Ao to the outside of the housing 5.

[0035] The drying device 3 includes a transport unit 31 that transports the printing medium M, and the transport unit 31 transports the printing medium M from the inlet Ai to the outlet Ao. The transport unit 31 has an upper transport unit 31u that transports the printing medium M from the X2 side toward the X1 side, a middle transport unit 31m that transports the printing medium M from the X1 side toward the X2 side, and a lower transport unit 31l that transports the printing medium M from the X2 side toward the X1 side. The middle transport unit 31m is located below the upper transport unit 31u, and the lower transport unit 31l is located below the middle transport unit 31m.

[0036] In the upper transport unit 31u, the print medium M is transported toward the X1 side with the front surface M1 facing upward and the back surface M2 facing downward. The transport unit 31 also has rollers 32u and rollers 32l arranged vertically on the X1 sides of the upper transport unit 31u and middle transport unit 31m. The rollers 32u and rollers 32l are rotatably attached to the housing 5, with the upper roller 32u located at a height corresponding to the upper transport unit 31u and the lower roller 32l located at a height corresponding to the middle transport unit 31m.

[0037] The upper roller 32u comes into contact with the back surface M2 of the printing medium M transported from the upper transport unit 31u to the X1 side, changing the direction of travel of the printing medium M from the X1 side to the downward side, and the lower roller 32l comes into contact with the back surface M2 of the printing medium M transported from the upper roller 32u, changing the direction of travel of the printing medium M from the downward side to the X2 side. In other words, the front surface M1 and back surface M2 of the printing medium M are upside down by the rollers 32u and 32l. The printing medium M thus upside down enters the middle transport unit 31m with the back surface M2 facing up and the front surface M1 facing down.

[0038] In contrast, middle transport unit 31m transports print medium M toward the X2 side with back surface M2 facing upward and front surface M1 facing downward. Transport unit 31 also has air turn bars 6u and 6l arranged vertically on the X2 side of middle transport unit 31m and lower transport unit 31l. Air turn bars 6u and 6l are attached to housing 5, with the upper air turn bar 6u located at a height corresponding to middle transport unit 31m and the lower air turn bar 6l located at a height corresponding to lower transport unit 31l.

[0039] The upper air turn bar 6u supports the back surface M2 of the printing medium M transported from the middle transport section 31m to the X2 side while spraying air onto it, thereby changing the traveling direction of the printing medium M from the X2 side to the downward side, and the lower air turn bar 6l supports the back surface M2 of the printing medium M transported from the upper air turn bar 6u while spraying air onto it, thereby changing the traveling direction of the printing medium M from the downward side to the X1 side. In other words, the front surface M1 and back surface M2 of the printing medium M are upside down by the air turn bars 6u and 6l. The printing medium M thus upside down enters the lower transport section 31l with the front surface M1 facing upward and the back surface M2 facing downward.

[0040] In contrast, the lower transport unit 31l transports the printing medium M toward the X1 side with the front surface M1 facing upward and the back surface M2 facing downward. In addition, a discharge roller 33 is provided on the X1 side of the lower transport unit 31l. The discharge roller 33 is rotatably attached to the housing 5 and is located at a height corresponding to the lower transport unit 31l. The discharge roller 33 supports the printing medium M by coming into contact with the back surface M2 of the printing medium M transported toward the X1 side by the lower transport unit 31l and discharged from the discharge port Ao.

[0041] The upper conveying unit 31u has two air-blowing drying units 4a and 4b arranged in the X direction between the carry-in entrance Ai and the rollers 32u. The upper conveying unit 31u dries the printing medium M while transporting the printing medium M to the X1 side using the air-blowing drying units 4a and 4b.

[0042] The air blowing drying section 4a has an air blowing unit 41u arranged above the printing medium M. This air blowing unit 41u has an air blowing chamber 42u extending in the X direction above the printing medium M. Hot air (air at 60 degrees or higher) generated by heating air with a heater provided outside the printing system 1 is supplied to the air blowing chamber 42u. The lower surface of the air blowing chamber 42u is a nozzle arrangement plane 43u that faces from above the surface M1 (upper surface) of the printing medium M, which faces upward. This nozzle arrangement plane 43u is a plane parallel to the X direction and perpendicular to the Z direction. Furthermore, the air blowing unit 41u has a plurality of nozzles 46u arranged at a predetermined pitch in the X direction on this nozzle arrangement plane 43u. In this way, the plurality of nozzles 46u are lined up between the nozzle arrangement plane 43u and the surface M1 of the printing medium M, and face the surface M1 of the printing medium M. Each nozzle 46u is in communication with the air blowing chamber 42u, and the hot air supplied to the air blowing chamber 42u is sprayed from the nozzles 46u onto the surface M1 of the printing medium M, thereby drying the printing medium M.

[0043] Furthermore, the air-blowing drying unit 4a has a plurality of rollers 44 arranged below the printing medium M. The rollers 44 are arranged at a predetermined pitch in the direction of travel of the printing medium M (X direction), and the circumferential surface of each roller 44 contacts the back surface M2 (lower surface) of the printing medium M from below. Each roller 44 supports the printing medium M from below while rotating in response to the printing medium M around a rotation axis parallel to the Y direction (width direction of the printing medium M). The rollers 44 are also provided with fine grooves that allow air to easily escape between the printing medium M and the circumferential surface of the rollers 44.

[0044] The nozzles 46u face the area between two adjacent rollers 44 in the X direction from above, and the rollers 44 face the area between two upper adjacent nozzles 46u in the X direction from below. That is, the nozzles 46u and the rollers 44 are alternately arranged at a pitch that is half the predetermined pitch in the X direction, and are alternately arranged one by one in the X direction in a plan view from the Z direction. In other words, the nozzles 46u and the rollers 44 are arranged in a staggered pattern in the X direction.

[0045] The air-blowing drying section 4b is disposed downstream of the air-blowing drying section 4a in the traveling direction of the printing medium M. Similar to the air-blowing drying section 4a, the air-blowing drying section 4b has an air-blowing unit 41u disposed above the printing medium M and multiple rollers 44 disposed below the printing medium M. In the air-blowing drying section 4b, the multiple rollers 44 support the back surface M2 of the printing medium M from below, while the multiple nozzles 46u of the air-blowing unit 41u spray hot air from above onto the front surface M1 of the printing medium M, thereby drying the printing medium M.

[0046] The middle conveying section 31m has two air-blowing drying sections 4c and 4d arranged in the X direction between the roller 32l and the air turn bar 6u. The middle conveying section 31m dries the printing medium M while transporting the printing medium M to the X2 side using the air-blowing drying sections 4c and 4d.

[0047] The air blowing drying section 4c has air blowing units 41u and 41l arranged above and below the printing medium M, respectively. The upper air blowing unit 41u has an air blowing chamber 42u extending in the X direction above the printing medium M. The above-mentioned hot air is supplied to the air blowing chamber 42u. The lower surface of the air blowing chamber 42u is a nozzle arrangement plane 43u that faces from above the back surface M2 (upper surface) of the printing medium M, which faces upward. This nozzle arrangement plane 43u is a plane parallel to the X direction and perpendicular to the Z direction. Furthermore, the air blowing unit 41u has a plurality of nozzles 46u arranged at a predetermined pitch in the X direction on this nozzle arrangement plane 43u. In this way, the plurality of nozzles 46u are lined up between the nozzle arrangement plane 43u and the back surface M2 of the printing medium M, and face the back surface M2 of the printing medium M. Each nozzle 46u is in communication with the air blowing chamber 42u, and the hot air supplied to the air blowing chamber 42u is sprayed onto the rear surface M2 of the printing medium M from the nozzles 46u.

[0048] The lower blower unit 41l has a blower chamber 42l extending in the X direction below the printing medium M. The hot air is supplied to the blower chamber 42l. The upper surface of the blower chamber 42l is a nozzle arrangement plane 43l that faces the downward-facing surface M1 (lower surface) of the printing medium M from below. This nozzle arrangement plane 43l is a plane parallel to the X direction and perpendicular to the Z direction. The blower unit 41l further has a plurality of nozzles 46l arranged at a predetermined pitch in the X direction on the nozzle arrangement plane 43l. Thus, the plurality of nozzles 46l are aligned between the nozzle arrangement plane 43l and the surface M1 of the printing medium M, and face the surface M1 of the printing medium M. Each nozzle 46l is in communication with the blower chamber 42l, and the hot air supplied to the blower chamber 42l is sprayed from the nozzle 46l onto the surface M1 of the printing medium M.

[0049] The upper nozzle 46u faces from above the area between two lower nozzles 46l adjacent to each other in the X direction, and the lower nozzle 46l faces from below the area between two upper nozzles 46u adjacent to each other in the X direction. In other words, the upper nozzles 46u and the lower nozzles 46l are alternately arranged at a pitch that is half the predetermined pitch in the X direction, and are alternately arranged one by one in the X direction in a plan view from the Z direction. In other words, the nozzles 46u, 46l are arranged in a staggered pattern in the X direction.

[0050] The air-blowing drying section 4d is disposed downstream of the air-blowing drying section 4c in the traveling direction of the printing medium M. Similar to the air-blowing drying section 4c, the air-blowing drying section 4d has air-blowing units 41u and 41l that sandwich the printing medium M from the Z direction. In the air-blowing drying section 4d, the air-blowing unit 41u sprays hot air from above onto the back surface M2 of the printing medium M, and the air-blowing unit 41l sprays hot air from below onto the front surface M1 of the printing medium M, thereby drying the printing medium M.

[0051] The lower conveying section 31l has two air blowing drying sections 4e and 4f arranged in the X direction between the air turn bar 6l and the discharge roller 33. The lower conveying section 31l dries the printing medium M while transporting the printing medium M to the X1 side using the air blowing drying sections 4e and 4f.

[0052] Similar to the air-blowing drying section 4c, the air-blowing drying section 4e has air-blowing units 41u and 41l that sandwich the printing medium M from the Z direction. In the air-blowing drying section 4e, the air-blowing unit 41u sprays hot air from above onto the front surface M1 of the printing medium M, and the air-blowing unit 41l sprays hot air from below onto the back surface M2 of the printing medium M, thereby drying the printing medium M.

[0053] The air-blowing drying section 4f is disposed downstream of the air-blowing drying section 4e in the traveling direction of the printing medium M. Similar to the air-blowing drying section 4c, the air-blowing drying section 4f has air-blowing units 41u and 41l that sandwich the printing medium M from the Z direction. In the air-blowing drying section 4f, the air-blowing unit 41u sprays hot air from above onto the front surface M1 of the printing medium M, and the air-blowing unit 41l sprays hot air from below onto the back surface M2 of the printing medium M, thereby drying the printing medium M.

[0054] Fig. 3 is a partially enlarged schematic diagram of the air-blowing dryer of the upper conveying section. In the upper conveying section 31u of the drying device 3, as shown in Fig. 3, the printing medium M is biased downward from the upper end of the roller 44 at the portion facing the nozzle 46u because the printing medium M is pushed downward by the hot air from the nozzle 46u, and is supported by the roller 44 at the portion facing the roller 44. Therefore, the printing medium M is conveyed in the horizontal direction X while undulating between the upper end of the roller 44 and below the upper end.

[0055] FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged schematic diagram showing the blower dryers of the middle and lower conveying sections. In the middle conveying section 31m or lower conveying section 31l of the drying device 3, as shown in FIG. 4, the print medium M is biased downward from the conveying center line L at the portion facing the upper nozzle 46u due to the hot air from this nozzle 46u, while the print medium M is biased upward from the conveying center line L at the portion facing the lower nozzle 46l due to the hot air from this nozzle 46l. Here, the conveying center line L is a horizontal imaginary line equidistant from each of the nozzles 46u and 46l in the vertical direction Z. Therefore, the print medium M is conveyed in the horizontal direction X while undulating between above and below the conveying center line L.

[0056] Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing a schematic diagram of an air turn bar provided in a drying device and the surrounding structure of the air turn bar, and Fig. 6 is a side view showing a schematic diagram of an air turn bar provided in a drying device and the surrounding structure of the air turn bar. As shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the Y1 side and Y2 side in the Y direction will be indicated as appropriate below. Here, the Y1 side and the Y2 side face opposite each other.

[0057] As described above, the air turn bar 6u and the air turn bar 6l are attached to the housing 5 of the drying device 3. The housing 5 has frames 51 and 52 stacked in the Z direction, with the air turn bar 6u attached to the upper frame 51 and the air turn bar 6l attached to the lower frame 52.

[0058] The frame 51 has two pillar members 511 that are spaced apart in the Y direction and parallel to the Z direction, and a beam member 512 that is parallel to the Y direction and connects the lower ends of the two pillar members 511. The housing 5 further has a mounting plate 53 that is parallel to the Y direction and spans the two pillar members 511. An air turn bar 6u is attached to this mounting plate 53. The specific configuration for attaching the air turn bar 6u to the mounting plate 53 will be described later, and is shown in a simplified form in FIG. 5.

[0059] The frame 52 has two pillar members 521 that are spaced apart in the Y direction and parallel to the Z direction, and a beam member 522 that is parallel to the Y direction and connects the lower ends of the two pillar members 521. The housing 5 further has a mounting plate 54 that is parallel to the Y direction and spans the two pillar members 521. An air turn bar 6l is attached to this mounting plate 54. The specific configuration for attaching the air turn bar 6l to the mounting plate 54 will be described later, and is shown in a simplified form in FIG. 5.

[0060] The air turn bars 6u, 6l each include a bar body 61a that is fan-shaped when viewed in the Y direction, and this bar body 61a has a supporting surface 611. The supporting surface 611 of the bar body 61a is a partially cylindrical surface with a center parallel to the Y direction and has a predetermined width W611 in the Y direction. A plurality of air ejection holes H (FIG. 8) are formed in the supporting surface 611. This supporting surface 611 faces the surface M1 of the printing medium M, and each air ejection hole H opening in the supporting surface 611 ejects air toward the surface M1. This ejection of air ensures a gap between the supporting surface 611 and the surface M1 of the printing medium M, and the printing medium M is supported on the supporting surface 611 without contact.

[0061] In this way, the printing medium M supported by the support circumferential surface 611 bends along the support circumferential surface 611. As a result, the traveling direction of the printing medium M is changed by 90 degrees along the support circumferential surface 611. In other words, the traveling direction of the printing medium M is changed from the X2 side to the downward side along the support circumferential surface 611 of the air turn bar 6u. Furthermore, the traveling direction of the printing medium M is changed from the downward side to the X1 side along the support circumferential surface 611 of the air turn bar 6l.

[0062] The air turn bars 6u, 6l also include sidewall members 62 provided at both ends of the bar main body 61a in the Y direction. The sidewall members 62 are flat plates arranged perpendicular to the Y direction. The air turn bars 6u, 6l also include piping 63 that sends air into the bar main body 61a. This piping 63 protrudes toward the Y2 side from the sidewall member 62 on the Y2 side of the two sidewall members 62.

[0063] Fall-off prevention members 7r and 7l are attached to both ends of the air turn bar 6u in the Y direction. The fall-off prevention members 7r and 7l have a fall-off prevention main body 71a that has an arc shape when viewed from the Y direction, and this fall-off prevention main body 71a has a fall-off prevention circumferential surface 711. The fall-off prevention circumferential surface 711 of the fall-off prevention main body 71a is a partial cylindrical surface with a center parallel to the Y direction and has a width W71 in the Y direction that is shorter than the width W611. Note that no air injection holes H are opened in the fall-off prevention circumferential surface 711. The cylindrical shape of the support circumferential surface 611 of the air turn bar 6u and the cylindrical shape of the fall-off prevention circumferential surfaces 711 of the fall-off prevention members 7r and 7l have the same center, but the distance from the center to the support circumferential surface 611 when viewed from the Y direction (the radius of the cylinder) is slightly longer than the distance from the center to the fall-off prevention circumferential surface 711 (the radius of the cylinder). In other words, the supporting circumferential surface 611 protrudes from the falling-off prevention circumferential surface 711 .

[0064] Thus, in the Y direction, the air turn bar 6u is provided with an adjacent drop-out prevention member 7l on the Y1 side and an adjacent drop-out prevention member 7r on the Y2 side. Similarly, the air turn bar 6l is provided with an adjacent drop-out prevention member 7l on the Y1 side and an adjacent drop-out prevention member 7r on the Y2 side.

[0065] An air supply unit 57 is disposed on the Y2 side of the air turn bars 6u, 6l in the Y direction. The air supply unit 57 includes an air supply main body 571 extending in the Z direction so as to face the air turn bars 6u, 6l from the Y2 side, a duct 572u protruding from the upper end of the air supply main body 571 toward the Y1 side, and a duct 572l protruding from the lower end of the air supply main body 571 toward the Y1 side. The duct 572u is connected to the piping 63 of the air turn bar 6u, and air is supplied from the air supply main body 571 to the bar main body 61a of the air turn bar 6u via the duct 572u and the piping 63. The air supplied from the air supply unit 57 to the air turn bar 6u in this manner is sprayed from air injection holes H opening in the support peripheral surface 611 of the air turn bar 6u. Similarly, duct 572l and piping 63 of air turn bar 6l are connected, and air is supplied from air supply main body 571 to bar main body 61a of air turn bar 6l via duct 572u and piping 63. In this way, air supplied from air supply unit 57 to air turn bar 6l is sprayed from air injection holes H opening in support peripheral surface 611 of air turn bar 6l.

[0066] A gap is provided between the air turn bar 6u and the air supply main body 571 of the air supply unit 57 in the Y direction, and of the two fall-off prevention members 7r, 7l provided for the air turn bar 6u, the fall-off prevention member 7r on the Y2 side is disposed in this gap. Similarly, a gap is provided between the air turn bar 6l and the air supply unit 57 in the Y direction, and of the two fall-off prevention members 7r, 7l provided for the air turn bar 6l, the fall-off prevention member 7r on the Y2 side is disposed in this gap.

[0067] 7A is a perspective view showing a schematic view of how the fall-off prevention members are attached to the air turn bar. The attachment method of the fall-off prevention members 7r, 7l to the air turn bars 6u, 6l is the same for both air turn bars 6u, 6l, so here we will explain how they are attached to the air turn bar 6u. As described above, sidewall members 62 are provided on both ends of the bar body 61a of the air turn bar 6u in the Y direction. The sidewall members 62 are provided perpendicular to the Y direction and have a fan shape when viewed from the Y direction. The sidewall members 62 have multiple screw holes 621 formed in the Y direction.

[0068] On the other hand, the fall-off prevention member 7l has a mounting flange 72 provided at one end of the fall-off prevention main body 71a on the air turn bar 6u side in the Y direction. This mounting flange 72 is provided so as to protrude inward from the fall-off prevention main body 71a when viewed from the Y direction. This mounting flange 72 has multiple through holes 721 penetrating in the Y direction.

[0069] When the mounting flange 72 of the fall-off prevention member 7l is brought to face the fan-shaped peripheral edge of the side wall member 62 of the air turn bar 6u from the Y direction, the multiple through holes 721 of the fall-off prevention member 7l face the multiple screw holes 621 of the air turn bar 6u. In this way, by inserting bolts 751 into the mutually opposing through holes 721 and screw holes 621 and screwing the bolts 751 into the screw holes 621, the fall-off prevention member 7l can be fastened to the air turn bar 6u.

[0070] The fall-prevention member 7r and the air turn bar 6u are also fastened in a similar manner. When the fall-prevention member 7r is fastened to the air turn bar 6u, the side wall member 62 of the air turn bar 6u protrudes inward from the mounting flange 72 of the fall-prevention member 7r. Meanwhile, the piping 63 shown in Fig. 6 is arranged on the side wall member 62, inside the mounting flange 72 of the fall-prevention member 7r. This prevents interference between the piping 63 and the fall-prevention member 7r.

[0071] 7B is a diagram showing the relationship between the support circumferential surface of the air turn bar and the fall-prevention circumferential surface of the fall-prevention member when they are fastened together. As shown in FIG. 7B, when fastened in the manner shown in FIG. 7A, the support circumferential surface 611 protrudes by a protrusion amount G from the fall-prevention circumferential surface 711 when viewed from the Y direction.

[0072] Fig. 8 is a diagram showing the function of the fall-off prevention members. Note that the fall-off prevention members 7l and 7r provided on the air turn bar 6u and the fall-off prevention members 7l and 7r provided on the air turn bar 6l share the same function. Here, the former case will be explained.

[0073] 8, when the printing medium M is being transported without skewing, both ends of the printing medium M in the Y direction fit between both ends of the support circumferential surface 611 of the air turn bar 6u, and the entire surface M1 of the printing medium M faces the support circumferential surface 611. Then, the printing medium M is transported with a gap maintained between the support circumferential surface 611 and the surface M1 of the printing medium M due to air being sprayed onto the surface M1 of the printing medium M from the air ejection holes H that open in the support circumferential surface 611.

[0074] As shown in the "When skew occurs (right side)" column in FIG. 8, when the printing medium M is transported in a state where it is skewed to the right, the Y2-side end of the surface M1 of the printing medium M in the Y direction protrudes toward the Y2 side from the support peripheral surface 611 of the air turn bar 6u and faces the fall-prevention peripheral surface 711 of the fall-prevention member 7r. Meanwhile, the portion of the surface M1 of the printing medium M other than this end faces the support peripheral surface 611 and receives air jetted from the air jetting holes H. In this way, a portion of the air jetted from the air jetting holes H onto the surface M1 of the printing medium M generates an airflow F that moves toward the Y2 side in the Y direction. This airflow F forms a gap Δ between the surface M1 of the printing medium M and the fall-prevention peripheral surface 711 of the fall-prevention member 7r. As described above, a gap is maintained between the portion of the surface M1 of the printing medium M facing the support peripheral surface 611 and the support peripheral surface 611 by the air jetted from the air jetting holes H.

[0075] As shown in the "When skew occurs (left side)" column in FIG. 8, when the printing medium M is transported while skewed to the left, the Y1-side end of the surface M1 of the printing medium M in the Y direction protrudes toward the Y1 side from the support peripheral surface 611 of the air turn bar 6u and faces the fall-prevention peripheral surface 711 of the fall-prevention member 7l. Meanwhile, the portion of the surface M1 of the printing medium M other than this end faces the support peripheral surface 611 and receives air jetted from the air jetting holes H. In this way, a portion of the air jetted from the air jetting holes H onto the surface M1 of the printing medium M generates an airflow F that moves toward the Y1 side in the Y direction. This airflow F forms a gap Δ between the surface M1 of the printing medium M and the fall-prevention peripheral surface 711 of the fall-prevention member 7l. As described above, a gap is maintained between the portion of the surface M1 of the printing medium M facing the support peripheral surface 611 and the support peripheral surface 611 by the air jetting holes H.

[0076] In the drying device 3 described above, the printing medium M is transported non-contact (in other words, floated and transported) in the section from the middle transport section 31m (first transport section) to the lower transport section 31l (second transport section) via the air turn bars 6u and 6l (first and second non-contact support members) (i.e., the section from passing through roller 32l to reaching the discharge roller 33). Therefore, there are cases where the printing medium M is affected by the wind from the air (gas) sprayed in the middle transport section 31m and the lower transport section 31l and moves skewed, causing it to fall off the air turn bars 6u and 6l in the Y direction. 5 to 8, fall prevention members 7l and 7r (first and second fall prevention members) are provided for the air turn bars 6u and 6l, and fall prevention peripheral surfaces 711 (first and second fall prevention peripheral surfaces) of the fall prevention members 7l and 7r are adjacent to the support peripheral surfaces 611 (first and second support peripheral surfaces) of the air turn bars 6u and 6l. In this configuration, if the printing medium M is skewed, the printing medium M will shift from the support peripheral surfaces 611 of the air turn bars 6u and 6l to the fall prevention peripheral surfaces 711 of the fall prevention members 7l and 7r. At this time, air is ejected from the multiple air ejection holes H (first and second ejection holes) provided on the support peripheral surfaces 611 of the air turn bars 6u and 6l and flows toward the drop-off prevention peripheral surface 711 through the gap between the support peripheral surface 611 and the surface M1 (printing surface) of the printing medium M facing the support peripheral surface 611 ("When skew occurs (right side)" and "When skew occurs (left side)" in Figure 8). As a result, a gap Δ is formed between the drop-off prevention peripheral surface 711 and the surface M1 of the printing medium M facing the drop-off prevention peripheral surface 711. In other words, the drop-off prevention peripheral surfaces 711 of the drop-off prevention members 7l and 7r can support the printing medium M while leaving the gap Δ with respect to the surface M1 of the printing medium M that has shifted due to skew. In this way, it is possible to prevent the printing medium M from falling off the air turn bars 6u and 6l that support the printing medium M without contact.

[0077] Furthermore, in a side view from the Y direction (width direction), the support circumferential surface 611 protrudes beyond the drop-off prevention circumferential surface 711. This generates a smooth airflow F from the support circumferential surface 611 toward the drop-off prevention circumferential surface 711, reliably creating a gap Δ between the drop-off prevention circumferential surface 711 and the surface M1 of the printing medium M. As a result, the drop-off prevention circumferential surface 711 can support the printing medium M while leaving the gap Δ with respect to the surface M1 of the printing medium M that has shifted due to skew.

[0078] In addition, bolts 751 (first and second fastening members) are provided to fasten the fall-off prevention members 7l, 7r to the air turn bars 6u, 6l. By fastening the fall-off prevention members 7l, 7r directly to the air turn bars 6u, 6l in this way, they can be easily positioned.

[0079] Next, we will explain the positioning mechanism J that positions the air turn bars 6u and 6l relative to the mounting plates 53 and 54. Note that the positioning mechanism J that positions the air turn bar 6u relative to the mounting plate 53 and the positioning mechanism J that positions the air turn bar 6l relative to the mounting plate 54 have a common configuration, so we will explain the former here.

[0080] FIG. 9 is a perspective view schematically showing a position adjustment unit of the positioning mechanism. That is, the positioning mechanism J has a position adjustment unit 8 (FIG. 9) that supports the Y1-side end of the air turn bar 6u. The position adjustment unit 8 has a horizontal adjustment plate 81 fixed to the side wall member 62 on the Y1 side of the air turn bar 6u. The horizontal adjustment plate 81 has a long plate 811 and a short plate 812 that extend in the Z direction. The long plate 811 is located closer to the mounting plate 53 (X1 side) than the short plate 812, and the short plate 812 is fixed to the side of the long plate 811 on the opposite side (X2 side) of the mounting plate 53. The short plate 812 is shorter than the long plate 811, and both ends (upper and lower ends) of the short plate 812 in the Z direction are located between both ends (upper and lower ends) of the long plate 811. That is, in the Z direction, the upper end 811u of the long plate 811 protrudes upward beyond the upper end of the short plate 812, and the lower end 811l of the long plate 811 protrudes downward beyond the lower end of the short plate 812.

[0081] The horizontal adjustment plate 81 also has two through holes 813 aligned in the Z direction. These through holes 813 penetrate the long plate 811 and the short plate 812 in the X direction. The horizontal adjustment plate 81 also has two pressure screw holes 814 aligned in the Z direction. Of the two pressure screw holes 814, the upper pressure screw hole 814 penetrates an upper end 811u of the long plate 811 in the X direction, and the lower pressure screw hole 814 penetrates a lower end 811l of the long plate 811 in the X direction.

[0082] The position adjustment unit 8 also has a bar fixing block 82 fixed to the back surface 612 of the bar main body 61a. Here, the back surface 612 of the bar main body 61a is a plane perpendicular to the X direction that faces the mounting plate 53 of the housing 5. The bar fixing block 82 is disposed so as to be perpendicular to the Y direction, and protrudes from the back surface 612 of the bar main body 61a toward the mounting plate 53 (X1 side).

[0083] Furthermore, the position adjustment unit 8 has a movable bracket 83 adjacent to the bar fixing block 82 from the Y1 side. The movable bracket 83 has a block mounting plate 831 provided perpendicular to the Y direction and a main body mounting plate 832 provided perpendicular to the X direction. The block mounting plate 831 faces the bar fixing block 82 from the Y1 side, and the main body mounting plate 832 faces the mounting plate 53 from the X2 side. The block mounting plate 831 protrudes from the main body mounting plate 832 to the opposite side (X2 side) of the mounting plate 53. The block mounting plate 831 has an opposing surface 831f that faces the horizontal adjustment plate 81 from the X1 side at a distance.

[0084] The movable bracket 83 also has two horizontal elongated holes 833 provided in the block mounting plate 831. The horizontal elongated holes 833 extend parallel to the X direction and penetrate the block mounting plate 831 in the Y direction. The movable bracket 83 also has four vertical elongated holes 834 provided in the main body mounting plate 832. The vertical elongated holes 834 extend parallel to the Z direction and penetrate the main body mounting plate 832 in the X direction. The movable bracket 83 also has two tension screw holes 835 aligned side by side in the Z direction. The two tension screw holes 835 extend parallel to the X direction in the block mounting plate 831 and open on the opposing surface 831f. These two tension screw holes 835 face the two through holes 813 of the horizontal adjustment plate 81 in the X direction.

[0085] The position adjustment unit 8 also has a vertical adjustment plate 84 that faces the lower side of the main body mounting plate 832. This vertical adjustment plate 84 is provided with push-up screw holes 841 that extend parallel to the Z direction, and the push-up screw holes 841 penetrate the vertical adjustment plate 84 in the Z direction.

[0086] Furthermore, the position adjustment unit 8 has two pressure screws 851 and two tension screws 852 provided on the level adjustment plate 81. The pressure screws 851 are threaded into the pressure screw holes 814 from the X2 side, and the tips of the pressure screws 851 protrude from the level adjustment plate 81 toward the block mounting plate 831 (X1 side) and abut against the opposing surface 831f of the block mounting plate 831. The tension screws 852 are inserted into the through holes 813 from the X2 side. The tips of the tension screws 852 protrude from the through holes 813 toward the block mounting plate 831 (X1 side) and screw into tension screw holes 835 provided in the block mounting plate 831. In other words, the tips of the tension screws 852 are threaded into the tension screw holes 835 of the block mounting plate 831 from the X2 side. On the other hand, the screw head of the tension screw 852 is located on the opposite side (X2 side) of the block mounting plate 831 from the through-hole 813 and abuts against the horizontal adjustment plate 81.

[0087] In this configuration, when the pressure screw 851 that threads into the pressure screw hole 814 is screwed in toward the X1 side, the pressure screw 851 generates a force that separates the horizontal adjustment plate 81 and the movable bracket 83 in the X direction. Furthermore, when the tension screw 852 that threads into the tension screw hole 835 is screwed in toward the X1 side, the tension screw 852 generates a force that brings the horizontal adjustment plate 81 and the movable bracket 83 closer in the X direction. Therefore, by adjusting the amount of threading of the pressure screw 851 and the tension screw 852, the position of the air turn bar 6u relative to the mounting plate 53 of the housing 5 can be adjusted in the X direction.

[0088] The position adjustment unit 8 also has a plate fastening screw 853 inserted into the horizontal elongated hole 833. The plate fastening screw 853 is inserted into the horizontal elongated hole 833 from the Y1 side, and the tip of the plate fastening screw 853 screws into the bar fixing block 82. When the plate fastening screw 853 is loosened from the bar fixing block 82, the plate fastening screw 853 can move in the X direction relative to the horizontal elongated hole 833. Therefore, the position of the air turn bar 6u in the X direction can be adjusted using the pressure screw 851 and tension screw 852. On the other hand, when this position adjustment is complete, the block mounting plate 831 is fastened to the bar fixing block 82 by the plate fastening screw 853, thereby fixing the position of the air turn bar 6u in the X direction relative to the mounting plate 53 of the housing 5.

[0089] Furthermore, the position adjustment unit 8 has one push-up screw 854 provided on the vertical adjustment plate 84. The push-up screw 854 is screwed into the push-up screw hole 841 from below, and the tip of the push-up screw 854 protrudes upward from the vertical adjustment plate 84 and abuts against the main body mounting plate 832 from below.

[0090] In this configuration, when the push-up screw 854 that threads into the push-up screw hole 841 is screwed upward, the push-up screw hole 841 generates a force that pushes the main body mounting plate 832 upward relative to the vertical adjustment plate 84. Therefore, by adjusting the amount that the push-up screw hole 841 is screwed in, the position of the air turn bar 6u relative to the mounting plate 53 of the housing 5 can be adjusted in the Z direction.

[0091] The position adjustment unit 8 also has a main body fastening screw 855 inserted into the vertical elongated hole 834. This main body fastening screw 855 is inserted into the vertical elongated hole 834 from the X2 side, and the tip of the main body fastening screw 855 screws into the mounting plate 53 of the housing 5. When the main body fastening screw 855 is loosely screwed into the mounting plate 53, the main body fastening screw 855 can move in the Z direction relative to the vertical elongated hole 834. Therefore, the position of the air turn bar 6u in the Z direction can be adjusted by the push-up screw 854. On the other hand, when this position adjustment is complete, the main body mounting plate 832 is fastened to the mounting plate 53 of the housing 5 by the main body fastening screw 855, thereby fixing the position of the air turn bar 6u in the Z direction relative to the mounting plate 53 of the housing 5.

[0092] 10A is a plan view schematically showing the rotation support part of the positioning mechanism, FIG. 10B is a side view schematically showing the rotation support part of the positioning mechanism, and FIG. 11 is a perspective view schematically showing the biaxial rotation member provided in the positioning mechanism of FIGS. 10A and 10B. As shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B, the positioning mechanism J has a rotation support part 9 that supports the Y2-side end of the air turn bar 6u. The rotation support part 9 has a fixing plate 91 fixed to the side wall member 62 and the back surface 612 on the Y2 side of the air turn bar 6u. This fixing plate 91 protrudes from the air turn bar 6u toward the mounting plate 53 of the housing 5.

[0093] The rotation support unit 9 also has a fixed bracket 92 attached to the mounting plate 53 of the housing 5. The fixed bracket 92 has a protruding plate 921 provided so as to be perpendicular to the Y direction, and a main body mounting plate 922 provided so as to be perpendicular to the X direction. The main body mounting plate 922 is fixed to the mounting plate 53 of the housing 5, and the protruding plate 921 protrudes from the main body mounting plate 922 to the X2 side.

[0094] The rotation support unit 9 has a biaxial support unit 93 that supports the fixed plate 91 and the fixed bracket 92 relative to each other with two degrees of freedom. The biaxial support unit 93 has a biaxial rotation member 94 shown in FIG. 11. The biaxial rotation member 94 has a rotation member main body 941, a vertical rotation shaft member 942 that is provided along a vertical rotation axis Av parallel to the vertical direction and protrudes vertically from the rotation member main body 941, and a horizontal rotation shaft member 943 that is provided along a horizontal rotation axis Ah parallel to the horizontal direction and protrudes horizontally from the rotation member main body 941. The biaxial rotation member 94 is rotatable in a rotation direction θv about the vertical rotation axis Av and a rotation direction θh about the horizontal rotation axis Ah.

[0095] 10A and 10B, the biaxial support unit 93 has a vertical rotation support member 95 that pivotally supports the biaxial rotation member 94. The vertical rotation support member 95 is fixed to the fixed plate 91 and protrudes from the fixed plate 91 to the Y2 side. The vertical rotation support member 95 has a lower end support plate 951 that receives the lower end of the vertical rotation shaft member 942 of the biaxial rotation member 94, and an upper end support plate 952 that receives the upper end of the vertical rotation shaft member 942 of the biaxial rotation member 94, and supports the vertical rotation shaft member 942 of the biaxial rotation member 94 rotatably in the rotation direction θv.

[0096] Furthermore, the biaxial support unit 93 has a horizontal rotation support member 96 that pivotally supports the biaxial rotation member 94. The horizontal rotation support member 96 is fixed to the protruding plate 921 of the fixed bracket 92 and protrudes from the protruding plate 921 to the Y1 side. The horizontal rotation support member 96 has a one-end support plate 961 that receives one end of the horizontal rotation shaft member 943 of the biaxial rotation member 94, and an other-end support plate 962 that receives the other end of the horizontal rotation shaft member 943 of the biaxial rotation member 94, and supports the horizontal rotation shaft member 943 of the biaxial rotation member 94 so that it can rotate in the rotation direction θh.

[0097] As described above, in the drying device 3, the print medium M is transported non-contact (in other words, floated) in the section from the middle transport section 31m (first transport section) to the lower transport section 31l (second transport section) via the air turn bars 6u and 6l (first and second non-contact support members) (i.e., the section from passing through roller 32l to reaching the discharge roller 33). Therefore, there are cases where the print medium M is affected by the wind from the air (gas) sprayed in the middle transport section 31m and the lower transport section 31l and is skewed and falls off the air turn bars 6u and 6l in the Y direction. In contrast, in the embodiment described with reference to FIGS. 9 to 11, a positioning mechanism J (first and second positioning units) is provided that positions the air turn bars 6u and 6l (first and second non-contact support members) relative to the housing 5 (main body frame). The positioning mechanisms J each have a rotation support section 9 (first and second rotation support sections) and a position adjustment section 8 (first and second position adjustment sections), and both ends of the air turn bars 6u and 6l are supported by the rotation support section 9 and the position adjustment section 8. In particular, the rotation support section 9 supports the air turn bars 6u and 6l relative to the housing 5 so that they can rotate in a rotation direction θh about a horizontal rotation axis Ah (first and second horizontal rotation axis) parallel to the horizontal direction, and in a rotation direction θv about a vertical rotation axis Av (first and second vertical rotation axis) parallel to the vertical direction. Furthermore, the position adjustment section 8 supports the air turn bars 6u and 6l relative to the housing 5 so that the positions of the air turn bars 6u and 6l relative to the housing 5 can be adjusted in both the X direction (horizontal direction) and the Z direction (vertical direction). Therefore, the positions of the air turn bars 6u and 6l relative to the housing 5 can be adjusted in both the X direction and the Z direction. This allows the positions of the air turn bars 6u, 6l to be adjusted so that the printing medium M does not fall off from the air turn bars 6u, 6l. As a result, it becomes possible to prevent the printing medium M from falling off from the air turn bars 6u, 6l that support the printing medium M in a non-contact manner.

[0098] The rotation support unit 9 also has a biaxial rotation member 94 (first and second rotation members) that can rotate about a horizontal rotation axis Ah (first and second horizontal rotation axes) and a vertical rotation axis Av (first and second vertical rotation axes). Specifically, the rotation support unit 9 includes a fixed bracket 92 (first and second fixed bracket) fixed to the housing 5 and a horizontal rotation support member 96 (first and second horizontal rotation support member) attached to the fixed bracket 92, and the biaxial rotation member 94 is supported by the horizontal rotation support member 96 so as to be rotatable about the horizontal rotation axis Ah. The rotation support unit 9 also includes a fixed plate 91 (first and second fixed plate) fixed to the air turn bars 6u and 6l and a vertical rotation support member 95 (first and second vertical rotation support member) supported by the fixed plate 91, and the biaxial rotation member 94 is supported by the vertical rotation support member 95 so as to be rotatable about the vertical rotation axis Av. With this configuration, the air turn bars 6u and 6l can be supported so as to be rotatable in both the horizontal and vertical directions.

[0099] Furthermore, an air supply unit 57 (gas supply unit) is disposed on the Y2 side of the air turn bars 6u, 6l in the Y direction (width direction of the printing medium M). A pipe 63 at the Y2 side end of the air turn bar 6u is connected to a duct 572u of the air supply unit 57, and this duct 572u supplies air supplied by the air supply unit 57 to the air turn bar 6u via the pipe 63. A pipe 63 at the Y2 side end of the air turn bar 6l is connected to a duct 572l of the air supply unit 57, and this duct 572l supplies air supplied by the air supply unit 57 to the air turn bar 6u via the pipe 63. Meanwhile, predetermined ends of the air turn bars 6u, 6l are supported by rotation support units 9 (first and second rotation support units). In this configuration, the position adjustment unit 8, where the operator adjusts the positions of the air turn bars 6u and 6l, is located on the opposite side of the ducts 572u and 572l for supplying gas, allowing the operator to adjust the positions without being interfered with by the ducts 572u and 572l.

[0100] The position adjustment unit 8 also has a movable bracket 83 (first and second movable brackets). The movable bracket 83 has a main body mounting plate 832 (first and second main body mounting portions) having vertical elongated holes 834 (first and second vertical elongated holes) parallel to the Z direction, and a block mounting plate 831 (first and second plate mounting portions) extending from the main body mounting plate 832 in the X direction and having horizontal elongated holes 833 (first and second horizontal elongated holes) parallel to the X direction. The position adjustment unit 8 also has bar fixing blocks 82 (first and second support plates) facing the block mounting plate 831 and attached to the air turn bars 6u, 6l. Then, main body fastening screws 855 (first and second main body fastening members) are inserted into vertical elongated holes 834 (first and second vertical elongated holes) of main body mounting plate 832 to fasten main body mounting plate 832 to mounting plate 53 of housing 5, and plate fastening screws 853 (first and second plate fastening members) are inserted into horizontal elongated holes 833 of block mounting plate 831 to fasten block mounting plate 831 to bar fixing block 82. With this configuration, by adjusting the position of horizontal elongated holes 833 relative to plate fastening screws 853 and adjusting the position of vertical elongated holes 834 relative to main body fastening screws 855, the positions of air turn bars 6u, 6l can be adjusted in both the horizontal and vertical directions.

[0101] The position adjustment unit 8 also has a horizontal adjustment plate 81 (first and second horizontal adjustment plates). This horizontal adjustment plate 81 is provided with press screw holes 814 (first and second press screw holes) extending in the X direction and through holes 813 (first and second through holes) extending in the X direction. Press screws 851 (first and second press screws) are threaded into the press screw holes 814, and tension screws 852 (first and second tension screws) are inserted into the through holes 813. The tip of the press screw 851 protrudes from the press screw hole 814 towards the block mounting plate 831 and abuts against the block mounting plate 831, and the tip of the tension screw 852 protrudes from the through hole 813 towards the block mounting plate 831 and threadably engages with a tension screw hole 835 provided in the block mounting plate 831. Meanwhile, the screw head of tension screw 852 is located on the opposite side of block mounting plate 831 from through-hole 813 and abuts against level adjustment plate 81. When press screw 851 is screwed into press screw hole 814 toward block mounting plate 831, it moves block mounting plate 831 away from level adjustment plate 81 in the X direction, and when tension screw 852 is screwed into tension screw hole 835 toward block mounting plate 831, it moves block mounting plate 831 closer to level adjustment plate 81. With this configuration, the positions of air turn bars 6u, 6l can be adjusted in the X direction by the simple task of operating press screw 851 and tension screw 852.

[0102] The position adjustment unit 8 also has vertical adjustment plates 84 (first and second vertical adjustment plates). These vertical adjustment plates 84 are provided with push-up screw holes 841 (first and second push-up screw holes 841) extending in the Z direction, and push-up screws 854 are threaded into the push-up screw holes 841. The tips of the push-up screws 854 protrude upward from the push-up screw holes 841 toward the main body mounting plate 832 and abut against the main body mounting plate 832 from below. When the push-up screws 854 are threaded into the push-up screw holes 841 toward the main body mounting plate 832, they push the main body mounting plate 832 upward. With this configuration, the positions of the air turn bars 6u, 6l can be adjusted in the Z direction by the simple task of operating the push-up screws 854.

[0103] In the embodiment described above, the drying device 3 corresponds to an example of the "drying device" of the present invention, the middle conveying section 31m corresponds to an example of the "first conveying section" of the present invention, the lower conveying section 31l corresponds to an example of the "second conveying section" of the present invention, the nozzle 46u corresponds to an example of the "first and second upper nozzles" of the present invention, the nozzle 46l corresponds to an example of the "second and second lower nozzles" of the present invention, the X direction corresponds to an example of the "horizontal direction" of the present invention, the X1 side corresponds to an example of the "other side" of the present invention, the X2 side corresponds to an example of the "one side" of the present invention, and the air turn bar 6u corresponds to an example of the "first non-contact support member" of the present invention. In this regard, the air turn bar 6l corresponds to an example of the "second non-contact support member" of the present invention, the support circumferential surface 611 corresponds to an example of the "first and second support circumferential surfaces" of the present invention, the air injection holes H correspond to an example of the "first and second injection holes" of the present invention, each of the drop-out prevention members 7l and 7r provided at both ends of the air turn bar 6u corresponds to an example of the "first drop-out prevention member" of the present invention, each of the drop-out prevention members 7l and 7r provided at both ends of the air turn bar 6l corresponds to an example of the "second drop-out prevention member" of the present invention, the drop-out prevention circumferential surface 711 corresponds to an example of the "first and second drop-out prevention circumferential surfaces" of the present invention, and the bolt 75 1 corresponds to an example of the "first and second fastening members" of the present invention, the housing 5 corresponds to an example of the "main body frame" of the present invention, the positioning mechanism J provided for the air turn bar 6u corresponds to an example of the "first positioning portion" of the present invention, the positioning mechanism J provided for the air turn bar 6l corresponds to an example of the "second positioning portion" of the present invention, the rotation support portion 9 corresponds to an example of the "first and second rotation support portions" of the present invention, the position adjustment portion 8 corresponds to an example of the "first and second position adjustment portions" of the present invention, the horizontal rotation axis Ah corresponds to an example of the "first and second horizontal rotation axes" of the present invention, and the vertical rotation axis Av corresponds to an example of the " the fixed bracket 92 corresponds to an example of the "first and second fixed brackets" of the present invention; the horizontal rotation support member 96 corresponds to an example of the "first and second horizontal rotation support members" of the present invention; the biaxial rotation member 94 corresponds to an example of the "first and second rotation members" of the present invention; the vertical rotation support member 95 corresponds to an example of the "first and second vertical rotation support members" of the present invention; the fixed plate 91 corresponds to an example of the "first and second fixed plates" of the present invention; the air supply unit 57 corresponds to an example of the "gas supply unit" of the present invention; the duct 572u corresponds to an example of the "first duct" of the present invention;The duct 572l corresponds to an example of the "second duct" of the present invention, the vertical elongated hole 834 corresponds to an example of the "first and second vertical elongated holes" of the present invention, the main body mounting plate 832 corresponds to an example of the "first and second main body mounting portions" of the present invention, the horizontal elongated hole 833 corresponds to an example of the "first and second horizontal elongated holes" of the present invention, the block mounting plate 831 corresponds to an example of the "first and second plate mounting portions" of the present invention, the movable bracket 83 corresponds to an example of the "first and second movable brackets" of the present invention, the bar fixing block 82 corresponds to an example of the "first and second support plates" of the present invention, the main body fastening screw 855 corresponds to an example of the "first and second main body fastening members" of the present invention, and the plate fastening screw 853 corresponds to an example of the "first and second plate fastening members" of the present invention. the pressure screw hole 814 corresponds to an example of the "first and second pressure screw holes" of the present invention, the through hole 813 corresponds to an example of the "first and second through holes" of the present invention, the horizontal adjustment plate 81 corresponds to an example of the "first and second horizontal adjustment plates" of the present invention, the pressure screw 851 corresponds to an example of the "first and second pressure screws" of the present invention, the tension screw 852 corresponds to an example of the "first and second tension screws" of the present invention, the tension screw hole 835 corresponds to an example of the "first and second tension screw holes" of the present invention, the push-up screw 854 corresponds to an example of the "first and second push-up screws" of the present invention, the vertical adjustment plate 84 corresponds to an example of the "first and second vertical adjustment plates" of the present invention, and the push-up screw hole 841 corresponds to an example of the "first and second push-up screw holes" of the present invention.

[0104] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, the attachment points of the fall-off prevention members 7l and 7r are not limited to the air turn bars 6u and 6l, but may be the housing 5.

[0105] Furthermore, the positional relationship between the supporting circumferential surface 611 and the fall-off prevention circumferential surface 711 is not limited to the example in FIG. 7B, and they may be flush with each other, for example.

[0106] In addition, in the positioning mechanism J, the position adjustment unit 8 may be provided on the Y2 side, and the rotation support unit 9 may be provided on the Y1 side. [Industrial Applicability]

[0107] The present invention is applicable to all techniques for drying water-based ink applied to the recording surface of a long strip-shaped substrate. [Explanation of symbols]

[0108] 3...Drying device 31m...Middle conveyor section 31l… 6u…Air Turn Bar 6l...Air Turn Bar 7l...Fall prevention member 7r...Fall prevention member J... Positioning mechanism 8...Position adjustment section 9...Rotation support part

Claims

1. A first transport unit having a plurality of first upper nozzles arranged horizontally above a long strip-shaped printing medium having a printing surface with ink attached and a non-printing surface opposite the printing surface, and a plurality of first lower nozzles arranged horizontally below the printing medium, which sprays gas onto the printing medium from the plurality of first upper nozzles and sprays gas onto the printing medium from the plurality of first lower nozzles, and transports the printing medium to one side in the horizontal direction with the printing surface facing downwards; a first non-contact support member that has a first support circumferential surface facing the printing surface of the printing medium that has been transported to the one side from the first transport unit and a plurality of first injection holes that open on the first support circumferential surface, and that supports the printing surface of the printing medium in a non-contact manner by injecting gas from the first injection holes onto the printing surface of the printing medium, and changes the traveling direction of the printing medium from the one side to a downward side in the horizontal direction; a second non-contact support member having a second circumferential support surface facing the printing surface of the printing medium transported downward from the first non-contact support member and a plurality of second injection holes opening in the second circumferential support surface, the second non-contact support member supporting the printing surface of the printing medium in a non-contact manner by injecting gas from the second injection holes onto the printing surface of the printing medium and changing the traveling direction of the printing medium from the lower side to the other side opposite to the one side in the horizontal direction; a second transport unit having a plurality of second upper nozzles arranged in the horizontal direction above the printing medium transported from the second non-contact support member to the other side in the horizontal direction, and a plurality of second lower nozzles arranged in the horizontal direction below the printing medium, and jetting gas onto the printing medium from the plurality of second upper nozzles and jetting gas onto the printing medium from the plurality of second lower nozzles, thereby transporting the printing medium to the other side in the horizontal direction with the printing surface facing upward; two first fall-off prevention members provided at both ends of the first non-contact support member in the width direction of the print medium; two second fall-off prevention members provided at both ends of the second non-contact support member in the width direction of the print medium; Equipped with the first fall-off prevention member has a first fall-off prevention circumferential surface adjacent to the first support circumferential surface of the first non-contact support member in the width direction, the second drop-off prevention member has a second drop-off prevention circumferential surface adjacent to the second support circumferential surface of the second non-contact support member in the width direction, When the printing medium moves obliquely and shifts from the first support peripheral surface to the first drop-out prevention peripheral surface, the gas injected from the plurality of first injection holes in the first support peripheral surface flows toward the first drop-out prevention peripheral surface through a gap between the first support peripheral surface and the printing surface of the printing medium facing the first support peripheral surface, forming a gap between the first drop-out prevention peripheral surface and the printing surface of the printing medium facing the first drop-out prevention peripheral surface, When the printing medium moves obliquely and shifts from the second support peripheral surface to the second drop-out prevention peripheral surface, the gas injected from the plurality of second injection holes in the second support peripheral surface flows toward the second drop-out prevention peripheral surface through a gap between the second support peripheral surface and the printing surface of the printing medium facing the second support peripheral surface, forming a gap between the second drop-out prevention peripheral surface and the printing surface of the printing medium facing the second drop-out prevention peripheral surface, When viewed from the side in the width direction, the first supporting circumferential surface protrudes beyond the first falling-off prevention circumferential surface, and the second supporting circumferential surface protrudes beyond the second falling-off prevention circumferential surface.

2. A first transport unit having a plurality of first upper nozzles arranged horizontally above a long strip-shaped printing medium having a printing surface with ink attached and a non-printing surface opposite the printing surface, and a plurality of first lower nozzles arranged horizontally below the printing medium, which sprays gas onto the printing medium from the plurality of first upper nozzles and sprays gas onto the printing medium from the plurality of first lower nozzles, and transports the printing medium to one side in the horizontal direction with the printing surface facing downwards; a first non-contact support member that has a first support circumferential surface facing the printing surface of the printing medium that has been transported to the one side from the first transport unit and a plurality of first injection holes that open on the first support circumferential surface, and that supports the printing surface of the printing medium in a non-contact manner by injecting gas from the first injection holes onto the printing surface of the printing medium, and changes the traveling direction of the printing medium from the one side to a downward side in the horizontal direction; a second non-contact support member having a second circumferential support surface facing the printing surface of the printing medium transported downward from the first non-contact support member and a plurality of second injection holes opening in the second circumferential support surface, the second non-contact support member supporting the printing surface of the printing medium in a non-contact manner by injecting gas from the second injection holes onto the printing surface of the printing medium and changing the traveling direction of the printing medium from the lower side to the other side opposite to the one side in the horizontal direction; a second transport unit having a plurality of second upper nozzles arranged in the horizontal direction above the printing medium transported from the second non-contact support member to the other side in the horizontal direction, and a plurality of second lower nozzles arranged in the horizontal direction below the printing medium, and jetting gas onto the printing medium from the plurality of second upper nozzles and jetting gas onto the printing medium from the plurality of second lower nozzles, thereby transporting the printing medium to the other side in the horizontal direction with the printing surface facing upward; two first fall-off prevention members provided at both ends of the first non-contact support member in the width direction of the print medium; two second fall-off prevention members provided at both ends of the second non-contact support member in the width direction of the print medium; a first fastening member that fastens the first fall-off prevention member to the first non-contact support member; a second fastening member that fastens the second fall-off prevention member to the second non-contact support member; Equipped with the first fall-off prevention member has a first fall-off prevention circumferential surface adjacent to the first support circumferential surface of the first non-contact support member in the width direction, the second drop-off prevention member has a second drop-off prevention circumferential surface adjacent to the second support circumferential surface of the second non-contact support member in the width direction, When the printing medium moves obliquely and shifts from the first support peripheral surface to the first drop-out prevention peripheral surface, the gas injected from the plurality of first injection holes in the first support peripheral surface flows toward the first drop-out prevention peripheral surface through a gap between the first support peripheral surface and the printing surface of the printing medium facing the first support peripheral surface, forming a gap between the first drop-out prevention peripheral surface and the printing surface of the printing medium facing the first drop-out prevention peripheral surface, When the printing medium shifts obliquely from the second support surface to the second anti-fall surface, the gas injected from the plurality of second injection holes on the second support surface flows through the gap between the second support surface and the printing surface of the printing medium facing the second support surface toward the second anti-fall surface, forming a gap between the second anti-fall surface and the printing surface of the printing medium facing the second anti-fall surface.

3. A first transport unit having a plurality of first upper nozzles arranged horizontally above a long strip-shaped printing medium having a printing surface with ink attached and a non-printing surface opposite the printing surface, and a plurality of first lower nozzles arranged horizontally below the printing medium, which sprays gas onto the printing medium from the plurality of first upper nozzles and sprays gas onto the printing medium from the plurality of first lower nozzles, and transports the printing medium to one side in the horizontal direction with the printing surface facing downward; a first non-contact support member that has a first support circumferential surface facing the printing surface of the printing medium that has been transported to the one side from the first transport unit and a plurality of first injection holes that open on the first support circumferential surface, and that supports the printing surface of the printing medium in a non-contact manner by injecting gas from the first injection holes onto the printing surface of the printing medium, and changes the traveling direction of the printing medium from the one side to a downward side in the horizontal direction; a second non-contact support member having a second circumferential support surface facing the printing surface of the printing medium transported downward from the first non-contact support member and a plurality of second injection holes opening in the second circumferential support surface, the second non-contact support member supporting the printing surface of the printing medium in a non-contact manner by injecting gas from the second injection holes onto the printing surface of the printing medium and changing the traveling direction of the printing medium from the lower side to the other side opposite to the one side in the horizontal direction; a second transport unit having a plurality of second upper nozzles arranged in the horizontal direction above the printing medium transported from the second non-contact support member to the other side in the horizontal direction, and a plurality of second lower nozzles arranged in the horizontal direction below the printing medium, and jetting gas onto the printing medium from the plurality of second upper nozzles and jetting gas onto the printing medium from the plurality of second lower nozzles, thereby transporting the printing medium to the other side in the horizontal direction with the printing surface facing upward; two first fall-off prevention members provided at both ends of the first non-contact support member in the width direction of the print medium; two second fall-off prevention members provided at both ends of the second non-contact support member in the width direction of the print medium; a main body frame supporting the first transfer unit and the second transfer unit; a first positioning portion that positions the first non-contact support member relative to the main body frame; a second positioning portion that positions the second non-contact support member with respect to the main body frame; Equipped with the first fall-off prevention member has a first fall-off prevention circumferential surface adjacent to the first support circumferential surface of the first non-contact support member in the width direction, the second drop-off prevention member has a second drop-off prevention circumferential surface adjacent to the second support circumferential surface of the second non-contact support member in the width direction, When the printing medium moves obliquely and shifts from the first support peripheral surface to the first drop-out prevention peripheral surface, the gas injected from the plurality of first injection holes in the first support peripheral surface flows toward the first drop-out prevention peripheral surface through a gap between the first support peripheral surface and the printing surface of the printing medium facing the first support peripheral surface, forming a gap between the first drop-out prevention peripheral surface and the printing surface of the printing medium facing the first drop-out prevention peripheral surface, When the printing medium moves obliquely and shifts from the second support peripheral surface to the second drop-out prevention peripheral surface, the gas injected from the plurality of second injection holes in the second support peripheral surface flows toward the second drop-out prevention peripheral surface through a gap between the second support peripheral surface and the printing surface of the printing medium facing the second support peripheral surface, forming a gap between the second drop-out prevention peripheral surface and the printing surface of the printing medium facing the second drop-out prevention peripheral surface, the first positioning unit has a first rotation support unit and a first position adjustment unit, and supports both ends of the first non-contact support member by the first rotation support unit and the first position adjustment unit; the first rotation support portion supports the first non-contact support member relative to the main body frame so as to be rotatable in a rotation direction about a first horizontal rotation axis parallel to the horizontal direction and a rotation direction about a first vertical rotation axis parallel to the vertical direction; the first position adjustment unit supports the first non-contact support member with respect to the main body frame so that a position of the first non-contact support member with respect to the main body frame can be adjusted in each of the horizontal direction and the vertical direction; the second positioning unit has a second rotation support unit and a second position adjustment unit, and both ends of the second non-contact support member are supported by the second rotation support unit and the second position adjustment unit; the second rotation support portion supports the second non-contact support member relative to the main body frame so as to be rotatable in a rotation direction about a second horizontal rotation axis parallel to the horizontal direction and a rotation direction about a second vertical rotation axis parallel to the vertical direction; The second position adjustment unit supports the second non-contact support member relative to the main body frame so that the position of the second non-contact support member relative to the main body frame can be adjusted in each of the horizontal direction and the vertical direction.

4. The first rotation support portion is a first fixing bracket fixed to the main body frame; a first horizontal rotation support member attached to the first fixed bracket; a first rotating member supported by the first horizontal rotation support member so as to be rotatable about the first horizontal rotation axis; a first vertical rotation support member that supports the first rotation member so that the first rotation member is rotatable about the first vertical rotation axis; a first fixed plate that supports the first vertical rotation support member and is fixed to the first non-contact support member; and The second rotation support portion is a second fixing bracket fixed to the main body frame; a second horizontal rotation support member attached to the second fixed bracket; a second rotating member supported by the second horizontal rotation support member so as to be rotatable about the second horizontal rotation axis; a second vertical rotation support member that supports the second rotation member rotatably about the second vertical rotation axis; a second fixed plate that supports the second vertical rotation support member and is fixed to the second non-contact support member; 4. The drying device according to claim 3, further comprising:

5. a gas supply unit disposed on a predetermined side in a width direction of the print medium with respect to the first non-contact support member and the second non-contact support member; a first duct that connects the gas supply unit and the end of the first non-contact support member on the predetermined side and supplies gas from the gas supply unit to the first non-contact support member; a second duct that connects the gas supply unit and the end of the second non-contact support member on the predetermined side and supplies gas from the gas supply unit to the second non-contact support member; Furthermore, the first non-contact support member injects the gas supplied by the first duct from the plurality of first injection holes; the second non-contact support member injects the gas supplied by the second duct from the plurality of second injection holes, the first rotation support portion supports the end of the first non-contact support member on the predetermined side, The drying device according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the second rotation support portion supports the end of the second non-contact support member on the predetermined side.

6. The first position adjustment unit is a first movable bracket having a first main body mounting portion having a first vertical elongated hole parallel to the vertical direction, and a first plate mounting portion extending from the first main body mounting portion in the horizontal direction and having a first horizontal elongated hole parallel to the horizontal direction; a first support plate facing the first plate attachment portion and attached to the first non-contact support member; a first main body fastening member inserted into the first vertical slot of the first main body mounting portion to fasten the first main body mounting portion to the main body frame; a first plate fastening member inserted into the first horizontal slot of the first plate mounting portion to fasten the first plate mounting portion to the first support plate; and The second position adjustment unit is a second movable bracket having a second main body mounting portion having a second vertical elongated hole parallel to the vertical direction, and a second plate mounting portion extending from the second main body mounting portion in the horizontal direction and having a second horizontal elongated hole parallel to the horizontal direction; a second support plate facing the second plate attachment portion and attached to the second non-contact support member; a second main body fastening member inserted into the second vertical slot of the second main body mounting portion to fasten the second main body mounting portion to the main body frame; a second plate fastening member inserted into the second horizontal slot of the second plate mounting portion to fasten the second plate mounting portion to the second support plate; 6. The drying device according to claim 3, further comprising:

7. The first position adjustment unit is a first horizontal adjustment plate having a first press screw hole extending in the horizontal direction and a first through hole extending in the horizontal direction, the first horizontal adjustment plate being attached to the first non-contact support member; a first press screw that is screwed into the first press screw hole; a first tension screw inserted into the first through hole; and a tip of the first pressure screw protrudes from the first pressure screw hole toward the first plate mounting portion and abuts against the first plate mounting portion; a tip end of the first tension screw protrudes from the first through hole toward the first plate mounting portion and is screwed into a first tension screw hole provided in the first plate mounting portion; a screw head of the first tension screw is positioned on the opposite side of the first plate mounting portion from the first through hole and abuts against the first horizontal adjustment plate; When the first pressure screw is screwed into the first pressure screw hole toward the first plate mounting portion, the first plate mounting portion is separated from the first horizontal adjustment plate, When the first tension screw is screwed into the first tension screw hole toward the first plate mounting portion, the first plate mounting portion is brought closer to the first horizontal adjustment plate, The second position adjustment unit is a second horizontal adjustment plate having a second press screw hole extending in the horizontal direction and a second through hole extending in the horizontal direction, the second horizontal adjustment plate being attached to the second non-contact support member; a second press screw that is screwed into the second press screw hole; a second tension screw inserted into the second through hole; and a tip of the second pressure screw protrudes from the second pressure screw hole toward the second plate mounting portion and abuts against the second plate mounting portion; a tip end of the second tension screw protrudes from the second through hole toward the second plate mounting portion and is screwed into a second tension screw hole provided in the second plate mounting portion; a screw head of the second tension screw is located on the opposite side of the second plate mounting portion from the second through hole and abuts against the second horizontal adjustment plate; When the second pressure screw is screwed into the second pressure screw hole toward the second plate mounting portion, the second plate mounting portion is separated from the second horizontal adjustment plate, The drying device according to claim 6 , wherein when the second tension screw is screwed into the second tension screw hole toward the second plate mounting portion, the second plate mounting portion moves closer to the second horizontal adjustment plate.

8. The first position adjustment unit is a first vertical adjustment plate having a first push-up screw hole extending in the vertical direction and attached to the main body frame below the first main body attachment portion; a first push-up screw that is screwed into the first push-up screw hole; and a tip end of the first push-up screw protrudes upward from the first push-up screw hole toward the first main body mounting portion and abuts against the first main body mounting portion; When the first push-up screw is screwed into the first push-up screw hole toward the first main body mounting portion, the first push-up screw pushes up the first main body mounting portion, The second position adjustment unit is a second vertical adjustment plate having a second push-up screw hole extending in the vertical direction and attached to the main body frame below the second main body attachment portion; a second push-up screw that is screwed into the second push-up screw hole; and a tip end of the second push-up screw protrudes upward from the second push-up screw hole toward the second main body mounting portion and abuts against the second main body mounting portion; The drying device according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the second push-up screw pushes up the second main body mounting portion when screwed into the second push-up screw hole toward the second main body mounting portion.

9. a first transport unit that transports a long strip of printing medium having a printing surface with ink adhered thereto and a non-printing surface opposite to the printing surface to one side in a horizontal direction with the printing surface facing downwards; a first non-contact support member that changes the traveling direction of the printing medium transported to the one side from the first transport unit from the one side in the horizontal direction to the downward side; a second non-contact support member that changes the traveling direction of the printing medium transported to the downward side from the first non-contact support member from the downward side to the other side in the horizontal direction opposite to the one side; and a second transport unit that transports the printing medium transported to the other side in the horizontal direction from the second non-contact support member to the other side in the horizontal direction with the printing surface facing upwards, the method comprising: a first fall prevention step of preventing the printing medium from falling off the first non-contact support member when the printing medium is shifted and moves obliquely from the first non-contact support member to the first fall prevention members by using two first fall prevention members provided at both ends of the first non-contact support member in the width direction of the printing medium; a second fall prevention step of preventing the printing medium from falling off the second non-contact support member when the printing medium is shifted and moves obliquely from the second non-contact support member to the second fall prevention members by using two second fall prevention members provided at both ends of the second non-contact support member in the width direction of the printing medium; Equipped with the first transport unit has a plurality of first upper nozzles arranged in the horizontal direction above the print medium and a plurality of first lower nozzles arranged in the horizontal direction below the print medium, and jets gas onto the print medium from the plurality of first upper nozzles and jets gas onto the print medium from the plurality of first lower nozzles; the first non-contact support member has a first support circumferential surface facing the printing surface of the printing medium transported to the one side from the first transport unit, and a plurality of first injection holes opening in the first support circumferential surface, and supports the printing surface of the printing medium in a non-contact manner by injecting gas from the first injection holes onto the printing surface of the printing medium; the second non-contact support member has a second circumferential support surface facing the printing surface of the printing medium conveyed downward from the first non-contact support member, and a plurality of second injection holes opening in the second circumferential support surface, and supports the printing surface of the printing medium in a non-contact manner by injecting gas from the second injection holes onto the printing surface of the printing medium; the second transport unit has a plurality of second upper nozzles arranged in the horizontal direction above the printing medium transported from the second non-contact support member to the other side in the horizontal direction, and a plurality of second lower nozzles arranged in the horizontal direction below the printing medium, and jets gas onto the printing medium from the plurality of second upper nozzles and jets gas onto the printing medium from the plurality of second lower nozzles; the first fall-off prevention member has a first fall-off prevention circumferential surface adjacent to the first support circumferential surface of the first non-contact support member in the width direction, the second drop-off prevention member has a second drop-off prevention circumferential surface adjacent to the second support circumferential surface of the second non-contact support member in the width direction, In the first drop-off prevention step, the gas injected from the plurality of first injection holes of the first support circumferential surface flows toward the first drop-off prevention circumferential surface through a gap between the first support circumferential surface and the printing surface of the printing medium facing the first support circumferential surface, forming a gap between the first drop-off prevention circumferential surface and the printing surface of the printing medium facing the first drop-off prevention circumferential surface, In the second drop-off prevention step, the gas injected from the plurality of second injection holes of the second support circumferential surface flows through a gap between the second support circumferential surface and the printing surface of the printing medium facing the second support circumferential surface toward the second drop-off prevention circumferential surface, forming a gap between the second drop-off prevention circumferential surface and the printing surface of the printing medium facing the second drop-off prevention circumferential surface, The method for preventing a printing medium from falling out, wherein, when viewed from the side in the width direction, the first support circumferential surface protrudes beyond the first fall-prevention circumferential surface, and the second support circumferential surface protrudes beyond the second fall-prevention circumferential surface.

10. a first transport unit having a plurality of first upper nozzles arranged in a horizontal direction above a long strip-shaped print medium having a print surface on which ink is adhered and a non-print surface opposite to the print surface, and a plurality of first lower nozzles arranged in the horizontal direction below the print medium, which ejects gas onto the print medium from the plurality of first upper nozzles and ejects gas onto the print medium from the plurality of first lower nozzles, and transports the print medium to one side in the horizontal direction with the print surface facing downward; a first non-contact support member that has a first support circumferential surface facing the printing surface of the printing medium that has been transported to the one side from the first transport unit and a plurality of first injection holes that open on the first support circumferential surface, and that supports the printing surface of the printing medium in a non-contact manner by injecting gas from the first injection holes onto the printing surface of the printing medium, and changes the traveling direction of the printing medium from the one side to a downward side in the horizontal direction; a second non-contact support member having a second circumferential support surface facing the printing surface of the printing medium transported downward from the first non-contact support member and a plurality of second injection holes opening in the second circumferential support surface, the second non-contact support member supporting the printing surface of the printing medium in a non-contact manner by injecting gas from the second injection holes onto the printing surface of the printing medium and changing the traveling direction of the printing medium from the lower side to the other side opposite to the one side in the horizontal direction; a second transport unit having a plurality of second upper nozzles arranged in the horizontal direction above the printing medium transported from the second non-contact support member to the other side in the horizontal direction, and a plurality of second lower nozzles arranged in the horizontal direction below the printing medium, and jetting gas onto the printing medium from the plurality of second upper nozzles and jetting gas onto the printing medium from the plurality of second lower nozzles, thereby transporting the printing medium to the other side in the horizontal direction with the printing surface facing upward; a main body frame supporting the first transfer unit and the second transfer unit; a first positioning portion that positions the first non-contact support member relative to the main body frame; a second positioning portion that positions the second non-contact support member with respect to the main body frame; Equipped with the first positioning unit has a first rotation support unit and a first position adjustment unit, and supports both ends of the first non-contact support member by the first rotation support unit and the first position adjustment unit; the first rotation support portion supports the first non-contact support member relative to the main body frame so as to be rotatable in a rotation direction about a first horizontal rotation axis parallel to the horizontal direction and a rotation direction about a first vertical rotation axis parallel to the vertical direction; the first position adjustment unit supports the first non-contact support member with respect to the main body frame so that a position of the first non-contact support member with respect to the main body frame can be adjusted in each of the horizontal direction and the vertical direction; the second positioning unit has a second rotation support unit and a second position adjustment unit, and both ends of the second non-contact support member are supported by the second rotation support unit and the second position adjustment unit; the second rotation support portion supports the second non-contact support member relative to the main body frame so as to be rotatable in a rotation direction about a second horizontal rotation axis parallel to the horizontal direction and a rotation direction about a second vertical rotation axis parallel to the vertical direction; The second position adjustment unit supports the second non-contact support member relative to the main body frame so that the position of the second non-contact support member relative to the main body frame can be adjusted in each of the horizontal direction and the vertical direction.

11. The first rotation support portion is a first fixing bracket fixed to the main body frame; a first horizontal rotation support member attached to the first fixed bracket; a first rotating member supported by the first horizontal rotation support member so as to be rotatable about the first horizontal rotation axis; a first vertical rotation support member that supports the first rotation member so that the first rotation member is rotatable about the first vertical rotation axis; a first fixed plate that supports the first vertical rotation support member and is fixed to the first non-contact support member; and The second rotation support portion is a second fixing bracket fixed to the main body frame; a second horizontal rotation support member attached to the second fixed bracket; a second rotating member supported by the second horizontal rotation support member so as to be rotatable about the second horizontal rotation axis; a second vertical rotation support member that supports the second rotation member rotatably about the second vertical rotation axis; a second fixed plate that supports the second vertical rotation support member and is fixed to the second non-contact support member; The drying device according to claim 10, comprising:

12. a gas supply unit disposed on a predetermined side in a width direction of the print medium with respect to the first non-contact support member and the second non-contact support member; a first duct that connects the gas supply unit and the end of the first non-contact support member on the predetermined side and supplies gas from the gas supply unit to the first non-contact support member; a second duct that connects the gas supply unit and the end of the second non-contact support member on the predetermined side and supplies gas from the gas supply unit to the second non-contact support member; Furthermore, the first non-contact support member injects the gas supplied by the first duct from the plurality of first injection holes; the second non-contact support member injects the gas supplied by the second duct from the plurality of second injection holes, the first rotation support portion supports the end of the first non-contact support member on the predetermined side, The drying device according to claim 10 or 11, wherein the second rotation support portion supports the end of the second non-contact support member on the predetermined side.

13. The first position adjustment unit is a first movable bracket having a first main body mounting portion having a first vertical elongated hole parallel to the vertical direction, and a first plate mounting portion extending from the first main body mounting portion in the horizontal direction and having a first horizontal elongated hole parallel to the horizontal direction; a first support plate facing the first plate attachment portion and attached to the first non-contact support member; a first main body fastening member inserted into the first vertical slot of the first main body mounting portion to fasten the first main body mounting portion to the main body frame; a first plate fastening member inserted into the first horizontal slot of the first plate mounting portion to fasten the first plate mounting portion to the first support plate; and The second position adjustment unit is a second movable bracket having a second main body mounting portion having a second vertical elongated hole parallel to the vertical direction, and a second plate mounting portion extending from the second main body mounting portion in the horizontal direction and having a second horizontal elongated hole parallel to the horizontal direction; a second support plate facing the second plate attachment portion and attached to the second non-contact support member; a second main body fastening member inserted into the second vertical slot of the second main body mounting portion to fasten the second main body mounting portion to the main body frame; a second plate fastening member inserted into the second horizontal slot of the second plate mounting portion to fasten the second plate mounting portion to the second support plate; 13. The drying device according to any one of claims 10 to 12, comprising:

14. The first position adjustment unit is a first horizontal adjustment plate having a first press screw hole extending in the horizontal direction and a first through hole extending in the horizontal direction, the first horizontal adjustment plate being attached to the first non-contact support member; a first press screw that is screwed into the first press screw hole; a first tension screw inserted into the first through hole; and a tip of the first pressure screw protrudes from the first pressure screw hole toward the first plate mounting portion and abuts against the first plate mounting portion; a tip end of the first tension screw protrudes from the first through hole toward the first plate mounting portion and is screwed into a first tension screw hole provided in the first plate mounting portion; a screw head of the first tension screw is positioned on the opposite side of the first plate mounting portion from the first through hole and abuts against the first horizontal adjustment plate; When the first pressure screw is screwed into the first pressure screw hole toward the first plate mounting portion, the first plate mounting portion is separated from the first horizontal adjustment plate, When the first tension screw is screwed into the first tension screw hole toward the first plate mounting portion, the first plate mounting portion is brought closer to the first horizontal adjustment plate, The second position adjustment unit is a second horizontal adjustment plate having a second press screw hole extending in the horizontal direction and a second through hole extending in the horizontal direction, the second horizontal adjustment plate being attached to the second non-contact support member; a second press screw that is screwed into the second press screw hole; a second tension screw inserted into the second through hole; and a tip of the second pressure screw protrudes from the second pressure screw hole toward the second plate mounting portion and abuts against the second plate mounting portion; a tip end of the second tension screw protrudes from the second through hole toward the second plate mounting portion and is screwed into a second tension screw hole provided in the second plate mounting portion; a screw head of the second tension screw is located on the opposite side of the second plate mounting portion from the second through hole and abuts against the second horizontal adjustment plate; When the second pressure screw is screwed into the second pressure screw hole toward the second plate mounting portion, the second plate mounting portion is separated from the second horizontal adjustment plate, The drying device according to claim 13 , wherein when the second tension screw is screwed into the second tension screw hole toward the second plate mounting portion, the second plate mounting portion moves closer to the second level adjustment plate.

15. The first position adjustment unit is a first vertical adjustment plate having a first push-up screw hole extending in the vertical direction and attached to the main body frame below the first main body attachment portion; a first push-up screw that is screwed into the first push-up screw hole; and a tip end of the first push-up screw protrudes upward from the first push-up screw hole toward the first main body mounting portion and abuts against the first main body mounting portion; When the first push-up screw is screwed into the first push-up screw hole toward the first main body mounting portion, the first push-up screw pushes up the first main body mounting portion, The second position adjustment unit is a second vertical adjustment plate having a second push-up screw hole extending in the vertical direction and attached to the main body frame below the second main body attachment portion; a second push-up screw that is screwed into the second push-up screw hole; and a tip end of the second push-up screw protrudes upward from the second push-up screw hole toward the second main body mounting portion and abuts against the second main body mounting portion; The drying device according to claim 13 or 14, wherein the second push-up screw pushes up the second main body mounting portion when screwed into the second push-up screw hole toward the second main body mounting portion.

16. a first transport unit that transports a long strip of printing medium having a printing surface with ink adhered thereto and a non-printing surface opposite to the printing surface to one side in a horizontal direction with the printing surface facing downward; a first non-contact support member that changes the traveling direction of the printing medium transported to the one side from the first transport unit from the one side in the horizontal direction to the downward side; a second non-contact support member that changes the traveling direction of the printing medium transported to the downward side from the first non-contact support member from the downward side to the other side opposite to the one side in the horizontal direction; and a second transport unit that transports the printing medium transported to the other side in the horizontal direction from the second non-contact support member to the other side in the horizontal direction with the printing surface facing upward, a first position adjustment step of adjusting a position of the first non-contact support member by a first positioning unit that positions the first non-contact support member with respect to a main body frame that supports the first transport unit and the second transport unit; a second position adjustment step of adjusting a position of the second non-contact support member by a second positioning portion that positions the second non-contact support member with respect to the main body frame; Equipped with the first transport unit has a plurality of first upper nozzles arranged in the horizontal direction above the print medium and a plurality of first lower nozzles arranged in the horizontal direction below the print medium, and jets gas onto the print medium from the plurality of first upper nozzles and jets gas onto the print medium from the plurality of first lower nozzles; the first non-contact support member has a first support circumferential surface facing the printing surface of the printing medium transported to the one side from the first transport unit, and a plurality of first injection holes opening in the first support circumferential surface, and supports the printing surface of the printing medium in a non-contact manner by injecting gas from the first injection holes onto the printing surface of the printing medium; the second non-contact support member has a second circumferential support surface facing the printing surface of the printing medium conveyed downward from the first non-contact support member, and a plurality of second injection holes opening in the second circumferential support surface, and supports the printing surface of the printing medium in a non-contact manner by injecting gas from the second injection holes onto the printing surface of the printing medium; the second transport unit has a plurality of second upper nozzles arranged in the horizontal direction above the printing medium transported from the second non-contact support member to the other side in the horizontal direction, and a plurality of second lower nozzles arranged in the horizontal direction below the printing medium, and jets gas onto the printing medium from the plurality of second upper nozzles and jets gas onto the printing medium from the plurality of second lower nozzles; the first positioning unit has a first rotation support unit and a first position adjustment unit, and supports both ends of the first non-contact support member by the first rotation support unit and the first position adjustment unit; the first rotation support portion supports the first non-contact support member relative to the main body frame so as to be rotatable in a rotation direction about a first horizontal rotation axis parallel to the horizontal direction and a rotation direction about a first vertical rotation axis parallel to the vertical direction; the first position adjustment unit supports the first non-contact support member with respect to the main body frame so that a position of the first non-contact support member with respect to the main body frame can be adjusted in each of the horizontal direction and the vertical direction; the second positioning unit has a second rotation support unit and a second position adjustment unit, and both ends of the second non-contact support member are supported by the second rotation support unit and the second position adjustment unit; the second rotation support portion supports the second non-contact support member relative to the main body frame so as to be rotatable in a rotation direction about a second horizontal rotation axis parallel to the horizontal direction and a rotation direction about a second vertical rotation axis parallel to the vertical direction; A non-contact support member position adjustment method in which the second position adjustment unit supports the second non-contact support member relative to the main body frame so that the position of the second non-contact support member relative to the main body frame can be adjusted in each of the horizontal and vertical directions.

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