Patent Grant
10599078
1. Technical Field
The disclosure relates to a medium processing apparatus configured to perform processing such as drying by heating a medium, and a method of controlling the medium processing apparatus.
2. Related Art
For example, JP-A-2006-192779, JP-A-2016-137604, and JP-A-2016-137605 disclose a printing apparatus for discharging liquid such as ink onto a medium such as paper to perform printing. This printing apparatus includes a medium processing apparatus including a drying device (an example of a heating unit) for applying heat treatment such as heating to a printed medium to be dried. If the printed medium is carried into a drying device in a state where the drying device has not reached the target temperature, the medium loses its printing quality when the printing surface is scratched due to an insufficient drying. For this reason, a heat generating element such as a drying device needs a warm-up operation in which the drying device is heated in advance to the target temperature before a predefined process such as printing process is started.
For example, JP-A-2016-137604 discloses a liquid ejecting apparatus including a heating mechanism (an example of a heating unit) for heating a medium from the front side, where there is known a configuration for controlling the temperature of the heating unit based on a detection result of an IR sensor having detected the surface temperature (e.g., paper surface temperature) to bring the surface of the medium into a heated state at a predefined temperature.
Unfortunately, at the stage before printing, the heating of the drying device is carried out in a state where there is no medium inside the drying device, thus, a temperature sensor such as an IR sensor is to detect a support surface (transport surface) on which no medium is placed yet. However, since the support surface is made of a material (metal or the like) different from the material (paper or the like) of the medium and has different radiation rate than the medium, the temperature of the heating unit, which is controlled based on the surface temperature of the support surface, may be different from the temperature suitable for the medium. As a result, there is a concern that, for example, drying of the medium becomes insufficient and the medium suffers from an excessive thermal damage depending on the material of the support surface. Accordingly, a temperature control of the heating mechanism is required by detecting the surface temperature of the medium with a temperature sensor.
However, if the same portion of the medium continues to be heated for a relatively long time until the heating unit reaches the target temperature taking time for the warm-up operation in which the output of the heating unit is increased prior to the predefined process while the temperature of the heating unit is controlled until reaching the target temperature, the medium is damaged due to thermal damage, and thus the medium used for the warm-up operation cannot be reused for the printing and is then to be discarded as a waste paper, for example. In the meantime, in such type of medium processing apparatus, there is a demand to reduce or eliminate the discarded portions of the medium.
An object of the exemplary embodiment described below is to provide a medium processing apparatus and a method of controlling the medium processing apparatus, in which during the warm-up operation of increasing an output of a heating unit to a temperature suitable for heating the medium, a control of the temperature of the heating unit based on the surface temperature of the medium is properly performed while preventing a damage to the medium used as a target to be heated due to thermal damage.
According to one embodiment, a medium processing apparatus includes: a transport unit configured to transport a medium, a heating unit configured to heat the medium, a temperature sensor configured to detect a surface temperature of the medium in a heated area, the heated area being an area heated by the heating unit, and a control unit configured to control the heating unit based on the surface temperature detected by the temperature sensor, wherein the control unit is configured to start a warm-up operation controlling the heating unit to increase the surface temperature of the medium to a predefined temperature range, and to control transport of the medium during the warm-up operation so that a downstream end portion of the medium is within a predefined range where the medium is located in a detection area of the temperature sensor.
In the above embodiment, during the warm-up operation of increasing the output of the heating unit to a temperature suitable for heating the medium, the temperature of the heating unit can be properly controlled based on the surface temperature of the medium while preventing a damage to the medium used as a target to be heated due to thermal damage.
In a medium processing apparatus according to another embodiment, the control unit may be configured to start the warm-up operation upon receiving a process command for instructing a predefined process, to terminate the warm-up operation upon detecting that the surface temperature of the medium is increased to the predefined temperature range, and to start the predefined process.
In the above embodiment, the user, by giving an instruction of the predefined process, allows the warm-up operation to be started by the control unit having received the process command. The control unit controls the temperature of the heating unit to increase the surface temperature of the medium to the predefined temperature range, and then terminates the warm-up operation to start the predefined process. This allows the user, by giving an instruction of the predefined process, to cause the control unit to start the predefined process for the medium after the heating unit becomes capable of heating the medium to make the surface temperature of the medium in a suitable predefined temperature range.
In a medium processing apparatus according to another embodiment, transport of the medium during the warm-up operation may include transport of the medium at a speed corresponding to a transport speed of the medium during the predefined process.
In the above embodiment, since the warm-up operation includes a transport of the medium at a speed corresponding to the transport speed of the medium in the predefined process subsequently performed, the heating unit can heat the surface of the medium to a suitable temperature when the predefined process is performed. Accordingly, the accuracy of the surface temperature of the medium is improved regardless of the transport speed of the medium during the predefined process, and thus the medium can be properly dried.
In a medium processing apparatus according to another embodiment, the control unit may be configured to cause a downstream end portion on the downstream side of the medium to be transported further upstream than the heated area, after the termination of the warm-up operation, in a state where maintaining the output of the heating unit within a predetermined range, and to start the predefined process after the transport the downstream end portion of the medium further upstream than the heated area is terminated.
In the above embodiment, even if the end portion on the downstream side of a medium is transported upstream side of the heated area and then the medium retreats from the detection area of the temperature sensor after the termination of the warm-up operation, the output of the heating unit is maintained within the predetermined range. This prevents a malfunction of the heating unit due to an improper temperature control of the heating unit by the sensor based on a surface temperature of, for example, a support surface (transport surface) other than the medium.
In a medium processing apparatus according to another embodiment, the control unit may be configured to control transport of the medium during the warm-up operation when surface temperature of the medium detected by the temperature sensor is higher than or equal to specific temperature, the specific temperature being lower than the predefined temperature range.
In the above embodiment, even if the medium is heated by the heating unit, the medium is not transported during the warm-up operation until the medium surface temperature reaches the specific temperature, while the medium is transported after the medium surface temperature reached the specific temperature. Accordingly, the transport amount of the medium during the warm-up operation can be reduced, contributing to power saving. In the above case, since a transport start timing of the medium is determined based on the detection temperature (actual temperature) that is independent of the external environment, an improper transport start timing that is too early or too late can be avoided, achieving a sufficient power saving effect and a temperature control with high accuracy compared to the configuration in which the transport start timing of the medium is determined by a standby time, for example.
In a medium processing apparatus according to another embodiment, the control unit may be configured to control transport of the medium during the warm-up operation after a lapse of a predefined time from the start of the warm-up operation.
In the above embodiment, before the lapse of a predefined time from the start of the warm-up operation, the medium is not transported during the warm-up operation, while after the lapse of a predefined time, the medium is transported during the warm-up operation. Accordingly, the transport amount of the medium during the warm-up operation can be reduced, contributing to power saving.
In a medium processing apparatus according to another embodiment, the control unit may be configured to control transport downstream and transport upstream as transport of the medium during the warm-up operation, the direction of the transport upstream being opposite to the direction of the transport downstream.
In the above embodiment, since the transport toward a downstream side and the transport toward an upstream side of the medium are performed during the warm-up operation, the portion to be heated by the heating unit in the medium transported during the warm-up operation can be relatively shortened. Further, the transport amount (e.g., cue transport amount) of the medium transported toward the upstream side to the start position of the predefined process after the termination of the warm-up operation can be relatively shortened in more assured manner due to the inclusion of the transport toward an upstream side. Accordingly, the average waiting time from the termination of the warm-up operation to the time when the predefined process is started can be relatively shortened. This contributes to an improvement of the throughput of the predefined process.
In a medium processing apparatus according to another embodiment, second transport speed at the transport downstream may be greater than first transport speed at the transport upstream.
In the above embodiment, in the transport of the medium toward the upstream side, the medium is transported at the second transport speed that is greater than the first transport speed at which the medium is transported to the downstream side. For this reason, even if an area just moved to the outside of the heated area in the transport of the medium toward the downstream side enters the heated area immediately after the transport toward a downstream side is switched to the transport toward an upstream side, the medium is then transported toward the upstream side at the second transport speed that is greater than the first transport speed at which the medium is transported to the downstream side, preventing a damage to the area due to thermal damage received by the area on the medium.
In a medium processing apparatus according to another embodiment, the control unit may be configured to control transport of the medium during the warm-up operation so that an area on the medium located at a specific position when transport downstream starts is transported to a position outside of the heated area, the specific position being a position at which medium surface temperature reaches a maximum temperature while the medium being heated by the heating unit.
In the above embodiment, in the transport of the medium during the warm-up operation, the area on the medium located at a position at which a medium surface temperature reaches a maximum temperature while being heated by the heating unit is transported to a position outside of the heated area. Even if the transport toward a downstream side and the transport toward an upstream side of the medium are performed, the area on the medium temporarily moved to the outside of the heated area and radiationally cooled to a certain degree of temperature re-enters the heating area by the switching of the transport direction. This effectively prevents a partial damage to the medium due to thermal damage as well.
In a medium processing apparatus according to another embodiment, the control unit may be configured to control transport of the medium during the warm-up operation so that the area on the medium located at an upstream end portion of the heated area at a predefined timing is transported to a position downstream from the heated area.
In the above embodiment, the entire area on the medium in the heated area is temporarily moved to the outside of the heated area at a predefined timing. Accordingly, the entire area on the medium heated by the heating unit is temporarily radiationally cooled to a certain degree of temperature, further effectively preventing a damage to the medium due to thermal damage.
In another embodiment, a method of controlling a medium processing apparatus for achieving the above-described object is a method of control ling a medium processing apparatus including a heating unit configured to heat a medium and a temperature sensor configured to detect a surface temperature of the medium in a heated area, the heated area being an area heated by the heating unit, the method including: starting a warm-up operation increasing a surface temperature of the medium to a predefined temperature range by the heating unit, and causing the medium to be transported during the warm-up operation so that a downstream end portion of the medium is within a predefined range where the medium is located in a detection area of the temperature sensor. According to the above method, during the warm-up operation, the heating unit can be controlled to a suitable temperature while suppressing damage to the medium due to thermal damage.
The invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like numbers reference like elements.
One exemplary embodiment of a printing apparatus including medium processing apparatus will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The printing apparatus is, for example, an ink-jet type printer configured to discharge ink, which is an example of a liquid, and to perform printing on a medium such as paper.
As illustrated in
The printing unit 20 includes a printing mechanism 21, which is an example of the printing unit, configured to discharge liquid (e.g., ink) toward the medium 99 being transported and to perform printing on the same, and a support stage 19 (e.g., a platen) for supporting the medium 99 at a portion opposed to the printing mechanism 21, where the support stage 19 forms a horizontal portion of the support surface 13. The printing mechanism 21 is accommodated in a container 12 that opens on the opposite side to the support stage 19.
The medium 99 is, for example, an elongated roll paper. The transport mechanism 14 includes a first rotation shaft 15 for rotatably supporting a roll body R1 around which the medium 99 in an elongated shape to be printed is wound in a cylindrical shape, and a second rotation shaft 16 for supporting a roll body R2 around which the medium 99 printed is wound in a roll state. The first rotation shaft 15 is disposed at a position upstream of the transport path along which the medium 99 is transported. The second rotation shaft 16 is disposed at a position downstream of the transport path. The first rotation shaft 15 rotates driven by a feeding motor 73 (see
The transport mechanism 14 includes a transport roller 17 configured to rotate in a state being in contact with the medium 99 at a position between the first rotation shaft 15 and the second rotation shaft 16 in the transport path of the medium 99. The transport roller 17 is disposed upstream from a printing area PA facing the printing mechanism 21 in the transport direction Y. The transport roller 17 is rotationally driven in accordance with the printing operation of the printing mechanism 21 using a transport motor 72 (see
Note that, in the exemplary embodiment, the direction along the transport path of the medium 99 being transported along the support surface 13 is referred to as “transport direction Y”. Accordingly, the transport direction Y changes according to the position on the transport path, as indicated by the solid arrow in
It is herein noted that the support surface 13 includes a first support surface 13A for supporting the medium 99 fed out from the roll body R1 disposed upstream from the transport roller 17 in the transport direction Y, a second support surface 13B for supporting the medium 99 that includes the printing area PA in the transport direction Y, disposed downstream from the transport roller 17, and a third support surface 13C for supporting the medium 99 disposed downstream from the printing area PA. The second support surface 13B coincides with the upper surface (the surface on the vertically upper side) of the support stage 19 for supporting the medium 99 disposed downstream from the transport roller 17. The third support surface 13C coincides with the upper surface of the transport stage 31 for supporting the medium 99 on which printing has been performed. The transport stage 31 is disposed in a section on the transport path between the printing area PA and the second rotation shaft 16 for supporting the roll body R2. The drying device 40 is configured to heat and dry the medium 99 on which printing has been performed, where the medium 99 is being supported by the transport stage 31.
As illustrated in
The drying device 40 illustrated in
As illustrated in
The air supply passage 46 formed in the housing 42 includes an air inlet 46a for intaking outside air and an air outlet 46b that opens toward the third support surface 13C. The heating mechanism 41 is located between the air inlet 46a and the air outlet 46b in the transport direction Y. In this example, the air inlet 46a is disposed at a position downstream from the heating mechanism 41 in the transport direction Y, while the air outlet 46b is disposed at a position upstream from the heating mechanism 41 in the transport direction Y.
The air blower 47 includes a fan 48 disposed in the air supply passage 46. The air blower 47, which is arranged in a direction (air blowing direction) to generate an airflow in the direction indicated by a solid line arrow AF in
The heating mechanism 41 includes a wire gauze 49 illustrated in
Accordingly, in the heated area HA, the evaporation of the liquid contained in the ink discharged onto the surface of the medium 99 is promoted by a radiant heat and an airflow from the heat generating element 43. Further, a vapor accumulated in a vicinity of the surface of the medium 99 forming a diffusion layer close to the saturated vapor pressure hinders the evaporation of the liquid from the medium 99. In this example, since the vapor in the vicinity of the surface of the medium 99 is blown off by the airflow, the liquid can be continuously evaporated from the medium 99. Further in the heated area HA, the support surface member 32 including the third support surface 13C is heated by the radiant heat and the airflow from the heat generating element 43. Accordingly, the medium 99 is also heated, in the heated area HA, by the heat propagated from the third support surface 13C in addition to the radiant heat and the airflow from the heat generating element 43.
Further in the drying device 40, a temperature sensor 50 for detecting the surface temperature of the medium 99 in the heated area HA (hereinafter also referred to as “medium surface temperature”) is attached. The temperature sensor 50 of this example is a non-contact type sensor capable of detecting the surface temperature of an object from a position apart from the object. The temperature sensor 50 is, for example, an infrared sensor. The temperature sensor 50 is supported at a position inside of the air supply passage 46 in the housing 42 at a posture angle oriented in the arrow direction indicated by the one-dot chain line in
Next, an electrical configuration of the printing apparatus 1 will be described with reference to
The control unit 60 is electrically coupled with via a plurality of drive circuits (not depicted), as an output system, the heat generating element 43, a fan motor 71 serving as a power source of the fan 48, the transport motor 72 serving as a power source of the transport roller 17, the feeding motor 73 serving as a power source of the first rotation shaft 15, the winding motor 74 serving as a power source of the second rotation shaft 16, and the print head 22. In this example in which the printing apparatus 11 is a serial printer, a carriage motor, which is a power source of the carriage 23, is electrically coupled to the control unit 60 via a drive circuit (none of which is depicted).
The control unit 60 illustrated in
The control unit 60 also includes a first counter 82 and a second counter 83 used in the temperature adjustment sequence. The first counter 82 performs counting process for acknowledging the position (transport position) on the transport path of the medium 99. In a case where a standby time is set as a condition for starting the transport of the medium 99 during the warm-up operation, the second counter 83 performs a timekeeping process for measuring the standby time.
The control unit 60 receives a print job (print command). The print job (print command) is transmitted by a user operating a host device (not depicted) coupled to the printing apparatus 11 in a wired or wirelessly communicable manner or by a user operating an operation panel (not depicted) provided in the printing apparatus 11. The print job includes various commands required for the print control, print condition information of printing conditions such as a print mode designated by the user, and print image data. The control unit 60 acknowledges the print mode based on the print condition information in the print job received from the host device.
It is herein noted that the print mode includes a high-speed print mode that gives priority to the print speed over the print quality, a high-definition print mode (low-speed print mode) that gives priority to the print quality over the print speed, and a normal print mode (medium speed print mode) in which intermediate print speed and print quality are installed. The print mode is one of the print condition information for defining the transport speed of the medium 99. The control unit 60 acquires, based on the print mode, the transport speed of the medium 99 in printing process based on the received print job.
The encoder 52 illustrated in
The control unit 60 also controls the heating temperature of the heat generating element 43 by controlling a current value for energizing the heat generating element 43. The control unit 60 further controls the rotation speed of the fan motor 71. The control unit 60 further controls the rotation direction and rotation speed of each of the motors 72 to 74 of the transport system. The control unit 60 furthermore outputs the print image data included in the print job, causing the print head 22 to discharge liquid (e.g., ink) to perform printing an image and the like on the medium 99 based on the print image data.
Next, the temperature distribution in the heated area HA of the drying device 40 will be described with reference to
Also note that, in the graph illustrated in
As illustrated in
The detection area (reading position) of the temperature sensor 50 is located at the transport position H2 that is opposed to the second heat generating element 43B, where the temperature sensor 50 detects the maximum surface temperature of the medium 99 as the medium surface temperature Ts. Then, the temperature of the drying device 40 is controlled by the control unit 60, so that the medium surface temperature Ts, which is the maximum temperature, may be equal to a target temperature Tp.
In the graph illustrated in
The temperature increase profile of the medium surface temperature Ts when the medium 99 passes through the heated area HA depends on the transport speed of the medium 99. When the transport speed of the medium 99 differs, the medium surface temperature Ts at the detection area H2 differs even if the output of the drying device 40 falls within the same value. Accordingly, the control unit 60, regardless of the transport speed of the medium 99, can control temperature of the drying device 40 in such a manner that the medium surface temperature Ts reaches the target temperature Tp by detecting the surface temperature (the medium surface temperature Ts) of the area on the medium 99 at the detection area H2 using the temperature sensor 50. This allows the control unit 60 to equalize the medium surface temperature Ts to the target temperature Tp even if the transport speed of the medium 99 differs.
It is herein noted that, during the warm-up operation described below, a reciprocal transport of the medium 99 including a transport downstream (forward transport) and a transport upstream (reverse transport) is performed, then the identical area on the medium 99 comes to stay for a longer total duration of time in the heated area HA, and thus a partial area excluded from the detection area of the temperature sensor 50 on the medium 99 may exceed the target temperature Tp. However, if the surface temperature of the medium 99 is not higher than the upper limit temperature TL, the medium 99 may be less thermally damaged. Accordingly, even if the total duration time for the medium 99 to stay in the heated area HA during the warm-up operation becomes longer, a damage to the medium 99 due to thermal damage can be prevented as long as the surface temperature, which is detected on the leading end portion (e.g., a value in the range of 50 to 200 cm) downstream of the medium 99 used as a target of the warm-up operation, temporarily does not exceed the upper limit temperature TL. In view of the above, the range (reciprocal transport distance) for reciprocally transporting the medium 99, the total heating time, and the like are installed on the condition that the surface temperature does not exceed the upper limit temperature TL in the entire area to be heated on the medium 99. For example, the medium 99 on the surface of which thermocouples for temperature measurement are attached to a plurality of locations at different positions in the transport direction Y is transported in forward and reverse manner, by which a transport condition in which the surface temperature of the medium 99, which does not exceed the upper limit temperature TL (e.g., the reciprocal transport distance and the total heating time) at every measurement point, is determined, and then the transport control of the medium 99 is performed during the warm-up operation within the range satisfying the above determined transport condition.
The control unit 60 illustrated in
Next, the warm-up operation will be described with reference to
The control unit 60 starts a warm-up operation controlling the drying device 40 to increase the medium surface temperature Ts to the predefined temperature range, and controls transporting of the medium 99, during the warm-up operation, so that the downstream end portion 99a of the medium 99 is within a predefined range RA where the area on the medium 99 is located in the detection area H2 of the temperature sensor 50. That is, the medium 99 is transported, during the warm-up operation, within the predefined range RA (see
The control unit 60 starts the warm-up operation when receiving a print command (e.g., print job) for performing printing process. The control unit 60 terminates the warm-up operation upon detecting that the medium surface temperature Ts has reached the predefined temperature range based on the detection temperature of the temperature sensor 50. The control unit 60 also causes the downstream end portion 99a of the medium 99 to be transported further upstream than the heated area HA, after the termination of the warm-up operation, in a state where maintaining the output of the drying device 40 within the predetermined range. Specifically, the control unit 60 causes the medium 99 to be transported upstream until the downstream end portion 99a reaches the print start position P1 illustrated in
Note that a condition (medium transport start condition) under which the transport of the medium 99 during the warm-up operation is started by the control unit 60 may be set in advance. For example, there are following two methods for setting the medium transport start condition. One is a method of setting the medium surface temperature Ts to be detected by the temperature sensor 50 as a medium transport start condition. In the above case, a specific temperature Tc that is lower than the predefined temperature range as the target temperature of the warm-up operation is set in advance, where the control unit 60 starts transporting the medium 99 during the warm-up operation when the medium surface temperature Ts is higher than or equal to the specific temperature Tc. The other is a method of setting a lapse time from the start of the warm-up operation as the medium transport start condition. In the above case, the control unit 60 starts transporting the medium 99 during the warm-up operation after a lapse of the predefined time from the start of the warm-up operation.
Further, the control unit 60 desirably performs at least a transport operation at a speed based on a print command (print job or the like) as a transport of the medium 99 during the warm-up operation. That is, in the transport of the medium 99 during the warm-up operation, one transport is favorably performed at a speed corresponding to the transport speed of the medium 99 which is applied to the printing process in the print mode designated in the print command (print job or the like). In this example, the control unit 60 controls transporting of the medium 99 at the transport speed that is equal to the transport speed in the print mode designated in the print job. Specifically, when the print mode designated in the print job is the high-speed print mode, the control unit 60 controls transporting of the medium 99 at the transport speed Vh corresponding to the high-speed print mode. Further, when the print mode designated in the print job is the normal print mode, the control unit 60 controls transporting of the medium 99 at the transport speed Vm corresponding to the normal print mode. Furthermore, when the print mode designated by the print job is the high-definition print mode, the control unit 60 controls transporting of the medium 99 at the transport speed Vl corresponding to the high-definition print mode. It is herein noted that, the transport speeds Vh, Vm, and Vl are in a magnitude relationship of Vh>Vm>Vl. Note that, although in the exemplary embodiment, an example in which three print modes are prepared and three types of transport speeds correspond to the print mode is represented, a further greater number of print modes may be prepared, and three or greater types of the transport speeds of the medium 99 may be applied to the printing process. In the above case as well, the medium 99 is transported during the warm-up operation at a speed corresponding to the transport speed in accordance with the print mode designated in the print job. Note that two or one types of the print modes may be used, and two or one types of the transport speeds of the medium 99 may be applied to the printing process.
The control unit 60 performs controls of a transport downstream (first transport) and a transport upstream side (second transport) as the transport of the medium 99 during the warm-up operation. The direction of the transport upstream is opposite to the direction of the transport downstream. That is, the control unit 60 performs a control of, during the warm-up operation, a reciprocal transport (forward and reverse transport) including a first transport (forward transport) in which the medium 99 is transported downstream and a second transport (reverse transport) in which the medium 99 is transported upstream, in a state where the downstream end portion 99a of the medium 99 is located within the range RA that is located downstream from the detection area H2. The control unit 60 determines whether the transport direction in which the medium 99 is transported is a downstream direction or an upstream direction, and stores the determination result of the transport direction as a value of the flag in the storage unit 81.
The reciprocal transport of the medium 99 is performed in two examples as (A) a first example illustrated in
(A) The control unit 60 controls transporting of the medium 99 during the warm-up operation so that the area on the medium 99 located at the upstream end portion (e.g., the heating start position Hin) of the heated area HA at a predefined timing is transported to the position downstream from the heated area HA (i.e., the heating end position Hout) at a predefined timing. As illustrated in
(B) The control unit 60 controls transporting of the medium 99 during the warm-up operation so that the area on the medium 99 located at the position H2 when the transport of the medium 99 downstream starts is transported to the position outside of the heated area HA when the transport of the medium 99 downstream starts. The position H2 is a position at which the medium surface temperature Ts reaches the maximum temperature while the medium 99 being heated by the drying device 40. As illustrated in
Further, the control unit 60 performs a control such that, in the transport of the medium 99 during the warm-up operation, a second transport speed V2 at the second transport as a transport upstream is greater than a first transport speed V1 at the first transport as a transport downstream. It is herein noted that the first transport speed V1 is a speed corresponding to the transport speed of the medium 99 during the printing process. Particularly in this example, the first transport speed V1 is equal to the transport speed of the medium 99 during the printing process, where the first transport speed V1 is equivalent to a speed corresponding to the print mode designated by the print command. Although, in this example, the second transport speed V2 is greater than the first transport speed V1, the first transport speed V1 may be equal to the second transport speed V2, and the second transport speed V2 may be less than the first transport speed V1.
Next, how the printing apparatus 11 including the drying device 40 operates will be described. First, the user turns on the power source of the printing apparatus 11. When the power source is turned on, the control unit 60 reads the program PR from the storage unit 81 and executes the program PR. The user sets the medium 99 in the printing apparatus 11, before giving an instruction to the printing apparatus 11 to print. The user sets the medium 99 in a state where the medium 99 rolled out from the roll body R1 is passed through the transport roller 17 and the heated area HA, and the downstream end portion 99a is located at the set position A. In the above set state, the downstream end portion 99a of the medium 99 is located downstream from the detection area H2 in the heated area HA, where the medium 99 is located in the detection area H2 of the temperature sensor 50. This allows the temperature sensor 50 to detect the medium surface temperature Ts even if the medium 99 is stopped at the set position A when the warm-up operation is started,
After the medium 99 has been set in the manner described above, the user subsequently operates the host device or the operation panel (not depicted) to select an image data to be printed, installs necessary printing conditions, and then gives an instruction of a start of printing. The control unit 60 in the printing apparatus 11 receives a print command such as a print job from the host device, which is instructed by the user, for example.
Hereinafter, with reference to
First, in step S11, the control unit 60 determines whether a print command has been received. When received the print command, the control unit 60 proceeds to step S12, while when not received the print command, the control unit 60 terminates the routine.
In step S12, the control unit 60 starts the warm-up operation. That is, the control unit 60 starts heating of the heat generating element 43 and starts driving the fan 48.
In step S13, the control unit 60 performs heating control based on the detection temperature of the temperature sensor. In the heating control, one of the following three control methods is employed. The first method is to control the rotational speed (wind speed) of the fan 48 while keeping an energizing current of the heat generating element 43 constant, the second method is to control both the energizing current of the heat generating element 43 and the rotation speed (wind speed) of the fan 48, and the third method is to control the energizing current of the heat generating element 43 while keeping the rotational speed (wind speed) of the fan 48 constant. In the heating control, the control unit 60 performs a feedback control in which the medium surface temperature Ts detected by the temperature sensor 50 is brought closer to a target value in accordance with a predetermined temperature increase profile, and controls the temperature of the medium surface temperature Ts to be increased to a predetermined temperature range (Tp±α° C.). The heating control is performed as one of the warm-up operations. For example, at the beginning of the warm-up operation in the graph illustrated in
In step S14, the control unit 60 determines whether the medium transport start condition has been established.
It is herein noted that the medium transport start condition is a condition for starting a transport of the medium 99 during the warm-up operation. The two medium transport start conditions described below, which are not necessarily required, may favorably be employed from the view point of saving electricity or the like.
The first condition is that the medium surface temperature Ts detected by the temperature sensor 50 is higher than or equal to a specific threshold value. In the control under the above condition, the control unit 60 controls transporting of the medium 99 during the warm-up operation when the medium surface temperature Ts detected by the temperature sensor 50 is higher than or equal to the specific temperature Tc. The specific temperature Tc is a temperature that is lower than the lower limit value Tp−α° C. of the predefined temperature range and is higher than the room temperature RT (RT<Tc<Tp−α). Accordingly, even when the medium 99 is heated by the drying device 40, the medium 99 is not transported during the warm-up operation until the medium surface temperature Ts reaches the specific temperature Tc, and after the medium surface temperature Ts reached the specific temperature Tc, the medium 99 is transported during the warm-up operation. The control unit 60 sequentially collects the medium surface temperature Ts detected by the temperature sensor 50. Then, when the medium surface temperature Ts is lower than the specific temperature Tc, the control unit 60 determines that the medium transport start condition fails to be established, while when the medium surface temperature Ts is not lower than the specific temperature Tc, the control unit 60 determines that the medium transport start condition has been established.
The second condition is that the lapsed time from the start of the warm-up operation is not less than the predefined time. In the control under the above condition, the control unit 60 controls transporting of the medium 99 during the warm-up operation after a lapse of the predefined time from the start of the warm-up operation. The time set as the predefined time is, for example, a time estimated by a preliminary experiment or calculation for the time until the medium surface temperature Ts reaches a temperature (Tp−α−Δβ) that is lower than the lower limit temperature by a predefined temperature Δβ. The predefined time in this example is set, for example, to a time within the range from 1 to 5 minutes. For example, the predefined time may favorably be set to a time within the range of from 10 to 80% of the time required to reach the target temperature.
Alternatively, the predefined time may be favorably set to a time required until reaching the temperature obtained by adding a predefined temperature difference within the range of from 10 to 80% of the temperature difference ΔT between the start temperature (e.g., room temperature) and the target temperature, to the start temperature. The control unit 60 measures a lapsed time from the start of the warm-up operation (e.g., the time of start of the heating) by the second counter 83. Then, when the lapsed time measured by the second counter 83 is less than the predefined time, the control unit 60 determines that the medium transport start condition fails to be established, while when the lapsed time is not less than the predefined time, the control unit 60 determines that the medium transport start condition has been established.
When the medium transport start condition fails to be established (negative determination in step S14), the control unit 60 returns to step S13, where the control unit 60 continues heating control based on the detection temperature (the medium surface temperature Ts) of the temperature sensor 50.
Then, the control unit 60 repeatedly executes the processing of step S13 until the medium transport start condition is established in step S14. Accordingly, until the medium transport start condition is established, the temperature control of the drying device 40 for increasing the medium surface temperature Ts to the target temperature proceeds to heat the area on the medium 99 located in the heated area HA while the medium 99 is stopped at the set position illustrated in
In a case when the medium surface temperature Ts detected by the temperature sensor 50 being not lower than the specific threshold value is set as the condition, the control unit 60 determines that the medium transport start condition has been established when detecting that the medium surface temperature Ts is higher than or equal to the specific temperature Tc (affirmative determination in step S14). Meanwhile, in a case when the lapsed time from the start of the warm-up operation being not less than the predefined time is set as the condition, the control unit 60 determines that the medium transport start condition has been established after a lapse of the predefined time from the start of the warm-up operation (affirmative determination in step S14). Then, when the control unit 60 determines that the medium transport start condition has been established (affirmative determination in step S14), the control unit 60 proceeds to step S15. Note that, in a case of configuration in which the medium transport start condition is not set, the step S15 is performed with the start of the warm-up operation.
In step S15, the control unit 60 determines the transport direction. The control unit 60 determines whether the transport direction is a downstream direction or an upstream direction based on the value of the flag in the storage unit 81, for example. When the transport direction is the upstream direction, the control unit 60 proceeds to step S16, while when the transport direction is the downstream direction, the control unit 60 proceeds to step S18. In this example, in the stage before the start of transport of the medium 99 during the warm-up operation, the initial value of the flag is a value (e.g., “1”) indicating the downstream direction. Thus, the control unit 60 proceeds to step S16.
In step S16, the control unit 60 controls transporting of the medium 99 downstream at the first transport speed. In the exemplary embodiment, the transport speed of the medium 99 in the first transport in which the medium 99 is transported downstream is different from the transport speed of the medium 99 in the second transport in which the medium 99 is transported upstream. In a case of reciprocally transporting the downstream end portion 99a of the medium 99 within the range RA (see
Thus, a thermal damage to the medium 99 can be reduced due to the difference between the first transport speed and the second transport speed. Note that, in the above case, it is favorable to determine whether the medium surface temperature Ts has reached the target temperature in the process of performing the second transport (reverse transport) in which the downstream end portion 99a of the medium 99 is transported to the return position C at a high speed and the subsequent first transport (forward transport) in which the medium 99 is transported at the first transport speed V1 corresponding to the transport speed of the medium 99 during the printing process.
In step S17, the control unit 60 determines whether the downstream end portion 99a of the medium 99 has reached the target position B illustrated in
Accordingly, during the first transport in which the medium 99 is transported downstream, the control unit 60 determines whether the medium surface temperature Ts has reached the target temperature in step S21. Thereafter, the control unit 60 returns to step S13 and repeatedly performs each of the processing in steps S13 to S17, and S21. In this way, the control unit 60 controls transporting of the medium 99 downstream until the medium surface temperature Ts reaches the target temperature (S21), or until the downstream end portion 99a of the medium 99 reaches the target position B. Then, the control unit 60 proceeds to step S20 upon determining that the downstream end portion 99a of the medium 99 has reached the target position B in step S17.
In step S20, the control unit 60 switches the transport direction. The control unit 60 switches the rotation of the motors 72 and 73 of the transport system from forward rotation to reverse rotation and switches the transport direction from the downstream direction to the upstream direction. At this time, the control unit 60 changes the flag in the storage unit 81 from the value of the downstream direction (e.g., “1”) to the value of the upstream direction (e.g., “0”).
If the medium surface temperature Ts has not reached the target temperature even though, in this way, the medium 99 has reached the target position B (negative determination in step S21), the control unit 60 returns to step S13 and continues heating control, where the medium transport start condition is being established in step S14, then the control unit 60 proceeds to step S15. Then, in step S15, since the control unit 60 determines that the transport direction is the upstream direction from the value of the flag in the storage unit 81, the control unit 60 proceeds to step S18.
In step S18, the control unit 60 controls the motors 72 and 73 to reversely transport the medium 99 upstream at the second transport speed. In this way, the control unit 60, after the transport direction is switched at the target position B illustrated in
In step S19, the control unit 60 determines whether the downstream end portion 99a of the medium 99 has reached the return position C illustrated in
Accordingly, during the second transport in which the medium 99 is transported upstream, the control unit 60 determines whether the medium surface temperature Ts has reached the target temperature in step S21. Thereafter, the control unit 60 returns to step S13 and repeatedly performs each of the steps S13 to S15, S18, S19, and S21. In this way, the control unit 60 controls transporting of the medium 99 upstream until the medium surface temperature Ts reaches the target temperature (affirmative determination in S21) or until the downstream end portion 99a of the medium 99 reaches the return position C (affirmative determination in S19). Then, the control unit 60 proceeds to step S20 upon determining that the downstream end portion 99a of the medium 99 has reached the return position C in step S19. Note that, although in this example when a negative determination is made in step S19, the control unit 60 proceeds to step S21, the control unit 60 may be configured to determine whether the control unit 60 has reached the target temperature only in the process of the first transport (forward transport) in which the medium 99 is transported at the first transport speed V1, as described above. In the above case, when a negative determination is made in step S19, the control unit 60 returns to step S18 and continues the second transport.
In step S20, the control unit 60 switches the transport direction. The control unit 60 switches the rotation of the motors 72 and 73 of the transport system from reverse rotation to forward rotation and switches the transport direction from the upstream direction to the downstream direction. At this time, the control unit 60 changes the flag in the storage unit 81 from the value of the upstream direction (e.g., “0”) to the value of the downstream direction (e.g., “1”).
If the medium surface temperature Ts has not reached the target temperature even though, in this way, the medium 99 has reached the return position C (negative determination in step S21), the control unit 60 returns to step S13 and continues heating control, where the medium transport start condition is being established in step S14, then the control unit 60 proceeds to step S15. Then, in step S15, since the control unit 60 determines that the transport direction is the downstream direction from the value of the flag in the storage unit 81, the control unit 60 proceeds to step S17, where the control unit 60 controls transporting of the medium 99 downstream at the first transport speed V1 to the target position B.
In this way, the control unit 60 hereinafter repeats the first transport in which the medium 99 is transported downstream and the second transport in which the medium 99 is transported upstream in a similar manner as above. As a result, as illustrated in
The control unit 60 continues heating control while reciprocally moving the medium 99, and then the medium surface temperature Ts is increased to reach the target temperature. The control unit 60 determines that the medium surface temperature Ts has reached the target temperature when the state where the medium surface temperature Ts is being in the predefined temperature range (Tp±α° C.) has continued for the predefined time. Then, the control unit 60 proceeds to step S22 upon determining that the medium surface temperature Ts has reached the target temperature. Note that, at this time, a temperature distribution as indicated by a solid line in
In step S22, the control unit 60 maintains the output of the drying device 40, and terminates the warm-up operation. That is, the control unit 60 maintains the control amount used for the temperature control of the drying device 40 at the value when the medium surface temperature Ts reached the target temperature, thereby maintaining the output of the drying device 40 within the predefined range. Examples of the control amount used by the control unit 60 include a current value for energizing the heat generating element 43 and a current command value for determining the rotation speed of the fan motor 71 that is the power source of the fan 48. The drying device 40 is maintained at the output when the medium surface temperature Ts reached the target temperature. Thus, in this example, the heat generation temperature of the heat generating element 43 and the rotation speed of the fan motor 71 are maintained. The output of the drying device 40 is thus maintained, by which the medium 99 can be heated until the medium surface temperature Ts reaches the target temperature (Tp±α° C.) when the medium 99 is thereafter transported in the heated area HA at the first transport speed V1 during the printing process.
In step S23, the control unit 60 controls transporting of the medium in reverse manner to the print start position. That is, the control unit 60 reversely drives the motors 72 and 73 of the transport system to reversely transport the medium 99.
The control unit 60 controls transporting of the medium in reverse manner until the downstream end portion 99a is located at the print start position P1 (cue position) illustrated in
In step S24, the control unit 60 starts printing. That is, the control unit 60 starts printing based on a previously received print command (e.g., print job). The print head 22 discharges a liquid onto the medium 99, by which an image and the like based on the print image data is printed on the medium 99. At this time, when the printing mechanism 21 is of the serial printing type, the printing apparatus 11 alternately performs a printing operation of one scanning and a transport operation of transporting the medium 99 to the next printing position. Then, the medium 99 is intermittently transported downstream by a predefined transport amount in the transport direction Y. The transport speed at this time is a speed (e.g., the speed V1) corresponding to the first transport speed V1 during the warm-up operation. Note that when the printing mechanism 21 is of the line printing type, the medium 99 is transported at a constant speed in accordance with the print mode. The transport speed at this time is a speed (e.g., the speed V1) corresponding to the first transport speed V1 during the warm-up operation.
Then, the medium 99 on which printing has been performed is transported along the third support surface 13C (transport surface) of the transport stage 31 at positions downstream of the printing unit 20. In the process of being transported along the third support surface 13C, the medium 99 passes through the heated area HA of the drying device 40. It is herein noted that, during the period from the termination of the warm-up operation until the medium 99 is loaded, the drying device 40 is maintained at the output when the medium surface temperature Ts reached the target temperature obtained by the warm-up operation. Accordingly, the drying device 40 is maintained at an output suitable for drying the medium 99 even if the medium 99 is reversely transported to the print start position P1 and is then removed from the detection area H2 of the temperature sensor 50, and thus the temperature sensor 50 comes to detect the area on the third support surface 13C. Thus, the medium 99 is heated until the medium surface temperature Ts reaches a predefined temperature range (Tp±α° C.) that is the target temperature or a temperature suitable for drying in the process of passing through the heated area HA of the drying device 40.
Then, the control unit 60 restarts the temperature control of the drying device 40 after the downstream end portion 99a of the medium 99 reached the detection area H2 of the temperature sensor 50 from the start of printing. Accordingly, during printing, the medium surface temperature Ts is maintained within a predefined temperature range (Tp±α° C.) that is the target temperature. At this time, the temperature of the drying device 40 is controlled, so that the surface temperature Ts of the medium 99 to which a liquid adheres may be maintained within a predefined temperature range (Tp±α° C.) of the target temperature.
In the heated area HA, an evaporation of the liquid (ink) adhered or permeated to the medium 99 is promoted by the radiant heat from the heat generating element 43 and the heated airflow (hot air) blown out from the air outlet 46b. As a result, the medium 99 is effectively dried in the process of being transported through the heated area HA. Note that, after the start of printing, the downstream end portion on which the drying of the medium 99 has ended hangs vertically downward from the downstream end side of the transport stage 31. The user wraps the downstream end portion 99a of the medium 9 hanging vertically downward around a core material (not depicted) attached to the second rotation shaft 16, by which the medium 99 is thereafter wound up as a roll body R2.
According to the exemplary embodiment described above, the following advantages are obtained.
(1) The printing apparatus 11 (an example of the medium processing apparatus) includes the transport mechanism 14 (an example of the transport unit) configured to transport the medium 99, the drying device 40 (an example of the heating unit) configured to heat the medium 99, the temperature sensor 50 configured to detect the surface temperature Ts of the medium 99 in the heated area HA, the heated area HA being an area heated by the drying device 40, and the control unit 60 configured to control the drying device 40 based on the medium surface temperature Ts detected by the temperature sensor 50. The control unit 60 starts the warm-up operation controlling the drying device 40 to increase the medium surface temperature Ts to the predefined temperature range, and controls transporting during the warm-up operation, the medium 99 so that the downstream end portion 99a of the medium 99 is within the predefined range RA where the medium 99 is located at the detection area H2 of the temperature sensor 50. That is, during the warm-up operation, the control unit 60 causes the medium 99 to be transported within the predefined range RA where the downstream end portion 99a of the medium 99 in the transport direction Y is located downstream from the detection area H2 of the temperature sensor 50. Accordingly, during the warm-up operation of increasing the output of the drying device 40 to a temperature suitable for heating the medium 99, the temperature of the drying device 40 can be properly controlled based on the surface temperature of the medium 99 while preventing a damage to the medium 99 used as a heating target due to thermal damage.
(2) The control unit 60 starts the warm-up operation upon receiving a print command (an example of the process command) for instructing a printing process (an example of the predefined process), terminates the warm-up operation upon detecting that the medium surface temperature Ts is increased to a predefined temperature range and starts the printing process. Accordingly, the user, by giving an instruction for the printing process, allows the control unit 60 having received the print command to start the warm-up operation. The control unit 60 terminates the warm-up operation and starts the printing process by controlling the temperature of the drying device 40 to cause the medium surface temperature Ts to reach a predefined temperature range. Accordingly, the user, by giving an instruction of the printing process, allows the printing process for the medium 99 to be started at a stage when the drying device 40 becomes ready to heat the medium surface temperature Ts to a suitable predefined temperature range.
(3) The transport of the medium 99 during the warm-up operation includes a transport of the medium 99 at a speed corresponding to the transport speed of the medium 99 during the printing process. This allows, during the warm-up operation, the medium 99 to be transported at a speed (e.g., the same speed V1) corresponding to the transport speed of the medium 99 during the printing process to be executed subsequently. Accordingly, when the printing process is performed, the medium 99 can be heated by the drying device 40 to a suitable medium surface temperature Ts. Thus, the accuracy of the medium surface temperature Ts is improved and the medium 99 can be properly dried, regardless of the transport speed of the medium 99 during the printing process, by minimizing variations in the temperature when the medium surface temperature Ts reached the predefined temperature range.
(4) The control unit 60 causes the downstream end portion 99a of the medium 99 to be transported further upstream than the heated area HA, after the termination of the warm-up operation, in a state where maintaining the output of the drying device 40 within the predetermined range, and starts the printing process after the transport the downstream end portion 99a of the medium 99 further upstream than the heated area HA is terminated. Accordingly, even if the medium 99 retreats from the detection area H2 of the temperature sensor 50 after the termination of the warm-up operation, the output of the drying device 40 is maintained within the predetermined range when the medium surface temperature Ts reached the target temperature. This prevents a malfunction due to an improper temperature control of the drying device 40, for example, due to a control in which the temperature of the drying device 40 is controlled based on the surface temperature of the third support surface 13C.
(5) The control unit 60 controls transporting of the medium 99 during the warm-up operation when the medium surface temperature Ts detected by the temperature sensor 50 is higher than or equal to the specific temperature Tc that is lower than the predefined temperature range. That is, even when the medium 99 is heated by the drying device 40, the medium 99 is not transported during the warm-up operation until the medium surface temperature Ts reaches the specific temperature Tc, while the medium 99 is transported during the warm-up operation after the medium surface temperature Ts reached the specific temperature Tc. This allows the transport amount of the medium 99 during the warm-up operation to be reduced, contributing to power saving. In the above case, a transport start timing of the medium 99 is determined based on a detection temperature (actual temperature) of the temperature sensor 50 where the detection temperature is independent of the external environment, thus, an improper transport start timing that is too early or too late can be avoided, achieving a sufficient power saving effect and a temperature control with high accuracy compared to the configuration in which the transport start timing of the medium 99 is determined by a standby time, for example. Further, for example, the medium 99 being transported is liable to float from the third support surface 13C by receiving the wind in accordance with the transport speed, where the floating of the medium 99 may cause a detection error of the medium surface temperature Ts by the temperature sensor 50. However, the medium 99 is basically held stopped in the state of being located at the detection area H2 until the medium surface temperature Ts reaches the specific temperature Tc, easily eliminating an influence of the temperature detection error due to the floating of the medium 99.
(6) The control unit 60 controls transporting of the medium 99 during the warm-up operation after a lapse of the predefined time from the start of the warm-up operation. That is, before the lapse of the predefined time from the start of the warm-up operation, the medium 99 is not transported during the warm-up operation, while after the lapse of the predefined time, the medium 99 is transported during the warm-up operation. This allows the transport amount of the medium 99 during the warm-up operation to be reduced, contributing to power saving. Further, for example, the medium 99 being transported is liable to float from the third support surface 13C by receiving the wind in accordance with the transport speed, where the floating of the medium 99 may cause a detection error of the medium surface temperature Ts by the temperature sensor 50. However, the medium 99 is basically held stopped in the state of being located at the detection area H2 until the lapse of the predefined time, easily eliminating an influence of the temperature detection error due to the floating of the medium 99.
(7) The control unit 60 performs controls of a transport downstream and a transport upstream as the transports of the medium 99 during the warm-up operation, the direction of the transport upstream being opposite to the direction of the downstream. This allows the portion to be heated by the drying device 40 in the medium 99 transported during the warm-up operation to be shortened. Further, the transport amount (e.g., cue transport amount) of the medium 99 transported upstream to the print start position P1 after the termination of the warm-up operation can be relatively shortened in more reliable manner due to the inclusion of the transport upstream. This allows the average required time from the termination of the warm-up operation to the time when the medium 99 reaches the print start position P1 and starts printing to be relatively shortened. This contributes to an improvement of the print throughput.
(8) The control unit 60 at least performs a control of the transport downstream at a speed (e.g., the speed V1) corresponding to the transport speed during the printing process. Accordingly, since the transport downstream, which is the transport direction of the medium during the printing process, is performed at the speed corresponding to the transport speed during the printing process, the temperature of the drying device 40 can be controlled to the temperature suitable for the heat treatment of the medium 99 during the printing process. Particularly in the exemplary embodiment, the second transport speed V2 at the transport upstream is greater than the first transport speed V1 at the transport downstream. Accordingly, even if an area just moved to the outside of the heated area HA in the transport of the medium 99 downstream enters the heated area HA immediately after the transport downstream is switched to the transport upstream, the medium 99 is then moved upstream at the second transport speed V2 that is greater than the first transport speed V1, preventing a damage to the area on the medium 99 due to thermal damage received by the area on the medium 99.
(9) The control unit 60 controls transporting of the medium 99 during the warm-up operation so that the area on the medium 99 located at the position H2 when the transport of the medium 99 downstream starts is transported to the position outside of the heated area HA. The position H2 is a position at which the medium surface temperature Ts reaches the maximum temperature while the medium 99 being heated by the drying device 40. Accordingly, even if the transport downstream and the transport upstream of the medium 99 are performed, the area on the medium 99 located at the position H2 at which the medium surface temperature Ts reaches the maximum temperature is temporarily moved to the outside of the heating area HA and is radiationally cooled to a certain degree of temperature, and then re-enters the heating area HA by the switching of the transport direction. This effectively prevents a partial damage to the medium 99 due to thermal damage as well.
(10) The control unit 60, in the transport of the medium 99 during the warm-up operation, controls transporting of the area on the medium 99 located at the upstream end portion of the heated area HA at a predefined timing to the position downstream of the heated area HA. Accordingly, the entire area on the medium 99 in the heated area HA is temporarily moved to the outside of the heated area HA at a predefined timing. Thus, the entire area on the medium 99 heated by the drying device 40 are temporarily radiationally cooled to a certain degree of temperature, further effectively preventing a damage to the medium 99 due to thermal damage.
(11) In the method of controlling the printing apparatus 11 (an example of the medium processing apparatus), the control unit 60 start the warm-up operation starting heating control of the drying device 40 to increase the medium surface temperature Ts to the predefined temperature range. During the above warm-up operation, the medium 99 is transported within the range RA where the downstream end portion 99a of the medium 99 is located downstream from the detection area H2 of the temperature sensor 50. Accordingly, during the warm-up operation, the drying device 40 can be controlled to a suitable temperature while suppressing a damage to the medium 99 due to thermal damage.
Note that the above-described exemplary embodiment may be modified as the following modified examples. Any of the configurations included in the exemplary embodiment and the configurations included in the following modified examples may be freely combined or the configurations included in the following modified examples may be freely combined to each other.
In particular, the cut sheet in the transport direction Y may favorably be longer than the length FH of the heated area HA.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-232755 | Dec 2017 | JP | national |
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| Number | Date | Country | |
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| 20190171135 A1 | Jun 2019 | US |
