Heater, liquid discharge apparatus, and printer

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11993085-B2
Application number	US-202217834970-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 8, 2022
Priority date	Jul 6, 2021
Publication date	May 28, 2024
Grant date	May 28, 2024

Abstract

A heater includes an irradiator configured to irradiate a heating object including a liquid attachment region, onto which a liquid is applied, with an active energy ray, and circuitry configured to control an output of the active energy ray emitted from the irradiator to an edge portion in the liquid attachment region of the heating object to be larger than an output of the active energy ray emitted from the irradiator to a non-edge portion in the liquid attachment region excluding the edge portion.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An irradiation unit comprising:
an irradiator configured to irradiate a liquid applied on a liquid attachment region in an irradiation target with an active energy ray to dry or cure the liquid on the liquid attachment region in the irradiation target; and
circuitry configured to control an output of the active energy ray emitted from the irradiator to an edge portion in the liquid attachment region of the irradiation target to be larger than an output of the active energy ray emitted from the irradiator to a non-edge portion in the liquid attachment region excluding the edge portion.

2. The irradiation unit according to claim 1 ,
wherein the circuitry controls the output of the active energy ray emitted from the irradiator to the edge portion to be larger than an output of the active energy ray emitted from the irradiator to the non-edge portion inside the edge portion in a conveyance direction of the irradiation target in which the irradiation target is conveyed.

3. The irradiation unit according to claim 1 ,
wherein the circuitry controls the output of the active energy ray emitted from the irradiator to the edge portion to be larger than an output of the active energy ray emitted from the irradiator to the non-edge portion inside the edge portion in a width direction orthogonal to a conveyance direction of the irradiation target in which the irradiation target is conveyed.

4. The irradiation unit according to claim 1 ,
wherein the irradiation target further includes a liquid non-attachment region, onto which the liquid is not applied, and
the circuitry further controls an output of the active energy ray emitted from the irradiator to the edge portion and an adjacent region adjacent to the edge portion in the liquid non-attachment region to be larger than the output of the active energy ray emitted from the irradiator to the non-edge portion.

5. The irradiation unit according to claim 1 ,
wherein the irradiator comprises multiple irradiators arrayed in a conveyance direction of the irradiation target in which the irradiation target is conveyed, and
the circuitry controls an output of the active energy ray emitted from a part of the multiple irradiators to the edge portion to be larger than the output of the active energy ray emitted from the part of the multiple irradiators to the non-edge portion.

6. The irradiation unit according to claim 5 ,
wherein the circuitry controls the output of the active energy ray emitted from the part of the multiple irradiators disposed most upstream in the conveyance direction to the edge portion to be larger than an output of the active energy ray emitted from the part of the multiple irradiators disposed most upstream in the conveyance direction to the non-edge portion.

7. The irradiation unit according to claim 1 ,
wherein the circuitry controls the irradiator to increase the output of the active energy ray when the irradiator irradiates the liquid attachment region including at least one of a text or line drawing.

8. The irradiation unit according to claim 1 ,
wherein the irradiator includes granular UV-LEDs arranged in a grid pattern on an irradiation surface of the irradiator, and
the circuitry independently controls the UV-LEDs to vary the output of the active energy ray emitted from each of the UV-LEDs.

9. The irradiation unit according to claim 8 , further comprising:
an edge detector configured to detect the edge portion in the liquid attachment region,
wherein the circuitry increases the output of the active energy ray emitted from the irradiator in response to a detection of the edge portion by the edge detector.

10. The irradiation unit according to claim 8 ,
wherein the circuitry independently turns on and off the UV-LEDs.

11. A liquid discharge apparatus comprising:
a liquid applier to apply a liquid onto a sheet; and
the irradiation unit according to claim 1 configured to heat the sheet onto which the liquid is applied by the liquid applier.

12. A printer comprising:
a liquid applier to apply a liquid onto a sheet; and
the irradiation unit according to claim 1 configured to heat the sheet onto which the liquid is applied by the applier.

13. The irradiation unit according to claim 1 , wherein the active energy ray includes an ultraviolet ray.

14. The irradiation unit according to claim 1 , wherein the liquid includes an ultraviolet curable ink.

15. A liquid discharge apparatus comprising:
a liquid applier to apply a liquid onto a three-dimensional fabrication object; and
the irradiation unit according to claim 1 to irradiate the three-dimensional fabrication object onto which the liquid is applied by the liquid applier with the active energy ray.

Assignees

• HIDA Ryusaku
• Kamihara Kazuaki
• Asada Kohki
• Nozawa Kenji
• Kawamichi Genichiroh
• Sawase Hiroshi
• Takahashi Yoshihiro
• Saito Shun
• Ricoh Co Ltd

Inventors

• HIDA Ryusaku
• Kamihara Kazuaki
• Asada Kohki
• Nozawa Kenji
• Kawamichi Genichiroh
• Sawase Hiroshi
• Takahashi Yoshihiro
• Saito Shun

Classifications

• B41J2/175 Primary

  Ink supply systems {; Circuit parts therefor} · CPC title

• B41J2/145

  Arrangement thereof · CPC title

• B41J2002/032

  Deflection by heater around the nozzle · CPC title

• B41J11/00212 Primary

  Controlling the irradiation means, e.g. image-based controlling of the irradiation zone or control of the duration or intensity of the irradiation · CPC title

• B41J11/00214

  using UV radiation · CPC title