JPH0220918B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an apparatus for drying flexible thin plates or strips (hereinafter referred to as "webs") such as plastic films and papers.

Conventional web drying methods using infrared rays or microwaves are well known, but the reality is that most of them rely on air drying due to equipment manufacturing costs and ease of handling. It is.

FIG. 1 shows an example of a conventional air blow drying apparatus, in which a linear conveyor is connected to a drying box 4 having an inlet 2 and an outlet 3 for transporting the web 1 to be dried, and a linear conveyor connected to the web inlets 2 and 3. A hot air blowing means 6 is provided on at least one side of the conveyance path 5.
It is made up of the following.

However, simply blowing air in the direction of the surface of the web 1 has disadvantages such as poor drying efficiency and damage to the web surface because the web 1 cannot smoothly pass through the conveyance path 5 due to wind pressure.

The present invention was made to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks of conventional web drying devices, and an object of the present invention is to provide a web drying device with high drying efficiency.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a web drying device that allows the web to be conveyed smoothly during the drying process.

Such an object of the present invention is to convey a web to be dried while being held between a pair of opposing rollers, which are connected to the web loading/unloading ports, into a drying box in which an inlet and an outlet for the web to be dried are provided at the bottom and the top, respectively. A web conveyance path is provided in an arc shape, and a blowing means for drying the web is provided on the center side of the arc, and drying air is directed toward approximately the center of the arc so that the air blown from the blowing means spreads in all directions. This is achieved by a web drying apparatus which is configured to blow air, and is characterized in that an auxiliary air blower for drying the web is provided at the bottom of the drying box, and an air outlet is provided at the top of the drying box. Ru.

Hereinafter, the content of the present invention will be explained in detail based on examples.

FIG. 2 shows a front sectional view of a preferred embodiment device of the present invention. That is, in this web drying apparatus, an inlet 2 and an outlet 3 for the web 1 to be dried are provided below and above a drying box 4, respectively, and the interior of the drying box 4 communicates with the web inlet 2 and the web outlet 3. The web conveyance path is formed into an arc by a pair of drive rollers 15, 15a...18, 18a and guide members 7...13, and a blower 6a is provided at the center of the arc.
An auxiliary blower 6b for blowing air upward is provided at the bottom of the drying box 4, and an air exhaust port 20 is provided at the top of the drying box 4. Note that a heat source may be installed inside the drying box 4, preferably at the bottom, if necessary.

It is preferable to use propeller fans for the blowers 6a and 6b because they have a large air volume and are easy to handle.

When using this web drying apparatus, when the web 1 to be dried is carried into the drying box 4 from the carry-in port 2 via the drive rollers 14, 14a,
Thereafter, the guide member 7...13 and the drive roller 15,
15a... After being conveyed in an arc shape by 18, 18a and exiting from the outlet 3, driving rollers 19, 19
It is carried out to the next process by step a.

Part of the drive rollers 14, 14a to 19, 19a (especially the front half drive rollers (for example, 14, 1
4a, 15, 15a, 16, 16a)) or all of them are preferably water absorption rollers (for example, urethane resin rollers (POR rollers, etc.)).

While the web 1 is being conveyed along the arcuate conveying path in this way, both the front and back sides of the web 1 are fed by the air blower 6a.
and is dried by the wind sent from 6b. At this time, as described above, since the blower 6a is arranged on the arc center side of the arc-shaped conveyance path, the web 1
The amount of air received by one surface (this is referred to as the surface) is much larger than that of the air passing through a conventional straight conveyance path, and therefore the drying efficiency is high. Furthermore, it has been confirmed that when a propeller fan is used as the blower 6a, a sufficient amount of air can be obtained and the blown air spreads in all directions, making it even more effective. For this reason, especially the web 1 to be dried
However, in the case of a photosensitive material such as a photographic film or a mask film for printing, it is preferable that the photosensitive film side of the web be the front surface and the web should be arranged so that this is inside the arc.

Next, the auxiliary air blower 6b has the function of drying the back side of the web 1 and promoting the running of the web 1. That is, after the wind blown from the auxiliary blower 6b hits the back side of the web 1, it passes through the air outlet provided at the top of the drying box 4 along the back side of the web 1, as shown by the arrow in FIG. Since the wind flows outward from the air, the back side of the web 1 is dried, and since the flow of wind coincides with the traveling direction of the web 1, the web 1 is smoothly transported along the transport path.

It goes without saying that the blowing means is not limited to a propeller fan, and any known means such as a blower in which a blower and a slit pipe are combined can be used.

As described above, according to the present invention, the web can be efficiently dried, and the web is not damaged during drying, which is a remarkable practical effect.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a conventional device, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing one embodiment of the device of the present invention. 1: web, 2: loading port, 3: loading port, 4: drying box, 6, 6a, 6b: blower, 20: exhaust port.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Inside a drying box in which an inlet and an outlet for the web to be dried are provided on the lower and upper sides, respectively, there is provided an arcuate web conveyance path which leads to the web inlet and outlet and conveys the web while being held between a pair of opposing rollers. A blowing means for drying the web is provided on the center side of the circular arc, and the drying air is blown toward approximately the center of the circular arc so that the air blown from the blowing means spreads in all directions, and A web drying apparatus characterized in that an auxiliary air blower for drying the web is provided at the bottom of the drying box, and an air outlet is provided at the top of the drying box.