UV dryers
AssigneeGEW (EC) Limited
InventorMalcolm C. Rae
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An air cooled ultraviolet dryer comprises a lamp (6) mounted within a reflector (1) and supported within a housing (2). The mouth of the reflector is closed off with a tubular heat barrier comprising contiguous tubes (10) which are transparent to UV light. Cooling is effected by passing cooling air into space (3) between the housing (2) and the reflector lamps along tubes (10), preferably by applying suction to the outlet at one end of the housing and causing air to flow transversely over the lamp and through the tubes (10).
Claims23
An ultra-violet air-cooled dryer for drying printing inks and other U.V. photopolymerisable materials wherein a U.V. lamp is supported in a reflector housing having an open mouth for directing U.V. light onto printed sheets or web, said dryer including first air-cooling means comprising means for establishing a stream of cooling air over said lamp and a tubular heat barrier disposed between the lamp and the path of said sheets or web, and blocking off the mouth of said housing and second air-cooling means for causing a stream of air to flow through said tubular barrier.
An ultraviolet dryer which comprises a U.V. lamp mounted in a reflector and having means for cooling the lamp, the open mouth of the reflector being closable by a pair of shutters, each shutter comprising a blade pivotably mounted longitudinally of the reflector and being closable by pivoting towards each other, and an operating mechanism for the shutters comprising a rotary plate and link arms linking each shutter to the plate so that rotation of the plate in one direction causes the shutters to close while rotation in the opposite direction causes the shutters to open.
An ultra-violet air-cooled dryer which comprises:
- (a) a U.V. lamp supported in a reflector housing having an open mouth for directing U.V. light onto printed sheets or web having a path passing beneath the reflector,
- (b) air-cooling means for establishing a stream of cooling air over said lamp, and
- (c) a tubular heat barrier disposed between the lamp and the path of said sheets or web, said barrier being relatively transparent to U.V. light but restricting passage of heat by virtue of a stream of air passing along said tubular barrier and infra-red filter means comprising a dielectric coating on the surface of the tubular barrier.
An ultra-violet air-cooled dryer which comprises:
- (a) a U.V. lamp supported in a reflector housing having an open mouth for directing U.V. light onto printed sheets or web having a path passing beneath the reflector,
- (b) air-cooling means for establishing a stream of cooling air over said lamp, and
- (c) a tubular heat barrier disposed between the lamp and the path of said sheets or web, said barrier being relatively transparent to U.V. light but restricting passage of heat by establishing a stream of air along said tubular barrier by application of suction to the reflector housing.
An ultra-violet air-cooled dryer which comprises:
- (a) a U.V. lamp supported in a reflector housing having an open mouth for directing U.V. light onto printed sheets or web having a path passing beneath the reflector,
- (b) air-cooling means for establishing a stream of cooling air over said lamp,
- (c) a tubular heat barrier disposed between the lamp and the path of said sheets or web, said barrier being relatively transparent to U.V. light but restricting passage of heat by virtue of a stream of air passing along said tubular barrier,
- (d) shutters arranged to close off the mouth of the reflector, said shutters comprising a pair of doors which are hinged at one end to close towards each other, and
- (e) a closing mechanism for the shutters comprising a rotary plate which is linked to the doors by link arms so as to close the doors on rotating the plate in one direction and to open the doors on rotating the plate in the opposite direction.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.