Dryer transporting moistened medium through heating liquid

#Reference is made to commonly assigned, co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/649,134, entitled: “Applying heating liquid to remove moistening liquid”, by Priebe et al.; to commonly assigned, co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/649,141, entitled: “Dryer impinging heating liquid onto moistened medium”, by Priebe et al.; to commonly assigned, co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/649,143, entitled: “Removing moistening liquid using heating-liquid barrier”, by Priebe et al.; to commonly assigned, co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/649,146, entitled: “Barrier dryer transporting medium through heating liquid”, by Priebe et al.; to commonly assigned, co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/649,152, entitled: “Dryer with heating liquid in cavity”, by Priebe et al.; to commonly assigned, co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/649,158, entitled: “Barrier dryer with porous liquid-carrying material”, by Priebe et al.; and to commonly assigned, co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/649,167, entitled: “Dryer impinging heating liquid onto barrier”, by Priebe et al., each of which is incorporated herein by reference.

#This invention pertains to the field of media drying, especially in printing systems.

#Printers generally apply marking substances (e.g., inks) to receivers (e.g., paper) Inks used in inkjet printers are generally hydrophilic, and include a solute (e.g., pigment particles or dye molecules) dissolved or suspended in an ink solvent (e.g., water). The solvent in an ink needs to be removed to form a permanent image. Moreover, the solvent can soak into a receiver, causing the receiver to lose strength or mechanically deform. The solvent's soaking into a receiver, especially a fibrous receiver such as paper, can also reduce image quality by reducing effective resolution (because the ink spreads) and reducing density (the color of the fibers can show through as the ink soaks in to the receiver). It is therefore desirable to dry the ink rapidly to reduce absorption of the ink into the marked receiver. Drying can remove solvent dissolved into the receiver, or remove solvent from ink drops that have not yet permeated or dissolved into the receiver. In many printers, drying is the step that determines the speed at which a printer can operate. It is therefore desirable to dry as quickly as possible to increase printer productivity.

#The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent when taken in conjunction with the following description and drawings wherein identical reference numerals have been used, where possible, to designate identical features that are common to the figures, and wherein:

#FIG. 1 is an elevational cross-section of a reproduction apparatus;

#FIG. 2 shows the moisture content of a representative paper equilibrated to the relative humidity;

#The attached drawings are for purposes of illustration and are not necessarily to scale.

#U.S. Pat. No. 8,251,505 to Hara, entitled “Recording apparatus and method of adjusting temperature of transport belt of recording apparatus,” describes a transport belt that carries a target (e.g., a receiver). The belt is heated to accelerate drying liquid off the target. However, air gaps or bubbles can be present between the receiver and the transport belt. These can be microscopic air bubbles due to the roughness of the receiver or the belt. These bubbles act as insulators, reducing the rate of thermal transfer from the belt to the receiver. Therefore, there is still a need for improved ways of removing moisture from receivers.

#Inkjet printing processes can be embodied in devices including printers, copiers, scanners, and facsimiles, and analog or digital devices, all of which are referred to herein as “printers.” A digital reproduction printing system (“printer”) typically includes a digital front-end processor (DFE), a print engine (also referred to in the art as a “marking engine”) for applying ink to the recording medium, and one or more post-printing finishing system(s) (e.g., a UV coating system, a glosser system, or a laminator system). A printer can reproduce pleasing black-and-white or color visible images onto a recording medium. A printer can also produce selected patterns of ink on a recording medium, which patterns (e.g., surface textures) do not correspond directly to a visible image. The DFE receives input electronic files (such as Postscript command files) composed of images from other input devices (e.g., a scanner, or a digital camera). The DFE can include various function processors, such as a raster image processor (RIP), an image positioning processor, an image manipulation processor, a color processor, or an image storage processor. The DFE rasterizes input electronic files into image bitmaps for the print engine to print. In some aspects, the DFE permits a human operator to set up parameters such as layout, font, color, media type, or post-finishing options. The print engine takes the rasterized image bitmap from the DFE and renders the bitmap into a form that can control the printing process from the exposure device to transferring the print image onto the recording medium. The finishing system applies features such as protection, glossing, or binding to the prints. The finishing system can be implemented as an integral component of a printer, or as a separate machine through which prints are fed after they are printed.