A high performance through-air apparatus is provided. The though-air apparatus includes a through-air roll configured for rotational movement about a first axis, and a high flow circuitous air path inside of the apparatus that includes a path extending through a supply conduit, through the through-air roll, and also through an exhaust conduit. The through-air apparatus also includes a plurality of turning vanes positioned within the high flow circuitous path positioned to guide the flow of air through the apparatus. The through-air apparatus has a length, a width, a height, which together define a volume having a compact configuration. The high flow circuitous air path inside of the apparatus has a length, where the ratio of the volume of the through-air apparatus to the length of the high flow circuitous air path is less than 20 m.sup.2.

An electrode drying method including: constant-rate-drying an electrode substrate coated with an electrode slurry while the electrode substrate is moved in a state that the electrode substrate makes a tilt angle with a horizontal plane; and falling-rate-drying the electrode substrate while the electrode substrate is horizontally moved. The electrode drying method and related system provide suppression of a floating phenomenon of binder elements during a drying process of an electrode and improve adhesive force between an electrode mixture layer and an electrode current collector.

An apparatus and method for treating a sheet fibrous material to be printed with ink. The apparatus includes a conveyor belt movable along a closed path including an operative section defining a plurality of bends, an inlet station that receives the sheet fibrous material and adheres a first side of the material to an exposed surface of the conveyor belt, a drying station placed at the operative section and configured to at least partially dry the sheet fibrous material, and an applicator for applying a wet treatment agent to the material prior to drying.

Thermal energy is supplied to a fluid mixture on a substrate that has a first component, for example water, and a second component, for example cosolvent, such that the proportion of the second component in the fluid mixture is increased at relatively high temperatures of the fluid mixture. It may thus be reliably produced that an optimally small quantity of the second component is located on the surface of the substrate following the drying process.

A conveying device includes a blower and a conveyor. The blower blows air to a sheet material. The conveyor conveys the sheet material through a blowing region of the blower. The conveyor includes a surface movable member and a presser. The surface movable member conveys the sheet material with movement of a surface of the surface movable member, with a back side of the sheet material supported with the surface movable member. The presser presses at least a portion of a leading end of the sheet material toward the surface movable member in at least an area from a position upstream from the blowing region in a conveyance direction of the sheet material to a position in the blowing region of the blower.

A conveying device includes a blower, a conveyor, and an upstream blower. The blower blows air to a sheet material. The conveyor includes a sandwiching unit to sandwich the sheet material, and conveys the sheet material to a blowing region of the blower. The upstream blower blows air toward a downstream side in a conveyance direction of the sheet material, from an upstream side of the blowing region in the conveyance direction of the sheet material to the blowing region.

A method and device for drying a foil material having a strip-shaped carrier material with a coating arranged thereon, the coating having electrically conductive constituents. The device has at least one inductor for drying the coating at least by way of electromagnetic induction.

A liquid ejecting apparatus includes a print head that serves as a liquid ejecting unit configured to eject a liquid curable by light irradiation onto a medium and an irradiation unit configured to emit light onto the medium M on which the liquid is ejected. The liquid ejecting apparatus also includes a depressurizing mechanism that serves as an oxygen concentration reduction mechanism configured to lower an oxygen concentration to a level below an oxygen concentration of the atmosphere in an ejection region formed between the print head and the medium when the print head ejects the liquid and also in an irradiation region formed between the irradiation unit and the medium when the irradiation unit emits light.

Thermal energy is supplied to a fluid mixture on a substrate that has a first component, for example water, and a second component, for example cosolvent, such that the proportion of the second component in the fluid mixture is increased at relatively high temperatures of the fluid mixture. It may thus be reliably produced that an optimally small quantity of the second component is located on the surface of the substrate following the drying process.

A conveying device includes a blower, a conveyor, and an upstream blower. The blower blows air to a sheet material. The conveyor includes a sandwiching unit to sandwich the sheet material, and conveys the sheet material to a blowing region of the blower. The upstream blower blows air toward a downstream side in a conveyance direction of the sheet material, from an upstream side of the blowing region in the conveyance direction of the sheet material to the blowing region.