PRINTING APPARATUS AND POWER SUPPLY UNIT FOR PRINTING APPARATUS

• US 20180170079A1
• Filed: 12/13/2017
• Published: 06/21/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: KOIKE, Hirofumi, YAMADA, Tomonori, MATSUYAMA, Toru
• Granted Patent: US 10,350,920 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/01 Ink jet
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/04501 Control methods or devices therefor, e.g. driver circuits, control circuits
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/04541 Specific driving circuit
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/04548 Details of power line section of control circuit
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/0455 Details of switching sections of circuit, e.g. transistors
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/0457 Power supply level being detected or varied
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/04581 controlling heads based on piezoelectric elements
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/04588 using a specific waveform
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/04593 Dot-size modulation by changing the size of the drop
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 23/00 Power drives for actions or mechanisms B41J9/00 , B41J19/305 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 29/38 Drives, motors, controls or automatic cut-off devices for the entire printing mechanism
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 29/393 Devices for controlling or analysing the entire machine ; Controlling or analysing mechanical parameters involving printing of test patterns
• CPC Class Codes: H02H 1/00 Details of emergency protective circuit arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H02H 1/0007 concerning the detecting means in general G01R or other subclasses of G01; reed switches H01H71/2445
• CPC Class Codes: H02H 1/0023 sensing non electrical parameters, e.g. by optical, pneumatic, thermal or sonic sensors
• CPC Class Codes: H02H 5/04 responsive to abnormal temperature specially adapted for electric machines H02H7/0852
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 1/32 Means for protecting converters other than automatic disconnection
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00899 Detection of supply level or supply failure
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00978 Temperature control

Abstract

A printing apparatus that has a plurality of functions including a printing function and is capable of executing printing with resolution of 300 dpi or more includes a plurality of operating units including a printing unit and a power supply unit. The power supply unit includes a substrate, an input terminal that receives an alternating voltage, a smoothing capacitor that smooths the alternating voltage, a thermistor that detects a temperature, and a comparator that compares a signal output from the thermistor with a standard signal and outputs a notification signal. The input terminal, the smoothing capacitor, the thermistor, and the comparator are mounted on the substrate. The supply of power from the power supply unit is stopped based on the state of the notification signal. A gap between the input terminal and the thermistor is longer than a gap between the input terminal and the smoothing capacitor.

Claims

1. A printing apparatus that has a plurality of functions including a printing function of forming an image on a medium and is capable of executing printing with resolution of 300 dpi or more, comprising:

a plurality of operating units including a printing unit that forms an image on a medium; and

a power supply unit that supplies power to the plurality of operating units,

wherein the power supply unit includes

a substrate,

an input terminal that receives an alternating voltage from a power cable electrically connected to an alternating power supply,

a smoothing capacitor that smooths the alternating voltage input from the input terminal,

a thermistor that detects a temperature, and

a comparator that compares a signal output from the thermistor with a standard signal and outputs a notification signal,

wherein the input terminal, the smoothing capacitor, the thermistor, and the comparator are mounted on the substrate,

wherein the supply of power from the power supply unit is stopped based on the state of the notification signal, and

wherein a gap between the input terminal and the thermistor is longer than a gap between the input terminal and the smoothing capacitor.

2. The printing apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the gap between the input terminal and the thermistor is 3 cm or more.

3. The printing apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the smoothing capacitor is located between the thermistor and the input terminal.

4. The printing apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the substrate has a first side and a second side opposite to the first side when the substrate is viewed in plan view,

wherein the input terminal is located closer to the first side of the substrate than to the second side of the substrate, and

wherein the thermistor is located closer to the second side of the substrate than to the first side of the substrate.

5. The printing apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising

a housing covering sides that are among a plurality of sides of the substrate and exclude the first side when the substrate is viewed in plan view.

6. The printing apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the plurality of functions includes at least a part or all of a copy function of copying an image printed on a medium, a reading function of reading an image printed on a medium, an image information transmission function of transmitting information indicating an image printed on a medium to an external device, and an image information reception function of forming an image on a medium based on information received from an external device and indicating the image.

7. A power supply unit for a printing apparatus that has a plurality of functions including a printing function of forming an image on a medium and is capable of executing printing with resolution of 300 dpi or more, comprising:

a substrate;

an input terminal that receives an alternating voltage from a power cable electrically connected to an alternating power supply;

a smoothing capacitor that smooths the alternating voltage input from the input terminal; and

a thermistor that detects a temperature,

wherein the input terminal, the smoothing capacitor, and the thermistor are mounted on the substrate, and

wherein a gap between the input terminal and the thermistor is longer than a gap between the input terminal and the smoothing capacitor.