Printing apparatus

• US 9,878,562 B2
• Filed: 03/22/2017
• Issued: 01/30/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 04/08/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: Ueyama, Naohiro, Hayakawa, Naoto, Ishikawa, Akira, Ishikawa, Daiki, Kawaguchi, Yuta
• Primary Examiner(s): FEGGINS, KRISTAL J
• Application Number:
  US15/465,753
• Publication Number:
  US 20170291433A1
• Time in Patent Office: 314 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 11/02 Platens
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 29/17 Cleaning arrangements

Abstract

A printing apparatus includes a printing portion, a transport portion a medium support portion disposed on an upstream side of a recording head, and a removal portion that includes a first contact portion, which comes into contact with the printing surface when a medium is supported by the medium support portion. The removal portion is spatially separated from the medium support portion at both a section on the upstream side of the first contact portion and a section on the downstream side of the first contact portion. An interval between the removal portion and the medium support portion becomes wider in tandem with progression toward a direction opposite to the transport direction on the upstream side in the transport direction of the first contact portion, and becomes wider in tandem with progression toward the transport direction on the downstream side in the transport direction of the first contact portion.

Claims

1. A printing apparatus comprising:

a printing portion that performs printing on a printing surface of a medium;

a transport portion that transports the medium in a transport direction and feeds out the medium to the printing portion;

a medium support portion that is disposed on an upstream side in the transport direction with respect to the printing portion and, among surfaces of the medium, supports a surface on a side opposite to the printing surface; and

a removal portion that has a flexible property and includes a first contact portion, which comes into contact with the printing surface in a case in which the medium is supported by the medium support portion,

wherein the removal portion is spatially separated from the medium support portion at both a section further on the upstream side in the transport direction than the first contact portion and a section further on the downstream side in the transport direction than the first contact portion, and

wherein an interval between the removal portion and the medium support portion becomes wider in tandem with progression toward a direction opposite to the transport direction on the upstream side in the transport direction of the first contact portion, and becomes wider in tandem with progression toward the transport direction on the downstream side in the transport direction of the first contact portion.

2. The printing apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the first contact portion extends in a direction that intersects the transport direction.

3. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a fixing portion that fixes the removal portion,

wherein in a case in which the medium is not supported by the medium support portion, the removal portion blocks a gap between the fixing portion and the medium support portion by coming into contact with the medium support portion.

4. The printing apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein a length in the transport direction of the first contact portion is greater than a length in the transport direction of a second contact portion in a case in which a section in which the removal portion comes into contact with the medium support portion is set as the second contact portion in a case in which the medium is not supported by the medium support portion.

5. The printing apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the removal portion is divided into a plurality in a direction that intersects the transport direction.

6. The printing apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the removal portion includes a first member that is disposed on a side of the medium support portion, and a second member that is disposed on a side opposite to the medium support portion, and

wherein the rigidity of the second member is greater than that of the first member.

7. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a fixing portion that fixes the removal portion,

wherein the removal portion includes one end that is fixed to the fixing portion, and another end that is fixed to the fixing portion, and

wherein the one end and the other end are separated from one another.

8. The printing apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the removal portion is configured by a conductive member.

9. The printing apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the transport portion includes a plurality of rollers, and

wherein the removal portion is disposed further on the upstream side in the transport direction than a roller disposed furthest on the upstream side in the transport direction among the plurality of rollers.

10. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a setting portion that feeds out the medium to the transport portion,

wherein the removal portion is disposed between the setting portion and the transport portion.