Printing apparatus and sheet storage device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10967658-B2
Application number	US-201815896504-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 14, 2018
Priority date	Feb 27, 2017
Publication date	Apr 6, 2021
Grant date	Apr 6, 2021

Abstract

A printing apparatus and a sheet storage device meet a need for diversification in printing modes while reducing a load on a user. A printing apparatus includes a first holder which rotatably holds a roll sheet, a second holder which is located below the first holder and rotatably holds a roll sheet, a printing unit which performs printing on a shed reeled out of the first holder or the second holder, a discharge port which is provided above the first holder and discharges the sheet printed by the printing unit, and a receiving unit which is provided between the first holder and the second holder and is capable of establishing a first stab of receiving a front end portion of the sheet discharged from the discharge port and a second state of not receiving the front end portion.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A printing apparatus comprising:
a first holder configured to rotatably hold a roll sheet formed by winding a continuous sheet into a roll shape;
a second holder provided below the first holder in a direction of gravity and configured to rotatably hold a roll sheet formed by winding a continuous sheet into a roll shape;
a printing unit configured to perform printing on a sheet supplied from either of the first holder and the second holder;
a discharge port provided above the first holder with respect to the direction of gravity and configured to discharge the sheet printed by the printing unit, the first holder and the second holder being positioned on a side where the discharge port of the printing apparatus is provided; and
a guide unit provided between the first holder and the second holder with respect to the direction of gravity and configured to move between a first position and a second position,
wherein the guide unit receives a front end portion of the sheet discharged from the discharge port when located at the first position, and does not receive the front end portion of the sheet when located at the second position.

2. The printing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a storage unit configured to store the sheet discharged from the discharge port, wherein
a storage space in the storage unit includes a region below the second holder.

3. The printing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein a plurality of the guide units are provided along a width direction of the sheet.

4. The printing apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein
the guide units are located on a rod extending along the width direction, and
at least one of the guide units is provided attachably to and detachably from the rod or provided movably along the rod.

5. The printing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the guide unit includes a butting portion configured to receive the sheet when in the first position.

6. The printing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the guide unit is turned about a lower part with respect to the direction of gravity as a rotational center and is moved to either of the first position and the second position, and
a surface of the guide unit to receive the sheet is horizontal or inclined upward to a front end of the guide unit when the guide unit is in the first position.

7. A printing apparatus comprising:
a holder configured to rotatably hold a roll sheet formed by winding a continuous sheet into a roll shape;
a printing unit configured to perform printing on a sheet supplied from the holder;
a discharge port configured to discharge the sheet printed by the printing unit;
a storage unit configured to store the sheet discharged from the discharge port by using a receiver, the receiver being held at a first end on a side away from the discharge port in a horizontal direction and at a second end on a side closer to the discharge port relative to the first end; and
a guide unit provided between the discharge port and the storage unit and configured to move between a first position and a second position,
wherein in a case in which the guide unit is located at the first position, in a state in which a front end portion of the sheet is received by the guide unit, a following portion of the sheet is discharged to the receiver on a side of the second end below the guide unit from between a front end of the guide unit and the receiver on a side of the first end, and in a case in which the guide unit is located at the second position, the front end portion of the sheet is firstly discharged to the storage unit without the guide unit receiving the front end portion of the sheet.

8. The printing apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein
a surface of the guide unit to receive the sheet is horizontal or inclined upward to a front end of the guide unit when the guide unit receives the sheet in the first position.

9. The printing apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the storage unit is inclined below the guide unit in the first position in a direction of gravity.

10. The printing apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein
the guide unit includes a butting portion configured to receive the front end of the sheet in the first position, and
when the guide unit includes a front end portion and receives the sheet in the first position, a length from the butting portion to a front end portion of the guide unit is equal to or longer than one-fourth of a length from the front end of the sheet to a lower end in a gravity direction of a portion of the sheet drooping down into a loop shape.

11. The printing apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein
the sheet is a sheet reeled out of the roll sheet,
the storage unit includes an upper front end portion, the guide unit includes a front end portion, and the roll sheet includes an inside diameter, and
when the guide unit receives the sheet in the first position, a length in a horizontal direction from the upper front end portion of the storage unit to the front end portion of the guide unit is longer than the inside diameter of the roll sheet.

12. A printing apparatus comprising:
a holder configured to rotatably hold a roll sheet formed by winding a continuous sheet into a roll shape;
a printing unit configured to perform printing on a sheet supplied from the holder;
a discharge port configured to discharge the sheet printed by the printing unit;
a storage unit configured to store a sheet discharged from the discharge port by using a receiver which is flexible and to be capable of changing a reception mode of the sheet with the receiver; and
a guide unit provided between the discharge port and the receiver and configured to guide a front end of the sheet,
wherein a first end of the receiver on a side away from the discharge port in a horizontal direction and a second end of the receiver on a side closer to the discharge port relative to the first end are each fixed, and
the storage unit changes a first state and a second state by moving an intermediate part between the first end and the second end of the receiver, wherein in the first state the intermediate part of the receiver approaches a front end of the guide unit so that the sheet is supported by the guide unit and the receiver on a side of the first end, and in the second state, the intermediate part of the receiver is separated from the front end of the guide unit so that the sheet is stored by the receiver on a side of the second end below the guide unit.

13. The printing apparatus according to claim 12 , wherein
the storage unit includes:
a first rod configured to hold the first end of the receiver, and
a second rod configured to hold the second end of the receiver, and

the receiver is stretched in such a way as to come into contact with the guide unit by being wound around at least one of the first rod and the second rod.

14. The printing apparatus according to claim 12 , wherein
the storage unit includes:
a first rod configured to hold the first end of the receiver, and
a second rod configured to hold the second end of the receiver, and

the receiver is stretched in such a way as to come into contact with the guide unit by being held in a folded manner by at least one of the first rod and the second rod.

15. The printing apparatus according to claim 12 , wherein
the storage unit includes:
a first rod configured to hold the first end of the receiver, and
a second rod configured to hold the second end of the receiver, and

the receiver is stretched in such a way as to come into contact with the guide unit by moving the first rod

Assignees

• Canon Kk

Inventors

• Yoneyama Hiromasa
• Anayama Daiki
• Asai Yasuyuki
• Kikuchi Tetsuo

Classifications

• B41J15/046 Primary

  for the guidance of continuous copy material, e.g. for preventing skewed conveyance of the continuous copy material · CPC title

• B41J15/042 Primary

  for loading rolled-up continuous copy material into printers, e.g. for replacing a used-up paper roll; Point-of-sale printers with openable casings allowing access to the rolled-up continuous copy material · CPC title

• B65H16/021

  Multiple web roll supports · CPC title

• B65H2301/41398

  juxtaposed · CPC title

• B41J13/106

  for the sheet output section · CPC title