Printing apparatus and conveyance apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11065892-B2
Application number	US-202016831884-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 27, 2020
Priority date	Mar 29, 2019
Publication date	Jul 20, 2021
Grant date	Jul 20, 2021

Abstract

To provide a printing apparatus and a conveyance apparatus that are capable of preventing a cut position to be cut by a cutting unit from deviating, in a printing apparatus in which printing is performed by a printing unit on a printing medium that is conveyed by a conveyance unit and the printing medium is cut by a cutting unit while being conveyed by the conveyance unit and a conveying force apply unit, the sconveying force apply unit is arranged on an outer side relative to the cutting unit and configured to apply a conveying force to the printing medium in a direction outward in a width direction from an upstream to a downstream in a conveyance direction.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A printing apparatus comprising:
a conveyance unit configured to convey a printing medium in a conveyance direction;
a printing unit configured to print an image on the printing medium that is conveyed by the conveyance unit;
a cutting unit configured to cut the printing medium, which is conveyed by the conveyance unit, along the conveyance direction; and
a conveying force apply unit arranged on an outer side relative to the cutting unit in a width direction of the printing medium and configured to nip the printing medium and apply a conveying force to the printing medium,
wherein the printing medium is cut by the cutting unit while being conveyed by the conveyance unit and while the conveying force is applied to the printing medium by the conveying force apply unit, and
wherein the conveying force apply unit is configured to apply the conveying force to the printing medium in a direction outward in the width direction from an upstream to a downstream of the conveyance direction.

2. The printing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the conveying force apply unit is arranged on an upstream side in the conveyance direction relative to a position where the cutting unit cuts the printing medium.

3. The printing apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the conveying force apply unit is configured to apply a conveying force including a conveyance direction component and a width direction component to the printing medium, and
wherein the width direction component corresponds to a component in such a direction that the printing medium is pulled.

4. The printing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the conveying force apply unit is configured to nip a region of the width direction in which the image is not printed.

5. The printing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the conveying force apply unit includes a pair of rollers, which are arranged to be tilted relative to the conveyance direction and configured to nip and convey the printing medium.

6. The printing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the conveying force apply unit is arranged to be tilted at such an angle that the conveying force apply unit is capable of applying the conveying force to the printing medium as well as ensuring flatness of the printing medium at a timing where the printing medium reaches a position where the cutting unit cuts the printing medium.

7. The printing apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the cutting unit forms
a first slitter unit together with the conveying force apply unit on one side of the width direction and
a second slitter unit together with the conveying force apply unit on the other side of the width direction.

8. The printing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the conveying force apply unit includes an adjusting unit configured to be capable of adjusting a tilt angle.

9. The printing apparatus according to claim 8 further comprising a control unit configured to control the tilt angle via the adjusting unit, based on at least one of information of a type of printing medium, a surrounding environment, and a printing duty.

10. The printing apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the cutting unit is configured to have two round blades in contact with each other, so as to cut the printing medium, and
wherein a position where the cutting unit cuts the printing medium corresponds to a contact point where the two round blades are in contact with each other.

11. The printing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the conveying force apply unit is configured to apply the conveying force to the printing medium in synchronization with the conveyance unit.

12. The printing apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising a cutter configured to cut the printing medium in the width direction.

13. The printing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the printing unit is configured to perform printing in an ink jet system.

14. A conveyance apparatus comprising:
a conveyance unit configured to convey a printing medium in a conveyance direction;
a cutting unit configured to cut the printing medium, which is conveyed by the conveyance unit, along the conveyance direction; and
a conveying force apply unit arranged on an outer side relative to the cutting unit in a width direction of the printing medium and configured to nip the printing medium and apply a conveying force to the printing medium,
wherein the printing medium is cut by the cutting unit while being conveyed by the conveyance unit and while the conveying force is applied to the printing medium by the conveying force apply unit, and
wherein the conveying force apply unit is configured to apply the conveying force to the printing medium in a direction outward in the width direction from an upstream to a downstream of the conveyance direction.

Assignees

• Canon Kk

Inventors

• Kobayashi Ryo
• Suzuki Yoshiaki
• Obata Tsutomu

Classifications

• B41J11/663 Primary

  Controlling cutting, cutting resulting in special shapes of the cutting line, e.g. controlling cutting positions, e.g. for cutting in the immediate vicinity of a printed image · CPC title

• B41J11/68 Primary

  cutting parallel to the direction of paper feed · CPC title

• B41J11/70

  cutting perpendicular to the direction of paper feed · CPC title

• B41J11/42

  Controlling {printing material conveyance for accurate alignment of the printing material with the printhead; Print registering} · CPC title

• B65H9/166

  Roller · CPC title