Liquid discharge apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9475315-B2
Application number	US-201615017958-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 8, 2016
Priority date	Feb 18, 2015
Publication date	Oct 25, 2016
Grant date	Oct 25, 2016

Abstract

The liquid discharge apparatus includes a support member supporting a medium while rotating, a head facing the support member and discharging a liquid, a conveyance part conveying a medium between the support member and the head, and a foreign matter detection unit detecting a foreign matter heading toward between the support member and the head in association with the conveyance of the medium. The foreign matter detection unit has a movable roller that faces the support member upstream relative to the head in a conveyance direction of the medium, and nips the medium between the support member and the movable roller, a rotational support member rotatably supporting the movable roller to allow inclination of the movable roller relative to a rotational axis direction, which is a center of rotation of the support member, and a retention member movably retaining the rotational support member in a direction toward the support member.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A liquid discharge apparatus, comprising:
a support member configured to support a medium while rotating;
a head facing the support member and configured to discharge a liquid onto the medium supported by the support member;
a conveyance part configured to convey the medium between the support member and the head; and
a foreign matter detection unit configured to detect a foreign matter heading toward between the support member and the head, in association with a conveyance of the medium by the conveyance part,
the foreign matter detection unit having
a movable roller facing the support member on an upstream side of the head in a direction of conveyance of the medium being conveyed by the conveyance part, the movable roller being configured to nip the medium between the support member and the movable roller,
a rotational support member rotatably supporting the movable roller so as to allow inclination of the movable roller relative to a rotational axis direction, which is a center of rotation of the support member, and
a retention member movably retaining the rotational support member in a direction going toward the support member.

2. The liquid discharge apparatus as set forth in claim 1 , wherein
the foreign matter detection unit further has an urging member configured to urge the retention member toward the support member.

3. The liquid discharge apparatus as set forth in claim 1 , wherein
the rotational support member is a spherical plain bearing.

4. The liquid discharge apparatus as set forth in claim 1 , wherein
the rotational support member supports the movable roller by using a resin.

5. The liquid discharge apparatus as set forth in claim 1 , wherein
the support member is a rotating drum.

6. The liquid discharge apparatus as set forth in claim 1 , wherein
the movable roller has a peripheral surface at which the movable roller is in contact with the medium, and a hardness of the peripheral surface of the movable roller is 80 degrees or higher.

7. The liquid discharge apparatus as set forth in claim 1 , wherein
the foreign matter detection unit has a sensor configured to detect displacement of the movable roller relative to the support member.

8. The liquid discharge apparatus as set forth in claim 7 , wherein
the sensor is configured to detect the displacement of the movable roller based on displacement of the retention member.

9. The liquid discharge apparatus as set forth in claim 1 , further comprising a light irradiation part configured to irradiate the liquid discharged onto the medium from the head with light, the liquid being cured while being heated while irradiated with the light from the light irradiation part.

Assignees

• Seiko Epson Corp

Inventors

• Toyama Hiroshi
• Shiiya Tomoyuki

Classifications

• B41J13/025

  Special roller holding or lifting means, e.g. for temporarily raising one roller of a pair of nipping rollers for inserting printing material · CPC title

• B41J25/312

  with print pressure adjustment mechanisms, e.g. pressure-on-the paper mechanisms · CPC title

• B41J13/02

  Rollers (roller platens B41J11/04) · CPC title

• B41J25/308

  with print gap adjustment mechanisms · CPC title

• B41J25/316

  with tilting motion mechanisms relative to paper surface · CPC title