Printing apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9527316-B2
Application number	US-201615051496-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 23, 2016
Priority date	Feb 25, 2015
Publication date	Dec 27, 2016
Grant date	Dec 27, 2016

Abstract

In a printing apparatus, an end of a destaticization section in a definition direction is positioned further on an outer side than an end of a transport belt in the definition direction. In addition, the printing apparatus is provided with an operation mechanism section that changes a location of the destaticization section that comes into contact with a sheet of paper, which is electrostatically adsorbed to the transport belt, by operating the destaticization section.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A printing apparatus comprising:
a transport belt, to which a printing medium is electrostatically adsorbed, and which operates in a manner that transports the printing medium in a transport direction;
a printing head that prints on a printing surface of the printing medium, which is electrostatically adsorbed to the transport belt;
a destaticization section that is disposed further upstream in the transport direction than the printing head, the destaticization section removes an electric charge from the printing surface by coming into contact with the printing surface of the printing medium,
wherein, a first direction runs along the printing surface of the printing medium that is transported on the transport belt, and of which a width direction of the printing medium is the main component, an end of the destaticization section in the first direction being positioned further on an outer side than an end of the transport belt in the first direction,
wherein an operation mechanism section is configured to change a location, in the first direction, of the destaticization section by operating the destaticization section, and
wherein the destaticization section has a ring shape,
wherein the operation mechanism section includes an operation driving roller and an operation driven roller,
wherein the destaticization section is wound around each of the operation driving roller and the operation driven roller, and
wherein the transport belt is disposed between each of the rollers in the first direction.

2. The printing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a cleaning section that performs cleaning of the destaticization section at a position that is further on an outer side in the definition direction than the transport belt.

3. The printing apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the transport belt is configured to have an endless form and is rotated by a transport driving roller, a printing medium, which is electrostatically adsorbed to an outer surface of the transport belt, is transported in the transport direction through rotation of the transport belt by the transport driving roller, and
wherein the printing apparatus further comprises a belt biasing member that biases a portion of the transport belt that faces the printing head toward a printing head side by coming into contact with an inner surface of the transport belt.

4. The printing apparatus according to claim 3 ,
wherein the belt biasing member includes a conductive material, and is grounded.

5. The printing apparatus according to claim 4 ,
wherein the transport belt has a configuration in which an outer side thereof is formed using a conductive layer, and an inner side thereof is formed using an insulating layer with greater electrical resistance than the conductive layer, and
wherein an outer surface of the conductive layer is an outer surface of the transport belt, and an inner surface of the insulating layer is an inner surface of the transport belt.

6. The printing apparatus according to claim 5 , further comprising a destaticization control section that controls the operation mechanism section on the basis of a length in the width direction of a printing medium, when the location of the destaticization section that comes into contact with a printing medium is changed.

7. The printing apparatus according to claim 6 ,
wherein the printing medium is supplied to a center in the width direction, on the transport belt, and
wherein, in a case in which a sum of half of the length, in the width direction, of a printing medium, and half of the transport belt, in the width direction, is set as an exchange movement amount, the destaticization control section controls the operation mechanism section on the basis of the exchange movement amount when the location of the destaticization section that comes into contact with a printing medium is changed.

8. The printing apparatus according to claim 6 ,
wherein the printing medium is supplied to one end side in the width direction on the transport belt, and
wherein, in a case in which the length in the width direction of a printing medium, is set as an exchange movement amount, the destaticization control section controls the operation mechanism section on the basis of the exchange movement amount when the location of the destaticization section that comes into contact with a printing medium is changed.

9. The printing apparatus according to claim 8 ,
wherein the destaticization control section changes the location of the destaticization section that comes into contact with a printing medium by the destaticization control section controlling the operation mechanism section using as a trigger a number of times of printing on the printing surface of a printing medium becoming equal to the number of times of moving.

10. The printing apparatus according to claim 8 , further comprising a printing control section that prints on a printing medium by operating the transport belt and controlling the printing head when a printing job is input,
wherein the destaticization control section changes the location of the destaticization section that comes into contact with a printing medium by controlling the operation mechanism section when printing on a printing medium based on the printing job is completed, or when printing on a printing medium based on the printing job is initiated.

11. The printing apparatus according to claim 8 ,
wherein a plurality of printing modes, in which the resolution of an image that is formed on the printing surface of the printing medium differs, are prepared, and
wherein the destaticization control section changes the location of the destaticization section that comes into contact with a printing medium by controlling the operation mechanism section using the printing mode changing as a trigger thereof.

12. The printing apparatus according to claim 8 , further comprising an electric charge amount sensor that is positioned between the destaticization section and the printing head in the transport direction, and that detects an amount of an electric charge of the printing surface of a printing medium,
wherein the destaticization control section changes the location of the destaticization section that comes into contact with a printing medium, by controlling the operation mechanism section when the amount of the electric charge that is detected by the electric charge amount sensor becomes greater than or equal to a movement electric charge amount up until before subsequent printing is initiated.

13. The printing apparatus according to claim 8 , further comprising a reversal mechanism that, after printing on a first surface of the two surfaces of a printing medium is completed, guides the printing medium onto the transport belt by reversing the top and bottom of the printing medium so that a second surface, which is a surface that is on an opposite side to the first surface, becomes the printing surface,
wherein the destaticization control section changes the location of the destaticization section that comes into contact with a printing medium by controlling the operation mechanism section while a printing medium is being supplied onto the transport belt by the reversal mechanism.

14. The printing apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the cleaning section includes a cleaning member that cleans the destaticization section by coming into contact with the destaticization section, and a displacement mechanism section that displaces the cleaning member between a sweeping position at which the cleaning member is capable of coming into contact with the destaticization s

Assignees

• Seiko Epson Corp

Inventors

• Mori Kazunori
• Chiba Satoshi
• Koike Yoshikazu

Classifications

• B41J11/0085 Primary

  Using suction for maintaining printing material flat (on rotatable drums B41J13/226) · CPC title

• B41J11/007

  Conveyor belts or like feeding devices · CPC title

• B41J15/048

  Conveyor belts or like feeding devices (B41J11/007 takes precedence) · CPC title

• B41J11/0015 Primary

  for treating before, during or after printing or for uniform coating or laminating the copy material before or after printing (selective coating B41J2/2114) · CPC title

• B65H2404/221

  Round belt · CPC title