Patent Publication Number: US-11660889-B2

Title: Printing apparatus

Description:
The present application is based on, and claims priority from JP Application Serial Number 2020-027879, filed Feb. 21, 2020, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
     BACKGROUND 
     1. Technical Field 
     The disclosure relates to a printing apparatus. 
     2. Related Art 
     In the related art, there is known a printing apparatus in which roll paper accommodated below a printing unit, and fan fold paper that is a printing medium other than the roll paper can be selected to be used, as described in JP 2010-201679 A. 
     Unfortunately, in the printing apparatus described in JP 2010-201679 A, an insertion port through which the printing medium other than the roll paper is inserted is provided at a rear portion of the apparatus, and the printing medium needs to be placed on a backside of the apparatus. That is, for an installation of the printing apparatus, a placement space for placing the printing medium and a work space for placing the printing medium on the backside are necessary in addition to a size of the apparatus, and there is an issue in that an installation space for installing the printing apparatus increases. 
     SUMMARY 
     A printing apparatus including a roll paper accommodating unit configured to accommodate roll paper, a single sheet paper accommodating unit configured to accommodate single sheet paper, a printing unit configured to perform printing on the roll paper fed from the roll paper accommodating unit, and to perform printing on the single sheet paper fed from the single sheet paper accommodating unit, and a main body frame that supports the single sheet paper accommodating unit and the roll paper accommodating unit, in which the roll paper accommodating unit and the single sheet paper accommodating unit are located in ranges, in a front-back direction of the printing apparatus, overlapping a range in which the printing unit is present, and are located downward of the printing unit with respect to a vertical direction, and the roll paper accommodating unit and the single sheet paper accommodating unit are movable frontward of the printing apparatus. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    is a perspective view illustrating an external appearance of a printing apparatus according to an embodiment. 
         FIG.  2    is a perspective view illustrating a state where a roll paper accommodating unit and a single sheet paper accommodating unit are moved frontward. 
         FIG.  3    is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating an internal configuration of a printing apparatus. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS 
     First, a schematic configuration of a printing apparatus  11  according to an embodiment will be described. The printing apparatus  11  is an inkjet type printer configured to discharge ink to perform printing on a printing medium, for example. In the coordinates appended to the figures, three virtual axes orthogonal to one another are designated as an X axis, a Y axis, and a Z axis on the assumption that the printing apparatus  11  is placed on a horizontal face. The Y axis is an axis that is parallel to a front-back direction of the printing apparatus  11 , and a leading end side of an arrow indicating the Y axis is designated as “front”. The X axis is an axis that is parallel to a left-right direction of the printing apparatus  11 , and a leading end side of an arrow indicating the X axis is designated as “right”. The Z axis is a virtual axis that is parallel to a vertical direction, and a leading end side of an arrow indicating the Z axis is designated as “down”. 
     As illustrated in  FIGS.  1  to  3   , the printing apparatus  11  includes a housing  12  of a rectangular parallelepiped shape and a main body frame  16  that supports portions of the printing apparatus  11 . Inside the housing  12 , there are provided a roll paper accommodating unit  40  configured to accommodate roll paper RP that is a printing medium, a single sheet paper accommodating unit  60  configured to accommodate single sheet paper SP that is a printing medium other than the roll paper RP, and a printing unit  20  configured to perform printing on the roll paper RP fed from the roll paper accommodating unit  40 , and to perform printing on the single sheet paper SP that is fed from the single sheet paper accommodating unit  60 . The roll paper accommodating unit  40  and the single sheet paper accommodating unit  60  are located downward of the printing unit  20  with respect to the vertical direction. In addition, a range in which the printing unit  20  is present on the Y axis overlaps a range in which the roll paper accommodating unit  40  is present on the Y axis and a range in which the single sheet paper accommodating unit  60  is present on the Y axis. In the printing apparatus  11  of to the embodiment, the single sheet paper accommodating unit  60  is located downward of the roll paper accommodating unit  40 . 
     1-1. Printing Unit 
     The printing unit  20  includes a head  22  including a nozzle  23  configured to discharge ink toward the printing medium, a carriage  21  on which the head  22  is mounted, and a guide rail  24  disposed along the X axis. The printing unit  20  also includes a movement mechanism configured to reciprocally move the carriage  21  along the guide rail  24 . A support unit  25  that supports the printing medium is provided at a position facing the head  22 . The head  22  is configured to discharge ink while reciprocally moving in a paper width direction of the printing medium together with the carriage  21 , to perform printing on the printing medium supported by the support unit  25 . Note that, in the embodiment, a serial head type in which the head  22  reciprocally moves in the paper width direction is exemplified as the printing unit  20 , and the printing unit  20  may be a line head type in which heads extend in the paper width direction and aligned in a fixed manner. 
     On an upper portion of the housing  12 , there are provided a medium transport path  30  on which the printing medium is transported and a cutting unit  27  configured to cut the printing medium on which printing has been performed by the printing unit  20 . The medium transport path  30  includes a feeding path  30   a  and an inverting path  30   b  provided upstream of the support unit  25 , and an ejection path  30   c  provided downstream of the support unit  25 . Moreover, the feeding path  30   a  includes a roll paper feeding path  30 R on which roll paper is fed, and a single sheet paper feeding path  30 S on which single sheet paper is fed. 
     The feeding path  30   a  is a path that connects from the roll paper feeding path  30 R to the support unit  25 . A roll paper joining point P 2  that joins up with the roll paper feeding path  30 R is provided upstream of the feeding path  30   a . A branching point P 1  that branches from the feeding path  30   a  when the printing medium is transported from downstream to upstream is provided downstream of the feeding path  30   a . The inverting path  30   b  is a path that connects from the branching point P 1  to the roll paper joining point P 2 . A single sheet paper joining point P 3  that joins up with the single sheet paper feeding path  30 S is provided between the roll paper joining point P 2  and the branching point P 1  on the feeding path  30   a.    
     An ejection port  14  through which the printing medium on which printing has been performed is ejected is provided on a front face of the housing  12 . Note that, in the embodiment, the front face of the housing  12  is a face that faces frontward of the housing  12 . The ejection path  30   c  is a path that connects from the support unit  25  to the ejection port  14 . The cutting unit  27  configured to cut the printing medium on which printing has been performed by the printing unit  20  is provided midway on the ejection path  30   c . The cutting unit  27  includes a movable blade  28  configured to reciprocally move along the X axis that coincides with the paper width direction of the printing medium, and a fixed blade  29  that extends in the paper width direction to be fixed. The movable blade  28  is provided upward of the ejection path  30   c , and the fixed blade  29  is provided downward of the ejection path  30   c . The movable blade  28 , by moving in the paper width direction while abutting against the fixed blade  29 , cuts the roll paper RP, a margin section, and the like that are unwound from a rolled state, for example. There is provided, downward of the cutting unit  27 , a cutting waste accommodating unit  80  configured to accommodate cutting waste generated by the cutting of the cutting unit  27 . 
     The medium transport path  30  is provided with a transport unit  31  that transports the printing medium fed onto the medium transport path  30 . The transport unit  31  includes, in the order from upstream on the feeding path  30   a , an intermediate roller  32 , a plurality of driven rollers  33  provided on an outer circumference of the intermediate roller  32 , and an upstream transport roller pair  34 . The driven roller  33 , which is rotatably provided, is driven to rotate pinching the printing medium together with the intermediate roller  32 . The transport unit  31  includes, in the order from upstream on the ejection path  30   c , a downstream transport roller pair  35 , a first roller pair  36 , and a second roller pair  37 . The first roller pair  36  is located upstream of the cutting unit  27 , and the second roller pair  37  is located downstream of the cutting unit  27 . 
     The intermediate roller  32 , the driven roller  33 , the upstream transport roller pair  34 , the downstream transport roller pair  35 , the first roller pair  36 , and the second roller pair  37  rotate in a state of pinching the printing medium together to transport the printing medium. As a result of the transport unit  31  being driven forward, the printing medium is transported to a positive side of the Y axis, that is, from upstream to downstream. As a result of the transport unit  31  being driven reverse, the printing medium is transported to a negative side of the Y axis, that is, from downstream to upstream. 
     The printing apparatus  11  causes, while forward driving the transport unit  31  to transport the printing medium from upstream to downstream, the printing unit  20  to discharge ink onto the printing medium located at the support unit  25 , to perform printing on a first surface of the printing medium. The printing apparatus  11  is configured to perform printing on a second surface that is a back surface of the first surface of the printing medium. The printing apparatus  11  reverse drives the transport unit  31  to transport, from downstream to upstream, the printing medium having the first surface on which printing has been performed. The printing medium reaches, from the branching point P 1 , upstream of the feeding path  30   a  via the inverting path  30   b . The printing apparatus  11  forward drives the transport unit  31  again to cause the printing medium to rotate once around the outer circumference of the intermediate roller  32 , to thus reverse the frontside and backside of the printing medium. The printing apparatus  11  causes, while transporting the printing medium from upstream to downstream, the printing unit  20  to discharge ink onto the printing medium located at the support unit  25 , to perform printing on the second surface of the printing medium. This allows the printing to be performed on both of the surfaces of the printing medium. Note that when the printing medium is the roll paper RP that is unwound from the rolled state, printing is performed on the back surface of the printing medium that has been cut into single sheet paper by the cutting unit  27  after printing is performed on the front surface. 
     1-2. Roll Paper Accommodating Unit 
     As illustrated in  FIG.  3   , the roll paper accommodating unit  40  is provided, inside the housing, downward of the printing unit  20  with respect to the vertical direction. Further, in the Y axis direction, the range in which the roll paper accommodating unit  40  is present overlaps the range in which the printing unit  20  is present. The roll paper accommodating unit  40  includes, at a lower portion of a front face of the roll paper accommodating unit  40 , a front plate portion  42  that forms a part of the housing  12 . In the roll paper accommodating unit  40 , the roll paper RP is rotatably supported via a support shaft  41  extending in the X direction of the housing  12 . That is, the roll paper RP is supported by the roll paper accommodating unit  40  in a manner rotatable, together with the support shaft  41 , about the support shaft  41  serving as a center of the rotation. 
     The support shaft  41  is configured to be rotatably driven in both of forward and reverse directions. The roll paper RP is rotatably driven, via the support shaft  41 , in both of forward and reverse directions. In addition, the roll paper accommodating unit  40  is provided with a roll paper transport path  50  for transporting the roll paper RP that is being unwound from a rolled state toward the roll paper feeding path  30 R. 
     The roll paper transport path  50  extends from a frontside to a downside of the roll paper RP that is supported via the support shaft  41  to then be bent backward, and turns around a downside and a backside of the roll paper RP and proceeds upward to a position that is higher than the roll paper RP to extend up to the roll paper feeding path  30 R. 
     The roll paper transport path  50  has a bent portion  50   a  that is bent substantially at a 90-degree angle at an upstream end portion of the roll paper transport path  50 , that is, at a position diagonally downward of a front part of the roll paper RP with respect to the roll paper transport path  50 . Further, a decal mechanism  51  for performing a decal for correcting a curling habit of the roll paper RP is provided immediately downstream of the bent portion  50   a  of the roll paper transport path  50 . 
     The decal mechanism  51  includes a first roller  52 , a second roller  53 , a fixed curved surface portion  54  having a curved surface  54   a  that forms a part of the bent portion  50   a , and a movement device  55  for moving the first roller  52 . The first roller  52  is movably disposed downside of the second roller  53  and the fixed curved surface portion  54 . The second roller  53  and the fixed curved surface portion  54  are arranged in a state of being fixedly located so as to be aligned with each other in a front-back direction along the Y axis with a predetermined interval therebetween. The roll paper RP is then transported downstream through between the first roller  52  and the fixed curved surface portion  54  and between the first roller  52  and the second roller  53 . 
     In addition, the first roller  52  is moved, by the driving of the movement device  55 , between a lease position at which the first roller  52  does not press the roll paper RP illustrated in  FIG.  3    and a nip position at which the first roller  52  presses the roll paper RP to pinch the roll paper RP together with the second roller  53 . Further, in a state where the first roller  52  is at the nip position, the roll paper RP having the curling habit is bent and decaled, while being guided by the fixed curved surface portion  54 , in a direction in which the curling habit is corrected. 
     At this time, the first roller  52  is located, in the front-back direction, between the second roller  53  and the fixed curved surface portion  54 , and the roll paper RP is located, in the front-back direction, between the first roller  52  and the fixed curved surface portion  54 . In the embodiment, the second roller  53  is configured by a driving roller that is driven by a motor disposed inside the housing  12 , and the first roller  52  is configured by a driven roller that is driven to rotate by a rotational driving force of the second roller  53  being transmitted via the roll paper RP when the first roller  52  is at the nip position. 
     A roll paper transport roller pair  56  that impart a transport force to the roll paper RP are provided downstream, on the roll paper transport path  50 , of the decal mechanism  51  at an appropriate interval. The roll paper transport roller pair  56  are rotatably driven to transport the roll paper RP onto the roll paper feeding path  30 R. 
     The roll paper accommodating unit  40  is supported by the main body frame  16 . The roll paper accommodating unit  40 , when housing the roll paper RP, is opened frontward of the printing apparatus  11  through an opening portion  13  formed at a central portion of the front face of the housing  12 . The roll paper accommodating unit  40  is movable in a manner drawable frontward of the printing apparatus  11  with respect to the main body frame  16 . That is, the roll paper accommodating unit  40  is movable to a side at which the printing medium is ejected through the ejection port  14  with respect to the printing apparatus  11 . Note that, as illustrated in  FIG.  2   , a movement range in which the roll paper accommodating unit  40  is movable has a length of L 1 . 
     As such, the printing apparatus  11  in which the roll paper accommodating unit  40  is located downward of the printing unit  20  can be reduced in installation area in the front-back direction, compared to a printing apparatus in which the roll paper accommodating unit is located backward of the printing unit. Also, in the printing apparatus in which the roll paper accommodating unit is located backward of the printing unit, because a space through which the roll paper is passed is necessary upward of the apparatus when the roll paper accommodating unit accommodates the roll paper, an installation area that is larger than a dimension of the apparatus is necessary in an up-down direction as well. 
     1-3. Cutting Waste Accommodating Unit 
     The cutting waste accommodating unit  80  is located frontward of the roll paper accommodating unit  40  and is removably provided with respect to the main body frame  16 . The front plate portion  42  of the roll paper accommodating unit  40  of a drawable type is exposed at a downside of the cutting waste accommodating unit  80 . 
     The cutting waste accommodating unit  80  includes an outer wall  81  that covers the opening portion  13  when the cutting waste accommodating unit  80  is attached to the housing  12 , an inner wall  82  that faces the outer wall  81 , and a side wall  83  that is jointed, at both ends in the X direction of the side wall  83 , to the outer wall  81  and the inner wall  82 . A bottom wall  84  is provided at a lower end portion of the cutting waste accommodating unit  80 , and a receiving port  85  that receives cutting waste that is cut by the cutting unit  27  is provided at an upper end portion of the cutting waste accommodating unit  80 . The inner wall  82  is curved in conformance with an outer circumference of the roll paper RP in the rolled state. 
     The cutting waste accommodating unit  80  includes a pair of engagement protrusions  86  that protrude downward at both end sides in the X direction of the bottom wall  84 . On the other hand, the front plate portion  42  of the roll paper accommodating unit  40  includes a pair of support recesses  43  that open upward at positions on both end sides in the X direction. The cutting waste accommodating unit  80 , when attached to the housing  12 , is supported by the front plate portion  42  in a state where the engagement protrusions  86  are engaged with the support recesses  43 . 
     The cutting waste accommodating unit  80  includes a pair of metal pieces  87  attached to both end sides, in the X direction, at an upper end portion of the inner wall  82 . In addition, a pair of magnets  15  are attached to the main body frame  16  at positions facing the metal pieces  87  in a state where the cutting waste accommodating unit  80  is supported by the front plate portion  42 . 
     When attaching the cutting waste accommodating unit  80  to the main body frame  16 , the engagement protrusion  86  formed at a lower end side is engaged with the support recess  43  of the front plate portion  42 , and then an upper end side of the cutting waste accommodating unit  80  is caused to be tilted toward a side of the main body frame  16  with the engagement protrusion  86  serving as a supporting point. The cutting waste accommodating unit  80  is then supported, via the engagement protrusion  86 , by the front plate portion  42 , and concurrently therewith, the metal pieces  87  are attracted to the magnets  15 , thus maintaining an independent state of the receiving port  85  facing upward. 
     As illustrated in  FIG.  1   , when attaching the cutting waste accommodating unit  80 , the opening portion  13  is covered by the outer wall  81  and the front plate portion  42 . At this time, an outer face of the outer wall  81  is flush with an outer face of the front plate portion  42 . That is, the outer wall  81  of the cutting waste accommodating unit  80  and the front plate portion  42  of the roll paper accommodating unit  40  serve as parts of the housing  12  of the printing apparatus  11 . Also, as illustrated in  FIG.  2   , in a state where the roll paper accommodating unit  40  is opened frontward, the cutting waste accommodating unit  80  is removed from the main body frame  16 . 
     1-4. Single Sheet Paper Accommodating Unit 
     As illustrated in  FIG.  3   , inside the housing  12 , the single sheet paper accommodating unit  60  is provided downward of the roll paper accommodating unit  40  with respect to the vertical direction. The range in the Y axis direction in which the single sheet paper accommodating unit  60  is present overlaps the range in which the roll paper accommodating unit  40  is present. The single sheet paper accommodating unit  60  includes a front plate portion  62  that forms a part of the housing  12  on the front face of the single sheet paper accommodating unit  60 . The single sheet paper accommodating unit  60  includes a tray  61  of a box shape in which single sheet paper SP is accommodated. The tray  61  includes a pair of edge guides  65  that are operated when positioning the single sheet paper SP in the width direction, a stopper  64  that is operated when positioning the single sheet paper SP in the front-back direction, and a hopper  63  that biases an end portion downstream of the single sheet paper SP accommodated in the tray  61  toward a pick-up roller  72 . 
     The single sheet paper accommodating unit  60  is supported by the main body frame  16 . The single sheet paper accommodating unit  60  is opened frontward of the printing apparatus  11  through an opening portion  17  formed at a lower portion of the front face of the housing  12  when housing the single sheet paper SP. The single sheet paper accommodating unit  60  is movable in a manner drawable frontward of the printing apparatus  11  with respect to the main body frame  16 . As illustrated in  FIG.  2   , a movement range in which the single sheet paper accommodating unit  60  is movable has a length of L 2  that is longer than a movement range of L 1  in which the roll paper accommodating unit  40  moves. Also, as illustrated in  FIG.  1   , the cutting waste accommodating unit  80  avoids being located on a movement path on which the single sheet paper accommodating unit  60  moves, that is, frontward of the single sheet paper accommodating unit  60 . 
     The single sheet paper accommodating unit  60  forms a part of a single sheet paper feed unit  70  that feeds the single sheet paper SP toward the printing unit  20 . The single sheet paper feed unit  70  includes the single sheet paper accommodating unit  60 , a single sheet paper transport path  71 , the pick-up roller  72 , a retarder roller  73 , a separate roller  74 , and the like. 
     The pick-up roller  72  is located upward of a downstream end portion of the single sheet paper SP accommodated in the single sheet paper accommodating unit  60 . The pick-up roller  72  rotates in a state of being in contact with the single sheet paper SP to pick up the single sheet paper SP. The retarder roller  73  and the separate roller  74  are provided facing each other, in the up-down direction, downstream of the pick-up roller  72 . The retarder roller  73  and the separate roller  74  rotate in a state of pinching the single sheet paper SP that is picked up from the single sheet paper accommodating unit  60  by the pick-up roller  72 , to thus feed the single sheet paper SP toward the printing unit  20 . 
     The separate roller  74  is a roller that comes into contact with the same surface as a surface of the single sheet paper SP with which the pick-up roller  72  is in contact, and the retarder roller  73  is a roller that comes into contact with a surface that is opposite to that surface. That is, the retarder roller  73  is located downward of the separate roller  74 . Note that the retarder roller  73  is a roller that is driven to rotate in conjunction with the rotation of the separate roller  74 . Also, the retarder roller  73  is configured such that the friction coefficient with respect to the single sheet paper SP is greater than that of the separate roller  74 . The separate roller  74  and the retarder roller  73  then separate, one by one, the single sheet paper SP by the difference in the friction coefficients to transport the separated single sheet paper SP. 
     The single sheet paper transport path  71  is bent upward from the separate roller  74  and the retarder roller  73 , and extends upward, behind the roll paper accommodating unit  40 , to the single sheet paper feeding path  30 S. 
     On the single sheet paper transport path  71 , a single sheet paper transport roller pair  75  that impart a transport force to the single sheet paper SP are provided at an appropriate interval. The single sheet paper transport roller pair  75  are rotatably driven to transport the single sheet paper SP to the single sheet paper feeding path  30 S. 
     As described above, the printing apparatus  11  according to the embodiment can achieve the following advantageous effects. 
     The printing apparatus  11  includes the roll paper accommodating unit  40  configured to accommodate the roll paper RP, and the single sheet paper accommodating unit  60  configured to accommodate the single sheet paper SP that is a printing medium other than the roll paper RP. The roll paper accommodating unit  40  and the single sheet paper accommodating unit  60  are located in the ranges overlapping, in the front-back direction of the printing apparatus  11 , the range in which the printing unit  20  is present, and is located downward of the printing unit  20  with respect to the vertical direction, which makes a placement space for placing the printing medium at an outside of the apparatus unnecessary. Because the roll paper accommodating unit  40  and the single sheet paper accommodating unit  60  are opened frontward of the printing apparatus  11 , which makes a work space for housing the printing medium at an upper side and left and right of the apparatus unnecessary. This allows the printing apparatus  11  to be installed in a narrow space. 
     Note that, in the embodiment, a configuration in which the single sheet paper accommodating unit  60  is provided downward of the roll paper accommodating unit  40  is exemplified, and the similar advantageous effects can be achieved even with a configuration in which a roll accommodating unit is provided downward of a single sheet paper accommodating unit. 
     Because the single sheet paper accommodating unit  60  is provided downward of the roll paper accommodating unit  40 , the single sheet paper transport path  71  for feeding the single sheet paper to the printing unit  20  can be elongated. This allows the single sheet paper transport path  71  to be configured by a path having a small curvature, which enables to transport the single sheet paper SP in a suitable manner. 
     The single sheet paper accommodating unit  60 , which is configured to move on the movement path on which the cutting waste accommodating unit  80  avoids being disposed, can be moved frontward of the printing apparatus  11  without removing the cutting waste accommodating unit  80 . This improves a work efficiency when housing the single sheet paper SP in the single sheet paper accommodating unit  60 . 
     In a state where the roll paper accommodating unit  40  is opened frontward, the cutting waste accommodating unit  80  is removed from the main body frame  16 . The cutting waste accommodating unit  80  is removed when housing the roll paper RP in the roll paper accommodating unit  40 , which prompts a user to discard cutting waste. 
     The single sheet paper accommodating unit  60  is movable further frontward than the movement range in which the roll paper accommodating unit  40  moves, which makes it possible to concurrently accommodate the roll paper RP and the single sheet paper SP.