Patent Publication Number: US-8967794-B2

Title: Liquid ejecting apparatus

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     1. Technical Field 
     The present invention relates to a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects liquid onto a medium such as paper. 
     2. Related Art 
     As an existing liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects liquid onto a medium, there is an ink jet printer (hereinafter, simply referred to as a “printer”) that ejects ink onto paper so as to perform printing. 
     In the printer, if adhering objects such as dusts adhere to the paper, the adhering objects make contact with nozzles for ejecting liquid and so on, resulting in lowering of print quality in some cases. Therefore, a non-woven fabric for wiping the adhering objects away or a removal member formed with a rubber or the like to which adhering objects are adsorbed is provided at a position at which the non-woven fabric or the removal member is capable of making contact with a printing surface of the paper in some cases (for example, JP-A-2001-171208). 
     Paper powder generated when paper is cut into a predetermined size adheres to end portions of the paper in many cases. Since a particle diameter of the paper powder is extremely small, the paper powder cannot be removed completely only by making the non-woven fabric slide contact with the paper. Further, since much paper powder adheres to the end portions of the paper, there is a problem that the paper powder cannot be removed completely only by making the removal member contact with the printing surface of the paper. 
     The problem arises substantially commonly not only on the printer that ejects ink onto the paper but also on liquid ejecting apparatuses that eject liquids onto a medium. 
     SUMMARY 
     An advantage of some aspects of the invention is to provide a liquid ejecting apparatus capable of removing adhering objects that have adhered to end portions and the like of a medium onto which liquid is ejected. 
     Hereinafter, methods for achieving the above-mentioned object and action effects thereof are described. 
     A liquid ejecting apparatus according to an aspect of the invention includes a liquid ejecting unit that ejects liquid onto a medium, a first removal roller as a removal roller that rotates in a direction opposite to a transportation direction of the medium at a first contact position in a state of being contact with a first surface of the medium that is transported at the first contact position so as to remove adhering objects which have adhered to the medium, and a second removal roller as a removal roller that rotates in the direction opposite to the transportation direction of the medium at a second contact position in a state of being contact with a second surface of the medium that is transported at the second contact position so as to remove adhering objects which have adhered to the medium. 
     With the configuration, the removal rollers rotate in the rotating direction opposite to the transportation direction while making contact with the medium so as to remove the adhering objects which have adhered to the medium in a scraping manner effectively. Further, the first removal roller makes contact with the first surface of the medium, whereas the second removal roller makes contact with the second surface of the medium. Therefore, the adhering objects that have adhered to the end portions of the medium can be removed effectively. Accordingly, the adhering objects that have adhered to the end portions and the like of the medium onto which liquid is ejected can be removed. 
     In the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the above-mentioned aspect of the invention, it is preferable that the first contact position and the second position be separated from each other in the transportation direction. 
     If two removal rollers rotate in a state of pinching the medium, there arise risks that transportation of the medium is inhibited and the medium is wrapped around the removal rollers. However, with the configuration, the first contact position and the second contact position are separated from each other in the transportation direction of the medium so as to reduce the above-mentioned risks. 
     It is preferable that the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the above-mentioned aspect of the invention further include a removal member that makes contact with an outer circumferential surface of the removal roller so as to remove adhering objects which have adhered to the outer circumferential surface. 
     With the configuration, the adhering objects which have adhered to the removal roller are removed by the removal member. This suppress problems that removal capability of the removal roller is lowered and the adhering objects which have adhered to the removal roller join together and adhere to the medium. 
     In the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the above-mentioned aspect of the invention, it is preferable that the medium be transported in a state where the first surface onto which liquid is ejected faces downward at the first contact position and the first removal roller be arranged at a lower side of a transportation path of the medium, and the removal member be arranged at a downstream side with respect to the first removal roller in the transportation direction. 
     With the configuration, the medium is transported in a state where the first surface faces downward at the first contact position and the removal member is arranged at the downstream side with respect to the first removal roller in the transportation direction. Therefore, adherence of the adhering objects that have been removed from the first removal roller to the medium and the second removal roller can be suppressed. 
     In the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the above-mentioned aspect of the invention, it is preferable that a receptacle unit for receiving adhering objects removed from the medium be provided at a lower side of the removal roller. 
     With this configuration, the adhering objects that have been removed from the medium are held on the receptacle unit. Therefore, scattering of the adhering objects removed from the medium to the periphery can be suppressed. 
     It is preferable that the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the above-mentioned aspect of the invention further include driving rollers for transporting the medium, and a driving source for rotating the removal rollers and the driving roller. 
     With this configuration, the removal rollers rotate with a driving force from a driving source same as the driving rollers. Therefore, another driving source for rotating the removal rollers is not needed to be provided. 
     In the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the above-mentioned aspect of the invention, it is preferable that one driving roller be provided at a position at an upstream side with respect to the first contact position in the transportation direction and another driving roller be provided at a position at a downstream side with respect to the second contact position in the transportation direction, and rotation speeds of the removal rollers be lower than rotation speeds of the driving rollers. 
     With this configuration, the driving rollers are provided at the position at the upstream side with respect to the first contact position in the transportation direction and the position at the downstream side with respect to the second contact position in the transportation direction. Further, the rotation speeds of the removal rollers are lower than the rotation speeds of the driving rollers. Therefore, even when the removal rollers rotate in the opposite direction to the driving rollers, the paper can be transported in the transportation direction. 
     In the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the above-mentioned aspect of the invention, it is preferable that at least one of a plurality of removal rollers having different outer diameters be used for the removal roller, and a rotation speed of the removal roller be set to be lower as an outer diameter of the removal roller is larger. 
     With this configuration, when the outer diameter of the removal roller is small, the rotation speed of the removal roller is made high so as to enhance a scraping effect of the adhering objects. On the other hand, when the rotation speed of the removal roller is low, the outer diameter of the removal roller is made large so as to increase a contact area with the medium. This makes it possible to remove the adhering objects reliably. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like numbers reference like elements. 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view illustrating a liquid ejecting apparatus according to an embodiment. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view illustrating the liquid ejecting apparatus from which a holding frame has been pulled out. 
         FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view illustrating a schematic configuration of the liquid ejecting apparatus. 
         FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration around removal rollers. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS 
     Hereinafter, an embodiment of a liquid ejecting apparatus will be described with reference to the drawings. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , a liquid ejecting apparatus  11  according to this embodiment includes an approximately rectangular box-shaped case body unit  12 . The case body unit  12  includes a first housing portion  13 , a second housing portion  14  arranged above the first housing portion  13 , and a third housing portion  15  arranged at the rear side of the first housing portion  13 . Note that in this embodiment, a direction in which the second housing portion  14  and the third housing portion  15  are aligned, which intersects (orthogonally, in this embodiment) with a vertical direction Z along the gravity force direction, corresponds to a depth direction Y. Meanwhile, the lengthwise direction of the first housing portion  13  and the second housing portion  14 , which intersects (orthogonally, in this embodiment) with the vertical direction Z and the depth direction Y, corresponds to a width direction X. 
     A holding frame  16  is housed in the first housing portion  13  so as to be capable of being pulled out therefrom. Furthermore, a front end surface  16   a  of the holding frame  16 , a front surface cover  17 , and opening/closing covers  18  are exposed at the front surface side of the first housing portion  13 . The front surface cover  17  is attached to the upper side of the front end surface  16   a  in a detachable manner. The opening/closing covers  18  are attached to both sides of the holding frame  16  in the width direction X in a rotationally movable manner. 
     The opening/closing covers  18  can be switched between closed positions as illustrated in  FIG. 1  and open positions at which upper end portions of the opening/closing covers  18  are rotationally moved to the front side and the inner portion of the apparatus is exposed if the upper end portions of the opening/closing covers  18  move rotationally about rotational movement shafts (not illustrated) provided at the lower end sides thereof. When the opening/closing covers  18  are arranged at the open positions, cartridge holders (not illustrated) are exposed. Ink cartridges  19  that accommodate ink as an example of liquid are attached to the cartridge holders in a detachable manner. Furthermore, a discharge port  20  is formed at the front surface side of the second housing portion  14 . 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 2 , a medium holding portion  22  is provided in the holding frame  16 . The medium holding portion  22  holds a roll member R obtained by winding long paper S as an example of a medium into a cylindrical form in a superimposed manner. Note that a plurality of roll members R having different sizes can be loaded on the medium holding portion  22  in an exchangeable manner. 
     The medium holding portion  22  includes a support shaft  22   a  as an example of a support portion that supports the roll member R in a rotationally movable manner and a pair of flanges  22   b  that rotationally move integrally with the support shaft  22   a . Of the flanges  22   b  that form the pair, the flange  22   b  at the first end side (the left side in  FIG. 2 ) in the width direction X is capable of moving in the width direction X along the support shaft  22   a.    
     When the roll member R is set on the medium holding portion  22 , the front surface cover  17  is first detached from the case body unit  12  and the holding frame  16  is pulled to the front side from the case body unit  12 , as illustrated in  FIG. 2 . Then, the roll member R is installed such that the support shaft  22   a  is inserted through the roll member R, and the flange  22   b  at the first end side is moved toward the second end side (to the right side in  FIG. 1 ) so that the flanges  22   b  pinch both ends of the roll member R. 
     Note that in this embodiment, to transport the paper S from the medium holding portion  22  toward the second housing portion  14  is referred to as “feeding” and a transportation path of the paper S in the first housing portion  13  is referred to as a “feed path” in some cases. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 3 , a feed mechanism  24  for feeding the paper S toward the second housing portion  14  is held on the holding frame  16 . The feed mechanism  24  includes a feed motor  26  as a driving source, a driving force transmission mechanism  27  for transmitting a driving force from the feed motor  26 , and transportation roller pairs  28  and  29  that pinch and transport the paper S. 
     The transportation roller pair  28  is constituted by a driving roller  28   a  and a driven roller  28   b . The driving roller  28   a  rotates with the driving force from the feed motor  26 . The driven roller  28   b  forms a pair with the driving roller  28   a . The transportation roller pair  29  is constituted by a driving roller  29   a  and a driven roller  29   b . The driving roller  29   a  rotates with the driving force from the feed motor  26 . The driven roller  29   b  forms a pair with the driving roller  29   a . Further, the flanges  22   b  of the medium holding portion  22  rotate with the driving force from the feed motor  26 . 
     A transportation mechanism  34 , a recording unit  35 , a heater  36 , and a cutter  37  are housed in the second housing portion  14 . The transportation mechanism  34  is a mechanism for transporting the paper S toward the discharge port  20 . The recording unit  35  performs recording by ejecting ink onto the paper S that is transported by the transportation mechanism  34 . The heater  36  is a unit for drying the paper S onto which ink adheres. The cutter  37  is a unit for cutting the paper S. 
     The transportation mechanism  34  includes a transport motor  38  as a driving source, a driving force transmission mechanism  39 , transportation roller pairs  30 ,  40 ,  41 , and  42 , an intermediate roller  43 , and a discharge roller  44 . The driving force transmission mechanism  39  is a mechanism for transmitting a driving force from the transport motor  38 . The transportation roller pairs  30 ,  40 ,  41 , and  42  pinch and transport the paper S. The intermediate roller  43  rotates with the driving force from the transport motor  38 . It is to be noted that the transportation roller pair  30  is arranged on the first housing portion  13 . 
     The recording unit  35  includes a guide rail  45 , a carriage  46 , and a carriage motor  47 . The guide rail  45  extends along the width direction X. The carriage  46  is held on the guide rail  45  so as to be capable of reciprocating in the width direction X. The carriage motor  47  serves as a driving source for moving the carriage  46  along the guide rail  45 . 
     Furthermore, the recording unit  35  includes a pair of pulleys  48  (only one of which is illustrated in  FIG. 3 ) arranged to be separated from each other by a predetermined distance in the width direction X and an endless timing belt  49  wound around the pair of pulleys  48 . One of the pulleys  48  is coupled to an output shaft of the carriage motor  47 . The carriage  46 , which is fixed to a part of the timing belt  49 , reciprocates along the guide rail  45  when the carriage motor  47  is driven forward and in reverse. 
     A liquid ejecting unit  50  capable of ejecting ink onto the paper S is held in a lower portion of the carriage  46 . A plurality of liquid ejecting nozzles  50   a  are opened on the bottom surface of the liquid ejecting unit  50 . Furthermore, a support member  51  for supporting the paper S is arranged below the carriage  46  along the transport path between the transportation roller pair  40  and the transportation roller pair  41 . 
     The paper S on which recording (printing) has been performed by the recording unit  35  is transported along the upper surface of the plate-shaped heater  36  so as to be dried. Note that a pressure roller  52  for pressing the paper S and the discharge roller  44  are provided above the heater  36 . 
     The paper S that has passed the upper portion of the heater  36  and has been dried is formed into a single sheet CP by cutting the portion on which recording has been performed so as to have a unit length by the cutter  37 . The single sheet CP onto which recording has been completed is then discharged to the outside of the case body unit  12  through the discharge port  20 . 
     A guide member  53  for guiding the fed paper S along a first surface S 1  thereof and a guide portion  54  for guiding the paper S along a second surface S 2  thereof are provided on the holding frame  16  at positions between the transportation roller pair  28  and the transportation roller pair  29  on the feed path (transportation path) of the paper S. Note that in this embodiment, the first surface S 1  of the paper S is a front surface onto which ink is ejected, whereas the second surface S 2  of the paper S is a rear surface onto which ink is not ejected. 
     Meanwhile, a plurality of (in this embodiment, two) removal rollers  55  ( 55 A,  55 B) are provided on the holding frame  16  at positions between the transportation roller pair  28  and the transportation roller pair  29  on the transportation path of the paper S. The removal rollers  55  ( 55 A,  55 B) are rollers for removing adhering objects that have adhered to the paper S, such as paper powder. 
     The removal rollers  55  rotate with a driving force from the feed motor  26  as an example of a driving source for rotating the driving rollers  28   a  and  29   a . Note that the rotation speeds of the removal rollers  55  are set to be lower than the rotation speeds of the driving roller  28   a  and  29   a.    
     As illustrated in  FIG. 4 , the first removal roller  55 A is arranged at the lower side of the transportation path and makes contact with the first surface S 1  of the paper S that is transported at a first contact position P 1 . The first removal roller  55 A rotates in a direction D 1  (clockwise direction in  FIG. 4 ) opposite to the transportation direction F of the paper S at the first contact position P 1  so as to remove the adhering objects that have adhered to the paper S. 
     On the other hand, the second removal roller  55 B is arranged at the upper side on the transportation path and makes contact with the second surface S 2  of the paper S that is transported at a second contact position P 2 . The second removal roller  55 B rotates in a direction D 2  (counterclockwise direction in  FIG. 4 ) opposite to the transportation direction F of the paper S at the second contact position P 2  so as to remove the adhering objects that have adhered to the paper S. 
     The first removal roller  55 A is arranged at the upstream side with respect to the second removal roller  55 B in the transportation direction F. In other words, the first contact position P 1  and the second contact position P 2  are separated from each other in the transportation direction F. Note that the paper S is transported in a state where the first surface S 1  as a printing surface onto which ink is ejected faces downward at the first contact position P 1  and the second contact position P 2 . 
     Further, the upper end portion of the first removal roller  55 A is arranged at the upper side with respect to the lower end portion of the second removal roller  55 B in the vertical direction Z. Further, the first contact position P 1  is arranged at a position slightly higher than the transportation path at the upstream side thereof in the transportation direction in the vertical direction Z. The second contact position P 2  is arranged at a position slightly lower than the transportation path at the downstream side thereof in the transportation direction and the first contact position P 1  in the vertical direction Z. 
     A sheet-like removal member  57  is arranged at the downstream side with respect to the first removal roller  55 A arranged at the lower side of the transportation path in the transportation direction. The removal member  57  removes the adhering objects that have adhered to an outer circumferential surface  56  of the first removal roller  55 A while making contact with the outer circumferential surface  56 . 
     A first receptacle unit  58  is provided at the lower side of the removal rollers  55 . The first receptacle unit  58  is an example of a receptacle unit for receiving the adhering objects that have been removed from the paper S, have adhered to the outer circumferential surface  56  of the first removal rollers  55 , and then, have dropped from the removal rollers  55 . Note that the first receptacle unit  58  is provided on the guide member  53  in a recessed manner. The first receptacle unit  58  is provided at a position from the upstream side of the first removal roller  55 A to the downstream side of the second removal roller  55 B in the transportation direction F. 
     A through-hole  59  is formed on the guide member  53  at a position corresponding to the end portion of the paper S in the width direction X. To be more specific, the through-hole  59  is formed at a position that is lower side of the first removal roller  55 A and the removal member  57 . Further, a bottom plate portion  60  is provided on the bottom of the holding frame  16 . A second receptacle unit  61  is provided on the bottom plate portion  60  at a position that is lower side of the through-hole  59  in a recessed form. The second receptacle unit  61  is a unit for receiving the adhering objects that have been removed from the first removal roller  55 A by the removal member  57 . 
     Contact areas of the removal rollers  55  with the paper S are larger as the outer diameters thereof are larger, so that removal amounts of the adhering objects thereby are large. However, if the outer diameters of the removal rollers  55  are made larger, the apparatus is increased in size. Further, if the rotation speeds of the removal rollers  55  are made higher, an effect that the removal rollers  55  scrape off the adhering objects is enhanced. However, if the rotation speeds of the removal rollers  55  are made too high, transportation of the paper S is inhibited. Based on this, when one removal roller  55  of the plurality of removal rollers  55  having different outer diameters is selected to be used, the rotation speed of the removal roller  55  is set to be lower as the outer diameter thereof is larger. 
     Next, described are actions of the liquid ejecting apparatus  11  configured as described above. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 4 , the first removal roller  55 A rotates in the direction D 1  opposite to the transportation direction F in a state of making contact with the first surface S 1  of the paper S that is transported at the first contact position P 1 . With this, the first removal roller  55 A removes the adhering objects that have adhered to the paper S in a scraping manner. On the other hand, the second removal roller  55 B rotates in the direction D 2  opposite to the transportation direction F in a state of making contact with the second surface S 2  of the paper S that is transported at the second contact position P 2 . With this, the second removal roller  55 B removes the adhering objects that have adhered to the paper S in a scraping manner. 
     Here, “paper powder” refers to pieces of fiber that forms the paper S, powder from materials contained in or applied to the paper S, and so on. For example, the paper S may contain or be coated with calcium carbonate as a whitening pigment, kaolin or the like for exhibiting glossiness, and so on. If, for example, calcium carbonate or the like enters into the liquid ejecting nozzles  50   a , viscosity of the ink in the liquid ejecting nozzles  50   a  is increased significantly, leading to a risk of severe clogging that is difficult to be eliminated. 
     With respect to this point, in this embodiment, the paper powder is removed not only from the first surface S 1  of the paper S, which corresponds to the printing surface, but also from the second surface S 2 . This suppresses entrance of the paper powder into the periphery of the liquid ejecting unit  50  along with the paper S, which suppresses the clogging of the liquid ejecting nozzles  50   a  as a result. 
     The driving roller  28   a  rotates in a direction D 3  (counterclockwise direction in  FIG. 4 ) for transporting the paper S in the transportation direction F when the removal rollers  55  rotate. Further, the driving roller  29   a  rotates in a direction D 4  (counterclockwise direction in  FIG. 4 ) for transporting the paper S in the transportation direction F. 
     That is to say, the first removal roller  55 A rotates in the opposite direction to that of the driving rollers  28   a  and  29   a . The driving rollers  28   a  and  29   a  are provided such that the first contact position P 1  and the second contact position P 2  are located therebetween in the transportation direction F. Further, the rotation speeds of the removal rollers  55  are lower than the rotation speeds of the driving rollers  28   a  and  29   a , so that the paper S is transported in the transportation direction F. 
     Further, when the first contact position P 1  and the second contact position P 2  are located at the same position in the transportation direction F, the first removal roller  55 A and the second removal roller  55 B pinch the paper S. In this case, there arises risks that the transportation of the paper S is inhibited and the paper S is wrapped around the removal rollers  55 . However, in this embodiment, the first contact position P 1  and the second contact position P 2  are separated from each other in the transportation direction F so as to reduce the risks. 
     Further, the first receptacle unit  58  is provided to extend from the position at the upstream side with respect to the first removal roller  55 A to the position at the downstream side with respect to the second removal roller  55 B in the transportation direction F. Therefore, the adhering objects that have stripped off from the outer circumferential surfaces  56  thereof with the rotation of the removal rollers  55  are received by the first receptacle unit  58 . It is to be noted that although the adhering objects are also stripped off from the second removal roller  55 B after the rear end of the paper S has passed therethrough in some cases, the adhering objects are also received by the first receptacle unit  58 . 
     The paper S is transported in a state where the first surface S 1  onto which ink is ejected faces downward at the first contact position P 1 . The removal member  57  is arranged at the downstream side of the first removal roller  55 A arranged at the lower side of the paper S that is transported in the transportation direction. Further, the removal member  57  makes contact with the outer circumferential surface  56  of the first removal roller  55 A. Therefore, if the first removal roller  55 A rotates, the adhering objects are scraped off from the outer circumferential surface  56  thereof by the removal member  57 . Then, a part of the adhering objects that have been scraped off from the outer circumferential surface  56  of the first removal roller  55 A drop to the second receptacle unit  61  through the through-hole  59  provided on the guide member  53 . 
     That is to say, the adhering objects that strip off from the outer circumferential surfaces  56  of the removal rollers  55  naturally are held on the first receptacle unit  58  arranged at the lower side of the transportation path. Meanwhile, much paper powder and the like adhere to the end portions of the paper S. Therefore, there arises a risk that many adhering objects scraped off by the removal member  57  deposit at the lower side thereof. Therefore, the adhering objects that have dropped from the vicinity of positions corresponding to the end portions of the paper S in the width direction X among the adhering objects removed from the first removal roller  55 A are held on the second receptacle unit  61  arranged at the outer side of the transportation path. 
     When the outer diameters of the removal rollers  55  are changed, the rotation speeds of the removal rollers  55  are set to be lower as the outer diameters thereof are larger. Therefore, when the removal rollers  55  having different outer diameters are used, a removal amount of the adhering objects is kept to be equal to or larger than a constant amount. 
     In this embodiment, the upper end portion of the first removal roller  55 A is arranged at the upper side with respect to the lower end portion of the second removal roller  55 B in the vertical direction Z. Further, the first contact position P 1  is arranged at a position slightly higher than the transportation path at the upstream side thereof in the transportation direction in the vertical direction Z. On the other hand, the second contact position P 2  is arranged at a position slightly lower than the transportation path at the downstream side thereof in the transportation direction and the first contact position P 1  in the vertical direction Z. Therefore, the paper S is made into a state of being curved along the outer circumferential surfaces of the removal rollers  55  and the contact areas of the paper S with the removal rollers  55  are larger. Accordingly, the adhering objects are removed reliably. 
     According to the embodiment described thus far, the following effects can be achieved. 
     1. The removal rollers  55  rotate in the rotating direction opposite to the transportation direction F while making contact with the paper S so as to remove the adhering objects which have adhered to the paper S in a scraping manner effectively. Further, the first removal roller  55 A makes contact with the first surface S 1  of the paper S while the second removal roller  55 B makes contact with the second surface S 2  of the paper S. Therefore, the adhering objects that have adhered to the end portions of the paper S can be removed effectively. Accordingly, the adhering objects that have adhered to the end portions and the like of the paper S onto which ink is ejected can be removed. 
     2. If two removal rollers  55  rotate in a state of pinching the paper S, there arises risks that transportation of the paper S is inhibited and the paper S is wrapped around the removal rollers  55 . However, the first contact position P 1  and the second position P 2  are separated from each other in the transportation direction F of the paper S so as to reduce the risks. 
     3. The adhering objects that have adhered to the first removal roller  55 A are removed by the removal member  57 . This suppress problems that removal capability of the first removal roller  55 A is lowered and the adhering objects which have adhered to the first removal roller  55 A join together and adhere to the paper S. 
     4. The paper S is transported in a state where the first surface S 1  faces downward at the first contact position P 1  and the removal member  57  is arranged at the downstream side with respect to the first removal roller  55 A in the transportation direction. Therefore, adherence of the adhering objects that have been removed from the first removal roller  55 A to the paper S and the second removal roller  55 B can be suppressed. 
     5. The adhering objects that have been removed from the paper S are held on the first receptacle unit  58  and the second receptacle unit  61 . Therefore, scattering of the adhering objects removed from the paper S to the periphery can be suppressed. 
     6. The removal rollers  55  rotate with a driving force from the feed motor  26  same as the driving rollers  28   a  and  29   a . Therefore, another driving source for rotating the removal rollers  55  is not needed to be provided. 
     7. The driving roller  28   a  is provided at a position at the upstream side with respect to the first contact position P 1  in the transportation direction and the driving roller  29   a  is provided at a position at the downstream side with respect to the second contact position P 2  in the transportation direction. Accordingly, even when the removal rollers  55  rotate in the opposite direction to that of the driving rollers  28   a  and  29   a , the paper can be transported in the transportation direction F. Further, the rotation speeds of the removal rollers  55  are lower than the rotation speeds of the driving rollers  28   a  and  29   a . Therefore, even when the removal rollers  55  rotate in the opposite direction to that of the driving rollers  28   a  and  29   a , the paper can be transported in the transportation direction F. 
     8. When the outer diameters of the removal rollers  55  are small, the rotation speeds of the removal rollers  55  are made high so as to enhance a scraping effect of the adhering objects. On the other hand, when the rotation speeds of the removal rollers  55  are low, the outer diameters of the removal rollers  55  are made large so as to increase contact areas thereof with the paper S. This makes it possible to remove the adhering objects reliably. 
     Note that the aforementioned embodiment may be modified as described hereinafter. 
     Equal to or more than three removal rollers  55  may be provided along the transportation direction F of the paper S. 
     Outer diameters and rotation speeds of the plurality of removal rollers  55  may be different. For example, if the outer diameter of the first removal roller  55 A is made larger than that of the second removal roller  55 B or the rotation speed of the first removal roller  55 A is made lower than that of the second removal roller  55 B, the contact area of the first removal roller  55 A with the first surface S 1  of the paper S (printing surface) is increased. Therefore, the adhering objects on the printing surface of the paper S can be removed more reliably. 
     The removal rollers  55  may be provided at positions corresponding to end portions of the paper S in the width direction X only. Alternatively, the removal rollers  55  may be provided over the entire width of the paper S in the width direction X. Further, a plurality of removal rollers  55  of different types may be arranged in the width direction X. For example, the removal rollers  55  having a high removal capability may be provided at positions corresponding to the end portions of the paper S in the width direction X. 
     A roll-like member or a brush-like member may be provided as the removal member  57 . 
     The removal rollers  55  may be provided in the second housing portion  14 . 
     The removal member  57  may be arranged at the lower side of the removal rollers  55 . 
     The removal member  57  may be arranged at a position corresponding to an end portion of the paper S in the width direction X. 
     The removal member  57  may not be provided. 
     The removal rollers  55  may make contact with the paper S that is transported along the vertical direction Z. In this case, a removal member that makes contact with the outer circumferential surface  56  of the second removal roller  55 B may be further provided. 
     The through-hole  59  provided on the guide member  53  may be configured as a long-hole extending in the width direction X. 
     The first receptacle unit  58  is not limited to be provided on the guide member  53  in the recessed form. Further, the second receptacle unit  61  is not limited to be provided on the bottom plate portion  60  of the holding frame  16  in the recessed form. For example, a receptacle member that forms the first receptacle unit  58  and the second receptacle unit  61  may be provided additionally. 
     The first receptacle unit  58  may not be provided. 
     The through-hole  59  and the second receptacle unit  61  may not be provided. 
     An additional transportation roller may be arranged between the first contact position P 1  and the second contact position P 2  in the transportation direction F. 
     The removal rollers  55  may be made to rotate with a driving force from a driving source that is different from that of the driving rollers  28   a  and  29   a.    
     A configuration in which the first contact position P 1  and the second contact position P 2  are arranged at the same position in the transportation direction F and the first removal roller  55 A and the second removal roller  55 B nip the paper S may be employed. 
     The medium is not limited to paper, and may be a plastic film, a board member, or the like. Alternatively, the medium may be a fabric used in textile printing devices. 
     In the aforementioned embodiment, a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects and discharges liquid aside from ink may be employed as the liquid ejecting apparatus. Note that the state of the liquid that is discharged from the liquid ejecting apparatus as extremely fine droplets is intended to include granule forms, teardrop forms, and forms that pull tails in a string-like form therebehind. Furthermore, the “liquid” referred herein can be any material capable of being ejected by the liquid ejecting apparatus. For example, any matter can be used as long as the matter is in its liquid state, including liquid having high or low viscosity, sol, gel water, other inorganic solvents, organic solvents, solutions, liquid resins, and fluid states such as liquid metals (metallic melts). Furthermore, in addition to liquids as a single state of a matter, liquids in which the particles of a functional material composed of a solid matter such as pigments, metal particles, or the like are dissolved, dispersed, or mixed in solvents are included as well. Ink, as described in the above embodiment, liquid crystals, and the like can be given as representative examples of the liquid. Here, “ink” generally includes water-based and oil-based inks, as well as various types of liquid compositions, including gel inks, hot-melt inks, and so on. Liquid ejecting apparatuses that eject liquids including materials such as electrode materials, coloring materials, and so on in a dispersed or dissolved state for use in the manufacture and so on of, for example, liquid-crystal displays, EL (electroluminescence) displays, surface emitting displays, and color filters can be given as specific examples of liquid ejecting apparatuses. Alternatively, the liquid ejecting apparatus may be a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects bioorganic matters used in the manufacture of biochips, a liquid ejecting apparatus that is used as a precision pipette and ejects liquids to be used as samples, textile printing equipment, a microdispenser, and so on. Furthermore, the invention may be employed in liquid ejecting apparatuses that perform pinpoint ejection of lubrication oils into the precision mechanisms of clocks, cameras, and the like, as well as in liquid ejecting apparatuses that eject transparent resin liquids such as ultraviolet curing resins onto a substrate in order to form miniature hemispheric lenses (optical lenses) for use in optical communication elements. The invention may also be employed in a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects an etching liquid such as an acid or alkali onto a substrate or the like for etching. 
     The entire disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2012-220989, filed Oct. 3, 2012 is expressly incorporated by reference herein.