Patent Publication Number: US-11639071-B2

Title: Table device and printing apparatus

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the priority benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2019-052442, filed on Mar. 20, 2019. The entirety of the above-mentioned patent application is hereby incorporated by reference herein and made a part of this specification. 
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates to a table device and a printing apparatus. 
     DESCRIPTION OF THE BACKGROUND ART 
     For example, some printing apparatuses move the height of a table on which a recording medium is placed in order to set the distance between an ink ejection head and the recording medium (media) to a predetermined value. 
     In the printing apparatus disclosed in International Publication No. 2017/086006 (i.e., Patent Literature 1), the table moves up and down by an up-down moving mechanism. The up-down moving mechanism of the printing apparatus is configured by a link member in which two long members are connected in an X shape, and the table is moved up and down by the expansion/contraction of the X-shaped link member. Such an up-down moving mechanism is generally configured by at least a pair of left and right link members. 
     Patent Literature 1: International Publication No. 2017/086006 
     SUMMARY 
     In the up-down moving mechanism disclosed in International Publication No. 2017/086006, the pair of link members may not perform the same operation or may move up and down, and the table positioned thereon may be tilted. If the table is tilted, the distance between the recording medium placed on the table and the ink ejection head does not reach a predetermined value, which may cause printing failure. 
     The present disclosure thus provides a table device and a printing apparatus that can suppress the tilt of a table disposed on an expansion/contraction mechanism. 
     A table device of the present disclosure includes a link member in which two long members are turnably coupled in an X-shape, an expansion/contraction mechanism that expands/contracts with at least a pair of the link members arranged facing each other, a table that is disposed on one end side of the expansion/contraction mechanism and moves in an expansion/contraction direction of the expansion/contraction mechanism, a support member disposed on the other end side of the expansion/contraction mechanism, a coupling member that couples opposing long members of the long members forming the expansion/contraction mechanism and moves with an expansion/contraction of the expansion/contraction mechanism, and a regulating member that regulates a fluctuation of the coupling member that moves, when the expansion/contraction mechanism expands/contracts. 
     According to the present configuration, the table is disposed on one end side of the expansion/contraction mechanism, the support member is disposed on the other end side, and the table is moved with the expansion/contraction of the expansion/contraction mechanism. In the expansion/contraction mechanism, a pair of link members arranged facing each other expands/contracts, and the link member is formed by turnably coupling two long members in an X shape. 
     Here, since the table moves in the expansion/contraction direction of the expansion/contraction mechanism, the table may tilt if there is a difference in expansion/contraction operation of the pair of link members arranged facing each other, or the link member itself moves up and down during the expansion/contraction. Therefore, of the long members forming the expansion/contraction mechanism, the opposing long members are coupled to each other by the coupling member, and fluctuations of the coupling member that moves when the expansion/contraction mechanism expands/contracts are regulated by the regulating member. Thus, since the two long members coupled by the coupling member can only move in the same way in expansion/contraction because they are coupled, and since the fluctuation in the vertical direction is also regulated, the table can be suppressed from tilting in the expansion/contraction of the expansion/contraction mechanism. 
     In the table device of the present disclosure, the regulating member may be a rod-shaped member inserted into a through hole provided in the coupling member and supported by the support member. According to this configuration, the tilt of the table disposed in the expansion/contraction mechanism can be suppressed with a simple configuration. 
     In the table device of the present disclosure, a female screw may be provided in the through hole disposed at a predetermined position, a male screw may be provided in the regulating member, that is a rod-shaped member, and screwed into the through hole, and the expansion/contraction mechanism may be expanded/contracted as the coupling member is moved by the rotation of the rod-shaped member. 
     According to this configuration, the coupling member moves as the regulating member rotates, and the long member moves and the expansion/contraction mechanism expands/contracts with the movement of the coupling member, and thus expansion/contraction of the expansion/contraction mechanism and suppression of tilt of the table can be realized with the same mechanism. 
     In the table device of the present disclosure, the through hole may be provided in the coupling member so as to be orthogonal to an axis center direction of the coupling member. According to this configuration, the tilt of the table disposed in the expansion/contraction mechanism can be suppressed with a simple configuration. 
     In the table device of the present disclosure, the coupling member may be provided with a protrusion, and the through hole may be provided in the protrusion so as to be orthogonal to an axis center direction of the coupling member. According to this configuration, the tilt of the table disposed in the expansion/contraction mechanism can be suppressed with a simple configuration. 
     A printing apparatus of the present disclosure includes the table device, where the table moves in the vertical direction, and a recording medium on which printing is performed is placed on the table. According to this configuration, since the tilt of the table disposed in the expansion/contraction mechanism can be suppressed, the occurrence of printing failure on the recording medium can be suppressed. 
     A table device and a printing apparatus of the present disclosure have an effect that the tilt of the table disposed in the expansion/contraction mechanism can be suppressed. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    is a front perspective view of a table device. 
         FIG.  2    is a rear perspective view of the table device. 
         FIG.  3    is a side view of the table device showing a state in which the table is raised. 
         FIG.  4    is a side view of the table device showing a state in which the table is lowered. 
         FIG.  5    is a front perspective view of a table device of according to a first modified example. 
         FIG.  6    is a rear perspective view of the table device according to the first modified example. 
         FIG.  7    is a side view of a table device according to the first modified example. 
         FIGS.  8 A to  8 C  are external views of a coupling member according to a second modified example. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
     Hereinafter, a table device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. In the present embodiment, a mode in which the table device of the present disclosure is applied to a printing apparatus will be described as an example. 
       FIG.  1    to  FIG.  4    are external views of the table device  10  of the present embodiment, where  FIG.  1    is a front perspective view of the table device  10 ,  FIG.  2    is a rear perspective view of the table device  10 ,  FIG.  3    is a side view of the table device  10  showing a state in which the table  12  is raised, and  FIG.  4    is a side view of the table device  10  showing a state in which the table  12  is lowered. In the present embodiment, the table  12  moves up and down along the z-axis. The horizontal plane of the table  12  is the xy plane, the x-axis direction is also referred to as the front-back direction, and the y-axis direction is also referred to as the left-right direction. 
     The table device  10  of the present embodiment includes a table  12 , a support member  14 , an expansion/contraction mechanism  16 , a coupling member  18 , a regulating member  20 , and a drive mechanism  22 . 
     The table  12  is disposed on one end side (upper side in the present embodiment) of the expansion/contraction mechanism  16  and moves in the expansion/contraction direction of the expansion/contraction mechanism  16 . An ink ejection head (not shown) is provided above the table  12 , and a recording medium to be printed by ink ejected from the ink ejection head is placed on the table  12 . The recording medium placed on the table  12  is, for example, a smartphone case or the like, and the height may be different for each recording medium. Thus, the expansion/contraction mechanism  16  moves in the vertical direction according to the height of the recording medium to have the distance between the recording medium placed on the table  12  and the ink ejection head at a predetermined value (e.g., 1 to 2 mm) suitable for printing. 
     The support member  14  is disposed on the other end side (lower side in the present embodiment) of the expansion/contraction mechanism  16 . Note that, the position of the support member  14  is fixed. 
     The expansion/contraction mechanism  16  has at least a pair of left and right X-shaped link members  30  disposed to face each other, and expands and contracts in the vertical direction. The X-shaped link member  30  is formed by turnably coupling two long members  32 A and  32 B in an X shape. Specifically, the long members  32 A and  32 B are turnably coupled in an X shape with the central portion as a coupling point  34 . The pair of X-shaped link members  30  are connected to each other at the coupling point  34  by a connecting member  31 . 
     Furthermore, one end of the long member  32 A forming the X-shaped link member  30  is connected to the support member  14  so as to be movable in the front-back direction, and the other end of the long member  32 A is turnably connected to the table  12 . One end of the long member  32 B is connected to the table  12  so as to be movable in the front-back direction, and the other end of the long member  32 B is turnably connected to the support member  14 . Therefore, left and right side plates  12 A of the table  12  and left and right side plates  14 A of the support member  14  are respectively formed with guide grooves  36  to which one ends of the long members  32 A and  32 B are connected, and holes  38  to which the other ends of the long members  32 A and  32 B are connected. A pin  40  is provided at the ends of the long members  32 A and  32 B connected to the table  12  and the support member  14 , and each end of the long members  32 A and  32 B turns or moves with the pin  40  as the axis. 
     That is, the expansion/contraction mechanism  16  expands and contracts when the one end of the long members  32 A,  32 B moves in the front-back direction along the guide groove  36  and the other end of the long members  32 A,  32 B turns. More specifically, when one end of each of the long members  32 A and  32 B moves backward, the expansion/contraction mechanism  16  expands and the table  12  moves upward. On the other hand, when one end of the long members  32 A and  32 B moves forward, which is the opposite direction to backward, the expansion/contraction mechanism  16  contracts and the table  12  moves downward. In the following description, an operation in which the expansion/contraction mechanism  16  expands is also referred to as a leg opening operation, and an operation in which the expansion/contraction mechanism  16  contracts is also referred to as a leg closing operation. Furthermore, in the following description, when the long members  32 A and  32 B are not distinguished, the A and B at the end are omitted. 
     The coupling member  18  couples the long members  32  on the right and left facing each other among the long members  32  forming the expansion/contraction mechanism  16 , and moves together with the expansion/contraction of the expansion/contraction mechanism  16 . The coupling member  18  according to the present embodiment couples the left and right long members  32 B as an example. Furthermore, the moving direction of the coupling member  18  is the same as the front-back direction of the table device  10 , that is, the direction in which one end of the long member  32  moves along the guide groove  36 . 
     The coupling member  18  of the present embodiment is a rod-shaped member, and its end is connected to one end of the long member  32 B. More specifically, the coupling member  18  is connected to the long member  32 B so that the central axis thereof is coaxial with the central axis of the pin  40  provided at one end of the long member  32 B. Thus, the coupling member  18  moves in the front-back direction while one end of the long member  32 B moves along the guide groove  36 . 
     Furthermore, the coupling member  18  is formed with a through hole  19  orthogonal to the axis center direction of the coupling member  18 . One through hole  19  of the present embodiment is formed on the left and right side of the coupling member  18  so as to correspond to the connecting position of the regulating members  20 , described in detail below, and the through hole is formed with a female screw. 
     The regulating member  20  regulates fluctuations of the moving coupling member  18  when the expansion/contraction mechanism  16  expands and contracts. In other words, the regulating member  20  regulates fluctuations in directions other than the front-back direction, which is the moving direction of the coupling member  18 . 
     The regulating member  20  of the present embodiment is two rod-shaped members that are inserted into through holes  19  formed on the left and right of the coupling member  18  and supported by the support member  14 . The regulating member  20  is formed with a male screw and is screwed into the through hole  19  of the coupling member  18 . One end of the rod-shaped regulating member  20  is inserted into and supported by a ball bearing  42  provided on the side plate  14 B on the front side of the support member  14 . On the other hand, the other end of the regulating member  20  is inserted into and supported by a ball bearing  42  provided on the side plate  14 C of the central portion of the support member  14  through the through hole  19 . Thus, both ends of the regulating member  20  are supported by the support member  14  through the ball bearing  42  and the side plates  14 B and  14 C, and can be turned about the axis line. 
     Furthermore, one end of the regulating member  20  of the present embodiment is connected to the drive mechanism  22  that expands and contracts the expansion/contraction mechanism  16 . The drive mechanism  22  of the present embodiment includes a driving motor  50 , two pulleys  52 , and a timing belt  54 . The drive mechanism  22  is supported by the side plate  14 B on the front side of the support member  14 . 
     A drive shaft of the driving motor  50  is connected to one end of one regulating member  20  and one pulley  52 . The other pulley  52  is connected to one end of the other regulating member  20 , and a timing belt  54  is applied on the outer periphery of the two pulleys  52 . 
     With such a configuration of the drive mechanism  22 , the coupling member  18  is moved by the rotation of the regulating member  20 , and the expansion/contraction mechanism  16  is expanded/contracted. Specifically, the driving force of the driving motor  50  rotates one regulating member  20  and the driving force is transmitted to the other regulating member  20  through the timing belt  54  at the same timing, so that the two regulating members  20  synchronously rotate. Then, as the two regulating members  20  that are male screws rotate by the driving force of the drive mechanism  22 , the coupling member  18  formed with the female screw moves. As one end of the long member  32  moves along the guide groove  36  accompanying the movement of the coupling member  18 , the expansion/contraction mechanism  16  expands and contracts and the table  12  moves up and down. 
     In the driving motor  50 , the rotation control of the drive shaft is performed by the motor control device (not shown). The drive shaft of the driving motor  50  rotates in a rotation direction determined according to the moving direction of the table  12 . That is, the rotation direction of the rotation shaft is opposite between a case where the table  12  moves upward and a case where the table  12  moves downward. 
     Furthermore, the table device  10  of the present embodiment includes a leg closing detection sensor  56 . The leg closing detection sensor  56  detects a state in which the expansion/contraction mechanism  16  is completely contracted, in other words, a state in which the table  12  is fully lowered (state in  FIG.  4   ). The leg closing detection sensor  56  of the present embodiment is provided on the support member  14  as an example, and outputs a detection signal when a pin  58  provided at the lower part of the table  12  is detected. As an example, the pin  58  of the present embodiment is formed by bending a part of the table  12  downward. A detection signal from the leg closing detection sensor  56  is output to the motor control device. When the detection signal is input to the motor control device, the motor control device stops the rotation of the driving motor  50 . 
     Here, since the table  12  moves in the expansion/contraction direction of the expansion/contraction mechanism  16 , the table  12  may not be kept horizontal and may tilt if there is a difference in expansion/contraction operation of the pair of X-shaped link members  30  arranged facing each other, or the X-shaped link member  30  itself moves up and down during the expansion/contraction. A case where there is a difference in the expansion/contraction operation of the pair of X-shaped link members  30  is specifically a case where the movement amount and the movement timing in the guide groove  36  of the long members  32 A,  32 A on the left and right facing each other are different. 
     If there is a difference in the expansion/contraction operations of the pair of X-shaped link members  30 , the coupling member  18  may be subjected to fluctuation that causes tilt in the front-back direction, or if the X-shaped link member  30  itself moves up and down, fluctuation in the vertical direction occurs within a range of a height width of the guide groove  36 . 
     Therefore, the table device  10  of the present embodiment regulates fluctuations of the coupling member  18  that moves when the expansion/contraction mechanism  16  expands/contracts by connecting the regulating member  20  to the coupling member  18 . That is, since the regulating member  20  is supported by the support member  14  and its position does not fluctuate, the coupling member  18  can only move along the axial direction of the regulating member  20 . Thus, the coupling member  18  is suppressed from tilting in the front-back direction and fluctuating in the vertical direction. 
     As a result, the long members  32 A and  32 A coupled by the coupling member  18  move with the same movement amount and timing, and fluctuations in the vertical direction are also regulated, so that the pair of X-shaped link members  30  also expand/contract with the same movement amount and timing and the tilt of the table  12  is suppressed. 
     Next, the expansion/contraction operation (raising/lowering operation) of the table device  10  provided in the printing apparatus according to the present embodiment will be specifically described. 
     First, the driving motor  50  starts rotating so that the distance between the recording medium and the ink ejection head becomes a predetermined value according to the thickness of the recording medium placed on the table  12 . When the drive shaft of the driving motor  50  rotates, the two regulating members  20  connected to the drive shaft and the pulley  52  rotate. When the regulating member  20  rotates, the coupling member  18  screwed with the regulating member  20  starts to move. Accompanying the movement of the coupling member  18 , one end of the left and right long members  32 B coupled by the coupling member  18  moves along the guide groove  36 . The expansion/contraction mechanism  16  thereby starts to expand/contract. When the distance between the recording medium and the ink ejection head reaches a predetermined value, the driving motor  50  stops rotating, and also stops the expansion/contraction of the expansion/contraction mechanism  16  accordingly. According to such an expansion/contraction operation of the table device  10 , the tilt of the table  12  is suppressed and the distance between the recording medium and the ink ejection head is maintained at a predetermined value, so that the occurrence of printing failure on the recording medium is suppressed. 
     Furthermore, in the table device  10  of the present embodiment, the coupling member  18  moves when the regulating member  20  inserted into the coupling member  18  rotates, and the long members  32  on the left and right facing each other similarly move with the movement of the coupling member  18  so that the expansion/contraction mechanism  16  expands and contracts. Therefore, the table device  10  can realize expansion/contraction of the expansion/contraction mechanism  16  and suppression of the tilt of the table  12  by the same mechanism. 
     As described above, the present disclosure has been described using the embodiment described above, but the technical scope of the present disclosure is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiment. Various changes or improvements can be added to the embodiment described above without departing from the scope of the disclosure, and a mode in which changes or improvements are added is also encompassed within the technical scope of the present disclosure. 
     First Modified Example 
     Hereinafter, a first modified example of the present disclosure will be described.  FIG.  5    is a front perspective view of the table device  10  of the present modified example,  FIG.  6    is a rear perspective view of the table device  10  of the present modified example, and  FIG.  7    is a side view of the table device  10  of the present modified example. Note that, among the configurations of the table device  10  according to the present modified example, the same configurations as those of the table device  10  according to the present modified example are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted. 
     The guide groove  36  formed in the support member  14  of the above embodiment is not formed on the side plate  14 A of the support member  14  of the present modified example. This is because the vertical movement of the expansion/contraction mechanism  16  can be suppressed without the guide groove  36  since the vertical movement is regulated by the regulating member  20 . 
     In the present modified example, the guide groove  36  is not formed in the support member  14 , and thus one end of the long member  32  is not supported by the support member  14 . Therefore, in the table device  10  of the present modified example, the load on the long member  32  is not dispersed to the support member  14 . The strength of the long member  32  thus needs to be stronger than that of the above embodiment, and as an example, the thickness of the long member  32  of the present modified example is twice that of the embodiment described above. 
     Moreover, the table device  10  of the present modified example includes a tensioner  60  that adjusts the tension of the timing belt  54 . The driving force of the driving motor  50  can be appropriately transmitted to the regulating member  20  by adjusting the tension applied to the timing belt  54  by the tensioner  60 . 
     Second Modified Example 
       FIGS.  8 A to  8 C  are external views showing a modified example of the coupling member  18 . 
     The coupling member  18  shown in  FIGS.  8 A and  8 B  is provided with a protrusion  62 , and a through hole  19  is formed in the protrusion  62  so as to be orthogonal to the axis center direction of the coupling member  18 . In  FIG.  8 A , a male screw is formed on the regulating member  20 , and a female screw is formed on the through hole  19  of the protrusion  62 . Thus, in the configuration of  FIG.  8 A , the coupling member  18  can be moved and the expansion/contraction mechanism  16  can be expanded/contracted by rotating the regulating member  20  as in the embodiment described above. 
     On the other hand, no female screw is formed in the through hole  19  of the protrusion  62  shown in  FIGS.  8 B and  8 C . The regulating member  20  is not formed with a male screw, and the regulating member  20  is not connected to the drive mechanism  22 . Thus, unlike the embodiment described above, the regulating member  20  does not have a function of expanding/contracting the expansion/contraction member through the coupling member  18 . Therefore, the table device  10  having the configuration shown in  FIGS.  8 B and  8 C  is provided with a drive mechanism  22  for expanding/contracting the expansion/contraction mechanism  16  at other portions. 
     Other Modified Examples 
     In the embodiment described above, the coupling member  18  is connected to one end side of the long members  32 A,  32 A connected to the guide groove  36  of the support member  14 , but this is not the sole case, and the coupling member  18  may be connected to one end side of the long members  32 B,  32 B connected to the guide groove  36  of the table  12 . That is, in the present modified example, the coupling member  18  and the regulating member  20  are provided on the table  12  side, and the coupling member  18  is connected to the long members  32 B and  32 B on the table  12  side. 
     Furthermore, in the embodiment described above, the two regulating members  20  are inserted into the coupling member  18 , but this is not the sole case, and one or three or more regulating members  20  may be inserted into the coupling member  18 . 
     In the embodiment described above, the expansion/contraction mechanism  16  is configured by a pair of X-shaped link members  30 , but this is not the sole case, and the expansion/contraction mechanism  16  may be configured by overlapping two or more pairs of X-shaped link members  30  in the z-axis direction or the expansion/contraction mechanism  16  may be configured by arranging two or more pairs of X-shaped link members  30  in the x-axis direction. 
     Furthermore, in the embodiment described above, a female screw is formed in the through hole  19  formed in the coupling member  18 , but this is not the sole case, and the position of the through hole  19  where the female screw is formed may not be the coupling member  18  as long as the coupling member  18  can be moved along the regulating member  20 . 
     In the embodiment described above, a mode in which the table device  10  is applied to the printing apparatus has been described, but the table device  10  may be applied to other apparatuses. In the embodiment described above, a mode in which the expansion/contraction mechanism  16  expands/contracts in the vertical direction has been described, but this is not the sole case, and for example, a mode in which the table device  10  is inverted 90° and the expansion/contraction mechanism  16  expands/contracts in the lateral direction thus moving the table  12  in the lateral direction may be adopted. 
     Effects of the Embodiment 
     (1) The table device  10  according to the present embodiment includes the X-shaped link members  30  in which two long members  32  are turnably coupled in an X-shape, the expansion/contraction mechanism  16  that expands/contracts with at least a pair of X-shaped link members  30  arranged facing each other, the table  12  that is disposed on one end side of the expansion/contraction mechanism  16  and moves in the expansion/contraction direction of the expansion/contraction mechanism  16 , the support member  14  disposed on the other end side of the expansion/contraction mechanism  16 , the coupling member  18  that couples the opposing long members  32  of the long members  32  forming the expansion/contraction mechanism  16  and moves with the expansion/contraction of the expansion/contraction mechanism  16 , and the regulating member  20  that regulates the fluctuation of the moving coupling member  18  when the expansion/contraction mechanism  16  expands/contracts. 
     According to this configuration, the table  12  is disposed on one end side of the expansion/contraction mechanism  16 , the support member  14  is disposed on the other end side, and the table  12  is moved with the expansion/contraction of the expansion/contraction mechanism  16 . In the expansion/contraction mechanism  16 , a pair of X-shaped link members  30  arranged facing each other expands/contracts, and the X-shaped link member  30  is formed by turnably coupling two long members  32  in an X shape. 
     Here, since the table  12  moves in the expansion/contraction direction of the expansion/contraction mechanism  16 , the table  12  may tilt if there is a difference in expansion/contraction operation of the pair of X-shaped link members  30  arranged facing each other, or the X-shaped link member  30  itself moves up and down during the expansion/contraction. Therefore, of the long members  32  forming the expansion/contraction mechanism  16 , the opposing long members  32  are coupled to each other by the coupling member  18 , and fluctuations of the coupling member  18  that moves when the expansion/contraction mechanism  16  expands/contracts are regulated by the regulating member. Thus, since the two long members  32  coupled by the coupling member  18  can only move in the same way in expansion/contraction because they are coupled, and since the fluctuation in the vertical direction is also regulated, the table  12  can be suppressed from tilting in the expansion/contraction of the expansion/contraction mechanism  16 . 
     (2) In the table device  10  of the present embodiment, the regulating member  20  may be a rod-shaped member inserted into the through hole  19  formed in the coupling member  18  and supported by the support member  14 . According to this configuration, the tilt of the table  12  disposed in the expansion/contraction mechanism  16  can be suppressed with a simple configuration. 
     (3) In the table device  10  of the present embodiment, a female screw may be formed in the through hole  19  provided at a predetermined position, a male screw may be formed in the regulating member  20 , which is a rod-shaped member, and screwed into the through hole  19 , and the expansion/contraction mechanism  16  may be expanded/contracted as the coupling member  18  is moved by the rotation of the regulating member  20 . 
     According to this configuration, the coupling member  18  moves as the regulating member  20  rotates, and the long member  32  moves and the expansion/contraction mechanism  16  expands/contracts with the movement of the coupling member  18 , and thus expansion/contraction of the expansion/contraction mechanism  16  and suppression of tilt of the table  12  can be realized with the same mechanism. 
     (4) In the table device  10  of the present embodiment, the through hole  19  may be formed in the coupling member  18  so as to be orthogonal to the axis center direction of the coupling member  18 . According to this configuration, the tilt of the table  12  disposed in the expansion/contraction mechanism  16  can be suppressed with a simple configuration. 
     (5) In the table device  10  of the present embodiment, the coupling member  18  may be provided with the protrusion  62 , and the through hole  19  may be formed in the protrusion  62  so as to be orthogonal to the axis center direction of the coupling member  18 . According to this configuration, the tilt of the table  12  disposed in the expansion/contraction mechanism  16  can be suppressed with a simple configuration. 
     (6) The printing apparatus according to the present embodiment includes the table device  10 , where the table  12  moves in the vertical direction, and a recording medium on which printing is performed is placed on the table  12 . According to this configuration, since the tilt of the table  12  disposed in the expansion/contraction mechanism  16  can be suppressed, the occurrence of printing failure on the recording medium can be suppressed. 
     INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY 
     The present disclosure is useful, for example, as a table on which a recording medium, subjected to printing by a printing apparatus, is placed.