Patent ID: 8042589

Claim:
A cleaning unit for a printer having a main unit equipped with a platen roller for transferring a print image on a sheet and a transfer roller for bringing the sheet with the transferred print image into close contact with a medium, and a removal unit that is positioned and attached with respect to the main unit and that feeds the sheet to the platen roller, the cleaning unit being essentially identical with the removal unit in terms of an external shape, being able to be positioned and attached with respect to the main unit in place of the removal unit, and comprising: an arm that is placed in the vicinity of the platen roller when the cleaning unit is positioned and attached and with respect to the main unit, and that is supported in a cantilever fashion and is freely turnable between a first position and a second position around a support shaft; a cleaning pad provided at a leading end of the arm; a cam that is provided on a rotary shaft and that is brought into contact with the arm by means of rotation effected around the rotary shaft, thereby turning the arm from the first position to the second position; and a spring that forces the arm toward the first position, to thus return the arm from the second position to the first position, wherein the cleaning pad is separated from the platen roller when the arm is situated at the first position by the cam, and the cleaning pad contacts the platen roller when the arm is turned to the second position by the cam.