阅读说明：本技术 打印设备和输送设备 (Printing apparatus and conveying apparatus ) 是由 铃木义章 小林凉 小幡力 于 2020-03-27 设计创作，主要内容包括：提供能够防止待被分切机(切割单元)切割的切割位置偏移的打印设备和输送设备,打印设备包括被构造成在打印介质的与输送方向交叉的宽度方向上的相对于切割位置的内部位置处抵接打印介质的打印面的抵接部,该打印设备被构造成通过使用打印单元在被输送单元输送的打印介质上进行打印,并且被构造成通过使用切割单元在沿着输送单元的输送方向的切割位置处切割已被打印单元进行打印的打印介质。(Provided are a printing apparatus and a conveying apparatus capable of preventing a cutting position to be cut by a slitter (cutting unit) from being shifted, the printing apparatus including an abutting portion configured to abut a print surface of a print medium at an inner position with respect to the cutting position in a width direction of the print medium intersecting a conveying direction, the printing apparatus being configured to perform printing on the print medium conveyed by the conveying unit by using the printing unit, and being configured to cut the print medium having been printed by the printing unit at the cutting position along the conveying direction of the conveying unit by using the cutting unit.)

1. A printing apparatus, comprising:

a conveying unit configured to convey a printing medium in a conveying direction;

a printing unit configured to print an image on the printing medium conveyed by the conveying unit; and

a cutting unit configured to cut the printing medium on which the image is printed by the printing unit, the printing medium being cut at a cutting position along the conveying direction,

characterized in that the printing medium is cut by the cutting unit while being conveyed by the conveying unit, and

the printing apparatus includes an abutting portion configured to abut a printing face of the printing medium on which the printing unit prints an image at an inner position with respect to the cutting position in a width direction of the printing medium, the width direction intersecting the conveying direction.

2. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the abutting portion is configured to abut the printing medium from the printing face on which the image is printed.

3. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the abutting portion is configured to abut one side in the width direction of an area where the image is printed.

4. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the abutting portion is configured to abut the printing medium to adjust floating of the printing medium.

5. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the abutting portion is configured to abut at a position where flatness of a cut position of the printing medium is ensured.

6. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a position at which the abutting portion abuts against the printing medium is located on an upstream side in the conveying direction with respect to the cutting position, and coincides with the cutting position in a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction and the width direction.

7. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the abutting portion is configured to elastically act on the printing medium.

8. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the abutment is configured to abut the print medium via a spur gear.

9. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the abutting portion is configured to be switchable between a first posture in which the abutting portion abuts the print medium and a second posture in which the abutting portion does not abut the print medium.

10. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cutting unit includes a conveying portion that is located outside the cutting position in the width direction and is configured to convey the printing medium in synchronization with the conveying unit.

11. Printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said cutting unit comprises at least one splitting machine unit provided with said abutment.

12. The printing apparatus of claim 11, wherein the slitter unit includes a moving portion configured to move in the width direction.

13. The printing device of claim 1,

the cutting unit is configured to cut the printing medium by bringing two circular blades into contact with each other, and

the cutting position corresponds to a contact point at which the two circular blades contact each other.

14. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the printing apparatus further comprises a cutter configured to cut the printing medium in the width direction.

15. The printing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the printing unit is configured to print in an inkjet system.

16. A delivery apparatus, comprising:

a conveying unit configured to convey a printing medium on which an image is printed in a conveying direction; and

a cutting unit configured to cut the printing medium at a cutting position along the conveying direction,

characterized in that the printing medium is cut by the cutting unit while being conveyed by the conveying unit, and

the conveying apparatus includes an abutting portion configured to abut a print surface of the print medium at an inner position with respect to the cutting position in a width direction of the print medium, the width direction intersecting the conveying direction.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a printing apparatus and a conveying apparatus capable of cutting a sheet-like printing medium being conveyed.

Background

Japanese patent laid-open No. 2017-13438 discloses a technique relating to a conveying apparatus including a dividing and cutting machine for dividing a printing medium in a conveying direction after printing is performed on the printing medium. Specifically, according to the technique disclosed in japanese patent laid-open No. 2017-13438, the leading end of the conveyed printing medium is inserted into a slitting machine, thereby cutting the printing medium in the conveying direction according to the conveyance of the printing medium.

However, the leading end of the printing medium may float due to cockling, which causes the printing medium to fluctuate due to the application of ink or the like. Therefore, in the technique disclosed in japanese patent laid-open No. 2017-13438, due to such floating of the leading end when cutting the print medium, there is a possibility that the position of the leading end to be cut by the slitting machine is undesirably shifted in the direction orthogonal to the conveying direction.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and provides a printing apparatus and a conveying apparatus capable of preventing a cutting position to be cut by a splitting machine from being shifted.

In a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing apparatus comprising: a conveying unit configured to convey a printing medium in a conveying direction; a printing unit configured to print an image on the printing medium conveyed by the conveying unit; and a cutting unit configured to cut the print medium on which the image is printed by the printing unit, the print medium being cut at a cutting position along the conveying direction, wherein the print medium is cut by the cutting unit while being conveyed by the conveying unit, and the printing apparatus includes an abutting portion configured to abut a print surface of the print medium on which the printing unit prints the image, at an inner position with respect to the cutting position in a width direction of the print medium, the width direction intersecting the conveying direction.

In a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a conveying apparatus comprising: a conveying unit configured to convey a printing medium on which an image is printed in a conveying direction; and a cutting unit configured to cut the print medium at a cutting position along the conveying direction, wherein the print medium is cut by the cutting unit while being conveyed by the conveying unit, and the conveying apparatus includes an abutting portion configured to abut a print surface of the print medium at an inner position with respect to the cutting position in a width direction of the print medium, the width direction intersecting the conveying direction.

According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent a cutting position to be cut by a slitter (cutting unit) from being shifted.

Other features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the attached drawings.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a printing apparatus;

FIG. 2 is a view for explaining a cutter and a slitting machine;

fig. 3A and 3B are diagrams illustrating the relationship between the upper and lower movable blades in the slitting machine unit;

fig. 4A and 4B are views for explaining the configuration of the slitting machine unit;

fig. 5 is a diagram for explaining an adjustment position of the adjustment portion;

fig. 6 is a block configuration diagram of a control system of the printing apparatus;

fig. 7A, 7B, and 7C are diagrams for explaining flatness near the position cut by the upper movable blade and the lower movable blade; and

fig. 8A, 8B, and 8C are views showing modifications of the slitter unit.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The following embodiments do not limit the present invention. Furthermore, not every combination of features described in the present embodiment is essential to the solution of the present invention. Like reference numerals are used to describe like constructions. In addition, the relative positions, shapes, and the like of the constituent elements described in the embodiments are merely examples, and are not intended to limit the present invention to the scope of the examples.

Fig. 1 is a sectional view showing an example of an inkjet printing apparatus according to the present embodiment. The inkjet printing apparatus 100 (hereinafter simply referred to as the printing apparatus 100) performs printing on a printing medium having a long sheet shape. In the present embodiment, the printing medium is a rolled sheet 1. The rolled sheet 1 held in the printing apparatus 100 is conveyed downstream through a conveying path formed by an upper guide 6 and a lower guide 7. The rolled sheet 1 is nipped by a conveying roller 8 and a pinch roller 9 and conveyed to an image printing unit. The image printing unit is configured to include a print head 2, a carriage 3 mounting the print head 2, and a platen 10 arranged at a position facing the print head 2. The rolled sheet 1 is conveyed onto a platen 10 by a conveying roller 8. Ink is ejected by the print head 2 onto the rolled sheet 1 conveyed to the image printing unit, thereby printing an image.

The carriage 3 is supported in a manner slidable along a guide shaft 4 and a guide rail (not shown in the figure), the guide shaft 4 and the guide rail being arranged in parallel to each other in the printing apparatus 100. The carriage 3 includes a reflection type detection sensor 12 facing the platen 10 so as to be able to detect the reflectance of the spot position. That is, in the case where the platen 10 is black and the rolled sheet 1 is white, the reflectance of the platen 10 and the rolled sheet 1 is greatly different. Therefore, it is possible to determine whether the platen 10 or the rolled sheet 1 is present at the spot position by using the detection sensor 12. The leading end of the rolled sheet 1 can be detected by utilizing the following facts: when the rolled sheet 1 is conveyed by the conveying roller 8, the reflectance greatly changes in the case where the leading end of the rolled sheet 1 passes the spot position of the detection sensor 12 in the conveying direction.

The carriage 3 scans in the X direction along the guide shaft 4 while holding the print head 2, and the print head 2 ejects ink while the carriage 3 scans, so as to print on the rolled sheet 1. After scanning by the carriage 3 to perform printing on the rolled sheet 1, the rolled sheet 1 is conveyed by a predetermined amount by the conveying roller 8, and the carriage 3 is scanned again on the rolled sheet 1 to perform printing. In this way, by repeating printing and conveyance, the entire printing is completed. Further, since the detection sensor 12 is mounted to the carriage 3, it is also possible to detect the position of the paper edge in the width direction (X direction) of the rolled sheet 1 by the reciprocating operation of the carriage 3.

Downstream of the carriage 3 in the conveying direction of the rolled sheet 1, a cutter 5 for cutting the rolled sheet 1 in a direction intersecting the conveying direction is provided, and further downstream, a slitter 13 (cutting unit) for slitting the rolled sheet 1 in the conveying direction is provided. Downstream with respect to the slitting machine 13, a discharge guide 11 is provided for discharging the rolled sheet 1 that has been cut.

The cutter 5 includes a cutter unit 300 (refer to fig. 2) as a cutting mechanism for cutting the rolled sheet 1 and a unit for moving the cutter unit 300 in the X direction. Further, the slitter 13 includes a slitter unit 303 (refer to fig. 2) as a cutting mechanism for cutting the rolled sheet 1 and a unit for moving the slitter unit 303 in the X direction.

Fig. 2 is a plan view for explaining the cutter 5 and the slitting machine 13 including the slitting machine units 303L and 303R. In this specification, "L" and "R" at the end of reference numerals denote a member located on the left side (i.e., + X side) and a member located on the right side (i.e., -X side) in the drawings, respectively. In the present specification, in the case where the members on the left and right sides are the same, the end of the reference numeral may be omitted.

The guide rail 101 is configured to guide the cutter frame 200 in a direction intersecting the conveying direction of the rolled sheet 1. The cutter carriage 200 integrally connects the cutter unit 300 and the belt 102. Further, the belt 102 is configured to bridge a motor pulley 107 and a tensioner pulley 108 disposed on the left and right sides of the guide rail 101, respectively, and is configured to be moved by a cutter motor 103 connected to the motor pulley 107. The cutter motor 103 is provided with a cutter encoder 104. The cutter encoder 104 counts the number of pulses corresponding to the driving of the cutter motor 103. Based on the origin position of the cutter frame 200 and the number of pulses obtained by the cutter encoder 104, the movement positions of the cutter unit 300 in the X1 and X2 directions can be controlled.

The cutter unit 300 includes an upper movable blade 301 and a lower movable blade 302 so that the rolled sheet 1 is cut at the contact point of the upper movable blade 301 and the lower movable blade 302 while the cutter unit 300 is moved in the X1 direction. Further, the upper movable blade 301 and the lower movable blade 302 are connected to the cutter motor 103 via the belt 102 and the cutter frame 200, and are configured to be rotationally driven. In the case of cutting the rolled sheet 1, the rolled sheet 1 is cut while the lower movable blade 302 and the upper movable blade 301 in contact with the lower movable blade 302 rotate together. In the example of fig. 2, the cutter unit 300 performs cutting from the first end 1a of the rolled sheet 1 to the second end 1b of the rolled sheet 1. The first end 1a of the rolled sheet 1 is an end on the standby position P1 side of the cutter unit 300. After the rolled sheet 1 is cut, the cutter frame 200 is reversed at a predetermined reverse position. Further, the cutter frame 200 moves to a position as a standby position P1 to await the next cutting operation. Although the cutter unit 300 is mounted to the cutter frame 200 in the example of the present embodiment, the cutter unit 300 may be mounted to the carriage 3 that moves the print head 2 or the like, for example.

The slitter 13 is disposed on the downstream side with respect to the cutter 5 in the conveying direction of the rolled sheet 1. The slitter 13 can move the slitter unit 303 to a given position in the X1 direction and the X2 direction, and can cut the rolled sheet 1 in a direction parallel to the conveying direction (+ Y direction) by using the slitter unit 303. In the present embodiment, a structure in which two slitter units 303 are mounted will be described. That is, a description is given of an example in which the slitter units 303L and 303R are mounted. The slitter units 303L and 303R have the same configuration, but the component parts are reversed left and right in the X1 direction and the X2 direction. In fig. 2, reference numerals are mainly assigned to constituent parts of the slitter unit 303L for the sake of simplicity.

Fig. 3A to 5 are views for explaining details of the slitter unit 303L. Fig. 3A is a schematic plan view of the upper movable blade 304L and the lower movable blade 305L of the slitting machine unit 303L. Fig. 3B is a schematic side view of the upper movable blade 304L of the slitting machine, the lower movable blade 305L of the slitting machine, the upper conveying rollers 320L of the slitting machine, and the lower conveying rollers 321L of the slitting machine unit 303L. Fig. 4A is a rear perspective view of the slitter unit 303L, and fig. 4B is a front view of the slitter unit 303L. Fig. 5 is a diagram for explaining an adjustment position of the adjustment portion 600L.

The slitter unit 303L includes a slitter upper movable blade 304L and a slitter lower movable blade 305L. The upper movable blade 304L and the lower movable blade 305L of the slitter are arranged to have a circular blade overlap amount 313L in the vertical direction and to have a predetermined amount of angle (crossing angle) θ with respect to the conveying direction Y, that is, a cutting direction. The rolled sheet 1 is cut at a contact point 311L of the upper movable blade 304L of the slitting machine and the lower movable blade 305L of the slitting machine. That is, in the slitter unit 303 of the present embodiment, the upper slitter movable blade 304 and the lower slitter movable blade 305 function as a cutting portion that cuts the print medium. The movable blade 304L on the slitting machine is connected to the slitting machine drive motor 16L via a gear.

When the upper slitter movable blade 304L is rotated by the driving of the slitter drive motor 16L, the upper slitter feed rollers 320L coaxially connected to the upper slitter movable blade 304L are also rotated. The outer peripheral surface of the upper slitter conveying roller 320L contacts the outer peripheral surface of the lower slitter conveying roller 321L coaxially connected to the lower slitter movable blade 305L at the roller nip point 312L. Thus, by driving with a friction transmission, while the rolled sheet 1 is conveyed by the upper cutter conveying roller 320L and the lower cutter conveying roller 321L of the slitting machine, the upper and lower blades are rotated together to cut the rolled sheet 1 in the conveying direction. That is, in the slitter unit 303 of the present embodiment, the upper slitter conveying roller 320 and the lower slitter conveying roller 321 function as a conveying portion that conveys the print medium.

The upper slitter conveying roller 320L and the lower slitter conveying roller 321L are both positioned outside the rolled sheet 1 in the X direction, as compared with the contact point 311L of the upper slitter movable blade 304L and the lower slitter movable blade 305L (see fig. 5). The outside of the rolled sheet 1 is directed to the second end 1b of the rolled sheet 1, i.e., to the area (nPS side in fig. 5) where the image to be recorded as a product is not printed.

Since the slitter drive motor 16L is provided with the slitter drive encoder 310L, the slitter drive motor 16L can be controlled at a predetermined rotational speed and a predetermined amount of rotation. The slitter drive motor 16L is controlled to be driven by a drive amount (specifically, a rotation speed and a rotation amount) which is synchronized with and corresponds to the conveyance amount of the conveyance roller 8.

The slitter unit 303L includes a slitter moving motor 14L, and is configured such that a driving force is transmitted to a slitter moving roller 306L via a gear. The slitter moving roller 306L abuts on a slitter guide 307 extending in the X direction. Further, the slitter unit 303L is configured to be movable in the X1 direction and the X2 direction by friction between the outer peripheral surface of the slitter moving roller 306L and the slitter guide 307. The slitter moving motor 14L is provided with a slitter moving encoder 309L so that the moving position of the slitter unit 303L from the standby position P1 can be controlled.

In the slitter unit 303L, each component part including the later-described regulating portion 600L is held by the holding member 608. Therefore, the upper slitter movable blade 304L, the lower slitter movable blade 305L, the upper slitter feed rollers 320L, the lower slitter feed rollers 321L, and the adjuster 600L can be integrally moved along the slitter guide 307. Although the slitting machine moving roller 306L is driven by friction in the present embodiment, the slitting machine moving roller 306L may have a rack and pinion configuration in which the slitting machine moving roller functions as a pinion and the slitting machine guide functions as a rack. That is, in the present embodiment, the slitter moving motor 14L, the slitter moving rollers 306L, the slitter guide 307, and the like are used as moving portions for moving the slitter unit 303L in the X direction.

In order to ensure the flatness of the rolled sheet 1 when the rolled sheet 1 is cut after printing, as shown in fig. 4A and 4B, a regulating portion 600L that regulates the floating of the rolled sheet 1 is disposed in the slitter unit 303L. The regulating portion 600L is located inside the rolled sheet 1 in the X direction compared to the contact point 311L. The inner side of the rolled sheet 1 is directed to the first end 1a of the rolled sheet 1, i.e., to the area (PS side in fig. 5) where the image to be recorded as a product is printed.

The regulating portion 600L includes a spur gear (spur)601L that abuts on the printing surface side of the rolled sheet 1 to regulate the floating of the rolled sheet 1, and a holding portion 602L that holds the spur gear 601L without abutting on the rolled sheet 1. In the regulating portion 600L, the spur gear 601L functions as a member that abuts on the print surface to regulate the floating of the rolled sheet 1, thereby preventing the transfer of the image printed on the print surface. Further, the spur gear 601L is held by the holding portion 602L via an elastic member 606L (see fig. 5) such as a spring, so that the spur gear 601L is configured to elastically act on the rolled sheet 1. That is, in the present embodiment, the regulating portion 600 functions as an abutting portion that abuts on the printing medium.

The adjustment position where the spur gear 601L abuts on the rolled sheet 1 to adjust the floating of the rolled sheet 1 coincides with the contact point 311L (see fig. 3B) in the Z direction, which is orthogonal to the conveying direction and the width direction. Therefore, the floating of the rolled sheet 1 can be adjusted so that the position of the rolled sheet 1 substantially coincides with the contact point 311L in the Z direction. The meaning that the adjustment position and the contact point 311L coincide in the Z direction is not limited to being completely coincident, but there may be a predetermined range. Further, as shown in fig. 5, the adjustment position is located at an upstream side length L1 with respect to the contact point 311L in the conveying direction (the (-Y direction side). In addition, as shown in fig. 5, the adjustment position is located at an inner length L2 (for example, 10mm) of the rolled sheet 1 with respect to the contact point 311L in the X direction. In the case where the leading end of the conveyed rolled sheet 1 reaches the contact point 311L, the values of the lengths L1 and L2 that ensure the flatness of the rolled sheet 1 in the vicinity of the contact point 311L are obtained by, for example, experiments and settings. In the case where the above-described predetermined range is provided, the predetermined range may be obtained by experiment.

Fig. 6 is a schematic block diagram showing a control configuration of the printing apparatus 100. The printing apparatus 100 includes a control unit 400. Further, the control unit 400 includes a CPU 411, a ROM 412, a RAM 413, and a motor driver 414. The control unit 400 effects control of the conveying motor 51, the cutter motor 103, the slitter moving motor 14, the slitter driving motor 16, the carriage motor 52, and the print head 2. The control unit 400 obtains signals from the conveying roller encoder 112, cutter encoder 104, slitter movement encoder 309, slitter drive encoder 310, carriage encoder 19, and detection sensor 12. Further, the control unit 400 controls various motors and the print head 2 based on the signals.

As described above, the printing apparatus 100 is configured such that the slitter 13 can cut a predetermined area of the width (X direction) of the rolled sheet 1 after printing. Therefore, in the printing apparatus 100, for example, by cutting an area adjacent to an image to be recorded as a product in the width direction using the splitting machine 13, a printed product as obtained in the case of performing left-right borderless printing by a printing apparatus not provided with the splitting machine 13 can be obtained. In this case, since it is not necessary to apply ink in such a manner that ink is ejected out of the rolled sheet 1, it is possible to significantly prevent the ink from adhering to the platen 10. Hereinafter, a case where borderless printing in the left-right direction or the X direction is performed on the rolled sheet 1 by the printing apparatus 100 will be described.

In the case where the user provides an instruction to start left-right borderless printing on the rolled sheet 1, first, the slitter moving motors 14L and 14R are driven to move the slitter units 303L and 303R to the cutting positions, respectively. The cutting positions of the upper movable blade 304 and the lower movable blade 305 of the slitting machine are, for example, positions of ends in the X direction of the area PS where the image to be recorded as a product is printed.

Next, the conveying motor 51 and the slitter driving motor 16 are driven so that the conveying speed of the conveying roller 8 is the same speed as the conveying speed of the upper conveying roller 320 of the slitter, thereby conveying the rolled sheet 1 by the conveying roller 8. Thereafter, in a case where it is detected that the leading end of the rolled sheet 1 has been conveyed to the print start position, printing is performed on the rolled sheet 1 in accordance with print data based on the detection result of a sensor (not shown in the figure).

In the case where printing is performed and the leading end of the rolled sheet 1 reaches the contact point 311 of the slitter unit 303, the rolled sheet 1 is cut by the upper movable blade 304 and the lower movable blade 305 of the slitter which rotate on the left and right.

Here, fig. 7A is a front view showing the rolled sheet 1 in a case where the regulating portion 600 is not arranged in the slitter unit 303. Fig. 7B is a front view showing the rolled sheet 1 in a state where the regulating portion 600 is disposed in the slitter unit 303. Fig. 7C is a plan view for explaining cutting of the rolled sheet 1 by the slitter unit 303 arranged with the regulating portion 600.

As shown in fig. 7A, if the rolled sheet 1 is conveyed simply by holding the rolled sheet 1 at two positions in the X direction, in the case where the rolled sheet 1 is wrinkled due to the application of ink, the rolled sheet 1 floats at an intermediate portion between the two holding positions. If the leading end of the rolled sheet 1 reaches the contact point 311L in this state, a cutting offset occurs in the vicinity of the leading end.

In the present embodiment, as shown in fig. 7B, an adjusting portion 600 for adjusting the floating of the rolled sheet 1 is disposed in the slitter unit 303. According to this configuration, the flatness of the rolled sheet 1 in the vicinity of the contact point 311 is ensured when the leading end of the rolled sheet 1 reaches the contact point 311. Therefore, in the case where the regulating portion 600 is arranged, the posture of the leading end of the rolled sheet 1 is stabilized when the leading end of the rolled sheet 1 reaches the contact point 311, as compared with the case where the regulating portion 600 is not arranged.

Thereafter, the rolled sheet 1 is cut by the upper movable blade 304 and the lower movable blade 305 of the slitter, and the cut pieces of the rolled sheet 1 on the side which has been cut are nipped and conveyed by the upper conveying roller 320 and the lower conveying roller 321 of the slitter. As described above, at the contact point 311, the posture of the rolled sheet 1 is stabilized by the regulating portion 600. Therefore, with respect to the rolled sheet 1 which has been cut by the slitter unit 303, since the occurrence of the cutting offset is prevented, the cutting accuracy at the leading end is stabilized (see fig. 7C).

Upon completion of printing, cutting by the slitter unit 303 is performed up to a predetermined position. After that, the slitter units 303L and 303R are moved to respective standby positions, and the rolled sheet 1 is conveyed up to a position where the cutter unit 300 can cut the rolled sheet 1. Then, the rolled sheet 1 is cut by the cutter unit 300. Therefore, the printed matter of the rolled sheet 1 on which the image recorded as a product has been printed and the cut pieces on which printing has not been performed are discharged through the discharge guide 11.

As described above, in the printing apparatus 100, the regulating portion 600 abuts on the rolled sheet 1 at the position on the inner side in the X direction with respect to the contact point 311 and on the upstream side in the conveying direction in the Y direction with respect to the contact point 311, and coincides with the contact point 311 in the Z direction, thereby regulating the floating of the rolled sheet 1. Therefore, even if the rolled sheet 1 floats due to the wrinkles, the flatness of the rolled sheet 1 when the rolled sheet 1 reaches the contact point 311 can be ensured. Therefore, the cutting position at the leading end of the rolled sheet 1 to be cut by the slitter 13 is hardly shifted in the width direction.

(other embodiments)

The above-described embodiment may be modified as shown in the following (1) to (5).

(1) Although not particularly described in the above-described embodiment, the floating of the rolled sheet 1 may be adjusted by the adjusting portion 700 configured to be able to selectively switch an adjusting posture in which the spur gear 601 abuts on the rolled sheet 1 in such a manner as to adjust the floating of the rolled sheet 1 and a retracting posture in which the spur gear 601 does not abut on the rolled sheet 1. The adjustment unit 700 will be described in detail below with reference to fig. 8A, 8B, and 8C. As described above, since the slitter units 303L and 303R are configured to be left-right reversed to each other, a description of the adjusting portion 700L provided in the slitter unit 303L is given in the following description, and a description about the slitter unit 303R is omitted.

Fig. 8A is a schematic configuration diagram of the slitter unit 303L including the adjusting portion 700L. Fig. 8B is a side view of the cutter unit 303L when the adjustment portion 700L is in the adjustment posture. Fig. 8C is a side view of the cutter unit 303L when the adjustment portion 700L is in the retracted posture. In the following description, the same reference numerals are assigned to the same or corresponding structures as those of the slitter unit 303L of the above embodiment, so that detailed descriptions thereof are appropriately omitted.

In the adjustment portion 700L, a holding portion 702L for holding the spur gear 601L is fixed to the shaft 703L in a rotatable manner in the directions of arrows I and II with respect to the holding member 608L. The spring 705L is provided for pivotally moving the holding portion 702L in the direction of the arrow I with the adjusting portion 700L in the adjusting posture (first posture), thereby switching the posture to the retracted posture. Further, the pivotal motion control section 704L is provided for pivotally moving the holding section 702L in the direction of the arrow II when the adjustment section 700L is in the retracted posture (second posture), thereby switching the posture to the adjustment posture. For example, the pivotal motion control portion 704L is configured as a solenoid, so that the holding portion 702L is pivotally moved in the arrow II direction against the urging force of the spring 705L by energization.

With this configuration, in the case of performing left-right borderless printing, the adjustment section 700L is switched to the retraction posture or the adjustment posture, for example, based on information on the type of the printing medium input by the user. More specifically, for example, in the case of using a printing medium having high rigidity in which wrinkles or the like hardly occur, the energization to the pivotal motion control portion 704L is cancelled, so that the regulating portion 700L is switched to the retracted posture by the urging force of the spring 705L. Such a printing medium having high rigidity, in which wrinkles and the like hardly occur, is glossy paper, art paper, or the like. Further, in the case of using a printing medium having low rigidity in which cockling or the like is likely to occur, the pivotal motion control portion 704L is energized, thereby causing the adjustment portion 700L to switch to the adjustment posture against the urging force of the spring 705L.

In this way, regarding the adjustment of the floating of the printing medium by using the adjustment portion 700L, in the case of a printing medium for which the adjustment is not necessary, the spur gear 601L does not abut against the image as a product, and therefore, the transfer of the image is surely prevented.

(2) In the above-described embodiments, the description has been made with an example of a so-called serial scan type (serial scan type) printing apparatus in which the print head moves in the X direction and the print medium moves in the Y direction. However, a so-called full-line type printing apparatus that ejects ink across the width direction of the printing medium may be used. Further, although not particularly described in the above-described embodiment, various well-known techniques may be used for the configuration of the slitter unit 303 for slitting the printing medium and moving in the X direction.

(3) In the above embodiment, the slitting machine 13 includes two slitting machine units 303. However, only one slitting machine unit 303 or more than three slitting machine units 303 may be included. Further, in the above-described embodiment, printing is performed by the printing apparatus 100 in the inkjet system. However, the printing policy of the printing apparatus 100 may be any of various known printing policies.

(4) Although not particularly illustrated in the above-described embodiment, the regulating portion 600 may be configured such that the position of the regulating portion 600 can be adjusted in X, Y and the Z direction with respect to the holding member 608, thereby adjusting the regulating position according to the type of printing medium, the amount of ink application, and the like. In this case, the user can adjust the adjustment position of the adjustment portion 600 by hand or via an operation panel provided to the printing apparatus 100. Further, the adjustment position of the adjustment portion 600 can be adjusted by using the control unit 400. In addition, although the slitter unit 303 of the slitting machine 13 is moved in the width direction of the rolled sheet 1 by the control of the control unit 400 in the above embodiment, the above embodiment is not limited thereto. That is, the slitting machine unit 303 may be fixedly disposed, or may be configured to be movable by a user.

(5) The various forms shown in the above embodiments and (1) to (4) may be combined as appropriate.

While the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of the claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions.