IP Library › Granted Patent US 12661913

Granted Patent B2

US 12661913 · App. 18/647,416 · Granted Jun 23, 2026

Printing apparatus, sheet conveying apparatus, and sheet tension adjustment method

Inventors: Kota Kawasaki (Kanagawa, JP); Masahiro Sugimoto (Kanagawa, JP); Junichi Ochi (Shizuoka, JP); Takuma Nakamura (Tokyo, JP); Yuichiro Yanagi (Chiba, JP)

Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

B41J15/165 B41J15/04 B41J15/16 B41J25/304 B65H20/02 B65H23/044 B65H23/16 B65H2404/1441

View Patent ↗

Loading inventors, assignments & file history…

Monitor This Case

Get email alerts when status or documents change.

Order Certified Copies

Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.

Order via The Patent Place →

Pre-filled with this patent's details

Quick Facts

Patent No.: US 12661913
App. No.: 18/647,416
Granted: Jun 23, 2026
Kind: B2

External Links

USPTO Patent Center↗ Full Patent PDF↗

Abstract

A sheet conveying apparatus includes a supply unit for supplying a sheet; a switching unit disposed on a conveyance path of the sheet and configured to switch between a state of nipping the sheet supplied by the supply unit and a state of releasing the nipping of the sheet; a tension applying unit disposed on one side of the switching unit in a conveyance direction of the conveyance path and configured to apply tension to the sheet; and a detection unit disposed on the other side of the switching unit in the conveyance direction of the conveyance path and configured to detect the tension of the sheet. In a state where the nipping of the sheet is released by the switching unit, the first tension applying unit adjusts the tension of the sheet while the detection unit detects the tension of the sheet.

Claims (67)

1 . A printing apparatus comprising:

a printing unit configured to perform printing on a sheet;

a supply unit configured to supply the sheet to the printing unit;

a first switching unit disposed on a conveyance path of the sheet and configured to switch between a state where the sheet supplied by the supply unit is nipped and a state where the nipping of the sheet is released;

a first tension applying unit disposed on one side of the first switching unit in a conveyance direction of the conveyance path and configured to apply tension to the sheet; and

a detection unit disposed on the other side of the first switching unit in the conveyance direction of the conveyance path and configured to detect the tension of the sheet, wherein

in a state where the nipping of the sheet is released by the first switching unit, the first tension applying unit adjusts the tension of the sheet while the detection unit detects the tension of the sheet.

2 . The printing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein

the first tension applying unit is disposed upstream of the first switching unit with respect to the conveyance direction, and

the sheet conveying apparatus further comprises:

a second switching unit configured to switch between a state of nipping the sheet and a state of releasing the nipping of the sheet on the downstream side of the first switching unit in the conveyance direction; and

a second tension applying unit configured to apply tension to the sheet on the downstream side of the second switching unit in the conveyance direction.

3 . The printing apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein

after the tension of the sheet is adjusted by the first tension applying unit while the tension of the sheet is detected by the detection unit in a state where the nipping of the sheet is released by the first switching unit and the sheet is nipped by the second switching unit, the tension of the sheet is adjusted by the second tension applying unit while the tension of the sheet is detected by the detection unit in a state where the sheet is nipped by the first switching unit and the nipping of the sheet is released by the second switching unit.

4 . The printing apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein

after the tension of the sheet is adjusted by the second tension applying unit while the tension of the sheet is detected by the detection unit in a state where the sheet is nipped by the first switching unit and the nipping of the sheet is released by the second switching unit, the tension of the sheet is adjusted by the first tension applying unit while the tension of the sheet is detected by the detection unit in a state where the nipping of the sheet is released by the first switching unit and the sheet is nipped by the second switching unit.

5 . The printing apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the detection unit is located between the first switching unit and the second switching unit in the conveyance direction.

6 . The printing apparatus according to claim 2 , further comprising:

a winding unit configured to wind the sheet downstream of the second tension applying unit in the conveyance direction.

7 . The printing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein

the tension applying unit includes

a moving roller configured to press the sheet; and

a load applying unit configured to drive the moving roller, wherein

the moving roller is movable in a direction intersecting with the conveyance direction of the sheet, and adjusts the tension of the sheet.

8 . The printing apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the load applying unit includes an air cylinder configured to apply pressure to the moving roller using compressed air.

9 . The printing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein

the first switching unit includes:

a driving roller configured to convey the sheet; and

a nip roller configured to press the driving roller with the sheet interposed therebetween, wherein

the nip roller makes pressure contact with the sheet and presses the driving roller to shut off transmission of the tension of the sheet, and

the nip roller is separated from the driving roller to permit the transmission of the tension of the sheet.

10 . A printing apparatus comprising:

a sheet conveying apparatus including

a supply unit configured to supply a sheet;

a first tension applying unit disposed on one side of the first switching unit in a conveyance direction of the conveyance path and configured to apply tension to the sheet; and

a detection unit disposed on the other side of the first switching unit in the conveyance direction of the conveyance path and configured to detect the tension of the sheet;

a second tension applying unit configured to apply tension to the sheet on the downstream side of the second switching unit in the conveyance direction; and

a printing unit configured to perform printing on the conveyed sheet, wherein

the first tension applying unit is disposed upstream of the first switching unit with respect to the conveyance direction.

11 . The printing apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein the printing unit is disposed upstream of the detection unit with respect to the conveyance direction.

12 . The printing apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein

the printing unit includes a printing head configured to eject ink onto the sheet,

the printing head is movable between a printing position and a retracted position, and

the printing head is in the retracted position in a case of adjusting the tension of the sheet, and is in the printing position in a case of printing on the sheet.

13 . A printing apparatus comprising:

a sheet conveying apparatus including:

a supply unit configured to supply a sheet;

a switching unit disposed on a conveyance path of the sheet and configured to switch between a state where the sheet supplied by the supply unit is nipped and a state where the nipping of the sheet is released;

a tension applying unit disposed on one side of the switching unit in a conveyance direction of the conveyance path and configured to apply tension to the sheet; and

a detection unit disposed on the other side of the switching unit in the conveyance direction of the conveyance path and configured to detect the tension of the sheet; and

a printing unit configured to perform printing on the conveyed sheet, wherein

in a state where the nipping of the sheet is released by the switching unit, the tension applying unit adjusts the tension of the sheet while the detection unit detects the tension of the sheet.

14 . A sheet tension adjustment method comprising the steps of:

defining a plurality of sections in the sheet conveyance path;

detecting sheet tension values in a plurality of adjacent sections among the plurality of sections, and comparing the detected values with a first tension value;

adjusting the tension of the sheet so that the detected tension value is equal to the first tension value, and setting the adjusted tension value as a tension value in a first section, which is one of the plurality of adjacent sections;

detecting sheet tension values in the plurality of adjacent sections excluding the first section among the plurality of sections, and comparing the detected values with a second tension value; and

adjusting the tension of the sheet so that the detected tension value is equal to the second tension value, and setting the adjusted tension value as a tension value in a second section, which is one of the plurality of adjacent sections excluding the first section.

15 . A sheet conveying apparatus comprising:

a supply unit configured to supply a sheet;

a tension applying unit disposed on one side of the switching unit in a conveyance direction of the conveyance path and configured to apply tension to the sheet; and

a detection unit disposed on the other side of the switching unit in the conveyance direction of the conveyance path and configured to detect the tension of the sheet, wherein

in a state where the nipping of the sheet is released by the switching unit, the tension applying unit adjusts the tension of the sheet while the detection unit detects the tension of the sheet.