IP Library Granted Patent US 12698170
Granted Patent B2
US 12698170 · App. 18/596,918 · Granted Aug 4, 2026

Printing device

Inventors: Takanori Umeda (Shiojiri, JP); Keisuke Yamaya (Shiojiri, JP)
Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
B65H3/06B41J13/103B65H3/5223B65H5/062
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12698170
App. No.
18/596,918
Granted
Aug 4, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

A printing device includes a placement unit on which a plurality of media are stackable, a printing unit, and a feed roller that feeds the medium placed on the placement unit in a transport direction. Before starting feeding of the medium downstream in the transport direction, by repeating, a plurality of times, a preliminary feed operation of coming into contact with a first medium and rotating, and a non-feed operation of not feeding the medium, the feed roller forms a misaligned stacking state in which the first medium is disposed further downstream, in the transport direction, than at least some of the plurality of media disposed closer to the placement unit side. The feed roller feeds the first medium downstream in the transport direction from the placement unit subsequent to formation of the misaligned stacking state.

Claims (24)

1 . A method of feeding a plurality of single sheet media stacked on a placement unit of a printing device, the feeding being in a transport direction towards printing unit of the printing device, the method comprising:

using a feed roller of the printing device to form a misaligned stacking state of the plurality of single sheet media stacked on the placement unit by repeating a preliminary feed operation and a preliminary non-feed operation a plurality of times before starting the feeding of the medium downstream in the transport direction from the placement unit, the misaligned stacking state being in which a first medium is disposed further downstream, in the transport direction, than the media disposed closer to the placement unit side than the first medium in a stacking direction,

the preliminary feed operation being in which the feed roller rotates while in contact with the first medium, and

the non-feed operation being in which the first medium does not move downstream in the transport direction, and

subsequent to formation of the misaligned stacking state, using the feed roller to feed a first medium downstream in the transport direction from the placement unit.

2 . The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:

separating the first medium from a remainder of the plurality of single sheet media stacked on the placement unit using a separating roller pair provided downstream of the feed roller in the transport direction, the separation roller pair formed by a separating roller and a retarding roller.

3 . The method according to claim 2 , further comprising:

using a transport roller positioned downstream of the separating roller in the transport direction to transport the first medium further downstream in the transport direction, and

using a drive source to drive each of the feed roller, the separating roller, and the transport roller.

4 . The method according to claim 3 , comprising

the using of the drive source comprising using a driving force transmission member provided between a motor as the drive source and the transport roller, the driving force transmission member rotating the transport roller in a same direction, both when the motor rotates in a first direction and when the motor rotates in a second direction opposite to the first direction.

5 . The method according to claim 2 ,

the separating of the first medium further performed using a separating member provided between the feed roller and the separating roller pair in the transport direction, the separating member making sliding contact with a leading end of the first medium fed by the feed roller.

6 . The method according to claim 5 , wherein

the sliding contact of the separating member with the leading end of the first medium being at a recessed portion extending in a width direction of the medium, and the leading end of the medium makes sliding contact with the sliding contact surface.

7 . The printing device according to claim 1 , wherein

during execution of the non-feed operation, the feed roller is separated from the first medium.

8 . The method according to claim 5 , wherein

the feed roller is driven by a motor,

the feed roller comes into contact with the first medium and rotates when the motor rotates in a first direction in accordance with the preliminary feed operation, and

the feed roller separates from the first medium when the motor rotates in a second direction, opposite to the first direction, in accordance with the non-feed operation.

9 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein

the non-feed operation is at least one of 1) separation of the feed roller from the first medium, 2) rotation of the of feed roller in opposite direction to when the feed roller feeds the first media, and 3) stopping of the feed roller.