Seiko Epson Corporation

Seiji Ihara

Kenji Otokita

Koji Akioka

Akira Arai

Fumio Takagi

Osamu Kobayashi

A printing apparatus includes a platen that supports a recording medium, a printing head that reciprocates along the platen, and discharges a droplet onto the recording medium supported by the platen at least in a forward route or a backward route of the reciprocation, to perform printing, and an air blowing unit disposed on at least one of two sides of the platen in a reciprocation direction, that is a direction in which the printing head moves along with the reciprocation, and blows an airflow to a nozzle surface of the printing head that reciprocates.

Printing apparatus and printing method

The printing apparatus includes a support part (platen) configured to support a recording medium (roll sheet), a printing part (printing unit) configured to form an image by discharging ink to a roll sheet supported on a platen while reciprocating in a main scanning direction, and a drying acceleration part configured to accelerate drying of the ink discharged by the printing unit and applied on the roll sheet in a state where the roll sheet is supported on the platen, in which a drying capacity of the drying acceleration part is higher in an end region of the platen than in a central region of the platen in a reciprocation direction of the printing unit.

Printing apparatus

A detection plate portion detects an object that can come into contact with a liquid ejecting unit, which ejects a liquid onto a medium, in accordance with relative movement between the liquid ejecting unit and the medium, is formed in a plate shape, and undergoes strain upon contact with the medium. An electric signal corresponding to the strain of the detection plate portion is obtained from a piezoelectric film sensor provided on a medium-side plate surface of the detection plate portion facing the medium. A sensor cover is provided apart from the detection plate portion, and the sensor cover covers the piezoelectric film sensor not to come into contact with the medium-side plate surface.

Liquid ejecting apparatus

A detection unit that detects the presence of an object that can come into contact with a liquid ejecting unit with relative movement between a medium and the liquid ejecting unit is provided with a piezoelectric film sensor that outputs an electrical signal when the object comes into contact with the detection unit, where the detection unit has first, second, and third plate portions formed so as to be continuous, the first plate portion is fixed so that the second and third plate portions are cantilevered, and the second plate portion, in a state where the piezoelectric film sensor is mounted thereon, is continuous with the first plate portion and is disposed diagonally with respect to the vertical direction of the medium, and the third plate portion is bent from the second plate portion and faces the medium leaving a gap between the third plate portion and the medium.

A plate-like detection plate portion that undergoes strain due to contact with an object is used for detecting the presence of an object that can come into contact with a liquid ejecting unit with relative movement between a medium and the liquid ejecting unit, and is provided with a piezoelectric film sensor that outputs an electric signal corresponding to strain of the detection plate portion. The piezoelectric film sensor includes a detection film portion in which a piezoelectric element that causes a voltage change corresponding to the strain is arranged, and an output circuit portion that converts the voltage change of the detection film portion into an electric signal and outputs the electric signal. The output circuit portion is provided on a second plate surface, which is a rear surface of a first plate surface facing the medium, of the detection plate portion.

A liquid ejecting apparatus includes: a heating unit which heats a medium; a head which ejects liquid droplets onto the medium opposed thereto; and a driving signal generating unit which generates a driving signal to be applied to the head in order to eject the liquid droplets and which generates a driving signal different in accordance with whether the heating unit is used.

Liquid ejecting apparatus and liquid ejecting method

A liquid ejecting apparatus includes: a liquid ejecting head having a nozzle opening for ejecting a liquid; a heating unit disposed opposite a liquid ejecting surface of the liquid ejecting head; a transport unit that transports a liquid-ejection-target medium between the liquid ejecting head and the heating unit; a blower unit that blows air onto a liquid-ejection-target surface of the medium; and a blowing control unit. The blower unit is able to vary an amount of air blown in a plurality of regions disposed along a certain direction, the plurality of regions including a region of the liquid-ejection-target medium, and the blowing control unit controls an amount of the air blown from the blower unit in the plurality of the regions along the certain direction on the basis of a width of the medium in the certain direction.

A liquid ejecting apparatus includes: a liquid ejecting head provided with nozzle orifices which eject liquid; a heater provided facing a liquid ejecting face of the liquid ejecting head; a transport section which transports an ejection-receiving medium between the liquid ejecting head and the heater; and a suction section which sucks the ejection-receiving medium toward the opposite side to the liquid ejecting head; wherein the suction section is provided so as to be able to change suction power in a plurality of regions along one direction of the ejection-receiving medium, and the liquid ejecting apparatus further includes a suction controller which controls the suction power in a plurality of regions of the suction section along one direction on the basis of the width in one direction of the ejection-receiving medium.

A liquid ejecting apparatus includes a liquid ejecting head with a pressure chamber communicating with a nozzle opening and a pressure generator capable of causing a pressure fluctuation to liquid in the pressure chamber. The liquid ejecting head discharges liquid droplets by operating the pressure generator. The drive signal generator generates a drive signal including a drive pulse which includes a first expanding element that expands the pressure chamber, a first discharging element that contracts the pressure chamber expanded by the first expanding element in order to discharge a liquid droplet, a second expanding element that expands the pressure chamber, and a second contracting element that contracts the pressure chamber. The time from the beginning of the first discharging element to the end of the second contracting element is set to &#xbd; to 1 of the natural vibration period of the liquid in the pressure chamber.

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Azumino, Japan

Seiji Ihara