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

A printing apparatus comprising:

• a sheet conveying apparatus including
• a supply unit configured to supply a sheet;
• 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;
• 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;
• 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 first switching unit, the first tension applying unit adjusts the tension of the sheet while the detection unit detects the tension of the sheet, and
• the first tension applying unit is disposed upstream of the first switching unit with respect to the conveyance direction.

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.

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.

A sheet conveying apparatus comprising:

• 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, 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.