JP5329490B2 - Printing device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To restrain deterioration in printing precision in the start of printing. <P>SOLUTION: A printer includes a holding means, a conveying means, a printing means, and an adhesion releasing means. The holding means holds a roll member around which a liner-less printing medium having an adhesive layer and a printing layer is wound in the form of a roll. The conveying means pulls out the free end of the printing medium from a roll member held by the holding means. The printing means prints information on the printing layer of the printing medium during the process of conveyance by conveying means. The adhesion releasing means releases the adhesive layer of the printing medium located in the peeling point of the roll member before the start of printing by the printing means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2012,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  Embodiments described herein relate generally to a printing apparatus.

  Conventionally, a label printer that prints information on a linerless label sheet that does not use a mount and issues a label is known.

  In general, in such a label printer, a linerless label having an adhesive layer and a print layer is held in a roll shape so that the roll paper can be rotated by a holding mechanism. The free end side of the linerless label is pulled out from the roll paper held by the holding mechanism and conveyed. In the conveyance process, information is printed on the print layer of the linerless label by the print head.

  By the way, in the conventional printer as described above, the label printer is not used for a long time because the free end side of the linerless label paper is always pulled out from the roll paper by a predetermined length. If left untreated, the adhesiveness at the peeling point released from the roll state of the linerless label paper tends to be stronger than the adhesiveness at the peeling point when continuous printing is performed.

  For this reason, in conventional printers, when the printing is started when the label is issued after being left unattended, the adhesion of the peeling point is strong, which causes a conveyance failure of the linerless label. As a result, the printing starts. There were inconveniences such as a decrease in printing accuracy.

The printing apparatus according to the embodiment includes a holding unit, a conveyance unit, a printing unit, a determination unit, and an adhesive release unit. The holding means holds a roll member in which a linerless type print medium having an adhesive layer and a print layer is wound in a roll shape. The transport means pulls the free end side of the print medium from the roll member held by the holding means and transports it. The printing unit prints information on the print layer of the print medium during the conveyance process by the conveyance unit. The determination means determines whether the solving condition is satisfied. When it is determined by the determining means that the releasing condition is satisfied , the adhesion releasing means releases the adhesive layer of the print medium located at the peeling point of the roll member before starting printing by the printing means.

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal side view showing the configuration of the label printer of the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the label printer of FIG. 1 viewed from above. FIG. 3 is a side view showing the configuration of the roll paper. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the label printer according to the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the label printer according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of print control executed by the print control unit. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing detailed processing operations of the steps of FIG. FIG. 8 is a longitudinal side view showing the configuration of the label printer of the second embodiment. FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the label printer according to the second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining the processing operation of the label printer of the second embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  In the following, a description will be given of the case of a label printer that is installed in a backyard of a store that sells merchandise and issues a label that prints information related to merchandise such as food as the printing apparatus of the present embodiment.

(First embodiment)
1 and 2 are diagrams for explaining a schematic configuration of the label printer 1 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 1 is a longitudinal side view showing a longitudinal section of the label printer 1, and FIG. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the label printer 1 shown in FIG. 1 as viewed from above.

  As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a roll paper holding unit 11, a platen roller 12, a print head 13, an adhesive release unit (adhesion release means) are provided inside a main body housing (housing) 10 of the label printer 1. ) 14 etc. are provided.

  The roll paper holding unit 11 holds the roll paper (roll member) 2 (see FIG. 3), in which the linerless label paper (printing medium) 20 is wound in a roll shape, rotatably via a rotation shaft. It is.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the roll paper 2, FIG. 3 (a) is a side view showing the side of the roll paper 2, and FIGS. 3 (b) to 3 (d) FIG. 4 is an enlarged view showing a partial enlargement of a side surface of the roll paper 2 of FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 3A, the roll paper 2 has a linerless label paper 20 wound in a roll shape. As shown in FIG. 3B, the linerless label paper 20 is formed with perforations (cutting lines) 24 at predetermined intervals L so that the user can easily cut into label units of a predetermined length. Has been.

  As shown in FIG. 3C, the linerless label paper 20 includes a base material layer (printing layer) 21 such as a color former and a release agent formed on both sides of the base material layer 21 respectively. It is composed of a release layer 22 and an adhesive layer 23 such as an adhesive. In the roll paper 2 of the present embodiment, the linerless label paper 20 is wound so that the release layer 22 is disposed on the outer side and the adhesive layer 23 is disposed on the inner side (FIG. 3A to FIG. 3). (See (c)).

  In this type of roll paper 2, as shown in FIG. 3A, the linerless label paper 20 is wound in a roll shape, so that a portion 23a of the adhesive layer 23 located above is There is a tendency to enter the gap which is the perforation 24 of the release layer 22 located below (see FIG. 3D).

  For this reason, in the conventional label printer, the liner drawn out at the peeling point P that is released from the roll state of the linerless label paper 20 drawn out from the roll paper 2 at the start of printing other than during continuous printing. If the perforation 24 of the linerless label paper 20 in the roll state located below the less label paper 20 is located, a conveyance failure of the linerless label paper 20 occurs, and as a result, the printing accuracy at the start of printing is improved. There were problems such as lowering.

  Returning to FIGS. 1 and 2, the platen roller 12 presses and holds the linerless label paper 20 with the print head 13, and is rotated by a motor (see FIG. 4) 121 to be rotated by the roll paper holding unit 11. It is a conveying means for pulling out the free end side of the linerless label paper 20 from the held roll paper 2 and conveying it in the direction (conveying direction) of the label issuing port 10a.

  The print head 13 is a thermal head having a heating element 13a composed of a plurality of heating elements arranged in a line, and heat is applied to the base material layer 21 of the linerless label paper 20 using the heating element 13a. In addition, it is a printing unit that prints information on the linerless label paper 20.

  The adhesion releasing unit 14 includes an initialization roller (contact means) 141, an auxiliary roller 142, an urging member 143, a vertical drive unit (drive means) 144, and the like. Is established, it is an adhesive release means for releasing the adhesive layer 23 of the linerless label paper 20 located at the peeling point P of the roll paper 2.

  Here, the initialization roller 141 is a gear-shaped roller that comes into contact with the adhesive layer 23 side of the linerless label paper 20 drawn from the roll paper 2, and is a member that suppresses adhesion of the adhesive layer 23 (for example, silicon Formed of a coated metal member or the like.

  The auxiliary roller 142 is a roller for assisting the conveyance of the linerless label paper 20 by the platen roller 12.

  The biasing member 143 has an upper end fixed to the main body housing 10 and a lower end fixed to the auxiliary roller 142, and applies a biasing force for pressing the auxiliary roller 142 against the initialization roller 141. An urging means such as a spring.

  The vertical drive unit 144 is composed of a solenoid, a drive motor, and the like. The linerless label paper 20 pulled out and held from the roll paper 2 is separated from the adhesive layer 23 side (lower side) to the release layer 22 side (upper side). Or in the direction of movement intersecting the surface of the linerless label paper 20, or the direction from the release layer 22 side (upper side) to the adhesive layer 23 (lower side), ie, the linerless label paper 20 Drive means for driving the initialization roller 141 in the up-down direction A in order to move it in the direction of movement intersecting the plane.

  That is, the adhesive release unit 14 removes unnecessary adhesive force due to leaving at the peeling point P by driving the initialization roller 141 in the moving direction by the vertical drive unit 144 at a timing before printing is started. Alternatively, when the perforation 24 as described above is positioned at the peeling point P, the peeling point P is set so as to peel off a part 23a of the adhesive layer 23 entering the perforation 24. For example, the adhesive layer 23 of the linerless label paper 2 is unwound.

  In the label printer 1 described above, the roll paper 2 held by the roll paper holding unit 11 can be exchanged for various types by the user who uses the label printer 1.

  That is, in the label printer 1 configured as described above, when a desired roll paper 2 is set by a user or the like, information to be printed is set by the user or the like and a label issuance instruction is issued, the platen roller 12 rotates. By being driven, the linerless label paper 20 is pulled out from the roll paper 2 held by the roll paper holding unit 11 and conveyed while being sandwiched between the print head 13 and the platen roller 12.

  Then, the print head 13 is driven and heated in the above-described conveyance process, and the print surface of the linerless label paper 20 is heated, so that information according to the print data (ie, product name, price, bar) Information on products such as codes) is printed and discharged from the label issuing port 10a in units of labels.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram for explaining a hardware configuration inside the main body housing 10 of the label printer 1 according to the first embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the label printer 1 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 101, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 102, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 103, a nonvolatile memory 104, a bus line BL, and the like. An input unit 105, a display unit 106, a printing unit 107, a communication I / F 108, an adhesion releasing unit 14, and the like are connected, and further, a power source for supplying power necessary for the operation to each of these component units A supply unit 109 and the like are mounted.

  Here, the CPU 101 develops and executes a program stored in the ROM 102 in the RAM 103, thereby controlling the entire label printer 1 and also functions as a print control unit 200 (see FIG. 5) described later.

  The ROM 102 stores files such as various programs and various data used in the processing of the various programs. The RAM 103 temporarily stores working data. The nonvolatile memory 104 stores print data received from an external device (not shown) such as a store server.

  The input unit 105 includes a keyboard 105a including various function keys, an input controller 105b, and the like, and inputs an operation signal.

  The display unit 106 includes a display device 106a, a display controller 106b, and the like, and displays various information on the display device.

  The print unit 107 includes a print head 13, a head driver 131a that controls driving and heat generation of the print head 13, a motor 121 that rotates the platen roller 12, a motor driver 121a that controls rotation of the motor, and the like. doing.

  The communication I / F 108 is a communication interface for performing communication with a host device (not shown) such as a store server in accordance with a predetermined wireless communication standard such as a wireless LAN (Local Area Network) or a wired communication standard.

  The debonding unit 14 includes the initialization roller 141, the auxiliary roller 142 (see FIG. 1), the urging member 143 (see FIG. 1), the vertical drive unit 144, and the like, and is driven by the driving force of the vertical drive unit 144. By driving the initialization roller 141 in the vertical direction, the above-described debonding operation is performed.

  The power supply unit 109 converts power from an external power source (not shown) such as a commercial power source into power necessary for each load unit such as the motor 121 and supplies the power to each load unit.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram for explaining a functional configuration of the label printer 1.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the label printer 1 of the present embodiment has a print control unit 200 including a disassembling condition determination unit 210, an adhesion release control unit 220, and a print unit control unit 230 as a functional configuration. Yes.

  The solving condition determination unit 210 determines whether the releasing condition is satisfied when a label issuing command is generated.

  For example, each time the label unit printing is completed, the unraveling condition determination unit 210 counts the amount of time until the next label printing starts and stores it in the non-volatile memory 104 or the like. When a command is generated, the label is obtained by comparing the leaving time held in the nonvolatile memory 104 with the printing interval time during continuous printing stored in advance in the ROM 102, the nonvolatile memory 104, or the like. It is determined whether the printing process by the issue command is a printing process other than continuous printing. If it is determined that the printing process is not continuous printing, it is necessary to execute the solving process, that is, the releasing condition is satisfied. It is determined that

  The debonding control unit 220 executes and controls the aforementioned debonding process.

  The print unit control unit 230 includes a conveyance control unit 231 and a print head control unit 232, and controls the printing operation in the print unit 107.

  The transport control unit 231 controls the transport of the linerless label paper 20 by controlling the rotation of the motor 121 that rotationally drives the platen roller 12.

  The print head control unit 232 controls the movement of the print head 13 and controls the heat energy applied to the heating element 13 a of the print head 13.

  Next, the processing operation in the label printer 1 described above will be described.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining a printing control processing procedure executed by the printing control unit 200.

  As shown in FIG. 6, in a state in which power is supplied from the external power source to the label printer 1 via the power supply unit 109, the print control unit 200 waits for a label issue command generated by a user operation or the like. (Step S1).

  If a label issuing command is generated (step S1: Yes), then, in step S2, the solving condition determination unit 210 determines whether a predetermined releasing condition other than during continuous printing is satisfied. To do.

  As a result of this determination, if it is determined that a predetermined release condition is satisfied (step S2: Yes), then, in step S3, the adhesion release control unit 220 performs the adhesion release process (see FIG. 7). ).

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining the detailed processing operation of step S3.

  As shown in FIG. 7, in this debonding process, first, in step S31, the vertical driving unit 144 is controlled to drive the initialization roller 141 upward by a predetermined amount (for example, 5 mm) from the reference position. Thereafter, in step S32, the vertical driving unit 144 is controlled to drive the initialization roller 141 downward to the reference position.

  Returning to FIG. 6, subsequently, in step S <b> 4, the printing unit control unit 230 executes a printing process.

  Specifically, in the process of step S4, the conveyance control unit 231 controls the rotation of the motor 121 to rotate the platen roller 12 to control the conveyance of the linerless label paper 20, and the print head control unit 232 In addition to controlling the movement of the print head 13, the thermal energy of the heating element 13a is controlled to print information according to the print data on the linerless label paper 20 and issue a label from the label issuing port 10a.

  If it is determined as a result of the determination in step S2 that the predetermined releasing condition is not satisfied (step S2: No), the printing in step S4 is performed without executing the adhesive releasing process in step S3. Execute the process.

  That is, according to the first embodiment described above, by driving the linerless label paper 20 pulled out from the roll paper 2 by the debonding unit 14 in the vertical direction at a timing such as before printing starts, Unnecessary adhesive force caused by leaving the peeling point P for a period of time is removed, or when the perforation 24 is located at the peeling point P, a part 23a of the adhesive layer 23 that has entered the perforation 24 is drawn out. As described above, since the peeling point P can be changed to another peeling point, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of poor conveyance of the linerless label paper 20 at the start of printing and to reduce the printing accuracy at the start of the printing. Can be suppressed.

(Second Embodiment)
Hereinafter, the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 8 is a vertical side view for explaining a schematic configuration of the label printer 1A of the second embodiment, and FIG. 9 shows hardware inside the main body housing 10 of the label printer 1A of the second embodiment. It is a block diagram for demonstrating a structure.

  As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the difference between the label printer 1A and the label printer 1 of the first embodiment (see FIG. 1) is that the auxiliary roller 142 of the debonding unit 14 is left, It is the point which newly provided the adhesion release part 15 from which the adhesion release part 14 and a component differ. In this case, the auxiliary roller 142 is fixed to the main body housing 10.

  That is, the debonding unit 15 includes a rotation shaft 151 that rotates the fitted roll paper 2, a rotation drive unit 152 that applies a rotation driving force to the rotation shaft 151, and the like. This is an adhesive releasing means for releasing the adhesive layer 23 of the linerless label paper 20 located at the peeling point P of the roll paper 2 when the conditions are satisfied before.

  More specifically, the debonding unit 15 rotates at the peeling point P by rotating the rotation shaft 151 in the conveyance direction of the linerless label paper 20 by the rotation driving unit 152 at a timing such as before printing is started. Unnecessary adhesive force due to standing for a long time is removed, or when the perforation 24 as described above is located at the peeling point P, a part 23a of the adhesive layer 23 entering the perforation 24 is pulled. The peeling point P is changed to another peeling point so as to peel off.

  Note that, in the print control processing procedure executed by the label printer 1A of the second embodiment, the print control executed by the label printer 1 of the first embodiment other than the processing of step S3 shown in FIG. Therefore, only the different processing will be described below with reference to FIG.

  That is, FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining the detailed processing operation of step S3 of FIG. 6 applied to the label printer 1A of the second embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 10, in this debonding process, first, in step S310, the rotation drive unit 152 is controlled to move the rotation shaft 151 to the conveying direction side (forward direction side) of the linerless label paper 20 (a predetermined amount). For example, it is driven to rotate by a half circumference of the rotation shaft 151. Thereafter, in step S320, the rotation drive unit 152 is controlled to rotate the rotation shaft 151 by a predetermined amount (for example, a half circumference of the rotation shaft 151) in the direction opposite to the conveyance direction.

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 10, the embodiment has been described in which the roll paper 2 is rotated in the conveyance direction side (forward direction side) and then rotated in the opposite direction to the conveyance direction to return to the original position. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is also possible to adopt a form in which the printing process in step S4 is executed as it is without rotating in the reverse direction.

  That is, according to the second embodiment described above, the same effect as that of the first embodiment can be obtained by rotating the roll paper 2 by the debonding unit 15 at a timing before the start of printing. It is possible.

  As mentioned above, although demonstrated based on exemplary embodiment, this embodiment is not limited by above-described embodiment.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, as a method for determining whether or not the predetermined release condition is satisfied, the leaving time from the completion of the previous label printing to the start of printing of the current label is a predetermined time (during continuous printing). Although the method for determining whether or not the condition is satisfied based on whether or not the time is longer than the printing sense time) is not limited thereto, other determination methods may be used.

  For example, as another determination method, there is provided a measuring means for measuring the installation environment state of the label printer 1 (linerless label paper 20) such as the leaving temperature and the leaving humidity, and the measured values (leaving temperature, leaving temperature) by the measuring means are provided. There is a method for determining whether or not a predetermined solving condition is satisfied by comparing the magnitude relationship between a predetermined threshold (reference temperature, reference humidity, etc.). Specifically, for example, when the leaving temperature is lower than the reference temperature or when the leaving humidity is lower than the reference humidity, it is determined that the solving condition is satisfied. In addition, as another determination method, there is a determination method in which the above-described leaving time and installation environment state are combined.

  In the above-described embodiment, the disassembling process in the case where power from the external power source is continuously supplied to the label printer 1 has been described. However, for example, when the power of the label printer 1 is shut off, for example. It is also possible to configure so as to cope with the above.

  Specifically, when the label printer 1 has a label issuing command in step S1 of FIG. 6 at the time of the first printing process at the time of power restoration, that is, at the time of power restoration, the label printer 1 is non-volatile in the determination of step S2 in FIG. Regardless of the information held in the memory 104, it is always determined that the solving condition has been satisfied (step S2: Yes), and the process is shifted to step S3 to perform the adhesive-dissolving process. .

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case of the thermal label printer that prints on the thermal type roll paper 2 has been described. However, a label printer of a printing system other than this may be used.

  Specifically, a linerless label that uses an ink ribbon and is not a heat-sensitive type roll paper, but a peeled surface on the front side and a pressure-sensitive adhesive side on the back side. A thermal transfer type label printer which uses a roll paper in which the paper is wound in a roll shape, heats and softens the heat-soluble ink applied to the ink ribbon by the print head 12, and adheres to the print surface; It is also possible to do.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case of the label printer configured to convey the linerless label paper 20 via the auxiliary roller 142 has been described. However, for example, the linerless label can be used without using the auxiliary roller 142. It is also possible to use a label printer that transports the paper 20.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case of a single label printer that is installed in a backyard of a store that sells products and issues a label on which information related to products such as food is printed has been described. For example, the present invention can also be applied as a printer portion mounted inside an information processing apparatus such as a POS terminal.

  Various programs executed by the label printer 1 of the above-described embodiment may be provided so as to be incorporated in a storage unit such as a ROM, or may be provided by being recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. You may comprise, and you may comprise so that it may provide or distribute via networks, such as the internet.

  In addition, the hardware configuration (particularly, the adhesive release units 14 and 15) and the functional configuration of the label printer 1 in the above-described embodiment, the structure and material of the roll paper 2 and the linerless label paper 20 are described as examples only. However, the present embodiment is not limited to these.

1, 1A Label printer (printing device)
11 Roll paper holder (holding means)
12 Platen roller (conveying means)
13 Print head (printing means)
14, 15 Adhesion release part (adhesion release means)
141 Initializing roller (contact means)
142 Auxiliary roller 143 Biasing member 144 Vertical drive unit (drive means)
151 Rotating shaft (holding means)
152 Rotation Drive Unit (Drive Unit)
210 Dissolving condition determination unit (determination means)
220 Adhesion Release Control Unit 230 Print Unit Control Unit 231 Transport Control Unit 232 Print Head Control Unit 2 Roll Paper (Roll Member)
20 Linerless label paper (printing medium)

JP 2010-5943 A

Claims (6)

A holding means for holding a roll member in which a linerless type print medium having an adhesive layer and a print layer is wound in a roll; and
Conveying means for pulling out and conveying the free end side of the print medium from the roll member held by the holding means;
Printing means for printing information on a print layer of a printing medium in the course of conveyance by the conveyance means;
Determining means for determining whether or not the condition is satisfied;
If it is determined by the determination means that the release condition has been established , the adhesive release means for releasing the adhesive layer of the print medium located at the peeling point of the roll member before starting printing by the printing means;
A printing apparatus. The printing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the debonding unit moves the print medium pulled out and held from the roll member in a moving direction that intersects a surface of the print medium. The printing apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the debonding unit includes a contact unit that contacts the held print medium and a drive unit that drives the contact unit in the moving direction. The printing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the debonding unit rotates the roll member held by the holding unit in a conveyance direction side of the print medium. A holding means for holding a roll member in which a linerless type print medium having an adhesive layer and a print layer is wound in a roll; and
Conveying means for pulling out and conveying the free end side of the print medium from the roll member held by the holding means;
Printing means for printing information on a print layer of a printing medium in the course of conveyance by the conveyance means;
Abutting means that abuts on a print medium that is pulled out and held by the roll member; and a driving means that drives the contact means in a moving direction that intersects the surface of the held print medium, An adhesive release means for releasing the adhesive layer of the print medium located at the peeling point of the roll member by moving the held print medium in the moving direction before starting printing by the printing means;
A printing apparatus. Cutting lines are formed at predetermined intervals on the print medium,
6. The roll member according to claim 1, wherein the print medium is wound in a roll shape so that the adhesive layer of the print medium is on the inside and the print layer of the print medium is on the outside. The printing device according to one item.

Images