JP7739864B2 - Printing device, printing control method and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a printing device, a printing control method, and a program.

BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, there is known a printing device that prints characters, figures, etc. using a print head (e.g., a thermal head) while transporting a print medium such as a tape material, and then cuts the printed print medium with a cutting means (cutter) to create a label.
In such printing devices, in addition to a full-cut mechanism that cuts the entire thickness of the printing medium, a half-cut mechanism is known that performs a half-cut by making an incision halfway through the thickness of the printing medium, including the printing surface, to make it easier to peel it off from the backing paper (release paper) (see Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-6480

However, even with a configuration having the cutting means described above, there may be cases where the print medium cannot be cut appropriately depending on the length of the portion where printing is performed (print length).
When the cutting means is unable to automatically cut the print medium, the user must determine the cutting position himself, which causes a problem of variation in the length of the cut print medium.

The present invention was made in consideration of the above circumstances, and aims to provide a printing device, printing control method, and program that can trim the print medium at the appropriate position regardless of the print length.

In order to solve the above problems, the printing device of the present invention comprises:
a printing means for printing on a print medium;
a cutting means for cutting the print medium along the medium width direction;
a control means for controlling the printing means so as to provide blank spaces before and after the area where the actual printing of the print content is performed by the printing means;
Equipped with
The control means is characterized in that, if the printing length of the portion where the main printing is performed is shorter than the distance between the printing means and the cutting means minus the length of the margin portion , it controls the operation of the printing means to cause the printing means to print an identification mark indicating the cutting position at the position on the printed medium to be cut.

This invention has the advantage of being able to trim the print medium at the appropriate position regardless of the print length.

FIG. 1 is a plan view schematically illustrating an external configuration of a printing device according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the printing device shown in FIG. 1 with the cover open. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a main part of the control configuration of the printing apparatus according to the embodiment. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a print control process according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing a printing procedure when printing a long print length using the printing device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing a printing procedure when printing a long print length using the printing device according to the first embodiment. 3A and 3B are explanatory diagrams illustrating a printing procedure when printing a short print length using the printing device according to the first embodiment; 10 is a flowchart illustrating a print control process according to a second embodiment. 10A and 10B are explanatory diagrams illustrating a printing procedure when printing a short print length using a printing device according to a second embodiment.

[First embodiment]
A first embodiment of a printing apparatus, a printing control method, and a program according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
It should be noted that the embodiments described below are subject to various limitations that are technically preferable for carrying out the present invention, but the scope of the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments and illustrated examples.

Fig. 1 is a plan view schematically showing the external configuration of a printing device according to this embodiment, Fig. 2 is a plan view showing the printing device shown in Fig. 1 with the cover open, and Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing the main parts of the functional configuration of the printing device.
The printing device 1 of this embodiment is a label printer that prints on a tape member 5, which is a long print medium, to create a label 50 (see FIG. 5, etc.).
In the following, a thermal label printer using thermal paper will be described as an example, but the printing method is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, a thermal transfer method using an ink ribbon.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the printing device 1 includes a device housing 2 having a cassette storage section 21 therein.
The cassette housing portion 21 houses a tape cassette 51. The tape cassette 51 houses the tape member 5 and an ink ribbon (not shown).
A lid 3 is provided on a portion of the device housing 2 in a position that covers the cassette housing section 21. When a button 3a is pressed, a locking mechanism (not shown) of the lid 3 is released, and the lid 3 rotates upward and opens as shown in Fig. 2. With the lid 3 in the open state, the user can insert or remove the tape cassette 51.

In this embodiment, the corners of the tape cassette 51 are provided with notches, recesses, and other irregularities (not shown) at different positions depending on the type of tape material 5 stored therein, such as the tape width. A tape type detection unit (not shown) that detects the presence or absence of irregularities on the tape cassette 5 is provided within the cassette storage unit 21 at positions corresponding to the corners of the tape cassette 51. By obtaining detection information from the tape type detection unit, the control unit 10 can determine the type of tape material 5 stored in the tape cassette 51, such as the tape width, and whether the tape cassette 51 is set in the cassette storage unit 21.

Also provided within the cassette housing section 21 is a printing means for printing on the tape member 5, which is a long print medium.
In this embodiment, the printing means includes a thermal head 7 (see FIG. 2, etc.) equipped with a plurality of heating elements 71. The operation of the thermal head 7 (heating elements 71) is controlled by a head drive circuit 17 (see FIG. 3), and printing is performed in accordance with print data.
The plurality of heating elements 71 are arranged across the width of the tape medium 5 when the tape cassette 51 is housed in the cassette housing portion 21 .
A thermistor 72 (see FIG. 3) is embedded in the thermal head 7. The thermistor 72 measures the temperature of the thermal head 7 (heating element 71) and outputs the temperature to the control unit 10.

A platen roller 8 is provided at a position opposite the thermal head 7 with the tape member 5 sandwiched therebetween as a transport means for transporting the tape member 5, which is a print medium, in a transport direction along the lengthwise direction.
2, the platen roller 8 faces the thermal head 7 at a portion where the heating elements 71 are arranged. When the tape member 5 passes between the platen roller 8 and the thermal head 7, the platen roller 8 presses the tape member 5 against the thermal head 7 (heating elements 71). This causes printing to occur, and the portion where the platen roller 8 faces the thermal head 7 (heating elements 71) is the "printing position P" in this embodiment.

The platen roller 8 is a transport mechanism that is rotated by a transport motor 80 (see FIG. 3 ) described below and that appropriately transports the tape material 5 along the transport direction (the longitudinal direction of the tape material 5). In this embodiment, the platen roller 8 that is the transport mechanism is configured to perform forward transport, that is, transporting the tape material 5 in a forward direction (a direction from upstream to downstream in the transport direction, the forward direction) from the thermal head 7 that is the printing means toward an outlet 22 that discharges the tape material 5 to the outside of the device.
Furthermore, a tape core engagement shaft that engages with the tape core around which the tape member 5 in the tape cassette 51 is wound in a roll, and a take-up shaft that takes up the printed ink ribbon (neither of which is shown) are provided inside the cassette accommodating section 21. The take-up shaft is rotated by a drive motor (not shown) to appropriately take up the ink ribbon.

A discharge outlet 22 is formed on the side of the device housing 2 (in this embodiment, the right side as shown in Figure 1) at a position corresponding to the cassette storage section 21, and serves as a discharge section through which labels 50 cut off from the tape member 5 after printing are discharged. The tape member 5 (labels 50) that have been printed within the printing device 1 are discharged from the device through the discharge outlet 22.

A full-cut mechanism 9 a and a half-cut mechanism 9 b are provided as cutting mechanisms for cutting the tape material 5 between the thermal head 7 , which is a printing means, and the discharge outlet 22 inside the device housing 2 .
The full-cut mechanism 9a and the half-cut mechanism 9b are both provided across the width of the tape member 5 and are cutting means that cut the tape member 5, which is the printing medium, along the medium width direction. In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 2 etc., the full-cut mechanism 9a is arranged downstream in the transport direction of the thermal head 7, which is the printing means, and the half-cut mechanism 9b is arranged further downstream in the transport direction than the full-cut mechanism 9a.

Although not shown in the figure, the tape member 5, which is the printing medium in this embodiment, comprises a base material having an adhesive layer (not shown), and a release layer (release paper) that is arranged to cover the adhesive layer and is peeled off from the base material when the label 50 is used (applied).
The full cut mechanism 9a has a cutting blade that cuts the substrate of the tape member 5, which is the print medium, along the width direction together with the release layer, and performs a so-called full cut operation that cuts the entire thickness direction of the tape member 5. The full cut mechanism 9a forms a full cut portion Fc (see FIGS. 6 and 7) that cuts all layers of the tape member 5 (i.e., the substrate and release layer). The full cut mechanism 9a performs the cutting operation using the power of a full cut mechanism drive motor 90a (see FIG. 3).

The half-cut mechanism 9b has a cutting blade that cuts only the base material of the tape member 5 widthwise, and performs a so-called half-cut operation, cutting a portion of the tape member 5 in the thickness direction. The half-cut mechanism 9b forms a half-cut portion Hc (see Figure 5) by cutting a portion of the layer (i.e., the base material) of the tape member 5. The half-cut mechanism 9b performs the cutting operation using the power of the half-cut mechanism drive motor 90b (see Figure 3).

In the embodiment, the position of the printing means (specifically, the portion where the platen roller 8 and the thermal head 7 (heating element 71) face each other) is referred to as the "printing position P," the position where the full cut mechanism 9a (more specifically, the center of the cutting blade of the full cut mechanism 9a, not shown) is located is referred to as the "full cut position Q," and the position where the half cut mechanism 9b (more specifically, the center of the cutting blade of the half cut mechanism 9b, not shown) is located is referred to as the "half cut position R" (see Figure 5, etc.).
Furthermore, the distance between the "printing position P" and the "half-cutting position R" is "X", and the distance between the "printing position P" and the "full-cutting position Q" is "Y" (see FIG. 5, etc.).

The lid 3 is also formed with a window 31 so that even when the lid 3 is closed, it is possible to visually check whether or not a tape cassette 51 is stored in the printing device 1. The lid 3 is also provided with a display unit 4.
The display unit 4 is configured by, for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic electroluminescence display, or another flat display.
In this embodiment, the display unit 4 may display various setting values input by the user, as well as character strings and designs to be printed on the label 50, so that the user can check them.

In this embodiment, the half-cut portion Hc (see FIG. 5) cannot be formed depending on the "print length Z" described below. In this case, a message or the like may be displayed on the display unit 4 to inform the user that half-cutting is not possible with the "print content" set by the user ("print length Z" derived from the length of the text string of the "print content" to be printed on the label 50).
A touch panel for various inputs may be integrally formed on the surface of the display unit 4. In this case, the touch panel also functions as the input unit 6.

An input unit 6 is also provided on the device housing 2 .
The input unit 6 includes various keys such as character input keys, a cross key, a conversion key, and an enter key.
As mentioned above, if a touch panel is integrally provided on the surface of the display unit 4, the touch panel functions as the input unit 6, and the user can perform various input, setting, and other operations by touching the touch panel.

As shown in FIG. 3, the printing device 1 includes the display unit 4, input unit 6, thermal head 7 (heating element 71), thermistor 72, platen roller 8, full-cut mechanism 9a, and half-cut mechanism 9b, as well as a control unit 10, memory unit 11, power supply circuit 12, display unit drive circuit 14, head drive circuit 17, conveyor motor drive circuit 18, and cutter motor drive circuit 19.

The control unit 10 is a control means including a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit).
The storage unit 11 also includes a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory), both not shown, and a FLASH (registered trademark) memory, which is a non-volatile semiconductor memory that functions as a ROM and a RAM.
The control unit 10 and the memory unit 11 constitute a computer, and the control unit 10 expands and executes various programs stored in ROM, etc., in the working area of RAM, thereby controlling the operation of each part of the printing device 1 in an integrated manner.

Specifically, the control unit 10 cooperates with a program (for example, a print processing application program) to realize various functions for the printing device 1 to perform printing.
Each function of the control unit 10 may be realized by the control unit 10 executing a program (software), or may be realized by a dedicated module (hardware).

In particular, in this embodiment, as will be described later, the control unit 10 functions as a main print control unit that operates the thermal head 7 via the head drive circuit 17 and prints the “print content” on the tape member 5.
Here, "print content" refers to the specific content of the print input/set by the user, etc., and specifically refers to characters, symbols, illustrations, etc. "Main printing" refers to printing the "print content" among the printing operations performed by the thermal head 7, and by performing main printing, labels 50 (see FIGS. 5 to 7) are created on which various "print content" has been printed.
In this embodiment, the length of the label 50 on which the "print content" is printed in the longitudinal direction of the medium (the length in the direction perpendicular to the width direction of the tape member 5) is referred to as the "print length Z" (see Figures 5 to 7).

A margin of a certain width (length) ("margin A" in FIGS. 5 to 7) can be set before and after each label 50. When printing multiple labels 50 repeatedly, margin A is provided between each label 50 (see FIGS. 5 to 7).
The margin A is set by the user inputting it from the input unit 6, for example. Note that the margin A may be selectable from the input unit 6, for example, as 2 mm, 5 mm, 10 mm, etc. Alternatively, a fixed width (for example, 3 mm) of the margin A may be set as the default. When the value of the margin A is set in advance in this way, the user may be able to fine-tune the width of the margin A by operating a "+ key" or "- key" (not shown) provided on the input unit 6.
When printing multiple labels 50 repeatedly, if margin A is set to "0" (i.e., "no feed"), the characters and other information set as "print content" will be printed the set number of times in a tight, tightly packed state without any margins. In this embodiment, the "print content" that is repeatedly printed is treated as a whole, and as a rule, no half cut is performed between each "print content." However, even in this case, the user can set a different process.

The control unit 10 also functions as a cutting control unit that operates the full-cut mechanism 9a and the half-cut mechanism 9b via the cutter motor drive circuit 19 to cut the tape medium 5 along the medium width direction.
Furthermore, the control unit 10 functions as a cutting feasibility determination unit that determines whether or not a cutting operation can be performed during a printing operation based on the relationship between the length in the longitudinal direction of the medium (referred to as the "printing length Z") of the portion (in principle, each label 50) where the actual printing, in which the "printing content" is printed by the thermal head 7, which is the printing means, is performed, and the distance "X" from the reference position (in this embodiment, the "printing position P") to the cutting means (in this embodiment, the "half-cut position R" where the center of the cutting blade of the half-cut mechanism 9b is located).
Specifically, the control unit 10 compares the "print length Z" with the distance "X" from the "print position P" to the "half-cut position R." In this embodiment, a margin A is set before and after the label 50, and the control unit 10 compares the "print length Z" with the distance "X" minus the length of the margin A.

If it is determined that the cutting operation is not possible, the control unit 10 also functions as a mark printing control unit that controls the operation of the thermal head 7, which is the printing means, and the half-cut mechanism 9b so that, instead of performing a half-cut, a cut mark (in this embodiment, a half-cut mark) MH (see Figure 7) is printed by the thermal head 7, which is the printing means, at the position on the tape member 5, which is the printing medium, to be cut, as an identification mark indicating that this is the cutting position.
The print control by the control unit 10 will be described in detail later.

The memory unit 11 (for example, a flash memory serving as the memory unit 11) stores a program for printing on the tape member 5 (such as the program's source code), and various data required to execute the program (for example, character data consisting of several fonts (kanji, katakana, hiragana, alphabet, etc.), data on symbols and figures, spacing between figures and characters, predetermined margins, and various other data required for printing operations). Furthermore, if there is data created by the user, this data is also saved in the memory unit 11.

The power supply circuit 12 is a power supply unit that generates an output voltage from the voltage from the power supply and supplies power to each unit of the printing device 1 .
The power source may be an internal battery or the like, or an external power source connected via a cable or the like.

The display unit drive circuit 14 is a controller that controls the operation of the display unit 4, and under the control of the control unit 10, controls the driver of the display unit 4 to display based on the display data.
That is, the display unit drive circuit 14 receives display data output from the control unit 10, and causes the display unit 4 to display various display screens based on this display data.

The head driving circuit 17 is a head driving section that drives the thermal head 7 (heating elements 71 ) based on control signals and print data supplied from the control section 10 .
When the user issues a print command, data specifying characters, symbols, figures, etc. selected or input by the user from the input unit 6 or the like for creating the label 50 is sent as print data to the head drive circuit 17 via the control unit 10. The head drive circuit 17 controls whether to apply or not apply voltage to the multiple heating elements 71 based on the print data.
The head drive circuit 17 selectively supplies current to the heating elements 71 in accordance with print data, causing the heating elements 71 to generate heat and heat the ink ribbon, thereby causing the thermal head 7 to print on the tape medium 5 by thermal transfer.

The conveyor motor drive circuit 18 drives the conveyor motor 80 to rotate the platen roller 8 .
The conveyor motor 80 is, for example, a stepping motor, and enables accurate conveyance by driving it in steps corresponding to the pulse signal input by the conveyor motor drive circuit 18. As described above, the platen roller 8 in this embodiment can rotate in the forward direction (positive direction) in the conveyance direction, and the conveyor motor drive circuit 18 inputs an appropriate signal to the conveyor motor 80 to rotate the platen roller 8 in the forward direction.

During printing, the transport motor drive circuit 18 controls the drive of the transport motor 80 so that the rotation of the platen roller 8 (i.e., the transport operation of the tape member 5) is synchronized with the speed at which printing is progressing by the thermal head 7.
During printing, a drive motor (not shown) that rotates the take-up shaft that takes up the ink ribbon also operates in synchronization with the rotation of the platen roller 8, so that the transport of the tape material 5, printing by the thermal head 7, and take-up of the printed ink ribbon are all timed with high precision.

The cutter motor drive circuit 19 controls the operation of the full-cut mechanism drive motor 90a, which operates the full-cut mechanism 9a, and the half-cut mechanism drive motor 90b, which operates the half-cut mechanism 9b. This allows the tape material 5 to be fully or partially cut at the appropriate position.

The print control method of this embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the print control process in this embodiment, and FIGS. 5 to 7 are explanatory diagrams that schematically show the processing procedure when printing is performed by the printing device according to this embodiment.
In this embodiment, when the user inputs characters or the like to be printed on the label 50 via the input unit 6 or the like, the input content is acquired by the control unit 10 as print content data, as shown in FIG. 4 (step S1).
The control unit 10 acquires the print length Z based on the print content data (step S2). For example, the control unit 10 determines the length (print length Z) of the printed content based on the number of characters of the print content input by the user. If information such as font has been set, the control unit 10 determines the print length Z taking into account the set font, etc.
When the user inputs information about the margin A from the input unit 6 or the like, the setting of the margin A having the width (length) according to the input is accepted by the control unit 10 (step S3).

Next, the control unit 10 calculates the "half-cut feed length" (step S4). Here, the "half-cut feed length" is the distance obtained by subtracting the length of the margin A from the distance "X" from the "print position P" to the "half-cut position R."
In other words, the position on the tape member 5 where the half-cut portion Hc should be formed is downstream (downstream in the transport direction, to the right in FIG. 5 etc.) of the range of the label 50 where the "print content" is printed, by the length of the margin A. Therefore, the distance "X" from the "printing position P" where printing of the label 50 starts to the "half-cut position R" minus the length of the margin A provided downstream of the label 50 is the "half-cut feed length" (i.e., the distance until the position on the tape member 5 where the half-cut portion Hc should be formed is located at the "half-cut position R", the feed amount of the tape member 5). Note that the distance "X" from the "printing position P" to the "half-cut position R" is a value known by the device.

Once the "half-cut feed length" is calculated, the control unit 10 determines whether the "print length Z" is greater than the "half-cut feed length (X-A)" (step S5).
If the "print length Z" is greater than the "half-cut feed length (X-A)"(Z>X-A, step S5; YES, see FIG. 5), actual printing of the label 50 is started (step S6). That is, the "print content" such as characters entered by the user is printed on the tape member 5.
When the previous printing was completed, the leading end of the tape member 5 was in a position corresponding to the full-cut mechanism 9a. The actual printing of the label 50 starts from this state (the state shown in the top row in Figure 5).

During printing, the platen roller 8 rotates in synchronization with the printing operation by the thermal head 7, and the tape member 5 is transported forward as needed (step S7).
The control unit 10 determines whether the tape member 5 has been transported the "half-cut feed length (X-A)" (step S8), and if it is still not enough to reach the "half-cut feed length (X-A)" (step S8; NO), the control unit 10 returns to step S7 and further performs the transport process of the tape member 5.
On the other hand, if the tape member 5 has been fed by the "half-cut feed length (X-A)" (step S8; YES), the half-cut mechanism 9b is operated at that position to half-cut the tape member 5 (step S9, the state shown in the second row in FIG. 5). As a result, a half-cut portion Hc is formed downstream (to the right in FIG. 5) of the first label 50 ("label a" in FIG. 5).

The control unit 10 determines whether printing (main printing) has finished (step S10). If printing has not finished (step S10; NO), the process returns to step S6 and continues the main printing process on the tape material 5. For example, the third row in Figure 5 shows the state where printing has finished for the first label 50 (label a in Figure 5). If only one label 50 is to be printed, printing ends at this state. Figure 5 shows an example in which multiple labels 50 are printed, and in this case the control unit 10 determines that the scheduled printing has not yet finished.

Furthermore, when actual printing is performed (for example, the fourth row in Figure 5 shows the start of printing on the next label 50 ("label b" in the figure)), the tape material 5 is transported in synchronization with this, and a half-cut is performed each time the position on the tape material 5 where the half-cut portion Hc should be formed is positioned at the "half-cut position R."
For example, in the first row of FIG. 6, a state is shown in which a half cut is made between the first "label a" and the second "label b" (a half cut portion Hc is formed).
Then, when full printing and half cutting are repeated and all planned printing is completed (step S10; YES), the tape material 5 is transported forward (step S11), and the control unit 10 determines whether the position where the full cut section Fc should be formed has been transported to the "full cut position Q" (step S12).

For example, as shown in the first row of Fig. 6, a case where printing of multiple labels 50 is planned, such as "label a,""labelb,""labelc," etc., is illustrated. The example shown in the second row of Fig. 6 is a case where actual printing has been performed up to "label n+1," and all printing has been completed. As shown in Fig. 6, in this case, the position where the full cut portion Fc should be formed is a position upstream in the transport direction (left side in the drawing) from the printing end position of "label n+1" by the margin A.
If the position where the full cut portion Fc is to be formed has not been transported to the "full cut position Q" (step S12; NO), the process returns to step S11 and the tape member 5 is transported further. On the other hand, if the position where the full cut portion Fc is to be formed has been transported to the "full cut position Q" (step S12; YES), the control unit 10 performs a full cut at that position using the full cut mechanism 9a (step S13, see the second diagram in Figure 6), and ends the print control process. By performing the full cut, the full cut portion Fc is formed, where the tape member 5 is completely cut in the thickness direction, and the label 50 cut off from the tape member 5 is discharged from the discharge port 22.

On the other hand, if the "printing length Z" does not exceed the "half-cut feed length (X-A)" (Z≦X-A, step S5; NO, see FIG. 7), as shown in the top row of FIG. 7, first, a cut mark (half-cut mark) MH, which is an identification mark, is printed by the thermal head 7 (step S14). The cut mark MH indicates the cutting position when the user cuts out the label 50 by themselves using scissors or the like, and is not limited to the one shown in FIG. 7. The cut mark MH may be any color, line type, or shape as long as it is recognizable to the user.
Also, here, when "printing length Z" is equal to "half-cut feed length (X-A)", it is set to "Step S5; NO", but the handling of the case where "Z = X-A" is not limited to this, and it may be treated as "Step S5; YES".

Once the cut mark MH has been printed, the control unit 10 transports the tape member 5 forward by the margin A (step S15) and performs actual printing to print the content on the tape member 5 (step S16, see the second diagram in Figure 7).
Each time one label 50 is printed, the control unit 10 determines whether all planned printing has been completed (step S17), and if printing has not been completed (step S17; NO), it transports the tape member 5 forward by the margin A (step S18), returns to step S14, and repeats the process.

That is, as shown in Figure 7, if two labels 50, "label a" and "label b," are to be printed, when printing of "label a" is completed (see the third diagram in Figure 7), the tape member 5 is advanced by the margin A, and a cut mark MH is printed at that position between "label a" and "label b" (see the fourth diagram in Figure 7).

On the other hand, if printing has finished (step S17; YES), the control unit 10 transports the tape material 5 forward (step S11), as in the case of "Z > X-A," and determines whether the position where the full cut portion Fc is to be formed has been transported to the "full cut position Q" (step S12). Then, when the position where the full cut portion Fc is to be formed has been transported to the "full cut position Q" (step S12; YES), a full cut is performed at that position by the full cut mechanism 9a (step S13, see the fifth diagram in Figure 7), and the print control process ends.

In this way, in this embodiment, even if the "printing length Z" is short and does not exceed the "half-cut feed length (X-A)" and therefore automatic half-cutting cannot be performed by the half-cut mechanism 9b, a cut mark MH can be attached to the tape member 5 as a guide for the cutting position when cutting with scissors.
Therefore, labels 50 with uniform lengths can be easily produced.
It is possible.

As described above, the printing device 1 of this embodiment includes a thermal head 7 as a printing means for printing on the tape member 5, which is the print medium; cutting mechanisms (full-cut mechanism 9a, half-cut mechanism 9b) as cutting means for cutting the tape member 5 in the width direction of the medium; and a control unit 10 that determines whether a cutting operation can be performed during a printing operation based on the relationship between the "print length Z" of the portion where the "print content" is printed by the thermal head 7 and the distance "X" from the reference position "print position P" to the "half-cut position R" where the cutting mechanism (half-cut mechanism 9b in this embodiment) is located.If it determines that a cutting operation is not possible, the control unit 10 controls the operation of the thermal head 7 to cause the thermal head 7 to print a cut mark MH as an identification marker indicating the cutting position (in this embodiment, the position where the half-cut portion Hc should be formed) at the position on the tape member 5 where the cutting should be performed (i.e., the position where the half-cut portion Hc should have been formed by the half-cut mechanism 9b).

When printing on the tape member 5, if the "printing length Z" is sufficient, the half-cut mechanism 9b can automatically form a half-cut portion Hc to make it easier to peel off the label 50. However, if the "printing length Z" is short and does not exceed the "half-cut feed length (X-A)," the half-cut mechanism 9b cannot automatically perform half-cutting during the flow of this printing operation.
In such a case, in this embodiment, instead of forming the half-cut portion Hc, a cut mark MH is provided on the tape member 5 as a guide for the cutting position when cutting with scissors.
Therefore, compared to when the cutting position guideline is not provided, the user will not be confused about the cutting position, and the tape member 5 (and thus the label 50 cut out from the tape member 5) can be cut at the appropriate position regardless of the "print length Z", making it possible to easily create labels 50 with consistent lengths.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the control unit 10 controls the thermal head 7 etc. so as to provide a "margin A" before and after the portion where actual printing is performed, and when the "printing position P" of the thermal head 7 is taken as the reference position, the control unit 10 determines that it is impossible to perform a cutting operation during a series of printing operations if the "printing length Z" is shorter than the distance between the "printing position P" of the thermal head 7 and the "half-cut position R" of the half-cut mechanism 9b minus the length of the "margin A" portion.
As a result, when the "printing length Z" is short and automatic half-cutting cannot be performed by the half-cut mechanism 9b in the flow of this printing operation, a cut mark MH can be applied to the tape material 5 instead of forming a half-cut portion Hc.
Therefore, regardless of the "print length Z," labels 50 with consistent lengths can be easily produced.

In addition, in this embodiment, the cutting mechanism as a cutting means includes a full-cut mechanism 9a that cuts the entire thickness of the tape member 5, and a half-cut mechanism 9b that cuts a portion of the thickness of the tape member 5 including the printing surface on which printing is performed.
This allows the label 50 to be not only completely separated from the tape member 5, but also to be cut only partially so that it can be easily peeled off from the release layer (release paper), for example. Therefore, even when printing multiple labels 50 at once, the labels 50 can be prevented from falling apart, making them easy to use.

In this embodiment, a platen roller 8 rotated by a conveying motor 80 (see Figure 3) is provided as a conveying mechanism for conveying the tape material 5, and the tape material 5 is conveyed in the forward direction from the thermal head 7 toward the discharge outlet 22.
Therefore, the tape material 5 can be automatically fed while the printing operation and cutting operation can be performed as appropriate.
Even if the printing device 1 only has a transport mechanism that transports the tape member 5 in the forward direction, it is possible to attach a cut mark MH to the position where the half-cut portion Hc should be formed on the tape member 5, and it is possible to easily create labels 50 with no variation in length regardless of the "printing length Z."

Second Embodiment
Next, a second embodiment of a printing apparatus, a printing control method, and a program according to the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 8 and 9. This embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the conveying mechanism is configured to be capable of conveying in both forward and reverse directions, and therefore the following description will focus on the differences from the first embodiment.

In this embodiment, the platen roller 8, which is the transport mechanism, is configured to be able to transport the tape material 5 not only in the forward direction (the direction from the upstream side to the downstream side in the transport direction, the forward direction) from the thermal head 7, which is the printing means, toward the discharge port 22 that discharges the tape material 5, but also in the opposite direction (the direction from the downstream side to the upstream side in the transport direction, the reverse direction).
That is, in this embodiment, the conveyance motor drive circuit 18, which drives the conveyance motor 80 to rotate the platen roller 8, can appropriately switch between the forward and reverse directions in which the platen roller 8 rotates by appropriately switching the signal input to the conveyance motor 80. As a result, the platen roller 8 in this embodiment can freely rotate in either the forward or reverse direction in the conveyance direction.
The configuration of the printing device 1 itself is the same as that of the first embodiment, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

Next, a print control method for the printing apparatus of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the print control process of this embodiment.
Note that steps S21 to S24 in FIG. 8 are the same as steps S1 to S4 in FIG. 4 described in the first embodiment, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

After calculating the half-cut feed length in step S24, the control unit 10 then calculates the full-cut feed length (step S25).
Here, the "full cut feed length" is the distance obtained by subtracting the length of the margin A from the distance "J" from the "full cut position Q" to the "position S of the discharge outlet 22" (see FIG. 9).
In other words, the full cut portion (the position where the full cut portion should be formed) where full cutting is performed on the tape member 5 is located upstream (upstream in the conveying direction, left side in Figure 9) by the length of the margin A from the position where printing of the label 50 on which the "print content" is printed has ended.
The distance "J" from the "full cut position Q" to the "position S of the discharge port 22" is a value known by the device.

In the case where the platen roller 8, which is a conveying mechanism, can rotate forward and backward as in this embodiment,
First, the control unit 10 operates the platen roller 8 in the forward direction to transport the tape member 5 in the forward direction (step S26).
The control unit 10 always determines whether the position where the half-cut portion is to be formed on the tape member 5 is located at the "half-cut position R" of the half-cut mechanism 9b (step S27), and if it is not located at the "half-cut position R" (step S27; NO), it returns to step S36 and repeats the conveying process.

On the other hand, if it is positioned at the "half-cut position R" (step S27; YES, see the diagram shown in the top row of FIG. 9), the half-cut mechanism 9b is operated to perform a half-cut (step S28).
After the half-cut, the platen roller 8 is operated in the reverse direction to transport the tape member 5 in the reverse direction to the print start position for the actual printing (step S29). When the tape member 5 is transported in the reverse direction to the print start position for the actual printing (see the second diagram in FIG. 9), the thermal head 7 prints the "print content" (i.e., actual printing) at that position (step S30).

The control unit 10 determines whether all scheduled printing has been completed (step S31), and if printing has not been completed (step S31; NO), the control unit 10 returns to step S30 to continue the printing process. On the other hand, if printing has been completed (step S31; YES), the control unit 10 determines whether the "printing length Z" is greater than the "full cut feed length (J-A)" calculated in step S35 (step S32).
If the "printing length Z" is greater than the "full cut feed length (J-A)"(Z>J-A, step S32; YES), the control unit 10 causes the tape member 5 to be transported in the forward direction (step S33).

The control unit 10 determines whether the position where the full cut portion on the tape member 5 is to be formed is located at the ``full cut position Q'' of the full cut mechanism 9a (step S34), and if it is not yet located at the ``full cut position Q'' (step S34; NO), it returns to step S33 and further transports the tape member 5 in the forward direction.
On the other hand, if the position where the full cut portion should be formed is located at the "full cut position Q" (step S34; YES), the full cut mechanism 9a is operated at that position to fully cut the tape material 5 (step S35), and the printing control process is terminated.

In contrast to the above, if the "printing length Z" does not exceed the "full cut feed length (J-A)" (Z≦J-A, step S32; NO), the control unit 10 advances the tape member 5 until the position on the tape member 5 where the full cut should be made (i.e., the position where it should be cut by the full cut mechanism 9a) is located at the "printing position P" (step S36). At that position, the control unit 10 prints a cut mark (full cut mark) MF, which serves as an identification marker indicating the position where the full cut should be made, instead of a full cut, on the thermal head 7 (step S37, see the fourth diagram in Figure 9), and terminates the print control process. In this case, the label 50 is discharged from the discharge port 22 while still connected to the tape member 5 (see the fourth diagram in Figure 9), and the user can cut it off as desired using scissors or the like.

In this way, when the "print length Z" is short and does not exceed the "full cut feed length (J-A)", the label 50 is not cut off and is discharged as a single piece, thereby preventing short labels 50 from becoming stuck at the discharge outlet 22.
Even in this case, the position where the full cut portion Fc should be formed is indicated by the cut mark MF, so when the user cuts it off using scissors or the like, they can easily form labels 50 of uniform length.

Other aspects are the same as in the first embodiment, so their explanation will be omitted.

As described above, according to this embodiment, in addition to the same effects as those of the first embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
That is, according to the printing device of this embodiment, the control unit 10 controls the thermal head 7 so as to provide a "margin A" before and after the portion where actual printing is performed, and when the "position S of the discharge outlet 22" where the printed tape material is discharged outside the device is used as the reference position, the control unit 10 determines that it is impossible to perform a cutting operation during a series of printing operations if the "printing length Z" is shorter than the length obtained by subtracting the length of the "margin A" portion from the "distance J" between the cutting mechanism (full cut mechanism 9a in this embodiment) and the discharge outlet 22.
If the "printing length Z" is short and does not exceed the "full cut feed length (J-A)", when an attempt is made to cut off the label 50 and discharge it from the discharge outlet 22, the short label 50 may not be properly fed out of the discharge outlet 22 and may become stuck.
In this regard, by discharging the label 50 as a single piece without cutting it apart as in this embodiment, the label 50 can be discharged smoothly without getting caught on the discharge outlet 22, and the label 50 can be prevented from accumulating near the discharge outlet 22.
Even when the label 50 is discharged in one piece without being cut, the position where the full cut section Fc should be formed is indicated by the cut mark MF, so when the user cuts it using scissors or the like, the length can be easily aligned, and a good label 50 can be formed.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the platen roller 8, which is the transport means, is configured to transport the tape material 5 not only in the forward direction (the direction from the upstream side to the downstream side in the transport direction, the forward direction) from the thermal head 7, which is the printing means, toward the discharge port 22 that discharges the tape material 5, but also in the opposite direction (the direction from the downstream side to the upstream side in the transport direction, the reverse direction).
This allows a half-cut portion to be formed on the downstream side of the label 50, leaving a margin A, before the actual printing of the "print content" of the label 50. Therefore, the half-cut portion Hc can be actually formed by the half-cut mechanism 9b, eliminating the need to cut each label 50 with scissors or the like after the labels 50 are completed.
Furthermore, by making it possible to freely transport the tape member 5 in both forward and reverse directions, for example, if a printing operation is performed in the same position as when the previous printing was completed, the tape member 5 for the length from the "printing position P" to the "full cut position Q" will be wasted. However, since it is possible to rewind the tape member 5 once and then start printing, it is also possible to expect the effect of eliminating waste of the tape member 5.

Although the above describes an embodiment of the present invention, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention.

For example, in the printing process of the above embodiment, the order of the processes shown in FIGS. 4 and 8 may be changed as appropriate.
8 in the second embodiment, the "half cut feed length" is calculated in step S24, and the "full cut feed length" is calculated in step S25, but the calculation order may be reversed. Also, the full cut feed length only needs to be calculated before the judgment in step S32, and the calculation process may be performed in parallel, for example, while the actual printing is being performed.

Furthermore, for example, if the margin A between labels 50 is set to "0" and multiple labels 50 are connected together, if the "print length Z" of the entire connected label exceeds the "half-cut feed length," a half-cut portion will be formed downstream of the connected label 50. In this case, cut marks may also be printed appropriately within the connected label. For example, if the character string "abc" is printed continuously as the individual "print content" without a margin A, and the labels are planned to be separated later, a cut mark may be inserted for each character string "abc" that is the individual unit of the "print content."
This means that even if the gaps are tightly packed during printing, the paper can be neatly separated later.

Furthermore, in each of the above embodiments, an example is given of a case where the printing device 1 performs printing by itself, and the printing device 1 is equipped with an input unit 6, etc., and input of printing data, etc. is performed in the printing device 1, and all various calculation processing, etc. is performed by the control unit 10 of the printing device 1, but the printing control processing is not limited to being completed by the printing device 1 alone.
For example, if the printing device 1 can communicate with external devices such as various terminal devices and information processing devices, the printing control process may be performed in cooperation with such external devices. In this case, the programs for performing the various processes are stored in the storage unit of the external device.
Furthermore, when the printing device 1 is linked to various external devices, various inputs may be made through the input unit of the external device, and various displays may be made on the display unit of the external device. In this case, the printing device 1 does not need to be provided with the input unit 6 or the display unit 4.

Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but includes the scope of the invention described in the claims and its equivalents.
The inventions described in the claims originally attached to this application are as follows. The claim numbers described in the appendix are the same as those of the claims originally attached to this application.
[Note]
<Claim 1>
a printing means for printing on a print medium;
a cutting means for cutting the print medium along the medium width direction;
a control means for controlling the operation of the printing means to cause the printing means to print an identification mark indicating the cutting position at the position on the print medium to be cut when it is determined that it is impossible to perform a cutting operation during a printing operation based on the relationship between the print length of the portion where actual printing of the print content is to be performed by the printing means and the distance from a reference position to the cutting means; and
A printing device comprising:
<Claim 2>
the control means controls the printing means so as to provide a margin before and after the portion to be printed,
The printing device according to claim 1, characterized in that the control means determines that it is impossible to perform a cutting operation during a series of printing operations if, when the position of the printing means is set to the reference position, the printing length is shorter than the distance between the printing means and the cutting means minus the length of the margin.
<Claim 3>
the control means controls the printing means so as to provide a margin before and after the portion to be printed,
The printing device described in claim 1, characterized in that the control means determines that it is impossible to perform a cutting operation during a series of printing operations when the print length is shorter than the distance between the cutting means and the discharge outlet excluding the length of the margin portion, when the position of the discharge outlet through which the printed medium is discharged outside the device after printing is set as the reference position.
<Claim 4>
A printing device as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the cutting means includes a full cut mechanism that cuts the entire thickness of the printing medium, and a half cut mechanism that cuts a portion of the thickness of the printing medium, including the printing surface on which printing is performed.
<Claim 5>
a transport mechanism for transporting the print medium;
5. The printing device according to claim 1, wherein the transport mechanism is capable of transporting the printing medium in both a forward direction from the printing means toward an outlet through which the printing medium is discharged outside the device, and a reverse direction in which the printing medium is transported in the opposite direction.
<Claim 6>
a main printing process for printing the print content on the print medium;
a cutting step of cutting the print medium along a medium width direction;
a mark printing step of printing an identification mark indicating the cutting position at the position on the print medium to be cut when it is determined that it is impossible to perform the cutting operation during the printing operation based on the relationship between the print length of the portion where main printing is performed in the main printing step and the distance from a reference position to the cutting position;
A printing control method comprising:
<Claim 7>
On the computer,
a print control function for printing the print content on the print medium;
a cutting control function for cutting the print medium along the medium width direction;
a marking printing control function that, when it is determined that it is impossible to perform a cutting operation during a printing operation based on the relationship between the print length of the portion where main printing is performed by the main printing control function and the distance from a reference position to the cutting position, prints an identification mark indicating the cutting position at the position on the print medium where cutting is to be performed;
A program characterized by realizing the above.

1 Printing device 22 Discharge outlet 5 Tape member 50 Label 6 Input unit 7 Thermal head 71 Heating element 8 Platen roller 9a Full cut mechanism 9b Half cut mechanism 10 Control unit 11 Memory unit MF Cut mark (full cut mark)
MH Cut mark (half cut mark)
P Print position Q Full cut position R Half cut position Z Print length

Claims (7)

a printing means for printing on a print medium;
a cutting means for cutting the print medium along the medium width direction;
a control means for controlling the printing means so as to provide blank spaces before and after the area where the actual printing of the print content is performed by the printing means;
Equipped with
A printing device characterized in that the control means controls the operation of the printing means so that, if the printing length of the portion where the actual printing is performed is shorter than the distance between the printing means and the cutting means minus the length of the margin portion, the printing means prints an identification mark indicating the cutting position at the position on the printed medium to be cut. 2. The printing device according to claim 1, wherein the control means determines that it is impossible to perform a cutting operation during a series of printing operations when the printing length is shorter than the distance between the printing means and the cutting means minus the length of the margin. The printing device described in claim 1, characterized in that if the printing length is shorter than the distance between the cutting means and the outlet through which the printed medium is discharged outside the device after printing , excluding the length of the margin, the control means determines that it is impossible to perform the cutting operation during a series of printing operations , and controls the operation of the printing means to cause the printing means to print an identification mark indicating the cutting position at the position on the printed medium to be cut . A printing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the cutting means includes a full-cut mechanism that cuts the entire thickness of the print medium, and a half-cut mechanism that cuts a portion of the thickness of the print medium, including the printing surface, on which printing is to be performed. a transport mechanism for transporting the print medium;
5. The printing device according to claim 1, wherein the transport mechanism is capable of transporting the printing medium in both a forward direction from the printing means toward an outlet through which the printing medium is discharged outside the device, and a reverse direction in which the printing medium is transported in the opposite direction. a main printing process for printing the print content on the print medium;
a cutting step of cutting the print medium along a medium width direction;
a mark printing step in which margins are provided before and after the portion where the main printing of the print content is to be performed in the main printing step , and when the printing length of the portion where the main printing is to be performed is shorter than the distance between the printing position and the cutting position minus the length of the margins , an identification mark indicating the cutting position is printed at the position on the print medium to be cut;
A printing control method comprising: On the computer,
a print control function for printing the print content on the print medium;
a cutting control function for cutting the print medium along the medium width direction;
a marking printing control function that provides margins before and after the portion where the actual printing of the print content is to be performed by the actual printing control function, and prints an identification mark indicating the cutting position at the position on the print medium to be cut when the print length of the portion where the actual printing is to be performed is shorter than the distance between the printing position and the cutting position minus the length of the margins;
A program characterized by realizing the above.