JP2002373315A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer capable of accurately writing information an IC chip of a label. SOLUTION: This printer 10 is provided with a communication part 28 for writing information on the IC chip of the IC label 14 and a printing part 30 for performing printing on the surface of the IC label 14. An antenna 46 of the communication part 28 is disposed inside a shield case 50. A label paper sheet 14 is allowed to pass through the inside of the shield case 50 while being guided by guide rollers 76A to 76D, and at that time, the information is written on the IC chip 22.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printer, and more particularly, to a printer having a communication unit for inputting information to an IC chip included in a display tag such as a label or a tag.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, display tags (labels and tags) including an IC chip and an antenna have been developed. This display tag is excellent in information management because a large amount of information can be recorded on an IC chip and a large amount of information can be transmitted and received through an antenna in a non-contact manner.

[0003] A printer for printing on this display tag includes communication means for communicating with an IC chip in addition to printing means such as a thermal head. The communication means has a communication antenna, and communicates with the antenna of the display tag by using the communication antenna to write information to the IC chip and read information from the IC chip.

[0004]

However, in a conventional printer, when a plurality of IC chips exist in a communicable range of a communication antenna, information is written in all of the IC chips, and an erroneous IC chip is written. Information was sometimes written. In particular, when a plurality of printers are arranged side by side, information may be erroneously written on an IC chip of a display tag set in an adjacent printer.
Therefore, it is conceivable to reduce the output of the communication antenna.

[0005] However, when the output is reduced, the influence of an external radio wave is increased, so that there is a problem that information cannot be accurately written on the IC chip. Conversely, increasing the output of the communication antenna may adversely affect peripheral devices as described above.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and has as its object to provide a printer that can accurately write information on an IC chip of a display tag.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus, comprising: a printing unit for printing on a display tag; a communication unit for communicating with an IC included in the display tag; Wherein a shield case surrounding the antenna of the communication means is provided, and communication is performed by passing the display tag inside the shield case.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the shield case surrounding the antenna of the communication means is provided, and communication is performed by passing the display tag inside the shield case. IC without receiving
Can be written with accurate information. In addition, it is possible to prevent information from being erroneously written to an IC outside the shield case, and to prevent a device from being adversely affected outside the shield case.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the electromagnetic wave absorbing means is provided inside the case, the electromagnetic wave transmitted from the antenna of the communication means does not easily leak to the outside of the case.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the display tags are inserted one by one into the case, it is possible to prevent information from being erroneously written into the IC of the display tag outside the case.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of a printer according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First, a label paper of an IC label (corresponding to a display tag) to be printed by the printer of the embodiment will be described.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a label paper 12 wound in a roll shape. As shown in FIG. 1, the label paper 12 is formed by temporarily attaching a large number of IC labels 14, 14,... At predetermined intervals to a backing paper (release paper) 16 formed in a belt shape. The IC label 14 is a laminated upper layer (top paper)
14A and a lower layer (inlet) 14B.
4B holds an IC chip 22 and an antenna 24. On the other hand, the mount 16 is formed with perforations 20 for cutting the IC labels 14 one by one, and detection marks (not shown) are printed on the back surface at predetermined intervals. FIG. 1 is an example of the label paper 12, and the configuration of the label paper 12 is not limited to this. For example, a sheet in which the perforations 20 are not formed on the backing sheet 16,
The IC labels 14 may be continuous in a strip shape.
Further, the sheet is not limited to a sheet wound in a roll, but may be a sheet (for example, fan-hold paper) folded in a zigzag shape at a predetermined interval.

Next, the printer according to the present embodiment will be described.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a schematic structure of the printer 10 of the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the printer 10 mainly includes a supply unit 26, a communication unit 28, and a printing unit 30.

The label paper 12 wound in a roll shape is mounted on the supply shaft 32 of the supply section 26. The label paper 12 is fed out from the supply shaft 32, and first, the communication unit 2
Go through 8.

The communication section 28 has an antenna 46 inside the shield case 50, and an IC
It communicates with the IC chip 22 of the label 14 (see FIG. 1),
Write information to the C chip 22. The structure of the shield case 50 will be described later in detail.

The label paper 12 that has passed through the communication unit 28 is
It is sent to the printing unit 30. The printing unit 30 includes a platen roller 36 and a thermal head 38 that are arranged to face each other. The label paper 12 and the ink ribbon 40 are conveyed, and the heating elements of the thermal head 38 generate heat, thereby dissolving the ink in the ink ribbon 40 and thermally transferring the ink to the label paper 12. As a result, printing is performed on the surface of the IC label 14, and the IC label 14 is sent out from the outlet 48.

The reference numerals 42 and 44 in FIG.
A supply reel and a take-up reel for the ink ribbon 40. Reference numeral 34 denotes a sensor for detecting a detection mark (not shown) on the label paper 12, and printing is performed based on the timing detected by the sensor 34. In addition,
The printing method of the printing unit 30 is not limited to the thermal transfer method, but may be a heat-sensitive method or an inkjet method.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the main parts of the printer 10 and the IC label 14.

As shown in FIG. 1, a CPU 52 constituting a control unit main body of the printer 10 has a ROM 54 via a bus 54.
56, and a RAM 58. The ROM 56 stores program data, and the RAM 58 has various memory areas. The CPU 52 is also connected to the head controller 60, and controls the thermal head 38 by the head controller 60.

The CPU 52 is connected to a drive controller 62 via a bus 54. The drive controller 62 controls a motor driver 64 to drive a pulse motor 66 to convey the label paper 12. The drive controller 62 is connected to the sensor 34 via the A / D converter 68, and drives the pulse motor 66 based on the timing at which the sensor 34 detects a detection mark (not shown) on the backing paper 16.

The CPU 52 is connected to the antenna 46 via the communication means 72,
A signal is transmitted to and received from the antenna 24 of the label 14.

On the other hand, the IC label 14 has a microprocessor (MPU) 74, and this MPU 74
Signals are transmitted and received from the antenna 24 to the antenna 46 of the printer 10 via the communication unit 75.

Next, the structure of the communication unit 28, which is a feature of the present invention, will be described.

As shown in FIG. 4, the communication section 28 has a shield case 50 surrounding the antenna 46. The shield case 50 is made of a metal plate and has an effect as an electromagnetic shield. Further, the shield case 50 is formed in a box shape by a lower fixing portion 50A and an upper lid portion 50B. The lid 50B is rotatably supported by the fixed part 50A via the rotation shaft 50C.
The maintenance of the internal antenna 46 and the like can be performed by opening.

The lid 50B is formed slightly larger than the fixing part 50A, and the lid 50B and the fixing part 50A are formed.
And an outlet side opening 78 is formed. In the outlet side opening 78, the lid 50B and the fixed part 50A overlap in the horizontal direction, and the area of the electromagnetic wave path is reduced.
The fixing portion 50A has an entrance-side opening 77 formed on the opposite side to the exit-side opening 78.

The label paper 12 includes guide rollers 76A,
76B, 76C, 76D, and the inlet opening 77
The vehicle travels on a transport path that enters from outside and exits through the outlet side opening 78. That is, the label paper 12 is
Guided by the guide roller 76A, it enters the inside of the shield case 50 through the entrance side opening 77, and
After being guided by 6B and 76C, it exits through the outlet side opening 78 and is guided by the guide roller 76D.

As shown in FIG. 4, the shield case 50 is formed in such a size that only one IC label 14 is present inside.

Next, the operation of the printer 10 configured as described above will be described.

The printer 10 communicates with the IC chip 22 of the IC label 14 by the antenna 46 of the communication means 28 and writes data on the IC chip 22. At this time, conventionally, when the output of the antenna 46 is small, there is a problem that the antenna 46 is easily adversely affected by external noise. On the contrary, when the output of the antenna 46 is large, the information Was written.

On the other hand, the printer 10 according to the present embodiment
, The antenna 46 is electromagnetically shielded by a shield case 50, and a single IC is provided inside the shield case 50.
The label 14 is sent to communicate with the IC chip 22. Therefore, since there is no adverse effect of external noise, information can be accurately written to the IC chip 22. Further, since the electromagnetic wave transmitted from the antenna 46 is hardly leaked to the outside of the shield case 50, it is possible to prevent information from being erroneously written into the IC chip 22 existing outside the shield case 50, and to prevent the device ( The thermal head 38) can be prevented from being adversely affected.

In particular, in the present embodiment, the lid 50B and the fixed portion 50A are overlapped in the horizontal direction to reduce the area of the electromagnetic wave path of the outlet opening 78, so that the effect of the electromagnetic shield is large. Therefore, information can be accurately written on the IC chip 22.

The above-described shield case 50
By preventing electromagnetic waves from being reflected, electromagnetic waves inside and outside the shield case 50 are prevented from being adversely affected. However, in consideration of the influence of the reflected wave reflected by the shield case 50, it is more effective to absorb and block the electromagnetic wave without reflecting it. Therefore, if a member (not shown) for absorbing electromagnetic waves is provided inside the shield case 50, reflected waves will not be generated, and the adverse effects of electromagnetic waves can be more effectively prevented. As a member that absorbs electromagnetic waves, for example, a member in which carbon is dispersed in foamed urethane or a member in which ferrite is sintered can be considered. It is more effective if this member is formed into a sheet and attached to the entire inner surface of the shield case 50. A member that absorbs the electromagnetic wave may be attached to the outside of the shield case 50, or the shield case 50 itself may be configured by the electromagnetic wave absorbing member.

The shape of the shield case 50 is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, in the shield case 80 shown in FIG. 5, the lower main body 80A is formed larger than the upper lid 80B. The label paper 12 enters the inside of the shield case 80 through the gap between the main body portion 80A and the lid portion 80B, and is
A, 82B, the main body 80A and the lid 80
It is led outside through the space between B. This shield case 8
0 can reduce the number of guide rollers 82A and 82B and can reduce the size of the shield case 80.

The material of the shield cases 50 and 80 is not limited to metal, but may be any material having an electromagnetic shielding effect. For example, a material in which the surface of a plastic plate is covered with a conductive paint or plating may be used.

The shield cases 50 and 80 may be grounded.

[0038]

As described above, according to the printer of the present invention, since the shield case surrounding the antenna of the communication means is provided and the display tag is passed through the inside of the shield case for communication, the printer is connected to the outside. Thus, accurate information can be written to the IC without being adversely affected by noise from the IC, and information can be prevented from being erroneously written to the IC outside the shield case.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a label sheet of an IC label to be printed by a printer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a schematic structure of the printer according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a main part of the printer of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a schematic structure of a communication unit.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a schematic structure different from that of FIG. 4;

[Explanation of symbols]

10 printer, 12 label paper, 14 IC label, 22 IC chip, 24 antenna, 26 supply unit, 28 communication unit, 30 printing unit, 34 sensor, 46
... Antenna, 50, 80 ... Shield case, 76A-7
6D: Guide roller

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A printer comprising: printing means for printing on a display tag; and communication means for communicating with an IC included in the display tag, wherein a shield case surrounding an antenna of the communication means is provided;
A printer which communicates by passing the display tag inside the shield case. 2. The printer according to claim 1, wherein electromagnetic wave absorbing means is provided inside said shield case. 3. The display card according to claim 1, wherein the display tags are passed one by one into the shield case.
The printer described.