JP3353733B2 - Printer - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printer which prints information by converting it into a bar code so that it can be read by a scanner.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art There is a case in which a plurality of pieces of information are present on the same printing object, and when each of them is printed with a bar code, the bar code becomes the same. In particular, the wand scanner reads these barcodes in succession, and if the subsequent barcode has the same data as the preceding barcode, detects that the preceding barcode has not yet been removed from the reading position. , A double reading prevention function is provided to determine that reading is to be performed twice and to read only one bar code.

[0003]

Due to the double reading prevention function, it is necessary to read the bar code after a considerable time has passed in order to read the bar code later. In order to read a plurality of barcodes, a predetermined time is waited, and then the barcodes are read one by one. Therefore, there is a problem that high-speed reading cannot be performed. The present invention has been made under such a background. Even if a wand scanner that performs reading by including discrimination data in a barcode of the same print target and prints the barcode has the readout prevention function twice, It is an object of the present invention to provide a bar code printer capable of continuously reading a plurality of bar codes.

[0004]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printer for printing a plurality of bar-coded information on the same print object, wherein the same print target is included in bar code data. by Maseru contains another bar code that distinguishes distinguish data within the object, the same barcode is continuously
Printing is forbidden and printed on the same
A printer characterized in that a plurality of barcodes can be read continuously .

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the printer according to the first aspect, the distinction data is determined based on a position where a barcode is printed.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the printer according to the first aspect, the discrimination data is determined based on the number of barcodes already printed on the same print target.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the printer according to any one of the first to third aspects, the printing object is a card carried by a customer, and the printer is provided for each displayed product. Thus, data for each product to be purchased is printed on the card with a bar code.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an external view of a printer with a take-down scale according to an embodiment of the present invention.
In addition, the details of the take-off weigher and the weighing and selling system will be referred to the description of Japanese Patent Application No. 10-272299 of the earlier application.
The parts to be particularly noted according to the present invention will be described in detail.

In FIG. 1, a printer 1 with a take-off scale is shown.
Are set for each product type, and the product name is displayed on the product name display section 2 on the front. First, the customer inserts the shopping card 3 into the card insertion slot 4, then removes the purchased product by the required amount into the weighing pan 5, and presses the completion button 6. On the displayed and inserted shopping card 3, the barcode-coded weighing data of the purchased product is printed at the next printing position on the shopping card by the printing unit provided at the back of the card insertion slot 4. Is discharged from the card insertion slot 4.

[0010] When the customer further purchases the product, the shopping card 3 is inserted into the card slot of the same printer or another printer, and the bar-coded data of the purchased product is printed by the same operation. Is done. Then, when the shopping card 3 is brought to the cash register, the barcode printed on the shopping card 3 is read by the wand scanner, and payment can be performed.

FIG. 2 shows the structure of the control section of the printer 1 with the above-mentioned operations. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electric circuit configuration of the unloading weigher 1.
1. A load cell 25 for measuring the weight taken down is connected to a computer section 24 constituted by a ROM 22 and a RAM 23 via an A / D conversion circuit 26.

The computer unit 24 further includes a unit price setting switch 27, a product number setting switch 28, and a completion key 6.
The printer unit 30 prints data on a shopping card and displays the data on the liquid crystal display 7. The buzzer 32 has a function to sound when there is a decrease in the weighing data when the shopping card is not inserted. The unit price setting switch 27 is a switch placed at a position where the customer cannot operate, and a unit price per weight is set.

The product number setting switch 28 is used to set an identification number of a product to be placed. The card sensor 33 of the printer unit 30 detects whether or not a shopping card has been inserted into the insertion slot, and the printing position sensor 34 determines the printing position of a barcode newly printed on the shopping card by the thermal head 35. For this purpose, the print position mark 45 already printed on the shopping card is detected. The print position sensor 34 is composed of a reflection type optical sensor, and is provided above the shopping card passing position of the mark. (Not shown) The motor 36 drives a platen roller to take in and discharge a shopping card.

Here, a printing example of the shopping card 3 will be described with reference to FIG. The upper part of the shopping card 3 is the printing position of the bar code 43 of the first row, and the lower part is the printing position of the bar code 44 of the n-th row (the second row in this figure). When the printer prints the bar code, the printer prints a print position mark 45 beside the bar code. A new print position is searched from the top, and the print mark 45 is printed at a stage where the print mark 45 is no longer detected. The system of the bar code to be printed is the following 13 digits, and different data is entered in the discrimination data X. F ₁ , F ₂ , I ₁ , I ₂ , I ₃ , I ₄ , I ₅ , X, P ₁ , P ₂ , P ₃ , P ₄ , C / D (where F ₁ and F ₂ are flags, I ₁ ~I ₅ is item code, X is the price distinction data, P ₁ to P ₄ is, C / D represents the check digit)

Next, the operation from the insertion of a shopping card to the printing of barcode data in the printer with a take-off and weighing device according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. S1, S2,... In FIG. S1: Confirmation of card insertion. S2: The card inserted into the insertion slot is transported to the first barcode printing position. S3: "1" is written to a register provided in the RAM for storing the distinguishing data.

S4: A print position mark is detected by the mark sensor, and if a print mark is detected, the process proceeds to S5; otherwise, the process proceeds to S7. S5: The card is conveyed by a predetermined amount and the printing position is adjusted to the next barcode printing position. S6: "1" is added to the discrimination data, and the process returns to S4.

S7: As data to be bar-coded,
The flag, the item code, and the price corresponding to the weight of the weighed product are read. S8: Create barcode data. S9: Create print position mark data to be printed beside the bar code. S10: The data created in S8 and S9 and other necessary data are printed on the card. S11: The card is ejected, the process ends, and the process returns.

With the above routine, printing on the card for one product is completed. When the printed card is read by a wand scanner at a cash register and the read data is input to the cash register, a bar code system is specified by a flag, and only necessary data is taken in to perform a settlement process.

The operation of one embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and a design change or the like may be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. The present invention is also included in the present invention. For example, the following cases are also included in the present invention. In this embodiment, the discrimination data has the same value as the number of rows at which the barcode is printed, but at the same time, the number of barcodes to be printed on this card (order from the top) has the same value. This is because the barcode is packed from the top of the card (there is no empty step in the middle) and is not limited to this configuration.

The discrimination data may be a value that goes up or down every time a barcode is printed. There is no problem as long as the same printer can print bar codes only with the same printer. Also, it may be determined whether or not the barcode is the same as the preceding barcode, and if the barcode is the same, a barcode with the distinguished data changed may be printed. The material of the object to be printed may be paper, plastic, metal, or any other material capable of printing, and may be printed directly on the product using an inkjet printer.

The present invention is not limited to use in a retail store, and can be applied to a case where goods are collected from a warehouse in a container and the contents are respectively bar-coded on a container label. It is not limited to the barcode system.

[0022]

As described above, the effect of the first aspect of the present invention is to prevent the same bar code from being continued on the same printed matter, thereby avoiding the problem caused by the double reading prevention function. Can be read at high speed with a scanner. According to the second or third aspect of the invention, it is easy to determine the distinction data. Further, even when printing is performed by another printer, it is possible to prevent the same bar code from being continued. According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the merchandise registration at the time of settlement can be smoothly performed by continuously reading the barcode from the card at a high speed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view of a printer with a take-down weigher according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electric circuit configuration of a control unit of the printer with a take-down scale shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a print example of a shopping card used in a printer with a take-off scale;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation from when a shopping card is inserted into a printer with a take-out scale to when barcode data is printed.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Printer with take-off scale 2 ... Product name display part 3 ... Shopping card 4 ... Card insertion slot 5 ... Weighing pan 6 ... Complete key 7 ... Liquid crystal display 21 ... CPU 22 ... ROM 23 ... RAM 24 ... Computer part 25 ... Load cell 26 A / D conversion circuit 27 Unit price setting switch 28 Product number setting switch 30 Printer part 32 Buzzer 33 Card sensor 34 Print position sensor 35 Thermal head 36 Motor 43 Barcode (first stage) 44: bar code (second stage) 45: printing position mark 46: price

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A printer that prints a plurality of bar-coded information on the same print object, wherein the bar code data includes discrimination data for distinguishing from other bar codes in the same print object. by including Maseru, same
Prohibits continuous printing of a single barcode.
Multiple barcodes printed on one printing object
A printer configured to be readable . 2. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the distinction data is determined based on a position where a barcode is printed. 3. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the distinction data is determined based on the number of barcodes already printed on the same print target. 4. The printed object is a card possessed by a customer, and data for each product to be purchased is bar-coded on the card by a printer provided for each displayed product. The printer according to claim 1.