JP4328137B2 - Printer stacker device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a stacker device for a printer, and more particularly, to a stacker device for a printer that prints on an IC sheet having an IC chip, loads a cut single-leaf sheet, and enables reading or writing of the IC chip.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent years, a non-contact read / write IC card (hereinafter, referred to as IC paper) has been developed that incorporates an IC chip and an antenna and electrically reads or writes data without contact with the IC chip. This IC sheet has an advantage that a large amount of information can be recorded on the IC chip and that data can be transmitted and received without contact. In addition, in order to make it possible to read the contents recorded on the IC chip visually or with a barcode scanner, the printer converts the information on the surface of the IC paper into printing information such as a barcode and prints the information, and writes the information on the IC chip. The usage form is generally used. This printer has a printing unit for printing on the surface of the IC paper and IC read / write means by wireless communication, and a mechanism for reading / writing to the IC chip after printing on the IC paper, or an IC after reading / writing on the IC chip. It is roughly divided into mechanisms for printing on paper.
[0003]
A conventional printer will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6A is a schematic explanatory diagram of a printer 60 in which an IC read / write device 63 is provided on the upstream side of the printing unit 64 in the paper conveyance direction. The printer 60 includes a paper holding unit 61, a sensor 62, and an IC read / write. A device 63 and a printing unit 64 are provided.
[0004]
A roll paper obtained by winding a long IC paper 65 in a roll shape is rotatably held in the paper holding unit 61, the position of the IC paper 65 is detected by the sensor 62, and the paper in the paper conveyance direction toward the printing unit 64 is detected. The IC paper 65 is conveyed toward the downstream side.
The IC read / write device 63 has a communication antenna 66. The communication antenna 66 communicates with an IC chip (not shown) of the IC paper 65 in a contactless manner to write information on the IC chip or read information on the IC chip.
When writing or reading to the IC chip is finished, information such as a barcode is printed on the surface of the IC paper 65 by the printing unit 64 having the platen roller 67 and the thermal head 68.
[0005]
FIG. 6B is a schematic explanatory diagram of a printer 70 in which the IC read / write device 63 is provided on the downstream side of the printing unit 64 in the sheet conveyance direction. The same components as those in FIG. A description thereof will be omitted.
The position of the IC paper 65 held rotatably on the paper holding unit 61 is detected by the sensor 62, and printing is performed on the surface of the IC paper 65 by the printing unit 64. After the printing is finished, the IC read / write device 63 performs IC printing. Writing / reading to the chip.
[0006]
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-109037
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, IC chips of IC paper are vulnerable to static electricity and heat, and there are not a few IC chips that have already been damaged and cannot be used at the time of manufacture of IC paper. It is impossible to do.
Even if it can be confirmed that the IC chip is not damaged when the IC chip is written / read by the read / write device 63 in the printer 60 shown in FIG. There is a possibility that the IC chip may be damaged due to the heat generating action of the printing unit 64 positioned. When a stacker device (not shown) is connected to the printer, there is a problem in that defective IC sheets with damaged IC chips are mixed with IC sheets stacked on the stacker apparatus. In particular, if serial numbers are printed on the IC papers stacked on the stacker device and the defective IC papers are mixed, it takes time to remove the defective IC papers and print the numbers of the defective IC papers again.
Further, in the printer 70 shown in FIG. 6B, since the IC read / write device 63 is arranged on the downstream side of the printing unit 64, the defective IC paper in which the IC chip is damaged by the heat generating action of the printing unit 64 or the like is used. Although it can be detected, there is a problem that the IC read / write device 63 protruding from the printer 70 cannot be connected to the stacker device due to obstruction, and the printed IC sheets cannot be stacked. Further, even if the stacker device can be connected to a printer having an IC read / write device, there is a problem that the size of the stacker device becomes very large.
The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and provides a stacker device for a printer that enables reading or writing of IC paper onto an IC chip and stacking them in order.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention is printed on IC sheet having a built-in IC chip is applied, is cut into single leaf sheet of a predetermined length, a stacker of a printer for stacking single leaf paper discharged from the discharge port of the printer, the comprising a bottom portion for stacking single leaf paper, a conveying section for conveying said IC sheet or single leaf paper in forward and reverse directions, the, IC and the read-write device that reads or writable information of the IC chip, the IC read-write device Communicating with the IC chip of the IC paper by the above, when an error occurs, it is transported to the printer by the transport unit and error printed on the IC paper, and the cut single-sheet paper is transported to the bottom by the transport unit and stacked. It is characterized by that.
In addition, when the IC read / write device communicates with the IC chip of the IC paper and no error occurs, the single-sheet paper that has been cut by being transported to the printer by the transport unit after writing information on the IC chip is described above. It is characterized in that it is transported to the bottom by the transport unit and stacked.
[0009]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a printer 1 and a stacker device 2 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the printer 1 mainly includes a sheet holding unit 3, a sensor 4, a printing unit 5, an ink ribbon unit 6, and a cutting unit 7.
[0010]
A plurality of IC labels 13 having an IC chip 14 and an antenna 15 are temporarily attached to the long base 16 shown in FIG. 2 and the IC paper 12 wound in a roll shape is rotatably held on the paper holder 3. ing.
[0011]
The ink ribbon unit 6 includes a supply shaft 10 and a take-up shaft 11, and an ink ribbon 17 wound in a roll shape is held on the take-up shaft 11 from the supply shaft 10 via the thermal head 9. By rotating 11, the used ink ribbon 17 is wound up.
[0012]
The position of the IC label 13 is detected by the sensor 4, and the ink on the ink ribbon 17 is generated by the heating action of the thermal head 9 while the IC paper 12 and the ink ribbon 17 are nipped and conveyed by the printing unit 5 including the platen roller 8 and the thermal head 9. Is transferred to the surface of the IC label 13.
[0013]
The cutting unit 7 is a guillotine cutter having a movable blade and a fixed blade, and cuts the printed IC paper 12 into a single-leaf label 18, and the single-leaf label 18 is directed from the discharge port 19 of the printer 1 toward the stacker device 2. Discharged.
[0014]
FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view illustrating the stacker device 2. The stacker device 2 will be described with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG.
The stacker device 2 is provided on the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the IC paper 12 of the printer 1, and mainly has a bottom portion 20 on which the single-leaf label 18 is stacked, and is supported on the bottom portion 20 so as to be slidable. A side plate 21 that abuts, a back plate 22 that is disposed along the direction in which the single-leaf label 18 is discharged and that contacts one edge of the single-leaf label 18 that is stacked on the bottom portion 20, a transport portion 23, and an IC lead And a light device 24.
[0015]
The conveyance unit 23 includes a pressing roller 25 and a driving roller 26 provided mainly on the discharge port 19 side of the printer 1, and a first roller 28 and a second roller 29 connected to an endless belt 27. The presser roller 25 is rotatably held by the back plate 22 and the bearing portion 31, and rotates together with the drive roller 26 provided at a position facing the presser roller 25. The driving roller 26 is connected to a motor (not shown) and can be rotated in the forward and reverse directions. The IC paper 12 or the single label 18 discharged from the printer 1 is sandwiched between the pressing roller 25 and the driving roller 26. Transport.
[0016]
The single-leaf label 18 conveyed to the stacker device 2 side by the pressing roller 25 and the driving roller 26 is then moved to one side end of the single-leaf label 18 by the endless belt 27 that is stretched around the first roller 28 and the second roller 29. Are transported to the stacking position where they abut against the side plate 21 and are stacked sequentially from below.
[0017]
The IC read / write device 24 has a communication antenna 30 and is provided on the bottom 20 on the discharge port 19 side of the printer 1. The communication antenna 30 communicates with the IC chip 14 via the antenna 15 of the IC label 13 and writes information to the IC chip 14 or reads information from the IC chip 14.
[0018]
FIG. 4 is a block diagram mainly showing a control unit of the printer 1. The control unit 40 operates in accordance with a predetermined control program stored in a ROM (Read Only Memory) 41, and controls a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 42, and a RAM (Random) that temporarily stores print data and commands. (Access Memory) 43, a conveyance control unit 44 that controls driving of the platen roller 8, and a light emitting unit of the sensor 4 to emit light and receive an electrical signal output from the light receiving unit, and to digital data A sensor control unit 45 that converts and supplies the position detection data to the CPU 42, a print control unit 46 that performs printing by the thermal head 9 based on the received command and print data, and a cutting control that controls the cutting operation of the cutting unit 7. Part 47. These units are connected to the CPU 42 via the data bus 48, receive print data and commands from the host computer 50 via the external interface 49 under the control of the CPU 42, and print on the IC label 13 according to the received print data and commands. . Further, it is connected to the stacker device 2 via the interface 51.
[0019]
Operations of the printer 1 and the stacker device 2 configured as described above will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
First, as initial processing of the printer 1, hardware checks such as memory and CPU, various operation conditions, communication condition settings, and the like are performed (step S1). When predetermined data is received from the host computer 50 in step S 2, the platen roller 8 is driven to transport the IC paper 12, and the thermal head 9 generates heat based on the positional information of the IC label 13 detected by the sensor 4. Printing is performed on the surface of the IC label 13 (step S3). The printed IC label 13 is sandwiched between the pressing roller 25 and the driving roller 26 of the stacker device 2 and conveyed to a position where it can be read by the IC read / write device 24 (step S4). In step S5, when the IC read / write device 24 and the IC chip 14 communicate with each other and no error occurs, that is, when it is determined that the IC chip 14 is normal (step S6), the IC read / write device 24 Information is written to the IC chip 14 by the communication antenna 30 (step S7). The IC paper 12 is reversely conveyed to the cutting section 7 on the upstream side in the conveying direction by the pressing roller 25 of the stacker device 2, the driving roller 26, and the platen roller 8 of the printer 1 (step S8). 18, the single-leaf label 18 is conveyed downstream by the pressing roller 25 and the driving roller 26 (step S10), and then the single-leaf label is wound by the endless belt 27 stretched around the first roller 28 and the second roller 29. 18 is transported to the stacking position where one side end abuts the side plate 21 and stacked sequentially from the bottom (step S11).
[0020]
If an error occurs as a result of communication between the IC read / write device 24 and the IC chip 14 in step S6, the IC paper 12 is conveyed in the transport direction by the pressing roller 25, the driving roller 26 of the stacker device 2, and the platen roller 8 of the printer 1. The sheet is conveyed backward to the position of the upstream printing unit 5 (step S12). Information that can be identified as a defective label such as “error” or “IC defect” is printed on the surface of the reversely conveyed IC label 13 as an error (step S13). At this time, error printing is performed on the surface of the IC label 13 on which print information has already been printed. After the error is printed, the process proceeds to step S9, where the IC paper 12 is cut into a single-leaf label 18 by the cutting unit 7, and this single-leaf label 18 is conveyed downstream in the conveyance direction by the pressing roller 25 and the driving roller 26 (step S10). Next, the endless belt 27 stretched around the first roller 28 and the second roller 29 is transported to the stacking position where one side end of the single-leaf label 18 contacts the side plate 21 and sequentially stacked from below (step S11). ). The data printed on the IC label 13 before the error printing is overlaid is printed again by the printer 1 and stacked on the stacker device 2. The printed data is, for example, a serial number. However, missing numbers will not occur. In addition, by detecting defective IC paper in which the IC chip 14 is damaged due to the heat generating action of the printing unit 5 of the printer 1, error printing is performed on the defective IC paper, and the cut single-leaf labels 18 are sequentially stacked from below. The defective IC paper can be easily confirmed and removed visually from the single label group loaded on the bottom 20.
[0021]
In the embodiment of the present invention, the label has been described as a print medium for IC paper, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a tag may be used.
Also, in error handling of IC chips, error printing is performed on the surface of IC paper. However, defective labels can be easily identified when loaded on a stacker device, such as by cutting a defective label smaller than usual at the cutting part. Any processing can be used.
[0022]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the printer stacker device of the present invention, single-sheet papers having IC chips that have been printed and cut by the printer can be stacked sequentially from the bottom, and reading or writing to the IC chips can be performed. it can.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a printer to which a stacker device according to an embodiment of the present invention is connected. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an IC sheet according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 4 is a control block diagram of the printer. Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the printer and the stacker. Fig. 6 is a schematic side view showing a conventional printer.
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Printer 2 Stacker apparatus 3 Paper holding part 4 Sensor 5 Printing part 6 Ink ribbon unit 7 Cutting part 8 Platen roller 9 Thermal head 10 Supply shaft 11 Take-up shaft 12 IC paper 13 IC label 14 IC chip 15 Antenna 16 Mount 17 Ink ribbon 18 Single leaf label 19 Discharge port 20 Bottom portion 21 Side plate 22 Back plate 23 Transport portion 24 IC read / write device 25 Press roller 26 Drive roller 27 Endless belt 28 First roller 29 Second roller 30 Communication antenna 31 Bearing portion 40 Control portion 41 ROM
42 CPU
43 RAM
44 transport control unit 45 sensor control unit 46 print control unit 47 cutting control unit 48 data bus 49 external interface 50 host computer 51 interface 60 printer 61 paper holding unit 62 sensor 63 IC read / write device 64 printing unit 65 IC paper 66 communication antenna 67 Platen roller 68 thermal head

Claims (2)

A stacker device for a printer, in which IC sheets containing IC chips are printed, each single-sheet paper having a predetermined length is cut and loaded from a printer outlet,
A bottom for loading the single-sheet paper;
A transport unit for transporting the IC paper or single-sheet paper in the forward and reverse directions;
Comprising a, IC and the read-write device that reads or writable information of said IC chip,
When the IC read / write device communicates with the IC chip of the IC paper and an error occurs, it is conveyed to the printer by the conveying unit and printed on the IC paper with an error, and the cut single-sheet paper is conveyed to the bottom by the conveying unit. A stacker device for a printer, which is transported and stacked. When the IC read / write device communicates with the IC chip of the IC paper and no error occurs, information is written on the IC chip, and then conveyed to the printer by the transport unit, and the cut single-sheet paper is cut to the transport unit The printer stacker according to claim 1, wherein the stacker is transported to and stacked on the bottom.

Images