JP2000219338A - Tag printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a tag printer easy to handle. SOLUTION: A tag 12 is placed on a stage 24 formed of an elastic body and stored in a storage part 16. It is possible to smoothly draw the tag 12 out of a gate 28 as the stage 24 is deflected in accordance with deflection of the tag 12 when a head end lower side surface of the tag 12 stored in this way is sucked and held by a suction pad 50, made to slide to the diagonal lower side and drawn out from the gate 28, the stage 24 is deflected in accordance with deflection of the tag 12. Consequently, it becomes unnecessary to adjust height of the gate 28 in accordance with thickness of the tag 12, etc., and it is possible to facilitate handling and to efficiently prevent causing of supply failure of the tag 12 and bending.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a tag printer and, more particularly, to a tag printer for printing print data such as a bar code on a threaded single leaf tag such as a price tag.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A tag printer is a device that prints print data such as a bar code on the surface of a tag used as a price tag for clothing or decorative articles. This tag printer is
Generally, the tags stored in the storage section in a stacked state are taken out one by one from the lower side by a supply mechanism and supplied to the printing section, and the printing section prints predetermined print data on the surface of the tag. It is configured. Then, a suction pad is generally used for the supply mechanism. That is, the lower surface of the tag stored in the storage unit is sucked and held by the suction pad, and the suction pad is slid in the lateral direction so that the tag is pulled out of the storage unit and supplied to the printing unit.

By the way, a gate having a predetermined height is formed in the storage section in which the tag is stored, and when the tag is pulled out of the storage section, it passes under the gate and is pulled out of the storage section. . At this time, in order to prevent the tags from being pulled out in a state where two tags are stacked, a method is employed in which the suction pads holding the tags are moved obliquely downward to pull out the tags (the suction pads are obliquely moved downward). , A gap is forcibly formed between the tag held by the suction pad and the tag placed on the tag.
Only one tag can be reliably pulled out of the storage section. ).

[0004]

However, since the storage portion of the conventional tag printer is configured to store the tag by mounting the tag on a hard base, the tag is obliquely moved downward by the suction pad. In this case, the bending position of the tag changes depending on the width and thickness of the tag, and the height of the gate must be readjusted every time the tag changes. Also, for narrow tags and thick tags,
There were also drawbacks that the tag could not be flexed flexibly and could not be pulled out by the suction pad, or the tag was bent due to being forcibly bent.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and has as its object to provide a tag printer which is easy to handle.

[0006]

According to the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, the lower surface of the tip of the tags stored in a storage portion in a stacked state is suction-held by a pad, and the pad is moved obliquely downward. In a tag printer that takes out the tag through a gate formed in the storage section by sliding the tag to supply it to a printing section and prints predetermined print data on the surface, the tag stored in the storage section has one end. It is characterized by being placed and housed on a plate-like elastic member fixed to the apparatus main body.

According to the present invention, the tag is placed on the plate-like elastic member and stored in the storage section. When the lower surface of the tip of the stored tag is suction-held by a pad and the pad is slid diagonally downward, the elastic member also bends in accordance with the bending of the tag, and the tag can be smoothly pulled out of the gate. . Thereby, it is possible to effectively prevent the supply failure of the tag and the occurrence of the bending. Further, since the elastic member can absorb the difference in the bending position generated individually, the tag of any thickness and width can be reliably pulled out from the gate. This allows
It is not necessary to adjust the height of the gate depending on the thickness of the tag, and the handling becomes easy.

[0008]

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

FIG. 1 is a front view showing the configuration of an embodiment of a tag printer according to the present invention. As shown in the figure,
The tag printer 10 of the present embodiment mainly includes a tag 12
A printing section 14 for printing predetermined print data on the surface of the storage section, a storage section 16 for storing the tag 12, and a tag supply section 18 for supplying the tag 12 stored in the storage section 16 to the printing section 14. ing.

The printing section 14 includes a thermal print head 20 and a platen roller 22. A thermal transfer carbon ribbon (not shown) is used on the surface of the tag 12 supplied between the thermal print head 20 and the platen roller 22. To print predetermined print data (if the tag 12 is of a heating color type, the thermal transfer carbon ribbon is unnecessary).

The printing section 14 prints the tag 12 by sending the tag 12 in a direction perpendicular to the supply direction of the tag 12. As a result, the tag 12 supplied from the horizontal direction (right to left) in FIG. 1 is fed out in the front direction while being printed by the printing unit 14.

The storage section 16 is arranged in parallel with the printing section 14, and stores a large number of tags 12 in a stacked state. The storage section 16 has a stage 24 on which the tag 12 is placed.

The stage 24 is made of an elastic body (for example, a synthetic resin such as polyethylene terephthalate or nylon 6 or a metal such as stainless steel or copper) in a plate shape (formed in a so-called leaf spring shape), and has one end ( The right end (in FIG. 1) is fixed on the base plate 46. In addition, as shown in FIG.
A suction pad 50 described later along the supply direction of the tag 12,
50, 50 passages 24A, 24A, 24A and slits 24B are formed. Since the stage 24 is formed of an elastic body as described above, the stage 24 can flexibly bend around the support portion.

The stage 2 is located between the front side and the back side of the apparatus.
The reason why the lengths 4 are different is that the double feed prevention plate 30 is provided on the front side of the apparatus, as described later, so that the double feed prevention plate 30 does not contact the stage 24.

A side plate 26 is erected vertically on the left side of the stage 24. The side edge of the tag 12 is pressed against the side plate 26 to position the tag 12 in the horizontal direction.

A gate 28 through which the tag 12 passes is formed at a lower portion of the side plate 26 as shown in FIG. A rubber double feed prevention plate 30 is attached to the upper part of the gate 28, and when the double feed prevention plate 30 contacts the upper surface of the tag 12 passing through the gate 28,
Double feed is prevented.

On the other hand, a tag guide 32 is provided on the right side of the stage 24. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the tag guide 32 includes a horizontal position adjusting table 34, a height adjusting frame 36, a horizontal width adjusting plate 38, an auxiliary stage 40, a tip positioning plate 42, and a vertical width adjusting plate 44. ing.

The horizontal position adjusting table 34 includes a base plate 46.
It is slidably provided on the upper side and moves in the lateral direction to adjust the position. A pair of guide rods 48, 48 are erected vertically on the horizontal position adjustment table 34, and the height adjustment frame 36 is slidably provided on the guide rods 48, 48.

The height adjustment frame 36 includes the guide rod 4
A pair of sliders 36A slidably provided at 8, 48;
36A, and a pair of guide bars 36B, 36B (only one is shown) connecting the pair of sliders 36A, 36A, and fixing screws 36C, 36C provided on the sliders 36A, 36A. It can be fixed to the guide rods 48 by tightening.

The width adjusting plate 38 is provided with a height adjusting frame 36.
The tag 12 is housed between the lateral width adjusting plate 38 and the side plate 26. The distance between the lateral width adjusting plate 38 and the side plate 26 can be changed by sliding the lateral position adjusting table 34 in the lateral direction.

The auxiliary stage 40 is attached to the lower part of the width adjusting plate 38, and the right side of the tag 12 is placed thereon. The auxiliary stage 40 is provided with the height adjustment frame 3
6 is moved up and down by moving it up and down along the guide rods 48 and 48.

The leading end positioning plate 42 is formed by bending the leading end of the lateral width adjusting plate 38 vertically, and the leading end edge of the tag 12 is pressed against the leading end positioning plate 42 so that the longitudinal direction of the tag 12 is Positioning is performed.

A vertical width adjusting plate 44 is provided on a pair of guide bars 36B, 36B of the height adjusting frame 36 with sliders 44A.
Is slidably provided via the. This vertical width adjustment plate 4
4 slides along the guide bar 36B to move back and forth with respect to the tip positioning plate 42,
Can be fixed at any position by tightening the fixing screws 44B, 44B. Tag 12
Is stored between the vertical width adjusting plate 44 and the tip positioning plate 42.

In the storage section 16 configured as described above, the tags 12 are stored in a state of being stacked in the space defined by the side plate 26 and the width adjustment plate 38 and the tip positioning plate 42 and the length adjustment plate 44. You.

The tag supply unit 18 includes a suction pad 50 for pulling out the tags 12 stored in the storage unit 16 one by one from below.
And a pair of upper and lower feed rollers 54, 56 for supplying the tag 12 pulled out by the suction pads 50, 50, 50 to the printing unit 14.

The pair of feed rollers 54 and 56 are disposed between the printing unit 14 and the storage unit 16. A motor (not shown) is connected to the upper feed roller 54 (hereinafter, referred to as “drive feed roller 54”), and the drive feed roller 54 rotates by driving this motor. On the other hand, a motor is not connected to the lower feed roller 56 (hereinafter, referred to as “follower feed roller 56”), and the shaft 56 </ b> A is inserted into long holes 62, 62 formed at the tip of the base frame 60.
Are fitted at both ends. Thus, the lower feed roller 56 is rotatably supported and vertically supported.

The suction pad 50 includes a slide frame 64
It is provided on the upper side and is arranged in series in a direction orthogonal to the supply direction of the tag 12. A vacuum pump (not shown) is connected to the suction pad 50. By driving the vacuum pump, the lower surface of the tag 12 is vacuum-sucked.

The slide frame 64 provided with the suction pad 50 has a pair of left and right cam followers 6 on both sides thereof.
6, 68 are arranged at predetermined intervals in the front-rear direction. The cam followers 66 and 68 are attached to the base frame 6
0, cam grooves 70 formed on both side wall surfaces 60A, 60A,
72.

Here, each of the cam grooves 70 and 72 in which the cam followers 66 and 68 are fitted has a horizontal portion formed from the front end toward the rear end side, and a predetermined inclined portion formed at the rear end portion. Have been. Therefore, when sliding from right to left in FIG. 1, the slide frame 64 once slides obliquely downward, and then slides horizontally.

The base frame 60 is provided with a motor 74, and a drive gear 76 is fixed to a spindle of the motor 74. The driving gear 76 meshes with a driven gear 78, and the driven gear 78 is rotatably supported by a bearing 80 provided on the base frame 60. A cam follower 82 is provided upright on the upper surface of the driven gear 78 at a position eccentric from the center of rotation, and the cam follower 82 is fitted into a cam groove 84 formed in the slide frame 64.

When the motor 74 is driven, a driving gear 76 is driven.
The rotation of the drive gear 76 is transmitted to the driven gear 78, and the cam follower 82 rotates eccentrically. The slide frame 64 moves back and forth by the action of the cam follower 82 and the cam groove 84 that rotate eccentrically. At this time, as described above, when sliding from right to left in FIG. 1, the slide frame 64 once slides obliquely downward and then horizontally.

When the slide frame 64 slides, the suction pad 50 moves from the suction position shown by the solid line in FIG. 2 to the supply position shown by the two-dot broken line in FIG. At this time, the suction pad 50 slides once obliquely downward like the slide frame 64 and then slides horizontally (when moving from the suction position to the supply position).

When the slide frame 64 slides, the driven feed roller 56 rises and comes into contact with the drive feed roller 54. That is, as shown in FIG. 1, a tapered portion 64A is formed at the tip of the slide frame 64, and the slide frame 64
Of the driven feed roller 56, the shaft 56A of the driven feed roller 56 is pushed up, and the driven feed roller 56 is raised. The tag 12 pulled out of the storage section 16 by the suction pad 50 is supplied between the raised driven feed roller 56 and the drive feed roller 54, and is sandwiched between the pair of feed rollers 54, 56. After the suction by the pad 50 is released, the held tag 12 is supplied to the printing unit 14 by driving the drive feed roller 54 by a motor (not shown).

The operation of the tag printer 10 according to the present embodiment configured as described above is as follows.

First, the operator places the tag 1 in the storage section 16.
Set 2 That is, the side plate 26 and the width adjustment plate 3
8, and the tags 12 are stored in a space defined by the tip positioning plate 42 and the vertical width adjusting plate 44 in a stacked state. At this time, the operator determines that the left edge of the tag 12 is
The position of the horizontal width adjusting plate 38 is adjusted so as to abut the front end positioning plate 42, and the position of the vertical width adjusting plate 44 is adjusted so that the front end of the tag 12 abuts on the front end positioning plate 42.

When the tag 12 is set, the apparatus is operated. At this time, the suction pad 50 is located at a suction position indicated by a solid line in FIG. In this state, each suction pad 50 is in contact with the lower surface of the lowermost tag 12.

First, a vacuum pump (not shown) is operated. As a result, the lower surface of the tip of the lowermost tag 12 is vacuum-sucked to the suction pad 50.

Next, the motor 74 is driven, and the suction pad 50 holding the tag 12 by suction is advanced toward the printing unit 14. Here, the suction pad 50 slides obliquely downward to pull out the tag 12 from the gate 28, as shown in FIG. At this time, the stage 2 on which the tag 12 is mounted
Since the tag 4 is formed of an elastic body, when the tag 12 bends, the tag 12 can be bent in accordance with the bending of the tag 12. As a result, the tag 12 can be smoothly pulled out from the gate 28, and it is possible to prevent the supply failure and the bending of the tag 12 from occurring.

Also, as described above, the stage 24 is
Of the tag 28 regardless of the width and thickness of the gate 28 without adjusting the height of the gate 28.
8 can be withdrawn. That is, although the tag 12 is locally bent by being pulled out obliquely downward, the bending position differs depending on the width and thickness of the tag 12. However, by supporting and guiding the tag 12 by the stage 24 having elasticity as in the present embodiment, it is possible to effectively absorb the difference in the bending position of the tag that occurs individually, and thereby, any width, Even a tag having a thickness can be reliably pulled out of the gate 28 without adjusting the height of the gate 28.

As in the present embodiment, a gap is forcibly formed between the tag 12 sucked and held by the suction pad 50 and the tag 12 thereon by pulling the tag 12 obliquely downward. Thus, only the tag 12 sucked and held by the suction pad 50 can be reliably pulled out from the gate 28.

The suction pad 50 that has passed through the gate 28
It slides horizontally and moves to the supply position shown by the two-dot broken line in FIG. When the suction pad 50 moves to this supply position, the tag 12 is supplied between the driving feed roller 54 and the driven feed roller 56, and the tag 12 is supplied between the driving feed roller 54 and the driven feed roller 56. Is pinched. That is, when the suction pad 50 moves forward, the tip of the tag 12 suction-held by the suction pad 50 is moved to the drive feed roller 54.
And between the driven feed roller 56 and the driven feed roller 56.
Rises to pinch the tip of the supplied tag 12.

When the suction pad 50 moves to the supply position and the tip of the tag 12 held by the suction pad 50 is held between the feed rollers 54 and 56, the operation of the vacuum pump is stopped. Thereby, the suction of the tag 12 by the suction pad 50 is released.

Next, a motor (not shown) connected to the drive feed roller 54 is driven. Thereby, tag 1
2 is supplied between the thermal print head 20 of the printing unit 14 and the platen roller 22. Thermal print head 20
And the tag 12 supplied between the platen roller 22 and
Predetermined print data is printed on the front surface by the thermal print head 20 and is fed out to the front side.

On the other hand, the tag 1 is attached to the feed rollers 54 and 56.
The suction pad 50 that has received the second hand returns to the suction position and stands by while holding the tag 12 to be printed next. Then, after the printing of the tag 12 supplied previously is completed, the tag 12 is moved to the supply position again and the tag 12 is supplied to the feed rollers 54 and 56.

Thereafter, the same operation is sequentially repeated to print predetermined print data on all of the tags 12, 12,... Stored in the storage section 16 and process them.

As described above, in the tag printer 10 according to the present embodiment, the tag 12 is
By supporting and guiding the tags, it is possible to effectively absorb the difference in the bending positions of the individual tags, and to adjust the height of the gate 28 regardless of the tag of any width and any thickness. Can be reliably pulled out from the gate 28. This greatly facilitates handling of the device.

Further, the stage 24 bends in accordance with the bending of the tag 12, so that the tag 12 can be supplied smoothly.
2 can also be effectively prevented.

In the present embodiment, the stage 24 on the front side of the apparatus is formed to be short in view of the installation of the double feed prevention plate 30, but the stage 24 has a certain length. By forming the tag 12, the tag 12 can be effectively prevented from being turned up, and the tag 12 can be guided more smoothly.

[0049]

As described above, according to the tag printer of the present invention, the tags stored in the storage section are supported by the elastic members, so that the differences in the bending positions of the individual tags can be reduced by the elastic members. It effectively absorbs and ensures that tags of any thickness or width can be pulled out of the gate. This eliminates the need to adjust the height of the gate depending on the thickness of the tag, and facilitates handling.
Also, the elastic member bends in accordance with the bending of the tag,
Tags can be supplied smoothly. Thereby, it becomes possible to effectively prevent the supply failure of the tag and the bending of the tag.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing the configuration of an embodiment of a tag printer according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a configuration of a storage unit.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a configuration of a tag supply unit.

FIG. 4 is a front view illustrating the operation of the stage.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Tag printer 12 ... Tag 14 ... Printing part 16 ... Storage part 18 ... Tag supply part 24 ... Stage 46 ... Base plate 50 ... Suction pad 54 ... Drive feed roller 56 ... Driving feed roller 60 ... Base frame 64 ... Slide frame 74 ... motor

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A gate formed in the storage portion by holding a lower end of a tag stored in the storage portion in a stacked state by suction with a pad and sliding the pad diagonally downward. The tag stored in the storage section is placed on a plate-like elastic member having one end fixed to the apparatus main body. A tag printer, wherein the tag printer is housed.