JP2002137864A - Printing device furnished with cutting device of lengthy printing medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printing device furnished with a cutting device of a lengthy printing medium capable of eliminating waste of a part to be divided by half-cutting on a rear part of a printed medium, capable of eliminating a trouble of exchanging a cutter receiver and with the cutting device low in cost with one cutter. SOLUTION: This printing device is furnished with the cutter receiver 15 having two receiving surfaces of a half-cutting receiver surface furnished with a regulating part to regulate moving quantity of the cutter 6 of the lengthy printing medium 2 and a total cutting receiver surface and a cutter receiver driving means to move the cutter receiver 15 and to change the receiver surfaces corresponding to the cutter.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for cutting a long print medium, such as a tube or a tape, in accordance with the situation, while cutting the print medium while leaving a part thereof, and cutting the print medium into a whole print medium. The present invention relates to a printing device provided with the printing device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a tube printer 1 for printing on a tube or tape shown in FIG. 8 has been proposed as a printing device provided with a cutting device for printing on a long printing medium and cutting it into half cuts or full cuts. . The tube printer 1 includes a tube 2 and a conveyance roller 3 and a conveyance driven roller 11.
The characters, symbols, etc., which are input by being conveyed to the print head 4 and printed by this conveyance are recorded. The length of the print medium to be cut is determined by the control system of the tube printer based on the input character size, the number of characters, the margin, the cut length, and the like, and after printing, the cutting device (including the cutter 6 and the scissors 7) prints the leading edge of the print medium. After the useless portion is conveyed and stopped, the cutter 6 is operated, and as shown in FIG. 11, half cutting is performed while leaving a part (cutting by the cutter 6 always performs half cutting). After the half-cut, the printing medium is transported by the designated length, the cutter 6 is operated again, and the half-cut at the rear end of the printing is performed. Thereafter, in order to take out the recorded print medium, the print medium is conveyed by an appropriate amount, and is completely cut by scissors 7 on the downstream side of the print medium conveyance path.

As shown in FIG. 9, a half-cut mechanism includes an emboss 8a for restricting a cutter moving amount to a cutter receiver 8.
The cutter 6 regulates the cut amount of the print medium by the height of the emboss 8a, and forms a half cut of the print medium as shown in FIG. The scissors 7 for full cutting are linked to the movement of the print head 4, and when the print head 4 is in contact with the long print medium 2, the scissors 7 are open and the head 4 When the print medium 2 is retracted, the scissors close in
Is to be cut. Also, depending on different materials and different thicknesses of the long print medium such as the tube and the tape, the surface shape (emboss height) of the surface receiving the cutter is different as shown in FIG. The cutter receiver 8 was replaced with another, and the half-cut depth was changed so that the appropriate half-cut could be performed. Further, in order to use the printed tube or tape, it is necessary to perform full cutting by scissors 7 which are arranged side by side with the half cut mechanisms 6, 8. As a result, as shown in FIG. 11, a surplus medium is left in a portion that is separated by half-cut at the rear end of the tape, causing waste. The reason why only full cutting is not performed on this portion is that the medium is conveyed to the full cutting position instead of the half cutting position, that is, to a different position, which causes a problem in accuracy of the length of the printed medium. .

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to make the cut positions of the half-cut and the full-cut of the medium the same so as to eliminate the useless portions separated by the half-cut at the rear of the medium.

[0005] Furthermore, a restricting portion for controlling the moving amount of the cutter formed on the cutter receiver 8 is prepared separately from those having different heights or plate thicknesses, thereby eliminating the trouble of replacing the cutter receiver 8 with a medium. It is an object to provide a cutting device.

[0006] In addition, since the cutting tool is composed of a cutter dedicated to half-cutting, a full-cutting cutter, and a dedicated scissor and each cutting type, it is expensive in terms of cost. It is an object to provide a device.

[0007]

A print head for printing based on print data, a transport means for transporting a long print medium to the print head, and a long print at a downstream side of the print head in the medium transport direction. A cutter that moves toward the long print medium on the medium transport path, and a half-cut receiving surface and a full-cut that include at least a restricting portion that restricts the amount of movement of the long print medium at a position facing the cutter; There is provided a cutter receiver having two types of receiving surfaces, namely, a receiving surface, and cutter receiving driving means for moving the cutter receiver and switching the receiving surface corresponding to the cutter.

The cutter receiver has a plurality of half-cut receiving surfaces for restricting the amount of movement of the cutter to different amounts, and controls cutter receiving driving means for switching the half-cut receiving surfaces in accordance with cutting conditions depending on the material of the long printing medium. Control means for performing the control.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As shown in FIGS.
Is a tube printer (printing device) that prints on a tube or tape, sandwiches a long printing medium 2 (hereinafter referred to as printing medium 2) between a transport roller 3 and a transport driven roller 11, and then prints the print medium 2 on a print head 4. Until the print head 4 contacts the print medium 2 together with the ink ribbon 5,
The print medium 4 is conveyed while energizing the print head 4, and the input characters and symbols are printed.

Next, the cut portion of the printed print medium 2 is transported to the cutter position of the cutter mechanism. During printing, the print head 4 is in contact with the print medium 2 via the ink ribbon 5, and a cutter receiver 15 having two or more types of surfaces is located at a position facing the cutter 6. The receiving surface is switched from a flat surface on which the medium is completely cut to a surface on which half cutting is performed, and is at a position facing the cutter 6, and when the cutter 6 operates, the print medium 2 is half cut. When the print head 4 is released from the ink ribbon 5, the cutter receiver 15 interlocks with the print head angle 10,
At the position facing the cutter 6, the surface of the cutter receiver 15 is switched to the surface of the print medium 2 where the print medium 2 is completely cut, and the print medium 2 is completely cut by operating the cutter 6.

[0011]

1 to 7 show an embodiment of the present invention. The same components as those in the conventional example are denoted by the same reference numerals. FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a tube printer (printing device) for printing on a tube or a tape. In order to supply the print medium 2 to the print head 4, the print medium 2 is transported between the transport roller 3 and the transport driven roller 11. Conveying is sandwiched. The position of the driven roller 11 is interlocked with the opening and closing of the cover 31. When the cover 31 is open, the driven roller 11
Moves in the direction of the arrow, and is separated from the transport roller 3 to make it easier to insert the print medium 2. When the cover 31 is closed,
The driven roller 11 presses the transport roller 3 to securely sandwich the print medium 2 and reliably transport the print medium 2.

When the tube as the printing medium 2 is mounted on the printer 1, the attachment 12 a is set in the cassette accommodating portion 12 of the printer 1, the tube is inserted from the rear (right direction in FIG. 1), and the tube is driven by the transport roller 3. The operation is completed by setting the roller 31 between the rollers 11, and the cover 31 is closed.

Label media, flat tubes, 4 mm IDs (indexes), etc., which are other printing media, are wound and housed in dedicated cassettes (not shown), respectively.
When a dedicated cassette is set in 2, the print medium is located between the transport roller 3 and the driven roller 11. When the cover 31 is closed in the same manner as in the case of the tube 2, the driven roller 11 presses the transport roller 3 in the same manner as described above, so that the long print medium is securely sandwiched and can be transported reliably.

A platen roller 13 is provided downstream of the transport roller 3 and the driven roller 11 in the medium transport direction, and a second roller 14 driven by the platen roller 13 is provided on the left side. The print head 4 and the ink ribbon cassette 9 are provided at a position facing the platen roller 13. The print medium 2 is transported by the transport roller 3 and the driven roller 11,
The conveyance is stopped at a position where the print medium 2 enters the second roller 14, and the print head 4 presses the ink ribbon 5 of the ink ribbon cassette 9 and the print medium 2 against the platen roller 13,
Characters, symbols, and the like input by energizing the print head 4 and transporting the print medium 2 are printed on the print medium 2.

Reference numeral 15 denotes a cutter receiver. The cutter receiver 15 includes a main body portion 20 which rotates in the direction of arrow G in FIG. 4 and a cutter receiving plate portion 21 which directly receives the cutter 6 which moves in the direction of arrow H in FIG. When the cutter receiving plate portion 21 is worn, the cutter receiving plate portion 21 is separated upward in the direction of the arrow I so as to be replaceable. The surface A of the cutter receiving plate portion 21 that completely cuts the print medium 2 is formed as a flat surface on which nothing is processed. As described in the related art, the surface B to be half-cut has an embossed portion 8a in a protruding shape by an amount to be left by half-cut (uncut portion) as in FIGS. The emboss 8a is formed outside the maximum width of the medium 2, and is formed so as to receive a cutter blade at the emboss 8a and perform half-cut with a configuration in which the blade does not enter earlier. Is spring hook 2
0a and 20b are provided.

The cutter receiving plate 21 shown on the right side of FIG. 4 is another embodiment of the cutter receiving plate 21 in which a spring plate or a steel plate such as stainless steel is used instead of the emboss 8a. The thickness t is the same as the height h of the embossing 8a, the upper edge 21c and the lower edge 21d are bent in a U-shape, attached to the cutter receiving plate 21, and the right edge 21e. Is bent into a hook shape and inserted into the hole 21f so as not to move. The edge 2
1e, without forming upper edge 21c and lower edge 2
It can also be carried out by directly welding 1d with an adhesive.
The accuracy of the height h of the embossed portion 8a of the press working and the thickness t of the steel plate is better for the steel plate, and naturally the accuracy is also good for the half-cut processing of the medium.

Reference numeral 18a denotes a first cam, the rotation of which is transmitted from a gear 18c interlocking with a cam motor (not shown) and a group of gears (not shown) to move the cutter 6 on the outer cam surface. I have to. 18b is the second cam,
The second cam 18b is connected to the first cam 18a and the gear 18
c, the print head angle 10
And the print head angle 10 is swung about the shaft 10b in cooperation with the tension of the spring 16a. The rotation of the cam motor and the first cam 18a,
The second cam 18b rotates in the same direction as the rotation.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the cutter receiver 15 is connected to the print head angle 10 via a spring hook 20b and a spring 16.
Oa and spring 17 are stretched so as to act in opposition to spring 16. Also, the spring 16 and the spring 17
And the tension of the spring 16 is greater than the tension of the spring 17, and the two springs 16 and 17 constitute cutter receiving drive means for rotating the cutter receiver 15 to switch the receiving surface corresponding to the cutter 6. I have.

With this configuration, the left rotation of the cam motor (not shown) causes the second cam 1 to rotate as shown in FIG.
When the first cam 18a and the first cam 18a rotate to the left, the print head 4 presses the platen roller 13 via the long print medium 2 by the clockwise swing of the print head angle 10, while the cutter receiver 15 Rotation is performed in the clockwise direction by the tension of 17, so that the half-cut B surface faces the cutter 6. Further, the right rotation of the cam motor (not shown) causes the second cam 18b and the first cam 1 to rotate as shown in FIG.
When the print head 8 rotates clockwise, the print head 4 swings in the counterclockwise direction to rotate the print head 4 to the platen roller 1.
3, the cutter receiver 15 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction by the spring 16 connected to the print head angle 10, so that the flat A surface that can be completely cut faces the cutter 6. ing.

As shown in FIG. 3, the operation of the cutter 6 is operated in the cutting direction by the first cam 18a, and the movement of the cutter 6 in the relief direction is performed by the bias of a spring 19. In addition, 23 is a roller engaged with the first cam 18a, 24 is a slide guide, 25 is a slider which holds the cutter 6, slides on the slide guide 24 and moves together with the cutter 6, and this configuration is the same as the conventional one. is there. Also, 1
A spring 6a swings the head angle 10 provided with the print head 4 toward the platen roller 13.

For the printing process, a label (printing medium)
FIG. 13 illustrates one process in which the label length is longer than the distance between the print head and the cutter. The print medium 2 is transported to the position of the print head 4 by the drive of a transport motor (not shown), and the print head 4 is pressed against the medium 2 to perform print transport. After the printing is completed, the print head 4 is moved to the platen roller 1.
The printing medium 2 is conveyed in a state where the printing medium 2 is pressed, and the conveyance is stopped at the front cut position of the printing medium 2. While maintaining that position, the cam motor is rotated counterclockwise to rotate the first cam 18a counterclockwise, and the surface B of the cutter receiver 15 is rotated to the position of the cutter 6 to perform half cutting. Thereafter, printing and conveyance are performed again to complete the printing, and the paper is conveyed by the designated length, and the printing medium 2 is conveyed.
The conveyance is stopped at the rear full cutting position. Next, by rotating the cam motor clockwise, the rotation of the second cam 18b and the protrusion 1
0a, the print head 4 is released from pressing the print medium, the first cam 18a is turned to the right, the surface A of the cutter receiver 15 is turned to the position of the cutter 6, and full cutting is performed, and printing is performed. The label medium thus removed is taken out of the main body 12.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show a second embodiment. The transport system and the printing unit are the same as those in the above embodiment. The cutter receiver 22 determines the type of the print medium cassette 28 shown in FIG. 6 or the attachment 12b shown in FIG. 1 by using a detection switch 30 provided in the printer 1 with the hole shape 29 of each print medium cassette 28 and the hole shape of the attachment 12b. (Not shown)
And the amount of rotation is detected by the motor 2
7, the emboss height h required for each print medium 2 on each surface, or the surface forming the plate thickness t of the steel plate is moved to a position facing the cutter 6 so that each print medium 2 The optimal half-cut that matches is enabled.
In addition, a flat surface is formed in addition to the half-cut surface suitable for each print medium 2, and at the time of full cut, any type of print medium 2 is moved to the position facing the cutter 6, Control means for cutting is provided. This flow is shown in FIG. 14, and the difference from the flow of FIG.
Depending on the type of the medium, as shown in FIGS.
The face D faces the cutter 6 when the tube is half-cut, and faces the E face when the tube is fully cut.

The structure of the cutter receiver 15 and the receiving plate 21
Is not limited to this embodiment. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, a concave portion is formed at the center of a continuous columnar surface. The method of regulating the width of the concave portion and the moving amount of the cutter is shown in FIG.
This is the same as the embossing 8a described above, and the cutting state can be changed from the full cutting to the deep half cutting or the shallow half cutting by the rotation angle by changing the cutter restriction amount by changing the depth. is there.

Up to now, the rotation of the cutter receivers 15 and 22 has been described to be automatically performed by interlocking with the print head angle 10 and by providing a driving means. Printing and half-cutting can also be performed by first manually rotating the surface having the embossed or steel plate according to the medium to a position facing the cutter. After printing is completed, the leading end is cut half, and after the set length has been conveyed, the flat surface is manually rotated to a position facing the cutter 6 by an instruction to switch the cutter receiving member 15 displayed on the display device D. Then, after confirming the movement, the cutter 6 may be operated to perform full cutting.

The structure of the cutter receiver 15 and the receiving plate 21
Is not limited to this embodiment. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, a concave portion is formed at the center of a continuous columnar surface. The method of regulating the width of the concave portion and the moving amount of the cutter is shown in FIG.
This is the same as the embossing 8a described above, and the cutting state can be changed from the full cutting to the deep half cutting or the shallow half cutting by the rotation angle by changing the cutter restriction amount by changing the depth. is there.

[0026]

According to the present invention, half cut and full cut on the print medium can be reduced by one.
Since the cutting position was the same for both half-cutting and full-cutting with a single cutter, there was no need to perform full-cutting after half-cutting when cutting the rear part of the medium. No more waste.

Further, since the cutter receiver of the present invention has a plurality of surfaces, it is possible to cope with media having different thicknesses by switching the surfaces, so that the trouble of preparing a plurality of cutter receivers and replacing the cutter receiver is eliminated.

Furthermore, since the cutting tool has been constituted by a cutter dedicated to half-cutting and a scissor dedicated to full-cutting and each cutting type, the cost is high. Became.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view for explaining movement at the time of half cutting according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view for explaining the movement at the time of full cutting according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side view of a cutter mechanism.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a cutter receiving portion.

FIG. 5 is a plan view for explaining a switching operation of a cutter receiving portion according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a plan view for explaining a detection cassette for switching the cutter receiving portion in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view for explaining a shape of a cutter receiving portion according to another embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a plan view for explaining a conventional technique.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the relationship between the cutter and the half-cut receiving plate.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of a half-cut print medium.

FIG. 11 is a diagram of a sample of a print medium cut and printed according to a conventional technique.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a sample of a printed and cut print medium according to the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart of an embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart of the second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Tube printer 2 Long printing medium 3 Conveyance roller 4 Print head 5 Ink ribbon 6 Cutter 7 Scissor 8 Cutter receiver 9 Ribbon cassette 10 Head angle 11 Conveyance driven roller 12 Printing device main body 13 Platen roller 14 Second roller 15 Cutter receiver 16 Spring 17 Spring 18a First cam 18b Second cam 18c Gear 19 Spring 20 Cutter receiving main body 21 Cutter receiving plate 22 Cutter receiving 23 Roller 24 Slide guide 25 Slider 26 Cylindrical cutter receiving 27 Motor 28 Cassette 29 Cassette hole 30 Detection switch 31 Opening / closing cover D Display

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A print head for printing based on print data, a transport means for transporting a long print medium to the print head, and a print medium transport path downstream of the print head in a medium transport direction. A cutter moving toward the long print medium at a position opposite to the cutter, at least a half-cut receiving surface and a full cut receiving surface provided with a restricting portion for restricting a moving amount of the cutter of the long print medium. A printing device comprising a cutting device for a long print medium, comprising: a cutter receiver having two types of receiving surfaces; and a cutter receiving drive unit for moving the cutter receiver and switching a receiving surface corresponding to the cutter. The cutter receiver has a plurality of half-cut receiving surfaces for restricting the amount of movement of the cutter to different amounts, and controls a cutter receiving driving means for switching the half-cut receiving surfaces in accordance with cutting conditions depending on the material of the long printing medium. 2. A printing apparatus provided with a cutting device for a long print medium according to claim 1, further comprising a control unit for performing the control. 3. A cutter receiver comprising a main body and a cutter receiving plate which is separable from the main body, and a restricting portion for restricting the amount of movement of the cutter in the cutter receiving plate is restricted by the thickness of the steel plate. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein
A printing device comprising a long printing medium cutting device according to claim 2.