JP2002240356A - Tape printer and printing tape cassette - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a tape printer that performs printing on a tape with a width corresponding to a desired printing width without replacing a printing tape cassette. SOLUTION: This printing tape 10 consists of a printing tape body 11 (11-1, 11-2), an adhesive material layer 13 formed on the rear face of the printing face of the printing tape body, and a peelable paper 14 integrally formed with the printing tape body 11 with the adhesive material layer 13. A separable cutting line 15 whereby the printing tape can be divided into plural tapes when the printing tape is separated from the peelable paper is formed on the printing tape (two pieces of tapes shown) body 11 along the longitudinal direction. Input characters to be printed of 'Tokyo...' are printed on the upper label 63 divided by the cutting line 15 by horizontal writing in normal widths and, for example, the characters rotated by 90 deg. are printed on the lower label by vertical writing in double widths. The label can be used as a scroop label or a front label to be stuck to a file or the like as it is without using scissors.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a tape printing apparatus for printing out a tape with a width corresponding to a desired printing width without replacing a printing tape cassette.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a tape printer has been known. This tape printer can input any characters, symbols, etc., and print the entered characters, symbols, etc. on a tape-shaped printing medium, cut out the tape of the printed portion,
The printing tape can be used after being stuck to the object to be stuck.

FIG. 17 (a) is a diagram showing an example of input data to such a tape printer, and FIG. 17 (b) is a diagram showing a printing state of a printed tape, and FIG. Is a diagram showing an example of use of the tape. As shown in the figure, for example, a character string such as "suite memory" is sequentially input for each character by designating the full width of the character size, then specifying a line feed, and then specifying the double size of the character size, the same character An example is shown in which columns are sequentially input for each character.

FIG. 1B shows the printing result.
In the one piece of tape 2 having a printed portion cut out from the tape body by the dashed line 1, the print area in the longitudinal direction of the tape is divided into two levels by the above-described line feed designation, and the upper level is a "sweet memory" by full-width. Is printed, and the character string of “Sweet Memory” is also printed in the lower row by double-width characters.

The printed portion of the tape 2 is shown in FIG.
The upper and lower borders of the two-step printing indicated by the two-dot chain line AA 'are separated by a pinch or a cutter, for example, as shown in FIG.
As shown in the figure, the upper printing portion 4 which is a relatively small character and a narrow tape is stuck on the back surface (back cover) of a CD (compact disk) case 3, and a relatively large character and a wide tape are used. The lower printing portion 5 is attached to an appropriate position on the upper surface (cover surface) of the case 3 and used.

[0006] This is not limited to the CD case 3, and may be used, for example, pasted on a video tape case or a document file. When storing a plurality of cases or files on a shelf or the like, it is easy to see and organize. Has convenient uses.

[0007]

However, since the work of cutting the tape 2 printed in two steps as described above into upper and lower steps with a pinch or the like is a manual operation, it is rare that the cut portion is cut straight. In most cases, the character is bent and cut, and the balance of the character with respect to the tape is often unbalanced.

As described above, even if the characters are clearly printed in the printed style by the angle and the machine printing, if the cutting line is bent or the characters are not well balanced with respect to the tape, the appearance when attached to a CD case, a file, etc. Bad, lacks aesthetics when arranged and arranged on shelves.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional circumstances,
An object of the present invention is to provide a tape printing apparatus that outputs a print with a tape width corresponding to a desired print width without replacing a printing tape cassette.

[0010]

First, a printing tape cassette according to the first aspect of the present invention is a long tape-shaped recording medium wound around a holding reel so as to be printed by a printing means provided in a printing apparatus. A printing tape cassette accommodating a printing medium and detachably attached to the printing apparatus main body, wherein the printing target medium includes a printing tape main body having an adhesive layer formed on a back surface of a printing surface, and the printing tape main body having the printing tape main body. And a release paper integrated with an adhesive layer interposed therebetween, wherein the print tape body is formed with cuts along the longitudinal direction so as to be separable into a plurality of tapes when peeled from the release paper. Is done.

This printing tape cassette further contains an ink ribbon for printing, for example, as set forth in claim 6, and the notch is divided into a plurality of portions as in, for example, claim 2. The width of each of the plurality of tapes at this time is formed so as to be the same as each other.
As described, the width of each of the plurality of tapes when the plurality of tapes are separated is formed to be different from each other, and the plurality of tapes when the plurality of tapes are separated from each other, for example, as described in claim 4. Is formed so as to sequentially increase in the width direction of the tape in a state before being separated into the plurality,
For example, as described in claim 5, the cut paper is formed at a cutting angle that is obliquely inclined with respect to the surface of the release paper. The printing means is constituted by a thermal head provided in a printing device, for example.

Next, in a tape printing apparatus according to the present invention, a printing tape main body having an adhesive layer formed on the back surface of a printing surface is integrated with the printing tape main body via the adhesive layer. The printing tape main body is formed of a release paper, and a long print medium is wound around a holding reel on which a notch along a longitudinal direction is formed so as to be separable into a plurality of tapes when peeled from the release paper. The tape cassette for printing accommodated multiple times is provided detachably, while feeding out the print target medium,
What is claimed is: 1. A tape printer for printing characters and symbols on a printing medium, comprising: input means for inputting print data to be printed directly or from an external device; and storage for storing the print data input by the input means. Means for outputting the print data stored in the storage means to the print tape main body to be separated into the plurality of print media, and editing the output data as output data for printing. And print control means for reading the output data from the storage means and operating the print means based on the read output data.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, the print control means prints the same data on each of the tapes to be separated into a plurality of substantially identical areas in the longitudinal direction of the print-receiving medium. And controlling to print different data on each of the tapes that are substantially the same area in the longitudinal direction of the print-receiving medium and that are to be separated into the plurality of tapes. Claim 11
As described, when the output data to be printed has a width that does not fit into any of the tapes to be separated into the plurality of the print-receiving media, a predetermined tape of the plurality of tapes is selected. Control to print the output data to be printed by dividing the tape into the plurality of selected tapes;
For example, when the output data is printed over the plurality of tapes as described in claim 12, control is performed to print a higher print density in an area extending over the plurality of tapes. As described in claim 13, a tape having a width corresponding to a print width of the output data to be printed is selected, and control is performed so that the output data to be printed is printed on the selected tape. As described above, control is performed to print the output data to be printed with a print width corresponding to the width of the tape selected from the plurality of tapes.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIGS. 1A and 1B are perspective views showing the configuration of a printing tape (printed medium) housed in a printing tape cassette according to an embodiment. 6A and 6B, a long tape is partially cut out for easy understanding of the configuration.

A printing tape 10 shown in FIG. 1A includes a printing tape body 11 (11-1, 11-2) and an adhesive layer 13 formed on the back surface of the printing surface 12 of the printing tape body 11. And a release paper 14 integrated with the print tape body 11 via the adhesive layer.

The print tape main body 11 is detachable from the release paper 14 into a plurality of tapes (two tapes 11-1 and 11-2 in the case of FIG. 1A). A cut 15 is formed along the longitudinal direction of the main body 11.

Incidentally, the division of the printing tape by this cut is not limited to two as in the example shown in FIG. 1A, but may be, for example, a printing tape 16 as shown in FIG.
The print tape main body 18 (18-1 to 18-4) can be formed by a plurality of cuts 17 (three in the case of FIG. 3B) and an arbitrary number of tapes (the tapes 18-1 to 18-1 in the case of FIG. 18-
4). Also in this case, the print tape body 18 is integrated with the release paper 14 via the adhesive layer 13 so as to be peelable and separate for each tape. Further, in the example shown in FIG.
., 18-4 are formed so as to sequentially increase (or decrease) in the tape width direction of the print tape body 18.

FIG. 2 (a) shows an example in which arbitrary characters, symbols, images and the like are printed on the printing tape 10 (or the printing tape 16 or the like) and a plurality of printed tapes are printed in one printing process. FIG. 2 is a plan view of a tape printing device for producing
It is the side view. The tape printer 20 shown in FIGS. 1 (a) and 1 (b) includes an input section 22 below the upper surface of an apparatus main body 21.
Above, a display unit 23 is provided on the left side, and an opening / closing lid 24 is provided on the right side.

The input unit 22 includes a character input key for inputting print data, a print key for inputting an instruction to start printing, and the like, and an input for instructing image capture from a television or a scanner. Input keys, a cursor key for instructing a position on the screen in the up, down, left, and right directions, and an execution key for confirming a set or selected input.
The display unit 23 is a liquid crystal display device, and displays and notifies input data and processing contents. A tape cassette storage section is formed below the opening / closing lid 24.

FIG. 3 (a) is a partial perspective view showing the above-described printing tape 10 again, and FIG. 3 (b) is a printing tape in which the printing tape 10 is wound and accommodated. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the inside of a tape cassette storage section of the tape printer 20 in which the cassette and the printing tape cassette are detachably mounted.

The printing tape cassette 30 shown in FIG.
Is the print tape 10 inside the cassette body 31.
, A ribbon supply spool 34 around which an unused ink ribbon 33 is wound, a ribbon winding spool 35 around which a used ink ribbon 33 (used portion 33 ′ described later) is wound, and the like. Have been.

At the upper right of the printing tape cassette 30, there is formed a concave portion 36 having a partially cut-out U-shaped cross section with the cassette body 31 partially cut away. This recess 3
The printing portion of the printing tape 10 and the used portion of the ink ribbon 33 are pulled out from the inside of the cassette main body 31 and inserted into the U-shaped opening portion of 6, and are exposed to the outside.

The tape cassette storage section 40 (FIG. 2 so that the inside of the tape cassette storage section 40 can be seen in FIG.
(The opening and closing lid 24 shown in (a) and (b) is removed.)
Are provided with a thermal head 41, a platen roller 42, a tape supply shaft 43, and an ink ribbon take-up shaft 44.

The thermal head 41 includes a platen roller 4
A plurality of heat generating elements are provided at a portion (printing portion) facing 2. The platen roller 42 is rotatably mounted on a bracket 46 rotatably supported by a support shaft 45. The bracket 46 is urged clockwise by the spring force of a coil spring 47 interposed between the bracket 46 and the support shaft 45, whereby the platen roller 42 comes into pressure contact with the heat generating portion of the thermal head 41. This tape cassette storage unit 4
A tape discharge port 48 is formed in a partition wall to the left and outside, and two cutter blades 49 including a fixed blade and a movable blade are disposed so as to vertically sandwich the tape discharge port 48.

FIG. 4 is a plan sectional view showing a state in which the printing tape cassette 30 is mounted in the tape cassette accommodating section 40 of the tape printing apparatus 20. In FIG. 4, the same components as those in FIGS. 2 (a) and 2 (b) and FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b) are shown in FIGS. 2 (a) and 2 (b) and FIGS. The same numbers as in (b) are given.

As shown in FIG. 4, the printing tape cassette 30 is a tape cassette accommodating section 40 of the tape printing apparatus 20.
, The thermal head 41 is inserted and arranged in the concave portion 36 of the printing tape cassette 30, and
The tape supply shaft 43 is fitted into the reel hole of the tape spool 32, and the ink ribbon take-up shaft 44 is attached to the ribbon take-up spool 3.
5 into the reel hole.

When printing on the printing tape 10, the platen roller 42 rotates toward the thermal head 41, and the printing tape 10 and the ink ribbon 33 inserted in the concave portion 36 of the printing tape cassette 30 are removed. The printing unit is formed by pressing and holding the heating unit of the thermal head 41.

The ink ribbon 33 is formed by uniformly applying a thermal transfer ink on a transparent resin base film. In the case of color transfer, the thermal transfer inks are C (cyan: greenish blue) and M which are three subtractive primary colors.
(Magenta: red dye) and Y (yellow: yellow) are applied in a predetermined area in the longitudinal direction of the base film in a plane-sequential manner.

The thermal head 41 generates heat based on the print information input from the key input unit 22, and thermally transfers (prints) the ink of the ink ribbon 33 to the print tape 10. In response, the platen roller 42 rotates counterclockwise to convey the printed portion 10 'of the printing tape 10 and the used portion 33' of the ink ribbon 33 downstream (to the right in the figure). I do.

By this conveyance, an unused portion of the printing tape 10 is pulled out from the tape spool 32 and supplied to the printing section. On the other hand, in synchronization with this conveyance, the ink ribbon take-up shaft 44 rotates clockwise, whereby the ribbon take-up spool 35 is driven to rotate in the same direction to take up the used portion 33 'of the ink ribbon. By this winding, the unused ink ribbon 33 is pulled out from the ribbon supply spool 34 and supplied to the printing unit.

The ink ribbon used portion 33 ′ printed as described above and taken up on the ribbon take-up spool 35.
The tape-printed portion 10 'separated from the tape spool 32 is once rewound on the tape spool 32 in order to apply three colors in full-color printing, and is fed out of the tape outlet 48 to the outside when printing is completed. Is cut by the cutter blade 49 (49a, 49b). The cutter 49 includes a movable blade 49a and a fixed blade 49b. The movable blade 49a is driven to open and close by a cutter cam connected to a DC motor (not shown) via a drive system.

FIGS. 5 (a) to 5 (f) are views showing the operation of tape cutting by a cutter cam connected to the DC motor via a drive system and a movable blade 49a driven to open and close by the cutter cam. As shown in FIG.
, A microswitch 52 is provided on the frame of the tape printer 20 in contact with its circumferential surface. The micro switch 52 detects an initial position of the cutter cam 51 by a concave portion provided at a predetermined position on the circumferential surface of the cutter cam 51, and outputs a detection signal to a control circuit described later.

The cutter cam 51 has a pin 53 protruding from the lowermost edge when in the above-described initial position. The pin 53 is slidably fitted into the long hole 55 of the rotary arm 54 integral with the movable blade 49 a of the cutter 49, and its tip is bent outside the long hole 55, and deviates from the engagement with the long hole 55. It is formed not to be. As described above, when the cutter cam 51 is rotationally driven in the counterclockwise direction by the DC motor through a drive system such as a plurality of spur gears, worm gears, bevel gears, etc., the rotating arm 54 of the cutter 49 is rotated by the pin 53. Pivots up and down about the fulcrum shaft 56, whereby the movable blade 49a opens and closes with respect to the fixed blade 49b. As a result, the printed tape 1 shown in FIG.
0 'is automatically cut.

FIG. 5A shows a state in which the cutter cam 51 is at the initial position.
The position of 1 is detected by the micro switch 52.
At the time of assembling the tape printer 20, the micro switch 51 is always assembled at this initial position so as to correspond to the detecting portion of the cutter cam 51. In this state, the pin 53 is
5, the rotation arm 54 is stopped horizontally. In addition, the movable blade 49a is opened to the maximum with respect to the fixed blade 49b.

When the DC motor starts to rotate, the pin 53 starts to move in a counterclockwise direction as indicated by an arrow A1 in FIG. 5A in accordance with the rotation of the cutter cam 51.
When the pin 53 reaches the right end of the long hole 55 as the circular movement progresses as shown by the arrow A2 in FIG. 6B and the arrow A3 in FIG. (The cutting of the tape 10 ') is started.

With the continuous rotation of the cutter cam 51,
As shown by an arrow A4 in FIG. 4D, the pin 53 further moves circularly and returns to the left
As a result, the rotation of the movable blade 49a in the counterclockwise direction further progresses, and the movable blade 49a and the fixed blade 4
9b is completely closed. Thereby, the cutter 49
Is completed. The cutting completion position by the cutter 49 is a position for completely cutting a tape having a maximum width of, for example, 50 mm.

Further, the cutter cam 51 continues to rotate, and the pin 53 is moved to the direction indicated by the arrow A5 in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 6, by continuing the circular movement, the turning arm 54 is pushed down and turns downward. This allows
The movable blade 49a starts rotating clockwise and starts to open with respect to the fixed blade 49b. Then, from FIG.
Returning to the initial state of (a), the movable blade 49a is fully opened with respect to the fixed blade 49b, the position is detected by the microswitch 52, and stops at the initial position.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control circuit for controlling the operation of each section having the above configuration. As shown in the figure, the control circuit includes a CPU 60, and the CPU 60
Is connected to the printing unit 61, the memory 62, and the input unit 22 and the display unit 23 shown in FIG. Input unit 2 in FIG.
Numeral 2 schematically shows each operation key of the input unit 22 shown in the external view of FIG. That is, a print key 22-1, a page break key 22-2, a cursor key 22-3, a select / execute key 22-4, a character input key 22-5, and other operation keys 22-6 are shown.

The printing section 61 includes a thermal head driving circuit,
The drive engine includes a tape drive circuit, a cutter drive circuit, and other drive circuits. The CPU 60
The heat generation of the thermal head 41 and the platen through the printing unit 61 are referred to by referring to the detection signals from the microswitch 52 shown in FIG. Roller 42
, The rotation of the DC motor for the cutter 49, and the like, and the drive such as the return (reverse) rotation of the tape supply shaft 43 and the clutch switching for the winding rotation of the ink ribbon winding shaft 44. Control.

The memory 62 includes a ROM 62-1 and a RAM 6
2-2. The ROM 62-1 has an area 62-1-1 in which character font data is stored and an area 62-1-2 in which format data is stored.
It has an area in which a control processing program executed by the CPU 60 is stored.

The RAM 62-2 has an input data area 62-2 for storing input data inputted from the input section 22 by keys.
-1, a print data area 62-2 which is a print buffer for expanding print data generated by editing the input data
-2 and other data area 62-2-3.

FIG. 7A shows the input unit 22 in the above configuration.
FIG. 4B is a diagram showing an example of input data input by a key from the printer. FIG. 4B shows a printing tape 10 (printed portion 1) printed by the printing unit 61 based on the input data.
0 '), and FIG. 3 (c) is a diagram showing an example of use of the printing tape.

FIG. 8A shows each area of the RAM 62-2 (input data area 62-2-2) corresponding to the above input data.
1 is a diagram showing an example of the data configuration of a print data area 62-2-2 and other data areas 62-2-3).
(b) is a diagram showing a configuration example of another operation key 22-6 of the input unit 22 corresponding to this. As shown in FIG. 2B, the other operation keys 22-6 include a back label key 2
2-6-1 and a main label key 22-6-2 are provided.

FIGS. 9 and 10 show the operation of the data input process shown in FIG. 7A and the diagram based on this data input in the configuration of FIGS. 8A and 8B of the control circuit of FIG. 7 is a flowchart of the operation of the printing process shown in FIG.

The operation of the processing will be described below with reference to FIGS. In FIG. 9, when a key is input from the input unit 22, it is determined whether the key input is the print key 22-1 or another key (step S1).

If the key input is other than the print key 22-1 (S1 is N), the key input data is stored in the RAM6.
2-2 is stored in the input data area 62-2-1 (step S2), and the key input data is displayed on the display unit 23 (step S3). Then, returning to step S1, steps S1 to S3 are repeated.

Thus, as shown in FIG. 7 (a), for example, the designation data "back label" in the form of a label entered by the back label key 22-6-1, followed by
Character data “S”, “A”, and “S” indicating a character string “sweet memory” key-input by the character input keys 22-5,
"-", "G", "me", "mo", and "ri" are stored in the input data area 62-2-1, and other label forms key-input by the main label key 22-6-2. Character data "su", "i", "-", indicating a character string "sweet memory △" key-input by the character input key 22-5,
“G”, “me”, “mo”, “ri”, “○”, and “△” are stored in the input data area 62-2-1.

After the series of key inputs, if the print key is pressed (Y in S1), the input data is expanded (step S4). In this process, as shown in FIG. 10, first, one-character data is fetched from the input data area 62-2-1 (step S4-1). In this processing, in the example of the input data shown in FIG.
Is taken in.

Then, the contents of the fetched input data are determined (step S4-2), and if the first fetched one-character data is the "back label" as described above, the other data area 62-2-3 is used. The upper flag of the upper / lower flag is turned on (step S4-3), and step S4-1 is performed.
Return to

If the one-character data subsequently taken is neither the "back label" nor the "main label", it is further determined whether it is other character data or data without character. If there is, then it is determined whether the upper / lower flag is on or off (step S4-
5).

Then, according to the state of the upper / lower flags, that is, if the upper flag is on as described above,
The full-width font of the one-character data is placed at the digit position specified by the digit position data set in the upper digit area of the other data area 62-2-3 in the upper area of the print data area 62-2-2. It is developed (step S4-6).

Subsequently, the digit position data set in the upper digit area is incremented by "1" (step S).
4-7) Next, the print buffer (print data area 62-
It is determined whether 2-2) is full (step S4-10). If it is not full (S4-10 is N), the process returns to step S4-1 and steps S4-1, S4-2, S4-5, S4. −
6, S4-7 and S4-10 are repeated. As a result, as shown in the print data area 62-2-2 in FIG. 8, the character string of "sweet memo" is expanded in full-width font to fill the capacity of the upper digit area of the print buffer.

When the print buffer is full (S4-10: Y), the process returns to FIG. 9, and the contents of the print buffer "sweet memo" are printed by the thermal head 41 (step S5).

Then, referring to the contents of the input data area 62-2-1 (step S6), if there is any character data that has not been printed yet (N in S6), the input data is expanded again. As a result, step S4 in FIG.
1, S4-2, S4-5, S4-6, S4-7, S4
10 is repeated, one-character data "R" is expanded in the print buffer in full-width, and the next processing cycle of step S4-2
, The "main label" is determined.

If the one character data thus fetched is "main label", the lower flag of the upper / lower flag is turned on (step S4-4), and the process returns to step S4-1 to continue. The first one character data of the character data “suite memory △” is taken.

In step S4-2, since the lower flag of the upper / lower flag is on, the other data area 62-2-2 of the lower area of the print data area 62-2-2 is turned on.
The double-width font of the one-character data is developed in the digit position specified by the digit position data set in the lower digit area of 2-3 (step S4-8).

Subsequently, the digit position data set in the lower digit area is incremented by "1" (step S).
4-9), the above-described step S4-10 is determined, and it is confirmed that the print buffer is not yet full. Then, steps S4-1, S4-2, S4-5, S4-8, S4-9,
S4-10 is repeated. As a result, although not specifically shown, the character string of "sweet memo" is expanded in double-width font to fill the capacity of the lower digit area of the print buffer, and is returned to FIG.

Then, in FIG. 10 again, the remaining character data "リ" is expanded in the lower digit area of the print buffer, and it is determined in step S4-2 that the character data has been lost, and the input data shown in FIG. Is completed. Then, returning to FIG. 9, the above-mentioned “リ ○” is printed, and it is confirmed that the printing of all the characters has been completed (S7: Y). The cutter 49 is driven to cut the printed tape 10 ′. (Step S7), and terminates the data input / print processing.

In this manner, a print tape 10 'having a print content as shown in FIG. This printing tape 10 'has an upper spine cover label 11-1' (spine label) and a lower spine cover label 11-2 '(main label) with a release paper 14 on the back side (see FIG. 1A). ) Are formed so as to be separated from each other by the cuts 15 provided in advance, so that an object to be pasted such as a CD case is immediately used as shown in FIG. Can be pasted on.

The completed labels (11-1 'and 11-2') are printed at a print width and a print position corresponding to the tape width divided by the cut 15 so that the cut lines are formed. The label is uncluttered, well-balanced in character arrangement, and looks great.

In the above example, a character string having the same content is printed as it is in a double-width font and a double-width font in the upper and lower rows divided by the cut 15, but the printing method is not limited to this. Characters may be rotated for printing.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example in which the lower characters are printed by rotating them by 90 degrees. Thus, a horizontal writing label 63 in which full-width characters are printed in horizontal writing and a vertical writing label 64 in which double-width characters are printed in vertical writing can be created by one printing.

It should be noted that either the printing tape 10 shown in FIG. 1A or the printing tape 16 shown in FIG.
Or each of the tapes 11-1 and 11 divided by 17
1-2 or 18-1, 18-2, 18-3, 18-4
Are constructed using differently colored tape members, the convenience and fun of creating labels with different character fonts and background colors all at once can be further enhanced.

FIG. 12 (a) shows an example of printing on the printing tape 16 shown in FIG. 1 (b), and FIG. 12 (b) is a diagram showing another example of how to make cuts. In the printing tape 16 shown in FIG. 12A, the character string "Yamada_Taro" is printed in a vertically double font size corresponding to the tape width of each of the labels (tapes 18-1 to 18-4). An example is shown. When such a printing tape is created, it is convenient to attach labels of the user's own size, for example, a school bag, a lunch box, a pencil box, a chopstick box, and the like, according to the size of the property. .

The printing tape 65 shown in FIG.
Has a slightly narrow overall width, is divided into four equal parts by cutting, and four labels 66 having the same width are formed in the width direction of the printing tape 65. The same character string “Yamada_Taro” is printed on each label 66. In the same figure (b),
In order to clearly show the printing state of the printing tape 65, the printed portion 65 'is shown as being continuous in the longitudinal direction, but actually, the printed portion 65' is a cutter 49.
Are automatically cut at the cutting position 67 and are sequentially discharged from the tape discharge port 48.

The label 66 is peeled off from the printing tape (printed portion 65 ') and is attached to an object to be attached. For example, in kindergartens and the like, parents are forced to name all belongings. In such a case, the label 66 has a relatively small shape and a large number as belongings, such as a pencil, It is convenient when it is used by sticking it to building blocks and the like.

FIG. 13 shows another example of a printing tape.
It is a figure showing other examples which print on it. The printing tape 68 shown in the drawing has four tapes 69-1, 69-2, 69-3, and 69-4 similar to the printing tape 16 of FIG. Notches are formed, but the width of each tape gradually increases (or decreases)
Instead of doing, 9mm width, 12mm width, 18mm width,
The width is 6 mm, and the arrangement order is not constant.

In printing on the printing tape 68, as shown on the printing tape 68 in the same figure, the vertical size of the characters to be printed is 15 mm, 18 mm, 21 mm,
..., the print data area 62-2- according to 45 mm
2, the character font data to be developed is divided and printed.

For example, in the case of a character “A” having a vertical size of 15 mm, the upper region (tape 69-1 having a width of 9 mm) is used.
The upper half of the character font is developed in the data development area printed on the
-2 data development area) and middle and lower area (18
Nothing is developed in the data development area printed on the tape 69-3 having a width of mm, and the lower half of the character font is placed in the lower area (the data development area printed on the tape 69-4 having a width of 6 mm). expand.

This printed portion is automatically cut by the cutter 49 at the cutting position 71. The tape 69-1 and the tape 69-4 are densely arranged and attached to the attachment target. The other characters "I", "U", ..., "C",
As shown in the case of "D", the tapes 69-1, 69-
2, 69-3, and 69-4 are combined in a vertical size of characters to be printed of 15 mm,.
is selected according to m. With this, when the tape of the selected and printed part is arranged and pasted on the object to be pasted,
A well-balanced label with well-printed characters and upper and lower margins is formed.

FIGS. 14 (a), 14 (b) and 14 (c) show the cuts of the printing tape when the printed portions are peeled off from a plurality of labels of one printing tape as described above. It is a figure showing a shape. FIG. 14A shows the same configuration as the printing tape 68 shown in FIG. However, in this case, the characters "Nameland" are printed on the entire printing tape without selecting the divided tape,
The print tape 68 'is shown as having been made.

The cuts 74 in the tape are shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 7, the cutout angle is formed to be inclined with respect to the surface of the release paper 73. When this is applied to the object to be affixed, as shown in FIG. 3C, the tape with the cut portion downward (in the example of FIG. (The upper tape is below the lower tape.)

The tape to be pasted next is overlapped with the tape to be pasted, so that the divided cuts are natural and inconspicuous. It will look like this. Even in the case of the example shown in FIG. 13, the seams of the character fonts of the tapes selected and arranged side by side can be kept inconspicuous and natural.

It should be noted that there is no particular rule for the width of the tape divided by cutting. For example, FIG.
A total of 6 tapes are 3m wide on a 3mm wide printing tape.
, 8 mm, 4 mm, 5 mm,..., 8 mm are formed so that the width is sequentially increased by 1 mm. As described above, the number of tapes to be divided and the widths of the tapes can be appropriately set according to the expected use.

By the way, microscopically, the cuts formed in the printing tape described above are slightly concave due to the pressure of the blade when the cuts are made. FIG.
(a) is a diagram schematically showing the above-described recessed state of the cut of the printing tape, and is, for example, a partially enlarged sectional view of the printing tape 16 shown in FIG. 1 (b). As shown in FIG. 3A, the tapes 18-1 and 18-1
The portion where the notch 17 that separates the tape 8-2 and the tapes 18-2 and 18-3 is concave.

FIG. 16B is an enlarged view for explaining a printing state adopted when printing on the printing tape 16. As shown in FIG. 3B, a large number of heating elements 41-1 are provided in the printing portion of the thermal head 41. The printing portions of the thermal head 41 and the tapes 18-1 to 18-4 which are the printing surfaces of the printing tape 16 (FIG.
(b), an ink ribbon 33 is interposed between the tape 18 and the ink melted by the heat generated by the heat generating element 41-1.
It is transferred to the paper surface of -1 to 18-4.

At this time, if the normal printing is performed, the ink does not well ride on the recessed portion, and a poorly printed line runs along the cut portion, thereby deteriorating the aesthetic appearance. However, in the present embodiment, the area 7 corresponding to the concave portion of the cut 17 is provided.
7 with the heating elements 41-1 in other ranges.
The driving of the heat generation is controlled so that the temperature becomes higher than that (a large amount of heat is generated). Thereby, the range 77 corresponding to the concave portion
In this case, since a larger amount of ink is melted at a lower viscosity than usual, sufficient transfer is performed also on the recessed portion, and the above-described printing failure can be eliminated.

[0078]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, since a certain number of slits are previously formed along the longitudinal direction of the printing tape, one sheet cut out by one printing process is formed. Labels of various widths can be created on the tape, so that it is not necessary to cut the printed tape one by one to make a plurality of labels, which is convenient and convenient.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIGS. 1A and 1B are perspective views showing the configuration of a printing tape (medium to be printed) housed in a printing tape cassette according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2A is a plan view of a tape printing apparatus for producing a plurality of printed tapes by one printing process on a printing tape, and FIG. 2B is a side view thereof.

3 (a) is a partial perspective view of a printing tape, and FIG. 3 (b) is a perspective view showing the inside of a tape cassette accommodating portion of a printing tape cassette and a tape printing apparatus in which a printing tape is wound and accommodated. It is.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional plan view showing a state where a printing tape cassette is mounted in a tape cassette accommodating portion of the tape printing apparatus.

5 (a) to 5 (f) are operation state diagrams of tape cutting by a cutter cam and a movable blade of a cutter driven to be opened and closed by the cutter cam.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a control circuit that controls the operation of each unit of the tape printing apparatus.

FIG. 7A is a diagram showing an example of input data from an input unit;
(b) is a diagram illustrating an example of a printing tape printed by a printing unit, and (c) is a diagram illustrating an example of use of the printing tape.

8A is a diagram illustrating an example of a data configuration of each area of a RAM of a control circuit, and FIG. 8B is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of other operation keys of an input unit.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart (part 1) of an operation of data input processing and printing processing by the control circuit.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart (part 2) of the operation of data input processing and printing processing by the control circuit.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example in which a character in a lower part of a print area divided by a cut is rotated by 90 degrees and printed.

12 (a) is a diagram showing an example of printing on the printing tape shown in FIG. 1 (b), and FIG. 12 (b) is a diagram showing another example of how cuts are provided.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing still another example of a printing tape and another example of printing.

FIGS. 14 (a), (b), and (c) are diagrams showing examples of special cuts of a print tape, and FIGS. 14 (e) and (f) are diagrams showing normal cuts for reference.

FIG. 15 shows a total of six tapes 1 m in length on a printing tape.
It is a figure which shows the example formed so that width may become large by m.

16A is a view schematically showing a cut of a printing tape, and FIG. 16B is an enlarged view showing a state at the time of printing.

17A is a diagram showing an example of input data to a conventional tape printing device, FIG. 17B is a diagram showing a printing state of a printed tape, and FIG. 17C is a diagram showing an example of use of the tape; is there.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Conventional printed tape 3 CD (compact disk) case 4 Upper printed portion 5 Lower printed portion 10, 16 Printing tape 11, 18 Printing tape body 11-1, 11-2 Tape 12 Printing surface 13 Adhesive layer 14 Release paper 15, 17, 18-1 to 18-4 Cut 20 Tape printing device 21 Main unit 22 Input unit 22-1 Print key 22-2 Page break key 22-3 Cursor key 22-4 Select / Execute key 22- 5 Character input keys 22-6 Other operation keys 23 Display unit 24 Opening / closing lid 30 Printing tape cassette 31 Cassette body 32 Tape spool 33 Ink ribbon 33 'Used part 34 Ribbon supply spool 35 Ribbon take-up spool 36 U-shaped Recess 40 Tape cassette storage part 41 Thermal head 42 Platen low 43 Tape supply shaft 44 Ink ribbon take-up shaft 45 Support shaft 46 Bracket 47 Coil spring 48 Tape outlet 49 Cutter blade 49a Movable blade 49b Fixed blade 51 Cutter cam 52 Micro switch 53 Pin 54 Rotating arm 55 Long hole 56 Support shaft 60 CPU 61 printing unit 62 memory 62-1 ROM 62-1-1 character font data area 62-1-2 format data area 62-2 RAM 62-2-1 input data area 62-2-2 print data area 62-2 -3 Other data area 63 Horizontal writing label 64 Vertical writing label 65, 68 Printing tape 65 'Printed part (printing tape) 66 Label 67, 71 Automatic cut position 69-1, 69-2, 69-3, 69- 4 Tape 72 Adhesive layer 73 Release paper 74 Diagonal cut 75 Normal Range corresponding to the recesses of the notch 77 cut

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing from the front page (72) Takashi Kojo, Inventor Takashi Komachi 3-2-1, Sakaemachi, Hamura-shi, Tokyo Casio Computer Co., Ltd. Hamura Technical Center F-term (reference) 2C055 CC00 CC01 CC05 2C065 AA01 AD02 AD03 AF01 DA09 2C068 AA02 AA06 AA15 AA22 EE03 EE27

Claims (14)

[Claims] 1. A printing tape cassette containing a long printing medium wound around a holding reel to be printed by printing means provided in a printing apparatus and detachable from the printing apparatus main body. The printing medium comprises: a printing tape main body having an adhesive layer formed on the back side of a printing surface; and a release paper integrated with the printing tape main body via the adhesive layer. A tape cassette for printing, wherein a cut is formed in the tape body along a longitudinal direction so as to be separable into a plurality of tapes when the tape is peeled from the release paper. 2. The printing tape cassette according to claim 1, wherein the cuts are formed such that the width of each of the plurality of tapes when divided into the plurality of pieces is the same. 3. The printing tape cassette according to claim 1, wherein the cuts are formed so that the width of each of the plurality of tapes when divided into a plurality of pieces is different from each other. 4. The notch is formed such that the width of each of the plurality of tapes when separated into the plurality of tapes is sequentially increased in a tape width direction before the plurality of tapes are separated into the plurality of tapes. The printing tape cassette according to claim 1, wherein 5. The printing tape cassette according to claim 1, wherein the cut is formed at a cut angle that is inclined with respect to the surface of the release paper. 6. The printing tape cassette according to claim 1, further comprising an ink ribbon for printing. 7. The printing tape cassette according to claim 1, wherein said printing means is a thermal head provided in a printing device. 8. A print tape main body having an adhesive layer formed on the back side of a printing surface, and a release paper integrated with the print tape main body via the adhesive layer, wherein the release is provided on the print tape main body. Equipped with a printing tape cassette that detachably holds a long printing medium that is wound around a holding reel and has a cut formed in the longitudinal direction so that it can be separated into a plurality of tapes when it is peeled from paper. A tape printing apparatus for printing characters and symbols on the print-receiving medium while feeding out the print-receiving medium, wherein input means for inputting print data to be printed directly or from an external device; and Storage means for storing the input print data; output data for sequentially distributing and printing the print data stored in the storage means to the print tape main body to be separated into the plurality of print mediums A tape printing apparatus comprising: output data editing means for editing as output; and print control means for reading the edited output data from the storage means and operating the printing means based on the read output data. . 9. The print control means controls to print the same data on each of the tapes to be separated into the plurality of substantially identical areas as viewed in the longitudinal direction of the print-receiving medium. 9. The tape printer according to claim 8, wherein: 10. The printing control means controls to print different data on each of the tapes to be separated into the plurality of substantially identical areas as viewed in the longitudinal direction of the printing medium. 9. The tape printing device according to claim 8, wherein: 11. The print control means, when the output data to be printed has a width which does not fit in any of the tapes to be separated into the plurality of the print-receiving media, the print control means includes means for outputting the plurality of tapes. 9. The tape printing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein a predetermined tape is selected and divided into the plurality of selected tapes, and the output data to be printed is controlled to be printed. 12. The printing control means, when printing the output data over the plurality of tapes, controls to print a higher print density in an area extending over the plurality of tapes. 9. The tape printing device according to claim 8, wherein: 13. The printing control means according to claim 1, wherein a tape having a width corresponding to a printing width of the output data to be printed is selected, and the output data to be printed is printed on the selected tape. 9. The tape printer according to claim 8, wherein: 14. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said print control means controls to print the output data to be printed with a print width corresponding to a width of a tape selected from the plurality of tapes. Tape printing device.