JP2002283633A - Commodity information printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a commodity information printer capable of easily printing commodity information which is generated on the basis of a metered value of each commodity and is different for each commodity to labels with the use of a plurality of printing heads. SOLUTION: The commodity information printer 1 is provided with a metering part for metering commodities, and a printing mechanism part PM including the plurality of printing heads for printing the information on each commodity. A control unit of the commodity information printer 1 carries out a printing process for commodity information of a predetermined commodity while transferring the label without mat board in a direction of an arrow AR5 by using the thermal transfer head 22 at the downstream side successively to the thermal head 21 at the upstream side. Thereafter, the control unit feeds back the label in a direction of an arrow AR6 up to a printing reference position where printing by the thermal head 21 at the upstream side is possible. The control unit starts printing for commodity information of a next commodity on condition that both metering the next commodity and feeding back the label are completed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a product information printing apparatus for printing product information.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a product information printing device for printing product information, for example, a label printer for printing information for each product on a backing-less label, and an automatic weighing / packaging system using such a label printer are provided. There are devices and the like.

In such a product information printing device,
In some cases, a price determined by multiplying a unit price per 100 g (gram) by a weighing result of the product is included in the printed content of the label. In this case, since the content of the label is determined based on the weighing result of the product, the content printed on the label differs depending on the product to which the label is to be attached.

[0004] Such a product information printing apparatus prints information for each product using one head. Specifically, there is a case where a single color printing is performed using one heat-sensitive printing head. Furthermore, using a single thermal printing head to selectively change the heating temperature and print on thermal paper that develops two colors (for example, black and red) depending on the temperature, etc. To perform two-color printing.

[0005]

By the way, in recent years, in a label printer for printing such a label as described above, in order to enhance the expressiveness of the label, printing using more colors is required. In order to print more colors, it is necessary to perform printing using a plurality of print heads.

However, when printing is performed on a mount-less label using a plurality of print heads provided along the label transport path, the label moves with the printing operation. Therefore, when printing the product information on the product following the predetermined product, at the end of printing the product information on the predetermined product, the position of the label is determined by the printing standard of the print head that prints the product information on the next product. The product has passed the position, and if it is left as it is, a situation occurs in which it is not possible to normally print the product information on the next product.

[0007] In order to avoid this and respond to the above-described demand for multicolor printing, it is necessary to determine the printing content early in order to continuously print product information on a plurality of products. Since the print content on the label is determined based on the weighing result of the next product, it is difficult to determine the print content of the next product at a time earlier than the time of completion of printing on the predetermined product.

As described above, there is a problem that there is a difficulty in using a plurality of print heads in order to meet a demand for multicolor printing.

In view of the above problems, the present invention is to easily print different product information for each product, which is generated based on the weighing value of each product, on a label using a plurality of print heads. It is an object of the present invention to provide a product information printing device capable of performing the following.

[0010]

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a merchandise information printing apparatus for printing merchandise information, which is information on merchandise, on a mount-less label. Means for weighing the product, means for generating the product information based on the weighed value of the product, a plurality of print heads provided along the label transport path, and the ability to transport the label in both forward and reverse directions. And a back feed amount for controlling a back feed amount when the label is back fed to an arbitrary position among a plurality of reference positions after label printing by any of the plurality of print heads is completed. Control means, and printing of the product information of the next product is started on the condition that both the weighing of the next product and the back feed are completed. To.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the product information printing apparatus according to the first aspect, the plurality of reference positions are:
Each is a printing reference position of the plurality of printing heads.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the merchandise information printing apparatus according to the first or second aspect, a cutting means for cutting a long label base paper into a plurality of different lengths,
Is further provided.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the product information printing apparatus according to the third aspect, a glue activating means for activating glue on the back surface of the label is further provided.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the merchandise information printing apparatus according to the third or fourth aspect, the label placing means for placing the label piece cut by the cutting means, and the label piece And peel detecting means for detecting that the label piece has been peeled off from the label mounting means, and when the completion of peeling of the label piece is detected, the back feed is started.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the merchandise information printing apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the label conveying speed when the label is back-fed is the same as when the label is printed on the label. It is characterized in that it is set higher than the transport speed.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the merchandise information printing apparatus according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, the plurality of print heads include at least one thermal print head. And

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the product information printing apparatus according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, the plurality of print heads include at least one thermal transfer print head. And

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the merchandise information printing apparatus according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, the plurality of print heads are at least one heat-sensitive print head and at least one thermal transfer head. And a print head.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the merchandise information printing apparatus according to the ninth aspect, the plurality of print heads are a thermal print head arranged on the upstream side and a thermal transfer head arranged on the downstream side. And a thermal printing head is not printed on a portion of the printing surface of the label where printing is performed by the thermal transfer printing head.

According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, in the merchandise information printing apparatus according to any one of the first to tenth aspects, the merchandise information has a different format depending on the type of the merchandise or the sales information. It is characterized by.

[0021]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS <1. Overall Configuration> FIG. 1 is a side view showing an internal configuration of a product information printing device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of the product information printing device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a functional block diagram. Here, as an example of the product information printing device 1, an automatic weighing and packaging pricing device will be described.

As shown in FIG. 2 and the like, the merchandise information printing apparatus 1 includes a weighing section 10 for weighing each merchandise,
A plurality of print heads 20 for printing information for each product on a label reflecting the results of weighing by a label, and a label transport unit 30 for transporting the label in both forward and reverse directions on a transport path on which the plurality of print heads 20 are arranged. And a control unit 40 for controlling a label printing process by a plurality of print heads and a label transport process by a label transport unit.
A mechanism including the print head 20 and the label transport unit 30 is also referred to as a print mechanism (or label printer) PM. The print mechanism PM will be described later in detail. Further, the control unit 40 includes a product master that stores data (product name, price, etc.) of each product for each product, a weighing result receiving unit 41 that receives weighing result (weighing value) data from the weighing unit 10, There is provided a product information generating unit 42 for generating product information to be printed on a label based on the weighing result (weighing value) and product data, and a print processing control unit 43 for controlling a printing process using the product information. are doing.

The product information printing device 1 includes a print mechanism P
Using M, information (product information) for each product is printed on the mount-less label. A weighing unit 10 is incorporated in the product supply unit 2 (the center left side in FIG. 2) of the product information printing device 1. Then, the merchandise supplied to the merchandise information printing apparatus 1 is weighed, and merchandise information including a price according to the weighing result can be printed on the label. For example, a price determined by multiplying the unit price per 100 g (gram) by the measurement result of the product can be included as the print content of the label.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a label to be printed. In FIG. 3, the unit price (580 yen) per 100 g (gram) is the measured value of the product (390 grams).
Is included as the display content. However, here, "1980" yen after the discount is added as the final price. In order to attract shoppers' attention, "1980" representing the product price in the upper column is printed as red characters R1 with a black shadow, and the surrounding area R2 is displayed.
Is colored yellow.

The product information printing apparatus 1 includes a packaging unit 50 (see FIG. 2) for wrapping each product in an unwrapped state, and a label attaching device for attaching a label on which information for each product is printed to each product. A part 60 is further provided. Further, the control unit 40 includes a packaging process control unit 45 that controls the packaging process by the packaging unit 50 and a label pasting process control unit 46 that controls the label pasting process by the label pasting unit 60.

Here, the packaging section 50 has a packaging function of packaging a product such as meat placed on a container such as a tray using various packaging films. As shown in FIG. 1, the packaging unit 50 includes a transfer mechanism 51, a pair of left and right folding plates 52, a rear folding plate 53, and a pusher 54.
And a heat welding conveyor 55. This packaging part 5
The packaging function of No. 0 will be specifically described with reference to FIG.

The tray T supplied to the commodity supply unit 2 is moved rightward in FIG. 1, placed on the lifter LF, and then moved upward by the lifter LF. Also,
Prior to the raising operation, the film F is supplied in a stretched state above the tray T by the transfer mechanism 51 in advance. Then, as a result of the lifting operation by the lifter LF, the film F comes into close contact with the upper surface of the product placed on the tray T or the peripheral portion of the tray T. Furthermore, tray T
With the film F covering the upper surface of the left and right folding plates 52,
After folding the four sides of the film F to the bottom (lower) side of the tray T using the rear folding plate 53 and the pusher 54, each side of the film F folded to the bottom side of the tray T by the heat welding conveyor 55. By fusing the edges together, a packaging process can be realized.

The label affixing section 60 peels off a label (more precisely, "label piece") cut to a predetermined length after printing is completed, and removes the product (more specifically, the film F).
Affix to. As the label attaching section 60, for example, a type that adsorbs label pieces by vacuum adsorption can be employed.

As described above, the automatic weighing / packaging / pricing apparatus has a wrapping function and a label attaching function (pricing function) in addition to the weighing function and the printing function.

<2. Print Mechanism PM> Next, the print mechanism PM including the print head 20 and the label transport section 30 will be described in detail.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing an outline of the print mechanism PM. As shown in FIG. 4, the print mechanism PM includes a plurality of print heads 20 and a label transport unit 30.

Here, as the plurality of print heads 20,
A case in which two print heads 21 and 22 are provided will be described.

The print head 21 is a thermal print head, and the print head 22 is a thermal transfer print head. Hereinafter, both print heads 21 and 22 are also referred to as a thermal head 21 and a thermal transfer head 22, respectively.

The thermal head 21 is a print head capable of coloring the label printing surface by selectively heating the printing surface of the label for thermal recording. Also,
The thermal head 21 is a print head corresponding to a label capable of developing two colors, and can be selectively heated to different temperatures on a label printing surface. Thereby, the printing surface of the label can be colored in different colors (for example, black and red) according to the difference in the heating temperature. In addition, as the thermal head 21, a thermal head for monochrome printing can be used.

On the other hand, the thermal transfer head 22 is a print head that selectively heats the solid ink or the like applied to the thermal transfer ribbon TR and transfers it to the label printing surface (that is, a thermal transfer head corresponding to an ink ribbon type). . For example,
If a yellow ribbon is used as the thermal transfer ribbon TR, yellow printing can be performed on the label printing surface.
Similarly, by exchanging ribbons of each color such as green, blue, and red, it is possible to print each color on the label printing surface.

The print mechanism PM has a ribbon supply section 26, a ribbon take-up section 27, and a ribbon roller 28 for guiding, and appropriately supplies the thermal transfer ribbon TR to the thermal transfer head 22. can do. Specifically, when the ribbon take-up unit 27 rotates in the direction of the arrow AR1 (clockwise) in the figure, the thermal transfer ribbon TR wound around the ribbon supply unit 26 moves to the arrow A in the figure.
Proceed in the direction of R2. Thus, a new thermal transfer ribbon TR is supplied to the thermal transfer head 22. Then, by selectively heating the thermal transfer ribbon TR directly below the thermal transfer head 22, the solid ink or the like applied to the thermal transfer ribbon TR is transferred to the label LB. The used thermal transfer ribbon TR is wound up by the ribbon winding unit 27.

Further, the print mechanism PM has a label transport section 30. The label transport unit 30 includes a mount-less label supply unit 31, a guide roller 33, and a platen 3.
4a, 34b, label sensors 35a, 35b, a glue activating unit 36, a label receiving roller 37, a peeling sensor 38, and a label cutting unit 39.

The mount-less label supply section 31 includes a long (or band-shaped) label base paper having a cylindrical core portion 31c.
Has a backing-less label wound many times. As will be described later, the mount-less label is cut to an arbitrary length by the label cutting section 39. Also, this backing-less label has a heat-sensitive layer for thermal printing on the printing side (in other words, the front side (omotenmen)) side, and has an inactive glue side on the back side. ing. As will be described later, the glue surface on the back side is
Activated by this activated glue surface,
The cut label is attached to each product or the like.

One end of the mount-less label is fixed to the core portion 31c. Also, when printing,
The other end of the mount-less label supply unit 31 is held between the platen 34a and the print head 21 in a pressed state. Further, at the time of printing by the print head 22, the print head 22 is pressed and held between the platen 34b and the print head 22. An intermediate portion of the long mount-less label is guided by a guide roller 33 or the like.

The platens 34a and 34b are provided with motors M34a and M34b, respectively, and can rotate the platens 34a and 34b in both forward and reverse directions. Thereby, the label LB can be transported in two directions, the direction of the arrow AR5 and the direction of the arrow AR6. Here, two motors M34a, M3
4b, the direction of conveyance of the label LB is changed by appropriately rotating the platens 34a and 34b forward and backward. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and one motor is combined with a gear or a clutch. In this case, the direction of transport of the label LB may be changed by rotating the platens 34a and 34b forward and backward.

When the platen 34a (and the platen 34b when printing is performed by the head 22) also rotates in the direction of the arrow AR3, the label LB wound on the mountless label supply unit 31 advances in the direction of the arrow AR5. The thermal head 21 and the thermal transfer head 22
Supplied to Note that the above thermal head 21
The thermal transfer heads 22 are arranged in this order from upstream to downstream along the label LB transport path.
Further, the platens 34a and 34b also function as support members for the label LB in the printing process by the thermal head 21 and the thermal transfer head 22, respectively.

As described above, the platens 34a and 34b can be rotated in the reverse direction, and the labels are moved in the reverse direction (arrow AR6) on the transport path.
Transport (back feed). According to this back feed operation, it is possible to return the cut mount-less label to a predetermined position.

The label sensor 35a is a transmissive optical sensor having a light projecting part and a light receiving part, and can recognize the presence of a label based on the difference in light transmittance. Similarly, the label sensor 35b is also a transmissive optical sensor having a light projecting unit and a light receiving unit, and can recognize the presence of a label based on the difference in transmissivity. Therefore, these label sensors 35a, 35
By using b, the leading position of the cut backing label can be recognized.
Alternatively, it is possible to return to the printing start position by the thermal transfer head 22. More specifically, when transporting the label, the leading end of the label is
(Or 35b) and the label sensor 35a (3
The position of the label tip with respect to 5b) can be moved to an arbitrary position.

Thermal head 21 and thermal transfer head 2
2 is completed, the glue activating unit 3
6 activates the glue on the back of the label. The above-described backing-less label is in a state in which a glue component is applied in advance to the back surface of a long label base paper.
The application of heat by 6 activates the glue. As the glue activating unit 36, specifically, a unit that applies heat using near infrared rays can be used. Alternatively, a device that applies heat using a thermal head or the like may be used.

The label cutting section 39 has a cutting member such as a rotary cutter, and is capable of cutting a long label base paper to an arbitrary length (more specifically, according to the length of each label piece). (A plurality of different lengths). The label that has proceeded further forward (in the direction of arrow AR5) than the print head 22 is cut into an appropriate length by the label cutting section 39 and formed as a label piece. The cut label (that is, the label piece) is placed on the roller 37. That is, the roller 37 functions as a placement section (label placement section) for a printed label piece on which a printed label piece is placed. It is preferable to use a material having high releasability for the roller 37.

Here, the glue activating section 36 and the label cutting section 39 are arranged in this order from the upstream side to the downstream side. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and they may be arranged in the reverse order. good.

Further, the peeling sensor 38 can determine whether or not a label exists at the position P1 (FIG. 4). Therefore, by using the peeling sensor 38 to detect that the label that was present at the predetermined position P1 when the peeling was not completed is no longer present at the predetermined position P1, the peeling of the label is completed. Can be detected. That is, the peeling sensor 3
8 indicates that the label (that is, label piece) after cutting is
7 can be detected.

Therefore, the peeling sensor 38 can detect that the label piece placed on the roller 37 after cutting has been peeled by the operator's hand or the like. In addition, the peeled label piece is, for example, by the operator's hand.
Affixed to the corresponding product.

In this specification, the term “label” simply includes both a long “raw material for label” before cutting and a “label piece” after cutting.

The product information printing apparatus 1 further includes a control unit 40 (FIG. 2). The control unit 40 determines the print content of each product based on an instruction received at each input unit such as the operation input unit 3 (FIG. 1) and the communication input unit (not shown), and prints the product on the label. It has a product information generating unit 42 for generating information, and a print processing control unit 43 for controlling a printing process using the product information.

The operations described later are performed under the control of the control unit 40.

<3. Operation> FIGS. 5 and 6 are diagrams showing the operation in the product information printing apparatus. For details,
FIG. 5 is a time chart relating to the printing operation and the transport operation, and FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating label pieces (more precisely, areas corresponding to “label pieces” after cutting) at each time t.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a positional relationship between LB1, LB2,... And print heads 21, 22, and the like. In FIG. 6, the positional relationship between the two (the label and the print head) at each time t is sequentially shown over time from the uppermost stage to the lowermost stage as time elapses. With reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, a printing process for a label and the like will be described. Note that "label piece" more precisely means the state after label cutting, but in the following description, for the sake of convenience, an area corresponding to "label piece" is simply referred to as "label piece" even before cutting. ].

In the invention according to this embodiment, the printing process relating to the product information of the product following the predetermined product is completed when both the weighing and the back feed of the next product are completed (for example, the weighing described below). One of the features is an operation that starts on the condition that both the completion signal S2 and the backfeed completion signal S6 are in the ON state).
Hereinafter, this operation will be described.

Here, either the weighing of the next product or the back feed may be completed first. Hereinafter, first, a case where the weighing completion signal S2 is turned on after the backfeed completion signal S6, that is, a case where the weighing of the next product is completed after the backfeed will be described.

<3.1 Until Printing Starts on Label Piece LB1> In the uppermost row of FIG. 6, printing is performed on each label head LB0 by the print heads (thermal head 21 and thermal transfer head 22) with the conveyance in the direction of arrow AR5. Is completed, and then the label piece LB0 cut by the label cutting section 39 is supported by the roller 37, that is, the label piece LB0 is not completely peeled off.

When the label piece LB0 is completely peeled off, the control section 40 reverses the motors M34a and M34b and conveys the label in the direction of the arrow AR6, thereby moving the label to the area corresponding to the label piece LB1. Is fed back to a position where printing by the thermal head 21 is possible (a printing reference position of the thermal head 21). In this state, the back feed completion signal S6 indicating that the back feed has been completed is turned on (ON) (FIG. 5, time t7). At this time (time t7)
In, the measurement completion signal S2 has not been turned on yet.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 5, at time t8, when the weighing unit 10 (FIG. 2) completes the weighing of the commodity to which the label piece LB1 is to be attached, a weighing completion signal S2 indicating that the weighing is completed is generated. It is turned on (ON).
The weighing completion signal S2 is a signal that is turned on when the weighing signal S1 from the weighing section is stabilized and the weighing is completed.

Also, in response to the completion of the weighing signal S1 and the completion of the weighing (or the weighing completion signal S2), the data of the weighing result is transferred to the control unit 40 (FIG. 2). Further, a print image is developed based on the transferred measurement result (measurement value), and print data (product information) for the label piece LB1 is generated. Such product information is generated by the product information generation unit 42 (FIG. 2).
When the generation of the product information is completed, the product information generation completion signal S4 is turned on. At this time, the weighing completion signal S2 and the back feed completion signal S2
6 and both signals are on (ie both signals are on)
It has become.

At this time (time t10), the control unit 40 rotates the motors M34a and M34b at a predetermined speed to rotate the label piece LB1 in the direction of the arrow A.
The sheet is transported in the direction of R5 (FIG. 6), and the printing process for the label piece LB1 using the thermal head 21 is started.

As described above, the control unit 40 performs the printing process for the product information of the product following the predetermined product (that is, the printing process for the label piece LB1).
Measuring unit 1 for the product (next product) to which B1 should be attached
The condition is that both the weighing completion signal S2 indicating that the weighing by 0 has been completed and the backfeed completion signal S6 indicating that the backfeed has been completed (that is, both signals S2 and S6 are on). Start.

<3.2 After Printing of Label Piece LB1 Starts> Next, when the weighing of the next product has been completed before the back feed, that is, the weighing completion signal S2 is larger than the back feed completion signal S6. The case where the switch is turned on first will be described.

More specifically, a description will be given of the process from the start of the printing process on the label piece LB1 by the thermal head 21 at time t10 to the start of the printing process on the next label piece LB2.

As described above, at time t10, the control unit 40 sends a normal rotation command at a predetermined speed to the motors M34a and M34b as the transport control signal S5, and moves the motor in the direction of the arrow AR5 (FIG. 6) on the label. Of the label piece LB1 by sending the print control signal S7 to the thermal head 21 at the same time. At this point, the weighing completion signal S2, the product information generation completion signal S4, and the back feed completion signal S6 are reset to the off state.

The printing process for the label piece LB1 started at time t10 by the thermal head 21 is performed at time t11.
After the operation is completed, the label continues to be conveyed in the direction of arrow AR5, and when the label piece LB1 reaches the printing reference position of the thermal transfer head 22 (FIG. 6), the print control signal S8 for the thermal transfer head 22 is sent from the control unit 40. By being sent, the printing process by the thermal transfer head 22 is started (time t12). Then, after a predetermined period, at time t14
Then, the printing process by the thermal transfer head 22 ends.

As described above, while transporting the mountless label using the label transport unit 30 in the direction of the arrow AR5 along the transport path, a plurality of print heads arranged from the upstream side to the downstream side in this transport path. By using the print head (thermal head) 21 on the upstream side and the print head (thermal transfer head) 22 on the downstream side in the order of the print heads 21 and 22, the printing process for the predetermined label piece LB1 is performed.

Then, after the printing process by the thermal transfer head 22 is completed at the time t14, the transport of the label is continued for a predetermined period, and the transport control signal S5 is turned off at the time t16, whereby the transport of the label is stopped. . In accordance with the progress of the label in the direction of the arrow AR5, the label piece LB1 has already reached the position P1 immediately above the peeling sensor 38 at time t15 before time t16, and the peeling sensor 38 starts from time t15 at which the label piece LB1 arrives.
Is in the ON state. Then, after the time t16, the cutting signal S1 indicating that the label should be cut.
1 is issued and, accordingly, by the label cutting section 39,
The label is cut to an appropriate length, and the "label piece LB1"
Is generated. In this state, the peeling of the label piece LB1 has not been completed yet.

Thereafter, at time t17, when label piece LB1 is peeled off from roller 37 by label sticking section 60, output signal S9 of peeling sensor 38 is turned off. Then, in response to the “fall” of the output signal S9 of the peeling sensor 38, the peeling signal S10 indicating that the label piece LB1 has peeled is turned on. In other words, the peeling signal S10 is a signal that is turned on when the peeling process of the predetermined label piece by the label attaching unit 60 is completed. Thereafter, the peeled label piece LB1 is affixed by the label affixing unit 60 to a product that has been weighed on the assumption that the label piece should be affixed.

Further, in response to the peeling signal S10,
The control unit 40 sends a transport control signal S5 to the motors M34a and M34b to reversely rotate at a predetermined speed. Thereby, the label is transported in the direction of arrow AR6. As a result, back feed is performed in which the leading end position of the cut label is returned to the printing reference position of the thermal head 21. In this state, the back feed completion signal S6 indicating that the back feed has been completed is in the ON state (FIG. 5, time t18).

As described above, the control unit 40 controls the predetermined label piece L using the print head (thermal transfer head) 22 on the downstream side.
After the printing process for B1 is completed (more specifically, after the label piece LB1 is further peeled off), the label is moved to the arrow A.
By performing the back feed carried by the label carrying unit 30 in the direction of R6, the leading end position of the label is moved to the printing reference position of the print head (thermal head) 21 on the more upstream side.

On the other hand, the weighing section 10 turns on the weighing completion signal S2 at time t13 before the back feed completion time (time t18), and in response, the product information generation completion signal S4 is also turned on. It has become. More specifically, at time t13, in response to the weighing signal S1 stabilizing and the weighing being completed (or the weighing completion signal S2), the data of the weighing result is transferred to the control unit 40 (FIG. 2). Further, a print image is developed based on the transferred measurement result, and print data for the label piece LB2 is generated. Then, in response to the completion of the generation of the print data, the product information generation completion signal S4 is on.

Then, the control section 40 outputs the weighing completion signal S2
In addition to the fact that the product information generation completion signal S4 has already been turned on, and that the back feed completion signal S6 has been turned on at time t18,
At time t20, a forward rotation command at a predetermined speed is sent to the motors M34a and M34b as the transport control signal S5 to start transporting the label in the direction of the arrow AR5 (FIG. 6) and to control the printing of the thermal head 21. The signal S7 is transmitted. Thus, the printing process for the label piece LB2 is started.

As described above, the control unit 40 performs the printing process for the product information of the product following the predetermined product (that is, the printing process for the label piece LB2).
Of both the weighing completion signal S2 indicating that weighing by the weighing unit 10 has been completed for the next product to be pasted and the backfeed completion signal S6 indicating that backfeeding has been completed (that is, both signals S2 and S2). S6 is on).

Similarly, by repeating the above-described processing involving backfeeding sequentially, the printing process for the label of the product information of a plurality of products is performed.

Here, according to the above-described embodiment, the back feed operation as described above is performed, and on the condition that both the weighing of the next product and the back feed are completed, the product information of the next product is obtained. Since printing is started, product information generated based on the weighing value of each product and different for each product can be easily printed on the label using a plurality of print heads.

Further, the control unit 40 starts back feed for printing the product information of the next product when the peeling process by the label attaching unit 60 is completed for a predetermined label piece (for example, the label piece LB1). Then, the printing process of the next label piece LB2 is started on the condition that both the back feed completion signal S6 and the weighing completion signal S2 are ready, so that after the peeling process for the predetermined label piece LB1 is surely completed. The printing process for the next label piece LB2 can be started.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, it is preferable that the label transport speed in the direction of arrow AR6 when back-feeding the label is set to be higher than the label transport speed in the direction of arrow AR5 when printing on the label. . According to this, since the back feed is performed at a relatively high label transport speed, it is possible to improve the number of labels that can be printed per unit time, and it is also possible to perform a normal printing process at a relatively low label transport speed. Is performed, it is possible to prevent an adverse effect on print quality (that is, a decrease in print quality).

In the above description, labels for a single type of product are printed, but labels for a plurality of different types of products may be printed. That is,
The information printed on the label may have a different format depending on the type of product or sales information. Here, the format includes at least the layout and the colors of the individual items laid out. FIG.
FIG. 7A is a printing example of a label having a different format for different products or sales information, and FIG. 7A shows a label for a bargain sale of a product “Tarabanaga”.
FIG. 7B shows a label for the product “pumpkin boiled”, and FIG. 7C shows a label for normal sales of the product “Tarabagani”. Also in this case, it is possible to easily print different information for each label piece by using a plurality of print heads.

Further, by using a thermal head 21 arranged upstream for performing thermal printing and a thermal transfer head 22 arranged downstream for performing thermal transfer printing, the thermal transfer head 22 of the label printing surface is used. In a portion where thermal transfer printing is performed, it is preferable to generate print data so that thermal printing by the thermal head 21 is not performed. When performing thermal printing on the thermal layer of the label LB and thermal transfer printing using the thermal transfer ribbon TR on the printing surface of the label LB, when the thermal transfer ribbon TR is further transferred on the heated portion, the thermal transfer ribbon This is because the transfer of the TR ink or the like is difficult to be performed satisfactorily, and the print quality may deteriorate. On the other hand, in the above embodiment, in a portion of the label printing surface where the thermal transfer printing is performed by the downstream thermal transfer head 22, the print data is set in advance so that the thermal printing by the upstream thermal head 21 is not performed. Is generated, it is possible to prevent the print quality of a portion where thermal transfer printing is performed by the thermal transfer head 22 from deteriorating.

<4. Modification> In the above embodiment,
At the time when the stripping process of the label piece on which the product information of the predetermined product is printed is completed, the case where the back feed for printing the product information of the next product is started has been described,
The present invention is not limited to this, and the back feed may be started without removing the label piece on which the product information of the predetermined product is printed. However, in this case, in order to peel off each label piece after the printing is completed from the roller 37 in order and securely attach it to the product to be affixed, the correspondence between the printed label and the product to be affixed is determined. You will take steps to get it right. On the other hand, according to the method of the above embodiment, accurate association can be easily realized.

In the above embodiment, the plurality of print heads 20 include one thermal print head 21 and one thermal print head 21.
Although the case of including one thermal transfer print head 22 has been described, the present invention is not limited to this.

For example, as the plurality of print heads 20,
It may have one thermal print head and a plurality of thermal transfer print heads. More specifically, it has a plurality of print heads for printing the thermal transfer ribbon TR of each color (for example, two print heads of a green thermal transfer ribbon TR and a blue thermal transfer ribbon TR). You may. According to this, it is possible to reduce the number of times of replacement of the thermal transfer ribbon TR (ideally, it is not necessary to replace the thermal transfer ribbon TR) when printing a plurality of colors by the thermal transfer method. Further, full-color printing can be performed by using three thermal transfer heads for printing three basic colors of yellow (yellow), magenta (purple), and cyan (light blue), respectively, as the plurality of thermal transfer heads. .

Conversely, the plurality of print heads 20 may include one thermal transfer print head and a plurality of thermal print heads.

Further, printing may be performed using only a plurality of thermal transfer type print heads without using a thermal type print head. According to this, it is not necessary to use heat-sensitive paper as a label, and printing can be performed on a label using various types of paper. Alternatively, printing may be performed using only a plurality of heat-sensitive print heads without using a thermal transfer print head.

In the above embodiment, the printed label is affixed to the upper side of the product, but the printed label is affixed to the bottom of the product (more specifically, the lower side of the tray on which the product is placed). You may make it. Specifically, it is possible to provide the print mechanism PM on the lower side of the tray, and attach the cut label piece to the lower surface of the tray after the print processing by the print mechanism PM is completed.

Further, in the above embodiment, the case where various films are wound around the tray to perform the packaging process has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a packaging process may be performed in which the film is welded and / or blown off at the periphery of the tray at a high temperature using a heat roller to cover the film only on the upper surface of the tray. Further, a product information printing device having no packaging function may be used. Specifically, as shown in the schematic perspective view of FIG. 8, by placing a product on the weighing unit 10B, the weight of the product is measured, and a product that prints a label LB according to the measured value is printed. The information printing device 1B may be used. In this case, the packaging of the product is performed by an operator or the like.

In the above embodiment, the case where the printed label is automatically peeled off by the label affixing section 60 and is affixed to each product has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. May be peeled from the roller 37 by an operator of the product information printing apparatus by hand, and the peeled label may be attached to each product. That is, the printed label may be attached to each product by “hand application”.
Even in this case, the same processing as described above can be performed. By pulling the label held by the roller 37 toward the user, the operator can peel off the label from the roller 37 and affix the peeled label to each product. The product information printing device 1B shown in FIG.
Is an example of such a “hand pasted” device.

Further, in the above embodiment, after the printing process by the most downstream print head (thermal transfer head 22) is completed, the most upstream print head (thermal head 2) is used.
Although the case where the back feed is performed to the position where printing is possible according to 1) has been described, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, when four print heads 21, 22, 23, and 24 are provided in the transport path of the label LB, after the print processing by the print head 24 arranged at the most downstream is completed, Out of the three print heads arranged upstream of the print head 24, two print heads other than the print head 21 arranged most upstream (specifically, the second print head and the third print head arranged Print head 23,2
The label LB may be back-fed to a position (print reference position) where printing can be performed by any of 2). Needless to say, the label LB may be fed back until the leading end of the label LB reaches the printing reference position by the print head 21 arranged at the uppermost stream. Such a change in the back feed position can be determined by the control unit 40 described above.

The print head 24 located at the most downstream position
When the label LB is conveyed further downstream for the cutting operation and the peeling operation in the same manner as the above embodiment after the printing process by the printer is completed, the print content of the next product is printed only by the print head 24. If the label is to be printed, the label may be fed back to the printing reference position of the most downstream print head 24.

Further, the print head 2 disposed at the most downstream
After the printing process by a print head other than 4 is completed, the label is fed back until the leading end of the label reaches the print reference position of the print head or the print reference position of the print head arranged upstream from the print head. You may make it. More specifically, the label may be back-fed to the print reference position of the print head 23 after the print processing by the print head 23 disposed second from the most downstream is completed. The label may be fed back to the print reference position of the print head 22 disposed upstream of the head 23.

As described above, after the label printing by any of the plurality of print heads is completed, the control unit 40 determines the back feed amount when the label is back fed to an arbitrary position among the plurality of reference positions. Can be controlled.

Further, in the above embodiment, the printing reference position of each print head is exemplified as the reference position at the time of back feed, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example,
The back feed may be performed at a reference position shifted by a predetermined distance from the printing reference position of the plurality of print heads.

[0092]

As described above, claims 1 to 1 are described.
According to the product information printing device described in 1, the printing of the product information of the next product is started on the condition that both the weighing of the next product and the back feed are completed. It is possible to easily print different product information generated for each product based on the weighing value on a label by using a plurality of print heads.

In particular, according to the commodity information printing apparatus of the present invention, since the plurality of reference positions are respectively the printing reference positions of the plurality of print heads, the back feed can be performed to a more appropriate position. .

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the product information printing apparatus further comprises cutting means for cutting the long label base paper into a plurality of different lengths. And it is highly convenient to attach the printed label to each product or the like.

Further, according to the product information printing apparatus of the fourth aspect, since the glue activating means for activating the glue on the back side of the label is further provided, the label after printing is attached to each product or the like. High convenience.

According to the commodity information printing apparatus of the fifth aspect, when it is detected that the peeling of the label piece is completed, the back feed is started, and thereafter, both the weighing of the next commodity and the back feed are performed. Since the printing of the product information of the next product is started on the condition that the product information is completed, the peeling of the label piece on which the product information of the predetermined product is printed is surely completed. Printing can be started.

Further, according to the commodity information printing apparatus of the present invention, the label transport speed at the time of back-feeding the label is set higher than the label transport speed at the time of printing on the label. It is possible to improve the number of labels that can be printed per unit time while preventing the adverse effect on the label.

According to the commodity information printing device of the tenth aspect, the printing by the thermal printing head is not performed on the portion of the printing surface of the label where the printing is performed by the thermal transfer printing head. An adverse effect on print quality can be prevented.

Further, according to the commodity information printing apparatus of the present invention, even when the commodity information has a different format according to the kind of the commodity or the sales information,
Different information can be easily printed for each label piece by using a plurality of print heads.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view illustrating an internal configuration of a product information printing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram illustrating an overall configuration of the product information printing device 1.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a label to be printed.

FIG. 4 is a side view illustrating an outline of a print mechanism unit PM.

FIG. 5 is a time chart relating to a printing operation and a transport operation.

FIG. 6 shows each label piece and each print head 2 at each time.
It is a figure showing the positional relationship with 1,22, etc.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of printing labels having different formats for different products.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a product information printing device according to a modification.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a part of a print mechanism of a product information printing apparatus according to a modification.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 1B Product information printing device 10, 10B Measuring unit 20 to 24 Print head 21 Thermal head (thermal printing head) 22 Thermal transfer head (thermal transfer printing head) 30 Label transport unit 34a, 34b Platen 35 Label sensor 36 Glue activation Section 37 Roller (Label Placement Section) 38 Peeling Sensor 39 Label Cutting Section LB Label PM Printing Mechanism

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Norio Kawanishi F-term (reference) 2C058 AB15 AC06 AC15 AD06 AE04 AE10 AE14 AF06 AF51 GA11 GB05 GB31 at 959 Shimogaku, Ritto-cho, Kurita-gun, Kurita-gun, Shiga Pref. GB47 GB49 LA03 LA23 LB07 LB17 LB35 LC11 LC23 2C087 AA07 AC05 CB02 DA16 2C187 AC05 AD05 3E095 BA02 CA02 CA03 DA03 DA24 DA62 DA78 EA02 EA09 EA13 EA22 EA26 EA27 FA17

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A product information printing apparatus for printing product information, which is information on a product, on a mount-less label, comprising: means for weighing a product; and generating the product information based on a weighed value of the product. Means, a plurality of print heads provided along a label transport path, a label transport means capable of transporting labels in both forward and reverse directions, and label printing by any of the plurality of print heads is completed. After that, comprises a back feed amount control means for controlling the back feed amount when the label is back fed to an arbitrary position among the plurality of reference positions, wherein both the next product weighing and the back feed are performed. A product information printing device, wherein printing of the product information of the next product is started on condition that the product information is completed. 2. The product information printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of reference positions are printing reference positions of the plurality of print heads, respectively. 3. The merchandise information printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising cutting means for cutting the long label base paper into a plurality of different lengths. Printing device. 4. The merchandise information printing apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising: glue activating means for activating glue on the back surface of the label. 5. The merchandise information printing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the label piece is placed on the label piece cut by the cutting means, and the label piece is transferred from the label piece means. And a peel detecting means for detecting that the label has been peeled off, wherein the back feed is started when the completion of the peeling of the label piece is detected. 6. The merchandise information printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a label transport speed when back-feeding the label is set to be higher than a label transport speed when printing on the label. Product information printing device characterized by the following. 7. The merchandise information printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of print heads include at least one thermosensitive print head. 8. The product information printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of print heads include at least one thermal transfer print head. 9. The commodity information printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of print heads include at least one thermal print head and at least one thermal transfer print head. Product information printing device characterized by the above-mentioned. 10. The merchandise information printing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the plurality of print heads have a thermal print head arranged on an upstream side and a thermal transfer print head arranged on a downstream side. A product information printing apparatus, wherein printing is not performed by a thermal printing head on a portion of a printing surface of a label where printing is performed by a thermal transfer printing head. 11. The product information printing device according to claim 1, wherein the product information has a different format according to a type of the product or sales information. apparatus.