JP2003058950A - Device and method for issuing receipt - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a receipt issuing device capable of performing printing on both sides of a receipt. SOLUTION: Print heads 21, 22 are arranged on the front side Ra and the rear side Rb of receipt paper R, respectively. The printing is performed on the respective surfaces with the respective print heads as advancing the receipt paper R while pressing the receipt paper R on the respective print heads by using platen rollers 23, 24 oppositely arranged to the respective print heads by interposing the receipt paper. Sorting of pieces of printing data to be printed on the respective surfaces is performed by a method based on the types of data constituting all pieces of printing data or a method based on the quantity of all pieces of printing data in a printing data in a printing data sorting part after creating all pieces of printing data which are determined by the purchase contents of a customer and a merchandise master.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a receipt printing technique in a receipt issuing device such as a cash register used in a store or a restaurant.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In stores that carry out face-to-face weighing sales of food products, the product information such as the expiration date and quality display of each product is printed on the label attached to the product packaging. However, for example, in the following cases, the product information is not presented by the label.

A label issuing device has not been installed in a store.

When different types of products are sold together, they cannot be displayed on the label.

The products handled are usually sold unwrapped and cannot be labeled.

As far as quality display is concerned, although there is no legal obligation to display it under the present circumstances, consumers are highly interested in information regarding quality, and it is required to display product information even in the case described above.

As a countermeasure, it is conceivable to print not only the billing details but also the product information on the receipt issued in the cash register, instead of printing and pasting the product information on the label. However, since the existing cash register can print only on one side, printing the product information causes a problem that the receipt to be issued becomes long, the consumption amount of the receipt paper increases, and the cost increases.

This problem is solved by printing on both sides of the receipt paper supplied as continuous paper.
As a device for performing double-sided printing on such continuous paper, there is, for example, a wire dot printer disclosed in JP-A-6-106783.

[0009]

However, in this wire dot printer, since printing is performed one by one on each side in sequence, it takes a longer printing time than when printing only on one side, and the printing mechanism is complicated. have.

Further, in order to suppress the consumption of the receipt paper, it is better that the difference in the amount of data printed on each surface of the receipt paper is smaller, but on the other hand, the surface printed depending on the contents to be printed may be different. It is preferable that the receipt issuer can select either one, since it is considered that it is more convenient for the consumer to have a fixed one.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and is a receipt issuing device capable of performing printing on both sides of a receipt sheet at substantially the same time, and further, depending on the content or amount of data to be printed. An object of the present invention is to provide a receipt issuing device having a function of allocating data to be printed on each side.

[0012]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention of claim 1 is an apparatus for issuing a receipt, which comprises: (a) printing on the first side of continuous paper for receipt;
A print head; b) a first platen roller which is arranged so as to face the first print head and conveys the continuous paper while press-contacting the first print head; and c) sandwiching the advancing surface of the continuous paper, A second print head which is arranged in a space opposite to the first print head and prints on the second surface of the continuous paper, and d) is arranged to face the second print head,
A second platen roller that conveys the continuous paper while pressing it against the second print head.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a device for issuing a receipt, wherein the printing on the first side of the continuous paper for receipt and the printing on the second side of the continuous paper are performed in parallel. Characterize.

A third aspect of the present invention is the receipt issuing device according to the first or second aspect, wherein the printing on the first side and the printing on the second side of the continuous paper are started at substantially the same time. And a print control means for performing the operations at substantially the same speed.

A fourth aspect of the present invention is the receipt issuing device according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the print data sorting section sorts the data to be printed on each side of the continuous paper. It is characterized by including.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of issuing a receipt, comprising a step of performing printing on the first side of the continuous paper for receipt and printing on the second side of the continuous paper in parallel. It is characterized by being provided.

The invention according to claim 6 is the receipt issuing method according to claim 5, wherein the printing on the first side and the printing on the second side of the continuous paper is started at substantially the same time, and It is characterized by being performed at the same speed.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, the receipt issuing method according to the fifth or sixth aspect further comprises a print data allocating step of allocating data to be printed on each surface of the continuous paper. Is characterized by.

[0019]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS <First Embodiment><Outline of Cash Register> FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a cash register 1 which functions as a receipt issuing device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the cash register 1 mainly includes an input operation unit 10, a printing unit 20, a first display unit 31, a second display unit 32, and a cash storage unit 40.

The input operation section 10 is composed of a ten-key pad and a plurality of input keys to which operation contents are assigned in advance. In accordance with the input instruction from the input operation unit 10, various processes such as input of the unit price and the number of products and calculation of the total amount of money are performed.

The printing unit 20 issues a receipt on which the cost details and product information are printed. The printing unit 20 can print on both sides of the receipt. Details of double-sided printing in the printing unit 20 will be described later.

The first display section 31 and the second display section 32 are
The unit price, total payment amount, change amount, etc. of the entered products are displayed. The first display unit 31 is on the operator side, the second display unit 3
Item 2 is directed to the customer side, and information such as the payment amount can be displayed to both the worker and the customer.

The cash storage unit 40 is configured to store various banknotes and coins therein, and can be opened and closed by a predetermined operation to deposit and withdraw money.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an outline of the function of the cash register 1. Cash register 1
A control unit 50 for controlling the entire cash register 1 is provided therein. The control unit 50 includes a CPU 51, which is a main body thereof, and a ROM, which is a read-only memory.
52 and a RAM 53 that is a readable / writable memory,
The storage unit 54 includes an S-RAM or the like for storing the program 54p, the unit price of a product, and a product master MS in which various product information is stored, and a timer 55 having a time and date counting function. The CPU 51 and the like are electrically connected via a bus line 59.
In addition, the bus line 59 of the control unit 50 has an input operation unit 10, a printing unit 20, and a first display unit 3 of the cash register 1.
The 1st, 2nd display part 32, the cash storage part 40, etc. are also electrically connected.

Based on the program 54p, the control unit 50 performs a predetermined process in response to the input from the input operation unit 10, and at the same time, the printing unit 20, the first display unit 31, the second display unit 32, the cash storage. The operation control of the unit 40 and the like is performed.

<Double-sided Printing in Printing Section> Next, double-sided printing on continuous paper realized by the printing section 20 of the cash register 1 according to the present embodiment will be described.

FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing a main part of the printing unit 20 and an outline of double-sided printing. FIG. 3A is a diagram showing a state before printing is performed. The printing unit 20 includes a first print head 21, a second print head 22, a first platen roller 23, a second platen roller 24, and a cutting unit 25. Further, in the printing unit 20,
The receipt paper R is supplied as roll-shaped continuous paper.

The first print head 21 is arranged in parallel with the width direction of the receipt paper R, and is responsible for printing on a surface (hereinafter, referred to as a front surface) Ra of the receipt paper R which is facing outward from the center of the roll. The second print head 22 is a receipt paper R.
As viewed from the first print head 21, the print sheet is arranged on the side opposite to the first print head 21 in parallel with the width direction of the receipt paper R, and prints on a surface (hereinafter referred to as a back surface) Rb opposite to the front surface. The first platen roller 23 is a receipt sheet R (in the state where the receipt sheet R is removed, a conveyance path of the receipt sheet R).
The second platen roller 24 is disposed so as to face the first print head 21 with the print sheet 21 interposed therebetween, and the second print is performed with the receipt paper sheet R (in the state where the receipt paper sheet R is removed, a conveyance path of the receipt paper sheet R). It is arranged so as to face the head 22.
First platen roller 23 and second platen roller 24
Is to rotate at the same speed while being synchronized by the drive mechanism M schematically shown in FIG. 3D, and convey the receipt paper R while pressing it. By the operation of the first platen roller 23 and the second platen roller 24, the receipt paper R is indicated by the arrow AR.
It is sent in the direction of 1, and printing is continuously performed on both sides at approximately the same speed. The cutting unit 25 has a function of cutting the receipt paper R after printing is completed. Here, the distance between the cut portion 25 and the first print head 21 is L1, and the distance between the first print head 21 and the second print head 22 is L2. The distance L1 corresponds to the distance between the receipt leading edge position RT and the print start position PT.

When printing is started in the state of FIG. 3 (a), the first print head 21 and the second print head 22 respectively
Printing is started simultaneously on the surfaces Ra and Rb that are in charge of printing. FIG. 3B is a diagram showing a state in which printing is being performed on both sides. Hereinafter, the surface Ra by the first print head 21
The area printed on the back surface Rb is Pa, and the area printed on the back surface Rb by the second print head 22 is Pb. Figure 3
As shown in (b), the surface R formed by the first print head 21
The printing on a and the printing on the back surface Rb by the second print head 22 are executed with a shift of the distance L2 between both heads. Further, the area of the distance L1 between the receipt leading edge position RT and the print start position PT is a blank portion which is not printed.

However, in the case of the present embodiment, since the printing on the front surface Ra and the back surface Rb is independently controlled by the control unit 50, the printing on both sides is not always executed simultaneously. It is possible to start and stop printing on either side first, or to print on only one side.

FIG. 3C shows the case where the printing on the front surface Ra and the printing on the back surface Rb end at the same print end position PE. In this case, the second print head 22 finishes printing at the print end position PE first on the back surface Rb, and the receipt paper R is fed by the distance L2 without printing on the back surface Rb. The printing length of the receipt paper R on the front surface Ra in the continuous direction is LPa, and the back surface R is
The print length of the receipt paper R in b in the continuous direction is set to LP
If b, in the case of FIG.

[0032]

[Equation 1]

It becomes Note that, hereinafter, when the length of the receipt paper R in the continuous method is referred to, it is simply referred to as “length”.

In FIG. 3D, the printing end position PE of the receipt paper R printed as shown in FIG.
The state has reached 5. In this state, the receipt paper R is cut at the print end position PE. As a result, the remaining portion returns to the state shown in FIG. 3A and is ready for the next printing.

As described above, in the cash register 1 functioning as the receipt issuing device of the present invention, both sides of the receipt paper R can be printed simultaneously and in parallel. Further, it is not necessary to reverse the receipt paper R, and the printing time can be shortened as compared with the case where the print contents on both sides are sequentially printed one by one.

<Data Processing in Cash Register> FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a data flow in the control unit 50 of the cash register 1. In FIG. 4, an accounting processing unit 60, a print data creation unit 70, and a print data distribution unit 80 include a CPU 51, a ROM 52, a RAM 53,
It is realized as a function of the storage unit 54 and the like.

The product master MS is a database of product unit prices and product information (expiration date, raw material name, etc.), and is stored in the storage unit 54. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the product master MS. The product master MS in FIG. 5 is a product number MS
It is a database consisting of nine items: 1, product name MS2, sales unit MS3, unit price MS4, consumable period MS5, raw materials and additives MS6, calories MS7, nutrients MS8, and storage temperature MS9. The item elements of the product master MS are not limited to these.

When the product name and quantity (quantity, weight, etc.) of the product that the customer desires to purchase are input from the input operation unit 10 as the purchase data DB, the accounting processing unit 60 stores the product master MS for each product. The sales amount is calculated one by one by referring to the product unit price, and finally the tax amount and the total amount are calculated. These are displayed as display data DD each time the first display unit 3 is calculated.
In addition to being presented on the first and second display units 32, they are stored as sales data DS. For example, if the customer is a product master MS
When you want to purchase four "vegetable croquette" registered as part number 00001 and "gourmet croquette" registered as part number 001002 respectively, each product name MS2, product number MS1, unit price MS4 "Vegetable croquette" sales amount of 240 yen and "Gourmet croquette" sales amount of 480 yen, tax amount of 36 yen when the tax rate is 5%, and total amount of 756 yen are sales data DS Constitute. After all the input processing is completed and there is a deposit from the customer, deposit / withdrawal in the cash storage unit 40 becomes possible.

The print data creation unit 70 uses the sales data DS
From the item elements (MS5 to MS9) related to product information stored in the product master MS, the date / time data DT obtained from the timer 55, the fixed form data and the additional data (not shown), The corresponding full print data DPA is created. The expiry date obtained from the consumable period MS5 and the date and time data DT, which are one item of the product master MS, and the items MS6 to MS9 form product information data DI described later. The date and time data DT
Is also used to determine the date and time of sale. Further, the fixed form data is data that should always be printed, such as the store name and the sales date and time, and the additional data is data that is not required to be printed but is printed as necessary, such as a sales promotion message. For example, in the case of the above-mentioned "vegetable croquette" and "gourmet croquette", since the consumable period MS5 is 2 days, the sales date and time is 200 from the date and time data DT.
If obtained at 17:45 on March 18, 1st, the expiration date will be March 20, 2001.

The print data distribution unit 80 converts all print data DPA into the first print data DPa according to a predetermined instruction.
And the second print data DPb. These data are printed on each side of the receipt.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of all print data DPA. In FIG. 6, the entire print data DPA is shown in a conventional print format in which only one side of the receipt paper R0 is printed. As shown in FIG. 6, all print data DP
A is sales data DS, which is data such as the product name, unit price, quantity, and price of the product purchased by the customer, product information data DI, which is data such as the expiration date and raw material name, and the header and footer parts of the receipt. And the fixed form data DF corresponding to Alternatively, additional data such as a point service or a sales promotion message may be provided. Of these, the sales data DS is composed of sales data DS (1), DS (2), ... For each individual product, and total data DST including a total amount of money and a tax amount. The product information data DI is composed of product information data DI (1), DI (2) ... For each product. In addition, the standard data DF also includes a plurality of standard data D depending on the content and print position.
It may be divided into F (1), DF (2), ....

<Distribution of Print Data> On the other hand, the cash register 1 according to the present embodiment distributes all the print data DPA shown in FIG. 6, which is all the data to be printed, to both sides of the receipt paper R for printing. It is possible. This is the data that makes up the entire print data DPA,
This is equivalent to printing in two groups. In the present embodiment, the print data allocating unit 80 has a method of allocating print data for each type of data to be printed, that is, for each group of contents. This is method 1. The method 1 will be described below.

<Method 1: Sorting by print data type>
In the method 1, which data is to be printed on the front surface Ra and the back surface Rb of the receipt paper is predetermined by the user as a print format, and when all print data DPA is created, the data is sorted according to this print format. This is a method of printing on each side. Therefore, in the method 1, the surface Ra is determined by the amount of the distributed data.
There may be a case where 1 and the printing end position of the back surface Rb1 do not match. When it is determined from the distributed data amount that a sufficiently large blank space will occur on either the front surface Ra1 or the back surface Rb1, the additional data DA, which is data such as a sales promotion message that does not necessarily need to be printed, is registered in advance. In addition to the all print data DPA, printing can be set. Alternatively, the additional data DA may also be set in advance as a target to be distributed.

FIG. 7 shows receipt paper R in method 1.
It is a figure which shows the example of printing on both sides of 1. FIG. 7A shows the surface R
a1 and FIG. 7B show the back surface Rb1. Figure 7
Corresponds to the case where the first print data DPa printed on the front surface Ra1 and the second print data DPb printed on the back surface Rb1 are set as follows in the creation of the print format.

First print data DPa: Standard data DF (DF (1), DF (2)); Sales data DS (DS (1), DS (2), DST); Additional data DA; Second print data DPb Product information data DI (DI (1), DI (2)); This means that the front surface Ra1 mainly presents information relating to the sales amount and the back surface Rb1 mainly presents product information. The distances L1 and L2 and the print lengths LPa and LPb all correspond to the distances or print lengths shown in FIG.

In the case of FIG. 7, all the print data DP of FIG.
Just by allocating A, the printing length LPb of the back surface Rb1
And the distance L2 between the heads and the sum LPb + L2, the print length LPa0 of the front surface Ra1 becomes shorter than the front surface Ra1.
Since there is a blank at the bottom of the
Insert and make use of the blank part. By this, the surface R
The difference between the print length LPa of a1 and the print length LPb of the back surface Rb1 is reduced.

Depending on the print format setting and print content, a blank portion may occur on the back surface Rb, but in this case as well, it is possible to set to perform the same processing.

As described above, in the case of the present embodiment, by utilizing the back surface that cannot be sufficiently performed by the conventional method,
While suppressing the consumption of receipt paper and maintaining the printing time, it is possible to present product information that was not available with conventional receipts. With this, depending on the importance of the content,
Information can be sorted on the front and back of the paper. It can be said that the purchaser who receives the receipt can easily identify the information even if the receipt has new information that is not included in the conventional receipt.

<Second Embodiment> In the first embodiment,
In order to print the data to be printed on the receipt on both sides of the receipt paper, the method of allocating the print data is the method of allocating the print data according to the print data type (print content) as in Method 1. The method is not limited to this. In the second embodiment, based on the amount (length) of data to be printed on the receipt paper, the length of the receipt paper required for printing should be as short as possible, or a blank part should be created as little as possible. , Is a method of allocating print data. This is method 2
And

<Method 2: Sorting by print data amount>
The method 2 is based on the print length assumed from the total print data DPA, so that the usage amount of the receipt paper R is as short as possible and the first print data DPa corresponding to the print content on the front surface Ra and the back surface Rb are printed. This is a method of determining the second print data DPb corresponding to the print content of.

When the length of all print data DPA is LP0, the length of the receipt paper R is the shortest.

[0052]

[Equation 2]

It is when Taking the difference between both sides of Equation 2,

[0054]

[Equation 3]

Which is the same value as Equation 1. That is, when printing a certain length of print data on both sides,
As shown in FIG. 3C, the usage amount of the receipt paper R is minimum when printing is started on both sides of the receipt paper R at the same time and printing on the front surface Ra is finished at the print end position on the back surface Rb.

When the print data is distributed by the method 2, first, the print order of each data forming the total print data DPA is determined in advance. When the print length LP0 of all print data DPA is determined based on the purchase data DB, the print lengths LPa and LPb on both sides are determined according to Equation 2, so that the data in earlier order is the first print data DPa and the remaining data is the first data. 2 is defined as print data DPb.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a printing example in which the entire print data DPA of FIG. 6 is printed on both sides of the receipt paper R2 based on the method 2. FIG. 8A shows the surface Ra2.
8B shows the back surface b2. The printing example of FIG. 8 corresponds to the case where the printing order is determined as follows.

1) Standard data DF (1); 2) Sales data DS (DST, DS (1), DS
(2)); 3) product information data DI (DI (1), DI (2)); 4) standard data DF (2); However, the printing order is not limited to this, and the additional data DA is all printing data. It may be included in the DPA.

Further, from the relation of the print length, the fixed form data DF (1) of 1) to a part of the product information data DI (1) are the first print data DPa on the front surface Ra2, and the rest are the second print data. It is printed on the back surface Rb2 as DPb.

Most of the receipts printed by the conventional method are printed with the total amount of money on the lower part of the paper, but in the case of this embodiment, if the printing order is set to the latter stage according to the conventional method. It is conceivable that the printing may be performed on the back surface Rb2, or in some cases, the printing may extend over both surfaces. Since the total amount of money is the print content that the customer pays most attention to in the receipt, in order to avoid the reduction in visibility caused by them, in the case of FIG. 8, the total data DST should be printed next to the standard data DF (1). It is set.

As described above, in the method 2,
By distributing all the print data DPA so that the print length conforms to the equation 2, the length of the receipt paper used can be minimized. According to the method 2, when the method 1 is followed, the print data is largely biased to either the front surface or the back surface, and a blank portion is generated even in the case of the entire print data DPA in which the blank portion is not sufficiently filled with only the additional data DA. It is possible to print on both sides without the need. Also, by minimizing the length of the receipt paper, the printing time is also minimized.

<Modification> ◎ A configuration may be adopted in which the user can appropriately switch between the method 1 shown in the first embodiment and the method 2 shown in the second embodiment.

The cash register 1 may be provided with a data communication unit for communicating with other devices via a communication line. Further, it may be configured to include a bar code reader and read the purchase data by a bar code.

Image data such as a store logo mark may be included as one type of print data.

The format of sorting according to the print data type in the first embodiment is not limited to the above example. For example, you may set as follows.

First print data DPa: Standard data DF (1); Total data DST; Sales data DS (1); Product information data DI (1); Second print data DPb: Sales data DS (2); Product information Data DI (2); Standard data DF (2); FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the receipt paper R3 printed based on this. 9A shows the front surface Ra3, and FIG. 9B shows the back surface Rb3.

Printing on both sides does not necessarily have to be started at the same time. When there is a small amount of print data on either side, or when it is desired to center the print area, printing on that side may be started with a delay. For example, in FIG.
On the back surface Rb3 of (b), a region corresponding to the length L3 is a blank part. This is because the second print head 22 does not print in this region after the start of printing, and the receipt paper R3 is idly fed. , It is because printing is started after passing.

[0068]

As described above, according to the inventions of claims 1 to 7, printing can be performed on both sides of a continuous paper without reversing the continuous paper.

In particular, according to the inventions of claims 2 to 7, the time required for printing can be shortened as compared with the case where printing is performed on each side one by one.

In particular, according to the inventions of claim 3, claim 4, claim 6, and claim 7, it is possible to start printing on both sides at the same time and perform printing in parallel at the same speed.

Particularly, according to the inventions of claims 4 and 7, it is possible to set how to distribute the print data to both sides according to the length and content of the data to be printed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a cash register 1. FIG.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a function of a cash register 1.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating double-sided printing in the printing unit 20.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a data flow in a cash register 1.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a product master MS.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of all print data DPA.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of printing based on method 1.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a printing example based on method 2.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a modified example of a printing example based on method 1.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 cash register 10 Input operation section 20 Printing section 21 1st print head 22 Second print head 23 First Platen Roller 24 Second Platen Roller 25 cut section 31 first display 32 Second display 40 cash storage 50 control unit PE print end position PT print start position R R0 R1 R2 R3 Receipt paper RT receipt tip position Ra Ra1 Ra2 Ra3 surface Rb Rb1 Rb2 Rb3 Back side

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A device for issuing a receipt, comprising: a) a first print head for printing on a first side of a continuous paper for receipt; and b) arranged so as to face the first print head, A first platen roller that conveys the first print head while pressing it; and c) is disposed in a space opposite to the first print head across the advancing surface of the continuous paper, A second print head that prints on a surface thereof; and d) a second platen roller that is arranged to face the second print head and that conveys the continuous paper while pressing the continuous paper against the second print head. Receipt issuing device. 2. An apparatus for issuing a receipt, wherein printing on the first side of continuous paper for receipt and printing on the second side of the continuous paper are performed in parallel. apparatus. 3. The receipt issuing device according to claim 1, wherein printing on the first side and printing on the second side of the continuous paper is performed.
A receipt issuing apparatus, comprising: a printing control unit that starts at substantially the same time and performs at substantially the same speed. 4. The receipt issuing device according to claim 1, further comprising a print data distribution unit that distributes data to be printed on each surface of the continuous paper. Receipt issuing device. 5. A method for issuing a receipt, comprising the step of performing printing on the first side of the continuous paper for receipt and printing on the second side of the continuous paper in parallel. How to issue a receipt. 6. The receipt issuing method according to claim 5, wherein the printing on the first side and the printing on the second side of the continuous paper is performed.
A receipt issuing method, which is started at substantially the same time and performed at substantially the same speed. 7. The receipt issuing method according to claim 5, further comprising a print data sorting step of sorting data to be printed on each surface of the continuous paper. Issuing method.