JP2004149135A - Label printer and print control method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a label printer capable of performing reliable high-speed operation when constituting a label affixing system which reliably performs the printing on a label piece portion while skipping the label piece portion even when a label is missing or peeled, and is assembled with a label affixing machine, and a printing control method thereof. <P>SOLUTION: The label printer skips a label piece portion without performing any printing operation when no label piece on a mount is detected, and prints a label piece which is transferred next, and controls a printing unit so that the label piece is printed when a label piece on the mount is detected by a sensor, the mount of the label piece portion is not printed when no label piece on the mount is detected by the sensor, but the label piece is printed when the label piece transferred next is detected. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a label printer and a printing control method therefor, and more particularly to a label printer for printing on a continuous label having a plurality of label pieces temporarily attached on a backing paper, and a printing control method therefor.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A conventional label printer 1 will be outlined based on FIGS. 2 to 5.
FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of the label printer 1. The label printer 1 has a label supply unit 3 that holds a label continuous body 2 wound in a roll shape, a label transfer unit 4, and a first It has a sensor 5, a second sensor 6, a label printing unit 7, an ink ribbon 8, a label peeling unit 9, a mount winding unit 10, and a control unit 11.
The label printer 1 may be used alone, but an example in which the label printer 1 is used by incorporating it into the label attaching system 12 will be described.
The label attaching system 12 includes, in addition to the label printer 1, a host computer 13, a label attaching machine 14, and an article carrier 15 such as a belt conveyor.
[0003]
FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the label continuum 2. The label continuity 2 has a plurality of label pieces 17 temporarily attached to the surface of a band-shaped mount 16 and a pitch on the bottom (back) side of the mount 16. This is a configuration in which a mark 18 for detection is formed, which is held in a roll form in the label supply section 3, and is transferred from the label supply section 3 to the label transfer section via guide rollers 19, 20, 21, 22 and the like. This is fed out in a band shape in the direction of 4 and the label printing section 7. A slight gap G is provided between the label pieces 17 on the mount 16.
[0004]
The first sensor 5 and the second sensor 6 detect the label continuum 2 transferred in the label transfer unit 4.
The first sensor 5 is, for example, a transmission-type sensor, and is configured such that the difference between the transmittance of the mount 16 in the gap G and the transmittance of the combined portion of the mount 16 and the label piece 17 causes the label piece of the label continuum 2 to be different. 17 and its pitch are detected.
The second sensor 6 is, for example, a reflection sensor, and detects the pitch of the label pieces 17 based on the difference between the reflectance of the mark 18 on the back surface of the mount 16 and the reflectance of the back surface of the mount 16.
Therefore, the first sensor 5 and the second sensor 6 output a detection signal as shown in the lower part of FIG.
[0005]
The label printing unit 7 has a thermal head 23 and a platen roller 24, sandwiches the label continuous body 2 therebetween, drives the platen roller 24 to rotate at a predetermined pitch, and supplies a print signal of a predetermined pattern to the thermal head 23. The information on the predetermined print content can be printed on the label piece 17 of the label continuum 2.
[0006]
The label peeling section 9 is constituted by a turning pin or the like, and only the mount 16 of the label continuous body 2 is turned by driving the mount winding section 10 to peel off the label piece 17 from the mount 16 and to the label attaching machine 14. It can be supplied.
[0007]
The host computer 13 outputs predetermined print information to the label printer 1 and controls the print information, and also controls the entire label attaching system 12.
The label sticking machine 14 sticks the label piece 17 peeled off by the label peeling section 9 of the label printer 1 to the article M on the article transporter 15.
[0008]
FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a control circuit of the label printer 1. The label printer 1 includes the control unit 11 (CPU), a ROM 25 and a RAM 26, a drive circuit 27 for a thermal head 23, and a drive for a platen roller 24. The circuit 28, the first sensor 5 and the second sensor 6, the keyboard 29, and the interface circuit 30 are connected.
The control unit 11 receives various signals from the host computer 13 via the interface 30.
[0009]
The printing control of the label printer 1 having such a configuration will be described below with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
The label printer 1 receives the print information for one label piece 17 from the host computer 13 in step S1, analyzes the data in step S2, and prints on the label piece 17 in a predetermined layout in step S3. Edit the print as follows.
[0010]
Next, in step S4, it is determined whether or not there is a label piece 17 on the backing paper 16, and if so, printing is executed in step S5. If there is no label piece 17 in step S4 (see FIG. 4), in step S6, the transfer of the label continuous body 2 is stopped, and an error is displayed.
That is, especially when the entire label application system 12 needs to be operated at a high speed, the sheet 16 is guided by the guide rollers 19, 20, 21, 22 during the transfer of the label transfer unit 4 of the label printer 1. This is because the possibility that the label piece 17 is peeled off from the substrate increases, and in the case of this peeling, it is necessary to stop the entire label attaching system 12 including the label printer 1 and check the cause of the error.
When the removal of the label piece 17 is detected, as a conventional treatment, the label piece 17 is printed up to the position where the label piece 17 is present (up to the label piece 17A and the label piece 17B) as shown in FIG. (The part where the label piece 17C has been peeled off, the imaginary line in the figure), an error is displayed as in step S6, and the transfer of the label continuous body 2 is stopped.
Alternatively, in a label sticking system in which the processing speed is relatively low and it is not necessary to detect whether or not the label piece 17 has come off, if the label piece 17C comes off from the backing paper 16 by any chance, There is a problem that printing is performed from the piece 17A and the label piece 17B to the surface of the mount 16 at the label piece 17C.
[0011]
However, as described above, it is required to operate the entire label attaching system 12 at a high speed, and when the label piece 17 comes off, printing on the mount 16 of the label piece 17C is particularly required for label continuous. When printing the print information including the serial number sequentially on the mount 16 of the body 2, the peeled portion is not printed on the label piece 17C, resulting in a fatal malfunction.
The label pasting machine 14 is also operated in the label pasting system 12 in conjunction with the label printer 1, and the host computer 13 peels off the label piece 17 as described above due to the complexity of control of the entire system. In the case where the error occurs, it is a practical problem that the entire system is temporarily stopped and the situation can be dealt with only after confirming the situation, and there is a problem that the efficient operation is hindered.
[0012]
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-252021
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to provide a label printer capable of reliably printing on each label piece on a mount and a printing control method thereof.
[0014]
Another object of the present invention is to provide a label printer and a print control method thereof that enable reliable high-speed operation when configuring a label pasting system in combination with a label pasting machine or the like.
[0015]
Another object of the present invention is to provide a label printer and a print control method thereof that can cope with missing or peeling of a label particularly when printing a print content including a serial number on a label piece.
[0016]
In addition, the present invention is particularly directed to printing a printed content including a serial number on a label piece, even if the label is missing or peeling off, skipping the label piece portion and reliably printing the portion where the label piece is next. It is an object of the present invention to provide a label printer and a printing control method thereof.
[0017]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
That is, the present invention, when it is detected that there is no label piece on the mount, skips this label piece part and does not perform the printing operation, but performs printing on the next transferred label piece. The first invention is directed to a sensor that detects the transfer of a continuous label body in which a plurality of label pieces are temporarily attached to a band-shaped backing paper, and a printing unit that prints a predetermined content on the label piece. And a control unit that controls the printing unit according to a detection signal from the sensor, wherein the control unit detects the label piece on the backing paper by the sensor. When the printing unit prints on the label piece and the sensor does not detect the label piece on the mount, the printing unit does not print on the mount of the label piece and then moves Which come to perform printing on the label pieces upon detection of the label strip, the label printer and controlling the printing unit.
[0018]
A second invention is a sensor that detects the transfer of a label continuum in which a plurality of label pieces are temporarily attached to a band-shaped backing sheet, a printing unit that prints predetermined contents on the label pieces, and a detection signal from the sensor. A control unit that controls the printing unit according to the label printer, wherein the control unit detects the presence or absence of the label piece on the backing sheet by the sensor, and When the label piece is detected, after this detection, the print contents of the printing section are edited and printed, and the printing section prints on the label piece and detects the label piece on the mount. When not, the printing unit does not print on the mount of the label piece portion, so that when the next label piece to be transferred is detected, the label is printed on the label piece after the print editing, A print control method for a label printer and controls the serial printing unit.
[0019]
After detecting the label piece by the sensor, the control unit can perform print editing of the print content on the printing unit.
[0020]
The printing unit can print at least a serial number on the label piece.
[0021]
In the label printer and the print control method thereof according to the present invention, when it is detected that there is no label piece on the mount, the label to be transferred next is not printed on the mount of this label piece. Printing is performed on a piece of paper, so there is no need to stop the transfer of the label printer to reduce processing efficiency. It enables high-speed processing and can be appropriately adopted in a system combined with a label pasting machine.
[0022]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Next, a label printer 40 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. However, the same parts as those in FIGS. 2 to 5 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.
The mechanical configuration of the label printer 40 is substantially the same as that of the label printer 1 (FIG. 4), but the printing control is different.
FIG. 1 is a flowchart of the printing control of the label printer 40. In the label printer 40, in step S11, print information of one label piece 17 is received from the host computer 13 as data, and in step S12, the contents are received. The data is analyzed, and it is determined in step S13 whether or not there is a label piece 17 on the backing paper 16. If there is, in step S14, the print is edited so that the label piece 17 can be printed in a predetermined layout. Next, in step S15, printing is performed on one label piece 17.
[0023]
In step S13, if there is no label piece 17 (for example, if there is no label piece 17C in FIG. 4), in step S16, when the label piece 17C portion is transferred to the label printing section 7, this one piece is used. The label continuity 2 is transported by the amount of the label piece 17C (skipped), and the process returns to step S13 to determine whether or not the next label piece 17 is present.
[0024]
Thus, even if the label piece 17 is peeled off from the backing sheet 16 in the middle of the label transfer section 4 of the label printer 40, the label printing section 7 prints on the next label piece 17 without printing on the peeled backing sheet 16. Will be done.
Therefore, especially in the case of the print content including the serial number, it is possible to avoid the printing omission, to stop the label printer 40 once, erroneously perform the print operation again, and to print the same print content as the already printed content. Printing duplication can be avoided, and waste of the label continuum 2 can be eliminated.
Furthermore, even when the label pasting system 12 is configured by using the label pasting machine 14 and the label printer 40, since the peeling of the label pieces 17 can be properly dealt with, there is no hindrance to the high-speed operation. Does not occur.
[0025]
In the present invention, it is also possible to employ only the first sensor 5 for detecting the label continuum 2. However, by using the first sensor 5 and the second sensor 6, the detection of the label piece 17 and the pitch detection thereof can be accurately performed, and the detection accuracy can be improved.
[0026]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, even when a label piece is transported in a state in which the label piece is peeled off from the backing sheet, the label piece is accurately detected and skipped to the next label piece so that printing is performed. It is also possible to cope with high-speed printing without wasting.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a flowchart of print control of a label printer 40 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of a conventional label printer 1.
FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the label continuum 2;
FIG. 4 is a control circuit block diagram of the label printer 1.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the printing control of the label printer 1.
[Explanation of symbols]
1. Label printer (Fig. 2)
2 label continuum 3 label supply unit 4 label transport unit 5 first sensor 6 second sensor 7 label printing unit 8 ink ribbon 9 label peeling unit 10 board winding unit 11 control unit 12 label attaching system 13 host computer 14 label Pasting machine 15 Article transport machine 16 Backing paper 17, 17A, 17B, 17C Label piece 18 Mark 19, 20, 21, 22 Guide roller 23 Thermal head 24 Platen roller 25 ROM
26 RAM
27 Driving Circuit 28 for Thermal Head 23 Driving Circuit 29 for Platen Roller 29 Keyboard 30 Interface 40 Label Printer (Embodiment, FIG. 2)
G Slight gap between the label pieces 17 on the mount 16 (FIG. 3)
M Articles on article transporter 15 (FIG. 2)

Claims (4)

A sensor for detecting the transfer of a continuous label body in which a plurality of label pieces are temporarily attached to a band-shaped backing sheet,
A printing unit for printing predetermined contents on the label piece,
A control unit that controls the printing unit according to a detection signal from the sensor,
The control unit includes:
When the label is detected on the backing paper by the sensor, the printing unit performs printing on the label,
When the sensor does not detect the label piece on the backing sheet, the printing unit does not perform printing on the backing sheet of the label piece portion, and when the next detecting piece of the label is transferred, the printing section does not print the label piece. A label printer which controls the printing unit so as to perform printing. 2. The label printer according to claim 1, wherein the control unit edits the print content of the print unit after detecting the label piece by the sensor. 3. The label printer according to claim 1, wherein the printing unit prints at least a serial number on the label piece. A sensor for detecting the transfer of a continuous label body in which a plurality of label pieces are temporarily attached to a band-shaped backing sheet,
A printing unit for printing predetermined contents on the label piece,
A control unit that controls the printing unit according to a detection signal from the sensor, and a printing control method for a label printer, comprising:
The control unit includes:
The sensor detects the presence or absence of the label piece on the mount,
When the label piece is detected on the backing paper, after this detection, the print content of the print section is edited and printed, and the print section prints on the label piece,
When the label piece is not detected on the backing sheet, the printing unit does not print on the backing sheet of the label piece part. A printing control method for a label printer, wherein the printing unit is controlled so as to print on a label piece.

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