JP2008137318A - Printing device and printing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printing device which protects a print medium from soiling and prevents an ink ribbon from wrinkling etc. caused by the friction between the print medium and the ink ribbon, to thereby carry out good printing, and to provide a printing method. <P>SOLUTION: In the operation of the printing device, when installation of the ink ribbon 31 is detected by a ribbon sensor 39, a CPU controls a reader/writer 39a to read out type information (a ribbon width, a thickness, a material, etc.) and an updated ribbon residual amount from an RFID of the ink ribbon 31. Then at least based on the read-out type information and the updated ribbon residual amount, and a ribbon residual amount obtained by residual amount detection by a ribbon residual amount detecting mechanism 38, the CPU controls ribbon driving and braking by a ribbon driving motor 36 and a brake torque applying mechanism 37 so that a feed amount of the ink ribbon 31 to be fed between a print head 5 and a label 1, and tension applied to the ink ribbon 31 are made constant from starting of winding of the ribbon 31 to completion of the winding. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus and a printing method for printing on a print medium using an ink ribbon.

  As a printing apparatus, for example, there is a label printer that prints characters on a print medium such as an IC tag or a label. Some label printers can perform printing by thermal transfer using an ink ribbon on a print medium.

  Some types of label printers include a ribbon mounting unit for winding an ink ribbon mounted on a ribbon supply shaft onto a ribbon winding shaft via a print head and a platen. . For an ink ribbon that is wound around a ribbon winding shaft, if the winding tension is not uniform, wrinkles and the like may occur on the ink ribbon in the middle, resulting in poor printing. Winding tension) is given.

  By the way, the tension applied to the ink ribbon differs depending on the width and thickness of the ink ribbon and the type of the substrate. For this reason, when trying to use a wide variety of ink ribbons with a single label printer, it is necessary to set torque for each type of ink ribbon, which is not only complicated, but also involves input errors in the settings. There is.

In order to solve such a problem, in Patent Document 1, a plurality of current value patterns are set in advance in a memory regarding a drive current to be supplied to the drive motor of the ribbon take-up shaft. A printer is proposed in which any one of the above is selected on an operation panel and a drive motor is driven based on the selected current value pattern.
JP 2003-136721 A

  In the printer disclosed in Patent Document 1 described above, for each type of ink ribbon, the tension acting between the print head and the ribbon take-up shaft shows a substantially constant value from the start to the end of winding in the memory. Since a plurality of current value patterns are preset, an appropriate winding tension can be applied to the ink ribbon in accordance with the type of ink ribbon.

  However, in the printer disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is necessary to select one of a plurality of current value patterns on the operation panel according to the type of the ink ribbon, and the selection operation is troublesome and may cause a selection error. There was a problem that there was.

  Further, as in the printer shown in Patent Document 1, if an appropriate winding tension corresponding to the type of ink ribbon is simply applied to the ink ribbon, the ribbon winding shaft that winds up the used portion of the ink ribbon is used. As the winding diameter (radius) increases, the rotation speed of the outer circumference of the wound ink ribbon increases, so that the tension acting between the print head and the ribbon winding shaft, that is, the ribbon winding shaft It is necessary to adjust the rotational torque so as to obtain an appropriate winding tension.

  However, when the rotational torque at the ribbon take-up shaft is adjusted to have an appropriate take-up tension in this way, the ribbon diameter increases as the winding diameter (radius) of the ink ribbon at the ribbon take-up shaft increases. It is necessary to adjust so that the rotation amount of the outer periphery of the ink ribbon wound around the take-up shaft is small, and as a result, the feed amount sent to the print position of the ink ribbon where the ink is not melted is the ink ribbon. It will change gradually according to the use of.

  As described above, when the feeding amount of the ink ribbon gradually changes in accordance with the use of the ink ribbon, the relative position between the printing medium and the ink ribbon is shifted, and printing is caused by the friction between the printing medium and the ink ribbon. There has also been a problem that the medium may become dirty or the ink ribbon may become wrinkled or the like, resulting in problems such as inability to perform good printing.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and an object thereof is to provide a printing apparatus and a printing method capable of solving the above problems.

A printing apparatus according to the present invention is a printing apparatus that performs printing on a printing medium, and an ink ribbon having a storage element that stores at least type information and a remaining amount of ribbon is stretched between a supply reel and a take-up reel. A ribbon supply unit that supplies the print head and the print medium; a drive unit that applies a driving force to the take-up reel; and a detection unit that detects attachment / detachment of the ink ribbon in the ribbon supply unit; A ribbon remaining amount detecting means for detecting the remaining amount of the ink ribbon; reading out at least the type information and the remaining amount of ribbon for the storage element in accordance with a detection result by the detecting means; or a ribbon remaining amount by the ribbon remaining amount detecting means. Read / write means for writing the quantity, and control means for causing the print head to perform printing in response to a print command. When the detection unit detects the attachment of the ink ribbon, the reading / writing unit reads out at least the type information and the remaining amount of ribbon, and the read out at least type information and the remaining amount of ribbon. Based on the ribbon remaining amount detected by the ribbon remaining amount detecting means, the feed amount of the ink ribbon supplied between the print head and the print medium is constant from the start of winding of the ink ribbon to the end of winding. Controlling driving by the driving means.
And a braking torque applying unit that applies a predetermined braking torque to the ink ribbon wound up by the winding reel, wherein the control unit reads at least the read type information, the remaining ribbon amount, and the remaining ribbon amount. The braking by the braking torque applying means can be controlled so that the tension acting on the ink ribbon is constant from the start of winding of the ink ribbon to the end of winding based on the remaining amount of ribbon by the detecting means.
The printing method of the present invention is a printing method for performing printing on a printing medium, wherein an ink ribbon having a storage element in which at least type information and a remaining amount of ribbon are stored is supplied by a ribbon supply unit to a supply reel and a take-up reel. A step of supplying between the print head and the print medium, a step of applying a driving force to the take-up reel, and a step of detecting attachment / detachment of the ink ribbon in the ribbon supply means Detecting the remaining amount of the ink ribbon; reading at least the type information and the remaining amount of the ribbon from the storage element in accordance with the detection result of the attachment / detachment of the ink ribbon; And a step of causing the print head to perform printing in response to a print command. When the attachment of the ribbon is detected, the at least type information and the remaining amount of ribbon are read out, and based on the read at least the type information and the remaining amount of ribbon and the remaining amount of ribbon by detecting the remaining amount of the ink ribbon. The driving of the take-up reel is controlled so that the feed amount of the ink ribbon supplied between the print head and the print medium is constant from the start to the end of winding of the ink ribbon. .
In the printing apparatus and the printing method of the present invention, when the attachment of the ink ribbon is detected, at least the type information and the remaining amount of the ribbon are read from the storage element of the ink ribbon, and the read at least type information and the ribbon are read. Based on the remaining amount and the remaining amount of ribbon detected by the ink ribbon, the amount of ink ribbon fed between the print head and the print medium is wound so that the amount of ink ribbon feed is constant from the start of the ink ribbon to the end of winding. The drive for the take-up reel is controlled.

  According to the printing apparatus and the printing method of the present invention, the gap between the print head and the print medium is determined based on at least the type information read from the storage element, the remaining amount of the ribbon, and the remaining amount of the ribbon by detecting the remaining amount of the ink ribbon. The drive to the take-up reel is controlled so that the amount of the supplied ink ribbon is constant from the start to the end of winding of the ink ribbon, so no selection operation according to the type of ink ribbon is required. In addition, since there is no deviation in the relative position between the print medium and the ink ribbon from the beginning to the end of winding of the ink ribbon, the print medium becomes dirty and the ink ribbon is wrinkled due to friction between the print medium and the ink ribbon. Therefore, good printing can be performed.

  In the present embodiment, when the detection unit detects the attachment of the ink ribbon, the control unit causes the reading / writing unit to read at least the type information and the remaining amount of the ribbon from the storage element of the ink ribbon. Based on the read at least the type information and the remaining amount of ribbon and the remaining amount of ribbon detected by the remaining amount detection means, the amount of ink ribbon fed between the print head and the print medium is The driving by the driving means for the take-up reel is controlled so as to be constant from the start of winding to the end of winding.

  As a result, the selection operation according to the type of ink ribbon is not required, and the relative position between the print medium and the ink ribbon does not shift from the start to the end of winding of the ink ribbon. As a result, the print medium is not smudged by ink friction, ink ribbon wrinkles, etc., and good printing can be performed.

  Examples of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment in which the printing apparatus of the present invention is applied to a label printer.

  The label printer shown in the figure is a continuous label body in which, for example, a base 2 on which a plurality of labels 1 having a peelable adhesive surface on the side opposite to the print surface is releasably wound is wound in a roll shape 3, a supply shaft 4 that rotatably supports the print head 3, a print head 5 that prints on the label 1, guide rollers 6 a and 6 b that guide the label 1 toward the print head 5, and a platen that presses the label 1 against the print head 5. A roller 6, a stepping motor 7 that applies a rotational driving force to the platen roller 6 via a belt 8, and an ink ribbon supply mechanism 30 as a ribbon supply unit that supplies an ink ribbon 31 between the print head 5 and the label 1. It has.

  Further, the label printer shown in the figure has a light emitting portion 9a and a light receiving portion 9b so as to sandwich the mount 2 and the label 1, and the gap between the labels 1 serving as a reference position of the label 1 to be printed (between the labels 1). A transmissive paper sensor 9 which is a sensor unit for detecting a portion of the mount 2 only) and a control unit 10 for controlling the operation of each unit are provided.

  The paper sensor 9 may detect the edge of the label 1 other than the gap of the label 1 (the portion of the mount 2 only between the labels 1). Alternatively, a reflection type sensor that detects a predetermined position detection mark provided on the mount 2 may be used.

  The ink ribbon supply mechanism 30 includes a supply reel 32 and a take-up reel 33, and printing is performed while the ink ribbon 31 fed out from the supply reel 32 by the take-up force of the take-up reel 33 is guided by the guide rollers 34 and 35. It is supplied between the head 5 and the label 1.

  Further, a driving force is applied to the take-up reel 33 of the ink ribbon supply mechanism 30 by a ribbon drive motor 36 as a drive means, and a braking torque applying means is applied to the ink ribbon 31 taken up by the take-up reel 33. A predetermined braking torque is applied by a braking torque applying mechanism 37 as described above. Further, the remaining amount of the ink ribbon 31 is detected by a ribbon remaining amount detecting mechanism 38 as a ribbon remaining amount detecting means, and the ink ribbon 31 is mounted on the supply reel 32 and the take-up reel 33, or the supply reel 32 and the take-up reel 33 are taken up. Removal from the reel 33 is detected by a ribbon sensor 39 as detection means. Then, based on the detection result by the ribbon sensor 39, reading and writing of information with respect to the RFID 41 as a storage element provided on an end tape 40 of a ribbon paper tube 31A described later by a reader / writer 39a as a reading / writing means. Is to be done.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining an example of the ink ribbon 31. As shown in the figure, the ink ribbon 31 is stopped around the ribbon paper tube 31A by an end stop tape 40 having an RFID 41 at the end of the ribbon, for example. The RFID 41 is not limited to the end stop tape 40, and may be provided at the end of the ink ribbon 31 or may be provided in the ribbon paper tube 31A. The RFID 41 may be provided on a label body that can be attached, and the label body may be attached to the ribbon paper tube 31A.

  Here, the RFID 41 is configured by an inlet having an IC chip, a coil antenna, and a PET film, and at least the type information of the ink ribbon 31 and the latest ribbon remaining amount are stored in the IC chip. The type information of the ink ribbon 31 is at least the width, thickness, material, etc. of the ribbon. In addition, at least after the printing is finished, the remaining amount of ribbon corresponding to the use of the ink ribbon 31 is written in the RFID 41.

  In addition, a plurality of remaining amount detection marks 31 </ b> B are provided at regular intervals on one side portion that does not contribute to printing of the ink ribbon 31 over the entire length. In addition, when the used portion of the ink ribbon 31 is taken up by the take-up reel 33, the remaining amount detection mark 31B is detected by the ribbon remaining amount detection mechanism 38, and the remaining amount of the ink ribbon 31 is detected. It is like that.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the ribbon remaining amount detection mechanism 38. The ribbon remaining amount detection mechanism 38 shown in the figure detects an optical sensor 38a for detecting the remaining amount detection mark 31B of the ink ribbon 31, a slit plate 38b attached to the supply reel 32 and having a plurality of slits, and detects the slits. And an optical sensor 38c.

  In such a ribbon remaining amount detection mechanism 38, when the ink ribbon 31 is fed out in the direction of the arrow, the remaining amount detection mark 31B is sequentially detected by the optical sensor 38a. Here, assuming that the interval between the remaining amount detection marks 31B is x and the winding diameter (radius) of the ink ribbon 31 on the supply reel 32 is d, the supply reel 32 when the ink ribbon 31 is fed out x times is used. The rotation amount θ is represented by θ = x / d.

  Further, when the number of slits per unit angle of the slit plate 38b detected by the optical sensor 38c at this time is f, the number of slits F detected when the ink ribbon 31 is fed out by x is F = f · θ. = F · (x / d).

  Therefore, the winding diameter (radius) d of the ink ribbon 31 on the supply reel 32 can be obtained by d = (f · x) / F, and the ink ribbon 31 is calculated from the obtained winding diameter (radius) d. The remaining amount of is required.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the details of the control unit 10. As shown in the figure, the control unit 10 includes a CPU 11, ROM 12, RAM 13, external interface 14, interface 15, motor control unit 16, print control unit 17, paper sensor control unit 18, ribbon sensor control unit 19a, reader / writer control. A unit 19b, a ribbon drive motor control unit 19c, a braking torque control unit 19d, and a ribbon remaining amount detection control unit 19e.

  The CPU 11 as control means operates according to a control program stored in the ROM 12 and controls each part. Here, as the main control by the CPU 11 in this embodiment, when the ribbon sensor 39 detects the attachment of the ink ribbon 31 to the ink ribbon supply mechanism 30, the reader / writer control unit 19b is controlled to control the reader / writer 39a. At least the type information (ribbon width, thickness, material, etc.) of the ink ribbon 31 and the latest ribbon remaining amount are read from the RFID 41 provided on the end stop tape 40 of the ribbon paper tube 31A described above, The read information is stored in the RAM 13.

  The main control by the CPU 11 is to control the ribbon remaining amount detection control unit 19e so that the remaining amount of ribbon detected by the ribbon remaining amount detecting mechanism 38 is stored in the RAM 13 during or after printing.

  The main control by the CPU 11 includes at least the type information (ribbon width, thickness, material, etc.) of the ink ribbon 31 from the RFID 41 read by the reader / writer 39a, the latest ribbon remaining amount, and the ribbon remaining amount detection. Based on the remaining amount of ribbon detected by the mechanism 38, the ribbon drive motor control unit 19c and the braking torque control unit 19d are controlled so that the ribbon drive and braking by the ribbon drive motor 36 and the braking torque applying mechanism 37 are optimized. Is to do. Here, in order to optimize the ribbon driving and braking by the ribbon drive motor 36 and the braking torque applying mechanism 37, the feeding amount of the ink ribbon 31 is controlled to be constant from the start of winding of the ink ribbon 31 to the end of winding. The tension acting on the ink ribbon 31 is controlled to be constant from the start to the end of winding of the ink ribbon 31.

  That is, in the label printer of FIG. 1, the ink ribbon 31 fed from the supply reel 32 is stretched around the take-up reel 33 via the printing unit of the print head 5. When the ink on the ink ribbon 31 is melted by heat, the ink is transferred to the label 1 and printing for one line is performed, and the take-up reel 33 is driven to rotate along with the feeding of the label 1 at the time of printing the next line. Then, it is assumed that the used portion of the ink ribbon 31 is wound up so that the portion of the ink ribbon 31 where the ink is not melted is supplied between the print head 5 and the label 1.

  In such a configuration, as the winding diameter (radius) of the ink ribbon 31 on the take-up reel 33 that winds up the used portion of the ink ribbon 31 increases, the rotational speed of the outer circumference of the wound ink ribbon 31 increases. By increasing the tension, the tension acting on the ink ribbon 31 and the feed amount sent to the print portion of the print head 5 in the portion where the ink of the ink ribbon 31 is not melted are from the start of winding of the ink ribbon 31 to the end of winding. Will change gradually.

  Further, the tension acting on the ink ribbon 31 and the feed amount of the ink ribbon 31 differ depending on the type of the ink ribbon 31, that is, the ribbon width, thickness, material, and the like, which are the type information of the ink ribbon 31. come.

  Therefore, at the start of printing, the CPU 11 reads the ink ribbon 31 based on at least the type information (ribbon width, thickness, material, etc.) of the ink ribbon 31 read from the RFID 41 and stored in the RAM 13, and the latest ribbon remaining amount. The ribbon driving motor 36 and the ribbon driving motor 36 are provided via the ribbon driving motor control unit 19c and the braking torque control unit 19d so that the tension acting on the ink ribbon 31 and the feed amount of the ink ribbon 31 are constant from the start to the end of winding of the ink ribbon 31. Ribbon driving and braking by the braking torque applying mechanism 37 are controlled.

  During printing, the tension acting on the ink ribbon 31 and the feed amount of the ink ribbon 31 are constant from the start of winding of the ink ribbon 31 to the end of winding based on the remaining amount of ribbon obtained from the ribbon remaining amount detection control unit 19e. In this manner, ribbon driving and braking by the ribbon driving motor 36 and the braking torque applying mechanism 37 are controlled via the ribbon driving motor control unit 19c and the braking torque control unit 19d.

  In order to control the tension acting on the ink ribbon 31 and the feed amount of the ink ribbon 31 to be constant from the start of winding of the ink ribbon 31 to the end of winding, for example, for each type of ink ribbon 31 and each ink A table for holding control values corresponding to the ribbon remaining amount of the ribbon 31 is provided, and the type information (ribbon width, thickness, material, etc.) read from the RFID 41 and the latest ribbon remaining amount or ribbon remaining amount detection control By reading the optimal control value based on the remaining ribbon amount obtained from the section 19e, it is possible to control ribbon driving and braking by the ribbon driving motor 36 and the braking torque applying mechanism 37.

  That is, in a general label printer, when a portion of the ink ribbon 31 that is not melted is supplied between the print head 5 and the label 1, a tension corresponding to the type of the ink ribbon 31 is applied to the ink ribbon 31. For example, as the winding diameter (radius) of the ink ribbon 31 on the take-up reel 33 side increases, the rotation speed of the ribbon drive motor 36 becomes constant. Nevertheless, the rotational speed of the outer periphery of the ink ribbon 31 wound around the take-up reel 33 increases, and the amount of feed of the ink ribbon 31 gradually increases during printing.

  As described above, when the feeding amount of the ink ribbon 31 gradually increases, the relative position between the label 1 and the ink ribbon 31 is shifted, and the label 1 becomes dirty due to friction between the label 1 and the ink ribbon 31. In some cases, the ink ribbon 31 may be wrinkled or the like and may not be able to perform good printing. Therefore, a ribbon drive motor is used so that the tension acting on the ink ribbon 31 and the feed amount of the ink ribbon 31 are constant from the start of winding of the ink ribbon 31 to the end of winding, depending on the type of ink ribbon 31 and the remaining amount of ribbon. It is necessary to control ribbon driving and braking by the 36 and the braking torque applying mechanism 37.

  Here, when the ribbon drive motor 36 is controlled, when the ribbon drive motor 36 is a DC motor, for example, by the voltage control as the winding diameter (radius) of the ink ribbon 31 on the take-up reel 33 side increases. It is possible to control so that the feed amount of the ink ribbon 31 is always constant by either reducing the control amount or reducing the ON width of the pulse signal by pulse width modulation, for example.

  When the ribbon drive motor 36 is a step motor, for example, the number of pulses at a certain angle (basic step angle) is reduced as the winding diameter (radius) of the ink ribbon 31 on the take-up reel 33 side increases. Thus, it is possible to control so that the feed amount of the ink ribbon 31 is always constant.

  As the main control by the CPU 11, for example, after the end of printing or when the ribbon sensor 39 detects the removal of the ink ribbon 31 from the ink ribbon supply mechanism 30, the reader / writer control unit 19b is controlled, and the reader / writer 39a is controlled. Is driven, and the remaining amount of ribbon stored in the RAM 13 is written in the RFID 41 provided on the end stop tape 40 of the ribbon paper tube 31A described above. In this case, the latest ribbon remaining amount stored in the RFID 41 is updated to the ribbon remaining amount after the end of printing, and the updated one becomes the latest ribbon remaining amount.

  Further, as the main control by the CPU 11, when the ink ribbon 31 is already set when the label printer is turned on, the reader / writer control unit 19b is controlled to drive the reader / writer 39a so that the above-described end stop tape 40 is applied. The type information (ribbon width, thickness, material, etc.) of the ink ribbon 31 and the latest ribbon remaining amount are read from the provided RFID 41, and the read information is stored in the RAM 13.

  The ROM 12 stores a control program and the like necessary for the operation of the CPU 11. In the RAM 13 as a storage means, print data such as characters, figures, barcodes to be printed is developed. The RAM 13 also stores the type information (ribbon width, thickness, material, etc.) of the ink ribbon 31 from the RFID 41 provided on the end stop tape 40 read by the reader / writer 39a and the latest ribbon remaining amount. Is memorized. Further, the RAM 13 stores print command information such as print characters, print density, print color, etc. according to the print command, the remaining number of labels 1 and the like.

  The external interface 14 transmits and receives data to and from a device such as a host computer (not shown) connected to the outside. The interface 15 accepts input data from the input unit 25 and sends a display signal to the monitor 26.

  The motor control unit 16 supplies a pulse signal to the stepping motor 7 to drive the stepping motor 7. The print control unit 17 generates a control signal corresponding to the print data and supplies the control signal to the print head 5 to perform a printing operation.

  The paper sensor control unit 18 controls the detection operation of the paper sensor 9 under the control of the CPU 11, receives the detection result from the paper sensor 9, and supplies it to the CPU 11. That is, when the paper sensor control unit 18 takes in the detection result from the paper sensor 9 as an electrical signal, the paper sensor control unit 18 converts the electrical signal into digital data and gives it to the CPU 11.

  The reader / writer control unit 19b controls the reading operation and the writing operation by the reader / writer 39a under the control of the CPU 11, and from the RFID 41 provided on the end stop tape 40, the type information of the ink ribbon 31 (ribbon width, thickness, Material) and the latest ribbon remaining amount, or the above-described ribbon remaining amount is written in the RFID 41.

    The ribbon drive motor controller 19 c controls the ribbon drive motor 36 under the control of the CPU 11, and the driving force applied to the take-up reel 33 so that the feed amount of the ink ribbon 31 is constant from the start of winding of the ink ribbon 31 to the end of winding. give. The braking torque control unit 19d controls the braking torque applying mechanism 37 under the control of the CPU 11, and controls the ink ribbon 31 so that the tension acting on the ink ribbon 31 is constant from the start to the end of winding of the ink ribbon 31. Give power.

  The ribbon remaining amount detection control unit 19e controls the ribbon remaining amount detection operation by the ribbon remaining amount detection mechanism 38 under the control of the CPU 11, and receives the detection result of the ribbon remaining amount from the ribbon remaining amount detection mechanism 38. To supply.

  Next, a printing method in the above-described label printer will be described. In the following description, it is assumed that the ink ribbon 31 is not initially attached to the label printer.

  First, as shown in FIG. 5, it is determined whether the power of the label printer is turned on (step S1). If it is determined that the power of the label printer is turned on, it is determined from the detection result of the ribbon sensor 39 whether or not the ink ribbon 31 is loaded (step S2).

  If it is determined that the ink ribbon 31 is not attached (step S2: No), the CPU 11 displays a message such as ribbon shortage on the monitor 26 (step S3). On the other hand, when it is determined that the ink ribbon 31 is loaded (step S2: Yes), the reader / writer 39a is driven by the reader / writer control unit 19b controlled by the CPU 11, and is provided on the end stop tape 40 described above. At least the type information (ribbon width, thickness, material, etc.) of the ink ribbon 31 and the latest ribbon remaining amount are read from the RFID 41 that has been recorded (step S4). Then, the read information is stored in the RAM 13 (step S5).

  When the CPU 11 receives a print command indicating the number of prints, print characters, print density, print color, etc. from the input unit 25 (step S6), the contents of the print command are stored in the RAM 13 as print command information. Next, the stepping motor 7 is step-driven by giving a pulse signal having a fixed number of pulses to the stepping motor 7 by the motor control unit 16 controlled by the CPU 11. Thereby, the platen roller 6 and the guide rollers 6a and 6b are rotated by the driving force of the stepping motor 7 transmitted through the belt 8, and label conveyance is started. In this case, the mount 2 on which the plurality of labels 1 are detachably attached from the roll-shaped label continuous body 3 is conveyed to the print head 5 side (step S7).

  At this time, at the start of printing by the CPU 11, at least the type information (ribbon width, thickness, material, etc.) of the ink ribbon 31 read from the RFID 41 and stored in the RAM 13 and the latest ribbon remaining amount are used. The control value is read from the above-described table, and the tension acting on the ink ribbon 31 and the feed amount of the ink ribbon 31 are determined based on the control value via the ribbon drive motor control unit 19c and the braking torque control unit 19d. Ribbon drive and braking by the ribbon drive motor 36 and the braking torque applying mechanism 37 are controlled so that the winding is constant from the start to the end of winding (step S8), and the ink ribbon 31 is supplied between the print head 5 and the label 1. (Step S9).

  Next, at the time of printing, the ink on the ink ribbon 31 is melted by the heat from the printing portion of the print head 5 so that the ink is transferred to the label 1 and printing for one line is performed. As the label 1 is fed, the take-up reel 33 is driven to rotate, and the used portion of the ink ribbon 31 is taken up, so that the portion of the ink ribbon 31 where the ink is not melted is formed between the print head 5 and the label 1. Supplied in between.

  In this way, when necessary printing is performed on the label 1 on the mount 2 by the print head 5, the label 1 on the mount 2 to be printed next is transported to the print head 5 side and synchronized with this. The take-up reel 33 is driven to rotate and the used portion of the ink ribbon 31 is taken up, so that the portion of the ink ribbon 31 where the ink is not melted is sequentially supplied between the print head 5 and the label 1.

  Further, during printing, the remaining ribbon amount obtained from the remaining ribbon detection control unit 19e is sequentially stored in the RAM 13 (step S10). In this case, the latest ribbon remaining amount is stored in the RAM 13. Then, as shown in FIG. 6, it is determined whether the remaining amount of the ribbon has changed, that is, whether the length of the used portion of the ink ribbon 31 has reached a certain value (for example, 50 cm) (step S11). Is reached, the control value corresponding to the remaining amount of ribbon at that time is read from the table described above, and the tension acting on the ink ribbon 31 and the feed amount of the ink ribbon 31 are based on the control value and the winding of the ink ribbon 31 is determined. Ribbon driving and braking by the ribbon driving motor 36 and the braking torque applying mechanism 37 are controlled so as to be constant from the beginning to the end of winding (step S12), and the ink ribbon 31 is supplied between the print head 5 and the label 1. The

  Thus, for example, as the winding diameter (radius) of the ink ribbon 31 on the take-up reel 33 side increases, the ribbon drive motor 36 is wound around the take-up reel 33 side even though the rotation speed is constant. As the rotational speed of the outer periphery of the ink ribbon 31 increases, the tension acting on the ink ribbon 31 and the feed amount of the ink ribbon 31 do not change gradually.

  In this manner, the take-up reel 33 is sequentially rotated in conjunction with the conveyance of the label 1 on the mount 2, and the used portion of the ink ribbon 31 is taken up, whereby the tension and ink acting on the ink ribbon 31 are recovered. The portion of the ink ribbon 31 where the ink is not melted is supplied between the print head 5 and the label 1 while the feeding amount of the ribbon 31 is controlled to be constant from the start to the end of winding of the ink ribbon 31. Is repeated.

  Here, necessary printing is performed on the label 1 on the mount 2, and it is determined whether or not the number of prints corresponding to the print command from the input unit 25 has been printed (step S13). When the number of prints has been printed, the printing operation is stopped (step S14).

  When there is an instruction to turn off the power of the label printer after the printing is finished (step S15), the reader / writer 39a is driven by the reader / writer control unit 19b controlled by the CPU 11, and the remaining amount of ribbon stored in the RAM 13 is equal to the above-described remaining amount. The data is written on the RFID 41 provided on the end stopper tape 40 (step S16). In this case, the latest remaining ribbon amount stored in the RFID 41 is updated to the remaining ribbon amount after printing.

  In this way, the remaining amount of ribbon stored in the RAM 13 is stored in the RAM 13 by turning off the power of the label printer by writing the remaining amount of ribbon stored in the RAM 13 in the RFID 41 provided on the end stop tape 40 described above. Even if the number of sheets and the print command information are erased, the ribbon remaining amount written on the RFID 41 and the type information (ribbon width, thickness, material, etc.) of the ink ribbon 31 are read out later, for example, the take-up reel 33 In addition, the tension can be controlled so as to be an optimum tension according to the winding diameter (radius) of the ink ribbon 31 and the feed amount of the ink ribbon 31 can always be controlled to be constant.

  Note that writing to the RFID 41 by the reader / writer 39a may be performed when the completion of printing in step 13 is determined. In step 16 described above, the label printer may not be turned off, and the already mounted ink ribbon 31 may be replaced with another ink ribbon 31. In this case, when the removal of the ink ribbon 31 is detected by the ribbon sensor 39, the reader / writer control unit 19b is controlled to drive the reader / writer 39a, so that the remaining amount of ribbon stored in the RAM 13 is the above-described amount. You may make it write in RFID41 provided in the end stop tape 40. FIG.

  Thereafter, when the attachment of another ink ribbon 31 is detected by the ribbon sensor 39 in step 2 described above, the reader / writer 39a is driven by the reader / writer control unit 19b controlled by the CPU 11 in step 4 described above. In the same manner as described above, at least the type information (ribbon width, thickness, material, etc.) of the ink ribbon 31 and the latest ribbon remaining amount are read from the RFID 41 provided on the end tape 40 described above. In step 5, the read print medium information is stored in the RAM 13, and thereafter, the optimum tension corresponding to the winding diameter (radius) of the ink ribbon 31 on the take-up reel 33 is obtained in the same manner as described above. And the feed amount of the ink ribbon 31 is always controlled to be constant.

  As described above, in this embodiment, when the CPU 11 as the control unit detects the attachment of the ink ribbon 31 by the ribbon sensor 39 as the detection unit, the ink ribbon 31 is read from the reader / writer 39a as the reading / writing unit. At least the type information (ribbon width, thickness, material, etc.) and the latest ribbon remaining amount are read from the RFID 41 as the storage element, and the read at least type information and the latest ribbon remaining amount and ribbon are read. Based on the remaining amount of ribbon detected by the remaining amount of the ribbon remaining amount detecting mechanism 38 as the remaining amount detecting means, the feed amount of the ink ribbon 31 and the ink ribbon supplied between the print head 5 and the label 1 as the printing medium. The ribbon drive motor 36 and the tension that act on the belt 31 are constant from the start of winding of the ink ribbon 31 to the end of winding. Ribbon drive and braking by the braking torque application mechanism 37 has to be controlled.

  As a result, the selection operation according to the type of the ink ribbon 31 is not required, and the relative position between the label 1 and the ink ribbon 31 does not shift from the start of winding of the ink ribbon 31 to the end of winding. The label 1 is not smudged due to friction with the ink ribbon 31, the ink ribbon 31 is not wrinkled, and the like, and good printing can be performed.

  In this embodiment, by controlling the ribbon driving and braking by the ribbon drive motor 36 and the braking torque applying mechanism 37, the feed amount of the ink ribbon 31 and the tension acting on the ink ribbon 31 start to wind the ink ribbon 31. However, the present invention is not limited to this example, and at least the type information (ribbon width, thickness, material, etc.) read out from the RFID 41 is not limited to this example. The ribbon drive on the ribbon drive motor 36 side is controlled so that the feed amount of the ink ribbon 31 is constant from the start of winding of the ink ribbon 31 to the end of winding. May be.

  In this embodiment, the label printer that performs printing on the label 1 that is temporarily attached to the mount 2 is described. However, printing is performed on another printing medium such as an IC tag. It can also be applied to a label printer.

  The present invention is not limited to label printers, and can be applied to other printing apparatuses such as tag printers, card printers, and journal printers.

It is a figure which shows one Example at the time of applying the printing apparatus of this invention to a label printer. It is a figure for demonstrating the ink ribbon of FIG. It is a figure for showing an example of the ribbon residual amount detection mechanism of FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the detail of the control part of FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining a printing method in the label printer of FIG. 1. 3 is a flowchart for explaining a printing method in the label printer of FIG. 1.

Explanation of symbols

1 Label (printing medium)
2 Mount 3 Label continuous body 4 Supply shaft 5 Print head 6 Platen roller 6a, 6b Guide roller 7 Stepping motor 9 Paper sensor 10 Control unit 11 CPU (control means)
12 ROM
13 RAM
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 14 External interface 15 Interface 16 Motor control part 17 Print control part 18 Paper sensor control part 19a Ribbon sensor control part 19b Reader / writer control part 19c Ribbon drive motor control part 19d Braking torque control part 19e Ribbon residual quantity detection control part 25 Input part 26 Monitor 30 Ink ribbon supply mechanism (ribbon supply means)
31 Ink ribbon 31A Ribbon paper tube 31B Remaining amount detection mark 32 Supply reel 33 Take-up reel 36 Ribbon drive motor (drive means)
37 Braking torque applying mechanism (braking torque applying means)
38 Ribbon remaining amount detecting mechanism (ribbon remaining amount detecting means)
38a Optical sensor 38b Slit plate 38c Optical sensor 39 Ribbon sensor (detection means)
39a Reader / writer (read / write means)
40 End stop tape 41 RFID (memory element)

Claims (3)

A printing device for printing on a printing medium,
Ribbon supply means for stretching an ink ribbon having a storage element for storing at least type information and a remaining amount of ribbon between a supply reel and a take-up reel, and supplying the ink ribbon between a print head and the print medium;
Driving means for applying a driving force to the take-up reel;
Detecting means for detecting attachment / detachment of the ink ribbon in the ribbon supply means;
Ribbon remaining amount detecting means for detecting the remaining amount of the ink ribbon;
Read / write means for reading the at least type information and the remaining ribbon amount with respect to the storage element in accordance with the detection result by the detecting means, or writing the remaining ribbon amount by the ribbon remaining amount detecting means;
Control means for causing the print head to perform printing in response to a print command,
When the detection unit detects the attachment of the ink ribbon, the control unit causes the reading / writing unit to read the at least type information and the remaining amount of the ribbon, and the read at least type Based on the information, the remaining amount of the ribbon, and the remaining amount of ribbon by the ribbon remaining amount detecting means, the feed amount of the ink ribbon supplied between the print head and the print medium is from the start to the end of winding of the ink ribbon. A printing apparatus that controls driving by the driving means so as to be constant. A braking torque applying means for applying a predetermined braking torque to the ink ribbon wound by the winding reel;
The control means is configured so that the tension acting on the ink ribbon is from the start to the end of winding of the ink ribbon based on the read at least the type information, the remaining amount of ribbon and the remaining ribbon amount by the remaining ribbon amount detecting means. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein braking by the braking torque applying unit is controlled so as to be constant. A printing method for printing on a printing medium,
A step of extending an ink ribbon having a storage element storing at least type information and a remaining amount of ribbon by a ribbon supply unit between a supply reel and a take-up reel and supplying the ink ribbon between the print head and the print medium When,
Applying a driving force to the take-up reel;
Detecting the attachment and detachment of the ink ribbon in the ribbon supply means;
Detecting the remaining amount of the ink ribbon;
Reading the at least type information and the remaining amount of the ribbon with respect to the storage element according to the detection result of the attachment / detachment of the ink ribbon, or writing the remaining amount of the ribbon by detecting the remaining amount of the ink ribbon;
And causing the print head to perform printing in response to a print command,
When the attachment of the ink ribbon is detected, at least the type information and the remaining amount of ribbon are read out, and the read out at least the type information and the remaining amount of ribbon, and the remaining amount of ribbon by detecting the remaining amount of the ink ribbon, And controlling the driving of the take-up reel so that the feed amount of the ink ribbon supplied between the print head and the print medium is constant from the start to the end of winding of the ink ribbon. Printing method.

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