JP2013086418A - Label printer and method of preventing draw-in of printing paper of label printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a label printer which can prevent sticking to an outer peripheral surface of a platen roller or draw-in at the time of restarting the label printer to resume printing when the label printer is stopped in use for a long time, and can secure the stable transfer of the label paper.SOLUTION: The label printer has a label transfer determination means which determines whether a tip 3A of the label paper is present on a printing start position M or on a position forward by a predetermined amount from the printing start position M to a downstream direction for a period while the power supply of the label printer is shut and turned on again. If the tip is present on the position forward by the predetermined amount from the printing start position M to the downstream direction by the label transfer determination means at the time of starting printing, the label paper is transferred reversely by the predetermined amount in a transfer direction, and then printing is started. If the tip 3A of the label paper is present on the printing start position M when a power supply switch is turned off, the label paper is transferred by the predetermined amount from the printing start position M to the downstream side in the transfer direction, and then the power supply is turned off.

Description

  The present invention relates to label sticking prevention of a label printer that performs printing on a label paper that is temporarily attached to a strip-like release mount via an adhesive layer at equal intervals.

Label paper, which is a type of printing paper, is mounted on a label printer by using a label continuum in which labels are temporarily attached at equal intervals to a strip-shaped mount having a release agent formed on the surface thereof. When the label printer is used for a long time, when the label printer is restarted and printing resumes, the platen roller sticks to the outer peripheral surface as the platen roller rotates, and it is caught on the outer peripheral surface side. The problem was that this would interfere with label paper issuance and discharge.

In other words, when the printing operation is finished, the label paper is left between the thermal head and the platen roller for a long time, so the label is fixed along the circumference of the platen roller. As a result, the label paper itself is warped (curled), and when the label is heated during printing by the label printer, the label paper may be heated from one side, and the warpage tends to increase. Furthermore, the belt-like label continuous body is often wound and stored before printing, and warping due to curling is likely to occur. Therefore, even when the label is in a state where the mount (release paper) is not peeled off and the mount is overlapped on the adhesive layer, if the warp is large, the label proceeds along the outer peripheral surface of the platen roller and gets caught. There was a risk that this would occur. When the printing paper is a label paper, the adhesive oozes out by a predetermined pressing force between the thermal head and the platen roller, and sticks to the outer peripheral surface of the platen roller.

JP 2006-334858 A

  The present invention has been considered in view of the above problems, and can prevent the label paper from being caught in the platen roller even when the label paper is held between the thermal head and the platen roller for a long time. It is an object to provide a label printer.

To provide a label printer capable of preventing the label from being caught in the platen roller without being affected by non-adhesion deterioration due to continuous use of the platen roller or the adhesive property of the label adhesive. .

  The present invention solves the above problems by the following means.

The gist of the invention described in claim 1 is that a printing unit having a thermal head for printing on the printing paper fed out in a strip shape from a printing paper supply unit onto a transfer path, and a platen roller that rotates to face the thermal head; A label printer having a power switch that can be turned on / off by software, and whether a paper sensor capable of detecting the position of the printing paper is provided in the transfer path and whether the leading edge of the printing paper is at the printing start position. And a label transfer determination means for determining whether the print head is located at a position advanced downstream by a predetermined amount from the print start position. At the start of printing, the label transfer determination means causes the label transfer determination means to move downstream by a predetermined amount from the print start position. When present at an advanced position, after reversely transferring the printing paper by the predetermined amount in the transfer direction, starting the printing, and turning off the power switch, When the leading end portion of the printing paper is at the printing start position, the printing paper has a control unit that turns off the power after the printing paper is transferred by the predetermined amount from the printing start position to the downstream side in the transfer direction. Exists in the label printer.
The gist of the invention described in claim 2 is that, when the power supply is turned on, the control unit moves the print sheet in the transfer direction when the leading end of the print sheet is present at the print start position by the label transfer determination unit. 2. The label printer according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined amount is transferred downstream from the start position.
The gist of the invention described in claim 3 is that a printing unit having a thermal head for printing on the printing paper fed out in a belt shape from a printing paper supply unit onto a transfer path, and a platen roller that rotates to face the thermal head; And a power switch that can be turned on and off by software. A method for preventing printing paper from being caught in a label printer, wherein a paper sensor capable of detecting the position of the printing paper is provided in the transfer path, and the leading edge of the printing paper is It has label transfer determination means for determining whether it is at a print start position or at a position advanced by a predetermined amount downstream from the print start position, and at the start of printing, from the label transfer determination means, the print start position If the print paper is located at a position advanced further downstream by a predetermined amount, the printing paper is reversely transferred by the predetermined amount in the transfer direction, and then the printing is started. When the power switch is turned off, if the leading end of the printing paper is at the printing start position, the printing paper is transferred by the predetermined amount from the printing start position to the downstream side in the transfer direction, and then the power is turned off. The present invention resides in a method for preventing printing paper from being caught in a label printer.

  When the power is turned on, the label sheet is advanced by a predetermined amount in the transport direction from the normal label printing start position. Or, if the label paper is already in a position where it has been transferred for a predetermined amount by monitoring that the power is turned on, the label paper is left in its original position, so that the leading edge of the label paper is connected to the thermal head and the platen roller. Therefore, the occurrence of warpage is avoided, and it is not entangled along the outer peripheral surface of the platen roller. Issuing and discharging can be realized.

1 is a schematic diagram of a label printer 1 that performs label sticking prevention on a label sheet of the present invention. It is the top view and sectional drawing of the label paper utilized for the label printer 1 of this invention. FIG. 2 is an operation explanatory diagram when the power of the label printer 1 of FIG. 1 is turned on and when the power is turned off. (A) is a flowchart for demonstrating the operation | movement at the time of power-on of the label printer 1 of FIG. (B) is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the label printer 1 of FIG. 1 when the power is turned off. (C) is a flowchart for explaining the operation at the time of printing issuance of the label printer 1 of FIG.

  In the present invention, the label printer 1 is prevented from being pinched between the thermal head 12 and the platen roller 13 during the period when the power of the label printer 1 is turned off and the power is turned on again. By preventing the leading edge 3A of the paper 3 from being bent (curled), the label winding operation to the platen roller 13 is prevented and stable label transfer is realized.

(Embodiment)
Next, the prevention of winding of the label paper 3 in the label printer 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a label printer 1 that prevents label sticking on label paper 3. A label sheet 3 supply unit 4, a transfer path 5, a sheet position detection sensor 14, a printing unit 6, a control unit 7, a power supply unit 20, a power switch 21, and a memory 22; For example, print data can be received from an external personal computer (not shown). Of course, it can also be configured as a stand-alone type printer.

  FIG. 2 is a plan view of the label sheet and a cross-sectional view taken along line XY. As long as thermal printing is possible, the label paper 3 can employ a label, a tag, or any other configuration, and can print information of a predetermined content with an arbitrary design.

As long as thermal printing is possible, the label paper 3 can employ a label, a tag, or any other configuration, and can print information of a predetermined content with an arbitrary design.
The label paper 3 is formed by applying and forming a thermal color former layer for thermal printing on the base material 3C on the front surface side of the label piece 3B, and having an adhesive layer 9 on the back surface thereof. And are temporarily attached. A gap 10 is provided between the label piece 3B and the label piece 3B, and can be used for detecting the print start position M. Here, the gap portion 10 is a portion of only the release paper 11 between two adjacent label pieces 3B. Therefore, the presence or absence of the label piece 3B is detected by detecting the gap portion 10 of the release paper 11.

The supply unit 4 in FIG. 1 can hold the strip-shaped label paper 2 in a roll shape and feed it into the transfer path 5 in a strip shape.

  The paper position detection sensor 14 is, for example, a transmission type sensor and detects the presence or absence of the label piece 3B. That is, in FIG. 1, after detecting the gap portion 10 included in the label paper 3, the leading edge 3 </ b> A of the label paper 3 is moved between the thermal head 12 and the platen roller 13 by moving a predetermined amount downstream on the transfer path 5. The print start position M is reached, and the label piece 3B can be printed. Further, by transferring a predetermined amount, the position N after the predetermined amount is transferred.

  The printing unit 6 includes a thermal head 12 that performs printing on the surface of the label paper 3 fed out in a strip shape on the transfer path 5, and a platen roller that opposes the thermal head 12 and sandwiches the label paper 3 therebetween to drive rotation. 13.

  The thermal head 12 has a large number of heating elements arranged in a line in the width direction of the label paper 3 (not shown), and heat generation of the label paper 3 is caused by generating heat according to the print pattern. The agent layer is colored to perform printing. (Not shown)

By rotating and driving the platen roller 13, the label paper 3 is transferred in the transfer direction with respect to the thermal head 12 along the transfer path 5, and thermal printing is performed on the label paper 3. Further, the label paper 3 can be reversely transferred from the printing unit 6 to the upstream side by being rotationally driven in the reverse direction.

  The memory 22 may be a nonvolatile RAM or the like as long as the information content stored in the memory 22 can be stored even when the power supplied from the power supply unit 20 is cut off. In the memory 22, information for determining the printing start position M and a position advanced from the printing start position M by a predetermined amount is stored as a label transfer determination unit.

The power supply unit 20 is supplied as power to each element of the label printer 1 (thermal head 12, CPU, ROM, paper position detection sensor 14, drive motor, memory 22, etc.). Supply to each element is performed via the power switch 21. The power switch 21 receives whether or not it is mechanically pressed, and is turned on / off by software as its output. “Soft” means being turned on / off by a control signal of the control unit 7 of the label printer 1.

  The control unit 7 controls the above-described paper position detection sensor 14, the printing unit 6, and the power switch 21, and controls writing and reading operations to the memory 22.

When the power of the label printer 1 of the present invention is turned on, the controller 7 confirms the position of the transferred label paper 3. That is, from FIG. 3, as information for determining the leading end 3A of the label paper 3 from the print start position M and the position advanced from the print start position M by a predetermined amount (position N after being transferred by a predetermined amount), Has a label transfer flag as a label transfer determination means. If the label transfer flag is reset, the label paper 3 is in the printing start position M on the transfer, and if the label transfer flag is set, the leading edge of the label paper 3 It means that the part 3A is at the position N after being transferred by a predetermined amount.

  In FIG. 3, (1) turns on the power switch 21 so that the leading end 3A of the label sheet 3 on the transfer path 5 is a predetermined downstream side from the print start position M, and after the predetermined amount has been transferred. Position N is reached. At this time, the label transfer flag is set. Naturally, the label paper 3 is left in a state of being sandwiched between the thermal head 12 and the platen roller 13 for a long time, and the label piece 3B is fixed along the circumferential portion of the platen roller 13, Warpage occurs at a portion of the label paper 3 that is separated from the front end portion 3A by a predetermined distance, but the front end portion 3A is not clamped for a long time, is not fixed along the circumferential portion of the platen roller 13, and warps. Therefore, even if the platen roller 13 is driven to rotate in the forward direction, the leading end 3A of the label paper 3 on the transport is stably transported to the downstream side, and the label can be prevented from being caught.

In (2) of FIG. 3, when print data is received from the host side (not shown), the label paper 3 is transferred, and the gap position 10 existing between the label piece 3B and the label piece 3B is moved to the paper position detection sensor 14. , And the label paper 3 on the transfer path 5 is transferred to a print start position M where printing can be started. When the label transfer flag has already been set and the leading end 3A of the label sheet 3 has advanced by a predetermined amount from the print start position M, the label sheet 3 is driven to rotate in the reverse direction by the platen roller 13 and the label sheet 3 is set upstream. The ink is reversely transferred and transferred to the printing start position M. After the transfer, reset the label transfer flag. The predetermined distance in the embodiment is preferably a transfer distance of 5 mm to 25 mm. After the printing operation is performed once after the power is turned on, the label transfer flag is not set while the operation for receiving the print data is repeated or when the power is not shut off. Never stop. This is because, during energization of the label printer 1, the leading end 3 </ b> A of the label paper 3 is very rarely left in a state of being sandwiched between the thermal head 12 and the platen roller 13 for a long time. In the standby state for a long time, the power supply is cut off to contribute to power saving.

  The state (3) in FIG. 3 changes from the state (2) in FIG. That is, the printing operation is finished and the power is turned off. When the control unit 7 detects that the power switch 21 has been mechanically pressed and turned off as an output, the control unit 7 drives the platen roller 13 to rotate in the forward direction from (4) of FIG. The label paper 3 on the transfer path 5 is transferred to the downstream side by a predetermined amount. Further, after setting the label transfer flag, the power is turned off. For this reason, the front end portion 3A of the label paper 3 is not sandwiched between the thermal head 12 and the platen roller 13, and a portion other than the front end portion 3A of the label paper 3 is sandwiched.

  Temporarily, a part other than the leading end 3A of the label paper 3 on the transfer path 5 is sandwiched between the thermal head 12 and the platen roller 13, and the platen roller 13 is reversely driven in the transfer direction before printing to start printing. Although it is possible to start printing from the print start position M that can be started, the operation of returning to the print start position M is repeated for each printing, which is an extremely useless operation, and the performance of the label printer 1 itself is reduced. It will be.

FIG. 4A is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the label printer 1 when the power is turned on. FIG. 4B is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the label printer 1 when the power is turned off. FIG. 4C is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the label printer 1 when printing is issued.

  First, the operation of the flowchart of FIG. When the power switch 21 is pressed, the power is turned on. In step S1, the platen roller 13 is driven to rotate in the forward direction and is fed from the supply unit 4 to transfer the label paper 3 on the transfer path 5 to the downstream side. When the paper position detection sensor 14 located below the transfer path 5 detects the gap portion 10 of the label paper 3, the transfer is stopped.

  In step S2, the control unit 7 determines the label transfer flag, and if it is set, the next print issuing process is performed. When print data is received from the host side (not shown), the label paper 3 is transferred, the gap 10 existing between the label piece 3B and the label piece 3B is detected by the paper position detection sensor 14, and the print start position M is detected. The label paper 3 on the transfer path 5 is transferred to When the label transfer flag has already been set and the leading end 3A of the label sheet 3 has advanced by a predetermined amount from the print start position M, the label sheet 3 is driven to rotate in the reverse direction by the platen roller 13 and the label sheet 3 is set upstream. The ink is reversely transferred and transferred to the printing start position M. After the transfer, reset the label transfer flag. If reset, the label paper 3 on the transfer path 5 is transferred to the downstream side by a predetermined amount in step S3, the label transfer flag is set in step S4, and the process proceeds to the print issuing process.

  Next, the operation of the flowchart of FIG. 4C will be described. In step S31, when print data is received from the host side, the print data to be printed in the area of the label piece 3B is drawn (edited) into a bitmap image. When the editing process is completed, in step S32, a label transfer flag is determined in order to determine which position the leading end 3A of the label sheet 3 is located. If the leading end 3A of the label paper 3 is already at the print start position M, the process proceeds to step S35. When the leading end 3A of the label paper 3 is in the position N after being transferred by a predetermined amount, it is rotated in the reverse direction by the platen roller 13 and transferred to the print start position M. After the transfer, the label transfer flag is reset from step S34. This is because the leading end 3A of the label paper 3 is not transferred to the position N after being transferred by a predetermined amount while the label printer 1 is energized. Of course, the transfer in the printing operation is different.

  In step S35, application energy is applied to the necessary heating elements of the thermal head 12 to form a desired print layout. In step S36, it is determined whether or not all printing has been completed, and the process is repeated until printing is completed.

  The operation of the flowchart of FIG. 4B will be described. In step 21, it is determined whether or not the power switch 21 has been pressed. If not, the process proceeds to the next process. If pressed, the control unit 7 checks the label transfer flag in order to determine the position of the leading end 3A of the label paper 3 from step S22. In step 23, when the power is cut off, when the printer is stopped for a long time, the label printer 1 is restarted to prevent sticking to the outer peripheral surface of the platen roller 13 when the printing is resumed. Therefore, by rotating the platen roller 13 in the forward direction and transferring the label paper 3 on the transfer path 5 to the downstream side by a predetermined amount, both sides of the leading end 3A of the label paper 3 are connected to the thermal head 12 and the thermal head. Since the platen roller 13 facing the head 12 is not in contact with the head 12, there is no warping and the cause of the entrainment can be eliminated. Further, in step S24, the label transfer flag set information is stored in the memory 22, so that even when the label printer 1 is restarted, the printing start position M is not shifted and printing can be resumed.

Although the transmission type sensor is described as the paper position detection sensor 14, the present invention can be applied to the reflection type sensor by printing the identification mark at a predetermined interval on the release paper 11 side of the label paper 3. .

1 Label printer (Figure 1)
3 Label paper (printing paper)
3A Front end part 3B Label piece 3C Base material 4 Supply part 5 Transfer path 6 Printing part 7 Control part 9 Adhesive layer 10 Gap part 11 Release paper 12 Thermal head 13 Platen roller 14 Paper position detection sensor 20 Power supply part 21 Power switch 22 Memory M Print start position N Position after a predetermined amount of transfer

Claims (3)

A thermal head for printing on the printing paper fed out in a belt shape from the printing paper supply unit onto the transport path, a printing unit having a platen roller that rotates opposite to the thermal head, and a power switch that can be turned on / off by software A label printer comprising:
A paper sensor capable of detecting the position of the printing paper is provided in the transfer path, and whether the leading edge of the printing paper is at the printing start position or at a position advanced by a predetermined amount downstream from the printing start position. A label transfer determination unit for determining, and when printing starts, the label transfer determination unit reversely transfers the print sheet by the predetermined amount in the transfer direction when the label transfer determination unit is located at a position advanced downstream by a predetermined amount from the print start position. Thereafter, when the printing is started and the power switch is turned off, when the leading end of the printing paper is at the printing start position, the printing paper is transferred by the predetermined amount from the printing start position to the downstream side in the transfer direction. And a label printer having a control unit for turning off the power. When the power is turned on, the control unit transfers the printing paper by a predetermined amount from the printing start position to the downstream side in the transfer direction when the leading end of the printing paper is present at the printing start position by the label transfer determination unit. The label printer according to claim 1, wherein: A thermal head for printing on the printing paper fed out in a belt shape from the printing paper supply unit onto the transport path, a printing unit having a platen roller that rotates opposite to the thermal head, and a power switch that can be turned on / off by software A method for preventing printing paper from being caught in a label printer,
A paper sensor capable of detecting the position of the printing paper is provided in the transfer path, and whether the leading edge of the printing paper is at the printing start position or at a position advanced by a predetermined amount downstream from the printing start position. A label transfer determination unit for determining, and when printing starts, the label transfer determination unit reversely transfers the print sheet by the predetermined amount in the transfer direction when the label transfer determination unit is located at a position advanced downstream by a predetermined amount from the print start position. Thereafter, when the printing is started and the power switch is turned off, when the leading end of the printing paper is at the printing start position, the printing paper is transferred by the predetermined amount from the printing start position to the downstream side in the transfer direction. Thereafter, the power supply is turned off.

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