JP2013166264A - Cutter device, adhesive label issuing device and printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cutter device, an adhesive label issuing device and a printer which achieve a reduction in size, weight and cost, also, achieve shortening of an issuing (printing) cycle and besides, can cut a recording sheet while transporting a recording sheet.SOLUTION: A cutting device includes: a fixed blade 41 which is provided extending along a direction orthogonal to a transport direction F, on the rear side of a label sheet; a carriage 43 which can reciprocate along an extending direction X of the fixed blade 41, on the front side of the label sheet; a movable blade 42 which is supported by the carriage 43 to be rotatable about a rotating shaft 46 intersecting the extending direction X, and also, is made movable along the cutting edge 41a of the fixed blade 41; and a turning means which is movable with a normal direction of the label sheet as its turning axis, and adjusts an angle formed by the transport direction F and the extending direction X.

Description

  The present invention relates to a cutter device, an adhesive label issuing device, and a printer.

Conventionally, a recording surface (printing) formed on the surface of a substrate as a label paper for adhesive labels used for food POS labels, logistics / transport labels, medical labels, baggage tags, bottle / can labels, etc. Surface), an adhesive layer formed on the back surface of the substrate, and a release paper (separator) covering the adhesive layer are widely known.
When using this type of adhesive label on an adherend, after printing predetermined information such as a barcode or price on the recording surface, the adhesive label is cut to a predetermined length, It is necessary to peel the release paper and attach it to the adherend. However, since it is actually difficult to collect and recycle the peeled release paper, there is a problem that the release paper becomes industrial waste.

Therefore, in recent years, pressure-sensitive adhesive labels that do not use release paper have been proposed from the viewpoint of environmental protection and environmental load reduction.
As an adhesive label that does not use release paper, for example, a release agent such as silicone resin is applied to the surface of the recording surface, and the release property between the recording surface and the adhesive layer is ensured even when wound in a roll shape. Things are known (first adhesive label). Moreover, what uses the thermoactive adhesive layer which expresses adhesiveness by heating a non-adhesive adhesive layer at normal temperature is also known (2nd adhesive label). In addition, a non-adhesive resin layer is coated on the entire surface of the adhesive layer, and the adhesive layer is exposed by forming perforations (micro openings) in the resin layer by heating, thereby expressing the adhesiveness. (Third adhesive label).

  Moreover, as a label issuing device that develops adhesive force on an adhesive label that develops adhesiveness by heating the adhesive surface, as in the second and third adhesive labels described above, printing is performed on the printing surface of the adhesive label. Some include a printing unit, a cutter unit that passes the adhesive label after printing and cuts it to a desired length, and an adhesive expression unit that heats the adhesive layer to develop the adhesive label. . As a heat source for the adhesive force developing unit, a heat roller, a thermal head, or the like has been studied.

However, in the pressure-sensitive adhesive label issuing apparatus that handles a pressure-sensitive adhesive label that exhibits a pressure-sensitive adhesive force by heating and has a heat-sensitive coloring layer on the print surface, a heat source is required for both the recording surface and the pressure-sensitive adhesive surface.
Furthermore, sticking of the pressure-sensitive adhesive label may occur in the pressure-sensitive adhesive expression unit due to the pressure-sensitive adhesive force after the pressure-sensitive adhesive surface is heated by the pressure-sensitive adhesive force expressing unit. In order to suppress this, it is necessary to transport the adhesive label without stopping after the adhesive force is developed.
In addition, when it is necessary to develop the adhesive force on the entire adhesive surface of the adhesive label, the downstream end of the adhesive label reaches the adhesive force developing unit after placing the cutter unit upstream of the adhesive force expressing unit. It is necessary to heat without stopping the conveyance of the pressure-sensitive adhesive label in the pressure-sensitive adhesive unit until the upstream end of the pressure-sensitive adhesive label passes through the pressure-sensitive adhesive force development unit.

  As a configuration that does not stop the conveyance of the pressure-sensitive adhesive label during conveyance in the pressure-sensitive adhesive unit, for example, Patent Document 1 includes a paper slack unit that loosens the pressure-sensitive adhesive label between the cutter unit and the pressure-sensitive adhesive unit. Has been proposed. Specifically, the paper slack unit is disposed on the downstream side in the transport direction with respect to the cutter unit, and the upstream paper passing section through which the adhesive label is passed, and the upstream side in the transport direction with respect to the adhesive force developing unit. And a downstream paper passing section through which the adhesive label is passed. According to this configuration, the adhesive label is loosened between the upstream paper passing portion and the downstream paper passing portion, so that when the adhesive label is cut, cutting by the cutter unit upstream of the paper slack unit. Even if conveyance of the adhesive label is stopped at the position, the conveyance can be continued while absorbing the slack of the adhesive label in the paper slack unit on the downstream side of the paper slack unit. Therefore, in this apparatus, without stopping conveyance of an adhesive label within an adhesive force expression unit, an adhesive label is stopped by a cutter unit and an adhesive label is cut | disconnected.

JP 2003-316265 A

  However, in the configuration including the paper slack unit described above, it is necessary to secure a slack area for loosening the adhesive label between the upstream side paper passing portion and the downstream side paper passing portion. There is a problem of being connected.

  On the other hand, as a cutter unit that cuts paper without stopping paper conveyance, as shown in FIG. 10, a movable blade 202 in which a blade 201 is spirally formed on the outer peripheral surface of a rotatable column 200, and A configuration using a so-called rotary cutter 210 that includes a fixed blade 203 that sandwiches an adhesive label with the movable blade 202 has been proposed. Further, as shown in FIG. 11, a so-called swing cutter 220 including a movable blade 205 that can rotate along the conveyance direction of the adhesive label and a fixed blade 206 that sandwiches the adhesive label between the movable blade 205. Is considered.

  However, in the configuration using these cutter units, the movable blades 202 and 205 can be rotated or rotated along the adhesive label conveyance direction to cut the adhesive label in the conveyed state. The cutter 220 not only requires the rigidity of the cutter, but also has a problem that it is large and heavy and expensive because the structure is complicated. Further, when the swing cutter 220 is used, it is necessary to return the movable blade 205 to the initial position after cutting the adhesive label. Therefore, after cutting the adhesive label, the adhesive label is transported upstream from the cutter unit. Must stop. Therefore, there is a problem that the issuing (printing) cycle of the adhesive label becomes long.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and is intended to reduce the size, weight, and cost, and reduce the issuance (printing) cycle, and then transport the recording paper. An object of the present invention is to provide a cutter device, an adhesive label issuing device, and a printer that can be cut while being cut.

  The cutter device according to the present invention is a cutter device that cuts along a direction intersecting the transport direction among the transport surfaces while transporting the belt-shaped recording paper, and on the one surface side of the recording paper, the transport direction A stationary blade extending along a direction intersecting the head, a carriage movable in a reciprocating manner along the extending direction of the stationary blade on the other surface side of the recording paper, and a rotation intersecting the extending direction. A movable blade that is supported by the carriage so as to be rotatable about an axis and that is movable along the cutting edge of the fixed blade, and is rotatable about the normal direction of the recording paper as a rotation axis. And a rotating means for adjusting an angle formed by the extending direction, and the rotating means moves toward the downstream side in the transport direction as it goes from the rear side to the front side along the moving direction of the carriage. Inclining the extending direction It is a symptom.

According to this configuration, since the cutter device is arranged obliquely with respect to the width direction of the recording paper, the movable blade is moved between the fixed blade corresponding to the recording paper conveyance speed, and thereby the recording paper The recording paper can be cut at right angles to the conveyance direction along the recording paper width direction without stopping the conveyance. In this case, since the recording paper can be cut in a conveyed state, a label label (recording paper) issuing cycle can be shortened. Further, since cutting can be performed without stopping the conveyance of the recording paper, it is not necessary to provide a paper slack unit as in the conventional case, and the apparatus can be reduced in size and simplified.
Moreover, according to the structure of this invention, since it is not necessary to make rigidity high compared with the case where a rotary cutter, a swing cutter, etc. are employ | adopted, the cutter apparatus suitable for size reduction, weight reduction, and cost reduction can be provided.

  In addition, since the movable blade (carriage) reciprocates independently along the extending direction of the fixed blade, the forward direction from one end side to the other end side in the extending direction, and the reverse direction from the other end side to the one end side. The recording paper can be cut in both directions. Therefore, it is not necessary to return the swinging movable blade to the initial position like a swing cutter, the issuing cycle can be shortened, and the drive control of the cutter device can be simplified.

  In addition, as the rotation means moves from the rear side to the front side along the carriage moving direction, the extending direction is inclined toward the downstream side in the transport direction, so that the cutting angle in the width direction of the recording paper Can be cut so as to be substantially perpendicular to the transport direction, and the layout angle of the issued pattern can be improved by adjusting the cutting angle of the recording paper.

The fixed blade is characterized in that a notch for forming a gap between the recording paper and the movable blade is formed at a cutting position of the recording paper.
According to this configuration, a gap is formed between the fixed blade and the movable portion, so that a part of the recording paper can be left without being cut. In other words, since the recording paper can be cut in a state where a part of the recording paper is connected, the recording paper is not separated after being discharged, and scattering of the recording paper can be prevented.

Further, the pressure-sensitive adhesive label issuing apparatus according to the present invention is a heat-sensitive pressure-sensitive adhesive label in which the recording paper exhibits an adhesive force by heating, and the adhesive force that causes the recording paper to exhibit an adhesive force by heating the recording paper. An expression unit, and the cutter device of the present invention disposed on the upstream side in the transport direction with respect to the adhesive force expression unit.
According to this configuration, without stopping the conveyance of the recording paper, after the strip-shaped recording paper is cut into a desired length by the cutter device, the adhesive surface is heated and perforated by the adhesive force expression unit, thereby providing a stable adhesive force. Can be expressed. In the present invention, since the recording paper can be cut without stopping, the printing cycle can be shortened and a high-quality adhesive label can be issued.

Further, the printer according to the present invention includes the above-described pressure-sensitive adhesive label issuing device according to the present invention, and a printing unit that is disposed upstream of the pressure-sensitive adhesive unit in the transport direction and that prints on the recording paper. It is characterized by having.
According to this configuration, since desired information can be stably printed on the recording paper before the adhesive force is expressed by the adhesive force expression unit, various information is clearly printed, and thereafter, stable adhesive force is expressed. High quality adhesive labels can be obtained.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a pressure-sensitive adhesive label issuing apparatus and printer that can cut a recording sheet without stopping conveyance while reducing the size, weight, and cost, and shortening the label issuing cycle. be able to.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic block diagram of a cutter apparatus, (a) is a front view, (b) is sectional drawing which follows the AA line of (a). It is a top view of a cutter apparatus, (a) has shown the 1st position and (b) has shown the 2nd position. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the printer. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the printer. It is a top view of a cutter apparatus, and is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the operating method of a cutter apparatus. It is a top view of a cutter apparatus, and is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the operating method of a cutter apparatus. It is a top view which shows the other structure of a cutter apparatus, (a) has shown the 1st position, (b) has shown the 2nd position. It is a figure which shows the other structure of a fixed blade, (a) is a front view, (b) is a top view. It is a perspective view of a rotary cutter. It is a perspective view of a swing cutter. FIG.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, a thermal printer provided with the cutter device of the present invention will be described.
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a thermal printer according to an embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 1, a thermal printer 1 (hereinafter referred to as a printer 1) of this embodiment uses a roll paper R for an adhesive label Q, and a strip-shaped label paper (continuously fed out from the roll paper R) ( After printing on the recording paper (P), it is cut into a predetermined length to form an adhesive label Q, and thereafter, the adhesive label Q develops an adhesive force and is issued as a sticky adhesive label. In the present embodiment, in the state shown in FIG. 1, the left-right direction is the conveyance direction F of the label paper P, the right side along the left-right direction is the upstream side, and the left side is the downstream side.

The above-described roll paper R is formed by winding a strip-shaped label paper P around the outer peripheral surface of a cylindrical core material P ′, and is rotatably accommodated and held in a roll accommodating portion (not shown). The label paper P has a printable layer formed on one surface side (hereinafter referred to as the front surface) of the base material, and an adhesive in which an adhesive is applied to the other surface side (hereinafter referred to as the back surface side) of the base material. And a non-adhesive functional layer that covers the adhesive layer and regulates the adhesive strength thereof.
The functional layer is a perforation-forming layer in which holes are formed by being heated by an adhesive force developing thermal head 83 described later. By forming these holes, the adhesive of the adhesive layer passes through the holes to label paper P It is exposed on the back surface of the film and develops adhesive strength. The printable layer in this embodiment is a heat-sensitive recording layer that develops color when heated. In the printer 1 of this embodiment, the label paper P, which is a printable layer, is conveyed with the surface facing up.

  The printer 1 includes a printing unit 21 that performs printing on a printable layer of the label paper P that has been fed out from the roll paper R, and a label paper P that is printed by the printing unit 21 by cutting the label paper P to a desired length. Holding the adhesive device Q that develops adhesive force on the adhesive label Q by heating the adhesive device on the back surface of the adhesive device Q cut by the cutter device 22, the adhesive label Q cut by the cutter device 22, and the adhesive label Q that expresses adhesiveness A paper holding unit 24. In addition, the adhesive label issuing apparatus in this embodiment is comprised by the cutter apparatus 22 and the adhesive force expression unit 23 among each component mentioned above.

(Printing unit)
The printing unit 21 includes a printing platen roller 31 and a printing thermal head 32 that are disposed to face each other with the label paper P interposed therebetween, and is disposed on the downstream side of a roll paper storage unit (not shown). The printing thermal head 32 is a line head in which a number of heating elements (not shown) are arranged along the width direction of the label paper P, and is disposed on the printable layer side of the label paper P. The printing thermal head 32 is pressed against the printing platen roller 31 by an elastic member such as a coil spring (not shown).

  The printing platen roller 31 is disposed on the adhesive layer side of the label paper P and is configured to be rotatable by a driving source (not shown). In the printing unit 21, by rotating the printing platen roller 31 with the label paper P sandwiched between the printing platen roller 31 and the printing thermal head 32, the printed label paper P is rolled into the roll paper R. Unwind and transport.

(Cutter device)
FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of the cutter device, FIG. 2 (a) is a front view, and FIG. 2 (b) is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 2 (a). 3 is a schematic plan view of the cutter device, FIG. 3 (a) shows a first position, and FIG. 3 (b) shows a second position.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the cutter device 22 includes a frame 35, a cutter unit 36 mounted on the frame 35, and a rotating unit that allows the frame 35 to rotate along the conveyance surface of the label paper P. 37 (see FIG. 3).

  As shown in FIG. 2, the longitudinal direction (extending direction X) of the frame 35 extends along the width direction of the label paper P. The frame 35 is formed longer than the width of the label paper P. The frame 35 is formed with a paper passing port 38 through which the label paper P is passed, and the label paper P is conveyed toward the downstream side through the paper passing port 38.

  The cutter unit 36 includes a fixed blade 41 provided along the extending direction (length direction) X of the frame 35 on the adhesive layer side (lower side) of the label paper P, and the printable layer surface side of the label paper P ( A carriage 43 that can reciprocate along the extending direction X on the upper side), a drive means 44 that drives the carriage 43, and a movable blade that is supported by the carriage 43 and that is movable along the cutting edge 41 a of the fixed blade 41. 42.

  The fixed blade 41 has a constant thickness and width, is formed in a plate-like member that is longer than the width of the label paper P, and a downstream end along the conveyance direction F of the label paper P is a blade edge 41a. The fixed blade 41 has a length along the extending direction X longer than the width of the label paper P. The upper surface of the fixed blade 41 is located above the lower end edge of the paper passing port 38, and the upper surface functions as a guide surface that guides the label paper P along the transport direction F. Further, a pedestal portion 45 (see FIG. 2B) is fixed to the lower surface of the fixed blade 41, and the fixed blade 41 is fixed to the frame 35 via the pedestal portion 45.

The carriage 43 is formed in a box shape made of resin, metal, or the like and is disposed above the fixed blade 41 so that the label paper P passes between the carriage 43 and the fixed blade 41. . Specifically, the lower end surface of the carriage 43 is opposed to the fixed blade 41 with a gap, and is positioned at a corresponding position of the sheet passing port 38.
A rotating shaft 46 (see FIG. 2B) is provided below the carriage 43 so as to extend along the direction orthogonal to the extending direction X described above on the conveyance surface of the label paper P. One end side of the rotation shaft 46 protrudes from the carriage 43 toward the downstream side in the transport direction F, and the other end side is supported in the carriage 43 so as to be rotatable around the axis.

The drive unit 44 includes a drive motor 51 and a feed screw mechanism 52 for transmitting the drive force of the drive motor 51 to the carriage 43.
The drive motor 51 is installed below the sheet passing port 38 in the frame 35 described above, and the output shaft 51a penetrates one of the side wall parts 53a and 53b (side wall part 53a) of the frame 35. A driving gear 54 is fixed to the tip of the outer side of the side wall 53a.

  The feed screw mechanism 52 has a screw shaft 55 that is rotatable about an axis, and the screw shaft 55 extends along the extending direction X, and both end portions thereof are side wall portions 53a of the frame 35, 53b is rotatably supported. A driven gear 56 is fixed to one end side of the screw shaft 55 outside the side wall portion 53a. The driven gear 56 is connected to the drive gear 54 described above via a transmission gear 57 provided on the side wall 53a, and the screw shaft 55 rotates with the rotation of the drive motor 51 described above. A spiral groove 58 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the screw shaft 55 so as to be folded back in the vicinity of both ends.

  The carriage 43 described above is provided with a pin (not shown) that engages with the spiral groove 58 of the screw shaft 55, and this pin engages with the spiral groove 58 with the rotational movement of the screw shaft 55, while the screw shaft Thus, the carriage 43 can move along the extending direction X. The feed screw mechanism 52 of the present embodiment is a mechanism that reciprocates the carriage 43 only by the forward rotation drive of the drive motor 51 at both ends of the screw shaft 55 by the rotational movement of the screw shaft 55. In the following description, in the extending direction X (axial direction of the screw shaft 55), the direction from one end side to the other end side of the screw shaft 55 is the positive direction X1 (see FIG. 6), and one end side from the other end side. The direction toward is the reverse direction X2 (see FIG. 7).

  The movable blade 42 is a so-called disc-shaped circular cutter that is supported by the rotating shaft 46 of the carriage 43 and rotates while meshing with the blade edge 41a of the fixed blade 41 by the reciprocating movement of the carriage 43, and the entire outer peripheral edge thereof is the blade edge. It has become. Further, a part of the cutting edge formed on the outer peripheral edge of the movable blade 42 is in contact with the cutting edge 41 a of the fixed blade 41 described above. The movable blade 42 is connected to the one end side of the rotating shaft 46 described above at the center in the radial direction.

  In addition, detection portions 62 a and 62 b made of a photosensor, a microswitch, and the like are respectively installed at both ends of the top plate portion 61 in the frame 35 along the extending direction X. These detection units 62a and 62b detect the carriage 43 when the carriage 43 is positioned at the detection units 62a and 62b. That is, the detection units 62a and 62b of the present embodiment are for detecting that the carriage 43 is positioned on one end side or the other end side along the extending direction X.

As shown in FIG. 3, the rotation means 37 rotatably supports the frame 35 described above along the conveyance surface of the label paper P, and the conveyance direction F of the label paper P and the extending direction X of the frame 35. To adjust the angle between the two. Specifically, the rotating means 37 is a first rotating shaft 65 that rotatably supports the frame 35, and a first tilting toward the downstream side in the extending direction X from the one end side toward the other end side. A pressing means 66 that holds the frame 35 at a position (see FIG. 3 (a)) and a second position (see FIG. 3 (b)) that is inclined toward the downstream side from the other end side toward the one end side. I have.
The rotation shaft 65 is connected to the top plate portion 61 and the bottom wall portion from a base portion (not shown) disposed above the top plate portion 61 (see FIG. 2) of the frame 35 and below the bottom wall portion 63 (see FIG. 2). The pair extends along the vertical direction toward 63 and supports the intermediate portion of the frame 35 so as to be rotatable.

  The pressing unit 66 includes a biasing member 72 that biases the frame 35 from the first position toward the second position around the rotation shaft 65, and a solenoid that presses the frame 35 from the second position toward the first position. 71.

The urging member 72 is a spring interposed between the frame 35 and the fixed portion 74 on the upstream side of the frame 35, and is compressed when the frame 35 is in the first position, and is moved when the frame 35 is moved to the second position. The one end side of the frame 35 is pressed toward the second position by the restoring force.
The solenoid 71 is disposed on the other end side of the urging member 72, and the solenoid 71 is provided with a movable portion 73 that can advance and retract along the transport direction F. The movable portion 73 is extended by the drive of the solenoid 71, presses the frame 35 against the elastic force of the urging member 72, and rotates to the first position. On the other hand, when the movable portion 73 of the solenoid 71 moves backward, the pressing of the frame 35 is released, and the frame 35 is rotated toward the second position by the restoring force of the biasing member 72.

  As shown in FIG. 1, on the downstream side of the cutter device 22, a conveyance roller 81 that sends the cut adhesive label Q toward the downstream adhesive force expression unit 23 is disposed.

(Adhesive expression unit)
The adhesive force expression unit 23 includes an adhesive force expression platen roller 82 and an adhesive force expression thermal head 83, and is disposed downstream of the cutter device 22. The thermal head 83 for expressing adhesive force is a line head in which a number of heating elements (not shown) are arranged along the width direction of the adhesive label Q, and is disposed on the back side (lower side) of the adhesive label Q. Yes. The thermal head 83 for expressing the adhesive force is pressed against the platen roller 82 for expressing the adhesive force by an elastic member (coil spring or the like) (not shown) and is pressed against the outer peripheral surface of the platen roller 82 for expressing the adhesive force.

  The platen roller 82 for expressing adhesive force is disposed on the surface side of the adhesive label Q, and is configured to be rotatable by a driving source (not shown). In the adhesive force expression unit 23, an adhesive force is expressed while the adhesive label Q is sandwiched between the adhesive force expression platen roller 82 and the adhesive force expression thermal head 83, and the adhesive force expression platen roller 82 rotates, The adhesive label Q is conveyed in the downstream direction.

(Paper holding unit)
The paper holding unit 24 conveys the adhesive label Q having passed through the adhesive force expression unit 23 to a position where it can be taken out, and holds the conveyed adhesive label Q until the user takes it out. Specifically, the paper holding unit 24 includes a plurality of transport rollers 84 that are arranged on the downstream side with respect to the adhesive force expression unit 23 and are arranged along the transport direction F of the adhesive label Q.

(Printer operation method)
Next, the operation of the printer 1 described above will be described. 4 and 5 are flowcharts for explaining the operation of the printer. In the following description, the cutter device 22 is described as being in the first position shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 4, the printer 1 is first connected to an external input device (not shown), and issuance conditions are output from the external input device to the printer 1 in step S1. As the issuing conditions, for example, the conveyance speed of the label paper P (adhesive label Q), the length of the adhesive label Q, print data, adhesive layout data (pattern data for forming perforations in the perforated layer), the carriage 43 There are moving speeds.

  In step S2, the external input device instructs the number of adhesive labels Q to be issued (k). In step S3, the external input device counts the number of adhesive labels Q to be issued (count number n = 1). .

Subsequently, in step S4, the external input device determines whether or not the count number n is equal to or less than the issued number k (n ≦ k).
When the determination result of step S4 is “YES” (when n ≦ k), the process proceeds to step S5.
On the other hand, if the determination result in step S4 is “NO”, that is, if k sheets have already been issued (when n <k), the designated number of issued sheets k has been issued, or the number of issued sheets k has not been entered (0 sheets). ), And the flow ends.

  In step S5, the external input terminal operates the various conveyance rollers to convey the label paper P to the printing unit 21, and the label paper P printed in step S6 is directed downstream from the printing unit 21. Sent out. At this time, the label sheet P supplied to the printing unit 21 is used as the nth adhesive label Q, and the printing operation according to the above-described issuing conditions is performed. Specifically, when the label paper P passes between the printing platen roller 31 and the printing thermal head 32, printing data such as barcodes and characters are sequentially printed on the surface of the label paper P.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5, when the output of the print data is completed for the label paper P corresponding to the nth adhesive label Q in step S7, the count number n is less than the issued number k in step S8. It is determined whether or not (n <k).
When the determination result in step S8 is “YES” (when n <k), the process proceeds to step S9 while the printing thermal head 32 is continuously driven. In this case, the printing thermal head 32 prints the label paper P corresponding to the (n + 1) th adhesive label Q.
On the other hand, when the determination result in step S8 is “NO” (when n = k), it is determined that the printing on the label paper P corresponding to the adhesive label Q of the number of issued sheets k set in step S2 is completed. In step S10, the drive of the printing thermal head 32 is stopped.

  Subsequently, the label paper P that has passed through the printing unit 21 is supplied to the cutter device 22. The label paper P supplied to the cutter device 22 is inserted into the paper passage opening 38 of the frame 35 and then sent out downstream. When the cutting position of the label paper P (the label length position of the nth adhesive label Q) reaches the cutter device 22 (step S9), the cutter device 22 is driven in step S11.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the cutter device and is an explanatory diagram for explaining an operation method of the cutter device.
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 6, in step S <b> 11, when the drive motor 51 is first driven, the drive force is transmitted to the driven gear 56 via the drive gear 54 and the transmission gear 57.
Then, the driven gear 56 is rotated, the screw shaft 55 of the feed screw mechanism 52 is rotated, and the carriage 43 is forward in the extending direction X of the movable blade 42 from the one end side to the other end side in the screw shaft 55. Begins linear movement along X1.

  Then, when the carriage 43 crosses the label sheet P along the positive direction X1 in the extending direction X, the label sheet P is cut while being sandwiched at the contact position between the movable blade 42 and the fixed blade 41. At this time, since the cutter device 22 is disposed at the first position, when the label paper P is conveyed toward the downstream side, the carriage 43 is moved from one end side along the extending direction X (forward direction X1). As it goes to the end side, it moves toward the downstream side along the transport direction F. Thereby, since it can cut | disconnect according to conveyance of the label paper P, it becomes possible to align the width direction of the label paper P, and a cutting direction. In this embodiment, based on the transport speed of the label paper P, the cutting angle formed by the transport direction F of the label paper P and the cutting direction is a right angle, that is, the label paper P is cut along the width direction. An angle (an angle of the frame 35) formed by the extending direction X with respect to the conveyance direction F at the first position and the second position is set.

  When the detection unit 62b detects that the carriage 43 has reached the other end side (step S12), the movement of the carriage 43 is stopped (step S13).

Subsequently, in step S14, it is determined whether or not the count number n is less than the issued number k (n <k).
When the determination result in step S14 is “YES” (when n <k), the drive of the printing thermal head 32 is temporarily stopped (step S15), and then the process proceeds to step S16.
On the other hand, if the determination result in step S14 is “NO” (when n = k), since the drive of the printing thermal head 32 has already been stopped in step S10, the process directly proceeds to step S16.

  When the determination result in step S14 is “YES”, the label paper P corresponding to the (n + 1) th adhesive label Q is supplied to the cutter device 22 later. Therefore, the rotation means 37 is driven to rotate the cutter device 22 from the first position shown in FIGS. 3A and 6 toward the second position shown in FIGS. Specifically, the pressing on the frame 35 is released by retracting the movable portion 73 of the solenoid 71. Thereby, the frame 35 is rotated around the rotation shaft 65 toward the second position by the restoring force of the urging member 72, so that the downstream side becomes closer to the one end side along the extending direction X. Tilt toward.

  Thereafter, in step S <b> 16, the driving of the printing platen roller 31 is stopped, and the conveyance of the label paper P on the upstream side of the printing unit 21 is stopped.

  By the way, in step S9 to step S13 described above, the cutting process by the cutter device 22 is performed on the upstream end of the nth adhesive label Q, and at the same time, as shown in step S21 and later described, n sheets The adhesive labels Q of the eyes are sequentially supplied to the adhesive expression unit 23 from the downstream side.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, when the nth adhesive label Q is supplied from the downstream end to the adhesive expression unit 23 (step S21), the adhesive expression thermal head 83 is driven (step S21). S22). The pressure-sensitive adhesive label Q supplied to the pressure-sensitive adhesive unit 23 is inserted between the pressure-sensitive adhesive development thermal head 83 and the pressure-sensitive adhesive platen roller 82, and the pressure-sensitive adhesive expression platen roller 82 causes the pressure-sensitive adhesive expression thermal plate 82 to generate the pressure-sensitive adhesive force. It is conveyed downstream while being pressed against the head 83.

At this time, heat energy is individually applied to each heating element of the thermal head 83 for expressing adhesive force based on the label information described above, so that each applied heating element generates heat with the amount of energy of the thermal energy. To do.
Therefore, only the part of the back surface (functional layer) of the pressure-sensitive adhesive label Q that is in contact with the heat-generating element is locally heated. When the heated portion of the functional layer reaches the melting point, the functional layer is melted to form a hole, and the adhesive layer of the adhesive label Q is exposed through this hole. Thereby, adhesive force can be expressed in the adhesive label Q (step S23).

When the nth adhesive label Q passes through the adhesive expression unit 23, the drive of the adhesive expression thermal head 83 is stopped (step S24).
On the other hand, the n-th adhesive label Q sent out from the adhesive expression unit 23 is supplied to the paper holding unit 24. The adhesive label Q supplied to the paper holding unit 24 is sent out downstream by the transport roller 84. Then, when the upstream end of the adhesive label Q is discharged from the adhesive expression unit 23 (step S25), the driving of the platen roller 82 of the adhesive expression unit 23 is stopped (step S26).

  Next, by stopping the driving of the paper holding unit 24 (step S27), it is possible to take out the adhesive label Q that is adhesively held on the transport roller 84 of the paper holding unit 24. Thus, the issue of the adhesive label Q is completed.

Thereafter, in step S28, the process waits until the adhesive label Q is taken out by the user.
In step S29, it is determined whether or not the adhesive label Q has been taken out.
If the determination result in step S29 is “YES”, it is determined that the adhesive label Q has been removed, and the process proceeds to step S30.
On the other hand, if the determination result in step S29 is “NO”, it is determined that the adhesive label Q is still on the transport roller 84, and the process returns to step S28 and waits.

  Thereafter, in step S30, after adding one count number n, the above-described steps after step S4 are repeated.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 7, when cutting with the frame 35 in the second position, such as when cutting the label paper P corresponding to the (n + 1) th adhesive label Q with the cutter device 22, Cutting is performed in the same manner as in step S11 described above.
Specifically, when the drive motor 51 is first driven, the movable blade 42 starts to move linearly along the reverse direction X2 from the other end side to the one end side of the screw shaft 55 together with the carriage 43.

When the carriage 43 crosses the label paper P along the reverse direction X2 in the extending direction X, the label paper P is cut at the contact position between the movable blade 42 and the fixed blade 41. At this time, since the cutter device 22 is disposed at the second position, when the label paper P is conveyed toward the downstream side, the carriage 43 is moved from the other end side along the extending direction X (reverse direction X2). As it goes to one end side, it moves toward the downstream side along the transport direction F, that is, moves toward the downstream side along the transport direction F.
Thereby, even when the cutter apparatus 22 is arrange | positioned in the 2nd position, the label paper P can be cut | disconnected along the width direction. In order to return the cutter device 22 to the first position again, the solenoid 71 is driven to advance the movable portion 73, thereby pressing the one end side of the frame 35 toward the downstream side. As a result, the frame 35 rotates about the rotation shaft 65 while resisting the restoring force of the urging member 72, whereby the frame 35 rotates to the first position.

As described above, in this embodiment, the movable blade 42 can be moved along the cutting edge 41 a of the fixed blade 41 by the carriage 43 that can reciprocate along the extending direction X of the fixed blade 41.
According to this configuration, the label sheet P can be cut along the moving direction (extension direction X) of the carriage 43 by sandwiching the label sheet P between the fixed blade 41 and the movable blade 42. In this case, since the label paper P can be cut without stopping, the adhesive label Q issuing cycle can be shortened. Further, since the paper slack unit is not provided as in the prior art, the apparatus can be reduced in size and simplified.
Further, since the cutting direction of the label paper P and the moving direction of each carriage 43 can be aligned, it is not necessary to increase the rigidity compared to the case where the conventional rotary cutter 210, swing cutter 220, etc. are employed. Therefore, it is possible to provide the cutter device 22 capable of transporting the label paper P while reducing the size, weight, and cost.

  Moreover, in the present embodiment, the movable blade 42 (carriage 43) independently reciprocates along the extending direction X of the fixed blade 41 to cut the label paper P, so that a conventional swing cutter 220 or the like is used. Unlike the cutter unit to be used, it is not necessary to return the carriage 43 to the initial position, the printing (issue) cycle can be shortened, and the drive control of the cutter unit can be simplified.

In particular, in the present embodiment, the rotation unit 37 that adjusts the angle between the conveyance direction F of the label paper P and the extending direction X of the fixed blade 41 is provided.
According to this configuration, the angle formed by the conveyance direction F of the label paper P and the cutting direction can be adjusted, so that the cutting can be performed in accordance with the conveyance of the label paper P. Therefore, in this embodiment, the frame 35 is inclined toward the downstream side in the transport direction F as it goes from the rear side to the front side along the moving direction of the carriage 43, so that cutting is performed in accordance with the transport of the label paper P. be able to. In this case, since it is possible to align the width direction of the label paper P and the cutting direction, it is possible to cut the label paper P so that the cutting angle in the width direction is substantially perpendicular to the transport direction F. Moreover, the layout angle of the issued pattern can be improved by adjusting the cutting angle of the label paper P.

And according to the label issuing apparatus which has the cutter apparatus 22 mentioned above, after cutting the label paper P to the desired length by the cutter apparatus 22 without stopping conveyance of the label paper P, the heating by the adhesive force expression unit 23 is carried out. Since a stable adhesive force can be expressed only in a desired region by perforation, a high-quality adhesive label Q can be issued after shortening the printing cycle.
Further, according to the printer 1 of the present embodiment, since desired information is printed on the label paper P before the adhesive force expression unit 23 develops the adhesive force, various information is clearly printed and stable. A high-quality pressure-sensitive adhesive label Q that exhibits adhesive strength can be obtained.

The technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
For example, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the solenoid 71 and the urging member 72 are used as the pressing unit 66 has been described, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, a cam mechanism 101 may be employed instead of the solenoid 71. Specifically, the cam mechanism 101 includes an eccentric cam 102 disposed on the other end side along the extending direction X on the upstream side of the frame 35.
The eccentric cam 102 is formed in a disc shape whose vertical direction is the thickness direction, and an end face (outer peripheral face) facing radially outward is slid on an end face located on the upstream side in the conveyance direction F of the frame 35. It is configured to be accessible. Further, the eccentric cam 102 is supported so as to be rotatable around a rotation shaft 103 provided at a position offset with respect to the center. The rotating shaft 103 is provided with a driven gear 104, and a driving force output from a driving source such as a stepping motor (not shown) is transmitted via the transmission gear 105.

  According to this configuration, it is possible to adjust the inclination of the frame 35 by rotating the eccentric cam 102. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 8A, the eccentric cam 102 pushes the frame 35 up and down along the transport direction F, so that the inclination of the frame 35 is set in accordance with the transport speed of the label paper P. can do.

  Although it is desirable that the conveyance speed of the label paper P is always constant, if it is necessary to limit the current consumption due to the battery drive or the mounted power supply capacity, printing is performed according to the data amount of printing or adhesive layout. There is also a possibility that the conveyance speed is lowered by driving the thermal heads 32 and 83 by dividing the data and the adhesive layout data. In that case, it is preferable that the angle formed between the conveyance direction F and the extending direction X is adjusted to the conveyance speed that is the most frequently used as the conveyance speed or to the average speed. In this case, the angle formed by the cutting direction with respect to the conveyance direction of the label paper P (cutting angle) is preferably suppressed within ± 5 degrees.

In the above-described embodiment, the case of full-cutting (full-width cutting) of the label paper P has been described. However, a so-called partial cut is formed in which one or a plurality of uncut portions are formed at the cut portion of the label paper P. It doesn't matter.
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 9, the notch 111 of the fixed blade 41 is notched in the cutting edge 111a of the fixed blade 41 by partially providing a notch 111 cut out along the conveyance direction F. A gap is formed between the portion 111 and the movable blade 42, and the label paper P in this portion remains connected without being cut. That is, in the example shown in the figure, the label paper P is cut in a state of being connected, and after being discharged, the adhesive label Q does not come apart and the scattering of the adhesive label Q can be prevented.

In the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which the spiral groove 58 is formed in the screw shaft 55 of the feed screw mechanism 52 and the carriage 43 is reciprocated by the DC motor has been described. You may rotate and reciprocate the moving direction of the carriage 43.
Further, the rotation shaft 65 (rotation center) of the frame 35 is not limited to the intermediate portion in the extending direction X.

The case where the cutter device 22 of the present invention is applied to the thermal printer for the adhesive label Q has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention is not limited to this as long as the configuration is a printer that cuts the recording paper to be conveyed. It can be employed in various configurations.
Furthermore, the printing unit 21 is only required to be disposed upstream of the adhesion developing unit 23 in the conveying direction, and may be disposed, for example, between the cutter device 22 and the adhesion developing unit 23.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Thermal printer (printer) 21 ... Printing unit 22 ... Cutter apparatus 23 ... Adhesive force expression unit 41 ... Fixed blade 42 ... Movable blade 43 ... Carriage 36 ... Turning means 65 ... Turning shaft 111 ... Notch F ... Conveyance Direction P ... Label paper (recording paper) X ... Extension direction

Claims (4)

In the cutter device that cuts along the direction intersecting the transport direction of the transport surface while transporting the strip-shaped recording paper,
A fixed blade extending along a direction intersecting the transport direction on one surface side of the recording paper;
A carriage capable of reciprocating along the extending direction of the fixed blade on the other surface side of the recording paper;
A movable blade that is supported by the carriage so as to be rotatable about a rotation axis that intersects the extending direction, and that is movable along a cutting edge of the fixed blade;
A rotation unit that is rotatable about a normal direction of the recording paper as a rotation axis, and that adjusts an angle formed by the conveyance direction and the extending direction;
The said rotation means inclines the said extending direction toward the downstream of the said conveyance direction as it goes to the front side from the back side along the moving direction of the said carriage, The cutter apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned.   The cutter device according to claim 1, wherein the fixed blade is formed with a notch for forming a gap with the movable blade at a cutting position of the recording paper. The recording paper is a heat-sensitive adhesive label that develops adhesive strength by heating,
An adhesive force expression unit for heating the recording paper to express the adhesive strength of the recording paper;
An adhesive label issuing device, comprising: the cutter device according to claim 1, which is disposed upstream of the adhesive expression unit in the transport direction. An adhesive label issuing device according to claim 3;
A printer comprising: a printing unit that is disposed upstream of the adhesive expression unit in the transport direction and that prints on the recording paper.

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