JP2014008724A - Label printer and control method for the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a highly reliable label printer with a peeling mechanism.SOLUTION: A label printer 10 comprises: a transportation mechanism 20 for transporting label paper 12 formed by attaching a label 16 to release paper 15 along a transportation path 18; a head unit 35 provided with a plurality of line type print heads 36 through 39; a head unit movement mechanism 30 for moving the head unit 35 back and forth between a first position 35B and a second position 35C positioned downstream the first position 35B in a transportation direction; a peeling mechanism 40 that peels off the label 16 having been printed from the release paper 15 and issues the label 16; and a control section 50 for controlling them. The control section 50 can individually and independently control at least the head unit 35 and the head unit movement mechanism 30. The label printer 10 sets a position of the head unit 35 by the head unit movement mechanism 30 and determines a printing start position of the label 16.

Description

  The present invention relates to a label printer and a label printer control method.

  As a printer that performs color printing on continuous paper, a line printer that includes a line-type inkjet head that discharges ink of each color arranged at regular intervals along the conveyance direction of the continuous paper is known (for example, a patent) Reference 1).

  In this type of line printer, in the case of continuous printing in which printing is performed continuously, it is possible to perform a printing operation while continuously transporting continuous paper in the transport direction. However, when printing is performed for each job of a certain length (for example, for one page) in response to a request from a host computer, a continuous sheet is reversely fed prior to printing, and a plurality of lines are printed. The operation of positioning the print start position on the continuous paper at the print position of the last line type ink jet head in the transport direction of the type ink jet head is required. FIG. 10 of Patent Document 1 discloses such a reverse feeding operation for continuous paper.

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, line printers are used as label printers that print information on labels by applying a label sheet having a structure in which a certain length of label is attached to a long release sheet as a continuous sheet at a constant interval. When issuing a label, a label printer may be incorporated into a work process, printed in units of labels, and printed labels may be issued one by one. In this case, a peeling mechanism that peels off the printed label from the release paper is used. The peeling mechanism generally takes a structure in which the label paper to be conveyed is bent at an acute angle with respect to the carrying direction, the label is peeled off from the release paper, and the remaining release paper is wound up.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-234735, FIG.

  The above-described label printer with a peeling mechanism that issues the printed labels one by one has a winding mechanism for winding the release paper, so that the mechanism for reversely feeding the continuous paper for positioning the printing start position becomes complicated. There was a problem. Further, even if the reverse feeding can be performed, there is a possibility that the label peeled off and having the glue surface on the back adheres to the conveyance path during the reverse feeding operation and causes a paper feeding failure such as a paper jam.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is to solve at least a part of the problems described above, and the invention can be implemented as the following forms or application examples.

  Application Example 1 Conveying a transport mechanism that transports a label sheet, on which a label is attached to a long release sheet, at regular intervals along a transport path, and a line-type print head that ejects ink onto the label A plurality of head units provided at a predetermined interval along the path; the head units along the transport path; a first position across the main printing position of the label; and a downstream of the first position in the transport direction. A head unit moving mechanism that reciprocally moves between the second position, a peeling mechanism that peels off the printed label from the release paper and waits at an issue position, and a control that comprehensively controls the drive thereof The control unit is capable of independently controlling at least the head unit and the head unit moving mechanism, and the head unit moving mechanism Label printer and determining the start printing position of the label by setting the position of the serial head unit.

  According to this configuration, the label printer can move the head unit between the first position and the second position along the conveyance direction of the label paper. Further, information can be printed on a label which is a printing area of the label paper in accordance with the operation of moving the head unit. Therefore, when printing the label is started, the print start position can be positioned without reverse feeding of the label paper. As a result, it is possible to avoid the adverse effects caused by the reverse feeding of the label paper and to perform the work efficiently.

  Application Example 2 When the transport mechanism transports the label to be printed to the main printing position, the head unit moving mechanism positions the head unit at the first position, and prints a command from the control unit. The head unit moving mechanism discharges ink to the label to be printed using the line type print head while moving the head unit from the first position to the second position. When the information is printed and the transport mechanism transports the printed label to the issue position and the new print target label to the main print position, the head unit moving mechanism moves the head unit to The label printer as described above, wherein the label printer is moved from the second position to the first position.

  According to this configuration, the label printer is a label sheet printing region in accordance with an operation of moving the head unit between the first position and the second position along the label sheet conveyance direction and moving the head unit. Information can be printed on the label. Therefore, when printing the label is started, the print start position can be positioned without reverse feeding of the label paper. As a result, it is possible to avoid the adverse effects caused by the reverse feeding of the label paper and to perform the work efficiently.

  Application Example 3 The transport mechanism transports the printed label to the issuing position, transports the new label to be printed to the main print position, and the head unit moving mechanism moves the head unit to the first position. The label printer as described above, wherein when moving from the second position to the first position, information is printed by ejecting ink onto the new label to be printed using the line type print head.

  According to this configuration, when the head unit moving mechanism moves the head unit from the second position to the first position, the label printer can print information by discharging ink to a new label to be printed. . Therefore, it can contribute to the efficiency improvement of printing work.

  Application Example 4 A maintenance unit that performs maintenance of the head unit is provided on the extension of the moving path of the head unit by the head unit moving mechanism along the transport path, and the head unit moving mechanism includes the head The label printer as described above, wherein the unit is movable between the first position, the second position, and a maintenance position where the maintenance unit is located.

  According to this configuration, the label printer includes the maintenance unit on the moving path of the head unit, and the head unit can be moved to the maintenance position by the head unit moving mechanism. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide an independent moving mechanism for performing maintenance of the head unit, and the increase in the size of the label printer, the manufacturing cost, and the like can be suppressed.

  Application Example 5 Print information by ejecting ink from a head unit including a plurality of line-type print heads at predetermined intervals along the transport path on the label of the label paper transported along the transport path, A label printer control method for releasing a printed label from a label sheet by a peeling mechanism and issuing the label unit, wherein the head unit is placed along a conveyance path with a main printing position of the label interposed therebetween. A head unit moving step for reciprocating a second position located downstream in the transport direction from the first position and a maintenance position for maintenance of the head unit; and discharging ink from the line-type print head of the head unit. A printing process for printing information on the label, and transporting the label paper along a transport path, Control method for a label printer characterized by having a a label transport peeling step of peeling the printed the label from the label sheet using.

  (Application example 6) The head unit moving step includes a first head unit moving step of moving the head unit from the maintenance position to the first position, and moving the head unit from the first position to the second position. A second head unit moving step, a third head unit moving step for moving the head unit from the second position to the first position, and a fourth head for moving the head unit from the first position to the maintenance position. The label printer, wherein the printing step is performed by a combination of the first position, the label conveyance peeling step, the second head unit moving step, or the third head unit moving step. Control method.

  According to these methods, the label printer can move the head unit between the first position, the second position, and the maintenance position along the conveyance direction of the label paper. Further, information can be printed on a label which is a printing area of the label paper in accordance with the operation of moving the head unit. Therefore, when printing the label is started, the print start position can be positioned without reverse feeding of the label paper. As a result, it is possible to avoid the adverse effects caused by the reverse feeding of the label paper and to perform the work efficiently.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating an example of a label printer according to the present invention. The flowchart which shows the flow of label printing operation | movement. Explanatory drawing which shows an example of the basic operation | movement of label printing by a label printer. Explanatory drawing which shows an example of the continuous printing operation | movement of the label by a label printer.

  A label printer to which the present invention is applied will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the drawings referred to in the following description, the vertical and horizontal scales of members or parts may be shown differently from the actual ones for convenience of description and illustration.

(About the configuration of the label printer)
The configuration of the label printer will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an example of a label printer according to the present invention. This label printer is equipped with a line-type inkjet head as a plurality of line-type print heads that eject ink of each color. To do.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the label printer 10 includes a roll paper storage unit 19, a transport mechanism 20, a platen 32, a head unit 35, a head unit moving mechanism 30, a peeling mechanism 40, a control unit 50, And a maintenance unit 60.

  The roll paper storage unit 19 is disposed at a lower rear portion in FIG. 1 of the label printer 10 and rotatably stores a roll paper 13 having a configuration in which the label paper 12 is wound in a roll shape. The label paper 12 is sequentially fed out from the roll paper 13 stored in the roll paper storage unit 19 to the transport path 18. The label paper 12 is a continuous paper having a configuration in which a label 16 having a constant length D is attached to the surface of a long release paper 15 having a constant width at a constant interval B. The conveyance path 18 is a path through which the label paper 12 is conveyed from the roll paper storage unit 19 as a starting point through a peeling mechanism 40 which will be described later to the label discharge port 28 as an end point.

  The transport mechanism 20 includes a guide roller 21, a driven-side paper feed roller pair 22, a drive-side paper feed roller pair 24, a paper feed motor 26, a label position detector 29, and the like. The guide roller 21 is provided in the vicinity of the roll paper storage unit 19 and guides the label paper 12 fed out to the transport path 18. A driven-side paper feed roller pair 22 and a drive-side paper feed roller pair 24 are disposed on the downstream side of the conveyance path 18 of the guide roller 21 with a platen 32 described later interposed therebetween. The drive-side paper feed roller pair 24 obtains a driving force from the paper feed motor 26 and rotates.

  The driven-side paper feed roller pair 22 is connected to the drive-side paper feed roller pair 24 via a rotational force transmission mechanism (not shown) such as a gear train and rotates synchronously with the drive-side paper feed roller pair 24. The driven-side paper feed roller pair 22 may be the drive side, and the drive-side paper feed roller pair 24 may be driven or unnecessary. The transport mechanism 20 transports the label paper 12 to the label discharge port 28 along the transport path 18 defined by the guide roller 21, the driven-side paper feed roller pair 22, the drive-side paper feed roller pair 24, the platen 32, and the like. . For example, an optical sensor is preferably applied to the label position detector 29 and provided on the transport path 18. The label position detector 29 recognizes the position of the label 16 conveyed along the conveyance path 18 by detecting the front end 16a (see FIG. 3) or the rear end 16b (see FIG. 3) of the label 16 in the conveyance direction H. .

  The head unit 35 is disposed above the linear conveyance path portion 18a between the drive-side paper feed roller pair 24 and the driven-side paper feed roller pair 22 in the conveyance path 18 in FIG. 1, that is, on the printing surface side of the label 16. The In the head unit 35, four sets of line-type ink jet heads 36, 37, 38, 39 are arranged at regular intervals along the conveyance direction H of the label paper 12 indicated by arrows in FIG. The downstream line-type inkjet head 36 in the transport direction H discharges the cyan ink C, and the subsequent line-type inkjet head 37 discharges the magenta ink M. Further, the subsequent line type ink jet head 38 ejects yellow ink Y, and the last line type ink jet head 39 ejects black ink K.

The distance from the printing position 36a of the first line-type inkjet head 36 to the printing position 39a of the last line-type inkjet head 39 is the distance A. In addition, it is preferable that the intervals between the print positions (nozzle row positions) 36a to 39a of the adjacent line type ink jet heads 36 to 39 are constant.
The platen 32 is arranged on the lower side of the head unit 35 with the label paper 12 conveyed along the conveyance path portion 18a interposed therebetween, and defines the printing position of the label printer 10.

  The maintenance unit 60 performs maintenance such as capping for preventing the above-described line-type inkjet heads 36, 37, 38, and 39 from drying during standby and wiping for removing dirt on the nozzle surface. The maintenance unit 60 is arranged at a rear side portion opposite to the conveyance direction H with respect to the driven-side paper feed roller pair 22 on the conveyance path 18 so that a maintenance portion is directed upward in FIG. Yes.

  The head unit moving mechanism 30 can reciprocate the head unit 35 along the conveyance direction H within a predetermined range. The head unit moving mechanism 30 includes a linear motion guide mechanism 31a composed of, for example, a ball screw / ball spline and a linear motion motor 31b. The head unit 35 is moved from a maintenance position 35A indicated by an imaginary line facing the maintenance unit 60 to a second position indicated by an imaginary line in front of the head unit 35 via a first position 35B indicated by a solid line in the transport direction H. It can reciprocate along a straight reciprocating path that reaches 35C.

  The peeling mechanism 40 is provided in the vicinity of the label discharge port 28 and includes a peeling roller 42, a release paper winding mechanism 43, and a label presence / absence detector 44. The peeling roller 42 is disposed on the back side of the label paper 12 that is transported through the transport path 18. The release paper take-up mechanism 43 is disposed obliquely downward in the drawing with respect to the release roller 42 and includes a take-up core 46 and a take-up motor 47. The winding core 46 is driven to rotate by obtaining a driving force from the winding motor 47. Therefore, the label paper 12 is bent from the conveyance path 18 by the peeling roller 42 in the conveyance direction obliquely downward, and is taken up by the take-up core 46 of the release paper take-up mechanism 43.

  The label paper 12 is bent obliquely downward by the peeling roller 42 because the label 16 having a constant length D is attached to the surface of the long release paper 15 having a constant width at a constant interval B. As a result, the label 16 is peeled off from the surface of the release paper 15. By adjusting the winding amount of the release paper 15 by the release paper take-up mechanism 43, the label 16 is in a standby state at the label discharge port 28 with a part of the label 16 attached to the release paper 15 and the other part peeled off. Become. The label presence / absence detector 44 detects the presence / absence of the label 16 that is in a standby state to which, for example, an optical sensor is applied.

  The control unit 50 comprehensively controls driving of each unit of the label printer 10 described above. The control unit 50 controls the printing operation by the head unit 35 via the head driver 52. The control unit 50 conveys the label paper 12 by the paper feed motor 26 via a motor driver (not shown), moves the head unit 35 by the linear motion motor 31b, and winds the release paper 15 of the label paper 12 by the take-up motor 47. Control the take-off operation.

  The control unit 50 is communicatively connected to a higher-level device, for example, a higher-level computer 56 via the transmission / reception unit 55, and receives a label print command or the like from the computer 56 side. When the control unit 50 receives the label print command via the transmission / reception unit 55, the control unit 50 temporarily stores the label print command in the reception buffer 57. Is expanded in the print buffer 59 as print data for each line. Based on the developed print data for each line, the line-type inkjet heads 36 to 39 of each color are driven and controlled via the head driver 52 to perform label printing. In label printing, under the control of the control unit 50, as described below, movement control of the head unit 35 and conveyance and winding control of the label paper 12 are performed in synchronization with the printing operation by the head unit 35. .

(Basic operation of label printing)
The basic operation of label printing using the above-described label printer will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 is a flowchart showing the flow of the label printing operation, FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the basic operation of label printing by the label printer, and (a), (b), and (c) are the operations. Indicates the transition.

  As shown in FIG. 2, in the first standby state S1, the head unit 35 of the label printer 10 is located at a maintenance position 35A facing the maintenance unit 60 located outside the transport path 18 shown in FIG. Note that the first standby state refers to a state in which the label printer 10 is powered off or on but has not been printed for a predetermined time.

  In the print command receiving step S <b> 2, the label printer 10 receives a print command to print desired information on the label 16 from, for example, the host computer 56. The label printer 10 ignores this print command when the printed label 16 (1) is in the label discharge port 28. Whether or not the printed label 16 (1) is at the label discharge port 28 can be determined by the output of the label presence / absence detector 44 at the label discharge port 28.

In the first head moving step S3, the control unit 50 drives the head unit moving mechanism 30 to move the head unit 35 from the maintenance position 35A shown in FIG. 1 to the first position 35B shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, the first position 35B is defined as the main printing position.
Next, in the label state detection step S4, the label 16 (1) printed by the label presence / absence detector 44 shown in FIG. 1 is not in the standby position of the label discharge port 28, and the label position detector 29 shown in FIG. It is detected whether the label 16 (2) to be printed is at a predetermined position on the transport path 18.

If the label 16 (2) is not at the predetermined position and the label position needs to be corrected (YES), the process proceeds to the label position correction step S5, and the transport mechanism 20 is driven to correct the position of the label 16. As shown in FIG. 3A, the predetermined position refers to the printing position 36a of the head line-type inkjet head 36 in the head unit 35 in which the label 16 (2) of the label paper 12 is positioned at the first position 35B. Further, the rear end 16b of the label 16 (2) to be printed is a corresponding position. In addition, it includes in this when the run accompanying the movement of the head unit 35 is required. Then, the process proceeds to the second head moving step S6 and the printing step S7.
When the label 16 is at a predetermined position and correction of the label position is not required (NO), the process proceeds to the second head moving step S6 and the printing step S7.

  In the second head moving step S6 shown in FIG. 2, the control unit 50 moves the head unit 35 from the first position 35B to the second position 35C by the head unit moving mechanism 30, as shown in FIG. 3B. . The second position 35C is a position where the printing position 39a of the last line type inkjet head 39 of the head unit 35 corresponds to the front end 16a of the label 16 (2) to be printed. That is, as the head unit 35 moves from the first position 35B to the second position 35C, the line type is applied to the print area for one job from the rear end 16b to the front end 16a of the label 16 (2) to be printed. All the print positions 36a, 37a, 38a, 39a of the inkjet heads 36, 37, 38, 39 can be made to correspond.

  In the present embodiment, the printing step S7 is performed simultaneously with the second head moving step S6. In the printing step S7, the label printer 10 is a line mounted on the head unit 35 by the head driver 52 while moving the head unit 35 in the H direction in the drawing with respect to the label 16 (2) to be printed. The ink jet heads 36, 37, 38, 39 are controlled to discharge ink of each color from the line ink jet heads 36, 37, 38, 39 to the entire printing area of the label 16 (2), thereby printing information.

  Next, in a print label determination step S8, it is determined whether there is a label to be printed next. If there is a label to be printed next (YES), the process proceeds to a continuous printing step S20 described later. When there is no label to be printed next (NO), the process proceeds to the third head moving step S9.

In the third head moving step S9, the control unit 50 shown in FIG. 1 moves the head unit 35 from the second position 35C to the first position 35B by the head unit moving mechanism 30 as shown in FIG. 3C. .
In the label transport / peeling step S10, as shown in FIG. 3C, the transport mechanism 20 is driven and the label paper 12 is transported in the H direction in the figure, while the release paper take-up mechanism 43 of the peel mechanism 40 is driven to perform labeling. The release paper 15 of the paper 12 is wound up. Since the label paper 12 is affixed to the surface of the release paper 15 at regular intervals, the label paper 12 is bent and wound obliquely downward by the release roller 42, whereby the label 16 printed in the printing step S7. (2) is peeled off from the surface of the release paper 15. The peeled label 16 (2) is in a standby state at the label discharge port 28 with a part of the label 16 (2) adhering to the release paper 15 and the other part peeled off. In addition, said 3rd head movement process S9 and label conveyance and peeling process S10 may be implemented simultaneously, and the order may be reverse.

  The label 16 (2) that is in a standby state at the label discharge port 28 is removed from the label discharge port 28 and pasted to a predetermined product or article by a user or a label attaching device. In this way, the basic operation of printing and issuing one label 16 (2) is completed. The label printer 10 in which the label 16 (2) is in the standby state or removed is shifted to the second standby state S11.

In the second standby state S11, when the power of the label printer 10 is not turned off (NO), the label printer 10 stands by as it is until a predetermined time set in advance. If the predetermined time has elapsed or the power is turned off (YES), the process proceeds to the fourth head moving step S12.
In the fourth head moving step S12, the control unit 50 shown in FIG. 1 drives the head unit moving mechanism 30 to move the head unit 35 from the first position 35B to the maintenance position 35A shown in FIG. Then, the label printer 10 enters the initial first standby state.

(About continuous printing of labels)
The continuous label printing operation using the above-described label printer will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 4. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a continuous label printing operation by the label printer. (A), (b), (c), and (d) show the transition of the operation.

  As shown in FIG. 2, in the continuous printing step S20, the second head moving step S6 and the printing step S7 described above are performed, the head unit 35 is at the second position 35C, and the printed label 16 (2) is the conveyance path. It exists in the platen 32 part of the part 18a (refer Fig.4 (a)). When it is determined in the print label determination step S8 that there is a label 16 (3) to be printed next (YES), that is, when the label printer 10 receives a print command to continue printing information on the label 16 Then, the process proceeds to the label conveying / peeling step S21. 4A is the same as FIG. 3B described above.

  In the label transport / peeling step S21, as shown in FIG. 4B, the transport mechanism 20 (see FIG. 1) is driven to transport the label paper 12, while the release paper take-up mechanism 43 of the peel mechanism 40 is driven to label. The release paper 15 of the paper 12 is wound up. Since the label paper 12 is bent and wound up obliquely downward by the peeling roller 42, the printed label 16 (2) is peeled from the surface of the release paper 15. The peeled label 16 (2) is in a standby state at the label discharge port 28 with a part of the label 16 (2) adhering to the release paper 15 and the other part peeled off.

  In the label transport / peeling step S21, the label 16 (3) to be printed next comes to the platen 32 portion of the transport path portion 18a. Specifically, the leading end 16 a of the label 16 (3) is a position corresponding to the printing position 39 a of the last line type ink jet head 39 of the head unit 35. When the label 16 (2) in the standby state is removed at the label discharge port 28, the process proceeds to the third head moving step S22 and the printing step S23.

  In the third head moving step S22, as shown in FIG. 4C, the control unit 50 causes the head unit moving mechanism 30 to move the head unit 35 from the second position 35C to the first position 35B. At this time, when the head unit 35 moves from the second position 35C to the first position 35B, the print area for one job from the front end 16a to the rear end 16b of the label 16 (3) to be printed next is set. All of the printing positions 36a, 37a, 38a, 39a of the line-type inkjet heads 36, 37, 38, 39 can be made to correspond.

  In the present embodiment, the printing step S23 is performed simultaneously with the third head moving step S22. In the printing step S23, the label printer 10 moves the head unit 35 as described above with respect to the label 16 (3) to be printed, while the line type inkjet head 36, which is mounted on the head unit 35 by the head driver 52, 37, 38, and 39 are controlled to discharge the ink of each color from the respective line-type inkjet heads 36, 37, 38, and 39 to the entire print area of the label 16 (3) to print information. In this way, the continuous printing of the second label 16 (3) is completed.

  Next, in a print label determination step S24, it is determined whether there is a label 16 to be printed next. When there is no label 16 to be printed next (NO), the process proceeds to the label transport / peeling process S10 described above, and proceeds to the first first standby state S1 through the second standby state S11 and the fourth head moving step S12. The label printer 10 waits. When there is a label 16 (4) to be printed next (YES), the process proceeds to the label conveying / peeling step S25 and the printing step S26.

  In the label transport / peeling step S25, as shown in FIG. 4D, while the transport mechanism 20 is driven to transport the label paper 12, the release paper take-up mechanism 43 of the release mechanism 40 is driven to release the release paper of the label paper 12. Wind 15 up. Since the label paper 12 is bent and wound up obliquely downward by the peeling roller 42, the printed label 16 (3) is peeled from the surface of the release paper 15. The peeled label 16 (3) is in a standby state at the label discharge port 28 with a part of the label 16 (3) adhering to the release paper 15 and the other part peeled off. In this label transport / peeling step S25, the label 16 (4) to be printed next is transported on the transport path 18 in the transport direction H. FIG. 4D shows a state where the printed label 16 (3) is removed.

  In the printing step S26, the line type inkjet head 36 of the head unit 35 that is moved to the first position 35B in the third head moving step S9 and is waiting with respect to the label 16 (4) conveyed along the conveyance path 18. Information is printed by ejecting ink of each color from 37, 38, 39 to the entire print area of the label 16 (4). In this way, the continuous printing of the third label 16 (4) is completed. At the stage where printing of the label 16 (4) is completed, the label 16 (4) is located at the position of the platen 32 in the transport path 18. The next label 16 (5) comes to the lower side of the head unit 35 located at the first position 35B.

  Next, in a print label determination step S27, it is determined whether there is a label 16 to be printed next. When there is no label 16 to be printed next (NO), the process proceeds to the label transport / peeling process S10 described above, and proceeds to the first first standby state S1 through the second standby state S11 and the fourth head moving step S12. The label printer 10 waits. If there is a label 16 (5) to be printed next (YES), the process returns to the label transport / peeling step S25 and the printing step S26, and the above operation is repeated.

Hereinafter, effects of the present embodiment will be described.
(1) The label printer 10 described above can move the head unit 35 between the first position 35 </ b> B and the second position 35 </ b> C along the conveyance direction H of the label paper 12 by the head unit moving mechanism 30. . Further, the head unit 35 can print information on the label 16 which is the printing area of the label paper 12 while the head unit 35 is moving and at the first position 35B and the second position 35C. Therefore, when printing of the label 16 is started, the print start position can be positioned without reverse feeding of the label paper 12. As a result, there is no need to provide a reverse feed mechanism for the label paper 12. Also, the adverse effects caused by the reverse feeding of the label paper 12 can be avoided, and the work can be performed efficiently.

  (2) In the label printer 10, when the head unit moving mechanism 30 moves the head unit 35 between the first position 35B and the second position 35C (second and third head moving process), the label to be printed Information can be printed by ejecting ink onto the ink. Therefore, it can contribute to the efficiency improvement of printing work.

  (3) The label printer 10 can move the head unit 35 along the transport path 18 by the head unit moving mechanism 30. Further, the label paper 12 can be moved along the transport path 18 by the transport mechanism 20 which is a mechanism independent of the head unit moving mechanism 30. Furthermore, the line-type inkjet heads 36, 37, 38, 39 of the head unit 35 can also eject ink independently. Therefore, various combinations of operations can be performed as shown in the flowchart of FIG. As a result, it is possible to contribute to the efficiency of the printing work.

  (4) The label printer 10 includes the maintenance unit 60 on the moving path of the head unit 35, and the head unit moving mechanism 30 can move the head unit 35 to the maintenance position 35A. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide an independent moving mechanism for performing maintenance of the head unit 35, and an increase in the size of the label printer 10 and manufacturing cost can be suppressed.

  As mentioned above, although typical embodiment of this invention was described, various deformation | transformation can be added with respect to the said embodiment in the range which does not deviate from the meaning of this invention. For example, modifications other than the above embodiment are as follows.

  (1) In the label printer 10 described above, the line-type inkjet heads 36, 37 of the head unit moving mechanism 30 and the head unit 35, except that the transport mechanism 20 and the release paper winding mechanism 43 of the peeling mechanism 40 operate in conjunction with each other. 38 and 39 can also discharge ink independently. Therefore, the printing operation of the label printer 10 described above is an example, and the present invention is not limited to these. Various variations and variations are possible. For example, the movement of the head unit 35 and the printing operation may be performed at the same time, or may be performed with a slight time lag. Further, the conveyance of the label 16 and the printing operation may be performed simultaneously.

  (2) In the above-described embodiment, the print positions 36a and 39a of the line-type inkjet heads 36 and 39 at both ends of the head unit 35 and the label 16 at the first position 35B and the second position 35C, which are the standby positions of the head unit 35. Although the front end 16a and the rear end 16b are aligned with each other, this is an example and the present invention is not limited to this. In the alignment of the printing positions 36a and 39a, the leading edge 16a and the trailing edge 16b of the label 16 may be reversed. In the label 16, a top margin or a bottom margin is provided to position the leading edge and the trailing edge of the printing area. You may combine them. That is, the first position 35B and the second position 35C may have a certain movement allowable range.

  (3) The above-described continuous printing operation of the label 16 is an example, and various modifications and variations can be considered. For example, the basic operation of label printing described above may be repeated even for continuous printing of a plurality of sheets. In this way, processing of print data to be printed on the label 16 can be simplified.

  (4) Although the above-mentioned embodiment is a case where line type ink jet heads 36-39 are used, it is not limited to this. The present invention is also applicable to the case of using different types of line type heads such as color thermal transfer using a plurality of line type thermal heads.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Label printer, 12 ... Label paper, 15 ... Release paper, 16 ... Label, 18 ... Conveyance path, 20 ... Conveyance mechanism, 26 ... Paper feed motor, 28 ... Label discharge port, 29 ... Label position detector, 30 ... Head unit moving mechanism, 32 ... platen, 35 ... head unit, 35 A ... maintenance position, 35 B ... first position, 35 C ... second position, 36, 37, 38, 39 ... line type inkjet head, 40 ... peeling mechanism, 42 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS ... peeling roller, 43 ... release paper winding mechanism, 44 ... label presence detector, 47 ... winding motor, 50 ... control part, 60 ... maintenance unit.

Claims (6)

A transport mechanism for transporting a label paper having labels attached to a long release paper at regular intervals along a transport path;
A head unit comprising a plurality of line-type print heads that eject ink onto the label at a predetermined interval along the transport path;
Head unit movement for reciprocating the head unit along the transport path between a first position and a second position located downstream in the transport direction from the first position across the main printing position of the label Mechanism,
A peeling mechanism that peels off the printed label from the release paper and waits at an issue position;
A control unit that controls these drives in an integrated manner,
The control unit is capable of independently controlling at least the head unit and the head unit moving mechanism,
A label printer, wherein the position of the head unit is set by the head unit moving mechanism to determine a printing start position of the label. When the transport mechanism transports the label to be printed to the main printing position,
The head unit moving mechanism positions the head unit at the first position,
When a print command is issued from the control unit, the head unit moving mechanism moves the head unit from the first position to the second position while using the line type print head. Print information by ejecting ink on the label,
When the transport mechanism transports the printed label to the issuing position and the new print target label to the main printing position,
The label printer according to claim 1, wherein the head unit moving mechanism moves the head unit from the second position to the first position. The transport mechanism transports the printed label to the issue position and the new print target label to the main print position, and the head unit moving mechanism moves the head unit from the second position to the first position. When moving to one position,
The label printer according to claim 1, wherein information is printed by ejecting ink onto the new label to be printed using the line-type print head. A maintenance unit that performs maintenance of the head unit on the extension of the movement path of the head unit by the head unit moving mechanism along the conveyance path,
4. The head unit moving mechanism is capable of moving the head unit between the first position, the second position, and a maintenance position where the maintenance unit is located. The label printer according to one item. Print information by ejecting ink from a head unit provided with a plurality of line-type print heads at predetermined intervals along the transport path on the label of the label paper transported along the transport path,
A control method for a label printer that issues the printed label by peeling it from the label paper by a peeling mechanism,
A first position that sandwiches the main printing position of the label, a second position that is located downstream of the first position in the transport direction, and a maintenance position that performs maintenance of the head unit along the transport path. A head unit moving step for reciprocating movement;
A printing step of printing information on the label by discharging ink from the line-type print head of the head unit;
A label transport control method comprising: transporting the label paper along a transport path, and peeling the printed label from the label paper using the peeling mechanism. The head unit moving step includes a first head unit moving step for moving the head unit from the maintenance position to the first position, and a second head unit moving for moving the head unit from the first position to the second position. A step, a third head unit moving step for moving the head unit from the second position to the first position, and a fourth head unit moving step for moving the head unit from the first position to the maintenance position; Including
6. The method for controlling a label printer according to claim 5, wherein the printing process is performed by a combination of the first position, the label conveyance peeling process, the second head unit moving process, or the third head unit moving process.

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