JP2014019557A - Printer and medium to be printed - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer capable of eliminating the curling tendency of a medium to be printed and a medium to be printed used in the printer.SOLUTION: A printer 10 comprises: a supply part 11, on which a roll body 2 obtained by winding a label continuous body 1 in which a plurality of label pieces are arranged as a medium to be printed and temporarily stuck to a belt-like pasted board in a roll state, is mounted; a printing part 4 for printing the label pieces of the label continuous body 1 supplied from the supply part 11; and a medium folding part 6 which is disposed at a downstream side in the conveyance direction from the printing part 4 and applies a fold in a direction along the conveyance direction of the label pieces to the label continuous body 1.

Description

  The present invention is a printer for printing a strip-shaped printing medium or a label continuous body in which a plurality of label pieces are arranged and temporarily attached as a printing medium on a strip-shaped mount on a roll body rolled into a roll, and The present invention relates to a printing medium used in this printer.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a belt-like printing medium or a continuous label body in which a plurality of label pieces are arranged and temporarily attached to a belt-like mount as a printing medium is attached to a printing medium (label piece). ) Is used for printing. In such a printer, since the printing medium is wound in a roll shape, the curl (also referred to as curl) often remains on the printing medium after printing.
An apparatus for correcting this curl is disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example.

JP 2009-203000 A

  However, even if the printing medium is curved in the direction of correcting curling as in Patent Document 1, depending on the material of the printing medium, the curling may not be corrected in a short time.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a printer capable of removing the curl of the printing medium and a printing medium used in the printer.

The present invention solves the above problems by the following means.
The invention of claim 1 is a supply in which a roll body in which a strip-shaped print medium or a continuous label body in which a plurality of label pieces are arranged and temporarily attached as a print medium on a belt-like mount is wound in a roll shape is mounted. A printing unit that prints on the printing medium supplied from the supply unit, and a fold line in a direction along the conveyance direction of the printing medium that is disposed downstream of the printing unit in the conveyance direction. And a medium folding unit attached to the print medium.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the printer according to the first aspect, the medium folding portion is fixed to one surface side of the printing medium, a fixing portion that contacts the printing medium, and the fixing portion A movable portion provided so as to be able to advance and retreat between a folding position where the medium is folded close and a retracted position retracted from the folding position, and the movable portion has at least a front end of the medium to be printed folded. The printer is characterized by proceeding to the folding position after passing through the section.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the printer according to the first or second aspect, the medium to be printed is formed with an easy fold line for facilitating bending along the longitudinal direction, and the medium folding portion is The printer is characterized in that the medium to be printed is folded along the easy bend line.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing medium for use in the printer according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein an easy folding line that facilitates folding is formed along the longitudinal direction. It is a printing medium characterized by that.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to remove the curl of the printing medium generated by being wound into a roll.

1 is a schematic perspective view showing a main part of an embodiment of a printer 10 according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view illustrating the printer 10 in a state in which a print medium is conveyed downstream from the state illustrated in FIG. 1. 1 is a schematic side view of a printer 10. FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the printer 10 cut along a portion indicated by an arrow AA in FIG. 3.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a main part of an embodiment of a printer 10 according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing the printer 10 in a state in which the print medium is conveyed downstream from the state shown in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of the printer 10.
FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the printer 10 taken along a portion indicated by an arrow AA in FIG.
Each of these drawings is a schematic view, and the size and shape of each part are appropriately exaggerated for easy understanding.
In the following description, specific numerical values, shapes, operations, and the like are shown and described, but these can be changed as appropriate.

  The printer 10 includes a supply unit 11, a sensor 3, a printing unit 4, a guide shaft 5, and a medium folding unit 6.

The supply unit 11 is a shaft on which a roll body 2 obtained by winding the label continuous body 1 in a roll shape is loaded. The supply unit 11 is provided in a printer main body (not shown), and the roll body 2 is loaded so as to be rotatably supported by the supply unit 11. The label continuum 1 includes a label piece and a mount, and the label pieces are temporarily attached to one side of the mount in a predetermined interval. The label piece temporarily attached to the mount may be a label piece formed of paper, a label piece formed of a resin film or the like, or a label piece in which these are combined. There may be. Also, the mount is not limited to paper, and may be formed of a resin film or the like.
In the continuous label body 1, a perforation 1 a is formed as an easy folding line at the center of the lateral width along the longitudinal direction, that is, the conveyance direction, for easy folding.

  The sensor 3 is a light reflection type sensor that detects an unillustrated identification mark provided on the back surface of the label continuum 1. Since the identification marks are provided at predetermined intervals corresponding to the intervals at which the label pieces are arranged, the control unit (not shown) of the printer 10 specifies the position of the label pieces in the transport direction from the detection result of the identification marks by the sensor 3. can do.

The printing unit 4 includes a platen roller 41 and a thermal head 42, and performs printing on the label continuum 1 supplied from the supply unit 11.
The platen roller 41 is supported by a printer main body (not shown), and rotates by obtaining a driving force from a motor (not shown). By this rotation, the platen roller 41 conveys the label continuum 1 from the upstream side in the transport direction (the supply unit 11 side) to the downstream side in the transport direction (the medium folding unit 6 side described later).

  The thermal head 42 is disposed so as to face the platen roller 41, and has a heating element that prints by applying heat to the thermosensitive coloring layer of the label piece. The printer 10 performs printing on the printing surface of the label piece while sandwiching and transporting the label continuous body 1 between the thermal head 42 and the platen roller 41.

  The guide shaft 5 is located between the printing unit 4 and the medium folding unit 6 in the conveyance path, and guides conveyance of the label continuous body 1.

  The medium folding unit 6 is arranged downstream of the printing unit 4 in the transport direction, and attaches a fold in the direction along the transport direction of the label continuous body 1 to the label continuous body 1. The medium folding part 6 has a fixed part 61 and a movable part 62.

  The fixing unit 61 is fixed to a printer main body (not shown) so as to be positioned on the front side of the label continuous body 1 to be conveyed. The fixing portion 61 of the present embodiment is configured by two cylindrical members, and the cylindrical members extend along the transport direction and are arranged side by side in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction. . The two cylindrical members are arranged so that their intermediate positions coincide with the center position in the width direction of the label continuous body 1.

The movable part 62 is formed so that the side facing the fixed part 61 protrudes in a triangular shape when viewed from the transport direction. The movable part 62 is provided so as to be able to advance and retreat between a folding position where the medium is folded close to the fixed part 61 and a retracted position retracted from the folding position. The folding position is a position indicated by a solid line in FIG. 2 and 3, the position of the movable portion 62 is indicated by this folding position. Further, the retracted position is a position indicated by a one-dot chain line in FIG. In FIG. 1, the position of the movable portion 62 is indicated by this retracted position.
In the present embodiment, the movable portion 62 is connected to an operation member (not shown), and is moved between a folding position and a retracted position by a user's manual operation. A drive source such as a motor for moving the movable portion 62 is provided, and a sensor for detecting the label continuum 1 in the transport path immediately before the medium folding portion 6 is provided to automatically move the movable portion 62. You may control.

Next, an operation of making a crease on the label continuum 1 by the medium folding unit 6 will be described.
When the roll body 2 is attached to the printer 10 and printing on the label continuous body 1 is started, when the leading end of the label continuous body 1 has not reached the medium folding section 6, the movable section 62 is moved to the retracted position. Evacuate it. Thereby, when the label continuous body 1 is transported, the leading edge of the label continuous body 1 is likely to enter between the fixed portion 61 and the movable portion 62, so that a so-called jam occurs, resulting in a transport failure. Can be prevented.

  After the leading end of the label continuous body 1 has reached at least between the fixed portion 61 and the movable portion 62, more preferably, after the leading end of the label continuous body 1 has completely passed between the fixed portion 61 and the movable portion 62. The movable part 62 is moved to the folding position. Note that the movement of the movable portion 62 is manually performed in the present embodiment as described above, but may be automated. When the movable part 62 moves to the folding position, the triangular tip 62a of the movable part 62 pushes the perforation 1a from the back side of the label continuous body 1 and pushes it into the gap between the two fixed parts 61. The perforation 1a can be creased. In this state, by continuing the conveyance of the label continuous body 1, the crease can be continuously added to the perforation 1 a of the label continuous body 1.

  The curl of the label continuous body 1 is attached in a direction to be wound around the supply unit 11 extending in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction. Since the medium folding part 6 creases in a direction along the longitudinal direction orthogonal to the direction of the curl, the label continuum 1 that has passed through the medium folding part 6 is free of curl.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the folds are made in the direction along the longitudinal direction of the label continuum 1 by the medium folding portion 6, so that the curl of the label continuum 1 can be reliably removed in a short time. .
Further, since the movable part 62 of the medium folding part 6 moves from the retracted position to the folding position after the leading end of the label continuous body 1 passes through the medium folding part 6, the label continuous body 1 is moved when the label continuous body 1 is conveyed. The tip of this is likely to enter between the fixed portion 61 and the movable portion 62. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a conveyance failure due to a jam or the like without causing the leading end of the label continuous body 1 to interfere with the fixed portion 61 or the movable portion 62.
Further, the perforation 1a is formed in the label continuous body 1 along the longitudinal direction, and the printer 10 creases the perforation 1a. Therefore, the label continuous body 1 can be more reliably creased. It is possible to remove the curl of the label continuous body 1 more reliably.

(Deformation)
The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, and various modifications and changes are possible, and these are also within the scope of the present invention.

  In each embodiment, the label continuous body 1 demonstrated and demonstrated the example which has the perforation 1a as an easy bend line. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, an easy-bending line may be formed by half cutting or the like.

  In each embodiment, the label continuous body 1 demonstrated and demonstrated the example which has the perforation 1a as an easy bend line. Not limited to this, for example, depending on the material of the printing medium, an easy-bending line such as a perforation may not be provided.

  In each embodiment, the printer 10 has been described with an example in which printing is performed on the label continuum 1. For example, the printer may perform printing on a continuous printing medium without a break in the longitudinal direction. Here, the medium to be printed may be a paper such as an adhesive-free thermal paper that does not have an adhesive layer, or is wound without a mount and has a display layer containing silicon or the like on the surface, and is provided on the back surface. A so-called non-separable label (a label without a mount) having an adhesive layer may be used.

  In addition, although embodiment and a deformation | transformation form can also be used in combination as appropriate, detailed description is abbreviate | omitted. Further, the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Label continuous body 1a Perforation 2 Roll body 3 Sensor 4 Printing part 5 Guide shaft 6 Medium folding part 10 Printer 11 Supply part 41 Platen roller 42 Thermal head 61 Fixed part 62 Movable part 62a Tip part

Claims (4)

A strip-shaped printing medium, or a supply unit to which a roll body in which a plurality of label pieces are arranged and temporarily attached as a printing medium on a strip-shaped mount and wound into a roll is mounted;
A printing unit for printing on the printing medium supplied from the supply unit;
A medium folding unit that is disposed downstream of the printing unit in the transport direction and attaches a fold in the direction along the transport direction of the print medium to the print medium;
Printer with. The printer according to claim 1.
The medium folding portion is
A fixing portion fixed to one surface side of the printing medium and contacting the printing medium;
A movable portion provided so as to be able to advance and retreat between a folding position where the medium is folded close to the fixed portion and a retracted position retracted from the folding position;
The movable part is advanced to a folding position after at least a front end of the printing medium passes through the medium folding part;
Printer characterized by. The printer according to claim 1 or 2,
The printing medium is formed with easy-folding lines along the longitudinal direction to facilitate folding,
The medium folding section is configured to fold the print medium at the easy fold line;
Printer characterized by. A printing medium used in the printer according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
Easy folding lines that facilitate folding are formed along the longitudinal direction,
A printing medium characterized by the above.

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