JP2022152063A - Wireless tag information writing device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a wireless tag information writing device that can shorten the transportation time of a medium while writing data to an RFID tag.SOLUTION: A printing device includes a tape feed motor and a wireless reading/writing device. The tape feed motor conveys a tape on which a plurality of wireless communication tags are arranged along a longitudinal direction. The wireless reading/writing device writes data to a wireless communication tag that is conveyed with the tape. The printing device calculates a communication time T on the basis of an amount of data to be written by the wireless reading/writing device (S5). The printing device calculates a communication intensity in writing data with the wireless reading/writing device on the basis of an interval of wireless communication tags (S9). The printing device calculates a first speed V1 on the basis of the communication time T and the communication intensity (S10). When writing data to the wireless communication tag with the calculated communication intensity, the printing device sets the calculated first speed V1 as a tape conveyance speed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

The present invention relates to a wireless tag information writing device.

Conventionally, there is known an RFID tag information writing apparatus in which a high-frequency circuit writes RFID information in a non-contact manner to a plurality of RFID circuit elements on a printed tag tape carried out via an antenna. The RFID tag information writing device described in Patent Document 1 reduces the feeding speed of the printed tag tape when the RFID circuit element reaches a preset writing start position near the antenna.

JP 2005-267532 A

The RFID tag information writing device reduces the transport speed of the printed tag tape to a preset value. Therefore, depending on the type of tag tape with print, such as different intervals between the RFID circuit elements, the conveying speed may be reduced more than necessary, and the time required to write the RFID tag information may become longer.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a wireless tag information writing apparatus capable of shortening the medium transport time while writing data to an RFID tag.

A wireless tag information writing apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention includes a medium transport unit that transports a medium having a plurality of RFID tags arranged in a longitudinal direction; and wireless communication with the RFID tag of the medium transported by the medium transport unit. a data writing unit that writes data in the longitudinal direction; a time calculation unit that calculates a communication time between the data writing unit and the RFID tag based on the amount of the data written by the data writing unit; based on the distance between the antennas of the RFID tags adjacent to each other, a strength calculation unit that calculates the communication strength of the wireless communication, and the communication time calculated by the time calculation unit and the communication strength calculated by the strength calculation unit a conveying speed calculating unit for calculating the conveying speed of the medium when the data writing unit writes the data; and a transport control unit that controls the medium transport unit to transport the medium at the transport speed calculated by the transport speed calculation unit when data is written.

The wireless tag information writing apparatus of this aspect calculates the transport speed of the medium when writing data to the RFID tag based on the communication time and communication strength of wireless communication. Therefore, the wireless tag information writing apparatus can shorten the production time of the medium in which the data is written in the RFID tag.

The wireless tag information writing device of this aspect controls the medium transporting unit to transport the medium at a predetermined speed higher than the transporting speed when the data writing unit has not written the data. A controller may be provided. The wireless tag information writing device conveys the medium at a predetermined speed higher than the conveying speed when data is not written to the RFID tag. Therefore, the wireless tag information writing apparatus can shorten the time required for transporting the medium when data is not written to the RFID tag.

The wireless tag information writing device of this aspect includes a write determination unit that determines whether or not the writing of the data by the data writing unit is completed based on the communication time, and the data writing unit writes the data When the write determination unit determines that the writing of the medium has been completed, the second transport control unit may control the medium transport unit. In this case, in the wireless tag information writing device, when data writing to the RFID tag is completed, the second transport control unit transports the medium at a predetermined speed. Therefore, the wireless tag information writing apparatus can shorten the time required for transporting the medium.

The RFID tag information writing device of this aspect includes a printing unit that performs printing on a printed portion on which the RFID tag is not provided in the medium conveyed by the medium conveying unit, and the second conveying control unit controlling the medium conveying unit to convey the medium at a predetermined first speed when the data writing unit has not written the data and the printing unit performs printing; controlling the medium conveying unit to convey the medium at a predetermined second speed that is faster than the first speed when the unit is not writing the data and the printing unit is not printing. good too. In this case, when data is not written to the RFID tag and the printing unit performs printing, the wireless tag information writing device performs printing while conveying the medium at the first speed. The wireless tag information writing device conveys the medium at a second speed higher than the first speed when data is not written to the RFID tag and the printing unit is not printing. Therefore, the wireless tag information writing apparatus can shorten the time required for transporting the medium when data is not written to the RFID tag.

The wireless tag information writing device of this aspect includes a completion determination unit for determining whether or not the data writing unit has completed writing the data to all the RFID tags, and When the completion determination unit determines that the data writing unit has completed writing the data, the medium transport unit is controlled to transport the medium in a direction opposite to the direction in which the medium is transported under the control of the transport control unit. A third transport control unit may be provided. In this case, the wireless tag information writing device transports the medium in the direction opposite to the transporting direction under the control of the transport control unit when data writing to all the RFID tags is completed. Therefore, the wireless tag information writing apparatus can smoothly convey the medium when writing data by the data writing section and printing by the printing section next time.

In the RFID tag information writing device of this aspect, the strength calculation unit may calculate the communication strength with which the data can be written within the interval. In this case, the wireless tag information writing device calculates a communication strength that allows data to be written within a range not exceeding the distance between the antennas of adjacent RFID tags, and writes data to the RFID tag with the calculated communication strength. Therefore, the wireless tag information writing device can write data to the RFID tag at a speed corresponding to the distance between the antennas of the RFID tag.

The wireless tag information writing device of this aspect includes a strength storage section that stores the maximum communication strength with which the data writing section can perform the wireless communication, and the strength calculation section stores the strength stored in the strength storage section. The communication strength that does not exceed the maximum communication strength may be calculated. In this case, the wireless tag information writing device calculates a communication strength that does not exceed the maximum communication strength with which the data writing unit can perform wireless communication, and writes data to the RFID tag with the calculated communication strength. Therefore, the wireless tag information writing apparatus can shorten the production time of the medium in which the data is written in the RFID tag.

The RFID tag information writing device of this aspect includes a medium storage unit that stores information about the medium transported by the medium transport unit, and the strength calculation unit is based on the information about the medium stored in the medium storage unit, The communication strength may be calculated. The wireless tag information writing device calculates the communication strength based on the information of the medium stored in the medium storage unit, and writes data to the RFID tag with the calculated communication strength. Therefore, the wireless tag information writing device can transport the medium at an appropriate transport speed according to the medium.

In the RFID tag information writing device of this aspect, the conveying speed calculation unit divides the communication range based on the communication strength calculated by the strength calculation unit by the communication time calculated by the time calculation unit, thereby dividing the conveying speed by the communication time calculated by the time calculation unit. Velocity may be calculated. In this case, the RFID tag information writing device calculates the transport speed of the medium by dividing the communication time by the communication range based on the communication intensity. Therefore, the wireless tag information writing apparatus can shorten the production time of the medium in which the data is written in the RFID tag.

1 is a perspective view of a printer 1; FIG. 3 is a plan view of a mounting portion 8 with a tape cassette 30 mounted thereon; FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the printer 1; FIG. 4 is a plan view of tape 50. FIG. 5 is a plan view of tapes 50A and 50B; FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing main processing; 4 is a flowchart showing main processing;

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The drawings referred to are used to explain technical features that can be employed by the present invention, and the configuration of the devices described is not meant to limit them, but merely illustrative examples. In the following description, the upper right, lower left, lower right, upper left, upper, and lower sides of FIG. 1 are the right, left, front, rear, upper, and lower sides of the printer 1, respectively. . The upper side, the lower side, the left side, and the right side of FIG. 4 are the upper side, the lower side, the leading side, and the trailing side of the tape 50, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 1, the printing apparatus 1 includes a main body cover 2 that is a rectangular parallelepiped housing. A keyboard 3 for inputting characters is provided on the front portion of the upper surface of the body cover 2 . The keyboard 3 includes a power switch, application keys, cursor keys and the like. A display 5 for displaying various information is provided behind the keyboard 3 . As an example, the display 5 is a dot matrix LCD. A cassette cover 6 that can be opened and closed with respect to the main body cover 2 is provided behind the display 5 . A discharge port 9 for discharging the printed tape 50 to the outside of the body cover 2 is provided at the rear left surface of the body cover 2 .

As shown in FIG. 2, a mounting portion 8 is provided inside the body cover 2 below the cassette cover 6 (see FIG. 1). The mounting portion 8 is a concave portion corresponding to the shape of the tape cassette 30, and is a portion to which the tape cassette 30 can be attached and detached. The tape cassette 30 attached to the attachment portion 8 is hereinafter referred to as the tape cassette 30 being attached. The printing apparatus 1 uses the attached tape cassette 30 to print characters input via the keyboard 3 .

The tape cassette 30 includes a box-shaped cassette case 33 that accommodates the tape 50, the ink ribbon 60, and the like. A tape spool 40 around which the pre-printed tape 50 is wound is rotatably supported in the left rear portion of the cassette case 33 . A ribbon spool 42 around which an unused ink ribbon 60 is wound is rotatably supported at the front right portion within the cassette case 33 . A ribbon take-up spool 44 is rotatably supported between the tape spool 40 and the ribbon spool 42 . The ribbon take-up spool 44 draws out the unused ink ribbon 60 from the ribbon spool 42 and takes up the ink ribbon 60 used for printing. The tape driving roller 46 is rotatably supported at the left front corner inside the cassette case 33, and pulls out the tape 50 before printing from the tape spool 40 and conveys it. The downstream side and upstream side in the transport direction of the tape 50 correspond to the leading end side and trailing end side of the tape 50 in the longitudinal direction.

A side wall of the cassette case 33 is provided with an index portion (not shown). The index part consists of a hole and a surface. The index portion indicates the tape information of the tape 50 accommodated in the tape cassette 30 by the positions and numbers of the holes and the surface portions. The tape information in this embodiment includes information on tag intervals L, position lengths La, and label lengths Lb, which will be described later.

The mounting unit 8 is provided with a ribbon winding shaft (not shown), a tape drive shaft (not shown), a thermal head 10, a platen mechanism 12, a wireless read/write device 18, and the like. The ribbon winding shaft is inserted into the ribbon winding spool 44 and rotated by driving the tape feed motor 23 (see FIG. 3). The tape drive shaft is inserted into the tape drive roller 46 and rotated by the drive of the tape feed motor 23 via a transmission mechanism (not shown). The thermal head 10 is arranged on the right side of the tape drive shaft and prints on the transported tape 50 using an unused ink ribbon 60 . The platen mechanism 12 presses the tape 50 and the ink ribbon 60 against each other between the thermal head 10 and conveys them. A cutting mechanism 17 is provided between the outlet 9 and the mounting portion 8 . The cutting mechanism 17 cuts the tape 50 at a predetermined position by driving the cutting motor 24 (see FIG. 3).

The wireless read/write device 18 is provided on the upstream side of the tape 50 transport direction with respect to the cutting mechanism 17 . The wireless read/write device 18 faces the tape 50 ejected from the tape cassette 30, and can read and write data from the wireless communication tag 80 (see FIG. 4) of the tape 50 by short-range wireless communication. be. In this embodiment, the wireless read/write device 18 performs wireless communication by a known RFID (Radio frequency identification) method.

The electrical configuration of the printer 1 will be described with reference to FIG. The printer 1 includes a control circuit section 70 . The control circuit section 70 includes a CPU 71 , a ROM 72 , a CGROM 73 , a RAM 74 , a flash memory 75 and an input/output interface 77 , which are connected via a data bus 69 . The CPU 71 centrally controls the printing apparatus 1 . The ROM 72 stores various parameters required when the CPU 71 executes various programs, a second speed V2, a third speed V3, a maximum communication strength that the wireless read/write device 18 can output, and the like. The CGROM 73 stores image data of characters to be printed on the tape 50 . The RAM 74 has multiple storage areas such as a text memory and a print buffer. The flash memory 75 stores various programs and the like executed by the CPU 71 .

The input/output interface 77 is connected to the keyboard 3 , liquid crystal drive circuit (LCDC) 25 , drive circuits 26 to 29 , wireless read/write device 18 , detector 19 , optical sensor 20 , and external interface 21 . The wireless read/write device 18 includes an antenna, a reader IC, and a writer IC (not shown). LCDC 25 has a video RAM (not shown) for outputting display data to display 5 .

A drive circuit 26 is an electronic circuit for driving the thermal head 10 . A drive circuit 27 is an electronic circuit for driving the tape feed motor 23 . A drive circuit 28 is an electronic circuit for driving the cut motor 24 . The drive circuit 29 is an electronic circuit for driving the wireless read/write device 18 . The detector 19 detects the index portion of the tape cassette 30 being loaded. The optical sensor 20 detects the position of the transported tape 50 with respect to the wireless reading/writing device 18 and the thermal head 10 . The external interface 21 is a controller for communicating with the external terminal 90 . The external terminal 90 is, for example, a general-purpose personal computer.

An outline of the tape 50 will be described with reference to FIG. The tape 50 of this embodiment is a long belt-like sheet in which a plurality of labels 51 are continuously arranged along the longitudinal direction at predetermined intervals. A space between adjacent labels 51 on the tape 50 is called a margin 53 . In the printer 1 with the tape cassette 30 installed, the tape 50 is conveyed along its longitudinal direction. A plurality of wireless communication tags 80 capable of reading and writing data wirelessly are provided in the label 51 . A plurality of wireless communication tags 80 are arranged in the label 51 in the longitudinal direction of the tape 50 . The thermal head 10 prints characters using the ink ribbon 60 on the printed portion 52 in the label 51 where the wireless communication tag 80 is not provided. The cutting mechanism 17 cuts the tape 50 in units of labels 51 .

A wireless communication tag 80 of this embodiment is a known RFID tag having an IC chip 81 , an antenna 82 and a seal base material 83 . The seal base material 83 is a rectangular sheet on which the IC chip 81 and the antenna 82 are arranged. The IC chip 81 includes a high frequency circuit, memory, and power supply circuit. The antenna 82 is a coiled antenna wound around the IC chip 81 on the seal base material 83 . The wireless communication tag 80 of this embodiment is a passive RFID tag, but may be an active RFID tag.

In this embodiment, a plurality of wireless communication tags 80 are arranged at equal intervals along the longitudinal direction (that is, the conveying direction) of the tape 50 such that one wireless communication tag 80 is arranged for each label 51 . The wireless read/write device 18 writes data to the wireless communication tag 80 by wireless communication. The range in which the wireless read/write device 18 can communicate with the wireless communication tag 80 is called a communicable range A, and the length of the communicable range A in the transport direction is called a communicable length Lx. The communicable length Lx (communicable range A) increases as the communication strength of wireless communication increases. The ROM 72 stores the relationship between the communication strength and the communicable length Lx.

The index portion of the tape cassette 30 includes the interval between the wireless communication tags 80 in the conveying direction of the stored tape 50 (hereinafter referred to as the tag interval L), and the length from the tip of the label 51 (downstream end in the conveying direction) to the wireless communication tag 80. tape information including the length (hereinafter referred to as the position length La) and the length of the label 51 (hereinafter referred to as the label length Lb). The tape cassette 30 can accommodate various tapes 50 having different tag intervals L, position lengths La, and label lengths Lb. In this embodiment, the tape cassette 30 accommodates either the tape 50A or the tape 50B shown in FIG.

Referring to FIG. 5, the control of transport of tape 50 in the present invention will be described. The tape 50 is transported by driving the tape feed motor 23 (see FIG. 3). The speed at which the tape 50 is conveyed depends on whether the wireless read/write device 18 is writing data to the wireless communication tag 80 or not writing data to the wireless communication tag 80 . different in

More specifically, when the wireless communication tag 80 transported together with the tape 50 reaches the communication range A and the wireless reading/writing device 18 is writing data to the wireless communication tag 80, the tape 50 moves at the first speed V1. transported by The first speed V1 is a speed obtained by dividing the communicable length Lx by the communication time T. The communication time T is the time for the wireless read/write device 18 to write data to the wireless communication tag 80 . The printing device 1 calculates the communication time T based on the amount of data written by the wireless reading/writing device 18 .

The printing apparatus 1 calculates the communicable length Lx based on the relationship between the communication strength and the communicable length Lx stored in the ROM 72 . The communicable length Lx varies depending on the magnitude of the communication strength. The ROM 72 stores the maximum communication strength of the wireless read/write device 18 and the length of communication possible when the wireless read/write device 18 communicates at the maximum communication strength (hereinafter referred to as maximum communication length Lxmax). . The printing device 1 compares the maximum communicable length Lxmax and the tag interval L. FIG. If the maximum communicable length Lxmax is less than or equal to the tag interval L, the printing device 1 sets the communicable length Lx as the maximum communicable length Lxmax, with the communication strength at the time of writing data as the maximum communication strength. When the maximum communicable length Lxmax is greater than the tag interval L, the printing apparatus 1 sets the communicable length Lx to the tag interval L, and based on the relationship between the communication strength and the communicable length Lx stored in the ROM 72, the tag interval A communication strength corresponding to L is calculated.

When the wireless communication tag 80 to be transported is not within the communicable range A and the wireless reading/writing device 18 has not written data to the wireless communication tag 80, the tape 50 is transported at a predetermined speed higher than the first speed V1. be done. More specifically, when the wireless read/write device 18 is not writing data to the wireless communication tag 80 and the thermal head 10 prints characters on the printed portion 52, the tape 50 is at the predetermined second speed V2 ( V2>V1). When the wireless read/write device 18 is not writing data to the wireless communication tag 80 and the thermal head 10 is not printing characters on the printed portion 52, the tape 50 is at a predetermined third speed V3 (V3> V2). In this embodiment, the thermal head 10 does not print using the margin 53 as the printed portion 52 . Also, when the wireless read/write device 18 has completed writing data to the wireless communication tag 80, the tape 50 is conveyed at the second speed V2 or the third speed V3.

In the tape 50A shown in FIG. 5, the maximum communicable length Lxmax is equal to or less than the tag interval L. The printing apparatus 1 calculates the first speed V1 using the communicable length Lx as the maximum communicable length Lxmax. When the wireless communication tag 80 is within the communicable range A, the wireless reading/writing device 18 writes data to the wireless communication tag 80 while conveying the tape 50 at the first speed V1, and the thermal head 10 moves to the printed portion 52. print a character. When the wireless reading/writing device 18 completes writing data to the wireless communication tag 80, the printing device 1 sets the second speed V2 when the thermal head 10 prints, and the third speed V2 when the thermal head 10 prints. The tape 50 is transported at speed V3. After that, when the wireless communication tag 80 reaches the communicable range A, the printer 1 conveys the tape 50 at the first speed V1.

The maximum communicable length Lxmax is larger than the tag interval L in the tape 50B. In this case, if the wireless read/write device 18 communicates at the maximum communication strength, there is a risk that wireless communication will also be performed with a wireless communication tag 80 different from the wireless communication tag 80 to which data is desired to be written. Therefore, the printing apparatus 1 calculates the first speed V1 using the communicable length Lx as the tag interval L. FIG. On the tape 50B, the communicable range A of the wireless communication tag 80 to which data is written and the communicable range A of the wireless communication tag 80 to which the next data is written abut. Therefore, the printing device 1 conveys the tape 50 only at the first speed V1.

Main processing will be described with reference to FIGS. The main processing is processing for writing data to the wireless communication tag 80 to which the wireless reading/writing device 18 is conveyed. When the printer 1 is powered on, the CPU 71 reads a program from the flash memory 75 and executes main processing.

As shown in FIG. 6, when the main process is started, the CPU 71 determines whether data to be written to the wireless communication tag 80 has been received from the external terminal 90 (S1). A user operates the external terminal 90 to transmit data to the printing apparatus 1 . If it is determined that data has not been received from the external terminal 90 (S1: NO), the CPU 71 returns the process to S1 and executes the determination of S1 until data is received from the external terminal 90. FIG.

When determining that data has been received from the external terminal 90 (S1: YES), the CPU 71 stores the received data in the RAM 74 (S2). The CPU 71 acquires the tape information (tag interval L, etc.) indicated by the index portion of the tape cassette 30 from the detecting portion 19, and stores it in the RAM 74 (S3). The CPU 71 acquires various parameters from the ROM 72 (S4). In S4, the CPU 71 acquires the maximum communicable length Lxmax, the second speed V2, and the third speed V3 as parameters. The CPU 71 calculates the communication time T based on the amount of data stored in the RAM 74 in S2 (S5).

The CPU 71 determines whether or not the maximum communicable length Lxmax obtained in S4 is greater than the tag interval L included in the tape information obtained in S3 (S6). When determining that the maximum communicable length Lxmax is greater than the tag interval L (S6: YES), the CPU 71 sets the communicable length Lx when the wireless read/write device 18 writes data to the value of the tag interval L. set (S7), and the process proceeds to S9. When determining that the maximum communicable length Lxmax is equal to or less than the tag interval L (S6: NO), the CPU 71 sets the communicable length Lx to the value of the maximum communicable length Lxmax (S8), and advances the process to S9. Transition.

The CPU 71 determines the communication strength when the wireless reading/writing device 18 writes data based on the communicable length Lx set in S7 or S8 and the relationship between the communication strength and the communicable length Lx stored in the ROM 72. Calculate (S9). The CPU 71 calculates the first speed V1 by dividing the communicable length Lx by the communication time T (S10).

The CPU 71 starts transporting the tape 50 at the third speed V3 (S11). The CPU 71 executes monitoring processing (S12). In S<b>12 , the CPU 71 monitors the position of the wireless communication tag 80 with respect to the wireless reading/writing device 18 and the position of the printed portion 52 with respect to the thermal head 10 based on the detection result of the optical sensor 20 .

As shown in FIG. 7, the CPU 71 determines whether or not the wireless communication tag 80 being transported has reached the communicable range A (S21). The determination in S21 is made based on the position of the wireless communication tag 80 with respect to the wireless reading/writing device 18 monitored in S12 and the communicable length Lx. When determining that the wireless communication tag 80 has not reached the communicable range A (S21: NO), the CPU 71 shifts the process to S31.

When determining that the wireless communication tag 80 has reached the communicable range A (S21: YES), the CPU 71 controls the drive circuit 27 to set the tape 50 feeding speed to the first speed V1 (S22). The CPU 71 controls the drive circuit 29 so that the wireless read/write device 18 writes data to the wireless communication tag 80 at the communication strength calculated in S9 (S23).

The CPU 71 determines whether or not to print on the conveyed printed portion 52 (S24). The determination in S24 is made based on the position of the printed portion 52 with respect to the thermal head 10 monitored in S12. If it is determined not to print on the printed portion 52 (S24: NO), the CPU 71 shifts the process to S26. When it is determined that printing is to be performed on the printed portion 52 (S24: YES), the CPU 71 controls the drive circuit 26 so that the thermal head 10 uses the ink ribbon 60 to print characters on the printed portion 52 ( S25). The CPU 71 shifts the process to S26.

The CPU 71 determines whether or not the data writing by the wireless reading/writing device 18 in S23 is completed (S26). The determination in S26 is made based on the communication time T calculated in S5. When determining that the data writing is not completed (S26: NO), the CPU 71 returns the process to S26 and executes the determination of S26 until the data writing is completed. When determining that the data writing is completed (S26: YES), the CPU 71 shifts the process to S31.

If the wireless communication tag 80 has not reached the communicable range A (S21: NO), or if it is determined that the data writing by the wireless reading/writing device 18 has been completed (S26: YES), the CPU 71 is transported. It is determined whether or not to print on the printed portion 52 (S31). S31 is determined in the same manner as S24. If it is determined not to print on the printed portion 52 (S31: NO), the CPU 71 shifts the process to S41.

When it is determined that printing is to be performed on the printed portion 52 (S31: YES), the CPU 71 controls the driving circuit 27 to set the speed of conveying the tape 50 to the second speed V2 (S32). As the CPU 71 controls the drive circuit 26, the thermal head 10 uses the ink ribbon 60 to print the character on the printed portion 52 (S33). S33 is the same processing as S25. The CPU 71 shifts the process to S41.

The CPU 71 controls the drive circuit 27 to set the tape 50 feeding speed to the third speed V3 (S41). The CPU 71 determines whether all the data received in S1 have been written to the wireless communication tag 80 (S42). When determining that writing of all data to the wireless communication tag 80 has not been completed (S42: NO), the CPU 71 returns the process to S21. When it is determined that all the data has been written to the wireless communication tag 80 (S42: YES), the CPU 71 controls the drive circuit 27 to drive the tape feed motor 23 in the reverse direction, thereby moving the tape 50 in the conveying direction. Convey in the opposite direction (S43). In S43, the CPU 71 controls the drive circuit 27 so that the unused label 51 on the leading end side is positioned upstream of the thermal head 10 in the transport direction.

As described above, the printing apparatus 1 of this embodiment includes the tape feed motor 23 , the wireless reading/writing device 18 and the CPU 71 . The tape feed motor 23 conveys the tape 50 on which a plurality of wireless communication tags 80 are arranged along the longitudinal direction. The wireless read/write device 18 writes data to the wireless communication tag 80 carried with the tape 50 . The CPU 71 calculates the communication time T based on the amount of data written by the wireless read/write device 18 (S5). Based on the tag interval L (S6), the CPU 71 calculates the communication strength when the wireless read/write device 18 writes data (S9). The CPU 71 calculates the first speed V1 based on the communication time T and the communication strength (S10). When the conveyed wireless communication tag 80 reaches the communicable range A and data is written to the wireless communication tag 80 at the calculated communication strength, the CPU 71 sets the speed of conveying the tape 50 to the calculated first speed V1. (S22). As a result, the printer 1 can shorten the time required to create the data-written label 51 .

When the wireless communication tag 80 to be transported has not reached the communicable range A and the wireless reading/writing device 18 has not written data to the wireless communication tag 80, the CPU 71 sets the speed of transporting the tape 50 to the first speed. A predetermined second speed V2 (S32) or third speed V3 (S41) faster than the first speed V1 is set. As a result, the printing apparatus 1 can shorten the time required to transport the tape 50 when data is not written to the wireless communication tag 80 .

Based on the communication time T, the CPU 71 determines whether or not the data writing by the wireless reading/writing device 18 has been completed (S26). When determining that the data writing is completed, the CPU 71 sets the speed of conveying the tape 50 to the second speed V2 (S32) or the third speed V3 (S41). As a result, the printing apparatus 1 can shorten the time required to transport the tape 50 when data is not written to the wireless communication tag 80 .

The printing device 1 has a thermal head 10 . The thermal head 10 prints characters on the printed portion 52 of the label 51 using the ink ribbon 60 . When the wireless reading/writing device 18 is not writing data to the wireless communication tag 80 and the thermal head 10 is printing on the printed portion 52, the CPU 71 sets the tape 50 conveying speed to the second speed V2. (S32). When the wireless reading/writing device 18 does not write data to the wireless communication tag 80 and the thermal head 10 does not print on the printed portion 52, the CPU 71 sets the speed of conveying the tape 50 to the third speed V3. (S41). As a result, the printing apparatus 1 can shorten the time required to transport the tape 50 when data is not written to the wireless communication tag 80 .

The CPU 71 determines whether writing of all data to the wireless communication tag 80 has been completed (S42). When it is determined that writing of all data to the wireless communication tag 80 is completed, the CPU 71 reversely drives the tape feed motor 23 to transport the tape 50 in the opposite direction to the transport direction (S43). At this time, the CPU 71 transports the tape 50 so that the unused label 51 on the leading end side is positioned upstream of the thermal head 10 in the transport direction. Since the unused label 51 is located upstream of the thermal head 10 and the wireless reading/writing device 18 in the transport direction, the printing device 1 adjusts the position of the leading edge of the tape 50 when writing data to the wireless communication tag 80 next time. The tape 50 can be smoothly conveyed without having to do so.

When the CPU 71 determines that the maximum communicable length Lxmax is longer than the tag interval L, the CPU 71 sets the communicable length Lx when the wireless reading/writing device 18 writes data to the value of the tag interval L. (S7), the wireless read/write device 18 calculates the communication strength when writing data (S9). Since the printer 1 calculates the first speed V1 based on the calculated communication strength, the data-written label 51 can be produced at a speed corresponding to the tag interval L. FIG.

The ROM 72 stores the maximum communication strength that can be output by the wireless read/write device 18 and the relationship between the communication strength and the communicable length Lx. The CPU 71 sets the maximum communicable length Lx to the maximum communicable length Lxmax, and calculates the communication strength when the wireless reading/writing device 18 writes data based on the relationship between the communication strength and the communicable length Lx. (S9). Since the printing apparatus 1 calculates the first speed V1 based on the calculated communication strength, it is possible to shorten the time required to create the label 51 with data written therein.

The RAM 74 stores the tape information indicated by the indicator portion of the tape cassette 30 acquired by the CPU 71 from the detection portion 19 . The CPU 71 calculates the communication strength when the wireless read/write device 18 writes data based on the tag interval L, which is the tape information (S9). Since the printer 1 calculates the first speed V1 based on the calculated communication strength, the label 51 with data written thereon can be produced at a speed corresponding to the tape 50 .

The CPU 71 calculates the first speed V1 by dividing the communicable length Lx by the communication time T (S10). As a result, the printer 1 can shorten the time required to create the data-written label 51 .

In the above embodiment, the printing device 1 corresponds to the "wireless tag information writing device" of the present invention. The wireless communication tag 80 corresponds to the "RFID tag" of the present invention. The tape 50 corresponds to the "medium" of the present invention. The tape feed motor 23 corresponds to the "medium transport section" of the present invention. The wireless reading/writing device 18 corresponds to the "data writing section" of the present invention. The CPU 71 that executes S5 corresponds to the "time calculator" of the present invention. The CPU 71 that executes S9 corresponds to the "strength calculator" of the present invention. The first speed V1 corresponds to the "conveyance speed" of the present invention. The CPU 71 that executes S10 corresponds to the "conveyance speed calculator" of the present invention. The CPU 71 that executes S22 corresponds to the "conveyance control section" of the present invention. The second speed V2 corresponds to the "predetermined speed" and "first speed" of the present invention. The third speed V3 corresponds to the "predetermined speed" and "second speed" of the present invention. The CPU 71 that executes S32 and S41 corresponds to the "second transport control section" of the present invention. The CPU 71 that executes S26 corresponds to the "write determination unit" of the present invention. The thermal head 10 corresponds to the "printing section" of the invention. The CPU 71 that executes S42 corresponds to the "completion determination unit" of the present invention. The CPU 71 that executes S43 corresponds to the "third transport control section" of the present invention. The ROM 72 corresponds to the "strength storage section" of the present invention. The RAM 74 corresponds to the "medium storage section" of the present invention.

The present invention can be variously modified from the above embodiment. The various modified examples described below can be combined as long as there is no contradiction. For example, the present invention can also be applied to a wireless tag information writing apparatus that does not have the thermal head 10. FIG. In this case, the CPU 71 may omit S43. In the above embodiment, the tape cassette 30 is of the receptor type, but it can also be applied to various tape cassettes such as laminate type.

In the above-described embodiment, the wireless read/write device 18 is provided downstream of the thermal head 10 in the transport direction of the tape 50 , but may be provided upstream of the thermal head 10 in the transport direction of the tape 50 . The printing device 1 does not have to include the cutting mechanism 17 .

The CPU 71 may acquire data to be written to the wireless communication tag 80 from a source other than the external terminal 90 . For example, the flash memory 75 may store data to be written in advance, and the CPU 71 may obtain the data to be written from the flash memory 75 . The data to be written to the wireless communication tag 80 may be obtained from a device other than the external terminal 90 . The CPU 71 may acquire image data of characters to be printed on the tape 50 from the external terminal 90 instead of the CGROM 73 . The flash memory 75 may store tape information of the tape 50 in advance. In this case, the printing apparatus 1 may not include the detection unit 19, and the CPU 71 may omit S3.

In the above-described embodiment, the thermal head 10 prints on the printed portion 52 in the label 51, but is not limited to this, and may print on the margin 53, for example. The third speed V3 may be the same speed as the second speed V2.

In S12, the CPU 71 may monitor the position of the wireless communication tag 80 with respect to the wireless reading/writing device 18 and the position of the printed portion 52 with respect to the thermal head 10 based on the time, speed, etc., during which the tape 50 is transported. .

The tape cassette 30 may contain only the ink ribbon 60 . As for the tape 50 , for example, a tape roll around which the tape 50 is wound may be directly accommodated in the printer 1 . On the other hand, the tape cassette 30 may contain only the heat-sensitive tape 50 . The printing apparatus 1 may print on the tape 50 by directly heating the tape 50 with the thermal head 10 .

Instead of the CPU 71, a microcomputer, ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuits), FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or the like may be used as the processor. The main processing may be distributed by multiple processors. The non-temporary storage medium may be any storage medium capable of retaining information regardless of the information storage period. Non-transitory storage media may not include transitory storage media (eg, transmitted signals). The program may be downloaded (ie, transmitted as a transmission signal) from a server connected to a network, for example, and stored in flash memory 75 . In this case, the program may be stored in a non-temporary storage medium such as a hard disk drive provided in the server.

1 printer 10 thermal head 18 wireless read/write device 23 tape feed motor 50 tape 71 CPU
72 ROMs
74 RAM
80 wireless communication tag

Claims (9)

a medium transport unit that transports a medium on which a plurality of RFID tags are arranged in a longitudinal direction;
a data writing unit that writes data to the RFID tag of the medium conveyed by the medium conveying unit by wireless communication;
a time calculation unit that calculates a communication time between the data writing unit and the RFID tag based on the amount of the data written by the data writing unit;
a strength calculation unit that calculates the communication strength of the wireless communication based on the distance between the antennas of the RFID tags adjacent in the longitudinal direction;
a conveying speed calculating unit that calculates a conveying speed of the medium when the data writing unit writes the data based on the communication time calculated by the time calculating unit and the communication strength calculated by the strength calculating unit;
The medium is conveyed at the conveying speed calculated by the conveying speed calculating unit when the data writing unit writes the data by the wireless communication with the communication strength calculated by the strength calculating unit. A wireless tag information writing device comprising: a transportation control unit that controls a transportation unit. A second transport control unit for controlling the medium transport unit to transport the medium at a predetermined speed higher than the transport speed when the data writing unit has not written the data. Item 1. The wireless tag information writing device according to item 1. a write determination unit that determines whether the writing of the data by the data writing unit is completed based on the communication time;
3. The radio according to claim 2, wherein the second transport control unit controls the medium transport unit when the write determination unit determines that the data writing unit has completed writing the data. Tag information writing device. A printing unit that performs printing on a portion to be printed on which the RFID tag is not provided in the medium conveyed by the medium conveying unit,
The second transport control unit is
controlling the medium conveying unit to convey the medium at a predetermined first speed when the data writing unit has not written the data and the printing unit performs printing;
When the data writing unit is not writing the data and the printing unit is not printing, the medium transport unit transports the medium at a predetermined second speed that is faster than the first speed. 4. The wireless tag information writing device according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that it controls a completion determination unit that determines whether the data writing unit has completed writing the data to all the RFID tags;
When the completion determination unit determines that the data writing unit has completed writing the data to all the RFID tags, the medium is transported in the direction opposite to the transport direction under the control of the transport control unit. 5. The wireless tag information writing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a third transportation control section for controlling said medium transportation section. 6. The RFID tag information writing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the strength calculator calculates the communication strength with which the data can be written within the interval. a strength storage unit that stores a maximum communication strength with which the data writing unit can perform the wireless communication;
7. The RFID tag information writing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said strength calculation section calculates said communication strength not exceeding said maximum communication strength stored in said strength storage section. A medium storage unit that stores information about the medium conveyed by the medium conveying unit;
8. The RFID tag information writing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the strength calculation unit calculates the communication strength based on the information of the medium stored in the medium storage unit. The conveying speed calculation unit calculates the conveying speed by dividing the communication range based on the communication strength calculated by the strength calculation unit by the communication time calculated by the time calculation unit. Item 9. The wireless tag information writing device according to any one of items 1 to 8.

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