JP2643569C - - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a technique for controlling a cutting position of a tape-shaped print-receiving medium in a tape printing apparatus. 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a tape printing apparatus for producing a label tape or the like on which an adhesive tape is printed, for example, includes a tape feed mechanism for feeding a tape-shaped print medium and a print for printing on a tape-shaped print medium. Means for cutting the tape-shaped print-receiving medium at a predetermined tape cutting position. The cutting of the tape-shaped print-receiving medium is performed to separate the printed portion from the long tape so as to form a piece of label tape, and is performed at least after printing. The position at which the tape-shaped print-receiving medium is cut off is separated from the print end by a predetermined distance because the print end is sent until the print end passes the tape cutter for a predetermined distance and cut after printing from the structural requirements such as the tape cutter. It is fixed in position. Therefore, conventionally, the interval between the cut end of the tape-shaped print-receiving medium and the print end has always been the same. [Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the conventional configuration, since the distance between the printing end and the cut end is fixed, depending on the position where the label tape is applied and the application, one piece of label tape is used. , And the tape had to be further cut with scissors or the like. An object of the present invention is to solve the above problems and to provide a tape printer capable of reducing the time and effort of terminal processing for cutting with scissors or the like. Means for Solving the Problems To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a tape feeding mechanism for feeding a long tape-shaped print-receiving medium in a longitudinal direction thereof, and a tape feeding mechanism for feeding the tape-shaped print-receiving medium in a longitudinal direction thereof. A tape printing device, comprising: a printing unit that performs order printing on the tape, and a cutting unit that is provided downstream of the printing unit in the tape feeding direction and that cuts the tape-shaped print-receiving medium. Margin length input means for inputting the margin length from the front end of the position where the printing is performed to the front end cutting position of the tape, and the input margin length is the printing position by the printing means and the cutting by the cutting means. Determining means for determining whether the distance is longer than a predetermined distance from a position; and control means for controlling the tape feeding mechanism and the printing means. When it is determined by the step that the input margin length is greater than the predetermined distance, only the tape feed mechanism is controlled to feed the tape by the difference between the margin length and the predetermined distance, and then the tape feed mechanism and the printing means Control the tape feed and perform printing on the tape-shaped print-receiving medium, and when the input means determines that the input margin length is equal to or less than the predetermined distance, the tape feed mechanism and the printing means are controlled. After printing on the tape-shaped print medium while feeding the tape by the difference between the predetermined distance and the margin length, the tape feed and printing are interrupted, and the tape feeding and printing are performed after the tape-shaped print medium is cut by the cutting means. It is configured to resume. Preferably, the margin length input means enables input of a rear margin length from a rear end of the position where the printing is performed to a rear end cutting position of the tape. After the tape is fed by the sum of the rear margin length and the predetermined distance by controlling only the mechanism, the tape feeding is stopped. [Operation] In the tape printing apparatus of the present invention, by inputting the margin length from the front end of the printing position on the tape-shaped print-receiving medium to the cutting position of the tape by the margin length inputting means, the control means If it is determined that the margin length input by the determination means is longer than the predetermined distance between the printing position and the cutting position, the tape feeding mechanism is controlled to feed the tape by the difference between the margin length and the predetermined distance. Thereafter, printing is performed on the tape-shaped print-receiving medium while performing tape feeding by controlling the tape feeding mechanism and the printing means. Further, when the control means determines that the margin length input by the determination means is equal to or less than the predetermined distance, the control means controls the tape feeding mechanism and the printing means to feed the tape by the difference between the predetermined distance and the margin length. After printing on the medium to be printed, the tape feeding and printing are interrupted, and the tape feeding and printing are resumed after the cutting of the tape-shaped printing medium by the cutting means. If the margin length input means can input the trailing margin length from the trailing end of the position where printing is performed to the trailing end cutting position of the tape, the control means sets a tape feed mechanism after the end of printing. Only after controlling the tape feed, the tape feed is performed by the sum of the rear margin length and the predetermined distance, and then the tape feed is stopped. Embodiment An embodiment of the tape printer of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 2, the tape printer 1 includes a housing 7, a liquid crystal display (hereinafter, referred to as LCD) 11, a character selection dial 9, and a function key group 1.
3 is provided. Inside the housing 7, the printing mechanism 3, the tape cassette 5, and the electronic control unit 15 as shown in FIG. 4 are arranged as shown in FIG. The tape cassette 5 includes a cassette case 17, a transparent tape roll 19, an ink ribbon roll 21, and an adhesive tape roll 23. A transparent tape 19A is wound around the transparent tape roll 19, an ink ribbon 21A is wound around the ink ribbon roll 21, and an adhesive tape 23A is wound around the adhesive tape roll 23. As shown in FIG. 3, each of the tapes 19A, 21A, and 23A is fed into the cassette case 17, printed by the printing mechanism 3, becomes a label tape 25, and is discharged from the tape cassette 5. The printing mechanism 3 includes a thermal head 27 and a platen 29, as shown in FIG.
, A tape feed roller 31 and an auxiliary roller 33. The printing mechanism unit 3 bonds the transparent tape 19A and the adhesive tape 23A by the tape feed roller 31 and the auxiliary roller 33, and feeds the label tape 25 formed by this bonding. The printing mechanism unit 3 uses the platen 29 to move the transparent tape 19
A and the ink ribbon 21A are pressed against the thermal head 27, and the thermal head 27 is energized to transfer the ink of the ink ribbon 21A to the transparent tape 19A by heat melting. In the vicinity of the position where the label tape 25 is discharged from the tape cassette 5, as shown in FIG. 3, a cutting means for cutting the label tape, that is, a tape cutter 35 is provided. The tape cutter 35 is driven by manually operating a lever 37 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the electronic control unit 15 includes a CPU 41, a CG ROM 43, a column driver 45, a common driver 47, a motor drive circuit 49, a thermal control circuit 51, an ON / OFF switching circuit 53, , A reset circuit 55, an oscillation circuit 57, and a voltage detection circuit 59. The electronic control unit 15 includes an external CG ROM 61, a pulse motor 63, a thermal head 27, an ON / OFF key 65, a character selection dial 9, the LCD 11,
A function key group 13 is connected. The column driver 45 and the common driver 47 drive the LCD 11 based on the display data sent from the CPU 41 to cause the LCD 11 to perform a predetermined display. The CG ROM 43 is a character generator built in the electronic control unit 15, and the external CG ROM 61 is a character generator attached externally.
The character selection dial 9 is for inputting desired character data to the electronic control unit 15. The pal motor 63 drives the tape feed roller 31 to rotate. The motor drive circuit 49 rotationally drives the pulse motor 63 based on a signal from the CPU 41. The thermal control circuit 51 drives the thermal head 27. ON / OFF
The key 65 is for "ON / OFF" operation of the power supply. Function key group 13
Is used to perform operations such as character input, printing, and tape cutting position. The function key group 13 includes a print key 13A and a confirm / execute key 13B. The tape feed roller 31, the auxiliary roller 33, and the pulse motor 63 constitute a tape feed mechanism of the present invention, and the thermal head 27 constitutes a printing unit. Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of the print processing routine, and FIGS. 6 to 8 are explanatory diagrams of the tape cutting position. The print processing routine shown in FIG. 5 is started when the print key 13A is pressed after the ON / OFF key 65 is switched to the “ON” side and power is supplied. In the print processing routine, first, a tape cut position (L, M) is determined (S100). To determine the tape cut position, first, a display requesting the input of the front cut length L is displayed on the LCD 11, and the numerical value of the front cut length L is input from the character selection dial 9. As shown in FIG. 6, the front cut length L indicates the length of the space between the front end and the front cut end of printing, that is, the length of the margin. If there is an input of the front cut length L, then a display requesting the input of the rear cut length M is displayed, and the rear cut length M is input from the character selection dial 9.
Enter the numerical value of. The rear cut length M, as shown in FIG. 6, indicates the length of the space between the rear end of the print and the rear cut end, that is, the length of the margin. Input front and rear cut length L
, M are stored in a predetermined memory of the CPU 41. The character selection dial 9 constitutes the margin length input means of the present invention. Next, print input is performed (S110). In the print input, a display requesting a print input is performed on the LCD 11, and character data input by the operator is stored. By storing the character data, the character data such as "ABCDEFG" can be stored in the CP by operating the character selection dial 9 as shown in FIG.
The data is input to U41 and stored in a predetermined memory. After the print input is completed, it is determined whether or not the tape needs to be cut next (S120). The determination as to whether or not this is a tape cut is made based on whether or not the previous cut length L is larger than a constant N. The constant N is, as shown in FIG. 3, a printing start position PS by the thermal head 27 and a tape cutting execution position (that is, the tape cutter 3).
5). The processing of S120 constitutes the determination means of the present invention. If it is determined that the tape is cut, that is, if the previous cut length L is larger than the constant N, the tape is cut next (S130). The tape cut here is LC
This is a process for displaying a request to cut the tape at D11. Thus, the operator operates the lever 37 to cause the tape cutter 35 to operate the label tape 25.
Is cut as shown in FIG. When the tape cassette 5 is set in the tape printer 1, by cutting a portion of an unspecified length protruding from the tape cutter 35, the starting end of the front cut length L is accurately secured. . After the tape is cut, the roller is driven to feed the tape to form a margin for L (S140). This tape feed means that when the confirm / execute key 13 is pressed, the pulse motor 63 is driven by a value corresponding to a value obtained by subtracting a constant N from the previous cut length L to feed the label tape 25. After the tape is fed, printing is performed (S150). The printing is performed by outputting the character data input in S110 to the thermal head 27 in synchronization with the tape feed of the label tape 25. Thus, for example, as shown in FIG. 7, printing is started from a position separated by "L" from the front cut end, and printing of a character as shown in FIG. 6 is executed. On the other hand, boiled S120, when the tape Pukatto is determined not to be necessary, first printing is started (S160). Here, the character data input in S110 is performed in the same manner as described in S150, and it is determined whether or not the character data has been moved by the previous cut length L every time a predetermined amount of printing is performed (S170). . This determination is made based on whether or not a value obtained by subtracting the distance P moved by the printing in S160 from the constant N has become the previous cut length L. That is, as shown in FIG. 7, it is determined whether or not the front end of printing has approached the position of “L” with respect to the tape cutter 35. Until the movement is performed by L, printing is performed in S160. If it has moved by L, the tape is cut. This tape cutting is the same processing as the tape cutting in S130 described above. After the tape cut, printing is restarted (S150). Here, confirm / execute key 1
When 3B is pressed, the rest of the characters printed in S160 are printed continuously. Thus, printing of the character as shown in FIG. 6 is completed. The processing in S140 to S180 constitutes the control means of the present invention. After the printing of the character is completed, the roller is driven for feeding the tape by M (S190). The roller drive for feeding the tape by the amount of M is to perform a process of feeding the tape until the distance between the trailing end of the print and the tape cutter 35 becomes "M" as shown in FIG. . After executing the tape feed for M minutes, the tape is cut next (S200),
This routine is ended once. The tape cutting here is performed in step 130 described above.
This is the same processing as the tape cutting of FIG. When the operator cuts off the label tape by the tape cutting in S200, a piece of label tape as shown in FIG. When the print key 13A is pressed in a state where the tape cut processing in S200 is completed, the print processing routine shown in FIG. 5 is started again, and the processing for creating the label tape is repeated again. When the confirm / execute key 13B is pressed, a key input standby state is set. If there is no key input within a predetermined time, a power OFF signal is output to the ON / OFF switching circuit 53, and the power is turned off. Automatically disconnected. The tape printer 1 described above simply operates the function key group 13 to input the front cut length L and the rear cut length M, and as shown in FIG. Thus, it is possible to create a label tape in which a margin of a distance M is formed after the rear end of printing. As a result, when printing is performed by this tape printing apparatus, it is possible to produce a label tape having a desired size, and it is possible to provide a tape printing apparatus which does not need to be later processed with a scissor or the like. Play. It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various embodiments can be implemented without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, the tape cutter may be configured to be driven by a motor or the like, and the label tape may be automatically cut.
Alternatively, a tape cutter in which the shape of the cut end of the label tape has a predetermined curvature may be used. [Effect of the Invention] In the tape printing apparatus of the present invention, by inputting a margin length so as to form a margin of a desired length from the front end of the position where printing is performed, the margin length determined by the judging means is determined by the printing position. According to the determination as to whether or not the length is longer than a predetermined distance between the label and the cutting position, the tape-shaped print-receiving medium can be fed to the cutting means with a tape, and therefore, a label having a desired length of margin from the printing end. A tape can be easily created.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram illustrating the basic configuration of a tape printer according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is an external view of the tape printer of the embodiment, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a control system, FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a print processing routine, and FIGS. 6 to 8 are explanatory diagrams of a cutting state. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Tape printing device 3 ... Printing mechanism part 5 ... Tape cassette 9 ... Character selection dial 15 ... Electronic control part 25 ... Label tape 27 ... Thermal head 31 ... Tape feed roller 33 Auxiliary roller 35 Tape cutter 63 Pulse motor

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A tape feeding mechanism that feeds a long tape-shaped print-receiving medium in the longitudinal direction thereof; a printing unit that performs rank printing on the tape-shaped print-receiving medium in the longitudinal direction; and a downstream of the printing unit in the tape feeding direction. And a cutting means provided on the side, for cutting the tape-shaped print-receiving medium, a tape printing apparatus comprising: A margin length input unit for inputting a margin length, and a determination whether the input margin length is longer than a predetermined distance between a printing position by the printing unit and a cutting position by the cutting unit. Means, and control means for controlling the tape feeding mechanism and the printing means, wherein the control means determines that the input margin length is greater than the predetermined distance by the determination means.
If it is determined to be large , the tape feed mechanism is controlled to feed the tape by the difference between the margin length and the predetermined distance. When printing is performed on the medium, and when the input margin length is determined to be equal to or less than the predetermined distance by the determination unit, the tape feeding mechanism and the printing unit are controlled to feed the tape by the difference between the predetermined distance and the margin length. A tape printing apparatus characterized in that the tape feeding and printing are interrupted after printing on the tape-shaped printing medium while the tape feeding and printing are resumed after the cutting of the tape-shaped printing medium by the cutting means. 2. The margin length input means enables input of a rear margin length from a rear end of the position where the printing is performed to a rear end cutting position of the tape, and the control means controls only the tape feeding mechanism after printing is completed. 2. The tape printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the tape feeding is stopped by controlling the tape feed by a sum of the rear margin length and the predetermined distance.