JP2750215B2 - Label printer - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a label printer capable of continuously printing and issuing the same label or tag without cutting the required number of labels in the middle.

[Prior Art] FIG. 6 shows a schematic configuration of a conventional label printer of this type, wherein 1 is a printer main body, 2 is continuous paper for label printing, 3 is a paper feed motor composed of a stepping motor, and 4 is A platen 5 driven stepwise by the paper feed motor 3 is provided at a position opposing the platen,
Print heads 5 and 6 for printing label data are provided at the subsequent stage of the print head 5 to cut the printed paper 2, 7 is a guide roller for the paper 2, 8 is a label positioning sensor, Is a keyboard provided with a numeric key, an issue key, a feed key, and the like.

When the issue key of the keyboard 9 is operated in a state where the label data is input and the number of issued sheets is set, the paper feed motor 3 is operated to rotate the platen 4 in the counterclockwise direction. The paper 2 is transported while being guided by the guide rollers 7. At this time, the sensor 8
The printing timing is determined on the basis of this signal, and at that timing, label printing is sequentially performed on the paper 2 by the print head 5. When the printing of the set number of labels is completed, the paper feed motor 3 stops. Then, the user keeps pressing the feed key of the keyboard 9 to discharge the printed paper from the cutter mechanism 6, and the cutter mechanism 6
Was operated to cut the paper.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the above-described conventional label printer, the feed key is operated to feed the paper in order to take out the portion on which the final number of labels have been printed, and the portion is sent from the cutter mechanism 6 After the cutting, the non-printed paper 2 is left between the print head 5 and the cutter mechanism 6, and this non-printed portion is discarded when the next label is issued.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a label printer which can print and issue a required number of labels or tags without cutting the required number of sheets without wasting continuous paper, thereby improving economy.

Means for Solving the Problems The present invention relates to a continuous paper transport mechanism, a printing mechanism for printing label data on continuous paper transported by the transport mechanism, and a printing mechanism provided at a subsequent stage of the printing mechanism. In a label printer equipped with a cutter mechanism for cutting paper on which label data is printed, a cut key for instructing driving of the cutter mechanism, and a label between the printing mechanism and the cutter mechanism in response to a key input of the cut key. Determining means for determining whether or not there is data-printed paper; discharge control means for controlling the transport mechanism to discharge the printed paper from the cutter mechanism when the determining means determines that there is printed paper;
Cut control means for controlling the cutter mechanism when the printed paper is discharged by the control means to cut the paper, and controlling the transport mechanism when the paper is cut by the control means to print the leading end of the continuous paper. Reverse feed control means for reverse feeding to the printing position of the mechanism.

[Operation] In the present invention having such a configuration, the label printing is performed by the printing mechanism on the continuous paper conveyed by the conveyance mechanism, and the conveyance of the continuous paper is stopped when the set number of labels has been printed. . Here, when the cut key is operated, the printed paper is discharged from the cutter mechanism by the transport mechanism because the printed paper exists between the printing mechanism and the cutter mechanism, and cut by the cutter mechanism. Then, after cutting, the sheet is reversely fed by the transport mechanism, and the leading end of the sheet is positioned at the printing position of the printing mechanism. As a result, at the time of next label issuance, label printing is performed without wasting paper.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The same parts as those in FIG. 6 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description is omitted.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a control circuit of a label printer, and a CPU (central processing unit) 1 constituting a control unit main body.
1, a ROM (read only memory) 13 storing program data and the like and a RAM (random access memory) 1 storing label data and the like via a bus line 12
4.Communication interface 15 for communicating with externally connected host computer, Numerical data key K1 for inputting numerical data such as the number of prints, issue key for issuing label issue
K2, cut key K3 for commanding the driving of the cutter mechanism 6,
A keyboard controller 17 for controlling a keyboard 16 provided with various function keys such as a feed key, a cancel key, a character key, etc .; a head driver 18 for driving a print head 5 as a printing mechanism composed of a thermal line head; And a motor driver 20 for driving a paper feed motor 3 as a transport mechanism for feeding the continuous paper 2 and a ribbon motor 19 for feeding the ink ribbon, and a printed paper 2 provided at the subsequent stage of the print head 5. Various components such as a cutter driver 21 for driving the cutter mechanism 6 for cutting, an I / O port 22 to which a signal is input from the label positioning sensor 8, and the like are connected.

In the RAM 14, as shown in FIG. 2, an area 31 for the number of sheets counter N, an area 32 for the feed counter A, an area 33 for the back feed counter B, and an area
34 memory areas are formed.

When the CPU 11 receives label data from an externally connected host computer via the communication interface 15, the CPU 11 stores it in the RAM 14. Also,
Similarly, when label data is input by the numeric key K1 or the function key of the keyboard 16, the label data is stored in the RAM 14.

In this state, the program is set to execute the key processing shown in FIG. 3 when the issuance key K2 is pressed. That is, as ST (step) 1, it is determined whether or not the numeric key is set by the numeric key K 1 immediately before the input of the issue key K 2. If the number is not set, "1" is set to the initial value of the number counter N. Next, ST2
After the printing flag F is set to "1", the label printing process is executed. That is, the paper feed motor 3 is driven to rotate forward to feed the continuous paper 2 stepwise, and the print start timing is determined based on the signal of the sensor 8,
At that timing, the print head 5 and the ribbon motor 6 are driven to print the label data. When the printing of one label is completed, the number counter N is decreased by "-1". In this way, the label printing process is repeatedly executed until the counter N becomes "0". When the counter N becomes "0", the paper feed motor 3, the ribbon motor 19 and the print head 5
Is stopped, and this process ends.

Further, the program is set so as to execute the key processing shown in FIG. 4 when the cut key K3 is input by a key.
That is, the state of the printing flag F is checked as ST1 (determination means). If the flag F has been reset to "0", the key input of the cut key K3 is regarded as an error, and this processing ends. On the other hand, when the flag F is set to "1", the distance between the printing position by the print head 5 and the cutting position by the cutter mechanism 6 is set to the initial value of the feed counter A. As the distance value, an actually measured value when the cutter mechanism 6 is fixed to the subsequent stage of the print head 5 is stored in the RAM 14 in advance, and is used. The back feed counter B is set to “0”. Next, as ST2, the paper feed motor 3 is driven forward by one step to feed the paper 2 by one step, the feed counter A is reduced by "-1", and "+1" is added to the back feed counter B. Then, the processing after ST2 is repeatedly executed until the feed counter A becomes "0" (discharge control means), and when it becomes "0", the cutter mechanism 6 is operated to cut the paper 2 (cutting). Control means).

After the cutting, the paper feed motor 3 is driven in reverse by one step in ST3 to reversely feed the paper 2 by one step, and the back feed counter B is decreased by "-1". The process from ST3 onward is repeated until the back feed counter B becomes "0" (reverse feed control means), and when it becomes "0", the printing flag F is reset to "0". At the same time, the operation of the paper feed motor 3 is stopped, and this process ends.

In the present embodiment having such a configuration, by inputting the label data and setting the number of issued sheets with the number key K1 and then operating the issued key K2, the label printing of the label data on the continuous paper 2 can be performed by the number of issued sheets. The paper on which label data is printed is discharged from the cutter mechanism 6 to the outside without being cut in the middle. When the printing of the number of labels is completed, the paper feed motor 3 stops, and the discharge of the paper stops. At this time, the paper on which the label data is printed at least last remains between the print head 5 and the cutter mechanism 6. The state between the head and the cutter at this time is shown in FIG. In FIG. 5, reference numeral 2a indicates a portion of the continuous paper 2 on which label data has been printed, and 2b indicates an unprinted portion. Reference numeral 4 denotes a platen.

Then, the user operates the cut key K3. Then, the continuous paper 2 is fed by a predetermined distance between the head and the cutter. As a result, the portion of the continuous paper 2 on which the label data has been printed is discharged from the cutter mechanism 6 to the outside. At this time, the signal input from the sensor 8 is ignored. After the discharge, the paper 2 is cut by the cutter mechanism 6. As a result, the labels are issued without being cut in the middle of the number of labels to be issued. The state between the head and the cutter at this time is shown in FIG. 5 (b).

After cutting the paper, the paper feed motor 3 is driven in the reverse direction to
Reverse feed is performed. When the leading end of the paper 2 returns to the print position by the print head 5, the paper feed motor 3 stops. The state between the head and the counter at this time is shown in FIG. Thereafter, the next label printing is executed from this state.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to easily issue the required number of labels continuously printed without being cut off in the middle by a simple operation of operating the cut key K3 once. Then, the leading end of the continuous paper 2 remaining after the issuance is automatically returned to the print start position of the print head 5 and used for the next label printing, so that the paper is not discarded unnecessarily. Further, since the cut key K3 does not operate when there is no printed paper between the head and the cutter, it is possible to prevent discharge and cutting of the paper due to erroneous operation.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above in detail, according to the present invention, it is possible to print and issue a required number of labels or tags without cutting the required number of labels or tags without wasting continuous paper by a simple key operation. And a convenient label printer can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

1 to 5 show an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a control circuit of a label printer, FIG. 2 is a main memory configuration diagram of a RAM, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an issue key process of the CPU, FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a cut key process of the CPU, FIGS. 5 (a) to 5 (c) are state diagrams used for explaining the operation of the cut key process of FIG. FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing an example of a conventional label printer. 2 ... continuous paper, 3 ... paper feed motor (conveyance mechanism), 5
…… Print head (printing mechanism), 6… Cutter mechanism, 11…
... CPU, 16 ... keyboard, K3 ... cut key.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A transport mechanism for a continuous paper, a printing mechanism for printing label data on continuous paper transported by the transport mechanism, a paper provided at a subsequent stage of the printing mechanism, and the label data printed by the printing mechanism. A label printer provided with a cutter mechanism for cutting the paper, a cut key for instructing the drive of the cutter mechanism, and a sheet on which label data is printed between the printing mechanism and the cutter mechanism in response to a key input of the cut key. Determination means for determining whether or not there is a sheet; discharge control means for controlling the transport mechanism to discharge the printed paper from the cutter mechanism when the determination means determines the presence of printed paper; Cut control means for controlling the cutter mechanism to cut the paper when the printed paper is discharged; and Label printer, characterized by comprising a reverse feed control means for causing the leading end of the continuous paper by controlling the conveyance mechanism to reverse feed to the print position of the printing mechanism.