JP4769109B2 - Printing method for continuous continuous label - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a minimum label continuous body and a printing method thereof, and more particularly to a minimum label continuous body having a minimum label size smaller than a minimum label size regulated in a label printer and a printing method thereof.

A conventional general label printer and label continuum 2 will be outlined with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 6 is a schematic side view of a conventional thermal label printer 1 (label printer), FIG. 7 is a plan view of a label continuous body 2, and the thermal label printer 1 includes a printer housing 3 and a label continuous body 2. It has the supply part 4, the transfer path 5 formed in the printer housing 3, the detection part 6, the printing part 7, and the control part 8.

As shown in FIG. 7, the label continuous body 2 has a strip-shaped mount 9 and a plurality of label pieces 10 temporarily attached to the mount 9, and an adhesive layer 11 is formed on the back surface of the label piece 10. Then, it is loaded in a rolled state on the supply unit 4 of the thermal label printer 1 and is fed out on the transfer path 5 toward the detection unit 6 and the printing unit 7 in a band shape.
In addition, on the back surface of the mount 9, a detected mark 12 that enables detection of the position of the label piece 10 is printed in advance for each label piece 10.

The detection unit 6 includes a detection sensor 13 that detects the detection mark 12, and detects the position of the label continuum 2 (label piece 10).
In addition, a gap may be provided between the adjacent label pieces 10 to perform position detection.

    The printing unit 7 includes a thermal head 14 and a platen roller 15, and the label continuous body 2 is transferred onto the transfer path 5 by the rotational drive of the platen roller 15, and the label data 10 is supplied from the thermal head 14 to the label piece 10. Predetermined information is printed on

The control unit 8 controls the detection unit 6 and the printing unit 7 described above.
However, in the thermal label printer 1, it is necessary to be able to take out the label piece 10 printed in the printing unit 7 outside the label discharge port 16 of the printer housing 3, but the platen roller 15 of the printing unit 7 and the label discharge It is difficult in terms of mechanism to make the distance D between the outlet 16 zero, and there may be a limitation on the minimum dimension in the vertical direction or the transfer direction (pitch direction) as a printable label size.
As a restriction on the minimum dimension, the control unit 8 normally restricts the minimum label printing region 17 having a pitch equivalent to the interval D in relation to the pitch of the label pieces 10.

However, in the case where the label piece 10 is a so-called minimal label 10A having a pitch or width smaller than at least one of the pitch and width of the minimum label printing area 17 and having a minimum size or less, the label base 10 There is a problem that the mount 9 which is relatively expensive is wasted.
FIG. 8 is a plan view of a minimal label continuum 2A having a minimal label 10A having a pitch smaller than the pitch of the minimum label printing area 17, and in this minimal label continuum 2A, the minimum label 10A is smaller than the minimum label printing area 17. Since the pitch is small, the minimal label 10A is located in a very small area of the minimum label printing area 17, and the gap between the adjacent minimal labels 10A is vacant. There is a problem that the mount 9 becomes useless.
Similarly, in the case of the label continuous body 2 in which the label piece 10 having a width smaller than the width W of the mount 9 is temporarily attached to the mount 9, the mount 9 is relatively wasted as the difference becomes larger. is there.

When printing on the continuous minimal label 2A while avoiding waste of the mount 9, a plurality of the minimal labels 10A are arranged in the minimum label printing area 17, and one unit of the minimum label printing area 17 is allocated. After printing, the group of printed minimal labels 10A is transferred to the label discharge port 16, and the minimum label printing area 17 in the minimum label printing area 17 adjacent on the upstream side is transferred to the minimum label printing area 17 on the downstream side. After printing out the printed minimal label 10A in the minimum label printing area 17 on the downstream side from the printer housing 3, the entire minimal label continuous body 2A is transferred back to the upstream side (back feed) and not printed. A method of setting the minimal label 10A on the printing unit 7 is also conceivable.
However, with such a method, the mechanism of the thermal label printer 1 itself becomes complicated, and another problem of a decrease in printing speed occurs.
Furthermore, there is a problem that it is difficult to adopt a printing process procedure corresponding to each of the normal label continuum 2 and the minimal label continuum 2A.

That is, generally, the same print processing procedure is often employed in either case of the normal label continuum 2 or the minimal label continuum 2A.
FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a general printing process procedure in the thermal label printer 1, in which the designated number of sheets to be printed is set in step S1, and the contents printed on the label piece 10 (minimal label 10A) in step S2, for example, bar A code and other printing designations are made and printing is issued. In step S3, it is judged whether or not the designated number of sheets has been completed, and the process ends.
Therefore, it is difficult to eliminate the waste of the mount 9 as described above with such a print processing procedure.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-78259

    SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been considered in view of the above problems, and provides a minimal label continuum that does not waste a mount even if it is a minimal label smaller than the minimum label printing area, and a printing method therefor. Is an issue.

    The present invention also provides a minimal label continuum that can be printed on a minimal label without wasting a mount, even if the label size of the label continuum that can be transferred and printed by a label printer is limited, and a printing method thereof. The issue is to provide.

    In addition, the present invention provides a minimal label continuum that can be controlled to print a normal-sized label piece even if it is a minimal label having a minimum dimension or less using an existing label printer, and a printing method therefor. The issue is to provide.

    In addition, the present invention is a minimum that can be controlled to print a normal-sized label piece, both of a standard label piece loaded in an existing standard label printer and a minimum label smaller than the minimum dimension. It is an object to provide a label continuum and a printing method thereof.

The present invention includes a printer housing, a platen roller in a printing unit that prints on a label continuum transferred on a transfer path formed in the printer housing, and a detection unit that detects the position of the label continuum. , and a control unit for controlling the detecting unit and the printing unit, the transport direction of the gap between the label discharge port and the platen roller of the printer housing, and the smallest dimension of the label size printable restriction the minimum label print area of the label strip comprises a strip-shaped backing sheet, with minimal label strip having a plurality of tiny label having a pitch of said minimum label print area while temporarily adhered onto the mount There is a printing method of a continuous minimal label for printing on the minimal label,
By cutting a slit in the width direction in accordance with the size of each of the minimal labels in the minimum label printing area within the unit for the minimal label that can be arranged in a predetermined number within one unit of the minimum label printing area , with defining each of the minimum label label placement region formed a supplies the print contents of the predetermined number of sheets of the minimum label into the label placement region of each of the minimum label, to each of the minimum label Printing, and for the minimum number of labels that are smaller than the number of the label placement areas in one unit of the minimum label printing area, sequentially printing from the minimum label positioned at the head in the minimum label printing area. This is a printing method of a featured continuous continuous label.

    In the minimal label continuum and the printing method thereof according to the present invention, a label placement area is defined for each of a predetermined number of minimal labels within the minimum label printing area regulated for the label continuum, and the label placement area is minimized. Since the labels are aligned and accommodated in a minimum label printing area for one unit, a predetermined number of minimum labels are stored and printed on each minimum label. It can be placed in the print area and the mount is not wasted.

According to inventions, the minimum label print predetermined number only locatable minima labels in one unit of area, as well as define the label placement area each minimum label minimize label print region within this one unit, these predetermined Since the content of printing on a single minimal label is supplied to the label placement area of each minimal label and printed on each minimal label, printing of a continuous continuous label using an existing label printer is required. Can do.

    According to the present invention, a predetermined number of minimal labels arranged in the minimum label printing area are regarded as one conventional standard label, and printing is performed by assigning printing contents to the label arrangement areas of the respective minimal labels. In addition, the present invention has realized a minimal label continuous body and a printing method thereof capable of printing on a minimal label based on the printing contents supplied to each minimal label.

Next, the minimal label continuum 20 and its printing method according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. However, the same parts as those in FIGS. 6 to 9 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.
1 is a plan view of the minimal label continuum 20, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a back view of the minimal label continuum 20. The minimum label continuous body 20 has a plurality of minimum labels 20A.
In the minimal label continuum 2, virtual label placement areas 21 corresponding to the respective minimal labels 20A are defined in the minimum label printing area 17 which is regulated by the thermal label printer 1 and defined on the mount 9. The minimum label 20A is applied to each label arrangement region 21.
For example, as shown in the figure, three minimum labels 20A are arranged in the pitch direction (transfer direction) of the minimum label continuum 20. Of course, an arbitrary number of sheets can be arranged according to the size of the minimal label 20A.
Specifically, by cutting the slits 22 in the width direction in accordance with the label arrangement area 21 in the minimum label printing area 17, that is, in accordance with the size (label pitch dimension) of the minimum label 20A, Form.

    Further, as shown in FIG. 3, a single detected mark 12 used for detection by the detection unit 6 is printed in advance on the back surface of the mount 9 in correspondence with the minimum label printing area 17 instead of every minimum label 20A. It is.

    When the minimal label continuous body 20 having such a configuration is loaded into the thermal label printer 1 (FIG. 6) and printed on the minimal label 20A, an image corresponding to each of the minimal labels is printed in the minimum label printing area 17 in one unit. It is possible to print on the minimum label 20A by printing based on the printing contents supplied to the formed label arrangement area 21.

That is, FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a procedure for printing on the minimal label 20A. In step S11, the designated number of the minimal label 20A to be printed is set, and in step S12, the designated number is a multiple of “3”. Judge whether there are only minutes. That is, it is determined whether or not a quotient larger than “1” is obtained in the calculation of the designated number ÷ 3.
If the designated number is a multiple of “3”, the print positions of the three minimum labels 20A are designated in the respective label placement areas 21 in step S13, printed out in step S14, and from the designated number in step S15. “3” is subtracted.
Next, in step S16, it is determined whether printing for the designated number of sheets has been completed. If not, the process returns to step S11 and the above procedure is repeated.

In step S11, if the specified number of sheets is not a multiple of “3”, but there is a remainder smaller than “1” in the calculation of the specified number of sheets ÷ 3, in step S17, the half-numbered sheet (for one or two sheets). A print position is designated in the label arrangement area 21.
Further, in step S18, the minimum label 20A located in each label arrangement area 21 is sequentially printed from the minimum label 20A in the label arrangement area 21 located at the head of the minimum label printing area 17 in the transport direction.

Thus, the print contents of each of the minimum labels 20A allocated to the label arrangement area 21 can be supplied to the minimum labels 20A and can be printed on each of the minimum labels 20A, and the mount 9 is not wasted.
The thermal label printer 1 can transfer the portion of the minimum label printing area 17 at a time as usual, so that three minimal labels 20A can be delivered from the label discharge port 16 of the printer housing 3 at a time. It becomes possible to discharge, and after this discharge, the automatic labeling mechanism can be adopted, or the label can be manually peeled off, and the minimal label 20A can be attached to a necessary portion.

Further, the control unit 8 determines whether the label continuous body loaded in the thermal label printer 1 is the minimal label continuous body 20 (FIG. 1) or the label continuous body 2 (FIG. 7) having the normal-sized label pieces 10. By inputting and setting the number of minimum labels 20A in the minimum label printing area 17 or the number of normal size label pieces 10, the printing process can be performed for any label continuous body 20 or label continuous body 2. is there.
Further, it is not necessary to change the mechanical mechanism as the thermal label printer 1, and it is easy to add and change software to the control unit 8, and the cost increase can be minimized.

    The minimum label continuum according to the present invention may have a plurality of minimum labels having a pitch or width smaller than at least one of the pitch and width of the minimum label printing region 17, and the first embodiment described above. In the example, the case where the pitch is small is shown, but a minimal label having a smaller width may be used.

That is, FIG. 5 is a plan view of the minimal label continuum 30 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The minimal label continuum 30 is smaller in both the width direction and the pitch direction than the width W of the mount 9. 30A (for example, 6 sheets).
As in the case of the aforementioned minimum label continuous body 20 (first embodiment), virtual label arrangement areas 31 corresponding to the respective minimum labels 30A are defined in a single minimum label printing area 17, and The minimal label 30 </ b> A is applied to the label arrangement area 31.

In the minimum label continuous body 30 having such a configuration, as in the first embodiment described above, the minimum label 30A is covered with a predetermined number of minimum labels 30A so as to cover the surface area of the mount 9 (the portion of the minimum label printing area 17). 30 A can be temporarily attached to avoid the waste of the mount 9.
Furthermore, according to the printing process procedure similar to the flowchart shown in FIG. 4, necessary printing can be performed on each of the minimum labels 30 </ b> A and discharged from the label discharge port 16 of the thermal label printer 1 as in the conventional case. Can do.

It is a top view of the minimum label continuous body 20 by the 1st Example of this invention. It is the II-II sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is a back view of the minimum label continuous body 20 same as the above. It is a flowchart figure which shows the printing processing procedure to the minimum label 20A similarly. It is a top view of the minimum label continuous body 30 by the 2nd Example of this invention. It is a schematic side view of the conventional thermal label printer 1 (label printer). 3 is a plan view of the label continuum 2. FIG. 4 is a plan view of a minimal label continuum 2A having a minimal label 10A having a pitch smaller than the pitch of the minimum label printing region 17. FIG. FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a general printing process procedure in the thermal label printer 1.

Explanation of symbols

1 Thermal label printer (label printer, Fig. 6)
2 Label continuum 2A Minimal label continuum (Figure 8)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 3 Printer housing 4 Supply part 5 Transfer path 6 Detection part 7 Printing part 8 Control part 9 Board | substrate 10 Label piece 10A of label continuous body 2 Minimal label of minimum label continuous body 2A (FIG. 8)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Adhesive layer 12 Detected mark 13 Detection sensor 14 Thermal head 15 Platen roller 16 Label discharge port 17 of printer housing 3 Minimum label printing area 20 Minimal label continuous body (first embodiment, FIG. 1)
20A Minimal Label of Minimal Label Continuum 20 (FIG. 1)
21 Label arrangement region 22 Slit 30 Minimal label continuum (second embodiment, FIG. 5)
30A Minimal Label of Minimal Label Continuum 30 (FIG. 5)
31 Label Arrangement Area D Interval between the platen roller 15 of the printing unit 7 and the label discharge port 16 of the printer housing 3 (FIG. 6)
W Mount 9 width (Figure 7)

Claims (1)

A printer housing, a printing unit that prints on a label continuous body that is transferred on a transfer path formed in the printer housing , a platen roller, and a detection unit that detects the position of the label continuous body, and the detection unit and and a control unit for controlling the printing section, the spacing of the printer housing of the label discharge port and said platen roller, the minimum label print restriction become transfer direction of the smallest dimension of the label size printable and regions, the label continuum includes a strip-shaped backing sheet, a minimum label strip having a plurality of tiny label having a pitch of said minimum label print area while temporarily adhered onto the mount, the minimum A method for printing a continuous continuous label for printing on a label,
By cutting a slit in the width direction in accordance with the size of each of the minimal labels in the minimum label printing area within the unit for the minimal label that can be arranged in a predetermined number within one unit of the minimum label printing area , with defining each of the minimum label label placement region formed a supplies the print contents of the predetermined number of sheets of the minimum label into the label placement region of each of the minimum label, to each of the minimum label Printing, and for the minimum number of labels that are smaller than the number of the label placement areas in one unit of the minimum label printing area, sequentially printing from the minimum label positioned at the head in the minimum label printing area. A printing method of a featured continuous continuous label.

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