JP5034179B2 - Mountless label printer and cutting method of mountless label paper - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a label printer that prints on a label attached to a product, and more particularly to a label printer that uses a mountless label sheet without a mount.

  2. Description of the Related Art A label printer that prints and issues a label to be attached to a product using a mountless label sheet provided on one side with a heat-sensitive adhesive layer whose adhesiveness is activated by heat is known (for example, see Patent Document 1) ). In the printer, after printing on the paper, the paper is cut into a predetermined label size, and the heat-sensitive adhesive layer is heated to activate the adhesive, thereby producing a label.

Conventionally, several methods as described below have been considered as a method for cutting the paper.
1-a) The paper that has been printed and sent is slackened to stay upstream of the adhesion activation unit (hereinafter referred to as the activation unit), and after the printing is finished, the paper conveyance is temporarily stopped and cut in the staying state. To do.
1-b) The printed paper is sent to the activation unit at any time without staying in the middle and heated, and when the printing is finished, the conveyance is temporarily stopped and the paper is cut.
2) Using a rotary cutter in which a blade is attached to the outer peripheral surface of the rotating body that rotates in synchronization with the conveyance of the paper, the paper is cut without stopping the conveyance.
Japanese Patent No. 3329246

However, the above paper cutting method has the following problems.
First, in the method 1-a), since a space for retaining the paper has to be provided, the size of the printer is increased. Further, in the method 1-b), while the conveyance is stopped to cut the paper, the adhesive debris adheres to the thermal head of the activation unit after the adhesive of the heat-sensitive adhesive layer melts. In effect, the paper cannot be cut.
On the other hand, in the method 2), since the structure of the rotary cutter is complicated, the price of the printer is increased.

  The present invention has been made in view of these points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a mountless label printer that is compact and simple in structure and does not adversely affect the thermal head of the activation unit. is there. It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for cutting a mountless label paper in the mountless label printer.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and the invention according to claim 1 prints on the printing surface of a mountless label sheet having a printing surface on the front surface and a heat-sensitive adhesive surface on the back surface. Further, in a mountless label printer that issues a label to be attached to an object by heating the heat-sensitive adhesive surface with a heating element to generate adhesiveness, facing the thermal head that performs printing on the print surface A first platen roller provided and a second platen roller provided opposite to the heating element; a conveying unit configured to convey the mountless label sheet; and the mountless material conveyed by the conveying unit of displacement and the adhesive activation means for heating the heat-sensitive adhesive surface of the label sheet by the heating elements, the backing-less label paper, the blade substantially in the plane perpendicular to the paper surface A cutting means for cutting the Rukoto Once the thermosensitive adhesive surface of the backing-less label paper reaches the contact position with respect to the heating elements, first control means for starting the heating by the heating element to the adhesive activation means And after stopping heating by the heating element , the conveyance of the mountless label paper by the conveying means is stopped at a predetermined position, and after the conveyance of the mountless label paper is stopped, the cutting means is operated, and the cutting means And a second control means for starting the conveyance of the cut mountless label paper after the cutting by (2) and starting the heating by the heat generating element.

The invention described in claim 2 includes a step of printing on the printing surface of a mountless label paper having a printing surface on the front surface and a heat-sensitive adhesive surface on the back surface, and conveying the paper downstream; When the heat-sensitive adhesive surface of the mount-less label paper reaches the position where the heat-sensitive adhesive surface is activated by the heating element, the heating of the heat-sensitive adhesive surface starts, and the cutting position of the mount-less label paper reaches the cutting position of the cutter Before the heating, the heating by the heating element is stopped, and when the cutting position of the mountless label paper reaches the cutting position of the cutter, the transport of the mountless label paper is stopped , a step of cutting by displacing the cutter substantially in a plane perpendicular to the paper, after the cutting, to start the conveyance of the backing-less label sheet which is the cleavage, start heating A step of, it is backing-less label paper cutting method characterized by comprising a.

According to the first and second aspects of the present invention, since the conveyance of the label paper and the heating of the heat-sensitive adhesive layer are stopped when the paper is cut, the thermal head of the activating unit comes into contact with the paper when the paper is cut. The part is not sticky. For this reason, it is possible to cut the label paper without attaching an adhesive to the thermal head using a cutter having a simple structure that is moved in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface and cut. Further, since the sheet sent to the activation unit is immediately activated without sticking, the label printer can be made compact.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a printing mechanism 1 of a label printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. The printing mechanism unit 1 includes a printing unit 4 for printing on a printing surface 3a of a label sheet 3 drawn out from a sheet roll 2, and a cutter for cutting the label sheet 3 into a predetermined length by cutting it into a predetermined length. 5 and an activation unit 6 that activates the adhesiveness by heating the adhesive surface 3b of the label paper 3.

The paper roll 2 is a roll of label paper 3 wound in a roll shape. The core roll rotates around the core, and the label paper 3 is pulled out to the printing unit 4 side. .
The label paper 3 is a belt-like paper provided with a heat-sensitive recording layer that develops color when heated on the printing surface 3a and a heat-sensitive adhesive layer that activates adhesiveness when heated on the adhesive surface 3b. The paper roll 2 is formed so that 3b is on the outside. In addition, there is a certain delay time from when the adhesive applied to the heat-sensitive adhesive layer on the adhesive surface 3b is heated to melting. Therefore, when the adhesive surface 3b is heated while the label paper 3 is being transported, the melted adhesive does not adhere to the thermal head (described later). However, if the heating is performed with the transport stopped, the thermal head The adhesive will adhere to the surface.

The printing unit 4 includes a first thermal head 4a provided on the printing surface 3a side and a first platen roller 4b provided on the adhesive surface 3b side.
The first thermal head 4a is a heating element in which a large number of fine thin-film heating elements are arranged in an array in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the label paper 3 (hereinafter referred to as the paper transport direction). The heat-sensitive recording layer is colored by heating the printing surface 3a of the label paper 3 to a predetermined temperature.
The first platen roller 4b is a cylindrical roller whose outer peripheral surface is covered with an elastic member having no irregularities, and the cylinder axis is held in parallel with the heating element arrangement direction of the first thermal head 4a. It is rotated around by a stepping motor (see FIG. 2).

  Here, the first thermal head 4a and the first platen roller 4b are pressed against each other with an appropriate pressure, and the label paper 3 drawn from the paper roll 2 is sandwiched between them, and the rotation of the first platen roller 4b. While being transported by driving, the heating elements of the first thermal head 4a individually generate heat and cause the printing surface 3a to develop a desired character pattern. In this way, printing on the label paper 3 is performed. Note that the positioning of the print area is adjusted by normal rotation or reverse rotation of the first platen roller 4b.

  The cutter 5 is for cutting and separating the length of the label to be issued from the label paper 3, and its overall length is longer than the width of the label paper 3 so that the longitudinal direction coincides with the paper width direction. It is arranged. At the time of cutting, the label paper 3 is driven by a cutter driving unit (see FIG. 2) and reciprocates in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface to cut the label paper 3 in a single reciprocating operation. In addition, in order to cut smoothly, the blade has a chevron shape that is recessed at the center in the longitudinal direction and protrudes at both ends. As described above, the cutter 5 does not have a particularly complicated configuration, and its manufacturing cost is low.

The activation unit 6 includes a second thermal head 6a provided on the adhesive surface 3b side, a second platen roller 6b provided on the printing surface 3a side, and the label paper 3 with the second thermal head 6a and the second platen roller. 6b, and a label receiver 6d composed of two rollers provided at the end on the downstream side in the paper conveyance direction.
The second thermal head 6a is a heating element composed of a heating element similar to the first thermal head 4a, and causes the adhesive surface 3b of the label paper 3 that is in contact to be heated to develop an adhesive force on the surface. .
The second platen roller 6b is a roller similar to the first platen roller 4b.

  The guide 6c is provided such that its upstream side is curved toward the opposite side of the label paper 3 with respect to the paper transport direction, and its downstream end is in close proximity to the second platen roller 6b. With this structure, the label paper 3 supplied via the printing unit 4 is reliably guided between the second thermal head 6a and the second platen roller 6b, and the downstream end and the second platen roller 6b It makes it possible to carry the label firmly.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control system in the label printer having the printing mechanism unit 1 described above.
The CPU 10 is a central processing unit that controls the operation of the label printer by executing a program on the ROM 11, and the ROM 11 is a read-only memory that stores a control program and control data for the label printer. The RAM 12 stores various setting data and temporary data in addition to a product file (see FIG. 3) in which various product data for label printing is defined, a format file (see FIG. 4) in which a label printing format is defined. It is a read / write memory as needed, and is backed up by a battery so as to retain product files and format files even when the power is turned off.

The operation unit 13 is an input device for operating the label printer, and is a touch panel configured integrally with the display unit 14. The display unit 14 is a liquid crystal display that displays various menu screens and data.
The interface 15 inputs and outputs data between the CPU 10 and the like and each drive unit and motor described later.

The thermal head drive units 16 and 17 are drive circuits that drive the first and second thermal heads 4a and 6a, respectively, and supply current to each heating element of each thermal head based on a command from the CPU 10.
The cutter drive unit 18 is a drive circuit that drives the cutter 5.

The sensor 19 is a detector that detects the contact position of the adhesive surface 3b with respect to the second thermal head 6a, and is provided in the vicinity of the second thermal head 6a.
The stepping motors 20 and 21 rotate and drive the first and second platen rollers 4b and 6b, respectively, so that the label paper 3 is conveyed to a predetermined printing position or heating position.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a product file stored in the RAM 12. In this file, items such as a product number, a product name, a price, a barcode, and a print format are recorded.
Here, the “product number” is a serial number assigned in one-to-one correspondence with the product name, and the bar code is a 13-digit number unique to each product.
“Print format” is data for designating a “format number” in the format file described below, and is used for label printing in an appropriate format for each product.

FIG. 4 shows an example of a format file stored in the RAM 12 and an explanation of each parameter in the file. As shown in FIG. 6A, the file includes a print start position and a print width for each of the product name and price to be printed on the label, with the xy coordinates (the origin is the left end of the front end of the paper when the transport direction is up). The label length is also specified as a numerical value representing the length of the label to be issued. FIG. 2B shows the relationship between the above parameters and printing of the issued label.
Thus, in this label printer, labels can be created in various sizes and formats by registering the print format in the format file in advance.

Next, the operation of the above-described label printer will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 5 and the process diagram shown in FIG. The process diagram of FIG. 6 shows a state in which printing and adhesion activation are sequentially performed on the label paper 3.
First, an operator operates the operation unit 13 to call a product file from the RAM 12 and display the content on the display unit 14. Then, a product for which a label is to be created is selected, and input is performed on the touch panel of the operation unit 13. Then, the print format associated with the selected product is called from the format file in the RAM 12, the product name and the price / number are formatted according to the format, and written as print data in the temporary storage area of the RAM 12. (Step S1).

  Next, when the operator instructs label issuance through the operation unit 13, the printing unit 4 starts printing on the printing surface 3a of the label paper 3 (step S2). Here, in the initial state, the leading end portion of the label paper 3 is at the position of the cutter 5 (FIG. 6A). Then, the first thermal head 4a performs printing by heating the printing surface 3a to a predetermined character shape (printing data written in the temporary storage area of the RAM 12 in step S1) to develop color, and the first platen roller 4b. Rotates and conveys the label paper 3 forward (downstream) (FIG. 6B).

  When the sensor 19 detects that printing has progressed and the leading edge of the label paper 3 has reached the activation unit 6 (FIG. 6C), the activation unit 6 starts to activate adhesion to the adhesive surface 3b. (Step S3). That is, when the second thermal head 6a generates heat, the pressure-sensitive adhesive constituting the heat-sensitive adhesive layer at the contact portion is melted, and adhesiveness is developed on the pressure-sensitive adhesive surface 3b. At this time, similarly to step S2, the second platen roller 6b rotates to convey the label paper 3 forward (FIG. 6D). Therefore, as described above, the pressure-sensitive adhesive completely melts at a position slightly downstream of the second thermal head 6a. Therefore, the adhesive does not adhere to the second thermal head 6a in this step.

  When the activation unit 6 starts operation, whether or not printing by the printing unit 4 is complete depends on the amount of print data. That is, when a short label is created, since the printing amount is small, the label sheet 3 reaches the activation unit 6 after the printing unit 4 stops (however, the first platen roller 4b continues to rotate). On the other hand, when a lot of printing is performed on a long label, the printing unit 4 still continues printing even when the activation unit 6 starts to activate adhesion. In the present embodiment, description will be made assuming the latter case.

  Next, when the printing unit 4 finishes printing all the print data in the temporary storage area of the RAM 12 (FIG. 6E), the first thermal head 4a stops generating heat (step S4). The first platen roller 4b and the activation unit 6 continue to operate.

  Thereafter, the second thermal head 6a is stopped immediately before the total transport distance of the label paper 3 by the first platen roller 4b becomes equal to the label length L (setting value of the format file in FIG. 4) (step S5). At the time (FIG. 6F), the first platen roller 4b and the second platen roller 6b are stopped (step S6).

  Here, by stopping the second thermal head 6a first, a slightly non-adhesive area is formed on the adhesive surface 3b of the label paper 3. It does not affect the adhesion. On the other hand, by shifting the stop timing in this manner, when the transport of the label paper 3 is stopped in step S6, the surface temperature of the second thermal head 6a is lowered to room temperature, so the paper transport is stopped. In this state, the adhesive is prevented from adhering to the head 6a. The second thermal head 6a may be stopped simultaneously with the first platen roller 4b and the second platen roller 6b.

  Next, the cutter 5 operates to cut the label paper 3 and separate the label pieces (step S7). At this time, since the part to be cut is not yet tackified, the adhesive does not adhere to the cutter 5.

  After the label is cut, the activating unit 6 (second thermal head 6a and second platen roller 6b) resumes operation, and the adhesive surface 3b on the upstream side of the inactive region formed in the above steps is further activated. (Step S8, FIG. 6 (g)). When the upstream end of the label is detected by the sensor 19, the activation unit 6 (second thermal head 6a and second platen roller 6b) is stopped, and the completed label is discharged to the label receiver 6d. (Step S9, FIG. 6 (h)).

  When one label is issued in this way, a guide for selecting whether or not to end label issuing is displayed on the display unit 14 (step S10). If the operator selects “No”, the processing from step S1 is repeated.

  As described above, according to the above-described embodiment, the first and second platen rollers 4b and 6b convey the label paper 3 synchronously after the leading edge of the label paper 3 reaches the position of the second platen roller 6b. When the cutting position of the label paper 3 reaches the position of the cutter 5, the cutter 5 is operated after the paper conveyance is stopped, and the heat generation of the second thermal head 6a is stopped at the time of the cutting. Control is performed. That is, the thermal head immediately activates the adhesion of the label paper 3 that has been printed and conveyed (without retaining the paper), and after the printing is completed, there is a cutting point for cutting the paper to a predetermined label length. The adhesive activation is stopped immediately before reaching the cutter unit, and the conveyance of the label paper is stopped when the cut portion reaches the cutter unit. Then, after the paper is cut by a cutter with a simple configuration and the printed label is separated, the thermal head resumes operation and further activates the adhesion to the label (inactive portion thereof). The label is issued by.

  Therefore, since the portion where the thermal head is in contact with the paper is not adhesive, the label paper can be cut with the cutter having the above simple structure without attaching an adhesive to the thermal head. ing. In addition, since printing and adhesion activation are processed simultaneously, there is also an advantage that the label issuing speed is high.

Further, since a space for retaining printed label paper is not required upstream of the activation unit, the label printer can be reduced in size.
Furthermore, since the label length is set using the product file and the format file, various labels and print formats can be supported.
In addition, since the cutter is located on the upstream side of the activation part, the adhesive is not attached to the cutter.

As described above, the embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the specific configuration is not limited to the above, and various design changes and the like can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. It is possible to
For example, the printing unit 4 in the above embodiment is a thermal transfer type in which printing is performed by coloring the thermal recording layer on the printing surface 3a by the first thermal head 4a, but the printing unit 4 is configured by a printing mechanism of other methods. You can also. For example, an inkjet method, a dot impact method, a laser method, or the like may be applied.

  The paper roll 2 has been described on the assumption that the label paper 3 is wound with the adhesive surface 3b facing outward. However, the paper roll 2 may be wound with the adhesive surface 3b facing inward (printing surface 3a outward). Good. In this case, however, the first and second thermal heads 4a and 6a and the first and second platen rollers 4b and 6b with respect to the label paper 3 in the printing unit 4 and the activation unit 6 are reversed in the vertical relationship. It is necessary to arrange the thermal head 4a and the second platen roller 6b in contact with the adhesive surface 3b and the first platen roller 4b and the second thermal head 6a in contact with the printing surface 3a, respectively.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the printing mechanism part in the label printer by one Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a control system in a label printer having the printing mechanism unit of FIG. 1. It is the figure which showed an example of the product file. It is the figure which showed an example of the format file, and description of each parameter. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the label printer which has a printing mechanism part of FIG. It is process drawing which showed a mode that printing and adhesion | attachment activation were performed sequentially to the label paper.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Printing mechanism part 2 ... Paper roll 3 ... Label paper 3a ... Printing surface 3b ... Adhesive surface 4 ... Printing part 4a ... 1st thermal head 4b ... 1st platen roller 5 ... Cutter 6 ... Activation part 6a ... 2nd thermal Head 6b ... Second platen roller 6c ... Guide 6d ... Label receiver 10 ... CPU 11 ... ROM 12 ... RAM 13 ... Operation unit 14 ... Display unit 15 ... Interface 16.17 ... Thermal head drive unit 18 ... Cutter drive unit 19 ... Sensor 20.21 ... Stepping motor

Claims (2)

An object is formed by printing on the printing surface of a mountless label sheet having a printing surface on the front surface and a heat-sensitive adhesive surface on the back surface, and further generating heat and adhesiveness by heating the heat-sensitive adhesive surface with a heating element. In mountless label printers that issue labels to be attached,
Conveying means for conveying the mountless label paper, comprising a first platen roller provided facing the thermal head for printing on the printing surface and a second platen roller provided facing the heating element. When,
Adhesion activation means for heating the heat-sensitive adhesive surface of the mountless label sheet conveyed by the conveyance means by the heating element;
Cutting means for cutting the mountless label paper by displacing the blade in a plane substantially perpendicular to the paper surface;
First control means for causing the adhesive activation means to start heating by the heating element when the heat-sensitive adhesive surface of the mountless label paper reaches the contact position with respect to the heating element;
After the heating by the heating element is stopped, the transport of the mountless label paper by the transport means is stopped at a predetermined position, the cutting means is operated after the transport of the mountless label paper is stopped, and the cutting by the cutting means A second control means for starting conveyance of the cut mountless label paper later and starting heating by the heating element;
A mount-less label printer, characterized by comprising: Printing on the printing surface of the mountless label paper having a printing surface on the front surface and a heat-sensitive adhesive surface on the back surface, and transporting the paper downstream;
Starting the heating of the heat-sensitive adhesive surface when the heat-sensitive adhesive surface of the mount-less label paper reaches a position where the heat-sensitive adhesive is activated by the heating element;
Before the cutting position of the mountless label paper reaches the cutting position of the cutter, heating by the heating element is stopped, and when the cutting position of the mountless label paper reaches the cutting position of the cutter, the mountless label paper Cutting the mount-less label paper by displacing the cutter in a plane substantially perpendicular to the paper surface ; and
After the cutting, to start transporting the cut mountless label paper, to start heating;
A method for cutting a mountless label paper, comprising:

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