JP6625769B2 - Parameter setting system and parameter terminal - Google Patents

Description

 An embodiment of the present invention relates to a parameter setting system and a parameter terminal capable of changing parameters set when printing is performed.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when printing is performed on a printing medium by a printing apparatus, a printing result may be different depending on a use environment, a consumable, or the like. For this reason, parameters, which are various printing conditions, are changed so that the same printing result is obtained even when the usage environment and the consumables are different.

  However, when the printing apparatus is operating, the parameters cannot be obtained or changed, and the user has to wait until the operation of the printing apparatus ends.

JP-A-8-118742

  The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a parameter setting system and a parameter terminal capable of acquiring and changing parameters even while the printing device is operating.

The parameter setting system according to the embodiment has a printing device and an external device. The printing device includes a transport unit, a printing unit, a parameter storage unit, a first antenna, a parameterer condition storage unit, and a first control unit. The transport unit transports the medium along a transport path. The printing unit prints on the medium. The parameter storage unit stores parameters relating to printing by the printing unit. The first antenna transmits the parameter to the external device and receives a rewrite parameter from the external device. The parameter condition storage unit, when the first antenna receives the rewriting parameter, rewrites the parameter to the rewriting parameter at the time when the printing currently being processed is completed, Are forcibly terminated, and a condition of timing for rewriting the parameter to the rewriting parameter is stored. The first control unit, during printing by the printing unit, when there is a request to obtain the parameters from the external device, the parameters stored in the parameter storage unit via the first antenna When the parameter is transmitted to the external device and the first antenna receives the parameter for rewriting, the parameter is rewritten to the parameter for rewriting at a timing based on the condition stored in the parameter condition storage unit.

 The external device has a second antenna, a display unit, a parameter creation unit, and a second control unit. The second antenna receives the parameter transmitted by the first antenna. The display unit displays a parameter received by the second antenna. The parameter creating unit accepts a change in the value of the parameter displayed on the display unit and creates the parameter for rewriting. The second control unit transmits the parameter for change created by the parameter creation unit to the printing device via the second antenna.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system configuration according to an embodiment. It is a figure showing the example of composition of the parameter terminal of the system concerning this embodiment. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a main part of the label printer according to the embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a control circuit configuration of the label printer according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a parameter according to the embodiment.

Hereinafter, a parameter setting system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

 FIG. 1 shows an example of a system configuration according to the present embodiment. This parameter setting system 100 is used when acquiring parameters and setting parameters in the printing apparatus. The parameter setting system 100 has a parameter terminal 40, a label printer 10, and a host computer 51. The parameter terminal 40 sets a parameter that is a printing condition. The label printer 10 is a printing device that performs printing using parameters. The label printer 10 has a built-in antenna 30 for transmitting and receiving parameters to and from the parameter terminal 40. The label printer 10 is connected to a host computer 51 that transmits print data.

 Note that the label printer 10 and the parameter terminal 40 are connected to an appropriate wireless or wired network such as, for example, Bluetooth (registered trademark), NFC (Near Field Communication), infrared connection, and optical connection such as IEEE80, IEEE802.11, IEEE802.3, and IEEE3304. Communication via.

 Next, a configuration example of the parameter terminal 40 is shown in FIG. The parameter terminal 40 includes an input / output unit 41, a battery 42, a data transmission unit 43, a data reception unit 44, a parameter creation unit 45, a key input unit 46, a display unit 47, and an antenna 48.

  FIG. 3 shows a main configuration of the label printer 10. In the label printer 10, a long backing paper 11 on which a plurality of labels 12 are attached is conveyed from right to left in the drawing. Therefore, in the following description, the right side in the figure is the upstream side, and the left side is the downstream side. In the figure, reference numeral 11 denotes an elongate backing sheet 11 wound around a winding shaft 13. The winding shaft 13 is rotatably supported by the label printer 10.

 An idler roller 14 and a lower surface transport guide 15 are provided along the downstream side of the wound backing paper 11. The idler roller 14 is rotatably supported by the label printer 10. An upper surface transport guide 16 is provided above the lower surface transport guide 15, and the mount 11 is transported between the lower surface transport guide 15 and the upper surface transport guide 16 as a transport path 17.

 Downstream of the idler roller 14, a feed roller 18 rotatable by a motor (not shown) and an idler roller 19 disposed opposite the feed roller 18 with the transport path 17 interposed therebetween are arranged.

 A label position sensor 20 that detects the position of the label 12 attached to the mount 11 is disposed downstream of the feed roller 18. Note that the label position sensor 20 is a transmission type sensor, and a light emitting sensor and a light receiving sensor are provided with the transport path 17 interposed therebetween. Although a transmissive sensor is used here as the label position detection sensor 20, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a reflective sensor may be used.

 A printing unit 23 is provided downstream of the label position sensor 20. The printing unit includes a platen roller 21 that can be rotated by a motor (not shown), and a thermal print head 22 that is opposed to the platen roller 21 with the conveyance path 17 interposed therebetween.

 When the mount 11 is transported on the transport path 17 to the downstream side, the thermal print head 22 prints one line at a time on the label 12 attached to the mount 11 in accordance with the transport of the mount 11.

 A heat-sensitive layer that develops color when heated is provided on the surface of the label 12, and performs predetermined printing on the surface of the label 12 when the thermal print head 22 generates heat. When a label 12 having no heat-sensitive layer is used, it is necessary to provide an ink ribbon between the label 12 and the thermal print head 22 that, when heated, causes the heated portion to be melted and transferred to the label 12 surface.

 The thermal print head 22 is pressed by the platen roller 21, and sends the mount 11 and the label 12 to the downstream side by friction between the thermal print head 22 and the platen roller 21.

A release plate 24 is disposed downstream of the printing unit 23. The label 12 attached to the mount 11 is separated from the mount 11 by the release plate 24. The peeled label 12 is discharged from the discharge port 25 to the outside. The backing sheet 11 from which the label 12 has been peeled off is wound up by a winding roller 27 via an idler roller 26.

  The discharge port 25 is provided with a label discharge sensor 28. The label discharge sensor 28 detects whether or not the label 12 discharged from the discharge port 25 has been collected by an operator or the like.

 Above the discharge port 25, there is provided a display 29 for displaying a paper jam of the backing paper 11 on which the label 12 is stuck, a label running out, and the like. An antenna 30 is provided on the upper surface side of the label printer 10.

  FIG. 4 shows the control unit 50 of the label printer 10 described above. The control unit 50 performs various controls such as conveyance, printing and discharging of the mount 11 and the label 12, display of the status of the label printer 10, winding of the mount 11, and acquisition and transmission of parameters.

The control unit 50 is configured by, for example, a microcomputer. A central processing unit (CPU) 52 of the control unit 50 performs various controls and calculations such as transport control of the mount 11 and the label 12, print control, label discharge control, printer status display control, and mount winding control in accordance with a program. . The CPU 52 includes a timer 53 as a means for performing time setting and time control.

  The control unit 50 has a ROM 54 and a RAM 55 as main storage means for storing a control program executed by the CPU 52, data during control or calculation, and the like. The ROM 54 is a read-only memory having a control program and the like. The RAM 55 is a write memory for storing data and the like during the operation. The RAM 55 has a parameter storage unit 70 for storing various parameters of the label printer 10, and a parameter execution condition unit 71 for storing execution timing of the rewritten parameters. The parameter storage unit 70 stores the energizing temperature and energizing time of the thermal head 22, the transport speed of the mount 11 to which the label 12 is attached, and the like.

  The control unit 50 is provided with an input / output unit (I / O) 56 for taking in various input data from the host computer 51 and taking out the control output of the control unit 50 to the host computer 51. This I / O 56 is connected to the CPU 52, the ROM 54, and the RAM 55 through a bus.

 The I / O 56 includes first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh drivers 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, as means for extracting a control output. 63 is connected.

 The first driver 57 supplies a drive output to the printing unit 23. The second driver 58 supplies a drive output to the feed roller 18. The third driver 59 supplies a drive output to the label position sensor 20. The fourth driver 60 supplies a drive output to the winding roller 27. The fifth driver 61 supplies a drive output to the label discharge sensor 28. The sixth driver 62 supplies a display drive output for causing the display 29 to perform various displays. The seventh driver supplies a driving output to the antenna 30.

 The printing unit 23 includes a thermal print head 22 and a platen roller 21 as shown in FIG. The platen roller 21 is driven to rotate by a motor (not shown) based on a command from the CPU 52. The thermal print head 22 prints on the label 12 based on print data from the host computer 51.

 In addition, the CPU 52 of the control unit 50 drives the feed roller 18 via the second driver 58, and conveys the mount 11 on which the label 12 is attached in the downstream direction. Further, the CPU 52 of the control unit 50 drives the label position sensor 20 via the third driver 59 to obtain the position information of the label 12. The CPU 52 of the control unit 50 drives the take-up roller 27 via the fourth driver 60 to take up the mount 11. Further, the CPU 52 of the control unit 50 drives the label discharge sensor 28 via the fifth driver 61 to determine whether the label after printing has been removed. The CPU 52 of the control unit 50 displays various information of the label printer 10 on the display 29 via the sixth driver 62. The CPU 52 of the control unit 50 acquires and transmits parameters from the antenna unit 30 via the seventh driver 63.

 Next, the operation of the label printer 10 will be described. Note that the parameters in the present embodiment are described as two types, for example, the temperature of the thermal print head 22 and the energization time.

 The control section 50 carries the board 11 and the label 12 and prints on the label 12 according to the program stored in the ROM 54 and the information in the parameter storage section 71.

 First, the operator pulls out the mount 11, passes through the idler roller 14 and the transport path 17, passes through the idler roller 26 along the peeling plate 24, and winds the eleventh end on the winding roller 27.

 When the mount 11 is set on the label printer 10 for the first time, the label 12 affixed to the top is wasted. For this reason, it is preferable that the label 12 is not attached to the leading portion of the mount 11 for a distance from the printing unit 23 to the winding roller 27 via the peeling plate 24.

 When a print request is input from the host computer 51 in this state, the control unit 50 drives the feed roller 18 to convey the mount 11 on which the label 12 is stuck to the downstream side. Then, the position of the label 12 is detected by the label position sensor 20. The transmittance of the portion where the label 12 is attached to the mount 11 (the portion where the mount 11 and the label 12 overlap) is different from the transmittance of the portion of only the mount 11 between the labels 12. The label position sensor 20 can detect the position where the label 12 is attached based on the difference in transmittance. The control 50 drives the feed roller 18 to convey the mount 11 by a specified amount from the sticking position. The control unit 50 performs printing on the label 12 by the printing unit 23. In printing, the thermal print head 22 is driven at the temperature and the drive time of the drive pulse stored in the parameter storage unit 71.

 When predetermined printing is performed on the label 12 by the printing unit 23, the mount 11 on which the label 12 is stuck is conveyed to a downstream method by cooperation of the thermal print head 22 and the platen roller 21.

 Thereafter, the mount 11 to which the label 12 is attached is conveyed along a peeling plate 24 provided at an acute angle.

 When the mount 11 to which the label 12 is attached is conveyed along the acute-angle surface of the peeling plate 24, the label 12 is peeled off from the mount 11 due to its stiffness, without following the mount 11 that changes the conveying direction.

 The transport of the label 12 is stopped in a state where a part of the label 12 is peeled off from the backing sheet 11 and the label 12 reaches a range where the label discharge sensor 28 can detect. If the next label 12 is issued before the removed label 12 is collected by an operator or the like, the uncollected label 12 may fall. To prevent this, a label discharge sensor 28 is provided.

 The label discharge sensor 28 is a reflection type sensor, and detects whether a label exists within a detectable range.

 As described above, a part of the label 12 is peeled off from the backing sheet 11, and the conveyance of the backing sheet 11 is stopped in a state where the peeled portion has reached the detectable range of the label discharge sensor 28. At this time, the light emitted from the light emitting unit (not shown) of the label discharge sensor 28 reaches the light receiving unit (not shown) of the label discharge sensor 28 after being reflected by the label 12. Thus, the label discharge sensor 28 determines that the issued label 12 remains without being collected.

 When the operator removes the issued label 12 from the mount 11 for attaching to the article or the like, the light emitted from the light emitting unit (not shown) of the label discharge sensor 28 is not reflected by the label 12, so that the label discharge sensor 28 The light does not reach the light receiving unit (not shown). As a result, the label discharge sensor 28 determines that the issued label 12 has been collected, and issues the next label 12. When the next label is issued, the take-up roller 27 takes up the mount 11 in synchronization with the transport of the mount 11 to which the label 12 is attached. As a result, labels 12 on which predetermined contents are printed are sequentially issued.

 As described above, printing is performed in accordance with the parameter information in the parameter storage unit 70 provided in the RAM 55.

 FIG. 5 shows an example of the parameters. In the present embodiment, this parameter allows the drive temperature and drive pulse time of the thermal print head 22 to be changed.

 However, since the use environment such as the temperature / humidity in which the label printer 10 is used is not always constant, the parameter may not always be able to cope with the constant. In addition, the same printing result may not be obtained even if the labels 12 which are consumables are printed with the same parameters depending on the manufacturer. In that case, it is necessary to change to an optimal parameter. Normally, the parameters are checked or changed using a touch panel (not shown) provided on the display unit 29 while the label printer 10 is in an offline state. However, there are cases where the label printer 10 has already performed printing and cannot stop on the way. For this reason, the system allows the parameter terminal 40 to check and change parameters during printing.

 Hereinafter, confirmation and change of parameters will be described using the parameter terminal 40.

(Confirmation of parameters)
The parameter terminal 40 is provided with a data receiving unit 44. The data receiving unit 44 is provided with a button (not shown). When this button is pressed, parameter information is acquired from the parameter storage unit 70 of the label printer 10 via the antenna 48. The acquired parameter information is displayed on the display unit 47, so that the parameter information of the label printer 10 that is currently printing can be acquired and confirmed.

(Change parameters)
The parameter terminal 40 is provided with a parameter creation unit 45, and the value of each parameter displayed on the display unit 47 is changed by the key input unit 46. For example, the current temperature of the thermal print head is changed from 300 ° C. to 350 ° C., or the drive pulse time is changed from 1 ms to 0.7 ms. The data transmission unit 43 is provided with a button (not shown). When this button is pressed, the parameter value of the label printer 10 is rewritten via the antenna 48. However, if the parameter values are applied immediately after being rewritten, the print quality will be changed in the middle of printing, and some print quality will be different. However, when the previous print quality is poor, it may be necessary to immediately perform printing with the new print quality.

 Therefore, in the present embodiment, the parameter execution condition section 71 is provided in the RAM 55. The parameter execution condition section 71 stores conditions for when to start printing with changed parameters. This condition may be changed, for example, when the printing currently being processed is completed, forcibly changing the current printing process, or changed when the printer is out of paper due to lack of paper. And so on. If the conditions for forcibly terminating and changing the current print processing are stored, the printing is forcibly terminated, and then printing is performed with new parameters. In the case where the current print processing is forcibly terminated and changed, the print quality is changed, but the number of prints is performed in the previous continuation, and when the print processing is forcibly terminated at the time of printing 200 sheets for a total of 500 sheets May be processed to print 300 sheets with new parameters. In this case, although there are two types of printing quality, there is a case where printing with the previous parameter can also be used, and the already printed one is not wasted.

 As described above, the parameter setting system according to the present invention can acquire parameter information from the printing device during printing and change parameters of the printing device during printing. As a result, the parameter information during printing can be easily reflected on another printing apparatus. Further, even when the optimum parameters are obtained by using another printing apparatus, the obtained optimum parameters can be reflected without stopping the printing apparatus.

 In the parameter setting system according to the present embodiment, the parameter terminal 40 is used for checking and rewriting the parameters of the printing device during printing. However, the parameter terminal is not limited to this. It may have 40 functions and use it.

 Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are provided by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These new embodiments can be implemented in other various forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are also included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalents thereof.

10: Label printer 11: Mount 12: Label
21: Platen roller 22: Thermal print head
24: peeling plate 27: winding roller
30: Antenna 40: Parameter terminal 70: Parameter storage unit 71: Parameter execution condition unit 100: Parameter setting system

Claims (6)

In a parameter setting system having a printing device and an external device,
The printing device,
A transport unit that transports the medium along the transport path,
A printing unit that performs printing on the medium,
A parameter storage unit that stores parameters related to printing by the printing unit,
A first antenna that transmits the parameter to the external device and receives a parameter for rewriting from the external device;
When the first antenna receives the parameter for rewriting, the parameter is rewritten to the parameter for rewriting at the time when the printing currently being processed is completed, or the parameter for current printing is forcibly terminated. A parameter condition storage unit for storing a timing condition for rewriting a parameter to the rewriting parameter;
During printing by the printing unit, when there is a request to obtain the parameter from the external device, the parameter stored in the parameter storage unit is transmitted to the external device via the first antenna, A first control unit that, when the first antenna receives the rewrite parameter, rewrites the parameter to the rewrite parameter at a timing based on a condition stored in the parameter condition storage unit;
Has,
The external device includes:
A second antenna for receiving the parameter transmitted by the first antenna;
A display unit for displaying parameters received by the second antenna;
A parameter creation unit that accepts a change in the value of the parameter displayed on the display unit and creates the parameter for rewriting;
A second control unit that transmits the parameter for rewriting created by the parameter creation unit to the printing device via the second antenna;
A parameter setting system having: The printing unit includes a thermal head,
The parameter setting system according to claim 1, wherein the parameter includes at least one of a temperature of the thermal head and a driving time of the thermal head.   The parameter setting system according to claim 1, wherein the printing device and the external device communicate using NFC. A printing unit that prints on a medium, a parameter storage unit that stores parameters related to printing by the printing unit, and a first unit that transmits the parameters to the external device and receives rewriting parameters from the external device. When the antenna and the first antenna receive the parameter for rewriting, the parameter is rewritten to the parameter for rewriting when the printing currently being processed is completed, or the one for the current printing process is forcibly terminated. A parameter condition storage unit for storing a timing condition for rewriting the parameter to the parameter for rewriting, and, during printing by the printing unit, when there is a request to acquire the parameter from the external device, The parameters stored in the parameter storage unit are stored in the outside via the first antenna. Transmitting the parameter to the parameter for rewriting at a timing based on the condition stored in the parameter condition storage unit when transmitting to the device and the first antenna receives the parameter for rewriting. A second antenna communicable with a printing device having:
A display unit that displays the parameter received by the second antenna;
A parameter creation unit that accepts a change in the value of the parameter displayed on the display unit and creates the parameter for rewriting;
A second control unit that transmits the parameter for rewriting created by the parameter creation unit to the printing device via the second antenna;
A parameter terminal having The printing unit includes a thermal head,
The parameter terminal according to claim 4, wherein the parameter includes at least one of a temperature of the thermal head and a driving time of the thermal head.   The parameter terminal according to claim 4, wherein the printing device and the external device communicate using NFC.

Images