JP7318254B2 - PRINTING DEVICE, PRINT CONTROL METHOD, AND PROGRAM - Google Patents

Description

The disclosure of the present specification relates to a printing device, a print control method, and a program.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known a label printer that creates a label by printing characters, figures, etc. by pressing a thermal head (printing head) against a printing medium (thermosensitive paper) having a coloring layer that develops color when heat is applied. . For example, Patent Literature 1 describes a printer that performs printing by controlling the energization time for energizing a thermal head.

JP 2009-297998 A

By the way, not only genuine products but also counterfeit products are included in print media distributed in the market. If the counterfeit product is inferior to the genuine product in terms of quality, the use of the counterfeit print medium in the label printer may lead to misunderstanding of the quality of the genuine print medium, which in turn affects the performance of the label printer itself. may lose confidence in

In view of the circumstances as described above, it is an object of one aspect of the present invention to provide a technique for limiting the use of counterfeit print media in label printers.

A printing apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention prints on a long print medium having a first cutting target area and a second cutting target area different from the first cutting target area. a printing unit, a conveying unit that conveys the print medium, a cutting unit that cuts the print medium, a second cutting unit that cuts a part of the print medium, the cutting unit and the second a detection unit that is arranged between the cutting units and detects information printed in an area between the leading end of the print medium and the second cutting target area; and a control unit, wherein the control unit acquires print data to be printed on the print medium, and before the printing unit prints on the print medium, the second cutting target area of the print medium is cut by the second cutting unit. controlling the transport unit so that the transport unit transports the print medium in a direction from the printing unit to the cutting unit until the transport unit reaches the second cutting target area; controlling the detection unit so that the detection unit detects the information in a region between the leading end of the print medium and the second cutting target region while the medium is being conveyed to the cutting unit; determining whether predetermined information is included in the information detected by the detection unit, and printing operation of the printing unit based on the print data when it is determined that the predetermined information is not included in the information; limit.

A print control method according to an aspect of the present invention includes a first cutting target region cut by a first cutting unit and a second cutting target region cut by a second cutting unit cutting a portion of the print medium. A printing control method for a printing apparatus including a printing unit that prints on an elongated print medium having a cutting target area of , and a transport unit that transports the print medium, wherein the print medium , and before the printing unit prints on the printing medium, the conveying unit moves until the second cutting target area of the printing medium reaches the second cutting unit The printing medium is transported from the printing unit in the direction toward the cutting unit, and the printing medium is transported while the transport unit transports the second region to be cut to the second cutting unit. detecting information printed in an area between the leading edge and the second cutting target area; determining whether the detected information includes a predetermined pattern; determining whether the information includes the predetermined pattern; If it is determined that the print data is not available, the printing operation of the printing unit based on the print data is restricted.

A program according to an aspect of the present invention provides a computer of a printing apparatus including a printing unit with a first cutting target area to be cut by a first cutting unit and a second cutting target area for cutting a part of the print medium. a second cutting target region to be cut by a cutting unit ; The conveying unit conveys the print medium in a direction from the printing unit to the cutting unit until the cutting target area No. 2 reaches the second cutting unit, and the conveying unit cuts the second cutting target area. Information printed in an area between the leading end of the print medium and the second cutting target area is acquired during the period of transportation to the second cutting unit, and the information includes a predetermined pattern. If it is determined that the predetermined pattern is not included in the information, a process of restricting the printing operation of the printing unit based on the print data is executed.

According to the above aspect, it is possible to limit the use of counterfeit print media in the label printer.

2 is a plan view of the printer 1 with the lid 4 closed; FIG. 2 is a plan view of the printing apparatus 1 with the lid 4 opened; FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of a print medium 40; FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the hardware structure of the printer 1; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a print medium 40; FIG. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing another example of an identification mark printed on the leading edge of the print medium 40; 4 is an example of a flowchart of processing performed by the printing apparatus 1; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the difference in amount of heat required for color development between the genuine product and the counterfeit product. 4 is a diagram for explaining the name of each area on the print medium 40. FIG. 4 is a flowchart of print control processing performed by the printing apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment; 11A and 11B are diagrams showing states of a print medium in each step of the print control process shown in FIG. 10; FIG. 9 is a flowchart of another print control process performed by the printing apparatus according to the second embodiment; 13A and 13B are diagrams showing states of a print medium in each step of the print control process shown in FIG. 12; FIG.

[First embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a plan view of the printer 1 with the lid 4 closed. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the printer 1 with the lid 4 opened. The configuration of the printing apparatus 1 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG.

The printing apparatus 1 is a thermal label printer that prints on a print medium 40 . The print medium 40 is a long heat-sensitive tape, and is a genuine print medium for the printing apparatus 1 . The print medium 40 has, for example, a five-layer structure as shown in FIG. That is, a separator L1, an adhesive layer L2, a base material L3, a coloring layer L4, and a protective layer L5 are laminated in this order.

The separator L1 is detachably attached to the base material L3 so as to cover the adhesive layer L2. The material of the separator L1 is, for example, paper, but is not limited to paper and may be PET (polyethylene terephthalate). The adhesive layer L2 is an adhesive applied to the base material L3. The material of the base material L3 is, for example, colored PET. The coloring layer L4 is a thermosensitive coloring layer that develops color by heating with thermal energy. The material of the protective layer L5 is, for example, transparent PET.

The printer 1 includes a device housing 2, an input unit 3, an openable/closable lid 4, a window 5, and a display unit 6, as shown in FIG. Although not shown, the device housing 2 is provided with a power cord connection terminal, an external device connection terminal, a storage medium insertion port, and the like.

The input section 3 is provided on the upper surface of the device housing 2 . The input unit 3 includes various keys such as an input key, a cross key, a conversion key, and an enter key. The user can use the input unit 3 to input instructions for creating and editing print data to the printing apparatus 1 .

A lid 4 is arranged on the device housing 2 . By pressing the button 4a to release the lock mechanism, the user can open the lid 4 as shown in FIG. A window 5 is formed in the lid 4 so that it is possible to visually confirm whether or not the printing medium 40 is accommodated in the printer 1 even when the lid 4 is closed. The lid 4 also has a display section 6 .

The display unit 6 is, for example, a liquid crystal display, an organic EL (electro-luminescence) display, or the like. The display unit 6 may be a display with a touch panel and may function as part of the input unit 3 . The display unit 6 displays various information such as an edit screen and a print preview screen.

As shown in FIG. 2, the apparatus housing 2 has a medium adapter housing portion 2a, a platen roller 7, and a thermal head 8 below the lid 4. As shown in FIG. A medium adapter 20 accommodating a print medium 40 is accommodated in the medium adapter accommodating portion 2a. The apparatus housing 2 further includes a full cutter 9 , a half cutter 10 and an image sensor 11 between the thermal head 8 and the outlet 2 b through which the print medium 40 is ejected. The half cutter 10, the image sensor 11, and the full cutter 9 are arranged, for example, in this order from the discharge port 2b side.

The platen roller 7 is a transport unit that transports the print medium 40 . The platen roller 7 is rotated by the rotation of the transport motor 32 (see FIG. 4). The transport motor 32 is, for example, a stepping motor, a direct current (DC) motor, or the like. The platen roller 7 rotates while pinching the print medium 40 fed from the medium adapter 20 between itself and the thermal head 8, thereby transporting the print medium 40 in the transport direction.

The thermal head 8 is a printing unit that prints on the print medium 40 . The thermal head 8 has a plurality of heating elements 8a (see FIG. 4) arranged in the main scanning direction perpendicular to the direction in which the print medium 40 is conveyed. Print line by line.

The full cutter 9 is a cutting unit that cuts the print medium 40, and creates a piece of tape by performing a full cut on the print medium 40. As shown in FIG. Note that the full cut is an operation of cutting all of the layers forming the print medium 40 along the width direction of the print medium 40 .

The half cutter 10 is a second cutting unit that cuts the print medium 40 , and cuts the print medium 40 by half-cutting the print medium 40 . Note that half-cutting refers to an operation of cutting the layers of the print medium 40 other than the separator L1 (see FIG. 3) along the width direction.

The image sensor 11 is a detection unit that detects information printed on the print surface of the print medium 40, and is arranged on the transport path of the print medium 40, more specifically, between the thermal head 8 and the discharge port 2b. It is The image sensor 11 is preferably a two-dimensional image sensor including two-dimensionally arranged pixels, and may be, for example, a CMOS image sensor, a CCD image sensor, or the like.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the hardware structure of the printer 1. As shown in FIG. In addition to the components described above, the printing apparatus 1 includes a control circuit 12, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 13, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 14, a display drive circuit 15, a head drive circuit 16, A thermistor 17 , a transport motor drive circuit 31 , a transport motor 32 , an encoder 33 , a cutter motor drive circuit 34 , a cutter motor 35 , a tape width detection switch 36 and a jam detection sensor 18 are provided.

The control circuit 12 is a control section including a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The control circuit 12 develops a program stored in the ROM 13 in the RAM 14 and executes it, thereby controlling each part of the printing apparatus 1 (for example, the display part 6, the platen roller 7, the thermal head 8, and the image sensor 11).

The ROM 13 is a memory that stores a program for performing processing shown in FIG. 5, which will be described later, and various data (for example, fonts, etc.) necessary for executing the program. The RAM 14 is a work memory used for executing programs. Computer-readable recording media for storing programs and data used for processing in the printing apparatus 1 include non-temporary recording media such as the ROM 13 .

The display drive circuit 15 is, for example, a liquid crystal display driver circuit or an organic EL display driver circuit. The display drive circuit 15 controls the display section 6 based on display data stored in the RAM 14 .

Under the control of the control circuit 12, the head drive circuit 16 controls energization of the heating elements 8a of the thermal head 8 based on print data and control signals. The thermal head 8 has a plurality of heating elements 8a arranged in the main scanning direction. The thermal head 8 prints line by line on the print medium 40 by heating the print medium 40 with the heating elements 8a. In other words, in the printing apparatus 1 , the control circuit 12 is a control unit that controls the thermal head 8 by controlling energization of the heating elements 8 a through the head drive circuit 16 .

A thermistor 17 is embedded in the thermal head 8 . A thermistor 17 measures the temperature of the thermal head 8 .

The transport motor drive circuit 31 drives the transport motor 32 under the control of the control circuit 12 . The transport motor 32 may be, for example, a stepping motor or a direct current (DC) motor. The transport motor 32 rotates the platen roller 7 . Under the control of the transport motor drive circuit 31, the transport motor 32 rotates not only in the forward direction, which is the direction in which the print medium 40 is fed out, but also in the reverse direction, in which the print medium 40 is rewound. .

The platen roller 7 is rotated by the driving force of the transport motor 32 and transports the print medium 40 along the longitudinal direction (sub-scanning direction, transport direction) of the print medium 40 . The platen roller 7 feeds out the print medium 40 from the medium adapter 20 and transports the print medium 40 in the forward direction while the transport motor 32 is rotating in the forward direction. When the transport motor 32 rotates in the reverse direction, the platen roller 7 rewinds the print medium 40 fed from the media adapter 20 and transports the print medium 40 in the reverse direction.

The encoder 33 outputs a signal to the control circuit 12 according to the drive amount (rotation amount) of the transport motor 32 or the platen roller 7 . The encoder 33 may be provided on the rotating shaft of the transport motor 32 or may be provided on the rotating shaft of the platen roller 7 . The control circuit 12 can specify the transport amount of the print medium 40 based on the signal from the encoder 33 .

When the transport motor 32 is a stepping motor, the control circuit 12 specifies the transport amount based on the signal (the number of input pulses) input to the transport motor drive circuit 31 that drives the transport motor 32. may Therefore, when the transport motor 32 is a stepping motor, the encoder 33 may be omitted, and the control circuit 12 determines the transport amount based on the signal (input pulse number) input to the transport motor drive circuit 31. may be specified.

The cutter motor drive circuit 34 drives the cutter motor 35 under the control of the control circuit 12 . The full cutter 9 is powered by the cutter motor 35 and cuts all layers of the print medium 40 to create tape strips. The half cutter 10 is driven by the power of the cutter motor 35 and cuts the layers (L2-L5) of the print medium 40 other than the separator L1.

The tape width detection switch 36 is a switch for detecting the width of the print medium 40 accommodated in the medium adapter 20 based on the shape of the medium adapter 20, and is provided in the medium adapter accommodation portion 2a. A plurality of tape width detection switches 36 are provided in the medium adapter accommodating portion 2a. Media adapters 20 corresponding to different tape widths are configured to press a plurality of tape width detection switches 36 in different combinations. As a result, the control circuit 12 identifies the type of the medium adapter 20 from the combination of the tape width detection switches 36 pressed down, and detects the width (tape width) of the print medium 40 accommodated in the medium adapter 20. .

The jam detection sensor 18 is a sensor that detects a paper jam (paper jam) in which the print medium 40 is jammed in the conveying path. Although the configuration of the jam detection sensor 18 is not particularly limited, it may be, for example, a sensor that monitors the color of the roller surface provided on the conveying path. By using a sensor that monitors the color of the roller, it is possible to easily detect a paper jam that occurs when the print medium 40 is caught in the roller.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the print medium 40. As shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing another example of the identification mark printed on the leading edge of the print medium 40. As shown in FIG. FIG. 7 is an example of a flowchart of processing performed by the printing apparatus 1 . FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the difference in amount of heat required for color development between the genuine product and the counterfeit product. The operation of the printer 1 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 5 to 8. FIG.

As shown in FIG. 5, at the time of product shipment, an identification mark M indicating that the product is a genuine product is printed on the front end portion of the genuine print medium 40 of the printing apparatus 1 . The identification mark M shown in FIG. 5 is a pattern consisting of a plurality of black lines aligned in the longitudinal direction of the long tape. do not have. Instead of the identification mark M, for example, an identification mark M1 may be printed on the leading edge of the print medium 40, as shown in FIG. The identification mark M1 shown in FIG. 6 has a houndstooth pattern.

The above-described printing apparatus 1 performs the processing shown in FIG. 7 on the premise that an identification mark is printed on the leading edge of a genuine print medium. This makes it possible to limit the use of counterfeit print media.

Specifically, when a print instruction is input to the printer 1, the printer 1 first acquires print data (step S1). Here, for example, the control circuit 12 may acquire print data from the input unit 3 by the user operating the input unit 3 . The print data is data to be printed on the print medium, and more specifically, data corresponding to the print pattern to be printed in the print area of the print medium 40 . The printed pattern may be graphics or characters.

Next, the printing device 1 detects information printed on the printing surface of the printing medium 40 (step S2). Here, the information printed on the printing surface is detected by the image sensor 11 acquiring an image of the printing surface of the printing medium 40 . That is, the control circuit 12 causes the image sensor 11 to detect the printing surface of the printing medium 40 when printing the print data on the thermal head 8 . The print surface is the surface of the print medium 40 to which heat is applied by the thermal head 8, and is the surface on the side of the protective layer L5 in FIG. Printing the print data means printing a print pattern corresponding to the print data based on the print data.

After that, the printing apparatus 1 determines whether or not the information detected in step S2 includes predetermined information (step S3). Here, the predetermined information is information indicating that the print medium 40 is a genuine product, and is, for example, a predetermined pattern indicated by the identification mark M and the identification mark M1 described above.

If it is determined that the predetermined information is not included (step S3: NO), it cannot be confirmed that the print medium 40 is genuine, so the printer 1 does not print. In other words, the printing operation of the printing unit based on the print data is restricted, and the process ends. As a result, if the print medium 40 is a counterfeit print medium, the use of the print medium 40 is restricted.

On the other hand, if the print medium 40 is a regular product, an identification mark is printed on the leading edge of the print medium 40, and the regular product pattern indicated by the identification mark is detected in step S2. Therefore, in step S3, it is determined that the predetermined information is included. Then, when it is determined that the predetermined information is included (step S3: YES), it is confirmed that the print medium 40 is a genuine product, so the thermal head 8 of the printing device 1 performs step S1. to print the print data acquired in . That is, the thermal head 8 prints a print pattern on the print medium 40 based on the print data (step S4).

After the printing of the print pattern is completed, the printing device 1 prints a predetermined pattern on the upstream side in the transport direction of the print area where the print pattern is printed (step S5), and the process shown in FIG. exit. This makes it possible to determine whether or not the print medium 40 is a genuine product in the next print control process.

As described above, in the printing apparatus 1, it is determined whether or not the identification mark exists at the leading end portion of the printing medium 40 by performing the processing shown in FIG. As a result, printing on the print medium 40 can be stopped when there is no mark on the leading edge or when the printed mark is different from the identification mark. Therefore, use of imitation products in the printing apparatus 1 can be restricted.

Furthermore, in the printing apparatus 1, when there is an identification mark at the leading end of the print medium 40 and printing is normally performed, a new identification mark is printed on the upstream side of the printing area in the conveying direction. do. As a result, even when performing printing next time, it is possible to confirm that the print medium 40 is a genuine product by checking the presence or absence of the identification mark.

In general, counterfeit print media are manufactured at a lower cost than genuine print media. For this reason, for example, due to reasons such as the coloring layer L4 shown in FIG. The amount of heat (line L11 in FIG. 8) causes color development. Therefore, when the printing apparatus 1 performs the process of step S5 in FIG. 7 on the counterfeit print medium, the amount of heat optimized for the genuine print medium is applied to the counterfeit print medium. Since this amount of heat is more than the amount of heat required to print the identification mark on the print medium of the counterfeit product, a mark different from the identification mark will be printed on the print medium of the counterfeit product. Become. For example, if the identification mark includes a black line, the width of the black line may be printed wider than the expected width. Also, when the identification mark includes a houndstooth pattern of black and white, the proportion of black may be printed higher than intended. As a result, even if a sophisticated identification mark is printed on the leading edge of the print media when manufacturing the counterfeit print media and the use of counterfeit products is circumvented in the first printing, the use of the counterfeit product in the second and subsequent printings is prohibited. can be reliably limited.

As described above, according to the printing apparatus 1, when the thermal head 8 is used to print on the print medium, which is a thermal tape, the identification mark can be printed satisfactorily on the counterfeit print medium using the printing apparatus 1. The use of counterfeit substrates can be effectively limited by taking advantage of the fact that printing is extremely difficult.

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the name of each area on the print medium 40. As shown in FIG. A more desirable configuration of the printing apparatus 1 will be described below with reference to FIG. 9, taking as an example the case of creating a label piece having a cut in the vicinity of the tip thereof with a half-cutter 10 in order to make it easier to peel off the created label. .

The control circuit 12 causes the thermal head 8 to print the identification mark on the print medium 40 while the platen roller 7 is conveying the first cutting target area of the print medium 40 from the thermal head 8 to the full cutter 9 . It is desirable to control the platen roller 7 and the thermal head 8 so as to do so. The reason will be explained below.

The first cutting target area is located upstream in the transport direction from the print area where printing is performed based on the print data. The first cutting target area is the area of the print medium 40 that is cut by the full cutter 9 . After printing based on the print data, the printing apparatus 1 conveys the first cutting target area to the full cutter 9 in order to cut the print medium 40 . By printing the identification mark during this transportation period, there is no need to add a new transportation operation for printing the identification mark. Therefore, it is possible to avoid the extremely long time required to create the label piece compared to the conventional printing apparatus.

Further, the control circuit 12 causes the platen roller 7 to heat the print medium 40 until the second cutting target area of the print medium 40 reaches the half cutter 10 before the thermal head 8 prints on the print medium 40 . The platen roller 7 may be controlled to convey in a first direction (hereinafter also referred to as forward direction) from the head 8 to the full cutter 9 . The control circuit 12 controls the image sensor 11 so that the image sensor 11 detects information on the printing surface while the platen roller 7 is conveying the second area to be cut to the half cutter 10 . may Furthermore, in this case, the image sensor 11 is desirably provided between the full cutter 9 and the half cutter 10 as shown in FIG. The reason will be explained below.

In the printing apparatus 1 equipped with the half cutter 10, half-cutting is performed near the leading end of the print medium 40 to make a cut so that the base material can be easily peeled off from the release paper after the label piece is created. can. The second area to be cut is the area of the print medium 40 to be cut by the half cutter 10 in order to make this cut. Since the half cutter 10 is positioned downstream of the full cutter 9 in the transport direction, the printing apparatus 1 transports the print medium 40 in the first direction when half cutting is performed before printing. to convey the second region to be cut to the half cutter 10 . By detecting the information on the printed surface during this transport period, there is no need to add a new transport operation to detect the information for determining whether or not the product is genuine. Therefore, it is possible to avoid the extremely long time required to create the label piece compared to the conventional printing apparatus.

Further, by providing the image sensor 11 between the full cutter 9 and the half cutter 10, the area between the leading end of the print medium 40 and the second cutting target area, that is, the area shown in FIG. It is possible to detect the information printed in the half-cut margin shown. The half-cut margin is an area that is discarded together with the release paper when the base material printed based on the print data is peeled off from the release paper. For this reason, the half-cut margin is a suitable place to print identification marks that are not required after the label strip is completed.

Further, the control circuit 12 causes the platen roller 7 to fully cut the print medium 40 until the print start area of the print medium 40 reaches the thermal head 8 before the thermal head 8 prints on the print medium 40 . The platen roller 7 may be controlled so as to convey the substrate in a second direction (hereinafter also referred to as the reverse direction) toward the thermal head 8 . The control circuit 12 may control the image sensor 11 so that the image sensor 11 detects information on the printing surface while the platen roller 7 is conveying the print start area to the thermal head 8 . . Furthermore, in this case, the image sensor 11 is desirably provided between the full cutter 9 and the thermal head 8 . The reason will be explained below.

If half-cutting is not performed near the leading end of the print medium 40, the print medium 40 is conveyed in the second direction until the print start area reaches the thermal head 8 without being conveyed in the forward direction before starting printing. be able to. Note that the print start area is an area of the print medium 40 and is an area at the leading end of the print area. An image sensor 11 is provided between the full cutter 9 and the thermal head 8, and by detecting information on the printed surface during this transport period, a new method for detecting information for determining whether or not the product is genuine is obtained. There is no need to add a transport operation. Therefore, it is possible to avoid the extremely long time required to create the label piece compared to the conventional printing apparatus.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of print control processing performed by the printing apparatus 1 . FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the state of the print medium 40 in each step of the print control process shown in FIG. Hereinafter, a more specific description will be given of the print control method performed by the printing apparatus 1, taking half-cutting as an example, with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11. FIG.

When a print instruction is input to the printer 1, the printer 1 executes the print program and starts print control processing shown in FIG. Note that FIG. 11A shows the state of the print medium 40 at the start of the print control process. In FIG. 11A, the leading edge of the print medium 40 is positioned at position F where the full cutter 9 is located.

When the print control process is started, the printer 1 acquires the print data input together with the print instruction (step S11), and then conveys in the forward direction and detects information printed on the print surface. (Step S12). Here, the control circuit 12 controls the platen roller 7 and the image sensor 11 so that the platen roller 7 conveys the print medium 40 in the forward direction until the second cutting target area reaches the half cutter 10. The image sensor 11 detects information printed on the printing surface from the printing medium 40 . Note that FIG. 11B shows the state of the print medium 40 at the end of step S12. In FIG. 11B, the second cutting target area of the print medium 40 is located at the position H where the half cutter 10 is located.

Next, the printer 1 determines whether or not the print medium 40 is a genuine product (step S13). Here, the control circuit 12 determines whether or not the print medium 40 is genuine based on the information detected by the image sensor 11 in step S12. Specifically, the control circuit 12 determines whether or not the detected information includes the regular product pattern indicated by the identification mark. More specifically, the control circuit 12 may determine that the detected information contains the genuine product pattern when the detected information contains information that matches the genuine product pattern. Further, the control circuit 12 calculates the degree of similarity between a pattern similar to the genuine product pattern included in the detected information and the genuine product pattern. It may be determined that the included genuine product pattern is included. As a result, even if the identification mark printed on the genuine product by the printer 1 changes slightly depending on the operating environment (for example, temperature, humidity, etc.) of the printer 1, the use of the genuine product is restricted. can be avoided.

When the printer 1 determines in step S13 that the print medium 40 is not a genuine product (step S14: NO), the process shown in FIG. 10 ends. This makes it possible to limit the use of imitation products.

When the printing apparatus 1 determines in step S13 that the print medium 40 is a genuine product (step S14: YES), half-cutting is performed (step S15). Here, the control circuit 12 controls the half cutter 10 so that the half cutter 10 cuts the second cutting target area of the print medium 40 . Note that FIG. 11C shows the state of the print medium 40 at the end of step S15.

When the half-cutting is completed, the printer 1 carries out conveyance in the reverse direction (step S16). Here, the control circuit 12 controls the platen roller 7 so that the platen roller 7 conveys the print medium 40 in the reverse direction until it reaches the thermal head 8 . Note that FIG. 11D shows the state of the print medium 40 at the end of step S16. In FIG. 11D, the print start area of the print medium 40 is located at the position P where the half cutter 10 is located.

When the reverse transport is completed, the printer 1 performs forward transport and printing of the print pattern (step S17). Here, the control circuit 12 controls the platen roller 7 and the thermal head 8 so that the platen roller 7 conveys the print medium 40 in the forward direction until the end of the printing area reaches the thermal head 8, while the thermal head 8 prints a print pattern on the print medium 40 based on the print data. FIG. 11(e) shows the state of the print medium 40 at the end of step S17.

When the printing of the print pattern is completed, the printing apparatus 1 carries out forward conveyance and printing of the regular product pattern (step S18). Here, the control circuit 12 controls the platen roller 7 and the thermal head 8 so that the platen roller 7 conveys the first area to be cut from the thermal head 8 to the full cutter 9, while the thermal head 8 A genuine product pattern (identification mark) is printed on the print medium 40 . FIG. 11(f) shows the state of the print medium 40 at the end of step S18. In FIG. 11(f), the first cutting target area is positioned at position F where the full cutter 9 is located.

When the printing of the genuine product pattern is completed, the printer 1 performs a full cut (step S19), and terminates the print control process shown in FIG. Here, the control circuit 12 controls the full cutter 9 so that the full cutter 9 cuts the first cutting target area of the print medium 40 to create a label piece. Note that FIG. 11G shows the state of the print medium 40 at the end of step S19.

As described above, the printing apparatus 1 performs the print control process shown in FIG. can be printed with identification marks for Therefore, according to the printing apparatus 1, it is possible to continuously restrict the use of counterfeit products.

[Second embodiment]
FIG. 12 is a flowchart of another print control process performed by the printing apparatus according to this embodiment. 13A and 13B are diagrams showing the state of the print medium in each step of the print control process shown in FIG. 12. FIG. Hereinafter, a specific description will be given of a print control method performed by the printing apparatus when half-cutting is not performed, with reference to FIGS. 12 and 13. FIG. Note that the printer according to the present embodiment (hereinafter simply referred to as the printer) differs from the printer 1 in that the image sensor 11 is arranged between the full cutter 9 and the thermal head 8 .

When a print instruction is input to the printer, the printer executes the print program and starts print control processing shown in FIG. Note that FIG. 13A shows the state of the print medium 40 at the start of the print control process. In FIG. 13A, the leading edge of the print medium 40 is positioned at position F where the full cutter 9 is located.

When the print control process is started, the printer acquires the print data input together with the print instruction (step S21). Note that step S21 is the same as the processing of step S11 in FIG.

After that, the printing device conveys the paper in the reverse direction and detects information printed on the printing surface (step S22). Here, the control circuit 12 controls the platen roller 7 and the image sensor 11 so that the platen roller 7 conveys the print medium 40 in the reverse direction until the print start area reaches the thermal head 8, while the image sensor 11 detects information printed on the printing surface from the printing medium 40 . Note that FIG. 13B shows the state of the print medium 40 at the end of step S22. In FIG. 13B, the print start area of the print medium 40 is located at the position P where the thermal head 8 is located.

Next, the printing device determines whether or not the print medium 40 is a genuine product (step S23). Note that step S23 is the same as the process of step S13 in FIG. When the printing apparatus determines in step S23 that the print medium 40 is not a genuine product (step S24: NO), the process shown in FIG. 12 ends. This makes it possible to limit the use of imitation products.

When the printing apparatus 1 determines in step S23 that the print medium 40 is a genuine product (step S24: YES), the printing apparatus 1 conveys the medium in the forward direction and prints the print pattern (step S25). This process is the same as the process of step S17 in FIG. Note that FIG. 13C shows the state of the print medium 40 at the end of step S25.

When the printing of the print pattern is completed, the printing device 1 carries out forward conveyance and printing of the regular product pattern (step S26). Here, the control circuit 12 controls the platen roller 7 and the thermal head 8 so that the platen roller 7 conveys the first area to be cut from the thermal head 8 to the full cutter 9, while the thermal head 8 A genuine product pattern (identification mark) is printed on the print medium 40 . FIG. 13D shows the state of the print medium 40 at the end of step S26. In FIG. 13(d), the first cutting target area is positioned at position F where the full cutter 9 is located.

When the printing of the genuine product pattern is completed, the printer 1 performs a full cut (step S27), and terminates the print control process shown in FIG. Here, the control circuit 12 controls the full cutter 9 so that the full cutter 9 cuts the first cutting target area of the print medium 40 to create a label strip. FIG. 13(e) shows the state of the print medium 40 at the end of step S27.

As described above, the printing apparatus 1 performs the print control process shown in FIG. identification mark can be printed. Therefore, the printing apparatus according to the present embodiment can also continue to limit the use of counterfeit products.

The above-described embodiments are specific examples for easy understanding of the invention, and the invention is not limited to these embodiments. Various modifications and changes can be made to the printer, the print control method, and the program without departing from the scope of the claims.

In the above-described embodiment, if no identification mark is found at the leading end of the print medium, it cannot be confirmed that the product is genuine. Then, the printing process may be performed while omitting the process of determining whether the product is genuine. For example, when a paper jam occurs, the process of determining whether the product is genuine or not may be omitted in the first printing thereafter. This is because even if a genuine product is used, there is a high possibility that the identification mark cannot be read correctly due to the deformation of the leading edge of the print medium due to the paper jam.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the leading edge of the print medium is at the full cutter position F has been described as an example. To position. Therefore, when a print instruction is input after the feed operation, the above-described processing may be started after the leading edge of the print medium is rewound to the full cutter position F. Further, when a manual cutting operation is performed after the feeding operation, the identification mark printed on the leading edge of the print medium is also cut off from the print medium. Therefore, the control circuit 12 may control the printing section so as to print the identification mark in conjunction with the cutting operation.

In the above-described embodiment, the printing device including the input unit 3 and the display unit 6 is illustrated as the printing device, but the printing device does not necessarily have the input unit 3 and the display unit 6 . For example, it may be a printing device that performs printing by receiving print data from an external information processing device that is different from the printing device.

The printing of the identification mark is performed for the next determination of whether or not the product is genuine. Therefore, it is sufficient that the identification mark is printed before the printer 1 finishes printing. For example, every time the full cutter 9 cuts the print medium 40, the control circuit 12 may cause the thermal head 8 to print the identification mark before cutting. Further, for example, when the control circuit 12 causes the thermal head 8 to perform continuous printing in which the print data is continuously printed on the print medium 40 a plurality of times, the control circuit 12 causes the thermal head 8 to print the identification mark after the continuous printing is completed. may In other words, the identification mark may be printed after all printing is completed without printing the identification mark after each printing.

The invention described in the scope of claims at the time of filing of the present application will be additionally described below.
[Appendix 1]
a printing unit that prints on a long print medium;
a detection unit that detects information printed on the printing surface of the printing medium;
a control unit;
The control unit
Acquiring print data to be printed on the print medium;
causing the detection unit to detect the printing surface of the printing medium when causing the printing unit to print the print data;
determining whether predetermined information is included in the information detected by the detection unit;
A printing apparatus, wherein when it is determined that the information does not include the predetermined information, the printing operation of the printing unit based on the print data is restricted.
[Appendix 2]
In the printing device according to Appendix 1,
When the control unit determines that the information includes the predetermined information,
The printing unit
printing the print data on the print medium;
A printing apparatus, wherein the predetermined information is printed on the print medium after printing the print data.
[Appendix 3]
In the printing device according to Supplementary Note 1 or Supplementary Note 2,
A printing apparatus, wherein the predetermined information is information indicating that the print medium is a genuine product.
[Appendix 4]
In the printing device according to Appendix 3,
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined information is a predetermined pattern indicating that the print medium is a genuine product.
[Appendix 5]
In the printing device according to appendix 4,
The control unit
calculating a degree of similarity between a pattern similar to the predetermined pattern included in the information and the predetermined pattern;
A printing apparatus, wherein when the degree of similarity is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, it is determined that the predetermined pattern is included in the information.
[Appendix 6]
In the printing device according to any one of appendices 1 to 5,
The print medium is a thermal tape,
A printing apparatus, wherein the printing unit is a thermal head.
[Appendix 7]
In the printing device according to any one of Appendices 1 to 6,
A printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the detection section is an image sensor arranged on a conveying path between the printing section and a discharge port.
[Appendix 8]
The printing device according to any one of Appendices 1 to 7, further comprising:
a transport unit that transports the print medium;
a cutting unit that cuts the print medium,
The control unit causes the printing unit to print the information on the printing medium while the conveying unit is conveying the first cutting target area of the printing medium from the printing unit to the cutting unit. A printing apparatus, wherein the conveying section and the printing section are controlled so as to
[Appendix 9]
In the printing device according to Supplementary Note 8, further:
a second cutting unit that cuts a portion of the print medium;
The detection unit is arranged between the cutting unit and the second cutting unit,
The control unit
Before the printing section prints on the printing medium, the conveying section moves the printing medium from the printing section until the second cutting target area of the printing medium reaches the second cutting section. controlling the conveying unit to convey in a direction toward the cutting unit;
The detecting unit is controlled such that the detecting unit detects the information while the conveying unit conveys the second cutting target area to the second cutting unit. printer.
[Appendix 10]
In the printing device according to Supplementary Note 2, further,
a cutting unit that cuts the print medium,
The printing apparatus, wherein the control unit causes the printing unit to print the information each time the cutting unit cuts the print medium.
[Appendix 11]
In the printing device according to Supplementary Note 2, further,
The control unit causes the printing unit to print the information after the continuous printing is completed when causing the printing unit to perform continuous printing in which the print data is continuously printed on the print medium a plurality of times. A printing device characterized by:
[Appendix 12]
A printing control method for a printing device including a printing unit that prints on a long print medium,
Acquiring print data to be printed on the print medium;
detecting information printed on the printing surface of the printing medium when causing the printing unit to print the print data;
determining whether the detected information includes a predetermined pattern;
A print control method, wherein when it is determined that the predetermined pattern is not included in the information, the printing operation of the printing unit based on the print data is restricted.
[Appendix 13]
to the computer of the printing device, including the printing unit;
Acquiring print data to be printed on the print medium;
obtaining information printed on the printing surface of the printing medium when causing the printing unit to print the print data;
determining whether the information contains a predetermined pattern;
A program for executing a process of restricting a printing operation of the printing unit based on the print data when it is determined that the predetermined pattern is not included in the information.

1 printing device 2 device housing 2a media adapter accommodating portion 3 input portion 4 lid 4a button 5 window 6 display portion 7 platen roller 8 thermal head 8a heating element 9 full cutter 10 half cutter 11 image sensor 12 control circuit 13 ROM
14 RAM
15 display drive circuit 16 head drive circuit 17 thermistor 18 jam detection sensor 20 medium adapter 31 transport motor drive circuit 32 transport motor 33 encoder 34 cutter motor drive circuit 35 cutter motor 36 tape width detection switch 40 print medium L1 separator L2 adhesive Layer L3 Base material L4 Color development layer L5 Protective layers M, M1, M2 Identification marks L11, L12 Lines F, H, P, S Position

Claims (11)

a printing unit that prints on a long print medium having a first cutting target area and a second cutting target area different from the first cutting target area;
a transport unit that transports the print medium;
a cutting unit that cuts the print medium;
a second cutting unit that cuts a portion of the print medium;
a detection unit disposed between the cutting unit and the second cutting unit and configured to detect information printed in an area between the leading end of the print medium and the second cutting target area;
a control unit;
The control unit
Acquiring print data to be printed on the print medium;
Before the printing section prints on the printing medium, the conveying section moves the printing medium from the printing section until the second cutting target area of the printing medium reaches the second cutting section. controlling the conveying unit so as to convey in a direction toward the cutting unit;
During a period in which the conveying unit is conveying the second cutting target region to the second cutting unit, the detecting unit detects that, in a region between the leading end of the printing medium and the second cutting target region, controls the detection unit so that detects the information;
determining whether predetermined information is included in the information detected by the detection unit;
A printing apparatus, wherein when it is determined that the information does not include the predetermined information, the printing operation of the printing unit based on the print data is restricted. The printing device according to claim 1 , wherein
The control unit causes the printing unit to transfer the information to the printing medium while the conveying unit is conveying the first cutting target area of the printing medium from the printing unit to the cutting unit. A printing apparatus characterized by controlling the conveying section and the printing section so as to print on a sheet of paper. In the printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 and 2,
When the control unit determines that the information includes the predetermined information,
The printing unit
printing the print data on the print medium;
After printing the print data, the predetermined information is printed on the print medium.
A printing device characterized by: In the printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The predetermined information is information indicating that the print medium is a genuine product.
A printing device characterized by: The printing device according to claim 4, wherein
The predetermined information is a predetermined pattern indicating that the print medium is genuine.
A printing device characterized by: The printing device according to claim 5, wherein
The control unit
calculating a degree of similarity between a pattern similar to the predetermined pattern included in the information and the predetermined pattern;
determining that the predetermined pattern is included in the information when the degree of similarity is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold
A printing device characterized by: The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The print medium is a thermal tape,
The printing unit is a thermal head
A printing device characterized by: The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
The detection unit is an image sensor arranged on a transport path between the printing unit and the discharge port.
A printing device characterized by: The printing device of claim 1, further comprising:
The control unit causes the printing unit to print the information after the continuous printing is completed when causing the printing unit to perform continuous printing in which the print data is continuously printed a plurality of times on the printing medium.
A printing device characterized by: An elongated long shape having a first cutting target region cut by a first cutting part and a second cutting target region cut by a second cutting part cutting a part of the printing medium A printing control method for a printing device including a printing unit that prints on a print medium and a transport unit that transports the print medium,
Acquiring print data to be printed on the print medium;
Before the printing section prints on the printing medium, the conveying section moves the printing medium from the printing section until the second cutting target area of the printing medium reaches the second cutting section. Conveying in a direction toward the cutting part,
During a period in which the conveying unit conveys the second cutting target area to the second cutting unit, the second cutting area is cut from the leading end of the print medium.
Detect information printed in the area between the areas to be cut,
determining whether the detected information includes a predetermined pattern;
restricting the printing operation of the printing unit based on the print data when it is determined that the predetermined pattern is not included in the information;
A print control method characterized by: to the computer of the printing device, including the printing unit;
A printing medium having a first cutting target region cut by a first cutting unit and a second cutting target region cut by a second cutting unit cutting a part of the printing medium Get the print data to print,
Before the printing section prints on the printing medium, the conveying section moves the printing medium from the printing section until the second cutting target area of the printing medium reaches the second cutting section. Conveying in a direction toward the cutting part,
While the conveying unit conveys the second cutting target region to the second cutting unit, printing is performed on a region between the leading end of the print medium and the second cutting target region get information,
determining whether the information contains a predetermined pattern;
limiting the printing operation of the printing unit based on the print data when it is determined that the predetermined pattern is not included in the information
A program characterized by causing a process to be executed.

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