JPH06115189A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a print by means of which printing can be performed on both a sheet-like printable member such as an ordinary paper and a tape-like printable member such as a label tape and to decrease economical burden of a user who performs printing on both the ordinary paper and the label tape. CONSTITUTION:A mode switching switch 12b wherein a word processor printing mode printing on a sheet-like printable member and a tape printing mode printing on a tape-like printable member 41 are selectable, is provided and a printing mechanism 20 is controlled by means of a controller based on the operation of this mode switching switch 12 and in the word processor printing mode, an ordinary paper is printed while the ordinary paper is transferred. On the other hand, in the tape printing mode, while a label tape 41 is transferred, the label tape is printed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printer, more specifically,
Printing can be performed by selectively switching between printing on a sheet-shaped printing target member such as plain paper and printing on a tape-shaped printing target member such as a label tape, and can be used not only as a printer for word processors but also as a label printer. Related to the printing device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a printing apparatus, a so-called printer apparatus, those which employ various printing methods such as an ink jet method and a thermal transfer method are in practical use. Such a printer device is used as a printer connected to a word processor or the like for printing on plain paper (referred to as a normal printer for convenience) and as a label printer for printing on a label tape.

[0003]

However, in the above-described printer device, whether or not printing is possible is determined by the member to be printed. For example, a normal printer can print on plain paper, but a tape-shaped cover such as a label tape. Printing member (hereinafter,
For convenience, printing on a label tape is not possible, and conversely, printing on a label tape is possible, but on the other hand, a sheet-shaped member to be printed such as plain paper (hereinafter referred to as plain paper for convenience Cannot be printed. Therefore, the user who prints on both the plain paper and the label tape has to purchase and prepare both the plain printer and the label printer, which causes a large financial burden on the user. .

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and is capable of printing not only on a sheet-shaped target member such as plain paper but also on a tape-shaped target member such as a label tape. It is possible to perform printing according to the printing application and to reduce the economical burden on the user.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is a printing apparatus having a printing means for printing on a sheet-shaped member to be printed, in the vicinity of the printing means. A tape-shaped print-receiving member provided on the tape-like print-receiving member, and the tape-like print-receiving member is sequentially supplied to the printing means instead of the sheet-like print-receiving member, and the tape-shaped print-receiving member is provided by the printing means. And a control means for controlling to perform printing.

The printing means comprises, for example, an ink ribbon and a print head for printing on the tape-shaped member to be printed by the ink ribbon. Further, the printing means includes, for example, a print head that ejects liquid ink onto the tape-shaped member to be printed to perform printing.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing means for performing printing, a sheet-shaped printed member and a tape-shaped printed member which are replaceably mounted near the printing means, and the sheet. When the sheet-shaped member to be printed is mounted in the vicinity of the printing unit, the sheet-shaped member to be printed is printed by the printing unit by relative movement between the sheet-shaped member to be printed and the printing unit. On the other hand, when the tape-shaped print-receiving member is mounted in the vicinity of the printing means, the tape is printed by the printing means by the relative movement of the tape-shaped print-receiving member and the printing means. And a control means for controlling so as to perform printing on the member to be printed.

The printing means comprises, for example, an ink ribbon and a print head that prints on the tape-shaped member to be printed with the ink ribbon. Further, the printing means includes, for example, a print head that ejects liquid ink onto the tape-shaped member to be printed to perform printing.

Further, according to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a first cassette having an ink ribbon incorporated therein, a second cassette having a tape-shaped member to be printed and an ink ribbon incorporated therein, and the first cassette. A printing device main body in which the cassette and the second cassette are replaceably mounted, a printing means for printing, and a built-in first cassette when the first cassette is mounted in the printing device main body. The ink ribbon and the printing means are moved relative to each other, and the printing means prints on the sheet-shaped member, while
When the second cassette is attached to the printing apparatus main body, the tape-shaped print-receiving member and the ink ribbon contained in the second cassette are moved relatively to the printing means, And a control unit that controls the printing unit to print on the tape-shaped member to be printed with the ink ribbon.

The tape-shaped print-receiving member and the ink ribbon contained in the second cassette are, for example, the second
It is stored separately in the cassette. The tape-shaped print target member and the ink ribbon contained in the second cassette are housed, for example, in a state of being stacked in the second cassette.

Further, the invention according to claim 6 is such that a first cassette containing an ink ribbon, a second cassette containing a tape-shaped print-receiving member and an ink ribbon, and the first cassette A main body of the printing apparatus in which the cassette and the second cassette are exchangeably mounted, printing means for printing, and mode selecting means capable of selectively setting the first printing mode and the second printing mode, When the first mode is selected by the mode selection means and the first cassette is mounted in the printer main body, the ink ribbon contained in the first cassette and the The printing means is moved relative to the printing means to print on the sheet-shaped member to be printed, while the mode selecting means selects the second mode, and the second printing mode is selected. When the printer is attached to the main body of the printing apparatus, the tape-shaped print target member and the ink ribbon contained in the second cassette are moved relatively to the printing means, and the printing means is used. The tape-shaped member to be printed is provided with a control unit for controlling printing with the ink ribbon.

The tape-shaped print-receiving member and the ink ribbon contained in the second cassette are, for example, the second
The cassettes are separately housed. Also, the second
The tape-shaped member to be printed and the ink ribbon contained in the cassette are housed, for example, in a state of being stacked in the second cassette.

[0013]

According to the first aspect of the invention, printing can be performed on the sheet-shaped member to be printed by the printing means, and the tape-shaped member to be printed provided near the printing means can be used for the sheet. It is configured such that the tape-shaped print-receiving member is sequentially supplied to the printing means instead of the print-printing member, and the tape-printing member is controlled to print by the printing means. In addition, it is possible to print on a tape-shaped member to be printed or to print on a sheet-shaped member to be printed, and it is economical for the user as compared with the case of purchasing two dedicated printing devices. The burden can also be reduced.

According to the second aspect of the invention, when the sheet-shaped member to be printed is mounted in the vicinity of the printing unit, the sheet-shaped member to be printed and the printing unit are relatively arranged. When the tape-shaped print-receiving member is mounted in the vicinity of the printing means, the sheet-shaped print-receiving member and the tape-printing-target member are printed by the printing means. Since the printing means controls the relative movement of the printing means to print on the tape-shaped member to be printed, depending on the printing application,
It is possible to quickly and easily perform printing on a tape-shaped print-receiving member, or to print on the sheet-printing-printed member, and in comparison with the case where two dedicated printing devices are purchased, the user Can reduce the financial burden of.

Further, according to the invention of claim 5,
When the first cassette is attached to the printer body, the ink ribbon and the printing means incorporated in the first cassette are moved relative to each other, and the printing means prints on the sheet-shaped member. If the second cassette is mounted in the printer main body, the tape-shaped member to be printed and the ink ribbon and the printing means built in the second cassette are moved relatively to each other, and the printing means is used. Since the tape-shaped member to be printed is controlled to be printed with the ink ribbon, it is possible to print on the tape-shaped member to be printed quickly and easily depending on the printing application. It is also possible to apply it to a sheet-shaped member to be printed, and to reduce the economical burden on the user as compared with the case of purchasing two dedicated printing devices.

Further, according to the invention described in claim 6, in the case where the first mode is selected by the mode selecting means and the first cassette is mounted in the printer main body, The ink ribbon and the printing means contained in the first cassette are moved relative to each other, the printing means prints on the sheet-shaped member, and the mode selecting means selects the second mode, and When the second cassette is attached to the main body of the printing apparatus, the tape-shaped print target member and the ink ribbon and the printing means which are built in the second cassette are moved relatively to each other, and the tape is printed by the printing means. It is provided with a configuration for performing control so as to perform printing with an ink ribbon on a member to be printed. Therefore, according to the printing application, it is possible to quickly and easily perform printing on the tape-shaped member to be printed, or to print on the sheet-shaped member to be printed, and to use a dedicated printing device. It is possible to reduce the financial burden on the user as compared with the case of purchasing a unit.

[0017]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 7 show a printer according to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of essential parts, FIG. 3 is a perspective view in a state different from FIG. 2, and FIG. Is a cross-sectional view of the sliding contact state between the label tape and the ink ribbon, FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the control system, and FIGS. 6 and 7 are flow charts showing control processing.

In FIG. 1, W is a thermal transfer type printer 1.
Reference numeral 0 represents a word processor integrally assembled, and reference numeral 11 represents a main body (chassis) of the word processor W. Body 11
Is a display unit 19, a keyboard unit 11a and a mechanism housing unit 1
1b, and a print start switch 1 on the keyboard 11a
2a and a mode changeover switch (mode selection means) 12b are provided. The word processor W displays the created sentence or the like on the display unit 19 and stores it in the memory.
Then, as will be described later, the printer 10 prints a sentence or the like stored in the memory by operating the print start switch 12a, and selects the tape print mode or the word processor print mode by operating the mode changeover switch 12b. It

The keyboard portion 11a is provided with various character keys and function keys in addition to the above-mentioned switches 12a and 12b, but these keys are well known and will not be described.

The mechanism accommodating portion 11b has an upper opening, and the printing mechanism 20 is disposed facing the opening. Although not shown in the drawing, various drive mechanisms (sheet feeding mechanism for the plain paper P, etc.) are provided inside. A loading section) is provided. Although a detailed description is omitted, this feeding mechanism uses the attached plain paper P for the printing mechanism unit 2.
Paper is fed toward 0, and when the plain paper P is printed, the plain paper P is sent out each time printing of one line is completed by operating the operation handle 18 or the like.

The printing mechanism 20 has two guide rods 15 and a platen roller 23 which are installed in parallel, and a carriage 21 is supported on the guide rods 15 so as to be movable in the longitudinal direction. As is well known, the platen roller 23 is connected to an internal drive mechanism, and is rotationally driven in a later-described word processor printing mode or the like to send out plain paper. Although not described in detail, the drive mechanism is controlled by the controller 90 described later, and the plain paper P is fed in the word processor print mode.

The carriage 21 is provided with a thermal head 22 and a cassette mounting portion (reference numeral is omitted in the drawing) at a position on the platen roller 23 side at the upper portion, and although not shown, an ink ribbon driving mechanism and the like are provided inside. It is provided. The thermal head 22 has a large number of heating elements connected to the controller, and the heat generation of these heating elements is controlled by the controller. As is well known, the thermal head 22 heats an ink ribbon, which will be described later, by heat generated by a heating element, and transfers ink of the ink ribbon to form an image, that is, print. The thermal head 22 and the ink ribbon form a printing unit.

The carriage 21 is driven by a drive mechanism (not shown) and moves along the guide rod 15.
As will be described later, the carriage 21 is reciprocally driven in accordance with the print line on the plain paper P in the word processor print mode, and is moved to the rightmost position with respect to the platen roller 23 in the tape print mode. The drive mechanism of the carriage 21 is also controlled by the controller 90 similarly to the drive mechanism of the mechanism housing portion 11b described above. The carriage 21 or the main body 11 described above corresponds to the main body of the printing apparatus.

The cassette mounting portion is formed so that the label cassette 30 can be attached and detached, and the label tape feeding drive shaft 25 and the ink ribbon winding drive shaft 26 connected to the drive mechanism inside the carriage 21 are projected on the cassette mounting portion. It The label tape feeding drive shaft 25 and the ink ribbon take-up drive shaft 26 are respectively fitted to a reel stand of the label cassette 30 mounted in the cassette mounting section, which will be described later, and are driven by a drive mechanism to rotate the reel stand.

The label cassette 30 has a recess (not shown).
It has a case 31 in which the thermal head 22 described above is positioned in the concave portion and is mounted in the cassette mounting portion. As shown in detail in FIGS. 2 and 3, the case 31
Is a label tape supply reel stand (tape loading section) 3
2, an ink ribbon supply reel stand 33, an ink ribbon winding reel stand 34, a guide member 35, a guide roller (not shown), and the like are provided. The label tape feeding reel base 33 is fitted with the label tape feeding drive shaft 25 described above when the label cassette 30 is mounted.
Driven by 5. Similarly, the ink ribbon take-up reel shaft 34 is fitted with the ink ribbon take-up drive shaft 26 when the label cassette 30 is mounted, and is driven by the take-up shaft 26.

A label tape reel (for convenience sake, the same reference numeral 41 as that of the reel table 32) having a label tape 41 wound thereon is attached to the label tape supply reel base 32. Reel 33
The ink ribbon 3 that holds the ink ribbon 42
3, the winding reel 34 is mounted on the ink ribbon winding reel base 34. The ink ribbon 42 is provided between the reel stands 33 and 34 between the thermal head 22 and the guide member 3.
5 is slidably engaged with and wound around the label tape 41.
Between the thermal head 22 and the platen roller 23 comes into contact with the ink ribbon 42 on the platen roller 23 side and is pulled out to the outside.

In the tape printing mode, which will be described later, the label cassette 30 is pulled out between the thermal head 22 and the platen roller 23 while the label tape 41 and the ink ribbon 42 are in contact with each other, as shown in FIG. . Also, in the word processor print mode, as shown in FIG. 3, only the ink ribbon 42 is pulled out. In the word processor print mode described above, Case 3
It is also possible to form an engaging portion on the first sheet and hold the leading end of the label tape 41 on this engaging portion. Further, in the above-mentioned aspect, the label cassette 30 which is commonly used in both the word processor printing mode and the tape printing mode is shown, but a separate label cassette can be used for each mode.

As shown in FIG. 4, the label tape 41 is constructed by releasably laminating a release paper 41c on a tape base material 41a via an adhesive layer 41b, and an ink ribbon 42.
Is formed by impregnating a base material with a heat-meltable or heat-sublimable ink. These label tape 41 and ink ribbon 4
2 is supplied between the thermal head 22 and the platen roller 23 while the tape base material 41a of the label tape 41 is in contact with the ink ribbon 42.

The controller 90, as shown in FIG.
CPU (central processing unit) 91, data memory 92,
It has a thermal head control drive circuit 93, a carriage drive circuit 94, an ink ribbon supply drive circuit 95, and the like.
The CPU 91 is connected to the respective keys of the keyboard section 11a and the display section 19, and controls the display of the display section and the control of the drive circuits 93, 94 and 95 based on the key input or the like. Although detailed description is omitted, the thermal head drive control circuit 93 is based on the output of the CPU 91.
Then, the carriage driving circuit 94 drives the carriage 21 to move it. The controller 90 corresponds to control means.

The ink ribbon supply drive circuit 95, based on the output of the controller 91, drives the label tape feeding drive shaft 25 and the ink ribbon winding drive shaft 26 of the carriage 21.
Control the drive of and. As will be described later in detail, the ink ribbon supply drive circuit 95 in this embodiment drives only the ink ribbon take-up drive shaft 26 when the mode changeover switch 12b is operated in the word processor print mode, and the tape print mode. When operated, both the label tape feeding drive shaft 25 and the ink ribbon winding drive shaft 26 are driven.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. In this embodiment, the processing shown in the flowcharts of FIGS. 6 and 7 is executed by the CPU 71 to perform printing on the label tape 41 (hereinafter referred to as tape printing) and printing on the plain paper P (hereinafter referred to as word processing printing). ) And selectively.

As shown in FIG. 6, first, step S10.
1, whether or not the print start switch 12a is turned on,
That is, it is determined whether the print start switch 12a is operated to the print start position, and if the print start switch 12a is operated to the print start position, the mode is determined in step S102. In this step S102, the mode is determined from the operation position of the mode changeover switch 12b, and if the label printing mode, the processing from step S103 is performed, and if the word processing printing mode, the processing from step S112 is performed.

In the case of tape printing, the ink ribbon and the label tape are pre-wound between the thermal head and the platen roller in a state of being superposed as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, only the ink ribbon is wound between the thermal head and the platen roller, and the plain paper P is loaded in advance.

Then, in step S103, the carriage 21 is moved to the rightmost end in FIG. 1 with respect to the platen roller 23. When it is determined in step S104 that the movement of the carriage 21 is completed, the carriage 21 is stopped in step S105. Then, in the following step S106,
The thermal head 22 is moved toward the platen roller 23 to bring the thermal head 22 into close contact with the platen roller 23.

Next, in step S107, both the label supply shaft 25 and the ink ribbon winding drive shaft 26 are simultaneously driven to rotate, and the thermal head 22 is driven to generate heat. Therefore, as shown in FIG.
2 is sent out and wound up on the ink ribbon take-up reel stand 34, and the label tape 41 is sent out, and the thermal head 22 and the platen roller 23 of the ink ribbon 42 and the label tape 41 are in close contact with each other. The label tape 41 is printed by being heated by the thermal head 22 during the passage.

Subsequently, in step S108, it is determined whether or not all printing is completed, that is, whether or not the print data is completed. If all printing is not completed, the processing from step S107 is repeated. When all printing is completed, the heat generation drive of the thermal head 22 and the drive of the label supply shaft 25 and the ink ribbon winding drive shaft 26 are stopped in step S109. Then, in step S110, the thermal head 22 is separated from the platen roller 23, and the control process is ended.

On the other hand, in step S111, the carriage 21 is moved to the leftmost position with respect to the platen roller 23, and the position of the carriage 21 is determined in step S112. If it is determined that the movement has been completed, the carriage 21 is moved in step S113. Stop moving. Then, in step S114, the thermal head 22 is brought into close contact with the platen roller 23 as in step S106 described above.

Next, in step S115, the thermal head 22 is driven to generate heat according to the print data, the ink ribbon winding drive shaft 26 is driven, and the carriage 21 is moved to the right according to the printing. Therefore,
The plain paper P is printed over the length of the line corresponding to the print data. Then, in step S116, it is determined whether or not the print line, that is, one line has been printed,
When it is determined that the printing is completed, the above-described step S10
9. The processing of S110 is performed to end the print control, and
If it is determined that printing is not completed, step S117
Perform the following processing.

In step S117, it is determined whether the carriage 21 has moved to the rightmost position.
Then, if the carriage 21 has not moved to the rightmost end position, the processing from step S115 is performed again to move the carriage 21 to the rightmost end position. If the carriage 21 has moved to the rightmost position, step S1
At 18, the heat generation drive of the thermal head 22 and the rotation drive of the ink ribbon winding drive shaft 26 are stopped, and step S1
At 19, the thermal head 22 is separated from the platen roller 23, and then the process from step S111 is performed again to print the next line.

As described above, in the first embodiment, the mode selector switch 12b is switched to the tape print mode, and the label cassette 30 is ejected from the ink ribbon 42 and the label tape 41 as shown in FIG. By setting so that the label tape 41 can be printed, the mode changeover switch 12b is switched to the word processor print mode, and the label cassette 30 is fed out only the ink ribbon 42 as shown in FIG. By setting as described above, printing on the plain paper P can be performed. Therefore, even for a user who has the opportunity to print on both the label tape 41 and the plain paper P, it is sufficient to purchase one printing device, and the economic burden on the user can be reduced.

FIGS. 8 to 12 show a second embodiment of the present invention, FIGS. 8 and 9 are perspective views showing the essential parts in different states, and FIG. 10 is a schematic cross section showing the states of the label tape and the ink ribbon. 11 and 12 are flowcharts showing the control process. In addition, in the second embodiment and a third embodiment described later, the same parts as those in the above-described embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

In the second embodiment, one ribbon winding drive shaft 27 is provided in the cassette loading portion of the carriage 21, and the word processor printing cassette 30a and the tape printing cassette 30b are separately configured, and the word processor printing is performed. In the mode, the word processor printing cassette 30a is attached to the cassette loading portion of the carriage 21 to perform the word processing printing (see FIG. 8), and in the tape printing mode, the tape printing cassette 30b.
Is mounted in the cassette loading section to perform tape printing (see FIG. 9).

In the tape printing cassette 30b, as shown in FIG. 9, the ink ribbon 42 and the label tape 41 are wound and held on the reel 32 which is rotatably provided on the reel base 32 in an overlapping state. The ink ribbon 42 and the label tape 41 are wound around the winding reel stand 34 so that they can be wound up. The ink ribbon 42 and the label tape 41 are wound so that the tape base material 41a and the ink ribbon 42 come into contact with each other as shown in FIG. 10, and pass between the thermal head 22 and the platen roller 23 in this state. .
The ribbon take-up drive shaft 27 is fitted to the take-up reel stand 34 when the cassette is mounted, and is driven by the ribbon take-up drive shaft 27 to drive the ribbon take-up drive shaft 2.
Rotate together with 7.

The word processor printing cassette 30a is
As shown in FIG. 8, the ink ribbon 42 wound and held on the reel 33 is rotatably provided on the reel stand 33, and the ink ribbon 42 passes between the thermal head 22 and the platen roller 23 and winds the ink ribbon. Reel stand 3
It is multiplied by 4. The ribbon take-up drive shaft 27 is fitted to the ink ribbon take-up reel stand 34 when the cassette is mounted, and the ink ribbon 42 is taken up by being driven by the ribbon take-up drive shaft 27.

In this embodiment, FIG. 11 and FIG.
By performing the processing shown in the flowchart of 2, word processor printing and tape printing are selectively performed. Note that this FIG.
Since the flowchart shown in FIG. 12 and FIG. 12 are the same as the flowcharts of FIGS. 6 and 7 described above except step S207 and step S215, only step S207 and step S215 will be described and description of other processing will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 11, in step S207, the thermal head 22 is driven to generate heat while driving only the ribbon winding drive shaft 27, and similarly, in step S215.
Then, the ribbon winding drive shaft 27 is driven, and the thermal head 22 is driven to generate heat while moving the carriage 21 to the right. That is, in this embodiment, the word processor printing cassette 30a and the tape printing cassette 30b are configured separately, but the word processor printing cassette 30a can supply the ink ribbon 42 by the ribbon winding drive shaft 27, and In the tape printing cassette 30b, the ink ribbon 42 and the label tape 41 are fed together by the same ribbon winding drive shaft 27, so that only the ribbon winding drive shaft 27 is driven.

As described above, in the second embodiment, the platen roller 23 is rotated by loading the tape printing cassette 30b and operating the mode changeover switch 12b in the tape printing mode. Instead, the ink ribbon 42 and the label tape 41 can be integrally supplied between the platen roller 23 and the thermal head 22 to perform tape printing. Further, by loading the word processor printing cassette 30a, mounting the plain paper P, and operating the mode changeover switch 12b to the word processor printing mode,
The platen roller 23 rotates, the ribbon winding drive shaft 27 rotates, and the ink ribbon 42 is fed. Therefore, the plain paper P can be fed at the end of printing one line, and word processing printing can be performed.

FIGS. 13 to 17 show a third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13 and FIG. 14 are perspective views showing essential parts in different states, and FIG. Figure,
16 and 17 are flowcharts showing the control process.

The third embodiment is applied to a printing apparatus called an ink jet type or a bubble jet type, and one drive shaft 28 is projectingly provided in the cassette loading portion of the carriage 21 to form a cassette. 30c is detachably provided. The drive shaft 28 is connected to the drive mechanism inside the carriage as in the above-described embodiment. An ink tank (not shown) that stores ink is connected to the inkjet printing unit 24 (printing unit), and the ink in the ink tank is ejected from a nozzle to form an image, that is, to print. .

Further, in the cassette 30c, a label tape supply reel base 32 is rotatably provided in a case 31, and the drive shaft 28 is fitted to the label tape supply reel base 32 when mounted in a cassette loading section. . The label tape supply reel base 32 is driven by the drive shaft 28 to rotate, and the reel 3 on which the label tape 41 is wound and held.
2 is detachably provided. The label tape 41 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, a release tape 41c is laminated on a paper tape 41d made of plain paper via an adhesive layer 41b, and the paper tape 41d is placed between the paper feed roller 29 and the inkjet printing unit 24 on the inkjet printing unit 24 side. It is supplied toward and printed on the paper tape 41d.

Also in the third embodiment, the tape printing cassette and the word processor printing cassette are separately configured, and the cassettes are detachably mounted according to the mode to perform printing. Is also possible.

In the third embodiment, the processes shown in the flow charts of FIGS. 16 and 17 are executed to control the selection between label printing and word processing printing. The above-described flowchart is the same as the flowchart of the above-described first embodiment except that steps S101 to S105 are step S
From 301 to step S305, from step S108 to step S113, from step S307 to step S307
Up to 312, steps S116 to S118 are the same as steps S314 to S317, and the description thereof will be omitted.

That is, in the third embodiment, when the label printing mode is selected in step S302, the drive shaft 28 is driven in step S306 to drive the label tape 4
1 is sent out and the ink jet printing unit 24 is driven to eject ink toward the label tape 41 to print on the label tape 41. If the word processor print mode is selected, the carriage 21 is selected in step S313.
Is moved to the right while the inkjet printing unit 24 is driven to print on the plain paper P, and when the printing of one line is completed, the plain paper P is fed out by one line, and the carriage 21
To the leftmost position and print again on the next line.

As described above, also in the third embodiment, the reel 32 on which the label tape 41 is wound and held is loaded in the cassette 30c, and the mode changeover switch 12b is operated in the tape print mode. Tape printing can be done only with. Conversely, if the mode changeover switch 12b is operated to the word processor print mode and the plain paper P is loaded in the paper feed mechanism, word processor print can be performed.

In each of the above-described embodiments, the mode is selected by operating the mode changeover switch 12b. However, a discrimination unit for discriminating between word processor printing and tape printing, for example, on the bottom surface of the case 31 of the cassette 30 is used. A switch insertion hole or a switch pressing portion for turning on / off the identification portion detection switch is formed, a discrimination portion detection switch is provided in the cassette loading portion of the carriage 21, and the cassette 30 to which the switch is attached is provided. It is also possible to configure to select the mode by turning on and off depending on the type of.

In each of the above-described embodiments, the printing device 10 having the structure in which the cassette 21 is loaded in the carriage 21 is illustrated, but the thermal head 22 or the ink jet printing unit 24 is assembled to the main body without using the cassette 30. It can also be applied to the ones.

[0057]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the invention, it is possible to print on the sheet-shaped member to be printed by the printing means, or the tape provided in the vicinity of the printing means. It is also possible to sequentially supply the sheet-shaped print-receiving member instead of the sheet-like print-receiving member to the printing means side, and to print on the tape-shaped print-receiving member by the printing means. Therefore, according to the printing application, it is possible to quickly and easily perform printing on the tape-shaped member to be printed, or to the sheet-shaped member to be printed. Furthermore, two dedicated printers are used. It is also possible to reduce the financial burden on the user as compared with the case of purchasing.

According to the second aspect of the invention, when the sheet-shaped print receiving member is mounted in the vicinity of the printing means, the sheet-like print receiving member and the printing means move relative to each other. When the sheet-shaped member to be printed is printed by the printing means, and when the tape-shaped member to be printed is mounted in the vicinity of the printing means, the tape-shaped member to be printed and the printing means are relative to each other. The tape-shaped member to be printed is printed by the printing means by such movement. For this reason, similar to the invention described in claim 1, it is possible to quickly and easily perform printing on a tape-shaped member to be printed or to a sheet-shaped member to be printed according to the printing application. It is also possible to reduce the financial burden on the user as compared with the case of purchasing two dedicated printers.

Further, according to the invention of claim 5,
When the first cassette is attached to the printer body, the ink ribbon and the printing means incorporated in the first cassette are moved relative to each other, and the printing means prints on the sheet-shaped member. If the second cassette is mounted in the printer main body, the tape-shaped member to be printed and the ink ribbon and the printing means built in the second cassette are moved relatively to each other, and the printing means is used. The tape-shaped member to be printed is configured to be printed with an ink ribbon. Therefore, similarly to the invention described in claims 1 and 2,
Depending on the printing application, you can quickly and easily print on a tape-shaped printing target member, or on a sheet-shaped printing target member, comparing with the case of purchasing two dedicated printing devices. Then, the financial burden on the user can be reduced.

Further, according to the invention described in claim 6, in the case where the first mode is selected by the mode selecting means and the first cassette is mounted in the printer main body, The ink ribbon and the printing means contained in the first cassette are moved relative to each other, the printing means prints on the sheet-shaped member, and the mode selecting means selects the second mode, and When the second cassette is attached to the main body of the printing apparatus, the tape-shaped print target member and the ink ribbon and the printing means which are built in the second cassette are moved relatively to each other, and the tape is printed by the printing means. The member to be printed is printed with an ink ribbon. Therefore, similarly to the invention described in each of the above claims, depending on the printing application, it is possible to quickly and easily perform printing on the tape-shaped member to be printed, or to apply it to the sheet-shaped member to be printed. It is also possible to reduce the financial burden on the user as compared with the case of purchasing two dedicated printers.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of a printing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a main part of the printing apparatus according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the same main portion in a state different from that in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a label tape used in the printing apparatus of the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a control system of the printing apparatus.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a part of control processing of the printing apparatus.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the remaining part of the control process.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a main part of the printing apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the same main portion in a state different from that in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a label tape used in the printing apparatus according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a part of control processing of the printing apparatus.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the remaining part of the control process.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a main part of a printing apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the main part in a state different from that of FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a label tape used in the printing apparatus according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing a part of a control process of the printing apparatus.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing the remaining part of the control process.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 printing device 11 main body (printing device main body) 12a printing start switch 12b mode selection switch (mode selecting means) 21 carriage 22 thermal head (printing means) 23 platen roller 24 inkjet printing section (printing means) 25 label tape feeding drive shaft 26 Ink ribbon winding drive shaft 27, 28 Drive shaft 30, 30a, 30b, 30c Label cassette 41 Label tape (tape-shaped print target member) 42 Ink ribbon (printing means) 90 Controller (control means) W Word processor P Plain paper ( Sheet-shaped printed material)

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Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A printing apparatus comprising a printing unit for printing on a sheet-shaped member to be printed, wherein a tape-shaped member to be printed provided near the printing unit and the tape-shaped member to be printed are: A printing means, comprising: a control means for sequentially supplying the printing means instead of the sheet-shaped printing material, and controlling the printing means to print on the tape-shaped printing material. apparatus. 2. A printing means for printing, a sheet-shaped printing target member and a tape-shaped printing target member which are replaceably mounted near the printing means, and the sheet-shaped printing target member is the printing means. When the sheet-shaped print-receiving member is mounted in the vicinity of the sheet-shaped print-receiving member, the sheet-shaped print-receiving member prints on the sheet-shaped print-receiving member by the relative movement of the sheet-shaped print-receiving member and the tape-shaped print-receiving member. When the member to be printed is mounted in the vicinity of the printing means,
Control means for controlling the tape-shaped print target member to perform printing by the relative movement of the tape-shaped print target member and the printing means. Printing device. 3. The printing according to claim 1, wherein the printing means includes an ink ribbon and a print head that prints on the tape-shaped member to be printed with the ink ribbon. apparatus. 4. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the printing unit includes a print head that ejects liquid ink onto the tape-shaped member to be printed to perform printing. 5. A first cassette containing an ink ribbon, a second cassette containing a tape-shaped member to be printed and an ink ribbon, and the first cassette and the second cassette are replaceable. A printer unit mounted on the printer unit, a printing unit for performing printing, and, when the first cassette is mounted on the printer unit, an ink ribbon and a printing unit incorporated in the first cassette. Are moved relative to each other, and printing is performed on the sheet-shaped member to be printed by the printing means, while on the other hand, when the second cassette is mounted on the main body of the printing apparatus, it is built in the second cassette. The tape-shaped print-receiving member and the ink ribbon are moved relatively to the printing means, and the printing means controls the tape-shaped print-receiving member to print with the ink ribbon. It comprises a control means for a printing apparatus according to claim. 6. A first cassette containing an ink ribbon, a second cassette containing a tape-shaped member to be printed and an ink ribbon, and the first cassette and the second cassette are replaceable. A main body of the printer mounted on the printer, a printing means for performing printing, a mode selecting means capable of selectively setting a first printing mode and a second printing mode, and the first mode by the mode selecting means. Is selected, and when the first cassette is mounted on the printing apparatus main body, the ink ribbon and the printing means contained in the first cassette are relatively moved, Printing is performed on the sheet-shaped member to be printed by the printing means, while the second mode is selected by the mode selecting means, and the second cassette is mounted on the printer main body. In this case, the tape-shaped print-receiving member and the ink ribbon contained in the second cassette are moved relatively to the printing means, and the printing means causes the ink to be printed on the tape-printing target member. A printing device, comprising: a control unit that controls to print with a ribbon. 7. The tape-shaped print-receiving member and the ink ribbon, which are contained in the second cassette, are separately housed in the second cassette. Item 7. The printing device according to item 6. 8. The tape-shaped member to be printed and the ink ribbon contained in the second cassette are stored in the second cassette in a stacked state. The printer according to claim 5 or claim 6.