JPH07121597B2 - Label printer - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a label printer capable of making a work reservation.

"Prior Art" Some label printers have a work reservation function (work program function) (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 183938/1982). This function is used for each product (or each part) for which a label is issued (or for each part), the number of sheets to be issued in advance (work reservation data)
Is set in advance, and when printing, it is possible to continuously issue labels for each product according to the set number of sheets. Conventionally, thanks to this function, it has been possible to improve work efficiency and reduce the burden on the operator.

[Problems to be solved by the invention] However, in the conventional work reservation function, the work reservation data is cleared after the reserved label is issued.
Therefore, when the label is issued by using the work reservation function, it is necessary to input and set the work reservation data without fail.

On the other hand, when the label issuance work performed by the user on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis is analyzed, the type and number of labels to be issued are often the same. In addition, even if the type and number of labels to be issued are different for each delivery destination, the delivery destinations are often the same.

Even in such a case, conventionally, it is necessary to input and set the same work reservation data each time.

Also, in the past, if the power was cut off due to a power failure while printing reserved data, the work reserved data would be cleared, so after checking the type and number of printed labels, re-enter and set the rest. It had to be very troublesome.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances. For reservation data having a high printing frequency, it is not necessary to set each time, and even if the power is down during printing of the reservation data, the power is restored. It is an object of the present invention to provide a label printer that can issue the remaining label without reserving the work later.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above problems, the invention according to claim 1 is a non-volatile or back-up rewritable memory in a label printer that issues a label, and is a product or part. Issue a plurality of work reservation data by collecting a set of a product data area for storing print data related to the product or part corresponding to the number of the product and the number of the product or part and the number of labels to be issued. A memory having a work reservation data area in which a plurality of types of work data are stored in advance as schedule data in association with a call number; and when the call number is input, the issue schedule data stored in the work reservation data area is stored. From the inside, the issue schedule corresponding to the call number
It is characterized by comprising a transfer means for transferring and storing data to an execution data area provided in the memory, and an issuing means for issuing a label based on the contents of the execution data area. .

The invention according to claim 2 is the same as the invention according to claim 1,
It is characterized by comprising clear means for sequentially clearing the label-issued data in the execution data area.

The invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the work reservation data includes a flag for instructing whether or not to print for each of the print data stored in the product data area. It is characterized by having flag setting data set in advance.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to third aspects, the work reservation data is preset with other print data in place of the print data stored in the product data area. It is characterized by having print setting data of.

[Operation] According to the invention of claim 1, if a plurality of types of work reservation data that are frequently used are preset in advance, it is possible to avoid erasing the work reservation data. The label issuance work becomes extremely easy without inputting and setting each time. Also,
Since it is a simple operation of just inputting the calling number, it is possible to prevent input mistakes.

According to the second aspect of the invention, the label issued data is cleared and the unissued reserved data is stored in the execution data area even when the power source is down during label printing. Therefore, if the contents of the execution data area are printed after the power is restored, the remaining labels will be issued. Therefore, it is possible to save the trouble of reserving the work to be continued. According to the invention of claim 3, the print item is selected in the work reservation without changing the print data stored in the product data area. be able to.

According to the invention described in claim 4, the print data can be appropriately changed in the work reservation without changing the print data stored in the product data area.

[Examples] Examples of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

Configuration FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of a label printer which is an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in this figure, the label printer in this example has a CPU
(Central processing unit) 1, display unit 2, operation unit 3, printing unit 4,
ROM (Read Only Memory) 5, RAM (Random Access Memo)
ry) 6 and a clock unit 7.

The CPU 1 carries out an information processing operation for controlling the operations of the respective units 2 to 7. The display unit 2 digitally displays the print data and the label issuance number data transmitted to the printing unit 4. In this example, a liquid crystal display panel that performs dot matrix display is used. Operation part 3
Is provided with various keys to be described later, and allows the RAM 6 to input the required data of the product through the CPU 1 by the keystroke operation. Here, the required data related to the product is the print data to be printed on the label and the data of the number of issued labels, and the print data is the product data, that is, product name, processing date, effective date, unit price, weight. , Price, code number, bar code, store name, etc. The printing unit 4 prints the print data transferred from the RAM 6 via the CPU 1 based on the issued number data.
The data is continuously printed on a label and a set number of sheets are issued. The ROM 5 stores the control program used by the CPU 1. The RAM 6 is a memory that stores various data and has a battery backup function. Further, the clock unit 7 measures time.
The respective units 2 to 7 of these devices are connected to the CPU 1 via a bus 8.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing the external configuration of the label printer of this example, and FIG. 4 is a side view of the same.

As shown in FIG. 3, on the front surface of the label printer, various keys (function key 3a, numeric keypad 3b and character key 3c) constituting the display unit 2 and the operation unit 3, respectively, and the printing unit 4 are provided.
Is provided with a label issuing port 4a. The display surface 2a and various keys of the operation unit 3 are arranged so as to be inclined by approximately 30 degrees from the vertical surface in consideration of visibility, operability, etc. (Fig. 4). The display surface 2a, the function keys 3a, and the ten-key pad 3b are attached to the panel board 9a, respectively. The character keys 3c are attached to a board 9b provided above the panel board 9a. In addition, the label 10 with a mount is ejected after printing from the label issuing port 4a.
The label 10 is designed to be loaded in a label storage section (not shown) inside the apparatus without removing the side plate 11 shown in FIG. The side plate 11 is formed with a concave grip portion 11a for easy removal.

Next, as shown in FIG. 1, the function key 3a is
"Mode switch" key MK, "Schedule" key SK, "Product number" key CK, "Message" key DK, "Print / input" key PK, "Paper feed" key, "Price" key, "Department"
It consists of keys, "contents" key, "code" key, etc. When the "mode switching" key MK is pressed, the modes are switched in the order of calling mode → inspection mode → setting mode → calling mode. When the "schedule" key SK is pressed in the call mode, the schedule (reserved work content) is called. When the "product number" key CK is pressed after entering the product number (product number), the product data described later is called in the calling mode, and the inspection printing of the product data is performed in the inspection mode. Further, in the setting mode, the product data is stored in the memory area. Press the "Print / Input" key PK,
When pressed in the calling mode, the label is printed, and when pressed in the setting mode, data is input. When the "message" key DK is pressed in the call mode, the message is called.

Next, the RAM6, as shown in FIG.
It is composed of various memory areas such as a buffer area 6a, a preset data area 6b, an execution work reservation data area 6c, and a total data area 6d.

Flag register buffer area 6a Various flags, registers, display buffers, print buffers, etc. are set in the flag register buffer area 6a.

Preset data area 6b the preset data area 6b further, and a product data area 6b ₁ work reservation data area 6b ₂ Prefecture.

(I) Product Data Area 6b ₁ The product data area 6b ₁ is further composed of a product data file 6b _1a and a message data file 6b _1b .

In the product data file 6b _1a , as shown in FIG. 6, corresponding to the product number (PLU No.), the product name (for example, handbill sushi), the price (for example, 500 yen), the content (for example, 150g), product data such as validity period and message number are stored.

Further, in the message data file 6b _1b , as shown in FIG. 7, 90 types of message data storage areas are secured corresponding to the message numbers. For example, a message regarding a product such as "please eat as soon as possible" or a manufacturing factory name is stored as message data.

The selection of message data is as follows. For example,
"5" in the message number field of the product data file 6b _1a
If it is stored (see FIG. 6), the message data “please eat as soon as possible” corresponding to the message number “5” is read from the message data file 6b _1b illustrated in FIG. 7, Is printed.

(Ii) Work reservation data area 6b ₂ The work reservation data area 6b ₂ (hereinafter, work reservation file 6b ₂ ) has five types of schedules (work reservations) as shown in FIG. 8 (a). Five schedule fields S1, S2, ... Are secured so that they can be stored. Reservation storage of up to 30 items is possible in each of the schedule columns S1, S2, ... (FIG. 2 (b)). Each of the above items A1, A2, ..., A29, A30 corresponds to a product number column, a label issue number column, a print data column for a schedule consisting of eight items, and each print data column for one product. It consists of flag fields F1 to F8. 8
Item print data fields include price data fields, internal capacity data fields, department code fields, product code fields, date data fields, validity period data fields, time data fields, and message number fields (product name fields are not included. Absent). These print data fields can store data other than preset data. Further, the flag F1 indicates whether or not the price is printed on the label, the print flag F2 indicates whether or not the content amount is printed, and the print flag F3 indicates whether or not the department code is printed. The print flag F4 shows whether or not the product code is printed, the print flag F5 shows whether or not the date is printed, and the print flag F6 shows whether or not the valid period is printed. The print flag F7 stores information as to whether or not time is printed, and the print flag F8 stores information as to whether or not to print the message content corresponding to the message number. ing. In this example, when the content of each of the flags F1 to F8 is "1", it means "print", and when it is "0", it means "not print". In this case, each flag F1 to F8
If the content is "1", first look at the print data column for the corresponding schedule, and if the content is "0" (meaning that no data is stored in the print data column) Therefore, the corresponding preset data in the product data file 6b _1a and the message data file 6b _1b is printed. On the other hand, when the content of the print data column is not "0" (meaning that data other than preset data is stored in the print data column,)
The contents of the print data column are printed.

Execution work reservation data area 6c As the execution work reservation data area 6c, a capacity for one schedule field is secured. The schedule to be executed is transferred from the work reservation file 6b ₂ and stored.

Total data area 6d In the total data area 6d, for each product number (PLU No.),
The total number of printed labels and the total price are stored.

The preset data area 6b, the work reservation data area for execution 6c and the total data area 6d are backed up by a battery so that the stored contents can be retained for a certain period even when the label printer is powered off. Has become.

Operation Next, the operation of this example will be described.

The processing procedure of the CPU 1 when performing label printing based on the work reservation data will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

☆ Premises First, as a premise of operation, each product data is stored (preset) in the product data file 6b _1a corresponding to the product number (PLU No.), and the message data file 6b _1b contains the message. It is necessary that the content of each message is stored (preset) in correspondence with the number, and that the work reservation file 6b ₂ has schedule (work reservation) data set and stored therein.

The preset data is normally set by pressing various keys 3a to 3c of the operation unit 3 in accordance with a guide message displayed on the display unit 2 and interactively inputting the data. Alternatively, the data may be transferred from an external device (cassette tape, floppy disk, IC memory card, personal computer, etc.) and input.

☆ Start First, the operator selects from the work reservation file 6b ₂
Perform the work to read the work reservation data to be printed.
Now, the work reservation data to be printed is in the schedule field.
Suppose it is stored in S3. In this case, the operator first sets the schedule field S3 in the calling mode.
The number "3" is input using the ten-key pad 3b, and then the schedule key SK is pressed. When the schedule key SK is pressed, CPU 1 calls the stored contents of the schedule section from S3 work reservation file 6b _2, and stores the transferred execution work reservation data area 6c. At this time, the display unit 2 displays the number "3" of the schedule column S3 whose content is called.

In this state, the stored contents of the schedule column S3 can be displayed on the display unit 2 by a key operation, if necessary. Also, the work reservation data area for execution 6c
It is also possible to temporarily change a part of the storage contents of (the work reservation file is not changed).

* Step SP1 When the "print / input" key PK is pressed while the stored contents of the schedule field S3 are recalled, the CPU 1 causes one of the execution work reservation data area 6c to be selected in step SP1. Read reservation data for merchandise.

* Step SP2 In step SP2, the CPU 1 creates a print image on the flag register buffer area 6a based on the reservation data for one product read in step SP1.

In this case, for the product name, a print image of the product name stored in the product data file is always created.
Other print data is processed according to the print image creation processing routine of steps SP21 to SP24.

The print image creation processing routine will be described below.

◇ Step SP21 It is determined whether or not to print the data of the item by looking at the contents of the print flag of the above-mentioned reservation data. The result of the judgment is
If "NO", that is, "printing is not required", the creation processing routine is ended for the item.

◇ Step SP22 When the result of the determination in step SP21 is “YES”, that is, “printing is required”, the CPU 1 executes step SP22.
Then, the process proceeds to and it is determined whether or not the data of the item is stored in the reservation data.

◇ Step SP23 When the result of the judgment in step SP22 is “YES”, that is, “the data of the item is stored in the reservation data”, the CPU1 is set to the reservation data in step SP23. Create an image of data in the print buffer. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the label format. Note that in this figure, the output of the clock unit 7 is usually used as the processing date and time. The effective date is the date to which the effective period is added to the processing date. After creating the print image, the creation processing routine for the item is terminated.

◇ Step SP24 When the result of the judgment in step SP22 is “NO”, that is, when the data of the item is not stored in the reservation data, the CPU 1 proceeds to step 24, and preset data (product data file 6b _1a ) Create an image of the data set and stored in the print buffer. After the print image is created, the creation processing routine for the item is ended.

After performing the print image creation processing of steps SP21 to SP24 for all print items except the product name,
Proceed to SP3 (for creating image data on the print buffer, see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-130069).

☆ Step SP3 CPU1 prints one label according to the created print image (step SP2). FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a print example of the label thus issued.

☆ Step SP4 After printing the label (step SP3), decrement the number of issued reservations in the work reservation data area 6c for execution by one.

☆ Step SP5 CPU1 checks whether the number of reserved tickets issued is "0". As a result of the check, when the reserved number of issued sheets is not "0", the process returns to step SP3, the label printing for one sheet is performed again according to the created print image, and the above processing is repeated.

☆ Step SP6 If it is judged as "0" as a result of checking the number of reserved prints in Step SP5, in Step SP6,
Check whether printing of reservation data has been completed. If the result of this check is "YES", the label printing process is terminated.

On the other hand, in the case of “NO”, the process returns to step SP1 and the above process is repeated.

As described above, according to this example, when the power is turned off during printing, the unprocessed data remains in the execution work reservation data area 6c backed up by the battery, so the power is restored. Immediately, the rest can be printed. Therefore, it is possible to save the trouble of inputting the unissued reservation data again. In the above embodiment, the contents of the work reservation file can be printed and issued as an inspection report in the inspection mode as appropriate. This printing can be performed using the printing unit of the label printer by changing the label paper to the journal paper.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the description is given in which the schedule is displayed on the display unit to confirm the contents and the schedule data is temporarily changed, but the printing order can be changed. It may be configured as follows. For example, a list of the current issuance order is displayed on the display unit, and while confirming the list, the issuance order is appropriately designated.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the case of the commercial label printer has been described, but it may be an industrial label printer or a weighing / counting label printer.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case of the continuous issuing type (the type in which the printed label is issued as the mount) is described, but the peeling issuing type may be used (the label is peeled and issued. When the label is removed, the next label is printed and issued. Normally, when the label is issued, the label is attached to the product. Also, an automatic sticking type that automatically sticks the issued label to the product may be used.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, when the "print / input" key PK is pressed, all the reservation data is printed. However, instead of this, "print / input" is printed every time one product is printed. Alternatively, the PK key may be pressed.
In this case, when the "print / input" key PK is pressed, the number of sheets to be issued and the print data may be temporarily changed.

In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, between each product, namely,
Although the case where no mark is attached between different labels has been described, a check pattern label may be printed between different labels. By doing this, later,
The range of the same label can be easily recognized.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the schedule number is entered by using the ten-key pad and the "schedule" key SK. However, by providing a key corresponding to the type of the schedule and the one-to-one correspondence, by operating this key, The input of the schedule number may be replaced.

Furthermore, setting the data in the reserved work file 6b ₂ can be performed more easily by editing the previously stored data.

[Advantages of the Invention] As described above, according to the invention of claim 1, a plurality of sets of frequently used work reservation data are preset in the work reservation data area as issuance schedule data and these issuance schedules are preset. Of the data, the issue schedule data corresponding to the designated calling number is transferred from the work reservation data area to the execution data area, and the label is issued based on the work reservation data called from the execution data area. Since this is done, even if the issuance of the label is completed, this work reservation data is not erased and remains in the work reservation data area. Therefore, it is not necessary to newly input the work reservation data of the label that is frequently issued, and it is possible to reissue the label by a simple operation only by inputting the calling number, which makes the label issuing work extremely easy. At the same time, input errors can be prevented.

According to the second aspect of the invention, the label issued data is cleared and the unissued reserved data is stored in the execution data area even when the power source is down during label printing. Therefore, if the contents of the execution data area are printed after the power is restored, the remaining labels will be issued. Therefore, it is possible to save the trouble of reserving the work for the continuation again.

According to the third aspect of the invention, the print item can be selected in the work reservation without changing the print data stored in the product data area.

For example, if the label for store A requires processing date and effective date data, but the label for store B does not require processing date and effective date data, simply make a work reservation. You will be able to process.

According to the invention described in claim 4, the print data can be appropriately changed in the work reservation without changing the print data stored in the product data area.

For example, in the case of a processing center or the like, when the label code and department code for the A store are different from the label code and department code for the B store, the data for the A store is preset and the data for the B store is preset. The data is at the time of work reservation,
It can be dealt with by setting it as reservation data.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the configuration of an operation unit and a display unit of a label printer which is an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the same electrical configuration, and FIG. 3 is an external view of the label printer. A front view showing the structure, FIG. 4 is a side view of the same, and FIG. 5 is a RAM6.
6 is a conceptual diagram showing the structure of the product data file 6b _1a
7 is a conceptual diagram showing the stored contents of the message data file 6b _1b , FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram showing the stored contents of the work reservation file 6b ₂ , FIG. 9 and FIG.
FIG. 0 is a flow chart for explaining the printing operation of this example, FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the label format of this example, and FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of the label issued by this example. . 1 ... CPU (transfer means, issuing means, clearing means), 3 ...
… Operation part, MK …… “Mode switching” key, SK …… “Schedule” key, PK …… “Print / print” key, 4 ……
Printing unit (issuing means), 5 ... ROM, 6 ... RAM, 6c ... Execution work reservation data area (execution data area), 6b ₁
…… Preset data area for product data (product data area), 6b ₂ …… Preset data area for work data (work reservation data area), F1 to F8 …… Print flag, 10
……label.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A label printer for issuing a label, which is a non-volatile or back-up rewritable memory and stores a print data related to a product or a part corresponding to a product or part number. And a work reservation data area in which a plurality of types of work reservation data, which is a set of the number of the product or the part and the number of labels to be issued, are stored in advance as issuance schedule data in association with the calling number. When the call number is input, issue schedule data corresponding to the call number is provided in the memory from the issue schedule data stored in the work reservation data area. Transferring means for transferring to and storing in the execution data area, and contents of the execution data area Label printer that characterized in that it comprises an issuing unit for issuing the labels, based. 2. The label printer according to claim 1, further comprising a clearing unit that sequentially clears the label-issued data in the execution data area. 3. The work reservation data includes flag setting data for presetting a flag for instructing whether or not to print for each of the print data stored in the product data area. The label printer according to claim 1 or 2. 4. The work reservation data has print setting data for presetting other print data in place of the print data stored in the product data area. Label printer according to any one.