JPH08244260A - Label printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To render a label sheet applicable that is inexpensive and requires no mount. CONSTITUTION: A platen 7 formed at least in its surface with a material easily separable from the adhesive layer 3 of a label sheet 1 is disposed opposite to the printing head 9. In this manner, even in the case employing a continuous label sheet having a number of printing areas arranged successively and an adhesive layer 3 formed in its rear surface, the adhesive layer 3 of the label sheet 1 can be prevented from being adhered to the platen 7.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a label printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a long mount having a large number of label sheets attached at equal intervals is inserted between a platen and a thermal head, and predetermined data is printed on the label sheet while transporting the mount. The label peeling plate disposed on the downstream side of the thermal head conveys the mount in the paper discharge direction with the path of the mount folded at an acute angle, and at this time, the action of the stiff label sheet trying to go straight There is a label printer in which a label sheet is peeled off from a mount by utilizing it. A detection hole or a detection mark corresponding to the distance between the label sheets is formed on the mount, and the detection hole or the detection mark is detected by an optical sensor, and the conveyance length of the mount is controlled based on the detection signal.

[0003]

However, since the backing sheet is wound while being bent at an acute angle by the label peeling plate by applying tension, it is useless if it is easily cut. In addition, there is a limit to the paper material to be selected so that the label sheet can be easily peeled off. Moreover, since the detection holes or the detection marks have to be formed at equal intervals, the cost of the mount is high. Then, this mount is completely wasted because it is discarded after the label sheet is peeled off. This increases the cost per label sheet.

Further, in the case where the mount with the label sheet attached is wound into a roll and set in the label printer, there is a limitation in increasing the roll diameter of the mount due to the space for storing the mount of the label printer. As a result, the total length of the mount will be limited. Further, since the label sheets are attached to the mount at a predetermined interval, the total length of all label sheets is shorter than the total length of the mount, and the number of label sheets attached to the mount is limited. For this reason, the mount on which the unused label sheet is attached is also frequently supplied to the label printer.

[0005]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
Conveying means for conveying a long label paper on which a large number of printing areas are continuously arranged and an adhesive layer is formed on the back surface, and a print head facing the surface of the label paper conveyed by this conveying means, At least the surface of the platen is formed of a material having good releasability from the adhesive layer, and the platen is arranged to face the print head with the label sheet in between.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a continuous print area is divided by perforations, and fixed information is preprinted on the surface divided by the perforations and an adhesive layer is formed on the back surface. Conveying means for conveying the label paper in the form of a label,
A print head that prints on the surface of the label paper transported by the transport means, and a print head that faces at least the surface of the label paper with at least the surface formed of a material having good releasability from the adhesive layer. A platen, a label contact plate provided on the downstream side of the platen in the transport direction of the label paper and facing the surface of the label paper, and a downstream side adjacent to the label contact plate. A sensor for detecting the leading edge of the label sheet and positioning the perforation near the label contact plate.

[0007]

According to the first aspect of the invention, the outer peripheral surface of the platen is formed with a surface having good releasability with respect to the adhesive layer of the label sheet, so that the label sheet is not adhered to the platen. This makes it possible to use label paper that does not use a mount.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the outer peripheral surface of the platen is formed with a surface having good releasability from the adhesive layer of the label paper, the label paper is not adhered to the platen. Further, the perforated label paper is detected by a sensor, the perforation is positioned in the vicinity of the label contact plate, and the surface of the label paper is brought into contact with the label contact plate, whereby the label paper is Since the adhesive layer on the back surface can be separated from the perforated portion to be issued as a label without being adhered to the label contact plate, it is possible to effectively use the label paper without the mount.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First, FIG. 2 shows the label paper 1. FIG. 1A is a plan view of the label sheet 1 with the front side facing upward, and FIG. 1B is a plan view with the back side facing upward. In the label sheet 1, a large number of printing areas 2 are continuously arranged at equal intervals. And arranged on the back side with an adhesive layer 3
It has a long shape. A perforation 4 is formed at the boundary of each print area 2, and a mark 5 such as a store name to be issued as a label is provided at the leading edge of each print area 2, or
Fixed information such as information regarding products such as “yen” indicating a unit of price and “g” indicating a unit of weight is printed in advance. In this embodiment, the label paper 1 is a thermosensitive coloring paper.

Next, FIG. 1 shows the structure of the label printer P. 6 is a supply shaft, and the supply shaft 6 holds the label paper 1 wound in a roll shape. The platen 7, which is arranged in parallel with the supply shaft 6 at a predetermined interval, is also driven by a motor (not shown) which can rotate in the forward and reverse directions, and also serves as a conveying unit for conveying the label sheet 1. Further, a thermal head 9 which is a print head having a heating portion 8 formed in a line on the lower surface is provided so as to be able to come into contact with and separate from the platen 7. A label guide 10 for guiding the label sheet 1 is provided between the platen 7 and the supply shaft 6, and a label contact plate 11 on the downstream side of the platen 7 for contacting the label sheet 1 generates heat from the thermal head 9. Presence or absence of a transmissive label, which is a sensor that is disposed fixedly at a distance L with respect to the portion 8 and that optically detects the presence or absence of the label paper 1 in the vicinity of the downstream side of the label contact plate 11. A detection sensor 12 is provided.

The label contact plate 11 has a length exceeding the width of the label sheet 1 and has a substantially V-shaped cross-sectional shape which gradually tapers downward, and at the tip of the taper. The curved edge 11a having a curved surface is formed instead of the edge. In addition, the platen 7 has a liquid silicon layer formed on the outer peripheral surface of a cylindrical body made of urethane. The surface of the label paper 1 is also coated with silicon.

In such a structure, the label paper 1 held by the supply shaft 6 is inserted into the label guide 10,
The tip is inserted between the platen 7 and the thermal head 9 separated from the platen 7. At the time of printing, the label paper 1 is pressed against the platen 7 by the thermal head 9. In this state, the heat generating portions (heat generating resistors) 8 arranged in a line are energized to generate heat, and the portion of the label sheet 1 corresponding to the heat generating portion 8 that has been heated is colored to perform printing. Then, by driving the platen 7 counterclockwise in FIG. 1, the label paper 1 is sent to the label contact plate 11 side.

Here, the actual feeding operation control of the label sheet 1 will be described with reference to FIG. Figure 3 (a) shows
The leading print area 2a passes through the heat generating portion 8 of the thermal head 9 and the rear end faces the heat generating portion 8 of the thermal head 9. In this state, all the predetermined data is printed in the first print area 2a, but since the trailing edge is located near the nip portion between the thermal head 9 and the platen 7, the print area 2a that has been printed is printed. It is impossible to separate the.

To separate the leading print area 2a, the platen 7 is rotated in the normal direction, and the trailing edge of the leading print area 2a is the curved edge 11a of the label contact plate 11, as shown in FIG. 3 (b).
The label sheet 1 is conveyed to the left by a distance L until it reaches right below (see FIG. 1). The transport distance L is
For example, the rotation angle of the motor for driving the platen 7 is controlled based on the time point when the label presence / absence detection sensor 12 detects the leading end of the leading print area 2a. In the state shown in FIG. 3B, the first print area 2 which has been printed
Since the trailing edge of the a corresponding to the perforation 4 reaches the label contact plate 11, the vicinity of the tip of the print area 2a is gripped and the label sheet 1 is pressed against the curved edge 11a of the label contact plate 11. Then, the label sheet 1 is torn from the perforation 4 which is the weakest against external force, and the leading print area 2a is separated as a label.

When a print command for the next print area 2b is issued, as shown in FIG. 3 (b), the print area 2b is printed.
Since the tip of the sheet has reached the label contact plate 11 beyond the heat generating portion 8 of the thermal head 9, the platen 7 is reversed.
As shown in FIG. 3C, the label paper 1 is moved backward by a distance L, and printing is started from this state. As described above, the operations of FIGS. 3A to 3C are repeated as long as the print command is issued.

In FIG. 3B, the area on the leading end side of the printing area 2b beyond the heat generating portion 8 of the thermal head 9 is preprinted with the mark 5 such as a store name and information (fixed information) about the product. In the case of the completed area, it is not necessary to return the label paper 1 to the right once as shown in FIG. Further, examples of pre-printing the mark 5 such as a store name and the information (fixed data) about the product include an example of pre-printing in the manufacturing process of the label paper 1 and the head print area 2a of the thermal head 9 in the label printer of the present embodiment. Immediately after the variable data is printed on, the pre-printing is performed by the thermal head 9 at the tip of the next printing area 2b.

As described above, the label presence / absence detecting sensor 12
By controlling the rotation angle of the motor on the basis of the detection signal of the above, the portion of the perforation 4 at the rear end of the leading print area 2a is conveyed to the position of the label contact plate 11 as shown in FIG. 3 (b). However, even if the portion of the perforation 4 is slightly displaced from the lower edge of the label contact plate 11, the label contact plate 11 is not sharp like a cutter but has a curved edge 11a and the perforation 4 of the label sheet 1 is not. The label sheet 1 is torn from the weakest perforation 4 when a pressing force is applied because the label sheet 1 is pressed in the vicinity of.

In this case, since it is a natural operation to press the label sheet 1 against the label contact plate 11 while pulling it from the platen 7 side, the position of the perforation 4 to be stopped is slightly upstream of the label contact plate 11. By adjusting the position of the label contact plate 11 so that the label contact plate 11 stops on the side, the leading edge of the next print region 2b is pulled out to just below the label contact plate 11 when the leading print region 2a is cut off. Can be aligned. Therefore, as shown in FIG.
By retracting the label paper 1 at a distance of L, the leading edge of the next print area 2b can be accurately aligned with the heat generating portion 8 of the thermal head 9. Therefore, it is not necessary to form a detection hole or a detection mark in each print area 2, and it is not necessary to provide a detector for detecting the detection hole or the detection mark.

Further, at the time of printing, the adhesive layer 3 on the back surface of the label paper 1 is pressed against the platen 7 by the thermal head 9, and the surface of the platen 7 is coated with liquid silicon to be separated from the adhesive layer 3. Therefore, the label paper 1 is not adhered to the platen 7. Even if the adhesive layer 3 of the label sheet 1 comes into contact with the inner surface of the label guide 10, the inner surface of the label guide 10 is coated with liquid silicone, and therefore the label sheet 1
Is not adhered to the label guide 10. Thereby, the label sheet 1 can be smoothly transported.

As in this embodiment, since the label guide 10 folds the conveyance path of the label paper 1 in the direction in which only the surface of the label paper 1 contacts the inner surface of the label guide 10, By using a label guide having an opening on the lower surface that contacts only the front surface, the label sheet 1 can be passed from below the label guide. Further, in this embodiment, since the surface of the label paper 1 is coated with silicon, it is possible to promote the slipperiness of the label paper 1 with respect to the label guide 10.

As described above, the label paper 1 is the platen 7
Since it is not adhered to the label paper 1, it is possible to use the label paper 1 that does not use a mount. Moreover, as described above, since it is not necessary to form the detection holes or the detection marks corresponding to the arrangement intervals of the large number of printing areas 2 on the label paper 1, it is possible to significantly reduce the unit price of the label per sheet. Is.

Further, unlike the conventional case, a mount for sticking the label sheet is not required, so that the winding device for winding the mount can be omitted, and the structure of the label printer itself can be simplified. Becomes

Further, since the large number of printing areas 2 are continuous without any space and no backing sheet is required, the printing area 2 to be issued as a label even if the winding diameter of the label paper 1 is limited. It is possible to remarkably increase the number of sheets of paper, and along with this, the frequency of replenishment of the label paper 1 can be extremely reduced.

[0024]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, since the platen having at least the surface thereof made of a material having good releasability from the adhesive layer of the label paper is provided,
Even if a long label paper having a large number of printing areas arranged continuously and an adhesive layer formed on the back surface is used, a state in which the adhesive layer of the label paper is adhered to the platen can be avoided. As described above, since it is possible to use the label paper without using the mount paper, the cost of the label paper can be reduced, and the conventional winding device used for winding the mount paper can be omitted to omit the label printer itself. The structure of can be simplified. Furthermore, since many printing areas are continuous without any gaps and no backing paper is required, the number of printing areas issued as labels can be significantly increased even if the winding diameter of the label paper is limited. As a result, the label paper supply frequency can be extremely reduced.

The invention according to claim 2 is, as described above,
Since a platen having at least the front surface made of a material having good releasability from the adhesive layer of the label paper is provided, a long label paper having a large number of printing areas arranged continuously and having the adhesive layer formed on the back surface. Even when the label paper is used, the label paper is not adhered to the platen. Further, the print area of the label sheet is divided by perforations, and further, the label contact plate facing the surface of the label sheet is provided on the downstream side of the platen, and the label contact plate is disposed on the downstream side adjacent to the label contact plate. Since a sensor for detecting the leading edge of the paper and positioning the perforations near the label contact plate is provided, the label paper on which the perforations are formed is detected by the sensor and the perforations are connected to the label contact plate. The label sheet is positioned in the vicinity of the label sheet, and the front surface of the label sheet is brought into contact with the label contact plate to separate the label sheet from the perforated portion as a label without the adhesive layer on the back surface thereof being adhered to the label contact plate. Since it is possible to issue the label paper, it is possible to effectively use the label paper without the mount.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing an internal structure of a label printer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2A is a plan view with the front surface of the label sheet facing upward, and FIG. 2B is a plan view with the back surface side facing upward.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a process of feeding a label sheet.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Label Paper 2 Printing Area 3 Adhesive Layer 4 Perforations 5 Fixed Information 7 Platen, Conveying Means 9 Print Head 11 Label Contact Plate 12 Sensor

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A transporting means for transporting a long label paper having a large number of printing areas arranged continuously and an adhesive layer formed on the back surface, and a front surface of the label paper transported by the transporting means. And a platen at least the surface of which is formed of a material having a good releasability from the adhesive layer and which is arranged to face the print head with the label sheet interposed therebetween. . 2. A long label sheet having a continuous printing area divided by perforations, and fixed information is printed in advance on the surface divided by the perforations and an adhesive layer is formed on the back surface. And a print head that prints on the surface of the label paper that is transported by the transport means, at least the surface of which is formed of a material having good releasability with respect to the adhesive layer, and the label paper is interposed therebetween. A platen arranged to face the print head, a label contact plate provided on the downstream side of the platen in the transport direction of the label paper and facing the surface of the label paper, and a downstream adjacent to the label contact plate. A label printer that is disposed on the side of the label sheet and that detects the leading edge of the label sheet and positions the perforations near the label contact plate.