JPH08337231A - Apparatus for printing and pasting postal information - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide an apparatus for printing and pasting postal information wherein an apparatus cost and operating expenses can be largely reduced while the apparatus is downsized and handling is simplified. CONSTITUTION: An apparatus for printing and pasting postal information includes a transfer means 10, a label sheet transfer and supply means 20, a printing means 30, an applying means 40, a pasting means 60 and a cutting means 50. While a label sheet 22 is transferred and supplied synchronously with a mail 100, postal information C is printed on a surface 1F of the sheet 22, also the adhesive agent 45 is applied on the rear face B, and then the sheet 22 is paste on the mail 100 while a rear end is cut, making a label.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a mail information printing / pasting device for sticking a label on which mail information coded mail information is printed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A postal information printing apparatus that directly prints postal information converted into a bar code corresponding to the postal code by inputting the postal code on the postal matter is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. No. 61-15758. However, with this direct printing method, no matter which printer is selected from the inkjet printer, the dot printer, etc., if the postal matter has irregularities or wrinkles, the postal information can be printed clearly and smoothly, and The drawback is that the optical reading cannot be accurate.

To solve this problem, the present applicant has
A postal information printing / pasting device that indirectly prints postal information on a postal matter by printing postal information on the label and pasting this label on the postal matter is proposed (for example, Japanese Patent Application No. 7-4
No. 5913). This indirect printing type mail information printing / pasting apparatus is shown in FIG.

That is, the postal information printing / pasting apparatus comprises a conveying means 10, a label supplying means 20P, a label printing means 30P and a label sticking means 60P which form the printing means.
It consists of and.

The transport means 10 is a main conveyor 1 for transporting a postal matter (for example, a letter or a postcard) 100 in the X direction while sandwiching it.
1 and a sub-conveyor 12 that conveys the postal matter 100 while regulating the height of the postal matter 100 in the vertical direction in FIG.

The label supply means 20P winds the feeding reel 203 for feeding the wound label tape 200 (tape 201, label 202) and the tape 201 as a release mount pulled out via a plurality of guide rollers 204. It is composed of the take-up reel 206, and the label tape 200 can be supplied while being conveyed in the X direction in synchronization with the postal matter 100. Each label 202 is transparent or opaque,
It is previously attached to the tape 201 via an adhesive.

The label printing means 30P includes a print head (for example, a thermal head) 31P, a platen roller 32P arranged opposite to the print head 31P, and an ink ribbon cassette 33P formed so as to be able to supply an ink ribbon between the both 31P and 32P. It is formed from and. Therefore, the postal information can be printed on the label 202 that has been conveyed and supplied.

The mail information in the case shown in FIG.
0 is a postal code information (bar code) Cn corresponding to the handwritten postal code 101 indicated by a two-dot chain line and a postal address information (bar code) Ca corresponding to the handwritten postal address 102. The respective information (101, 102) is keyed in using an input means (not shown) and converted into the respective bar codes Cn, Ca by the data conversion means, and then the label printing means 3
The label 202 is printed with 0P. Note that FIG.
Shows a method of printing on the respective labels 202N and 202A.

The label sticking means 60P includes a small-diameter peeling pin 61, a sticking roller 62, and a sticking roller (not shown) that faces the sticking roller 62 and the label 202.
The printed label 202 is peeled from the tape 201 by utilizing the feeding movement of the label tape 200 and the abrupt feeding direction changing action of the peeling pin 61, and the individual label 202 is attached by using the attaching roller 62. It is attached to the mail 100. That is, the postal information Cn, Ca
It is printed indirectly on the postal matter 100.

In such a postal information printing / pasting apparatus, the label 202 (202N, 202A) and the postal matter 100 are synchronously conveyed in the X direction, and a direction (X) orthogonal to the conveyance (X) direction between the label 202 and the postal matter 100 ( The relative position in the height direction) is constant. Therefore, the label 202N on which the postal code information Cn is printed by the label printing means 30P
Can be stably and reliably attached to a predetermined position of the postal matter 100. Label 2 with mail address information Ca printed
The same applies to the case of 02A.

The postal matter 100 after the label is attached is discharged in the Y direction shown in FIG. 7 and is stocked in a stacker (not shown). Thus, the delivery destination of the postal matter 100 can read the postal information (bar code) Cn, Ca printed on the labels 202N, 202A, for example, with an optical reading device, without reading the handwritten postal code 101 and postal address 102. It is possible to know automatically and unattended by automatically performing optical reading using. Therefore, the sorting work according to the address can be automatically performed.

[0012]

By the way, there is room for further improvement when the postal information printing / pasting apparatus is put into practical use. That is, the label 202 is the tape (release mount) 2
01 is attached, so label 202 is for postal matter 1
Mechanism for winding the tape 201 (20
It is essential to attach 6). Therefore, there is room for downsizing.

Further, if the mechanism (206) is simplified or omitted, or the structure of the label tape 200 itself is simplified, the cost should be further reduced.

Further, the length of the label 202 is a fixed length from the viewpoint of its construction and use. Therefore, increase (decrease) of the amount of postal information (code length) to be printed
Applicability to is narrow. If the length of the label 202 is set to the shortest, printing becomes impossible, and if it is set to the longest, the effective utilization rate of the label 202 is reduced and waste occurs.

Further, it is convenient that the adhesive force when peeling the label 202 from the tape 201 is small and the adhesive force when the label 202 is attached to the mail item 100 is large. It is difficult to make a technical choice in this regard.

Further, the label tape 200 is the tape 20.
Since a plurality of labels 202 are intermittently attached to one label, the continuous operation time is shortened, the label tape 200 is replaced, the winding tape 201 is removed as a prerequisite for this, and the head of a new label tape 200 is replaced. Adjusting the delivery is troublesome.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a mail information printing / pasting apparatus which can be reduced in size and easy to handle, and which can greatly reduce the apparatus cost and running cost.

[0018]

The length of a label should be determined by the amount of postal information to be printed, and it is very difficult to determine the optimum value for the label tape in advance. Also, the adhesive on the back surface of the label should not be applied from the beginning. In other words, it is sufficient if it is applied by the time it is attached to the mail.

Based on this analysis, the present invention makes it possible to replace the conventional label tape with a simple tape (label paper), cut the label paper to form a label, and at the same time, to attach an adhesive to the back surface thereof. The above-mentioned object is achieved by being configured so that it can be applied to a mail item while being applied.

That is, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the conveying means for conveying the postal matter in a predetermined direction, the label sheet conveying and supplying means for conveying the label sheet in the same direction as the postal matter, and the conveyed label sheet. Printing means for printing postal information on the front side of the label, application means for applying adhesive on the back side of the label paper that has been conveyed, and the back side on which the adhesive has been applied by pressing it against the mail piece. A mail information printing / pasting apparatus comprising: a sticking means for sticking a label paper on a paper; and a cutting means for cutting the label paper behind the postal information.

Further, the invention of claim 2 is characterized in that the coating means is formed so that the adhesive can be coated at a plurality of locations separated in a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the mail. This is a postal information printing attachment device.

Further, the invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that the cutting means is formed so as to be able to perform a cutting operation after a set time from the time when the printing of the postal information is finished on the label paper. It is an attached device.

[0023]

In the case of the first aspect of the present invention having the above-mentioned structure, the postal matter by the conveying means and the label sheet by the label sheet conveying and supplying means are synchronously conveyed in a predetermined direction. During this synchronous conveyance, the printing means prints the postal information on the front surface of the label paper and the application means applies the adhesive on the back surface thereof. Thus,
The label sheet is attached to the mail piece by the attaching means and cut by the cutting means to become an independent label. That is, it is possible to indirectly print the postal information encoded in the postal matter.

In addition, in the case of the invention of claim 2, in addition to the case of the invention of claim 1, the application means can form the adhesive on the back surface of the mail piece at a plurality of locations separately from each other, that is, the entire surface is not applied. Has been done. Therefore, it is possible to have a simple structure in which the transport roller forming the label sheet transport supply means is not engaged with the adhesive, and the consumption of the adhesive can be reduced.

Further, in the case of the invention of claim 3, claim 1
In addition to the inventions of 2 and 2, since the cutting means is formed to cut the label paper after a set time from the time when the printing of the postal information is completed, the operation suitable for the amount of postal information can be performed. That is, it is possible to make the label length just enough and to reduce the consumption of label paper or to extend the continuous operation time.

[0026]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 6, the present postal information printing / pasting apparatus includes a conveying unit 10, a label sheet conveying / supplying unit 20,
The printing unit 30, the coating unit 40, the sticking unit 60, and the cutting unit 50 are provided, and the label paper 22 is used for the postal matter 10.
The postal information C is printed on the front surface F of the label paper 22 while being fed in synchronization with 0, and the adhesive 45 is applied on the back surface B of the label paper 22. Then, the postal information can be attached to the postal matter 100 and the rear end thereof can be cut for labeling. Is configured.

In FIG. 2, the label paper feeding and supplying means 2
0 indicates the label paper 22 fed from the label paper roll 21 rotatably held on the slide panel 29,
A means for conveying and supplying the postal matter 100 conveyed by the conveying means 10 (main conveyor 11, sub-conveyor 12) in synchronism with a predetermined (X) direction and is formed of a guide roller 23 and a plurality of conveying rollers 24 to 27. Has been done.

The label paper 22 may be transparent or opaque, but in the case of this embodiment, the address handwritten under the mail 100 is visible while it is attached to the mail 100. For the optical reading of the information C, its address is semi-transparent, which is selected so as not to cause disturbance.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the feeding and feeding roller 2 which engages with the surface F of the label sheet 22 being fed and fed.
5 has a columnar structure, the conveying and feeding roller 26 engaged with the back surface B thereof is a multi-stage roller (26
A, 26B). The conveyance supply rollers 24 are also the same (24A, 24B). Further, since the transport / supply roller 27 engages with the surface F, it may have a columnar structure as in the case of the transport / supply roller 25.
In the case of this embodiment, a plurality of stages (27A, 27B) are provided as in the case of the transport and supply rollers 24, 26. This is a device to prevent the printed postal information C from being scraped.

The printing means 30 is formed by an ink jet printer and prints the coded postal information C on the front surface F of the label paper 22. The postal information C is a combination of postal code information (Cn) and postal address information (Ca), which is printed on one label 202. However, as shown in FIG. 7, the label 202 is divided into each information Cn and Ca and is separately provided.
You may make it print on N, 202A. Further, the printing means 30 may be formed by a thermal printer or the like.

The coating means 40, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4,
The application member 41 (42, 43) made of a sponge-like porous material impregnated with the adhesive 45 is included, and in the case of this embodiment, three application members 41, 42, 43 enable application of three lines. Is formed in. That is, the adhesive 45 can be applied to the back surface B of the label paper 22 at a plurality of locations (regions) separated in the direction orthogonal to the transport direction. In the range excluding this application site, the above-mentioned transport rollers 26A, 26B are provided.
Are formed to engage with each other.

The "application of the adhesive" in the present invention is not limited to the case where the adhesive liquid agent is directly applied to the back surface B of the base material of the label paper 22, but the water-soluble adhesive film is previously applied to the back surface of the base material of the label paper 22. Is formed, and the water is applied by the application means 40.
It also includes the case where is applied to the adhesive film.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, each coating member 41, 42, 43 is rotatably mounted on the support shaft 42, and when the solenoid 43 is excited (ON), the leading ends of the coating members 41, 42, 43 are printed on the label paper 22. It can be separated from the back surface B. A non-application portion is provided at a part (tip) in the transport direction (length direction) of the label paper 22 that becomes the label 202 after being cut, and after the optical reading, the label 202 is attached to the postal matter 10.
This is because it is possible to easily peel from 0.

The cutting means 50 is means for extruding the tip blade to cut the printed label paper 22, and is performed by exciting (ON) the solenoid 51 shown in FIG.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the cutting means 50 is formed so that it can be cut after a preset time (t) from the time when the printing of the postal information C is completed. That is, the excitation (ON) timing of the solenoid 51 is controlled by the after-time cut control means including the ROM 82 storing the after-time cut control program shown in FIG. 5 and the CPU 81.

That is, since the conveyance speed of the label paper 22 in the predetermined (X) direction is constant, if the set time (t) is long (short), the cut position P1 from the printing end is made far (close). be able to. That is, the label 202 after cutting
The length can be sufficient for optical reading and sufficient for saving consumption of the label paper 22.

The sticking means 60, as shown in FIGS.
A pair of sticking rollers 6 that are arranged opposite to each other with the mail 100 in between.
2, 63, and the sticking roller 62 is a rubber roller having high elasticity. 100 pieces of mail between the two 62 and 63
When the label paper 22 (or the label 202 after being cut) is conveyed in synchronism with each other, the adhesive force is used to make the mail 10
0 can be pasted on.

In FIG. 5, the control unit 80 has a CPU 8
1, the ROM 82, and the RAM 83, the entire apparatus can be driven and controlled in an appropriate amount at a suitable time. For this purpose, a conveyance motor 13 (driver 13D) forming a part of the conveyance means 10, a conveyance supply motor 28 (driver 28D) forming a part of the label sheet conveyance supply means 20, a printing means 3
Print head 31 forming a part of 0 (control circuit 31
C), solenoid 43 forming part of the coating means 40
The (driver 43D) and a solenoid 51 (driver 51D) forming a part of the cutting means 50 are connected. The attaching means 60 may be rotated by either the motor 13 or 28.

Further, the control unit 80 (81, 82, 83) has a keyboard 84 (control circuit 84C) and a display unit 8.
5 (control circuit 85C) is connected. Keyboard 8
When the postal code and the address read from the postal matter 100 are input while visually checking them on the display 85 using the CPU 4, the CPU 8
1 is coded based on the program stored in the ROM 82, and is output to the control circuit 31C forming a part of the printing unit 30. Here, the appearance is the form shown in FIG.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. The control unit 80 drives the label paper transporting unit 20 while transporting the postal matter 100 in the X direction by the transporting unit 10, and synchronously transports and supplies the label paper 22.

When the leading edge of the label paper 22 is detected, the printing means 30 is drive-controlled to print a bar code on the surface F of the label paper 22 which is carrying and feeding the postal information C as shown in FIG. Simultaneously with this, the coating means 40 coats the back surface B thereof with the adhesive 45 at three spaced positions, as shown in FIG. The transport supply roller 26 (26A, 26B) is
Since it engages with the non-coated area, it can be transported stably and
There is no concern that the applied adhesive 45 will be peeled off.

The application members 41, 42, 43 are separated from the label paper 22 until the leading edge of the label paper 22 passes by, for example, 5 mm, and the adhesive agent 45 is not applied to the parts.

When the set time (t) has elapsed from the end of printing the postal information C, the control section 80 causes the cutting means 50 to
By driving (51), the label paper 22 is cut at the cutting position P1 shown in FIG. 6 to form the label 202.

Even during this time, when the leading edge of the label paper 22 (or the label 202) reaches the attaching means 60, the label paper 22 is automatically attached to the mail 100. Then, the postal matter 100 is collected by the stacker 70.

After that, the postal matter 100 is optically read and automatically sorted by address. After sorting, the non-coated part of the adhesive 45 is used as a peeling nail to label 2.
02 can be easily peeled off from the mail piece 100.

However, according to this embodiment, the conveying means 10, the label sheet conveying and supplying means 20, and the printing means 30 are provided.
Coating means 40, pasting means 60, and cutting means 50
The postal information C is printed on the front surface 1F of the label paper 22 while the label paper 22 is conveyed and supplied in synchronization with the postal matter 100, and the adhesive 45 is applied to the back surface B of the label paper 22 and then attached to the postal matter 100. In addition, since the rear end is cut and the label can be formed, the device cost and the running cost can be significantly reduced while achieving downsizing and easy handling.

Further, since the coating means 40 is formed so that the adhesive 45 can be coated at a plurality of places separated in the direction orthogonal to the conveyance (X) direction of the mail 100, the conveyance of the label paper supply means 20. The supply rollers (26, etc.) can be simplified, the adhesive 45 applied to the back surface B of the label paper 22 can be smoothly conveyed and supplied without peeling, and the consumption of the adhesive 45 can be reduced.

Further, the cutting means 50 is used for the label paper 22.
Since the postal information C is formed so that it can be cut after a set time from the time when the printing is completed, it is possible to adjust the length of the label according to the amount of postal information to be printed. Therefore, the consumption of the label paper 22 can be reduced and the continuous operation time can be further extended.

Further, each coating member 41 of the coating means 40,
Since 42 and 43 can be temporarily separated from the back surface B of the label paper 22 to form the non-adhesive portion of the adhesive 45, the label 202 is attached to the postal matter 10 after the optical reading of the postal information C.
Easy to peel off from scratch. Therefore, it is possible to deliver without impairing aesthetics.

[0050]

According to the first aspect of the invention, there is provided a conveying means,
Label paper transport supply means, printing means, coating means,
It is equipped with a sticking means and a cutting means, prints the postal information on the front surface of the label paper while feeding and feeding the label paper in synchronization with the mail, and also applies an adhesive on the back surface of the label paper, and then attaches it to the mail. Since the rear end is cut so that it can be labeled, the following excellent effects can be obtained.

Since the label paper itself is used as a label, the running cost can be significantly reduced as compared with the case where a label tape is used, and since the tape winding mechanism can be wiped out, the device cost can be reduced and the size can be greatly reduced. Can be realized.

Since the label is formed from the label paper, the continuous operation time can be extended even when the winding diameter is the same as the winding diameter of the label tape. Therefore, the replenishment period of the label paper can be extended and the adjustment of the cue in the case of the label tape is not necessary, and the handling is much easier from this point as well.

Since the label length can be expanded / contracted according to the amount of postal information to be printed, the consumption of label paper can be reduced and the applicability can be significantly expanded.

Since the adhesive is applied to the back surface of the label each time, the adhesive strength can be kept high and the amount of application can be adjusted as compared with the case where the adhesive once peeled off using the label tape is reused. The consumption of adhesive can be reduced.

Further, according to the invention of claim 2, since the applying means is formed so that the adhesive can be applied to a plurality of places separated in the direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the mail,
In addition to the effect of the first aspect of the invention, further, the conveyance and supply roller of the label sheet supply means can be simplified, and the adhesive applied to the back surface of the label sheet can be smoothly conveyed and supplied without peeling off, Moreover, the consumption of the adhesive can be further reduced.

Further, according to the invention of claim 3, the cutting means is formed so as to be able to perform the cutting operation after the set time from the time when the postal information is printed on the label paper, so that the postal information for printing the label length is printed. It can be adjusted according to the quantity. Therefore, the consumption of label paper can be further reduced and the continuous operation time can be significantly extended.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is likewise an external perspective view for explaining main components.

FIG. 3 is also a diagram for explaining application, cutting and pasting operations.

FIG. 4 is also a diagram for explaining the coating operation on a plurality of locations.

FIG. 5 is likewise a block diagram for explaining a control unit.

FIG. 6 is also a diagram for explaining the cutting operation after the set time.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining an indirect printing type mail information printing / pasting apparatus using an individual label.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Conveying Means 11 Main Conveyor 12 Sub Conveyor 20 Label Paper Conveying Supply Means 21 Label Paper Roll 22 Label Paper 23 Guide Rollers 24-27 Conveying Supply Rollers 30 Printing Means 40 Applying Means 41-43 Applying Means 45 Adhesives 50 Cutting Means 60 Sticking Means 70 Stacker 80 Control unit 81 CPU 82 ROM 83 RAM 84 Keyboard 85 Display 100 Mail 202 Label C Postal information

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A transporting means for transporting a postal matter in a predetermined direction, a label paper transporting and feeding means for transporting and feeding a label paper in the same direction as the postal matter, and printing of postal information on the surface of the transported label paper. Printing means, applying means for applying adhesive to the back side of the conveyed label paper, and sticking the label paper on the mail being conveyed by pressing the back side with the adhesive applied to the mail A postal information printing / pasting apparatus comprising: a postal information printing unit and a cutting unit that cuts the label sheet behind the postal information. 2. The mail information printing / pasting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the applying means is formed so that the adhesive can be applied to a plurality of locations separated in a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the mail. 3. The postal information printing sticking according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the cutting means is formed so as to be able to perform a cutting operation after a set time has elapsed from the time when the postal information is printed on the label paper. apparatus.