JPH09118055A - Printing apparatus and printing tape receiving cassette - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printing apparatus which can print on a sheet-shaped printing member such as plain paper and a tape-shaped printing member such as a label tape and a printing tape receiving cassette and to reduce the economic load of a user who prints on both plain paper and a label tape. SOLUTION: A mode change-over switch is installed which can select a word processor printing mode for printing on a sheet-shaped printing medium P and a tape printing mode for printing on a tape-shaped printing member 41, a printing mechanism is controlled by a controller on the basis of the operation of the change-over switch, in the word processor printing mode, printing is carried out on plain paper P while it is being fed, and in the tape printing mode, printing is carried out on the label tape 41 while a carriage 21 moves to the right end position and the label tape 41 is being fed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printing apparatus, and more specifically, it selects printing on a sheet-shaped member to be printed such as plain paper and printing on a tape-shaped member to be printed such as a label tape. The present invention relates to a printing device and a printing tape storage cassette that can be switched as desired and can be used not only as a word processor printer but also as a label printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a printing apparatus, a so-called printer apparatus, those adopting 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) or as a label printer for printing on a label tape.

[0003]

However, in the above-described printer apparatus, whether or not printing is possible is determined by a 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,
It is not possible to print on a label tape for convenience, and conversely, it is possible to print on a label tape, but on the other hand, a sheet-shaped member to be printed such as plain paper (hereinafter collectively referred to as plain paper for convenience) Cannot be printed. Therefore, a user who wants to print on both plain paper and label tape must purchase and prepare both a plain printer and a label printer, which poses a problem that the user's financial burden becomes large. It was

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. Another object of the present invention is to provide a printing tape storage cassette, to easily perform printing according to the printing application, and to reduce the economical burden on the user.

[0005]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a printing apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a platen provided in a printing apparatus main body for supporting a sheet-shaped member to be printed, and an ink ribbon. A first cassette that houses therein a take-up reel that winds the ink ribbon, an ink ribbon, a take-up reel that winds the ink ribbon, a tape-shaped print target member, and the tape-shaped print target member. Carriage means for removably mounting a second cassette accommodating the attached reel therein, and a sheet-shaped member to be printed, which is provided on the carriage means, via the ink ribbon based on print data, or The print head means for performing printing on the tape-shaped member to be printed and the carriage means for the initial position at one end in the longitudinal direction of the platen and the folding position at the other end. A carriage drive means for movably driving in, first for printing on the sheet-like object to be printed member
Mode setting means for setting either one of the printing mode and the second printing mode for printing on the tape-shaped member, and the first cassette is mounted on the carriage means and The sheet-shaped member to be printed is sandwiched between the platen and the ink ribbon in the first cassette, the mode setting means sets the first print mode, and a print start command is input. And controlling the carriage driving means to reciprocate the carriage means between the initial position and the folding position, and at the same time, the print head when the carriage means moves from the initial position to the folding position. A first printing control means for driving the printing means to perform printing on the sheet-shaped printing target member; and the second cassette. The tape-shaped print target member in the second cassette is mounted between the platen and the ink ribbon in the second cassette, and is set by the mode setting unit. When the print command of 2 is set and the print command is input, the carriage driving means is controlled so as to move the carriage means to the folding position and stop at the folding position, and at the same time, the carriage driving means is controlled. The winding head is driven to wind up the ink ribbon, and the print head means is driven while the tip of the tape-shaped print target member in the second cassette is sent to the initial position. A second print control means for controlling to print on the tape-shaped print target member.

Further, according to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a print tape storage cassette in which a print head is provided between an initial position at one end of a platen for supporting a sheet-shaped member to be printed and a folding position at the other end of the platen. Of the printing device for driving the print head means to print on the sheet-shaped member to be printed through the ink ribbon in the ink ribbon cassette while moving the carriage means having the means and having the ink ribbon cassette mounted therein. It is assumed that the carriage means is a cassette that can be mounted in place of the ink ribbon cassette.

The print tape storage cassette of the present invention comprises an ink ribbon, a take-up reel for winding the ink ribbon, and a tape-shaped print member to be printed by the print head means instead of the sheet-shaped print member. A reel around which the tape-shaped member to be printed is wound, and
The ink ribbon and the tape-shaped printing target member have substantially the same width, and the thickness of the main body of the cassette is set to a thickness slightly exceeding the same width.

In the printing apparatus and the printing tape storage cassette, a peeling member is releasably adhered to the tape-shaped member to be printed with an adhesive layer as described in claim 3, for example. .

According to the invention described in claim 1,
Under the setting of the first print mode, the carriage driving means is controlled so as to reciprocate between the initial position of one end and the folding position of the other end of the platen in the longitudinal direction of the platen. While the print head unit is driven to print on the sheet-shaped member to be printed during the forward movement toward the folding position, the carriage unit is moved to the folding position to set the folding position under the setting of the second print mode. The carriage driving means is controlled so as to be stopped at the same time, the take-up reel in the second cassette is taken up and driven to take up the ink ribbon, and the leading end of the tape-shaped print target member in the second cassette is initialized. It is possible to print on the tape-shaped member to be printed by driving the print head means while feeding it toward the position.

Therefore, when printing on a tape-shaped member to be printed under the setting of the second print mode, the second
While the cassette is stopped at the folding position, the leading end of the tape-shaped print target member in the second cassette is fed toward the space for moving the carriage means formed in the initial position direction of the platen. It is possible to perform printing on a tape-shaped printing target member, and as a result, according to the printing application, it is possible to prevent inconvenient situations such as the tip of the tape-shaped printing target member getting entangled during the movement of the carriage means. It is possible to print quickly and easily on a tape-shaped member to be printed or to print on a sheet-shaped member to be printed.

According to the second aspect of the invention, the ink ribbon and the tape-shaped print target member having substantially the same width are provided inside, and the thickness of the main body of the cassette is slightly less than the same width. Since the thickness is set to exceed, it can be formed in the same way as an ink ribbon cassette used when printing is performed on a sheet-shaped member to be printed and is easy to handle, and the carriage means of the printing device is changed to a special shape. Since there is no need, the cassette itself and the printing device can be constructed at low cost.

[0012]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 7 show a printer according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a main part, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view in a state different from FIG.
4 is a sectional view showing the relationship between the label tape, the ink ribbon and the thermal head, FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the control system,
6 and 7 are flowcharts showing the control process.

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

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 so as to face the opening. Although not shown in the drawing, various drive mechanisms (sheet feeding mechanism) such as a plain paper feeding mechanism are provided inside. A loading section) is provided. Although a detailed description is omitted, this feed mechanism uses the printing mechanism 2
When the printing operation is performed on the plain paper P, the plain paper P is sent out every 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 driving mechanism, and is driven to rotate in a later-described word processing print mode or the like to feed 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 numerals are omitted in the figure) at a position on the platen roller 23 side at the upper portion, and although not shown, an ink ribbon drive mechanism and the like are provided inside. It is provided. The thermal head 22 has a number of heating elements connected to a controller, and the heat generated by 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 based on print data, and transfers ink of the ink ribbon to form an image, that is, print. The thermal head 22 and the ink ribbon constitute printing means.

The carriage 21 is driven by a carriage driving mechanism (not shown) and moves along the guide rod 15 between the initial position at the leftmost end and the folded position at the rightmost end. As will be described later, the carriage 21 is driven to reciprocate in accordance with the printing line on the plain paper P in the word processing printing mode, and is moved to the rightmost position with respect to the platen roller 23 in the tape printing mode.

The carriage drive mechanism of the carriage 21 is also controlled by the controller 90 similarly to the drive mechanism of the mechanism accommodating portion 11b described above. The carriage 21 or the above-described main body 11 corresponds to a printing apparatus main body.

A label cassette 30 is detachably formed in the cassette mounting portion, and a label tape feeding drive shaft 25 and an ink ribbon winding drive shaft 26 connected to a drive mechanism inside the carriage 21 are provided on the cassette mounting portion in a protruding manner. It The label tape feed drive shaft 25 and the ink ribbon take-up drive shaft 26 are respectively fitted to a reel stand of a label cassette 30 mounted in a cassette mounting section, which will be described later, and are driven by a reel drive mechanism to rotate the reel stand. .

The label cassette 30 has a recess (not shown).
Is formed, and the above-described thermal head 22 is positioned in the concave portion, and is mounted on the cassette mounting portion. As shown in detail in FIGS.
Has a label tape supply reel base (tape loading unit) 3
2. An ink ribbon supply reel base 33, an ink ribbon take-up reel base 34, a guide member 35, a guide roller (not shown), and the like are provided. The label tape feed reel base 32 is fitted with the label tape feed drive shaft 25 described above when the label cassette 30 is mounted, and is driven by the feed drive shaft 25. 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 drive shaft 26.

Further, the label tape supply reel base 32 is equipped with a label tape reel (for convenience sake, the same reference numeral 32 as that of the reel base 32 is attached) on which the label tape 41 is wound and held. Reel stand 33
The ink ribbon reel 33, which holds the ink ribbon 42, is mounted on the reel, and the reel 34 is mounted on the reel base 34 for reeling the ink ribbon. The ink ribbon 42 is slidably engaged with the thermal head 22 and the guide member 35 between the reel bases 33 and 34, and the label tape 41 is placed between the thermal head 22 and the platen roller 23 on the platen roller 23 side. Then, it comes into contact with the ink ribbon 42 and is pulled out to the outside.

The ink ribbon 42 and the label tape 41 have substantially the same width, and the thickness of the cassette body (case 31) is set to slightly exceed the same width. As a result, the label cassette 30 can be easily attached to the carriage 21 in place of the ink ribbon cassette for the word processor without changing the structure of the carriage 21 of the word processor W.

In the tape printing mode to be described later, the label cassette 30 is pulled out between the thermal head 22 and the platen roller 23 with the label tape 41 and the ink ribbon 42 in contact with each other, as shown in FIG. . In the word processing print mode, as shown in FIG. 3, only the ink ribbon 42 is pulled out.

In the word processor printing mode described above, the case 31 may be provided with a locking portion, and the leading end of the label tape 41 may be locked to this locking portion.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, 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 formed by laminating a release paper 41c on a tape base material 41a via an adhesive layer 41b in a releasable manner.
Is constituted by impregnating a substrate with a heat-meltable or thermo-sublimable ink. These label tape 41 and ink ribbon 4
2 is supplied between the thermal head 22 and the platen roller 23 in a state where the tape base material 41 a of the label tape 41 is in contact with the ink ribbon 42.

The controller 90 includes, 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 keys of the keyboard 11a and the display unit 19, and controls the display of the display unit and controls the driving circuits 93, 94, and 95 based on key inputs and the like. Although detailed description is omitted, the thermal head drive control circuit 93 drives the heating element of the thermal head 22 based on the output (print data) of the CPU 91, and similarly, the carriage drive circuit 94 drives the carriage 21 to move. Let This controller 90 corresponds to control means.

The ink ribbon supply drive circuit 95 includes a label tape feed drive shaft 25 of the carriage 21 and an ink ribbon take-up drive shaft 26 based on the output of the controller 91.
And control the drive. Although details will be described later, the ink ribbon supply drive circuit 95 in this embodiment drives only the ink ribbon take-up drive shaft 26 to operate in the tape print mode when the mode changeover switch 12b is operated in the word processor print mode. If so, 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 CPU 71 executes the processes shown in the flowcharts of FIGS. 6 and 7 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, in step S10
1 to determine whether the print start switch 12a has been turned on.
That is, it is determined whether or not the print start switch 12a has been operated to the print start position, and if the print start switch 12a has been 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. If the mode is the label printing mode, the processing from step S103 is performed. If the mode is the word processing printing mode, the processing from step S112 is performed.

Here, when performing tape printing, the ink ribbon and the label tape are wound in advance between the thermal head and the platen roller in a state of being overlapped as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, only the ink ribbon is wound between the thermal head and the platen roller, and plain paper P is previously loaded.

In step S103, the carriage 21 is moved to the rightmost end in FIG. 1 with respect to the platen roller 23. If 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 subsequent 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 take-up 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 on the ink ribbon take-up reel base 34, and the label tape 41 is sent out. With the ink ribbon 42 and the label tape 41 in close contact with each other, the thermal head 22 and the platen roller 23 The label tape 41 is heated by the thermal head 22 and printed on the label tape 41 at this time.

Subsequently, in step S108, it is determined whether or not all printing has been completed, that is, whether or not printing data has been completed. If all printing has not been completed, the processing from step S107 is repeatedly executed again. If all printing has been completed, the driving of the thermal head 22 and the driving 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 ends.

On the other hand, in step S111, the carriage 21 is moved to the leftmost position with respect to the platen roller 23, and in step S112, the position of the carriage 21 is determined. 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 ink ribbon winding drive shaft 26 is driven while the thermal head 22 is driven to generate heat in accordance with the print data, and the carriage 21 is moved rightward in accordance with the printing. Therefore,
Printing is performed on the plain paper P over a line length corresponding to the print data. Then, in step S116, it is determined whether or not the printing line, that is, printing of one line has been completed,
If it is determined that the printing is completed, the above-described step S10 is performed.
9, the processing of S110 is performed to end the print control.
If it is determined that printing has not been completed, step S117 is performed.
The following processing is performed.

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 position, the processing from step S115 is performed again to move the carriage 21 to the rightmost position. If the carriage 21 has moved to the rightmost position, step S1
In step 18, the heat generation drive of the thermal head 22 and the rotation drive of the ink ribbon take-up drive shaft 26 are stopped.
At 19, the thermal head 22 is separated from the platen roller 23, and thereafter, the processing from step S111 is performed again to print the next line.

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

In the above-described embodiment, the mode selection is made by operating the mode changeover switch 12b. However, on the bottom face of the case 31 of the cassette 30 or the like, an identification unit for discriminating between word processor printing and tape printing, for example, 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.

[0042]

As described above, according to the present invention, printing on a tape-shaped printing target member such as a label tape can be performed normally by one printing device according to the printing application of the user. Printing on a sheet-shaped member such as paper can also be performed quickly and easily, reducing the financial burden on the user compared to the conventional case where two dedicated printing devices are purchased. can do.

According to the first aspect of the invention, under the setting of the first print mode, the carriage means reciprocates between the initial position of one end of the platen in the longitudinal direction and the folding position of the other end. The carriage driving means is controlled so that the print head means is driven during forward movement from the initial position of the carriage means to the folding position to perform printing on the sheet-shaped target member, while the second printing mode is set. Under the setting, the carriage driving unit is controlled to move the carriage unit to the folding position and stop at the folding position, and the take-up reel in the second cassette is driven to be wound to wind the ink ribbon, Second
It is possible to print on the tape-shaped target member by driving the print head means while feeding the tip of the tape-shaped target member in the cassette toward the initial position.

Therefore, when printing is performed on the tape-shaped print target member under the setting of the second print mode, the second
While the cassette is stopped at the folding position, the leading end of the tape-shaped print target member in the second cassette is fed toward the space for moving the carriage means formed in the initial position direction of the platen. It is possible to perform printing on a tape-shaped printing target member, and as a result, according to the printing application, it is possible to prevent inconvenient situations such as the tip of the tape-shaped printing target member getting entangled during the movement of the carriage means. It is possible to print quickly and easily on a tape-shaped member to be printed or to print on a sheet-shaped member to be printed.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the ink ribbon and the tape-shaped print target member having substantially the same width are provided inside, and the thickness of the main body of the cassette is slightly smaller than the above-mentioned width. Since the thickness is set to exceed, it can be formed in the same way as an ink ribbon cassette used when printing is performed on a sheet-shaped member to be printed and is easy to handle, and the carriage means of the printing device is changed to a special shape. Since there is no need, the cassette itself and the printing device can be constructed at low cost.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a main part of the printing apparatus of FIG.

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

4 is a cross-sectional view of a label tape used in the printing apparatus of FIG.

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 rest of the control processing.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 printer 11 main body (printer main body) 12a printing start switch 12b mode changeover switch (mode selecting means) 21 carriage 22 thermal head (printing means) 23 platen roller 25 label tape feeding drive shaft 26 ink ribbon winding drive shaft 30 label Cassette 41 Label tape (tape-shaped target member) 42 Ink ribbon (printing unit) 90 Controller (control unit) W Word processor P Plain paper (sheet-shaped target member)

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A platen provided in a main body of a printing apparatus for supporting a sheet-shaped member to be printed, an ink ribbon and a first cassette for accommodating a take-up reel for winding the ink ribbon, and an ink. A ribbon and a take-up reel that winds the ink ribbon, and a carriage unit that replaceably mounts a tape-shaped member to be printed and a second cassette in which the reel on which the tape-shaped member to be wound is housed A print head means provided on the carriage means for printing on the sheet-shaped print target member or the tape-shaped print target member via the ink ribbon based on print data; and the carriage means for the platen. A carriage drive unit that is movably driven between an initial position at one end and a folding position at the other end in the longitudinal direction of the sheet, and the sheet-shaped print receiving portion. Mode setting means for setting one of a first print mode for performing printing on the tape and a second print mode for performing printing on the tape-shaped member to be printed, and the first cassette for the carriage. The sheet-shaped member to be printed is mounted between the platen and the ink ribbon in the first cassette, and the mode setting unit sets the first printing mode to print. When a start command is input, the carriage driving means is controlled to reciprocate the carriage means between the initial position and the folding position, and the carriage means is moved from the initial position to the folding position. First print control means for controlling the print head means to perform printing on the sheet-shaped print target member during forward movement; The second cassette is mounted on the carriage means, and the tape-shaped print target member in the second cassette is sandwiched between the platen and the ink ribbon in the second cassette. When the second printing mode is set by the setting means and a print command is input, the carriage driving means is controlled so as to move the carriage means to the folding position and stop at the folding position. The print head while the winding reel in the second cassette is driven to wind up the ink ribbon and the tip of the tape-shaped print target member in the second cassette is sent toward the initial position. Second print control means for controlling the means to drive the means to perform printing on the tape-shaped member to be printed. Shaped apparatus. 2. A carriage means having a print head means and an ink ribbon cassette mounted between an initial position at one end and a folding position at the other end of a platen for supporting a sheet-shaped member to be printed. Can be mounted in place of the ink ribbon cassette on the carriage means of the printing device that drives the print head means to print on the sheet-shaped member to be printed through the ink ribbon in the ink ribbon cassette while moving the In the cassette, the tape-shaped print-receiving member to be printed by the print head means instead of the ink ribbon, the take-up reel that winds the ink ribbon, and the sheet-shaped print-receiving member, and the tape. A tape-shaped target member is provided, and the ink ribbon and the tape-shaped target member are provided. It has the same width, the print tape storage cassette, characterized in that the thickness of the body of the cassette is set to a thickness greater than the same width slightly. 3. The printing device and the printing tape storage cassette according to claim 1, wherein a peeling member is releasably adhered to the tape-shaped member to be printed through an adhesive layer. Printing device.