JPH10258820A - Automatic labeler - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent unnecessary labels from being issued for improving operativity by placing two object detection sensors along a carrying direction in an automatic labeler and controlling so that labels are issued in a printing part or the labels are fed without printing based on an output state of the two sensors. SOLUTION: A printing part 11 is provided below a sticking conveyer 6, while first and second sensors 7, 8 for detecting carried objects are provided before and after an introduction conveyer 4. In controlling label issuing, after an item code is set by an input part, when an object at the tip among the objects to be carried is detected by the first sensor 7, printing of the label for the object is done. Then when the object is detected by the second sensor 8 and a subsequent object is detected by the first sensor 7, the label for the subsequent object is printed. On the other hand, if the subsequent object has not been detected by the first sensor 7 when the object at the tip is detected by the second sensor B, the label for the subsequent label is fed without printing.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A label printer that uses labels with labels arranged on a mount in a state where the labels can be peeled off from the mount and prints the labels each time an article conveyed on a conveyor is detected. And an auto labeler for attaching a label to the article.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, this type of auto labeler is printed on one label in advance before labeling is started.
A first printing method that prints on the next label when a conveyed article is detected and affixes the first label to the article at the same time, and a partially first printing method in which the label is completely peeled off when printing is completed There is. The former will be described with reference to FIGS. In these figures, reference numeral 4 denotes an introductory conveyor for transporting articles to a label attaching section, 5 denotes a discharge conveyor for ejecting articles to which labels have been attached, 6 denotes an adhering conveyor for attaching labels to articles, and 8 denotes sticking of labels. The second sensor for issuing an instruction and the first sensor for detecting that 16 articles have been conveyed to the introduction conveyor are not provided in this conventional technique. Then, items necessary for label printing, such as a product name code and a product name, are set, and a work start key (not shown) is pressed.
In FIG. 2, printing is first performed by the thermal head 14 and the printer is on standby. Next, as shown in FIG.
When transported on the top and detected by the second sensor 8, the next label 9
Label 9 previously printed by printing -2
-1 is peeled off by the peeling bar 13 and sent to the attaching conveyor 6 to be attached to the bottom surface of the article 16. Assuming that the work is completed on the article 16, the above-described printed label 9-2
Is left, the label printed with the previous contents remains when the product is switched, and the label with the newly set product name is printed when the work start key is pressed, and the old label is forcibly ejected. There is a problem that one label is wasted every time the product name is changed.
If the user forgets to forcibly discharge the previous label, the previous label will be attached to a new article as it is, causing a problem of losing trust.

Next, the latter partial printing method will be described. In the above-mentioned first printing method, printing is completed with one label, but this method is designed so that the first printed label is completely peeled off when printing is completed.
This is a method of printing as a print range for one sheet within the range of one label. This method will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 6 shows a standby state for label printing.
Is located at the leading end of the first label 9-1. When printing is started, the label mount 10 and the label 9-1 are placed.
Moves from the lower left direction to the upper right direction as the label is printed, and the state of FIG. 7 is obtained. However, the printed label 9
-1 is still attached to the label mount 10, and in this state, the label 9-1 is not peeled off from the label mount 10, so that the label 9-1 is peeled off from the mount in order to be attached to the article. It is necessary to do
It is necessary to further send out the label 9-1 as shown in FIG.
When the label 9-1 is completely peeled off from the label mount 10, the label 9-1 is attached to the bottom of the article by the attaching conveyor 6 as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 8, at this time, the next label 9-2 is sent out, but the portion from this tip to the heating element 15 of the thermal head 14 is called a print dead space. This is a method in which only this portion is first printed during feeding to remove -1. However, this method has a problem in that when the label is exchanged or a new label is set, the first printed portion of the first sheet is not printed. Therefore, even if the product name is changed, the name of the manufacturer or the store whose print content does not change may be printed first, but there is also a problem that this printing method is not suitable for a product whose print content changes each time.

There are the following methods for preventing waste of labels. In FIG. 3, the first sensor 7 is the article 1
When it is detected that the article 6 has been carried into the introduction conveyor 4, the label 9-1 is printed, but a part of the label 9-1 is left on the label mount 10 as shown in the figure, and then the article 16 reaches the second sensor 8. Then, the label 9-1 is peeled off from the label mount 10, and is attached to the bottom surface of the article 16 as shown in FIG. At this time, the heating section 15 of the thermal head 14 of the printing section 11 passes through the printing range of the next label 9-2. Must be returned to the original position, and every time one label is pasted, reverse feed must be performed, so that the label is not wasted, but there is a problem that the printing and pasting ability is reduced.

[0005] Further, the auto labeler is installed in an automatic packaging line for articles, and some of the automatically packaged articles require a label and those that do not, and require labeling. The article is similar to a large-scale, small-quantity production in which the article cannot be specified because the packaging material is a common packaging material and a common packaging material for various articles is used.
On the other hand, an article that does not require labeling uses a unique packaging material printed for the article and is generally a mass-produced product. By the way, in production factories, the above-mentioned various small-volume products and large-volume products are often used on the same packaging line.Therefore, the auto labeler labels and does not label the articles transported on the conveyor. In general, each time a product name code is set, the above distinction is switched by a switch. As a result, incorrect switching could result in the label not being attached to the item that required the label or the label being applied to the item that did not require the label, and the aggregated production results could be unreliable. Was. When the above label is not applied, the auto labeler is simply used as a conveyor. In addition, since this auto-labeler has a counting function of storing the number of labels applied as production results, the data printed with the labels can be counted, but the counting of articles that have passed without labeling was not possible. For this reason, there is a problem in that a tallying machine is required for counting unlabeled articles.

[0006]

As described above, in the prior printing method of the prior art, when the work is completed, one printed label remains and becomes wasteful, and when the article is switched,
Unless the remaining label is forcibly removed, a problem has occurred that the new label is attached to the previous label and loses trust. Also, the partial first printing method is suitable for the case where the first printed part of the first sheet is not printed when the label is replaced or a new label is set, and the printed contents change when the product name is changed. There is also a problem that there is no.
Also, as a method of not wasting the above label, there is a method of returning the original label to the original position after feeding the next label in order to paste a printed label, but this also has a problem that the printing and pasting ability is reduced. . Further, when an article to be labeled and an article not to be attached are conveyed on the same packaging line, the article passes through the auto labeler, but there is a problem that the articles passed without the label cannot be counted.
Therefore, in the first invention, the auto labeler uses two article detection sensors or one article detection sensor and a timer, and at the start of work, does not issue useless labels only by setting the article name code and increases the print sticking ability. It is an object of the present invention to provide an auto-labeler that does not drop, and to provide an auto-labeler that can easily realize not only counting of labeled articles but also counting of unlabeled articles in the second invention.

[0007]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an introduction conveyor for conveying articles, a discharge conveyor for discharging articles to which labels have been attached, and Providing a pasting conveyor for attaching a label between them, providing a printing section below the pasting conveyor, providing a first sensor and a second sensor for detecting articles conveyed before and after the introduction conveyor, respectively.
In an auto-labeler having a control for controlling a label sticking operation, first, an article name code is set on a keyboard of the control section, and then the article is continuously detected by the first sensor detecting the preceding article. And printing the label of the preceding article and, if the first sensor detects the latter article when the second sensor detects the preceding article, prints the label of the later article and prints the label for the earlier article. When the first sensor has not yet detected the article after the second sensor has detected the previous article, the first means provided with a step of peeling and attaching the label from the label paper, A step of peeling off the printed label of the preceding article from the label paper and affixing it by idling the label of the subsequent article without printing, and backing the label for the article after the idling above to the original position. It was configured with a second means provided with a step of feeding. Instead of providing the first sensor and the second sensor, the first sensor and the article
By providing a timer that can set the time from when the sensor detects the label to when the label is attached to the article, the same function as described above can be achieved. Next, in the second invention, in the same auto-labeler, after setting the product name code with the keyboard of the control unit, reading out the product name master stored in the memory in the control unit, the label is set by the label unnecessary flag in the master. By linking the means for selecting whether to print or not and the above-mentioned first sensor to detect an article and this label unnecessary flag, a label is attached to an article requiring a label, and A means for not printing a label is provided, and a means for counting the number of articles to which a label is attached and the number of articles to which no label is attached is provided.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In a first embodiment of the present invention, a case where two sensors are used to detect an article conveyed to an auto-labeler and a case where one sensor is used are summarized. First, when the number of sensors is two, when a first article is detected by the first sensor 7, a label corresponding to the article is printed, and when the first article is detected by the second sensor 8, the first Attach a printed label corresponding to one article. When attaching the above label, if the second article is detected by the first sensor 7, a second feed is used instead of a label feed for attaching the label.
Print a label corresponding to the item. If a label corresponding to the first article is to be attached, and if the second article is not detected by the first sensor 7, a label feed for attaching a printed label corresponding to the first article is performed. After the end of the feed, the label is back-fed by the distance fed for pasting to prepare for printing corresponding to the second article. Next, when the number of sensors is one, the label corresponding to the first article is printed by passing the first article through the sensor 7, the internal timer is set, and the above-mentioned printed label is printed on the article by time-up. paste. When attaching the label corresponding to the first article, when the timer of the second article is not set, that is, when the sensor 7
Does not detect the second article, performs a label feed for attaching a printed label corresponding to the first article, and after the end of the feed, backs up the label by the distance fed for attachment. Feed and prepare for printing corresponding to the second article. In this way, the labels are printed and attached in the number of articles, so that there is no waste with good performance. Second
In the invention of the above, since the label unnecessary flag of the article name master stored in the memory in the control section is linked to the detection of the article to be conveyed by the sensor, the corresponding label is printed on the article requiring the label. It is automatically possible to select not to print on articles that do not need to be pasted or labeled, so that the number of articles that have been pasted and the number of articles that cannot be pasted can be counted.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is an overall view of a bottom-attached auto-labeler according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS.
As shown in FIG. FIG. 2 shows a state where the article has not reached the introduction conveyor, FIG. 3 shows a state where the first article has been sent to the introduction conveyor and a label corresponding thereto has been printed,
FIG. 4 shows a state in which articles are continuously fed, and FIG. 5 shows a state in which articles are continuously fed but the previous article is still detected by the first sensor when the previous article is detected by the second sensor. It is a figure which shows each state which is not performed. In these figures, 1 is a control unit for controlling the auto labeler, 2 is a display unit for displaying items required for printing such as a product name code and product name, 3 is a keyboard for setting a product name code and the like,
4 is an introductory conveyor that conveys goods to the label attaching section, 5
Is a discharge conveyor for discharging the articles to which the label is attached, 6
Is a sticking conveyor for sticking the label to the article, 7 is a first sensor for detecting that the article has been conveyed to the introduction conveyor, and 8 is for detecting that the article has approached the sticking conveyor and issuing a label sticking instruction. A second sensor, 9 is a label, 9 is a label, 10 is a label mount, 11 is a platen roller 12 at a printing unit, a peeling rod 13 for peeling the label from the label mount,
It comprises a thermal head 14, a heating element 15 of the thermal head, and the like. Reference numeral 16 denotes an article to which a label is to be attached.

The first invention will be described with reference to FIGS. First, when starting the work, the product name, the product name code and the like are set on the keyboard 3 and wait for the articles to be conveyed to the introduction conveyor 4 as shown in FIG. Next, as shown in FIG. 3, when the first article 16-1 is conveyed to the introduction conveyor 4 and detected by the first sensor 7 without pressing the work start key as in the conventional method, the corresponding label 9 -1 is printed by the thermal head 14, and as the printing progresses, the label 9-1 and the label backing 10
3, the label 9-1 is partially left on the label mount 10 when printing is completed, as shown in the figure. That is, it waits for label printing to be completed and for the article 16-1 to reach the attaching conveyor 6. Then, when the article 16-1 is conveyed and detected by the second sensor 8, the label 9-1 is sent to the attaching conveyor 6 and attached to the bottom surface of the article 16-1, as shown in FIG. At this time, the next article 16-2 is conveyed to the introduction conveyor 4, and when detected by the first sensor 7, the label 9-2 corresponding to the article is printed as described above. Usually, the articles are conveyed to the introduction conveyor 4 at substantially regular intervals, but as shown in FIG.
The corresponding label 9-2 detected by the sensor 8 is sent out for peeling off from the label mount 10. If the third article 16-3 does not reach the first sensor 7 at that time, the corresponding label 9-2 is sent. No. 3 is not printed, but is fed back, and then back-fed to the print standby position. In this way, there is no need to print a useless label, there is no possibility that an incorrect label is attached to an article, and the article is shipped, and further, there is no decrease in the attaching ability of the auto labeler. To make the above method easier to understand,
FIG. 6 shows a print standby state, FIG. 7 shows a state where the first label has been printed, and FIG. 8 shows a state where the printed label has been peeled off.

FIG. 9A is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of an auto-labeler according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this figure, reference numeral 20 denotes a CP for controlling an autolabeler.
U and 21 are read-only memories (hereinafter referred to as PROMs) for storing programs, 22 are random access memories (hereinafter referred to as RAMs) for calculating various data as the program proceeds, and 23 is a product name corresponding to a product name code. , A clock capable of reading and writing data by a program, and 25 an article conveyor 4.
A counter 26 for the first sensor 7 for detecting that the article has been conveyed, a counter 26 for the second sensor 8 for detecting that the article has approached the adhering conveyer and issuing a label adhering instruction. Is as described above.
Each input / output device I / O 17 is attached. The first sensor counter 25 and the second sensor counter 26
(Hereinafter referred to as the first and second counters) play an important role, and this relationship will be described. First, when the work is started, both the first counter 25 and the second counter 26 are initially cleared to 0, and when an article is next detected by the first sensor 7, the counter 25 is incremented by 1 to 1 When the article is further conveyed and detected by the second sensor 8, the counter 26 thereof is incremented by 1 and becomes 1. From the difference between the two counters, the number of articles between the first sensor 7 and the second sensor 8 can be known. Here, when the first article is detected by the first sensor 7 and the first counter 25 becomes 1 and the second counter 26 becomes 0, the difference is 1 and the label corresponding to the first article is printed and attached. To wait. If the second article is detected by the first sensor while the first article is being transferred, the first counter 25 becomes 2, but since the first article is not detected by the second sensor 8, the first counter 25 The difference is 2, and at this time, the label corresponding to the second article is not printed. Thereafter, when the first article is transferred and detected by the second sensor 8, the second counter 26 becomes 1 and the difference becomes 1, so that the label corresponding to the first article in the standby state is peeled off and attached to the article. At the same time, it prints on the label corresponding to the second article and stands by. Next, the second article is transferred and detected by the second sensor 8,
In a state in which the second product is not yet conveyed to the introduction conveyor, the first counter 25 remains at 2, the second counter 26 becomes 2, and the difference becomes 0, so that the label corresponding to the waiting second product is peeled off. At the same time, the label is affixed to the above-mentioned article and is fed without printing the label corresponding to the third article. Therefore, when the label corresponding to the second article is pasted, the empty fed label is back-fed and returned to the original position. By using the relationship between the two counters that count up with the two sensors in this way, labels can be printed and attached in the number of articles.

The processing of the first sensor 7 in the above-described labeling operation will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In step S1, it is determined whether or not the article conveyed by the first sensor 7 has been detected. If the article has not been detected yet, the determination is NO, the first article flag is turned off in step S2, and the program ends. The first article flag in step S3 is a flag for preventing the same article from being detected more than once in step S1, and the process proceeds to step S1 when YES is obtained. In this step S3, it is determined whether or not the first article flag is ON. If the first article flag is ON, YES is determined and the program is terminated. If this flag is OFF, this flag is turned ON in step S4 and
In step 5, the first sensor counter 25 is set to "+1". Next, the process proceeds to step S6, where the difference between the first sensor counter 25 and the second sensor counter 26 is checked. If the difference is 2 or more, it is not necessary to print a label, so the determination is NO, and the program ends. If the above difference is 1, the result is YES, and the flow advances to step S7 to print a label and end the program.

Next, the processing of the second sensor 8 will be described with reference to FIG.
This will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Step S
In step 11, it is determined whether or not the article detected by the first sensor 7 has been further conveyed and detected by the second sensor 8. If not yet detected, the result is NO, and the second article flag is turned off in step S12 to execute the program. finish. Step S1
The second article flag 3 is a flag for preventing the same article from being detected more than once in step S11.
If 11 is YES, proceed to this step. In this step S13, it is determined whether or not the second article flag is ON, and
In this case, the answer is YES and the program is terminated. If this flag is OFF, this flag is turned ON in step S14, and the second sensor counter 26 is turned on in step S15.
Is set to “+1”. Next, proceeding to step S16, it is checked whether or not the values of the first sensor counter 25 and the second sensor counter 26 are equal. If they are not equal, it indicates that the next article has already been conveyed into the auto-labeler. Therefore, the determination is NO, and the flow advances to step S17 to print the next label, thereby peeling off the previous label and terminating the program. If the value of the first counter 25 is equal to the value of the second counter 26 in step S16, it indicates that the next article is not conveyed into the auto-labeler, so that the answer is YES, and there is no need to print the next label. The next label is fed by the amount necessary to peel off the previous printed label. Therefore, in step 19, the label is back-feeded by the amount fed in preparation for the next label printing, and the program ends.

When the moving time of the article from the first sensor 7 to the second sensor 8 is constant, instead of using the above two sensors, the first sensor 7 and a timer print the label and affix it to the article. be able to. FIG. 10 shows the first
FIG. 11 is a conceptual diagram of a timer for setting a sticking timing when only the sensor 7 is used. This embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS. In these figures, reference numeral 27 denotes a sensor timer address for specifying a memory for storing a time until a label is attached when an article is detected by the first sensor 7;
Reference numeral 28 denotes a printing timer which sets a time until a label is attached when an article is detected by the first sensor 7, and the set timer value is set to "-1" at regular intervals until the set timer value becomes 0. When it reaches 0, it does not "-1" any more.
29 is provided corresponding to the timer 28 and the timer 2
When 8 is set to 0 as a result of being decremented by “1” at regular intervals, O
This flag is turned off when this flag is turned off when the label has been peeled off.

First, the case where the transfer interval of the articles is sufficiently narrow and close to the printing and pasting ability of the auto labeler will be described. When the first sensor 16 detects the first article 16-1, the time until the label is peeled is set in the 0th timer 28 for printing, and the value is set to t0. Next, the sensor timer address 27 is advanced to the first timer 28-1, and the label printing program is executed.
8 is decremented by "1" at regular time intervals. The first sensor 7 is the second
Is detected, the timer address 27 for the sensor is detected.
Is set to t0 in the first timer 28-1 designated by. Then, the value of the sensor timer address 27 is advanced to the second timer 28-2. So the 0th timer 2
When 8 is successively set to "-1" and the result becomes 0, the 0th timer set flag 29 corresponding thereto is turned ON. In the label peeling program, the set flags 29 to 29-3 are always monitored, and when the set flag 29 is confirmed to be ON, it is checked whether or not the value of the next first timer 28-1 is 0.
If not, the set flag 29 is turned off and printing is performed on the next label. At this time, the first article 1 printed first
The label for 6-1 is automatically peeled off when the next label, that is, the label for the second article, has been printed in an amount necessary for peeling off the label previously printed, that is, the label for the first article. It is pasted on the article by the pasting conveyor 6. In this case, the label to be printed later may be irrelevant to the peeling timing of the previously printed label.
By performing the operations sequentially in this manner, the same capability as that of the conventional pre-printing method can be obtained. When these labeling operations are completed, when the value of the timer of the label to be lastly attached becomes 0 and the set flag is turned on, the next article is not detected by the first sensor 7 because the next article is not detected. Should be 0. Therefore, the last label corresponds to a case where the interval between articles described later is sufficiently wide, and the printing timer 28
Is longer than the time required for label printing.

Next, when the transfer interval of the articles is sufficiently wide,
The operation of printing a label, peeling off a label to be attached, and back feeding the next label will be described.
When the first sensor 16 detects the first article 16-1, the time until the label is peeled is set in the 0th timer 28 for printing, and the value is set to t0. Next, when the label printing program is executed, the zeroth timer 28 set with the time t0 is set to “−1” at regular time intervals. Result 0 sequentially set to "-1"
, The 0th timer set flag 29 corresponding thereto is turned on. At this time, the time of the value t0 set in the printing timer 28 is longer than the time required for label printing. The set flag 29 is always used in the label peeling program.
When the set flag monitoring program confirms that the set flag 29 is ON, the set flag 29
Is turned off, and a peeling program for idle feeding of the next label for peeling is executed. After the label is peeled off, the next label that has been fed for blanking is back-fed to prepare for printing corresponding to the next article. At this time, the leading end of the label to be printed is aligned with the position of the heating element 15 of the thermal head 14.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart for setting a timer when the above-described labeling operation is performed only by the first sensor 7 and the timer. This will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 9B. Steps S21 to S24 are the same as the program steps S1 to S4 for detecting an article in FIG. 9B, and when an article is detected, the timer designated by the sensor timer address 27 in FIG. The time from when the article is detected to when label printing is completed and peeling for attaching the label is started is set. Next, in step S26, the timer address for the sensor is set to "+1", and the program ends. FIG. 15 shows a program for processing the set timer. This is a program that is processed every fixed time (for example, every 1 ms). The shorter the repetition time, the better the accuracy of the position where the label is attached to the article. For example, an article conveyed on a 50 m / min conveyor will move about 0.83 mm in 1 ms. This will be described with reference to FIG. 10 and FIG. First, step S
At 27, it is checked whether or not the 0th timer 28 is 0. If it is not 0, the process proceeds to step S28 to set it to "-1". As a result of the above "-1" at step S29, the 0th timer 28 becomes 0
It is further checked whether or not it has become 0. If it has become 0, the 0th set flag 29 is turned on in step S30 to set the first
What is necessary is just to advance to the timer 28-1. When the above-mentioned step S27 is YES and when the step S29 is NO, both may proceed to the first timer 28-1. 1st timer 2
8-1, second timer 28-2, third timer 28-3
The same is true for

FIG. 16 relates to a method of peeling a printed label by a program for monitoring the set flag set in FIG. First, in step S31, FIG.
It is checked whether or not any of the four set flags 0 to 3 described in FIG. 15 are ON. If there is no ON flag, the determination is NO, and the program ends. Y if any flag is ON
ES, and turns on the flag checked in step S32.
In step F33, the flow advances to step S33 to check whether there is a timer other than 0. If there is no timer that is all 0 and not 0, the first sensor 7 has not detected the next article to be conveyed. So, NO and step S
In order to attach the printed label to the article at 34, the next label is fed and the label is peeled off at step S35, and further back-feed is performed by the amount fed at step S35, and the leading end of the next label is placed on the thermal head. End the program according to the tip. If there is a timer that is not 0 in step S33, the result is YES because the first sensor 7 has detected the next article. In step S36, while printing on the next label, the previously printed label is peeled off and the article is removed. Exit the paste program.

FIGS. 1 and 9 show an embodiment of the second invention.
(A) will be described with reference to FIGS. In FIG. 9 (A) showing the internal configuration of the auto-labeler, a serial interface 18 for communicating the counting result to a personal computer and the like and a parallel interface 19 for communicating with the printer for printing the counting result and the like by a journal printer are included in the control unit 1. Is provided. FIG. 11 is a block diagram of the product name master stored in the auto labeler, 30 is a product name code serving as a key of the product name master, 31 is the product name, 32 is the raw material additive, 33 is the expiration date, 34 is the amount of money, and 35 is a label attached. A label unnecessary flag for selecting whether or not to apply the label. When this flag is ON, no label is attached, and when OFF, the label is attached. Reference numeral 36 denotes the internal capacity. FIG. 12 shows the structure of the tabulation data, where 30 is the article name code, and 38 is the number of articles that have passed through the auto-labeler. FIG. 13 shows a print example of a work daily report printed by a journal printer (not shown).
0 is an article name code, 31 is an article name, 38 is the number of articles that have passed through the auto labeler, 40 is a print sheet, 41 is a title indicating a work daily report, 42 is a date, 43 is a title indicating a total, and 44 is a total article number. .

In the embodiment of the second invention, first, the article 16
Is detected by the first sensor 7, the printing of the label 9 is started, and when the article 16 is further conveyed by the introduction conveyor 4 and detected by the second sensor 8, the printed label is placed on the bottom surface of the article 16. Start the paste operation. This sticking operation has been described in detail in the first aspect of the present invention, and will not be described. When the above-mentioned printing and pasting operations are completed, they are counted as the pasted number. Therefore, when the work is first started, the keyboard 3 shown in FIG.
The product name code 30 shown in FIG.
Fig. 1 by searching the product name master stored in 3
The data 31 to 36 of 1 are read, and whether to print the label is selected by the label unnecessary flag of 35. When the flag is OFF, the label is printed and attached to the article 16 as described above. Then, the number of printed labels is counted, and the product name code 30 and its count value 38 are stored in the memory 23 as shown in FIG. When the flag is ON, the label is neither printed nor pasted, but the article 16 is conveyed on the introduction conveyor 4 of the auto labeler, and the first sensor 7 and the second sensor 8 detect the article. At this time, the label printing and pasting operation is stopped on the program of the auto labeler. Here, each time the article 16 is detected by the first sensor 7, the number is counted and stored as the number 38 corresponding to the article name code 30, as shown in FIG.
Of course, in the work daily report shown in FIG. 13, the number of the articles 16 that have passed through the auto-labeler is all displayed at 38, but the producer should know the articles that have been labeled and the articles that have not been labeled by the product name. Here, the flag 35 linked to the product name master is described as a “label unnecessary flag”, but may be linked as a “label required flag”.

[0021]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is sufficient to use labels corresponding to the number of articles without using useless labels for removing unnecessary labels, and only to set an article name code when switching articles. A label corresponding to the article is printed and affixed without deteriorating the ability.
There is an effect that either one or two functions. According to the second aspect of the present invention, by linking a “label unnecessary flag” for classifying whether a label is to be pasted or not pasted to the product name master, not only the total of the articles pasted by the articles, but also There is also an effect that articles that have not been labeled can be counted.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall front view of an auto-labeler according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a portion where a label is attached in an embodiment of the present invention, and shows a state where articles have not reached an introduction conveyor.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a portion to which a label is attached according to the embodiment of the present invention.
This shows a state where a label corresponding to the article is printed.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a portion where a label is attached in the embodiment of the present invention, and shows a state where articles are continuously fed.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a portion to which a label is attached according to the embodiment of the present invention. When articles are continuously fed in, but the previous article is detected by the second sensor, the next article is still in the first position. 1
This shows a state where it is not detected by the sensor.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of a portion where a label is attached according to the embodiment of the present invention, showing a print standby state.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of a portion where a label is attached in the embodiment of the present invention, showing a diagram in which printing of a first label is completed.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of a portion where a label is attached in the embodiment of the present invention, and shows a state where a printed label is peeled off.

9A is a diagram illustrating an internal configuration of an auto-labeler according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 9B is a processing flowchart of a first sensor, and FIG. 9C is a processing flowchart of a second sensor.

FIG. 10 is a conceptual diagram of a timer for setting a sticking timing when only the first sensor is used in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a configuration diagram of a product name master stored in the auto labeler according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a configuration of total data in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a print example of a work daily report printed by a journal printer in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart for setting a timer when performing labeling using the first sensor and the timer in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a program for processing a sensor timer according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a program for monitoring a set flag set in the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Control part 2 Display part 3 Keyboard 4 Introductory conveyor 5 Discharge conveyor 6 Pasting conveyer 7 1st sensor 8 2nd sensor 9 Label 10 Label mount 11 Printing part 12 Platen roller 13 Peeling rod 14 Thermal head 15 Heating element 16 Article 17 Enter Output device I / O 18 Serial interface 19 Parallel interface 20 CPU 21 PROM 22 RAM 23 Memory 24 Clock 25 First sensor counter 26 Second sensor counter 27 Sensor timer address 28 Printing timer 29 Set flag

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An introduction conveyor for conveying an article to a label attaching section, a discharge conveyor for ejecting an article with a label attached thereto, a sticking conveyor provided between the two conveyors and attaching a label to the article, In an auto-labeler provided with a printing unit provided at a lower part of a pasting conveyor, a first sensor and a second sensor for respectively detecting articles conveyed back and forth on the introduction conveyor, and a control unit, a keyboard of the control unit is provided. After the product name code is set in the first item, the first
A step of printing a label corresponding to the article by being detected by the sensor; and, if the preceding article is detected by the second sensor and the later article is detected by the first sensor, First means having a step of printing a label corresponding to the article and simultaneously peeling and attaching a printed label corresponding to the preceding article, and a step in which the preceding article is detected by the second sensor and the subsequent article When has not yet been detected by the first sensor, the label corresponding to the article after the above is not fed, and is fed without printing, thereby peeling and attaching the printed label corresponding to the preceding article; Back-feeding a label corresponding to a later article to an original position, wherein the label is printed in a number corresponding to the article. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein when the preceding article is detected by the second sensor, the difference between the first sensor counter number and the second sensor counter number is "1", and the difference corresponds to the later article. At the same time as printing the label to be printed, the printed label corresponding to the above-mentioned article is peeled and affixed. In the second means, when the previous article is detected by the second sensor, the first sensor counter number and the second When the counter number for the two sensors is the same, the label corresponding to the subsequent article is fed without printing, and the label with print corresponding to the preceding article is peeled off and adhered to the article. 2. The auto-labeler according to claim 1, further comprising a step of back-feeding a corresponding label to an original position. 3. An introduction conveyor that conveys articles to a label attaching section, a discharge conveyor that ejects the articles with the labels attached thereto, a sticking conveyor that is provided between the two conveyors and sticks the labels to the articles, In an auto-labeler provided with a printing unit provided at the lower part of the pasting conveyor, a first sensor for detecting an article conveyed to the front part on the introduction conveyor, a printing timer, and a control unit,
An article name code on the keyboard of the control unit, and a time from when the article is detected by the first sensor to when a label is attached to the article is set in the printing timer, and then the article is conveyed continuously. A step of printing a label corresponding to the preceding article by detecting the preceding article by the first sensor and setting a timer; and setting the timer after the set timer expires as the first article.
First means having a step of printing a label corresponding to the article after being detected by the sensor and simultaneously peeling and attaching a printed label corresponding to the article before, and the article before When the timer set for the timer expires, when the later article is not yet detected by the first sensor, the preceding article is skipped without printing a label corresponding to the later article, thereby providing the earlier article. And a second means having a step of back-feeding the label corresponding to the article to the original position after peeling off and attaching the printed label corresponding to the article, the number of labels corresponding to the article Auto labeler characterized by printing. 4. An introduction conveyor for transporting articles to a label attaching section, a discharge conveyor for ejecting articles with labels attached thereto, a sticking conveyor provided between the two conveyors and attaching labels to articles, and In an auto-labeler provided with a printing unit provided at a lower part of a pasting conveyor, a first sensor and a second sensor for respectively detecting articles conveyed back and forth on the introduction conveyor, and a control unit, a keyboard of the control unit is provided. Means for reading out the article name master stored in the memory in the control section by setting the article name code in the control section, and selecting whether to print or not to print the label according to the label unnecessary flag therein; By linking the detection of the article and the label unnecessary flag, it is possible to respond to the article that needs a label Means for printing and attaching a label to be attached, means for not printing a label on articles that are not required, and means for counting the number of articles to which the label is attached and the number of articles not to be attached, respectively. Autovera.