WO1999038692A2

WO1999038692A2 - Tape printing apparatus and printing tape cassette

Info

Publication number: WO1999038692A2
Application number: PCT/JP1999/000427
Authority: WO
Inventors: Koji Deguchi; Yasuhiro Maeda; Takashi Kojo
Original assignee: Casio Computer Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 1998-02-02
Filing date: 1999-02-02
Publication date: 1999-08-05
Also published as: JP2002240356A; WO1999038692A3

Abstract

A printing tape (31) comprises a printing tape main body (32), an adhesive layer (34) formed on a back surface of the printing tape main body (32) and a peeling or back sheet (35) formed integral with the printing tape main body (32) through the adhesive layer (34). A cut (36) is formed in the printing tape main body (32) in advance in the longitudinal direction of the printing tape main body (32) such that the printing tape main body (32) can be divided into a plurality of individual tapes (32a, 32b) when the printing tape main body (32) is removed from the back sheet (35). The inputted printing character string of 'MEMORY' is rotated by 90° with a character size specified in accordance with the tape (32a) and vertically printed to form an upper label (LA) divided by the cut (36). After printing, the labels (LA, LB) divided by the cut (36) are peeled off from the back sheet (35) and attached as a backbone label and a cover label of, for example, a file.

Description

D E S C R I P T I O N

TAPE PRINTING APPARATUS AND PRINTING TAPE CASSETTE

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a tape printing apparatus for printing characters on a printing tape and to a tape cassette accommodating the printing tape for use in the tape printing apparatus . Background Art

Conventionally, there has been known a tape printing apparatus for printing a character string on a printing tape and forming a label .

A tape printing apparatus of this type comprises a keyboard for inputting a series of characters, a printing mechanism for printing the inputted character string in the longitudinal direction of a printing tape, a tape feeding mechanism for supplying the printing tape to the printing mechanism during print operation, a cutter mechanism for cutting and separating, as a label, the tip end portion of the tape on which the character string is printed, an electronic circuit including a memory for storing the inputted character string and a control section for controlling the respective constituent elements of the tape printing apparatus during print operation, and the like.

A tape cassette accommodating the printing tape is detachably installed to the main body of the tape printing apparatus. The printing tape is designed to be fed from the tape cassette to the printing mechanism by the tape feeding mechanism. Printing tapes which can be used for the tape printing apparatus have a plurality of widths. Plural kinds of tape cassettes are prepared for accommodating printing tapes of different widths, respectively.

A tape cassette which accommodates a printing tape corresponding to the width of the label which a user intends to form is installed to the tape printing apparatus from among the plural kinds of tape cassettes. If any character string is inputted and printing is demanded, the inputted character string is printed in the longitudinal direction of the printing tape by the printing mechanism of the tape printing apparatus . The tip end portion of the printing tape on which the character string is printed is cut by a cutter mechanism provided in the tape printing apparatus and a desired label is thereby obtained.

The printing tape is attached to a back paper (or peeling paper) via an adhesive layer on the back surface of the tape and the peeling paper is removed from the formed label . The labels thus formed are attached to target goods.

FIG. 25 shows a label formed by a conventional tape printing apparatus. In FIG. 25, a label La formed by using a tape of width Wa and a label Lb formed by using a tape of width Wb larger than the width Wa are attached to a target box X.

When the two labels La and Lb are formed by the conventional tape printing apparatus, a tape cassette accommodating a printing tape of width Wa is first installed to the tape printing apparatus and an inputted character string is printed on the tape. Thereafter, the tape cassette is changed to a tape cassette accommodating a printing tape of width Wb different from the width Wa and the same character string is printed on the latter tape.

There has been proposed another printing method, as shown in FIG. 26. First, a tape cassette which accommodates a printing tape of width Wc at least equal to or larger than a sum of widths Wa + Wb, is installed to the tape printing apparatus . Two character strings arranged in columns and inputted by designating printing character sizes are printed on the printing tape with the width Wc , and a combination label Lc is formed. The label Lc is then cut along the line Cl by scissors to separate a label La of width Wa from a label Lb of width Wb.

In addition, a large number of name labels which are the same in content are formed by a conventional tape printing apparatus. In this case, if a character string of a name to be printed is inputted and a command to print characters is issued while designating the number of prints or labels, then labels in the designated number are printed in the longitudinal direction of the printing tape installed to the tape printing apparatus in a repetition manner.

FIG. 27 shows an example of a printed tape, where C2 indicates positions on the tape on which the tape is cut by the cutter mechanism each time the print operation of one character string of a name "YAMADA" is completed. In this example, a large number of labels of the same width and the same length are formed.

However, the conventional tape printing apparatuses have various problems .

That is, if the label La and label Lb shown in FIG. 25 are formed using a printing tape of width Wa and that of width Wb, respectively, a tape cassette which accommodates the printing tape of width Wa is installed to the tape printing apparatus and the label La is formed. Next, the tape cassette is changed to that which accommodates the printing tape of width Wb and the label Lb is formed. Thus, it is required to change tape cassettes whenever a plurality of labels of different widths are formed, which operation troubles a user . Additionally, if two character strings arranged in columns are printed on a single printing tape and the tape is cut as shown in FIG. 26, it is required to designate a character size for each column and to repeatedly input the two-column character strings to print them arranged in a well-balanced manner in the width direction of the printing tape in view of later cutting and separation of the tape. The input operation is, thus, troublesome. So is the operation of cutting and separating the formed label into a plurality of labels. Besides, it is difficult to cut and separate the label accurately linearly by hand using the scissors.

Further, if a plurality of name labels are serially printed on a printing tape, it takes a lot of time to complete printing a designated number of labels This is because the tape printing apparatus form labels one by one by repeatedly printing character strings in the direction of the longitudinal direction of the printing tape and cutting the printing tape one by one. Normally, since a tape printing apparatus is sold at a low price, a printing mechanism, a print control circuit and the like provided therein are simple in arrangement. Due to this, printing speed at which characters are printed on the tape tends to be slow. There is no problem with such simple arrangement if a few labels are to be printed by the conventional tape printing apparatus. If a large number of labels are to be continuously printed, however, it takes a lot of time to perform printing, which gives a user inconvenience. Moreover, since a large number of labels formed as shown in FIG. 27 are small in size and cut and separated individually, to check the number of obtained labels and to maintain them disadvantageously entail labor and they are easily missing.

Disclosure of Invention The present invention has been made to solve the above-stated problems and it is an object of the present invention to provide a tape printing apparatus capable of printing a character string on a printing tape and forming plural kinds of labels having different widths without changing a printing tape cassette accommodating the printing tape to another, and the printing tape cassette for use with the tape printing apparatus .

It is another object of the present invention to provide a tape printing apparatus capable of dispensing with printed tape cutting process by hand using scissors, for example, after printing process when plural kinds of labels are formed using a single printing tape, and a printing tape cassette for use with the tape printing apparatus .

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a tape printing apparatus capable of making printing time required for printing a large number of labels shorter than in the conventional tape printing apparatus and capable of checking the number of printed labels and maintaining the printed labels easily. To achieve the above object, a tape printing apparatus according to the present invention, detachably provided with a printing tape cassette accommodating a printing tape comprising a back sheet and a printing tape main body provided on the back paper through an adhesive layer formed on a back surface of the printing tape main body, at least a cut formed in the printing tape main body in a longitudinal direction of the printing tape main body to divide the printing tape main body into a plurality of individual tapes when the printing tape main body is peeled off from the back sheet, for printing a character string on the printing tape main body, the apparatus comprising input means for inputting character string data to be printed; printing means for conducting printing in a longitudinal direction of the printing tape main body; and printing control means for forming print data to distribute the character string data inputted from the input means to the plurality of individual tapes constituting the printing tape main body and to print the data on the plurality of individual tapes, for controlling the printing means based on the character string data, and for printing the inputted character string data on the surface of the printing tape main body.

According to the tape printing apparatus with such a structure, since inputted character string data is printed on a plurality of individual tapes divided by the cut in a single printing operation, excellent efficiency in printing process is realized and printing process is conducted for a short period of time when a lot of the labels are formed. In addition, since the widths of a plurality of individual tapes may be changed by adjusting the position of the cut, printing can be simultaneously conducted on the printing tape main body with different widths. By so doing, when a plurality of labels with different widths are desired to be formed, it is possible to dispense with changing the tape cassette. Additionally, since a cut or cuts are previously formed, a user can dispense with laborious operations necessary in the conventional apparatus, including, for example, cutting a tape into a plurality of labels by using a cutter such as scissors after printing character strings on the single tape for a plurality of labels is completed. Moreover, a plurality of individual tapes constituting the printing tape main body are provided on a back sheet via an adhesive layer and may not be removed unless they are peeled off from the back sheet, thereby facilitating managing or holding them. Further, the tape printing apparatus according to the present invention has a structure in which a printing tape of a desired width is designated from among a plurality of printing tapes accommodated in the tape cassette, so that a plurality of individual tapes of different widths may be formed on the designated tape according to the present invention. In other words, individual tapes of a plurality of widths can be handled with a single tape cassette. The cassette is less frequently changed than in the conventional apparatus in which a cassette accommodates only a tape of one width. The apparatus of the present invention is therefore easier to use than the conventional one. Besides, the tape printing apparatus according to the present invention has a structure in which kinds of the accommodated printing tapes are detected and character printing sizes for the individual tapes are automatically set, thereby facilitating printing form setting and making easier to use the apparatus.

In addition, a printing tape cassette according to the present invention, detachably provided to a printing apparatus accommodating a printing tape on which characters are to be printed by printing means provided to the printing apparatus , wherein the printing tape is constituted by a back sheet and a printing tape main body having an adhesive layer formed on a back surface of the printing tape main body so as to hold the printing paper main body on the back sheet, and in that at least one cut is formed in the printing tape main body in a longitudinal direction of the printing tape main body such that the printing tape main body can be divided into a plurality of individual tapes when the individual tapes are peeled off from the peeling or back sheet. In the printing tape cassette according to the present invention, a printing tape main body is divided into a plurality of individual tapes by the cut or cuts . Due to this, the printing tape cassette of the present invention has various advantages. For instance, even if the cassette is installed to an ordinary or conventional tape printing apparatus which conducts printing in the longitudinal direction of the printing tape, labels of different widths can be formed in a single printing operation, a lot of labels can be efficiently formed, and the labels thus formed may not be separated until the printed tape is pealed off from the back sheet.

Furthermore, if the printing tape cassette of the present invention is installed to the tape printing apparatus according to the present invention capable of conducting printing control process corresponding to the tape cassette, it is possible to provide various advantages by the tape printing apparatus according to the present invention. Brief Description of Drawings

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a tape printing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the tape printing apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective outside view of the interior of a cassette holding section and a tape cassette being installed in the tape printing apparatus of the first embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing that the tape cassette is installed to the cassette holding section in the tape printing apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIGS. 5A through 5G show the structure of a cutter cam and that of the movable edge driven by the cutter cam to be thereby opened/closed as well as a series of operation states in which the cutter cuts the tape; FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the structure of a printing tape accommodated in the printing tape cassette in the first embodiment according to the present invention;

FIG. 7 shows a state in which how the thermal head corresponds to a printing tape in the width direction of the printing tape;

FIG. 8 shows another state in which how the thermal head corresponds to two printing tapes having different widths; FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an electronic circuit in the tape printing apparatus of the present invention; FIG. 10 is an explanatory view for a document or printing form table;

FIG. 11 is an explanatory view showing an example of printed characters based on the document form data of the document form table shown in FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is an explanatory view showing how the elements of the thermal head correspond to the areas of the print buffer;

FIG. 13 is an explanatory view of input character string data;

FIG. 14 is an example of printed character strings on two labels;

FIG. 15 is an explanatory view showing how labels of FIG. 14 are being put on a target; FIG. 16 is another example of printed character strings on labels;

FIGS. 17A and 17B are flowcharts showing label forming process using the printing tape of FIG. 6;

FIG. 18 is a flow chart showing developing process of print data;

FIG. 19 is an example of printing character strings for printing a plurality of name labels;

FIG. 20 is a flow chart showing a name label forming process; FIG. 21 is an explanatory view showing a printing tape main body including printing tapes of different widths ; FIGS. 22A through 22F are examples of printing characters of different sizes on the printing tape main body of FIG. 21;

FIG. 23 is a flow chart showing a label forming process using the printing tape main body of FIG. 21; FIG. 24 is an explanatory view of a width selection menu on a display screen;

FIG. 25 shows an example of conventional usage of labels formed by a conventional technique; FIG. 26 is a view for describing conventional label formation manner; and

FIG. 27 is a view for describing conventional name level formation manner .

Best Mode of Carrying Out the Invention The embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings .

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a tape printing apparatus and FIG. 2 is a side view of the apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The tape printing apparatus 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and

2 includes a key input section 3, a display section 4 and a cover 5 on the upper surface of an apparatus main body 2.

The key input section 3 includes character keys, print key for inputting a command for starting a printing operation, a cursor key for moving a cursor on a display screen of the display section 4 and various control keys necessary to process for edit, various settings, printing and the like for inputted character strings .

The display section 4 is a liquid crystal display device and displays inputted data and processing contents .

A cassette holding section 6 to which a tape cassette accommodating a printing tape is detachably installed is provided below the cover 5. When the cover 5 is held in its open position, the cassette can be detached from or installed in the cassette holding section 6.

FIG. 3 is perspective outside views of the interior of the cassette holding section 6 of the tape printing apparatus 1 and of a tape cassette 21 being installed to the cassette holding section 6 and accommodating a printing tape 31 and an ink ribbon 41.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing that the tape cassette 21 is installed to the cassette holding section 6 of the tape printing apparatus 1.

The cassette holding section 6 of the tape printing apparatus 1 is provided with a printer section 7 (see FIG. 3) including a tape printing mechanism for print-processing the printing tape 31, a tape feeding mechanism for feeding the printing tape 31 to the position of the printing mechanism, a tape cutter mechanism for cutting the character printed tip end portion of the printing tape 31 and the like.

Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a platen roller 8, a thermal head 9 and an ink ribbon winding shaft 10 are provided within the cassette holding section 6.

The platen roller 8 is rotated by a driving mechanism (not shown) and feeds the printing tape 31 during print operation.

The thermal head 8 is provided with a plurality of heater elements 9a axially arranged in a row along the outer periphery of the platen roller 8 and corresponding to the width direction of the printing tape 31. The plurality of heater elements 9a are selectively heated based on print data and characters are printed on the printing tape 31.

The thermal head 9 is swung around a support shaft 9b by a head moving mechanism (not shown) in cooperative manner with the opening/closing of the cover 5. While the cover 5 is closed during, for example, print operation, the thermal head 9 press-contacts with the platen roller 8. When the cover 5 is opened while, for example, the tape cassette 21 is changed to another, the thermal head 9 is distant from the platen roller 8.

The ink ribbon winding shaft 10 winds the ink ribbon 41 which has been used in printing.

The cassette holding section 6 also includes a tape sensor 11 for detecting the kind of the printing tape 31 accommodated in the tape cassette 21 through the tape cassette 21. The tape sensor 11 is constituted of a plurality of micro-switches (not shown) . The tape cassette 21 includes a discriminating section 27 shaped according to the kind of the printing tape 31 accommodated within the cassette 21. When a tape cassette 21 is installed to the cassette holding section 6, the plurality of micro-switches, in different combination, are curned on or off. Using on/off combination information outputted from the plural micro-switches, the width of the printing tape 31 accommodated in the tape cassette 21 and the kind of the printing tape to be described later are detected. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the tape cassette 21 installed to the tape printing apparatus 1 is provided with a tape holding reel 23 winding the printing tape 31 within the cassette case 22, a ribbon supply reel 24 winding an ink ribbon 41 and a ribbon winding reel 25 winding the ink ribbon 41 which has been used in printing.

A concave part 26 is provided at the side of the tape cassette 21 by notching a corresponding part of the cassette case 22. The printing tape 31 and ink ribbon 41 are pulled from reels 23 and 24 within the cassette case 22 and exposed to the concave part 26.

As will be described later, there are a plurality of printing tapes 31 having different widths and kinds applicable to the above-stated tape printing apparatus 1. Accordingly, a plurality of kinds of tape cassettes 21 are prepared to accommodate the printing tapes 31 having different widths and kinds, respectively. The ink ribbon 41 accommodated in the tape cassette 21 is as wide as the printing tape 31 having the largest width and is coated with black ink.

Additionally, in FIGS. 3 and 4, reference numeral 27 denotes a tape discriminating section shaped in accordance with the kind of the printing tape 31 accommodated in the tape cassette 21. The tape discriminating section 27 turns a plurality of micro- switches of the tape sensor 11 on/off depending on the presence/absence of a notch 28. When the tape sensor 11 is made of three switches, eight kinds of tapes can be discriminated from three-bit information depending on whether or not the notch 28 is provided at the tape discriminating section 27 corresponding to the respective micro-switches . In FIG. 4, reference numeral 29 denotes a guide member for guiding the tape 31 and the ink ribbon 41 fed out from the cassette case 22.

As shown in FIG. 4, if the tape cassette 21 is installed to the tape cassette holding section 6 of the tape printing apparatus 1, the thermal head 9 is inserted into the concave part 26 of the tape cassette 21 and the ink ribbon winding shaft 10 is fitted into a reel hole of the ribbon winding reel 25. The printing tape 31 and ink ribbon 41 pulled out together from the cassette case 22 are exposed to the concave portion 26 of the tape cassette 21 and put between the thermal head 9 and the platen roller 8.

The thermal head 9 is heated based on the printing information inputted from the key input section 3 and thermally transfers the ink of the ink ribbon 41 on the printing tape 31. When one line is printed by the thermal head 9 in the width direction of the printing tape 31, the platen roller 8 is rotated and the printing tape 31 and the ink ribbon 41 are fed from the tape cassette 21. The printing tape 31 and the ink ribbon 41 are then conveyed by a predetermined distance and the next one line is printed. By repeating the print operation, inputted character strings are printed. The ink ribbon 41 used in thermal transfer is wound by the ribbon winding reel 25 by the rotation of the ribbon winding shaft 10. The printing tape 31 on which character strings have been printed is discharged from a tape ejection port 12 to the outside of the apparatus 1 by the platen roller 8. The tape ejection port 12 is provided with a cutter 13 constituted with a pair of cutter edges 13a and 13b. The cutter 13 cuts off the character printed tip end portion of the printing tape 31.

FIGS. 5A through 5G show the cutter mechanism. The cutter 13 includes a movable edge 13a and a fixed edge 13b. The movable edge 13a is opened/closed by a cam 14 coupled to a DC motor through a driving system. As shown in FIG. 5A, a micro-switch (or cutter sensor) 15, in contact with the circumference of the cutter cum 14, is provided to a frame 2a formed at the main body 2 of the tape printing apparatus 1. The micro-switch 15 is normally turned off by an actuator (not shown) press-contacting with the circumference of the cam 14 and is turned on in accordance with the depressed or cut part provided in a predetermined position on the circumference of the cam 14. The micro-switch 15 detects the initial position of the cam 14 in accordance with the depressed part and outputs a detection signal to a control circuit which will be described later. FIG. 5A shows the initial position of the cam 14.

A pin 16 is protruded at a lowest end position while the cam 14 is in the initial position, in the vicinity of the peripheral portion on the side surface of the cam 14. As shown in FIG. 5G, the pin 16 is slidably fitted into an elongated hole 18 of a rotation arm 17 integral with the movable edge 13a of the cutter 13. The tip end 16a of the pin 16 is bent downward outside the elongated hole 18 as shown in FIG. 5G and is formed not to release or disengage from the elongated hole 18. The lower end portion of the movable edge 13a is rotatably supported by a fulcrum shaft 20 in a manner that the movable edge 13a is superposed with the fixed edge 13a. When the shaft 19 of the cam 14 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction of an arrow Al by the DC motor through drive systems such as a plurality of spur gears, warm gears and bevel gears, the rotation arm 17 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction around the fulcrum shaft 20 by the pin 16. After the pin 16 passes its highest position, the rotation arm 17 begins to rotate in the clockwise direction. Thus, the movable edge 13a is opened/closed with respect to the fixed edge 13b. At this time, if a character-printed tape 31 exists between the movable edge 13a and the fixed edge 13b, the printed part of the tape 31 is automatically cut off.

FIG. 5A shows a state in which the cam 14 is in an initial position. The position of the cam 14 is, as stated above, detected by the micro-switch 15. When the tape printing apparatus 1 is assembled, the micro- switch 15 is always positioned corresponding to the detection section of the cam 14. In this state, the pin 16 is stopped almost in an intermediate position of the major diameter of the elongated hole 18. In this position, the movable edge 13a is opened with the largest angle with respect to the fixed edge 13b. If the DC motor starts rotating, the pin 16 accompanying the rotation of the cam 14 starts circularly moving in the counterclockwise direction as indicated by an arrow Al of FIG. 5A. When the pin 16 continues its circular motion and reaches the right end of the elongated hole 18 as indicated by an arrow A2 of FIG. 5B and an arrow A3 of FIG. 5C, then the movable edge 13a and fixed edge 13b starts cutting the printing tape 31. As the cam 14 continues to rotate, the pin 16 further circularly moves and raises the rotation arm 17 further while returning to the left of the major hole 18, as indicated by an arrow A4 of FIG. 5D. As a result, the movable edge 13a further rotates counter- clockwise and the movable edge 13a and the fixed edge

13b are completely closed. Consequently, the cutter 13 terminates cutting operation.

Further, as the cam 14 continuously rotates, the pin 16 continues its circular motion as indicated by an arrow A5 of FIG. 5E and an arrow A6 of FIG. 5F, thereby pushing down the rotation arm 17 clockwise to rotate the arm 17 downward. The movable edge 13a starts rotating clockwise and opening in respect of the fixed edge 13b. The movable edge 13a returns from the state of FIG. 5F to the initial state of FIG. 5A and is fully opened with respect to the fixed edge 13b. The position is detected by the micro-switch 15 and the movable edge 13a is stopped in the initial position.

Meanwhile, the tape printing apparatus 1 according to the present invention can change one of the tape cassettes 21 accommodating different width printing tapes such as 6 mm, 9 mm, 12 mm, 18 mm, 24 mm and 36 mm, respectively to another and install it to the cassette holding section 6. It is, of course, possible to print characters on each of the printing tapes. It is also possible to simultaneously print characters on a plurality of printing tapes in a single print operation, which is a characteristic of the present invention. Due to this, the tape printing apparatus 1 according to the present invention can install the tape cassette 21 which accommodates a plurality of printing tapes and operates so as to simultaneously print characters on the plural printing tapes accommodated in the tape cassette 21.

FIG. 6 shows one example of a printing tape 31 according to the present invention. The printing tape 31 shown in FIG. 6 is constituted with a printing tape main body 32, an adhesive layer 34 formed on the back surface opposing to the printing surface 33 of the main body 32 and a back sheet or paper (used as a peeling paper) 35 attached to the main body 32 through the adhesive layer 34.

The printing tape main body 32 is separated into two individual tapes 32a and 32b by a cut 36 when the main body 32 is peeled off from the peeling paper 35. The individual tape 32a is, for example, 12 mm in width, whereas the tape 32b is 24 mm in width. In manufacturing a tape of this kind, a sheet provided with a printing tape main body and a peeling paper is cut into a shape of a tape of 36 mm width and the cut 36 is only formed at the printing tape main body 36 in the longitudinal direction of the 36 mm-wide tape. The cut 36 allows providing the individual tape 32a of 12 miα in width and the individual tape 32b of 24 mm in width on the same peeling paper 35.

It is noted that the printing tape can be divided into three or more individual tapes by cuts 36 instead of two as shown in FIG. 6. The color of the printing tape main body 32 may be freely chosen such as white, yellow, green, blue and red. The individual tapes 32a and 32b should not be necessarily limited to the same color but their colors may different from each other, for example, red and blue.

FIG. 7 shows how the thermal head 9 corresponds to the printing tape 31 shown in FIG. 6. As stated above, a plurality of heater elements 9al-9a288 are arranged in a row corresponding to the width of the printing tape 31. By carrying the printing tape 31 in the longitudinal direction, characters are printed on the printing tape 31 in the longitudinal direction thereof. 288 heater elements 9al-9a288 are arranged on a line at the thermal head 9 at an 8 dots/mm pitch. The thermal head 9, therefore, allows printing characters up to 36 mm-width per line. Character printing dots are formed on the tape 31 with a resolution of 8 dots/mm in the width direction of the tape 31. In addition, setting to carry or feed the tape is done to print characters on the printing tape 31 in the longitudinal direction thereof with the same resolution. Referring back to FIG. 7, if the tape cassette 21 which accommodates the printing tape 31 shown in FIG. 6 is installed to the cassette holding section 6 of the tape printing apparatus 1, the printing tape 31 of 36 mm in width having the printing tape 31a of 12 mm in width and the printing tape 31b of 24 mm in width is supported corresponding to the row of the heater elements of the thermal head of 36 mm in width. Specifically, the first heater element 9al to the 96th heater element 9a96 correspond to the 12 mm-wide tape 32a, whereas the 97th heater element 9a97 to the

288th heater element 9a288 correspond to the 24 mm-wide tape 32b.

FIG. 8 shows how the thermal head corresponds to the tapes if an ordinary tape cassette which accommo- dates a single tape 32a of 12 mm in width and a tape cassette which accommodates a single tape 32b of 24 mm in width are installed to the cassette holding section 6. The centers of the respective tapes correspond to that of the thermal head 9. The 97th heater element 9a97 to the 192nd heater element 9al92 correspond to the 12 mm-wide tape 32a, whereas the 49th heater element 9a49 to the 240th heater element 9a240 correspond to the 24 mm-wide tape 32b.

Next, FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an electronic circuit in the above-stated tape printing apparatus 1.

The tape printing apparatus 1 is composed of a control section 50 including a CPU, a key input section 3, an ROM 51, an RAM 52, a displaying character generator 53, a printing character generator 54, a display section 4 and a printer section 7.

To the control section 50 including the CPU (central processing unit), the key input section 3, the ROM 51, the RAM 52, the displaying character generator 53, the printing character generator 54, the display section 4, a head driving circuit 55 for driving the thermal head 9, a motor driving circuit 56 for driving a step motor 57 of the platen roller 8 and the ink ribbon winding shaft 10, a motor driving circuit 58 for driving the DC motor 59 of the cutter 13, a tape sensor 11 and a cutter position sensor (or micro-switch) 15 are connected. The control section 50 executes a program stored in the ROM 51 in response to a control signal inputted from the key input section 3. The ROM 51 stores various kinds of process programs including that of print process executed by the control section 50 in advance as well as necessary data such as a document or print form table 51a storing data on printing form.

The RAM 52 is used as a working area for the process program executed by the control section 50. The RAM 52 also has a memory area for various data. That is, the RAM 52 includes an input buffer 52a for storing character code data corresponding to to-be- printed character string data inputted in response to the operation of character/symbol input keys on the key input section 3, a display buffer 52b for storing bitmap data corresponding to the character string to be displayed on the display section 4, a print buffer 52c for storing bit-map data (or print data) corresponding to the character string data to be printed at the printer section 7 and a register group 52d for temporarily storing data set for printing characters and various data necessary during print process. The displaying character generator 53 stores pattern data on characters displayed on the display section 4.

The printing character generator 54 stores pattern data on characters printed at the printer section 7. The printer section 7 is composed of the thermal head 9, the step motor 57, the thermal head driving circuit 55, the DC motor 59, the motor driving circuit 58, the platen roller 8, the ink ribbon winding shaft 10, the sensor 11 and the like. The printer section 7 print characters and symbols on the printing tape 31 in the longitudinal direction of the tape 31 by means of the thermal transfer system.

FIG. 10 shows the document or printing form table 51a specifying data on character sizes, margins and character spaces for printing characters on printing tapes of various widths. The table is stored in the ROM 51 in advance. FIG. 10 shows a document form in case of printing one line of character strings. Although not shown, document forms in case of printing plural lines of character strings such as two lines and three lines are prepared independently. The data shown in FIG. 10 is expressed in dots. As shown in FIG. 11, if a character string of 'A' and 'A' is printed on the tape of 9 mm in width, then a character pattern in 48 X 48 dots is set, 8-dot margins are set on both ends of the printing tape in the longitudinal direction thereof, respectively, and 16-dot spaces are provided between characters, respectively, by referring to the document form table 51a. Thus, character printing is executed. If the dot denotations are converted to dimensional detonations, they are 6 X 6 mm, 1 mm and 2 mm, respectively, given the resolution of the tape printing apparatus being 8 dots/mm. The tape printing apparatus 1 obtains information on the width of the printing tape 31 installed to the apparatus 1 from the tape kind sensor 11, refers to the above-stated document form table and thereby automati- cally sets forms such as an optimum character size corresponding to the number of lines. With this, a user can dispense with setting laborious form settings .

It is noted that character pattern data for respective sizes are stored in the printing character generator 54 in advance.

The ROM 51 also stores data to determine the width of the printing tape 31 in accordance with the information outputted from the tape kind sensor 11 through the tape cassette 21. In this case, it is possible to determine not only the width of a single tape but also widths of a plurality of tapes accommodated in a single tape cassette as shown in FIG. 6.

The ROM 51 further stores a table 52b to specify a data write area in the print buffer 52c in accordance with the kind of the tape.

FIG. 12 is a view for describing the print buffer 52c. The print buffer 52c includes 288 dots which are the same in number as the heater elements 9a of the thermal head 9 in a column direction and a predeter- mined number of N-dot bit data allowing writing bit data in a row direction. During print operation, the character printing pattern data developed in the print buffer 52c is transferred to the thermal head 9 on a one-column-by-one-column basis from the leading column on the left to the trailing column on the right.

As already described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8, the printing tape installed to the cassette holding section 6 of the tape printing apparatus 1 is supported while keeping a predetermined positional relationship with the thermal head 9. A printing pattern development area is, thus, specified in the print buffer 52c in accordance with the kind of the printing tape so that characters can be printed on the tapes within the widths of the tapes, regardless of the width and kind (or number, i.e., a single or plural) of the individual tapes installed in the cassette holding section 6, by referring to the table 52b.

Referring back to FIG. 12, in case of the printing tape divided into two tapes, i.e., the 12 mm-wide tape and the 24 mm-wide tape in FIG. 6, an area indicated by a reference symbol 52A within the print buffer 52c is used as a printing data development area for the 12 mm-wide tape 32a, whereas an area indicated by a reference symbol 52B within the print buffer 52c is used as a printing data development area for the 24 mm-wide tape 32b. As for the single printing tapes which are not divided as shown in FIG. 8, central portions in the column direction within the print buffer 52c corresponding to the tape widths are used as printing data development areas, respectively.

The table 52b, therefore, stores the address data on the print buffer 52c for specifying the range of a printing data development area within the print buffer 52c for every kind of the tape. Since the kind of the tape can be determined by the tape sensor 11, characters can be printed on the tapes of variety of widths without deviating from the printing surface, while referring to the table 52b. The table 52b also stores information on a tape arrangement order and on the widths of divided tapes obtained by dividing a tape with cuts according to the kind of the tape.

Next, label forming process will be described. FIG. 13 shows input data stored in the input buffer 52a. Reference symbols 60a and 60b denote control codes indicating the first and second labels, respectively. Character codes of the character strings "MEMORY" follow these control codes. Reference symbol 60c denotes a control code indicating the end of data. In this embodiment, the symbols denoted by the reference symbols 60a and 60b are predetermined not to be handled as character codes but as control codes . Therefore, these symbols are not printed in the printing procedure . FIG. 14 shows the first label LA and the second label LB formed by printing the same input data on the printing tape 31 of FIG. 6 by the printing section 7. FIG. 15 shows an example of attaching the labels LA and LB to a target box.

FIG. 16 shows an example of setting the rotation of characters for the label LA and printing different character strings on the individual printing tapes 32a and 32b respectively corresponding to the first and second labels 32a (LA) and 32b (LB).

FIGS. 17A, 17B and 18 are label forming process flow charts in a case where the tape cassette 21 which accommodates a plurality of individual tapes as shown in FIG. 6 is installed to the tape printing apparatus 1

The processing operation will be described with reference to FIGS. 13 through 18.

In FIG. 17A, if a character string input mode is selected by key operation on the key input section 3, information on the tape discriminating section 27 of the tape cassette 21 is read by the tape sensor 11 and the kinds of plural, divided individual tapes are determined through the installed tape cassette 21 in step SI.

The determination information, that is, information that the printing tape is divided into a 12 mm-wide tape and a 24 mm-wide tape, is stored in a register 52d of the RAM 52 in step S2. Next, a message demanding inputting a first label character string is displayed on the display section 4 in step S3. Thereafter, in response to the demand, it is determined whether character data has been inputted in step S4. If the character data has been inputted, the character codes are stored in the input buffer 52a in step S5 and the inputted characters are displayed on the display section 4 in step S6. If it is determined that the first label character string has been inputted by user's operating predetermined keys in step S7, then process goes onto that for inputting a second label character string.

The second label input process is the same as the first label input process. First, a message demanding inputting a second label character string is displayed on the display section 4 in step S8. It is determined whether character data has been inputted in step S9. If the character data has been inputted, the corresponding character codes are stored in the input buffer 52a in step S10 and displayed on the display section in step Sll. The second label character string may be the same as or different from the first label character string.

If it is determined that the input of the second label character string has been terminated in step S12, a menu for designating whether or not characters of the character string are rotated by 90° for the first and second labels, respectively, is shown in step S13 of FIG. 17B. If the character rotation is designated in step S14, flags indicating character rotation are set for the first and second labels, respectively in step S15. These flags are stored in the register 52d.

Thereafter, the process waits for the operation of the print key in step S16.

In this example, as shown in FIG. 13, a character string of "MEMORY" are inputted as the first and second labels, respectively. The leading control codes 60a and 60b of the two character strings, respectively, are automatically inputted when the screens are displayed in steps S3 and S8. When it is determined that the character string for the second label is completed, the control code 60c is automatically inputted in the step S12. After a series of key input, the print key is operated in step S16 and the character codes stored in the input buffer 52a are developed to the corresponding print pattern data in step S17. In this process, the document form table 51a in the ROM 51 is first referred to based on the information of the table sensor 11 and document form data such as character sizes corresponding to tape widths is set in the register 52d in the RAM 52 in step S17a.

Thereafter, one character code data is fetched from the input buffer 52a in step S17b. The content of the fetched input data is checked in step S17c. If the data is the control data 60a indicating the first label, an upper line flag among the upper line flag/lower line flag is turned on and line position data is set at an initial value in step S17d. The process returns to the step S17b. When one character code data fetched after the former code data is neither the control data 60a nor 60b, it is checked whether the data is character data or control data 60c in step S17e. If it is character data, it is determined whether the upper line flag/lower line flag are turned on in step S17f.

When the upper line flag is turned on, pattern data corresponding to the character codes and to the character size which has been set is read from the printing character generator 54. While referring to the document form table 51a, the pattern data is developed in the area 52A in the print buffer 52c shown in FIG. 12 in accordance with the line position data. In case of developing data, it is determined whether character rotation is designated in the step 15. If character rotation is designated for the first label, the pattern data read from the printing character generator 54 is rotated by 90° and then developed. The pattern rotation process can be executed by writing the pattern data, sequentially read in the row direction from the printing character generator 54, in a predetermined address in the print buffer 52c in the column direction in step S17g. Thereafter, line position data is incremented by '1' in step S17h and process returns to the step S17b and repeats the steps S17b, S17c, S17e, S17f, S17g and S17h. As a result, the pattern data on the character string corresponding to the inputted first label is developed in the area 52A of the print buffer 52c in a predetermined character size in accordance with data on, for example, the tables 51a and 51b.

When it is determined that the input data fetched in the step S17c is control data 60b indicating the second label, the lower line flag among the upper line flag/lower line flag is turned on and line position data is set at an initial value in step S17i. The process returns to the step S17b and the next one character data is fetched.

In step S17f, if the upper line flag is turned on, pattern data corresponding to the character codes and to the character size which has been set is read from the printing character generator 54. Referring to the document form table 51a, the pattern data is developed in the area 52b of the print buffer 52c in accordance with the line position data. When the character rotation is designated for the second label in the step S15, the characters are rotated by 90° and developed. The character rotation can be processed by converting columns to rows while the pattern data is read from the printing character generator 54 and written into the print buffer 52c in step S17j.

Next, the line position data is incremented by ' 1 ' in step S17k and process returns to the step S17b and repeats the steps S17b, S17c, S17e, S17f, S17j and S17k, As a result, the inputted pattern data on the character string corresponding to the second label is developed in the area 52B of the print buffer 52c in a predetermined character size in accordance with data of, for example, the tables 51a and 51b. If the finally fetched data is determined as control data 60c indicating the end of data in step S17e, the developing process of character data is terminated .

If the developing process of print data is terminated, process returns to that shown in FIG. 17B. The print data developed in the print buffer 52c is read on a one-row-by-one-row basis and transferred to the thermal head 9. Two character strings corresponding to the first and second labels are printed on the corresponding printing tapes 32a and 32b, respectively. The tapes are fed by a predetermined distance by the rotation of the platen roller 8 corresponding to heating or printing one line by the thermal head 8 and characters are sequentially printed in step S18. When it is determined that printing has been terminated in step S19, the printed tape is taken out to the outside of the apparatus 1 and a character printed portion thereof is cut by the cutter 13.

Two labels, i.e., the first and second labels LA and LB are thereby simultaneously formed in step S20.

Next, referring to FIG. 19, an example of printing characters using another printing tape is shown.

The printing tape 31 shown in FIG. 19, which is 36 mm in width, is equally divided by three cuts formed in the longitudinal direction of the print tape main body into four tapes 32c of 9 mm in width. As in the case of FIG. 6, the four tapes 32c are attached onto the same back paper or peeling paper via adhesive layer. In this example, name labels on which the same name is printed are shown.

Now, name label forming process shown in FIG. 19 will be described with reference to the flow chart of FIG. 20.

Process in a name label forming mode is started by the operation of the name label key on the key input section 3. First, the tape sensor 11 determines the kind of the installed printing tape 31 through the tape discrimination section 27 of the tape cassette 21 in step Tl . It is assumed that the printing tape 31 shown in FIG. 19 is an exclusive tape to the formation of name labels.

It is determined whether or not the kind of the printing tape 31 is exclusive to the name label formation in step T2. If it is determined as an exclusive tape, a message to demand inputting necessary data including name data to be printed is displayed on the display section 4 in step T3. If it is not determined as such, a message to demand changing the printing tape is displayed on the display section 4 in step T4.

When the name data and data on the number of print labels are inputted in response to the demand in step T5, the name data is stored in the input buffer 52a and the print number data M is stored in the register 52d in step T6.

If necessary data has been inputted, process waits for a printing command in step T7. When a printing command is issued, a value M set in the step T6 is set as an initial value for the remaining number of print labels P in the predetermined register 52d in step T8. Next, it is determined whether or not the value P is less than 4 in step T9. In case of 'No', pattern data on the inputted name data is developed in the print buffer 52c in step T10. In this case, even if the input data is one line of a character string of "YAMADA" , pattern data on the four lines of character strings are developed in correspond- ing to the four printing tapes 32c. The development process is executed by the document form data such as the tables 51a and 51b in the ROM 41, as stated in the above-stated example of label forming process. Though not mentioned above, the table 51b also includes data corresponding to the printing tape in FIG. 19.

Accordingly, the printing data is developed in the print buffer 52c such that four name patterns are arranged within the widths of the four individual tapes 32, respectively.

The printing data developed in the print buffer 52c is transferred to the thermal head 9 on a one-line- by-one-line basis and character strings of "YAMADA" are printed on the four printing tapes 32 in parallel, respectively in step Til. After printing, the printing tape 31 is cut by the cutter 13 at a position L and four labels are thereby formed simultaneously in step T12.

A value C having an initial value zero of a counter and indicating the number of character-printed labels set in the register 52d is counted up by 4, whereas the value P indicating the remaining number of labels on which characters are to be printed is counted down by 4 in step T13.

Next, it is determined whether a new count value C exceeds the print number M which has been set in step T14. In case of 'NO', the process returns to the step T9 and it is determined whether a new count value P is less than four.

While repeating a series of processing steps stated above, if it is determined that the value P is less than four in the step T9 , pattern data on one to three character strings "YAMADA" in accordance with the value P are developed by one to three lines in accordance with the value P in the print buffer 52c (in step T15) .

The developed pattern data is printed in step T16 and the printing tape 31 is cut after the termination of printing in step T17. As can be seen from the above, a plurality of name labels can be formed for every printing operation and, thus, a lot of name labels can be efficiently formed at high speed.

Another label forming process will be described with reference to FIGS. 21, 22A through 22F, 23 and 24. The printing tape 31 shown in FIG. 21 is divided into three individual tapes 32x, 32y and 32z of 6 mm, 12 mm and 18 mm in width, respectively, by forming two cuts in the printing tape main body 32. As is obvious from FIGS. 22A through 22F, one to three individual tapes with different widths are selected out of the three individual tapes and a plurality of labels of different widths can be formed from the printing tape accommodated in one tape cassette.

The label forming process will now be described with reference to the flow chart of FIG. 23. The input of data to be printed on labels is terminated and the printing document form key on the key input section 3 is operated. When the tape cassette which accommodates a certain printing tape as shown in FIG. 21 is installed to the tape printing apparatus 1, process enters a tape width setting mode. The printing tape or tape cassette can be determined by the tape sensor 11 as in the case of the preceding embodiments . First, a tape width setting menu is displayed on the display section 4 as shown in FIG. 24 (in step Ul).

In FIG. 24, plural numeric values of tape widths which can be selected for the printing tape which has been currently installed to the tape printing apparatus 1 are displayed.

When the printing tape 31 shown in FIG. 21 is loaded in the tape printing apparatus 1, six choices for selecting one of six kinds of tape widths, that is, 6 mm, 12 mm, 18 mm, 24 mm, 30 mm and 36 mm are displayed on the display section 4. When a user operates the cursor K to place on a desired size and an execution key is operated, the tape width setting is done.

The ROM 51 stores the display menu data shown in FIG. 24 in advance. The menu data is fetched and displayed in accordance with the detection information of the tape sensor 11. When it is determined that one tape width is selected, data on the selected tape width is set in the register 52d in steps U2 and U3.

The process waits for a command to start printing upon the operation of the printing key in step U4.

If a command to start printing is issued, it is determined whether the width of the printing tape which has been set is 24 mm, 30 mm or 36 mm in step U5. If it is determined the width is set to any of the widths, pattern data is developed in accordance with two or three individual tapes the combined widths of which are equal to the set width in step U6.

The table 51b in the ROM 51 stores address data on development areas of printing patterns corresponding to the respective divided individual tapes . The document form table 51a in the ROM 51 stores data on character sizes and margins. Thus, on the basis of the data, pattern data corresponding to the character codes stored in the input buffer 52a is read from the printing character generator 54 and developed in predetermined areas of the print buffer 52c. As shown in FIG. 22D, there is a case where the pattern is divided. In that case, the partial patterns are read from the printing character generator 54 and developed at areas of the print buffer 52c corresponding to character printing positions of the individual tapes 32x and 32z. The pattern development can be easily performed since necessary data is prepared in the tables 51a and 51b.

When the pattern development is finished, printing starts and the character strings are printed over a plurality of individual tapes in step U7.

When characters are divided into and printed on a plurality of divided individual tapes, printing might be unstable such as a case where characters become blurred at tape boundaries in the tape width direction. This is because cuts are formed at the boundaries.

To avoid this, energy or current applied to the heater elements 9a of the thermal head 9 corresponding to the tape boundaries formed at the cuts is increased. For instance, the elements 9a at the tape boundaries are obviously known in advance from the relationship between the thermal head and print data shown in FIG. 12. To set the current-supplying time for the corresponding heater elements slightly longer than that for the remaining elements, data to specify the heater elements positioned at the tape boundaries and current- supplying time tables to specify the current-supplying time for the specified elements and that for the remaining elements in accordance with tapes of 24 mm, 30 mm and 36 mm in width, on which divided characters are printed, are stored in the ROM 51. While referring to them, print operation is controlled.

After printing is terminated, the tape is cut in steps U8 and U9. In the step U5 , it is determined that the width of the printing tape which has been set is not 24 mm, 30 mm or 36 mm, print pattern data is developed in the print buffer 52 in accordance with the tape selected from among those of 6 mm, 12 mm and 18 mm in width in step U10. Printing is then conducted on a single tape selected in accordance with the developed pattern data and the tape is cut, thereby forming labels in steps Ull, U12 and U9. In FIGS. 6, 19 and 21, the colors of the plural divided tapes may be different from one another.

The above-stated tape printing apparatus 1 has a structure in which the thermal head is moved in relation to the platen roller. Conversely, the apparatus 1 may have a structure in which the thermal head is fixed and the platen roller is moved in relation to the thermal head. A color ink ribbon for printing full-color characters may be used as the ink ribbon and the printing apparatus may be provided with a mechanism to rewind the tape to the printing start position in accordance with colored character printing.

Moreover, the cutter may be manually operated instead of driven by the motor.

Claims

C L A I M S 1. A tape printing apparatus , detachably provided with a printing tape cassette accommodating a printing tape composed of a back sheet and a printing tape main body provided on said back sheet through an adhesive layer formed on a back surface of the printing tape main body, at least a cut formed in said printing tape main body in a longitudinal direction of said printing tape main body to divide said printing tape main body into a plurality of individual tapes when said printing tape main body is peeled off from said back sheet, for printing a character string on printing tape main body, said apparatus comprising: input means for inputting character string data; printing means for conducting printing in a longitudinal direction of said printing tape main body; and printing control means for forming print data to distribute the print data on the character string inputted from said input means to said plurality of individual tapes to be obtained by dividing said printing tape main body and to print the data on said individual tapes, for controlling said printing means based on the printing data, and for printing said inputted data on the character string on the printing surface of said printing tape main body.

2. The tape printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said printing control means forms printing data to print one character string data inputted from said input means on all of the plurality of individual tapes to be obtained by dividing said printing tape main body of said printing tape, and controls said printing means based on the printing data.

3. The tape printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said printing control means forms printing data to print data on different character strings inputted from said input means on each of the plurality of individual tapes to be obtained by dividing said printing tape main body of said printing tape, and controls said printing means based on the printing data.

4. The tape printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said apparatus further comprises designation means for designating a width of a printing tape used in printing; said printing control means forms printing data to print character string data inputted from said input means on said printing tape main body to be divided into a plurality of individual tapes corresponding to the width designated by said designation means, and controls said printing means based on the printing data.

5. The tape printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said tape printing apparatus further comprises designation means for designating a width of printing data used in printing; said printing control means forms printing data to print character string data inputted from said input means on the individual tapes provided by dividing the printing tape main body when the width designated by said designation means corresponds to a combination of widths of the plurality of individual tapes to be obtained by dividing said printing tape main body, and controls said printing means based on the printing data.

6. The tape printing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said printing control means controls said printing means to print said printing data, when said printing data is divided in correspondence with the plurality of individual tapes, such that a printing intensity is higher in division boundary areas than other printing areas between the individual tapes .

7. The tape printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said tape printing apparatus further comprises : detection means for detecting a tape discrimination section indicating information on a kind of the printing tape accommodated in said printing tape cassette; and determination means for determining arrangements and widths of said plurality of individual tapes to be obtained by dividing said printing tape main body for said printing tape accommodated in said printing tape cassette based on the information detected by said detection means, and wherein said printing control means forms printing data to distribute and print character string data inputted from said input means to said plurality of individual tapes to be obtained by dividing said printing tape main body of said printing tape, based on the arrangements and widths of said individual tapes determined by said determination means, controls said printing means based on the printing data, and prints said inputted character string data on the printing surface of said printing tape main body.

8. The tape printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said printing means comprises: a thermal head provided with a row of heater elements arranged in accordance with a width direction of said printing data; and feeding means for feeding said printing tape in the longitudinal direction of the printing tape.

9. The tape printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: detection means for detecting a tape discriminating section indicating information on the printing tape accommodated in said printing tape cassette; and document form data storage means for storing document form data for specifying sizes of characters being printed on said plurality of individual tapes to be obtained by dividing the printing tape main body of the printing tape, and wherein said printing control means sets a size of the character string inputted from said input means based on the document form data stored in said document form data storage means corresponding to a detection result of said detection means .

10. A printing tape cassette detachably provided to a printing apparatus, which accommodates a printing tape on which characters are to be printed by printing means provided to said printing apparatus, wherein said printing tape comprises: a back sheet; and a printing tape main body having an adhesive layer formed on a back surface of the main body and provided on said back sheet through the adhesive layer, and in that at least one cut is formed in said printing tape main body in a longitudinal direction of said printing tape main body such that said printing tape main body is divided into a plurality of individual tapes when said individual tapes are peeled off from said back sheet .

11. The printing tape cassette according to claim 10, wherein said at least one cut is formed such that widths of the plurality of individual tapes, when said printing tape main body is divided into said plurality of individual tapes, are equal to each other.

12. The printing tape cassette according to claim 10, wherein said at least one cut is formed such that widths of the plurality of individual tapes, when said printing tape main body is divided into said plurality of individual tapes, are different from each other.

13. The printing tape cassette according to claim 10, wherein said at least one cut is formed such that a width of each of the plurality of individual tapes, when said printing tape main body is divided into said plurality of individual tapes, gradually vary in a tape width direction in a state in which said plurality of individual tapes are held on said back sheet by said adhesive layer.

14. The printing tape cassette according to claim 10, wherein said cassette further accommodates a printing ink ribbon.