WO2003081563A1

WO2003081563A1 - Process for producing label paper for thermal printer and label paper produced by the process

Info

Publication number: WO2003081563A1
Application number: PCT/JP2003/003200
Authority: WO
Inventors: Terumasa Hoshino; Minoru Yamamoto; Keiji Seo
Original assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
Priority date: 2002-03-27
Filing date: 2003-03-17
Publication date: 2003-10-02
Also published as: JP2003288016A; AU2003221409A1

Abstract

A process for producing thermal color formation type label paper (30), the label paper (30) composed of substrate (30a) having a thermal color formation layer and separator (30b) pasted together by means of a pressure sensitive adhesive, characterized by at least comprising a first step of reducing the moisture content of separator (30b) of cut paper form and, performed after the first step, a second step of pasting substrate (30a) of cut paper form and the separator (30b) together by means of a pressure sensitive adhesive.

Description

Description Method for producing label paper for thermal printer, and label paper produced by the method

The present invention relates to a method for producing a heat-sensitive coloring type label paper in the form of a cut paper, for example, a method for producing a label sheet for a thermal printer, and a heat-sensitive coloring type label paper produced by the method. Background art

Conventionally, a direct thermal type printer having a line type thermal head as a print head has been known as a printer. In the printer, a plurality of thermal papers in the form of cut paper are set in a stacked state.

In the printer, a pickup roller is provided so as to come into contact with one side of the paper set in the paper storage unit, and the paper is fed out by the rotating action of the roller, and the printing mechanism unit one by one. Transported to The paper is heated by a thermal head in a printing mechanism and is conveyed in a direction perpendicular to the line direction of the line-type thermal head so that arbitrary characters and images can be printed. It has a printable structure.

In such a printer, a block body having a separation guide surface that is inclined with respect to the paper feeding direction is provided near the pickup roller to feed the paper one by one to the printing mechanism. Have been. The separation guide surface has an action of abutting the leading side of the paper fed by the pick-up roller and generating appropriate friction with the leading side of the paper, thereby promoting the separation of the paper. As a result, the paper is separated one by one and is directed to the paper supply side of the printing mechanism. Once conveyed.

As the paper used for the printing, the base material having the heat-sensitive coloring layer and the separation layer are laminated with an adhesive, and after printing, the base material is peeled off from the separation layer and attached to various products. The label paper used by the user is known. This label paper is widely used because it eliminates the need for gluing on the back and has the advantage that it can be attached to other materials simply by peeling it off from the separator. Here, the paper used for printing may curl due to moisture absorption or the like. In particular, in the case of the above-described label paper, if there is a difference in the easiness of moisture absorption and the expansion coefficient when moisture is absorbed between the base material and the separator bonded to each other, curling is likely to occur.

Depending on the direction and degree of the curl, the paper may not be properly separated or conveyed on the separation guide surface, and double or empty paper may be generated.

The double feeding and empty feeding of paper will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a side sectional view showing a state of sheet conveyance near the separation block 13 in the printer. In order for the separation guide surface to perform the sheet separation operation well, as shown in FIG. 6A. The leading end of the paper 30 conveyed by the pickup roller 12 needs to abut on the separation guide surface 13a straight in an appropriate direction. In the figure, reference numeral 3Oa denotes a base material, and 30b denotes a separation.

For example, as shown in Fig. 6B, when the leading edge of the paper 30 curls upward in the drawing, and the leading direction abuts almost perpendicularly to the separation guide surface 13a, the leading edge of the paper 30 is The paper is not transported to the downstream side because it does not slide on the separation guide surface 13a, and the paper is transported idly.

As shown in FIG. 6C, when the leading end of the paper 30 is curled downward in the drawing, and the leading end is conveyed along the separation guide surface 13a, the separation guide Multiple sheets of paper cannot be separated at the same time Sending downstream, double feed occurs.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, a stacked paper is used for a printer configured to be fed out by the rotation of a pickup roller, and the occurrence of the above-mentioned empty feeding and double feeding can be prevented. Such a label paper and a method for producing the same are provided. Disclosure of the invention

Hereinafter, the configuration of the present invention that provides the above features will be described.

A method for producing a thermosensitive coloring type label paper according to an embodiment of the present invention is a method for producing a thermosensitive coloring type label paper having a configuration in which a base material having a thermosensitive coloring layer and a separator are adhered with an adhesive. A first step of reducing the water content of the separator, after the first step, bonding the base material to the separator via the adhesive, a second step, It is characterized by including at least

Before bonding the separator and the base material, the amount of water contained in the separator is reduced and shrunk in the first step, so that after the bonding in the second step, the separator removes moisture from the outside air. There is more room to absorb and expand. For this reason, the bending direction when the entire label paper is bent due to moisture absorption can be directed to an intended direction in advance. Therefore, by setting the direction to a direction that has little influence on the conveyance of the printer, the separation and conveyance of the paper at the printer can be performed smoothly.

Note that, after the second step, a step of applying a coating process for preventing moisture absorption on a surface of the separation plate opposite to a surface on which the base material is bonded may be included. .

In addition, after the second step, a coating process for preventing moisture absorption is performed on a surface of the base material opposite to a surface on which the separator is bonded. An application step may be included.

The base material and the separator can be in the form of wet paper. Further, according to the embodiment, at least, a heat-sensitive coloring type configured by bonding a substrate having a heat-sensitive coloring layer and a separator treated to reduce the amount of contained water with an adhesive. Label paper is provided.

Here, a coating process for preventing moisture absorption may be applied to a surface of the separation plate opposite to a surface to which the base material is bonded. In addition, a coating process for preventing moisture absorption may be applied to a surface of the base material opposite to a surface to which the separator is bonded. Further, it is preferable that the main expansion direction due to the water absorption of the separator is orthogonal to the paper transport direction of the printer.

The base material and the separator may be in the form of cut paper.

Further, according to the embodiment, a thermosensitive coloring type recording paper in which at least two layers of a first layer and a second layer are laminated, which is set in a predetermined direction on the printer. When the first layer and the second layer expand due to moisture absorption, the recording paper as a whole hardly deforms in a cross section along the recording paper conveyance direction in the printer, and the recording in the printer is performed. In a cross-section along a direction perpendicular to the paper transport direction, the thermal expansion type recording in which the expansion rates and bonding directions of the first and second layers due to moisture absorption are adjusted so as to bend in a predetermined direction. Paper is provided. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a printer using label paper.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing a label paper manufacturing process.

Fig. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the main expansion direction of the separator.

Figures 4A to 4B show the direction in which the label paper curls and the paper transport during printing. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a relationship with a direction.

Fig. 5A to Fig. 5C show how the label paper is coated on the separation side.

FIGS. 6A to 6C are enlarged views of a main part showing how the label paper comes into contact with the separation guide surface, and FIG. 6A shows a case where the paper is properly separated and conveyed. Fig. 6B shows the case where the paper is fed empty, and Fig. 6C shows the case where the paper is fed multiple times.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a printing apparatus using label paper. Embodiment of the Invention

Next, embodiments of the invention will be described.

First, the schematic structure of the printer device 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a printer using label paper. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a printing apparatus using label paper. As shown in FIG. 7, the printer 1 has a rectangular configuration (a size of about A6 to A7) in plan view, and a compact configuration with a thickness of about 2 cm or less. Device.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 7, the main body case 2 of the printer device 1 is formed by covering the lower surface of the frame 3 with the lower cover 4 and partially covering the upper surface with the upper cover 5. .

As shown in FIG. 1, a paper storage unit (paper supply unit) 6 is formed in the remaining portion of the upper surface of the frame body 3 except for the portion bent by the upper cover 5. The paper storage section 6 includes a paper package 9 in which a plurality of A6-A7 size cut sheet-shaped thermal papers (recording medium; hereinafter, referred to as “paper”) 30 are stored in a package material 8. It can be accommodated. Note that, as the paper 30, the printer label paper according to the present embodiment is used. The upper portion of the paper storage unit 6 is covered with a lid 10. The lid 10 is configured to close the paper storage unit 6 shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. In order to attach the paper storage unit 6, the paper storage unit 6 is rotated between itself and an open position where the paper storage unit 6 is exposed. Further, on the main body case 2 side, a lock mechanism (not shown) is provided to lock the lid 10 so as not to be opened when the lid 10 is located at the closed position. The lid 10 can be closed and locked with the paper package 9 set in the printer.

At one end of the paper storage section 6, a pickup port 12 and a separation block 13 as a paper separation section 11 are arranged. Further, below the upper cover 5, a printing mechanism unit 14, which will be described in detail later, is disposed. The printing mechanism 14 has a thermal head 15, a platen roller 16, and a paper guide 17. The paper separating unit 11 will be described.

A pick-up roller 12 and a separation block 13 are provided at an end of the paper storage section 6 on the side close to the printing mechanism section 14. A pressing plate 18 is rotatably supported on the inner surface of the lid 10 facing the paper storage unit 6 side. A coil-shaped biasing panel 19 is interposed between the pressing plate 18 and the lid 10, and constantly applies a biasing force for rotating the pressing plate 18 downward to the pressing plate 18. To work.

In the paper package 9, paper 30 is stored inside in a stacked state with the printing surface facing downward. The paper package 9 is set in the paper storage unit 6 with the lower surface (printing surface) of the lowermost paper 30 of the stacked paper 30 partially exposed from the package material 8. Is done. When the lid 10 is closed and locked, the pressing plate 18 urged downward by the urging panel 19 pushes the exposed portion of the paper 30 through the package material 8. The paper 30 is pressed against the pickup roller 12 to bring the lower surface of the paper 30 into contact with the pickup roller 12. A separation block 13 is provided at a position close to the pickup roller 12. The separation block 13 is provided with a separation guide surface 13a that is inclined in a direction in which the sheet 30 is guided along the transport path with respect to the sheet feeding direction of the pickup roller 12.

With this configuration, when the pickup roller 12 is driven to rotate, a conveying force is applied to the lowermost sheet 30 in contact with the pickup roller 12. And, in combination with the separation action of the separation guide surface 13 a of the separation block 13, only one sheet of paper 30 located at the lowermost layer is separated from the upper layer of paper 30, and the printing mechanism unit 14 It is sent out.

The printing mechanism 14 will be described.

The printing mechanism 14 has a configuration in which a platen roller 16 is rotatably provided adjacent to the separation block 13, and a paper guide 17 is arranged close to the outer peripheral surface thereof.

The guide 17 has a concavely curved sliding contact surface 17a having a substantially U-shaped cross section along the outer peripheral surface of the platen roller 16. ing. A pressing coil spring 20 is provided between the paper guide 17 and the main body case 2 so as to urge the sliding contact surface 17 a toward the outer peripheral surface of the platen roller 16. ing.

The paper 30 separated by the above-described paper separation unit 11 is conveyed by a pickup roller 12, and a lower end of the separation block 13 and a guide plate 2 for directing the paper toward the platen roller 16. Pass between one.

The paper 30 is guided by the guide plate 21, and is sent between the platen roller 16 and the paper guide 17 from the lower surface side of the platen roller 16. Then, the paper 30 is held between the outer peripheral surface of the platen roller 16 and the sliding contact surface 17a of the paper guide 17 while being rotated in a U-shape by the rotation of the platen roller 16. It is transported while being inverted, and the platen opening with the print surface facing up To the top side of the roller 16.

The thermal head 15 located on the upper surface side of the platen roller 16 has a heating element 15a as a printing unit. The thermal head 15 is provided so as to be rotatable around a rotating shaft 15b, and the heating element 15a can be brought into contact with and separated from the upper surface of the platen roller 16.

The reason why the thermal head 15 is configured to be rotatable in this manner is that the jammed paper removal operation when the paper 30 is jammed between the platen opening 16 and the paper guide 17 is performed. The purpose of this is to prevent the thermal head 15 from interfering with the work.

One end of a torsion coil spring type spring 22 is locked to the thermal head 15 so that the heating element 15 a of the thermal head 15 is biased in a direction in which the heating element 15 a approaches the upper surface of the platen roller 16. Is always added.

With this configuration, the heating element 15a of the thermal head 15 comes into contact with the upper surface of the paper sent by the platen roller 16 with the printing surface facing upward as described above, and the paper 30 is printed.

The thermal head 15 is a line head on which a plurality of heating elements are arranged. The thermal head 15 is a line extending in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the thermal paper 30 being transported. By controlling each of the heating elements arranged along the lines, arbitrary characters and images can be printed. The printing width when printing per line is set substantially equal to the width of the paper 30 to be printed.

By using the thermal head 15 as a printing head in this way, by using thermal paper as a recording medium, it is possible to eliminate the need for consumables such as an ink ribbon. Furthermore, since the ink supply mechanism and the like can be omitted, the entire printer 1 has a compact configuration. There are various types of heat-sensitive paper, such as a heat-sensitive coloring type having a coloring layer that develops color by heating the thermal head 15, a heat-sensitive perforation type in which a perforated layer that is perforated by heating is laminated on a substrate layer, and the like. Can be used.

The separation block 13 has a paper discharge guide surface 13b that is inclined with respect to the paper feeding direction of the platen roller 16.

The paper 30 after printing by the heating element 15a of the thermal head 15 is guided by the paper ejection guide surface 13b, and is brought into contact with the upper cover 5 of the main body case 2. The paper is discharged to the upper side of the lid 10 through a gap formed by the lid 10. Next, a method of manufacturing a label paper for printing (hereinafter referred to as “label paper”) used as the paper 30 in the printer apparatus 1 having the above-described configuration will be described. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a label paper manufacturing process. The label paper 30 is in the form of a cut sheet of A6 to A7 size, and is a thermal paper (base material) 30a, which is a surface material with an adhesive layer formed on the back surface, and is attached to the surface material. Separates are combined and formed from 3 Ob.

The base material 30a and the separator 30b are formed into a cut sheet of the same size, and after being processed as described below, the substrate 30a and the separator 30b are formed. Label paper 30 is formed by pasting together.

As described above, since the cut-sheet-shaped base material 30a and the cut-sheet-shaped separation plate 30b are bonded to each other, the roll-shaped base material and the roll paper that are conventionally performed are used. It has the advantage that it is less likely to have a curl habit than the method of laminating it with a separate separator.

First, in the drying process (first process), the water content of the separation b is reduced. As the drying process, various methods can be considered, such as placing the separator 3 Ob in a high-temperature and low-humidity environment or blowing air. As a result, The palette 30b contracts slightly.

Then, silicon processing is performed on the surface of the separation plate 30b to which the base material 30a is bonded. This is to prevent the adhesive from remaining on the side of the separator 30b when the base material 30a attached in a later step is peeled off at the time of use. On the other hand, the surface of the substrate 30a opposite to the surface to be bonded to the separator 30b (that is, the printing surface) is subjected to a coating process for preventing moisture absorption. This is to make the base material 30a less likely to absorb moisture after the subsequent laminating process. <The base material 30a is a material that absorbs less moisture, or as a characteristic of thermal paper. This treatment may be omitted if the surface treatment that is difficult to absorb moisture is originally applied.

Next, an adhesive is applied to the surface of the substrate 30a on the side to be bonded to the separator 30b to form an adhesive layer.

Then, a step (second step) of bonding the substrate 30a and the separator 3Ob is performed. The direction of the main expansion due to the water absorption of the separator 30b is preliminarily adjusted so that it is orthogonal to the paper transport direction of the label paper 30.

Here, the “main expansion direction” refers to a direction in which the expansion rate is higher when the separator 30b expands by absorbing moisture.

In some of the first and second steps, if necessary, a step for making the cut sheet-like base material 30a and the separator plate 30b into a flat plate shape may be included. it can.

The label paper 30 manufactured by the above manufacturing method is stacked and stored in the paper storage section 6 in a state shown in FIG. 4A, that is, with the substrate 30a facing downward.

FIG. 3 schematically shows an example of the contour shape of the separator 30b before and after expansion. In the example of Fig. 3, the expansion rate in the vertical direction in the figure is the expansion rate in the horizontal direction. Therefore, the main expansion direction is the vertical direction of the paper.

As described above, the base material 30a is coated to prevent moisture absorption, so it will not expand due to moisture absorption after the label paper 30 is manufactured (after the laminating process). Even if the amount is small. On the other hand, Separe Night 30b expands by absorbing moisture. At this time, since the label paper 30 expands relatively largely in the main expansion direction which is a direction orthogonal to the paper transport direction, the label paper 30 is perpendicular to the paper transport direction as shown in FIG. 4B. The cut section curves with the separator 30b side convex, and the cross section cut along the paper transport direction hardly curves.

Therefore, the cross-sectional shape cut along a plane parallel to the paper transport direction is straight. As a result, the leading side in the transport direction of the label paper 30 sent by the printer device 1 abuts on the separation guide surface 13a in an appropriate direction as shown in FIG. 6A, and a good separation operation is performed. Will be That is, regardless of the moisture absorption state of the label paper 30, the leading end of the label paper 30 in the transport direction always abuts the separation guide surface 13 a in an appropriate direction. However, double feed in which a plurality of label sheets 30 are sent at the same time does not occur.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made according to the purpose.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are views showing a state in which a coating process is performed on the separation side of the label paper. FIG. 5A is a perspective view showing the label paper 30 manufactured by the above-described manufacturing method, in a state where the substrate 30a and a part of the separation plate 30b are separated.

For example, after the above-mentioned laminating step, as shown in FIG. 5B, a coating for preventing moisture absorption is provided on the surface of the separator 30b opposite to the adhesive 30c. There may be a step (third step) of applying processing Cb. According to this configuration, it is difficult for the separator 30b side to absorb moisture, so that the The expansion due to moisture absorption of the separator 30b can also be kept small. Therefore, in combination with the above-described expansion suppressing effect on the base material 30a side, the entire label paper 30 is kept in a good flat state (curled state) without curl (curved), and the printing apparatus 1 Label paper 30 can be separated and transported smoothly.

The symbol Ca in FIG. 5B indicates the above-described coating process performed on the base material 30a in the process of preventing moisture absorption in FIG. In the case where the base material 30a is made of a material that does not easily absorb moisture as described above, the coating process Ca may be omitted as shown in FIG. 5C.

Further, after the above-mentioned laminating step, there may be a cutting step of cutting off the peripheral edge of the label paper 30 to have a specified size. Further, in order to provide a plurality of label portions of a predetermined size that can be individually peeled off on one piece of label paper 30, there may be a step of performing half-cut processing on the base material 30 a side.

In addition, the above-described printing apparatus 1 has a configuration in which, when the label paper 30 is stored in the paper storage unit 6, the printing surface is stored with the printing surface facing down. Even if the printer is configured to be stored, the above-described label paper 30 is used as it is because the cross section of the label paper 30 cut along the paper transport direction is almost straight. be able to.

In the above embodiment, the label for the thermal printer was described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention can be applied to general thermosensitive coloring type label paper.

Claims

The scope of the claims

1. A method for producing a heat-sensitive pudding label paper in which a substrate having a heat-sensitive coloring layer and a separator are adhered with an adhesive,

A first step to reduce the water content of the separation

After the first step, the base material is bonded to the separator through the adhesive, a second step,

A method for producing a thermosensitive coloring type label paper, characterized by including at least.

2. The method for producing a heat-sensitive coloring type label paper according to claim 1, wherein after the second step, a surface of the separator is opposite to a surface on which the base material is bonded. Including a third step of applying a coating to prevent moisture absorption;

A method for producing a thermosensitive coloring type label paper characterized by the following.

3. The method for producing a thermosensitive coloring type label sheet according to claim 1, wherein after the second step, a surface of the base material opposite to a surface on which the separator is bonded. Including a third step of applying a coating to prevent moisture absorption;

4. The method for producing a thermosensitive coloring type label paper according to claim 1, wherein the base material and the separator are in the form of a sticky paper. .

5. At least a thermo-sensitive type label paper composed of a base material having a thermo-sensitive coloring layer and a separator that has been treated to reduce the water content with an adhesive.

6. The thermosensitive coloring type label paper according to claim 5, wherein a coating for preventing moisture absorption is provided on a surface of the separation plate opposite to a surface on which the base material is bonded. A heat-sensitive label that has been processed.

7. The thermosensitive coloring type label paper according to claim 5, wherein a coating process for preventing moisture absorption is performed on a surface of the base material opposite to a surface on which the separator is bonded. A heat-sensitive type label paper characterized by having been subjected to

8. The thermosensitive coloring type label paper according to claim 5, wherein a main expansion direction due to moisture absorption of the separator is orthogonal to a paper transport direction of the printer. Label paper.

9. The label paper of the thermosensitive coloring type according to claim 8, wherein a coating process for preventing moisture absorption is performed on a surface of the separation plate opposite to a surface on which the base material is bonded. A heat-sensitive type label paper characterized by having been subjected to

10. The thermosensitive coloring type label paper according to claim 8, wherein a coating for preventing moisture absorption is provided on a surface of the substrate opposite to a surface on which the separator is bonded. The heat-sensitive coloring type that has been processed Label paper.

11. The thermosensitive coloring type label paper according to claim 5,

The heat-sensitive coloring type label paper, wherein the base material and the separation layer are in the form of wet paper.

12. The heat-sensitive color-developing label paper according to claim 11, wherein a core for preventing moisture absorption is provided on a surface of the separator opposite to a surface on which the base material is bonded. A heat-sensitive type label paper that has been subjected to one-step processing.

13. The thermosensitive coloring type label paper according to claim 11, wherein a coating for preventing moisture absorption is provided on a surface of the base material opposite to a surface on which the separation is bonded. Labeling paper of heat-sensitive coloring type, which has been subjected to a finishing process.

14. A recording paper for printing with at least two layers, a first layer and a second layer, attached to each other, which is set in a predetermined direction on the printing paper. When the layer and the second layer expand due to moisture absorption, the recording paper as a whole hardly deforms in a section along the recording paper transport direction in the printer, and is orthogonal to the recording paper transport direction in the printer. A recording paper for a printer, wherein a coefficient of expansion and a bonding direction of the first layer and the second layer due to moisture absorption are adjusted so as to be curved in a predetermined direction in a cross section along a direction in which the recording paper is applied.