JP2001038966A - Label printer and method for controlling label printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a label printer and a control method whereby issuance of labels can be surely detected. SOLUTION: There are provided a separating part for separating a label L from a mount, a separated label detecting sensor 46 for detecting the presence of the label separated from the mount and detecting the absence of labels, a transfer means 12 for transferring the mount and the label step by step by a predetermined distance to a position where the label is separated, and positioning a label not separated which is next to the separated label to a printing part, a transfer control means 10 and an error means 22 which emits an error when the presence of the label is not detected before the label is transferred by the predetermined distance. The transfer control means counts the predetermined distance to the position where the label is separated from the mount, and controls the transfer means to temporarily stop the transfer at a label presence detect time when the separated label is detected by the separated label detect sensor 46, and to position the label not separated to the printing part in the case where the absence of the label is detected by the separated label detect sensor 46 when the label detected to be present is separated.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a label printer and a label printer control method, and more particularly to a label printer and a label printer control method for detecting a printing failure caused by wrapping of a label.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Label printers 30 include, for example, those shown in FIGS. 3, 5 and 6. FIG. The label printer 30 is a “peel-off type printer”, and mainly includes a label supply shaft 32, a printing unit 38 including a print head 34 and a platen roller (hereinafter, appropriately referred to as a platen) 36, a winding shaft 40, It comprises a detection sensor 42, a peeling section 44, and a peeling label detection sensor (hereinafter, appropriately referred to as a label sensor) 46.

[0003] A label continuous body 48 as shown in FIG. This label continuum 48
The label L is temporarily attached to the mount 50 at regular intervals, and the identification marks 52 called "eye marks" are printed at regular intervals on the back surface 50a of the mount.

[0004] The label continuous body 48 attached to the label supply shaft 32 is fed out to the printing section 38 via the guide roller 54, inserted between the print head 34 and the platen 36, further turned at the peeling section 44, and 50 only guide roller 5
6 and wound around a winding shaft 40.

When print information (not shown) such as predetermined print data and the number of prints is inputted from a known input means (not shown), the label continuous body 48 is rotated by a driving source such as a motor (not shown). And winding shaft 40
Is fed from the label supply shaft 32 by the
The desired printing data (not shown) is printed on the label L by the printing unit 38 during the winding.

Then, a label continuous body 48 is formed at the peeling section 44.
Is turned, the label L temporarily attached to the mount 50 is
Is separated from the backing sheet 50 by its own rigidity. The peeled label L is held in a state where a part of the rear end is temporarily attached to the mount 50 on the peeling section 44, and the leading end is detected by the label sensor 46 attached near the label issuing port 58. The label L is set to the label sensor 4
6 (change from ON to OFF), and when "label present" is recognized, the motor (not shown) stops (FIG. 5).

Further, when the label L is removed from the issuing port 58, the label sensor 46 changes from OFF to ON, and "no label", that is, the label L is
In order to detect that the label has been removed, the software (not shown) is controlled to move to the next label issuing operation at this timing.

By the way, when the label L is to be peeled from the backing sheet 50 at the peeling section 44, for example, the adhesion between the label L and the backing sheet 50 is strong, or the label L is thin and soft, and the rigidity is insufficient. In this case, the label L may not be peeled from the backing sheet 50 even when the backing sheet 50 is turned by the peeling section 44, and as shown in FIG. 6, a printed label (print data (not shown) is printed by the printing section 38). In some cases, the label (L) does not reach the label issuing port 58 and is wound up on the winding shaft 40 together with the mount 50.

When the label L is wound up on the winding shaft 40 together with the backing sheet 50 without being peeled off by the peeling section 44,
“Labeled” by the label sensor 46 is not recognized,
In order to determine that the desired print data (not shown) can be printed on the next label L and continue the printing operation, the label continuum 48 is driven by the motor (until the next “label present” is recognized). It is wound around the winding shaft 40 by the drive of a not shown).

When the label sensor 46 detects "no label" and continues printing until the next "label present" is detected, the label sensor 46 moves to the winding shaft 40 without being peeled off by the peeling section 44 as described above. In the case where the designated number of printed sheets is insufficient for the printed label L wound up together with the mount 50 and the serial number (serial number) is printed / issued, the serial number to be continuous as a printing result is missing. And other problems.

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and detects the presence / absence of a label by measuring the timing with a conventional label sensor provided near an issuing port. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a label printer and a label printer control method capable of reliably detecting label issuance without increasing the number of parts.

[0012]

According to a label printer of the present invention, a label temporarily attached releasably on a backing paper is conveyed toward a label issuing port, and a desired printing data is printed on the label at a printing unit. A label printer that is provided downstream of the printing unit, turns the backing sheet and peels off the label from the backing sheet, and a label that is provided near the issuing port and is peeled off from the backing sheet at the peeling unit. A release label detection sensor that detects the presence of a label and detects the absence of a label when the label is removed after the label is detected, and prints the desired print data on the label at the printing unit, A predetermined distance to the position where the label is peeled, while transporting the backing paper and the label one step at a time, a transporting means for positioning the next unpeeled label next to the peeled label in the printing unit, The presence of a label is detected when the predetermined distance to the position where the bell is peeled off from the backing sheet is counted, and the predetermined distance is counted, and the label that has been peeled off from the backing sheet at the peeling section is detected by the peeling label detection sensor. Once the transport is stopped, and the label is removed after the detection of the label is detected, the absence of the label is detected by the peeling label detection sensor. It is characterized by comprising transport control means for controlling the transport means, and error control means for issuing an error when the presence of a label is not detected by the end of counting of a predetermined distance. Further, the label printer control method according to claim 2, while transporting the label temporarily attached releasably on the backing paper toward the label issuing port,
A label printer control method for printing desired print data on a label in a printing step, comprising: a peeling step provided downstream of the printing step to turn the backing sheet to peel off the label from the backing sheet; and provided near the issuing port. In the peeling step, while detecting the presence of the label peeled from the mount in the peeling step, the peeling label detecting step of detecting the absence of the label when the label is removed after detecting the presence of the label, While printing the print data,
A transporting step of transporting the mount and the label by a predetermined distance from the mount to the position where the label is peeled off in the peeling step, and positioning the unpeeled label next to the peeled label in the printing step; The presence of a label is detected when the predetermined distance to the position where the label is peeled off from the backing paper is counted, and the predetermined distance is counted, and the label peeled off from the backing paper is detected in the peeling label detection step in the peeling step. Sometimes, once the transport is stopped, and further, when the absence of the label when the label is detected after the detection of the presence of the label is detected in the peeling label detecting step, in order to position the next unpeeled label in the printing step. A transport control step for controlling the transport step and an error control step for issuing an error when the presence of a label is not detected by the end of counting of a predetermined distance. In the label printer and the label printer control method according to the present invention, the presence of the peeled label (the presence of a label) is detected by one label sensor, and the absence of the label after the detection of the presence of the label is detected. Since the end of the printing of the label bell is recognized in a state where both the count completion of the predetermined distance to the position to be performed and the detection of the presence of the label are satisfied, it is possible to detect the wrapped label.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A preferred embodiment of a label printer according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to FIGS. However, the same parts as those in the related art are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the detailed description thereof is omitted.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of an electrical configuration of an embodiment of a label printer 2 according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the label printer 2 mainly includes a CPU (central processing) that controls each unit.
unit) 4 and an RO for storing a predetermined control program
M (read only memory) 6 and a RAM (random) for storing various data such as the number of issued papers
access memory 8, a motor control unit 10 for controlling the motor 12, a platen 36 and a take-up shaft 40 that rotate under the control of the motor control unit 10, and a sensor control unit 14 for controlling the position detection sensor 42 and the label sensor 46. And a head control unit 1 for controlling the print head 34
6, a display 18 for appropriately displaying various input data confirmations such as the number of input or the number of sheets input from an input means (not shown) and an error message (not shown), a buzzer 20 for notifying an operator of an error at the time of error, The display 1
8 and an error control unit 22 for controlling the buzzer 20.

The motor 12 is, for example, a stepping motor that rotates in a forward or reverse direction one step at a time.
This rotation is transmitted to the platen 36 and the winding shaft 40 via the motor control unit 10. Therefore, the platen 36
The winding shaft 40 can also rotate in the reverse direction.

The sensor control section 14 controls the label sensor 46 and the position detection sensor 42. The position detection sensor 42 is a sensor for detecting the position of the continuous label body 48 to be conveyed, and is for detecting the identification mark 52 on the back surface 50a of the mount 50 and positioning the label L at a predetermined position. The distance is calculated. That is, in the sensor control unit 14, between the identification marks 52,
The distance converted to the number of steps of the motor 12 is set to one pitch (for one label), and the distance from the detection of the identification mark 52 by the position detection sensor 42 to the position where printing is started is converted to the number of steps of the motor 12. Further, after detecting the identification mark 52 or performing a calculation process such as converting a predetermined distance from a position where printing is completed to a position where the label L is peeled off from the mount 50 into the number of steps of the motor 12. The calculated distance (the number of steps) is sent to the motor 12 via the motor control unit 10. Therefore, the label continuous body 48 is positioned at the printing position by rotation of the platen 36 and the take-up shaft 40 via the motor 12 during conveyance, or at a predetermined position on the separating section 44 where the label L is peeled from the backing sheet 50. The control is performed by operating the CPU 4 based on a control program (not shown) stored in the ROM 6 and data (not shown) stored in the RAM 8.

When the label L is positioned at the printing position,
Print data (not shown) is transferred to the print head 34 via the head control unit 16, and printing is performed on the label L.

The error control unit 22 includes a display 18
When the buzzer 20 is connected and an error is detected, control such as displaying an error message on the display 18 or sounding the buzzer 20 is performed. Display 1
Reference numeral 8 can also be used as a "display" for appropriately confirming input items such as the number of issued sheets from an input means (not shown).

Next, referring to the flowchart of FIG.
The operation of the present embodiment will be described. Note that the distance from the position detection sensor 42 to the printing position or the distance from the printing end position of the printing head 34 to the peeling position where the label L is peeled from the mount 50 is converted into the number of steps of the motor 12 in advance. The explanation will be made assuming that it has been calculated.

First, in step S1, printing of one label L is performed by the print head 34. This printing is performed while the motor 12 is being conveyed line by line by a platen 36 which rotates through the rotation of the motor 12 step by step.

In step S2, the printed label L is transported to the peeling position. This conveyance is performed by rotating the motor 12 one step at a time, and the number of steps up to the peeling position is counted by the CPU 4 via the motor control unit 10, and is compared with the previously calculated number of steps up to the peeling position. Is repeated until a match is found.

In step 3, the label sensor 46
It is determined whether or not the presence of a label is detected. If no label is detected, that is, if no label is detected despite the fact that the number of steps of the motor 12 indicating that the label L has reached the peeling position is counted in step 2, the label L is It is determined that there is a possibility of being caught while sticking to 50, and the process proceeds to step S6. In step S6, an error message (not shown) is displayed on the display unit 18, the buzzer 20 sounds, etc., to notify the worker, and in step S7, the worker cancels the error.

On the other hand, when the presence of a label is detected, that is, when the leading end of the label L normally peeled from the backing sheet 50 at the peeling position is detected by the label sensor 46 provided near the issuing port 58. Goes to step S4, and it is determined that there is a label. This determination is continuously monitored by the label sensor 46 that has detected the presence of a label, and is performed until there is no label, that is, until the label L is removed from the issuing port 58. Step S when the label L is removed
Proceed to 5.

In step S5, the continuous label 48 is rewound from the peeling position. That is, when the printed label L is conveyed from the printing end position to the label peeling position, the next unpeeled label L temporarily attached to the backing sheet 50 is once fed out to the issue port 58 side from the printing position. Therefore, the sheet is rewound to the printing position for printing, and the distance of this rewound is calculated in advance by converting the number of rotations (the number of steps) of the motor 12.

As described above, the label L is fed by a predetermined distance to the peeling position where the label L is peeled off from the backing sheet 50,
A single label sensor 46 provided in the vicinity determines whether the label L has been peeled off from the backing sheet at the peeling position and whether the detected label L has been removed. Peeling / issuing can be confirmed, and an error when a label is entangled can be reliably detected.

[0026]

As described above, according to the label printer of the present invention, one label sensor which is conveyed a predetermined distance to a peeling position where the label is peeled from the backing paper and which is provided near the issuing port. In, to determine whether the label is peeled off from the backing at the peeling position and the presence of the label was detected, and whether the detected label was removed, the peeling and issuing of the label could be confirmed without increasing the number of parts, Moreover,
There is an effect that an error when a label is entangled can be reliably detected.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an electrical configuration example of a label printer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a control procedure according to the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side view showing a configuration example of a conventional label printer.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an example of a label continuum used in a label printer.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged side view of the vicinity of a peeling unit and an issuing port in a label printer, showing a state in which a label is peeled off from a backing paper.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged side view of the vicinity of a peeling portion and an issuing port, showing a state in which the label is rolled up together with a mount.

[Explanation of symbols]

 L label 2 label printer (one embodiment) 4 CPU 6 ROM 8 RAM 10 motor control unit 12 motor 14 sensor control unit 16 head control unit 18 display 20 buzzer 22 error control unit 30 label printer (conventional) 32 label supply axis 34 print head 36 platen roller (platen) 38 printing unit 40 take-up shaft 42 position detecting sensor 44 peeling unit 46 peeling label detecting sensor (label sensor) 48 label continuum 50 backing paper 50a back surface of backing paper 50 identification mark 54, 56 guide Roller 58 issuing port

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A label printer that prints desired print data on a label at a printing section while transporting a label temporarily detachably mounted on a backing paper toward a label issuing port. A peeling unit provided downstream of the unit, and peeling the label from the mount by turning the mount, and detecting the presence of the label peeled from the mount at the peeling unit, provided near the issuing port. A peeling label detection sensor that detects the absence of a label when a label is removed after detecting the presence of a label, and the label is peeled from the mount of the peeling section while printing desired print data on the label in the printing section. Transport means for transporting the mount and the label by a predetermined distance to a position to be moved one step at a time, and positioning the next unpeeled label after the peeled label to the printing unit; When the predetermined distance to the position where the tape is peeled off from the backing sheet is counted, the predetermined distance is counted, and the label peeled off from the backing sheet at the peeling section is detected by the peeling label detection sensor. When the presence of the label is detected, the transport is temporarily stopped, and further, when the absence of the label when the label is detected after the detection of the presence of the label is detected by the peeling label detection sensor, the next unpeeled label is printed by the printing unit. A label, comprising: transport control means for controlling the transport means to position the label; and error control means for issuing an error when the presence of a label is not detected by the end of the counting of the predetermined distance. Printer. 2. A label printer control method for printing desired print data on a label in a printing step while conveying a label temporarily releasably mounted on a backing paper toward a label issuing port, A peeling step that is provided downstream of the printing step and turns the backing sheet to peel off the label from the backing sheet; and that is provided near the issuing port and detects the presence of the label peeled off from the backing sheet in the peeling step. And a peeling label detecting step of detecting the absence of the label when the label is removed after detecting the presence of the label, and printing the desired print data on the label in the printing step, while the label is removed from the backing sheet in the peeling step. A predetermined distance to the position to be peeled off,
Conveying step by step, a conveying step of positioning the next unpeeled label of the peeled label in the printing step, and counting the predetermined distance to a position where the label is peeled off from the backing paper, When the distance is counted, and the label peeled from the backing sheet in the peeling step is detected in the peeling label detecting step, the transport is temporarily stopped upon detecting the presence of the label, and further, the label after the detection of the presence of the label is removed. When the absence of a label when removed is detected in the peeling label detection step, a transport control step of controlling the transporting step to position the next unpeeled label in a printing step, An error control step for issuing an error when no label is detected by the end of the counting. Label printer control method comprising Rukoto