JP2013086416A - Label printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a novel label printer capable of delivering a pasteboard-less label after returning it to a print head smoothly, in a label printer making the delivered label roll back while issuing the label with an adhesive side of the label being directed upward.SOLUTION: The label printer includes the print head printing on a belt-like label and a platen roller delivering the belt-like label while pressing the belt-like label to the print head. The platen roller is disposed above the print head, and a space allowing the slack of the belt-like label to escape is formed above the print head on the side before the belt-like label is delivered to a gap between the print head and the platen roller.

Description

The present invention relates to an improvement in a label printer that prints and issues on a so-called mountless label, in which the adhesive surface of the label is exposed and wound in a roll shape.

As is well known, butchers and side dishes stores that sell products are installed electronic scales with printers on display cases, and when products are sold according to customer orders, weight, price, etc. are printed on labels, It is affixed on the purchased product.

Such label printers are generally issued with the label printing surface facing up and the glue surface facing down. Recently, however, the label is printed with the glue surface facing up. However, the label that is fed out in the process is warped and the printing surface is facing upward,
Some have been developed with the glue side facing down.

JP 2009-14455 A

In such a type of label printer that issues an adhesive surface facing upward, a mountless label as shown in Patent Document 1 (a strip-shaped label wound in a roll shape with the adhesive surface of the label exposed)
Is advantageous in that it can be fed into the print head without any trouble just by supporting the belt-like label drawn from the label roll from below. However, if an unprinted label that has just popped out of the label issuing port is pulled back to the print head and then sent out, the strip label is loosened by pulling back the label. This causes problems such as sticking to the label and hindering label feeding, or wrinkles on the label.

The present invention is intended to eliminate such a problem that occurs at the time of pulling back. In a label printer in which a label to be fed is warped while being issued with the adhesive side of the label facing upward, a mountless label can be printed without any trouble. It is an object of the present invention to provide a new label printer that can be sent out after being pulled back to the head.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the label printer according to claim 1 prints on the belt-like label with the glue surface facing upward while pulling out the belt-like label from the label roll wound in a roll shape with the glue surface of the label exposed. A label printer, comprising: a print head for printing on the belt-like label; and a platen roller for feeding the belt-like label while pressing the belt-like label against the print head, the platen roller being disposed above the print head Has been
A space for releasing the slack of the belt-like label is formed above the print head on the near side where the belt-like label is fed between the print head and the platen roller.

A label printer according to claim 2 is the label printer according to claim 1,
The label feeding side and the label feeding side adjacent to the platen roller are provided with guide members that are in line contact with the adhesive surface of the label.

A label printer according to a third aspect is the label printer according to the first or second aspect, wherein the platen roller is provided in a cassette that houses the label roll, and the print head attaches and detaches the cassette. It is provided in the main body that can be freely stored.

A label printer according to claim 4 is the label printer according to claim 3,
When the cassette is set in the main body, a gap is formed on the upstream side of the space in the feeding direction of the band-shaped label so that the band-shaped label can pass through, and the main body is irradiated toward the band-shaped label passing through the gap. And a prism for directing detection light reflected from the belt-shaped label to the main body side.

According to the first to fourth aspects of the present invention, when the mountless label is fed out with the adhesive surface facing upward, even if the strip label is loosened by pulling the strip label back to the print head, Will not stick to the bottleneck of the label transfer path. Therefore, even if an unprinted label that slightly comes out from the label issuing port is sent back after being pulled back to the print head, the label feeding is not hindered or wrinkled.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the guide members that are in line contact with the label glue surface are provided on the label feeding side and the label feeding side adjacent to the platen roller, the platen roller is used by the adhesive force of the label glue. Can be peeled off before the label is rolled up.
In addition, since it is only in line contact with the glue surface, the frictional resistance due to the adhesive force of the glue can be kept small, so the adhesive surface of the label wraps around the platen roller, and the contact area between the glue surface of the label and the platen roller Even if the number is increased, the label can be smoothly fed. Therefore, the label feeding force of the platen roller can be increased to prevent printing deviation.

According to the invention of claim 3, if the label roll is attached to the cassette, the adhesive surface of the strip-shaped label is adhered to the platen roller, and the cassette is pushed into the main body in this state, the adhesive surface remains exposed. The belt-like label can be mounted in the main body very easily.

According to the invention of claim 4, when the cassette is mounted on the main body, the belt-like label passes on the front side (upstream side of the space) where the belt-like label is fed between the platen roller and the print head. A gap is formed, and a prism for receiving detection light reflected by irradiating light for detecting the separation of each label is provided toward the gap, so that detection errors of labels can be eliminated. it can. Moreover, even if the belt-like label is loosened by pulling back the unprinted label, the loose belt-like label escapes to the space provided on the downstream side of the gap, so that the belt-like label is not clogged by the gap.

1 is a schematic perspective view of an embodiment of an electronic balance with a printer equipped with a label printer according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a schematic configuration of the printer according to the embodiment. The perspective view of the said embodiment of the state which opened the opening-and-closing door and pulled out the cassette half. The perspective view of the cassette of the state taken out from the main body. The fragmentary sectional view in the state where a cassette is stored in the inside of a main part.

Hereinafter, an embodiment in which a label printer according to the present invention is mounted on an electronic balance with a printer will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of an embodiment of an electronic balance 100 with a printer. In this figure, an electronic balance 100 with a printer is incorporated in a main body case 1, a printer 2 incorporated therein, a weighing unit 3 installed on the upper surface of the main body case 1, and the main body case 1. 2 and a control unit (not shown) for controlling the weighing unit 3 and a power supply unit that is also incorporated in the main body case 1 and supplies power to the printer 2 and the control unit. Moreover, the touch panel 4 is attached to the front side of the main body case 1 operated by the store clerk,
A customer side display unit 5 is attached.

The printer 2 is housed in the main body case 1 on the right side, and an opening / closing door 6 is provided on the front side thereof. Further, when the touch panel 4 provided on the front side is flipped up, as shown in FIG. The open / close door 6 opens downward so that the cassette 7 can be taken out.
A handle 8 is attached to the front side of the cassette 7, and the cassette 7 can be pulled out from the main body case 1 by pulling it.

The printer 2 includes the cassette 7 and a printing unit 40 provided on the back surface of the opening / closing door 6. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the cassette 7 is provided with a label roll 50 indicated by an imaginary line, and the belt-like label A drawn out from the label roll 50 is attached to the upper part of the main body case 1 and the door. 6 is fed out from a label issuing port 9 provided between the upper edge of 6.

The label roll 50 has a non-adhesive band partially applied to the back surface of the belt-like label A, and is wound in the form of a roll without attaching a release mount to the back surface (glue surface). It is. Therefore, the strip-shaped label A drawn out from the label roll 50 is guided to a platen roller 10 (see FIG. 4) described later with the glue surface facing upward. The belt-like label A is provided with a perforation at the separation of each label. If the belt-like label A is fed out from the label issuing port 9 for one label, it can be cut at the perforation. Yes. Further, on the back surface of the belt-like label A, a mark indicating the separation for each label is printed, and by detecting this mark with light described later, the feeding control for each label can be performed.

The weighing unit 3 wirelessly transmits a load signal having a well-known configuration that converts mechanical strain into an electric signal, a signal processing circuit that amplifies the load cell output and converts it into a digital signal, and transmits the digital signal to the control unit in the main body case 1 wirelessly. A communication module for transmitting and a battery for supplying power to them are provided. In the main body case 1, a communication module that receives a digital signal transmitted from the weighing unit 3, a received signal is converted into mass, and the price is calculated by multiplying it by a set unit price per unit mass. Then, a control unit composed of a computer that displays it on the touch panel 4 and the customer side display unit 5, a printer 2 that prints and prints the weight, price, etc. of the object to be weighed on a label or receipt paper, and supplies power thereto. The power supply unit is stored. In this embodiment, the weight signal is transmitted wirelessly from the measuring unit 3 to the control unit, but may be transmitted by wire instead. In that case, the battery can be removed from the weighing unit 3.

The touch panel 4 is composed of a liquid crystal display, and displays basic items necessary for operating the electronic balance 100 with a printer under the control of a control unit.
Further, after reading the registration information of the measurement target product by touching the displayed item, if the product is loaded on the weighing unit 3, the measurement result (weight, price, product name, etc.) is displayed. Yes.
Further, the customer side display unit 5 is also composed of a liquid crystal display, and displays advertising messages and moving pictures related to the measurement results and registered products.

The cassette 7 includes a set for mounting a label with a mount and a set for mounting a mount-less label and a receipt paper. In this embodiment, the cassette 7 is for setting a mount-less label and a receipt paper.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the cassette 7 of this embodiment is divided horizontally from a cassette body 11 molded in an L shape when viewed from the front and a side plate 12 extending in the vertical direction of the cassette body 11. A label roll receiver 13 that is held and supported, a guide roller 14 that is also cantilevered in the horizontal direction, and a front end frame portion 15 that is also supported in a horizontal direction.
As shown in FIG. 4, a platen roller 10 is attached to the front portion of the leading end frame portion 15 so as to come into surface contact with the glue surface of the belt-like label A and send it out. The upstream guide is adjacent to the platen roller 10. A member 16 and a downstream guide member 17 are provided.

In FIG. 4, the label roll receiver 13 has a reinforcing rib 18 along the axis around the axis.
Are arranged in a plurality of radial shapes, and the end surface thereof is an oval whose vertical axis is shorter than the horizontal axis, and at its end, a C-shaped retaining stopper larger than the end surface of the label roll receiver 13 is provided. 19 is attached along the reinforcing rib 18 so as to be slidable in the axial direction. Further, the retainer return 19 is formed to be slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the paper tube 51 of the label roll 50. If the paper tube 51 of the label roll 50 is inserted into the retainer ring 19 and released, FIG. 4 through 4, the paper tube 51 of the label roll 50 falls into the label roll receiver 13 and is supported. If the retaining ring 19 is slid to the side plate 12 in this state, the label roll 50 can be brought closer to the side plate 12. The strip-shaped label A with the glue surface facing upward is fed out from the label roll 50, and the fed-out strip-shaped label A is guided to the platen roller 10 through the lower side of the guide roller 14. Further, the outer periphery of the guide roller 14 and the platen roller 10 is provided with a non-adhesive coating so that the adhesive surface of the strip-shaped label A does not stick to these.

Further, a pulley 20 is attached to the left end portion of the platen roller 10, and a timing belt 21 driven by a power transmission mechanism (not shown) is hung on the pulley 20 and rotated at a predetermined speed by the control of the control unit. Is configured to do.
This power transmission mechanism is provided on the back surface of the side plate 12, and a gear (not shown) provided at the rear end portion thereof meshes with a drive gear provided in the main body case 1 to transmit power. . Further, the drive gear is connected to and driven by a rotation shaft of a stepping motor provided in the main body case 1.

4, the lower surfaces of the guide members 16 and 17 provided at the adjacent positions on the upstream side and the downstream side of the platen roller 10 have an uneven shape, and the peak of each mountain on the uneven surface is Aligned in the feeding direction of the strip-shaped label A, the peaks of each mountain are shaped so as to be in line contact with the glue surface of the strip-shaped label A. Further, on the upstream side following the upstream guide member 16, a hollow space 22 is formed for avoiding contact with the adhesive surface of the strip label A when the strip label A meanders up and down. Further, on the upstream side following the space 22, a lattice-shaped guide member 23 is formed, and a prism 24 is embedded in a portion of the lattice of the guide member 23. Further, a slide plate 25 is attached to the lattice on the upstream side, and a slide member 26 is slidably attached to the slide plate 25 so that it can slide in a direction crossing the belt-like label A. The slide member 26 regulates the side edge of the belt-like label A, and guides the side edge of the belt-like label A while supporting the right edge of the belt-like label A from below. A non-adhesive coating is also applied to the lower surfaces of the guide members 16, 17, and 23 so that the adhesive surface of the strip-shaped label A does not stick to them.

In FIG. 4, one end of the prism 24 faces outward from the left side surface toward the front end frame portion 15, and the other end faces the lower surface of the guide member 23.
It is attached so as to face the glue side.

On the other hand, in the main body case 1 of the electronic scale 100 in which the cassette 7 is accommodated, the light emitting element 27 and the light receiving element 28 are arranged at positions facing one end of the prism 24 with the cassette 7 set in the main body case 1. Is attached (see FIG. 3), and the light emitted from the light emitting element 27 in the horizontal direction enters from one end of the prism 24 and is emitted toward the strip label A from the other end. The irradiated light is reflected by the glue surface (back surface) of the belt-like label A, passes through the prism 24 again, and enters the light receiving element 28 of the main body case 1. Thereby, a separation mark for each label printed on the back surface of the strip-shaped label A is detected, and feed control for one label is performed by the detection signal.

On the other hand, the printing unit 40 provided on the back surface of the opening / closing door 6 includes a printing head 41 and a cover 42 covering the printing head 41 as shown in FIGS. The print head 41 performs thermal printing, and in a state where the cassette 7 is mounted on the main body case 1, the platen roller 10.
The heating elements are arranged at positions facing each other. The cover 42 covering the print head 41 is
A light emitting element 43 is attached at a position facing the prism 24. The light emitting element 43 emits light toward the label when a label with a mount is mounted. The light is transmitted through the mount interposed between the labels and is incident on the prism 24. Then, the light is incident on the light receiving element 28 on the main body case 1 side through the prism 24, and the separation for each label is detected.

In FIG. 5, when the cassette 7 is mounted in the main body case 1 and the door 6 is closed,
As shown in FIG. 5, a gap B is formed between the cover 42 of the printing unit 40 and the lower surface of the front end frame portion 15 so as to allow the strip-shaped label A to pass therethrough. This is because when the gap B is too wide when an unprinted label slightly coming out from the label light emission port 9 is pulled back to the print head 41 and then sent out, the distance between the belt-like label A and the prism 24 is constant. As a result, the detection of the separation for each label becomes unstable. Therefore, a recessed space 22 is provided in a region adjacent to the prism 24 on the lower surface of the front end frame portion 15, and a lattice-shaped guide member 23 is provided on the upstream side thereof, so that the gap B is made as much as possible. Even if it is narrowed, the label feeding is prevented from sticking to the guide member 23 when the unprinted label is pulled back to the print head so that the label feeding is not hindered or wrinkled.

When the opening / closing door 6 is opened, the heat generating element of the print head 41 faces upward, and if water droplets or the like fall on it, a malfunction may easily occur. In this embodiment, a waterproof sheet is placed around the print head 41 and the surrounding area. The cover 42 is covered from above to protect. Further, a moat through which water droplets flow is provided around the light emitting element 43 so that, for example, even if water droplets hang on the light emitting element 43, the moat flows into the moat. Further, the door 6 is automatically unlocked and released when the front-side touch panel 4 is flipped up. However, even when the touch panel 4 is flipped up, the door 6 once locked can be unlocked again. In order to do so, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG.
An unlock button 30 that is manually opened and closed is provided at the right corner of the.

As mentioned above, although one Embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to this Embodiment, Other various aspects are employable. For example, the printer 2 may be separated from the electronic scale 100 and placed separately. In that case, a computer for controlling the printer 2 may be used as an electronic balance computer, or a separate computer may be provided. Further, the label roll may be set directly on the main body side without using the cassette 7.

1 Body case (body)
2 Printer 7 Cassette 10 Platen roller 16 Guide member 17 Guide member 22 Space 23 Guide member 24 Prism 41 Print head A Strip label B Gap

Claims (4)

A label printer that prints on a belt-like label with the glue surface facing upward while pulling out the belt-like label from a label roll wound in a roll while the glue surface of the label is exposed. A platen roller that feeds the belt-shaped label while pressing the belt-shaped label against the print head, the platen roller is disposed above the print head, and the belt-shaped label is formed between the print head and the platen roller. A label printer in which a space for releasing slack of the belt-like label is formed above the print head on the near side fed in between. 2. The label printer according to claim 1, wherein a guide member is provided on the label feeding side and the label feeding side adjacent to the platen roller so as to be in line contact with the adhesive surface of the belt-like label. The label printer according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the platen roller is provided in a cassette for storing the label roll, and the print head is provided in a main body for detachably storing the cassette. When the cassette is set in the main body, a gap is formed on the upstream side of the space in the feeding direction of the band-shaped label so that the band-shaped label can pass through, and the main body is irradiated toward the band-shaped label passing through the gap. 4. A label printer according to claim 3, further comprising a prism for directing detection light reflected from the belt-shaped label toward the main body side by applying light for detecting a separation for each label to the belt-shaped label. .