JP5020024B2 - Printing system for thermal printer - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a thermal printer equipped with a thermal print head and configured to print on a printing object via a feed-out type ink ribbon. In particular, the unused area of the ink ribbon is reduced as much as possible and a high speed is achieved. The present invention relates to a printing system in a thermal printer configured to be able to print on a printer.

As is well known, a variety of distribution product packaging system in the industrial distribution society, and with the diversification of information processing, transmission information printing system in real time for packaging products packaged by various packaging systems have been developed, provided It is coming. For example, in the packaging process in the production line, the production date and production control number for which real-time properties are required for printed materials of various packaging materials (plastic film, paper film, label sheet, etc.) In the case of displaying the expiration date, etc. for bar codes and foods, the display content as described above is changed in real time by computer processing and printed as the packaging system is fully automated. There is provided a thermal printer that can.

This thermal printer is equipped with a thermal print head having a heating element composed of a linear heating dot element array, as described in Patent Document 1, and a thermal print head drive for driving the thermal print head. And an ink ribbon feeding means for feeding the ink ribbon. The ink ribbon is interposed between the thermal print head and the printing surface of the printing object, and the ink ribbon is fed during printing. And the feeding of the substrate to be printed are printed on the printing surface of the substrate to be printed.

For example, when printing is performed with respect to a plurality of print areas in the width direction on the printed material by the thermal printer, the print locations in each print area are in the length direction and the width direction of the print material. Due to the fact that they are spaced apart and the width of the substrate to be printed is larger than the width of the ink ribbon, if you do not take any measures, there will be a large unused area on the ink ribbon. It had the problem that it would occur.

As an example for solving this problem, a thermal printer as described in Patent Document 2 is provided. The thermal printer described in Patent Document 2 controls the feeding of a thermal ribbon by a ribbon short dimension feeding mode and a ribbon long dimension feeding mode. In this apparatus, when the thermal ribbon is stopped and the printing is performed in the width direction of the substrate, for example, at four intervals, an unused portion M is formed on the thermal ribbon. In order to use this unused portion M, feed control is performed by one pitch at a time in the ribbon short-length feed mode, and at the stage where printing in four places in the width direction on the substrate is finished, the ribbon long-size feed mode is used for batch processing. Feed control is performed.

According to this patent document 2, although the unused area of the ribbon is reduced, the control for printing is complicated and the printing speed is reduced.

JP-A-9-76573 (summary, FIG. 1) JP 2004-216723 A (Summary, FIG. 6)

Therefore, in the present invention, the above-mentioned problems of the prior art have been solved, and the particularly important element is an ink ribbon when printing at intervals in a plurality of positions in the width direction of the substrate. It is an object of the present invention to provide a printing system in a thermal printer configured to control a ribbon feeding amount of a feeding means so as to reduce an unused area of an ink ribbon as much as possible and perform printing at high speed.

Order to achieve the purpose of the above serial, a first aspect of the present invention, a printing object feeding means for controlling the feed intermittently along the direction X1 sends a printing object width dimension Fw,
A head reciprocating means for intermittently reciprocating a thermal printer body provided with a thermal head along a direction Y1 orthogonal to the feeding direction X1 of the substrate;
An ink ribbon feeding means for intermittently feeding the ink ribbon loaded in the thermal printer body along the same direction X2 as the feeding direction X1 of the substrate;
And a control means for controlling the printing object feeding means, the head reciprocating means, and the ink ribbon feeding means,
A printing system for a thermal printer that reduces the unused area of the ink ribbon by controlling the ribbon feeding amount of the ink ribbon feeding means when printing at a plurality of intervals in the width direction of the substrate. And
When printing information is printed in a direction orthogonal to the length direction of the printing object in each printing area with respect to a plurality of printing areas in the width direction of the printing object,
After performing printing for one time, the printing system in the thermal printer is characterized in that the ink ribbon is controlled to be sent out in the length direction only for the use area used by the printing for one time. Is.

Furthermore, in order to achieve the above object, the invention described in claim 2 includes a substrate-feeding unit that intermittently feeds a substrate having a width dimension Fw along the feeding direction X1, and
A head reciprocating means for intermittently reciprocating a thermal printer body provided with a thermal head along a direction Y1 orthogonal to the feeding direction X1 of the substrate;
An ink ribbon feeding means for intermittently feeding the ink ribbon loaded in the thermal printer body along the same direction X2 as the feeding direction X1 of the substrate;
And a control means for controlling the printing object feeding means, the head reciprocating means, and the ink ribbon feeding means,
A printing system for a thermal printer that reduces the unused area of the ink ribbon by controlling the ribbon feeding amount of the ink ribbon feeding means when printing at a plurality of intervals in the width direction of the substrate. And
When printing information is printed along the length direction of the print object in each print area for a plurality of print areas in the width direction of the print object,
The printing system in the thermal printer is configured to stop and control the feeding of the ink ribbon while printing is performed a plurality of times over the width of the ink ribbon.

According to the printing system of the thermal printer according to the present invention, the printing material feeding means for intermittently feeding the printing material having the width dimension Fw along the feeding direction X1, and the feeding direction X1 of the printing material. A head reciprocating means for intermittently reciprocatingly controlling a thermal printer body provided with a thermal head along a perpendicular direction Y1, and a thermal printer body along the same direction X2 as the feed direction X1 of the substrate. Including an ink ribbon feeding means for intermittently feeding the loaded ink ribbon, and a control means for controlling the printed material feeding means, the head reciprocating means, and the ink ribbon feeding means. When printing at intervals at multiple locations, the ribbon feeding amount of the ink ribbon feeding means is controlled to reduce the unused area of the ink ribbon as much as possible. It can be said that act very effectively in that they conform to print.

Furthermore, according to the printing system in the thermal printer according to the present invention, even if the printing time interval is shortened, the printing control does not fail, so printing can be performed up to the last time interval. As a result, there is no need to provide useless time. Even if there is a change in the line speed, the production volume can be increased in exchange for some waste of the ink ribbon, and it can be said that this also works extremely effectively.

Furthermore, according to the printing system in the thermal printer according to the present invention, if the printing time interval is long, the unused area of the ink ribbon can be automatically reduced, and it can be said that this also works extremely effectively. .

Hereinafter, a printing system in a thermal printer according to the present invention will be described in detail based on specific embodiments shown in FIGS. FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing a specific embodiment of a printing system in a thermal printer according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the printing system as viewed from the direction of an arrow Ar1 shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic side view seen from the direction of the arrow Ar2 shown in FIG.

In one embodiment shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, a printed material 1 having a width dimension Fw is a long film or a long sheet in which a plurality of print regions 2 are arranged at predetermined intervals in the width direction. And the like. In the present invention, a print location 3 for printing desired print information is specified in each print area 2.

The printed material 1 is intermittently controlled by the printed material feeding means 4 from a printed material supply source (not shown) on the upstream side along the feeding direction X1, and on the downstream side, desired packaging is performed. It is supplied to a system (not shown).

While the printing object feeding means 4 finishes printing in the plurality of printing areas 2 in the width direction (in the example shown in FIG. 4, in the printing area 2, areas [01] to [05]) When the feeding of the object 1 is stopped and the printing of the areas [01] to [05] is completed, the area [06] to [05 [ 10] is controlled so as to send out the distance in the length direction of the substrate to be lined up. 4 to 6, area numbers [01] to [15] attached to the print area 2 indicate the print order.

In the present invention, the head reciprocating means 7 is provided for intermittently reciprocatingly controlling the thermal printer body 6 having the thermal head 5 along a direction Y1 orthogonal to the feeding direction X1 of the substrate 1. ing. The head reciprocating means 7 includes a guide rail member 8 extending in a direction perpendicular to the feed direction X1 of the substrate 1 and causes the guide rail member 8 to guide the thermal printer main body 6 so that the arrow Y1 is indicated. Control reciprocating intermittently in the direction.

The head reciprocating means 7 is, for example, at the stage where printing in the area [01] in the printing area 2 is completed, for one pitch Pb (in the width direction of the substrate to be printed from the area [01] to the area [02]. Distance) The thermal printer main body 6 provided with the thermal head 5 is controlled to move. A print receiving plate 16 is arranged in the range along the direction Y <b> 1 in which the thermal head 5 reciprocates and at the lower surface position of the substrate 1.

On the other hand, the ink ribbon 9 loaded in the thermal printer main body 6 is intermittently controlled to be sent out by the ink ribbon feeding means 10 along the same direction X2 as the feeding direction X1 of the substrate 1. ing. The ink ribbon 9 is a long ribbon having a width dimension Rw, and is wound around the winding side reel 14 from the winding side reel 11 in the thermal printer main body 6 via the guide rollers 12 and 13. . The ink ribbon 9 is configured to pass between the guide rollers 12 and 13 and between the print head 5 and the substrate 1 in the thermal printer body 6.

Further, according to the present invention, the printing material feeding means 4, the head reciprocating means 7, and the control means 15 for controlling the ink ribbon feeding means 10 are included, and a plurality of locations in the width direction of the printing material are provided. When printing at intervals, the ribbon feed amount of the ink ribbon feeding means is controlled to reduce the unused area of the ink ribbon. Specific modes of control by the control means 15 will be described in detail below according to each embodiment.

Next, how the ink ribbon 9 is used in the printing system of the thermal printer according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 4 shows an example in which print information is printed in the direction intersecting the feed direction X1 of the substrate 1 in the print area 2 of the substrate 1 having the width Fw. FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view showing a state in which printing has been performed on the printing areas [01] to [12]. FIG. 5 shows a printing target in the printing area 2 with respect to the printing target 1 having a width Fw. It shows an example of printing information in a direction along the feed direction X1 of the article 1, and is a schematic plan view showing a state in which printing is performed on the printing areas [01] to [13] in the order of printing. is there.

FIG. 6 illustrates the state of use of the ink ribbon 9 by printing. FIG. 6A illustrates the use of the ink ribbon 9 corresponding to the case where printing is performed as shown in FIG. FIG. 6B is a schematic plan view showing the usage status of the ink ribbon 9 corresponding to the case where printing is performed as shown in FIG. is there.

In the present invention, the print information is based on characters, symbols, marks, barcodes, two-dimensional codes, etc., and is composed of a case that constitutes a print string composed of a plurality of characters, or a single symbol. Is included.

First, the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 and 6A will be described. In the first embodiment, for a plurality of print areas 2 in the width direction of the substrate 1, printing is performed in each print area 2 along a direction orthogonal to the length direction of the substrate 1. Printing information such as columns or single marks is printed. In this case, after the printing for one time, the ink ribbon 9 is controlled to be fed out in the length direction only for the use area used for the one time printing.

In other words, in the first embodiment, when the area [01] is printed, the head reciprocating means 7 moves the head 5 by 1 pitch Pb in the width direction of the substrate 1 and simultaneously feeds the ink ribbon. By means 10, the ink ribbon 9 is fed out in the length direction only for the used area used for printing once, and the printing of the area [01] and the area [02] is completed in the manner shown in FIG. 6A.

This printing state is repeated, and when printing in the area [01] and the area [05] is completed, the printing object feeding means 4 feeds the printing object 1 by 1 pitch Pa in the feeding direction X1 and controls it. To do. By printing in this state, printing in the area [06] is performed. When printing in the areas [01] to [12] is completed by repeating this process, as shown in FIG. 6A, the ink ribbon 9 is consumed with the unused area reduced.

Next, a second embodiment shown in FIGS. 5 and 6B will be described. In the second embodiment, with respect to a plurality of print areas 2 in the width direction of the substrate 1, a print line or a single mark is formed in each print area 2 along the length direction of the substrate 1. The printing information such as is printed. In this case, the feeding of the ink ribbon 9 is controlled to be stopped while printing is performed a plurality of times over the width dimension Rw of the ink ribbon 9.

That is, in the second embodiment, when the region [01] is printed, the printing object 1 and the ink ribbon 9 are stopped, and the ink ribbon 9 is used by printing once in the width direction. By printing on the ribbon unused area shifted from the used area, the printing of the area [01] and the area [02] is completed in the manner shown in FIG. 6B.

This printing state is repeated, and when the printing on the area [01] and the area [04] is completed, the ink ribbon feeding means 10 feeds the ink ribbon 9 in the feeding direction X2 by one pitch Pc and controls it. By printing in this state, printing in the area [05] is performed. When printing in the areas [01] to [13] is completed by repeating this process, as shown in FIG. 6B, the ink ribbon 9 is consumed with the unused area reduced.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram for explaining the control means 15 in the printing system according to the present invention. The control means 15 is equipped with a CPU, and intermittently controls the print object 1 in the feed direction X1 by 1 pitch Pa via the print object feed means 4 to reciprocate the head. The print head is intermittently driven and controlled by one pitch Pb in the reciprocating direction Y1 via the moving means 7, and the feeding of the ink ribbon 9 by the ink ribbon feeding means 10 is intermittently driven and controlled. The print head actuating means 17 is driven and controlled. In the present invention, a CPU can be mounted on each means, and a plurality of CPUs may be used. In the present invention, the print head actuating means 17 moves the print head 5 in the direction opposite to the feed direction X1 and the print control when the print substrate 1 fed in the feed direction X1 is stopped. To do.

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing a specific embodiment of a printing system in a thermal printer according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic front view of the embodiment as viewed from the direction of the arrow Ar1 shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of the embodiment as seen from the direction of the arrow Ar2 shown in FIG. FIG. 4 shows an example in which a print row is printed in a direction intersecting the feeding direction X1 of the printing object on the printing object of the width dimension Fw. It is a schematic top view which shows the state which printed on 01]-[12]. FIG. 5 shows an example in which print information is printed in the print area in the direction along the feed direction X1 of the print object with respect to the print object of the width dimension Fw. FIG. 10 is a schematic plan view showing a state where printing is performed on [01] to [13]. FIG. 6 illustrates the state of use of the ink ribbon by printing, and FIG. 6A illustrates the state of use of the ink ribbon corresponding to the case where printing is performed as shown in FIG. FIG. 6B is a schematic plan view showing the use status of the ink ribbon corresponding to the case where printing is performed as shown in FIG. FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an example of control means for the printing system in the thermal printer according to the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Substrate Fw Width dimension 2 Print area 3 Print location 4 Substrate feeding means X1 Substrate feed direction 5 Thermal head 6 Thermal printer body 7 Head reciprocating means 8 Guide rail member Y1 Head moving direction 9 Ink Ribbon Rw Ink Ribbon Width 10 Ink Ribbon Feeding Unit X2 Ink Ribbon Feeding Direction 11 Unwinding Reel 12, 13 Guide Roller 14 Take-up Reel 15 Controlling Unit 16 Print Receiving Plate 17 Printhead Actuating Unit

Claims (2)

A substrate-feeding means for intermittently controlling the substrate having a width dimension Fw along the feeding direction X1, and
A head reciprocating means for intermittently reciprocating a thermal printer body provided with a thermal head along a direction Y1 orthogonal to the feeding direction X1 of the substrate;
An ink ribbon feeding means for intermittently feeding the ink ribbon loaded in the thermal printer body along the same direction X2 as the feeding direction X1 of the substrate;
And a control means for controlling the printing object feeding means, the head reciprocating means, and the ink ribbon feeding means,
A printing system for a thermal printer that reduces the unused area of the ink ribbon by controlling the ribbon feeding amount of the ink ribbon feeding means when printing at a plurality of intervals in the width direction of the substrate. And
When printing information is printed in a direction orthogonal to the length direction of the printing object in each printing area with respect to a plurality of printing areas in the width direction of the printing object,
A printing system for a thermal printer , wherein after the printing is performed once, the ink ribbon is controlled to be sent out in the length direction only in the use area used by the printing for one time . A substrate-feeding means for intermittently controlling the substrate having a width dimension Fw along the feeding direction X1, and
A head reciprocating means for intermittently reciprocating a thermal printer body provided with a thermal head along a direction Y1 orthogonal to the feeding direction X1 of the substrate;
An ink ribbon feeding means for intermittently feeding the ink ribbon loaded in the thermal printer body along the same direction X2 as the feeding direction X1 of the substrate;
And a control means for controlling the printing object feeding means, the head reciprocating means, and the ink ribbon feeding means,
A printing system for a thermal printer that reduces the unused area of the ink ribbon by controlling the ribbon feeding amount of the ink ribbon feeding means when printing at a plurality of intervals in the width direction of the substrate. And
When printing information is printed along the length direction of the print object in each print area for a plurality of print areas in the width direction of the print object,
A printing system for a thermal printer, wherein the feeding of the ink ribbon is controlled to be stopped while printing is performed a plurality of times over the width of the ink ribbon.

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