JP2023092576A - Printing object medium - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a printing object medium which can avoid printing in the vicinity of a terminal end before it happens.SOLUTION: There is provided tape being a printing object medium stored in a printer in a wound state in which a plurality of marks M1 that can be detected by a sensor of the printer are applied to at least one of a first surface and a second surface of the tape. At least one of the first surface and the second surface of the tape is applied with a plurality of second marks M2. At least one of the plurality of second marks M2 is applied to a space between a position where the first mark M1 is detected in the tape and a position where the tape is held by a platen roller 7a and a thermal head 7b of the printer when the sensor 8 detects the first mark M1 in the conveyance direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 9

Description

The present disclosure relates to print media.

2. Description of the Related Art There is known a printing apparatus that prints characters, images, and the like on a tape, which is a long strip of print medium, cuts the printed tape with a full cutter, and ejects tape pieces. In general, the tape is housed in the printer in a state in which one end is attached to a tape core and wound into a roll.

In this type of printing apparatus, if the printing process continues near the end of the tape attached to the tape core, various inconveniences may occur. A technique related to such a problem is described in Patent Literature 1, for example. According to the technique described in Patent Document 1, the end of the tape on which sensor marks for detecting the feeding amount of the tape are periodically printed is folded back to cover the sensor marks, thereby detecting the end of the tape. be able to.

JP 2005-289572 A

However, the technique described in Patent Literature 1 can only be applied to a tape on which periodic sensor marks are printed for detecting the feed amount of the tape.

In view of the circumstances as described above, it is an object of one aspect of the present invention to provide a print medium capable of avoiding printing near the end.

A print medium according to an aspect of the present invention is a print medium accommodated in a printing apparatus in a wound state, wherein at least one of a first surface and a second surface of the print medium has: A plurality of first marks detectable by a sensor of a printing device are provided, and a plurality of second marks are provided on at least one of the first side and the second side of the medium to be printed. At least one of the plurality of second marks corresponds to the first mark on the print medium when the sensor detects the first mark in the direction in which the print medium is conveyed. A mark is applied between the position where the mark is detected and the position where the print medium is nipped between the platen roller and the print head of the printing device.

According to the above aspect, it is possible to avoid printing near the end.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the printer according to one embodiment with the lid closed; FIG. 2 is a plan view of the printer according to the embodiment with the cover opened. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a tape transport path in a printing apparatus according to an embodiment; FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the hardware configuration of a printing device according to an embodiment; FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a media adapter according to one embodiment; FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a tape roll according to one embodiment; FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the structure of the tape roll which concerns on one Embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the layer structure of the tape which concerns on one Embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the structure of the tape which concerns on one Embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the attachment method to the tape core of the tape which concerns on one Embodiment. 6 is an example of a flowchart of processing performed by a printing apparatus according to an embodiment; FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the printing apparatus near the end of the tape when a conventional tape is used; FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the printing apparatus near the end of the tape when using the tape according to one embodiment; It is a figure for demonstrating the structure of the tape which concerns on another embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of a tape according to still another embodiment; FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of a tape according to still another embodiment;

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following, an embodiment of the present invention will be described by taking as an example a printing apparatus capable of printing characters, images, etc. on a tape, which is an example of a print medium, cutting the printed tape, and discharging it to the outside of the apparatus. will be explained.

As used herein, a tape is a long strip of print media made of plastic, paper, or any other material. The tape has, for example, a separator that protects the adhesive surface and a substrate that has a surface to be printed, and is configured such that the adhesive surface of the substrate is exposed by peeling off the separator. A label is a tape on which some information is printed using a tape as a print medium.

1 and 2 are plan views of a printing apparatus according to one embodiment. 1 shows the state with the lid closed, and FIG. 2 shows the state with the lid open. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a tape transport path in the printing apparatus according to one embodiment. FIG. 3 schematically shows the tape transport path in the printing apparatus as a linear path. The configuration of a printing apparatus 1, which is a printing apparatus according to an embodiment, will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. FIG.

The printing apparatus 1 is a label printer that prints on a tape 42, which is an example of a print medium. The tape 42 is accommodated in the printer 1 while being wound around a tape core 41 (see FIG. 7). More specifically, a tape 42 wound around a tape core 41 to form a roll (referred to as a tape roll 40 ) is accommodated in the printer 1 .

Hereinafter, a thermal label printer using a thermal tape as the tape 42 will be described as an example, but the tape 42 is not limited to the thermal tape. The printing device 1 may be a thermal transfer type label printer that uses an ink ribbon. The printing device 1 may be a thermal printer having a platen roller. The tape 42 is a print medium designed in advance according to the model or specifications of the printer, and may be a print medium dedicated to the printer 1, for example.

The printer 1 includes a device housing 2, a keyboard 3, an openable/closable lid 4, a window 5, and a display 6, as shown in FIG. Although not shown, the device housing 2 is provided with a power cord connection terminal, an external device connection terminal, a storage medium insertion port, and the like.

The keyboard 3 is provided on the top surface of the device housing 2 . The keyboard 3 has various keys such as an input key, a cross key, a conversion key, and an enter key. A lid 4 is arranged on the device housing 2 . By pressing the button 4a to release the lock mechanism, the user can open the lid 4 as shown in FIG. A window 5 is formed in the lid 4 so that it is possible to visually confirm whether or not the tape roll 40 is accommodated in the printer 1 even when the lid 4 is closed. The lid 4 also has a display 6 .

The display 6 is, for example, a liquid crystal display, an organic EL (electro-luminescence) display, or the like. The display 6 displays characters corresponding to input from the keyboard 3, selection menus for various settings, messages regarding various processes, and the like. The display 6 may be a display with a touch panel.

As shown in FIG. 2, the device housing 2 includes a medium adapter housing portion 2a, a platen roller 7a, a thermal head 7b, a sensor 8, and a cutting unit 9 below the lid 4. FIG. A medium adapter 10 accommodating a tape roll 40 is accommodated in the medium adapter accommodating portion 2a. Details of the medium adapter 10 and the tape roll 40 will be described later.

The platen roller 7a conveys the tape 42. As shown in FIG. The platen roller 7a is rotated by rotation of a transport motor (not shown). The transport motor is, for example, a stepping motor, a direct current (DC) motor, or the like.

The thermal head 7b prints on the tape 42. FIG. The thermal head 7b has a plurality of heating elements arranged in the main scanning direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the tape 42, and prints line by line by heating the tape 42 with the heating elements.

A sensor 8 is provided between the platen roller 7 a and the cutting unit 9 . The sensor 8 is, for example, an optical sensor that detects a mark indicating a reference position for printing provided on the tape 42 . However, the sensor 8 may be any sensor as long as it can detect the marks provided on the tape 42, and the detection method is not particularly limited.

The cutting unit 9, as shown in FIG. 3, includes a full cutter 9a and a half cutter 9b. The full cutter 9a cuts the entire tape 42 along the cut line of the tape 42 at the full cut position and separates it into two. For example, if the tape 42 is a printed medium containing a base material and a separator, the full cutter 9a cuts both the base material and the separator to separate each of the base material and the separator into two. . When the tape 42 is cut along the cut line of the tape 42 at the half-cut position, the half cutter 9b cuts the tape 42 so that the uncut portions on both sides bordering on the cut line maintain an integrated state. cut. For example, if the tape 42 is a print medium including a base material and a separator, the half cutter 9b cuts only the base material and does not cut the separator. The half cutter 9b may be a cutter that cuts the tape 42 so that the tape 42 is perforated.

In the printer 1, the tape 42 unwound from the tape roll 40 and let out from the medium adapter 10 passes between the platen roller 7a and the thermal head 7b, and exits the outlet of the device housing 2, as shown in FIG. It is transported along the transport path leading to 2b. For example, when the lid 4 moves to the closed position, the tape 42 is sandwiched between the peripheral surface of the platen roller 7a and the thermal head 7b, and is conveyed along the conveying path by the rotation of the platen roller 7a.

The printing apparatus 1 rotates the platen roller 7a in a first rotation direction in which the tape 42 is sent out toward the discharge port 2b by the power of the transport motor, and rotates the platen roller 7a in a second rotation direction opposite to the first rotation direction. It can be rotated in the direction of rotation. In the following description, the rotation of the platen roller 7a in the first rotation direction is referred to as forward rotation, and the transport direction of the tape 42 when the platen roller 7a is rotated forward is referred to as forward direction. Further, in the following description, the rotation of the platen roller 7a in the second rotation direction is referred to as reverse rotation, and the conveying direction of the tape 42 when the platen roller 7a is reversed is referred to as the reverse direction.

The printing apparatus 1 prints on the tape 42 by applying heat from the thermal head 7b to the tape 42 conveyed in the forward direction. In the following description, the position at which the tape 42 and the thermal head 7b are in contact with each other on the transport path is called a printing position.

Furthermore, in the following description, when referring to the relative positional relationship in the transport direction with a certain position on the transport path and the relative positional relationship in the transport direction with a certain position on the tape 42, FIG. The terms "upstream" and "downstream" may be used as indicated. A position in the opposite direction when viewed from a certain position or a position in that direction is called upstream, and a position in the forward direction when viewed from a certain position or a position in that direction is called downstream. For example, the half-cut position is downstream of the print position and upstream of the full-cut position.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a printing apparatus according to one embodiment; The printing apparatus 1 includes a control unit 100, a storage unit 120, an input unit 130, a display unit 140, a conveying unit 150, a printing unit 160, a cutting unit 170, a sensor unit 180, and a communication unit 190, as shown in FIG. .

The input unit 130 is an input device for inputting various kinds of information to the printing device 1, and includes, for example, the keyboard 3 described above. The display unit 140 is a display device that displays various information to the user of the printing device 1, and includes the display 6 described above, for example.

The transport unit 150 transports the tape 42 under the control of the control unit 100 . The transport unit 150 includes, for example, the platen roller 7a, a motor connected to the platen roller 7a, a drive circuit that drives the motor, and an encoder that detects the rotation speed (rotation angle) of the platen roller 7a.

The printing unit 160 prints on the tape 42 under the control of the control unit 100 . The printing unit 160 includes, for example, the thermal head 7b, a drive circuit that drives the heating elements of the thermal head 7b, and a thermistor that detects the temperature of the thermal head 7b.

The cutting section 170 cuts the tape 42 under the control of the control section 100 . The cutting section 170 includes the above-described cutting unit 9, and includes, for example, the full cutter 9a, the half cutter 9b, a motor connected to each cutter, a drive circuit for driving the motor, and a pair of discharge rollers.

The control section 100 controls the conveying section 150 , the printing section 160 and the cutting section 170 . The control unit 100 controls execution of the conveying process, the printing process, and the cutting process in the printing apparatus 1 by controlling one or more operations of the conveying unit 150 , the printing unit 160 , and the cutting unit 170 . In addition to controlling the operation of each unit of the printing apparatus 1 , the control unit 100 performs various kinds of determination processing to determine operations to be performed by each unit of the printing apparatus 1 . Details of the control performed by the control unit 100 will be described later.

Control by the control unit 100 is performed by executing a program stored in the storage unit 120 by a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), for example. The control unit 100 may be an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), or the like.

The storage unit 120 stores various programs executed by the processor as the control unit 100, various data used when executing the programs, and the like. The storage unit 120 includes a RAM (Random Access Memory) 121 and a ROM (Read Only Memory) 122 .

The sensor unit 180 includes, for example, the sensor 8 described above. Also, for example, it may be possible to detect whether or not the medium adapter 10 is attached, and to detect the width of the tape supplied from the attached medium adapter 10 .

The communication unit 190 is, for example, a communication interface that communicates with an external device such as a smart phone or a tablet computer. The communication unit 190 can perform at least one of wireless communication according to a known short-range wireless communication standard and wired communication using a transmission cable.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a media adapter, according to one embodiment. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a tape roll according to one embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of a tape roll according to one embodiment. FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the layer structure of the tape according to one embodiment. Hereinafter, configurations of a medium adapter, a tape roll, and a medium adapter 10, tape roll 40, and tape 42, which are tapes, according to one embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

Media adapter 10 is a media adapter for accommodating tape roll 40 . The media adapter 10 is designed on the premise that the user inserts and withdraws the tape roll 40 from the media adapter 10 .

The medium adapter 10 includes an adapter body 20 and an adapter lid 30, as shown in FIG. The tape roll 40 is housed within the internal space of the media adapter 10 defined by the adapter body 20 and the adapter lid 30 . The adapter main body 20 is provided with a guide 21 and a projecting portion 22 . The guide 21 is a regulating member that regulates the conveying direction of the tape 42 unwound from the medium adapter 10 . The projecting portion 22 is a positioning member that regulates the position of the tape roll 40 within the media adapter 10 . The adapter lid 30 is attached to the adapter main body 20 so as to be openable and closable.

Also, the media adapter 10 may be designed according to the tape width of the tape 42 of the tape roll 40 . In that case, it is desirable that the tape width of the tape 42 to be accommodated by the media adapter 10 is displayed on the media adapter 10 .

In the printer 1 , the tape roll 40 is accommodated in the printer 1 by accommodating the medium adapter 10 accommodating the tape roll 40 in the printer 1 .

The tape roll 40 includes a tape core 41, a tape 42, a loose prevention sheet 43, and an attention sheet 44, as shown in FIGS.

The tape core 41 is a cylindrical member around which the tape 42 is wound, and has a hollow portion 41a. The tape core 41 preferably has at least a cylindrical hollow portion, and more preferably a cylindrical member as shown in FIG. When the tape roll 40 is accommodated in the media adapter 10 , the projecting portion 22 of the adapter body 20 is inserted through the hollow portion 41 a of the tape core 41 . The tape core 41 is useful for smoothly rotating the tape roll 40 inside the media adapter 10 without damaging the tape 42 as it is transported by the platen roller 7a.

The tape 42 is wound around the tape core 41 to have a hollow portion 42a. Also, one end of the tape 42 is attached to the tape core 41 . The tape 42 may have, for example, a five-layer structure as shown in FIG. It may be laminated. The tape 42 can be separated, for example, between the separator layer L1 and the adhesive layer L2. In that case, the mass from the adhesive layer L2 to the protective layer L5 can be regarded as a substrate, and the separator layer L1 can be regarded as a separator attached to the substrate.

The separator layer L1 is detachably attached to the base layer L3 so as to cover the adhesive layer L2. The material of the separator layer L1 is, for example, paper, but may be PET (polyethylene terephthalate). The adhesive layer L2 is an adhesive applied to the base material layer L3. The material of the base material layer L3 is, for example, colored PET. The coloring layer L4 is a thermosensitive coloring layer that develops color by heating with thermal energy. The material of the protective layer L5 is, for example, transparent PET.

As shown in FIG. 6, the tape 42 is wound with the printed surface 51, which is the surface on the base material side, facing inward, and the back surface 52, which is the surface on the separator side, facing outward.

The anti-separation sheet 43 is an adhesive sheet attached to one of the annular side surfaces (side surface 42 c ) of the tape 42 . The anti-separation sheet 43 has an opening 43a and an adhesive surface 43b. In the tape roll 40, the adhesive surface 43b is attached to the side surface 42c so that the centers of the opening 43a and the hollow portion 41a are approximately aligned. The anti-separation sheet 43 is used to maintain the shape of the tape 42 . By using the anti-separation sheet 43, it is possible to prevent the tape 42 from being dislodged even if the tape 42 expands due to a change in humidity. In addition, even when the tape roll 40 is dropped and subjected to an impact, it is possible to suppress the shape change of the tape roll 40 .

The attention sheet 44 is an adhesive sheet attached to the other (side surface 42 b ) of the ring-shaped side surface of the tape 42 . The attention sheet 44 has an opening 44a and an adhesive surface 44b. In the tape roll 40, the adhesive surface 44b is attached to the side surface 42b so that the centers of the opening 44a and the hollow portion 41a are approximately aligned. Attention sheet 44 is used to provide the user with information about tape roll 40, such as tape width. By attaching the attention sheet 44 to the side surface 42 b of the tape 42 , the user can easily identify the type of the tape roll 40 .

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of a tape according to one embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a method of attaching a tape to a tape core according to one embodiment. 9 and 10, the procedure for creating the tape roll 40 using the tape 42 will be described below, taking as an example the case where the tape 42, which is a tape according to one embodiment, is a tape for die-cut labels. explain.

As shown in FIG. 9, a plurality of punched regions R are formed on the printing surface 51 of the tape 42 . A plurality of marks M1 and a plurality of marks M2 are formed on the back surface 52 of the tape 42, as shown in FIG. In FIG. 9, the printed surface 51 and the back surface 52 are shown aligned with respect to the longitudinal position of the tape 42 . A line A indicates the print position on each of the surface to be printed 51 and the back surface 52 at a certain point in time. A line B indicates the position detected by the sensor 8 on the back surface 52 at a certain point in time and the position on the surface to be printed 51 corresponding to the detected position. A line C indicates a cutting position on each of the printing surface 51 and the back surface 52 at a certain time. The mark M1 is an example of a first mark on the tape 42, and the mark M2 is an example of a second mark on the tape 42. FIG.

Each of the plurality of die-cut regions R is a region in which only the base material is cut along its contour, and is a region separated from the surrounding region when the separator is peeled off. Each of the plurality of die-cut regions R is formed, for example, at a constant interval from other die-cut regions R. As shown in FIG.

Each of the plurality of marks M1 is a mark that is detected by the sensor 8 and indicates a reference position for printing. The mark M1 is formed at a fixed relative position with respect to the die-cut region R, for example. Therefore, each of the plurality of marks M1 is formed at the same interval as the plurality of die-cut regions R from the other marks M1.

The mark M1 is, for example, a mark printed in advance on the back surface 52, but may be any mark that can be detected by the sensor 8, and may be, for example, a through hole or a notch formed by punching. The mark M1 is formed at a position detectable by the sensor 8 corresponding to the position of the sensor 8 in the printer 1 using the tape 42 . In this example, it is formed near the center in the width direction of the tape 42 .

Each of the plurality of marks M2 is a mark indicating a candidate termination position. The mark M2 is a mark that the operator refers to in order to determine the cutting position when cutting the tape 42 to the length for creating one tape roll 40 . The operator cuts the tape 42 along any of the plurality of marks M2 that can ensure the required tape length. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 10, the tape roll 40 is produced by attaching the end of the tape 42 formed by cutting to the tape core 41 with a double-faced tape 60 and winding it around the tape core 41 .

The mark M2 is formed at a position that is not detected by the sensor 8 in order to avoid malfunction of the sensor 8 in detecting the mark M1. In this example, they are formed near both ends of the tape 42 in the width direction. The mark M2 may be at least recognizable by humans. Like the mark M1, the mark M2 may be printed or may be formed by punching.

In order to avoid erroneous detection by the sensor 8, the marks M1 and M2 are desirably provided at different positions in the width direction of the tape 42. As shown in FIG. It is further desirable that the ranges of are formed so as not to overlap each other.

In order to avoid printing near the end of the tape 42, each of the plurality of marks M2 is separated from any of the plurality of marks M1 by a distance D2 that is shorter than the distance D1 between the sensor 8 provided in the printing apparatus 1 and the platen roller. It is located away from the To put this relationship in another way, each of the plurality of marks M2 is the direction in which the tape 42 is conveyed (conveyance direction) when the sensor 8 detects the mark M1 on the tape 42. A position and a tape 42 are attached between a position held between a platen roller 7a of the printing apparatus 1 and a thermal head 7b (printing head). As a result, when the tape 42 is completely unwound and the end (mark M2) of the tape 42 reaches the platen roller 7a, the mark M1 closest to the end is positioned upstream of the sensor 8. FIG. Therefore, since the mark M1 closest to the end is not detected by the sensor 8, it is possible to prevent the start of print processing triggered by the mark M1 closest to the end. It should be noted that not all the marks M2 need to be formed at the positions as described above, and at least one of the plurality of marks M2 is the mark M1 on the tape 42 when the sensor 8 detects the mark M1 in the conveying direction. is detected and the position where the tape 42 is sandwiched between the platen roller 7a and the thermal head 7b.

As described above, the plurality of marks M2 need only be formed at positions closer than the distance D1 from any one of the plurality of marks M1, so they do not necessarily have to be formed at regular intervals. However, considering the ease of manufacturing the tape 42, it is desirable that the plurality of marks M1 and the plurality of marks M2 are formed at regular intervals. More preferably, the interval at which the marks M1 are formed and the interval at which the plurality of marks M2 are formed are the same. The above-described intervals at which the marks M1, M2, and die-cut regions R are formed are examples of first intervals. The first spacing is, for example, the same as the length of the strip of tape produced by one printout of die-cut tape.

FIG. 11 is an example of a flowchart of processing performed by a printing apparatus according to an embodiment. FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the printer near the end of the tape when using a conventional tape. FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the printing apparatus near the end of the tape when using the tape according to one embodiment. The difference in the operation of the printer 1 when using the tape 42 and when using the conventional tape will be described below with reference to FIGS. 11 to 13. FIG.

First, with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12, the operation of the printer 1 when using the conventional tape T will be described. The conventional tape T differs from the tape 42 in that it does not have at least the mark M2 indicating the candidate end position. Therefore, the tape T is cut at an arbitrary position and attached to the tape core 41 . Therefore, unlike the tape 42, there is a possibility that the tape T will be cut at a position separated from the mark M1 by a distance longer than the distance D1. In FIG. 12, a case where a tape T cut at a position separated from the mark M1 by a distance longer than the distance D1 is used will be described as an example.

When a print instruction is input to the printer 1, the printer 1 starts feeding the tape T in the forward direction (step S1), and determines whether or not the mark M1 is detected (step S2). When the mark M1 is conveyed to the position above the sensor 8 and the mark M1 is detected by the sensor 8 (step S2 YES), the printer 1 reverses the tape T until the leading portion of the die cutting area R reaches the printing position. direction (step S3). After that, the printing apparatus 1 prints on the tape T (the punching area R) while conveying the tape in the forward direction from the printing position (step S4). Further, after printing, the printer 1 transports the tape 42 to the full cut position (step S5), cuts the tape 42 (step S6), and creates a tape piece TP including the printed die-cut region R. do. After disconnecting, the printer 1 determines whether or not printing should be terminated (step S7). Here, for example, it is determined whether or not printing should be terminated based on whether or not printing has been performed for the designated number of times. The printing apparatus 1 repeats the above processing until it determines that printing should be terminated.

FIG. 12A shows a state in which printing triggered by the detection of the second mark M1 from the end of the tape T is completed, and the tape T is transported to the full cut position. FIG. 12(b) shows a state in which the tape T is further cut to form a tape piece TP1. Arrows F, S, and P respectively indicate the position of the full cutter 9a (full cut position), the position of the sensor 8, and the position of the platen roller 7a (printing position).

For the tape T whose trailing end is formed at a position more than the distance D1 (the distance between the arrow S and the arrow P) from the mark M1, the state after the full cut shown in FIG. If forward transport is performed, the mark M1 will be detected by the sensor 8 as shown in FIG. 12(c) before the tape T is transported to the end. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 12(d), the reverse conveying process of step S3 is started, and then the printing process of step S4 is started. The tape T reaches its end.

Since the printer 1 does not detect that the tape T has reached its terminal end, the printing process and the subsequent cutting process are executed. When the trailing edge reaches the platen roller 7a, the tape T is no longer transported, so the cutting process is performed with the trailing edge at the printing position as shown in FIG. 12(e). As a result, an incomplete tape piece TP2 as shown in FIG. 12(f) is created. If the length of the tape piece TP2 is too short to reach the ejection roller, the tape piece TP2 will not be ejected from the printer 1 and will remain inside.

As described above, in printing using a conventional tape T, an incomplete tape piece is created in printing near the end of the tape T, and such a tape piece remains in the printing apparatus. I have a problem.

Next, the operation of the printer 1 when using the tape 42 will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 and 13. FIG. The basic flow of processing is the same as when the tape T is used.

FIG. 13(a) shows a state in which the printing triggered by the detection of the second mark M1 from the end of the tape 42 is completed, and the tape T is transported to the full cut position. Moreover, FIG. 13(b) shows a state in which the tape 42 is further cut to form a tape piece 42P. The states shown in FIGS. 13A and 13B correspond to the states shown in FIGS. 12A and 12B, respectively.

In the tape 42 formed at a position where the terminal end of the tape 42 is separated from the mark M1 by a distance shorter than the distance D1 (the distance between the arrow S and the arrow P), the state after the full cut shown in FIG. 13(c), the tape 42 is transported to the end before the sensor 8 detects the mark M1. Therefore, subsequent processing triggered by the detection of the mark M1 is not started.

Therefore, by using the tape 42 on which the mark M2 is formed, it is possible to avoid incomplete execution of the printing process near the end of the tape 42 . Also, since the cutting process that is performed after the printing process is not executed, there is no problem that the tape piece that cannot be ejected from the printing apparatus 1 remains in the printing apparatus 1 . By using the tape 42 in this way, the printer 1 can avoid printing near the end of the tape without detecting the end of the tape.

Moreover, since the mark M2 is formed on the back surface 52 opposite to the surface to be printed 51 together with the mark M1, the finish of the printed matter (tape piece) produced by the printer 1 is not affected.

The above-described embodiments are specific examples for easy understanding of the invention, and the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and various modifications and alternatives of the above-described embodiments. should be understood to include For example, it will be appreciated that embodiments may be implemented with varying elements without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. Also, it will be understood that various embodiments can be implemented by appropriately combining a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the above-described embodiments. Furthermore, various embodiments can be implemented by deleting some components from all the components shown in the embodiments or by adding some components to the components shown in the embodiments. It will be understood by those skilled in the art. That is, the print medium can be variously modified and changed without departing from the scope of the claims.

In the above-described embodiment, the tape for die-cutting in which the die-cutting regions R are periodically formed has been described as an example, but the application of the above-described tape is not limited to the tape for die-cutting. The tape for die-cutting is suitable for the use of the tape described above in that it is necessary to accurately position the printing start position with respect to the die-cutting region R, and the mark M1 is required for that purpose. However, as long as the tape has the mark M1 for positioning the print start position, the mark M2 may be provided on the tape other than the die-cutting tape to avoid printing near the attached end.

For example, in the tape 42, which is the print medium according to the above-described embodiment, when the mark M1 is detected by the sensor 8, the leading edge of the punched region R is located downstream of the printing position. , the positional relationship between the mark M1 and the die-cut region R is not limited to this example. For example, like the tape 70 shown in FIG. 14, when the sensor 8 detects the mark M1 formed on the back surface 72, the top portion of the punched area R formed on the printing surface 71 is above the platen roller 7a. (printing position). In this case, the reverse transport process (step S3 in FIG. 11) after detection of the mark M1 can be omitted.

14, as in FIG. 9, the printed surface 71 and the back surface 72 are shown aligned with respect to the longitudinal position of the tape 70. As shown in FIG. A line A indicates the print position on each of the printed surface 71 and the back surface 72 at a certain point in time. A line B indicates the position detected by the sensor 8 on the back surface 72 at a certain point in time and the position on the surface to be printed 71 corresponding to the detected position. A line C indicates the cutting position on each of the printed surface 71 and the back surface 72 at a certain time.

Although the positional relationship between the mark M1 and the die-cut region R has been noted, it is desirable that the positional relationship between the mark M2 and the die-cut region R is also considered. Specifically, the mark M2 is attached at a second distance from the upstream end of the die-cutting region R so that the printed die-cutting region R can be conveyed downstream of the cutting position after printing. It is desirable that In addition, the second interval is defined as the position where the tape is cut by the cutting section (full cutter 9a) of the printer 1 when the tape is cut by the cutting section (full cutter 9a) of the printing apparatus 1 in the conveying direction. The distance may be larger than the distance to the position (printing position) held between the roller 7a and the thermal head 7b. As a result, when the tape reaches the end (that is, when the end of the tape reaches the printing position), the printed die-cut area R is conveyed downstream from the cutting position. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a situation in which the punching area R is unintentionally cut off due to an insufficient conveying amount.

That is, in the printing apparatus 1, at least one of the plurality of marks M2 is attached to at least one of the plurality of die-cut regions R at a second distance from the upstream end in the transport direction. The distance 2 is from the position where the tape is cut by the cutting section of the printing device to the position where the tape is sandwiched between the platen roller and the thermal head in the direction in which the tape is conveyed. is preferably greater than the distance between In particular, at least one of the plurality of marks M2 is spaced a second distance from the upstream edge of the nearest die-cut region R downstream of the mark M2, and the second distance is the distance between the position where the tape is cut by the cutting section of the printing device and the position where the tape is sandwiched between the platen roller and the thermal head in the direction in which the tape is transported. Greater than the distance is desirable.

For example, the tape 42, which is the print medium according to the above-described embodiment, has the marks M1 and M2 formed on the back side, but the marks M1 and M2 do not necessarily have to be formed on the back side. That is, at least one of the first side and the second side of the print medium is provided with a plurality of first marks that can be detected by a sensor of the printing device, and the first side of the print medium and the A plurality of second marks may be attached to at least one of the second surfaces. For example, like a tape 80 shown in FIG. 15, a plurality of die-cut regions R and a plurality of marks M2 may be formed on the printing surface 81, and a plurality of marks M1 may be formed on the back surface . In this case, the mark M2 may be formed in the entire width direction as long as it does not overlap with the die-cut region R. Further, for example, like a tape 90 shown in FIG. 16, a plurality of die-cut regions R, a plurality of marks M1, and a plurality of marks M2 are formed on the printing surface 91, and both the marks M1 and M2 are formed on the back surface 92. It does not have to be. In this case, the sensor 8 needs to be arranged on the opposite side of the conveying path from that in the above embodiment.

The invention described in the scope of claims at the time of filing of the present application will be additionally described below.
[Appendix 1]
A print medium accommodated in a printing device in a wound state,
a plurality of first marks detectable by a sensor of a printing device are attached to at least one of the first side and the second side of the printing medium;
a plurality of second marks are attached to at least one of the first surface and the second surface of the print medium;
At least one of the plurality of second marks detects the first mark on the print medium when the sensor detects the first mark in the direction in which the print medium is conveyed. and a position where the print medium is sandwiched between a platen roller and a print head of the printing device.
[Appendix 2]
In the print medium according to Supplementary Note 1,
The print medium, wherein the plurality of first marks are provided at positions different from those of the plurality of second marks in the width direction of the print medium.
[Appendix 3]
In the print medium according to Supplementary Note 1 or Supplementary Note 2,
The first surface is a surface to be printed, and
The second surface is a surface opposite to the first surface on which printing is not performed,
The print medium, wherein the plurality of first marks and the plurality of second marks are provided on the second surface.
[Appendix 4]
In the print medium according to any one of Supplements 1 to 3,
each of the plurality of first marks is attached to the print medium at a first interval;
A printing medium, wherein each of the plurality of second marks is formed on the printing medium at the same intervals as the plurality of first marks.
[Appendix 5]
In the print medium according to any one of Supplements 1 to 4,
The print medium is
a substrate having a surface to be printed and an adhesive surface;
and a separator superimposed on the adhesive surface of the base material,
The substrate is characterized by comprising a plurality of die-cut regions separated from surrounding regions and formed at the same intervals as the plurality of first marks and the plurality of second marks. printed medium.
[Appendix 6]
In the print medium according to Supplementary Note 5,
At least one of the plurality of second marks is attached at a second distance from an upstream end in the conveying direction of one of the plurality of die-cutting regions closest in the conveying direction in the downstream direction. has been
The second distance is, in the direction in which the print medium is conveyed, from a position where the print medium is cut by the cutting section when the print medium is cut by the cutting section of the printing device, A medium to be printed, wherein the distance between the medium to be printed and a position sandwiched by the platen roller and the print head is longer than that of the medium to be printed.

1 printing device 7a platen roller 7b thermal head 8 sensor 9 cutting unit 9a full cutter 9b half cutter 40 tape roll 41 tape cores 42, 70, 80, 90, T tape 42P, TP, TP1, TP2 tape pieces 51, 71, 81, 92 Printed surface 52, 72, 82, 92 Back surface 60 Double-sided tape M1, M2 Mark R Die-cut area

Claims (6)

A print medium accommodated in a printing device in a wound state,
a plurality of first marks detectable by a sensor of a printing device are attached to at least one of the first side and the second side of the printing medium;
a plurality of second marks are attached to at least one of the first surface and the second surface of the print medium;
At least one of the plurality of second marks detects the first mark on the print medium when the sensor detects the first mark in the direction in which the print medium is conveyed. and a position where the print medium is sandwiched between a platen roller and a print head of the printing device. In the print medium according to claim 1,
The print medium, wherein the plurality of first marks are provided at positions different from those of the plurality of second marks in the width direction of the print medium. In the print medium according to claim 1 or claim 2,
The first surface is a surface to be printed, and
The second surface is a surface opposite to the first surface on which printing is not performed,
The print medium, wherein the plurality of first marks and the plurality of second marks are provided on the second surface. In the print medium according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
each of the plurality of first marks is attached to the print medium at a first interval;
A printing medium, wherein each of the plurality of second marks is formed on the printing medium at the same intervals as the plurality of first marks. In the print medium according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The print medium is
a substrate having a surface to be printed and an adhesive surface;
and a separator superimposed on the adhesive surface of the base material,
The substrate is characterized by comprising a plurality of die-cut regions separated from surrounding regions and formed at the same intervals as the plurality of first marks and the plurality of second marks. printed medium. In the print medium according to claim 5,
At least one of the plurality of second marks is attached at a second distance from an upstream end in the conveying direction of one of the plurality of die-cutting regions closest in the conveying direction in the downstream direction. has been
The second distance is, in the direction in which the print medium is conveyed, from a position where the print medium is cut by the cutting section when the print medium is cut by the cutting section of the printing device, A medium to be printed, wherein the distance between the medium to be printed and a position sandwiched by the platen roller and the print head is longer than that of the medium to be printed.

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