JPS5921016Y2 - label printer - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed explanation of the invention] The second invention automatically transports a strip-shaped mount on which a large number of labels are pasted at predetermined intervals, and intermittently transports each label to the printing section. This invention relates to an improvement in a label printer capable of printing various data such as the unit price, weight, price, etc. of a weighed product on a label transferred to the printer.

Recently, due to the remarkable development of distribution systems, it has become common for stores such as grocery stores and supermarkets to handle a wide variety of products in large quantities.

In addition, some of the above products are weighed like food items,
There are products that are sold after calculating the price, and in many cases, the weight of such products is measured in advance and the price is calculated before being stored inside the pack, and the weight and price are also displayed on the pack itself. A label with the unit price, price, etc. printed on it is attached.

For this reason, label printers that can print large quantities of such labels and are used in conjunction with digital electronic scales have been developed and put into practical use.

This label printer uses a transport mechanism to automatically transport a strip-shaped backing paper on which many labels are pasted at predetermined intervals, print each label, and intermittently transport the labels to the printing section. The unit price, weight, price, product name, store name, etc. of the product weighed at that time are printed on the label.

Furthermore, since the unit price, weight, and price of weighed products generally vary from product to product, they are printed on the label each time by the printer in the printing section.

On the other hand, to print the store name and product name, for example, prepare a rubber stamp for printing the store name and a stamp for printing the product name in advance, and then adjust the amount of printing from each of the above stamps before starting the label printing process. The store name and product name are printed on the label each time the product is weighed.

Additionally, the date of processing is set on the date dial every morning, and the printer in the printing section automatically prints the processing date on the label when weighing the product.

By the way, the size of the label is generally a small rectangular one measuring, for example, 4 centimeters in height and 6 centimeters in width, and all of the above-mentioned items are printed on this label.

On the other hand, the size of a stamp such as a stamp with a store name printed on it is thick relative to the printing surface, and is usually considerably larger than the size of the label.

Therefore, it is mechanically impossible to simultaneously print all of the above-mentioned types on a small label using a printer and a stamp.

This idea was made in view of the above points, and its purpose is to be able to print the above-mentioned various types of text on the label multiple times, and also to be able to detect when the label runs out. Our goal is to provide a label printer with the following features:

An embodiment of this invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of the label printer 1 of this embodiment.

An electronic scale 3 is provided on the front side of the label printer 1.

This electronic scale 3 includes a weighing pan 4 provided above the front part of the body 2 of the label printer 1, and a weighing mechanism part 5 inside the body 2 that calculates the weight, price, etc. of the product placed on the weighing pan 4. It consists of

Further, the weight and price are displayed on the display section 6 at the upper front of the aircraft body 2.

Further, the unit price is input to the arithmetic circuit of the logic board 40 by operating a key operation section (not shown) such as a numeric keypad, and is also displayed on the display section 6 at the same time.

A label printing mechanism 7 is provided in the center of the body 2.

The outline of this mechanism 7 will be explained next. A mount 9 (
A self-label 10 (see FIG. 4) wound into a roll is rotatably attached to a shaft 11.

The tip pulled out from this self-label 10 is the position detector support mechanism 1 which will be explained with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.
2 and then to a printing mechanism 13 where data is printed, the labels 8 are peeled off from the mount 9 and taken out one by one at a label take-out port 14.

As seen in the figure, in this embodiment, the printing mechanism 13 is moved in the transport direction A of the mount 9 when viewed from the position detector support mechanism 12.
It is located on the rear side along the

The printing mechanism 13 is separated from the conventional print 15 (comprised of a printing drum, printing hammer, etc.) and a stamp support mechanism 16.

Stamps for printing each product and stamps for printing store names that have been prepared in advance are set in the stamp support mechanism 16, and as described later, the detection signal of the label position detector (hereinafter abbreviated as position detector) is It is controlled so that the product name and store name can be printed on the label 8.

Further, the backing paper (release paper) 9 from which the label 8 has been peeled off is wound up by a winding roller 18 via a paper feed roller 17.

Note that the paper feed roller 17 is connected to a rotating shaft of a paper feed motor 20 via a gear 19.

Next, the structure of the position detector support mechanism 12 will be explained with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

The label sliding plate 21 has both ends 21 a of a rectangular sheet metal,
21a is curved, and its one end 21b and central portion 21C are fixed to a predetermined location of the body 2 of the label printer 1 by a fixing member 22 such as a bolt.

The label 8 attached to the mount 9 is then transferred in the direction of arrow A on the upper surface of the label sliding plate 21 in FIG.

In the figure, 23 is a guide provided on the label sliding plate 21.

One side edge 21 of the label sliding plate 21 along the transport direction A
A support plate 24 is fixed to d, and this support plate 24 is further provided with a sliding member 25 that can move in the above-mentioned transfer direction A or the opposite direction using this support plate 24 as a guide.

Further, a hole with a beveled edge is formed at the left end 25a of the sliding member 25 in the figure, and the shaft 2 of the bevel mechanism 26 is inserted into this hole.
The right end 27a of the shaft 27 is inserted, and the left end 27a of the shaft 27 is inserted.
7b is inserted into a threaded hole provided at the left end 24a of the support plate 24, and then an adjustment knob 28 is attached thereto.

Further, two sets of frames 29 fixed to the sliding member 25 and forming a pair of upper and lower sides sandwich the label sliding plate 21 and extend horizontally on both sides of the label sliding plate 21 in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction A. It is located prominently in the

A phototransistor is attached to the upper frame 29a of the first frame 29 as a light receiving element, and a lamp is attached to the lower frame 29a as a light emitting element.

(These are referred to as the first position detector D1) Second frame body 2
The configurations of the upper frame 29 C1 and the lower frame 29 d of 9 are also exactly the same (these are referred to as the second position detector D2), and in order to enable the transistor to receive light from the lamp. At a predetermined position on the label sliding plate 21, a second
As seen in the figure, a longitudinal groove 30 along the transport direction A is drilled.

Also, the distance between the centers of the lamps (or the distance between the centers of the phototransistors), that is, the circumferential position detector D1. The distance between D2 is the distance 12 described later.
(distance between the reference detection position and the product name printing center position).

One end of a label press plate 31 is attached to the side of the upper frames 29a, 29b of the frame body 29 so as to be rotatable about a shaft 39.

A presser spring 32 is tightened to the shaft 39 with a nut, and the action of this presser spring 32 causes the label presser plate to
1 is pressed downward (towards the label sliding plate 21), and therefore, the label 8 on the mount 9 is pressed onto the label sliding plate 21 by the label pressing plate 31.

A handle 31a having a hole 33 is provided at the other end of the label holding plate 31, and a notch 34 is provided at the center of one end of the label sliding plate 21.

As a result, when the handle 31a is held in the hand and the label presser plate 31 is lifted upward, the label presser plate 31 resists the pressing force of the presser spring 32 and rotates about the shaft 39 as a fulcrum.

With the above configuration, by rotating the adjustment knob 28 of the screw mechanism 26, the shaft 27 is rotated, so that the sliding member 2
5 moves in the transport direction A or in the opposite direction, thereby causing both the position detectors D1. D2 can also be moved to finely adjust the detection position.

Next, the detailed structure of the label 8 and the mount 9 will be explained with reference to FIG.

The label 8 is composed of, from the top, a product name printing section, a shop name printing section, a unit price, weight, price printing section, and a processing date printing section.

The unit price, weight, and price print area are pre-printed with the characters "unit price",
"Weight", "Price", "Yen", and r g J are printed.

In addition, the text ``Processing date'' and ``Storage temperature 10°C or less'' are printed on the processing date printing section, and numbers are printed by a printer in the corresponding blank areas on both sides.

Additionally, the product name and store name are printed using the above stamp.

The labels 8 are pasted onto a mount 9 at intervals of, for example, 2 mm.

This mount-only portion 35 between the labels 8 is called a reference detection position.

The position detector D1. D2 detects this mount portion 35 by distinguishing it from the pasted portion of the label 8 by changing the amount of light, and uses the normal position detector D1. The configuration is such that D2 does not detect the mount portion at the same time.

Also, the part 9' where the label 8 on the mount 9 has disappeared and only the mount 9 is present, or the space where the mount 9 has also disappeared can be used as both position detectors D.
1. D2, these surface detectors D1. D
Both output signals of No. 2 are turned on.

At this time, the detection signal drives, for example, a buzzer to notify the end of the label.

Next, the operating method and operation of the label printer of the above embodiment will be explained.

First, the self-label 10 is set on the shaft 11, and its tip is passed through the position detector support mechanism 12, the printing mechanism 13, and further through the label outlet.

Further, if a predetermined amount of pork (above) product is continuously measured and a label is prepared for the product, a stamp of this product and a stamp of the store name are set on the stamp support mechanism 16.

Then turn on the power and start working.

First, an adjustment operation is performed to ensure that printing is performed accurately at a predetermined position on the label, but after printing on two or three labels, check the printing condition, and if it is inaccurate, the printing mechanism 26
Adjust by rotating the adjustment knob 28 by hand.

When the adjustment is completed, for example, 150 g of the product is placed on the weighing plate 4, and a unit price of 300 yen is input using the numeric keypad.The electronic scale measures the weight, calculates the price of 450 yen, and displays these on the display section.

At this time, the second position detector D2 detects, for example, the ninth label 8 (label 8 in FIG.
a) and the 10th label 8 (label 8 in Figure 4)
The mount portion 35 (indicated by 35 a in FIG. 4) formed between the mount portion 35 (indicated by 35 a in FIG. label 8
It is located near the mount portion 35b formed between this label 8b and the 11th label 8C on b, and its output signal is in an OFF state.

Therefore, at the same time as the price of 450 yen is calculated, the first printing command for the label 8 to be printed is outputted to the printing mechanism 13, and the unit price, weight, and price are printed.

When these printings are completed, a completion signal is sent to the paper feed motor 20, and the mount 9 moves the distance 1 shown in FIG. distance) in the direction of transport direction A.

At this time, the first position detector D1 is on the mount portion 35b and is in the on state, while the second position detector D2 is on the label 8
b and turns off.

Therefore, when paper feeding is completed and the mount 9 stops, a second printing command is output to the label 8 to be printed, and the date of that day, which has been set in advance in the label printer 1, is printed on the processing date printing section, At the same time, the product name and store name are printed in the corresponding locations using the above stamp.

When this printing is completed, a command is issued to the paper feed motor 20 to feed the backing paper 9 by a distance of 12 in the transport direction A, and when the position detector D2 detects the backing paper portion 35b, it stops and the next label is moved. Return to printing start state.

Hereafter, this operation and operation are repeated, and the printed label 8
are peeled off from the mount 9 and discharged one by one into the label outlet 14.

Also, the label 8 is gone, and the surface position detector D1. DI! When both detect the end portion 9' or the space of the mount 9 and turn on, a buzzer sounds.

In the above explanation, one label is printed in two steps, but of course it is also easy to print in three or more times.In this case, if three or more position detectors are provided, good.

It is also possible to provide the reference detection position by attaching a special mark to a part other than the mount part.

Further, the reference detection position may be detected by an electrical method other than the photoelectric conversion method described above, or by a mechanical method.

Further, other sounding bodies or display bodies may be used in place of the above-mentioned buzzer.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the stopper frame and the lower frame of the position detector were manufactured as one unit and used for a specific label with a constant distance, but the upper and lower frames were made separate, and the distance By being able to change and adjust the position sensor, the position detector can be used for labels of any size.

Furthermore, only either the product name or the store name may be printed on the label, and of course other data other than these may also be printed as desired.

As explained above, this device automatically transports a strip-shaped backing paper on which a large number of labels are pasted at predetermined intervals, and intermittently transports each label to the printing section. In a label printer that prints data sequentially on a label, the printing area of one label is divided into different print contents to set a plurality of divided areas, and the boundary between each label is detected. A plurality of detectors are provided along the carrying out section of the mount, and the detection timing of each of the detectors is set to correspond to the printing start position of each of the divided areas, and the detection signal of each of the detectors is set to correspond to the printing start position of each of the divided areas. Since the corresponding divided areas are printed based on the label shape, mixed printing can be performed using multiple stamps and printers that are larger than the label shape, and the degree of freedom in printing content on the label can be expanded. .

Furthermore, since the printing timing of each stamp and printer is controlled by the output signal of the corresponding detector, desired print content can always be printed at the correct position.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show one embodiment of this invention, and FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the overall configuration of a label printer of the same example, and FIGS.
The figure shows a plan view and a side view of the position detector support mechanism of the same example.
FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the state of the label attached to the mount used in the same example. 1... Label printer, 3... Electronic scale, 8... Label, 9... Mount, 12
...Position detector support mechanism, 13...Printing mechanism, 14...Label ejection port, 20. Curving/Paper feed motor, 21...Label sliding Board, 24・
... Support plate, 25 ... Sliding member, 26.
...Screw mechanism, 27...Shaft, 28...
...Adjustment knob, 29...Frame, 35...
...Reference detection position.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] automatically transporting a strip-shaped mount on which a large number of labels are pasted at predetermined intervals, transporting each of the labels to a printing section;
In a label printer that prints sequentially in this printing section, the print area of one label is divided into different print contents to set a plurality of divided areas, and a detector is used to detect the boundary between each label. A plurality of are provided along the conveyance path of the mount, and the detection timing of each of the detectors is set to correspond to the printing start position of each of the divided areas, and a response is taken based on the detection signal of each of the detectors. A label printer characterized in that the label printer prints the divided areas.