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US 7,156,568 B2Granted
Tape printing apparatus, method of manufacturing label, program, and memory medium
AssigneeSeiko Epson Corporation
InventorNoriaki Miyasaka
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A tape made up of a base tape having a front printing surface and a rear adhesive surface, and a release tape covering the adhesive surface is mounted on a printing apparatus. A plurality of print images are printed on the printing surface in a manner arrayed in a longitudinal direction of the printing tape, and the printing tape is cut in the widthwise direction thereof. Connection cutting is performed such that at least a widthwise part of the release tape remains connected as a connection portion in a space between respective adjoining print images.
Claims29
A tape printing apparatus comprising:
- tape mounting means for mounting a printing tape made up of a base tape having a front printing surface and a rear adhesive surface, and a release tape covering the adhesive surface;
- printing means for printing a plurality of print images on the printing surface, said print images being arrayed in a longitudinal direction of the printing tape;
- cutting means for cutting the printing tape in a widthwise direction thereof,
- wherein said cutting means is capable of performing normal-direction cutting in which the printing tape is cut from one end as a reference end as seen in the widthwise direction thereof to an opposite end thereof, and reverse-direction cutting in which the printing tape is cut in a reverse direction from the opposite end to the reference end,
- wherein said cutting means comprises:
- a cutter capable of performing slide cuffing in both the normal direction and the reverse direction;
- cutter operating means capable of transferring said cutter among:
- a first state in which said cutter is away from a feeding passage of the printing tape by said printing means;
- a second state in which said cutter is located close to the feeding passage but is on a side of the reference end relative to the feeding passage;
- and a third state in which said cutter is close to the feeding passage but is on a side of the opposite end relative to the feeding passage,
- wherein the normal-direction cutting is performed on a way of transfer from the second state to the third state, the reverse-direction cutting is performed on a way of transfer from the third state to the second state, and a state transfer is performed between the second state and the third state accompanying no cutting due to a state transfer through the first state;
- and
- control means for controlling said cutting means, said cutting means being capable of performing connection cutting in which at least a widthwise part of the release tape remains connected as a connection portion,
- said control means having connection-cutting control means for causing said cutting means to perform connection cutting in a space between each of the plurality of adjoining print images printed on the printing tape.
11 more elements
A tape printing apparatus comprising:
- tape mounting means for mounting a printing tape made up of a base tape having a front printing surface and a rear adhesive surface, and a release tape covering the adhesive surface;
- printing means for printing a plurality of print images on the printing surface, said print images being arrayed in a longitudinal direction of the printing tape;
- cutting means for cutting the printing tape in a widthwise direction thereof,
- wherein said cutting means is capable of performing normal-direction cutting in which the printing tape is cut from one end as a reference end as seen in the widthwise direction thereof to an opposite end thereof, and reverse-direction cutting in which the printing tape is cut in a reverse direction from the opposite end to the reference end;
- control means for controlling said cutting means, said cutting means being capable of performing connection cutting in which at least a widthwise part of the release tape remains connected as a connection portion,
- said control means having connection-cutting control means for causing said cutting means to perform connection cutting in a space between each of the plurality of adjoining print images printed on the printing tape;
- connecting position selecting means for selecting the widthwise connecting position out of a plurality of options, wherein said options include a reference-end connection for connection at the reference end, an opposite-end connection for connection at the opposite end, and a center connection for connection at a center,
- wherein said control means comprises:
- opposite-end connection-cutting control means for causing said cutting means to perform, when the opposite-end connection is selected, the opposite-end connection cutting which executes the normal-direction cutting so that the connection portion becomes the opposite-end connection;
- reference-end connection-cutting control means for causing said cutting means to perform, when said reference-end connection is selected, the reference-end connection cutting which executes the reverse-direction cutting so that the connection portion becomes the reference-end connection;
- center connection-cutting control means for causing said cutting means to perform, when the center connection cutting is selected, both the normal-direction cutting and the reverse-direction cutting so that the connection portion becomes the center connection;
- and
- cutting control starting means for starting up one of the opposite-end connection-cutting control means, the reference-end connection-cutting control means, and the center connection-cutting control means depending on a result of selection of the connecting position so as to leave the connection portion.
10 more elements
A tape printing apparatus comprising:
- tape mounting means for mounting a printing tape made up of a base tape having a front printing surface and a rear adhesive surface, and a release tape covering the adhesive surface;
- printing means for printing a plurality of print images on the printing surface, said print images being arrayed in a longitudinal direction of the printing tape while leaving a print-free portion which serves as a space between respective adjoining sets of the print images;
- cutting means for cutting the printing tape in a widthwise direction thereof and
- control means for controlling said cutting means,
- wherein said cutting means comprises:
- half-cutting means capable of performing widthwise half cutting in which only the base tape is cut;
- and full-cutting means capable of performing widthwise full cutting in which both the base tape and the release tape are cut and also capable of performing connection cutting in which a widthwise part thereof is left connected as a connection portion, and
- wherein said control means further comprises complex-cutting control means for causing said cutting means to perform complex cutting which is made up of the connection cutting to substantially a center of the print-free portion and the half cutting to a neighborhood on both longitudinal sides of the connection cutting.
5 more elements
A tape printing apparatus in which a plurality of print images arrayed in a longitudinal direction of a printing tape are printed on a front printing surface thereof, said printing tape being made up of a base tape having the front printing surface and a rear adhesive surface, and a release tape covering the adhesive tape, said printed printing tape being cut for each of the print images in a longitudinal direction thereof,
- said printing apparatus comprising:
- half-cutting means capable of performing widthwise half cutting in which only the base tape is cut;
- full-cutting means capable of performing widthwise full cutting in which both the base tape and the release tape are cut and also capable of performing connection full-cutting in which a widthwise part thereof is left connected as a connection portion;
- cutting method selecting means for selecting a cutting method out of a plurality of options inclusive of a complex cutting made up of the connection full-cutting to a border between respective adjoining sets of the plurality of print images and the half cutting to both longitudinal sides of the border, and a connection cutting which performs both the full cutting and the half cutting to the border;
- and
- control means for controlling said half-cutting means and said full-cutting means according to a selected cutting method.
3 more elements
A tape printing apparatus in which a plurality of print images arrayed in a longitudinal direction of a printing tape are printed on a front printing surface thereof, said printing tape being made up of a base tape having the front printing surface and a rear adhesive surface, and a release tape covering the adhesive tape, said printed printing tape being cut for each of the print images in a longitudinal direction thereof,
- said printing apparatus comprising:
- tape width detecting means for detecting a width of the printing tape;
- cutting means for cutting the printing tape in a widthwise direction thereof,
- wherein said cutting means comprises half-cutting means capable of performing widthwise half cutting in which only the base tape is cut;
- control means for controlling said cutting means,
- wherein said cutting means comprises full-cutting means capable of performing widthwise full cutting in which both the base tape and the release tape are cut and also capable of performing connection cutting in which a widthwise part thereof is left connected as a connection portion,
- wherein said control means further comprises connection notch-cutting control means for controlling said full cutting means so as to perform connection notch-cutting on a border between respective adjoining sets of the plurality of print images;
- and
- cutting method selecting means capable of selecting a method of cutting by said cutting means out of a plurality of options, wherein the plurality of options include the connection notch-cutting, and a complex notch-cutting made up of the connection notch-cutting and the half cutting to a neighborhood on both longitudinal sides of the connection notch-cutting.
6 more elements
A method of manufacturing a label, comprising the steps of:
- printing a plurality of print images on a printing tape made up of a base tape having a front printing surface and a rear adhesive surface, and a release tape covering the adhesive surface, said print images being arrayed in a longitudinal direction of the printing tape while leaving a print-free portion which serves as a space between respective adjoining sets of the print images;
- providing cutting means capable of performing connection cutting by full cutting in which both the base tape and the release tape are cut while leaving a widthwise part thereof connected as a connection portion, as well as of performing half cutting in which only the base tape is cut;
- and
- performing complex cutting made up of the connection cutting to substantially the center of the print-free portion and the half cutting to both longitudinal sides thereof.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.