US 7,478,956 B2Granted

Printer for printing on both a heat-sensitive adhesive label and an ordinary label

AssigneeSeiko Instruments Inc.

InventorsNorimitsu Sanbongi, Minoru Hoshino, Tatsuya Obuchi, Yoshinori Sato

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Abstract

A printer selectively prints on heat-sensitive adhesive sheets and ordinary sheets that have no heat-sensitive adhesive. The printer has a printing unit that prints on one surface of a sheet and a printing platen roller that transports the sheet in a forward direction. A cutter unit cuts the printed sheet to a predetermined length, and a thermal activation unit disposed downstream of the cutter unit has a thermal head for heating the other surface of the sheet and a thermal activation platen roller that transports the sheet in the forward direction. A detector detects whether the sheet is a heat-sensitive adhesive sheet or an ordinary sheet, and a control device controls operation of the thermal activation unit so that both the thermal head and the thermal activation platen roller are operated in response to detection of a heat-sensitive adhesive sheet and so that the thermal activation platen roller but not the thermal head is operated in response to detection of an ordinary sheet.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A printer for selectively printing on continuous heat-sensitive adhesive sheets and ordinary continuous sheets that have no heat-sensitive adhesive, the printer comprising:

a printing unit having printing means for printing on one surface of a continuous sheet and first transporting means for transporting the continuous sheet in a forward direction;
a cutter unit disposed downstream of the printing unit and that cuts the printed continuous sheet to a predetermined length;
a thermal activation unit disposed downstream of the cutter unit and having heating means for heating the other surface of the continuous sheet and second transporting means for transporting the continuous sheet in the forward direction;
means defining a storage space between the cutter unit and the thermal activation unit in which a length of the continuous sheet can be temporarily accumulated;
detecting means for detecting whether the sheet is a continuous heat-sensitive adhesive sheet or an ordinary continuous sheet;
and
control means for controlling operation of the thermal activation unit so that both the heating means and the second transporting means are operated in response to detection of the continuous heat-sensitive adhesive sheet and so that the second transporting means but not the heating means is operated in response to detection of the ordinary continuous sheet.

4 more elements

A printer comprising:

a printing device having printing means for performing printing on one surface of a continuous sheet and first transporting means for transporting the continuous sheet in a predetermined direction;
a cutter device which is provided downstream of the printing device and cuts the continuous sheet into a predetermined length;
a thermal activation device which is provided downstream of the cutter device and has heating means for heating the other surface of the continuous sheet and second transporting means for transporting the continuous sheet in the predetermined direction;
a space portion which is provided between the cutter device and the thermal activation device and where the continuous sheet can be warped by a predetermined length;
a control device which controls the printing device, the cutter device, and the thermal activation device differently between a case where the continuous sheet is a heat-sensitive adhesive label in which a printable layer is formed on one surface of a sheet-like base material and a heat-sensitive adhesive layer is formed on the other surface of the sheet-like base material and a case where the continuous sheet is an ordinary label in which a printable layer is formed on one surface of a label base material, a heat-sensitive adhesive layer is formed on the other surface of the label base material, and the label base material is stuck onto tape-like release paper;
and
a switching signal receiving unit that receives a switching signal for switching from a control condition for the ordinary continuous label to a control condition for the continuous heat-sensitive adhesive label, the switching signal being transmitted based on one of (a) a configuration of the tape-like sheet, (b) a configuration of a tube having the continuous sheet wound therearound in a roll shape, (c) a configuration of a support shaft which supports the tube, (d) a position of a holder to which the support shaft is attached, (e) a black mark on the continuous sheet, (f) switching of a switch, and (g) input data,
wherein, based on the switching signal,
when the continuous sheet is the heat-sensitive adhesive label, the control device sets the transport speed of the first transporting means faster than a transport speed of the second transporting means to warp the continuous heat-sensitive adhesive sheet by a predetermined length between the cutter device and the thermal activation device, and then stops operations of the printing means and the first transportation means while continuing operations of the heating means and the second transporting means to cut the heat-sensitive adhesive label by the cutter device, and
when the continuous sheet is the ordinary continuous label, the control device sets the transport speed of the first transporting means and the transport speed of the second transporting means equal to each other, stops operation of the heating means, operates the printing means and the first and second transporting means to transport the ordinary label, and stops operations of the first and second transporting means to cut the ordinary label by the cutting device.

7 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.