Label creation apparatus and control method in label creation apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10328726-B2
Application number	US-201615768200-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 16, 2016
Priority date	Oct 16, 2015
Publication date	Jun 25, 2019
Grant date	Jun 25, 2019

Abstract

A label creation apparatus includes a control unit that controls, at a time of continuously creating a plurality of labels by a label creation unit, the label creation unit to resume the creation of the labels from an n-th label when determining a tape-end state in which a tape end of the tape has passed through a printing position based on a detection result of a detection unit in a tape-end detection period for the n-th label, the tape-end detection period for the n-th label indicating a period from a point at which an (n−1)-th label has been determined to be completed to a point at which the n-th label has been determined to be completed.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A label creation apparatus that performs printing on a tape to create a label, the label creation apparatus comprising:
a label creation unit having a print head and a driving unit, the print head performing printing on the tape at a printing position on a feeding path for the tape, the driving unit driving a platen roller that feeds the tape sandwiched between the print head and the platen roller at the printing position and a feeding unit that feeds the tape on a downstream side of the printing position on the feeding path;
a detection unit that detects presence or absence of the tape at a detection position on the downstream side of the printing position on the feeding path; and
a control unit that controls, at a time of continuously creating a plurality of the labels by the label creation unit, the label creation unit to resume the creation of the labels from an n-th label when determining a tape-end state in which a tape end of the tape has passed through the printing position based on a detection result of the detection unit in a tape-end detection period for the n-th label, the tape-end detection period for the n-th label indicating a period from a point at which an (n−1)-th label has been determined to be completed to a point at which the n-th label has been determined to be completed, wherein
the control unit determines that the n-th label has been completed when the driving unit operates by a prescribed amount after an end of an operation of creating the n-th label by the label creation unit.

2. The label creation apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the control unit determines that the tape has been put into the tape-end state when the absence of the tape is detected by the detection unit, and
the control unit determines that the n-th label has been completed at a point at which the driving unit operates by at least an amount corresponding to a distance between the printing position and the detection position to feed the tape after an end of a printing operation on the n-th label by the print head.

3. The label creation apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the label creation unit further has a half cutter that forms cut lines on a surface layer of the tape at a position on the downstream side of the printing position on the feeding path,
the half cutter performs a half-cut operation on the n-th label at the time of continuously creating the plurality of the labels, the half-cut operation on the n-th label indicating an operation of forming the cut lines on the surface layer of the tape at a boundary between the n-th label and an (n+1)-th label,
the control unit determines that the tape has been put into the tape-end state when the absence of the tape is detected by the detection unit, and
the control unit determines that the n-th label has been completed at a point at which the driving unit operates by at least an amount corresponding to a distance between the printing position and the detection position to feed the tape after an end of the half-cut operation on the n-th label.

4. The label creation apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the label creation unit further has a full cutter that cuts off the tape at a full-cut position between the printing position and the detection position on the feeding path,
the full cutter performs a full-cut operation on the n-th label at the time of continuously creating the plurality of the labels, the full-cut operation on the n-th label indicating an operation of cutting off the tape at a boundary between the n-th label and an (n+1)-th label,
the control unit determines that the tape has been put into the tape-end state when the presence of the tape is not detected by the detection unit at a point at which the driving unit operates by at least an amount corresponding to a distance between the full-cut position and the detection position to feed the tape after an end of the full-cut operation on the n-th label, and
the control unit determines that the n-th label has been completed at a point at which the presence of the tape is detected by the detection unit until the driving unit operates by at least the amount corresponding to the distance between the full-cut position and the detection position to feed the tape after the end of the full-cut operation on the n-th label.

5. The label creation apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the feeding unit has a pair of rollers that feeds the sandwiched tape, and
the detection unit detects the presence or absence of the tape between the pair of rollers.

6. A control method in a label creation apparatus that performs printing on a tape to create a label,
the label creation apparatus including a label creation unit having a print head and a driving unit, the print head performing printing on the tape at a printing position on a feeding path for the tape, the driving unit driving a platen roller that feeds the tape sandwiched between the print head and the platen roller at the printing position and a feeding unit that feeds the tape on a downstream side of the printing position on the feeding path, and
a detection unit that detects presence or absence of the tape at a detection position on the downstream side of the printing position on the feeding path,
the control method performing:
a step of determining whether the tape has been put into a tape-end state based on a detection result of the detection unit in a tape-end detection period for an n-th label at a time of continuously creating a plurality of the labels by the label creation unit, the tape-end detection period for the n-th label indicating a period from a point at which an (n−1)-th label has been determined to be completed to a point at which the n-th label has been determined to be completed;
a step of resuming the creation of the labels from the n-th label when the tape has been determined to be put into the tape-end state in the tape-end detection period for the n-th label; and
a step of determining that the n-th label has been completed when the driving unit operates by a prescribed amount after an end of an operation of creating the n-th label by the label creation unit.

Assignees

• Seiko Epson Corp

Inventors

• Kosuge Shinsaku

Classifications

• B26D1/08

  of the guillotine type · CPC title

• B41J11/703

  Cutting of tape · CPC title

• B41J11/0095 Primary

  Detecting means for copy material, e.g. for detecting or sensing presence of copy material or its leading or trailing end · CPC title

• B41J3/4075

  Tape printers; Label printers · CPC title

• B26D3/085

  On sheet material · CPC title