Printer

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10696073-B2
Application number	US-201816234765-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 28, 2018
Priority date	Mar 30, 2018
Publication date	Jun 30, 2020
Grant date	Jun 30, 2020

Abstract

A printer includes: a conveyor; a printing device; a roller; a moving mechanism configured to move a moving member; and a cutter that performs a cutting operation. A controller executes: a printing processing for performing a printing operation while conveying the printing medium with the moving member being located at a second position; a cutting processing for performing the cutting operation after the printing operation is stopped; a moving processing for controlling the moving mechanism such that movement of the moving member to a first position is completed before the cutting operation; and a roller driving processing for, after the movement of the moving member to the first position is completed and before the cutting operation, rotating the roller in a direction for conveying the printing medium downstream in a conveying direction and stops the roller from rotating.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A printer, comprising:
a conveyor configured to nip and convey a printing medium;
a printing device configured to print an image on the printing medium conveyed by the conveyor;
a roller provided downstream of the conveyor and the printing device in a conveying direction in which the printing medium is conveyed;
an opposed member opposed to the roller;
a moving mechanism configured to move a moving member, which is one of the roller and the opposed member, between (i) a first position at which the printing medium is nipped between the moving member and the other of the roller and the opposed member and (ii) a second position at which the moving member is separated from the printing medium;
a cutter configured to perform a cutting operation to cut at least a portion of the printing medium in a widthwise direction and a thickness direction of the printing medium at a position located between, in the conveying direction, a position at which the printing medium is nipped by the conveyor and a position at which the printing medium is nipped by the roller and the opposed member; and
a controller configured to execute:
a printing processing in which the controller controls the printing device to perform a printing operation while controlling the conveyor to convey the printing medium in a state in which the moving member is located at the second position;
a cutting processing in which the controller controls the cutter to perform the cutting operation after the printing operation in the printing processing is stopped;
a moving processing in which the controller controls the moving mechanism such that movement of the moving member to the first position is completed before the cutting operation is performed in the cutting processing; and
a roller driving processing in which, after the movement of the moving member to the first position in the moving processing is completed and before the cutting operation is performed in the cutting processing, the controller rotates the roller in a direction for conveying the printing medium downstream in the conveying direction and stops the roller from rotating.

2. The printer according to claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to, in the moving processing, start the movement of the moving member to the first position during the printing operation in the printing processing.

3. The printer according to claim 1 ,
wherein the cutter comprises:
a first cutter configured to perform a first cutting operation in which the first cutter cuts the printing medium such that a portion of the printing medium remains in one of the widthwise direction and the thickness direction; and
a second cutter configured to perform a second cutting operation in which the second cutter cuts an entirety of the printing medium in the widthwise direction and the thickness direction,

wherein the controller is configured to, in the cutting processing, control the first cutter and the second cutter to perform the first cutting operation and the second cutting operation, respectively,
wherein the controller is configured to execute a successive printing processing, as the cutting processing, in which a successive printing operation is performed in which the printing operation in the printing processing and the first cutting operation by the first cutter are performed at least once in an order of the printing operation and the first cutting operation, and thereafter the printing operation in the printing processing and the second cutting operation by the second cutter are performed in an order of the printing operation and the second cutting operation, and
wherein a rotation amount of the roller in the roller driving processing for a second or subsequent time in the successive printing operation in the successive printing processing is less than a rotation amount of the roller in the roller driving processing for a first time in the successive printing operation in the successive printing processing.

4. The printer according to claim 1 , wherein when the printing medium is a first tape comprising: a first substrate with a first adhesive layer; and a first release paper sheet peelably stuck to the first substrate by the first adhesive layer, the roller is disposed so as to be nearer to the first release paper sheet of the first tape than to the first substrate, and the opposed member is disposed so as to be nearer to the first substrate of the first tape than to the first release paper sheet.

5. The printer according to claim 1 ,
wherein the position at which the printing medium is nipped by the conveyor is located downstream, in the conveying direction, of a position at which the printing device performs printing on the printing medium, and
wherein a load at which the printing medium is nipped between the roller and the opposed member is less than a load at which the printing medium is nipped by the conveyor.

6. The printer according to claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to execute:
an obtainment processing in which the controller obtains medium information indicating a type of the printing medium; and
a determination processing in which the controller determines a rotation amount of the roller to be rotated in the roller driving processing, based on the medium information obtained in the obtainment processing.

7. The printer according to claim 6 , wherein the controller is configured to execute an inhibition processing in which the controller inhibits the roller from rotating in the roller driving processing, based on the medium information obtained in the obtainment processing.

8. The printer according to claim 7 , wherein the controller is configured to, in the inhibition processing, inhibit the roller from rotating in the roller driving processing, when the type of the printing medium which is indicated by the medium information obtained in the obtainment processing is a second tape comprising: a plurality of second substrates respectively with a plurality of second adhesive layers;
and an elongated second release paper sheet, the plurality of second substrates being spaced uniformly in a longitudinal direction of the elongated second release paper sheet and peelably stuck to the elongated second release paper sheet by the plurality of second adhesive layers.

9. The printer according to claim 6 ,
wherein the medium information comprises information indicating that the printing medium is a die cut tape, and
wherein the controller is configured to execute an inhibition processing in which the controller inhibits the roller from rotating in the roller driving processing, when the medium information obtained in the obtainment processing indicates that the printing medium is the die cut tape.

Assignees

• Brother Ind Ltd

Inventors

• Mizutani Hiromitsu

Classifications

• B41J11/663

  Controlling cutting, cutting resulting in special shapes of the cutting line, e.g. controlling cutting positions, e.g. for cutting in the immediate vicinity of a printed image · CPC title

• B41J11/703 Primary

  Cutting of tape · CPC title

• B41J3/44

  Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms having dual functions or combined with, or coupled to, apparatus performing other functions · CPC title

• B41J2/32 Primary

  using thermal heads · CPC title

• B26D1/305

  for thin material, e.g. for sheets, strips or the like · CPC title