JPS6122836B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a barcode printer that allows various settings for the number of digits of a barcode printed on a label.

In general, barcode printers that allow you to set the number of barcode digits in various ways change the size of the label depending on the number of digits in the barcode to be printed, so that the barcode is printed on the label with a certain standard. ing.

Conventionally, in this type of label printer, even if you set the number of digits for the barcode and set the label size accordingly, the barcode printing mechanism prints out the barcode on the label based on the input data, so for example Even though the label size is for 9 digits, if there is input data of 13 digits, the barcode printing mechanism will print out a 13 digit barcode for the 9 digits label, resulting in a defective barcode. There was a problem with issuing labels.

The present invention was devised to solve such problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a barcode printer that is free from the risk of issuing defective barcode labels.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

First of all, what is shown in Fig. 1 is an external view of a barcode printer. 1 is a label supply reel, 2 is a label take-up reel, 3 is a one-time ribbon supply reel, 4 is a one-time ribbon take-up reel, and 5 is a barcode. In the printing mechanism, 6 is a label position detector. The label 7 wound on the label supply reel 1 is wound up on the label winding reel 2 via the label position detector 6 and the barcode printing mechanism 5. Further, the one-time ribbon 8 wound around the ribbon supply reel 3 is wound up by the ribbon take-up reel 4 via the barcode printing mechanism 5. Further, reference numeral 9 denotes an operation section provided with a keyboard 10, a display 11, a group of operation switches 12, and a card insertion slot 13. The barcode printing mechanism 5 and label position detector 6 are constructed as shown in FIG. That is, the barcode printing mechanism 5 consists of a marking stand 5a that houses a printing drum (not shown) inside, and a hammer 5b provided opposite to the marking stand 5a. The label 7 and one-time ribbon 8 are passed together. The labels 7 are attached, for example, to a transparent tape 14 at predetermined intervals, and are intermittently fed to the printing mechanism 5. Further, the label position detector 6 has a rack 6a formed at one end thereof, and a flat base 6c having a long hole 6b in the center thereof, approximately in the center of the other end thereof, so as to be perpendicular to the base 6c. Vertically long detector body 6d
is installed. This detector main body 6d has a narrow vertically divided groove 6e in its upper end, and a light emitting part 6f that houses a lamp etc. on one side with the groove 6e in between.
A light receiving section 6g containing a phototransistor etc. is formed on the other side, and the tape 14 with the label 7 attached thereto is passed through the groove 6e. Further, the detector main body 6d has a permanent magnet 15 attached to the tip end surface of its lower end as a switch driving member. Base 6 of the label position detector 6
A pinion 16 is adapted to mesh with a rack 6a provided at the position c. The pinion 16 is attached to the other end of an operating member 17 whose one end is shaped like a knob. A plurality of, for example, five, reed switches 18a, 18b, 1 are located below the detector main body 6d of the label position detector 6.
A switch mechanism is provided in which switches 8c, 18d, and 18e are mounted on a flat plate 18f at predetermined intervals. Each reed switch 18a, 18b, 18c, 18d, 18e attached to this switch mechanism
is selectively energized by a permanent magnet 15 attached to the detector main body 6d, and when the permanent magnet 15 comes directly above, the switching operation is performed by the magnetic force of the magnet 15. That's what I do. Each of the reed switches 18a, 18b, 18
The positions c, 18d, and 18e are labels of various sizes, such as 9 digits, 11 digits, 13 digits, and 15 digits.
It is set to correspond to the label for digits and 17 digits,
The permanent magnet 15 forms a digit setter 19. The positional relationship between the barcode printing mechanism 5 and the label position detector 6, and the relationship between the label position detector 6 and each switch 18a, 18b, 18c, 1
The positional relationship with 8d and 18e is as shown in FIG. That is, when setting the label 7 to a position where the printing operation can start with respect to the barcode printing mechanism 5, the label 7a for which position setting is to be performed is performed.
The gap between the second and third labels 7b and 7c counted from This is done by stopping the feeding of the tape 14 by (1). At that time, the reed switches corresponding to the sizes of the labels 7a, 7b, 7c, . . . are energized by the permanent magnet 15. For example, if a label at the 13th digit is currently being conveyed and the position of the label position detector 6 is set so that the label is stopped at a position where the barcode printing mechanism 5 can start printing, the digit The setting device 19 is set to 13 by the permanent magnet 15.
It is set to energize a reed switch 18c provided corresponding to the digit label. The operating section 9 is formed as shown in FIG. 4.
That is, the keyboard 10 is provided with a number key 10a, a number designation key 10b, a print key 10c, a clear key 10d, etc.
A lamp 11a that displays card-in, error, etc.;
A one-digit label number display 11b and a three-digit issue number display 11c are provided, and the operation switch group 12 receives data from a power switch 12a, a weighing value marking device, or other external equipment such as a terminal. An online switch 12b, which is operated when inputting data, and an offline switch 12c, which is operated when inputting data from the keyboard 10 or card reader, are provided.
The label number display 11b has respective reed switches 18a, 18b, 18c, 18d,
It displays a label number indicating the label size according to the switching operation of switch 18e, and when the detector 6 is set to a position corresponding to a 9-digit label and the reed switch 18a is energized, the number "1" is displayed. When the position is set corresponding to the 11-digit label and the reed switch 18b is energized, the number "2" is displayed, and the position is set corresponding to the 13-digit label and the reed switch 18c is energized. Then, the number "3" is displayed, and when the position is set corresponding to the 15-digit label and the reed switch 18d is energized, the number "4" is displayed.
is displayed, and when the position is set corresponding to the 17-digit label and the reed switch 18e is energized, the number "5" is displayed. When the number of labels to be issued is set by operating the number key 10a and the number designation key 10b on the keyboard 10, the number display 11c displays the number of labels to be issued. The label number display 11b and the issued number display 11c are formed by, for example, a 7-segment display made of light emitting diodes.

Moreover, what is shown in FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the circuit configuration of the barcode printer. 5 is characterized in that a random access memory (RAM) 20 is provided with a buffer memory (BM) 21 as a data storage unit for storing input data, and the label position detector 6 is The number of digits data generated by the switching operation of each reed switch 18a to 18e of the digit setter 19 according to the position setting is stored, and the input data of the number buffer memory 21 is stored using the stored number of digits data. The point is that a digit number data storage unit (DM) 22 is provided to detect digit overflow.

23 is a central processing circuit (CPU), and the central processing circuit 23 sends an initial program execution command to a program execution circuit (ROM) 24 when the power is turned on. The program execution circuit 2
Reference numeral 4 denotes a label feed motor 25 for clearing the memory and initial setting of other programs according to an expiration program, and driving the label supply reel 1, and the label take-up reel 2.
The label winding motor 26 that drives the label winding motor 26 is driven to feed the label 7, and the label 7 is fed by the detection output supplied from the label position detector 6.
is stopped at a predetermined position where the barcode printing mechanism 5 can start printing operation.
Further, the program execution circuit 24 executes the digit number data storage 22 of the RAM 20 according to the initial program.
The digit number data generated from the digit setter 19 is written in by setting the position of the label position detector 6. Further, the program execution circuit 24 operates a ribbon feed motor 27 that drives the ribbon supply reel 3 and the ribbon take-up reel 4 according to an initial program prior to feeding the label 7.
A ribbon winding motor 28 is driven to feed the one-time ribbon 8 by one digit.

The online switch 12b and the offline switch 12c are so-called mode changeover switches, and when the online switch 12b is operated, data is sent from the weighing value adding device 29 or other terminal 30 to the program execution circuit 24 via data conversion circuits 31 and 32, respectively. When data is sent and the offline switch 12c is operated, the card reader 33 or keyboard 1
Necessary data is sent to the program execution circuit 24 from 0 onwards. The data sent to the program execution circuit 24 is sent to the central processing circuit 23.
The data is sent to the RAM 20 in accordance with the program execution command, and is temporarily stored in a number buffer memory 21 provided within the RAM 20. However
The RAM 20 checks whether the number of digits of the data stored in the number buffer memory 21 matches the set number of digits by comparing it with the number of digits data stored in the number of digits data storage 22. As this detection means, for example, a signal "F" is set in advance on all digit bits of the digit buffer memory 21, and among the digit bits, the digit designated by the digit number data stored in the data storage 22 is detected. A means for detecting digit overflow by checking the digit bit of the digit that is one more than the other digit and checking whether the content "F" of the digit bit being checked changes depending on the input data, or a digit buffer memory 21 It is sufficient to use means for counting the number of digits of data inputted into the data using a counter and checking if the counted number exceeds the number of digits data stored in the data storage device 22 to detect an overage of digits. And if the number of digits of the data input to RAM20 does not exceed the number of digits,
The RAM 20 inputs an in-operation display signal to the latch 34 by operating the print key 10c, and when it matches the control clock from the program execution circuit 24, drives the lamp 11a to display an in-operation display and also outputs data. The data is input to the printer interface 35, and the bar code is printed out by the bar code printing mechanism 5 after matching with the control clock from the program execution circuit 24. Also RAM20
If the number of digits of the input data does not exceed the number of digits, the RAM 20 receives a command from the central processing circuit 23 to prohibit data transmission, and also drives the lamp 11a to display an error message. When data is printed out by the barcode printing mechanism 5, label feeding and ribbon feeding are performed every time the barcode is printed out for one digit. When the barcode label issuing operation, that is, the printing out of the barcode for one label, is completed, the program execution circuit 24 similarly controls the label feed motor 25, the label take-up reel 26, the ribbon feed motor 27, and the ribbon. The take-up motor 28 is driven to feed the label and ribbon, and to place the label to be printed out next and the unused portion of the ribbon to be used next in a predetermined position. The RAM 20 sends a cycle bit timing clock to the program execution circuit 24 via the shift register 37 and the keyboard 10, so that the program execution circuit 24 can determine which key on the keyboard 10 has been operated. ing.

Therefore, the control process for over-checking the number of digits in this bar code printer is shown in a flowchart as shown in FIG. That is, when the memory clear and ribbon feed are completed after the power is turned on, position setting is performed by the label position detector 6, and digit setting is performed by the digit setter 19 responsive thereto. However, the digit setting is 9
Depending on whether it is a digit, 11 digit, 13 digit, 15 digit, or 17 digit, any digit overcheck from 9 digits to 17 digits is performed. This digit overcheck is performed, for example, by checking the digit bits in the numeric buffer memory 21 and checking the number of digits using a counter, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, for example. If digit overflow is checked, an error is processed and printing of the data is prohibited. Also, if the number of digits is not exceeded, a barcode label will be issued.

In this way, if the number of digits in the input data exceeds the preset number of digits, an error will occur and a barcode label will not be issued, so a barcode with a predetermined number of digits will always be printed for a label of a predetermined size. There is no risk of issuing a defective barcode label.

When the label position detector 6 is set so that the label 7 is stopped at a position where the barcode printing mechanism 5 can start printing, the permanent magnet 15 of the digit setter 19 corresponds to the number of digits on the label 7. Since the digit setting is performed by energizing the reed switch, the label size and digit setting can be made to correspond reliably.

In the above embodiment, the digit setting device is composed of a plurality of reed switches installed at predetermined intervals corresponding to various sizes of labels, and a permanent magnet that responds to changes in the position of the label position detector. Although we have described the above, it is needless to say that the invention is not limited to this. Further, in the above embodiment, as a means for detecting over-digits of input data, there is a means for checking the signal set in the digit bit of the number buffer memory 21 to detect over-digits, and a counter counts the number of digits of input data. Although the method for detecting digit overflow has been described above, it is needless to say that the method is not limited thereto.

As detailed above, according to the present invention, the barcode printing mechanism prints out the barcode on the label based on the print data supplied from the data storage device that stores input data by the printout operation, and The number of digits of the barcode to be printed on the label is set using a digit setting device that responds to the position setting of the label position detector, and the number of digits set by the digit setting device and stored in the data storage device are By comparing the number of digits in the input data with the number of digits in the input data, it is possible to detect excess digits in the input data. Therefore, it is possible to provide a barcode printer that can reliably match the label size and digit setting.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The figures show an embodiment of the present invention, in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the external appearance, Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the main part, and Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the main part.
The figure is a side view showing the positional relationship of the barcode printing mechanism, label position detector, and switch, Figure 4 is a developed view showing the operation section, Figure 5 is a block diagram showing the circuit configuration, and Figure 6 is a digit overcheck. FIGS. 7 and 8 are flowcharts showing the over-digit detection means. 5... Barcode printer, 6... Label position detector, 7... Label, 15... Permanent magnet, 1
8a, 18b, 18c, 18d, 18e...read switch, 19...digit setter, 20...random access memory, 21...number buffer memory, 22...digit number data storage device.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 a data storage device that stores input data; a barcode printing mechanism that prints out a barcode on a label based on print data supplied from the data storage device through a printout operation;
a label position detector that detects the label conveyance position and sets the label conveyed to the printing mechanism;
A digit setting device that variably sets the number of digits of the barcode to be printed on the label in response to the position setting of the label position detector, and a digit setting device that stores the number of digits set in this digit setting device in the data storage device. 1. A barcode printer comprising: detecting means for detecting over-digits in the input data by comparing the number of digits in the input data.