JP2011000790A - Printer for shelf tag and printing method using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

[PROBLEMS] To produce shelf labels 16, 17, and 18 having different pitch lengths P, 2P, and 3P by a single type of shelf label continuum 2, and do not need to hold a plurality of types of shelf labels, and cost. A printer for a shelf label and a printing method for the same are provided.
Focusing on forming an arbitrary pitch length shelf label by selecting an arbitrary number of unit tags 2A, a shelf label in which a plurality of unit tags 2A are connected through a perforation 14. Supply unit for loading the continuum 2 for use, a detection unit for detecting the position detection marks 13 provided on the back surface of the unit tag 2A at a predetermined pitch, and an input unit for inputting the necessary number of unit tags 2A and product information And a printing unit capable of printing product information over an arbitrary number of unit tags 2A, and printing of product information on an arbitrary number of unit tags 2A according to the number of unit tags 2A and the number of position detection marks 13 on the printing unit. And a control unit that can form the shelf labels 16, 17, and 18.
[Selection] Figure 5

Description

The present invention relates to a shelf label printer and a printing method thereof, and in particular, for printing product information on a shelf label for displaying product information such as the name and price of a product on a display shelf of a product in a retail store or the like. The present invention relates to a shelf label printer and its printing method.

      Traditionally, in retail stores etc., shelves are placed on display shelves, for example, in transparent cases to display various product information necessary for selling product names, prices, and other products. In some cases, the transparent case has a width that is the same as the width of the display shelf, so that the shelf label can be moved and installed in an arbitrary part according to the amount of each display product. There are many long ones that are 5m or longer. In addition, there are cases where various widths of the transparent case are prepared according to the amount of various products displayed on the display shelf.

On the other hand, the length or width of the shelf label itself is often constant regardless of the width of the storage space for the products displayed on the display shelf. Therefore, when the horizontal length of the transparent case is the same as that of the display shelf, depending on the form of the display space of the product, the shelf tags for adjacent products overlap in the transparent case part, and the function of the shelf label There is a problem of hindering the display of product information.
In addition, if several kinds of shelf labels with different lengths and widths are used, it is easy to identify each shelf label. However, according to the different length and width shelf labels, the paper for shelf labels, and each There is a problem that a printer for paper and a transparent case have to be prepared.

    In addition, at the site where shelf labels are issued, the price of the product may be reduced, and it is necessary to change the display contents of the shelf label at the same time as this price reduction. Labels and shelf labels are issued by different printers, and it is necessary to prepare two types of paper, such as labels and tags, and in some cases, two types of printers. There is a problem that there is a trouble of printing labels and tags.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-278296

    The present invention has been considered in view of the various problems described above, and at least a shelf label printer capable of creating a shelf label having different lengths in the sheet transfer direction (pitch lengths being different) from one type of belt-shaped sheet. It is another object of the present invention to provide a printing method thereof.

    In addition, the present invention has improved the work of conventionally preparing and printing labels and shelf labels to be attached to products separately, and reducing the price of products and displaying shelf prices of various lengths from one type of paper. It is an object of the present invention to provide a shelf label printer capable of displaying a label and a printing method thereof.

    Another object of the present invention is to provide a shelf label printer and a printing method therefor that do not require separate preparation of shelf label paper and a printer depending on the length of the shelf label.

    In addition, the present invention is based on the basic pitch length between the position detection marks provided in advance on the back side of the paper, etc. PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a shelf label printer capable of freely changing the length of the shelf label along the transfer direction and capable of creating a shelf label that matches a display allowable space depending on a product and a printing method thereof. And

    The present invention also provides a shelf label printer that can use the same paper base material as the product price reduction display sheet, and that can perform rapid price reduction processing and shelf label issuance processing at the price reduction site, and a printing method therefor. This is the issue.

    It is another object of the present invention to provide a shelf label printer and a printing method therefor that can reduce the inventory by eliminating the need for holding a plurality of types of shelf label sheets.

    That is, the present invention focuses on the fact that it is possible to form a shelf label having an arbitrary pitch length by selecting an arbitrary number of a plurality of unit tags constituting a continuous body for a shelf label. The present invention is a shelf label printer for printing product information on a shelf label that is attached to a display shelf of the product and displays product information about the product, and a plurality of unit tags are placed between each other. A supply unit that can be loaded with a continuous strip of shelf labels configured by connecting through perforations at regular intervals, and a position detection mark provided at a predetermined pitch on the back of each unit tag, respectively Detectable detection unit, input unit for inputting the number of unit tags necessary for forming the shelf label, and print data of the product information, and printing the product information across any number of the unit tags Possible print section The product information is printed on the printing unit at an arbitrary number of the unit tags according to the number of the unit tags and the number of position detection marks necessary for forming the shelf label. A printer for a shelf label, comprising: a control unit capable of forming a shelf label.

    A second invention is a printing method of a printer for a shelf label for printing the product information on a shelf label for attaching the product to a display shelf and displaying the product information about the product. A strip-shaped shelf label continuum configured by connecting unit tags with each other through a perforation is loaded into the supply unit, and the number of unit tags necessary to form the shelf label, and the above The product information print data is input by the input unit, the shelf label continuum is fed out from the supply unit to the transfer path in a band shape, and a position detection mark provided at a predetermined pitch on the back surface of each unit tag. The product information is printed on the printing unit by an arbitrary number of the unit tags according to the number of the unit tags and the number of position detection marks necessary for forming the shelf labels. By A printing method of the printer for shelf label, characterized by controlling the control unit to enable forming the shelf label.

    The control unit subtracts the number of the unit tags input by the input unit one by one for each detection of the position detection mark by the detection unit, and the number of the unit tags input by the input unit. However, when it is determined that the number of the position detection marks by the detection unit has become the same, it is possible to control the printing unit to end printing on the unit tag.

The shelf label continuum has a strip-shaped mount and a label base material temporarily attached to the mount, and the perforation penetrates the label base material and the mount to form it. it can.
In this way, even if a printing process is performed over a plurality of unit tags, the unit tags are not separated from each other and can be separated at a necessary portion (perforation).
For example, a label attached to a product can be printed as a unit tag for each perforation, and can be printed across a perforation so as to use multiple unit tags as a shelf label. It can be accommodated in the transparent case as it is, and can be affixed to a predetermined site as a price-reducing label if the mount is peeled off.

    In the shelf label printer and the printing method according to the present invention, a shelf label having an arbitrary pitch length can be formed by an arbitrary number of unit tags in the shelf label continuum. Depending on the display space and width conditions that vary depending on the product, it is possible to freely create a shelf label of any length (variable length) in the transfer direction from a single strip (continuous for shelf label), It is possible to issue identifiable shelf labels with flexibility, making it possible to quickly execute various operations such as shelf label creation and price reduction processing, eliminating the need for paper replacement at the product display site or price reduction site. It is economical because it is not necessary to have stock of seeds or a large number of sheets.

    In particular, according to the printer for a shelf label of the first invention, a plurality of unit tags are connected to each other via a perforation to form a continuous strip-shaped shelf label and form a shelf label. A control unit is provided that can form a shelf label by printing product information on an arbitrary number of unit tags according to the number of unit tags and the number of position detection marks required for printing. By selecting the number of sheets, it is possible to create a shelf label having an arbitrary pitch length.

In particular, according to the printing method of the printer for the shelf label of the second invention, in order to form the shelf label by inputting the number of unit tags necessary for forming the shelf label and the print data of the product information by the input unit. It is controlled in the control unit so that a shelf label can be formed by printing product information on an arbitrary number of unit tags according to the number of unit tags and the number of position detection marks. Therefore, necessary product information can be printed over a plurality of unit tags.

1 is a schematic side view of a shelf label printer 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a top view of the continuous body 2 for shelf labels. It is a back view of the continuous body 2 for shelf labels. It is the IV-IV sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the production form of the price reduction tag 16, the shelf labels 17, and the display shelf 19 by the continuous body 2 for shelf labels. It is a flowchart figure of the printing method by the printer 1 for shelf labels.

    In the present invention, a shelf label having a required pitch length can be created by a plurality of unit tags by inputting the number of unit tags and detecting a position detection mark. Price reduction tags (price reduction labels) can be created freely according to the situation, and it is not necessary to replace the paper at the work site, and the shelf label display on the display shelf of the product can be performed efficiently and reliably. A shelf label printer and its printing method have been realized.

Next, a shelf label printer 1 and a printing method thereof according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a shelf label printer 1. The shelf label printer 1 includes a supply unit 3, a transfer path 4, a detection unit 5, and a printing unit 6 for a shelf label continuum 2. , An input unit 7 and a control unit 8.

2 is a plan view of the shelf label continuum 2, FIG. 3 is a rear view of the shelf label continuum 2, and FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. 2.
In particular, as shown in FIG. 4, the shelf label continuous body 2 is applied to the surface of the strip base 9 having a peelable surface, the label base 10 temporarily attached to the surface of the base 9, and the surface of the label base 10. The heat-sensitive color former layer 11 and the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer 12 applied to the back surface of the label substrate 10 and the position detection marks 13 formed at a predetermined pitch on the back surface of the mount 9 are provided.
Of course, as the shelf label continuum 2, not a label base material but a tag base material that does not have the mount 9 and the adhesive layer 12 can also be used.
In the shelf label continuum 2, perforations 14 are formed through the label base 10 and the mount 9 in accordance with the pitch of the position detection marks 13.
As shown in FIG. 3, by forming a single slit 15 in the length direction of the shelf label continuum 2 on the mount 9, the operability when peeling the mount 9 from the shelf label continuum 2 is improved. It can be improved.

In particular, as shown in FIG. 2, by forming the perforations 14 at a predetermined pitch, the entire shelf label continuum 2 is configured as a continuous arrangement of a plurality of unit tags 2A that can be separated from each other by the perforations 14. For example, in the example shown in the drawing, each pitch-length shelf label corresponding to the number of unit tags 2A having a pitch length of “P”, “2P”, and “3P” (a single-leaf shelf tag or a price-reduction tag 16 having a pitch length of P, A shelf label 17 having a pitch length of 2P or a shelf label 18 having a pitch length of 3P, which will be described later with reference to FIG. 5, can be created.
The position detection mark 13 is provided at the rear end in the transfer direction of the unit tag 2A.
The width W itself of the shelf label continuum 2 is constant in the length direction.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a form of price reduction tags 16 and shelf labels 17 and 18 and a display shelf 19 by the shelf label continuum 2, and each unit tag 2 A has a printing column Q for one line. It has a length in the transfer direction corresponding to an integral multiple (in the example shown, the case where four lines are printed on the unit tag 2A is shown).
As shown in the figure, the single-leaf shelf tag or price-reduction tag 16 uses one unit tag 2A, and the shelf length 17 having a pitch length of 2P uses two unit tags 2A and the pitch length is 2P. The 3P shelf label 18 uses three pieces of unit tags 2A. Of course, shelves with four or more pitch lengths can be created.
Such shelf labels 16, 17, and 18 are attached to the display shelf 19 of products, and product information about each product is displayed. That is, for example, a shelf label 17 with a pitch length of 2P and a shelf label 18 with a pitch length of 3P are stored and mounted in a transparent case 20 of a display shelf 19, and a single-leaf shelf label or price reduction tag 16 is required. Accordingly, it can be attached to the transparent case 20, the shelf label 17 having a pitch length of 2P, the shelf label 18 having a pitch length of 3P, or directly attached to a product.

    Returning to FIG. 1, the supply unit 3 can be loaded in a roll with a strip-shaped continuous body 2 for a shelf label formed by connecting a plurality of unit tags 2 </ b> A described above via a perforation 14. And

    The transfer path 4 is a passage through which the roll-shaped shelf label continuum 2 is fed out from the supply unit 3 in a strip shape, and the shelf label continuum 2 is transferred to the detection unit 5 and the printing unit 6.

    The detection unit 5 includes mark detection sensors 21 that can detect the position detection marks 13 provided at a predetermined pitch on the back surface of each unit tag 2 </ b> A, and output detection signals to the control unit 8.

The printing unit 6 has a printing mechanism of an arbitrary system. For example, the printing unit 6 includes a thermal head 22 and a platen roller 23, and the shelf label continuous body 2 is sandwiched between the printing labels 6, and the shelf label is driven by the rotation of the platen roller 23. The product continuum 2 is transferred onto the transfer path 4, and product information can be printed over any number of unit tags 2A beyond the perforation 14 of the shelf label continuum 2 by a print signal from the thermal head 22. Make it possible.
In addition, when the heat-sensitive color former layer 11 is not applied to the label base material 10 in the continuous body 2 for shelf labels, the thermal transfer ribbon 24 (the phantom line in FIG. 1) can be used.

The input unit 7 inputs the number of unit tags 2A necessary for forming the shelf labels 16, 17, 18 and the print data of the product name and price and other necessary product information.
The input unit 7 can be a stand-alone type having a keyboard, a display, or any other configuration, and an external host computer 25 such as a personal computer is used as an input unit. This input unit (host computer 25) It is also possible for the control unit 8 to receive input data from.

The control unit 8 controls the detection unit 5, the printing unit 6, and the input unit 7, and the number of unit tags 2 </ b> A necessary for forming the shelf labels 16, 17, and 18 and the position detection marks 13. Control is performed so that the product information is printed on the printing unit 6 on an arbitrary number of unit tags 2A according to the number.
That is, as will be described later with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 6, the control unit 8 subtracts the number of unit tags 2 </ b> A input by the input unit 7 one by one for each detection of the position detection mark 13 by the detection unit 5. When it is determined that the number of unit tags 2A input by the unit 7 is the same as the number of position detection marks 13 by the detection unit 5, the printing on the unit tag 2A by the printing unit 6 is controlled to end.

In the shelf label printer 1 and the shelf label continuum 2 configured as described above, necessary product information is printed on the shelf labels 16, 17, and 18 by the shelf label printer 1.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a printing method by the shelf label printer 1. In step S 1, the product name, price, print format, and other necessary product information (print information) are input by the input unit 7 or the host computer 25. In step S2, the sizes of the shelf labels 16, 17, 18 are set. Specifically, in the case of a single leaf shelf tag or price reduction tag 16, if the shelf length 17 is a pitch length of "1" and the pitch length is 2P, the shelf length is a pitch length of "2" and the pitch length is 3P. If it is 18, the pitch length is set to “3”. The same applies to the case where four or more unit tags 2A are used as one shelf label.

In step S3, printing for the printing column Q for one line of the shelf label continuum 2 (printing for one line by the printing unit 6 on the unit tag 2A) is performed. In step S4, the back surface of the shelf label continuum 2 is printed. It is determined whether or not the position detection mark 13 has been detected.
If the position detection mark 13 is not detected yet, the process returns to step S3, and printing for one line of the print column Q is continued.

If the position detection mark 13 is detected in step S4, the pitch length is subtracted by one sheet in step S5, and it is determined in step S6 whether the pitch length is “0”. Returning to step S3, the above operation is repeated, and if it is “0”, printing is terminated.
Thus, by repeating the print column Q for one line beyond the perforation 14 in accordance with the number of unit tags 2A and the number of position detection marks 13 necessary for forming the shelf labels 16, 17, 18 can be arbitrarily set. Product information is printed on the printing unit 6 on the number of unit tags 2A and controlled by the control unit 8 so that the shelf labels 16, 17, and 18 can be formed. End the operation.

Therefore, at the work site in the display shelf 19, shelf labels 16, 17, and 18 having a necessary length can be created by the single shelf label continuum 2 and the shelf label printer 1 each time. And low cost can be realized.

1 Printer for shelf labels (Example, Fig. 1)
2 Continuum for shelf label 2A Unit tag for continuum 2 for shelf label (Figs. 2 and 5)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 3 Supply part 4 Transfer path 5 Detection part 6 Printing part 7 Input part 8 Control part 9 Board | substrate 10 Label base material 11 Thermal color former layer 12 Adhesive layer 13 Position detection mark 14 The base paper 9 and the label base material 10 are penetrated Perforation 15 formed Slit 16 formed on mount 9 Single leaf shelf label or price reduction tag (Fig. 5)
17 Shelf label with 2P pitch length 18 Shelf label with 3P pitch length 19 Display shelf 20 Transparent case 21 Mark detection sensor (Fig. 1)
22 thermal head 23 platen roller 24 thermal transfer ribbon 25 host computer (input unit)
P Pitch length unit (Fig. 2)
Q Print line for one line (Figure 5)

Claims (4)

A printer for a shelf label for printing the product information on a shelf label that is attached to a display shelf of the product and displays product information about the product,
A supply unit that can be loaded with a continuous body of strip-shaped shelf labels configured by connecting a plurality of unit tags through a perforation between each other;
A detection unit capable of detecting each of the position detection marks provided at a predetermined pitch on the back of each unit tag;
An input unit for inputting the number of unit tags necessary for forming the shelf label, and print data of the product information;
A printing unit capable of printing the product information over an arbitrary number of the unit tags;
By printing the product information on the unit tag of an arbitrary number according to the number of the unit tags and the number of position detection marks necessary for forming the shelf label, the shelf A control unit that can form a bill;
A printer for shelf labels, comprising: The controller is
Subtracting the number of unit tags input by the input unit one by one for each detection of the position detection mark by the detection unit,
When it is determined that the number of the unit tags input by the input unit is the same as the number of the position detection marks by the detection unit, the printing unit controls to end printing on the unit tag. The printer for shelf labels according to claim 1, wherein: The shelf label continuum is:
A belt-shaped mount,
A label base material temporarily attached to the mount, and
2. The printer for a shelf label according to claim 1, wherein the perforation is formed by penetrating the label base material and the mount. A printing method of a printer for a shelf label for printing the product information on a shelf label for displaying the product information about the product while being attached to a display shelf of the product,
A belt-shaped continuous body for a shelf label constructed by connecting a plurality of unit tags through a perforation between each other is loaded into the supply unit,
Input the number of unit tags necessary to form this shelf label and the print data of the product information through the input unit,
The above-mentioned shelf label continuum is fed out in a belt shape from the supply unit to the transfer path, and the position detection marks provided at a predetermined pitch on the back surface of each unit tag are detected by the detection unit, respectively.
By printing the product information on the arbitrary number of unit tags according to the number of the unit tags and the number of the position detection marks necessary for forming the shelf label, the shelf label A printing method for a printer for a shelf label, characterized in that the control is performed by the control unit so as to enable formation.

Images