Claims
- 1. A gapless label media for use in a printer having a sensor capable of sensing a leading edge of a label, said gapless media comprising:
- a strip of media comprising a plurality of labels positioned with leading and trailing edges of adjacent ones of said plurality of labels abutting one another and defining a gapless boundary therebetween,
- said plurality of labels comprising a plurality of sequences of equal numbers of said labels with a first label of each sequence of said labels having a leading edge which is sensible.
- 2. The gapless label media of claim 1 wherein said first label of each sequence of said labels has at least a portion of a surface thereof adjacent said leading edge which is optically sensible.
- 3. The gapless label media of claim 2 wherein said at least a portion of said surface of said first label of each sequence of said labels is of a different optically sensible color from other labels of said sequence.
- 4. The gapless label media of claim 2, wherein said at least a portion of said surface of said first label of each sequence of said labels is covered with a fluorescent material.
- 5. The gapless label media of claim 1 wherein said strip of media comprises a continuous strip of linerless media having only said plurality of sequences of equal numbers of said labels with leading and trailing edges abutting one another and no backing strip.
- 6. A gapless label media comprising:
- a strip of media comprising a plurality of labels with leading and trailing edges abutting one another, said plurality of labels comprising a plurality of sequences of equal numbers of said labels with a first label of each sequence of said labels having a leading edge which is sensible;
- wherein each sequence of labels is equally laterally staggered across a width of said strip of media in a common pattern of staggering so that said first label of each sequence of said labels has at least a portion thereof creating an offset leading edge which is physically sensible.
- 7. A gapless label media comprising:
- a strip of media comprising a plurality of labels with leading and trailing edges abutting one another, said plurality of labels comprising a plurality of sequences of equal numbers of said labels with a first label of each sequence of said labels having a leading edge which is sensible;
- wherein said strip of media comprises a continuous strip of linerless media having only said plurality of sequences of equal numbers of said labels with leading and trailing edges abutting one another and no backing strip; and
- wherein each sequence of labels is equally laterally staggered across a width of said strip of media in a common pattern of staggering so that said first label of each sequence of said labels has at least a portion thereof creating an offset leading edge which is physically sensible.
- 8. A label printer for printing label data on a strip of gapless label media having a plurality of labels with leading and trailing edges abutting one another and defining a plurality of sequences of equal numbers of the labels with a first label of each sequence of the labels having a leading edge which is sensible, the printer comprising:
- a) a printhead for printing on the media;
- b) at least one sensor sensing the leading edge of each first label at a known distance from said printhead;
- c) a drive system moving the plurality of labels from a position of said at least one sensor to a pre-established print position under said printhead; and,
- d) position and print logic,
- d1) for sensing each first label of each sequence of labels with said at least one sensor,
- d2) for moving a next in sequence label from said position of said at least one sensor to said pre-established print position under said printhead, and
- d3) for printing label data on labels positioned under said printhead.
- 9. The gapless label printer of claim 8 wherein said at least one sensor senses along a path having a width greater than a maximum amount of lateral drift of the plurality of labels.
- 10. The gapless label printer of claim 8 wherein said position and print logic includes logic for calculating a compensation factor E according to the equation: ##EQU4## where: A=position of a detected leading edge of a label;
- B=position of a detected trailing edge of a label or a leading edge of an offset label; and
- C=position of a detected leading edge of a following label.
- 11. The gapless label printer of claim 10, wherein a corrected position for the leading edges of the labels may be determined from the equations A'=A+E and B'=B-E, where:
- A'=calculated leading edge of a label, after correction; and
- B'=calculated leading edge of an offset label, after correction.
- 12. The gapless label printer of claim 8 wherein each sequence of labels is equally laterally staggered across a width of the strip of gapless label media in a common pattern of staggering so that the first label of each sequence of labels has at least a portion thereof creating an offset leading edge which is physically sensible and further comprising:
- a) said printhead having a printing area extending across the width of the strip of gapless media; and,
- b) said printing area being subdivided into sub-printing areas equal to a width and positioned over a lateral position of one label of each sequence of labels.
- 13. The gapless label printer of claim 12 wherein:
- a) said printhead comprises a thermal printhead having a plurality of adjacent heating elements across said printing area; and
- b) said sub-printing areas each comprises an equal number of adjacent ones of said heating elements.
- 14. The gapless label printer of claim 12 wherein:
- a) said printhead is an impact printhead carried across a path defining said printing area from one end thereof to an opposite end; and
- b) each of said sub-printing areas comprises a portion of said path.
- 15. The gapless label printer of claim 12 and additionally comprising:
- a) a label attaching mechanism receiving printed labels from said printhead, said label attaching mechanism being laterally movable a distance equal to an offset width of said common pattern of staggering;
- b) a shifting mechanism having a signal input shifting said label attaching mechanism laterally a distance and amount dictated by a signal at said signal input; and,
- c) said position and print logic including logic outputting a signal to said signal input indicating the lateral position of a label positioned at said label attaching mechanism for attachment to a surface whereby said label is properly positioned laterally on said surface to compensate for its lateral offset in said common pattern of staggering.
- 16. The gapless label printer of claim 8 wherein said position and print logic is operative to detect the location of said first label, wherein:
- a) said at least one sensor senses a position of leading and trailing edges of said first label;
- b) said logic calculates a sensor error by comparing the sensed positions of said leading and trailing edges with predetermined characteristics of said media; and
- c) said logic adjusts the sensed positions by adding or subtracting said sensor error.
- 17. The gapless label printer of claim 16, wherein one of said predetermined characteristics of said media comprises a ratio of length of said first label to a corresponding length of a next one of said labels.
- 18. The gapless label printer of claim 8 wherein said at least one sensor further comprises a plurality of sensors adapted to sense along parallel respective paths.
- 19. The gapless label printer of claim 18 wherein said parallel respective paths are separated by a distance greater than a maximum amount of drift of the plurality of labels.
- 20. The gapless label printer of claim 18 wherein signals from said plurality of sensors are combined into a common signal provided to said position and print logic.
- 21. The gapless label printer of claim 18 wherein at least one of said plurality of sensors is coupled to an adjustable edge guide of said printer.
- 22. The gapless label printer of claim 8 wherein said at least one sensor further comprises a charge coupled device.
- 23. A label printer for printing label data on labels of a strip of label media having a plurality of laterally-staggered equal-sized labels in a plurality of sequences of the labels wherein each sequence of labels is equally laterally staggered across a width of the strip of label media in a common pattern of staggering so that the first label of each sequence of labels has at least a portion thereof creating an offset leading edge which is physically sensible, said label printer comprising:
- a) a printhead for printing on the media, said printhead having a printing area extending across the width of the strip of gapless media, said printing area being subdivided into sub-printing areas equal to a width and positioned over a lateral position of one label of each sequence of label;
- b) at least one sensor sensing the leading edge of each first label at a known distance from said printhead;
- c) a drive system moving the plurality of labels from a position of said at least one sensor to a pre-established print position under said printhead; and,
- d) position and print logic,
- d1) for sensing each first label of each sequence of labels with said at least one sensor,
- d2) for moving a next in sequence label from said position of said at least one sensor to said pre-established print position under said printhead, and
- d3) for printing label data on labels positioned under said printhead.
- 24. The label printer of claim 23 wherein said at least one sensor senses along a path having a width greater than a maximum amount of lateral drift of the plurality of labels.
- 25. The label printer of claim 23 wherein said position and print logic includes logic for calculating a compensation factor E according to the equation: ##EQU5## where: A=position of a detected leading edge of a label;
- B=position of a detected trailing edge of a label or a leading edge of an offset label; and
- C=position of a detected leading edge of a following label.
- 26. The label printer of claim 25, wherein a corrected position for the leading edges of the labels may then be determined from the equations:A'=A+E and B'=B-E, where:
- A'=calculated leading edge of a label, after correction; and
- B'=calculated leading edge of an offset label, after correction.
- 27. The label printer of claim 23 wherein:
- a) said printhead is a thermal printhead having a plurality of adjacent heating elements across said printing area; and
- b) said sub-printing areas each comprises an equal number of adjacent ones of said heating elements.
- 28. The label printer of claim 23 wherein:
- a) said printhead is an impact printhead carried across a path defining said printing area from one end thereof to an opposite end; and,
- b) each of said sub-printing areas comprises a portion of said path.
- 29. The label printer of claim 23 wherein said at least one sensor further comprises a plurality of sensors adapted to sense along parallel respective paths.
- 30. The label printer of claim 29 wherein said parallel respective paths are separated by a distance greater than a maximum amount of drift of the plurality of labels.
- 31. The label printer of claim 29 wherein signals from said plurality of sensors are combined into a common signal provided to said position and print logic.
- 32. The label printer of claim 29 wherein at least one of said plurality of sensors is coupled to an adjustable edge guide of said printer.
- 33. The label printer of claim 29 wherein said at least one sensor further comprises a charge coupled device.
RELATED APPLICATION DATA
This is a continuation-in-part application of Ser. No. 08/566,423 now abandoned for GAPLESS LABEL MEDIA AND PRINTING APPARATUS FOR HANDLING SAME, filed Nov. 30, 1995, now abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (25)
Foreign Referenced Citations (4)
Number |
Date |
Country |
55-32603 |
Mar 1980 |
JPX |
56-169688 |
Jul 1983 |
JPX |
60-187570 |
Sep 1985 |
JPX |
2-305666 |
Dec 1990 |
JPX |
Non-Patent Literature Citations (1)
Entry |
"Paper Edge Sensor" IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, vol. 23, No. 7A pp. 2695-2696, Dec. 1980. |
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
566423 |
Nov 1995 |
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