The present disclosure relates to a medium that is mounted and used in a printer, and a method of wrapping the same.
A label (corresponding to the medium) known in the art is provided with adhesive on the back side thereof. The label is mounted in a printer. Once printed, the label is used by attaching the label to the curved surface of an object. Depending on the application, the user may wish to wrap the label around an object such that the label is rotatably attached. For this purpose, there is known a technology for coating the adhesive on the label with varnish or another non-adhesive material so that adhesive in the portion of the label present around the outside of the object does not adhere to the object.
However, a configuration such as the conventional technology described above, in which the adhesive is coated with a non-adhesive material such as varnish, may degrade due to stress incurred when wrapping the label around the object, changes in ambient conditions, or aging. With such degradation, the adhesive may become exposed and inhibit rotation of the label.
It is an object of the present disclosure to provide a medium whose rotation relative to an object does not become impeded due to stress incurred when wrapped around an object, changes in ambient conditions, or aging.
In order to attain the above and other objects, the present disclosure provides a medium to be mounted in and to be printed with a printer. The medium includes: a release material; a slit; and a print label. The release material is opaque. The slit is provided in the release material and has a square shape including a first side, a second side, a third side, and a fourth side. The first side and the second side oppose each other. The third side and the fourth side oppose each other. The print label is fixed to the release material so as to span across the first side of the slit.
According to another aspect, the present disclosure also provides a medium to be mounted in and to be printed with a printer. The medium includes: a release material; a slit; and a print label. The release material has a composition that includes at least one of paper, colored film, fabric, and metal. The slit is provided in the release material and has a square shape including a first side, a second side, a third side, and a fourth side. The first side and the second side oppose each other. The third side and the fourth side oppose each other. The print label is fixed to the release material so as to span across the first side of the slit.
According to still another aspect, the present disclosure also provides a medium to be mounted in and to be printed with a printer. The medium includes: a release material layer; at least two slits; and a print label layer. The release material layer has a rectangular shape including a first short side on one side in a first direction and a second short side on another side in the first direction. The at least two slits are parallel to each other. Each of the at least two slits extends in the first direction from the first short side to the second short side of the release material layer. The print label layer is fixed to the release material layer so as to span across the at least two slits. The at least two slits include a first slit and a second slit.
According to still another aspect, the present disclosure also provides a method of wrapping a label around a cable. The label has a front surface and a back surface. A printed image is formed on the front surface. The back surface includes an adhesive layer. A release material is fixed on the adhesive layer so that the adhesive layer is exposed. The release material has a square shape including a first side and a second side. The first side and the second side oppose each other. The adhesive layer has a first portion and a second portion. The first portion is on a side of the first side of the release material. The second portion is on a side of the second side of the release material. The first portion and the second portion are exposed. The method includes: encircling; and bonding. The encircling encircles the cable with the label so that the release material is on an inside. The bonding bonds the first portion of the adhesive layer and the second portion of the adhesive layer together while aligning the first side and the second side in an encircling direction.
The particular features and advantages of the disclosure as well as other objects will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Below, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to
<Label-Creating Device>
First, the functional configuration of a label-creating device according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to
In
A cartridge holder 12 is also provided in the label-creating device 1. A tape cartridge 10 (corresponding to the cassette) is detachably mounted in the cartridge holder 12. The tape cartridge 10 has a casing 11, and a tape roll 10A (depicted in the drawing as concentric circles for simplification but actually wound into a roll) accommodated in the casing 11. A printing tape To is wound in a roll shape to form the tape roll 10A. Here, the tape cartridge 10 may be a die-cut label type or a continuous length type (described later with reference to
The control circuit 2 is provided with a CPU and a ROM not shown in the drawings. The control circuit 2 executes various programs pre-stored in the ROM while utilizing the temporary storage function of the RAM 5 in order to perform overall control of the label-creating device 1.
The conveying roller 6 is disposed in opposition to the print head 7. The printing tape To paid out from the tape roll 10A is interposed between the conveying roller 6 and print head 7. By rotating, the conveying roller 6 conveys the printing tape To while pulling the printing tape To from the tape roll 10A.
The print head 7 prints desired print objects (see the printed images R described later) on main label parts Lo (described later in greater detail) of the printing tape To conveyed by the conveying roller 6. The print objects are user-specified characters, icons, and the like.
When actuated through a user operation on the cutting lever 8, the cutter 9 cuts off a printed section of a printing tape T (described later in greater detail) having a plurality of print labels L formed along the conveying direction. Note that the printing tapes To and T correspond to the medium in the claims.
<Printing Tape>
As shown in
In the printing tapes To and T having the layered structure described above, a plurality of main label parts Lo (or print labels L having a printed image R formed on each of the main label parts Lo) are arranged successively in the tape length direction (the up-down direction in the drawings) while separated by an excess label portion LB (see
At this time, a print background layer 25 (corresponding to the printing portion) is also partially provided on the front-side (the top in
Owing to the layered structure described above, each main label part Lo has a length Wb2 in the tape width direction and a width Wb1 in the tape length direction and includes three areas: an adhesive area D1 constituting the left end portion in the drawings; a non-adhesive area D23 provided adjacent to the adhesive area D1 and corresponding to the print background layer 25; and an adhesive area D4 provided adjacent to the non-adhesive area D23. Here, a length Ws2 of the printing tapes To and T in the tape width direction is greater than the length Wb2 of the main label parts Lo in the tape width direction.
In the release material layer 24, rectangular (square) slits S are formed. Each of these slits S is arranged such that the adhesive area D1 and adhesive area D4 are positioned in a slit outer area SO outside the slit S in a plan view, while the non-adhesive area D23 is positioned in a slit inner area SI inside the slit S in a plan view.
The print background layer 25 is arranged with at least a portion overlapping at least a portion of the slit inner area SI enclosed by the slit S. In this example, the print background layers 25 have the same dimensions in the tape width direction and tape length direction as the slits S and the entirety of the print background layers 25 overlap slit inner areas SI within the corresponding slits S. In other words, the slits S overlap the print background layers 25 in a plan view.
Note that marks PM are provided on the release material layer 24 in intermediate parts between neighboring slits S. The marks PM are used for positioning control when the conveying roller 6 conveys the printing tape To. That is, the label-creating device 1 is provided with a well-known reflective optical sensor (not illustrated) having a light-emitting unit and a light-receiving unit. During the positioning control, the optical sensor emits light from the light-emitting unit while the light-receiving unit receives light reflected off the release material layer 24. At this time, the marks PM on the release material layer 24 are detected based on the difference in the amount of light received between portions of the release material layer 24 on which the marks PM are provided and all other portions, and the printing tape To is positioned based on these detections.
According to the structure of the release material layer 24 described above, the rectangular slits S are juxtaposed on the printing tapes To and T along the up-down direction, and a print background layer 25 is positioned in each slit inner area SI surrounded by a slit S. A printed image R is formed in the print background layer 25 in each of the print labels L. The printed images R are print objects respectively configured of the text “A01,” “A02,” “A03,” and the like in this example. The term “slit” in this specification denotes a cut penetrating the target layer in the thickness direction (the same applies hereafter). A configuration in which the target layer is partially cut in the thickness direction (the cut enters a fixed amount in the thickness direction) may be used in place of these slits (the same applies hereafter).
<Separating Print Labels by Peeling>
With the printing tapes To and T described above, first the excess label portion LB is separated from the main label parts Lo and the release material layer 24 (see
<Description of the Slits>
As described above, each slit S has a square shape. More specifically, as shown in
In accordance with the structure of the slit S, the print background layer 25 is formed in a square shape having a side 25a (corresponding to the ninth side, and corresponding to the side Sa of the slit S), a side 25b (corresponding to the tenth side, and corresponding to the side Sb of the slit S), a side 25c (corresponding to the eleventh side, and corresponding to the side Sc of the slit S), and a side 25d of the slit S (corresponding to the twelfth side, and corresponding to the side Sd of the slit S).
In accordance with the above configuration, the main label part Lo is formed in a square shape with opposing sides configured of a side La (corresponding to the fifth side) and a side Lb (corresponding to the sixth side), and opposing sides configured of a side Lc (corresponding to the seventh side) and a side Ld (corresponding to the eighth side). The side Lc and side Ld are parallel to the side Sc and side Sd of the slit S and within proximity (a distance within 3 mm, for example) of the same respectively. As described above, the excess label portion LB is connected to the sides Lc and Ld and sides La and Lb of each main label part Lo via half-cuts HC configured of perforations. However, between the sides Lc and Ld of the main label part Lo and the excess label portion LB only, the perforated half-cuts HC may be replaced with slits similar to the slits S described above. In this case, the printing tape To must be provided with the excess label portion LB to prevent the main label parts Lo or print labels L from flapping or peeling off the printing tape To while being conveyed through the label-creating device 1 in the tape length direction.
Note that the print background layer 25 may be smaller than the slit inner area SI enclosed by the slit S. More specifically, the side Sc of the slit S may be offset toward the side Ld of the main label part Lo rather than the side Lc of the main label part Lo, and side Sd of the slit S may be offset toward the side Lc of the main label part Lo rather than the side Ld of the main label part Lo.
<Dimensional Relationships among Main Label Parts and Slits>
In the present embodiment, the side La of the main label part Lo is on the side closer to the side Sa than the side Sb of the slit S, and the side Lb of the main label part Lo is on the side closer to the side Sb than the side Sa of the slit S, as illustrated in
Additionally, the shortest distance b′ between the side Sa of the slit S and the side La of the main label part Lo is greater than the shortest distance c′ between the side Sb of the slit S and the side Lb of the main label part Lo. Further, the shortest distance a′ between the side Sa and side Sb of the slit S is between one and three times the shortest distance b′.
In the present embodiment, the side La of the main label part Lo is on the side closer to the side 25a than the side 25b of the print background layer 25, and the side Lb of the main label part Lo is on the side closer to the side 25b than the side 25a of the print background layer 25, as illustrated in
Additionally, the shortest distance b between the side 25a of the print background layer 25 and the side La of the main label part Lo is greater than the shortest distance c between the side 25b of the print background layer 25 and the side Lb of the main label part Lo. Further, the shortest distance a between the side 25a and side 25b of the print background layer 25 is between one and three times the shortest distance b.
<Print Label>
Next, the structure of the print label L generated as described above will be described with reference to
As with the printing tape T described earlier, the print label L shown in
In the adhesive area D1, the base layer 21 and adhesive layer 22 are layered in order from the second side toward the first side of the thickness direction (from the left side to the right side in
In the non-adhesive area D23, the print background layer 25 provided with the printed image R, the base layer 21, the adhesive layer 22, and the release material layer 24 are layered in order from the second side toward the first side of the thickness direction (from the left side to the right side in
In the adhesive area D4, the base layer 21 and adhesive layer 22 are layered in order from the second side toward the first side of the thickness direction (from the left side to the right side in
The entire surface of the print label L on the second side of the thickness direction corresponds to the front surface in the claims, and the entire surface of the print label L on the first side of the thickness direction corresponds to the back surface of the claims.
<Procedure for Attaching a Print Label to an Object>
As shown in
Next, the cable 302 is placed on the inside of the concave-shaped print label L, and the print label L is wrapped once around the cable 302 to form a cylindrical body encircling the cable 302, as shown in
Thereafter, the remaining portion of the adhesive area D4 that was not used in the structure encircling the cable 302 is wrapped in the direction of the arrow G indicated in
<Sample Application For the Print Label>
In the example of the drawing, plates PL indicating the ID names “A01” through “A08” are provided in sequence from the left to correspond to the eight slots 301 in the top row, and plates PL indicating the ID names “A09” through “A16” are provided in sequence from the left to correspond to the eight slots 301 in the bottom row.
The cable 302 must be appropriately connected to the corresponding slot 301. To facilitate connections, the print label L described above is mounted on the end of each cable 302 that is to be inserted into one of the slots 301, and the printed image R formed on each print label L has the same content as the ID name for the slot 301 to which the cable 302 is to be connected. In other words, a print label L printed with the same text as the ID name on the plate PL of the slot 301 to which the cable 302 is to be connected is affixed to the cable 302. This clarifies the correlations between slots 301 and cables 302 that are to be connected to the slots 301, thereby preventing incorrect wiring.
<Effects of the Embodiment>
In the present embodiment described above, when the release material layer 24 is peeled off the main label part Lo as described with reference to
By using a portion of the release material layer 24 to suppress adhesion according to the structure described above, this structure does not degrade due to stress incurred while being wrapped around the object, changes in ambient conditions, or aging, as occurs in the conventional method of coating the adhesive layer 22 with varnish or other non-adhesive material. Thus, the adhesive layer 22 does not become exposed and does not impede rotation.
If the release material layer 24 were transparent and all other portions of the print label L were also transparent, the contents of the printed image R formed by the label-creating device 1 could be difficult to see depending on the color of the cable 302. The print label L in the present embodiment can suppress such adverse effects by using an opaque release material layer 24 having a composition that includes paper or colored film or fabric or metal.
A particular feature of the present embodiment is that the excess label portion LB is connected to the sides Lc and Ld of the main label part Lo (the print label L) through the perforated half-cuts HC. This configuration can suppress the main label part Lo (the print label L) from peeling off the release material layer 24 while being conveyed through the label-creating device 1 better than if the main label part Lo (the print label L) were fixed to the release material layer 24 without the excess label portion LB.
Another feature of the present embodiment is that a nontransparent release material layer 24 can be achieved by configuring the release material layer 24 of a composition that includes paper or colored film or fabric or metal.
<Variations>
The present disclosure is not limited to the embodiment described above but may be modified in various ways without departing from the spirit and technical concepts thereof. Such variations will be described below. In each of the following variations, parts equivalent to those in the present embodiment will be designated with the same reference numerals, and duplicate descriptions will be omitted or simplified as appropriate.
(1) Aligning the Longitudinal Direction of the Label With the Tape Length Direction
<Printing Tape>
As shown in
In this variation, the main label parts Lo or print labels L are arranged such that their longitudinal directions are aligned with the tape length direction of the printing tapes To and T. That is, a plurality of the slits S are provided in the release material layer 24 along the tape length direction, and a plurality of main label parts Lo or print labels L are fixed to the release material layer 24 along the tape length direction. The release material layer 24 is elongated in the tape length direction, which is parallel to the side Sc (described later) of each of the plurality of slits S. A plurality of sets that each comprise one slit S and one corresponding main label part Lo (print label L) is juxtaposed along this length direction.
Each main label part Lo has a length Wb in the tape width direction and three areas: the adhesive area D1, non-adhesive area D23, and adhesive area D4. The printing tapes To and T have a length Ws in the tape width direction that is greater than the length Wb of the main label part Lo in the tape width direction. As in the present embodiment described above, rectangular-shaped (square-shaped) slits S are provided in the release material layer 24, and the print background layers 25 are arranged so that at least a portion of each print background layer 25 overlaps at least a portion of the slit inner area SI enclosed by the corresponding slit S. In this example, the slits S overlap the print background layers 25 in a plan view. Further, as in the present embodiment, marks PM are provided on the release material layer 24 for positioning control when the printing tape To is conveyed. Each mark PM is provided in an intermediate part between two neighboring slits S, S (but in a plan view are positioned inside the main label part Lo or print label L, as illustrated in
As in the present embodiment described above, with the printing tapes To and T of this variation, first the excess label portion LB is separated from the main label parts Lo and the release material layer 24 (see
As in the present embodiment described above, each slit S has opposing sides configured of a side Sa (corresponding to the first side) and a side Sb (corresponding to the second side) and opposing sides configured of a side Sc (corresponding to the third side) and a side Sd (corresponding to the fourth side), as illustrated in
In this variation, the dimensional relationship among the main label parts and the slits and the structure of the print label L that is produced are similar to those in the embodiment and, hence, a description will not be repeated here.
The present variation can obtain the same effects described in the present embodiment.
In the structures of the present embodiment described above and the variation (1) thereof, a plurality of sets, each comprising one slit S and one corresponding main label part Lo (print label L), is provided on the release material layer 24. The sets are arranged discretely on the release material layer 24 at intervals in the tape length direction (with the excess label portion LB present between sets), but variation (1) is not limited to this configuration. That is, sets of slits S and main label parts Lo (print labels L) may be arranged adjacent to each other (with no gaps therebetween) on the release material layer 24. This structure can also obtain the same effects described above.
As illustrated in
(2) Using Tape of the Continuous Length Type
In this variation, a printing tape To without the half-cuts HC described above (known as a continuous length type) is wound into the tape roll 10A and accommodated in the tape cartridge 10.
As described above, the printing tapes To and T include an opaque release material layer 24 (corresponding to the release material layer), a transparent adhesive layer 22 (corresponding to the adhesive layer), and a transparent base layer 21 having compositions that include paper or colored film or fabric or metal, as shown in
As described above, the adhesive layer 22 may be provided in part, rather than over the entire surface, on the back side of the base layer 21, i.e., between the base layer 21 and release material layer 24. A print background layer 25 (corresponding to the printing layer) is also partially provided on the front-side (the top in
A plurality of slits is provided in the release material layer 24. The slits extend linearly in the tape length direction (corresponding to the first direction) from one short side of the rectangular release material layer 24 (the bottom in
Here, the print background layer 25 is disposed so that at least a portion of the print background layer 25 overlaps at least a portion of the inter-slit area AR enclosed by the slits S1 and S2. The dimension of the print background layer 25 in the tape width direction is equal to or smaller than the same dimension of the inter-slit area AR. In this example, the print background layer 25 and the inter-slit area AR have the same length in the tape width direction, and the entirety of the print background layer 25 overlaps the inter-slit area AR. In other words, the inter-slit area AR overlaps the print background layer 25 in a plan view. In this example, the printed images R formed on the print background layer 25 of the printing tape T comprise print objects including the text “A01,” “A02,” “A03,” . . . . The base layer 21, adhesive layer 22, and print background layer 25 correspond to the print label layer in the claims.
As shown in
Further, the one edge 21a on the one side of the base layer 21 is on the side closer to the edge 25A than the edge 25B of the print background layer 25, and the other edge 21b on the other side of the base layer 21 is on the side closer to the edge 25B than the edge 25A of the print background layer 25. Further, the shortest distance b between the edge 25A of the print background layer 25 and the one edge 21a on the one side of the base layer 21 is greater than the shortest distance c between the edge 25B of the print background layer 25 and the other edge 21b on the other side of the base layer 21, and the shortest distance a between the edge 25A and edge 25B of the print background layer 25 is between one and three times the shortest distance b between the edge 25A of the print background layer 25 and the one edge 21a on the one side of the base layer 21.
As described earlier, the layered structure for the printing tapes To and T described above has three regions, i.e., the adhesive area D1, the non-adhesive area D23 provided adjacent to the adhesive area D1 and corresponding to the print background layer 25, and the adhesive area D4 provided adjacent to the non-adhesive area D23. By cutting the printing tape T with the cutter 9 after the printing tape T has been printed, the label-creating device 1 can obtain a print label L having the width Wb1 in the tape length direction (depicted with two-dot chain lines in
(3) Other Variations
When dimensions and sizes are described as being “identical,” “equivalent,” “different,” and the like in appearance in the above description, these terms are not intended to be taken in their strictest sense. In other words, the terms “identical,” equivalent,” and different” may signify “substantially identical,” “substantially equivalent,” and “substantially different” to allow for design and manufacturing tolerances and error.
The arrows shown in
In addition to what has already been described, the methods according to the present embodiment and its variations may be used in suitable combinations.
In addition, although not illustrated individually, the present disclosure may be implemented with various modifications without departing from the spirit of the disclosure.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2018-184809 | Sep 2018 | JP | national |
This application is a by-pass continuation-in-part application of International Application No. PCT/JP2019/033465 filed Aug. 27, 2019 claiming priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2018-184809 filed Sep. 28, 2018. The entire contents of the international application and the priority application are incorporated herein by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | PCT/JP2019/033465 | Aug 2019 | US |
Child | 17213565 | US |