Tag label producing apparatus

• US 8,020,774 B2
• Filed: 12/20/2006
• Issued: 09/20/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Brother Industries Limited)
• Original Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Brother Industries Limited)
• Inventors: Maeda, Yoshinori, Yamaguchi, Koshiro, Ohashi, Tsuyoshi, Nagai, Takuya, Moriyama, Satoru
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee; Michael G
• Assistant Examiner(s): CHEDEKEL, TABITHA F
• Application Number:
  US12/086,842
• Publication Number:
  US 20090041527A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,735 Days
• Field of Search: 235/492, 340/572.1, 400/76, 400/248, 400/120.16, 400/615.2, 156/264, 156/256, 156/378, 156/277, 156/220, 156/248, 156/267
• US Class Current: 235/492
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 3/4075 Tape printers; Label printers
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 3/44 Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms having dual functions or combined with, or coupled to, apparatus performing other functions
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10336 the antenna being of the near field type, inductive coil

Abstract

This disclosure discloses a tag label producing apparatus comprises a feeding device that feeds a tag medium including an RFID circuit element having an IC circuit part configured to store information and a tag antenna configured to transmit/receive information, a communication device that transmits and receives information via a wireless communication to and from the RFID circuit element provided in the tag medium; and a communication facilitation processing portion that executes predetermined facilitation processing related to a communication during the wireless communication based on the communication device.

Claims

1. A tag label producing apparatus comprising:

a feeding device that feeds a tag medium including an RFID circuit element having an IC circuit part configured to store information and a tag antenna configured to transmit and receive information;

a communication device that transmits and receives information via a wireless communication to and from said RFID circuit element provided in said tag medium; and

a communication facilitation processing portion that executes predetermined facilitation processing related to a communication during said wireless communication based on said communication device, wherein

said tag medium comprises a tape-shaped or sheet-shaped second tag medium,

said feeding device feeds either said second tag medium, wherein said RFID circuit element is disposed, or a print-receiving medium, which is to be bonded to the second tag medium, and

said tag label producing apparatus further comprises a printing device that performs a printing in a predetermined print area of said second tag medium or of said print receiving medium during the feeding by said feeding device, and wherein,

said communication facilitation processing portion is a predicting portion that predicts whether or not a transmission/reception of information will be permitted based on the corresponding operation status of said printing device, before said communication device performs said transmission/reception of information, and

said communication device performs said transmission/reception of information with said RFID circuit element in a non-contact manner during the feeding by said feeding device, in accordance with the prediction result of said predicting portion, and

said predicting portion includes a printing power calculating portion that calculates the power consumption required for printing said predetermined print area using said printing device, and a communication condition setting portion that sets conditions for said transmission/reception of information in accordance with a calculation result of said printing power calculating portion.

2. The tag label producing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

said predicting portion further includes communication permitted time detecting portion that detects a transmission/reception permitted timing and a transmission/reception permitted time period for said communication device, based on the power consumption calculated by said printing power calculating portion; and

said communication condition setting portion sets conditions for said transmission/reception of information in accordance with said transmission/reception permitted timing and said transmission/reception permitted time period detected by said communication permitted time detecting portion.

3. The tag label producing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein:

said communication permitted time detecting portion detects said transmission/reception permitted timing and said transmission/reception permitted time period based on whether the power consumption calculated by said printing power calculating portion is lower than a predetermined threshold value.

4. The tag label producing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein:

said conditions for the transmission/reception of information includes a transmission/reception timing and a transmission/reception time period, and

said communication condition setting portion sets at least said transmission/reception timing and said transmission/reception time period.

5. The tag label producing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein:

said conditions for the transmission/reception of information further includes a feeding speed of said feeding device, the presence of deceleration or stopping of the feeding speed and the decelerated or stopped time period, a transmission/reception retry count, or the presence of a transmission/reception data division and the amount of transmission/reception data the division, and

said communication condition setting portion further sets at least said feeding speed, the presence of said deceleration or said stopping and the decelerated or stopped time period, said transmission/reception retry count, or the presence of said transmission/reception data division and the amount of transmission/reception data after the division.

6. The tag label producing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein:

said communication condition setting portion sets the presence of a deceleration or a stopping by said feeding device during the transmission/reception of information in accordance with said transmission/reception time period set and, in a case where said feeding device is set to decelerate or stop, sets a deceleration time period or a stopped time period.

7. The tag label producing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein:

said communication condition setting portion sets said transmission/reception retry count during the transmission/reception of information in accordance with said transmission/reception permitted timing and said transmission/reception permitted time period detected by said communication permitted time detecting portion.

8. The tag label producing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

said printing power calculating portion calculates a distribution of said power consumption in at least a communication permitted range with respect to said printing area prior to a start of the printing by said printing device; and

said communication condition setting portion sets the conditions for the transmission/reception of information of said communication device in accordance with the power consumption distribution calculated by said printing power calculating portion.

9. The tag label producing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

said printing power calculating portion calculates the distribution of said power consumption per small area of said print area divided into a predetermined quantity before or after the start of printing by said printing device; and

said communication condition setting portion sets the conditions for the transmission/reception of information of said communication device in accordance with the power consumption distribution calculated by said printing power calculating portion.

10. The tag label producing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a determining device that determines whether or not a condition for a transmission/reception of information that enables normal production of a tag label can be set.

11. The tag label producing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

said printing device is a thermal head having a heating element configured to generate a heat when a current is applied.