Printer for wrapping material

Details Printer for wrapping material Printer for wrapping material

2001-02-23

2004-01-13

Meier, Stephen D. (Department: 2853)

Incremental printing of symbolic information

Ink jet

Medium and processing means

Reexamination Certificate

active

06676256

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printer for recording data on the surface of a wrapping material, and particularly to a printer for a wrapping material for recording, on a transparent wrap film used for wrapping foods or the like, time data such as the date and time when wrapping is carried out.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hitherto, in ordinary homes a refrigerator has been mainly used for storing foods. Particularly in recent years, a refrigerator has been made large-sized and its performance has been improved. Moreover, various functions have been given thereto. In general, food is wrapped with a wrap film superior in gas-barrier property and stored in a refrigerator to refrigeration-preserve or freezing-preserve the food. In combination with improvement in performance of refrigerators and enlargement in functions thereof, a large number of foods have been stored for a longer period.
However, when a large number of foods are stored in a refrigerator, it is difficult to memorize the preservation period of each of the foods. As a result, inconveniences as follows arise: the appreciation periods of some foods stored in the refrigerator have passed, or some foods have gone bad. Thus, in many cases, the foods have become uneatable.
Thus, in order to solve these problems, suggested are measures that a person records the date when a food is put into a refrigerator on the surface of a wrapping material, such as a wrap film, with which the person wraps the food, using a pen with an oil-based ink, or the like. In the measures, however, it is necessary that the person prepares the pen, checks the date on a calendar or the like, and manually records the date and so on one by one. There arise problems that these conducts may be troublesome for the person and cannot be repeatedly carried out. The odor of the oil-based ink in the pen transfers the food. This is unfavorable for food hygiene.
To solve the problems, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publications JP-A 5-149670 (1993) and JP-A 11-170625 (1999) disclose the prior art wherein the date is printed onto a label and the label is attached onto a wrap film with which a food is wrapped. In the prior art disclosed in JP-A 5-149670, correct preservation date and time of a food are recognized by setting up a printing section in which date data and time data can be printed to a storing room for storing foods, making a label on which the date and time when a food is preserved and other data, and attaching this label onto the wrapping material or the container of the food. JP-A 11-170625 discloses a printer that can be afterward mounted on a refrigerator or the like. In a way similar to the above-mentioned prior art, it is possible to attach a label onto the wrapping material and check the preservation date and time thereof. Since the printer has a memory, it is also possible to make a database of stored foods.
However, in such prior art that a label is attached, there remains a problem that sufficient function cannot be exhibited unless a user consciously recognizes that a food is being preserved. That is, when a user preserves a food in the above-mentioned prior art, the following three steps are at least necessary: (1) the step of wrapping the food with a warp film to preserve the food; (2) the step of printing data such as the date on a label; and (3) the step of attaching the label on which the printing has been carried out onto the wrap film or the container for the food. Accordingly, in the case where the user stores a food in a refrigerator in the state that the user forgets that a label is attached onto the food, the steps (2) and (3) are not carried out at all. Thus, date-recognizing function is not sufficiently exhibited.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In light of the problems, a main object of the invention is to provide a printer for a wrapping material, capable of recording the preservation date and time of a food onto a wrapping material, such as a wrap film, to check the date when the food was stored in a refrigerator by the step (1) of wrapping an article, such as a food, with the wrapping material, the step (1) being a routine step, without undergoing the three steps (1)-(3) nor substantial self-awareness of a user.
Another object of the invention is to provide a printer for a wrapping material, capable of recording time data at a position which is highly visible for a user when an article is wrapped.
The invention provides a printer for a wrapping material comprising wrapping material storing means for storing a wrapping material for wrapping an article, clock means for measuring time to generate time data, and output means for recording the time data on a surface of the wrapping material,
wherein when the wrapping material is discharged from the wrapping material storing means, the output means records the time data on the surface of the wrapping material.
According to the invention, time is measured by the clock means when the wrapping material is discharged from the wrapping material storing means. The generated time data is recorded on the surface of the wrapping material by the output means. Therefore, when a user wraps the article with the wrapping material, it is possible to remove such troublesome conducts as recording time data with a pen with an oil-based ink and attaching a label on which time data is recorded. Furthermore, even if the user forgets recording of any time data, time data such as the date and time when the article is wrapped are certainly recorded on the wrapping material. Thus, the user does not know the date and time when the article was wrapped.
In the invention, it is preferable that the wrapping material is wound around a tubular core, and
the wrapping material storing means is provided with a supporting shaft for supporting the wrapping material wound around the core axially and rotatably, and a cutting blade section for cutting the wrapping material discharged from the wrapping material storing means by rotation of the core.
According to the invention, in the state that the wrapping material is wound around the tubular core the wrapping material is axially and rotatably supported by the supporting shaft in the wrapping material storing means. When the article is wrapped, a user rotates the core and pulls out the wrapping material having a necessary length to cut the wrapping material with the cutting blade section. Therefore, the user uses only the wrapping material having the necessary length so that the user can wrap the article.
In the invention, it is preferable that a power source section is stored in the core for winding the wrapping material.
According to the invention, a space can be saved by the volume of the power source section and the whole of the present apparatus can be made small since the power source section is stored in the core for winding the wrapping material.
In the invention, it is preferable that the output means is ink-jet recording means for jetting an ink on the surface of the wrapping material to record the time data thereon.
According to the invention, high quality recording can be realized since the time data is recorded by the ink-jet recording means for jetting the ink on the surface of the wrapping material.
In the invention, it is preferable that the ink used in the ink-jet recording means is an edible ink.
According to the invention, the edible ink is used to record the time data; therefore, safety is further improved, particularly in the case where the article to be wrapped is food.
In the invention, it is preferable that the ink-jet recording means records the time data on the surface of the wrapping material, using at least two color inks for a background color and a character color.
According to the invention, at least two color inks for the background color and the character color are used to record the time data; therefore, the time data can be more easily recognized by arranging a background recorded in the background color around the time data recorded in the character color, particularl

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