Patent Publication Number: US-6705784-B2

Title: Tape printing apparatus

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a tape printing apparatus for printing on a tape material in the form of a laminate of a printing tape and a peel-off paper, and more particularly to a tape printing apparatus for printing on a tape material in the form of a laminate of a printing tape and a peel-off paper, which is equipped with tape strip-discharging means for forcibly discharging a printed tape strip having been cut off, out of the apparatus. 
     2. Prior Art 
     Conventionally, there has been proposed a tape printing apparatus that carries out printing while feeding a tape material in the form of a laminate of a printing tape and a peel-off paper, provides a half-cut portion in the printed portion of the tape material so as to facilitate the peeling of the peel-off paper, and fully cuts the printed portion of the tape material to a predetermined length, thereby producing a label element. The conventional tape printing apparatus has a full-cutting means arranged at a location downstream of a printing means, such a print head, in a tape-feeding direction, a half-cutting means arranged at a location downstream of the full-cutting means, and a tape exit formed at a location further downstream of the half-cutting means (Japanese Laid-Open Utility Model Publication (Kokai) No. 5-20893). 
     As described above, the half-cutting means is located between the full-cutting means and the half-cutting means, and this increases the distance between the full-cutting means and the half-cutting means. Therefore, the tape strip cut off becomes difficult to fall out of the apparatus by its gravity, which can cause the problem of jamming and double cutting of the tape. 
     Further, the apparatus is configured such that the tape strip cut off is allowed to fall freely from the tape exit. To this end, the tape exit is formed such that it widens toward the outside so as to allow the cut tape strip to be smoothly discharged from the apparatus. 
     The conventional tape printing apparatus causes the cut tape strip to be discharged from the apparatus by free fall thereof, and hence so long as the tape strip is long, it can be discharged without difficulty, but if the same is short, it may remain within the apparatus e.g. due to the act of static electricity. This also causes the problem of jamming and double cutting of the tape strip. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an object of the invention to provide a tape printing apparatus which is capable of positively discharging a cut tape strip out of the apparatus by forcibly discharging the same, thereby preventing jamming and double cutting of the tape. 
     To attain the above object, the invention provides a tape printing apparatus a tape printing apparatus comprising: 
     tape feeding means for feeding a tape material in the form of a laminate of a printing tape and a peel-off paper; 
     printing means for printing on the tape material being fed by the tape feeding means; 
     full-cutting means arranged at a location downstream of the printing means in a tape-feeding direction, for cutting off the tape material; 
     a tape exit for discharging a printed tape strip of the tape material cut off by the full-cutting means; and 
     tape strip-discharging means for being brought into sliding rotational contact with the tape strip cut off by the full-cutting means, to thereby forcibly discharge the tape strip out of the tape printing apparatus via the tape exit. 
     This tape printing apparatus is equipped with the tape strip-discharging means for forcibly discharging the printed strip of the tape material cut off by the full-cutting means, out of the apparatus via the tape exit. Therefore, the cut-off strip of the tape material can be positively discharged out of the apparatus, thereby preventing the jamming and double cutting of the printed strip. 
     Preferably, the tape printing apparatus further includes half-cutting means for cutting off one of the printing tape and the peel-off tape of the tape material. 
     More preferably, the half-cutting means is arranged at a location downstream of the printing means in the tape-feeding direction, and the tape strip-discharging means is arranged at a location downstream of the half-cutting means in the tape-feeding direction. 
     According to this preferred embodiment, the distance between the print head and the full-cutting means can be minimized, so that a leading cutting margin of a tape material strip to be printed next can be minimized, enabling reduction of waste of the tape. 
     Preferably, the tape printing apparatus further includes a operation-synchronizing mechanism for synchronizing a cutting operation of the full-cutting means and a discharging operation of the tape strip-discharging means. 
     According to this preferred embodiment, the operation of the tape strip-discharging means is synchronized with the operation of the full-cutting means such that the tape discharging operation is carried out only when the full-cutting means performs full-cutting operation. Therefore, a tensile force is not applied to the tape material during printing or half-cutting, thereby preventing the tape strip-discharging means from exerting adverse influence on the printing and half-cutting. 
     Preferably, the tape printing apparatus further includes control means for causing the half-cutting means to carry out a cutting operation in precedence of the full-cutting means. 
     According to this preferred embodiment, the tape printing apparatus is capable of carrying out half-cutting desired times before the full-cutting means cuts off the tape material. This makes it possible to obtain a label element having a desired number of half-cut portions of the printed strip. 
     Preferably, the half-cutting means includes a half cutter that moves in a direction of a width of the tape material to perform a cutting operation, and moves away from the tape printing material when the half cutter does not perform the cutting operation, the half-cutter being covered by a cutter cover when the half-cutter does not perform the cutting operation. 
     According to this preferred embodiment, the half-cutting means moves in the direction of the width of the tape material to perform the cutting operation. In other words, it cuts off the tape material by its sliding motion, so that the cutting of the tape material can be effected with a much smaller force compared with a case in which the cutting is carried out by the force-cutting method, which makes it possible to attain the energy saving, downsizing of the construction of the apparatus, and reliable cutting. Further, the half cutter is away from the tape material when it does not perform the half-cutting, and hence does not obstruct the feeding of the tape material for printing, or mounting and removal of the tape material. 
     Preferably, the half-cutting means has a tape reception plate opposed to the half cutter with the tape material interposed therebetween, for receiving the tape printing material, and the tape reception plate is formed with a cut-away portion for allowing the tape strip-discharging means to be brought into the sliding rotational contact with the tape strip. 
     According to this preferred embodiment, the tape strip-discharging means is configured such that it bites into the cut-away portion formed in the tape reception plate, so that the distance between the half-cutting means and the tape strip-discharging means can be reduced. This makes it possible to reduce the width of a leading discharging margin of the tape material, to thereby reduce waste of the tape material. 
     Preferably, the tape strip-discharging means is brought into the sliding rotational contact with a peel-off paper side of the tape material, for discharging the tape strip. 
     According to this preferred embodiment, by arranging the tape strip-discharging means on a peel-off paper side, the printed strip of the tape material can be easily discharged along the acquired curling of the tape material, and further neither stains nor hurts the printed surface since the tape strip-discharging means does not hit the printing tape of the tape material. 
     Preferably, the tape strip-discharging means includes a discharge roller opposed to a tape-discharging passage leading to sad tape exit, for being brought into the sliding rotational contact with the tape strip, for flicking the tape strip out of the tape printing apparatus, a roller shaft for rotatably supporting the discharge roller, a motor for rotating the discharge roller, and a driving force-transmitting mechanism interposed between the discharge roller and the motor. 
     According to this preferred embodiment, when the motor rotates, the discharge roller is driven via the driving force-transmitting mechanism. The discharge roller is brought into the sliding rotational contact with the tape strip to flick the same out of the apparatus by frictional force to thereby forcibly discharge the tape strip. Thus, the discharge roller is brought into sliding contact (sliding rotational contact) with the tape strip, so that the tape strip can be positively flicked out. 
     Preferably the discharge roller includes a roller body, and a plurality of sliding contact pieces extending from the roller body, and expand outward by a centrifugal force generated by rotation of thereof. 
     According to this preferred embodiment, the sliding contact pieces are expanded as they rotate about the roller body, so that when they do not rotate, i.e. when the tape material is being fed before being cut, the discharge roller does not interfere with the feeding of the tape. Further, through the sliding contact of the plurality of sliding contact strips, the frictional force can be intermittently applied to the tape strip, whereby the tape strip can be efficiently flicked out. 
     Preferably, each of the sliding pieces comprises a flexible piece portion extending from the roller body, and a sliding-contact poise portion continuing from the flexible piece portion, the sliding-contact poise portion protrudes toward the tape material with respect to the flexible piece portion. 
     According to this preferred embodiment, as the discharge roller rotates, the only the sliding contact poise portions are brought into rotational contact with the tape strip, thereby intensively applying the frictional force to the tape strip. This makes it possible to further efficiently flick out the tape strip. 
     Preferably, at least the sliding-contact poise portion of the roller body, the flexible piece portion and the sliding-contact poise portion is formed by a rubber. 
     According to this preferred embodiment, by using a rubber for the sliding-contact poise portions which are brought into direct sliding contact with the tape strip, it is possible to apply sufficient driving force to the tape strip for discharge thereof. 
     Preferably, the sliding-contact poise portion has a chamfered backward corner portion at an outer peripheral end thereof in a direction of rotation of the roller body. 
     According to this preferred embodiment, when the tape material is being fed, the sliding-contact poise portions do not protrude into the tape-discharging path, so that it does not obstruct the feeding of the tape, but allows the same to be fed smoothly. 
     Preferably, the tape printing apparatus further includes a discharge sub-roller which is arranged in a manner opposed to the discharge roller in parallel therewith with the tape strip being discharged, interposed therebetween, and is capable of free rotation. 
     According to this preferred embodiment, the discharge sub-roller can minimize the braking frictional force which would be received by the surface of the tape strip on a side remote from the discharge roller. Therefore, the tape strip can be smoothly discharged. 
     Preferably, the discharge sub-roller has a constriction portion facing toward opposed ones of the sliding-contact portions of the discharge roller. 
     According to this preferred embodiment, the tape strip receiving the discharging force created by the rotation of the discharge roller is at the same time urged against the protruding portions on both sides of the constriction portion. This causes the tape strip to be guided at the two locations in the direction of the width of the tape strip, so that the tape strip can be flicked out straightforward. 
     Preferably, the tape printing apparatus includes an apparatus frame, and the roller shaft is supported on the apparatus frame in a cantilever manner. 
     According to this preferred embodiment, the discharge roller can be easily arranged in a narrow space. Further, the resilient properties of the roller shaft can be utilized, and the sliding contact pieces can be stably brought into contact with the tape strip without undue stress. 
     Preferably the motor also serves a drive source for the full-cutting means, and causes the discharge roller to rotate in synchronisms with a cutting operation of the full-cutting means. 
     By the way, when a tape material having a different tape width is cut, it takes different time for a scissors-type cutter or slide-type cutter to completely cut off the tape material, depending on the width of the tape. According to this preferred embodiment, the discharge roller is rotated simply in synchronism with the cutting operation of the cutter, so that even a tape material having a different width can be discharged simultaneously when the tape material is cut off, and further the control system need not be made complicated. Further, since the motor serves both the drive forces for the full-cutting means and the discharge roller, the number of components can be reduced and at the same time, the space can be saved. 
     Preferably, the tape printing apparatus further includes a pair of discharge guide plates arranged adjacent to the tape strip-discharging means, for guiding the tape strip to the tape exit, and one of the pair of discharge guide plates toward the discharge roller is formed with a cut-away portion for allowing the discharge roller to be brought into the rotational sliding contact with the tape strip. 
     According to this preferred embodiment, the pair of discharge guide plates can effectively prevent the tape strip from being deviated from the tape-discharging path between the cutter and the tape exit. Further, even if the tape strip has a residual tendency of curling, it can be smoothly guided to the tape exit. 
     Preferably, another of the pair of discharge guide plates has the discharge sub-roller being rotatably mounted thereon. 
     According to this preferred embodiment, the discharge sub-roller can be properly arranged, and at the same time, it is possible to prevent the number of components from being increased. 
     Preferably, at least one of the pair of discharge guide plates has an inner surface formed with a plurality of projections extending in parallel with each other in a tape-discharging direction. 
     According to this preferred embodiment, it is possible to reduce the braking frictional force produced between the discharge guide plates and the tape strip. Particularly, this is effective when the tape has a tendency of curling. 
     Preferably, the plurality of projections correspond to respective lower end positions of tape strips having different tape widths. 
     According to this preferred embodiment, even when any of predetermined tape strips having different widths is used, it is possible to reduce the braking frictional produced caused by the discharge guide plates. 
     The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 a plan view showing an appearance of a tape printing apparatus according an embodiment of the invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an appearance of the FIG. 1 tape printing apparatus with a display thereof being open; 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an appearance of the FIG. 1 tape printing apparatus with a lid thereof open: 
     FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view of the main internal construction of the FIG. 1 tape printing apparatus; 
     FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing a top view of a tape cartridge in a state mounted in the tape printing apparatus; 
     FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a mounting frame of a half-cutting means; 
     FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a full-cutting means and a tape strip-discharging means; 
     FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the positional relationship between the tape strip-discharging means, the half-cutting means, the full-cutting means and the tape cartridge; 
     FIG. 9 is a diagram useful in explaining the construction of a cutter-actuating mechanism of the half-cutting means; 
     FIG. 10 is a diagram useful in explaining the construction of the cutter-actuating mechanism of the half-cutting means; 
     FIG. 11 is a diagram useful in explaining the construction of the cutter-actuating mechanism of the half-cutting means; 
     FIG. 12 is a diagram useful in explaining the construction of the cutter-actuating mechanism of the half-cutting means; 
     FIG. 13 a perspective view of a tape reception plate; 
     FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing the positional relationship between the tape strip-discharging means, the half-cutting means, the full-cutting means, the cutter-actuating mechanism, and the tape cartridge; 
     FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing the positional relationship between a tape-retaining member, a positioning member, a guide shaft, and a cutter holder; 
     FIG. 16 is a perspective view showing the positional relationship between the tape-retaining member, the positioning member, a support block, and a pivotal member; 
     FIG. 17 is a diagram useful in explaining the construction of a cutter cover; 
     FIG. 18 is a diagram useful in explaining the construction of the positioning member; 
     FIG. 19 is a diagram useful in explaining the construction of the cutter holder; 
     FIG. 20 is a diagram useful in explaining the construction of the cutter holder; 
     FIG. 21 is a diagram useful in explaining the construction of the cutter holder; 
     FIG. 22 is a diagram useful in explaining the arrangement of the cutter holder and a cutter blade; 
     FIG. 23 is a diagram useful in explaining the construction of the cutter holder; 
     FIG. 24 is a diagram useful in explaining the arrangement of the cutter-actuating mechanism of the half-cutting means; 
     FIG. 25 is a perspective view of a tape material; 
     FIG. 26 is a perspective view of essential elements of the half-cutting mechanism, the full-cutting mechanism, and the tape strip-discharging means including the tape cartridge; 
     FIG. 27 is a side view showing the tape strip-discharging means and the component parts associated therewith; 
     FIG. 28 is a plan view showing the tape strip-discharging means and the component parts associated therewith. 
     FIG. 29 is a block diagram showing the arrangement of the tape printing apparatus according to the embodiment; 
     FIGS. 30A to  30 F provide views which are useful in explaining a printing method carried out by the tape printing apparatus according to the embodiment; 
     FIG. 31 is a flowchart showing the printing method carried out by the tape printing apparatus according to the embodiment; 
     FIG. 32 is a flowchart showing a half-cutting control process executed by the tape printing apparatus according to the embodiment; 
     FIG. 33 is a flowchart showing the half-cutting control process executed by the tape printing apparatus according to the embodiment; and 
     FIG. 34 is a flowchart showing the half-cutting control process executed by the tape printing apparatus according to the embodiment. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     The invention will now be described in detail with reference to drawings showing a tape printing apparatus according to an embodiment thereof. The tape printing apparatus is capable of printing desired letters, figures, and the like on a peel-off paper-backed tape, and cutting off a printed portion of the tape to a predetermined length, to thereby produce a label. 
     FIG. 1 is a plan view of an appearance of the tape printing apparatus, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the appearance of the tape printing apparatus with a top cover thereof being open. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the appearance of the tape printing apparatus with a lid thereof being open. As shown in these figures, the tape printing apparatus  1  includes an apparatus body  100  having an apparatus casing  3  formed by upper and lower divisional portions, and a tape cartridge  200  removably loaded in the apparatus body  100 . There are provided a plurality of types of tape cartridges  200 . A tape material  210  which is a printing object is accommodated in the tape cartridge  200 . The apparatus body  100  has a lid  141  with a window, arranged in the top of the left-side rear portion thereof, and has the cartridge compartment  140  formed under the lid  141  for removably receiving the tape cartridge  200 . Further, arranged at a location adjacent to the lid  141  on the right side thereof is an operation button  8  for use in opening the lid  141 . 
     The apparatus body  100  has a shaping/cutting mechanism, not shown, incorporated in the top of the right-side rear portion thereof for trimming the corner portions of the tape material  210 , and at the corresponding portion of the apparatus casing  3  are formed a tape insertion guide  9  for inserting a printed and cut-off portion Aa of the tape material  210  into the shaping/cutting mechanism, and a tape insertion slit  10  extending continuously from the tape insertion guide  9 . Further, in the rear portion of the right-side surface of the apparatus body  100 , there are arranged a connector  11  for the power supply, and a connector  12  for connecting between the apparatus body  100  and a personal computer or the like. 
     The apparatus body  100  includes a side enclosure  101  arranged at a rear left-side location thereof, which is formed with a tape exit  110  for sending out a printed portion of the tape material  210  from the apparatus, and arranged between the tape exit  110  and the cartridge compartment  140  is a dripproof portion formed by causing portions of the apparatus casing  3  and the lid  141  to project upward for accommodating a full-cutting means  300  for effecting full-cutting of the tape material  210 , a half-cutting means  400  for effecting half-cutting of the tape material  210 , and a tape strip-discharging means  500  (see FIG.  1 : detailed description will be given hereinafter). In other words, a tape discharge path  18  also serving as the feed path of the tape material  210  is configured along an imaginary linear line extending from the cartridge compartment  140  through the full-cutting means  300 , the half-cutting means  400 , the tape strip-discharging means  500 , up to the tape exit  110 . 
     More specifically, the apparatus body  100  has a tape cartridge  200  removably mounted therein. Referring to FIG. 25, the tape material  210 , which is formed of a laminate of a printing tape  211  and a peel-off paper  212 , is accommodated within the tape cartridge  200  in the form of a roll (FIG. 25 shows printed and cut-off strips of the tape material  210 ). Further, the apparatus body  100  is provided with tape feed means which is comprised of a platen roller  220  and the like for feeding the tape material  210 , and printing means which prints on the printing tape  211  of the tape material  210  being fed or advanced. 
     Further, arranged at a location downstream of the printing means in the direction of feed of the tape material  210  is the full-cutting means  300  for cutting off a printed portion of the tape material  210 . The side enclosure  101  of the apparatus body  100  at a location downstream of the full-cutting means  300  in the direction of the feed of the tape material  210  is provided with the tape exit  110  for discharging a cut-off and separated strip of the tape material  210  from the apparatus, as described above. Further, the half-cutting means  400  is arranged between the tape exit  110  and the full-cutting means  300 , for cutting only one of the printing tape  211  and the peel-off paper  212 , and tape strip-discharging means  500  is arranged between the half-cutting means  400  and the tape exit  110 , for forcibly discharging the cut-off and separated strip of the tape material  210  from the tape exit  110 . It should be noted that in the present embodiment, description is given of a case in which only the printing tape  211  is cut by the half-cutting means  400 . 
     The apparatus body  100  has a front portion formed with a crescent-shaped indicator block  22  projecting upward therefrom. On the top of the indicator block  22  are arranged indicator lamps  23 , such as a power lump and a cutter lump. Further, backward of the indicator block  22  there are arranged a keyboard  120  and a large-sized top cover  25  for covering the keyboard  120  from above. The top cover  25  is opened upward about a hinge which is arranged in a right half portion of the top of the apparatus body  100  outside the above lid  141 , to thereby make the keyboard  120  accessible and set a liquid crystal display  26  incorporated under the top cover  25  obliquely upward for the user&#39;s view. That is, when the top cover  25  is opened and set backwardly in a inclined position, the keyboard  120  is positioned on the user&#39;s side, and the liquid crystal display  26  is positioned forward of the user, thereby permitting entry operation. 
     The apparatus body  100  configured as above is designed such that a dome portion mainly formed by a top cover arrangement portion is placed on a base portion mainly formed by a keyboard arrangement portion. It should be noted that between the indicator block  22  and the top cover  25  in the closed state, there is formed an elongated groove  27  which cooperates with a concave portion, not shown, formed in an underside surface of the apparatus body  100  to form a grip for use in carrying the apparatus  1 , and is also used as a portion into which the user inserts his finger when he opens and closes the top cover  25 . 
     In the tape printing apparatus  1  constructed as above, first, the lid  141  is opened by depressing the operation button  8 , and the tape cartridge  200  is mounted in the cartridge compartment  140 . The tape cartridge  200  includes not only the tape material  210  but also an ink ribbon  230 , the platen roller  220  and the like (see FIGS.  1  and  5 ). When the tape cartridge  200  is mounted in the cartridge compartment  140 , the leading edge portion of the tape material  210  rolled out from the tape cartridge  200 , and the ink ribbon  230  accompanying the same are inserted between a print head  150  arranged in the apparatus body  100  and the platen roller  220 , and at the same time a platen roller rotational shaft  143  and an ink ribbon take-up shaft  144  of the driving system of the apparatus are engaged respectively with the platen roller  220  and a ribbon take-up spool  205  for taking up the ink ribbon  230 . Then, the print head  150  presses the tape material  210  and the ink ribbon  230  against the platen roller  220  in accordance with the closing of the lid  141 , to place the tape printing apparatus  1  in a printing wait state. 
     Next, a power switch  20  located at a front right-side corner of the apparatus body  100  is turned on and the top cover  25  is opened before or after turning on the power switch  20  for preparation of entry operation. In this state, the user starts to operate the keyboard  120  while viewing the liquid crystal display  26 , to input desired characters, such as letters, and edit the same. Then, printing of the characters is instructed via the keyboard  120 , whereupon the tape material  210  and the ink ribbon  230  are fed simultaneously, and the print head  150  is driven as required to thereby print the characters on the tape material  210  by a thermal transfer method. After printing, the ink ribbon  230  is taken up by the ribbon take-up spool  205  while the tape material  210  is start out from the tape exit  110 . 
     If the user has selected beforehand a half-cutting mode, tape feed is stopped in the course of the printing operation, and the half-cutting means  400  carries out half-cutting on the leading part of the printed portion of the tape material  210 . After completion of the printing operation, when the trailing edge of the printed portion including a rear margin reaches the full-cutting means  300 , tape feed is stopped, and the full-cutting means  300  and the tape strip-discharging means  500  are driven simultaneously to cut off a printed tape strip Aa from the tape material  210 , and at the same time, flick the tape strip Aa out of the apparatus body  100  via the tape exit  110 . It should be noted that as shown in FIG. 1, the tape exit  110  is formed such that it widens toward the outside of the apparatus so as to allow the tape strip Aa to be discharged smoothly. 
     On the other hand, in trimming the printed portion, i.e. the tape strip Aa, of the tape material  210 , formed as above, an end portion of the tape strip Aa is guided by the tape insertion guide  9  and inserted into the tape insertion slit  10 . When the tape strip Aa is inserted into the tape insertion slit  10 , the built-in shaping/cutting mechanism starts to operate to cut the corners of tape strip Aa into round shapes. 
     Referring to FIG. 4, in the tape cartridge compartment  140 , the platen roller rotational shaft  143  and the ink ribbon take-up shaft  144  are rotatably erected on a compartment frame  142  in the form of a plate such that torque of a drive motor  145  can be simultaneously transmitted to the platen roller rotational shaft  143  and the ink ribbon take-up shaft  144  via a gear train  146 . The above devices are arranged such that they are covered by a bottom plate, not shown, of the tape cartridge compartment  140 , and the platen roller rotational shaft  143 , the ink ribbon take-up shaft  144 , and the print head  150 , referred to hereinafter, extend through the bottom plate such that they protrude into the tape cartridge compartment  140 . 
     Further, in the tape cartridge compartment  140 , the print head  150  formed of a thermal head or the like is held by a head holder  151  in a manner opposed to the platen roller rotational shaft  143 . The head holder  151  can be pivotally moved about a head holder shaft  152 , and has a release lever  153  extending from a lower end portion thereof at right angles to the same. The release lever  153  is operated in a manner interlocked with the opening/closing operation of the cover  141 . The head holder  151  is caused to pivotally move about the head holder shaft  152  via the release lever  153 , whereby the print head  150  can be moved toward or away from the platen roller  220  fitted on the platen roller rotational shaft  143 . 
     As shown in FIG. 5, the tape cartridge  200  has a tape supply spool  201  arranged therein for mounting a roll of the tape material  210 . The leading edge of the tape material  210  is drawn out to a tape-sending slit  202  provided in a full-cutting means-side wall of the tape cartridge  200 . Arranged in the vicinity of the tape-sending slit  202  is the platen roller  220  which can be rotated by the platen roller rotational shaft  143  engaged therewith, and an opening  203  which the print head  150  faces via the tape material  210  is provided at a location opposed to the platen roller  220 . Further, within the tape cartridge  200  there are arranged a ribbon supply spool  204  for feeding the ink ribbon  230  between the platen roller  220  and the print head  150 , and the ribbon take-up spool  205  which can be rotated by the ink ribbon take-up shaft  144  engaged therewith. 
     When the tape cartridge  200  is mounted in the tape cartridge compartment  140 , the platen roller rotational shaft  143  and the platen roller  220  are engaged with each other, and the ink ribbon take-up shaft  144  and the ribbon take-up spool  205  are engaged with each other. Further, the print head  150  facing toward the opening  203  is urged by the platen roller  220  in a manner interlocked with the closing operation of the cover  141 . When printing is instructed, the drive motor  145  operates to drive the platen roller  220  and the ribbon take-up spool  205  for rotation, and the tape material  210  is printed by the print head  150  while being advanced, and sent out through the tape-sending slit  202  to the full-cutting means  300  (toward the tape exit  110 ). 
     As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6 to  8 , the full-cutting means  300  is in the form of scissors extending upward whose fixed blade  310  and movable blade  320  are supported by a common support shaft  301 , and is configured such that torque of a full-cutting drive motor  330  is converted to pivotal motion of the movable blade  320  by a gear train  331  and a rotary disk  340  for causing the movable blade  320  to perform cutting operations. 
     The fixed blade  310  and the movable blade  320  have a fixed arm  311  and a pivotal arm  321  at respective lower ends thereof. The fixed arm  311  and the pivotal arm  321  extend substantially perpendicularly to the fixed blade  310  and the movable blade  320  in respective opposite directions. The fixed arm  311  is rigidly fixed to a reception plate frame portion  171 , referred to hereinafter. The pivotal arm  321  has, as shown in FIG. 8, an arm holder  322  formed of a resin or the like attached to an end thereof. This arm holder  322  has a surface on a full-cutting drive motor side formed with an elongate groove, not shown, extending in the direction of the length of the pivotal arm  321 . 
     Referring to FIG. 4, the full-cutting drive motor  330 , the gear train  331  and the rotary disk  340  are arranged on a cutter-supporting frame  160  in the form of a plate. The torque of the full-cutting drive motor  330  is transmitted to the rotary disk  340  via the gear train  331  comprised of a worm gear  331 a and a worm wheel  331   b , thereby rotating the rotary disk  340  about a rotational shaft  341  parallel to the support shaft  301  of the fixed blade  310  and movable blade  320 . The rotary disk  340  has a pivotal arm-side end face formed with a crank projection  62  (see FIGS. 27 and 28) fitted into the elongate groove of the pivotal arm  321 . Therefore, the torque of the rotary disk  340  is converted to pivotal motion (swinging motion) of the pivotal arm  321 . 
     As shown in FIGS. 6,  8  and  9 , the half-cutting means  400  is arranged on a cutter frame portion  170  and the reception plate frame portion  171  extending upward from the cutter-supporting frame  160 . The outer surface of the cutter frame portion  170  is used as an attachment reference face  170   a  to which are attached a half cutter  401  comprised of an angular cutter blade  410  and a cutter holder  450  for holding the angular cutter blade  410 , a tape-retaining member  420 , a pair of blade-positioning members  430 , and a cutter-actuating mechanism for actuating the above component parts. 
     On the other hand, an outer surface of the reception plate frame portion  171  on the same side as that of the attachment reference face  170   a  is used as an attachment reference face  171   a  with reference to which is arranged a tape reception plate  440  which is opposed to the half cutter  401  via the tape material  210  for receiving the tape material  210 . A half-cutting mechanism is formed by the tape reception plate  440  and the half cutter  401 . Further, an in-plane direction in the cutter frame portion  170  and the reception plate frame portion  171  is identical to a direction of cutting of the cutter blade  410 . 
     The tape material  210  is inserted between the tape reception plate  440  and the half cutter  401  from an upper clearance therebetween to be removably mounted in the apparatus body  100 . The cutter blade  410  is arranged such that it can be slid upward from below for cutting operation and at the same time moved toward or away from the tape reception plate  440  by the cutter-actuating mechanism. Similarly, the tape-retaining member  420  and the pair of blade-positioning members  430  are arranged such that they can be moved toward or away from the tape reception plate  440 . 
     The cutter frame portion  170  and the reception plate frame portion  171  as well as a connecting frame portion  172  connecting base portions thereof are formed from part of the cutter-supporting frame  160  by bending the same along the same bending line  173  in the same direction at the same angle into a general L-shaped cross-sectional configuration. The tape material  210  is brought into a space  174  between these frame portions  170  and  171  such that it is inserted between the cutter blade  410  and the tape reception plate  440 . Thus, the cutter frame portion  170  and the reception plate frame portion  171  are integrally formed as a unitary member by bending the part of the cutter-supporting frame  160 , and hence they are located in the same plane. This contributes to enhanced accuracy in position of the associated members arranged on the cutter blade side and the tape reception plate side, thereby enhancing the cutting accuracy of the cutter blade  410 . 
     Referring to FIG. 13, the tape reception plate  440  has a reception groove  442  which is formed in a tape reception surface  441  opposed to the cutter blade  410 , along a cutting line in a direction of upward/downward sliding of the cutter blade  410 . The cutter blade  410  is fitted into this reception groove  442  for cutting operation. As described above, by providing the reception groove  442 , elasticity of the tape material  210  can be utilized when the cutter blade  410  is performing a cutting operation, whereby it is possible to maintain the stable cutting accuracy of the cutter blade  410  even if the position of the cutting edge  411  of the cutter blade  410  varies. 
     It should be noted that the reception groove  442  is formed to be longer in a vertical direction than the width of the tape material  210  to be printed. Further, a cut-away portion  443  is formed at a location downstream of the reception groove  442  in the direction of feed of the tape material  210  and adjacent to the intermediate portion of the groove  442 . This cut-away portion  443  is provided so as to bring a discharge roller  510 , referred to hereinafter, of the tape strip-discharging means  500  to a tape reception surface side. Further, arranged under the cut-away portion  443  is a tape feed guide  444  protruding in the form of a shelf. 
     Still further, an escape hole  445  is arranged at a location downstream of the reception groove  442  in the direction of feed of the tape material  210  and adjacent to the lower end portion of the groove  442 . This escape hole  445  is provided for allowing the cutter blade protection block  403   e  of a cutter cover, referred to hereinafter, to be fitted therein. It should be noted that the escape hole  445  extends below the lower end of the fed tape material  210  in the direction of the width thereof. Further, a support flange  447  for supporting an upper end portion of the discharge roller  510  protrudes from a back surface  446  of the tape reception plate  440  at a location above the cut-away portion  443 . 
     Further, the tape reception plate  440  has a bent portion  448  formed at right angles to an edge on a reception groove-side thereof, and the back surface  446  is formed as a surface bent into two portions at right angles to each other. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6, the reception plate frame portion  171  has a mounting flange  175  formed at right angles to an edge on a space side of the portion  171  such that the flange  175  extends outwardly. If the right-angled back surface  446  of the tape reception plate  440  is fitted in the right-angled corner of the mounting flange  175 , perpendicularity of the tape reception surface  441  and the reception plate frame portion  171 , and verticality of the tape reception plate  440  can be provided with accuracy. The tape reception plate  440  is fixed to the mounting flange  175  e.g. by screwing the tape reception plate  440  thereto via screw holes  449  formed in the tape reception plate  440 . Further, a portion corresponding to the cut-away portion  443  of the tape reception plate  440  is cut away in advance from the mounting flange  175 . 
     Referring to FIGS. 6,  9  and  14 , on the cutter blade side, there are arranged the tape-retaining member  420  opposed to the tape reception plate  440 , a guide shaft  402  vertically held by the tape-retaining member  420 , the half cutter  401  including the cutter holder  450  and the cutter blade  410  slidably mounted on the guide shaft  402 , the pair of blade-positioning members  430  at the upper and lower end portions of the guide shaft  402 , and the cutter-actuating mechanism for actuating the above component parts. 
     The cutter-actuating mechanism is comprised of a rotary disk  460  performing rotational motion, an input plate  470  for converting the rotational motion of the rotary disk  460  to pivotal motion (swinging motion), a support block  480  for converting the pivotal motion (swinging motion) of the input plate  470  to reciprocating linear motion, and an input arm  490  for converting the rotational motion of the rotary disk  460  to pivotal motion. The support block  480  is connected to the tape-retaining member  420  such that it can transmit the reciprocating linear motion thereof to the tape-retaining member  420 , and hence the tape-retaining member  420  can be moved toward or away from the tape reception plate  440 . Further, the input arm  490  is connected to the cutter holder  450  such that it can transmit the pivotal motion thereof to the cutter holder  450 , and hence the cutter holder  450  can slide for cutting operation. 
     As shown in FIGS. 15 to  17 , the tape-retaining member  420  includes a top plate  421  and a bottom plate  422  arranged in a manner opposed to each other in the vertical direction as well as two adjacent side plates  423  and  424  connecting the top and bottom plates. 
     An end surface of the side plate  423 , which is opposed to the tape reception plate  440 , is formed with a tape-retaining face  425  extending in the vertical direction, whereby it is possible to push the tape material  210  against the tape reception surface  441  of the tape reception plate  440  to fix the tape material  210 . This makes it possible to prevent the displacement of the tape material  210  during cutting operation, and further prevent the displacement of a cut-off strip of the printed tape material  210 . On the other hand, the side plate  424  is connected to the support block  480 , which will be described hereinafter. 
     As shown in FIG. 15, the top plate  421  and the bottom plate  422  of the tape-retaining member  420  are formed with slots  426  (only a slot in the top plate  421  is shown in the figure) which extend from a side plate  424  side toward a tape-retaining face  425  side. The upper and lower end portions of the guide shaft  402  are slidably fitted into the slots  426 , and as shown in FIG. 9, the guide shaft  402  is arranged in parallel with the tape reception plate  440 . As shown in FIGS. 9,  15  and  18  (FIG. 18 is a diagram showing part of FIG. 9 as viewed from the side of the back surface), the pair of blade-positioning members  430  are rigidly fixed to upper and lower end portions inside the top plate  421  and the bottom plate  422  of the guide shaft  402 , respectively. 
     These blade-positioning members  430  are formed of pieces of plate which can be accommodated in the tape-retaining member  420 , and be moved toward or away from the tape reception plate  440  in unison with the guide shaft  402 . Further, the other end surface of each of the blade-positioning members  430  remote from one end surface thereof opposed to the tape reception plate  440  is formed with a spring reception surface  431  for being brought into abutment with one end of a spring  486   a , referred to hereinafter. Each blade-positioning member  430  is urged toward the tape reception plate  440  by the spring  486   a  such that it can elastically abut on the tape reception plate  440 , and projects by a predetermined amount from the tape-retaining member  420 . The ends of these projections form contact portions  432  for being brought into contact with the tape reception surface  441  of the tape reception plate  440 . 
     Referring to FIGS. 19 to  23 , the cutter blade  410  is held in the cutter holder  450 . The cutter holder  450  is formed with a through hole  451  for receiving therein the guide shaft  402 , as shown in FIG.  9 . This enables the cutter holder  450  to vertically slide between the pair of blade-positioning members  430  along the guide shaft  402 , and the cutter blade  410  held in the cutter holder  450  can perform linear motion in the direction of the width of the tape material  210 , that is, in a direction orthogonal to the direction of extension of the tape material  210  to cut off the tape material  210 . It should be noted that the cutter holder  450  is designed such that it can slide beyond the upper and lower edges of the tape material  210  in the direction of the width thereof. 
     The cutter blade  410  is an angular blade in the form of a thin plate having a generally rectangular shape, and held in a cutter-holding portion  452  formed as a recess in a side surface of the cutter holder  450  fitted on the guide shaft  402 , such that the cutter blade  410  protrudes toward the tape reception plate  440 . The recess forming the cutter-holding portion  452  has a shape generally complementary to the cutter blade  410  exclusive of a portion defining a blade point (cutting point)  412 . The cutter blade  410  according to the present embodiment has the shape of a rhombus which has one pair of sides adjacent to each other, including one corresponding to the cutting edge  411 , that is, ones corresponding to the cutting edge  411  and a restriction edge  413  with the blade point  412  therebetween, and the other pair of sides corresponding to edges  414  and  415 . Accordingly, the recess of the cutter-holding portion  452  also has the shape of a rhombus. Further, the cutter-holding portion  452  is defined by a bottom surface  453  in surface contact with one surface of the cutter blade  410 , and side wall surfaces  454  surrounding the peripheral portions of the cutter blade  410 . One of the side wall surfaces  454  has a corner formed with a cut-away portion  455  for allowing the blade point  412  to protrude from the cutter holder  450 . 
     The side wall surfaces  454  arranged on opposite sides of the cut-away portion  455  provide blade-positioning portions  454   a  and  454   b , respectively, with which the cutting edge  411  and restriction edge  413  of the cutter blade  410  are brought into abutment to define the amount of projection of the blade point  412  from the cut-away portion  455 . As described above, since the cutting edge  411  and restriction edge  413  are brought into direct and intimate contact with the blade-positioning portions  454   b  and  454   a , respectively, it is possible to make constant the amount of projection of the cutter blade  410  from the cutter holder  450 , irrespective of variations in outer shapes of the cutter blade  410 . 
     Further, the other two side wall surfaces  454  have a required number of protruding portions  456  protruding into the space of the cutter-holding portion  452 . The cutter blade  410  is press-fitted in the cutter-holding portion  452  in a state in which the end portions of the protruding portions  456  are crushed by the edges  414  and  415 , and fixedly held by the protruding portions  456  and the blade-positioning portions  454   a  and  454   b . It should be noted that escape grooves  456   a  are formed in advance around the protruding portions  456  to allow the crushed materials of the end portions of the protruding portions  456  to escape therein. 
     When the cutter blade  410  cuts across the full width of the tape material  210 , the cutter blade  410  is brought into abutment with the edge of the tape material  210  in the direction of the width thereof, and suffers a significant damage. Further, the cutter blade  410  repeatedly performs intermittent cutting. This can cause the breakage and abrasion of the edge portion of the cutter blade  410 . However, this problem can be solved by setting, as shown in FIG. 22, the entering angle α, blade point angle β, and cutting edge angle γ of the cutter blade  410  as follows: 
     In the cutter blade  410  held by the cutter holder  450 , the entering angle α of the cutting edge  411  in the direction of slide-cutting operation of the tape material  210  (direction indicated by an arrow in the figure) should be set to a value within a range of 20 degrees to 60 degrees. This is because if the entering angle α is smaller than 20 degrees, cutting resistance becomes too large, while if the same is larger than 60 degrees, a deviated cut can be caused. 
     Further, the cutter blade  410  should have the blade point angle β set to 90 degrees or more (obtuse angle). Although if the blade point angle β is smaller than 90 degrees, the blade point  412  is liable to be broken when it is being worked or employed in cutting operation, the blade point angle β larger than 90 degrees makes it possible to prevent the breakage of the blade point  412  even if the tape material  210  is forcibly drawn out, to secure a sharp blade point as well as reduce abrasion of the blade point. 
     Furthermore, although it is basically preferred that the cutting edge angle γ of the cutter blade  410  is sharp, an extremely sharp cutting edge angle γ is liable to cause the breakage of the edge portion, so that the cutting edge angle γ should be set to a value within a range of 20 degrees to 50 degrees. Further, it is preferred that the cutter blade  410  is formed of cemented carbide, because a cutter blade made of a normal tool steel or the like is readily abraded, and one made of ceramics is liable to be broken. 
     After the cutter blade  410  configured as above is mounted in the cutter-holding portion  452  of the cutter holder  450 , a carriage  457  is mounted on the cutter holder  450 . The carriage  457  is comprised of a board  457   a  including a holding portion  457   b  which is formed by bending part of the board  457   a  into a U-shape in cross section for covering the cutter blade  410  and holding the cutter holder  450 , a drooping piece  457   c  drooping from the board  457   a , and an engaging projection  457   d  projecting from the lower end portion of the drooping piece  457   c  at right angles to the same in a direction away from the holding portion  457   b.    
     The holding portion  457   b  has an urging projection  457   e  arranged on an inner surface opposed to the cutter blade  410 . The cutter blade  410  is urged by the urging projection  457   e  to thereby enhance the mounting strength of the cutter blade  410 . Further, the engaging projection  457   d  has an end formed with a retaining portion  457   f  for retaining the engaging projection  457   d  in an elongated slot  493  formed in an end portion of the input arm  490 , referred to hereinafter. It should be noted that the engaging projection  457   d  is formed such that it protrudes in parallel with the rotational shaft  461  of the rotary disk  460 , referred to hereinafter. 
     As shown in FIG. 17, the periphery of the sliding area of the cutter blade  410  in the tape-retaining member  420  is covered with a cutter cover  403 . The cutter cover  403  includes a side plate  403   a  for covering a portion opposed to the side plate  423  of the tape-retaining member  420 , and a side plate  403   b  for covering a portion opposed to the tape reception plate  440 . 
     The side plate  403   a  has a slit  403   c  formed vertically therein such that it extends over a range of sliding of the drooping piece  457   c  of the carriage  457 . The side plate  403   b  prevents the tape material  210  from entering the leading end of the tape-retaining member  420 , and also serves as a retaining surface for retaining the tape material  210  when the cutter blade  410  performs a cutting operation. 
     Arranged at a vertically intermediate portion of the side plate  403   b  and at a location opposed to the discharge roller  510  of the tape strip-discharging means  500 , referred to hereinafter, is a holding plate  403   d  in a manner projecting perpendicularly to the side plate  403   a  such that the tape material  210  can be sandwiched between the same and the discharge roller  510 . Further, at the lower end portion of the side plate  403   b , there is formed a cutter-protecting portion  403   e  projecting perpendicularly to the side plate  403   b  such that the cutter-protecting portion  403   e  overlaps the blade face of the cutter blade  410  at the outside of the tape material  210  (cutting wait position of the cutter blade  410 ) in the direction of the width of the tape material  210  being fed. Since the cutter-protecting portion  403   e  is arranged at the cutting wait position of the cutter blade  410 , the cutter-protecting portion  403   e  does not obstruct the feed of the tape material  210 . Further, the cutter-protecting portion  403   e  protrudes forward of the blade point  412  of the cutter blade  410  for being fitted in the escape hole  445  of the tape reception plate  440 . By providing the cutter cover  403  constructed as above, it is possible to prevent jamming of the leading edge of the tape material  210 , guard the cutter blade  410  (e.g. by coping with external intrusion of foreign matter), and prevent intrusion of chips of the tape material  210 . 
     Referring to FIGS. 9 and 24, the rotary disk  460  rotates about the rotational shaft  461  extending in a direction orthogonal to the direction of motion of the tape-retaining member  420  toward or away from the tape reception plate  440 , and has an end cam groove  462  formed in one end surface thereof and a crank projection  463  formed on the other end surface at a location toward the periphery thereof. Further, the rotary disk  460  has a peripheral surface formed with a detection recess  464  which forms cutter home position detection means together with a cutter home position sensor  465  comprised e.g. of a micro-switch and the like, arranged in the vicinity of the periphery of the rotary disk  460 . 
     The rotational shaft  461  extends through the rotational shaft insertion hole  489  of the support block  480 , described hereinafter, and as shown in FIG. 6, has an end portion thereof rigidly fitted in the attachment reference face  170   a  of the cutter frame portion  170 . The end cam groove  462  is formed by a small-diameter arcuate groove  462   a  and a large-diameter arcuate groove  462   b  having a diameter larger than the small-diameter arcuate groove  462   a  which are continuously arranged to form a generally annular shape. The end cam groove  462  enables the support block  480 , referred to hereinafter, to perform intermittent reciprocating linear motion (motion toward or away from the tape reception plate  440 ). The cutter home position detection means can detect the position of the detection recess  464  by the cutter home position sensor  465 , thereby determining a cutter home position in which the cutter blade  410  is in a cutting wait state. 
     As shown in FIG. 24, the drive mechanism of the rotary disk  460  is comprised of a half-cutting drive motor  466  and a gear train  467  for transmitting torque thereof to the rotary disk  460 . The gear train  467  is comprised of a worm gear  467   a , a worm wheel  467   b  and an intermediate gear  467   c . Torque of the intermediate gear  467   c  is transmitted to the rotary disk  460  by a drive gear  468  integrally formed with the rotary disk  460 . It should be noted that as shown in FIG. 6, the half-cutting drive motor  466  is arranged on the cutter-supporting frame  160 , while the gear train  467  is arranged on a drive block-mounting frame  176  which is formed by bending part of the cutter-supporting frame  160  at right angles. 
     As described hereinabove, the half-cutting means  400  includes the half-cutting drive motor  466  exclusively provided therefor and the gear train  467  which is a transmission mechanism therefor. The full-cutting means  300  as well has the full-cutting drive motor  330  exclusively provided therefor and the gear train  331 . As a result, the full-cutting means  300  and the half-cutting means  400  can be driven completely independently of each other, which increases the freedom of combination of full-cutting and half-cutting. Further, the service life of their cutter blades can be increased since cutting operation is carried out only when either of the full-cutting and the half-cutting is required. 
     Referring to FIGS. 9,  15  and  16 , the input plate  470  has a board  471  having a triangular or like outer shape. The board  471  has a cam projection  472  erected on one surface, and a support shaft  473  and an engaging projection  474  erected on the other or back surface. The cam projection  472  is engaged with the end cam groove  462  of the rotary disk  460  to form an end cam mechanism together with the rotary disk  460 . 
     The support shaft  473  extends through the horizontally elongated slot  488   b  of the support block  480 , referred to hereinafter, and is arranged in parallel with the rotational shaft  461  of the rotary disk  460  to be rigidly fixed to the cutter frame portion  170 . The input plate  470  is configured such that it can be pivotally moved about the axis of the support shaft  473 . Further, The engaging projection  474  is fitted in the engaging recess  488   a  of the support block  480  in a vertically movable manner. 
     As shown in FIGS. 9,  15  and  16 , the support block  480  has a flange  482  formed at an end portion of a board  481  on the side of the tape-retaining member  420  vertically in a direction perpendicular to the board  481 . The flange  482  is opposed to the side plate  424  of the tape-retaining member  420  in a manner spaced therefrom and has upper and lower portions thereof connected to the side plate  424  by connection pins  483 . 
     The above connection pins  483  are arranged in the direction of sliding of the tape-retaining member  420 . Each connection pin  483  has one end rigidly fixed to the side plate  424 , and the other end slidably extending through the flange  482  of the support block  480  with an end thereof formed with a retaining portion  484 . This makes it possible to connect the support block  480  and the tape-retaining member  420  to each other in a manner movable toward or away from each other. Further, the lower connection pin  483  is caused to protrude in the rotational shaft insertion hole  489 , referred to hereinafter, which receives the rotational shaft  461  of the rotary disk  460  therein, with the end thereof being formed with the retaining portion  484 . 
     Further, the side plate  424  of the tape-retaining member  420  has spring-housing holes  485   a  which extend up to the respective blade-positioning members  430  accommodated in the tape-retaining member  420 , and a required number of spring-housing holes  485   b  formed at intermediate locations between the spring-housing holes  485   a . Arranged between the above spring-housing holes  484   a  and  485   b  and the flange  482  of the support block  480  are springs  486   a  and  486   b  respectively in a resilient manner. As described above, one end of each of the springs  486   a  is brought into abutment with the spring reception surface  431  of the blade-positioning members  430 . 
     As described hereinabove, the tape-retaining member  420  and the pair of blade-positioning members  430  are urged independently of each other toward the tape reception plate  440  by the springs  486   a  and  486   b , and operate without having any effect on each other, so that the reliability of the function of each device can be enhanced. 
     Further, the board  481  of the support block  480  has horizontally elongated slots  487  arranged at required positions therein, so that, as shown in FIG. 6, the support block  480  is slidably attached to the attachment reference face  170   a  of the cutter frame portion  170  by pins or the like such that it can move toward or away from the tape reception plate  440 . Further, the board  481  has an input plate-mounting recess  488  arranged therein such that the input plate  470  can be mounted on the board  481  in a manner placed upon the input plate-mounting recess  488 . The input plate-mounting recess  488  is formed with a vertically elongated engaging recess  488   a  and a horizontally elongated slot  488   b  arranged below the engaging recess  488   a  The input plate-mounting recess  488  is larger in size than the outer shape of the input plate  470  such that the input plate  470  can be pivotally moved in the input plate-mounting recess  488 . Further, the board  481  has the rotational shaft insertion hole  489  formed below the input plate-mounting recess  488 , for receiving the rotational shaft  461  of the rotary disk  460  therethrough. 
     In the support block  480 , the input plate  470  is fitted in the recess  488 , the support shaft  473  extends through the horizontally elongated slot  488   b  for being rigidly fixed to the cutter frame portion  170 , and the engaging projection  474  is fitted in the engaging recess  488   a . This enables the input plate  470  to receive the torque of the rotary disk  340  to be pivotally moved about the axis of the support shaft  473  in a direction indicated by arrow A, as shown in FIG.  9 . 
     At this time, the engaging projection  474  transmits a driving force in the direction of horizontal slide to the support block  480  via the engaging recess  488   a  while vertically moving in the engaging recess  488   a . Therefore, the pivotal force of the input plate  470  can be converted to reciprocating linear motion in a direction orthogonal to the direction of the rotational shaft  461  of the rotary disk  460  by the support block  480 . Although the support shaft  473  and the rotational shaft  461  of the rotary disk  460  are rigidly fixed, they are fitted in the horizontally elongated slot  488   b  and the rotational shaft insertion hole  489 , respectively, and hence the support shaft  473  and the rotational shaft  461  do not obstruct the reciprocating linear motion of the support block  480 . 
     When the support block  480  performs reciprocating linear motion, the connection pins  483  transmit the motion, whereby the tape-retaining member  420 , the cutter blade  410  which is mounted on the guide shaft  402  held by the tape-retaining member  420  via the cutter holder  450 , and the blade-positioning members  430  rigidly fixed to the upper and lower end portions of the guide shaft  402  follow the motion of the support block  480  to perform reciprocating linear motion such that they can be moved toward or away from the tape reception plate  440 . 
     Therefore, the tape-retaining member  420  can urge the tape material  210  against the tape reception plate  440 , and at the same time stop urging the same. Further, the blade-positioning members  430  are brought into abutment with the tape reception plate  440 , whereby it is possible to place the cutter blade  410  at a cutting operation position located at a predetermined distance from the tape reception plate  440 . At this time, since the pair of blade-positioning members  430  are brought into abutment with the tape reception plate  440  at upper and lower portions, it is possible to always stably secure a distance from the cutter blade  410  to the tape reception plate  440  even if structures e.g. of the tape reception plate  440  and the like are deformed. 
     Furthermore, the urging forces of the springs  486   a  are transmitted to the cutter holder  450  via the blade-positioning members  430  and the guide shaft  402  to place the cutter holder  450  in a floated state, whereby the cutter blade  410  can be elastically engaged in the tape material  210 . As a result, even when the tape material  210  is made uneven or irregular along irregularity or undulation of the tape reception surface  441  of the tape reception plate  440 , the cutter blade  410  can exhibit a cutting performance with a wide stable operation range against variations in the rigidity of the tape material  210  and the engaging pressure of the cutter blade  410 . 
     Further, since the cutter blade  410  pushes the tape material  210  against the tape reception plate  440  in a cantilever manner, deformation of the tape reception plate  440  can be prevented, thereby increasing the cutting accuracy of the cutter blade  410 . Further, the cutter blade  410  cuts the tape material  210  in a sliding manner, so that it can cut the tape material  210  with an extremely weak force, which contributes to attaining energy saving and a compact construction of the tape printing apparatus as well as reliable cutting operation thereof. Further, since only the printing tape  211  (receptor) is cut off, it is easy to handle completed labels formed by continuous printing, printing with serial numbers, and the like. 
     As shown in FIGS. 9 and 14, the input arm  490  has a root end thereof supported on an outer surface of the drive block-mounting frame  176  by a support shaft  491  which is parallel with the rotational shaft  461  of the rotary disk  460 . The input arm  490  has an intermediate portion formed with a crank slot  492  which is engaged with the crank projection  463  projecting from the rotary disk  460  to form a swinging crank mechanism together with the rotary disk  460 . Further, the input arm  490  has the end portion thereof formed with the elongated slot  493  extending along a direction of swinging radius of the input arm  490 . 
     The crank slot  492 , which is formed along the direction of swinging radius of the input arm  490 , has an intermediate portion thereof formed with a driving force-non-transmitting portion  494  which is not capable of transmitting the rotational motion of the rotary disk  460 , and only opposite ends thereof formed with driving force-transmitting portions  495  and  496  which are capable of transmitting the rotational motion of the rotary disk  460 . 
     Further, the engaging projection  457   d  of the carriage  457  mounted in the cutter holder, described above, is slidably fitted in the elongated slot  493  formed in the end portion of the input arm  490 , such that it can slide in the direction of swinging radius of the input arm  490 . 
     Therefore, when the half-cutting drive motor  466  operates to drive the rotary disk  460  for rotation via the gear train  467 , as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the crank projection  463  is pivotally moved in a state engaged with the driving force-transmitting portion  495  of the crank slot  492 , thereby making it possible to convert the rotational motion of the rotary disk  460  to an upward pivotal motion of the input arm  490  from below. Further, the pivotal motion of the input arm  490  is converted to an advancing linear motion of the cutter holder  450  in which the cutter holder  450  is moved upward along the guide shaft  402 , thereby enabling the cutter blade  410  to perform a cutting operation. 
     Further, as shown in the sequence of FIGS. 12 and 9 in the mentioned order, when the crank projection  463  is caused to pivotally move in a state engaged with the driving force-transmitting portion  496 , the rotational motion of the rotary disk  460  can be converted to the downward pivotal motion of the input arm  490  from above. Further, the pivotal motion of the input arm  490  is converted to a returning linear motion of the cutter holder  450  in which the cutter holder  450  is moved downward along the guide shaft  402 . As shown in FIGS. 9 and 11, when the crank projection  463  is located on the driving force-non-transmitting portion  494 , the cutter holder  450  is stopped, halting both the upward motion and the downward motion thereof, which makes it possible to cause the cutter holder  450  to perform intermittent upward/downward motion. 
     Further, when the rotary disk  460  rotates, as described hereinabove, the tape-retaining member  420 , the cutter holder  450 , and the blade-positioning members  430  are intermittently moved toward or away from the tape reception plate  440  by the input plate  470  and the support block  480 . Hence, the advancing/withdrawing motions of the tape-retaining member  420 , the cutter holder  450 , and the blade-positioning members  430 , and the upward/downward motion of the cutter holder  450  are interlocked with each other such that the former motions and the latter motion can be alternately carried out, as shown in the sequence of FIGS. 9 to  12  in the mentioned order. 
     First, FIG. 9 shows a state in which the tape-retaining member  420  has released the tape material  210 , and feed printing is being carried out for feeding and printing the tape material  210 . In the figure, the cutter blade  410  is located at the cutting wait position thereof remote from the lower end portion of the tape reception plate  440 . Referring to FIG. 10, next, the rotary disk  460  is rotated to move the support block  480  toward the tape reception plate  440  via the input plate  470 . This enables the tape-retaining member  420  to hold the tape material  210  between the same and the tape reception plate  440  for fixing the tape material  210 . Further, the cutter blade  410  is moved to a cutting start position at a location close to the tape reception plate  440  to make itself ready for cutting operation. In this state, the pair of blade-positioning members  430  are in abutment with the tape reception plate  440 , whereby the cutter blade  410  is positioned. 
     Next, as shown in FIG. 11, when the rotary disk  460  is rotated, the cutter blade  410  is caused to slide upward by the input arm  490  to cut the tape material  210 . Next, as shown in FIG. 12, the support block  480  is caused to leave the tape reception plate side thereof to cause the tape-retaining member  420  and the cutter blade  410  to withdraw in a manner following the support block  480 , whereby the tape material  210  is released from the tape-retaining member  420  again, thereby making it possible to carry out feed printing. Further, the cutter blade  410  performs a removal operation until it reaches to a predetermined withdrawn position. 
     Finally, as shown in FIG. 9, a cutter blade-returning operation is carried out in which the rotary disk  460  is rotated, and the cutter blade  410  is caused to slide downward via the input arm  490  to be returned from the withdrawn position to the cutting wait position. The above operations are repeatedly carried out in a cyclic manner, whereby it is possible to repeatedly execute the cutting operations. 
     As described above, since complicated cyclic cutting operations can be carried out by using torque of one rotary disk  460 , it is possible not only to execute the cutting operations efficiently by the simple mechanism but also to accurately synchronize the cutting operations with each other. Further, the tape material  210  is cut off upward from below, and the cutter blade  410  is caused to be located at a position below the tape material  210  where it is on standby for cutting operation. This makes it possible to prevent the cutter blade  410  from abutting against the tape material  210  when the tape material  210  is replaced by another. Furthermore, the tape material  210  tends to be displaced upward during printing operations (since the platen roller  220  and the print head  150  has an open top space therebetween). Although in this case, the tape material  210  can be displaced if it is cut from above to below, the tape material  210  has already been brought into abutment with the top of the cartridge casing or the like, and hence if cut upward from below, the tape material  210  is not displaced or undesirably moved by the cutting operation. 
     Referring to FIG. 1, the tape strip-discharging means  500  is arranged between the half-cutting means  400  and the tape exit  110  for forcibly discharging the tape material  210  cut off by the full-cutting means  300 , from the tape exit  110 . For instance, as shown in FIGS. 5,  7 , and  8 , the tape strip-discharging means  500  has the discharge roller  510  which is arranged on the side of the peel-off paper  212  of the tape material  210 , and rotates in a direction of discharge of the tape material  210  in a state in contact with the tape material  210 . 
     Next, the tape strip-discharging means  500  will be described with reference to FIGS. 7,  26 ,  27  and  28 . The tape strip-discharging means  500  includes the discharge roller  510  which is brought into sliding contact with the tape strip Aa fed out on the tape discharge path  18  to flick the same out of the apparatus, a roller shaft  71  for rotatably supporting the discharge roller  510 , and a driving force-transmitting mechanism  72  for rotating the discharge roller  510 . The above full-cutting drive motor  330  is also used as a drive source here. That is, the torque of the full-cutting drive motor  330  is branched by the rotary disk  340  to be input to the driving force-transmitting mechanism  72 . 
     Further, the tape strip-discharging means  500  includes the discharge sub-roller  514  which is arranged in a manner opposed to and in parallel with the discharge roller  510  via the tape strip Aa. The discharge sub-roller  514  is a free roller, and when the full-cutting drive motor  330  is driven to rotate the discharge roller  510 , the tape strip Aa is sandwiched between the discharge roller  510  and the discharge sub-roller  514 , and then discharged out in a manner flicked forward by the torque of the discharge roller  510 . 
     The driving force-transmitting mechanism  72  is comprised of a screw gear  75  meshing with an end gear  61  of the rotary disk  340 , a large gear  76  coaxially fixed to the screw gear  75 , a first intermediate gear  77  meshing with the large gear  76 , and a second intermediate gear  78  meshing with the first intermediate gear  77 . The above screw gear  75 , large gear  76 , first intermediate gear  77 , and second intermediate gear  78  are all supported on the cutter-supporting frame  160 , and the torque of the full-cutting drive motor  330  is reduced by the gears to be transmitted to a drive gear  343 , referred to hereinafter, of the discharge roller  510 . It should be note that the discharge roller  510  is rotated in synchronism with the cutting operation of the full-cutting means  300  since the tape strip-discharging means  500  uses the full-cutting drive motor  330  as a drive source. That is, when the full-cutting drive motor  330  operates, torque thereof is branched by the rotary disk  340 , and hence discharge operation of the tape strip-discharging means  500  can be made synchronous with cutting operation of the full-cutting means  300  (by this operation-synchronizing mechanism described above) such that the discharge operation is executed only when the full-cutting operation is being carried out. 
     Therefore, the tape strip-discharging means  500  is caused to operate only during execution of the full-cutting operation, by the above operation-synchronizing mechanism, and hence a tensile force is not applied to the tape material  210  when printing or half-cutting is being executed. This prevents the tensile force from exerting adverse effects on the printing or half-cutting of the tape material  210 . Further, the tape strip-discharging means  500  is arranged on the peel-off paper side, whereby it is possible to easily discharge the tape material  210  along curling of the tape material  210  as well as prevent occurrence of damages and stains in a printed surface of the printing tape  211  since the printing tape  211  is not flicked. 
     Further, since the tape strip-discharging means  500  and the half-cutting means  400  are arranged in a manner opposed to each other, the distance therebetween can be decreased, so that a discharging margin can be reduced in size, thereby minimizing the waste of the tape material  210 . Especially, since the discharge roller  510  is configured such that it is caused to intrude into the cut-away portion  443  of the tape reception plate  440 , it is possible to further reduce the waste of the tape material  210 . Furthermore, the layout of the full-cutting means  300 , the half-cutting means  400  and the tape strip-discharging means  500  arranged from the upstream side to the downstream side in the mentioned order can minimize the distance between the position where the print head  150  is arranged and the full-cutting position, thereby enabling reduction of the waste of the tape material  210 . 
     The roller shaft  71  is a cantilever shaft erected on the cutter-supporting frame  160 , for rotatably supporting the discharge roller  510 . The discharge roller  510  is comprised of a roller body  511 , a plurality of drooping pieces (sliding-contact pieces)  513  drooping from a lower portion of the roller body  511 , a rotational shaft  515  for supporting the roller body  511 , and the drive gear  343  arranged at a lower potion of the rotational shaft  515 . The roller body  511  and the drooping pieces  513  each made of rubber or the like having a high coefficient of friction are integrally formed as a unitary member, while the rotational shaft  515  and the drive gear  343  each made of resin or the like are integrally formed as a unitary member. 
     The roller shaft  71  coaxially extends through the rotational shaft  515  along its axis, and the roller body  511  is fixed to the upper end portion of the roller shaft  71  such that the roller body  511  covers the upper end of the rotational shaft  515 . Further, the rotational shaft  515  has an upper portion formed with a plurality of annular projections  85  for keeping the drooping pieces  513  slightly open outward in the form of a skirt. The plurality of drooping pieces  513  extend radially (in a manner widened toward the ends thereof) from the roller body  511  in an obliquely downward direction with gaps circumferentially formed therebetween. When the roller body  511  is rotated, the plurality of drooping pieces  513  are widened outward by centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the roller body  511 . 
     The drooping pieces  513  are each comprised of a thin flexible piece portion  86  extending from the roller body  511 , and a bulging sliding-contact poise portion  87  continuous with the distal end portion of the flexible piece portion  86 . Further, the sliding-contact poise portion  87  protrudes toward the tape strip Aa with respect to the flexible piece portion  86  with a sloped end formed in the form of a wedge. Further, the sliding-contact poise portion  87  has a backward corner portion  87   a  at the outer peripheral end in the direction of rotation of the roller body  511  largely chamfered (see FIG. 27) such that the outer peripheral end does not obstruct feed of the tape material  210  during printing. When the roller body  511  is rotated, each sliding-contact poise portion  87  is swung outward as a poise by centrifugal force, and in accordance with the movement of the sliding-contact poise portion  87 , each flexible piece portion  86  is bent as required, thereby causing the drooping pieces  513  to extend in a manner widened toward the ends thereof. The ends of the respective sliding-contact poise portions  87  are intermittently bought into sliding contact with a surface of the tape strip Aa on a peel-off paper side in a flicking manner. 
     On the other hand, the discharge sub-roller  514  is rotatably supported by a roller holder  93 , referred to hereinafter, located on the side of the half cutter  401 . The discharge sub-roller  514  has large diameter portions  90 ,  90  arranged at respective upper and lower locations thereof on opposite sides of a constriction portion  89  which is formed at a vertically intermediate portion of the discharge sub-roller  514 . All the components of the discharge sub-roller  514 , including shaft portions  91 ,  91  arranged at respective upper and lower locations of the large diameter portions  90 ,  90 , are integrally formed as a unitary member. To this constriction portion  89 , the sliding-contact poise portions  87  of the drooping pieces  513  are opposed via the tape strip Aa. 
     Therefore, when the sliding rotational contact poise portions  87  flick the tape strip Aa, the corresponding portions (intermediate portion in the direction of the width) of the tape strip Aa are slightly bent toward the constriction portion  89 . The tape strip Aa is eventually pushed against the upper and lower large diameter portions  90 ,  90 , and flicked out of the apparatus in a manner guided at the two locations by the large diameter portions  90 ,  90 . This makes it possible to flick out the tape strip Aa horizontally and straightforward from the tape exit  110 . 
     Now, as shown in FIG. 26, the fixed blade  310  and movable blade  320  of the full-cutting means  300 , the tape reception plate  440  and the half cutter  401  of the half-cutting means, and the discharge roller  510  and discharge sub-roller  514  of the tape strip-discharging means  500  are arranged to face the tape discharge path  18  from the cartridge compartment side. Among them, the tape reception plate  440  extends beyond the discharge roller  510  up to the tape exit  110 . Further, the above-mentioned roller holder  93  for holding the discharge sub-roller  514  is arranged outside the half cutter  401  in a manner opposed to a reception plate extension portion  42   a.    
     The reception plate extension portion  42   a  of the tape reception plate  440  is formed with a cut-away opening  443  which faces the drooping pieces  513  of the discharge roller  510 , while the roller holder  93  is formed with a guide plate  95  which is opposed to and in parallel with the reception plate extension portion  42   a . Arranged in a recess  96  formed at a vertically intermediate portion of the guide plate  95  is the discharge sub-roller  514 . That is, a pair of discharge guides continuous with the tape exit  110  are formed by the reception plate extension portion  42   a  of the tape reception plate  440  and the guide plate  95  of the roller holder  93 . This makes it possible, even if the tape strip Aa has a curling tendency, to reliably guide the tape strip Aa to the tape exit  110  without deviating from the tape discharge path  18 . 
     Further, the reception plate extension portion  42   a  has an inner surface formed with a plurality of projections  97  which extends in parallel with each other in the direction of discharge of the tape strip Aa (horizontal direction). The plurality of projections  97  correspond to the positions of the lower ends of the tape strips Aa having different tape widths, and each tape strip Aa is discharged in a manner guided by a corresponding one of the one or more projections  97 . Particularly, since the tape strip Aa acquires a curling tendency in the tape cartridge  200 , the projections  97  effectively guide the discharge of the tape strip Aa. 
     As described hereinabove, according to the present embodiment, the rotating discharge roller  510  is brought into sliding rotational contact with the tape strip Aa, so that it is possible to smoothly and reliably discharge the tape strip Aa even if the tape discharge path  18  extending from the full-cutting means  300  to the tape exit  110  is made long. Further, the discharge roller  510  is configured such that the drooping pieces  513  thereof are intermittently bought into sliding rotational contact with the tape strip Aa, which makes it possible to stably provide the tape strip Aa with a driving force for discharge. Furthermore, the plurality of drooping pieces  513  are constructed such that they are widened toward the ends thereof by the rotation of the discharge roller  510 , and hence the drooping pieces  513  do not obstruct or stop the feed of the tape material  210  when the rotation of the discharge roller  510  is stopped e.g. for a printing operation. 
     FIG. 29 is a block diagram showing the arrangement of the tape printing apparatus according to the embodiment of invention. Connected to a CPU  600  incorporated in a RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) microcomputer, are a built-in ROM  610 , external ROMs  611  to  613 , a built-in RAM  620 , an external SRAM (Static RAM)  621 , and an external DRAM (Dynamic RAM)  622 . Each ROM stores programs and a character generator for display and printing. Each RAM stores buffers for editing, display and printing, a work area, a stack area, settings of character heights, settings of character widths, settings of character modifications, settings of inter-character spaces, settings of tape lengths, settings of front/rear margins, selections of fonts, repeat settings, and the like. Each RAM further stores input print data, the length of one strip of tape material  210  calculated based on the print data to be separated from another strip by half-cutting, the length of one strip of tape material  210  to be separated from another strip by full-cutting. 
     Further, connected to the CPU  600  are a gate array  630  incorporating a RAM for history control, an LCD panel (liquid crystal display device)  640 , an LCD control circuit (on the master side)  641  and an LCD control circuit (on the slave side)  642  for controlling the LCD panel  640 , an interface connector  650 , an interface driver  651 , and a power key  660 . The gate array  630  has a matrix key  661  and a shift key  662  connected thereto. Further, also connected to the CPU  600  are the full-cutting drive motor (DC motor)  330  for the full-cutting means (full cutter), a DC motor  332  for an auto trimmer, the half-cutting drive motor (DC motor)  466  for the half-cutting means (half cutter), and the drive motor (stepping motor)  145  for feeding a tape material, via respective drivers  333 ,  469 , and  147 . Furthermore, the CPU  600  is connected to a thermal printer  150  via a thermal head driver  154 , as well as to a tape cartridge determination switch  670  and a tape cartridge type determination pattern  671 . Further, a reset switch  680  is connected to the CPU  600 , a reset BLD (Battery Life-span Display) circuit  681  is connected to the CPU  600  and the gate array  630 , and a display LED  682  is connected to the gate array  630 . A power controller  690  and an AC adapter  691  are connected to the motors and the CPU  600 . 
     The CPU  600  provides control means for carrying out centralized control of the devices, and capable of causing the half-cutting means  400  to carry out cutting operation prior to the full-cutting means  300 . Further, the CPU  600  is capable of controlling the full-cutting means  300 , the half-cutting means  400 , tape feed means comprised of the platen roller rotational shaft  143  and the platen roller  220 , and printing means including the print head  150 , independently of each other. 
     Next, a feed printing method will be described with reference to FIGS. 30A to  30 F and  31 . First, print data for printing, format data, such as character sizes, inter-character spaces, the number of lines, front and rear margins, and the like, print element set data for printing on a tape material, which includes separation data used for half-cutting every strip of the tape material on which one print element is printed, and print set count data indicative of the number of sets of print elements to be printed according to the print element set data is input via an input block such as the matrix key  661 . Then, after the start of a printing operation based on the print element set data is instructed, a printing process is started. 
     Now, the CPU  600  controls the tape feed means and the half-cutting means  400  such that half-cutting is carried out on a printed label-forming portion of the tape material  210 , which is to be full-cut by the full-cutting means  300 , while providing a peel-off paper-peeling margin for use in peeling off the peel-off paper from an upstream end of the portion in the direction of feed of the tape material  210 . Further, the CPU  600  controls the tape feed means, the print head  150 , and the half-cutting means  400  such that a sum total of the peel-off paper-peeling margin and the front margin of a printed portion is equal to or larger than a distance between the print head  150  and the full-cutting means  300 . Furthermore, when a plurality of print elements are printed continuously without being cut off from each other, the CPU  600  controls the full-cutting means  300  and the half-cutting means  400  such that the boundary line portions of the respective print elements are cut only by the half-cutting means  400  while canceling the cutting off of each print element by the full-cutting means and setting of the peel-off paper-peeling margin. 
     When the printing process is started, first, print data required for printing the input count or number of sets of print elements is formed and stored in the RAM as image data for printing, at a step S 100 , and further, the length of one strip of the tape and the length of a portion of the tape for the one set of print elements are determined as data setting a half-cutting position and a full-cutting position, respectively, based on the count of characters, character sizes, line spaces, and margins, and stored in other areas of the RAM. Feed printing is carried out on the tape material  210  based on the image data and tape length data obtained from the above print data at a step S 101 . 
     In FIGS. 30A to  30 F, L1 designates the distance between the print head  150  and the full-cutting means  300 , and L2 designates a distance between the full-cutting means  300  and the half-cutting means  400 . FIG. 30A shows a state of the tape material  210  before printing. From this state, a printing operation is started while feeding the tape, and the tape is printed by feed printing (printing carried out while feeding) by the length of L1 at a step S 102 , and then as shown in FIGS. 30B and 30C, the printing operation and the tape feeding operation are suspended, and full-cutting is carried out by the full-cutting means  300  at a step S 103  for cutting an unnecessary tape portion (hatched area in FIG.  30 B). Next, as shown in FIG. 30C, the remaining portion of one print data (data of three characters of ABC in the illustrated example) is printed at a step S 104 . Then, as shown in FIG. 30D, after the feed printing is carried out by the length of (L1+L2) at a step S 105 , the printing operation and the tape feeding operation are suspended, and half-cutting is carried out by the half-cutting means  400  at a step S 106 . 
     Then, it is determined at a step S 107  whether or not the above concatenation printing is further continued. If the concatenation printing is not continued, after the feed printing has been carried out by the length equal to the difference between the length of the one print data item and L2 at a step S 108 , the printing operation and the feeding operation are suspended, and full-cutting is carried out by the full-cutting means  300  at a step S 109 , whereby a label element is cut off which has the length of two print data (print elements) with a half-cut formed by the half-cutting means  400  at an intermediate location thereof, and the tape material  210  remains without the hatched area in FIG.  30 B. Next, as shown in FIG. 30C, the remaining portion of the one print data item is printed at a step S 110 , followed by terminating the printing process. When the next printing process is started, it can be resumed from a state in which the tape material  210  has no unnecessary tape portion. 
     In the flow of the printing operations, at the step S 107 , if the concatenation printing is continued, the feed printing is performed by the length of the one print data item at a step S 111 , and then as shown in FIG. 30E, the printing operation and the feeding operation are suspended, and half-cutting is carried out by the half-cutting means  400  at the step S 106 . Next, it is determined again at the step S 107  whether or not the concatenation printing is further continued. If the concatenation printing is not continued, as shown in FIG. 30F, the feed printing is carried out by the length equal to the difference between the length of the one print data item and L2 at the step S 108 , and thereafter the printing operation and the feeding operation are temporarily stopped for carrying out full-cutting by the full-cutting means  300  at the step S 109 . Thus, a label element is cut off which has the length of three print data with two half-cuts formed at intermediate locations thereof, and the tape material  210  remains without the hatched area in FIG.  30 B. Next, as shown in FIG. 30C, the remaining portion of the one print data item is printed at the step S 110 , followed by terminating the printing process. When the next printing process is started, it can be resumed from the state in which the tape material  210  has no unnecessary tape portion. If the concatenation printing is further continued, the operations executed at the steps S 107 , S 111  and S 106  are repeatedly carried out. 
     Next, a half-cutting control process will be described with reference to FIG. 32 showing a flowchart thereof. When the main power supply of the apparatus body  100  is turned on at a step S 200 , first, it is confirmed at a step S 201  whether or not a detection signal is output from the cutter home position sensor  465 . If the OFF state of the detection switch of the cutter home position sensor  465  is detected, the half cutter  401  is located in a normal state in a cutter home position in which the half cutter  401  is waiting for an instruction for carrying out half cutting, at a step S 202 . When the half cutting instruction is provided at a step S 203 , the DC motor starts to perform normal rotation at a step S 204 , the ON state of the detection switch of the cutter home position sensor  465  is detected at a step S 205 , and the half-cutting is carried out at a step S 206 . Next, when the OFF state of the detection switch is detected at a step S 207 , after execution of a DC motor brake control at a step S 208 , the DC motor is stopped at a step S 209 , and the half cutter  401  is returned to the normal state thereof for being made on standby. 
     The apparatus incorporates a timer for measuring a time period over which the half cutter  401  performs cutting operation. After the half-cutting operation has started at the step S 206 , if the OFF state of the detection switch is not detected for a predetermined time period (three seconds, for instance) at a step S 210 , it means that the cutting operation of the half cutter  401  is abnormal, and hence the DC motor, after being stopped at a step S 211 , is driven for reverse rotation to cause the half cutter  401  to operate in the reverse direction at a step S 212 , whereby if the OFF state of the detection switch is detected at a step S 213 , the DC motor is stopped at a step S 214 , and then the main power supply is turned off at a step S 215 , followed by terminating the half-cutting control process. 
     Here, during execution of the control flow, if the OFF state of the detection switch is not yet detected within the predetermined time period at a step S 216  after the start of the reverse rotation of the DC motor at the step S 212 , the main power supply is turned off immediately after the lapse of the predetermined time period at a step S 217 , followed by terminating the half-cutting control process. 
     Further, during the execution of the control flow, if it is confirmed at the step S 201  whether or not the detection signal is output from the cutter home position sensor  465 , and if the ON state of the detection switch of the cutter home position sensor  465  is detected, the half cutter  401  is not located in the cutter home position, so that the DC motor is driven for normal rotation to cause the half cutter  401  to operate in the normal direction at a step S 218 , whereby if the OFF state of the detection switch is detected at a step S 219 , the DC motor is stopped at a step S 220  to place the half cutter  401  in the normal state at the step S 202 . After the half cutter  401  is caused to operate in the normal direction at the step S 218 , if the OFF state of the detection switch is not yet detected within the predetermined time period, the steps S 210  et seq. are carried out. 
     Further, the apparatus includes detection means for detecting occurrence of abnormal cases other than the abnormal operation of the half cutter  401 . The abnormal cases include, for instance, a case in which it is detected that the lid of the cartridge is opened, a case of the power key being turned off due to an erroneous operation, a case of overheat of the print heat being detected, and the like. FIG. 33 shows a flow of the half-cutting control process executed when the above abnormal cases have occurred. First, when any of the abnormal cases is detected during execution of half-cutting by abnormal case detection means, a signal generated by the abnormal case detection means interrupt an execution flow of half-cutting at a step S 300 . In this case, the DC motor continues to be driven until the OFF state of the detection switch is detected, whereby the half cutter  401  is returned to the cutter home position at a step S 301 . After that, the DC motor brake control is carried out at a step S 302 , the DC motor is stopped at a step S 303 , the main power supply is turned off at a step S 304 , and the execution of half-cutting is completed. 
     FIG. 34 shows a flow of the half-cutting control process executed when the service life of a battery becomes very short or when the power supply is interrupted due to pulling of a plug or a power failure. When any of such abnormal cases, as described above, caused by natural cutting of the main power supply is detected, a signal generated by the abnormal case detection means interrupts the execution flow of half-cutting at a step S 400 . In this case, no positive instruction for stopping the DC motor is provided, and the DC motor is left as it is. However, if there is restriction on hardware and software configurations (e.g. processing for preventing unstable state caused upon restoration of power), the system follows the restriction. The DC motor, when left as it is, becomes inoperative at a step S 401 , the main power supply is cut naturally at a step S 402 , and the execution of half-cutting is terminated. 
     As described hereinabove, by detecting both the position and operation time period of the cutter blade  410 , if there occurs stoppage of the cutter blade  410 , it is possible to specify a cause of the stoppage, and determine the optimum direction of restoration of the cutter blade  410  at the time of the re-start thereof, thereby minimizing adverse effects on the system. Although in the control flows shown in FIGS. 32 to  34 , descriptions have been given of the cases in which half-cutting operations are carried out by the half-cutting means  400 , this is not limitative, but the same control flows can be applied to cases in which full-cutting operations are carried out by the full-cutting means  300 . 
     It is further understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing are preferred embodiments of the invention, and that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof.