JPH04175174A - Long thermal printing head - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a long thermal print head in which a heating element is formed on an electrode on a substrate, which is used in a printer for printing on thermal recording paper. .

[Prior Art] Conventional long-sized thermal print heads use one constructed of a long-sized substrate on which a heating element is formed, or use a plurality of short-sized thermal print heads. They were arranged in the same direction, cut near the heating element, and then spliced together. Furthermore, in order to perform long size printing, there is also a method of connecting a plurality of short size thermal print heads and using two or more platen rollers.

Furthermore, a heating resistor for printing on thermal paper is formed in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the substrate on which the heating resistor is formed, and the formed heating resistor is placed in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the substrate. There is a line-type thermal print head that is formed up to the vicinity of the edge of the substrate. As shown in FIG. 6, such a line type thermal print head 1 is mounted on the upper surface of a support plate 2 provided on a rectangular fixed plate 3 along the longitudinal direction of the support plate 2. Arrange in a staggered manner in the longitudinal direction. As shown in FIG. 7, the staggered arrangement method is such that the heating resistors 4 formed in each line type thermal print head 1 are placed on the longitudinal center axis side of the support plate 2. The line type thermal print head 1 is oriented, and the adjacent line type thermal print heads A and B have their respective ends in the longitudinal direction of the line type thermal print heads A and B aligned in the perpendicular direction of the support plate 2 as shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, they overlap with a slight gap shown at the joint part 5. In addition, the above-mentioned overlapping parts,
Each adjacent line type thermal print head A
The heating resistors 4a and 4b formed at the ends of the line-type thermal print heads 1 are arranged with a gap A in the longitudinal direction of the support plate 2 as shown in FIG. In this way, one thousand and one line type thermal print heads A and B are arranged on the support plate 2, and the heating resistor 4 of each line type thermal print head 1 is arranged.
The present applicant has proposed an f-coupled long thermal head, which enables long printing by providing one platen roller along the longitudinal direction of the support plate 2 in the central part of the support plate 2, which is located at the center of the supporting plate 2. has been done.

Note that the electrode portions 6 formed on the substrate of each line type thermal print head extend in the width direction of the line type thermal print head and have a rectangular shape, and a pair of adjacent electrode portions 6a, 6b, or the electrode parts 6c and 6d,
The electrode parts 6 are connected to each other by a connecting part 6e near the end 1a extending in the longitudinal direction of the line-type thermal print head, and further form a pair, and the adjacent electrode parts 6b and 6C are connected to each other at the end It is connected in the opposite direction to the portion 1a.

Additionally, there is a gap between the end portion 1a and the connecting portion 6e, which is a dimension C. This dimension C is a necessary dimension for manufacturing a line-type thermal print head, and shortening the dimension C is a tying process. This is more difficult due to precision constraints.

The heating resistor 4 is formed over a predetermined length of the electrode portions 6 a, 6 b, 6 c, and 6 d except for the U-shaped portion 6 f including the connecting portion 6 e. Note that the heating resistors 4°4a and 4b are hatched,
This is for the purpose of clarifying the division from other constituent parts and does not show a cross section.

Although only four electrode portions 6 are shown in each line-type thermal print head in FIG. 7, a predetermined number of electrode portions 6 are also shown along the longitudinal direction of the in-line thermal print head. is formed.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] As shown in FIG. 7, the heat generating resistor 4 formed in each line type thermal print head has a rectangular shape, so the center of heat generation is located at the center of each heat generating resistor l. This is the central part in the longitudinal direction. Therefore, in a long thermal print head in which line-type thermal print heads l are arranged in a staggered manner, the heat generating centers are separated by 8 as shown in FIG.
A gap in size may occur. This gap poses a problem in that it imposes a limit on the diameter of the platen roller that presses the recording paper against the heating resistor 4, as shown in FIG. Also, suppose the dimension of B is 1.27
Assuming that it is 400 dpi, a line period shift of about 20 lines will occur. In order to correct this and perform normal printing, a memory of about 140 times the AO size is required. Also, when data is inputted into the thermal print head in a normal manner, thermal print head A and thermal print head B in Fig. 7 generate heat at the same time, resulting in printing that is 20 lines out of alignment. I can't write. Therefore, the thermal print head B (the paper discharge side thermal print head) must input data for 20 lines, and correction using memory is required. Therefore, there is a problem that a large capacity memory is required.

The present invention has been made to solve these problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a long thermal print head that can alleviate the limitations on the diameter of the platen roller and significantly reduce the memory capacity.

[Means for Solving the Problems: The present invention provides a method in which the heating resistor for printing on thermal paper is formed up to the vicinity of the edge of the substrate located perpendicularly to the longitudinal direction of the substrate on which the heating resistor is formed. 7 line type thermal print heads were arranged in a staggered manner in the longitudinal direction of the line type thermal print heads, oriented in a direction in which the heat generating range formed by a plurality of the above-mentioned heating resistors was adjacent to each other, and the line type thermal print heads were arranged in a staggered manner. In the long thermal print head, each line type thermal print head has an end portion in the longitudinal direction of the line type thermal print head so that the distance between the heat generating areas in the perpendicular direction is shortened between the line type thermal print heads. It is characterized by comprising a heating resistor formed in close proximity to the heating resistor.

[Operation] Forming the heat generating resistors close to the longitudinal ends of the two-line thermal print head shortens the distance between the heat generating areas between each of the two-line thermal print heads arranged in a staggered manner. This shortening of the distance between the heat generating ranges serves to ease the restriction on the diameter of the platen roller, suppress the generation of line period deviation during printing, and reduce the memory capacity.

[Embodiment] In FIG. 1 showing an embodiment of the elongated thermal print head of the present invention, the same components as those shown in FIG. 7 are designated by the same reference numerals.

In this embodiment, the electrode section 6 formed in the line type thermal print head is formed in the same shape as that of the conventional line type thermal print head shown in FIG. On the other hand, the heating resistor 40 is formed in a portion corresponding to the U-shaped portion 6f shown in FIG.

Note that the heating resistor 40 is hatched to clearly distinguish it from other constituent parts, and does not represent a cross section.

When forming a long thermal print head by forming heating resistors 40 in this way, the distance between the heating resistors 40 formed in each line-type thermal print head in the long thermal print head is different from that of the conventional long thermal print head. This is closer than in the case of a thermal print head. Accordingly, the distance between the heat generating centers of the heat generating resistor 40 also approaches, and becomes a distance B1 shorter than the conventional distance B between the heat generating centers. Therefore, restrictions on the diameter of the platen roller can be relaxed and memory capacity can be reduced.

In FIG. 2 showing a second embodiment of the elongated thermal print head of the present invention, the same components as in FIGS. 1 and 7 are designated by the same reference numerals. As shown in FIG. 2, the heating resistor 41 is formed in the U-shaped portion 6f of the electrode portion 6 as in the case of the first embodiment, or the respective electrode portions 6a, 6b, etc. The width of the electrode is narrower in the portion including the connection portion 6ρ than in other portions.

That is, the heating resistor 41 in this embodiment has the electrode portion 6a
, 6b, and a U-shaped portion 6r'' having a width narrower than the width A, and the U-shaped portion 6'' has a connecting portion 6e. included.

Note that although the heat generating resistor 41 is hatched, this is to clearly distinguish it from other constituent parts and does not represent a cross section.

With this configuration, the distance B2 between the heat generating centers can be set shorter than the distance between the heat generating centers in the conventional example.

Therefore, restrictions on the diameter of the platen roller can be relaxed and memory capacity can be reduced.

In FIG. 3 showing a third embodiment of the elongated thermal print head of the present invention, the same components as in FIG. 7 are designated by the same reference numerals. As shown in Figure 3, the heating resistor 4
Reference numeral 2 denotes a range sandwiched between electrode parts 6a and 6b, and 6C and 6d, which extend linearly in the direction of the end 1a extending in the longitudinal direction of the line type thermal print head, and each electrode part 6a For example, the picture electrode section 6
It is formed to connect a and 6b. In addition, each electrode part 6
The end surface 6g of the heating resistor 42 and the end surface 42a of the heating resistor 42 are formed on the same line. Further, the heat generating resistor 42 is hatched to clearly distinguish it from other components, and does not represent a cross section.

With this configuration, since the heating resistor 42 moves in the direction of the end portion 1a compared to the conventional example, the distance B3 between the heating centers can be set shorter than the distance between the heating centers in the conventional example. Therefore, restrictions on the diameter of the platen roller can be relaxed and memory capacity can be reduced.

The fourth embodiment of the present invention is a modification of the third embodiment described above. As shown in FIG. 4, the electrode section 6a'
t (6d') extend linearly from the end 1a of the line type thermal print head.
Similarly to the embodiment, for example, the picture electrode parts 6a' and 6b' are connected in the range sandwiched between the electrode parts 6a" and 6b', and The heating resistor 42' is formed so as to be flush with the portion 1a.

With this configuration, the heating resistor is formed at an angle of 42° at the end 1a of the line-type printed circuit board, so the distance between the heating centers is the shortest among the above-mentioned two embodiments. Therefore, the distance between the heat generation centers in this embodiment can be set to one sub-scanning line or less. Accordingly, restrictions on the diameter of the platen roller can be relaxed and memory capacity can be reduced.

Although the embodiments have been described above, the present invention can be summarized as follows: In each of the line-type thermal print heads arranged in a staggered manner, the heat generation is formed in each line-type thermal print head so that the distance between the heat generation centers is shortened. The shape and shape position of the resistor are devised, and the shape of the heating resistor is not limited to the above-mentioned shape. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the heating resistor 43 may have a spiral shape connected to linearly extending electrode portions 60 and 61.

[Effects of the Invention] As detailed above, according to the present invention, since the distance between the heat generating areas in the long thermal print head is shortened, the restriction on the diameter of the platen roller can be relaxed.
Furthermore, since the occurrence of line period deviation during printing can be suppressed, memory capacity can be reduced.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a first embodiment of the elongated thermal print head of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a second embodiment of the elongated thermal print head of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a third embodiment of the elongated thermal print head of the present invention, FIG. 5 is a plan view showing the fourth embodiment of the elongated thermal print head of the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a long thermal print head, FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a long thermal print head, and FIG. 8 is a plan view showing the relationship between the heating resistor and the platen roller. FIG. 6.6a to 6d...electrode part, 40.41, 42.43...heating resistor. Patent applicant Rico Co., Ltd. Patent attorney Blue image 1 other person Figure 5 Figure 8

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A line-type thermal print head in which a heating resistor for printing on thermal paper is formed up to the vicinity of the edge of the board located perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the board on which the heating resistor is formed is In a long thermal print head in which the heat generating range formed by the heat generating resistor is oriented in a direction in which each line type thermal print head approaches each other and arranged in a staggered manner in the longitudinal direction of the line type thermal print head, a line type thermal print head is used. Each line-type thermal print head has a heat-generating resistor formed close to the longitudinal end of the line-type thermal print head so that the distance between the heat generation areas in the perpendicular direction between the heads is shortened. A long thermal print head characterized by: (2) Each line-type thermal print head is equipped with a heat-generating resistor formed all the way to the longitudinal end of the line-type thermal print head, so that the distance between the heat generation ranges can be reduced to one sub-scanning line or less. The elongated thermal print head according to claim 1.