JP2004351798A - Thermal head and thermal printer employing it - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a high performance thermal head capable of stabilizing the fixing position of a connector, and to provide a thermal printer with high productivity. <P>SOLUTION: The thermal head comprises a head substrate 1 having a heating element 2 and a circuit conductor 3, a member 10 for supporting the head substrate 1, a flexible wiring board 4 having a wiring conductor 5 being connected electrically with the circuit conductor 3, and a connector 6 containing a conduction member 7 for electrically connecting the wiring conductor 5 and an external connection member 9 in a housing 8 into which the external connection member 9 is inserted wherein the housing 8 of the connector 6 is fitted to the supporting member 10 and the fitting direction is differentiated from the inserting direction of the external connection member 9. A thermal printer employing the thermal head is also provided. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a thermal head incorporated as a printer mechanism such as a word processor or a facsimile, and an improvement of a thermal printer using the same.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 4, a thermal head incorporated as a printer mechanism such as a word processor includes a head substrate 21 made of alumina ceramic provided with a heating element 22 and a circuit conductor 23, and a flexible wiring board (hereinafter abbreviated as FPC). ) 24 on a support member 30 made of aluminum or the like.
[0003]
Such a thermal head applies electric power from an external power supply to a heating element 22 on a head substrate 21 to selectively cause the heating element 22 to generate Joule heat based on a print signal, and to transfer the generated heat onto the heating element 22. It functions as a thermal head by transmitting the heat to the conveyed thermosensitive recording medium and forming a predetermined printed image on the thermosensitive recording medium.
[0004]
The FPC 24 is for supplying various print signals from the printer main body and power from an external power supply to the heating element 22 and a driver IC (not shown), and is provided between a plurality of flexible resin films. It has a structure in which a wiring conductor 25 made of copper foil or the like is interposed, and a connector 26 for connecting a thermal head to a printer body or the like is attached to one end.
[0005]
The connector 26 is formed by housing a connector pin 27 electrically connected to a wiring conductor of the FPC 24 in a housing 28, and soldering the connector pin fixed to the housing 28 to a wiring conductor of the FPC 24 by soldering. Was fixed to.
[0006]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-9-150540
[Patent Document 2]
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-173695
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, according to this conventional thermal head, the connector 26 is supported only by the flexible FPC 24 and is held in an unstable state. When the connector 26 is inserted into the external connection member of the printer body, or when the connector 26 is pulled out, the external force applied to the connector 26 causes the FPC 24 to bend in the middle or the connector 26 to be detached from the FPC 24. In this case, the connection work between the thermal head and the printer body is extremely complicated.
[0009]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-described drawbacks, and has as its object to provide a high-performance thermal head and a highly productive thermal printer capable of stabilizing a fixed position of a connector. .
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
A thermal head according to the present invention includes a head substrate having a heating element and a circuit conductor, a support member supporting the head substrate, a flexible wiring board having a wiring conductor electrically connected to the circuit conductor, and the wiring conductor. And a connector in which a conductive member for electrically connecting the external connection member and the external connection member is accommodated in a housing, and a connector into which the external connection member is inserted inside the housing. The members are fitted together, and the fitting direction of the two and the insertion direction of the external connection member are different from each other.
[0011]
The thermal head according to the present invention is characterized in that a protrusion and a recess are provided at positions corresponding to the housing and the support member of the connector.
[0012]
The thermal printer according to the present invention includes the above-described thermal head, an external connection member inserted into the housing of the connector, a transport unit that transports the recording medium onto the heating element, and a driving unit that drives the thermal head. It is characterized by having.
[0013]
According to the present invention, the connector and the support member are fitted together, and since the fitting direction and the insertion direction of the external connection member are made different, when the external connection member is inserted into the connector, The fitting portion between the connector and the support member has a large resistance to an external force applied in the insertion direction, so that the connector can be firmly fixed to the support member and the fixing position of the connector can be stabilized. Therefore, the work of connecting the thermal head to the printer body is simplified, and the productivity of the thermal printer can be improved.
[0014]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0015]
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a thermal head according to an embodiment of the present invention. The thermal head shown in FIG. 1 generally includes a head substrate 1, an FPC 4 connected to the head substrate 1, and an attachment to the FPC 4. And a support member 10 for supporting the head substrate 1.
[0016]
The head substrate 1 is made of various materials such as an insulating material such as alumina ceramics or a semiconductor material such as single crystal silicon having an insulating film formed on the surface, and the heating element 2 and the circuit conductor 3 are formed on the upper surface thereof. It is provided and functions as a supporting base material for supporting them.
[0017]
When the head substrate 1 is made of alumina ceramics, for example, a ceramic raw material powder such as alumina, silica, magnesia or the like is mixed with an appropriate organic solvent and solvent to form a slurry. A ceramic green sheet is formed by employing a roll method or the like, and thereafter, the ceramic green sheet is punched into a predetermined shape and fired at a high temperature.
[0018]
On the upper surface of the head substrate 1, a plurality of heating elements 2 and a plurality of circuit conductors 3 arranged in a straight line are attached, respectively.
[0019]
The heating element 2 is made of an electric resistance material such as TaSiO, TiSiO, TaSiNO, TaN, etc., and has a predetermined electric resistivity. Therefore, electric power from an external power supply via the circuit conductor 3 or the like is generated. When the voltage is applied, Joule heat is generated to generate heat at a predetermined temperature required for forming a print image on a thermosensitive recording medium, for example, a temperature of 200 ° C. to 350 ° C.
[0020]
The heating element 2 and the circuit conductor 3 are applied to the head substrate 1 in a predetermined pattern and a predetermined thickness by employing a conventionally known sputtering method and photolithography technique.
[0021]
An FPC 4 for supplying various print signals from the printer main body and power from an external power supply to the heating element 2 and a driver IC (not shown) is connected to the head substrate 1 by soldering or the like.
[0022]
The FPC 4 includes a plurality of flexible resin films (made of polyimide resin) and a plurality of wiring conductors 5 electrically connected to the circuit conductors 3 on the head substrate 1, The connector 6 is attached to one end.
[0023]
The connector 6 has a structure in which a conductive member 7 (connector pin in the present embodiment) that is electrically connected to the wiring conductor 5 of the FPC 4 is accommodated in a housing 8. Specifically, one end of the connector pin 7 is penetrated through the FPC 4, and the penetrated connector pin 7 and the wiring conductor 5 are electrically connected to each other by a conductive material such as solder. It has a structure in which the end side is protected by a box-shaped housing 8.
[0024]
In such a connector 6, the thermal head is electrically connected to the printer main body by inserting the external connection member 9 into the housing 8 with the connector pin 7 and bringing the external connection member 9 into contact with the connector pin 7. As a result, a print signal and the like from the printer main body are supplied to the heating element 2 and the driver IC on the head substrate 1 via the FPC 4.
[0025]
A part of the housing 8 constituting the connector 6 has a projection 8a (for example, having a height of 0.5 mm to 2 mm and a width of 1 mm to 1 mm) projecting in a direction (downward in the drawing) orthogonal to the insertion direction of the external connection member 9. 3 mm), and the connector 6 is firmly fixed to the support member 10 by fitting the convex portion 8a into a concave portion 10a provided in the support member 10 described later.
[0026]
For this reason, the fitting direction of the convex portion 8a of the connector 6 and the concave portion 10a of the support member 10 is different from the insertion direction of the external connection member 9, and the external force applied to the external connection member 9 in the insertion direction is different. Thus, a fitting portion between the convex portion 8a and the concave portion 10a has a large resistance. Therefore, the connector 6 can be firmly fixed to the support member 10, and the fixing position of the connector 6 can be stabilized, so that there is an advantage that the connection work between the thermal head and the printer body is simplified.
[0027]
In addition, the FPC 4 causes the wiring conductor 5 led to the end thereof to abut on the circuit conductor 3 on the head substrate 1 via solder, and then melts it at a predetermined temperature using a heater bar. The circuit conductor 3 and the wiring conductor 5 are electrically connected to the head substrate 1 by soldering.
[0028]
The above-described head substrate 1 is mounted and fixed on the upper surface of a support member 5 made of a good heat conductive material such as aluminum via an adhesive member such as a double-sided tape.
[0029]
The support member 10 supports the head substrate 1 and the FPC 4 and the like on its upper surface, and absorbs a part of the heat in the head substrate 1 through the lower surface of the head substrate 1 so that the temperature of the head substrate 1 becomes excessive. This is for effectively preventing the temperature from becoming high.
[0030]
The supporting member 10 is provided with a concave portion 10a corresponding to the convex portion 8a on a part thereof (an upper surface side in the present embodiment), and the convex portion 8a is fitted into the concave portion 10a. The connector 6 is firmly fixed to the support member 10. In addition, similarly to the convex portion 8a, a plurality of concave portions 10a may be formed, or may be formed in a band shape.
[0031]
Such a supporting member 10 is manufactured by, for example, forming an ingot (lump) of aluminum or the like into a predetermined shape by a conventionally known metal working method.
[0032]
As shown in FIG. 3, a thermal printer incorporating the above-described thermal head includes a driving unit C for driving the thermal head T, the above-described external connection member 9, and a recording medium including a heating element of the thermal head T. A platen roller 11 and transport rollers 12a, 12b, 12c, 12d, etc., as transport means for transporting the sheet 2 are provided.
[0033]
The driving means C includes a driver IC in which shift registers, latches, switching transistors, and the like are integrated at high density, and a control circuit that supplies control signals such as strobe signals and latch signals to the driver IC. By switching on / off the switching transistor in the driver IC based on the control signal, the heat generation of the heating element 2 is controlled.
[0034]
The external connection member 9 is for electrically connecting the thermal printer and the above-described thermal head, and an external connector member corresponding to the shape of the other end of the connector pin 7 is preferably used. When incorporating the thermal head T into the printer, the thermal head T is inserted into the housing 8 of the connector 6.
[0035]
At this time, even if a large force is applied to the connector 6 in the insertion direction of the external connection member 9, the protrusion 8 a protruding in a direction orthogonal to the insertion direction and the recess 10 a fitted to the protrusion 8 a. Since the connector 6 is fixed, it is possible to effectively prevent the FPC 4 from being bent or the connector 6 from peeling off, simplifying a connection operation between the thermal head T and the printer main body, and improving the productivity of the thermal printer. It becomes possible.
[0036]
On the other hand, the platen roller 11 as a conveying means is a cylindrical member in which butadiene rubber or the like is wound around a shaft core made of a metal such as SUS to a thickness of about 3 mm to 15 mm. The recording medium is conveyed in a direction perpendicular to the arrangement of the heating elements 2 (the direction of the arrow in the figure) while pressing the recording medium against the heating elements 2.
[0037]
The transport rollers 12a, 12b, 12c, and 12d have their outer peripheral portions formed of metal, rubber, or the like, and are disposed separately from the thermal head T on the upstream side and the downstream side in the recording medium transport direction. The transporting of the recording medium is supported by the transport rollers 12a, 12b, 12c, and 12d and the platen roller 11 described above.
[0038]
At the same time, a large number of heating elements 2 are selectively heated by driving the drive means C to generate Joule heat, and the heat is transmitted to the recording medium, whereby a predetermined print is formed.
[0039]
It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various changes and improvements can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
[0040]
For example, in the above embodiment, the convex portion is provided on the connector, and the concave portion is provided on the support member. Alternatively, the convex portion may be provided on the support member, and the concave portion may be provided on the connector. Absent.
[0041]
In the above-described embodiment, a plurality of convex portions 8a and concave portions 10a may be formed, or may be formed in a belt shape.
[0042]
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the concave portion provided in the support member is provided on the upper surface side of the support member. However, the concave portion may be provided on the lower surface side or the end surface side.
[0043]
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the support member directly supports the head substrate. Alternatively, another member may be interposed between the support member and the head substrate.
[0044]
Further, in the above-described embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, part or all of the protrusion 8a (part in FIG. 3) is cut by a cross-sectional area (a plane orthogonal to the projecting direction of the protrusion 8a). If the cross-sectional area is set to be larger at the rear end side than at the front end, the strength can be increased at the rear end side of the convex portion 8a where stress is likely to be concentrated by the insertion of the external connection member 10, Thereby, the reliability of the thermal head and the thermal printer can be improved. In this case, in order to correspond to the shape of the projection 8a, it is preferable that the bottom area of the recess 10a is formed to be narrow in the depth direction.
[0045]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, the connector and the support member are fitted together, and since the fitting direction and the insertion direction of the external connection member are made different, when the external connection member is inserted into the connector, The fitting portion between the connector and the support member has a large resistance to an external force applied in the insertion direction, so that the connector can be firmly fixed to the support member and the fixing position of the connector can be stabilized. Therefore, the work of connecting the thermal head to the printer body is simplified, and the productivity of the thermal printer can be improved.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a thermal head according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of a thermal printer configured by incorporating the thermal head of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a thermal head according to another embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a conventional thermal head.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Head board 2 ... Heating element 3 ... Circuit conductor 4 ... FPC
5 Wiring conductor 6 Connector 7 Conducting member (connector pin)
8 Housing 8a Projection 9 External connection member 10 Support member 10a Recess

Claims (3)

A head substrate having a heating element and a circuit conductor,
A support member for supporting the head substrate,
A flexible wiring board having a wiring conductor electrically connected to the circuit conductor,
A housing in which a conductive member that electrically connects the wiring conductor and the external connection member is housed in a housing, and a connector into which the external connection member is inserted inside the housing;
A thermal head wherein the housing of the connector and the support member are fitted together, and the fitting direction of the two and the insertion direction of the external connection member are different from each other. 2. The thermal head according to claim 1, wherein a protrusion and a recess are provided at positions corresponding to the housing and the support member of the connector. 3. A thermal head according to claim 1, comprising: an external connection member inserted into a housing of the connector; a transport unit for transporting a recording medium onto a heating element; and a driving unit for driving the thermal head. A thermal printer.

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