JPH07266588A - Recording head and recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make it easy to perform the highly precise positioning of a lens by forming a first lens integrally with a base and constituting a microlens array of a second lens. CONSTITUTION:A first lens 19P is formed integrally with a base (substrate) provided on a dye storage part 37. A laser beam emitted from each laser 18 of a multilaser array 30A is adjusted to be parallel with the other by each second lens 19Q of a microlens array 30A, and is focused on the upper end part (gasification part 17) of a liquid dye 22 in the dye storage part 37 by each first lens 19P. Thus the gasified dye 32 sticks to a photographic paper 50, passing through a clearance 11, and data is recorded.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording head and a recording device (especially a laser beam printer).

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, in image recording of video cameras, televisions, computer graphics and the like, there is an increasing need for colorization of hard copy as well as recording of mono color. In response to this, various types of printers have been developed and deployed in various fields.

Among these recording methods, an ink sheet coated with an ink layer in which a high-concentration transfer dye is dispersed in a suitable binder resin, and a dyeing resin that receives the transferred dye are coated. The heat-sensitive recording head located on the ink sheet applies heat according to the image information, and the heat-sensitive recording head located on the ink sheet applies heat according to the image information. There is a method of thermal transfer.

The so-called thermal transfer system, in which a full-color image is obtained by repeating the above-mentioned operation for each of the image signals decomposed into three primary colors of subtractive color, yellow, magenta, and cyan, can be downsized and easily maintained. Therefore, it is attracting attention as an excellent technology that has an immediacy and obtains a high-quality image comparable to a silver salt color photograph.

FIG. 23 is a schematic front view of the main part of such a thermal transfer type printer. According to this printer, a thermal recording head (hereinafter referred to as a thermal head) 1 and a platen roller 3 face each other, and an ink sheet 12 having an ink layer 12a provided on a base film 12b between them,
The recording paper (transferred material) 20 having the dyeing resin layer (dye receiving layer) 20a provided on the paper 20b is sandwiched and pressed against the thermal head 1 by the platen roller 3.

The ink (transfer dye) in the ink layer 12a selectively heated by the thermal head 1 is
The transfer is carried out in a dot shape on the dyeing resin layer 20a of the transfer target 20, and thermal transfer recording is performed. In such thermal transfer recording, generally, a line system in which a longitudinal thermal head is fixedly arranged so as to be orthogonal to the recording paper traveling direction, or a serial head in which the thermal head reciprocates in a direction orthogonal to the recording paper traveling direction is used. The method is adopted.

[0007]

The present inventors have made use of the advantages of such a thermal transfer recording system while reducing waste and transfer energy, and making the printer smaller and lighter, as shown in FIGS.
FIG. 25 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line XXV-XXV of 24. A non-contact type dye vaporization laser beam printer (LBP) as shown in FIG.
Already developed.

According to this recording method, a heat-fusible dye layer
Recording head (printer head) 10 having 22 in the vaporization unit 17
And a receiving layer for receiving a vaporized (or sublimated) dye
A minute gap 11 is provided between the recording medium (printing paper) 50 having 50a.

Then, by irradiation with the laser beam L, 100 to 20 contained in the dye containing portion 37 of the vaporizing portion 17 of the recording head 10 are recorded.
The liquefied dye 22 at 0 ° C is selectively heated to be vaporized, and the vaporized dye 32 is caused to fly in the void 11, transferred from the vaporization hole 23 onto the photographic printing paper 50 as a recording medium, and continuous gradation is performed. Get an image with. By repeating this operation for each of the image signals decomposed into the three primary colors of the subtractive color mixture, yellow, magenta, and cyan, full color can be achieved. The dye is mixed with an additive such as naphthalocyanine that absorbs infrared light having a wavelength of slightly less than 1 μm, and is solid (for example, powder) at room temperature in consideration of handleability at the time of replacement.

In this recording system, the photographic printing paper 50 is opposed to the recording head 10 on the upper side, for example, and is emitted from the laser 18 near the upper surface of the vaporizing section 17 to be parallel by the lens 19B and the lens 19A. It is preferable that the vaporized dye 32 is caused to fly or move upward by irradiating the laser light L condensed in the above.
The dye containing portion 37 is made of, for example, quartz glass that is transparent to light having a wavelength of slightly less than 1 μm and has excellent heat resistance.

Further, a head base having a laser beam transmitting property.
A dye reservoir 15 is provided in 14, and the liquefied dye 22 is accommodated between the dye reservoir 15 and a spacer 28 fixed on the head base 14, and the liquefied dye 22 is supplied from here to a vaporization section 17 through a dye passage 27. In this case, in order to improve the supply efficiency and the vaporization efficiency of the dye to the vaporization unit 17, the vaporization unit 17 is provided with minute irregularities composed of small cylinders 21 that supply and hold the dye by utilizing the capillary phenomenon. .

A protective plate 29 is fixed on the spacer 28 in order to hold the gap 11 and guide the photographic printing paper 50 moving in the X direction. A heater 16 for maintaining the liquefied state of the dye is embedded in the protective plate 29. Such a heater may be arranged in the dye containing portion (the passage 17 and the dye reservoir 15). it can.

The entire printer including this printer head is provided with, for example, yellow, magenta, and cyan dye reservoirs 15Y, 15M, and 15C on a common base 14 from which full-color dyes 12 to 24 are dyed. Vaporizing parts 17Y, 17M, 17C in rows that form a large number of dots
Supply to.

For each vaporizing section, each laser beam emitted from a multi-laser array 30 in which 12 to 24 corresponding lasers (in particular, semiconductor laser chips) 18 are arranged in an array is provided with a large number of pairs of lenses 19B. , 19A are arranged to collect light.

As described above, according to the dye vaporization type laser beam printer, as for the dye consumed for recording, only the lost portion is flowed from the dye reservoir to the vaporization section in a molten state, so that the vaporization section Can be continuously supplied to. This is possible because the dye contains little binder resin. Therefore, since the vaporizing section involved in recording can be repeatedly used many times, the ink sheet is disposable only once in the above-mentioned thermal transfer method, which is advantageous in terms of resource saving and environmental protection.

Further, since it is a vaporization type, recording can be carried out without contact between the dye layer and the recording medium (printing paper).
During the second and subsequent printings, reverse transfer of dyes and color mixing, which are seen in the above-mentioned thermal transfer system, do not occur. At the same time, the printer can be made smaller and lighter because a small volume dye reservoir is used for supplying the dye instead of the above-described ink sheet.

Further, since this recording system uses vaporization or sublimation of the dye, it is not necessary to heat the dye receiving layer of the recording medium as in the above-mentioned thermal transfer system, and the ink sheet and the recording medium are not recorded. It is not necessary to press the body against the body with high pressure, and this is also advantageous in reducing the size and weight of the printer. Since the dye layer in the vaporized portion and the recording medium do not come into contact with each other, heat fusion cannot occur between them, and recording is possible even if the compatibility between the dye and the receiving layer resin is small. Therefore, the range of design and selection of the dye and the resin for the receiving layer is significantly expanded.

Further, the semiconductor laser 18 is basically used as a light source as a heat energy supply source for vaporizing (or sublimating) the dye. However, the semiconductor laser has a high conversion efficiency from electric power to light, and Since the dye has excellent directivity and light collecting property, the heat energy transfer efficiency of the dye is also very high. Therefore, the total energy utilization efficiency is markedly higher than that of the conventional method (thermal transfer by the above-mentioned thermal head or ink jet), which is advantageous in downsizing and power saving.

Further, it is difficult to express gradation with the conventional ink jet type color printer, but since the semiconductor laser can easily control the output power, the pulse width and the like, the above recording method can easily express multi gradation. realizable.

In a dye vaporization type laser beam printer, when a single beam laser array is used, printing is performed dot by dot, so the printing speed becomes slow as it is. In order to solve this problem, the laser may be made into multiple beams.

However, as a result of the present inventor's examination of this vaporization type laser beam printer, it was found that the following problems to be solved still remain although they have the above-mentioned various advantages. .

Since the liquefied dye in the dye accommodating portion is heated to 100 ° C. or higher, the plastic lens has a problem in long-term reliability.

When a large number of heat-resistant quartz glass lenses are independently arranged, the cost is significantly increased.

In addition to this, it is difficult in terms of accuracy to arrange a large number of lenses so as to make the focal point accurate for each liquefied dye, and there is a problem in reliability of vaporization of the dye.

[0025]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has the advantages described above, can be used for a long period of time, is excellent in durability, and vaporizes a recording material. It is an object of the present invention to provide a recording head and a recording apparatus which are reliably performed, have high reliability, and do not increase the manufacturing cost.

[0026]

The present invention is configured to vaporize a recording material by irradiation of a heating beam and transfer it to a recording medium, and a lens for concentrating the heating beam on the recording material. The present invention relates to a recording head configured integrally with a recording material supporting portion that supports the recording material.

In the present invention, it is desirable that the lens and the recording material support portion are made of the same material.

Further, in the present invention, the first lens for concentrating the heating beam on each of the plurality of recording materials is integrated with the recording material supporting portion, and the direction of the heating beam is made parallel. It is desirable that the second lens is provided on the heating beam emitting means side.

Further, in the present invention, it is desirable that a plurality of first lenses and a plurality of second lenses are provided, respectively, and a plurality of recording materials are supported by the recording material support portion correspondingly.

In the above, it is desirable that the first and second lenses are integrated.

In the present invention, it is also preferable that a single lens for concentrating the heating beam from the heating beam emitting section on a plurality of recording materials is integrated with the recording material supporting section.

Further, in the present invention, it is desirable that the lens for concentrating the heating beam is integrally formed with the recording material supporting portion.

Further, in the present invention, it is desirable that a lens for concentrating the heating beam is adhered to the recording material supporting portion.

Further, in the present invention, it is desirable that the heating beam emitting means and the recording material supporting portion are provided corresponding to at least one type of recording material.

In the present invention, the heating beam emitting means may be a laser and the lens may be an optical lens.

In the above, it is desirable that the laser is constructed as a multi-laser array.

Further, in the present invention, it is desirable that the recording material is opposed to the recording medium with a gap, and the vaporized recording material is transferred to the recording medium through the gap. .

The present invention also relates to a recording apparatus having the recording head described above.

[0039]

EXAMPLES Examples of the present invention will be described below.

1 to 7 show a first embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a non-contact type dye vaporization type laser beam printer (for example, a video printer).

FIG. 1 shows that, for each of the plurality of dye vaporizers,
The first lens 19P is attached to the lower end of the base 38 made of quartz glass.
FIG. 4 is a schematic front view of a main part of a recording head 40A formed by integral molding. And, below the first lens 19P,
A second lens 19Q and a laser (semiconductor laser) 18 are arranged. The laser 18 is designed to generate 24 beams at 1/12 mm intervals.

The laser light L emitted from the laser 18 is collimated by the second lens 19Q and is dyed by the first lens 19P having a diameter of about 80 μm and arranged at intervals of 1/12 mm.
The liquefied dye 22 is vaporized at the vaporizing portion 17 at the upper end of 37, and the vaporizing dye 32 is attached to the printing paper 50. In this way, printing (recording) is performed by each dye attached in a dot shape. The photographic printing paper 50 is positioned with respect to the vaporizing section 17 with a minute gap 11 therebetween.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing each part constituting the printer head. For each vaporization part, a large number of first lenses 19P were arranged for each laser beam emitted from a multi-laser array 30A in which 12 to 24 corresponding lasers (especially semiconductor laser chips) 18 were arranged in an array. The microlens arrays 31A make them parallel to each other (36 is a mirror for guiding the laser light L in a direction at right angles). The multi-laser array 30A is a control IC provided on the substrate 33A.
The drive is controlled by 34A, and the heat sink 35 can sufficiently dissipate heat.

A protective plate 29 is located on the base 38 via a spacer (not shown in FIG. 2, 28 in FIG. 4).
The void 11 is formed by the vaporization hole 23 provided in 29. As shown in FIG. 3, which is a perspective view in which the base 14 is turned upside down, the first lens 19P is formed in a strip shape on the lower surface of the base 38 so as to face the dye accommodating portions arranged in a line. ing.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG.
In this example, the structure of the lens is characteristic, and the other features are the same as those of the recording head 10 described above with reference to FIG.

In this example, since the plurality of second lenses 19Q are constructed as a single microlens array 31 and the plurality of first lenses 19P are integrally formed on the lower surface of the base 38, a plurality of them are provided respectively. It is easy to position the first and second lenses with respect to the vaporizing section 17 and the lasers 18 with high accuracy.

The first lens 19P close to the dye accommodating portion 37, which becomes hot, has a heat-resistant quartz glass base 38.
Since it is formed integrally with the, it does not suffer damage such as deformation due to heat and can withstand long-term use. Moreover, the manufacturing cost does not soar. In addition, the laser 18 is vaporized
It is preferable that the distance between the first and second lenses 19P and 19Q is sufficiently large so as not to be deteriorated by heat from here apart from 17.

During the recording operation, the recording head is scanned and the photographic paper is fed out by a predetermined size for each line recording.

FIG. 5 shows a multi (beam) laser array 30 including a dye accommodating portion (or dye supplying head portion) 37 and a laser 18 having a row of light emitting points 18a for a printing paper 50.
1 schematically shows a printer head in which A and A are arranged. The printer head 40A is scanned in the Y direction from the end side of the photographic printing paper 50, and the photographic printing paper is scanned X times for each recording of one line.
Sent in the direction.

As shown in FIG. 6, the printer head 40A is reciprocally movable in a head feeding direction Y, which is orthogonal to the paper feeding direction X of the printing paper 50, by a head feeding shaft 42 and a head support shaft 43 which are feed screw mechanisms. I am doing it. A head receiving roller 47 that rotatably supports the photographic printing paper 50 is rotatably provided above the head 40. And photographic paper 50
Are nipped between the paper feed drive roller 45 and the driven roller 46 and move in the paper feed direction X. In addition,
The head 40A is connected to a head drive circuit board (not shown) or the like via a flexible harness 87. When the feeding direction of the head 40A is one line, it is possible to add one more head 40A and divide one line into two by these pair of heads for color printing.

The printer head 40A is shown in FIG.
Similar to the head shown in FIG. 4, specifically, as shown in FIG.
Receptor layer 50a for receiving vaporized (or sublimated) dye
A recording medium (printing paper) 50 having a micro gap 11 and a laser beam L emitted from a laser 18 to irradiate the head.
The liquefied dye 22 in the vaporizing section 17 of 40 is selectively heated to be vaporized, and the vaporized dye 32 is caused to fly in the gap 11 and transferred onto the photographic printing paper 50 which is a recording medium. Obtain an image with gradation. The vaporizing dye 32 may fly to the photographic paper 50 from the vaporizing hole 23 provided in the protective plate 29.

Further, a protective plate 29 is provided on the substrate 14 via a spacer 28, and a liquefied dye 22 is contained in a dye reservoir 15 formed between the substrate 14 and the dye passage 27 from the liquefied dye 22. It is then supplied to the vaporization section 47.

In this case, in order to improve the dye supply efficiency and the vaporization efficiency to the vaporization part 17, a minute concavo-convex formed by the small columnar body 21 for supplying and holding the dye by using the capillary phenomenon is provided in the vaporization part 47. It is provided. The diameter of each small cylinder 21 is about 3 μm,
It is preferable that the height is 1 to 6 μm and the interval is about 1 μm.
The column 21 may be a prism other than the column. Also,
To maintain the liquefied state of the dye 52, a heater 16 similar to that described in FIG. 25 can be provided on the substrate 38 or in the dye passage 27 and the dye reservoir 15.

The first lens may be formed integrally with the base, or may be separately manufactured and joined to the base. FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the head similar to that of FIG. In this case, the base is a base 14 having a flat lower surface similar to that shown in FIG. 26, and a plate-shaped body 24 of the same material provided with the first lens 19P is separately prepared, and the plate-shaped body 24 is used as the base 14. It is attached by adhesion to and both are integrated.

8 to 12 show a second embodiment. In this example, a single lens is integrally provided on the base without separating the lens into the first and second lenses.

FIG. 8 shows the recording head 40B according to this example.
9 is an exploded perspective view similar to FIG. 2, FIG. 10 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 3 in which the base is turned upside down, and FIG. 11 is an enlarged line XI-XI of FIG. FIG.

The single lens 19R is integrally formed on the base 48, and the laser light L emitted from each laser 18 is formed.
Is condensed by the lens 19R onto the vaporizing section 17 of each dye containing section 37, and recording is performed as in the first embodiment.

In this example, a single lens is used for the base 48.
Since it is integrally provided in the first embodiment, the lens arrangement becomes easier than in the first embodiment, and the manufacturing cost is further reduced. Others are the same as those in the first embodiment.

Also in this example, as shown in FIG. 12, the plate-like body 44 provided with the lens 19R is prepared separately from the base, and is attached to the base 14 shown in FIG. 26 by adhesion. May be integrated.

While the first and second embodiments described above are examples of mono-color recording, the following third and fourth embodiments are examples of full-color recording.

13 to 18 show a third embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a non-contact type dye vaporization type laser beam full color printer.

According to the printer head 40C of this example,
As shown in FIG. 15, especially for full color, the dye containing portion as shown in FIG. 2 and FIG.
37M for magenta and 37C for cyan are connected, and the laser light L from the lasers 18Y, 18M, and 18C for each color is selectively incident on each of these, and the dye of each color is vaporized.

The printer head 40C of this example is constructed as schematically shown in FIG. 16, and the dye containing portions (or dye supply head portions) 37Y, 37M and 37C of the respective colors are arranged in the respective laser arrays 30B.
(They are composed of lasers 18Y, 18M and 18C for the respective colors.)

Then, specifically, as shown in FIG. 17, scanning is performed (similarly to that described in FIG. 6), and recording is performed.

The entire printer including this printer head can be constructed as shown in FIG. 13. For example, for full color, each of the yellow, magenta, and cyan dye reservoirs 15Y, 15M, and 15C is a common base 58. , And the dyes of the respective colors are supplied to the vaporizing sections 17Y, 17M and 17C in rows which form 12 to 24 dots. Figure 14
Is a perspective view in which the base 58 is turned upside down, and first belt-shaped first lenses 19P, 19P, 19P are formed on the lower surface of the base 58 so as to face the dye vaporization sections 17Y, 17M, 17C arranged in three rows. Has been done.

A large number of laser beams emitted from a multi-laser array 30B in which 12 to 24 corresponding lasers (especially semiconductor laser chips) 18Y, 18M, and 18C are arranged in an array are provided for each vaporization section. The light is condensed by the microlens array 31B provided with the condenser lens 19 (36 is a mirror for guiding the laser light L in the perpendicular direction). The multi-laser array 30B is driven and controlled by the control IC 34B provided on the substrate 33B, and can be sufficiently radiated by the heat sink 35. In the figure, 49 is the vaporization hole 23
It is a protective plate arranged in rows.

18 and 19 show a fourth embodiment of the present invention. In this example, dyes of three colors of Y, M, and C are used, and as in the second embodiment, the first and second lenses are replaced by a single unit molded on the base 68. I am using lens 19S.

FIG. 18 is an exploded perspective view of the recording head 40D similar to FIG. 13, and FIG. 19 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 14 in which the base 68 is turned upside down. In this example, full-color recording is performed as in the third embodiment, and the same effect as in the second embodiment can be obtained.

Even in the above third and fourth embodiments, FIG.
3, as shown by the phantom line in FIG.
4B and 64B may be prepared separately from the bases 54A and 64A, and both may be integrated by adhesion.

FIG. 20 is a schematic front view of a main part of the recording head according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention, similar to FIG. In this example, in place of the first and second lenses 19P and 19Q (see FIG. 1) in the first embodiment, a concave curved surface 69a and a convex curved surface 69b combine the functions of these two lenses. I am using one lens 69. The lower surface of the base 74 is a convex curved surface 74a in which the concave and convex surfaces of the lens 69 are reversed. Even in this example, the single lens facilitates highly accurate positioning of the lens.

The lens shown in FIG. 20 can be integrated by forming it separately from the base without molding it and bonding them. FIG. 21 is a schematic front view of a main part of the recording head thus configured.

The lens 69 in the examples of FIGS. 20 and 21 has a refractive index different from that of the base 74. That is, the refractive index of the lens 69 and the base 74 and the thickness dimension of the base 74 are determined so that the laser light L is condensed on the vaporizing section 17.

FIG. 22 shows an example in which, unlike the printer described above, laser light is emitted from above the head and recording is performed on the recording paper located below it.

That is, according to the laser printer 131 of this example, on the frame chassis 132 covered with the housing 136, the cassette 133 for storing the recording paper (printing paper) 50 and the flat base 134 for recording are provided. is doing.

Then, the recording paper discharge port 13 in the housing 136
A paper feed drive roller 137 driven by a motor 146 and the like is provided on the 5 side, and a pressure contact driven roller 138 that holds the recording paper 50 with the paper feed drive roller 137 with a light pressure is provided. Above the cassette 133 in the housing 136,
A head drive circuit board 150 on which a drive IC 139 is mounted and a DC power source 141 are provided. Head drive circuit board 150
And the printer head 140 placed on the flat base 134.
Are connected to each other via a flexible harness 142.

The head 140 may have basically the same structure as that shown in FIG. 4, for example, and is configured to emit laser light downward to fly the dye. As shown in FIG. 15, it is possible to divide into yellow, magenta, and cyan head portions.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the above embodiments can be further modified based on the technical idea of the present invention.

For example, an appropriate electromagnetic wave other than laser light can be used for the heating beam. In this case, a lens having an appropriate mechanism adapted to the electromagnetic wave used is used as the lens.

Further, the photographic paper may be brought into contact with the vaporizing part, and the vaporized dye may be attached to the photographic paper for recording. In this case, an ink sheet is used, for example, the ink sheet and the recording paper are sandwiched between the platen roller and the recording head, and a lens is provided on a member that comes into contact with the ink sheet,
Recording can be performed by irradiating the ink sheet with a heating beam. Of course, it is also possible to do this in a non-contact manner.

The structure and shape of the head and printer are
It may have an appropriate structure and shape other than those described above, and other appropriate materials may be used for the material of each part constituting the head. With respect to the recording dye, full-color recording can be performed with three colors of magenta, yellow, and cyan, and one color of mono-color or monochrome can be recorded.

The head may be either a type (serial type) that scans every line or a fixed type (line type as shown in FIG. 23). The drive mechanism in the case of the serial type is the one described above (for example, FIG. 6 or It is not limited to the one shown in FIG. 17).

Further, as in the above-described example, the solid dye is once made into a liquid and vaporized to perform recording, or the solid dye is heated by laser light to be directly vaporized, that is, sublimated to perform recording. It is also possible to store a liquefied dye (liquid at room temperature) in the dye reservoir.

[0083]

As described above, the present invention is constructed so that a recording material such as a dye is vaporized by irradiation with a heating beam such as a laser beam and is transferred to a recording medium such as photographic paper by flying or the like. Since the lens for concentrating the beam on the recording material and the recording material supporting portion are integrated, the lens can be made excellent in heat resistance and can be used for a long period of time.

Further, by the above integration, the lens alignment can be easily performed with high precision, and high reliability is guaranteed. Further, since the lens alignment becomes easy, the manufacturing cost is low.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of a main part of a printer head according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the printer head.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view in which the base (substrate) is turned upside down.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a schematic rear view of the printer head.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the printer head as seen from below.

FIG. 7 is a diagram of a printer head in which the base is modified.
It is an exploded perspective view similar to FIG.

FIG. 8 is a schematic front view of a main part of a printer head according to a second embodiment of the present invention, similar to FIG.

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of the printer head similar to FIG.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 3 in which the base is turned upside down.

11 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line XI-XI of FIG.

FIG. 12 is a view of a printer head in which the base is changed.
It is an exploded perspective view similar to FIG.

FIG. 13 is an exploded perspective view similar to FIGS. 2 and 9 of a printer head according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

14 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 3 and FIG. 10 in which the base is turned upside down.

FIG. 15 is a schematic enlarged cross-sectional view of an essential part similar to FIGS. 4, 11, and 15 of the printer head.

FIG. 16 is a schematic rear view similar to FIG. 5 of the printer head.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 6 in which the printer head is viewed from below.

18 is an exploded perspective view similar to FIGS. 2, 9, and 13 of a printer head according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

19 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 3, FIG. 10, and FIG. 14 in which the base is turned upside down.

FIG. 20 is a schematic front view of a principal part similar to FIG. 1, of a printer head according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 21 is a front view showing the base and the lens separately.

FIG. 22 is a schematic exploded perspective view of another printer according to the present invention.

FIG. 23 is a front view of a main part of a printer using a conventional thermal recording head.

FIG. 24 is a schematic front view of a principal part similar to FIG. 1 of the printer head devised before the completion of the present invention.

25 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line XXV-XXV of FIG. 24.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 ... Void 14, 54A, 64A ... Base (substrate) 16 ... Heater 17 ... Vaporizer 18 ... Laser (semiconductor laser) 18C ... Cyan laser 18M ... Magenta Laser 18Y ・ ・ ・ Yellow laser 19P ・ ・ ・ First lens 19Q ・ ・ ・ Second lens 19R, 19S, 69 ・ ・ ・ Lens 22 ・ ・ ・ Liquid dye 24, 44, 54B, 64B ・ ・ ・ Lens Plate-shaped bodies 30A, 30B ... Multi-laser arrays 31A, 31B ... Microlens array 32 ... Vaporizing dye 37 ... Dye accommodating section 37C ... Cyan dye accommodating section 37M ... Magenta Dye storage unit 37Y ... Yellow dye storage unit 38, 48, 58, 68 ... Base with integrated lens 40A, 40B, 40C, 40D, 140 ... Printer head 50 ... Printing paper 131 ..・ Printer L ・ ・ ・ Laser beam

Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification number Office reference number FI technical display location 9121-2H B41M 5/26 A

Claims (13)

[Claims] 1. A lens configured to vaporize a recording material by irradiation with a heating beam and transfer the recording material to a recording medium, and a lens for concentrating the heating beam on the recording material, and a recording material supporting the recording material. A recording head that is integrally configured with a support portion. 2. The recording head according to claim 1, wherein the lens and the recording material support portion are made of the same material. 3. A first lens for concentrating a heating beam on each of a plurality of recording materials is integrated with a recording material supporting portion, and a second lens for making the directions of the heating beams parallel. Is provided on the heating beam emitting means side,
The recording head according to claim 1. 4. A plurality of first lenses and a plurality of second lenses are provided respectively, and a plurality of recording materials are supported by the recording material supporting portion corresponding to the plurality of first lenses and the second lenses. Recording head. 5. The recording head according to claim 3, wherein the first and second lenses are integrated. 6. The recording according to claim 1, wherein a single lens for concentrating the heating beam from the heating beam emitting unit on a plurality of recording materials is integrated with the recording material supporting unit. head. 7. The lens for concentrating the heating beam is integrally formed with the recording material supporting portion.
The recording head described in any one of 1. 8. The recording head according to claim 1, wherein a lens for focusing the heating beam is adhered to the recording material supporting portion. 9. A heating beam emitting means and a recording material supporting portion are provided corresponding to at least one type of recording material.
The recording head according to claim 1. 10. The recording head according to claim 1, wherein the heating beam emitting means is a laser and the lens is an optical lens. 11. The recording head according to claim 10, wherein the laser is configured as a multi-laser array. 12. The recording material is opposed to the recording medium with a gap therebetween, and is configured to transfer the vaporized recording material to the recording medium through the gap.
The recording head according to any one of 11 above. 13. A recording apparatus having the recording head according to claim 1.