JP2003066853A - Recording head united type display unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a high-performance recording head united display unit which can effectively prevent a display from being uneven and an unnecessary image form being formed. SOLUTION: The recording head united type display unit is formed by sectioning the top surface of a base plate 1 made of a transparent material into a recording area A and a display area B, bonding and arraying many heating elements 2 linearly in the recording area A of the base plate 1, and disposing a transparent plate 4 in the display area B across a liquid-crystal material 3 and forms an image by selectively making the heating elements 2 in the recording area A generate heat according to information displayed in the display area B and also has a plurality of through holes 5 arrayed at the border part between the recording area A and display area B.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording head integrated display unit incorporated in a portable information device such as a notebook type personal computer and a PDA (Personal Data Assistant).

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a liquid crystal display panel has been widely used as a display device incorporated in a portable information device such as a notebook personal computer and a PDA, and a predetermined information is displayed based on the information displayed on the liquid crystal display panel. In order to print out an image at hand, a recording head integrated display unit in which a printer mechanism is integrated with a liquid crystal display panel has been proposed.

An example of such a display unit is shown in FIG.
As shown in, the upper surface of the support plate 21 made of a transparent material is divided into a recording area A and a display area B, and a large number of heating elements 22 are linearly attached and arranged in the recording area A of the support plate 21. A structure in which a transparent plate 24 is disposed in the display area B via a liquid crystal material 23 is known,
When information is displayed in the display area B of the display unit, a voltage is selectively applied to the liquid crystal material 23 through a large number of transparent electrodes provided on the support plate 21 and the transparent plate 24 so that each pixel area is covered with the voltage. An image is displayed by controlling the light transmittance of the existing liquid crystal material 23, and when the image is printed out, a large number of heating elements 22 provided in the recording area A are set based on image data from the outside. A print is formed by selectively selectively generating heat and transmitting the heat to a recording medium such as thermal paper.

[0004]

However, in the above-described conventional recording head integrated display unit, since a large number of heating elements 22 are attached and formed on the upper surface of the support plate 21, a large number of heating elements are provided. When the printing operation using 22 is performed for a long time, a part of the heat generated by the heating element 22 is transferred to the liquid crystal material 23 sealed in the display area B through the support plate 21, and the temperature of the liquid crystal material 23 becomes excessive. It may get very hot. In that case, the liquid crystal material 23
However, there is a drawback in that the display content of the display area B is unevenly displayed.

In the above-mentioned conventional recording head integrated display unit, the support plate 21 is formed of a low heat conductive material such as glass or plastic, and the heat dissipation of the support plate 21 is enhanced in the recording area A thereof. No means are provided for this. Therefore, the heat generated by the heating element 22 along with the printing operation is likely to be trapped inside the support plate 21, and if the printing operation is performed at high speed, the temperature of the support plate 21 rises significantly in a short time and is unnecessary for the recording medium. The defect that prints are formed is induced.

The present invention has been devised in view of the above-mentioned drawbacks, and an object thereof is to provide a high-performance recording head integrated display unit capable of effectively preventing display unevenness and formation of unnecessary prints. Especially.

[0007]

A display unit integrated with a recording head according to the present invention divides the upper surface of a support plate made of a transparent material into a recording area and a display area, and a large number of heating elements in the recording area of the support plate. Is applied in a straight line
A recording head in which a transparent plate is arranged in a display area via a liquid crystal material and a heating element in the recording area is selectively heated based on information displayed in the display area to form a print. In the integrated display unit, the support plate has a plurality of through holes arranged in a row along the arrangement of the heating elements at the boundary between the recording area and the display area. It is a thing.

In the recording head integrated display unit of the present invention, the thermal conductivity is 0.02 W / m.multidot.m in the through hole.
It is characterized by being filled with a resin material of K to 0.20 W / m · K.

Further, the recording head integrated display unit of the present invention is characterized in that the plurality of through holes are arranged in a staggered pattern.

Furthermore, the recording head integrated display unit of the present invention is made of metal, the end portion of which is extended to the vicinity of the boundary between the display area and the recording area on the lower surface of the support plate located immediately below the heating element. It is characterized in that a heat sink is attached.

Furthermore, in the recording head integrated display unit of the present invention, the support plate has a Young's modulus of 45 GPa to
It is characterized by being made of glass of 55 GPa.

According to the recording head-integrated display unit of the present invention, the upper surface of the support plate made of a transparent material is divided into a recording area and a display area, a heating element array is provided in the recording area, and a liquid crystal material is provided in the display area. Since a transparent plate is arranged through the through hole, and a plurality of through holes arranged along the heating element row are provided in the support plate located at the boundary between the recording area and the display area, It is possible to effectively prevent the heat generated by the heat generating element from being transmitted to the liquid crystal material in the display area through the support plate due to the heat insulating effect of the air filled in the through hole of the, and the printing operation is relatively performed. By keeping the liquid crystal material in a good temperature state even for a long time, it is possible to display a clear image with little display unevenness.

Further, according to the recording head integrated display unit of the present invention, a resin material having a thermal conductivity of 0.02 W / mK to 0.20 W / mK is provided inside the through hole provided in the support plate. By filling it, it is possible to keep the heat transfer from the recording area to the display area small, while maintaining high mechanical strength of the support plate, effectively preventing deformation of the recording head integrated display unit, and recording. It is possible to improve the reliability of the head-integrated display unit.

Further, according to the recording head integrated display unit of the present invention, by arranging a plurality of through holes provided in the support plate in a zigzag pattern, the above-mentioned heat insulation effect can be further enhanced, and recording It is possible to more reliably prevent the occurrence of display unevenness due to heat transfer from the area to the display area.

Further, according to the recording head integrated display unit of the present invention, a metal is made by extending the end portion to the vicinity of the boundary between the display area and the recording area on the lower surface of the support plate located directly below the heating element. By attaching the heat radiating plate, the heat in the support plate is satisfactorily dissipated to the atmosphere through the heat radiating plate during printing. Therefore, even if the printing operation is performed at a relatively high speed, the temperature of the support plate does not rise significantly in a short time, and a desired print corresponding to the image data can be formed.

Further, according to the recording head integrated display unit of the present invention, the supporting plate is provided with Young's modulus of 45 GP.
Since the support plate is formed of glass having an appropriate elasticity of a to 55 GPa, the support plate elastically deforms and absorbs the stress even when a large external force is applied to the recording area of the support plate during the printing operation. Damage such as cracking can be effectively prevented, and the reliability of the recording head integrated display unit can be improved.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1 is a perspective view of a recording head integrated display unit according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the recording head integrated display unit of FIG. Is a liquid crystal material, 4 is a transparent plate,
Reference numeral 5 is a through hole, A is a recording area, and B is a display area.

The recording head integrated display unit shown in the figure shows an example in which a thermal head is used as the recording head. In such a display unit, the upper surface of the support plate 1 having a rectangular shape is displayed as a recording area A. It has a structure in which a heating element array 2A is arranged in the recording area A, and a transparent plate 4 made of glass, plastic or the like is arranged in the display area B via the liquid crystal material 3 in addition to being divided into areas B.

The heating element 2A provided in the recording area A is
Along one side of the support plate 1, for example, 300 dpi (do
The heating elements 7 are linearly arranged at a density of t per inch) and each of them is made of an electric resistance material such as TaSiO. When power is applied to
The heating element 2 generates Joule heat to a predetermined temperature required for printing.

A platen roller P is rotatably arranged on the heating element array 2A.
While rotating, the recording medium such as thermal paper is sequentially fed onto the heating element array 2A, a large number of heating elements 2 are selectively and selectively heated to form a predetermined print on the recording medium.

The heating element 2 employs a well-known thin film forming technique, specifically, sputtering, photolithography, etching, etc., and the above-mentioned electric resistance material is deposited on the upper surface of the support plate 1 in a predetermined pattern. It is formed by

On the other hand, as the liquid crystal material 3 enclosed between the support plate 1 and the transparent plate 4 in the display area B, for example, nematic liquid crystal molecules are used, and the liquid crystal molecules are supported by the support plate 1 by an alignment film described later. -Transparent plate 4
The STN type simple matrix type semi-transmissive liquid crystal display panel is formed by twisting the twisted arrangement by 180 ° to 270 °.

ITO (Indium) is formed on the upper surface of the support plate 1 and the lower surface of the transparent plate 4 which constitute such a liquid crystal display panel.
A large number of transparent electrodes made of a transparent conductive material such as tin oxide and an alignment film made of a polyimide resin, and a polarizing film and the like are attached and formed on the lower surface of the support plate 1 and the upper surface of the transparent plate 4, respectively. By arranging the support plate 1 and the transparent plate 4 so as to face each other so that the transparent electrodes are orthogonal to each other, a matrix wiring is formed by two types of transparent electrode groups.

In such a liquid crystal display panel, individual pixels are formed in regions where transparent electrodes face each other, and a predetermined voltage is applied to the liquid crystal material 3 in each pixel region through the transparent electrodes. Then, by changing the molecular arrangement of the liquid crystal molecules, the transmittance of light passing through the liquid crystal cell is controlled for each pixel.

Then, behind the liquid crystal display panel as described above, that is, on the transparent plate 4 side, there is provided a backlight 6 constituted by combining a light guide plate, a fluorescent lamp, a reflection plate, and the like. By irradiating the liquid crystal display panel with light from the light 6 from behind, a predetermined image is displayed in the display area B of the liquid crystal display panel.

Further, the support plate 1 having the recording area A and the display area B on the upper surface has, for example, Young's modulus of 45 G.
Pa to 75 GPa, thickness 0.5 mm to 0.7 mm, thermal conductivity 0.50 W / mK to 0.75 W / mK, light transmittance 90% to 95%, and recording area At the boundary between A and the display area B, a plurality of through holes 5 are arranged in a line along the arrangement of the heating elements 2 described above.

The support plate 1 functions as a support base material for supporting a large number of heat generating elements 2, liquid crystal material 3, transparent plate 4, transparent electrodes, etc. on its upper surface, and the support plate 1 is provided with holes. The inside of the provided through-hole 5 is filled with air or a resin material having a thermal conductivity of 0.02 W / m · K to 0.20 W / m · K.

In the support plate 1 as described above, heat transfer from the recording area A to the display area B is effectively prevented by the heat insulating effect of the air or resin material filled in the through holes 5. Therefore, even if the printing operation using the large number of heating elements 2 is performed for a relatively long time, the heat transfer from the recording area A to the display area B is suppressed to be small, and the display area B and the transparent plate 4 are separated from each other. It becomes possible to keep the enclosed liquid crystal material 3 in a good temperature state and display a clear image with little display unevenness.

Further, in this case, as the filling material filled in the through hole 5, the thermal conductivity is 0.02 W / m · K to
If a resin material of 0.20 W / m · K is used, it is possible to keep the mechanical strength of the support plate 1 high while suppressing heat transfer from the recording area A to the display area B to a low level, and to reduce the recording head. The deformation of the body display unit is effectively prevented,
It is possible to improve reliability. Therefore, the filler filled in the through hole 5 has a thermal conductivity of 0.
It is preferable to use a resin material of 02 W / m · K to 0.20 W / m · K.

Further, the supporting plate 1 is provided with a Young's modulus of 45 G.
If the support plate 1 is formed of glass of Pa to 55 GPa, the support plate 1 is provided with appropriate elasticity. Therefore, even if a large external force is applied to the recording area A of the support plate 1 due to the printing operation, the support plate 1 is elastic. By deforming and absorbing the stress, damage such as cracking can be effectively prevented, and the reliability of the recording head integrated display unit can be improved. Therefore, the supporting plate 1 has a Young's modulus of 4
It is preferably formed of glass of 5 GPa to 55 GPa.

Then, on the lower surface of the support plate 1 described above, the end portions are provided directly below the many heating elements 2 and the display area B-
The metal heat sink 7 extending to the vicinity of the boundary of the recording area A is attached.

The heat radiating plate 7 is made of a metal having good heat conductivity such as aluminum, stainless steel (SUS 304), titanium, duralumin, etc., and is, for example, 0.1 mm to 1.0 mm.
The heat-radiating plate 7 is formed to have a thickness of 10 mm, and the heat-dissipating plate 7 absorbs heat in the support plate 1 favorably during printing operation using a large number of heat-generating elements 2 and efficiently dissipates the heat in the atmosphere to support it. It works to suppress the temperature rise of the plate 1.

Therefore, even if the printing operation is performed at a relatively high speed, the support plate 1 is cooled well by the heat radiating plate 7 and its temperature does not rise significantly in a short time. Prints can be formed.

When information is displayed in the display area B using the recording head integrated display unit as described above, a large number of transparent electrodes provided in the support plate 1 and the transparent plate 4 are used to form pixels in each pixel. An image is displayed by selectively applying a voltage to the liquid crystal material 3 and controlling the light transmittance of the liquid crystal material 3 for each pixel, and when the image is printed out, the heating element 2 in the recording area A is imaged. A print is formed by selectively causing heat to be generated individually based on the data and transmitting the heat to a recording medium such as thermal paper.

When the above-mentioned recording head integrated display unit is incorporated in the housing of a portable information device, the heat sink 7 is used.
Is preferably attached directly to the housing of the portable information device, and such an attachment structure protects the support plate 1 from the external force of the platen roller during the printing operation and supports the support plate. The damage of No. 1 can be prevented more reliably.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various changes and improvements can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, the example in which the thermal head is used as the recording head has been described, but instead of this, a thermal jet type ink jet head for ejecting ink by the heat generated by the heating element may be used. Well, in that case, the same effect as that of the above-described embodiment can be obtained.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the through holes 5 of the support plate 1 are formed in a circular shape, and these are arranged in a line substantially parallel to the arrangement of the heating elements 2. However, instead of this,
As shown in FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b), the through holes 5 are arranged in a zigzag pattern of two rows or three rows, or, as shown in FIG. 3 (c), the individual through holes 5 are elongated holes. You may form. By arranging the through holes 5 in a zigzag pattern or forming the elongated holes in this manner, the heat insulating effect of the through holes 5 can be further enhanced, and the heat transfer from the recording area A to the display area B is caused. The occurrence of display unevenness can be prevented more reliably.

Further, in the above embodiment, the heating element 2
A driver IC for a head for controlling energization to the panel or a driver IC for a panel for controlling ON / OFF of a voltage applied to the liquid crystal material 3 may be mounted on the support plate 1.

[0040]

According to the recording head integrated display unit of the present invention, the upper surface of the support plate made of a transparent material is divided into a recording area and a display area, and a heating element array is provided in the recording area. Since the transparent plate is arranged through the liquid crystal material, and the support plate located at the boundary between the recording area and the display area is provided with a plurality of through holes arranged along the row of heating elements. , It is possible to effectively prevent the heat generated by the heating element from being transferred to the liquid crystal material in the display area through the support plate due to the heat insulating effect of the air filled in these through holes, and the printing operation is performed. By keeping the liquid crystal material in a good temperature state even for a relatively long time, it is possible to display a clear image with little display unevenness.

According to the recording head integrated display unit of the present invention, a resin material having a thermal conductivity of 0.02 W / mK to 0.20 W / mK is provided inside the through hole provided in the support plate. By filling it, it is possible to keep the heat transfer from the recording area to the display area small, while maintaining high mechanical strength of the support plate, effectively preventing deformation of the recording head integrated display unit, and recording. It is possible to improve the reliability of the head-integrated display unit.

Further, according to the recording head integrated display unit of the present invention, by arranging a plurality of through holes provided in the support plate in a zigzag pattern, it is possible to further enhance the adiabatic action, and to perform recording. It is possible to more reliably prevent the occurrence of display unevenness due to heat transfer from the area to the display area.

Further, according to the recording head integrated display unit of the present invention, the metal is made by extending the end portion to the vicinity of the boundary between the display area and the recording area on the lower surface of the support plate located directly below the heating element. By attaching the heat radiating plate, the heat in the support plate is satisfactorily dissipated to the atmosphere through the heat radiating plate during printing. Therefore, even if the printing operation is performed at a relatively high speed, the temperature of the support plate does not rise significantly in a short time, and a desired print corresponding to the image data can be formed.

Further, according to the recording head integrated type display unit of the present invention, the supporting plate has a Young's modulus of 45 GP.
Since the support plate is formed of glass having an appropriate elasticity of a to 55 GPa, the support plate elastically deforms and absorbs the stress even when a large external force is applied to the recording area of the support plate during the printing operation. Damage such as cracking can be effectively prevented, and the reliability of the recording head integrated display unit can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a recording head integrated display unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a recording head integrated display unit in FIG.

3A to 3C are plan views of a support plate used in a recording head integrated display unit according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional recording head integrated display unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Support plate, 2 ... Heating element, 3 ... Liquid crystal material, 4 ... Transparent plate, 5 ... Through hole, 6 ... Backlight, 7 ... Heat sink, A ... Recording area, B
··Indicated Area

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued Front Page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification Code FI Theme Coat (Reference) G09F 9/35 B41J 3/20 109Z

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An upper surface of a support plate made of a transparent material is divided into a recording area and a display area, and a large number of heating elements are linearly adhered to and arranged in the recording area of the support plate to form a liquid crystal material in the display area. A recording head integrated type display unit which forms a print by selectively radiating heat from a heating element in a recording area based on information displayed in the display area, wherein a transparent plate is disposed through The recording head integrated display unit, wherein the support plate has a plurality of through holes arranged in a row along the arrangement of the heating elements at the boundary between the recording area and the display area. 2. A thermal conductivity of 0.02 W inside the through hole.
2. The recording head integrated display unit according to claim 1, which is filled with a resin material of / mK to 0.20 W / mK. 3. The recording head integrated display unit according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of through holes are arranged in a staggered pattern. 4. A heat sink made of metal is attached to the lower surface of the support plate located immediately below the heat generating element, the metal heat radiating plate having an end extending to the vicinity of the boundary between the display area and the recording area. The recording head integrated display unit according to any one of claims 1 to 3. 5. The supporting plate has a Young's modulus of 45 GPa.
The recording head integrated display unit according to any one of claims 1 to 4, which is made of glass of about 55 GPa.