JP2007283645A - Thermal head, its manufacturing method, and printer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a thermal head which enables the precise formation of a thermal storage positioned between a heater and a space. <P>SOLUTION: In the thermal head 40 of the present invention, the thermal storage 49 positioned between the heater 43a and the space 48 is constituted of a covering layer 50 (a glass plate) formed on a substrate 41 so as to cover the upper surface of a protrusion 42. The thickness of the thermal storage 49 is easily adjusted by the thickness of the covering layer 50, and the thermal storage 49 is precisely formed. A printing characteristic fluctuation due to the thickness unevenness of the thermal storage 49 is thereby suppressed, and the thermal head having the space 48 just under the heater 43a is easily and stably manufactured. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a thermal head that thermally transfers a color material of an ink ribbon to a print medium, a method for manufacturing the thermal head, and a printer apparatus.

  As a printer device that prints images and characters on a print medium, a thermal transfer type that prints a color image or characters by thermally transferring a color material forming an ink layer provided on one surface of an ink ribbon to a print medium such as paper There is a printer device. The printer device includes a thermal head that thermally transfers the color material of the ink ribbon to the print medium, and a platen that is provided at a position facing the thermal head and supports the ink ribbon and the print medium.

  FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a main part configuration of a conventional thermal head. In this thermal head 10, a protrusion 12 is formed on one surface of a glass substrate 11, for example, and a heating resistor 13 and a pair of heat generating resistor 13 for generating heat are formed on the protrusion 12. The electrodes 14a and 14b and the protective layer 15 for protecting the heating resistor 13 and the electrodes 14a and 14b are sequentially provided. An exposed region of the heating resistor 13 sandwiched between the pair of electrodes 14a and 14b is configured as a heating portion 13a. Further, the protrusion 12 is formed in a substantially arc shape so that the heat generating portion 13a faces the ink ribbon and the print medium. A heat radiator 17 is bonded to the other surface of the substrate 11 via an adhesive material layer 16.

  In the conventional thermal head 10 shown in FIG. 9, when the ink ribbon color material is thermally transferred to the print medium, the heat generating resistor 13 is energized to cause the heat generating portion 13a to generate heat, thereby causing the ink ribbon color material to be transferred. Sublimate and transfer the color material to the print medium. Since the board | substrate 11 and the protrusion 12 are comprised with the glass with comparatively low heat conductivity, they are excellent in heat storage property. Therefore, the heat generating part 13a can be immediately heated to a high temperature, and the power consumption required for the sublimation temperature of the color material can be reduced.

  However, in this conventional thermal head 10, since the heat accumulated in the protrusion 12a is not easily dissipated, the temperature of the heat generating part 13a cannot be lowered immediately after the heating resistor 13 is turned off. For this reason, there is a problem that the responsiveness is deteriorated and the printing speed cannot be increased.

  In order to solve this problem, there is a thermal head 20 configured as shown in FIG. In the figure, portions corresponding to those of the thermal head 10 shown in FIG. 9 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  In this thermal head 20, a gap portion 28 is provided in the protrusion 12 and immediately below the heat generating portion 13 a, and a heat storage portion 29 having a predetermined thickness is formed between the heat generating portion 13 a and the gap portion 28. Has been. In this thermal head 20, since the air layer inside the gap 28 has a lower thermal conductivity than glass, the amount of heat to the ink ribbon side increases, and when the color material is thermally transferred to the print medium, the color material The power consumption for raising the temperature of the heat generating portion 13a to the sublimation temperature can be further reduced.

  Further, in the thermal head 20, by providing the gap portion 28, the thickness of the heat storage portion 29 can be reduced, so that the heat storage portion 29 can be radiated in a short time and the energization to the heating resistor 13 is interrupted. After that, the temperature of the heat generating part 13a can be lowered immediately. Thereby, the responsiveness is improved and the printing speed can be increased.

JP-A-2-45163

  By the way, in the conventional thermal head 20 described above, the thermal efficiency and heat dissipation characteristics of the heat generating part 13a are controlled by the thickness d (see FIG. 10) of the heat storage part 29 located between the heat generating part 13a and the gap part 29. The In the conventional thermal head 20, a predetermined thickness (for example, several tens of times) of the heat accumulating portion 29 is formed by forming the gap portion 29 by grinding stone processing, etching processing, or the like from the surface of the substrate 11 opposite to the projection 12 forming surface. μm).

  However, it is often difficult to form the gap portion 29 with high accuracy because processing variation due to warpage of the substrate 11 and damage to the heat storage portion due to insufficient strength of the protrusion 12 after processing are likely to occur. For this reason, there is a problem in that the thickness of the heat storage unit 29 cannot be accurately controlled, and the printing characteristics vary. Further, there is a problem that a thermal head having the gap 29 directly under the heat generating portion 13a cannot be manufactured with a high yield.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and provides a thermal head that can accurately form a heat storage portion positioned between a heat generating portion and a gap portion, a method for manufacturing the thermal head, and a printer apparatus including the thermal head. The issue is to provide.

  In solving the above problems, the thermal head of the present invention includes a substrate having a protrusion on one surface, a heat generating part formed on the upper part of the protrusion, a gap formed on the protrusion, and a heat generating part. And a heat storage part formed between the gap and the heat storage part, and the heat storage part is formed of a coating layer formed on the substrate so as to cover the upper surface of the protrusion.

  In addition, the method for manufacturing a thermal head according to the present invention includes a step of preparing a substrate having a protrusion on one surface, a step of forming a void portion from one surface side with respect to the protrusion, and a step of covering the void portion. And a step of forming a coating layer on the substrate and a step of forming a heat generating portion directly above the gap with the coating layer interposed therebetween.

  In the present invention, since the heat storage part located between the heat generating part and the gap part is constituted by a coating layer formed on the substrate so as to cover the upper surface of the protrusion, the thickness of the heat storage part is determined by the coating layer. The thickness can be easily adjusted, and the heat storage part can be accurately formed. As a result, it is possible to suppress a variation in printing characteristics due to the thickness variation of the heat storage part, and it is possible to easily and stably manufacture a thermal head having a gap directly under the heat generating part.

  As the covering layer constituting the heat storage part, a plate member having the required thickness of the heat storage part, in particular, a plate member made of the same kind of material as the protrusions, for example, a glass plate is suitable. By configuring the coating layer and the protrusions with a combination of the same kind of materials, the thermal expansion coefficients of both can be matched, and damage to the thermal head can be prevented.

  Moreover, the coating layer which comprises a thermal storage part can also be comprised with the film formed into a film with the thickness of the required thermal storage part, for example, a sputtered film. In this case, the film may be a single layer or may have a multilayer film structure. The material constituting the coating is not particularly limited, and a material having the required strength, heat transfer characteristics, etc. may be appropriately selected. Note that when forming the coating, the gap provided in the protrusion is filled in advance using a filler such as a resist, and a process of removing the filler after film formation is performed.

  In the present invention, since the gap is formed with respect to the protrusion from one surface side of the substrate on which the protrusion is formed, the gap is formed without greatly impairing the mechanical strength of the substrate. It becomes possible to form. Thereby, the breakage of the substrate at the time of forming the gap or at the time of handling the substrate after the formation of the gap can be suppressed.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the heat storage part positioned between the heat generating part and the gap part can be formed with high accuracy. As a result, it is possible to suppress variations in printing characteristics due to the thickness variation of the heat storage part, and it is possible to easily and stably manufacture a thermal head having a gap immediately below the heat generating part.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the following description, and various modifications can be made based on the technical idea of the present invention.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a printer device 30 according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional perspective view of a main part of the printer device 30. Hereinafter, the configuration of the printer device 30 will be schematically described.

  The printer device 30 is a thermal transfer type or sublimation type printer device, and includes a thermal head 40 according to the present invention. The thermal head 40 sublimates the color material of the ink ribbon 1 and transfers the color material to the print medium 2. In this way, color images and characters are printed.

  The ink ribbon 1 used here is made of a long resin film, one end is supported by the supply-side spool 3a and the other end is supported by the take-up spool 3b. It is stored. The ink ribbon 1 includes an ink layer formed of a yellow color material, an ink layer formed of a magenta color material, and an ink layer formed of a cyan color material on one surface of a resin film. In order to improve the storability of images and characters printed on the print medium 2, a laminate layer made of a laminate film that is thermally transferred onto the print medium 2 is provided.

  The printer device 30 includes a thermal head 40, a platen 60 provided at a position facing the thermal head 40, a plurality of ribbon guides 61 a and 61 b that guide the travel of the mounted ink ribbon 1, and the ink ribbon 1. Between the thermal head 40 and the platen 60, there are provided a pinch roller 62a and a capstan roller 62b for running the printing medium 2.

  In the printer device 30 having such a configuration, the ink ribbon 1 is rotated by rotating the winding side spool 3b in the winding direction between the thermal head 40 and the platen 60 while pressing the platen 60 against the thermal head 40. And the pinch roller 62a and the capstan roller 62b are rotated in the paper discharge direction (arrow A direction in FIG. 1), and the print medium 2 is moved in the paper discharge direction.

  When printing, first, thermal energy is applied from the thermal head 40 to the yellow ink layer of the ink ribbon 1, and the yellow color material is thermally transferred to the printing medium 2 that is running while overlapping the ink ribbon 1. . Next, in order to thermally transfer the magenta color material to the image forming portion for forming the image or characters on which the yellow color material is thermally transferred, the print medium 2 is moved backward toward the thermal head 40 in the direction of arrow B in FIG. The starting end of the image forming unit is opposed to the thermal head 40, and the magenta ink layer of the ink ribbon 1 is opposed to the thermal head 40. Then, thermal energy is also applied to the magenta ink layer to thermally transfer the magenta color material to the image forming portion of the print medium 2. The cyan color material and the laminate film are also sequentially heat-transferred to the printing medium 2 by the same method to print a color image.

  The thermal head 40 used in such a printer device 30 is arranged in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the print medium 2, so that the color material can be thermally transferred to both ends in the width direction of the print medium 2. The length shown in the middle arrow L direction is longer than the width of the print medium 2.

Next, details of the configuration of the thermal head 40 will be described.
FIG. 3 is an overall perspective view of the thermal head 40, and FIG. 4 is a partially broken perspective view showing a cross-sectional structure of the head portion 40 </ b> A of the thermal head 40.

  The thermal head 40 has a substrate 41 bonded on a radiator 47 via an adhesive material layer 46, and a head portion 40 </ b> A is formed along the length direction L at the center portion in the width direction of the substrate 41. Has been. The head portion 40A has a substantially arcuate outer shape, and heat generating portions 43a are linearly arranged at a predetermined pitch in the length direction L at the top. The head portion 40A is formed so as to protrude outward from the substrate 41, so that the head ribbon 40A can make good contact with the ink ribbon 1, and heat energy generated by the heat generating portion 43a can be appropriately applied to the ink ribbon 1. The surface of the head portion 40A is covered with a protective layer 45.

  The heat generating portion 43a has a configuration sandwiched between a pair of electrodes 44a and 44b, and generates heat by a resistance heating action when a current is supplied between the electrodes 44a and 44b. One electrode 44 a is connected to an individual wiring portion 52 formed for each heating element 43 a, and is electrically connected to a power supply control board 55 through a flexible wiring board 53. The other electrode 44 b is connected to the common wiring portion 51 common to all the heating elements 43 a and is electrically connected to the control board 55 via the flexible wiring board 54. The control board 55 is fixed to the heat radiating body 47 and is connected to a control unit (not shown) of the printer device 30 via an external connection wiring member 56. A semiconductor element (not shown) is mounted on the flexible wiring board 53, and this semiconductor element individually controls the heat generation operation of each heat generating portion 43 a corresponding to the print data sent from the control board 55.

  Inside the head portion 40A, a gap 48 is provided immediately below the heat generating portion 43a. As will be described later, the head portion 40A is formed mainly of a glass material, and the gap portion 48 is continuously formed along the length direction L so as to face the row of the heat generating portions 43a.

  As described above, by providing the air gap 48 so as to face the heat generating portion 43a inside the head portion 40A, the heat generated in the heat generating portion 43a is generated due to the characteristic of air that the thermal conductivity is lower than that of glass. It becomes difficult to dissipate heat, and heat energy is easily stored in the heat storage part 49 between the heat generating part 43a and the gap part 48. Thereby, the heat application efficiency with respect to the ink ribbon 1 becomes high, and the thermal efficiency of the thermal head 40 can be made favorable.

  Further, by providing the gap portion 48 inside the head portion 40A, the thickness of the heat storage portion 49 immediately below the heat generation portion 43a is reduced, and the heat dissipation performance of the heat storage portion 49 when the heat generation operation of the heat generation portion 43a is released is improved. The temperature of the heat generating portion 43a is quickly reduced. Thereby, the responsiveness of the heat generation / non-heat generation operation is enhanced, and the printing speed can be increased.

  Hereinafter, details of the head unit 40A will be described. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing details of the configuration of the head portion 40A of the thermal head 40. As shown in FIG.

  One surface (front surface) of the substrate 41 is provided with a protrusion 42 whose outer surface is substantially arc-shaped. The protrusion 42 corresponds to a so-called glaze layer and is formed of a vitreous material such as borosilicate glass. In the present embodiment, an alumina substrate having a protrusion 42 on the surface is used as the substrate 41. In addition, the structure of the board | substrate 41 is not restricted above, You may use the glass substrate (refer FIG. 9) by which the protrusion 42 was integrally formed on the surface.

  A gap 48 is provided in the protrusion 42. The gap 48 forms an air layer whose upper part is closed by a covering layer 50 covering the upper surface of the protrusion 42. On the protrusion 42, the heating resistor 43, the pair of electrodes 44 a and 44 b for heating the heating resistor 43, and the heating resistor 43 and the electrodes 44 a and 44 b are protected via the coating layer 50. A protective layer 45 is sequentially provided.

  In the present embodiment, the covering layer 50 is made of a glass plate of the same type as the glass material constituting the protrusion 42. As this type of glass material, for example, borosilicate glass is used. By configuring the covering layer 50 with the same kind of material as that of the protrusion 42, it is possible to match the thermal expansion coefficients of the two and prevent damage during heat generation. The covering layer 50 is bonded onto the substrate 41 so as to cover the upper surface of the protrusion 42, and constitutes a heat storage part 49 between the heat generating part 43 a and the gap part 48.

  The heating resistor 43 is formed of a material having high resistance and heat resistance such as Ta—N or Ta—SiO 2, for example. An exposed region of the heating resistor 43 sandwiched between the pair of electrodes 44a and 44b is configured as a heating portion 43a, and is formed in a substantially rectangular or square shape, for example, slightly larger than the dot size. The heating resistor 43 is patterned on the coating layer 50 by using a photolithography technique.

  The pair of electrodes 44a and 44b provided on both sides of the heating resistor 43 is formed of a material having good electrical conductivity such as aluminum, copper, or gold. As shown in FIG. 4, one electrode 44 a is connected to the individual wiring part 52, and the other electrode 44 b is connected to the common wiring part 51. The electrodes 44a and 44b, the common wiring portion 51, and the individual wiring portion 52 are formed using a photolithography technique. The electrodes 44a and 44b, the common wiring portion 51, and the individual wiring portion 52 may be simultaneously patterned with the same material, or may be separately patterned with the same or different materials.

  The protective layer 45 covers the heat generating portion 43a, the electrodes 44a and 44b, the supply wiring portion 51, and the individual wiring portion 52, and the heat generating portion 43a and the electrodes 44a and 44b due to friction generated when the thermal head 40 and the ink ribbon 1 are in contact with each other. Protect etc. The protective layer 45 is formed of an inorganic material containing a metal having excellent mechanical properties such as high strength and wear resistance at high temperatures and thermal properties such as heat resistance, thermal shock resistance, and thermal conductivity. It is made of silicon carbide or silicon nitride.

  On the other hand, a radiator 47 is bonded to the other surface (back surface) of the substrate 41 via an adhesive material layer 46. For the adhesive material layer 46, a thermosetting material having excellent thermal conductivity and heat resistance is used, and for example, a silicone adhesive having better heat conductivity than the substrate 41 is used. As the radiator 47, a metal material having high thermal conductivity such as aluminum or copper is used.

  As described above, in the thermal head 40 of the present embodiment, particularly the head portion 40A, the substrate 41 having the protrusion 42 on one surface, the heat generating portion 43a formed on the upper portion of the protrusion 42, and the protrusion 42. And a heat storage portion 49 formed between the heat generating portion 43a and the space portion 48. The heat storage portion 49 is formed on the substrate 41 so as to cover the upper surface of the protrusion 42. The covering layer 50 is formed. By configuring the heat storage unit 49 with the coating layer 50, the thickness D (see FIG. 5) of the heat storage unit 49 can be easily adjusted by the thickness of the coating layer 50, and the heat storage unit 49 can be formed with high accuracy. It becomes possible. Thereby, the fluctuation | variation of the printing characteristic resulting from the thickness variation of the thermal storage part 49 can be suppressed.

  Next, a method for manufacturing the thermal head 40 configured as described above, particularly the head portion 40A, will be described. 6 and 7 are process cross-sectional views illustrating the manufacturing process of the head portion 40A.

First, a substrate 41 having a protrusion 42 on one surface is prepared (FIG. 6A).
In the present embodiment, a glaze substrate in which a glass protrusion 42 is formed on an alumina substrate 41 is used. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and a glass substrate in which the protrusions 42 are integrally formed on one surface may be used. The substrate 41 is preferably manufactured in a wafer state. This is because each process can be performed at the wafer level, so that workability is high and productivity is high.

  Next, a groove-shaped gap 28 is formed from the one surface side with respect to the protrusion 42 on the substrate 41 (FIG. 6B).

  Examples of the method for forming the gap 48 with respect to the protrusion 42 include grinding using a dicer or a grindstone, etching using a hydrofluoric acid aqueous solution, ion beam processing, blasting, and the like. The shape, size, formation depth, and the like of the gap portion 28 are not particularly limited, but in this embodiment, the side surface of the gap portion 48 is perpendicular to the substrate 41 and the bottom surface of the gap portion 48 is substantially the same as the surface of the substrate 41. Formed to match. After the processing, it is preferable to perform hydrofluoric acid treatment on the inner surface of the gap 48 to remove microcracks generated during processing.

  In the present embodiment, since the gap 48 is formed from the projection 42 forming surface side of the substrate 41, the gap 48 can be formed without significantly impairing the mechanical strength of the substrate 41. Is possible. Thereby, the breakage of the substrate during the formation of the gap 48 or the handling of the substrate after the formation of the gap 48 can be suppressed.

  Subsequently, a coating layer 50 is formed on the substrate 41 so as to cover the gap 48 (FIGS. 6C and D).

  In the present embodiment, a glass plate is used for the covering layer 50, and the glass plate 50 is bonded onto the substrate 41 using a glass molding machine shown in FIG. 6C. The glass molding machine includes a fixed mold 21 that supports the back side of the substrate 41 and a movable mold 22 that faces the surface of the substrate 41. On the inner surface side of the movable mold 22, a recess 42 a is provided corresponding to the formation region of the protrusion 42 on the substrate 41.

  When the glass plate 50 is bonded, the glass plate 50 is superimposed on the substrate 41, and then heated to a predetermined temperature above the glass transition point of the glass plate 50 and pressed at a predetermined pressure. As a result, the glass plate 50 is deformed according to the surface shape of the substrate 41 and is bonded onto the substrate 41 so as to cover the protrusions 42 and the gaps 48.

  Since the glass plate 50 constitutes the heat storage unit 49 in the head unit 40A, the thickness D (FIG. 5) of the heat storage unit 49 is determined by the thickness of the glass plate 50. Accordingly, it is possible to stably manufacture the thermal head 40 in which the formation thickness of the heat storage section 49 is constant. The thickness of the glass plate 50 is determined by the target thickness of the heat storage section 49, and is, for example, 30 μm.

  It is preferable to use a glass plate 50 whose thickness is controlled in advance with high accuracy. The method for producing such a glass plate is not particularly limited, and includes a downdraw method, a polishing method, and an etching process using a hydrofluoric acid aqueous solution. For example, the surface of the glass plate 50 is etched by a hydrofluoric acid process or the like to adjust the target thickness, and then bonded to the substrate 41 by the above-described hot press process.

  In addition, when the substrate 41 is made of a material different from glass as in the present embodiment, the SiO 2 film 58 may be formed on the substrate 41 in advance as shown in FIG. 6C. Thereby, it is possible to improve the bonding strength by the fusion action of the glass plate 50 at the interface.

  Furthermore, the method for bonding the glass plate 50 to the substrate 41 is not limited to the above-described hot press method using the glass molding machine, and for example, a hydrofluoric acid aqueous solution is infiltrated between the substrate 41 and the glass plate 50 at about 200 ° C. In addition to the method of bonding by applying an appropriate temperature and an appropriate pressure, an anodic bonding method can also be employed.

  Subsequently, after a glass plate (covering layer) 50 is bonded onto the substrate 41, a heating resistor 43 is formed, and the formed heating resistor 43 is patterned into a predetermined shape (FIG. 7E). Next, a conductor layer such as aluminum or copper is formed on the heating resistor 43, and is patterned into a predetermined shape, thereby forming the electrodes 44a and 44b, the common wiring portion 51, and the individual wiring portion 52 (see FIG. 7F). Through the above steps, the heat generating portion 43a facing the gap portion 48 with the heat storage portion 49 interposed therebetween is formed.

  Finally, the protective layer 45 is formed, and the back surface of the substrate 41 is bonded to the heat radiator 47, whereby the thermal head 40 of the present embodiment is manufactured (FIGS. 7G and 7H). Note that the step of bonding the substrate 41 to the heat radiating body 47 may be performed after the substrate 41 is divided and divided into individual elements, or may be performed in a wafer state before being divided into individual pieces.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, after the gap 48 is formed on the protrusion 42 on the substrate 41, the gap 48 is covered with the glass plate 50 having a predetermined thickness. The formation thickness of the heat storage part 49 located between the heat generating part 43a and the gap part 48 can be controlled with high accuracy by the thickness of the glass plate 50. Thereby, the fluctuation | variation of the printing characteristic resulting from the thickness variation of the thermal storage part 49 can be suppressed effectively. Further, since the formation thickness of the heat storage section 49 can be easily controlled on the order of ± 1 μm or less, the thermal head 40 in which the formation thickness of the heat storage section 49 is highly controlled is easily and stably manufactured. be able to.

  The covering layer 50 constituting the heat storage unit 49 is not limited to the glass plate described above. For example, a material having a thermal expansion coefficient similar to that of the glass constituting the protrusion 42 and having predetermined heat transfer characteristics and mechanical characteristics, for example, ceramics, various oxides, metal materials, etc., can be selected as appropriate. . Further, these materials may be appropriately combined to have predetermined thermal characteristics and mechanical characteristics.

  The covering layer 50 is not limited to a plate material such as a glass plate, and may be formed of a film formed by a vacuum thin film forming method such as a sputtering method or a vacuum evaporation method. An example is shown in FIG.

  First, the gap 48 is formed on the protrusion 42 on the surface of the substrate 41 by the method described above (FIG. 8A). Next, the formed gap 48 is filled with a filler 64 (FIG. 8B). For the filler 64, it is preferable to use a material that can be removed by a predetermined treatment such as a photosensitive resist material.

  Subsequently, a film 65 is formed on the substrate 41 by sputtering so as to cover the protrusions 42 (FIG. 8C). The coating 65 may have a multilayer structure as well as a single layer. The material constituting the coating 65 can be appropriately selected in consideration of thermal characteristics and mechanical characteristics such as a silicon oxide film, a silicon nitride film, and an alumina film. Moreover, you may make it control heat conductivity including a metal layer.

  By forming the coating layer with a film 65 formed by a vacuum thin film forming method, particularly a sputtering method, the adhesion to the film formation target substrate 41 can be improved, the film quality is good, and the required film thickness is obtained with high accuracy. be able to.

  After the formation of the coating 65, the filler 64 filled in the gap 48 is removed (FIG. 8D). As a method for removing the filler 64, in addition to dissolving and removing the resist agent using a developing solution, depending on the type of material, it can be eliminated by sublimation by heating. Thereby, the heat storage part 49 which closes the upper part of the space | gap part 48 can be formed with the film 65. FIG. Thereafter, the thermal head according to the present invention having the above-described effects can be obtained by performing the same processes as those in FIGS.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a printer device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a cross-sectional perspective view of a main part of a printer device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is an overall perspective view of a thermal head according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a partially broken perspective view which shows the structure of the principal part of the thermal head by embodiment of this invention. It is principal part sectional drawing which shows the structure of the principal part of the thermal head by embodiment of this invention. It is process sectional drawing explaining the manufacturing method of the thermal head by embodiment of this invention. It is process sectional drawing explaining the manufacturing method of the thermal head by embodiment of this invention. It is process sectional drawing explaining the manufacturing method of the thermal head by other embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of the principal part of the conventional thermal head. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of the principal part of the other conventional thermal head.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Ink ribbon, 2 ... Print medium, 30 ... Printer apparatus, 40 ... Thermal head, 40A ... Head part, 41 ... Substrate, 42 ... Projection, 43 ... Heat generating resistor, 43a ... Heat generating part, 44a, 44b ... Electrode 45 ... Protective layer, 46 ... Adhesive material layer, 47 ... Heat radiator, 48 ... Gap, 49 ... Heat storage part, 50 ... Glass plate (covering layer), 51 ... Common wiring part, 52 ... Individual wiring part, 53, 54 ... Flexible wiring board, 55 ... Control board, 60 ... Platen, 61a, 61b ... Ribbon guide, 64 ... Filler, 65 ... Film (coating layer)

Claims (10)

A substrate having a protrusion on one side;
A heat generating part formed on the top of the protrusion;
A gap formed in the protrusion;
A heat storage part disposed between the heat generating part and the gap part,
The thermal storage unit includes a coating layer formed on the substrate so as to cover an upper surface of the protrusion. The thermal head according to claim 1, wherein the coating layer is a glass plate bonded onto the substrate. The thermal head according to claim 1, wherein the coating layer is a multilayer coating film formed on the substrate. The thermal head according to claim 1, wherein the protrusion is made of a glass material. The thermal head according to claim 1, wherein a heat radiator is bonded to the other surface of the substrate. Preparing a substrate having a protrusion on one surface;
Forming a gap from the one surface side with respect to the protrusion;
Forming a coating layer on the substrate so as to cover the gap,
And a step of forming a heat generating portion directly above the gap with the coating layer interposed therebetween. The method of manufacturing a thermal head according to claim 6, wherein the step of forming the covering layer is a step of bonding a glass substrate having a predetermined thickness on the substrate. The step of forming the coating layer includes
Filling the gap with a filler;
Forming a film on the substrate by a vacuum thin film forming method;
The method of manufacturing a thermal head according to claim 6, further comprising a step of removing the filler filled in the gap. The method of manufacturing a thermal head according to claim 6, further comprising a step of forming an electrode for energizing the heat generating portion after forming the heat generating portion. A substrate having a protrusion on one side;
A heat generating part formed on the top of the protrusion;
A gap formed in the protrusion;
A printer device having a thermal head including a heat storage unit disposed between the heat generation unit and the gap,
The heat storage unit is composed of a coating layer formed on the substrate so as to cover an upper surface of the protrusion.

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