JP2598270Y2 - Thermal head for thermal printer - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a thermal head used in a thermal printer, and more particularly to a dot matrix type thermal head capable of performing high-quality printing at a high dot density.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a thermal head used in a thermal printer, there is a dot matrix type thermal head. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing an example of a conventional dot matrix type thermal head. The thermal head according to this example includes a single head substrate (2) and a plurality of heat generating elements arranged vertically and horizontally in one thickness direction of the head substrate (2). (FIG. 3 shows only the first row of heating resistors (4) for simplicity). Each heating resistor (4) has an electrode (6) independent of the other heating resistors (4) so that each heating resistor (4) can selectively generate heat according to desired print information.
a, 6b) and the electrode leads (8a, 8b). Further, the electrode lead wires (8a, 8b) for each heating resistor (4) are wired apart from each other so as not to contact each other.

However, in a conventional thermal head of the type described above, a dot matrix is formed by providing a plurality of heating resistors (4) on one surface of one head substrate (2) in the front and back directions. Therefore, it is very difficult to wire the electrode lead wires (8a, 8b) on the one surface so that the electrode lead wires (8a, 8b) do not contact each other. Therefore, the number of heating resistors (4) cannot be increased much. Was. As a result, conventionally, high-quality printing at a high dot density cannot be performed.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and provides a thermal head for a dot matrix type thermal printer which can perform high-quality printing at a high dot density. It is assumed that.

[0005]

In order to solve the above problems, a thermal head for a thermal printer according to the present invention is provided.
The head substrate (10) includes a plurality of heating resistors (11) provided on one end surface of the head substrate (10), and each of the heating resistors (11). ), And a plurality of first electrodes wired along one surface of the head substrate (10) from each of the upper electrodes (12a) and the upper and lower electrodes (12a). And a second electrode lead line (14b) wired from the lower electrode (12b) to the other surface of the head substrate (10) in the front and back direction. Further, the plurality of head substrates (10) are laminated via an insulating layer (20), and one end surface of the laminated plurality of head substrates (10) is provided with the heating resistor (11). for thermal printers to form a dot matrix A Maruheddo, each header
First electrode lead wire (14a) on the substrate (10)
And the second electrode lead wire (14b) is stacked next to
It is disposed at a position different from the other head substrate (10).
Upper joint (18a) and lower joint
In (18b), it is noted that it is connected to the drive side.
Sign.

[0006]

The thermal head for a thermal printer according to the present invention comprises a plurality of head substrates (10). A plurality of heating resistors (11) are provided on one end surface of each of the head substrates (10) so as to be separated from each other. Each of the heating resistors (11) has an upper electrode (12) on each of the head substrates (10) so that each of the heating resistors (11) can selectively generate heat in accordance with desired print information.
a) and a lower electrode (12b).

From each of the upper electrodes (12a), a plurality of first electrode leads (14a) extend along one surface of the head substrate (10) in the front and back directions, and each of the lower electrodes (12b). A second electrode lead line (14b) extends along the other surface in the front and back direction of the head substrate (10).

As described above, the heating resistor (11), the upper electrode (12a) and the lower electrode (12b) are provided, and the first electrode lead (14a) and the second electrode lead (1) are provided.
The plurality of head substrates (10) to which 4b) is wired are stacked via an insulating layer (20). Thus, a dot matrix of the heating resistor (11) is formed on one end surface of the plurality of stacked head substrates (10).

As described above, in the present invention, a plurality of heating resistors (11) are provided on one end surface of each head substrate (10).
And a first electrode lead line (14a) and a second electrode lead line (14a) corresponding to each heating resistor (11).
b) is divided and wired on two surfaces of the head substrate (10), and furthermore, a plurality of head substrates (10) thus configured.
Are laminated with the insulating layer 20 interposed therebetween, so that it is much easier to wire the first electrode lead (14a) and the second electrode lead (14b) in a state where they are not in contact with each other as compared with the related art. is there. Therefore, the number of heat generating resistors (11) can be considerably increased as compared with the prior art, so that high-quality printing at a high dot density can be performed.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the first electrode lead line (14a) and the second electrode lead line (14b) in each of the head substrates (10) are connected to other adjacent heads. The upper joint portion (18a) and the lower joint portion (18b) arranged at positions alternated with the substrate (10) are connected to the drive side. Since the upper joint portion (18a) and the lower joint portion (18b) are alternately arranged as described above, the upper joint portion (18a) and the lower joint portion (18) are arranged alternately.
The thickness increase due to b) is evenly distributed to two places without being concentrated only at one place, and therefore, the head substrates (10) can be easily stacked in parallel with each other.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the entirety of a thermal head H for a thermal printer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The thermal head (H) is not composed of a single head substrate as in the conventional example, but is composed of a plurality of thermal heads (only seven are shown in the illustrated example, but preferably more m). Of the head substrates (10). In FIG. 1, for the sake of simplicity, the topmost head substrate (10) is shown separately from the other head substrates (10) for convenience.

On one end surface of each of the head substrates (10),
In the illustrated example, only five (for convenience, only five, but preferably more than n) heating resistors (1) are provided.
1) are fixed so as to be separated from each other in the longitudinal direction of the one end face. Thus, in this embodiment, m × n dot matrices are formed by the heating resistors (11) on one end surface of the plurality of head substrates (10) stacked. In addition, for example, each of the head substrates (1
Reference numeral 0) denotes a ceramic plate, and each of the heating resistors (11) is a carbon resistance film.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the structure of each head substrate (10) and the laminated structure between the head substrates (10). In this case, two adjacent head substrates (10) (for example, Only the second head substrate (10) and the third head substrate (10) from the top in FIG. 1 are representatively shown.

In each head substrate (10), on one end face portion where n heating resistors (11) are provided as described above, a pair of upper electrodes (11) is provided for each heating resistor (11). 1
2a) and the lower electrode (12b) are fixed (in FIG. 1, for simplicity, only the upper and lower electrodes (12a) and (12a) for the first and second head substrates (10) from the top). The lower electrode (12b) is shown.

The upper electrode (12a) and the lower electrode (12
b) has, for example, an L-shaped cross section, and the upper electrode (12a) and the lower electrode (12b) are in contact with the upper and lower ends of the corresponding heating resistor (11), respectively. The head substrate (10) is fixed to upper and lower corners. Further, a first electrode lead line (14a) and a second electrode lead line (14b) extend from the upper electrode (12a) and the lower electrode (12b), and these first electrode lead lines (14a ) And the second electrode lead line (14b) extend along the upper and lower surfaces of the head substrate (10) toward the other end of the head substrate (10), respectively.

Further, as is apparent from FIG. 1, a notch (15) is formed on one side in the width direction at the other end of each head substrate (10) on the other side of the head substrate (10). A protrusion (16) is formed on the upper surface and the lower surface of the protrusion (16).
b) is attached. Thus, the heating resistor (1)
1) a number of first electrode leads (1) extending from the upper electrode (12a) and the lower electrode (12b) provided for each
4a) and the second electrode lead (14b) are gathered at the upper joint (18a) and the lower joint (18b), respectively, provided with a casing made of an insulating material, and are connected to the upper joint (18a) and the lower joint (18b). In the joint part (18b), it is connected to the lead wire (19) on the driving side.

That is, the first electrode lead (14a) extending from each upper electrode (12a) is connected to the head substrate (1).
0), and is wired along the upper joint (18).
In a), it is connected to a lead wire (19).
Similarly, a second electrode lead wire (14b) extending from each lower electrode (12b) is wired along the lower surface of the head substrate (10), and leads are provided in the lower joint portion (18b). Connected to line (19). Of course, all the first electrode lead wires (14a) and the second electrode lead wires (14b) of the head substrate (10) (two for each heating resistor (11), so that a total of n × 2
The book) has a corresponding upper electrode (12a) and lower electrode (12
Until they are extended from b) and connected to the lead wire (19) in the upper joint portion (18a) and the lower joint portion (18b), they are wired so as not to contact or cross each other.

According to this embodiment, as described above, the heating resistor (11) is provided on one end surface of the head substrate (10).
Since the first electrode lead line (14a) and the second electrode lead line (14b) are wired separately on the upper and lower surfaces of the head substrate (10), the upper surface or the lower surface of the head substrate (10) The wiring density can be reduced by half compared with the case where wiring is performed only on one surface of
Heating resistor (11) on one head substrate (10),
That is, the number of dots can be doubled.

Further, as is apparent from FIG. 1, in this embodiment, the protrusions (1) of each head substrate (10) are provided.
6) is formed in a staggered state. That is, for example, the protrusion (16) of the uppermost head substrate (10) is formed on one side (the other side in FIG. 1) of the head substrate (10), and the second head substrate (10) ) Is formed on the other side (front side in FIG. 1) of the head substrate (10), and the protrusion (16) of the third head substrate (10) from the top is the head substrate (10). (10)
Are formed on the one side. Therefore,
Accordingly, the upper joint portion (18a) and the lower joint portion (18) in each head substrate (10).
b) is also provided alternately.

The reason why the upper joint portion (18a) and the lower joint portion (18b) are provided alternately is that the upper joint portion (18a) and the lower joint portion (18b) are provided on the respective head substrates (18). 10)
If it is provided only on one side, the increase in thickness due to each of the upper joint part (18a) and the lower joint part (18b) appears only on one side,
This is because the head substrates (10) cannot be stacked in parallel with each other.

That is, the upper joint portion (18a) and the lower joint portion (18b) are alternately arranged as described above.
The thickness of the upper joint portion (18a) and the lower joint portion (18b) of each head substrate (10) can be accommodated (released) in the cutout (15) of the adjacent head substrate (10). As a result, the head substrates (10) can be stacked in parallel with each other.

As described above, the first electrode lead line (14
An insulating layer 20 made of an arbitrary electrically insulating material (for example, glass) is provided on both upper and lower surfaces of the head substrate (10) to which the a) and the second electrode lead wire (14b) are wired. The insulating layer 20 covers the upper electrode (12a), the lower electrode (12b), the first electrode lead (14a), and the second electrode lead (14b).

As described above, the heating resistor (11), the upper electrode (12a) and the lower electrode (12b), the first electrode lead (14a), the second electrode lead (14b), and the upper joint (18a) ) And the lower joint (18)
The respective head substrates (10) provided with (b) are integrally laminated via the insulating layer 20 by, for example, bonding or the like.

In this embodiment, as described above, n heating resistors (1) are provided on one end face of each head substrate (10).
1), and the first corresponding to each heating resistor (11).
Electrode lead wire (14a) and the second electrode lead wire (1
4b) was wired separately on the upper and lower surfaces of the head substrate (10), and the plurality of head substrates (10) thus configured were in contact with each other with the insulating layer 20 interposed therebetween. Compared to the prior art in which a dot matrix is formed by the heating resistor (11) only on one surface in the front and back directions of one head substrate, the first electrode lead line (14
It is much easier to wire a) and the second electrode lead wire (14b) so that they do not contact each other. Therefore,
In this embodiment, the number of heat generating resistors (11) can be considerably increased as compared with the prior art, so that high quality printing with a high dot density can be easily performed.

The thermal head (H) according to this embodiment is particularly useful when applied to a thermal printer used for automatic ticket vending machines, ticket gates, etc. of various transportation means.

For example, when the present invention is applied to a thermal printer for an automatic ticket vending machine, the thermal head (H) can be used to print variable information such as a boarding date that changes every day on a boarding ticket. . Incidentally, conventionally, the boarding date was printed by a 7-segment type thermal head, but the print quality was not satisfactory because of the 7-segment thermal head. On the other hand, in the thermal head (H) according to this embodiment, the date of boarding and other variable information can be printed with reliably satisfactory quality. In this case, the thermal head (H) can be used in combination with a stamp head that prints fixed information such as a boarding station name on a ticket in a stamp manner. Further, the thermal head H
Accordingly, both the boarding station name and the boarding date may be printed.

[0028]

As described above, according to the present invention, a plurality of heating resistors are provided on one end surface of each head substrate, and the electrode lead wires corresponding to each heating resistor are divided into two surfaces of the head substrate and wired. Furthermore, since the plurality of head substrates thus configured are stacked via the insulating layer, it is extremely easy to wire the electrode lead wires so as not to contact each other. This has an excellent effect that the number of dots can be considerably increased and high-quality printing at a high dot density can be performed. Also, the upper joint part and
Since the lower joints are staggered, the upper joint
The increase in thickness due to the int and lower joints is 1
Don't concentrate on places. That is, the upper joint
And the increase in thickness due to the lower joint part
Evenly distributed, head substrates can be densely stacked.
And the density of the thermal head can be increased.
Wear.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an entire thermal head according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view illustrating a specific structure of each head substrate of the thermal head of FIG. 1 and a laminated structure between the head substrates.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a conventional technique.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 head substrate 11 heating resistor 12a upper electrode 12b lower electrode 14a first electrode lead 14b second electrode lead 18a upper joint 18b lower joint 20 insulating layer H thermal head

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-49-19731 (JP, A) JP-A-48-55628 (JP, A) JP-B-49-17299 (JP, B1) JP-B-40- 6040 (JP, B1) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) B41J 2/335 B41J 2/345

Claims (1)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] A plurality of heating resistors provided on one end surface of the head substrate; a plurality of heating resistors provided on one end surface of the head substrate; The upper electrode (1) provided for each heating resistor (11)
2a) and the lower electrode (12b), and from each of the upper electrodes (12a), the head substrate (1
0), a plurality of first electrode lead wires (14a) wired along one surface in the front and back directions, and each of the lower electrodes (12b).
0), a second electrode lead wire (14b) wired along the other surface in the front and back direction is provided, and the plurality of head substrates (10) are laminated via an insulating layer (20). And the plurality of stacked head substrates (1
0) A thermal head for a thermal printer in which a dot matrix of the heating resistor (11) is formed on one end surface.
Thus, the first electrode extraction in each of the head substrates (10)
The lead wire (14a) and the second electrode lead wire (14b)
Different from the other head substrate (10) laminated next to it.
Upper joint part (18a) disposed at
The lower joint (18b) is connected to the drive side.
Thermal head for thermal printers
De.