JP6538533B2 - Thermal printer - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a thermal head and a thermal printer.

  Conventionally, various thermal heads have been proposed as printing devices such as facsimiles and video printers. For example, a head substrate having a heat generating portion on the upper side, a heat dissipation plate provided below the head substrate, a support member for supporting the heat dissipation plate, and a platen roller provided on the heat generating portion of the head substrate. Are known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In the thermal head, the head base and the heat sink are fixed to the support member, and the heat sink is pressed upward by the pressing portion of the support member. Then, the platen roller is pressed onto the head substrate, and printing is performed by conveying the recording medium between the head substrate and the platen roller.

JP 2000-85168 A

  However, in the thermal head described in Patent Document 1, since the heat sink is pressed upward by the pressing portion of the support member, the position of the head substrate tends to be unstable, and the positioning of the head substrate is difficult. It is.

  Therefore, if the support member is provided with a contact portion that is in contact with the upper surface of the head substrate or the upper surface of the heat sink in order to fix the position of the head substrate, paper dust generated from the recording medium It may be accumulated and printing defects may occur.

  A thermal head according to an embodiment of the present invention supports a head substrate having a heat generating portion on the upper side, a heat dissipation plate provided below the head substrate, and the heat dissipation plate, and presses the heat dissipation plate upward. A support member having a pressing portion and a contact portion contacting with the upper surface of the head base when not driven, and provided on the heat generating portion of the head base to press the head base when driven, And a platen roller for separating the contact portion from the head base.

  A thermal printer according to an embodiment of the present invention includes the thermal head according to any one of the above, a transport mechanism for transporting the recording medium onto the plurality of heat generating portions, and pressing the recording medium onto the plurality of heat generating portions. And a platen roller.

  It is possible to reduce the possibility of printing failure.

It is an exploded perspective view showing an outline of a thermal head concerning a 1st embodiment. It is a top view which shows the outline of the head base | substrate which comprises the thermal head concerning 1st Embodiment. It is the III-III sectional view taken on the line shown in FIG. It is a perspective view showing an outline of a support member which constitutes a thermal head concerning a 1st embodiment. (A) is sectional drawing of the thermal head shown in FIG. 1, (b) is sectional drawing which expands and shows the vicinity of the contact part of a supporting member. (A) is a cross-sectional view in which the head base is incorporated in the support member, and (b) is a cross-sectional view for explaining the incorporation of the platen roller in the support member. FIG. 1 is a conceptual view showing a schematic configuration of a thermal printer according to a first embodiment. (A) is the perspective view seen from the lower surface of the heat sink which comprises the thermal head which concerns on 2nd Embodiment, (b) is sectional drawing corresponding to FIG.6 (b).

First Embodiment
Hereinafter, the thermal head X1 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 shows an outline of members constituting the thermal head X1. In FIG. 2, illustration of the FPC 5, the connector 31, the protective layer 25, and the covering layer 27 is omitted, and a region where each member is mounted is indicated by a dashed dotted line.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the thermal head X1 includes a platen roller 50, a head base 3, a flexible wiring board 5 (hereinafter referred to as an FPC 5), a heat sink 1, a connector 31, and a support member 10. ing.

  The heat sink 1 is formed in a plate shape, and has a rectangular shape in plan view. As shown in FIG. 3, the heat sink 1 has a plate-like base 1 a and a protrusion 1 b protruding from the base 1 a. The heat sink 1 is formed of, for example, a metal material such as copper, iron, or aluminum, and has a function of radiating the heat that does not contribute to the printing among the heat generated by the heat generating portion 9 of the head base 3. . Further, the head base 3 is adhered to the upper surface of the pedestal portion 1a by a double-sided adhesive tape, an adhesive or the like (not shown). Further, the FPC 5 is adhered to the upper surface of the protrusion 1 b by a double-sided tape or an adhesive.

  The head substrate 3 is formed in a plate shape in plan view, and includes a heat generating portion 9 which generates heat when a voltage is applied from the outside. The head substrate 3 has a function of printing on the recording medium P (see FIG. 7) in accordance with an electric signal supplied from the outside.

  The FPC 5 is electrically connected to the head base 3, and a plurality of patterned printed wirings are provided inside the insulating resin layer, and has a function of supplying current and electric signal to the head base 3. Wiring board. The printed wiring has one end exposed from the resin layer and the other end electrically connected to the connector 31.

  Between the FPC 5 and the heat dissipation plate 1, a reinforcing plate (not shown) made of a resin such as a phenol resin, a polyimide resin, or a glass epoxy resin may be provided. In addition, a reinforcing plate may be connected over the entire area of the FPC 5. The reinforcing plate can reinforce the FPC 5 by being adhered to the lower surface of the FPC 5 with a double-sided tape or an adhesive.

  In addition, although the example which used FPC5 as a wiring board was shown, you may use not a flexible FPC5 but a hard wiring board. As a hard printed wiring board, the board | substrate formed with resin, such as a glass epoxy board | substrate or a polyimide board | substrate, can be illustrated.

  The head base 3, the FPC 5, and the heat dissipation plate 1 are mounted on the support member 10 in an integrated state. The support member 10 includes a pressing portion 12 and a contact portion 14.

  The platen roller 50 has a shaft 50 a and an elastic member 50 b. The platen roller 50 is provided on the heat generating portion 9 and has a function of pressing the recording medium P against the heat generating portion 9. The shaft 50a is made of, for example, a metal such as stainless steel, and has a cylindrical shape. The elastic member 50b is made of butadiene rubber or the like and covers the shaft 50a.

  The platen roller 50 has a function of pressing the recording medium P against the head base 3 of the thermal head X1. The platen roller 50 is disposed to extend along the main scanning direction, and the shaft 50 a is supported and fixed so as to be rotatable in a state where the recording medium P is pressed onto the heat generating portion 9.

  Hereinafter, each member which comprises the head base 3 is demonstrated.

  The substrate 7 is formed of an electrically insulating material such as alumina ceramics or a semiconductor material such as single crystal silicon.

  A heat storage layer 13 is formed on the top surface of the substrate 7. The heat storage layer 13 has a lower portion 13a and a raised portion 13b. The base portion 13 a is formed over the entire top surface of the substrate 7. The raised portions 13 b extend in a strip shape along the arrangement direction of the plurality of heat generating portions 9 and have a substantially semi-elliptical cross section. The raised portions 13 b function to press the recording medium P to be printed well against the protective layer 25 formed on the heat generating portion 9.

  The heat storage layer 13 is formed of glass having a low thermal conductivity, and temporarily accumulates part of the heat generated in the heat generating portion 9 to shorten the time required to raise the temperature of the heat generating portion 9 Function to enhance the thermal response characteristics of the thermal head X1. The heat storage layer 13 is formed, for example, by applying a predetermined glass paste obtained by mixing a suitable organic solvent with a glass powder on the upper surface of the substrate 7 by screen printing or the like known in the related art and baking it.

  The electric resistance layer 15 is provided on the top surface of the heat storage layer 13, and the common electrode 17, the individual electrode 19, and the connection electrode 21 are provided on the electric resistance layer 15. The electric resistance layer 15 is patterned in the same shape as the common electrode 17, the individual electrode 19 and the connection electrode 21, and has an exposed region between the common electrode 17 and the individual electrode 19 in which the electric resistance layer 15 is exposed.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the exposed regions of the electrical resistance layer 15 are arranged in a row on the raised portions 13 b of the heat storage layer 13, and each exposed region constitutes the heat generating portion 9. The plurality of heat generating portions 9 are described in a simplified manner in FIG. 1 for convenience of explanation, but are arranged at a density of 600 dpi to 2400 dpi (dot per inch) or the like, for example. The electric resistance layer 15 is formed of, for example, a material having a relatively high electric resistance, such as a TaN system, a TaSiO system, a TaSiNO system, a TiSiO system, a TiSiCO system, or a NbSiO system. Therefore, when a voltage is applied to the heat generating portion 9, the heat generating portion 9 generates heat by Joule heat generation.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a common electrode 17, a plurality of individual electrodes 19, and a plurality of connection electrodes 21 are provided on the upper surface of the electric resistance layer 15. The common electrode 17, the individual electrode 19 and the connection electrode 21 are formed of a conductive material, and are formed of, for example, any one metal of aluminum, gold, silver and copper or an alloy thereof ing.

The common electrode 17 has a main wiring portion 17a, a sub wiring portion 17b, and a lead portion 17c. The main wiring portion 17 a extends along one long side of the substrate 7. The sub wiring portion 17 b extends along each of one short side and the other short side of the substrate 7. The lead portions 17 c individually extend from the main wiring portion 17 a toward the heat generating portions 9. The common electrode 17 has one end connected to the plurality of heat generating portions 9 and the other end connected to the FPC 5 so that the FPC 5 and each heat generating portion 9 are connected.
And electrically connected.

  The plurality of individual electrodes 19 have one end connected to the heat generating unit 9 and the other end connected to the drive IC 11, thereby electrically connecting each heat generating unit 9 to the drive IC 11. In addition, the individual electrodes 19 divide the plurality of heat generating portions 9 into a plurality of groups, and electrically connect the heat generating portions 9 of each group to the drive IC 11 provided corresponding to each group.

  The plurality of connection electrodes 21 have one end connected to the drive IC 11 and the other end connected to the FPC 5 to electrically connect the drive IC 11 to the FPC 5. The plurality of connection electrodes 21 connected to each drive IC 11 are configured by a plurality of wirings having different functions.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the drive IC 11 is disposed corresponding to each group of the plurality of heat generating portions 9, and is connected to the other end of the individual electrode 19 and one end of the connection electrode 21. The drive IC 11 has a function of controlling the energization state of each heat generating portion 9. As the drive IC 11, a switching member having a plurality of switching elements inside may be used.

  The above-described electric resistance layer 15, common electrode 17, individual electrode 19 and connection electrode 21 are formed by sequentially laminating the material layers constituting them on the heat storage layer 13 by a conventionally known thin film forming technique such as sputtering. Thereafter, it is formed by processing the laminate into a predetermined pattern using photo etching or the like known in the related art. The common electrode 17, the individual electrode 19 and the connection electrode 21 can be simultaneously formed by the same process.

  On the heat storage layer 13 formed on the upper surface of the substrate 7, a protective layer 25 is formed which covers the heat generating portion 9, a part of the common electrode 17 and a part of the individual electrode 19.

  The protective layer 25 protects the area covered with the heat generating portion 9, the common electrode 17 and the individual electrode 19 from corrosion due to adhesion of moisture contained in the atmosphere or abrasion due to contact with a recording medium to be printed. belongs to. The protective layer 25 can be formed using SiN, SiO, SiON, SiC, diamond like carbon or the like, and the protective layer 25 may be composed of a single layer, or these layers may be stacked. May be Such a protective layer 25 can be manufactured using a thin film forming technique such as a sputtering method or a thick film forming technique such as screen printing.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, a covering layer 27 partially covering the common electrode 17, the individual electrode 19 and the connection electrode 21 is provided on the base portion 13 a of the heat storage layer 13 formed on the upper surface of the substrate 7. It is done.

  The covering layer 27 is for protecting the covered area of the common electrode 17, the individual electrode 19 and the connection electrode 21 from oxidation due to contact with the atmosphere or corrosion due to adhesion of water contained in the atmosphere or the like. is there. The covering layer 27 is formed to overlap the end of the protective layer 25 as shown in FIG. 3 in order to ensure the protection of the common electrode 17 and the individual electrode 19. The covering layer 27 can be formed, for example, of a resin material such as an epoxy resin or a polyimide resin using a thick film forming technique such as a screen printing method.

  The covering layer 27 is formed with an individual electrode 19 connected to the drive IC 11 and an opening (not shown) for exposing the connection electrode 21. These wirings are connected to the drive IC 11 through the opening. ing. The driving IC 11 is sealed by a covering member 29 made of a resin such as an epoxy resin or a silicone resin in a state of being connected to the individual electrode 19 and the connection electrode 21.

  The support member 10 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  The support member 10 includes a mounting surface 10 a, side surfaces 10 b and 10 c, a pressing portion 12, and a contact portion 14. The mounting surface 10 a is a surface on which the heat sink 1 is mounted. The side surface 10b extends upward from the placement surface 10a, and is provided on the downstream side of the placement surface 10a in the transport direction of the recording medium (not shown). The side surfaces 10c extend upward from the mounting surface 10a, and are provided on both sides in the main scanning direction of the mounting surface 10a.

  A plurality of pressing portions 12 are provided in the main scanning direction in a state of being separated from each other. The pressing portion 12 is formed on the placement surface 10 a and presses the heat dissipation plate 1 placed on the placement surface 10 a upward.

  The pressing portion 12 is formed by cutting away a part of the mounting surface 10 a and has a plurality of bent portions. The bent portion is formed by bending, and mountain folds and valley folds are alternately provided. By elastically deforming the bent portion, the heat dissipation plate 1 is pressed upward.

  An abutment portion 14 is provided on the side surface 10 b. The contact portion 14 extends upward from the side surface 10 b and then curves toward the upper surface of the head base 3 or the upper surface of the heat dissipation plate 1 and is disposed at a position higher than the head base 3. . The abutting portion 14 abuts against the upper surface of the head substrate 3 or the upper surface of the heat dissipation plate 1 moved upward by the pressing portion 12 pressing the heat dissipation plate 1 when the thermal head X1 is not driven. To prevent Therefore, when the head base 3 is not driven, the head base 3 is pressed by the pressing portion 12 against the contact portion 14, and thus, the head base 3 is held between the pressing portion 12 and the contact portion 14 and fixed to the support member 10.

  Screw holes 10d and grooves 10e are provided on the side surface 10c. The screw hole 10d is provided for screwing the thermal head X1 to a member constituting the thermal printer Z1 (see FIG. 7). A shaft 50a of the platen roller 50 is accommodated in the groove portion 10e to facilitate positioning of the platen roller 50, and the platen roller 50 is unlikely to be displaced.

  The support member 10 can be manufactured by punching a metal or alloy plate and bending the punched plate. It is preferable to reduce the number of steps and to produce by press processing. Note that a resin plate may be used as the support member 10.

  FIG. 5 shows the thermal head X1 at the time of driving, and the heat sink 1 is mounted on the mounting surface 10a of the support member 10. As shown in FIG. The heat dissipation plate 1 is pressed upward by the pressing portion 12, and the head base 3 is pressed downward by the platen roller 50 from above. Thus, the head base 3, the FPC 5, and the heat dissipation plate 1 are fixed to the support member 10 by being held by the pressing portion 12 and the platen roller 50.

  A gap 16 is provided between the head base 3 and the contact portion 14. The gap 16 is formed so as to be separated from the abutting portion 14 and moved downward by the head base 3 being pressed downward by the platen roller 50. The height of the gap 16 can be 50 to 200 μm.

Here, while the recording medium is being conveyed by the conveyance mechanism, paper dust or foreign matter (hereinafter referred to as paper dust or the like) may adhere to the surface. For example, when thermal paper is used as a recording medium, a part of the thermal paper may peel off and be attached to the surface, resulting in paper dust. When a sublimation type film is used as the ink ribbon, the backing material of the sublimation type film may peel off from the sublimation type film and adhere to the surface to generate foreign matter.

  If printing is performed in a state where paper dust or the like adheres to the surface of the recording medium, the paper dust may be caught by the step of the contact portion, and printing defects may occur due to the accumulated paper dust or the like. In addition, there is a problem that when printing is finished and transported in a state where paper dust or the like adheres to the surface of the recording medium, the paper dust or the like adheres to the print.

  On the other hand, the support member 10 has a pressing portion 12 for pressing the heat dissipation plate 1 upward, and a contact portion 14 for coming into contact with the upper surface of the head base 3 when not driven. However, when driving, the head base 3 is pressed downward, the contact portion 14 and the head base 3 are separated, and a gap 16 is generated between the head base 3 and the contact portion 14, The head base 3 can be fixed by the pressing portion 12 and the contact portion 14 when not driven, and the gap 16 can be formed when driven.

  As a result, even when paper dust or the like is generated from the recording medium P (see FIG. 7), paper dust or the like passes through the gap 16 into the space between the side wall 10 b of the support member 10 and the heat sink 1. It will be discharged. As a result, it is possible to reduce the possibility of accumulating paper dust and the like on the steps of the contact portion 14 and to reduce the possibility of printing defects.

  Further, the upper surface of the contact portion 14 becomes higher as it gets farther from the head base 3. Therefore, the recording medium P is conveyed with the upper surface of the contact portion 14 as a guide, and the recording medium P is easily peeled off from the head substrate 3. As a result, the recording medium P can be transported efficiently.

  Furthermore, since a gap 16 is provided between the contact portion 14 and the head base 3 and the recording medium P is guided by the upper surface of the contact portion 14, the tip of the contact portion 14 is larger than the gap 16. It will be arranged above. Therefore, the tip of the contact portion 14 on the side of the head base 3 can scrape off the paper dust and the like attached to the surface of the recording medium P, and the paper dust and the like can be removed from the space between the heat sink 1 and the gap 16. Will be discharged into As a result, it is possible to reduce the possibility of being transported in a state where paper dust or the like adheres to the printed matter.

  The contact portion 14 may be in contact with the upper surface of the heat sink 1 when not driven. That is, the support member 10 may have a pressing portion 12 that presses the heat sink 1 upward, and a contact portion 14 that contacts the upper surface of the heat sink 1 when not in operation.

  Even in that case, the head base 3 can be fixed by the pressing portion 12 and the contact portion 14 when not driven, and the platen roller 50 presses the head base 3 when driven to contact the contact portion. By separating the heat sink 14 and the heat sink 1, a gap (not shown) can be formed. As a result, it is possible to reduce the possibility of accumulating paper dust and the like on the steps of the contact portion 14 and to reduce the possibility of printing defects.

  A process of assembling the head base 3, the FPC 5, the heat sink 1, and the support member 10 will be described with reference to FIG. 6. In FIG. 6B, the platen roller 50 before pressing the head base 3 is indicated by a broken line.

First, the head substrate 3 and the FPC 5 are bonded using ACF. Next, the head substrate 3 is bonded to the upper surface of the pedestal portion 1 a of the heat sink 1 using a double-sided tape, and the FPC 5 is bonded to the upper surface of the projecting portion 1 b of the heat sink 1 using a double-sided tape. Thus, the head substrate 3, FP
C5 and the heat sink 1 can be integrated.

  Subsequently, the head base 3, the FPC 5, and the heat sink 1 are bonded to the support member 10. The head base 3, the FPC 5, and the heat dissipation plate 1 are inserted into the support member 10 from the side where the contact portion 14 is not provided (right side in FIG. 5A). At this time, the head base 3, the FPC 5, and the heat dissipation plate 1 are inserted while pressing the pressing portion 12 downward by the heat dissipation plate 1.

  As shown to Fig.6 (a), the inserted heat sink 1 will be pressed upward by the press part 12. As shown in FIG. The upward movement of the head base 3, the FPC 5, and the heat sink 1 pressed upward is stopped by the contact of the upper surface of the head base 3 with the contact portion 14. Then, the head base 3, the FPC 5, and the heat dissipation plate 1 are joined to the support member 10 by the pressing portion 12 and the abutting portion 14.

  As described above, since the head base 3, the FPC 5, and the heat dissipation plate 1 are joined without the gap 16 in the support member 10, the possibility of dust or the like getting in between the sidewall 10 b and the heat dissipation plate 1 is reduced. Can.

  In addition, the head base 3, the FPC 5, and the heat sink 1 are held by the pressing portion 12 and the contact portion 14, and the head base 3, the FPC 5, and the heat sink 1 are fixed. As a result, the handling can be improved.

  Next, the platen roller 50 is attached to the support member 10. The platen roller 50 is attached to the support member 10 by accommodating the shaft 50 a in the groove 10 e (see FIG. 4) of the support member 10.

  At that time, as shown in FIG. 6B, the platen roller 50 presses the head base 3 downward in order to improve the adhesion between the platen roller 50 and the head base 3. Therefore, the pressing portion 12 is deformed and moves downward. As a result, the head base 3, the FPC 5, and the heat dissipation plate 1 also move downward, and the contact portion 14 and the head base 3 are separated, and a gap between the contact portion 14 and the head base 3. Sixteen are formed.

  As described above, when the head base 3 is not driven, the head base 3 is pressed upward by the pressing portion 12 and is fixed by the contact portion 14. When driven, the platen roller 50 is in contact with the head base 3 and the contact portion 14. In order to press the head base 3 downward so that a gap 16 is generated between them, the possibility of dust or the like getting in between the side wall 10 b and the heat sink 1 is reduced while not driving, and The debris can be discharged into the space between the side wall 10 b of the support member 10 and the heat sink 1 through the gap 16. As a result, it is possible to reduce the possibility of accumulating paper dust and the like on the contact portion 14 and to reduce the possibility of printing defects.

  When the thermal head X1 is driven, the platen roller 50 is pressed against the head base 3 in order to print on the recording medium P. When the thermal head X1 is not driven, the platen roller 50 is not driven. The head base 3 is not pressed. Therefore, the platen roller 50 is not attached to the support member 10 when it is not driven, and the thermal head X1 is mounted on a thermal printer (not shown), and the pressing force of the platen roller 50 when printing is not performed. It is also at the non-driving time when releasing the

  Next, the thermal printer Z1 will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 7, the thermal printer Z1 of the present embodiment includes the above-described thermal head X1, a transport mechanism 40, a power supply device 60, and a control device 70. Thermal head X
1 is attached to the attachment surface 80a of the attachment member 80 provided on the housing (not shown) of the thermal printer Z1. Further, it is screwed to the casing by the screw hole 10d. The thermal head X1 is attached to the mounting member 80 such that the arrangement direction of the heat generating portions 9 is along the main scanning direction which is a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction S of the recording medium P described later.

  The transport mechanism 40 has a drive unit (not shown) and transport rollers 43, 45, 47 and 49. The transport mechanism 40 transports the recording medium P such as thermal paper, image receiving paper to which ink is transferred in the direction of arrow S in FIG. 7, and places the protective layer 25 on the plurality of heat generating portions 9 of the thermal head X1. It is for carrying. The drive unit has a function of driving the transport rollers 43, 45, 47, and 49, and for example, a motor can be used. The conveying rollers 43, 45, 47 and 49 cover cylindrical shaft bodies 43a, 45a, 47a and 49a made of metal such as stainless steel with elastic members 43b, 45b, 47b and 49b made of butadiene rubber etc. Can be configured. Although not shown, when the recording medium P is an image receiving paper or the like to which the ink is transferred, the ink film is conveyed together with the recording medium P between the recording medium P and the heat generating portion 9 of the thermal head X1.

  As described above, the power supply device 60 has a function of supplying a current for heating the heating portion 9 of the thermal head X1 and a current for operating the drive IC 11. The control device 70 has a function of supplying a control signal for controlling the operation of the drive IC 11 to the drive IC 11 in order to cause the heat generating portion 9 of the thermal head X 1 to selectively generate heat as described above.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the thermal printer Z1 conveys the recording medium P onto the heat generating portion 9 by the transport mechanism 40 while pressing the recording medium P onto the heat generating portion 9 of the thermal head X1 by the platen roller 50. By causing the heat generating unit 9 to selectively generate heat by the power supply device 60 and the control device 70, predetermined printing is performed on the recording medium P. When the recording medium P is an image receiving paper or the like, printing on the recording medium P is performed by thermally transferring the ink of an ink film (not shown) conveyed together with the recording medium P onto the recording medium P.

Second Embodiment
The thermal head X2 according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The same members as those of the thermal head X1 are denoted by the same reference numerals. The thermal head X2 is different from the thermal head X1 in the heat sink 101 and the support member 110.

  The heat sink 101 has a base portion 101a, a protrusion portion 101b, and a storage groove portion 101c. The housing groove portion 101 c is provided on the lower surface of the heat sink 101 and is provided to extend in the main scanning direction. The storage groove portion 101c has a triangular shape when viewed in the main scanning direction. A part of the bent portion of the pressing portion 12 is accommodated in the accommodation groove portion 101c.

  As shown in FIG. 8B, the support member 110 has a placement surface 110a, a side surface 110b, a pressing portion 12, an abutment portion 14, a discharge hole 118, and a guide portion 120. . The pressing portion 12 is formed on the mounting surface 110 a, and the contact portion 14 is formed on the side surface 110 b.

  The discharge hole 118 is formed in the side surface 110 b and penetrates the side surface 110 b. The plurality of discharge holes 118 are arranged in the main scanning direction in a state of being separated from each other, and the plurality of discharge holes 118 are formed at substantially the same height from the mounting surface 110 a.

The guide portion 120 is formed on the side surface 110 b and provided below the discharge hole 118. The guide portion 120 extends from the side surface 110 b at the position where the discharge hole 118 is provided to be inclined toward the heat dissipation plate 101, and the tip is in contact with the heat dissipation plate 101. A plurality of guide portions 120 are arrayed in the main scanning direction so as to be apart from each other, and are arranged to correspond to the positions where the discharge holes 118 are provided.

  The discharge hole 118 and the guide portion 120 can form a guide portion 120 by notching a part of the side surface 110 b and bending the portion where the notches are formed to the heat dissipation plate 101 side. The opening of the portion functions as the discharge hole 118.

  Since the lower surface of the heat dissipation plate 101 is provided with the storage groove portion 101c for accommodating a part of the pressing portion 12, when the heat dissipation plate 101 is inserted into the support member 110, the pressing portion By accommodating 12 in the accommodation groove part 101c, positioning with the heat sink 101 and the supporting member 110 can be performed. Therefore, joining of the support member 110 and the heat sink 101 can be facilitated.

  Further, the discharge hole 118 is formed in the side surface 110 b, so that paper debris or the like supplied from the gap 16 to the space between the side surface 110 b and the heat dissipation plate 101 can be discharged through the discharge hole 118 from the gap 16 to the side surface 110 b It can be discharged from the space between the heat sink 101. As a result, a large amount of paper debris and the like can be suppressed from being accumulated in the space between the side surface 110 b and the heat dissipation plate 101 from the gap 16.

  Furthermore, since the guide portion 120 extending from the discharge hole 118 toward the heat dissipation plate 101 is provided, the paper debris or the like supplied from the gap 16 to the space between the side surface 110 b and the heat dissipation plate 101 is the upper surface of the guide portion 120. As a result, the fluid is discharged to the discharge hole 118. Therefore, paper waste and the like can be efficiently discharged from the space between the side surface 110 b and the heat dissipation plate 101.

  Furthermore, since the leading end of the guide portion 120 is in contact with the heat sink 101, paper dust and the like are less likely to drop below the guide portion 120, and paper dust and the like can be discharged efficiently.

  In addition, the cross-sectional shape of the storage groove part 101c of the heat sink 101 may not be a triangle shape. Moreover, although the example which provides the discharge hole 118 and the guide part 120 was shown, you may provide only the discharge hole 118. FIG. In addition, only one discharge hole 118 long in the main scanning direction may be provided.

  As mentioned above, although one Embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, A various change is possible unless it deviates from the meaning. For example, although the thermal printer Z1 using the thermal head X1 according to the first embodiment is shown, the present invention is not limited to this, and the thermal head X2 may be used for the thermal printer Z1.

  For example, although the thin thin film head of the heat generating portion 9 is illustrated by forming the electric resistance layer 15 as a thin film, it is not limited thereto. The present invention may be applied to a thick thick film head of the heat generating portion 9 by forming the electric resistance layer 15 as a thick film after patterning various electrodes.

  In addition, the base portion 13 may be formed in a region other than the raised portion 13 a of the heat storage layer 13. The heat generating portion 9 may be formed by forming the common electrode 17 and the individual electrode 19 on the heat storage layer 13 and forming the electrical resistance layer 15 only in the region between the common electrode 17 and the individual electrode 19.

  Further, although the example in which the FPC 5 is connected to the head base 3 is shown, the connector 31 may be directly connected to the head base 3.

X1 to X2 Thermal head Z1 Thermal printer P Recording medium 1,101 Heat dissipation plate 3 Head substrate 5 Flexible printed wiring board 7 Substrate 9 Heating portion 10, 110 Support member 10a, 110a Mounting surface 10b, 110b Side surface 10c Side surface 10d Screw hole 10e Groove portion 12 Press portion 14 Contact portion 16 Gap 17 Common electrode 19 Individual electrode 21 Connection electrode 25 Protective layer 27 Cover layer 29 Cover member 101 e Storage groove portion 118 Discharge hole 120 Guide portion

Claims (2)

A head substrate having a heat generating portion on the upper side , and a thermal head having a heat sink provided below the head substrate ;
A support member having the heat dissipation plate is supported, the pressing portion for pressing the heat radiating plate upward, Oyo the top or upper surface of the heat radiating plate of beauty before Symbol head substrate abuts the abutting portion,
Provided on the heating portion of the head substrate, thereby pressing the pre SL head substrate, and a platen roller which allowed to separate the said abutment portion and the head substrate or the heat radiating plate,
And a transport mechanism for transporting the recording medium on the heat generating portion,
The support member has a mounting surface of the heat sink and a side surface extending upward from the mounting surface.
The mounting surface has the pressing portion,
The side, which has the contact portion, a thermal printer according to claim Rukoto to having a through-hole. It said side surface than said through-hole is arranged below, extends toward the front SL head base body and having a guide portion in contact with the heat dissipation plate, the thermal printer according to claim 1.

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