JPH02194974A - Heat sensitive recording method, heat sensitive recording head and heat sensitive recording semiconductor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To record in high density of 16 dots/mm or more by so dividing heat generating elements aligned in one row into a plurality of groups that the adjacent heat generating elements belong to different groups. CONSTITUTION:Squares individually correspond to recording dots by 18 heat generating elements aligned in one row, and numbers indicate dividing method and recording sequence of the heat generating elements. First, 4-th, 7-th, 10-th, 13-th, 16-th heat generating elements counted initially from its left are selected, heated, and similar dividing recording is subsequently repeated twice to finish a recording of one line. If the heat generating elements are disposed in a com plete one row, second and third recorded dots are deviated in a recording sheet feeding direction with respect to first recorded dots. The position of the heat generating element in a recording head is deviated in the feeding direction of the recording sheet at a distance corresponding to the deviation of the recorded dot, thereby recording one straight line like the case that all the heat generators aligned in one row are heated simultaneously.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention uses a recording head in which heating elements are arranged in a row,
The present invention relates to a thermal recording method and a recording head useful for high-density recording and cost reduction of the head.

Conventional Technology Thermal recording is characterized by easier maintenance and handling than in the past (-) Facsimile using color-forming thermal recording paper.

Various types of printers (b) Applications include monochrome printers, multicolor or full-color printers, etc. that use heat-melting or sublimation transfer paper and image-receiving paper.

There are three issues to be addressed in order to further develop this thermal recording technology in the future: (1) high-density recording, (2) lowering the cost of recording heads, and (3) high-speed recording.

Many of the above-mentioned printers use a line printer type recording head in which heating resistors are arranged in a line.

FIG. 8 shows a recording method of a conventional line printer recording head.

Figure 8 shows an example of a one-line recording pattern by a recording head in which 1.8 resistors are arranged in a row.Each square corresponds to a dot recorded by each resistor, and the numbers in the figure are The division method and recording order for heating the resistor are shown. That is, in this example, recording is performed by dividing 18 resistors into three times using six adjacent resistors as a unit.

With this divided recording, 2
゜The recording position of the third recording dot is slightly shifted in the running direction of the recording paper. On the premise of such a divided recording method, three types of recording heads have been proposed: (1) diode matrix type recording head @) thyristor type recording head (3) semiconductor IC mounted type recording head.

The first thermal recording facsimiles used a diode matrix type recording head, which was the impetus for the development of thermal recording, but now there are recording heads equipped with semiconductor ICs that can heat a large number of resistors at the same time. It has become mainstream.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, in any of the three types of recording heads mentioned above, there are problems due to the difficulty in connecting the lead wires between the resistor and the semiconductor device (diode array, thyristor array, or output transistor array of the semiconductor device). It is difficult to manufacture a high-density recording head of 16 dots/square or more. As one method for solving this problem, development of a recording head in which the semiconductor device of an IC-mounted recording head is constituted by thin film transistors is underway, but it has not yet been put into practical use.

Furthermore, various improvements have been made in manufacturing techniques to reduce the cost of recording heads for semiconductor IC-mounted heads, which are currently the mainstream. Reducing the price of this recording head is also a major issue in order to further popularize thermal recording printers.

For reference below, FIG. 9 shows a circuit configuration of a heat generating section of a recording head in which a three-terminal element is added to a resistor in conventional divided recording.

In FIG. 9, 1 is a resistor, 2 is a three-terminal element, 3 is a terminal for connecting a heating power source, 4 is a terminal for selecting a resistor for dividing recording, and 5 is a terminal for connecting an output circuit of a semiconductor device. In the heat generating part of the recording head configured as described above, the position of the resistor 1 connected to one output circuit connection terminal 6 is such that the position of the resistor 1 is
are distributed across the entire width of the array location, complicating lead connections. Furthermore, as the number of heating elements increases, the connection of lead wires in this portion becomes dramatically more complicated, making it difficult to construct a specific head configuration.

The present invention addresses high-density recording among the above three problems associated with current thermal recording methods and recording heads.

The main purpose of the present invention is to reduce the cost of recording heads.The objects of the present invention are listed as follows.

A first object of the present invention is to provide a recording head for high-density thermosensitive recording of 16 dots/sI1 or more, which can be manufactured using conventional head manufacturing techniques.

The second object of the present invention is to use the most frequently used 6-1
An object of the present invention is to provide a recording head that can reduce the manufacturing cost of a 2 dot/vm recording head.

A third object of the present invention is to provide a semiconductor device suitable for the recording head according to the present invention.

A fourth object of the present invention is to provide a recording method that shortens recording time by performing recording at a density that is coarser than the arrangement density of heating elements, and a recording head that can execute this recording method.

The object of g5 of the present invention is to provide a heat-sensitive recording head capable of improving the recording density of an edge type head suitable for recording not only characters but also color images.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above object, the thermal recording method of the present invention provides
By dividing the heating elements into a plurality of groups with adjacent heating elements as a unit, and selecting one heating element belonging to each group, the selection order of each heating element in each group is sequentially changed. heating elements in each selected group in accordance with the recording signal, heating is repeated N times, and division recording of one line of heating elements arranged in a row is performed, or two types are used. In addition, the thermal recording head of the present invention includes a plurality of heating resistors that are grouped in advance, and a recording density that is coarser than the heating element arrangement density. a three-terminal element connected to select at least one resistor from among the resistors, and a semiconductor device having an output circuit for heating each resistor; A plurality of heat-generating resistors and a selection element for selecting a heat-generating resistor are formed on the end surface of an insulating substrate. Means for internally sequentially transferring recording signals for heating the heating element inputted in sequence and outputting the same signal as the input signal to another device, and at the stage when the transfer of the recording signal is completed, the transferred signal is The input order is 1 N+12N+1 ・・・・・・・・・2, N+2
．． 2N+2.・・・・・・・・・N NUN 2N
+N, ......... These N divided signal groups are sequentially selected and simultaneously output to heat the heating element and the transferred signals to N groups. , and a means for transferring the next recording signal during the operation of heating the heating element.

Effect: According to the thermal recording method and semiconductor device head of the present invention, high-density recording can be performed with a simple configuration, and
Recording time can be shortened by performing recording at a density that is coarser than the arrangement density of the heating elements.

EXAMPLES Hereinafter, examples of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

In the present invention, the resistor and other elements for heating the coloring type and transfer type thermal recording paper are also referred to as heating elements, and if it is necessary to distinguish between these elements, the specific element name will be used. It shows.

Figure 2 shows an example of a one-line divided recording pattern according to the present invention. The numbers indicate the method of dividing the heating elements and the recording order. As can be seen from FIG. 2, in the method of heating a heating element according to the present invention, the temperature is initially 1.4°7, 10.7° as counted from the left. 13. Select and heat the 1θth heating element, and continue to record the same division twice.
Recording of one line is completed by repeating the process twice.

If the heating elements are arranged in a complete line according to this selective heating order, as shown in Fig. 2,
Each of the second and third recorded dots causes a positional shift in the running direction of the recording paper with respect to the first recorded dot.

If this misalignment of the recording dots becomes a problem during actual recording, it is possible to align them in a line by shifting the position of the heating element in the recording head in the running direction of the recording paper by the amount of misalignment of the recording dots. A single straight line can be recorded as in the case of heating all the heating elements in an array at the same time.

The main objectives of the present invention, which are high recording density and a reduction in the cost of a recording head, can be achieved by employing the heating element division and recording method shown in FIG.

In the present invention, in order to perform recording using this division/recording method, (a) a switching function is added to each heating element to divide/select the heating element as shown in FIG. The recording head is configured to repeatedly use a semiconductor device (IC) for divided recording, which selects and heats the recording head by applying electricity.

FIG. 1 shows the circuit configuration of a recording head and the connections of semiconductor devices for dividing and selecting heating elements according to the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a heat generating section of a recording head according to the present invention. In the figure, 1 is a heat generating resistor, 2 is a three-terminal element having a switching function added to the resistor 1, and 3a to 3 are shown in FIG.
3C is a terminal for selecting a resistor for divisional recording; 4a to 4f are terminals for connecting an output circuit of a semiconductor device that heats a selected heating element in accordance with an image signal; and 6 is a terminal for connecting a heating power source.

Resistor 1 is selected and connected to terminals 4a to 4f according to the recording signal.
Semiconductor device output circuit (transistor) for heating
One end of the resistor heating power source is connected to the heating power source connection terminal 6 and the other end of the output circuit is connected to a power source for heating the resistor.

Heating of the selected resistor (-) is performed by the resistor selection signal for divided recording inputted to the terminals 3a to 3C and the pulse signal for resistor heating inputted to the semiconductor device in synchronization with the divided recording signal. b) Divisional recording as shown in FIG. 2 is performed by sequentially changing the selection order of resistors. As can be seen from this explanation, in FIG. 1, the number of output circuits of the semiconductor device required to heat the heating element=the number of lead connections of the output circuit=total heating elements÷number of divided recordings (N).

That is, in the thermal recording head of the present invention, compared to the conventional recording head, the output circuit of the semiconductor device connected to the heating element and the number of leads connected thereto are reduced to one for the number of divided recordings. It is now possible to construct a high-density recording head, which was difficult to achieve using conventional methods.

For example, by setting the number of divided recordings N to 4 and using conventional head manufacturing technology to connect the three-terminal element and the output circuit of the semiconductor device at a density of 8/-, 32 dots/f.
i recording head can be made. At the same time, the number of semiconductor ICs for driving heating elements is reduced to one of the number of divided recordings of the conventional recording head, thereby reducing the cost of the recording head.

Furthermore, in a recording head in which the heat generating element drive circuit is formed using thin film transistor manufacturing technology, the manufacturing yield can be improved by reducing the number of drive circuits, which is useful for reducing the price of the head.

(Embodiment 1) FIG. 3 shows an example of the circuit configuration of a recording head according to the present invention for performing the divided recording shown in FIG. 2.

Figure 3 shows an example of a recording head in which a three-terminal element is added to a heat generating resistor. In the figure, 1 is a heat generating resistor, and 2 is a switching function for selecting a resistor for divided recording. The semiconductor IC 140 at 3° is a power supply for the semiconductor IC, and the reference numeral 60 is a power supply for heating the resistor.

The semiconductor IC shown in FIG. 3 is an IC with the most basic circuit configuration for a conventional semiconductor IC mounted recording head.
A shift register 31 for transferring recording signals, a latch circuit 32 for temporarily accumulating recording signals, and a gate circuit 33 for outputting recording signals from the latch circuit 32. It consists of an output transistor 34 for outputting recording signals. Note that sla and slb are terminals for recording signal input and output, 31a is a clock signal input terminal for recording signal transfer, 32a is a latch signal input terminal for transferring the recording signal to the latch circuit 32, and 33a is a recording signal of the latch circuit 32. 34a is a terminal for connecting a heating resistor, 36 is a power supply connection terminal for heating the resistor, and 36.37 is a power supply connection terminal for semiconductor IC.

Each terminal of the two semiconductor ICs 30 and 18 resistors 1.
and a terminal 101a to which 18 three-terminal elements 2 are connected as shown, forming a recording head.

101c to 108a, 108b, and 108c are formed.

For this recording, the recording signals for the 1st, 4th, 7th, 10th, 13th, and 16th resistors, counting from the right of the resistors arranged in a row, are input to the terminal 101a, and the clock signal of the terminal 101b is input to the terminal 101a. This recording signal is sequentially transferred in the same number of shift register circuits 31, and the transferred recording signal is temporarily stored in six latch circuits 32 by the latch signal of the terminal 102.

Next, the resistor to be divided and recorded first is selected by the signal applied to the terminal 108a, and the resistor heating pulse (
(gate) signal, the eight transistors become conductive in response to the first recorded signal stored in the latch circuit, and the resistors connected to the conductive transistors are connected to terminals 104 and 10.
The heating element is heated by a heating element heating power source 6o connected to the heating element 5.

During this heating period, the numbers 2, 5, 8, etc., counted from the right, are input to the terminal 101a. The next recording signals for the 11th, 14th, and 177th resistors are similarly transferred to the six shift register circuits 31.
The next divided recording is continuously performed by the resistor selection signal at the terminal 108b and the resistor heating pulse signal at the terminal 103. Note that 106 and 107 are semiconductor ICK source terminals.

As described above, the print head of this embodiment can be operated in the same manner as the conventional semiconductor IC-mounted print head, except that the input order of print signals is different.

As mentioned above, recording heads equipped with semiconductor ICs have become mainstream in thermal recording because one line recording time = number of divided recordings x resistor heating pulse width, regardless of the total number of resistors in the recording head. That is a big reason.

Therefore, it is not practical to extremely increase the number of divided recordings, but from the viewpoint of equalizing the recording quality and the life of the resistor, the resistor is usually heated for a period of 3 to 6 times the resistor heating pulse width. Cooling is required, and thermal recording is performed with the number of divided recordings N=s to 5.

Compared to conventional semiconductor IC-equipped recording heads, the recording head of this embodiment has a three-terminal element added to the resistor, which increases the number of drive (output) circuits for heating the resistor and the connection between the three-terminal element and the output circuit. By reducing the density to 1, which is more than the number of divided recordings, it is possible to (1) manufacture a high-density recording head, and (2) reduce the cost of the ft head.

To specifically manufacture the recording head of this embodiment having such characteristics, (a) a field effect transistor made of an amorphous silicon thin film is added to the resistor as a three-terminal element, and a high density of the resistor and thin film transistor is formed. By connecting the wires in a thin film formation process and its battening process, the heat generating part shown in Figure 1 is formed. b) By connecting the three-terminal element and the semiconductor IC using conventional mounting technology, the recording head shown in Figure 3 is formed. can be manufactured.

(Embodiment 2) Next, a recording head using an output resistor of a three-terminal element as a heating element will be described.

A thin film transistor made of an amorphous silicon thin film is suitable as a three-terminal element added to the resistor of Example 1, but by using the output resistor of this element as a heating element, the manufacturing process of the recording head can be further simplified. be able to.

The circuit configuration of the heat generating portion of such a recording head is the same as that shown in FIG. 1, and therefore the circuit configuration of the recording head having the same function as that of the first embodiment is the same as that shown in FIG.

However, in this embodiment, it is not necessary to form a resistor, and the manufacturing process is simpler than in the first embodiment. Further, in the first embodiment, in order to reduce unnecessary power consumption, the output resistance of the three-terminal element is required to be one-tenth or less of that of the resistor. On the other hand, in this embodiment, since the output resistance of the three-terminal element is equal to the heating element, the production of the three-terminal element is facilitated.

As described above, the recording head of this embodiment is characterized in that it is easier to manufacture than that of the first embodiment.

(Embodiment 3) Next, a semiconductor I having a function of converting the output order of recording signals
A recording head using C will be explained.

In the recording heads of Examples 1 and 2, it is necessary to send recording signals in the divided recording order shown in FIG.

This embodiment will describe a semiconductor device (IC) that converts a recording signal sent in the order of arrangement of heating elements into the recording order of divided recording according to the present invention and outputs the same, and a recording head using this semiconductor IC.

FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b) show an example of a circuit configuration of a semiconductor IC and a recording head according to the present invention, in which the output resistor of a three-terminal element is used as a heating element to perform the divided recording shown in FIG. 2.

In FIG. 4(-), shift register 61. Latch circuit 62. Gate circuit 63. The functions of the output transistor register 4 and the like are the same as those of the semiconductor IC shown in FIG. 3, but in order to convert the order of recording signals and output them, shift registers 61 . Latch circuit 62. The number of gate circuits 63 is nine. This semiconductor IC (a) transfers the recording signal input to the terminal 61a to the terminal 81;
c) The function of transferring this recording signal in the direction of the thick line connecting the nine shift registers 61 using the clock signal of c) and outputting it to the next semiconductor IC to the terminal e1b; Transfer to the circuit 62 and connect the terminal 63a
, 63b.

It has a function of outputting three recording signals of the υ latch circuit 62 from the terminal 64a in response to the signals sequentially input to θ3C.

To make the above operation easier to understand, the order in which the nine resistor heating recording signals temporarily stored in the latch circuit 82 of FIG. 4(a) are input to the terminal 61& is expressed numerically. Filled out. In addition, 66 is a power supply connection terminal for heating the output resistor, 66.
67 is a power supply connection terminal for semiconductor IC.

Figure 4) shows the circuit configuration of a recording head using a three-terminal element 2 with 18 output resistors as heating elements and two semiconductor The terminal element 2a is a heating element based on the output resistance of a three-terminal element.

This recording head sequentially transfers and sends the recording signal inputted to the terminal 201a in the order of arrangement of the three-terminal elements in the 18 shift registers 61 according to the clock signal of the terminal 201c. Transfer the recording signal to 18 latch circuits 62 and connect them to terminals 203a, 203b, 203c.
The recording signals transferred to the latch circuit 62 by the signals sequentially input to the gate circuit e3 are output six by six, and the signals are input to the terminal 2.
Recording is performed by the heat generated by the output resistor 2& of the three-terminal element connected to the transistor 64 which is turned on by the heating power source 6o connected to 04°208. Furthermore, the terminal 201
Input the next recording signal to a and continue recording.

The terminals 208a, 208b, 208o (in Fig. 4) are (1
) Selection of three-terminal element for divided recording (I) The circuit is configured to have the dual role of outputting the recording signal accumulated in the latch circuit, but the difference in switching characteristics between the transistor 34 and the three-terminal element 2 If this becomes a problem, configure the circuit to delay the output resistor heating pulse.

As can be seen from the above explanation, by changing the circuit configuration of the semiconductor IC, it is possible to manufacture a recording head that performs divided recording according to the present invention using an external circuit for operating a conventional semiconductor IC-mounted recording head. can.

(Example 4) In this example, T A B (Tape-Automa
A recording head in which a semiconductor IC is mounted using the ted-bonding method will be described.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a specific method of manufacturing the recording head of the circuit type shown in FIG. 4.

In FIG. 5(a), 70 is a silicon chip on which a semiconductor IC is formed, 3oo is a recording head, 31° is a heating element substrate, 320 is a multilayer wiring substrate, and 330 is a metal head base.

Figure 5 [ex.]) shows the external appearance of a semiconductor IC.
The silicon chip that formed the semiconductor IC has a TAB
ILB (Inner-Lead-Bond)
ing-) technology, polyimide resin film 7
A group of linear and L-shaped lead wires 72 held on top of A3 is an output terminal for recording signals of the semiconductor XC.

In addition to the operation terminal of the semiconductor IC, it is also connected to a terminal.

In Figure 6), nine linear lead wires are connected to one semiconductor IC, but this is to make the appearance of the recording head resemble an actual head, and in reality, as shown in Figure 4(b). If a recording head of 1 is to be made, there will be three straight lead wires.

As shown in FIG. 6(C), the multilayer wiring conductor 3 with the recording head terminal 300H is still on the printed circuit board 320.
21,322 are formed. The multilayer wiring conductor 322 is
The recording signal output terminal of one semiconductor IC is connected to another semiconductor IC.
It is formed in a stepped shape so as to be connected to the recording signal input terminal of.

A three-terminal element 301 is placed on the heating element substrate 31°, which is adhered and held on the metal head base 330 together with the multilayer wiring substrate 320. One board 301X has one switching terminal of a three-terminal element all connected in common, and a plurality of boards ao1Y have one switching terminal of three adjacent three-terminal elements connected together.

Three leads 302a and 302b commonly connect every third switching signal input terminal of a three-terminal element.

302C is formed.

Three switching signal input terminal leads 302a.

302b, 3020 (1/C formed on D!j-)”
301X.

301 is electrically insulated by a thin film 309 consisting of two layers: a Y/Nm body layer and an amorphous Φ silicon layer. Also, to make the diagram easier to understand, three three-terminal elements are
01, and an abrasion-resistant layer for protection from contact abrasion with the heat-sensitive recording paper is not shown.

The linear and L-shaped lead groups of semiconductor ICs are TAB type OL B (Outsr-Leaci-Bondin).
g) By technology, (a) the other end of the linear lead group 2 is connected to the common connection lead 30 of the switching terminals of three adjacent three-terminal elements;
(b) Connect the other end of the L-shaped lead group 73 to
(Connected to multilayer wiring conductors 321 and 322 on the board.

In addition, OLE technology and polyimide resin film 305
(C) All common connection leads 301x of the switching terminals of the three-terminal element and the three switching signal input terminals 3
By connecting 02a, 302b, and 302c to the multilayer wiring conductor 321 of the printed circuit board-F, the electrical connection of the recording head is completed.

As can be seen from the above description, the recording head according to the present invention can be manufactured using conventional techniques except for the heat generating portion shown in FIG.

In addition, using this example as a reference, wire bonding technology, which is currently widely used as a mounting technology for semiconductor ICs,
Alternatively, the recording head can also be manufactured using other mounting techniques.

Furthermore, as mentioned above, the heating element and the three-terminal element can be manufactured using only thin film transistor manufacturing techniques.

As described above, one of the features of the recording head of the present invention is that the recording head can be manufactured using conventional technology.

(Embodiment 6) Next, a method for improving the recording speed by coarsening the recording density in the arrangement direction of the heating elements will be described.

In normal recording according to the present invention, one line is recorded by repeating recording in which the arrangement density of heating elements is uniformly coarsened (one of the number of divided recordings) for the number of divided recordings.

Therefore, in order to improve the recording speed, it is possible to perform simple recording in which the recording time is shortened, in which one line of recording is divided into one divisional recording.

6(a) to 6(C) show a comparison of various recorded dot distributions based on recording signals for six lines using the recording head shown in FIG. 4(-) according to the present invention. One square in the figure corresponds to one recording dot.

FIG. 6(a) is a diagram showing the distribution of recorded dots in normal (the most precise) recording. As mentioned in Figure 1,
Normal recording according to the present invention is performed by repeatedly recording the first line in the order of numbers written in the rectangles in the figure.

゛Figure e (G) shows the case where the simplified recording method used in the conventional divided recording method, that is, the simplified recording method in which recording information of multiple lines is repeatedly represented by one line of recording, is applied to the present invention. The distribution of recorded dots is shown.

This figure shows the distribution of dots resulting from recording in which three lines of recorded information are represented by one line of recording and the recording time is reduced to one-third, and the recorded dots of the 1st and 4th lines are illustrated.

In addition to this, the present invention enables a simplified recording method which is not possible with the conventional divided recording method, and the distribution of recorded dots by this simplified recording method is shown in FIG. 6(C).

Figure 6 (C) shows the record of the 1st fin as the 1st, the record of the 2nd line day as the 2nd day, and the record of the 3rd line day as the 3rd divided record, and the recording time is 3 minutes. This is a pattern obtained by recording shortened to 1, and recording dots of 1 to 6 fins are shown.

As can be seen from a comparison of FIGS. 6(a) and (b), the simplified recording method using divided recording of the present invention is effective in the main scanning direction (the arrangement direction of the heating elements) and the sub-scanning direction (the arrangement direction of the heating elements) of the recording surface. The feature is that information in both directions (perpendicular to the array) can be uniformly simplified; for example, a recording head of 16 dots/cod can perform recording at 4 or 8.16 dots/fl.

Another feature of the simplified recording of the present invention is that when the recording time is 8 dots/H: 3A X 'A = 3A16
” :XX3A=%.

In conventional divided recording, the recording time is shortened only by reducing the recording density in the sub-scanning direction, so reducing the recording time by one-sixteenth causes extreme deterioration of the recorded image quality and is not practical. On the other hand, in the simplified recording of 4 dots per meter using the 16 dots/m head described above, the recording energy per dot is increased to prevent the overall density of the recorded image from decreasing. Practical recording can be performed by increasing the value of .

Such a simplified recording method is useful for recording such as short-time facsimile transmission or test printing of a color image printer using the high-density recording head according to the present invention.

(Example 6) Next, an edge type recording head with improved recording density will be described.

Thermal recording is used not only for single-color hard copies, but also for multicolor or full-color printers using transfer-type (wax-type and dye-sublimation) recording paper.

Examples of the mechanical parts of the printer for recording these color images are shown in FIGS. 7(a) and 7(b).

In this figure, 400A and 400B are printer mechanisms, 401 is a transfer paper supply drum, 402 is a transfer paper winding drum,
403 is a transfer paper, 404 is a drum for feeding the image receiving paper, 406
1 is an image receiving paper, and 600 and 600 are recording heads.

The mechanism shown in FIGS. 7(a) and 7(b) includes the drum 404
The image-receiving paper 406 is wrapped around the image-receiving paper 406 and the recording head SOO or 600 is pressed against the image-receiving paper 405.
A color image is recorded by passing a transfer paper 403 with a transfer layer of a different color every 5 lengths, and performing thermal transfer recording of different colors three to four times on the image receiving paper.

Comparing these two printer mechanism parts, the mechanical part of the printer using an edge-type recording head 6oo in which a heating element is formed on the end surface (including the thickness direction) of a rectangular substrate has a better printer design. It is known that it is easy to remove.

However, this recording head requires the lead wires of the heat generating elements to be formed on both sides of the substrate, and it is difficult to improve the recording density due to the difficulty of patterning the lead wires, and it takes a lot of effort to improve the manufacturing yield. Requires.

The present invention is useful for improving the recording density and manufacturing yield of this edge type recording head.

FIG. 7 (1) shows the structure of the end face portion of an end face recording head using a switching element having an output resistor as a heat generating element according to the present invention.

In this figure, aooA is a recording head, 601 is a substrate for forming a heat generating element, the heat generating part shown in FIG. The leads 6o1x that are all commonly connected connect the switching terminals of three adjacent switching elements to the other side of the lead 6o1x.
01Y, lead 60 that commonly connects the switching signal input terminals of the switching elements formed in one row to every three elements.
2 has been extended and formed.

As can be seen from this figure, the edge-type recording head according to the present invention can form a high-density wiring portion in the center of the edge surface of the substrate, and can make the lead wire density coarse from the edge portion to the flat surface of the substrate.
The recording density and manufacturing yield of the recording head, which are the two problems mentioned above, can be improved.

As described in detail, the present invention divides heating elements arranged in a row into a plurality of groups such that adjacent heating elements belong to different groups, and repeatedly heats and records each group. By (1) reducing the drive circuit that selectively heats the heating element according to the recording signal and the lead wire connection density between this drive circuit and the heating element, it is possible to perform high-density recording of 16 dots/f1 or more, which is difficult with conventional technology. 2) The number of drive circuits required for selecting and heating heating elements can be reduced, making it possible to lower the cost of the recording head. (3) The number of drive circuits for the recording head can be reduced by forming the heating elements and drive circuits using thin film circuit formation technology. (4) Simplified recording that shortens recording time is possible by performing recording with a coarser density than the arrangement density of heating elements (6) ) Cuff - to edge-type recording suitable for recording images - The recording density of the gutter can be improved (6) It is possible to provide a recording head with a switching element added to the heating resistor (7) The output resistor can be used as a heating element (8) It is possible to provide a semiconductor IC that changes the input order of recording signals to a recording order suitable for the divided recording of the present invention.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram of a heating section for performing divisional recording in an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a recording pattern for explaining the divisional recording method and recording order of heating elements arranged in a row according to the present invention. Figure 3 is a circuit diagram of a recording head using a semiconductor IC for a semiconductor IC-mounted recording head and a recording head in which the output resistor of a three-terminal element is used as a heating element, and Figure 4 is a circuit diagram of a recording head in which the output resistor is used as a heating element. A recording head that combines a three-terminal element and a semiconductor IC, and a semiconductor IC that has the function of converting the transfer order of recording signals to configure the recording head.
C circuit diagram, FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a print head with a semiconductor IC mounted by the TAB method, a semiconductor IC, and a printed circuit board on which multilayer wiring conductors (lead wires) are formed, and FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the recording time according to the present invention. A recording dot pattern diagram for explaining the shortened and simplified recording method, Figure 7 is a planar recording\
A structural diagram of the recording section of a printer for color image recording using a head, the recording section of a printer for color image recording using an edge-type recording head, and the heat generating section for increasing the density of an edge-type recording head. A recording pattern diagram for explaining the divisional recording method and recording order of heating elements arranged in a row,
FIG. 9 is a diagram of a drive circuit for a heating element in a conventional divided recording method. 1...Resistor, 2...Three terminal element, 3
a~3c...Resistor selection terminal, 4a~4f・
...Output circuit connection terminal, 30, 60...
・Semiconductor IC131゜θ1...Shift register, 32.62...Launch circuit, 33,83...
...Gate circuit, 34,84...Output transistor, 70...Silicon chip, 300
... Recording head, 310 ... Heating element substrate, 320 ... Multilayer wiring board, 330 ...
...Metal head base. Name of agent: Patent attorney Shigetaka Awano and one other person Mouth Mouth Mouth Mouth Mouth Mouth Mouth Mouth Mouth Mouth Mouth Mouth Diagram (b) 7ρ Funeral Diagram (0-n (b)) No. ■ (C) ≦

Claims (8)

[Claims] (1) When performing thermal recording by repeating line recording using a plurality of heating elements arranged in a row, a plurality of heating elements are arranged so that the adjacent heating elements belong to different groups, with N adjacent heating elements as a unit. The selection order of each heating element in each group is sequentially changed by means of dividing the heating elements into groups and selecting one heating element belonging to each group, and selecting each heating element in each selected group. 1. A thermal recording method characterized in that heating is repeated N times by heating means according to a recording signal, and division recording of one line of heating elements arranged in a row is performed. (2) A plurality of heat generating resistors that have been grouped in advance, and at least one resistor from each of the grouped resistors.
A thermal recording head comprising: a three-terminal element connected to select one of the plurality of resistors; and a semiconductor device having an output circuit for heating the plurality of resistors. (3) Each resistor is arranged in a row, one end of each is connected in common, each other end of the resistor is connected to one end of each switching terminal of the three-terminal element, and N adjacent resistors are connected. The resistor and the three-terminal element are divided into a plurality of groups in units of three-terminal elements, and the other ends of the switching terminals of the three-terminal elements are commonly connected for each group of three-terminal elements, and the switching terminals of the three-terminal elements are connected in common. One end of each of a plurality of output circuits for heating the resistor of the semiconductor device is connected to the common connection portion of each other end of the resistor, and the common connection portion of each one end of the resistor is connected to the other end of each output circuit of the semiconductor device. A power source for heating the resistor is connected to the common connection part, and the switching signal input terminals of the three-terminal elements in the same group are connected to N different conductors so that they are electrically connected.
A divided recording signal that selects one resistor belonging to each group is sequentially applied to the main conductor, and a divided recording signal that selects one resistor belonging to each group is input to the semiconductor device in synchronization with this divided recording signal. By sequentially changing the selection order of each resistor in each group using a recording signal for heating the resistors, and repeating heating using the recording signal N times, one line of divided recording is performed using the resistors arranged in a row. A thermal recording head according to claims, which is configured to perform the following. (4) A thermal recording head equipped with a plurality of three-terminal elements using an output resistor as a heat-generating element, and a semiconductor device that drives at least one heat-generating element for each group, with N adjacent three-terminal elements as a unit. . (5) Three-terminal elements are arranged in a row, one end of each of the switching terminals is connected in common, and the three-terminal elements are divided into a plurality of groups using N adjacent three-terminal elements as a unit. The other ends of the switching terminals are commonly connected for each terminal element, and one end of each of a plurality of output circuits for heating the heating element of the semiconductor device is connected to each other end of the commonly connected switching terminals. A power source for heating the heating element is connected to the common connection at one end of each and the common connection at the other end of the output circuit of the semiconductor device, and each of the switching signal input terminals of the three-terminal elements in the same group has N different switching signal input terminals. A divided recording signal that selects one three-terminal element belonging to each group, which is connected to the conductor in a conductive manner and is sequentially applied to the N conductors, and is input to the semiconductor device in synchronization with this divided recording signal. The selection order of each heating element in each group is sequentially changed according to the recording signal for heating the output resistance of each selected three-terminal element in each group. 5. The thermal recording head according to claim 4, wherein the thermal recording head is configured to perform divisional recording of one line using three terminal elements arranged in a row by repeating heating N times. (6) A semiconductor device for a thermal recording head that heats a plurality of heat generating elements arranged in a row, which sequentially transfers recording signals for heating the heat generating elements input in the order in which the heat generating elements are arranged inside the device; A means for outputting the same signal as the input signal to another device, and when the transfer of the recording signal for heating the heating element in the device is completed, (a) the transferred signals are input in the order of 1, N+1, 2N+1, 2, N+2, 2N+2,...N, N+N
, 2N+N, ...... (N: a positive integer greater than 1) (b) Sequentially select the N divided signal groups, and select the selected signal group. and a means for transmitting the next recorded signal during the operation of heating the heating element by dividing the transferred signals into N groups after the transfer is completed. A semiconductor device for thermal recording comprising: (7) A thermal recording method in which recording is performed by repeating line recording using a plurality of heat generating elements arranged in a row, which is divided into a plurality of groups each consisting of N adjacent heat generating elements and belonging to each group. The selection is performed using a selection means for selecting each heating element one by one, and a heating means for heating each heating element in each group selected by the selection means in accordance with a recording signal corresponding to each heating element. A recording method in which one line is recorded by selecting each heating element corresponding to any one of the numbers 1 to N in a group by means and recording by heating the heating element selected by the selection by the heating means, and the recording method as described above. A thermal recording method characterized in that recording is performed at a recording density coarser than the heating element arrangement density by using a method of sequentially changing the order in the recording method. (8) A plurality of heat-generating resistors and a selection element for selecting the heat-generating resistor, or a plurality of three heat-generating resistors with output resistors as heat-generating elements, are provided on the end face of the electrically and thermally insulating substrate. A thermal recording head with terminal elements.