JPH0220354A - Current supply recording head - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make each electrode easy to follow the unevenness of a recording medium or platen roller by the elasticity of an insulating layer and to bring each electrode into contact with a recording medium stably and certainly by interposing the insulating layer composed of an insulating material having modulus of elasticity larger than that of an insulating substrate between the insulating substrate and a current supply recording electrode group. CONSTITUTION:This current supply recording head consists of an insulating substrate 4 composed of alumina, a large number of insulating layers 20 arranged to one surface thereof in parallel on one end part side thereof, a current supply recording group consisting of a large number of indivisual electrodes 5 formed from the insulating layer 20 to the other end part of the insulating substrate 4 in parallel and an insulating protective film 6 exposing required parts such as the leading end parts or connection terminal parts of the electrodes 5 but covering other parts. The electrodes 5 protrude on the insulating substrate by interposing the insulating layers 20 and the insulating layers 20 show good elasticity of the insulating substrate 4 and, therefore, the electrodes 5 become easy to follow the unevenness of a recording medium or platen roller and are brought into contact with the recording medium stably and certainly.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a current-carrying recording head used in printers such as facsimiles and word processors.

(Prior Art) Some printers, such as facsimile machines and word processors, utilize an electrical recording method. One of the current-carrying recording systems is one in which a current-carrying recording head (2) and a common electrode (3) are arranged separately and separately along a recording medium (1), as shown in FIG.

Current-carrying recording head (2) conventionally used in this arrangement
As shown in FIG. 6, a plurality of individual electrodes (5) are formed in parallel on one surface of an insulating substrate (4) made of alumina or the like by a thick film method or a thin film method. ), and cover the other parts with an insulating protective film (
6). Therefore, in this current-carrying recording head (2), the individual electrodes (5) protrude from one surface of the insulating substrate (4) by only the thickness of the individual electrodes (5); , a very thin layer of a wear-resistant conductive material, such as tungsten, so that its surface is coplanar with one side of the insulating substrate (4).

By the way, when recording with this current-carrying recording head (1), as shown in FIG.
) is brought into contact with a resistive layer (10) coated on one side of the base film (8) through an aluminum layer (9), and this resistive layer (10) and the aluminum layer (9) inside the resistive layer (10) are The common electrode (2) is energized through the individual electrode (
The heat generated by the resistance layer (10) in the part that is in contact with the resistor layer (10) is transferred via the base film (8) to the ink layer (11) coated on the other surface, and the melted ink is transferred to the ink layer (11). 11) and is placed on a platen roller (12).

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) As mentioned above, the current-carrying type recording head is conditioned on the condition that its tip comes into contact with the recording medium. and are almost on the same plane, even if the recording section at the tip of the current-carrying recording head is in contact with the recording medium, the individual electrodes will not come into contact with the recording medium due to unevenness of the recording medium or platen roller, etc.
Image quality may be adversely affected.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an energized recording head that allows individual electrodes to reliably and stably contact a recording medium, thereby preventing recording defects.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) In the current-carrying recording head, an insulating layer made of an insulating material having a larger elastic modulus than the insulating base is provided between the insulating base and the electrode group for current-carrying. A structure was adopted in which the insulating layer supported a plurality of electrodes by interposing them at the same arrangement density as the arrangement density of the plurality of electrodes in the recording electrode group.

(Function) When an insulating layer made of an insulating material having a larger elastic modulus than the insulating substrate is interposed between the insulating substrate and the current recording electrode group as described above, each electrode is This makes it easier to follow the unevenness of the platen roller, and the contact between each electrode and the recording medium is stabilized, resulting in reliable electrical contact.

(Example) Hereinafter, the present invention will be described based on an example with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an energization recorder according to an embodiment of the present invention. This current-carrying recording head is arranged independently of the common electrode, and has an insulating base (4) made of alumina or the like.
, a plurality of insulating layers (20) arranged in parallel on one end side of one surface of this insulating base (4), and a plurality of insulating layers (20)
0) A current recording electrode group consisting of a plurality of individual electrodes (5) formed in parallel from the top to the other end of the insulating substrate (4), and the tips and connections of the plurality of individual electrodes (5). It consists of an insulating protective film (6) that exposes required parts such as terminal parts and covers other parts.

The insulating layer (20) has a larger elastic modulus than the insulating base (4) and the individual electrodes (5) formed thereon.
), such as polyimide with a thickness of 10 to 20 μm or more. The individual electrodes (5) are connected to this insulating layer (2
0) consists of a fine line-like thin layer of a wear-resistant conductive material such as tank anti-ten or molybdenum deposited on top by known thick film or thin film methods.

This current-carrying recording head can be manufactured by the following method.

As shown in FIG. 2(a), a polyimide layer (22) with a thickness of about 10 to 20 μm is formed on one side of an insulating substrate (4) made of, for example, alumina by a method such as printing or spin coding. . Next, this polyimide layer (22)
A thin layer of tungsten (23
) to form. Then this thin layer of tungsten (23)
Apply a photosensitive liquid on top and apply the known PEP (Photo En
graving process), thin wire-shaped individual electrodes (5) are formed in parallel, as shown in figure (b). Then, individual electrodes (5
) is removed to form grooves (24) as shown in figure (C), and polyimide insulating layers (20) arranged in parallel with the same arrangement density as the individual electrodes (5) are formed. The individual electrodes (5) are made to protrude from the negative side of the insulating base (4).

Note that after that, an insulating protective film is formed on portions other than the required portions of the individual electrodes (5). This insulating protective film is generally made of wear-resistant silicon nitride, but in a device like the current-carrying recording head in this example where only the tip comes into contact with the recording medium, wear resistance is not so necessary. Therefore, other resins can also be used.

As another manufacturing method, as shown in FIG. 3(a), an insulating layer (20) of a predetermined width separated by grooves (24) is formed on an insulating substrate (4) by known PEP, and then (
b) As shown in the figure, a thin tungsten layer (23) is formed on this insulating layer (20) by a thin film method or the like. Then, unnecessary parts of this thin tungsten layer (23) are removed using PEP, and the individual electrodes (5) are removed as shown in (C).
) to form.

In this method, the width of the insulating layer (20) can be formed to be the same as or wider than the width of the individual electrode (5), and the insulating layer can be formed to have a width that is the same as or wider than the width of the individual electrode (5). It is easy to manufacture a current-carrying recording head that eliminates dotting and has high reliability against peeling in which the entire back surface of the individual electrode (5) is adhered to the insulating layer (20).

Further, as another manufacturing method, the insulating layer can be formed by the method shown in the third figure using a negative type polyimide photosensitive liquid.

This method requires two exposure steps to complete the current-carrying recording head, but since the insulating layer can be formed without using a hydrazine-based etching solution, You can eliminate complicated processes. Further, there is an advantage that application of a photosensitive liquid and peeling off of a resist film in PEP can be omitted.

By the way, if the current-carrying recording head is configured as described above,
A plurality of individual electrodes (5) protrude onto the insulating substrate (4) with an intervening insulating layer (20), and the insulating layer (20)
exhibits better elasticity than the insulating substrate (4), making it easier for the individual electrodes (5) to follow the unevenness of the recording medium or platen roller, allowing each individual electrode (5) to stably and reliably contact the recording medium. can be done. In addition, each individual electrode (5
The grooves (24) in the insulating layer (20) between the electrodes (20) can prevent short circuits between the electrodes (5) due to conductive debris generated from the recording medium, etc., and a highly reliable current-carrying recording head can be obtained.

Next, other embodiments will be described.

In the above embodiment, the insulating layer was formed only on one side of the insulating base, but as shown in FIG. At the other end
Individual electrodes (5) are formed on the insulating layer (20) in parallel.
) may be formed in parallel, resulting in an energized recording head that exhibits similar effects.

Further, in the above example, the insulating layer was formed of polyimide, but this insulating layer is an insulating material having a higher elastic modulus than the insulating substrate, and has sufficient adhesion to the individual electrodes of the electrode group for current recording. Therefore, any resin other than polyimide may be used.

"Effects of the Invention" Since an insulating layer made of an insulating material having a larger elastic modulus than the insulating substrate is interposed between the insulating substrate and the current recording electrode group, each electrode can be easily attached to the recording medium or platen due to the elasticity of the insulating layer. It becomes easier to follow the unevenness of the roller, and each electrode can be brought into stable and reliable contact with the recording medium.In addition, the grooves in the insulating layer prevent short circuits between the electrodes due to debris from the recording medium, improving reliability. A high current carrying recording head can be obtained.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figures 1 to 4 are detailed explanatory diagrams of this invention.
Figures (a) and (b) are a cutaway plan view and a cross-sectional side view of an energized recording head that is an embodiment of the present invention, respectively, and Figures (a) to (c) are Explanatory drawings of the manufacturing process, Figures 3 (a) to C) respectively.
The figures are explanatory diagrams of different manufacturing processes, Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional side view of another embodiment, Fig. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the current recording method, and Figs. 6 (a) and (b) are respectively FIG. 1 is a cutaway plan view and a cross-sectional side view of a conventional current-carrying recording head. 4...Insulating base 5...Individual electrode 6...Insulating protective film 20...Insulating layer 24...Miho agent Patent attorney Dian Hu

Claims (1)

[Claims] an insulating base, an electrode group for current recording consisting of a plurality of electrodes arranged in parallel, and an insulating material having a larger elastic modulus than the insulating base; 1. A current-carrying recording head comprising: an insulating layer interposed therebetween and supporting the plurality of electrodes at the same arrangement density as the plurality of electrodes.