JPH062420B2 - Electric transfer type recording head - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a recording head of a recording device such as a printer,
More specifically, the present invention relates to a recording head of an electric transfer type recording apparatus using an electric heat generation type thermal transfer ribbon.

[Conventional technology]

The recording head for energizing the thermal transfer ribbon of the energization transfer type recording apparatus is made of tungsten, molybdenum, or the like on the ceramic substrate 2a (see FIG. 6) by the screen printing method as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 60-214972. After forming a metallized layer of a mixture of tungsten and molybdenum, a plurality of recording electrodes 5a are formed by photoetching.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

However, in this recording head 1a, ribbon dregs are attached to the side faces of the recording electrodes 5a, and ribbon dregs are likely to be deposited on the head substrate 2a between the side faces of the recording electrodes 5a, which easily causes a short circuit between the recording electrodes 5a, resulting in marked printing. This causes deterioration of image quality.

In addition, many of the ceramic materials of the substrate 2a are difficult to metallize, and the substrate 2a has a high hardness (Hv800).
Above) limited to materials. Therefore, during use, the recording electrode 5
The abrasion of a is larger than that of the substrate 2a, and the recording electrode 5a is likely to recede.

In addition, there is a large amount of glass that penetrates into the metallized layer from the substrate during firing, and there is a limit to the miniaturization of the recording electrode 5a by photoetching. Also, due to the mixture of this glass, the current-carrying characteristics are poor and the print quality is degraded. . In addition, due to the mixture of glassy materials, the recording electrode 5a has low density and poor durability.

As shown in FIG. 5, as shown in FIG. 5, a plurality of concave grooves 3 are formed in the head substrate 2 as a measure for preventing a short circuit between the recording electrodes.
A recording electrode pattern groove is formed, and the recording electrode 5a is provided in the pattern groove (4 is lower layer plating), and the protruding length of the recording electrode 5a from the upper surface of the substrate 2 is reduced to reduce the recording electrode 5a. It is conceivable to reduce the adhesion and deposition of ribbon residue on the side surface of the. In the illustrated example, the thickness of the recording electrode 5a and the depth of the concave groove 3 are the same,
And the upper surface of the head substrate 2 are flush with each other. However, the recording head 1a in which the recording electrode 5a is slightly projected from the upper surface of the substrate 2 or the upper surface of the recording electrode 5a is flush with the upper surface of the substrate 2 is generated between the tips of the adjacent recording electrodes 5a. There is a defect that the ribbon is melted by a certain electric discharge and the melted ribbon is easily fixed to the corner portion 10 at the upper end of the substrate 2.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide an electric transfer type recording head in which the durability of the recording electrode is improved, the size of the recording electrode is improved, and the electric characteristics are improved.

[Means for Solving the Problems]

The constitution of the present invention is an electric transfer type recording apparatus which energizes a conductive resistance layer of a ribbon provided with a heat fusible ink and a conductive resistance layer, generates Joule heat in the energized portion to melt the ink and transfer it to a recording paper. In the recording head, the recording electrode for energizing the conductive resistance layer is provided in a recording electrode pattern groove formed of a plurality of concave grooves formed by engraving the head substrate, and the thickness of the recording electrode is set to the concave groove depth. It is characterized in that it is thinner than Sa. This prevents a short circuit between the recording electrodes and a receding of the recording electrodes. Further, by making the depths of the adjacent concave grooves different from each other, the prevention of short circuit becomes more effective.

The recording electrode may be formed by sputtering, vapor deposition, ion plating or the like, but it is preferably formed by plating. As a result, the recording electrodes can be miniaturized and densified. As the plating, alloy plating of an iron group metal such as Fe, Ni and Co and a refractory metal such as W, Mo and Re (eg Ni-W, Co-W, Ni-Mo, Co-M) is used.
alloy plating such as o), composite alloy plating in which particles are dispersed therein, alloy plating such as Ni-P, Co-P, and Fe-P, composite alloy plating in which particles are dispersed therein, or hard Cr plating Are preferred. As the dispersed particles of the above composite alloy plating, Al ₂ O ₃ , Cr ₃ C ₂ , Cr ₂ O ₃ ,
Hard particles such as WC, SiC, Si ₃ N ₄ or / and BN,
Lubricating particles such as MoS ₂ are used.

[Action]

When a discharge is generated between the tip portions of the adjacent recording electrodes, since the recording electrodes are provided thinner than the depth of the concave groove, the discharge occurs at the tip surface portion lower than the corner portion of the upper end of the substrate,
Even if the ribbon melts at that part, the melted ribbon does not easily adhere to the front end surface of the substrate and falls, so it is possible to prevent short circuits between the recording electrodes due to the adhesion of the ribbon, and good current-carrying characteristics. Can be maintained at

In addition, since the recording electrode is surrounded by the substrate on three sides, the recording electrode can be prevented from receding, and the current-carrying characteristics can be maintained well.

Further, when the recording electrode is formed by plating, it is possible to realize miniaturization and because it is dense, it is possible to obtain good current-carrying characteristics.

〔Example〕

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention and is a perspective view showing a part of an end portion of a recording head.

Alumina ceramic is used as the material for the head substrate 2, and the substrate 2 is dug by a dicing machine to have a width of 30 μm.
A plurality of concave grooves 3 having a depth of 10 μm were formed at a predetermined pitch to provide recording electrode pattern grooves. Next, electroless Cu plating was applied to the substrate 2 by 2 μm, and the recording electrode pattern of the electroless Cu plating layer 4 was formed on the bottom surface of the recording electrode pattern groove formed of the plurality of concave grooves 3 by photoetching.
Then, using this as a current-carrying electrode, hard Cr plating is performed for about 5
A plurality of recording electrodes 5 were formed by depositing with a thickness of μm. The hardness of the recording electrode 5 was Hv930.

As the material of the head substrate 2, heat-resistant resin or the like can be used in addition to the above-mentioned ceramics, and as the lower layer plating 4 serving as an energizing electrode, in addition to electroless Cu plating, Ni-P, Ni-. B, Ni-WP, Co-P, C
o-B, Co-W- P electroless alloy plating or the like, Al ₂ O ₃ in _{their, Cr 3 C 2, Cr 2} O 3, WC, BN, S
It is also possible to use composite plating in which hard particles such as iC and Si ₃ N ₄ are dispersed. Further, instead of plating, sputtering, vapor deposition method, ion plating or the like can be used. Also, instead of electroless plating, etc., Cu foil or Ni
A conductive foil such as a foil may be adhered to the substrate 2, and for example, a copper-clad printed circuit board may be used.

The one shown in FIG. 2 makes the prevention of short circuit between the recording electrodes more effective. That is, the difference between this and that shown in FIG. 1 is that the depth of the concave groove 3 is the same in FIG. The depths of 3 are different. In addition,
The recording electrodes 5 have the same thickness and are thinner than the depth of the concave groove 3 as in the case of FIG. When the density of the recording electrodes 5 is increased, discharge may occur between the adjacent recording electrodes 5 and the print image quality may be deteriorated. However, what is shown in FIG. Since the interval between the adjacent recording electrodes 5 becomes long, it becomes difficult for discharge to occur. This can prevent the ribbon from melting.

The cross-sectional shape of the recording electrode 5 is shown as a rectangular shape in FIGS. 1 and 2, but the cross-sectional shape is not limited to this. Of course, as shown in FIG. May have a U-shaped cross section).

The recording head 1 manufactured according to the above-described embodiment does not cause the receding of the recording electrode and the short circuit due to the deposition and deposition of the ribbon residue, which are seen in the conventional energization transfer recording head.
The durability is remarkably improved, and the current-carrying characteristics are maintained well. Further, in the conventional metallization method by screen printing, the recording electrode pitch was 300 μm and the width was 100 μm (3 lines / mm), whereas the limit was 16 recording electrodes /
The miniaturization of mm has become possible. Recording head 1 based on these
The current-carrying characteristics are good, and the print quality is significantly improved compared to the conventional product.

In this recording head 1, as shown in FIG. 4, the end surface 6 of the recording electrode 5 has a thermal transfer ribbon 7 provided with a heat-meltable ink.
The recording electrode 5 is brought into contact with one surface of the ribbon 7, and a current is partially applied to the conductive resistance layer of the ribbon 7 to generate Joule heat at this portion.
The ink is melted and transferred to the recording paper 8 which is in close contact with the surface of the ribbon 7 opposite to the recording electrode 5. Reference numeral 9 is a conveyance roll for the recording paper 8.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, the recording electrode is provided in the recording electrode pattern groove composed of a plurality of concave grooves formed by engraving the head substrate, and the thickness of the recording electrode is thinner than the concave groove depth. As a result, it becomes difficult for the ribbon dregs to adhere and accumulate between the recording electrodes, a short circuit between the recording electrodes can be prevented, and the recording electrodes can be prevented from receding because the recording electrodes are surrounded on three sides by the substrate. Further, by making the depths of the adjacent grooves different from each other, the prevention of short circuit becomes more effective. In addition, by forming the recording electrodes by plating, it is possible to make the plurality of recording electrodes formed on the substrate of the recording head finer and denser.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 to 4 show an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are perspective views showing a part of the end portion of the recording head, FIG. 3 is an end view showing a part of the recording head, and FIG. FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing a part of the electric transfer type recording apparatus, FIG. 5 shows a comparative example, a perspective view showing a part of the end portion of the recording head, FIG. 6 shows a conventional example, and FIG. It is a perspective view which shows a part. 1 is a recording head, 2 is a head substrate, 3 is a groove, 4 is lower layer plating, 5 is a recording electrode, 6 is an end face, 7 is a ribbon, and 8 is a recording paper.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A current transfer type recording apparatus for energizing a conductive resistance layer of a ribbon provided with a heat-meltable ink and a conductive resistance layer to generate Joule heat in the conductive part to melt the ink and transfer it to a recording paper. In the recording head, a recording electrode for energizing the conductive resistance layer is provided in a recording electrode pattern groove composed of a plurality of recessed grooves formed by engraving the head substrate, and the thickness of the recording electrode is set to be greater than the recessed groove depth. An electric transfer type recording head characterized in that it is also thinner. 2. The current transfer type recording head according to claim 1, wherein the depths of adjacent concave grooves are made different. 3. The current transfer type recording head according to claim 1, wherein the recording electrode is formed by plating.