JPH11245433A - Position adjusting mechanism for thermal head - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize a mechanism for facilitating adjusting work of positional relationship between a thermal head and a platen roller. SOLUTION: The position adjusting mechanism for thermal, head comprises a columnar glass rod 10f arranged with a large number of heating elements 10a linearly on the generator thereof, a circuit board supporting the glass rod 10f at the forward end thereof and conducting the heating elements 10a selectively, a bracket 10e to be bonded with the circuit board, a cut 10e-1 made in the bracket 10e in order to guide the bracket 10e rotatably about an axis X parallel with the generator of the glass rod 10f, and a spacer 11 fixed adjustably to the bracket 10e at a position spaced apart from the axis X in order to regulate inclination of the bracket 10e about the axis X.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a line thermal head used in a thermal transfer printer, and more particularly to a mechanism for adjusting the position of a heating element of a thermal head with respect to a platen roller.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, a general video printer put into practical use has a line thermal head (hereinafter simply referred to as "thermal head") in which a plurality of heating resistors are linearly arranged in a main scanning direction, and a platen. A thermal transfer method in which printing is performed by transferring the transfer paper and the recording paper in the sub-scanning direction while sandwiching the transfer paper holding the ink and the recording paper between the rollers and selectively heating each heating resistor. Is the mainstream.

In a printer employing such a thermal transfer system, a cylindrical surface having a relatively small radius of curvature is formed between the thermal head and the platen roller in order to apply a strong pressure to the transfer paper and the recording paper. Each heating resistor is linearly arranged on the generatrix of the cylindrical surface. By disposing the heating resistor on the cylindrical surface in this manner, the contact area of the heating resistor portion with the platen roller is reduced, and as a result, the pressure between the thermal head and the platen roller can be increased.

On the other hand, in such a thermal head in which the heating resistors are arranged on the cylindrical surface, it is necessary to match the bus on the cylindrical surface on which the heating resistors are formed with the bus of the platen roller. If these shift, the quality of the printed image will be degraded. Therefore, conventionally, the following adjustment has been performed in order to match the bus on the cylindrical surface on which the heating resistor is formed with the bus of the platen roller.

That is, first, the thermal head is mounted on the main frame on which the thermal head and the platen roller are to be mounted, and in this state, the main frame on which the thermal head is mounted is set on an adjusting jig. A microscope is incorporated in this adjustment jig, and the microscope is aimed at the heating resistor of the thermal head with the main frame set in the jig. Therefore, while observing the thermal head with a microscope, the adjusting operator adjusts the position of the line thermal head to a position where the heating resistor should accurately contact the platen roller, and directly or indirectly fixes the line thermal head to the main frame. .

[0006]

However, the above-described adjustment work requires setting the main frame on the adjustment jig with the platen roller removed, which is poor in workability. In particular, during service such as replacement of the thermal head, it is necessary to remove and replace the platen roller from the main frame and perform replacement and adjustment work, and the workability is extremely poor. Furthermore, in such an adjustment method, an adjustment jig is inevitably required for the replacement work of the thermal head, and there is an inconvenience that the replacement service of the thermal head can be performed only in a specific place where the adjustment jig is provided. Was.

[0007]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and the invention according to claim 1 is directed to a method in which a large number of heating resistors are linearly arranged on a bus of a cylindrical surface. A heating head, a circuit board that supports the heating head at its tip and selectively energizes the heating resistor, board holding means to which the circuit board is fixed, and a bus bar of the cylindrical surface for connecting the board holding means to the heating element. Guide means formed on the substrate holding means for rotatably guiding about an axis parallel to the axis, and a position of the substrate holding means which is adjustably attached to the substrate holding means at a position separated from the axis. A position adjustment mechanism for the thermal head, comprising an adjustment member for restricting the inclination around the axis. "

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a manner in which a thermal head using the adjusting mechanism of the present invention is mounted on a thermal transfer printer, and FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing an adjusting operation by the position adjusting mechanism of the thermal head of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing a contact state between a heating resistor formed on a bus of a cylindrical surface and a bus of a platen roller, and FIG. 4 shows an example of a configuration of a thermal head used in the present invention. It is sectional drawing.

First, the configuration of the thermal head 10 will be described with reference to FIG. Reference numeral 10f denotes a cylindrical glass rod having a length substantially in the main scanning direction, on the surface of which a plurality of heat generating resistors 10a are formed in a direction perpendicular to the paper along the generatrix and these heat generating resistors 10a are formed. A plurality of electrodes 10g-1 and an electrode 10h-1 connected to the resistor 10a are formed. 10b is a drive IC, 10
c is a glass substrate, 10d is a circuit board, 10e is a glass substrate 10c and a reinforcing function of the circuit board 10d, and
It is a bracket which constitutes a part of the adjustment mechanism of the present invention described later. The cylindrical glass rod 10f is connected to the plurality of electrodes 10g-1 and the plurality of electrodes 10g formed on the glass substrate 10c by being guided from the driving IC 10b, and the electrode 10h-1 is connected to the common electrode 10h. It is connected.

Also, 10i is a cylindrical glass rod 10f.
Is a sealant provided so as to cover part of the drive IC, the electrode 10g, and the common electrode 10h. The plurality of electrodes 1
Before bonding the bracket 10e with the bracket 10e by bonding, the plurality of electrodes 10g-1 and the electrodes 10g are joined together.
This is performed by irradiating a laser beam from the back surface of the glass substrate 10c and soldering the glass substrate 10c in a state in which g is adhered.

The attachment of the thermal head 10 to the main frame 1 of the thermal transfer printer will be described with reference to FIG. Although the main frame 1 is connected to a connecting frame (not shown) and exists substantially symmetrically on both sides of the thermal head 10, only one of the main frames 1 will be described in the context of the gist of the present invention because both sides have the same configuration.

The main frame 1 includes a thermal head 1
A substantially semicircular notch 10 formed in the bracket 10e
Pin 1a for supporting thermal head 10 by fitting with e-1
Has been planted. A notch 1b is provided on the upper side of the main frame 1, and a slot 1
c is provided. Reference numeral 1d denotes an opening for inserting a transfer paper cartridge (not shown) in the direction of arrow A. This opening is not formed with another main frame (not shown) arranged on the other side surface.

On the other hand, the bracket 1 of the thermal head 10
An adjustment spacer 11 is attached to 0e by a screw 12. The adjustment spacer 11 is fixed to the bracket 10e with a screw 12 after its position with respect to the bracket 10e is adjusted using a jig as described later. In addition, 10e-2 is a tap hole.

Accordingly, the substantially semicircular notch 10e-1 formed on the bracket 10e is fitted to the pin 1a of the main frame 1, and the adjustment spacer 11 is fitted to the notch 1b of the main frame 1 to thereby form the main frame 1. By screwing the screw 2 into the tap hole 10e-2 of the bracket 10e via the long hole 1c, the thermal head 10 is positioned and fixed to the main frame 1.

Next, the adjusting operation of the thermal head position adjusting mechanism of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
First, the adjustment jig will be described. In FIG. 2, 3a
Is a position regulating member of the adjustment spacer 11 formed on the adjustment jig, and abuts on both ends of the adjustment spacer 11 to perform horizontal positioning in the figure. The position regulating members 3a correspond to the left and right side surfaces of the notch 1b of the main frame 1 described with reference to FIG.

Reference numeral 3b denotes a column-shaped rotation center restricting member similarly formed on the adjusting jig and fitted into the substantially semicircular notch 10e-1 of the bracket 10e. The rotation center restricting member 3b corresponds to the pin 1a implanted in the main frame 1 described with reference to FIG. The position regulating members 3a and 3a and the rotation center regulating member 3b
Is set to be the same as the positional relationship between the notch 1b and the pin 1a of the main frame 1 in the thermal transfer printer shown in FIG. Reference numeral 4 denotes an objective lens of the microscope, which is fixed to the adjustment jig by aiming at the vicinity of the lowest point in the drawing of the glass rod 10f of the thermal head 10 set on the adjustment jig.

In the adjusting operation, as shown in FIG. 2, the thermal head 10 and the adjusting spacer 11 are set on an adjusting jig. In this state, when the bracket 10e is rotated about the rotation center regulating member 3b as an axis as shown by the arrow B, the glass rod 10f is also rotated by the arrow C about the rotation center regulating member 3b.
It turns like. This state is observed with a microscope, and the adjusting spacer 11 is fixed to the bracket 10e with a screw 12 at a position where the heating resistor 10a on the glass rod 10f coincides with the center of the microscope field of view. Here, 11a is a long hole formed in the adjustment spacer 11, and 10e-3 is a tap hole formed in the bracket 10e.

FIG. 3 shows a state in which the heating resistor 10a on the glass rod 10f and the bus of the platen roller 5 do not coincide with each other when the thermal head 10 is mounted on the main frame 1 of the thermal transfer printer without such adjustment. FIG. By performing the adjustment described here, the heating resistor 10a formed on the generatrix of the glass rod 10f rotates clockwise about the rotation center X to rotate the platen roller 5a.
Can be set in a state that matches the bus of FIG.

As described above, according to the thermal head position adjusting mechanism according to the embodiment described above, the adjustment having basically the same structure as the mounting structure of the thermal head 10 in an actual apparatus (thermal transfer printer). By adjusting the position of the adjustment spacer 11 with respect to the bracket 10e by using a jig, the adjusted thermal head assembly can be mounted on the main frame 1 of the apparatus without adjustment.

[0020]

As described above, the position adjusting mechanism of the thermal head according to the present invention comprises a heating head in which a number of heating resistors are linearly arranged on a bus of a cylindrical surface, and the heating head is attached to the tip of the heating head. A circuit board that supports and selectively energizes the heating resistor, board holding means to which the circuit board is fixed,
Guide means formed on the substrate holding means for rotatably guiding the substrate holding means about an axis parallel to the generatrix of the cylindrical surface; and adjusting the position of the substrate holding means at a position separated from the axis. The adjustment of the thermal head is performed irrespective of whether the platen roller is attached to the main frame or not. It can be simply installed on the main frame, and adjustment and assembly workability is improved.

In particular, in the case of replacing the thermal head in service, by preparing the adjusted thermal head as a service part, there is no need to prepare an adjustment jig at the site of the replacement work, and the conventional thermal head can be replaced. Inconvenience can be eliminated.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a manner in which a thermal head using an adjustment mechanism of the present invention is attached to a thermal transfer printer.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an adjustment operation by a position adjustment mechanism of a thermal head according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a contact state between a heating resistor formed on a bus of a cylindrical surface and a bus of a platen roller.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an example of a configuration of a thermal head used in the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main frame 1a Pin 1b Notch 1c Slot 2 Screw 3a Position regulating member 3b Rotation center regulating member 4 Objective lens of microscope 5 Platen roller 10 Thermal head 10a Heating resistor 10b Drive IC 10c Glass substrate 10d Circuit substrate 10e Bracket 10e -1 Notch 10e-2 Tap hole 10e-3 Tap hole 10f Columnar glass rod 10g Electrode 10h Common electrode 10i Sealant 11 Adjusting spacer 11a Slot

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Morihiko Ota 3-12-12 Moriyacho, Kanagawa-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture Inside of Victor Company of Japan, Ltd. (72) Toshiyuki Nakamura 3--12 Moriyacho, Kanagawa-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Address Victor Company of Japan, Ltd. (72) Inventor Kenichi Masano 3-12-12 Moriyacho, Kanagawa-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture Inside Victor Company of Japan

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A heating head in which a number of heating resistors are linearly arranged on a bus line of a cylindrical surface, a circuit board supporting the heating head at its tip and selectively energizing the heating resistors, A board holding means to which the circuit board is fixed; a guide means formed on the board holding means for rotatably guiding the board holding means around an axis parallel to the generatrix of the cylindrical surface; An adjusting member attached to the substrate holding means so as to adjust its position at the set position, and an adjusting member for restricting the inclination of the substrate holding means around the axis.