JPS60214972A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the quality of printed images from being deteriorated and ensure high reliability, by a method wherein a material for a recording needle is provided in the form of a layer on the entire surface on one side of an electrode substrate by a thick film printing method, and a recording needle pattern is formed by photo-etching. CONSTITUTION:A ceramic comprising manganese oxide and silicon dioxide as main constituents is used as a material for the electrode substrate, and tungsten is used as a material for the recording needle. A substrate material comprising manganese oxide and silicon dioxide as main constituents if formulated, followed by crushing, mixing and spray drying, then a green sheet is formed. Tungsten and an organic binder are mixed with each other, and the resultant mixture is ground and is kneaded to produce a conductor paste. The paste is applied to the entire surface on one side of the green sheet by printing, and is fired in a reducing atmosphere, followed by providing the recording needle to produce a recording head. When printing is conducted by the recording head in which the hardness of the recording needle is higher than that of the substrate electrode, the electrode substrate is abraded faster than the needle, so that a recording end face of the head is constantly maintained in the condition wherein the recording needle is projected.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field] The present invention relates to a printing device capable of printing gradation, and more particularly to a printing device capable of expressing gradation using an electrically heated thermal transfer film. More specifically, the present invention relates to the material of the recording head of the printing device and its manufacturing method.

[Prior art]

A technology to realize a full-color printing device using the conventional current-carrying thermal transfer recording method that is high speed, high image quality, high reliability, and low cost is the "printing device" (Japanese Patent Application No. 58-186496).
)was there. The outline will be explained below.

FIG. 1 shows several examples of structures of ink films for current-carrying thermal transfer recording. Reference numeral 1 denotes a melting ink layer, which is a layer containing a pigment or a pigment and a dye dispersed in wax, and has the property of melting at about 60°C. In the case of (c), this layer becomes a support layer for the ink film, which is a resin film made of 2-layer PET or the like or a capacitor paper. 6 is a layer in which fine carbon powder is dispersed in resin and is conductive (hereinafter referred to as 6)
layer is called the resistance layer). This layer has the same conductivity as 4σ6, but in the case of () and (e), this layer becomes the film support layer. It is a heat-resistant resin layer with a 5-color turbidity prevention layer. The ink layer is melted by the Ziehl heat generated by passing a current through the resistance layer of these films, and the ink layer is transferred to the paper to be transferred, thereby performing printing.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a recording head of a conventional reverse electric type thermal transfer recording system. Reference numeral 21 indicates a recording needle, which has a plurality of recording needles.

FIG. 3 shows a conventional method of bringing the recording nozzle 22 and the ink film 19 into contact. The main roller 30 is made of an elastic material such as rubber, and the Hayashi transfer paper 10 is wound around it and fixed with a fixing jig 32. Ink film 19
It is stored in a roll at N-t33 and wound onto a take-up roll 34 along the direction of the arrow. 35 and 36 are ink film transport rollers. The end portion 23 of the recording head 22 is attached to the main roller 3 by a spring 37 with a fulcrum 38 as a fulcrum.
It is forced to 0. By pressing the recording head having the structure shown in FIG. 2 against the ink film in the manner shown in FIG. 3, a good electrical connection can be established between the recording needle and the resistive layer.

FIG. 4 shows a conventional driving method and gradation recording method. 40
．． 41 is a portion where the recording needle is in contact with the resistance layer, and 42 is a current. The voltage is applied so that 40 is negative and 441 is positive. By changing the time during which this voltage is fully applied, the temperature distribution on the ink layer changes as shown in 43.44. 456 energization times are short, and 44 energization times are long. Due to this change, the shape of the transferred ink also becomes 45.46, respectively, and area gradation can be expressed.

FIG. 5 shows a method for recording between all adjacent recording needles. For the power supply 8, switch 50 on the positive side and switch 51 on the negative side are used alternately as shown in the diagram, and Ht
-Hm and are connected to the recording needles L1 to TjyrL. The number of recording needles is 2Xm (m is a positive integer), and the number of recording pixels is 2Xrn, -1. It was believed that the technology described above would make it possible to create a high-speed, high-quality full-color printing device.

In addition, as a conventional method for manufacturing a recording head, Ni-ar and Ou are deposited on a ceramic rift substrate mainly composed of alumina, electrodes are formed by photoetching, and Ni-W-P is selectively deposited on the electrodes. Electrolytic plating was applied to form lightning and poles. However, when the above manufacturing method is used, the adhesion strength between the electrode substrate and the recording needle is weak, so the recording needle separates during printing, resulting in a lack of reliability in recording and recording, and the manufacturing cost of the recording head increases due to the manufacturing process. expensive,
Also, is there a problem with printing using a recording head made of the above material? To repeat,
2. Since tungnut wears more easily than alumina-based ceramics, only the end surface of the recording stylus is separated from the end surface of the recording helide by sliding against the resistance layer, as shown in Figure 6. There is a problem in that it retreats inward, resulting in a decrease in electrical contact with the resistive layer, uneven pressure, and a significant deterioration in the quality of printed images.

[Objective] The present invention is intended to solve the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to solve the problem of deterioration of printed image quality caused by abrasion caused by sliding with the resistance layer of the recording head of the current-carrying type thermal transfer recording method. The object of the present invention is to provide a low-cost, high-speed, high-image-quality full-color printing device that is highly reliable and has a completely low-cost recording head.

〔overview〕

The printing device of the present invention has a resistive layer and a melting ink layer, and the melting ink layer is melted by Joule heat generated by passing an electric current through the resistive layer, and the ink film is transferred to transfer paper to obtain a record. The recording head used is composed of a plate-shaped electrode substrate and a plurality of recording needles. and a circuit that energizes the resistive layer and generates heat by applying full pressure between adjacent recording needles, and by varying the energizing time,
In the printing device in which the area of the melted ink of the melting ink layer can be changed, the recording needle of the recording head is formed by changing the material of the recording needle No. 1471 to one side 1 of the electrode substrate by a thick film printing method. After forming a layer on the front,
A method is used in which the entire shape of the recording needle is formed by photo-etching.

〔Example〕

Example 1 Ceramic whose main components are manganese oxide and silicon dioxide, commonly known as forsterite, was used as the material for the electrode substrate 20, and tungsten was used as the material for the recording needle 21. Also, the recording needle pi-sochi is 320 μm and the electrode width is 180 μm.
μm, the number of recording needles is 640, and the recording width is approximately 205 bars.

The following method was used to produce the recording head.

Substrate raw materials mainly consisting of manganese oxide and silicon dioxide are mixed, pulverized, mixed, and then spray-dried to create the entire green sheet. Further, tungsten, which is a raw material for the recording needle, and an organic binder are mixed, crushed, and then kneaded to form a conductor E 214. The conductor paste is printed on one entire surface of the green sheet and simultaneously fired in a reducing atmosphere. After that, the entire recording needle was formed by photo-etching, and the recording throat was created.

The hardness II of the ceramic substrate (forsterite) whose main components are manganese oxide and silicon dioxide is 500 to 600 Hτ
On the other hand, tungsten has about 700Hυ. As mentioned above, when printing is performed with a recording head in which the hardness of the recording stylus is greater than that of the substrate electrode, the electrode substrate wears out faster than the recording stylus, so this recording head The recording end surface of the electrode substrate had a shape in which the recording needle constantly protruded from the end surface of the electrode substrate.

Example 2 A recording head was entirely prepared by the same method as in Example 1. Ceramic material containing manganese oxide and silicon dioxide as main components was used as the material for the electrode substrate, and tungsten mixed with alumina was used as the material for the recording needle. In addition, the pitch of the recording needle is 320 μm, the electrode width is 1-t180 μm,
The number of recording stitches is 640, and the recording width is approximately 205 gg+.

A porous ceramic mainly composed of alumina was obtained by firing at a temperature lower than the complete sintering temperature of alumina.

The hardness of the porous ceramic mainly composed of alumina can be about 200 to 600 Hv by controlling the firing temperature and the purity of the alumina.

On the other hand, the recording needle made of tungsten mixed with alumina had higher hardness than the tungsten of Example 1.

In addition, the adhesion strength between the recording needle and the electrically connected substrate was much stronger than that of the conventional type, and there were no problems during actual printing.

〔effect〕

In the current type thermal transfer recording method, the recording needle and the resistive layer constantly slide, so wear of the recording needle has been a problem. There are two types of problems inherent in this wear. One is a reduction in the lifespan of the recording head due to mechanical wear of the entire recording head. This problem has been solved by relatively increasing the hardness of the material of the recording stylus according to the present invention. Another problem is that the end face of the recording stylus is not inserted from the end face of the recording head due to thermal damage and discharge damage during energization. This is a partial loss of the recording needle caused by retraction inward. As a result, partial electrical contact unevenness between the recording needle and the resistance no.
Pressure unevenness occurs and image quality deteriorates significantly.

According to the present invention, since the recording head maintains a state in which the recording stylus protrudes from the electrode substrate, a smooth end surface of the recording stylus is always formed by pressing the recording stylus against the resistance layer with uniform pressure and by moderate abrasion. Furthermore, by using thick-film printing technology, it is easy to create multiple layers of the wiring board, which allows the drive circuit to be mounted on the recording surface, making the device more compact. and cost reduction can be achieved.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIGS. 1(a) to 1(cl) are diagrams showing a cross section of an ink film used in the present invention. FIGS. 2(c) to 2(c) are diagrams showing the tip portion of a conventional recording head. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of a conventional ink film and transfer paper conveyance system. FIGS. 4(a) to (C) are used for conventional recording on a rad,
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a method of performing area gradation recording. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the basic switch/I switch connections to each conventional recording needle. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing ¥R during wear of a conventional recording needle. 1... Melting ink layer 3... Resistance layer 10... Transfer paper 19... Ink film 20... Electrode substrate 21... ... Recording needle 22 ... Recording head 30 ... Main roller 55, 56 ... ... Conveyance roller and above Applicant Suwa Seikosha Co., Ltd. Figure 1 Figure 2 ση Figure 3 Light 40 51 t; °τ5 "O Figure 6 Procedural Amendment Export) 1. Indication of the case 1982 Patent Application No. 55735 2. Invention name printing device 3. Person making the amendment 4. Agent Address: 5-2-6-21 Kyobashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104 Number of inventions increased by amendment 6, Procedures for amending the specification to be amended (voluntary) 1. Amend the scope of the claims as shown in the attached sheet. 2. In the Mei M book, page 8, lines 3 and 10, second line from the bottom, the words ``mankan oxide'' are corrected to ``magnesia.'' 5. On page 9, lines 9 to 10, the words ``manganese oxide and silicon dioxide'' are replaced with ``alumina.''
Correct to. Above 2, Claim (1) A resistive layer and a molten ink lil are mixed together, and when a current is passed through the resistive layer, the molten ink layer is melted by Joule heat and transferred onto a transfer paper for recording. A recording head is formed by a plate-shaped electrode substrate and a plurality of recording needles, and the recording needle is provided on one surface of the electrode substrate, and an end of the recording head is attached to the resistive layer. The resistance layer has a path for energizing the resistive layer and generating heat by applying a voltage between the recording needles that are in contact with each other, and by changing the energizing time'(i-).
In a printing device capable of loading the entire area of melted ink in the melted ink layer, the recording needle of the recording head may be formed by changing the material of the recording needle by a thick film printing method to one side of the electrode substrate. 1. A printing device characterized in that a method is used in which the shape of the recording needle is formed by photo-etching after forming the recording needle in a layer over the entire surface of the recording needle. (2) The material of the recording needle of the recording head is a hard metal such as tungsten, molybdenum, manganese-molyftene, or a compound of the hard metal, and the material of the electrode substrate is mainly composed of magnesia and silicon dioxide. Ceramic or two! The printing device according to claim 1, characterized in that a ceramic whose main components are nesium, uni, aluminum, potassium, fluorine, and oxygen is used. (8) The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording needle of the recording head is made of a hard metal such as tungsten, manganese, or molybdenum mixed with alumina.

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) A recording head having a resistive layer and a molten ink layer, and having an ink film all around the periphery of which the molten ink layer is completely melted by Joule heat generated by passing a current through the resistive layer and is transferred to a transfer paper to obtain a record. is composed of a plate-shaped electrode substrate and a plurality of recording needles, and the recording needle is provided on one surface of the electrode substrate, and the end of the recording head is brought into contact with the resistive layer, and the recording needle is arranged between adjacent recording needles. A printing device having a circuit that conducts heat through the resistive layer by applying a voltage to the resistance layer, and in which the total area of melted ink in the melting ink layer can be changed by changing the time for which the current is applied, As a method for forming the recording stylus of the recording head, the material of the recording stylus is formed in a layer on the entire surface of one side of the electrode substrate by a thick film printing method, and then a photo-etching method is used.
A printing device characterized in that a method of forming the shape of the recording needle by I-chipping is used. (2) The recording needle of the recording head is made of a hard metal such as tungsten, molybdenum, manganese-molybdenum, or a compound of the hard metal, and the electrode substrate is made of manganese oxide and silicon dioxide as main components. 2. The printing device according to claim 1, wherein the printing device is used on a ceramic whose main components are manganese oxide, silicon dioxide, alumina, potassium oxide, and fluorine. (3) The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording needle of the recording head is made of a hard metal such as tungsten, manganese, or molybdenum mixed with alumina.