JPS61181661A - Two-dimensional thermal head - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To simplify the structure of a two-dimensional thermal head as well as to reduce the cost of the head by arranging heating resistors in a lapped matrix form with interposition of an insulator layer. CONSTITUTION:Plural X-axially directed heating resistors of a band-formed continuous Ni thin film pattern are formed on one side of a base plate 10 of glass, etc., with a spacing in almost parallel with each other. A thin insulator layer 12 of polyimide resin is provided on the resistors 11, and Y-axially directed resistor wires 13 in which heating resistors 14 of meandering-form are serially connected with portions serving as heating points are arranged with spacing in almost parallel relation on the insulator layer 12. Each of the resistors 14 of the wires 13 is positioned in lapped manner through the resistors 11 and the insulator layer 12.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a two-dimensional thermal head used in a thermal printer or the like.

(Prior Art) The circuit of a conventional two-dimensional thermal head is shown in FIG. This is a system in which desired dots of heat-generating resistors are selectively heated by power feeders 2 and 3 formed in a matrix.

The construction of a two-dimensional thermal head in this manner is similar to that disclosed in, for example, US Pat. No. 3,483,358. An example of this is shown in FIG. 4, in which an X-axis wiring 5 is provided on a substrate 4 and connected to one end of a heating resistor 8 through a through hole 7 through an insulator 6. Further, the other end of the heating resistor 8 is connected to a Y-axis direction wiring 9. That is, a two-dimensional thermal head constructed using the conventional method has multilayer wiring having through holes and independent heating resistors corresponding to the number of dots.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, the conventional two-dimensional thermal head described above has the following problems. First, as described above, the conventional two-dimensional thermal head has an extremely complicated structure because it has multilayer wiring adjacent to through holes and independent heating resistors corresponding to the number of dots. Second, power feeders 2 and 3 in Figure 3
When a voltage is applied between the dots and the heating resistor of the selected dot is energized, current flows to the heating resistors other than the selected heating resistor. Therefore, in the conventional two-dimensional thermal head, , due to its structure, unless a diode or the like is provided at the dot, it is impossible to prevent the upstream leakage to non-selected dots.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve these problems and provide a two-dimensional thermal head with a new configuration different from the conventional one.

(Means for Solving the Problems) This invention provides a matrix structure in which a resistance wire in which a plurality of heating resistor portions are connected in series and a continuous band-shaped heating resistor are sandwiched between insulating layers. Arranged in in this case,
Each heating resistor part of the resistance wire and ;i? The continuous heat generating resistor portions having a shape are positioned to face east with an insulating layer interposed therebetween.

(Function) Each intersection between the heat generating resistor portion and the band-shaped continuous heat generating resistor with the insulating layer interposed therebetween acts as a heat generating point. That is, for example, in order to generate heat at a certain intersection, a voltage is applied to each of one heating resistor and one resistance wire forming this intersection to energize them. Then, this heat generating resistor and the plurality of heat generating resistor parts provided on this resistance wire each generate heat. In this case, the intersection of this heat generating resistor and one heat generating resistor portion that overlaps with the insulating layer in between generates heat in the form of a combination of the respective calorific values obtained from these. Therefore, the heat generation temperature at this intersection is higher than at other parts. As a result, by using this combined calorific value, printing and display are possible.

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

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1(a) is a cross-sectional view, FIG. 1(b) is a plan view, and FIG. 1(C) is an equivalent circuit. In (b), on one surface of the plate 10 made of glass or the like, a plurality of X-axis heating resistors 11 are formed using a Ni thin film in a continuous band-like pattern. They are arranged spaced apart from each other in approximately rows in the X-axis direction. This pattern is formed by photolithography and etching. L of this X-axis heat generating resistor 11 is made of polyimide resin (for example, Toshi Co., Ltd.).
A thin insulating layer 12 of about 2 to 5 gm is provided by applying and polishing Semico Fine SP-810 (manufactured by L.I.). Further, on the insulating layer 12, a Y-axis direction resistance wire 13 in which heating resistor portions 14 having a meandering shape are connected in series at a portion serving as a heating point is arranged approximately parallel to the Y-axis direction. It is arranged in ml L. Y-axis resistance line 13
As shown in the figure, each heating resistor section 14 is positioned so as to overlap with the Y-axis direction heating resistor 11 via an insulating layer 12 (not shown in FIG. 1(C) for clarity). has been done. This Y-axis direction resistance line 13 is formed using N1 (4 films) similarly to the X-axis direction heating resistor 11.

The equivalent circuit of the two-dimensional thermal head thus formed is shown in FIG. 1(C).

As shown in the figure, the X-axis heating resistor 11 is represented as a continuous heating resistor. On the other hand, Y-axis direction resistance line 1
3 has a heating resistor portion 14 having a meandering shape, so that it is represented as a plurality of Y-axis direction heating resistors 15 connected in series as shown in the figure.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained according to an example of use of this embodiment. When using the above-mentioned two-dimensional thermal head for a display, a temperature-indicating layer is provided on the two-dimensional thermal head.6For example, when using a temperature-indicating agent that changes color at 80°C, point A in Fig. 1 (C) changes color. At this time, a current is applied to lines a and b, and a voltage is set so that the X-axis heating resistor 11 and the Y-axis heating resistor 15 generate heat at a temperature of about 80° C. below 80° C. Then, at point A, which is the intersection of lines a and b, the amount of heat generated at point A of each of the X-axis heating resistor 11 and the Y-axis heating resistor 15 is combined, and heat is generated to about 120°C.

Therefore, only point A of the temperature-indicating layer changes color, and the other parts of lines a and b do not change color. Also, when using this two-dimensional thermal head for a printer, by attaching thermal paper instead of the temperature-indicating layer, or by attaching the ink ribbon to the paper, it is possible to print 0 pages with the same operation as when using it as a display. It is Noh.

Hereinafter, this invention has been explained based on one embodiment.

In Example F, the Y-axis direction heating resistor 15 was obtained in a miangular shape. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, as shown in FIG. 2(a), two slits tea and 18b are provided in the heating resistor part,
As shown in Figure (b), other than the heating resistor part (hatched area)
It is possible to use a heat generating resistor with plating applied thereto, or a heat generating resistor with a narrow width as shown in FIG. Further, in the above embodiment, the continuous band-shaped heat generating resistor 11 was provided in the X-axis direction, but in the Y-axis direction, in other words, by using a continuous band-shaped heat generating resistor 11 on the surface of the insulating layer 12, A resistance wire may be provided in which a plurality of heating resistor portions are connected in series in the x+h force direction. Furthermore, in the above embodiment, N
Although the case where an i-thin film is used has been described, the present invention is not limited thereto, and can be formed using other metals or the like. In this case, in particular, by using a material with a high temperature resistance coefficient (TCR) as the heating resistor material, that is, a material (generally pure metal) whose resistance value increases as the temperature increases, the heating resistor 11 in the X-axis direction can be The amount of heat generated at the intersection of the Y-axis heat generating resistor 15 via the insulating layer 12 can be made larger than that at other parts. Further, although polyimide resin is used as the insulating layer, the present invention is not limited thereto, and other resins may be selected as appropriate.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, according to the present invention, a resistance wire in which a plurality of heating resistor portions are connected in series and a continuous band-shaped heating resistor are connected via an insulating layer. Because each heating resistor section is arranged in a matrix so as to overlap the heating resistor, compared to a complicated multilayer structure using through holes as in a conventional two-dimensional thermal head,
A two-dimensional thermal head with a simple structure and low manufacturing cost can be provided. Further, since the structure is simple as described above, it is possible to easily increase the size of the thermal head and refine the dot pitch. Furthermore, since the heating resistors in the X-axis and Y-axis directions are completely insulated via an insulating layer, diodes are required to prevent current from flowing into the heating resistors of each dot, as in conventional two-dimensional thermal heads. The present invention is suitable for application to thermal printers, thermal displays, and the like.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a two-dimensional thermal head according to the present invention, in which FIG. 1(a) is a cross-sectional view, and FIG.
b) is a plan view, Fig. 1 (C) is a diagram showing an equivalent circuit, Fig. 2
Figures (a) to (C) are diagrams showing examples of resistance wire patterns of the present invention, Figure 3 is a diagram depicting an equivalent circuit of a conventional two-dimensional thermal head, and Figure 4 is an equivalent circuit diagram shown in Figure 3. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a two-dimensional thermal head according to a circuit. 10-11, (plate, 11--X-axis heating resistor, 12-m-insulating layer, 13--Y-axis resistance wire, 14-m-heating resistor part, 15-- Y-axis direction heating resistor, 18a, IBb --- slit. Patent application Hitokki Electric Industry Co., Ltd. Patent application agent

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A resistance wire in which a plurality of heat generating resistor parts are connected in series and a continuous band-shaped heat generating resistor are connected with an insulating layer in between so that each of the heat generating resistor parts intersects with the heat generating resistor. A two-dimensional thermal head is characterized in that it is formed by arranging it in a matrix so as to overlap each other. (2) The two-dimensional thermal head according to claim 1, wherein the heating resistor portion and the heating resistor are formed using a material having a positive and large temperature resistance coefficient.