JPS61283551A - Recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable a high-speed recording and to attempt reduction in energy required for a heating element, by providing a heat-generating body in a vicinity of the heating element to supply a recording medium with heat prior to recording, and by heating ink adherent to inside of small holes of the recording medium or a film surface. CONSTITUTION:Heat-generating bodies 113 and 116 of a thermal head 1 are turned ON or OFF by output signals of temperature detecting elements 117 and 118 to control the temperature of the top portions of the bodies at certain degrees. Metal cooling members 114 and 115 are in direct contact with a film 2 and effectively cool the thermal head 1 to prevent temperature rise, and inhibit evaporation of the ink 4, and constantly maintain the vicinity of heating elements 3... at a certain degree. In addition, metal cooling members 117 and 118 and the heat-generating bodies 113 and 116 of the thermal head 1 are provided on both sides of the heating element 3; and regardless of reciprocating movement of the film 2, the ink 4 which is being transported to the surface of the heating element 3 and the portion of small holes 2a that are filled with the ink are preheated prior to recording, resulting in reduction of the energy supplied by voltage pulses to be applied to the heating element 3.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to a novel ink-jet recording apparatus applicable to, for example, printers, facsimile machines, and the like.

(Technical background of the invention and its problems) Various non-impact recording methods have been proposed so far, such as an electrostatic method, a thermal paper heating method, a thermal transfer method, an electrophotographic method, and an inkjet method.

Under these circumstances, the inkjet method is an extremely superior recording method that has various advantages such as low noise, low power, small size, easy multi-color printing, and inexpensive components. However, various developments are underway.

Examples of the inkjet method include a pressure element method, a static pressure acceleration method, and a bubble jet method. However, all conventional inkjet systems eject ink from the tip of a nozzle, and the problem of nozzle clogging has not been completely solved, so they have not been widely used. Furthermore, it has the disadvantage that the recording speed is slow because a large number of nozzles cannot be arranged closely together, making it difficult to record a large number of dots at the same time.

[Purpose of the invention]

The present invention has been made based on the above circumstances, and its purpose is to provide a completely new inkjet method that does not use a fixed nozzle, which is free from clogging, capable of high-speed recording, and which uses heating elements. The purpose is to provide a recording device that requires less energy for recording.

[Summary of the Invention] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention fills a recording medium having a large number of small holes or recesses with recording ink, and the small holes or recesses filled with ink are formed on the surface of a heating element of a thermal head. By selectively heating the heating element when the temperature reaches the temperature, the pressure of the generated bubbles causes the ink in the small holes or recesses to be ejected toward the recording member, thereby performing recording on the recording member. At the same time, a heating element is provided near the heating element to supply heat to the recording medium prior to recording, heat the recording ink adhering to the small pores of the recording medium or the film surface, and apply energy to the heating element. The structure is such that normal recording can be performed even if a small amount of is supplied.

[Embodiments of the invention]

Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained with reference to an illustrated embodiment.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the recording principle. In the figure, 1 is a thermal head, and 2 is a small hole (orifice) with a diameter of 10 to 200 μm.
2a is a film as a recording medium made of metal, organic material, etc. formed with a large number of . , 5 indicates a small hole filled with ink, 6 indicates an ejected ink droplet, and 7 indicates a small hole from which the ink droplet was ejected.

When the film 2 is transferred in the direction of the arrow, the ink 4 is filled into the small holes 2a of the film 2 that have passed through the ink reservoir section storing the ink 4. Then, when the small holes 5 filled with the ink 4 reach the thermal head 1 where the heating elements 3 are installed, a voltage is selectively applied to the heating elements 3 for rapid heating. let

Then, air bubbles (
Recording is performed by ejecting ink droplets 6 due to the pressure of bubbles.

FIG. 2 is a schematic vertical VTR view showing the recording apparatus of the present invention, and 8 in the figure is recording paper as a recording member;
A large number of recording sheets 8 are stored at once in a paper feed cassette 49 attached to the main body housing 134 of the apparatus, and the lower surfaces of these recording sheets are pushed upward by push-up springs 33, and the uppermost recording sheets are The paper 8 is in a state where it can be in constant contact with the first feed roller 9. Above paper feed cassette 49
When the rubber magnet 47 is attached to the device body casing 134, the rubber magnet 47 attached to the tip thereof is magnetically attracted to the plate 48 provided on the device body casing 134 side, and is fixed to the device body casing 134. There is.

The shaft 139 to which the first feed roller 9 is attached is
As shown in FIG. 3, the paper feed solenoid 51
Paper feed spring clutch 63 and gear 5 turned OFF
6.55, it is configured to be interlocked with the paper conveyance motor 54.

Then, the paper feed solenoid 51 is energized in response to a recording command from the image/data processing device 133 (see FIG. 15) connected to the device, and the paper feed spring clutch 63 is turned on. The movement of the paper conveyance motor 54 is transmitted to the shaft 139 via the gears 55, 56 and the paper feed spring clutch 63, and
The recording paper 8 at the uppermost end that is in contact with is fed.

Also, the paper feed cassette 49 is fed via the first feed roller 9.
The recording paper [8] taken out from the paper rises along the first feed guide 44, and is further transferred to the first and second feed rollers via a pair of feed rollers 10.10 disposed in the transport direction and rolling into contact with each other. The paper is fed between the paper guides 44 and 45 until its tip hits the contact area between the suction conveyance belt 15 of the recording member conveyance mechanism 43 and the stopped registration roller 11 that is in rolling contact with the suction conveyance belt 15, and waits in this state. .

In addition to feeding paper from the paper cassette 49, this device can also feed paper from the manual paper feed tray 138, and record paper such as thick paper set all at once on the manual paper feed tray 138. 8 is the second feed roller 19 and the separation roller 18
As in the case of feeding from the paper feed cassette 49, the sheets are taken out one by one starting from the bottommost one, and are brought into contact with the suction conveyance belt 15 and the stopped registration row 511 that rolls into contact with it. It is fed until the tip hits it and waits in this state.

The registration roller 11 is designed to be interlocked with the paper conveyance motor 54 (see FIG. 3) via a clutch section (not shown), and rotated when the clutch section is turned on. The rotation start and stop timing of the registration roller 11 is determined when the tip of the recording M8 is at the 11th ED.
21 is blocked and the first photosensor 22 is turned off, the leading edge of the recording paper 8 hits the rolling contact portion of the registration roller 11 and is set so as to cause an appropriate slack. It is being

By doing this, the leading edge inclination (skew) of the recording paper 8 is corrected, and the leading edge of the recording paper 8 is reliably pushed into the rolling contact portion of the registration rollers 11, and the recording paper 8 is It ensures a good bite.

Note that a paper waste removing brush 50 for removing paper waste adhering to the peripheral surface of the registration roller 11 is in contact with m to prevent the recording surface of the recording paper 8 from becoming dirty.

The recorded member conveyance mechanism 43 includes the first and second rollers 12, 14, these rollers 12.
The suction conveyance belt 14) 15, and the suction conveyance mechanism section 43a as a first floating section which is integrated into a unit by incorporating the air suction duct 30, and the suction conveyance mechanism section 43a as the first floating section. It has a built-in belt guide plate 27 as a second floating part, and this belt guide plate 2
and a belt pressing/retracting means 43b that presses the suction conveyor belt 15 toward the recording section guide 31 side or retracts it by displacing the belt 7.

The belt pressing/retracting means 43b has the following configuration. That is, the belt guide plate 2 as the second floating part
7 is rotatably supported at one end in the air suction duct 30 and housed in a state where the other end is constantly urged downward by the belt guide plate pressing spring 26, and the suction conveyor belt 15 is moved to the recording section. It is pressed against the guide 31.

Further, an adsorption member 141 is attached to the back surface of the pressing plate 27 in a state facing the electromagnetic coil 28, and when the electromagnetic coil 28 is excited, the pressing plate 27
is adapted to be displaced against the urging force of the pressing spring 26.

In addition, the suction conveyance mechanism section 43a as the first floating section is operated by the rotary pressing spring 25 hooked on the 10th lug 12, and the bell l-guide plate 27 as the second floating section is operated by the pressing spring 26. It is elastically supported and can be displaced by that amount when thick recording paper 8 is supplied.

In addition, the impact of the belt guide plate 27 as the second floating part is
It is designed to be buffered by a high viscosity fluid buffer 29.

As described above, the recording member transport mechanism 43, which is composed of the suction transport mechanism section 43a and the belt pressing/retracting means 43b, and is provided floatingly with respect to the heating elements 3...
It has a structure that can be freely rotated around the axis of the roller 12.
It can be rotated in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 2 to open the recording paper conveyance path.

As the registration rollers 511 start rotating, the leading edge of the recording paper 8 connects to the registration rollers 11 and the suction conveyance mechanism section 43.
The recording paper 8 is caught between the suction conveyor belt 15 of
is held under appropriate pressure by the urging force of the roller pressing spring 25. Then, the registration roller 11 and the tenth-
The paper is conveyed by the clamping conveyance force of the roller 12 and the suction conveyance force of the suction conveyance belt 15.

At this time, the recording paper 8 is pressed against the recording section guide 31 by the action of the belt pressing/J avoidance means 43b, and is conveyed while rubbing against the recording section guide 31.

The recording section guide 31 is fixed with respect to the thermal head 1, and the rubbing surface of the recording section guide 31 is maintained at a constant distance from the heating elements 3. Then, the recording surface ("F surface") of the recording paper 8 meets the surface of the film 2, which moves while being in close contact with the heating element 3 disposed in the head section of the thermal head 1, with a minute gap, for example, 0.2 mm. It has a structure that allows it to be moved while always maintaining the

In fact, according to the performance test of the example, it was confirmed that the gap between the surface of the film 2 and the recording surface must be between 001 and 0°3#11 in order to maintain a resolution of 8 lines/foot. It was done.

However, if the gap is set to 0.1M or less, the ink 4
It has also been confirmed that when the ink penetrates into the recording paper 8, this portion expands and the recording surface comes into contact with the surface of the film 2, creating a risk that the recording surface will be stained with the ink 4. Therefore, in this embodiment, the arm portion of the recording section guide 31 is pressed against the recording section guide fixing reference protrusion 135 (see FIG. 6) of the thermal head 1, and the gap is set strictly to 0.2±0.05M. Managed.

When the leading edge of the recording paper 8 moves further forward, it is nipped and transported between the 20th roller 14 of the suction transport mechanism section 438 and the paper discharge roller 13 . At this time, the recording surface of the recording paper 8 is supported in a dotted manner by the needle roller section 104 of the paper ejection roller 13, and reference roller sections 105 and 106 are in rolling contact with the suction conveyance belt 15 at both ends. Since the paper is transported without excessive pressure being applied, the undried recorded image is not disturbed. (See FIG. 7) Furthermore, the recording paper 8 moves forward, and its rear end passes through the rolling contact portion of the registration roller 11 and the tenth roller 12.

pass At this time, while the rear end portion of the recording paper 8 receives the full load of the recording member conveyor 1143, the recording section guide 3
It will be conveyed while being rubbed at part 1. In other words, the basic conveyance force of the recording paper 80 is only the suction conveyance force of the suction belt 15, and since the recording paper 80 is conveyed while being subjected to a large frictional force, the conveyance is accompanied by uncertainty.

However, in this embodiment, the force for pressing the recording paper 8 against the recording section guide 31 is transmitted through the belt pressing/retracting means 43b, and the belt guide plate 27 as the second floating section is used to press the recording sheet 8 against the recording section guide 31. Due to the reaction force from the guide 31, the suction conveyance mechanism section 43 as the first floating section passes through the high viscosity buffer 29 while resisting the belt guide plate pressing spring 26.
It is pushed upwards relative to the casing part of a.

In this way, after the trailing edge of the recording paper 8 has passed, the registration rollers 11 and the suction conveyance belt 15, which have been temporarily separated, come into rolling contact again, so that the pressure applied to the recording paper 8 is reduced and the belt guide plate 27 Smooth conveyance of the recording paper 8 is realized with only the total load and the urging force of the belt guide plate pressing spring 26.

Further, the recording paper 8 moves forward, and when the rear end of the recording paper 8 passes the edge portion of the recording unit guide 38 on the thermal head 1 side, the belt guide plate 27 receives no reaction force from anywhere.
Total load on belt guide plate 27 and belt guide plate pressing spring 26
It will be pushed down by the force of.

Therefore, as soon as the trailing edge of the recording paper 8 passes the edge portion of the recording section guide 31, the surface of the film 2 and the recording surface of the recording paper 8 come into contact, and the trailing edge of the recording paper is stained with the ink 4. It has the problem of being stored away.

However, in this embodiment, this problem is solved by the measures described below. First, since the belt guide plate 27 as the second floating part has already been pushed upward through the high viscosity fluid buffer 29 as described above, the rear end of the recording paper 8 passes through the edge part of the recording unit guide 31. Even if it moves downward, it will slowly descend due to the buffering effect of the high viscosity fluid buffer 29. Therefore, recording paper 8
The trailing edge of the recording paper 8 can be made to pass through the heating element 3 while the recording surface of the recording paper 8 approaches the surface of the film 2.

Further, in this embodiment, the leading edge or trailing edge of the recording paper 8 is folded or bent, and in order to prevent the recording paper 8 from coming into contact with the surface of the film 2, the leading edge or trailing edge of the recording paper 8 is heated. The electromagnetic coil 28 is excited so as to move away from the surface of the film 2 by ±6 m at each end with the element 3 in between, and the entire belt guide plate 27 as the second floating part is attracted upward. I have to.

In this way, the recording paper 8 does not come into contact with the film 2 and get dirty, and it passes through the roller 13 placement part while maintaining an extremely small gap, and is delivered to the paper output tray with clean recordings. The paper will be ejected onto 16.

Also, when the paper is ejected, the trailing edge of the recording paper 8 is placed in the second LE.
The tip of D23 is blocked and the rising signal of the second photosensor 24 is detected to detect that the recording paper 8 has been reliably ejected.

Next, referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the ink container 64
The supply of ink to the film cartridge 40 as a recording medium cartridge and the supply of ink from the ink supply section of the film cartridge 40 to the film 2 will be described.

The film cartridge 40 and the ink container 64 are separable. The ink 4 is stored in an ink container 64, and this ink container 64 is attached to the film cartridge 40.
The ink container attachment is screwed into the part 65 and fixed. At this time, the transparent ink supply tube 71 of the ink container 64
pushes up the valve 68 of the film cartridge 40, which is in close contact with the ink container attachment seal 73, against the biasing force of the cartridge valve spring 69.

On the other hand, the valve 68 of the film cartridge 40 pushes up the ink container opening/closing rod 70, and therefore pushes up the valve 67 of the ink container 64 against the valve spring 66, causing the ink 4 in the ink container 64 to flow out. . The ink 4 that has flowed out from the ink container 64 flows out until the diagonally cut tip of the transparent ink supply tube 71 is filled, and then flows through the small hole drilled around the valve 68 of the film cartridge 40 and the ink supply guide. Container portion 7 of film cartridge 40 via passage 94
Fine ink supply channels 72,93 (
(see Figure 6).

The ink 4 soaks into an ink supply member 37, 39 made of rough felt, and is passed through the ink supply member 37, 39 to the film 2.
The ink 4 is applied to the film 2, thus filling the small holes 2 of the film 2.
The ink 4 is filled in the ink 4, and is used as recording ink droplets 6 by the movement of the film 2 and the rapid heating of the heating elements 3, which create bubbles in the ink 4.

In this way, when the ink 4 is consumed and the level of the ink 4 falls below the diagonally cut portion at the tip of the transparent ink supply tube 71, air is sucked in from the air suction passage 74 provided in the ink supply section of the film cartridge 40. ,
This air flows into the ink container 64 through the diagonally cut portion of the transparent ink supply tube 71, causing new ink 4 to flow out.

By the way, the air suction passage 74 is located at the upper part of the ink supply section, and the air volume within the ink supply section is made as small as possible as can be seen from FIGS. 2 and 3. A first surplus ink scraping member 41.90 made of elastic rubber and a second surplus ink scraping member 4
According to 2.89, air can enter and exit the ink supply section only when the small holes 2a of the film 2 pass through the first and second surplus ink scraping members 41.90.42.89. Therefore, replenishment of the ink 4 from the ink container 64 to the ink supply section is possible only when the film 2 is being moved, and is not performed during non-operation such as when the film cartridge 40 is replaced or when the film cartridge 40 is being moved. It looks like this.

Therefore, the problem of ink 4 being excessively supplied to the film cartridge 40 and leaking from the film cartridge 40 and scattering can be prevented.

Furthermore, since the ink 4 is supplied to the film 2 through an ink supply member 37, 79 made of felt as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the free surface as a liquid within the ink supply is Since the ink 4 is captured between the fibers by the force of surface tension, leakage of the ink 4 to the outside of the film cartridge 40 can be easily prevented.

Next, the operation for removing the ink container 64 from the ink container mounting section 65 of the film cartridge 40 will be described.

When the ink 4 in the ink container 64 is consumed by the above-described replenishment of the ink 4, the level of the ink 4 gradually drops until it reaches the transparent ink supply tube 71. At this time, light from the ink detection LDE 75 begins to pass through and the ink detection photosensor 76 begins to be turned on. The rise of this signal is detected to detect the absence of ink in the ink container 64.

Based on the ink-out detection signal, the device displays a message on the display portion of the device or the display portion of the image/data processing device 133 connected to the device, if the thermal head 1 is detected as described below. If there is ink 4 in the ink container 64, a message is displayed indicating that there is no ink in the ink container 64, that is, indicating that the ink container 64 should be replaced.

In this way, the ink container 64 is replaced. In this embodiment, the removal procedure and the valve 64 of the ink container 64 are replaced.
7. The operation of the valve 68 of the film cartridge 40 is exactly the opposite of that during installation.

That is, the valve 68 of the film cartridge 40 is raised, and the ink container mounting portion is brought into close contact with the lower surface of the seal 73 by the force of the cartridge valve spring 69, and the ink 4 in the film cartridge 40 is released from the ink container mounting portion 65 to the outside. It is designed to prevent leakage and scattering.

By the way, the ink container 64 has a capacity of 100C in this embodiment.
Ink 4 except for the ink supply tube 71 mentioned above in C.
The container is opaque in consideration of its weather resistance, and the normal recording density is 2000 to 50 on A4 sheet recording paper.
On the other hand, the film cartridge 40 recorded approximately 100,000 sheets/A4 for approximately 3 years due to problems such as paper dust, mold, and clogging due to dry ink in the small hole 2a of film 2. will need to be replaced. For this reason, the film cartridge 40 and the ink container 64 are separable, and the structure is such that leakage and evaporation of the ink 4 in each container can be easily prevented.

The attachment of the film cartridge 4o to the recording apparatus will now be described.

In this apparatus, the thermal head 1 is fixed to the main body housing 134, and the film cartridge 40 is shown in FIG.
) and a container located in the film exposed portion 86 of the cartridge 40 shown in FIG.

That is, in FIG. 3, when the first film cartridge support part 60 is inserted into the main body casing 134 and the second film cartridge support part 61 provided at the other end is pushed down, the cartridge fixing spring 62 is moved to the right. The head of the fixing spring 62 falls into the recess of the second film cartridge support part 61, and the film cartridge 40 is fixed.

As described above, since the container portion of the film cartridge 40 has a window shape, the film cartridge 40 has a structure that provides sufficient strength.

Furthermore, since the mounting is as described above, the film cartridge 40 can be easily attached and detached, and the ink container 64 can be easily attached and detached.
It can be easily attached and detached even if it is still attached. In other words, the color of the ink 4 can be easily changed. Furthermore, when the film cartridge 40 is at IpA, the recording member 43 rotates as shown by arrow A in FIG. It is wide open and allows easy removal of paper jams in the recording section, paper waste from the film 2, and replacement of the film cartridge 40.

In addition, in order to prevent the ink 4 remaining in the film cartridge 40 from leaking or evaporating when the film cartridge 40 is removed, the film cartridge 40 is provided with a cartridge lid 85 as shown in FIG.
(as shown by the arrow), the lid 85 is rotated to cover the exposed film portion 86, and the protrusion of the lid 85 is attached to the first excess ink scraping member 41 of the film cartridge 40.
．． 90 and the second surplus ink scraping member 42.89 to tightly seal the film cartridge 40.

In addition, the ink absorbing members 34 and 35 shown in FIG. 2 allow the excess ink 4 accumulated in the upper part of the thermal head 1 when the film cartridge 40 is attached and detached to flow down through the wall surface of the thermal head 1 and into the apparatus. Although there is a problem of scattering, in this embodiment, the thermal head 1
An ink absorbing member 34, 35 that is in contact with the thermal head 1 is attached to the lower part of the ink absorbing member 34, 35, which absorbs the ink 4 that is about to run down and scatter, thereby preventing the above-mentioned problem.

Next, the operation when driving the film 2 will be described.

FIG. 4(a) is a side view of a drive section of a film moving mechanism serving as a recording medium moving mechanism, and FIG. 4(b) is a plan view of the same portion. The film 2 rotates clockwise and counterclockwise as viewed from the side of the film drive motor gear 58 as a recording medium drive motor gear of the film drive motor 52 as a recording medium drive motor, as shown in FIG. 4(a). ) and move upward and downward respectively.

When the film drive motor gear 58 rotates clockwise, the film drive gear 78 rotates clockwise as viewed from the side of FIG. 4(a).

Drive shaft 8 for moving the film as a drive shaft for moving the recording medium
Since one end of the left-handed spring 84 fitted to the drive shaft 87 is engaged with the recess of the gear 78, clockwise rotation of the gear 78 causes the left-handed spring 84 to be further wound around the film moving drive shaft 87. Acting in the direction of rotation, the tooth 11
78 is transmitted to a drive shaft 87 for film movement.

At this time, the film drive gear 59 as a recording medium drive gear also rotates clockwise, but the right-handed spring 83 fitted on the film movement drive shaft 88 as a recording medium movement drive shaft is relatively driven. It acts in the direction of loosening from the shaft 88. However, in the case of the embodiment, the drive shaft 8
8 and the right-handed spring 83 rotate in the same direction, so the drive shaft 88 and the right-handed spring 8 are substantially rotated.
A slip with 3 will occur.

By the way, when attaching and detaching the film cartridge 40, the film drive gear 59, 78 is connected to the motor gear 5.
8, there is a risk that the interlocking film 2 will remain loose or remain under too much tension. However, regarding the latter, in the configuration of this embodiment, the drive shaft 88 and the right-handed spring 83 slip, and such excessively strong tension can be alleviated.

Further, as shown in the perspective view of the moving mechanism of the embodiment in FIG. 6, the film cartridge 40 is provided with a film tension mechanism 142 as a recording medium tension mechanism on the side opposite to the drive shafts 87 and 88 for film movement. Therefore, there is no loosening of the film 2, and the film 2 can be formed while rubbing against the tip heating element 3 of the thermal head 1 with appropriate pressure. A ladder wheel 100 is fixed to one end of the film moving drive shaft 87 by a pin 101, and a Hanamaki torsion spring 95, one end of which is engaged with a torsion spring fixing portion 96, is fitted to one end of the drive shaft 88. The other end of the torsion spring 95 engages with the recess 98 of the rudder wheel 97, and the rudder wheel 97
is connected to the ladder wheel 10 via the ladder chain 99.
Connected to 0.

By the way, when the ladder chain 99 is hung on the ladder wheels 97, 100, the recording medium is wound around the shaft 36 via the torsion spring 95, and the film is wound around the shaft 36 in the counterclockwise direction. For winding, the shaft 38 is attached by suitably twisting the torsion spring 95 in advance so as to bias it clockwise. Therefore, an appropriate tension is applied to the film 2 according to the torsional force, or torque, of the torsion spring 95.

In this way, when the film cartridge 40 is attached to the apparatus, the problem of the film 2 coming loose is eliminated, and the film 2 always slides in close contact with the tip of the thermal head 1 with appropriate pressure.

Next, referring to FIG. 4(a), the driving gear 58 is
The installation of item 8 will be explained assuming that it rotates counterclockwise when viewed from the side.

At this time, the drive gear 59 rotates counterclockwise, and the right-handed spring 83 acts to become entangled with the film drive shaft 88. Thus, in this case, the film 2 is directed downwardly, and thus the clockwise direction of the film drive motor 52,
The film 2 can be moved back and forth according to the counterclockwise rotation, and the right-hand spring 83 and the left-hand spring 8
4 and the film tension mechanism 142 prevent the film 2 from loosening when the film cartridge 40 is attached or removed, and prevent damage to the film 2 or the thermal head 1 due to excessive tension.

In any case, the film 2 is reciprocated by the operation of the film drive motor 52 described above, and the multi-hole portion 92 of the film 2 is filled with the ink 4 in the heating element 3 of the thermal head 1 to perform recording. is now possible.

Furthermore, the film 2 is guided by guide means consisting of side guides for the film 2, which are shown at 102 and 103 in FIGS. 6 and 7, located at both ends of the thermal head 1, so that the film 2 can be prevented from shifting laterally. It has become.

By the way, it is necessary to know where the beginning and end of the multi-hole portion 92 of the film 2 are, and when starting recording, make sure that the starting position of the multi-hole portion 92 in the moving direction of the film 2 is at the location of the heating element 3. There is a need to be able to start recording when the In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b), the film drive motor 52
A film position indexing board 80 as a recording medium position indexing board is attached to the drive shaft of the film 2.
A film first position detection slit 81 as a recording medium first position detection slit indicating the starting position of the multi-hole portion 92 and a film second position detection slit 82 as a recording medium second position detection slit are provided. , the position of the film 2 is detected by a film position detector 79.

When the film drive motor 52 rotates, the film position detector 79 senses the short and long light pulses generated by the slits similar to the slit 81 and the long slits, and in response, the film position detector 79 detects the short and long light pulses generated by the slits 81 and 81, and responds to this by detecting a constant period built in the electric control circuit 32. It is determined at the rear end of the long slit in the clockwise direction that the slit 81 is a slit for detecting the first position of the film, and the single optical pulse of the slit 82 is used for detecting the film position. Detector 79 detects this and determines that this is the slit for detecting the second position of the film. In this way, the film drive motor 52 detects the film first position detection slit 81 and stops.

At this time, the non-perforated portion 91 of the film 2 (see FIG. 12)
Covering the exposed film portion 86 of the film cartridge 40, the multi-hole portion 92 covers the first and second portions of the film cartridge 40.
The second surplus ink scraping member 89,90 is housed in the ink supply section below. For this reason, the film cartridge 40 is held by the non-perforated portion 91 of the film 2, so that the film cartridge 40 is sealed from the outside air.

Therefore, the ink 4 in the film cartridge 40 evaporates, the viscosity of the ink 4 increases, and the speed at which the ink 4 flies out from the small holes 2a of the film 2 decreases, or the viscosity is too high to eject, which adversely affects recording. This problem can be prevented from occurring.

Now, when recording, images and
Upon receiving a recording command from the processing device 133 (see FIG. 15) for processing character data, etc., the film 2 is held for a certain period of time, that is, before driving the first feed roller 9 to feed the recording sheet 8 to the recording section. The film drive motor 52 is moved by rotating it counterclockwise as shown by the arrow in FIG. After waiting for the paper 8 to arrive, the film 2 is moved in synchronization with the leading edge of the recording paper 8. At this time, the moving speed of the film 2 is 20 m/sec, which is 1/2 of the moving speed of the recording paper 8 of 40 m/sec.

In fact, even when the speed of the recording paper 8 is varied between 10 and 100 s/sec, when the recording density of the recording paper 8 is 75%, the relative movement direction of the film 2 and the recording paper 8 is in the same direction. Regardless of the reverse direction, if the moving speed of the film 2 is V/4 or higher, the surface Dl is 0 (black solid, coverage 7).
5%) or more.

The pattern of this experiment is shown in FIG. Therefore, the movement width of the film 2 can be made shorter than the recording length (recording direction) of the recording paper 8, and therefore the multi-hole portion 92 of the film 2
The area of the film 2 could be reduced, and the production of the film 2 could be made easier. That is, if the area of the multi-hole portion 92 is large, it is difficult to make the diameters of the small holes 2a (25 to 30 μm) uniform over the entire area, and therefore, there is a problem that the diameter of the small holes 2a becomes smaller, for example, near the periphery. This causes uneven recording density. In this embodiment, since the area can be reduced, such problems can be prevented.

Now, as the film 2 moves in this manner, the rear ends of the multi-hole portion 92 on the side of the first and second surplus ink scraping members 89 and 90 reach the portion of the heating element 3. At this time, the film position detector 79 detects the second film position detection slit 82. Of course, in order for the positions of each part of the film 2 and the relative positions of the first and second position detection slits 81 and 82 of the film position indexing board 80 to be in the above-mentioned relationship, it is necessary to During initial setting, the film 2 is used as the first and second surplus ink scraping members 89
．． The film drive motor 52 is connected to the film position detector 79.
is the long slit of the film first position detection slit 81,
It is necessary to detect the position of the short slit among the similar slit pairs and stop it.

This embodiment is based on this assumption.

Now, when the recording paper 8 is continuously fed and an even numbered recording paper 8 is recorded, the first one of the multi-hole portion 92,
After the film 2 is wound up until the end on the side of the second surplus ink scraping member 89 and 90 reaches the film winding shaft 38 and the ink 4 is supplied, the film 2 is moved in the opposite direction to the moving direction of the film 2 described above. After waiting for a certain period of time for the terminal end to reach the heating element 3 . . . , recording is performed in synchronization with the leading edge of the recording paper 8 .

In addition, in continuous recording, when recording on odd-numbered recording sheets 8, the first and second surplus ink scraping members 41
．． The end of the multi-hole portion 92 on the 42 side is the film winding shaft 36
After the ink 4 is supplied to the heating element 3.
... and film 2 in synchronization with the leading edge of recording paper 8.
It is supposed to move.

Since recording is continued by such reciprocating movement of the film 2, continuous recording is possible even if the film is not endless.

Now, next, the first and second surplus ink scraping members 41.
90 and 42.89 are arranged such that the contact positions with the film 2 are staggered as shown in FIG. It is located above 90. The necessity of this arrangement will be explained with reference to the first and second surplus ink scraping members 41 and 42.

First, the film 2 must be wound so that the axes 36 and 38 reach the apex of the thermal head 1 and are directed downwards, so that the recording area can be stored compactly and the recording paper 8 must be placed in a tight gap to the heating element 3. It is impossible to keep them close and transport them.

Therefore, if the first surplus ink scraping member 41.90 is positioned below the thermal head 1 side with respect to the film 2, the second surplus ink scraping member 42.89 , and the area of the film exposed portion 86 of the film cartridge 40 of the film 2 can be reduced.

Therefore, the film cartridge 40 can be formed compactly. The effect of scraping off excess ink during movement of the film 2 is as follows.

First, the case where the film 2 moves in the direction of arrow G in FIG. 6 will be described. The film 2 supplied with ink 4 by the ink supply member 39 moves upward, and the first surplus ink scraping member 41 scrapes the surplus ink from the film 2. However, during recording, since the multi-hole portion 92 passes through the excess ink scraping member 41, the excess ink 4 moves by a certain amount to the side opposite to the thermal head 1 through the multi-hole portion 92.

Roughly, the ink 4 that has moved to the opposite side is scraped off by the second surplus ink scraping member 42, and then moved to the thermal head 1 side again. In this way, when the film 2 moves in the G direction and the multi-hole portion 92 of the film 2 passes the first and second surplus ink scraping members 41, 42, the film 2 has only the small holes 2a... Not film 2
A sufficient amount of ink 4 is applied and replenished over the entire surface.

Therefore, this makes it possible to reduce the film speed to 1/4 of the speed of the recording paper 8, as described above.

Now, conversely, let us consider the case where the multi-hole portion 92 moves downward through the first and second surplus ink scraping members 41 and 42.

In this case, the recording side surface of the film 2 is first scraped off by the second surplus ink scraping member 42.

Therefore, the excess ink 4 adhering to the surface of the film 2 is scraped off, and the dust and paper dust adhering to the film 2 are also scraped off. In this way, the ink 4 accumulated at the tip of the excess ink scraping member 42 moves to the thermal head 1 side through the small holes 2a of the multi-hole portion 92 of the film 2.
Next, it is scraped off again by the first surplus ink scraping member 41, and the first surplus ink accumulates at the tip of the third surplus ink scraping member 41.

This scraped and accumulated surplus ink 4 is returned to the small holes 2 of the multi-hole portion 92 on the opposite side of the thermal head 1.
Move through a... In this way, the surplus ink 4 during recording is removed from the ink 4 of the film cartridge 40.
is collected in the supply section.

On the other hand, the non-perforated portion 91 of the film 2 moves in the F direction, that is, downwardly toward the first and second surplus ink scraping members 4.
The state when passing 1.42 will be described. At this time, the surface of the film 2 opposite to the thermal head 1 has already been cleaned by the second surplus ink scraping member 89, so the second
There is no need to scrape off ink using the surplus ink scraping member 42.

However, paper dust and dirt accumulate at the tip of the second surplus ink scraping means 42.

On the other hand, since the film surface on the thermal head 1 side has also been cleaned in advance by the first surplus ink scraping member 90,
There is also almost no need for ink scraping by the first surplus ink scraping member 41.

In this way, the non-perforated portion 91 of the film 2 becomes the film exposed portion 8 as the recording medium exposed portion of the film cartridge 40.
By covering the film cartridge 6, the exposed portion of the film 2 is cleaned thoroughly, and there is no danger of getting one's hands dirty when installing or removing the film cartridge 40.

Further, since the lengths M and N (see FIG. 12) of the non-hole portion 91 in the moving direction are longer than the film exposure width E (see FIG. 6) of the film cartridge 40, etc., the first surplus ink scraping member 41.90, second surplus ink scraping member 4
It is possible to prevent air from entering and exiting through a gap of 2.89 mm.

Therefore, the evaporation of the ink 4 can be prevented, and the viscosity of the ink 4 can be prevented from changing, so that the quality of recording and printing can be maintained constant.

Next, the operation for removing paper waste adhering to the film 2 will be described.

As described above, when the film 2 is moved in the G direction, the paper scraps and dust accumulated on the tip of the second surplus ink scraping member 42 are moved together with the film 2 while remaining attached to the film 2, and the paper scraps and dust accumulated on the tip of the second surplus ink scraping member 42 are moved together with the film 2 while remaining attached to the film 2, and are removed from the thermal head 1. It comes to the heating element 3 part at the top of . At this time, transfer film 2 to thermal head 1.
The suction belt 15 is moved slightly back and forth several times with the heating element 3 in between, and at the same time the suction fan 53 shown in Fig. 13 is activated.
Paper scraps and dust on the film 2 described above are sucked into the air suction guide 57 through the suction port 107 .

In this way, paper dust and dirt attached to the film 2 can be removed, and the multi-hole portion 92 of the film 2
This prevents the small holes 2a from becoming clogged with paper powder and dirt.

In this embodiment, the paper waste removal process is carried out after a certain period of time after a series of continuous recording is completed, so that the problem of reducing the recording speed does not occur.

In addition, as described above, since the paper waste removal process is performed on the non-porous portion 91 of the film 2, the ink 4 on the film surface is cleaned, so that the ink 4, etc. is sucked into the air suction guide 57. It is also possible to prevent problems such as the ink 4 being stuck to the suction belt 15.

Here, the operation of the film 2 when a series of recording operations is completed will be described.

After a series of recording operations is completed, the film 2 is moved for a certain period of time at a speed slower than the moving speed during recording.

This is done in order to prevent the ink 4 from being depleted from the heating elements 3 of the thermal head 1 until the series of recording operations is completed. after that,
The paper waste removal process described above is continued for a certain period of time, and then the exposed film portion 86 of the film cartridge 40 is covered with the non-perforated portion 91 of the film 2.

By the way, the first surplus ink scraping member 41.90 is made of an elastic member, and its edge toward the thermal head 1 is located on the lower surface of the film 2 and comes into close contact with the thermal head 1. The ink 4 flowing down through the wall surface is transferred to the small holes 2 in the multi-hole portion 92 of the film 2.
a... so that it can be collected into the ink supply section of the film cartridge 40. Said first and second
Excess ink scraping member 41.90. and 42.89 are made of a non-breathable material that prevents air and ink 4 from entering and exiting the film cartridge 40.

Next, the relationship between the diameter of the small holes 2a of the film 2 and the pitch between the small holes 2a will be explained with reference to FIG.

Arrow I in the figure indicates the direction of movement of the film 2, and a line connecting the centers of the small holes 2a is an equilateral triangle with one side perpendicular to the arrow 1. In the figure, H and V are the dimensions of the heating element 3, which are 100 μm to 125 μm, respectively. The diameter of the small hole 2a in the figure is 25 μm in the example.
The center-to-center distance P is 45 μm, and the minimum distance between the small holes 2a is 20 μm. According to experiments, using the above-mentioned symbols and assuming that the maximum distance between adjacent small holes 2a is P, the relational expressions H≧2P and V≧2P+D are satisfied, and the resolution is 8 lines/m as in the example. In this case, it was necessary to set the diameter of the small hole 2a to be in the range of D-15 to 35 μm and 1P to P=40 to 50 μm in order to obtain good printing quality.

Special considerations are required to achieve good print quality and improve thermal efficiency during recording, regardless of the shape of the heating element 3.

FIG. 14 shows the cross-sectional shape of the heating element.

Here, the heating element 3 and the electrical conductor 108.121 are A
It is covered with a thin wear-resistant insulating film 136 such as l1203. Now, a voltage is applied to the heating element 3 and it is rapidly heated, bubbles are generated, and due to this pressure, the ink 4 in the small hole 2a filled with ink 4 is rapidly ejected and recorded. In the example, the resistance of the heating element 3 is selected to be 300Ω, and 24V is applied with a pulse width of 10 μsec to eject recording ink and perform recording. At this time, the energy consumed is approximately 2100erQ/element.

This energy is approximately constant when the thickness T of the gap 124 between the heating element and the film 2 is 3 μm or more;
When it exceeds 0 μrrt, the ejection force becomes poor and the print quality deteriorates. Furthermore, when ■ becomes 3 μm or less, the ink energy consumption per 3 heating elements becomes 2100 or more,
It was found that the smaller T is, the more energy is required. Therefore, in this example, the thickness was set to T-3 μm. In the figure, 122 indicates a glass gelase layer.

Next, the following improvements have been made in terms of the durability of the heating element 3.

That is, as proposed in Japanese Patent Application No. 59-11851, the heating element (heating resistor) is mainly composed of ruthenium oxide, M (M is Ca1Sr, Ba, pb,
A metal oxide thin film containing an oxide of at least one selected from B i and Tg in an M/Ru (atomic ratio) of 66 to 2 is used.

By using a gold i oxide thin film in this way, it is no longer necessary to consider changes in resistance due to oxidation, as was the case in the past, and it is now possible to apply large amounts of power and reach high temperatures.
It also increases stability during long-term use. Further, since this metal oxide thin film has a relatively high sheet resistance value, a relatively small current is required to obtain a high heat generation density. Therefore, less current flows through the conductive layer connected to the heat generating resistor as in the conventional case, and heat generation from this portion can be reduced.

Therefore, so-called print blurring that occurs during printing can be reduced. Furthermore, since such a thin film has a positive resistance temperature coefficient, it can improve the drawbacks of SnO2-based materials, and has the advantage of being able to apply a large amount of power from the initial stage, and being suitable for increasing speed.

Next, the structure of the thermal head will be described based on FIG. 11.

The structure of the heating element 3 was described in FIG. 14, but in this embodiment, the heating element 3 and the electrical conductor 108, 121 are formed on a polyimide film 123 of about 15 μm, which is made of metal made of aluminum. Support body 137
It has a structure that is fixed with adhesive. It is estimated from the calculation of the consumed energy distribution that the majority (70% or more) of the energy consumed by the pulsed heating of the heating element 3 is not used for ejecting the ink 4, but is used for ejecting the polyimide film 123 or the film. etc.). Note that 119 is a driver for the thermal head 1, and 120 is a protective cover.

In this way, if the A4111 feed line printer has a resolution of 8 lines/m and a recording speed of 40 M/V as in the embodiment, the entire thermal head 1 can be The maximum energy consumption is about 120 W, of which about 107 W is accumulated in the polyimide film 123 and the film.

Such heat accumulation raises the temperature of the film 2 and the ink 4 to near the boiling point of the ink 4, and therefore, the situation in which the ink 4 is ejected changes depending on whether there is heat accumulation or not. In other words, the thermal history of recording causes a problem in that the density of the recorded image becomes uneven.

In this embodiment, the heating element 3 is placed on the polyimide film 123 having a thickness of approximately 15 μm, and the heating element 3 is placed on the electrical conductors 108, 12.
1 is bonded to a metal support 137 made of aluminum, so that the thermal energy generated and accumulated in the heating element 3 is quickly transferred to the metal support 137.
Spread.

Since the abutting support is made of metal, the thermal energy diffused into the metal support 137 conducts heat very quickly and acts to cool the heating element 3. In this way, the heating cycle of the heating element 3 can be shortened and the recording speed can be increased.

Next, the structure of the ink presence/absence detection elements 109 and 112 of the thermal head 1 will be described according to FIGS. 9 and 10(a) and (b). In this embodiment, there are exposed conductor portions 110° 111 of the ink presence/absence detection element in which electrical conductors are connected to each other at both ends of the thermal head 1.
0.111 has no #4 abrasion/insulation 11' 36 and comes into direct contact with the ink 4.

Incidentally, the conductivity of the ink allows a small amount of current to flow if a voltage of 10'S/s is applied. This state is shown in FIG. 10(a). The exposed conductor portions 110, 11
If a voltage pulse of 0N-OFFL is sent to ink 4 by switch SW, as shown in Fig. 10(a),
is at the top of thermal head 1, switch SW is set to O.
When the voltage at point Q becomes N, the voltage at point Q is
Since a current flows between 11 and 11, the current decreases temporarily. This signal is amplified to detect the presence of ink. As shown in FIG. 10(b), when there is no ink 4, no current flows even if the switch SW is operated in the same manner as described above.
The voltage drop as described above does not occur.

With this, it is possible to detect that there is no ink 4, and it is possible to prohibit the recording operation. As described below, in this embodiment, ink presence detection elements 109 and 112 are attached to both ends of the row of heating elements 3... of the thermal head 1, so that when there is no ink 4, the heating elements 3... It is possible to eliminate the problem of damaging the heating element 3 by heating and dry cooking.

In other words, even if there is ink 4 at one end of the heating element row 3 and no ink 4 at the other end, the presence or absence of ink can be detected by ANDing the signals of the ink presence detection elements 109 and 112. Therefore, it is possible to detect when there is no ink.

In this embodiment, as described above, the thermal head 1 is provided with the ink presence/absence detection elements 109 and 112, and the ink container 64 is also provided with replenishment ink presence/absence detection means consisting of an ink detection LED 75 and an ink detection photosensor 76. That's what happened.

As described above, these ink presence/absence detection means each have their own roles, and at the same time, as described below, they can cause the recording apparatus of this embodiment to perform various operations depending on the combination of their respective states. .

First, in this embodiment, if a voltage is constantly applied to the ink presence/absence detection means 109 and 112 of the thermal head 1 described above,
There is a problem in that the ink 4 is electrolyzed and gases such as hydrogen and oxygen are generated and the exposed conductor parts 110 and 111 are corroded. It applies voltage to detect the presence or absence of ink.

Furthermore, by doing this, it is possible to stop the recording operation during recording after the start of the recording operation, for example, after feeding the recording paper 8, and after a while has passed, that is, after the ink 4 has reached the thermal head 1. When the recording operation is restarted, the problem of the accurate position of the recording paper being shifted due to the inertia of the feed roller or the like can be prevented in advance.

Further, in this embodiment, when the absence of ink is detected by the ink presence detection operation of the thermal head 1, the film drive motor 52 is driven to move the film 2 for a certain period of time as shown by arrows G and F in FIG. After the reciprocating operation, the ink presence/absence detection operation of the thermal head 1 described above is performed again to detect the presence or absence of ink.

Therefore, even if the ink 4 evaporates from the heating element array 3 of the thermal head 1 due to a temporary stop, the ink reaches the inside of the film cartridge 40 by restarting the ink presence/absence detection operation. 4 is missing, it can also detect whether a new film cartridge 40 is missing or not.
It is also possible to check whether the ink 4 has reached the ink supply member 37, 39 inside the film cartridge 40 from the ink container 64 just after setting the film cartridge.

In this way, when it is detected that there is no ink in the thermal head 1, a status display regarding the lack of ink is displayed on the display section of the image, character, data, etc. processing device 133 to which the recording device is connected, and the operator is instructed to take appropriate action. It is meant to give instructions.

Incidentally, the ink presence/absence detection operation of the thermal head 1, the ink presence/absence detection signal, the replenishment ink presence/absence detection signal of the ink container 64, and the operation of the recording apparatus are closely related. In fact, in this embodiment, only when the detection signal indicating the presence of ink in the thermal head 1 and the detection signal indicating the presence of ink in the ink container 64 are generated simultaneously, the recording member, that is, the recording paper 8
is fed toward the heating element 3. This can prevent the risk of running out of ink 4 during recording and having to interrupt the recording operation.

Further, as described above, when the detection signal indicating that there is no ink in the thermal head 1 and the detection signal indicating that the ink container 64 is refilled are generated at the same time, the film drive motor 52, film movement drive shaft 87, 88, etc. By operating the film moving mechanism, the ink 4 can be prevented from reaching the heating element 3 of the thermal head 1.

At this time, the film moving speed is 20a during normal recording.
m/V, but it is operated at a slower speed, 5 M/V in the example. This prevents the wear-resistant insulating film of the electrical conductor 108, 121 from being damaged due to the friction between the thermal head 1 and the film 2 when there is no ink 4.

In this way, the film moving mechanism is operated to move the film 2 back and forth until the ink-absence detection signal of the thermal head 1 changes to an ink-present signal.

Then, the image or character or data processing device 13 described above
A "waiting" state is displayed in the display area 3 to inform that the ink 4 is being supplied to the thermal head 1.

By the way, when a detection signal indicating that there is ink in the thermal head 1 and a detection signal indicating that there is no replenishment ink in the ink container 64 are generated at the same time, an ink replenishment signal is sent to the display section of the recording device or the image, character, or data processing device 133. An instruction is displayed to prompt the operator to replace the ink container 64 and replenish new ink 4. In this way, a new ink container 64
is attached and the detection signal indicating that there is no refill ink in the ink container 64 changes to the detection signal indicating that there is ink, the recording operation is stopped for a certain period of time, that is, the recording paper 8 is transferred toward the heating element 3. It is also prohibited to do so. This is the ink supply member 37 in the film cartridge 40.
．． This ensures that a sufficient amount of ink 4 permeates the film 39 and that the ink 4 is always supplied to the film 2 in the same state.

In addition, in this embodiment, it is determined that the detection signal indicating that there is no ink in the thermal head 1 and the detection signal that there is no replenishing ink in the ink container 64 are generated at the same time. It is detected that this is not the case. This pattern is the first
It is shown in Figure 5. In fact, the above state shows a case where the film cartridge 40 is not set, and a state where there is no ink 4 in either the thermal head 1 or the ink container 64 even if the film cartridge 40 is set. In either case, the operator is instructed to replenish the ink in a significant sense.

As a result, even if there is no means for detecting whether or not the film cartridge 40 is set in the recording apparatus, it is possible to detect whether there is no ink in the thermal head 1 or not in the container 6.
No.4 refill ink occurs. In most cases, this means that the film cartridge 40 is not actually set. In this manner, in this embodiment, it is detected that the detection signals of no ink in the thermal head 1 and no replenishment ink in the ink container 64 are generated at the same time, and it is detected whether the film cartridge 40 is attached or detached.

Next, the overall structure of the thermal head 1 will be described according to FIG.

In the figure, 137 is a metal support made of aluminum, and the thermal head 1 has metal cooling members 114 and 115 on both sides of the metal support 137, and the surface of the metal cooling members 114 and 115 is Temperature sensing element 117.118
have.

In the figure, reference numerals 113 and 116 indicate heating elements of the thermal head 1, which are arranged in parallel with and near the heating element 3.

In this embodiment, the heating elements 113 and 116 of the thermal head 1 are turned ON or OFF by the output signals of the temperature detection elements 117 and 118 according to changes in the environment and the thermal history of the heating element 3, so that the apex portion of the thermal head 1 is turned on or off. It is controlled to maintain a constant temperature.

First, the metal cooling members 114 and 115 are in direct contact with the film 2, and can effectively cool down the temperature rise of the thermal head 1 due to rise in outside temperature or thermal history, suppress evaporation of the ink 4, and The thermal history of the apex portion of the head 1 is quickly conducted to the concentration detection element, and the vicinity of the heating element 3 of the thermal head 1 is always maintained at a constant temperature Ii
I7wa can be done.

Further, the metal cooling member-117 is provided on both sides of the heating element 3.
, 118 and the heating elements 113 and 116 of the thermal heater 1 are arranged so that the ink 4 is conveyed to the surface of the heating element 3 even when the film 2 moves back and forth, and the small hole 2 filled with ink is arranged.
The portion a is preheated prior to recording, so that the energy supplied by the voltage pulse applied to the heating element 3 is reduced.

In FIG. 15, 119 is a thermal head driver, and 126 to 132 are drive circuit sections.

As explained above, according to the above embodiment, the heating element array 3
. . is arranged in parallel with the heating element array 3 . Since the heating elements 113 and 116 are provided, the recording ink 4 attached to the inside of the multi-hole portion 92 of the film 2 and the surface of the film 2 is heated, and the energy applied to the heating element 3 is supplied to that extent. normal recording is possible.

This is a driver (
The voltage or M flow of the driving integrated circuit (drive integrated circuit) 119 can be reduced, and therefore it can be manufactured using fewer processes and at a lower cost. Furthermore, since the energy required for recording can be absolutely reduced, the influence of thermal history due to the degree of recording can be reduced.

Further, the heating elements 113, 116 are the heating element rows 3...
Even when recording by reciprocating the film 2, the film 2, that is, the multi-hole portion 9
2 and the recording ink 4 on the surface can be constantly heated.

Furthermore, the heating element 113, 116 of the thermal head 1
Since temperature sensing elements 117 and 118 are arranged near the heating elements 113 and 116 that heat the film 2,
Even if the temperature exceeds a certain temperature.

It is possible to prevent the film 2 from heating excessively, and when it is cold, the film 2
can also be raised above a certain temperature.

Furthermore, the temperature sensing elements 117 and 118 and the heating element 1
13.116 allows the temperature on the temperature sensing element 117.118 side to be controlled to a constant temperature, and therefore,
While keeping the temperature of the film 2 constant, the heating element 3...
It is possible to always inject energy into the same energy, and there is no need for complicated processing such as control by feedback to the applied voltage or applied pulse width of the heating element 3 by temperature detection.

Note that in the above description of the embodiment, the explanation was given for a film in which small holes were provided as a recording medium, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the same purpose can be achieved even with concave portions. Of course.

In addition, it goes without saying that the present invention can be modified in various ways without departing from the gist of the present invention.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, in the present invention, a recording medium having a large number of small holes or recesses is filled with recording ink, and when the small holes or recesses filled with ink reach the surface of a heating element of a thermal head, the recording medium is heated. By selectively heating the element, the pressure of the generated bubbles causes the ink in the small holes or recesses to be ejected toward the recording member, thereby performing recording on the recording member, and the heating element A heating element is provided near the heating element, and the amount of heat is supplied to the recording medium prior to recording to heat the recording ink attached to the small holes of the recording medium and the film surface, and the energy applied to the heating element is supplied accordingly. The configuration is also such that normal recording can be performed. Therefore, it is possible to provide a recording device that is free from clogging, capable of high-speed recording, and requires less energy for recording with the heating element.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of the recording principle, FIG. 2 is a schematic vertical side view, FIG. 3 is a schematic vertical front view, and FIG. 4(a) 4(b) is a plan view of the driving portion of the film moving mechanism, FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the film cartridge, and FIG.
The figure is a perspective view of the film moving mechanism and the ink supply section.
8 is a diagram showing the relationship between the diameter and pitch of the small holes and the shape of the heating element. FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the ink presence/absence detection means of the thermal head. a
) is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the ink presence/absence detection means when there is ink, FIG. 10(b) is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the ink presence/absence detection means when there is no ink, FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the thermal head, and FIG. Fig. 13 is a diagram showing the relationship between film speed and recording m degrees, Fig. 14 is a diagram showing the structure near the heating element, and Fig. 15 is an electronic control circuit. FIG. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1...Thermal head, 2...Recording medium (film), 2a...Small hole, 3...Heating element, 4...Recording ink, 5...Small filled with ink Hole, 6...
- Ejected ink droplets, 7... Small holes from which ink droplets were ejected, 8... Recorded member (recording paper), 92... Multiple holes 1 minute of film, 113, 116... Thermal Head heating element, 117.118...Temperature detection element, 1
19...Thermal head driver. To Applicant's Representative Patent Attorney Takehiko Suzue 2a 2a Figure 1 (a) (b) Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 8 Figure 9 (a) (b) Figure 10 Figure 11 Figure 12 Figure 13Figure 14

Claims (5)

[Claims] (1) Fill a recording medium with many small holes or recesses with recording ink, and selectively heat the heating element when the small holes or recesses filled with ink reach the surface of the heating element of the thermal head. The recording apparatus records on the recording material by ejecting ink in the small holes or recesses toward the recording material due to the pressure of the generated bubbles, and the recording apparatus includes a heating element in the vicinity of the heating element. established,
A recording device characterized in that it is configured to supply heat to a recording medium prior to recording. (2) The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the heating element is arranged parallel to the arrangement of the heating elements and in a state where the recording medium can come into contact with it. (3) Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the heating elements are arranged on both sides along the arrangement direction of the heating elements.
Recording device as described in section. (4) The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the thermal head is provided with a temperature detection element near the heating element. (5) The recording apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the temperature around the temperature sensing element is controlled to a constant temperature by a temperature sensing element and a heating element.