JPS62113568A - Thermal head and multiple thermal head - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a small-type, high-performance and inexpensive color printer, by providing heat generating resistors and lead electrodes on a ceramic sheet and bending the resultant assembly. CONSTITUTION:First, a resistor film material, e.g. Ta-SiO2, is provided by sputtering on the surface of a ceramic sheet 10 having a thickness of 10-100mum, thereby obtaining a resistor film. Next, a conductor material, e.g. Al, is laminated on the sheet 10, and heat generating resistors 11 and lead electrodes 12 are patterned in desired densities by photo-etching to obtain a heat generating resistor assembly 7. Then, the assembly 7 is bent along the surface shape of a projected part 5 of a sub-base sheet 4 fabricated beforehand, and is adhered and fixed to the latter. Subsequently, a driver substrate 9 provided beforehand with a driver IC 8 and lead electrode 14 is fixed to a driver substrate mounting surface 6 by an adhesive or the like.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to a thermal head and a multi-thermal head suitable for use in a recording device of a color printer, for example.

[Background technology and its problems]

In general, recording methods include electrophotographic recording, electrostatic recording, discharge recording, ink jet recording, thermal recording, and thermal transfer recording, each of which has good recording quality and low cost, including running costs. Development efforts are underway to make this a reality.

Thermal recording and thermal transfer recording are the most promising recording methods among these, and are rapidly becoming popular because they are compact, have simple mechanisms, are maintenance-free, and have almost no noise or odor. . In particular, thermal transfer recording allows color recording in principle, and various attempts have been made, but it has both advantages and disadvantages and has not yet become a practical established technology.

By the way, the principle of the thermal transfer recording described above is that an ink film made by applying solid ink (heat-melting or heat-sublimating) to a base film made of a polymeric material and recording paper made of plain paper are overlapped and pressed against a thermal head. While moving the ink relatively, the heating resistor of the thermal hect is turned on and off to transfer ink to recording paper, allowing artists and characters to be drawn. In color recording, it is ideal to use various color ink films, and the following methods are available.

(1) A method in which three to four systems of thermal heads and ink film rolls are independently provided for each color.

(2) A method of recording using one thermal head, using three to four colors of ink film in a cascade, and moving the recording paper back and forth three to four times.

(3) One thermal head and three or more ink films
A method of recording by arranging four colors in a cascading pattern and moving the recording paper in only one direction.

However, the disadvantage of (1) above is that the entire device is large and expensive.

In addition, (2) is compact, but since the recording paper is reciprocated three to four times, color shift is likely to occur, the mechanism is complicated, and advanced mechanical technology is required. Furthermore, the key to (3) is to downsize the thermal head, and if this is achieved, it can become an extremely effective method.

Conventional thermal heads were (a) too large to be used in a row of three to four units; (b) This method has not been adopted because it has drawbacks such as parts such as the drive circuit protruding from the surface of the heating resistor.

As a way to solve all of these problems, there has been an attempt to construct a vertical thermal head as described below. An example of this is shown in Figure 8(a).
, (b) e It is shown in (e), but (,) is from the 1970s.
Publication No. 7-193545, (b) is JP-A-58-925
No. 76 and (c) are described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 57-93171, respectively. These are formed by arranging a plurality of heating resistors 2 on the top surface of a base material 1 whose tip cross section is circular or semicircular, leading lead electrodes 3 from the heating resistors 2 to the side, and mounting a driving integrated circuit. A drive circuit board (none of which is shown) is fixed to the side surface and electrically connected to the heating resistor. Note that the cross-sectional shape of the base material 1 may be rectangular or trapezoidal.

However, the conventional example described above has the following defects. That is, the heating resistor 2 and the lead electrode 3
In forming the base material J, photoetching is used.
The drawback is that it is difficult to photo-etch the circular parts of a rectangle, the eyebrows of a rectangle, and the diagonal lines of a trapezoid. In normal photoetching technology, there is a step of exposing photorenost i to light through a photomask. Contact exposure and gloximity exposure are common for this, and the current situation is that the distance between the photomask and the photorenost film is not constant, making it difficult to obtain a satisfactory resolution for the above-mentioned base material part even when increasing the density. . This is Fig. 8(a).

(b) This is a common defect in 9 (e). Furthermore, the drawbacks of FIG. 8(,) are that mounting is difficult, and FIG. 8(b) is difficult to wire bind due to the sloped surface.

Next, a drawback of using a normal flat-plate thermal head is that the part where the driving integrated circuit is mounted is higher than the position where the plurality of heating resistors are formed.

Usually, that part is insured with a protective cover, so it is inevitable that the price will be several yen more expensive. With a thermal head of this type, even if the head spacing is made small, the recording paper and ink film cannot be run in a straight line, and the recording paper and ink film are forced to run in an extra loop through the sub roller in the head spacing. TotoK becomes. Therefore, the device inevitably becomes large and has a complicated mechanism, making it expensive.

[Purpose of the invention]

The purpose of this invention is to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and to
An object of the present invention is to provide a thermal head and a multi-thermal head that make it possible to realize a high-performance and inexpensive color printer.

[Summary of the invention]

In this invention, a plurality of heat generating resistors are formed in a row at predetermined intervals on a protrusion, a driving integrated circuit is provided at a position lower than the protruding part, and the driving integrated circuit and the heat generating resistor are connected to a lead electrode. In the thermal head, the heating resistor is formed on a ceramic sheet, and the lead electrode is formed on the ceramic sheet, and is bent and led to the driving integrated circuit. This is a thermal head made by a manufacturer.

Further, this invention comprises a heating resistor substrate having a ceramic sheet as a substrate, a driver substrate on which a driving integrated circuit is mounted, and a sub-base plate made of a material with good heat dissipation. This is a multi-thermal head in which multiple sets are fixed together by a base grate that fixes the heat generating resistors in parallel.

Furthermore, the present invention provides a compact thermal head and a multi-function head which can be mounted on a vertical surface when the heating resistor is formed on a horizontal surface when the driving integrated circuit is installed at a lower position than the heating resistor, and the head spacing is further reduced. It is a thermal head.

[In order to explain the invention in detail, the thermal head will be explained first, and then the method for manufacturing the length-round head will be explained.

After that, a multi-thermal head using the above-mentioned thermal head will be explained, and then a method for manufacturing this multi-thermal head will be explained.

First, the thermal head of the present invention is constructed as shown in FIG. It is formed. A heating resistor structure 1 is mounted on the protruding portion 5, and a driver board 9 having a driving integrated circuit 8 is mounted on the driver board mounting portion 6.

In the heat generating resistor structure 7, a glaze layer (not shown) may be partially formed for heat retention in a portion where a heat generating resistor array to be described later is formed.

A ceramic sheet 1θ having a thickness of 10 to 100 μm, a plurality of heating resistors 11 formed in a row at predetermined intervals on the ceramic sheet 10, and the plurality of heating resistors 11.
It consists of a plurality of lead electrodes 12 connected to the ceramic sheet 10 and formed on the ceramic sheet 10 up to one end surface.

In this case, as is clear from the figure, a plurality of heating resistors 1
1 is configured to be located on the top surface of the protrusion 5.

On the other hand, a driving integrated circuit 8 is provided on the driver board 9, and this driving integrated circuit 8 is connected to the lead electrode 12tlC via a bonding wire 13. The tab, the heating resistor 11, and the driving integrated circuit 8 are electrically connected. In addition, the driver board 9
A plurality of lead electrodes 14 are separately formed on the top, and these lead electrodes 14 are connected to the driving integrated circuit 8 via bonding wires 15.

Such a thermal head is used as a single unit during monochrome recording. During color recording, the sub-base plate 4 is fixed to a base plate (not shown), and a recording paper and an ink film are stacked and inserted between a heating resistor 11 and a protin roller pressed onto the heating resistor 11. Perform color recording.

Next, a method for manufacturing the thermal head as described above will be described, but first, the heating resistor structure 7 will be described.

That is, as shown in FIG. 2, first, a resistive film material, such as T a -S i O2, is deposited on the surface of a ceramic sheet 10 having a thickness of 10-zoo μm by sintering to obtain a resistive film. Next, a conductive material such as Al is deposited in layers by vacuum evaporation, and then photo-etched to form heating resistor 11 and lead electrode 12 with desired density. Furthermore, if necessary, a wear-resistant protective film and terminal metallization treatment are applied.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3, the heating resistor structure 2 is bent and adhesively fixed onto the protrusion 5 of the sub-base plate 4 which has been processed in advance, along the surface shape of the protrusion 5. This bending means that the ceramic sheet 10 is
Since it has a thickness of μm, it can be easily bent.

Next, a driver board 9 is mounted on which the driving integrated circuit 8 is attached in advance, and on which lead electrodes 14 leading to extraction terminals are formed.
fC, the driver board of the sub-base plate 4 is fixed to the surface 6 with adhesive or the like.

Next, as shown in FIG. 1, the lead electrode 12 and the driving integrated circuit 8. The driving integrated circuit 8 and the IJ-domain electrode 14 are connected to each other by wire bindings 13 and 15, respectively.

Incidentally, if necessary, the driving integrated circuit 8. Lead electrode 1
2.14 and bonding wires 13.15 are coated to complete one set of thermal head.

Although I used the term "ceramic sheet" to simplify the explanation, this is a recently developed technology that involves sintering a paste-like material made by mixing alumina powder with a solvent into a sheet. Alumina sheets and other types include those made by mixing tyranopolymer (a copolymer of polycarbosilane and organic titanate) with a solvent, printing it into a face shape, and sintering it. Also 1000
It is a ceramic sheet that can withstand high temperatures above ℃, and is flexible so that even if it is bent into a circular arc shape, there will be no broken sifrack.

Next, one embodiment of the multi-thermal head of the present invention will be described.
It is configured as shown in the figure. That is, three to four sets of thermal heads as described above are arranged and fixed with the respective heating resistors 11 rows parallel to each other and the positions between them aligned. For example, when recording in three colors of yellow, magenta, and cyan, three sets are used, and when black is also desired, four sets are used. Then, they are arranged and fixed on a base plate 16 that has been machined so that the respective fixing positions are determined in advance. In addition, parts such as the driving integrated circuit 8 may be replaced as necessary.
Protected by the attendant cover 17, the four-unit multi-thermal head is completed.

In use, platen rollers 18 are arranged according to the rows of heating resistors 11, and recording paper 19 and ink film 20 are inserted between them so as to overlap, and after coming out from the outlet, recording paper 19 and ink film 2θ are separated.

[Modified example of the invention]

FIG. 5 shows a modified example of the thermal head, which is smaller than the above embodiment. That is, in this modification, the driver board mounting section 6 is formed perpendicularly to the sub-base plate 4;
A driver board 9 having a driving integrated circuit 8 is attached thereto. Therefore, the driving integrated circuit 8 side of the heating resistor structure 7 is also bent in the vertical direction.

Incidentally, the same parts as in the above embodiment (FIG. 1) are given the same reference numerals and detailed explanations will be omitted.

In manufacturing, a sub pace plate 4 having a shape as shown in FIG. 6 is prepared, and the heating resistor assembly 5 is folded so that the portion on the side of the driving integrated circuit 8 faces downward and perpendicularly.
The heat generating resistor structure is adhesively fixed onto the protruding portion 5, and the driver board 9 is fixed by adhesive or the like on a surface perpendicular to the surface of the heat generating resistor 11. Then, the driving integrated circuit 8 and the lead electrode 12 are connected by wire bonding 13 or the like.

When the thermal head of this modification is made into a multi-thermal head, the spacing between each thermal head can be made smaller than that shown in Fig. 4, so a small 4-unit multi-thermal head as shown in Fig. 7 can be obtained. It will be done.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to this invention, the following excellent effects can be obtained.

(1) By employing the thermal head of this invention, a compact color printer with a simple mechanism could be realized.

(2) A high-speed color recording sickle was created.

(3) Con-'? ri) Tx multi-thermal head was realized.

(4) The ink film will dig in even with l-roll tie.

Therefore, it is small in size and has a simple mechanism.

(5) Since it is a linear moving type, the accuracy of color position is improved.

(6) It can be realized by ordinary photoetching technology. Therefore, new high-end equipment is not required.

(7) Since the driving integrated circuit 8 is retracted from the heating resistor 11, the recording paper 19 and the ink film 20 can be moved linearly. As a result, the mechanism is simple and compact, and there is no color shift.

(8) By using a direct drive type, the number of lead wires can be reduced. Furthermore, wiring processing on the driver board 9 has been simplified.

(9) An inexpensive thermal head has been realized.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a thermal head according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a method of manufacturing a heating resistor used in the invention, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a method of manufacturing a heating resistor used in the invention. 4 is a front view showing a multi-thermal head 9 according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a thermal head according to a modification of the present invention; FIG. 6@ is a perspective view showing a method of manufacturing a thermal head according to a modification of FIG. 5, FIG. 7 is a front view showing a multi-thermal head according to a modification of Jin's invention, and FIGS. 8(a) #(b) ) e (c) is a perspective view showing three examples of conventional thermal heads. 4...Sub base plate, 5...Protrusion part, 6...
・Driver board mounting part, ヱ...heating resistor structure,
8... Drive integrated circuit, 9... Driver board, 1
0...ceramic sheet, 1no...heating resistor, 1
2.No4...Lead IE pole, ie...Pace great. Applicant's agent Patent attorney Takehiko Suzue 5 diagrams! ′! 6 Figure 7

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) A plurality of heat generating resistors are formed in a row at predetermined intervals on the protrusion, a driving integrated circuit is provided at a position lower than the protruding part, and the driving integrated circuit and the heat generating resistor are connected to lead electrodes. In the thermal head connected by
A thermal head characterized in that the lead electrode is formed on the ceramic sheet and is bent and guided to the driving integrated circuit. (2) The thermal head according to claim 1, wherein when the surface on which the heating resistor is formed is a horizontal surface, the driving integrated circuit is attached to a vertical surface. (3) A ceramic sheet on which a plurality of heating resistors and lead electrodes are adhered is attached to the protruding part of the sub-base plate, and a driving integrated circuit is placed at a position lower than this protruding part. A multi-thermal head characterized in that a plurality of sets of thermal heads each having the heat generating resistors connected to each other by the lead electrodes are fixed on a base plate so that the rows of heat generating resistors in each set are parallel to each other and integrated. . (4) The multi-thermal head according to claim 3, wherein when the surface on which the heating resistor is formed is a horizontal surface, the driving integrated circuit is attached to a vertical surface.