Incremental printing of symbolic information – Thermal marking apparatus or processes – Specific resistance recording element type
Reexamination Certificate
2003-06-26
2004-08-31
Tran, Huan (Department: 2861)
Incremental printing of symbolic information
Thermal marking apparatus or processes
Specific resistance recording element type
C347S171000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06784910
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a thermal head for applying thermal activation energy to a thermally active sheet including a thermally active component; a thermal activation device employing the thermal head; and a printer assembly employing the thermal activation device. More particularly, the invention relates to a technique for preventing the activated thermally active component from being adhered to the thermal head.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, a thermally active sheet (a print medium containing a thermally active component in a top coat surface thereof and exemplified by a heat-sensitive self-adhesive label) has been known as a kind of labels affixed to products. The thermally active sheets have found a wide range of applications such as POS labels affixed to food products, affixing labels used in physical distribution/delivery, labels affixed to medical products, baggage tugs, indication labels affixed to bottles or cans and the like.
The heat-sensitive self-adhesive label includes a sheet-like label substrate (such as a base paper); a heat-sensitive adhesive layer formed on a back side of the substrate and containing a thermally active component which is normally non-adhesive but develops adhesiveness when heated; and a printable surface formed on a front side of the substrate.
The heat-sensitive adhesive includes a thermoplastic resin, a solid plasticizer and the like as the major components thereof, and has a nature that the heat-sensitive adhesive is non-adhesive at normal temperatures but is activated to develop the adhesiveness when heated by the thermal activation device. Normally, activation temperatures are in the range of 50 to 150° C., in which range the solid plasticizer in the heat-sensitive adhesive is molten to impart the adhesiveness to the thermoplastic resin. The molten solid plasticizer is gradually crystallized via a supercooled phase so that the adhesiveness is maintained for a given period of time. While the heat-sensitive adhesive exhibits the adhesiveness, the label is affixed to an object such as a glass bottle or the like.
The printable surface of the heat-sensitive self-adhesive label is comprised of, for example, a heat-sensitive color-developing layer containing a kind of thermally active component. The heat-sensitive self-adhesive label is subjected to a thermal printer assembly equipped with a common thermal head for printing a desired character(s) or image on the printable surface thereof and thereafter, subjected to the thermal activation device for activation of the heat-sensitive adhesive layer thereof.
On the other hand, a printer assembly is now under development, which incorporates therein the thermal activation device for sequentially conducting thermal printing on the heat-sensitive self-adhesive label and activation of the heat-sensitive adhesive layer thereof.
Such a printer assembly has an arrangement as shown in
FIG. 9
, for example.
Referring to
FIG. 9
, a reference sign P
2
represents a thermal printer unit, a sign C
2
represents a cutter unit, a sign A
2
represents a thermal activation unit, and a sign R represents a heat-sensitive self-adhesive label wound into a roll.
The thermal printer unit P
2
includes a printing thermal head
100
, a platen roller
101
pressed against the printing thermal head
100
, and an unillustrated drive system (including an electric motor, and gear array, for example) for rotating the platen roller
101
.
As seen in
FIG. 9
, the platen roller
101
is rotated in a direction D
1
(clockwise) there by paying out the heat-sensitive self-adhesive label R, which, in turn, is subjected to thermal printing and then discharged in a direction D
2
(rightward).
The platen roller
101
further includes unillustrated pressure means (such as a helical spring or plate spring), a resilient force of which acts to bias the platen roller
101
surface against the thermal head
100
. Thus, the platen roller also operates as pressure means for pressing the heat-sensitive self-adhesive label R.
The printer unit P
2
shown in
FIG. 9
operates the printing thermal head
100
and platen roller
101
based on a print signal from an unillustrated print control unit, thereby accomplishing desired printing on a thermal coat layer
501
of the heat-sensitive self-adhesive label R.
The cutter unit C
2
serves to cut the heat-sensitive self-adhesive label R, thermally printed by the thermal printer unit P
2
, in a proper length. The cutter unit includes a movable blade
200
operated by a drive source (not shown) such as an electric motor, and a fixed blade
201
. The movable blade
200
is operated at a predetermined timing under control of the unillustrated control unit.
The thermal activation unit A
2
includes an insertion roller
300
and a discharge roller
301
rotated by, for example, an unillustrated drive source for inserting and discharging the cut heat-sensitive self-adhesive label R; and a thermally-activating thermal head
400
and a platen roller
401
pressed against the thermally-activating thermal head
400
, which are interposed between the insertion roller
300
and the discharge roller
301
. The platen roller
401
includes an unillustrated drive system (an electric motor and gear array, for example), which rotates the platen roller
401
in a direction D
4
(a counterclockwise direction as seen in
FIG. 9
) so that the heat-sensitive self-adhesive label R is conveyed in a direction D
6
(a rightward direction as seen in
FIG. 9
) by the insertion roller
300
and discharge roller
301
rotated in respective directions D
3
and D
5
. On the other hand, the platen roller
401
includes unillustrated pressure means (such as a helical spring or plate spring), a resilient force of which acts to bias the platen roller
401
surface against the thermally-activating thermal head
400
.
A reference sign S represents a discharge detection sensor for detecting the discharge of a heat-sensitive self-adhesive label R. The printing, conveyance and thermal activation of the subsequent heat-sensitive self-adhesive label R are performed in response to the discharge detection sensor S detecting the discharged heat-sensitive self-adhesive label R.
The thermally-activating thermal head
400
has an arrangement as shown in
FIG. 11
, for example.
Referring to
FIG. 11
, a reference sign
600
represents a ceramic substrate as a heat releasing substrate. A glaze layer
601
as a heat storage layer is overlaid on the overall surface of the ceramic substrate
600
in a thickness on the order of say 60 &mgr;m. The glaze layer
601
is formed by, for example, printing a glass paste on the substrate followed by baking the paste at predetermined temperatures (e.g., about 1300 to 1500° C.).
A heat generating resistance
602
, such as of Ta—SiO
2
, is formed on the glaze layer
601
by laminating a Ta—SiO
2
layer thereon by sputtering and processing the resultant layer into a predetermined pattern by a photolithography technique.
Also formed on the glaze layer
601
is an IC portion
605
for controlling power supply to the heat generating resistance
602
. A sealing portion
606
, such as of a resin, is overlaid on the IC portion for protection.
On the heat generating resistance
602
, an electrode
603
is formed by laminating a layer of Al, Cu, Au or the like by sputtering in a thickness of about 2 &mgr;m and processing the resultant layer into a predetermined pattern by the photolithography technique. Power is supplied to the heat generating resistance
602
via the electrode
603
under control of the IC portion
605
.
On the electrode
603
and heat generating resistance
602
, a protective layer
604
of hard ceramics such as Si—O—N or Si—Al—O—N is laminated by sputtering for preventing the oxidization and wear of the electrode
603
and heat generating resistance
602
.
The thermally-activating thermal head
400
of the above arrangement and the platen roller
401
are operated at a predetermined timing under control of the unillustrate
Hoshino Minoru
Sambongi Norimitsu
Sato Yoshinori
Yoshida Shin'ichi
Adams & Wilks
SII P & S Inc.
Tran Huan
LandOfFree
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