Incremental printing of symbolic information – Thermal marking apparatus or processes – Multicolor
Reexamination Certificate
2001-08-08
2002-07-02
Tran, Huan (Department: 2861)
Incremental printing of symbolic information
Thermal marking apparatus or processes
Multicolor
Reexamination Certificate
active
06414703
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a thermal printer that achieves a reduction in print time.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, various means have been used in order to reduce the print time in color thermal printers that use thermal recording paper (referred to below as TA (Thermal-Autochrome) paper). One of these involves reducing the fixing time. Namely, in this type of printer, the ink fixing process is performed after the process to heat the thermal recording paper using the thermal head of the printer. This fixing process is carried out by light irradiated from a fluorescent lamp. The energy required to fix the ink is determined using the formula “light intensity”דirradiation time”. Therefore, conventionally, various means have been employed to increase the intensity of the light using reflective plates.
However, conventionally, no means have been employed to strengthen the light emission intensity of the fluorescent lamp.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention was conceived of in view of the above circumstances, and it is an object there of to provide thermal printer in which the light emission intensity of the fluorescent lamp is increased and, as a result, a reduction in the print time is achieved.
The present invention is intended to solve the above problems and the first aspect of the present invention is a thermal printer that performs color printing by carrying out a heating process via a thermal head on thermal recording paper provided with color forming layers for performing color formation in a plurality of different colors and by fixing the thermal recording paper that has undergone heating process using a light fixing device, wherein the light fixing device comprises: a hot cathode fluorescent lamp formed from: a fluorescent tube that has a fluorescent coating applied to an inside surface of the glass tube and inside which are sealed mercury and noble gases, filament electrodes provided at both ends of the fluorescent tube, and lead wires that supply power to the filament electrodes; and a magnetic circuit that is provided on a side surface of the fluorescent tube and that generates a magnetic field that acts on current that flows through the fluorescent tube when power is fed to the filament electrodes.
According to the present invention, in a thermal printer that performs color printing by carrying out a heating process on thermal recording paper using a thermal head and then fixing the thermal recording paper that has undergone the heat processing using light fixing device, because the light fixing device is formed from a hot cathode fluorescent lamp and a magnetic circuit that is provided on a side surface of the fluorescent tube and that generates a magnetic field that acts on the current flowing through the fluorescent tube when electricity is fed to the filament electrode, it is possible to increase the light emission intensity of the fluorescent lamp without shortening the life of the hot cathode fluorescent lamp. Moreover, the effective length of the fluorescent tube is improved by flattening the illumination intensity distribution by the illumination intensity in the vicinity of the filament electrodes being increased due to the magnetic circuit. As a result, the excellent effects are obtained that the print time is shortened, and uniform fixing can be made possible with unfixed areas or over fixed areas being done away with. Furthermore, because it is possible to maintain the maximum illumination intensity for a long period of time by providing a cooling fan for cooling the fluorescent tube, the excellent effect is obtained that the operating efficiency is vastly improved when the hot cathode fluorescent lamp is used for hardening resins that are hardened by ultraviolet light or for sterilization.
The second aspect of the present invention is the thermal printer according to the first aspect, wherein the magnetic circuit comprises a frame formed with a U shaped cross section from a ferromagnetic material, and a pair of magnets positioned such that different polarities face each end of the frame, and wherein the magnetic circuit is mounted on a side surface of the fluorescent tube so as to surround a lower half of the fluorescent tube.
The third aspect of the present invention is the thermal printer according to the second aspect, wherein a reflective plate is disposed between an end portion of the magnets and the fluorescent tube.
The fourth aspect of the present invention is the thermal printer according to the second aspect, wherein a surface of the magnets that faces the fluorescent tube is curved in a shape that substantially corresponds to a surface of the fluorescent tube, and that curved surface forms the reflective plate.
The fifth aspect of the present invention is the thermal printer according to the first aspect, wherein the magnetic circuit comprises a frame formed with a U shaped cross section from a ferromagnetic material, and a pair of magnets provided at both ends of the frame, and wherein a plurality of magnets are mounted in a row on a side surface of the fluorescent tube so as to surround a lower half of the fluorescent tube and so that polarities of adjacent magnets are different to each other.
The sixth aspect of the present invention is the thermal printer according to the first aspect, wherein the magnetic circuit comprises four magnets positioned at equal intervals along a peripheral surface of the fluorescent tube so that polarities of adjacent magnets are different to each other.
The seventh aspect of the present invention is the thermal printer according to the first aspect, wherein the magnetic circuit comprises a magnet shaped as a semicylinder, and more than half of an outer peripheral surface of the fluorescent tube is surrounded by a concave portion of the magnet.
The eighth aspect of the present invention is the thermal printer according to the first aspect, wherein the magnetic circuit comprises: a frame formed with a U shaped cross section from a ferromagnetic material and mounted so as to surround half a side surface of the hot cathode fluorescent lamp; and a pair of magnets positioned such that different polarities face each end of the frame and so as to sandwich one filament electrode of the hot cathode fluorescent lamp and a portion of the fluorescent tube.
The ninth aspect of the present invention is the thermal printer according to the first aspect, wherein the magnetic circuit comprises: a frame formed with a U shaped cross section from a ferromagnetic material and mounted so as to surround half a side surface of the hot cathode fluorescent lamp; and two pairs of magnets positioned such that different polarities face each end of the frame and so as to sandwich the filament electrodes at both ends of the hot cathode fluorescent lamp and a portion of the fluorescent tube.
The tenth aspect of the present invention is the thermal printer according to the eighth and ninth aspects, wherein a magnet used in the magnetic circuit is in a rectangular shape, a rectangular shape having one curved side, or a rectangular shape whose central portion has a different thickness to both end portions.
The eleventh aspect of the present invention is the thermal printer according to the first aspect, wherein the magnetic circuit comprises: a frame formed with a U shaped cross section from a ferromagnetic material and mounted so as to surround half a side surface of the hot cathode fluorescent lamp; and a pair of magnets mounted at both ends of the frame so as to sandwich the fluorescent tube; and two pairs of magnets positioned at both ends of the frame so as to sandwich the filament electrodes at both ends of the hot cathode fluorescent lamp and a portion of the fluorescent tube.
The twelfth aspect of the present invention is the thermal printer according to the eleventh aspect, wherein a magnet used in the magnetic circuit is in a rectangular shape, a rectangular shape having one side formed in a wave shape, or a rectangular shape whose thickne
Maeda Hideki
Morio Kawabe
Nakamura Toshiki
Okamoto Shintaro
Sugiyama Hayami
Darby & Darby
Shinko Electric Co. Ltd.
Tran Huan
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