EP0388683B1 - Thermal print head - Google Patents

Thermal print head Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0388683B1
EP0388683B1 EP90104072A EP90104072A EP0388683B1 EP 0388683 B1 EP0388683 B1 EP 0388683B1 EP 90104072 A EP90104072 A EP 90104072A EP 90104072 A EP90104072 A EP 90104072A EP 0388683 B1 EP0388683 B1 EP 0388683B1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
axis
thermal printing
line
heating elements
housing
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
EP90104072A
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German (de)
French (fr)
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EP0388683A2 (en
EP0388683A3 (en
Inventor
Ulf Koch
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Meto International GmbH
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Esselte Meto International GmbH
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Publication date
Application filed by Esselte Meto International GmbH filed Critical Esselte Meto International GmbH
Publication of EP0388683A2 publication Critical patent/EP0388683A2/en
Publication of EP0388683A3 publication Critical patent/EP0388683A3/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0388683B1 publication Critical patent/EP0388683B1/en
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    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41JTYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J25/00Actions or mechanisms not otherwise provided for
    • B41J25/304Bodily-movable mechanisms for print heads or carriages movable towards or from paper surface
    • B41J25/316Bodily-movable mechanisms for print heads or carriages movable towards or from paper surface with tilting motion mechanisms relative to paper surface

Definitions

  • the invention relates to a thermal printhead with a housing in which a support carrying a thermal printing plate is pivotally mounted about an axis mounted at its two ends, the thermal printing plate having a plurality of selectively controllable heating elements arranged in a line next to one another, one in the housing an axis rotatably mounted counter-pressure roller, with which the line of the heating elements of the thermal printing plate is held non-positively in contact along an axis-parallel surface line, the bearing axis of the support running parallel to the axis of the counter-pressure roller and at a distance from this axis.
  • Such a thermal print head is known from DE-OS 36 16 925.
  • a heat-sensitive paper is passed between the impression roller and the thermal print circuit board, the contact with the paper being exactly on the line of the heating elements the thermal printing board comes about.
  • electrical control signals are applied to the heating elements in synchronism with the feed movement of the paper, which heat the heating elements and thereby cause the desired discoloration of the heat-sensitive paper.
  • JP-A-60 192 671 shows a device for adjusting a print head, wherein the parallelism and the contact pressure cannot be set independently of one another.
  • the invention has for its object to provide a thermal print head of the type mentioned, with the help of which the contact pressure can be adjusted without simultaneously influencing the parallelism, without particularly high demands being made on the manufacturing tolerances of the components used for the storage of the thermal print circuit board in the housing have to.
  • the bearing axis of the thermal print board is at one end in a bearing opening held, which can be adjusted in a direction in which there is a direct effect on the parallelism of the axis of the counter-pressure roller and the bearing axis. Because of this possibility of influencing, a uniform print image can be set by simply adjusting the bearing located at one end of the bearing axis.
  • the bearing axis and the corresponding bearing openings can therefore be manufactured without having to adhere to tight manufacturing tolerances.
  • the thermal print head 10 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 has a housing which contains two side plates 12 and 14.
  • the side plates 12, 14 are connected to one another by an end plate 16.
  • a mounting plate 18 is fastened to the end plate, by means of which the thermal print head can be fastened in a printing device, not shown.
  • An axle 20 mounted at its ends in the two side plates 12, 14 carries a counter-pressure roller 22 which can be driven by a motor (not shown) in such a way that it rotates clockwise in the illustration of FIG. 1 when a heat-sensitive paper to be printed on should be transported along the path 24 indicated by dashed lines.
  • a thermal printing plate 26 is pivotally mounted by means of an axis 28 extending between the two side plates 12 and 14.
  • a spring 30 which is attached on the one hand to the thermal printing plate 26 and on the other hand to a pin 32 seated firmly in the side plate 12, the thermal printing plate is held in a force-fitting manner against the counter-pressure roller 22.
  • the thermal printing board 26 contains a plurality of heating elements arranged on a ceramic substrate 34 along a line 36 that can be seen in FIG. 2. Integrated circuits (not shown) are also mounted on the ceramic substrate 34, which serve to control the heating elements. Printed connecting lines lead on the ceramic substrate to a connecting plug 38, to which a socket, not shown, located at the end of a cable can be connected. The data signals which lead to the printing of the desired information on the heat-sensitive paper transported along the path 24 are supplied to the thermal printing board 34 via this cable.
  • the ceramic substrate 34 is attached to a heat sink 40, which serves to dissipate excess heat.
  • a support 42 which, adjacent to the side plates 12 and 14, has tabs 44 and 46 running parallel to these side plates. Bearing openings are provided in these tabs 44, 46, through which the bearing axis 28 of the thermal printing plate 26 extends. As shown in FIG. 2, the openings in the tabs 44, 46 run axially in line with associated openings in the side plates 12, 14, so that the bearing axis 28 each through an opening in a tab 44, 46 and through an associated opening runs in the side plates 12, 14.
  • the thermal printing board 26 can be Applying a pulling force directed to the left in FIG. 1 on the upper end of the thermal printing plate 26 can be pivoted counterclockwise so that the area between the line 36 of the heating elements and the counter-pressure roller 22 is freely accessible. This free accessibility is desirable in order to be able to clean the thermal printing plate 26 and the counter-pressure roller 22 in this area.
  • adjusting screws 50, 52 are mounted in an end flange 48 of the support 42, which screws are screwed into associated adjusting blocks 54, 56. Between these adjusting blocks and the flange 48, the shafts of the associated adjusting screw 50, 52 surrounding compression springs 58, 60 are inserted. From Fig. 1 it can be seen that the adjusting block 54 is provided with a pin 62 which engages through an elongated hole 64 in the plate 42 in an opening 66 in the heat sink 40.
  • the adjusting block 56 is also formed and has a pin which engages through an elongated hole in the sheet metal 36 into an opening in the heat sink 40.
  • the heat sink 40 with the ceramic substrate 34 attached to it can be moved parallel to the support 42. It can thus be achieved that the line 36 of the heating elements coincides exactly with the line of contact between the thermal printing plate 26 and the counter-pressure roller 22. This is a prerequisite for achieving a perfect print image.
  • the end of the axis 28 on the right in FIG. 2 is guided outwards through an elongated hole 68 in the side plate 12 into a bearing opening 70 of a plate-shaped actuator 72.
  • the bearing opening 70 is also designed as an elongated hole which, however, runs perpendicular to the longitudinal extension of the elongated hole 68 with regard to its longitudinal extent.
  • the actuator 72 is provided with an integrally molded, pin-like projection 74 which engages in an opening 76 in the side plate 12. The actuator 72 can be pivoted parallel to the side plate 12 by rotating around the projection 74.
  • a locking screw 78 is provided, which is screwed into a corresponding threaded hole in the side plate 12.
  • the shaft of the locking screw 78 passes through an elongated hole 80 in the side plate 12; this elongated hole extends along an arc around the center of the projection 74.
  • a scale 82 is attached to the upper end of the actuator 72 and is assigned a corresponding mark 84 on the side plate 12.
  • the actuator 72 can be pivoted with the projection 74 as a fulcrum.
  • the axis 28 is displaced, the direction of displacement being approximately perpendicular to the plane formed by the line 36 of the heating elements and the axis 28.
  • the parallelism of the line 36 of the heating elements and the axis of the counter-pressure roller 22 can be influenced by this adjustment of the axis 28.
  • This parallelism must be present in order to achieve, by means of the spring 30, a uniform contact pressure between the heating elements and the counter-pressure roller over the entire length of the line 36 of the heating elements. A uniform print image across the entire width of the paper to be printed can only be produced with even contact pressure on all heating elements.
  • the setting of parallelism by adjusting the actuator 72 can be checked while performing a printing operation to see if heating elements at both ends of line 36 produce the same blackening on the heat sensitive paper. If the same blackening is present, the locking screw 80 is tightened so that the actuator 72 is locked in the position reached.
  • the elongated hole 70 for receiving the axis 28 in the actuator 72 is only necessary if the elongated hole 68 in the side plate 12 runs straight and not along an arc around the pin 74. If the elongated hole 68 is formed in a straight line, a radial displacement of the axis 28 must be permitted when the actuator 72 is adjusted, which is made possible by means of the elongated hole 70. In the exemplary embodiment described, the rectilinear design of the elongated hole 68 was chosen for reasons of simpler manufacture.
  • a straight design of the elongated hole 68 ensures that when the contact pressure of the heating elements is set by means of the actuator 72, the line 36 of these elements also continues to coincide with the line of contact between the thermal printing plate 26 and the counterpressure roller 22.
  • a non-rectilinear design of the elongated hole 68 would in this case cause the line 36 to rotate relative to the axis 20 of the counter-pressure roller 22, which would require readjusting the thermal printing plate 26 by means of the adjusting screws 50 and 52.
  • axle 28 in a round hole in the actuator 72; in this case, a round opening would be provided instead of the elongated hole 68 in the side plate 12, the diameter of which is selected such that when the actuator 72 is pivoted about the projection 74, there is no contact between the bearing axis 28 and the side plate 12.

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  • Electronic Switches (AREA)
  • Magnetic Heads (AREA)
  • Accessory Devices And Overall Control Thereof (AREA)
  • Common Mechanisms (AREA)

Abstract

A thermal printing head (10) having a housing (12, 14, 16) is described wherein a support (42) carrying a thermal printing plate (26) is mounted to be pivotable about an axis (28) mounted on both of its ends. The thermal printing plate (26) comprises several selectively triggerable heating elements being arranged in a line (36). In the housing (12, 14, 16), a counter-pressure roll (22) is mounted to be rotatable about an axis (20) with respect to which the line (36) heating elements of the thermal printing plate (26) is held in frictional contact along a paraxial generating line. The mounting axis (28) of the support (42) extends to be parallel with respect to the axis of the counter-pressure roll (20) and to be spaced apart from this axis (20). One end of the axis (28) of the support (42) is mounted in the housing (12, 14, 16) to be adjustable in perpendicular direction with respect to the plane formed by the axis (28) and the line (36) of the heating elements.

Description

Die Erfindung bezieht sich auf einen Thermodruckkopf mit einem Gehäuse, in dem ein eine Thermodruckplatine tragender Support um eine an ihren beiden Enden gelagerte Achse schwenkbar gelagert ist, wobei die Thermodruckplatine mehrere selektiv ansteuerbare, in einer Linie nebeneinander angeordnete Heizelemente aufweist, einer in dem Gehäuse um eine Achse drehbar gelagerten Gegendruckwalze, mit der die Linie der Heizelemente der Thermodruckplatine längs einer achsparallelen Mantellinie kraftschlüssig in Anlage gehalten ist, wobei die Lagerachse des Supports parallel zur Achse der Gegendruckwalze und im Abstand von dieser Achse verläuft.The invention relates to a thermal printhead with a housing in which a support carrying a thermal printing plate is pivotally mounted about an axis mounted at its two ends, the thermal printing plate having a plurality of selectively controllable heating elements arranged in a line next to one another, one in the housing an axis rotatably mounted counter-pressure roller, with which the line of the heating elements of the thermal printing plate is held non-positively in contact along an axis-parallel surface line, the bearing axis of the support running parallel to the axis of the counter-pressure roller and at a distance from this axis.

Ein solcher Thermodruckkopf ist aus der DE-OS 36 16 925 bekannt. Beim Drucken mit diesem bekannten Thermodruckkopf wird ein wärmeempfindliches Papier zwischen der Gegendruckwalze und der Thermodruckplatine hindurchgeführt, wobei der Kontakt mit dem Papier genau an der Linie der Heizelemente der Thermodruckplatine zustande kommt. Synchron mit der Vorschubbewegung des Papiers werden an die Heizelemente abhängig von den zu druckenden Daten elektrische Ansteuersignale angelegt, die die Heizelemente erhitzen und dadurch die gewünschte Verfärbung des wärmeempfindlichen Papiers hervorrufen. Um bei einem solchen Thermodruckkopf ein einwandfreies Druckbild zu erhalten, muß dafür gesorgt werden, daß die Berührungslinie zwischen der Thermodruckplatine und der Gegendruckwalze exakt mit der Linie der Heizelemente zusammenfällt und daß die Thermodruckplatine längs der gesamten Linie der Heizelemente mit der gleichen Kraft gegen die Gegendruckwalze gedrückt wird. Zur Erzielung dieser gleichmäßigen Andruckkraft müssen die Achse der Gegendruckwalze bei vorausgesetztem genauem und gleichmäßigem Radius dieser Walze und die Lagerachse des Supports der Thermodruckplatine sehr genau parallel zueinander verlaufen. Bereits geringfügige Abweichungen der Parallelität führen zu einer ungleichmäßigen Verfärbung des wärmeempfindlichen Papiers an den entgegengesetzten Enden der Linie der Heizelemente. Beim bekannten Thermodruckkopf kann diese Genauigkeit der parallelen Lager der Gegendruckwalze und der Lagerachse nur unter Aufwendung sehr enger Fertigungstoleranzen erreicht werden.Such a thermal print head is known from DE-OS 36 16 925. When printing with this known thermal print head, a heat-sensitive paper is passed between the impression roller and the thermal print circuit board, the contact with the paper being exactly on the line of the heating elements the thermal printing board comes about. Depending on the data to be printed, electrical control signals are applied to the heating elements in synchronism with the feed movement of the paper, which heat the heating elements and thereby cause the desired discoloration of the heat-sensitive paper. In order to obtain a perfect print image with such a thermal print head, it must be ensured that the line of contact between the thermal print plate and the counter-pressure roller exactly coincides with the line of the heating elements and that the thermal print plate is pressed with the same force along the entire line of the heating elements against the counter-pressure roller becomes. In order to achieve this uniform pressure force, the axis of the counter-pressure roller, provided that the roller has a precise and uniform radius, and the bearing axis of the support of the thermal printing plate must run very precisely parallel to one another. Even slight deviations in parallelism lead to an uneven discoloration of the heat-sensitive paper at the opposite ends of the line of the heating elements. In the known thermal printhead, this accuracy of the parallel bearings of the counter-pressure roller and the bearing axis can only be achieved using very tight manufacturing tolerances.

Die JP-A-60 192 671 zeigt eine Vorrichtung zum Justieren eines Druckkopfs, wobei die Parallelität und der Anpreßdruck nicht unabhängig voneinander einstellbar sind.JP-A-60 192 671 shows a device for adjusting a print head, wherein the parallelism and the contact pressure cannot be set independently of one another.

Der Erfindung liegt die Aufgabe zugrunde, einen Thermodruckkopf der eingangs angegebenen Art zu schaffen, mit dessen Hilfe sich der Anpreßdruck ohne gleichzeitige Beeinflussung der Paralletität einstellen läßt, ohne daß an die Fertigungstoleranzen der für die Lagerung der Thermodruckplatine im Gehäuse verwendeten Bauteile besonders hohe Anforderungen gestellt werden müssen.The invention has for its object to provide a thermal print head of the type mentioned, with the help of which the contact pressure can be adjusted without simultaneously influencing the parallelism, without particularly high demands being made on the manufacturing tolerances of the components used for the storage of the thermal print circuit board in the housing have to.

Erfindungsgemäß wird diese Aufgabe durch die Merkmale des kennzeichnenden Teils des Patentanspruchs 1 gelöst.According to the invention, this object is achieved by the features of the characterizing part of patent claim 1.

Beim erfindungsgemäßen Thermodruckkopf ist die Lagerachse der Thermodruckplatine an einem Ende in einer Lageröffnung gehalten, die in einer Richtung verstellt werden kann, in der sich eine unmittelbare Auswirkung auf die Parallelität der Achse der Gegendruckwalze und der Lagerachse ergibt. Aufgrund dieser Beeinflussungsmöglichkeit kann durch einfaches Justieren des an einem Ende der Lagerachse befindlichen Lagers ein gleichmäßiges Druckbild eingestellt werden. Die Lagerachse und die entsprechenden Lageröffnungen können daher hergestellt werden, ohne daß enge Fertigungstoleranzen eingehalten werden müssen.In the thermal print head according to the invention, the bearing axis of the thermal print board is at one end in a bearing opening held, which can be adjusted in a direction in which there is a direct effect on the parallelism of the axis of the counter-pressure roller and the bearing axis. Because of this possibility of influencing, a uniform print image can be set by simply adjusting the bearing located at one end of the bearing axis. The bearing axis and the corresponding bearing openings can therefore be manufactured without having to adhere to tight manufacturing tolerances.

Vorteilhafte Weiterbildungen der Erfindung sind in den Unteransprüchen gekennzeichnet.Advantageous developments of the invention are characterized in the subclaims.

Die Erfindung wird nun anhand der Zeichnung beispielshalber erläutert. Es zeigen:

Fig. 1
eine schematische Seitenansicht des erfindungsgemäßen Thermodruckkopfs und
Fig. 2
eine Ansicht des Thermodruckkopfs von Fig. 1 von der linken Seite her, wobei der Bereich der Lagerung der Lagerachse am rechten Achsenende geschnitten dargestellt ist.
The invention will now be explained by way of example with reference to the drawing. Show it:
Fig. 1
is a schematic side view of the thermal print head according to the invention and
Fig. 2
a view of the thermal printhead of Fig. 1 from the left side, the area of the bearing axis at the right axis end is shown in section.

Der in Fig. 1 und 2 dargestellte Thermodruckkopf 10 weist ein Gehäuse auf, das zwei Seitenplatten 12 und 14 enthält. Die Seitenplatten 12, 14 sind durch eine Stirnplatte 16 miteinander verbunden. An der Stirnplatte ist eine Montageplatte 18 befestigt, mit deren Hilfe der Thermodruckkopf in einem nicht dargestellten Druckgerät befestigt werden kann. Eine mit ihren Enden in den beiden Seitenplatten 12, 14 gelagerte Achse 20 trägt eine Gegendruckwalze 22, die von einem nicht dargestellten Motor so angetrieben werden kann, daß sie sich in der Darstellung von Fig. 1 im Uhrzeigersinn dreht, wenn ein zu bedruckendes wärmeempfindliches Papier längs des gestrichelt angegebenen Wegs 24 transportiert werden soll.The thermal print head 10 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 has a housing which contains two side plates 12 and 14. The side plates 12, 14 are connected to one another by an end plate 16. A mounting plate 18 is fastened to the end plate, by means of which the thermal print head can be fastened in a printing device, not shown. An axle 20 mounted at its ends in the two side plates 12, 14 carries a counter-pressure roller 22 which can be driven by a motor (not shown) in such a way that it rotates clockwise in the illustration of FIG. 1 when a heat-sensitive paper to be printed on should be transported along the path 24 indicated by dashed lines.

Eine Thermodruckplatine 26 ist mittels einer sich zwischen den beiden Seitenplatten 12 und 14 erstreckenden Achse 28 schwenkbar gelagert. Mittels einer Feder 30, die einerseits an der Thermodruckplatine 26 und andererseits an einem fest in der Seitenplatte 12 sitzenden Stift 32 angebracht ist, wird die Thermodruckplatine kraftschlüssig in Anlage an die Gegendruckwalze 22 gehalten.A thermal printing plate 26 is pivotally mounted by means of an axis 28 extending between the two side plates 12 and 14. By means of a spring 30, which is attached on the one hand to the thermal printing plate 26 and on the other hand to a pin 32 seated firmly in the side plate 12, the thermal printing plate is held in a force-fitting manner against the counter-pressure roller 22.

Die Thermodruckplatine 26 enthält auf einem Keramiksubstrat 34 mehrere, längs einer in Fig. 2 erkennbaren Linie 36 angeordnete Heizelemente. Auf dem Keramiksubstrat 34 sind auch nicht dargestellte integrierte Schaltungen angebracht, die der Ansteuerung der Heizelemente dienen. Gedruckte Verbindungsleitungen führen auf dem Keramiksubstrat zu einem Verbindungsstecker 38, an den eine am Ende eines Kabels sitzende, nicht dargestellte Buchse angeschlossen werden kann. Über dieses Kabel werden der Thermodruckplatine 34 die Datensignale zugeführt, die zum Drucken der gewünschten Informationen auf dem längs des Wegs 24 transportierten wärmeempfindlichen Papier führen.The thermal printing board 26 contains a plurality of heating elements arranged on a ceramic substrate 34 along a line 36 that can be seen in FIG. 2. Integrated circuits (not shown) are also mounted on the ceramic substrate 34, which serve to control the heating elements. Printed connecting lines lead on the ceramic substrate to a connecting plug 38, to which a socket, not shown, located at the end of a cable can be connected. The data signals which lead to the printing of the desired information on the heat-sensitive paper transported along the path 24 are supplied to the thermal printing board 34 via this cable.

Das Keramiksubstrat 34 ist an einem Kühlkörper 40 befestigt, der der Ableitung überschüssiger Wärme dient. Auf der vom Keramiksubstrat 34 abgewandten Seite des Kühlkörpers 40 sitzt ein Support 42, der angrenzend an die Seitenplatten 12 und 14 parallel zu diesen Seitenplatten verlaufende Laschen 44 bzw. 46 aufweist. In diesen Laschen 44, 46 sind Lageröffnungen angebracht, durch die sich die Lagerachse 28 der Thermodruckplatine 26 erstreckt. Wie Fig. 2 zeigt, verlaufen die Öffnungen in den Laschen 44, 46 axial in einer Linie mit zugehörigen Öffnungen in den Seitenplatten 12, 14, so daß die Lagerachse 28 jeweils durch eine Öffnung in einer Lasche 44, 46 und durch eine jeweils zugehörige Öffnung in den Seitenplatten 12, 14 verläuft.The ceramic substrate 34 is attached to a heat sink 40, which serves to dissipate excess heat. On the side of the heat sink 40 facing away from the ceramic substrate 34 there is a support 42 which, adjacent to the side plates 12 and 14, has tabs 44 and 46 running parallel to these side plates. Bearing openings are provided in these tabs 44, 46, through which the bearing axis 28 of the thermal printing plate 26 extends. As shown in FIG. 2, the openings in the tabs 44, 46 run axially in line with associated openings in the side plates 12, 14, so that the bearing axis 28 each through an opening in a tab 44, 46 and through an associated opening runs in the side plates 12, 14.

Aufgrund der geschilderten Lagerung der Thermodruckplatine 26 auf der Achse 28 kann die Thermodruckplatine 26 durch Ausüben einer in Fig. 1 nach links gerichteten Zugkraft auf das obere Ende der Thermodruckplatine 26 entgegen dem Uhrzeigersinn so verschwenkt werden, daß der Bereich zwischen der Linie 36 der Heizelemente und der Gegendruckwalze 22 frei zugänglich wird. Diese freie Zugänglichkeit ist erwünscht, um die Thermodruckplatine 26 und die Gegendruckwalze 22 in diesem Bereich reinigen zu können.Due to the described mounting of the thermal printing board 26 on the axis 28, the thermal printing board 26 can be Applying a pulling force directed to the left in FIG. 1 on the upper end of the thermal printing plate 26 can be pivoted counterclockwise so that the area between the line 36 of the heating elements and the counter-pressure roller 22 is freely accessible. This free accessibility is desirable in order to be able to clean the thermal printing plate 26 and the counter-pressure roller 22 in this area.

Wie aus Fig. 1 hervorgeht, sind in einem stirnseitigen Flansch 48 des Supports 42 Justierschrauben 50, 52 angebracht, die in jeweils zugehörige Stellklötze 54, 56 geschraubt sind. Zwischen diese Stellklötze und dem Flansch 48 sind die Schäfte der zugehörigen Justierschraube 50, 52 umgebende Druckfedern 58, 60 eingefügt. Aus Fig. 1 ist zu erkennen, daß der Stellklotz 54 mit einem Stift 62 versehen ist, der durch ein Langloch 64 im Blech 42 in eine Öffnung 66 im Kühlkörper 40 eingreift. Der Stellklotz 56 ist ebenso ausgebildet und weist einen durch ein Langloch im Blech 36 in eine Öffnung im Kühlkörper 40 eingreifenden Stift auf. Durch Drehen an den Justierschrauben 50, 52 kann der Kühlkörper 40 mit dem an ihm befestigten Keramiksubstrat 34 parallel zum Support 42 verschoben werden. Damit kann erreicht werden, daß die Linie 36 der Heizelemente exakt mit der Berührungslinie zwischen der Thermodruckplatine 26 und der Gegendruckwalze 22 zusammenfällt. Dies ist Voraussetzung für die Erzielung eines einwandfreien Druckbildes.As can be seen from FIG. 1, adjusting screws 50, 52 are mounted in an end flange 48 of the support 42, which screws are screwed into associated adjusting blocks 54, 56. Between these adjusting blocks and the flange 48, the shafts of the associated adjusting screw 50, 52 surrounding compression springs 58, 60 are inserted. From Fig. 1 it can be seen that the adjusting block 54 is provided with a pin 62 which engages through an elongated hole 64 in the plate 42 in an opening 66 in the heat sink 40. The adjusting block 56 is also formed and has a pin which engages through an elongated hole in the sheet metal 36 into an opening in the heat sink 40. By turning the adjusting screws 50, 52, the heat sink 40 with the ceramic substrate 34 attached to it can be moved parallel to the support 42. It can thus be achieved that the line 36 of the heating elements coincides exactly with the line of contact between the thermal printing plate 26 and the counter-pressure roller 22. This is a prerequisite for achieving a perfect print image.

Zur Erzielung eines einwandfreien Druckbildes genügt es jedoch nicht, die Linie 36 der Heizelemente am Keramiksubstrat 34 durch Drehen der Justierschrauben 50, 52 so einzustellen, daß sie mit der Berührungslinie an der Gegendruckwalze zusammenfällt; es muß auch zusätzlich noch dafür gesorgt werden, daß die Andruckkraft, mit der die Thermodruckplatine 26 gegen die Gegendruckwalze 22 gedrückt wird, längs der gesamten Berührungslinie gleichmäßig ist. Dies wird unter Verwendung einer besonderen Lagerung des in Fig. 2 rechts liegenden Endes der Achse 28 erreicht.To achieve a perfect print image, however, it is not sufficient to adjust the line 36 of the heating elements on the ceramic substrate 34 by turning the adjusting screws 50, 52 so that they coincide with the line of contact on the counterpressure roller; it must also be ensured that the pressing force with which the thermal printing plate 26 is pressed against the counter-pressure roller 22 is uniform along the entire line of contact. This is achieved using a special mounting of the end of the axis 28 on the right in FIG. 2.

Wie aus der Zeichnung zu erkennen ist, ist das in Fig. 2 rechts liegende Ende der Achse 28 durch ein Langloch 68 in der Seitenplatte 12 nach außen in eine Lageröffnung 70 eines plattenförmigen Stellglieds 72 geführt. Wie Fig. 1 entnommen werden kann, ist auch die Lageröffnung 70 als Langloch ausgeführt, das jedoch hinsichtlich seiner Längserstreckung senkrecht zur Längserstreckung des Langlochs 68 verläuft. An dem in Fig. 1 unten liegenden Ende ist das Stellglied 72 mit einem einstückig angeformten, stiftartigen Vorsprung 74 versehen, der in eine Öffnung 76 in der Seitenplatte 12 einegreift. Das Stellglied 72 kann durch Drehen um den Vorsprung 74 parallel zur Seitenplatte 12 verschwenkt werden. Zur Fixierung der Lage des Stellglieds 72 ist eine Arretierungsschraube 78 vorgesehen, die in eine entsprechende Gewindebohrung in der Seitenplatte 12 geschraubt ist. Der Schaft der Arretierungsschraube 78 führt durch ein Langloch 80 in der Seitenplatte 12; dieses Langloch erstreckt sich längs eines Kreisbogens um die Mitte des Vorsprungs 74. Am oberen Ende des Stellglieds 72 ist eine Skala 82 angebracht, der eine entsprechende Markierung 84 an der Seitenplatte 12 zugeordnet ist.As can be seen from the drawing, the end of the axis 28 on the right in FIG. 2 is guided outwards through an elongated hole 68 in the side plate 12 into a bearing opening 70 of a plate-shaped actuator 72. As can be seen in FIG. 1, the bearing opening 70 is also designed as an elongated hole which, however, runs perpendicular to the longitudinal extension of the elongated hole 68 with regard to its longitudinal extent. At the bottom in FIG. 1, the actuator 72 is provided with an integrally molded, pin-like projection 74 which engages in an opening 76 in the side plate 12. The actuator 72 can be pivoted parallel to the side plate 12 by rotating around the projection 74. To fix the position of the actuator 72, a locking screw 78 is provided, which is screwed into a corresponding threaded hole in the side plate 12. The shaft of the locking screw 78 passes through an elongated hole 80 in the side plate 12; this elongated hole extends along an arc around the center of the projection 74. A scale 82 is attached to the upper end of the actuator 72 and is assigned a corresponding mark 84 on the side plate 12.

Wenn die Arretierungsschraube 78 gelöst ist, kann das Stellglied 72 mit dem Vorsprung 74 als Drehpunkt verschwenkt werden. Bei dieser Bewegung wird die Achse 28 verschoben, wobei die Verschiebungsrichtung etwa senkrecht zu der von der Linie 36 der Heizelemente und der Achse 28 gebildeten Ebene verläuft. Durch diese Verstellung der Achse 28 kann die Parallelität der Linie 36 der Heizelemente und der Achse der Gegendruckwalze 22 beeinflußt werden. Diese Parallelität muß gegeben sein, um mittels der Feder 30 einen in der gesamten Länge der Linie 36 der Heizelemente gleichmäßigen Anpreßdruck zwischen den Heizelementen und der Gegendruckwalze zu erzielen. Nur bei gleichmäßigem Anpreßdruck an allen Heizelementen läßt sich ein in der gesamten Breite des zu bedruckenden Papiers gleichmäßiges Druckbild erzeugen. Die Einstellung der Parallelität durch Verstellen des Stellglieds 72 kann während der Durchführung eines Druckvorgangs überprüft werden, bei dem beobachtet wird, ob Heizelemente an den beiden Enden der Linie 36 auf dem wärmeempfindlichen Papier die gleiche Schwärzung hervorrufen. Wenn die gleiche Schwärzung vorliegt, wird die Arretierungsschraube 80 angezogen, damit das Stellglied 72 in der erreichten Position arretiert wird.When the locking screw 78 is loosened, the actuator 72 can be pivoted with the projection 74 as a fulcrum. During this movement, the axis 28 is displaced, the direction of displacement being approximately perpendicular to the plane formed by the line 36 of the heating elements and the axis 28. The parallelism of the line 36 of the heating elements and the axis of the counter-pressure roller 22 can be influenced by this adjustment of the axis 28. This parallelism must be present in order to achieve, by means of the spring 30, a uniform contact pressure between the heating elements and the counter-pressure roller over the entire length of the line 36 of the heating elements. A uniform print image across the entire width of the paper to be printed can only be produced with even contact pressure on all heating elements. The setting of parallelism by adjusting the actuator 72 can be checked while performing a printing operation to see if heating elements at both ends of line 36 produce the same blackening on the heat sensitive paper. If the same blackening is present, the locking screw 80 is tightened so that the actuator 72 is locked in the position reached.

Die Verwendung des Langlochs 70 zur Aufnahme der Achse 28 im Stellglied 72 ist nur dann erforderlich, wenn das Langloch 68 in der Seitenplatte 12 geradlinig und nicht längs eines Bogens um den Stift 74 verläuft. Bei geradliniger Ausbildung des Langlochs 68 muß nämlich bei Verstellung des Stellglieds 72 eine radiale Verschiebung der Achse 28 zugelassen werden, was mittels des Langlochs 70 ermöglicht wird. Im beschriebenen Ausführungsbeispiel ist die geradlinige Ausführung des Langlochs 68 aus Gründen der einfacheren Herstellung gewählt worden. Zudem wird durch eine geradlinige Ausführung des Langlochs 68 erreicht, daß beim Einstellen des Anpreßdruckes der Heizelemente mittels des Stellgliedes 72 die Linie 36 dieser Elemente auch weiterhin mit der Berührungslinie zwischen der Thermodruckplatine 26 und der Gegendruckwalze 22 zusammenfällt. Eine nicht-geradlinige Ausbildung des Langloches 68 würde hierbei ein Verdrehen der Linie 36 gegenüber der Achse 20 der Gegendruckwalze 22 bewirken, was ein erneutes Justieren der Thermodruckplatine 26 mittels der Justierschrauben 50 und 52 erfordern würde.The use of the elongated hole 70 for receiving the axis 28 in the actuator 72 is only necessary if the elongated hole 68 in the side plate 12 runs straight and not along an arc around the pin 74. If the elongated hole 68 is formed in a straight line, a radial displacement of the axis 28 must be permitted when the actuator 72 is adjusted, which is made possible by means of the elongated hole 70. In the exemplary embodiment described, the rectilinear design of the elongated hole 68 was chosen for reasons of simpler manufacture. In addition, a straight design of the elongated hole 68 ensures that when the contact pressure of the heating elements is set by means of the actuator 72, the line 36 of these elements also continues to coincide with the line of contact between the thermal printing plate 26 and the counterpressure roller 22. A non-rectilinear design of the elongated hole 68 would in this case cause the line 36 to rotate relative to the axis 20 of the counter-pressure roller 22, which would require readjusting the thermal printing plate 26 by means of the adjusting screws 50 and 52.

Es ist jedoch auch möglich, die Achse 28 in einem runden Loch im Stellglied 72 zu lagern; in diesem Fall wäre dann anstelle des Langlochs 68 in der Seitenplatte 12 eine runde Öffnung vorgesehen, deren Durchmesser so gewählt ist, daß bei einer Verschwenkung des Stellglieds 72 um den Vorsprung 74 keine Berührung zwischen der Lagerachse 28 und der Seitenplatte 12 erfolgt.However, it is also possible to mount the axle 28 in a round hole in the actuator 72; in this case, a round opening would be provided instead of the elongated hole 68 in the side plate 12, the diameter of which is selected such that when the actuator 72 is pivoted about the projection 74, there is no contact between the bearing axis 28 and the side plate 12.

Mit Hilfe der beschriebenen Ausgestaltung des Thermodruckkopfs ist somit eine einfache Justiermöglichkeit für die Parallelität der Linie 36 der Heizelemente und der Achse der Gegendruckwalze 22 geschaffen worden, so daß auch bei großer Breite des zu bedruckenden Papiers ein gleichmäßiger Druck für die gesamte Papierbreite erreicht werden kann.With the help of the described design of the thermal print head, a simple adjustment possibility for the parallelism of the line 36 of the heating elements and the axis of the counter-pressure roller 22 has thus been created, so that even with a large width of the paper to be printed, a uniform pressure can be achieved for the entire paper width.

Claims (4)

  1. A thermal printing head having a housing (12, 14, 16) wherein a support (42) carrying a thermal printing plate (26) is mounted to be pivotable about an axis (28) mounted on both of its ends, the thermal printing plate (26) comprising a plurality of selectively triggerable heating elements being arranged in a line (36), one adjacent the other, a counter-pressure roll (22) being mounted in the housing (12, 14, 16) to be rotatable about an axis (20), the line (36) of heating elements of the thermal printing plate (26) being held in frictional contact therewith along a generating line parallel to the axis, the axis (28) of the support (42) extending to be parallel with respect to the axis (20) of the counter-pressure roll (22) and to be spaced apart from this axis (20), characterized in that one end of the axis (28) of the support (42) is mounted to be non-displaceable with respect to the housing (12, 14, 16), whereas the other end, for changing the pressure exerted by the heating elements against the counter-pressure roll (22), is mounted to be movable in such a manner that this end is adjustable with respect to the plane defined by the fixed end of the axis (28) and the line (36) of heating elements.
  2. A thermal printing head according to claim 1, characterized in that the adjustably mounted end of the axis (28) is mounted in one aperture (70) of a setting member (72) being pivotably connected with a side plate (12) of the housing (12, 14, 16).
  3. A thermal printing head according to claim 2, characterized in that an elongate hole (80) is provided in the setting member (72) to describe a portion of a circular arc about a projection (74) connecting the setting member (72) to the side plate (12) of the housing (12, 14, 16), and that a locking screw (78) for fixing the position of the setting member (72) is screwed into the side plate (12) through elongate hole (80).
  4. A thermal printing head according to claims 2 or 3, characterized in that a scale (82) is provided on the setting member (72), and that a marking (84) for indicating the position of the setting member (82) is provided on the side plate (12) in allocation to the scale (82).
EP90104072A 1989-03-21 1990-03-02 Thermal print head Expired - Lifetime EP0388683B1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
DE3909254A DE3909254A1 (en) 1989-03-21 1989-03-21 THERMAL PRINT HEAD
DE3909254 1989-03-21

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EP0388683A2 EP0388683A2 (en) 1990-09-26
EP0388683A3 EP0388683A3 (en) 1990-12-27
EP0388683B1 true EP0388683B1 (en) 1994-07-06

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EP90104072A Expired - Lifetime EP0388683B1 (en) 1989-03-21 1990-03-02 Thermal print head

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US (1) US5023628A (en)
EP (1) EP0388683B1 (en)
JP (1) JPH07106664B2 (en)
AT (1) ATE108140T1 (en)
AU (1) AU618172B2 (en)
CA (1) CA2011915C (en)
DE (2) DE3909254A1 (en)
ES (1) ES2055191T3 (en)

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Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
ATE108140T1 (en) 1994-07-15
JPH02279368A (en) 1990-11-15
DE3909254A1 (en) 1990-09-27
AU618172B2 (en) 1991-12-12
EP0388683A2 (en) 1990-09-26
DE59006333D1 (en) 1994-08-11
ES2055191T3 (en) 1994-08-16
AU5079390A (en) 1990-09-27
EP0388683A3 (en) 1990-12-27
US5023628A (en) 1991-06-11
CA2011915C (en) 1996-04-02
CA2011915A1 (en) 1990-09-21
JPH07106664B2 (en) 1995-11-15

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