Seiko Instruments Inc

Norimitsu Sanbongi

Toshimitsu Morooka

Noriyoshi Shoji

Keitaro Koroishi

Yoshinori Sato

Minoru Hoshino

Tatsuya Obuchi

Kazuo Tani

Yoshiaki Saita

Masanori Takahashi

Hiroyuki Kohira

Yuichi Ishida

Osamu Takizawa

Shuji Tozaki

Kouhei Miyawaki

Tomoki Ogura

Shuichi Ogawa

Keitaro Karoishi

A thermal head has a support substrate, an upper substrate arranged on the support substrate on one surface side thereof in a laminated state, and an intermediate layer arranged between the upper substrate and the support substrate to bond the upper substrate and the support substrate to each other. The intermediate layer has one of a through hole and a concave portion forming a cavity portion between the upper substrate and the support substrate. A heat generating resistor is formed on a surface of the upper substrate on a side opposite to the support substrate at a position opposed to the cavity portion. The intermediate layer is formed of a glass paste having a melting point lower than a firing temperature of the support substrate and higher than a melting temperature of the upper substrate.

Thermal head, printer, and method of manufacturing thermal head

A thermal head including: a laminated substrate including a support substrate and an upper substrate at least one of which has a recess formed in a surface thereof; a heat generating resistor formed on a surface of the upper substrate in the laminated substrate at a position opposed to the recess; and a pair of electrode portions connected to each of both ends of a heat generating resistor, wherein the laminated substrate further includes: an intermediate metal layer sandwiched between the support substrate and the upper substrate and bonded thereto in a laminated state; and a surrounding metal layer formed of a metal material, the surrounding metal layer provided in contact with the intermediate metal layer and formed from a surface of the support substrate extending in a thickness direction thereof to a surface thereof opposite to a portion bonded to the upper substrate.

A manufacturing method for a heating resistor element includes a concave portion forming step, a bonding step and a resistor forming step. The concave portion forming step includes forming a concave portion on at least one of bonded surfaces between an insulating substrate and a heat accumulating layer. The bonding step causes the bonded surfaces between the insulating substrate and the heat accumulating layer to adhere to each other to bond the insulating substrate and the heat accumulating layer. The resistor forming step includes forming a heating resistor at a position on the heat accumulating layer. The position is opposed to the concave portion. The concave portion forming step further includes processing an inner surface of the concave portion on a side of the insulating substrate to have surface roughness Ra of 0.2 &#x3bc;m or more.

Manufacturing method for a heating resistor element

In a method of manufacturing a thermal head, a groove portion is formed in one surface of at least one of a first substrate and a second substrate, and a width dimension of the groove portion is measured. The first and second substrates are bonded to each other in a stacked state so as to close an opening of the groove portion. A heating resistor is formed on a surface of the second substrate in a region opposed to the groove portion. A protective film for covering and protecting the heating resistor is formed on the surface of the second substrate. A thickness dimension of the protective film is set so as to increase with an increase in the measured width dimension of the groove portion and so as to decrease with an increase in a thickness dimension of the second substrate.

Method of manufacturing thermal head

A method of manufacturing a thermal head, comprising the steps of: bonding a support substrate and an upper substrate, which have a flat shape, together in a laminated state, the support substrate and the upper substrate having opposed surfaces, at least one of which includes a concave portion; thinning the upper substrate bonded onto the support substrate; a measurement step of measuring a thickness of the thinned upper substrate; determining a target resistance value of a heating resistor from the following expression based on the measured thickness of the upper substrate; and forming the heating resistor having the target resistance value at a position opposed to the concave portion, Rh=R&#xd7;(1+(D+D)/(D+K)) where Rh represents the target resistance value; R, a design resistance value; D, the thickness of the upper substrate; D, a design thickness of the upper substrate; and K, a heating efficiency coefficient.

Method of manufacturing thermal head, and thermal printer

A method of manufacturing a thermal head, including: forming a concave being, which is open on one surface of a support-substrate made of an alumina material; forming an intermediate-layer made of a glass paste by printing the glass paste made of a first-glass-material on the one surface of the support-substrate and baking the glass paste; bonding an upper-substrate to the one surface of the support-substrate by arranging the upper-substrate on the intermediate-layer formed on the one surface of the support-substrate in a laminated state and heating the upper-substrate at a temperature of an annealing point thereof or higher and a softening point thereof or lower, the upper-substrate being made of a second-glass-material having a softening point lower than a softening point of the first-glass-material; and forming a heat generating resistor on a surface of the upper-substrate bonded to the support-substrate at a position opposed to the concave portion.

Thermal head manufacturing method, thermal head, and printer

An adhesive label has a support, an adhesive layer placed on the support, and a stretched non-adhesive porous layer placed on the adhesive layer and being openable by heating to expose the adhesive layer.

Adhesive label and label issuing device

A thermal printer has a support substrate with a concave portion in a surface thereof, and an upper substrate bonded to the surface of the support substrate and including a convex portion at a position corresponding to the concave portion. A heating resistor is provided on a surface of the upper substrate at a position straddling the convex portion. A pair of electrodes is provided on both sides of the heating resistor, with each of the electrodes being formed in a region outside of the convex portion. The convex portion extends at a height greater than each of the electrodes. At least one of the pair of electrodes has a thin portion connected to the heating resistor in a region corresponding to the concave portion, and a thick portion connected to the heating resistor and having a thickness greater than that of the thin portion.

Thermal head, method of manufacturing thermal head, and printer equipped with thermal head

In manufacturing method for a thermal head, concave portions, including a reference concave portion, are formed on a surface of a substrate so that a length of each of the concave portions other than the reference concave portion increases as a distance from the reference concave portion in a length direction increases and so that a width of each of the concave portions other than the reference concave portion increases as a distance from the reference concave portion in a width direction increases. A mark identifying the reference concave portion is formed on the surface of the substrate. An insulating film is thermally fusion bonded to the surface of the substrate including the concave portions formed thereon. Heating resistors are formed on the insulating film using a photo mask by aligning the photo mask with the substrate in accordance with the reference concave portion to form the heating resistors so as to be opposed to the plurality of concave portions.

Manufacturing method for a thermal head

A thermal head has a support substrate including a concave portion formed in a front surface thereof. An upper substrate is bonded in a stacked state to the front surface of the support substrate and includes a convex portion formed within a region corresponding to the concave portion. A heating resistor is provided on a front surface of the upper substrate at a position straddling the convex portion. A pair of electrodes is provided on both sides of the heating resistor. At least one of the pair of electrodes has a thin portion and a thick portion. The thin portion is connected to the heating resistor at one of a side surface and a top surface of the convex portion in the region corresponding to the concave portion. The thick portion is connected to the heating resistor and is formed thicker than the thin portion.

A heat-sensitive adhesive label manufacturing device has a thermal head for heating and thermally activating the heat-sensitive adhesive layer of a heat-sensitive adhesive sheet, and a platen roller for conveying the heat-sensitive adhesive sheet between the platen roller and the thermal head to transport the heat-sensitive adhesive sheet in a transport direction. At least one discharge roller is disposed on a downstream side of the thermal activation section and is configured to undergo rotation at a peripheral speed different from a peripheral speed of the platen roller to convey the heat-sensitive adhesive sheet in the transport direction. A guide member is disposed opposite and spaced apart from the at least one discharge roller to provide a space therebetween along which the heat-sensitive adhesive sheet is conveyed by the at least one discharge roller without being sandwiched between the at least one discharge roller and the guide member.

Adhesive label manufacturing device and adhesive label manufacturing method

An adhesive label includes a pressure-sensitive adhesive agent layer formed on one surface of a support. A non-adhesive heat-reactive layer is positioned above the adhesive agent layer and in which openings are formed by heating at a predetermined temperature or higher. An intermediate layer is positioned between the heat-reactive layer and the adhesive agent layer. The intermediate layer and the heat-reactive layer are each formed thinner than the adhesive agent layer. The intermediate layer facilitates the formation of the openings in the heat-reactive layer with good heat energy efficiency and allows the intermediate layer or the adhesive agent layer to be exposed through the openings.

Adhesive label and apparatus for producing the same

A printer includes: a cutter unit for cutting a label sheet to obtain an adhesive label with a desired length by allowing the label sheet to pass through the cutter unit; an adhesive strength exhibiting unit for allowing the adhesive label to exhibit adhesive strength by heating the adhesive label; a sheet loosening unit placed on a downstream side of the cutter unit and an upstream side of the adhesive strength exhibiting unit in a sheet transporting direction; and a sheet-passage direction changing unit for changing the sheet-passage direction in the upstream sheet-passage part by changing a direction of the upstream sheet-passage part from a reference position at which a sheet-passage direction in the upstream sheet-passage part is placed on the same line as a sheet-passage direction in the downstream sheet-passage part to an inclined position at which the direction is inclined from the reference position.

Adhesive label issuing device and printer

A thermal head comprises a first substrate having a concave portion, a second substrate mounted on the first substrate and covering the concave portion to form with the first substrate a cavity portion, a heating resistor provided on a surface of the second substrate, and a pair of electrodes connected to the heating resistor for supplying power to the heating resistor. At least one of the pair of electrodes has a low thermal conductivity portion in a region opposed to the cavity portion. The low thermal conductivity portion is made of a material having a thermal conductivity lower than a thermal conductivity in other regions of the pair of electrodes and having an electrical resistance lower than an electrical resistance of the heating resistor.

Thermal head, thermal printer and manufacturing method for the thermal head

A printing apparatus includes a printing unit for performing printing by pressing a thermal head onto heat sensitive paper to heat the heat sensitive paper. A battery supplies a voltage to the thermal head, and a battery voltage detecting unit detects the voltage. A printing control unit changes, according to the detected voltage, a power-off time in which power supply from the battery to the thermal head is stopped. The printing control unit calculates the power-off time based on the detected voltage and the resistance of the thermal head and shortens the power-off time as the detected voltage becomes lower thereby shortening the overall printing time without shortening the life of the heating resistance elements of the thermal head.

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Chiba, Japan

Norimitsu Sanbongi