Alps Electric Co., Ltd.

Tomoko Wauke

Hirotoshi Terao

Tsuneyuki Sasaki

Hisashi Hoshino

Eihin Setsu

Mikio Onodera

Heishiro Fudo

Yukiko Yasuda

Shinji Okawara

Susumu Nakajima

Junichi Sato

Kazuma Kobashi

Eiji Okada

A heater for a fixing device heats an object to be heated, the object traveling in a first direction. The heater includes a substrate facing the object and extending in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction; a heating body extending on the substrate in the second direction; a first conductor and a second conductor disposed on the substrate to supply power to the heating body; a plurality of first electrodes each connected to the first conductor and configured to supply power to the heating body; and a plurality of second electrodes having a polarity different from that of the first electrodes, each connected to the second conductor, and configured to supply power to the heating body. The first electrodes and the second electrodes are configured to intersect the heating body, alternately arranged in the second direction, and inclined with respect to the first direction.

Heater for fixing device

A heater for fixing devices includes a glass substrate, a heating element, electrode patterns connected to the heating element, a first protective layer, and a second protective layer. The glass substrate is made of an alkali-free glass. The first protective layer is formed by firing a mixture of a first glass powder and a first filler. The first glass powder contains no alkali metal oxide and has a lower softening point than the glass substrate. The first filler has a lower thermal expansion coefficient than the alkali-free glass for the glass substrate. The second protective layer is made of a material that does not contain the first filler contained in the first protective layer.

A thermal head includes a substrate; a plurality of driver ICs configured to be arranged in a main scanning direction; a heater element configured to include a heat storage layer, a heating resistor layer which is made of a plurality of pairs of effective heating portions, and an electrode layer which is patterned to supply electricity to the heating resistor layer; and a protective layer configured to cover a surface of the heater element, wherein the folded electrode is formed by adjusting an area thereof such that a heat distribution of each heating resistor becomes uniform. In such a thermal head, the number of manufacturing processes or the cost does not increase and a heat distribution becomes uniform, so that a good printing result having good a degree of gloss and image can be obtained.

Thermal head

A heat-dissipating member includes a heat-dissipating section which is plate-shaped and which is attachable to a heat source directly or indirectly and also includes a plurality of heat-dissipating projections extending from the heat-dissipating section. The heat-dissipating projections are formed by louvering the heat-dissipating section so as to have predetermined heights. The heat-dissipating projections are arranged in increasing order of height in the direction from one end of the heat-dissipating section to an end of the heat-dissipating section that is opposed to the one end. A thermal head includes a plurality of heating elements arranged thereon and a head mount attached to the above heat-dissipating member directly or indirectly.

Heat-dissipating member and thermal head attached to heat-dissipating member

A printer having a thermal head disposed such that when heater elements are in contact with a platen, the following formulas are satisfied: H&#x2266;H&#x2266;H; H=(H+H)=L tan(&#x3b8;); and &#x3b8;'=(&#x3b8;)=(3&#xb0;&#xb1;1&#xb0;). Length L is between a first line perpendicular to a top-substrate-surface and extending through a contact point between the heater elements and the platen, and a second line perpendicular to the top-substrate-surface and extending through a peak of a sealing member; height H is from the top-substrate-surface to the peak; height His from the top-substrate-surface to a tangent between the platen and the heater elements; height His from the tangent to a conveying path of a recording medium; angle &#x3b8;is between the tangent and the top-substrate-surface; &#x3b8;denotes a slope angle of a projection from the tangent; angle &#x3b8;is between the tangent and the conveying path; and &#x3b8;&#x2032; denotes a head-returning angle.

Printer having compact thermal head

In order to reduce creases of an ink film so as to offer excellent printing quality, a thermal head for use in a thermal-transfer printer includes a heat-insulating layer; a first projection serving as a part of the heat-insulating layer; a heating element formed on the first projection; common and individual electrodes connected to the heating element; a driver IC connected to these two electrodes; a sealing member sealing the driver IC; and a second projection protruding upstream, with respect to the transport route of the ink film, of the center of a section where the heating element comes into contact with a platen, so as to lie beyond a line connecting the apexes of the first projection and the sealing member.

Growing community of inventors

Fukushima-ken, Japan

Tomoko Wauke