JPH02116557A - Thermal printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable wear characteristics of a thermal head to be evaluated by a method wherein a wear characteristic evaluation test of the thermal head is performed by varying optionally respective parameters such as contact pressure of the thermal head with an ink ribbon or paper, feed velocity of the ink ribbon or the paper, size of the paper, and surface temperature of the thermal head. CONSTITUTION:Paper 4 is advanced from a paper feeder 4a to a paper winder 4b, and an ink ribbon 3 is advanced from an ink ribbon feeder 3a in a direction of an ink ribbon winder 3b. Axles of the paper feeder 4a and the paper winder 4b and an axle of a platen 2 are driven with a same motor, and synchronized paper feed speed is obtained. The thermal head 1 is pressed onto the platen 2 via a spring 7, a load detector 6, and a fitting plate 5 with a pressure 8, and this pressing force is detected with the load detector 6. A depth of wear of the thermal head 1 is detected with a displacement detector 9, feed speed of the paper 4 is detected with a speed detector 10, and temperature of a surface 1b of the thermal head 1 is detected with a temperature detector 11. Further, since size of the paper can be varied, size of the thermal head 1 can be also varied.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention is directed to a thermal head IIF! The present invention relates to a thermal printer whose wear characteristics can be evaluated.

``Conventional technology J Printers that use thermal heads include fused heat transfer type,
There are types such as thermal type and sublimation type. In fused thermal transfer type printers, as shown in Figure 3, an ink ribbon 3 and paper 4 are inserted between a thermal head 1 and a platen 2, and the ink ribbon 3 and paper 4 are inserted in direct contact with the thermal head 1. The ink ribbon 3 moves, and in a thermal printer, the ink ribbon 3 shown in FIG. For this reason, the surface of the thermal head 1 gradually wears out due to contact with the ink ribbon 3 or paper 4, eventually leading to destruction. Therefore, in thermal printers, evaluation of the wear resistance properties of the thermal head is extremely important.

In the following explanation, a fused thermal transfer printer will be explained, and a thermal printer will be explained using an ink ribbon, paper, an ink ribbon, or paper.

The explanation thereof will be omitted by replacing it with thermal paper.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

By the way, the following four factors cause wear in the thermal head.
It is one.

■Surface roughness of the ink ribbon or paper that comes into contact with the thermal head.

■Contact pressure between the thermal head and the ink ribbon or paper.

■Relative speed between the thermal head and the ink ribbon or paper.

■Heat generated by friction between the thermal head and the ink ribbon or paper, and heat generated by heating the thermal head with electricity.

Therefore, when performing an abrasion resistance evaluation test on a thermal printer, it is necessary to vary the following parameters: the contact pressure between the thermal head and the ink ribbon or paper, the feeding speed of the ink ribbon or paper, the size of the paper, and the surface temperature of the thermal head. It is necessary.

However, currently, printers are used to evaluate the abrasion resistance properties of thermal heads, and there is no specialized evaluation equipment, so each of the above parameters is fixed and it is not possible to vary the test parameters.

Furthermore, since there is no detector to measure various data that may be a factor in wear, it has not been possible to obtain this data.

This invention was made in order to solve the above problems, and it is possible to arbitrarily change each parameter listed in "0", and also to detect the various data mentioned above, and to integrate various wear factors of the thermal head. The objective is to obtain a device that can evaluate wear resistance properties.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to achieve the above object, the heat-sensitive thermal printer according to the present invention includes a presser that sets a pressure for pressing the thermal head against the thermal paper, a load detector that detects the pressure for this pressing, and a load detector that detects the pressure for pressing the thermal head against the thermal paper. A displacement detector for detecting wear, a speed detector for detecting the feeding speed of the thermal paper, and a temperature detector for detecting the surface temperature of the thermal head are provided, The width is made variable, the variable pressing pressure by the pressing device is detected by the load detector, the variable thermal paper feeding speed by the thermal paper feeder and the winder is detected by the speed detector, The amount of wear of the thermal head is detected by the displacement detector, and the surface temperature of the thermal head is detected by the temperature detector, thereby evaluating the wear resistance characteristics by integrating various wear factors of the thermal head. Specifically, the width of the thermal paper, the surface roughness of the thermal paper, the contact pressure between the thermal head and the thermal paper, the relative speed between the thermal head and the thermal paper, and the surface temperature of the thermal head. By arbitrarily combining each parameter, various wear factors of the thermal head are comprehensively evaluated to evaluate the wear resistance characteristics.

Further, the fused heat transfer thermal printer according to the present invention includes a presser that sets a pressure for pressing the thermal head against paper, a load detector that detects the pressure for this pressing, and a displacement detector that detects wear of the thermal head. a speed detector for detecting the feeding speed of the paper, and a temperature detector for detecting the surface temperature of the thermal head, so that the width of the paper feeder and the winder can be varied; The load detector detects variable pressing pressure by the pressing device, the variable paper feeding speed by the paper feeder and winder is detected by the speed detector, and the amount of wear of the thermal head is detected by the displacement detection. By detecting the surface temperature of the thermal head with the temperature detector, various wear factors of the thermal head are comprehensively evaluated to evaluate the wear resistance characteristics. , the surface roughness of the ink ribbon or the paper, the contact pressure between the thermal head and the ink ribbon or the paper, the relative speed between the thermal head and the ink ribbon or the paper, and the surface temperature of the thermal head. By arbitrarily combining the various wear factors of the thermal head, the wear resistance characteristics are evaluated.

[Embodiment] Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described based on FIGS. 1 and 2.

In Fig. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a thermal head to be tested, and its back surface 1a is in contact with plate 5, and this installation is carried out on plate 5.
The plate 5 is mounted on the presser 8 via the load detector 6 and the spring 7 to press the thermal head 1 toward the platen 2. An ink ribbon 3 and a paper 4 are inserted between the ink ribbon 3 and the paper 4, and the paper 4 is in direct contact with the surface of the platen 2, and the ink ribbon 3 is placed on top of it. Feeder 3a
, an ink ribbon winder 3b and a paper feeder 4a+paper winder 4b to move together with the rotating surface of the platen 2. Further, a displacement detector 9 is provided on the side of the thermal head 1 in the perpendicular direction, and a speed detector 1o is provided on the side in the direction of movement of the paper 4. Furthermore, a temperature detector 11 such as a thermistor is provided on the surface 1b of the thermal head 1.

FIG. 2 shows an enlarged view of the paper feeder 4a and paper winder 4b shown in FIG. 1, and the flange portion 13 moves in the axial direction with respect to the paper feed or paper winding shaft 12 to change the size of the paper. It looks like this.

[Function] Next, to explain the function, in FIG. 1, the paper 4 advances from the paper feeder 4a to the paper take-up device 4b, and the ink ribbon 3 moves from the ink ribbon feeder 3a to the ink ribbon take-up device 3b. Go in the direction. Paper feeder 4a, paper winder 4b shaft and platen 2
The two shafts are driven by the same motor (not shown) to obtain synchronized paper feeding speeds. On the other hand, since the ink ribbon 3 sticks to the paper 4 during the molten heat transfer, its feeding speed is the same as that of the paper 4, and a clutch (not shown) is used on the shaft of the ink ribbon winder 3b to maintain appropriate tension on the ink ribbon 3. give. The thermal head 1 is pressed by the presser 8.
Spring 7. The load detector 6 and its mounting are pressed against the platen 2 via the plate 5. At this time, the pressure of this pressing is detected by the load detector 6, the amount of wear of the thermal head 1 is detected by the displacement detector 9, the feeding speed of the paper 4 is detected by the speed detector 10, and the pressure to the thermal head 1 is detected by the displacement detector 9.
The temperature of the surface 1b is detected by a temperature detector 11. Furthermore, since the paper size can be changed as described above, the size of the thermal head 1 can also be changed.

Incidentally, in the above embodiment, a fused heat transfer type thermal printer was explained, but of course, the ink ribbon 3. The ink ribbon feeder 3a and the ink ribbon winder 3b are not provided,
By using thermal paper as the paper 4, it can also be applied to a thermal printer.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, in the present invention, a thermal head abrasion resistance evaluation test is performed based on the contact pressure between the thermal head and the ink ribbon or paper, the feeding speed of the ink ribbon or paper, the size of the paper, and the thermal head. The test can be performed by changing the surface temperature parameters arbitrarily, and various data that are factors of wear can be measured, making it possible to conduct accurate wear-resistance characteristic evaluation tests of thermal heads, which is effective in guaranteeing the quality of thermal heads. It has the advantage of being

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a schematic side view showing an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is an enlarged front view of the ink ribbon feeder and ink ribbon take-up shown in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a thermal diagram of the meltable thermal transfer printer. Head, ink ribbon. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the relationship between paper and a platen. 1 ・ b 3 ・ a b 4 ・ b 8 ・ 10 ・ Do 1a...Back side, thermal head, front side, ink ribbon, ink ribbon bong feeder, ink ribbon winder, paper 4a...paper feeder, paper winder Device 6...Load detector/pushing device
9...Displacement detector/speed detector 11...Temperature detector/platen 2 ・ ・

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A thermal head, a platen provided at opposing positions on the front side of the thermal head, a thermal paper inserted between the platen and the thermal head, a feeder for the thermal paper, and A thermal printer having a take-up device, a pressing device that sets the pressing pressure of the thermal head against the thermal paper, a load detector that detects this pressing pressure, and a displacement detector that detects wear of the thermal head. and,
A speed detector for detecting the feed speed of the thermal paper and a temperature detector for detecting the surface temperature of the thermal head are provided, the widths of the feeder and winder of the thermal paper can be varied, and the pressing The load detector detects the variable pressing pressure by the thermal paper feeder and the winder, the speed detector detects the variable thermal paper feeding speed by the thermal paper feeder and the winder, and the amount of wear of the thermal head is measured by the displacement. A thermal printer characterized in that the wear resistance characteristics of the thermal head are evaluated by integrating various wear factors of the thermal head by detecting the surface temperature of the thermal head with the temperature detector. 2. A thermal head, a platen provided at opposing positions on the front side of the thermal head, an ink ribbon and paper inserted between the platen and the thermal head, and a feeder and a winder for the ink ribbon. , a thermal printer having the paper feeder and the paper winder,
a presser for setting the pressing pressure of the thermal head against the paper; a load detector for detecting this pressing pressure; a displacement detector for detecting wear of the thermal head; and a speed for detecting the feeding speed of the paper. A detector and a temperature detector for detecting the surface temperature of the thermal head are provided, the widths of the paper feeder and the winder can be varied, and the variable pressing pressure by the pressing device is applied to the load detector. , the variable paper feeding speed by the paper feeder and winder is detected by the speed detector, the amount of wear of the thermal head is detected by the displacement detector, and the surface temperature of the thermal head is detected by the speed detector. A thermal printer characterized in that the abrasion resistance characteristics of the thermal head are evaluated by integrating various abrasion factors of the thermal head by detecting the temperature with the temperature detector. 3. By arbitrarily combining the following parameters: the width of the thermal paper, the surface roughness of the thermal paper, the contact pressure between the thermal head and the thermal paper, the relative speed between the thermal head and the thermal paper, and the surface temperature of the thermal head, the thermal 2. The thermal printer according to claim 1, wherein the wear resistance characteristics are evaluated by integrating various wear factors of the head. 4. Width of the paper, surface roughness of the ink ribbon or paper, contact pressure between the thermal head and the ink ribbon or paper, relative speed between the thermal head and the ink ribbon or paper,
3. The thermal printer according to claim 2, wherein the wear resistance characteristics are evaluated by integrating various wear factors of the thermal head by arbitrarily combining various parameters of the surface temperature of the thermal head.