EP0029313A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
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Thermal printing device
Assignee: Oki Electric Industry Co Ltd
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Filing: 1980-10-29
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2000-10-29
Abstract
Abstract A thermal printing device is disclosed which prints on ordinary paper using an ink which melts when heated but is solid at room temperature. The device comprises an ink-carrier with an even outer surface which rotates to carry an ink-layer formed on said surface from an ink-source to a printing position. A cylindrical roller with an uneven surface in directions parallel to the axis of the roller is in contact with the ink-carrier along spaced lines lying in planes normal to the axis of the roller with the ink-source between the ink-carrier and the cylindrical roller. The ink of ink-source is melted and adheres to the surface of the ink-carrier in an ink-layer as the ink-carrier rotates. Means are provided at the printing position for generating thermal patterns to re-melt the solid ink-layer by generating thermal patterns in accordance with printing signals. Printing paper is fed to the printing position where the paper is forced into contact with the ink-carrier so that ink patterns are transcribed onto the printing paper.
Inventors
- 👤 Yoshiro C/O Oki Electric Industry Co.Ltd Sekido
- 👤 Tutomu C/O Oki Electric Industry Co. Ltd Kurihara
- 👤 Munetada C/O Oki Electric Industry Co. Ltd Kazama
- 👤 Rokuro C/O Oki Electric Industry Co. Ltd Homma
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 11:10
CPC Classifications
B; B41; B41J; B41J31/00; B41J31/14; B41J31/16; B41J2/00; B41J2/315; B41J2/32; B41J2/325; B41J2/33
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 9
Claim 1
Independent Claim
223 words
A thermal printing device of the kind for printing on ordinary paper using an ink which melts when heated but which is solid at room temperatures, and comprising an ink-carrier having an outer surface for carrying an ink-layer on said surface from a source of ink to a printing position, a cylindrical roller in contact with said outer surface to form a location for said source of ink therebetween, means for melting the ink in the source of ink, means for moving the ink-carrier so that the melted ink forms an ink-layer on the ink-carrier, thermal pattern generating means at said printing position for remelting a solid ink-layer on the surface of the ink-carrier by generating thermal patterns in accordance with printing signals fed thereto, and printing paper control means for controlling the feeding of printing paper and for forcing the printing paper into contact with the ink-carrier so that ink patterns produced by the thermal pattern generating means are transcribed onto the printing paper, characterised in that the outer surface of the ink-carrier (34,100) is even, that the cylindrical roller (46) has an uneven outer surface (48) in directions parallel to the axis of the roller and in that said uneven outer surface (48) contacts the outer surface of the ink-carrier (34,100) along lines spaced apart across the width of the roller.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
223 words
A thermal printing device of the kind for printing on ordinary paper using an ink which melts when heated but which is solid at room temperatures, and comprising an ink-carrier having an outer surface for carrying an ink-layer on said surface from a source of ink to a printing position, a cylindrical roller in contact with said outer surface to form a location for said source of ink therebetween, means for melting the ink in the source of ink, means for moving the ink-carrier so that the melted ink forms an ink-layer on the ink-carrier, thermal pattern generating means at said printing position for remelting a solid ink-layer on the surface of the ink-carrier by generating thermal patterns in accordance with printing signals fed thereto, and printing paper control means for controlling the feeding of printing paper and for forcing the printing paper into contact with the ink-carrier so that ink patterns produced by the thermal pattern generating means are transcribed onto the printing paper, characterised in that the outer surface of the ink-carrier (34,100) is even, that the cylindrical roller (46) has an uneven outer surface (48) in directions parallel to the axis of the roller and in that said uneven outer surface (48) contacts the outer surface of the ink-carrier (34,100) along lines spaced apart across the width of the roller.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
53 words
A thermal printing device according to claim 1 characterised in that said cylindrical roller (46) comprises a cylindrical body (92) and an electric resistance wire (50) which is provided inside said cylindrical body for melting the ink of the ink source on the application of an electric voltage to said electric resistance wire.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
42 words
A thermal printing device according to claim 1 or claim 2 characterised in that said cylindrical roller (46) comprises a cylindrical body (92) and wires (48) which are closely wound around the surface of said cylindrical body to form said uneven surface.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
61 words
A thermal printing device according to claim 1 characterised in that said cylindrical roller comprises a cylindrical body (92) and an electric resistance wire which is closely wound around the surface of said cylindrical body for melting the ink of the ink source on the application of an electric voltage to said electric resistance wire and to form said uneven surface.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
29 words
A thermal printing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 characterised in that said ink-carrier (34) is formed by a cylindrical roller of an elastic material.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
29 words
A thermal printing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that said ink-carrier (100) is formed by an endless belt of an elastic material.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
38 words
A thermal printing device according to any one of claims 1 to 5 characterised in that said thermal pattern generating means (60) comprise a set of electric resistance elements which generate heat on application of an electric voltage.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
30 words
A thermal printing device according to any one of claims 1 to 5 characterised in that said heat pattern generating means (66) comprise a source of heat rays (112, 140).
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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