EP0113018A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Resistive ribbons for thermal transfer printing
Assignee: International Business Machines Corp
•
Filing: 1983-11-22
•
Granted: —
•
Expires: 2003-11-22
Abstract
Abstract A resistive ribbon for use in thermal transfer printing is described. The ribbon includes a resistive layer formed of a composition including a metal and a wide bandgap insulator. The ribbon may include a separate support layer. Electrical current through the resistive layer produces heat which locally melts the ink for transfer to an adjacent receiving medium. The wide bandgap insulator of the resistive layer must have a bandgap of at least three volts. Many different metals and insulators can be used, where the relative amounts of metal and insulator are chosen to provide a desired resistivity for any type of resistive ribbon printing application. Suitable metals are Ti, Ni, Cr, Mo, W, Cu, Au, Co, Sn, Al, Ta, Mg, and In, and suitable wide bandgap insulators are Al 2 O 3 , SiO, SiO 2 , TiO, TiO 2 , Mg, Cr 2 O 3 , Sn0 2 , AIN, Ta 2 0 5 , and Ge 3 N 4 .
Inventors
- 👤 Ari Aviram
- 👤 Kwang Kuo Shih
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-08 17:20
CPC Classifications
B; B41; B41M; B41M5/00; B41M5/26; B41M5/382; B41M5/3825; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S428/00; Y10S428/913; Y10S428/914
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 15
Claim 1
Independent Claim
77 words
A resistive ribbon for thermal transfer printing, comprising at least a fusible ink-bearing layer and a resistive layer such that electrical current through said resistive layer causes localized heating of said fusible ink, said ribbon being characterised in that said resistive layer includes a metal-insulator composition, said insulator has a bandgap of at least three volts and the relative amounts of said metal and said insulator in said resistive layer is chosen to provide a desired resistivity.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
77 words
A resistive ribbon for thermal transfer printing, comprising at least a fusible ink-bearing layer and a resistive layer such that electrical current through said resistive layer causes localized heating of said fusible ink, said ribbon being characterised in that said resistive layer includes a metal-insulator composition, said insulator has a bandgap of at least three volts and the relative amounts of said metal and said insulator in said resistive layer is chosen to provide a desired resistivity.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
80 words
A ribbon as claimed in claim 1, wherein said metal is_ selected from the group consisting of Ti, Ni, Cr, Mo, W, Cu, Au, Co, Sn, Al, Ta, Mg, and In, and said insulator is selected from the group consisting of Al 2 O 3 , SiO, SiO 2 , TiO, TiO 2 , MgO, Cr 2 O 3 , SnO 2 , In 2 O 3 , AlN, Ta 2 O 5 , and Ge 3 N 4 .
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
40 words
A ribbon as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein said resistive layer has a current-voltage characteristic exhibiting high and low resistance states and switching therebetween, said low resistance state exhibiting a holding voltage associated therewith which exceeds two volts.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
22 words
A ribbon as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein said resistive layer composition is an amorphous composition or a cermet.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
25 words
A ribbon as claimed in claim 1, 2, 3 or 4, wherein said resistive layer has a resistivity between about 100 ohm-cms. and 1000 ohm-cms.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
19 words
A ribbon as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5, further including a thin, highly conductive layer.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
22 words
A ribbon as claimed in claim 6, further including an insulator interface layer between said resistive layer and said highly conductive layer.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
28 words
8 . A ribbon as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5, further including a support layer located between said resistive layer and said ink-bearing layer.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
107 words
A transfer web or structure for thermal transfer printing in which heat is produced by current passing through a resistive layer to melt a fusible ink in an ink-bearing layer, said structure being characterised by including at least a resistive layer comprised of a composition including a metal and an insulator, said insulator having a wide bandgap at least as great as three volts and said metal being present in said composition to provide an electrical conductivity in said composition, the proportions of said metal and said insulator in said composition being chosen to yield a resistivity of said composition between about 100 ohm-cms. and 1000 ohm-cms.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
107 words
A transfer web or structure for thermal transfer printing in which heat is produced by current passing through a resistive layer to melt a fusible ink in an ink-bearing layer, said structure being characterised by including at least a resistive layer comprised of a composition including a metal and an insulator, said insulator having a wide bandgap at least as great as three volts and said metal being present in said composition to provide an electrical conductivity in said composition, the proportions of said metal and said insulator in said composition being chosen to yield a resistivity of said composition between about 100 ohm-cms. and 1000 ohm-cms.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
20 words
A structure as claimed in claim 9, wherein said resistive layer has a thickness between about 0.1 and 2 micrometers.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
78 words
A structure as claimed in claim 9 or 10, wherein said metal is selected from the group consisting of Ti, Ni, Cr, Mo, W, Cu, Au, Co, Sn, Al, Ta, Mg, and In, and said insulator is selected from the group consisting of A1203, S iO, SiO 2 , TiO, TiO 2 , MgO, Cr 2 O 3 , SnO 2 , In 2 O 3 , A1N, Ta 2 0 5 and Ge 3 N 4 .
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
38 words
A structure as claimed in claim 11, wherein said resistive layer has a current-voltage characteristic exhibiting high and low resistance states and switching therebetween, said low resistance state exhibiting a holding voltage associated therewith which exceeds two volts.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
25 words
A structure as claimed in claim 9, 10, 11 or 12, wherein the resistivity of said resistive layer is between 500 and about 2000 ohms/sq.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
Maintenance schedule is calculated for granted US utility patents.