Thermal recording head

Claim 1

A thermal recording head for a printer for thermally recording characters on a heat-sensitive recording medium, comprising: a heatsink with a connector attached thereto, the connector containing a plurality of signal lines; a substrate provided on the heatsink; driving means provided on the substrate, the driving means being connected to the connector by one connection for each of the plurality of signal lines, the driving means generating a pulsed electric current and outputting the pulsed electric current at a collector electrode; a heat-resistant resin layer provided on the substrate a distance from the collector electrode, the heat-resistant resin layer having a surface facing opposite the substrate defining an elevated area: an inorganic thermal insulation layer made from a material with a linear thermal expansion coefficient of less than 5×10 -6 °/C. from 20° to 300 ° C., the inorganic thermal insulation layer covering at least the elevated area of the heat-resistant resin layer and the distance to the collector electrode, a combined thickness of the heat-resistant resin layer and the inorganic thermal insulation layer being thicker at the elevated area than at the collector electrode; a thin-film resistor layer provided to the inorganic insulation layer, the thin-film resistor layer being a thin-film layer that is 500 to 1,000 Å thick and made from a material selected from a group consisting of a Cr--Si--SiO alloy and a Ta--Si--SiO alloy, the thin-film resistor layer having a heating portion substantially at the elevated area, the thin-film resistor layer being in direct contact with the collector electrode, the thin-film resistor layer being energized by the pulsed electric current, the heating portion heating in pulses according to the pulsed electric current; a first conductor layer provided to the thin-film resistor layer except at the heating portion, the first conductor layer serving as a conductor for supplying the pulsed electric current to the thin-film resistor layer; and an anti-abrasion layer provided 1 μm or less thick to the heating portion for forming direct abutment contact with the heat-sensitive recording medium and transmitting the pulsed heat from the heating portion thereto for forming an image thereon.