THERMAL PRINTER WITH DUAL TIME-CONSTANT HEAT SINK
First Claim
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1. A dual time-constant heat sink for a thermal printer, comprising:
- a print head heat sink, in contact with a print head of a thermal printer, the print head heat sink having a first thermal time constant;
an insulator in contact with the print head heat sink; and
a thermal reservoir, in contact with the insulator, the thermal reservoir having a second thermal time constant, the second time constant longer than the first thermal time constant.
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Abstract
The present application is directed to a dual time-constant heat sink for a thermal printer. The dual time-constant heat sink includes a print head heat sink, in contact with a print head of a thermal printer, the print head heat sink having a first time constant. The dual time-constant heat sink also includes an insulator in contact with the print head heat sink; and a thermal reservoir, in contact with the insulator, the thermal reservoir having a second time constant, the second time constant longer than the first time constant.
10 Citations
22 Claims
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1. A dual time-constant heat sink for a thermal printer, comprising:
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a print head heat sink, in contact with a print head of a thermal printer, the print head heat sink having a first thermal time constant; an insulator in contact with the print head heat sink; and a thermal reservoir, in contact with the insulator, the thermal reservoir having a second thermal time constant, the second time constant longer than the first thermal time constant. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method for controlling temperature of a print head of a thermal printer via a dual time-constant heat sink, comprising:
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preheating a print head of the thermal printer to a first predetermined temperature, the print head in contact with a print head heat sink having a first thermal time constant, the print head heat sink in contact with an insulator, and the insulator in contact with a thermal reservoir having a second thermal time constant longer than the first thermal time constant such that the print head heat sink reaches the first predetermined temperature before the thermal reservoir; printing a first image via the print head, the print head and print head heat sink reaching a second, higher temperature, the thermal reservoir at a temperature lower than the second temperature; and cooling, by the thermal reservoir, the print head and print head heat sink to a third temperature lower than the second temperature. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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Specification