Yoshihiro Sugano

Effects of Anisotropic Sub-layer on Heat Conduction Control in a Thermal Print Head

In order to develop a high-speed and high-resolution thermal printer, it is required to improve a heat conduction in a thermal head which leads to a uniform temperature. On the other hand, a moderate heat insulation might make thermal printers more energy-saving. Thermally anisotropic materials seem to be promising for these purposes. It can flatten the temperature distribution in a desired direction while preventing heat flow to the other direction. In this study the feasibility of the anisotropic sub-layer substrate is examined both experimentally and computationally. Carbon fiber composites are used to make thermal heads and the distribution of temperature is evaluated. The result shows that a control of the heat conduction in a desired direction is possible. To improve the controllability of heat conduction, the neural network is applied to seek the optimum composition of heat conductance.