Patent ID: 6485129
Filing Date: 2002-11-26
Classification: B41J

Abstract:
A thermal line head comprising:an electrically-insulated base member; plural sets of at least two electric resistance elements formed on a surface of said base member and aligned with each other, said at least two electric resistance elements in each set having substantially identical resistance values; and a driver circuit that selectively and electrically energizes said at least two electric resistance elements in each set in accordance with an associated digital image-pixel signal and an associated digital gradation-signal, wherein, when said digital image-pixel signal has a value â€œ0â€ , none of said at least two electric resistance elements in a corresponding set are electrically energized, and, when said digital image-pixel signal has a value â€œ1â€ , the selective and electrical energization of said at least two electric resistance elements in said corresponding set are performed in accordance with values of said digital gradation-signal, whereby a total thermal energy output of each of said plural sets of at least two electric resistance elements is stepwisely adjustable.