Patent ID: 7579573

Claim:
A thermal activation method for thermally activating a heat-sensitive adhesive layer of a heat-sensitive adhesive sheet, the method comprising: providing a thermal head having a plurality of heating elements that can be selectively driven independently from one another during a driving operation to directly heat, and thereby activate, regions of a heat-sensitive adhesive layer of a heat-sensitive adhesive sheet while the heat-sensitive adhesive sheet is moved relative to the thermal head with the heating elements disposed in opposing relation to the respective regions of the heat-sensitive adhesive layer; selectively driving the heating elements of the thermal head in synchronization with movement of the heat-sensitive adhesive sheet relative to the thermal head to activate the regions of the heat-sensitive adhesive layer of the heat-sensitive adhesive sheet while temporarily stopping, at a preselected timing of the driving operation, the driving of a preselected one of the heating elements so that a correspondingly opposing preselected region of the heat-sensitive adhesive layer is not directly heated, and thereby not directly activated, by the preselected heating element; and activating the entire preselected region of the heat-sensitive adhesive layer with heat transmitted from surrounding directly heated regions of the heat-sensitive adhesive layer of the heat-sensitive adhesive sheet.