Abstract: A wide-spanning thermal head used in a printer comprises a plurality of radiator metal plates attached to a metal support plate and a plurality of head substrates formed from ceramics or the like, one each attached on top of each radiator plate. A construction in which the end faces of the head substrates are made to abut against each other requires highly precise work and involves technical difficulty. Any variation in the gap between the end faces will result in the occurrence of a white streak degrading the print quality. To avoid this, the invention provides a construction in which the radiator plates are attached to the support plate with a gap provided between the radiator plates in such a manner that the ends of the head substrate on each radiator plate protrude beyond the corresponding ends of the radiator plate by a protruding amount d.

Abstract: When the rear side of a heat resistant substrate having heating elements formed on the front side and a cooling board are adhered with an adhesive, the heat is accumulated in the substrate. To prevent this, the portions corresponding to the heating elements on the rear side are not adhered, but are protected with cooling compound, or adhesives are applied to both sides of the cooling compound, as it is known in prior parts, but they may cause uneven heat release from the substrate to the cooling board, or sacrifice the tacky action due to wetting of the adhesive with the cooling compound. In this invention, cooling compound or cooling adhesive is spread on the rear surface corresponding to the heating elements on the substrate, and an adhesive is applied to the parts separate from that area with grooves, thereby affixing the substrate and cooling member.

Abstract: By dividing plural heating elements of a thermal head into plural blocks, when heating and driving by connecting drive circuit elements to the blocks, print data and control signals are fed to the drive circuit elements either parallel or in series to the drive circuit elements. In this case it is sometimes difficult to form fine circuit wirings on the insulating substrate, or buffers are needed for amplifying the signals when sequentially transferring print data among drive circuit elements. Therefore, a flexible wiring substrate is disposed near the drive circuit elements on the insulating substrate, and plural signal lines over the arranging range of the drive circuit elements, and connection lines for supplying signals to the drive circuit elements from the signal lines are formed on the wiring substrate. On the insulating substrate, connection lines of flexible wiring substrate and connection lines for connecting with the drive circuit elements are formed.

Abstract: When the support member and cooling member of the thermal head are made of aluminum, and the head substrate is made of ceramic, the difference in the coefficient of thermal expansion of the two is very large, and the aluminum is expanded in use, and the gap to the adjacent head substrate is increased to cause white stripes. In the invention, the materials are properly selected so that the coefficient of thermal expansion of the support member and cooling member and the coefficient of thermal expansion of the head substrate may be close to each other, and the head substrate is adhered to the cooling plate with a soft adhesive. Therefore, if a difference is caused in the amount of expansion between the head substrate and the cooling plate during use, it is suppressed to such an extent as to be absorbed by the elastic deformation of the soft adhesive.

Abstract: The invention provide a thermal head wherein a head substrate composed by disposing plural heating resistance elements on a support board, and a flexible wiring substrate for connecting the heating resistance elements and an external circuit are adhered together by using a soft adhesive with the shear adhesion strength of 25 kg/cm.sup.2 or less.

Abstract: The drive circuit elements mounted on a heat resistant substrate for composing a thermal head were covered with a protective layer made of epoxy resin in the prior art. This epoxy resin is greatly different from the heat resistant substrate in the coefficient of linear expansion and is relatively high in Young's modulus, and therefore due to rise or fall of temperature in the manufacturing process, the shrinkage of the protective layer is greater than the shrinkage of the heat resistant substrate, and hence the heat resistant substrate is warped. Such warp may be eliminated by selecting a resin having a coefficient of linear expansion almost same as the coefficient of linear expansion of the heat resistant substrate as the material for the protective layer.

Abstract: To the common electrode of the thermal head, the power source for heating and driving is connected to one end or both ends in the longitudinal direction of the common electrode. In this common electrode, as going from the connecting position of the power source for heating and driving, a voltage drop occurs, and the heat generation by the heating elements commonly connected to the common electrodes becomes uneven. Such uneven heat generation may lead to uneven contrast or defective coloring in the thermosensitive printing. The invention employs a conductive member which extends nearly over the entire length of the common electrode, and contacts with the common electrode over the entire length or at plural positions. As such conductive member, a metal foil or the like is used, and by inhibiting the occurrence of voltage drop, thermosensitive printing of high quality is realized.

Abstract: A process for producing bread includes the steps of adding a glutathione decomposing enzyme to the ingredients of dough and thereafter mixing, dividing, molding, proofing and baking. The glutathione decomposing enzyme is admixed with the dough in an amount of 0.5 to 20 units per kg of wheat flour in the dough. Preferably, the glutathione decomposing enzyme is gamma-glutamyl transferase.

Abstract: Disclosed are a bread or other cereal-based food improver composition containing phospholipase A as the effective ingredient said phospholipase A being substantially free of lipase and protease.