Abstract
We have investigated the optimum design in mechanism and the cooling method that influence the recording and erasing characteristics of continuous tone rewritable medium, suitable for digital signage system. We made clear, that the mechanical parameter dominant for optical density is limited to the nip pressure, and showed the conditions to obtain a nip pressure enough to erase records, including the shape of heat element of thermal head, nip width, nip points, etc. Then we showed that the mechanical parameters, such as a diameter and length of platen rollers and rubber hardness can be obtained by a 3-dimensional contact analysis method, and that the parameters to design thermal head pressing mechanism can be fixed by a simulation method. We also showed that the cooling characteristic (heat radiation characteristic) is efficiently improved by a cooling method using a heat pipe, connected to the body mechanism.
