Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Takakazu Kihira

Takahiro Yoshida

Yoshikazu Akiyama

Toshimichi Odaka

Takayuki Nakai

Osamu Machida

Naoya Kondo

Keiji Ueda

Masami Iwama

Yukio Otome

Akira Shimofuku

Kanshi Abe

Shiomi Andou

Tomoaki Murakami

Katsuya Ishii

Masahiro Itoh

Masaru Shinkai

Satoshi Mizukami

Ryuji Yoshida

Masahiro Yagi

Yukitoshi Tajima

Isamu Suzuki

Junichi Iwata

Ryoh Tashiro

Kouichi Nakano

A liquid discharge head includes a plurality of nozzles, a plurality of individual liquid chambers, a common supply channel, and a common collection channel. The plurality of nozzles discharges a liquid. The plurality of individual liquid chambers communicates with the plurality of nozzles, respectively. The common supply channel communicates with the plurality of individual liquid chambers. The common collection channel communicates with the plurality of individual liquid chambers. At least a part of at least one of the common supply channel and the common collection channel is disposed at a position overlapping with the plurality of individual liquid chambers when the plurality of individual liquid chambers is projected in a vertical direction.

Liquid discharge head, liquid discharge device, and liquid discharge apparatus

A liquid discharge head includes a nozzle plate in which a plurality of nozzles to discharge a liquid is formed in a nozzle array direction, a channel plate including partition walls to form a plurality of individual chambers communicating with the plurality of nozzles, respectively, a diaphragm bonded to the channel plate to form a wall of the plurality of individual chambers, and a plurality of electromechanical transducers bonded to the diaphragm to deform the diaphragm to generate a pressure in the plurality of individual chambers, and a cycle of vibration of natural vibration generated in the liquid in the plurality of individual chambers is equal to or larger than a cycle of a primary mode of lateral vibration of the plurality of electromechanical transducers in the nozzle array direction.

Liquid discharge head and liquid discharge apparatus

A liquid discharge head includes a plurality of nozzles to discharge a liquid, a plurality of individual chambers communicating with the plurality of nozzles, a plurality of discharge channels communicating with the plurality of individual chambers, a plurality of supply-side common chambers connected to the plurality of individual chambers, and a plurality of discharge-side common chambers connected to the plurality of discharge channels. The plurality of discharge-side common chamber has a same fluid resistance.

A liquid discharge head, includes a nozzle from which liquid is discharged, an individual chamber communicating with the nozzle, a supply channel communicating with the individual chamber, the liquid flowing through the supply channel in a first direction, and a filter disposed upstream of the supply channel, the liquid filtering through the filter in a second direction. The first direction intersects the second direction, and the supply channel includes an inlet disposed at a position overlapping the filter in the second direction.

Liquid discharge head including a filter and a supply channel, liquid discharge device, and liquid discharge apparatus

A liquid discharge head includes a plurality of nozzles from which liquid is discharged, a plurality of individual-liquid-chambers communicating with the plurality of nozzles, respectively, a plurality of individual-drainage-channels communicating with the plurality of individual-liquid-chambers, respectively, a drainage-side common-liquid-chamber communicating with each of the plurality of individual-drainage-channels, a filter having filter holes and disposed between the plurality of individual-drainage-channels and the drainage-side common-liquid-chamber, and an intermediate-drainage-channel disposed between the filter and the plurality of individual-drainage-channels. The intermediate-drainage-channel faces the filter and communicates with two or more of the plurality of individual-drainage-channels. A cross-sectional area of the intermediate-drainage-channel is greater than a cross-sectional area of each of the plurality of individual-drainage-channels communicating with the intermediate-drainage-channel in a direction perpendicular to a direction of liquid flow.

A liquid discharge apparatus includes a liquid discharge head and a head drive controller. The liquid discharge head includes an actuator including an electromechanical transducer element. The head drive controller controls the liquid discharge head. The head drive controller includes a drive waveform generator and a voltage updater. The drive waveform generator generates a drive waveform to be applied to the electromechanical transducer element. The voltage updater updates a voltage value of the drive waveform to a larger value with an elapse of time. The voltage updater sets a time interval of update of the voltage value to be longer as a number of times of the update is greater.

Liquid discharge apparatus, head drive control device, recording medium, and actuator drive control device

A liquid-discharging head includes a pressure-generating element configured to be actuated to apply pressure on liquid in a pressure chamber from which the liquid is discharged through a nozzle, an actuation controller configured to control actuation of the pressure-generating element, a heat-releasing member configured to contact the actuation controller, and a cover member configured to cover the actuation controller and part of the heat-releasing member. The heat-releasing member includes a first heat-releasing member and a second heat-releasing member. The first heat-releasing member is arranged outside the cover member and has a surface exposed to external air. The second heat-releasing member is arranged inside the cover member and has a first end portion to contact the actuation controller. The first heat-releasing member and the second heat-releasing member are arranged to contact each other.

Liquid-discharging head, liquid-discharging unit, and apparatus configured to discharge liquid

A liquid droplet discharging device includes a liquid droplet discharging head including a nozzle hole, a pressurized liquid chamber communicating with the nozzle hole, a vibration plate constituting a side of the pressurized liquid chamber, a control device, and a thin film piezoelectric substance to vibrate the vibration plate by a drive voltage to discharge liquid droplets and a voltage application device to apply a voltage waveform having a voltage equal to or greater than the drive voltage between when the main power is activated and when first print starts.

Image forming device and liquid droplet discharging device which apply a voltage prior to printing

A thin-film forming apparatus for forming a thin film on a substrate by using an ink-jet method includes an ink applying unit that applies an ink drop for thin-film formation to a predetermined area on a surface of the substrate; at least one laser light source for heating the ink drop thereby forming a thin film; and a laser-light irradiating unit that irradiates, with a laser light from the laser light source, a first spot positioned on a back side of the predetermined area of the substrate to which the ink drop has been applied.

Thin-film forming apparatus, thin-film forming method, piezoelectric-element forming method, droplet discharging head, and ink-jet recording apparatus

Disclosed is an electromechanical transducer element that includes an electromechanical transducer film formed of a complex oxide (PZT) including lead (Pb), zirconium (Zr), and titanium (Ti). The electromechanical transducer film is formed by laminating plural PZT thin films until a thickness of the formed electromechanical transducer film becomes a predetermined thickness. When an atomic weight ratio (Pb/(Zr+Ti)) of average Pb included in the formed electromechanical transducer film is denoted by Pb(avg) and an atomic weight ratio (Pb/(Zr+Ti)) of Pb in any one of laminate interfaces of the plural PZT thin films is denoted by Pb(interface), the Pb(avg) is greater than or equal to 100 atomic percentage (at %) and less than or equal to 110 atomic percentage (at %), and a fluctuation ratio &#x394;Pb=Pb(avg)&#x2212;Pb(interface) of Pb in the laminate interface is less than or equal to 20 percent.

Electromechanical transducer element, droplet discharge head, and droplet discharge device

A sol-gel liquid for use in forming an individualized electromechanical conversion film of an electromechanical conversion element by inkjet methods, including a lead zirconate titanate (PZT) or the PZT and other metal complex oxides; and an organic solvent having properties surrounded by A, B, C, D, E and F in triangular composition diagram of FIG., and having a viscosity of from 3 to 13 mPa&#xb7;s, a surface tension of 30&#xb1;5 mN/m and a dehydration rate of from 70 to 80% relative to pure water.

Sol-gel liquid, electromechanical conversion element, liquid discharge head and inkjet recorder

A method of producing an electromechanical transducer includes a first step of partially modifying a surface of a first electrode; a second step of applying a sol-gel liquid including a metal composite oxide to a predetermined area of the partially-modified surface of the first electrode; a third step of performing drying, thermal decomposition, and crystallization on the applied sol-gel liquid to form an electromechanical transduction film, wherein the drying includes a heat-treatment at 120&#xb0; C., the decomposition includes thermal decomposition performed at 500&#xb0; C., and the crystallization includes heat treatment for crystallization at 700&#xb0; C.; a fourth step of repeating the first, second, and third steps to obtain the electromechanical transduction film with a desired thickness; and a fifth step of forming a second electrode on the electromechanical transduction film.

Method for producing electromechanical transducer, electromechanical transducer produced by the method, liquid-droplet jetting head, and liquid-droplet jetting apparatus

An inkjet printer head includes a nozzle plate having nozzles for jetting ink; a flow path plate having flow paths for communicating with the nozzles, each of the flow paths including a pressure chamber and a resistance part having a smaller cross-sectional area than the pressure chamber, wherein piezoelectric elements having smaller horizontal areas than the flow paths are laminated on the flow path plate; and a common liquid chamber configured to guide the ink from an opening to the pressure chamber. The common liquid chamber is formed by a first member and a second member. The first member forms a top part of the common liquid chamber, and the second member forms a side surface and a bottom surface of a bottom part of the common liquid chamber by adhering to an outer wall of the first member and to an ink jetting surface of the nozzle plate.

Growing community of inventors

Ibaraki, Japan

Takakazu Kihira