Seiko Epson Corporation

Other

Tomoaki Abe

Minoru Usui

Haruo Nakamura

Kohei Kitahara

Haruhiko Koto

Yozo Shimada

Satoru Hosono

Toshiki Usui

Takahiro Katakura

Hisashi Miyazawa

Takahiro Naka

Shinri Sakai

Shinji Yasukawa

Osamu Nakamura

Takashi Nakamura

Yuji Tanaka

Koichi Toba

Takayuki Ishii

Hideaki Sonehara

Keiichi Mukaiyama

Koji Watanabe

Naomi Shirakawa

Fujio Akahane

Shuji Yonekubo

Yoshio Miyazawa

Takeo Seino

Tsuyoshi Kitahara

Masahiko Yoshida

Kazuhiko Hara

Kazunaga Suzuki

Kazuo Koshino

Motonori Okumura

Yoshikatsu Yamamoto

Shoichi Hiraide

Mitsunori Takao

Katsuya Maeda

Shigeru Kamio

Mitsuo Hara

Yasushi Kishida

A drop-on-demand ink-jet printing head provided with an array of a plurality of piezoelectric elements arranged at regular intervals and fixed at their one ends to a base, the other ends of the respective piezoelectric elements being free ends which are disposed in opposition to nozzle respective apertures, the piezoelectric elements being formed by cutting, at predetermined width, a piezoelectric plate obtained by firing a lamination of paste-like piezoelectric material conductive material stacked alternately in layers. Since each piezoelectric element is composed of a thin piezoelectric plate interposed between electrodes, if a voltage of only about 30 V, which is sufficient to drive the thin piezoelectric plate, is applied across the electrodes, it is possible to largely flex the whole of the piezoelectric element. By this transformation, ink between the top end of the piezoelectric element and the nozzle aperture is discharged to the outside as an ink drop. Because the driving voltage required for forming an ink drop is as low as possible, it is possible to simplify a driving circuit, and because of cutting a piezoelectric plate, it is possible to form small-sized piezoelectric elements with the same accuracy as in a process of producing a semiconductor.

Drop-on-demand ink-jet printing head

Actuator units independently dedicated to nozzles divided into a plurality of groups are fixed to a common flow path unit having the nozzles formed therein with through holes aligned with one another. Heads of various types can be formed by using the actuator units of the same design only by changing the mode of arrangement of the nozzles in accordance with the purpose.

Laminated ink jet recording head

Actuator independently dedicated to nozzles divided into a plurality of groups are fixed to a common flow path unit having the nozzles formed therein with through holes aligned with one another. Heads of various types can be formed by using the actuator units of the same design only by changing the mode of arrangement of the nozzles in accordance with the purpose.

Laminated ink jet recording head having a plurality of actuator units

An ink jet print head having a vibrating plate, a chamber element with plural ink pressure chambers, piezoelectric vibrating elements for vibrating the vibrating plate to expand and contract the ink pressure chambers, drive electrodes contacting one surface of each vibrating element, and a common electrode contacting another surface of each vibrating element, wherein the common electrode is connected to a lead electrode at a region remote from the vibrating elements and the drive electrodes. Also, an ink jet print head in which a central portion of a piezoelectric vibrating element is thicker than its peripheral portion, so that a vibrating plate is bent towards an interior of an ink pressure chamber in an inoperative condition of the piezoelectric vibrating element.

Ink jet print head with plural electrodes

In an ink jet recording head, after a plate-shaped piezoelectric element is positioned and fixed onto a fixing plate, the piezoelectric element is sliced into a large number of vibrators and the leading ends of the vibrators are embracingly held in positioning holes,respectively formed in a top surface of a holding frame and are thus positioned in the surface direction thereof. Further, a cavity unit is positioned and fixed on the top surface of the holding frame.

Ink jet recording head with mechanism for positioning head components

To prevent fluctuations in the quantity of ink of an ink droplet that are brought about by drive frequency due to the natural vibration of common ink chambers, a relationship between the maximum drive frequency F of a laminated ink jet recording head and the natural vibration cycle T of common ink chambers that supply ink to a pressure producing chamber is set so that F/n&lt;15/16.times.T, or 17/16.times.T&lt;F/n, where n=1, 2, 3, . . . , 8. Ink droplets jetted out thus avoid a period in which the ink in the common ink chambers is flowing toward an ink introducing port with a high rate of flow.

Laminated ink jet recording head resolving residual vibration problems

A method of manufacturing an inkjet recording head including drive electrodes arrayed at fixed pitches on the surface of an elastic plate, a common lead-out electrode lead from a common electrode formed on the surface of the elastic plate, the common lead-out electrode being arrayed extending in the direction of the arrays of the drive electrodes, while being spaced a fixed distance from the drive electrodes, the ends of the common lead-out electrode being connected to external, and piezoelectric vibration plates of which the reverse sides are in contact with the drive electrodes, and to the first ends are continuous, covering the common lead-out electrode. No disconnection is formed in the area of the piezoelectric vibration plates where the two groups of the piezoelectric vibration plates face, thereby ensuring a reliable bonding of the piezoelectric vibration plates and the elastic plate.

Manufacturing method for an ink jet recording head

A recess is formed in a surface confronting an actuator unit of an ink supply inlet forming substrate. When a flow path unit and the actuator unit are bonded together using a fusible film, thermally expanded air is released into the recess to thereby reduce pressure. Further, by arranging the recess at a position confronting a pressure generating chamber, an air layer formed by the recess is allowed to function as a vibration shielding member.

Laminated ink jet recording head having flow path unit with recess that

An ink jet recording head including a vibrating plate made of ceramic, a pressure producing chamber forming member, made of ceramic, for forming a plurality of pressure producing chambers in rows, and drive electrodes formed on a surface of the vibrating plate so as to confront the pressure producing chambers. A width W2 of each drive electrode is smaller than a width W1 of each pressure producing chamber. A width W3 of a piezoelectric vibrating element is larger than the width W2 of each drive electrode and smaller than the width W1 of each pressure producing chamber, so that an operation region of the piezoelectric vibrating element is regulated by the width W2 of the drive electrode, and peripheral portions of the piezoelectric vibrating element are reliably bonded to peripheral portions of the drive electrode.

Method of manufacturing an ink jet recording head

An ink jet recording head includes drive electrodes arrayed at fixed pitches on the surface of an elastic plate, a common lead-out electrode led from a common electrode formed on the surface of the elastic plate, the common lead-out electrode being arrayed extending in the direction of the arrays of the drive electrodes, while being spaced a fixed distance from the drive electrodes, the ends of the common lead-out electrode being connected to external, and piezoelectric vibration plates of which the reverse sides are in contact with the drive electrodes, and the first ends are continuous covering the common lead-out electrode. No disconnection is formed in the area of the piezoelectric vibration plates where the two groups of the piezoelectric vibration plates face, thereby ensuring a reliable bonding of the piezoelectric vibration plates and the elastic plate.

Ink jet recording head having improved arrangement of electrodes

A drop-on-demand ink-jet printing head provided with an array of a plurality of piezoelectric elements arranged at regular intervals and fixed at their one ends to a base, the other ends of the respective piezoelectric elements being free ends which are disposed in opposition to nozzle respective apertures, the piezoelectric elements being formed by cutting, at predetermined width, a piezoelectric plate obtained by firing a lamination of paste-like piezoelectric material and conductive material stacked alternately in layers. Since each piezoelectric element is composed of a thin piezoelectric plate interposed between electrodes, if a voltage of only about 30 V, which is sufficient to drive the thin piezoelectric plate, is applied across the electrodes, it is possible to largely flex the whole of the piezoelectric element. By this transformation, ink between the top end of the piezoelectric element and the nozzle aperture is discharged to the outside as an ink drop. Because the driving voltage required for forming an ink drop is as low as possible, it is possible to simplify a driving circuit, and because of cutting a piezoelectric plate, it is possible to form small-sized piezoelectric elements with the same accuracy as in a process of producing a semiconductor.

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Nagano, Japan

Tomoaki Abe