Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Toshiaki Masuda

Takahiko Kuroda

Keishi Miwa

Satoshi Mizukami

Masaru Shinkai

Keiji Ueda

Kaname Morita

Keisuke Hayashi

Naoko Kitaoka

Naoya Kondo

Arata Suzuki

Masahiro Ishimori

Takuma Hirabayashi

Tsutoh Aoyama

Masaki Kato

Masahiro Hayashi

Kanshi Abe

Ryohta Yoneta

Manabu Nishimura

Hitoshi Usami

Yuki Fujimura

Kazuto Nagahashi

Kentaroh Yamanaka

Yuu Sugioka

Hiromichi Hirano

A liquid discharge head includes a nozzle layer having a nozzle through which a liquid is discharged from a second side toward a first side, a liquid chamber substrate, and a drive circuit. The nozzle layer includes a vibration layer, a piezoelectric actuator adjacent to the nozzle and over the first side, a circuit connection over the first side, a first protective layer around the circuit connection, a second protective layer over the piezoelectric actuator, a first water-resistant film over the first protective layer, and a second water-resistant film over the second protective layer. The second protective layer is separated from the first protective layer. The first protective layer defines an opening above the circuit connection. The liquid chamber substrate has a liquid chamber communicating with the nozzle. The drive circuit is disposed over the second side and connected to the circuit connection to drive the piezoelectric actuator.

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

A liquid discharge head includes: an actuator substrate; an electromechanical transducer held by the actuator substrate; a damper; and a damper holding substrate holding the damper, wherein the damper disposed between the actuator substrate and the damper holding substrate and joined to the actuator substrate and the damper holding substrate with an adhesive, the damper has a joint portion having a recess or a through hole.

A liquid discharge head includes: a first substrate having a joint region; a sheet member having a first face joined to the first substrate with a joining agent applied to the joint region of the first substrate; and a second substrate joined to a second face opposite to the first face of the sheet member and the first substrate, the sheet member interposed between the first substrate and the second substrate, wherein the second substrate has a gap facing the second face of the sheet member opposite to a portion of the first face of the sheet member joined to the joint region of the first substrate across the sheet member.

Liquid discharge head, liquid discharge unit, and liquid discharge apparatus

A liquid discharge head includes a nozzle member. The nozzle member includes a nozzle, a deformable laminar member, and an electromechanical transducer. The nozzle discharges liquid. The deformable laminar member has an opening forming the nozzle. The electromechanical transducer is disposed around the opening. The nozzle member is warped with respect to a discharge-side plane of the nozzle member in a surrounding area of the nozzle when no voltage is applied to the electromechanical transducer.

Liquid discharge head and liquid discharge apparatus

A head includes: a silicon substrate; an insulating film on the silicon substrate; an electrode wiring on the insulating film; a flexible wiring connected to the electrode wiring; and a conductive film electrically connects the flexible wiring and the electrode wiring in a bonding area. The silicon substrate has an exposed area on a surface of the silicon substrate facing the insulating film, and the exposed area is in a vicinity of the bonding area and is exposed from the insulating film.

Head, head module, and apparatus that discharges liquid

An actuator includes a deformable thin-film member having an opening, an electromechanical conversion element disposed at a periphery of the opening of the deformable thin-film member, an insulating film covering the electromechanical conversion element, a protective film over a surface of the insulating film, the protective film covering the surface of the insulating film and a surface of an electrode wiring connected to the electromechanical conversion element, and an adhesion improving film disposed between the electrode wiring and the protective film.

Actuator, liquid discharge head, liquid discharge device, and liquid discharge apparatus

A liquid discharge head includes: a chamber substrate; a diaphragm on the chamber substrate; a lower electrode on the diaphragm; a piezoelectric member on the lower electrode; an upper electrode on the piezoelectric member; wiring electrically connected to the upper electrode to transmit driving signal to the piezoelectric member; and a nozzle substrate having a nozzle. The chamber substrate includes an individual chamber facing the diaphragm, the individual chamber has polygonal shape having four or more sides, the piezoelectric member has polygonal shape having four or more sides, the wiring covers a middle point of a first side of the four or more sides of the individual chamber, and a distance A is smaller than a distance B.

A liquid discharge head having a nozzle substrate including a nozzle from which a liquid is discharged in a liquid discharge direction, a pressure chamber communicating with the nozzle, a diaphragm defining a part of wall of the pressure chamber, and a pressure generator on a first surface of the diaphragm opposite to a second surface of the diaphragm facing the pressure chamber, the pressure generator configured to deform the diaphragm. A gap between a first line and a second line is 40 μm or less in a direction perpendicular to the liquid discharge direction, where the first line extends, in the liquid discharge direction, from a displacement center at which the diaphragm deforms with a maximum displacement amount, and the second line extends from a central position of the nozzle in the liquid discharge direction.

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

An actuator includes a substrate, a diaphragm over the substrate, a lower electrode over the diaphragm, a lead titanate (PbTiO) layer over the lower electrode, a piezoelectric body over the PbTiOlayer, and an upper electrode over the piezoelectric body. The piezoelectric body comprises particles of lead zirconate titanate (PZT). An average diameter of the particles of the PZT is 40 nm or more. The average diameter is measured by capturing an electron backscatter diffraction image of the piezoelectric body in an image area of 20 μm×20 μm, fitting each of the particles in the image area, and determining an average value of diameters of the circles.

Actuator, liquid discharge head, and liquid discharge apparatus

A piezoelectric element includes an upper electrode, a lower electrode, and a piezoelectric body disposed between the upper electrode and the lower electrode. The piezoelectic body contains lead zirconate titanate. The piezoelectric element also includes a seed layer containing lead disposed between the lower electrode and the piezoelectric body. The seed layer has an amorphous structure at least over an entire surface layer portion on the piezoelectric body side.

Liquid discharge head, liquid discharge device, liquid discharge apparatus

An actuator includes a substrate, a diaphragm on the substrate, a lower electrode on the diaphragm, a piezoelectric body on the lower electrode, and an upper electrode on the piezoelectric body. A ratio of lead (Pb) and zirconium (Zr) in atomic percent (atm %) present at a grain boundary in the piezoelectric body satisfies a relation of Pb/Zr&#x3e;1.7.

Actuator, liquid discharge head, liquid discharge apparatus, and method of manufacturing actuator

An electromechanical transducer includes an electromechanical transducer film of laminated layers including a perovskite-type complex oxide represented by a general formula of ABO; and a pair of electrodes opposed to each other with the electromechanical transducer film interposed between the pair of electrodes. In the general formula of ABO, A includes Pb and B includes Zr and Ti. A variable ratio &#x394;Pb of Pb, determined by Pb(max)&#x2212;Pb(min), is 6% or less and a variable ratio &#x394;Zr of Zr, determined by Zr(max)&#x2212;Zr(min), is 9% or less, where an atomic weight ratio of Pb in the electromechanical transducer film is denoted by Pb/B, an atomic weight ratio of Zr in the electromechanical transducer film is denoted by Zr/B, a maximum value and a minimum value of the atomic weight ratio of Pb in a film thickness direction of the electromechanical transducer film are denoted by Pb(max) and Pb(min), respectively, and a maximum value and a minimum value of the atomic weight ratio of Zr in the film thickness direction of the electromechanical transducer film are denoted by Zr(max) and Zr(min), respectively.

Electromechanical transducer, liquid discharge head, liquid discharge apparatus, and method for manufacturing electromechanical transducer

A liquid discharge head includes a nozzle configured to discharge a liquid, a pressure chamber communicating with the nozzle, a pressure generator configured to apply pressure on the pressure chamber, a first substrate including a terminal electrode connected to the pressure generator, and a second substrate including a bonding surface bonded to the first substrate, the second substrate including a terminal opening exposing the terminal electrode of the first substrate. The first substrate includes a through hole penetrating through the first substrate, and the second substrate includes a communication hole communicating with the through hole of the first substrate and an air communication channel on a surface opposite to the bonding surface, the air communication channel communicating with the terminal opening and the communicating hole.

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

A piezoelectric thin-film element includes a diaphragm plate on a substrate; a lower electrode on the diaphragm plate; a piezoelectric film on the lower electrode, the piezoelectric film containing Pb; and an upper electrode on the piezoelectric film. The diaphragm plate is a laminate in which a silicon oxide layer, a silicon nitride layer, and an amorphous layer containing a metal oxide to trap Pb of the piezoelectric film are laminated in turn on the substrate. The amorphous layer has a thickness of preventing Pb of the piezoelectric film from reaching the silicon nitride layer.

Piezoelectric thin-film element, liquid discharge head, head module, liquid discharge device, liquid discharge apparatus, and method for manufacturing piezoelectric thin-film element

A liquid discharge head includes a plurality of nozzles to discharge a liquid, a plurality of pressure chambers communicating with the plurality of nozzles, respectively, a plurality of individual supply channels communicating with the plurality of pressure chambers, respectively, a plurality of common-supply branch channels each having a side face and a bottom face and communicating with two or more of the plurality of individual supply channels, respectively, and a common-supply main channel communicating with the plurality of common-supply branch channels. The plurality of common-supply branch channels includes a curved portion on a corner between the side face and the bottom face of each of the plurality of common-supply branch channels along a direction of liquid flow in the plurality of common-supply branch channels.

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Kanagawa, Japan

Toshiaki Masuda