Sii Printek Inc.

Seiko I Infotech Inc.

Yoshinori Domae

Yuki Yamamura

Yuzuru Kubota

Satoshi Horiguchi

Osamu Koseki

Makoto Suzuki

Masatoshi Toda

Daichi Nishikawa

Toshihiko Harajiri

Akifumi Sakata

Shinji Saeki

Ryoichiro Yamashita

A liquid jet head includes an actuator plate on which are formed ejection channels which extend in a channel extending direction and are filled with ink, and dummy channels which extend in the channel extending direction and are not filled with ink. A nozzle plate is laminated on the actuator plate and includes nozzle holes each communicating with a corresponding ejection channel at a central part in the channel extending direction of the ejection channel. The actuator plate includes a first channel row and a second channel row each of which includes the ejection channels and the dummy channels alternately arranged side by side in the X direction, the first and second channel rows being spaced apart in the channel extending direction. The ejection channels and the dummy channels are each symmetric with respect to a plane that passes through the center in the channel extending direction and perpendicular to the channel extending direction.

Liquid jet head with plural rows of alternately arranged jet channels and dummy channels and liquid jet apparatus using same

A liquid jet unit includes a circulation path through which liquid is circulated, and a liquid jet head having an inflow port and an outflow port between which is disposed a flow path forming a part of the circulation path, and a nozzle communicating with the flow path and configured to eject liquid from the liquid jet head. A liquid pump is inserted into the circulation path for circulating liquid in the circulation path. A supply path is connected to the circulation path for supplying liquid to the circulation path. A pressure sensor detects the pressure of liquid in the circulation path and generates corresponding pressure information. The liquid pump is configured to change an amount of liquid to be fed on the basis of the pressure information generated to maintain liquid in the nozzle at a predetermined pressure and draw liquid into the circulation path from the supply path.

Liquid jet unit and liquid jet apparatus

A liquid jet head includes a piezoelectric body substrate including a plurality of groove arrays in which a long and narrow ejection groove and a long and narrow non-ejection groove are alternately arrayed in a reference direction. The other side end portion of the ejection groove included in a one side groove array, and a one side end portion of the non-ejection groove included in the other side groove array do not overlap in a thickness direction of the piezoelectric body substrate, and the other side end portion of the ejection groove included in the one side groove array, and a one side end portion of the ejection groove included in the other side groove array communicate, or overlap in the reference direction, of adjacent groove arrays.

Liquid jet head and liquid jet apparatus

A liquid jet head includes a piezoelectric body substrate having an array of alternating ejection grooves and non-ejection grooves opening to a surface of the piezoelectric body substrate. Common drive electrodes are provided on opposed side surfaces of the ejection grooves, and individual drive electrodes are provided on opposed side surfaces of the non-ejection grooves. Two individual wirings are electrically separated from each other on the surface of the piezoelectric body substrate at opposite end sides of each non-ejection groove in a longitudinal direction, and the individual wiring at one end side is electrically connected to the individual drive electrode on one side surface of the non-ejection groove, and the individual wiring at the other end side is electrically connected to the individual drive electrode on the other side surface of the non-ejection groove.

A liquid jet head includes a head portion having a supply flow path configured to allow liquid supplied from the outside to flow therethrough, a pressure chamber that communicates with the supply flow path, a driver element that drives the pressure chamber, and a nozzle that communicates with the pressure chamber for ejecting liquid droplets. A circuit portion supplies a drive waveform to the driver element. A cooling portion has a cooling flow path configured to allow the liquid to flow therethrough, and the cooling portion is coupled and fixed to the circuit portion to absorb heat energy dissipated by the circuit portion. The supply flow path and the cooling flow path communicate with each other so that the same liquid flows through both paths thereby eliminating the need for a dedicated cooling liquid system and achieving size and cost reduction.

A liquid jet head includes an actuator substrate having an alternating array of ejection grooves and non-ejection grooves which penetrate from an upper surface to a lower surface of the actuator substrate and are longer in a substrate surface direction than in a depth direction. A cover plate attached to the actuator substrate covers upper surface openings of the grooves, and a nozzle plate attached to the actuator substrate covers lower surface openings of the grooves. The grooves are formed in such a manner that configurations of the lower surface openings of the ejection grooves and the non-ejection grooves are different.

A liquid jet head has spaced-apart side walls that form alternating ejection channels and non-ejection channels. The side walls comprise two piezoelectric materials polarized in opposite directions and laminated together with a polarization boundary interposed between them. Upper and lower members are fixed to respective upper and lower ends of the side walls and overlie upper and lower ends of the channels. Electrodes on opposed wall surfaces of the side walls extend from the upper ends of the side walls to either the vicinity of the polarization boundary or to below the polarization boundary and above the lower ends of the side walls. The polarization boundary is positioned above one-half the depth of the channels to improving the driving efficiency of the piezoelectric body.

The liquid jet head is provided with a piezoelectric substrate having a plurality of groove rows in each of which elongated ejection grooves and elongated non-ejection grooves are alternately arranged in a reference direction. The groove rows are arranged next to one another in the longitudinal direction of the grooves, and in adjacent ones of the groove rows, the right ends of ejection grooves included in a groove row located on a left side and the left ends of non-ejection grooves included in a groove row located on the right side are separated from each other, and overlap each other in a thickness direction of the piezoelectric substrate.

Liquid jet head, liquid jet apparatus and method of manufacturing liquid jet head

A liquid jet head includes a piezoelectric body substrate having an upper surface, a lower surface, at least two groove arrays each having ejection grooves penetrating from the upper surface to the lower surface, and a first opening portion penetrating from the upper surface to the lower surface between the at least two groove arrays. Drive electrodes are provided on side surfaces of the ejection grooves and terminal electrodes are electrically connected to the drive electrodes. A flexible circuit board is electrically connected to the terminal electrodes and extends from the lower surface to the upper surface of the piezoelectric body substrate through the first opening portion.

A liquid jet head includes a piezoelectric body substrate on which ejection grooves penetrating from an upper surface to a lower surface and non-ejection grooves open on the lower surface are alternately arranged in a reference direction and form a groove row, a cover plate that includes a liquid chamber communicating with the ejection grooves is bonded on the upper surface of the piezoelectric body substrate, and a nozzle plate that includes nozzles communicating with the ejection grooves is bonded on the lower surface of the piezoelectric body substrate. Common drive electrodes are installed on side surfaces of the ejection grooves, which are on the lower-surface side from nearly &#xbd; the depth of the ejection grooves, and individual drive electrodes are installed on side surfaces of the non-ejection grooves, which are on the lower-surface side from nearly &#xbd; the depth of the non-ejection grooves.

A liquid jet head has a piezoelectric body substrate which includes a groove row in which ejection grooves penetrating the piezoelectric body substrate from an upper surface through a lower surface and non-ejection grooves open on the upper surface are alternately arranged in a reference direction, common drive electrodes formed on both side surfaces of each of the ejection grooves, and individual drive electrodes formed on both side surfaces of each of the non-ejection grooves. A cover plate is bonded to the upper surface of the piezoelectric body substrate and includes a liquid chamber communicating with the ejection grooves, first through electrodes which penetrate the cover plate in a thickness direction and are electrically connected to the individual drive electrodes, and individual terminals placed on a front surface of the cover plate opposite to the piezoelectric body substrate and electrically connected to the first through electrodes.

A liquid jet head includes a flow path member having a supply port through which liquid is supplied and a discharge port through which the liquid is discharged, and a cover plate having a liquid supply chamber that communicates with the supply port and a liquid discharge chamber that communicates with the discharge port. An actuator substrate has a plurality of parallel channels that extend between the liquid supply chamber and the liquid discharge chamber and the channels communicate with respective nozzles formed in a nozzle plate. The flow path member, cover plate, actuator substrate and nozzle plate constitute a laminated structure. A communication path is provided in one or both of the cover plate and flow path member for bypassing the liquid from the liquid supply chamber to the liquid discharge chamber so that air bubbles trapped in the liquid can be effectively discharged to the outside.

A liquid jet head includes an actuator substrate on which a plurality of grooves is arranged, and a nozzle plate having nozzle holes communicated with the grooves. Drive electrodes extend in the longitudinal direction along both side surfaces of a wall portion of the grooves. An insulating film is disposed between the wall portion and the longitudinal end portions of the drive electrodes so that only the mid-portion of the drive elecrodes directly contacts the side surfaces of the wall portion. When a voltage is applied to the drive electrodes, only the region of the wall portion in the vicinity of the nozzle holes is actuated to eject liquid from the nozzle holes.

Liquid jet head, method for producing liquid jet head, and liquid jet apparatus

A liquid jet head includes a nozzle guard attached to a nozzle plate. The nozzle guard functions as a liquid storage unit and is configured to store residual liquid that attaches to the nozzle plate. Channel lines include ejection and non-ejection channels and a dummy channel incapable of driving. Liquid is supplied into the dummy channel while being brought to a negative pressure. The nozzle plate includes a dummy nozzle hole that communicates with the dummy channel, and the dummy nozzle hole is provided at a position to aspirate stored residual liquid using the nozzle guard.

A liquid jet head includes an actuator substrate having ejection grooves and non-ejection grooves partitioned by walls each including a piezoelectric body. The non-ejection grooves have, at ends on one side thereof, respective inclined surfaces rising from bottom surfaces thereof to upper surface openings at upper portions thereof. Common electrodes are provided in a strip form along a longitudinal direction of the walls on both side surfaces of the walls facing the ejection grooves, and active electrodes are provided in a strip form along the longitudinal direction of the walls on both side surfaces of the walls facing the non-ejection grooves. The active electrodes extend from positions in the vicinity of the ends on one side of the non-ejection grooves to ends on the other side thereof.

Growing community of inventors

Chiba, Japan

Yoshinori Domae