The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
May. 31, 2005
Filed:
Sep. 23, 2002
Takao Ohnishi, Aichi-Prefecture, JP;
Toshikazu Hirota, Nagoya, JP;
Yoshihiro Iseki, Nagoya, JP;
NGK Insulators, Ltd., Nagoya, JP;
Abstract
A liquid droplet ejection method and apparatus comprising a base member and a piezoelectric/electrostrictive element. The interior of the base member includes a pressurizing chamber and an ejection opening. When the interval from the last pressurizing operation to the current pressurizing operation exceeds a predetermined time, applied voltage to the piezoelectric/electrostrictive element is increased at a first increase rate so that liquid within the pressurizing chamber is pressurized for ejection at a first pressurizing increase rate. When the interval from the last pressurizing operation to the current pressurizing operation is shorter than the predetermined time, the applied voltage is increased at a second increase rate smaller than the first increase rate so that the liquid is pressurized for ejection at a second pressurizing rate which is relatively small. This ensures proper pressurization of a liquid whose viscosity increases over time, achieving proper ejections.