Abstract: The droplet ejecting head includes heating elements each of which has a thermal energy applying surface which imparts energy to a viscous fluid with a viscosity of at least 20 mPa·sec so as to evolve a bubble, fluid supply channels each of which has the heating element on a wall and supplies the fluid toward the heating element and ejection nozzles through each of which the fluid is ejected as a droplet and each of which is in a position opposite the energy applying surface of the heating element across the supply channel. A distance between the energy applying surface and a foremost end of the ejection nozzle from which the droplet is ejected is in a range of from 2 ?m to 8 ?m or the distance is smaller than a growth height of the bubble that has evolved in the fluid by means of the heating element and which has been left to expand by itself until its internal pressure once exceeding one atmosphere decreases to a point below one atmosphere.

Abstract: The inkjet recording head includes a head body and a metallic film is provided at least on a part of at least one side of the head body. The head body includes a plurality of orifices, an ink ejection unit arranged so as to correspond to each of the orifices, an independent ink flow path for supplying ink to each of the orifices and a common ink flow path for supplying ink to the independent ink flow path. The manufacturing method of the inkjet recording head forms the metallic film at least on a part of an opposite surface of a substrate to the individual ink flow paths, before adhering the orifice plate in which the orifices are formed. The inkjet printer uses the inkjet recording head.

Abstract: There is provided an ink jet head for ejecting an ink liquid drop from an ink jet nozzle onto a recording medium, wherein, on a substrate having a heat conductivity of 15 (W/m/K) or less, a heat-transfer layer having a thickness of 10 ?m or more is formed, and a heat insulating layer is adjacently formed on top of the heat-transfer layer; and a heat generating heater, which has a thin film resistor for boiling a part of ink to generate a bubble and allow the ink liquid drop to be ejected from the ink jet nozzle by an expansion of the bubble and a thin film conductive electrode for supplying a current to the thin film resistor, is adjacently formed on top of the heat insulating layer. There is also provided an ink jet printer using the above ink jet head. The ink jet head and the ink jet printer as above make it possible to suppress the temperature elevation around the heat generating heater and yet enhance the printing speed upon the printing even if the ink liquid drop is continuously ejected.

Abstract: The inkjet recording head includes a head body and a metallic film is provided at least on a part of at least one side of the head body. The head body includes a plurality of orifices, an ink ejection unit arranged so as to correspond to each of the orifices, an independent ink flow path for supplying ink to each of the orifices and a common ink flow path for supplying ink to the independent ink flow path. The manufacturing method of the inkjet recording head forms the metallic film at least on a part of an opposite surface of a substrate to the individual ink flow paths, before adhering the orifice plate in which the orifices are formed. The inkjet printer uses the inkjet recording head.

Abstract: An electrostatic ink jet head has a head substrate, an insulating substrate having at least one through hole, an ink guide, ink supply means, a control electrode, and meniscus control means. An ink passage is formed between the head substrate and the insulating substrate. The meniscus control means controls fixing of an edge portion of an ink meniscus formed in proximity to the through hole or within the through hole. With the meniscus control means, it becomes possible to maintain the position and shape of the ink meniscus with stability, thereby allowing ejection and flying of liquid droplets, such as ink droplets, with stability and formation of an image of high quality on a liquid droplets reception member such as a recording medium.

Abstract: The method and apparatus for displaying an image using liquid generate a segment fluid row, in which plural liquid masses each of which includes first liquid having at least one predetermined coloring matter and are separated from each other are arranged in a row shape, by sequentially and intermittently supplying predetermined amounts of the first liquid in accordance with image information of a desired image to be displayed to a flow path provided in accordance with an image display region for image displaying; and display the desired image in the image display region with the first liquid by causing the generated segment fluid row to move to a predetermined position of said flow path.

Abstract: The display device includes a display portion having a cavity portion surrounded by wall surfaces, at least one part of the wall surfaces being formed of a transparent member and forming a structural color forming surface provided with fine asperities having predetermined regularity, a liquid being hermetically sealed to have a liquid surface in the cavity portion and having a refractive index approximately equivalent to that of the transparent member, an actuator giving a disturbance to the liquid to bring the liquid into contact with the forming surface and a control unit controlling driving of the actuator to switch reflection and transmission characteristics of light when the light is incident into the forming surface, thereby controlling color display using reflected light formed by the forming surface.

Abstract: A three-channel-output CCD imaging device includes three horizontal transfer registers. For each transfer stage of the three horizontal transfer registers, m (e.g., two) transfer electrodes are provided. The transfer electrodes are driven independently by clock pulses of six phases, allowing control of potential individually for each of the transfer electrodes.

Abstract: The droplet ejecting head includes heating elements each of which has a thermal energy applying surface which imparts energy to a viscous fluid with a viscosity of at least 20 mPa·sec so as to evolve a bubble, fluid supply channels each of which has the heating element on a wall and supplies the fluid toward the heating element and ejection nozzles through each of which the fluid is ejected as a droplet and each of which is in a position opposite the energy applying surface of the heating element across the supply channel. A distance between the energy applying surface and a foremost end of the ejection nozzle from which the droplet is ejected is in a range of from 2 &mgr;m to 8 &mgr;m or the distance is smaller than a growth height of the bubble that has evolved in the fluid by means of the heating element and which has been left to expand by itself until its internal pressure once exceeding one atmosphere decreases to a point below one atmosphere.

Abstract: The inkjet printer head includes heating elements and ejection nozzles. Each of the heating elements has a heating resistor which is energized by application of an electric current so that a part of ink which is located in proximity to the heating resistor is boiled to form a bubble. The expansion of the formed bubble causes the ink to be ejected as a droplet through each of the ejection nozzles. Each of said heating elements has no protective film disposed between the heating resistor and the ink in which the bubble is to be formed. A thickness of said heating resistor is in a range of from 2 &mgr;m to 5 &mgr;m.

Abstract: An inkjet head is disclosed which has an ink ejection unit disposed on a silicon substrate and a plate including an ink ejection nozzle disposed corresponding to the ink ejection unit. The plate is formed of a film having a linear expansion coefficient from 50% to 200% of a linear expansion coefficient of the silicon substrate. The film is, for example, composed of aramid. The plate is bonded to a partition layer, by which an ink path linking with the ink ejection nozzle is formed, using an ultraviolet curing adhesive.

Abstract: The semiconductor device is in the form of a semiconductor chip formed as a recording head of an ink-jet printer or in the form of a semiconductor wafer having at least two semiconductor chips. The semiconductor chip has at least an ink ejection unit, an integrated circuit composed of a drive circuit for driving the ink ejection unit, bonding pads and a metal film covering at least part of an upper layer of the integrated circuit. The metal film is formed to extend from the integrated circuit to an edge of the semiconductor chip. The semiconductor wafer further has at least one grounding pad being formed of the metal film in a region peripheral to the semiconductor wafer and which is outside the semiconductor chips.

Abstract: An inkjet head is disclosed which an ink ejection unit and a plate including an ink ejection nozzle disposed in correspondence to the ink ejection unit. The plate contains fine particles that have a water-repellent function in at least a region near to a surface of the plate, the fine particles being dispersed therein. The plate is arranged by etching using at least two kinds of etching conditions which differ in magnitude relation between an etching rate of the fine particles in the region and an etching rate of portion of the plate excluding the fine particles in the region, to form the ink ejection nozzle and a surface of the plate in the vicinity of an ink ejection opening of the ink ejection nozzle. The fine particles, for example mainly comprises silicone. The surface of the plate formed by etching is a fine irregular surface where the fine particles are exposed, and an inner surface of the ink ejection nozzle formed by etching is a flat surface with no fine irregular portion.

Abstract: The recording head of an ink-jet printer includes a main body having ink ejection devices and a device for driving the ink ejection devices independently and an orifice plate attached to the main body having ink ejection orifices opened in positions corresponding to the ink ejection devices. At least one side of the orifice plate is made of fluoroplastic, a surface of one side of the orifice plate made of the fluoroplastic has been treated to become more water-repellent than a bulk material of the fluoroplastic itself and a surface of the other side of the orifice plate attached to the main body is more hydrophilic than the bulk material. The surface of one side of the orifice plate made of the fluoroplastic and treated to become more water-repellent contains more fluorine atoms than are inherently present in the fluoroplastic in an untreated state.

Abstract: A liquid ejecting apparatus includes a plurality of liquid ejecting devices arranged in one direction on a silicon substrate and a plurality of liquid ejecting nozzles arranged in correspondence with the liquid ejecting devices. At least part of the silicon substrate has a thickness of not less than 700 &mgr;m. An ink jet printer using the liquid ejecting apparatus is also provided. The liquid ejecting apparatus has little warpage, can perform high quality image recording with high production yield and has a long service life. The ink jet printer enables system construction at low cost and high quality image recording.

Abstract: An image forming method and apparatus for ejecting a recording fluid constituted by a plurality of inks from a common ink ejection port while a mixing ratio of the plurality of inks is changed with respect to one pixel based on an image signal, and transporting the plurality of inks to an image receiving medium which is moved with respect to the ink ejection port to form an image. An opening area Ai of a channel of an image forming ink is smaller than the opening area of the channel of an image non-forming ink in a confluence (mixing section) of the plurality of inks, and the opening area Ai has the following relationship with a minimum ejection volume Vi of the image forming ink: Ai≦1.2×Vi(⅔), so that with an excessively small amount of the image forming ink to be mixed with the image non-forming ink, a leading end of the ink is cut well, an image density having fidelity to the image signal can be obtained, and an image quality can be enhanced.

Abstract: An image forming method and apparatus for ejecting plural inks having different densities and/or colors from an ink ejection port while changing a mixture proportion of the plural inks based on an image signal. The ejected plural inks are transported to a moving image receiving medium such as print paper to form an image. A quantity of flow of the respective ink is controlled in such a manner that a total ejected volume flow rate of the plural inks is always maintained constant. The condition for transporting the ink liquid consisting of plural inks led to the image receiving medium is satisfied, and the smooth and highly-accurate transportation is enabled, thereby the image quality can be improved. The ejected plural inks may be transported from the ink ejection port as a continuous fluid flow to the image receiving medium, i.e., the continuous coating mode.

Abstract: The method and apparatus manufacture a liquid drop ejecting head. The method and apparatus blast particles on a substrate having on an upper layer a patterned mask layer made of an organic material and on a lower layer a driver circuit for ejecting a liquid drop to thereby perform an etching process on parts of the substrate exposed from the mask layer. The etching process is performed in an ionic atmosphere ionized with a polarity opposite to a charged polarity generated in the substrate when the substrate is subjected to etching.

Abstract: There is provided an ink jet head for ejecting an ink liquid drop from an ink jet nozzle onto a recording medium, wherein, on a substrate having a heat conductivity of 15 (W/m/K) or less, a heat-transfer layer having a thickness of 10 &mgr;m or more is formed, and a heat insulating layer is adjacently formed on top of the heat-transfer layer; and a heat generating heater, which has a thin film resistor for boiling a part of ink to generate a bubble and allow the ink liquid drop to be ejected from the ink jet nozzle by an expansion of the bubble and a thin film conductive electrode for supplying a current to the thin film resistor, is adjacently formed on top of the heat insulating layer. There is also provided an ink jet printer using the above ink jet head. The ink jet head and the ink jet printer as above make it possible to suppress the temperature elevation around the heat generating heater and yet enhance the printing speed upon the printing even if the ink liquid drop is continuously ejected.

Abstract: An inkjet head is disclosed which an ink ejection unit and a plate including an ink ejection nozzle disposed in correspondence to the ink ejection unit. The plate contains fine particles that have a water-repellent function in at least a region near to a surface of the plate, the fine particles being dispersed therein. The plate is arranged by etching using at least two kinds of etching conditions which differ in magnitude relation between an etching rate of the fine particles in the region and an etching rate of portion of the plate excluding the fine particles in the region, to form the ink ejection nozzle and a surface of the plate in the vicinity of an ink ejection opening of the ink ejection nozzle. The fine particles, for example mainly comprises silicone. The surface of the plate formed by etching is a fine irregular surface where the fine particles are exposed, and an inner surface of the ink ejection nozzle formed by etching is a flat surface with no fine irregular portion.