Abstract: A pressure buffer of an ink-jet recording apparatus is placed in the vicinity of an ink-jet recording head in an ink supply path connecting an ink container to the ink-jet recording head. A body of the pressure buffer has a concave portion at least on one surface, and a flexible film is attached to tightly close the concave portion to form a chamber. The chamber has an ink flow outlet through which ink flows from the chamber to the ink-jet recording head and an ink flow inlet through which ink flows from the ink container to the chamber. The ink flow outlet is always positioned in an uppermost portion in a vertical direction of the chamber, and the ink flow inlet is positioned at an equal level or on a lower side in a vertical direction with respect to the ink flow outlet.

Abstract: A pressure buffer of an ink-jet recording apparatus is placed in the vicinity of an ink-jet recording head in an ink supply path connecting an ink container to the ink-jet recording head. A body of the pressure buffer has a concave portion at least on one surface, and a flexible film is attached to tightly close the concave portion to form a chamber. The chamber has an ink flow outlet through which ink flows from the chamber to the ink-jet recording head and an ink flow inlet through which ink flows from the ink container to the chamber. The ink flow outlet is always positioned in an uppermost portion in a vertical direction of the chamber, and the ink flow inlet is positioned at an equal level or on a lower side in a vertical direction with respect to the ink flow outlet.

Abstract: An ink chamber plate 20 for defining a common ink chamber 21 communicating with chambers 17 is bonded onto a substrate 16 on which the chambers 17 are provided. The common ink chamber 21 is provided with a section 30 for partitioning the chambers 17 and the common ink chamber 21 and the partitioning section 30 is provided with a plurality of interconnecting holes 31 for defining the pump length, at an interval equivalent to the pump length, along the longitudinal direction of the chamber. A drive means generates a drive field in both the sidewalls 18 defining the chamber 17 such that a preliminary drive field for temporarily increasing the volume in the chamber 17 has a drive time substantially equal to that of an ejection drive field for ejecting ink by temporarily reducing the volume in the chamber 17 continuously to the preliminary drive field.

Abstract: A head chip has a substrate, a chamber formed in the substrate for containing ink and an end portion communicating with a nozzle opening, and an electrode disposed on a sidewall of the chamber. The chamber has an end portion communicating with a nozzle opening. When a driving voltage is applied to the electrode, a capacity within the chamber is varied to discharge ink contained in the chamber from the nozzle opening. An ink chamber plate is connected to the substrate and defines a common ink chamber communicating with the chamber. The common ink chamber has a partitioning portion for partitioning the chamber and the common ink chamber. The partitioning portion has communicating holes that evenly divide a chamber longitudinal direction of the partitioning portion using a distance between the nozzle opening and a communicating hole establishing communication between the common ink chamber and the chamber.

Abstract: A head chip has a plurality of chambers provided in a piezoelectric plate, nozzles at ends of the chambers, electrodes in the chambers for applying a voltage to discharge ink from the nozzle openings, and an ink chamber plate joined to the piezoelectric plate for defining a common ink chamber communicating with the plural ink chambers, and having a partitioning portion for partitioning the chambers and the common ink chamber and communicating holes for defining a pump length according to a distance from the nozzle openings, so that converging time during which pressure in the ink chambers attenuates may be reduced to enable high speed printing without deteriorating ink discharge characteristics. In addition, by providing the communicating holes at equal intervals the converging time does not fluctuate even if the discharge amount is controlled based on the shape of the nozzle openings.

Abstract: To provide an ink jet recording apparatus and recording method in which the contraction time during which the pressure in a chamber attenuates is reduced and the driving time is reduced to thereby increase the printing speed without deterioration of ink ejection characteristics.

Abstract: An inkjet printer has an ink containing portion for containing ink, a driving portion having a nozzle for ejecting ink contained in the ink containing portion, and a first control circuit for driving and controlling the driving portion. An ink passage is disposed between the ink containing portion and the driving portion for supplying ink contained in the ink containing portion to the driving portion via an ink supply path extending from the ink containing portion through the ink passage to the driving portion. A connecting portion connects the ink passage to the printing unit. A heating portion is disposed in the ink supply path for heating the ink supplied to the driving portion. A cooling portion for cooling the ink is disposed in the ink supply path at a position closer to the driving portion than the heating portion.

Abstract: A head chip has a substrate, a chamber formed in the substrate for containing ink and an end portion communicating with a nozzle opening, and an electrode disposed on a sidewall of the chamber. The chamber has an end portion communicating with a nozzle opening. When a driving voltage is applied to the electrode, a capacity within the chamber is varied to discharge ink contained in the chamber from the nozzle opening. An ink chamber plate is connected to the substrate and defines a common ink chamber communicating with the chamber. The common ink chamber has a partitioning portion for partitioning the chamber and the common ink chamber. The partitioning portion has communicating holes that evenly divide a chamber longitudinal direction of the partitioning portion using a distance between the nozzle opening and a communicating hole establishing communication between the common ink chamber and the chamber.

Abstract: To provide a head chip which reduces converging time during which pressure in a chamber attenuates to achieve high speed printing without deteriorating ink discharge property and with which converging time is not fluctuated even if a discharge amount is controlled according to a shape of a nozzle opening. In a head chip 11 that is provided with chambers 17 defined on a piezoelectric ceramic plate 16 and communicating with nozzle openings 24 at end portions in the longitudinal direction and electrodes 19 provided on sidewalls 18 of the chambers 17, and applies a driving voltage to the electrodes 19, thereby changing a capacity inside the chambers 17 to discharge ink filled in the inside from the nozzle openings 24, an ink chamber plate 20 defining a common ink chamber 21 communicating with the chambers 17 is joined on the piezoelectric ceramic plate 16, the common ink.

Abstract: To provide a head tip in which the convergence time for attenuation of the pressure inside the chamber is reduced to thereby make it possible to achieve an increase in printing speed, a head tip 11 having a structure in which a driving voltage is applied to electrodes 19 formed on the side walls 18 of a chamber 17 defined by the side walls 18 on a piezoelectric ceramic plate 16, thereby changing the volume of the chamber 17 and causing ink filled in the chamber to be ejected through a nozzle opening 24, in which an ink chamber plate 20 is joined to the piezoelectric ceramic plate 16 so that a common ink chamber 21 communicating with one longitudinal end portion of the chamber 17 is defined, and in which a border portion where the chamber 17 and the common ink chamber 21 communicate with each other creates flow passage resistance in the ink.

Abstract: An inkjet printer has a printing unit that ejects ink onto a recording medium. A temperature sensor detects the temperature of the ink upstream of the printing unit and outputs a temperature detection signal. Based on the value of the temperature detection signal, a CPU controls energization of either a heating unit or a cooling unit to heat or cool the ink so as to maintain the ink viscosity within a given range to thereby obtain stable printing quality.