Patents by Inventor Osamu Tonomura

Osamu Tonomura has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 11938731
    Abstract: A substrate, a diaphragm, and a piezoelectric actuator are laminated in this order in a first direction, the diaphragm includes a first layer containing silicon as a constituent element, a second layer disposed between the first layer and the piezoelectric actuator, and containing any one or both of at least one metal element selected from the group made of chromium, titanium, aluminum, tantalum, hafnium, and iridium, and silicon nitride, as a constituent element, and a third layer disposed between the second layer and the piezoelectric actuator and containing zirconium as a constituent element, and a fourth layer containing any one or both of at least one metal element selected from the group made of chromium, titanium, aluminum, tantalum, hafnium, and iridium, and silicon nitride, as a constituent element is provided on the third layer on a piezoelectric actuator side.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2024
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Harunobu Koike, Masao Nakayama, Toshihiro Shimizu, Yasushi Yamazaki, Osamu Tonomura, Tatsuo Sawasaki, Chihiro Nishi
  • Patent number: 11878526
    Abstract: A liquid ejecting head includes a pressure chamber, a vibration plate including a first vibration plate, a second vibration plate, and a third vibration plate, and a piezoelectric actuator, being stacked in this order. A portion where the piezoelectric layer and the third vibration plate are stacked in a first direction on the first vibration plate and the second vibration plate, and a portion where the piezoelectric layer and the third vibration plate are not stacked are provided. One of the first vibration plate and the second vibration plate has a compressive stress and another one of the first vibration plate and the second vibration plate has a tensile stress. A Young's modulus of the third vibration plate is larger than Young's moduli of the first vibration plate and the second vibration plate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 23, 2024
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Osamu Tonomura, Masao Nakayama
  • Patent number: 11858270
    Abstract: A liquid ejection head includes: a piezoelectric body; an vibration plate to be vibrated by a drive of the piezoelectric body; and a pressure chamber substrate including a pressure chamber which applies a pressure to a liquid by an vibration of the vibration plate; the pressure chamber substrate, the vibration plate, and the piezoelectric body are laminated in this order; and the vibration plate includes: a first layer containing silicon as a constituent element, a second layer which is disposed between the first layer and the piezoelectric body and which contains as a constituent element, a metal element selected from chromium, titanium, and aluminum, and a third layer which is disposed between the second layer and the piezoelectric body and which contains zirconium as a constituent element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 17, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 2, 2024
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Toshihiro Shimizu, Harunobu Koike, Takanori Aimono, Masao Nakayama, Tatsuo Sawasaki, Chihiro Nishi, Noritaka Mochizuki, Yasushi Yamazaki, Osamu Tonomura
  • Publication number: 20220314621
    Abstract: A substrate, a diaphragm, and a piezoelectric actuator are laminated in this order in a first direction, the diaphragm includes a first layer containing silicon as a constituent element, a second layer disposed between the first layer and the piezoelectric actuator, and containing any one or both of at least one metal element selected from the group made of chromium, titanium, aluminum, tantalum, hafnium, and iridium, and silicon nitride, as a constituent element, and a third layer disposed between the second layer and the piezoelectric actuator and containing zirconium as a constituent element, and a fourth layer containing any one or both of at least one metal element selected from the group made of chromium, titanium, aluminum, tantalum, hafnium, and iridium, and silicon nitride, as a constituent element is provided on the third layer on a piezoelectric actuator side.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 28, 2022
    Publication date: October 6, 2022
    Inventors: Harunobu KOIKE, Masao NAKAYAMA, Toshihiro SHIMIZU, Yasushi YAMAZAKI, Osamu TONOMURA, Tatsuo SAWASAKI, Chihiro NISHI
  • Patent number: 11440319
    Abstract: A liquid discharge head includes a first substrate in which a nozzle is formed, a second substrate disposed above the first substrate, an energy generation element that generates energy for discharging a liquid by a drive signal being applied, and a vibration plate that vibrates by the energy generated by the energy generation element and that is stacked on the second substrate, in which the vibration plate has a first area and a second area positioned at a position different from the first area and having a lower elastic modulus than an elastic modulus of the first area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 28, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2022
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Masashi Fujioka, Osamu Tonomura
  • Publication number: 20220242121
    Abstract: A liquid ejecting head includes a pressure chamber, a vibration plate including a first vibration plate, a second vibration plate, and a third vibration plate, and a piezoelectric actuator, being stacked in this order. A portion where the piezoelectric layer and the third vibration plate are stacked in a first direction on the first vibration plate and the second vibration plate, and a portion where the piezoelectric layer and the third vibration plate are not stacked are provided. One of the first vibration plate and the second vibration plate has a compressive stress and another one of the first vibration plate and the second vibration plate has a tensile stress. A Young's modulus of the third vibration plate is larger than Young's moduli of the first vibration plate and the second vibration plate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 27, 2022
    Publication date: August 4, 2022
    Inventors: Osamu TONOMURA, Masao NAKAYAMA
  • Publication number: 20210362501
    Abstract: A liquid ejection head includes: a piezoelectric body; an vibration plate to be vibrated by a drive of the piezoelectric body; and a pressure chamber substrate including a pressure chamber which applies a pressure to a liquid by an vibration of the vibration plate; the pressure chamber substrate, the vibration plate, and the piezoelectric body are laminated in this order; and the vibration plate includes: a first layer containing silicon as a constituent element, a second layer which is disposed between the first layer and the piezoelectric body and which contains as a constituent element, a metal element selected from chromium, titanium, and aluminum, and a third layer which is disposed between the second layer and the piezoelectric body and which contains zirconium as a constituent element.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 17, 2021
    Publication date: November 25, 2021
    Inventors: Toshihiro SHIMIZU, Harunobu KOIKE, Takanori AIMONO, Masao NAKAYAMA, Tatsuo SAWASAKI, Chihiro NISHI, Noritaka MOCHIZUKI, Yasushi YAMAZAKI, Osamu TONOMURA
  • Patent number: 10913272
    Abstract: A liquid ejecting head includes a vibration plate constituting a part of a wall surface of a pressure chamber accommodating a liquid; a piezoelectric element vibrating the vibration plate; and a reinforcing film disposed on a surface of the vibration plate on a pressure chamber side, in which a vibration region, which is a region of the vibration plate and is vibrated by the piezoelectric element, has an elongated shape in a plan view viewed in a thickness direction of the vibration plate, and the vibration region includes a first region in which the reinforcing film is not disposed and a second region which is located at a position closer to a center of the vibration region in a longitudinal direction than the first region, and in which the reinforcing film is disposed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 24, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 9, 2021
    Inventors: Satoshi Takemoto, Eiju Hirai, Masao Nakayama, Naoto Yokoyama, Osamu Tonomura
  • Publication number: 20210031518
    Abstract: A liquid discharge head includes a first substrate in which a nozzle is formed, a second substrate disposed above the first substrate, an energy generation element that generates energy for discharging a liquid by a drive signal being applied, and a vibration plate that vibrates by the energy generated by the energy generation element and that is stacked on the second substrate, in which the vibration plate has a first area and a second area positioned at a position different from the first area and having a lower elastic modulus than an elastic modulus of the first area.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 28, 2020
    Publication date: February 4, 2021
    Inventors: Masashi FUJIOKA, Osamu TONOMURA
  • Patent number: 10857790
    Abstract: There is provided a liquid discharge head including a drive IC that outputs the first signal and the second signal, and a wiring substrate having a first side and a second side longer than the first side, electrically connected to the drive IC, and propagating the first signal and the second signal, in which the wiring substrate includes a first electrode to which the first signal is input, a second electrode to which the second signal is input, a third electrode electrically connected to the first electrode, and a fourth electrode electrically connected to the second electrode, and in a direction along the second side, the second electrode is positioned between the first electrode and the third electrode, and the third electrode is positioned between the second electrode and the fourth electrode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 8, 2020
    Inventors: Osamu Tonomura, Eiju Hirai, Motoki Takabe, Toru Kashimura
  • Patent number: 10773523
    Abstract: A liquid discharge head includes: a pressure chamber communicating with a nozzle through which liquid is discharged; a piezoelectric element having a lamination structure in which a first electrode, a piezoelectric body layer, and a second electrode are laminated in this order; a vibration plate installed between the first electrode of the piezoelectric element and the pressure chamber; a protective substrate in which an internal space for housing the piezoelectric element is formed; and a lead-out wiring connected to the second electrode, in which a column portion is provided at a position overlapping with the piezoelectric element in the internal space of the protective substrate when viewed in a plan view, and the lead-out wiring is provided on a wall surface of the column portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 15, 2020
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Osamu Tonomura, Masao Nakayama, Eiju Hirai
  • Publication number: 20190389218
    Abstract: A liquid ejecting head includes a vibration plate constituting a part of a wall surface of a pressure chamber accommodating a liquid; a piezoelectric element vibrating the vibration plate; and a reinforcing film disposed on a surface of the vibration plate on a pressure chamber side, in which a vibration region, which is a region of the vibration plate and is vibrated by the piezoelectric element, has an elongated shape in a plan view viewed in a thickness direction of the vibration plate, and the vibration region includes a first region in which the reinforcing film is not disposed and a second region which is located at a position closer to a center of the vibration region in a longitudinal direction than the first region, and in which the reinforcing film is disposed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 24, 2019
    Publication date: December 26, 2019
    Inventors: Satoshi TAKEMOTO, Eiju HIRAI, Masao NAKAYAMA, Naoto YOKOYAMA, Osamu TONOMURA
  • Publication number: 20190381795
    Abstract: There is provided a liquid discharge head including a drive IC that outputs the first signal and the second signal, and a wiring substrate having a first side and a second side longer than the first side, electrically connected to the drive IC, and propagating the first signal and the second signal, in which the wiring substrate includes a first electrode to which the first signal is input, a second electrode to which the second signal is input, a third electrode electrically connected to the first electrode, and a fourth electrode electrically connected to the second electrode, and in a direction along the second side, the second electrode is positioned between the first electrode and the third electrode, and the third electrode is positioned between the second electrode and the fourth electrode.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 18, 2019
    Publication date: December 19, 2019
    Inventors: Osamu TONOMURA, Eiju HIRAI, Motoki TAKABE, Toru KASHIMURA
  • Publication number: 20190283426
    Abstract: A liquid discharge head includes: a pressure chamber communicating with a nozzle through which liquid is discharged; a piezoelectric element having a lamination structure in which a first electrode, a piezoelectric body layer, and a second electrode are laminated in this order; a vibration plate installed between the first electrode of the piezoelectric element and the pressure chamber; a protective substrate in which an internal space for housing the piezoelectric element is formed; and a lead-out wiring connected to the second electrode, in which a column portion is provided at a position overlapping with the piezoelectric element in the internal space of the protective substrate when viewed in a plan view, and the lead-out wiring is provided on a wall surface of the column portion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 18, 2019
    Publication date: September 19, 2019
    Inventors: Osamu TONOMURA, Masao NAKAYAMA, Eiju HIRAI
  • Patent number: 10399339
    Abstract: A nozzle plate is a nozzle plate provided with a plurality of nozzle openings, in which a DLC film is provided on a base material (silicon substrate) of the nozzle plate, the DLC film contains fluorine, a fluorine concentration in the DLC film decreases in a direction from a surface of the DLC film toward the silicon substrate, and a fluorine concentration in a region along the nozzle opening is lower than a fluorine concentration in the surface of the DLC film (surface of flat portion).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 25, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2019
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Osamu Tonomura, Satoshi Suzuki
  • Publication number: 20180370232
    Abstract: A nozzle plate is a nozzle plate provided with a plurality of nozzle openings, in which a DLC film is provided on a base material (silicon substrate) of the nozzle plate, the DLC film contains fluorine, a fluorine concentration in the DLC film decreases in a direction from a surface of the DLC film toward the silicon substrate, and a fluorine concentration in a region along the nozzle opening is lower than a fluorine concentration in the surface of the DLC film (surface of flat portion).
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 25, 2018
    Publication date: December 27, 2018
    Inventors: Osamu TONOMURA, Satoshi SUZUKI
  • Patent number: 9099113
    Abstract: A disk drive slider supports a microwave-assisted magnetic recording (MAMR) write head with a spin-torque oscillator (STO) and a separate corrosion monitor (CM). The CM includes a corrosion detection layer formed of the same material as the STO's spacer layer. The CM is coplanar with the STO but laterally spaced from the STO. The corrosion detection layer has an edge at the ABS so as to be exposed to the same atmospheric conditions as the STO's spacer layer. Electrical leads are located at the ends of the CM and are electrically connected to pads on the upper surface of the slider. Electrical resistance of the CM is measured by detection of current in the plane of the corrosion detection layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 4, 2015
    Assignee: HGST Netherlands B.V.
    Inventors: Takayuki Futumoto, Osamu Tonomura, Yuta Udo, Tsutomu Yadori, Hideo Yamakura
  • Patent number: 8549907
    Abstract: The present invention provides a fluid distribution device for uniformly distributing and outputting a fluid, which is supplied to an input flow channel, into at least three output flow channels, comprising a plurality of branch flow channels, at least three fluid bifurcation portions, and at least one fluid converging portion, wherein the fluid distribution device is configured to correspond to a pressure drop compartment connection model composed of a fluid balance equation and a pressure balance equation. Furthermore, the present invention provides a micro plant using the fluid distribution device, a method of designing the fluid distribution device and a method of detecting blockage of flow channels of the fluid distribution device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2009
    Date of Patent: October 8, 2013
    Assignee: Kyoto University
    Inventors: Osamu Tonomura, Satoshi Nagahara, Manabu Kano, Shinji Hasebe
  • Patent number: 8404603
    Abstract: A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device. In the method, an aluminum-containing insulation film is formed on an electrode film of a substrate by alternately repeating a process of supplying an aluminum precursor into a processing chamber in which the substrate is accommodated and exhausting the aluminum precursor from the processing chamber and a process of supplying an oxidizing or nitriding precursor into the processing chamber and exhausting the oxidizing or nitriding precursor from the processing chamber; and a high permittivity insulation film different from the aluminum-containing insulation film is formed on the aluminum-containing insulation film by alternately repeating a process of supplying a precursor into the processing chamber and exhausting the precursor from the processing chamber and a process of supplying an oxidizing precursor into the processing chamber and exhausting the oxidizing precursor from the processing chamber. In addition, heat treatment is performed on the substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2013
    Assignee: Hitachi Kokusai Electric Inc.
    Inventors: Arito Ogawa, Sadayoshi Horii, Taketoshi Sato, Hideharu Itatani, Nobuyuki Mise, Osamu Tonomura
  • Publication number: 20110016967
    Abstract: The present invention provides a fluid distribution device for uniformly distributing and outputting a fluid, which is supplied to an input flow channel, into at least three output flow channels, comprising a plurality of branch flow channels, at least three fluid bifurcation portions, and at least one fluid converging portion, wherein the fluid distribution device is configured to correspond to a pressure drop compartment connection model composed of a fluid balance equation and a pressure balance equation. Furthermore, the present invention provides a micro plant using the fluid distribution device, a method of designing the fluid distribution device and a method of detecting blockage of flow channels of the fluid distribution device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 26, 2009
    Publication date: January 27, 2011
    Applicants: KYOTO UNIVERSITY, YOKOGAWA ELECTRIC CORPORATION, FUJIFILM CORPORATION
    Inventors: Osamu Tonomura, Satoshi Nagahara, Manabu Kano, Shinji Hasebe