Abstract: Connection electrodes are formed to be located on the same plane as discrete internal electrodes, and to be exposed to the rear face while being insulated from the discrete internal electrodes. With the conductive relationship between the connection electrodes and common electrodes, the resistance of the common internal electrodes is reduced, and the size of the fixed area is also reduced accordingly.

Abstract: Common internal electrodes 27 and segment internal electrodes 28 are laminated alternately with a piezoelectric material 29 between and a common external electrode 30 and a segment external electrode 31 are provided on the surface, forming a drive vibrator 24. A free end part 24a of the drive vibrator 24 is formed with an active region L and can be expanded and contracted in the length direction of the vibrator. A piezoelectric material 29 of the outermost layer in the free end part 24a can be operated based on the potential difference between the external and internal electrodes and a portion of the active region L in the external electrode is used as a trimming portion with an effective length x varied by trimming.

Abstract: Drive signal generating means generates a drive signal including a plural number of drive pulses during one period. Print data generating means generates print data to input one or a plural number of the drive pulses to each pressure generating element during one print period. The pressure generating means expands and contracts in accordance with the drive pulses input thereto, to thereby cause the ejection of an ink droplet or droplets.

Abstract: An ink jet recording head which has a flow passage formation substrate including a reservoir, a first ink supply port formed on a face opposed to an elastic plate, a second ink supply port formed on a face opposed to a nozzle plate, first and second pressure generation chambers communicating with the reservoir through the first and second ink supply ports, and a nozzle communication hole spread and opened to the nozzle opening side to allow the first and second pressure generation chambers to communicate with each other, a nozzle plate having a nozzle opening for sealing one face of the flow passage formation substrate, the elastic plate for sealing an opposite face of the flow passage formation substrate, and pressure generator for pressurizing the pressure generation chambers.

Abstract: A dummy piezoelectric element (7) is disposed at least at one of the ends of an array of piezoelectric vibration elements. A region not including internal electrodes is provided in the vicinity of the outer side surface of the dummy piezoelectric vibration element 7 to be formed. When the outer side surface of the dummy piezoelectric element 7 is cut, a shift of a cutting line from a correct cutting line, which is due to high hardness of the internal electrodes, is minimized.

Abstract: A liquid jetting head includes a plurality of nozzle orifices, a plurality of pressure generation chambers associated with the nozzle orifices, and a plurality of piezoelectric vibrators for respectively varying the volume of the associated pressure generation chamber to jet a liquid droplet from the associated nozzle orifice. A drive signal generator generates a plurality of drive signals, respectively driving the piezoelectric vibrators, within a single jetting cycle of the liquid jetting head. An ID data storage stores ID data which identifies the respective nozzle orifices. A correction data storage stores correction data which corrects the amount of liquid jetted from the nozzle orifice.

Abstract: In order to ease the discharge of air bubbles stagnated in end portions of a reservoir in an ink jet recording head, the end portions of the reservoir are so formed that the widths thereof are substantially equal to the depths thereof. Air bubbles entered in those portions are drawn into pressure generating chambers by directly applying negative pressure to discharge outwards from nozzle orifices.

Abstract: In a piezoelectric vibrator unit (4) provided with a plurality of piezoelectric vibrators each having internal electrodes 32, 33 and piezoelectric material layers 31 laminated alternately, a free end part of an outermost layer of a piezoelectric vibrator is trimmed to form a partial recess, thereby adjusting a natural vibration period of the piezoelectric vibrator.

Abstract: A liquid jetting head of the invention includes a flowing-path plate through which a flowing-path space is formed as a flowing-path for a liquid. A nozzle plate is provided on one side surface of the flowing-path plate, said nozzle plate having a nozzle that is communicated with the flowing-path space. A sealing plate is provided on the other side surface of the flowing-path plate for sealing the flowing-path space. A portion of the other side of the flowing-path space forms a pressure-chamber space. A portion of the other side of the flowing-path plate including at least a portion of the pressure-chamber space is formed by electrocasting. A pressure-generating unit is provided at a portion of the other side of the sealing plate corresponding to the pressure-chamber space for changing a pressure of the liquid in the pressure-chamber space.

Abstract: In order to simplify a step of forming a conductive layer for external connection and improve the reliability thereof, at least either internal individual electrodes or internal common electrodes, which include of a piezoelectric vibrator, are connected with each other at through holes situated spaced away from an end face of the piezoelectric vibrator and connected to either a segment electrode of a common electrode, which are formed on one surface in a longitudinal direction of the piezoelectric vibrator. According, it is not necessary to form a conductive layer on the end face or a corner portion where such a layer is hardly formed. Furthermore, even if such portions are slightly broken, the conductivity can be maintained.

Abstract: An ink-jet recording head for an ink-jet recording apparatus, includes a plurality of pressure generating chambers, a nozzle plate in which a plurality of nozzle apertures which communicate with the pressure generating chambers are formed, and a protective layer formed in the vicinity of the nozzle apertures, wherein when a cleaning blade for cleaning the nozzle plate of leavings of at least ink, comes in contact with the nozzle apertures when the blade is pressed on the nozzle plate, the blade elastically contacts the protective layer and the nozzle plate without damaging an ink-repellent layer disposed around the nozzle apertures, as the blade is moved in a direction toward an open exhaust port disposed on a side of an end of the nozzle plate, such that the leavings are exhausted through the open exhaust port by movement of the blade.

Abstract: An ink jet printing device supplies first and second signals to cause a pressure generating chamber to jet out ink droplets. A third signal is applied to the pressure generating chamber to effectively attenuate the kinetic energy of the meniscus and to hold the meniscus at a position suitable for jetting out the next ink droplet to provide a stable print output. Also, an ink-jet recording apparatus is provided with a control means for controlling the timing of the start of the second signal and the timing of the start of the third signal according to the environmental temperature. In the ink-jet recording apparatus, the discharge speed of ink drops is made constant by regulating the start time of the second signal so as to make constant the drawing position of a meniscus when the ink drops are discharged.

Abstract: An ink-jet printing head according to the present invention is constituted so that two reservoirs 3 and 4 are formed with each pressure generating chamber 2 between the two reservoirs, the pressure generating chamber 2 communicates with at least one reservoir 3 or 4 via an ink supply port 5 or 6, adjacent nozzle communicating holes are arranged in approximately opposite positions with the center in the longitudinal direction of the pressure generating chamber 2 between the adjacent nozzle communicating holes and arranged zigzag with the adjacent nozzle communicating holes shifted in the longitudinal direction of the pressure generating chamber 2 and the height M of a partition for partitioning the nozzle communicating hole 7 or 8 which is a through hole and the adjacent pressure generating chamber 2 is approximately equal to the height of a partition N between the pressure generating chambers 2.

Abstract: An ink lyophilic layer 6c is formed on the upstream face of a filter member 6, so that an air bubble B1 will form a contact angle that is larger than one that is formed at the downstream face and that is substantially a right angle, and so that the retention force of meniscuses M formed at small holes 6b in the filter member 6 is reduced, enabling an air bubble B1 to more easily pass through the filter member 6.

Abstract: A method of driving an ink-jet recording head which is provided with nozzle openings, pressure generating chambers each communicating with reservoirs via ink supply ports and keeping the Helmholtz resonance frequency with a period Tc, and piezo-electric vibrators for expanding and contracting the respective pressure generating chambers. The method of driving the ink-jet recording head comprises a first step of expanding the pressure generating chamber, a second step of maintaining the expanded condition, and a third step of causing an ink droplet to be jetted from the nozzle opening by contracting the pressure generating chamber thus expanded.

Abstract: A pressurizing chamber 1 is formed as a recess by half etching of a silicon single-crystal substrate 2. A nozzle communicating hole 6 through which the pressurizing chamber 1 is connected to a nozzle opening 5 is formed as a through hole which is smaller in width than the pressurizing chamber 1. The pressurizing chamber 1 is connected to the nozzle opening 5 in the other face via the nozzle communicating hole 6 while reducing the volume of the pressurizing chamber 1 to a degree as small as possible. The silicon single-crystal substrate is used as a member constituting a spacer so that an ink drop of a reduced ink amount suitable for high density printing files with high positioning accuracy.

Abstract: In an ink recording head having at least four nozzle opening rows, each row having nozzle openings so as to extend straightly in a sheet forward direction, the nozzle opening rows are staggered by a single dot in the sheet forward direction in an order different from the physically arranged order. The maximum distance between nozzle opening rows to print vertically adjacent dots becomes smaller by L1 or L2 than at least the physical maximum distance L1+L3+L2, L1 or L2 being a distance between the outermost nozzle opening row and the inner nozzle opening row. As a result, the relative displacement in the vertical direction can be reduced by such distance L1 or L2 compared with a recording head in which nozzle opening rows are sequentially staggered in the auxiliary scanning direction in the physically arranged order.

Abstract: An ink-jet recording head which is operative to efficiently remove air bubbles from the pressure generating chambers and efficiently supply ink to the pressure generating chambers. First pressure generating chambers and second pressure generating chambers which communicate with a reservoir through first ink supply ports and second ink supply ports, and communicate with each other through ink supplying passages, are formed on both sides of a passage forming substrate. The first ink supply ports are formed on one side of the passage forming substrate that contains a discharge orifice, and the second ink supply ports are formed on the other side of the passage forming substrate that faces an elastic plate. A flow resistance of each of the second ink supply ports is larger than that of each of the first ink supply ports, whereby ink also flows into the second pressure generating chambers located closer to a nozzle plate through the ink supplying passages.

Abstract: In an ink jet type recording head, a flow passage forming substrate includes pressure generating chambers which are communicated with nozzle openings respectively, a common ink chamber for supplying ink to the pressure generating chambers; and ink supply inlets through which the pressure generating chambers are communicated with the common ink chamber. Each of the ink supply inlets is so designed that it has a narrow part, and it is gradually larger from the narrow part towards the pressure generating chamber, whereby the ink supply inlet is increased in length without changing the flow resistance, and the bonding area near the ink supply inlet is increased.

Abstract: A transfer printing apparatus in which a recording image is written by ink drops ejected from an ink jet recording head onto a transfer drum. The ejected ink includes a dispersion medium and coloring material. The apparatus includes a dispersion absorbing member which absorbs the dispersion medium of the ink from the drum without removing the coloring material and which does not contact the transfer medium. The absorption is provided by an absorbing material, by a blower which provides suction, or a combination of both.