Head unit and liquid ejection apparatus
AssigneeBrother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorsShogo MORI, Motohiro TSUBOI
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A head unit includes a circuit board, a casing, and a head module including: a nozzle plate and a liquid-passage defining member stacked on each other in a stacking direction; a drive element; and an interconnect member. A distance between a first end and a second end of the nozzle plate which are spaced in a first direction is greater than a distance between a third end and a fourth end of the nozzle plate which are spaced in a second direction. A distance between a seventh end and an eighth end of the circuit board which are spaced in the stacking direction is greater than a distance between a fifth end and a sixth end of the circuit board which are spaced in the first direction.
Claims16
A head unit to be installed in a liquid ejection apparatus, the head unit comprising:
- a head module comprising (i) a nozzle plate comprising an ejection surface defining an ejection opening, (ii) a liquid-passage defining member comprising a liquid passage communicating with the ejection opening, the liquid-passage defining member and the nozzle plate being stacked on each other in a stacking direction orthogonal to the ejection surface, (iii) a drive element configured to eject liquid from the ejection opening, and (iv) an interconnect member connected to the drive element;
- a circuit board connected to the interconnect member;
- and
- a casing connected to the head module and defining an accommodation space for accommodating the circuit board,
- wherein the nozzle plate comprises:
- a first end and a second end spaced apart from each other in a first direction that is orthogonal to the stacking direction and that is along the ejection surface;
- and
- a third end and a fourth end spaced apart from each other in a second direction that is orthogonal to each of the stacking direction and the first direction and that is along the ejection surface,
- wherein a distance between the first end and the second end of the nozzle plate is greater than a distance between the third end and the fourth end of the nozzle plate,
- wherein the circuit board is disposed in the accommodation space such that a main surface of the circuit board extends along the stacking direction and the first direction,
- wherein the circuit board comprises:
- a fifth end and a sixth end spaced apart from each other in the first direction;
- and
- a seventh end and an eighth end spaced apart from each other in the stacking direction, and
- wherein a distance between the seventh end and the eighth end of the circuit board is greater than a distance between the fifth end and the sixth end of the circuit board.
A liquid ejection apparatus installed with a plurality of head units, the plurality of head units each comprising:
- a head module comprising (i) a nozzle plate comprising an ejection surface defining an ejection opening, (ii) a liquid-passage defining member comprising a liquid passage communicating with the ejection opening, the liquid-passage defining member and the nozzle plate being stacked on each other in a stacking direction orthogonal to the ejection surface, (iii) a drive element configured to eject liquid from the ejection opening, and (iv) an interconnect member connected to the drive element;
- a circuit board connected to the interconnect member;
- and
- a casing connected to the head module and defining an accommodation space for accommodating the circuit board,
- wherein the nozzle plate comprises:
- a first end and a second end spaced apart from each other in a first direction that is orthogonal to the stacking direction and that is along the ejection surface;
- and
- a third end and a fourth end spaced apart from each other in a second direction that is orthogonal to each of the stacking direction and the first direction and that is along the ejection surface,
- wherein a distance between the first end and the second end of the nozzle plate is greater than a distance between the third end and the fourth end of the nozzle plate,
- wherein the circuit board is disposed in the accommodation space such that a main surface of the circuit board extends along the stacking direction and the first direction,
- wherein the circuit board comprises:
- a fifth end and a sixth end spaced apart from each other in the first direction;
- and
- a seventh end and an eighth end spaced apart from each other in the stacking direction, and
- wherein a distance between the seventh end and the eighth end of the circuit board is greater than a distance between the fifth end and the sixth end of the circuit board.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.