Liquid discharge apparatus and liquid discharge method

Abstract

A liquid discharge apparatus includes a substrate having a pressure chamber, an actuator forming layer, and a signal generator. The actuator forming layer includes a nozzle forming portion having a nozzle from which a liquid in the pressure chamber is dischargeable, an actuator including an annular piezoelectric body disposed around the nozzle, a diaphragm holding the actuator. The signal generator generates a drive signal including multiple unit pulses in a predetermined period, applies the multiple unit pulses to the actuator to vibrate the actuator forming layer to discharge multiple liquid droplets from the nozzle and merge the multiple liquid droplets to form one liquid droplet, and varies a number of the multiple unit pulses continuously applied to the actuator to vary an amount of the one liquid droplet discharged from the nozzle. Each of the multiple unit pulses has start and end electric potentials equal to each other.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.