Ink jet head and ink jet recording apparatus

An ink jet head, comprising:

• a head assembly provided with a plurality of nozzles and a plurality of pressure chambers storing ink therein and communicated respectively to the nozzles;
• actuators each associated with one of the pressure chambers and each including a piezoelectric element, a scanning electrode provided on one side of the piezoelectric element, and a recording electrode provided on the other side of the piezoelectric element, wherein the actuators are arranged in a matrix pattern of n rows by m columns (where n and m are natural numbers equal to or greater than two) in terms of electrical circuit, with the recording electrodes of each row being electrically connected to one another, and the scanning electrodes of each column being electrically connected to one another;
• and
• a driving circuit for supplying a scanning signal to the scanning electrodes for each column, while supplying a recording signal to each row of the recording electrodes in synchronization with the scanning signal, wherein:
• the actuators are geometrically arranged in n rows by m columns on the head assembly;
• a first relay terminal and a second relay terminal, both extending in a vertical direction, for relaying signals from the driving circuit to the recording electrodes and the scanning electrodes are provided on a left side and a right side, respectively, of an area on the head assembly where the actuators are arranged;
• and
• the recording electrodes and the scanning electrodes are connected to the relay terminals via lead wires extending in a horizontal direction.