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US 6,854,833 B2Granted
Ink-jet head and manufacturing method of the same
AssigneeBrother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorAtsushi Ito
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An ink-jet head comprises a passage unit including pressure chambers each connected to a nozzle, and an actuator unit bonded to the passage unit. The actuator unit includes active portions for changing volumes of the respective pressure chambers. Kinds of passage units different in positions of pressure chambers distant from a reference position set on a face of each passage unit, are prepared for a single kind of actuator units fabricated in the same design shape with a positional difference between corresponding pressure chambers in the different kinds of passage units increasing as a distance of the pressure chambers from the reference position increases.
Claims17
An ink-jet head comprising:
- a passage unit including a plurality of pressure chambers each connected to a nozzle;
- and
- an actuator unit bonded to the passage unit, the actuator unit including a plurality of active portions for changing volumes of the respective pressure chambers,
- a plurality of kinds of passage units different in positions of pressure chambers distant from a reference position set on a face of each passage unit, being prepared for a single kind of actuator units fabricated in the same design shape with a positional difference between corresponding pressure chambers in the different kinds of passage units increasing as a distance of the pressure chambers from the reference position increases.
1 more element
An ink-jet head comprising:
- a passage unit including a plurality of slender pressure chambers each connected at its one end to a nozzle, the plurality of pressure chambers being arranged along a length of the passage unit with a length of each pressure chamber being substantially parallel to a width of the passage unit;
- and
- an actuator unit comprising a piezoelectric ceramic sheet including a plurality of active portions for changing volumes of the respective pressure chambers, the plurality of active portions being arranged along a length of the actuator unit,
- a plurality of kinds of passage units different in pitch of pressure chambers being prepared for a single kind of actuator units fabricated in the same design shape,
- the actuator unit being bonded to a passage unit selected out of the plurality of kinds of passage units, the selected passage unit including pressure chambers at pitches substantially equal to pitches of the active portions in the actuator unit.
2 more elements
An ink-jet head comprising:
- a passage unit including a plurality of slender pressure chambers each connected at its one end to a nozzle, the plurality of pressure chambers being arranged along a length of the passage unit with a length of each pressure chamber being substantially parallel to a width of the passage unit;
- and
- an actuator unit including a plurality of active portions for changing volumes of the respective pressure chambers, the plurality of active portions being arranged along a length of the actuator unit,
- a substantially central longitudinal axis of each pressure chamber distant from a reference position set on a face of the passage unit being deviated in the direction opposite to the reference position from a straight line extending through both ends of the pressure chamber.
1 more element
An ink-jet head comprising:
- a passage unit including a plurality of slender pressure chambers each connected at its one end to a nozzle, the plurality of pressure chambers being arranged along a length of the passage unit with a length of each pressure chamber being substantially parallel to a width of the passage unit;
- and
- an actuator unit including a plurality of active portions for changing volumes of the respective pressure chambers, the plurality of active portions being arranged along a length of the actuator unit,
- a substantially central longitudinal axis of each pressure chamber distant from a reference position set on a face of the passage unit being deviated toward the reference position from a straight line extending through both ends of the pressure chamber.
1 more element
A set of a plurality of kinds of ink-jet heads having shapes in plane similar to each other,
- each ink-jet head comprising:
- a passage unit including a plurality of slender pressure chambers each connected at its one end to a nozzle, the plurality of pressure chambers being arranged along a length of the passage unit with a length or each pressure chamber being substantially parallel to a width of the passage unit;
- and
- an actuator unit comprising a piezoelectric ceramic sheet including a plurality of active portions for changing volumes of the respective pressure chambers, the plurality of active portions being arranged along a length of the actuator unit,
- a pitch of pressure chambers and a pitch of active portions along the length of the passage unit being substantially equal to each other in any ink-jet head,
- the pitches of the pressure chambers and the active portions along the length of the passage unit varying from kind to kind of ink-jet heads.
3 more elements
A manufacturing method of an ink-jet head, the method comprising the steps of:
- fabricating a single kind of actuator units of the same design shape each including a plurality of active portions;
- fabricating a plurality of kinds of passage units each including a plurality of pressure chambers each connected to a nozzle, volumes of the pressure chambers being changeable by actions of the respective active portions of an actuator unit, the plurality of kinds of passage units being different from each other in positions of pressure chambers distant from a reference position set on a face of each passage unit with the positional difference between the corresponding pressure chambers of the plurality of kinds of passage units increasing as the distance of the pressure chambers from the reference position increases;
- taking one out of the actuator units of the single kind;
- selecting a passage unit of one kind out of the plurality of kinds of passage units so that a pitch of pressure chambers of the passage unit of the selected kind is the nearest to a pitch of active portions of the taken actuator unit;
- and
- bonding the taken actuator unit to the passage unit of the selected kind.
3 more elements
A manufacturing method of an ink-jet head, the method comprising the steps of:
- fabricating a single kind of actuator units of the same design shape each including a piezoelectric ceramic sheet including a plurality of active portions arranged along a length of the actuator unit;
- fabricating a plurality of kinds of passage units each including a plurality of slender pressure chambers each connected at its one end to a nozzle, the plurality of pressure chambers being arranged along a length of each passage unit with a length of each pressure chamber being substantially parallel to a width of the passage unit, volumes of the pressure chambers being changeable by actions of the respective active portions of an actuator unit, the plurality of kinds of passage units being different from each other in pitch of pressure chambers along the length of each passage unit;
- taking one out of the actuator units of the single kind;
- selecting a passage unit of one kind out of the plurality of kinds of passage units so that the pitch of pressure chambers of the passage unit of the selected kind is the nearest to a pitch of active portions of the taken actuator unit;
- and
- bonding the taken actuator unit to the passage unit of the selected kind.
3 more elements
An ink-jet head comprising a passage unit including a plurality of pressure chambers each connected to a nozzle, and an actuator unit bonded to the passage unit, the actuator unit including active portions for changing volumes of the respective pressure chambers,
- the ink-jet head being manufactured through a process comprising the steps of:
- fabricating a single kind of actuator units of the same design shape each including a plurality of active portions;
- fabricating a plurality of kinds of passage units each including a plurality of pressure chambers each connected to a nozzle, the plurality of kinds of passage units being different from each other in positions of pressure chambers distant from a reference position set on a face of each passage unit with the positional difference between the corresponding pressure chambers of the plurality of kinds of passage units increasing as the distance of the pressure chambers from the reference position increases;
- taking one out of the actuator units of the single kind;
- selecting a passage unit of one kind out of the plurality of kinds of passage units so that a pitch of pressure chambers of the passage unit of the selected kind is the nearest to a pitch of active portions of the taken actuator unit;
- and
- bonding the taken actuator unit to the passage unit of the selected kind.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.