Liquid ejection apparatus and liquid agitation method
AssigneeFUJIFILM Corporation
InventorTsutomu Takatsuka
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A liquid ejection apparatus which ejects liquid toward a prescribed medium is provided. The apparatus includes a liquid ejection head which has an ejection port ejecting liquid, and an energy application element applying energy to the liquid to be ejected from the ejection port; and a liquid receiving device which is opposite to the ejection port and receives the liquid ejected from the ejection port. The liquid received by the liquid receiving device forms a liquid pool between the liquid receiving device and the ejection port and the liquid is agitated by a driving device which applies a drive signal to the energy application element.
Claims9
A liquid ejection apparatus, comprising:
- a liquid ejection head which has an ejection face formed with an ejection port ejecting liquid, a pressure chamber being in connection with the ejection port, and an energy application element applying energy to the liquid in the pressure chamber to be ejected from the ejection port, the energy application element being arranged on a wall of the pressure chamber;
- a liquid receiving device which has a liquid reception face being opposite to the ejection port and receiving the liquid ejected from the ejection port, the liquid received by the liquid reception face forming a liquid pool being in contact with the liquid reception face and the ejection face;
- and
- a driving device which applies a drive signal to the energy application element in a state where the liquid pool has been formed and where the liquid contiguous from the pressure chamber though the ejection port to the liquid pool, so as to agitate the liquid at least in a vicinity of the ejection port by moving the liquid to-and-from between the pressure chamber and the liquid pool through the ejection port.
A liquid agitation method of agitating liquid in a liquid ejection head which has an ejection face formed with an ejection port ejecting the liquid, a pressure chamber being in connection with the ejection port, and an energy application element applying energy to the liquid in the pressure chamber to be ejected from the ejection port, the energy application element being arranged on a wall of the pressure chamber, the method comprising the steps of:
- setting a liquid receiving device to a position opposite to the ejection port of the liquid ejection head, the liquid receiving device having a liquid reception face being opposite to the ejection port and receiving the liquid ejected from the ejection port;
- forming a liquid pool being in contact with the ejection face and the liquid reception face in a state where the ejection port and the liquid receiving device are opposite to each other;
- and
- applying a drive signal to the energy application element in a state where the liquid pool has been formed and where the liquid contiguous from the pressure chamber through the ejection port to the liquid pool, so as to agitate the liquid at least in a vicinity of the ejection port by moving the liquid to-and-fro between the pressure chamber and the liquid pool through the ejection port.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.