Liquid-droplet jetting apparatus and liquid-droplet jetting head
AssigneeBrother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorsMasatomo Kojima, Yasuhiro Sekiguchi, Masashi Ono
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A piezoelectric actuator includes first active portions corresponding to center portions in a row direction of pressure chambers and second active portions corresponding to left and right portions on outer peripheral sides which are more outside than the center portions of the pressure chambers. When applying voltage to the first active portions, the first active portions deform to project toward pressure chambers. At this time, the second active portions do not deform and the influence of deformation of the first active portions does not reach the adjacent pressure chambers. Accordingly, effect of suppressing crosstalk is exhibited.
Claims16
A liquid-droplet jetting apparatus which jets droplets of a liquid, comprising:
- a liquid-droplet jetting head including;
- a cavity unit in which a plurality of pressure chambers arranged regularly are formed;
- and
- a piezoelectric actuator which is joined to the cavity unit to cover the pressure chambers and which jets the liquid in the pressure chambers selectively, the piezoelectric actuator having:
- first active portions each corresponding to a center portion of one of the pressure chambers;
- and
- second active portions each corresponding to an outer peripheral portion, of one of the pressure chambers, which covers a portion located outside of the center portion of one of the pressure chambers;
- and
- a voltage application mechanism which applies a voltage to the piezoelectric actuator;
- wherein the first active portions and the second active portions expand in a first direction toward the pressure chambers and contract in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction when the voltage is applied to the first and second active portions by the voltage application mechanism;
- and
- wherein the voltage application mechanism does not apply a second voltage to the second active portions when a first voltage is applied to the first active portions, and the voltage application mechanism applies the second voltage to the second active portions when the first voltage is not applied to the first active portions.
A liquid-droplet jetting apparatus which jets droplets of a liquid, comprising:
- a liquid-droplet jetting head including;
- a cavity unit in which a plurality of pressure chambers arranged regularly are formed;
- and
- a piezoelectric actuator which is joined to the cavity unit to cover the pressure chambers and jets the liquid in the pressure chambers selectively, the piezoelectric actuator having;
- first portions each located to correspond to a center portion of one of the pressure chambers;
- and
- second portions each located to correspond to an outer peripheral portion which covers a portion located outside of the center portion of one of the pressure chambers;
- and
- a voltage application mechanism which applies a voltage to the piezoelectric actuator;
- wherein the voltage application mechanism is configured to switch application and non-application of a first voltage to the first portions so as to change a volume of each of the pressure chambers, and to switch application and non-application of a second voltage to the second portions so as to suppress that deformation of the first portions generated in a pressure chamber among the pressure chambers due to switching to the application of voltage to the first portions, propagates to another pressure chamber adjacent to the pressure chamber.
A liquid-droplet jetting head which jets droplets of a liquid, comprising:
- a cavity unit in which a plurality of pressure chambers arranged regularly are formed;
- and
- a piezoelectric actuator which is joined to the cavity unit to cover the pressure chambers and jets the liquid in the pressure chambers selectively, the piezoelectric actuator having:
- first active portions each corresponding to a center portion of one of the pressure chambers;
- second active portions each corresponding to an outer peripheral portion, of one of the pressure chambers, which covers a portion located outside of the center portion of one of the pressure chambers;
- individual electrodes formed across a first region corresponding to the first active portions and a second region corresponding to the second active portions so as to cover the first and second regions;
- first constant potential electrodes formed to cover the first region;
- and second constant potential electrodes formed to cover the second region;
- wherein the first active portions and the second active portions are polarized in a direction substantially parallel or anti-parallel to each other.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.