Claims
- 1. A fluid ejection device comprising;at least one pressure chamber divided independently from other pressure chambers; an ink channel communicating with said pressure chamber; an ink outlet communicating with said pressure chamber; and a pressure generating section comprising a laminated body made of a piezoelectric material, an elastic body and a resin layer, said elastic body sandwiched between said piezoelectric material and said resin layer, said section covering one face of said pressure chamber; wherein said piezoelectric material is divided into a plurality of sections with said resin layer therebetween.
- 2. The fluid ejection device according to claim 1, wherein said piezoelectric material has a thickness of not more than about 7 μm and said elastic body is has a thickness of the same or less than said piezoelectric material.
- 3. The fluid ejection device according to claim 1, wherein said pressure chamber, said ink channel and said ink outlet are defined by a structure comprising at least one planar silicon substrate laminated to at least one planar glass substrate.
- 4. The fluid ejection device according to claim 2, wherein said elastic body comprises a metallic material.
- 5. The fluid ejection device according to claim 1, wherein said piezoelectric material comprises PbZrxTi1−xO3.
- 6. The fluid ejection device according to claim 1, further comprising a silicon substrate and a glass substrate directly bonded to one another.
- 7. The fluid ejection device according to claim 1 wherein the ink channel has a cross-sectional area that is about 0.5 to about 1.5 times as large as a cross-sectional area of the ink outlet.
- 8. The fluid ejection device according to claim 1 wherein the ink channel has a cross-sectional area that tapers towards the ink outlet.
- 9. The fluid ejection device according to claim 1 wherein said ink outlet is tapered from a wide end in communication with the pressure chamber to a narrow end.
- 10. The fluid ejection device according to claim 1, wherein said pressure chamber, said ink channel and said ink outlet are defined by a laminated structure comprising at least:a first substrate having a through-hole for the pressure chamber and a through-hole for an ink inlet; a second substrate having a tapered through-hole and bonded to one face of said first substrate; and a third substrate having a through-hole for the ink outlet and bonded to said second substrate.
- 11. The fluid ejection device according to claim 10, wherein the third substrate has a thickness of not more than about 50 μm.
- 12. The fluid ejection device according to claim 10 wherein the first substrate comprises a silicon single-crystal substrate, the second substrate comprises a glass substrate; and the third substrate comprises one of a glass substrate or a silicon single-crystal substrate.
- 13. The fluid ejection device according to claim 10 wherein:the ink channel comprises a groove in the first substrate in communication with the through-hole for the pressure chamber and the through-hole for the ink inlet; and the second substrate having the tapered through-hole that tapers from a wide end in contact with the pressure chamber formed as the through-hole in the first substrate to a narrow end in contact with the ink outlet formed as the through-hole in the third substrate.
- 14. The fluid ejection device according to claim 13 wherein the through-hole in the third substrate for said ink outlet is aligned approximately on center with the narrow end of the tapered through-hole in the second substrate, said through-hole in the third substrate having a diameter smaller than a diameter of the narrow end of the tapered through-hole in the second substrate.
- 15. The fluid ejection device according to claim 10 wherein:the ink channel comprises a through-hole in the first substrate; the second substrate having the tapered through-hole tapering from a wide end in contact with the pressure chamber formed as the through-hole in the first substrate to a narrow end in contact with the ink outlet formed as the through-hole in the third substrate; the device further comprises a fourth substrate bonded to the other face of the first substrate and having a through-hole therein for the pressure chamber and a through-hole therein for the ink inlet.
- 16. The fluid ejection device according to claim 15 wherein the first substrate comprises a silicon single-crystal substrate, the second substrate comprises a glass substrate; and each of the third substrate and the fourth substrate comprises one of a glass substrate or a silicon single-crystal substrate.
- 17. The fluid ejection device according to claim 15 wherein the through-hole in the third substrate for said ink outlet is aligned approximately on center with the narrow end of the tapered through-hole in the second substrate, said through-hole in the third substrate having a diameter smaller than a diameter of the narrow end of the tapered through-hole on the second substrate.
- 18. A fluid ejection device comprising;a plurality of pressure chambers, and at least one of said plurality of pressure chambers divided independently from others of said plurality of pressure chambers; an ink channel communicating with said pressure chamber; an ink outlet communicating with said pressure chamber; and a pressure generating section comprising a laminated body made of a piezoelectric material, an elastic body and a resin layer, said elastic body sandwiched between said piezoelectric material and said resin layer, said section covering one face said pressure chamber; wherein said piezoelectric material is divided into a plurality of sections with each section corresponding to a pressure chamber, said resin layer extending continuously over said pressure chambers and between said piezoelectric material where said piezoelectric material is divided into said plurality of sections.
- 19. A fluid ejection device comprising:at least one pressure chamber divided independently from other pressure chambers: an ink channel communicating with said pressure chamber; an ink outlet communicating with said pressure chamber; and a pressure generating section comprising a laminated body made of a piezoelectric material and an elastic body, said section covering one face of said pressure chamber; wherein said pressure chamber, said ink channel and said ink outlet are defined by a laminated structure comprising at least: a first substrate having a through-hole for the pressure chamber and a through-hole for an ink inlet; a second substrate having a tapered through-hole and bonded to one face of said first substrate; and a third substrate having a through-hole for the ink outlet and bonded to said second substrate; wherein the ink channel comprises a groove in the first substrate in communication with the through-hole for the pressure chamber and the through-hole for the ink inlet; and the tapered through-hole in the second substrate tapers from a wide end in contact with the pressure chamber formed as the though-hole in the first substrate to a narrow end in contact with the ink outlet formed as the through-hole in the third substrate; the through-hole in the third substrate for said ink outlet is aligned approximately on center with the narrow end of the tapered through-hole in the second substrate, said through-hole in the third substrate having a diameter smaller than a diameter of the narrow end of the tapered through-hole in the second substrate; and the third substrate has a thickness of not more than about 50 μm and the second substrate has a thickness of less than about 0.8 mm in a range of thickness comprising about 1.2 to about 1.9 times (rg−rs) where rg is the diameter of the wide end of the tapered though-hole in the second substrate and rs is the diameter of the narrow end of the tapered through-hole in the second substrate.
- 20. The fluid ejection device comprising:at least one pressure chamber divided independently from other pressure chambers: an ink channel communicating with said pressure chamber; an ink outlet communicating with said pressure chamber; and a pressure generating section comprising a laminated body made of a piezoelectric material and an elastic body, said section covering one face of said pressure chamber; wherein said pressure chamber, said ink channel and said ink outlet are defined by a laminated structure comprising: a first substrate having a through-hole for the pressure chamber and a through-hole for an ink inlet; a second substrate having a tapered through-hole and bonded to one face of said first substrate; a third substrate having a through-hole for the ink outlet and bonded to said second substrate; and a fourth substrate bonded to the an other face of the first substrate and having a through-hole therein for the pressure chamber and a through-hole therein for the ink inlet; wherein the ink channel comprises a through-hole in the first substrate; the second substrate having the tapered through-hole tapering from a wide end in contact with the pressure chamber formed as the through-hole in the first substrate to a narrow end in contact with the ink outlet formed as the through-hole in the third substrate; the through-hole in the third substrate for said ink outlet is aligned approximately on center with the narrow end of the tapered through-hole in the second substrate, said through-hole in the third substrate having a diameter smaller than a diameter of the narrow end of the tapered through-hole on the second substrate, and the third substrate has a thickness of not more than about 50 μm and the second substrate has a thickness of less than about 0.8 mm in a range of thickness comprising about 1.2 to about 1.9 times (rg−rs), where rg is the diameter of the wide end of the tapering through-hole formed on the second substrate and rs is the diameter of the narrow end of the tapering through-hole in the second substrate.
Priority Claims (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
10-171060 |
Jun 1998 |
JP |
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CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation of International Application Number PCT/JP99/03198, filed Jun. 16, 1999, incorporated herein by reference.
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Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
PCT/JP99/03198 |
Jun 1999 |
US |
Child |
09/506751 |
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US |