Incremental printing of symbolic information – Ink jet – Ejector mechanism
Reexamination Certificate
1998-05-01
2001-09-11
Fuller, Benjamin R. (Department: 2855)
Incremental printing of symbolic information
Ink jet
Ejector mechanism
Reexamination Certificate
active
06286942
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ink jet recording head for use in an ink jet recording device which ejects drops of ink to thereby form an image and, more particularly, to an ink jet recording head having a mechanism for precisely positioning the respective components of the head.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. Sho 58-119870 discloses an ink jet recording head employing a piezoelectric vibrator which moves in the longitudinal direction to apply pressure to ink stored within a pressure chamber, and the pressurized ink is then jetted out from a nozzle as droplets of ink onto a recording medium.
In the recording head of the above-mentioned type, a large number of piezoelectric vibrators are inserted into guide holes formed in the upper and lower portions of a support member to thereby position and support the respective base end portions and leading end portions thereof. However, in this structure, the piezoelectric vibrators cannot be disposed in a high density arrangement. Also, they may be unevenly in the longitudinal direction thereof, and may be inclined with respect to each other, which makes it impossible to provide a uniform ink jet characteristic
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to eliminating the drawbacks found in the above-mentioned known recording heads. Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a new ink jet recording head which is capable of positioning and connecting a plurality of piezoelectric vibrators, as well as various components forming the recording head, with respect to one another with high accuracy.
In attaining the above, object, according to the invention, after a plate-shaped piezoelectric element is previously positioned and fixed onto a fixing plate, the piezoelectric element is divided into a plurality of piezoelectric vibrators, and piezoelectric vibrators are held and positioned in the surface direction thereof by a holding device.
According to another aspect of the invention, the outermost piezoelectric vibrators are used as vibrator-positioning members to thereby enhance the working accuracy of the remaining vibrators used for ink jetting. Also, the vibrator-positioning member vibrators are used for positioning the vibrators with respect to the holding device or an ink flow passage substrate.
According to still another aspect of the invention, a pressure chamber in a flow passage substrate is formed in such a manner that both side portions thereof respectively define a planar surface, and the vibrator-positioning members are respectively opposite to these planar side portions of the ink flow passage substrate, thereby enhancing the positioning accuracy between the ink flow passage forming substrate and the piezoelectric vibrators in the displacement direction thereof.
According to a further aspect of the invention, positioning projections respectively provided on both sides of the fixing plate, which serve as a positioning reference for the piezoelectric vibrators, are used as the positioning portions that position the ink flow passage substrate in the surface direction thereof, so that the piezoelectric vibrators and the ink flow passage substrate can be positioned directly.
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Abe Tomoaki
Hosono Satoru
Miyazawa Hisashi
Naka Takahiro
Nakamura Osamu
Dickens C.
Fuller Benjamin R.
Seiko Epson Corporation
Sughrue Mion Zinn Macpeak & Seas, PLLC
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