JP2000185401A - Liquid jet apparatus and its manufacture, liquid jet method, and manufacture of piezoelectric actuator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve an energy-using efficiency and drive an actuator to move large. SOLUTION: The apparatus includes a liquid pressure chamber 109 having one or a plurality of opening parts W, a liquid jet opening 110 set to part of the liquid pressure chamber 109, a liquid-pressuring member 103 arranged adjacent to the liquid pressure chamber 109 and a liquid channel 108 arranged adjacent to the liquid pressure chamber 109. A peripheral edge part of the opening part W among the opening parts W which is present at a position opposite to the liquid-pressuring member 103, and the liquid-pressuring member 103 are spaced by a predetermined distance when the liquid-pressuring member 103 drives or also when the member does not drive. A liquid supplied from the liquid channel 108 to the liquid pressure chamber 109 is pressured by driving the liquid-pressuring member 103, so that the liquid is jetted from the liquid jet opening 110.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a liquid ejecting apparatus used for an ink jet printer or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, ink-jet printers have rapidly spread as printers capable of realizing color printing at low cost. What determines the performance of the ink jet printer is an ink ejection device, which is a liquid ejection device that intermittently ejects fine liquid particles.

Here, as a conventional liquid ejecting apparatus, an ink ejecting apparatus for a typical ink jet printer will be described as an example. Ink jet devices for inkjet printers can be broadly classified into two types: thermal type and piezoelectric type.

A typical principle of thermal injection will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 24 is a cross-sectional view of an ink ejecting element constituting the ink ejecting apparatus. An ink pressurizing chamber 803 is provided in a space between the substrate 801 and the substrate 802, and a heater 804 is provided between the ink pressurizing chambers 803.
Is provided. The ink is supplied from an ink storage unit (not shown) provided outside the ink ejection element by a capillary action or an external suction operation, and is supplied to the ink flow path 806.
Is supplied to the ink pressurizing chamber 803. In this state, when a current is supplied to the heater 804, the ink is bumped,
Bubbles are generated. Due to the growth of the bubbles, the pressure in the ink pressurizing chamber 803 is increased, and the ink is ejected from the ink ejection port 80.
Inject from 6. An actual ink ejecting apparatus has a structure in which a plurality of the above-described ink ejecting elements are connected.

Next, an example of a typical piezoelectric type ink jetting device for an ink jet printer will be described with reference to FIG. 25 which is a sectional view of an ink jetting element. 25 in FIG.
Reference numeral 3 denotes a piezoelectric actuator driven by a piezoelectric action, such as a bimorph element composed of two piezoelectric bodies or a unimorph element composed of a piezoelectric body and a diaphragm. Reference numeral 818 denotes an ink flow path, 819 denotes an ink pressurizing chamber, and 820 denotes an ink ejection port. The broken line portion of the piezoelectric actuator 813 schematically represents the deformation of the piezoelectric actuator. The ink is initially supplied from an ink storage unit (not shown) provided outside the ink ejection element by a capillary action or an external suction operation.
The ink is supplied to the ink pressurizing chamber 819 through the ink flow path 818. When the piezoelectric actuator 813 is deformed as indicated by a broken line in a state where the ink flow path 818 and the ink pressurizing chamber 819 are filled with ink, the pressure in the ink pressurizing chamber 819 increases, and the ink is ejected from the ink ejection port 820. Is injected. An actual ink ejecting apparatus has a structure in which a plurality of the elements described above are arranged in a line for high-speed printing.

In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for an inexpensive inkjet printer capable of expressing colors in higher definition and inexpensive. Is
It has become necessary to increase the number of gradations per unit pixel (pixel), that is, to realize multi-gradation printing.

The method for realizing such multi-tone printing will be described below.

First, there is a method based on an area modulation method. In this method, a plurality of dots are struck without overlapping to form a unit pixel (pixel) for expressing light and shade, and gradation is expressed by changing the ratio of ink per unit pixel.

Second, there is a method in which dots are overprinted. This method is a method in which ink is ejected to the same place a plurality of times and the size of a unit pixel is changed to perform gradation expression.

Third, there is a method based on a density modulation method. This method is a method of expressing gradation using a plurality of inks having different dye concentrations.

Fourth, there is a method using a dot modulation method. In this method, ink droplets of different sizes are ejected from the same ejection port, and the dot size can be changed by one ejection.

[0012]

However, the methods for realizing the multi-tone printing have the following problems.

First, the problem of the area modulation method will be described. In the area modulation method, since the density is expressed by thinning out the dots to be recorded, the size of a unit pixel required to express the density increases, and the actual recording density decreases. Therefore, when trying to express multiple shades of light and shade, the printing becomes conspicuous in the low density portion. In order to reduce the decrease in the recording density, it is necessary to reduce the size of the unit pixel as much as possible, that is, to reduce the minimum dot diameter. In order to discharge a small ink droplet in order to reduce the minimum dot diameter, it is necessary to reduce the ejection port diameter or to devise a discharge method. However, the ejection diameter of the conventional ink jet head has been reduced to about 20 to 30 microns, and opening an ejection port of a smaller diameter requires a more difficult manufacturing process, and furthermore, providing a larger number of ejection ports. Inevitably, which leads to an increase in manufacturing costs. In addition, the small-diameter ejection port causes a drop in product reliability such as ink clogging and ejection failure due to dust mixed into the ink. Further, even if the above-mentioned problem is solved and an ink droplet having a small dot diameter can be ejected, a problem that the printing speed is reduced occurs. This means that to fill the same area,
This problem occurs because more ink droplets must be ejected. To solve this problem, (1) shorten the repetition time of ejection (high-speed driving of the ink ejection device), It is necessary to take measures such as increasing the number (the number of injection ports). The former (1) is for a thermal ink jet device,
Difficult due to rate-limiting of heat transfer time. In the case of the piezoelectric type ink ejecting apparatus, there is a possibility that high-speed driving can be performed as compared with the thermal type, but there is a limit due to the ability of the liquid to follow the piezoelectric actuator. In addition, the latter (2) causes problems such as an increase in the complexity of the device and a decrease in manufacturing yield, and causes an increase in cost.

Secondly, there is a problem of the method of dot overprinting, which is almost the same as the problem in the area modulation method because a large number of dots smaller than the unit pixel must be formed within the unit pixel. Issues arise. In addition, since the liquid intensively lands on the same location, the granulation phenomenon is likely to occur, and the printing tends to be rough.

Third, the problem of the density modulation method will be described. In the density modulation method, it is necessary to equip a plurality of inks with different dye densities, which causes problems such as an increase in complexity and size of the apparatus and an increase in cost. Further, as the number of types of ink increases, the number of elements that can be used substantially decreases (number of elements / type of ink), and a problem such as a decrease in printing speed occurs.

Fourth, the problem of the dot modulation method will be described. In the dot modulation method, the dot diameter is modulated by directly changing the ejection amount to be ejected at a time, so that the problems in the above three types of modulation methods are greatly reduced.
For example, since a unit pixel is composed of one dot, it is possible to perform shading expression without increasing the unit pixel size.
Also, since it is not necessary to hit many dots on a unit pixel,
High-speed printing can be performed without the need to increase the number of injection ports.

As described above, the fourth dot modulation method is the most excellent among the conventional methods for realizing multi-tone printing.

However, in the conventional ink ejecting apparatus, it is very difficult to realize the dot modulation method itself, that is, to eject dots of different diameters from the same liquid ejecting apparatus and perform dot modulation itself.

In a conventional thermal ink jet apparatus, since the ink is jetted using the bumping phenomenon, it is extremely difficult to control the ink jet printer. Control. Therefore, in general, shading is expressed by an area modulation method, a density modulation method, or a combination of the two, and there is a problem as described above.

In the conventional piezoelectric type, unlike the thermal type, it is possible to control the amount of ejected ink to some extent by controlling the amount of displacement of the piezoelectric actuator. However, at present, the number of gradations is about 2 to 6 and the modulation width is about 2 which is insufficient. However, the modulation width is defined as the ratio between the minimum ink ejection amount (volume) and the maximum ink ejection amount (volume). Originally, it should be defined by the ratio of the recorded dot diameters. However, since the dot diameter greatly changes depending on the physical properties of ink and paper, it is defined as described above. Therefore, even in the conventional piezoelectric method, in order to perform the gradation expression, the area modulation method, the density modulation method, or a combination of the two methods is used to perform the gradation expression, and thus the above-described problem occurs.

The conditions for realizing dot modulation in the piezoelectric liquid ejecting apparatus and the current problems will be described in more detail.

In order to realize dot modulation, first, it is necessary to increase the width of the amount of energy that can be supplied to the liquid to be ejected. This is a condition required to increase the modulation width because the required energy amount varies depending on the amount of droplets to be ejected. Normally, the rate is limited by the upper limit, but the amount of energy that can be supplied to the device is limited, so that it is necessary to increase the energy use efficiency of the device. Secondly, in order to eject large droplets, it is necessary to adopt a configuration in which the amount of displacement of the piezoelectric actuator can be made large (large displacement characteristics). In the ejection of a relatively large droplet, the larger the displacement of the piezoelectric actuator, the larger the droplet diameter. That is, the droplet diameter can be modulated using the displacement amount as a parameter. Third, in order to eject small droplets, it is necessary to change the pressure of the liquid pressurizing chamber from low pressure to high pressure in a very short time while reducing the displacement of the piezoelectric actuator (pressure response characteristic). In this case, droplet modulation can be performed using the speed of pressure change in the liquid pressurization chamber as a parameter. Fourth, it is necessary to accurately control the displacement amount of the piezoelectric actuator and the speed of the pressure change in the liquid pressurization chamber (controllability).

It is difficult for the conventional piezoelectric liquid ejecting apparatus to satisfy the above conditions. This will be further described with reference to FIG. When the piezoelectric actuator 813 is displaced downward (in a broken line), the pressure in the ink pressurizing chamber 819 increases. Accordingly, the piezoelectric actuator 813 receives a reaction force from the ink in the ink pressurizing chamber 819, and the displacement amount of the piezoelectric actuator 813 is extremely smaller than the displacement amount when there is no load such as ink. .

When the piezoelectric actuator 813 is displaced downward (in a broken line), the pressure in the ink pressurizing chamber 819 increases, but at the same time, the pressure in the ink flow path 818 also increases. Here, less than half of the work that has acted on the ink due to the displacement of the piezoelectric actuator 813, that is, the work that has been supplied to the ink, is used to increase the pressure of the ink pressurizing chamber 819. The remaining energy is consumed by the pressure rise and loss of the ink flow path 818. This is because the ink flow path 815 and the ink pressurizing chamber 818
Though some improvement can be achieved by devising the shape near the boundary of (e.g., attaching a check valve), it does not solve the fundamental problem, and the energy use efficiency is 10-20% at most.
It is only raised about. In addition, the piezoelectric actuator 811 is generally fixed to the ink pressurizing chamber 818 on all four sides in order to maintain airtightness in the ink pressurizing chamber, so that the displacement amount is small in principle. Further, if it is attempted to increase the ink ejection amount to compensate for the small displacement amount, it is necessary to increase the cross-sectional area of the ink pressurizing chamber 818 whose normal direction is the displacement direction of the piezoelectric actuator 811. As a result, problems such as an increase in energy loss in the ink chamber and an increase in the above-described reaction force also occur. For the reasons described above, in the current piezoelectric liquid ejecting apparatus, the number of gradations is about 2 to 6, and the modulation width is about 8.

As a technique for increasing the modulation width while keeping the energy utilization efficiency as it is, it is conceivable to increase the variable width of the amplitude value of the applied voltage, that is, to increase the maximum applied voltage value. This causes the following problems. First, current piezoelectric actuators do not have a sufficient withstand voltage, so that the life of the element is shortened or the element is destroyed. In addition, when the element is damaged, the piezoelectric actuator is normally in an electrically short-circuited state, which causes a problem in safety. Second, the piezoelectric body is often polarized in the driving voltage application direction,
By applying a high voltage, part or all of the polarization is lost, and the characteristics are degraded. In extreme cases, the piezoelectric characteristics themselves are lost. Further, the disappearance of the polarization leads to a deterioration of the life of the element. Third, when considering home use, raising the applied voltage itself poses problems in safety and economy. Fourth, peripheral circuit elements become complicated and large, resulting in an increase in cost. Due to the above problems, it is not practically preferable to increase the applied voltage.

The liquid ejecting apparatus and the ejecting method according to the present invention solve the above-mentioned problems, and improve the energy use efficiency of the liquid ejecting apparatus or drive the actuator to a large displacement. Alternatively, another object of the present invention is to increase the rate of change of the pressure in the pressurized chamber.

[0027]

According to the present invention, there is provided a liquid pressurizing chamber having one or a plurality of openings, a liquid ejection port provided in a part of the liquid pressurizing chamber, and a liquid ejecting chamber provided adjacent to the liquid pressurizing chamber. And a liquid flow path disposed adjacent to the liquid pressurizing chamber, and an opening located at a position facing the liquid pressing member among the openings. And the liquid pressurizing member is spaced apart from the liquid pressurizing member by a predetermined size when the liquid pressurizing member is driven or not driven, and the liquid pressurizing member is The liquid ejecting apparatus is characterized in that a liquid supplied from the liquid passage to the liquid pressurizing chamber is pressurized by driving a pressurizing member to eject the liquid from the liquid ejecting port.

Further, according to the present invention, there is provided a liquid pressurizing chamber having one or a plurality of openings, a liquid ejecting port provided in a part of the liquid pressurizing chamber, and a liquid pressurizing chamber adjacent to the liquid pressurizing chamber. In a liquid ejecting method for a liquid ejecting apparatus, comprising a liquid pressurizing member disposed and a liquid flow path disposed adjacent to the liquid pressurizing chamber, the liquid ejecting device faces the liquid pressurizing member among the openings. And the liquid pressurizing member, when the liquid pressurizing member is driven, or even when not driven, is separated by a gap of a predetermined size. By driving the liquid pressurizing member that is disposed, the liquid pressurizing member is displaced in a direction that changes a gap between the liquid pressurizing member and the peripheral portion of the opening, thereby providing the liquid pressurizing member. Pressurizing the liquid in the pressure chamber and injecting the liquid from the liquid injection port A liquid ejecting method characterized.

Further, the present invention provides a method of manufacturing a unimorph type piezoelectric actuator comprising a diaphragm and a piezoelectric substrate for fixing both ends or one end, wherein the diaphragm is processed into a predetermined shape, Bonding the piezoelectric substrate to a piezoelectric substrate, polishing the piezoelectric substrate to a predetermined thickness, and removing the piezoelectric substrate portion that does not intersect with the diaphragm portion by spraying fine particles with the diaphragm as a protective base material. And a method for manufacturing a piezoelectric actuator.

Further, according to the present invention, the liquid pressurizing chamber is separated from the liquid pressurizing member via a gap of a predetermined size, and the distance between the liquid pressurizing chamber and the liquid pressurizing member is controlled. A method for manufacturing a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects a liquid by means of superposing a main substrate constituting the liquid pressurizing member and a main substrate constituting the liquid pressurizing chamber,
A step of fixing at least a main substrate constituting the liquid pressurizing member and a main substrate constituting the liquid pressurizing chamber by a member such as a spring material or a screw material without using an adhesive. It is a method for manufacturing a liquid ejecting apparatus characterized by the following.

According to the present invention described above, dot modulation with a wide modulation width is enabled, and more precise color printing with multiple gradations is realized.

Further, according to the method of manufacturing a liquid ejecting apparatus of the present invention, a liquid ejecting apparatus having a wide modulation width can be easily manufactured at low cost.

[0033]

(First Embodiment) A first embodiment of a liquid ejecting apparatus and a liquid ejecting method according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG.
FIG. 1A is a cross-sectional view of one element of the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present embodiment, and is a cross-sectional view of a straight line of FIG. 1B. FIG. 1B is a top view illustrating a part of the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present embodiment.
Two liquid ejection elements are shown. However, the liquid ejecting element is a portion surrounded by a two-dot chain line ABCD in FIG. 1B, and the liquid ejecting apparatus is an apparatus in which a plurality of such liquid ejecting elements are connected. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the liquid ejecting apparatus. It should be noted that the liquid ejecting element alone functions sufficiently, and a single liquid ejecting element can be used as a liquid ejecting apparatus. 1 and 2, reference numeral 101 denotes a piezoelectric ceramic substrate. Reference numeral 102 denotes a diaphragm, for example, a diaphragm made of stainless steel. Reference numeral 103 denotes a unimorph type piezoelectric actuator including a piezoelectric substrate 101 and a vibration plate 102. However, although not shown in the figure, on the piezoelectric ceramic substrate 101, excitation electrodes are provided over substantially the entire surface of the piezoelectric ceramic substrate 101. 10
Reference numeral 5 denotes a liquid chamber forming substrate which mainly forms the liquid flow path 108 and the liquid pressurizing chamber 109, for example, a stainless steel substrate. Reference numeral 106 denotes an ejection port forming substrate forming the ejection port 110, which is, for example, a nickel substrate formed by electroforming. A holding substrate 107 for holding the actuator 103 is, for example, a stainless steel substrate. Reference numeral 108 denotes a liquid flow path, as described above, which is usually partially or entirely filled with liquid. Also, the liquid flow path is the liquid pressurizing chamber 1
09 to the left and right. Reference numeral 109 denotes a liquid pressurizing chamber, as described above, which is usually mostly filled with liquid. 110 is a liquid ejection port. Reference numeral 111 denotes a gap between the liquid pressurizing chamber partition portion 112 and the piezoelectric actuator 103. Reference numeral 114 denotes a polishing stopper substrate, for example, a stainless steel substrate. In the case of the present embodiment, two openings of the present invention are a window W above the liquid pressurizing chamber 109 and a jet port 110 below. In addition, another opening may be provided in the liquid pressurizing chamber 109 as an opening that is not arranged so as to face the actuator 103. In this case, however, an additional force may be applied when the actuator 103 is deformed under pressure. It must be small enough not to interfere with the pressure action.

Next, the structure and dimensions of the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described. Piezoelectric substrate 101
The diaphragm 102 is bonded with an adhesive. The piezoelectric substrate 101 has a thickness of 20 μm, a length of 2.0 mm, and a width of 200 μm.
μm. The dimensions of the actuator section of the vibration plate 102 are 70 μm in thickness, and the length and width thereof are
Is the same as The distance between adjacent liquid ejecting elements is 7
The width is about 9 μm, and 90 elements are arranged in one inch width. Piezoelectric actuator 103
Are fixed to the holding substrate 107 at both ends to form a unimorph actuator supported at both ends. The liquid channel 108 has a length of 8 mm and a depth of 200 μm. The liquid pressurizing chamber 109 has an inner dimension of 1.9 mm in length,
The width is 140 μm and the depth is 400 μm. The liquid pressurizing chamber partition portion 112 has an outer shape of 2.0 m in length when viewed from above.
m, width 200 μm. The ejection port forming substrate 106 has a thickness of 30 μm, and the opening diameter of the ejection port 110 is 30 μm. The liquid chamber forming substrate 105 and the ejection port forming substrate 106 are adhered by an adhesive. The distance g between the gaps 111, that is, the distance between the piezoelectric actuator 103 and the liquid pressurizing chamber partition 112 is about 10 μm when no voltage is applied to the piezoelectric actuator 103. The polishing stopper substrate 114 has a thickness of 3
It is 0 μm. However, the dimensions described above are examples, and other dimensions may be used. The same applies to the other embodiments 2 to 19.

Although not explicitly shown in the figure, the electrode on the upper surface of each liquid ejecting element is connected to an electrode lead-out pad provided in advance on the holding substrate 107 by wire bonding. Have been withdrawn.

Next, a method of manufacturing the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. First, a method of manufacturing each component will be described in order with reference to FIGS. The stainless substrate is machined into a shape as shown in the figure by mechanical cutting to obtain a holding substrate 107 (FIG. 3).
(A)). Next, the outer shape of the piezoelectric ceramic substrate having a thickness of 200 μm is cut by a dicing saw to obtain a piezoelectric substrate 101 (FIG. 3B). Next, the stainless steel substrate is hollowed out by etching to form the diaphragm 102 (FIG. 3).
(C)). The stainless steel substrate is hollowed out by etching to obtain a stainless steel substrate 114 to be used as a polishing stopper (FIG. 3D). However, the polishing stopper substrate 114 has the same thickness as the finally desired thickness of the piezoelectric substrate 101. For example, in the present embodiment, since the final thickness of the piezoelectric substrate 101 is 20 μm, the thickness of the polishing stopper substrate 114 is 20 μm in advance. A liquid passage 108 is formed by half-etching the stainless steel substrate, and a liquid pressurizing chamber 109 is formed by laser processing to obtain a liquid chamber forming substrate 105 (FIG. 3).
(E)). The injection port forming substrate 106 is formed by electroforming (FIG. 3F).

Next, a method of manufacturing the piezoelectric actuator 103 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 4, (a),
(B) and (e) are top views, and (c) and (d) are cross-sectional views of (a) and (b), respectively. First, the piezoelectric substrate 10
1. The vibration plate 102 and the polishing stopper substrate 114 are fixed by an adhesive as shown in FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (c). FIG.
In (c), the distance between the piezoelectric substrate 101 and the polishing stopper substrate 114 is about 25 μm.

Next, the piezoelectric substrate 101 is polished to a thickness of 20 μm (FIGS. 4B and 4D). At this time, since the thickness of the polishing stopper substrate 114 was previously set to 20 μm, when the thickness of the piezoelectric substrate 101 became 20 μm,
The piezoelectric substrate 101 is hardly polished. this is,
This is because the polishing speed of the polishing stopper substrate 114 made of stainless steel is sufficiently lower than the polishing speed of the piezoelectric substrate 101.
It plays a role in stopping polishing. Next, a step of removing a portion of the piezoelectric substrate 101 that does not overlap with the vibration plate 102 is performed. The substrate is sprayed with fine abrasive grains from the lower side of FIG. 4D to process only the piezoelectric substrate 101 into the shape of FIG. 4E. This method is generally called a sand blast, and the vibration plate 102 plays a role of a mask when processing the piezoelectric substrate 101. This processing method also utilizes the fact that the processing speed of the diaphragm 102 is lower than that of the piezoelectric substrate 101.

Finally, the liquid ejecting apparatus of the present embodiment is completed by bonding and assembling the substrates.

Next, the injection method of the liquid injection device according to the present embodiment will be described. First, the operation principle of the piezoelectric actuator 103 will be described. The description will be made with reference to FIG. 17A to 17C are diagrams illustrating the operation of the piezoelectric substrate alone, and FIGS. 17D to 17F are diagrams illustrating the operation of the piezoelectric actuator 503. Basically, the operating principles of the piezoelectric actuator 103 and the piezoelectric actuator 503 are the same. In FIG. 17, reference numeral 501 denotes a piezoelectric substrate and 520a.
Denotes an upper electrode provided on the piezoelectric substrate, and 520b denotes a lower electrode. A diaphragm 502 is a conductor such as a metal, for example. Reference numeral 503 denotes a unimorph type piezoelectric actuator. First, the operation of the piezoelectric substrate 501 will be described. The piezoelectric substrate 501 has such a characteristic that a pulse electric field is applied in the thickness direction, that is, when a voltage is applied between the upper electrode 520a and the lower electrode 520b, the piezoelectric substrate 501 expands and contracts in the length direction (lateral direction). For example, when a negative electric field is applied, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 17B, the piezoelectric substrate 501 contracts, and when a positive electric field is applied, the piezoelectric substrate 501 expands as shown in FIG. 17C. By alternately applying a positive and a negative electric field to the piezoelectric substrate having such characteristics, the expansion and contraction operation of the piezoelectric substrate can be obtained. Such a mode of operation is called a length vibration mode. Next, the piezoelectric actuator 503 will be described. In FIG. 17D, when a pulse voltage is applied to the upper surface electrode 520a and the diaphragm 502, when a negative electric field is applied, the piezoelectric substrate 501 tries to shrink, but the diaphragm 502 tries to hold the state. As shown in FIG. 17F, the piezoelectric actuator 503 bends in a downwardly convex shape. Conversely, when a positive electric field is applied, the piezoelectric substrate 501 tries to expand, but the diaphragm 502 tries to maintain the state. As a result, FIG.
The piezoelectric actuator 50 has a convex shape as shown in FIG.
3 bends. Thus, the bending operation of the piezoelectric actuator 503 can be obtained by alternately applying the plus and minus electric fields. Such a mode of operation is called a bending vibration mode. In the above description, the diaphragm 502
Was used as a conductor, but a substrate such as an insulator or a semiconductor may be used as the diaphragm, in which case, for example, a structure as shown in FIG. In FIG. 18, a lower surface electrode 520 b is provided below the piezoelectric substrate 501 and is bonded to the vibration plate 512.
The operation is the same as that of the bending vibration mode described above.

Next, the liquid ejecting method will be described with reference to FIG. 21A is a cross-sectional view of the liquid ejecting element in a state where no voltage is applied, and FIG. 21B is a state in which a voltage is applied, the piezoelectric actuator 103 is displaced, and the liquid is ejected from the liquid ejecting port 110. FIG. 21C is an enlarged view of the liquid pressurizing chamber 109 when the piezoelectric actuator 103 comes closest to the liquid pressurizing chamber partition 112. This will be described below. The liquid supplied to the liquid flow path 108 of each element from the liquid tank (not shown in the figure) of the liquid ejecting apparatus is liquid pressurized through the gap 111 due to capillary action or a pressure difference between the chambers. It is supplied to the chamber 109 (FIG. 21A). The pressure difference is generated by operating the piezoelectric actuator 103 or sucking the liquid from the liquid ejection port 110. When the piezoelectric actuator 103 is bent and displaced toward the liquid pressure chamber partition wall portion 112 side (downward), the gap g of the gap 111 becomes smaller than the initial value. At this time, although there is a difference depending on the viscosity of the liquid and the physical properties of the partition wall material, the value of g
When the thickness is about 0 to 2 μm, the liquid pressurizing chamber 109 becomes a liquid flow path 108 due to the viscosity of the liquid filled in the gap 111.
Is substantially shut off (FIG. 21 (c)). At this time, the gap 111 is in a state of being filled with liquid, and this thin liquid layer is transferred from the liquid pressurizing chamber 109 to the liquid flow path 1.
It acts as a pressure wall to prevent pressure leakage into the 08. That is, since the liquid pressurizing chamber 109 is substantially isolated from the liquid flow path 108, there is almost no pressure leakage to the liquid flow path 108, and only the pressure in the liquid pressurizing chamber 109 increases. By the above operation, the liquid is ejected from the liquid ejection port 110 (FIG. 21B). After the ejection, the pressure in the liquid pressurizing chamber 109 decreases, the piezoelectric actuator 103 is displaced upward, and the liquid is supplied again from the liquid flow path 108. The main factor of the liquid supply is, of course, the pressure difference between the liquid flow path 108 and the liquid pressurizing chamber 109, and in addition, there is an effect due to the capillary phenomenon. In addition, the phenomenon described above can be viewed in another way. When the distance g is small, the piezoelectric actuator 10
3 is substantially supported by the liquid pressurizing chamber partition portion 112 all around. That is, by using the structure and the injection method of the present invention, it is possible to virtually adopt a structure in which the actuator is supported at both ends where large displacement can be obtained, or is supported around the entire circumference to promote a pressure rise.

When the liquid ejecting apparatus of the present embodiment described above is used, the number of controllable gradations is 6 to 10 values, which is larger than the conventional piezoelectric type and a comparative example described later.

Next, the structure of the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present embodiment described above, and the features of the ejecting method,
The effect will be described. The structural feature of the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present embodiment is that the piezoelectric actuator 10
3 and the liquid pressurizing chamber 109 are separated by a predetermined gap, and the piezoelectric actuator 103 is supported by the liquid pressurizing chamber 1.
09 is fixed at a portion other than the partition wall that forms the inner wall of the cell. In addition, since the piezoelectric actuator 103 does not need to previously seal the inside of the liquid pressurizing chamber 109, the supporting method is not the full-circumferential support that normally supports the four sides, but the both-end support that can take a large displacement. That is possible. Further, the feature of the ejection method of the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present embodiment is that when the gap g of the gap 111 becomes smaller, the gap 11 becomes smaller.
The liquid filled in 1 acts like a pressure wall, the liquid pressurizing chamber 109 is substantially shut off from the liquid flow path 108, only the liquid pressurizing chamber 109 is in a high pressure state, and the liquid is injected. Is a point. Here, unlike the conventional liquid ejecting apparatus described in the related art, the pressure increase in the liquid flow path 108 is negligibly small as compared with the pressure increase in the liquid pressurizing chamber 109, and the piezoelectric actuator 103 performs the operation. Most of the work is used for increasing the pressure of the liquid pressurizing chamber 109. That is, the energy use efficiency is higher than that of the conventional piezoelectric type.

The effects obtained by the above features will be described. The amount of the ejected droplet is the volume amount pressed by the piezoelectric actuator, that is, the so-called volume reduction amount ΔV.
The larger the value, the more. Since the volume reduction amount ΔV is the product of the displacement ξ of the piezoelectric actuator and the cross-sectional area S1 of the liquid pressurizing chamber, the displacement で き る can be increased (large displacement characteristic), that is, the variable width of the displacement 方 can be increased. However, the amount of droplets can be changed widely, and as a result, the modulation width can be widened. As the modulation width is larger, the number of gradations can be increased.

When the liquid pressurizing chamber 109 is in a high pressure state, the liquid pressurizing chamber 109 and the liquid flow path 108 are in a shut off state. Is small, that is, leakage of pressure to the liquid flow path 108 is small. Therefore, the energy utilization efficiency is increased, and the modulation width can be increased. For the same reason, it is possible to increase the speed of switching from the low pressure state to the high pressure state in the liquid pressurizing chamber 109 even though the rigidity of the piezoelectric actuator 103 is relatively small. In other words, it is possible to improve the pressure response characteristics, and it is also possible to eject small droplets, thereby further widening the modulation range. Further, due to a large pressure difference between the liquid flow path 108 after the ejection and the liquid pressurizing chamber 109, a large gap 111 and a large effect due to the capillary phenomenon, etc. Liquid supply capacity is increased,
Even if the piezoelectric actuator 103 is driven at a high speed, the supply of the liquid sufficiently catches up, and high-speed printing can be performed. Even when bubbles are mixed in, the bubbles can be removed while the liquid is being ejected. There is also. Note that, even when the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present embodiment is not used for multi-tone printing, there is also an effect that the power consumption of the liquid ejecting apparatus can be reduced due to its high energy use efficiency.

The liquid does not need to be completely filled in the liquid flow path 108. In short, the liquid is supplied to the liquid pressurizing chamber 109 by the action of surface tension and the above-mentioned pressure difference. It is only necessary that it be satisfied to some extent. (Embodiment 2) A second embodiment of the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Further, since the liquid ejecting apparatus of the present invention partially overlaps with the first embodiment, only the differences from the first embodiment will be described.

The structure of the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present embodiment is different from that of the first embodiment,
The point is that the resin sheet 104 is inserted between the liquid pressurizing chamber partition part 112 and the liquid pressurizing chamber partition part 112. The resin sheet 104 has a thickness,
It is about 10 μm. Since the injection method of the present embodiment is substantially the same as that of the first embodiment, the differences will be described. When the piezoelectric actuator 103 is bent downward, the resin film 104 having sufficiently low rigidity as compared with the piezoelectric actuator 103 is deformed upward, and the liquid flow path 10
In 8, the volume change hardly occurs. Therefore, the pressure rise is very small. If the resin sheet 104 to be inserted has a sufficiently small bending rigidity as compared with the piezoelectric actuator 103, the displacement amount of the piezoelectric actuator 103 due to the insertion of the resin sheet 104, the energy use efficiency decreases, or the pressure increases. It is possible to minimize deterioration of the response characteristics.

When the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present invention described above is used, it is possible to prevent the liquid from flowing out from the gap between the adjacent liquid ejecting apparatuses, so that the liquid flows out and the upper electrode and the lower electrode of the piezoelectric actuator 103 can be prevented. This has the effect of eliminating the problem that the impedance between the diaphragms serving as the electrodes is reduced and the liquid that has flowed out causes the piezoelectric substrate 101 to be deteriorated. (Embodiment 3) A third embodiment of the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present invention will be described. Since the present embodiment partially overlaps with Embodiment 1, differences from Embodiment 1 will be particularly described with reference to FIG. In the present embodiment, the first embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the piezoelectric actuator 103,
Also, the size of the liquid pressurizing chamber 109 and the arrangement interval of the liquid ejecting elements are different. More specifically, the piezoelectric actuator 103 has a length of 1.5 mm and a width of 100 μm.
The distance between adjacent elements is about 41 μm,
180 elements are arranged in one inch width. The inside of the liquid pressurizing chamber 109 has a length of 1.4 m.
m, width 60 μm, and depth 400 μm. The liquid pressurizing chamber partition portion 112 has an outer shape having a length of 1.0 when viewed from above.
mm and a width of 100 μm.

The ejection method and features of the liquid ejection apparatus according to the present embodiment are substantially the same as those of the first embodiment.

By adopting this embodiment, the number of gradations is four, which is equivalent to that of the conventional piezoelectric liquid ejecting apparatus. However, since the liquid ejecting elements are arranged at a narrow pitch, it is possible to reduce the printing speed. High-resolution printing can be realized while suppressing. Further, the reproducibility of the dots when expressing the gradation is high, and the control thereof is easy. The reason will be further described. The diameter of the ejected droplet is a function of the volume reduction amount ΔV (the larger the ΔV, the larger the droplet diameter). As described above, ΔV is the product of the displacement ξ of the piezoelectric actuator and the cross-sectional area S1 of the liquid pressurizing chamber. In the present embodiment, in order to obtain a modulation width equivalent to that of the liquid ejecting apparatus of the related art, the displacement ξ
Is compensated by increasing the variable width of. That is, the increase width of the displacement ξ when increasing the gradation by one becomes large. As a result, compared to the conventional liquid ejecting apparatus, there is no need to finely control the displacement ξ, and the influence of the variation of the displacement 変 動 from the desired value on the dot diameter is reduced, so that the controllability is high. A liquid ejecting apparatus can be realized.

The high dot reproducibility and the easy control are not limited to the present embodiment, but are different from the conventional piezoelectric ink ejecting apparatus described in the prior art. The same applies to the embodiments. In short, it is sufficient that the variable width of the displacement ξ is large. Embodiment 4 A fourth embodiment of the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 5A is a sectional view, and FIG. 5B is a top view. FIG. 5C is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the liquid pressurizing chamber 109, and FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the liquid ejecting apparatus. In FIG. 5, 101 to 112,
Reference numerals 114 and 114 have substantially the same meanings as those in the first embodiment, except for those specified in the description of the present embodiment.

The structure and dimensions of the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described. The piezoelectric substrate 101 has a thickness of 20 μm, a length of 2 mm, and a width of 200 μm.
The actuator part of No. 2 has a thickness of 40 μm and a length of 2 m
m, and a width of 200 μm, and are bonded to each other with an adhesive to form a piezoelectric actuator 103. The distance between adjacent elements is about 79 μm, and 9
Zero elements are arranged. The resin sheet 104 has a thickness of about 5 μm and is bonded to the vibration plate 102 and the liquid chamber forming substrate 105 by an adhesive and pressure bonding. The liquid channel 108 has a length of 2 mm and a depth of 200 μm. The liquid pressurizing chamber 109 has an inner diameter of 140 μmφ and a depth of 400 μm, and the liquid pressurizing chamber partition 112 has a donut shape with an outer shape of 200 μm and an inner diameter of 140 μm when viewed from the top. The ejection port forming substrate 106 has a thickness of 4
At 0 μm, the opening diameter of the injection port 110 is 40 μm. Further, the liquid chamber forming substrate 105 and the injection port forming substrate 1
Reference numeral 06 is adhered by an adhesive. Also, the gap 111
, That is, the distance between the resin sheet 104 and the partitioning wall portion 112 of the liquid pressurizing chamber is about 10 μm when no voltage is applied to the piezoelectric actuator 103. The polishing stopper substrate 114 has the same thickness as the piezoelectric substrate 101 of 20 μm.

The manufacturing method of the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present embodiment is substantially the same as that of the first embodiment.

The ejection method of the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present embodiment is substantially the same as the combination of the first and second embodiments. Operating principle of the piezoelectric actuator 103,
The method of supplying the liquid to the liquid flow path 108 and the liquid pressurizing chamber 109 is the same as in the first embodiment.

When the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present embodiment described above is used, the modulation width becomes 100 or more, and the number of controllable gradations becomes 32 or more. Compared to the first embodiment, the size was dramatically increased.

The features of the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present embodiment are the same as those described in the first and second embodiments, and in addition to the features described in the first and second embodiments, the displacement direction of the piezoelectric actuator 103 is the normal direction. That is, the area is larger than the cross-sectional area of the liquid pressurizing chamber 109 whose normal direction is the displacement direction of the piezoelectric actuator 103. In the first embodiment, since the area of the piezoelectric actuator 103 and the cross-sectional area of the liquid pressurizing chamber 109 are substantially the same, the displacement of the piezoelectric actuator 103 is smaller than that of the liquid ejecting apparatus of the present embodiment. On the other hand, in the liquid ejecting apparatus of the present embodiment, although the pressure increase in the liquid pressurizing chamber 109 is large, the cross-sectional area of the liquid pressurizing chamber 109 is small. The force is smaller than in the first embodiment or the second embodiment. Further, for the same reason as in the first and second embodiments, since the pressure rise in the liquid flow path 108 is small, the reaction force received from the liquid that inhibits the displacement of the piezoelectric actuator 103 in the liquid flow path 108 becomes small. .

The following effects can be obtained from the features described above. By generating a high pressure only in the pressurized chamber having a smaller cross-sectional area than the actuator by the actuator having a large area, the energy generated by the actuator is concentrated in the pressurized chamber, and the energy efficiency is further improved as compared with the first embodiment. Can be increased, the displacement characteristics and the pressure response characteristics are improved, and the modulation width and the number of gradations are dramatically improved. Further, for the reasons described in the first embodiment, effects such as high-speed printing, low power consumption, and easy defoaming are further enhanced as compared with the liquid ejecting apparatus of the first embodiment. In the present embodiment, the liquid does not need to be completely filled in the liquid flow path 108, but only needs to be filled to the extent that the liquid is supplied to the liquid pressurizing chamber 109. Rather, instead of being completely filled with liquid, as shown in FIG. 5C, there is a region where liquid is not filled,
Energy use efficiency increases. It is preferable that, for example, a gas or the like having a low elastic modulus and a high compressibility is mixed in the region not filled with the liquid. Also,
If a part of the liquid chamber forming substrate 105, which is the wall of the liquid flow path 108, is easily deformed and has a low rigidity or a structure, the effect of increasing energy efficiency can be obtained. The above effect is obtained when the piezoelectric actuator 103 is
This is due to the fact that the reaction force received from the liquid in 8 is greatly reduced.

In this embodiment, it is assumed that the posture of the liquid ejecting apparatus is arbitrarily used, and the structure of the liquid actuator is interposed between the piezoelectric actuator 103 and the partitioning portion 112 of the liquid pressurizing chamber. Preventing the spill,
If the liquid ejecting apparatus is fixed and used with the actuator facing upward, the resin sheet 104 is not always necessary, but rather the resin sheet 104 can be removed to obtain the piezoelectric actuator 103.
However, the reaction force received from the liquid in the liquid flow path 108 is greatly reduced, and the energy use efficiency, displacement characteristics, and pressure response characteristics are further improved. (Fifth Embodiment) A fifth embodiment of the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 7A is a cross-sectional view, and FIG. 7B is a top view. In FIG. 5, 10
The reference numerals 1 to 112 and 114 have substantially the same meanings as those of the first embodiment, except for those specified in the description of the present embodiment. In addition, the structure and dimensions of the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present embodiment partially overlap those of the fourth embodiment, and therefore only the differences will be described. In the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present embodiment, the piezoelectric actuator 10
A groove 130 having a length of about 50 μm and a depth of about 30 μm in the longitudinal direction of the piezoelectric actuator 103 is provided in the vibration plate 102 in the vicinity of the support end 3 (FIG. 7).

The liquid ejecting method of the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present embodiment is substantially the same as that of the fourth embodiment. Also, the manufacturing method is substantially the same as that of the first embodiment or the fourth embodiment if a predetermined groove is formed on the diaphragm 102 in advance.

The features and effects of the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described. In the present embodiment,
The point is that the piezoelectric actuator 103 has lower rigidity in the vicinity of the support end as compared with other parts of the piezoelectric actuator 103. As a result, the piezoelectric actuator 103 is quasi-rotatively supported, and the displacement is further increased. In the present embodiment, the displacement amount is increased by about 1.5 to 2 times at the same applied voltage as compared with the fourth embodiment. As described above, large displacement characteristics are improved, and ejection of large droplets is facilitated. The ejection of large droplets increases the ejection amount per unit time, and substantially improves the printing speed. Therefore, high-speed printing can be realized without impairing the performance of multi-tone printing. (Embodiment 6) A sixth embodiment of the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 9A is a sectional view, and FIG. 9B is a top view. In FIG. 9, 10
The reference numerals 1 to 112 and 114 have substantially the same meanings as those of the first embodiment, except for those specified in the description of the present embodiment.

The structure and dimensions of the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described. The piezoelectric substrate 101 has a thickness of 10 μm, a length of 2 mm, and a width of 100 μm.
The actuator part of No. 2 has a thickness of 20 μm and a length of 2 m
m and a width of 100 μm, and are bonded to each other with an adhesive to form the piezoelectric actuator 103. The distance between adjacent elements is about 40 μm, and 1
Eighty elements are arranged. The resin sheet 104
It has a thickness of about 5 μm, and is adhered to the vibration plate 102 and the liquid chamber forming substrate 105 by an adhesive and pressure bonding.
The liquid channel 108 has a length of 2 mm and a depth of 200 μm. The liquid pressurizing chamber 109 has a length of 300 μm and a width of 50 μm.
μm and a depth of 400 μm.
2 has a shape as viewed from the top, an outer shape of 360 μm in length and a width of 9
The dimensions of 0 μm and the inner diameter are, of course, the same as the dimensions of the liquid pressurizing chamber 109. The ejection port forming substrate 106 has a thickness of 40 μm, and the opening diameter of the ejection port 110 is 40 μm. Further, the interval g of the gap 111, that is, the resin sheet 1
04 and the liquid pressurizing chamber partition 112 are 10 μm in a state where no voltage is applied to the piezoelectric actuator 103.
It is about. The polishing stopper substrate 114 has the same thickness as the piezoelectric substrate 101 of 10 μm.

The manufacturing method in the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present embodiment,
And the injection method is substantially the same as in the fourth embodiment.

The features and effects of the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present embodiment include the following in addition to those described in the fourth embodiment. The cross-sectional shape of the liquid pressurizing chamber 109 (FIG. 9B) is a rectangle having a short side in the width direction, and the width occupied by the liquid pressurizing chamber 109 is 90 μm, which is half that in the fourth embodiment. It is as follows. Therefore, when the width of the piezoelectric actuator 103 is reduced, the liquid ejecting elements can be arranged at a narrow pitch, and high-speed printing and high-resolution printing can be realized.

In the present embodiment, as compared with the fourth embodiment, the ratio S2 of the area S2 of the piezoelectric actuator 103 and the cross-sectional area S1 of the liquid pressurizing chamber 109 whose normal direction is the displacement direction of the piezoelectric actuator 103 is shown. / S1 becomes smaller. Therefore, the capability required for multi-tone printing, such as energy use efficiency, is reduced as compared with the fourth embodiment.
The dimensional design of the liquid ejecting apparatus may be determined depending on the required capability, that is, which one of multi-gradation printing capability, high-speed printing capability, and high-resolution printing capability is emphasized. (Seventh Embodiment) A seventh embodiment of the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 8A is a sectional view, and FIG. 8B is a top view. In FIG. 8, 10
The reference numerals 1 to 112 and 114 have substantially the same meanings as those of the first embodiment, except for those specified in the description of the present embodiment.

The structure and dimensions of the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described. The piezoelectric substrate 101 has a thickness of 20 μm, a length of 1.5 mm, and a width of 200 μm, and the actuator portion of the vibration plate 102 has a thickness of 40 μm, a length of 1.5 mm, and a width of 200 μm. Has formed.
The spacing between adjacent elements is about 79 μm, and 90 elements are arranged per inch width. Resin sheet 104
Has a thickness of about 5 μm. The liquid channel 108 has a length of 2 mm
And the depth is 200 μm. Further, the liquid pressurizing chamber 109
Has a length of 200 μm, a width of 120 μm, and a depth of 400 μm, and the liquid pressurizing chamber partition part 112 has an outer shape of 260 μm in length and 190 μm in width when viewed from above. Other parts are substantially the same as in the fourth embodiment.

The manufacturing method and the injection method of the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present embodiment are substantially the same as those of the fourth embodiment.

The liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present embodiment is characterized in that the piezoelectric actuator 103 is supported at one end by a large displacement and the liquid pressurizing chamber 109 is supported.
Is larger than that of the fourth embodiment. As a result, the effect of improving the large displacement characteristics and the amount of volume reduction ΔV is obtained, and the ejection of a large droplet diameter can be more easily realized. Therefore, high-speed printing can be realized. (Eighth Embodiment) An eighth embodiment of the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present invention will be described. This embodiment partially overlaps with Embodiment 4, but differs in that in FIGS. 5 and 6, reference numeral 101 denotes a single-crystal piezoelectric substrate, for example, a single-crystal lithium niobate substrate.

The features and effects of the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described. A feature of the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present embodiment is that a piezoelectric single crystal material is used as a piezoelectric body constituting the piezoelectric actuator 103. FIG. 23 is a diagram showing a relationship between a relative drive voltage value and a normalized displacement of a piezoelectric actuator constituted by a piezoelectric single crystal substrate of the present embodiment and a piezoelectric actuator constituted by a piezoelectric ceramic material, including a voltage application history. It is. As shown in the figure, in the piezoelectric ceramic actuator made of the piezoelectric ceramic material, a phenomenon (hysteresis due to material characteristics) occurs in which the displacement amount of the element is different even at the same drive voltage value depending on the application history of the drive voltage value. . However, the arrow in the figure indicates the direction of the voltage application history. The above-mentioned hysteresis is a phenomenon that occurs because the polarization state of the piezoelectric ceramic material changes according to the applied voltage, and the piezoelectric characteristics change. When a piezoelectric driving element is formed from a piezoelectric material having hysteresis due to such material characteristics, it becomes difficult to finely control the amount of displacement of the element by a driving voltage value.
It becomes difficult to finely control the injection amount of the liquid. In addition, such hysteresis due to material characteristics is more likely to occur as the applied voltage value is higher, which is a factor that makes it impossible to set the applied voltage value of a piezoelectric actuator using a piezoelectric ceramic material so high. Furthermore, a piezoelectric single crystal generally has a higher elastic constant than a piezoelectric ceramic material. In other words, the same single-crystal structure has higher rigidity, has better followability of high frequency, and is more resistant to liquid reaction force. There is also an effect.

As described above, by using this embodiment, it is possible to control the gradation in small units even with a small gradation width, and it is possible to realize multi-gradation printing. Furthermore, high-speed printing can be realized. (Embodiment 9) A ninth embodiment of the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present invention will be described. Although the present embodiment partially overlaps with Embodiment 4, reference numeral 101 denotes a single crystal piezoelectric substrate, for example, a single crystal lithium niobate substrate;
Reference numeral 2 denotes a diaphragm made of single-crystal silicon, which is different in that the single-crystal piezoelectric substrate 101 and the single-crystal silicon diaphragm 102 are fixed by direct bonding.

Here, the direct joining will be further described.
The direct joining is realized, for example, by the following steps. (Step a) The surface to be overlapped of the substrates is mirror-finished. (Step b) The substrate is washed, and the surface of the substrate is subjected to a hydrophilic treatment. Then, a hydroxyl group is attached to the substrate surface (FIG. 22).
(A)). (Step c) Overlay the substrates. Then, the hydroxyl groups on one surface are hydrogen-bonded with the hydroxyl groups on the other surface (FIG. 22).
(B)). (Step d) Heat treatment is performed. Then, water molecules are discharged, and interatomic bonding is achieved (FIG. 22C).

In the above steps, the substrates are directly bonded. In addition, there are generally the following three types of direct bonding.

(A) Bonding state by hydrogen bonding This is a bonding state in which a hydroxyl group intentionally attached to the substrate surface in a process before bonding or a small amount of residual water molecules is bonded by hydrogen bonding.

(B) The state of fixation by interatomic bonding The fixation by interatomic junction means that the atoms constituting the substrate surface are bonded via an intermediate adhesive layer made of a material other than the atoms constituting the substrate surface, such as an adhesive. Without direct connection. For example, a siloxane bond (Si-O-Si) in bonding silicon substrates corresponds to an atomic bond,
Covalent and ionic bonds are interatomic junctions.

(C) Bonding state in which hydrogen bonds and interatomic junctions coexist The bonding state described above mainly depends on the heat treatment temperature.
By performing heat treatment at a high temperature, the bonding form becomes (a)
(C) The order changes in (b), and the bonding strength also increases in order.

Since such a direct junction is fixed at the atomic level, a stable junction with little aging can be realized.

The liquid ejecting apparatus of the present embodiment is different from Embodiments 4 and 10 in that
Secondly, a silicon substrate having a high elastic constant, that is, a silicon substrate having a high rigidity if the same shape is used, is used as the vibration plate in that the silicon substrate 01 and the silicon single crystal vibration plate 102 are directly bonded to each other. Is a point. First, before describing the features and effects of the present invention based on the first difference, Embodiment 4 will be described.
A problem in the case where the piezoelectric actuator 103 is formed by bonding the piezoelectric substrate 101 and the vibration plate 102 with an adhesive will be described.

In such a case, hysteresis occurs in the displacement-drive voltage characteristics due to the influence of the adhesive. This hysteresis is different from the hysteresis caused by the material described in the eighth embodiment in the generation mechanism. The main causes are as follows. When a voltage is applied to the ceramic material bimorph element, the element deforms in the direction of bending (the displacement increases), and at the same time, the adhesive also deforms. However, since the adhesive has a significantly lower rigidity than the piezoelectric substrate 101 and the vibration plate 102,
Even if the diaphragm 102 attempts to bend and displace to the opposite side, it cannot immediately follow, and as a result, the bending displacement of the piezoelectric actuator 103 is prevented. This remarkably occurs when the displacement amount is large, that is, when the applied drive voltage value is large, or when the displacement repetition cycle is short, that is, when the piezoelectric actuator 103 is driven at high speed. When the hysteresis due to the adhesive described above occurs, the same problem as the problem described in the eighth embodiment appears.

The first difference in the present embodiment, that is, the problem of hysteresis caused by the adhesive, is that the piezoelectric single crystal substrate 101 and the silicon single crystal vibrating plate 102 are fixed by direct bonding at the atomic level. The present invention can solve all problems, and it is possible to control the gradation in fine units even with a smaller gradation width than in the eighth embodiment, so that multi-gradation printing can be realized. Further, by using a silicon substrate having high rigidity as the diaphragm, which is the second difference, printing at a higher speed than in the eighth embodiment can be performed. (Embodiment 10) The first embodiment of the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present invention.
Embodiment 0 will be described with reference to FIG. 5 and FIG. The structure and dimensions of the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present embodiment are substantially the same as those of the fourth embodiment except for the liquid pressurizing chamber 109. In the present embodiment, the liquid pressurizing chamber 109
The liquid pressurizing chamber 109 including the liquid pressurizing chamber partition part 112 has an outer shape of 400 μm in the length direction and 200 μm in the width direction.

By using the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present embodiment, the number of controllable gradations becomes 16 values. Further, when the outer shape of the liquid pressurizing chamber 109 including the liquid pressurizing chamber partition wall portion 112 is 600 μm, 800 μm, and 1 mm, the number of controllable gradations is about 12 values, 10 to 12 values, and 8 to 10 values.
In order to obtain the number of gradations of 16 values or more, it is necessary to adopt the structure of the liquid ejecting apparatus of the present embodiment. In order to increase the number of gradations, it is necessary to increase the modulation width, which is the width between the minimum ejection droplet amount and the maximum ejection droplet amount, and to increase the modulation width, it is necessary to increase the energy use efficiency of the device. is necessary. As described in the fourth embodiment, by setting the area S2 of the piezoelectric actuator 103 to be larger than the cross-sectional area S1 of the liquid pressurizing chamber 109 whose normal direction is the displacement direction of the piezoelectric actuator 103, the energy use efficiency is improved. Although an increase can be achieved, in order to realize a 16-level gradation number, which is a sufficient gradation number for realizing high-quality color printing, S2 / S1> 5 or more as in the present embodiment. What is necessary is just to set an area ratio.

The feature of the liquid ejecting apparatus of this embodiment is that S2 / S
This is to set the area ratio so that 1> 5, whereby it is possible to obtain 16 or more gradation levels, and to realize multi-gradation printing. (Embodiment 11) The first embodiment of the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present invention.
One embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. Since the dimensions of the present embodiment are substantially the same as those of the fourth embodiment,
In particular, only the parts that are significantly different will be described. Diaphragm 1
02 has a thickness other than the central portion of 40 μm,
There is a columnar protrusion 116 having a diameter of 200 μm, and the protrusion 11
The height of 6 is about 100 μm. Further, the depth of the liquid flow path 108 is about 120 μm.

The liquid ejecting method of the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present embodiment is substantially the same as that of the fourth embodiment. The features of the present embodiment are different from those of the fourth embodiment in that a projection is provided at the center of the diaphragm 102, the rigidity of this portion is increased, and the liquid pressurizing chamber partition portion 112 is not provided. is there. By increasing the rigidity of the central portion, the deformation of the piezoelectric actuator 103 with respect to the reaction force from the liquid pressurizing chamber 109 is reduced, and the effect of sealing the liquid pressurizing chamber 109 with pressure is further enhanced. Therefore, pressure response characteristics are improved. Also, by eliminating the liquid pressurizing chamber partition 112, the liquid pressurizing chamber 1
The portion 09 can be easily formed by processing such as etching, and the cost can be reduced. (Embodiment 12) A first embodiment of the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present invention.
The second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 11 and FIG. Since the dimensions of the present embodiment are substantially the same as those of the fourth embodiment, only the parts that are particularly significantly different will be described.

In the present embodiment, the piezoelectric actuator 103 of the fourth embodiment is
Replaced by 1. The structure and operation principle of the multilayer actuator 201 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 19, (a) shows the multilayer actuator 2
A perspective view of FIG. 01 has a structure in which a plurality of piezoelectric substrates having the length vibration mode described in the first embodiment are stacked.
(B) is a top view, (c) is a front view, and a broken line is an electrode 620a.
This is a state of deformation of the multilayer actuator 201 when a positive voltage is applied between −620b. (D) is also a front view, and a broken line similarly shows a state of deformation when a negative voltage is applied. Actually, the laminated actuator 2
The upper part 01, that is, the upper part of the top view (b) is fixed by the holding substrate 107, so that the upper part (c) and (d) is not deformed upward, and the lower part is more. Deform. The multilayer actuator having such a length vibration mode has much higher bending rigidity than the piezoelectric actuator having the bending vibration mode described in the first embodiment.

The reason why the stacked type is used will be described. By reducing the thickness of one piezoelectric substrate, the electric field applied to the piezoelectric body is increased, and by reducing the thickness and increasing the rigidity, the rigidity is increased and the force generated by the actuator is increased. is there.

The injection method of the liquid injection apparatus of the present embodiment is substantially the same as that of the fourth embodiment.

The feature of the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present embodiment is that the piezoelectric actuator 103 used as the liquid pressurizing means in the fourth embodiment is replaced with a multilayer actuator 201. The multilayer actuator 201 generates less displacement than the piezoelectric actuator 103, but has high rigidity.
Excellent pressure response characteristics and high frequency characteristics. Therefore, it is suitable for ejecting relatively small droplets.

With the above features, multi-gradation printing is of course possible, but further, a small diameter liquid can be ejected, and high resolution printing can be performed. (Embodiment 13) The first embodiment of the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present invention.
The third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. Since the dimensions of the present embodiment are substantially the same as those of the fourth embodiment,
In particular, only the parts that are significantly different will be described.

In the present embodiment, the piezoelectric actuator 103 in the fourth embodiment is replaced with a bimorph type piezoelectric single crystal actuator 403. FIG. 13 shows the structure of the bimorph type piezoelectric single crystal actuator 403.
This will be described with reference to FIG. Single crystal lithium niobate substrate 40
Reference numerals 1 and 402 each have a thickness of 25 μm. In addition, the single crystal lithium niobate substrates 401 and 402 are polarized in opposite directions to the thickness direction of the substrates as shown in FIG. Normally, single crystal lithium niobate is polarized in the Z-axis direction of the crystal, that is, in the c-axis direction. As shown in FIG. 16C, the single-crystal lithium niobate substrates 401 and 402 are obtained by rotating the y-axis 140 degrees with the x-axis as the rotation axis and newly setting the y-axis, and simultaneously rotating the z-axis 140 degrees. The substrate is cut so that the y 'axis is the normal direction when the z' axis is set. In other words, the single-crystal lithium niobate substrates 401 and 402 are cut substrates as shown in FIG. When the substrates 401 and 402 are attached to each other so as to be turned upside down, a substrate having a polarization direction as shown in FIG. Further, as shown in FIG. 16B, the polarization directions may be cut and bonded so that the polarization directions are not completely reversed but open at an angle of 80 degrees.

In the present embodiment, the lithium niobate substrates 401 and 402 are cut from the ingot polarized in a predetermined direction at the above-described cut angle, and then are cut by the steps described in the ninth embodiment. Directly joined,
Electrodes are formed on the upper and lower surfaces. Further, the lithium niobate substrates 401 and 402 have the property of expanding and contracting in the longitudinal direction of the substrate when a pulse voltage is applied in the thickness direction of the substrate. When the lithium substrate 401 has a displacement of elongation, the lithium niobate substrate 402 has a displacement of contraction, so that a bimorph type piezoelectric single crystal actuator 403 having a bending vibration mode can be formed.

The liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present embodiment has a structure in which the bimorph-type piezoelectric single crystal actuator 403 described above is bonded to the diaphragm 102 having a thickness of 3 μm.
Other parts are substantially the same as in the fourth embodiment. However,
The vibration plate 102 is not necessarily required, and in this embodiment, the vibration plate 102 is used to establish conduction between the vibration plate 102 and the back electrode of the bimorph type piezoelectric single crystal actuator 403 during bonding, and to use the vibration plate 102 as a common electrode. It is just that. Although not shown in the drawing, an electrode is provided on the upper surface of the lithium niobate substrate 401, that is, on the surface on the opposite side to the lithium niobate substrate 402.
The electrode is drawn out.

The injection method of the liquid injection apparatus of the present embodiment is substantially the same as that of the fourth embodiment.

The liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present embodiment is characterized in that the piezoelectric actuator 103 used as the liquid pressurizing means in the fourth embodiment is replaced with a bimorph type piezoelectric single crystal actuator 40.
That is, 3. Thus, in addition to the effects described in the ninth embodiment, the following effects are further obtained. First, a large displacement can be obtained with a low electric field, and the withstand voltage of the actuator can be improved. Second, since the materials have the same thermal expansion, the process of direct bonding can be simplified and the cost can be reduced. (Embodiment 14) The first embodiment of the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present invention.
The fourth embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 5, 12, and 14. FIG. This embodiment relates to, for example, a liquid ejecting method of a liquid ejecting apparatus having a structure described in Embodiment 1 or Embodiment 4 or a structure described in Embodiment 20 described later. The liquid ejecting method for performing the modulation will be described in detail. FIG. 12 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the liquid pressurizing chamber 109.
(A) is when voltage is not applied, (b) is when voltage is applied and the piezoelectric actuator 103 is in the liquid pressure chamber partition part 1.
FIG. 12 is a diagram when the closest approach is made to FIG. However, resin sheet 1
04 is omitted, and the initial interval g0 is actually the distance between the lowermost portion of the resin sheet 104 and the uppermost portion of the liquid pressure chamber partition wall portion 112. The same applies to the minimum interval gmin. FIG. 14 shows the actual displacement Δr of the piezoelectric actuator 103.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a relationship between the amount of ejected droplet and the amount of ejected droplet.

The structure of the liquid ejecting apparatus according to this embodiment is the same as that of the fourth embodiment.

The injection method of the liquid injection device according to the present embodiment is basically the same as the first and fourth embodiments.
This is based on the injection method described above. By changing the amount of displacement Δr of the piezoelectric actuator 103, the amount of droplets ejected on the paper is controlled. For example, in the ejection method of the present embodiment, when Δr is changed by controlling the voltage, dot modulation of 8 to 16 values can be performed. Here, with the same input voltage value, it is possible to control the ejected droplet amount with good reproducibility within a range of ± 2%. Further, even if the applied voltage is the same, the actual displacement Δr can be changed by changing the initial interval g0.
Six-level dot modulation is possible, and dot reproducibility is ± 2%
Within the range. In addition, as a method of changing g0,
Embodiment described later? Etc. may be used. Further, by changing both the applied voltage and the initial interval g0 in combination, dot modulation of 16 to 32 values becomes possible, and the dot reproducibility falls within the range of ± 2%.

The feature of the liquid ejecting method according to the present embodiment is that the actual displacement amount is controlled, the pressure in the liquid pressurizing chamber 109 is controlled, and the recorded ejected droplet amount is controlled. With such a feature, there is an effect that the control of the ejection droplet amount can be performed accurately and with good reproducibility by a simple method of changing the input voltage value.

Here, the displacement of the actuator 103 will be described. When the initial interval g0 is sufficiently larger than the maximum displacement amount Δmax of the piezoelectric actuator 103, the liquid pressurizing chamber 109 (the liquid pressurizing chamber partition portion 11)
The same applies to the following).
The reaction force received by 3 is relatively small and has a substantially constant value. This state is defined as a free state. In the free state, when the same drive waveform is applied, the displacement amount of the piezoelectric actuator 103 has substantially the same value regardless of g0. However, when the initial interval g0 is a value close to the maximum displacement amount ξmax, the reaction force received from the liquid pressurizing chamber 109 increases as approaching the liquid pressurizing chamber partition portion 112, and eventually loses the reaction force. Therefore, the piezoelectric body comes to rest. This state is defined as a rate limiting state. In the rate-determining state, if the displacement of the piezoelectric actuator 103 from the initial position before the voltage is applied is the actual displacement Δr, and the displacement when the same voltage is applied in the free state is Δf, then Δf−Δr This means that the displacement amount has decreased due to the reaction force received from the liquid pressurizing chamber 109. Assuming that the reduced displacement amount is ξl, ξl = ξf-ξr
It is. This Δl is defined as an invalid displacement amount. ξ1 can be changed by changing the initial interval g0, that is, ξr also changes with g0, and g0 can change the size of the ejected droplet amount. FIG. 14 shows the relationship between the invalid displacement amount and the ejected droplet amount.
(B). (Embodiment 15) The first embodiment of the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present invention.
The fifth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. This embodiment makes the liquid ejection method described in the fourteenth embodiment more effective, and describes in detail the liquid ejection method when performing dot modulation.

In the liquid ejecting method according to the present embodiment, the time from when the piezoelectric actuator 103 starts to be displaced in the direction in which the distance g becomes smaller until the piezoelectric actuator 103 comes closest to the liquid pressurizing chamber partition portion 112 is determined. That is, the operating speed of the piezoelectric actuator 103 is changed. Thus, the pressure in the liquid pressurizing chamber 109 is changed to control the amount of the liquid to be ejected. FIG. 15 shows the relationship between the actual displacement amount Δr, the actuator operation speed に よ る, and the ejected droplet amount according to the ejection method of the present embodiment.

According to this method, as shown in FIG. 15, compared with the method described in the fourteenth embodiment, it is possible to obtain a smaller amount of ejected liquid droplets. Also increase. For example, when the liquid ejecting apparatus having the structure described in the fourth embodiment is used, the liquid ejecting method according to the present embodiment can obtain 32 or more gradation levels, and has the same input voltage waveform. If it is, it becomes possible to control the ejected droplet amount within a range of ± 2% with good reproducibility.

According to the characteristics of the liquid ejecting method described above,
By changing the actual displacement amount {r and the operating speed} of the piezoelectric actuator 103, the modulation width can be greatly improved, and there is an effect that multi-gradation printing can be realized.

The relationship between the invalid displacement amount Δl and the ejected droplet amount in the ejecting method of the present embodiment is as shown in FIG. The broken line in the figure indicates the case where the injection method described in Embodiment 14 is used, and the modulation width is improved.

In the ejection method of the present embodiment, both the actual displacement amount {r} and the actuator operation speed 可 変 are variable. However, it is needless to say that dot modulation does not occur even if only the actuator operation speed 変 化 is changed. It is possible. FIG.
(C) shows the situation. The horizontal axis represents the operating speed υ, and the vertical axis represents the liquid injection amount. (Embodiment 16) The first embodiment of the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present invention.
The sixth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 12 and FIG. This embodiment relates to a liquid ejecting method of the liquid ejecting apparatus having the structure described in Embodiment 4 or Embodiment 1, and relates to a liquid ejecting method for obtaining high energy use efficiency.

The structure of the liquid ejecting apparatus according to this embodiment is the same as that of the fourth embodiment.

The liquid ejecting method according to the present embodiment will be described. As described in the first embodiment or the fourth embodiment, immediately before the liquid is ejected from the liquid ejection port 110, the pressure in the liquid pressurizing chamber 109 becomes maximum.
At this time, the interval g becomes gmin. In order to increase the energy utilization efficiency, it is ideal that the pressure in the liquid flow path 108 is constant irrespective of the displacement state of the piezoelectric actuator 103 and the pressure rise occurs only in the liquid pressurizing chamber 109. In the present embodiment, at least the pressure ratio between the liquid pressurizing chamber 109 and the liquid flow path 108 is set to 5 times or more,
Eight or more gradation levels have been realized. Here, the liquid pressurizing chamber 10
9 and the pressure P1 of the liquid flow path 108, P
The condition of 2 / P1> 5 is required. Also, the reaction force received by the piezoelectric actuator, which is the value obtained by integrating the pressure with the area, is
If the reaction force A2 in the liquid pressurizing chamber 109 and the reaction force A1 in the liquid flow path 108 are satisfied, it is preferable that A2 / A1> 1/2.

A feature of the liquid ejecting method according to the present embodiment is that the pressure of the liquid pressurizing chamber 109 is set to be at least five times higher than the pressure of the liquid flow path 108. As a result, the energy use efficiency is increased, the number of gradations of eight or more values can be realized, and multi-gradation printing can be performed. Note that, in order to enable color printing with sufficiently high image quality, it is preferable that the number of gradations is 16 or more. However, in combination with Embodiment 14 or Embodiment 15, the number of gradations is 32 or more. The number of gradations can be realized.

In the present embodiment, P2 / P1> 5
However, even if the ratio is lower than that, the energy use efficiency is higher than that of a normal piezoelectric liquid ejecting apparatus. For example, if liquid ejection is performed under the condition of P2 / P1> 2, the energy use efficiency will be higher than in the comparative example. (Embodiment 17) The first embodiment of the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present invention.
The seventh embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. This embodiment relates to a liquid ejecting method of the liquid ejecting apparatus having the structure described in Embodiment 4 or Embodiment 1.

As described in the fourteenth embodiment, the initial interval g0 is an important parameter that determines the liquid ejection characteristics. For example, if the initial interval g0 is different between the elements, there arises a problem that the dot diameter is different even when the same voltage value is applied. In addition, there arises a problem that a predetermined performance of the liquid ejecting apparatus cannot be obtained because the manufactured liquid ejecting apparatus deviates from the designed g0. The problem can be solved by improving the manufacturing accuracy, but there is also a problem that the manufacturing cost is increased.

The structure of the liquid ejecting apparatus for performing the liquid ejecting method according to the present embodiment will be described. In FIG.
Reference numeral 0 denotes a groove provided on the holding substrate 107, and 141 denotes an electromagnetic actuator provided for deforming the holding substrate 107 on the piezoelectric actuator 103 side.
Also, as shown in FIG. 27B, the holding substrate 107 is
The portion on the side of the piezoelectric actuator 103 from 40 is processed into a shape separated for each liquid ejecting element.

Next, the liquid ejecting method according to the present embodiment will be described. When the electromagnetic actuator 141 is deformed, the piezoelectric actuator 103 is deformed according to the amount of deformation of the electromagnetic actuator 141. That is, g0 changes. Thus, the electromagnetic actuator 141 is deformed so that g0 becomes a predetermined size, and further,
A predetermined drive voltage for driving the piezoelectric actuator 103 to pressurize and depressurize is applied to eject the liquid. Note that the deformation of the piezoelectric actuator 103 by the electromagnetic actuator 141 may be performed before applying a drive voltage for driving the piezoelectric actuator 103 to pressurize or depressurize it, or during the application of the drive voltage. You may go.

According to the above-described liquid ejecting method, it is possible to eliminate a substantial variation in the initial interval g0 between elements and a deviation from a desired amount, and the following effects are obtained. First, it is possible to accurately control the interval g, and it is possible to increase the reproducibility of the ejected droplet amount,
More detailed multi-tone printing can be realized. Second, the required accuracy in manufacturing is eased, and manufacturing costs can be kept low.

The holding substrate 107 may be deformed by using a piezoelectric actuator or another actuator in addition to the electromagnetic actuator used in the present embodiment. In short, any member can be used as long as it can deform the holding substrate 107 by a desired amount. (Embodiment 18) A first embodiment of the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present invention.
An eighth embodiment will be described. This embodiment relates to a liquid ejecting method of the liquid ejecting apparatus having the structure described in Embodiment 4 or Embodiment 1.

As described in the fourteenth and seventeenth embodiments, the initial interval g0 is an important parameter for determining the liquid ejection characteristics, and needs to be adjusted on the order of μm.

In the liquid jetting method of the present embodiment, in addition to the driving voltage for performing the pressurizing drive and the depressurizing drive of the piezoelectric actuator 103, a DC voltage is superimposed on the driving voltage for controlling the initial interval g0. Then, the piezoelectric actuator 103 is driven. As a result, it is possible to eliminate a substantial variation between elements of the initial interval g0 and a deviation from a desired amount. The features described above have the same effects as those described in the seventeenth embodiment, but additionally have the following effects. First, the piezoelectric actuator 103
Is directly deformed, that is, the displacement g is controlled by the DC voltage, so that the substantial control of g0 is performed. Therefore, the control of the interval g can be performed more accurately, and the reproducibility of the ejected droplet amount is further improved. And more precise multi-tone printing can be realized. Secondly, there is no need for complicated processing of the holding substrate 107 or a new actuator for controlling g0, so that the manufacturing cost can be kept low.

The bias voltage to be superimposed need not always be applied to the piezoelectric actuator 103, but may be applied at least when the piezoelectric actuator 103 is being pressed. Further, the application time of the bias voltage needs to be limited to a time that does not return the piezoelectric actuator 103 to the original state.

The DC bias application mechanism is as follows.
It is possible to easily change the bias value applied to each element by providing a resistor on the extraction electrode portion connected to the upper surface electrode of the piezoelectric actuator 103 of each element by printing and changing the resistance value by laser trimming. Also,
The applied voltage waveform may be stored on a semiconductor memory. (Embodiment 19) A manufacturing method according to a nineteenth embodiment of the present invention will be described. The explanation is shown in FIG. 3 and FIG.
This is performed using In the same manner as in the first embodiment, a piezoelectric actuator 103 is formed as shown in FIG. Next, the members shown in FIG. 3 are overlapped, and a screw is inserted into a screw hole provided in advance to fix each member.

The features of the manufacturing method described above are as follows.
The point is that no adhesive is used for fixing the members. For example, in the case of the liquid ejecting apparatus having the structure as in the first embodiment or the fourth embodiment, the piezoelectric actuator 103 (actually, the resin sheet 104) and the liquid pressurizing chamber partition 112
Is an extremely important parameter that affects the liquid ejection characteristics. However, by fixing the member using an adhesive, it becomes difficult to control g0, and variations between elements of g0 can be reduced. It gets bigger. This is due to variations in the thickness of the adhesive, warpage after bonding, and the like.
The warpage after bonding is caused by, for example, a difference in thermal expansion coefficient between the substrates. The above problem is solved by using the manufacturing method of the present embodiment. Therefore, there is no need to adjust g0,
In addition, it becomes possible to manufacture a liquid ejecting apparatus in which characteristics variation between elements is small.

Next, a first example relating to the liquid ejecting apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 28 and 29. FIG. 28A is a cross-sectional view of one element of the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 28B is a top view illustrating a part of the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present embodiment. Are shown. FIG.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a liquid ejecting apparatus. An actual liquid ejecting apparatus has a form in which a plurality of liquid ejecting elements are connected. The meanings of the reference numerals in the figure are the same as those described in the above-described embodiment. However, reference numeral 113 denotes a low rigidity layer, for example, a resin layer having a smaller elastic modulus than the liquid flow path 108 and the piezoelectric actuator 103.

Next, the structure of the liquid ejecting apparatus according to this embodiment will be described.
The dimensions will be described. The piezoelectric substrate 101 and the vibration plate 102 are bonded with an adhesive. Piezoelectric substrate 10
1 has a thickness of 45 μm, a length of 2.5 mm, and a width of 200 μm. The actuator section of the diaphragm 102 has a thickness of 105 μm.
m, the length and width are equal to those of the piezoelectric substrate 101. The distance between adjacent liquid ejecting elements is the same as in the first embodiment.
The piezoelectric actuator 103 has a holding substrate 10 at both ends.
7 and also supported on the upper surface of the liquid pressure chamber partition 112 via the low rigidity layer 113.

The low-rigid layer 113 is a resin layer having a thickness of 30 μm, and its elastic modulus is 1/10 of the material constituting the piezoelectric actuator 103 or the liquid chamber forming substrate 105.
It is as follows. Normally, the elastic modulus of the low-rigid layer 113 takes a value of 1/5 or less with respect to the elastic modulus of the piezoelectric actuator 103, and preferably a value of 1/10 or less. The liquid channel 108 has a length of 2.5 mm and a depth of 200 μm. The inner dimensions of the liquid pressurizing chamber 109 are 140
μmφ and a depth of 400 μm. The dimensions from the upper surface of the liquid pressurizing chamber partition portion 112 are such that the outer diameter is 200 μmφ and the inner diameter is 140 μmφ. The ejection port forming substrate 106 has a thickness of 30 μm, and the opening diameter of the ejection port 110 is 30 μm.
Further, the liquid chamber forming substrate 105 and the ejection port forming substrate 1
Reference numeral 06 is adhered by an adhesive.

The liquid ejecting apparatus in this example is not explicitly shown in the drawing because the drawing is complicated, but the electrodes on the upper surface of each liquid ejecting element are provided in advance on the holding substrate 107 by wire bonding. To the pad for extracting the electrode.

The manufacturing method of the liquid ejecting apparatus according to this embodiment is as follows.
Schematically the same as the first embodiment, except that the pressure chamber partition portion 11
A step of applying a low-rigidity resin to the two portions is added.

The liquid jetting method of this example is substantially the same as in the first and fourth embodiments, but differs in the following points. When the piezoelectric actuator 103 is bent downward, the low-rigid layer 113 contracts and deforms, the pressure in the liquid pressurizing chamber 109 increases, and the liquid is ejected from the liquid ejection port 110. Since the piezoelectric actuator 103 and a part of the liquid pressure chamber partition wall portion 112 are adhered to each other by the low rigidity layer 113, the displacement of the piezoelectric actuator 103 is smaller than that of the fourth embodiment when the same shape and the same applied voltage are applied. Although the pressure is reduced, the pressure leakage from the liquid pressurizing chamber 109 to the liquid channel 108 is also reduced.

When the above-described liquid ejecting apparatus of this embodiment is used, the number of controllable gradations is 4 to 8, which is larger than that of the conventional piezoelectric type. Further, the minimum ejected droplet amount was smaller than in the fourth embodiment.

Next, the features of the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described.
The effect will be described. The feature of the liquid ejecting apparatus in this example is, first, that the area of the piezoelectric actuator 103 is larger than the cross-sectional area of the liquid pressurizing chamber 109 (the area of the liquid pressurizing chamber 109 in FIG. 1B). Second, the pressure is concentrated in the liquid pressurizing chamber 109. Due to the first feature, the same effect as in the fourth embodiment can be obtained, but in addition,
The second effect makes it even more advantageous to eject small droplets.

In this example, the low-rigidity element 113 having a cylindrical shape is partially missing, and the liquid flows into the pressurizing chamber 109 from there. Instead, a hole (opening) is formed in the side surface of the liquid pressurizing chamber partition 112, from which the liquid flows into the pressurizing chamber 1.
09 may flow.

In the present embodiment, the missing portion for liquid inflow is one, but a plurality of portions may be provided.

Next, a second example relating to the liquid ejecting apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 30A is a sectional view, and FIG. 30B is a top view. Further, the liquid ejecting apparatus of the present invention has a structure in which the resin sheet 104 described in the second embodiment is inserted into the structure of the twentieth embodiment.

The injection method in this embodiment is a combination of the first embodiment and the second embodiment.

When the liquid ejecting apparatus of the present embodiment described above is used, the effects described in the first example and the second embodiment can be obtained.

Next, a third example relating to the liquid ejecting apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In this example, unlike the first example, an electromagnetic actuator is used as the liquid pressurizing means.

Next, the structure of the liquid ejecting apparatus according to this embodiment will be described.
The dimensions will be described. Electromagnetic actuator 40
1 and the stainless steel substrate 402 are bonded by an adhesive. The thickness of the stainless steel substrate 402 is 2 μm. The stainless steel substrate 402 is fixed to a portion other than the liquid supply port 115 of the liquid pressurizing chamber partition portion 112 via the low rigidity layer 113. The thickness and rigidity of the low rigidity layer 113 are the same as in the first embodiment. The length of the electromagnetic actuator 401 is 5 mm
The liquid pressurizing chamber 109 has an outer shape of 200 μm in length and 600 μm in width.
μm, inner diameter 140μm, width 500μm, depth 400μ
m. The liquid flow path 108 is 5.5 mm long,
The depth is 200 μm. The ejection port forming substrate 106 has a thickness of 80 μm, and the opening diameter of the ejection port 110 is 90 μm. The liquid chamber forming substrate 105 and the ejection port forming substrate 106 are adhered by an adhesive.

The ejection method of the liquid ejection device in this embodiment is as follows.
This is basically the same as the first example except that the pressing means is different.

The feature of the liquid ejecting apparatus according to this embodiment is that the liquid pressurizing means is an electromagnetic actuator 401 capable of obtaining a larger pressing force and a larger displacement than a piezoelectric actuator.

As described above, in the present example, the first
In addition to the effects described in the above example, since the electromagnetic actuator can obtain a large displacement amount, there is an effect that it is very advantageous to eject a large droplet. (Embodiment 20) A second embodiment of the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present invention.
Embodiment 0 will be described with reference to FIG. The present embodiment relates to, for example, the liquid ejecting method of the liquid ejecting apparatus having the structure described in the first embodiment, the fourth embodiment, or the first example, and has been described in the fourth embodiment. A detailed description will be given of a liquid ejecting method when performing dot modulation using a liquid ejecting apparatus. FIG. 32 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the liquid pressurizing chamber 109.
(A) is a diagram when the actuator is at an initial position where it is not in an operating state, (b) is a diagram when the piezoelectric actuator 103 is displaced in a direction away from the liquid pressure chamber partition wall portion 112, and (c) is a diagram when the piezoelectric FIG. 6 is a diagram when the actuator 103 comes closest to the liquid pressurizing chamber partition portion 112. However,
The resin sheet 104 is omitted, and the initial interval g0 is actually the distance between the lowermost part of the resin sheet 104 and the uppermost part of the liquid pressurizing chamber partition part 112. Minimum spacing g1, or
The same applies to g2. Also, as shown in FIG. 32B or FIG.
Is displaced, the piezoelectric actuator 103 is actually deformed with a certain curvature.
Not shown.

Hereinafter, the liquid ejecting method of the present invention will be described.
This will be described in detail. In the initial state, the piezoelectric actuator 10
3 is at a predetermined position at an initial interval g0 (FIG. 32).
(A)). Next, the piezoelectric actuator 103 is displaced in a direction away from the liquid pressure chamber partition wall portion 112 (FIG. 32B, interval g = g1). At this time, the liquid flow path 1
From 08, the liquid flows into the liquid pressurizing chamber 109. Further, when the piezoelectric actuator 103 is displaced in a direction approaching the liquid pressurizing chamber partition 112, the pressure in the liquid pressurizing chamber 109 gradually increases, and the piezoelectric actuator 103 and the liquid pressurizing chamber partition 112 approach the closest. It becomes maximum near the state (FIG. 32 (c), interval g = g2). In this state, or
Before and after this, the liquid is ejected from the liquid ejection port 110.
Here, it is natural that g1>g0> g2.

A feature of the liquid ejecting method according to the present invention is that the piezoelectric actuator 103 is connected to the liquid pressurizing chamber partition portion 1 before ejecting.
12 is to be displaced in the direction away from it. This feature has the following effects. First, first
Even when bubbles or the like are mixed in or when the liquid supply cannot be performed in time during high-speed operation, the liquid can be supplied more smoothly into the liquid pressurized chamber. Second, the actual displacement of the piezoelectric actuator 103 can be effectively improved, and the modulation width is widened. Third, the width of change in pressure increases, and the modulation width increases. In FIG. 32B, FIG.
This is because the pressure in the liquid pressurizing chamber 109 is lower than in the state of FIG. For example, by adding the injection method of the present embodiment to the fourteenth embodiment or the fifteenth embodiment, the modulation width is improved by 1.2 to 1.5 times.

As described above, by using the liquid ejecting method of the present embodiment, the modulation width is widened, and more precise multi-tone printing is possible, and high-speed printing is also possible. (Embodiment 21) A second embodiment of the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present invention.
One embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG.
3 (a), (b), and (c) are substantially the same as the states described in the twentieth embodiment during the injection operation. The liquid ejecting method according to the present embodiment uses the piezoelectric actuator 103
Is temporarily displaced in a direction away from the liquid pressurizing chamber partition portion 112 (g0 <g1), but is different in that g0 ≒ g2. Thereby, while reducing the actual displacement Δr of the piezoelectric actuator 103,
In addition, the pressure in the liquid pressurizing chamber 109 can be rapidly changed, and a very small droplet can be ejected.

In this embodiment, g0 ≒ g2
However, g0 is actually slightly larger than g2 due to the inertia of the piezoelectric actuator 103. This degree varies depending on the driving speed, shape, and the like of the piezoelectric actuator 103, but roughly, the value of (g0-g2) is about 20% or less of the actual displacement Δr.

In Embodiments 1 to 19 described above, a stainless steel substrate is mainly used as diaphragm 102, but the same effect can be obtained by using another metal substrate. Further, even when the metal substrate is not used, the piezoelectric substrate 10
By interposing a conductive material between the diaphragm 1 and the diaphragm 102, it is possible to obtain a structure in which a similar effect can be obtained.

It should be noted that the first to eleventh embodiments described above,
And 13 to 19, as the liquid pressurizing member, a unimorph actuator or a bimorph actuator that is a piezoelectric actuator in a bending vibration mode is used, but a multimorph actuator having a structure in which a plurality of bimorph actuators are stacked may be used. As a result, if the outer shape is the same, the amount of displacement obtained is further increased, and it is possible to obtain more favorable large displacement characteristics.

In the first to nineteenth embodiments and the twentieth to twenty-first embodiments described above, the piezoelectric actuator is used as the liquid pressurizing member. The same effect can be obtained by using an actuator driven by another driving principle.

In the above-described first to twenty-first embodiments, the liquid ejecting apparatus has a plurality of liquid ejecting elements. However, the number of liquid ejecting elements is not limited to this. If there is one, the same effect can be obtained.

In the eighth embodiment described above,
In the ninth embodiment and the thirteenth embodiment, single crystal lithium niobate is used as the single crystal piezoelectric body, but the cut angle may be selected even when a single crystal material such as lithium tantalate or potassium niobate is used. Thus, a similar effect can be obtained. Also, the cut angle of lithium niobate was 14
The present invention is not limited to the 0 ° y-cut, and similar effects can be obtained by using another cut angle depending on desired characteristics. Comparative Example A comparative example with the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

This comparative example verifies the characteristics of a normal piezoelectric liquid ejecting apparatus. 701 in FIG.
Denotes a piezoelectric substrate, and the thickness and length are the same as those of the piezoelectric substrate 101 in the fourth and tenth embodiments. Also, unlike the piezoelectric substrate 101 in the fourth and tenth embodiments, the piezoelectric substrate 701 is not separated for each element adjacent in the width direction and is held around the entire circumference of the piezoelectric substrate 701. In other words, it is natural that both ends are fixed, but the hatched portion in FIG. 20B is also fixed to the lower substrate. Also, the actuator portion of the vibration plate 702 has the same thickness and length as the vibration plate 102, and the piezoelectric substrate 701 and the vibration plate 702 are bonded to each other with an adhesive to form a piezoelectric actuator 703. The distance between adjacent elements is about 79 μm, which is also the same as in the liquid ejecting apparatuses according to the fourth and tenth embodiments. The liquid pressurizing chamber 709 has a length of 2 mm and a depth of 2 mm.
00 μm. Embodiment 4 also has the opening of the injection port 710.
And, it has the same size as the injection port 110 in the tenth embodiment.

In this comparative example, the sectional area of the pressure chamber 709 is equal to the area of the piezoelectric actuator 703. Further, in this comparative example, the piezoelectric actuator 703 is fixed to the partition 719 forming the pressurizing chamber 709.

Next, using the liquid ejecting apparatus of this comparative example,
A liquid injection experiment showed that the number of controllable gradations was 2
４4 values. However, the upper limit of the amplitude value of the applied voltage was set to Vmax.

[0145]

As is apparent from the above description,
By using the structure of the liquid ejecting apparatus and the ejecting method of the present invention, the energy use efficiency is increased, the liquid pressurizing member can be operated with a large displacement, and the response characteristic of the pressure in the liquid pressurizing chamber is improved. And a device having good controllability can be provided. From the above, it is possible to accurately eject a wide range of droplets, and both the modulation width and the number of gradations increase. Therefore, multi-tone printing can be realized.

Further, by using the method of manufacturing a liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present embodiment, it is possible to provide an inexpensive and high-performance liquid ejecting apparatus. As described above, the present invention provides a liquid ejecting apparatus that pressurizes a liquid by operating a movable member and ejects the liquid using the pressure, a liquid ejecting method, and a method of manufacturing the liquid ejecting apparatus. It is about. Further, as a matter of course, a single liquid ejecting element constituting the liquid ejecting apparatus, or a liquid ejecting set including a peripheral member in the liquid ejecting apparatus is also included in the category.

The present invention may be used in combination with not only a general ink jet printer but also a device having a printing device such as a facsimile, a word processor, a register and the like. In addition, engraving and drawing on industrial products, application of chemicals, etc.
It can be applied as an apparatus used in a production line. The recording medium of the present invention is not limited to paper, but may be metal, glass, resin, pottery, wood, cloth, leather, or the like.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a liquid ejecting apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a liquid ejecting apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a method of manufacturing the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a method of manufacturing the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a liquid ejecting apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a liquid ejecting apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a liquid ejecting apparatus according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a liquid ejecting apparatus according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a liquid ejecting apparatus according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a liquid ejecting apparatus according to an eleventh embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a liquid ejecting apparatus according to a twelfth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a state of a liquid ejecting apparatus.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a liquid ejecting apparatus according to a thirteenth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a relationship between a virtual displacement amount and an ejected droplet amount.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing the relationship between the virtual displacement amount and the ejected droplet amount when the driving speed of the actuator is changed.

FIG. 16 shows a structure of a piezoelectric single crystal.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing the operating principle of a unimorph type piezoelectric actuator.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing another structure of a unimorph type piezoelectric actuator.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing the operation principle of a multilayer piezoelectric actuator.

FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating a liquid ejecting apparatus according to a comparative example.

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing the principle of liquid ejection according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 22 is a view showing the principle of direct bonding.

FIG. 23 is a diagram showing a relationship between a relative drive voltage value and a normalized displacement.

FIG. 24 is a diagram showing the structure of a thermal liquid ejecting apparatus and the principle of ejection.

FIG. 25 is a diagram showing the structure of a piezoelectric liquid ejecting apparatus and the principle of ejection.

FIG. 26 is a diagram illustrating a liquid ejecting apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 27 is a diagram showing a liquid ejecting apparatus according to a seventeenth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 28 is a diagram showing a liquid ejecting apparatus according to a first example relating to the present invention.

FIG. 29 is a diagram illustrating a liquid ejecting apparatus according to a first example related to the invention.

FIG. 30 is a diagram illustrating a liquid ejecting apparatus according to a second example related to the invention.

FIG. 31 is a diagram showing a liquid ejecting apparatus according to a third example relating to the present invention.

FIG. 32 is a view showing a liquid ejection method according to a twentieth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 33 is a view showing a liquid ejecting method according to a twenty-first embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 Piezoelectric ceramic substrate 102 Vibration plate 103 Piezoelectric actuator 104 Resin sheet 105 Substrate for forming liquid chamber 106 Substrate for forming injection port 107 Holding substrate 108 Liquid flow path 109 Liquid pressurizing chamber 110 Liquid jetting port 111 Gap 112 Liquid pressurizing chamber partition Part 114 Stainless steel substrate 116 High rigidity part W Opening

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Atsushi Komatsu 1006 Kadoma Kadoma, Osaka Prefecture Inside Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. 72) Inventor Kawa Osamu Osamu 1006 Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Claims (31)

[Claims] 1. A liquid pressurizing chamber having one or a plurality of openings, a liquid ejection port provided in a part of the liquid pressurizing chamber, and a liquid disposed adjacent to the liquid pressurizing chamber. A pressurizing member, comprising: a liquid flow path arranged adjacent to the liquid pressurizing chamber; and, of the openings, a peripheral portion of an opening present at a position facing the liquid pressurizing member; When the liquid pressurizing member is driven or not driven, the liquid pressurizing member is spaced apart from the liquid pressurizing member with a predetermined gap, and drives the liquid pressurizing member. Thus, the liquid ejecting apparatus ejects the liquid from the liquid ejecting port by pressurizing the liquid supplied from the liquid flow path to the liquid pressurizing chamber. 2. The size of the gap can prevent the liquid in the liquid pressurizing chamber from flowing back toward the liquid flow path when the liquid pressurizing member is pressurized and deformed. When the pressurizing member returns to the original state, liquid can flow from the liquid flow path toward the liquid pressurizing chamber in an appropriate amount,
The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the liquid ejecting apparatus has an appropriate size. 3. A plurality of said openings are provided, and said openings which are not arranged facing said liquid pressurizing member do not interfere with the pressurizing action when said liquid pressurizing member is deformed under pressure. 2. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the liquid ejecting apparatus is small. 4. The liquid pressurizing member according to claim 1, wherein both ends of the liquid pressurizing member are fixed to portions other than the partition wall constituting the liquid pressurizing chamber. 4. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to 2 or 3. 5. The liquid pressurizing member is fixed at one end of the liquid pressurizing member to a portion other than a partition wall constituting the liquid pressurizing chamber. 4. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to 2 or 3. 6. A method according to claim 1, wherein the rigidity of said liquid pressurizing member in the vicinity of the portion where said liquid pressurizing member is fixed is smaller than the rigidity of said liquid pressurizing member other than in the vicinity of said fixed portion. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 4 or 5, wherein 7. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an area of a cross section of the liquid pressurizing chamber whose normal direction is a displacement direction of the liquid pressurizing member is smaller than an area of a displacement portion of the liquid pressurizing member. 4. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to 2, 3 or 4. 8. The rigidity of the liquid pressurizing member immediately above the liquid pressurizing chamber is greater than the rigidity of a portion of the liquid pressurizing member other than immediately above the liquid pressurizing chamber. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1. 9. An area S1 in a cross section of a liquid pressurizing chamber whose normal direction is a displacement direction of the liquid pressurizing member, and an area S2 of the liquid pressurizing member has a relationship of S2 / S1> 5. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 7, wherein: 10. The liquid pressurizing member and a member for separating the liquid, wherein a member made of a material having a lower elastic modulus than a material forming the liquid pressurizing member is disposed. Item 4. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to item 1, 2, or 3. 11. A liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said liquid pressurizing means is a piezoelectric actuator. 12. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the piezoelectric actuator has a bimorph structure, a monomorph structure, or a unimorph structure in a bending vibration mode. 13. A liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 11, wherein said piezoelectric actuator has a structure in which a main vibration mode is a length vibration mode. 14. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the piezoelectric material forming the piezoelectric actuator is a piezoelectric ceramic material. 15. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the piezoelectric material forming the piezoelectric actuator is a piezoelectric single crystal material. 16. The piezoelectric actuator according to claim 1, wherein the electric actuator has a unimorph structure including a vibrating plate for bending vibration in the longitudinal direction of the piezoelectric single crystal substrate into bending vibration and the piezoelectric single crystal substrate. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the diaphragm is directly joined. 17. The piezoelectric actuator has a bimorph structure including at least two piezoelectric single crystal substrates,
17. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the piezoelectric single crystal substrate is directly joined with the polarization reversed. 18. A liquid pressurizing chamber having one or a plurality of openings, a liquid ejection port provided in a part of the liquid pressurizing chamber, and a liquid disposed adjacent to the liquid pressurizing chamber. In a liquid ejecting method of a liquid ejecting apparatus including a pressurizing member and a liquid flow path arranged adjacent to the liquid pressurizing chamber, the liquid ejecting apparatus is provided at a position facing the liquid pressurizing member in the opening. The peripheral portion of the opening to be formed and the liquid pressurizing member are arranged with a predetermined gap therebetween when the liquid pressurizing member is being driven or not driven. By driving the liquid pressurizing member, the liquid pressurizing member is displaced in a direction that changes a gap between the liquid pressurizing member and the peripheral portion of the opening, so that the inside of the liquid pressurizing chamber is changed. The liquid is pressurized and the liquid is ejected from the liquid ejection port. Liquid injection method. 19. The liquid pressurizing member is displaced in a direction to increase a gap between the liquid pressurizing member and the peripheral portion of the opening, and subsequently, the liquid pressurizing member and the peripheral portion of the opening are displaced. 19. The liquid ejecting method according to claim 18, wherein the liquid in the liquid pressurizing chamber is pressurized by ejecting the liquid from the liquid ejecting port by displacing the liquid in a direction to reduce a gap between the liquid ejecting chamber and the liquid ejecting port. 20. The liquid pressurizing device according to claim 1, wherein a distance between said liquid pressurizing member and a peripheral portion of said opening in a state where said liquid pressurizing member is not displaced, and said liquid pressurizing member is displaced and said liquid pressurizing member is displaced. The amount of liquid to be ejected is controlled by controlling a difference in distance between the liquid pressurizing member and the peripheral edge when the peripheral edge of the member and the opening are closest to each other. The liquid ejecting method according to claim 18. 21. A distance g0 between the liquid pressing member and the periphery of the opening when the liquid pressing member is not displaced is a displacement distance from before the liquid pressing member is driven. ξ
19. The liquid according to claim 18, wherein when the difference is larger than a predetermined value as compared with f, the amount of the liquid to be ejected is controlled by controlling a difference (g0-Δf) between the displacement distance Δf and the distance g0. Injection method. 22. The liquid pressing member comes closest to the peripheral portion after the liquid pressing member starts to be displaced in a direction in which the distance between the liquid pressing member and the peripheral portion of the opening decreases. 19. The liquid ejecting method according to claim 18, wherein the amount of the liquid to be ejected is controlled by controlling a time until the liquid ejecting. 23. When the liquid pressurizing member is not displaced, the pressure in the liquid pressurizing chamber is equal to the pressure in the liquid flow path, and the liquid pressurizing member is displaced so that the liquid pressurizing member is displaced. 19. The liquid ejecting method according to claim 18, wherein the pressure in the liquid pressurizing chamber is at least five times greater than the pressure in the liquid flow path when the pressure member and the peripheral edge of the opening are closest to each other. . 24. The liquid flow path for supplying a liquid to the liquid pressurizing chamber when the liquid pressurizing member is displaced and the liquid pressurizing member and the peripheral edge of the opening are closest to each other. A1 is a value obtained by integrating the generated pressure with the area of the liquid pressurizing member in contact with the liquid flow path, and the generated pressure in the liquid pressurizing chamber of the liquid pressurizing member in contact with the liquid pressurizing chamber. If the value integrated with the area is A2, A
19. The liquid ejecting method according to claim 18, wherein 2 / A1> 1/2. 25. A piezoelectric actuator in which the liquid pressurizing member is displaced by applying a voltage, wherein in addition to a predetermined driving voltage for driving the piezoelectric actuator, a DC voltage is used as a bias at least during the driving. 18. The liquid ejecting method according to claim 17, wherein the position of the liquid pressurizing member during driving is adjusted by the DC voltage. 26. Driving of the liquid pressurizing member by adjusting a predetermined gap amount between the liquid pressurizing member and a peripheral portion of the opening when the liquid pressurizing member is not displaced. 19. The liquid ejecting method according to claim 18, wherein a previous initial position is set. 27. A piezoelectric actuator in which the liquid pressurizing member is displaced by applying a voltage, wherein a DC voltage is applied as a bias in addition to a predetermined driving voltage for driving the piezoelectric actuator to pressurize and decompress it. In addition,
19. The liquid ejecting method according to claim 18, wherein an initial position of the liquid pressurizing member before driving is adjusted by the DC voltage. 28. The liquid ejecting method according to claim 18, wherein said liquid pressurizing member takes a bending vibration mode. 29. The liquid ejecting method according to claim 18, wherein the liquid pressurizing member has a length vibration mode. 30. A method for manufacturing a unimorph type piezoelectric actuator comprising a vibration plate and a piezoelectric substrate for fixing both ends or one end, wherein the vibration plate is processed into a predetermined shape and then bonded to the piezoelectric substrate. And polishing the piezoelectric substrate to a predetermined thickness, and removing the piezoelectric substrate portion not intersecting with the diaphragm portion by spraying fine particles with the diaphragm as a protective substrate. A method of manufacturing a piezoelectric actuator. 31. A liquid pressurizing chamber and a liquid pressurizing member are separated from each other via a gap having a predetermined size, and a liquid is controlled by controlling a distance between the liquid pressurizing chamber and the liquid pressurizing member. A method of manufacturing a liquid ejecting apparatus for ejecting liquid, comprising: a step of overlapping a main substrate constituting the liquid pressurizing member with a main substrate constituting the liquid pressurizing chamber; and at least a main part constituting the liquid pressurizing member. A method for manufacturing a liquid ejecting apparatus, comprising a step of fixing a substrate and a main substrate constituting the liquid pressurizing chamber by a member such as a spring material or a screw material without using an adhesive.