JP2871674B1 - Inkjet printer head device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an ink jet printer head device which stabilizes operation and shortens a slit of a piezoelectric strain element, and at the same time reduces the size of the entire device. SOLUTION: An ink jet printer having a piezoelectric strain element 2 for pressing and driving an ink pressurizing chamber 14A of a head main body 1, and driving the piezoelectric strain element 2 to discharge ink droplets from a predetermined ink discharge nozzle 12a. In the head device, a plurality of ink pressurizing chambers 1
A plurality of individual drive units 21 for 4A and an entire drive unit 22 are provided, and a slit groove 23 is provided between the two. Then, the individual drive electrode A and the entire drive electrode B are mounted on each of the individual drive unit 21 and the entire drive unit 22 of the piezoelectric strain element 2, and one drive electrode A, The other drive electrode C corresponding to B is mounted.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet printer head device, and more particularly to an ink jet printer head device using a piezoelectric strain element.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An ink jet printer using a piezoelectric strain element has been conventionally implemented in various fields as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 4-115951 and 7-148923.

On the other hand, in order to obtain high-speed and stable ink ejection in this type of printer, it has conventionally been necessary to increase the pressurizing speed for ink. For this reason, in the conventional ink jet printer head, the length of the piezoelectric strain element in the pressing direction and the cross-sectional area of a plane perpendicular to the pressing direction of the piezoelectric strain element are increased to cope with this. Was.

[0004]

However, due to the recent miniaturization of the printer head accompanying the miniaturization and weight reduction of OA equipment, the cross-sectional area of the surface of the piezoelectric strain element perpendicular to the pressing direction is limited to a certain limit. Is limited to the size of
For this reason, the piezoelectric strain element and the slit have to be in a shape elongated in the pressing direction.

As a result, when commercialized, the piezoelectric strain element has a shape that is easily damaged by buckling or bending during manufacturing or use, shortening the life of the printer head itself and impairing the reliability of the product. The inconvenience has occurred. Also, since it is generally difficult to process (slit) the piezoelectric strain element into an elongated shape in the pressing direction,
At the time of processing the piezoelectric element, there is also a serious problem that this causes a defect.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The object of the present invention is to improve the disadvantages of the prior art, to enable particularly stable operation, to shorten the slit of the piezoelectric strain element, and to eliminate the inconvenience in processing the piezoelectric strain element. It is an object of the present invention to provide an ink jet printer head device that can be downsized at the same time.

[0007]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, an ink storage chamber is provided at one end and a plurality of ink discharge nozzles are provided at the other end.
A plurality of ink flow paths are individually formed corresponding to each ink discharge nozzle from the ink storage chamber to each of the plurality of ink discharge nozzles and arranged on the same surface, and a part of a side wall of each ink flow path is provided. Are formed by a common vibration plate, and a head body is provided in which an ink passage provided with the vibration plate has an ink pressurizing chamber.

[0008] A piezoelectric strain element for pressing and driving each of the ink pressurizing chambers is provided in the ink pressurizing chamber portion of the head body, and by driving these piezoelectric strain elements, ink droplets are ejected from the above-mentioned predetermined ink discharge nozzles. Is discharged.

Here, the piezoelectric strain element includes a plurality of individual driving units corresponding to the plurality of ink pressurizing chambers, and a plurality of overall driving units corresponding to the partition wall located between the plurality of ink pressurizing chambers. Is provided, and a slit groove having a predetermined width is provided between the individual driving unit and the entire driving unit of the piezoelectric strain element to divide them.

In the vibration plate portion of the ink pressurizing chamber at a position where the plurality of individual driving sections contact each other, a groove is individually formed along each of the plurality of individual driving sections, and a central portion in the groove is formed. Are provided with pressurized projections that come into contact with the pressing end surfaces of the individual drive units described above.

Then, one driving electrode A (pressurizing) is formed on one side of the piezoelectric strain element, which is common to each of the individual driving section and the entire driving section, along the opening side of the slit groove. The unit drive electrodes 40a) and B (entire drive electrodes 40b) are mounted alternately in parallel with each other corresponding to each pressing portion. Further, a configuration is adopted in which the other drive electrode C corresponding to the above-described one drive electrode A, B is mounted on the entire other side surface of the piezoelectric strain element.

Therefore, according to the first aspect of the present invention,
Normally, the head is used in a state in which ink is filled from the ink reservoir of the head main body 1 to the ink discharge nozzle through the ink flow path, and therefore, for example, in FIG. 1 to FIG. When the print signal is input, a potential difference with respect to the other drive electrode 50 is generated in each of the individual drive unit 21 and the entire drive unit 22, and each of the drive units 21 and 22 generates a displacement according to the potential difference. Therefore, the ink in the ink pressurizing chamber 14A is pressurized via the vibration plate 11, whereby the ink is discharged from the tip of the ink discharge nozzle 12a.

In other words, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a piezoelectric drive element for pressurizing an ink flow path to which a nozzle for discharging ink communicates is provided, an individual driving section for pressing each ink flow path, and an entire piezoelectric strain element. And the entire driving unit for displacing the piezoelectric strain element is arranged side by side, whereby the slit of the piezoelectric strain element can be shortened, and the processing of the piezoelectric strain element becomes easy, and at the same time, the durability can be improved. .

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the above-described ink jet printer head device according to the first aspect, each drive electrode B of the entire drive section is connected in a comb shape. For this reason, the invention according to claim 2 functions in the same manner as the invention described in claim 1, and has the advantage that the voltage application operation to the entire drive electrodes of each of the entire drive units is facilitated.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the ink jet printer head device according to the first or second aspect, the other drive electrode C is always grounded and operates according to print information from a higher-level device. An electrode drive control unit that sets the drive timing of each of the drive electrodes A and B of the individual drive unit and the entire drive unit is connected to one of the drive electrodes A and
B is adopted.

Therefore, according to the third aspect of the present invention,
In addition to functioning equivalently to the above-described invention, there is an advantage that the individual drive unit and the entire drive unit can be smoothly driven in various modes.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the above-mentioned ink jet printer head device according to the third aspect, the above-mentioned electrode drive control section is provided for each of the drive electrodes B of the plurality of overall drive sections when an ink jet occurs. An operable state setting function for applying a predetermined operating voltage every time a driving is performed to set the piezoelectric strain element to an operable state, and a predetermined operation according to a command from a higher-level device for each of the drive electrodes A of the plurality of individual drive units. A first electrode drive control function for selectively applying a voltage and operating an ink pressurizing chamber corresponding to the location is provided.

Therefore, in the invention according to claim 4,
In addition to functioning equivalently to the above-described third aspect of the present invention, the ink near the nozzles is always agitated for all the nozzles so that stable printing can be performed. Since the pressure fluctuation difference in the pressure chamber is small, there is an advantage that unstable operation due to crosstalk is eliminated.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the ink jet printer head device according to the third aspect, the electrode drive control unit causes the drive electrodes B of the plurality of overall drive units to simultaneously generate ink jet. A predetermined operating voltage is applied every time driving is performed, and a driving blocking voltage having a polarity opposite to the driving voltage applied to each driving electrode B is applied to each driving electrode A of the plurality of individual driving units. An operable state setting function for setting the piezoelectric strain element to an operable state, and an ink pressurizing operation corresponding to the location by selectively releasing the setting of the drive blocking voltage for each drive electrode A, operating according to a command from the host machine. A second electrode drive control function for operating the chamber is provided.

Therefore, in the invention according to claim 5,
In addition to functioning equivalently to the above-described third aspect of the present invention, since the firing is performed by the displacement of the entire driving unit, the difference in pressure applied to each ink pressurizing chamber is small, and thereby stable printing is possible. There is an advantage that it becomes.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the above-mentioned ink jet printer head device according to the third aspect, the above-mentioned electrode drive control section causes the drive electrodes B of the plurality of overall drive sections to generate ink jet. An operable state setting function for applying a predetermined operating voltage every time a driving is performed to set the piezoelectric strain element to an operable state, and a predetermined operation according to a command from a higher-level device for each of the drive electrodes A of the plurality of individual drive units. A first electrode drive control function for selectively applying a voltage and operating an ink pressurizing chamber corresponding to the location.

Further, this electrode drive control section applies the above-mentioned operable state setting function to each of the other drive electrodes A which are not to be driven by the first electrode drive control function. An operable state canceling function is provided to remove the operable state setting function from setting targets.

Therefore, according to the invention of claim 6,
In addition to functioning equivalently to the above-described ink jet type printer head device according to the above-described claim 3, it has the same advantages as the above-described inventions according to the above-described claims 4 and 5, and can further ensure stable operation. There are advantages.

[0024]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, reference numeral 1 denotes a head main body of an ink jet printer head, and reference numeral 2 denotes a piezoelectric strain element for driving the head main body.

As shown in FIG. 1, the head body 1 has an ink storage chamber 13 at one end and a plurality of ink discharge nozzles 12a at the other end. A plurality of ink flow paths 14 are individually formed between the ink storage chamber 13 and the plurality of ink discharge nozzles 12a so as to correspond to the respective ink discharge nozzles 12a.

A part of the side wall of each ink flow path 14 is formed by a common vibration plate 11, and an ink pressurizing chamber 14A is set in the ink flow path 14 where the vibration plate 11 is provided. I have.

A piezoelectric strain element 1 for pressing and driving each of the ink pressurizing chambers 14A is provided in the ink pressurizing chamber 14A of the head body. By driving the piezoelectric strain element 2, ink droplets are ejected from the above-described predetermined ink ejection nozzle 12a.

Here, as shown in FIG. 2, the piezoelectric strain element 2 is located between the plurality of individual driving units 21 corresponding to the plurality of ink pressurizing chambers 14A and the plurality of ink pressurizing chambers 14A. A plurality of overall drive units 22 corresponding to the partition portions are provided.

A slit groove 23 having a predetermined width is provided between the individual driving section 21 and the entire driving section 22 of the piezoelectric strain element 2 to divide them. Also, in the portion of the vibration plate 11 of the ink pressurizing chamber 14A where the plurality of individual driving units 21 abut, the concave grooves 11A are individually formed along the plurality of individual driving units 21. Furthermore, this groove 1
In the center of 1A, the pressurized protrusion 11a that comes into contact with the pressing end surface (the lower end surface in FIG. 2) of the individual drive unit 21 described above.
Are provided respectively.

Then, one side of the piezoelectric strain element 2 (one side common to each of the individual driving unit 21 and the entire driving unit 22 described above) 2A is provided along one side of the opening of the slit groove 23 described above. The drive electrodes 40a and 40b, which are the drive electrodes A and B, are mounted in parallel and individually corresponding to the respective drive units 21 and 22, respectively. Further, on the other side surface 2B of the piezoelectric strain element 2, the other drive electrode 50 corresponding to the above-described one electrode 40 (two types of drive electrodes 40a and 40b) is mounted over substantially the entire side surface 2B. I have.

This will be described in more detail. As shown in FIG. 1, the head main body 1 includes a main body block 10 provided at a central portion, a diaphragm 11 provided at an upper end of the main body block 10, and a nozzle provided at a lower end of the main body block 10. And a plate 12. In the nozzle plate 12, a plurality of ink ejection nozzles 12a are provided at predetermined intervals and on the same line.

Below the left end of the head body 1 in FIG. 1, an ink reservoir 13 having a rectangular cross section is provided.
The ink reservoir 13 includes a concave portion 10a formed in the main body block 10 and the above-described nozzle plate 12 functioning as a lid of the concave portion 10a. Then, as shown in FIG. 2, the plurality of ink discharge nozzles 12a described above are provided along the ink reservoir 13 (in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 1).

On the upper side of the ink reservoir 13 in FIG. 1, there is formed an ink flow path 14 which is bent to the lower right. The ink flow path 14 has a concave groove 10b formed in the upper end of the main body block 10 in FIG.
The groove 10b is formed by a through hole 10c formed in the vertical direction at the right end in FIG. 1 of the groove 10b and the diaphragm 11 provided on the groove 10b. The portion of the ink flow path 14 covered by the vibration plate 11 forms an ink pressurizing chamber 14A.

As shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of ink passages 14 having the same shape are formed for each of the plurality of ink discharge nozzles 12a. Thereby, each of the ink pressurizing chambers 1
4A are provided individually and independently for each of the above-described ink discharge nozzles 12a.

The through-hole 10c which forms a part of the above-described ink flow path 12 corresponds to the ink discharge nozzle 12a.
Is formed in a mortar-shaped (reverse trapezoidal) cross section at the lower end. Reference numeral 16 denotes an ink supply path for individually connecting the ink reservoir 13 and the ink flow path 14 described above.

Each of the ink supply paths 16 is provided with an ink reservoir 1
3 to supply the ink to each of the plurality of ink flow paths 12 described above, and is provided for each ink flow path 12. Reference numeral 17 denotes each ink ejection nozzle 1
2a shows a partition wall that partitions between 2a.

The piezoelectric strain element 2 for driving the head main body 1 is connected to the head main body 1 in correspondence with each of the ink pressurizing chambers 14A of the head main body 1.

The piezoelectric strain element 2 is provided in the ink pressurizing chamber 1
4A, which is a driving unit for ejecting ink in the pressurizing chamber 12A, and an individual driving unit 21 which can be driven for each pressurizing chamber 12A; The entire driving unit 22 drives the pressure chamber 14A in common. Reference numeral 23 denotes each driving unit 2
The slit groove | channel for sorting 1 and 22 is shown.

One side of each of the plurality of individual drive units 21 and the plurality of overall drive units 22 alternately comes into contact with the vibration plate 11 forming the wall of each of the ink pressurizing chambers 12A, and the other side. The side (upper side in FIG. 2) is arranged as a free end.

Of these, in the case of the individual driving unit 21, each end of the comb-shaped ridge formed by the slit groove 23 is placed on the vibration plate 11 at a position corresponding to each of the plurality of ink pressurizing chambers 12A. It comes into contact. Further, in the case of the entire driving unit 22, each end of the comb-shaped protrusion located between the individual driving units 21 corresponds to each of the plurality of partition walls 16, and is in a state of being in contact with the diaphragm 11. ing.

Here, the diaphragm 11 has a concave groove 11 in a contact surface portion where the above-mentioned individual drive unit 21 contacts.
A is formed, and a protruding portion 11a is provided at a central portion in the concave groove 11A. And, this protrusion 11
The individual drive unit 21 described above is configured to abut on a. For this reason, when driving the corresponding ink pressurizing chamber 14A, each individual driving unit 21 only presses the corresponding ink pressurizing chamber 14A via the protruding portion 11a without pressing another adjacent ink pressurizing chamber 14A. Can be driven.

Each of the individual driving section 21 and the entire driving section 22 has two independent driving electrodes 40a and 40b (driving electrodes A and 40) constituting one driving electrode 40, respectively.
B) and the other drive electrode 50 (FIG. 2) which is a common signal line.
On the back side of one of the drive electrodes 40a, 40b: the same as the drive electrode C).
The reference numerals 0b and 50 are connected to the electrode drive control unit 30, and are driven by the electrode drive control unit 30.

Here, the individual drive electrode 40a is an electrode for the individual drive unit 21 that individually and directly presses and drives each ink pressurizing chamber 14A. Further, the entire drive electrode 40b is an electrode for the entire drive unit 22 that presses (indirectly) drives the whole of the plurality of ink pressurizing chambers 14A.

Then, each drive electrode 40 which is the signal line
When a predetermined print signal is applied to the nozzles 15a, 40b, and 50, the pressurizing energy of the piezoelectric strain element 2 is transmitted to the ink via the vibration plate 11 and the pressurizing chamber 12A. The ink drops into droplets and flies toward a predetermined paper surface.

Next, the control system for the piezoelectric strain element 2 of the above embodiment will be described in more detail.

The above-mentioned other drive electrode 50 (the other drive electrode C) is always grounded. The drive electrodes 40a, 40b (drive electrodes A, 40b) of the individual drive unit 21 and the overall drive unit 22 operate according to the print information P from the host machine.
Electrode drive control unit 30 for setting drive timing of B)
Are provided in parallel with one of the drive electrodes 40a and 40b described above.

During operation, the ink is filled from the ink reservoir 13 of the head main body 1 through the ink flow path 14 to the ink discharge nozzle 12a. Each drive electrode 40
a, 40b via the electrode drive control unit 30 to the power supply unit 30A
When a drive voltage is applied from the, a potential difference with respect to the other drive electrode 50 is generated in each of the individual drive unit 21 and the entire drive unit 22, and each of the drive units 21 and 22 generates displacement according to the potential difference. Therefore, the ink in the ink pressurizing chamber 14A is pressurized via the vibration plate 11, whereby the ink is discharged from the tip of the ink discharge nozzle 12a.

Here, the above-mentioned electrode drive control unit 30
As a method of driving the piezoelectric strain element 2 at the time of printing, each of the drive electrodes 40a and 40b is driven in one of the following three drive control modes by a combination of the displacement amount and the displacement direction of the individual drive unit 21 and the entire drive unit 22. It can be driven. In this case, the selection of the drive control mode is input in advance by the operator from the input panel 31 shown in FIG.

[First Drive Control Mode] In this case, the above-described electrode drive control unit 30 does not cause ink jet for each of the drive electrodes 40b (same as the drive electrode B) of the plurality of overall drive units 22. An operable state setting function is provided for setting a piezoelectric strain element to an operable state by applying a predetermined operating voltage every time the apparatus is driven. Further, the electrode drive control unit 30 selectively applies a predetermined operating voltage to any one of the drive electrodes 40a (same as the drive electrode A) of the plurality of individual drive units 21 according to the command P from the host machine. A first electrode drive control function for operating the ink pressurizing chamber 14A corresponding to the location is provided.

FIG. 4 shows a specific example. according to this,
First, ink is not ejected only by displacement of the individual drive unit 21 or the entire drive unit 22. In FIG. 4, E / 2
[V] corresponds to this. For the ink discharge nozzle 15a that performs ink discharge, the ink discharge nozzle 15a
The individual driving unit 21 corresponding to the ink pressurizing chamber 14A with which the “a” communicates is driven in the same direction as the overall driving unit 22. The driving voltage in this case was set to E / 2 [V].

Thus, printing is performed by discharging ink with the sum of the displacement of the individual drive unit 21 and the displacement of the entire drive unit 22. In this case, the reference applied voltage necessary for discharging the ink was set to E · ２ [V]. Therefore, the drive electrode 40
It is assumed that ink is ejected from the ink ejection nozzle 15a when E / 2 [V] is applied to the a and 40b in the same direction. The symbol S indicates a non-printing operation.

That is, a bias pressure is applied to all of the plurality of ink flow paths 14 by the overall drive unit 22 and the ink flow paths 14 communicate with the ink discharge nozzles 15a for discharging ink.
Are driven in the same direction as the entire driving unit 22 to discharge ink.

[Second Drive Control Mode] In this case, the above-described electrode drive control unit 30 constantly applies a predetermined operating voltage at which the respective drive electrodes 40b of the plurality of overall drive units 22 simultaneously generate ink jet. At the same time, a drive blocking voltage having a polarity opposite to that of the drive voltage applied to each of the individual drive electrodes 40b is applied to each of the individual drive electrodes 40a of the plurality of individual drive units 21 to operate the piezoelectric strain element 2. An operable state setting function for setting an operable state is provided.
Further, each drive electrode 40 operates according to the command P from the host machine.
A second electrode drive control function is provided to selectively release the setting of the drive blocking voltage for a and to operate the ink pressurizing chamber 14A corresponding to the position.

FIG. 5 shows a specific example. according to this,
First, a configuration is employed in which ink is ejected only by driving the entire driving unit 22. In FIG. 5, E [V] corresponds to this. For the nozzles 12a that do not perform ink ejection (during non-printing operation), the individual drive units 21 corresponding to the ink pressurizing chambers 14A to which the ink ejection nozzles 12a communicate communicate with the entire drive unit 22.
(The activation of the operable state setting function) so that the sum of the displacement of the individual drive unit 21 and the displacement of the entire drive unit 22 does not reach the displacement required for ink ejection. . In FIG. 5, -E / 2 [V] corresponds to this.

Then, for the ink ejection nozzle 12a to which the print command has been issued, the setting of the drive blocking voltage "-E / 2 [V]" for the drive electrode 40a is selectively released to correspond to the location. Activate the ink pressurizing chamber 14A (activate the second electrode drive control function). Thus, printing is performed.

That is, the entire drive section 22 sets a state in which ink is ejected by applying pressure to all of the plurality of ink flow paths 14, and at the same time, corresponds to the ink flow paths 14 of the nozzles 12 a which do not discharge ink. Individual drive unit 21
Is controlled in such a manner that ink is not ejected by displacing in the direction opposite to that of the overall drive unit 22.

By activating the second electrode drive control function to selectively release the setting of the drive blocking voltage for the drive electrode 40a, ink is ejected from the nozzle 12a at the released location. You.

[Third Drive Control Mode] In this case, the above-described electrode drive control unit 30 causes the drive electrodes 40b (same as the drive electrode B) of the plurality of overall drive units 22 to generate ink jet. No predetermined operating voltage 3E / 4
An operable state setting function is provided for setting the piezoelectric strain element 2 to an operable state by constantly applying [V].

Each drive electrode 4 of the plurality of individual drive units 21
In 0a (the same as the drive electrode A), a predetermined operating voltage -E / 4 is selectively applied to any of the drive electrodes A in accordance with the command P from the host machine, and the ink pressurizing chamber corresponding to the position is operated. A first electrode drive control function is provided.

Then, for each of the other drive electrodes 40a which are not driven by the first electrode drive control function, each time the above-described operable state setting function is activated, the operable state setting function is set. It is characterized in that it is provided with an operable state release function that is detached from the device.

FIG. 6 shows a specific example. according to this,
First, the individual driving unit 21 corresponding to the nozzle 12a for discharging ink is applied to the entire driving unit 2 by applying E / 4.
(The activation of the operable state setting function), whereby the ink is ejected by the sum of the displacements of the individual drive unit 21 and the entire drive unit 22 (first electrode drive control function). Activation).

The nozzle 12a which does not perform ink ejection
The individual drive unit 21 corresponding to the pressurizing chamber 14 </ b> A with which is communicated is added with −E / 4 to be displaced in a direction opposite to the direction of displacement of the entire drive unit 22.
The displacement does not reach the displacement required for ink ejection (actuation of the operable state release function). In the figure, 3E / 4 of the applied operating voltage is handled in the same manner as in FIG.

That is, a bias pressure is applied to all of the plurality of ink flow paths 14 by the entire drive unit 22, and the individual drive unit 21 corresponding to the ink flow path 14 to which the nozzles 12 a for discharging ink communicate is connected to the entire drive unit 22. The ink is displaced in the same direction, whereby the ink is set in a state where it can be ejected.
At the same time, the individual drive unit 21 corresponding to the ink flow path 14 to which the nozzle 12a that does not perform ink discharge communicates is displaced in a direction opposite to that of the entire drive unit 22 to set a state in which ink discharge is not performed.

As described above, according to the ink jet printer head of this embodiment, the displacements of the individual drive unit 21 and the overall drive unit 22 are combined, and the overall drive unit 22 is commonly driven for two or more nozzles. In this manner, the length of the individual driving unit 21 and the slit 23 in the pressing direction can be reduced as compared with the related art in which one nozzle is driven by one driving unit. it can.

As a result, it is possible to increase the pressing speed without making the piezoelectric strain element 2 elongated in the pressing direction as in the related art, to facilitate the processing of the slit 23 of the piezoelectric strain element 2 and to reduce the driving time. , Etc. of the piezoelectric strain element 2 can also be greatly reduced.

[0066]

As described above, according to the present invention, a piezoelectric strain element for pressurizing a pressurizing chamber of an ink flow path connected to a nozzle for discharging ink is provided for each ink flow path. Since it is composed of a driving unit that pressurizes and a driving unit that pressurizes the whole, it is possible to use the synergistic effect of each driving unit even when pressurizing the pressurizing chamber of a specific ink flow path. In comparison with the conventional example in which only the individual parts are individually driven, even if the slit of the piezoelectric strain element is shortened, the same pressing force can be applied to the ink pressurizing chamber, so that the processing of the piezoelectric strain element becomes easy. In addition, since the slits can be shortened, the durability of the piezoelectric strain element can be improved, and therefore, the size of the entire apparatus can be reduced, and the durability can be improved. It is possible to provide a device.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a view showing one embodiment of the present invention, and is a schematic configuration diagram in which an ink flow path portion is partially sectioned.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA including the ink discharge unit of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an operation control system according to the embodiment disclosed in FIGS. 1 and 2;

4 is a diagram illustrating an example of drive control for each drive electrode by the drive control unit disclosed in FIG. 3, and is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example in which an individual electrode and an entire electrode are driven in the same direction. FIG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of drive control for each drive electrode by the drive control unit disclosed in FIG. 3, and is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example in which an individual electrode and an entire electrode are driven in opposite directions.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of drive control for each drive electrode by the drive control unit disclosed in FIG. 3, in which an individual electrode and an entire electrode are driven in the same direction, and an individual electrode that is not driven is driven in the opposite direction; FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the case.

[Description of Signs] 1 Head body 2 Piezoelectric strain element 2A One side surface 2B The other side surface 11 Vibration plate 11A Depressed groove 11a Pressurized projection 12 Nozzle plate 12a Ink ejection nozzle 14 Ink flow path 14A Ink pressurizing chamber 17 Partition 21 Individual drive unit 22 Overall drive unit 23 Slit groove 30 Electrode drive control unit 40a, A Individual drive electrode 40b, B Overall drive electrode 50, C The other drive electrode

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] An ink storage chamber is provided at one end and a plurality of ink discharge nozzles is provided at the other end, and a plurality of ink flow paths are formed between the ink storage chamber and the plurality of ink discharge nozzles. A head body provided individually corresponding to the ejection nozzles, a part of a side wall of each ink flow path is formed by a vibration plate, and a predetermined portion of the ink flow path provided with the vibration plate is an ink pressurizing chamber; A piezoelectric strain element for pressing and driving each of the ink pressurizing chambers is provided in the ink pressurizing chamber portion of the head main body, and by driving this piezoelectric strain element, ink droplets are discharged from the predetermined ink discharge nozzle. An ink jet printer head device having a structure for discharging ink, wherein a plurality of individual driving units corresponding to the plurality of ink pressurizing chambers, And a plurality of overall driving portions corresponding to the partition portions located between each other, and a slit groove having a predetermined width for partitioning both is provided between the individual driving portion and the entire driving portion of the piezoelectric strain element. A groove is formed in the vibration plate portion of the ink pressurizing chamber at a position where the plurality of individual driving sections come into contact with each other, and a groove is formed corresponding to each of the individual driving sections. Each of the protrusions to be pressed which comes into contact with the pressing end surface of the driving unit is provided, and on one side of the piezoelectric strain element, on one side common to each of the individual driving unit and the entire driving unit, along the slit groove. An individual drive electrode A and an entire drive electrode B, which are one drive electrode, are mounted on the respective drive units and in parallel with each other, and the one drive electrodes A and B are provided on the entire other side surface of the piezoelectric strain element. The other drive corresponding to An ink jet printer head device comprising an electrode C. 2. The ink jet printer head device according to claim 1, wherein each drive electrode B of said overall drive section is connected in a comb shape. 3. An electrode drive control for constantly grounding the other drive electrode C and operating according to print information from a host machine to set drive timings of the drive electrodes A and B of the individual drive unit and the entire drive unit. 3. An ink jet printer head device according to claim 1, wherein a portion is provided in parallel with said one of said drive electrodes A and B. 4. The piezoelectric drive element is operable by applying to the drive electrodes B of each of the plurality of overall drive units a predetermined operating voltage that does not lead to the occurrence of ink-jet, each time the electrode drive control unit drives the piezoelectric strain element. Operable state setting function, and a predetermined operation voltage is selectively applied to each drive electrode A of the plurality of individual drive units in accordance with a command from a higher-level device to operate an ink pressurizing chamber corresponding to the corresponding position. 4. The ink jet printer head device according to claim 3, further comprising a first electrode drive control function. 5. The electrode drive control unit applies the drive voltage to each drive electrode B of the plurality of overall drive units each time a predetermined operating voltage that leads to the generation of ink-jet is simultaneously applied. An operable state setting function of applying a drive blocking voltage having a polarity opposite to the drive voltage applied to each of the drive electrodes A to each of the drive electrodes A to set the piezoelectric strain element to an operable state; A second electrode drive control function that operates in accordance with a command from the host machine, selectively releases the setting of the drive blocking voltage for each drive electrode A, and activates the ink pressurizing chamber corresponding to the location. 4. An ink jet printer head device according to claim 3, wherein: 6. The piezoelectric drive element is operable by applying a predetermined operating voltage to each of the drive electrodes B of the plurality of overall drive units each time a drive voltage that does not lead to ink-jet generation is applied. Operable state setting function, and a predetermined operation voltage is selectively applied to each drive electrode A of the plurality of individual drive units in accordance with a command from a higher-level device to operate an ink pressurizing chamber corresponding to the corresponding position. A first electrode drive control function and, for each of the other drive electrodes A that are not driven by the first electrode drive control function, the operable state setting is performed at each activation timing of the operable state setting function. 4. The ink jet printer head device according to claim 3, further comprising an operable state canceling function for removing the function from the setting target.