Liquid ejection device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11701886-B2
Application number	US-202117643255-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 8, 2021
Priority date	Jul 31, 2019
Publication date	Jul 18, 2023
Grant date	Jul 18, 2023

Abstract

A liquid ejection device includes: a nozzle through which a liquid is ejected; a liquid transfer tube through which the liquid is transferred to the nozzle; and a vibration generation unit configured to generate vibration, in which the vibration generation unit is in contact with one of the liquid, the nozzle, and the liquid transfer tube, and when the liquid ejected from the nozzle flies as a plurality of droplets in a state where the vibration generation unit does not generate vibration, and the number of the droplets passing through a predetermined position in a unit time is defined as a droplet frequency, a frequency of the vibration generated by the vibration generation unit is equal to or less than the droplet frequency.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A liquid ejection device comprising:
a nozzle through which a liquid is ejected as a plurality of droplets;
a liquid transfer tube through which the liquid is transferred to the nozzle; and
a vibration generation unit configured to generate vibration, wherein
a frequency of the vibration generated by the vibration generation unit is equal to or less than the droplet frequency.

2. The liquid ejection device according to claim 1 , wherein
the frequency of the vibration generated by the vibration generation unit is 5% or more and 50% or less of the droplet frequency.

3. The liquid ejection device according to claim 1 , wherein
the frequency of the vibration generated by the vibration generation unit is 5 kHz or more and 15 kHz or less.

4. The liquid ejection device according to claim 1 , wherein
the vibration generation unit generates vibration that causes the liquid to pulsate in a transfer direction of the liquid.

5. The liquid ejection device according to claim 1 , wherein
the vibration generation unit vibrates the liquid transfer tube in a transfer direction of the liquid.

6. The liquid ejection device according to claim 1 , wherein
the vibration generation unit vibrates the liquid transfer tube in a direction orthogonal to a transfer direction of the liquid.

7. The liquid ejection device according to claim 1 , wherein
the vibration generation unit includes a piezoelectric element.

Assignees

• Seiko Epson Corp

Inventors

• Sekino Hirokazu
• Seto Takeshi
• Kojima Hideki
• Matsuzaki Takahiro
• Saito Yuji

Classifications

• B41J2/14233 Primary

  of film type, deformed by bending and disposed on a diaphragm · CPC title

• B41J2/01 Primary

  Ink jet · CPC title

• B41J2/025 Primary

  by vibration · CPC title

• B41J2/14201

  Structure of print heads with piezoelectric elements · CPC title