Patent ID: 6050679
Filing Date: 2000-04-18
Classification: B41J

Abstract:
A transducer array for an ink-jet printing apparatus, comprising:a support plate of non-piezoelectric material defining a support surface;a plurality of transducer units, each of said plurality of transducer units being composed of at least one flat plate-shaped layer of piezoelectric material, the at least one flat plate layer having a first flat plate surface and a second flat plate surface facing opposite the first flat plate surface, the first flat plate surface of a first layer of said piezoelectric material abutting the support surface of the support plate, the second flat plat surface of the at least one layer of said piezoelectric material being electrically coupled to an electrode disposed substantially in parallel with the support surface, and each of the transducer units having a transducer length in a transducer expansion direction from the first flat plate surface of the first layer of said piezoelectric material to the second flat plate surface of a last layer of said piezoelectric material and having a width in a direction transverse to the transducer length, the transducer length being no more than three times the transducer width;a plurality of transducer chambers, each of said plurality of transducer chambers having a transducer chamber length in the transducer expansion direction, wherein each of the plurality of transducer units is disposed in a corresponding one of the plurality of transducer chambers; anda voltage source electrically coupled to said electrode for applying a voltage across each flat plate surface of the at least one layer of piezoelectric material, wherein upon applying the voltage across each flat plate surface, the at least one layer of piezoelectric material contracts or expands in a direction perpendicular to the flat plate surface.