Patent Publication Number: US-9895892-B2

Title: Head unit and liquid discharge apparatus including same

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present application claims priority pursuant to 35 U.S.C. §119(a) from Japanese patent application numbers 2015-226113, filed on Nov. 18, 2015, and 2016-172663, filed on Sep. 5, 2016, the entire disclosure of each of which is incorporated by reference herein. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Technical Field 
     Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a head unit and a liquid discharge apparatus. 
     Background Art 
     A long head unit including a plurality of short heads or head chips arrayed is known. Such a type of head unit is called a multi-array head. When the plurality of short heads is so arrayed, positional adjustment of each head is important. 
     SUMMARY 
     In one embodiment of the disclosure, provided is an optimal head unit including a plurality of heads; and a head mount on which the plurality of heads is arrayed. The head mount includes a position adjuster to adjust a position of each of the plurality of heads, each of the plurality of heads includes cutouts at both ends of each of the plurality of heads in a head alignment direction, the cutouts of adjacent heads are opposed each other, and the position adjuster is disposed between the opposed cutouts of the adjacent heads. 
     Further, provided is an optimal head unit including a plurality of heads; a plurality of intermediate members to hold the plurality of heads; and a head mount on which the plurality of heads is arrayed. The head mount includes a position adjuster to adjust a position of each of the plurality of heads, each of the plurality of intermediate members includes cutouts at both ends of each of the plurality of intermediate members in a head alignment direction, the cutouts of adjacent intermediate members of the plurality of intermediate members to hold adjacent heads of the plurality of heads are opposed each other, and the position adjuster is disposed between the opposed cutouts of the adjacent intermediate members. 
     These and other features and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent upon consideration of the following description of embodiments of the present disclosure when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The aforementioned and other aspects, features, and advantages of the present disclosure would be better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  schematically illustrates a head unit according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 2  is a front view of the head unit of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a plan view of a head; 
         FIG. 4  is a plan view of a head mount; 
         FIG. 5  is an enlarged view of each cutout; 
         FIG. 6  is a plan view of the head unit according to a first comparative example; 
         FIG. 7  is a plan view of the head unit according to a second comparative example; 
         FIG. 8  is a perspective view of an example of the head; 
         FIG. 9  is a plan view illustrating a position adjuster of the head; 
         FIG. 10  is a cross-sectional view illustrating a portion of a pin; 
         FIG. 11  is a plan view of the head unit according to a second embodiment; 
         FIG. 12  is a plan view illustrating the head according to a third embodiment; 
         FIG. 13  is a cross-sectional view of an exemplary liquid discharge head that forms the head along a direction perpendicular to a nozzle alignment direction; 
         FIG. 14  is an enlarged cross-sectional view illustrating a main part of the liquid discharge head of  FIG. 13 ; 
         FIG. 15  is also an enlarged cross-sectional view of the main part of the liquid discharge head along the nozzle alignment direction; 
         FIG. 16  illustrates an example of a liquid discharge apparatus according to the present disclosure; and 
         FIG. 17  is a plan view of the liquid discharge unit of the liquid discharge apparatus of  FIG. 16 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to accompanying drawings. 
     First, with reference to  FIGS. 1 to 5 , a head unit  100  according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure will be described.  FIG. 1  schematically illustrates the head unit  100 ;  FIG. 2  is a front view of the head unit  100  of  FIG. 1 ;  FIG. 3  is a plan view of a head  101 ;  FIG. 4  is a plan view of a head mount  102 ; and  FIG. 5  is an enlarged view of each cutout of the head  101 . 
     The head unit  100  includes a plurality of heads  101  (three in the present embodiment), and the head mount  102  on which the plurality of heads or head chips  101  is mounted. 
     The head  101  includes a nozzle plate  40  on which nozzle arrays  11  are disposed. Each nozzle array  11  includes a plurality of nozzles  10 , as a plurality of dot forming elements, and a frame  20 . 
     The plurality of heads  101  is disposed in a staggered manner in a nozzle alignment direction, that is, head alignment direction or X-direction. In this case, adjacent heads  101  are disposed such that at least two nozzles  10  at an edge of the nozzle array  11  in a Y-direction perpendicular to the head alignment direction overlap. As the number of overlapping nozzles increases, a width W 1  of a gap  103  between adjacent heads  101  in the head alignment direction narrows. 
     The head  101  includes V-shaped cutouts  111  and  112  at both ends of the head in the head alignment direction or X-direction. Herein, the cutouts  111  and  112  are disposed on the frame  20 . 
     More specifically, the frame  20  includes a flange  20   a  (see  FIG. 3 ), and the head  101  is mounted to the head mount  102  such that the flange  20   a  is disposed opposite a face of the head mount  102 . The cutouts  111  and  112  are in the flange  20   a  of the frame  20 . 
     Between two adjacent heads  101  in the head alignment X-direction, the cutout  111  of one of the heads  101  and the cutout  112  of the other head  101  are disposed opposite each other. As a result, each position of the cutouts  111  and  112  of the head  101  in the Y-direction perpendicular to the head alignment X-direction is the same. 
     The head mount  102  includes an opening  120 , into which a part of the head  101  is inserted, and an eccentric cam  121  and a pin  122  to adjust a tilt position of the head  101 . The eccentric cam  121  mounted to the head mount  102  rotates about a shaft  121   a.    
     In addition, elastic members  124  to apply pressure to the head  101  toward the pin  122  in the X-direction, and elastic members  125  to apply pressure to the head  101  from both sides in the Y-direction are mounted to the head mount  102 . 
     In one head  101 , the eccentric cam  121  contacts one cutout  111 , and the pin  122  contacts the other cutout  112 . When the eccentric cam  121  is rotated with the head  101  contacted the pin  122  via the elastic member  124 , a tilt θ of the head  101  relative to the head alignment direction can be adjusted. 
     At this time, the eccentric cam  121  is disposed between the cutouts  111  and  112  of the two adjacent heads  101  in the head alignment direction. 
     With this configuration, even though the width W 1  of the gap  103  between two adjacent heads  101  and  101  in the head alignment direction is narrow, the eccentric cam  121  and the pin  122  that serve as a position adjuster can be disposed between two heads  101  and  101 . 
     In addition, because the cutouts  111  and  112  of adjacent two heads  101  and  101  in the head alignment direction are disposed opposite each other, as illustrated in  FIG. 5 , a part of the eccentric cam  121  disposed in the cutout  111  of one of the heads  101  can be entered into the cutout  112  of the other head  101 . 
     With this structure, the width W 1  of the gap  103  between two adjacent heads  101  and  101  in the head alignment direction can be narrowed. By narrowing the width W 1  of the gap  103 , the number of overlapping nozzles can be increased. 
     In the state illustrated in  FIG. 5 , a part of a long axis side of the eccentric cam  121  enters the cutout  112 , so that the width W 1  can be shorter than the length of the long axis of the eccentric cam  121 , that is, a distance between a rotary center and a farthest point of the periphery from the rotary center. 
     In addition, there is no need of providing the eccentric cam  121  as a position adjuster between the two adjacent heads  101  and  101  in the Y-direction perpendicular to the head alignment direction, and a length L 1  of a gap  104  can be narrowed. 
     With this structure, the head unit  100  can be made more compact. 
     Next, a first comparative example of the head unit  100  will be described with reference to  FIG. 6 .  FIG. 1  is a plan view of the head unit  100 . 
     The head  101  according to the first comparative example does not include cutouts disposed at both ends of the head  101  in the head alignment direction. 
     In this case, if the eccentric cam  121  serving as the position adjuster moves more than a width W 2  of the gap  103  between adjacent heads  101  and  101  in the head alignment direction, the eccentric cam  121  cannot position within the gap  103 . 
     Accordingly, the eccentric cam  121 , as a position adjuster, positions at a position to contact a side portion of the head  101  from the Y-direction perpendicular to the head alignment direction. As a result, a length L 2  of the gap  104  between adjacent two heads  101  and  101  in the Y-direction perpendicular to the head alignment direction is longer than the length L 1  of the gap  104  (L 2 &gt;L 1 ) according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     More specifically, a width W 2  of the gap  103  between adjacent heads  101  and  101  in the head alignment direction is defined by a size of the outer diameter of the head and the number of nozzles to be overlapped. If the width W 2  is narrower than the outer diameter of the pin  122 , the pin  122  cannot be disposed. 
     As a result, the width W 2  of the gap  103  should be secured even by decreasing the number of nozzles to be overlapped, and the width W 2  of the gap  103  between adjacent heads  101  and  101  in the head alignment direction becomes wider than the width W 1  of the gap  103  according to the present embodiment (W 2 &gt;W 1 ). 
     On the contrary, according to the present embodiment, because a part or whole of the pin  122  and the eccentric cam  121  disposed in the gap  103  between adjacent heads  101  and  101  in the head alignment direction are entered into the cutouts  112  and  111 , the width W 1  of the gap  103  can be narrowed. In addition, the eccentric cam  121  need not be disposed in the Y-direction perpendicular to the head alignment direction, so that the length L 1  of the gap  104  can also be narrowed. 
     As a result, the head unit according to the present embodiment can be made more compact than the head unit according to the first comparative example. 
     Next, a head unit according to a second comparative example will be described with reference to  FIG. 7 .  FIG. 7  is a plan view of the head unit  100 . 
     The head  101  according to the second comparative example includes cutouts  111  and  112  at both ends of the head  101  in the head alignment direction. However, differently from the present embodiment, the cutouts  111  and  112  are disposed at different positions in the Y-direction perpendicular to the head alignment direction, and the cutout  111  and the cutout  112  are not disposed opposite each other. 
     In the present structure, the eccentric cam  121  and the pin  122  can be positioned in the cutout  111  and  112 . 
     However, because the cutouts  111  and  112  are not disposed opposite each other, differently from the present embodiment as illustrated in  FIG. 5 , the eccentric cam  121  to be disposed in the cutout  111  of one of the heads  101  does not enter into the cutout  112  of the other head  101 . 
     As a result, because a width W 3  of the gap  103  according to the second comparative example becomes wider than the width W 1  of the gap  103  according to the present embodiment (W 3 &gt;W 1 ), the head unit  100  according to the second comparative example becomes larger than the head unit  100  according to the present embodiment. 
     Next, another example of the head  101  will be described with reference to  FIG. 8 , showing a perspective view of the head. 
     The head  101 , a liquid discharge head, includes, as described above, the nozzle plate  40  on which the nozzle arrays  11  are disposed, and the frame  20 , and the cutouts  111  and  112  are disposed at both longitudinal ends of the frame  20 , respectively. In addition, a hole  21  to fasten the head  101  to the head mount  102  with fasteners is disposed on the frame  20 . 
     Each of the cutouts  111  and  112  is V-shaped similarly to each other, and an open angle θ is 60 degrees; however, the shape and angle are not limited to above examples. 
     Next, referring to  FIGS. 9 and 10 , a position adjuster of the head  101  will be described. 
       FIG. 9  is a plan view of the position adjuster, and  FIG. 10  is a cross-sectional view of the pin. It is noted that  FIG. 9  is a plan view viewed from the nozzle face, and the head mount is omitted. 
     The head mount  102  includes the pin  122  that contacts the cutout  112  of the head  101  and the elastic member  124  that applies pressure to the head  101  toward the pin  122 . 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 10 , the pin  122  is so disposed as to be rotatable and retractable relative to the head mount  102  through a screw  122   b , and includes a taper portion  122   a  at a portion contacting the wall of the cutout  112 . 
     Accordingly, the pin  122  rotates and moves in the height direction (or arrow C direction) and the head  101  moves in the head alignment direction or X-direction, so that the position of the head  101  in the X-direction can be adjusted. 
     In addition, the eccentric cam  121  to contact the cutout  111  of the head  101  is disposed to the head mount  102 . 
     When the eccentric cam  121  is rotated in arrow A 1  direction or arrow A 2  direction, the head  101  rotates in arrow B 1  direction or arrow B 2  direction about the pin  122 , and the tilt of the head  101  in X-Y plane (that is, a position in the θ direction) can be adjusted. 
     Next, the head unit according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to  FIG. 11 . 
       FIG. 11  is a plan view of the head unit according to the second embodiment. 
     In the second embodiment, the head  101  is mounted to an intermediate member  110 , and the intermediate member  110  is mounted to the head mount  102 . The intermediate member  110  is intermediary disposed between the head  101  and the head mount  102  and is mounted to both the head  101  and the head mount  102 . For example, the intermediate member  110  can be mounted to the frame  20 , which is one of the constituents of the head  101 , so as to form a flange for the head  101 . Then, by securing the intermediate member  110  to the head mount  102 , the head  101  can be mounted to the head mount  102 . 
     In the second embodiment, the cutouts  111  and  112  as described in the first embodiment are similarly disposed. 
     The head mount  102  includes the eccentric cam  121  that contacts the cutout  111  of the intermediate member  110 , the pin  122  that contacts the cutout  112 , and other elastic members  124  and  125 . Even with the above structure, that is, even when the heads once supported by the intermediate member are arranged, the gap between adjacent intermediate members can be narrowed, thereby preventing the head unit  100  from becoming larger. 
     Next,  FIG. 12  illustrates a plan view of the head unit according to a third embodiment. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 12 , in the third embodiment, the heads  101  are arranged with a longer side of the heads  101  adjacent to each other. Each head  101  includes a cutout  111  and a cutout  112  disposed opposite each other in the head alignment direction. The head mount  102  includes the eccentric cam  121  that contacts the cutout  111  of the intermediate member  110 , the pin  122  that contacts the cutout  112 , and other elastic members  124  and  125 . The head mount  102  here serves as a carriage. 
     With this structure, even when the heads are arranged in the shorter side direction, the gap between the heads can be narrowed and the head unit can be prevented from becoming larger. 
     Next, referring to  FIGS. 13 through 15 , one exemplary embodiment of a liquid discharge head forming the head  101  will be described.  FIG. 13  is a cross-sectional view of the liquid discharge head  600  along a direction perpendicular to the nozzle alignment direction;  FIG. 14  is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part of  FIG. 13 ; and  FIG. 15  is a cross-sectional view of the liquid discharge head along the nozzle alignment direction. 
     The liquid discharge head  600  includes a nozzle plate  501  (corresponding to the nozzle plate  40  in  FIG. 1 ); a channel plate  502 ; a vibration plate  503  being a wall member; a piezoelectric element  511  that generates pressure; a retainer substrate  550 ; a wire member; and a frame  570  that serves as a common liquid chamber (corresponding to the frame  20  in  FIG. 1 ). 
     Herein, the channel plate  502 , the vibration plate  503 , and the piezoelectric element  511  are defined to form an actuator substrate  520 . However, after an actuator substrate  520  has been already created independently, the actuator substrate  520  does not further include the nozzle plate  501  and the retainer substrate  550 . The channel plate  502  and the vibration plate  503  jointly form a channel member. 
     A plurality of nozzles  504  (corresponding to the nozzle  10  of  FIG. 1 ) to discharge a liquid is formed to the nozzle plate  501 . As illustrated in  FIG. 13 , four nozzle arrays each of which includes the plurality of nozzles  504  are disposed. 
     The channel plate  502  together with the nozzle plate  501  and the vibration plate  503  form an individual liquid chamber  506  to which the nozzle  504  communicates, a fluid restrictor  507  communicating to the individual liquid chamber  506 , and a liquid inlet or path  508  to which the fluid restrictor  507  communicates. 
     The liquid inlet  508  communicates, via a path  509  of the vibration plate  503  and an orifice manifold  551  being a channel of a retainer substrate  550 , to a common liquid chamber  510  formed of the frame  570 . 
     The vibration plate  503  forms a deformable vibration area  530  that forms part of the wall of the individual liquid chamber  506 . A piezoelectric element  511  is disposed integrally with the vibration area  530  on a face opposite the individual liquid chamber  506  of the vibration area  530  of the vibration plate  503 , and the vibration area  530  and the piezoelectric element  511  form a piezoelectric actuator. 
     The piezoelectric element  511  includes a lower electrode  513 , a piezoelectric layer  512 , and an upper electrode  514  that are sequentially laminated from a side of the vibration area  530 . An insulation layer  521  is formed on top of the piezoelectric element  511 . 
     The lower electrode  513  that serves as a common electrode for the plurality of piezoelectric elements  511  is connected, via a common wire  515 , to a common electrode power source wire pattern  621 . As illustrated in  FIG. 15 , it is noted that the lower electrode  513  is an electrode layer that straddles all the piezoelectric elements  511  in the nozzle alignment direction. 
     In addition, the upper electrode  514  that serves as an individual electrode for the piezoelectric element  511 , is connected to a driver integrated circuit (IC)  500  via an individual wire  516 . The individual wire  516  is coated with an insulation layer  522 . 
     The driver IC  500  is mounted to the actuator substrate  520  by a method such as flipchip bonding so as to cover an area between piezoelectric element arrays. 
     The driver IC  500  mounted to the actuator substrate  520  is connected to an individual electrode power supply wire pattern  601  that is supplied with drive waveforms (or drive signals). 
     The wire employed in a wire member  560  is electrically connected to the driver IC  500  and the wire at the other end of the wire member  560  is connected to a controller disposed at the side of the apparatus body. 
     Then, on the actuator substrate  520 , disposed is a retainer substrate  550  where the orifice manifold  551  serving as a path to communicate between the common liquid chamber  510  and the individual liquid chamber  506 , a concave portion  552  to accommodate the piezoelectric element  511 , and an opening  553  in which the driver IC  500  is accommodated, are formed. 
     The retainer substrate  550  is connected to the side of the vibration plate  503  of the actuator substrate  520  via an adhesive. 
     The frame  570  defines the common liquid chamber  510  to supply a liquid to each individual liquid chamber  506 . The common liquid chamber  510  is disposed respectively for each of the four nozzle arrays. The liquid with a designated color is supplied to the common liquid chamber  510  via a liquid supply port from outside. 
     A damper member  590  is bonded to the frame  570 . The damper member  590  includes a deformable damper  591  to form part of the wall of the common liquid chamber  510 , and a damper plate  592  to reinforce the damper  591 . 
     The frame  570  has a flange  570   a , is bonded to an outer periphery of the nozzle plate  501  and the retainer substrate  550  with an adhesive, incorporates the actuator substrate  520  and the retainer substrate  550 , and structures the frame of the liquid discharge head  600 . 
     Also, a nozzle cover  545  to cover a peripheral portion of the nozzle plate  501  and part of the outer periphery of the frame  570  is disposed. 
     The liquid discharge head  600  is configured to apply voltage to a portion between the upper electrode  514  and the lower electrode  513  of the piezoelectric element  511  from the driver IC  500 , to thereby cause the piezoelectric layer  512  to expand in an electrode lamination direction, that is, in the electric field direction and shrink in a direction parallel to the vibration area  530 . 
     In this case, because the lower electrode  513  is detained by the vibration area  530 , a tensile stress is generated to the lower electrode  513  of the vibration area  530 , and the vibration area  530  bends to the side of the individual liquid chamber  506  and applies pressure to the liquid inside, and thus the liquid is discharged from the nozzle  504 . 
     In the above embodiments, the head is a liquid discharge head, but is not limited to this. 
     Next, an exemplary apparatus to discharge liquid is explained with reference to  FIGS. 16 and 17 .  FIG. 16  illustrates the liquid discharge apparatus  700  and  FIG. 17  is a plan view of a liquid discharge unit  200 . 
     The liquid discharge apparatus includes sheet trays  401  in which sheet material  400  is stacked, a liquid discharge unit  200  to discharge liquid to the sheet material  400 , and a conveyance unit  404  disposed opposite the liquid discharge unit  200 , to convey the sheet material  400 . 
     The sheet material  400  stacked inside each of the sheet trays  401  is conveyed by a sheet feed roller  402  along a conveyance path indicated by a broken line. The sheet material  400  conveyed to the conveyance path passes through a thin-adjustment and skew-correction roller pair  403 , that is, a so-called registration roller pair, and is conveyed to the conveyance unit  404 . 
     The conveyance unit  404  includes a conveyance roller  405  driven at a predetermined timing, a tension roller  406  and an endless conveyance belt  407  stretched around these rollers  405  and  406 . 
     In addition, it is noted that electrostatic absorption method, air absorption method, and other known method may be used to hold the sheet material  400  via the conveyance belt  407  of the conveyance unit  404 . 
     The conveyance unit  404  conveys the sheet material  400  to oppose to the liquid discharge unit  200 , and the liquid is discharged from the liquid discharge unit  200  to the sheet material  400  corresponding to image data. As a result, an image is formed on the sheet material  400 . 
     The liquid discharge unit  200  includes liquid head units  211 K,  211 C,  211 M, and  211 Y, each of which is formed of the plurality of head units  100  according to the first embodiment. The liquid head units  211 K,  211 C,  211 M, and  211 Y discharge a liquid of black (K), cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y), respectively. 
     The sheet material  400  on which the image is formed by the liquid discharge unit  200  is conveyed to a decurler unit  409 , where the sheet material  400  is decurled or is subject to the curl correction. 
     The sheet material  400  that has passed through the decurler unit  409  passes through a conveyance path  411  via a separation claw  410 , is conveyed to an ejection roller  412 , and is discharged outside. 
     Alternatively, in the reverse ejection mode or duplex printing mode, the separation claw  410  is switched from a position as illustrated in  FIG. 16  to a counterclockwise direction, and the sheet material  400  passes through a conveyance path  413 , and is conveyed to a beat roller  415  via a guide  414 . The sheet material  400  that has conveyed to the beat roller  415 , is conveyed in a reverse direction by the beat roller  415  that has changed a rotary direction. 
     In the reverse ejection mode, the sheet material  400  passes through a second separation claw  416 , further passes through a conveyance path  417 , is conveyed to the ejection roller  412 , and is ejected outside. 
     When printing is performed on a back of the sheet material  400  in the duplex printing mode, the sheet material  400  conveyed in the reverse direction by the beat roller  415 , passes through a portion between the second separation claw  416  that has changed from the position illustrated in  FIG. 16  to the counterclockwise direction and a duplex reverse roller  418 , passes through a conveyance path  419 , and is sent to the registration roller pair  403 . 
     A recovery unit  408  to maintain and recover properties of each head  101  of the head unit  100  of the liquid discharge unit  200  is further disposed. The recovery unit  408  includes a cap  420  to cap a nozzle face of each head  101  of the liquid discharge unit  200 , a suction pump connected to the cap  420 , and a wiper  421  to wipe the liquid remaining on the head when the liquid is sucked inside the cap  420 . 
     When the maintenance and recovery operation is performed, the liquid discharge unit  200  elevates, the recovery unit  408  moves below the liquid discharge unit  200 , and the maintenance and recovery operation is performed. The cap  420  of the recovery unit  408  serves as a moisturizing cap to retain moisture of each head  101  of the liquid discharge unit  200 . When the printing is not performed, the liquid discharge unit  200  is elevated, and the recovery unit  408  moves below the liquid discharge unit  200 , to thereby perform moisturizing capping. 
     In the present embodiments as described above, a “liquid discharge apparatus” includes a liquid discharge unit and a liquid discharge head, and discharges a liquid while driving the liquid discharge head. The liquid discharge apparatus includes not only a device to discharge a liquid to a certain material on which the liquid can be adhered but a device to discharge a liquid to air or the liquid. 
     The “liquid discharge apparatus” may include means to feed, convey, and eject the material on which the liquid can be adhered, and otherwise include a pre-treatment device and a post-treatment device. 
     For example, the liquid discharge apparatus is not limited to a device to visualize an image having a meaning such as letters and figures via the discharged liquid. Alternatively, the liquid discharge apparatus may include a device to form patterns without a meaning in itself, and a device to generate a three-dimensional image. 
     The “material to which the liquid can adhere” means the material on which the liquid may at least temporarily adhere, the material on which the liquid adheres and is attached firmly, and the material on which the liquid adheres and permeates. Examples may include recorded media such as a sheet, a recording sheet, a film, and cloth; electronic parts such as an electronic board, and a piezoelectric element and other media such as a powder layer, body part model, and inspection cell; and further includes all materials to which the liquid may adhere, unless not limited in particular. 
     The “material to which the liquid can adhere” may include any materials, to which the liquid may adhere even temporarily, such as paper, thread, fiber, cloth, leather, metal, plastic, glass, wood, ceramics, and the like. 
     In addition, the term “liquid” may include ink, treatment liquid, DNA sample, resist, pattern material, bonding agent, molding liquid, and solution and dispersion liquid including amino acid, protein, and calcium. 
     In addition, the “liquid discharge apparatus” includes a type of device in which the liquid discharge head and the material to which the liquid can adhere move relatively, but is not limited to this. More specifically, included are a serial-type device in which the liquid discharge head moves and a line-type device in which the liquid discharge head does not move. 
     In addition, the “liquid discharge apparatus” also includes a treatment liquid coating device to discharge a treatment liquid on a sheet for coating the treatment liquid on a surface of the sheet to, for example, improve the surface of the sheet. The liquid discharge apparatus further includes an injection granulation device to granulate minute particles as raw materials by injecting a composition liquid in which raw materials are dispersed into the solution, via the nozzle. 
     Additional modifications and variations of the present disclosure are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the disclosure may be practiced other than as specifically described herein.