Patent ID: 8651630

Claim:
A fluid ejector structure, comprising: a chamber for containing a fluid; a flexible membrane forming a portion of one wall of the chamber; a plurality of unimorph piezoelectric cantilevers comprising piezoelectric plates and a backing, the backing operatively connected to the piezoelectric plates such that expansion and/or contraction of the piezoelectric plates causes the piezoelectric cantilevers to bend; a rigid plate overlaying a center portion of the flexible membrane; a plurality of elongated posts each extending laterally across the chamber coupling a corresponding one of the unimorph piezoelectric cantilevers to the rigid plate through the backing such that a movement of each unimorph piezoelectric cantilever toward the chamber is transmitted to the rigid plate through the corresponding elongated post along a line extending laterally across the chamber; and the rigid plate is configured to transmit movements of the elongated posts to the flexible membrane in a rigid, or substantially rigid, piston-like manner.