Patent ID: 7992979

Claim:
An ink-jet recording apparatus comprising an ink tank containing ink, a recording head, an ink passage extending from the ink tank to the recording head, and a sub-tank provided on the ink passage, wherein the ink-jet recording apparatus is configured to record images on a recording medium, and the apparatus further comprises: a first ink passage having an ink inlet port through which the ink is supplied from the ink tank to the sub-tank; a second ink passage having an ink outlet port through which the ink is drawn from the sub-tank and supplied to the recording head; and an ultrasonic transducer configured to generate an ultrasonic wave, thereby forming a standing-wave field in the ink contained in the sub-tank, wherein the standing-wave field has a sound-pressure antinode, and wherein the ink outlet port of the second ink passage is arranged: (i) near the ultrasonic transducer, and (ii) at a position corresponding to the sound-pressure antinode of the standing-wave field.