1. An apparatus for simultaneously detecting respiratory air temperature information and respiratory air pressure information from a patient, the apparatus comprising:
a respiratory air temperature piezoelectric film sensor configured to detect respiratory air temperature information; and
a respiratory air pressure piezoelectric film sensor configured to detect respiratory air pressure information;
wherein at least a portion of the respiratory air temperature piezoelectric film sensor overlaps at least a portion of the respiratory air pressure piezoelectric film sensor, each of the respiratory air temperature piezoelectric film sensor and the respiratory air pressure piezoelectric film sensor including a non-overlap portion, the non-overlap portion of the respiratory air temperature piezoelectric film sensor proximate a first end of the apparatus, and the non-overlap portion of the respiratory air pressure piezoelectric film sensor proximate a second end of the apparatus, the second end substantially opposite to the first end.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the respiratory air temperature piezoelectric film sensor and the respiratory air pressure piezoelectric film sensor are included in a single sensor apparatus sized and shaped to be disposed on an upper lip of the patient.
3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the first end of the apparatus is exposed to nasal respiratory air flow and the second end of the apparatus is exposed to oral respiratory air flow.
4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the respiratory air temperature piezoelectric film sensor includes a respiratory air temperature polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) film sensor and the respiratory air pressure piezoelectric film sensor includes a respiratory air pressure PVDF film sensor.
5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each of the respiratory air temperature piezoelectric film sensor and the respiratory air pressure piezoelectric film sensor include a first major surface and a second major surface;
wherein the respiratory air temperature piezoelectric film sensor includes a first electrode coupled to a the first major surface and a second electrode coupled to the second major surface; and
wherein the respiratory air pressure piezoelectric film sensor includes a first electrode coupled to the first major surface and a second electrode coupled to the second major surface.
6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the first electrode of the respiratory air temperature piezoelectric film sensor is bonded to the first major surface of the respiratory air temperature piezoelectric film sensor using a conductive adhesive;
wherein the second electrode of the respiratory air temperature piezoelectric film sensor is bonded to the second major surface of the respiratory air temperature piezoelectric film sensor using a conductive adhesive;
wherein the first electrode of the respiratory air pressure piezoelectric film sensor is bonded to the first major surface of the respiratory air pressure piezoelectric film sensor using a conductive adhesive; and
wherein the second electrode of the respiratory air pressure piezoelectric film sensor is bonded to the second major surface of the respiratory air pressure piezoelectric film sensor using a conductive adhesive.
7. The apparatus of claim 1, including:
a first exterior layer overlying a first major surface of the respiratory air temperature piezoelectric film sensor opposite the respiratory air pressure piezoelectric film sensor; and
a second exterior layer overlying a first major surface of the respiratory air pressure piezoelectric film sensor opposite the respiratory air temperature piezoelectric film sensor.
8. The apparatus of claim 1, including:
a double sided adhesive tape layer disposed between the respiratory air temperature piezoelectric film sensor and the respiratory air pressure piezoelectric film sensor, the double sided adhesive tape layer configured to couple the respiratory air temperature piezoelectric film sensor to the respiratory air pressure piezoelectric film sensor and to isolate the respiratory air temperature piezoelectric film sensor from the respiratory air pressure piezoelectric film sensor.
9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the non-overlap portion of the respiratory air temperature piezoelectric film sensor is configured to be exposed to nasal respiration.
10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the non-overlap portion of the respiratory air pressure piezoelectric film sensor is configured to be exposed to oral respiration.
11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the respiratory air temperature piezoelectric film sensor is configured to provide information indicative of respiratory air temperature to an electronic signal processing circuit, the electronic signal processing circuit configured to produce a first signal output indicative of respiratory air temperature; and
wherein the respiratory air pressure piezoelectric film sensor is configured to provide information indicative of respiratory air pressure to an electronic signal processing circuit, the electronic signal processing circuit configured to produce a second signal output indicative of respiratory air pressure.
12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the respiratory air temperature piezoelectric film sensor and the respiratory air pressure piezoelectric film sensor are configured to provide a rigid phase and polarity relationship between respiratory air temperature and respiratory air pressure.
13. A system comprising:
a polarized respiratory air temperature and pressure piezoelectric film sensor, sized and shaped to be disposed on an upper lip of a patient, the polarized respiratory air temperature and pressure piezoelectric film sensor configured to receive oral and nasal respiration and to provide information indicative of respiratory air temperature and information indicative of respiratory air pressure to an electronic signal processing circuit, the polarized respiratory air temperature and pressure piezoelectric film sensor comprising:
a respiratory air temperature piezoelectric film sensor configured to detect respiratory air temperature information;
a respiratory air pressure piezoelectric film sensor configured to detect respiratory air pressure information;
wherein at least a portion of the respiratory air temperature piezoelectric film sensor overlaps at least a portion of the respiratory air pressure piezoelectric film sensor, each of the respiratory air temperature piezoelectric film sensor and the respiratory air pressure piezoelectric film sensor including a non-overlap portion, the non-overlap portion of the respiratory air temperature piezoelectric film sensor proximate a first end of the apparatus, and the non-overlap portion of the respiratory air pressure piezoelectric film sensor proximate a second end of the apparatus, the second end substantially opposite to the first end; and
wherein the non-overlap portion of the respiratory air temperature piezoelectric film sensor is configured to be exposed to nasal respiration, and the non-overlap portion of the respiratory air pressure piezoelectric film sensor is configured to be exposed to oral respiration;
an electronic signal processing circuit configured to receive the information indicative of a respiratory air temperature and information indicative of a respiratory air pressure from the polarized respiratory air temperature and pressure piezoelectric film sensor, wherein the electronic signal processing circuit is configured to simultaneously process the received respiratory air temperature information and the received respiratory air pressure information to produce a first signal output indicative of respiratory air temperature and a second signal output indicative of respiratory air pressure; and
a polysomnograph machine configured to receive the first signal output and the second signal output from the electronic signal processing circuit and to display the received respiratory air temperature information and the received respiratory air pressure information.
14. A method for simultaneously detecting respiratory air temperature information and respiratory air pressure information from a patient using an apparatus, comprising:
detecting respiratory air temperature information using a respiratory air temperature sensor including a first piezoelectric film;
detecting respiratory air pressure information using a respiratory air pressure sensor including a second piezoelectric film, at least a portion of the second piezoelectric film overlapping at least a portion of the first piezoelectric film,
wherein the first piezoelectric film includes a first non-overlap portion proximate a first end of the apparatus and the second piezoelectric film includes a second non-overlap portion proximate a second end of the apparatus, the second end substantially opposite to the first end.
15. The method of claim 14, including
exposing the non-overlap portion of the first piezoelectric film sensor to nasal respiration; and
exposing the non-overlap portion of the second piezoelectric film sensor to oral respiration.
16. The method of claim 14, wherein the detecting respiratory air temperature information and the detecting respiratory air pressure information includes using a single sensor apparatus sized and shaped to be disposed on an upper lip of the patient, the single sensor apparatus including the first piezoelectric film and the second piezoelectric film, wherein the first end of the apparatus is exposed to nasal respiratory air flow and the second end of the apparatus is exposed to oral respiratory air flow.
17. The method of claim 14, wherein the detecting respiratory air temperature information includes using a first polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) film; and
wherein the detecting respiratory air pressure information includes using a second PVDF film.
18. The method of claim 14, including:
providing information indicative of respiratory air temperature to an electronic signal processing circuit, the electronic signal processing circuit configured to produce a first signal output indicative of respiratory air temperature; and
providing information indicative of respiratory air pressure to an electronic signal processing circuit, the electronic signal processing circuit configured to produce a second signal output indicative of respiratory air pressure.
19. The method of claim 18, wherein the providing the information indicative of respiratory air temperature and respiratory air pressure include providing a rigid phase and polarity relationship between respiratory air temperature and respiratory air pressure.
20. The method of claim 18, wherein the providing the information indicative of respiratory air temperature includes using a first electrode coupled to a first major surface of first piezoelectric film and a second electrode coupled to a second major surface of the first piezoelectric film; and
wherein the providing the information indicative of respiratory air pressure includes using a first electrode coupled to a first major surface of the second piezoelectric film and a second electrode coupled to a second major surface of the second piezoelectric film.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
What is claimed is:
1. A liquid ejecting head including a first liquid flow path communicating with an ejecting port for ejecting a liquid to be ejected and an element substrate having a heating element for forming a bubble from a bubble forming liquid as well as including a second liquid flow path corresponding to said first liquid flow path and a movable separation membrane for substantially separating said first liquid flow path and said second liquid flow path corresponding to said first liquid flow path from each other at all times, comprising:
an atmosphere communication port facing the atmosphere for communicating said second liquid flow path with the atmosphere; and
an atmosphere communication path having an atmosphere communication path introduction port facing said second liquid flow path,
wherein said atmosphere communication port is formed through the same surface as that of said ejecting port.
2. A liquid ejecting head according to claim 1, wherein when said ejecting port has an area S0 and said atmosphere communication port has an area S1, a relationship of S0S0 is established.
3. A liquid ejecting head according to claim 1, wherein when said ejecting port has an area S0, said atmosphere communication port has an area S1 and said atmosphere communication path introduction port has an area S2, relationships of S0<S1 and S2<S1 are established.
4. A liquid ejecting head according to claim 1, wherein when it is supposed that a supply source of said bubble forming liquid is located upstream, said atmosphere communication path introduction port is formed downstream of said heating element.
5. A liquid ejecting head according to claim 1, wherein an expanded section, which has an sectional area sufficient to pevent bubble forming liquid from rising up to said atmosphere communication port from said atmosphere communication path introduction port by capillary force, is formed in the midway of said atmosphere communication path.
6. A liquid ejecting head according to claim 5, wherein the projecting surface of said atmosphere communication port and said atmosphere communication path introduction port of said atmosphere communication path do not overlap each other.
7. A liquid ejecting head according to claim 5, wherein a plurality of said atmosphere communication path introduction ports are formed.
8. A liquid ejecting head according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of said atmosphere communication paths are formed.
9. A liquid ejecting head according to claim 1, wherein said movable separation membrane is an organic film formed by a deposition method by chemical vapor reaction or plasma polymerization reaction.
10. A liquid ejecting head according to claim 9, wherein said movable separation membrane contains ployparaxylene.
11. A head cartridge, comprising a liquid ejecting head according to claim 1, and an ink tank for holding a liquid to be ejected by said liquid ejecting head.
12. A liquid ejecting apparatus, comprising a liquid ejecting head according to claim 1, an ink tank for holding a liquid to be ejected by said liquid ejecting head, and a mounting section on which said liquid ejecting head is mounted.
13. A liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 12, comprising a drawing means for drawing a liquid to be ejected from the ejecting port of said liquid ejecting head as well as for drawing a bubble forming liquid and remaining bubbles from said atmosphere communication path.
14. A liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 13, wherein said drawing means draws said liquid to be ejected as well as said bubble forming liquid and said remaining bubbles simultaneously.
15. A liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 13, wherein said drawing means draws said liquid to be ejected and said remaining bubbles individually.