PIEZOELECTRIC ELEMENT DRIVE CIRCUIT

A piezoelectric element drive circuit includes a piezoelectric element driven at a predetermined frequency and having a resonant frequency of (2n+1) times the predetermined frequency (n is a predetermined natural number), and a drive voltage generator that has a first output terminal connected to a first terminal of the piezoelectric element and a second output terminal connected to a second terminal of the piezoelectric element. When the piezoelectric element is driven, a waveform of potential difference between the first output terminal and the second output terminal is a step wave which transitions while taking an intermediate potential. A time length for which the potential difference is the intermediate potential is around (t2−t1)/(2n+1) in a period of time from time t1 at which the potential difference falls to the intermediate potential to time t2 at which the potential difference falls to the intermediate potential subsequently.