JP2003181347A - Ultrasonic atomizer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a simple and efficient ultrasonic atomizer capable of stably generating mist. <P>SOLUTION: The ultrasonic atomizer 1 comprises an ultrasonic vibrator 3 consisting of piezoelectric bodies 31 and 32, a liquid container 5 housing a liquid L and a water absorbing strip 7 inserted into the liquid container 5 at one end thereof and coming into contact with the whole surface of the vibration end surface 3a of the ultrasonic vibrator 3. A fan 13 for adjusting the spray distance of mist particles atomized by the vibration end surface 3a of the ultrasonic vibrator 3 is preferably provided to the ultrasonic atomizer 1. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ultrasonic atomizer using an ultrasonic vibrator made of a piezoelectric material.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an ultrasonic atomizer utilizing an ultrasonic vibrator made of a piezoelectric material has been used. In the ultrasonic atomizer, as a method of supplying water to the ultrasonic vibrator, a method of directly supplying water to the vibrating surface of the ultrasonic vibrator by some method (Japanese Patent No. 2644621 etc.) or ultrasonic vibration A method of bringing a water absorbing band into contact with the vibrating surface of a child
No. 861).

[0003]

However, in the method of directly supplying water to the vibrating surface of the ultrasonic vibrator, the water supply mechanism becomes large and complicated. In addition, in the method of bringing the water absorption band into contact with the vibration surface of the ultrasonic vibrator, atomization is performed only in a limited part of the vibration surface of the ultrasonic vibrator that contacts the water absorption band. , The atomization efficiency is low, and due to the displacement of the water absorption zone with respect to the vibration surface of the ultrasonic transducer,
It is not stable because the fog conditions such as the fog particle size and flight distance differ greatly.

On the other hand, it is an object of the present invention to provide an ultrasonic atomizing device which efficiently and stably produces a fog with a simple device.

[0005]

Means for Solving the Problems The present inventors have proposed an ultrasonic atomizer using an ultrasonic transducer made of a piezoelectric material.
It has been found that when a water absorption zone for supplying water to the vibrating end surface of the piezoelectric element is brought into contact with the entire surface of the piezoelectric element, fog can be efficiently and stably generated with a simple configuration.

That is, according to the present invention, an ultrasonic vibrator made of a piezoelectric material, a liquid container for containing a liquid, and water absorption having one end inserted into the liquid container and the other end in contact with the entire vibrating end surface of the ultrasonic vibrator. An ultrasonic atomizer consisting of a band is provided.

[0007]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. In each drawing, the same reference numerals represent the same or equivalent constituent elements.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view (a) and a sectional view (b) of an ultrasonic atomizer 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The ultrasonic atomizer 1 has an ultrasonic vibrator 3 in a housing 2 and a liquid container 5 detachably attached to the housing 2. The lid 4 of the liquid container 5 is provided with a cut 6 from which one end of the water absorption band 7 is inserted into the liquid container 5. Also, the water absorption zone 7
Has a small hole at the other end thereof, and by fitting this small hole in the alignment projection 8 provided above the vibrating end surface 3a of the ultrasonic transducer 3, the ultrasonic transducer 3 vibrates. The entire surface of the end surface 3a is adapted to come into contact with the water absorption zone 7.

Here, as the ultrasonic transducer 3, as shown in FIG. 2, a so-called Langevin-type transducer 30 in which two piezoelectric bodies 31 and 32 are joined, and a rear ultrasonic wave joined to the rear end face thereof. Horn 33 and Langevin type vibrator 3
It consists of a front ultrasonic horn 34 joined to the front end face of 0. As described above, by using the ultrasonic vibrator 3 using the Langevin type vibrator 30, it is possible to obtain a higher vibration intensity than in the case of using the bimorph type vibrator.

As the piezoelectric bodies 31 and 32, for example, Pb
A cylindrical piezoelectric body containing PZT, which is a solid solution of ZrO ₃ and PbTiO ₃ , as a main component, which is polarized in the thickness direction, can be used. Electrodes 35 and 36 are connected to the piezoelectric bodies 31 and 32, respectively, and the electrodes 35 and 36 are
It is connected to the terminals of the circuit section 9 in the housing 2.

A dry battery 10 housed in the housing 2 is used as a power source for the circuit portion 9 for driving the piezoelectric bodies 31, 32. Also, a switch 11 for turning the power on / off
Is provided on the upper surface of the housing 2, and a lamp 12 that is turned on when the power is turned on and turned off when the power is turned off is provided near the switch 11.

The rear ultrasonic horn 33 and the front ultrasonic horn 34 are provided for amplifying the vibration of the vibrator 30 and efficiently propagating it to the front end of the front ultrasonic horn 34. By being equipped, it functions as an ultrasonic horn. These connect the piezoelectric bodies 31 and 32 to the bolts 37.
It is sandwiched with a predetermined tightening torque.

The shape of the vibrating end face 3a of the front ultrasonic horn 34 in contact with the water absorption zone 7 has a surface smooth area of 10-2.
A circle, a rectangle, etc. of about 00 mm ² can be used. A flange 38 is formed on the front ultrasonic horn 34, and the flange 38 is attached to the ultrasonic transducer mounting portion 15
Is fixed inside the housing 2 and the ultrasonic transducer 3 is not in contact with the housing 2 at other points.

As a material for forming the front ultrasonic horn 34 and the rear ultrasonic horn 33, an alloy such as aluminum, titanium or stainless steel can be used. Above all, they are lightweight and easily propagate ultrasonic vibration and have good workability. Aluminum, especially A5056 material, A606, from the viewpoint of being able to manufacture at low cost
It is preferable to use 3 materials and A7075 material.

On the other hand, the water absorption zone 7 is a liquid L from the liquid container 5 so that fog is generated on the vibrating end face 3a of the ultrasonic transducer 3.
Is provided to supply the vibration end face 3a of the ultrasonic transducer 3. As the water absorbing zone 7, it is preferable to use a nonwoven fabric made of cotton or wood pulp having good wettability. Further, by changing the type of non-woven fabric, the type of constituent fibers, the basis weight, etc. of the water-absorbing zone 7, the particle size of atomized particles to be atomized by the vibrating end face 3a of the ultrasonic transducer 3, the atomization efficiency, the spray width, Since the spray distance etc. can be controlled, the ultrasonic atomizer 1
It is preferable to adjust these according to the intended use. For example, in the office, when the ultrasonic atomizer 1 is put on a desk of each person to heal dry eyes and nose, a nonwoven fabric made of cotton fiber having a basis weight of 20 to 100 g / m ² is preferable, and particularly, It is preferable to use a spunlace nonwoven fabric composed of cotton fibers and having a basis weight of 30 to 50 g / m ² .

As the liquid L contained in the liquid container 5,
Water or water obtained by adding a fragrance, a moisturizing agent, alcohol or the like to water can be used.

The ultrasonic atomizer 1 includes an ultrasonic transducer 3
A fan 13 is provided behind the vibrating end face 3a and a blower port 14 is opened in the housing 2 so that the fog particles atomized by the vibrating end face 3a are sprayed within a predetermined distance. The ON / OFF switch for the fan 13 and the adjusting switch for the blowing strength may be provided separately from the switch 11 described above, but may be combined with the switch 11.

As a method of using this ultrasonic atomizer 1,
First, the arbitrary liquid L is put in the liquid container 5 and the housing 2
Attach to. When the switch 11 is turned on, the ultrasonic transducer 3 is driven, and the liquid L supplied to the vibrating end surface 3a by the water absorption zone 7 is atomized. In this case, since atomization is performed on the entire vibrating end surface 3a, atomization efficiency is high. Further, the misalignment of the water absorption zone 7 with respect to the vibrating end surface 3a does not change the particle size of the fog particles, the flight distance, etc., and is stable. Further, by turning on the switch of the fan 13 and adjusting to a desired blowing strength, the mist particles can be sprayed in a desired range.

The ultrasonic atomizer of the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned aspect, but can take various aspects. For example, as the piezoelectric body of the ultrasonic vibrator, a bimorph type piezoelectric body or the like may be used. As a power source, in addition to the dry battery 10, a power jack may be provided so that an external power source can be connected.

According to the ultrasonic atomizer of the present invention, atomized particles having a desired particle size can be easily sprayed with a small size and a simple structure. Therefore, the atomizer for humidifying the private space, particularly , Each person sprays a mist around their eyes,
It is useful as an atomizer to heal eye fatigue.

[0022]

EXAMPLES Test Example In the ultrasonic atomizer 1 shown in FIG. 1, as the water-absorbing zone 7, a basis weight of cotton fibers of 40 g / m ² or a basis weight of 80 g /
using m ² spunlaced nonwoven fabric (sample 1), as the liquid L using water, driving voltage 6V of the ultrasonic transducer 3, fog when driven in the blowing flow rate per second a 2.5 liter fan 13 The particle size and distribution of the particles were measured by a laser diffraction type particle size distribution measuring method (SYMPATEC, laser diffraction type particle size distribution measuring device HELOS SYSTEM).

On the other hand, the particle size and distribution of atomized particles sprayed by a commercially available atomizer (sample 3) using a horn / piezoelectric bonding type piezoelectric element and a commercially available pump-type spray (sample 4) are similarly measured. did.

The results are shown in FIG. From FIG. 3, by using the ultrasonic atomizer 1 of the present invention and changing the basis weight of the nonwoven fabric used as the water-absorbing zone 7, the distribution of the mist particles is sharper than that of the commercially available atomizer, and it is arbitrary. It turns out that it can be controlled to.

[0025]

According to the ultrasonic atomizer of the present invention, it is possible to efficiently and stably generate fog with a simple device.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view (a) and a sectional view (b) of an ultrasonic atomizer of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of an ultrasonic transducer.

FIG. 3 is a relationship diagram of the particle size of mist particles and their distribution.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ultrasonic atomizer 2 housing 3 Ultrasonic transducer 3a Vibration end face 5 liquid containers 7 water absorption zone 13 fans 14 Blower 30 Langevin type transducer 31 Piezoelectric body 32 Piezoelectric body 33 Rear ultrasonic horn 34 Front ultrasonic horn L liquid

Continued front page    (72) Inventor Kazuyuki Uehara             Kao Stock Association 2-1-3 Bunka, Sumida-ku, Tokyo             Company research institute (72) Inventor Noriyuki Kitaori             Kao Stock Association 2-1-3 Bunka, Sumida-ku, Tokyo             Company research institute F term (reference) 4D074 AA02 BB03 DD09 DD14 DD16                       DD34 DD44 DD49 DD51

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An ultrasonic vibrator comprising a piezoelectric body, a liquid container for containing a liquid, and a water absorbing band having one end inserted into the liquid container and the other end in contact with the entire vibrating end face of the ultrasonic vibrator. Sonic atomizer. 2. The ultrasonic atomizer according to claim 1, further comprising a fan for adjusting a spraying distance of atomized particles atomized by a vibrating end surface of the ultrasonic oscillator. 3. The water absorbing zone is made of a nonwoven fabric made of cotton or wood pulp and having a basis weight of 20 to 100 g / m ^2.
Or the ultrasonic atomizer according to 2. 4. The ultrasonic atomizer according to claim 1, wherein the ultrasonic vibrator is a Langevin element.