JP2003326202A - Liquid spray head and liquid spray apparatus using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a liquid spray head wherein the occurrence of bubbles in a liquid is reduced and the spray of atomized particles having a small particle diameter is stably continued for a long period. <P>SOLUTION: The liquid spray head 100 is provided with a part to be vibrated which has a plurality of fine passages 102 parallel to each other to hold the liquid inside and a piezoelectric vibration means 101 arranged in the part to be vibrated to be in contact with and for ultrasonic-vibrating the fine passages 102 in a direction crossing the extending direction of the passages 102 to spray the liquid housed inside. The liquid spray apparatus 111 is constituted so that a liquid supply and discharge means 114 for supplying and discharging the liquid is connected to a plurality of the fine passages 102 of the liquid spray head 100. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a liquid spraying device for spraying a minute amount of liquid, and more particularly to a liquid spraying device suitable for medical use.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional liquid spraying device, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-275762 discloses an ultrasonic atomizing device using an ultrasonic vibrator. This ultrasonic atomizing device has a bolted Langevin type ultrasonic transducer 1 as shown in FIG. The ultrasonic oscillator 1 includes a radiating metal block 11, an electrode plate 15 having an annular portion,
Piezoelectric element 13 having an annular shape, electrode plate 1 having an annular portion
6, annular piezoelectric element 14, and rear metal block 1
2 are sequentially laminated, and are integrated by screwing a bolt 17 into a bolt hole formed through the central portions of the radiation metal block 11 and the rear metal block 12.

The ultrasonic wave emitting surface 11a of the radiating metal block of the ultrasonic oscillator 1 is provided with four fixing screw holes 11c for fixing the mesh metal plate 2, and the fixing screw holes 1
Atomization promoting holes 10 are provided on the left and right sides or the upper and lower sides of 1c.
a, 10b, 10c, 10d, 10e, 10f, 10
g, 10h are provided. The mesh metal plate 2 has through holes 21a, 22a, 23a, 2 through which fixing screws pass.
4a is provided, and is attached to the ultrasonic wave emitting surface 11a by fixing screws 21, 22, 23, and 24.

In this ultrasonic atomizer, the ultrasonic vibrator 1 is driven to vibrate the mesh metal plate 2 together with the ultrasonic vibrator 1, so that the ultrasonic radiation surface 11a or the mesh metal plate 2 is made to vibrate. The supplied disinfecting liquid is atomized and ejected, and the atomization promoting holes 10a, 10b, 10c, 10d, 10e, 10f, 1 provided on the ultrasonic wave emitting surface 11a.
0 g and 10 h prevent the atomizing medium from staying on the ultrasonic wave emitting surface 11 a or the mesh metal plate 2.

[0005]

By the way, when the liquid is atomized by using the ultrasonic vibrator, the higher the vibration frequency of the ultrasonic vibrator, the finer the particle size can be obtained, and the diameter of several μm can be obtained. Frequencies in the MHz band are required to obtain atomized particle size.

However, the Langevin type ultrasonic transducer 1 used in the above-mentioned conventional liquid spraying device is
Although it is easy to obtain ultrasonic vibration with a relatively large output, in order to obtain high frequency (several hundreds of KHz or more) ultrasonic waves, there are structural problems such as the limitation of the total length, insufficient bolt strength, and heat generation.
The frequency around 300 KHz is the upper limit.

In this case, the atomization flow diameter obtained is 30 to 1
In addition to droplets having a relatively large particle size of 20 μm, cavitation is likely to occur in the liquid, and innumerable bubbles are generated in the liquid. It is very difficult to obtain the particle size (several μm) required for (1).

Therefore, in the above-mentioned conventional liquid spraying device, the mesh metal plate 2 is formed on the ultrasonic wave emitting surface 11a of the Langevin type ultrasonic vibrator 1 in order to easily obtain a fine particle size.
A mesh such as is arranged to reduce the atomized particle size.

However, as described above, the Langevin type ultrasonic vibrator 1 has a relatively low vibration frequency and generates numerous bubbles in the liquid.
The generated bubbles may reach the spray port (ejection port) of the mesh and the shape of the liquid meniscus may not be kept constant, and the spray may be impossible.

Therefore, an object of the present invention made in view of the above point is to reduce the generation of air bubbles in the liquid and to maintain a stable atomized particle size of the liquid spray head for a long time, and the liquid spray head. It is to provide a liquid spraying device to be used.

[0011]

According to the invention of a liquid spraying head described in claim 1, which achieves the above object, there is provided a vibrated portion having a plurality of fine flow paths parallel to each other and capable of holding a liquid therein. Piezoelectric vibrating means, which is disposed in contact with the vibrated portion and ultrasonically vibrates the fine flow path in a direction orthogonal to the extending direction thereof to spray the liquid therein.

According to the first aspect of the invention, the liquid is not used as the vibration transmitting member, and the fine flow paths are ultrasonically vibrated in the direction orthogonal to the extending direction thereof. The liquid meniscus that is formed can be vigorously vibrated to spray the liquid. In addition, since the fine flow path is ultrasonically vibrated in the direction orthogonal to its extending direction, it is structurally easy to increase the frequency of the piezoelectric vibrating means, which can reduce the generation of bubbles in the liquid and reduce the atomized particles. The spray having a small diameter can be stably continued for a long time, and a liquid having a high viscosity, a liquid having a low surface tension, or a liquid containing dispersed particles can be efficiently and stably atomized. Furthermore, since a plurality of fine channels are provided, a large amount of spray can be realized.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the liquid spraying head according to the first aspect, the piezoelectric vibrating means has a cylindrical piezoelectric vibrator, and the vibrated portion has an inner circumference of the piezoelectric vibrator. And a columnar shape provided with a plurality of fine tubes fixed to each other via a vibration transmission member as the plurality of fine flow paths.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the piezoelectric vibrator having the cylindrical shape is used, the wall thickness can be easily reduced, the axial length can be easily reduced, and the natural frequency can be easily increased. Therefore, it is possible to easily increase the frequency of ultrasonic vibration.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the liquid spraying head according to the first aspect, the piezoelectric vibrating means has an outer first cylindrical piezoelectric vibrator and an inner second cylindrical cylinder that are coaxially arranged. A piezoelectric vibrator and the vibrating portion is disposed between the inner peripheral portion of the first cylindrical piezoelectric vibrator and the outer peripheral portion of the second cylindrical piezoelectric vibrator, A cylindrical first vibrating member including a plurality of fine tubes fixed via a vibration transmitting member as a part of the flow path, and an inner peripheral portion of the second cylindrical piezoelectric vibrator, A second columnar vibrating member having a plurality of fine tubes fixed to each other via a vibration transmitting member is provided as the remaining portion of the fine flow path.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the natural frequencies of the first cylindrical piezoelectric element and the second cylindrical piezoelectric element are different, they can be driven at different drive frequencies, whereby the first vibrating member is driven. Also, it becomes possible to spray different droplet sizes from the fine tube of the second vibrated member, and it is possible to realize a liquid spray head having a wide droplet size distribution of the droplet size, and at the same time, a first cylindrical piezoelectric element and a second cylinder. If the relationship of the natural frequency with the shaped piezoelectric element is set to an integral multiple, it is possible to suppress the decrease in the vibration amplitude due to the phase difference of the vibration, and it is possible to realize a better spray. Further, different liquids are supplied to the fine tube of the first vibrated member and the fine tube of the second vibrated member to spray two types of liquids at the same time, or air is blown to the fine tube of the first vibrated member. Then, the liquid sprayed from the fine tube of the second vibrating member can be sent to a distance by the air flow from the fine tube of the first vibrating member.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the liquid spraying head according to the first aspect, the vibrated portion has a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and the piezoelectric vibrating means is arranged so as to sandwich the vibrated portion. It has a rectangular parallelepiped piezoelectric vibrator.

According to the invention of claim 4, there is a structure in which a rectangular parallelepiped vibrating portion is sandwiched by rectangular parallelepiped piezoelectric vibrators, and liquid is atomized by vibration in the thickness direction of each piezoelectric vibrator. It is possible to easily increase the natural frequency by reducing the thickness of the piezoelectric vibrator, and thus it becomes possible to spray a finer particle size.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the liquid spray head according to the first aspect, the vibrating portion has a plurality of n rectangular parallelepiped vibrating members, and the piezoelectric vibrating means is (n + 1). It has a rectangular parallelepiped piezoelectric vibrator,
It is characterized in that a plurality of members to be vibrated are laminated so that each of them is sandwiched between the piezoelectric vibrators.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, a plurality of rectangular parallelepiped vibrated members are laminated so as to be sandwiched between the rectangular parallelepiped piezoelectric vibrators, and each piezoelectric vibrator has a thickness direction. Since the liquid is atomized by the vibration of No. 3, the thickness of each piezoelectric vibrator can be made thin and the natural frequency can be easily increased. Therefore, as in the case of claim 4, it becomes possible to spray with a finer particle diameter. With the laminated structure, a larger number of fine channels can be held, so that a larger amount of spray can be realized.

The invention of the liquid spraying device according to claim 6 is
A liquid spray head according to any one of claims 1 to 5, and a liquid supply / discharge means for supplying / discharging a liquid to / from a plurality of fine channels of the liquid spray head. It is a thing.

According to the sixth aspect of the invention, since the liquid is supplied and discharged by the liquid supply / discharge means to the plurality of fine flow paths of the liquid spray head, the spray having a small atomized particle size can be stably maintained for a long time. In addition to being able to continue, even if a clogging or the like occurs in the fine flow path, the clogging or the like can be easily eliminated by repeating the liquid discharge operation or the supply and discharge operations.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the liquid spraying apparatus according to the sixth aspect, the liquid supply / discharge means is a liquid pump connected to the fine flow path via a liquid supply / discharge pipe, and the liquid. A liquid pressure sensor provided on the supply / discharge pipe, and a drive circuit for controlling the drive of the piezoelectric vibrating means of the liquid pump and the liquid spray head based on the output of the liquid pressure sensor. is there.

According to the invention of claim 7, the drive of the piezoelectric vibrating means of the liquid pump and the liquid spraying head is controlled based on the pressure of the liquid in the liquid supply / discharge pipe, so that the occurrence of clogging can be prevented. , More stable spraying becomes possible.

[0025]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of a liquid spraying head and a liquid spraying apparatus using the same according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

(First Embodiment) FIGS. 1 to 4 show a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a liquid spray head, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the liquid spray head. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the discharge port of the fine tube shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of a liquid spraying device using the liquid spraying head shown in FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the liquid spraying head 100 of the present embodiment has a plurality of fine tubes 102 forming fine flow passages inside a cylindrical piezoelectric element 101 as piezoelectric vibrating means. A vibrating portion having a cylindrical shape is provided inside, and minute vibrations of the cylindrical piezoelectric element 101 are transmitted to the fine tube 102 so that the liquid held inside the fine tube 102 is discharged.
3 is to be sprayed.

The cylindrical piezoelectric element 101 has a thickness of 0.2 mm, an outer diameter of 6 mm, and a length of 10 mm, and is made of a piezoelectric material such as lead zirconate titanate. Electrode members 104a and 104b made of silver or nickel are formed on the inner diameter surface and the outer diameter surface of the cylindrical piezoelectric element 101 by vapor deposition or plating. Here, the electrode member 104a on the inner diameter surface is formed so as to wrap around one end surface and be exposed on a part of the outer diameter surface. These electrode members 104a, 1
Lead wires 105a and 105b are connected to the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical piezoelectric element 101 at 04b.

In order to ensure electrical safety, the surface of the cylindrical piezoelectric element 101 is coated with a water-repellent coating such as Teflon (registered trademark) to protect the electrode members 104a and 104b. Is preferred.

The cylindrical piezoelectric element 101 repeats expansion and contraction in the axial direction when an alternating voltage such as a sine wave or a rectangular wave having a predetermined voltage and frequency is applied to the electrode members 104a and 104b via the lead wires 105a and 105b. It vibrates slightly. The drive frequency at this time is, for example, the natural frequency (1 MHz in the case of the present embodiment) determined by the outer shape of the cylindrical piezoelectric element 101 and the constants (Young's modulus, vibration velocity, density, etc.) derived from the material. Degree).

The fine tube 102 has, for example, an outer diameter of 0.5 mm,
An adhesive 1 made of glass, having an inner diameter of 0.05 mm and a length of 10 mm, which is almost the same as the length of the cylindrical piezoelectric element 101, and has good vibration transmission such as a ceramic adhesive or an epoxy adhesive.
By 07, a plurality of the piezoelectric elements 101 are closely attached and fixed inside the piezoelectric element 101. Such a microtube 102 can be used, for example, by cutting an inexpensive microcapillary for blood collection into a predetermined length. As shown in FIG. 3, the fine tube 102 has a hydrophilic film 108 such as SiO ₂ on its inner diameter surface.
A water-repellent film 109 of Teflon (registered trademark) or the like is formed on the outer surface and the end surface with a film thickness of about several μm.

The fine tube 102 may be made of a material having good vibration transmission other than glass, such as stainless steel, titanium alloy, aluminum alloy, and ceramics, and the inner diameter thereof may be circular. Without being limited thereto, an elliptical shape or a rectangular shape can be used.

Since the adhesive 107 also acts as a vibration transmission path, it is preferable to include additives and fillers inside for the vibration transmission, and the cylindrical piezoelectric element 1 is preferable.
It is preferable to have a thermal expansion coefficient between the thermal expansion coefficient of 01 and the thermal expansion coefficient of the glass tube to be the fine tube 102 in order to improve the thermal resistance.

The microtube 102 is fixed to the cylindrical piezoelectric element 101 by aligning the discharge ports 103 on each end surface and slightly protruding from one end surface of the cylindrical piezoelectric element 101, and the other end of the cylindrical piezoelectric element 101. A liquid supply / exhaust pipe 110 made of, for example, Teflon (registered trademark) is connected to the end face of the liquid crystal to supply or discharge the liquid to be sprayed to the fine tube 102 through the liquid supply / exhaust pipe 110.

In the liquid spray head 100 described above,
When the cylindrical piezoelectric element 101 is driven, the microvibration of the cylindrical piezoelectric element 101 is transmitted to the micro tube 102 arranged inside the micro tube 102, and the micro tube 102 itself vibrates at high speed.

Further, in the fine tube 102, the liquid meniscus 11 is formed at the spray port (discharge port) 103 as shown in FIG.
8 (a concave shape of the liquid due to the surface tension between the liquid and the fine tube 102) is formed, and the capillary wave 119 is excited on the surface by the microvibration of the high frequency (about 1 MHz) from the cylindrical piezoelectric element 101. , Fine droplets are emitted from the wave front of this capillary wave 119,
The liquid held inside 02 is sprayed. At this time, since the vibration frequency of the fine tube 102 is high, cavitation hardly occurs.

Moreover, in the present embodiment, the length of the cylindrical piezoelectric element 101 and the length of the fine tube 102 are made substantially equal, so that the entire outer circumference of the fine tube 102 is used as a vibration transmitting surface to vibrate the fine tube 102 strongly. As a result, the amplitude of the capillary wave 119 for spraying the liquid can be increased, so that even if the liquid to be sprayed is a highly viscous liquid, a liquid with low surface tension, or a liquid containing fine particles, it can be reliably atomized. it can.

In the case of a liquid having a high viscosity or a liquid containing fine particles, the amplitude of the capillary wave 119 is increased so that the liquid droplets can be separated and atomized. In the case of a liquid having a low surface tension, Even if the liquid meniscus shape is convex toward the outlet of the ejection port 103, the capillary wave 11
By increasing the amplitude of 9, atomization becomes possible.

Further, since the frequency of ultrasonic vibration by the cylindrical piezoelectric element 101 is in the MHz band, atomization of a fine particle size can be realized without using a mesh of several μm.
The clogging that occurs when using a mesh is less likely to occur.

Here, the particle size of the sprayed liquid depends on the diameter of the ejection port 103 and the driving frequency of the cylindrical piezoelectric element 101. Therefore, by making the inner diameter of the fine tube 102 small or making the driving frequency of the cylindrical piezoelectric element 101 high, it is possible to spray as smaller droplets. The cylindrical piezoelectric element 101 has a reduced wall thickness or a reduced axial length,
The high frequency drive can be easily dealt with, which allows the fine tube 102
Can be vibrated at a high frequency, so atomization with a small spray particle size can be realized without using a mesh of several μm.

By the way, in the case of the Langevin type ultrasonic transducer, since the piezoelectric element is polarized in the thickness direction, it is necessary to shorten the total length in order to drive at a high frequency. However, if the length is shortened, it becomes difficult to secure the fastening area of the bolt arranged at the center of the Langevin type ultrasonic transducer, and as a result, the force for sandwiching the piezoelectric element via the metal becomes weak, and the practical level is achieved. The ultrasonic vibration amplitude of is not obtained.

There is also a Langevin type ultrasonic vibrator of a type in which a piezoelectric element and a metal are bonded with an adhesive agent without using a bolt, but even in this type, a 1 MHz Langevin type ultrasonic vibrator is calculated. , It becomes like a disk shape, the radial vibration is stronger than the axial longitudinal vibration due to the structure, it is difficult to vibrate the mesh installed on the end face in the direction you want to atomize, and as a result, it atomizes It is difficult to obtain the required amplitude and the atomization efficiency becomes poor.

On the other hand, in the cylindrical piezoelectric element 101 used in the present embodiment, the piezoelectric element is not polarized in the axial direction but polarized in the radial direction, so that the wall thickness is reduced or the axial direction is reduced. The length can be easily shortened, which enables high frequency driving.

In order to increase the amount of liquid sprayed,
It is preferable to match the drive frequency with the natural frequency of the stretching vibration in the axial direction of the cylindrical piezoelectric element 101. However, even if the higher-order vibration mode such as the third stretching vibration is used as the driving frequency, the spray amount will be small. Further, it is possible to miniaturize the droplets. In this case, the amount of spray can be increased by increasing the amplitude of the voltage applied to the cylindrical piezoelectric element 101.

Further, by installing a plurality of fine tubes 102, the amount of spray can be increased, and by reducing the outer diameter of the fine tubes 102, the number of interiors can be increased, and the amount of spray can be further increased. You can

As described above, in the present embodiment, the liquid is not used as the vibration transmitting medium and the fine tube 102 itself is vibrated and sprayed, so that the bubbles dissolved in the liquid grow and hinder the spray. The phenomenon is less likely to occur. Therefore, it is not necessary to perform a pretreatment for degassing the liquid to be sprayed in advance, and a liquid that easily foams (a liquid containing a surfactant or the like) can also be sprayed.

As in the present embodiment, the wall thickness is several meters.
When a piezoelectric element of about m is used, heat generation increases due to voltage application for a long time, a decrease in microvibration displacement of the piezoelectric element, and liquid physical constants (viscosity, specific gravity, surface tension, contact angle) that are greatly involved in the atomization phenomenon. Etc.) and may make the flight unstable. On the other hand, by intermittently applying an alternating voltage of a sine wave or a rectangular wave for a predetermined number of waves, heat generation can be prevented and stable spraying can be continued for a long time.

FIG. 4 shows the structure of a liquid spraying apparatus using the liquid spraying head 100 described above. In the present embodiment, the lead wires 105a of the liquid spraying head 100,
105b is connected to the drive circuit 106 to supply the liquid supply / discharge pipe 1
10 is connected to a spray liquid tank 116 and a wash water tank 117 via a liquid pressure sensor 113, a liquid supply / discharge pump (P) 114 and a switching valve 115, respectively,
The control circuit 112 based on the output of the liquid pressure sensor 113
Thus, the operation of the drive circuit 106, the liquid supply / discharge pump 114, and the switching valve 115 is controlled. The liquid supply / discharge pump 114 is configured using, for example, a syringe piston pump or a tubing pump.

As described above, by controlling the operation of the liquid supply / discharge pump 114 based on the output of the liquid pressure sensor 113 installed in the path of the liquid supply / discharge pipe 110, more stable spraying can be performed. That is, in the present embodiment, in order to form the liquid meniscus 118 of the liquid spraying head 100 in a concave shape, the liquid pressure in the liquid spraying head 100 needs to be on the negative pressure side with respect to the atmospheric pressure. It is possible to stabilize the spray by making the vibration displacement of the generated capillary wave 119 constant.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, when the output value from the liquid pressure sensor 113 is on the positive pressure side with respect to the atmospheric pressure, the control circuit 112 causes the liquid supply / discharge pump 11 to operate.
4 is controlled so as to transfer the liquid from the liquid spray head 100 to the spray liquid tank 116 side, and the liquid supply / discharge pump 114 is stopped after detecting a predetermined negative pressure.

With these controls, a new opening / closing valve can be installed between the liquid pressure sensor 113 and the liquid supply / discharge pump 114 to further speed up and simplify the liquid supply / discharge. Further, when the spraying continues, the liquid in the liquid spraying head 100 decreases and the output of the liquid pressure sensor 113 changes from a predetermined pressure value (negative pressure value). Therefore, the liquid supply / exhaust pump 114 is set in accordance with the spraying amount. It is also possible to operate and feed the liquid from the spray liquid tank 116 to the liquid spray head 100, thereby controlling the output of the liquid pressure sensor 113 to maintain a predetermined negative pressure value.

Further, the ejection port 10 of the liquid spraying head 100
When 3 is clogged with foreign matter or the like, an abnormal positive pressure value or negative pressure value is detected by the liquid pressure sensor 113 when the liquid supply / discharge pump 114 is driven. In this case, therefore, the switching valve 115 is set to the wash water tank 117. By switching to the side, cleaning liquid (sterile water or liquid containing a surfactant) is sent to the liquid spray head 100 by the liquid supply / discharge pump 114 to clean the inside.

At this time, the liquid supply / discharge pump 114 can be driven by sequentially switching between the supply side and the discharge side.
This makes it easier to remove the clogging. Further, the liquid spraying head 100 may be stopped to be driven, but it is also possible to drive the fine tube 102 so as to vibrate slightly so that foreign matter on the inner wall of the thin tube can be easily separated.

Further, when feeding a high-viscosity liquid or the like, a high liquid feeding pressure is required, and the liquid pressure sensor 113
Since the output value of is different from the case of sending low viscosity liquid,
Based on the output of the liquid pressure sensor 113, it is determined that the liquid spraying head 100 has been filled with a high-viscosity liquid, and accordingly, a high voltage is applied from the drive circuit 106 to the cylindrical piezoelectric element 101 of the liquid spraying head 100. Try to prevent the spray amount from decreasing.

In this embodiment, two tanks, the spray liquid tank 116 and the wash water tank 117, are switched by the switching valve 115, but the spray liquid tank 116 is not limited to one, and a plurality of spray liquid tanks 116 are prepared. Accordingly, different kinds of liquids can be switched in a short time and sprayed from the liquid spraying head 100. Similarly, the wash water tank 117
By preparing a plurality of cleaning operations, more complete cleaning operations such as cleaning with detergent and cleaning with pure water can be performed.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the liquid is held inside the plurality of fine tubes 102 having a small inner diameter, and the high frequency (about 1 MHz) from the cylindrical piezoelectric element 101 is held on the outer peripheral surface of the fine tubes 102. Since the microvibration of (1) is transmitted to vibrate the microtube 102 itself, it is possible to realize the liquid spraying head 100 in which bubbles are less likely to be generated inside the liquid. Further, a liquid having a high viscosity, a liquid having a low surface tension, or a liquid containing dispersed particles can be efficiently and stably atomized, so that the application range of the spray liquid can be expanded.

Furthermore, since the generation of bubbles can be suppressed, the shape of the liquid meniscus 118 of the liquid spraying head 100 can be made uniform, and stable liquid spraying with a uniform sprayed particle size even when used for a long time can be realized. You can In addition, since the mesh is not used, clogging does not occur, and therefore maintenance time is not required, and the user maintenance work such as the replacement work of the spray liquid can be shortened.

Furthermore, since a large amount of spray can be made by using a plurality of fine tubes 102, for example, a drug or the like can be spray-administered in a short time, and the burden on the patient can be reduced.

(Second Embodiment) FIGS. 5 to 7 show a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a view showing an ejection surface of a liquid spray head, and FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the liquid spray head. Figure, Figure 7
FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the liquid spraying head.

The present embodiment is different from the first embodiment only in the structure of the liquid spraying head. That is, the liquid spraying head 120 of the present embodiment has two first and second cylindrical piezoelectric elements 121 and 122 arranged coaxially as piezoelectric vibrating means, and the first and second cylindrical piezoelectric elements are provided. A cylindrical second vibrating member having a plurality of first microtubes 123 and a cylindrical first vibrating member having a plurality of first microtubes 123, and a second cylindrical piezoelectric element 122 having a plurality of second microtubes 124. It is the one in which the members are installed.

The first cylindrical piezoelectric element 121 has a thickness of 0.1 mm, an outer diameter of 4 mm, and a length of 10 mm, and is made of a piezoelectric material such as lead zirconate titanate. Electrode members 125a and 125b made of silver or nickel are formed on the inner diameter surface and the outer diameter surface of the first cylindrical piezoelectric element 121 by vapor deposition or plating. Here, the electrode member 125a on the inner diameter surface is formed so as to wrap around one end surface and be exposed on a part of the outer diameter surface. These electrode members 125
Lead wires 126a and 126b are connected to a and 125b on the outer diameter side of the first cylindrical piezoelectric element 121.

The second cylindrical piezoelectric element 122 has, for example, a thickness of 0.1 mm, an outer diameter of 3 mm, and a length of 15 mm, and is made of the same piezoelectric material as that of the first cylindrical piezoelectric element 121. Similarly to the radial surface, the electrode members 127a and 1a
27b is formed to connect the lead wires 128a and 128b.

Here, the first and second cylindrical piezoelectric elements 12
1, 122 are corresponding lead wires 126a, 126b;
When an alternating voltage such as a sine wave or a rectangular wave is applied via 128a and 128b, microvibration is performed so that expansion and contraction are repeated in the axial direction, but the first cylindrical piezoelectric element 121 and the second cylindrical piezoelectric element 122 are different from each other. Since the dimensions are different and the natural frequencies are different, alternating voltages of different frequencies are applied to the cylindrical piezoelectric elements 121 and 122.

The first and second fine tubes 123 and 124 have, for example, an outer diameter of 0.4 mm, an inner diameter of 0.025 mm, and a length of 10 mm.
And made of stainless steel and having a good vibration transmission property, and are adhered and fixed inside the first and second cylindrical piezoelectric elements 121 and 122, respectively, with an adhesive 129 such as a ceramic adhesive or an epoxy adhesive. In the present embodiment, the first microtubes 123 are arranged in a line between the first and second cylindrical piezoelectric elements 121 and 122.

These first and second fine tubes 123 and 124
Of the first and second cylindrical piezoelectric elements 121 and 122 are slightly protruded from the discharge ports 130 of the respective end faces and are aligned with each other. The first liquid supply / discharge pipe 131 is connected to the other end surface side of the first cylindrical piezoelectric element 121, and the second liquid supply / discharge pipe 132 is connected to the other end surface side of the second cylindrical piezoelectric element 122. Then, the first and second fine tubes 12
A liquid or a gas to be sprayed on 3,124 is supplied or discharged. The first liquid supply / discharge pipe 131
A lead insertion hole 133 is formed in the lead wire insertion hole 133, and the lead wire 12 of the second cylindrical piezoelectric element 122 is formed through the lead wire insertion hole 133.
8a and 128b are passed therethrough and closed after the insertion.
The other configuration is similar to that of the first embodiment, and therefore the description is omitted.

In the present embodiment, the driving frequencies of the first cylindrical piezoelectric element 121 and the second cylindrical piezoelectric element 122 are different, so that different droplet sizes are generated from the first microtube 123 and the second microtube 124. It becomes possible to spray, and it is possible to realize the liquid spray head 120 having a wide particle size distribution of the droplet size. Here, the first cylindrical piezoelectric element 121
By adjusting the natural frequency relationship between the second cylindrical piezoelectric element 122 and the second cylindrical piezoelectric element 122 to be an integral multiple, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the vibration amplitude due to the phase difference of the vibration, and it is possible to realize better spraying.

Further, different liquids are supplied to the first liquid supply / discharge pipe 131 and the second liquid supply / discharge pipe 132 by independent liquid supply / discharge pumps to spray two kinds of liquids at the same time, or Air is blown to the liquid supply / exhaust pipe 131 so that the liquid sprayed from the second fine pipes 124
It is also possible to send it to a distant place by the flow of the air flow (guide air flow) from the fine tube 123.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, simultaneous spraying of different liquids and spraying with a wide particle size distribution are possible, so that the range of use of liquid sprays can be expanded according to the efficacy of medicines and the like. At the same time, since the spray liquid can easily reach far away, it is possible to perform spraying excellent in straightness such as spraying the drug solution only to a predetermined affected area.

(Third Embodiment) FIGS. 8 to 10 show a third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a liquid spray head, and FIG. 9 is a sectional view of the liquid spray head. Figure 1
0 is a diagram showing the ejection surface of the liquid spraying head.

The liquid spray head 142 of this embodiment is
It has an outer rectangular shape having a plurality of n rows of microtubes 143 and (n + 1) plate-shaped piezoelectric elements 144 sandwiching the microtubes 143 in each row via a vibration transmission member 145.

Each plate-shaped piezoelectric element 144 has, for example, a rectangular shape with a thickness of 0.2 mm and an outer shape of 5 mm × 10 mm, is formed of a piezoelectric material such as lead zirconate titanate, and has electrodes such as silver and nickel on both sides thereof. The member 146 is formed by vapor deposition or plating.

Further, each plate-shaped piezoelectric element 144 is adhesively fixed to one side or both sides thereof with a vibration transmitting member 145 for holding the microtube 143 with an epoxy adhesive. The vibration transmitting member 145 is made of an electrically insulating alumite-treated aluminum alloy having a flat surface portion having the same area as that of the plate-shaped piezoelectric element 144, and is formed in a rectangular shape. The flat surface portion is bonded and fixed to the plate-shaped piezoelectric element 144 to form a flat surface portion. A plurality of V-grooves 147 extending in the longitudinal direction (10 mm width direction) are formed on the opposite side to the width direction (5 mm width direction) at equal intervals.

In this way, the fine tubes 143 in each row are
It is sandwiched by the V grooves 147 of the vibration transmitting member 145 adhered to the opposing plate-shaped piezoelectric elements 144. Micro tube 143
Is made of glass as in the first embodiment, and an adhesive 148 such as a ceramic adhesive or an epoxy adhesive having a good vibration transmission property is provided in the space between each microtube 143 and the V groove 147. Fill. Note that FIGS. 8 to 10 show a configuration in which 3 (n = 3) rows of microtubes 143 are sandwiched by four plate-shaped piezoelectric elements 144 and six vibration transmission members 145.

On the surface of the plate-shaped piezoelectric element 144,
In order to ensure electrical safety, it is preferable to protect the exposed electrode member 146 by applying a water-repellent coating such as Teflon (registered trademark) (not shown).

In the state where a plurality of plate-shaped piezoelectric elements 144 and vibration transmission members 145 are laminated, each plate-shaped piezoelectric element 14
The electrode member 146 of No. 4 is exposed from the laminated side surface, and the lead wire 149 is connected to the exposed portion so that the electrode members 146 facing each other through the microtube 143 have the same polarity. By applying an alternating voltage, the plate-shaped piezoelectric element 144 is slightly vibrated in the thickness direction. The drive frequency at this time is a constant (Young's modulus, vibration velocity, density, etc.) due to the outer shape of the plate-shaped piezoelectric element 144 and the material.
Match the natural frequency determined by.

The microtubes 143 are arranged so that the discharge ports 150 on one end face thereof are slightly projected from one end face of the plate-shaped piezoelectric element 144. Further, liquid supply / discharge pipes 151 are connected to the other end surface side of the fine pipes 143, and the liquid supply / discharge pipes 151 correspond to the corresponding fine pipes 1.
The liquid to be sprayed on 43 is supplied or discharged. The other configuration is similar to that of the first embodiment, and therefore the description is omitted.

In the present embodiment, by vibrating the plate-shaped piezoelectric element 144 slightly, the vibration transmission member 14
Vibration can be transmitted to the microtube 143 via At this time, since the plate-shaped piezoelectric element 144 vibrates in the thickness direction, the fine tube 143 vibrates in a radial direction so as to vibrate. Therefore, a capillary wave is generated on the surface of the liquid meniscus formed at the discharge port 150 of the fine tube 143, and the liquid can be sprayed. Moreover, since the plate-shaped piezoelectric element 144 has a thickness of sub-mm and the natural frequency in the thickness direction can be set to MHz order, the plate-shaped piezoelectric element 144 can be driven at a very high frequency, This enables spraying with a fine particle diameter of several μm.

As described above, by using the vibration of the plate-shaped piezoelectric element 144 in the thickness direction, the driving frequency can be increased and the liquid having a finer particle size can be sprayed. Further, the liquid supply / discharge pipe 151 is connected to each fine pipe 143.
Since each of the liquid supply / discharge pipes 151 is connected to the liquid supply / discharge pipe 151, a different type of liquid is supplied by an independent liquid supply / discharge pump,
It is also possible to spray multiple types of liquid at the same time.

In this embodiment, the fine tube 143 is attached to the vibration transmitting member 145 bonded to the plate-shaped piezoelectric element 144.
The V groove 147 for holding the
Instead of using the vibration transmitting member 145, the plate-shaped piezoelectric element 144 itself may be V-grooved to sandwich the microtube 143. As described above, when the V-shaped groove is directly formed in the plate-shaped piezoelectric element 144 so as to sandwich the microtube 143, vibration can be transmitted more efficiently than in the case where the microtube 143 is sandwiched by the flat portion of the plate-shaped piezoelectric element 144. Also, the time required for aligning and assembling the fine tubes 143 can be shortened.

It is also possible to form a fine tube having a rectangular cross section by forming fine grooves by etching using each of the vibration transmitting members 145 as a silicon substrate and joining the opposing vibration transmitting members 145. With this configuration, the vibration transmitting member 14 can be used without using a fine tube such as a glass tube.
5 and the micro tube can be manufactured at the same time. Further, since the groove width and the depth can be easily controlled by etching, it is possible to easily manufacture various kinds of liquid spray heads.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a liquid spray head according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is likewise a sectional view of the liquid spraying head.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a discharge port of the micro tube shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of a liquid spraying device using the liquid spraying head shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an ejection surface of a liquid spray head according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is likewise a perspective view of a liquid spraying head.

FIG. 7 is likewise a sectional view of the liquid spraying head.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a liquid spray head according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is likewise a sectional view of the liquid spray head.

FIG. 10 is a diagram similarly showing the ejection surface of the liquid spraying head.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a configuration of a conventional liquid spraying device.

[Explanation of symbols]

100 liquid spray head 101 cylindrical piezoelectric element 102 micro tube 103 outlet 104a, 104b electrode member 105a, 105b Lead wire 106 drive circuit 107 adhesive 108 hydrophilic membrane 109 Water repellent film 110 Liquid supply and discharge pipe 111 Liquid spraying device 112 control circuit 113 Liquid pressure sensor 114 Liquid supply and discharge pump 115 switching valve 116 Spray liquid tank 117 Wash water tank 118 liquid meniscus 119 Capillary wave 120 Liquid spray head 121 First cylindrical piezoelectric element 122 second cylindrical piezoelectric element 123 First micro tube 124 Second fine tube 125a, 125b, 127a, 127b Electrode member 126a, 126b, 128a, 128b Lead wire 129 adhesive 130 outlet 131 First liquid supply / discharge pipe 132 Second liquid supply / discharge pipe 133 Lead wire insertion port 142 Liquid atomizing head 143 micro tube 144 plate-shaped piezoelectric element 145 Vibration transmission member 146 electrode member 147 V groove 148 adhesive 149 lead wire 150 outlets 151 Liquid supply and discharge pipe

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    F term (reference) 4D074 BB02 BB06 DD05 DD09 DD14                       DD22 DD35 DD43 DD64                 5D107 AA14 BB02 CC04 FF07 FF08

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A vibrated portion having a plurality of fine channels that are parallel to each other and capable of holding a liquid therein, and a vibrating portion that is disposed in contact with the vibrated portion and that has the fine channel in a direction orthogonal to its extending direction. A liquid spray head, comprising: a piezoelectric vibrating unit that vibrates ultrasonically to spray the liquid inside. 2. The piezoelectric vibrating means has a cylindrical piezoelectric vibrator, and the vibrating portion is disposed on an inner peripheral portion of the piezoelectric vibrator, and the vibration vibrating member is provided as the plurality of fine flow paths via the vibration transmitting member. The liquid spraying head according to claim 1, wherein the liquid spraying head has a cylindrical shape including a plurality of fixed fine tubes. 3. The piezoelectric vibrating means has an outer first cylindrical piezoelectric vibrator and an inner second cylindrical piezoelectric vibrator which are coaxially arranged, and the vibrating portion is the first cylindrical piezoelectric vibrator. A plurality of fine piezoelectric elements arranged between the inner peripheral portion of the cylindrical piezoelectric transducer and the outer peripheral portion of the second cylindrical piezoelectric transducer and fixed via a vibration transmission member as a part of the plurality of fine flow paths. A cylindrical first vibrating member having a tube, and a plurality of minute fine particles arranged on the inner peripheral portion of the second cylindrical piezoelectric vibrator and fixed via a vibration transmitting member as the remaining portions of the plural fine flow paths. The liquid spraying head according to claim 1, further comprising: a second vibrating member having a cylindrical shape and including a tube. 4. The vibrating portion has a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and the piezoelectric vibrating means is arranged so as to sandwich the vibrating portion.
The liquid spraying head according to claim 1, further comprising a rectangular parallelepiped piezoelectric vibrator. 5. The vibrating portion includes a plurality of n rectangular parallelepiped vibrating members, and the piezoelectric vibrating means includes (n + 1) rectangular parallelepiped piezoelectric vibrators. The liquid spray head according to claim 1, wherein members are laminated so that each of them is sandwiched by the piezoelectric vibrators. 6. A liquid spray head according to any one of claims 1 to 5, and a liquid supply / discharge means for supplying / discharging a liquid to / from a plurality of fine channels of the liquid spray head. A liquid spraying device characterized by the above. 7. The liquid supply / discharge means includes a liquid pump connected to the fine flow path via a liquid supply / discharge pipe, a liquid pressure sensor provided in the liquid supply / discharge pipe, and an output of the liquid pressure sensor. 7. The liquid spraying apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising: a drive circuit that controls driving of the piezoelectric vibrating means of the liquid pump and the liquid spraying head based on the drive circuit.