JP2004223379A

JP2004223379A - Liquid drop jet device

Info

Publication number: JP2004223379A
Application number: JP2003012951A
Authority: JP
Inventors: Masatoshi Hirokawa; 昌利廣川
Original assignee: SPC Electronics Corp
Current assignee: SPC Electronics Corp
Priority date: 2003-01-22
Filing date: 2003-01-22
Publication date: 2004-08-12

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve such problems that it is difficult to form liquid drops with a uniform particle size, it is also impossible to control the particle size of liquid drops or the amount of liquid drops and it is necessary to use a pressurizing gas high in pressure because a part of pressure of the pressurizing gas is consumed at the time of formation of liquid drops, since liquid drops with a small particle size are generated in a mixing vessel adjacent to a nozzle by pressure of the pressurizing gas in a conventional liquid drop jet device for ejecting liquid drops with a small particle size toward an object by the pressurizing gas. <P>SOLUTION: A liquid drop feed-out pipe 3, a carrier gas supply pipe 5 and a liquid supply pipe 7 are respectively connected to a liquid drop forming chamber 2 to which a vibrator 1 is attached, and a liquid 10 and a carrier gas 11 are supplied into the liquid drop forming chamber 2 to produce liquid drops 30 with a uniform particle size in the liquid drop forming chamber 2 or the liquid drop feed-out pipe 3. A liquid drop jet orifice 12 is provided to the leading end of the liquid drop feed-out pipe 3 and the liquid drops 30 with a uniform particle size are ejected in a desired direction or to a region from the liquid drop jet orifice 12 along with the carrier gas 11. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

【０００１】
【産業上の利用分野】
この発明は液滴噴射装置、詳しくは、小粒径の液滴を被対象物に向って噴射する装置に関するものである。
【０００２】
【従来の技術】
液滴噴射装置は、被対象物表面への特定物質の噴霧や塗布、塗装あるいは洗浄作業、異物の除去作業、その他の表面加工や表面処理などの為、各種産業分野において広く用いられている
【０００３】
図１は従来の液滴噴射装置の一例の概念図であり、図中３１は密閉貯槽で、この密閉貯槽３１の内部空間２３の上部寄りには液体搬送用ガス供給管３２の先端開口部６が、中程には液体供給管７の先端開口部８が、下部寄りには液体送出管１４の後端開口部１５が、それぞれ位置せしめられている。又、これら液体搬送用ガス供給管３２、液体供給管７、液体送出管１４の管路途中には管路開閉バルブ９がそれぞれ取付けられており、管路を流れる液体やガスなど流体の流量や圧力を任意に制御できる様になっている。
【０００４】
又、図中１６は混合器であり、図２に示す様に、混合室２７及びこれと連通したノズル１８とからなっており、液体送出管１４の先端及び加速用ガス供給管３４の先端がそれぞれ接続され、液体送出管１４から送られて来た液体１０と加速用ガス３５とが混合され、加速用ガス３５の圧力により液滴２４が生成され、混合器１６の先端に設けられたノズル１８から被対象物１９に向かって噴射される様になっている。なお、加速用ガス供給管３４は液体搬送用ガス供給管３２とは別系統であり、その途中にも管路開閉バルブ９が設けられており、加速用ガス３５の流量や圧力を任意に調整できる様になっている。
【０００５】
この従来例においては、液体供給管７によって密閉貯槽３１内に液体１０を供給すると共に、液体搬送用ガス供給管３２によって液体搬送用ガス３６を密閉貯槽３１内に供給すると、密閉貯槽３１内の内圧が変化し、これに伴って生じる圧力差によって密閉貯槽３１内の液体１０は液体送出管１４内に流動し、混合器１６に送られる。一方、この混合器１６には、加速用ガス供給管３４を介して加速用ガス３５が供給されており、混合器１６内において液体１０はこの加速用ガス３５の圧力によって小さな粒径の液滴２４となり、加速用ガス３５と共にノズル１８から勢い良く被対象物１９に向かって噴射され、各種加工作業の用に供されることになる。
【０００６】
【発明が解決しようとする課題】
この従来の液滴噴射装置においては、混合器１６内の混合室２７において液体１０から液滴２４を生成しているが、この様な方法では均一な粒径の液滴２４の生成は困難であり、図２に示す様に、液滴２４の粒径は不ぞろいになってしまい、表面処理や加工作業の品質や精度を低下させる原因の一つとなっていた。ましてや、液滴２４の粒径を制御し、所望の粒径の液滴２４を作ることなど到底不可能であった。又、加速用ガス供給管３４から供給される加速用ガス３５のエネルギーは、その一部が混合室２７内における液滴２４の生成の為に消費されてしまい、その分圧力損失が生じるので、ノズル１８から噴射される液滴２４を十分に加速させる為には圧力損失分を見越した、より高圧のガスを用いる必要があった。又これに伴い配管等もこの高圧のガスに耐える様、堅牢に作る必要があり、各部材の製作コストも高額にならざるを得なかった。
【０００７】
更に、従来のものにおいては液滴２４を生成する為、混合器１６が必要であるが、混合器１６はその製作に精密さを要し、高価なものであった。この様に、従来の液滴噴射装置においては、液滴２４の生成を十分にコントロールできない上に、高圧なガスを必要とし、それに見合った堅牢な構成としなければならず、しかも精密高価な混合器１６を用いなければならないという欠点があり、必ずしも満足の行くものではなかった。
【０００８】
本発明者は、従来の液滴噴射装置の上記欠点を解決すべく研究を行った結果、必要量の均一な粒径の液滴を生成可能で、液滴を十分に加速でき、しかも混合器を必要としない新たな液滴噴射装置を開発するに至り、本発明としてここに提案するものである。
【０００９】
【課題を解決するための手段】
振動子１を取付けた液滴生成室２に液滴送出管３、キャリアガス供給管５、液体供給管７をそれぞれ接続し、前記液滴生成室２内に液体１０及びキャリアガス１１を供給し、液滴生成室２内あるいは液滴送出管３内において均一な粒径の液滴３０を発生させられる様にすると共に、液滴送出管３の先端側に液滴噴射口１２を設け、該液滴噴射口１２から均一な粒径の液滴３０をキャリアガス１１と共に所望の方向あるいは部位に向かって噴射出来る様にして上記課題を解決した。
【００１０】
【実施の形態】
図３はこの発明に係る液滴噴射装置の一実施の形態の概念図である。
【００１１】
図中２は内部空間２３を有する液滴生成室であり、この液滴生成室２の下部には振動子１が取付けられており、この振動子１は発振器２２によって制御される様になっている。そして、前記液滴生成室２の内部空間２３の上部寄りには液滴送出管３の後端開口部４及びキャリアガス供給管５の先端開口部６が、それより下部寄りには液体供給管７の先端開口部８がそれぞれ位置せしめられており、前記液体供給管７及びキャリアガス供給管５の管路途中にはそれぞれ管路開閉バルブ９が取付けられ、液滴生成室２内に液体１０及びキャリアガス１１をそれぞれ流量及び圧力を調整しながら供給できる様になっている。
【００１２】
一方、図中１２は液滴噴射口であり、液滴送出管３の先端に取付けられており、図４に示す様にその先端開口部から液滴３０がキャリアガス１１と共に被対象物１９に向かって噴射される様になっている。なお、この液滴噴射口１２は、図４に示す通り、気／液混合機能を有する必要はない。
【００１３】
この実施の形態は上記の通りの構成を有するものであり、液体供給管７から液滴生成室２内に液体１０を供給して貯留させる。この状態で振動子１を駆動し、液体１０を振動させると、液滴生成室２内において液体１０からは均一な粒径の液滴３０が連続的に生成され、液滴生成室２の内部空間２３に充満する。一方、キャリアガス供給管５によって液滴生成室２の内部空間２３にキャリアガス１１を供給すると、生成された液滴３０はキャリアガス１１と共に液滴送出管３中に流入し、これを通って液滴噴射口１２に送られ、この液滴噴射口１２から被対象物１９に向かって噴射されることになる。
【００１４】
この時、振動子１と発振器２２とによって振動周波数と出力を制御することにより、所望な液滴粒径と液滴量を作り出すことが出来る。又、液体供給管７の管路開閉バルブ９を操作することにより、液滴生成室２内への液体１０の流入量を調整してその液面の高さを変化させ、これによって液滴３０の粒径と液滴３０の発生量を制御することが出来る。なお、上述の実施の形態においては液滴生成室２内において液滴３０を生成せしめているが、図５に示す実施の形態の様に、キャリアガス供給管５及び液滴送出管３をインライン状に配管し、このインライン内に位置した液滴送出管３内において液滴３０を生成せしめる様にしても良い。
【００１５】
【効果】
この様に、この発明に係る液滴噴射装置においては、振動子１と発振器２２とによって液滴３０を生成しているので、均一な粒径の液滴３０の生成が可能であるだけでなく、従来は困難であった液滴３０の粒径や発生量のコントロールが自由に実施出来、しかも液滴３０の生成に伴うキャリアガス１１の圧力損失がないので液滴３０を十分に加速して噴射することが出来る。又、従来より低圧のガスで足り、精密高価な混合器も必要としないので、装置全体の構成の簡略化、耐久性の向上、コスト削減を図りながら、より高品質の処理作業を行い得る効果を有し、極めて高い実用的価値を有するものである。
【図面の簡単な説明】
【図１】従来の液滴噴射装置の一例の概念図。
【図２】従来の液滴噴射装置における混合器の一例の液滴挙動図。
【図３】この発明に係る液滴噴射装置の一実施形態の概念図。
【図４】この発明に係る液滴噴射装置において用いる液滴噴射口１２の一例の液滴挙動図。
【図５】この発明に係る液滴噴射装置の他の実施形態の概念図。
【符号の説明】
１振動子
２液滴生成室
３液滴送出管
４後端開口部
５キャリアガス供給管
６先端開口部
７液体供給管
８先端開口部
９管路開閉バルブ
１０液体
１１キャリアガス
１２液滴噴射口
１４液体送出管
１５後端開口部
１６混合器
１８ノズル
１９被対象物
２２発振器
２３内部空間
２４液滴
２７混合室
３０液滴
３１密閉貯槽
３２液体搬送用ガス供給管
３４加速用ガス供給管
３５加速用ガス
３６液体搬送用ガス[0001]
[Industrial applications]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a droplet ejecting apparatus, and more particularly to an apparatus for ejecting a droplet having a small particle diameter toward an object.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Droplet ejectors are widely used in various industrial fields for spraying or applying a specific substance to the surface of an object, painting or washing, removing foreign matter, and other surface processing and surface treatments. 0003
FIG. 1 is a conceptual view of an example of a conventional liquid droplet ejecting apparatus. In the figure, reference numeral 31 denotes a closed storage tank. However, the front end opening 8 of the liquid supply pipe 7 is located in the middle, and the rear end opening 15 of the liquid delivery pipe 14 is located near the lower part. A pipe opening / closing valve 9 is attached to each of the liquid supply gas supply pipe 32, the liquid supply pipe 7, and the liquid delivery pipe 14 in the middle of each of the pipes. The pressure can be controlled arbitrarily.
[0004]
In the figure, reference numeral 16 denotes a mixer, which comprises a mixing chamber 27 and a nozzle 18 communicating with the mixing chamber 27, as shown in FIG. 2, wherein the tip of the liquid delivery pipe 14 and the tip of the accelerating gas supply pipe 34 are connected. The liquid 10 and the accelerating gas 35 which are connected to each other and sent from the liquid delivery pipe 14 are mixed, and the droplets 24 are generated by the pressure of the accelerating gas 35, and the nozzle provided at the tip of the mixer 16. It is configured to be ejected from 18 toward the object 19. The accelerating gas supply pipe 34 is a separate system from the liquid transport gas supply pipe 32, and a conduit opening / closing valve 9 is provided in the middle thereof, whereby the flow rate and pressure of the accelerating gas 35 are arbitrarily adjusted. I can do it.
[0005]
In this conventional example, when the liquid 10 is supplied into the closed storage tank 31 by the liquid supply pipe 7 and the liquid transfer gas 36 is supplied into the closed storage tank 31 by the liquid transfer gas supply pipe 32, The internal pressure changes, and the liquid difference in the closed storage tank 31 flows into the liquid delivery pipe 14 due to the pressure difference generated thereby, and is sent to the mixer 16. On the other hand, an accelerating gas 35 is supplied to the mixer 16 via an accelerating gas supply pipe 34. In the mixer 16, a liquid 10 having a small particle diameter is formed by the pressure of the accelerating gas 35. At 24, it is jetted vigorously from the nozzle 18 toward the object 19 together with the accelerating gas 35 to be used for various processing operations.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In this conventional droplet ejecting apparatus, droplets 24 are generated from the liquid 10 in the mixing chamber 27 in the mixer 16, but it is difficult to generate droplets 24 having a uniform particle diameter by such a method. In this case, as shown in FIG. 2, the particle diameter of the droplets 24 becomes uneven, which is one of the causes of lowering the quality and accuracy of the surface treatment and the processing operation. Furthermore, it has never been possible to control the particle size of the droplets 24 to produce droplets 24 having a desired particle size. Further, a part of the energy of the acceleration gas 35 supplied from the acceleration gas supply pipe 34 is consumed for the generation of the droplets 24 in the mixing chamber 27, and a pressure loss occurs correspondingly. In order to sufficiently accelerate the droplets 24 ejected from the nozzles 18, it is necessary to use a higher pressure gas in anticipation of the pressure loss. Along with this, the pipes and the like must be made robust so as to withstand the high-pressure gas, and the manufacturing cost of each member must be high.
[0007]
Furthermore, in the conventional apparatus, a mixer 16 is required to generate the droplet 24, but the mixer 16 requires precision in its manufacture and is expensive. As described above, in the conventional droplet ejecting apparatus, the generation of the droplets 24 cannot be sufficiently controlled, a high-pressure gas is required, and a robust structure corresponding thereto is required. There is a drawback that the vessel 16 must be used, which is not always satisfactory.
[0008]
The present inventor has conducted research to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks of the conventional droplet ejecting apparatus, and as a result, it has been possible to generate a required amount of droplets having a uniform particle size, sufficiently accelerate the droplets, and furthermore, A new droplet ejecting apparatus which does not require a liquid crystal device has been developed, and is proposed here as the present invention.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The liquid drop sending chamber 3, the carrier gas supply pipe 5, and the liquid supply pipe 7 are connected to the liquid drop generating chamber 2 to which the vibrator 1 is attached, and the liquid 10 and the carrier gas 11 are supplied into the liquid drop generating chamber 2. In addition, a droplet 30 having a uniform particle diameter can be generated in the droplet generation chamber 2 or the droplet delivery tube 3, and a droplet ejection port 12 is provided at the tip side of the droplet delivery tube 3. The above problem was solved by enabling the droplets 30 having a uniform particle size to be ejected from the droplet ejection port 12 together with the carrier gas 11 in a desired direction or location.
[0010]
Embodiment
FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram of one embodiment of a droplet ejecting apparatus according to the present invention.
[0011]
In the figure, reference numeral 2 denotes a droplet generation chamber having an internal space 23, and a vibrator 1 is attached to a lower portion of the droplet generation chamber 2, and the vibrator 1 is controlled by an oscillator 22. I have. The rear end opening 4 of the liquid drop delivery pipe 3 and the front end opening 6 of the carrier gas supply pipe 5 are located closer to the upper part of the internal space 23 of the droplet generation chamber 2, and the liquid supply pipe is closer to the lower part. 7 are positioned respectively, and pipe opening / closing valves 9 are respectively installed in the liquid supply pipe 7 and the carrier gas supply pipe 5 in the middle of the pipes. And the carrier gas 11 can be supplied while adjusting the flow rate and the pressure, respectively.
[0012]
On the other hand, in the figure, reference numeral 12 denotes a liquid drop ejection port, which is attached to the tip of the liquid drop delivery pipe 3. As shown in FIG. It is designed to be sprayed toward. Note that, as shown in FIG. 4, the droplet ejection port 12 does not need to have a gas / liquid mixing function.
[0013]
In this embodiment, the liquid 10 is supplied from the liquid supply pipe 7 into the droplet generation chamber 2 and stored therein. In this state, when the vibrator 1 is driven to vibrate the liquid 10, droplets 30 having a uniform particle diameter are continuously generated from the liquid 10 in the droplet generation chamber 2, The space 23 is filled. On the other hand, when the carrier gas 11 is supplied to the internal space 23 of the droplet generation chamber 2 by the carrier gas supply pipe 5, the generated droplets 30 flow into the droplet delivery pipe 3 together with the carrier gas 11 and pass therethrough. It is sent to the droplet ejection port 12 and is ejected from the droplet ejection port 12 toward the object 19.
[0014]
At this time, by controlling the oscillation frequency and the output by the oscillator 1 and the oscillator 22, a desired droplet diameter and droplet amount can be produced. Further, by operating the conduit opening / closing valve 9 of the liquid supply pipe 7, the flow amount of the liquid 10 into the droplet generation chamber 2 is adjusted to change the height of the liquid level. And the amount of droplets 30 generated can be controlled. Although the droplets 30 are generated in the droplet generation chamber 2 in the above-described embodiment, the carrier gas supply pipe 5 and the droplet delivery pipe 3 are connected in-line as in the embodiment shown in FIG. The droplets 30 may be generated in the droplet delivery pipe 3 located in the in-line.
[0015]
【effect】
As described above, in the droplet ejecting apparatus according to the present invention, since the droplet 30 is generated by the vibrator 1 and the oscillator 22, not only the droplet 30 having a uniform particle diameter can be generated, but also It is possible to freely control the particle size and generation amount of the droplet 30, which has been difficult in the past, and to sufficiently accelerate the droplet 30 because there is no pressure loss of the carrier gas 11 accompanying the generation of the droplet 30. Can be sprayed. In addition, since low-pressure gas is sufficient compared with the conventional type, and a precise and expensive mixer is not required, the effect that a higher quality processing operation can be performed while simplifying the configuration of the entire apparatus, improving durability and reducing costs. And has extremely high practical value.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of an example of a conventional droplet ejecting apparatus.
FIG. 2 is a droplet behavior diagram of an example of a mixer in a conventional droplet ejecting apparatus.
FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram of one embodiment of a droplet ejecting apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a droplet behavior diagram of an example of the droplet ejection port 12 used in the droplet ejection device according to the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram of another embodiment of the droplet ejecting apparatus according to the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Oscillator 2 Droplet generating chamber 3 Droplet sending pipe 4 Rear end opening 5 Carrier gas supply pipe 6 Tip opening 7 Liquid supply pipe 8 Tip opening 9 Pipe line opening / closing valve 10 Liquid 11 Carrier gas 12 Droplet injection port 14 Liquid delivery pipe 15 Rear end opening 16 Mixer 18 Nozzle 19 Object 22 Oscillator 23 Internal space 24 Droplet 27 Mixing chamber 30 Droplet 31 Closed storage tank 32 Liquid transport gas supply pipe 34 Acceleration gas supply pipe 35 Acceleration Gas 36 Liquid carrier gas

Claims

The liquid drop sending chamber 3, the carrier gas supply pipe 5, and the liquid supply pipe 7 are connected to the liquid drop generating chamber 2 to which the vibrator 1 is attached, and the liquid 10 and the carrier gas 11 are supplied into the liquid drop generating chamber 2. In addition, a droplet 30 having a uniform particle diameter can be generated in the droplet generation chamber 2 or the droplet delivery tube 3, and a droplet ejection port 12 is provided at the tip side of the droplet delivery tube 3. A droplet ejecting apparatus characterized in that droplets 30 having a uniform particle size can be ejected from a droplet ejecting port 12 together with a carrier gas 11 in a desired direction or location.

The droplet ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the particle diameter of the droplet (30) generated from the liquid (10) in the droplet generating chamber (2) is controlled by changing the frequency of the vibrator (1).

The droplet ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the amount of the droplets (30) generated from the liquid (10) in the droplet generation chamber (2) is controlled by changing the frequency of the vibrator (1).

2. The droplet ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the output of the vibrator is varied to control the particle diameter of the droplet generated from the liquid in the droplet generating chamber.

2. The droplet ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the amount of droplets generated from the liquid in the droplet generation chamber is controlled by varying the output of the vibrator.

The droplet according to claim 1, wherein the particle size of the droplet (30) generated from the liquid (10) is controlled by changing the liquid level of the liquid (10) stored in the droplet generation chamber (2). Injection device.

The droplet according to claim 1, wherein the amount of the droplet (30) generated from the liquid (10) is controlled by changing the liquid level of the liquid (10) stored in the droplet generation chamber (2). Injection device.