JP2008188496A - Nozzle device and method of driving the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a nozzle device capable of controlling a discharge quantity of liquid to the prescribed value regardless of the viscosity of the liquid. <P>SOLUTION: The nozzle device is provided with: a liquid chamber 2 storing the liquid; a pressurizing chamber 3 to which the liquid is supplied from the liquid chamber 2; a discharge port 4 for discharging the liquid from the pressurizing chamber 3; a linear motion stop valve 5 which is disposed between the liquid chamber 2 and the pressurizing chamber 3 and can linearly move in the direction of decreasing and increasing the volume of the pressurizing chamber 3; a laminated piezoelectric actuator 6 for moving the linear motion stop valve 5 with the expansion and contraction of the actuator, wherein the liquid is discharged from the discharge port 4 by moving the linear motion stop valve 5 while being closed in the direction of decreasing the volume of the pressurizing chamber 3 thereby pressurizing the liquid in the pressurizing chamber 3. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a nozzle device and a driving method thereof.

  In recent years, electronic devices tend to adhere individual parts with an adhesive as the size and density increase, and the amount of adhesive applied tends to be reduced.

  For this reason, as a nozzle device used for applying adhesive, the amount of adhesive applied can be controlled, and the viscosity changes depending on the change in the amount applied depending on the type of parts and conditions such as temperature. However, a high-precision one that does not change the coating amount is required.

  In addition, in a marking device that prints characters and logos on goods being conveyed, as the line speed increases, marking with mixed case is required as well as high responsiveness, and it is necessary to set the dot size for each character.

  For this reason, a highly precise nozzle device is also required for the marking device.

  In the conventional nozzle device, the discharge material (adhesive, ink, etc.) is pressurized by air pressure or a pump and the valve in the nozzle is opened for a certain time, or the discharge material is discharged for a certain time without providing a valve. In this method, the discharge material is discharged by pressing.

  However, in these methods, the discharge amount greatly changes due to a change in the applied pressure or a change in the concentration (viscosity change) of the discharge material.

  FIG. 12 is a side sectional view showing an example of a conventional nozzle device 1000.

  As shown in FIG. 12, a conventional nozzle device 1000 includes a liquid chamber 1001 for storing paint in a pressurized state, a nozzle tip 1003 having a discharge port 1002 for discharging paint, and a needle disposed in the liquid chamber 1001. A valve 1004, a plunger (movable iron core) 1005 fixed to the base end portion of the needle valve 1004, a fixed iron core 1006 capable of adsorbing the plunger 1005, and a coil 1007 disposed around the fixed iron core 1006 And.

  In such a nozzle device 1000, the tip of the needle valve 1004 is separated from the discharge port 1002 as the plunger 1005 is attracted to the fixed iron core 1006 by the pulsed current applied to the coil 1007, and the discharge port From 1002, the paint in the liquid chamber 1001 is discharged.

  Adhesives, paints, inks, and other liquids have different viscosities and fluidity depending on their types, and their temperature coefficients also differ.

  In addition, in the factory where the ambient temperature is high, the solvent such as ink and adhesive is volatile and the conventional nozzle device cannot keep the discharge amount constant.

  Also, it is impossible to automatically change the coating amount to an arbitrary set value in accordance with the type of discharge material.

  In the nozzle device 1000 described above, it is difficult to control a minute discharge amount.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and can control a minute discharge amount, and can control the discharge amount to a desired amount regardless of the viscosity and fluidity of the liquid. It is an object of the present invention to provide a nozzle device and a driving method thereof.

  In order to solve the above problems, a nozzle device of the present invention includes a liquid chamber that stores liquid, a pressurization chamber that is supplied with liquid from the liquid chamber, a discharge port that discharges liquid from the pressurization chamber, A direct acting on-off valve provided between the liquid chamber and the pressurizing chamber and capable of moving in a direction to decrease and increase the volume of the pressurizing chamber; and An actuator that opens and closes and moves, and the actuator is a laminated piezoelectric actuator or a magnetostrictive actuator, and reduces the volume of the pressurizing chamber with the direct acting on-off valve closed. By moving in the direction, the liquid in the pressurizing chamber is pressurized, and the liquid is discharged from the discharge port.

  In the nozzle device of the present invention, the direct acting on-off valve includes a valve seat constituent member having a valve seat formed on the liquid chamber side, and closes the direct acting on-off valve by abutting against the valve seat. It is preferable to include an opening / closing member that opens the direct acting on-off valve by moving away from the valve seat, and an opening / closing member biasing spring that biases the opening / closing member in a direction away from the valve seat.

  In the nozzle device of the present invention, a direct acting on-off valve biasing force that biases the direct acting on-off valve with a stronger force than the on-off member biasing spring to move the pressurizing chamber in a direction of increasing the volume of the pressurizing chamber With the spring and the tip abutted against the opening / closing member, the opening / closing member is pushed into the valve seat side to close the direct acting on / off valve, and the direct acting on / off valve itself is connected to the pressurizing chamber. It is preferable to provide a push lot capable of pushing in the direction of decreasing the volume.

  The nozzle device of the present invention includes a lever mechanism that reverses the direction of movement transmitted from the actuator as the actuator extends, and expands the distance of the movement by a predetermined ratio and transmits it to the push lot. Is preferred.

  In the nozzle device of the present invention, the lever mechanism is sandwiched between the pusher that directly transmits the movement transmitted from the actuator, and the pusher and the push lot, and the push lot is biased by the opening / closing member biasing spring. And a push lot biasing spring that biases in a direction opposite to the biasing direction of the direct acting on-off valve biasing spring with a stronger force than the direct acting on-off valve biasing spring, and a motion transmitted from the pusher And a lever member that inverts the direction and expands the distance of the movement by a predetermined ratio and transmits it to the push lot.

  Further, the nozzle device of the present invention includes a liquid chamber for storing liquid, a pressurizing chamber to which liquid is supplied from the liquid chamber, a discharge port for discharging liquid from the pressurizing chamber, the liquid chamber, and the additive. A direct-acting on-off valve provided between the pressure chamber and an actuator for opening and closing the direct-acting on-off valve as it expands and contracts, the actuator being a laminated piezoelectric actuator or a magnetostrictive actuator, The mold opening / closing valve includes a valve seat, and an opening / closing member that closes the direct acting on / off valve by hitting the valve seat and opens the direct acting on / off valve by moving away from the valve seat. While the seat is a conical concave surface, the opening / closing member is conical or spherical, and the volume of the pressurizing chamber is reduced by moving the opening / closing member in a direction to close the direct acting on-off valve. While in the pressurized chamber Pressurized, is characterized by discharging liquid from said discharge port.

  In the nozzle device of the present invention, with the front end abutted against the opening / closing member, the opening / closing member is pushed into the valve seat side to close the direct acting on / off valve, and the direct acting on / off valve is A push lot capable of pushing in the direction of decreasing the volume of the pressurizing chamber, and the direction of movement transmitted from the actuator as the actuator is extended is reversed and the distance of the movement is increased by a predetermined ratio. And a lever mechanism for transmitting to the push lot.

  In the nozzle device of the present invention, an opening / closing member urging spring for urging the opening / closing member in a direction away from the valve seat is provided, and the lever mechanism transmits the movement transmitted from the actuator as it is, A push lot biasing spring that is sandwiched between a pusher and the push lot and biases the push lot in a direction opposite to the biasing direction of the opening / closing member biasing spring with a stronger force than the opening / closing member biasing spring. And a lever member that reverses the direction of the movement transmitted from the pusher and expands the distance of the movement by a predetermined ratio and transmits the lever to the push lot.

  In the nozzle device of the present invention, the lever member is a plate-like member made of an elastic body, and a pair of force point portions that are moved by being pushed by the pusher are formed at both ends of the lever member. A pair of fulcrum portions supported at a fixed position are formed at positions closer to the center of the lever member than the portion, and a pair of grooves are formed at positions closer to the center of the lever member than the fulcrum portions. In the lever member, the push lot is fixed to an action portion that is a portion closer to the center than the pair of grooves, and when the pair of force points are pushed by the pusher, the push member is moved along the pair of grooves. The lever member is bent, and the action portion moves with the push lot by a distance obtained by enlarging the moving distance of the force point portion by a predetermined ratio, and the push lot biasing spring is compressed. Door is preferable.

  In the nozzle device of the present invention, it is also preferable that the push lot and the opening / closing member are integrally formed.

  In the nozzle apparatus of this invention, it is preferable to provide the diaphragm which changes the volume of the said liquid chamber by moving with the said push lot.

  The driving method of the nozzle device of the present invention is characterized in that the amount of liquid discharged is controlled by adjusting the position of the push lot by the driving voltage of the laminated piezoelectric actuator.

  The driving method of the nozzle device of the present invention is characterized in that the liquid discharge speed is controlled by adjusting the moving speed of the push lot by the driving voltage waveform of the laminated piezoelectric actuator.

  In the nozzle device driving method of the present invention, after the liquid discharge operation is completed, the direct acting on / off valve is moved slightly in the direction of increasing the volume of the pressurizing chamber with the direct acting on / off valve closed. By doing so, the liquid at the tip of the discharge port is pulled back into the discharge port or into the pressurizing chamber.

  According to the present invention, since the liquid is discharged in accordance with the driving of the laminated piezoelectric actuator or the magnetostrictive actuator, a minute discharge amount can be controlled. Further, an arbitrary discharge amount can be controlled to an arbitrary discharge speed regardless of the viscosity of the liquid.

  In addition, since only one laminated piezoelectric actuator or magnetostrictive actuator is provided as an actuator, other components are also simple, so that downsizing and cost reduction are possible.

  Embodiments according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[First Embodiment]
The actuator used in this embodiment is a laminated piezoelectric actuator or a magnetostrictive actuator. The laminated piezoelectric actuator controls the amount of expansion / contraction by voltage, and the magnetostrictive actuator controls the amount of expansion / contraction by controlling the magnetic field strength by the current flowing through the coil. Both have the same amount of expansion and contraction. In the following description, the case of using a laminated piezoelectric actuator is taken as an example, but the same result is obtained in the case of a magnetostrictive actuator.

  FIG. 1 is a front sectional view showing a nozzle device 100 according to the first embodiment.

  The nozzle device 100 can be used not only in the posture shown in FIG. 1 but also in a tilted posture, and the positional relationship (up, down, left and right) of each component changes according to the posture, but will be described below. For the sake of convenience, the description will be given with the positional relationship shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a nozzle device 100 according to this embodiment includes a main body case 1, a liquid chamber 2 that stores liquid, a pressurizing chamber 3 that pressurizes liquid supplied from the liquid chamber 2, and pressurization. Direct-acting opening and closing that is provided between the discharge port 4 for discharging liquid from the chamber 3 and between the liquid chamber 2 and the pressurizing chamber 3 and is capable of linear movement in the direction of decreasing and increasing the volume of the pressurizing chamber 3 A valve 5, a laminated piezoelectric actuator 6 that moves the direct-acting on-off valve 5 as it expands and contracts, a rod-shaped pushlot 7 that extends in the vertical direction, and a transmission from the laminated piezoelectric actuator 6 as the laminated piezoelectric actuator 6 extends. And a lever mechanism 8 that reverses the direction of the movement and expands the distance of the movement by a predetermined ratio and transmits it to the push lot 7.

  The main body case 1 includes an actuator holder 9 that constitutes the upper part thereof and a manifold 10 that constitutes the lower part thereof.

  The actuator holder 9 holds a part of the laminated piezoelectric actuator 6 and the lever mechanism 8.

  The manifold 10 holds the remaining portion of the lever mechanism 8 and the direct acting on-off valve 5 and constitutes a part of the liquid chamber 2, and further holds a nozzle component 70 described later.

  The laminated piezoelectric actuator 6 includes a main body portion 11, a flange portion 12 formed on the upper portion of the main body portion 11, a pair of electrode terminals 13 provided so as to protrude upward from the flange portion 12, and a main body portion. 11 and a hemispherical hemispherical portion 14 provided so as to protrude downward from the lower end of 11.

  The laminated piezoelectric actuator 6 expands and contracts in the vertical direction in proportion to the voltage applied between the pair of electrode terminals 13 from an amplifier 75 (FIG. 8) described later.

  As will be described later, the laminated piezoelectric actuator 6 has a flange portion 12 fixed to an actuator holder 9. For this reason, when the laminated piezoelectric actuator 6 expands and contracts, the vertical position of the hemispherical portion 14 with respect to the actuator holder 9 is displaced. Since the responsiveness of the laminated piezoelectric actuator 6 is very fast, the hemispherical portion 14 can be displaced according to the applied voltage waveform.

  The actuator holder 9 is formed in a cylindrical shape. The actuator holder 9 accommodates most of the main body portion 11 of the laminated piezoelectric actuator 6 and holds the main body portion 11 so as to be slidable up and down.

  The nozzle device 100 further includes a position adjusting member 15, a pressing member 16, two first fixing screws 17, and two second fixing screws 18.

  Among these, the position adjusting member 15 is for adjusting the vertical position of the laminated piezoelectric actuator 6 with respect to the actuator holder 9.

  The position adjusting member 15 is formed in a cylindrical shape having the same inner diameter as the actuator holder 9 and holds the main body 11 of the laminated piezoelectric actuator 6 so as to be slidable up and down.

  The pressing member 16 is for pressing and fixing the flange portion 12 of the laminated piezoelectric actuator 6 against the upper end surface of the position adjusting member 15.

  The two second fixing screws 18 adjust the position of the flange portion 12 at the upper end of the multilayer piezoelectric actuator 6 by fastening the large diameter portion 21 formed at the upper end portion of the position adjusting member 15 and the pressing member 16 to each other. It is fixed to the member 15.

  On the outer periphery excluding the upper end portion of the position adjusting member 15, a male screw portion 20 to be screwed into a female screw portion 19 formed at the upper end portion of the actuator holder 9 is formed.

  The vertical position of the position adjusting member 15 and the laminated piezoelectric actuator 6 with respect to the actuator holder 9 can be adjusted by adjusting the screwing amount of the male screw part 20 with respect to the female screw part 19.

  Further, the two first fixing screws 17 pass through the large diameter portion 21 of the position adjusting member 15 and are screwed in until they hit the upper end surface of the actuator holder 9, and the position adjusting member 15 does not rotate with respect to the actuator holder 9. Like that.

  Next, the lever mechanism 8 is accommodated in the main body case 1 from the inside of the lower end portion of the actuator holder 9 to the inside of the upper portion of the manifold 1.

  A lever mechanism accommodating recess 44 is formed in the upper portion of the manifold 10 so as to open upward, and most of the lever mechanism 8 is accommodated in the lever mechanism accommodating recess 44.

  FIG. 2 is a front sectional view showing the lever mechanism 8.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the lever mechanism 8 includes a pusher 22, a lever member 23, a lever support member 24, a base member 25, and a first spring (push lot biasing spring) 26.

  FIG. 3 is a view showing the pusher 22, in which (a) is a top view, (b) is a front view, and (c) is a side view.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the pusher 22 is housed in the actuator holder 9 and is slidable up and down with respect to the actuator holder 9, and the body portion 27 is disposed below the body portion 27. A large-diameter portion 28 that is integrally formed and is larger than the main body portion 27 in the left-right direction, for example.

  Among these, on the upper surface of the main body portion 27, a concave curved surface is formed along the hemispherical portion 14 of the laminated piezoelectric actuator 6. The concave curved surface constitutes a hemisphere receiving portion 29 that receives the hemispherical portion 14.

  Furthermore, a first spring accommodating recess 30 is formed on the lower surface side of the main body 27 to receive the first spring 26 and receive the upper end thereof.

  The first spring accommodating recess 30 is set, for example, to a two-stage inner diameter. In other words, the upper end is set to an inner diameter that matches the outer diameter of the first spring 26, and the inner diameter below the upper end is larger than the upper end. The upper end of the first spring 26 is positioned and received inside the upper end of the first spring accommodating recess 30.

  The left and right ends of the large-diameter portion 28 constituting the lower portion of the pusher 22 are formed so as to hang downward and constitute a pair of lever pushing portions 31.

  At the lower end of the lever pushing portion 31, a fitting notch 32 that fits with the end portion of the lever member 23 is formed.

  When the pusher 22 is pushed by the hemispherical portion 14 of the multilayer piezoelectric actuator 6, the pusher 22 moves downward along with the hemispherical portion 14 and transmits the movement of the hemispherical portion 14 to the lever member 23. That is, the pusher 22 transmits the extension operation of the laminated piezoelectric actuator 6 to the lever member 23 as a movement of the same distance in the same direction (transmits it as it is).

  4A and 4B are views showing the lever member 23, in which (a) is a top view and (b) is a front view.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the lever member 23 is a flat plate member made of an elastic body, for example.

  The left and right ends of the lever member 23 constitute a fitting piece 33. The pair of left and right fitting pieces 33 are fitted into fitting notches 32 formed in the lever pressing portion 31 of the pusher 22, respectively. These fitting pieces 33 constitute a force point portion that is moved by being pushed by the pusher 22.

  At a position closer to the center of the lever member 23 than the fitting piece 33, an engagement notch 34 that engages with a support notch 42 (described later) formed in the lever support member 24 is formed. An end portion on the center side of the lever member 23 in the engagement notch 34 constitutes a fulcrum portion that is supported at a fixed position by the lever support member 24.

  Furthermore, a pair of grooves 35 extending from the near side to the far side are formed on the upper surface of the lever member 23, for example. The groove 35 is disposed at a position closer to the center of the lever member 23 than the fulcrum portion.

  Further, in the lever member 23, a portion closer to the center than the pair of grooves 35 constitutes an action portion 36.

  In the center of the action part 36, a fixing hole 37 for fixing the upper part of the push lot 7 to the action part 36 is formed.

  Here, the outer circumference of the upper part and the lower part of the push lot 7 is a male screw, and a large-diameter part 54 having a larger diameter than the upper part and the lower part is provided between the upper part and the lower part.

  In a state where the second fixing nut 52 is screwed onto the upper portion of the push lot 7, the second fixing nut 52 is abutted against the lower surface of the lever member 23, so that the push lot 7 is located above the second fixing nut 52. The portion is inserted into the fixing hole 37 of the lever member 23 from below, and in this state, the first and second fixing nuts 51 and 52 are engaged by screwing the first fixing nut 51 into the upper portion of the push lot 7. Thus, the upper portion of the push lot 7 is fixed to the lever member 23 so as to sandwich the lever member 23 from above and below.

  Here, the upper surface of the first fixing nut 51 has two steps, and the lower step portion constitutes a spring receiver 53 that receives the lower end portion of the first spring 26.

  The first spring 26 is held in a compressed state between the spring receiver 53 and the upper surface of the first spring accommodating recess 30 of the pusher 22.

  5A and 5B are views showing the lever support member 24, in which FIG. 5A is a front view, FIG. 5B is a side view, and FIG. 5C is a top view.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the lever support member 24 is, for example, a U-shaped plate-like member whose front sectional shape is open upward.

  The lever support member 24 is located at the center of the main body 38 and is positioned with respect to the upper surface of the base member 25, and a pair of uprights 39 erected upward from the left and right ends of the main body 38. It is equipped with.

  A hole 40 through which the large diameter portion 54 of the push lot 7 passes is formed in the center of the main body portion 38. Further, a positioning hole 41 for positioning the main body 38 on the upper surface of the base member 25 is formed in the main body 38.

  A support notch 42 that supports the lever member 23 is formed at the upper end of the upright portion 39. The pair of support cutouts 42 respectively engage with the end portions on the center side of the lever member 23 in the pair of engagement cutouts 34 of the lever member 23, and support the lever member 23 at the end portions. .

  The base member 25 is provided in the main body portion 43 so as to protrude from the horizontal plate-like main body portion 43 and the main body portion 43, and extends through the positioning hole 41 of the lever support member 24 to support the lever. And a pair of positioning pins 45 for positioning the member 24.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the base member 25 is fixed to the manifold 10 at the lower end of the lever mechanism housing recess 44 of the manifold 10.

  Here, FIG. 6 is a view showing the actuator holder 9, in which (a) is a side view and (b) is a bottom view. That is, the actuator holder 9 shown in FIG. 6A is rotated 90 ° in the horizontal plane from the posture shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 6, a fixing portion 56 for pressing and fixing the base member 25 against the manifold 10 from the upper side is formed at the lower end portion of the actuator holder 9 so as to hang downward. The lower end portion of the fixing portion 56 fixes the base member 25 by pressing it against the manifold 10 from above.

  In the center of the main body portion 43 of the base member 25, a hole 55 through which the large diameter portion 54 of the push lot 7 passes is formed so as to penetrate the upper and lower sides of the main body portion 43.

  Further, the base member 25 is provided with a cloth diaphragm 46 along the lower surface thereof.

  The peripheral edge portion of the fabric diaphragm 46 forms a seal ring, and is pressed against the manifold 10 by the lower surface of the base member 25 while being fitted in a positioning recess 47 formed in the manifold 10. The liquid chamber 2 located below the cloth diaphragm 46 is fixed to the main body case 1 so as to be sealed.

  Further, a concave portion 57 for securing a vertical movement region of the cloth diaphragm 46 is formed on the lower surface of the main body portion 43 of the base member 25.

  The lower part of the push lot 7 penetrates the center part of the cloth diaphragm 46 downward.

  A push nut 48 is screwed into the lower portion of the push lot 7 after extrapolating the washer. The push nut 48 sandwiches the cloth diaphragm 46 with the large-diameter portion 54 of the push lot 7 through a washer.

  For this reason, the center part of the cloth diaphragm 46 moves up and down as the push lot 7 moves up and down.

  When the hemispherical portion 14 moves downward due to the extension of the laminated piezoelectric actuator 6, the pusher 14 also moves downward, so that the pair of lever pushing portions 31 of the pusher 14 is paired with the pair of fitting pieces 33 (power point portions) ) Down.

  At this time, a portion of the lever member 23 supported by the lever support member 24 (the end portion on the center side of the lever member 23 in the engagement notch 34) functions as a fulcrum portion, and the lever member 23 has a pair of grooves. It is bent like a hinge by being elastically deformed along 35, and the action part 36 of the lever member 23 moves upward with the central part of the push lot 7 and the cloth diaphragm 46 in a horizontal posture. During this movement, the first spring 26 is compressed between the pusher 22 and the first fixing nut 53. That is, the laminated piezoelectric actuator 6 pushes down the pusher 22 against the bias of the first spring 26.

  Here, the upward movement distance of the central portion of the action portion 36, the push lot 7 and the cloth diaphragm 46 is increased by a predetermined ratio (lever ratio) to the downward movement distance of the fitting piece 33 (power point portion). Distance.

  Specifically, this ratio (lever ratio) is the distance from the fulcrum part (the part of the lever member 23 supported by the lever support member 24) to the groove 35 in the left-right direction of FIG. It is a value divided by the distance from the (fitting piece 33) to the fulcrum portion, and for example, a preferable example is about 2 (times).

  As described above, the lever mechanism 8 transmits the drive of the movement of the hemispherical portion 14 of the laminated piezoelectric actuator 6 to the push lot 7 while reversing the direction and expanding the movement at a predetermined lever ratio.

  Further, when the hemispherical portion 14 moves upward by shortening again from the state in which the laminated piezoelectric actuator 6 is extended as described above, the pusher 14 is pushed upward by the first spring 26 and moved upward. For this reason, the pair of fitting pieces 33 (power point portions) of the lever member 23 that have been pushed down by the pair of lever pressing portions 31 of the pusher 14 from the state where the lever member 23 is elastically deformed along the groove 35. It moves upward as it returns to its posture. With this movement, the action portion 36 of the lever member 23 moves downward in accordance with the urging force of the first spring 26 together with the central portion of the push lot 7 and the cloth diaphragm 46 while maintaining the horizontal posture. And return to posture.

  Next, the manifold 10 is further formed with a liquid chamber constituting recess 58 constituting the liquid chamber 2 and a discharge side recess 71 in which the direct acting on-off valve 5 and a nozzle constituting member 70 (described later) are arranged. Yes.

  Among these, the liquid chamber constituting recess 58 is formed continuously with the lever mechanism accommodation recess 44, but is partitioned from the lever mechanism accommodation recess 44 by the cloth diaphragm 46 at the upper end thereof.

  The liquid chamber 2 is an area surrounded by the cloth diaphragm 46, the liquid chamber constituting recess 58, and the direct acting on-off valve 5.

  A liquid supply pipe 59 that supplies liquid into the liquid chamber 2 is connected to the side surface of the manifold 10, and an introduction path 60 that leads the liquid supplied from the liquid supply pipe 59 to the liquid chamber 2 is formed in the manifold 10. ing.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the discharge-side recess 71 of the manifold 10 opens downward, and communicates with the liquid chamber-forming recess 58 in the upper part.

  FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of FIG. 1 showing a configuration around the pressurizing chamber 3.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the direct acting on-off valve 5 is disposed between the liquid chamber 2 and the pressurizing chamber 3 and at a position above the discharge-side recess 71 of the manifold 10.

  The direct acting on-off valve 5 urges the valve seat constituting member 62 having the valve seat 61, a spherical ball (opening / closing member) 63 disposed on the valve seat 61, and the ball 63 in a direction away from the valve seat 61. A second spring 64 (opening / closing member biasing spring).

  The lower end of the push lot 7 is always in contact with the upper end of the ball 63. A downward biasing force by the first spring 26 is transmitted to the ball 63 via the push lot 7.

  The valve seat 61 is formed in the valve seat constituent member 62 on the surface facing the liquid chamber 2 side, that is, the center of the upper surface. The valve seat 61 is, for example, a conical concave surface that decreases in diameter toward the lower side.

  Further, a second spring accommodating recess 65 for accommodating the second spring 64 in a compressed state is formed continuously with the valve seat 61 at the center of the valve seat constituting member 62.

  Further, a communication hole 66 that allows the liquid chamber 2 to communicate with the pressurizing chamber 3 side is formed continuously in the center of the valve seat constituting member 62 with the bottom of the second spring accommodating recess 65.

  Here, the inner diameter of the second spring accommodating recess 65 is set larger than the inner diameter of the communication hole 66, and the lower end of the second spring 64 is received by the bottom of the second spring accommodating recess 65.

  The upper end of the second spring 64 is in contact with the surface located below the ball 63, and the second spring 64 is in a compressed state between the ball 63 and the bottom of the second spring accommodating recess 65.

  The direct acting on-off valve 5 closes when the ball 63 hits the inner periphery of the valve seat 61, and opens when the ball 63 moves away from the valve seat 61 according to the bias of the second spring 64.

  When the direct-acting on-off valve 5 is closed, the liquid chamber 2 and the pressurizing chamber 3 are separated from each other, so that the liquid cannot be distributed. The chamber 3 is communicated with each other to allow the liquid to flow from the liquid chamber 2 to the pressurizing chamber 3.

  A fixing ring 67 is disposed around the valve seat component 62.

  The fixing ring 67 is a ring-shaped member having the same thickness as the valve seat constituent member 62, and has an inner diameter larger than the outer diameter of the valve seat constituent member 62.

  The fixing ring 67 and the valve seat component 62 are arranged concentrically.

  A concave portion 68 having a very small depth is formed on the inner peripheral side of the lower surface of the fixing ring 67, and the concave portion 68 is connected to a peripheral edge portion on the lower surface of the valve seat constituting member 62 via a diaphragm 69.

  That is, the diaphragm 69 is fixed to the lower surface of the fixing ring 67 and the lower surface of the valve seat constituent member 62 by welding, and connects the lower surface of the fixing ring 67 and the lower surface of the valve seat constituent member 62 to each other. Yes.

  In the fixing ring 67, a thick portion outside the recess 68 is sandwiched between an upper end surface of a nozzle constituent member 70 to be described later and an upper end surface of the discharge side recess 71 of the manifold 10, and is fixed to the main body case 1. It is fixed.

  Since the valve seat constituting member 62 is connected to the fixing ring 67 via the diaphragm 69 as described above, the valve seat constituting member 62 linearly moves up and down by a small distance with respect to the fixing ring 67 and eventually the main body case 1. Is possible. The valve seat constituting member 62 can perform this vertical movement in a region between the upper end surface of the nozzle constituting member 70 and the stopper portion 78 that is the central portion of the upper end surface of the discharge-side recess 71 of the manifold 10. .

  7 shows a state in which the valve seat constituent member 62 has moved until it abuts against the stopper portion 78 in accordance with the bias of a third spring (direct acting on-off valve biasing spring) 73 described later. A slight clearance 77 shown in FIG. 7 is formed between the end face and the valve seat constituting member 62.

  The nozzle constituting member 70 is a member constituting the pressurizing chamber 3 and the discharge port (nozzle) 4, and is fixed to the manifold 10 so as to be positioned below the discharge side recess 71 of the manifold 10.

  The nozzle constituting member 70 is formed with a pressurizing chamber constituting concave portion 72 that opens upward and constitutes the pressurizing chamber 3, and a discharge port 4 that discharges liquid from the pressurizing chamber 3.

  The pressurizing chamber 3 is an area surrounded by the lower surface of the direct acting on-off valve 5 and the pressurizing chamber constituting recess 72.

  A central portion of the bottom surface of the pressurizing chamber constituting concave portion 72 is formed as a concave surface having a tapered shape whose diameter decreases toward the lower side, and a lower end thereof communicates with the discharge port 4.

  On the other hand, a portion around the (tapered) central portion of the bottom surface of the pressurizing chamber constituting recess 72 is formed flat and receives the lower end of the third spring 73.

  The upper end of the third spring 73 is inserted into an annular spring receiving recess 74 formed on the lower surface of the valve seat component 62 and is received by the valve seat component 62.

  As a result, the third spring 73 is held in a compressed state between the bottom surface of the pressurizing chamber constituting recess 72 of the nozzle constituting member 70 and the lower surface of the valve seat constituting member 62.

  Here, the third spring 73 biases the direct acting on-off valve 5 with a stronger force than the second spring 64 so as to move the direct acting on-off valve 5 in the direction of increasing the volume of the pressurizing chamber 3. Therefore, the spring constant of the third spring 73 is larger than the spring constant of the second spring 64.

  The first spring 26 urges the push lot 7 in a direction opposite to the urging direction of the second spring 64 and the third spring 73 with a stronger force than the third spring 73. Therefore, the spring constant of the first spring 26 is larger than the spring constant of the third spring 73.

  In the nozzle device 100, the vertical position of the push lot 7 and the vertical position of the laminated piezoelectric actuator 6 are set in advance as follows.

  First, the vertical position of the laminated piezoelectric actuator 6 is set so that the hemispherical portion 14 abuts against the hemispherical receiving portion 29 of the pusher 22.

  The vertical position of the laminated piezoelectric actuator 6 is set by adjusting the amount of screwing of the male threaded portion 20 of the position adjusting member 15 into the female threaded portion 19 of the actuator holder 9.

  The vertical position of the push lot 7 is in a state where no voltage is applied to the laminated piezoelectric actuator 6 (no voltage state). (1) The lower end of the push lot 7 hits the ball 63 and the ball 63 is in the valve seat 61. The direct acting on-off valve 5 is closed, and (2) a predetermined clearance is provided between the upper end surface of the valve seat constituting member 62 of the direct acting on-off valve 5 and the stopper portion 78 of the manifold 10. And (3) the lever member 23 is set to a position that satisfies the three conditions of being horizontal (the lever member 23 is not bent in the groove 35).

  The vertical position of the push lot 7 is adjusted by adjusting the screwing amounts of the first and second fixing nuts 51 and 52 into the push lot 7.

  FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a power control system of the nozzle device 100.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the nozzle device 100 includes an amplifier 75 that drives the laminated piezoelectric actuator 6 by applying a voltage between the pair of electrode terminals 13 of the laminated piezoelectric actuator 6, and a control that controls the operation of the amplifier 75. Part 76.

  Next, the operation will be described.

  The basic operation of the nozzle device 100 is performed as follows.

  When the laminated piezoelectric actuator 6 extends and the hemispherical portion 14 is displaced downward, the pusher 22 pushes down the force point portions at both ends of the lever member 23, and the action portion 36 at the center portion of the lever member 23 remains horizontal with the fulcrum portion as a fulcrum. To move up. During this movement, the lever member 23 bends like a hinge along the groove 35. As the action portion 36 moves upward, the central portions of the push lot 7 and the cloth diaphragm 46 also move upward. This movement is performed against the bias of the first spring 26.

  In the process in which the push lot 7 moves upward, first, the valve seat constituting member 62 rises according to the bias of the third spring 73 until it hits the stopper portion 78 at the upper end surface of the central portion of the discharge-side recess 71 of the manifold 10. In this ascending process, the ball 63 hits the valve seat 61, and the direct acting on-off valve 5 remains closed. This is because the spring constants of the third spring 73 and the first spring are larger than the spring constant of the second spring 64.

  Next, after the valve seat constituting member 62 hits the stopper portion 78 of the manifold 10 and the upward movement is restricted, when the push lot 7 still moves upward, the ball 63 moves upward according to the bias of the second spring 64. By moving, the ball 63 is separated from the valve seat 61, and the direct acting on-off valve 5 is opened. The ball 63 is always pressed from above by the push lot 7.

  When the laminated piezoelectric actuator 6 is shortened again and the hemispherical portion 14 is displaced upward, the pusher 22 follows the biasing force of the first spring 26 and moves upward following the hemispherical portion 14. Therefore, while the force point portions at both ends of the lever member 23 move to the original positions, the action portion 36 of the lever member 23 moves downward with the fulcrum portion serving as a fulcrum. Further, the push lot 7 moves downward along with the action portion 36. The movement of the push lot 7 is performed according to the bias of the first spring 26.

  In the process in which the push lot 7 moves downward, first, the ball 63 is pushed down against the urging of the second spring 64 by the push lot 7 and hits the valve seat 61. Is closed.

  Further, after the ball 63 hits the valve seat 61 and the direct acting type on / off valve 5 is closed, when the push lot 7 moves downward in accordance with the bias of the first spring 26, the direct acting type on / off valve 5 is The push lot 7 is pushed downward against the urging of the third spring 73 to return to the original state.

  Next, the movement of the liquid in the nozzle device 100 accompanying the above operation will be described.

  In the following, the operation of the nozzle device 100 will be described in broadly divided into a “liquid suction process” for sucking liquid into the liquid chamber 2 and a “discharge process” for discharging liquid from the pressurizing chamber 3.

<Liquid inhalation process>
The liquid is always supplied from the liquid supply pipe 59 to the liquid chamber 2 at a constant pressure. Accordingly, the liquid chamber 2 is filled with a liquid having a pressure higher than a certain level.

  Since the direct acting on-off valve 5 is initially closed, the pressurizing chamber 3 is not filled with liquid.

  The nozzle device 100 is driven by applying a predetermined pulse voltage from the amplifier 75 to the laminated piezoelectric actuator 6 under the control of the control unit 76.

  When the voltage applied to the laminated piezoelectric actuator 6 is no voltage, the laminated piezoelectric actuator 6 is not stretched, the lower end of the push lot 7 pushes down the ball 63, the ball 63 is pushed against the valve seat 61, and the valve seat constituent member 62 moves downward. Is pushed away from the stopper portion 78 of the manifold 10 by a predetermined distance. The position in this state is the origin.

  When a predetermined pulse voltage is repeatedly applied between the electrode terminals 13 of the laminated piezoelectric actuator 6, the laminated piezoelectric actuator 6 repeats expansion and contraction proportional to the voltage value at a speed corresponding to the waveform of the pulse voltage.

  The expansion / contraction amount of the laminated piezoelectric actuator 6 appears as a vertical displacement of the hemispherical portion 14.

  The liquid suction process is an operation when the pulse voltage increases, and includes the following steps 1-1 to 1-4.

  1-1. The hemispherical portion 14 of the laminated piezoelectric actuator 6 is lowered to push down the pusher 22, and the pusher 22 pushes down both ends of the lever member 23.

  1-2. The lever member 23 operates with the fulcrum portion supported by the lever support member 24 as a fulcrum, and moves the push lot 7 upward against the bias of the first spring 26.

  1-3. As the push lot 7 moves upward, the direct acting on-off valve 5 is pushed up by the third spring 73 and moves upward, and rises until the upper surface of the valve seat constituting member 62 hits the stopper portion 78 of the manifold 10.

  1-4. When the push lot 7 further moves upward, the ball 63 is pushed up by the second spring 64 and a gap is formed between the valve seat 61 and the ball 63. That is, the direct acting on-off valve 5 is opened.

  During the operation of the above 1-1 to 1-4, the cloth diaphragm 46 rises with the push lot 7, so that the volume of the liquid chamber 2 increases and the internal pressure of the liquid chamber 2 decreases. The liquid is rapidly sucked from the liquid supply pipe 59.

<Discharge process>
The ejection process is an operation when the pulse voltage is lowered, and includes the following processes 2-1 to 2-4.

  2-1. The hemispherical portion 14 of the laminated piezoelectric actuator 6 rises, the pusher 22 rises as the pusher 22 rises, and both end portions of the lever member 23 rise as the pusher 22 rises.

  2-2. The push lot 7 is pushed down by the first spring 26 and starts moving downward. At this time, since the cloth diaphragm 46 also starts to descend simultaneously, the pressure in the liquid chamber 2 rises rapidly. The direct acting on-off valve 5 is still open. Accordingly, the liquid is supplied from the liquid chamber 2 into the pressurizing chamber 3 through the direct acting on-off valve 5.

  2-3. When the push lot 7 is further lowered and the ball 63 is pressed against the valve seat 61, the direct acting on-off valve 5 is closed and the liquid chamber 2 and the pressurizing chamber 3 are partitioned from each other.

  2-4. Further, in the process in which the push lot 7 moves downward, the push lot 7 pushes down the valve seat constituting member 62 via the ball 63 and decreases the volume of the pressurizing chamber 3. When the pressurizing chamber 3 is filled with liquid, the liquid corresponding to the volume reduction of the pressurizing chamber 3 is discharged from the pressurizing chamber 3 through the discharge port 4.

  When the operation is started from the state where the pressurizing chamber 3 is empty, after the above-described liquid suction step and discharge step are repeated for a required time, the pressurizing chamber 3 is filled with the liquid. Therefore, it is necessary to enter into actual operation (liquid discharge operation to an object to be discharged).

  If the rising speed of the voltage applied to the laminated piezoelectric actuator 6 is extremely increased, the life of the laminated piezoelectric actuator 6 is shortened, and the pusher 22 is repelled by the hemispherical portion 14 of the laminated piezoelectric actuator 6 and the impact is caused. Since the pusher 22 moves more than the actual displacement amount of the laminated piezoelectric actuator 6 and vibration may occur, it is necessary to control the rising speed of the applied voltage so as not to be faster than necessary. Specifically, for example, the rising of the applied voltage is performed in about 0.1 milliseconds.

  Further, the discharge speed of the liquid changes depending on the falling speed of the voltage applied to the laminated piezoelectric actuator 6. The falling speed of the applied voltage is set to a speed at which the liquid droplets discharged from the discharge ports 4 do not scatter when hitting the discharge target. Specifically, for example, the fall of the applied voltage is performed in about 0.07 milliseconds.

  Since the laminated piezoelectric actuator 6 made of laminated piezoelectric elements is a capacitive load, the amplifier 75 needs to have a sufficient current capacity with respect to the drive frequency.

  Next, an example of specific operation of the nozzle device 100 will be described with reference to a time chart shown in FIG.

  9A shows a voltage waveform applied to the laminated piezoelectric actuator 6, FIG. 9B shows the vertical position of the hemispherical portion 14 of the laminated piezoelectric actuator 6, and FIG. 9C shows the vertical position of the push lot 7. (Upper and lower positions of the central portion of the cloth diaphragm 46) are shown, (d) shows the upper and lower positions of the valve seat constituting member 62, and (e) shows the vertical distance between the valve seat 61 and the ball 63.

  Hereinafter, the operation of the nozzle device 100 will be described by dividing into the liquid suction process and the discharge process in the same manner as described above with reference to FIG.

<Liquid inhalation process>
When the applied voltage rises from the point a-1 in FIG. 9A, the hemispherical portion 14 of the laminated piezoelectric actuator 6 is displaced downward as the voltage value increases from the point b-1 in FIG.

  The downward displacement of the hemispherical portion 14 of the laminated piezoelectric actuator 6 is enlarged by the lever mechanism 8 and is transmitted to the push lot 7 by reversing the moving direction. The push lot 7 is transmitted from the point c-1 in FIG. To rise.

  As the push lot 7 moves up, the valve seat 61 also starts to rise from the point d-1 in FIG. 9D, and stops at the point d-2 when the valve seat constituting member 62 hits the stopper portion 78 of the manifold 10.

  Further, since the push lot 7 is raised, the ball 63 is separated from the valve seat 61 from the point e-1 in FIG. 9 (e), and the direct acting on-off valve 5 is opened.

  The applied voltage is increased up to a point a-2 in FIG. 9A, and the hemispherical portion 14 is displaced downward to a point b-2 in FIG. Accordingly, the push lot 7 rises to a point c-2 in FIG. 9C, and at this stage, the distance between the valve seat 61 and the ball 63 becomes a state of a point e-2 in FIG.

  FIG. 9 shows an example in which when the applied voltage reaches DC100v, the push lot 7 is positioned 80 μm higher than the origin, and the central portion of the diaphragm 46 fixed to the push lot 7 is also displaced by the same amount. Further, FIG. 9 shows an example in which the valve seat constituent member 62 is moved and stopped by 20 μm from the origin, and the interval between the valve seat 61 and the ball 63 is expanded to 0 μm to 60 μm.

  Since the volume of the liquid chamber 2 increases between the points a-1 and a-2 in FIG. 9A, the internal pressure of the liquid chamber 2 decreases, and the liquid is rapidly supplied from the liquid supply pipe 59. The liquid chamber 2 is filled with liquid.

  Further, the time between the points a-2 and a-3 in FIG. 9A is a time required for the liquid to fill the liquid chamber 2, and is, for example, about 0.05 milliseconds. . This time is from point b-2 to point b-3 in FIG. 9B, from point c-2 to point c-3 in FIG. 9C, and from FIG. 9E. Corresponds to between point e-2 and point e-3.

  During the time between point a-2 and point a-3 in FIG. 9A, the push lot 7 is stopped in the raised state, and the direct acting on-off valve 5 is in the open state. For this reason, if this time is too long, the liquid flows into the pressurizing chamber 3 and hangs down from the discharge port 4.

  The setting of the length of time between point a-2 and point a-3 in FIG. 9A is performed by setting the liquid supply pressure to the liquid chamber 2, the liquid viscosity, and the lift value (opening of the direct acting on-off valve 5). It is necessary to set an appropriate value according to the degree.

  Alternatively, in order to shorten the time between points a-2 and a-3 in FIG. 9A, the lift value is increased and the liquid supply pressure to the liquid chamber 2 is increased.

<Discharge process>
When the applied voltage starts to drop from the point a-3 in FIG. 9A, the hemispherical portion 14 of the laminated piezoelectric actuator 6 starts to rise according to the voltage value, and the central portion of the push lot 7 and the cloth diaphragm 46 starts to fall.

  When the central portion of the cloth diaphragm 46 starts to descend, the volume of the liquid chamber 2 rapidly decreases, its internal pressure increases, and the liquid corresponding to a part of the volume change passes through the direct acting on-off valve 5. It flows into the pressure chamber 3 and fills the pressure chamber 3.

In this process, the ball 63 hits the valve seat 61 at the point e-4 in FIG. 9E (corresponding to the point d-3 in FIG. 9D), and the direct acting on-off valve 5 is closed.
The liquid chamber 2 and the pressurizing chamber 3 are completely partitioned by closing the direct acting on-off valve 5.

  When the applied voltage further decreases, the push lot 7 pushes down the valve seat constituting member 62 via the ball 63 to reduce the volume of the pressurizing chamber 3.

  The liquid in the pressurizing chamber 3 is discharged from the discharge port 4 vigorously because there is no escape area other than the discharge port 4.

  The applied voltage drops to point a-4 in FIG. At this point, the applied voltage returns to 0v. The timing at point a-4 in FIG. 9A corresponds to point b-4 in FIG. 9B, point c-4 in FIG. 9C, and point d-4 in FIG. 9D. Then, the valve seat component 62 returns to the origin position.

  After the applied voltage has returned to 0 v (after the valve seat component 62 has returned to the origin position), the applied voltage is again applied to the point a- in FIG. The liquid at the outlet of the discharge port 4 is pulled back into the pressurizing chamber 3 by raising the pressure from 5 to the point a-6 and slightly increasing the volume of the pressurizing chamber 3.

  The timing at point a-5 in FIG. 9A corresponds to point b-5 in FIG. 9B, point c-5 in FIG. 9C, and point d-5 in FIG. 9D. To do. 9A corresponds to the point b-6 in FIG. 9B, the point c-6 in FIG. 9C, and the point d-6 in FIG. 9D. To do.

  According to the first embodiment as described above, since the liquid is discharged as the laminated piezoelectric actuator 6 is driven, it is possible to control a very small discharge amount. Further, an arbitrary discharge amount can be controlled to an arbitrary discharge speed regardless of the viscosity of the liquid.

  In addition, since the actuator has only one laminated piezoelectric actuator 6, and other components are simple, downsizing and cost reduction are possible.

  Further, the opening / closing of the direct acting on-off valve 5 and the movement amount of the direct acting on / off valve 5 can be controlled by one laminated piezoelectric actuator 1 and the lever mechanism 8.

  Since the lever mechanism 8 enlarges the minute displacement amount of the laminated piezoelectric actuator 6, it is possible to easily control the liquid discharge.

  Further, since the lever mechanism 8 reverses the direction of the minute displacement amount of the laminated piezoelectric actuator, the direct acting on-off valve 5 is closed in a non-voltage state, so that liquid leakage to the outside does not occur.

  Further, by controlling the position of the push lot 7 by the driving voltage of the laminated piezoelectric actuator 6, the liquid discharge amount can be controlled.

  Further, the liquid discharge speed can be controlled by controlling the displacement speed of the push lot 7 by the driving voltage waveform of the laminated piezoelectric actuator 6.

  Further, the applied voltage is increased again by a certain value after the discharge process is completed, so that the volume of the pressurizing chamber 3 is slightly increased, the liquid at the outlet of the discharge port 4 is pulled back into the pressurizing chamber 3, and the liquid particles are broken. Can be improved.

  In the first embodiment described above, an example in which the push lot 7 and the ball 63 are configured separately has been described. However, the ball 63 may be integrally provided at the tip of the push lot 63. (The front end of the push lot may constitute an opening / closing member).

  As an advantage of the system in which the push lot 7 and the ball 63 are configured separately, the contact position between the valve seat 61 and the ball 63 is not fixed by the rotation of the ball 63, so that local wear of the ball 63 can be suppressed.

  However, if the viscosity of the liquid is high and the spring constant of the second spring 63 is small, the ball 63 may not be able to follow the rise of the push lot 7 during the high speed operation of the push lot 7. The push lot 7 and the ball 63 are preferably integrated.

  In the above description, the ball 63 is exemplified as the opening / closing member. However, the opening / closing member may have other shapes as long as the opening / closing member can be opened / closed. For example, a conical shape along the valve seat 61 or a shape having a flat bottom surface may be used.

[Second Embodiment]
FIG. 10 is a front sectional view showing the nozzle device 200 according to the second embodiment, and FIG. 11 is an enlarged view of FIG. 10 showing the configuration around the pressurizing chamber 3 of the nozzle device 100.

  In FIG.10 and FIG.11, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the component similar to the nozzle apparatus 100 which concerns on said 1st Embodiment.

  The nozzle device 200 also includes a control system shown in FIG.

  Also in this embodiment, in order to simplify the description, the description will be made with the positional relationship shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 for the sake of convenience.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the nozzle device 200 according to the second embodiment is different from the nozzle device 100 according to the first embodiment in the configuration below the liquid chamber 2, but above the liquid chamber 2. The configuration is the same as that of the nozzle device 100 according to the first embodiment.

  The nozzle device 200 according to the present embodiment includes a direct acting on-off valve 81 instead of the direct acting on / off valve 5 in the first embodiment.

  The direct-acting on-off valve 81 includes a ball 63, a valve seat 82 formed of a conical concave surface formed on the nozzle component 70, and a spring 83 that biases the ball 63 upward.

  The direct acting on-off valve 81 closes when the ball 63 hits the valve seat 82, while it opens when the ball 63 leaves the valve seat 82.

  Note that a conical opening / closing member may be used instead of the ball 63, and in this case, the opening / closing member is preferably provided integrally with the lower end of the push lot 7.

  The nozzle device 200 does not include the diaphragm 69, the fixing ring 67, and the third spring 73 among the components of the nozzle device 100.

  Furthermore, in the case of this embodiment, the shapes of the manifold 10 and the nozzle component 70 are different from those of the first embodiment.

  In the nozzle component 70, a cylindrical spring receiving recess 84 is formed below the valve seat 82 so as to be continuous with the lower end of the valve seat 82.

  The lower end of the spring 83 is received by the bottom surface of the spring receiving recess 84, and the spring 83 is held in a compressed state between the bottom surface of the spring receiving recess 84 and the lower surface of the ball 63. Note that the spring constant of the spring 83 is smaller than the spring constant of the first spring 26.

  In the present embodiment, the liquid chamber 2 is an area surrounded by the cloth diaphragm 46, the manifold 10, the nozzle component 70, and the ball 63 on the upper side of the ball 63. The pressurizing chamber 3 is a space surrounded by the ball 63 and the nozzle constituting member 70 between the ball 63 and the discharge port 4.

  In the discharge operation in the present embodiment, the ball 63 is moved downward to pressurize the liquid in the pressurizing chamber 3 while reducing the volume of the pressurizing chamber 3 and discharge the liquid from the discharge port 4. , Takes the form of

  Next, the operation will be described.

  As in the first embodiment, the liquid is always supplied from the liquid supply pipe 59 to the liquid chamber 2 at a constant pressure, and the liquid chamber 2 is filled with a liquid at a certain pressure or higher. The pressurizing chamber 3 is initially not filled with liquid because the direct acting on-off valve 81 is closed.

  The nozzle device 100 is driven by applying a pulse voltage similar to that in the first embodiment to the laminated piezoelectric actuator 6.

  When no voltage is applied, the laminated piezoelectric actuator 6 does not stretch as in the first embodiment, and the lower end of the push lot 7 pushes down the ball 63, and the ball 63 is pressed against the valve seat 82. 81 is closed, the liquid chamber 2 and the pressurizing chamber 3 are partitioned from each other, and no liquid is discharged or leaked from the discharge port 4.

  When a predetermined pulse voltage is applied to the electrodes of the laminated piezoelectric actuator 6, the laminated piezoelectric actuator repeatedly expands and contracts in proportion to the voltage value. The expansion / contraction amount appears as a displacement of the hemispherical portion 14 of the laminated piezoelectric actuator 6.

<Liquid inhalation process>
The liquid suction process is an operation when the pulse voltage increases, and includes the following steps 1-1 to 1-4.

  1-1. The hemispherical portion 14 of the laminated piezoelectric actuator 6 is lowered to push down the pusher 22, and the pusher 22 pushes down both ends of the lever member 23.

  1-2. The lever member 23 operates with the fulcrum portion supported by the lever support member 24 as a fulcrum, and moves the push lot 7 upward while compressing the first spring 26.

  1-3. As the push lot 7 moves upward, the ball 63 is pushed up by the spring 83 while moving in contact with the lower end of the push lot 7 and moves upward, and the direct acting on-off valve 81 opens in proportion to the voltage applied to the laminated piezoelectric actuator 6. Degree.

  During the operation of the above 1-1 to 1-3, the cloth diaphragm 46 rises with the push lot 7, so that the volume of the liquid chamber 2 increases and the internal pressure of the liquid chamber 2 decreases. The liquid is rapidly sucked from the liquid supply pipe 59, and further, the liquid starts to flow from the liquid chamber 2 into the pressurizing chamber 3 through the open direct acting on-off valve 81.

  When the open state of the direct acting on-off valve 81 is maintained for a long time, the liquid fills the pressurizing chamber 3 and starts to leak from the discharge port 4. Accordingly, it is important to set the valve opening time (the time during which the pulse voltage is ON).

<Liquid inhalation process>
The ejection process is an operation when the pulse voltage is lowered, and includes the following processes 2-1 to 2-4.

  2-1. The hemispherical portion 14 of the laminated piezoelectric actuator 6 rises, the pusher 22 rises as the pusher 22 rises, and both end portions of the lever member 23 rise as the pusher 22 rises.

  2-2. The push lot 7 is pushed down by the first spring 26 and starts moving downward. At this time, since the cloth diaphragm 46 also starts to descend simultaneously, the pressure in the liquid chamber 2 rises rapidly. Therefore, when the direct acting on-off valve 81 is open, the liquid is supplied from the liquid chamber 2 into the pressurizing chamber 3 through the direct acting on / off valve 81.

  2-3. When the ball 63 pushed by the push lot 7 is further lowered, the pressure in the pressurizing chamber 3 and the pressure in the liquid chamber 2 are instantaneously the same. When the ball 63 is further lowered, the gap between the valve seat 82 and the ball 63 becomes extremely small, and the pressure in the pressurizing chamber 3 becomes higher than the pressure in the liquid chamber 2. In this state, due to the viscosity of the liquid, the flow of the liquid between the liquid chamber 2 and the pressurizing chamber 3 is substantially stopped, and the pressurizing chamber 3 and the liquid chamber 2 are substantially partitioned. Become.

  2-4. Further, in the process in which the push lot 7 moves downward, the volume of the pressurizing chamber 3 decreases as the push lot 7 pushes down the ball 63, and the liquid corresponding to the volume decrease of the pressurizing chamber 3 passes through the discharge port 4. And discharged from the pressurizing chamber 3.

  According to the second embodiment as described above, the nozzle device 200 can be configured more inexpensively and more easily than the first embodiment.

  In addition, the nozzle devices 100 and 200 according to each of the above embodiments include, for example, a technique for marking (using ink as a liquid) on steel plates and other articles, and in the industrial field, adhesives, lubricants, and coating materials. Etc. can be applied to distribute and supply any set amount at high speed and with high accuracy regardless of the viscosity of the material. Further, in the medical, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology fields, it can be applied to supply and distribute drugs, solutions, reagents, and the like with a predetermined small amount and high accuracy.

It is front sectional drawing which shows the nozzle apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is front sectional drawing which shows a lever mechanism. It is a figure which shows the pusher of a lever mechanism, among these, (a) is a top view, (b) is a front view, (c) is a side view. It is a figure which shows the lever member of a lever mechanism, Among these, (a) is a top view, (b) is a front view. It is a figure which shows the lever support member of a lever mechanism, among these, (a) is a front view, (b) is a side view, (c) is a top view. It is a figure which shows an actuator holder, among these, (a) is a side view, (b) is a bottom view. It is an enlarged view of FIG. 1 which shows the structure of the periphery of the pressurization chamber of the nozzle apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the power control system of a nozzle apparatus. It is a time chart which shows operation | movement of a nozzle apparatus. It is front sectional drawing which shows the nozzle apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is an enlarged view of FIG. 10 which shows the structure of the periphery of the pressurization chamber of the nozzle apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a sectional side view which shows the conventional nozzle apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Nozzle apparatus 2 Liquid chamber 3 Pressurization chamber 4 Discharge port 5 Direct acting on-off valve 6 Multilayer piezoelectric actuator 7 Push lot 8 Lever mechanism 22 Pusher 23 Lever member 26 First spring (push lot biasing spring)
35 Groove 46 Cloth diaphragm (diaphragm)
61 Valve seat 62 Valve seat component 63 Ball (opening / closing member)
64 Second spring (opening / closing member biasing spring)
73 Third spring (direct acting on-off valve biasing spring)
200 Nozzle device 81 Direct acting on-off valve 82 Valve seat

Claims (14)

A liquid chamber for storing liquid;
A pressurizing chamber to which liquid is supplied from the liquid chamber;
A discharge port for discharging liquid from the pressurizing chamber;
A direct-acting on-off valve provided between the liquid chamber and the pressurizing chamber and capable of moving in a direction of decreasing and increasing the volume of the pressurizing chamber;
An actuator that opens and closes and moves the direct acting on-off valve in accordance with expansion and contraction;
With
The actuator is a laminated piezoelectric actuator or a magnetostrictive actuator,
The liquid in the pressurizing chamber is pressurized by moving the direct acting on-off valve in a direction to reduce the volume of the pressurizing chamber while the direct-acting on-off valve is closed, and the liquid is discharged from the discharge port. A nozzle device characterized by discharging.   The direct-acting on-off valve includes a valve seat constituent member having a valve seat formed on the liquid chamber side, and closes the direct-acting on-off valve by abutting against the valve seat while separating from the valve seat. The nozzle device according to claim 1, further comprising: an opening / closing member that opens the direct-acting opening / closing valve; and an opening / closing member urging spring that urges the opening / closing member in a direction away from the valve seat. A direct-acting on-off valve biasing spring that biases the direct-acting on-off valve with a stronger force than the on-off member biasing spring to move the pressurizing chamber in a direction that increases the volume of the pressurizing chamber;
With the front end being abutted against the opening / closing member, the opening / closing member is pushed into the valve seat side to close the direct acting on / off valve, and the direct acting on / off valve reduces the volume of the pressurizing chamber. A push lot capable of pushing in the direction,
The nozzle device according to claim 2, further comprising:   4. A lever mechanism that reverses the direction of movement transmitted from the actuator as the actuator extends, and expands the distance of the movement by a predetermined ratio and transmits the lever mechanism to the push lot. The nozzle device described. The lever mechanism is
A pusher that directly transmits the movement transmitted from the actuator;
The direct-acting on-off valve urging is performed between the pusher and the push lot, and the push-lot is urged in a direction opposite to the urging direction of the on-off member energizing spring and the direct acting on-off valve energizing spring. A push lot biasing spring that biases with a stronger force than the spring;
A lever member that reverses the direction of movement transmitted from the pusher and expands the distance of the movement by a predetermined ratio and transmits it to the push lot;
The nozzle device according to claim 4, further comprising: A liquid chamber for storing liquid;
A pressurizing chamber to which liquid is supplied from the liquid chamber;
A discharge port for discharging liquid from the pressurizing chamber;
A direct acting on-off valve provided between the liquid chamber and the pressurizing chamber;
An actuator for opening and closing the direct-acting on-off valve as it expands and contracts;
With
The actuator is a laminated piezoelectric actuator or a magnetostrictive actuator,
The direct-acting on-off valve includes a valve seat and an on-off member that closes the direct-acting on-off valve by abutting against the valve seat and opens the direct-acting on-off valve by leaving the valve seat. ,
While the valve seat is a conical concave surface, the opening and closing member is conical or spherical,
The liquid in the pressurizing chamber is pressurized while the volume of the pressurizing chamber is reduced by moving the open / close member in a direction to close the direct acting on-off valve, and the liquid is discharged from the discharge port. Nozzle device. With the front end being abutted against the opening / closing member, the opening / closing member is pushed into the valve seat side to close the direct acting on / off valve, and the direct acting on / off valve reduces the volume of the pressurizing chamber. A push lot capable of pushing in the direction,
A lever mechanism for reversing the direction of movement transmitted from the actuator as the actuator extends, and expanding the distance of the movement by a predetermined ratio and transmitting it to the push lot;
The nozzle device according to claim 6, further comprising: An opening / closing member biasing spring for biasing the opening / closing member in a direction away from the valve seat;
The lever mechanism is
A pusher that directly transmits the movement transmitted from the actuator;
Push lot biasing that is sandwiched between the pusher and the push lot and biases the push lot in a direction opposite to the biasing direction of the opening / closing member biasing spring with a stronger force than the opening / closing member biasing spring. Spring,
A lever member that reverses the direction of movement transmitted from the pusher and expands the distance of the movement by a predetermined ratio and transmits it to the push lot;
The nozzle device according to claim 7, comprising: The lever member is a plate-like member made of an elastic body,
A pair of force points that move by being pushed by the pusher are formed at both ends of the lever member,
A pair of fulcrum portions supported at a fixed position are formed at positions closer to the center of the lever member than the force point portion,
A pair of grooves is formed at a position closer to the center of the lever member than the fulcrum portion,
In the lever member, the push lot is fixed to the action portion formed of a portion on the center side of the pair of grooves,
When the pair of force application parts are pushed by the pusher, the lever member bends along the pair of grooves, and the action part increases the movement distance of the force application part by a predetermined ratio. 9. The nozzle device according to claim 5, wherein the push lot biasing spring is compressed while being moved together.   The nozzle device according to any one of claims 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, and 9, wherein the push lot and the opening / closing member are integrally formed.   The diaphragm according to any one of claims 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, and 10, further comprising a diaphragm that changes a volume of the liquid chamber by moving with the push lot. Nozzle device. A method for driving the nozzle device according to any one of claims 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11,
A method for driving a nozzle device, wherein the amount of liquid ejection is controlled by adjusting the position of the push lot by the driving voltage of the laminated piezoelectric actuator. A method for driving the nozzle device according to any one of claims 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11,
A method for driving a nozzle device, comprising: adjusting a moving speed of the push lot according to a driving voltage waveform of the laminated piezoelectric actuator to control a liquid discharge speed. A method for driving the nozzle device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
After completion of the liquid discharge operation, the direct-acting on-off valve is moved in the direction of increasing the volume of the pressurizing chamber while the direct-acting on-off valve is closed, thereby A method of driving a nozzle device, wherein the liquid is drawn back into the discharge port or the pressure chamber.

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