JP2012130843A - Ultrasonic atomizer and refrigerator using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ultrasonic atomizer capable of radiating heat from an ultrasonic transducer and operating after all liquid is atomized without requiring to always leave a fixed quantity of the atomizing liquid for the heat ration and, for example, even when used for the humidification of the refrigerator, preventing the damage of sanitation.SOLUTION: The ultrasonic atomizer possesses: the ultrasonic transducer 5; a first casing 2 sealing a first liquid 6 inside and holding the ultrasonic transducer 5 so that the vibrating surface may be brought into contact with the first liquid 6; and a second casing 3 provided adjacent to the first casing 2 so that a part of the wall body of the first casing 2 is as a common wall body 4. The vibration of the vibrating surface is transmitted to the common wall body 4 through the first liquid 6 and a second liquid 7 stored in the second casing 5 is atomized.

Description

  The present invention relates to an apparatus for atomizing water by an ultrasonic vibrator and humidifying it.

  Humidifiers are installed in household refrigerator-freezers and the like for the purpose of maintaining the freshness of stored items. As a typical device that realizes humidification in the cabinet, there is a device using an ultrasonic vibrator.

  Compared to other humidifiers, the humidifier using an ultrasonic transducer has the advantage that it does not require heating, but accumulates the heat generated during operation of the ultrasonic transducer. Has the potential to lead to its own damage.

  Normally, as shown in Patent Document 1, inside the ultrasonic atomizer, the periphery of the ultrasonic vibrator is filled with a humidifying liquid (water), and the humidifying liquid is used as a heat dissipation agent. It is configured to play a role. That is, the ultrasonic vibrator is prevented from being damaged by being configured so as to avoid excessive heat accumulation in the ultrasonic vibrator due to heat radiation through the humidifying liquid.

  Since the liquid is used as a heat radiation agent in this way, if all the liquid is atomized and reaches an empty state, the ultrasonic vibrator in the ultrasonic atomizer cannot be dissipated and is damaged. It is necessary to always store a certain amount of liquid in the ultrasonic atomizer without atomizing the liquid for atomization to the last drop.

  However, assuming the use of a home-use refrigerator-freezer, leaving the liquid in the cabinet for a long period of time may cause germs to propagate, which may significantly impair hygiene. Furthermore, there is a problem that a water level sensor that constantly monitors whether or not a certain amount of liquid is stored must be installed.

JP 2008-89202 A

  The present invention has been made to solve these problems, and the main purpose of the present invention is not to always leave a certain amount of atomizing liquid for heat dissipation. Even after atomization, the ultrasonic vibrator can be operated by dissipating heat, and even when it is used for humidifying a refrigerator, for example, the hygiene can be prevented from being impaired. The object is to provide a sonic atomization device.

  That is, the ultrasonic atomization device according to the present invention seals the ultrasonic vibrator and the first liquid inside and holds the ultrasonic vibrator so that the vibration surface thereof is in contact with the first liquid. A first housing and a second housing provided adjacent to the first housing with a part of the wall of the first housing as a shared wall, and the vibration of the vibration surface The second liquid that is transmitted to the shared wall body through the first liquid and stored in the second casing is atomized.

  With such a configuration, since the first liquid is sealed in the first casing, the heat generated by the ultrasonic vibrator can always be radiated by the first liquid. Therefore, there is obtained an effect that the situation where the liquid crystal for heat dissipation is lost as in the conventional case and the ultrasonic transducer cannot be dissipated and the ultrasonic transducer is damaged can be avoided. Therefore, it is not necessary to install a water level sensor that constantly monitors whether or not a certain amount of atomizing liquid is stored. Furthermore, since the first liquid, which is a heat-dissipating liquid of the ultrasonic transducer, is sealed in the first housing, an effect that the problem of hygiene can be solved is obtained.

  The first casing will be described in detail. The ultrasonic vibrator can be completely sealed on an appropriate wall of the first casing so that the first liquid does not leak. It is attached so that ultrasonic vibration is generated toward the shared wall body by the attachment method. The shared wall body of the first casing and the second casing does not mix the liquid in the second casing and the liquid in the first casing, but transmits ultrasonic vibration from the liquid in the first casing. Transmission to the liquid in the second housing is possible. The upper shared wall body is installed on the wall body opposite to the wall body on which the ultrasonic transducer is installed by a method that allows the first liquid to be completely sealed. Further, the wall body of the other first casing is configured by a closed inner peripheral surface so that the first liquid can be completely sealed.

  The appropriate wall of the second casing is shared with the first casing so as not to mix the second liquid in the second casing and the first liquid in the first casing. A shared wall is installed. In the second liquid in the second casing, the ultrasonic vibration generated by the ultrasonic vibrator installed in the first casing is transmitted through the shared wall body, thereby the second casing. Atomized from the opening.

  The shared wall may be in the form of a film, but if the ultrasonic vibrator is installed on the bottom wall of the first housing, it has a film shape having a concave shape in the vertical downward direction. Thus, it is possible to atomize completely without leaving the liquid to be atomized in the second casing.

  Further, by using a stretchable elastomer resin or a shape memory alloy as the material for the shared wall body, the housing can be stretched. Thereby, even if the incompressible liquid in the first casing is frozen, it is possible to avoid damage to the casing due to expansion of the liquid volume.

  Furthermore, when the incompressible liquid freezes by installing a temperature sensor capable of grasping the frozen state of the sealed incompressible liquid in the first housing at an appropriate location in the first housing, the ultrasonic wave The vibration of the vibrator is stopped and the atomization is stopped, whereby the atomization apparatus including the ultrasonic vibrator can be prevented from being damaged.

  In addition, in the present invention, since the incompressible liquid is completely sealed in the first casing, it is possible to use a component different from the liquid intended for atomization in the second casing. it can. That is, as the incompressible liquid in the first casing, a cryogen having a freezing point of 0 ° C. or less, such as saline, is used to avoid freezing of the incompressible liquid, and as a result, the liquid volume expands during freezing. Thus, it is possible to solve the problem that the first casing and the ultrasonic transducer are damaged.

  As described above, according to the present invention, many problems of the conventional apparatus can be essentially solved. That is, a first housing that seals the incompressible liquid inside and holds the ultrasonic vibrator so that a vibration surface thereof is in contact with the incompressible liquid, and a part of a wall of the first housing Is used as a shared wall body and a second housing provided adjacent to the first housing, the structure itself is very simple, but the problem of heat dissipation of the ultrasonic vibrator, liquid It is possible to solve all the problems of hygiene caused by leaving the product in the cabinet, and also the problem of damage to the case due to freezing of the first liquid. A high-performance atomizer can be realized at low cost. Furthermore, by installing a temperature sensor in the first housing that can grasp the frozen state of the incompressible liquid, it is possible to avoid damage to the ultrasonic transducer and to control atomization more finely than conventional devices. It becomes.

The schematic diagram which shows the structure of the ultrasonic atomizer which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. The flowchart which shows the control algorithm of the ultrasonic atomizer in the embodiment. The schematic diagram which shows the structure of the ultrasonic atomizer which concerns on another embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

<Configuration>
FIG. 1 shows an example of an embodiment of the present invention. The ultrasonic atomizing device 1 according to the present embodiment is used for humidifying the inside of a refrigerator (not shown), and includes a first housing 2, a second housing 3, a shared wall body 4, An ultrasonic transducer 5 is provided. The outer shape of the ultrasonic atomizer 1 will be described. A flat cylindrical second casing 3 having an open top surface is placed on a substantially cylindrical first casing 2. The bottom surface of the first housing 2 has a partial opening, and a flat plate-like ultrasonic transducer 5 is provided so as to close the opening, and the first liquid inside the first housing 2 and its vibrations are provided. The faces are in contact. The upper surface of the first housing 2 and the bottom surface of the second housing 3 share the shared wall 4 so that the first housing 2 and the second housing 3 are integrated. is there.

  Describing the configuration provided, the first housing 2 is completely sealed with the incompressible liquid 6 as the first liquid in the first housing 2. A temperature sensor 13 is installed at an appropriate location of the first housing 2. Specifically, the incompressible liquid 6 is a cryogen having a freezing point of 0 ° C. or lower, such as saline.

  The ultrasonic transducer 5 installed on the bottom wall of the first housing 2 is placed on the upper surface in order to achieve complete sealing of the incompressible liquid 6 in the first housing 2. The bottom wall 8 is fastened with, for example, bolts 9. Similarly, on the shared wall 4 side, the packing 10 is tightened with bolts 11 and 12 to achieve complete sealing of the incompressible liquid 6 in the first housing 2.

  A temperature sensor 13 is installed at an appropriate location in the first housing 2. Thus, when the temperature of the incompressible liquid 6 reaches a freezing temperature, the vibration of the ultrasonic vibrator 5 is stopped to stop the atomization, thereby the ultrasonic atomizer 1 including the ultrasonic vibrator 5. Can be avoided.

  On the other hand, the liquid 7 to be atomized, which is the second liquid accommodated in the second casing 3, is separated from the incompressible liquid 6 by the shared wall body 4. The vibration generated by the ultrasonic transducer 5 is transmitted to the liquid 7 to be atomized through the incompressible liquid 6 and the shared wall body 4. Therefore, even if the ultrasonic transducer 5 is provided in the first housing 2, the liquid 7 to be atomized can be atomized by the ultrasonic vibration. In addition, since the said 2nd liquid is water for humidifying the inside of a refrigerator, what is necessary is just normal tap water, normal water, etc.

  The shared wall body 4 may have any shape. However, as shown in FIG. 1, the shared wall body 4 has a film shape having a concave shape with respect to the vertical downward direction. Since a certain liquid collects in the recessed part of the said shared wall body 4, it can atomize completely, without leaving the liquid 7 which should be atomized in the said 2nd housing | casing. In other words, it can be said that the shared wall body 4 protrudes vertically downward in the longitudinal section. As the material of the shared wall body 4, it is possible to give the shared wall body 4 stretchability by using a stretchable elastomer resin or a shape memory alloy. Thereby, even if the incompressible liquid 6 in the first casing 2 is frozen, it is possible to avoid the casing from being damaged by volume expansion due to the liquid becoming solid. .

<Control algorithm>
In FIG. 2, the control algorithm of the ultrasonic atomizer 1 using the temperature sensor 13 mentioned above is shown. In this control algorithm, a control mechanism including an input / output mechanism such as a CPU, a memory, an A / D, a D / A converter, and the like and the above-described components cooperate to exert their functions.

  As shown in FIG. 2, various controls are performed by monitoring the humidity and temperature on the refrigerator side and the ultrasonic atomizer 1, respectively.

  First, when the power supply of the refrigerator body is turned on, it is detected as humidity inside the refrigerator on the refrigerator side, and if the humidity inside the refrigerator is equal to or lower than the set humidity, the temperature sensor 13 installed in the first casing 2 The temperature of the first liquid in the first housing 2 is detected. If the temperature of the first liquid is equal to or higher than the freezing point, the atomizer is turned on for an appropriate time and then turned off. If the liquid temperature is equal to or lower than the freezing point, the temperature of the liquid in the housing is detected again without operating the atomizer.

  Other embodiments will be described.

  In the embodiment described above, the ultrasonic transducer 5 is provided on the bottom wall of the first housing 2, but is not limited to the bottom wall. For example, when there is a restriction on the installation location of the housing, the configuration shown in FIG. 3 can be considered. Specifically, the first housing 2 is not a cylindrical shape that extends straight, but is substantially L-shaped in a cross-sectional view, and the ultrasonic transducer 5 may be provided on the side surface thereof. In short, it is only necessary that the ultrasonic vibrator 5 is in contact with the first liquid in the first housing 2 and the ultrasonic vibration is transmitted to the shared wall body 4.

  In addition, it goes without saying that the present invention can be variously modified without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Ultrasonic atomizer 2 ... 1st housing | casing 3 ... 2nd housing | casing 4 ... Shared wall 5 ... Ultrasonic vibrator 6 ... Non-inside in 1st housing | casing Compressible liquid (first liquid)
7: Liquid to be atomized in the second housing (second liquid)
13 ... Temperature sensor

Claims (7)

  An ultrasonic vibrator, a first housing that seals the first liquid inside and holds the ultrasonic vibrator so that a vibration surface thereof is in contact with the first liquid, and a wall of the first housing A part of the body as a shared wall body, and a second casing provided adjacent to the first casing, and vibration of the vibration surface is applied to the shared wall body via the first liquid An ultrasonic atomizing device characterized in that the second liquid transmitted and stored in the second casing is atomized.   The superstructure according to claim 1, wherein the shared wall body serves as both an upper wall of the first casing and a bottom wall of the second casing, and has a concave shape with respect to a vertically downward direction. Sonic atomizer. The ultrasonic atomizer according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the shared wall body is made of a stretchable material. The ultrasonic atomizer according to claim 1, wherein the shared wall is made of a shape memory alloy. A temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the first liquid;
The vibration stop part which stops the vibration of the said ultrasonic transducer | vibrator when the temperature which the said temperature sensor detected is below the freezing point of a 1st liquid, or further comprises 4. Ultrasonic atomizer   The ultrasonic atomizer according to claim 1, wherein the first liquid has a freezing point below 0 ° C.   A refrigerator comprising the ultrasonic atomizer according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the inside of the refrigerator is humidified by the ultrasonic atomizer.