JP5271254B2 - Droplet ejection apparatus and method - Google Patents

Abstract

Intended is to provide a liquid droplet discharging technique for holding the leading end of a plunger at a discharging time, in a state out of contact with the inner wall of a liquid chamber. Specifically provided are liquid droplet discharging device and method, which can discharge satisfactorily even a liquid material containing a filler such as solder paste. The liquid droplet discharging device comprises a liquid chamber having a discharge port for discharging a liquid material, a through hole communicating with the liquid chamber, a plunger inserted into the through hole and having its leading end portion moved back and forth in the liquid chamber, plunger moving means for moving the plunger back and forth, and plunger position deciding means for regulating the position of the leading end portion of the plunger. The liquid droplet discharging device moves and stops the plunger, while the leading end portion of the plunger and the inner wall of the liquid chamber being out of contact, so that the liquid material is given an inertial force and discharged in the state of droplets. The liquid droplet discharging device and method are characterized in that the plunger position deciding means regulates the position of the leading end portion of the plunger stopped, in the vicinity of the inner wall of the liquid chamber in the moving direction.

Description

The present invention relates to a droplet discharge apparatus and method for discharging a liquid material in a droplet state.
In the present specification, the “liquid material” means a liquid material, and any material having fluidity corresponds to, for example, a liquid material having a particulate minute substance called a filler.
Further, the “droplet state” is a state in which the liquid material discharged from the discharge port moves in the space without being in contact with either the discharge port or the application target.

For example, as a conventional liquid droplet ejection device that lands a liquid material on a work after being separated from a nozzle, for example, a side surface of a plunger rod is disposed in a non-contact manner in a flow path having a valve seat near an outlet connected to the nozzle. In some cases, the tip of the plunger rod moves toward the valve seat and comes into contact with the valve seat to discharge the liquid material from the nozzle in the form of droplets (Patent Document 1).
In addition, as a technique for causing the liquid material to fly by abruptly stopping the advancing plunger without abutting against the valve seat, the liquid material discharge plan proposed by the applicant, whose tip surface is in close contact with the liquid material, is proposed. There is a liquid material discharge method and apparatus in which a jar is advanced at a high speed, and then a plunger driving means is suddenly stopped to apply an inertial force to the liquid material to discharge the liquid material (Patent Documents 2 and 3).
JP-T-2001-500962 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-190871 JP 2005-296700 A

In the conventional droplet discharge device disclosed in Patent Document 1 in which the tip of a plunger rod that moves at high speed is applied to the valve seat to perform discharge, the plunger rod and the valve seat are repeatedly contacted when the plunger rod and the valve seat are contacted. And valve seats wear and generate wear powder and wear pieces. The generated wear powder and wear pieces not only contaminate the liquid material when mixed into the liquid material, but also become a cause of hindering good discharge by being sandwiched between the plunger rod and the valve seat.
Also, wear of the plunger rod and valve seat changes the shape of the plunger rod and valve seat itself, and it becomes impossible to obtain reproducibility in the discharge before and after the wear. It was necessary to replace it.

In addition, when discharging a liquid material containing fine particles called a filler, there is a problem that the filler may be sandwiched between the plunger rod and the valve seat and crushed, and the properties of the liquid material may be changed by the crushed filler. It was. In addition, there is a problem that the filler that is crushed and deformed causes clogging of the nozzle.
In addition, if a filler is sandwiched between the plunger rod and the valve seat, the contact state between the plunger rod and the valve seat changes for each discharge, and not only the reproducibility of discharge is obtained, but also the liquid material is separated from the nozzle. There is also a problem that the discharge failure is not generated or the liquid material is scattered and the liquid material is attached to an unintended position on the work to make the work dirty.
In recent years, there is an increasing demand for discharging solder paste containing solder particles in the form of droplets, and it is important to solve the above problems in order to discharge liquid material containing filler in the form of droplets. There is significant significance.

  The methods and apparatuses described in Patent Documents 2 and 3 both have a structure in which the plunger moves forward while sliding on the side surface of the liquid chamber, and aims to measure and discharge the liquid material. It is. That is, since the plunger moves forward while sliding on the side surface of the liquid chamber, the liquid material corresponding to the moved amount is discharged with high accuracy. However, on the other hand, since the side surface of the plunger is in contact with the inner wall of the liquid chamber when the plunger moves forward, there is a limit to the high-speed movement of the plunger due to sliding resistance.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a droplet discharge technique in which a plunger tip is kept in a non-contact state with an inner wall of a liquid chamber during a discharge operation, and in particular, a liquid material containing a filler such as a solder paste. Another object of the present invention is to provide a droplet discharge apparatus and method that can perform excellent discharge.

The first solving means includes a liquid chamber having a discharge port for discharging a liquid material, a through hole communicating with the liquid chamber, a plunger inserted through the through hole, and a tip portion of which moves forward and backward in the liquid chamber, a plan A plunger movement mechanism that moves the jar forward and backward, and a plunger position determination mechanism that regulates the position of the tip of the plunger. The plunger moves forward with the tip of the plunger and the inner wall of the liquid chamber being in non-contact. A droplet discharge device that applies an inertial force to a liquid material by stopping movement and advancement and discharges the liquid material into a droplet state, wherein the plunger position determination mechanism includes a front contact portion (43) provided on the plunger. And a front stopper (51) facing the front contact portion (43) and a movable member (30) capable of moving forward and backward, and the front contact portion (43) is brought into contact with the front stopper (51). by, at the time of advance stop Pula The position of the tip of the jar, it is defined near the inner wall of the liquid chamber in its advancing direction, and advancing the stop of the plunger by advancing and retracting the position of the front stopper (51) by a moving member (30) The droplet discharge device is characterized in that its position can be adjusted .
The plunger tip does not contact the inner wall of the liquid chamber (corresponding to a conventional valve seat), and the liquid material can be discharged in the form of droplets. Generation of a piece can be prevented, shape deformation due to wear of the plunger and valve seat can be prevented, and the conventional problem of poor reproducibility of discharge can be solved. Further, the filler is not crushed between the plunger rod and the valve seat.
In addition, by discharging while the tip of the plunger and the inner wall of the liquid chamber are not in contact with each other, sliding resistance between the side surface of the plunger and the liquid chamber does not occur, so that the plunger can be moved at high speed. There is an effect.
By providing the front stopper, the plunger that moves forward can be stopped suddenly at the same fixed position regardless of its speed, giving a suitable inertial force to the liquid material, causing the liquid material to be in the state of a droplet. Can be discharged satisfactorily. In addition, since the plunger accurately stops at the same position, the inertial force applied to the liquid material can be made equal for each discharge, and the discharge can be performed with high reproducibility.
By moving the position of the front stopper before discharging, the stop position when the plunger rod is advanced can be changed, so the optimal plunger stop depending on the filler content and filler size contained in the liquid material Even if there is a change in the liquid material or other discharge conditions, the plunger can be adjusted to stop at the optimal position according to the situation, so that good discharge can always be realized.

The second solving means is characterized in that, in the first solving means, the tip of the plunger when the advancement is stopped is positioned in the vicinity of the inner wall of the liquid chamber and the discharge port in the advancement direction.
Since the tip of the plunger is positioned in the vicinity of the inner wall of the liquid chamber and the discharge port in the advance direction, the inertial force on the liquid material can be applied under more favorable conditions. That is, when the advancement is stopped, the plunger tip is positioned in the vicinity of the discharge port, so that the flow resistance received by the liquid material moving in the direction of the discharge port due to the operation of the plunger is reduced, and a droplet state is easily generated. This is effective not only when the liquid chamber is formed in a mortar shape as shown in FIG. 2, but also when it is formed in a cylindrical shape as shown in FIG.

The third solving means is characterized in that, in the first or second solving means, the inner wall of the tip of the liquid chamber is formed in a conical shape having a discharge port at the forefront.
A fourth solving means is characterized in that, in the first or second solving means, an inner wall of a tip portion of the liquid chamber is formed in a plane having a discharge port .

A fifth solving means according to any one of the first to fourth solving means is characterized in that the moving member (30) has a position display member for displaying the position thereof.
The position display member of the moving member enables quantitative adjustment of the stop position when the plunger is advanced.
By accurately adjusting the distance from the plunger tip to the contact position at the stop position when the plunger rod advances, it becomes possible to perform highly accurate discharge with excellent reproducibility.

A sixth solving means is any one of the first to fifth solving means, a main body having a through hole (24) and a piston chamber (61) through which the plunger is inserted, a discharge port, a liquid chamber, and a liquid material. and a discharge block having a through hole (26) of the supply port and the plunger is inserted, the piston the plunger, which is provided with a plunger rod, the piston chamber (61) from a wide plunger rod (44), and the moving member (30) has a through hole (34) through which the plunger is inserted, and is arranged between the main body and the discharge block.
A seventh solving means is the sixth solving means, wherein the front abutting portion (43) is a surface on the advancing direction side of the piston (44), and the front stopper (51) is a surface of the piston (44) . It is a surface of the piston chamber (61) facing the surface on the advancing direction side.
The eighth solving means is that in the sixth or seventh solving means, the position of the front stopper can be adjusted by moving the position of the moving member (30) forward and backward to adjust the distance between the main body and the discharge block. Features.
A ninth solution means is characterized in that, in the eighth solution means, a base member is provided so that the main body can be moved forward and backward, and the discharge block is fixedly attached.
Tenth solving means, in any one of solutions of the 1, wherein the front stopper (51) is constituted by a rear end portion of the moving member (30), advancing and retracting the position of the moving member (30) Thus, the position of the front stopper (51) can be adjusted.

The eleventh solving means is that in any one of the first to tenth solving means, by moving the position of the moving member (30) forward and backward, the advancement position of the plunger is changed so that the position of the tip of the plunger is set to the inner wall of the liquid chamber. It can be adjusted until the contact position (12) is reached.
When deciding the stop position when the plunger is advanced, it is convenient to set the tip as the contact position and retract from it, so the plunger tip is in contact with the inner wall of the liquid chamber. It is preferable that the contact position can be adjusted.

The twelfth solving means is characterized in that, in the eleventh solving means, the tip of the plunger is configured to block the discharge port at the contact position (12).
A thirteenth solving means according to any one of the first to twelfth solving means, wherein the plunger has a rear abutting portion (45) on the backward direction side of the front abutting portion (43), and the plunger The position determination mechanism includes a rear stopper (52) that can abut the rear abutting portion (45) to limit the backward movement of the plunger, and a rear stopper movement mechanism that advances and retracts the rear stopper (52). It is characterized by providing.
A fourteenth solution means according to any one of the first to thirteenth solution means, further comprising an elastic body that urges the plunger in the advance direction.
Fifteenth solving means, in any one of the solving means of the first to 14, characterized in that it comprises a liquid feed control device for supplying reciprocating movement and conjunction with the liquid material of the plunger into the liquid chamber .
A sixteenth solving means is characterized in that, in any one of the first to fifteenth solving means, a pressure mechanism is provided for changing the pressure applied to the liquid material in the liquid chamber in conjunction with the forward and backward movement of the plunger. To do.

According to a seventeenth solution, the plunger moves forward and stops while the tip of the plunger and the inner wall of the liquid chamber are not in contact with each other, thereby applying an inertial force to the liquid material and ejecting it in the form of droplets. A liquid chamber having a discharge port, a plunger whose tip moves forward and backward in the liquid chamber, and a plunger position determination mechanism that defines the position of the tip of the plunger , The plunger position determining mechanism includes a front contact portion (43) provided on the plunger, a front stopper (51) facing the front contact portion (43), and a movable member (30) capable of moving forward and backward. And the position of the front stopper (51) is moved forward and backward by the moving member (30) to adjust the stop position when the plunger is advanced, and the front contact portion (43) is brought into contact with the front stopper (51). By The tip of the plunger, a droplet discharge method, characterized in that is positioned near the inner wall of the liquid chamber in the advancing direction when the advancing stopped.
The eighteenth solution means is characterized in that, in the seventeenth solution means, the tip of the plunger is positioned in the vicinity of the inner wall of the liquid chamber and the discharge port in the advance direction when the advancement is stopped.
According to a nineteenth solution means, in the seventeenth or eighteenth solution means, the moving member (30) has a position display member for displaying the position, and based on the display value of the position display member, the moving member (30) The position is adjusted.
According to a twentieth solution according to any one of the seventeenth to nineteenth solutions , a main body having a through hole (24) through which the plunger is inserted and a piston chamber (61) is provided. A rod and a piston (44) that is wider than the plunger rod and disposed in the piston chamber (61), and adjusts the position of the piston chamber (61) by moving the position of the moving member (30) forward and backward. Thus, the position of the front stopper (51) is adjusted.
A twenty-first solution means is the twentieth solution means, wherein the front abutting portion (43) is a surface on the advancing direction side of the piston (44), and the front stopper (51) is a surface of the piston (44). It is a surface of the piston chamber (61) facing the surface on the advancing direction side.
According to a twenty-second solution means, in any one of the seventeenth to nineteenth solution means, the moving member (30) has a forward stopper (30) whose rear end portion opposes the surface of the front contact portion (43) on the advancing direction side. and characterized in that it constitutes a 51).
The twenty- third solution means, in any one of the seventeenth to twenty- second solution means, is to adjust the stop position when the plunger is advanced to a contact position (12) where the position of the tip of the plunger contacts the inner wall of the liquid chamber. The first step of bringing the front contact portion (43) and the front stopper (51) into contact with each other, the moving member (with the front contact portion (43) and the front stopper (51) in contact state) 30) is advanced and retracted by a desired distance, and the position of the tip of the plunger is set to a desired distance from the contact position (12) by the second step.

[0016]
According to a twenty-fourth solution means, in the twenty- third solution means, the tip of the plunger is configured to block the discharge port at a contact position (12) where the tip of the plunger contacts the inner wall of the liquid chamber. In step 1, it is determined whether or not the position of the tip of the plunger is at the contact position (12) based on whether or not the liquid material flows out from the discharge port.
If the tip of the plunger is configured to prevent the discharge port at the contact position, the liquid material will not leak from the discharge port when the tip is at the contact position, but the plunger and the tip are discharged by the backward movement of the plunger. If a gap is formed between the outlet and the liquid material, the liquid material leaks from the discharge port. Therefore, it is possible to determine whether or not the tip of the plunger is in the contact position due to the leakage of the liquid material.
[0017]
According to a twenty-fifth solution means according to any one of the seventeenth to twenty- fourth solution means, the plunger has a rear contact part (45) on the backward direction side of the front contact part (43), and the rear contact part. A rear stopper (52) is provided that faces the portion (45) and can be moved back and forth, and the rear abutting portion (45) is brought into contact with the rear stopper (52) to restrict the backward movement of the plunger. It is characterized by doing.
Solution of the first 26, in any one of solutions of the 17 to 25, and supplying the conjunction with the liquid material with forward and backward movement of the plunger in the liquid chamber.
A twenty-seventh solving means is characterized in that, in any of the seventeenth to twenty-sixth solving means, the liquid material is a liquid material containing a filler.
According to a twenty-eighth solution, in any one of the seventeenth to twenty-seventh solutions , the pressure applied to the liquid material in the liquid chamber is changed in conjunction with the forward / backward movement of the plunger.

A twenty-eighth solution means according to any one of the nineteenth to twenty-seventh solution means, wherein the plunger has a rear contact part (45) on the backward direction side of the front contact part (43). A rear stopper (52) is provided that faces the portion (45) and can be moved back and forth, and the rear abutting portion (45) is brought into contact with the rear stopper (52) to restrict the backward movement of the plunger. It is characterized by doing.
According to a twenty-ninth solution means, in any one of the nineteenth to twenty-eighth solution means, the liquid chamber has a liquid material supply port through which a liquid material is supplied, and the plunger moves forward and backward in the liquid material supply port. The liquid material is supplied in conjunction with
A thirtieth solving means is characterized in that, in any of the nineteenth to twenty-ninth solving means, the liquid material is a liquid material containing a filler.
The thirty-first solving means is characterized in that, in any of the nineteenth to thirty-third solving means, the liquid material in the liquid chamber is pressurized and depressurized in conjunction with the forward and backward movement of the plunger.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a droplet discharge technique in which the tip of the plunger can be discharged without contact with the inner wall of the liquid chamber, and even a liquid material containing filler such as cream solder is good. It is possible to perform proper discharge.

1 is an external view of a droplet discharge device according to Embodiment 1. FIG. It is drawing which showed the main body of FIG. 1, the discharge block, and the front stop position adjustment mechanism in the cross section. It is a principal part side view (1/3) for demonstrating the stop position setting of a plunger. It is a principal part side view (2/3) for demonstrating the stop position setting of a plunger. It is a principal part side view (3/3) for demonstrating the stop position setting of a plunger. It is the board | substrate which is a coating target object which showed the discharge position. It is a timing chart (1/2) showing operation etc. of a plunger rod. It is a timing chart (2/2) showing operation etc. of a plunger rod. FIG. 10 is an external view and a main part sectional view of a droplet discharge device according to a fourth embodiment. FIG. 10 is an external view and a cross-sectional view of a main part of a droplet discharge device according to Embodiment 5. FIG. 10 is an external view and a main part sectional view of a droplet discharge device according to a sixth embodiment. FIG. 10A is an external view of a droplet discharge device according to an eighth embodiment, and FIG.

Explanation of symbols

The legend of the main symbols used in the drawings is shown below.
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Setting part / 2 Control part / 3 Air type dispenser / 4 Air tube / 5 Liquid material storage container / 6 Liquid feed tube / 7 Pump / 8 Liquid feed member / 10 Discharge port / 11 Nozzle / 12 Contact position / 13 Tip / 14 Liquid chamber / 16 Liquid material supply port / 17 Liquid material supply flow path / 18 Seal / 21 Front recess / 22 Back recess / 23 Slide recess / 24 Through hole / 25 Slide hole / 26 Through hole / 27 Base member / 29 Memory / 30 Moving member / 31 Front convex part / 32 Rotation knob / 33 Rear convex part / 34 Through hole / 40 Plunger / 41 Plunger rod / 42 Connection part / 43 Front contact part / 44 Piston / 45 Rear contact Contact / 48 Front air flow path / 49 Rear air flow path / 51 Front stopper / 52 Rear stopper / 53 Long hole / 54 Fixing screw / 61 Piston chamber / 62 Front piston chamber / 63 Rear Stone chamber / 64 Spring chamber / 66 Coil spring / 67 Electromagnetic coil / 68 Core / 69 Micrometer / 70 Drive unit / 71 Main body / 72 Electromagnetic valve (electromagnetic switching valve) / 73 Air supply source / 80 Discharge unit / 81 Discharge block / 85 collar / 86 collar holding member / 99 Liquid material discharged in the form of droplets

An apparatus of the best mode for carrying out the present invention includes a liquid chamber having a discharge port for discharging a liquid material, a through-hole communicating with the liquid chamber, and a through-hole inserted into the liquid chamber. A plunger that moves, a plunger moving mechanism that moves the plunger back and forth, and a plunger position determination mechanism that regulates the position of the tip of the plunger, the tip of the plunger and the inner wall of the liquid chamber are non-contact In this state, the plunger is moved forward and stopped, and the liquid material is subjected to inertial force to be discharged into a liquid droplet state. The plunger position determining mechanism The droplet discharge device is characterized in that the position of the tip of the jar is defined in the vicinity of the inner wall of the liquid chamber in the advance direction (preferably, in the vicinity of the inner wall and the discharge port in the advance direction). Here, the plunger position determining mechanism has a front abutting portion provided on the plunger and a front stopper facing the front abutting portion, and the plunger is determined by abutting the front abutting portion on the front stopper. The stop position at the time of advancement is determined. The plunger position determining mechanism is a mechanism for determining a stop position when the plunger is advanced and / or a stop position when the plunger is retracted.
In the apparatus of the present invention, it is preferable to adjust the stop position when the plunger is advanced to an optimal position in order to perform good discharge. In order to make this adjustment, the concept of a specified state was created, and the optimal position adjustment can be realized by adjusting the stop position when the plunger is advanced based on the specified state. Here, the prescribed state refers to a state in which the position of the tip of the plunger is at a contact position where it contacts the inner wall of the liquid chamber, and the front contact portion and the front stopper are in contact.

By using the specified state as a reference, the stop position when the plunger is advanced can be adjusted to the optimum state, but it is difficult to visually recognize the internal situation such as the plunger tip position from the outside due to the structure of the device. Therefore, it is necessary to provide a member for grasping the specified state. The specific member to be provided is a matter of design, but is generally determined based on the following three methods.
First, after the front contact portion and the front stopper are brought into a contact state, the front contact portion and the front stopper are moved forward in a state in which the front contact portion and the front stopper are physically limited. Then, the forward abutting portion and the front stopper are advanced and retracted by a desired distance to adjust the stop position when the plunger is advanced, and then the restriction on the separation between the front abutting portion and the front stopper is released. . Example 1 described later is based on this method.
Secondly, after the plunger is moved forward and the tip position is set to the contact position, the front stopper is moved backward to a specified state with the movement of the plunger physically restricted, and then the plunger is moved backward. This is a technique in which the front stopper is moved forward and backward after the movement restriction is released. Example 4 to be described later is based on this method.
Third, when the plunger is urged by the elastic body in the advance direction, and the front end is in contact with the inner wall of the liquid chamber, the front stopper is connected to the plunger. Advance the plunger to a position that does not restrict advancement, move the plunger to the contact position, move the front stopper back until the liquid material flows out from the discharge port, and then set it to the specified state. This is a method of adjusting the stop position when the plunger is advanced by moving the contact portion and the front stopper forward and backward by a desired distance. Example 7 to be described later is based on this method.

  Hereinafter, the details of the present invention will be described with reference to examples, but the present invention is not limited to the following examples.

"Constitution"
FIG. 1 is an overall external view of the droplet discharge device of this embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a front stop position adjusting mechanism such as a main body 71, a discharge block 81, and a moving member 30 of FIG. In the following, for convenience of explanation, the nozzle 11 side may be referred to as the front and the micrometer 69 side may be referred to as the rear.
This apparatus mainly includes a drive unit 70 installed on the base member 27, a discharge unit 80, and a moving member 30 installed therebetween.

[1] The drive unit 70 will be described.
The drive unit 70 has a main body 71 and a plunger 40 that moves while sliding in the main body 71.
The plunger 40 includes a plunger rod 41 having a hemispherical tip and an elongated cylindrical rod on the front side thereof. The rear side of the plunger rod 41 forms a connecting portion 42 that is cylindrical and has a diameter larger than that of the plunger rod 41. The rear side of the connecting portion 42 constitutes a cylindrical front abutting portion 43 having a diameter larger than that of the connecting portion 42. The rear side of the front contact portion 43 constitutes a cylindrical piston 44 having a diameter larger than that of the front contact portion 43 and the same diameter as the piston chamber 61. The rear side of the piston 44 constitutes a rear abutting portion 45 that is a cylindrical bar shape.
Both the front contact portion 43 and the rear contact portion 45 act to determine the position of the tip 13 of the plunger rod 41. The plunger rod 41, the connecting portion 42, the front contact portion 43, the piston 44, and the rear contact portion 45 are all arranged with the same axis.
In addition, the structure of the plunger 40 is not limited to the thing of a present Example, The shape etc. are design matters. For example, it is assumed that the equivalent purpose is achieved by the plunger having the shape composed only of the plunger rod 41 and the piston 44 of the present embodiment.

  The main body 71 includes a sliding recess 23, a through hole 24, a piston chamber 61, and a spring chamber 64 as its internal space. These spaces are arranged with the same axis.

  The sliding recess 23 is a cylindrical space connected to the through hole 24 from the front end side of the main body 71. The inner diameter of the sliding recess 23 is larger than the through hole 24. The inner diameter of the sliding recess 23 is formed in accordance with the rear protrusion 33 of the moving member 30 inserted therein.

  The through hole 24 is a cylindrical space having a smaller diameter than the sliding recess 23 connected to the front side. The connecting portion 42 inserted into the through hole 24 has an outer diameter equal to the inner diameter of the through hole 24. Therefore, when the plunger 40 moves back and forth, the plunger rod 41 does not move in the lateral direction. Here, a ring-shaped seal 18B is fitted in a groove provided in the inner wall of the through hole 24, and the plunger 40 is configured to be movable back and forth with the seal 18B and the connecting portion 42 in close contact with each other. Therefore, the air in the piston chamber 61 does not leak forward.

The piston chamber 61 is a cylindrical space having a larger diameter than the through hole 24 connected to the front side, and is divided into a front piston chamber 62 and a rear piston chamber 63 by the inserted piston 44. Here, a ring-shaped seal 18A is fitted in a groove provided on the peripheral surface of the piston 44, and the plunger 40 is configured to move back and forth in a state where the seal 18A is in close contact with the inner wall of the piston chamber 61. Therefore, the air in the front piston chamber 62 and the rear piston chamber 63 does not leak to the opposite side beyond the seal 18A.
The front surface of the inner wall of the front piston chamber 62 constitutes a front stopper 51 that the front abutting portion 43 abuts to restrict the forward movement of the plunger 40.
A front air flow path 48 that connects the front piston chamber 62 and the outside is provided on a side surface of the front piston chamber 62.

  The spring chamber 64 has a cylindrical shape with a smaller diameter than the piston chamber 61 connected to the front side. The spring chamber 64 is provided with a coil spring 66 that presses the rear end portion and the rear end surface of the piston 44 away from each other. That is, the plunger 40 is pressed forward by the coil spring 66. A rear stopper 52 and a rear contact portion 45 are disposed in the ring of the coil spring 66 so as to face each other. One end of the rear stopper 52 is connected to a micrometer 69 disposed outside the rear end of the main body 71. The micrometer 69 is a rear stopper moving mechanism that moves the rear stopper 52 back and forth by rotating it. The micrometer 69 can fix its rotation by a rotation lock member (not shown) provided on the micrometer 69 and can fix the position of the rear stopper 52. A rear air flow path 49 connected to the outside is provided on the side surface of the spring chamber 64.

An electromagnetic switching valve 72 is fixed on the outer wall of the main body 71. One of the electromagnetic switching valves 72 communicates with the front air flow path 48 and the other communicates with the air supply source 73. The electromagnetic switching valve 72 can switch communication between the front piston chamber 62 and the air supply source 73 or the outside.
Two long holes 53 </ b> A and 53 </ b> B that penetrate from the front to the back are provided on the outer wall of the main body 71. The main body 71 is fixed by fixing screws 54A and 54B that pass through the long holes 53A and 53B and are screwed into the screw holes of the base member 27. When the fixing screws 54A and 54B are loosened, the main body 71 can move back and forth with respect to the base member 27, and when the fixing screws 54A and 54B are tightened, the main body 71 is fixed so that it cannot move with respect to the base member 27.

[2] The discharge unit 80 will be described.
The discharge unit 80 includes a rectangular parallelepiped discharge block 81 and a nozzle 11. The discharge block 81 is fixed to the base member 27.
The discharge block 81 has, as its internal space, a front recess 21 provided on the front end surface, a rear recess 22 provided on the rear end surface, a through hole 26 connecting them, and a liquid material supply channel 17 communicating with the front recess 21. With. The front concave portion 21, the rear concave portion 22 provided on the rear end surface, and the through hole 26 are arranged with the same axis.
The front concave portion 21 and the rear concave portion 22 are cylindrical and have a thread groove on the inner peripheral side surface.
A nozzle 11 having a discharge port 10 at its tip is screwed into the front recess 21. That is, the screw groove provided on the outer peripheral surface behind the nozzle 11 is screwed into the screw groove of the front recess 21, and the nozzle 11 is fixed to the discharge block 81. Since the nozzle 11 is fixed by a screw, it can be easily replaced, and nozzles having different shapes and sizes can be used according to the application.
The inner side of the nozzle 11 of this embodiment has a mortar shape, and a space surrounded by the inner wall of the nozzle 11 and the inner wall of the front recess 21 constitutes the liquid chamber 14.

Since the inner diameter of the through hole 26 is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the plunger rod 41, the outer diameter of the plunger rod 41 and the inner wall of the through hole 26 do not contact during operation. A ring-shaped seal 18C is fitted in a groove provided on the inner peripheral surface of the through hole 26, and the plunger 40 is configured to be movable back and forth while the seal 18C is kept in close contact with the plunger rod 41. Therefore, the liquid material in the liquid chamber 14 does not leak backward beyond the seal 18C.
One end of the liquid material supply channel 17 constitutes the liquid material supply port 16 provided on the inner peripheral surface of the front recess 21, and the other end is connected to the liquid feed tube 6 connected to the outer side surface of the discharge block 81. Communicated.

[3] The moving member 30 will be described.
The moving member 30 includes a cylindrical front convex portion 31, a disk-shaped rotary knob 32, and a cylindrical rear convex portion 33, and is disposed between the drive unit 70 and the discharge unit 80. The front convex portion 31, the rotary knob 32, and the rear convex portion 33 are arranged with the same axis, and a through hole 34 is provided on the central axis thereof. The inner diameter of the through hole 34 is such a size that the side surface of the plunger rod 41 does not come into contact when the plunger rod 41 is inserted.
The front convex portion 31 has a cylindrical shape, and has a thread groove for screwing into the rear concave portion 22 of the discharge unit 80 on the outer peripheral surface.
The rotary knob 32 constitutes a memory corresponding to a position display member (movement amount confirmation member) on the surface, and the rotated angle can be seen from the outside (see FIG. 1). A change in the position of the moving member 30 can be quantitatively known by the rotary knob 32.
The outer diameter of the rear protrusion 33 is equal to the inner diameter of the sliding recess 23 of the drive unit 70 and is inserted into the sliding recess 23.

The moving member 30, the drive unit 70, and the discharge unit 80 are arranged so that the tip 13 of the plunger rod 41 reaches the liquid chamber 14 through the through hole 24, the through hole 34, and the through hole 26.
With respect to the plunger rod 41 inserted into the liquid chamber 14, the discharge port 10 of the nozzle 11 is arranged with the same axis. When the plunger rod 41 moves forward, the tip 13 of the planer rod 41 contacts the inner wall of the liquid chamber 14 so as to close the discharge port 10. This position is called a contact position 12. This corresponds to the seating position with the valve seat in the conventional device, but the device of this embodiment does not have a valve seat.

[4] Other components In addition to the above components, the apparatus of the present embodiment includes a setting unit 1, a control unit 2, an air dispenser 3, and a liquid material storage container 5.
A liquid material storage container 5 for storing a liquid material for discharging droplets therein has a liquid feed tube 6 connected to the lower end thereof. Here, the liquid material in the present embodiment is a solder paste containing solder particles. An air tube 4 is connected to the upper end of the liquid material storage container 5 and communicates with an air supply port of the air dispenser 3.
The air-type dispenser 3 supplies air with a set pressure for a set time, and is connected to the control unit 2. The control unit 2 is connected to the setting unit 1 for the user to change the setting, and is also connected to the electromagnetic switching valve 72.
In addition to the above configuration, when the liquid material is easily affected by temperature, the temperature is controlled to a desired location such as the air tube 4, the liquid material storage container 5, the liquid chamber 14, and the liquid material supply channel 17. A temperature control device may be provided.

<Operation>
The operation of the apparatus of this embodiment will be described.
[5] Setting of Stop Position of Plunger 40 This will be described with reference to FIG. First, the electromagnetic switching valve 72 is switched to a state in which the front piston chamber 62 communicates with the outside, and the rotary knob 32 is rotated so that the moving member 30 has moved forward.
Since the front piston chamber 62 is opened to the outside, the piston 44 moves forward with respect to the main body 71 by the action of the coil spring 66, and the front contact portion 43 contacts the front stopper 51 and stops. Subsequently, the plunger 40 and the main body 71 are fixed by rotating the micrometer 69 to advance the rear stopper 52 and bringing it into contact with the rear contact portion 45. And it fixes with rotation lock members, such as a fixing screw which is not illustrated, so that micrometer 69 may not rotate.
If the elastic force of the coil spring 66 is sufficient, the front contact portion 43 and the front stopper 51 can be maintained in contact with each other without being fixed by the micrometer 69. Further, a fixing member other than the micrometer 69 may be provided so that the piston 44 cannot move backward from the state where the front contact portion 43 contacts the front stopper 51.

When the fixing screws 54A and 54B are loosened so that the main body 71 can move back and forth with respect to the base member 27, the drive unit 70 moves forward by its own weight when the nozzle 11 faces downward (manually, manually). May move). Here, since the outer diameter of the rear protrusion 33 and the inner diameter of the sliding recess 23 are formed to be substantially equal, the drive unit 70 does not shake laterally when the drive unit 70 moves forward.
Since the rear stopper 52 and the rear abutting portion 45 are fixed in contact with each other, the drive unit 70 moves downward when the tip 13 of the plunger rod 41 reaches the contact position 12 where it contacts the inner wall of the liquid chamber 14. The movement is limited by the plunger 40. This state is called a specified state.
With the distal end 13 of the plunger rod 41 at the contact position 12 and the rear contact portion 45 in contact with the rear stopper 52, the fixing screws 54A and 54B are tightened to fix the main body 71 to the base member 27. .
The moving member 30 is in the forefront, and there is a gap between the front surface of the main body 71 and the rear surface of the rotary knob 32.

Hereinafter, a description will be given with reference to FIG.
When the rotary knob 32 is rotated rightward, only the moving member 30 moves backward. This is because the rear concave portion 22 and the front convex portion 31 of the discharge block 81 fixed to the base member 27 are screwed together with screws, and the sliding concave portion 23 and the rear convex portion 33 are slidable.
As the rotary knob 32 continues to rotate to the right, the rear surface of the rotary knob 32 comes into contact with the front surface of the main body 71. Since the main body 71 is fixed to the base member 27 by the fixing screws 54A and 54B, when the rear surface of the rotary knob 32 comes into contact with the main body 71, the rotary knob 32 does not rotate any more. The memory 29 of the moving member 30, since the value S ₀ in the case of the advanced time stop position defined state is displayed, and stores this value.

Hereinafter, a description will be given with reference to FIG.
When the fixing screws 54A and 54B are loosened and the rotary knob 32 is further rotated, the rear surface of the rotary knob 32 presses the main body 71 rearward while sliding against the front end surface of the main body 71. Since the main body 71 is in a state in which it can move forward and backward, it moves rearward together with the moving member 30. The amount of movement of the body 71, by comparing the value S ₀ in the case of a defined state values of the memory 29 and advancing the stop position, it is possible to accurately grasp the distance between the tip 13 and the contact position 12.
When the main body 71 moves rearward, the plunger 40 moves rearward due to the action of the front abutting portion 43 in contact with the front stopper 51, so that the tip 13 of the plunger rod 41 moves away from the contact position 12.
If the user moves backward by a desired distance while checking the memory 29, the rotation of the rotary knob 32 is stopped. If it moves too far, the rotary knob 32 is turned in the reverse direction to adjust. Since the position of the moving member 30 at this time is the stop position when the plunger 40 is advanced, the value S _{1 of the} memory 29 is stored. In addition, it is preferable to obtain a preferable stop position when the planer 40 is advanced by conducting a test in advance.
With the above operation, the stop position when the plunger 40 is advanced can be adjusted to a desired position where the tip 13 of the plunger rod 41 does not contact the contact position 12.
When the adjustment of the stop position when the plunger 40 is advanced is completed, the fixing screws 54 </ b> A and 54 </ b> B are tightened to fix the drive unit 70 to the base member 27. Further, a fixing screw (not shown) for fixing the rotation of the rotary knob 32 is tightened.

Hereinafter, a description will be given with reference to FIG.
The micrometer 69 is rotated to retract the rear stopper 52 to determine the amount of movement of the plunger 40 during retraction during discharge. When the amount of movement of the plunger 40 when retreating is determined, the micrometer 69 is fixed by a rotation lock member such as a fixing screw (not shown) so that the micrometer 69 does not rotate. With the above operation, the setting operation of the stop position of the plunger 40 is completed.

In the second and subsequent operations, the plunger 40 moves forward by moving the body, that is, the front stopper 51 backward by the moving member by a desired distance (S ₁ -S ₀ ) after setting to the specified state. The stop position can be set to the same position as the previous time. Therefore, once the test is performed and the stop position at the time of advancement of the plunger 40 capable of good discharge is recorded, the setting operation can be performed without performing the test thereafter.
However, when temperature, humidity, or other uncontrolled factors change, the preferred stop position when the plunger 40 is advanced changes, so that good discharge cannot be obtained with the same setting as the previous time. Therefore, it is necessary to perform a test. In this case as well, the time spent for the test can be shortened by starting the stop position when the plunger 40 is advanced from the previous position. This is because, when the discharge conditions other than the environmental change are the same, the preferred stop position when the plunger 40 is advanced does not change greatly.

  Note that a value indicating the position of the moving member 30 may be displayed by a display device such as a liquid crystal instead of the memory 29. In this case, if the value indicating the position in the specified state is set to be displayed as zero, it is possible for the plunger 40 to grasp the preferable backward distance from the contact position 12 from the display value.

[6] Discharge Operation 1) Setting Before Discharge Operation The pressure of the air supplied from the air supply source 73 to the front piston chamber 62 is a pressure that can move the piston 44 backward against the coil spring 66.
The pressure of the air supplied from the air dispenser 3 to the liquid material storage container 5 is a desired pressure for supplying the liquid material to the liquid chamber 14. The time (timing) for supplying air from the air-type dispenser 3 is set so that the liquid material does not leak from the discharge port 10 as will be described later.

2) Standby state before discharge operation In the following, reference is made to FIG.
A signal is sent from the control unit to the electromagnetic switching valve 72 so that the front piston chamber 62 communicates with the outside (ie, the atmosphere is open). When the front piston chamber 62 is opened to the atmosphere, the piston 44 is moved forward by the coil spring 66 and stopped in a state where the front contact portion 43 is in contact with the front stopper 51.
The position of the front stopper 51 has been adjusted by the prior setting, and the distance between the tip 13 of the plunger rod 41 and the contact position 12 in the liquid chamber 14 is a desired distance. The liquid chamber 14 is filled with the liquid material from the liquid material storage container 5. This is because air is supplied into the liquid material storage container 5 by the air-type dispenser 3 in a state in which the distal end 13 of the plunger rod 41 is separated from the discharge port 10, and is supplied to the liquid chamber 14 via the liquid feed tube 6. It is done by sending in.

  In the standby state, air is not supplied from the air-type dispenser 3 to the liquid material storage container 5. That is, the inside of the liquid material storage container 5 is open to the atmosphere, and the transfer of the liquid material is stopped. In this state, even if there is a gap between the tip 13 of the plunger rod 41 and the contact position 12 in the liquid chamber 14, the liquid material does not leak from the discharge port 10 of the nozzle 11. Here, even if there is no supply of pressurized air, the force of trying to transfer the liquid material into the liquid chamber 14 due to the weight of the liquid material works, but the tip 13 of the plunger rod 41 and the contact position in the liquid chamber 14 Since the gap with 12 is very small, it usually does not leak due to its own weight. However, if there is a risk of leakage of the liquid material due to various uncontrolled conditions or the like, the liquid material from the nozzle 11 is sucked by the air-type dispenser 3 by sucking the air in the liquid material storage container 5. It may be possible to prevent leakage of the air.

3) Discharge Operation Hereinafter, reference is made to FIG.
A signal is sent from the control unit to the electromagnetic switching valve 72 so that the air supply source 73 communicates with the front piston chamber 62 through the front air flow path 48. When air is supplied from the air supply source 73 to the front piston chamber 62, the supplied air pushes the piston 44 rearward, so that the coil spring 66 contracts and the piston 44 moves rearward. At this time, air is supplied from the air-type dispenser 3 to keep the liquid material storage container 5 in a pressurized state. Thus, when the plunger 40 is also retracted by the retraction of the piston 44, the liquid material is immediately supplied to the space occupied by the plunger rod 41 in the liquid chamber 14. Therefore, even if the plunger rod 41 is retracted, the liquid chamber 14 does not have a negative pressure, and the problem of sucking air from the discharge port 10 does not occur.
As described above, the backward movement of the plunger 40 is restricted by the rear contact portion 45 contacting the rear stopper 52.
In the present embodiment, air is constantly pressurized in the liquid material storage container 5 during the discharge operation.

Hereinafter, reference is made to FIG.
A signal is sent from the control unit to the electromagnetic switching valve 72 to bring the front piston chamber 62 into communication with the outside. When the front piston chamber 62 is opened to the atmosphere, the piston 44 is pushed by the coil spring 66, and the plunger 40 moves forward rapidly. When the front contact portion 43 of the piston 44 contacts the front stopper 51 of the piston chamber 61, the forward movement of the plunger 40 stops abruptly. The distal end 13 of the plunger rod 41 also stops before coming into contact with the inner wall of the liquid chamber 14.
The advancement of the plunger 40 gives a forward inertial force to the liquid material in front of the tip 13 of the plunger rod 41. The distal end 13 of the plunger rod 41 stops immediately before the contact position 12 as described above, but the liquid material is discharged in the form of droplets from the discharge port 10 by the inertial force applied to the liquid material by the plunger rod 41. The At this time, since the tip 13 of the plunger rod 41 does not come into contact with the liquid chamber 14, there is no need to worry about adverse effects on the discharge of fillers such as particles contained in the liquid material in the liquid chamber 14.
In order to discharge from the discharge port 10 in the form of droplets, the position of the tip 13 of the planer rod 41 when moving forward and stopping is preferably as close to the contact position 12 as possible. The advancing stop position is preferably as close as possible so that the tip 13 of the plunger rod 41 and the inner wall of the liquid chamber 14 are not crushed with the filler interposed therebetween.

The discharging operation is performed by repeating the above operation.
In the apparatus of the present embodiment, one discharge is completed by reciprocating the plunger 40 once (retracting / forward). By repeating this one-time discharge, it is possible to discharge continuously. The plunger 40 reciprocates on the order of 0.01 seconds to 0.1 seconds.
As described above, according to the apparatus of the present embodiment, the plunger 40 is stopped by the front stopper 51, so that even the plunger 40 moving at high speed can be suddenly stopped at an accurate position, which is sufficient for the liquid material. Inertial force can be applied.

Although the apparatus of Example 1 always pressurized air in the liquid material storage container 5 after the start of the discharge operation, the apparatus of the present example stored the liquid material even after the start of the discharge operation. The supply of air to the container 5 is stopped. That is, in this embodiment, in the apparatus according to the first embodiment, the liquid material can be more reliably prevented from leaking from the discharge port 10 through the space between the tip 13 of the plunger rod 41 and the liquid chamber 14. To realize.
The discharge control of this embodiment will be described with reference to the time charts of FIGS. 6 and 7A.
FIG. 6 shows a substrate which is a coating object indicating the discharge position. Points (i) to (iv) in the figure are positions where ejection is performed. The discharge device moves at a constant speed in the direction of the arrow in the figure without stopping during discharge. For the movement, either the substrate or the discharge device may be moved.

FIG. 7A is a timing chart showing the operation of the plunger rod 41, the pressurized state of the air dispenser 3, and the state of the electromagnetic switching valve 72. In FIG. 7A, the graph of the electromagnetic switching valve 72 indicates that the state where the front piston chamber 62 communicates with the air supply source 73 is ON, and the state where the front piston chamber 62 communicates with the outside is OFF. . In the graph of the air-type dispenser 3, the state in which pressurized air is being supplied is ON.
In order for the plunger rod 41 to move forward at each discharge position in FIG. 6 to perform discharge, the plunger rod 41 needs to start retreating before the discharge position.

When the discharge port 10 approaches the discharge position (i) in FIG. 6 (time a), the electromagnetic switching valve 72 is switched ON by a signal from the control unit, and the plunger rod 41 moves backward. At the same time, the air-type dispenser 3 is turned on by a signal from the control unit, the pressurized air is supplied into the liquid material storage container 5, and the supply of the liquid material to the liquid chamber 14 is started.
The backward movement of the plunger rod 41 is completed before the discharge port 10 reaches the discharge position (i). When the discharge device reaches the discharge position (i) (time b), the electromagnetic switching valve 72 is switched OFF by the signal from the control unit, and the plunger rod 41 moves forward.
The supply of pressurized air from the air dispenser 3 is automatically turned off after a set time has elapsed. Then, as the plunger rod 41 advances, droplets are discharged from the discharge port 10 of the nozzle 11.

The discharge port 10 continues to move on the substrate toward the discharge position (ii). The plunger rod 41 does not move in the front-rear direction until the plunger rod 41 starts to move backward until it reaches the discharge position (ii), that is, until the next discharge starts. In addition, the distal end 13 of the plunger rod 41 does not block the discharge port 10. In this state, since the air-type dispenser 3 does not supply pressurized air into the liquid material storage container 5 and does not supply the liquid material into the liquid chamber 14, the liquid material leaks from the discharge port 10. There is no.
The operation between times c and e is the same as that between times a and c. That is, the operation of discharging to the discharge position (iii) after discharging at the discharge position (ii) is the same as the operation of discharging to the discharge position (ii) after discharging at the discharge position (i).

In FIG. 6, the discharge positions (iii) and (iv) are very close to each other. The operation in such a case will be described.
When the discharge port 10 approaches the discharge position (iii) (time e), the electromagnetic switching valve 72 is switched ON by a signal from the control unit, and the plunger rod 41 moves backward. At the same time, the air dispenser 3 is turned on by a signal from the control unit, pressurized air is supplied into the liquid material storage container 5, and the liquid material is supplied to the liquid chamber 14.
The backward movement of the plunger rod 41 is completed before the discharge port 10 reaches the discharge position (iii). When the discharge port 10 reaches the discharge position (iii) (time f), the electromagnetic switching valve 72 is switched OFF by a signal from the control unit, and the plunger rod 41 that has completed the reverse movement moves forward.
Since the discharge at the discharge position (iv) needs to be performed immediately after the discharge at the discharge position (iii) is completed, the air dispenser 3 continues to supply pressurized air. That is, the air dispenser 3 remains ON. As the plunger rod 41 advances, the liquid material is discharged from the discharge port 10 of the nozzle 11 to the discharge position (iii) in the form of droplets.

After the forward movement of the plunger rod 41 is completed, the discharge port 10 is in a position approaching the discharge position (iv), and is time g. Immediately, the electromagnetic switching valve 72 is switched ON by the signal from the control unit, and the plunger rod 41 moves backward. Since the air dispenser 3 remains ON, the liquid material is supplied into the liquid chamber 14.
The backward movement of the plunger rod 41 is completed before the discharge port 10 reaches the discharge position (iv). At the time when the discharge port 10 reaches the discharge position (iv), that is, at the time h, the electromagnetic switching valve 72 is switched OFF by the signal from the control unit, and the plunger rod 41 that has completed the retraction moves forward. .
Since the discharge is not performed immediately after the discharge position (iv), the air dispenser 3 is turned OFF and the supply of pressurized air into the liquid material storage container 5 is stopped. As the plunger rod 41 advances, the liquid material is discharged from the discharge port 10 of the nozzle 11 to the discharge position (iv) in the form of droplets.

Thus, in the present embodiment, when the plunger rod 41 between the discharges is stopped, the supply of pressurized air to the liquid material storage container 5 by the air-type dispenser 3 is stopped, and the liquid By stopping the supply of the liquid material into the chamber 14, the liquid material is prevented from leaking from the gap of the discharge port 10.
In addition, when the discharge is close to the discharge, such as the discharge at the discharge positions (iii) and (iv), from the completion of the discharge at the discharge position (iii) to the start of the discharge at the discharge position (iv) Therefore, even if there is a time when the plunger rod 41 is stopped, the liquid material hardly leaks from the discharge port 10. Therefore, there is no problem even if discharging is performed without stopping the supply of pressurized air to the liquid material storage container 5 by the air-type dispenser 3.
If the discharge is affected even when the interval between the discharges is short, the supply of pressurized air is stopped as in the movement from the discharge position (i) to (ii).

Further, the supply of pressurized air by the air-type dispenser 3 is stopped until the discharge to the next substrate is completed after the discharge to the substrate in FIG. The supply is stopped so that the liquid material does not leak from the discharge port 10.
Since the appropriate supply time of the pressurized air by the air dispenser 3 varies depending on the liquid material and the discharge conditions, an appropriate time is obtained and set by performing tests and calculations before the start of discharge. Here, the timing of stopping the supply of pressurized air may be stopped before the plunger rod 41 starts moving forward, or may be stopped after the plunger rod 41 completes moving forward, depending on the discharge conditions, etc. Select as appropriate.
In this embodiment, the supply time of pressurized air by the air dispenser 3 is controlled by the air dispenser 3, but the supply of pressurized air may be stopped by sending a signal from the control unit. .

The time until the liquid material is transferred into the liquid chamber 14 by the supply of air from the air dispenser 3, the electromagnetic switching valve 72 is switched, the air supply source 73 and the front piston chamber 62 are communicated, and the plunger rod 41 There may be a difference in the time until the vehicle moves backward.
FIG. 7B shows that the time until the liquid material is transferred into the liquid chamber 14 by the supply of air from the air-type dispenser 3 is switched between the electromagnetic switching valve 72 and the air supply source 73 and the front piston chamber 62. It is a timing chart in case it is late compared with the time until it communicates and the plunger rod 41 reverse | retreats.
Since the liquid material is transferred into the liquid chamber 14 by supplying pressurized air from the air-type dispenser 3 into the liquid material storage container 5, a time lag is likely to occur. Even if a liquid feeding device other than the air-type dispenser 3 is used, a time lag occurs.
In this case, when the plunger rod 41 is retracted, the liquid chamber 14 is started by advancing the time for starting the supply of pressurized air from the air dispenser 3 to the liquid material storage container 5 with respect to the time for switching the electromagnetic switching valve 72. The liquid material is supplied to the inside. The control of the operation time is performed by the control unit sending a signal to the air dispenser 3 and the electromagnetic switching valve 72.

The difference between the time when the air-type dispenser 3 starts supplying air to the liquid material storage container 5 and the time when the electromagnetic switching valve 72 switches the valve to start the plunger rod 41 retracting is referred to as a deviation time. The deviation time is set by the setting unit 1. The setting in the setting unit 1 includes a case where an operator inputs a shift time to a keyboard, a controller, or the like, or a case where it is automatically set by computer calculation.
In this embodiment, as shown in the time chart of FIG. 7B, based on the signal from the control unit, the time a ′ and the time c ′ where the start of the supply of pressurized air by the air-type dispenser 3 is advanced by the amount of the deviation time. At time e ′. By doing in this way, the influence by deviation | shift time can be eliminated. The apparatus configuration and other controls are the same as those in the second embodiment.
The operation of the plunger rod 41 and the start of the supply of the liquid material to the liquid chamber 14 can be performed at the same time, or can be performed at a timing that is deliberately shifted within a range where the discharge is performed satisfactorily. is there.

As shown in FIG. 8, the apparatus according to the present embodiment has a configuration in which the rear convex portion 33 of the moving member 30 directly hits the front contact portion 43 and the main body 71 does not move. The main body 71 is fixed to the base member 27 so that it cannot move back and forth.
The front convex portion 31 of the moving member 30 is screwed into the rear concave portion 22 of the discharge block 81. The rear protrusion 33 is slidably inserted into the slide hole 25 of the main body 71. The rear end surface of the rear convex portion 33 constitutes a front stopper 51 and reaches the inside of the front piston chamber 62. The inner peripheral surface of the sliding hole 25 has an annular groove, and a ring-shaped seal 18D is provided in this groove. Since the seal 18D is in close contact with the moving member 30 and maintains the close contact state even when the moving member 30 moves relative to the main body 71, the air in the piston chamber 61 does not leak outside through this gap.
A through hole 34 through which the plunger 40 is inserted is formed in the central axis of the moving member 30. Since the inner diameter of the through hole 34 is equal to the outer diameter of the connecting portion 42, the plunger 40 does not move laterally. An annular groove is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the through hole 34, and a ring-shaped seal 18E is provided in this groove. Since the seal 18E is in close contact with the connecting portion 42 and maintains the close contact state when the plunger 40 moves back and forth with respect to the moving member 30, the air in the piston chamber 61 leaks outside through this gap. There is no.
When the rotary knob 32 is rotated rightward, the front stopper 51 moves rearward with respect to the contact position 12. When the rotary knob 32 rotates in the reverse direction, the moving member 30 moves forward with respect to the contact position 12. A memory 29 is provided on the surface of the rotary knob 32 as in the first embodiment.
The nozzle 11 is fitted in the front recess 21 of the discharge block 81. A cylindrical space formed inside the nozzle 11 is the liquid chamber 14. The liquid chamber 14 is a space having a diameter larger than that of the plunger rod 41, and has a discharge port 10 in the front center portion. The position where the tip 13 of the plunger rod 41 is moved forward and is in contact with the inner wall of the liquid chamber 14 is the contact position 12. At the contact position 12, the tip 13 is configured to block one end of the discharge port 10.

A procedure for setting the stop position of the plunger rod 41 in the apparatus of this embodiment will be described.
The moving member 30 is moved as far forward as possible to advance the position of the front stopper 51. Then, since the plunger 40 is biased forward by the coil spring 66, it moves forward together with the front stopper 51. When the rotary knob 32 is continuously rotated leftward, the plunger 40 moves forward, the tip 13 of the plunger rod 41 comes into contact with the inner wall of the liquid chamber 14 (reaches the contact position 12), and the plunger 40 no longer moves. Since it cannot move forward, only the moving member 30 moves forward. And the front stopper 51 and the front contact part 43 will be in the state which does not contact.
The backward movement of the plunger 40 is limited by operating the micrometer 69 to advance the rear stopper 52 and bringing the rear contact portion 45 into contact with the rear stopper 52. Whether or not the rear abutting portion 45 has abutted against the rear stopper 52 is determined by the fact that the forward movement operation by the micrometer 69 can no longer be performed.
When the backward movement of the plunger 40 is restricted, the rotary knob 32 is rotated to move the moving member 30 backward, and the front stopper 51 is brought into contact with the front contact portion 43. Whether or not the front stopper 51 is in contact with the front contact portion 43 can be easily determined by the fact that the moving member 30 can no longer move backward.
With the above operation, the tip 13 of the plunger rod 41 comes into contact with the inner wall of the liquid chamber 14, and the front contact portion 43 comes into contact with the front stopper 51. This is called a specified state. The value of the memory 29 in this specified state is stored.

By operating the micrometer 69 from the specified state, the rear stopper 52 is retracted and sufficiently separated from the rear abutting portion 45 so that the plunger 40 can move backward.
Further, when the rotary knob 32 is rotated to move the moving member 30 rearward, the front stopper 51 moves the front contact portion 43 rearward. As the plunger 40 moves backward, the tip 13 of the plunger rod 41 moves away from the contact position 12. The amount of movement of the front stopper 51 at this time can be accurately grasped by comparing the value of the memory 29 with that in the specified state. If it moves backward by the desired distance while checking the value in the memory 29, the rotation of the rotary knob 32 is stopped. When it moves back too much, the rotary knob 32 is rotated in the reverse direction. In this way, the stop position when the plunger rod 41 is advanced can be set to a desired position where the tip 13 of the plunger rod 41 does not contact the contact position 12.

  The micrometer 69 is operated to retract the rear stopper 52 to determine the rearward movement amount of the plunger 40 during discharge. When the backward movement amount of the plunger 40 is determined, the micrometer 69 is fixed by a rotation lock member such as a fixing screw (not shown) so that the micrometer 69 does not rotate. With the above operation, the retracted position of the plunger 40 is adjusted.

The apparatus of the present embodiment and the apparatus of Embodiment 1 are further different in the shapes of the nozzle 11 and the tip 13 of the plunger rod 41 and the configuration of the liquid material supply channel 17.
In the apparatus of the first embodiment, the inner wall of the nozzle 11 faces the discharge port 10 and the inner surface is formed in the shape of a mortar. However, in the apparatus of the present embodiment, the small diameter hole on the discharge port 10 side is connected to the liquid chamber 14 side. Are connected to each other, and the connecting portion forms a surface perpendicular to the front-rear direction.
Moreover, the front-end | tip 13 of the apparatus plunger rod 41 of a present Example is a plane.
In the apparatus of the present embodiment, the liquid material storage container 5 and the liquid material supply flow path 17 are connected by a flow path provided in the hard liquid feed member 8 without using the liquid feed tube 6.
Other configurations are the same as those of the apparatus of the first embodiment, and the discharge operation is also the same as that of the apparatus of the first embodiment.

  The structure of the moving member 30 is not limited to the structure of a present Example and Example 1, What is necessary is just to be able to adjust the distance of the front stopper 51 and the contact position 12. FIG. Preferably, when the front stopper 51 is moved forward, the tip 13 reaches the contact position 12 and the front stopper 51 is separated from the front contact portion 43. Moreover, it is preferable that the state in which the tip 13 reaches the contact position 12 and the front stopper 51 is in contact with the front contact portion 43 can be grasped from the outside.

As shown in FIG. 9, the apparatus of the present embodiment forms a liquid feeding device with a pump 7 instead of the air-type dispenser 3. The pump 7 is provided in the middle of the liquid feed tube 6 that connects the liquid material storage container 5 and the liquid material supply channel 17. The configuration of the pump 7 is not particularly limited, but main components include a tube pump 7 that feeds the liquid material by squeezing the liquid material transfer tube with a roller, a piston pump that includes a measuring piston 44 and a switching valve.
In the apparatus of the present embodiment, the liquid material in the liquid material storage container 5 can be transferred to the liquid chamber 14 by operating the pump 7. About another structure, it is the same as the apparatus of Example 1. FIG.
In the apparatus of the present embodiment, it is preferable to control the operation of the pump 7 in accordance with the movement of the plunger 40 as in the second and third embodiments.

In the apparatus of this embodiment, the plunger 40 is moved back and forth by a magnetic force as shown in FIG. The apparatus of the present embodiment has an electromagnetic coil 67 as a moving mechanism for the plunger 40 in the drive unit 70. The tip of the micrometer 69 is an iron core, and the tip of the iron core constitutes the rear stopper 52. The rear contact portion 45 is made of a magnetic material. A coil spring 66 is disposed between the rear end surface of the piston chamber 60 and the rear end surface of the piston 44.
In the apparatus of the present embodiment, when an electric current is passed through the electromagnetic coil 67, the core is magnetized, and the magnetized core attracts the rear abutting portion 45, which is a magnetic body, to retract the plunger 40. When the rear contact portion 45 contacts the rear stopper 52, the backward movement of the plunger 40 stops. When the flow of current to the electromagnetic coil 67 is stopped, the rear stopper 52 has no force to attract the rear contact portion 45, so that the plunger 40 moves forward by the force of the coil spring 66.
Since the apparatus of the present embodiment does not use air to move the plunger 40 back and forth, the drive unit 70 need not be sealed. Therefore, since the element which becomes resistance of the back-and-forth movement of the plunger 40 decreases, the plunger 40 can move back and forth more smoothly. Other configurations are the same as those in the first embodiment.
The mechanism for moving the plunger 40 back and forth may have other configurations. For example, the plunger 40 may be moved back and forth by supplying air to both the front piston chamber 62 and the rear piston chamber 63. An electromagnetic actuator fixed to the main body 71 may be connected to the rear of the plunger 40, and the plunger 40 may be moved back and forth using the expansion and contraction of the electromagnetic actuator. Also in this case, it is preferable that the movement can be restricted by the front stopper 51 both in the front and rear directions. That is, the plunger 40 moves forward at a high speed and comes into contact with the front stopper 51 to stop the advancement of the plunger 40.

In the apparatus of the first embodiment, when the distal end 13 of the plunger rod 41 is at the contact position 12, the distal end 13 blocks the discharge port 10 so that the liquid material does not leak from the discharge port 10. It is possible to set the specified state by the following procedure.
First, the electromagnetic switching valve 72 is switched to a state where the front piston chamber 62 communicates with the outside. The rotary knob 32 is rotated so that the moving member 30 is moved forward. The fixing screws 54A and 54B are loosened so that the main body 71 can move back and forth with respect to the base member 27, the drive unit 70 is moved forward by its own weight, and the tip 13 of the plunger rod 41 is discharged from the liquid chamber 14. The inner wall upstream of the outlet 10 is brought into contact. The position of the tip 13 of the plunger rod 41 becomes the contact position 12, and the upstream of the discharge port 10 of the nozzle 11 is blocked. At this time, in this embodiment, the backward movement of the plunger 40 is not restricted by the micrometer 69 as in the first embodiment. Therefore, the front stopper 51 is separated from the front abutting portion 43 due to its own weight, and stops at a position balanced by the coil spring 66.

Subsequently, pressurized air is supplied into the liquid material storage container 5 by the air dispenser 3. However, in this state, the tip 13 of the plunger rod 41 blocks the upstream of the discharge port 10, so that the liquid material does not leak from the discharge port 10.
When the rotary knob 32 is rotated while the apparatus is tilted downward and the moving member 30 is moved backward, the rear surface of the rotary knob 32 of the moving member 30 eventually comes into contact with the front end face of the main body 71. When the rotary knob 32 is further rotated to move the moving member 30 rearward, the main body 71 is moved rearward by being pressed against the rear surface of the rotary knob 32, whereby the position of the front stopper 51 is also moved rearward.
At this time, since the plunger rod 41 is pressed forward by the coil spring 66, the plunger rod 41 does not move backward until the front stopper 51 comes into contact with the front contact portion 43, and the tip 13 is discharged. The outlet 10 remains blocked. When the front stopper 51 comes into contact with the front contact portion 43, the front stopper 51 pushes the plunger rod 41 rearward, so that the plunger rod 41 moves rearward together with the main body 71. Then, the tip 13 of the plunger rod 41 moves away from the upstream of the discharge port 10. Since pressurized air is supplied to the liquid material storage container 5 by the air-type dispenser 3, the liquid material leaks from the discharge port 10 having a gap.
Since the time when the liquid material leaks from the discharge port 10 is when the position of the tip 13 is no longer the contact position 12, it can be determined that the immediately preceding state is the specified state. A position where the moving member 30 is moved forward and the front stopper 51 is slightly moved forward is defined as a specified state.
When set to the specified state, the fixing screws 54 </ b> A and 54 </ b> B are tightened to fix the main body 71 to the base member 27.
The value in the memory 29 of the moving member 30 in the specified state is stored. Thereafter, in the same manner as in the first embodiment, the stop position when the plunger rod 41 is advanced is set.

The apparatus according to the present embodiment has a configuration in which a liquid material storage container 5 in which a liquid material is stored is disposed below the discharge device. Therefore, the liquid chamber 14 does not have a liquid material supply port, and the liquid material is supplied directly from the liquid material storage container 5. Although the discharge block 81 has the seal 18C, it does not need to be provided because it does not come into contact with the liquid material in normal use.
The liquid material storage container 5 is held by engaging a collar holding member 86 provided on the bottom surface of the base member 27 and a collar 95 formed on the upper part of the liquid material storage container 5. The collar 85 and the collar holding member 86 are configured to be detachable, and the liquid material storage container 5 can be easily replaced when the liquid material is consumed or replaced with another liquid material. .
The apparatus of the present embodiment also has the moving member 30 and the long hole 53, and after setting the same as the apparatus according to the first embodiment, the stop position of the plunger 40 is set. The operation in the discharge operation is the same as that of the apparatus according to the first embodiment.
Also in the apparatus of the present embodiment, by stopping the plunger 40 with the front stopper 51, the plunger 40 moving at high speed can be suddenly stopped at an accurate position, and sufficient inertial force is applied to the liquid material. be able to.

  Also in the present embodiment, for example, the air-type dispenser 3 as in the first embodiment is connected to the liquid material storage container 5, and air is supplied to and discharged from the liquid material storage container 5 to liquid in the liquid material storage container 5. It is also possible to pressurize and depressurize the material. Further, the pressurization and decompression by the air-type dispenser 3 can be interlocked with the forward / backward movement of the plunger rod 41 as in the second embodiment. Furthermore, it is also possible to pressurize and depressurize the liquid material in the liquid material storage container 5 by a pressing member such as a piston provided in the liquid material storage container 5 instead of the air-type dispenser 3 or other pressure mechanism. .

Claims (28)

A liquid chamber having a discharge port for discharging a liquid material, a through-hole communicating with the liquid chamber, a plunger inserted through the through-hole, and a tip of which moves forward and backward in the liquid chamber, and a plunger that moves the plunger forward and backward A movement mechanism and a plunger position determination mechanism that regulates the position of the tip of the plunger, and the plunger moves forward and stops while the plunger tip and the inner wall of the liquid chamber are not in contact with each other. A droplet discharge device that applies an inertial force to a liquid material and discharges it into a droplet state,
The plunger position determining mechanism includes a front contact portion (43) provided on the plunger, a front stopper (51) facing the front contact portion (43), and a movable member (30) capable of moving forward and backward. And the front abutting portion (43) is brought into contact with the front stopper (51), thereby defining the position of the distal end portion of the plunger when the advancement is stopped in the vicinity of the inner wall of the liquid chamber in the advancement direction. In addition, the droplet discharge device is characterized in that the stop position when the plunger is advanced can be adjusted by moving the position of the front stopper (51) by the moving member (30) . The droplet discharge device according to claim 1, wherein a tip of the plunger when the advancement is stopped is positioned in the vicinity of the inner wall of the liquid chamber and the discharge port in the advancement direction.   The droplet discharge device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein an inner wall of a tip portion of the liquid chamber is configured in a conical shape having a discharge port at the forefront.   The droplet discharge device according to claim 1, wherein an inner wall of a tip portion of the liquid chamber is configured as a plane having a discharge port. It said moving member (30), one of the droplet discharge device 4 claims 1, characterized in that it has a position display member for displaying the position. A main body having a through hole (24) through which the plunger is inserted and a piston chamber (61), and a discharge block having a discharge port, a liquid chamber, a liquid material supply port, and a through hole (26) through which the plunger is inserted. And
The plunger has a plunger rod and a piston (44) that is wider than the plunger rod and disposed in the piston chamber (61);
The droplet according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the moving member (30) has a through hole (34) through which the plunger is inserted, and is disposed between the main body and the discharge block. Discharge device. The front abutting portion (43) is a surface on the advancing direction side of the piston (44),
The droplet discharge device according to claim 6 , wherein the front stopper (51) is a surface of the piston chamber (61) facing a surface on the advancing direction side of the piston (44) . 8. The droplet discharge device according to claim 6 , wherein the position of the front stopper can be adjusted by adjusting the distance between the main body and the discharge block by moving the position of the moving member (30) forward and backward. 9. The droplet discharge device according to claim 8 , further comprising a base member to which the main body is attached so that the position thereof can be advanced and retracted, and the discharge block is fixedly attached. The front stopper (51) is constituted by a rear end portion of the moving member (30), characterized in that by advancing and retracting the position of the moving member (30) can adjust the position of the front stopper (51) one of the droplet discharge apparatus of claims 1 to 6. By moving the position of the moving member (30) forward and backward, the advancing position of the plunger can be adjusted until the position of the tip of the plunger reaches the contact position (12) that contacts the inner wall of the liquid chamber. one of the droplet discharge apparatus of claims 1 to 10. 12. The droplet discharge device according to claim 11 , wherein the tip of the plunger is configured to block the discharge port at the contact position (12). The plunger has a rear abutting portion (45) on the backward direction side of the front abutting portion (43),
The plunger position determining mechanism includes a rear stopper (52) capable of restricting the backward movement of the plunger by contacting the rear contact portion (45), and a rear stopper movement for moving the rear stopper (52) forward and backward. one of the droplet ejection apparatus of claims 1, characterized in that it comprises a mechanism 12. One of the droplet discharge apparatus of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that it comprises an elastic body for urging the plunger in the advancing direction. One of the droplet discharge apparatus of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that it comprises a control device the liquid feed for supplying liquid material in conjunction with the forward and backward movement of the plunger in the liquid chamber. 16. The liquid droplet ejection apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a pressure mechanism that changes the pressure applied to the liquid material in the liquid chamber in conjunction with the forward and backward movement of the plunger. This is a droplet discharge method in which the plunger is moved forward and stopped while the tip of the plunger and the inner wall of the liquid chamber are not in contact with each other. And
A liquid chamber having a discharge port, a plunger whose front end moves forward and backward in the liquid chamber, and a plunger position determining mechanism for defining the position of the front end of the plunger ;
The plunger position determining mechanism includes a front contact portion (43) provided on the plunger, a front stopper (51) facing the front contact portion (43), and a movable member (30) capable of moving forward and backward. Have
By moving the position of the front stopper (51) forward and backward by the moving member (30), adjusting the stop position when the plunger is advanced, and bringing the front contact portion (43) into contact with the front stopper (51), A droplet discharge method, wherein the tip of the plunger is positioned in the vicinity of the inner wall of the liquid chamber in the advance direction when the advance is stopped. 18. The droplet discharge method according to claim 17 , wherein the tip of the plunger is positioned in the vicinity of the inner wall of the liquid chamber and the discharge port in the advance direction when the advance is stopped. 19. The liquid according to claim 17, wherein the moving member (30) has a position display member for displaying the position, and adjusts the position of the moving member (30) based on a display value of the position display member. Drop ejection method. Providing a body having a through hole (24) through which the plunger is inserted and a piston chamber (61);
The plunger has a plunger rod and a piston (44) that is wider than the plunger rod and disposed in the piston chamber (61);
The droplet according to any one of claims 17 to 19, wherein the position of the front stopper (51) is adjusted by moving the position of the moving member (30) forward and backward to adjust the position of the piston chamber (61). Discharge method. The front abutting portion (43) is a surface on the advancing direction side of the piston (44),
21. The droplet discharge method according to claim 20, wherein the front stopper (51) is a surface of the piston chamber (61) facing the surface of the piston (44) on the advancing direction side. It said moving member (30) has its rear end the front abutment (43) of the advancing direction side surface opposite the claims 17 to 19, characterized in that it constitutes a front stopper (51) either Droplet ejection method. Adjusting the stop position when the plunger is advanced,
A first step in which the position of the tip of the plunger is a contact position (12) in contact with the inner wall of the liquid chamber, and the front contact portion (43) and the front stopper (51) are in contact with each other;
While the front contact portion (43) and the front stopper (51) are kept in contact with each other, the moving member (30) is moved forward and backward by a desired distance so that the position of the tip of the plunger is a desired distance from the contact position (12). one of the droplet discharge method according to claim 17 to 22, characterized in that performing the second step of. The plunger tip is configured to close the discharge port at a contact position (12) where the plunger tip contacts the inner wall of the liquid chamber, and whether or not liquid material flows out from the discharge port in the first step. 24. The droplet discharge method according to claim 23 , wherein it is determined whether or not the position of the tip of the plunger is at the contact position (12). The plunger has a rear abutting portion (45) on the backward direction side of the front abutting portion (43),
A rear stopper (52) is provided opposite the rear abutting portion (45) and capable of moving back and forth.
The droplet discharge method according to any one of claims 17 to 24 , wherein the rear abutting portion (45) is brought into contact with the rear stopper (52) to limit the backward movement of the plunger. One of the droplet discharge method according to claim 17 to 25 and supplying the liquid material in conjunction with the forward and backward movement of the plunger in the liquid chamber. One of the droplet discharge method according to claim 17 to 26, wherein the liquid material is a filler-containing liquid material. Any of the liquid droplet ejection method of the liquid to claims 17, characterized in that the pressure applied to the interior of the liquid material changing in conjunction with the forward and backward movement of the plunger 27.