JP5281833B2 - Liquid supply device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To continuously and accurately supply a minute amount of liquid by a simple means. <P>SOLUTION: When a chemical solution is injected into a measuring chamber 5 and it is detected that the amount of the chemical solution has reached the level of the prescribed amount by an optical sensor 9, the liquid supply device transmits a signal to a solenoid shutoff valve 4, and the injection of the chemical solution is stopped. Next, a piston rod 7b of an air pump 7 is rapidly lowered by action of an electromagnet, and thereby, an air pressure in an upper part of the measuring chamber 5 is increased, and the chemical solution in the measuring chamber 5 is delivered from a small hole 5a into a delivery pipe 8 in a lower part. After delivering the chemical solution, the piston rod 7b is raised by energizing force of the magnet, external air flows into a cylinder hole 7a from the small hole 5a or other holes not shown in the figure, and the pressure is returned to the atmosphere pressure. By repeating this action, the chemical solution in the prescribed amount is continuously supplied. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid supply apparatus that continuously supplies a liquid.

  Although there are few means for supplying a minute amount of liquid continuously, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses such means.

  In this Patent Document 1, a liquid is sucked and discharged using a variable volume member made of a diaphragm or the like.

JP 2003-49778 A

  However, the apparatus of Patent Document 1 has a complicated structure, and in order to handle a very small amount of liquid, it must have a very fine structure and is difficult to realize.

  An object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems, and to provide a liquid supply apparatus that can preferably supply a small amount of liquid continuously and accurately.

Liquid supply apparatus according to the present invention for achieving the above object, a measuring chamber which a continuously supplied device liquid, holds the liquid by surface tension against the bore section has a hole in the bottom and injection means for injecting the liquid from the lower side to the metering chamber, a sensor for detecting the level of said liquid in said metering chamber, said liquid a predetermined amount of the metering chamber is injected by the sensor adding upward from the gas pressure of the metering chamber and you sense, and a liquid discharge means for discharging downwardly the liquid in the metering chamber from the hole, the injection of the liquid in the metering chamber, metering the discharge It is characterized by repeating.

  According to the liquid supply apparatus of the present invention, the liquid is continuously and accurately supplied by simple means.

The present invention will be described in detail based on the embodiments shown in the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows a configuration diagram of the embodiment. For example, a flow rate adjusting valve 3, an electromagnetic shut-off valve 4, and a measuring chamber 5 are provided in the middle of a pipe 2 for transferring a chemical stored in a chemical tank 1. Is provided with an air pump 7 through a tapered portion 6, and a discharge pipe 8 is disposed below the measuring chamber 5. The measuring chamber 5 has a measuring volume of 0.1 cc, for example, and the pipe line 2 is connected to the lower side. The measuring chamber 5 has a cylindrical shape made of, for example, a transparent synthetic resin material having a diameter of 3 mm, and has a small hole 5a having an area of about 1/4 of the cylindrical cross section at the bottom.

  On both sides of the measuring chamber 5, a projector 9a and a light receiver 9b of the optical sensor 9 are arranged so as to detect a chemical solution in the measuring chamber 5 at a predetermined level, that is, a chemical solution corresponding to 0.1 cc. The output of the optical sensor 9 is connected to the electromagnetic shut-off valve 4.

  An air pump 7 having a diameter of 10 mm, for example, is provided in the upper part of the measuring chamber 5. A cylinder hole 7a is formed in the air pump 7, and a piston rod 7b is disposed in the cylinder hole 7a so as to be movable up and down. The piston rod 7b is operated by an electromagnet and a magnet. The operation of these members is commanded by a control circuit (not shown). The output of the optical sensor 9 is also temporarily received by the control circuit, and the electromagnetic shut-off valve 4 is turned on and off at high speed by a command signal from the control circuit.

  A substantially equal amount of the chemical solution from the chemical solution tank 1 flows through the conduit 2 by the flow rate adjusting valve 3. When one measurement in the measuring chamber 5 is completed and the chemical solution is discharged from the small hole 5a of the measuring chamber 5, the electromagnetic solution to be measured next starts to be injected into the measuring chamber 5 by the electromagnetic shut-off valve 4. Although the small hole 5a is provided in the bottom part of the measurement chamber 5, since a small diameter hole, a chemical | medical solution is hold | maintained in the measurement chamber 5 with the surface tension, and does not leak below.

  When the measurement chamber 5 is filled with the chemical solution and the optical sensor 9 detects that the level reaches a predetermined level, a signal is transmitted to the electromagnetic shut-off valve 4 to stop the injection of the chemical solution. In addition, although the pipe line 2 to the measuring chamber 5 may be provided on the upper side of the measuring chamber 5, the optical sensor 9 may cause an error due to water droplets or the like of the injected chemical solution. It is preferable. Then, the piston rod 7b of the air pump 7 is rapidly lowered by the action of the electromagnet, thereby increasing the air pressure above the measuring chamber 5 and discharging the chemical in the measuring chamber 5 from the small hole 5a by this compressed air. Eject into 8. After discharging the chemical solution, the piston rod 7b rises due to the urging force that reverses the polarity of the electromagnet, and external air flows into the cylinder hole 7a from the small hole 5a or a hole (not shown) and returns to atmospheric pressure.

  In this way, the volume of the chemical solution per discharge is measured to a predetermined amount in the measuring chamber 5, and the supply amount can be calculated by integrating with the number of discharges. For example, if 20 discharges are performed per minute, 2 cc of chemical solution can be supplied per minute. The discharge of the chemical solution is actually intermittent, but since the number of repetitions per unit time is large, it is almost the same when continuously performed. FIG. 2 shows a state in which the mounting portions of the measuring chamber 5 and the optical sensor 9 are integrally molded by a transparent synthetic resin body 10. A screw portion 11 for screwing the discharge pipe 8 is provided below the measuring chamber 5. Yes.

  Moreover, although the diameter of the small hole 5a is based on the surface tension of a chemical | medical solution, it is about 1.5 mm. The small hole 5a may be inclined at the bottom of the measuring chamber 5 as shown in FIG. 3 (a), and the small hole 5a may be provided at the center thereof, or the bottom of the measuring chamber 5 as shown in (b). It is possible to provide a taper to prevent the discharged chemical from diffusing, or to form a groove on the inner wall of the measuring chamber 5 as shown in FIG. In addition, although the tension | tensile_strength of a chemical | medical solution acts largely by providing a groove | channel, the small hole 5a can be enlarged by that much, and discharge | emission of a chemical | medical solution becomes efficient.

  In the above-described embodiment, the level of the chemical solution is detected by the optical sensor 9, but other detection mechanisms can be used.

  Further, when the level of the chemical solution in the measuring chamber 5 reaches a predetermined amount, the injection of the chemical solution is stopped by the electromagnetic shut-off valve 4. However, if the reduction in accuracy is permitted, the electromagnetic sensor 4 is turned off by the optical sensor 9. If it reaches a predetermined level while always injecting the chemical solution into the measuring chamber 5 without being operated, it may be repeatedly discharged from the measuring chamber 5 by air pressure.

  Furthermore, depending on the type of chemical solution, when it is not preferable to come into contact with air, for example, carbon dioxide other than air can be used for compression of the gas by the air pump 7. Further, even if the air pump 7 is not particularly disposed above the measuring chamber 5, a piston rod that slides on the upper portion of the cylindrical measuring chamber 5 is provided, and the pressure of the air in the measuring chamber 5 is increased by this piston rod so that the chemical solution Can also be discharged.

  In addition, the capacity | capacitance of the measurement chamber 5, and the frequency | count of operation | movement per time of the air pump 7 etc. can be set arbitrarily. Further, the shape of the measuring chamber 5 is not limited to the cylindrical shape of the embodiment, and may be a conical shape, for example.

It is a block diagram of an Example. It is sectional drawing of the state which integrated the attaching part etc. of the measurement chamber and the optical sensor with the body of the synthetic resin material. It is sectional drawing of a measurement chamber bottom part.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Chemical solution tank 2 Pipe line 3 Flow control valve 4 Electromagnetic shut-off valve 5 Measuring chamber 5a Small hole 7 Air pump 8 Discharge pipe 9 Optical sensor 10 Body

Claims (4)

A continuously supplied device liquid, a metering chamber for holding the liquid by the surface tension against the bore section has a hole in the bottom, injection means for injecting the liquid from the lower side to the metering chamber When a sensor for detecting the level of the liquid in the metering chamber, the added gas pressure that the liquid of a predetermined amount is injected into the metering chamber and you detect from above of the metering chamber by said sensor, and a liquid discharge means for discharging the liquid in the metering chamber downwardly from the hole, the injection of the liquid in the metering chamber, metering the liquid supply apparatus characterized by repeating the discharge.   The liquid supply apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the measuring chamber has a cylindrical shape. The output of the sensor for detecting the level of the liquid, the liquid supply apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that off the liquid into the metering chamber by the injecting means. The liquid supply apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the liquid discharge means is an air pump that generates compressed air.

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