JP5876700B2 - Ultrasonic atomizer - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an ultrasonic atomizer that atomizes fragrances, bactericides, and the like.

  In general, in an ultrasonic spraying apparatus that sprays a fragrance or the like, water is used in a water tank, and the fragrance or the like is dropped onto the water surface and atomized by ultrasonic waves. In addition, there is a proposal in which a water-soluble fragrance is supplied in advance to water contained in a container, and the fragrance is atomized or evaporated together with water (Patent Document 1).

JP-A-01-208633

  As described above, by simultaneously atomizing a plurality of types of liquids such as water and a fragrance, there is an advantage that fragrance and humidification are supplied simultaneously. However, some fragrances and disinfectants will crystallize if mixed with water in advance as described above, or the fragrance will change by adding an activator to improve the mixing with water. The present inventor confirmed that there is something to do.

  This invention is made | formed in view of the above subjects, and provides the ultrasonic atomizer which can be atomized together, without mixing multiple types of liquid in advance.

  The ultrasonic atomizer of the present invention is provided with a plurality of liquid storage portions for individually storing a plurality of types of liquids, a liquid absorbing member for individually absorbing the plurality of types of liquids, and abutting the liquid absorbing member. And an ultrasonic transducer that ultrasonically vibrates the liquid absorbing member to atomize the plurality of types of liquids together.

  Therefore, in the ultrasonic atomizer of the present invention, the plurality of liquid storage units individually store a plurality of types of liquids. The liquid absorbing member individually absorbs a plurality of types of stored liquid. The liquid absorbing member is ultrasonically vibrated by an ultrasonic vibrator to atomize a plurality of absorbed liquids together. For this reason, a plurality of types of liquids can be atomized together without being mixed in advance.

  The various components of the present invention do not necessarily have to be independent of each other. A plurality of components are formed as a single member, and a single component is formed of a plurality of members. It may be that a certain component is a part of another component, a part of a certain component overlaps with a part of another component, or the like.

  In addition, atomizing a plurality of types of liquids in the present invention means that a plurality of types of liquids are atomized simultaneously in a common space. There may be differences in the start time and end time of atomization of a plurality of types of liquids as long as the plurality of types of liquids are atomized simultaneously in a common space.

  In the ultrasonic atomizer of the present invention, the ultrasonic vibrator atomizes a plurality of types of liquids such as fragrances and bactericides absorbed by the liquid absorbing member. For this reason, a plurality of types of liquids can be atomized together without being mixed in advance. Accordingly, it is possible to suitably atomize the plurality of types of liquids without causing various problems caused by mixing the plurality of types of liquids with each other.

It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the structure of the ultrasonic atomizer of 1st embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of an ultrasonic atomizer. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the ultrasonic atomizer of 2nd embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the ultrasonic atomizer of 3rd embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the ultrasonic atomizer of 4th embodiment of this invention. (A) And (b) is a perspective view which shows the structure of the ultrasonic atomizer of 5th embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the ultrasonic atomizer of 5th embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the ultrasonic atomizer of 6th embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the ultrasonic atomizer of 7th embodiment of this invention. (A) is a side view which shows typically the structure of the ultrasonic atomizer of 8th embodiment of this invention, (b) is an expanded sectional view of the vicinity of a diaphragm. It is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the diaphragm of the ultrasonic atomizer of Fig.10 (a). (A) And (b) is a partial side view which shows typically the modification of a liquid absorption member. It is the table | surface which put together the experimental result in the 1st Example of this invention. It is a characteristic view which shows the experimental result in the 3rd Example of this invention.

  A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. In the present embodiment, description will be made by defining the front-rear, left-right, up-down directions as shown. However, this is provided for the sake of convenience in order to briefly explain the relative relationship between the components. Therefore, the direction at the time of manufacture and use of the product which implements the present invention is not limited. The same applies to the following embodiments.

  As shown in the figure, the ultrasonic atomizer 100 of the present embodiment includes a plurality of liquid storage portions 110 that individually store a plurality of types of liquids LK, and a liquid absorbing member 120 that absorbs the plurality of types of liquids LK. And an ultrasonic transducer 130 provided in contact with the liquid absorbing member 120 and ultrasonically vibrating the liquid absorbing member 120 to atomize a plurality of types of liquids LK together.

  More specifically, in the ultrasonic atomizer 100 of the present embodiment, two liquid storage portions 110 are formed in parallel in the lower portion of one main body container 111. The liquid storage unit 110 of the present embodiment is two recesses that are formed to open on the upper surface on the rear end side of the main body container 111. One of the two liquid storage portions 110 stores a fragrance as the liquid LK. Water is stored in the other of the two liquid storage portions 110. In addition, a fragrance | flavor contains a hydrophilic liquid fragrance | flavor as a main component, and water consists of general tap water, distilled water, purified water, pure water, etc. The water may contain a preservative for antiseptic purposes, such as ethanol.

  The liquid absorbent member 120 is made of an elongated nonwoven fabric extending in the front-rear direction. In the ultrasonic atomizer 100 of the present embodiment, two liquid absorbing members 120 are prepared corresponding to two types of liquids LK. One end (rear end) of the liquid absorbing member 120 is inserted into the liquid storage unit 110 and immersed in the liquid LK. The other end (front end) of the liquid absorbing member 120 is placed on the upper part of the main body container 111. The most distal end 122 extending over a predetermined length at the front end of the liquid absorbing member 120 protrudes forward from the main body container 111.

  The two liquid absorbing members 120 are arranged in parallel in the left-right direction. The ultrasonic atomizer 100 includes two main body covers 112. The body cover 112 covers the liquid absorbing member 120 from above. The main body cover 112 and the main body container 111 hold the two liquid absorbing members 120 individually. The most distal portion 122 of the liquid absorbing member 120 is exposed from the main body cover 112 (see FIG. 2).

  The ultrasonic vibrator 130 is means for ultrasonically vibrating the liquid absorbing member 120, and the vibration source is not particularly limited. The ultrasonic transducer 130 of the present embodiment includes a piezoelectric body (not shown) that is a vibration drive unit and a horn 132, and further includes a back horn 131. When the liquid LK is atomized at a practically sufficient atomization speed only by the ultrasonic vibrator 130 and the horn 132, such as when the liquid LK has a low viscosity, the back horn 131 is not necessarily required. The piezoelectric body is sandwiched between the horn 132 and the back horn 131. The horn 132, the piezoelectric body, and the back horn 131 are clamped together by a bolt (not shown) extending in the vertical direction. In addition, the ultrasonic transducer 130 includes a power supply unit (not shown) that applies a voltage having a resonance frequency of the piezoelectric body.

  The back horn 131 and the horn 132 have a role of amplifying the vibration amplitude of the piezoelectric body. The horn 132 has a tapered shape in which the front-rear dimension becomes narrower upward. The upper part of the horn 132 is formed in a plate shape. This plate-like portion is referred to as a diaphragm 133. In other words, a rectangular plate-shaped diaphragm 133 is connected to the upper portion of the horn 132. When the horn 132 vibrates in the vertical direction due to the resonance of the piezoelectric body to which the voltage is applied, the upper end surface of the diaphragm 133 vibrates in the direction perpendicular to the surface (vertical direction). The most distal end portions 122 of the two liquid absorbing members 120 are in contact with the upper end surface of the diaphragm 133 in parallel. The most advanced portion 122 vibrates at high speed due to the resonance of the diaphragm 133, and the liquid LK is atomized.

  In this embodiment, a piezoelectric body TBL1507 manufactured by Tamura Corporation is used. A horn 132 and a back horn 131 are made by cutting an aluminum material, and a bolt-clamped Langevin type ultrasonic vibrator 130 in which the horn 132, the back horn 131, and the piezoelectric body are integrated with bolts (not shown) is provided. Configured. The performance of the ultrasonic vibrator 130 is a frequency of 50 kHz, the vibration amplitude is 10 μmp-p, and the vibration direction is the direction perpendicular to the liquid absorbing member 120 (the direction perpendicular to the surface 122 of the liquid absorbing member 120, the vertical direction in FIG. The characteristics of the piezoelectric body were adjusted so that

  Note that the two liquid absorbing members 120 are formed to have the same width and length, and the length of the most distal portion 122 protruding from the main body container 111 is also the same. For this reason, the area of the contact portion between the liquid absorbing member 120 and the ultrasonic transducer 130 is the same for the two liquid absorbing members 120.

  In the configuration as described above, in the ultrasonic atomizer 100 of the present embodiment, the two liquid storage portions 110 individually store the fragrance and water as the two types of liquid LK. The two liquid absorbing members 120 individually absorb the stored fragrance and water by capillary action.

  And the ultrasonic transducer | vibrator 130 ultrasonically vibrates the front-end | tip part 122 of the two liquid absorption members 120, and the fragrance | flavor and water which are absorbed by the liquid absorption member 120 are atomized together. For this reason, it can atomize simultaneously, without mixing a fragrance | flavor and water beforehand.

  The fragrance and water that are atomized in this way produce a fresh fragrance more uniformly than when only the fragrance is atomized or when the fragrance and water are mixed beforehand. It was confirmed. This is presumed to be because a small number and a large number of particles of the hydrophilic fragrance are attached to a large diameter water particle.

  In the ultrasonic atomizer 100 of the present embodiment, the main body cover 112 can be attached to and detached from the main body container 111, so that the liquid LK can be replenished or replaced, or the liquid absorbing member 120 can be replaced. is there. However, instead of the present embodiment, the main body cover 112 may be fixed to the main body container 111 in a sealed state. A plurality of types of disposable main body containers 111 having different types of liquid LK may be exchangeable with respect to the ultrasonic transducer 130.

  The present invention is not limited to the present embodiment, and various modifications are allowed without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, in the above embodiment, the two liquid absorbing members 120 are formed in the same size, and the area of the portion in contact with the ultrasonic transducer 130 is the same.

  FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the structure of the ultrasonic atomizer 200 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. As in the present embodiment, one liquid absorbing member 210 may be formed wide and the other liquid absorbing member 220 may be formed narrow. That is, in the ultrasonic atomizer 200, the width direction (arrangement direction) dimensions of the portions of the liquid absorbing members 210 and 220 that are in contact with the ultrasonic transducers 130 are different from each other.

  In such an ultrasonic atomizer 200, the areas of the two liquid absorbing members 210 and 220 that are in contact with the ultrasonic transducer 130 are different from each other. For this reason, the ratio of the liquid LK atomized from the two liquid absorption members 210 and 220 can be made different. On the other hand, when the volatility of the two types of liquids LK is different from each other, the ratio of atomization can be made equal.

  In the first embodiment, the two liquid absorbing members 120 protrude in the same dimension and have the same area in contact with the ultrasonic transducer 130. However, as in the ultrasonic atomizer 300 of the third embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the protrusions of the leading end portions 122 of the two liquid absorbing members 120 are adjusted to contact the ultrasonic transducer 130. The area of the portion can be changed. That is, in the ultrasonic atomizer 300 of FIG. 4, the protruding direction from the main body container 111 (the direction orthogonal to the arrangement direction of the portions of the plurality of liquid absorbing members 120 that are in contact with the ultrasonic transducer 130, The dimensions in the thickness direction of the diaphragm 133 are different from each other.

  In this case, as shown in the figure, the atomization speeds of the liquids LK can be made different from each other by making the protruding dimensions of the most distal end portions 122 of the two liquid absorbing members 120 different. The atomization speed is a mass at which the liquid LK atomizes per unit time. Further, by changing the projecting dimensions of the two liquid absorbing members 120 in the same manner (not shown), the two types of liquids LK are atomized when the two types of liquids LK have different volatility. The ratio can be adjusted in the same way.

  Further, as in the ultrasonic atomizer 400 of the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. 5, at least one of the ultrasonic vibrator 130 and the plurality of liquid absorbing members 120 is continuously stepped by an area variable mechanism (not shown). It is possible to change the area of the plurality of liquid absorbing members 120 in contact with the ultrasonic transducers 130 by being displaced in a plurality of stages.

  Also in this case, the ratio of the liquid LK atomized from the two liquid absorbing members 120 can be made different. In addition, since wiring etc. are connected to the ultrasonic transducer | vibrator 130, it is suitable for the area variable mechanism to slide the main body container 111 to the left-right direction.

  Further, as in the ultrasonic atomizer 500 of the fifth embodiment shown in FIG. 6, at least one of the ultrasonic transducer 130 and the plurality of liquid absorbing members 120 is displaced by a selective contact mechanism, and a plurality of liquid absorptions are performed. The ultrasonic vibrator 130 may be selectively brought into contact with a part of the member 120.

  More specifically, in the ultrasonic atomizer 500, three liquid absorbing members 120 are arranged in parallel in the left-right direction. As shown in FIG. 7, two convex portions 511 that are part of the selective abutment mechanism are formed on the lower front surface of the main body container 510, and four concave portions 521 with which these convex portions 511 engage are selected. The pedestal 520 is formed as a part of the contact mechanism. The convex portion 511 and the concave portion 521 may be engaged elastically.

  When the main body container 510 is disposed at the center of the pedestal 520, as shown in FIG. 6A, all of the three liquid absorbing members 120 abut on the ultrasonic transducer 130 in the same manner. When the main body container 510 is displaced to the right of the pedestal 520, only the two liquid absorbing members 120 on the left side come into contact with the ultrasonic transducer 130 as shown in FIG. Conversely, when the main body container 510 is displaced to the left of the pedestal 520, only the two liquid absorbing members 120 on the right side come into contact with the ultrasonic transducer 130 (not shown).

  For this reason, the liquid LK to be atomized can be selectively switched. For example, three types of fragrances can be switched by causing the central liquid absorbing member 120 to absorb water as the liquid LK and causing the left and right liquid absorbing members 120 to absorb different fragrances as the liquid LK. That is, in the state of FIG. 6A, the two fragrances and water are all atomized, resulting in a fragrance in which the two fragrances are mixed. In the state of FIG. 6B, the one fragrance and water absorbed by the left liquid absorbing member 120 are atomized, and the fragrance of the one fragrance is emitted. Conversely, when the main body container 510 is displaced to the left of the pedestal 520, the other fragrance and water absorbed by the right liquid absorbing member 120 are atomized, and the fragrance of the other fragrance is emitted. . Needless to say, the number of liquid absorbing members of the ultrasonic atomizer as described above may be four or more (not shown).

  Further, as in the ultrasonic atomizer 600 of the sixth embodiment shown in FIG. 8, the two liquid absorbing members 610 and 620 may be overlapped and brought into contact with the ultrasonic transducer 130. In this case, for example, as shown in the drawing, at least one of the two liquid absorbing members 610 and 620 has a bent shape (both of them are opposite to each other when the tips are bent). It is good to form it in the shape bent to (b). A curved shape may be used instead of the bent shape. The tip portion of the liquid absorbing member bent or curved in this manner may be overlapped with the tip portion of another adjacent liquid absorbing member.

  In this ultrasonic atomizer 600, two types of liquids LK are atomized from the tip portion where the two liquid absorbing members 610 and 620 intersect, and thus the two types of liquids LK to be atomized are well atomized and mixed. be able to. Of course, two linear liquid absorbing members may be arranged so as to intersect with each other, or three or more linear liquid absorbing members may be arranged so as to intersect with each other ( Neither is shown). In the case where ultrasonic vibration is applied to an intersection where a plurality of liquid absorbing members are superposed, the lowermost liquid absorbing member (liquid absorbing member 610 in FIG. 8) in contact with the ultrasonic transducer 130 has a hydrophilic property. A fragrance may be absorbed, or water, an unscented medium, may be absorbed. Among these, if water is absorbed by the lowermost liquid absorbing member and hydrophilic fragrance is absorbed by the uppermost liquid absorbing member (liquid absorbing member 620 in FIG. 8), the excited water is fogged. It passes through the uppermost liquid absorbing member 620 while making good contact with the fragrance. On the other hand, if the hydrophilic fragrance is absorbed in the lowermost liquid absorbing member and water is absorbed in the uppermost liquid absorbing member, the lowermost liquid absorbing member in contact with the ultrasonic transducer 130 is added well. The fragrance is finely atomized by shaking.

  Further, as in the ultrasonic atomizer 700 of the seventh embodiment shown in FIG. 9, the main body container 111 in which the liquid absorbing members 710 to 750 are individually mounted is installed on both the front and rear sides of one ultrasonic transducer 130. May be. Further, as shown in the drawing, the horizontal widths and projecting dimensions of the liquid absorbing members 710 to 750 may be different from each other, and the liquid absorbing members 710 and 740 opposed in the front-rear direction may be overlapped.

  In the above embodiment, it is exemplified that a plurality of liquid absorbing members that individually absorb a plurality of different liquids are individually prepared. However, a liquid absorbing member that absorbs a plurality of types of liquids may be integrated at the position of the ultrasonic transducer (not shown). Specifically, the liquid absorbing member may be formed in a bifurcated or trifurcated shape. The liquid absorbing member may be sucked up by immersing the bifurcated or trifurcated end portions of the liquid absorbing member in a plurality of liquid containing portions. The plurality of liquids sucked up at the branched ends are integrated with each other, and are then vibrated and atomized by an ultrasonic vibrator. Even if some of the plurality of liquids are mixed before being atomized, they are immediately atomized by the ultrasonic vibrator, so that the problem that the liquid crystallizes or the scent changes does not substantially occur.

  Fig.10 (a) is a side view which shows typically the structure of the ultrasonic atomizer 800 of 8th embodiment of this invention. FIG. 10B is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the ultrasonic transducer 130 of FIG. FIG. 11 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the ultrasonic transducer 130 and the most distal portion 122 of the liquid absorbing member 120 in FIG.

  The ultrasonic atomizer 800 includes a liquid absorbing member 120, an ultrasonic transducer 130, and a main body container 510. The main body container 510 accommodates a plurality of cartridge-like liquid accommodating portions 110 in a detachable and replaceable manner. Liquid LK is individually stored in the liquid storage unit 110. One end (lower end) of the liquid absorbing member 120 is disposed inside the liquid storage unit 110 and is immersed in the liquid LK. The most advanced portion 122 corresponding to the other end (upper end) of the liquid absorbing member 120 is in contact with a diaphragm 133 provided in the ultrasonic transducer 130. An intermediate portion excluding both ends of the liquid absorbing member 120 is covered with a main body cover 112. The shape of the main body cover 112 is not particularly limited.

  The ultrasonic transducer 130 according to the present embodiment includes a piezoelectric body 136, an application unit (not shown) for applying an alternating voltage (including an alternating voltage) whose polarity is alternately changed at the resonance frequency of the piezoelectric body 136, and this And a horn 132 that amplifies the resonance of the piezoelectric body 136 and vibrates the vibration surface (the vibration plate 133). The horn 132 has a hollow structure including a gap portion V between the vibration surface (the vibration plate 133) and the piezoelectric body 136.

  The piezoelectric body 136 resonates in the in-plane direction at the resonance frequency applied by the applying means. More specifically, the piezoelectric body 136 expands and contracts at the resonance frequency along the surface of the piezoelectric body 136. The vibration surface (diaphragm 133) of the horn 132 is provided obliquely with respect to the installation surface 900 of the ultrasonic atomizer 800. The most advanced portion 122 of the liquid absorbing member 120 is in contact with the vibration surface (the vibration plate 133). The vibration plate 133 of the ultrasonic vibrator 130 ultrasonically vibrates the most distal portion 122 of the liquid absorbing member 120 to atomize the liquid LK.

  That is, in the ultrasonic transducer 130 of the present embodiment, the piezoelectric body 136 has a plate shape, and the resonance direction (stretching direction) of the piezoelectric body 136 is the in-plane direction. The vibration surface (vibration plate 133) disposed opposite to the piezoelectric body 136 vibrates in the direction perpendicular to the surface of the piezoelectric body 136 (perpendicular to the surface of the piezoelectric body 136) due to the resonance of the piezoelectric body 136. .

  The piezoelectric body 136 is attached obliquely along the housing inclined surface 135 of the housing 137 of the ultrasonic transducer 130 (see FIG. 10A). In this embodiment, the resonance direction (XX direction) of the piezoelectric body 136 is the in-plane direction (inclination direction) of the housing inclined surface 135, and is substantially the vertical direction in FIGS. 10 (a) and 10 (b).

  The horn 132 of this embodiment is a structure in which a metal plate having a predetermined thickness (for example, a stainless steel plate having a thickness of 0.2 mm) is bent into a ridge. The flat top surface of the ridge is the diaphragm 133 of this embodiment. The bottom of the horn 132 is fixed to the surface of the piezoelectric body 136 by an adhesive means such as a thermosetting adhesive. A gap V exists between the diaphragm 133 and the piezoelectric body 136. That is, the horn 132 of this embodiment is a hollow structure. As shown in FIG. 10B, the outer shape of the horn 132 has a tapered shape in which the dimension becomes narrower toward the diaphragm 133. Here, the width direction of the horn 132 and the diaphragm 133 refers to the XX direction in each drawing of FIG.

  When the piezoelectric body 136 resonates, the width of the ridge of the horn 132 expands and contracts, so that the diaphragm 133 moves forward and backward in the direction perpendicular to the plane (YY direction). That is, the diaphragm 133 reciprocates in the direction perpendicular to the plane like a diaphragm. Like the ultrasonic transducer 130 of the present embodiment, the horn 132 has a hollow structure, and the piezoelectric body 136 is fixed to the bottom thereof, so that the vibration direction of the piezoelectric body 136 (XX direction in each figure in FIG. 10). On the other hand, the vibration direction of the diaphragm 133 of the horn 132 can be set to an orthogonal direction (YY direction in each drawing of FIG. 10). For this reason, the diaphragm 133 can be reciprocally vibrated by the thin piezoelectric body 136.

  As shown in FIG. 10 (b), the horn 132 of this embodiment includes a flange portion 138 that extends outward along both side edges of the ridge. The flange portion 138 is fitted into the housing inclined surface 135 of the ultrasonic transducer 130. As shown in FIG. 10A, the liquid absorbing member 120 is in contact with the upper surface of the diaphragm 133 (not shown in FIG. 10B).

  When the vibration plate 133 vibrates, the vibration plate 133 vibrates the most distal portion 122 of the liquid absorbing member 120 in the normal direction. The normal direction of the diaphragm 133 is illustrated by arrows in FIG. This normal direction is the same as the YY direction in each figure of FIG. The liquid LK impregnated in the most distal portion 122 of the liquid absorbing member 120 is atomized by the diaphragm 133 and is scattered in the normal direction of the diaphragm 133. In the ultrasonic atomizer 800 of the present embodiment, since the ultrasonic vibrator 130 is fitted into the inclined surface 135 of the casing, for example, the fragrance (liquid LK) atomized in a desired direction such as a human face. ) Can be efficiently scattered.

  In the present embodiment, the ultrasonic vibrator 130 is fixedly installed obliquely along the housing inclined surface 135, but the present invention is not limited to this. Instead of the present embodiment, a shaft portion (not shown) may be appropriately attached to the ultrasonic transducer 130 and a mechanism capable of adjusting the angle of the piezoelectric body 136 and the diaphragm 133 with respect to the housing inclined surface 135 may be added. . By doing so, the angle of the ultrasonic transducer 130 can be adjusted with respect to the housing inclined surface 135, so that the fragrance (liquid LK) can be scattered in a desired direction.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the most distal portion 122 of the liquid absorbing member 120 has a plate shape or a rod shape having a predetermined thickness W. The most advanced portion 122 has an inclined portion 123 formed obliquely with respect to the thickness direction. The inclined portion 123 is disposed along the upper surface of the diaphragm 133. Thereby, the upper surface of the diaphragm 133 and the inclined part 123 are in surface contact.

  A base end portion 125 (see FIG. 10A) that is a portion on one end side of the liquid absorbing member 120 of the present embodiment has an elongated quadrangular prism shape, in other words, a rectangular rod shape. The most distal portion 122 side of the liquid absorbing member 120 has a tapered shape in which both sides in the thickness direction are linearly tapered, and the base end portion 125 side has a rectangular bar shape with a constant width. The taper-shaped tapered portion becomes the inclined portion 123. The inclination direction of the inclined portion 123 and the upper surface of the diaphragm 133 substantially coincide with each other, and both are in surface contact over a predetermined area. For this reason, the ultrasonic vibration of the diaphragm 133 is suitably transmitted to the inclined portion 123, and the liquid LK is efficiently atomized.

  The liquid absorbing member 120 has a capillary force with respect to the liquid LK. The liquid absorbing member 120 can be made from a nonwoven fabric or a porous material. Specifically, a nonwoven fabric of natural fibers or synthetic fibers may be formed into a plate shape or a rod shape. In addition, a porous resin material in which pores are formed by impregnating a fiber bundle such as acrylic, polyester, or nylon with a resin material and then drawing the fiber bundle may be formed into a plate shape or a rod shape. Further, a plastic passage such as a polyacetal copolymer and a homopolymer may be extruded into a plate shape or a rod shape to form a fine passage inside.

  However, the present embodiment is not limited to the liquid absorbing member 120 having the above shape.

  FIG. 12A is a partial side view schematically showing a first modification of the liquid absorbing member. FIG. 12B is a partial side view schematically showing a second modification of the liquid absorbing member.

  The liquid absorbing member 820 of the first modification shown in FIG. 12A includes an inclined portion 123 similarly to the liquid absorbing member 120 (see FIG. 11) of the eighth embodiment. The inclined portion 123 of the liquid absorbing member 820 is different from the liquid absorbing member 120 of the eighth embodiment in that it has a bullet shape. The liquid absorbing member 820 of the present modification has a predetermined thickness W, and the most distal portion 122 is formed with an inclined portion 123 that has a curved tapered shape on both sides in the thickness direction. The inclination direction of the inclined portion 123 and the upper surface of the diaphragm 133 substantially coincide with each other. The inclined portion 123 is in contact (pressure contact) with the diaphragm 133 with a predetermined pressing force. The contact portion of the inclined portion 123 with respect to the diaphragm 133 becomes planar over a predetermined area by this pressing force, and is in surface contact with the diaphragm 133.

  For this reason, the liquid absorbing member 820 of the first modified example can also efficiently atomize the liquid LK, and the atomized liquid LK is arrowed in the normal direction of the diaphragm 133 (FIG. 12A). Can be scattered in the direction.

  In the eighth embodiment, it is arbitrary that the most distal end portion 122 of the liquid absorbing members 120 and 820 is in surface contact with the diaphragm 133. That is, like the liquid absorbing member 830 of the second modification shown in FIG. 12B, the corner portion 124 of the rod-like or plate-like leading end portion 122 having a predetermined thickness W is brought into contact with the diaphragm 133. Also good.

  Needless to say, the above-described embodiment and a plurality of modifications can be combined within a range in which the contents do not conflict with each other. Further, in the above-described embodiments and modifications, the structure of each part has been specifically described, but the structure and the like can be changed in various ways within a range that satisfies the present invention.

  For example, the back horn 131 is not necessarily required with respect to the configuration of the ultrasonic vibrator 130 as long as it has the ability to atomize the liquid. In addition, the shape of the diaphragm 133 connected to the upper portion of the horn 132 does not need to be rectangular when the contact surface with the liquid absorbing member 120 is viewed in plan. In the present invention, it is important to bring the plurality of liquid absorbing members 120 (210, 220, etc.) into contact with the ultrasonic transducer 130.

Here, the experimental results of the present inventor will be described in order as examples.
[Example 1]
In this example, the ultrasonic atomizer shown in FIG. 2 was used. As described above, the piezoelectric body TBL1507 manufactured by Tamura Seisakusho was used for the ultrasonic vibrator. Specifically, the horn and the back horn are made by cutting an aluminum material, and the ultrasonic vibrator is 50 kHz in frequency, the vibration amplitude is 10 μmp-p, and the vibration direction is perpendicular to the liquid absorbing member. The characteristics of the piezoelectric body were adjusted.

For the nonwoven fabric (spun lace) as the liquid absorbent member, cotton having a basis weight of 40 g / m ² and a width of 4 mm was used. Purified water was selectively stored in one of the two liquid storage units, and the following fragrances were selectively stored in the other. As the fragrance, β-phenylethyl alcohol (rose-like), α-hexylcinnamic aldehyde (jasmine-like), ethyl acetoacetate (ram-like), and o-tert-butylcyclohexyl acetate (apple-like) were used. A screw tube having a capacity of 9 mL each was used for the liquid container. The non-woven fabric (liquid absorbing member) was set on each of the screw tubes. Inside the bed of volatilization booth volume of 4m ³ installed an ultrasonic atomizer was atomized liquid. Specifically, the sensory evaluation of the fragrance is evaluated when only the above fragrance is atomized (without purified water: comparative example) and when purified water and fragrance are simultaneously atomized (with purified water: example). Tried. The sensory evaluation was performed by three fragrance evaluation experts.

  As shown in FIG. 13, when purified water was present, that is, when purified water and a fragrance were sprayed at the same time, a sensory evaluation result that felt a natural feeling and freshness was obtained. On the other hand, without purified water, it became a chemical and solvent-like scent.

  The change was seen in the fragrance of the fragrance | flavor, so that the LogP value which shows the lipophilicity (hydrophobicity) of a fragrance | flavor was small. The LogP value is a logarithmic display of (fragrance 1-octanol) / (water partition coefficient), and is an index indicating lipophilicity as the LogP value increases and hydrophilicity as the value decreases.

  The log P value of β-phenylethyl alcohol (rose-like) is 1.57, the log P value of α-hexylcinnamic aldehyde (jasmine-like) is 4.82, and the log P value of ethyl acetoacetate (ram-like) is -0.2. The Log P value of o-tert-butylcyclohexyl acetate (apple-like) is 4.42. When β-phenylethyl alcohol (rose-like) and ethyl acetoacetate (lamb-like) having a low LogP value were used as a fragrance, the change in fragrance was particularly felt depending on the presence or absence of purified water.

  The reason is not necessarily clear, but if the fragrance is highly hydrophilic, it surrounds the water particles so that the fragrance wraps around them. Conversely, if the fragrance is lipophilic, it repels water and cannot surround the water particles. Because it reaches the nose, it seems that each of them has a different sense of smell.

[Example 2]
In this example, the ultrasonic atomizer of FIG. 3 was used (the ultrasonic transducer is the same as that of Example 1). The width of the nonwoven fabric is 2 mm and 7 mm, the nonwoven fabric with a width of 2 mm is installed on the fragrance β-phenylethyl alcohol (rose-like) side, and the nonwoven fabric with a width of 7 mm is installed on the fragrance cis-3-hexenol (green leaf-like) side. Carried out. The sensory evaluation was performed by three specialists of perfume evaluation. As a result, Leafy Green (green leaf scent) became a strong scent.

  Next, a non-woven fabric with a width of 2 mm is placed on the cis-3-hexenol (green leaf-like) side, and a non-woven fabric with a width of 7 mm is placed on the β-phenylethyl alcohol (rose-like) side. It was a fragrance including the above leafy green, and a forest-based scent). From this result, even with the same combination of fragrances, it was possible to change the quality of the fragrance by controlling the ratio of the volatilization amount.

  Similarly, perfume apple A. 2105 When a non-woven fabric with a width of 2 mm is installed on the GW (apple-like) side and a non-woven fabric with a width of 7 mm is installed on the fragrance cis-3-hexenol (green leaf-like) side, the leafy green is strong and slightly appley fruity notes ( It became a fruit-based scent. Next, Apple A. 2105 When a non-woven fabric with a width of 7 mm is installed on the GW (apple-like) side and a non-woven fabric with a width of 2 mm is installed on the cis-3-hexenol (green leaf-like) side, express the sweetness of the apple with a slight green effect. I was able to. That is, even with the same combination of fragrances, the scent quality could be changed by controlling the volatilization ratio.

[Example 3]
Triclosan (trichlorohydroxydiphenyl ether) is an antibacterial / antifungal substance that exhibits a high bactericidal effect in a nanoparticle state (see, for example, JP-A-2009-256325). In this example, first, a first liquid in which 0.1 mol / L sodium hydroxide and either 50 ppm or 100 ppm of triclosan were previously stirred and mixed, and a 0.1 mol / L buffer HEPES (pH 7, A second liquid made of Wako Pure Chemical Industries, Ltd. was prepared. The second liquid is for neutralizing the first liquid. The reason for preparing the first and second liquids is to neutralize the first liquid with the second liquid and crystallize triclosan in the neutral region.

The first liquid and the second liquid were atomized and mixed using the ultrasonic atomizer shown in FIG. 8 (the ultrasonic transducer is the same as in Example 1). Here, cotton having a basis weight of 40 g / m ² is used for the nonwoven fabric (spun lace) as the liquid absorbing member, and the width of the nonwoven fabric supplying the first and second liquids is set to 4 mm, respectively. The volume ratio of the atomized mixture of the liquid and the second liquid was 1: 1. Specifically, the first liquid and the second liquid were atomized simultaneously and mixed with each other, and the fog was collected and re-agglomerated.

  As a result of atomization mixing, the concentration of triclosan in the state where the first liquid and the second liquid were mixed was 25 ppm and 50 ppm. More specifically, the first liquid in which 0.1 mol / L sodium hydroxide and 50 ppm of triclosan are previously stirred and mixed and the second liquid composed of 0.1 mol / L buffer HEPES are atomized. The concentration of triclosan when mixed was 25 ppm. And the 1st liquid which stir-mixed 0.1 mol / L sodium hydroxide and 100 ppm triclosan beforehand, and the 2nd liquid which consists of 0.1 mol / L buffer solution HEPES at the time of atomization mixing The concentration of triclosan was 50 ppm.

  A Serratia marcescens subsp. / ML] (colony-forming units per milliliter) was suspended in physiological saline as a test bacterial solution. Next, the liquid atomized and mixed by the above method is collected in a test tube, and immediately after collection, a contact test is started by adding 10 μL of the test bacterial solution to 1 mL of the collected liquid. did. 100 μL of the liquid to which the test bacterial solution was added was collected over time every minute. The collected liquid is immediately inactivated by adding 900 μL of lecithin polysorbate 80 (LP) diluted solution (manufactured by Wako Pure Chemical Industries, Ltd.) to inactivate triclosan, and appropriately diluted to obtain SCDLP agar medium (manufactured by Wako Pure Chemical Industries, Ltd.). It was applied to. Then, after culturing at 30 ° C. for 24 hours, the number of colonies was counted to determine the number of surviving bacteria.

  As a result, as shown in FIG. 14, the liquid A (0.1 mol / L sodium hydroxide and 50 ppm triclosan obtained by atomizing and mixing the first liquid and the second liquid with the ultrasonic atomizer of the present invention was used. (A liquid in which the first liquid stirred and mixed in advance and the second liquid made of 0.1 mol / L buffer HEPES are atomized and mixed to make the concentration of triclosan 25 ppm) A decrease in the number was confirmed.

  Further, the liquid B obtained by atomizing and mixing the first liquid and the second liquid with the ultrasonic atomizer of the present invention (the first liquid obtained by stirring and mixing 0.1 mol / L sodium hydroxide and 100 ppm triclosan in advance) A liquid and a second liquid made of 0.1 mol / L buffer HEPES were atomized and mixed to make the triclosan concentration 50 ppm, and a decrease in the number of surviving bacteria of about 5 log was confirmed within 2 minutes. It was.

  As a comparative example, 0.05M buffer HEPES (pH 7) was used so that the concentration of triclosan was 50 ppm after dissolving triclosan in 100% propylene glycol as a solvent instead of the liquid collected after atomization and mixing. A similar contact test was performed using 1 mL of the solution prepared by diluting the solution. As a result, as shown in FIG. 14, when triclosan was dissolved in a solvent, no bactericidal effect was observed for 5 minutes.

  From the above experimental results, it is possible to achieve high sterilization by mixing the first liquid and the second liquid having a predetermined concentration of triclosan with the ultrasonic atomizer of the present invention without atomizing them in advance. It was confirmed that a mist capable of exhibiting performance could be provided.

The above embodiments and examples include the following technical ideas.
(1) A plurality of liquid storage portions that individually store a plurality of types of liquids, a liquid absorption member that individually absorbs a plurality of types of liquids, and abutting against the liquid absorption member. An ultrasonic atomizer having an ultrasonic transducer that oscillates the sound to atomize a plurality of types of liquids together;
(2) The ultrasonic wave according to (1), wherein there are a plurality of the liquid absorbing members that individually absorb a plurality of types of liquids, and the areas of the liquid absorbing members that are in contact with the ultrasonic transducers are different from each other. Atomizer;
(3) The plurality of liquid absorbing members are arranged in parallel and are in contact with the ultrasonic transducer, and the dimension in the arrangement direction of the portion of the plurality of liquid absorbing members that is in contact with the ultrasonic transducer is Different ultrasonic atomizers as described in (2) above;
(4) The plurality of liquid absorbing members are arranged in parallel and are in contact with the ultrasonic transducer, and are orthogonal to the arrangement direction of the portions of the plurality of liquid absorbing members that are in contact with the ultrasonic transducer. The ultrasonic atomizer according to the above (2) or (3), which has different directional dimensions;
(5) It further includes an area variable mechanism that changes an area of the plurality of liquid absorbing members that abuts the ultrasonic transducers by displacing at least one of the ultrasonic vibrator and the plurality of liquid absorbing members. The ultrasonic atomizer according to any one of the above (1) to (4);
(6) A selective contact mechanism that selectively displaces the ultrasonic transducers to a part of the plurality of liquid absorbing members by displacing at least one of the ultrasonic transducers and the plurality of liquid absorbing members. The ultrasonic atomizer according to any one of (1) to (5) above,
(7) The ultrasonic atomizer according to any one of (1) to (6), wherein at least two of the plurality of liquid absorbing members are overlapped and contacted with the ultrasonic transducer;
(8) The ultrasonic transducer includes a horn and a piezoelectric body, and the horn has a hollow structure including a gap portion between a vibration surface of the horn and the piezoelectric body. ) Ultrasonic atomizer according to any one of
(9) The piezoelectric body has a plate shape, the resonance direction of the piezoelectric body is an in-plane direction of the piezoelectric body, and the vibration surface disposed to face the piezoelectric body is The ultrasonic atomizer according to (8) above, which vibrates in a direction perpendicular to the body surface;
(10) The vibration surface is provided obliquely with respect to the installation surface of the ultrasonic atomizer, and the liquid absorbing member is in contact with the vibration surface. 9) the ultrasonic atomizer as described above;
(11) The liquid absorbing member has a plate shape or a rod shape having a predetermined thickness, and has an inclined portion formed obliquely with respect to the thickness direction, and the inclined portion is along the inclined direction of the vibration surface. The ultrasonic atomizer according to (10), wherein the ultrasonic atomizer is disposed and the inclined portion and the vibration surface are in surface contact;
(12) The ultrasonic atomizer according to any one of the above (1) to (11), in which a fragrance is accommodated as the liquid in at least one of the plurality of liquid accommodating portions;
(13) The ultrasonic atomizer according to any one of (1) to (12), wherein a bactericide is stored as the liquid in at least one of the plurality of liquid storage units;
(14) The ultrasonic atomizer according to any one of (1) to (13), wherein water is stored as the liquid in at least one of the plurality of liquid storage units.

100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800: ultrasonic atomizer, 110: liquid container, 111, 510: main body container, 112: main body cover, 120, 210, 220, 610, 620, 710-750, 820, 830: Liquid absorbing member, 122: Cutting edge, 123: Inclined part, 124: Corner part, 125: Base end part, 130: Ultrasonic vibrator, 131: Back horn, 132: Horn, 133: diaphragm, 135: casing inclined surface, 137: casing, 138: flange portion, 511: convex portion, 520: pedestal, 521: concave portion, 900: installation surface, LK: liquid, V: gap portion

Claims (14)

A plurality of liquid storage portions that individually store a plurality of types of liquids, a liquid absorbing member that individually absorbs a plurality of types of liquids, and an ultrasonic vibration of the liquid absorbing member provided in contact with the liquid absorbing member. and possess the ultrasonic vibrator, the to both atomize the plurality of kinds of said liquid Te,
The ultrasonic vibrator includes a horn and a piezoelectric body,
The ultrasonic atomizer which the said horn has comprised the hollow structure provided with a space | gap part between the vibration surface of the said horn, and the said piezoelectric material .   The ultrasonic atomizer according to claim 1, wherein there are a plurality of the liquid absorbing members that individually absorb a plurality of types of liquids, and the areas of the plurality of liquid absorbing members that are in contact with the ultrasonic transducers are different from each other.   A plurality of the liquid absorbing members are arranged in parallel and are in contact with the ultrasonic transducer, and the dimensions of the portions of the plurality of liquid absorbing members that are in contact with the ultrasonic transducer are different from each other in the arrangement direction. Item 3. The ultrasonic atomizer according to Item 2.   The plurality of liquid absorbing members are arranged in parallel and are in contact with the ultrasonic transducer, and the dimensions in the direction orthogonal to the arrangement direction of the portions of the plurality of liquid absorbing members that are in contact with the ultrasonic transducer The ultrasonic atomizer of Claim 2 or 3 from which mutually differs.   2. An area variable mechanism that further changes an area in contact with the ultrasonic transducer of the plurality of liquid absorbing members by displacing at least one of the ultrasonic transducer and the plurality of liquid absorbing members. The ultrasonic atomizer as described in any one of thru | or 4.   A selection contact mechanism that selectively displaces at least one of the ultrasonic transducer and the plurality of liquid absorbing members to selectively contact a part of the plurality of liquid absorbing members; The ultrasonic atomizer as described in any one of Claims 1 thru | or 5.   The ultrasonic atomizer according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein at least two of the plurality of liquid absorbing members are overlapped and contacted with the ultrasonic transducer. The liquid absorbing member individually absorbs a plurality of types of the liquid, and atomizes the liquid that is absorbed by the vibration of the leading edge over a predetermined length of the front end,
The ultrasonic transducer is provided in contact with the foremost portion of the liquid absorbing member, and ultrasonically vibrates the liquid absorbing member to atomize a plurality of types of liquids together. The ultrasonic atomizer as described in any one of Claims 7. The piezoelectric body has a plate shape, and the resonance direction of the piezoelectric body is an in-plane direction of the piezoelectric body,
The ultrasonic atomization according to any one of claims 1 to 8 , wherein the vibration surface arranged to face the piezoelectric body vibrates in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the piezoelectric body due to the resonance. Machine. The vibrating surface, the conjunction is provided obliquely at an angle with respect to the installation surface of the ultrasonic atomizer, any one of the liquid absorbing member to the vibrating surface claims 1 abuts 9 one The ultrasonic atomizer according to item . The liquid absorbing member has a plate shape or a rod shape having a predetermined thickness, and has an inclined portion formed obliquely with respect to the thickness direction,
The ultrasonic atomizer according to claim 10, wherein the inclined portion is disposed along an inclination direction of the vibration surface, and the inclined portion and the vibration surface are in surface contact.   The ultrasonic atomizer according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein a fragrance is contained as the liquid in at least one of the plurality of liquid containing portions.   The ultrasonic atomizer as described in any one of Claims 1 thru | or 12 by which a disinfectant is accommodated as the said liquid in at least one of the said several liquid accommodating part.   The ultrasonic atomizer according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein water is stored as the liquid in at least one of the plurality of liquid storage portions.

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