JPH05138092A - Atomizing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make atomized particles finer and more uniform and expand the adjustment range of the atomized amount, by installing a liquid supplying part to supply a liquid in the tip face of a vibrator. CONSTITUTION:When an oscillator driving apparatus is started, an electric oscillator 11 starts operation and the tip face 13 of a vibrator 12 is excited with a proper vibration amplitude, and due to the vibration an abutment face 17 of the tip face 13 of the vibrator 12 and a valve part 14 is opened and closed synchronously with the vibration frequency. A liquid supplying part 16 is installed in the valve part 14 to simplify the vibrator 12 to make its design and processing easy. Consequently, while the vibration amplitude of the electric oscillator 11 is kept maximum at the tip face 13 without losing the vibration strength, stable vibration is retained and thus stable atomizing operation is surely achieved. At the closing time of the tip face 13, fine liquid dewdrops are struck out by shearing force by plane collision of the tip face 13 of the vibrator 12 and the valve part 14 and become fine particle groups D, and thus they are atomized. Uniform and extremely thin liquid membrane is formed by a constant vibration amplitude and due to the shearing force by plane collision, atomized particles uniform in particle size are obtained.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an atomizing device for atomizing a liquid such as water, oil or a chemical solution by vibration, and a humidifier, a medical device for atomizing a drug, a liquid combustor, a chemical processor, etc. It is used for.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various atomizing devices of this type have been proposed and are being put into practical use or being studied for practical use.

For example, as shown in FIG. 4, a high pressure pump 1
The liquid is supplied from the supply nozzle 4 to the high-speed rotating body 3 as shown in FIG. 5, and is sprayed by the centrifugal force to atomize the liquid by pressurizing the liquid by means of the nozzle 2 and atomizing it by the atomizer 2. A rotary spraying device for atomization, and further, as shown in FIG. 6, a piezoelectric element 6 is provided at the bottom of the liquid tank 5, and an ultrasonic immersion atomization device for concentrating and atomizing ultrasonic waves in the vicinity of the liquid surface of the liquid tank 5. and so on. In addition, the horn type ultrasonic atomizer is
As shown in FIG. 7, the horn-shaped vibrator 7 is made of duralumin or the like to amplify the vibration amplitude of the piezoelectric element 8 and the like, and supply the liquid from the supply pipe 10 to the horn tip 9 whose amplitude has been amplified. It started to atomize.

[0004]

However, the above-mentioned conventional pressure spraying device (FIG. 4) has a large atomized particle size and poor uniformity of particle size, resulting in an insufficient atomization performance, resulting in an insufficient jet flow velocity. Since the atomization state deteriorates extremely when lowered, the adjustment range of the atomization amount was small. The rotary atomizer (Fig. 5)
Although the adjustment range of the atomization amount is larger than that of the above-mentioned pressure spraying device, the device for rotation and power consumption are required, and the size of the entire device is increased and the particle size of atomization is large. The liquid immersion type ultrasonic atomizer (FIG. 6) requires an extremely large amount of ultrasonic energy because it directly irradiates the liquid surface with ultrasonic waves to atomize, requires high frequency driving, and obtains a large amount of atomization. Is difficult and the uniformity of the particle size is poor. Furthermore, the atomization operation fluctuates significantly depending on the temperature and physical properties of the atomized liquid, and compensating for this is troublesome. Further, the horn type ultrasonic atomizer (FIG. 7) can obtain a larger amount of atomization than the liquid immersion type ultrasonic atomizer described above, but the thickness of the liquid film on the horn surface is not uniform. Since the size of the diameter is controlled and it is extremely difficult to obtain a thin liquid film uniformly, the atomized particle size is large and the uniformity is poor, and the atomization performance was insufficient. ..

As described above, the above conventional atomizing device is
There was a problem that atomization performance such as atomization of atomized particles and uniformization of particle size was insufficient, and the adjustment range of the atomization amount was small.

The present invention solves the above problems and provides an atomizing device that atomizes and homogenizes atomized particles, and that is small in size and expands the adjustment range of the atomization amount.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides an electric vibrator for generating vibration, a vibrator connected to the electric vibrator, and a tip surface of the vibrator. And a liquid supply unit provided on the valve unit for supplying liquid to the tip surface of the vibrating body.

[0008]

According to the present invention, when the electric vibrator is driven by the above structure, the tip end surface of the vibrating body is vibrated while being stably maintained without impairing the vibration strength. At this time, the contact surface between the tip surface of the vibrating body and the valve portion opens and closes due to the vibration of the tip surface of the vibrating body.
Then, when opened, the liquid is supplied from the liquid supply unit to the tip surface of the vibrating body to form a thin liquid film. Subsequently, when closed, the thin liquid film is beaten out by the shearing force generated by the contact between the tip surface of the vibrating body and the valve portion, and fine particles can be atomized to have a uniform particle size. The atomization amount can be adjusted widely by adjusting the liquid supply amount.

[0009]

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

In FIGS. 1 and 2, reference numeral 11 denotes an electric vibrator for generating a vibration, which is composed of, for example, lead zirconate titanate porcelain or the like, and a pair of vibrations which are made into electrodes by applying silver to both end surfaces. It is a stack of several children electrically connected in parallel. Reference numeral 12 denotes a vibrating body made of metal such as duralumin or stainless steel, which is closely attached to one outer end surface (silver electrode side) 11a of the electric vibrator 11 to be joined thereto.
The vibration generated by the
Can be transmitted to the tip surface 13 of the. Reference numeral 12a is a fixing support portion provided on the vibrating body 12. 14
Is the vibrating body 1 at a predetermined pressure by the elastic body 15 or the like at the valve portion.
The liquid source (not shown) is in contact with the tip surface 13 of
Liquid is supplied to the tip surface 13 of the vibrating body 12 from a liquid supply unit 16 which is a supply path connected to the front end 13 via a pipe 16a. The contact surface 17 between the tip surface 13 of the vibrating body 12 and the valve portion 14 is opened and closed by the vibration of the tip surface 13 of the vibrating body 12. The front end surface 13 of the vibrating body 12 has a recess 13a formed in the center thereof, and the valve portion 1
4 and the protrusion 14a.

The operation of the above structure will be described with reference to FIG. When a vibrator driving device (not shown) is activated, the electric vibrator 11 (FIG. 1) is driven, and the tip surface 13 of the vibrating body 12 is vibrated with an appropriate vibration amplitude. Contact surface 17 between tip surface 13 and valve portion 14
Opens and closes in synchronization with the vibration frequency. This opening and closing is the vibrating body 1
In order to maintain stable vibration, the processing accuracy of the vibrating body 12 is important, and the simpler the vibrating body 12, the easier the design. Therefore, in the embodiment, since the liquid supply portion 16 is further provided in the valve portion 14, the vibrating body 12 becomes simple, and the design and processing in consideration of only the vibration becomes easy, and the vibration amplitude of the electric vibrator 11 is set to the tip. Stable vibration can be maintained without impairing the vibration strength so that the surface 13 is maximized. Therefore, the following stable atomization operation can be ensured. FIG. 2a shows a state where the front end surface 13 of the vibrating body 12 is open,
Liquid is supplied from the liquid supply unit 16 to the tip surface 13 of the vibrating body 12. The gap formed by the tip surface 13 of the vibrating body 12 and the valve portion 14 substantially matches the vibration amplitude, and the liquid forms an extremely thin liquid film L. Next, FIG. 2B shows a state of a transitional stage toward closing, which shows the tip surface 13 of the vibrating body 12 and the valve portion 1.
The gap volume formed by 4 becomes small, and the liquid film that was present at the time of fully opening the minute liquid droplet Ld on the outer periphery of the tip surface 13 of the vibrating body 12.
To form. FIG. 2C shows a closed state, in which the tip surface 13 of the vibrating body 12 and the valve portion 14 are knocked out by a shearing force due to the contact between the tip surface 13 and the valve portion 14, further atomized into a fine particle group D, and a constant vibration is generated. Atomization with a uniform particle size can be obtained by the formation of a very thin liquid film with uniform amplitude and the shearing force due to the surface contact. Then, the tip surface 13 of the vibrating body 12
The atomization amount can be widely varied by adjusting the liquid supply amount to the. Moreover, the structure is simple and small.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 3 is different from the embodiment described above in that the vibrating body 12 has a configuration in which the cross-sectional area of the tip end surface 13 of the vibrating body 12 is smaller than the cross-sectional area on the side where the electric vibrator 11 is joined. .. According to the configuration of this embodiment, a large vibration amplitude is concentrated on the tip surface 13 of the vibrating body 12 due to the effect of focusing the vibration energy, and strong vibration is obtained, so that the tip surface 13 of the vibrating body 12 and the valve portion 14 are combined. There is an effect that the shearing force of the liquid film at the time of contact with the surface becomes large, and a finer particle size and uniform atomization can be obtained.

[0013]

As described above, according to the atomizing device of the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.

(1) Since the contact surface between the tip surface of the vibrating body and the valve portion opens and closes due to the vibration of the tip surface of the vibrating body, the contact surface between the tip surface of the vibrating body and the valve portion is opened and closed during this opening and closing. The action of forming an extremely thin liquid film and the tapping action due to the shearing force on the liquid film are continuously generated, and the fine particles can be atomized.

(2) Atomization with a uniform particle size can be obtained by forming a uniform extremely thin liquid film with a constant vibration amplitude and a stable shearing force due to the surface contact.

(3) The atomization amount can be widely varied by adjusting the liquid supply amount to the tip surface of the vibrating body.

(4) Since the liquid supply portion is provided in the valve portion, the vibrating body can maintain stable vibration without impairing the vibration strength so that the vibration amplitude of the electric vibrator is maximized at the tip surface thereof. Therefore, stable atomization operation can be secured.

(5) In the vibrating body, the cross-sectional area of the tip end surface of the vibrating body is smaller than the cross-sectional area of the side where it is joined to the electric vibrator, so that the vibrating body has a large vibration amplitude due to the effect of focusing the vibration energy. Since it concentrates on the tip surface of the vibrating body and strong vibration is obtained, the shearing force of the liquid film generated when the vibrating body comes into contact with the tip surface of the vibrating body increases, and it is possible to obtain more uniform atomization with finer particles. it can.

(6) The structure is simple and can be made compact.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a main part of an atomizing device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view of a main part of the atomizing device showing a state where the tip surface of the vibrating body is open. FIG. 2B is a main part showing a state of a process in which the tip surface of the vibrating body of the atomizing device moves toward the closed state. Sectional view c is a sectional view of essential parts showing a state in which the tip surface of the vibrating body of the atomizing device is closed.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a main part of an atomizing device in another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a main part of a conventional atomizing device.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a main part of another conventional atomizing device.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a main part of another conventional atomizing device.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a main part of another conventional atomizing device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 Electrical Oscillator 12 Vibrating Body 13 Tip Surface of Vibrating Body 14 Valve Section 16 Liquid Supply Section

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Naoyoshi Maehara 1006 Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Sadayuki Ueba 1793-635 Kanamori, Machida, Tokyo Inventor Haruhisa Iida 2-41-21 Fujigaoka, Midori-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture 221 Fujigaoka Dormitory, Tokyo Institute of Technology

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An electric vibrator for generating vibration, a vibrating body connected to the electric vibrator, and a front end surface of the vibrating body which is opened and closed by vibrating by contacting the front end surface of the vibrating body. And a liquid supply unit that is provided in the valve unit and that supplies liquid to the tip surface of the vibrating body. 2. The atomizing device according to claim 1, wherein the vibrating body is configured such that a cross-sectional area of a tip end surface of the vibrating body is smaller than a cross-sectional area of a connecting side of the electric vibrator.