JPH0558753B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (a) Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ultrasonic inhaler, particularly an ultrasonic inhaler equipped with a plurality of ultrasonic transducers.

(b) Prior art and its problems In general, in aerosol therapy, the part of the respiratory tract where the atomized liquid tends to deposit depends on the size of the particles, with larger particles depositing in the upper respiratory tract and smaller particles depositing in the upper respiratory tract. It is said to be deposited in the lower respiratory tract (bronchus) and alveoli. Therefore, even if the same aerosol treatment is performed, the affected area may be
It is desirable to inhale atomized particles with different particle sizes depending on whether the inhaler is in the throat or lungs. Furthermore, if the affected area extends to various parts of the respiratory tract, it is necessary to inhale atomized particles of various particle sizes.

However, conventional ultrasonic inhalers use a single ultrasonic vibrator, and the atomized particles are also determined by the vibration frequency, allowing fine-grained and effective treatment depending on the patient and site. I couldn't do it.

(c) Purpose of the invention The purpose of the present invention is to eliminate the drawbacks of conventional ultrasonic inhalers, to obtain atomized particles with various particle sizes,
Moreover, it is an object of the present invention to provide an ultrasonic inhaler with low power consumption.

(d) Structure and effect of the invention The ultrasonic inhaler of the present invention has a plurality of ultrasonic vibrators each having a different resonance frequency at the bottom of the outer tank, and the ultrasonic vibrators are activated at predetermined time intervals. It is equipped with an automatic scanning circuit that sequentially vibrates, and by automatically switching the vibrating ultrasonic vibrators sequentially by the automatic scanning circuit, atomized particles having different particle sizes can be sequentially obtained.

According to the ultrasonic inhaler of the present invention, a plurality of ultrasonic vibrators with different resonance frequencies are provided and are automatically switched to vibrate at different frequencies, so that atomized particles of various particle sizes can be generated. is output, and the atomized liquid can be deposited on each site without much effort. Furthermore, since all the vibrators do not vibrate at the same time, the power consumption can be extremely small.

(e) Description of Examples The present invention will be explained in more detail below with reference to Examples.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an ultrasonic inhaler showing one embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes an outer tank, into which water is placed as a liquid medium for transmitting vibrational energy.

2 is an inner tank, into which water, chemical solution, etc. to be atomized are put. The upper surface of the inner tank 2 is provided with an air outlet 2a that receives air from a blower fan (not shown) and an output port 2b that outputs atomized particles. The bottom portion 2c of the inner tank 2, which is made up of a diaphragm, has a downwardly convex curved surface, so that the atomizing action is performed approximately at the center of the tank.

The bottom part 1a of the outer tank 1 is formed into a mortar shape,
Three holes 1b are provided at the center of the slope, and an ultrasonic transducer unit 3 is disposed in each hole 1b. These ultrasonic transducer units 3
is composed of an ultrasonic transducer 4, a rubber ring 5, a transducer holder 6, and an electrode fitting 7. Each ultrasonic vibrator 4 is arranged on a concentric circle equidistant from the center of the bottom 1a of the outer tank 1, and arranged so that its vibration surface is parallel to a plane in contact with the curved surface of the bottom 2c of the inner tank 2. has been done.

8 is an oscillation section, and 9 is a power supply section, which are housed in the base case 10. The electrode fitting 7 of the ultrasonic vibrator 4 is connected to the oscillating part 8 by a lead wire. Three ultrasonic transducers 4 (4a, 4b,
4c) has a resonant frequency of 0.76MHz,
Different values such as 1.4MHz and 2.8MHz are used,
Only one transducer of each of these ultrasonic transducers 4a, 4b, and 4c vibrates sequentially in time.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the electric circuit of the ultrasonic inhaler, particularly the configuration of the oscillating section. In the figure, the oscillation unit 8 includes three ultrasonic transducers 4a, 4
Drive circuits 11a and 1 that drive circuits b and 4c, respectively
1b, 11c, and these drive circuits 11a, 11
A scanning signal generation circuit 1 that outputs scanning signals T1, T2, and T3 for operation switching in time sequential order to b and 11c.
It is composed of 2.

As shown in FIG. 3, the scanning signals T1, T2, and T3 are time-divided, and only one signal becomes high during the divided period, and this signal is repeated. When the scanning signal T1 is high, the drive circuit 11a is activated,
When the scanning signal T2 is high, the driving circuit 11b is activated, and when the scanning signal T3 is high, the driving circuit 11c is activated.
is energized.

Next, the operation will be explained.

When the power is turned on with the medium liquid in the outer tank 1 and the liquid to be atomized in the inner tank 2, the scanning signal generation circuit 12 receives the power supply voltage from the power supply section 9 and outputs the scanning signal T1 at high level. do. As a result, the drive circuit 11
a is energized, and only the 0.76MHz ultrasonic transducer 4a vibrates. This vibration is transmitted to the atomizing liquid in the inner tank 2 through the medium liquid, and the atomizing liquid is atomized. In this case, the atomized particles have a large diameter. After time passes, the scanning signal T
2 becomes high, the drive circuit 11b is energized by the scanning signal T2, and the 1.4MHz ultrasonic transducer 4b vibrates. At this timing, the scanning signal T
1 becomes low and the vibration of the ultrasonic vibrator 4a stops, so that only the ultrasonic vibrator 4b vibrates. In this case, medium-sized atomized particles are obtained. Further, at the next timing, the scanning signal T3 becomes high, and this scanning signal T3 causes the drive circuit 11c to
is energized, and the 2.8MHz ultrasonic vibrator 4c vibrates. At this timing, atomized particles with a small diameter can be obtained. Next, the scanning signal T1 becomes high again, and as time passes, the scanning signal becomes high from T1→T2→T3→T1→...
This is repeated, and the vibrating ultrasonic vibrator also changes from 4a → 4b → 4c → 4a →..., and the particle size of the atomized particles also changes from large → medium → small → large →...
is output repeatedly.

According to this embodiment of the ultrasonic inhaler, each ultrasonic vibrator vibrates in a completely time-divided manner, so there is no mutual interference and it is possible to obtain large, medium, and small particles with good characteristics. can.

Further, in the ultrasonic inhaler of the above embodiment, each period of the scanning signals T1, T2, and T3 is the same, but each period of these scanning signals may be selected to have a different value as appropriate in advance.

Further, in the ultrasonic inhaler of the above embodiment, the number of ultrasonic vibrators and drive circuits is three, but of course the number is not limited to three, and may be two or four or more. Further, the drive circuit may be partially or entirely used as the case, and only the ultrasonic transducer may be automatically switched.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a sectional view of an ultrasonic inhaler showing one embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing the electric circuit of the ultrasonic inhaler, and Fig. 3 explains the operation of the ultrasonic inhaler. FIG. 1...Outer tank, 1a...Bottom of the outer tank, 2...Inner tank, 4a, 4b, 4c...Ultrasonic transducer, 11
a, 11b, 11c...drive circuit, 12...scanning signal generation circuit.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An outer tank for storing a medium liquid, an inner tank stored in the outer tank for storing a liquid to be atomized, a plurality of ultrasonic transducers each having a different resonance frequency provided at the bottom of the outer tank, and these An ultrasonic inhaler comprising a circuit for driving an ultrasonic vibrator, and an automatic scanning circuit for sequentially vibrating each of the ultrasonic vibrators at predetermined time intervals.