TW202035870A - Micro-pump - Google Patents

Abstract

A micro-pump is disclosed and comprises an inlet plate, a resonance plate, a piezoelectric actuator, an insulation plate and a conductive plate which are stacked sequentially. The inlet plate has an inlet hole, a converging hole and a converging chamber. The resonance plate has a hollow hole. A chamber is defined between the piezoelectric actuator and the resonance plate. The piezoelectric actuator comprises a suspension plate, a frame, a connection part and a piezoelectric element. The connection part is connected between the suspension plate and the frame, and a gap is defined for gas passing through. The conductive plate comprises plural conductive ends for electrically coupling with the piezoelectric element. When the piezoelectric actuator is actuated, gas is introduced into the converging chamber via the inlet hole, then introduced into the chamber via the hollow hole, and finally discharged through the gap, thereby the gas transmitting is achieved.

Description

Micro pump

This case is about a pneumatic power device, especially a miniature, ultra-thin and silent miniature pump.

At present, in various fields, whether it is medicine, computer technology, printing, energy and other industries, products are developing in the direction of refinement and miniaturization. Among them, products such as micro pumps, sprayers, inkjet heads, and industrial printing devices include Fluid transport structure is its key technology, so how to break through its technical bottleneck through innovative structure is an important content of development.

For example, in the pharmaceutical industry, many instruments or equipment that need to be driven by pneumatic power usually use traditional motors and pneumatic valves to achieve the purpose of gas delivery. However, limited by the volume limitations of these traditional motors and gas valves, it is difficult for this type of equipment to reduce the volume of its overall device, that is, it is difficult to achieve the goal of thinning, and it is also impossible to make it portable. In addition, conventional motors and gas valves also generate noise when they are activated, resulting in inconvenience and uncomfortable use.

Therefore, how to develop a micropump that can maintain certain working characteristics and flow rate of the micropump under long-term use is a problem that needs to be solved urgently.

One of the objectives of this case is to provide a micropump, in which gas enters from the air inlet on the micropump, and the piezoelectric actuator is used to generate a pressure gradient in the designed flow channel and confluence chamber, thereby enabling The gas flows at a high speed, so that the micro-pump can achieve the effect of silence, and can reduce the overall volume and thinness of the micro aerodynamic device, so that the micro aerodynamic device can achieve the purpose of light and comfortable portable.

Another purpose of this case is to provide a miniature pump, which is different from the conventional piezoelectric element that uses welding conductive wires on the electrode to achieve the electrical connection of the electrode. In this case, no welding is used on the electrode of the piezoelectric element. The contact conductive end design overcomes the above-mentioned electrode lead-out method, which greatly reduces the complicated assembly process, and does not use solder joints, so there is no high temperature that affects the piezoelectric characteristics of the local or even the entire piezoelectric element. The problem, as well as the non-welding method, there is no welding point and the quality and volume of the welding gel itself, resulting in the unavoidable space limitation and uneven operation of the micropump.

To achieve the above objective, one of the broader implementation aspects of the present case is to provide a micropump, including: an air inlet plate having at least one air inlet hole, at least one busbar hole and a confluence chamber, wherein at least one of the air inlet The hole is for introducing a gas, at least one of the air inlet holes corresponds to at least one of the busbar holes, at least one busbar hole is correspondingly connected to the busbar chamber, and the gas introduced into the at least one inlet hole is converged into the busbar chamber ; A resonance sheet, attached to the intake plate, has a hollow hole, a movable part and a fixed part, the hollow hole is located at the center of the resonance sheet, and is opposite to the confluence chamber of the intake plate Corresponding; a piezoelectric actuator, through a filling material assembly and connection between the resonant sheet, has a cavity space, the piezoelectric actuator includes a suspension plate, an outer frame, at least one connecting portion, a Piezoelectric element, at least one gap, at least one connecting portion is connected between the suspension plate and the outer frame to provide elastic support, at least one gap is provided between the suspension plate and the outer frame to provide gas circulation, and the The piezoelectric element is attached to one surface of the suspension plate; an insulating sheet is combined with one side of the piezoelectric actuator; and a conductive sheet is combined with the insulating sheet and has a plurality of contact conductive ends and a plurality of conductive ends Air-permeable openings, a plurality of the contact conductive ends are protrudingly provided on the surface of the conductive sheet, and the conductive sheet is assembled on the piezoelectric actuator to form a close pre-force contact with the surface of the piezoelectric element as a driving electrode; wherein, When the piezoelectric actuator is driven, the gas is introduced from at least one of the gas inlet holes of the gas inlet plate, converges to the confluence chamber through at least one bus hole, and then flows through the hollow of the resonance plate The hole is introduced into the chamber space, and then the gas is transmitted through the resonance of the piezoelectric actuator, and then discharged from the gap through the plurality of ventilation openings to form gas transmission.

The embodiments embodying the features and advantages of this case will be described in detail in the later description. It should be understood that the case can have various changes in different aspects, which do not depart from the scope of the case, and the descriptions and diagrams therein are essentially for illustrative purposes, rather than being constructed to limit the case.

Please refer to Fig. 1, Fig. 2A, Fig. 2B and Fig. 3A. The micropump 1 in this case includes an intake plate 11, a resonance sheet 12, a piezoelectric actuator 13, and An insulating sheet 14 and a conductive sheet 15 are assembled.

The air inlet plate 11 has at least one air inlet 11a, at least one busbar hole 11b, and a bus chamber 11c. The number of the air inlet holes 11a and the busbar holes 11b are the same. In this embodiment, the air inlet holes The number of 11a and busbar holes 11b is 4 for example, but not limited to this; the 4 air inlet holes 11a respectively penetrate the 4 busbar holes 11b, and the 4 busbar holes 11b converge to the bus chamber 11c.

The above-mentioned resonant sheet 12 can be assembled on the air inlet plate 11 by bonding, and the resonant sheet 12 has a hollow hole 12a, a movable portion 12b and a fixed portion 12c. The hollow hole 12a is located in the center of the resonant sheet 12 And corresponding to the confluence chamber 11c of the intake plate 11, and the area provided around the hollow hole 12a and corresponding to the confluence chamber 11c is the movable portion 12b, and is provided on the outer peripheral edge of the resonance sheet 12 and attached Fixed on the air intake plate 11 is a fixed portion 12c.

The aforementioned piezoelectric actuator 13 includes a floating plate 13a, an outer frame 13b, at least one connecting portion 13c, a piezoelectric element 13d, at least one gap 13e and a convex portion 13f; wherein, the floating plate 13a is a square The suspension board has a first surface 131a and a second surface 132a opposite to the first surface 131a. The outer frame 13b is arranged around the periphery of the suspension board 13a, and the outer frame 13b has a set of matching surfaces 131b and a lower surface 132b, and penetrates At least one connecting portion 13c is connected between the suspension plate 13a and the outer frame 13b to provide a supporting force for elastically supporting the suspension plate 13a. In this embodiment, the first surface 131a of the suspension plate 13a and the assembly surface 131b of the outer frame 13b The two form a coplanar plane, and the second surface 132a of the suspension plate 13a and the lower surface 132b of the outer frame 13b form a coplanar plane. The gap 13e is the gap between the suspension plate 13a, the outer frame 13b and the connecting portion 13c. For the gas to pass through. In addition, the first surface 131a of the suspension plate 13a has a convex portion 13f. In this embodiment, the convex portion 13f is formed by making the periphery of the convex portion 13f and the junction adjacent to the connecting portion 13c recessed through an etching process. The convex surface 131f of the convex portion 13f of the floating plate 13a is higher than the first surface 131a to form a stepped structure. In addition, the outer frame 13b is arranged around the outer side of the suspension board 13a, and has a first conductive pin 133b protruding outward for power connection, but it is not limited to this.

The above-mentioned resonant sheet 12 and piezoelectric actuator 13 are stacked and assembled with each other through a filler g to form a cavity space 16 therebetween. The filler g can be a conductive glue, but is not limited to this. , So that there is a distance h between the resonant plate 12 and the piezoelectric actuator 13 so that the distance h can be maintained between the resonant plate 12 and the convex surface 131f of the convex portion 13f on the suspension plate 13a of the piezoelectric actuator 13 The depth can guide the airflow to flow quickly, and because the protrusion 13f of the suspension plate 13a and the resonance plate 12 keep a proper distance, the contact interference with each other is reduced, and the noise generation is reduced; in other embodiments, such as As shown in Figure 3B, the above-mentioned resonant sheet 12 and piezoelectric actuator 13 are stacked and assembled with each other through a filler g to form a cavity space 16 therebetween. It can also be formed by stamping by the suspension plate 13a Make it recessed downward, and the distance of the depression can be adjusted by at least one connecting portion 13c formed between the suspension plate 13a and the outer frame 13b, so that the convex surface 131f of the convex portion 13f on the suspension plate 13a and the outer frame 13b are combined The two matching surfaces 131b are non-coplanar, that is, the convex surface 131f of the convex portion 13f will be lower than the assembly surface 131b of the outer frame 13b, and the second surface 132a of the suspension plate 13a is lower than the lower surface 132b of the outer frame 13b In addition, the piezoelectric element 13d is attached to the second surface 132a of the suspension plate 13a and is disposed opposite to the convex portion 13f. After the piezoelectric element 13d is applied with a driving voltage, it deforms due to the piezoelectric effect, thereby driving the suspension plate 13a to vibrate; A small amount of filler g is applied to the assembly surface 131b of the outer frame 13b, and the piezoelectric actuator 13 is attached to the fixing portion 12c of the resonant sheet 12 by thermocompression bonding, so that the piezoelectric actuator 13 can be Combine with the resonance film 12. The distance h formed between the first surface 131a of the suspension plate 13a and the resonance plate 12 will affect the transmission effect of the micropump 1. Therefore, maintaining a fixed distance h is very important for the micropump 1 to provide stable transmission efficiency. For example, the micro pump 1 uses a stamping method on the suspension plate 13a to dent it downward, so that the first surface 131a of the suspension plate 13a and the assembly surface 131b of the outer frame 13b are both non-coplanar, that is, the suspension plate 13a The first surface 131a will be lower than the assembly surface 131b of the outer frame 13b, and the second surface 132a of the suspension plate 13a is lower than the lower surface 132b of the outer frame 13b, so that the suspension plate 13a of the piezoelectric actuator 13 is recessed to form a space To form an adjustable distance h with the resonant plate 12, the suspension plate 13a of the piezoelectric actuator 13 is directly improved by forming a recessed structure to form a distance h. In this way, the required distance h can be adjusted through The suspension plate 13a of the piezoelectric actuator 13 is formed by forming the recessed distance, which effectively simplifies the structural design of adjusting the spacing h, and also achieves the advantages of simplifying the manufacturing process and shortening the manufacturing time.

The above-mentioned insulating sheet 14 and conductive sheet 15 are all frame-shaped thin flexible sheets, which are sequentially stacked under the piezoelectric actuator 13. In this embodiment, the insulating sheet 14 is attached to the lower surface 132 b of the outer frame 13 b of the piezoelectric actuator 13, and the conductive sheet 15 is stacked on the insulating sheet 14. In addition, the shapes of the insulating sheet 14 and the conductive sheet 15 roughly correspond to the outer frame 13b of the piezoelectric actuator 13. In some embodiments, the insulating sheet 14 is made of an insulable material, such as plastic, but not limited to this, for insulation purposes; the conductive sheet 15 is made of a flexible material that can conduct electricity, such as : Metal sheet body, but not limited to this, for the purpose of electrical conduction, and the conductive sheet 15 In this embodiment, the conductive sheet 15 is provided with a second conductive pin 15a, a plurality of contact conductive ends 15b and A plurality of air-permeable openings 15c, a second conductive pin 15a and a plurality of contact conductive ends 15b are used for electrical conduction, and a plurality of air-permeable openings 15c are used as a unidirectional outlet for gas transmission inside the micropump 1, and a plurality of them Each contact conductive end 15b has to be directly stamped and formed from the conductive sheet 15 and protruded on the surface of the conductive sheet 15 as the driving electrode of the piezoelectric element 13d of the piezoelectric actuator 13, which is different from the conventional piezoelectric element 13d in Welding conductive wires are used on the electrodes to achieve the electrical connection of the lead-out electrode. In addition, the conventional piezoelectric element 13d is applied to the electrode in the process. Because the upper electrode of the piezoelectric element 13d is to be led out, it is necessary to use a jig to It is fixed and has different alignments according to different processes, which greatly complicates the assembly. To solve this problem, this case uses the conductive sheet 15 to directly stamp and form a plurality of contact conductive ends 15b to protrude on the surface of the conductive sheet 15 , And in the assembly, it is preset to form a close pre-force contact with the surface of the piezoelectric element 13d on the piezoelectric actuator 13 as a driving electrode. When the piezoelectric element 13d moves up and down with the suspension plate 13a, it can still Maintain the contact conductive effect between the surface of the piezoelectric element 13d and the contact conductive end 15b, and will not lose the contact conductive effect of the piezoelectric element 13d with the up and down vibration displacement of the suspension plate 13a (as shown in Figure 4A to Figure 4C, the micro pump 1 In the action diagram, the surface of the piezoelectric element 13d and the contact conductive end 15b always maintain contact and conduction), so the contact conductive end 15b is designed to contact and not solder to overcome the conventional way of electrode lead-out with wires, which not only simplifies the manufacturing process, but also does not perform The solder joint welding method does not affect the attenuation of the piezoelectric characteristics of the local or even the entire piezoelectric element 13d due to the high temperature generated by the soldering process, as well as the method of not applying solder joints and soldering colloids, and the quality of the soldering joints and the soldering colloid itself. The volume will not cause problems such as space limitation and uneven operation that cannot be avoided inside the micropump 1.

Please continue to refer to the schematic diagrams of the operation of the micro pump 1 shown in Figs. 4A to 4C. First, please refer to Fig. 4A. After the piezoelectric element 13d of the piezoelectric actuator 13 is applied with a driving voltage, it deforms and drives the suspension The plate 13a is displaced downward, and at the same time the resonance plate 12 is synchronously displaced downward under the influence of the resonance principle. At this time, the volume of the chamber space 16 is increased, so a negative pressure is formed in the chamber space 16, and the external air of the micro pump 1 It is drawn through the air inlet hole 11a, passes through the busbar hole 11b, enters the junction chamber 11c, and then enters the cavity space 16 through the hollow hole 12a; please refer to Figure 4B again, when the piezoelectric element 13d drives the suspension plate 13a is displaced upward, and at the same time, the resonance plate 12 is also displaced upward by the resonance of the suspension plate 13a, simultaneously pushing the gas in the confluence chamber 11c to move to the chamber space 16, causing the movable part 12b of the resonance plate 12 to move upward, allowing the gas temporarily It cannot be sucked through the air inlet 11a. At this time, the gas in the chamber space 16 is squeezed and transmitted downward through the gap 13e, and then discharged outside the micropump 1 through a plurality of ventilation openings 15c to achieve the effect of gas transmission; As shown in Figure 4C, when the floating plate 13a is driven downward again, and the floating plate 13a returns to the horizontal position, the movable part 12b of the resonant plate 12 is also driven to move downward at the same time, and the resonant plate 12 makes the cavity The gas in the space 16 moves to the gap 13e, and increases the volume in the confluence chamber 11c, so that the gas can continuously pass through the inlet hole 11a and the confluence bar hole 11b and then converge in the confluence chamber 11c; The actions shown in Figs. 4A to 4C enable the micropump 1 to continuously enter the gas from the air inlet 11a, and then transfer it downward through the gap 13e, and then discharge it to the outside of the micropump 1 through a plurality of ventilation openings 15c, continuously sucking The gas constitutes the operation of the gas transmission of the micro pump 1 in this case.

In summary, the micro-pump provided in this case mainly uses gas to enter from the air inlet on the micro-pump, and uses piezoelectric actuators to actuate the gas in the designed flow channel and confluence chamber Generate a pressure gradient, and then make the gas flow at a high speed, such a micro pump can achieve the effect of silence, and can reduce the overall volume and thinness of the micro aerodynamic device, thereby making the micro aerodynamic device portable and comfortable , And can be widely used in medical equipment and related equipment; and the use of non-welding contact conductive end design on the electrode of the piezoelectric element, overcomes the above-mentioned way of leading the electrode with a wire, which is different from the conventional piezoelectric element. The welding conductive wire used on the electrode achieves the way of leading out the electrical connection of the electrode, greatly reducing the complicated process of assembly, and without welding spot welding, there will be no high temperature that affects the local or even the whole piezoelectric element. The attenuation of the piezoelectric characteristics and the non-welding method of solder joints, the lack of solder joints and the quality and volume of the soldering gel itself will cause the unavoidable space limitation and uneven operation of the micropump, which is extremely industrially applicable. .

Even though this case has been described in detail by the above-mentioned embodiments, it can be modified in many ways by those skilled in the art, but it does not deviate from the protection of the attached patent scope.

1: Micropump 11: Inlet plate 11a: Inlet hole 11b: Busbar hole 11c: Confluence chamber 12: Resonant sheet 12a: Hollow hole 12b: Movable part 12c: Fixed part 13: Piezoelectric actuator 13a: Levitation Plate 131a: first surface 132a: second surface 13b: outer frame 131b: assembly surface 132b: lower surface 133b: first conductive pin 13c: connecting portion 13d: piezoelectric element 13e: gap 13f: convex portion 131f: convex Part surface 14: insulating sheet 15: conductive sheet 15a: second conductive pin 15b: contact conductive end 15c: ventilation opening g: filling material 16: chamber space h: spacing

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the three-dimensional appearance of the micro pump in this case. Figure 2A is an exploded schematic view of the micropump in the front view. Figure 2B is an exploded schematic view of the micropump in this case as viewed from the back side. Figure 3A is a schematic cross-sectional view of the micro-pump in this case. Figure 3B is a schematic cross-sectional view of another preferred embodiment of the micropump of the present invention. Figures 4A to 4C are schematic diagrams of the operation of the micro pump in Figure 3A.

1: Micro pump

11: intake plate

12: Resonance film

13: Piezo actuator

13a: hoverboard

133b: the first conductive pin

13d: Piezoelectric element

13e: gap

14: Insulation sheet

15: conductive sheet

15a: second conductive pin

15b: Contact conductive terminal

15c: Breathable opening

Claims (9)

A miniature pump includes: an air inlet plate having at least one air inlet hole, at least one bus bar hole and a confluence chamber, wherein at least one of the air inlet holes is for introducing gas, and at least one of the air inlet holes corresponds to at least one of the The busbar hole, at least one busbar hole correspondingly communicates with the busbar chamber, and guides the gas entering the at least one inlet hole to flow into the busbar chamber; a resonance sheet, which is attached to the inlet plate and has A hollow hole, a movable part and a fixed part, the hollow hole is located at the center of the resonance plate and corresponds to the confluence chamber of the air inlet plate; a piezoelectric actuator is assembled and combined through a filler material On the resonant sheet, there is a cavity space between the components. The piezoelectric actuator includes a suspension plate, an outer frame, at least one connecting portion, a piezoelectric element, and at least one gap. At least one connecting portion is connected to An elastic support is provided between the suspension board and the outer frame, at least one gap is provided between the suspension board and the outer frame to provide air circulation, and the piezoelectric element is attached to a surface of the suspension board; an insulating sheet , Combined with one side of the piezoelectric actuator; a conductive sheet, combined with the insulating sheet, has a plurality of contact conductive ends and a plurality of air-permeable openings, a plurality of the contact conductive ends protruding on the surface of the conductive sheet, and The conductive sheet is assembled on the piezoelectric actuator to form a close pre-force contact with the surface of the piezoelectric element as a driving electrode; wherein, when the piezoelectric actuator is driven, the gas is caused to pass through the inlet plate At least one of the air inlet holes is introduced, is collected to the confluence chamber through at least one of the busbar holes, and then flows through the hollow hole of the resonant plate into the cavity space, and then resonates through the piezoelectric actuator The transported gas is then discharged from the gap through a plurality of ventilation openings to form gas transport. As for the micropump described in claim 1, wherein the surface of the suspension plate of the piezoelectric actuator includes a first surface and a second surface. The second surface is opposite to the first surface, and the pressure The electric element is attached to the second surface of the suspension plate, and the outer frame of the piezoelectric actuator has a set of matching surfaces and a lower surface. The micropump described in item 2 of the scope of patent application, wherein the first surface of the suspension plate and the assembly surface of the outer frame are both coplanar. For the micropump described in item 2 of the scope of patent application, at least one of the connecting portions is stamped and formed between the suspension plate and the outer frame, and the first surface of the suspension plate is assembled with the outer frame The surface is formed as a non-coplanar surface, and a distance between the first surface of the suspension plate and the resonance sheet can be adjusted by punching and forming of at least one connecting portion. As described in the first item of the patent application, the movable part of the resonant sheet is arranged around the hollow hole and in an area corresponding to the confluence chamber. As for the micropump described in item 1 of the scope of patent application, the fixing part of the resonant sheet is arranged on the outer peripheral portion of the resonant sheet, and is attached to the air inlet plate. As described in the first item of the patent application, the filling material is a conductive glue. For the micropump described in item 1 of the scope of patent application, the outer frame is provided with a first conductive pin, and the conductive sheet is provided with a second conductive pin for connection and electrical conduction. As described in the second item of the scope of patent application, a convex part is provided on the first surface of the suspension plate, which corresponds to the movable part of the resonance plate.

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