WO2010087486A1

WO2010087486A1 - Mist generation device

Info

Publication number: WO2010087486A1
Application number: PCT/JP2010/051374
Authority: WO
Inventors: 良彦氏家; 茂立田
Original assignee: パナソニック電工株式会社
Priority date: 2009-02-02
Filing date: 2010-02-02
Publication date: 2010-08-05
Also published as: JP2010172659A

Abstract

A mist generation device is provided, separately from a mist generation mechanism (12) for generating mist (M1), with a liquid agent spray mechanism (13) for electrostatically atomizing and spraying a liquid agent (M2).

Description

Mist generator

The present invention relates to a mist generating device.

BACKGROUND Conventionally, a mist generating device that generates and discharges mist is widely used for facial care devices, humidifiers, and the like (see, for example, Patent Document 1). For example, in facial care applications, it is possible to moisturize the skin or remove old keratin or dirt by applying the mist generated by the heating mechanism or the like included in the mist generation device to the user's face, It is designed to provide cosmetic and health effects.

JP 2004-361009

In recent years, people's awareness of beauty and health has been increasing. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a mist generating device capable of obtaining higher cosmetic action and health action.
The mist generating apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention has a mist generating mechanism for generating mist and a liquid agent spraying mechanism for electrostatically atomizing and spraying a liquid agent separately from the mist generating mechanism.

According to this configuration, in addition to the mist generated from the mist generation mechanism, spraying the liquid agent (for example, a moisturizing agent or the like) whose particle diameter is reduced by electrostatic atomization generated from the liquid agent spray mechanism It is possible. For example, since the solution refined by electrostatic atomization can penetrate into the interstices of the stratum corneum surface of the skin, the components of the solution can be effectively supplied to the skin, resulting in higher cosmetic action and health effect. It becomes possible to obtain. In addition, by spraying the liquid agent charged by electrostatic atomization, it becomes possible to accurately and uniformly apply to the skin.

In one example, the mist generation mechanism and the liquid agent spray mechanism are configured to be capable of mixing the sprayed mist and the liquid agent with each other.
Generally, the mist generated by the mist generation mechanism can be blown relatively far. In contrast, electrostatic atomized liquids are difficult to fly far because the particles are finely dispersed in the air. According to this configuration, since it becomes possible to mix the sprayed mist and the liquid agent in the air, the scattering distance of the liquid agent is extended, and the liquid agent can be easily delivered to the intended remote position along with the mist from the mist generation mechanism. .

In one example, the mist discharge port of the mist generation mechanism and the liquid spray port of the liquid spray mechanism have such a shape that their opening axes cross each other.
According to this configuration, it is possible to mix the sprayed mist and the liquid in the air, and the scattering distance of the liquid is extended, and the liquid can be delivered to the intended remote position.

In one example, an ion generation mechanism is provided which charges mist generated from the mist generation mechanism to ions of a potential opposite to that of the liquid agent electrostatically atomized by the liquid agent spray mechanism.
According to this configuration, the liquid agent charged by electrostatic atomization and the mist charged to the opposite potential to the liquid agent by the ion generation mechanism can be electrically attracted and mixed in air. This enables the splashing distance of the solution to be extended, and allows the solution to be delivered to the intended remote location.

In one example, a control unit that controls the mist generation mechanism, the liquid agent spray mechanism, and the ion generation mechanism to cause the electrostatically atomized liquid agent and the mist charged by the ion generation mechanism to spray simultaneously at the same time Prepare.

According to this configuration, since the electrostatically atomized liquid agent and the mist charged by the ion generation mechanism are always sprayed together by the control of the control unit, for example, the mist and the mist may be generated without operating a plurality of switches in a complicated manner. The solution can be co-sprayed, and the splash distance of the solution can be extended to ensure delivery of the solution to the intended remote location.

It is a schematic diagram of the mist generating apparatus of one Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic diagram of the mist generating apparatus of another example.

Hereinafter, a mist generating device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, the mist generating device includes a case 11 and a mist generating mechanism 12, a liquid agent spraying mechanism 13, and a control unit 14 housed in the case 11. The mist generation mechanism 12 and the liquid agent spray mechanism 13 may be at least partially accommodated in the case 11. The illustrated mist generating device is used as, for example, a household electric device such as a facial care device or a humidifier.

The case 11 is formed with an upper (ceiling direction) opening, that is, an opening 11a for mist, and a side opening, that is, a liquid agent spray port 11b. The case 11 includes, for example, a bottomed square cylindrical case main body opened at the upper side and a lid member covering the upper end opening of the case main body, but in FIG. It shows.

The mist generation mechanism 12 communicates with the water storage tank 22 for storing the water W supplied from the tank 21 which can be detached from the case 11 and the water storage tank 22 through the communication pipe 23 to generate mist M1 from water W of the water storage tank 22. And a mist discharge port 26 in communication with the mist generation part 24 via the mist transfer path 25 and having a discharge opening 26 a for discharging the generated mist M 1.

In the illustrated example, the mist generation unit 24 is a heating type, and includes a heater 24a that heats the water W to generate the mist M1. The mist discharge port 26 projects outward of the case 11 through the mist opening 11a, and is bent at a substantially right angle at the outside of the case 11, whereby the discharge opening 26a and the liquid agent spray port 11b Turn in the same direction. In the illustrated example, the opening axis L1 of the mist outlet 26 is parallel to the horizontal plane.

The liquid agent spray mechanism 13 is configured to spray a liquid agent M2 such as a moisturizer or a whitening agent from the liquid agent spray port 11b. The liquid agent spray mechanism 13 includes a liquid agent storage unit 31 for storing a liquid agent, a nozzle 32 communicated with the liquid agent storage unit 31, a pump 33 provided in the nozzle 32, a high voltage power circuit 34, and the liquid agent spray port. And 11b. The pump 33 feeds the liquid agent in the liquid agent storage unit 31 to the nozzle 32. The nozzle 32 includes a tip 32a located in the liquid solution spray port 11b. The high voltage power supply circuit 34 electrostatically atomizes the liquid agent that has reached the nozzle tip 32 a by corona discharge. The liquid agent is micronized by electrostatic atomization to form an atomized liquid agent M2. The liquid preparation M2 can be made to penetrate the interstices of the stratum corneum surface of the skin, for example, by being exposed to the face, and it is possible to obtain high cosmetic action and health action. The mist-like liquid agent M2 may be called liquid agent vapor or liquid agent mist, and the mist M1 may be called water mist.

The liquid agent spray port 11b is cylindrical (preferably cylindrical), and projects obliquely upward from the case side surface 11c so as to be directed to the mist M1 sprayed from the mist discharge port 26. That is, the opening 11 d (inner circumferential surface) of the liquid agent spray port 11 b is inclined obliquely upward with respect to the horizontal plane, and the opening axis L 2 of the liquid agent spray port 11 b intersects the opening axis L 1 of the mist ejection port 26. It has become. In the illustrated example, the direction of the opening axis L2 of the liquid solution spray port 11b, that is, the inclination angle of the opening axis L2 with respect to the horizontal surface is set to a predetermined angle larger than 0 degrees and smaller than 90 degrees. The mist discharge port 26 and the liquid agent spray port 11 b are aligned in the vertical direction when viewed from the direction of the opening axis L 1 of the mist discharge port 26, and in the illustrated example, the liquid agent spray port 11 b is closer to the mist discharge port 26. It is arranged on the lower side.

The control unit 14 performs control to energize the heater 24 a of the mist generation mechanism 12 and control to drive the pump 33 and the high voltage power supply circuit 34 of the liquid agent spray mechanism 13 in response to the operation of an operation switch or the like (not shown).

The mist M <b> 1 generated by the heating of the heater 24 a passes through the mist transfer path 25 and is sprayed from the mist discharge port 26. On the other hand, the liquid agent M2 electrostatically atomized at the nozzle tip 32a by voltage application of the high voltage power supply circuit 34 is sprayed from the liquid agent spray port 11b. At this time, since the opening axes L1 and L2 (also referred to as the intended injection direction) of the mist discharge port 26 and the liquid agent spray port 11b intersect with each other, the sprayed mist M1 and the liquid agent M2 are particularly open axes in the air. It mixes near the intersection of L1 and L2. By generating a mixed flow of the liquid agent M2 and the mist M1, the scattering distance of the liquid agent M2 is extended compared to the flow of the liquid agent M2 alone. Specifically, the sprayed mist M1 is difficult to diffuse in air by the force of pressurized vapor pressure, and can travel in the intended injection direction and can fly relatively far. Since it is possible to mix the sprayed mist M1 and the liquid agent M2 in the air, the electrostatic atomized liquid agent M2 having the property of being easy to diffuse originally is intended to be a remote position intended with the mist M1 (specifically, Can be delivered to the user's face).

Further, in the mist generating apparatus as described above, since two types of mists (mist M1 and liquid agent M2) can be sprayed, the mist M1 of water moistens the surface of the skin and the mist of the charged fine liquid agent The solution (M2) can uniformly deliver the ingredients to the skin and deliver it to the inside of the skin, and can provide higher cosmetic health effects.

Next, the characteristic effects of the present embodiment will be described.
(1) The mist generating apparatus of the present embodiment includes the liquid agent spraying mechanism 13 for electrostatically atomizing and spraying the liquid agent M2 separately from the mist generating mechanism 12 for generating the mist M1. For this reason, in addition to the mist M1 generated from the mist generation mechanism 12, the liquid M2 (for example, a moisturizing agent or the like) whose particle diameter is reduced by electrostatic atomization is generated. It is possible. Since the liquid agent M2 refined by electrostatic atomization can penetrate, for example, into the interstices of the stratum corneum surface of the skin, the components of the liquid agent M2 can be effectively supplied to the skin, resulting in higher cosmetic action and health. It becomes possible to obtain an action. In addition, by spraying the liquid agent M2 charged by electrostatic atomization, it becomes possible to accurately and uniformly apply to the skin.

(2) The mist generation mechanism 12 and the liquid agent spray mechanism 13 are configured to be able to mix the sprayed mist M1 and the liquid agent M2, respectively, so the scattering distance of the liquid agent M2 increases, and together with the mist M1 from the mist generation mechanism 12 It becomes possible to deliver the liquid agent M2 to the intended remote position.

(3) The mist discharge port 26 of the mist generation mechanism 12 and the liquid agent spray opening of the liquid agent spray mechanism 13 have a shape such that their opening axes L1 and L2 intersect with each other, so the sprayed mist M1 and It is possible to mix the solution M2 in the air, as a result of which the scattering distance of the solution M2 is increased and it is possible to deliver the solution M2 to the intended remote location.

The embodiment of the present invention may be modified as follows.
In FIG. 1, the sprayed mist M1 and the liquid agent M2 are mixed in the air by setting the opening shape of the liquid agent spray port 11b (or the mist discharge port 26), but the mist M1 and the liquid agent M2 have configurations other than these opening shapes. The liquid agent M2 may be configured to mix in air.

For example, as shown in FIG. 2, an ion generation mechanism 41 for charging the mist M 1 to a potential opposite to that of the liquid agent M 2 charged by electrostatic atomization is provided, and charged by the ion generation mechanism 41. The mist M1 and the liquid agent M2 may be electrically attracted and mixed. In the mist generating apparatus of FIG. 2, the liquid agent M2 is, for example, positively charged by electrostatic atomization. The ion generation mechanism 41 is provided above the mist discharge port 26. The ion generation mechanism 41 includes a high voltage power supply circuit 42, a needle-like discharge needle 43, and a counter electrode 44 connected to the ground, and the high voltage power supply circuit 42 generates a negative voltage between the discharge needle 43 and the counter electrode 44. The application of a high voltage generates a corona discharge to generate negative ions. The negative ions generated by the ion generation mechanism 41 are discharged in substantially the same direction as the spray direction of the mist M 1 and mixed with the mist M 1 sprayed from the mist discharge port 26. As a result, the mist M1 is negatively charged.

The control unit 45 controls to energize the heater 24 a in response to the operation of an operation switch (not shown), etc., controls to drive the pump 33 and the high voltage power supply circuit 34 of the liquid agent spray mechanism 13, and Control to drive the circuit 42 is performed. As a result, the liquid agent M2 positively charged by electrostatic atomization and the mist M1 negatively charged by the ion generation mechanism 41 are simultaneously sprayed.

According to such a configuration, the liquid agent M2 charged by electrostatic atomization and the mist M1 charged to the opposite potential to the liquid agent M2 by the ion generation mechanism 41 are electrically attracted in air and mixed. It is possible for the liquid medicine M2 to be delivered to the intended remote position by extending the flying distance of the liquid medicine M2. Further, the control unit 45 simultaneously sprays the mist M1 and the liquid agent M2 without complicatedly operating a plurality of switches, for example, in order to spray the mist M1 and the liquid agent M2 at the same time in response to the operation of the operation switch. The solution M2 can be reliably delivered to the intended remote location.

The ion generating mechanism 41 of FIG. 2 may be provided on the side of the mist discharge port 26 in the width direction. Alternatively, the liquid agent M2 may be negatively charged, and the mist M1 may be positively charged. Further, the control unit 45 controls so as to spray only the mist M1 negatively charged by the ion generation mechanism 41 (or the non-charged mist M1) without spraying the liquid agent M2 in response to the predetermined switch operation. It is possible. Also, conversely, it is possible to control so as to spray only the liquid agent M2 without spraying the mist M1.

Further, in the mist generating apparatus of FIG. 2, the directions (injection directions) of the opening axis L1 of the mist discharge port 26 and the liquid agent spray port 11 b are parallel to each other, but this is not limitative. The opening axes may be configured to intersect with each other. In addition, although the ion generation mechanism 41 generates negative ions using corona discharge, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration, and so-called water in which a liquid is diffused by a propeller etc. rotated at high speed to break water molecules A crushing type negative ion generation method may be employed. Besides this, a method of generating negative ions using an electron emission method or the like may be adopted.

In the illustrated example, the liquid agent spray port 11b of the liquid agent spray mechanism 13 is integrally formed in the case 11 and immobile, but is not particularly limited thereto. For example, a cylindrical member as a liquid agent spray port May be provided separately.

In the illustrated example, the liquid spray port 11b is formed so as to protrude outward from the case side surface 11c. However, the invention is not limited to this, and it may have a non-protruding shape, for example, may be flush with the case side surface 11c. . Further, in the illustrated example, the liquid agent spray port 11b is formed in a circular shape (cylindrical shape), but may be, for example, an elliptical shape.

In the illustrated example, the mist discharge port 26 and the liquid agent spray port 11b are aligned in the vertical direction as viewed from the direction of the opening axis L1 of the mist discharge port 26, but the mist discharge port 26 and the liquid agent spray port 11b The arrangement is not limited to that of the illustrated example, and may be aligned, for example, in the width direction (the direction orthogonal to the sheet of FIG. 1), and from the direction of the opening axis L1 of the mist discharge port 26 You may arrange so that it may line up in a diagonal direction seeing. Further, in the illustrated example, the liquid agent spray port 11b is disposed below the mist ejection port 26, but the mist ejection port 26 may be disposed below the liquid spray port 11b.

In the illustrated example, the opening axis L2 of the liquid agent spray port 11b is inclined toward the opening axis L1 of the mist discharging port 26 with respect to the mist discharging port 26 configured such that the opening axis L1 is parallel to the horizontal plane. The opening axes L1 and L2 are configured to intersect with each other, but in addition to this, for example, the opening axis L2 of the liquid agent spray port 11b is made parallel to the horizontal plane, and the opening axis L1 of the mist ejection port 26 is It may be made to incline to the opening axis L2 side of 11b, and it may constitute so that each opening axis L1 and L2 may incline to a level surface.

In the illustrated example, the mist generation unit 24 of the mist generation mechanism 12 is not limited to the heating type, and for example, an ultrasonic type that atomizes a liquid with an ultrasonic wave or a Venturi effect type known by the principle of atomization or the like It may be

The control unit 14 can have various spray modes set so that the liquid agent M2 is carried by the flow of the mist M1, for example, from the liquid agent spray mechanism 13 during the mist M1 spray from the mist generation mechanism 12 There are a spray mode in which the liquid agent M2 is sprayed, a spray mode in which the mist M1 and the liquid agent M2 are alternately sprayed, and a spray mode in which the liquid agent M2 is periodically sprayed while continuously spraying the mist M1.

Claims

In a mist generating apparatus provided with a mist generating mechanism for generating mist,
A mist generating device comprising a liquid agent spray mechanism for electrostatically atomizing and spraying a liquid agent separately from the mist generation mechanism.
In the mist generating device according to claim 1,
The mist generating device and the liquid agent spraying mechanism are configured to be capable of mixing the sprayed mist and the liquid agent with each other.
In the mist generating device according to claim 2,
An opening axis of a mist discharge port of the mist generation mechanism and an opening axis of a liquid agent spray opening of the liquid agent spraying mechanism intersect with each other.
In the mist generating device according to claim 2,
It has an ion generation mechanism characterized in that the mist generated from the mist generation mechanism is charged to ions of a potential opposite to that of the liquid agent electrostatically atomized by the liquid agent spray mechanism. apparatus.
In the mist generating device according to claim 4,
A control unit is provided that controls the mist generation mechanism, the liquid agent spray mechanism, and the ion generation mechanism to simultaneously spray the electrostatically atomized liquid agent and the mist charged by the ion generation mechanism. Mist generator characterized by.
In the mist generating device according to claim 1,
The mist generating device further comprising: a control unit configured to control the mist generating mechanism and the liquid agent spraying mechanism in a spraying mode set so that the liquid agent is carried by the flow of mist.
In the mist generating device according to claim 6,
The mist generation mechanism and the liquid agent spray mechanism respectively include a mist ejection port and a liquid agent spray port, and the mist ejection port and the liquid agent spray port are mists in a jet direction set such that the flow of the liquid merges with the mist flow And a mist generator to spray the liquid agent respectively.
In the mist generating device according to claim 7,
The mist generating device sprays the mist in the horizontal direction, and the liquid agent spray port sprays the liquid agent obliquely upward from a position below the mist discharge port.