JPS6366268B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a liquid atomizer that atomizes kerosene, water, recording liquid, etc. using an electric vibrator.

Conventional Structures and Their Problems Various types of liquid atomization devices have been proposed in the past, and many of them use electrical vibrators such as piezoelectric elements.

For example, inkjet recording devices that eject ultrasonic atomized particle arrays have been put into practical use in inkjet recording devices in recent years.
A piezoelectric vibrator is installed at one end of the liquid chamber and an orifice is installed at the other end.The pressure change inside the liquid chamber due to the vibration of the piezoelectric vibrator is transmitted to the orifice through the liquid.
As a result, there is an atomizer that can spray atomized particles from an orifice at a considerable scattering speed.

As is clear from the fact that this atomization device is used in inkjet, it has the advantage of being simple in structure and stable in operation. Due to the structure in which the information is transmitted to the orifice, cavitation bubbles are generated in the liquid chamber when using a general liquid containing a large amount of dissolved air, and stable atomization cannot be maintained due to these bubbles. It had Therefore, we considered an atomizer that directly transmits the vibration amplitude of an electric vibrator to a nozzle plate, but with this configuration, the electric vibrator and nozzle plate are exposed to the outside, so they do not come into contact with other objects. There were cases of damage.

Purpose of the Invention The present invention aims to eliminate such conventional drawbacks, and to provide an atomizer that protects the nozzle and electric vibrator and maintains the nozzle vibration of the atomizer at an appropriate level. do.

Structure of the Invention In order to achieve this object, the present invention includes a body equipped with a pressurized chamber filled with a liquid, a supply section for supplying the liquid to the pressurized chamber, and a gas supply section for supplying the liquid to the pressurized chamber. an exhaust section for discharging; a nozzle section having a nozzle facing the pressurizing chamber; an electric vibrator that energizes the nozzle section to vibrate the nozzle; and a liquid emitted from the nozzle. and a protrusion adjacent to the body on the discharge side.

Therefore, even if other objects come into contact with the atomizer, they are blocked by the protrusion and do not directly hit the electric vibrator or the nozzle plate.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a sectional view of the atomizer of the present invention, in which a body 2 equipped with a pressurized chamber 1 filled with liquid is fixed to a mounting plate 4 with screws 3. Liquid is supplied through pipe 5
During the atomization operation, the gas discharge pipe 6 is filled up to the middle. Reference numeral 7 denotes a nozzle portion facing one side of the pressurizing chamber 1, and its outer periphery is joined to the body 2. A spherical protrusion 8 having a fine hole for ejecting droplets is formed in the center of the nozzle portion 7 . Further, the nozzle portion 7 includes an annular electric vibrator, here a piezoelectric element 9.
is installed. This piezoelectric element 9 is a piezoelectric ceramic polarized in the thickness direction, and has electrodes on the surface to be joined to the nozzle and on the opposite surface. 10 is
A lead wire that transmits a drive signal to the piezoelectric element 9, one of which is soldered to one electrode surface of the piezoelectric element 9.
The other end is connected to the body 2 with a screw 11.
When the mechanical vibration of the piezoelectric element 9 is excited by the drive signal, the nozzle part 7 is also urged and vibrates.
As a result, the liquid in the pressurized chamber 1 becomes atomized particles 12 and is discharged. A is the discharge side of the droplet 12, and 1
3 is an annular protrusion adjacent to the outer periphery of the body 2; The protrusion is formed for the purpose of protecting the electric vibrator 9 and the nozzle 8.

Incidentally, the liquid supplied to the pressurizing chamber 1 may be filled halfway up the gas discharge pipe 6 in the atomizer installation configuration, but as an alternative, the liquid supplied to the pressurizing chamber 1 may be filled in the atomizer installation configuration. The inside of the exhaust pipe 6 is empty, and before entering the droplet discharge sequence, for example, negative pressure may be applied through the exhaust pipe 6 to fill the pressurized chamber 1 with liquid and to draw the liquid to the middle of the exhaust pipe 6. According to the latter method, impurities in the liquid solidify in the nozzle hole and the problem that droplets cannot be ejected does not occur.

Furthermore, in the process of assembling the atomizer, when joining the nozzle plate to the body, the protrusions allow easy and accurate positioning of the outer periphery.

By the way, when using the normal control method to start and stop the spray operation of an atomizer, there is a transition period at startup until vibration energy generates a sufficient amplitude operation of the nozzle plate, or after a stop signal is issued. During the transient period until the amplitude of the nozzle plate completely stops, a phenomenon of liquid dripping from the nozzle hole occurs, and with a simple annular protrusion configuration, as shown in Fig. 2,
A puddle of 4 occurs inside the protrusion. This is not a normal load condition for an atomizer, and the growth of said liquid pool results in a new load for the electric vibrator 9 and a change in the vibration mode. moreover,
If impurities or the like get mixed into the liquid reservoir 14 and solidify during the stop period, it will cause a large load during the next operation period.

FIG. 3 shows one embodiment of the present invention, and the same numbers as in the previous figure are components having the same function. The protruding portion 15 has an inclined surface on its inner periphery, and the inclined surface is tapered such that the inner circumferential diameter increases as the distance from the nozzle plate 7 increases. Due to this tapered inclined surface 15, the drip 16 does not accumulate on the nozzle plate surface, but flows down along the inclination, so that the influence on vibration can be eliminated.

FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of the present invention, in which the protrusion 1
3 is formed with an inclined surface 17 having a curved cross section. This curved surface makes it easier for liquid to flow down.

FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of the present invention, in which 18 is a protrusion adjacent to the outer periphery of the body 2, but it is not annular as in FIG. 1, but has a cut like 19. are doing. The cutouts are to allow drips to easily fall through them.

Effects of the Invention According to the atomizer of the present invention, even when the atomizer collides with another object, the nozzle part and the electric vibrator do not come into direct contact with the collision surface and are mechanically protected by the protrusion part. be able to.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the atomizer of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a diagram showing drips accumulated on the protrusion of the atomizer,
Fig. 3 is a diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 4 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the invention, and Figs. 5 a and b are a plan view and a side view showing another embodiment of the invention. It is. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Pressure chamber, 2... Body, 5... Supply section, 6... Exhaust section, 7... Nozzle section, 9... Piezoelectric element, 13... Projection, 15... Tapered inclined surface .

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A body equipped with a pressurized chamber filled with liquid;
a supply section for supplying liquid to the pressurization chamber; an exhaust section for discharging gas from the pressurization chamber;
a nozzle section having a nozzle provided facing the pressurizing chamber; an electric vibrator that energizes the nozzle section to vibrate the nozzle; and a nozzle section adjacent to the body on the liquid discharge side from the nozzle. An atomizer consisting of a protrusion. 2. The atomizer according to claim 1, wherein the protrusion is arranged along the outer periphery of the body. 3. The atomizer according to claim 2, wherein the protrusion has an inclined surface on its inner periphery. 4. The atomizer according to claim 3, wherein the inclined surface of the protrusion is tapered so that the inner circumferential diameter increases as the distance from the nozzle increases.