JPH0510148B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (a) Field of Industrial Application This invention relates to an ultrasonic atomizer with a horn used for humidifying the upper respiratory tract, inhaling medicinal solutions, and the like.

(B) Conventional technology An ultrasonic atomizer is equipped with a horn vibrating body having a large diameter end and a small diameter end, an ultrasonic vibrator is provided at the large diameter end of the horn vibrating body, and an atomizing section is provided at the small diameter end. There is a type of atomizer that forms an atomizer, leads liquid from a bottle to this atomizing part, and drives the liquid with an ultrasonic vibrator to atomize it. In order to guide the liquid from the bottle to the horn in this type of ultrasonic atomizer, conventionally one end of a water absorption band or cotton swab with a network structure that exhibits capillary action is dipped into the liquid in the bottle, while the other end is inserted into the horn from below. was in contact with the atomizing surface of the

(c) Problems to be solved by the invention In the conventional ultrasonic atomizer described above, since the bottle is provided at the bottom, the liquid supply must rely only on capillary action, and the liquid is difficult to use, such as highly viscous medicinal liquids. If this is the case, the liquid may not be supplied smoothly and may not be atomized.
There was a problem that even if it was atomized, it was not sufficiently atomized.

Also, as the atomization progresses and the remaining liquid in the bottle decreases, it will no longer be able to be sucked up upwards and 100% of the liquid will be absorbed.
In the case of expensive chemical solutions, which are difficult to atomize, there was a problem in that they were uneconomical.

Therefore, in order to ensure sufficient liquid supply, it is possible to place the bottle upwards and use a water absorbent band or cotton swab to supply liquid from above, but with a water absorbent band or cotton swab, the liquid will drip out instead. There is a problem in that the water is supercharged and it is not possible to supply water in a very appropriate manner.

The object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and provide an ultrasonic atomizer that can supply liquid appropriately according to the atomization ability and can atomize without leaving any liquid behind.

(d) Means and operation for solving the problems The ultrasonic atomizer of the present invention has an ultra-thin liquid supply groove that supplies liquid from the bottle to the horn atomizing section, and an outside air that introduces outside air into the bottle. The water supply nozzle is provided with a water supply nozzle having at least an introduction groove, and the bottle is provided with a nozzle insertion port, and the water supply nozzle is inserted into the nozzle insertion port. The atomizer is disposed above the horn so that liquid is supplied to the horn atomizer from above.

In this ultrasonic atomizer, the liquid is supplied from above through the water supply nozzle from the bottle to the horn atomizing section by the liquid's own weight and capillary action. When atomization is performed in the horn atomization section, the outside air of the atomized liquid is introduced into the bottle through the outside air introduction groove.
Therefore, a balanced liquid supply, that is, a liquid supply according to the atomization ability is performed.

(e) Examples The present invention will be explained in more detail below using examples.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an ultrasonic inhaler in which the present invention is implemented. This ultrasonic inhaler 1 is composed of a main body part 2, a liquid supply part 3, and an inhalation part 4.

The main body part 2 has an outer shape formed by a main body case 5 and a bottom cover 6, and inside thereof includes a power supply board 7, a power jack 8, a battery 9, an oscillation circuit board 11 on which an electronic circuit part 10 such as an oscillation circuit is mounted, and a power supply. A micro switch 12 as a switch, a drive board 14 for an ultrasonic transducer 13, and the like are housed. Note that 15 is a switch cover.

The liquid supply section 3 includes a bottle 16 for storing water or a chemical solution to be atomized, and a water supply nozzle 17 for guiding the liquid in the bottle 16 to an atomization section of a horn, which will be described later. A more specific structure of this liquid supply section 3 will be described later.

The suction section 4 is a rigid metal body with a conical body, and has a large diameter end and a small diameter end, an ultrasonic vibrator 13 is attached to the large diameter end, and a diaphragm, that is, an atomization section 18 is formed at the small diameter end. It consists of a horn 19, a suction nozzle 20, and a sanitary cap 21.

The main body case 5, bottom lid 6, switch cover 15, and sanitary cap 21 are made of ABS resin, and the bottle 16, water supply nozzle 17, and suction nozzle 20 are made of styrene resin.

Liquid supply part 3, suction nozzle 20 and sanitary cap 2
1 is configured to be detachably attached to the upper inclined wall 5a of the main body case 5. Further, a light emitting diode 22 for operation display connected to the circuit board 14 is provided at the upper part of the upper inclined wall 5a, and since the bottle 16 is made of a transparent material, the light emitting diode 22 is connected to the circuit board 14 through the bottle 16 from above. 22 is now visible. When liquid is stored in the bottle 16, the liquid has a kind of lens effect.

Further, the horn 19 has the atomizing section 18 connected to the suction nozzle 2.
It is held on the upper inclined wall 5a so as to face the 0 side.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view showing only the liquid supply section 3 and horn 19, and FIG. 3 is a side view seen from the right side of FIG. 2. The bottle 16 is rectangular in side view.
It has an inverted U shape when viewed from the front, and is made of transparent styrene resin as mentioned above. Further, a cylindrical nozzle insertion opening 23 is provided on the bottom plane 16a.

Further, the nozzle insertion port 23 is configured such that the water supply nozzle 17 covered with a tube 24 made of an elastic material such as rubber is inserted from below. In the inserted state, the tube 24 is in close contact with the inner wall of the nozzle insertion opening 23 of the bottle 16, thereby preventing liquid leakage and also preventing the water supply nozzle 17 from falling off from the bottle 16.

The water supply nozzle 17 is provided with two liquid supply grooves 25, 25 in the axial direction for guiding the liquid in the bottle 16 to the outside using gravity and capillary action, and is provided on the same line as the liquid supply groove 25. A slightly deep outside air introduction groove 26 is provided in order to introduce into the bottle 16 the same volume of outside air that the liquid was led out of the bottle, and a temporary groove is provided in the circumferential direction that intersects perpendicularly to the grooves 25 and 26. A plurality of grooves 27 having a chamber function are provided in order to store the suction liquid.

The liquid supply groove 25 for water supply is fully connected to the bottle 1.
The tip 2 of the water supply nozzle 17 is immersed in the liquid in the water supply nozzle 17.
8 is taken too long. The water supply nozzle 17 is provided with flanges 29 and 30 for fitting the tube 24, and the lower flange 30 is provided with the water supply nozzle 17.
and are provided for positioning the nozzle insertion port 23. The lower end 31 of the water supply nozzle 17 is connected to the horn 1
It is attached so as to come into contact with the atomizing section 9, that is, the diaphragm 18.

As described above, the horn 19 has a conical shape, the ultrasonic vibrator 13 is adhered to the end face of the large diameter end 32, and the diaphragm 18 is integrally formed on the small diameter end 33. The diaphragm 18 has a disc-shaped upper part cut out, and the outer periphery is formed from a non-cutted part 34 having an arc shape and a chord-shaped notched part 35 . That is, the diaphragm 18
is composed of a non-cut portion 34 and a notch portion 35 that are located at different distances from the center.

The lower end 31 of the water supply nozzle 17 is cut out through the water supply groove 25, while the lower end 31a is cut out along the chord shape of the notch 35 of the diaphragm 18. The other 31b is formed into a triangular protrusion, and the diaphragm 18
It is in contact with the spray surface, that is, the non-notched portion 34.

When filling the bottle 16 with a medicinal solution, remove the sanitary cap 21 and suction nozzle 20 to the upper left, and then open the bottle 16 with the liquid supply part 3, that is, the water supply nozzle 17.
is pulled out to the upper right along the upper side wall 5a, the liquid supply part 3 is turned upside down, the water supply nozzle 17 is pulled out by holding the flange 30 of the water supply nozzle 17, and the chemical solution is put in from the nozzle insertion port 23. Then, the water supply nozzle 17 is inserted into the nozzle insertion port 23 again, and the water supply nozzle 17 is placed downward, and the liquid supply part 3 is loaded into the upper inclined wall 5a from the upper right side. Then, cover the suction nozzle 20.

When operating this ultrasonic inhaler 1 to perform an inhalation action, remove the sanitary cap 21 from the bottle 16 shown in FIG. Yuki, operate the switch cover 15 and turn on the micro switch 12.
Turn on. As a result, the ultrasonic vibrator 13 starts vibrating, and the horn 19 transmits the vibration to the diaphragm 18. On the other hand, the liquid in the bottle 16 is guided from the lower ends 31a, 31b of the water supply nozzle 17 to the notch 35 of the diaphragm 18 due to its own weight and the capillary action of the liquid supply groove 25. The liquid guided to the notch 35 of the diaphragm 18 is pulled into the non-notch part 34 by the vibration of the non-notch part 34, is driven by the vibration energy, and is atomized. The atomized liquid is discharged in the direction of arrow A.

During the atomization operation, outside air corresponding to the volume of the liquid drawn out from the bottle 16 flows into the bottle 1 through the outside air introduction groove 26.
6, and two liquid supply grooves 25, 25.
Since a relatively large amount of liquid is supplied and the liquid is temporarily stored in the groove 27, the liquid is smoothly supplied according to the amount of atomization.

(F) Effects of the Invention According to the ultrasonic atomizer of the present invention, the liquid supply section is composed of a bottle and a water supply nozzle, and this liquid supply section is arranged above the horn, so that the liquid supply is controlled by its own weight and capillary action. It is possible to supply liquid appropriately according to the atomization capacity, and to atomize down to the last drop.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an ultrasonic inhaler in which the present invention is implemented, FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the liquid supply part and horn portion of the ultrasonic inhaler of the same embodiment,
The figure is a side view seen from the right side of FIG. 13... Ultrasonic vibrator, 16... Bottle, 17
... Water supply nozzle, 18 ... Vibration plate, 19 ... Horn, 23 ... Nozzle insertion port, 25 ... Liquid supply groove,
26...Outside air introduction groove.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. In an ultrasonic atomizer in which a liquid is introduced from a bottle into a horn atomizing section, and the liquid is driven by an ultrasonic vibrator and atomized, the horn atomizing section is guided from the bottle to the horn atomizing section. The bottle includes a water supply nozzle having at least an extremely thin liquid supply groove for supplying liquid to the bottle, and an outside air introduction groove for introducing outside air into the bottle. A bottle with a water supply nozzle inserted into the inlet is placed above the horn so that the water supply nozzle is positioned below the bottle, and liquid is supplied to the horn atomizing part from above. An ultrasonic atomizer characterized by: