Sprayer for chemical solution

Abstract

To provide a sprayer that is capable of spraying in a converging manner, changing a mist diameter, and making a full use of a chemical solution.SOLUTION: A sprayer comprises: a chemical solution bottle attachment part 10 which enables a chemical solution bottle 100 containing a chemical solution to be attached with an opening 101 thereof facing down; a chemical solution storage tank 20 which is provided below the chemical solution bottle attachment part 10; a plurality of ultrasonic oscillators 30 which include a mesh 31 and a piezoelectric element 32 through which the chemical solution passes, are provided so as to penetrate a wall surface of the chemical solution storage tank 20 and generate mist from the stored chemical solution; a nozzle front chamber 40 which accommodates the generated mist and has a nozzle 41 for jetting the mist; and a blower fan 50 which blows air to the mist accommodated in the nozzle front chamber 40 and jets out the mist from the nozzle 41. The plurality of ultrasonic oscillators 30 differ in mesh sizes which results in different diameters of the generated mist, and any of the ultrasonic oscillators 30 is selectively actuated.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a liquid medicine sprayer. [Background technology]

[0002] Currently, regenerative medicine using stem cells is in the spotlight. This treatment method uses stem cells obtained from bone marrow in the lower back, dental pulp of milk teeth, umbilical cord fluid, and fat-derived stem cells to regenerate body tissues. For example, by culturing and regenerating tissues such as the retina and transplanting them into the body, excellent therapeutic effects have been achieved. In the process of this treatment method, the stem cell supernatant, which is the supernatant generated during the culture of the retina, was traditionally discarded, but since it contains exosomes, it has been found that applying this to the skin has a fertilizer-like effect that increases the rate of hair root fixation. In particular, thinning hair in elderly women is said to make them hesitate to come into contact with others and cause mental illness and dementia, but it is expected that these symptoms will also be improved by improving thinning hair with stem cell supernatant.

[0003] In addition, water-soluble vitamin C derivatives are said to be effective in improving wrinkles and sagging skin when applied to photoaged facial skin, and liquids containing them are also used in cosmetics. Due to these cosmetic effects, this vitamin C derivative is expected to improve the positive attitude of interpersonal relationships, especially in elderly women.

[0004] Therefore, if it were possible to easily spray such stem cell supernatant fluid or water-soluble vitamin C derivatives onto hair roots or treatment areas on the face as part of self-maintenance at home, it is expected that this would be effective in preventing the thinning hair and photoaging in women mentioned above, as well as the resulting mental disorders and dementia.

[0005] On the other hand, known types of sprayers include a type in which the liquid is sucked up and atomized by the negative pressure generated when gas filled in a container is sprayed (Patent Documents 1 and 2), a type in which the liquid is sucked up and atomized by the negative pressure generated when air is sprayed by a pump (Patent Document 3), and a type in which the liquid is atomized using an ultrasonic vibrator and then sprayed using a fan (Patent Document 4). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] JP 2016-159970 A [Patent Document 2] International Publication No. 2017 / 064743 [Patent Document 3] Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 62-9872 [Patent Document 4] JP 2013-144015 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] However, in the above example of stem cell supernatant, it is desirable to spray the liquid converging on the affected area, and it is preferable to be able to change the mist size, since there are cases where the mist size is large and the liquid is kept on the surface of the skin, and cases where the mist size is small and the liquid is allowed to penetrate into the skin. Also, since stem cell supernatant is expensive, it is desirable to use up all the liquid in the bottle. In this regard, it was difficult for each of the above sprayers to satisfy all of the functions of converging on the affected area and spraying, selecting the mist size of the spray, and using up all the liquid to be sprayed.

[0008] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned points, and its object is to provide a sprayer that can concentrate and spray medicinal liquid onto the affected area, can adjust the mist size of the spray, and can use up all the medicinal liquid in the bottle. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] In order to solve the above problems, the sprayer (1) according to the present invention comprises a liquid medicine bottle mounting part (10) on which a liquid medicine bottle (100) containing a liquid medicine to be sprayed can be mounted with an opening (101) facing downward, a liquid medicine storage tank (20) provided below the liquid medicine bottle mounting part (10), a mesh (31) through which the liquid medicine passes, and a piezoelectric element (32) for vibrating the mesh (31). The mist generating device includes a nozzle (41) for receiving the mist generated by the plurality of ultrasonic oscillators (30) and for ejecting the mist, and a blower fan (50) for blowing air to the mist received in the nozzle front chamber (40) and for ejecting the mist from the nozzle (41). The plurality of ultrasonic oscillators (30) have different mesh sizes and therefore generate mist with different diameters. The device is configured to selectively operate any one of the ultrasonic oscillators (30).

[0010] According to the sprayer of the present invention, a plurality of ultrasonic oscillators with different mesh sizes are provided, and a desired ultrasonic oscillator is selectively activated, so that the liquid medicine can be sprayed with a desired mist size. Also, since the liquid medicine bottle is configured to be attached with the opening facing downward, it is possible to use up all of the expensive liquid medicine without leaving any behind. Also, since the liquid medicine is sprayed from the nozzle, a converged spray can be achieved.

[0011] The sprayer (1) may also have a vent pipe (15) inserted into the opening (101) of the liquid medicine bottle (100) and a check valve (16) provided in the vent pipe (15).

[0012] According to this configuration, air can be introduced into the liquid medicine bottle through the air vent pipe, allowing the liquid medicine inside the liquid medicine bottle to smoothly flow out into the liquid medicine storage tank.

[0013] The ultrasonic oscillators (30) are preferably provided at a lower end of the front surface (20a) of the chemical storage tank (20) so that all of the chemical stored in the chemical storage tank (20) flows through the ultrasonic oscillators (30). Alternatively, the ultrasonic oscillators (30) may be provided penetrating the bottom surface (20b) of the chemical storage tank (20) so that all of the chemical stored in the chemical storage tank (20) flows through the ultrasonic oscillators (30).

[0014] With these configurations, all of the chemical solution is supplied to the ultrasonic oscillator, so that the expensive chemical solution can be used up without being left behind.

[0015] The blower fan 50 may be an axial fan, or alternatively, the blower fan 50 may be a centrifugal fan.

[0016] With these simple configurations, mist can be ejected from the nozzle. The reference numerals in parentheses above are shown as an example of the present invention, and are the reference numerals of corresponding components in the embodiment described below. Effect of the Invention

[0017] According to the sprayer of the present invention, a plurality of ultrasonic oscillators with different mesh sizes are provided, and a desired ultrasonic oscillator is selectively activated, so that the liquid medicine can be sprayed with a desired mist size. Also, since the liquid medicine bottle is configured to be attached with the opening facing downward, it is possible to use up all of the expensive liquid medicine without leaving any behind. Also, since the liquid medicine is sprayed from the nozzle, a converged spray can be achieved. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0018] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view conceptually showing a spray according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 2 is a partial cross-sectional view conceptually showing the AA cross section of the sprayer in FIG. 1. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a front view of the sprayer of FIG. 1. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view conceptually showing a spray according to a second embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0019] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. First Embodiment FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view conceptually showing a sprayer 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The sprayer 1 of this embodiment has a liquid medicine bottle mounting part 10, a liquid medicine storage tank 20, a plurality of ultrasonic oscillators 30, a nozzle front chamber 40, a blower fan 50, a casing 60, a battery 70, an operation switch 80, and a control unit 90. Each wall surface forming the liquid medicine bottle mounting part 10, the liquid medicine storage tank 20, the nozzle front chamber 40, the blower fan 50, and the casing 60 is made of a plastic such as polypropylene that has chemical resistance and heat resistance that can withstand disinfection.

[0020] The liquid medicine bottle mounting part 10 is a mechanism part that mounts the liquid medicine bottle 100 containing the liquid medicine to be sprayed with the opening 101 facing downward. In this embodiment, it has a seating surface 11 against which the opening end surface 101a of the liquid medicine bottle 100 abuts, an O-ring 12 provided on the seating surface 11 to seal between the opening end surface 101a and the seating surface 11, and a plurality of ball plungers 13 that grip the flange portion 101b of the opening 101 and press it against the seating surface 11. With this configuration, by pressing the liquid medicine bottle 100 with the opening 101 facing downward against the seating surface 11 by hand, the flange portion 101b is gripped and fixed by the plurality of ball plungers 13 and sealed by the O-ring 12. In reality, the liquid medicine bottle 100 contains the liquid medicine, so this operation is performed by turning the sprayer 1 upside down and mounting the liquid medicine bottle 100 from below in an upright state. To remove the liquid medicine bottle 100 from the sprayer 1, it is sufficient to simply pull it out. However, in the present invention, the liquid medicine bottle attachment part 10 is not limited to such a mechanism, and any mechanism that can detachably fix and seal the liquid medicine bottle 100 with the opening 101 facing downwards may be used.

[0021] The vent pipe 15 is a stainless steel pipe with one end 15a protruding from the liquid medicine bottle mounting part 10 and the other end 15b opening to the outside, and is inserted into the liquid medicine bottle 100 from the opening 101 when the liquid medicine bottle 100 is mounted on the liquid medicine bottle mounting part 10. This allows air to be naturally introduced into the liquid medicine bottle 100, and the liquid medicine inside the liquid medicine bottle 100 can smoothly flow out to the liquid medicine storage tank 20 described later. A check valve 16 is provided in the middle of the vent pipe 15 to prevent the liquid medicine from flowing out to the outside through the vent pipe 15. In addition, a valve or a plug that closes the other end 15b when not in use may be provided. However, for example, if the liquid medicine bottle 100 has an openable and closable vent hole, the vent pipe 15 is not necessarily provided.

[0022] The liquid medicine storage tank 20 is provided below the liquid medicine bottle attachment part 10, and is a space for storing the liquid medicine that flows out from the liquid medicine bottle 100. In the side cross-sectional view of FIG. 1, the liquid medicine storage tank 20 has a substantially rectangular shape with a bottom surface 20b that slopes downward toward the front, and in the front cross-sectional view of FIG. 2, it has a slightly wider rectangular shape. Ultrasonic oscillators 30, which will be described later, are provided in parallel on the left and right sides of the front surface 20a of this wide rectangle. As shown in FIG. 1, the ultrasonic oscillators 30 are provided at the lower end of the front surface 20a of the liquid medicine storage tank 20, and since the bottom surface 20b slopes downward toward the front, even if only a small amount of liquid medicine is stored in the liquid medicine storage tank 20, the entirety of the liquid medicine flows into the ultrasonic oscillators 30.

[0023] Each ultrasonic oscillator 30 is composed of a mesh 31 that allows the liquid medicine to pass through and a piezoelectric element 32 that vibrates the mesh 31. The mesh 31 is a device that is installed through the wall of the front surface 20a of the liquid medicine storage tank 20 and generates mist from the liquid medicine stored in the liquid medicine storage tank 20. The mesh 31 is a disk-shaped substrate made of, for example, a silicon wafer, on which a large number of holes of a predetermined diameter are formed by photolithography. The piezoelectric element 32 is a circular annular piezoelectric ceramic member that is bonded to the mesh 31 and has a substantially identical outer shape to the mesh 31, and is configured to change its thickness when a voltage is applied. Since the hole diameter of the mesh 31 is small, liquid does not normally pass through it, but when a voltage of a predetermined frequency (for example, 150 kHz) is applied to the piezoelectric element 32 to vibrate the mesh 31, the liquid on the liquid medicine storage tank 20 side of the mesh 31 passes through the large number of holes and is dispersed toward the nozzle front chamber 40 side described later, forming mist. It is said that the mist diameter is determined by the hole diameter of the mesh 31.

[0024] The two ultrasonic oscillators 30 (also called 30a and 30b) have different mesh sizes and therefore generate different mist diameters (for example, 5 μm and 30 μm), and the mist diameter can be selected by selectively operating either of the ultrasonic oscillators 30a and 30b. Note that these ultrasonic oscillators 30a and 30b may be commercially available products, for example, from HOERBIGER MOTION CONTROL.

[0025] The nozzle front chamber 40 is a space provided on the outside of the wall of the front surface 20a of the chemical solution storage tank 20 through which the ultrasonic oscillators 30a, 30b are provided, and contains the mist generated by the ultrasonic oscillators 30a, 30b and has a nozzle 41 for spraying the mist. The nozzle 41 protrudes in a substantially conical shape from the front surface side of the nozzle front chamber 40, and only one nozzle 41 is provided in the center in the left-right direction as shown in the front view of FIG.

[0026] As shown in FIG. 1, the blower fan 50 is a fan that takes in air from an intake port 65 provided on the back side of a casing 60 described later, blows air to the mist contained in the nozzle front chamber 40, and ejects the mist from the nozzle 41. The blower fan 50 may be an axial fan such as a propeller fan, or a centrifugal fan such as a sirocco fan. The blower fan 50 may be provided in the nozzle front chamber 40 or in another space. It is preferable to design the shape of the nozzle front chamber 40 so that the mist is ejected from the nozzle 41 immediately without reflux.

[0027] Casing 60 is a housing that houses each component of sprayer 1, and is composed of a lower casing body 61 and a cap 62 that is removably attached to the upper part of this casing body 61. With cap 62 removed from casing body 61, liquid medicine bottle 100 can be attached to and detached from liquid medicine bottle attachment part 10.

[0028] The battery 70 is a rechargeable secondary battery that supplies power to the ultrasonic oscillators 30a, 30b and the blower fan 50, and is, for example, a lithium ion battery. In this embodiment, the battery 70 is rechargeable via a USB terminal 71. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, a non-rechargeable primary battery may be used, or the battery 70 may be directly driven by an AC power source.

[0029] In this embodiment, the operation switch 80 comprises a switch 81 for starting and stopping the sprayer 1 and a switch 82 for selecting a mist diameter, and is provided on the front side of the casing body 61.

[0030] The control unit 90 is a device that operates the sprayer 1 by driving the ultrasonic oscillators 30a, 30b and the blower fan 50 in accordance with the operating state of the operation switch 80 and an operating program. It includes a microcomputer 91 that controls the entire system in accordance with the program, a drive circuit 92 for the ultrasonic oscillators 30a, 30b, and a drive circuit 93 for the blower fan 50.

[0031] Next, the operation and movement of the sprayer 1 of this embodiment configured as described above will be described with reference to Fig. 1. First, with the operation / stop switch 81 in the "stop" state, the cap 62 is removed from the casing body 61, and with the sprayer 1 inverted, the liquid medicine bottle 100 containing the liquid medicine is pressed from below against the liquid medicine bottle attachment part 10 to attach the liquid medicine bottle 100. At this time, the vent tube 15 is inserted into the liquid medicine bottle 100 from the opening 101. When the sprayer 1 is returned to the upright state, the liquid medicine in the liquid medicine bottle 100 passes through the opening of the liquid medicine bottle attachment part 10 and is stored in the liquid medicine storage tank 20.

[0032] Next, when the operation / stop switch 81 is pressed once, the control unit 90 detects this and puts the sprayer 1 into an operation state. Specifically, the control unit 90 refers to the state of the mist diameter selection switch 82, operates the ultrasonic oscillator 30 (e.g., ultrasonic oscillator 30a) corresponding to the selected mist diameter, and also operates the blower fan 50. Then, the liquid medicine stored in the liquid medicine storage tank 20 and in contact with the mesh 31 of the ultrasonic oscillator 30a passes through the many holes of the mesh 31 and is dispersed toward the nozzle front chamber 40, forming a mist having a desired mist diameter. This mist is blown out of the nozzle 41 by the wind pressure of the blower fan 50, and is converged and sprayed on the target part.

[0033] Next, when the mist diameter selection switch 82 is switched, the control unit 90 detects this and stops the operation of the ultrasonic oscillator 30a and operates the other ultrasonic oscillator 30b, thereby switching the mist diameter of the mist to be generated.

[0034] When the operation / stop switch 81 is pressed again, the control unit 90 detects this and stops the operation of the ultrasonic oscillator 30b and the blower fan 50, thereby bringing the sprayer 1 to a stopped state.

[0035] Even if the amount of liquid remaining in liquid bottle 100 decreases due to spraying, outside air is introduced into liquid bottle 100 through vent pipe 15, so negative pressure is not generated inside liquid bottle 100 and the liquid flows smoothly down into liquid storage tank 20. Even if only a small amount of liquid remains in liquid storage tank 20, all of the liquid flows into ultrasonic oscillator 30 because ultrasonic oscillator 30 is provided at the lower end of front surface 20a and bottom surface 20b is lowered toward the front, so that all of the liquid can be used up.

[0036] Second Embodiment Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In this embodiment, a plurality of ultrasonic oscillators 30 are provided penetrating the bottom surface 20b of the drug solution storage tank 20 instead of penetrating the front surface 20a. In the description of the second embodiment and the corresponding drawings, the same reference numerals are used for the same or corresponding components as those in the first embodiment, and detailed description of these components will be omitted below.

[0037] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view conceptually showing the spray 2 of the present embodiment. In the sprayer 2 of this embodiment, the liquid medicine storage tank 20 has a substantially horizontal rectangular bottom surface 20b in the side cross-sectional view of FIG. 4, and two ultrasonic oscillators 30a, 30b are provided on the left and right sides of the bottom surface 20b. When the ultrasonic oscillator 30a or 30b is operated, the liquid medicine stored in the liquid medicine storage tank 20 passes through the mesh 31 to generate mist, which is then dispersed to the nozzle front chamber 40. The nozzle front chamber 40 of this embodiment is formed on the other side of a wall extending from the bottom surface 20b to the front surface 20a of the liquid medicine storage tank 20, and a blower fan 50 is disposed behind the mist dispersion point in the nozzle front chamber 40. By operating this blower fan 50, the mist is sprayed from the nozzle 41 by wind pressure, and is converged and sprayed to the target portion.

[0038] Other than this, the configuration of the sprayer 2 of this embodiment is similar to that of the sprayer 1 of the first embodiment, and the operation and movement are also similar to those of the sprayer 1 of the first embodiment. In the configuration of this embodiment, all the liquid medicine flows to the ultrasonic oscillator 30a or 30b, so that all the liquid medicine can be used up.

[0039] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims and the technical ideas described in the specification and drawings. For example, in each of the above embodiments, two ultrasonic oscillators 30 are provided, but three or more ultrasonic oscillators 30 may be provided and selectively operated.

[0040] Furthermore, the configuration of the operation switch 80 is not limited to the above-mentioned configuration consisting of the start / stop switch 81 and the mist diameter selection switch 82, but various switch configurations are possible, and the operation method and operation can be changed as desired. [Explanation of symbols]

[0041] 1,2 Sprayer 10. Medicine bottle attachment part 11 Seat 12 O-ring 13 Ball Plunger 15 Vent pipe 15a One end 15b Other end 16 Check valve 20 Chemical storage tank 20a front 20b Bottom 30,30a,30b Ultrasonic oscillator 31 Mesh 32 Piezoelectric element 40 Nozzle front chamber 41 Nozzle 50 Blower fan 60 Casing 61 Casing body 62 Cap 65 Air Intake 70 Battery 71 USB port 80 Operation switch 81 Start / Stop Switch 82 Mist diameter selection switch 90 Control section 91 Microcomputer 92 (Ultrasonic oscillator) driver circuit 93 (Blower fan) drive circuit 100 Medicine bottle 101 Opening 101a Open end face 101b Flange part

Claims

1. a medicine bottle attachment part capable of attaching a medicine bottle containing a medicine to be sprayed with an opening facing downward; A liquid medicine storage tank provided below the liquid medicine bottle mounting portion; A plurality of ultrasonic oscillators each including a mesh that allows the liquid medicine to pass through and a piezoelectric element that vibrates the mesh, the ultrasonic oscillators being provided through a wall surface of the liquid medicine storage tank to generate mist from the liquid medicine stored in the liquid medicine storage tank; a nozzle front chamber that contains the mist generated by the plurality of ultrasonic oscillators and has a nozzle that ejects the mist; a blower fan that blows air to the mist contained in the nozzle front chamber to cause the mist to be ejected from the nozzle, The sprayer is configured such that the plurality of ultrasonic oscillators have different mesh sizes and therefore generate different mist diameters, and any one of the ultrasonic oscillators is selectively activated.

2. 2. The spray according to claim 1, further comprising a vent pipe inserted into the opening of the liquid medicine bottle and a check valve provided in the vent pipe.

3. The sprayer according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of ultrasonic oscillators are provided at a lower end of a front surface of the chemical liquid storage tank, and the chemical liquid stored in the chemical liquid storage tank is configured to all flow into the plurality of ultrasonic oscillators.

4. 2. The sprayer according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of ultrasonic oscillators are provided through a bottom surface of the chemical liquid storage tank, and the chemical liquid stored in the chemical liquid storage tank is configured to all flow through the plurality of ultrasonic oscillators.

5. The sprayer according to claim 1 , wherein the blower fan is an axial fan.

6. The sprayer according to claim 1 , wherein the blower fan is a centrifugal fan.

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