KR101499597B1 - Liquid droplet discharging device and method - Google Patents

Abstract

It is an object of the present invention to provide a liquid droplet discharging technique in which a tip end of a plunger during a discharging operation is kept in a noncontact state with an inner wall of a liquid chamber, A droplet ejection apparatus and a droplet ejection apparatus which can perform good ejection even when a liquid material containing a filler is provided. The present invention provides a liquid ejecting apparatus comprising a liquid chamber having an ejection opening for ejecting a liquid material, a through-hole communicating with the liquid chamber, a plunger inserted into the through-hole and having a tip portion thereof moving forward and backward in the liquid chamber, And a plunger positioning means for defining a position of the plunger distal end portion. An inertial force is given to the liquid material by ejecting the liquid material in a droplet state by moving the plunger forward and backward in a state in which the tip end portion of the plunger and the inner wall of the liquid chamber are not in contact with each other Wherein the plunger positioning means defines the position of the tip end of the plunger at the time of stopping the advancement to the vicinity of the inner wall of the liquid chamber in the advancing direction.

Liquid droplet ejection apparatus, plunger, liquid chamber, droplet, liquid material, positioning means, inertia force

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a droplet discharging device,

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a droplet ejection apparatus and method for ejecting (discharging) a liquid material in the form of droplets.

In the present specification, the term " liquid material " means a liquid material, which has fluidity, and includes, for example, a liquid substance having a minute particle-like substance called a filler.

The " droplet state " is a state in which the liquid material discharged from the discharge port moves in the space without contacting the discharge port with the object to be coated.

As a conventional liquid droplet ejecting apparatus for ejecting liquid material from a nozzle after dropping the liquid material from the nozzle, for example, there is known a liquid droplet ejecting apparatus in which a side surface of a plunger rod is provided in a non- And the leading end of the plunger rod moves toward the valve seat and abuts on the valve seat to discharge the liquid material from the nozzle in a droplet state (Patent Document 1).

As a technique for rapidly dropping the liquid material by abruptly stopping the plunger advancing rapidly but not in contact with the valve seat, there has been proposed a technique in which the liquid material discharge plunger whose tip end face is close to the liquid material is advanced at high speed, There is a method and apparatus for discharging a liquid material by abruptly stopping the plunger driving means and applying an inertial force to the liquid material to discharge the liquid material (Patent Document 2, Patent Document 3).

Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-500962

Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-190871

Patent Document 3: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-296700

When the plunger rod and the valve seat are repeatedly brought into contact with each other, the plunger rod and the valve seat are worn out. In the conventional liquid drop ejection apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 wherein the tip of the plunger rod moves at high speed, There is wear and abrasion. The abrasion particles or abrasive particles, which are generated, are not only contaminated with the liquid material when mixed in the liquid material, but also interfere with good discharge by being sandwiched between the plunger rod and the valve seat.

Further, wear of the plunger rod and the valve seat deforms the shape of the plunger rod and the valve seat itself, and it is not possible to obtain reproducibility in the discharge before and after the wear, and therefore it is necessary to replace the plunger rod and the valve seat periodically.

Further, at the time of discharging the liquid material including the fine particles called pillars, the pillars may be caught between the plunger rod and the valve seat and may be broken, and the properties of the liquid material are changed by the broken pillars. In addition, the broken and deformed filler may cause nozzle clogging.

In addition, if the filler is sandwiched between the plunger rod and the valve seat, the contact state of the plunger rod and the valve seat per discharge is changed, so that the reproducibility of the discharge can not be obtained. In addition, And scattering of the liquid material is caused to adhere the liquid material to an unintended position on the workpiece, thereby contaminating the workpiece.

In recent years, there is an increasing demand for discharging a solder paste containing solder particles in a droplet state, and it is important to solve the above problems in order to discharge a liquid containing a filler in a droplet state.

The methods and apparatuses described in Patent Documents 2 and 3 all have a configuration in which the plunger advances while slidably moving to the side of the liquid chamber, and the object is to measure and discharge the liquid material. That is, since the plunger advances while slidably moving to the side of the liquid chamber (liquid chamber), the liquid material corresponding to the moved liquid is discharged with high precision. However, on the other hand, since the side surface of the plunger is in contact with the inner wall of the liquid chamber when the plunger advances, there is a limit to the high-speed movement of the plunger due to the sliding movement resistance.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a droplet discharging technology in which the leading end of the plunger does not contact the inner wall of the liquid chamber at the time of discharging operation and is capable of discharging a liquid containing a filler such as solder paste An object of the present invention is to provide a droplet ejection apparatus and method.

[MEANS FOR SOLVING THE PROBLEM]

The first solution includes a liquid chamber having a discharge port for discharging the liquid material, a through-hole communicating with the liquid chamber, a plunger which is inserted in the through-hole and whose tip portion moves forward and backward in the liquid chamber, A plunger moving mechanism and a plunger positioning mechanism for defining a position of the plunger tip end, and an inertial force is given to the liquid material by advancing and stopping the plunger in a state in which the tip end of the plunger and the inner wall of the liquid chamber are not in contact with each other, Wherein the plunger positioning mechanism defines the position of the plunger distal end portion at the time of stopping the advancement to the vicinity of the inner wall of the liquid chamber in the advancing direction.

The front end of the plunger can discharge the liquid material in a droplet state without being in contact with the inner wall of the liquid chamber (corresponding to the conventional valve seat), thereby preventing the occurrence of wear and abrasion due to abrasion of the plunger or the valve seat, Or the shape of the valve seat due to abrasion of the valve seat can be prevented and the conventional problem of insufficient reproducibility of discharge can be solved. Further, the filler is not caught between the plunger rod and the valve seat and is not destroyed.

In addition, when the plunger is discharged in a non-contact state with the tip end of the plunger and the inner wall of the liquid chamber, sliding movement resistance of the side surface of the plunger and the liquid chamber do not occur.

The second solution means is characterized in that, in the first solution means, the tip of the plunger at the time of stopping the advancement is located in the vicinity of the inner wall of the liquid chamber and the discharge port in the advancing direction.

The distal end of the plunger is located in the vicinity of the inner wall of the liquid chamber and the discharge port in the advancing direction, so that the inertia force to the liquid material can be made to act as a more preferable condition. That is, when the plunger tip is located in the vicinity of the discharge port at the time of stoppage of the advancement, the flow resistance of the liquid material moving in the discharge port direction by the operation of the plunger is reduced and the droplet state is likely to occur. The liquid chamber is effective not only when the liquid chamber is formed in a bowl shape as shown in Fig. 2 but also when it is formed in a cylindrical shape as shown in Fig.

The third solution means is characterized in that, in the first or second solution means, the inner wall of the tip end portion of the liquid chamber is formed in a conical shape having a discharge port at the most advanced stage.

The fourth solution means is characterized in that, in the first or second solution means, the inner wall of the tip end of the liquid chamber is constituted by a plane having a discharge port.

According to a fifth solving means, in the solu- tion of any one of the first to fourth aspects, the plunger positioning mechanism is provided with the front contact portion 43 provided on the plunger, the front stopper 51 opposed to the front contact portion 43 ), And the front stopper (51) is brought into contact with the front contact portion (43) so as to determine the stop position when the plunger advances.

By providing the front stopper, the plunger advancing and moving can be abruptly stopped at the same predetermined position regardless of the speed, thereby giving the liquid material a favorable inertial force, and the liquid material can be satisfactorily discharged in the droplet state. In addition, since the plunger is precisely stopped at the same predetermined position, the inertial force given to the liquid material per ejection can be made equal, and the ejection can be performed with high reproducibility.

The sixth solution is characterized in that, in the fifth solution, the plunger positioning mechanism has a movable member (30) capable of advancing and retreating its position, and the position of the front stopper is moved forward and backward by the movable member (30) And the stop position can be adjusted when the plunger advances.

Since the stop position can be changed when the plunger rod moves forward by moving the position of the front stopper before the discharge, the optimum plunger stop position can be set in accordance with the content of the filler contained in the liquid material and the size of the filler, It is possible to adjust the plunger so as to stop at the optimum position according to the situation even if there is a change in the material or other discharge conditions. Therefore, good discharge can always be realized.

A seventh solution is characterized in that, in the sixth solution, the movable member (30) has a position indicating member for indicating the position thereof.

The position indicating member of the movable member enables quantitative adjustment of the stop position at the time of advancing the plunger.

It is possible to precisely adjust the distance from the tip of the plunger to the contact position at the stop position at the time of advancement of the plunger rod, thereby making it possible to perform the discharge with high reproducibility and high precision.

According to an eighth solu- tion, in the sixth or seventh solving means, a main body having a through hole (24) and a piston chamber (61) through which the plunger is inserted, and a main body having a discharge port, a liquid chamber, The plunger has a front contact portion (43) which is wider than the plunger rod and the plunger rod and is installed in the piston chamber (61), and the movable member (30) has a through hole (26) Has a through hole (34) through which the plunger is inserted, and is provided between the main body and the discharge block.

The ninth solution means is characterized in that, in the solution means of any one of the sixth to eighth aspects, the front stopper (51) is a surface of the piston chamber (61) opposed to a surface on the advancing direction side of the front contact portion .

The tenth solution means is characterized in that the position of the front stopper can be adjusted by adjusting the distance between the main body and the discharge block by advancing and retreating the position of the movable member (30) in any one of the sixth to ninth solution means .

The eleventh solution means is characterized in that, in the tenth solution means, the main body includes a base member which is mounted so that its position can be moved forward and backward, and in which the discharge block is fixedly mounted.

The twelfth solution is characterized in that, in the solution means of any one of the sixth to eighth aspects, the front stopper (51) is constituted by the rear end of the moving member (30) projecting into the piston chamber (61) The position of the front stopper 51 can be adjusted by moving the position of the member 30 forward and backward.

The thirteenth solution means is characterized in that, in the solution means of any one of the sixth to twelfth aspects, the advancing / retreating position of the plunger is moved to the contact position (the position where the tip end of the plunger contacts the inner wall of the liquid chamber 12). ≪ / RTI >

To determine the stop position at the time of advancement of the plunger, it is convenient that the tip end thereof is brought into contact with and retracted from the contact position, so that it is preferable that the advancement position of the plunger can be adjusted to the contact position where the tip of the plunger makes contact with the inner wall of the liquid chamber Do.

A fourteenth solution means is characterized in that, in the thirteenth solution means, the tip end of the plunger is configured to close the discharge port at the contact position (12).

The fifteenth solution means is characterized in that, in the solution means according to any one of the first to fourteenth aspects, the plunger has a rear contact portion (45) on the side of the retreat direction of the front contact portion (43) A rear stopper 52 that abuts against the abutting portion 45 to limit the retraction movement of the plunger, and a rear stopper moving mechanism for advancing and retracting the rear stopper 52. [

The sixteenth solution means is characterized in that the solving means according to any one of the first to fifteenth aspects includes an elastic body for pressing the plunger in the advancing direction.

A seventeenth solution means is characterized in that, in any one of the first to sixteenth solution means, the liquid chamber has a liquid material supply port to which liquid material is supplied, and supplies the liquid material in cooperation with the advancing and retreating movement of the plunger And a liquid transfer control device.

The eighteenth solution means is characterized in that the solution mechanism according to any one of the first to seventeenth aspects further comprises a tension mechanism for pressing and depressurizing the liquid material in the liquid chamber in conjunction with the advancing / retreating movement of the plunger.

A nineteenth solution is a droplet dispensing method for dispensing an inertial force to a liquid material by ejecting and advancing the plunger in a state in which the tip end of the plunger and the inner wall of the liquid chamber are not in contact with each other, Wherein a plunger whose tip end moves forward and backward in the liquid chamber is provided and the tip end of the plunger is positioned in the vicinity of the inner wall of the liquid chamber in the advancing direction at the time of its advancement stop.

The twentieth solution is characterized in that, in the nineteenth solution, the tip end of the plunger is positioned in the vicinity of the inner wall of the liquid chamber and the discharge port in the advancing direction at the time of stopping the plunger.

The twenty-first solution means is characterized in that in the nineteenth or twentieth solution means, the front contact portion 43 is provided on the plunger, the front stopper 51 opposed to the front contact portion 43 is provided, and the front stopper 51 ) Of the plunger is brought into contact with the front contact portion (43).

The twenty-second solution means is characterized in that, in the twenty first solution means, the movable member (30) capable of moving its position is provided, and the position of the front stopper (51) is advanced and retreated by the movable member The stop position is adjusted.

According to a twenty-third solution, in the twenty-second solution, the movable member (30) has a position indicating member for indicating the position thereof and adjusts the position of the movable member (30) based on the display value of the position indicating member .

According to a twenty-fourth solution, the piston chamber (61) constituting the front stopper (51) is provided on the surface facing the surface in the advancing direction of the front contact portion (43) The position of the front stopper 51 is adjusted by adjusting the position of the piston chamber 61 by moving the position of the moving member 30 forward and backward.

The twenty-fifth solution means is the twenty-second solution means as set forth in the twenty-second or the twenty-third solution means, wherein the movable member (30) constitutes the front stopper (51) whose rear end is opposed to the surface of the front contact portion And the position of the front stopper 51 is adjusted by moving the position of the movable member 30 forward and backward.

The twenty sixth solution means is characterized in that, in the solution means of any one of the twenty-second to twenty-fifth aspects, adjustment of the stop position at the time of advancement of the plunger is performed by setting the position of the tip of the plunger to the contact position (12) The moving member 30 in which the front contact portion 43 and the front stopper 51 are in contact with each other is moved forward and backward by a desired distance so that the position of the tip of the plunger To a desired distance from the contact position (12).

According to a twenty-seventh solution, the tip of the plunger is configured to close the discharge port at the contact position (12) where the tip of the plunger makes contact with the inner wall of the liquid chamber, and in the first step, And determines whether the position of the tip of the plunger is at the contact position (12) according to the presence or absence of leakage of the liquid material.

When the leading end of the plunger is configured to block the discharge port at the contact position, if the tip is in the contact position, the liquid does not leak from the discharge port. If a gap is formed between the tip and the discharge port by the retracting movement of the plunger, It is possible to determine whether or not the leading end of the plunger is in the contact position due to the leakage of the liquid material.

The twentyenth solution means is characterized in that, in the solution means according to any one of the nineteenth to twenty-ninth aspects, the plunger has the rear contact portion (45) on the retreat direction side of the front contact portion (43) , And a rear stopper (52) capable of advancing and retreating the position is provided, and the rear contact portion (45) is abutted against the rear stopper (52) to restrict the backward movement of the plunger.

[0060] The twenty ninth solution means is characterized in that, in the solution means according to any one of the nineteenth to twenty eighth aspects, the liquid chamber has a liquid material supply port through which the liquid material is supplied and supplies the liquid material in cooperation with the advancing- .

The thirty-second solution means is characterized in that, in the solution means of any one of the nineteenth to twenty-ninth aspects, the liquid material is a liquid material containing a filler.

The thirty-first solution means is characterized in that, in any one of the nineteenth to thirtieth aspects, the liquid material in the liquid chamber is pressurized and decompressed in conjunction with the advancing and retreating movement of the plunger.

[Effects of the Invention]

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a droplet discharging technique in which the tip end portion of the plunger can be discharged in a noncontact manner to the inner wall of the liquid chamber, and a liquid material containing a filler such as a cream solder can be satisfactorily discharged.

1 is an external view of a droplet ejection apparatus according to Embodiment 1. Fig.

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the main body, the discharge block, and the front stop position adjustment mechanism of Fig. 1;

3 is a side view (1/3) of the main part for explaining the setting of the stop position of the plunger.

4 is a side view (2/3) of a main portion for explaining the setting of the stop position of the plunger.

5 is a side view (3/3) of the main part for explaining the setting of the stop position of the plunger.

6 is a substrate which is an object to be coated, showing the discharge position.

7A is a timing chart (1/2) showing the operation of the plunger rod and the like.

7B is a timing chart (2/2) showing the operation of the plunger rod and the like.

8 is an external view and a cross-sectional view of a main part of the droplet ejection apparatus according to the fourth embodiment.

9 is an external view and a cross-sectional view of a main part of the droplet ejection apparatus according to the fifth embodiment.

10 is an external view and a cross-sectional view of a main portion of the droplet ejection apparatus according to Embodiment 6

11 is an external view and a cross-sectional view of a main part of the droplet ejection apparatus according to the eighth embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE REFERENCE NUMERALS

1: setting section 2: control section 3: air type dispenser 4: air tube 5: liquid storage container 6: liquid transfer tube 7: pump 8: liquid transfer member 10: The present invention relates to an apparatus for supplying a liquid to a liquid supply apparatus and a method of manufacturing the liquid supply apparatus. A through hole, a through hole, a through hole, a base member, a memory, a moving member, a front convex portion, a rotation handle, a rear convex portion, The present invention relates to a plunger having a plunger rod and a plunger rod which are provided on a front end of the plunger rod so that the plunger rod can be pivotally connected to the front end of the plunger rod. A long hole, 54: a fixing screw, 61: a piston chamber, 62: a front piston chamber, 63: a rear piston chamber, 64: a spring chamber, 66: a coil spring, 70: drive unit, 71: main body, 72: (73): air supply source (80): discharge unit (81): discharge block (85): needle (86): flange supporting member (99)

An apparatus according to the best mode for carrying out the present invention includes a liquid chamber having a discharge port for discharging a liquid material, a through hole communicating with the liquid chamber, a plunger inserted into the through hole and having a tip portion thereof moving forward and backward in the liquid chamber, And a plunger positioning mechanism for defining a position of the plunger distal end portion. An inertial force is imparted to the liquid material by causing the plunger to move forward and outward in a state in which the distal end portion of the plunger and the inner wall of the liquid chamber are not in contact with each other Wherein the plunger positioning mechanism moves the position of the plunger distal end portion at the time of stopping the advancement of the liquid droplet in the vicinity of the inner wall of the liquid chamber in the advancing direction (preferably in the vicinity of the inner wall in the advancing direction and the vicinity of the ejection opening ) Is a liquid droplet ejection apparatus. Here, the plunger positioning mechanism has a front contact portion provided on the plunger and a front stopper opposed to the front contact portion, and the front stopper is brought into contact with the front contact portion to determine the stop position when the plunger advances. The plunger positioning mechanism is a mechanism for determining a stop position at the time of advancing the plunger and / or a stop position at the time of retreat.

In the apparatus of the present invention, it is preferable to adjust the stop position to the optimum position when advancing the plunger, because good discharge is performed. Therefore, it is possible to realize the optimum position adjustment by creating the concept of becoming the prescribed state for this adjustment and adjusting the stop position when the plunger advances based on the specified state. Here, the specified state refers to a state in which the position of the tip of the plunger is at a contact position where it contacts the inner wall of the liquid chamber, and the front contact portion and the front stopper are in contact with each other.

It is difficult to observe the internal situation such as the tip position of the plunger from the outside in view of the structure of the apparatus, It is necessary to install a member. The specific details of which members to install is a matter of design, but it is determined based on the following three methods.

First, after bringing the front contact portion and the front stopper into contact with each other, the front contact portion and the front stopper are advanced to a prescribed state in a state where the distance between the front contact portion and the front stopper is physically restricted, The stop position is adjusted when the plunger advances by advancing and retreating the desired distance, and thereafter, the restriction of the separation between the front contact portion and the front stopper is released. The first embodiment to be described later is based on this method.

Second, the plunger is moved forward to bring the tip end to the contact position, and then the front stopper is retracted to physically restrict the movement of the plunger in the retracted state. Thereafter, the limit of the retreat movement of the plunger is released And then the forward stopper is moved forward and backward by a desired distance. The fourth embodiment to be described later is based on this method.

Thirdly, in the case where the plunger is pressed in the advance direction by the elastic body, and the tip end of the plunger is in contact with the inner wall of the liquid chamber so as to close the discharge port, the front stopper advances to a position where the advancement of the plunger is not restricted The front end of the plunger is advanced to the contact position, and the front stopper is retreated until the liquid material flows out from the discharge port. Thereafter, the forward contact portion and the front stopper are moved forward and backward by a desired distance, The stop position is adjusted. Example 7 to be described later is based on this method.

Hereinafter, the details of the present invention will be described with reference to examples, but the present invention is not limited to the following examples.

[Example 1]

"Configuration"

2 is a cross-sectional view of the front stop position adjusting mechanism such as the main body 71, the discharge block 81, and the moving member 30 shown in Fig. 1; Fig. to be. Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, the nozzle 11 side may be referred to as the front side, and the micrometer 69 side may be referred to as the back side.

The present apparatus mainly includes a drive unit 70 provided in the base member 27, a discharge unit 80, and a movable member 30 provided therebetween.

[1] The driving unit 70 will be described.

The drive unit 70 includes a main body 71 and a plunger 40 that moves while sliding inside the main body 71. [

The plunger (40) has a plunger rod (41) in the form of a cylindrical rod whose distal end is hemispherical and elongated in its front side. The rear side of the plunger rod 41 forms a connecting portion 42 having a larger diameter than the plunger rod 41 in a cylindrical shape. The rear side of the connecting portion 42 constitutes a cylindrical front contact portion 43 having a diameter larger than that of the connecting portion 42. The rear side of the front contact portion 43 has a diameter larger than that of the front contact portion 43 and constitutes a cylindrical piston 44 having the same diameter as the piston chamber 61. [ The rear side of the piston 44 constitutes a rear contact portion 45 which is a bar-shaped rod.

Both the front contact portion 43 and the rear contact portion 45 serve to determine the position of the tip end 13 of the plunger rod 41. [ The plunger rod 41, the connecting portion 42, the front contact portion 43, the piston 44, and the rear contact portion 45 are all arranged so that their axes are the same.

The configuration of the plunger 40 is not limited to that of the present embodiment, and its shape and the like are design matters. For example, it is also conceivable to achieve the same purpose by means of a plunger having a configuration composed only of the plunger rod 41 and the piston 44 of the present embodiment.

The main body 71 has a slide moving concave portion 23, a through hole 24, a piston chamber 61, and a spring chamber 64 as its internal space. These spaces are provided with their axes being the same.

The slide moving concave portion 23 is a cylindrical space connected to the through hole 24 from the front end side of the main body 71. The inner diameter of the slide moving concave portion (23) is larger than the through hole (24). The inner diameter of the slide moving concave portion 23 is formed to match the rear convex portion 33 of the moving member 30 inserted therein.

The through hole 24 is a cylindrical space having a smaller diameter than the slide moving concave portion 23 connected to the front side. The outer diameter of the connecting portion 42 inserted into the through hole 24 is equal to the inner diameter of the through hole 24. Therefore, when the plunger 40 is moved back and forth, the plunger rod 41 is shifted in the lateral direction and does not move. A ring-shaped sealing portion 18B is fitted in the groove formed in the inner wall of the through hole 24. The plunger 40 is movable in the back and forth direction in a state in which the sealing portion 18B and the connecting portion 42 are in close contact with each other The air in the piston chamber 61 does not leak forward.

The piston chamber 61 is a cylindrical space having a larger diameter than the through hole 24 connected to the front side and is divided into the front piston chamber 62 and the rear piston chamber 63 by the inserted piston 44. A ring-shaped sealing portion 18A is fitted in the groove formed in the peripheral surface of the piston 44. The plunger 40 is moved forward and backward in a state in which the sealing portion 18A is in close contact with the inner wall of the piston chamber 61 The air in the front piston chamber 62 and the rear piston chamber 63 does not leak to the opposite side beyond the sealing portion 18A.

The front surface of the inner wall of the front piston chamber 62 constitutes a front stopper 51 that limits the forward movement of the plunger 40 when the front contact portion 43 abuts.

On the side surface of the front piston chamber (62), a front air passage (48) for connecting the front piston chamber (62) to the outside is provided.

The spring chamber (64) is cylindrical in diameter smaller than the piston chamber (61) connected to the front side. The spring chamber 64 is provided with a coil spring 66 for pressing the rear end portion of the spring 44 and the rear end surface of the piston 44 in the direction away from each other. That is, the plunger 40 is urged forward by the coil spring 66. The rear stopper 52 and the rear contact portion 45 are provided so as to oppose each other in the loop of the coil spring 66. One end of the rear stopper 52 is connected to a micrometer 69 provided outside the rear end of the main body 71. The micrometer 69 is a rear stopper moving mechanism that moves the rear stopper 52 back and forth by rotating it. The micrometer 69 can fix the position of the rear stopper 52 by fixing its rotation by a rotation lock member (not shown) installed therein. On the side surface of the spring chamber (64), a rear air passage (49) connected to the outside is provided.

On the outer wall of the main body 71, an electromagnetic switching valve 72 is fixedly installed. One of the electromagnetic switching valves 72 is communicated with the front air passage 48 and the other is communicated with the air supply source 73. The electromagnetic switching valve 72 can switch the communication between the front piston chamber 62 and the air supply source 73 or the outside.

On the outer wall of the main body 71, two long holes 53A and 53B penetrating from the front surface to the back surface are formed. The main body 71 is fixed by fixing screws 54A and 54B screwed into the screw holes of the base member 27 through the long holes 53A and 53B. When the fixing screws 54A and 54B are loosened, the main body 71 can move back and forth with respect to the base member 27. When the fixing screws 54A and 54B are fastened, the main body 71 moves with respect to the base member 27 It is fixed to be impossible.

[2] Discharge unit 80 will be described.

The discharge unit 80 has a rectangular parallelepiped discharge block 81 and a nozzle 11. The discharge block 81 is fixed to the base member 27.

The discharge block 81 includes a front concave portion 21 formed on the front end face as an inner space thereof, a rear concave portion 22 formed on the rear end face, a through hole 26 connecting the rear concave portion 22 and the front concave portion And a liquid material supply passage 17 communicating with the liquid material supply passage 21. The front concave portion 21, the rear concave portion 22 formed in the rear end face, and the through hole 26 are provided so as to have the same axis.

The front concave portion 21 and the rear concave portion 22 have a cylindrical shape and a thread groove on the inner peripheral side.

To the front concave portion 21, a nozzle 11 having a discharge port 10 is screwed to the front end thereof. That is, the screw groove formed on the outer circumferential surface of the rear side of the nozzle 11 is screwed to the screw groove of the front concave portion 21, and the nozzle 11 is fixed to the discharge block 81. Since the nozzle 11 is fixed by a screw, it can be easily exchanged, and the nozzle 11 having a different shape and size can be used according to the application.

The inside of the nozzle 11 of this embodiment has a bowl shape and a space surrounded by the inner wall of the nozzle 11 and the inner wall of the front concave portion 21 constitutes the liquid chamber 14.

Since the inner diameter of the through hole 26 is formed to be slightly larger than the outer diameter of the plunger rod 41, the outer diameter of the plunger rod 41 and the inner wall of the through hole 26 are not in contact with each other during operation. A ring-shaped sealing portion 18C is fitted in the groove formed in the inner circumferential surface of the through hole 26. The plunger 40 is moved back and forth in a state in which the sealing portion 18C keeps close contact with the plunger rod 41 The liquid material supply passage 17 in which the liquid material in the liquid chamber 14 does not leak back beyond the sealing portion 18C has one end connected to the liquid material supply port (not shown) provided on the inner circumferential surface of the front concave portion 21 16 and the other end communicates with the liquid transfer tube 6 connected to the side surface outside the discharge block 81. [

[3] Moving member 30 will be described.

The shifting member 30 is constituted by a cylindrical forward convex portion 31, a disk-shaped rotary knob 32 and a cylindrical rear convex portion 33, and is disposed between the drive unit 70 and the discharge unit 80 Respectively. The front convex portion 31, the rotary knob 32 and the rear convex portion 33 are arranged so that their axes are the same. On these central axes, a through hole 34 is formed. The inner diameter of the through hole 34 is such that the side surface of the plunger rod 41 does not contact when the plunger rod 41 is inserted.

The front convex portion 31 has a cylindrical shape, and has a thread groove on the outer circumferential surface thereof for screwing into the rear recess portion 22 provided in the discharge unit 80.

The rotary knob 32 has a memory corresponding to the position indicating member (movement amount confirming member) on its surface, and the angle of rotation can be known from the outside (see Fig. 1). The change of the position of the movable member 30 can be determined quantitatively by the rotary knob 32. [

The outer diameter of the rear convex portion 33 is equal to the inner diameter of the slide moving concave portion 23 of the drive unit 70 and is inserted into the slide moving concave portion 23.

The moving member 30, the driving unit 70 and the discharging unit 80 pass through the through hole 24, the through hole 34 and the through hole 26 so that the tip end 13 of the plunger rod 41 And reaches the liquid chamber 14.

With respect to the plunger rod 41 inserted in the liquid chamber 14, the discharge port 10 of the nozzle 11 is arranged so as to have the same axis. The distal end 13 of the plunger rod 41 comes into contact with the inner wall of the liquid chamber 14 so as to block the discharge port 10. [ This position is referred to as a contact position 12. This corresponds to the seating position with the valve seat in the conventional device, but the device of this embodiment does not have the valve seat.

[4] Other components

In addition to the above components, the apparatus of the present embodiment includes a setting unit 1, a control unit 2, an air-type dispenser 3, and a liquid material storage container 5.

A liquid feed tube (6) is connected to the lower end of a liquid material storage container (5) for storing a liquid material for liquid droplet ejection inside. Here, the liquid material in this embodiment is a solder paste containing solder particles. An air tube 4 is connected to the upper end of the liquid material storage container 5 and communicates with an air supply port of the air type dispenser 3.

The air type dispenser 3 supplies air of the set pressure for a predetermined time and is connected to the control unit 2. [ The control unit 2 is connected to the setting unit 1 for the user to change settings and the like and is also connected to the electronic switching valve 72. [

In addition to the above configuration, when the liquid material is susceptible to the influence of the temperature, the temperature is controlled to a desired portion of the air tube 4, the liquid material storage container 5, the liquid chamber 14, the liquid material supply passage 17, A known temperature control device may be provided.

"action"

The operation of the apparatus of this embodiment will be described.

[5] Setting of the stop position of the plunger 40

The description will be made with reference to Fig. 3 (a). The electromagnetic switching valve 72 is first switched to a state in which the front piston chamber 62 communicates with the outside and the rotary knob 32 is rotated so that the movable member 30 is moved to the foremost position.

The piston 44 is moved forward relative to the main body 71 by the action of the coil spring 66 and the front contact portion 43 is moved forward relative to the front stopper 51 Stop in contact. The plunger 40 and the main body 71 are then fixed by rotating the micrometer 69 to move the rear stopper 52 forward and bring it into contact with the rear contact portion 45. Then, the micrometer 69 is fixed by a rotation lock member such as a fixing screw (not shown) so as not to be rotated.

When the elastic force of the coil spring 66 is sufficient, the front contact portion 43 and the front stopper 51 can be kept in contact with each other without being fixed by the micrometer 69. [ It is also possible to provide a fixing member other than the micrometer 69 so that the piston 44 can not move backward from a state in which the front contact portion 43 is in contact with the front stopper 51. [

When the fixing screws 54A and 54B are loosened so that the main body 71 is movable back and forth with respect to the base member 27 and the nozzle 11 faces downward, (And may be moved manually). Since the outer diameter of the rear convex portion 33 and the inner diameter of the slide moving concave portion 23 are substantially the same, when the drive unit 70 moves forward, the drive unit 70 does not shake in the horizontal direction .

The driving unit 70 is provided at the contact position 12 where the tip end 13 of the plunger rod 41 contacts the inner wall of the liquid chamber 14 because the rear stopper 52 and the rear contact portion 45 are fixed in contact with each other, , The downward movement is restricted by the plunger 40. As a result, This state is referred to as a specified state.

The fixing screws 54A and 54B are fastened to the main body 71 in the specified condition that the front end 13 of the plunger rod 41 is in the contact position 12 and the rear contact portion 45 is in contact with the rear stopper 52 Is fixed to the base member 27.

The movable member 30 is at the foremost position, and the front face of the main body 71 and the rear face of the rotary knob 32 are empty.

The following description will be made with reference to Fig. 3 (b).

When the rotary knob 32 is rotated in the right direction, only the movable member 30 moves backward. The rear concave portion 22 and the front convex portion 31 of the discharge block 81 fixed to the base member 27 are threadedly engaged with each other by a screw so that the slide concave portion 23 and the rear convex portion 33 are screw- Is slidable.

When the rotary knob 32 is continuously rotated to the right, the rear surface of the rotary knob 32 comes into contact with the front surface of the main body 71 before long. The main body 71 is fixed to the base member 27 by the fixing screws 54A and 54B so that when the rear surface of the rotary knob 32 contacts the main body 71, the abnormal rotation knob 32 does not rotate do. In the memory 29 of the movable member 30, the value So when the specified state is set as the stop position at the time of advancement is displayed, and this value is stored.

The following description will be made with reference to Fig. 4 (c).

The rear surface of the rotary knob 32 is pressed against the rear surface of the main body 71 while sliding along the front end surface of the main body 71. As a result, do. The main body 71 moves backward together with the shifting member 30 because the main body 71 is in the forward / backward movable state. The amount of movement of the main body 71 can accurately grasp the distance between the distal end 13 and the contact position 12 by comparing the value of the memory 29 with the value So when the prescribed state is set as the stop position when advancing.

The front end 13 of the plunger rod 41 is moved in the forward direction by the action of the front contact portion 43 in contact with the front stopper 51 Away from the contact position 12.

When the user moves backward by a desired distance while checking the memory 29, the rotation of the rotary knob 32 is stopped. If it moves too far backward, adjust the turning knob 32 by turning it in the reverse direction. At this time, since the position of the movable member 30 becomes the stop position when the plunger 40 advances, the value S ₁ of the memory 29 is stored. It is preferable that the stop position of the plunger 40 during advancement of the plunger 40 is obtained by performing a test in advance.

The stop position when the plunger 40 advances can be adjusted to a desired position where the tip end 13 of the plunger rod 41 does not come into contact with the contact position 12.

When the adjustment of the stop position is completed when the plunger 40 advances, the fixing screws 54A and 54B are fastened to fix the drive unit 70 to the base member 27. [ Further, a fixing screw (not shown) for fixing the rotation of the rotary knob 32 is fastened.

The following description will be made with reference to Fig. 4 (d).

By rotating the micrometer 69, the rear stopper 52 is retracted to determine the amount of movement when the plunger 40 retracts at the time of ejection. When the amount of movement of the plunger 40 upon retraction of the plunger 40 is determined, the micrometer 69 is fixed by a rotation lock member such as a fixing screw, not shown, so that the micrometer 69 is not rotated. By the above operation, the setting operation of the stop position of the plunger 40 is completed.

In the second and subsequent operations, the body, that is, the front stopper 51 is moved backward by the shifting member by a desired distance S ₁ -S ₀ after setting the prescribed state, thereby stopping the advancement of the plunger 40 The position can be set to the same position as the last time. Therefore, once the test is performed and the stop position is recorded at the time of advancing the plunger 40 capable of good ejection, the setting operation can be performed thereafter without performing the test.

However, when the temperature, the humidity, or other factors that are not controlled are changed, the stop position is changed when the plunger 40 advances preferably, so that good ejection can not be obtained at the previous setting. Therefore, although it is necessary to perform the test, in this case also, the time spent in the test can be shortened by starting the stop position from the previous position when the plunger 40 advances. This is because, when the discharge conditions other than the change of the environment are the same, the stop position of the plunger 40 does not change greatly during the preferable advancement.

Instead of the memory 29, a value indicating the position of the movable member 30 may be displayed by a display device such as a liquid crystal display. In this case, it is possible to grasp the desired retraction distance from the contact position 12 by the display value by setting the plunger 40 to display the value of the position at the specified state as zero.

[6] Discharge operation

1) Setting before discharging operation

The tension of the air supplied from the air supply source 73 to the front piston chamber 62 is such that the piston 44 is able to move backward against the coil spring 66.

The pressure of the air supplied from the air type dispenser 3 to the liquid material storage container 5 is set to a desired pressure for supplying the liquid material to the liquid chamber 14. The time (timing) for supplying air from the air-type dispenser 3 is set to a time during which leakage of the liquid does not occur from the discharge port 10 as described later.

2) Waiting state before discharging operation

Hereinafter, Fig. 5 (e) will be referred to.

A signal is sent from the control unit to the electromagnetic switching valve 72 to bring the front piston chamber 62 into communication with the outside (that is, the atmospheric release state). When the front piston chamber 62 is opened to the atmosphere, the piston 44 is moved forward by the coil spring 66, and the front contact portion 43 comes to a stop with the front stopper 51 abutted.

The position of the front stopper 51 is adjusted by the setting in advance and the interval between the tip end 13 of the plunger rod 41 and the contact position 12 in the liquid chamber 14 is set to a desired interval. The liquid chamber 14 is filled with the liquid material from the liquid material reservoir 5. This is because air is supplied into the liquid material storage container 5 by the air-type dispenser 3 while the tip end 13 of the plunger rod 41 is spaced from the discharge port 10, ) To the liquid chamber (14).

In the standby state, air is not supplied from the air-type dispenser 3 to the liquid material storage container 5. [ That is, the inside of the liquid material storage container 5 is in an atmospheric release state, and the liquid material is in a stopped state. The liquid does not leak from the discharge port 10 of the nozzle 11 even if there is a clearance between the tip end 13 of the plunger rod 41 and the contact position 12 in the liquid chamber 14 in this state. Here, even when the pressurized air is not supplied, a force for transferring the liquid material into the liquid chamber 14 by the self weight of the liquid material acts. In this case, the tip end 13 of the plunger rod 41 and the contact position (12) is so small that it does not normally leak due to its own weight. However, if there is a risk of leakage of the liquid due to the unevenness of various conditions that are not controlled, the air in the liquid material storage container 5 is sucked by the air type dispenser 3, Leakage may be reliably prevented.

3) Discharge operation

In the following, FIG. 5 (f) is referred to.

A signal is sent from the control unit to the electromagnetic switching valve 72 so that the air supply source 73 communicates with the front piston chamber 62 through the front air passage 48. [ When the air is supplied from the air supply source 73 to the front piston chamber 62, the supplied air presses the piston 44 backward, so that the coil spring 66 is contracted and the piston 44 moves backward. At this time, air is supplied by the air-type dispenser (3), and the inside of the liquid material storage container (5) is pressed. By doing so, when the plunger 40 is also retracted by the retraction of the piston 44, the liquid is immediately supplied to the space occupied by the plunger rod 41 in the liquid chamber 14. Therefore, even if the plunger rod 41 is retreated, a negative pressure does not occur in the liquid chamber 14, and there is no problem of sucking air from the discharge port 10.

Retraction of the plunger 40 is as described above since the rear contact portion 45 is restricted by abutting against the rear stopper 52. [

In this embodiment, air is constantly pressurized in the liquid material storage container 5 during the discharging operation.

In the following, FIG. 5 (g) is referred to.

A signal is sent from the control unit to the electromagnetic switching valve 72 to make the front piston chamber 62 communicate with the outside. When the front piston chamber 62 is brought into the atmospheric release state, the piston 44 is pressed by the coil spring 66, and the plunger 40 is rapidly moved forward. When the front contact portion 43 of the piston 44 comes into contact with the front stopper 51 of the piston chamber 61, the forward movement of the plunger 40 abruptly stops. The distal end 13 of the plunger rod 41 also stops just before abutting against the inner wall of the liquid chamber 14.

Advancement of the plunger 40 imparts forward inertia force to the liquid material in front of the tip end 13 of the plunger rod 41. [ The front end 13 of the plunger rod 41 is stopped just before the contact position 12 as described above but the liquid material is discharged from the discharge port 10 into the liquid droplet state by the inertia force given to the liquid material by the plunger rod 41 . At this time, since the tip end 13 of the plunger rod 41 is not in contact with the inside of the liquid chamber 14, there is no need to worry about adverse effects on the discharge of the filler such as particles contained in the liquid material in the liquid chamber 14.

It is preferable that the position of the tip end 13 of the plunger rod 41 when advancing and stopping is as close as possible to the contact position 12 in order to discharge the liquid droplet from the discharge port 10, It is preferable that the stop position is as close as possible to the extent that the tip end 13 of the plunger rod 41 and the inner wall of the liquid chamber 14 do not collide with the pillars and are not destroyed.

By repeating the above operation, the discharging operation is performed.

In the apparatus of the present embodiment, the one-time discharge is completed by reciprocating the plunger 40 once (advancing and retracting). By repeating this one-time discharge, the discharge can be performed continuously. The plunger 40 reciprocates on the order of 0.01 seconds to 0.1 seconds.

As described above, according to the apparatus of this embodiment, since the plunger 40 is stopped by the front stopper 51, the plunger 40 moving at a high speed can be stopped suddenly at the correct position, and sufficient inertial force is given to the liquid material can do.

[Example 2]

The apparatus of the embodiment 1 always pressurized the air in the liquid material reservoir 5 after the start of the discharge operation but the apparatus of the present embodiment is capable of preventing the air from flowing into the liquid material reservoir 5 Stop the supply. That is, in this embodiment, it is possible to more reliably prevent the liquid material from leaking from the discharge port 10 through the space between the tip end 13 of the plunger rod 41 and the liquid chamber 14 in the apparatus of the first embodiment .

The discharge control of this embodiment will be described with reference to the time charts of Figs. 6 and 7A.

6 is a substrate which is an object to be coated, showing the discharge position. The points (i) to (iv) in the drawing are positions at which ejection is performed. The ejection apparatus moves at a constant speed in the direction of the arrow in the figure without stopping even during ejection. The movement may be performed either in the substrate or in the ejection apparatus.

7A is a timing chart showing the operation of the plunger rod 41, the pressurized state of the air-type dispenser 3, and the state of the electromagnetic switching valve 72. Fig. 7A, the graph of the electromagnetic switching valve 72 indicates that the state in which the front piston chamber 62 is in communication with the supply source 73 is set to ON and the state in which the front piston chamber 62 is in communication with the outside is set to OFF . In the graph of the air type dispenser 3, the state in which the pressurized air is supplied is set to ON.

The plunger rod 41 needs to start retreating immediately before the discharge position in order to advance the plunger rod 41 at each discharge position in Fig.

When the discharge port 10 is close to the discharge position i in Fig. 6 (time a), the electronic switching valve 72 is turned ON by the signal from the control unit, and the plunger rod 41 is retracted. At the same time, the air-type dispenser 3 is turned ON by a signal from the control unit, and pressurized air is supplied into the liquid material storage container 5 to start supply of the liquid material to the liquid chamber 14.

Retraction of the plunger rod 41 is completed before the discharge port 10 reaches the discharge position i. When the discharging device reaches the discharging position of (i) (time b), the electronic switching valve 72 is switched OFF by the signal from the control part, and the plunger rod 41 advances.

Supply of pressurized air from the air-type dispenser 3 automatically becomes 0FF after the set time has elapsed. Then, the droplet is ejected from the ejection opening 10 of the nozzle 11 by advancing the plunger rod 41 in the front.

Subsequently, the discharge port 10 is moved toward the discharge position (ii) on the substrate. The plunger rod 41 does not move in the forward and backward directions and stops while the plunger rod 41 reaches the vicinity of the discharge position ii and starts to retreat, that is, until the next discharge is started, Further, the tip end 13 of the plunger rod 41 does not block the discharge port 10. In this state, since the air type dispenser 3 does not supply the pressurized air into the liquid material reservoir 5 and the liquid material is not supplied into the liquid chamber 14, the liquid material does not leak from the discharge port 10 Do not.

The operation during the time c to e also performs the same operation as during the time a to c. That is, the operation of discharging in the discharging position ii and then moving to the discharging position iii is the same as the operation of discharging in the discharging position i and then moving to the discharging position ii.

In Fig. 6, the discharge positions (iii) and (iv) are very close to each other. The operation in such a case will be described.

When the discharge port 10 is close to the discharge position iii (time e), the electromagnetic switching valve 72 is turned ON by the signal from the control unit, and the plunger rod 41 is retracted. At the same time, the air-type dispenser 3 is turned on by a signal from the control unit, pressurized air is supplied into the liquid material storage container 5, and the liquid material is supplied to the liquid chamber 14.

Retraction of the plunger rod 41 is completed before the discharge port 10 reaches the discharge position iii. When the discharge port 10 reaches the discharge position iii (time f), the electromagnetic switching valve 72 is turned OFF by a signal from the control unit, and the plunger rod 41 which has been retreated is advanced .

It is necessary to perform discharging at the discharging position (iv) immediately after the discharging at the discharging position (iii) is completed, so that the air type dispenser (3) continues to supply the pressurized air. That is, the air type dispenser 3 is ON. The liquid material is discharged from the discharge port 10 of the nozzle 11 into the discharge position iii in a droplet state by advancing the plunger rod 41. [

After the advance movement of the plunger rod 41 is completed, the discharge port 10 is located at a position close to the discharge position of (iv), and is time g. The electronic switching valve 72 is turned ON by the signal from the control unit, and the plunger rod 41 is retracted. Since the air type dispenser 3 remains ON, the supply of the liquid material into the liquid chamber 14 is performed.

Retraction of the plunger rod 41 is completed before the discharge port 10 reaches the discharge position iv. The electromagnetic switching valve 72 is switched OFF by the signal from the control unit when the discharge port 10 reaches the discharge position iv, that is, the time h, and the plunger rod 41, Lt; / RTI >

Since the discharge is not performed immediately after the discharge position (iv), the air type dispenser (3) is turned OFF, and the supply of the pressurized air into the liquid material storage container (5) is stopped. The liquid material is discharged from the discharge port 10 of the nozzle 11 into the discharge position iv in a droplet state by the advancement of the plunger rod 41. [

As described above, in this embodiment, when the plunger rod 41 between the discharge and the discharge is stopped, supply of the pressurized air to the liquid material storage container 5 by the air-type dispenser 3 is stopped, , The liquid material is prevented from leaking out of the gap of the discharge port 10. [

The time from the completion of the discharge at the discharge position (iii) to the start of the discharge at the discharge position (iv) is shorter than the time at the discharge position (iii) when the discharge is close to the discharge as in the discharge positions (iii) The liquid is rarely leaked from the discharge port 10 even when the plunger rod 41 is stopped. Therefore, discharge may be performed without stopping the supply of the pressurized air to the liquid material storage container 5 by the air-type dispenser 3.

If there is an influence on ejection even when the interval between the ejection and ejection is short, the supply of the pressurized air is stopped as during the movement from the ejection position (i) to the ejection position (ii).

The supply of the pressurized air by the air-type dispenser 3 is stopped during the period from the completion of the discharge to the substrate of FIG. 5 to the discharge of the next substrate, thereby supplying the liquid material into the liquid chamber 14 So that the liquid does not leak from the discharge port 10. [

The appropriate supply time of the pressurized air by the air-type dispenser 3 varies depending on the liquid material and discharge conditions. Here, the timing of stopping the supply of pressurized air may be stopped after the plunger rod 41 completes advancing even if the plunger rod 41 stops before advancing, and may be appropriately selected in accordance with the discharge conditions and the like.

In this embodiment, the supply time of the pressurized air by the air-type dispenser 3 is controlled by the air-type dispenser 3, but the supply of the pressurized air may be stopped by sending a signal from the control unit.

[Example 3]

The time elapsed until the liquid material is transferred into the liquid chamber 14 by the supply of the air from the air type dispenser 3 and the time when the electromagnetic switching valve 72 is switched so that the air supply source 73 and the front piston chamber 62 are communicated And there is a possibility that the plunger rod 41 is displaced during the time until the plunger rod 41 is retracted.

7B shows a state in which the time elapsed until the liquid material is transferred into the liquid chamber 14 by the supply of the air from the air type dispenser 3 is converted by the electromagnetic switching valve 72 to the air supply source 73 and the front piston chamber 62 are in communication with each other and are delayed compared with the time until the plunger rod 41 is retracted.

The transfer of the liquid material into the liquid chamber 14 is performed by supplying pressurized air from the air-type dispenser 3 into the liquid material reservoir 5, so that a time lag is likely to occur. Further, even if a liquid transfer device other than the air-type dispenser 3 is used, a time lag occurs in a small amount.

In this case, the time for starting the supply of the pressurized air from the air-type dispenser 3 to the liquid material reservoir 5 is advanced relative to the time for switching the electromagnetic switching valve 72, so that the retreat of the plunger rod 41 The supply of the liquid material into the liquid chamber 14 is performed. The operation time is controlled by sending a signal to the air type dispenser 3 and the electromagnetic switching valve 72 by the control unit.

The difference between the time at which the air type dispenser 3 starts supplying air to the liquid material storage container 5 and the time at which the electromagnetic switching valve 72 switches the valve to start the retraction of the plunger rod 41, Time is called. The deviation time is set by the setting unit 1. The setting in the setting section 1 may be a case in which a time when an operator is shifted to a keyboard or a controller or an automatic setting is set by calculation of a computer.

In this embodiment, as shown in the time chart of Fig. 7B, the time a ', the time c', the time e ', and the time a', which are delayed by the time lag of the supply of the pressurized air by the air type dispenser 3, . By doing so, it is possible to eliminate the influence due to the shift time. The device configuration and other control are the same as in the second embodiment.

The operation of the plunger rod 41 and the start of the supply of the liquid material to the liquid chamber 14 may be performed at the same timing or consciously shifted within a range in which the discharge is satisfactorily performed.

[Example 4]

The apparatus of the present embodiment has a configuration in which the rear convex portion 33 of the movable member 30 comes into direct contact with the front contact portion 43 or the main body 71 does not move as shown in Fig. The main body 71 is fixed to the base member 27 so that it can not move back and forth.

The front convex portion 31 of the moving member 30 is screwed to the rear concave portion 22 of the discharge block 81. [ The rear convex portion 33 is inserted into the slide hole 25 of the main body 71 so as to be slidable. The rear end face of the rear convex portion 33 is constituted by a front stopper 51 and reaches the inside of the front piston chamber 62. The inner peripheral surface of the slide hole 25 has an annular groove, and a ring-shaped sealing portion 18D is provided in the groove. The sealing portion 18D is in tight contact with the moving member 30 and maintains a close contact state even when the moving member 30 moves relative to the main body 71. This allows the air in the piston chamber 61 to pass through the gap .

A through hole (34) through which the plunger (40) is inserted is formed in the central axis of the movable member (30). Since the inner diameter of the through hole 34 is the same as the outer diameter of the connecting portion 42, the plunger 40 does not deviate in the lateral direction. An annular groove is formed in the inner peripheral surface of the through hole 34, and a ring-shaped sealing portion 18E is provided in the groove. The sealing portion 18E maintains a close contact state even when the plunger 40 is brought into close contact with the connecting portion 42 and moves back and forth with respect to the moving member 30. Therefore, It does not leak.

When the rotary knob 32 is rotated in the rightward direction, the front stopper 51 moves rearward with respect to the contact position 12. When the rotary knob 32 rotates in the opposite direction, the movable member 30 moves forward with respect to the contact position 12. On the surface of the rotary knob 32, a memory 29 is provided as in the first embodiment.

The nozzle 11 is carried in the front concave portion 21 of the discharge block 81. The tubular space formed inside the nozzle 11 is the liquid chamber 14. The liquid chamber 14 has a wider diameter than the plunger rod 41 and has a discharge port 10 at the front center. The tip end 13 of the plunger rod 41 is advanced and moved, and the contact position with the inner wall of the liquid chamber 14 is the contact position 12. In the contact position (12), the tip (13) is configured to close one end of the discharge port (10).

The procedure for setting the stop position of the plunger rod 41 in the apparatus of this embodiment will be described.

The movable member 30 is moved forward as far as possible to advance the position of the front stopper 51. Then, since the plunger 40 is urged forward by the coil spring 66, the plunger 40 advances together with the front stopper 51. The plunger 40 moves forward and the tip end 13 of the plunger rod 41 contacts the inner wall of the liquid chamber 14 (reaches the contact position 12) And the plunger 40 can no longer move forward, so that only the movable member 30 moves forward. Then, the front stopper 51 and the front contact portion 43 are not in contact with each other.

The micrometer 69 is operated to move the rear stopper 52 forward to limit the backward movement of the plunger 40 by bringing the rear contact portion 45 into contact with the rear stopper 52. [ Whether or not the rear contact portion 45 abuts against the rear stopper 52 is determined by the fact that forward movement by the micrometer 69 can not be performed.

When the backward movement of the plunger 40 is restricted, the rotary knob 32 is rotated to move the moving member 30 backward and bring the front stopper 51 into contact with the front contact portion 43. Whether or not the front stopper 51 has abutted against the front contact portion 43 can be easily determined by the fact that the moving member 30 can not move backward.

The distal end 13 of the plunger rod 41 comes into contact with the inner wall of the liquid chamber 14 and the front contact portion 43 comes into contact with the front stopper 51. [ This will be referred to as the specified state. And the value of the memory 29 at the time of the specified state is stored.

The micrometer 69 is operated to retract the rear stopper 52 from the specified state and sufficiently separate from the rear contact portion 45 so that the plunger 40 can move backward.

When the rotary knob 32 is rotated to move the moving member 30 backward, the front stopper 51 moves the front contact portion 43 rearward. As the plunger 40 retracts, the tip 13 of the plunger rod 41 moves away from the contact position 12. At this time, the amount of movement of the front stopper 51 can be accurately grasped by comparing the value of the memory 29 with that in the prescribed state. While the value of the memory 29 is checked, the rotation of the rotary knob 32 is stopped when it moves backward by a desired distance. In the case of moving too far backward, the rotary knob 32 is rotated in the reverse direction. The stop position at the time of advancing the plunger rod 41 can be set to a desired position at which the tip end 13 of the plunger rod 41 does not come into contact with the contact position 12.

The micrometer 69 is operated to retreat the rear stopper 52 to determine the amount of backward movement of the plunger 40 at the time of dispensing. When the backward movement amount of the plunger 40 is determined, the micrometer 69 is fixed by a rotation lock member such as a fixing screw (not shown) so that the micrometer 69 is not rotated. By the above operation, the retreat position of the plunger 40 is adjusted.

The apparatus of this embodiment and the apparatus of the first embodiment also differ in the shape of the tip 13 of the nozzle 11 and the plunger rod 41 and the constitution of the liquid material supply flow path 17.

The inner wall of the nozzle 11 toward the discharge port 10 is formed in a bow shape on the inner surface of the nozzle 11. In the apparatus of this embodiment, And the connecting portion forms a plane perpendicular to the front-rear direction.

The distal end 13 of the device plunger rod 41 of this embodiment is flat.

In the apparatus of the present embodiment, the liquid material storage container 5 and the liquid material supply path 17 are connected by the flow path provided in the hard liquid conveying member 8 without using the liquid conveying tube 6 have.

The other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment, and the discharging operation is the same as that of the first embodiment.

The configuration of the shifting member 30 is not limited to the configuration of the present embodiment and the first embodiment but may be any one capable of adjusting the distance between the front stopper 51 and the contact position 12. [ Preferably, when the front stopper 51 is moved forward, the front end 13 reaches the contact position 12, and the front stopper 51 is separated from the front contact portion 43. [ The front end stopper 51 preferably has a configuration in which the front end 13 reaches the contact position 12 and the front stopper 51 contacts the front contact portion 43 from the outside.

[Example 5]

In the apparatus of this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 9, a liquid transfer device is constituted by a pump 7 instead of the air-type dispenser 3. The pump 7 is installed in the middle of the liquid transfer tube 6 that connects the liquid material storage container 5 and the liquid material supply passage 17. The constitution of the pump 7 is not particularly limited, but mainly includes a tube pump 7, a piston pump constituted by a metering piston 44 and a switching valve, etc., which sweeps the liquid material transfer tube by a roller and transfers the liquid.

In the apparatus of the present embodiment, the liquid material in the liquid material storage container 5 can be transferred to the liquid chamber 14 by operating the pump 7. Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment.

In the apparatus of this embodiment, it is preferable to control the operation of the pump 7 in accordance with the movement of the plunger 40, as in the second and third embodiments.

[Example 6]

As shown in Fig. 10, the apparatus of the present embodiment performs the back-and-forth movement of the plunger 40 by a magnetic force. The apparatus of this embodiment has an electromagnetic coil 67 as a mechanism for moving the plunger 40 in the drive unit 70. The front end of the micrometer 69 is a core of an iron core, and the tip end of the core of the iron core constitutes a rear stopper 52. The rear contact portion 45 is constituted by a magnetic body. A coil spring (66) is provided between the rear end surface of the piston chamber (60) and the rear end surface of the piston (44).

In the apparatus of this embodiment, when a current is passed through the electromagnetic coil 67, the core is magnetized, and the plunger 40 is retracted by attracting the rear contact portion 45 of which the magnetized core is the magnetic substance. When the rear contact portion 45 comes into contact with the rear stopper 52, the withdrawal of the plunger 40 stops. The plunger 40 advances due to the force of the coil spring 66 because the force of pulling the rear contact portion 45 is lost in the rear stopper 52 when the current stops flowing to the electromagnetic coil 67. [

Since the apparatus of this embodiment does not use air for the back and forth movement of the plunger 40, sealing of the drive unit 70 is unnecessary. Therefore, the element which resists the back and forth movement of the plunger 40 is reduced, so that the plunger 40 can move back and forth more smoothly. Other configurations are the same as those in the first embodiment.

The mechanism for moving the plunger 40 back and forth may have another structure. For example, the plunger 40 may be moved back and forth by supplying air to both the front piston chamber 62 and the rear piston chamber 63. The electromagnetic actuator fixed to the main body 71 may be connected to the rear of the plunger 40 and the plunger 40 may be moved back and forth using the elongation and contraction of the electromagnetic actuator. Even in this case, it is preferable that movement can be limited by the front stopper 51 both before and after. That is, the plunger 40 advances at a high speed and comes into contact with the front stopper 51, whereby the advancing of the plunger 40 is stopped.

[Example 7]

It is possible to prevent the liquid material from leaking from the discharge port 10 by closing the discharge port 10 when the tip end 13 of the plunger rod 41 is in the contact position 12 in the apparatus of the embodiment 1 , It can be set to the specified state in the following procedure.

First, the electromagnetic switching valve 72 is switched to a state in which the front piston chamber 62 communicates with the outside. The rotary knob 32 is rotated so that the movable member 30 is moved to the foremost position. The fixing screws 54A and 54B are loosened so that the main body 71 is movable back and forth with respect to the base member 27 and the driving unit 70 is moved forward by its own weight, (13) in the liquid chamber (14) is brought into contact with the inner wall on the upstream side of the discharge port (10). The position of the tip end 13 of the plunger rod 41 becomes the contact position 12 and the upstream end of the discharge port 10 of the nozzle 11 is blocked. At this time, in this embodiment, the backward movement of the plunger 40 is not regulated by the micrometer 69 as in the first embodiment. The front stopper 51 is moved away from the front contact portion 43 by the own weight of the drive unit 70 and stopped at a position balanced by the coil spring 66. [

Subsequently, pressurized air is supplied into the liquid material storage container (5) by the air-type dispenser (3). However, in this state, since the tip end 13 of the plunger rod 41 closes the upstream of the discharge port 10, the liquid material does not leak from the discharge port 10.

The rear surface of the rotary knob 32 of the movable member 30 is moved to the rear side of the main body 71 so that the rear surface of the rotary knob 32 of the movable member 30 And contacts the front end surface. When the rotary knob 32 is rotated to move the movable member 30 rearwardly, the main body 71 is pressed against the rear surface of the rotary knob 32 to move backward, whereby the position of the front stopper 51 Also moves backward.

At this time, since the plunger rod 41 is urged forward by the coil spring 66, the plunger rod 41 does not move backward until the front stopper 51 comes into contact with the front contact portion 43 , And the tip (13) It is. The front stopper 51 presses the plunger rod 41 backward when the front stopper 51 comes into contact with the front contact portion 43 so that the plunger rod 41 moves backward together with the main body 71. [ Then, the tip end (13) of the plunger rod (41) is away from the upstream of the discharge port (10). Since the pressurized air is supplied to the liquid material storage container 5 by the air-type dispenser 3, the liquid leaks from the discharge opening 10 in which the gap is opened.

This is the time when the liquid material leaks from the discharge port 10 and the position of the tip end 13 is not the contact position 12. Therefore, it can be judged that the immediately preceding state is the prescribed state. A position in which the moving member 30 is moved forward and the front stopper 51 is slightly forwardly returned is referred to as a prescribed state.

The main body 71 is fixed to the base member 27 by fastening the set screws 54A and 54B.

And stores the value of the memory 29 of the movable member 30 in the specified state. Thereafter, similarly to the first embodiment, the stop position is set when the plunger rod 41 advances.

[Example 8]

The apparatus of this embodiment has a structure in which a liquid material storage container 5 in which a liquid material is stored is disposed in a lower portion of the discharge device. Therefore, the liquid chamber 14 does not have the liquid material supply port but is supplied directly from the liquid material reservoir 5. The discharge block 81 has a sealing portion 18C, but it is not necessary to form it because it does not contact the liquid material in normal use.

The liquid material storage container 5 has a flange support member 86 provided on the bottom surface of the base member 27 and a needle 95 formed on the upper portion of the liquid material storage container 5 held in engagement. The needle 85 and the flange supporting member 86 are configured to be mountable and detachable so that the liquid stocking container 5 can be easily exchanged when the liquid material is consumed or when it is exchanged with another liquid material .

The apparatus of this embodiment also has the shifting member 30 and the elongated hole 53 and the stop position of the plunger 40 is set after the prescribed state is established in the same manner as in the apparatus according to the first embodiment. The operation in the discharging operation is also the same as that in the first embodiment.

In the apparatus of this embodiment, too, the plunger 40 moving at high speed can be stopped at a precise position by stopping the plunger 40 by the front stopper 51, and sufficient inertial force can be given to the liquid material.

The air type dispenser 3 according to the first embodiment is connected to the liquid material reservoir 5 to supply air to and discharge the air from the liquid material reservoir 5 to the liquid material reservoir 5 It is also possible to perform the pressurization and the depressurization of the liquid material in the container. It is also possible to cooperate with the advancing and retreating movement of the plunger rod 41 as in the second embodiment, by the pressurization and depressurization by the air-type dispenser 3. Instead of the air type dispenser 3, the liquid material in the liquid material storage container 5 may be pressurized and decompressed by a pressing member such as a piston provided in the liquid material storage container 5 or another pressure mechanism.

Claims (32)

A liquid chamber provided with an outlet for discharging a liquid material and a through hole communicating with the liquid chamber; a liquid material supply port provided on an inner circumferential surface of the liquid chamber; A plunger which is inserted into the through hole and the sealing portion and whose tip portion moves forward and backward in the liquid chamber, a plunger moving mechanism for moving the plunger forward and backward, And an inertial force is applied to the liquid material by advancing and stopping the plunger in a state in which the distal end portion of the plunger and the inner wall of the liquid chamber are not in contact with each other to define the position of the liquid droplet The liquid droplet ejection apparatus comprising: The plunger is reciprocated once in a non-contact state with the inner wall of the liquid chamber, The liquid material in front of the tip end of the plunger is discharged in a droplet state by the inertia force imparted by the advance movement of the plunger, Wherein the plunger positioning mechanism defines the position of the plunger distal end portion at the time of stopping the advancement to a position near the inner wall of the liquid chamber in the advancing direction and not in contact with the liquid chamber. The method according to claim 1, Wherein the tip of the plunger at the time of stopping the advancement is located in the vicinity of the inner wall of the liquid chamber and the discharge port in the advancing direction. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, And the inner wall of the tip end portion of the liquid chamber is formed in a conical shape having a discharge port at the most advanced stage. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, And an inner wall of the tip end of the liquid chamber is formed in a plane having the discharge port. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, The plunger positioning mechanism includes a front contact portion 43 provided on the plunger and a front stopper 51 opposed to the front contact portion 43. The front stopper 51 and the front contact portion 43 are formed integrally, To determine a stop position upon advancement of the plunger. 6. The method of claim 5, The plunger positioning mechanism includes a movable member (30) capable of moving its position forward and backward, and the stop position of the plunger can be adjusted by advancing and retreating the position of the front stopper by the movable member , A droplet discharging device. The method according to claim 6, And the moving member (30) has a position indicating member for indicating the position thereof. The method according to claim 6, A body having a through hole (24) and a piston chamber (61) through which the plunger is inserted and a discharge block having a discharge port, a liquid chamber, a liquid material supply port, and a through hole (26) through which the plunger is inserted, The plunger includes a piston (44) which is wider than the plunger rod and the plunger rod and is installed in the piston chamber (61) The moving member (30) has a through hole (34) through which the plunger is inserted, and is provided between the main body and the discharge block. 9. The method of claim 8, The front contact portion 43 is a surface on the advancing direction side of the piston 44, Wherein the front stopper (51) is a surface of the piston chamber (61) facing the surface of the piston (44) in the advancing direction. 9. The method of claim 8, And the position of the front stopper can be adjusted by moving the position of the moving member (30) forward and backward to adjust the distance between the main body and the discharge block. 11. The method of claim 10, Wherein the main body includes a base member mounted so that its position is movable forward and backward, and the discharge block is fixedly mounted. The method according to claim 6, The front stopper (51) is constituted by the rear end of the moving member (30), and the position of the front stopper (51) can be adjusted by advancing and retreating the position of the moving member (30). The method according to claim 6, And the advancement position of the plunger can be adjusted until the position of the tip of the plunger becomes the contact position (12) at which the position of the tip of the plunger makes contact with the inner wall of the liquid chamber by advancing and retreating the position of the movable member (30). 14. The method of claim 13, And the tip end of the plunger is configured to close the discharge port at the contact position (12). 14. The method of claim 13, The plunger includes a rear contact portion (45) The plunger positioning mechanism includes a rear stopper 52 capable of restricting the movement of the plunger in contact with the rear contact portion 45 and a rear stopper moving mechanism for advancing and retracting the rear stopper 52. [ Liquid ejection device. 14. The method of claim 13, And an elastic body for pressing the plunger in the advancing direction. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, And a liquid transfer control device for supplying the liquid material in conjunction with the forward and backward movement of the plunger in the liquid chamber. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, And a pressure mechanism that changes the pressure applied to the liquid material in the liquid chamber in conjunction with the advancing / retreating movement of the plunger. A droplet ejecting method for ejecting droplets of droplets by applying an inertial force to a liquid material by advancing and stopping the plunger in a state in which the tip of the plunger and the inner wall of the liquid chamber are not in contact, A through hole communicating with the liquid chamber; a sealing portion provided on an inner wall of the through-hole to block the liquid material from the liquid chamber; and a sealing portion provided on the inner wall of the through- And a plunger whose front end portion moves forward and backward in the liquid chamber is provided, The plunger is reciprocated once in a non-contact state with the inner wall of the liquid chamber, The liquid material in front of the tip end of the plunger is discharged in a droplet state by the inertia force imparted by the advance movement of the plunger, And a tip end of the plunger is positioned at a position in the vicinity of the inner wall of the liquid chamber in the advancing direction thereof and not in contact with the liquid chamber at the time of stopping the plunger. 20. The method of claim 19, Wherein a tip end of the plunger is positioned at an inner wall of the liquid chamber in the advancing direction thereof and in the vicinity of the ejection opening when the plunger is advanced or stopped 21. The method according to claim 19 or 20, A front contact portion 43 is provided on the plunger, A front stopper 51 opposed to the front contact portion 43 is provided, And the front stopper (51) is brought into contact with the front contact portion (43) to determine the stop position when the plunger advances. 22. The method of claim 21, A moving member 30 capable of moving its position forward and backward is provided, Wherein the position of the front stopper (51) is moved forward and backward by the moving member (30) to adjust the stop position when the plunger advances. 22. The method of claim 21, The moving member (30) has a position indicating member for indicating the position thereof, and adjusts the position of the moving member (30) based on the display value of the position indicating member. 23. The method of claim 22, A main body having a through hole (24) and a piston chamber (61) into which the plunger is inserted, The plunger includes a piston (44) installed in the piston chamber (61) with a wider width than the plunger rod and the plunger rod, And adjusting the position of the front stopper (51) by adjusting the position of the piston chamber (61) by advancing and retracting the position of the moving member (30). 25. The method of claim 24, The front contact portion 43 is a surface on the advancing direction side of the piston 44, Wherein the front stopper (51) is a surface of the piston chamber (61) facing the surface of the piston (44) in the advancing direction. 23. The method of claim 22, Wherein the moving member (30) constitutes a front stopper (51) whose rear end faces a surface on the advancing direction side of the front contact portion (43). 23. The method of claim 22, The adjustment of the stop position at the time of advancement of the plunger, A first step of bringing the position of the tip of the plunger into a contact position (12) in contact with the inner wall of the liquid chamber, and bringing the front contact portion (43) and the front stopper (51) By moving the movable member 30 forward and backward by a desired distance while keeping the front contact portion 43 and the front stopper 51 in contact with each other to bring the position of the tip of the plunger to a desired distance from the contact position 12 The droplet discharging method comprising: 28. The method of claim 27, The tip end of the plunger is configured to close the discharge port at a contact position (12) where the tip of the plunger contacts the inner wall of the liquid chamber, and in the first step, the position of the plunger tip Is in the contact position (12). 28. The method of claim 27, The plunger includes a rear contact portion (45) A rear stopper 52 which is opposed to the rear contact portion 45 and is capable of moving its position forward and backward is provided, And the rear contact portion (45) is brought into contact with the rear stopper (52) to limit the backward movement of the plunger. 21. The method according to claim 19 or 20, And the liquid material is supplied in association with the forward and backward movement of the plunger in the liquid chamber. 21. The method according to claim 19 or 20, Wherein the liquid material is a liquid material containing a filler. 21. The method according to claim 19 or 20, Wherein the pressure applied to the liquid material in the liquid chamber is changed by interlocking with the advancing / retreating movement of the plunger.

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