阅读说明：本技术 微型泵 (Micro pump ) 是由 莫皓然 高中伟 陈世昌 廖家淯 廖鸿信 黄启峰 韩永隆 蔡长谚 于 2019-03-15 设计创作，主要内容包括：一种微型泵,包括依序堆叠的设置的进气板、共振片、压电致动器、绝缘片及导电片。进气板具有进气孔、汇流排孔及汇流腔室。共振片具有中空孔。压电致动器与共振片之间定义腔室空间,压电致动器包含悬浮板、外框、连接部及压电元件,连接部连接于悬浮板及外框之间,并定义间隙以供气体流通。导电片具有多个接触导电端,用以电连接压电元件。当压电致动器受驱动时,气体由进气孔导入,流经汇流腔室、中空孔导入腔室空间内,再经由间隙排出,以实现气体的传输。(A micropump comprises an air inlet plate, a resonance sheet, a piezoelectric actuator, an insulation sheet and a conducting sheet which are sequentially stacked. The air inlet plate is provided with an air inlet hole, a bus bar hole and a bus chamber. The resonator plate has a hollow hole. The piezoelectric actuator and the resonance sheet define a cavity space, the piezoelectric actuator comprises a suspension plate, an outer frame, a connecting part and a piezoelectric element, and the connecting part is connected between the suspension plate and the outer frame and defines a gap for gas circulation. The conducting strip is provided with a plurality of contact conducting ends for electrically connecting the piezoelectric element. When the piezoelectric actuator is driven, gas is introduced from the gas inlet hole, flows through the confluence chamber and the hollow hole, is introduced into the chamber space, and is discharged through the gap, so that the gas is transmitted.)

1. A micropump, comprising:

the air inlet plate is provided with at least one air inlet hole, at least one bus bar hole and a confluence chamber, wherein at least one air inlet hole is used for introducing air, at least one air inlet hole corresponds to at least one bus bar hole, at least one bus bar hole is correspondingly communicated with the confluence chamber, and the air introduced into at least one air inlet hole is guided to converge into the confluence chamber;

a resonance sheet, which is jointed with the air inlet plate and is provided with a hollow hole, a movable part and a fixed part, wherein the hollow hole is positioned at the center of the resonance sheet and corresponds to the confluence chamber of the air inlet plate;

a piezoelectric actuator assembled and combined on the resonance sheet through a filling material, a cavity space is formed between the piezoelectric actuator and the resonance sheet, the piezoelectric actuator comprises a suspension plate, an outer frame, at least one connecting part, a piezoelectric element and at least one gap, the connecting part is connected between the suspension plate and the outer frame to provide elastic support, the gap is arranged between the suspension plate and the outer frame to provide air circulation, and the piezoelectric element is attached to one surface of the suspension plate;

an insulating sheet coupled to one side of the piezoelectric actuator;

a conducting strip, which is combined with the insulating sheet and is provided with a plurality of contact conducting ends and a plurality of ventilation openings, wherein the contact conducting ends are convexly arranged on the surface of the conducting strip, and the conducting strip is assembled on the piezoelectric actuator and forms close prestress contact with the surface of the piezoelectric element to be used as a driving electrode;

when the piezoelectric actuator is driven, the gas is led in from at least one air inlet of the air inlet plate, is collected to the collecting cavity through at least one collecting bar hole, flows through the hollow hole of the resonance sheet and is led into the cavity space, is transmitted through the resonance action of the piezoelectric actuator, is discharged from the gap and is discharged outside through the plurality of air-permeable openings, and gas transmission is formed.

2. The micropump of claim 1, wherein the surface of the suspension plate of the piezoelectric actuator includes a first surface and a second surface, the second surface is opposite to the first surface, the piezoelectric element is attached to the second surface of the suspension plate, and the outer frame of the piezoelectric actuator has a mating surface and a lower surface.

3. The micropump of claim 2, wherein the first surface of the suspension plate and the mating surface of the external frame both form a common plane.

4. The micropump of claim 2, wherein at least one connecting portion is formed by stamping between the suspension plate and the outer frame, the first surface of the suspension plate and the mating surface of the outer frame are formed to be non-coplanar, and a distance between the first surface of the suspension plate and the resonator plate is adjusted by stamping at least one connecting portion.

5. The micropump of claim 1, wherein the movable portion of the resonator plate is disposed around the hollow hole and in a region corresponding to the manifold chamber.

6. The micropump of claim 1, wherein the fixing portion of the resonator plate is disposed at an outer peripheral portion of the resonator plate and is attached to the intake plate.

7. The micropump of claim 1, wherein the filler material is a conductive adhesive.

8. The micro-pump as claimed in claim 1, wherein the outer frame has a first conductive pin, and the conductive sheet has a second conductive pin for electrical connection.

9. The micropump of claim 2, wherein the first surface of the suspension plate is provided with a protrusion corresponding to the movable portion of the resonator plate.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a pneumatic power device, and more particularly to a miniature ultra-thin and silent micro pump.

Background

At present, in all fields, no matter in medicine, computer technology, printing, energy and other industries, products are developed towards refinement and miniaturization, wherein fluid conveying structures contained in products such as micropumps, sprayers, ink jet heads, industrial printing devices and the like are key technologies thereof, so that how to break through technical bottlenecks thereof by means of innovative structures is an important content of development.

For example, in the pharmaceutical industry, many instruments or devices that require pneumatic power are often powered by conventional motors and pneumatic valves for gas delivery. However, due to the volume limitations of the conventional motors and gas valves, it is difficult to reduce the overall size of the apparatus, i.e. to achieve the goal of thin-type apparatus, and further to achieve the purpose of portability. In addition, the conventional motor and gas valve also generate noise during operation, which causes inconvenience and discomfort in use.

Therefore, how to develop a micro pump that can maintain a certain operating characteristic and flow rate of the micro pump under long-term use is a problem that needs to be solved urgently.

Disclosure of Invention

An object of the present invention is to provide a micro pump, in which gas enters from an air inlet on the micro pump, and the actuation of a piezoelectric actuator is utilized to generate a pressure gradient in a designed flow channel and a designed confluence chamber, so as to enable the gas to flow at a high speed, thereby achieving a silent effect, further reducing the overall volume of the micro gas power device and thinning the micro gas power device, and further achieving the portable purpose of light and comfort of the micro gas power device.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a micro pump, which is different from the known way of using a welding conductive wire on an electrode of a piezoelectric element to achieve the electrical connection function of leading out the electrode, and the present invention uses a non-welding contact conductive terminal design on the electrode of the piezoelectric element to overcome the problem of leading out the electrode by a conductive wire, thereby greatly reducing the complex processes of assembly, and without using a welding spot welding method, the piezoelectric characteristic attenuation problem of the local or even the whole piezoelectric element is not affected by high temperature, and without using a welding spot welding method, the problem of unavoidable space limitation problem inside the micro pump and the problem of uneven actuation caused by the quality and volume of the welding spot and the welding colloid itself are not available.

To achieve the above object, a broad aspect of the present invention provides a micropump comprising: the air inlet plate is provided with at least one air inlet hole, at least one bus bar hole and a confluence chamber, wherein at least one air inlet hole is used for introducing air, at least one air inlet hole corresponds to at least one bus bar hole, at least one bus bar hole is correspondingly communicated with the confluence chamber, and the air introduced into at least one air inlet hole is guided to converge into the confluence chamber; a resonance sheet, which is jointed with the air inlet plate and is provided with a hollow hole, a movable part and a fixed part, wherein the hollow hole is positioned at the center of the resonance sheet and corresponds to the confluence chamber of the air inlet plate; a piezoelectric actuator assembled and combined on the resonance sheet through a filling material and having a cavity space, the piezoelectric actuator comprising a suspension plate, an outer frame, at least one connection part, a piezoelectric element and at least one gap, wherein the connection part is connected between the suspension plate and the outer frame to provide elastic support, the gap is arranged between the suspension plate and the outer frame to provide gas circulation, and the piezoelectric element is attached to one surface of the suspension plate; an insulating sheet coupled to one side of the piezoelectric actuator; the conducting strip is combined with the insulating sheet and is provided with a plurality of contact conducting ends and a plurality of ventilation openings, the contact conducting ends are convexly arranged on the surface of the conducting strip, and the conducting strip is assembled on the piezoelectric actuator and forms close prestress contact with the surface of the piezoelectric element to be used as a driving electrode; when the piezoelectric actuator is driven, the gas is led in from at least one air inlet of the air inlet plate, is collected to the collecting cavity through at least one collecting bar hole, flows through the hollow hole of the resonance sheet and is led into the cavity space, is transmitted through the resonance action of the piezoelectric actuator, is discharged from the gap and is discharged outside through the plurality of ventilation openings, and therefore gas transmission is formed.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic perspective view of the micropump of the present invention.

FIG. 2A is a schematic view of the micro-pump in a front view.

Fig. 2B is an exploded view of the micro pump in a back view.

Fig. 3A is a schematic cross-sectional view of the micropump of the present invention.

FIG. 3B is a schematic cross-sectional view of another preferred embodiment of the micropump of the present invention.

Fig. 4A to 4C are schematic views illustrating operation of the micro pump in fig. 3A.

Description of the reference numerals

1: micro pump

11: air inlet plate

11 a: air intake

11 b: bus bar hole

11 c: confluence chamber

12: resonance sheet

12 a: hollow hole

12 b: movable part

12 c: fixing part

13: piezoelectric actuator

13 a: suspension plate

131 a: first surface

132 a: second surface

13 b: outer frame

131 b: matched surface

132 b: lower surface

133 b: first conductive pin

13 c: connecting part

13 d: piezoelectric element

13 e: gap

13 f: convex part

131 f: surface of the convex part

14: insulating sheet

15: conductive sheet

15 a: second conductive pin

15 b: contact conductive terminal

15 c: ventilation opening

g: filling material

16: chamber space

h: distance between each other

Detailed Description

Embodiments that embody the features and advantages of this disclosure will be described in detail in the description that follows. It will be understood that the present disclosure is capable of various modifications without departing from the scope of the disclosure, and that the description and drawings are to be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not as restrictive.

Referring to fig. 1, 2A, 2B and 3A, the micro-pump 1 of the present invention includes an air inlet plate 11, a resonant plate 12, a piezoelectric actuator 13, an insulating plate 14 and a conductive plate 15 stacked in sequence.

The air inlet plate 11 has at least one air inlet hole 11a, at least one bus bar hole 11b and a bus bar chamber 11c, the number of the air inlet holes 11a is the same as that of the bus bar holes 11b, in this embodiment, the number of the air inlet holes 11a and the number of the bus bar holes 11b are 4 for illustration, but not limited thereto; the 4 intake holes 11a penetrate the 4 bus holes 11b, respectively, and the 4 bus holes 11b converge to the confluence chamber 11 c.

The above-mentioned resonator plate 12 can be assembled on the air intake plate 11 by means of bonding, and the resonator plate 12 has a hollow hole 12a, a movable portion 12b and a fixed portion 12c, the hollow hole 12a is located at the center of the resonator plate 12 and corresponds to the converging chamber 11c of the air intake plate 11, and the area which is disposed around the hollow hole 12a and corresponds to the converging chamber 11c is the movable portion 12b, and the area which is disposed at the outer peripheral edge portion of the resonator plate 12 and is bonded and fixed on the air intake plate 11 is the fixed portion 12 c.

The piezoelectric actuator 13 includes a suspension plate 13a, an outer frame 13b, at least one connecting portion 13c, a piezoelectric element 13d, at least one gap 13e, and a protrusion 13 f; in the present embodiment, the suspension plate 13a is a square suspension plate having a first surface 131a and a second surface 132a opposite to the first surface 131a, the outer frame 13b is disposed around the periphery of the suspension plate 13a, and the outer frame 13b has a set of mating surfaces 131b and a lower surface 132b, and is connected between the suspension plate 13a and the outer frame 13b through at least one connection portion 13c to provide a supporting force for elastically supporting the suspension plate 13 a. In addition, the first surface 131a of the suspension plate 13a has a convex portion 13f, and in this embodiment, the convex portion 13f is recessed by an etching process at a connection portion adjacent to the connection portion 13c at the periphery of the convex portion 13f, so that the convex portion surface 131f of the convex portion 13f of the suspension plate 13a is higher than the first surface 131a to form a step-like structure. In addition, the outer frame 13b is disposed around the outer side of the suspension board 13a, and has a first conductive pin 133b protruding outward for electrical connection, but not limited thereto.

The resonator plate 12 and the piezoelectric actuator 13 are stacked and assembled with each other through a filler g to form a cavity space 16 therebetween, and the filler g may be a conductive adhesive, but not limited thereto, such that a gap h is provided between the resonator plate 12 and the piezoelectric actuator 13, such that a depth of the gap h can be maintained between the resonator plate 12 and a convex surface 131f of a convex portion 13f on a suspension plate 13a of the piezoelectric actuator 13, thereby guiding an air flow to flow rapidly, and since the convex portion 13f of the suspension plate 13a maintains a proper distance from the resonator plate 12, contact interference between each other is reduced, and noise generation is reduced; in other embodiments, as shown in fig. 3B, the resonator plate 12 and the piezoelectric actuator 13 are stacked and assembled with each other through a filling material g to form a cavity space 16 therebetween, or the suspension plate 13a is pressed to be recessed downward, the recessed distance of the suspension plate can be adjusted by at least one connection portion 13c formed between the suspension plate 13a and the outer frame 13B, so that the convex surface 131f of the convex portion 13f on the suspension plate 13a and the assembling surface 131B of the outer frame 13B form a non-coplanar surface, that is, the convex surface 131f of the convex portion 13f is lower than the assembling surface 131B of the outer frame 13B, the second surface 132a of the suspension plate 13a is lower than the lower surface 132B of the outer frame 13B, the piezoelectric element 13d is attached to the second surface 132a of the suspension plate 13a and is disposed opposite to the convex portion 13f, and after the piezoelectric element 13d is applied with a driving voltage, deformation is generated due to the piezoelectric effect, and the suspension plate 13a is driven to vibrate; the small amount of the filler g is coated on the assembling surface 131b of the outer frame 13b, and the piezoelectric actuator 13 is attached to the fixing portion 12c of the resonator plate 12 by thermocompression bonding, so that the piezoelectric actuator 13 can be assembled and combined with the resonator plate 12. Wherein the gap h formed between the first surface 131a of the suspension plate 13a and the resonant plate 12 affects the transmission effect of the micro pump 1, so that it is very important to maintain a fixed gap h for providing stable transmission efficiency for the micro pump 1, the micro pump 1 of the present embodiment uses a stamping method to press the suspension plate 13a to be recessed downward, so that the first surface 131a of the suspension plate 13a and the assembly surface 131b of the outer frame 13b are non-coplanar, that is, the first surface 131a of the suspension plate 13a is lower than the assembly surface 131b of the outer frame 13b, and the second surface 132a of the suspension plate 13a is lower than the lower surface 132b of the outer frame 13b, so that the suspension plate 13a of the piezoelectric actuator 13 is recessed to form a space to form an adjustable gap h with the resonant plate 12, and the structure improvement of forming the gap h by directly using the forming recess through the suspension plate 13a of the piezoelectric actuator 13, thus, the required gap h can be achieved by adjusting the forming recess distance of the suspension plate 13a of the piezoelectric actuator 13, thereby effectively simplifying the structural design for adjusting the gap h, and achieving the advantages of simplifying the manufacturing process and shortening the manufacturing time.

The insulating sheet 14 and the conductive sheet 15 are frame-shaped thin flexible sheets, and are sequentially stacked under the piezoelectric actuator 13. In the present embodiment, the insulating sheet 14 is attached to the lower surface 132b of the outer frame 13b of the piezoelectric actuator 13, and the conductive sheet 15 is stacked on the insulating sheet 14. The insulating sheet 14 and the conductive sheet 15 are formed to correspond to the outer frame 13b of the piezoelectric actuator 13. In some embodiments, the insulating sheet 14 is made of an insulating material, such as: plastic, but not limited to this, for insulation; the conductive sheet 15 is made of a conductive flexible material, such as: a metal sheet, but not limited thereto, for conducting electrical conduction, and the conductive sheet 15 in this embodiment, the conductive sheet 15 is provided with a second conductive pin 15a, a plurality of contact conductive terminals 15b and a plurality of air-permeable openings 15c, the second conductive pin 15a and the plurality of contact conductive terminals 15b are for conducting electrical conduction, and the plurality of air-permeable openings 15c are used as a one-way outlet for implementing gas transmission inside the micro-pump 1, wherein the plurality of contact conductive terminals 15b are directly formed by punching and pressing on the conductive sheet 15 and protrude on the surface of the conductive sheet 15, and are used as driving electrodes of the piezoelectric element 13d of the piezoelectric actuator 13, which is different from the known way that the piezoelectric element 13d uses a welded conductive wire on the electrodes to achieve the electrical connection function of the lead-out electrodes, and the known piezoelectric element 13d is used in the electrode implementation process, because the electrodes on the piezoelectric element 13d are led out, the piezoelectric element 13d is fixed by using a jig, different alignment needs to be performed according to different procedures, the contact conductive ends 15b greatly cause assembly complexity, and in order to solve the problem, the conductive plate 15 is directly punched and formed to protrude on the surface of the conductive plate 15, and is preset on the assembly to form a close pre-forced contact with the surface of the piezoelectric element 13d on the piezoelectric actuator 13 to be used as a driving electrode, when the piezoelectric element 13d vibrates and displaces up and down along with the suspension plate 13a, the contact conductive action between the surface of the piezoelectric element 13d and the contact conductive ends 15b can be still maintained, the contact conductive action of the piezoelectric element 13d is not lost along with the influence of the vertical vibration and displacement of the suspension plate 13a (as shown in the operation schematic diagram of the micro-pump 1 shown in fig. 4A to 4C, the contact conductive action between the surface of the piezoelectric element 13d and the contact ends 15b is always maintained), the design of the contact conductive terminal 15b is to avoid the conventional way of leading out the electrode by wire without welding, which not only simplifies the process, but also avoids the problem of piezoelectric property attenuation of the local or even the whole piezoelectric element 13d due to high temperature generated by the welding process without using the welding spot welding way, and the quality and volume of the welding spot and the welding colloid do not cause the problem of unavoidable space limitation and uneven operation inside the micro-pump 1 without using the welding spot and the welding colloid.

Referring to fig. 4A to 4C, firstly, referring to fig. 4A, after the driving voltage is applied to the piezoelectric element 13d of the piezoelectric actuator 13, the piezoelectric element is deformed to drive the suspension plate 13a to move downward, and the resonator plate 12 is synchronously moved downward under the influence of the resonance principle, at this time, the volume of the chamber space 16 is increased, so that a negative pressure is formed in the chamber space 16, and the external air of the micro-pump 1 is sucked through the air inlet 11a, enters the bus chamber 11C through the bus hole 11b, and enters the chamber space 16 through the hollow hole 12 a; referring to fig. 4B, when the piezoelectric element 13d drives the suspension plate 13a to move upward, and the resonance plate 12 is also moved upward by the resonance of the suspension plate 13a, the gas in the confluence chamber 11c is synchronously pushed to move toward the chamber space 16, so that the movable portion 12B of the resonance plate 12 moves upward, and the gas cannot be sucked through the gas inlet 11a temporarily, and at this time, the gas in the chamber space 16 is squeezed and is transmitted downward through the gap 13e, and is discharged outside the micro-pump 1 through the plurality of gas permeable openings 15c, thereby achieving the effect of gas transmission; finally, referring to fig. 4C, when the suspension plate 13a is driven downward and the suspension plate 13a returns to the horizontal position, the movable portion 12b of the resonator 12 is driven to move downward, the resonator 12 moves the gas in the chamber space 16 to the gap 13e, and increases the volume in the collecting chamber 11C, so that the gas can continuously pass through the gas inlet 11a and the collecting hole 11b and then is collected in the collecting chamber 11C; by repeating the operations of fig. 4A to 4C, the micro pump 1 can continuously take in gas from the gas inlet 11a, transmit the gas downwards through the gap 13e, and discharge the gas from the micro pump 1 through the plurality of gas openings 15C to continuously suck the gas, thereby implementing the operation of gas transmission of the micro pump 1.

In summary, the micro pump provided by the present disclosure is mainly characterized in that gas enters from a gas inlet on the micro pump, and the actuation of the piezoelectric actuator is utilized to generate a pressure gradient in the designed flow channel and the confluence chamber, so as to enable the gas to flow at a high speed, so that the micro pump can achieve a silent effect, further reduce the overall volume and thin the micro gas power device, and further enable the micro gas power device to achieve the portable purpose of light and comfort, and can be widely applied to medical devices and related equipment; and the design of using the non-welding contact conductive end on the electrode of the piezoelectric element overcomes the problems that the electrode is led out by a lead wire, which is different from the known method that the welding conductive wire is used on the electrode of the piezoelectric element to achieve the connection electrical function of leading out the electrode, the complex process of assembly is greatly simplified, the piezoelectric characteristic attenuation problem of local or even whole piezoelectric element is not influenced by high temperature without using a welding spot welding mode, and the unavoidable space limitation problem and the non-uniform actuation problem in the interior of the micro-pump caused by the mass and volume of the welding spot and the welding colloid are not used without using the welding spot welding mode, so the micro-pump has industrial applicability.

While the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the above embodiments, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.