Ultramicro bubble generating equipment
阅读说明：本技术 超微气泡产生设备 (Ultramicro bubble generating equipment ) 是由 今仲良行 久保田雅彦 山田显季 柳内由美 有水博 石永博之 尾崎照夫 于 2020-02-27 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明涉及超微气泡产生设备,其通过使加热元件在液体中产生膜沸腾而产生超微气泡,包括元件基板,元件基板包括设置有多个加热元件的加热部,其中元件基板构造为抑制输入到加热部中的加热元件的能量的变化。(The present invention relates to an microbubble generation apparatus that generates microbubbles by causing a heating element to generate film boiling in a liquid, including an element substrate including a heating portion provided with a plurality of heating elements, wherein the element substrate is configured to suppress variation in energy input to the heating element in the heating portion.)
1. An microbubble generation apparatus that generates an microbubble by causing a heating element to generate film boiling in a liquid, comprising:
an element substrate including a heating portion provided with a plurality of heating elements, wherein,
the element substrate is configured to suppress variation in energy input to the heating element in the heating portion.
2. The microbubble generation apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein,
the heating part includes a set of heating elements to which energy from an electrode plate is input.
3. The microbubble generation apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein,
at least two or more of the heating elements are connected to the electrode plate through the same common wiring in the heating part, and
the plurality of heating elements are driven in a time-division manner.
4. The microbubble generation apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein,
the element substrate includes a plurality of heating portions, and
in each of the plurality of heating portions, the plurality of heating elements are driven in a time-division manner.
5. The microbubble generation apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein,
the shapes of the heating elements in the heating portion are different depending on the positional relationship of the heating elements connected to each other by the common wiring.
6. The microbubble generation apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein,
the voltage applied to each heating element or the length of time for which the heating elements are driven in a time-division manner is changed in accordance with the difference between the resistances in the common wiring.
7. The microbubble generation apparatus as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein,
in the heating portion, the heating elements are each connected to a separate wiring.
8. The microbubble generation apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein,
the individual wirings are laid out such that the resistance value of each individual wiring falls within a predetermined range.
9. The microbubble generation apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein,
the width or film thickness of the common wiring is set so that the resistance value in the common wiring is a predetermined ratio or less to the sum of the resistance of the heating element and the resistances of the wirings each connected to the heating element.
10. The microbubble generation apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein,
the width or film thickness of the common wiring is set so that energy input to the plurality of heating elements connected to the common wiring, respectively, is set to be 1.1 times or more and 3 times or less of a first value in a case where energy for generating film boiling by the heating elements is set to the first value.
11. The microbubble generation apparatus as claimed in claim 9 or 10, wherein,
in the element substrate, the common wiring is formed on a layer different from a layer on which the heating element is formed.
12. The microbubble generation apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein,
the common wiring is formed on a back surface of the element substrate opposite to a surface on which the heating element is formed.
13. The microbubble generation apparatus as claimed in claim 12, wherein,
the electrode plate is formed on the back surface.
14. The microbubble generation apparatus as claimed in claim 9 or 10, further comprising:
a unit is produced in which a plurality of element substrates are formed on a wafer.
15. The microbubble generation apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein,
a plurality of groups including groups provided with at least two or more heating elements each connected to a separate wiring and driven simultaneously are driven at different timings in a time-division manner.
16. The microbubble generation apparatus as claimed in claim 15, wherein,
in the heating section, each group includes the same number of heating elements that are driven simultaneously.
17. The microbubble generation apparatus as claimed in claim 15, wherein,
groups each provided with at least two or more heating elements driven simultaneously in the heating section are driven at different time-division timings, and the voltage applied to each heating element or the length of time for which the heating elements are driven is changed in accordance with the number of heating elements driven simultaneously in each timing.
18. The microbubble generation apparatus as set forth in claim 6, further comprising:
a monitoring unit which monitors the resistance of the heating element in the heating part, wherein
The voltage applied to each heating element or the period of time for which the heating elements are driven in a time-division manner is changed in accordance with the monitoring result of the monitoring unit.
19. The microbubble generation apparatus as claimed in claim 15, wherein,
in the heating portion, a plurality of heating elements driven simultaneously on the same wiring are connected in series.
20. The microbubble generation apparatus as claimed in claim 19, wherein,
in each of the heating elements connected in series, the length of the resistance pattern in the current flow direction is smaller than the width of the resistance pattern.
21. The microbubble generation apparatus as claimed in claim 1 or 2, further comprising:
a means for making energy constant, which makes energy applied to each of the plurality of heating elements or each of a predetermined number of heating elements constant in the heating section.
22. The microbubble generation apparatus as claimed in claim 21, wherein,
the means for making the energy constant maintains a constant voltage or current in both or one end of each heating element.
Technical Field
The present invention relates to an microbubble generation apparatus for generating microbubbles having a diameter of less than 1.0 μm.
Background
In recent years, a technique for applying the characteristics of minute bubbles (for example, micro bubbles having a diameter of micrometer size and nano bubbles having a diameter of nanometer size) has been developed. Especially in various fields, the utility of ultra-fine bubbles (hereinafter also referred to as "UFB") having a diameter of less than 1.0 μm has been confirmed.
Japanese patent No.6118544 discloses a fine bubble generating apparatus that generates fine bubbles by ejecting a pressurized liquid, in which gas is pressurized and dissolved, from a decompression nozzle. Japanese patent No.4456176 discloses an apparatus that generates fine bubbles by repeatedly separating and merging liquid flows mixed with gas by a mixing unit.
Disclosure of Invention
An microbubble generation device according to an aspect of the present invention is an microbubble generation device that generates an microbubble by causing a heating element to generate film boiling in a liquid, the microbubble generation device including an element substrate including a heating portion provided with a plurality of heating elements, wherein the element substrate is configured to suppress variation in energy input to the heating elements in the heating portion.
Further features of the invention will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the attached drawings.
Drawings
Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a UFB generation device;
FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of a pretreatment unit;
FIGS. 3A and 3B are a schematic structural view of a dissolving unit and a view for describing a dissolving state in a liquid;
fig. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of a T-UFB generation unit;
fig. 5A and 5B are diagrams for describing details of the heating element;
fig. 6A and 6B are diagrams for describing a film boiling state on the heating element;
fig. 7A to 7D are diagrams showing a generation state of UFBs caused by expansion of film boiling bubbles;
fig. 8A to 8C are diagrams illustrating a generation state of UFBs caused by contraction of film boiling bubbles;
fig. 9A to 9C are diagrams showing a generation state of UFB caused by reheating of liquid;
fig. 10A and 10B are diagrams showing a generation state of UFB caused by shock waves resulting from disappearance of bubbles generated by film boiling;
fig. 11A to 11C are diagrams showing structural examples of the post-processing unit;
fig. 12A and 12B are diagrams describing the layout of an element substrate;
fig. 13A and 13B are diagrams showing equivalent circuits;
fig. 14A to 14C are diagrams describing an example of reducing the difference between wiring resistance losses;
fig. 15A to 15F are diagrams describing the layout and the like of an element substrate;
fig. 16A to 16E are diagrams describing an example of stable UFB generation;
fig. 17A to 17G are diagrams describing an example of stable UFB generation;
fig. 18A to 18C are diagrams describing an example of stable UFB generation;
fig. 19A to 19C are diagrams describing an example of stable UFB generation;
fig. 20A to 20C are diagrams describing an example of stable UFB generation;
fig. 21A to 21D are diagrams describing an example of stable UFB generation;
fig. 22A to 22D are diagrams describing an example of stable UFB generation;
fig. 23A to 23D are diagrams describing an example of stable UFB generation; and
fig. 24A to 24D are diagrams describing an example of stable UFB generation.
Detailed Description
The two devices described in japanese patent nos. 6118544 and 4456176 produce not only UFBs of nanometer size in diameter, but also relatively large quantities of millimeter-sized bubbles of millimeter size in diameter and micron-sized bubbles of micrometer size in diameter. However, because millimeter-sized bubbles and micro-sized bubbles are affected by buoyancy, the bubbles may gradually rise to the liquid surface and disappear during long-term storage.
UFBs on the other hand, which are nanometer in diameter, are suitable for long-term storage, since they are less likely to be influenced by buoyancy and float in liquids with brownian motion. However, when UFBs are generated together with millimeter-sized bubbles and micro-sized bubbles or the gas-liquid interface energy of UFBs is small, UFBs are affected and reduced by the disappearance of millimeter-sized bubbles and micro-sized bubbles as time elapses. That is, in order to obtain a UFB-containing liquid that can suppress a decrease in the concentration of UFB even during long-term storage, it is necessary to produce a high-purity, high-concentration UFB having a large gas-liquid interfacial energy when producing the UFB-containing liquid.
(construction of UFB Generation device)
Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of an microbubble generation device (UFB generation device) applicable to the present invention. The
Fig. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of the pretreatment unit 100. The pretreatment unit 100 of the present embodiment performs a degassing treatment on the supplied liquid W. The pretreatment unit 100 mainly includes a degassing vessel 101, a shower head 102, a decompression pump 103, a liquid introduction passage 104, a liquid circulation passage 105, and a liquid discharge passage 106. For example, liquid W such as tap water is supplied from liquid introduction passage 104 to degassing vessel 101 via valve 109. In this process, the shower head 102 provided in the degassing vessel 101 ejects mist of the liquid W inside the degassing vessel 101. The showerhead 102 is used to facilitate vaporization of the liquid W. However, a centrifuge or the like may be used instead as a mechanism for producing the vaporization accelerating effect.
When a certain amount of liquid W remains in degassing container 101 and then reduced-pressure pump 103 is activated with all valves closed, the gas component that has been vaporized is discharged and the gas component that has been promoted to be dissolved in liquid W is allowed to be vaporized and discharged. In this process, the internal pressure of the degassing vessel 101 may be reduced to several hundreds to several thousands Pa (1.0Torr to 10.0Torr) while checking the pressure gauge 108. The gas to be removed by the pretreatment unit 100 includes, for example, nitrogen, oxygen, argon, carbon dioxide, and the like.
By using the liquid circulation passage 105, the above-described degassing treatment can be repeatedly performed on the same liquid W. Specifically, the shower head 102 is operated with the valve 109 of the liquid introduction passage 104 and the valve 110 of the liquid discharge passage 106 closed and the valve 107 of the liquid circulation passage 105 opened. This allows the liquid W remaining in the degassing vessel 101 and which has been degassed to be sprayed again into the degassing vessel 101 from the shower head 102. When the pressure reducing pump 103 is operated, the vaporization treatment by the shower head 102 and the degassing treatment by the pressure reducing pump 103 are repeated for the same liquid W. The gas component contained in the liquid W can be reduced in stages by repeating the above-described processing using the liquid circulation passage 105 each time. Once the liquid W degassed to the desired purity is obtained, the liquid W is transferred to the dissolution unit 200 through the drainage channel 106 with the valve 110 open.
FIG. 2 shows a pre-treatment unit 100 for partially depressurizing a gas to vaporize a solute; however, the method of degassing the solution is not limited thereto. For example, a heating boiling method of boiling the liquid W to vaporize the solute, or a membrane degassing method of increasing the interface between the liquid and the gas using hollow fibers may be employed. The SEPAREL series (produced by DIC corporation) is commercially available as a degassing module using hollow fibers. The SEPAREL series uses poly (4-methylpentene-1) (PMP) as a raw material of hollow fibers, and is used to remove bubbles from ink or the like mainly supplied to a piezoelectric head. Two or more of the evacuation method, the boiling by heating method, and the film degassing method may be used together.
Fig. 3A and 3B are a schematic configuration diagram of the dissolving unit 200 and a diagram for describing a dissolving state in a liquid. The dissolving unit 200 is a unit for dissolving a desired gas into the liquid W supplied from the pretreatment unit 100. The dissolving unit 200 of the present embodiment mainly includes a dissolving container 201, a rotary shaft 203 provided with a rotary plate 202, a liquid introducing passage 204, a gas introducing passage 205, a liquid discharging passage 206, and a pressurizing pump 207.
The liquid W supplied from the pretreatment unit 100 is supplied through the liquid introduction passage 204 and remains in the dissolution vessel 201. Meanwhile, the gas G is supplied to the dissolution vessel 201 through the gas introduction passage 205.
Once a predetermined amount of liquid W and gas G are retained in the dissolution vessel 201, the pressurizing pump 207 is activated to increase the internal pressure of the dissolution vessel 201 to about 0.5 MPa. A safety valve 208 is disposed between the pressurizing pump 207 and the dissolution vessel 201. The rotating plate 202 in the liquid is rotated by the rotating shaft 203, the gas G supplied to the dissolution vessel 201 is converted into bubbles, and the contact area between the gas G and the liquid W is increased to promote dissolution into the liquid W. This operation is continued until the solubility of the gas G almost reaches the maximum saturated solubility. In this case, a unit for lowering the temperature of the liquid to dissolve as much gas as possible may be provided. When the solubility of the gas is low, the internal pressure of the dissolution vessel 201 may also be increased to 0.5Mpa or more. In this case, the material of the container and the like need to be optimized for safety.
Once liquid W having dissolved therein the desired concentration of the components of gas G is obtained, liquid W is discharged through liquid discharge channel 206 and supplied to T-
Fig. 3B is a diagram schematically showing a dissolved state of the gas G introduced into the dissolution vessel 201. The bubbles 2 containing the component of the gas G introduced into the liquid W are dissolved from the portion in contact with the liquid W. The gas bubbles 2 thus gradually contract, and then a liquid 3 with dissolved gas appears around the gas bubbles 2. Since the bubbles 2 are influenced by buoyancy, the bubbles 2 can move to a position away from the center of the liquid 3 in which gas is dissolved or separate from the
The liquid 3 in which gas is dissolved in the drawing indicates "a region of the liquid W in which the dissolved concentration of the mixed gas G is relatively high". Among the gas components actually dissolved in the liquid W, the concentration of the gas components in the
Fig. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of the T-
An
Fig. 5A and 5B are diagrams for illustrating a detailed configuration of the
As shown in FIG. 5A, in the
An
The configuration shown in the drawings is an example, and various other configurations are applicable. For example, a configuration in which the order of lamination of the
Fig. 5B is an example of a cross-sectional view of a region including a circuit connected to the
The P-
The N-
In the P-
In this example, the N-
By making the thickness between elements (e.g. between P-
Forming by CVD method on each surface of elements such as P-
Fig. 6A and 6B are diagrams showing a state of film boiling when a predetermined voltage pulse is applied to the
Substantially atmospheric pressure is maintained in the
The time (pulse width) for applying the voltage is around 0.5 μ sec to 10.0 μ sec, and even after the voltage is applied, the inertia of the pressure obtained at
When the film boiling bubbles 13 disappear, the film boiling bubbles 13 do not disappear over the entire surface of the
The generation, expansion, contraction and disappearance of the film boiling bubbles 13 as described above is repeated each time a voltage pulse is applied to the
The generation state of the UFB11 in each process of generation, expansion, contraction, and disappearance of the film boiling bubbles 13 is described in further detail with reference to fig. 7A to 10B.
Fig. 7A to 7D are diagrams schematically showing the state of generation of UFB11 caused by generation and expansion of film boiling bubbles 13. Fig. 7A shows a state before voltage pulses are applied to the
Fig. 7B shows a state in which a voltage is applied to the
Thereafter, during the application of the pulse, the surface temperature of the
Fig. 7C shows a state in which the film boiling bubbles 13 expand. Even after the voltage pulse is applied to the
Fig. 7D shows a state where the film boiling bubbles 13 have the maximum volume. When the film boiling bubbles 13 expand due to inertia, the negative pressure inside the film boiling bubbles 13 gradually increases with the expansion, and the negative pressure acts to contract the film boiling bubbles 13. When the negative pressure and the inertial force are balanced, the volume of the film boiling bubbles 13 is maximized, and then shrinkage starts.
In the contraction phase of the film boiling bubbles 13, there are UFB (
Fig. 8A to 8C are diagrams illustrating a generation state of UFB11 caused by contraction of film boiling bubbles 13. Fig. 8A shows a state where the film boiling bubbles 13 start to shrink. Although the film boiling bubbles 13 start to contract, the surrounding liquid W still has an inertial force in the expansion direction. Therefore, an inertial force acting in a direction away from the
The liquid 3 in which the gas is dissolved in the
Fig. 8B shows the contraction process of the film boiling bubbles 13. The contraction speed of the film boiling bubbles 13 is accelerated by the negative pressure, and the yet-to-bubble
Fig. 8C shows a state immediately before the
Fig. 9A to 9C are diagrams illustrating a state where UFB is generated by reheating of the liquid W during contraction of the film boiling bubbles 13. Fig. 9A shows a state in which the surface of the
Fig. 9B shows a state in which the contraction of the film boiling bubbles 13 has proceeded and a part of the surface of the
Fig. 9C shows a state in which the film boiling bubbles 13 further contract. The smaller the
Fig. 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating a generation state of UFBs due to an impact (i.e., a kind of cavitation) in which film boiling bubbles 13 generated by film boiling disappear. Fig. 10A shows a state immediately before the
Fig. 10B shows an instant state after the
In this case, the gas-dissolved
The fourth UFB11D, which is generated by a shock wave caused by the disappearance of the film boiling bubbles 13, suddenly appears in an extremely narrow film-like area in an extremely short time (1 μ S or less). The diameter is far smaller than the first to third UFBs, and the gas-liquid interface energy is higher than the first to third UFBs. Therefore, it is considered that the fourth UFB11D has different characteristics and produces different effects from the first to
In addition, the fourth UFB11D is uniformly generated in many parts of the region of the concentric sphere, where the shock wave propagates, and the fourth UFB11D exists uniformly in the
As described above, it is desirable to generate
Next, the remaining characteristics of the UFB are described. The higher the temperature of the liquid, the lower the solubility of the gas component, and the lower the temperature, the higher the solubility of the gas component. In other words, as the temperature of the liquid increases, the phase change of the dissolved gas component is promoted and the production of UFBs becomes easier. The temperature of the liquid is inversely related to the solubility of the gas, and gas exceeding the saturation solubility is converted into bubbles and appears in the liquid as the temperature of the liquid increases.
Therefore, when the temperature of the liquid is rapidly increased from the normal temperature, the solubility is continuously decreased, and UFB starts to be generated. As the temperature increases, the thermal solubility decreases and many UFBs are produced.
In contrast, when the temperature of the liquid is decreased from the normal temperature, the solubility of the gas increases, and the generated UFB is more easily liquefied. However, such temperatures are much lower than ambient temperature. In addition, since UFBs have a high internal pressure and a large gas-liquid interface energy once generated, there is little possibility of applying a sufficiently high pressure to break such a gas-liquid interface even when the temperature of the liquid is lowered. In other words, UFB does not easily disappear once produced, as long as the liquid is stored at normal temperature and pressure.
In this embodiment, the
On the other hand, in the relationship between the pressure and the solubility of the liquid, the higher the liquid pressure is, the higher the solubility of the gas is, and the lower the pressure is, the lower the solubility is. In other words, as the pressure of the liquid decreases, the phase change of the gas-dissolved liquid dissolved in the liquid to the gas is promoted, and the production of UFB becomes easier. As soon as the pressure of the liquid becomes lower than normal, the solubility decreases immediately and UFB starts to be produced. As the pressure is reduced, the pressure solubility decreases and many UFBs are produced.
Conversely, when the pressure of the liquid is increased above atmospheric pressure, the solubility of the gas increases and the resulting UFB is more easily liquefied. However, this pressure is much higher than atmospheric pressure. In addition, since UFBs have a high internal pressure and a large gas-liquid interface energy once generated, there is little possibility of applying a sufficiently high pressure to break such a gas-liquid interface even when the liquid pressure increases. In other words, UFB does not easily disappear once produced, as long as the liquid is stored at normal temperature and pressure.
In this embodiment, the second UFB11B described with reference to fig. 8A to 8C and the fourth UFB11D described with reference to fig. 10A to 10B can be described as UFBs generated by utilizing such pressure-solubility of gas.
The first to fourth UFBs resulting from different causes are described above, respectively; however, the above-described cause occurs simultaneously with film boiling. Therefore, at least two types of the first to fourth UFBs can be generated simultaneously, and these generation causes can cooperate to generate UFBs. It should be noted that all the causes of the film boiling phenomenon are common. In the present specification, a method of generating UFBs by utilizing film boiling caused by rapid heating as described above is referred to as a thermal ultra-micro-bubble (T-UFB) generation method. In addition, the UFB generated by the T-UFB generation method is called T-UFB, and the liquid containing T-UFB generated by the T-UFB generation method is called T-UFB-containing liquid.
Bubbles generated by the T-UFB generation method are almost all 1.0 μm or less, and millimeter bubbles and micro bubbles are less likely to be generated. That is, the T-UFB generation method can significantly and efficiently generate UFBs. In addition, the T-UFB generated by the T-UFB generation method has larger air-liquid interface energy than the UFB generated by the conventional method, and the T-UFB cannot easily disappear as long as the T-UFB is stored at normal temperature and normal pressure. Furthermore, even if a new T-UFB is generated by new film boiling, it is possible to prevent the T-UFB that has been generated from disappearing due to the newly generated influence. That is, it can be said that the number and concentration of T-UFBs contained in the T-UFB-containing liquid have hysteresis depending on the number of times film boiling is performed in the T-UFB-containing liquid. In other words, the concentration of T-UFB contained in the T-UFB-containing liquid can be adjusted by controlling the number of heating elements provided in the T-
Reference is again made to fig. 1. Once T-UFB-containing liquid W having the desired UFB concentration is generated in T-
Fig. 11A to 11C are diagrams showing a configuration example of the post-processing unit 400 of the present embodiment. The post-treatment unit 400 of this example removes impurities from the UFB-containing liquid W in stages in the order of inorganic ions, organic substances, and insoluble solid substances.
Fig. 11A shows a first post-processing mechanism 410 that removes inorganic ions. The first post-treatment means 410 comprises an exchange container 411, a cation exchange resin 412, a liquid introduction passage 413, a collection pipe 414 and a drainage passage 415. The exchange vessel 411 stores a cation exchange resin 412. The UFB-containing liquid W generated by the T-
The cation exchange resin 412 is a synthetic resin in which functional groups (ion exchange groups) are introduced into a high polymer matrix having a three-dimensional network, and the appearance of the synthetic resin is spherical particles of about 0.4mm to 0.7 mm. Typical high polymer matrices are styrene-divinylbenzene copolymers and the functional groups can be, for example, methacrylic and acrylic functional groups. However, the above materials are examples. The above materials may be changed into various materials as long as the materials can effectively remove desired inorganic ions. UFB-containing liquid W adsorbed in cation exchange resin 412 to remove inorganic ions is collected by collection pipe 414 and transferred to the next step through drain passage 415. In this treatment of the present embodiment, it is not necessary to remove all inorganic ions contained in UFB-containing liquid W supplied from liquid introduction passage 413 as long as at least a part of the inorganic ions is removed.
Fig. 11B shows a
The impurities removed by the
Examples of filtration that can be applied to this embodiment may be so-called dead-end filtration and cross-flow filtration. In dead-end filtration, the flow direction of the supplied liquid is the same as the flow direction of the filtered liquid through the filter opening, specifically, the flow directions are made to coincide with each other. In contrast, in cross-flow filtration, the supplied liquid flows in the direction of the filter surface, specifically, the flow direction of the supplied liquid and the flow direction of the filtered liquid passing through the filter opening cross each other. In order to suppress the adsorption of bubbles to the filter openings, cross-flow filtration is preferably performed.
After a certain amount of UFB-containing liquid W has remained in
Fig. 11C shows a
First, in a state where the
Reference is again made to fig. 1. The T-UFB-containing liquid W from which impurities have been removed by the post-treatment unit 400 can be directly transferred to the collection unit 500, or can be returned to the dissolution unit 200 again. In the latter case, the dissolved concentration of the gas of the T-UFB-containing liquid W, which is lowered due to the generation of the T-UFB, can be compensated again to the saturated state by the dissolving unit 200. If a new UFB is generated by the T-
The collection unit 500 collects and holds the UFB-containing liquid W transferred from the post-treatment unit 400. The T-UFB-containing liquid collected by the collection unit 500 is UFB-containing liquid with high purity from which various impurities are removed.
In the collecting unit 500, the UFB-containing liquid W can be classified according to the size of T-UFB by performing certain stages of the filtering process. Since the temperature of the T-UFB-containing liquid W obtained by the T-UFB method is expected to be higher than normal temperature, the collection unit 500 may be provided with a cooling unit. The cooling unit may be provided to a portion of the post-treatment unit 400.
A schematic description of the
For example, when the gas to be contained by the UFB is atmospheric air, the degassing unit and the dissolving unit 200 as the pretreatment unit 100 may be omitted. On the other hand, when it is desired that the UFB contains multiple gases, another dissolving unit 200 may be added.
The unit for removing impurities as shown in fig. 11A to 11C may be disposed upstream of the T-
Liquid and gas applicable to liquid containing T-UFB
Now, a liquid W is described which can be used for producing a T-UFB containing liquid. The liquid W usable in this embodiment is, for example, pure water, ion-exchanged water, distilled water, biologically active water, magnetically active water, a lotion, tap water, sea water, river water, clean water and sewage, lake water, underground water, rainwater, or the like. A mixed liquid containing the above liquid and the like may also be used. A mixed solvent comprising water and a soluble organic solvent may also be used. The soluble organic solvent to be used in admixture with water is not particularly limited; however, the following may be specific examples thereof. Alkyl alcohol group having a carbon number of 1 to 4, including methanol, ethanol, n-propanol, isopropanol, n-butanol, sec-butanol and tert-butanol. The amide group includes N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, 1, 3-dimethyl-2-imidazolidinone, N-dimethylformamide and N, N-dimethylacetamide. The ketone group or ketone alcohol group includes acetone and diacetone alcohol. The cyclic ether group includes tetrahydrofuran and dioxane. The diol group comprises ethylene glycol, 1, 2-propanediol, 1, 3-propanediol, 1, 2-butanediol, 1, 3-butanediol, 1, 4-butanediol, 1, 5-pentanediol, 1, 2-hexanediol, 1, 6-hexanediol, 3-methyl-1, 5-pentanediol, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol and thiodiethylene glycol. The lower alkyl ether group of the polyhydric alcohol includes ethylene glycol monomethyl ether, ethylene glycol monoethyl ether, ethylene glycol monobutyl ether, diethylene glycol monomethyl ether, diethylene glycol monoethyl ether, diethylene glycol monobutyl ether, triethylene glycol monomethyl ether, triethylene glycol monoethyl ether and triethylene glycol monobutyl ether. Polyalkylene glycol groups include polyethylene glycol and polypropylene glycol. The triol group comprises glycerol, 1,2, 6-hexanetriol and trimethylolpropane. These soluble organic solvents may be used alone or in combination of two or more.
The gas components that can be introduced into the dissolving unit 200 are, for example, hydrogen, helium, oxygen, nitrogen, methane, fluorine, neon, carbon dioxide, ozone, argon, chlorine, ethane, propane, air, and the like. The gas component may be a mixed gas containing some of the above components. In addition, the dissolving unit 200 does not need to dissolve a gaseous substance, and the dissolving unit 200 may fuse a liquid or solid containing a desired component into the liquid W. In this case, the dissolution may be spontaneous dissolution, dissolution caused by the application of pressure, or dissolution caused by chemical reactions due to hydration, ionization, and electrolytic dissociation.
Effect of T-UFB Generation method
Next, the characteristics and effects of the above-described T-UFB generation method will be described by comparison with a conventional UFB generation method. For example, in a conventional bubble generating apparatus represented by a Venturi (Venturi) method, a mechanical pressure reducing structure such as a pressure reducing nozzle is provided in a part of a flow path. Liquid flows through the pressure reducing structure at a predetermined pressure, and bubbles of various sizes are generated in a downstream region of the pressure reducing structure.
In this case, among the generated bubbles, since larger bubbles (such as millimeter-sized bubbles and micron-sized bubbles) are affected by buoyancy, the bubbles rise to the liquid surface and disappear. Even UFBs that are not affected by buoyancy may disappear with millimeter and micron bubbles because the gas-liquid interface of the UFB cannot be very large. In addition, even if the above-described pressure reducing structures are arranged in series, and the same liquid repeatedly flows through the pressure reducing structures, UFBs in the number corresponding to the number of repetitions cannot be stored for a long time. In other words, UFB-containing liquids produced by conventional UFB production methods have difficulty maintaining the concentration of UFB contained therein at a predetermined value for a long period of time.
In contrast, in the T-UFB generation method of this embodiment utilizing film boiling, a rapid temperature change from normal temperature to about 300 ℃ and a rapid pressure change from normal pressure to about several megapascals locally occur in a portion extremely close to the heating element. The heating element is rectangular with one side of about tens to hundreds of microns. Which is approximately 1/10 to 1/1000 the size of a conventional UFB generation cell. In addition, when the liquid in which gas is dissolved in the extremely thin film region on the surface of the film boiling bubbles instantaneously (in an extremely short time of several microseconds or less) exceeds the thermal dissolution limit or the pressure dissolution limit, a phase change occurs and the liquid in which gas is dissolved precipitates as UFB. In this case, relatively large bubbles such as millimeter bubbles and micron bubbles are hardly generated, and the liquid contains UFB having a diameter of about 100nm, which is extremely high in purity. Moreover, because the T-UFB produced in this way has a sufficiently large air-liquid interfacial energy, the T-UFB is not easily broken under normal circumstances and can be stored for a long time.
In particular, the present disclosure makes use of a film boiling phenomenon capable of locally forming a gas interface in a liquid, an interface can be formed in a portion of the liquid near a heating element without affecting the entire liquid area, and the area where heat and pressure act can be extremely local. As a result, a desired UFB can be stably produced. By the liquid circulation further giving more conditions for generating UFB for the generated liquid, new UFB can be generated additionally with little influence on the already made UFB. As a result, UFB liquids of desired size and concentration can be produced relatively easily.
Furthermore, since the T-UFB generation method has the above-described hysteresis property, it is possible to increase the concentration to a desired concentration while maintaining high purity. In other words, according to the T-UFB production method, a long-term storable UFB-containing liquid of high purity and high concentration can be efficiently produced.
Specific application of liquid containing T-UFB
Generally, the application of the liquid containing the microbubbles is distinguished by the type of the gas contained. Any type of gas can be made into UFB as long as it can dissolve a gas amount of about PPM to BPM in the liquid. For example, the microbubble-containing liquid can be used for the following purposes.
The air-containing UFB liquid can be preferably used for cleaning in industry, agriculture, fishery, medical field, etc., and cultivating plant, agriculture, and fishery products.
Ozone-containing UFB liquids can preferably be used not only for cleaning applications in industry, agriculture and fisheries, medical sites, etc., but also for disinfection, sterilization, decontamination, and environmental cleaning of drainage systems and contaminated soils, for example.
The nitrogen-containing UFB-containing liquid can preferably be used not only for cleaning applications in industry, agriculture and fisheries, and medical sites, etc., but also for disinfection, sterilization, decontamination, and environmental cleaning of drainage systems and contaminated soils, for example.
The oxygen-containing UFB-containing liquid can be preferably used for cleaning applications in industry, agriculture, fishery, medical fields and the like, and cultivation of plants, agriculture and fishery products.
The carbon dioxide-containing UFB-containing liquid can be preferably used for cleaning in industry, agriculture, fishery, medical field, etc., and can also be used for disinfection, sterilization and purification.
UFB-containing liquids containing perfluorocarbons as medical gases can preferably be used for ultrasound diagnosis and therapy. As described above, UFB-containing liquids can play a role in various fields of medicine, chemistry, dentistry, food, industry, agriculture, fishery, and the like.
In each application, the purity and concentration of UFB contained in a UFB-containing liquid is critical for a fast and reliable functioning of the UFB-containing liquid. In other words, by using the T-UFB generation method of this embodiment, unprecedented effects can be awaited in various fields, which can generate UFB-containing liquids with high purity and desired concentration. The following is a list of applications for which it is desirable to have a preferred applicable T-UFB generation method and T-UFB-containing liquid.
(A) Liquid purification applications
-by arranging the T-UFB generating unit in the water purification unit, it is desired to improve the water purification effect and the purification effect of the PH regulating liquid. The T-UFB generation unit may also be provided to the carbonated water server.
By arranging the T-UFB generation unit in a humidifier, aroma diffuser, coffee machine, etc., it is desirable to enhance the indoor humidification effect, deodorization effect, and odor diffusion effect.
-if UFB-containing liquid in which ozone gas is dissolved by the dissolving unit is produced and used for dental treatment, burn treatment and wound treatment using an endoscope, it is expected to enhance the medical cleaning effect and the disinfection effect.
In the case where the T-UFB generation unit is installed in the water storage tank of an apartment, it is desirable to enhance the water purification effect and the dechlorination effect of drinking water stored for a long time.
-if the liquid containing T-UFB containing ozone or carbon dioxide is used in the brewing process of japanese sake, shochu, wine, etc., which cannot be pasteurized at high temperature, then more effective pasteurization treatment is expected than with conventional liquids.
-if UFB-containing liquid is mixed into food material during the production of food products for specific health uses and food products with functional requirements, a pasteurization treatment can be carried out, so that safe functional food products can be provided without loss of taste.
-expecting to encourage the aquatic products to lay eggs and grow by locating the T-UFB generation unit in the supply route of seawater and fresh water for cultivation in the aquaculture premises, such as fish and pearls.
-anticipating an improvement of the preservation status of the food product by arranging the T-UFB generation unit in the purification process of the water used for food preservation.
-higher bleaching effect is expected by arranging a T-UFB generation unit in the bleaching unit for bleaching pond water or groundwater.
-repairing cracks of a concrete component by using a liquid containing T-UFB, in anticipation of improving the effect of crack repair.
By including T-UFB in liquid fuels for machines using liquid fuels, such as automobiles, ships and aircraft, it is expected to improve the energy efficiency of the fuel.
(B) Cleaning applications
In recent years, UFB-containing liquids have attracted attention as cleaning water for removing dirt and the like adhering to clothes. Further enhancement of detergency is expected if the T-UFB generation unit described in the above embodiments is provided to a washing machine and UFB-containing liquid having higher purity and better permeability than conventional liquid is supplied to a washing tub.
By arranging the T-UFB generation unit in the shower and bedpan washer, the cleaning device not only has cleaning effect on various animals including human bodies, but also has the effect of promoting removal of water stains and mold pollution in the bathroom and bedpan.
-by arranging the T-UFB generating unit in a window washer of a car, a high pressure washer for washing wall components and the like, a car washer, a dish washer, a food washer, etc., it is expected to further enhance the cleaning effect thereof.
-the improvement of the cleaning effect is expected by using the T-UFB containing liquid for cleaning and maintenance of the parts produced in the factory, including the deburring step after pressing.
-in the production of semiconductor elements, an improvement in polishing effect is expected if the T-UFB-containing liquid is used as water for polishing wafers. In addition, if a T-UFB-containing liquid is used in the resist removal step, the peeling of the resist that is difficult to peel off is promoted.
-the T-UFB generation unit is arranged in a machine for cleaning and purifying medical machines (such as medical robots, dental treatment units, organ preservation containers, etc.), with the expectation of enhancing the machine cleaning and purifying effect. The T-UFB generation unit can also be used for the treatment of animals.
(C) Pharmaceutical application
-additives such as preservatives and surfactants that promote penetration into subcutaneous cells and can greatly reduce adverse effects on the skin if a liquid containing T-UFB is contained in cosmetics and the like. As a result, a safer and more functional cosmetic can be provided.
If high concentration nanobubble preparations containing T-UFB are used as contrast agents for medical examination devices, such as CT and MRI, the reflected light and ultrasound of X-rays can be used efficiently. This allows for the capture of more detailed images that can be used for initial diagnosis of cancer and the like.
If high concentration nanobubble water containing T-UFB is used in an ultrasound therapy machine called High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU), the radiation power of the ultrasound can be reduced, thus enabling the therapy to be less invasive. In particular, damage to normal tissue may be reduced.
The nanobubble product may be generated by: using high concentration nanobubbles containing T-UFB as a source, the phospholipids forming the liposomes are modified in the negatively charged areas around the bubbles, and various medical substances (e.g., DNA and RNA) are applied through the phospholipids.
If the drug containing the high concentration of nano-bubble water obtained by the T-UFB generation is delivered to the root canal for the regeneration treatment of dental pulp and dentin, the drug enters deep into the dentinal tubules by the osmotic effect of the nano-bubble water and promotes the decontamination effect. This allows safe treatment of infected endodontic root canals in a short period of time.
Layout of element substrate
As described above, UFB11 is produced by film boiling generated by applying a predetermined voltage pulse to one heating element (hereinafter also referred to as heater) 10. Therefore, by increasing the number of
However, it is not possible in some cases to stably produce UFB11 by simply increasing the number of
Fig. 12A and 12B show an example of a planar layout of the extraction element regions 1250 (also referred to as heating portions, which are a part of the element substrate 12), and show an example in which a plurality of heating elements are provided in each
In fig. 12A,
In the initial state, the
By applying the voltage pulse shown in fig. 6A to the
Unlike fig. 12A, fig. 12B is an example of arranging 4 heating elements 1061-1064 in the
The inventors have found that the amount of UFB generated by each heating element in the configuration shown in fig. 12A and the amount of UFB generated by each heating element in the configuration shown in fig. 12B are different. This is because there is a difference between the energy consumed by each
Fig. 13A and 13B are diagrams illustrating an equivalent circuit for the configuration in fig. 12A and 12B. Fig. 13A corresponds to the configuration in fig. 12A, and fig. 13B corresponds to the configuration in fig. 12B. The change in energy is described in detail with reference to fig. 12A to 13B.
In fig. 13A and 13B, the individual wiring region and the common wiring region in fig. 12A and 12B are replaced by wiring resistances, and the heating element is replaced by a heating element resistance. Rh1 to rh8 in fig. 13A represent resistance values of the heating elements corresponding to the
The current flowing through the heating element during the application of the voltage pulse (timing t1) shown in fig. 6A between the
In this case, the energy E1 input to the
heating element 1011: e1 ═ i1 × i1 × rh1 × t1 (expression 1); and
heating element 1018: e2 is i8 × i8 × rh8 × t1 (expression 2).
In addition, the energy E3 input to the
heating element 1061: e3 ═ i61 × i61 × rh61 × t1 (expression 3); and is
Heating element 1064: e4 is i64 × i64 × rh64 × t1 (expression 4).
Since the heating elements in this case are formed simultaneously in the photolithography step, the resistance values rh1, rh8, rh61, and rh64 of the heating elements are substantially equal to each other. On the other hand, the current flowing through the heating element is i1 ≠ i8 ≠ i61 ≠ i64, which is mainly due to the influence of the portion rlc of the wiring resistance. This results in a change in the energy applied to the heating element. Therefore, different UFB amounts are generated depending on the heating element, and stable UFB generation is hindered. In order to stably generate UFBs in a short time, it is necessary to reduce variations in energy input to the heating element in the element region.
An example of suppressing variation in energy applied to the
< example 1>
Fig. 14A to 14C are diagrams for describing an example of reducing the difference between the wiring resistance losses in the common wiring region. Fig. 14A is a diagram corresponding to the configuration of fig. 12B, showing an example of a planar layout of an extraction element region (a part of the element substrate 12). In the configuration shown in fig. 14A, Switches (SW)1401 to 1404 for controlling the current flowing through the heating elements are arranged on the
The configuration shown in fig. 12A to 13B is a configuration in which all the heating elements connected to the electrode plates are driven simultaneously during the application time of the supply voltage. On the other hand, in the configuration shown in fig. 14A, the
Fig. 14C is a diagram showing an example in which a plurality of element regions shown in fig. 14A are arranged on the
< example 2>
Fig. 15A to 15F are diagrams describing embodiment 2. Although the embodiment in which SW is arranged on the
Fig. 15A is a diagram showing a layout of an element region, and fig. 15B is an equivalent circuit of fig. 15A. In fig. 15A, a supply voltage in the form of pulses is applied to each
Fig. 15C is a layout diagram in which the positions of the
Fig. 15D is a layout diagram for suppressing energy variation more than the configuration of fig. 15C. In the configuration shown in fig. 15D, the width of the wiring in the region where the wiring resistance difference occurs in the wiring layout shown in the
Fig. 15E is a diagram showing the equivalent circuit of fig. 15D, specifically, a diagram showing the wiring resistance corresponding to the wiring width difference. The relationship between the wiring resistances in fig. 15E is as follows:
rliA1<rliA2<rliA3<rliA4；
rliB1< rliB2< rliB3< rliB 4; and is
rliA1+rliC1+rliB1+rliD1＝rliA2+rliC2+rliB2+rliD2＝rliA3+rliC3+rliB3+rliD3＝rliA4+rliC4+rliB4+rliD4.
Although the above expressions are connected with equal signs, the resistances may be substantially equal to each other as long as each
Fig. 15F is a layout showing a modification of fig. 15D. Fig. 15F shows an embodiment in which the SWs 1531 to 1534 are formed on the
< example 3>
Similarly to
Fig. 16A to 16E are diagrams describing an example of stably generating UFBs. Fig. 16A is a diagram describing a heating element used in the present embodiment. The inventors conducted experiments by using a heating element capable of producing 100,000 film boils. The heating element ensures that film boiling occurs before the 100,000 film boiling is reached. In other words, if film boiling occurs more than 100,000 times, for example, the heating element risks causing poor film boiling, and the element resistance of the heating element is disconnected.
Figure 16A shows the results of the inventors identifying how much energy is required to be applied to a heating element capable of forming 100,000 film boils to produce a UFB. Fig. 16A shows that film boiling is theoretically generated in the case where the bubbling threshold energy is "1" (first value). If the input energy is changed by changing the supply voltage and once the input energy increases to exceed 3 times the bubbling threshold energy set to "1", the resistance value of the heating element changes rapidly during about 100,000 applications of an applied pulse, making it difficult to produce UFB. In other words, it was found that if the energy input to the heating element is 3 times or less the bubbling threshold energy set to "1", UFB can be stably produced without sudden breakage or the like of a predetermined heating element. In order to stably generate UFB by generating film boiling using a heating element having a bubbling threshold energy set to "1", the minimum value of energy input to the heating element is set to 1.1 times the bubbling threshold energy, taking into account environmental-dependent variations. In the present embodiment, in the case where the bubbling threshold energy is set to "1", the variation in the energy input to the heating element preferably falls within a range from 1.1 times the bubbling threshold energy to 3 times the bubbling threshold energy. Although the description given herein uses a heating element capable of producing 100,000 film boils as an example, another heating element having a different durability may be similarly applied.
In the present embodiment, a specific configuration in which the variation of the energy input to the heating element falls within the above range is described. In the present embodiment, the layouts of fig. 12B and 13B described in
The present embodiment focuses on three portions in fig. 13B, a heating element portion 1352, a common wiring portion 1351, and the
In fig. 13B, i61 to i64 are currents flowing through the heating elements rh61 to rh64, respectively. As shown in fig. 13B, the energies input to the heating elements rh61 to rh64 here are expressed by i61 × i61 × rh61 × t1, i62 × i62 × rh62 × t1, i63 × i63 × rh63 × t1, i64 × i64 × rh64 × t1, respectively. t1 is the pulse width shown in FIG. 6A. In this embodiment, the heating elements are formed in a lithographic step, the heating elements having the same heating resistance. Thus, the difference between the energy input to the heating elements is proportional to the square of the current flowing through each heating element.
Fig. 16B shows the equivalent circuit of fig. 13B, in which currents flowing through the heating elements are represented by i1 to i4, the sum of the resistance value of each heating element and the parasitic resistance value of the wiring each connected to the corresponding heating element is represented by R, and the resistance value in the common wiring portion is represented by R1 to R4.
In the circuit shown in fig. 16B, expression (5) holds based on kirchhoff's circuit law:
in the case of using the values in table 1, since the difference between the energies input to the heating elements is proportional to the square of the current flowing through each heating element, the proportion of the energy input to each heating element may be as shown in table 2.
TABLE 1
V1
24V
R
200Ω
R1-R4
20Ω
TABLE 2
The energy input to the heating element rh64 farthest from the
As shown in table 1, V1 was set to 24V, the resistance value R, which is the sum of the resistance value of the heating element and the resistance value of the parasitic resistance portion of the individual wiring, was set to 200 Ω, and the resistance values R1 to R4 in the portion for the common flow were set to 20 Ω. In this case, the ratio of the input energy to rh64 was set to 1.1, and the ratio of the input energy to rh61 was set to 2.9, where the input energy to rh61 was the largest. That is, in the case where the bubbling threshold energy is set to "1", the ratio of the energy input to each heating element can be kept in the range of 1.1 times to 3 times. This configuration can produce UFB by generating a maximum of 100,000 thermal boiling pulses (100,000 times) per heating element. In particular, by keeping each of the resistance values R1 to R4 in the common flow wiring region below 1/10 of the corresponding resistance value R of the individual wiring including the heating element resistance value, as shown in table 1, UFB can be stably produced.
Fig. 16C is a different example from fig. 16B. Fig. 16C shows an example in which the number of heating elements is 8. The circuit in fig. 16C can be represented as the circuit in fig. 13A. Fig. 16D shows the equivalent circuit of fig. 13, and the electric currents flowing through the heating elements are represented by i1 to i8, the sum of the resistance value of each heating element and the parasitic resistance value of the wiring each connected to the corresponding heating element is represented by R, and the resistance value in the common wiring portion is represented by R1 to R8.
As described above, the resistance values shown in table 3 are used, for example, to implement a configuration in which the energy proportion of rh8 to which the minimum heating element input energy is applied is set to 1.1 and the energy proportion of rh1 to which the maximum heating element input energy is applied is set to 2.9 based on kirchhoff's current law. In this case, the ratio of the energy input to each heating element may be as shown in table 4.
TABLE 3
V1
20V
r
200Ω
R1-R4
4Ω
TABLE 4
As shown in table 4, in the present example, the supply voltage of the heating element was set to 20V, the resistance as the sum of the resistance of the heating element and the resistance of the individual wiring connected to the corresponding heating element was set to 200 Ω, and the parasitic wiring resistances in the common wiring were each set to 4 Ω. In the configuration of fig. 16B, in the case where the parasitic wiring resistance in the common wiring is set to 20 Ω (1/10 which is the sum of the resistance values of the individual wiring and the heating element), UFB can be stably generated. On the other hand, in the structure shown in fig. 16D, the parasitic wiring resistance in the common wiring needs to be set to 4 Ω or less (1/50 which is the sum of the resistance values of the individual wirings and the heating elements). In the configuration of fig. 16D, the low resistance of the common wiring portion reduces the overall loss, and the supply voltage is set to 20V, so that the predetermined energy ratio shown in table 4 can be achieved.
Although the description is given in two specific examples, various modifications may be considered depending on the number of heating elements. In either case, any configuration may be applied as long as the energy input to the heating element falls within a predetermined input energy ratio range (1.1 times to 3 times). As shown in fig. 16C, in order to suppress variation in energy input to the heating element, parasitic wiring resistance in the common wiring can be reduced by widening the wiring width of the
<
Fig. 17A to 17G are diagrams describing various modifications of stably generating UFBs. In the embodiments described in fig. 16A to 16E, the overall loss can be suppressed by reducing the resistance in the common wiring portion, thereby suppressing the variation in the energy input to the heating element. In order to further densely arrange the heating elements, it is effective to make wiring areas each connected to the heating element as small as possible.
Fig. 17A to 17C are diagrams illustrating an example of forming a plurality of wiring layers. Fig. 17A is a plan layout view, and fig. 17B and 17C are a sectional view taken along lines XVIIB to xviiib and a sectional view taken along lines xviiic to xviiic, respectively. By forming a wiring layer serving as a common wiring region (which is different from the above-described wiring layer connecting the heating elements), size reduction can be achieved while reducing the common wiring resistance value. In fig. 17A to 17C, the
In the embodiment shown in fig. 17A to 17C, the
< modification 2>
Fig. 17D and 17E are diagrams describing another modification. In the embodiment depicted in fig. 17A to 17C, the
As shown in fig. 17D and 17E, a wiring layer 1741 is formed on most of the back surface of the element substrate. The back surface of the element substrate is the opposite surface to the surface on which the heating element is formed. Since there is no thermal stress effect from the
Fig. 17F is a diagram showing an example of the
Fig. 17G is a diagram showing an example in which the elements shown in fig. 17D are arranged over the
As described with reference to fig. 17D to 17G, in the case where wiring of the back surface of the
< example 4>
In embodiment 2, an embodiment in which a common wiring is not used but an independent individual wiring is used is described. In the present embodiment, separate wiring is used as in embodiment 2, and a plurality of
Fig. 18A to 18C are diagrams describing an embodiment of stably generating UFBs. Fig. 18A is a diagram showing a planar layout. As described above, more heating elements need to be driven simultaneously to generate UFBs in a short time. Fig. 18A shows an example in which more heating elements than those of fig. 15F are provided. As shown in fig. 18A, SW 1821 to SW 1824 are provided in independent wiring regions, respectively. In addition, a plurality of heating elements are respectively disposed on each of the independent wirings. In the present embodiment, while the driving timing is changed in a time-division manner by the SW 1821 to 1824, a plurality of heating elements provided on the same wiring region are simultaneously driven.
Fig. 18B is the circuit of fig. 18A, and fig. 18C shows the driving timings of the SWs 1821 to 1824. In the heating elements 1811 to 1814, branch numbers of the heating elements that are simultaneously driven are denoted by "a" and "b". For example, with SW 1821 set to "H", heating elements 1811a and 1811b are activated.
This configuration can input substantially the same energy to the heating elements that are driven simultaneously even if there is a common wiring portion for a plurality of heating elements. Therefore, it is possible to suppress variation in energy input to the heating elements that are driven simultaneously.
< example 5>
In
Fig. 19A to 19C are diagrams describing an embodiment of stably generating UFBs. In the present embodiment, additional control is performed in addition to switching the drive timing of the heating elements in a time-division manner. Fig. 19A is a diagram showing a layout. Similar to the embodiment described with reference to fig. 14A, SW 1921 to 1924 are arranged in the individual wiring regions in the present embodiment. In the present embodiment, the supply voltage of the heating element is changed in accordance with the driving of the SW 1921 to 1924. Fig. 19B shows the circuit of fig. 19A, and fig. 19C is a graph showing the driving timing of SW and the value of the supply voltage according to the driving timing.
In the present embodiment, the heating elements are driven in a time-division manner by using the SW 1921 to 1924, and the voltage is changed in a time-division manner, thereby suppressing a change in energy input to the heating elements in each timing in a time-division manner.
As shown in fig. 19C, the supply voltage in the timing at which the SW 1921 drives the heating element 1911 having the smallest wiring resistance is lower than the supply voltage in the timing for driving the other heating elements 1912 to 1914. In addition, as shown in fig. 19C, the configuration is such that the supply voltage in the timing for driving the other heating elements 1912 to 1914 increases as the wiring resistance increases. Although an embodiment in which the supply voltage is changed in a time-division manner is shown in fig. 19C, the pulse width of the control signal for driving the SW may be changed instead of the supply voltage to suppress the energy variation. Specifically, the time period for driving each heating element can be changed by changing the pulse width of the control signal for driving the corresponding SW. In addition, the control of the supply voltage and the pulse width control in a time-division manner may be combined with each other.
This embodiment can suppress variation in energy input to the heating element even in the case where, for example, the wiring widths of the common wiring regions are the same.
< example 6>
In the above embodiment, the description is made based on the following assumptions: the
Fig. 20A to 20C are diagrams describing an embodiment for stably generating UFBs. Fig. 20A shows whether UFB can be generated in the case where the heating element is made in different shapes to have different resistance values from each other, based on the heating element capable of generating film boiling 100,000 times as shown in fig. 16A. In the case where the bubbling threshold energy per predetermined unit area of the heating element is set to "1" and the shape and the resistance value of the heating element are changed, film boiling may be generated 100,000 times at a resistance value that achieves an input energy of 1.1 times the bubbling threshold energy to 3 times the bubbling threshold energy. That is, as long as the change range falls within the above range, UFB can be stably produced even in the case where the shape and resistance value of the heating element are changed. In this embodiment, a stable UFB is created by changing the shape of the heating element in accordance with the input energy.
Fig. 20B is a diagram showing a layout example of the present embodiment. Fig. 20C is a diagram illustrating the circuit of fig. 20B. Since energy flowing through
In the case where the
< example 7>
In this embodiment, the resistance value of the heating element is monitored, and the supply voltage or the applied pulse width of the heating element is adjusted in accordance with the monitored resistance value of the heating element.
In
Figures 21A-21D are diagrams that describe embodiments for stable generation of UFBs. Fig. 21A is a diagram showing a layout example. In this embodiment, a
< modification >
Fig. 21D is a diagram showing a modification. In the embodiment shown in the configuration of fig. 21A, the control is carried out in a time-division manner, and one heating element is driven at each timing in a time-division manner. Fig. 21D is an example in which a plurality of heating elements are driven at each timing in a time-division manner during control in a time-division manner. As shown in fig. 21D, in the case where the number of heating elements to be driven at the same time is set to be the same, the adjustment of the voltage or the pulse width can be controlled in a time-division manner.
< example 8>
In the above embodiment, the following embodiments are described: the blocks corresponding to the SW each include the same number of plural heating elements, which are simultaneously driven by the corresponding SW. In the present embodiment, the number of heating elements simultaneously driven by the corresponding SW varies depending on the block.
Fig. 22A to 22D are diagrams describing an embodiment for stably generating UFBs. Fig. 22A is a diagram describing the layout of the present embodiment. One
< example 9>
In the above embodiments, the embodiments in which a plurality of heating elements connected from an electrode plate are electrically connected in parallel are described. In the present embodiment, an embodiment in which a plurality of heating elements connected from an electrode plate are electrically connected in series on the same wiring is described.
Fig. 22C is a diagram describing the layout of the present embodiment. As shown in fig. 22C, the current can be made constant by connecting the heating elements 2231 in series. In addition, UFBs can be generated at high speed by driving multiple heating elements.
< modification >
Fig. 22D is a diagram showing a modification. In the example shown in fig. 22D, the resistance pattern width of the heating element is made longer than the resistance pattern length in the case where the heating elements are connected in series. In the series connection, the supply voltage for driving the heating element is higher due to the series connection. The configuration shown in fig. 22D can prevent the supply voltage of the heating element from being high while maintaining the area of the heating element if high voltage is not ideal as a driving power source of the heating element. An embodiment similar to this may be employed in which a plurality of heating elements having a wide width are connected in series.
< example 10>
In the above embodiments, the embodiments in which the variation of the energy input to the heating element is suppressed by adjusting the layout or adjusting the driving timing are described. In the present embodiment, the embodiment described is provided with a mechanism for keeping the voltage constant across or in one end of the heating element.
Fig. 23A to 23D are diagrams describing an embodiment for stably generating UFBs. In the embodiment of fig. 23A,
Fig. 23C and 23D are diagrams illustrating a layout in which a
< modification >
Fig. 24A to 24D are diagrams showing modified examples for stably generating UFBs. Fig. 24A shows an upper surface layer with heating elements 2401 arranged, fig. 24B shows a second layer below the upper surface layer, fig. 24C shows a third layer below the second layer, and fig. 24D shows a back surface layer.
< other examples >
In the above embodiments, the description was made assuming that UFB is generated under conditions of constant temperature and constant ambient pressure. I.e. variable temperature and ambient pressure are not taken into account. Since the UFB generation device generates UFBs by driving the heating element, the temperature of the UFB generation device 1 (specifically, the UFB generation unit provided with the heating element) changes. Since film boiling occurs at about 300 c under atmospheric pressure, the energy to be applied can be increased or decreased depending on the temperature of the UFB generation unit, which can stably generate UFBs.
In order to produce UFBs using the desired gas, it is desirable to produce film boiling after dissolving as much gas as possible into the UFB producing liquid. In this case, by generating UFB while setting the entire
According to the present disclosure, UFB-containing liquids can be efficiently produced.
While the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions.
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