HK1166287B - Device and method for discharging constant amount of high-viscosity material - Google Patents

Description

Device and method for quantitatively discharging high-viscosity material

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a discharge device and a method for discharging a highly viscous material such as a paste, oil, paste-like material, or cream-like material with high accuracy.

Background

As a supply device for quantitatively supplying a highly viscous material such as a paste, patent document 1 discloses a material supply device for discharging and supplying a flowable material from a nozzle, comprising: a receiving mechanism for receiving a material, a discharging mechanism, a 1 st delivery mechanism, a preparatory material storing mechanism, and a 2 nd delivery mechanism; the discharging mechanism is used for discharging the material sent out from the containing mechanism; the 1 st distribution mechanism is used for distributing the material from the containing mechanism to the discharge mechanism; a supply mechanism for supplying the supply material to the discharge mechanism when the supply mechanism is in a state of being empty; the 2 nd distribution mechanism is used for distributing the material from the containing mechanism to the prepared material storage mechanism; the 2 nd delivery mechanism is connected to the material receiving port of the prepared material storage mechanism; the material supply port of the preliminary material storage means is connected to the discharge means side.

Further, the material supply system disclosed in patent document 2 includes: a supply device, a discharge device, a supply line, a pressure sensor, and a control mechanism; the supply device is used for sucking the supplied materials stored in a storage part such as a storage tank and supplying the materials under a high pressure state; the discharging device is used for quantitatively supplying the workpieces; the supply pipeline is connected between the supply port of the supply device and the suction port of the discharge device, and is provided with a pressure reducing valve and a switch valve which can set the pressure reducing ratio; a pressure sensor for detecting the pressure near the suction inlet of the discharge device; the control mechanism is used for closing the switch valve when the pressure near the suction inlet of the discharge device exceeds a set upper limit value and opening the switch valve when the pressure is lower than a set lower limit value according to a pressure signal from the pressure sensor; wherein an accumulator is provided in a supply line between the on-off valve and the ejector suction port, and the accumulator is configured to suppress the pressure in the vicinity of the ejector suction port from exceeding a set upper limit value or falling below a set lower limit value in a short time in a state where the pressure reduction ratio of the pressure reducing valve is set to a pressure lower than the full flow rate of the ejector during operation.

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open No. 9-299861

Patent document 2: japanese patent laid-open No. 2004-249243

Disclosure of Invention

(problems to be solved by the invention)

In these devices disclosed in the related art, when the highly viscous material stored in the storage means or the storage tank is fed to the discharge means or the discharge device, the feeding pressure of the pump for pumping the liquid material out of the container is controlled to feed the liquid.

However, it is difficult to sufficiently remove pressure fluctuations caused by pulsation or the like of the liquid material that is sent through the liquid sending path in which the flow path is filled with the liquid material, and fluctuations in the pressure of the liquid material supplied to the discharge mechanism cause fluctuations in the discharge amount of the liquid material.

That is, in the apparatus disclosed in embodiment 1 of patent document 1, the discharge is performed by the pressure generated by the liquid material pressure-feed pump located at the end position opposite to the flow path communicating with the discharge valve, and it is difficult to keep the pressure in the flow path near the discharge valve located at the farthest position from the discharge valve constant, whereas in the apparatus disclosed in the invention embodiment of patent document 2, the pressure generated by the plunger pump (supply device) is supplied to the discharge device via the accumulator, and therefore, as described in document [0033], the supply pressure of the material fluctuates.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a discharge device and a method capable of discharging a highly viscous material, which is fed under high pressure, with high accuracy.

(means for solving the problems)

In order to solve the above problems and achieve the object, the apparatus of the present invention is configured as follows.

[1] A metered discharge device for high viscosity materials comprising: a discharge unit having a discharge port for discharging a high-viscosity material, a storage unit, a high-pressure supply pump, and a control unit; the storage unit has a storage area for storing the high-viscosity material, a receiving port for supplying the high-viscosity material to the storage area, and an ejection port for ejecting the high-viscosity material to the ejection unit; the high pressure supply pump supplies the high viscosity material filled in the container to the storage unit at the 1 st pressure; and a control section; the quantitative discharge device for high-viscosity material is characterized in that: a liquid feeding unit is provided in a flow path that communicates the high-pressure supply pump and the storage unit, and the high-viscosity material is supplied to the storage unit by the liquid feeding unit at a 2 nd pressure that is adjusted to be lower than the 1 st pressure.

[2] The quantitative discharge device of a highly viscous material according to [1], characterized in that: the storage unit maintains a space adjusted to a 3 rd pressure above the storage area and stores a high-viscosity material; the liquid feeding unit supplies the highly viscous material to the storage unit by the 2 nd pressure which is lower than the 1 st pressure and higher than the 3 rd pressure.

[3] The quantitative discharge device of a high-viscosity material according to [1] or [2], characterized in that: disposing the delivery port below the storage area and disposing the receiving port above the delivery port of the storage area; the cross-sectional area of the storage area is made larger than that of the delivery port.

[4] The quantitative discharge device of a high-viscosity material according to any one of [1] to [3], characterized in that: a sensor for monitoring the storage amount of the high-viscosity material stored at a position above the receiving opening is provided in the storage unit; the control unit operates the liquid feeding unit based on a signal from the sensor to replenish the high-viscosity material to the storage unit.

[5] The quantitative discharge device of a high-viscosity material according to any one of [1] to [4], characterized in that: the liquid feeding unit includes a pump mechanism for feeding the high-viscosity material supplied from the high-pressure supply pump to the storage unit, and a valve mechanism; the valve mechanism has a 1 st position and a 2 nd position, the 1 st position is communicated with the high-pressure supply pump and blocks the communication with the storage unit; the 2 nd position is communicated with the storage unit and blocks the communication with the high pressure supply pump.

In order to solve the above problems and achieve the object, the method of the present invention is configured as follows.

[6] A method for quantitatively discharging a high-viscosity material, which is a method for providing a discharge unit having a discharge port for discharging the high-viscosity material, a storage unit, and a high-pressure supply pump, and quantitatively discharging the high-viscosity material; the storage unit has a storage area for storing the high-viscosity material, a receiving port for supplying the high-viscosity material to the storage area, and an ejection port for ejecting the high-viscosity material to the ejection unit; the high pressure supply pump supplies the high viscosity material filled in the container to the storage unit at the 1 st pressure; the method for quantitatively discharging a high-viscosity material is characterized in that: a liquid feeding unit having a pump mechanism and a valve mechanism is provided in a flow path communicating the high-pressure supply pump and the storage unit, and the high-viscosity material is supplied to the storage unit by the liquid feeding unit at a 2 nd pressure adjusted to be lower than the 1 st pressure.

[7] The method for quantitatively discharging a high-viscosity material according to [6], comprising: the storage unit maintains a space adjusted to a 3 rd pressure above the storage area and stores a high-viscosity material; the liquid feeding unit supplies the highly viscous material to the storage unit by the 2 nd pressure which is lower than the 1 st pressure and higher than the 3 rd pressure.

[8] The method for quantitatively discharging a high-viscosity material according to [6] or [7], characterized in that: disposing the delivery port below the storage area and disposing the receiving port above the delivery port of the storage area; the cross-sectional area of the storage area is made larger than that of the delivery port.

[9] The quantitative discharge method of a high-viscosity material according to any one of [6] to [8], characterized in that: a sensor for monitoring the storage amount of the high-viscosity material stored at a position above the receiving opening is provided in the storage unit; the control unit operates the liquid feeding unit based on a signal from the sensor to replenish the high-viscosity material to the storage unit.

(Effect of the invention)

According to the present invention, since the new pressure supply source is pressure-separated from the high-pressure pump that pumps out the high-viscosity material stored in the storage tank, the high-viscosity material can be supplied to the discharge unit with little pressure fluctuation, and therefore, the high-viscosity material can be discharged from the discharge unit without fluctuation and with high accuracy.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing one embodiment of a constant-volume dispensing apparatus according to the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a schematic front structural view of a high-pressure supply pump according to an embodiment.

Fig. 3 is a side schematic configuration diagram of a high-pressure supply pump according to an embodiment.

Fig. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a state at the start of the pressure-feed operation by the high-pressure supply pump.

Fig. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a state at the end of the pressure-feed operation by the high-pressure supply pump.

Fig. 6 (a) is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the shovel body of the driven plate portion when it is raised, and (b) is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the shovel body of the driven plate portion when it is lowered.

Fig. 7 is a side schematic configuration view of a liquid feeding unit according to an embodiment.

Fig. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a storage unit according to an embodiment.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory view of a storage region in a state where material supply from the liquid feeding unit is not performed.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory view of a storage area in a state where material supply from a liquid feeding unit is performed.

Fig. 11 is a time chart showing pressure fluctuations and the like in each part of the constant-volume discharge device according to the embodiment.

Description of the symbols

13 lifting guide

15 cylinder

16 Movable Board

18 pump mechanism

20 driven plate (フオロ - プレ - ト)

21 can body

23 delivery pipe

27 shovel body

28 shovel (シ ヤ ベ ル プレ - ト)

29 shaft

30 air motor

50 switching valve

51 metering orifice

52 plunger

70 storage area

71 receiving port (collecting port)

72 outlet

73 air pressure adjusting port

74 liquid level sensor (storage sensor)

75 pressure reducing valve

100 high pressure supply pump

101 pressure sensor

200 liquid feeding unit

300 storage unit

400 discharge unit (discharge device)

500 control part

810 liquid sending tube A

820 liquid sending pipe B

830 liquid feeding pipe C

Detailed Description

The quantitative discharging device for a highly viscous material according to the present invention mainly includes a high-pressure supply pump 100, a liquid feeding unit 200, a storage unit 300, a discharging device 400, and a control unit 500. As shown in fig. 1, the high-pressure supply pump 100, the liquid feeding unit 200, the storage unit 300, and the discharge device 400 are connected to each other in this order via a liquid feeding pipe. That is, the high-pressure supply pump 100 and the liquid sending unit 200 communicate with each other through the liquid sending tube a810, the liquid sending unit 200 and the storage unit 300 communicate with each other through the liquid sending tube B820, and the storage unit 300 and the discharge device 400 communicate with each other through the liquid sending tube C830.

The high-pressure supply pump 100 pumps out the high-viscosity material from the container (supply source) filled with the high-viscosity material and sends the liquid to the liquid sending unit 200. The container is, for example, a mixing tub, an ointment tank, a five gallon bucket, or the like. As the high-pressure supply pump, for example, a pressure-feed device for a high-viscosity material disclosed in japanese patent laid-open No. 2004-332638 by the applicant can be used.

The liquid feeding unit 200 is a device for feeding the high-viscosity material, which is liquid fed under high pressure from the high-pressure supply pump 100, to the storage unit 300 at a pressure (2 nd pressure) adjusted to be lower than a supply pressure (1 st pressure) from the high-pressure supply pump 100.

The liquid feeding unit 200 includes: the pump mechanism that sends out the high-viscosity material supplied from the high-pressure supply pump 100 to the storage unit 300, and the valve mechanism. The valve mechanism is a switching valve that blocks communication between the pump mechanism and the storage unit 300 when the pump mechanism receives a supply of the high-viscosity material from the high-pressure supply pump, and blocks communication between the pump mechanism and the high-pressure supply pump 100 when the pump mechanism supplies the high-viscosity material to the storage unit 300, and, for example, a switching valve of a slide type, a unidirectional rotation type, or a reciprocating rotation type can be used.

The 2 nd pressure is preferably set to a pressure sufficiently lower than the 1 st pressure and exceeding a space pressure (3 rd pressure) provided above the reservoir region 70 of the reservoir unit 300, which will be described later.

The storage unit 300 is for supplying the high-viscosity material to the discharge unit 400, and temporarily stores the high-viscosity material. The storage unit 300 is provided with a storage region 70 storing a high-viscosity material, and a space is always formed above the storage region 70. The space above the storage area 70 is normally regulated to a constant pressure by a pressurizing source connected via a pressure reducing valve 75.

The amount of the high-viscosity material stored in the storage area 70 is generally adjusted to be within a prescribed range by the storage amount sensor 74.

The important matter when the storage unit 300 is provided is that the delivery port for delivering the high-viscosity material from the storage area 70 to the discharge unit 400 is provided below the receiving port, and the cross-sectional area (storage container diameter) of the storage area 70 can be sufficiently larger than the cross-sectional area (flow path) of the delivery port (for example, the cross-sectional area is set to several times or more). The reason is that, by adopting such a structure, the flow resistance in the direction above the reservoir region 70 (i.e., the liquid surface) is extremely smaller than the flow resistance in the direction of the delivery port, and therefore, the influence of pressure fluctuation and pulsation generated when the high-viscosity material is supplied from the liquid delivery unit 200 can be minimized.

The discharge unit 400 can use an existing discharge device. For example, a Jet (Jet) type disclosed in Japanese patent laid-open No. 2002-282740, a screw type disclosed in Japanese patent laid-open No. 2002-326715, and a plunger type disclosed in WO 2007/046495.

The distance from the storage unit 300 is preferably short. It is preferable that the storage means 300 is integrally formed without changing the relative position, and the liquid supply pipe C is preferably made of a hard material such as SUS.

The controller 500 is electrically connected to the high-pressure supply pump 100, the liquid feeding unit 200, the reservoir unit 300, and the discharge device 400, and controls operations thereof.

Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to examples, but the present invention is not limited to the examples at all.

[ examples ]

Structure (of the related Art)

The structure of the quantitative discharging device for a highly viscous material according to the present embodiment is, as shown in fig. 1, mainly composed of a high-pressure supply pump 100, a liquid feeding unit 200, a storage unit 300, a discharging device 400, and a control unit 500. Specific configurations of these elements will be described below.

[ high-pressure supply pump 100]

The pressure-feed device constituting the high-pressure supply pump 100 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to fig. 2 to 6.

In order to take out and pressure-feed a highly viscous material stored in a can body 21 from the inside of the can body 21, a driven plate 20 for pressurizing the highly viscous material to seal an upper surface of the can body 21 is provided at a lower end of a pump mechanism 18 which is movable up and down with respect to the can body 21, and the apparatus includes: a movable plate 16 for instructing the pump mechanism, a cylinder 15 for moving up and down the movable plate 16, and a lift guide 13 for guiding the movement of the movable plate 16; the elevation guide 13 is disposed on the rear surface of the pump mechanism 18 and on the front surface of the cylinder 15.

As disclosed in fig. 3 to 5, the pump mechanism 18 includes the driven plate 20 and the shovel 28. The driven plate 20 is fixed to the lower surface of the movable plate 16 so as to seal and press the upper surface of the highly viscous material in the tank 21. The blade plate 28 is provided at the lower end of the driven plate 20.

As shown in fig. 6, the shovel body 27 includes the shovel plate 28 and a shaft 29 extending from the shovel plate 28. The shaft 29 is inserted through a delivery pipe 23 formed in the pump mechanism 18, is connected to an air motor 30 fixed to the upper surface of the movable plate 16, and moves in the vertical direction in conjunction with the operation of the air motor 30 to stir the high-viscosity material into the delivery pipe 23. Thus, the pump mechanism 18 applies high pressure to the high-viscosity material to discharge the high-viscosity material.

In the high-pressure supply pump 100 of the present embodiment, the pressure sensor 101 is disposed in the liquid sending tube A810 communicating the high-pressure supply pump 100 and the liquid sending unit 200, and the pressure sensor reaches 90kgf/cm²When the amount of the carbon dioxide exceeds 110kgf/cm²And stopping the action. That is, the pressure of the highly viscous material in the liquid sending tube A810 is maintained at 100kgf/cm²High pressure front and back. The liquid feeding pipe a810 is formed of a pipe capable of withstanding the high pressure.

[ liquid feeding unit 200]

The liquid feeding unit 200 feeds the highly viscous material under high pressure from the high pressure supply pump 100 at a pressure (e.g., 3 to 7 kgf/cm) lower than the supply pressure from the high pressure supply pump 100²Left and right), the liquid is sent to the storage unit 300.

The liquid feeding unit 200 in the present embodiment has a pump function of feeding liquid to the storage unit 300 independently of the high-pressure supply pump 100.

The liquid feeding unit 200 of the present embodiment is configured as shown in fig. 7.

The switching valve 50 is switched at two positions, i.e., the 1 st position where the liquid feeding tube A810 and the measuring hole 51 communicate with each other, and the 2 nd position where the measuring hole 51 and the liquid feeding tube B820 communicate with each other.

The plunger 52 moves in a direction (upward direction) away from the switching valve 50 to suck the high-viscosity material into the metering hole 51, and further moves in a direction (downward direction) toward the switching valve 50 to discharge the high-viscosity material sucked into the metering hole 51.

The liquid feeding operation will be described.

The switching valve 50 is set to the 1 st position, and the plunger 52 is moved in a direction away from the switching valve 50, whereby the high-viscosity material of the liquid fed from the high-pressure supply pump 100 is sucked into the metering hole 51.

Next, the switching valve 50 is switched to the 2 nd position, and then the plunger 52 is moved in a direction to approach the switching valve 50 to discharge the high-viscosity material sucked into the metering hole 51, thereby sending the high-viscosity material from the liquid sending unit 200 to the storage unit 300.

In this way, since the switching valve 50 is switched between the 1 st position and the 2 nd position, the high-pressure supply pump 10 and the reservoir unit 300 do not directly communicate with each other. Therefore, the high pressure generated by the high-pressure supply pump 10 does not directly act on the storage unit 300.

In other words, the liquid feeding pressure generated by the high-pressure supply pump 100 acts to feed the high-viscosity material from the high-pressure supply pump 100 to the liquid feeding unit 200; the liquid feeding pressure generated by the liquid feeding unit 200 acts to feed the highly viscous material from the liquid feeding unit 200 to the storage unit 300; the liquid feeding pressure from the high-pressure supply pump 100 to the liquid feeding unit 200 and the liquid feeding pressure from the liquid feeding unit 200 to the reservoir unit 300 are pressure-blocked.

It is to be understood that the liquid feeding unit 200 is not limited to the device disclosed in fig. 7. For example, a metering valve that functions as a valve that communicates with the upstream side when performing a plunger suction operation and communicates with the downstream side when performing a plunger discharge operation (however, the upstream and downstream sides do not directly communicate) may be used as a plunger pump with a valve that can be assembled in a discharge device.

[ storage Unit 300]

The storage unit 300 is designed to temporarily store the high-viscosity material between the liquid feeding unit 200 and the discharging unit 400, as shown in fig. 8, and has a storage area 70 for storing the high-viscosity material.

A receiving port 71 for receiving the supply of the high-viscosity material from the liquid feeding unit 300 is provided below the center of the storage area 70 in the vertical direction, and a delivery port 72 for delivering the high-viscosity material to the discharge unit 400 is provided at the lowermost portion.

Further, an air pressure adjusting port 73 is provided at the uppermost portion of the reservoir region 70, and the air pressure in the reservoir region 70 is normally adjusted to a constant pressure by a pressure reducing valve 75 communicating through the air pressure adjusting port 73. Then, the highly viscous material stored in the storage area 70 is sent to the discharge device 400 by the pressure adjusted.

The gas pressure in the reservoir 70, which is adjusted by the pressure reducing valve 75, is adjusted to be lower than the liquid feeding pressure of the liquid fed from the liquid feeding unit 200.

The amount of the high-viscosity material stored in the storage area 70 is set to an amount that always forms a space above the water head position thereof. That is, the high-viscosity material stored in the storage area 70 within the storage unit 300 cannot store the high-viscosity liquid material to a height reaching the air pressure adjustment port 73. Therefore, the storage unit 300 is provided with a liquid level sensor 74 that detects the liquid level position of the high-viscosity material in the storage region 70. This prevents the liquid surface from lowering to a level lower than the level at which the receiving port 71 is provided, and a space is constantly formed above the water head position of the high-viscosity material stored in the storage region 70.

The liquid level sensor 74 of the present embodiment transmits a signal to the control section 500 when the liquid level position is lower than the detection position adjusted to detect the liquid level position above the collection port 71, and stops the transmission of the signal when the liquid level position rises above the detection position.

In this way, by detecting the liquid level by the liquid level sensor 74, it is possible to prevent the liquid level from lowering to a level lower than the level at which the above-mentioned suction port 71 is provided, and to prevent the high-viscosity material from filling up the air pressure adjustment port 73.

The liquid level sensor 74 may be constituted by two liquid level sensors, and the lower limit and the upper limit of the head position of the high-viscosity material may be defined and stored in the range.

[ discharge Unit 400]

The discharge unit 400 is a discharge device for discharging the high-viscosity material to a destination. The discharging device constituting the discharging unit 400 may be a discharging device such as Jet (Jet), screw, plunger, etc. may be used.

The discharge device of the present embodiment is used by mounting the storage unit 300, the liquid sending tube C830, and the discharge unit 400 on the application head of the application robot.

In this case, the pressure regulated by the pressure reducing valve 75 functions as a discharge pressure to discharge the high-viscosity material.

[ control section 500]

The control unit 500 receives a signal from the liquid level sensor of the reservoir unit 300, and controls the operation of the discharge unit 400, the operation of the liquid feeding unit 200, and the operation of the high-pressure supply pump 100.

< action >

The order of transferring the highly viscous material in the container to the liquid feeding unit 200 by the high pressure supply pump 100, transferring the highly viscous material from the liquid feeding unit 200 to the storage unit 300, transferring the highly viscous material from the storage unit 300 to the discharge unit 400, and discharging a desired amount of the highly viscous material from the discharge unit 400 is as described above.

Then, when the discharge of the high-viscosity material from the discharge unit 400 is repeated, the high-viscosity material water head position in the storage unit 300 is gradually lowered. When the water head position is lower than the detection position of the liquid surface sensor 74, a signal is transmitted from the liquid surface sensor 74 to the control unit 500, and the control unit 500 operates the liquid feeding unit 200. When the liquid feeding unit 200 is operated, the head position of the high viscosity material in the storage unit 300 rises, and the liquid level sensor 74 stops sending a signal when the head position exceeds the detection position of the liquid level sensor 74. When the signal from the liquid level sensor 74 is stopped, the control unit 500 stops the operation of the liquid feeding unit 200. Before the operation stop command is issued from the control unit 500, the liquid feeding unit 200 repeats the forward and backward movement of the plunger 52 and the switching operation of the switching valve 50.

During this time, the storage unit 300 performs the discharging operation by the discharging unit 400 in parallel with the supply of the high-viscosity material from the liquid feeding unit 200.

This is explained in more detail with reference to fig. 9 and 10. In fig. 9 and 10, for convenience of explanation, the change in the liquid level position is described with emphasis.

Fig. 9 shows the storage area 70 illustrating a state where the supply of the material is not performed from the liquid feeding unit 200.

The highly viscous material stored in the storage area 70 of the storage unit 300 is discharged from the discharge port 72 to the discharge unit 400 through the liquid sending tube C830 by the pressure adjusted by the pressure reducing valve 75. Here, in the structure having the liquid sending unit 200 of the present embodiment, since the storage unit 300 and the high pressure supply pump 100 are not directly communicated, the high viscosity material in the liquid sending pipe C830 communicating the storage unit 300 and the liquid sending unit 200 is also in a state of passing through the pressure reducing valve 75 adjusted pressure (e.g., 1.5 to 3.0 kgf/cm)²Left and right).

Fig. 10 is a view illustrating the storage area 70 in a state where the material is supplied from the liquid feeding unit 200.

When the liquid sending means 200 is operated, the pressure of the highly viscous material in the liquid sending tube B820 is increased, and the highly viscous material in the liquid sending tube B820 flows into the storage area 70 through the receiving opening 71 of the storage means 300. Here, since the high-viscosity material flowing into the reservoir area 70 preferentially flows in a direction in which the flow resistance is small, the high-viscosity material flows so as to raise the head position of the reservoir area 70, which is formed to have a diameter (horizontal cross-sectional area) larger than that of the delivery port 72, than the delivery port 72, which is reduced in diameter to a smaller diameter, and as a result, the head position is raised. On the other hand, the liquid sending pressure of the highly viscous material flowing into the discharge means 400 from the liquid sending pipe C830 is opened by the rise of the head position (liquid surface rise).

Thus, in the apparatus of the present embodiment, even if the storage unit 300 receives the supply of the high-viscosity material from the liquid feeding unit 200, the pressure of the high-viscosity material fed from the storage unit 300 to the discharge unit 400 is not affected. Therefore, it is possible to avoid the bad influence of the change in the liquid feeding pressure caused by the supply of the high-viscosity material from the liquid feeding unit 200 on the accuracy of the discharge amount of the high-viscosity material discharged from the discharge unit 400. In the present embodiment, the horizontal cross-sectional area of the reservoir area 70 is 10 times the horizontal cross-sectional area of the delivery port 72, but similar effects can be obtained even if the horizontal cross-sectional area ratio is about 5 times.

Further, even if the high-viscosity material is supplied from the liquid feeding unit 200 to the reservoir unit 300, the liquid feeding pressure of the discharge unit 400 is not affected, and therefore, even if the plunger 52 of the liquid feeding unit 200 repeats its operation or the like, the high-viscosity material accompanying pulsation flows in from the receiving port 71 of the reservoir unit 70, the liquid feeding pressure of the discharge unit 400 is not affected, and as a result, the pulsation can be removed.

The liquid feeding pressure does not affect the discharge amount accuracy of the high-viscosity material discharged by the discharge unit 400.

The high-pressure supply pump 100 operates based on the measurement of the pressure sensor 101 so that the liquid sending pipe a810 is within a predetermined pressure range, not in synchronization with the discharge operation of the discharge unit 400. When the pressure falls below the predetermined pressure range, the high-viscosity material is drawn out from the container filled with the high-viscosity material, the pressure in the liquid sending tube A810 is increased, and when the pressure exceeds the predetermined pressure range, the operation is stopped.

Fig. 11 is a time chart showing pressure fluctuations and the like at each site in the constant-volume dispensing device according to the present embodiment. In fig. 11, the uppermost layer indicated by "400" indicates the ON/OFF timing of the discharge device, the second layer indicates the detection position of the head position of the storage area 70, the third layer indicated by "74" indicates the signal output ON/OFF timing from the liquid surface sensor, the fourth layer indicated by "200" indicates the operation ON/OFF timing of the liquid feeding unit, the fifth layer indicated by "101" indicates the pressure variation of the pressure sensor, and the sixth layer indicated by "100" indicates the operation ON/OFF timing of the high-pressure supply pump.

According to the constant-volume discharge device of the present embodiment described above, since the liquid feeding unit pressure-separated from the pressure generated by the high-pressure pump is used, the high-viscosity material can be supplied to the discharge device with little pressure fluctuation, and therefore, the high-viscosity material can be discharged from the discharge device with high accuracy without fluctuation.

Further, since the liquid feeding unit can be disposed in the vicinity of the discharge device, the liquid feeding path can be shortened, and thus pressure fluctuations such as pulsation can be further suppressed to the minimum.

Claims (9)

1. A metered discharge device for high viscosity materials comprising:

a discharge unit having a discharge port for discharging the high-viscosity material;

a storage unit having a storage area for storing the high-viscosity material, a receiving port for supplying the high-viscosity material to the storage area, and an outlet port for discharging the high-viscosity material to the discharge unit;

a high pressure supply pump for supplying the high viscosity material filled in the container to the storage unit at a 1 st pressure; and

a control unit;

the quantitative discharge device for high-viscosity material is characterized in that: a liquid feeding unit is provided in a flow path that communicates the high-pressure supply pump and the storage unit, the liquid feeding unit includes a pump mechanism that feeds out the high-viscosity material supplied from the high-pressure supply pump to the storage unit, and the high-viscosity material is supplied to the storage unit through the receiving port by the liquid feeding unit at a 2 nd pressure adjusted to be lower than the 1 st pressure, and the high-viscosity material is stored in the storage unit by maintaining a space adjusted to a 3 rd pressure above the storage area.

2. The quantitative discharge device of a high-viscosity material as set forth in claim 1, wherein:

the liquid feeding unit supplies the highly viscous material to the storage unit by the 2 nd pressure which is lower than the 1 st pressure and higher than the 3 rd pressure.

3. The quantitative discharge device of a high-viscosity material as set forth in claim 1 or 2, wherein:

arranging the delivery port below the storage area;

disposing the receiving port above the sending-out port of the storage area;

the cross-sectional area of the storage area is made larger than that of the delivery port.

4. The quantitative discharge device of a high-viscosity material as set forth in any one of claims 1 or 2, wherein:

a sensor for monitoring the storage amount of the high-viscosity material stored at a position above the receiving opening is provided in the storage unit;

the control unit operates the liquid feeding unit based on a signal from the sensor to supply the high-viscosity material to the storage unit.

5. The apparatus for quantitatively discharging a high-viscosity material as set forth in any one of claims 1 and 2, wherein the liquid feeding unit comprises:

a valve mechanism having a 1 st position and a 2 nd position, the 1 st position being a position in which the pump mechanism communicates with the high-pressure supply pump and blocks communication between the pump mechanism and the storage unit; the 2 nd position is a position in which the pump mechanism communicates with the reservoir unit and communication between the pump mechanism and the high-pressure supply pump is blocked.

6. A method for quantitatively discharging a high-viscosity material, which provides a discharge unit, a storage unit, and a high-pressure supply pump, and quantitatively discharges the high-viscosity material, comprises:

the discharge unit is provided with a discharge port for discharging the high-viscosity material;

the storage unit is provided with a storage area for storing the high-viscosity material, a receiving opening for supplying the high-viscosity material to the storage area, and an outlet opening for delivering the high-viscosity material to the discharge unit; and

the high pressure supply pump supplies the high viscosity material filled in the container to the storage unit at the 1 st pressure;

the method for quantitatively discharging a high-viscosity material is characterized in that:

a liquid feeding unit having a pump mechanism and a valve mechanism is provided in a flow path communicating the high-pressure supply pump and the storage unit, and the high-viscosity material is supplied to the storage unit through the receiving port by the liquid feeding unit at a 2 nd pressure adjusted to be lower than the 1 st pressure, and the high-viscosity material is stored in the storage unit by maintaining a space adjusted to a 3 rd pressure above the storage area.

7. The quantitative discharge method of a high-viscosity material according to claim 6, wherein:

the liquid feeding unit supplies the highly viscous material to the storage unit by the 2 nd pressure which is lower than the 1 st pressure and higher than the 3 rd pressure.

8. The quantitative discharge method of a high-viscosity material as set forth in claim 6 or 7, wherein:

arranging the delivery port below the storage area;

disposing the receiving port above the sending-out port of the storage area;

the cross-sectional area of the storage area is made larger than that of the delivery port.

9. The quantitative discharge method of a high-viscosity material as set forth in any one of claims 6 or 7, wherein:

a sensor for monitoring the storage amount of the high-viscosity material stored at a position above the receiving opening is provided in the storage unit;

the control unit operates the liquid feeding unit based on a signal from the sensor to replenish the high-viscosity material to the storage unit.