LIQUID CARTRIDGE AND LIQUID PUMP

Abstract

A liquid cartridge includes: a container section that stores liquid; a plate-like vibration body that is submerged in the liquid and flows the liquid; and a driver section that drives the vibration body in a thickness direction, wherein the vibration body has an end section, and at least a portion of the end section of the vibration body in an in-plane direction continuously becomes thinner toward an end of the vibration body.

Description

BACKGROUND

The entire disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No.2007-274729. filed Oct. 23. 2007 is expressly incorporated by reference herein.

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to liquid cartridges for storing liquid and liquid pumps.

2. Related Art

A variety of liquid cartridges are available as containers for storing liquid. Among those containers, for example, small sized containers include ink cartridges for fountain pens and ink cartridges equipped in ink jet printers. Liquid cartridges can store liquid without leakage of the liquid. Because of this, liquid cartridges are normally structured so as to be readily handled for transportation and supply of liquid.

Liquid cartridges store a variety of liquid including not only simple liquid but also various kinds of dispersions. Representative liquid among them may be inks. When such liquid is stored for a long period of time, its compositions may settle and be separated. To address such problems, various methods are considered, including methods for mixing various kinds of dispersants in liquid. As methods for re-dispersing compositions in liquid, methods for shaking liquid cartridges and methods for stirring liquid in liquid cartridges are used. Among these methods, methods for stirring liquid inside liquid cartridges are very promising as the required space can be made smaller, compared to methods of shaking liquid cartridges. Moreover, when liquid is to be fed out from cartridges, the amount of the liquid may need to be adjusted appropriately, and the liquid may need to be pumped for transferring the liquid a long distance.

On the other hand, there are various devices for flowing liquid, such as, screw propellers for ships and various pumps. Also, fish fins may be considered as devices for flowing liquid. Such device mechanisms use particular shapes and movements specifically selected to effectively flow liquid. The structure and principle of fish fins may be applied to pumps. For example, Japanese Laid-open Patent Application JP-A-5-272497 describes a pump for flowing liquid by reciprocally rotationally driving a fin about a rotary shaft within a specified angle range. The document describes that the pump can be formed with smaller and fewer components. It is conceivable to combine the pump mechanism described in the document with a container for flowing liquid within the container.

However, for flowing liquid within a liquid cartridge or feeding out liquid from within a liquid cartridge, a mere combination of the aforementioned pump would not be suitable for size-reduction, as it requires large-scale mechanism and operations. Furthermore, in the case of a pump driven by a mechanism with a rotary shaft, bearings for supporting the rotary shaft, sealing for sealing liquid and the like are required. Such sealing also becomes an obstruction to size-reduction. Also, for example, the screw propeller mechanism has a drawback in that its efficiency considerably deteriorates when its rotation speed is increased in order to increase the fluid flow rate.

SUMMARY

In accordance with an advantage of some aspects of the invention, it is possible to provide a liquid cartridge equipped with a novel mechanism for flowing liquid, and capable of stirring or flowing liquid therein.

In accordance with another advantage of some aspects of the invention, it is possible to provide a small-size liquid pump capable of flowing liquid within a pipe.

In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, a liquid cartridge includes: a container section for storing liquid; a plate-like vibration body submerged in the liquid for flowing the liquid; and a driver section for driving the vibration body in a thickness direction, wherein at least a portion of an end section of the vibration body in an in-plane direction continuously becomes thinner toward an end of the vibration body.

The liquid cartridge described above is capable of stirring or flowing liquid therein.

The liquid cartridge in accordance with an aspect of the invention may further include a flow path section that communicates with the container section, and the flow path section allows the liquid to flow therein.

In the liquid cartridge in accordance with an aspect of the invention, the driving section may vibrate the vibration body by flexing the vibration body.

In the liquid cartridge in accordance with an aspect of the invention, the driving section may vibrate the vibration body by shifting the position of the vibration body in its entirety.

In the liquid cartridge in accordance with an aspect of the invention, at least the thinner portion of the vibration body may be submerged in the liquid, and the liquid may be flowed with a speed component in a direction perpendicular to a thickness direction of the vibration body and in a direction in which the vibration body becomes thinner.

In the liquid cartridge in accordance with an aspect of the invention, the driving section may have a piezoelectric element.

In the liquid cartridge in accordance with an aspect of the invention, the vibration body vibrates with a frequency that may be a resonance frequency of the vibration body, or a resonance frequency of an entire body including the vibration body and the driving section.

In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, a liquid pump includes: a tube section for passing liquid; a plate-like vibration body that is submerged in the liquid for flowing the liquid; and a driver section for driving the vibration body in a thickness direction, wherein at least a portion of an end section of the vibration body in an in-plane direction continuously becomes thinner toward an end of the vibration body.

The liquid pump described above can be reduced in size, and is capable of flowing liquid in a pipe.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side cross-sectional view of a liquid cartridge 1000 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a driving section 300 and a vibration body 200 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of the driving section 300 and the vibration body 200 in accordance with the present embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view of the driving section 300 and the vibration body 200 in accordance with the present embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the driving section 300 and the vibration body 200 in accordance with the present embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of operations of the driving section 300 and the vibration body 200 in accordance with the present embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view of the vibration body 200 in accordance with the present embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective view of the vibration body 200 in accordance with the present embodiment.

FIGS. 9A, 9B and 9C are diagrams schematically showing actions of the vibration body 200 in accordance with the present embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a liquid cartridge 2000 in accordance with a modified example.

FIG. 11 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a driving section 300 and a vibration body 200 in accordance with the modified example.

FIG. 12 is a schematic plan view of the driving section 300 and the vibration body 200 in accordance with the modified example.

FIG. 13 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a liquid cartridge 3000 in accordance with a modified example.

FIG. 14 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a driving section 300 and a vibration body 200 in accordance with a modified example.

FIG. 15 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the driving section 300 and the vibration body 200 in accordance with the modified example.

FIG. 16 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a liquid pump 4000 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

A preferred embodiment of the invention is described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It is noted that the embodiment described below explains an example of the invention.

1. First Embodiment

1.1. Liquid Cartridge

A liquid cartridge 1000 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention is described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the liquid cartridge 1000. FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 are schematic perspective views of a vibration body 200 and a driving section 300 of the liquid cartridge 1000. FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view of the vibration body 200 and the driving section 300 of the liquid cartridge 1000. FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the vibration body 200 and the driving section 300 of the liquid cartridge 1000. A cross section taken along a line A - A of FIG. 4 corresponds to FIG. 5. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing deformation of a base member 310 of the driving section 300 and operations of the vibration body 200 when the base member 310 is driven. FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 are schematic perspective views of an example of the vibration body 200.

The liquid cartridge 1000 in accordance with the present embodiment includes a container section 100, a vibration body 200 and a driving section 300. The container section 100 can store liquid 110. The container section 100 is capable of attaching the driving section 300 thereto. The container section 100 may be in any shape that can store the liquid 110 therein, without any particular limitation to the shape illustrated in the example whose cross section is a rectangle. The container section 100 may have a filling port for filling the liquid 110 and a discharge port for discharging the liquid 110. The container section 100 enables storage of the liquid 110, and retention and transportation of the liquid 110. The container section 100 may be made of any material without any particular limitation. The container section 100 may be made of resin or metal, taking into account their property that does not cause deterioration to other members and the liquid 110.

The liquid 110 is stored in the container section 100. The liquid 110 may be present on the inside of the container section 100, and in a flow path that connects to the container section 100, if such a path exists. The liquid 110 may be any flowable substance. The liquid 110 may be, for example, ink, emulsion, organic solvent, organic solution, organic-inorganic mixed solution, water solution and the like. The liquid 110 may be a dispersion in which a liquid phase and a solid phase, or a liquid phase and a liquid phase are separated from each other.

The vibration body 200 is submerged in the liquid 110 stored in the container section 100. The vibration body 200 is capable of flowing the liquid 110 (whose mechanism shall be described below). In the present example, the vibration body 200 is provided in a lower portion of the container section 100, but can be provided in any portion of the container section 100, as long as it can be submerged in the liquid 110.

The driving section 300 includes piezoelectric layers 320a and 320b on a base member 310, and electrodes 330a and 330b provided on the piezoelectric layers, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. As illustrate in the figure, the driving section 300 includes two piezoelectric elements 340a and 340b on the base member 310.

The base member 310 is a base substrate of the driving section 300, and is a member for retrieving mechanical outputs of the driving section 300 to outside. The base member 310 has a circular disk shape in the illustrated example, and its peripheral section protrudes more outwardly than the piezoelectric layers 320a and 320b such that it can be connected to the container section 100. In the present example, the base member 310 concurrently serves as a portion of the inner wall of the container section 100. The base member 310 can be deformed by the piezoelectric layers 320a and 320b. The piezoelectric layers 320a and 320b are illustrated as being independent bodies, but may preferably be formed in one piece. The base member 310 can move, upon its deformation, other members connected thereto, such as, the vibration body 200. The base member 310 in accordance with the present embodiment is capable of out-of-plane flexural deformation, as shown in FIG. 6. In the present embodiment, the base member 310 is provided with a connection jig 312 at the center section thereof, and the vibration body 200 provided through the connection jig 312. Therefore, when the base member 310 deforms, the position of the vibration body 200 can be moved. The base member 310 may be made of any material, and is formed from a material having conductivity in the illustrated example. For this reason, the base member 310 serves as one of a pair of electrodes for applying an electric filed to the piezoelectric layers 320a and 320b. Also, in the illustrated example, the base member 310 is structured as a common electrode for the piezoelectric layers 320a and 320b provided thereon. When the base member 310 is formed from a material without conductivity, a conductive layer or the like may be provided on the base member 310 for applying an electric field to the piezoelectric layers 320a and 320b.

The piezoelectric layers 320a and 320b are provided on the base member 310. Upon application of an electric field to each of the piezoelectric layers 320a and 320b, the base member 310 expands and contracts in its in-plain direction. The base member 310 deforms with the expansion and contraction of the piezoelectric layers 320a and 320b, as shown in FIG. 6. The vibration body 200 can vibrate in its thickness direction by the deformation. Expansion and contraction of the piezoelectric layers 320a and 320b can be arbitrarily designed by changing the polarity of application voltage and the directions in which the piezoelectric layers 320a and 320b are polarized. In the example shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the polarization direction of the piezoelectric layers 320a and 320b and the direction of electric field to be applied to the electrodes 330a and 330b are composed such that the piezoelectric elements 340a and 340b can expand and contract in a direction in which the piezoelectric elements 340a and 340b are aligned (along the line A-A). The piezoelectric layers 320a and 320b may be formed from piezoelectric material,'such as, for example, lead zirconate titanate (Pb (Zr, Ti) O₃), lead zirconate titanate niobate (Pb (Zr, Ti, Nb) O₃) or the like.

The electrodes 330a and 330b are provided opposite to the base member 310 with the piezoelectric layers 320a and 320b being interposed therebetween. Each of the electrodes 330a and 330b is one of the pair of electrodes that apply an electric field to each of the piezoelectric layers 320a and 320b. The electrodes 330a and 330b supply electric power to cause expansion and contraction in the base member 310. The electrodes 330a and 330b are formed from a conductive material.

The vibration body 200 is provided on the base member 310 of the driving section 300 through the connection jig 312, as shown in FIG. 1 through FIG. 5. The vibration body 200 is provided such that the direction of movements of the vibration body 200 caused by deformation of the driving section 300 is in consonance with the thickness direction of the vibration body 200. The vibration body 200 can continuously move its position in its thickness direction. Such continuous movements cause vibration, and the direction of vibration is a direction having a component in the thickness direction of the vibration body 200 (which is a direction along the vibration direction B indicated by a two-direction arrow in the figure). The vibration body 200 may only need to be provided in such a direction that it has a motion component in the thickness direction when the driving section 300 operates. The vibration body 200 and the base member 310 may not have to be connected through an extra member such as the connection jig 312, as long as the operation of the driving section 300 can be transmitted to the vibration body 200.

Next, the configuration of the vibration body 200 is described. The vibration body 200 has a plate-like configuration. As shown in FIG. 7, the vibration body 200 has at least a portion (e.g., an end section 240) of an end section 220 in an in-plane direction which continuously becomes thinner toward an end E1. The vibration body 200 may only need to be provided such that at least the portion that becomes continuously thinner toward the end E1 (the end section 240) is submerged in liquid 110. The vibration body 200 has a sloped surface T1 inclined at an angle φ and a sloped surface T2 inclined at an angle ψ with respect to a vertical plane in the thickness direction X (i.e., a plane shaded with dots in FIG. 7).

In the present embodiment, the thickness direction of a plate-like object means a direction along a shortest side of a rectangular box that contains the plate-like object and has a smallest volume. However, when a plate-like object does not have a sloped surface inclined with respect to a plane perpendicular to a direction along the shortest side of a rectangular box, the thickness direction is a direction along the second shortest side of the rectangular box. For example, when the vibration body 200 has a configuration shown in FIG. 8, its thickness direction may, in principle, be a second direction shown in FIG. 8. However, the vibration body 200 in FIG. 8 does not have a sloped surface inclined with respect to a plane perpendicular to the second direction (a plane shaded by dots in FIG. 8). Accordingly, in such a case, the thickness direction of the vibration body 200 is assumed, as an exception, to be the first direction in FIG. 8.

Next, operations of the vibration body 200 are described in detail. FIGS. 9A, 9B and 9C are schematic cross-sectional views showing actions of the vibration body 200. FIGS. 9A, 9B and 9C show states of the sloped surface T1 and the sloped surface T2 of the vibration body 200 in motion while being submerged in liquid. FIGS. 9A and 9B show states of the vibration body 200 when it is moved in a direction indicated by an arrow in solid line, respectively. FIG. 9C shows a state of the vibration body 200 when it is reciprocally vibrated in directions indicated by a two-direction arrow in solid line. Arrows in broken line in FIGS. 9A-9C schematically indicate states of flowing liquid.

As shown in FIG. 9A, when the vibration body 200 moves in a direction indicated by an arrow, the liquid present on the side of the sloped surface T2 is pushed by the sloped surface T2, and generates a flow along the sloped surface T2 (see an arrow in broken line on the left side). On the other hand, at the same time, the liquid present on the side of the sloped surface T1 is pulled by the sloped surface T1, and generates a flow along the sloped surface T1. However, as the liquid on the side of the sloped surface T1 is pulled by the sloped surface T1, the flow has large disturbances when the moving speed of the slope is great, such that the flow speed of the liquid becomes smaller than the flow speed of the liquid on the side of the sloped surface T2 (see an arrow in broken line on the right side). Accordingly, a liquid flow to be generated around the vibration body 200 equals to the sum of the flows of the liquid present on the side of the sloped surface T2 and on the side of the sloped surface T1, whereby the flow of the liquid is generated in a direction in which the vibration body 200 becomes thinner. Similarly, as shown in FIG. 9B, when the vibration body 200 moves in an opposite direction with respect to the direction shown in FIG. 9A, a flow of the liquid is generated around the vibration body 200 in a direction in which the vibration body 200 becomes thinner.

The vibration body 200 shown in FIG. 9C reciprocally vibrates in directions indicated by a two-direction arrow in solid line. Therefore a flow of the fluid to be generated around the vibration body 200 equals to the sum of flows of the liquid indicated by a total of four arrows in broken line in FIG. 9A and FIG. 9B. Accordingly, when the vibration body 200 vibrates in its thickness direction, the fluid around the vibration body 200 flows in a direction in which the vibration body 200 becomes thinner (in a direction of an arrow d in the figure).

The vibration body 200, which can generate a liquid flow indicated in FIG. 9C when the vibration body 200 is vibrated in its thickness direction, has the following configuration. (1) At least a portion of the end section 22 of the vibration body 200 in an in-plane direction becomes thinner toward the end; and (2) the vibration body 200 has at least one sloped surface inclined with respect to a plane perpendicular to the vibration direction. Furthermore, the sloped surface may be a curved surface, without being limited to a flat surface.

The entirety of the vibration body 200 and the driving section 300 combined or the vibration body 200 has a resonance frequency, respectively. When the vibration described above is close to the resonance frequency, the energy loss becomes smaller, and the flow of the liquid 110 can be more effectively generated. Also, the frequency with which the vibration body 200 is vibrated can be freely set. The frequency of vibration can be optimized, taking into account the configuration and size of the vibration body 200 and the liquid cartridge 100, and the property of the liquid. For example, the frequency of vibration with which the vibration body 200 is vibrated may be 20 kHz through 1 MHz. The flow property of liquid can be changed by appropriately adjusting the frequency and amplitude of vibration and the size and angle of the sloped surface of the vibration body 200 according to the kind of the liquid.

As described above, the flow of the liquid 110 caused by the vibration body 200 vibrated by the driving section 300 is indicated by arrows in broken line in FIG. 1. The flow of the liquid is generated in a direction in which the end section 220 of the vibration body 200 becomes thinner (to the right of the vibration body 200 in FIG. 1). As a result, the liquid 110 inside the container section 100 can be stirred or flowed. As the liquid cartridge 1000 does not have a mechanism with a rotating shaft such as a screw propeller, the liquid 110 stored in the container section 100 can be stirred and flowed with a mechanism having a very small space that occupies for stirring and flowing of the liquid.

1.2. Method for Manufacturing Liquid Cartridge

A liquid cartridge 1000 in accordance with the present embodiment may be manufactured as follows. A container section 100, a driving section 300 and a vibration body 200 may be manufactured independently from one another, and then assembled together, whereby the liquid cartridge 1000 can be manufactured. A method for manufacturing the driving section 300 may include the steps of forming piezoelectric layers 320a and 320b on a base member 310, and forming electrodes 330a and 330b on the piezoelectric layers 320a and 320b. The step of forming the piezoelectric layers 320a and 320b on the base member 310 may be conducted by, for example, a sol-gel method or a CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) method or the like. The step of forming the electrodes 330a and 330b may be conducted by a sputter method, a vapor deposition method or the like. Also, a polarization treatment to the piezoelectric layers 320a and 320b may be conducted by applying an electric field to the base member 310 and the electrodes 330a and 330b. In place of forming piezoelectric layers 320a and 320b, electrodes 330a and 330b on a base member, the driving section 300 can also be obtained by simply sticking a piezoelectric body.

The vibration body 200 may be manufactured by, for example, processing a metal plate. The driving section 300 and the vibration body 200 thus manufactured are bonded together by, for example, welding, adhesion, fixing with a jig such as screws.

The container section 100 may be manufactured by injection molding of resin such as polyethylene or the like. Then, the driving section 300 and the vibration body 200 are assembled on the container section 100, thereby manufacturing the liquid cartridge 1000.

1.3. Modified Example

A variety of modifications can be implemented in the liquid cartridge in accordance with the present embodiment as follows.

FIG. 10 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a liquid cartridge 2000 in accordance with a modified example. FIG. 11 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a vibration body 200 and a driving section 300 of the liquid cartridge 2000. FIG. 12 is a schematic plan view of the vibration body 200 and the driving section 300 of the liquid cartridge 2000. A cross section taken along a line A-A in FIG. 12 corresponds to FIG. 11.

The liquid cartridge 2000 is generally the same as the liquid cartridge 1000 except that the structure and operation of the driving section 300 are different for those of the liquid cartridge 1000. The driving section 300 of the liquid cartridge 2000 is operable such that the base member 310 can vibrate, extending and contracting in its lengthwise direction, as shown in FIG. 11 and FIG. 12, and the vibration body 200 vibrates in its thickness direction. The driving section 300 in accordance with the present modified example is formed from a plate-like base member 310 and piezoelectric elements 340c and 340d, as shown in FIG. 11 and FIG. 12. The base member 310 serves as a common electrode for the piezoelectric elements 340c and 340d. The base member 310 has fixing sections 316 formed in one piece, and is affixed to the container section 100 at the fixing sections 316 by using fixing members 350. As shown in FIG. 11, the piezoelectric elements 340c and 340d are provided on the tipper and lower sides of the plate-like base member 310, respectively. Each of the piezoelectric elements may be composed in a manner similar to those of the liquid cartridge 1000. Each of the piezoelectric elements provided on the base member 310 is driven such that the base member 310 expands and contracts in the lengthwise direction (a direction along the line A-A in FIG. 12). When the base member 310 expands and contracts in the lengthwise direction, the vibration body 200 moves its position in the thickness direction, and thus can vibrate (the moving direction of the vibration body 200 is indicated by an arrow B in the figure). It is noted that, in the present modified example, the vibration body 200, the connection jig 312 and a part of the base member 310 are submerged in the liquid 110. The base member 310 passes through the wall of the container section 100 through, for example, a sealing 102 shown in FIG. 10. The sealing 102 functions to prevent leakage of the liquid 110, and not to prevent the operation of the base member 310. The sealing 102 is formed from, for example, resin material such as rubber. The sealing 102 may have a very simple structure, unlike a sealing for a rotating shaft. With the liquid cartridge 2000 having the modified driving section 300, the vibration body 200 is vibrated in its thickness direction like the vibration body described above, whereby the liquid 110 in the container section 100 can be stirred and/or flowed, as indicated by arrows in broken line in the figure.

FIG. 13 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a liquid cartridge 3000 in accordance with another modified example. FIG. 14 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a vibration body 200 and a driving section 300 of the liquid cartridge 3000. FIG. 15 is a schematic plan view of the vibration body 200 and the driving section 300 of the liquid cartridge 3000. A cross section taken along a line A-A in FIG. 15 corresponds to FIG. 14.

The liquid cartridge 3000 is generally the same as the liquid cartridge 2000 except that the operation of the vibration body 200 is different from that of the liquid cartridge 2000, and the container section 100 is provided with a flow path section 400. The vibration body 200 of the liquid cartridge 3000 is composed such that, as shown in FIG. 14, the lengthwise direction of the base member 310 concurs with the direction in which the vibration body 200 becomes thinner. The driving section 300 in accordance with the present modified example vibrates, expanding and contracting in the lengthwise direction of the base member 310, like the liquid cartridge 2000. As shown in FIG. 14, the vibration body 200 in accordance with the modified example is provided in a manner that its center of gravity G1 is offset from a line of vibration 314 of the base member 310. When driven by the driving section 300, a rotational moment is generated on the vibration body 200, and thus the vibration body 200 can vibrate with a component of motion in its thickness direction. Accordingly, when the vibration body 200 is vibrated by the driving section 300, the vibration body 200 can vibrate in the thickness direction (the vibration direction is indicated by an arrow B in FIG. 13 and FIG. 14). The vibration body 200 is also submerged in the liquid 110, in accordance with the present modified example, whereby the liquid 110 can be flowed as indicated by an arrow a in broken line in FIG. 13.

The liquid cartridge 3000 may have a flow path section 400, as indicated in FIG. 13. The flow path section 400 may be formed in one piece with the container section 100. It is possible to retrieve the liquid 110 stored in the container section 100 through the flow path section 400 to outside, or introduce the liquid 110 through the flow path section 400 into the container section 100. In the liquid cartridge 3000 in accordance with the present modified example, the flow path section 400 is in a tubular shape, and contains the liquid inside. In the liquid cartridge 3000 in accordance with the present modified example, the vibration body 200 is submerged in the liquid 110 inside the flow path section 400. When the vibration body 200 vibrates inside the flow path section 400, a flow of the liquid 110 is generated in a direction indicated by an arrow a in broken line, as well as a flow of the liquid 110 in a direction indicated by an arrow b in broken line can be generated. By the provision of the flow path section 400, for example, liquid 110 with high viscosity may more readily be retrieved from the container section 100.

2. Second Embodiment

2.1. Liquid Pump

A liquid pump 4000 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention is described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 16 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of the liquid pump 4000 and a diagram illustrating an example of usage thereof.

The liquid pump 4000 includes a tubular section 500 through which liquid 110 passes, a vibration body 200 and a driving section 300. The vibration body 200 and the driving section 300 are substantively the same as those of the liquid cartridge described above, and therefore their detailed description shall be omitted. The liquid pump 4000 is a pump that uses the system that generates a flow in the liquid 110 when the vibration body 200 is vibrated in its thickness direction.

The tubular section 500 is in a cylindrical shape, and has a configuration in which the liquid 110 can pass. A wall member 502 of the tubular section 500 may be formed from, for example, metal or resin. The vibration body 200 is provided inside the tubular section 500. The vibration body 200 is disposed in a manner that the direction in which the vibration body 200 becomes thinner coincides with the lengthwise direction of the tubular section 500 (in the direction in which the liquid 110 can flow inside the tubular section 500). An opening section 504 is provided in a portion of the wall member 502. A member (for example, a base member 310) for disposing and vibrating the vibration body 200 passes through the opening section 502. A sealing 506 similar to the one described in the first embodiment is provided at the opening section 502. The base member 310 of the driving section 300 can vibrate the vibration body 200 in its thickness direction, like the first embodiment described above. When the vibration body 200 submerged in the liquid 110 vibrates inside the tubular section 500, the liquid 110 can flow inside the tubular section 500. The driving section 300 is affixed to the wall member 502 by a fixing member 350. The liquid pump 4000 is structured in a manner described above. For manufacturing the liquid pump 4000, the tubular section 500, the driving section 300 and the vibration body 200 may be manufactured independently from one another, and then bonded together, like the method for manufacturing a liquid cartridge described above in the first embodiment.

As described above, the liquid pump 4000 can flow the liquid 110 by the system that vibrates the vibration body 200 in its thickness direction, and therefore can be very readily composed in a small size. Also, as the liquid pump 4000 can flow the liquid 110 inside the tubular section 500, the liquid pump 4000 can also be used in the following manner, in addition to being used as a pump to flow the liquid 110.

As shown in FIG. 16, a heat exchanger 600 may be coupled with the liquid pump 4000, using a pipe or the like. By this, the liquid 110 can be circulated by the liquid pump 4000. As a result, for example, the liquid pump 4000 can be used in a circulation type heat exchange system. In this case, a plurality of heat exchangers 600 may be provided.

The system shown in FIG. 16 can be provided in a very small occupying space. Such a liquid pump 4000 can be used as a heat radiation system in electronic equipment. In this case, materials having a heat carrier function can be selected as the liquid 110, and various kinds of chillers can be selected as the heat exchanger 600. Further, for example, the system shown in FIG. 16 can be favorably used for cooling chips such as CPUs on computers, cooling heat sources such as lamps for projectors, and the like.

The embodiments of the invention are described above. However, a person skilled in the art should readily understand that many modifications can be made without departing in substance from the novel matter and effects of the invention. Accordingly, all of those modified examples are also deemed to be included in the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A liquid cartridge comprising:

a container section that stores liquid;

a plate-like vibration body that is submerged in the liquid and flows the liquid; and

a driver section that drives the vibration body in a thickness direction,

wherein the vibration body has an end section, and at least a portion of the end section of the vibration body in an in-plane direction becomes thinner toward an end of the vibration body.

2. A liquid cartridge according to claim 1, further comprising a flow path section that communicates with the container section, wherein the flow path section allows the liquid to pass therein.

3. A liquid cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the driving section vibrates the vibration body by flexing.

4. A liquid cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the driving section vibrates the vibration body by shifting the position of the vibration body in its entirety.

5. A liquid cartridge according claim 1, wherein at least the portion of the vibration body that continuously becomes thinner is submerged in the liquid, and the liquid is flowed with a speed component in a direction perpendicular to a thickness direction of the vibration body and in a direction in which the vibration body becomes thinner.

6. A liquid cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the driving section has a piezoelectric element.

7. A liquid cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the vibration body vibrates with a frequency that is one of a resonance frequency of the vibration body and a resonance frequency of an entire body including the vibration body and the driving section.

8. A liquid pump comprising:

a tube section that passes liquid;

a plate-like vibration body submerged in the liquid for flowing the liquid; and

a driving section that drives the vibration body in a thickness direction,

wherein at least a portion of an end section of the vibration body in an in-plane direction continuously becomes thinner toward an end of the vibration body.