Nebulizer device

Patent · 01 January 1996

OSTI ID:870392

Greenspan, Bernard J ^[1]; Moss, Owen R ^[2]; Schleiffer, Keith E ^[3]; Eick, James L ^[4]

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1. Richland, WA
2. Cary, NC
3. Gahanna, OH
4. Benton City, WA

The present invention constitutes a portable nebulizer capable of producing a finely divided aerosol having uniformly sized droplets. The nebulizer includes a source of fluid such as a capillary tube coupled to a fluid reservoir to which a high voltage is applied in order to generate the aerosol by electrical atomization. The nebulizer further includes a piezoelectric crystal and a mechanism for deforming the crystal so as to generate the required voltage. The nebulizer further includes a means for mechanical positive displacement fluid control for controlling the amount of fluid atomized. By using electrical atomization to generate the aerosol and by piezoelectrically generating the voltage required for atomization, a nebulizer is provided which may be of small size so as to be suitable for hand-held operations, yet is capable of producing measured amounts of finely divided aerosols which are substantially monodispersed.

• Research Organization: BATTELLE MEMORIAL INSTITUTE
• DOE Contract Number: AC06-76RL01830
• Assignee: Battelle Memorial Institute (Richland, WA)
• Patent Number(s): US 5511726
• OSTI ID: 870392
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

/239/
aerosol
aerosols
amount
amounts
applied
atomization
atomized
capable
capillary
capillary tube
constitutes
control
controlling
coupled
crystal
deforming
device
displacement
divided
divided aerosol
droplets
electrical
finely
finely divided
fluid
fluid control
fluid reservoir
generate
generating
hand-held
means
measured
measured amount
mechanical
mechanism
monodispersed
nebulizer
nebulizer device
operations
piezoelectric
piezoelectric crystal
piezoelectrically
portable
positive
positive displacement
producing
provided
required
required voltage
reservoir
size
sized
sized droplets
source
substantially
suitable
tube
tube coupled
uniformly
uniformly sized
voltage
voltage required