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A method and an apparatus (10) eject on demand a discrete droplet (12) of liquid at a high temperature along a predetermined trajectory (18) by transferring a physical impulse from a low temperature environment to a high temperature environment. The ejector apparatus includes a vessel (26) having an

A method and an apparatus (10) eject on demand a discrete droplet (12) of liquid at a high temperature along a predetermined trajectory (18) by transferring a physical impulse from a low temperature environment to a high temperature environment. The ejector apparatus includes a vessel (26) having an interior (24) that contains a high-temperature liquid (14), such as liquid metal, Al, Zn or Sn. The interior includes an inlet end (30) that receives a thermally insulative impulse transmitting device (22) and a feed supply (34) of the droplet material, and a discharge region (56) having an orifice (16) through which the discrete droplets are ejected. An inert gas is feed through the inlet end and into the vessel to create an overpressure over the liquid so that as the overpressure is increased the droplet size is increased. A heater (70) heats the material contained within the interior. An impulse generator (20) is connected and imparts a physical impulse to the impulse transmitting device to produce an ejection pressure at the orifice to eject a discrete droplet of the high-temperature liquid. The impulse generator including a pulse generator electrically connected to a pulse amplifier that is electrically connected to an acoustic device, such as a loudspeaker.

대표청구항 ▼

A high-temperature liquid droplet ejection apparatus for ejecting on demand a discrete droplet of a liquid metal at a high temperature from an orifice along a predetermined trajectory comprising: a vessel having an interior for containing the liquid metal at a high temperature, the interior includin

A high-temperature liquid droplet ejection apparatus for ejecting on demand a discrete droplet of a liquid metal at a high temperature from an orifice along a predetermined trajectory comprising: a vessel having an interior for containing the liquid metal at a high temperature, the interior including an inlet end, a discharge region having an orifice, and a sidewall connecting the inlet end and the discharge region; a thermally insulative impulse transmitting device having a base end exterior of the vessel and extending through the inlet end of the vessel and a head end having a face positioned within the interior and adjacent the orifice; and an impulse generator that provides a physical impulse to the base end of the impulse transmitting device so that the face of the transmitting device is momentarily moved toward the orifice to produce an ejection pressure at the orifice that causes ejection of a discrete droplet of the liquid metal contained in the vessel from the orifice along a predetermined trajectory.