# US 11,897,264 B2 · Liquid application unit and liquid application apparatus

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- Number: US 11,897,264 B2
- Document ID: US11897264B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 17/428,928
- Filed: 2020-02-03
- Published: 2022-04-28
- Granted: 2024-02-13
- Earliest claimed: 2019-02-08
- Assignees: Ntn Corporation
- Applicants: Ntn Corporation
- Inventors: Kouhei Kamiya
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11897264B2

## CPC

- B05C 1/027: {only at particular parts of the articles (at particular parts of work of indefinite length B05C1/16)}
- B41J 2/1433: {Structure of nozzle plates}
- B05C: APPARATUS FOR APPLYING FLUENT MATERIALS TO SURFACES, IN GENERAL (spraying apparatus, atomising apparatus, nozzles B05B; plant for applying liquids or other fluent materials to objects by electrostatic spraying B05B5/08)
- B41J: TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS

## Abstract

A liquid material unit capable of applying a liquid material having a high viscosity stably for a long time includes an application needle and a liquid material container. The liquid material container stores the liquid material. The liquid material container has a space that stores the liquid material and a hole that allows the application needle to pass through the space. A wetting and spreading suppressing structure for the liquid material is disposed at the periphery of the hole in the liquid material container.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A liquid application unit for applying a liquid material to a surface of a target using an application needle, the liquid application unit comprising:
the application needle; and
a liquid material container that stores the liquid material, wherein
the liquid material container has a space that stores the liquid material and a hole that allows the application needle to pass through the space,
a wetting and spreading suppressing structure for the liquid material is disposed at a periphery of the hole in the liquid material container,
the application needle includes a tip end that applies the liquid material to the target and a holding portion disposed closer to a base side than the tip end,
the wetting and spreading suppressing structure is a protruding portion in which the liquid material container has a protruding shape toward a tip end side of the application needle,
in a cross section along the hole, the protruding portion includes a first shape portion and a second shape portion, the first shape portion having a shape in which a protruding portion surface that is a surface of the protruding portion is inclined such that a width of the hole is larger on the tip end side than on the holding portion side, the second shape portion having a shape in which the protruding portion surface is inclined outside of the hole such that a width of the protruding portion increases from the tip end side toward the holding portion side, and
the inclined protruding portion surface in the second shape portion has a steeper slope than the inclined protruding portion surface in the first shape portion with respect to an extending direction of the hole.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The liquid application unit according to claim 1, wherein the protruding portion further includes a connection portion connecting the first shape portion and the second shape portion.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The liquid application unit according to claim 2, wherein the connection portion has a dimension equal to or less than 50 μm in a radial direction from a center of the application needle.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The liquid application unit according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the first shape portion and the second shape portion is arc-shaped.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The liquid application unit according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the first shape portion and the second shape portion is linear.