WO2019064623A1 - Electrospinning device, cleaning device, and electrospinning method - Google Patents

Abstract

The electrospinning apparatus (100) of the present invention comprises a liquid discharge device (11) and a gas discharge device (12). The liquid ejection device (11) is disposed to face the base material (S1), and has a liquid nozzle (23b) for ejecting liquid toward the base material (S1). The gas discharge device (12) is a liquid discharge area (A1) between the substrate (S1) and the liquid nozzle (23b), the liquid nozzle (23b) from the outside of the liquid discharge area (A1) And a jet head (52) for jetting the gas in a direction intersecting the discharge direction of the liquid.

Description

Electrospinning apparatus, cleaning apparatus and electrospinning method

Embodiments of the present invention relate to an electrospinning apparatus, a cleaning apparatus and an electrospinning method.

There is known an electrospinning apparatus for forming, for example, fine fibers having a diameter of nano order on a surface of a substrate which is a collector by an electrospinning method (electrospinning method, charge induction spinning method). For example, in the electrospinning apparatus, a voltage is supplied to a tank for containing a raw material liquid, a nozzle head connected to the tank through a pipe, a pump for liquid transfer, a substrate disposed opposite to the nozzle head, and the nozzle head. And a power supply to apply. In such an electrospinning apparatus, when the fiber forming process is continued for a long time, the fibers may be entangled and stay in the vicinity of the nozzle tip.

Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 2010-159510

Embodiments are directed to providing an electrospinning apparatus, a cleaning apparatus and an electrospinning method capable of removing stagnant fibers.

The electrospinning apparatus according to the embodiment includes a liquid discharge device and a gas discharge device. The liquid discharge device has a liquid nozzle that is disposed to face the substrate and discharges the liquid toward the substrate. The gas discharge device jets a gas from the outside of the liquid discharge area to the direction intersecting with the liquid discharge direction of the liquid nozzle when the liquid discharge area is between the base and the liquid nozzle. Have a head.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing the configuration of the electrospinning apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing a configuration of a gas injection device of the same electrospinning device. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control system of the electrospinning apparatus.

The electrospinning apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing the configuration of the electrospinning apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing the configuration of the gas injection device 12. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a control configuration of the electrospinning apparatus 100. As shown in FIG. Arrows X, Y, and Z in the drawing respectively indicate a first direction, a second direction, and a third direction which are three directions orthogonal to one another.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the electrospinning device 100 includes a liquid discharge device 11, a gas injection device 12 which is a gas discharge device, and a transfer device 13 for transferring the substrate S1 along a predetermined transfer path. And a control device 14 that controls the operation of each part.

The electrospinning apparatus 100 is an apparatus that discharges the raw material solution Q1 from the nozzle head 23 and forms a fine fiber on the surface of the substrate S1. In the present embodiment, the raw material liquid Q1 is discharged from the nozzle head 23 disposed opposite to one surface of the base material S1 while conveying the strip-like base material S1 in the conveyance path, and one surface of the base material S1 is To deposit the fibers.

The raw material liquid Q1 is, for example, one in which a polymer substance is dissolved in a solvent. The polymer substance is selected according to, for example, the material of the formed fiber. The polymer substance is, for example, a thermoplastic resin such as polystyrene, polycarbonate, polymethyl methacrylate, polypropylene, polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polybutylene terephthalate, polyamide, polyoxymethylene, polyamide imide, polyimide, polysulfane, polyethersulfone. Fan, polyether imide, polyether ketone, polyphenylene sulfide, modified polyphenylene ether, syndiotactic polystyrene, liquid crystal polymer, urea resin which is a thermosetting resin, unsaturated polyester, phenol resin, melamine resin, epoxy resin and the like It can be formed by blending one or more polymers selected from copolymers and the like.

The solvent can dissolve the polymer substance, and can be appropriately selected according to, for example, the polymer substance to be dissolved. As a solvent, for example, isopropanol, ethylene glycol, cyclohexanone, dimethylformamide, acetone, ethyl acetate, dimethylacetamide, N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, hexane, toluene, xylene, methyl ethyl ketone, diethyl ketone, butyl acetate, butyl acetate, tetrahydrofuran, dioxane, pyridine Volatile organic solvents such as water and the like can be used. Moreover, as a solvent, 1 type chosen from the said solvent may be sufficient, and multiple types may be mixed. In addition, the solvent applicable to this embodiment is not limited to the said solvent. The said solvent is an illustration to the last.

The liquid ejection device 11 includes a liquid feeding pump 21 which is a liquid feeding portion, an accommodation portion 22 which accommodates a raw material liquid, a nozzle head 23 having a liquid nozzle 23 b which is a liquid ejection portion, a power source 24 and a mount 25. And a piping unit 30 having a first piping 31 and a second piping 32. The first pipe 31 extends from the housing portion 22 to the liquid feed pump 21, and the plurality of second pipes 32 extend from the liquid feed pump 21 to the respective nozzle heads 23.

The liquid feed pump 21 is a metering pump, for example, a gear pump. The liquid feed pump 21 includes a motor 21a connected to the control device 14, and a pump unit 21b having a gear rotatably connected to the output shaft of the motor 21a. The primary side of the pump portion 21 b is connected to the housing portion 22 via the first pipe 31, and the secondary side of the pump portion 21 b is connected to the nozzle head 23 via the second pipe 32. When the motor 21 a is driven by the controller 14, the liquid feed pump 21 pumps the liquid to the secondary side by rotation of the gear.

The storage unit 22 is a tank that holds the raw material liquid Q1. The storage unit 22 is made of, for example, a material having resistance to the raw material liquid Q1.

The nozzle head 23 includes a head base 23a, a plurality of liquid nozzles 23b, and a head arm 23d.

The liquid nozzle 23b is, for example, a needle-type nozzle, and is configured in a tubular shape. The liquid nozzle 23b has a discharge port 23c for discharging the raw material liquid Q1 at its tip. For example, the discharge direction of the liquid nozzle 23b connects the discharge port 23c and the base material S1 and is set in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the base material S1. In the present embodiment, for example, along the first direction along the X axis There is.

In the present embodiment, the first direction which is the discharge direction of the liquid nozzle 23b and the second direction (the Y-axis direction) which is the feed direction of the base material S1 are 2 along the third direction (Z-axis direction) Two liquid nozzles 23b are in parallel.

The head arm 23 d is a mounting member for fixing the nozzle head 23 to the gantry 25. One end of the head arm 23d is fastened to the rack 25 and the other end is fixed to the head base 23a.

The nozzle head 23 is made of a conductive material that is resistant to the raw material liquid Q1. The nozzle head 23 is connected to a power supply 24. The nozzle head 23 discharges the internally charged raw material liquid Q1 from the discharge port 23c of the liquid nozzle 23b by applying a voltage from the power supply 24 at a predetermined timing under the control of the control device 14, and is disposed so as to face each other. Fibers are formed on the surface of the substrate S1.

The power source 24 forms a potential gradient in the space between the nozzle head 23 and the substrate S1 (a liquid discharge area described later). The power supply 24 is, for example, a DC power supply, and is configured to be able to output a DC voltage of, for example, 10 kV or more and 100 kV or less. The power supply 24 includes, for example, a switch mechanism connected to the control device 14, and is configured to be able to switch on / off and adjust the voltage. For example, the voltage applied to the nozzle head 23 by the power supply 24 may be positive or negative, but is preferably positive and the potential difference with the substrate S1 is 10 kV or more. As a configuration for forming a potential gradient, for example, the substrate S1 may be grounded, or an opposing electrode may be provided on the opposite side of the liquid nozzle 23b via the substrate S1.

The gantry 25 includes a support frame 25a supported on the installation surface. The head arm 23 d of the nozzle head 23 and the mounting arm 55 of the gas injection device 12 are fixed to and supported by the support frame 25 a by a fastening member.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the gas injection device 12 includes an injection head 52 as a gas discharge head having an air flow nozzle 51, an opening / closing valve 54, and a mounting arm 55 for fixing the injection head 52 to a mount 25; Equipped with The mounting arm 55 is made of an electrically insulating material such as resin. The gas injection device 12 ejects gas into the liquid discharge area. In this case, it is possible to clean the liquid nozzle 23b by arranging so that a part of the gas to be jetted contacts the liquid nozzle 23b, and the gas injection device 12 becomes a cleaning device that cleans the liquid nozzle 23b. .

The jet head 52 includes an air flow nozzle 51 having a jet port 51a for discharging a gas, in a liquid discharge area A1, which is an area between the liquid nozzle 23b and the base material S1. That is, the ejection head 52 has a nozzle shape. The jet head 52 is supported by the mounting arm 55 on the support frame 25 a. The ejection head 52 is disposed, for example, at a position deviated to the side of the liquid ejection area A1 including the ejection path Af through which the raw material liquid Q1 ejected from each liquid nozzle 23b passes. In the present embodiment, the ejection head 52 is disposed sideways, below, or above the liquid nozzle 23b, and is disposed at a position deviated outward from the liquid ejection area A1 in the second and third directions. It is done.

The air flow nozzle 51 of the injection head 52 may be disposed with the injection port 51 a facing the discharge port 23 c of the liquid nozzle 23 b. The discharge direction of the gas from the air flow nozzle 51 intersects with the discharge direction of the liquid of the liquid nozzle 23b. The angle is determined in relation to the width of the base and the distance between the base and the liquid nozzle. For example, the cut and blown fibers are set in a direction that does not move toward the substrate and the nozzle head. Preferably, the discharge direction of the gas from the air flow nozzle 51 has an angle of 20 degrees to 90 degrees, more preferably 30 degrees to 60 degrees with respect to the discharge direction of the liquid of the liquid nozzle 23b. A gas supply device 53 as a gas supply unit is connected to the jet head 52. For the gas supply device 53, for example, a supply source such as an air pump or an air supply mechanism disposed in a factory can be used.

The on-off valve 54 is provided in a pipe 56 forming a flow path of the gas supplied from the gas supply device 53 to the ejection head 52, and opens and closes the flow path of the gas. The on-off valve 54 is connected to the control device 14 and is configured to be switchable in open / close state under the control of the control device 14.

The conveyance device 13 includes a plurality of conveyance rollers 13a disposed in a predetermined conveyance path, and a motor 13b that rotationally drives the conveyance rollers 13a. The transport device 13 supports the base material S1 which is bridged across the plurality of transport rollers 13a. The transport device 13 sends the substrate S1 to the secondary side along the transport path by rotating the transport roller 13a. The transport device 13 is connected to the control device 14, and the transport operation of the substrate S <b> 1 can be controlled by the control of the control device 14.

The substrate S1 is made of, for example, a material having conductivity, and is made of, for example, an aluminum foil. The substrate S1 is configured, for example, in a band shape. The substrate S1 is supported by the transport device 13 along the predetermined transport path and transported. In the present embodiment, the substrate S1 is fed in a second direction orthogonal to the discharge direction of the solution.

As shown in FIG. 3, the control device 14 includes a processor 41 which is a control unit, and a memory 42 having a RAM and a ROM. The processor 41 controls the operation of each part of the electrospinning apparatus 100 by executing a predetermined program in accordance with a preset program and various conditions. For example, the processor 41 controls the operation operation of the transport motor 13b and the pump motor 21a or the on / off operation of the power supply 24 to perform transport processing, liquid transfer processing, and liquid discharge processing.

In addition, the processor 41 is a cleaning process that blows a gas flow by driving the gas injection device 12 at a predetermined timing, and cuts and removes the staying fiber Fd adhering to the tip of the liquid nozzle 23b and removing it. Make injection process.

In the electrospinning method according to the present embodiment, a transport process of transporting the base material S1, a discharge process of discharging the raw material liquid Q1 from the nozzle head 23, a supply process of supplying the raw material liquid Q1 to the nozzle head 23, a gas flow And a gas injection process (gas discharge process).

As transport processing, the processor 41 transports the base material S1 downstream along the transport path by driving the motor 13b and rotating the transport roller 13a at a predetermined timing and rotational speed.

As the discharge process, the processor 41 operates the power supply 24 and applies a voltage to the nozzle head 23 to discharge the raw material liquid Q1 from the nozzle head 23 and deposit it on the substrate S1. That is, when a voltage is applied to the nozzle head 23, the raw material liquid Q1 in the vicinity of the discharge port of the nozzle is charged to a predetermined polarity, for example, plus, thereby forming an electric field with the grounded substrate S1. Ru. Then, when the electrostatic force acting along the lines of electric force becomes larger than the surface tension of the nozzle, the raw material liquid Q1 near the discharge port 23c is drawn toward the substrate by the electrostatic force. The drawn-out raw material liquid Q1 is stretched, and the solvent evaporates to form the fiber F. The formed fibers F are deposited on the surface of the substrate S1 to form a deposit Fa. The formed deposit body Fa is used, for example, for a non-woven fabric or a filter.

As the supply process, the processor 41 drives the pump motor 21a and operates the pump unit 21b to pressure-feed the raw material liquid Q1 in the storage unit 22 toward the nozzle head 23 on the secondary side. In the supply process, the processor 41 controls the flow rate, pressure, speed, and the like of the raw material liquid Q1 by controlling the drive time and drive output of the pump unit 21b.

As a gas injection process, that is, a cleaning process, the processor 41 drives the gas injection device 12 at a predetermined timing during the discharge process to blow a gas to the discharge port 23c. For example, the processor 41 opens the on-off valve 54, and jets gas from the air flow nozzle 51 toward the discharge port 23c, thereby cutting and removing fibers stagnating in the vicinity of the discharge port 23c by the air flow. The timing of the gas injection process is set, for example, at predetermined time intervals set in advance, or determined by an operation input instruction.

According to the electrospinning apparatus 100 and the electrospinning method according to the present embodiment, the discharge process of the liquid can be stabilized by removing the fibers adhering to the liquid nozzle 23b and staying. That is, for example, when the discharge process of discharging the raw material liquid Q1 to form fibers is continued, the fibers F contact the liquid nozzle 23b, different fibers F, or different portions of continuous fibers F contact each other. As a result of being entangled or the like, there may be a case where a staying fiber Fd adhering to and staying at the discharge port 23c is formed. When the staying fiber Fd remains in the vicinity of the discharge port 23c of the liquid nozzle 23b, the fibers are entangled and become lumps, and the lumps become gradually larger, which affects the discharge amount of the raw material liquid Q1 and the shape of the formed fibers F.

According to the electrospinning apparatus 100 and the electrospinning method according to the present embodiment, the gas jet processing is performed at a predetermined timing to cut, blow off, and remove the clumps of fibers stagnating in the discharge port 23c by the gas flow. can do. At this time, since the raw material liquid Q1 is discharged by electric field formation, the air flow by the gas injection has little influence on the discharge performance of the raw material liquid Q1. Further, according to the electrospinning apparatus 100 and the electrospinning method according to the present embodiment, from the outside of the liquid discharge area A1 including the discharge path Af through which the raw material liquid Q1 and the fibers F pass, toward the discharge port 23c of the liquid nozzle 23b. In order to blow gas, gas injection processing can be performed during discharge processing. Therefore, since there is no need to stop the discharge process, it is possible to effectively remove the adhering staying fiber Fd without reducing the productivity. For this reason, the discharge amount of the raw material liquid Q1 can be stabilized, the fiber shape formed on the surface of the substrate S1 can be stabilized, and the functional improvement of the material and the efficiency of production control can be achieved.

The configuration and the like are not limited to the above embodiment. For example, although the example which conveys strip | belt-shaped base material S1 along a predetermined path was shown in the said embodiment, it is not restricted to this. For example, other configurations may be employed, such as a configuration in which fibers are continuously generated while rotating the collector.

While certain embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and the gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalent scope thereof.

Claims (9)

A liquid discharge apparatus having a liquid nozzle disposed opposite to a substrate and discharging a liquid toward the substrate;
A gas discharge having a jet head which jets a gas from the outside of the liquid discharge area to a direction intersecting the discharge direction of the liquid nozzle from the outside of the liquid discharge area when the space between the substrate and the liquid nozzle is a liquid discharge area A device,
An electrospinning apparatus comprising: The electrospinning device according to claim 1, wherein the jet head of the gas discharge device jets the gas from the side of the liquid discharge region. The gas discharge device is
A gas supply connected to the jet head;
The electrospinning apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: an on-off valve that opens and closes a flow path of gas between the gas supply unit and the injection head. The electrospinning apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the jet head is disposed toward the tip of the liquid nozzle. 5. The electrospinning apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the orientation of the jet head has an angle in the range of 20 degrees to 90 degrees with respect to the orientation of the liquid nozzle. The liquid nozzle is electrically conductive,
The substrate is made of a conductive material,
The electrospinning apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a power source that applies a voltage to the liquid nozzle. The electrospinning apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the jet head has a nozzle shape. Cleaning is provided with a gas discharge head for discharging a gas in a liquid discharge area between the substrate and a discharge port of a nozzle head having a liquid nozzle opposed to the substrate and discharging the liquid toward the substrate apparatus. Discharging a liquid toward the substrate from a liquid nozzle disposed opposite to the substrate;
Discharging a gas to a liquid discharge area between the substrate and the liquid nozzle;
An electrospinning method comprising:

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