JP2005193173A - Droplet discharge apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a droplet discharge apparatus free from the leakage of a liquid even when an organic material such as pheromone preserved for a long period. <P>SOLUTION: The problem is solved by using the droplet discharge apparatus including a housing part 210 housing the liquid to be discharged and formed of fluororubber and a discharge means for discharging the liquid supplied from the housing part 210. The fluororubber is preferably tetarfluoro ethylene-perfluoro vinyl ether based fluororubber or tetarfluoro ethylene-propylene based fluororubber. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a droplet discharge device that can store an organic substance for a long period of time.

  An inkjet discharge head used in a printing apparatus such as a printer can perform highly accurate discharge control. In recent years, attention has been paid to this point, and attempts have been made to apply the ink jet discharge head to other fields that require highly accurate discharge control.

As part of this, for example, US Pat. No. 6,398,977 (Patent Document 1) discloses a method of spraying an information chemical substance such as a pheromone for controlling a pest using an inkjet technique.
US Patent 6339897

  By the way, in an ink jet type droplet discharge device using a rubber tank as a discharge liquid storage chamber, liquid leakage from the nozzle hole is prevented by applying a negative pressure to the head portion using the restoring force of the rubber tank.

  However, when such an organic substance such as pheromone is used as the discharge liquid, the conventional liquid droplet discharge device expands the rubber member in the discharge liquid storage chamber, and the predetermined negative pressure cannot be maintained. There was a problem such as liquid. Therefore, such a substance cannot be stored for a long period of time, and there is still room for improvement in terms of resistance of the storage chamber.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a droplet discharge device that does not leak even when an organic substance such as pheromone is stored for a long period of time.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the present invention provides a droplet including a storage portion made of a fluorine-based rubber capable of storing a liquid to be discharged, and discharge means for discharging the liquid supplied from the storage portion. A discharge device is provided.

  According to such a configuration, since the fluorine-based rubber is excellent in resistance to organic substances, even after storing an organic substance such as pheromone and storing it for a long period of time, liquid leakage from the nozzle does not occur, and after that, good discharge is achieved. Is possible.

  The fluorine-based rubber is preferably tetrafluoroethylene-perfluorovinyl ether-based fluorine rubber or tetrafluoroethylene-propylene-based fluorine rubber.

  When such a material is used, the resistance to organic substances such as pheromones tends to increase.

  It is preferable that the fluorine-based rubber includes tetrafluoroethylene, perfluoromethyl vinyl ether, and ethylene.

  When such a material is used, the resistance to an organic substance such as pheromone tends to increase.

  It is preferable that the storage portion stores the liquid, and the liquid is a pheromone or a pheromone-like substance. This is particularly effective when the discharge liquid is such a substance.

  It is preferable that the storage unit stores the liquid, and the liquid is an aliphatic acetate, an aliphatic aldehyde, or an aliphatic alcohol. Specifically, for example, lauryl acetate, (Z) -11-hexadecenal, (Z) -11-hexadecenyl acetate, (Z) -8-dodecenyl acetate, (Z) -9-dodecenyl acetate, (Z ) -11-tetradecenyl acetate, 11-dodecenyl acetate, (Z) -9-tetradecenyl acetate, 10-methyl-dodecyl acetate, (Z) -11-hexadecenyl acetate, (Z) -11-tetradecenyl = Acetate, (Z) -9-tetradecenyl acetate, 10-methyl-dodecyl acetate, (Z) -9-dodecenyl acetate, 11-dodecenyl acetate, (Z) -11-tetradecen-1-ol, (Z ) -11-hexadecen-1-ol, (Z) -9-hexadecenal (Z)-11-one containing at least one can be cited selected hexadecenal and combinations thereof. Among these, it is preferably used for those containing at least one selected from lauryl acetate, (Z) -11-hexadecenal, (Z) -11-hexadecenyl = acetate and combinations thereof.

  It is preferable that the discharge means has an ink jet type discharge structure. Thereby, it becomes possible to perform discharge control with high accuracy. The driving method of the ink jet head may be a piezo method, an electrostatic driving method, or a thermal driving method.

  It is preferable that the hardness of the fluorinated rubber constituting the housing portion is 50 degrees or less. As a result, it is possible to apply a favorable negative pressure when ejecting droplets.

  The hardness of the fluorinated rubber constituting the housing part is preferably 30 to 50 degrees, and the wall thickness of the housing part is preferably 0.5 to 1 mm. As a result, it is possible to apply a favorable negative pressure when ejecting droplets.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the droplet discharge device of the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a droplet discharge device 200 according to this embodiment includes a storage unit (also referred to as a storage chamber) 210 that stores liquid to be discharged (discharge liquid), and discharge liquid supplied from the storage unit 210 to the outside. And a head part 220 having a discharge port 221 for discharging the liquid.

  In the droplet discharge device 200 of this embodiment, when the droplet is discharged to the outside by driving the head unit 220, the discharge liquid stored in the storage chamber 210 is newly filled in the head unit 220. The At that time, the storage chamber 210 is temporarily deformed and has a restoring force to return to the original state. By utilizing a restoring force of the storage chamber 210 and applying a constant negative pressure to the head unit 220, liquid leakage from the head unit 220 is prevented.

  Therefore, it is preferable that the accommodating part 210 is designed to have a hardness and a thickness that can apply a predetermined negative pressure by using the restoring force after deformation. Specifically, the capacity of the accommodating part 210 is 10 ml. In the case of the degree, for example, it is desirable that the hardness of the rubber constituting the housing portion 210 is 50 degrees or less, preferably 30 to 50 degrees, and more preferably 30 to 40 degrees. Moreover, it is desirable that the wall pressure of the accommodating portion 210 is, for example, 0.5 to 1.0 mm.

  Fluorine rubber is used as a material constituting the housing part (tank) 210 used in the present invention. As a result, even when an organic solvent is used as the discharge liquid, it is possible to prevent a decrease in elasticity due to the swelling of the container 210. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the problem of liquid leakage due to a decrease in the negative pressure of the storage unit 210. As such a fluorine-based rubber, for example, tetrafluoroethylene-perfluorovinyl ether-based fluorine rubber or tetrafluoroethylene-propylene-based fluorine rubber is preferably used.

  Further, among these, it is preferable that the rubber is composed of tetrafluoroethylene, perfluoromethyl vinyl ether and ethylene, and in particular, the content of ethylene as a structural unit is 10% by weight or less. It is preferable. In addition, as a crosslinking agent which forms such rubber | gum, a brominated olefin is used, for example. More specifically, Viton ETP (trade name) manufactured by DuPont Dow Elastomer, TECNOFLON P-50B01 (trade name) manufactured by Solvay Solexis, etc. are preferably used.

  According to such a configuration, even when an organic substance such as pheromone is stored for a long period of time, it is possible to maintain a favorable negative pressure in the head unit 220.

  As the discharge liquid used in the present invention, a pheromone or a pheromone-like substance is preferably used. The discharge liquid may be a pheromone or a pheromone-like substance of 100%, or may be diluted with an appropriate solvent (eg, alcohol). Here, the pheromone-like substance includes an artificially synthesized analog of pheromone. In addition, the analog here means, for example, one having the same basic skeleton as an arbitrary pheromone compound and having been substituted or chemically modified within a range that does not substantially impair the function of the pheromone compound.

  In recent years, in the field of agriculture, there is a demand for low pesticides, and as part of this, a method for controlling pests using pheromones or pheromone-like substances has attracted attention. This extermination method uses the sex pheromone produced by insects to disrupt the pest mating, thereby reducing the number of next-generation pests without killing the pests, thereby reducing the damage caused by the pests It is. The droplet discharge device 200 of the present embodiment can be suitably used particularly for a pest control method by spraying such a pheromone or a pheromone-like substance.

  Examples of the pheromone or pheromone-like substance include aliphatic acetate, aliphatic aldehyde, and aliphatic alcohol. Among these, the present invention is particularly suitable for aliphatic acetates, aliphatic aldehydes or aliphatic alcohols having 6 or more carbon atoms, preferably 10 or more carbon atoms.

  More specific examples of the pheromone or pheromone-like substance include lauryl acetate, (Z) -11-hexadecenal, (Z) -11-hexadecenyl = acetate, (Z) -8-dodecenyl = acetate, (Z)- 9-dodecenyl acetate, (Z) -11-tetradecenyl acetate, 11-dodecenyl acetate, (Z) -9-tetradecenyl acetate, 10-methyl-dodecyl acetate, (Z) -11-hexadecenyl acetate, Aliphatic acetates such as (Z) -11-tetradecenyl acetate, (Z) -9-tetradecenyl acetate, 10-methyl-dodecyl acetate, (Z) -9-dodecenyl acetate, 11-dodecenyl acetate; Z) -11-tetradecene-1-ol, (Z ) -11-hexadecen-1-ol; aliphatic alcohols such as (Z) -9-hexadecenal and (Z) -11-hexadecenal; Among these, those containing lauryl acetate, (Z) -11-hexadecenal, and (Z) -11-hexadecenyl = acetate are particularly preferably used. In addition, such a substance may be used individually by 1 type, or may be used in combination of 2 or more type. As what contains 2 or more types, the konagakon containing (Z) -11-hexadecenal and (Z) -11-hexadecenyl = acetate is mentioned, for example.

  The driving method of the head unit 220 may employ any of a piezo method (piezoelectric driving method), an electrostatic driving method, and a thermal driving method. Thereby, it becomes possible to perform discharge control with high accuracy. However, in the case where a substance that changes in quality due to the influence of heat or the like is used as the discharge liquid, it is preferable to use a piezo drive method or an electrostatic drive method.

According to the present invention, even when an organic substance such as pheromone is accommodated and stored for a long period of time, liquid leakage does not occur from the nozzle hole, and after that, discharge can be performed satisfactorily.
(Comparison of the effects of the materials making up the containment chamber)
Below, the test example for showing the effectiveness of the fluorine-type rubber | gum used for this invention is demonstrated. However, the present invention is not limited to the following test examples.
Were prepared test specimens made from the following material as a test material test material.
(1) Fluorine rubber (i) Specimen composed of tetrafluoroethylene-perfluorovinyl ether fluorine resin (DuPont Dow Elastomers, trade name Viton ETP) (ii) Tetrafluoroethylene-propylene fluorine rubber (Solvay Test piece made of Solexis, TECNOFLON P-50B01) (2) Reference material Test piece made of vinylidene fluoride / hexafluoropropylene copolymer rubber (DuPont Dow Elastomer, trade name Viton FPM) (3) Comparative material (i) Test piece made of silicone (ii) Test piece made of ethylene propylene rubber (EPDM)
Test Method Each of the above test pieces was immersed in pheromone (dodecyl acetate) for 24 hours, washed and dried, and the weight increase rate before and after immersion was evaluated.

  Table 1 shows the results.

表１に示されるように、フッ素系ゴムを用いた場合には、重量増加率が最大でも２１％であったのに対し、フッ素系ゴム以外の材料を用いた場合には、重量増加率が３０％以上となり、著しく膨潤したことが示された。

As shown in Table 1, when the fluorinated rubber was used, the weight increase rate was 21% at the maximum, whereas when a material other than the fluorinated rubber was used, the weight increase rate was It was 30% or more, indicating that it was significantly swollen.

  In addition, when tetrafluoroethylene-perfluorovinyl ether-based fluororubber and tetrafluoroethylene-propylene-based fluororubber were used, the weight increase rate was 1% or less, and in particular, it was shown that the swelling rate could be reduced. .

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the droplet discharge device of the present embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

Droplet discharge device ... 200, storage chamber ... 210, head portion ... 220

Claims (10)

An accommodating portion made of fluorine-based rubber capable of accommodating a liquid to be discharged;
Discharge means for discharging the liquid supplied from the storage section;
A droplet discharge apparatus comprising:   The droplet discharge device according to claim 1, wherein the fluorine rubber is tetrafluoroethylene-perfluorovinyl ether fluorine rubber or tetrafluoroethylene-propylene fluorine rubber.   The droplet discharge device according to claim 1, wherein the fluorine-based rubber includes tetrafluoroethylene, perfluoromethyl vinyl ether, and ethylene. The storage portion stores the liquid,
The droplet discharge device according to claim 1, wherein the liquid is a pheromone or a pheromone-like substance. The storage portion stores the liquid,
The droplet discharge device according to claim 1, wherein the liquid is an aliphatic acetate, an aliphatic aldehyde, or an aliphatic alcohol. The storage portion stores the liquid,
The liquid is lauryl acetate, (Z) -11-hexadecenal, (Z) -11-hexadecenyl acetate, (Z) -8-dodecenyl acetate, (Z) -9-dodecenyl acetate, (Z) -11 -Tetradecenyl acetate, 11-dodecenyl acetate, (Z) -9-tetradecenyl acetate, 10-methyl-dodecyl acetate, (Z) -11-hexadecenyl acetate, (Z) -11-tetradecenyl acetate, Z) -9-tetradecenyl acetate, 10-methyl-dodecyl acetate, (Z) -9-dodecenyl acetate, 11-dodecenyl acetate, (Z) -11-tetradecen-1-ol, (Z) -11 -Hexadecene-1-ol, (Z) -9-hexadecenal, (Z) 11- hexadecenal and at least one selected from the combination, the liquid droplet ejection apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5. The storage portion stores the liquid,
The liquid droplet ejection according to claim 1, wherein the liquid includes at least one selected from lauryl acetate, (Z) -11-hexadecenal, (Z) -11-hexadecenyl = acetate, and combinations thereof. apparatus.   The liquid droplet ejection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ejection unit includes an ink jet type ejection structure.   The droplet discharge device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the hardness of the fluorinated rubber constituting the housing portion is 50 degrees or less. The droplet discharge device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the hardness of the fluorinated rubber constituting the storage portion is 30 to 50 degrees, and the wall thickness of the storage portion is 0.5 to 1 mm.

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