JP2006000795A - Resin particulate manufacturing apparatus, resin particulate manufacturing method and resin particulate - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a resin particulate manufacturing apparatus capable of obtaining a resin particulate having a different shape by reducing sphericity while making the resin particulate having a uniform shape and a small particle distribution range, a resin particulate manufacturing method and a resin particulate. <P>SOLUTION: The resin particulate manufacturing apparatus is a manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing the resin particulate using a dispersion liquid 6 in which a dispersoid containing a raw material for manufacturing the resin particulate is finely dispersed in a dispersion medium, and has a jetting part of a head part 2 for jetting the dispersion liquid 6 in a granular shape and a conveying part 3 for drying the granular dispersion liquid 6 jetted from the jetting part while conveying it to make it to a toner particle 9 (resin particulate). In the conveying part 3, a shape imparting member 15 for deforming the granular dispersion liquid 6 by collision is provided at a semi-solidification area (heating area 331) where the granular dispersion liquid 6 jetted from the jetting part becomes the semi-solidification state. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a resin fine particle production apparatus, a resin fine particle production method, and a resin fine particle.

Examples of fine particles composed of resin as a main material, that is, resin fine particles, include toners used in image forming apparatuses such as printers, copiers, and facsimiles that employ an electrophotographic system.
As a manufacturing method of the toner, a dispersion liquid in which a dispersoid containing a resin constituting the toner is finely dispersed is ejected as granular droplets using an ink jet method, and the droplets are dried to form a granular material. As a result, a method for producing a toner using this granular material is known (for example, see Patent Document 1).

For example, in Patent Document 1, liquid droplets are ejected from a nozzle of an ink jet apparatus in a substantially constant amount, and the liquid droplets are transported in a cylindrical solidified portion and spherical due to the effect of surface tension while receiving little external force. While maintaining the above, it is dried and solidified into a granular body.
Therefore, the granular material obtained in this way has a small variation in particle size because the droplets ejected from the nozzle at a substantially constant amount are solidified. Further, since the obtained fine particles are obtained by solidifying the droplets discharged from the nozzles while maintaining a substantially spherical shape, the variation in shape is small.
However, the fine particles obtained by the method of Patent Document 1 are almost spherical due to the action of surface tension, because the liquid droplets ejected from the nozzle hardly receive external force.

  The resin fine particles may be required to have a relatively low sphericity, that is, an irregular shape while suppressing variations in particle size and shape. For example, in an image forming apparatus, it is necessary to clean the toner remaining on the photosensitive drum or the transfer belt by scraping it off with a cleaning blade. There is a risk of causing. Therefore, an irregularly shaped toner is required.

JP 2003-262976 A

  An object of the present invention is to provide a resin fine particle production apparatus and a resin that can obtain resin fine particles having a uniform shape and having a small particle size distribution, but having a reduced sphericity and having a different shape. The object is to provide a method for producing fine particles and resin fine particles.

Such an object is achieved by the present invention described below.
The resin fine particle production apparatus of the present invention is a production apparatus for producing resin fine particles using a dispersion in which a dispersoid containing a raw material for resin fine particle production is finely dispersed in a dispersion medium,
A discharge unit that discharges the dispersion liquid in a granular form, and a transfer unit that is dried while transporting the granular dispersion liquid discharged from the discharge unit to form resin fine particles,
A shape imparting member for causing the granular dispersion liquid to collide and deform in a semi-solidified region where the granular dispersion liquid discharged from the discharge section is in a semi-solidified state is provided in the transport section. Features.

  Thereby, since the granular dispersion liquid discharged from the discharge part is deformed by the collision with the shape-imparting member and is solidified while maintaining the state, resin fine particles having an irregular shape can be obtained. In addition, since the granular dispersion discharged from the discharge unit is in a semi-solid state when colliding with the shape-imparting member, it can prevent adhesion with other granular dispersion and shape-imparting member, As a result, the obtained resin fine particles have a uniform shape and a narrow particle size distribution.

In the resin fine particle manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, the shape imparting member has a collision surface on which the granular dispersion collides, and the collision surface is in the direction in which the granular dispersion enters the shape imparting member. It is preferable to be inclined.
Thereby, it can prevent more reliably that the discharged granular dispersion liquid adheres and adheres to a shape provision member.

In the resin fine particle manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, the collision surface is preferably a conical surface.
Thereby, it can prevent more reliably that the discharged granular dispersion liquid adheres and adheres to a shape-giving member, while making a shape-giving member a comparatively simple structure.
In the resin fine particle manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, a plurality of the collision surfaces are provided, and the plurality of the collision surfaces are spaced apart from each other in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction in which the granular dispersion liquid enters the shape imparting member. Are preferably arranged.
As a result, the size of the shape-imparting member in the direction in which the granular dispersion liquid enters the shape-imparting member can be kept small, thereby suppressing variations in the distance between the discharge portion and the collision position of the granular dispersion liquid on the shape-imparting member. As a result, irregularly shaped resin fine particles with less variation in shape can be obtained.

In the resin fine particle manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, it is preferable that the collision surface has an inclination angle of 10 to 80 ° with respect to the entering direction of the granular dispersion with respect to the shape imparting member.
Thereby, it can prevent more reliably that the discharged granular dispersion liquid adheres and adheres to a shape provision member.
In the resin fine particle manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, it is preferable that the shape imparting member has liquid repellency in the vicinity of a collision surface for colliding with the granular dispersion.
Thereby, it can prevent more reliably that the discharged granular dispersion liquid adheres and adheres to a shape provision member.

In the resin fine particle manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, it is preferable that the shape imparting member is movable in the transport unit so as to change a distance from the discharge unit.
Thereby, a resin fine particle which makes a desired unusual shape can be obtained by changing distance between a shape provision member and a discharge part.
In the resin fine particle manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, the shape imparting member vibrates a collision surface for colliding with the granular dispersion liquid, and the discharge unit adheres the dispersion liquid adhered to the collision surface. It is preferable to be configured to be shaken down to the downstream side in the direction of discharging.
Thereby, it can prevent more reliably that the discharged granular dispersion liquid adheres and adheres to a shape provision member.

In the resin fine particle manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, the frequency of the collision surface of the shape imparting member is preferably 1 to 500 Hz.
Thereby, it can prevent more reliably that the discharged granular dispersion liquid adheres and adheres to the shape-imparting member while preventing damage to the shape-imparting member due to vibration.
In the resin fine particle manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, the semi-solidified region is preferably a heated region composed of a heated atmosphere.
Thereby, it can solidify more reliably in the state which deformed granular dispersion liquid.

In the resin fine particle manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, it is preferable that the temperature of the heating region is 30 to 150 ° C.
Thereby, the dispersion liquid can be more effectively removed from the discharged granular dispersion liquid, and the granular dispersion liquid can be solidified more reliably in a deformed state.
In the resin fine particle manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, it is preferable that a dry gas is introduced into the heating region.
Thereby, the dispersion liquid can be more effectively removed from the discharged granular dispersion liquid, and the granular dispersion liquid can be solidified more reliably in a deformed state.

In the resin fine particle manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention, the humidity of the dry gas is preferably 50% RH or less.
Thereby, the dispersion liquid can be more effectively removed from the discharged granular dispersion liquid, and the granular dispersion liquid can be solidified more reliably in a deformed state.
In the resin fine particle production apparatus of the present invention, the resin fine particles are preferably toner.
As a result, it is possible to obtain a toner having an irregular shape by reducing the sphericity while having a uniform shape and a narrow particle size distribution.

The method for producing resin fine particles of the present invention is characterized in that resin fine particles are produced using the resin fine particle production apparatus of the present invention.
Thereby, while having a uniform shape and a small particle size distribution, it is possible to obtain resin particles having irregular shapes by reducing the sphericity.
The resin fine particles of the present invention are obtained by the method for producing resin fine particles of the present invention.
Thereby, while having a uniform shape and a small particle size distribution, it is possible to obtain resin particles having irregular shapes by reducing the sphericity.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a resin fine particle production apparatus, a resin fine particle production method, and a resin fine particle of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
<First Embodiment>
First, a first embodiment of the resin fine particle production apparatus of the present invention will be described.
FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view schematically showing a first embodiment of the resin fine particle production apparatus of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view near the head portion of the resin fine particle production apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the shape provision member with which the resin fine particle manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 was equipped. In the following description, the upper side in FIG. 1 is referred to as “upper” or “upper”, and the lower side is referred to as “lower” or “lower”.

[Resin fine particle production equipment]
First, the resin fine particle manufacturing apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
When the resin fine particle production apparatus of the present invention is applied to a toner production apparatus, it is possible to obtain a toner having excellent cleaning characteristics while improving charging characteristics and transfer efficiency. Therefore, in the following description, a case where the resin fine particle manufacturing apparatus of the present invention is applied to a toner manufacturing apparatus will be described.
The toner manufacturing apparatus 1 includes a head unit 2 that ejects a dispersion liquid 6 (particularly, a dispersion liquid 6 that has been deaerated) in a granular form, a dispersion liquid supply unit 4 that supplies the dispersion liquid 6 to the head unit 2, and a head A transport unit 3 that transports the granular dispersion 6 discharged from the unit 2, a shape imparting member 15 that deforms the discharged granular dispersion 6 in the transport unit 3, and manufactured toner particles 9. And a collection unit 5 for collecting (resin fine particles). The dispersion liquid 6 will be described in detail later.

A dispersion liquid 6 to be described later is stored in the dispersion liquid supply unit 4, and the dispersion liquid 6 is sent to the head unit 2.
The dispersion liquid supply unit 4 may have any function as long as it has a function of supplying the dispersion liquid 6 to the head unit 2. Alternatively, the dispersion liquid supply unit 4 may have stirring means 41 for stirring the dispersion liquid 6 as illustrated. Thereby, for example, even if the dispersoid 61 is difficult to disperse in the dispersion medium, the dispersion 6 in which the dispersoid 61 is sufficiently uniformly dispersed can be supplied into the head portion 2.

As shown in FIG. 2, the head unit 2 includes a dispersion liquid storage unit 21, a piezoelectric element 22, and a discharge unit 23.
The dispersion liquid storage unit 21 stores a dispersion liquid 6 as will be described later.
The dispersion liquid 6 stored in the dispersion liquid storage unit 21 is discharged from the discharge unit 23 to the transport unit 3 by the pressure pulse of the piezoelectric element 22.

Although the shape of the discharge part 23 is not specifically limited, It is preferable that it is a substantially circular shape. Thereby, clogging at the discharge part 23 of the dispersion liquid 6 can be prevented more reliably.
When the discharge part 23 is a substantially circular shape, the diameter (nozzle diameter) is preferably 1 to 500 μm, and more preferably 3 to 200 μm, for example. Thereby, the shape stability of the liquid droplets discharged from the discharge unit 23 can be further improved while preventing the discharge unit 23 from being clogged. On the other hand, if the diameter of the discharge portion 23 is less than the lower limit value, in order to obtain toner particles 9 having a desired size, the content rate of the toner constituents in the dispersion 6 must be increased. No longer. As a result, depending on the composition of the dispersion 6 and the like, the viscosity of the dispersion 6 may increase, and it may be difficult to discharge the droplet-like dispersion 6. When the diameter of the discharge portion 23 exceeds the upper limit, depending on the viscosity of the dispersion 6 and the like, the stability of the shape of the discharged droplet-like dispersion 6 is lowered, and finally obtained toner particles 9 also has a large variation in shape. If the opening area of the discharge part 23 exceeds the upper limit, the discharged dispersion liquid 6 may entrap bubbles depending on the force relationship between the negative pressure of the dispersion liquid storage part 21 and the surface tension of the nozzle. There is.

  Further, the vicinity of the discharge portion 23 of the head portion 2 (particularly, the inner surface of the opening of the discharge portion 23 and the surface on the side where the discharge portion 23 of the head portion 2 is provided (the lower surface in the figure)) is a dispersion liquid. 6 preferably has liquid repellency. Thereby, it can prevent effectively that the dispersion liquid 6 adheres to the discharge part vicinity. As a result, it is possible to effectively prevent a so-called poor liquid runout or a discharge failure of the dispersion 6. Further, by effectively preventing the dispersion liquid 6 from adhering to the vicinity of the discharge portion, the stability of the shape of the discharged droplets is improved (the variation in shape and size between the droplets is small). The variation in the shape and size of the toner particles finally obtained is also reduced.

Such a liquid repellent treatment is performed by applying a liquid repellent material such as polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) or a liquid repellent material such as a silicone resin, or by performing fine unevenness processing so as to have liquid repellent properties. It can be applied depending on the situation. Note that the vicinity of the discharge portion 23 of the head portion 2 may be configured using a liquid repellent material as a main material.
Further, the vicinity of the discharge portion 23 of the head portion 2 (particularly, the inner surface of the opening of the discharge portion 23 and the surface on the side where the discharge portion 23 of the head portion 2 is provided (the lower surface in the drawing)) is hydrophobized. It is preferable that the treatment is performed. Thereby, for example, when the dispersion medium 62 of the dispersion 6 is mainly composed of water, the above-described liquid repellency can be more suitably exhibited, and the above effects are more remarkable. Appears as something. Examples of the hydrophobic treatment method include the same liquid repellent treatment as described above, such as formation of a coating film made of a hydrophobic material (for example, the liquid repellent material described above). By the way, water has a relatively high viscosity among various liquids, but even if such water is used as a constituent material of the dispersion medium 62, the disadvantage is caused by the dispersion 6 adhering to the vicinity of the discharge portion. Is effectively prevented from occurring. Therefore, when the hydrophobic treatment is performed in the vicinity of the discharge portion 23 of the head portion 2, the dispersion liquid 6 substantially not containing or hardly containing an organic solvent can be suitably used. The toner can be produced by a method that hardly causes an adverse effect.

As shown in FIG. 2, the piezoelectric element 22 includes a lower electrode (first electrode) 221, a piezoelectric body 222, and an upper electrode (second electrode) 223 that are stacked in this order. In other words, the piezoelectric element 22 has a configuration in which the piezoelectric body 222 is interposed between the upper electrode 223 and the lower electrode 221.
The piezoelectric element 22 functions as a vibration source, and the diaphragm 24 vibrates due to the vibration of the piezoelectric element (vibration source) 22 and has a function of instantaneously increasing the internal pressure of the dispersion liquid storage unit 21. It is.

The head unit 2 is in a state where a predetermined ejection signal is not input from a piezoelectric element driving circuit (not shown), that is, a state where no voltage is applied between the lower electrode 221 and the upper electrode 223 of the piezoelectric element 22. Then, the piezoelectric body 222 is not deformed. For this reason, the diaphragm 24 is not deformed and the volume of the dispersion liquid storage unit 21 is not changed. Therefore, the dispersion 6 is not discharged from the discharge unit 23.
On the other hand, in a state where a predetermined ejection signal is input from the piezoelectric element driving circuit, that is, in a state where a predetermined voltage is applied between the lower electrode 221 and the upper electrode 223 of the piezoelectric element 22, the piezoelectric body 222 is deformed. Arise. As a result, the diaphragm 24 is greatly deflected (bends downward in FIG. 2), and the volume of the dispersion liquid storage unit 21 is reduced (changed). At this time, the pressure in the dispersion liquid storage unit 21 increases instantaneously, and the granular dispersion liquid 6 is discharged from the discharge unit 23.

When one discharge of the dispersion liquid 6 is completed, the piezoelectric element driving circuit stops applying the voltage between the lower electrode 221 and the upper electrode 223. Thereby, the piezoelectric element 22 returns almost to its original shape, and the volume of the dispersion liquid storage unit 21 increases. At this time, a pressure (pressure in the positive direction) acting from the dispersion liquid supply unit 4 to the discharge unit 23 acts on the dispersion liquid 6. For this reason, air is prevented from entering the dispersion liquid storage part 21 from the discharge part 23, and an amount of the dispersion liquid 6 corresponding to the discharge amount of the dispersion liquid 6 is supplied from the dispersion liquid supply part 4 to the dispersion liquid storage part 21. The
By applying the voltage as described above at a predetermined cycle, the piezoelectric element 22 vibrates and the granular dispersion liquid 6 is repeatedly discharged.

In this way, by performing discharge (injection) of the dispersion liquid 6 with the pressure pulse generated by the vibration of the piezoelectric body 222, the dispersion liquid 6 can be intermittently discharged one by one, and the discharged dispersion liquid 6 can be discharged. The shape of is stable. As a result, resin particles (toner) having small variations in shape and size between the respective particles (each toner particle) can be obtained.
Further, by discharging (injecting) the dispersion liquid as described above, the vibration frequency of the piezoelectric body, the opening area (nozzle diameter) of the discharge portion, the temperature / viscosity of the dispersion liquid, the discharge amount of one drop of the dispersion liquid, The content of the dispersoid in the dispersion and the particle size of the dispersoid in the dispersion can be controlled relatively accurately, making it easy to control the toner to be manufactured to the desired shape and size. it can. Further, by controlling these conditions and the like, for example, the production amount of toner and the like can be easily and reliably managed.
Further, by using the vibration of the piezoelectric body for discharging the dispersion liquid, the dispersion liquid can be discharged more reliably at a predetermined interval. For this reason, it can prevent effectively that the granular dispersion liquid discharged collides and aggregates, and can prevent the formation of irregular-shaped powder more effectively.

The initial velocity of the dispersion 6 discharged from the head unit 2 to the transport unit 3 is, for example, preferably 0.1 to 10 m / sec, and more preferably 2 to 8 m / sec. When the initial speed of the dispersion liquid 6 is less than the lower limit, the productivity of the toner decreases. On the other hand, when the initial velocity of the dispersion liquid 6 exceeds the upper limit value, the shape of the obtained toner particles 9 tends to vary greatly.
Moreover, the viscosity of the dispersion 6 discharged from the head part 2 is not particularly limited, but is preferably 0.5 to 200 [mPa · s], for example, 1 to 25 [mPa · s]. Is more preferable. When the viscosity of the dispersion liquid 6 is less than the lower limit, it is difficult to sufficiently control the size of the discharged particles (granular dispersion liquid 6), and the variation of the obtained toner particles 9 may increase. is there. On the other hand, when the viscosity of the dispersion 6 exceeds the upper limit, the diameter of the formed particles increases, the discharge speed of the dispersion 6 decreases, and the amount of energy required for discharging the dispersion 6 tends to increase. Show. In addition, when the viscosity of the dispersion liquid 6 is particularly large, the dispersion liquid 6 cannot be discharged as droplets.

Further, the discharge amount of one drop of the dispersion 6 is slightly different depending on the content of the dispersoid 61 in the dispersion 6, but is preferably 0.05 to 500 pl, and more preferably 0.5 to 5 pl. Is more preferable. By setting the discharge amount of one drop of the dispersion 6 within such a range, the toner particles 9 can be made to have an appropriate particle size.
Incidentally, the granular dispersion liquid 6 discharged from the head unit 2 is generally sufficiently larger than the dispersoid 61 in the dispersion liquid 6. That is, a large number of dispersoids 61 are dispersed in the granular dispersion liquid 6. For this reason, even if the dispersion of the particle size of the dispersoid 61 is relatively large, the ratio of the dispersoid 61 in the discharged granular dispersion liquid 6 is almost uniform for each droplet. Therefore, even when the particle size variation of the dispersoid 61 is relatively large, the toner particles 9 have a small particle size variation by making the discharge amount of the dispersion 6 substantially uniform. Such a tendency becomes more remarkable. For example, when the average particle diameter of the discharged dispersion liquid 6 is Dd [μm] and the average particle diameter of the dispersoid 61 in the dispersion liquid 6 is Dm [μm], the relationship of Dm / Dd <0.5 is satisfied. It is preferable to satisfy the relationship of Dm / Dd <0.2.

  Further, when the average particle size of the discharged dispersion 6 is Dd [μm] and the average particle size of the manufactured toner particles is Dt [μm], a relationship of 0.05 ≦ Dt / Dd ≦ 1.0 is established. It is preferable to satisfy, and it is more preferable to satisfy the relationship of 0.1 ≦ Dt / Dd ≦ 0.8. By satisfying such a relationship, sufficiently fine toner particles 9 having a sharp particle size distribution can be obtained relatively easily.

  The frequency of the piezoelectric element 22 is not particularly limited, but is preferably 1 kHz to 500 MHz, and more preferably 5 kHz to 200 MHz. When the vibration frequency of the piezoelectric element 22 is less than the lower limit value, toner productivity decreases. On the other hand, when the vibration frequency of the piezoelectric element 22 exceeds the upper limit, the discharge of the granular dispersion liquid 6 cannot follow, and there is a possibility that the dispersion of the size of one drop of the dispersion liquid 6 becomes large.

The toner manufacturing apparatus 1 having the illustrated configuration has a plurality of head portions 2. Then, a granular dispersion 6 is discharged from the head unit 2 to the transport unit 3.
Each head unit 2 may discharge the dispersion 6 almost simultaneously, but it is preferable that at least two adjacent head units are controlled so that the discharge timing of the dispersion 6 is different. . Thereby, before the granular dispersion liquid 6 discharged from the adjacent head part 2 solidifies, it can prevent more effectively that a granular dispersion liquid collides and aggregates.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the toner manufacturing apparatus 1 is configured so that the gas supplied from a gas supply means (not shown) is supplied from each gas injection port 7 provided between the head portion 2 and the head portion 2 with a substantially uniform pressure. It is the composition which is injected with. Such a gas preferably contains the same composition as that of the dispersion medium 62. Thereby, it is possible to more effectively suppress the dispersion medium 62 from voluntarily evaporating from the dispersion liquid 6 in the vicinity of the head portion 2, and it is possible to more reliably prevent various problems such as clogging. Thereby, the dispersion liquid 6 can be conveyed and solidified while maintaining the interval of the granular dispersion liquid 6 intermittently ejected from the ejection section 23. As a result, collision and aggregation between the discharged granular dispersions 6 are more effectively prevented.

In addition, by injecting the gas from the gas injection port 7, it is possible to form a gas flow that flows in substantially one direction (downward in the drawing) in the transport unit 3. When such a gas flow is formed, the granular dispersion 6 (toner particles 9) in the transport unit 3 can be transported more efficiently.
In addition, an air current curtain is formed between particles ejected from each head unit 2 by ejecting gas from the gas ejection port 7, for example, a collision between particles ejected from adjacent head units, Aggregation can be prevented more effectively.

  The content of the dispersion medium in the gas injected from the gas injection port 7 is not particularly limited. For example, the humidity of the gas when water containing water is used as the dispersion medium is 60% RH or more. Preferably, it is 70% RH or more. Thereby, it is possible to more effectively suppress the dispersion medium 62 from being voluntarily evaporated from the dispersion liquid 6 in the vicinity of the head portion 2.

The transport unit 3 is configured by a cylindrical housing 31.
As shown in FIG. 1, the transport unit 3 is provided with a cooling region 321 near (directly below) the head unit 2. As shown in the figure, the cooling region 321 is formed by cooling the region immediately below (in the vicinity of) the head unit 2 by the cooling means 32 provided in the transport unit 3.
Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the transport unit 3 is provided with a heating region 331 on the downstream side of the cooling region 321 in the transport direction of the discharged dispersion 6 (in the direction of the arrow in the figure). . The heating region 331 is formed by heating means 33 provided in the housing 31 as shown in the figure.

  Although the temperature of the cooling region 321 varies depending on the composition of the dispersion medium 62 and the like, it is preferably 10 to 35 ° C., particularly 20 to 25 ° C. when the dispersion medium 62 includes water. Is more preferable. If the temperature of the cooling region 321 is less than the lower limit, depending on the composition of the dispersion 6 and the like, the viscosity of the dispersion 6 may become too high and it may be difficult to discharge from the head unit 2. On the other hand, if the temperature of the cooling region 321 exceeds the upper limit, depending on the composition of the dispersion 6 and the like, the evaporation (volatilization) of the unintentional dispersion medium 62 from the dispersion 6 may not be sufficiently suppressed.

The heating area 331 is an area where the temperature is higher than that of the cooling area 321. That is, the heating region 331 is composed of a heated atmosphere.
The temperature of the heating region 331 only needs to be higher than the temperature of the cooling region 321. Specifically, the temperature varies depending on the composition of the dispersion medium 62, but particularly when the dispersion medium 62 includes water. Is preferably 30 to 150 ° C., more preferably 50 to 80 ° C. If the temperature of the heating region 331 is less than the lower limit, it may be difficult to sufficiently remove the dispersion medium 62 from the dispersion 6 depending on the composition of the dispersion 6 and the like. On the other hand, when the temperature of the heating region 331 exceeds the upper limit, depending on the composition of the dispersion 6 and the like, the dispersion medium 62 may be rapidly removed, and as a result, cavities may be generated inside the obtained toner particles. There is.

  The heating region 331 has a semi-solidified region in which the granular dispersion discharged from the discharge unit is in a semi-solid state, and the granular dispersion 6 is collided with the semi-solidified region and deformed. An application member 15 is provided. In this semi-solid state, the dispersion medium is removed only in the vicinity of the outer surface of the granular dispersion 6, but the dispersion medium is still sufficiently left inside the granular dispersion 6, and the granular dispersion 6 is deformed. It is easy to do. That is, the semi-solidified dispersion 6 is easily deformed by contact with other objects and is difficult to adhere to and adhere to other objects.

As a result, the granular dispersion 6 discharged from the discharge portion 23 is deformed by the collision with the shape imparting member 15 and solidifies while maintaining the state, so that the toner particles 9 (resin fine particles) having an irregular shape are formed. Obtainable. Further, since the granular dispersion 6 discharged from the discharge section 23 is in a semi-solid state when colliding with the shape imparting member 15, it is prevented from adhering to other granular dispersion 6 or the shape imparting member 15. As a result, the obtained toner particles 9 (resin fine particles) have a uniform shape and a narrow particle size distribution.
In particular, since the semi-solidified region is a heating region 331 composed of a heated atmosphere, the granular dispersion liquid 6 can be solidified more reliably in a deformed state.

As shown in FIG. 3, the shape imparting member 15 includes a plurality of shape imparting plates 15A, a holding member 15B that retains the plurality of shape imparting plates 15A, and an attachment member 15C that is fixed to the retaining member 15B. Yes.
The plurality of shape imparting plates 15 </ b> A are spaced apart from each other in the horizontal direction, that is, in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction in which the granular dispersion 6 enters the shape imparting member 15.
Each of the plurality of shape imparting plates 15A has a collision surface 15A1 for colliding with the granular dispersion 6. The collision surface 15A1 is inclined with respect to the vertical direction, that is, the entering direction of the granular dispersion 6 with respect to the shape imparting member 15. Thereby, the granular dispersion liquid 6 that collided with the collision surface 15A1 is deformed and is conveyed downward along the collision surface 15A1 while maintaining the state, and passes between the shape imparting plates 15A. Therefore, while the granular dispersion 6 is reliably deformed by the collision with the shape imparting member 15, the discharged granular dispersion 6 adheres and adheres to the shape imparting member 15 (the collision surface 15A1 of the shape imparting plate 15A). This can be prevented more reliably.

  Further, a plurality of the collision surfaces 15A1 of the plurality of shape imparting plates 15A are provided and are spaced apart from each other in the horizontal direction, that is, in a direction substantially perpendicular to the entering direction of the granular dispersion 6 with respect to the shape imparting member 15. Has been. Thereby, since the dimension of the shape imparting member 15 in the entering direction of the granular dispersion liquid 6 with respect to the shape imparting member 15 can be suppressed to a small value, the discharge portion 23 and the collision position of the granular dispersion liquid 6 on the shape imparting member 15 are reduced. As a result, it is possible to obtain irregularly shaped toner particles 9 (resin fine particles) with less variation in shape.

The collision surface 15A1 preferably has an inclination angle θ of 10 to 80 °, more preferably 20 to 70 °, and more preferably 30 to 70 ° with respect to the direction in which the granular dispersion 6 enters the shape imparting member 15. Is more preferable. Thereby, it can prevent more reliably that the discharged granular dispersion liquid 6 adheres and adheres to the shape imparting member 15.
On the other hand, when the tilt angle is less than the lower limit, the granular dispersion 6 may not be sufficiently deformed depending on the constituent material of the dispersion 6, the position of the shape imparting member 15, and the like. is there. On the other hand, when the tilt angle exceeds the upper limit, the dispersion 6 may adhere to and adhere to the collision surface 15A1 depending on the constituent material of the dispersion 6, the position of the shape imparting member 15, and the like.
Further, the collision surface 15A1 has a variable inclination angle θ, and the inclination angle θ may be changed according to the constituent material of the dispersion liquid 6, the position of the shape imparting member 15, and the like.

The shape imparting member 15 preferably has liquid repellency in the vicinity of the collision surface 15A1. Thereby, it can prevent more reliably that the discharged granular dispersion liquid 6 adheres and adheres to the shape imparting member 15. In order to impart liquid repellency in the vicinity of the collision surface 15A1, the same liquid repellent treatment as described above can be used.
The attachment member 15 </ b> C protrudes outward toward the inner peripheral surface of the housing 31, and the attachment member 15 </ b> C is supported on the inner wall surface of the housing 31 so as to be vertically movable. As a result, the shape imparting member 15 can move in the vertical direction, and the distance between the shape imparting member 15 and the ejection unit 23 can be changed within the transport unit 3. Thus, the toner particles 9 (resin fine particles) having a desired different shape can be obtained by changing the distance between the shape imparting member 15 and the discharge portion 23.

  In addition, an actuator 15D for applying vibration to the shape imparting plate 15A is attached to the attachment member 15C. That is, the shape imparting member 15 vibrates the collision surface 15A1 for colliding with the granular dispersion liquid 6, and the dispersion liquid 6 adhering to the collision surface 15A1 is moved in the direction in which the granular dispersion liquid 6 enters the shape imparting member 15. It is configured to shake down to the downstream side. Thereby, it can prevent more reliably that the discharged granular dispersion liquid 6 adheres and adheres to the shape imparting member 15.

The frequency of the collision surface 15A1 of the shape imparting member 15 is preferably 1 to 500 Hz, and more preferably 20 to 50 Hz. Thereby, it can prevent more reliably that the discharged granular dispersion liquid 6 adheres and adheres to the shape imparting member 15 while preventing the shape imparting member 15 from being damaged by vibration.
On the other hand, if the frequency is less than the lower limit value, depending on the constituent material of the dispersion 6 or the configuration of the shape imparting member 15, the effect of preventing the dispersion 6 from adhering to and fixing to the shape imparting member 15 can be obtained. It may not be possible to fully demonstrate. On the other hand, when the frequency exceeds the upper limit, depending on the constituent material of the dispersion 6 or the configuration of the shape imparting member 15, the shape imparting member 15 may be damaged, or the shape of the obtained toner particles 9 may vary. May become larger.

The actuator 15D may not necessarily be provided depending on conditions such as the inclination angle of the collision surface 15A1 and water repellency.
Further, at least a part of the inner wall surface of the housing 31 is subjected to a liquid repellent treatment so as to have a liquid repellent property with respect to the dispersion liquid 6 in the same manner as the vicinity of the discharge portion 23 of the head portion 2 described above. Thereby, the dispersion liquid 6 (toner particles 9) can be effectively prevented from adhering to the inner wall surface of the housing 31. As a result, the granular dispersion liquid 6 can be solidified more reliably in a deformed state. Further, the collection efficiency of the toner particles 9 is improved.

Further, it is preferable that at least a part of the inner wall surface of the housing 31 is subjected to a hydrophobic treatment (water repellent treatment) in the same manner as in the vicinity of the discharge portion 23 of the head portion 2 described above. Thereby, for example, when the dispersion medium 62 of the dispersion 6 is mainly composed of water, the above-described liquid repellency can be more suitably exhibited, and the above effects are more remarkable. Appears as something. Examples of the hydrophobizing method include the same methods as those for forming a film composed of a hydrophobic material (for example, the above-described material having liquid repellency).
The housing 31 may be connected to voltage application means 8 for applying a voltage. By applying a voltage having the same polarity as that of the granular dispersion 6 (toner particles 9) to the inner surface side of the housing 31 by the voltage application means 8, the following effects can be obtained.

  Usually, the toner particles are positively or negatively charged. For this reason, when there is a charged substance charged with a polarity different from that of the toner particles, a phenomenon occurs in which the toner particles are electrostatically attracted and attached to the charged substance. On the other hand, if there is a charged material charged to the same polarity as the toner particles, the charged material and the toner particles repel each other, and the phenomenon that the toner adheres to the surface of the charged material can be effectively prevented. Therefore, by applying a voltage having the same polarity as that of the granular dispersion liquid 6 (toner particles 9) to the inner surface side of the housing 31, it is effective that the dispersion liquid 6 (toner particles 9) adhere to the inner surface of the housing 31. Can be prevented. Thereby, the variation of the particle size of the obtained granular pair 9 (resin fine particles) can be made smaller, and the recovery efficiency of the toner particles 9 is also improved. In particular, when used in combination with the above-described liquid repellent treatment (hydrophobization treatment), the effect can be further enhanced.

Further, in the illustrated configuration, the toner manufacturing apparatus 1 has an air intake unit 12. A gas flow can be formed in the transport unit 3 by the intake means 12. As a result, the finely divided dispersion liquid 6 (toner particles 9) can be smoothly transported in the transport section 3.
In the configuration shown in the figure, the intake means 12 is connected to the housing 31 by a connecting pipe 121. Further, an enlarged diameter portion 122 having an enlarged inner diameter is formed in the vicinity of the end portion of the connection pipe 121 connected to the housing 31, and a filter 123 for preventing the suction of the toner particles 9 and the like is further provided. ing.

As shown in FIG. 1, the toner manufacturing apparatus 1 includes a gas supply unit 10, and the dry gas supplied from the gas supply unit 10 is introduced into the heating region 331 via the duct 101. It is the composition which becomes.
A heat exchanger 11 is attached to the gas supply means 10. Thereby, the temperature of the dry gas injected from the gas injection port 14 can be set to a preferable value, and when the granular dispersion 6 discharged to the transport unit 3 passes through the heating region 331, the dispersion medium is changed. It can be efficiently removed and solidified in a state where the granular dispersion 6 is deformed more reliably.

  The humidity of the dry gas injected from the gas injection port 14 is, for example, preferably 50% RH or less, more preferably 30% RH or less, and even more preferably 20% RH or less. When the humidity of the dry gas injected from the gas injection port 14 is 50% RH or less, the dispersion medium 62 contained in the dispersion liquid 6 is efficiently removed in the heating region 331 described above, and the granular shape is more reliably obtained. The dispersion liquid 6 can be solidified in a deformed state. In addition, toner productivity is further improved.

In addition, the temperature of the dry gas injected from the gas injection port 14 varies depending on the composition of the dispersoid 61 and the dispersion medium 62 contained in the dispersion 6, but is preferably 10 to 250 ° C. More preferably, it is -200 degreeC. When the temperature of the dry gas ejected from the gas ejection port 14 is within such a range, the dispersion medium 62 contained in the dispersion 6 can be efficiently dispersed while maintaining the uniformity of the shape of the toner particles 9 obtained. By removing, the granular dispersion liquid 6 can be solidified more reliably in a deformed state. Further, the toner productivity can be made particularly excellent.
Further, when such a gas supply means 10 is provided, the removal rate of the dispersion medium 62 of the dispersion 6 in the heating region 331 can be easily controlled by adjusting the gas supply amount. It becomes.

The granular dispersion 6 discharged from the head unit 2 becomes toner particles 9 by being solidified after being deformed by the shape imparting member 15 while being transported through the transport unit 3. Then, the toner particles 9 are collected by the collection unit 5.
As described above, the toner particles 9 are obtained by removing the dispersion medium 62 from the discharged granular dispersion liquid 6. In such a case, the dispersoid 61 contained in the dispersion 6 aggregates as the dispersion medium 62 in the discharged dispersion 6 is removed. As a result, the toner particles 9 are obtained as an aggregate of the dispersoid 61. In addition, when the above-mentioned solvent is contained in the dispersoid 61, the said solvent is also normally removed in the heating area | region 331.

The particle size of the dispersoid 61 contained in the dispersion liquid 6 is usually sufficiently smaller than the obtained toner particles 9 (the granular dispersion liquid 6 to be discharged).
Further, when the toner particles 9 are obtained by removing the dispersion medium 62, the obtained toner particles 9 are usually smaller than the dispersion liquid 6 discharged from the discharge unit 23. For this reason, even when the area (opening area) of the discharge portion 23 is relatively large, the size of the toner particles 9 obtained can be made relatively small. Therefore, in the present invention, sufficiently fine toner particles 9 are obtained even if the head portion 2 is not obtained by performing special precision processing (even if it can be manufactured relatively easily). be able to.

Further, as described above, since the area of the discharge section 23 does not need to be extremely small, the particle size distribution of the dispersion 6 discharged from each head section 2 is made sufficiently sharp. be able to. As a result, the toner particles 9 also have a small variation in particle size, that is, a sharp particle size distribution.
In the above description, the dispersion medium 62 is removed from the dispersion liquid 6 in the transport unit 3 (heating region 331), so that the dispersoid 61 in the granular dispersion liquid 6 aggregates (fuses), and the toner particles. However, the toner particles are not limited to those obtained in this way. For example, when the dispersoid 61 contains a precursor of a resin material (for example, a monomer, dimer, oligomer, or the like corresponding to the resin material), the toner particles 9 are obtained by advancing a polymerization reaction in the transport unit 3. Such a method may be used.

The toner obtained as described above may be subjected to various kinds of treatment such as heat treatment as necessary. Thereby, the joining of the fine particles derived from the dispersoid constituting the toner particles 9 is advanced, and the mechanical strength (mechanical stability) of the toner particles 9 can be further improved.
In addition, the toner as described above may be subjected to various processes such as a classification process and an external addition process as necessary.

For the classification treatment, for example, a sieve, an airflow classifier or the like can be used.
Examples of the external additive used for the external addition treatment include metal oxides such as silica, aluminum oxide, titanium oxide, strontium titanate, cerium oxide, magnesium oxide, chromium oxide, titania, zinc oxide, alumina, and magnetite. Fine particles composed of inorganic materials such as nitrides such as silicon nitride, carbides such as silicon carbide, calcium sulfate, calcium carbonate, aliphatic metal salts, acrylic resins, fluororesins, polystyrene resins, polyester resins, aliphatic metal salts Fine particles composed of organic materials such as these, and fine particles composed of a composite of these.

As the external additive, the surface of the fine particles as described above is subjected to a surface treatment with HMDS, a silane coupling agent, a titanate coupling agent, a fluorine-containing silane coupling agent, silicone oil or the like. It may be used.
The toner of the present invention produced as described above has a uniform shape and a sharp particle size distribution (small width).

  Specifically, the toner (toner particles) preferably has a standard deviation in the number-based particle size distribution of 1.5 μm or less, more preferably 1.2 μm or less, and 1.0 μm or less. Further preferred. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the cleaning failure of the toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum or the transfer belt while having excellent charging characteristics and transfer characteristics.

  Further, the weight-based average particle diameter of the toner is preferably 2 to 20 μm, and more preferably 4 to 10 μm. When the average particle size of the toner is less than the lower limit, it becomes difficult to uniformly charge, and the adhesion force to the surface of the electrostatic latent image carrier (for example, a photoreceptor) increases. As a result, There may be an increase in the residual toner. On the other hand, when the average particle size of the toner exceeds the upper limit, the reproducibility of the contour portion of an image formed using the toner, particularly a character image or a light pattern, tends to be lowered.

  Further, the toner preferably has a standard deviation of the particle size between particles of 1.5 μm or less, more preferably 1.3 μm or less, and even more preferably 1.0 μm or less. When the standard deviation of the particle diameter between the particles is 1.5 μm or less, variations in charging characteristics, fixing characteristics and the like are particularly small, and the reliability of the toner as a whole is further improved.

[Dispersion]
Here, the dispersion liquid 6 used for the resin fine particle manufacturing apparatus mentioned above is demonstrated in detail.
The resin fine particles of the present invention are produced using the dispersion liquid 6. In the following description, the case where the resin fine particles of the present invention are applied to toner will be described.
Examples of the dispersion include suspensions (suspensions) and emulsions (emulsions, emulsions, and emulsions). In this specification, “suspension” refers to a dispersion (including a suspended colloid) in which a solid (solid) dispersoid (suspended particle) is dispersed in a liquid dispersion medium. The term “emulsified liquid (emulsion, emulsion, milky liquid)” refers to a dispersion in which a liquid dispersoid (dispersed particles) is dispersed in a liquid dispersion medium. In the dispersion liquid, a solid dispersoid and a liquid dispersoid may coexist. In such a case, among the dispersoids in the dispersion, those in which the proportion of the solid dispersoid is larger than the proportion of the liquid dispersoid is called a suspension, and the proportion of the liquid dispersoid is solid. What is larger than the proportion of the dispersoid in the form of a powder is called an emulsion. In particular, it is preferable that the dispersion used in the present invention has been deaerated. The deaeration process will be described in detail later.
The dispersion 6 has a configuration in which a dispersoid (dispersed phase) 61 is finely dispersed in a dispersion medium 62.

<Dispersion medium>
The dispersion medium 62 may be any material as long as the dispersoid 61 described below can be dispersed, but is mainly a material generally used as a solvent (hereinafter also referred to as “solvent material”). It is preferred that it is constructed.
Examples of such a material include inorganic solvents such as water, carbon disulfide, and carbon tetrachloride, methyl ethyl ketone (MEK), acetone, diethyl ketone, methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK), methyl isopropyl ketone (MIPK), cyclohexanone, Ketone solvents such as 3-heptanone and 4-heptanone, methanol, ethanol, n-propanol, isopropanol, n-butanol, i-butanol, t-butanol, 3-methyl-1-butanol, 1-pentanol, 2- Alcohol solvents such as pentanol, n-hexanol, cyclohexanol, 1-heptanol, 1-octanol, 2-octanol, 2-methoxyethanol, allyl alcohol, furfuryl alcohol, phenol, diethyl ether, dipropyl ether Ether solvents such as diisopropyl ether, dibutyl ether, 1,2-dimethoxyethane (DME), 1,4-dioxane, tetrahydrofuran (THF), tetrahydropyran (THP), anisole, diethylene glycol dimethyl ether (diglyme), 2-methoxyethanol Cellosolve solvents such as methyl cellosolve, ethyl cellosolve, phenyl cellosolve, aliphatic hydrocarbon solvents such as hexane, pentane, heptane, cyclohexane, methylcyclohexane, octane, didecane, methylcyclohexene, isoprene, toluene, xylene, benzene, ethylbenzene , Aromatic hydrocarbon solvents such as naphthalene, pyridine, pyrazine, furan, pyrrole, thiophene, 2-methylpyridine, 3-methylpyridine, 4-methyl Aromatic heterocyclic compound solvents such as pyridine and furfuryl alcohol, amide solvents such as N, N-dimethylformamide (DMF) and N, N-dimethylacetamide (DMA), dichloromethane, chloroform, 1,2-dichloroethane, Halogenated solvents such as trichloroethylene and chlorobenzene, acetylacetone, ethyl acetate, methyl acetate, isopropyl acetate, isobutyl acetate, isopentyl acetate, ethyl chloroacetate, butyl chloroacetate, isobutyl chloroacetate, ethyl formate, isobutyl formate, ethyl acrylate, methacrylic Ester solvents such as methyl acid, ethyl benzoate, amine solvents such as trimethylamine, hexylamine, triethylamine, aniline, nitrile solvents such as acrylonitrile, acetonitrile, nitromethane, Examples include nitro solvents such as nitroethane, organic solvents such as aldehyde solvents such as acetaldehyde, propionaldehyde, butyraldehyde, pentanal, and acrylic aldehyde. A mixture of one or more selected from these is used. be able to.

  Among the above materials, the dispersion medium 62 is mainly composed of water and / or a liquid having excellent compatibility with water (for example, a liquid having a solubility in 100 g of water at 25 ° C. of 30 g or more). preferable. Thereby, for example, the dispersibility of the dispersoid 61 in the dispersion medium 62 can be enhanced, and the dispersoid 61 in the dispersion liquid 6 has a relatively small particle diameter and small variation in size. be able to. As a result, the finally obtained toner particles 9 have less variation in size and shape between the particles. In particular, when the dispersion medium 62 is composed of water, for example, in the toner manufacturing process, the organic solvent can be substantially prevented from volatilizing. As a result, the toner can be produced by a method that hardly causes adverse effects on the environment, that is, an environmentally friendly method.

  When a mixture of a plurality of components is used as the constituent material of the dispersion medium 62, the constituent material of the dispersion medium is an azeotrope (lowest boiling point azeotrope) between at least two components constituting the mixture. It is preferable to use one that can form As a result, the dispersion medium 62 can be efficiently removed in the conveyance unit of the toner manufacturing apparatus described later. In addition, it becomes possible to remove the dispersion medium 62 at a relatively low temperature in a conveyance unit of a toner manufacturing apparatus, which will be described later, and it is possible to more effectively prevent deterioration of characteristics of the obtained toner particles 9. For example, liquids that can form an azeotrope with water include carbon disulfide, carbon tetrachloride, methyl ethyl ketone (MEK), acetone, cyclohexanone, 3-heptanone, 4-heptanone, ethanol, n-propanol, Isopropanol, n-butanol, i-butanol, t-butanol, 3-methyl-1-butanol, 1-pentanol, 2-pentanol, n-hexanol, cyclohexanol, 1-heptanol, 1-octanol, 2-octanol 2-methoxyethanol, allyl alcohol, furfuryl alcohol, phenol, dipropyl ether, dibutyl ether, 1,4-dioxane, anisole, 2-methoxyethanol, hexane, heptane, cyclohexane, methylcyclohexane, octane, dideca , Methylcyclohexene, isoprene, toluene, benzene, ethylbenzene, naphthalene, pyridine, 2-methylpyridine, 3-methylpyridine, 4-methylpyridine, furfuryl alcohol, chloroform, 1,2-dichloroethane, trichloroethylene, chlorobenzene, acetylacetone, acetic acid Ethyl, methyl acetate, isopropyl acetate, isobutyl acetate, isopentyl acetate, ethyl chloroacetate, butyl chloroacetate, isobutyl chloroacetate, ethyl formate, isobutyl formate, ethyl acrylate, methyl methacrylate, ethyl benzoate, trimethylamine, hexylamine, triethylamine Aniline, acrylonitrile, acetonitrile, nitromethane, nitroethane, acrylaldehyde and the like.

Further, the boiling point of the dispersion medium 62 is not particularly limited, but is preferably 180 ° C. or lower, more preferably 150 ° C. or lower, and further preferably 35 to 130 ° C. As described above, when the boiling point of the dispersion medium 62 is relatively low, the dispersion medium 62 can be removed relatively easily in the conveyance unit of the toner manufacturing apparatus described later. Further, by using such a material as the dispersion medium 62, the residual amount of the dispersion medium 62 in the finally obtained toner particles 9 can be made particularly small. As a result, the reliability as a toner is further increased.
The dispersion medium 62 may contain components other than the materials described above. For example, in the dispersion medium 62, various materials such as materials exemplified later as constituents of the dispersoid 61, inorganic fine powders such as silica, titanium oxide, and iron oxide, organic fine powders such as fatty acids and fatty acid metal salts, etc. Additives and the like may be included.

<Dispersed quality>
The dispersoid 61 is usually made of a material containing at least a resin as a main component or a precursor thereof (hereinafter collectively referred to as “resin material”). Examples of the resin precursor include a monomer, a dimer, and an oligomer of the resin.
Hereinafter, the constituent material of the dispersoid 61 will be described.

1. Resin (binder resin)
Examples of the resin (binder resin) include polystyrene, poly-α-methylstyrene, chloropolystyrene, styrene-chlorostyrene copolymer, styrene-propylene copolymer, styrene-butadiene copolymer, and styrene-vinyl chloride copolymer. Polymer, styrene-vinyl acetate copolymer, styrene-maleic acid copolymer, styrene-acrylic acid ester copolymer, styrene-methacrylic acid ester copolymer, styrene-acrylic acid ester-methacrylic acid ester copolymer, styrene -Monopolymer or copolymer containing styrene or styrene-substituted styrene resin such as methyl α-chloroacrylate copolymer, styrene-acrylonitrile-acrylic acid ester copolymer, styrene-vinyl methyl ether copolymer , Polyester resin, epoxy tree Fat, urethane-modified epoxy resin, silicone-modified epoxy resin, vinyl chloride resin, rosin-modified maleic acid resin, phenyl resin, polyethylene, polypropylene, ionomer resin, polyurethane resin, silicone resin, ketone resin, ethylene-ethyl acrylate copolymer, xylene Examples thereof include resins, polyvinyl butyral resins, terpene resins, phenol resins, aliphatic or alicyclic hydrocarbon resins, and one or more of these can be used in combination. In addition, when a toner is manufactured by polymerizing a raw material in the dispersoid 61 in a transport unit of a toner manufacturing apparatus to be described later, the above resin material monomers, dimers, oligomers and the like are usually used.
The content of the resin in the dispersoid 61 is not particularly limited, but is preferably 2 to 98 wt%, more preferably 5 to 95 wt%.

2. Solvent The dispersoid 61 may contain a solvent that dissolves at least a part of its components. Thereby, for example, the fluidity of the dispersoid 61 in the dispersion liquid 6 can be improved, and the dispersoid 61 in the dispersion liquid 6 has a relatively small particle size and small variation in size. be able to. As a result, the finally obtained toner particles 9 have less variation in size and shape between the particles.

Any solvent can be used as long as it dissolves at least a part of the components constituting the dispersoid 61. However, the solvent can be easily removed by a transport unit of a toner manufacturing apparatus as described below. Preferably there is.
The solvent is preferably a solvent having low compatibility with the dispersion medium 62 described above (for example, a solvent having a solubility in 100 g of the dispersion medium at 25 ° C. of 30 g or less). Thereby, the dispersoid 61 can be finely dispersed in the dispersion 6 in a stable state.

Moreover, the composition of the solvent can be appropriately selected according to, for example, the composition of the resin and the colorant described above, the composition of the dispersion medium, and the like.
Examples of the solvent include inorganic solvents such as water, carbon disulfide, and carbon tetrachloride, methyl ethyl ketone (MEK), acetone, diethyl ketone, methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK), methyl isopropyl ketone (MIPK), cyclohexanone, and 3-heptanone. , Ketone solvents such as 4-heptanone, methanol, ethanol, n-propanol, isopropanol, n-butanol, i-butanol, t-butanol, 3-methyl-1-butanol, 1-pentanol, 2-pentanol, Alcohol solvents such as n-hexanol, cyclohexanol, 1-heptanol, 1-octanol, 2-octanol, 2-methoxyethanol, allyl alcohol, furfuryl alcohol, phenol, diethyl ether, dipropyl ether, diisopropyl Ether solvents such as pyr ether, dibutyl ether, 1,2-dimethoxyethane (DME), 1,4-dioxane, tetrahydrofuran (THF), tetrahydropyran (THP), anisole, diethylene glycol dimethyl ether (diglyme), 2-methoxyethanol Cellosolve solvents such as methyl cellosolve, ethyl cellosolve, phenyl cellosolve, aliphatic hydrocarbon solvents such as hexane, pentane, heptane, cyclohexane, methylcyclohexane, octane, didecane, methylcyclohexene, isoprene, toluene, xylene, benzene, ethylbenzene , Aromatic hydrocarbon solvents such as naphthalene, pyridine, pyrazine, furan, pyrrole, thiophene, 2-methylpyridine, 3-methylpyridine, 4-methylpyridine Aromatic heterocyclic compound solvents such as furfuryl alcohol, amide solvents such as N, N-dimethylformamide (DMF), N, N-dimethylacetamide (DMA), dichloromethane, chloroform, 1,2-dichloroethane, trichlorethylene, Halogenated solvents such as chlorobenzene, acetylacetone, ethyl acetate, methyl acetate, isopropyl acetate, isobutyl acetate, isopentyl acetate, ethyl chloroacetate, butyl chloroacetate, isobutyl chloroacetate, ethyl formate, isobutyl formate, ethyl acrylate, methyl methacrylate Ester solvents such as ethyl benzoate, amine solvents such as trimethylamine, hexylamine, triethylamine and aniline, nitrile solvents such as acrylonitrile and acetonitrile, nitromethane, nitroethane Organic solvents such as nitro solvents such as aldehyde, aldehyde solvents such as acetaldehyde, propionaldehyde, butyraldehyde, pentanal, acrylic aldehyde, etc. are used, and one or a mixture of two or more selected from these is used. be able to. Among these, those containing an organic solvent are preferred, and ether solvents, cellosolve solvents, aliphatic hydrocarbon solvents, aromatic hydrocarbon solvents, aromatic heterocyclic compounds solvents, amide solvents, halogen compound solvents. More preferably, the solvent contains one or more selected from a solvent, an ester solvent, a nitrile solvent, a nitro solvent, and an aldehyde solvent. By using such a solvent, the above-described components can be dispersed sufficiently uniformly in the dispersoid 61 relatively easily.

  In addition, the dispersoid 61 usually contains a colorant. Examples of the colorant that can be used include pigments and dyes. Examples of such pigments and dyes include carbon black, spirit black, lamp black (CI No. 77266), magnetite, titanium black, chrome lead, cadmium yellow, mineral fast yellow, navel yellow, and naphthol yellow S. , Hansa Yellow G, Permanent Yellow NCG, Chrome Yellow, Benzidine Yellow, Quinoline Yellow, Tartrazine Lake, Red Mouth Lead, Molybdenum Orange, Permanent Orange GTR, Pyrazolone Orange, Benzidine Orange G, Cadmium Red, Permanent Red 4R, Watching Red Calcium salt, eosin lake, brilliant carmine 3B, manganese purple, fast violet B, methyl violet lake, bitumen, cobalt blue, al Reblue Lake, Victoria Blue Lake, First Sky Blue, Indanthrene Blue BC, Ultramarine, Aniline Blue, Phthalocyanine Blue, Calco Oil Blue, Chrome Green, Chrome Oxide, Pigment Green B, Malachite Green Lake, Phthalocyanine Green, Final Yellow Green G, Rhodamine 6G, quinacridone, rose bengal (C.I. No. 45432), C.I. I. Direct Red 1, C.I. I. Direct Red 4, C.I. I. Acid Red 1, C.I. I. Basic Red 1, C.I. I. Modern Tread 30, C.I. I. Pigment red 48: 1, C.I. I. Pigment red 57: 1, C.I. I. Pigment red 122, C.I. I. Pigment red 184, C.I. I. Direct Blue 1, C.I. I. Direct Blue 2, C.I. I. Acid Blue 9, C.I. I. Acid Blue 15, C.I. I. Basic Blue 3, C.I. I. Basic Blue 5, C.I. I. Modern Blue 7, C.I. I. Pigment blue 15: 1, C.I. I. Pigment blue 15: 3, C.I. I. Pigment blue 5: 1, C.I. I. Direct Green 6, C.I. I. Basic Green 4, C.I. I. Basic Green 6, C.I. I. Pigment yellow 17, C.I. I. Pigment yellow 93, C.I. I. Pigment yellow 97, C.I. I. Pigment yellow 12, C.I. I. Pigment yellow 180, C.I. I. Pigment yellow 162, nigrosine dye (CI No. 50415B), metal complex dye, silica, aluminum oxide, magnetite, maghemite, various ferrites, cupric oxide, nickel oxide, zinc oxide, zirconium oxide, titanium oxide, Examples thereof include metal oxides such as magnesium oxide and magnetic materials containing magnetic metals such as Fe, Co, and Ni, and one or more of these can be used in combination. Such a colorant is usually contained in the dispersoid 61 in the dispersion liquid 6.

  The content of the colorant in the dispersoid 61 is not particularly limited, but is preferably 0.1 to 10 wt%, and more preferably 0.3 to 3 wt%. If the content of the colorant is less than the lower limit, it may be difficult to form a visible image having a sufficient density depending on the type of the colorant. On the other hand, when the content of the colorant exceeds the upper limit, the fixing characteristics and charging characteristics of the finally obtained toner may be deteriorated.

  Further, the dispersoid 61 may contain a wax. The wax is usually used for the purpose of improving releasability. Examples of such wax include plant waxes such as candelilla wax, carnauba wax, rice wax, cotton wax, and wood wax, animal waxes such as beeswax and lanolin, montan wax, ozokerite, and ceresin. Mineral waxes such as mineral waxes, paraffin waxes, microwaxes, microcrystalline waxes, petroleum waxes such as petrolatum waxes, Fischer-Tropsch waxes, polyethylene waxes (polyethylene resins), polypropylene waxes (polypropylene resins) ), Synthetic hydrocarbon waxes such as oxidized polyethylene wax and oxidized polypropylene wax, 12-hydroxy stearamide, stearamide, phthalic anhydride, chlorinated hydrocarbon Fatty acid amides, esters, ketones, synthetic wax wax such as ether and the like, can be used singly or in combination of two or more of them. Further, as the wax, a crystalline polymer resin having a lower molecular weight may be used. For example, a homopolymer or copolymer of polyacrylate such as poly n-stearyl methacrylate and poly n-lauryl methacrylate (for example, It is also possible to use a crystalline polymer having a long alkyl group in the side chain, such as an n-stearyl acrylate-ethyl methacrylate copolymer).

The content of the wax in the dispersoid 61 is not particularly limited, but is preferably 0.1 to 10 wt%, and more preferably 1 to 5 wt%. If the content of the wax is too large, the wax is liberated and coarsened in the finally obtained toner particles, and the toner seeps into the toner particle surface and the transfer efficiency of the toner tends to decrease. Indicates.
The softening point of the wax is not particularly limited, but is preferably 50 to 180 ° C, and more preferably 60 to 160 ° C.

<Other ingredients>
The dispersion 6 and / or the dispersoid 61 may contain components other than these. Examples of such components include emulsifying dispersants, charge control agents, magnetic powders, and the like. Among these, when the emulsifying dispersant is used, for example, the dispersibility of the dispersoid 61 in the dispersion 6 can be improved. Here, examples of the emulsifying dispersant include emulsifiers, dispersants, and dispersion aids.

  Examples of the dispersant include inorganic dispersants such as tricalcium phosphate, nonionic organic dispersants such as polyvinyl alcohol, carboxymethyl cellulose, and polyethylene glycol, metal tristearate (for example, aluminum salt), and metal distearate. Salt (eg, aluminum salt, barium salt, etc.), stearic acid metal salt (eg, calcium salt, lead salt, zinc salt, etc.), linolenic acid metal salt (eg, cobalt salt, manganese salt, lead salt, zinc salt, etc.) , Octanoic acid metal salts (eg, aluminum salts, calcium salts, cobalt salts, etc.), oleic acid metal salts (eg, calcium salts, cobalt salts, etc.), palmitic acid metal salts (eg, zinc salts, etc.), naphthenic acid metal salts (For example, calcium salt, cobalt salt, manganese salt, lead salt, zinc salt, etc.), Resin metal salt (example Calcium salt, cobalt salt, manganese lead salt, zinc salt, etc.), polyacrylic acid metal salt (eg, sodium salt), polymethacrylic acid metal salt (eg, sodium salt), polymaleic acid metal salt (eg, Sodium salts, etc.), anionic organic dispersants such as acrylic acid-maleic acid copolymer metal salts (eg, sodium salts), polystyrene sulfonic acid metal salts (eg, sodium salts), etc., cations such as quaternary ammonium salts Organic dispersants and the like. Among these, nonionic organic dispersants or anionic organic dispersants are particularly preferable.

  The content of the dispersant in the dispersion 6 is not particularly limited, but is preferably 3.0 wt% or less, and more preferably 0.01 to 1.0 wt%.

Examples of the dispersion aid include anions, cations, and nonionic surfactants.
The dispersing aid is preferably used in combination with a dispersing agent. When the dispersion 6 contains a dispersant, the content of the dispersion aid in the dispersion 6 is not particularly limited, but is preferably 2.0 wt% or less, and is 0.005 to 0.5 wt%. Is more preferable.

Examples of the charge control agent include benzoic acid metal salts, salicylic acid metal salts, alkyl salicylic acid metal salts, catechol metal salts, metal-containing bisazo dyes, nigrosine dyes, tetraphenylborate derivatives, quaternary ammonium salts, Examples thereof include alkyl pyridinium salts, chlorinated polyesters, and nitrohumic acid.
Examples of the magnetic powder include magnetite, maghemite, various ferrites, cupric oxide, nickel oxide, zinc oxide, zirconium oxide, titanium oxide, magnesium oxide, and other metal oxides such as Fe, Co, and Ni. The thing comprised with the magnetic material containing a magnetic metal etc. are mentioned.

In addition to the above materials, for example, zinc stearate, zinc oxide, cerium oxide or the like may be added to the dispersion liquid 6.
In addition, components other than the dispersoid 61 may be dispersed in the dispersion 6 as insoluble matters. For example, in the dispersion 6, inorganic fine powders such as silica, titanium oxide, and iron oxide, organic fine powders such as fatty acids and fatty acid metal salts, and the like may be dispersed.

In the case where the resin fine particles are toner, the content of the constituent component (solid component) of the toner in the dispersion 6 is determined by the size (opening area) of the ejection portion 23 of the head portion 2 described later. Although it is not particularly limited, it is usually preferably 1 to 99 vol%, more preferably 2 to 20 vol%. When the content of the constituent components of the toner is a value within the above range, a toner having an appropriate size and a particularly small variation in size and shape between particles is manufactured relatively easily. Can do. On the other hand, when the toner component content is less than the lower limit, in order to obtain toner particles 9 having a desired size, the toner manufacturing apparatus 1 as will be described later may use relatively large droplets. The dispersion 6 must be discharged. As a result, depending on the viscosity or the like of the dispersion 6, the stability of the shape of the droplet-like dispersion 6 is lowered, and the finally obtained toner particles 9 also have a large variation in shape. Moreover, the energy required for solidification of the discharged dispersion liquid 6 also increases. Further, when the content of the constituent components of the toner exceeds the upper limit, depending on the constituent material of the dispersion 6, the viscosity of the dispersion 6 may become too large. As a result, it may be difficult to discharge the liquid dispersion 6 in the toner manufacturing apparatus 1 as described above. In addition, when the content ratio of the constituent components of the toner is particularly high, the droplet-like dispersion liquid 6 to be discharged must be made small, and the above-described tendency becomes particularly remarkable. Here, the “toner component” includes not only the final toner component itself but also a precursor of the component (eg, monomer, dimer, oligomer, etc. of the final toner component). It refers to the component that contributes to the final toner.
With the above-described component configuration, the dispersion 6 is in a state in which the dispersoid 61 is finely dispersed in the dispersion medium 62.

Although the average particle diameter of the dispersoid 61 in the dispersion liquid 6 is not specifically limited, It is preferable that it is 0.05-1.0 micrometer, and it is more preferable that it is 0.1-0.8 micrometer. When the average particle size of the dispersoid 61 is in such a range, the finally obtained toner particles 9 are excellent in characteristics and shape uniformity among the particles.
The content of the dispersoid 61 in the dispersion liquid 6 is not particularly limited, but is preferably 1 to 99 wt%, and more preferably 2 to 20 wt%. When the content of the dispersoid 61 is less than the lower limit, the shape of the finally obtained toner particles 9 tends to vary greatly. On the other hand, when the content of the dispersoid 61 exceeds the upper limit, depending on the composition of the dispersion medium 62 and the like, the viscosity of the dispersion 6 is increased, and the shape and size of the finally obtained toner particles 9 vary. It shows a tendency to increase.

In the dispersion 6, the dispersoid 61 may be in a solid form, in a liquid form, or may coexist. That is, the dispersion 6 may be a suspension or an emulsion.
When the dispersoid 61 is liquid (for example, in a solution state or a molten state), the average particle diameter of the dispersoid 61 finely dispersed in the dispersion medium 62 is relatively easily set to a value in the above range. can do. In addition, when the dispersoid 61 is in a liquid form, variation in shape and size between the dispersoids 61 can be made particularly small. The variation in shape and size is particularly small.

  Further, when the dispersoid 61 is solid, unnecessary components such as a solvent can be effectively prevented from remaining in the finally obtained toner. As a result, the reliability of the toner is particularly excellent. When the dispersoid 61 is solid, that is, when the dispersion 6 is a suspension, for example, the suspension as the dispersion 6 is prepared via an emulsion. There may be. Thereby, the advantage in the case where the dispersoid 61 is in a liquid state is also effectively exhibited while sufficiently exhibiting the advantage in the case where the dispersoid 61 is in a solid state as described above.

Further, the dispersoid 61 dispersed in the dispersion medium 62 may have, for example, substantially the same composition among the particles or may have different compositions. For example, the dispersion 6 may include, as the dispersoid 61, one mainly composed of a resin material and one mainly composed of wax.
Further, when the dispersion 6 is an emulsion (emulsion), the dispersion 6 is an O / W emulsion, that is, a liquid having a low solubility in water in the aqueous dispersion medium 62. The dispersoid 61 is preferably dispersed. As a result, a toner having a small variation in shape and size between the particles can be stably produced. Further, by using an aqueous liquid as the dispersion medium 62, the volatilization amount of the organic solvent in the conveying unit of the toner manufacturing apparatus 1 as described above can be reduced, or the organic solvent can be substantially not volatilized. As a result, the toner can be manufactured by a method that hardly causes adverse effects on the environment.
Further, when the average particle size of the dispersoid 61 in the dispersion 6 is Dm [μm] and the average particle size of the toner particles 9 is Dt [μm], the relationship of 0.005 ≦ Dm / Dt ≦ 0.5 is established. It is preferable to satisfy, and it is more preferable to satisfy the relationship of 0.01 ≦ Dm / Dt ≦ 0.2. By satisfying such a relationship, a toner having a particularly small variation in shape and size among the particles can be obtained.

[Method for producing dispersion]
The dispersion 6 as described above can be prepared using, for example, the following method (first method).
First, an aqueous solution in which a dispersant and / or a dispersion medium is added to water or a liquid excellent in compatibility with water (water-soluble liquid) as necessary is prepared.
On the other hand, a resin liquid containing a resin as a main component of the toner or a precursor thereof (hereinafter collectively referred to as “resin material”) is prepared. For the preparation of the resin liquid, for example, the above-described solvent may be used in addition to the resin material. The resin liquid may be a molten liquid obtained by heating a resin material.

  Next, the dispersion liquid 6 in which the dispersoid 61 containing the resin material is dispersed in the aqueous dispersion medium 62 is obtained by adding the resin liquid while gradually dropping into the stirred aqueous solution. can get. By preparing the dispersion 6 by such a method, the circularity of the dispersoid 61 in the dispersion 6 can be further increased. As a result, the toner particles 9 have particularly small variations in shape between the particles. In addition, when dripping a resin liquid, you may heat an aqueous solution and / or a resin liquid. In addition, when a solvent is used for the preparation of the resin liquid, for example, after the dropwise addition as described above, the obtained dispersion liquid 6 is heated or placed in a reduced-pressure atmosphere or the like in the dispersoid 61. You may remove at least one part of the solvent contained. For example, the dispersion 6 can be obtained as a suspension by removing most of the solvent contained in the dispersoid 61.

As mentioned above, although the example of the preparation method of the dispersion liquid 6 was demonstrated, the dispersion liquid is not limited to what was prepared by such a method. For example, the dispersion liquid 6 can also be prepared by the following method (second method).
First, an aqueous solution is prepared by adding a dispersant and / or a dispersion medium as necessary to water or a liquid having excellent compatibility with water.
On the other hand, a powdery or granular material containing a resin material is prepared.
Next, a dispersion liquid in which the dispersoid 61 containing the resin material is dispersed in the aqueous dispersion medium 62 by gradually adding the powdery or granular material into the stirred aqueous solution. 6 is obtained. When the dispersion liquid 6 is prepared by such a method, the organic solvent can be substantially prevented from volatilizing in the transport section of the toner manufacturing apparatus 1 as described above. As a result, the toner can be manufactured by a method that hardly causes adverse effects on the environment. In addition, when adding the said material, you may heat an aqueous solution, for example.

The dispersion 6 can also be prepared by the following method (third method).
First, a resin dispersion in which at least a resin material is dispersed and a colorant dispersion in which at least a colorant is dispersed are prepared.
Next, the resin dispersion and the colorant dispersion are mixed and stirred. At this time, if necessary, an aggregating agent such as an inorganic metal salt may be added while stirring.
By stirring for a predetermined time, an aggregate in which the resin material, the colorant and the like are aggregated is formed. As a result, a dispersion 6 in which the aggregate is dispersed as the dispersoid 61 is obtained.

  In the method for preparing a dispersion as described above, a kneaded material containing a resin material (binder resin) may be used. That is, as the “resin material” in the first method and the third method described above, a kneaded material containing a resin material may be used, or as the “powdered or granular material” in the second method, A kneaded material containing a resin material may be used. Thereby, for example, the toner particles 9 can be obtained as a mixture of the constituent components more uniformly. In particular, even when the toner includes two or more components having poor dispersibility and compatibility, the above-described effects can be obtained. In addition, as a kneaded material, what contains components (for example, components, such as a coloring agent, a wax, a charge control agent) other than a resin component, for example can be used. Thereby, the above effects become more remarkable.

  Further, for example, the method described in Japanese Patent Application No. 2003-113428 may be applied to the preparation of the dispersion liquid 6. That is, a liquid containing a powdered or granular resin material (kneaded material) is ejected from a plurality of nozzles, the liquids ejected from the nozzles collide with each other, and the resin material (kneaded material) is atomized to form fine particles. A method of obtaining the dispersion 6 containing the dispersed dispersoid 61 may be applied. Thereby, the size of the dispersoid 61 contained in the dispersion liquid 6 can be easily made relatively small (the size in the above-described range), and the dispersion of the sizes of the dispersoids 61 can be easily achieved. Can be reduced.

  Further, it is preferable that the dispersion 6 obtained by the above method is subjected to a degassing treatment (subjected to a degassing step) before being used for discharge in a toner manufacturing apparatus described later. Thereby, the dissolved amount of the gas in the dispersion liquid 6 can be reduced, and when the dispersion medium 62 is removed from the dispersion liquid 6 ejected in the form of droplets in the transport unit of the toner manufacturing apparatus described later, It is possible to effectively prevent bubbles and the like from being generated in the dispersion liquid 6. As a result, it is possible to effectively prevent toner particles having irregular shapes (hollow particles, missing particles, etc.) from being mixed into the finally obtained toner. Therefore, it is possible to easily and reliably obtain a toner in which each toner particle has a uniform shape and a narrow particle size distribution. Thereby, the finally obtained toner can be made particularly excellent in properties such as transferability, fluidity, and cleaning properties. Further, by subjecting the dispersion liquid 6 to deaeration treatment, the ratio of pores (voids) in the finally obtained toner particles can be reduced. As a result, the reliability of the toner is further improved.

The method of deaeration treatment is not particularly limited, and for example, a method of applying ultrasonic vibration to the dispersion (ultrasonic vibration method), a method of placing the dispersion in a reduced-pressure atmosphere (decompression method), or the like can be used. .
When the decompression method is used as the degassing method, the pressure of the atmosphere in which the dispersion is placed is preferably 80 kPa or less, more preferably 0.1 to 40 kPa, and further preferably 1 to 27 kPa. preferable. When the atmospheric pressure during the degassing treatment is a value within such a range, the dissolved gas can be efficiently removed while maintaining the shape of the dispersoid 61 in the dispersion 6 sufficiently.

Second Embodiment
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. Hereinafter, the present embodiment will be described with a focus on differences from the above-described embodiments, and description of similar matters will be omitted.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a shape-imparting member provided in the resin fine particle manufacturing apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

The resin fine particle manufacturing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment described above except that the shape providing member 16 shown in FIG. 4 is provided instead of the shape providing member 15 in the first embodiment. It has a configuration.
That is, in the shape imparting member 16, the collision surface 16 </ b> A for colliding with the granular dispersion liquid 6 has a tapered conical surface on the upper side, that is, the entry side of the granular dispersion liquid 6 with respect to the shape imparting member 16. Thereby, it can prevent more reliably that the discharged granular dispersion liquid 6 adheres and adheres to the shape-giving member 15 while making the shape-giving member 16 relatively simple. Further, since the surface exposed upward is a simple continuous surface, the maintenance is easy, and the granular dispersion liquid 6 is prevented while preventing the dispersion liquid 6 from adhering to and fixing to the shape-imparting member 16 over a long period of time. Can be deformed.

  Further, an attachment member 16 </ b> B that protrudes outward toward the inner peripheral surface of the housing 31 is fixed to the shape imparting member 16. The mounting member 16B is supported on the inner wall surface of the housing 31 so as to be movable up and down, like the mounting member 15C in the above-described embodiment. As a result, the shape imparting member 16 can move in the vertical direction, and the distance between the shape imparting member 16 and the ejection unit 23 can be changed within the transport unit 3. Thereby, the toner particles 9 (resin fine particles) having a desired different shape can be obtained by changing the distance between the shape imparting member 16 and the discharge portion 23.

Further, an actuator 15D for applying vibration to the collision surface 16A is attached to the attachment member 16B, similarly to the attachment member 15C in the above-described embodiment. That is, the shape imparting member 15 vibrates the collision surface 16 </ b> A for colliding with the granular dispersion liquid 6, and causes the dispersion liquid 6 attached to the collision surface 16 </ b> A to enter the granular dispersion liquid 6 in the shape imparting member 16. It is configured to shake down to the downstream side. Thereby, it can prevent more reliably that the discharged granular dispersion liquid 6 adheres and adheres to the shape imparting member 16.
As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated based on suitable embodiment, this invention is not limited to this.

For example, each unit constituting the toner manufacturing apparatus of the present invention can be replaced with an arbitrary one that exhibits the same function, or another configuration can be added.
In the second embodiment described above, the collision surface of the shape imparting member is a tapered conical surface that is tapered upward. However, the collision surface of the shape imparting member may be a conical surface that is tapered downward. . In this case, it is preferable that the lower end of the collision surface is opened. Thereby, the granular dispersion liquid which moves downward along the collision surface can be sent to the recovery unit through the opening.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the collision surfaces 17A, 17B, and 17C of the shape imparting member 17 may be arranged at intervals in the vertical direction, that is, the entrance direction of the granular dispersion liquid with respect to the shape imparting member 17. . In this case, the discharged granular dispersion 6 first collides with the upper collision surface 17A and undergoes primary deformation, and then moves downward along the collision surface 17A and collides with the intermediate collision surface 17B. Then, it is deformed secondarily, further moved downward along the collision surface 17B, and collided with the lower collision surface 17C to be thirdarily deformed. In this way, more complicated irregularly shaped toner particles 9 can be obtained by deforming the discharged granular dispersion 6 in the first to third order.

  Moreover, although the above-mentioned embodiment demonstrated what the collision surface of the shape-giving member inclines with respect to the approach direction of the granular dispersion liquid 6 with respect to the shape-giving member 15, Even if it does not provide the said inclination, it is the present invention. An effect can be obtained. In this case, in order to prevent the dispersion liquid from adhering to and sticking to the collision surface, a gas stream is jetted onto the collision surface, and the dispersion liquid adhered to the collision surface is scraped off by a member such as a blade. Preferably, a configuration is added to the device.

In the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which the cooling region 321 and the heating region 331 are adjacent to each other has been described. However, the cooling region 321 and the heating region 331 may be separated from each other.
In the above-described embodiment, the transport unit 3 is configured by the cooling region 321, the heating region 331, and other regions, but is not limited to this, and at least the cooling region 321 and What is necessary is just to be comprised by the heating area | region 331.

In the above-described embodiment, the cooling unit 32 ′ is described as cooling the region including the head unit 2. However, the cooling unit 32 ′ is provided separately for cooling the head unit 2 and for forming the cooling region 321. It may be a thing.
In the above-described embodiment, the case where the cooling unit 34 for cooling the housing 31 is provided on a part of the peripheral surface of the housing 31 has been described. However, the cooling unit 34 may be provided over the peripheral surface.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, it has been described that the evaporation of the dispersion medium is controlled by the temperature difference, but a pressure difference may be provided. For example, by configuring the pressure in the vicinity of the head portion to be high and the pressure in the heating region to be low, evaporation of the dispersion medium in the vicinity of the head portion can be suppressed, and the transport of the discharged dispersion liquid is also efficient. Can be done well.

As shown in FIG. 6, an acoustic lens (concave lens) 25 may be installed in the head unit 2. By installing such an acoustic lens 25, for example, the pressure pulse (vibration energy) generated by the piezoelectric element 22 can be converged by the pressure pulse converging unit 26 in the vicinity of the ejection unit 23. As a result, vibration energy generated by the piezoelectric element 22 can be efficiently used as energy for discharging the dispersion liquid 6. Therefore, even if the dispersion liquid 6 stored in the dispersion liquid storage unit 21 has a relatively high viscosity, it can be reliably discharged from the discharge unit 23. In addition, even if the dispersion 6 stored in the dispersion storage unit 21 has a relatively large cohesive force (surface tension), it can be discharged as fine droplets. The particle diameter of the toner particles 9 can be controlled to a relatively small value.
As described above, in this embodiment, the toner particles 9 can be controlled to have a desired shape and size even when a material having a higher viscosity or a material having a high cohesive force is used as the dispersion liquid 6. Therefore, the range of material selection is particularly wide, and a toner having desired characteristics can be obtained more easily.

  In the present embodiment, since the dispersion liquid 6 is ejected by the converged pressure pulse, the size of the dispersion liquid 6 to be ejected is relatively large even when the area (opening area) of the ejection portion 23 is relatively large. Can be small. That is, even when it is desired to make the particle size of the toner particles 9 relatively small, the area of the discharge portion 23 can be increased. Thereby, even if the dispersion liquid 6 has a relatively high viscosity, the occurrence of clogging or the like in the discharge unit 23 can be more effectively prevented.

The acoustic lens is not limited to a concave lens, and for example, a Fresnel lens, an electronic scanning lens, or the like may be used.
Furthermore, as shown in FIGS. 7 to 9, a diaphragm member 13 or the like having a converging shape may be disposed between the acoustic lens 25 and the discharge unit 23 toward the discharge unit 23. Thereby, convergence of the pressure pulse (vibration energy) generated by the piezoelectric element 22 can be assisted, and the pressure pulse generated by the piezoelectric element 22 can be used more efficiently.

In the above-described embodiment, the toner component is described as a solid component contained in the dispersoid. However, at least a part of the toner component may be contained in the dispersion medium.
In the above-described embodiment, the size of the toner particles is controlled by setting the opening area of the discharge unit and the content of the toner constituents in the dispersion. However, along with these conditions, Other conditions may be set as appropriate. Thereby, the size of the toner particles can be more suitably controlled. Examples of the other conditions include a discharge speed of the dispersion liquid and a constituent material in the vicinity of the discharge portion.

In the above-described embodiment, the dispersion liquid is intermittently ejected from the head portion by the piezoelectric pulse. However, other methods can be used as a dispersion liquid ejection method (injection method). For example, as a method for discharging (injecting) the dispersion liquid, a method such as a spray drying method or a so-called bubble jet (“Bubble Jet” is a registered trademark) method is used, and “the dispersion liquid is pressed against a smooth surface with a gas flow. A method of injecting a dispersion liquid in the form of droplets (as fine particles) using a nozzle that draws the thin layer flow into a thin laminar flow and injects the thin laminar flow away from the smooth surface as fine particles (Japanese Patent Application 2002-2002). The method as described in the specification of US Pat. No. 3,218,89) may be used. The spray drying method is a method of obtaining liquid droplets by spraying (spraying) a liquid (dispersion) using a high-pressure gas. Moreover, as a method to which a so-called bubble jet (“bubble jet” is a registered trademark) method is applied, a method described in the specification of Japanese Patent Application No. 2002-169348 can be cited. That is, as a method for ejecting (injecting) the dispersion liquid, a “method for intermittently ejecting the dispersion liquid from the head portion by a change in gas volume” can be applied.
In the above-described embodiment, the case where the resin fine particles are applied to the toner has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this.

[1] Production of toner (resin fine particles) (Example 1)
First, polyester resin as a binder resin (glass transition point Tg: 58 ° C., softening point Tf _1/2 : 105 ° C., weight average molecular weight Mw: 13000): 100 parts by weight, phthalocyanine pigment (manufactured by Dainichi Seika Co., Ltd.) as a colorant Phthalocyanine blue): 5 parts by weight, Cr-salicylic acid complex as a charge control agent (Bontron E-81, manufactured by Orient Chemical Industries): 1 part by weight, carnauba wax as a wax: 3 parts by weight, tetrahydrofuran as a solvent (Wako Pure Chemical) 300 parts by weight were prepared.
These components were mixed and dispersed with a ball mill for 10 hours to prepare a binder resin solution (resin solution).

On the other hand, an aqueous solution (aqueous solution) prepared by dissolving 10 parts by weight of sodium polyacrylate as a dispersant (manufactured by Wako Pure Chemical Industries, average polymerization degree n = 2700-7500) in 590 parts by weight of ion-exchanged water was prepared.
Next, 600 parts by weight of this aqueous solution is placed in a 3 liter round bottom stainless steel container, and a binder resin solution: 400 weights while stirring at a rotation speed of 4000 rpm using a TK homomixer (manufactured by Special Machine Chemical Co., Ltd.). The portion was gradually added dropwise over 10 minutes. At this time, the liquid temperature was kept at 70 ° C. The emulsion was further stirred for 10 minutes while maintaining the liquid temperature at 70 ° C. after the completion of the dropwise addition of the binder resin solution.

Next, under conditions of temperature: 45 ° C. and atmospheric pressure: 10 to 20 kPa, tetrahydrofuran in the emulsion (dispersoid) is removed, then cooled to room temperature, and further ion-exchanged water is added to form a solid. A binder resin suspension (dispersion) in which fine particles were dispersed was obtained. Thereafter, ion exchange water was further added to adjust the concentration.
Thereafter, the obtained binder resin suspension (dispersion) was degassed. The deaeration treatment was performed by placing the binder resin suspension (dispersion) in a stirred state in an atmosphere of 14 kPa for 10 minutes. The ambient temperature during the deaeration treatment was 25 ° C. The solid content (dispersoid) concentration (content of toner constituents) in the binder resin suspension (dispersion) thus obtained was 10 wt%. The viscosity of the binder resin suspension (dispersion) at 25 ° C. was 2 mPa · s. Moreover, the average particle diameter Dm of the dispersoid constituting the binder resin suspension was 0.4 μm. The average particle size of the dispersoid was measured using a laser diffraction / scattering particle size distribution analyzer (LA-920, manufactured by Horiba, Ltd.).

  The degassed dispersion (binder resin suspension) was charged into the dispersion supply unit 4 of the toner manufacturing apparatus 1 as shown in FIGS. While the dispersion liquid in the dispersion liquid supply unit 4 was agitated by the agitation means 41, it was supplied to the dispersion liquid storage part 21 of the head part by the metering pump, and was discharged from the discharge part 23 to the transport part 3. The discharge part 23 shall have a circular shape with a diameter of 26 μm. Moreover, as the head part 2, the thing near which the hydrophobization process by the fluororesin (polytetrafluoroethylene) coating was performed in the discharge part 23 vicinity was used. The shape imparting member 15 is made of SUS and has a surface coated with PTFE. The inclined surface 15A1 has an inclination angle θ of 45 ° and the inclined surface 15A1 has a height of 50 cm. Further, the frequency of the inclined surface 15A1 by the actuator 15D was 30 Hz, and the displacement width in the vibration was 2 mm. Further, the distance between the inclined surface 15A1 and the discharge part 23 was 30 cm.

  At the time of discharging the dispersion, the temperature of the dispersion in the head unit 3 is 25 ° C., the frequency of the piezoelectric body is 28 kHz, the initial speed of the dispersion discharged from the discharge unit 23 is 4 m / sec, and the head is discharged from the head unit. The discharge amount for one drop of the dispersion was 3 pl (particle diameter Dd: 18 μm, weight: about 3 ng). Further, the dispersion liquid was discharged so that the discharge timing of the dispersion liquid was shifted in at least adjacent head parts among the plurality of head parts.

Moreover, the temperature of the cooling area | region 321 at the time of discharge of a dispersion liquid was 15 degreeC, and the temperature of the heating area | region 331 was 65 degreeC. The length of the cooling region 321 was 10 cm, and the length of the heating region 331 was 30 cm.
At the time of discharging the dispersion, air having a temperature of 55 ° C., humidity of 27% RH, and a flow rate of 4 m / second is introduced into the heating region from the gas injection port 14, and the temperature: 10 ° C. from the gas injection port 7. , Humidity: 70% RH, flow rate: 4 m / sec. At this time, the pressure in the housing 31 (atmospheric pressure) was adjusted to atmospheric pressure by adjusting each gas supply unit and the intake unit 12. Moreover, the temperature (atmosphere temperature) in the housing 31 was adjusted to be 60 to 70 ° C.

In the transport unit 3, the dispersion medium was removed from the discharged dispersion, and particles as an aggregate of dispersoids were formed.
The particles formed in the transport unit 3 were collected with a cyclone. The recovered particles had an average circularity R of 0.858 and a circularity standard deviation of 0.020. The number-based average particle diameter Dt was 6.4 μm. The number standard particle size standard deviation was 0.8 μm. The circularity was measured in a water dispersion system using a flow particle image analyzer (manufactured by Toa Medical Electronics Co., Ltd., FPIA-2000). However, the circularity R is represented by the following formula (I).
R = L ₀ / L ₁ (I)
(Wherein, L ₁ [μm] is the circumference of the projected image of the particle to be measured, and L ₀ [μm] is the circumference of a perfect circle having an area equal to the area of the projected image of the particle to be measured. To express.)
Hydrophobic silica (manufactured by Nippon Aerosil Co., Ltd., R-972): 1.0 part by weight was added to 100 parts by weight of the obtained particles to obtain a final toner. The finally obtained toner had an average circularity R of 0.859 and a circularity standard deviation of 0.020. The number-based average particle diameter Dt was 6.5 μm. The number standard particle size standard deviation was 0.8 μm.

(Example 2)
A toner was produced in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the toner producing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 used an apparatus in which the shape-imparting member was replaced with that shown in FIG.
Example 3
A toner was manufactured in the same manner as in Example 1 except that a plate-shaped shape imparting member having an inclination angle θ of the collision surface of 90 ° was used. At this time, the airflow from the gas injection port 14 hit the upper part of the shape imparting member.

Example 4
A toner was manufactured in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the actuator for vibrating the collision surface of the shape imparting member was omitted and the inclination angle θ of the collision surface of the shape imparting member was 20 °.

(Comparative Example 1)
A toner was produced in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the shape imparting member was omitted.
(Comparative Example 2)
A toner was manufactured in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the air flow introducing unit, the cooling unit, and the heating unit were omitted.

(Comparative Example 3)
First, polyester resin as a binder resin (glass transition point Tg: 58 ° C., softening point Tf _1/2 : 105 ° C., weight average molecular weight Mw: 13000): 100 parts by weight, phthalocyanine pigment (manufactured by Dainichi Seika Co., Ltd.) as a colorant Phthalocyanine blue): 5 parts by weight, as a charge control agent, a salicylic acid Cr complex (Bontron E-81, manufactured by Orient Chemical Industries): 1 part by weight, and as a wax, 3 parts by weight of carnauba wax.

These components were mixed using a 20 L type Henschel mixer to obtain a raw material for preparing a kneaded product.
Next, this raw material (mixture) was kneaded using a twin-screw kneading extruder.
The total length of the process part of the biaxial kneading extruder was 160 cm.
Moreover, it set so that the temperature of the raw material in a process part might be 105-115 degreeC.

The screw rotation speed was 120 rpm, and the raw material charging speed was 20 kg / hour.
The time required for the raw material to pass through the process part, determined from such conditions, is about 4 minutes.
The kneading as described above was performed while degassing the inside of the process unit by operating a vacuum pump connected to the process unit via a degassing port.

The raw material (kneaded material) kneaded in the process part was extruded outside the biaxial kneading extruder through the head part. The temperature of the kneaded material in the head part was adjusted to 110 ° C.
Thus, the kneaded material extruded from the extrusion port of the biaxial kneading extruder was cooled using a cooler. The temperature of the kneaded material immediately after the cooling step was about 46 ° C.
The cooling rate of the kneaded product was −7 ° C./second. In addition, the time required from the end of the kneading process to the end of the cooling process was 10 seconds.
The kneaded material cooled as described above was coarsely pulverized to obtain a powder having an average particle size of 1.5 mm. A hammer mill was used for coarse pulverization of the kneaded product.

Next, the coarsely pulverized kneaded product was finely pulverized. A jet mill (200 AFG, manufactured by Hosokawa Micron Corporation) was used for finely pulverizing the kneaded product. The fine pulverization was performed at a pulverization air pressure: 500 [kPa] and a rotor rotational speed: 7000 [rpm].
The pulverized material thus obtained was classified with an airflow diverter (manufactured by Hosokawa Micron Corporation, 100 ATP).

Thereafter, the classified pulverized product (powder for toner production) was subjected to a thermal spheronization treatment. The thermal spheronization treatment was performed using a thermal spheronization apparatus (Nippon Pneumatic Co., Ltd., SFS3 type). The temperature of the atmosphere during the heat spheronization treatment was 270 ° C.
Thereafter, an external additive was applied to the powder subjected to the thermal spheronization treatment under the same conditions as in Example 1 to obtain a toner.
Table 1 shows the toner production conditions for the above Examples and Comparative Examples.

[2] Evaluation The toner obtained as described above was evaluated for charging characteristics, transfer efficiency, and cleaning properties.
[2.1] Charging characteristics The following tests were carried out using a laser printer (manufactured by Seiko Epson Corporation, LP-3000C).

In a laser printer, the operation is stopped during printing, the cartridge is removed, and the charge amount distribution is measured using an E-spart analyzer manufactured by Hosokawa Micron Co., Ltd. The positive charge amount was determined as the reverse charge amount.
The charge amount was determined for the initial charge amount under room temperature conditions (25 ° C., humidity 45%) and the charge amount after printing 1,000 sheets (after 1K).

The amount of charge after printing 1,000 sheets (after 1K) was evaluated according to the following four criteria.
A: The amount of change (absolute value) from the initial charge amount is less than 0.5 μC / g.
A: The amount of change (absolute value) from the initial charge amount is 0.5 μC / g or more and less than 1 μC / g.
Δ: The amount of change (absolute value) from the initial charge amount is 1 μC / g or more and less than 3 μC / g.
X: The amount of change (absolute value) from the initial charge amount is 3 μC / g or more.
In addition, for reversely chargeable toner, it is determined by the existence ratio with respect to the total amount of toner. When the existence ratio of the reversely chargeable toner is less than 3 wt%, the existence ratio of the oppositely chargeable toner is 3 wt% or more. Is x.

[2.2] Transfer efficiency Transfer efficiency of each toner obtained as described above was evaluated.
The transfer efficiency was evaluated as follows using a color laser printer (manufactured by Seiko Epson Corporation, LP-2000C).
[2.3] Cleaning property The toner obtained in each of the above examples and comparative examples is packed in a cartridge of a laser printer (manufactured by Seiko Epson Corporation, LP-3000C), set in the printer, and continuously printed 6000 sheets. The cleaning property was evaluated according to the following three criteria.
○: No wiping residue on the surface of the photoreceptor is observed.
Δ: At the initial stage of printing, almost no wiping residue on the surface of the photoreceptor is observed, but the cleaning defect gradually increases, and when 5000 sheets are printed, an obvious cleaning defect is observed.
X: A clear cleaning defect is recognized from the initial stage of printing.

The toner on the photoconductor immediately after the development process to the photoconductor (before transfer) and the toner on the photoconductor after transfer (after printing) were collected using different tapes, and their weights were measured. When the toner weight on the photoconductor before transfer is W _b [g] and the toner weight on the photoconductor after transfer is W _a [g], it is obtained as (W _b −W _a ) × 100 / W _b. The value was defined as transfer efficiency.
These results are shown in Table 2 together with the average circularity R, number-based average particle diameter Dt, and particle diameter standard deviation of particles (toner base particles, toner particles before adding silica) manufactured using a toner manufacturing apparatus. Shown in

As apparent from Table 2, the toners of the present invention (Examples 1 to 4) all had a small circularity and a small width of the particle size distribution. Moreover, the variation in shape (standard deviation of circularity) was also small. Moreover, when the external appearance was observed with a microscope, only one side of the true sphere was slightly crushed.
On the other hand, the toners of Comparative Examples 1 and 2 had a larger circularity than the Examples. This is considered to be because the discharged dispersion hardly receives external force and solidifies while maintaining a spherical shape due to surface tension. Further, when the appearance was observed with a microscope, it was almost spherical. Further, although the toner of Comparative Example 3 had a low degree of circularity and an irregular shape, the variation in shape and particle size was particularly large.

Further, as apparent from Table 2, the toner of the present invention was excellent in cleaning properties. In contrast, the toners of Comparative Examples 1 and 2 were inferior in cleaning properties. This is because the toner of the comparative example has a large roundness and a substantially spherical shape, whereas the toner of the present invention has a sufficiently small variation in shape, size, and characteristics between particles. It is thought that this is because the circularity is small and has an irregular shape.
In addition, as a result of manufacturing toner in the same manner as described above using the toner manufacturing apparatus having the head portion shown in FIGS. 6 to 9, similar results were obtained.

It is a longitudinal section showing typically a 1st embodiment of a resin particulate manufacture device of the present invention. It is an expanded sectional view of the head part vicinity of the resin fine particle manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view shown in schematic structure of the shape provision member with which the resin fine particle manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 was equipped. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view shown in schematic structure of the shape provision member with which the resin fine particle manufacturing apparatus concerning 2nd Embodiment of this invention was equipped. It is a figure for demonstrating the other example of a shape provision member. FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically illustrating another example of the structure in the vicinity of the head portion of the toner manufacturing apparatus. FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically illustrating another example of the structure in the vicinity of the head portion of the toner manufacturing apparatus. FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically illustrating another example of the structure in the vicinity of the head portion of the toner manufacturing apparatus. FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically illustrating another example of the structure in the vicinity of the head portion of the toner manufacturing apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Toner manufacturing apparatus 2 ... Head part 21 ... Dispersion liquid storage part 22 ... Piezoelectric element 221 ... Lower electrode 222 ... Piezoelectric body 223 ... Upper electrode 23 ... Discharge part 24 ... Diaphragm 25 ... ... Acoustic lens 26 ... Pressure pulse converging part 3 ... Conveying part 31 ... Housing 311 ... Reduced diameter part 32, 32 '... Cooling means 321 ... Cooling area 33 ... Heating means 331 ... Heating area 34 ... ... Cooling means 35 ... Dispersion medium recovery section 4 ... Dispersion supply section 41 ... Stirring means 5 ... Recovery section 6 ... Dispersion 61 ... Dispersoid 62 ... Dispersion medium 7 ... Gas injection port 8 ... ... Voltage application means 9 ... Toner particles 10 ... Gas supply means 101 ... Duct 11 ... Heat exchanger 12 ... Intake means 121 ... Connection pipe 122 ... Expanded portion 123 ... Filter 13 ... Restriction Member 14 ... Gas injection port 15 ... Shape imparting member 15A ... Shape imparting plate 15A1 ... Colliding surface 15B ... Holding member 15C ... Mounting member 15D ... Actuator 16 ... Shape imparting member 16A ... Colliding surface 16B …… Mounting member 17 …… Shape imparting member 17A, 17B, 17C …… Collision surface

Claims (16)

A production apparatus for producing resin fine particles using a dispersion in which a dispersoid containing a raw material for producing resin fine particles is finely dispersed in a dispersion medium,
A discharge unit that discharges the dispersion liquid in a granular form, and a transfer unit that is dried while transporting the granular dispersion liquid discharged from the discharge unit to form resin fine particles,
A shape imparting member for causing the granular dispersion liquid to collide and deform in a semi-solidified region where the granular dispersion liquid discharged from the discharge section is in a semi-solidified state is provided in the transport section. A resin fine particle manufacturing apparatus.   The shape imparting member has a collision surface on which the granular dispersion liquid collides, and the collision surface is inclined with respect to a direction in which the granular dispersion enters the shape imparting member. Resin fine particle manufacturing equipment.   The resin fine particle manufacturing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the collision surface is a conical surface.   A plurality of the collision surfaces are provided, and the plurality of the collision surfaces are spaced apart from each other in a direction substantially perpendicular to the entering direction of the granular dispersion liquid with respect to the shape imparting member. The resin fine particle manufacturing apparatus as described.   5. The resin fine particle manufacturing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the collision surface has an inclination angle of 10 to 80 ° with respect to a direction in which the granular dispersion enters the shape imparting member.   6. The resin fine particle manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the shape imparting member has liquid repellency in the vicinity of a collision surface for colliding with the granular dispersion.   The resin fine particle manufacturing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the shape imparting member is movable so as to change a distance between the shape imparting member and the ejection unit.   The shape imparting member vibrates a collision surface for colliding with the granular dispersion liquid, and shakes the dispersion liquid adhering to the collision surface downstream in a direction in which the discharge unit discharges the dispersion liquid. The apparatus for producing fine resin particles according to any one of claims 1 to 7, which is configured to drop.   The resin fine particle manufacturing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein a frequency of the collision surface of the shape imparting member is 1 to 500 Hz.   The apparatus for producing fine resin particles according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the semi-solidified region is a heated region comprising a heated atmosphere.   The resin fine particle manufacturing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the temperature of the heating region is configured to be 30 to 150 ° C.   The apparatus for producing resin fine particles according to claim 10 or 11, configured to introduce a dry gas into the heating region.   The apparatus for producing fine resin particles according to claim 12, wherein the humidity of the dry gas is 50% RH or less.   The resin fine particle manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the resin fine particles are toner.   A method for producing resin fine particles, comprising producing resin fine particles using the resin fine particle production apparatus according to claim 1. A resin fine particle obtained by the method for producing a resin fine particle according to claim 15.

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