JP2008224326A - Distributor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a distributor capable of achieving quantitative distribution of a target liquid substance at each of distribution ports and of realizing numbering-up of microdevices. <P>SOLUTION: In the distributor equipped with a single supply port N for supplying a fluid material and a plurality of branched distribution ports 2, having the flow channels, connected to the single supply port N and branching the fluid material passed through the flow channels to respectively distribute the fluid material individually, a conical annular space M is installed which starts from the single supply port N and made to expand in its peripheral length L toward the bottom part to which the respective branched distribution ports 2. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention is practical and efficient in the technical field of microreactors and micro TAS (Micro Total Analysis Systems) used for microchemical processes and microanalysis (hereinafter, microreactors and microTAS are collectively referred to as microdevices). The present invention relates to a distributor which is indispensable for constituting a simple process, and intends to distribute and supply a target fluid material to a plurality of micro devices simultaneously and uniformly.

Microdevices used in microchemical processes and microchemical analysis have been described as follows: `` Prototype reactors for which necessary functions have been confirmed are put in parallel and numbered as they are in practical use and mass production. In recent years, the necessity of developing a numbering up system in a practical process is increasing (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 1).
Junichi Yoshida, Professor, Kyoto University "Micro Reactor Technology" (book) Bookers, July 13, 2005, p.34-37

  In particular, the target fluid handled in this type of field has an extremely small flow rate, and it is required to distribute and supply the target fluid evenly to a plurality of microdevices. A tournament method (see Fig. 11) in which the length of the flow path from the source to each supply destination (microreactor, etc.) is designed to be uniform (see Fig. 11), and a stacking method in which a plurality of partition plates with communication channels are stacked (Fig. 12), a direct connection method (see Fig. 13 (a) and (b)) where the supply destination is directly connected to a single flow passage, or a skirt method (see Fig. 14) where the flow passage is gradually extended from a single supply port. ) Etc. have been tried.

  By the way, the above tournament system is affected by the inertia of the flow at the branching portion of the flow passage, so there is a problem that the flow rate after branching varies, and the straightening part after branching is lengthened so that the rectifying effect However, if the flow path is lengthened in order to secure the structure, the occurrence of pressure loss is unavoidable, and an excessive space for installing the distributor is required, which is not practical.

  As for the lamination method, it is possible to provide a branch flow path directly in the micro device and to reduce the number of parts, so that it is possible to design economically. As the depth of the flow path increases, a pressure loss due to the resistance of the flow path occurs, and as a result, a change in the supply amount to each microdevice is inevitable.

  Furthermore, in the direct connection method, it is difficult to uniformly distribute and supply under the influence of the difference in the length of the flow path, as in the above-described lamination method. In the skirt method, the length from the supply port to the distribution destination is difficult. Therefore, uniform distribution and supply are difficult, and none of the methods has been effective yet.

  An object of the present invention is to propose a new novel distributor capable of solving the above-described conventional problems and uniformly distributing and supplying a target fluid to each device.

The present invention has a single supply port for supplying a fluid and a flow passage connected to the single supply port, and a plurality of branch distribution ports for branching the fluid through the flow passage and distributing them individually. In a distributor with
The flow passage is a distributor characterized by comprising a conical annular space whose peripheral length is extended from a supply port as a starting point toward a bottom portion where each branch distribution port is disposed.

  In configuring the above distributor, the distributor has a core having an outer wall that forms a conical contour shape connecting the apex and the bottom, and a through hole that forms a supply port facing the apex of the core. The conical annular space may be partitioned by a combination with a core case having an inner wall along the outer wall of the core.

The conical annular space preferably satisfies the condition of θ ₂ <θ ₁ when the expansion angle at the outer wall of the core is θ ₁ and the expansion angle at the inner wall of the core case is θ ₂ .

  Further, the conical annular space may have the same cross-sectional area from the supply port to the branch distribution port, but has a cross-sectional area that gradually decreases from the supply port to the branch distribution port. Things can also be applied.

  The flow path of the distributor is a three-dimensional annular space in the shape of a cone. The elements that affect the flow characteristics of the fluid (distance from the supply port to the distribution port, cross-sectional shape of the flow path, flow ) (Inertia (direction), etc.) is substantially the same in both the length direction and the circumference of the annular space, so that the flow rate of the target fluid in each branch distribution port is made uniform (quantitative distribution).

  There is little pressure loss, the structure can be simplified, and handling including maintenance becomes easy.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described more specifically with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of a distributor according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an external perspective view showing an exploded state of the distributor.

  Number 1 in FIGS. 1 and 2 is a core. The core 1 is provided with an outer wall 1a that connects the apex P and the bottom h (see FIG. 1) to form a conical contour, and an annular groove 1b that surrounds the core 1 is provided at the edge of the bottom h. Is provided.

  Reference numeral 2 denotes a branch distribution port provided on the bottom wall of the groove 1b. A plurality of branch distribution ports 2 are provided along the periphery of the core 1, and the lower ends thereof are connected to the micro device.

  Reference numeral 3 denotes a core case to be combined with the core 1. The core case 3 is provided with a through hole 3a that forms a supply port N facing the apex P of the core 1 in a state of being combined with the core 1, and an inner wall 3b that is disposed close to the outer wall 1a of the core 1. As shown in FIG. 3, the inner wall 3b and the outer wall 1a of the core 1 define a conical annular space M whose circumferential length L extends from the supply port N toward the groove 1b (bottom edge). Form. The conical annular space M constitutes a flow passage of the distributor, and allows the target fluid to flow from the supply port N toward each branch distribution port 2.

  Furthermore, 4 is a holder that holds the core 1, 5 is a holder that holds the core case 3, 6 is a supply joint that supplies liquid material to the distributor, and 7 is connected to each branch / distribution port 2 of the distributor. It is a branch joint that distributes liquid materials to micro devices. Although not shown, the holder 4 and the holder 5 are connected to each other by fastening means such as bolts.

  The distributor having the above configuration is the same in all the length W from the supply port N to the branch distribution port 2 (see FIG. 3) (becomes a three-dimensional flow path). The target fluid exhibits a flow as shown in FIG. 4 and can be quantitatively distributed at each branch distribution port 2.

  The conical annular space M that forms the flow passage of the distributor can also be configured by forming a through passage by an opening or a narrow groove and arranging a plurality of conical shapes in this case. An intermittent wall is formed in the surroundings, but a quantitative distribution of the target fluid is possible. Further, the circumferential length L of the conical annular space M can be appropriately shortened in the range of the length W according to the type of the micro device, the installation situation, and the like.

Extended angle of the external wall 1a of the core 1 (cone angle) and theta _1, when the expansion angle inside wall 3b of the core case 3 was theta ₂ (see FIG. 1), and θ _{2 <θ 1.} The reason for this is that when the above conditions are set, the cross-sectional area of the flow path from the supply port N to the branch distribution port 2 can be uniformly or gradually decreased, and the pressure due to the change of the cross-sectional area of the flow path is applied to the target fluid (supply fluid). This is because it is possible to raise the pressure (prevent pressure drop) and make the pressure uniform at least in the groove 1b.

The conical annular space M has the same cross-sectional area from the supply port N to the branch distribution port 2 by the combination of the expansion angle θ ₁ in the outer wall 1 a of the core ₁ and the expansion angle θ ₂ in the inner wall 3 b of the core case 3. However, in order to provide a uniform flow rate and pressure in the groove 1b, the cross-sectional area of the conical annular space M is gradually decreased from the supply port N toward the branch distribution port 2. Is effective, and can be arbitrarily changed in accordance with the characteristics of the target fluid and the flow conditions (pressure, flow rate, etc.).

  As shown in FIG. 5, a region (choke hole) in which the cross-sectional area is partially reduced rapidly is provided in the passage from the final part of the conical annular space M or the groove part 1b to the micro device to provide a throttling effect. This also makes it possible to equalize the pressure in each part of the conical annular space M and in the groove 1b.

  Further, in order to further improve the throttling effect, as shown in FIG. 6, a spherical body such as ceramic, glass, stainless steel, or the like, in the passage from the final part of the conical annular space M or the groove part 1b to the micro device, Powder may be filled.

  It is desirable that the distribution posture of the distributor is such that the supply port N faces down and the branch distribution port 2 faces up so that the target fluid can be fed in a preload state.

  Fig. 7 shows a configuration example of numbering up of micro devices.

Distributor having the structure shown in Fig. 1 (θ ₁ : 105 °, θ ₂ : 96 °, groove size: width 3mm, depth 2mm, choke hole: diameter 1.5mm, branch distribution port: 10 A microreactor for adjusting nanoparticles is installed downstream of the water separator (distributor), set flow rate per line: 0.7 ml / min, line pressure: 0.7 MPa (7 kgf / cm ² ), line temperature: room temperature The target fluid (ultra-pure water) was supplied under the conditions described above, and the outflow at that time was investigated (2-line connection (connecting diagonally), 5-line connection (connecting every other line), and 10 line connection). The results are shown in Tables 1-3. In this survey, a survey (same conditions) was conducted on the distributors of the types shown in FIGS.

  In the distributor shown in FIG. 8, according to Pascal's law regarding pressure, the reaction fluid that flows in becomes equal pressure at each branch distribution port, but in reality, the branch distribution near the supply port due to the channel resistance in the branch path The flow rate was higher at the mouth, and the flow rate was lower the further from the supply port. For the distributor shown in FIG. 9, the flow rate was large at the branch distribution port close to the supply port, and the flow rate decreased as it approached both ends, and the same tendency as the distributor shown in FIG. 8 was observed.

  The distributor shown in FIG. 10 has a structure in which fillers are arranged. In this case, although the variation in the flow rate is somewhat relaxed, the dependence on the flow rate is large, and the pressure loss ( When a microreactor with a large flow path resistance was installed, the improvement effect did not appear (the larger the pressure loss in the microdevice, the smaller the flow difference at the branch distribution port, but the more the distribution distribution port) In addition, since the pressure loss is greatly increased, it cannot be put to practical use.)

  On the other hand, the distributor according to the present invention has a flow rate standard deviation (SD) of 0.069 in the case of 2-line connection, 0.18 in the case of 5-line connection, and 0.1 in the case of 10-line connection. It was 19 and it was confirmed that the variation in flow rate was extremely small and quantitative distribution was possible.

  It is possible to provide a distributor capable of quantitative distribution that can realize numbering up of micro devices.

It is the figure which showed embodiment of the divider | distributor according to this invention, (a) is sectional drawing, (b) is a bottom view. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the distributor shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing a flow path of the distributor shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a flow of a target fluid in the distributor shown in FIG. It is the figure which expanded and showed the principal part (The channel | path from the last part of a cone-shaped annular space, a groove part to a micro device) of the other distributor according to this invention. It is the figure which expanded and showed the principal part (The channel | path from the last part of a cone-shaped annular space, a groove part to a micro device) of the other distributor according to this invention. It is the figure which showed the structural example of the numbering-up of a micro device. It is the figure which showed typically the structure of the conventional divider | distributor. It is the figure which showed typically the structure of the conventional divider | distributor. It is the figure which showed typically the structure of the conventional divider | distributor. It is the figure which showed the tournament-type distributor. It is the figure which showed the lamination type distributor. (a) and (b) are diagrams showing a direct connection type distributor. It is the figure which showed the divider | distributor of the skirt system.

Explanation of symbols

1 core
1a External wall
1b Groove
2 Branch distribution port
3 Core case
3a Through hole
4 Holder
5 Holder
6 Supply joint
7 Branch joint
P vertex
M conical annular space
N supply port

Claims (5)

A single supply port for supplying a fluid material, and a plurality of branch distribution ports that have a flow path connected to the single supply port and branch the fluid material that has passed through the flow path and distribute the fluid individually. In the distributor,
The distributor is characterized by comprising a conical annular space having a circumferential length extending from the supply port as a starting point toward a bottom portion where each branch distribution port is disposed.   The conical annular space has a core having an outer wall that forms a conical contour shape from the apex to the bottom, and a through hole that faces the apex of the core and forms a supply port. 2. The distributor according to claim 1, wherein the distributor is formed by a combination with a core case having an inner wall along the wall. 3. The distributor according to claim ₂ , wherein when the expansion angle at the outer wall of the core is θ ₁ and the expansion angle at the inner wall of the core case is θ ₂ , the condition of θ ₂ <θ ₁ is satisfied.   4. The distributor according to claim 1, wherein the conical annular space has the same cross-sectional area from a supply port to a branch distribution port.   The distributor according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the conical annular space has a cross-sectional area that gradually decreases from a supply port toward a branch distribution port.

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