JP2008231636A - Electrostatic spinning apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electrostatic spinning apparatus which can extremely simply adjust the mutual distances of nozzles for extruding a spinning dope. <P>SOLUTION: This electrostatic spinning apparatus comprises a storage portion 2 for storing the spinning dope, an extrusion portion 3 for extruding the spinning dope stored in the storage portion 2, a voltage-applying means 7 for applying an electric field to the spinning dope extruded from the extrusion portion 3 to draw the extruded dope into the fibers, and a collection portion 8 for collecting the spun fibers. In this apparatus, the extrusion portion 3 comprises flexible hoses 4 connected to the storage portion 2, nozzles 5 disposed at the free ends of the flexible hoses 4 and used for extruding the spinning dope, and a fixing means 6 for fixing the nozzles 5 to desired positions. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an electrospinning apparatus.

  The electrostatic spinning method is a spinning method in which an electric field is applied to a spinning stock solution discharged from a nozzle to make it fiber while being drawn. According to the electrostatic spinning method, fibers with submicron or nano-order fiber diameters can be obtained, and even fibers that are difficult to melt spin can be made into fibers. Expansion into application fields that could not be achieved is expected.

  As shown in FIG. 7, a conventional electrostatic spinning apparatus 100 includes a pump 101 that pumps a spinning stock solution, a storage unit 102 that stores the spinning solution, and a nozzle 104 that discharges the spinning solution stored in the storage unit 102. , A voltage application means 105 that draws and fiberizes the spinning solution discharged from the nozzle 104 by applying an electric field, and a collecting unit 106 that includes a conveyor that collects the spun fibers. And the fiber web which has a three-dimensional network structure can be obtained by accumulating the electrospun fiber on the collection part 106 (for example, refer patent document 1).

However, in the conventional electrostatic spinning device 100, the nozzle 104 that discharges the spinning solution is fixed to the distributor 103 below the storage unit 102, and the interval between the nozzles is determined in advance, so the interval between the nozzles is changed. When trying to do so, at least the distributor itself had to be replaced, which was very troublesome.
JP-A 63-145465

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described drawbacks of conventional electrospinning apparatuses, and provides an electrospinning apparatus that can be easily adjusted by increasing the interval between nozzles. .

The present invention relates to a storage section for storing a spinning stock solution, a discharge section for discharging the spinning stock solution stored in the storage section, and a voltage for stretching and fiberizing by applying an electric field to the spinning stock solution discharged from the discharge section. An electrostatic spinning device comprising an application means and a collection unit for collecting the spun fibers,
A plurality of flexible hoses that are connected to the storage unit and guide the spinning stock solution, and nozzles that are provided at the free ends of the flexible hoses and discharge the spinning stock solution guided by the flexible hoses; And fixing means for fixing each nozzle at a desired position.

Further, in the present invention, the fixing means includes a fixing member having a plurality of insertion holes into which the nozzle can be detachably inserted, and a support member that detachably supports the fixing member. ,
A plurality of fixing members having different intervals between the insertion holes are prepared, and the interval between the nozzles is adjusted by appropriately replacing the fixing members.

Further, according to the present invention, the fixing means can change the interval between the fixing members, and a plurality of fixing members provided with a plurality of insertion holes through which the nozzles can be detachably inserted. And a support member for supporting
The interval between the nozzles is adjusted by changing the interval between the plurality of fixing members.

  According to the electrostatic spinning device according to the present invention, the interval between the nozzles can be easily adjusted.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the electrospinning apparatus 10 of the present embodiment is stored in a pump 1 that pumps the spinning stock solution, a storage unit 2 that can store a predetermined amount of the spinning solution, and a storage unit 2. A discharge unit 3 for discharging the spinning raw solution, a voltage applying means 7 for drawing and spinning the spinning raw solution discharged from the discharging unit 3 by applying an electric field, and a collecting conveyor for collecting the spun fibers. And a collection unit 8. The electrostatic spinning device 10 according to the present embodiment is mainly characterized by the discharge unit 3, and the pump 1, the storage unit 2, the voltage application unit 7, and the collection unit 8 are configured in the same manner as in the past.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the discharge unit 3 is provided at a free end of each flexible hose 4 and a plurality of flexible hoses 4 that are connected to the storage unit 2 via a distributor 21 to guide the spinning undiluted solution, respectively. It comprises a nozzle 5 for discharging the spinning dope introduced by each flexible hose 4 and a fixing means 6 for fixing each nozzle 5 at a desired position.

  The flexible hose 4 is formed of, for example, a deformable synthetic resin material such as a silicon rubber material, a fluorine rubber material, and the other end portion is fixed to the distributor 21. Can be moved freely together with the nozzle 5. The length of the flexible hose 4 can be variously set as required. For example, if the flexible hose 4 having a length of 1 to 3 meters is used, the length of the flexible hose 4 is set in the direction of the storage unit 2 and the distributor 21. The handling property of the nozzle 5 can be remarkably improved, for example, the direction of the nozzle 5 can be freely changed irrespectively.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the fixing means 6 of the present embodiment includes a fixing member 61A having a plurality of insertion holes 611 into which the nozzle 5 can be detachably inserted, and the fixing member 61A can be attached and detached. And a support member 62 to be supported.

  The fixing member 61A is formed of a substantially long plate-shaped metal material, and a plurality of insertion holes 611 are opened in a row at regular intervals. The nozzle 5 can be easily fixed by inserting the tip end portion of the nozzle 5 into a part or all of the plurality of insertion holes 611 from above. In addition, on both end portions of the fixing member 61A, flange portions 612 in which female screw portions (not shown) are formed are formed. On the other hand, the support member 62 is formed of a metal material having an L-shaped cross section, and a slide long hole 623 is formed in the side wall portion 622 along the longitudinal direction of the support member 62.

  As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a plurality of fixing members 61A are bridged between a pair of support members 62 and 62 arranged to face each other at a constant interval, and the male screw portion of the fixing screw 63 is Each fixing member 61 </ b> A is fixed to the supporting member 62 by passing through the slide long hole 623 of the supporting member 62 and screwing into the female screw portion of the flange portion 612 of the fixing member 61 </ b> A.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the support member 62 is connected to the conducting wire of the voltage applying means 7, and a required voltage is applied to the nozzle 5 through the support member 62 and the fixing member 61A. The support member 62 is fixed to a frame (not shown) of the electrostatic spinning device 10 in an electrically insulated state.

  According to the electrospinning apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, by appropriately selecting the insertion hole 611 in which the nozzle 5 is actually inserted from the plurality of insertion holes 611 provided in the fixing member 61A, the nozzle The interval between the five can be easily changed. Even after the nozzle 5 is fixed to the fixing member 61A, if the fixing screws 63 are loosened and the fixing members 61A are moved along the slide long holes 623, the intervals between the plurality of fixing members 61A are appropriately set. The interval between the nozzles 5 can be easily adjusted.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, if fixing members 61B and 61C in which the interval between the insertion holes 611 is different from the fixing member 61A are prepared, these fixing members (61A, 61B and 61C) are prepared. The interval between the nozzles 5 can also be adjusted by appropriately replacing. 2 to 4, an example in which a plurality of one type of fixing members are attached to the support member 62 is illustrated, but a combination of a plurality of types of fixing members having different intervals between the insertion holes is supported. It may be attached to the member 62.

  The electrostatic spinning apparatus according to this embodiment has been described above, but the present invention can be implemented in other forms.

  For example, in the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of flexible hoses 4 and nozzles 5 connected to one reservoir 2 are inserted and fixed to one fixing member 61A. Like the electrostatic spinning device 20 shown, the flexible hose 4 and the nozzle 5 respectively connected to the plurality of storage units 2 may be inserted and fixed to one fixing member 61C. Further, a plurality of flexible hoses 4 and nozzles 5 connected to one reservoir 2 may be distributed and fixed to a plurality of fixing members.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the fixing member (61A, 61B, 61C) by which the several insertion hole 611 was opened in a line is employ | adopted, for example, as shown in FIG. A fixing member 61D opened in a row may be used.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the fixing member which has the insertion hole 611 which can detachably insert the nozzle 5 is used as the fixing means 6 for fixing each nozzle to a desired position, this invention is used. For example, a known clip that can detachably hold the nozzle 5 is used as a fixing means, and each nozzle 5 is fixed to a desired position of the fixing member by the clip. Also good.

  Examples of the spinning dope used in the present invention include a solution obtained by dissolving a polymer in a solvent, and a spinnable sol solution obtained by hydrolyzing a metal alkoxide. Examples of this polymer include polyethylene glycol, polyvinyl alcohol, partially saponified polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl pyrrolidone, polylactic acid, polyglycolic acid, polyacrylonitrile, polystyrene, polyamide, aromatic polyamide, polyolefins such as polyethylene and polypropylene, fluorine-based polymers and their copolymers. Polymer, polyacrylonitrile-methacrylate copolymer, polymethyl methacrylate, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinylidene chloride-acrylate copolymer, nylon polymer such as nylon 12, nylon-4,6, aramid, polybenzimidazole, Cellulose, cellulose acetate, cellulose acetate butyrate, polyvinylpyrrolidone-vinyl acetate, polypropylene oxide, polyethyleneimide, polyethylenesulfur Id, SBS copolymer, polyhydroxybutyric acid, polyvinyl acetate, polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene oxide, collagen, polyglycolic acid, poly D, L-lactic acid-glycolic acid copolymer, polyarylate, polypropylene fumarate, polycaprolactone, etc. Biodegradable polymers, biopolymers such as polypeptides and protein awards, and pitch polymers such as coal tar pitch and petroleum pitch. A mixture of a plurality of types selected from these polymers may be used.

  The solvent of the spinning dope varies depending on the ultrafine fiber constituting material and is not particularly limited, but water, acetone, methanol, ethanol, propanol, isopropanol, toluene, benzene, cyclohexane, cyclohexanone, tetrahydrofuran, dimethyl sulfoxide, 1, 4 -Dioxane, carbon tetrachloride, methylene chloride, chloroform, pyridine, trichloroethane, N, N-dimethylformamide, N, N-dimethylacetamide, N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, ethylene carbonate, diethyl carbonate, propylene carbonate, acetonitrile, etc. It can be illustrated.

  The present invention can be carried out in a mode in which various improvements, modifications, and variations are added based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the present invention. In addition, any invention-specific matters may be replaced with other technologies within a range where the same action or effect occurs, and the integrally-configured invention-specific matters are constituted by a plurality of members. Alternatively, the invention specific items configured by a plurality of members may be implemented in an integrated configuration.

It is a schematic side view of the electrostatic spinning device of this embodiment. It is a top view of the fixing means of the electrostatic spinning apparatus of this embodiment. It is a top view of the fixing means of the electrostatic spinning apparatus of this embodiment. It is a top view of the fixing means of the electrostatic spinning apparatus of this embodiment. It is a schematic side view of the electrospinning apparatus of the implementation modification which concerns on this invention. It is a schematic side view of the electrostatic spinning device of another modification concerning the present invention. It is a schematic side view of the conventional electrostatic spinning apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

10, 20 Electrospinning device 1 Pump
2 Storage part 21 Distributor 3 Discharge part 4 Flexible hose 5 Nozzle 6 Fixing means 61A, 61B, 61C, 61D Fixing member 611 Insertion hole 62 Support member 63 Fixing screw 7 Voltage application means 8 Collection part

Claims (3)

A reservoir for storing the spinning dope, a discharging unit for discharging the spinning dope stored in the storing unit, and a voltage applying means for drawing and fiberizing the spinning dope discharged from the discharging unit by applying an electric field to the spinning dope; An electrostatic spinning device comprising a collection unit for collecting the spun fibers,
The discharge part is
A plurality of flexible hoses connected to the reservoir and respectively leading to the spinning dope;
A nozzle that is provided at the free end of each flexible hose and discharges the spinning dope introduced by the flexible hose;
Fixing means for fixing each nozzle at a desired position;
An electrospinning apparatus comprising: The fixing means is
A fixing member having a plurality of insertion holes into which the nozzle can be detachably inserted; and
A support member that removably supports the fixing member;
With
The electrostatic spinning device according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of fixing members having different intervals between the insertion holes are prepared, and the interval between the nozzles is adjusted by appropriately replacing the fixing members. The fixing means is
A plurality of fixing members having a plurality of insertion holes into which the nozzles can be removably inserted; and
A support member that supports the plurality of fixing members such that the interval between the fixing members can be changed; and
With
The electrostatic spinning device according to claim 1, wherein an interval between the nozzles is adjusted by changing an interval between the plurality of fixing members.

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