JP2011143355A - Apparatus for preparing gel - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an apparatus for preparing a gel which can surely eject to-be-ejected liquid (first liquid) in a nozzle without being affected by liquid (second liquid) into which the first liquid is to be ejected, even when the inkjet head is disposed at a short distance from the second liquid. <P>SOLUTION: The apparatus for preparing the gel by dropping an sodium alginate solution (the first liquid) 3 into a calcium chloride solution (the second liquid) 7 has: the inkjet head 2 for ejecting the sodium alginate solution 3; a fluidization pipe 6 in which the calcium chloride solution 7 is fluidized and which has a notched part 6a at the position opposed to the inkjet head 2; and an isolation plate 22 which is disposed in the notched part 6a and has a perforated part 23 for communicating the inkjet head 2 with the fluidization pipe 6. In the perforated part 23, an inkjet head 2-side first opening 23a is made larger than a fluidization pipe 6-side second opening 23b. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a gel manufacturing apparatus that gels a liquid by a chemical reaction.

  Conventionally, a method for producing a gel-like microcapsule first discharges a discharge liquid containing a constituent material of a microcapsule from an ink jet nozzle into a liquid to be discharged by an ink jet method which is an example of liquid supply in this case. To do. The discharged liquid is in a gelled state by chemically reacting with the discharged liquid. Thereby, a gel-like microcapsule is produced | generated. According to this ink jet method, a discharge liquid containing the constituent material of the microcapsule can be discharged in a predetermined direction as droplets of uniform size, and the discharge interval, discharge speed, etc. of the droplets can be set in the droplets. It is possible to accurately control under suitable conditions (for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2001-232178 A

  However, in the conventional technique, when the liquid level of the liquid to be discharged is shaken due to the vibration of the apparatus, the liquid to be discharged is caused by the fact that the distance between the ink jet nozzle and the liquid to be discharged is close. The nozzle may enter the nozzle and come into contact with the discharged liquid in the nozzle. For this reason, the inside of the ink jet type nozzle is in a gel state, and there is a problem that it becomes difficult to discharge the discharge liquid from the nozzle.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is to solve at least a part of the problems described above, and the invention can be implemented as the following application examples or forms.

  [Application Example 1] A gel manufacturing apparatus according to this application example is a gel manufacturing apparatus that manufactures a gel of the first liquid and the second liquid by dropping a first liquid containing a gel forming material onto the second liquid. A first tank that contains the first liquid; a liquid discharge portion that communicates with the first tank and ejects the first liquid; a second tank that contains the second liquid; and the second tank A flow mechanism portion for flowing the second liquid, a flow pipe having the notched portion at a position facing the liquid discharge portion, and the liquid discharge portion; A separator provided between the fluid pipe and the notch, and having a penetrating part that communicates between the liquid discharge part and the fluid pipe; The first opening on the liquid discharge side is the second opening on the flow tube side. Characterized in that also large.

According to this gel manufacturing apparatus, the liquid discharge part and the flow tube are separated from each other at the part other than the through part by the separator. The first liquid passes through the penetrating part of the separator from the liquid discharge part, is dropped onto the flow tube, and reacts with the second liquid flowing through the flow tube to become a gel. As the first liquid discharged from the liquid discharge portion is dropped onto the second liquid flowing in the flow tube, the liquid level of the second liquid facing the penetrating portion of the separator plate is shaken, and the second liquid Enters the penetrating portion and is easily brought into contact with the liquid discharging portion. Here, when the liquid ejection unit comes into contact with the second liquid, the first liquid and the second liquid existing at the tip of the liquid ejection unit react to generate a gel at the tip of the liquid ejection unit. However, the first liquid cannot be discharged. Therefore, in this application example, the first opening portion on the liquid discharge portion side of the penetrating portion is an opening that is larger than the second opening portion on the flow tube side. With such a configuration, even if the second liquid enters the penetration part from the second opening part, the space formed by the penetration part increases as it penetrates in the direction of the first opening part. Since the penetrating second liquid has a larger cross-sectional area in the first opening than the second opening, the infiltrated second liquid is less likely to approach the first opening according to the equation representing the capillary phenomenon, h = 2T cos θ / ρgr. Become. In the equation, h = height (m) of the second liquid, T = surface tension (N / m ³ ), θ = contact angle, ρ = density of the second liquid (Kg / m ³ ), g = gravity acceleration ( m / s ² ), r = (gap width / 2) or radius (m) of the second opening. Further, according to the above formula, it is desirable that the contact angle θ between the penetrating portion and the second liquid is 90 ° or more. As a result, the second liquid remains in the vicinity of the second opening and does not reach the first opening. Therefore, it is possible to further reduce the contact of the second liquid with the liquid discharge portion, and it is possible to discharge the first liquid from the liquid discharge portion more stably.

  Application Example 2 In the gel manufacturing apparatus according to the application example, it is preferable that the penetrating portion is formed along a direction in which the second liquid flows through the flow pipe.

  According to this configuration, since the through part is formed along the direction in which the second liquid flows in the flow tube, a large number of the through parts are formed along the longitudinal direction of the through part (the direction in which the second liquid flows through the flow pipe). The first liquid can be dropped, which is efficient. Further, when dropping the first liquid, even if the dropping position is shifted in the longitudinal direction or the dropping direction is bent in the longitudinal direction, a situation in which the first liquid does not reach the second liquid can be avoided. Is possible.

  Application Example 3 In the gel manufacturing apparatus according to the application example described above, the separator includes a first plate and a second plate facing the first plate, and the penetrating portion includes the first plate. A gap formed between a plate and the second plate is preferable.

  According to this configuration, the penetrating portion is formed by disposing two opposing plates facing each other with a predetermined gap. By processing the edge of the counter plate, the penetrating portion can be easily adapted to various shapes. Further, if the gap between the two opposing plates is adjusted, it is possible to easily form a through portion of the gap corresponding to the amount of the first liquid dropped.

  Application Example 4 In the gel manufacturing apparatus according to the application example, the penetrating portion communicates with the tubular portion formed on the second opening portion side and the tubular portion, and on the first opening portion side. It is preferable to have a sloped portion formed.

  According to this configuration, the penetrating portion has a shape in which the sloped portion continuous from the tubular portion is opened toward the first opening. According to the penetrating portion having such a shape, in addition to preventing the second liquid from entering the penetrating portion, the second opening portion side is a tubular portion, so that the opening of the second opening portion has an acute-angled sharp point. Therefore, the opening can be accurately processed into a predetermined shape. That is, there is no variation in the shape of the second opening, and the first liquid can be passed more reliably.

  Application Example 5 In the gel manufacturing apparatus according to the application example, it is preferable that the liquid discharge unit is an inkjet head.

  According to this configuration, the first liquid is discharged from the inkjet head as a droplet to the flow tube. By using the inkjet method for dropping the first liquid, the first liquid can be made into droplets of uniform size and discharged more accurately into the flow tube. Further, the interval at which the droplets are discharged, the discharge speed, etc. It is possible to easily control under conditions suitable for one liquid. Thereby, the gel manufacturing apparatus can manufacture the gel of the 1st liquid of a uniform magnitude | size and the said 2nd liquid more reliably.

Sectional drawing which shows the basic composition of a gel manufacturing apparatus. (A) The perspective view which shows the external appearance of the isolation | separation body part in Embodiment 1, (b) Sectional drawing which shows the structure and function of a separator. (A) Sectional drawing which shows the meniscus of the solution in the 2nd opening part of a penetration part, (b) Sectional drawing which shows the meniscus when a solution penetrate | invades into a 2nd opening part. The flowchart which shows the process for manufacturing a gel. The perspective view which shows the external appearance of the isolation body part in Embodiment 2. FIG. The perspective view which shows the external appearance of the isolation body part in Embodiment 3. FIG. Sectional drawing which shows the modification of the shape of a penetration part.

Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the gel manufacturing method and the gel manufacturing apparatus will be described with reference to the drawings. The gel manufacturing apparatus according to the present embodiment is of a system in which a liquid is discharged from a nozzle by an ink jet method so as to gel the liquid. In the drawings, each component is depicted with a partially different scale or enlargement for easy understanding.
(Embodiment 1)

  First, the gel manufacturing apparatus will be described. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a basic configuration of a gel manufacturing apparatus. As shown in FIG. 1, the gel manufacturing apparatus 1 includes an ink jet head (liquid discharge unit) 2, and the ink jet head 2 includes a nozzle plate 2 a and a sodium alginate solution 3 that is provided in the nozzle plate 2 a and is a first liquid. And a nozzle 2b for discharging the water. The sodium alginate solution 3 is accommodated in the first tank 4, led to the first conduit 5, and supplied to the inkjet head 2. Moreover, the gel manufacturing apparatus 1 includes a flow tube 6 for flowing the calcium chloride solution 7 as the second liquid, a notch 6a provided at a position facing the nozzle plate 2a of the flow tube 6, and a flow tube 6 And a flow mechanism 10 that allows the calcium chloride solution 7 to flow in the direction of the notch 6a. The notch 6a is provided with a separator 20 that will be described later with reference to FIG. . The calcium chloride solution 7 is accommodated in the second tank 8, guided to the second conduit 9, and supplied to the flow mechanism unit 10.

  Here, the separator 20 will be described. FIG. 2A is a perspective view showing an external appearance of the separator in Embodiment 1, and FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view showing the structure and function of the separator. As shown in FIG. 2A, the separator 20 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and is provided through the mounting plate 21 for mounting on the inkjet head 2 and the central portion of the mounting plate 21. The head insertion hole 21a, the stainless steel (SUS304) separator 22 attached to the entire surface of the mounting plate 21 on the flow tube 6 (FIG. 2B) side, and the center of the separator 22 And a through-hole portion 23 formed on the surface. The penetrating portion 23 has a conical shape, and the size of the first opening portion 23a that is the opening on the head insertion hole 21a side is larger than the size of the second opening portion 23b that is the opening on the side opposite to the head insertion hole 21a. It is getting bigger. That is, (the diameter of the first opening 23a> the diameter of the second opening 23b) is set. Specifically, this cone has a shape that spreads in the direction of the first opening 23a at an angle of 120 degrees from the second opening 23b having a diameter of 1 mm on the separator plate 22 having a thickness of 0.2 mm. .

  Further, when the separator 20 is installed in the notch 6 a of the flow tube 6, the separator 22 is in close contact with the notch 6 a through a packing (not shown), and the notch except for the through part 23. 6a is sealed. The positional relationship between the penetrating portion 23 and the nozzle 2b is set so that the respective center lines are the same as shown in FIG. 2B. This setting is made by attaching the mounting plate 21 to the inkjet head 2 with a mounting tool (not shown) and adjusting the position with the mounting tool. Thereby, the droplet 3a of the sodium alginate solution 3 discharged from the nozzle 2b passes through the second opening 23b of the penetrating portion 23 along the center line, and enters the calcium chloride solution 7 in the flow tube 6. It is surely dripped. The dropped droplet 3 a reacts with the calcium chloride solution 7 to become a gel 11 and flows in the flow tube 6 together with the calcium chloride solution 7. That is, the separator 20 uses the separator 22 to keep the function of isolating the sodium alginate solution 3 of the inkjet head 2 from the calcium chloride solution 7 of the flow tube 6 and the distance between the nozzle 2b and the calcium chloride solution 7 constant. And a function as a so-called gap plate for holding.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the gel 11 that has flowed through the flow tube 6 is discharged from the other end of the flow tube 6. The gel manufacturing apparatus 1 includes a gel recovery unit 12 that recovers the gel 11 and passes the calcium chloride solution 7 at the tip of the other end of the flow tube 6, and a solution recovery that recovers the calcium chloride solution 7 that has passed the gel recovery unit 12. And an inspection camera 14 provided in the vicinity of the gel collection unit 12 for inspecting the generation state of the gel 11. And the gel collection | recovery part 12 has the collection | recovery net | network 12a which isolate | separates the gel 11 and the calcium chloride solution 7 in the solution collection | recovery part 13 side.

  In the gel manufacturing apparatus 1, the sodium alginate solution 3 stored in the first tank 4 has a concentration of 1%, and the calcium chloride solution 7 stored in the second tank 8 has a concentration of 2%. The size of the droplet 3a discharged from the nozzle 2b is about 50 μm. The flow tube 6 is an acrylic tube having two layers and an inner diameter of 9 mm. The outer surface of the acrylic tube is covered with a vinyl chloride tube.

  Next, the function performed by the penetration part 23 of the separator 22 will be described. FIG. 3A is a cross-sectional view showing the meniscus of the solution in the second opening of the penetrating portion. FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view showing the meniscus when the solution enters the second opening. As shown in FIG. 3A, the calcium chloride solution 7 is flowing on the second opening 23 b side of the separator plate 22. In this case, the calcium chloride solution 7 is flowing with almost no pressure applied to the flow tube 6. Accordingly, the calcium chloride solution 7 forms a steady liquid surface 30 in a state where the meniscus in the second opening 23 b is slightly swollen to the inside of the through-hole 23. A droplet 3 a (FIG. 2) of the sodium alginate solution 3 is ejected toward the steady liquid surface 30.

  On the other hand, when the gel manufacturing apparatus 1 is shaken by vibration or the like, the flow of the calcium chloride solution 7 in the flow tube 6 is disturbed, and the state of the steady liquid surface 30 of the second opening 23b is also disturbed. That is, the calcium chloride solution 7 enters the second opening 23b at the speed V and rises in the direction of the nozzle 2b, which is in the state of the infiltration liquid surface 31. However, since the penetrating portion 23 has a conical shape extending from the second opening portion 23b toward the first opening portion 23a, the intruding liquid surface 31 does not face toward the nozzle 2b. As shown in b), a state like a diffusion liquid surface 32 that diffuses and spreads in the direction of the conical wall surface is obtained, and the infiltration liquid surface 31 becomes the diffusion liquid surface 32. Then, the calcium chloride solution 7 returns to the state of the steady liquid surface 30 shown in FIG. 3A through the state of the collected liquid surface 33 in which the shaking is further subtracted from the state of the diffusion liquid surface 32.

Here, in the penetrating portion 23, an expression representing a capillary phenomenon, h = 2T cos θ / ρgr, can be applied. According to this formula, the contact angle θ between the penetrating portion 23 and the calcium chloride solution 7 is 90 ° or more. Then, the height h of the calcium chloride solution 7 does not increase, that is, the calcium chloride solution 7 is less likely to approach the first opening 23a, which is more preferable. In the formula expressing the capillary phenomenon, h = height of calcium chloride solution 7 (m), T = surface tension (N / m ³ ), θ = contact angle, ρ = density of calcium chloride solution 7 (Kg / m ³ ), g = gravitational acceleration (m / s ² ), r = radius (m) of the second opening 23b.

  Thus, by making the penetration part 23 of the separator 22 conical, even if the calcium chloride solution 7 enters the penetration part 23 from the second opening part 23b, the calcium chloride solution 7 is allowed to enter the second opening part 23b. The intrusion state can be collected in the vicinity of That is, it can be avoided that the calcium chloride solution 7 reaches the nozzle 2b and the sodium alginate solution 3 is gelled. Accordingly, the gel manufacturing apparatus 1 can eliminate almost all the discharge failure of the sodium alginate solution 3 because the sodium alginate solution 3 does not become a gel in the nozzle 2b.

  Next, a method for producing a gel of the sodium alginate solution 3 by the gel production apparatus 1 will be described based on a flowchart. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing steps for producing a gel. In manufacturing the gel 11, first, in step S1, a droplet discharge pattern is selected. The discharge pattern is a set of discharge conditions according to the liquid discharged from the nozzle 2b, and includes a voltage waveform applied to the piezo element. In this case, the number of ejected droplets 3a is also included. After selecting a discharge pattern for discharging the droplet 3a of the sodium alginate solution 3, the process proceeds to step S2.

  In step S2, a droplet is discharged. As shown in FIG. 2B, the sodium alginate solution 3 is pushed by a piezo element (not shown) included in the inkjet head 2 and is discharged as a droplet 3a from the nozzle 2b. The discharged droplet 3a passes through the penetration part 23 in the direction from the first opening part 23a to the second opening part 23b, and enters the flowing calcium chloride solution 7 in the second opening part 23b. Since the penetrating portion 23 has a conical shape as described above, the calcium chloride solution 7 is unlikely to enter between the first opening portion 23a and the second opening portion 23b. 3a is discharged without contacting the calcium chloride solution 7 up to the second opening 23b. That is, the droplet 3a has a uniform droplet shape before reaching the vicinity of the second opening 23b. Since the droplet 3a in this state reacts with the calcium chloride solution 7 to become the gel 11, the gel 11 having a uniform shape can be obtained. After discharging the droplet 3a, the process proceeds to step S3.

  In step S3, it is determined whether or not a predetermined gel state exists. That is, it is determined whether or not the droplet 3a of the sodium alginate solution 3 is a gel 11 having a desired shape. This determination is made by an inspection control unit (not shown) with reference to the image of the gel 11 taken by the inspection camera 14. In the gel manufacturing apparatus 1, the inspection camera 14 photographs the gel 11 collected on the collection net 12 a of the gel collection unit 12. If the gel 11 is in the predetermined gel state, the process proceeds to step S4. On the other hand, if the gel 11 is not in the predetermined gel state, the flow is terminated and the discharge of the droplet 3a and the like are stopped.

  If the gel 11 is in a predetermined gel state, it is determined in step S4 whether or not the selected number of ejections has been completed. This determination is performed by a discharge control unit (not shown) by counting the number of discharges of the inkjet head 2. If the predetermined number of droplets 3a have been ejected, the flow is terminated. On the other hand, if the predetermined number of droplets 3a has not been ejected, the process returns to step S2.

  When returning to step S2, steps S2, S3 and S4 are continuously executed until a predetermined number of droplets 3a are ejected. When a predetermined number of droplets 3a are ejected, the flow is finished. Through the above steps, a predetermined number of gels 11 are collected in the collection net 12a.

  Hereinafter, the main effects of the gel manufacturing method and the gel manufacturing apparatus 1 in Embodiment 1 will be described.

  In the gel production apparatus 1, the penetrating part 23 through which the droplet 3a of the sodium alginate solution 3 discharged from the nozzle 2b passes has a size of the first opening 23a on the nozzle 2b side being the second opening on the calcium chloride solution 7 side. The opening is larger than the size of the portion 23b. Thereby, even if the calcium chloride solution 7 enters the penetration part 23, the calcium chloride solution 7 does not jet into the penetration part 23 and does not reach the nozzle 2 b. Accordingly, it is possible to reliably prevent the sodium alginate solution 3 from becoming a gel before discharging in the step S2 of the gel manufacturing method, resulting in a defective discharge of the droplet 3a.

  Further, as a method of dropping the sodium alginate solution 3, the droplet 3a of the sodium alginate solution 3 can be accurately discharged to the calcium chloride solution 7 by using an inkjet method. The ink jet method can easily control the interval, discharge speed, and the like for discharging the droplets 3a under conditions suitable for the sodium alginate solution 3, and in order to produce a uniform gel 11 of the sodium alginate solution 3, A droplet 3a having a large size can be discharged.

The separator 22 of the separator 20 functions as a gap plate for keeping the distance between the nozzle 2b for discharging the sodium alginate solution 3 and the calcium chloride solution 7 constant. Thereby, the optimal flight distance for the droplet 3a of the sodium alginate solution 3 to reach the calcium chloride solution 7 in a uniform shape is ensured.
(Embodiment 2)

  Next, Embodiment 2 in the gel manufacturing method and the gel manufacturing apparatus 1 will be described. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an external appearance of the separator part according to the second embodiment. In Embodiment 2, the form of the separator plate 42 of the separator 40 shown in FIG. 5 is different from the separator 22 of the separator 20 in Embodiment 1. Therefore, the configuration other than the separator 40 is the same as that of the first embodiment.

  In this case, the separator 40 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and a mounting plate 41 for mounting on the inkjet head 2 (FIG. 1) and a head insertion hole provided through the center of the mounting plate 41. 41a, a stainless steel (SUS304) separator 42 attached to the entire surface of the mounting plate 41 on the flow tube 6 (FIG. 1) side, and a through-hole formed so as to be positioned at the center of the separator 42 43. The penetrating portion 43 is formed along the direction in which the flow tube 6 extends, and the size of the first opening 43a that is the opening on the head insertion hole 41a side is the second opening that is the opening opposite to the head insertion hole 41a. It is larger than the size of the portion 43b. The through-hole 43 is provided on the separator plate 42 having a thickness of 0.2 mm, has a slit-like second opening 43b having a width of 1 mm, and the opposite surface forms an angle of 120 degrees with the second opening 43b. To the first opening 43a. That is, (the size of the first opening 43a> the size of the second opening 43b) is set.

  As an effect of the separator 40 having such a configuration in the second embodiment, when the sodium alginate solution 3 is ejected by the penetrating portion 43, a situation where the droplet 3a touches the penetrating portion 43 is avoided. The droplet 3a can be reliably discharged into the calcium chloride solution 7.

Further, a large number of nozzles 2b (FIG. 2B) can be arranged along the longitudinal direction of the penetrating portion 43, and the gel 11 can be manufactured efficiently. At that time, in the first embodiment, a large number of through portions 23 must be accurately formed at predetermined positions of the separator plate 22, but in comparison with this, in the case of processing the through portions 23, in terms of technology and processing man-hours. Can be done easily.
(Embodiment 3)

  Next, Embodiment 3 in the gel manufacturing method and the gel manufacturing apparatus 1 will be described. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an external appearance of a separator part according to the third embodiment. In the third embodiment, the form of the separator plate 52 of the separator part 50 shown in FIG. 6 is different from the separator plates 22 and 42 of the separator parts 20 and 40 in the first and second embodiments. Therefore, the configuration other than the separator 50 is the same as that of the first and second embodiments.

  In this case, the separator 50 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and a mounting plate 51 for mounting on the inkjet head 2 (FIG. 1) and a head insertion hole provided through the center of the mounting plate 51. 51a, a separating plate 52 attached to the entire surface of the mounting plate 51 on the flow tube 6 (FIG. 1) side, and a counter plate 52a which is a first plate made of stainless steel (SUS304) constituting the separating plate 52 And a counter plate 52b which is a second plate. These opposing plates 52a and 52b are arranged such that one edge of each of them faces the extending direction of the flow tube 6 while maintaining a slit-like gap. This gap is the through-hole 53, and the end surfaces of the opposing plates 52a and 52b that form the gap are located on the side opposite to the head insertion hole 51a, with the gap width of the first opening 53a on the head insertion hole 51a side. It is larger than the gap width of the two openings 53b. The gap is such that the gap width of the second opening 53b is 1 mm, and the opposing surfaces of the opposing plates 52a and 52b having a thickness of 0.2 mm are 120 from the second opening 53b toward the first opening 53a. It is a shape that spreads at an angle of degrees. That is, (the gap between the first openings 53a> the gap between the second openings 53b) is set.

  The effect of the separator 50 having such a configuration in the third embodiment is that the through-hole 53 is a gap between the two opposing plates 52a and 52b. Therefore, if the gap between the opposing plates 52a and 52b is adjusted, The gap width of the two openings 53b can be easily adjusted to an arbitrary width. Therefore, the penetration part 53 having a gap width corresponding to the droplet 3a of the sodium alginate solution 3 can be easily formed.

  Further, since the edges of the opposing plates 52a and 52b can be individually processed to form the through portions 53 having an angle of 120 degrees, compared to the processing of the through portions 23 and 43 in the first and second embodiments. , Can be formed more efficiently. Furthermore, not only the linear through portion 53 but also a through portion having various shapes such as a curve can be flexibly handled.

  Further, the gel manufacturing method and the gel manufacturing apparatus 1 are not limited to the above-described embodiments, and the same effects as those of the embodiments can be obtained even in the following modifications.

  (Modification 1) In the gel manufacturing apparatus 1 of Embodiment 1, the penetration part 23 of the separator plate 22 has a conical shape, but is not limited to this shape. For example, FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a modification of the shape of the penetrating portion, and as shown in FIG. 7, the penetrating portion 60 has a funnel shape having a tubular portion 60a and a sloped portion 60b. . The tubular portion 60a is formed in a straight shape from the second opening 60d formed on the flow side of the calcium chloride solution 7 in the same shape as the second opening 60d and toward the inside of the separator plate 22. In this case, the second opening 60d has the same diameter of 1 mm as the second opening 23b of the penetrating portion 23 shown in FIG. 2, and the tubular portion 60a has a thickness of 0.07 mm with respect to the separator plate 22 having a thickness of 0.2 mm. It is formed to a depth. The inclined surface portion 60b is connected to the tubular portion 60a and has a conical shape that spreads at an angle of 120 degrees. Due to the inclined surface portion 60b, a first opening portion 60c having a diameter larger than that of the second opening portion 23b is formed on the nozzle plate 2a side of the separator plate 22. According to the penetrating portion 60 having such a shape, in addition to preventing the calcium chloride solution 7 from entering the penetrating portion 60, the second opening 60d is formed by the side of the second opening 60d being a tubular portion. Since it does not become an acute-angled pointed tip, the diameter of the second opening 60d can be accurately processed to 1 mm. The tubular portion 60a may have a shape that is rounded into a substantially arc shape. These forms can also be applied to the through portions 43 and 53 of the separators 42 and 52 in the first and second embodiments.

  (Modification 2) Although the conical penetration part 23 which the separator part 20 in Embodiment 1 has is one structure provided in the center part of the separator plate 22, it is a setting provided with two or more in the separator board 22. There may be. With this setting, a plurality of droplets 3a of the sodium alginate solution 3 can be simultaneously discharged to the calcium chloride solution 7 and the gel 11 can be manufactured more efficiently.

  (Modification 3) In the separator 20, the separator plate 22 has a thickness of 0.2 mm, the diameter of the second opening 23 b of the conical through portion 23 is 1 mm, and the conical angle is Although it is 120 degree | times, it is not limited to this value, If it is the following ranges, the knowledge that there exists a substantially similar effect is acquired. The separator 22 has a thickness of 0.1 mm to 10 mm, the diameter of the second opening 23b of the conical penetrating portion 23 is 2 mm or less, and the conical angle is 5 degrees to 175 degrees. These findings can also be applied to the through portions 43 and 53 of the separators 42 and 52 in the first and second embodiments.

  (Modification 4) In the separators 40 and 50, the penetrating parts 43 and 53 extend along the flow pipe 6 and face the notch 6a of the flow pipe 6 in the other direction. It may extend.

  (Modification 5) The penetration parts 23, 43, 53 of the separator parts 20, 40, 50 are preferably subjected to a water repellent treatment. In this way, the calcium chloride solution 7 is applied to the penetration parts 23, 43, 53. Intrusion can be prevented more effectively.

  (Modification 6) The separators 22, 42, 52 of the separator parts 20, 40, 50 are preferably made of stainless steel (SUS304), which can be thinned in strength, but made of resin such as acrylic reinforced by ribs or the like. It may be.

  (Modification 7) The inspection camera 14 may be provided not in the vicinity of the gel recovery unit 12 but in the vicinity of the nozzle 2b. If monitoring is performed in the vicinity of the nozzle 2b, the abnormality of the droplet 3a or the gel 11 can be found earlier.

  (Modification 8) The dropping of the sodium alginate solution 3 is optimally performed by discharging the droplets 3a by the ink jet method, but may be performed by a dispenser or the like.

  (Modification 9) The isolator parts 20, 40, 50 are not limited to a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and may have other shapes as long as the notch 6a of the flow tube 6 can be sealed.

  (Modification 10) Each surface which comprises penetration part 23,43,53 is not limited to smooth surfaces, such as a cone shape or a tube shape, but may be an uneven surface.

  (Modification 11) In each of the above embodiments, the case where the sodium alginate solution 3 is used as the first liquid and the calcium chloride solution 7 is used as the second liquid has been described as an example in order to obtain the gel 11 of alginic acid. In addition, in order to obtain the alginic acid gel 11, a method using a potassium alginate solution as the first liquid and a barium chloride solution as the second liquid may be used. The gel 11 can contain a desired substance. For example, the sodium alginate solution 3 contains a drug, enzyme, cell, pigment, catalyst, nanoparticle, fluorescent particle, etc. Discharge as Thereby, the gel which enclosed the chemical | medical agent, the enzyme, the cell, the pigment, the catalyst, the nanoparticle, the fluorescent particle, etc. inside can be obtained. The size and concentration of the droplets in each solution are not limited to the settings in each embodiment.

  The gel manufacturing method and the gel manufacturing apparatus 1 can reliably isolate the first liquid before dripping and the second liquid to which the first liquid is dripped by the separator plate 22, and only the dripped first liquid is separated from the first liquid. It can be made into the gel 11 by reacting with two liquids. In addition, as a method of dropping the first liquid, the gel manufacturing apparatus 1 using the ink jet method is effective, and the uniform gel 11 can be manufactured by discharging the uniform droplet 3a. As described above, the gel manufacturing apparatus 1 and the gel manufacturing method using the gel manufacturing apparatus 1 are for manufacturing various gels used in a wide range of fields such as medicine / medical field, biomaterial field, and display devices such as liquid crystal. And can be used effectively.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Gel manufacturing apparatus, 2 ... Inkjet head as liquid discharge part, 2a ... Nozzle plate, 2b ... Nozzle, 3 ... Sodium alginate solution as 1st liquid, 3a ... Droplet, 6 ... Flow pipe, 6a ... Notch 7 ... Calcium chloride solution as second liquid, 11 ... Gel, 20 ... Separator, 22 ... Separator, 23 ... Penetration part, 23a ... First opening, 23b ... Second opening, 40 ... Isolator , 42 ... separator plate, 43 ... penetrating portion, 43a ... first opening portion, 43b ... second opening portion, 50 ... separator body portion, 52 ... separator plate, 52a ... counter plate as the first plate, 52b ... Opposing plate as second plate, 53... Penetrating portion, 53 a... First opening, 53 b.

Claims (5)

A gel production apparatus for producing a gel of the first liquid and the second liquid by dropping a first liquid containing a gel forming material onto a second liquid,
A first tank containing the first liquid;
A liquid ejecting portion communicating with the first tank and ejecting the first liquid;
A second tank containing the second liquid;
A flow mechanism that communicates with the second tank and causes the second liquid to flow;
A flow tube having a notch at a position facing the liquid discharge section while the second liquid that has flowed flows;
A separator provided between the liquid discharge part and the flow pipe, and having a through-hole that is installed in the notch and communicates between the liquid discharge part and the flow pipe;
Have
The gel manufacturing apparatus, wherein the penetrating portion has a first opening on the liquid discharge portion side larger than a second opening on the flow tube side. In the gel manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1,
The gel manufacturing apparatus, wherein the penetrating portion is formed along a direction in which the second liquid flows in the flow tube. In the gel manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1,
The separator includes a first plate and a second plate facing the first plate,
The gel manufacturing apparatus, wherein the penetrating portion is a gap formed between the first plate and the second plate. In the gel manufacturing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The penetrating part has a tubular part formed on the second opening part side, and a sloped part formed on the first opening part side and communicating with the tubular part. Manufacturing equipment. In the gel manufacturing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The gel manufacturing apparatus, wherein the liquid discharge unit is an inkjet head.

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