JP2011172686A - Chemical application device and chemical application method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a chemical application device and a chemical application method, capable of improving the using efficiency of a chemical, reducing the production cost of a plaster and improving an yield. <P>SOLUTION: The chemical application device includes: a discharge part 10 which discharges the chemical containing a medicine as droplets toward a base material 72 moving in a (+X) direction and has a plurality of nozzles arrayed along a Y direction; and a gas supply part 30 which supplies a gas toward the chemical discharged by the discharge part 10 and stuck to the surface of the base material 72, and makes the chemical flow in the direction along the surface of the base material 72. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for applying a chemical solution to a medium to be applied.

  Although various forms exist for patches used by being attached to the skin, generally, a drug solution containing a drug is applied on a medium (base material) such as a resin sheet. Conventionally, such a patch is produced by spreading and applying a chemical on the surface of a base material (so-called solid coating), and a bar coater, a die coater or the like is used for the coating process (for example, Patent Document 1). More specifically, each patch is manufactured by spreading and applying a drug on a belt-shaped base material, punching out a necessary portion therefrom, and removing unnecessary portions (for example, Patent Documents 2 and 3). reference).

  However, in such a manufacturing technique of the patch, since the expensive chemical solution applied to the unnecessary portion is also removed, the use efficiency of the chemical solution is bad, and the manufacturing cost of the patch cannot be reduced. The problem occurs.

JP 2009-108006 A JP 2006-223611 A JP-A-3-85160

  Therefore, as a means for applying to the base material, for example, a method capable of efficiently applying a coating liquid to a necessary portion, such as a droplet jet method, can be applied efficiently. It is possible to reduce the manufacturing cost of the medicine.

  However, in the above-described droplet jet method, a large number of nozzles that eject droplets of the coating liquid are provided in the ejection head, but some of these nozzles may become non-ejected due to clogging or the like. When the chemical liquid is applied onto the base material by the discharge head (discharge portion) in which non-discharge occurs in a part of the nozzle in this way, a coating defect is generated in which the chemical liquid is not applied within a necessary portion on the base material.

  The patch having the coating defect as described above becomes a defective product due to the reason that the aesthetic appearance is impaired, and there arises a problem that the yield is lowered.

  In view of the above points, an object of the present invention is to provide a chemical solution application apparatus and a chemical solution application method capable of improving the use efficiency of a chemical solution, reducing the manufacturing cost of the patch, and improving the yield. It is to provide.

  The invention according to claim 1 (medical solution applying apparatus) discharges a chemical solution containing a drug as a droplet toward a base material relatively moving in the first direction, and is arranged along a second direction intersecting the first direction. A discharge unit having a plurality of nozzles, and gas supply means for supplying a gas toward the chemical solution discharged by the discharge unit and adhering to the surface of the substrate, and causing the chemical solution to flow in a direction along the surface of the substrate And.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the chemical liquid coating apparatus according to the first aspect, the state detection means for detecting the application state of the chemical liquid discharged by the discharge portion and attached to the surface of the substrate, and the detection result by the state detection means. And control means for controlling whether or not gas is supplied from the gas supply means.

  The invention according to claim 3 (chemical solution coating method) is directed to a medicine from a discharge part having a plurality of nozzles arranged along a second direction intersecting the first direction toward a base material relatively moving in the first direction. And a gas supply step of supplying a gas toward the chemical liquid discharged by the discharge unit and adhering to the surface of the base material, and causing the chemical liquid to flow in a direction along the surface of the base material. It is characterized by including these.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the chemical liquid application method according to the third aspect, after the chemical liquid discharge step, prior to the gas discharge step, the state of detecting the application state of the chemical liquid discharged by the discharge portion and attached to the surface of the substrate A detection step is further included, and it is determined whether or not to execute the gas supply step based on the detection result of the state detection step.

  According to the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 4, the use efficiency of the chemical solution can be improved, the manufacturing cost of the patch can be reduced, and the yield can be improved.

It is a figure which shows the outline of a principal part structure of the chemical | medical solution coating device 1a which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is the sectional side view (a) and bottom view (b) of the discharge part 10. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of operation | movement of 1st Embodiment. It is the top view (a) and front view (b) which show the mode of each operation | movement. It is a figure which shows the outline of the principal part structure of the chemical | medical solution coating device 1b which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of operation | movement of 2nd Embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
<1. First Embodiment>
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of a main configuration of a chemical liquid coating apparatus 1a according to the present invention. The chemical solution applying apparatus 1a is an apparatus that applies a chemical solution to one side of a belt-like base material to be used as a patch. In FIG. 1, a range surrounded by a two-dot chain line indicates a chemical solution applying apparatus 1 a, and the chemical solution applying apparatus 1 a applies a chemical solution containing a drug to a strip-like base material 72 that has been previously coated with an adhesive.

  The chemical liquid coating apparatus 1a is a plurality of nozzles 12 that discharge a chemical liquid containing a drug as droplets toward a strip-shaped base material 72 that is unwound from the base material roll 70 and conveyed along the horizontal direction (+ X direction). The discharge part 10 which has (FIG. 2) is provided. Further, the chemical solution applying apparatus 1a supplies a gas toward the chemical solution discharged by the discharge unit 10 and attached to the surface of the base material 72, and causes the chemical solution to flow in a direction along the surface of the base material 72. 30. Furthermore, the chemical solution applying apparatus 1a includes a control unit 40 that controls each element provided in the apparatus. A drying unit 60 is provided on the downstream side (+ X side) of the chemical solution applying apparatus 1a to dry the chemical solution applied to the base material 72 by the chemical solution applying apparatus 1a.

  The base material 72 carrying the chemical liquid is formed of a resin material that is impermeable to the chemical liquid, and is formed of PET (polyethylene terephthalate). The base material 72 may be formed of PP (polypropylene) or PE (polyethylene).

  The discharge unit 10 atomizes a chemical solution containing a medicine to generate a fine droplet, and sprays the droplet onto the upper surface of the base material 72 conveyed in the (+ X) direction. The discharge unit 10 is a droplet jet head that ejects a chemical solution by a droplet jet method. In this embodiment, the drive method is a multilayer piezo drop on demand method inkjet head (for example, product type name manufactured by Ricoh Printing Systems Co., Ltd.). "GEN3E2") is used. Note that other methods may be adopted as the droplet jet method (droplet discharge method).

  The internal structure of the discharge unit 10 is the same as the structure disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-23334. FIG. 2A is a side sectional view showing the internal configuration of the discharge unit 10, and FIG. 2B is a bottom view of the discharge unit 10.

  As shown in FIG. 2A, the discharge unit 10 includes a frame 81 in which a common liquid chamber 84 is formed, a flow path plate 86 in which a pressurized liquid chamber 85 and a communication port 88 are formed, and a nozzle in which the nozzle 12 is formed. A plate 87, a diaphragm 83 having a diaphragm portion 83a, a laminated piezoelectric element 82 joined to the diaphragm portion 83a of the diaphragm 83, and a base 80 for fixing the laminated piezoelectric element 82 are provided.

  The base 80 is fixedly installed on the discharge unit 10 and a laminated piezoelectric element 82 is attached thereto. The laminated piezoelectric element 82 is formed by laminating a plurality of lead zirconate titanate (PZT) piezoelectric elements (piezo elements). The diaphragm 83 has a diaphragm portion 83a, and the diaphragm portion 83a is joined to the laminated piezoelectric element 82 via an island-shaped convex portion.

  The frame 81 is made of a resin material and has a common liquid chamber 84. The common liquid chamber 84 is formed with a chemical liquid supply port (not shown) that is connected to the pipe 22 (FIG. 1). The flow path plate 86 has a pressurized liquid chamber 85 and a communication port 88. The pressurized liquid chamber 85 communicates with the common liquid chamber 84 through the opening of the vibration plate 83. A diaphragm portion 83 a of the diaphragm 83 faces the pressurized liquid chamber 85. The communication port 88 connects the pressurized liquid chamber 85 and the nozzle 12 in communication.

  The nozzle plate 87 is provided with a nozzle 12 that is a fine discharge port for discharging a droplet of a chemical solution. The internal shape of the nozzle 12 is a horn shape. Although the number is small in FIG. 2B, the discharge unit 10 includes a large number (for example, 128) of nozzles 12 arranged in a line at a predetermined pitch.

  In the discharge unit 10 having the configuration as shown in FIG. 2, a voltage having a predetermined waveform is applied to the piezoelectric element of the laminated piezoelectric element 82 while filling the pressurized liquid chamber 85 with the chemical liquid from the common liquid chamber 84. By causing the displacement, the chemical liquid in the pressurized liquid chamber 85 is pressurized through the diaphragm portion 83a and the liquid pressure is increased. As a result, a liquid droplet of the chemical liquid is discharged from the nozzle 12. The timing of applying a voltage to the piezoelectric element of the laminated piezoelectric element 82 and the applied voltage value are controlled by the control unit 40. That is, the control unit 40 controls the spraying of the chemical solution from the discharge unit 10. The amount of one droplet discharged from one nozzle 12 is, for example, 25 pl, and the nozzle arrangement pitch is 50 μm.

  Returning to FIG. 1, a chemical tank 20 is connected to the discharge unit 10 via a pipe 22. A filter 24 and a deaeration unit 26 are interposed in the course of the pipe 22. The chemical liquid tank 20 always stores a certain amount of chemical liquid, and the chemical liquid is appropriately replenished from the preparation tank 50 to the chemical liquid tank 20 via the pipe 52.

  Here, the chemical solution is a liquid containing a drug. The drug used in the patch according to the present invention is not particularly limited, but a drug that can be administered through the skin, that is, a drug that can be absorbed through the skin is preferable. More specifically, such drugs include analgesic / anti-inflammatory agents such as indomethacin, ketoprofen, flurbiprofen, ibuprofen, viloxicam, methyl salicylate, glycol salicylate, l-menthol, dl-camphor, valinyl acid nonylate, capsaicin. can give. In addition, coronary vasodilators such as nitroglycerin, nifedipine, isosorbide nitrate, or asthma drugs such as procaterol and tulobuterol may be used as the drug. In addition to the above, the drugs include general anesthetics, hypnotics / sedatives, antiepileptics, antipruritics, psychiatric drugs, skeletal muscle relaxants, autonomic drugs, antispasmodics, antiparkinson drugs, Antihistamine, cardiotonic, arrhythmic, diuretic, antihypertensive, vasoconstrictor, peripheral vasodilator, arteriosclerosis, cardiovascular, respiratory stimulant, antitussive expectorant, hormone, purulent disease Topical medicine, analgesic / antipruritic / astringent / anti-inflammatory medicine, parasitic skin disease medicine, hemostatic medicine, gout treatment medicine, diabetes medicine, anti-malignant tumor medicine, antibiotics, chemotherapeutic medicine, narcotic, anti Depressants, smoking cessation aids (nicotine), etc. can be used.

  Such a drug is dissolved in a solvent to form a drug solution. As the solvent, water or alcohol can be used depending on the properties of the drug. In addition, the chemical | medical solution may further contain the binder and / or additive which improve the adhesiveness to the base material 72. FIG.

  A chemical solution having a predetermined concentration in which a medicine is dissolved in a solvent is prepared in the preparation tank 50, and the chemical liquid is supplied from the preparation tank 50 and stored in the chemical liquid tank 20. The chemical liquid stored in the chemical liquid tank 20 is supplied to each nozzle 12 by capillary action generated in the nozzle when the discharge unit 10 ejects the chemical liquid. In the process of supplying the chemical liquid, foreign substances are removed from the chemical liquid flowing through the pipe 22 by the filter 24, and bubbles are removed by the deaeration unit.

  A negative pressure pump 28 is connected to the chemical tank 20 through a pipe 29. The negative pressure pump 28 applies a negative pressure from the chemical liquid tank 20 to the discharge unit 10 via the pipe 22. The negative pressure pump 28 is for forming a meniscus of a chemical solution near the tip of the nozzle 12 before the laminated piezoelectric element 82 pressurizes the chemical solution in the pressurized liquid chamber 85 in the discharge unit 10. That is, the chemical liquid supplied from the communication port 88 to the nozzle 12 cannot be formed as a meniscus suitable for the droplet jet method near the tip of the nozzle 12 by its own weight, so that the negative pressure pump 28 reverses the discharge direction. A negative pressure is applied to the chemical solution, and the chemical solution is slightly pulled back into the nozzle 12 to form an appropriate meniscus.

  The gas supply unit 30 is provided on the downstream side in the transport direction of the base material 72 (+ X side) with respect to the discharge unit 10. The gas supply unit 30 supplies gas from the circular discharge port toward the chemical solution discharged by the discharge unit 10 and attached to the surface of the base material 72, and causes the chemical solution to flow in a direction along the surface of the base material 72. . The gas supply units 30 are provided at two locations aligned in the Y direction so as to correspond to an application region 90 (FIG. 4) described later. Each gas supply unit 30 is connected to a gas supply source 33 through a pipe 32. Note that the number of places where the gas supply unit 30 is provided is not limited to two, and may be provided according to the number of application regions 90, for example.

  The control unit 40 controls the various operation mechanisms provided in the chemical solution applying apparatus 1a. The configuration of the control unit 40 as hardware is the same as that of a general computer. That is, the control unit 40 stores a CPU that performs various arithmetic processes, a ROM that is a read-only memory that stores basic programs, a RAM that is a readable and writable memory that stores various information, a processing program, data, and the like. A fixed disk is connected to the bus line. The RAM stores application patterns to be described later.

  The drying unit 60 is provided on the downstream side (+ X side) of the base material 72 in the transport direction with respect to the gas supply unit 30 of the chemical liquid coating apparatus 1a. The drying unit 60 dries the chemical applied to the base material 72 that passes through the inside of the drying unit 60. As the drying unit 60, various known drying devices such as those that blow normal temperature dry air or heated dry air (warm air) onto the surface of the base material 72 can be used. Further, as the drying unit 60, a hot air drying furnace for supplying simple hot air (not performing special dehumidification) or a drying furnace using a far infrared heater may be used.

  Next, the processing operation of the first embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  Fine liquid droplets of a chemical solution are supplied from, for example, 128 nozzles 12 provided in the discharge unit 10 toward the base material 72 that is fed out from the base material roll 70 and conveyed in the (+ X) direction below the discharge unit 10. Discharge (step S10, chemical solution discharge step).

  In step 10, the control unit 40 controls droplet spraying from the discharge unit 10 according to the application pattern stored in the RAM. Specifically, the application pattern describes a pattern of a region where the chemical solution is sprayed onto the base material 72. The controller 40 reads the pattern and controls the on / off timing for all the nozzles 12. That is, when a chemical solution is sprayed on a certain region, a voltage is applied to the laminated piezoelectric element 82 of the nozzle 12 corresponding to that region, and the chemical solution is ejected from the nozzle 12.

  For example, in step S10, as shown in FIG. 4A, the control unit 40 has two circular patterns (application patterns) arranged in the Y direction on the application region 90 on the substrate 72 conveyed in the X direction. ) 92 is formed so as to be formed at intervals in the X direction.

  The application pattern may be generated by calculation and stored in the RAM, or may be read from the recording medium and stored in the RAM. When the application pattern is generated by calculation, the size and shape of the base material, the resolution (nozzle arrangement pitch) of the ejection unit 10 and the pattern shape are input as so-called recipe data from an input device (not shown). Then, the CPU performs a calculation based on the recipe data to calculate a coating pattern, and the calculation result may be stored in the RAM.

  Here, when some of the 128 nozzles 12 are not ejected due to clogging or the like, as shown in FIG. 4, the chemical solution is not applied to the portion corresponding to the nozzle 12 that has failed to eject in the X direction. A coating defect 94 extending in a line shape occurs in the coating pattern 92.

  Next, in step S <b> 30, the gas supply unit 30 supplies gas toward the coating pattern 92 formed by the chemical solution attached on the base material 72. The gas discharged from the gas supply unit 30 forms an air flow 96 that spreads in the direction along the upper surface (front surface) of the base material 72 while facing the base material 72 as shown in FIG. By this air flow 96, the chemical solution attached to the upper surface of the base material 72 is pushed in a direction along the surface of the base material 72 and slightly flows. The flowing chemical solution passes over the coating defect 94 and comes into contact with the chemical solution facing the coating defect 94 so as to be integrated with each other. As a result, the coating defect 94 is filled with the chemical solution, and a uniform coating pattern 92 having no coating defect is formed.

  The base material 72 to which the chemical solution is applied is transported to the drying unit 60 where the chemical solution is dried. Thereafter, the release liner is bonded to the base material 72 with the application pattern 92 interposed therebetween, and the base material 72 and the release liner are cut to a size slightly larger than the application pattern 92 to obtain a patch.

  In the first embodiment, a chemical liquid containing a medicine is made into fine droplets by the liquid jet jet type chemical liquid coating apparatus 1 a to generate liquid droplets, and the liquid droplets are sprayed only on a partial region of the substrate 72. In the case of the droplet jet type chemical application device 1a, it is possible to switch on / off the chemical spraying according to the application pattern, and it is possible to easily apply the chemical to only a partial region of the substrate 72. If the chemical solution can be applied only to a partial region of the base material 72, the chemical solution that has been removed unnecessarily because it was applied to an unnecessary portion in the subsequent process can be eliminated, and the use efficiency of the chemical solution can be improved. .

  In addition, since the droplet jet type chemical solution coating apparatus 1a is excellent in quantitative accuracy of chemical solution coating, it is suitable for manufacturing a medical patch. Further, patterning can be freely performed by changing the setting of the coating pattern. Furthermore, it is possible to freely adjust the size of the application region by changing the size of the application pattern. Further, since the chemical solution applying apparatus 1a applies a chemical solution containing a drug in a non-contact manner, contamination from the chemical solution applying apparatus 1a can be reliably prevented as compared with the conventional spread application method.

  Since the patch that has been applied by the chemical solution applying apparatus 1a of the first embodiment has a drug layer composed of a uniform application pattern 92 without application defects, it is excellent in aesthetics and does not cause a product defect. As a result, the yield in the manufacture of the patch can be improved.

<2. Second Embodiment>
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an outline of a main configuration of the patch manufacturing apparatus 1b according to the second embodiment. In the figure, the same elements as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals. The chemical liquid coating apparatus 1b of the second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that it includes a camera 54 and a valve 56, and the control unit 40 controls the valve 56 based on image data acquired by the camera 54. is there. The other elements denoted by the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment have the same functions as those in the first embodiment, and thus detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The camera 54 is disposed between the ejection unit 10 and the gas supply unit 30 in the X direction and above the base material 72. The valve 56 is interposed in the pipe 32 and opens and closes the flow path of the pipe 32 according to an instruction from the control unit 40. The camera 54 and the control unit 40 correspond to the state detection unit of the present invention.

  Next, the processing operation of the second embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  First, as in the first embodiment, 128 nozzles 12 provided in the discharge unit 10 toward the substrate 72 that is fed out from the base roll 70 and conveyed in the (+ X) direction below the discharge unit 10. Each of the liquid droplets of the chemical solution is ejected from the substrate to form a coating pattern 92 (step S10, drug ejection step). At this time, the valve 56 is in a closed state, and no gas is supplied from the gas supply unit 30.

  In the next step S20, the application pattern 92 (FIG. 4) formed on the substrate 72 in step S10 is photographed to obtain image data. The camera 54 transmits the acquired image data to the control unit 40. The control unit 40 processes the image data transmitted from the camera 54 to detect the application state of the application pattern 92, that is, whether or not the application defect 94 exists in the application pattern 92 (state detection step). If it is determined in step S20 that the coating defect 94 exists (in the case of YES), the process proceeds to step S30. If it is determined in step S20 that the coating defect 94 does not exist (NO), the coating process is completed.

  In step S30, the control unit 40 opens the valve 56, and the gas supply unit 30 supplies gas toward the coating pattern 92 determined to have the coating defect 94 in step S20. Similar to the first embodiment, the coating defect 94 is filled with a chemical solution by the gas supplied from the gas supply unit 30, and a uniform coating pattern 92 without a coating defect is formed.

  According to the second embodiment, since the gas is supplied from the gas supply unit 30 only to the coating pattern 92 in which the coating defect 94 exists, the amount of gas used can be reduced and the manufacturing cost can be reduced. Can do.

  In the state detection step (step S20), it may be detected that there is a coating defect 94 that is too large to be filled by the subsequent gas supply step (step S30). In this case, the control unit 40 determines that the discharge unit 10 or the like is abnormal, and notifies the operator of the abnormality.

The above-described embodiments may be modified as follows.
The method of supplying gas by the gas supply unit 30 is not limited to the nozzle method of discharging gas from the circular discharge port as described above, and for example, various nozzle methods such as a slit nozzle method, a rectifying plate method, or a diffusion method are used. May be. A plurality of nozzles (gas supply units) may be arranged for one coating pattern 92. The direction in which the gas is supplied is not limited to the position directly above the application pattern 92. For example, the gas may be supplied from two nozzles disposed obliquely above the application pattern 92.

  Depending on the application pattern to be formed, a plurality of ejection portions 10 may be arranged in the Y direction or the X direction. Further, in order to reduce the arrangement pitch of the nozzles 12 in the Y direction, the discharge unit 10 may be arranged obliquely in the horizontal plane.

  Even if a substrate shaped in advance in a circle or the like is horizontally conveyed by a belt conveyor or the like, a fine droplet of a chemical solution is ejected from the ejection unit 10 toward the substrate to form a coating pattern on the substrate. good.

  While moving the ejection part in a direction intersecting the nozzle arrangement direction with respect to the fixedly arranged base material, fine droplets of the chemical solution are ejected from the ejection part toward the base material, and the coating pattern is applied onto the base material May be formed.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1a, 1b Chemical solution coating apparatus 10 Discharge part 12 Nozzle 30 Gas supply part 40 Control part 54 Camera 72 Base material 92 Application pattern 94 Application | coating defect 96 Airflow

Claims (4)

A discharge part having a plurality of nozzles arranged along a second direction intersecting the first direction, while discharging a chemical solution containing a medicine as a droplet toward the base material relatively moving in the first direction;
A gas supply means for supplying a gas toward the chemical solution discharged by the discharge unit and adhering to the surface of the substrate, and causing the chemical solution to flow in a direction along the surface of the substrate;
A chemical solution coating apparatus comprising: In the chemical | medical solution coating device described in Claim 1,
State detection means for detecting the application state of the chemical solution discharged by the discharge unit and adhered to the surface of the substrate;
Control means for controlling whether or not to supply gas from the gas supply means based on the detection result by the state detection means;
The chemical | medical solution coating device characterized by further providing. A chemical solution discharging step of discharging a chemical solution containing a drug from a discharge unit having a plurality of nozzles arranged along a second direction intersecting the first direction toward the base material relatively moving in the first direction;
A gas supply step of supplying a gas toward the chemical solution discharged by the discharge unit and adhering to the surface of the substrate, and flowing the chemical solution in a direction along the surface of the substrate;
The chemical | medical solution coating method characterized by including. In the chemical | medical solution coating method described in Claim 3,
After the chemical solution discharge step, prior to the gas discharge step, further includes a state detection step of detecting the application state of the chemical solution discharged by the discharge unit and attached to the surface of the base material,
It is judged whether the gas supply process is executed based on the detection result of the state detection process.

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