JP2018003584A - High drainage goods - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide goods which enable water to autonomously move with force different from gravity as propulsion force.SOLUTION: High drainage goods comprise a surface with a plurality of water conveyance units. Each water conveyance unit has a plurality of hydrophilic regions and a plurality of hydrophobic regions. The water conveyance unit has nature which increases a hydrophilic character in the hydrophilic regions along a certain direction on the surface, decreases a hydrophobic character in the hydrophobic regions along the certain direction, or concurrently increases the hydrophilic character in the hydrophilic regions and decreases the hydrophobic character in the hydrophobic regions, to thereby causes water to apparently conduct autonomous move in the certain direction. The plurality of water conveyance units are arranged in tandem along the certain direction on the surfaces of the high drainage goods and thereby efficiently drain off the water therefrom.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

  The present invention relates to an article in which water apparently moves autonomously and is removed from the surface thereof. Specifically, the water attached to the surface moves in a specific direction without using gravity or power even on a horizontal plane, It relates to articles that are excluded from the surface.

  Articles that come into contact with water, such as water-related members, water on the surface of unit bath floors, and ceiling boards, are removed to the drainage channel by gravity when the amount is large, but the remaining water is wiped off. Or it is removed by natural drying. It is a method of removing water that is undesirable in some cases, such as wiping off the wiping and taking time for natural drying, or causing water spots and scales. Therefore, various proposals have been made on techniques for removing water from the surface of an article in contact with water, preferably promptly.

  For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-39013 (Patent Document 1) includes a water-surrounding member in which irregularities are formed on a surface thereof, a water repellent paint layer is formed on a convex portion, and a hydrophilic paint layer is formed on a concave portion. It is disclosed. In such a structure, water is repelled by the water-repellent paint layer, so that the water flows into the groove-shaped recess, and the water is spread by the hydrophilic paint layer 4 formed in the recess, so that the surface tension causes a ball shape. No water is generated, and the water is drained by well flowing along the recesses.

  Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-31665 (Patent Document 2) has different properties with respect to water in each part of a coating layer coated by an on-demand system, and relatively repels water in certain parts, and other In the portion, a water-circulating member is disclosed in which water is spread thinly in a film shape and water can be quickly drained by a combination of both.

  In any of the techniques disclosed in the above-mentioned patent documents, water applied to the water-repellent region is repelled and moved to the hydrophilic region, and the action of water spreading in the hydrophilic region is utilized. And for drainage from the final member surface, it is premised that the substrate has an inclination, and water moves in the hydrophilic region by the action of gravity.

  Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-744 (Patent Document 3) discloses that one surface of a tunnel-shaped flow path is composed of a hydrophilic surface and a hydrophobic surface, and a value obtained by dividing the hydrophilic surface by the hydrophobic surface is from upstream to downstream. A microdroplet transport device is disclosed that transports droplets in incremental increments toward the surface. According to this device, droplets can be transported in one direction, but when the hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces are formed in a triangular pattern, the base is 1 μm to 200 μm and the height is 10 μm to 200 μm. There is a description that it is a triangle, and the droplets to be transported are derived from a living body such as blood. Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-331410 (Patent Document 4) discloses a first hydrophobic surface on the upstream side, a second hydrophobic surface having a smaller contact angle than the first hydrophobic surface on the downstream side, and the upstream side. And a flow path in which the area of the second hydrophobic surface is continuously increased from upstream to downstream by forming a surface in which the first hydrophobic surface and the second hydrophobic surface are mixed in the intermediate portion on the downstream side. A microdroplet transport device for transporting drops is disclosed. According to this device, it is said that a minute droplet containing a biomolecule such as a protein having a hydrophobic functional group can be transported by a surface tension gradient built in a flow path by different hydrophobic regions. When the first hydrophobic surface and the second hydrophobic surface are alternately arranged in a wedge shape in the intermediate portion, the dimensions of the wedge shape are 10 μm to 1 mm at the bottom and 10 μm to 30 mm in length. It is described that there is. Therefore, all of the techniques disclosed in these patent documents are limited to a technique for transferring a very small amount of blood or the like for a short distance, and it is difficult to say that a technique for transferring water on a large surface of a building material or the like is disclosed. is there.

  In addition, the inventors, including the present inventors, proposed a technique for apparently autonomously moving water by controlling the area ratio of the hydrophilic region on the building material surface to the hydrophobic region to increase in a certain direction. (Application on March 29, 2016, PCT / JP2016 / 60238 application (Patent Document 5)).

JP 2003-39013 A JP 2008-31665 A JP-A-2005-744 JP 2005-331410 A PCT / JP2016 / 60238 application

  Inventors of the present invention can now remove water from the surface more efficiently by modifying / improving the previously proposed article that uses water different from gravity as a driving force to make it appear to move autonomously. Was completed.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an article that can move water adhering to a surface more efficiently in a specific direction without using gravity, power, or the like even on a horizontal plane and removed from the surface.

And the article by this invention is
An article having a surface in contact with water,
The surface comprises a plurality of water conducting units;
The water conveyance unit comprises a plurality of hydrophilic regions and hydrophobic regions, respectively.
The hydrophilicity in the hydrophilic region increases in a certain direction of the surface, or the hydrophobicity in the hydrophobic region decreases in the certain direction, or the hydrophilicity in the hydrophilic region increases, and Cause both a decrease in hydrophobicity in the hydrophobic region,
Therefore, it has the property that the water moves autonomously in this direction (hereinafter, this direction is referred to as “water movement direction”),
The plurality of water guiding units are arranged in tandem in the water movement direction,
A hydrophilic region is further provided at an upstream end and a downstream end in the water movement direction of the water guide unit.

It is a figure which shows the one aspect | mode of the surface of the articles | goods by this invention. In the figure, on the surface 100a of the article, a hydrophilic region 11 is formed in an inverted triangular shape, and a plurality of hydrophobic regions 12 are formed in a triangular shape. It is a figure explaining the apparent autonomous movement of the water placed on the surface of the article | item of FIG. The hydrophobic region 122 adjacent to the highly hydrophobic region 121 is a diagram in which the width is narrower than that of the highly hydrophobic region. It is a figure explaining the aspect which made the hydrophobicity degree of the area | region 121 higher than the other adjacent hydrophobic area | region 122 although the some hydrophilic region and the some hydrophobic area | region in the surface of an article | item are substantially the same shape. It is a figure of the aspect in which the some water conveyance unit 101,102,103 is located in a water movement direction (arrow direction in a figure) in the middle of the hydrophilic area | region 30. The water conveyance unit is composed of a hydrophilic region 11 and a plurality of hydrophobic regions 12 connected in a direction different from the water movement direction, and the hydrophobic region 12 takes a shape with a small area in the water movement direction (upward direction in the figure), Furthermore, it is a figure of the aspect in which the hydrophilic area | region 30 was provided between the water conveyance units adjacent in a column in upstream and downstream in a water movement direction. It is a figure of the aspect which arranged two or more water guide units. Although the water movement directions of the water guiding units in the columns 1 to 5 are non-parallel, they are directed toward the region A in the figure. It is a schematic diagram of the articles | goods made into the object of simulation in an Example.

As described above, the present invention is a modification / improvement of the invention described in the previously proposed PCT / JP2016 / 60238 application. As long as the present invention does not contradict the present disclosure, The present disclosure is hereby incorporated by reference into the present disclosure. That is, the disclosure of the specification of the above-mentioned application is incorporated by reference into the disclosure of this specification.
Definitions In the present invention, “an article having a surface in contact with water” means an article in which water may remain on the surface due to rainfall or during or after a predetermined work / operation using water by a person. means. According to one aspect of the present invention, a building material can be constituted by this article, for example, an outer wall material; an inner wall of a bathroom or a shower room, a ceiling and a floor material; a bathtub; a basin or a hand basin (for example, a bowl surface) And sinks); sinks; toilet bowls; faucets; tabletops used for tables, drafts, counters, etc .; glass members such as mirrors and windows; Examples of the counter include a counter used in a hand washing place, a washroom and a bathroom, a kitchen counter, a counter used in a laboratory, a counter of a draft chamber, and the like. In particular, the building material according to the present invention can be used for interior walls, ceilings and floors of bathrooms and shower rooms; bathtubs; Top materials used; Glass members such as mirrors and windows; Counters used in hand-washing places, washrooms and bathrooms, kitchen counters, counters used in laboratories, counters in draft chambers, etc. Are preferably used.

  In the present invention, the material / material of the article is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include glass, plastic, tile, stone, metal, wood, and ceramic. Furthermore, those in which these materials are coated, those in which plastics are laminated (for example, composite materials such as laminated steel plates and coated steel plates), and the like can be used.

Surface of article and water movement The surface of the article according to the present invention is provided with a plurality of water guiding units, and the plurality of water guiding units are arranged in tandem in the “water moving direction” described later. The water guiding unit includes a plurality of hydrophilic regions and hydrophobic regions, and the hydrophilicity in the hydrophilic region increases in a certain direction on the surface of the article, or the hydrophobicity in the hydrophobic region is increased on the surface of the article. It is configured to decrease toward a certain direction, or to cause both an increase in hydrophilicity in this hydrophilic region and a decrease in hydrophobicity in the hydrophobic region. Comprised of sex areas.

  In the present invention, the fact that the water conveyance units are arranged in tandem in the water movement direction means that at least a part of the downstream water conveyance units exists on an extension line of the water conveyance direction of the upstream water conveyance unit. Thus, a tandem arrangement typically means that the water movement direction is the same and the upstream and downstream lines are aligned. However, if the water movement direction is parallel but not on the same straight line, the water movement direction is not parallel. In other words, the case where the water moving directions are different is also included.

  Here, according to a preferred aspect of the present invention, the increase in hydrophilicity or the decrease in hydrophobicity in the hydrophobic region is obtained by changing the area ratio of the hydrophilic region to the hydrophobic region (hereinafter referred to as “hydrophilic-hydrophobic area ratio”) of the article. It is generated by configuring the surface to increase in the certain direction. The mechanism by which water apparently moves autonomously on such a surface is considered as follows, but this theory is assumed and the present invention is not limited to such a theory.

  The surface of the article according to the present invention includes a hydrophilic region and a hydrophobic region, and when water is placed in contact with both the hydrophilic region and the hydrophobic region, the water is pushed by the hydrophobic region and from the hydrophilic region. The pulling force acts. In the first aspect, the area ratio of the hydrophilic region to the hydrophobic region changes in a certain direction, and water is drawn to the larger area ratio of the hydrophilic region. Moreover, in the said 2nd aspect, the affinity with respect to water of this hydrophilic region or a hydrophobic region changes to a fixed direction, and water is pulled in the direction where the affinity with respect to water increases relatively. These forces are considered to be propulsive forces, and the water appears to move autonomously on the surface. In the present invention, this apparent autonomous movement direction of water is referred to as “water movement direction”. This propulsive force is different from gravity, and water moves even in an environment where the surface is horizontal and gravity does not apply any horizontal force to the water. In the present invention, the direction in which this water apparently moves autonomously is referred to as the “water movement direction”. Further, when the surface is inclined or vertical, it is possible to move water more efficiently by both the autonomous movement direction of water and the force of gravity. According to one aspect of the present invention, it is possible to move a relatively large water droplet of 5 mL or more or a cluster of water on a horizontal plane by at least several cm to 5 cm or more.

Water Transfer Unit First, the water transfer unit provided by the present invention will be described.
The concept of “hydrophobic / hydrophobic area ratio” in the present invention and a method for changing it will be described below. In the present invention, the hydrophilic region and the hydrophobic region include a plurality of hydrophobic regions arranged in parallel with the water movement direction in the longitudinal direction, preferably parallel to the water movement direction, and the hydrophilic region between the plurality of hydrophobic regions. In other words, a plurality of hydrophilic regions are formed in parallel with the water movement direction in the longitudinal direction, preferably in parallel with the water movement direction, and a hydrophobic region is arranged between the plurality of hydrophilic regions. Is done. A specific embodiment thereof will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which a plurality of hydrophilic regions and a plurality of hydrophobic regions are formed on the surface of an article according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, a plurality of hydrophilic regions 11 are formed in an inverted triangular shape on the surface 100a of the article, and a hydrophobic region 12 is further formed in a triangular shape. In this embodiment, the article surface 100a may itself be a surface having hydrophilic properties, forming the hydrophobic region 12, and the hydrophilic region 11 being provided as a result.

  Next, FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the apparent autonomous movement of water placed on the surface of the article of FIG. In the region A in the figure, the hydrophilic / hydrophobic area ratio increases in the upper direction of the figure, and when comparing the region A and the region B, the hydrophilic / hydrophobic area ratio increases from the region A to the region B. When the water 20 is placed on such a surface, a force 31 pushed out from the hydrophobic region 12 side acts on the water, and a force 32 drawn from the hydrophilic region 11 side acts. The water 20 moves upward from the bottom of the figure using these two forces as driving forces. In the present invention, this direction in which the hydrophilic / hydrophobic area ratio increases, that is, the direction in which the water 20 moves is defined as the “water moving direction”. In the present specification, a region having a small hydrophilic / hydrophobic area ratio or its side may be expressed as upstream, and a region having a large hydrophilic / hydrophobic area ratio or its side may be expressed as downstream. In the present invention, hydrophobicity and hydrophilicity are used in a relative meaning as long as the driving force for the water 20 is generated, and means, for example, a property expressed as an absolute value as a contact angle with water. However, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the hydrophilic region has a static contact angle with water of 0 ° or more and 120 ° or less, and the hydrophobic region has a static contact angle with water of 40 ° or more and 180 °. Located in the following range.

  In the present invention, the hydrophilic region and the hydrophobic region can be formed as follows. For example, in the embodiment of FIG. 1, the article surface 100a is a surface having a hydrophilic property in itself, and the hydrophobic region 12 is a coating layer formed by painting. Moreover, according to another aspect, you may form not only a hydrophobic area | region but a hydrophilic area | region as a coating layer. When the article surface 100a is a hydrophobic surface, the hydrophilic region 11 may be formed as a coating layer.

  When a hydrophobic region is used as a coating layer, this coating layer is composed of a hydrophobic resin paint (for example, silicone resin, fluorine resin, acrylic resin, melamine resin, composite resin), an inorganic paint (for example, silicone paint), a hydrophobic photocatalyst. You may form with a paint. When the hydrophilic region is a coating layer, the coating layer may be formed of a hydrophilic resin paint, an inorganic paint, a hydrophilic photocatalyst paint, or the like. Although the formation method of a coating layer is not specifically limited, You may form by methods, such as an inkjet, screen printing, loto printing, and gravure printing.

  According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, the hydrophilic region and the hydrophobic region as the coating layer are formed as an aggregate of dots. For example, dots may be formed by applying a hydrophilic or hydrophobic substance by an inkjet method. Unless otherwise specified, this embodiment does not stop, and in the present invention, when the hydrophilic region or the hydrophobic region is formed by dots, the area of the hydrophilic region and the hydrophobic region is expressed as the sum of the areas of the dots forming the region, By comparing the sum of the areas of the dots, the hydrophilic / hydrophobic area ratio is defined.

  Moreover, according to one preferable aspect of this invention, it is preferable from a viewpoint that this coating layer is transparent with respect to visible light, does not affect the design of an article | item, or impairs it.

  In this aspect of the present invention, it is preferable that the hydrophilic region and the hydrophobic region are configured to be in contact with one water droplet. For example, when water droplet adhesion due to shower use in a bathroom is assumed, the adhesion size of the water droplet is 5 mm to If it is set to 100 mm, it is preferable that the maximum width of the hydrophilic region or the hydrophobic region is 2 mm to 50 mm in a portion where the size in the direction orthogonal to the water movement direction is maximum. In other words, the maximum width of each region is preferably smaller than half of the size of the droplet.

Embodiment with Highly Hydrophilic Region or Highly Hydrophobic Region In the present invention, in the first embodiment and the second embodiment, at least one of the hydrophilic regions is wider or more hydrophilic than other neighboring hydrophilic regions. Region (hereinafter referred to as `` highly hydrophilic region ''), or at least one of the hydrophobic regions is wider or less hydrophilic than other neighboring hydrophobic regions (hereinafter referred to as this region). (Referred to as “highly hydrophobic region”).

  Due to the existence of such a highly hydrophilic region or highly hydrophobic region, the above-described apparent autonomous movement of water can be performed more efficiently. Due to the presence of such a region, the force applied to the water from its surroundings is not equal, and locally becomes stronger or weaker. Due to the uneven distribution of the applied force, the water (droplet) is deformed and an opportunity for movement is given. In addition to the force that promotes the apparent autonomous movement of the water of the present invention described above, water (water droplets) is subjected to the force of droplet formation due to the surface tension of the water droplet, the pulling force or the repulsive force from the surface of the article. However, these forces can sometimes be balanced and the movement of water can stop, especially when the amount of water is small. On the other hand, by providing a highly hydrophilic region or a highly hydrophobic region, a hydrophilic gradient can be generated between the hydrophilic region or the hydrophobic region, and the balance can be reduced. Even so, it will be possible to move efficiently. It is also considered that the direction of water movement can be controlled by guiding water to the hydrophilic region.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which a plurality of hydrophilic regions and a plurality of hydrophobic regions are formed on the surface of the article according to the present invention. A plurality of hydrophobic regions are formed in a triangular shape on the surface 100a of the article, and the hydrophilic region 11 is formed in an inverted triangular shape. Here, among the plurality of hydrophobic regions, the width of the region 121 is configured to be wider than other neighboring hydrophobic regions 122, that is, a “highly hydrophobic region”. In the embodiment of this figure, the hydrophilic / hydrophobic area ratio changes in the vertical direction, and at the same time, the hydrophilic / hydrophobic area ratio also changes in the horizontal direction of the figure due to the difference in area between the hydrophobic regions 121 and 122. As a result, water is repelled more in highly hydrophobic regions that are less hydrophilic than other hydrophobic regions. By providing such a highly hydrophobic region, it is considered that a hydrophilic gradient is generated between the hydrophobic regions, and for example, even a small amount of water can be efficiently moved. In addition, by guiding water from the highly hydrophobic region to the hydrophilic region, it is possible to control the direction of water movement. It is also possible to guide water from this highly hydrophobic region to the hydrophilic region.

  In FIG. 4, among the plurality of hydrophobic regions having substantially the same shape, the degree of the hydrophobic property of the region 121 is made higher than that of other neighboring hydrophobic regions 122. FIG. 4B schematically shows the degree of hydrophobicity in the height direction at the position AA in FIG. The region 121 is configured to have the highest hydrophobicity, that is, a “highly hydrophobic region”.

  In the embodiment of FIG. 4, the highly hydrophobic region is formed by changing the type or amount of the material forming it from that of the other hydrophobic region, so that the degree of hydrophobicity of the highly hydrophobic region is different from that of the other hydrophobic region. It can be different from hydrophobicity. Also about this aspect, the coating material which forms a coating layer, and the formation method of a coating layer can mention the thing similar to what was mentioned above. According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, the hydrophobic region and the highly hydrophobic region are formed as an aggregate of dots. For example, a dot may be formed by applying a hydrophobic substance by an inkjet method. This is because the hydrophobicity can be easily changed by the density of the dots or by changing the diameter and / or interval of the dots.

Combination of a plurality of water conveyance units The present invention comprises a plurality of water conveyance units arranged in tandem in the direction of water movement. Thereby, water can be apparently moved over a longer distance. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a mode in which a plurality of water conveyance units are connected. In the figure, the water guiding units 101, 102, 103 are arranged in the water movement direction (in the direction of the arrow in the figure). These water guiding units have a configuration in which a plurality of triangular hydrophobic regions 12 are provided on a hydrophilic surface 11. In this invention, a hydrophilic area | region is provided in the upstream end and downstream end of the water transfer direction of a water guide unit. Specifically, the region 30 in the figure is a hydrophilic region. Furthermore, according to one aspect of the present invention, it is preferable that the region 30 has a higher hydrophilicity than the hydrophilicity of the hydrophilic surface 11.

  The water 20 placed in the first water guide unit 101 apparently moves autonomously and reaches the vicinity of the downstream of the water guide unit 101. And water reaches the area | region 30 between the water guide units 101 and 102 ahead. In FIG. 5, the hydrophilic / hydrophobic area ratio in the region 31 having a specific area at the downstream end in the water movement direction of the water guiding unit 101 is the hydrophilicity / hydrophobicity in the region 32 having the same area as the region 31 at the upstream end of the water guiding unit 102 adjacent to the downstream side. It is larger than the area ratio. In this invention, the area | region 30 is provided in the downstream end of the water transfer direction of the water guide unit 101, More preferably, it is made more hydrophilic than the hydrophilic property of the hydrophilic surface 11. FIG. As a result, even if the hydrophilic / hydrophobic area ratio between the water guiding units 101 and 102 is in the above relationship, the water is once attracted to the region 30 and then triggers the water to reach the water guiding unit 102. The water that has reached the water conveyance unit 102 starts apparently autonomous movement again on the water conveyance unit 102. Furthermore, even if it exists between the water conveyance units 102 and 103, water will move over a long distance exceeding a water conveyance unit for the same reason. According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, the width of the region 30, that is, the distance between the water guiding unit and the water guiding unit is preferably about 1 to 50 mm.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram of an embodiment in which a plurality of water guiding units are arranged according to another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the water guiding unit is composed of a hydrophilic region 11 and a hydrophobic region 12, and the hydrophobic region 12 takes a triangular shape with a small area in the water movement direction (upward direction in the figure). In addition, the hydrophobic regions of adjacent water guiding units are connected in a direction different from the water movement direction. As a result, the hydrophilic / hydrophobic area ratio becomes extremely large at the upstream end of the water conveyance unit, and water moved from the water conveyance unit upstream of the water conveyance unit is blocked here. However, even if the hydrophilic / hydrophobic area ratio is in the above relationship, the hydrophilic / hydrophobic area ratio fluctuates in a minute area on the actual surface, and water is attracted or repelled in this non-uniform minute area. Thus, the water is brought to the downstream water conveyance unit adjacent in the water movement direction. Furthermore, the area | region 30 in a figure is each provided in the upstream of a water guide unit. The water placed in the lower water guide unit in the figure moves autonomously by the mechanism described above, and the moved water reaches the downstream end of the water guide unit and is drawn to the hydrophilic region 30 and further downstream thereof. Efficiently led to water conveyance

  In the embodiment of this figure, one hydrophobic region 12 and the surrounding hydrophilic region 11 constitute one water guiding unit. In the drawing, the continuous hydrophobic region 12 and the surrounding hydrophilic region 11 One unit (100a in the figure) formed by can be called a water-conducting unit in the present invention. Moreover, in this invention, it is also preferable to provide a hydrophilic area | region between the water conveyance units adjacent not only in a column but horizontally.

  In FIG. 6, the water transfer units adjacent to each other in the direction different from the water transfer direction, preferably in the intersecting direction, are parallel to each other. According to another aspect of the present invention, the water movement directions of adjacent water conveyance units in a direction different from the water movement direction are non-parallel, and the water movement directions of those water conveyance units converge to a specific region. The plurality of water guiding units can be arranged.

  For example, FIG. 7 is a diagram of an aspect in which a plurality of water guiding units are further arranged. In the figure, these water conducting units have a configuration in which a plurality of triangular hydrophobic regions 12 are provided on a hydrophilic surface 11. And the water movement direction of each water guide unit is made non-parallel. On the other hand, the water that has moved through each water conveyance unit converges toward the area indicated by A in the figure. That is, the water movement directions of the water conveyance units in the rows 1 to 3 of the column 1 are substantially parallel to each other and are directed toward the region A in the figure. Water placed in column 1, row 1 heading units autonomously moves to column 1, row 2, and row 3 heading units. The moved water is attracted to the hydrophilic region 30 when reaching each row, and further reaches each column of row 2. The direction of movement of the water conveyance units in rows 1 to 3 in column 2 is substantially parallel, and the water placed in the water conveyance units in column 2 and row 1 is transferred to the water conveyance units in column 2, row 2, and row 3. Move autonomously. That is, first, column 1 and rows 1 to 3 are a first group of water guiding units in which the direction of increasing hydrophilicity in the hydrophilic region or the direction of decreasing hydrophobicity in the hydrophobic region is parallel, and column 2 Rows 1 to 3 are a second group in which the direction of increasing hydrophilicity in the hydrophilic region or the direction of decreasing hydrophobicity in the hydrophobic region is parallel and non-parallel to the direction of the first group. It becomes a plurality of water conveyance units. And the water placed in these water guide units will apparently move autonomously so as to converge on the specific area A.

  In the embodiment of FIG. 7, the water guiding units in rows 1 to 3 in columns 3 to 5 are further provided. Similar to the first group and the second group, they are a plurality of water guiding units of the third group to the fifth group. The plurality of water guiding units of the first group to the fifth group are such that the direction of increase in hydrophilicity in the hydrophilic region or the direction of decrease in hydrophobicity in the hydrophobic region is non-parallel, and the hydrophilic regions of the respective groups The direction of increasing hydrophilicity or the direction of decreasing hydrophobicity in the hydrophobic region reaches the specific region. The water placed in these further plurality of water guiding units will apparently move autonomously so as to converge on the specific area A.

  According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a hydrophilic region is provided between a plurality of water guiding units as in the region 30 of FIG. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a surface in which the water guiding units are arranged in tandem in the water movement direction and are further arranged side by side in the “lateral direction”. A plurality of water guiding units 100a shown in the figure are connected to each other between and around the regions 30. Here, the region 30 is a hydrophilic region, and is provided at the upstream end and the downstream end of the water transfer unit in the direction of water movement, and further, at the side end parallel to the water transfer direction of the water transfer unit in the embodiment of this figure. This region 30 is a region in which water that has moved on the water conveyance unit 100a once stays in this region, and further supplies water to the next, that is, downstream water conveyance unit 100a. Water can be transported over a long distance by moving the water guiding unit 100a, staying in the region 30, and further moving the next water guiding unit 100a.

  As a modification of the example shown in FIG. 6, the plurality of water guiding units 100 a shown in FIG. 6 may be arranged side by side in the horizontal direction or the vertical direction. By arranging the units out of alignment, the direction in which the water is drawn is not constant, so a complicated force is applied to the water, and it can effectively prevent the movement of the water from stopping especially when the amount of water is small, Water can be transported over long distances.

  The present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the following examples, but the present invention is not limited to these examples.

EXAMPLE An analysis of the autonomous movement of water in an article in which three water guiding units are arranged in tandem as shown in FIG. 8 was performed as follows. The conditions were as follows.
Freeware for simulation
H. Matsui, Y. Noda, and T. Hasegawa, "Hybrid Energy-Minimization Simulation of Equilibrium Droplet Shapes on Hydrophilic / Hydrophobic Patterned Surfaces", Langmuir, 2012, 28 (44), pp 15450-15453)
The surface properties of the hydrophilic regions of the test article regions 101 to 103 were set uniformly at a water contact angle of 25 ° to surround and touch all the hydrophobic regions. The details are as follows.
Region 101
Hydrophilic region: water contact angle 25 °
Hydrophobic region: A plurality of approximately isosceles triangles with a base width of 6 mm, a tip width of 1 mm, and a height of 100 mm are aligned so that the bases are aligned and adjacent base angles are in contact. Water contact angle 85 °
Region 102
Hydrophilic region: water contact angle 25 °
Hydrophobic region: Multiple isosceles triangles with a base width of 2 mm, a tip width of 1 mm, and a height of 60 mm are aligned and aligned at the base.
Water contact angle 80 °
Region 103
Hydrophilic region: water contact angle 25 °
Hydrophobic region: A series of approximately isosceles triangles with a bottom width of 1.2 mm, a tip width of 0.4 mm, and a height of 30 mm, with the bottoms aligned.
Water contact angle 70 °
As a result of the result simulation, water reached the most downstream end of the region 103.

Claims (9)

An article having a surface in contact with water,
The surface comprises a plurality of water conducting units;
The water conveyance unit comprises a plurality of hydrophilic regions and hydrophobic regions, respectively.
The hydrophilicity in the hydrophilic region increases in a certain direction of the surface, or the hydrophobicity in the hydrophobic region decreases in the certain direction, or the hydrophilicity in the hydrophilic region increases, and Cause both a decrease in hydrophobicity in the hydrophobic region,
Therefore, it has the property that the water moves autonomously in this direction (hereinafter, this direction is referred to as “water movement direction”),
The plurality of water guiding units are arranged in tandem in the water movement direction,
The article further comprising hydrophilic regions at an upstream end and a downstream end in the water movement direction of the water guide unit.   The article according to claim 1, wherein hydrophobic regions of two or more water guide units adjacent to each other in a direction different from the water movement direction are connected.   The width of the hydrophilic region provided in the upstream end and the downstream end in the water movement direction of the water transfer unit is the same as or larger than the width of the plurality of connected hydrophobic regions. The article described.   The article according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the hydrophobic region has a shape in which an area decreases in the water movement direction.   The hydrophilicity of the hydrophilic area | region prepared in the upstream end and downstream end of the water transfer direction of the said water conveyance unit is higher than the hydrophilic property of the hydrophilic area | region of the said water conveyance unit. The article described.   The article according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein water transfer directions of adjacent water guide units in a direction different from the water transfer direction are parallel.   The plurality of water guiding units are arranged so that the water moving directions of adjacent water guiding units in a direction different from the water moving direction are non-parallel, and the water moving directions of those water guiding units converge on a specific region. The article according to claim 1 or 2.   The article according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising a hydrophilic region at a side end parallel to the water movement direction of the water guide unit.   The article according to any one of claims 1 to 8, which is a water-surrounding member.

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