JPH0919649A - Blow-off members of atomizer and surface preparation thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the occurrence of droplets on the surface of blow-out members to spray a liquid in uniform atomized particles by treating the blowout members formed of a synthetic resin material with ionized gas or the like to form more hydrophilic groups on the surface than a raw material. SOLUTION: A suck-on device A, a kind of atomizer, mixes steam fed from a steam generating unit 1 through a steam pipe 3 and a suck-in liquid such as a chemical sucked up from a suck-in liquid tank 2 through a suck-up pipe 4, and blows the mixture out from a blow-out port 6 of a cover 5 to spray the suck-in liquid. The blow-out port 6 of the cover 5, a spray nozzle 7 of the steam pipe 3, a suck-up nozzle 8 of the suck-up pipe 4 and the like which constitute blow-out members are formed of synthetic resin as material. By the way, the blow-out members formed of the synthetic resin material are treated by ionized gas to form more hydrophilic groups on the surface than a raw material. That is, by reaction of electrically neutral particles in ionized gas during ionized gas treatment, hydrophilic groups are formed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a spray generating device such as an inhaler used for treating inflammation caused in the respiratory system such as throat and nose, a sprayer for supplying a mist for restoring the raised hair of clothes. And a surface treatment method thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIGS. 11 and 12 show an inhaler A which is a kind of a spray generating device. The inhaler A is formed by including a steam generating unit 1 and a suction liquid tank 2 and is a steam generating unit. The vapor supplied from 1 through the vapor pipe 3 and the inhalation liquid such as the medicinal liquid sucked up from the inhalation liquid tank 2 through the suction pipe 4 are mixed and blown out from the outlet 6 of the cover 5 to spray the inhalation liquid. It is the one. In the inhaler A, the blow-out port 6 of the cover 5, which constitutes the blow-out member B, the spray nozzle 7 of the steam pipe 3, the suction nozzle 8 of the suction pipe 4, and the like are made of synthetic resin. Is common.

[0003]

Many general-purpose synthetic resins, which are widely used today as parts materials for industrial products, have water repellency. Therefore, when the surface of the inhaler A formed of synthetic resin having water repellency is used as the blowing member B, when the high-temperature vapor condenses on the surface of the blowing member B, it adheres to the surface of the blowing member B as high-temperature water droplets. It will be. This high-temperature water drop 9 is particularly likely to occur on the inner surface of the spray guide 10 of the blowout port 6 as shown in FIG. Then, some of the high-temperature water droplets 9 drop into the suction liquid tank 2 by gravity action, but some of the high-temperature water droplets 9 are scattered as a molten metal from the blowout port 6 by the jet pressure. However, in this way, the high-temperature water droplet 9 becomes a hot water droplet and scatters to cause inhaler A.
If you put it in the mouth of a person who uses it, there is a risk of burns to the user and there is a safety problem. Also, a loud noise is generated when the water droplets 9 are splashed, causing psychological anxiety to the user. There is also a problem in that the steam gives a nonuniform particle size due to water droplets and enters the mouth of the user, which causes a discomfort to the user. in addition,
There is also a problem that the water droplet 9 is enlarged and drips from the outlet 6 to stain the surrounding area, or the inhaler A itself is soiled with the residue of the water droplet 9.

Although the inhaler A, which is a kind of spray generator, has been described above, even in the case of a sprayer that supplies mist so as to restore the raised hair of clothes, water droplets are similarly generated and a part of the mist is generated. When water droplets are mixed in, problems such as variations in the brushing property of clothes occur.
The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and a blowing member of a spray generation device capable of reducing the occurrence of water droplets on the surface of a blowing member formed of a synthetic resin and spraying with uniform spray particles. And a surface treatment method thereof.

[0005]

The blowing member of the spray generating apparatus according to the present invention is formed of a synthetic resin material, and has more hydrophilic groups than the synthetic resin material formed on the surface. Is. Further, the surface treatment method of the blowing member of the spray generating apparatus according to the present invention, the blowing member formed of the synthetic resin material of the spray generating apparatus is treated with ionized gas to form more hydrophilic groups than the material on the surface. The hydrophilic group can be formed by the reaction of electrically neutral particles in the ionized gas during the treatment with the ionized gas.

The treatment with ionized gas can be carried out by glow discharge, corona discharge, or ion beam irradiation.

[0007]

[Function] By forming more hydrophilic groups than the synthetic resin material on the surface of the blowing member formed of the synthetic resin material, the steam can be spread without being formed into water droplets. It can be prevented from occurring. Moreover, by treating the surface of the blowing member of the synthetic resin with glow discharge, corona discharge, or ion beam irradiation and ionizing gas, a hydrophilic group is formed on the surface of the blowing member to treat a surface on which water droplets do not occur. be able to.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. (Embodiment 1) This embodiment corresponds to claim 3, and as shown in FIG. 2, a blowing member B formed of acrylonitrile styrene (AS) resin or the like on a sample fixing base in a sample processing chamber 29. Was set, and the pressure in the sample processing chamber 29 was reduced to 0.001 Torr or less. After that, oxygen gas is introduced into the plasma generation chamber 30 provided in the upper portion of the sample processing chamber 29 from the gas introduction port 30a, and the high frequency power source 31 for discharge is used to input 100 at a constant pressure of 0.1 Torr.
Plasma generation chamber 3 under the conditions of W and high frequency 13.56 MHz
Ionized gas (plasma) generated by glow discharge in 0
Only electrically neutral particles (including neutral active species) therein were introduced into the sample processing chamber 29, and the surface of the blowing member B was processed for several seconds to several minutes.

In this way, only the electrically neutral particles in the ionized gas generated by the glow discharge treatment in the oxygen gas atmosphere are introduced into the sample treatment chamber 29 to treat the surface of the blowing member B. After the surface was modified, the change in the wettability of water on the surface of the blowing member B was measured using a surface contact angle measuring device. As a result, the contact angle θ ₁ in FIG. 3 (a) to the contact in FIG. 3 (b) was measured. It became smaller as each angle θ ₂ and a remarkable improvement in wettability with water was observed. Further, when the surface of the blowing member B was analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis, as shown in the C1s spectrum diagram of FIG. 4 in which the photoelectrons emitted from the 1s orbit of the carbon atom were detected, the blowing member B before the treatment ( In the blowing member B after treatment (shown as an untreated sample in FIG. 4) (shown as a treated sample in FIG. 4), a hydrophilic group having an oxygen atom such as a carbonyl group, which is one of the causes of improvement in wettability, is generated. It was recognized that there were many. Therefore, it is considered that by performing the above treatment, more hydrophilic groups than the synthetic resin material can be formed on the surface of the blowing member B, and therefore the wettability with water can be significantly improved. In addition, since electrically neutral particles are not accelerated, the energy does not increase, and hydrophilic groups can be formed without changing the shape of the surface. When the surface of the blowing member B treated with only the electrically neutral particles was observed with a scanning electron microscope, it was almost the same as that of the untreated blowing member B, and it was treated without causing any damage to the surface. Was observed.

When the blow-out port 6 of the cover 5 is used as the blow-out member B, the blow-out port 6 is treated with ionized gas by glow discharge as described above, and this is attached to the inhaler A to generate vapor. As shown by reference numeral 15 in FIG. 1, the sprayed steam spreads on the surface of the spray guide 10 of the outlet 6 without forming water droplets, and there was no scattering of water droplets or generation of stains due to water droplets. Further, when the steam generating unit 1 and the suction liquid tank 2 were used in the same manner as the blowing member B, the wettability to water was remarkably improved, and the surface was prevented from being contaminated by the water drop residue. Further, since the spray nozzle 7 formed of the modified polyphenylene oxide resin (PPO) has an extremely thin tubular passage for vapor, it is impossible to coat the surface of the spray nozzle 7 to improve the wettability. When treated with ionized gas by electric discharge treatment, the wettability to water was remarkably improved because the surface treatment was possible even in a narrow passage.

(Embodiment 2) The present embodiment claims 4
In addition, as shown in FIG. 5, the blowing member B formed of a resin molded product such as acrylonitrile styrene resin is put in the reactor 12 and the electrode 13 is attached.
Set between a and 13b, and the inside of the reactor 12 is 0.01To
The pressure was reduced to rr. After this, the gas inlet 1 is introduced into the reactor 12.
Oxygen gas was introduced from 4. In this way, in an oxygen gas atmosphere, glow discharge was performed under a constant pressure of 0.1 Torr at an input of 100 W and a high frequency of 13.56 MHz, and the surface of the blowing member B was treated with the generated ionized gas (plasma) for several seconds to several minutes. .

As described above, after the surface of the blowing member B is modified by glow discharge treatment in an oxygen gas atmosphere and treating the surface of the blowing member B with ionized gas, the surface of the blowing member B is subjected to a change in wettability of water. When measured using a contact angle measuring device, the contact angle was small as in the case of FIG. 3, and the wettability with water was significantly improved. Further, when the surface of the blowing member B after the glow discharge treatment is viewed with a scanning electron microscope, the minute ridges and grooves 27a formed by the minute grooves 27a due to the action of the ionized gas by the glow discharge treatment show the minute ridges and grooves 27a in FIG. It was observed that it was produced as follows. Further, when the surface of the blowing member B was analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, it was treated with a hydrophilic group having an oxygen atom such as a carbonyl group, which is one of the causes of the improvement in wettability, as in the case of the first embodiment. It was confirmed that the surface was more present than before. As described above, it is considered that the wettability with respect to water can be remarkably improved by the formation of the microscopic uneven strips 27 and the presence of the hydrophilic group.

When using the blow-out port 6 of the cover 5 as the blow-out member B, the blow-out port 6 is treated with ionized gas by glow discharge treatment as described above, and this is attached to the inhaler A to generate vapor. However, as in the case of the first embodiment, the steam injected spreads on the surface of the spray guide 10 of the outlet 6 without forming water droplets, and scattering of water droplets and generation of dirt due to water droplets are eliminated. Further, when the vapor generating unit 1 and the suction liquid tank 2 were used as the blowing member B and similarly treated with ionized gas by glow discharge treatment, remarkable wettability to water was observed,
It was possible to prevent the surface from being soiled by the water drop residue. Furthermore, when the steam pipe 3 and the suction pipe 4 were similarly treated with an ionized gas by glow discharge treatment, remarkable wettability to water was observed, and the liquid transport was prevented from being hindered by water droplets generated in the middle of the pipe. It was possible to generate steam efficiently. Further, since the spray nozzle 7 formed of the modified polyphenylene oxide resin (PPO) has an extremely thin tubular passage for vapor, it is impossible to coat the surface with the spray nozzle 7 to improve the wettability. When treated with ionized gas by electric discharge treatment, the wettability to water was remarkably improved because the surface treatment was possible even in a narrow passage.

(Third Embodiment) In this embodiment, as in the second embodiment, the glow discharge is carried out in the oxygen gas atmosphere to treat the surface of the blowing member B with the ionized gas (plasma). As shown in FIG. 1, an electrode 33 connected to the variable bias power source 32 is provided at the tip of the blowing member B so as to variably have a negative potential than the ionized gas.
A negative voltage of 00 V is applied to the electrode 33 to change the energy for colliding with the blowing member B of the positively charged particles in the ionized gas space. Also in this embodiment, the same effect as that of the second embodiment can be obtained, and the effect of the ionized gas treatment by the glow discharge treatment can be changed by the part of the blowing member B by the variable bias voltage. In particular, it is possible to efficiently process the tip portion of the blowing member B for which the wettability with water is particularly desired to be improved.

(Embodiment 4) In this embodiment, when the surface of the blowing member B is treated by glow discharge treatment with ionized gas as in Embodiment 2, argon gas is introduced into the reactor 12. Input 200W, high frequency 13.5
Glow discharge is performed under the condition of 6 MHz to remove the organic contaminants adhering to the surface of the blowing member B by a physical impact effect, and subsequently, oxygen gas is introduced into the reactor 12 in the same manner as in the second embodiment. The glow discharge process is performed. Also in this embodiment, the same effect as that of the above-described second embodiment can be obtained, and the surface of the blowing member B can be cleaned.

(Embodiment 5) This embodiment is claim 6.
Corresponding to the lower electrode 16 as shown in FIG.
The dielectric 17 is arranged on a, and the blowing member B formed of acrylonitrile styrene resin or the like is set on the dielectric 17. The upper electrode 16b is formed so as to follow the concave shape of the blowing member B formed by the blowing port 6 and the like, and is inserted into the blowing member B. Then, under atmospheric pressure for a few seconds to a few minutes, a corona discharge is performed under the condition of an input of 500 W, and the generated ionized gas (plasma) is used to blow the member B.
The surface is treated for a few seconds to a few minutes.

After the surface of the blowing member B is modified by treating the surface of the blowing member B with the ionized gas by the corona discharge treatment as described above, the surface contact angle measuring device measures the change in the wettability of water on the surface of the blowing member B. As a result of measurement using the same, the contact angle was small as in the case of FIG. 3, and a remarkable improvement in wetting with water was observed. Further, when the surface of the blowing member B after the corona discharge treatment is viewed with a scanning electron microscope, the action of the ionized gas due to the corona discharge treatment reveals that the minute ridges 27 formed by the minute grooves 27a are formed. It was observed that Further, when the surface of the blowing member B was analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, hydrophilic groups having an oxygen atom such as a carbonyl group, which is one of the causes of improving the wettability, were treated as in the case of the first embodiment. It was confirmed that the surface was more present than before.

As the blowing member B, the blowing port 6 of the cover 5 was used to treat with the ionized gas by the above corona discharge treatment, and this was attached to the inhaler A to generate vapor. The steam injected into the spray spreads on the surface of the spray guide 10 of the outlet 6 without forming water droplets.
There was no scattering of water droplets or generation of dirt due to water droplets. Further, when the vapor generating unit 1 and the suction liquid tank 2 were used as the blowing member B and similarly treated with ionized gas by corona discharge treatment, a remarkable improvement in wettability with water was observed and the surface was prevented from being contaminated by water drop residue. We were able to.

(Embodiment 6) This embodiment is claim 7.
Corresponding to the vacuum container 18 as shown in FIG.
The blow-out member B molded of acrylonitrile-styrene resin or the like is set on the sample fixing base inside, and the inside of the vacuum container 18 is set to 1
The pressure was reduced to × 10 ^-3 Torr or less, and an oxygen ion beam was applied to the surface of the blowing member B from directly above for several seconds to several minutes under the conditions of an accelerating voltage of 400 V and an accelerating current of 80 mA with a Kauffman type ion gun 19 provided in the vacuum container 18. Irradiation was performed and an ionized gas generated by the irradiation of the oxygen ion beam was made to act.

After the surface of the blowing member B is modified by treating the surface of the blowing member B with the ionized gas by the ion beam irradiation as described above, a change in wettability of water on the surface of the blowing member B is measured by using a surface contact angle measuring device. The contact angle was small as in the case of FIG. 3, and the wettability with water was significantly improved. Further, when the surface of the blowing member B after the irradiation with the ion beam is observed with a scanning electron microscope in this way, the action of the ionized gas by the irradiation of the ion beam reveals that the minute ridges 27 formed by the minute grooves 27a are formed. It was observed that Further, the blowing member B
When the surface of was analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy,
As in the case of Embodiment 1 above, it was found that hydrophilic groups having an oxygen atom such as a carbonyl group, which is one of the causes for improving the wettability, were present on the surface more than before the treatment.

When the above-mentioned ion beam irradiation is performed using the blow-out port 6 of the cover 5 as the blow-out member B and this is attached to the inhaler A to generate vapor, the same injection as in the first embodiment is carried out. The steam spreads on the surface of the spray guide 10 of the outlet 6 without forming water droplets, and there was no scattering of water droplets or generation of stains due to water droplets. Further, when the vapor generating unit 1 and the suction liquid tank 2 were used as the blowing member B and similarly treated with ionized gas by ion beam irradiation, remarkable improvement in wettability with water was observed.
It was possible to prevent the surface from being soiled by the water drop residue.

(Embodiment 7) In this embodiment, when ion beam irradiation is performed as in Embodiment 6, the blowing member B is covered with a mask 21 as shown in FIG. The ion beam is irradiated only to the inner surface which is a passage through which the ion beam passes and the outer surface of the blowing member B is not irradiated with the ion beam. This ion beam irradiation was performed using the blow-out port 6 of the cover 5 as the blow-out member B, and this was attached to the inhaler A to generate steam. Only the inner surface of the blow-out port 6 wetted and spread without forming water droplets. The same effects as those of each of the above-described embodiments are obtained, and since the outer surface is not irradiated with the ion beam, the water is drained well, and the discomfort of the user due to water wetting is eliminated.

(Embodiment 8) In this embodiment, as in Embodiment 6, when the surface of the blowing member B is treated by ion beam irradiation and ionized gas, the blowing member B is set in the vacuum container 18. Embodiment 6 After irradiating an argon ion beam under the conditions of an accelerating voltage of 1 kV and an accelerating current of 160 mA to remove organic contaminants attached to the surface,
The treatment is carried out by irradiating an oxygen ion beam under the same conditions as described above. In this embodiment as well, the same effects as in the above-described sixth embodiment can be obtained, and the surface of the blowing member B can be cleaned by the physical impact effect of the argon ion beam.

[0024]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the hydrophilic group is formed on the surface of the blowing member formed of the synthetic resin material,
The particles of vapor can be made to wet and spread without forming water droplets, and it is possible to prevent the generation of water droplets and spray uniform particles.

Further, since the surface of the blowing member of the synthetic resin is treated with ionized gas by glow discharge, corona discharge, or ion beam irradiation, a hydrophilic group is formed on the surface of the blowing member and water droplets are not generated. The surface can be treated, and the surface treatment can be performed without the need to deposit different materials on the surface. In the case of an inhaler, the formed membrane does not have a problem of getting into the mouth of the user.

If a hydrophilic group is formed by the reaction of electrically neutral particles in the ionized gas, the electrically neutral particles will not be accelerated and the energy will not increase. The hydrophilic group can be formed without changing the shape of the surface of the blowing member.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a blowing member of a spray generating device treated according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 shows the contact angle of water droplets,
(A), (b) is an expanded sectional view, respectively.

FIG. 4 is a C1s spectrum diagram of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged perspective view of a part of the surface of the blowing member.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a seventh embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of an inhaler.

FIG. 12 is an exploded perspective view of the inhaler.

FIG. 13 is a sectional view of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 B blowing member

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page (72) Inventor Yoshie Watari Matsuda Electric Works Co., Ltd. 1048 Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Prefecture

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A blowing member for a spray generating device, which is made of a synthetic resin material and has more hydrophilic groups than the synthetic resin material formed on its surface. 2. A blowing member of a spray generating device, characterized in that a blowing member formed of a synthetic resin material of the spray generating device is treated with ionized gas to form more hydrophilic groups on the surface than the raw material. Surface treatment method. 3. The spray generator according to claim 2, wherein the hydrophilic group on the surface is formed by the reaction of electrically neutral particles in the ionized gas during the treatment with the ionized gas. Method for surface treatment of blowing member of the above. 4. The surface treatment method for a blowing member of a spray generator according to claim 2, wherein the treatment with the ionized gas is glow discharge treatment. 5. The method for surface treatment of a blowing member of a spray generator according to claim 4, wherein the treatment by glow discharge is performed in an oxygen gas atmosphere. 6. The surface treatment method for a blowing member of a spray generator according to claim 2, wherein the treatment with the ionized gas is a corona discharge treatment. 7. The surface treatment method for a blowing member of a spray generator according to claim 2, wherein the treatment with the ionized gas is an ion beam irradiation treatment.