WO2018131210A1

WO2018131210A1 - Electrospinning apparatus

Info

Publication number: WO2018131210A1
Application number: PCT/JP2017/032903
Authority: WO
Inventors: 典之大庭; 慎坂本; 聡美坂井
Original assignee: 株式会社東芝
Priority date: 2017-01-13
Filing date: 2017-09-12
Publication date: 2018-07-19
Also published as: JP6434996B2; JP2018111907A

Abstract

The apparatus in an embodiment has a discharging head, a first tank, a second tank and a connection mechanism. The discharging head discharges a discharge material. The first tank stores the discharge material to be supplied to the discharging head. The second tank stores discharge material for replenishing the first tank. The connection mechanism fluidically connects and/or disconnects the first tank and the second tank.

Description

Electrospinning device

Embodiments of the present invention relate to an electrospinning apparatus.

Conventionally, an electrospinning apparatus for manufacturing fiber products is known. The electrospinning apparatus discharges a discharge material from the discharge head using an electrospinning method. The discharge material is supplied to the discharge head from a discharge material tank in the apparatus via a liquid supply tube. Therefore, when the discharge material in the discharge material tank runs short, it is necessary to replenish the discharge material tank with the discharge material.

However, since a high voltage is applied to the discharge material (discharge head), replenishment of the discharge material to the discharge material tank during discharge of the discharge material (during electrospinning) has a safety problem. . Therefore, in the conventional electrospinning apparatus, the application of the high voltage is stopped and the discharge material is replenished to the discharge material tank manually, for example. Also, stopping the application of high voltage stops the discharge of the discharge material, which makes the quality of the fiber product unstable and causes a decrease in productivity.

JP 2008-202169 A

The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an electrospinning apparatus capable of automatically replenishing a discharge material even during discharge of the discharge material.

The electrospinning apparatus according to the embodiment includes a discharge head, a first tank, a second tank, and a connection mechanism. The discharge head discharges a discharge material. The first tank stores the discharge material supplied to the discharge head. The second tank stores the discharge material to be replenished to the first tank. The connection mechanism fluidly connects and / or separates the first tank and the second tank.

It is a figure which shows the electrospinning apparatus which concerns on embodiment. It is an enlarged view which shows the connection coupler and connection auxiliary | assistance mechanism of the connection mechanism of the electrospinning apparatus which concern on embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the control structure of the electrospinning apparatus which concerns on embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the control processing of the electrospinning apparatus which concerns on embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. First, an electrospinning apparatus according to an embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. Drawing 1 is a figure showing electrospinning device 1 concerning an embodiment.

The electrospinning apparatus 10 manufactures a fiber product by ejecting, for example, nano-level fibers using a well-known electrospinning method.

As shown in FIG. 1, the electrospinning apparatus 10 includes a discharge head 11, a high voltage generator 12,

liquid supply tubes

13a and 13b, a first liquid supply mechanism 14, and a discharge material tank 15 (first 1 tank), a second liquid feeding mechanism 16, and a collector 18. The electrospinning apparatus 10 has a main tank apparatus 20 (second tank) provided outside the housing 10a. Further, the electrospinning apparatus 10 includes a connection mechanism 171 provided between the housing 10 a and the main tank apparatus 20.

The discharge head 11 has a predetermined distance and faces the collector 18. A high voltage is applied to the discharge head 11 by the high voltage generator 12, and a potential difference is generated between the discharge head 11 and the collector 18. The discharge head 11 discharges the discharge material toward the collector 18 by an electric field generated by this potential difference. The discharge material is a solution in which a polymer that is a raw material of the fiber is dissolved in a solvent. The solvent contained in the solution discharged by the discharge head 11 volatilizes before reaching the collector 18, and fibers (polymer) are deposited on the collector 18.

The collector 18 is, for example, an aluminum foil belt. The collector 18 is fed from a supply roll (not shown) to a position facing the ejection head 11 by a feed mechanism (not shown). Further, the collector 18 on which the fibers are deposited is wound around a winding roll (not shown) by a feeding mechanism. The distance between the collector 18 and the ejection head 11 is the type of polymer material in the solution ejected from the ejection head 11, the concentration of the polymer, the high voltage potential applied to the ejection head 11 by the high voltage generator 12, etc. Is appropriately selected.

The high voltage generator 12 applies a high voltage to the ejection head 11 in order to generate an electric field between the ejection head 11 and the collector 18. Application of a high voltage to the ejection head 11 by the high voltage generator 12 is performed before the ejection material is fed to the ejection head 11 by the first liquid feeding mechanism 14 in order to prevent dripping from the ejection head 11. . When a high voltage is applied to the discharge head 11 by the high voltage generator 12, the

liquid supply tubes

13a and 13b, the first liquid supply mechanism 14, the discharge material tank 15, and the second liquid supply mechanism are passed through the discharge material. 16 and the liquid feeding system including the first coupler 171a, which will be described later, of the connection mechanism 17 also becomes a high voltage. Therefore, for safety, an insulator 10b is provided between the housing 10a and the liquid feeding system, for example, as shown in FIG. The insulator 10b shown in FIG. 1 is schematically shown and is not limited to this.

The liquid supply tube 13 a is a tube that connects the discharge head 11 and the discharge material tank 15 in order to supply the discharge material of the discharge material tank 15 to the discharge head 11.

The first liquid feeding mechanism 14 feeds the discharge material in the discharge material tank 15 to the discharge head 11 through the liquid supply tube 13a. For example, the first liquid feed mechanism 14 can use a liquid feed pump that supplies the discharge material of the discharge material tank 15 to the discharge head 11. The liquid feeding of the ejection material by the first liquid feeding mechanism 14 is performed after the high voltage generator 12 applies a high voltage to the ejection head 11.

The discharge material tank 15 is a tank that stores the discharge material supplied to the discharge head 11. The discharge material tank 15 is provided in the housing 10a. The discharge material tank 15 has a sensor 151, for example.

The sensor 151 detects the storage amount of the discharge material in the discharge material tank 15. The sensor 151 outputs the detection result to the control device 50 described later. For example, when the sensor 151 detects a shortage of the storage amount of the discharge material in the discharge material tank 15, the discharge material in the main tank 21 (second tank) is replenished to the discharge material tank 15 through the liquid feeding tube 13b.

The liquid supply tube 13 b is a tube having one end connected to the discharge material tank 15 in order to supply the discharge material of the main tank 21 described later to the discharge material tank 15.

The second liquid supply mechanism 16 supplies the discharge material from the main tank 21 to the discharge material tank 15 through the liquid supply tube 13b in order to replenish the discharge material tank 15 with the discharge material. As the second liquid feeding mechanism 16, the same pump as the first liquid feeding mechanism 14 may be used, but in this embodiment, for example, a pump having a larger capacity than the first liquid feeding mechanism 14 is used.

Next, the main tank device 20 will be described with reference to FIG. The main tank device 20 includes a main tank 21 (second tank), a grounding mechanism 22, and an insulator 23.

The main tank 21 stores the discharge material to be replenished to the discharge material tank 15. The main tank 21 is provided on the insulator 23 outside the housing 10a. The main tank 21 is replaced when there is no more discharged material to store.

For example, the main tank 21 may be integrated with the insulator 23 and placed on a cart having a caster for conveyance. As will be described later, the insulator 23 is an insulator that insulates the main tank 21 from the ground.

The main tank 21 is connected to a liquid feeding tube 21a to which one end of the second coupler 171b of the connection coupler 17 is connected.

The liquid feeding tube 21 a is a tube connected to the main tank 21. When the connection coupler 17 is connected, the liquid supply tube 21 a is coupled to the liquid supply tube 13 b via the connection coupler 17 in order to send the discharge material of the main tank 21 to the discharge material tank 15.

The grounding mechanism 22 is a switching mechanism that insulates the main tank 21 from the ground (insulated state) or connects to the ground (ground state). The grounding mechanism 22 brings the main tank 21 into an insulating state when the first and

second couplers

171a and 171b are connected, that is, when the discharge material of the main tank 21 is replenished to the discharge material tank.

The grounding mechanism 22 sets the main tank 21 to the ground state when the first and

second couplers

171a and 171b are separated from each other, that is, when the replenishment of the discharge material to the discharge material tank 15 is stopped.

The insulator 23 is an insulator 23 that insulates the main tank 21 from the ground. Since the main tank 21 is provided on the insulator 23, it is not connected to the ground through the installation surface (for example, the floor surface). That is, when the main tank 21 is switched to the insulated state by the grounding mechanism 22, the main tank 21 is surely insulated from the installation surface.

For example, when the discharge material is replenished to the discharge material tank 15 during discharge of the discharge material by the discharge head 11, the main tank 21 is switched to the insulated state by the grounding mechanism 22. At the time of switching, the main tank 21 is reliably insulated from the installation surface by providing the insulator 23.

It should be noted that the main tank 22 is surrounded by a safety fence 24 around it. The safety fence 24 is provided with a door 25 for taking in and out the main tank 22.

Next, the grounding mechanism 17 will be described. The connection mechanism 17 is a mechanism that fluidly connects the main tank 21 and the discharge material tank 15. The connection mechanism 17 includes a connection coupler 171 and a connection auxiliary mechanism 30. The connection coupler 171 and the connection auxiliary mechanism 30 will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view showing the connection coupler 171 and the connection auxiliary mechanism 30 of the connection mechanism 17. As shown in FIG. 2, the connection coupler 171 includes first and

second couplers

171a and 171b and supports 172a and 172b.

The first coupler 171a is a connection part on the discharge material tank 15 side. The first coupler 171a is connected to the discharge material tank 15 via the liquid feeding tube 13b. Specifically, the other end of the liquid feeding tube 13b is connected to the first coupler 171a.

The second coupler 171b is a connection part on the main tank 21 side. The second coupler 171b is connected to the main tank 21 via a later-described liquid feeding tube 21a. Specifically, one end of the liquid feeding tube 21a is connected to the second coupler 171b.

The

supports

172a and 172b support the first and

second couplers

171a and 171b. The

supports

172a and 172b move in the direction in which the first and

second couplers

171a and 171b are connected and separated (left and right in FIG. 2) when the drive unit included in the connection mechanism 17 operates. That is, the

supports

172a and 172b support the first and

second couplers

171a and 171b so that they can be connected and separated. When the connection mechanism 17 operates, the first and

second couplers

171a and 171b are connected and separated.

The connection assist mechanism 30 prevents the discharge between the first and

second couplers

171a and 171b when the first and

second couplers

171a and 171b are connected. That is, the connection assist mechanism 30 sets the first and

second couplers

171a and 171b to the same potential before the first and

second couplers

171a and 171b are connected. The connection assist mechanism 30 includes an electric probe 31 and a partition wall 32.

The electric probe 31 includes first and

second contacts

31a and 31b, a biasing member 31c, and a main body 31d.

The first contact 31a is connected to the first coupler 171a via the support 172a. Specifically, the first contact 31a is fixed to the support 172a. Accordingly, the first contact 31a moves together with the first coupler 171a in the connecting and separating directions of the first coupler 171a. The first contact 31a is connected to the second contact 31b when the first and

second couplers

171a and 171b are connected. The first contact 31a is separated from the second contact 31b when the first and

second couplers

171a and 171b are separated. As will be described later, the connection and separation timings of the first contact 31a and the second contact 31b are different from the connection and separation timings of the first and

second couplers

171a and 171b.

The second contact 31b is connected to the second coupler 171b via the main body 31d and the support 172b. Specifically, the second contact 31b is provided at one end of the main body 31d. One end of the main body 31d protrudes from the end face of the second coupler 171b toward the first coupler 171a (rightward in FIG. 2) with respect to the second coupler 171b. Accordingly, the separation distance when the first and

second contactors

31a and 31b are separated is shorter than the separation distance when the first and

second couplers

171a and 171b are separated.

Further, the main body 31d is provided on the support 172a so as to be movable in the connecting and separating directions via the biasing member 31c. The biasing member 31c may be a member having elasticity such as a spring, for example. The biasing member 31c biases the second contact 31b in the direction in which the first and

second contacts

31a and 31b are connected (rightward in FIG. 2). Therefore, the second contactor 31b and the main body 31d move together with the second coupler 171b in the connection and separation direction of the second coupler 171b. The second contact 31b is connected to the first contact 31a when the first and

second couplers

171a and 171b are connected. Specifically, when the first and

second contacts

31a and 31b are connected, the second contact 31b is connected in the direction in which the first coupler 171a is connected to the second coupler 171b (for example, in the left direction in FIG. 2). It is pushed by the first contact 31a against the urging force of the urging member 31c. The first contact 31a continues to push the second contact 31b until the first and

second couplers

171a and 171b are connected and then separated.

Note that the first contact 31a is electrically connected to the first coupler 171a via the support 172a. For example, the first contact 31a and the support 171a are formed of a conductive member. The second contact 31b is electrically connected to the second coupler 171b via the main body 31d and the support 172b. For example, the second contact 31b, the main body 31d, and the support 171b are formed of a conductive member.

The partition wall 32 of the connection auxiliary mechanism 30 has a space on the side of the first and

second contacts

31a, 31b and the first and second contacts when at least the first and

second contacts

31a, 31b move to connect. The space on the

couplers

171a and 171b side is shielded.

The partition wall 32 includes, for example, a pair of shielding plates 32a and 32b fixed to the

supports

172a and 172b. The shielding plates 32a and 32b protrude from the end surfaces of the first and

second couplers

171a and 171b in the direction in which the first and

second couplers

171a and 171b are connected to the first and

second couplers

171a and 171b. The shielding plates 32a and 32b move with the movement of the

supports

172a and 172b, but are fixed to the

supports

172a and 172b alternately, for example, so as not to interfere with each other's movement.

Next, the connection and separation operation of the connection coupler 171 by the connection mechanism 17 and the discharge prevention operation of the connection auxiliary mechanism 30 included in the contact and separation mechanism 17 will be described.

When connecting the connection coupler 171, the connection mechanism 17 moves the

supports

172a and 172b in the direction in which the first and

second couplers

171a and 171b are connected. When the

supports

172a and 172b move, the first and

second contacts

31a and 31b of the connection assisting mechanism 30 are connected before the first and

second couplers

171a and 171b are connected, and then the first and

second Couplers

171a and 171b are connected.

By connecting the first and

second contacts

31a and 31b, the first and

second couplers

171a and 171b are set to the same potential before being connected to each other. Therefore, when the first and

second couplers

171a and 171b are connected, discharge between the first and

second couplers

171a and 171b is prevented.

Further, the partition wall 32 shields the space on the first and

second contactors

31a, 31b side and the space on the first and

second couplers

171a, 171b side. Accordingly, when the first and

second contactors

31a and 31b are connected, even if a discharge occurs between the first and

second contactors

31a and 31b, the spark caused by this discharge causes the first and

second couplers

171a and 171b. Scattering between them is prevented by the partition wall 32. That is, the spark can be isolated by the partition wall 32 even in an environment where the solvent of the discharge material is volatilized. Thereby, it can prevent that a spark ignites to a solvent.

When separating the connection coupler 171, the connection mechanism 17 moves the

supports

172a and 172b in the direction in which the first and

second couplers

171a and 171b are separated. When the

supports

172a and 172b move, the first and

second couplers

171a and 171b are separated first, and then the first and

second contacts

31a and 31b are separated.

When connecting and separating the connection coupler 171, the connection mechanism 17 moves both the

supports

172a and 172b, but this is an example operation and is not limited. For example, the connection mechanism 17 may move only one of the

supports

172a and 172b.

Next, the control configuration of the electrospinning apparatus 10 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a control configuration of the electrospinning apparatus 10. As shown in FIG. 3, the electrospinning apparatus 10 has a control device 50.

The control device 50 is connected to the high voltage generator 12, the first liquid feeding mechanism 14, the second liquid feeding mechanism 16, the connection mechanism 17, the grounding mechanism 22, and the sensor 151 described above.

The control device 50 includes a processor 51 and a memory 52. The processor 51 includes, for example, a CPU or MPU. The memory 52 includes a ROM 52a and a RAM 52b.

The processor 51 controls the overall operation of the electrospinning apparatus 10. The ROM 52a stores a control program for a control operation by the processor 51, for example. The RAM 52b provides a work area for developing, for example, a control program read from the ROM 52a.

For example, the processor 51 reads the control program stored in the ROM 52a and expands the control program in the RAM 52b. The processor 51 controls the discharge operation of the discharge material from the discharge head 11 by controlling the high voltage generator 12, the first liquid feeding mechanism 14, and the like according to the control program.

Hereinafter, control of the discharge operation of the discharge material by the processor 51 will be described. In addition, in order to simplify description, it is assumed that a sufficient discharge material is stored in the discharge material tank 15. Accordingly, it is assumed that the connection coupler 171 is separated by the connection mechanism 17 and the main tank 21 is switched to the ground state by the ground mechanism 22.

Further, the processor 51 controls the high voltage generator 12 to apply a high voltage to the ejection head 11. When a high voltage is applied to the ejection head 11, a potential difference is generated between the ejection head 11 and the collector 18, and an electric field is generated by this potential difference.

Next, the processor 51 operates the first liquid feeding mechanism 14 to feed the discharge material in the discharge material tank 15 to the discharge head 11. When the ejection material is fed to the ejection head 11, ejection of the ejection material from the ejection head 11 is started by the electric field between the ejection head 11 and the collector 18.

On the other hand, when stopping the discharge of the discharge material from the discharge head 11, the processor 51 stops the operation of the first liquid feeding mechanism 14. When the operation of the first liquid feeding mechanism 14 is stopped, the liquid feeding of the discharge material from the discharge material tank 15 to the discharge head 11 is stopped.

Next, the processor 51 controls the high voltage generator 12 to stop the high voltage application to the ejection head 11. Thereby, the discharge of the discharge material from the discharge head 11 is stopped.

Next, control of the replenishment operation of the discharge material to the discharge material tank 15 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the control of the discharge material replenishment operation by the processor 51.

The control of the replenishment operation of the discharge material described below is an example of the control when the discharge material is replenished during the discharge of the discharge material from the discharge head 11.

First, in step S1 shown in FIG. 4, the processor 51 determines whether or not the discharge material tank 15 needs to be replenished with the discharge material. This determination is made based on the detection result of the sensor 151.

If it is determined that the discharge material tank 15 needs to be replenished with the discharge material (YES in step S1), the processing by the processor 51 proceeds to step S2. In step S2, the processor 51 operates the grounding mechanism 22 to switch the main tank 21 to the insulated state.

Next, in step S3, the processor 51 operates the connection mechanism 17. The connection mechanism 17 connects the first and

second couplers

171a and 171b of the connection coupler 171.

Next, in step S4, the processor 51 operates the second liquid feeding mechanism 16. The second liquid feeding mechanism 16 starts replenishment of the discharge material by feeding the discharge material from the main tank 21 to the discharge material tank 15.

Next, in step S5, the processor 51 determines whether or not to stop the replenishment of the discharged material. This determination is made based on the detection result of the sensor 151. That is, the processor 51 determines that the replenishment of the discharge material should be stopped by recognizing that the replenishment of the discharge material is completed based on the detection result of the sensor 151.

For example, in step S5, the processor 51 determines that the replenishment of the discharge material should be stopped by recognizing that the remaining storage amount of the discharge material in the main tank 21 is small. The remaining storage amount of the discharged material in the main tank 21 is detected by a sensor (not shown), for example.

If it is determined that the replenishment of the discharged material should be stopped (YES in step S5), the processing by processor 51 proceeds to step S6. In step S <b> 6, the processor 51 stops the operation of the second liquid feeding mechanism 16. The second liquid feeding mechanism 16 stops the delivery of the discharge material from the main tank 21 to the discharge material tank 15.

Next, in step S7, the processor 51 operates the connection mechanism 17. The connection mechanism 17 separates the first and

second couplers

171a and 171b of the connection coupler 171.

Next, in step S8, the processor 51 operates the grounding mechanism 22 to switch the main tank 21 to the ground state.

In step S8, when the main tank 21 is switched to the ground state, the control of the replenishment operation of the discharged material by the processor 51 ends.

In step S8, when the main tank 21 is switched to the ground state, the main tank 21 can be replaced.

According to the above-described embodiment, the electrospinning apparatus 10 has the connection mechanism 17 that fluidly connects the discharge material tank 15 and the main tank 21.

The connection mechanism 17 fluidly connects the discharge material tank 15 and the main tank 21 when the discharge material is replenished from the main tank 21 to the discharge material tank 15. For example, the connection mechanism 17 fluidly connects the discharge material tank 15 and the main tank 21 to the sensor 151 of the discharge material tank 15 based on the detection result.

According to the embodiment, the electrospinning apparatus 10 includes the grounding mechanism 22 that switches the main tank 21 from the ground state to the insulating state when the discharge material tank 15 is supplemented with the discharge material from the main tank 21.

Furthermore, the grounding mechanism 22 switches the main tank 21 from the insulated state to the ground state when stopping the replenishment of the discharged material from the main tank 21 to the discharged material tank 15.

Therefore, according to the embodiment, it is possible to provide an electrospinning apparatus that can automatically replenish the discharge material during discharge of the discharge material.

As mentioned above, although some embodiment of this invention was illustrated, these embodiment is shown as an example and is not intending limiting the range of invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, changes, and the like can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the claims and equivalents thereof. Further, the above-described embodiments can be implemented in combination with each other.

Claims

A discharge head for discharging a discharge material;
A first tank for storing the discharge material;
A second tank for storing the discharge material to be replenished in the first tank;
A connection mechanism for fluidly connecting and / or separating between the first tank and the second tank;
An electrospinning apparatus.
The connection mechanism includes a first coupler connected to the first tank and a second coupler connected to the second tank, and the discharge material is supplied from the second tank to the first tank. When replenishing, the first coupler and the second coupler are connected to each other, and when the replenishment of the discharge material from the second tank to the first tank is stopped, the first coupler and the second coupler The electrospinning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the electrospinning apparatus is separated from the tank.
A first contactor electrically connected to the first coupler; and a second contactor electrically connected to the second coupler; the first coupler and the second coupler; A connection assisting mechanism for connecting the first contactor and the second contactor to make the first coupler and the second coupler the same potential before connecting the first contactor and the second contactor. The electrospinning apparatus described.
The said connection assistance mechanism has a partition which shields the space where the said 1st coupler and the said 2nd coupler connect, and the space where the said 1st contactor and the said 2nd contactor connect. Electrospinning device.
5. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a grounding mechanism that switches the second tank from a ground state to an insulating state when the discharge material is replenished from the second tank to the first tank. Electrospinning device.
The electrospinning apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the grounding mechanism switches the second tank from an insulated state to a ground state when stopping the replenishment of the discharge material from the second tank to the first tank.
The electrospinning apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the second tank is provided on an insulator.