JP6741317B2 - Nanofiber manufacturing apparatus and nanofiber manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a nanofiber manufacturing apparatus and a nanofiber manufacturing method capable of providing high-quality nanofibers with a simple configuration.

In recent years, with the expansion of applications of nano-order diameter fibers, so-called nanofibers, demand is rapidly increasing. With the expansion of its uses, nanofibers are required to have high quality and special ones according to the use. In addition, various known methods such as electrospinning method and melt blow method are known for producing nanofibers, and each method has advantages and disadvantages.

As the background art described above, Patent Document 1 discloses a method for manufacturing a non-woven fabric made of a plurality of types of fibers, in which melt-blown fibers are mixed with solution discharge fibers. Specifically, the spinning solution discharged from the liquid discharge part is discharged by the gas discharged from the gas discharge part by the solution spinning means, and the spinning solution is discharged into a fiber to discharge the solution discharged fiber from the nozzle by the melt blow method. The meltblown fibers are mixed in the fiber stream.

Non-Patent Document 1 discloses a method for producing nanofibers by an electrospinning method. In Non-Patent Document 1, in the production of nanofibers by an electrospinning method, which conventionally required a solvent for swelling a resin, by performing swelling by heat without using a solvent, it is possible to ignite when a solvent is used. A structure for preventing an explosion is disclosed. At the same time, the disadvantages of the nanofiber manufacturing method by the melt blow method are described in detail.

JP, 2010-185153, A

WEB-Journal No. 151 Special Issue on Nonwoven Fabric (http://www.webj.co.jp/index.html)

As described in Non-Patent Document 1 described above, in order to reduce the fiber diameter in the conventional method for producing nanofibers by the melt-blowing method, a method of ejecting high-temperature air at a high speed and a low polymer discharge are used. A possible method is to suppress it, but when high-temperature air is jetted at high speed, the fiber diameter becomes thin, but the fiber length becomes short and becomes chopped, while when the polymer discharge is suppressed to a low level, The production amount was significantly reduced, and in any case, it was difficult to mass-produce high-quality nanofibers. On the other hand, although the electrospinning method improves the productivity, the apparatus becomes complicated, and it is necessary to take measures against ignition and explosion, resulting in an increase in manufacturing cost.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, in the melt-blown method of manufacturing nanofibers, it is possible to supply a large amount of good quality nanofibers, further safety by eliminating the factors of ignition and explosion An object of the present invention is to provide an improved nanofiber manufacturing method and nanofiber manufacturing apparatus.

Nanofiber manufacturing apparatus using the dissolution raw material of the present invention,
A nanofiber manufacturing apparatus for forming a nanofiber from a dissolved raw material by ejecting a dissolved raw material in which a solid raw material or a liquid raw material is dissolved in advance in a predetermined solvent to a predetermined concentration from a head portion hand,
The dissolution raw material is provided with a solvent reservoir having a function of pushing out a predetermined pressure, the solvent supply hose and the gas injection unit are connected to the head unit, the head unit, from the gas injection unit A gas flow path and a gas injection port that are the flow paths of the supplied gas are provided,
Further, similarly, the head portion is provided with a resin flow passage which is a flow passage for the dissolution raw material, and the resin flow passage is connected to a resin discharge means,
The structure of the resin discharge means is composed of a resin discharge needle that is a discharge port for the molten raw material, and a resin discharge needle mounting portion,
In addition, the head portion is provided with a resin ejection means holding plate portion, and the resin ejection means holding plate portion is attached to the head portion so that the ejection angle of the resin ejection needle can be freely adjusted.

The method for producing nanofibers according to the present invention is a nanofiber for producing nanofibers by discharging liquid raw materials from the discharge ports of a plurality of liquid raw material discharge units with respect to a high pressure gas flow discharged from the discharge ports of the high pressure gas discharge unit. In the fiber manufacturing method, the discharge port of the liquid raw material discharge unit is arranged so as to be retracted by a predetermined retreat distance a with respect to the position of the jet port of the high-pressure gas jetting unit. The discharge raw material discharged from the discharge port of the liquid raw material discharge means is arranged so as to intersect at a position retracted by a predetermined receding distance b from the discharge port of the high pressure gas discharge means. When the liquid raw material is discharged from the plural liquid raw material discharging means arranged around the jetted high pressure gas flow, the discharge angle of the liquid raw material from the liquid raw material discharging means to the high pressure gas flow is set. It is characterized by adjusting.

According to the present invention, nanofibers having a smaller diameter and high quality can be safely produced. Further, in manufacturing the nanofibers, it is possible to supplement the production amount per unit time, which was considered to be a disadvantage of the melt-blowing method, by providing a plurality of resin discharging means without using an apparatus using a high voltage. ..

It is the side view which carried out the one part cross section which shows the whole structure of Example 1 of the nanofiber manufacturing apparatus of this invention. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the appearance of the head unit and the heating cylinder in the nanofiber manufacturing apparatus as Example 1 of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an external front view showing the tip of the head portion in the nanofiber manufacturing apparatus as the embodiment of the present invention. It is sectional drawing in the AA line of the nanofiber manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing in each of the BB line, CC line, and DD line of the nanofiber manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the resin flow path and gas flow path in a head part in the nanofiber manufacturing apparatus as Example 1 of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the (a) example of a support structure of the resin discharge means in the nanofiber manufacturing apparatus as Example 1 of this invention, and the other example of the support structure of the (b) resin discharge means. It is a side view which shows the whole structure of Example 2 of the nanofiber manufacturing apparatus of this invention. It is a top view which shows the whole structure of Example 2 of the nanofiber manufacturing apparatus of this invention. It is a front view which shows the head part structure of Example 2 of the nanofiber manufacturing apparatus of this invention. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the basic invention concept of the nanofiber manufacturing apparatus and nanofiber manufacturing method of this invention.

The nanofiber manufacturing apparatus of the present invention is a nanofiber manufacturing apparatus provided with a liquid material discharge means for discharging a liquid material to a high-pressure gas stream jetted from a high-pressure gas jet means, wherein the liquid raw material discharge means is A plurality of high-pressure gas streams ejected from the high-pressure gas ejection means are arranged at the center.

Further, in the nanofiber manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, the liquid raw material discharging means includes an extruding means for melting and extruding the raw material.

Further, in the nanofiber manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, the liquid raw material discharge means includes means for supplying a melting raw material.

Further, in the nanofiber manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, the high-pressure gas jetting means is provided with gas supply means for supplying high-pressure and high-temperature gas, and the high-pressure gas jetting means jets high-temperature gas at high pressure.

Further, the nanofiber manufacturing apparatus of the present invention is provided with an angle adjusting means capable of adjusting an installation angle of the liquid raw material discharge means with respect to the high pressure gas flow ejected from the high pressure gas ejecting means.

Further, in the nanofiber manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, at least two liquid raw material discharge means are arranged symmetrically with respect to the high pressure gas jetting means.

Further, in the nanofiber manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, the liquid raw material discharge means is arranged at equal intervals around the high pressure gas flow ejected from the high pressure gas ejection means.

Further, in the nanofiber manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, the high-pressure gas flow jetted from the high-pressure gas jetting unit is installed in a direction perpendicular to the installation surface of the nanofiber manufacturing apparatus.

The nanofiber manufacturing method of the present invention is a nanofiber manufacturing method for manufacturing nanofibers by discharging a liquid raw material from a liquid raw material discharging means with respect to a high-pressure gas stream jetted from a high-pressure gas jetting means, A liquid raw material for the high-pressure gas flow from the liquid raw material discharge means when the liquid raw material is discharged from the plurality of liquid raw material discharge means arranged around the high-pressure gas flow jetted from the gas jetting means. Adjust the discharge angle of.

Further, the nanofiber manufacturing method of the present invention comprises a heating cylinder to which a raw material is supplied, a heating means for heating the heating cylinder, and an extrusion device for pushing the raw material out of the heating cylinder. A method for producing nanofibers using the above, wherein the end of the heating cylinder is provided with a gas ejection port for injecting a high-pressure gas, and the raw material in a molten state in the heating cylinder is provided around the gas ejection port. A plurality of raw material discharging means for discharging the raw material are provided, and the heating cylinder is heated by the heating means to melt the raw material supplied to the inside of the heating cylinder or maintain the molten state of the raw material, and the raw material is discharged by the extruder. A gas is discharged from the raw material discharge means, and an air flow is generated by the gas injected from the gas ejection port, and the discharged raw material is placed on the air flow of the ejected gas from the outer periphery to be elongated and formed into a nano-order diameter fiber.

Modes for carrying out the present invention will be described below. Of course, it is needless to say that the present invention can be easily applied to configurations other than those described in the present embodiment without departing from the spirit of the invention.

The present invention forms a nanofiber by supplying a liquid raw material to a fluid (preferably a gaseous fluid) ejected at high pressure, but in the present specification, the composition is not particularly specified and The term "gas" includes a gas having any composition and molecular structure. Further, in the specification of the present application, the "raw material" means all materials at the time of molding the nanofibers, and in the following examples, an example using a synthetic resin as the "raw material" will be described. The composition is not limited to this, and various composition materials may be used. In addition, in the present specification, the term "liquid raw material" does not limit that the raw material is in a liquid state, and an example in which a solid raw material is melted and extruded by an extruder to form a nanofiber Including the "melting raw material" applied to No. 1, a solid raw material or a liquid raw material is dissolved in advance in a predetermined solvent so as to have a predetermined concentration, and it is fed by an appropriate means and discharged from the discharge port. It includes the "melting raw material" applied to Example 2 for forming nanofibers by discharging or extruding. That is, the "liquid raw material" in the present invention is required to have a property that the viscosity is such that the "raw material" can be supplied (jetted, discharged) from the supply port (jet port, discharge port). Therefore, in the present invention, the “raw material” having such a liquid property is referred to as a “liquid raw material”.

Although the details will be described later, the concept of the basic invention common to the nanofiber manufacturing apparatus and the nanofiber manufacturing method described as the first and second embodiments of the present invention is, as shown in FIG. The discharge means 73a, which is provided with 71 and discharges a plurality of liquid raw materials around the high pressure gas flow 90 jetted from the high pressure gas jetting means 71, has a variable installation angle. That is, the supply angle θ of the liquid material with respect to the high pressure gas flow 90 is variable. As shown in FIG. 11, the basic concept of the present invention is that a discharge means 73a for discharging a liquid material is arranged at a supply angle θ with respect to a center line 91 of a high pressure gas flow 90, and a plurality of discharge means 73a are provided. The discharged liquid material to be supplied is disposed toward the center line 91 of the high pressure gas flow 90. It is preferable that the discharged liquid raw materials discharged and supplied from the plurality of discharging means 73a are arranged so as to intersect with each other on the center line 91.

In FIG. 11, the arrangement state of each constituent element is as described above, and the positional relationship is as follows. If these are expressed by a positional relationship in which the high-pressure gas is ejected 71 (opening nozzle) as a reference and retracted to the downstream side thereof, a is the material ejection port retreat distance from the ejection port of the ejection means 73a. Yes, b is the retreat distance of the position where the discharge raw material from the discharge port of the discharge means 73a intersects, c is the opening diameter of the discharge port of the discharge means 73a, and d is the gas jet separation distance.
Here, with respect to the center line 91 of the high-pressure gas flow 90, the supply angle of the discharge means 73a for discharging the liquid material is arranged at θ.
tan θ=d/(b−a) (1)
The raw material supply tangent angle θ represented by is adjustable in the range of 0°<θ<90°. As an example, when the material discharge port retreat distance a=30 mm, the discharge port opening diameter=2 mm, the gas discharge port separation distance d=7 mm, and the pressure of the jetted high-pressure gas is about 0.15 MPa, θ=20°±10° desirable.

As described above, the raw material supply tangent angle θ should be determined by the raw material discharge outlet retreat distance a, the discharge raw material crossing position retreat distance b, the gas jet separation distance d, and the high pressure gas jet opening diameter c. And the relationship with the pressure and temperature of the jetted high-pressure gas.

In the nanofiber manufacturing apparatus and the nanofiber manufacturing method of Example 1 of the present invention, the pellet-shaped raw material (resin) to be fed into the hopper is fed into the heating cylinder heated by the heater to be melted, and then the motor is used. It is delivered in front of the heating cylinder by a rotating screw. The heating cylinder is provided with a head portion, and high-pressure gas is ejected from a gas ejection port formed at the center of the head portion. The liquid molten raw material (molten resin) that has reached the tip of the heating cylinder is supplied to the liquid molten raw material (molten resin) of a plurality of ultrafine tubes arranged downstream of the gas ejection means via the inside of the head part. It is supplied (discharged) from the means (discharge means). The liquid melted raw material discharge means of a plurality of ultrafine tubes are evenly arranged around the gas ejection port arranged at the center. As a result, the molten resin discharged from the liquid molten raw material discharging means is stretched to form fibers of nano-order diameter.

In the nanofiber manufacturing apparatus and the nanofiber manufacturing method of Example 2 of the present invention, the high-pressure gas is ejected from the gas ejection port formed mainly, and the downstream of the liquid soluble raw material ejection means It is discharged from the liquid-soluble-melting-material discharge means of a plurality of ultrafine tubes arranged on the side.

Hereinafter, the overall configuration of the nanofiber manufacturing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

As a first embodiment of the present invention, a nanofiber manufacturing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes a hopper 2 for introducing a resin (granular synthetic resin having a fine particle diameter) as a raw material of nanofibers into the nanofiber manufacturing apparatus 1. , A heating cylinder 3 for receiving and supplying a resin from the hopper 2 to heat and melt the resin, a heater 4 as a heating means for heating the heating cylinder from the outside, and a heating cylinder 3 rotatably housed in the heating cylinder 3. By doing so, a screw 5 as an extruding device for moving the molten resin to the tip of the heating cylinder 3, a motor 6 as a driving means for rotating the screw 5 via a connecting portion 61 (details not shown), It is provided at the tip of the heating cylinder 3 and has a resin ejection means for ejecting a molten resin, which will be described later, from the surroundings, and a gas ejection port 71 (opening nozzle) for ejecting gaseous hot air from the center. And a cylindrical head portion 7. High-pressure gas is supplied to the cylindrical head portion 7 via a pipe 81 connected to a gas pipe portion 8 serving as a gas supply pipe in order to inject the jet gas from the central portion. The gas pipe section 8 is provided with a heating unit (not shown) such as a heater, and is configured to inject hot air from the gas ejection port 71 (opening nozzle). The head portion 7 and the heating cylinder 3 are connected to each other via a seal portion 9 such as an O-ring or a donut-shaped sheet member, so that the molten resin does not leak out of the apparatus.

The plurality of heaters 4 arranged on the outer periphery of the heating cylinder 3 are configured so that the temperature can be controlled individually or collectively by a control unit (not shown). In the present embodiment, four heaters 4 are arranged as shown in FIG. 1, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the material and properties of the resin to be used, the diameter and length of the heating cylinder 3, etc. Depending on various conditions, the number of installations may be changed, the size of each heater may be changed, and the arrangement conditions may be changed appropriately.

2 is a plan view of the nanofiber manufacturing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a front view thereof. 4 to 6 are explanatory views showing the structure of the head portion 7.

As shown in FIG. 3, a pipe 81 to which high-pressure gas is supplied from the outer periphery of the heating cylinder 3 via a gas pipe portion 8 is connected to the head portion 7 as an embodiment of the present invention. The high-pressure gas from the pipe 81 is introduced into the inside of the head portion 7 and is ejected from a gas ejection port 71 (opening nozzle: FIG. 3) formed in the central portion. Around the gas ejection port 71, a plurality of resin ejection means 73 are arranged at equal intervals. In this embodiment, the resin ejection means 73 is composed of a resin ejection needle 73a and a resin ejection needle attachment portion 73b having a structure for attaching the resin ejection needle 73a to the head portion 7.

The head portion 7 shown in FIG. 3 includes a heating cylinder cover portion 77 that covers the tip portion of the heating cylinder 3, and a resin discharging means holding ring portion 78 that holds the resin discharging means 73. The resin discharging means retaining ring portion 78 is fixed to the heating cylinder cover portion 77 by fixing means (not shown) such as bolts.

When a plurality of resin ejection means 73 are arranged around the gas ejection port 71 (opening nozzle) by the resin ejection means retaining ring portion 78, the plurality of resin ejection means 73 are equidistant and equidistant (from the gas ejection port). By providing the distance a) or an equal angle (ejection angle θ), the production amount of nanofibers having a uniform diameter and fiber length can be significantly improved.

Here, the positional relationship between the gas ejection port 71 (opening nozzle) and the resin ejection means 73 arranged around the gas ejection port 71 will be described with reference to FIG. It is ejected by a gas flow 90 ejected from a gas ejection port 71 arranged at the center of the head portion 7. A plurality of resin ejecting means 73 arranged around the gas flow 90 are provided, and the gas flow ejected from the ejection port 71 at the ejection angle θ from the resin ejection needle 73a as the resin ejection port. It is discharged toward 90. The resin discharge port of the resin discharge needle 73a is arranged in front of the jet port 71 by a distance a (downstream side along the gas flow 90 from the jet port 71). Each of the resin discharge ports of the plurality of resin discharge needles 73a is discharged so that the discharge resin intersects a distance b from the jet port 71 toward the front (downstream side along the gas flow 90 from the jet port 71). It

By varying the number of resin ejection means 73, the arrangement interval, the arrangement distance (distance a from the gas ejection port), and the arrangement angle (θ) as the arrangement conditions of the plurality of resin ejection means 73, a non-uniform diameter or fiber length is obtained. Nanofibers with can also be formed. Therefore, the arrangement conditions such as the arrangement interval of the resin ejection means 73 may be appropriately selected and changed according to the application of the nanofiber to be manufactured.

4 is a cross-sectional view of the head portion 7 of FIG. 3 taken along the line AA, and FIGS. 5A, 5B, and 5C are main portions of the head portion 7 of FIG. , C-C cross-section, DD cross-section). Further, FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a high-pressure gas channel A and a molten resin channel B. As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, six resin flow paths 75 (arrows B in the drawings) corresponding to the resin ejection means 73 are formed inside the head portion 7 at equal intervals. The resin discharge means 73 is connected to the heating cylinder 3 via a resin flow path 75. The molten resin pressed by the rotation of the screw 5 flows into the resin channel 75 shown by the DD sectional view of FIG. 5C, and passes through the resin channel 75 shown by the CC sectional view to the B- It flows into the inside of the resin discharge needle mounting portion 73b shown by the B sectional view, and is discharged from the resin discharge needle 73a. At that time, as shown in FIG. 4, the gas flow path 72 (arrow A in the drawing) is formed in the center of the head portion 7 so as not to interfere with the resin flow path 75 (arrow B in the drawing). As shown in the C-C cross-sectional view of FIG. 5B, it is formed by passing between any adjacent resin flow paths 75 and changing the direction from the outer side to the inner side of the head portion 7. The high-pressure gas has the gas pipe portion 8 connected to the gas flow path 72 via a pipe 81. The high-pressure and high-temperature gas supplied by the gas injection unit 8 is injected from the gas injection port 71 (opening nozzle) through the gas flow path 72 formed in this way. Thus, the resin flow path 75 and the gas flow path 72 are formed so as not to interfere with each other in the head portion 7. Reference numeral 79 in FIG. 7B is a screw portion 79 when the pipe (gas passage) 81 is attached to the heating cylinder cover portion 77.

In order to adjust the arrangement condition of the resin discharging means 73 with respect to the gas flow path 72, the holding adjusting means 74 of the resin discharging means 73 is provided. However, the diameter of the resin discharge port of the resin discharge needle 73a of the resin discharge means 73 is very small, and it is very susceptible to stress such as the vibration of the device and the pressure of the resin. It may change or may be detached from the head unit 7. Therefore, it is necessary to prevent the resin ejection needle 73a from being stressed even when the angle of the resin ejection port 74 is adjusted and changed, and to make the resin ejection needle 73a not detach from the head portion 7.

FIG. 7A is an explanatory diagram showing a support structure by the resin discharge port support portion 74 for fixing the resin discharge means 73 to the resin discharge means holding ring portion 78 and adjusting the mounting angle thereof. .. The resin discharge means 73 is composed of a resin discharge needle 73a and a resin discharge needle mounting portion 73b, and the resin discharge needle mounting portion 73b is made of resin of the head portion 7 by suitable fixing means such as screwing, engaging, and pin not shown. It is fixed to the ejection means holding ring portion 78. A resin ejection port support portion 74 is provided on the resin ejection needle 73a. The resin ejection port support portion 74 is provided so as to penetrate the resin ejection needle gripping portion 74a so as to grasp the resin ejection needle 73a from the surroundings and the outside of the head portion 7 to the inside thereof as shown in FIG. The adjusting means 74b is provided with an adjusting rod 74c that can move forward and backward. By operating the adjusting means 74b, the adjusting rod 74c is advanced and retracted, and the resin discharge needle gripping portion 74a is moved in the radial direction of the head portion 7, thereby fixing the resin discharge needle 73a at a desired position and angle. can do. With such a resin discharge port support portion 74, the resin discharge means 73 can adjust the discharged molten resin so as to discharge the molten resin at a desired discharge angle with respect to the jet gas flow from the gas jet port 71. It can be fixed securely.

According to this configuration, it is useful as a means for adjusting the discharge angle of the molten resin with respect to the jetted gas flow, and the resin discharge needle 73a has a very thin tubular shape, and the tip thereof is in operation of the nanofiber manufacturing apparatus 1. However, there is a fear that the motor 6 or the screw 5 may vibrate significantly, but the resin discharge port support portion 74 can also effectively suppress this vibration. In addition, in FIG. 2 of the present embodiment, the number of the resin discharge means 73 is six, and six resin discharge port support portions 74 are provided together, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the resin used, the production amount, and the like. The number may be appropriately selected according to the conditions such as product characteristics.

FIG. 7B shows another example of the angle adjusting function of the resin discharging unit 73. Also in this embodiment, the resin discharge port support portion 74 is provided with a resin discharge needle gripping portion 74d so as to grip the resin discharge needle 73a from the surroundings, and is capable of advancing and retracting provided from the outside to the inside of the head portion 7. And an adjusting means (not shown) provided with an adjusting rod 74e. Even in this case, by operating the adjusting means, the adjusting rod 74e is moved back and forth, and the resin discharge needle gripping portion 74d moves in the radial direction of the head portion 7, whereby the resin discharging needle 73a is moved to a desired position. It can be fixed at an angle. At that time, the resin discharge needle mounting portion 73c is formed into a spherical shape or a cylindrical shape, and the sliding surface 76 that allows the resin discharge needle mounting portion 73c to rotate and rotate is provided with the resin discharging means holding ring portion 78 of the head portion 7. It is possible to easily adjust the angle of the resin ejection needle 73a by forming the resin ejection needle mounting portion 73c and attaching the resin ejection needle mounting portion 73c. As a result, the angle of the resin ejection means 73 can be adjusted without the risk of the resin ejection needle 73a falling off.

Note that the gas ejection port 71 and the resin ejection unit 73 are arranged so that the gas ejection port 71 is retracted to the downstream side of the resin ejection unit 73, as shown in the drawing. With this configuration, the molten resin is gradually expanded along the distribution of the jet gas flow of the gas jetted from the gas jet port 71, and becomes a fibrous material having a nano-order diameter. In addition, since the heating means (not shown) injects the gas into hot air from the gas injecting portion 8, the resin ejected from the resin ejecting means 73 is longer and more fiber-like than when the gas at room temperature is ejected. It enables the production of nanofibers with a small diameter.

A series of operations of the nanofiber manufacturing apparatus 1 having the above configuration will be described. The raw material (resin) charged into the hopper 2 is melted by being heated by the heater 4 in the heating cylinder 3, and is delivered to the front of the heating cylinder 3 by the screw rotated by the motor 6. The molten resin that has reached the tip of the heating cylinder 3 is discharged from the raw material discharge ports of the six resin discharge needles via the six resin flow paths 75 formed inside the head portion 7. The discharged molten resin is carried by the air stream generated by the high-pressure/high-temperature gas supplied from the gas injection unit 8 and injected from the gas injection port 71. At this time, the molten resin is stretched and nanofibers are formed due to the difference in velocity between the faster air flow of the hot gas and the slower air staying in the surroundings.

As Example 1 of the present invention, the nanofiber manufacturing apparatus which melts the granular synthetic resin having a fine particle diameter and is used as the raw material has been described in detail. However, as described above, the liquid raw material of the nanofiber is not limited to this. Instead, a dissolved raw material in which a solid raw material or a liquid raw material is dissolved in advance in a predetermined solvent to a predetermined concentration may be used. This is also a liquid material. 8 to 10 show a nanofiber manufacturing apparatus for forming nanofibers from a molten raw material. The same components as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In Example 2 of the present invention, instead of the hopper 2, the screw 5 and the motor 6 of Example 1, a solvent reservoir 5A having a function of extruding a molten raw material under a predetermined pressure is used. The predetermined pressure may be a pressure due to gravity due to the difference in height. The solvent supply hose 3A and the gas injection unit 8 are connected to the head unit 7A. Although illustration is omitted, means for ejecting gas may be appropriately provided in the gas injecting unit 8 or may be introduced into the gas injecting unit 8 from a high-pressure gas supply unit (not shown). As shown in FIG. 9, the head portion 7A is provided with a gas flow passage 72A that serves as a flow passage for the gas supplied from the gas injection portion 8 and a gas injection port 71A. Similarly, the head portion 7A is provided with a resin flow passage 75A which is a flow passage for the dissolution raw material, and the resin flow passage 75A is connected to the resin discharge means 73. The structure of the resin discharging means 73 is composed of a resin discharging needle 73a, which is a discharging port for the melting raw material, and a resin discharging needle mounting portion not shown in FIGS. 8 to 10, as in the first embodiment. Further, the head portion 7A is provided with a resin ejection means holding plate portion 78A, on which a resin ejection needle grip portion 74a and an adjustable retractable rod 74c penetrating from the outside to the inside of the head portion 7A are provided. By installing the resin discharge port support portion 74 including the adjusting means 74b having the above, it is possible to freely adjust the discharge angle of the resin discharge needle 73a by the resin discharge port support portion 74 as in the first embodiment. Become.

As shown in FIG. 10, the nanofiber manufacturing apparatus according to the second embodiment is provided with two resin discharging means 73. Of course, the arrangement of the resin ejection means 73 is not limited to two, and three or more resin ejection means 73 may be provided around the gas injection port 71A. In that case, it is desirable to provide the resin discharge means 73 evenly. Further, although the embodiment shown in the drawing shows a lateral ejection type, a modification example in which the gas flow path 72A from the gas injection port 71A is vertically ejected vertically (from above to below or from below to above) is a person skilled in the art. If so, it can be easily conceived.

With such a configuration, compared with the configuration of Example 1, by using a dissolved raw material obtained by dissolving the raw material in a solvent, a nanofiber manufacturing apparatus can be provided without using a complicated apparatus such as a heating cylinder, a motor, or a screw. Since the device can be configured, the size of the device can be made compact and the space can be saved. Further, since the apparatus can be made compact, it becomes possible to construct a portable nanofiber manufacturing apparatus. In the case of such a portable type nanofiber manufacturing apparatus, it becomes possible to form the nanofiber by spraying the nanofiber toward the place where the nanofiber is to be attached, and the application of the nanofiber is expanded.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above in detail, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the gist of the present invention. For example, in the above embodiment, the molten resin and the gas ejection port are shown as a horizontal type nanofiber manufacturing apparatus oriented in the horizontal direction, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a vertical type nanofiber manufacturing apparatus configured to face downward and There is no problem as a manufacturing method. In that case, the influence of gravity can be effectively avoided. Moreover, although the extruder 5 is described as the screw 5, it is necessary to take measures against the breakage of the nanofiber to be produced, but there is no problem even if intermittent extrusion using a piston or the like is performed by sequentially supplying the solution like die casting. Absent. Further, the gas ejection port 71 may be formed in a taper shape to have a nozzle shape so as to increase the pressure. Furthermore, although the structure for adjusting the angle of the resin discharge needle 73a has been described with reference to two specific examples, for example, any structure may be used as long as the structure can adjust the angle, such as a bellows type resin discharge means. It may be.

1 Nanofiber manufacturing equipment 2 Hopper 3 Heating cylinder 4 Heater (heating means)
5 screw (extruder)
6 Motor (drive means)
7 head part 71 gas ejection port 72 gas flow path 73 resin ejection means 73a resin ejection needle (raw material ejection port)
73b, 73c Resin ejection needle mounting portion 74 Resin ejection port support portion 74a Resin ejection needle gripping portion 74b Adjustment portion 74c Adjustment pestle 75 Resin flow passage 76 Gas flow passage 77 Heating cylinder cover portion 78 Resin ejection means retaining ring portion 8 Gas injection portion (Gas injection means)
81 Pipe (gas flow path)
90 High-pressure gas flow 91 High-pressure gas flow centerline

Claims (1)

A nanofiber manufacturing apparatus for forming a nanofiber from a dissolved raw material by ejecting a dissolved raw material in which a solid raw material or a liquid raw material is dissolved in advance in a predetermined solvent to a predetermined concentration from a head portion. hand,
The dissolution raw material is provided with a solvent reservoir having a function of pushing out a predetermined pressure, the solvent supply hose and the gas injection unit are connected to the head unit, the head unit, from the gas injection unit A gas flow path and a gas injection port that are the flow paths of the supplied gas are provided,
Further, similarly, the head portion is provided with a resin flow passage which is a flow passage for the dissolution raw material, and the resin flow passage is connected to a resin discharge means,
The structure of the resin discharge means is composed of a resin discharge needle that is a discharge port for the molten raw material, and a resin discharge needle mounting portion,
Further, a nanofiber manufacturing apparatus using a melting raw material, characterized in that a resin ejection means holding plate portion is provided in the head portion, and the resin ejection needle is attached to the holding plate portion so as to be freely adjustable.

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