JP2015127044A - Liquid ejection device, device and method for producing particle and toner production method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a droplet ejection device capable of stably ejecting a droplet.SOLUTION: The droplet ejection device is provided which has ejection means for ejecting liquid as a droplet. The ejection means has a plurality of liquid ejection holes, and bleeding liquid trap means for trapping ejection liquid bleeding from the liquid ejection holes is provided between the plurality of liquid ejection holes. Liquid 26 bleeding from the liquid ejection holes is transported to a leeward side by a transportation airflow 101, however is trapped before reaching other ejection holes by the bleeding liquid trap means (for example, a projection 25, a dent, and a porous material), so that the ejection holes are prevented from being blocked.

Description

  The present invention relates to a droplet discharge device having discharge means for discharging a liquid as droplets, a particle manufacturing apparatus using the droplet discharge device, a particle manufacturing method, and a toner manufacturing method.

  Examples of fine particles that require uniformity include toner fine particles for electrophotography, spacer particles for liquid crystal panels, colored fine particles for electronic paper, and fine particles as a drug carrier for pharmaceuticals. Yes.

  As a method for producing such uniform particles, a method of inducing a reaction in a liquid to obtain resin particles having a uniform particle diameter, such as a soap-free polymerization method, is known. This soap-free polymerization method has advantages such that resin particles having a small particle size can be easily obtained, the particle size distribution is sharp, and the shape is almost spherical. However, on the other hand, since the solvent is removed from the resin particles in a solvent that is usually water, the production efficiency is poor. In addition, it takes a long time for the polymerization process, and after the solidification is completed, it is necessary to separate the solvent and the resin particles, and then repeat washing and drying. During that time, a lot of time, a large amount of water and energy are required, etc. There are challenges.

In response to such a problem, the present applicant has proposed a toner manufacturing method by jet granulation described in Patent Document 1.
Specifically, according to this toner manufacturing method, a discharge hole for discharging the composition liquid is formed in a part of the liquid column resonance liquid chamber to which the composition liquid containing fine particles is supplied. The liquid column resonance liquid chamber is provided with vibration generating means for applying vibration to the composition liquid. When a high frequency that meets the resonance condition is applied, a standing wave due to liquid column resonance is formed in the liquid column resonance liquid chamber. A pressure distribution is formed in the liquid column resonance liquid chamber by the standing wave due to the liquid column resonance. The standing wave generated by the liquid column resonance generated in the liquid column resonance chamber has a pressure distribution region where a high pressure is generated, which is called an antinode. By providing the discharge holes in a pressure distribution region corresponding to the antinode, a high pressure is applied to the composition liquid in the vicinity of the discharge holes, and the composition liquid is continuously discharged. Thereafter, the toner particles are produced by solidifying the droplets of toner droplets. Thus, continuous toner droplet ejection can be realized, and extremely high productivity can be expected.

  However, according to the toner manufacturing method of Patent Document 1, the discharged droplets are decelerated due to air resistance, and the interval between the droplets discharged immediately after and the droplets discharged earlier is gradually narrowed. , Finally unite. The united droplets increase in volume, and are further decelerated due to air resistance due to the viscosity of the droplets, and subsequent droplets are easily merged one after another. Then, the united droplets and the unity droplets are mixed in the gas phase. For this reason, toner particles having different sizes are then dried and solidified, and the uniformity of the toner particles is impaired.

In order to solve such toner droplet coalescence, the present applicant has proposed a toner manufacturing method described in Patent Document 2. Specifically, a method for forcibly bending the droplet flight trajectory by applying a carrier airflow substantially orthogonal to the droplet discharge direction to prevent coalescence is described.
However, when a plurality of liquid column resonance chambers are arranged in the direction of the conveying air flow in order to obtain a production amount, if a bleed occurs due to a discharge failure or the like from the discharge hole of the liquid column resonance chamber located on the windward side, it is located on the leeward side. There has been a problem that the liquid that has oozed into the discharge hole flows to stop the discharge.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above background, and an object of the present invention is to provide a droplet discharge device that can stably discharge droplets.

The present invention is a droplet discharge device as described in (1) below.
(1) A droplet discharge apparatus having discharge means for discharging a liquid as droplets,
The discharge means has a plurality of liquid discharge holes,
A liquid droplet ejection apparatus comprising: a liquid entrapping means for trapping liquid ejected from the liquid ejection holes between the plurality of liquid ejection holes.

  According to the droplet discharge device of the present invention, it is possible to stably discharge droplets, and it is possible to produce particles with high productivity by using this droplet discharge device.

1 is a schematic view of a toner manufacturing apparatus. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of a liquid column resonance droplet unit. It is sectional drawing of a discharge hole. It is explanatory drawing which shows the mode of the discharge hole obstruction | occlusion by oozing out from a discharge hole. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example which used the protrusion-like thing as the exudation liquid trap means. It is a figure explaining the example in the example shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the example which used the hollow as a effusion liquid trap means. It is a figure which shows the example which used the porous material as a effusion liquid trap means. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example which used the film-vibration type discharge means and used the protrusion-like thing as the exudation liquid trap means. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example which used the projection-like object as a bleed liquid trap means using a Rayleigh type discharge means.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that it is easy for a person skilled in the art to make other embodiments by changing or correcting the present invention within the scope of the claims, and these changes and modifications are included in the scope of the claims. The following description is an example of the best mode of the present invention, and does not limit the scope of the claims.

The liquid droplet ejection apparatus of the present invention will be described below. In the following, the case of using the liquid droplet ejection apparatus as a pre-process for producing particles will be described as an example.
In the present invention, the exudation liquid trap means may be provided between the discharge hole and the discharge hole group, or may be provided between the discharge hole group and the discharge hole group.
In the case of manufacturing toner particles as particles, the droplet discharge unit has a plurality of droplet discharge holes for discharging the liquid supplied from the liquid supply unit into droplets, as will be described later. At least one head is arranged. In this case, providing the trap means between each discharge hole requires fine processing and is costly. Therefore, in a droplet discharge device used when manufacturing toner particles, a liquid that exudes between a droplet discharge head (discharge hole group) having a plurality of discharge holes and a droplet discharge head (discharge hole group). It is preferable to provide a trap means.

In the present invention, a liquid containing components that form particles is referred to as a “particle component liquid”. The particle component liquid is discharged from the discharge means and may be a liquid under the discharge conditions. In the present invention, the particle component liquid discharged from the discharge means may be in a state where the component of the particle to be obtained is dissolved or dispersed, or in a state where the particle component is melted without containing a solvent. It may be.
Hereinafter, a liquid containing a component that forms toner particles is referred to as a “toner component liquid”.
Hereinafter, an application example of the droplet discharge device of the present invention will be described by taking as an example a case where toner is manufactured using particles.

(Overall configuration of toner production device)
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of an embodiment of a toner manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention.
A toner manufacturing apparatus to which the present invention is applied is mainly composed of a liquid supply unit, a droplet discharge unit, and a dry collection unit. The liquid supply unit supplies a liquid to the droplet discharge unit, the droplet discharge unit discharges the liquid to form a droplet, and the dry collection unit dries and solidifies the discharged droplet. The toner manufacturing apparatus manufactures toner as fine particles by these units.

(Liquid supply unit)
The liquid supply unit of the present embodiment supplies a liquid to the discharge unit, so that a raw material container 13 for storing the toner component liquid 14 and a degassing device as a degassing means for degassing the dissolved gas in the toner component liquid 14. 3, a toner component liquid flow path 7 for supplying the toner component liquid 14 from the raw material container 13 to the deaeration device 3, a temporary storage container 5 as a temporary storage means for temporarily storing the degassed liquid, A toner component liquid flow path 7 ′ for supplying the toner component liquid 14 to the storage container 5, and a toner component liquid flow path 7 for supplying the toner component liquid 14 from the temporary storage container 5 to the droplet discharge unit 10 as a droplet discharge means. ”And the waste liquid tank 30.

  The raw material container 13 stores the toner component liquid 14 prepared in a separate process, and supplies the toner component liquid 14 to the deaeration device 3 through the liquid supply path 16. The liquid feed path (supply path) 16 is preferably provided with a check valve 22 for preventing the toner component liquid 14 from flowing back from the deaeration device 3 to the raw material container 13. In the raw material container 13, it is preferable to stir the toner component liquid 14 in order to prevent sedimentation of the solid component. The discharge unit is provided with a discharge path and a waste liquid tank 30 in addition to the supply path described above, and is used when discharging and collecting unnecessary toner component liquid from the discharge unit. The waste liquid tank 30 has an open / close valve for preventing the back flow of the toner component liquid. Since the open / close valve is closed except when unnecessary toner component liquid is discharged, the toner component liquid does not flow back. .

The deaeration device 3 is used to remove dissolved gas in the toner component liquid 14 in order to stabilize ejection. As the deaeration device 3, there are known a method of depressurizing the inside of the container to remove the gas dissolved in the liquid, a method of deaeration by applying ultrasonic waves to the liquid, and the use of a known deaeration means Can do. In this embodiment, a degassing device using a hollow fiber membrane (a degassing module SEPARERL PF03DG manufactured by DIC) is used to pass the toner component liquid 14 through a bundle of gas permeable hollow fibers, and the pump 4 performs hollowing. By reducing the pressure inside the yarn bundle container, only the dissolved gas in the toner component liquid can be removed.
Further, the deaeration device 3 can be installed in a circulation path for circulating the toner component liquid 14 in a closed system. When the deaeration device 3 is installed in the circulation path, the remaining amount of dissolved gas can be reduced by passing the toner component liquid 14 through the deaeration device a plurality of times.

The temporary storage container 5 temporarily stores the degassed toner component liquid 14 in a state of being blocked from the outside air, and supplies the toner component liquid 14 to the droplet discharge unit 10. In order to stabilize the discharge, it is desirable to appropriately control the pressure of the toner component liquid 14 supplied to the droplet discharge unit 10.
The waste liquid flow path 31 is provided with a pressure measuring device P1 and the dry collection unit is provided with a pressure measuring device P2. The pressure of the liquid feeding to the droplet discharge means 2 and the pressure in the dry collection means 60 are the pressure gauge P1, Managed by P2.
It is desirable that the pressure p1 applied to the droplet discharge unit and the pressure p2 of the dry collection unit satisfy the relationship of p1≈p2. When the relationship of p1> p2 is satisfied, the toner component liquid 14 may ooze out from the discharge hole 19, and when the relationship of p1 <p2 is satisfied, gas may enter the droplet discharge means 2 and discharge may be stopped. is there.
In the present invention, “bleeding” refers to a phenomenon in which the discharge liquid flows out from the discharge hole as liquid without being sprayed as droplets from the discharge hole and stays around the discharge hole and the discharge hole. “Discharge liquid” refers to discharge liquid that stays around the discharge holes and the discharge holes.

(Droplet discharge unit)
The droplet discharge unit 10 is provided with at least one droplet discharge head having droplet discharge means for discharging the liquid supplied from the liquid supply unit into droplets. May have.
The droplet discharge means used in the present invention is not particularly limited as long as the particle size distribution of the discharged droplets is narrow, and a known one can be used. Examples of the droplet discharge means include one-fluid nozzle, two-fluid nozzle, membrane vibration type discharge means, Rayleigh split type discharge means, liquid vibration type discharge means, liquid column resonance discharge means (also referred to as liquid column resonance type discharge means), and the like. It is done.

A film vibration type droplet discharge means is described in, for example, Japanese Patent No. 5055154. A Rayleigh splitting type droplet discharge means is described in, for example, Japanese Patent No. 4647506. A liquid vibration type droplet discharge means is described in, for example, Japanese Patent No. 5315920.
Liquid column resonance ejection means is described in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-212668.
The liquid column resonance discharge means imparts vibration to the liquid in the liquid column resonance liquid chamber in which a plurality of discharge holes are formed in order to ensure toner productivity, and forms a standing wave by liquid column resonance. Liquid is ejected from the ejection holes formed in the region where the wave becomes antinode to form droplets. The method using the liquid column resonance ejection means is characterized in that the particle size distribution of the ejected droplets is very narrow and the productivity is very high. Any of these is preferably used as the droplet discharge means used in the present invention.

(Liquid column resonance type discharge means)
Hereinafter, a liquid column resonance type discharge unit that discharges using the resonance of the liquid column will be described.
The liquid column resonance type discharge means includes a liquid column resonance liquid chamber that communicates with the outside through a discharge hole and generates a liquid column resonance standing wave under the conditions described later, and a toner component liquid in the liquid column resonance liquid chamber. And a plurality of droplet forming means for discharging the droplets as droplets from the discharge holes.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the liquid column resonance type discharge unit includes a liquid common supply path 17 and a liquid column resonance liquid chamber (flow path) 18. The liquid column resonance liquid chamber 18 communicates with a liquid common supply path 17 provided on one of the wall surfaces at both ends in the longitudinal direction. The liquid column resonance liquid chamber 18 is provided on the wall surface facing the discharge hole 19, the discharge hole 19 for discharging the droplet 21 of the toner component liquid to one wall surface among the wall surfaces connected to both ends, and In order to form a liquid column resonance standing wave, vibration generating means 20 that generates high-frequency vibration is included. The vibration generating means 20 is connected to a high frequency power source (not shown).

  A pressure distribution is formed in the liquid column resonance liquid chamber 18 filled with the toner component liquid 14 by the liquid column resonance standing wave generated by the vibration generating means 20. Then, the droplet 21 is ejected from the ejection hole 19 arranged in a region where the amplitude of the liquid column resonance standing wave is large and the pressure fluctuation is large and which is an antinode of the standing wave.

  The region that becomes the antinode of the standing wave due to the liquid column resonance means a region other than the node of the standing wave. Preferably, it is a region where the pressure fluctuation of the standing wave has an amplitude large enough to discharge the liquid, and more preferably a position where the amplitude of the pressure standing wave becomes a maximum (a section as a velocity standing wave). ) To a minimum position in a range of ± 1/4 wavelength. If the region is an antinode of a standing wave, even if there are a plurality of discharge holes, substantially uniform droplets can be formed from each, and moreover, the droplets can be discharged efficiently. And clogging of the discharge holes is less likely to occur.

  When the amount of the toner component liquid 14 in the liquid column resonance liquid chamber 18 decreases due to the discharge of the liquid droplets 21, a suction force due to the action of the liquid column resonance standing wave in the liquid column resonance liquid chamber 18 acts, and the liquid common supply The flow rate of the toner component liquid 14 supplied from the path 17 increases, and the toner component liquid 14 is replenished into the liquid column resonance liquid chamber 18. When the toner component liquid 14 is replenished in the liquid column resonance liquid chamber 18, the flow rate of the toner component liquid 14 passing through the liquid common supply path 17 is restored.

  Each of the liquid column resonance liquid chambers 18 in the liquid column resonance droplet discharge means 11 has a frame formed of a material having such a high rigidity that does not affect the resonance frequency of the liquid at a driving frequency such as metal, ceramics, or silicon. It is formed by bonding. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the length L between the wall surfaces at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the liquid column resonance liquid chamber 18 is determined based on the liquid column resonance principle as described later. Further, it is desirable that the width W of the liquid column resonance liquid chamber 18 is smaller than a half of the length L of the liquid column resonance liquid chamber 18 so as not to give an extra frequency to the liquid column resonance. Furthermore, it is preferable that a plurality of liquid column resonance liquid chambers 18 are arranged for one droplet forming unit 10 in order to dramatically improve productivity. The range is not limited, but one droplet forming unit provided with 100 to 2000 liquid column resonance liquid chambers 18 is most preferable because both operability and productivity can be achieved. In addition, for each liquid column resonance liquid chamber, a flow path for supplying liquid is connected in communication from the liquid common supply path 17, and the liquid common supply path 17 communicates with a plurality of liquid column resonance liquid chambers 18.

Further, the vibration generating means 20 in the liquid column resonance droplet discharging means 11 is not particularly limited as long as it can be driven at a predetermined frequency, but a form in which a piezoelectric body is bonded to the elastic plate 9 is desirable.
The elastic plate 9 constitutes a part of the wall of the liquid column resonance liquid chamber so that the piezoelectric body does not come into contact with the liquid. Examples of the piezoelectric body include piezoelectric ceramics such as lead zirconate titanate (PZT). However, since the amount of displacement is generally small, the piezoelectric body is often used by being laminated. In addition, piezoelectric polymers such as polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), single crystals such as quartz, LiNbO ₃ , LiTaO ₃ , KNbO _{3, and the} like can be given. Furthermore, it is desirable that the vibration generating means 20 is arranged so that it can be individually controlled for each liquid column resonance liquid chamber. In addition, a configuration in which the block-shaped vibrating member made of one material described above is partially cut in accordance with the arrangement of the liquid column resonance liquid chambers, and each liquid column resonance liquid chamber can be individually controlled via an elastic plate. desirable.

  Furthermore, the diameter of the opening of the discharge hole 19 is desirably in the range of 1 [μm] to 40 [μm]. By being 1 [μm] or more, it is possible to prevent the droplets from becoming too small and to form droplets of an appropriate size. Even in the case where the toner contains a solid fine particle such as a pigment as a constituent component of the toner, the discharge hole 19 is not clogged, and the productivity can be improved. Moreover, it can prevent that the diameter of a droplet becomes large too much because it is 40 [micrometers] or less. As a result, the toner component liquid can be dried and solidified without significantly diluting to obtain a desired toner particle diameter of 3 to 6 μm. It may be necessary to dilute the toner composition to a very dilute solution with an organic solvent, which can reduce the amount of organic solvent used for dilution and reduce the drying energy required to obtain a certain amount of toner. Can do.

  Further, as can be seen from FIG. 2, adopting a configuration in which the discharge holes 19 are provided in the width direction in the liquid column resonance liquid chamber 18 can provide a large number of openings of the discharge holes 19, thereby increasing the production efficiency. Therefore, it is preferable. Further, since the liquid column resonance frequency varies depending on the arrangement of the discharge holes 19, it is desirable to appropriately determine the liquid column resonance frequency after confirming the discharge of the droplet.

The cross-sectional shape of the discharge hole 19 is described as a tapered shape whose diameter is reduced at the opening in FIG. 2 and the like, but the cross-sectional shape can be appropriately selected.
FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional shape that the discharge hole 19 can take.

(A) has a shape in which the opening diameter becomes narrow while having a round shape from the liquid contact surface of the discharge hole 19 toward the discharge hole, and when the thin film 41 vibrates, the liquid is discharged near the outlet of the discharge hole 19. Since this pressure is maximized, it is the most preferable shape for stabilizing the discharge.
(B) has a shape in which the opening diameter becomes narrower from the liquid contact surface of the discharge hole 19 toward the discharge hole, and the nozzle angle 24 can be appropriately changed. The pressure applied to the liquid can be increased in the vicinity of the outlet of the discharge hole 19 when the thin film 41 vibrates by this nozzle angle similar to (a), but the range of 60 to 90 ° is preferable. If it is less than 60 °, it is difficult to apply pressure to the liquid and it is difficult to process the thin film 41, which is not preferable.
(C) corresponds to the case where the nozzle angle 24 is 90 ° in (b). However, since it is difficult to apply pressure to the outlet, 90 ° is the maximum value. If the angle is 90 ° or more, no pressure is applied to the outlet of the hole 12, so that the droplet discharge becomes very unstable.
(D) is a shape combining (a) and (b). In this way, the shape may be changed step by step.

  Next, a configuration in which droplets are ejected by the liquid column resonance phenomenon used in the present embodiment will be described. In FIG. 2, the length L between both ends in the longitudinal direction of the liquid column resonance liquid chamber 18 is 1.85 [mm], N = 2, and the first to fourth discharge holes are in the N = 2 mode. A discharge hole was arranged at the antinode of the pressure standing wave, and the drive frequency was a sine wave of 330 [kHz]. The diameter of the opening of the discharge hole was 10 μm, and as a result of observation by the laser shadowgraphy method, the discharge of droplets having a very uniform diameter and a substantially uniform speed was realized. The discharge was realized with the droplets having the same diameter and almost the same speed. Further, in the first to fourth nozzles, the discharge speed from each nozzle was uniform and the maximum discharge speed when the drive frequency was around 330 [kHz]. From this result, it can be seen that in 330 [kHz], which is the second mode of the liquid column resonance frequency, uniform ejection is realized at the antinode position of the liquid column resonance standing wave.

(Unity prevention means)
Next, the coalescence prevention means will be described.
When the droplets ejected from the above-described droplet ejecting means come into contact before drying, the droplets 21 coalesce into one droplet (hereinafter this phenomenon is referred to as coalescence). When coalescence of such droplets occurs, the particle size distribution of the solidified particles becomes wide. For this reason, in order to collect particles having a narrow particle size distribution, coalescence of droplets is not desirable.
However, if measures for preventing coalescence are not taken, the droplets ejected from the droplet ejection device have a constant initial velocity immediately after ejection, but gradually decelerate due to the fluid resistance of the surrounding gas. . As a result, the liquid droplets discharged later catch up with the liquid droplets discharged earlier, and as a result, coalesce. Further, when the droplets discharged from the adjacent discharge holes come into contact before solidifying, the droplets are similarly united.
Therefore, in order to obtain solidified particles having a uniform particle size distribution, it is necessary to maintain a sufficient distance between the discharged droplets to prevent coalescence.
Examples of the coalescence prevention means include introduction of a carrier air current in the vicinity of droplet discharge, charging of the same polarity to the droplet, electric field control, and the like.

Below, the coalescence prevention means using a conveyance airflow is demonstrated.
By placing the droplets ejected by the droplet ejecting means on the carrier airflow, it is possible to prevent the droplets from approaching each other and dramatically reduce the coalescence probability.
As an air flow for preventing coalescence, an air flow in the same direction as the droplet discharge direction is formed, and a method of preventing the droplet from decelerating and an air flow with an arbitrary angle with respect to the droplet discharge direction are formed. And a method of changing the flying direction of the droplet, or a method of combining the two.
Among these, since the flight direction of the liquid droplet immediately after ejection can be changed, a method of setting an arbitrary angle with respect to the liquid droplet ejection direction is preferable, and a substantially perpendicular air flow is given to the liquid droplet ejection direction. It is preferable in terms of prevention.

  When preventing unification by the conveying airflow, the toner component liquid may ooze out from the ejection holes due to fluctuations in the fluid pressure or airflow in the ejection unit as shown in FIG. When such exudation liquid 26 is generated from the discharge holes on the windward side, the exudation liquid may be carried to other discharge holes by the conveying airflow and block the discharge holes. In this way, once the discharge hole is closed, the discharge does not recover, which causes a decrease in productivity.

For such a problem, as shown in FIG. 5A, by providing a protrusion 25 between the discharge holes, the other discharge holes are prevented from being blocked by the exudation liquid 26. can do.
That is, the exuded liquid is carried to the leeward side by the conveying airflow, but the exuded liquid 26 is trapped before reaching the other discharge holes as shown in FIG. Blockage can be prevented.
In addition, it is preferable to provide the protrusion 25 ′ on the upstream side of the discharge hole on the upstream side of the conveying airflow.

The reason will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 6A is a view showing a case where only the protrusion 25 is provided, and FIG. 6B is a view showing a case where the protrusion 25 and the protrusion 25 ′ are provided.
In the case shown in FIG. 6A, the droplet 21 discharged from the discharge hole is accelerated by the air flow 101 in a direction orthogonal to the discharge direction. For this reason, the airflow is disturbed and the droplets easily hit the projections, and the droplets hitting the projections are not used effectively and are wasted.
On the other hand, in the case shown in FIG. 6B, the ejected droplet hits the air current 101 at a point slightly advanced in the ejection direction and is accelerated in the air current direction. For this reason, the probability that the droplet hits the protrusion is reduced, and the droplet is effectively used.

  The height of the protrusions is preferably 1 mm or more and 5 mm or less although it depends on the airflow and the discharge state. If it is smaller than 1 mm, it is difficult to trap the exuded liquid, and if it is larger than 5 mm, an air flow is not applied immediately after ejection to the leeward side, so that the ejected droplets are easily decelerated due to fluid resistance and become uniform. Sexuality is impaired.

The exudate trapping means is not limited to the above-mentioned protrusions, and any means can be used as long as it can trap the exudate.
For example, depressions (grooves, recesses) may be provided in the base material between the discharge holes so that the exudation liquid may accumulate, or a liquid-absorbing porous material such as a sponge may be disposed between the discharge holes. good.
As the porous material, cellulose sponge, PVA sponge or the like can be used.

FIG. 7 is a view showing an example in which a recess 40 is provided in the base material between the discharge holes. The liquid that has oozed out of the discharge hole on the upstream side in the airflow direction is trapped in the recess 40 before reaching the discharge hole on the downstream side.
FIG. 8 is a view showing an example in which the porous material 50 is accommodated in the recess 40 in the structure shown in FIG.
The liquid that has oozed out of the discharge hole on the upstream side in the airflow direction is trapped by the porous material provided in the recess 40 before reaching the discharge hole on the downstream side.

  When the droplet discharge device is operated for a long time, the exudate trapping means cannot sufficiently wrap the exudate, which causes a decrease in productivity and a decrease in droplet quality due to nozzle clogging. . For this reason, the operation of the liquid discharge device is stopped at appropriate time intervals, and the exudate trapping means that traps the exudate is cleaned.

  FIG. 9 shows an example in which a membrane vibration type ejection unit is used as the droplet ejection unit. As shown in FIG. 9A, by providing the projection 25 between the discharge holes, it is possible to prevent the other discharge holes from being blocked by the exuding liquid 26. That is, the exuded liquid is carried leeward by the conveying airflow, but the exudate 26 is trapped before reaching the other ejection holes as shown in FIG. Blockage can be prevented.

  FIG. 10 shows an example in which a Rayleigh type discharge means discharge means is used as the droplet discharge means. As shown in FIG. 10A, by providing the projection 25 between the discharge holes, it is possible to prevent the other discharge holes from being blocked by the exuding liquid 26. That is, the exuded liquid is carried to the leeward side by the conveying airflow, but the exudate 26 is trapped before reaching the other discharge holes by the protrusions as shown in FIG. Blockage can be prevented.

(Dry collection unit)
The dry collection unit solidifies the droplets of the toner component liquid discharged into the gas from the droplet discharge unit described above, and then collects them to obtain toner as fine particles.
The dry collection unit includes a chamber, a toner collection unit (solidified particle collection unit) 62, and a toner storage unit (solidified particle storage unit) 63. In the chamber, an unillustrated transport air flow is generated. A carrier airflow 101 generated by the means is formed. The carrier airflow 101 is introduced from the carrier airflow inlet 64 and discharged from the carrier airflow outlet 65. The volatile component contained in the toner component liquid gradually evaporates from the state of the liquid immediately after being discharged by the transport airflow, whereby drying proceeds, and the droplet changes from the liquid to solid particles.

As a means for solidifying the ejected droplets, the concept differs depending on the properties of the toner component liquid 14, but any means can be used as long as it can basically make the toner component liquid 14 into a solid state. For example, if the toner component liquid 14 is obtained by dissolving or dispersing a solid raw material in a volatile solvent, the droplets are dried in a conveying airflow after the droplets are jetted. That is, it can be achieved by volatilizing the solvent of the droplets. In drying the solvent, the drying state can be adjusted by appropriately selecting the temperature, vapor pressure, gas type and the like of the carrier airflow. Even if the volatile components of the particles are not completely volatilized, the particles can be additionally dried in a separate step after the recovery.
The solidified toner particles are collected and stored by a solidified particle collecting means (toner collecting unit) 62 and a toner storage unit (solidified particle storage unit) 63. The solidified particle collecting means 62 can be collected from the air by a known powder collecting means such as a cyclone or a back filter.

(Secondary drying)
If the amount of residual solvent contained in the toner particles obtained by the dry collection unit 60 is large, secondary drying is performed by secondary drying means (not shown) as necessary to reduce this. As the secondary drying means, general known drying means such as fluidized bed drying or vacuum drying can be used. If the organic solvent remains in the toner, not only the toner characteristics such as heat-resistant storage stability, fixing properties, and charging characteristics will change over time. Since the organic solvent volatilizes during fixing by heating, the possibility of adverse effects on the user and peripheral equipment is increased. Therefore, sufficient drying is performed.

(toner)
Next, the toner manufactured by the fine particle manufacturing apparatus of the present invention will be described.
The toner of the present invention contains at least a resin, a colorant, and a wax, and optionally contains a charge adjusting agent, an additive, and other components.

The “toner component liquid” used in the present invention will be described. The toner component liquid is in a liquid state in which the toner component is dissolved or dispersed in a solvent, or may be free from a solvent as long as it is a liquid under the conditions of ejection, and a part or all of the toner component is melted. In a liquid state.
As the toner material, if the toner component liquid can be adjusted, the same material as the conventional electrophotographic toner can be used. As described above, it is possible to make fine droplets from the droplet discharge means, and collect the solidified particles by the solidified particle collecting means to produce the target toner particles.

〔resin〕
Examples of the resin include at least a binder resin.
The binder resin is not particularly limited, and a commonly used resin can be appropriately selected and used. For example, a styrene monomer, an acrylic monomer, a methacrylic monomer, etc. Vinyl polymers, copolymers of these monomers or two or more types, polyester polymers, polyol resins, phenol resins, silicone resins, polyurethane resins, polyamide resins, furan resins, epoxy resins, xylene resins, terpene resins , Coumarone indene resin, polycarbonate resin, petroleum resin, and the like.

  As the properties of the binder resin, it is desirable that the binder resin be dissolved in a solvent.

[Molecular weight distribution of binder resin]
The molecular weight distribution of the binder resin by GPC (gel permeation chromatography) preferably has at least one peak in the region of molecular weight of 3,000 to 50,000 from the viewpoint of toner fixing property and offset resistance. As the THF soluble component, a binder resin in which a component having a molecular weight of 100,000 or less is 60 to 100 [%] is also preferable, and the binder resin has at least one peak in a molecular weight region of 5,000 to 20,000. Is more preferable.

[Acid value of binder resin]
What has 60 [mass%] or more of resin whose acid value of binder resin has 0.1-50 [mgKOH / g] is preferable. In the present invention, the acid value of the binder resin component of the toner composition is measured according to JIS K-0070.

[Magnetic]
As the magnetic material that can be used in the present invention, known magnetic materials conventionally used for electrophotographic toners can be used. For example, (1) iron oxide containing magnetic iron oxide such as magnetite, maghemite and ferrite, and other metal oxides, (2) metals such as iron, cobalt, nickel, or these metals and aluminum, cobalt, copper Alloys with metals such as lead, magnesium, tin, zinc, antimony, beryllium, bismuth, cadmium, calcium, manganese, selenium, titanium, tungsten, vanadium. (3) and mixtures thereof are used. The magnetic material can also be used as a colorant. As the usage-amount of the said magnetic body, 10-200 mass parts of magnetic bodies are preferable with respect to 100 mass parts of binder resin, and 20-150 mass parts is more preferable. The number average particle diameter of these magnetic materials is preferably 0.1 to 2 [μm], more preferably 0.1 to 0.5 [μm]. The number average diameter can be obtained by measuring a photograph taken with a transmission electron microscope with a digitizer or the like.

[Colorant]
The colorant is not particularly limited, and a commonly used resin can be appropriately selected and used.
The content of the colorant is preferably 1 to 15 [% by mass] and more preferably 3 to 10 [% by mass] based on the toner.

The colorant used in the toner according to the present invention can also be used as a master batch combined with a resin. The master batch is for dispersing the pigment in advance, and may not be used if sufficient dispersion of the pigment is obtained. In general, a master batch is obtained by dispersing a pigment in hardness in a resin by applying high shear to the pigment and the resin. A conventionally well-known thing can be used as binder resin knead | mixed with manufacture of a masterbatch or a masterbatch. These may be used individually by 1 type, and 2 or more types may be mixed and used for them.
As the usage-amount of the said masterbatch, 0.1-20 mass parts is preferable with respect to 100 mass parts of binder resin.

A dispersant may be used to increase the dispersibility of the pigment during the production of the masterbatch. From the viewpoint of pigment dispersibility, it is preferable that the compatibility with the binder resin is high, and conventionally known ones can be used. Specific examples of commercially available products include “Ajisper PB821”, “Azisper PB822” (Ajinomoto Fine). Techno), “Disperbyk-2001” (by Big Chemie), “EFKA-4010” (by EFKA), and the like.
The addition amount of the dispersant is preferably 1 to 200 parts by mass, more preferably 5 to 80 parts by mass with respect to 100 parts by mass of the colorant. If it is less than 1 part by mass, the dispersibility may be lowered, and if it exceeds 200 parts by mass, the chargeability may be lowered.

〔wax〕
The toner component liquid used in the present invention contains a wax together with a binder resin and a colorant.
The wax is not particularly limited and can be appropriately selected from commonly used ones such as low molecular weight polyethylene, low molecular weight polypropylene, polyolefin wax, microcrystalline wax, paraffin wax, and sazol wax. Oxides of aliphatic hydrocarbon waxes such as aliphatic hydrocarbon waxes, polyethylene oxide waxes or block copolymers thereof, plant waxes such as candelilla wax, carnauba wax, wood wax, jojoba wax, beeswax, lanolin Waxes mainly composed of fatty acid esters such as animal waxes such as whale wax, mineral waxes such as ozokerite, ceresin, and petrolatum, and montanic acid ester waxes and castor waxes. Deoxidized carnauba wax and other fatty acid esters that have been partially or wholly deoxidized are included.

The melting point of the wax is preferably 70 to 140 [° C.] and more preferably 70 to 120 [° C.] in order to balance the fixability and the offset resistance.
If it is less than 70 [° C.], the blocking resistance may be lowered, and if it exceeds 140 [° C.], the offset resistance effect may be difficult to be exhibited.
The total content of the wax is preferably 0.2 to 20 parts by mass and more preferably 0.5 to 10 parts by mass with respect to 100 parts by mass of the binder resin.

In the present invention, the temperature of the peak top of the endothermic peak of the wax measured by DSC (Differential Scanning Calorimetry) is defined as the melting point of the wax.
The wax or toner DSC measuring device is preferably measured with a high-precision internal heat input compensation type differential scanning calorimeter. As a measuring method, it carries out according to ASTM D3418-82. The DSC curve used in the present invention is one that is measured when the temperature is raised at a temperature rate of 10 [° C./min] after raising and lowering the temperature once and taking a previous history.

[Other additives]
In the toner according to the present invention, as other additives, protection of the electrostatic latent image carrier / carrier, improvement of cleaning properties, adjustment of thermal characteristics / electrical characteristics / physical characteristics, resistance adjustment, softening point adjustment, fixing rate For the purpose of improvement, various metal soaps, fluorosurfactants, dioctyl phthalate, tin oxide, zinc oxide, carbon black, antimony oxide, etc. as conductivity imparting agents, and inorganic such as titanium oxide, aluminum oxide, alumina A fine powder or the like can be added as necessary. These inorganic fine powders may be hydrophobized as necessary. In addition, lubricants such as polytetrafluoroethylene, zinc stearate, polyvinylidene fluoride, abrasives such as cesium oxide, silicon carbide, strontium titanate, anti-caking agents, white particles and black particles having opposite polarity to the toner particles, Can also be used in small amounts as a developability improver.

  These additives have a silicone varnish, various modified silicone varnishes, silicone oil, various modified silicone oils, silane coupling agents, silane coupling agents having functional groups, and other organosilicons for the purpose of charge control and the like. It is also preferable to treat with a treating agent such as a compound or various treating agents.

As the additive, inorganic fine particles can be preferably used. As said inorganic fine particle, well-known things, such as a silica, an alumina, a titanium oxide, can be used, for example.
In addition, polymer fine particles such as polystyrene obtained by soap-free emulsion polymerization, suspension polymerization and dispersion polymerization, methacrylic acid ester and acrylic acid ester copolymer, polycondensation system such as silicone, benzoguanamine and nylon, thermosetting resin And polymer particles.

  Such an additive (external additive) can be made hydrophobic by the surface treatment agent and prevent deterioration of the external additive itself even under high humidity. Examples of the surface treatment agent include a silane coupling agent, a silylating agent, a silane coupling agent having a fluorinated alkyl group, an organic titanate coupling agent, an aluminum coupling agent, silicone oil, a modified silicone oil, Etc. are preferable.

The primary particle diameter of the external additive is preferably 5 [nm] to 2 [μm], and more preferably 5 [nm] to 500 [nm]. Moreover, as a specific surface area by BET method, it is preferable that it is 20-500 [m < ² > / g]. The use ratio of the inorganic fine particles is preferably 0.01 to 5 [% by mass] of the toner, and more preferably 0.01 to 2.0 [% by mass].

  Examples of the cleaning property improver for removing the developer after transfer remaining on the electrostatic latent image carrier or the primary transfer medium include fatty acid metal salts such as zinc stearate, calcium stearate, stearic acid, and polymethyl methacrylate. There may be mentioned polymer fine particles produced by soap-free emulsion polymerization such as fine particles and polystyrene fine particles. The polymer fine particles preferably have a relatively narrow particle size distribution and a volume average particle size of 0.01 to 1 [μm].

The present invention relates to the following toner (1), and includes the following (2) to (13) as embodiments.
(1) A droplet discharge apparatus having discharge means for discharging liquid as droplets, wherein the discharge means has a plurality of liquid discharge holes, and a leaching liquid trap means is provided between the plurality of discharge holes. A droplet discharge apparatus characterized by the above.
(2) The droplet discharge device according to (1), further comprising an airflow forming unit that applies an airflow for transporting the droplets.
(3) The droplet discharge device according to (2), wherein the exudation liquid trap means is provided between a liquid discharge hole and a liquid discharge hole arranged in the direction in which the airflow flows.
(2) The droplet discharge device according to (2).
(4) The droplet discharge device according to any one of (1) to (3), wherein the exudation liquid trap means is provided between the discharge hole group and the discharge hole group.
(5) The droplet discharge device according to (4), wherein each of the discharge hole groups includes at least one row of discharge holes.
(6) The exudation liquid trap means is a protrusion, and traps liquid exuding from the discharge hole by the protrusion. Liquid discharge device.
(7) The liquid ejection device according to (6), wherein the height of the protrusion is 1 mm or more and 5 mm or less.
(8) The liquid ejection device according to (6) or (7), wherein a protrusion is provided on the airflow upstream side of the liquid ejection hole at the upstream end of the airflow.
(9) The liquid ejection apparatus according to any one of (1) to (5), wherein the exudation liquid trap means is a depression and traps the liquid that has exuded from the ejection hole by the depression.
(10) The exudation liquid trapping means is a porous material, and the liquid exuding from the discharge hole is trapped by the porous material, according to any one of (1) to (5) Liquid discharge device.
(11) droplet discharge means for discharging the particle component liquid as droplets;
Droplet solidifying means for solidifying the droplet to form particles;
An apparatus for producing particles having
The apparatus for producing particles, wherein the droplet discharge means is the droplet discharge device according to any one of (1) to (10).
(12) A method for producing particles, comprising producing particles using the particle production apparatus according to (11).
(13) A toner manufacturing method, wherein the toner is manufactured using the particle manufacturing apparatus according to (11).

Example 1
Examples of the present invention will be described below. In addition, this invention is not limited to the Example and comparative example which are illustrated here. In addition, the part in an Example represents a mass part.
First, a method for producing the toner component liquid (dissolved or dispersed liquid) used in this example will be described.

-Preparation of colorant dispersion-
First, a dispersion of carbon black as a colorant was prepared as follows.
17 parts of carbon black (Rega L400; manufactured by Cabot) and 3 parts of a pigment dispersant were primarily dispersed in 80 parts of ethyl acetate using a mixer having stirring blades. As the pigment dispersant, Ajisper PB821 (manufactured by Ajinomoto Fine Techno Co., Ltd.) was used. The obtained primary dispersion is finely dispersed by a strong shearing force using a bead mill (LMZ type manufactured by Ashizawa Finetech Co., Ltd., zirconia bead diameter 0.3 mm), and the secondary dispersion in which aggregates of 5 μm or more are completely removed. A liquid was prepared to obtain [Colorant dispersion].

-Preparation of wax dispersion-
Next, a wax dispersion was prepared as follows.
18 parts of carnauba wax and 2 parts of wax dispersant were primarily dispersed in 80 parts of ethyl acetate using a mixer having stirring blades. The primary dispersion was heated to 80 ° C. with stirring to dissolve the carnauba wax, and then the liquid temperature was lowered to room temperature to precipitate wax particles so that the maximum diameter was 3 μm or less. As the wax dispersant, a polyethylene wax grafted with a styrene-butyl acrylate copolymer was used. The obtained dispersion is further finely dispersed by a strong shearing force using a bead mill (LMZ type manufactured by Ashizawa Finetech Co., Ltd., zirconia bead diameter 0.3 mm), and the maximum diameter is adjusted to 1 μm or less [wax dispersion Liquid "was obtained.

-Preparation of dissolution or dispersion-
Next, a toner component liquid having the following composition to which a resin as a binder resin, the [colorant dispersion] and the [wax dispersion] were added was prepared.
100 parts of a polyester resin as a binder resin, 30 parts of the colorant dispersion, 30 parts of the wax dispersion, 840 parts of ethyl acetate, are stirred for 10 minutes using a mixer having stirring blades, and uniformly dispersed. [Toner component liquid] was obtained. Pigments and wax particles did not aggregate due to shock due to solvent dilution.

-Toner production equipment-
Next, the configuration of the toner manufacturing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 using toner manufacturing will be described.
(Droplet discharge unit)
As the droplet discharge means, the above-described liquid column resonance droplet discharge means 11 (FIG. 2) was used.
Here, the length L between both ends in the longitudinal direction of the liquid column resonance liquid chamber 18 is 1.85 [mm] and N = 2, and the first to fourth discharge holes 19 are N = 2. The one in which the discharge hole is arranged at the position of the antinode of the mode pressure standing wave was used. The discharge hole 19 has an opening diameter of 10.0 [μm], and the cross-sectional shape is a round shape as shown in FIG. Further, a function generator WF 1973 manufactured by NF was used as a drive signal generation source, and connected to the vibration generating means 20 with a polyethylene-coated lead wire. The driving frequency at this time was set to 330 [kHz] according to the liquid resonance frequency. The input signal was an applied voltage sine wave peak value of 12.0 [V].
In addition, as the liquid droplet ejection means, the liquid chambers (channels) having the first to fourth ejection holes 19 are arranged in two rows, each having 320 rows arranged in parallel in the longitudinal direction with an interval of about 10 mm. The liquid droplet discharge device (discharge head) was used.

(Exudate trapping means)
Protrusions having a rectangular cross section with a height of 3 mm were provided in the center between the discharge rows and 5 mm before the discharge rows on the upstream side of the conveying airflow.

(Dry collection unit)
The chamber 61 of the toner collecting portion is vertically fixed with a cylindrical shape having an inner diameter of 300 [mm] and a height of 2000 [mm], and the upper end and the lower end are narrowed. A droplet discharge device is installed at the top. A cyclone collector is installed at the lower end as solidified particle collecting means 62 that is a toner collecting portion. The flow path of the carrier airflow 101 has a rectangular cross-section length of 200 [mm] having a width of 80 [mm] and a height of 30 [mm], and the liquid discharge unit 10 is placed in a horizontal direction at a position of 50 [mm] from the gas inflow side. Installed. At this time, the droplet discharge direction and the direction of the conveying airflow are orthogonal to each other. The carrier air velocity at this time was adjusted to 20 [m / s].

Using the toner manufacturing apparatus 1, the [toner component liquid] was discharged from the discharge head, and the toner particles dried and solidified in the chamber were collected by a cyclone collector.
The ejection stability and toner in this example were evaluated using the following evaluation methods.
As a result, the discharge rate after 60 minutes was 85%. The collected toner had a particle size distribution of 1.13.

<Discharge stability evaluation>
In this embodiment, as an evaluation of the ejection stability, an image was taken when a droplet was ejected using a CCD camera, and the ejection channels were counted. The total number of channels A, the number of channels actually ejected calculated from the image as B, and the ejection rate as B / A were calculated. As the evaluation of the discharge stability, the discharge rate at the time of discharging for 60 minutes was evaluated according to the following evaluation criteria.
<Discharge stability evaluation criteria>
◎: 90% or more ○: 80% or more and less than 90% △: 70% or more and less than 80% ×: less than 70%

<Evaluation of particle size distribution>
A measurement method using a flow particle image analyzer (Flow Particle Image Analyzer) will be described below. The measurement of toner, toner particles and external additives using a flow type particle image analyzer can be performed using, for example, a flow type particle image analyzer FPIA-3000 manufactured by Toa Medical Electronics Co., Ltd.

In the measurement, fine dust is removed through a filter, and as a result, the number of particles in a measurement range (for example, an equivalent circle diameter of 0.60 [μm] or more and less than 159.21 [μm]) in 10 ⁻³ [cm 3] water is 20. A few drops of a nonionic surfactant (preferably Contaminone N manufactured by Wako Pure Chemical Industries, Ltd.) is added to 10 [ml] of water or less, and 5 [mg] of a measurement sample is further added. UH-50 at 20 [kHz], 50 [W / 10cm 3] conditions for 1 minute dispersion treatment with a further sum particle concentration of sample was dispersed for 5 minutes 4000-8000 [pieces / 10 ^{- 3} cm ³ ] (for particles in the measurement equivalent circle diameter range) The particle size distribution of particles having an equivalent circle diameter of 0.60 [μm] or more and less than 159.21 [μm] is measured using a sample dispersion liquid To do.

  The sample dispersion is passed through a flat and flat transparent flow cell (thickness: about 200 [μm]) flow path (spread along the flow direction). In order to form an optical path that passes across the thickness of the flow cell, the strobe and the CCD camera are mounted on the flow cell so as to be opposite to each other. While the sample dispersion is flowing, strobe light is irradiated at 1/30 second intervals to obtain an image of the particles flowing through the flow cell, so that each particle has a certain range parallel to the flow cell. Photographed as a two-dimensional image. From the area of the two-dimensional image of each particle, the diameter of a circle having the same area is calculated as the equivalent circle diameter.

  In the flow type particle image analyzer, the equivalent circle diameter of 1200 or more particles can be measured in about 1 minute, and the number based on the equivalent circle diameter distribution and the ratio of particles having the prescribed equivalent circle diameter (number) %) Can be measured. The results (frequency% and cumulative%) can be obtained by dividing the range of 0.06 to 400 [μm] into 226 channels (divided into 30 channels for one octave). In actual measurement, particles are measured in a range where the equivalent circle diameter is 0.60 [μm] or more and less than 159.21 [μm].

The particle size distribution can be compared by the ratio of the volume average particle diameter (Dv) and the number average particle diameter (Dn), and can be expressed by Dv / Dn. The Dv / Dn value is the smallest, 1.00, indicating that all particle sizes are the same. A larger Dv / Dn indicates a wider particle size distribution. A general pulverized toner has Dv / Dn = 1.15 to 1.25. The polymerized toner has a Dv / Dn of about 1.10 to 1.15.
In an electrophotographic system, a narrow particle size distribution is required for the development process, the transfer process, and the fixing process. Therefore, such spread of the particle size distribution is not desirable, and in order to stably obtain high-definition image quality, Dv /Dn=1.15 or less is desirable, and in order to obtain a higher definition image, Dv / Dn = 1.10 or less.

The particle size distribution (volume average particle diameter / number average particle diameter) of the collected toner was evaluated according to the following evaluation criteria.
<Particle size distribution evaluation criteria>
◎: 1.00 or more and less than 1.10 ○: 1.10 or more and less than 1.15 △: 1.15 or more and less than 1.20 ×: 1.20 or more

(Example 2)
Toner particles were produced in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the height of the protrusions between the discharge rows and before the discharge rows was 5 mm. At this time, the discharge rate after 60 minutes was 90%. The collected toner had a particle size distribution of 1.17.
It is considered that some coalescence of the droplets immediately after the discharge occurs.

(Example 3)
Toner particles were produced in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the height of the protrusions between the discharge rows and the front of the discharge rows was 1 mm. At this time, the discharge rate after 60 minutes was 76%. The collected toner had a particle size distribution of 1.12.
As a result of observing the ejection surface after ejection, a part of the oozing reached the ejection row on the leeward side.

Example 4
Next, as another example of the trap means, a groove having a width of 2 mm and a depth of 5 mm was provided at the center between the discharge rows of the droplet discharge device used in Example 1, as shown in FIG. The exuded discharge liquid is trapped in the groove.
Otherwise, toner particles were produced in the same manner as in Example 1 to obtain toner particles.
At this time, the discharge rate after 60 minutes was 81%. The collected toner had a particle size distribution of 1.11. As a result of observing the ejection surface after ejection, it was confirmed that most of the exuded liquid was trapped in the groove.

(Example 5)
Next, as another form of the trapping means, a groove having a width of 2 mm and a depth of 5 mm is provided in the center between the discharge rows as in the fourth embodiment as shown in FIG. 8, and the groove has a porous material having the same shape as the groove. A structure for absorbing the exuded liquid that was inserted and exuded. As the porous material, a polyurethane sponge material (Bridgestone Everlite SF HR-50) was used.
At this time, the discharge rate after 60 minutes was 90%. The particle size distribution of the collected toner was 1.10. As a result of observing the ejection surface after ejection, the exuded liquid was almost trapped in the groove, and it could not be confirmed that it reached the leeward ejection row.

(Example 6)
Next, as another embodiment of the droplet discharge means, a film vibration type discharge means shown in FIG. 9 was used to discharge droplets and collect toner. As for the membrane vibration type discharge means, a perfect circular discharge hole (nozzle) 15 having a diameter of 10 μm is formed on a nickel plate having an outer diameter of 8.0 mm and a thickness of 20 μm based on the description in Japanese Patent No. 5055154. It was produced by casting.
The discharge holes were provided in a staggered pattern so that the distance between the discharge holes was 100 μm, and only in the range of about 5 mm in the center of the thin film. In this case, the number of effective discharge holes in calculation is 1000. Droplet discharge and toner production were performed by using the above-described film vibration type discharge means arranged in two perpendicular to the conveying airflow as the droplet discharge unit 10.
The electromechanical conversion means arranged around the deformable region of the thin film was connected with a lead wire coated with polyethylene using a function generator WF 1973 manufactured by NF. The frequency of the electromechanical conversion means was 98 kHz, and the applied voltage sine wave peak value was 20.0 V.
The other toner component liquid and dry collection unit were the same as those in Example 1, and the exudate trapping means used a protrusion having a rectangular cross section with a height of 3 mm to produce toner to obtain toner particles.
At this time, the discharge rate after 60 minutes was 93%. The collected toner had a particle size distribution of 1.18. As a result of observing the ejection surface after ejection, it was confirmed that most of the exuded liquid was trapped in the groove.

(Example 7)
Next, as another form of the droplet discharge means, a Rayleigh type discharge means shown in FIG. 10 was used to discharge droplets and collect toner. As for the Rayleigh type discharge means, a discharge hole of φ8 μm was formed in a nickel plate having a thickness of 20 μm by machining by electroforming based on the description in Japanese Patent No. 4647506.
1024 discharge holes were concentrically arranged in a range of 4 mm. Droplet discharge and toner production were performed by using the two Rayleigh type discharge means arranged in a direction orthogonal to the conveying airflow as the droplet discharge unit 10.
In addition, NF company function generator WF1973 was used for the vibration means, and it was connected with a polyethylene-coated lead wire. The frequency of the electromechanical conversion means was 400 kHz, and the applied voltage sine wave peak value was 20.0 V.
As the liquid feeding pressurizing means, the raw material container was pressurized with compressed air, and the pressure was adjusted so that the flow rate was 2780 [ml / min].
The toner component liquid was diluted with a solvent so that the solid component concentration of the toner component liquid used in Example 1 was 6%.
The dry collection unit was the same as in Example 1, and the exudate trapping means produced toner using a rectangular projection having a height of 3 mm to obtain toner particles.
At this time, the discharge rate after 60 minutes was 91%. The particle size distribution of the collected toner was 1.03. As a result of observing the ejection surface after ejection, it was confirmed that most of the exuded liquid was trapped in the groove.

(Comparative Example 1)
Toner particles were produced in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the protrusions between the discharge rows and before the discharge rows were eliminated. At this time, the discharge rate after 60 minutes was 64%. The particle size distribution of the collected toner was 1.10.
As a result of observing the ejection surface after ejection, the exuded liquid reached the ejection row on the leeward side and many ejection holes were blocked.

(Comparative Example 2)
Toner particles were produced in the same manner as in Example 6 except that the protrusions between the discharge rows and before the discharge rows were eliminated. At this time, the discharge rate after 60 minutes was 75%. The collected toner had a particle size distribution of 1.17.
As a result of observing the ejection surface after ejection, the exuded liquid reached the ejection row on the leeward side and many ejection holes were blocked.

(Comparative Example 3)
Toner particles were produced in the same manner as in Example 7 except that the protrusions between the discharge rows and before the discharge rows were eliminated. At this time, the discharge rate after 60 minutes was 88%. The collected toner had a particle size distribution of 1.08.
As a result of observing the ejection surface after ejection, the oozed liquid reached the leeward ejection row, but the ejection holes were not relatively clogged. Since the discharge liquid is pressurized and supplied, it is presumed that the exuded liquid is blown to some extent before it hardens, and the ratio of the blockage of the discharge holes is reduced.

  As described above, according to the present invention, in the droplet discharge device, the exudate trapping means is provided between the discharge hole and the discharge hole to trap the windy exudate liquid and It is possible to provide a droplet discharge device that prevents clogging and has high discharge stability.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Toner manufacturing apparatus 3 Deaeration apparatus 4 Pump 5 Primary storage container 7 Toner component liquid flow path 9 Elastic plate 10 Droplet discharge unit 11 Liquid column resonance droplet discharge means 13 Raw material container 14 Toner component liquid 15 Liquid circulation pump 16 Liquid path 17 Liquid common supply path 18 Liquid column resonance liquid chamber (Liquid column resonance flow path)
19 Discharge hole 20 Vibration generating means 21 Droplet 22 Check valve 24 Nozzle angle 25 Protruding object 26 Exudate liquid 30 Waste liquid tank 31 Waste liquid flow path 40 Depression 50 Porous material 60 Drying collection unit 61 Chamber 62 Solidified particle collection Means 63 Solidified particle reservoir 64 Conveying air flow inlet 65 Conveying air flow outlet 101 Conveying air flow P1 Liquid pressure gauge P2 In-chamber pressure gauge

JP 2011-212668 A JP 2012-223696 A

Claims (13)

A droplet discharge apparatus having discharge means for discharging a liquid as droplets,
The discharge means has a plurality of liquid discharge holes,
A liquid droplet ejection apparatus comprising: a liquid entrapping means for trapping liquid ejected from the liquid ejection holes between the plurality of liquid ejection holes.   The droplet discharge device according to claim 1, further comprising an airflow forming unit that applies an airflow for transporting the droplets.   3. The droplet discharge device according to claim 2, wherein the exudation liquid trap means is provided between a liquid discharge hole and a liquid discharge hole arranged in a direction in which the airflow flows.   4. The droplet discharge device according to claim 1, wherein the exudation liquid trap means is provided between the discharge hole group and the discharge hole group.   The liquid droplet ejection apparatus according to claim 4, wherein each of the ejection hole groups includes at least one row of ejection holes.   6. The liquid ejection device according to claim 1, wherein the exudation liquid trap means is a protrusion, and traps the liquid that has exuded from the discharge hole by the protrusion.   The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 6, wherein a height of the protrusion is 1 mm or more and 5 mm or less.   8. The liquid discharge apparatus according to claim 6, wherein a protrusion is provided on the upstream side of the air flow of the liquid discharge hole at the upstream end of the air flow.   6. The liquid ejection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the exudation liquid trap means is a depression, and traps the liquid that has exuded from the ejection hole by the depression.   6. The liquid discharge apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the exudation liquid trap means is a porous material, and traps the liquid that has exuded from the discharge hole by the porous material. Droplet discharge means for discharging the particle component liquid as droplets;
Droplet solidifying means for solidifying the droplet to form particles;
An apparatus for producing particles having
An apparatus for producing particles, wherein the droplet discharge means is the droplet discharge apparatus according to claim 1.   A method for producing particles, comprising producing particles using the particle production apparatus according to claim 11.   A toner manufacturing method, wherein the toner is manufactured using the particle manufacturing apparatus according to claim 11.

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