Liquid Ejection Head Voltage Gradient Control for Gel Particle Manufacturing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods struggle to miniaturize droplets of liquids containing polymeric materials for manufacturing gel particles, as they fail to effectively control the voltage gradients during the ejection process, leading to difficulties in forming small droplets without forming hollows and ejecting superfluous droplets.
Innovation Solution
A method of driving a liquid ejection head by applying a voltage with specific gradients, including raising the voltage from a first to a second, then to a third at a steeper gradient, holding, dropping, and then raising it again with gentler gradients to prevent hollow formation and achieve miniaturization, using a drive signal generation device to control the ejection of polymeric material droplets.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the voltage gradient is increased to eject smaller droplets, then the droplet size is reduced, but hollows form in the droplets and superfluous droplets are ejected
Solution Approach 1:
The voltage application process is segmented into multiple distinct phases with different gradient characteristics: a first voltage gradient phase for initial droplet formation, a second voltage gradient phase for droplet separation, and a third voltage gradient phase for tail removal. This segmentation allows each phase to optimize for its specific function, preventing hollow formation while achieving miniaturization.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention dynamically adjusts the voltage gradient throughout the ejection process rather than using a single fixed gradient. The gradient transitions from steeper to gentler in specific phases, allowing the system to adapt to the changing state of the droplet during formation, separation, and tail removal, thereby achieving precise control over droplet morphology.
2Volume of moving object
If the voltage variation time is set to equal to or shorter than the natural period of the actuator, then miniaturization is achieved, but it becomes difficult to eject droplets including polymeric material
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes multiple parameters simultaneously: voltage gradient magnitude, voltage variation time, and the temporal distribution of voltage application. By optimizing these parameters specifically for polymeric materials, the system achieves ejection of droplets containing such materials at miniaturized scales without compromising material integrity or ejection feasibility.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach allows for the precise miniaturization of droplets, preventing hollow formation and tail ejection, enabling the production of smaller gel particles with controlled fluidity and accuracy, particularly effective for sodium alginate solutions with viscosities between 5 and 20 mPa·s.
Implementation Method 1
a liquid ejection head adapted to apply a voltage to the liquid ejection head to thereby eject a liquid including a polymeric material
Data Source
AI summary
A method of manufacturing gel particles adapted to apply a voltage to a liquid ejection head to eject a liquid including a polymeric material toward an ejection target liquid to thereby manufacture the gel particles, includes: raising the voltage from a first voltage to a second voltage at a first gradient; raising the voltage from the second voltage to a third voltage at a second gradient steeper than the first gradient at which the voltage is raised from the first voltage to the second voltage, and then holding the voltage at the third voltage; dropping the voltage from the third voltage to a fourth voltage, and then holding the voltage at the fourth voltage; raising the voltage from the fourth voltage to a fifth voltage at a third gradient, wherein the third gradient is gentler than the second gradient.