Toner Particle Heat Treating Distributing Member
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing heat treating apparatuses for toner particles face challenges in achieving uniform heat treatment while preventing coalesced particles and particles with extremely high circularity, especially when throughput is increased, leading to inefficiencies and space and energy inefficiencies.
Innovation Solution
A heat treating apparatus with a treating chamber, a raw material-supplying unit, a hot air-supplying unit, a cold air-supplying unit, and a recovering unit, featuring a distributing member with multiple flow paths that guide powder particles uniformly into the treating chamber, reducing coalescence and high circularity particles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If excessive heat is applied to increase throughput, then productivity is improved, but toner particles coalesce to form coarse particles worsening manufacturing precision
Solution Approach 1:
The treating chamber is divided into multiple zones with different temperature characteristics. The distributing member segments the particle flow into multiple streams that are exposed to different thermal environments, allowing particles to be treated at lower temperatures without coalescence while maintaining high throughput capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the treating chamber provide different thermal conditions. The distributing member positions particles in specific locations where they receive appropriate heat treatment intensity, ensuring uniform treatment without excessive temperature that would cause coalescence.
2Productivity
If multiple supplying parts are provided to increase amount to be treated, then productivity is improved, but device complexity and space occupation increase
Solution Approach 1:
A single distributing member is segmented into multiple flow paths that distribute particles through different routes within the treating chamber. This achieves the effect of multiple supplying parts while using only one supplying apparatus, reducing device complexity and space occupation.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of adding multiple supplying parts in the same spatial dimension, the invention uses a single distributing member that creates multiple flow paths through three-dimensional routing within the treating chamber, achieving increased capacity without proportional increase in apparatus complexity.
3Device complexity
If linear jetting of raw materials to annular hot air is used, then device complexity is reduced, but treating efficiency decreases due to loss in treating portion
Solution Approach 1:
The distributing member segments the particle flow into multiple streams that are distributed across different regions of the treating chamber, maximizing exposure to hot air and eliminating dead zones where particles would be lost or undertreated.
Solution Approach 2:
The distributing member creates curved or spiral flow paths that maximize the residence time of particles in the treating chamber and ensure thorough exposure to hot air, improving treating efficiency while maintaining configuration simplicity.
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
The apparatus enables uniform heat treatment of toner particles, minimizing coalesced and high circularity particles even at high throughput, improving space efficiency and energy usage.
Implementation Method 1
a hot air-supplying part that supplies hot air for heat-treating the powder particles
Implementation Method 2
a cold air-supplying part that supplies cold air for cooling the heat-treated powder particles
Data Source
AI summary
A heat treating apparatus for powder particles containing a binder resin and a colorant, the heat treating apparatus including: a treating chamber in which a heat treatment of the powder particles is performed; a raw material-supplying unit for supplying the powder particles to the treating chamber; a hot air-supplying unit that supplies hot air to the treating chamber; a cold air-supplying unit that supplies cold air for cooling the heat-treated powder particles; and a recovering unit that recovers the heat-treated powder particles. The raw material-supplying unit includes an introducing tube and a distributing member, and the distributing member is provided with a protruding member on a portion opposite to an outlet portion of the introducing tube, and the distributing member includes a supplying tube including two or more flow paths that extend radially outwardly from the protruding member to a wall surface of the treating chamber.