JP2000117730A - Die for adjusting toner resin and method for adjusting toner resin - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To decrease a corresponding back pressure generated in accordance with an extrusion amount when a resin mixture passes through a die to amount of the resin and to avoid generation of a dead space in a resin passage in the extruder. SOLUTION: A die plate 120 connected with the end face of a housing of the extruder 22 with a hollow part is provided. The die plate is constituted in such a way that the crosssectional area of the opening 122 of the die plate is gradually decreased toward the arrow mark 278 of a resin flow by fitting an insert 230 consisting of a wedge-shaped part 270 and a fitting part 272 to its main body 216.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for the production of resins and resin compounds. More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus and method for extruding a resin and a resin compound through a die.

[0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION U.S. Pat. No. 5,145,762 (Gruskin) discloses a process for preparing a toner composition. This process involves melt-kneading the toner resin particles, magnetic particles, wax and charge control agent. The process involves adding a coupling component to the mixture, injecting water into the process, and cooling.

US Pat. No. 4,973,439 (Chang et al.) Discloses an apparatus for obtaining toner particles having an improved dispersion of additive components in the toner particles, the apparatus comprising a blending chamber. , Comprising a kneading screw, a heater, a toner extruder having a toner feeder and an injector for injecting an additive component including a charge control agent into the extruder, and a melting temperature of the toner resin particles contained in the extruder. Enables the reduction of

In US Pat. No. 4,894,308 (Mahabazi et al.), A process for preparing electrophotographic toner is disclosed, which involves premixing and extruding a pigment, a charge control agent and a resin. In. The pigment and charge control agent can be premixed with the resin before being added to the extruder. In a variant, the pigment and charge control agent can be premixed by adding and extruding the extruder via an upstream supply means and then feeding the resin into the extruder via a downstream supply means. is there.

In US Pat. No. 3,778,287 (Stancefield), an inorganic liquid in an organic liquid containing a dissolved polyester having an acid number of up to 100 derived from a saturated or unsaturated aliphatic carboxylic acid containing hydroxy. Dispersions of pigments, lakes or toners are described.
While liquid colorants have the distinct advantage of being more easily added to the medium to be colored than dry pigments, the commercial significance of liquid colorants is due to the handling and storage problems of potentially dangerous liquid chemicals. Is greatly limited. Thus, from an economic and safety point of view, a colorant in dry form that has a storage stability that is easily dispersible in a variety of paints without compromising any of the required properties of the coating resulting from the paint. It is desirable to realize.

US Pat. No. 5,227,460 (Mahabazi et al.) Discloses a low melting toner resin having a minimum fusing temperature and a wide fusing latitude, the toner resin comprising a high density crosslinked microgel. It contains particles, but contains linear and crosslinked moieties that are substantially free of low density crosslinked polymers.

US Pat. No. 5,376,494 (Mahabazi et al.) Discloses a process for producing low fusing temperature toner resins by a reactive melt mixing process that crosslinks polymer particles at high temperatures and high shear. This resin is particularly suitable for high-speed fixing, and exhibits excellent offset resistance, a wide fixing tolerance, and excellent vinyl offset characteristics.

US Pat. No. 5,468,586 (Proper et al.) Discloses an apparatus for preparing a mixture of a toner resin and a liquid colorant. The apparatus includes a toner extruder that conveys a resin and a colorant feeder that adds a colorant to a toner resin in the toner extruder to form a toner mixture. The color of the extrudate is measured and compared to a standard, and the amount of colorant added is changed accordingly.

US patent application Ser. No. 08 / 501,528 (Hawkins et al.) Discloses an apparatus for conditioning a mixture of a toner resin and an initiator to produce a toner resin or toner mixture containing crosslinked microgel particles. ing. The apparatus includes a toner extruder that conveys the resin and an adding device that adds an initiator to the toner resin in the toner extruder to form a toner resin or a toner mixture. The apparatus also includes a measuring device that measures the crosslinked microgel particles in the toner mixture substantially immediately after mixing in the toner extruder and sends a signal indicating the quality of the crosslinked microgel particles in the toner resin or toner mixture. The device also includes a controller that controls the rate of initiator addition in response to a signal from the measurement device.

[0010]

The polymer and pigment are melt mixed with each other by an extruder, which is generally part of an extrusion apparatus. The polymer and pigment are transferred,
It is mixed by the auger in the hollow body of the extruder. A die plate is mounted at an end outlet of the extruder. Conventional die plates are provided with holes around them for extruding a high-viscosity material, and subsequent processes include thinning, cooling, and pulverization. Conventional strand die plates with small holes are prone to clogging and create very high back pressure. As a result, a problem arises in that the gas flows out of the exhaust vent and the time required for other processes in the extrusion molding device is delayed.

Also, the die plate often needs to be removed from the extruder for cleaning, which requires labor. Larger holes are provided in the die plate to prevent clogging associated with the smaller holes in the die plate and reduce the time spent in removal and cleaning.

If a large hole is provided in the die plate, a long slab of extrudate having a high viscosity comes out of the extruder. The extrudate must be squeezed and stretched by nip rolls. Slabs with this large high viscosity often slip as they emerge from the nip roll. Subsequent processing of this cross-sectional slab is very difficult. This slab is generally more difficult because the outer edges of the slab are made particularly thinner.

As described above, in the conventional extruder, when the resin mixture passes through the die, a corresponding back pressure is generated according to the extruded amount, and there is a demand for reducing this back pressure with respect to the resin amount. . There is also a problem that it is difficult to avoid the generation of a dead space in the resin passage in the extruder.

[0014]

According to one aspect of the present invention, a housing defining a hollow portion within the housing;
There is provided a die for adjusting a toner resin provided in an extruder having a conveyor that conveys the resin so as to pass through the hollow portion and forms a flow of the resin. The die includes a member connected to a first end of the housing.
This member forms an opening through the member. The cross-sectional area of the opening is configured to gradually decrease in the direction of resin flow in at least a substantial portion of the opening. According to another aspect of the present invention, a method for adjusting a toner resin is provided.
This method comprises the steps of: charging a base resin and a chemical initiator into a toner extruder; mixing the base resin and the chemical initiator in the extruder to form a mixed resin; and extruding the mixed resin in the extruder. Extruding the mixed resin through a die and extruding the mixed resin through an extrusion die to form a resin flow having a substantially smaller cross-sectional area when the resin exits the die than the cross-sectional area of the flow as the mixed resin enters the die. Including.

The toner generally extruded using the extruder die of the present invention comprises a resin and preferably a charge control agent and other known additives. The production of black toner will be discussed later. It should be readily apparent that the manufacture of color toners may also include the process of the present invention.

The base resin generally extruded using the extruder die of the present invention is about 500 to 20,000 Pa · s as measured by a mass spectrometer at 10 radians / second.
(5,000 to about 200,000 poise). Such polymers include reactive polymers, preferably linear reactive polymers such as, for example, linear unsaturated polyesters. For example, the base resin may have a degree of unsaturation of about 0.1 to about 30 mole%, preferably about 5 to about 25 mole%.
The linear unsaturated polyester base resin is generally typically from 1000 to about 20,000, preferably about 200
The number average molecular weight (M) measured by gel permeation chromatography (GPC) ranges from 0 to about 5000.
n), typically characterized by a weight average molecular weight (Mw) in the range of about 2000 to about 40,000, preferably about 4000 to about 15,000. Molecular weight distribution (M
(w / Mn) typically ranges from about 1.5 to about 6, preferably from about 2 to about 4. Differential scanning calorimetry (DS
The onset glass transition temperature measured by C) is typically from about 50 ° C to about 70 ° C, preferably from about 51 ° C to 60 ° C.
It is in the range of ° C. The melt viscosity, measured by a mass spectrometer at 10 radians / second, is about 500 to 2 at 100 ° C.
000 Pa · s (about 5,000 to about 200,00
0 poise), preferably about 2,000 to 10,000
Pa · s (about 20,000 to about 100,000 poise), and as the temperature increases from 100 ° C. to 130 ° C., about 10 to 500 Pa · s (about 100 to 50 Pa.s).
00 poise), preferably about 40 to 200 Pa · s
(About 400 to about 2,000 poise), and the melt viscosity decreases rapidly with increasing temperature.

[0017] The linear unsaturated polyester used as the base resin is a low molecular weight condensation polymer, which is formed between a saturated and unsaturated diacid (or anhydride) and a dihydric alcohol (glycol or diol). May be produced by the step reaction described above. The resulting unsaturated polyester is reactive (eg, crosslinkable) on the following two fronts:
Having. That is, (i) an unsaturated (double bond) portion along the polyester chain and (ii) a functional group such as a carboxyl group, a hydroxy group, or the like according to an acid-base reaction.
Representative unsaturated polyesters useful in connection with the present invention are:
It is prepared by melt polycondensation using diacids and / or anhydrides and diols or other polymerization processes. Suitable diacids and anhydrides include, for example, succinic acid, glutaric acid, adipic acid, pimelic acid, suberic acid, azelaic acid, sebacic acid, isophthalic acid, terephthalic acid, hexachloroendomethylenetetrahydrophthalic acid, phthalic anhydride, Saturated diacids and / or anhydrides such as chlorendic anhydride, tetrahydrophthalic anhydride, hexahydrophthalic anhydride, endmethylenetetrahydrophthalic anhydride, tetrachlorophthalic anhydride, tetrabromophthalic anhydride and the like and mixtures thereof; Examples include unsaturated diacids and / or anhydrides such as maleic acid, fumaric acid, chloromaleic acid, methacrylic acid, acrylic acid, itaconic acid, citraconic acid, mesaconic acid, maleic anhydride and the like and mixtures thereof. But not limited to them. Suitable diols include, for example, propylene glycol, ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, neopentyl glycol, dipropylene glycol, dibromoneopentyl glycol, propoxylated bisphenol A, which are soluble in good solvents such as, for example, tetrahydrofuran and toluene. , 2,2,4-trimethylpentane-1,3-diol, tetrabromobisphenol dipropoxy ether, 1,4-butanediol and the like, and mixtures thereof, but are not limited thereto.

Preferred linear unsaturated polyester base resins are, for example, diacids and / or anhydrides such as maleic anhydride, fumaric acid and the like and mixtures thereof, for example, propoxylated bisphenol A, propylene glycol and the like. And diols such as mixtures thereof. A particularly preferred polyester is poly (propoxylated fumarate bisphenol A).

Including known unsaturated polyesters used as toner resins and unsaturated polyesters which have been deemed unnecessary or unsuitable as toner resins (provided that unsuitable properties have been removed or reduced by crosslinking). ), Virtually any suitable unsaturated polyester can be used in the process of the present invention. A linear portion;
A low melting toner resin having a minimum fusing temperature and a wide fusing latitude comprising high density crosslinked microgel particles but substantially free of crosslinked moieties that are free of low density crosslinked polymers is disclosed in US Pat. No. 5,227. 460, recently disclosed.

[0020] The toner resin of high density crosslinked microgel particles may be manufactured by a process that includes a reactive melt mixing process. Such a method of making such toners and toner resins was disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 5,376,494.

[0021]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring first to FIG. 2, there is shown a toner conditioner 20 in the form of an extrusion system.
The toner adjusting device 20 converts the chemical initiator 24 into the dry resin 26.
And an extruder 22 for converting the dry resin 26 into a liquid containing a toner portion in the form of a gel.
To mix the chemical initiator 24 with the dry resin 26, generally, any extruder suitable for preparing electrophotographic toners, such as a single screw extruder or a twin screw extruder, may be used. For example, Werner & Pfleiderer W
The P-28 extruder is suitable for melt-kneading the dry resin 26, the chemical initiator 24 and the additives. Dry resin 26
The extruder 22 in the dry toner resin feeder hopper 62
Stored near. The dried resin 26 is uniformly supplied from the dried toner resin supply hopper 62 to the resin hopper outlet 66 by the auger 64. Resin hopper outlet 66
Are arranged near the resin inlet 70 for charging the resin 26. After charging the dry resin 26 to the extruder 22, the chemical initiator 24 is added to the extruder 22. Chemical initiator 24 may be wet (liquid) or dry (dry solid). Although the use of a dry initiator is described herein, it should be understood that the chemical initiator may also be in a liquid form.

The chemical initiator 24 can be any suitable chemical that can assist in converting the unsaturated toner resin to a partially saturated toner resin. Preferred conversions may vary widely from about 40% for black toner to about 5-7% for color toner. Organic peroxides have been found to be effective in assisting such a conversion from unsaturated toner resins to partially saturated toner resins. The organic peroxide may be, for example, benzoyl peroxide.

The chemical initiator 24 is stored in the dry chemical initiator hopper 72 near the extruder 22. The chemical initiator 24 is uniformly supplied from a dry chemical initiator supply hopper 72 to a chemical initiator inlet 86 by a valve 74. The extruder 22 generally includes a main body 28 having a hollow portion 30 formed in the center of the extruder. Supply
The mixing mechanism is located in the hollow part 30. Preferably,
The supply mechanism takes the form of a screw 36 arranged rotatably in the hollow part 30. The screw 36 is connected to the hollow portion 30
Rotate around the screw shaft. For clarity, the extruder 22 is described with a single screw, but many commercial extruders include twin screws that are parallel and closely spaced from one another. The chemical initiator inlet 86 is arranged near the resin inlet 70.

As the chemical initiator 24 is mixed with the dry resin 26, an extrudate 110 containing the chemical initiator 24 that has uniformly reacted with the dry resin 26 is produced. Extruder 22
The internal screw 36 preferably rotates at the highest speed that allows the molten resin to achieve the required temperature. Extrudate 110 continues to pass through extruder 22 toward die plate 120 located at outlet 121 of extruder 22. The die plate 120 has a wide rectangular opening 124 for discharging the extrudate 110 from the extruder 22. Die plate 1
At 20, the extrudate is thinned and the temperature is increased from about 110 ° C. to 200
Increase to at least ° C. The pressure in the mixing zone described above can be increased by reducing the size of the opening 124 at the expense of throughput. The openings 124 are appropriately sized to provide sufficient flow to perform commercially satisfactory processing.

The extrudate 110 from the extruder 22 is sent between a pair of rolls 126. Roll 126 is preferably cooled by any suitable means, such as circulating water. Roll 126 spreads and thins extrudate 110,
It is cooled to obtain a partially cooled extrudate 111. The partially cooled extrudate 111 is further sent to a cooling system represented by a cooling belt 127. The extrudate 111, which is still brittle in the cooling belt 127, is cut into granules by a cutter such as a Fitz (registered trademark) mill 128. After the resin has been extruded, the resin mixture is reduced in size by any suitable method, including those known in the art. An important property of toner is the brittleness that causes the resin to crush when subjected to an impact. This allows for rapid particle size reduction in attritors, other media mills, or even in jet mills used to produce dry toner particles. It should be understood that a fine mill is used to reduce the particle size. The mill may be, for example, a hammer mill such as an Alpine® hammer mill. The hammer reduces the toner particles from about 100 μm to about 300 μm in size. Applicants have found that the present invention can be practiced without using a hammer mill.

FIG. 3 shows a pulverizing system 134 used together with the toner adjusting device 20 to form the toner manufacturing system 135. Micronization system 134 operates to reduce the particle size of pellets 130 to appropriately sized toner particles, such as 4 to 8 μm. The pulverizing system 134 is connected to the toner adjusting device 20 to form a toner manufacturing system 135.

As described above, important properties of the toner are as follows.
It is brittle which breaks the resin when subjected to an impact. This allows for rapid particle size reduction in aerators, other media mills, or even in jet mills for producing dry toner particles.

The pulverizing system 134 includes the pellet 130
And a pulverizer 136 for rapidly reducing the particle size of the toner to toner particles. Preferably, the mill 136 is a jet mill, such as a jet mill. The jet mill has a comminuting section in which steam jets or air jets are blown in at a high speed, and the solid to be micronized is carried by the propellant through the injector. Usually, compressed air or steam is used as a propellant in this process. The introduction of solids into the injector usually takes place through a feed hopper or an inlet chute.

For example, the fine pulverizer 136 has a capacity of about 114 ps.
i (pound square inch, 45 pounds per pound,
A steutevant 15 inch jet mill with a feed pressure of 2.54 cm).
A grinding pressure of about 119 psi may be used in conditioning the toner resin particles. The jet mill nozzles are arranged around the periphery of the ring. Feed material is introduced by a pneumatic delivery device and transferred to an injector nozzle. The particles collide with each other and wear away. These particles stay in the grinding zone by centrifugal force until they are sufficiently small to be ground and collected by the cyclone separator. Subsequent classification of the size may be performed by an air classifier.

Preferably, however, the mill 136 is
Takes the form of an AFG-800 grinder. AFG-800
The grinder is a fluidized air mill manufactured by AFG (Alpine-Fiebert Gegenstahlmuhle). The pulverizer 136 includes the feed chamber 13.
8 and a grinding chamber 140. A pipe or tube 142 connects the rotary cutter 128 to the feed chamber 138. The pipe 142 is made from any suitable durable material that does not interact with the toner composition, such as stainless steel. Pellets 130 are propelled toward feed chamber 138 by any suitable means, such as an auger (not shown) or a blower (not shown). The pellets 130 that have accumulated in the feed chamber 138 are withdrawn from the feed chamber 138 by screws 144 located in a tube or pipe 146 interconnecting the feed chamber 138 to the grind chamber 140. Screw 144 and pipe 146 are made from any suitable durable material that does not chemically interact with the toner, such as stainless steel. Pellets 1
30 enters the lower portion 150 of the grinding chamber 140.

Preferably, a compressed fluid, in the form of compressed air, is applied to lower central portion 152 of grind chamber 140.
At the grinding chamber 140. Compressed air is supplied by any suitable source of compressed air, such as an air compressor. Compressed air conduit 156 interconnects the source of compressed air to a ring 162 located around grind chamber 140. Extending inward from the ring 162 is a series of inwardly directed nozzles (not shown) through which compressed air enters the grind chamber 140. The compressed air rapidly accelerates the pellet 130 upward in the grind chamber 140.

The upper part 17 of the grinding chamber 140
At 8, a series of rotating classifier wheels (not shown) rapidly rotate the toner and air mixture. The classifier wheel (not shown) has fins (not shown) along the circumference of the classifier wheel. The wheels propel large particles, pellets 130, to the inner surface 184 of the grinding chamber 140 and return to the lower portion 150 of the grinding chamber 140. The pellets 130 collide with each other and strike the constituent parts of the pulverizer 136, so that the toner is
8 is finely ground. The finely pulverized toner 188 is conversely directed upward in the grind chamber 140 to the manifold 18.
6 can be moved.

The long connecting pipe 190 has one end connected to the manifold 186 and the other end connected to the product cyclone 192. The long connecting pipe 190 acts to form a conduit between the grinding chamber 140 and the product cyclone 192 for the pulverized toner 188. The long connecting pipe 190 may be manufactured from any suitable durable material, such as stainless steel.

Product cyclone 192 is designed to separate particles from the air stream carrying the particles. Product cyclone 192 can be any suitable commercially available cyclone manufactured for this purpose,
The product cyclone 192 includes, for example, a (quad) cyclone including four connected cyclones. In the product cyclone 192, the finely pulverized toner 1
The 88 makes a circular motion while turning around the inner surface 194 of the cyclone 192. Since the larger the finely pulverized toner 188 is, the larger the mass is, the larger finely pulverized toner 188 is propelled toward the inner surface 194 of the cyclone 192 and falls into the lower portion 196 of the product cyclone 192. The air and the fine dust particles 200 having a small mass and possibly a particle size of less than 1 μm are combined in the upper opening 2 of the cyclone 192.
Going upward through 02 and entering the dust collector 204. The finely ground toner 188 collects in the lower portion 196 of the cyclone 192 and is withdrawn therefrom.

In accordance with the present invention and referring now to FIG. 1, the die plate 120 is shown in greater detail. The die plate 120 is fixed to the end face 210 of the main body 28 of the extruder 22. The die plate 120 is used for the die plate 12.
0 is disposed so as to close the hollow portion 30 of the main body 28 of the extruder 22. First surface 212 of die plate 120 is secured to body 28 by any suitable means, such as, for example, welding or fasteners. Preferably, die plate 120 is secured to the body by use of a fastener, such as, for example, socket head cap screw 214 as shown.

Although the die plate 120 may be manufactured as an integral structure, preferably, the die plate 120 is made up of an aggregate of several components to facilitate manufacture and reduce the shape of the die plate. Manufacturable to order and consumable components can be repaired and replaced.

The die plate 120 is preferably a die plate body 21 fixed to the end face 210 of the body 28 of the extruder 22 by a socket head cap screw 214 fixed in a body hole 220 in the die plate body 216.
6 is provided. First surface 212 of die plate body 216
Preferably, the shaft 38 of the screw 36 of the extruder 22
At right angles to the The first surface 212 is further disposed at a central position about the axis 38. The die plate main body 216 forms the opening 122 of the die plate 120. The opening 122 is provided on the shaft 3 of the screw 36 of the extruder 22.
8 in a second direction 222 at right angles. Opening 12
2 preferably has a length A in the second direction 222 that is about 4 to 10 times the height B in the third direction 224. Both ends 226 of the opening 122 preferably have a precise shape. For example, both ends 226 may be formed with a radius R ₁ approximately equal to half the height B of the opening 122.

According to the present invention, the opening 122 is
The cross-sectional area decreases in the direction of the flow of the extrudate, shown at 3. Although a non-uniform cross section of the opening 122 can be incorporated into the integral die plate 120, preferably the die plate 120 comprises a die plate body 216 and an insert 230 attached to the body. It is intended to simplify the structure of the plate 120, to easily disassemble and replace parts in the event of extruder blockages and other extruder malfunctions, and to experiment with the cross-sectional shape of an integral, expensive opening. This is to reduce the cost of hardware.

The insert 230 is mounted on the die plate 120.
Acts somewhat as a nozzle to guide the extrudate 110 that has passed through it. Insert 230 is secured to die plate body 216 by any suitable means, for example, a fastener such as a stainless steel flat head screw 232.
When assembling the insert into the body, the die plate body 21
To accurately position the insert 230 relative to 6, the body preferably has a precision hole 233 (not shown) for a precision dowel 231 fixation. The insert has a precision hole 233 and the precision dowel 231 is slidably fitted into the precision hole 233 during assembly. However, it should be understood that the insert 230 may be welded or glued to the die plate body 216.

The die plate body 216 and the insert 230 are preferably any suitable durable material having sufficient strength to withstand the high temperatures and pressures of the extruder 22 while not chemically reacting with the extrudate 110. Manufactured from materials. For example, die plate body 216 and insert 230 may be made of stainless steel.

FIG. 4 shows a state where the insert 230 is disposed at a position on the die plate main body 216. Insert 230 includes a wedge-shaped portion 270 and a mounting portion 272. The wedge-shaped portion 270
While located in the opening 122, the mounting portion 272
Is disposed on the die plate body 216 and has an opening 274 for a screw, and the screw 276 is slidably fitted in the opening 274 to fix the insert 230 to the die plate body 216. It should be understood that wedge-shaped portion 270 may be secured to mounting portion 272 in any suitable manner, or may be manufactured integrally with mounting portion 272.

The wedge-shaped portion 270 may have any suitable shape as long as the cross-sectional area of the opening 122 decreases in the direction of the arrow 278. The shape of the wedge-shaped portion 270 is preferably determined empirically based on obtaining a suitable flow of the flow 244. It has been found that a wedge-shaped portion 270 having a triangular cross-section is preferred. For example, wedge-shaped portion 270 has a thickness T ₁ of a few millimeters near first surface 212 of die plate body 216 and a thickness T ₂ near the opposite surface of die plate body 216, wherein thickness T ₂ is It is almost half the thickness B of the opening 122. The use of insert 230 allows extrudate 110 with lower back pressure than a smaller opening having a uniform cross section.
Through the die plate 120.

Referring now to FIG. 5, another embodiment of an insert according to the present invention is shown at insert 330. The insert 330 is similar to the insert 230 of FIG. 4 except that the surface of the insert 230 is planar while the corresponding lower surface 360 of the insert 330 is arched. Lower surface 36
0 is any arched shape that forms a lower surface 360 such that the midpoint 362 of the surface 360 in the second direction 322 is lower than both ends 364 of the surface 360 in the second direction 322. Good. For example, the lower surface may be formed by a radius R _3. When the insert 330 of length L _3,
The end point 364 is separated from the line passing through the midpoint 362 in the second direction 322 by a distance C. For an insert with a value of 4 inches (1 inch equals 2.54 cm), the value of C should be 0.
130 inches has been found to be effective. Escape in the second direction acts by compensating for the tendency for material shortage at both ends of the slap in the second direction,
The extrudate has improved cross-sectional uniformity after subsequent processing.

Referring now to FIG. 6, yet another embodiment of a die plate according to the present invention is a die plate 420.
Are shown. The die plate 420 includes a die plate 12 except that the die plate 420 comprises a splitter 440 that splits the extrudate stream into two separate streams.
Same as 0.

Die plate 4 having splitter 440
The use of an extruder with 20 produces a plurality of streams spaced from one another, the cross-sectional area of each of these streams being smaller than the original stream. The reduced cross section flow of the extrudate from the splitter can be more easily rolled than a single extrudate stream. By using a splitter, each extrudate stream can have a free end that allows the extrudate stream to be spread more easily than a single extrudate large stream.

The splitter 440 includes a die plate 420
Are arranged in close proximity to the opening 422. Although the present invention can be practiced with a single splitter 440, preferably, multiple extruders 110 are used to split extrudate 110 into multiple streams 444 of extrudate. The splitter 440 can have any suitable shape, but preferably has relatively small dimensions in the second direction 442 so that the stream of extrudate 110 can be easily split into a stream 444. To For example, splitter 440 may be a blade or similar shape having a width substantially less than its length. The pin has a diameter D substantially smaller than the height B of the opening 422. The pins may have a straight configuration, or may be U-shaped with the first pin portion 450 located upstream of the second pin portion 452, as shown in FIG. First and second pin portions 4
50 and 452 are the die plates 4 of the pins, respectively.
20 and assist in directing extrudate 110 to resin flow 444.

Although the present invention can be practiced with a single splitter 440, preferably, the die plate 420 preferably includes a plurality of splitters 4 equally spaced in the second direction 522.
40 is provided. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the five splitters 440 are arranged at an equal distance L from each other.

The die plate body 416 is preferably
Any suitable durable material having sufficient strength to withstand the high temperatures and pressures of extruder 22 while extrudate 110
Manufactured from materials that do not chemically react with For example, die plate body 416 may be made of stainless steel.

The splitter 440 is made of any suitable durable material capable of withstanding the pressure and high temperatures of the extruder 22 while being chemically inert to the extrudate 110. For example, splitter 440 may be made of stainless steel.

Referring now to FIG. 7, splitter 44
0 is shown in detail. The splitter 440 includes a first pin portion 450 having a length substantially shorter than the length of the second pin portion 452. First and second pin portions 45
0 and 452 are parallel and spaced apart and interconnected by a loop portion 454 that interconnects the first and second pin portions 450 and 452. The loop portion 454 is formed by a radius R _2.

The splitter 440 is connected to the die plate body 4.
16 are shown. First pin portion 450 of splitter 440 slidably fits into body pin opening 460 of die plate body 416, while second pin portion 452 slides into insert pin opening 462 of insert 430. Movably fit. Splitter 440
Is installed from above the die plate 420 with the splitter 440 located at the upper portion 464 of the die plate body 416 of the die plate 420. First pin part 45
0 engages within the body pin opening 460 at both the top and bottom of the opening 422 of the die plate body 416. The first pin portion 450 engages a distance P below the opening 422 to properly secure the pin in the opening 422.

[0052]

According to the present invention, there is provided a member in the form of a die connected to a first end surface of the housing having a hollow portion penetrating the housing, wherein a sectional area of the opening of the die gradually increases in a flow direction of the resin. The use of a reducing member can reduce the back pressure through the die for similar slab sizes.

The use of a die having a gradually decreasing cross section in the direction of extrudate flow eliminates dead space for material confinement and results in a smooth flow of the flow through the die.

The use of a die having an arcuate surface on the surface adjacent to the opening provides an extrudate flow that can modify the extrudate to an optimal shape for subsequent processing.

The use of a die with a shape that is thinner in the center than at both ends close to the opening provides a perfect flow of extrudate at the outer edges of the extrudate.

The use of dies with interchangeable inserts makes switching quicker and easier, eliminating the need for a full die plate replacement and complementing different dies for different applications with less overall cost. become.

The use of an extruder with a die plate having a splitter produces a plurality of streams which are spaced from one another and have a smaller cross section than the original stream. The smaller the extrudate from the splitter and the smaller the flow,
A single stream of extrudate provides a stream of extrudate that is easily compressible on rolls. By using a splitter,
Each extrudate stream can have a free end that allows the extrudate stream to be more easily spread than a larger single extrudate stream.

The use of a small width splitter allows extrudate splitting without a significant increase in pressure in the extruder.

Using a splitter with a circular cross section,
It allows the use of small pins that are strongest and minimize back pressure.

The use of U-shaped splitter pins results in primary and secondary splitting of the flow that minimizes back pressure in the extruder while preventing reshaping of a single flow in the extruder.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a die of a toner extruder according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic elevation view showing a toner extruder according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic elevation view showing a toner production system including a pulverization system and a toner extruder of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a die insert for the die of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a die insert for a die according to another embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of a die for a toner extruder according to the present invention equipped with a splitter.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing a die insert for the die of FIG. 6;

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference Signs List 20 toner adjustment device, 22 extruder, 24 chemical initiator, 26 dry resin, 28 extruder main body, 30 hollow portion, 36 screw, 38 screw shaft, 62
Dry toner resin feeder hopper, 64 augers, 66
Resin hopper outlet, 70 resin inlet, 72 chemical initiator feeder hopper, 74 valve, 86 chemical initiator inlet, 110 extrudate, 111 cooling extrudate, 120 die plate, 122 opening, 123 arrow, 124 extruder discharge Opening, 126 rolls, 127 cooling belt,
128 mill, 130 pellets, 134 pulverization system, 135 toner production system, 136 pulverizer, 138 feed chamber, 140 grind chamber, 142 pipe, 144 screw, 14
6 pipe, lower part of 150 grind chamber,
152 central part of grind chamber, 156 compressed air conduit, 162 ring of grind chamber, 17
8 upper part of the grinding chamber, 184 inner surface of the grinding chamber, 186 manifold in the grinding chamber, 188 finely ground toner, 190 pipes, 19
2 Product cyclone, 194 Cyclone inner surface, 196
Lower part of cyclone, 200 fine dust particles, 2
02 cyclone upper opening, 204 dust collector,
210 end face of extruder, 212 first face of body, 21
4 Socket head cap screw, 216 body, 22
0 body hole, 222 second direction, 224 third direction, 226 both ends of opening, 230 insert, 231
Precision Dowel, 232 Socket Head Cap Screw, 233 Precision Hole, 244 Resin Flow, 270 Wedge Shaped Part, 272 Mounting Part, 274 Screw Opening, 276 Screw, 278 Arrow, 322 Second Direction, 330 Insert, 360 Insert Lower surface, 364 insert ends, 362 insert midpoint, 364 end point, 370 wedge shaped portion, 37
2 Mounting part, 416 body, 420 die plate, 422 die plate opening, 430 insert, 440 splitter, 444 resin flow, 450
First pin portion, 452 Second pin portion, 454
Splitter loop, 460 body pin opening, 46
2 Insert pin opening, 464 Upper part of body, 5
22 Second direction.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Jay Stefan Kittelberger Rochester Penalow Road, New York, United States 160 (72) Inventor John Jay Iani United States Medina Oak Orchard River Road 2693, New York 26 (72) Inventor Fraser S. Smith Canada Burlington, Ontario Burlington Amblecourt Lane 2404 (72) Inventor Fumii Higuchi Mississauga Westerdam Road, Ontario, Canada 1188 F-term (reference) 4F201 AA41 AB04 AB12 AH81 AR12 AR13 BA01 BA02 BC01 BC37 BD05 BK02 BK13 BL07 BL33 BQ22 4B12A AH81 AR12 AR13 KA01 KL63

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A method for adjusting a toner resin provided in an extruder having a housing forming a hollow portion in the housing, and a conveyor for conveying the resin through the hollow portion to form a flow of the resin. Wherein the die comprises a member connected to a first end of the housing, wherein the member forms an opening through the member, and wherein a cross-sectional area of the opening is at least substantially a portion of the opening. A die for adjusting a toner resin, wherein the die is configured to gradually decrease in a resin flow direction. 2. A method for preparing a toner resin, comprising: introducing a base resin and a chemical initiator into a toner extruder; and mixing the base resin and the chemical initiator in the extruder to form a mixed resin. Causing the mixed resin in the extruder to be conveyed to the extrusion die, extruding the mixed resin through the extrusion die, and causing the mixed resin to exit the die from the cross-sectional area of the flow when the mixed resin enters the die. Forming a resin flow having a substantially smaller cross-sectional area of the flow.