JPH0747265A - Mechanochemical element using polymer gel and method for controlling the element - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] A polymer gel element that responds promptly from ion diffusion means and shield electric field means enables a small mechanochemical element in the field of electronic and mechanical engineering. [Structure] An ion diffusion means of a polymer gel layer in which a fibrous or film-like polymer gel and a member of an inner electrode are mixed or incorporated, and the polymer gel layer is an outer electrode layer through a polarization layer. Enclosing shield electric field means, capsule means for hermetically sealing the polymer gel layer, the polarization layer, and the external electrode layer together with an electrolyte solution with a flexible polymer film, and sensor values of each part and values of each control command tool. An electronic control means for controlling the swelling degree of the polymer gel element by outputting a control signal according to a preset value and changing the applied voltage according to the control output signal.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a polymer gel application mechanochemical element for directly converting chemical energy into mechanical energy.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Polymer gels have the advantage of absorbing and retaining liquids, so they are used in various fields such as food, industrial products, medicine / pharmaceuticals, civil engineering / construction, agriculture, and life sciences. Have been used for. Polymer gel products represented by practical use include artificial salmon roe in the food field, sanitary products and photographic films in the industrial product field, contact lenses and wound dressing in the medical and pharmaceutical fields, etc.
Polymer gels as swelling / shrinking functional materials were practically sufficient, such as sealing materials and water leakage preventives in the civil engineering and construction fields, soil water retention agents in the agricultural field, biotechnology products in the life science field.

However, in practical use as a highly efficient mechanochemical element that directly converts chemical energy into mechanical energy, a driving principle of the element is to change the composition of liquid, for example, a film-like polymer gel film is used. At the time of changing the composition of the liquid used (reference: The 3rd Polymer Society of Japan Polymer Gel Workshop, Makoto Suzuki 1988), the time required for alternating flow of water and acetone is required, and PAN-based gel fiber is used for pH. (Reference: Polymer processing
Okui, Norimasa et al., 1988), the response speed is slower than that of living muscle and the time required for pH change is also required.
In addition, a driving principle is a method based on electrical stimulation, for example, a direct current voltage is applied using a polymer electrolyte gel (reference: functional material
In an embodiment represented by a medical tube (see JP-A-64-320068), an actuator (see JP-A-64-164804), etc., the response speed is higher than that of a living muscle by the application of Yoshida Nagata 1987). There were drawbacks such as being slow.

The mechanochemical conversion element has an energy conversion efficiency of 60 as compared with conventional power conversion and heat conversion.
% Is extremely good, but the drawbacks such as slow response speed and time and equipment for changing the composition of the driving liquid are small when applied to mechanochemical elements in the fields of electronic and mechanical engineering. There was a problem in requesting prompt response work.

As a countermeasure for this, there is a method of shortening the ion diffusion time into the polymer gel by making the polymer gel film membrane thinner and making the gel fibers finer. However, even if a polymer gel fiber that can be processed into ultrafine fibers by this method is used as an example, it is technically limited at the present time that the diameter of the fiber approaches the delicacy of the main muscle fiber. Considering the shortening of the time and the space of the pump device that changes the composition of the driving liquid, it is difficult to apply it to the field where miniaturization is required.

[0006]

The problem to be solved is that when a polymer gel is applied as a mechanochemical element in the field of electronic and mechanical engineering, a small element having a quick response speed cannot be obtained.

[0007]

According to the present invention, a fibrous or film-like polymer gel and an inner electrode member are mixed in order to enable a mechanochemical element in the field of electronic and mechanical engineering having good functionality. Alternatively, the ion diffusion means of the built-in polymer gel layer, the shield electric field means surrounding the polymer gel layer with the outer electrode layer through the polarization layer, the polymer gel layer, the polarization layer, and the outer electrode layer , A capsule means for hermetically sealing the flexible polymer membrane together with the electrolyte solution,
An electronic control unit that outputs a control signal according to the value of each part sensor value and each control command tool and a preset value, and changes the applied voltage according to the control output signal to control the swelling degree of the polymer gel element, Preparing is the most important feature. We have realized a mechanochemical element with a minimum component structure for the purpose of being small and having a quick response speed.

[0008]

EXAMPLE FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an example of application of polymer gel fiber to the mechanochemical element of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a method for controlling a device.

A polymer gel layer is constructed by bundling a plurality of finely-fiberized inner electrodes 2 around a fibrous polymer gel 1, and both ends of the polymer gel 1 are usually made into fibers. While reducing the diameter of both ends, they are focused on the inside of both projecting ends of the element and are fixedly adhered by an adhesive respectively, and one end of each of the plurality of internal electrodes 2 is a polymer which is connected to the electrode lead-out part 7 on the operating part A side. It is connected to the collector wire surrounding the gel layer to form a polymer gel layer,
When a direct current voltage is applied to the polymer gel, the electrode fibers are always in direct contact with the gel fibers so that ions can be quickly diffused into the gel fibers, so that the ion diffusing means is functioning well.

Further, in the polymer gel layer having the above-mentioned structure, the gel fibers have a large axial expansion / contraction rate and are always focused toward the center during swelling and contraction due to an applied voltage. The electrode 2 can easily expand and contract in the axial direction while being in close contact with the surface of the gel, and even if the electrode is cut by bending or the like, the conductive effect can be obtained from the multiple contact of a plurality of fibers.

Further, the polymer gel 1 material of the polymer gel layer was a PAAM system prepared by spinning polyacrylamide and crosslinking it with butadiene epoxide, and ordinary polyacrylonitrile was heat-treated at 200 ° C. to cause crosslinking. After that, in addition to PAN type in which unreacted CN group is modified to carboxyl group, PVA type in which phosphorylated polyvinyl alcohol is crosslinked, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) -polyacrylic acid (PA
Gel fibers such as A) -polyacrylic amine (PAAlAm) cross-linked composite fibers are effective.

The polarization layer 4 is provided in a mesh-like structure with non-conductive polymer fibers that are finely divided into fibers so as to surround the side surface of the polymer gel layer, so that the polymer gel layer swells and contracts. With the change of, to facilitate the expansion and contraction of the element in the axial direction, and at the same time, to change the diameter of the central body part, the total amount of the electrolyte solution in the polymer gel layer part is made constant, and the insulating film and the ion passage film, Functionality such as protection of polymer gel layer is improved.

The external electrode layer 3 is assembled in a mesh shape with a finely fibrillated metal so as to surround the side surface of the above-mentioned polarization layer 4, and the ends of the fiber electrodes are connected in series to the operating portion A side of the element. By being installed in connection with the electrode lead-out portion 8, expansion and contraction are facilitated in the axial direction of the element similarly to the polarization layer 4, and the ion exchange of the electric field from the wide area electrode by the fiber electrode is good.

The polymer film 5 is a flexible polymer film of an aliphatic polyamide and has a plurality of vertical stripes formed in an elliptical ball shape, and both projecting end portions are solidified and both fiber end portions of the polymer gel 1 are solidified. The polymer gel layer, the polarization layer 4, and the external electrode layer 3 are housed inside the polymer membrane 5 and are also connected to the external actuation units A and B, respectively, and the electrolyte solution Is sealed and sealed, and the outer peripheral portions are provided with electrode lead-out portions 7 and 8 respectively connected to the inner side electrode 2 and the outer side electrode 3, and a cylindrical shape having vertical wrinkles on the side faces as the element swells and contracts. The encapsulation means is implemented so that the elliptical ball shape can be repeated.

The applied voltage in the case of an electrolyte solution of an organic solute such as acetone sealed inside the element of the encapsulation means is about ± 2V, and when a solute such as KCl is used, the applied voltage is about ± 1V. The electrode fiber is coated with a conductive polymer (polypyrrole, etc.) to reversibly release and absorb anions and cations due to the oxidation-reduction reaction of polymer chains (by ion doping and undoping), and the hydrogen ion concentration of the electrolyte solution To control the swelling and shrinking of the polymer gel.

Then, in the schematic diagram of FIG.
Element information 24 such as H value and temperature, audiovisual information 26 from an audiovisual sensor such as a camera / microphone for grasping the work status at the end, and output information 27 from a pressure sensitive sensor such as artificial skin or a touch sheet. , A value of environment information 28 from a discriminator such as a temperature, a substance, and a shape for grasping a work environment, and an arbitrary value of a control command tool 25 to be operated are input to the electronic control unit 20 in advance, The control signal is output to the power supply unit 21 according to the set value, and the power supply unit 21 executes electronic control means for controlling the swelling degree of the polymer gel element by changing the applied voltage according to the control signal.

Further, in the polymer gel element, when a DC current flows to the electrode due to a load start control output signal, when the inner electrode 2 is an anode / anode, the electrode is an electrolyte solution around the electrode due to an oxidation reaction due to ion transfer. The pH value of is acidified, the ions diffuse into the gel fiber, and the mesh of the polymer gel contracts due to the dissociation degree of the gel to function as a mechanochemical element, while the external electrode 3 is reduced from the cathode to the cathode. The pH value of the electrolyte solution around the electrodes is alkaline, but the load end control output signal is the power supply unit 2.
From the setting signal supplied by reversing the supply potential from 1, the reaction output of both electrodes is reversed by the control output signal of the end of load and the swelling process of the polymer gel is promoted, and at the same time at the time of anode anode The passivation of the electrode surface is prevented.

[0018]

As described above, the mechanochemical element and control method using the polymer gel of the present invention has a value close to the properties of living muscles, and does not generate electrical noise or disturbing sound, so that the functionality is high. Well, there is an advantage that it is particularly suitable for applications such as actuators and manipulators of electronic devices. In addition, conventional electromagnetic sub-millimeter size motors become smaller and inoperable due to load characteristics, but with mechanochemical elements, energy conversion is highly efficient and stable even with miniaturization, so precision machines such as micromachines Can also be applied to.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing one implementation method of the mechanochemical element of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic explanatory view showing a control method of the mechanochemical element of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 polymer gel 2 inner side electrode 3 outer side electrode 4 polarization layer 5 polymer membrane 6 electrolyte solution 7, 8 electrode extraction part

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A mechanochemical element in which a fibrous or film-like polymer gel takes out a change in swelling degree caused by the type of electrolyte solution, application of voltage, etc. as a one-dimensional dimensional change, and a fibrous or film-like polymer An ion diffusing means of a polymer gel layer in which a gel and a member of an inner electrode are mixed or incorporated, and the polymer gel layer is surrounded by an outer electrode layer through a polarization layer, and a shield electric field means,
Capsule means for hermetically sealing the polymer gel layer, the polarization layer, and the external electrode layer with the electrolyte solution together with the flexible polymer film, and the sensor value of each part and the value of each control command device and the preset value A mechanochemical element using a polymer gel, comprising: an electronic control unit that outputs a control signal and changes the applied voltage according to the control output signal to control the swelling degree of the polymer gel element. 2. The polymer gel mechano according to claim 1, wherein the polarization layer and the outer electrode layer of the shield electric field means are composed of fibrous members in a mesh shape and expand and contract in the axial direction of the element. Chemical element 3. The voltage application end signal of the electronic control means is
2. The method for controlling a mechanochemical element using a polymer gel according to claim 1, wherein the potential of the electrodes so far is reversed to apply a voltage.