JP2012076243A - Liquid droplet ejection device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a liquid droplet ejection device which is configured to prevent the sedimentation of dispersed particles such as pigments in a channel from an ink cartridge to an ejection head.SOLUTION: The liquid droplet ejection device includes: a storage part in which liquid is stored; an ejection head which ejects the liquid; and a channel part through which the liquid moves from the storage part to the ejection head. The channel part includes: a container which allows the liquid to flow in and flow out; a channel body which couples the storage part, the container and the ejection head to make them communicate with each other; a rocking means which rocks the container; and a plurality of stirrers which are accommodated in the container and stir the liquid. A partition part, which forms a movable range of the stirrer and in which a liquid channel is secured, is formed inside the container. The stirrers are accommodated in a plurality of movable ranges. By such constitution, the stirrers existing over the entire channel part are rocked by slight rocking. Thus, a means, which suppresses the sedimentation of the dispersed particles in a long channel and maintains the dispersion to be uniform in a fixed range, is easily provided.

Description

  The present invention relates to a droplet discharge device.

  In general, ink used in an ink jet printing apparatus is often used in which dispersed particles such as pigments are uniformly dispersed in a solvent and mixed. When such an ink is left standing for a long period of time, dispersed particles having a higher specific gravity than the solvent tend to settle. The sedimentation of the dispersed particles caused a decrease in printing quality such as color unevenness, ink clogging, and ejection failure. On the other hand, a technique has been proposed in which an ink stirring mechanism is provided in order to maintain the dispersion of ink uniformly within a certain range. For example, Patent Document 1 describes that a stirring ball is provided in a storage portion provided in an ink flow path. Patent Document 2 proposes a technique of stirring by putting a stirring ball in an ink cartridge.

JP 2006-272648 A JP 2009-45944 A

  However, with the above-described conventional technology, ink is not sufficiently dispersed by agitation as the ink jet printing apparatus is increasing in definition, speed, and size, and the dispersed state is sufficiently maintained. There were problems such as being unable to do so. For example, in the case of the serial head type, conventionally, the ink in the ink cartridge placed on the carriage is agitated by the operation of the carriage (ejection head portion), but the carriage is small for high definition and high speed. -With the weight reduction, it was necessary to separate the ink cartridge and the carriage. Further, along with the adoption of a line head for the purpose of enlargement and the expansion of the movable range of the serial head, it is necessary to make the flow path from the ink cartridge to the ink ejection head longer. As a result, how to prevent the settling of dispersed particles in a long flow path has become a problem. In particular, titanium dioxide, which is generally used as a pigment for white ink, has a problem of maintaining a dispersed state because of a high degree of sedimentation.

  As means for solving this problem, it was considered to have stirring means over the entire long flow path. For example, the entire flow path is configured by a single storage section, and a stirrer is stored therein, and the storage section is swung to perform stirring, or a plurality of storage sections are continuously formed over the entire flow path. It was conceivable to provide a means for stirring each of the storage units. However, in either case, an increase in the size and cost of the stirring means was inevitable. That is, the conventional technique has a problem that there is no simple means for suppressing the sedimentation of the dispersed particles in the long flow path and maintaining the dispersion uniformly within a certain range.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is to solve at least a part of the problems described above, and the invention can be implemented as the following forms or application examples.

  Application Example 1 A droplet discharge device according to this application example includes a storage unit that stores a liquid, a discharge head that discharges the liquid, and a flow path unit that moves the liquid from the storage unit to the discharge head. In the liquid droplet ejection device, the flow path unit includes a first container through which liquid flows in and out, a storage unit, a first container, and a flow path body that connects and communicates with the ejection head, A first rocking means for rocking one container, a plurality of stirring bars that are housed in the first container and stirring the liquid, and a liquid flow path that forms a movable range of the stirring bar are secured. A plurality of stirrer storage parts formed by a partition part, a partition part, and a first container, wherein a stirrer is stored in each of the plurality of stirrer storage parts, To do.

  According to this application example, the inside of the first container constituting the flow path section is divided into a plurality of stir bar storage sections serving as a movable range of the stir bar by the partition section in which the liquid flow path is secured. . With this configuration, even in a droplet discharge device that requires a long flow path, the stirrer can be moved within a short distance within the stirrer storage unit to sufficiently stir the liquid in the stirrer storage unit. The liquid in the entire first container as the assembly can be sufficiently stirred. Therefore, a means for suppressing the sedimentation of the dispersed particles in the long channel and maintaining the dispersion uniformly within a certain range is simply provided.

  Application Example 2 In the droplet discharge device according to the application example described above, the flow path unit includes a second container through which liquid flows in and out, a stirrer housed in the second container, and a second container. And a second swinging means that swings.

  According to this application example, since the second container provided with the means for rocking is further provided, the arrangement of the first container and the second container causes the rocking portion, movement, Combinations of direction, strength, timing, etc. can be set flexibly. Thereby, stirring according to the degree of sedimentation can be performed more effectively.

  Application Example 3 In the droplet discharge device described in the application example, it is preferable that the second swinging unit swings the second container in a different motion or in a different direction from the first swinging unit. .

  Application Example 4 In the liquid droplet ejection apparatus according to the application example, the partition portion is provided from the inner wall of the first container to the inside of the first container, and from the inner wall of the second container to the inside of the second container. It is characterized by being formed by protruding protrusions.

  According to this application example, the partition portion is configured by a protrusion protruding from the inner wall of the first container to the inside of the first container and from the inner wall of the second container to the inside of the second container. A stirrer storage part can be formed easily.

  Application Example 5 In the droplet discharge device according to the application example described above, the partition portion is formed by a plate-like body having a communication hole.

  According to this application example, since the partition portion is formed by the plate-like body having the communication hole, the stirrer storage portion can be easily formed without impairing the function as the flow path.

  Application Example 6 In the liquid droplet ejection apparatus according to the application example, the partition portion is formed in a mesh shape.

  According to this application example, since the partition portion is formed in a mesh shape, the stirrer storage portion can be easily formed without impairing the function as the flow path.

  Application Example 7 In the liquid droplet ejection apparatus according to the application example, the ejection head is a line head.

  According to this application example, even a line head that does not have a carriage can be agitated in a flow path section that guides liquid from the storage section to the line head. Further, even when the flow path portion is long, the entire flow path portion can be swung in a simple and simple manner.

(A); Side sectional view which shows typically the droplet discharge apparatus concerning Embodiment 1. FIG. (B): A perspective view showing a configuration of a flow path portion. The side view which shows a rocking | fluctuation means typically. FIG. 4 is a side sectional view schematically showing a droplet discharge device according to a second embodiment. (A): The perspective view which shows typically the droplet discharge apparatus concerning Embodiment 3. FIG. (B): A plan view schematically showing a droplet discharge device according to a third embodiment. (A), (b), (c); The top view which shows typically the partition part concerning a modification.

  DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the drawings to be used are scaled up or down as appropriate so that the portions to be described are recognizable in size.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1A is a side sectional view schematically showing a droplet discharge device according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 1B is a perspective view showing a configuration of a flow path portion according to the first embodiment.
A liquid droplet ejection apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment is an ink jet printing apparatus, and includes a storage unit 10, a channel unit 20, a ejection head 30, and the like.

The storage unit 10 is a container that stores and supplies the liquid 11 therein.
The liquid 11 is printing ink containing a predetermined concentration of dispersed particles such as pigment, and is guided from the storage unit 10 to the ejection head 30 via the flow path unit 20.
The flow path unit 20 includes a container 40 as a first container, a tube 70 as a flow path body, and the like, and includes a plurality of stirring bars 60 and swinging means 90 as first swinging means. .
The tube 70 is a tubular body that is disposed between the accommodating portion 10, the container 40, and the discharge head 30 and communicates with each other.
The ejection head 30 is a recording ejection head that ejects droplets of the liquid 11 onto a print medium (not shown) in accordance with a print signal.

The container 40 is a tubular body having a substantially cylindrical shape having an axis in the flow direction of the liquid 11, and includes a tubular surface 1, an inflow side surface 2 of the liquid 11, and an outflow side surface 3. At the approximate center of the side surface 2, an inlet 2 e for the liquid 11 is provided, and at the approximate center of the side surface 3, an outlet 3 e for the liquid 11 is provided. A tube 70 is connected to the inflow port 2e and the outflow port 3e.
Inside the container 40, a stirrer storage part 40 s as a movable range of the stirrer 60 is formed by the partition part 50, and the stirrer 60 is stored in the plurality of stirrer storage parts 40 s.

  For the container 40, a polyethylene resin is used as a preferred example. The material is not limited to this, for example, vulcanized rubber such as natural rubber and synthetic rubber, polypropylene, polyamide, polycarbonate, polybutylene, polyacrylate, polyester, polyacetal, and polyphenylene. It can also be appropriately selected from polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene, polyolefin, and fluorine resins.

  The shape of the container 40 is not limited to the above, but is a rectangular parallelepiped shape, an elliptical cylinder shape, a pyramid shape, a conical shape, a combination of these shapes, an elliptical shape, a polygonal shape, or a composite shape thereof. It may be.

  The partition part 50 is a substantially circular plate-like body, and has a slit 50 s opened in a cross as a communication hole for securing the flow path of the liquid 11 at the center part. A plurality of the partition portions 50 are arranged at substantially equal intervals in the extending direction of the container 40, and are fixed so that the outer peripheral portion thereof is in close contact with the inner wall of the container 40 substantially perpendicular to the flow direction of the liquid 11. Yes. A plurality of stirring bar storage portions 40 s are formed inside the container 40 by the partition portion 50. Further, the liquid 11 moves through the slit 50s. The gap length d2 of the slit 50s is preferably smaller than the diameter d1 of the stirring bar 60.

  A polyethylene resin is used for the partition part 50 as a suitable example. The material is not limited to this, for example, vulcanized rubber such as natural rubber and synthetic rubber, polypropylene, polyamide, polycarbonate, polybutylene, polyacrylate, polyester, polyacetal, and polyphenylene. It can also be appropriately selected from polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene, polyolefin, and fluorine resins.

  Further, the partition 50 is not limited to the plate-like body that is molded and fixed separately from the container 40 as described above, and protrudes from the inner wall of the container 40 to the inside of the container 40 integrally with the container 40. It may be molded as a protrusion.

  The stirrer 60 is a substantially spherical stirrer that stirs the liquid 11 inside as the container 40 is swung by the swinging means 90, and is stored in a stirrer storage portion 40 s formed inside the container 40. The stirrer 60 does not need to be stored in all the stirrer storage units 40s. For example, when the stirrer storage unit 40s becomes narrow due to the length or shape of the container 40, or the position where stirring is not necessary. The stirring bar 60 does not necessarily need to be stored in the stirring bar storage part 40s. Further, a plurality of stirring bars 60 may be stored in one stirring bar storage part 40s.

The diameter d1 of the stirring bar 60 is about 0.4 times the inner diameter D of the tubular surface 1. The stirrer 60 is not limited to a sphere, and any stirrer 60 may be used as long as the liquid 11 in the interior is efficiently stirred by the shaking of the container 40. For example, an ellipsoid (rugby ball type), It may be a cylindrical shape, a rectangular parallelepiped, a cube, a combination of these, or a shape in which irregularities are provided on the surface thereof. Moreover, it is preferable that the width | variety of the largest part of the stirring bar 60 is the range of d1 which satisfy | fills the following relational expression (1).
D × 0.4 ≦ d1 ≦ D × 0.9 (1)

  Moreover, it is preferable to use a material heavier than the specific gravity of the liquid 11 for the stirrer 60, and as a suitable example, glass mainly composed of silicate is used. The material is not limited to this, and may be appropriately selected from ceramics such as aluminum oxide and zirconium oxide, iron, aluminum, titanium, chromium, nickel alone, or an alloy containing any of these. it can.

The tube 70 is a substantially cylindrical tubular body, and its inner diameter d3 is substantially equal to the opening diameters of the inlet 2e and outlet 3e, and is about 0.5 times the diameter d1 of the stirrer 60. The inner diameter d3 is not limited to this, and is preferably in a range that satisfies the following relational expression (2).
d1 × 0.1 ≦ d3 ≦ d1 × 0.9 (2)

  The tube 70 is made of silicon resin as a suitable example. Note that the material is not limited to this, and may be any material that is flexible and can be reliably communicated without leakage before and after connection. For example, it can be appropriately selected from vulcanized rubber such as natural rubber and synthetic rubber, polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene, polyolefin, and fluorine resin. The shape of the tube 70 is not limited to the above, and the cross-sectional shape may be an ellipse, a polygon, or a shape in which they are combined. Further, the lengths do not need to be equal to each other, and can be appropriately set to a necessary and sufficient length depending on a connected portion.

  In addition, the container 40 and the tube 70 can also be comprised as an integral flow-path part. Specifically, the storage unit 10 and the discharge head 30 are connected by a tube 70, and the stirrer storage unit 40 s is formed inside the tube 70 by providing the partition unit 50 similarly to the container 40. May be stored in the stirring bar storage section 40s.

FIG. 2 is a side view schematically showing the swinging means.
The swinging means 90 shown in FIG. 2 is a belt-driven swinging means composed of a pulley 91, a belt 92, and the like. The swinging means 90 is provided in the container 40 and swings the container 40.
The pulley 91 is disposed before and after the swinging direction, and one pulley 91 is rotated by a driving device (not shown) to drive an annular belt 92 hung on the pulley 91. The container 40 is fixed to the belt 92 with an adhesive 93 or the like. The belt 92 reciprocates in the direction of the arrow as the pulley 91 rotates forward and reverse, and the container 40 is swung.

  The swinging means 90 is not limited to this, and may be, for example, a crank mechanism, a rack and pinion mechanism, a Scotch / yoke mechanism, or a combination thereof. The swinging is not limited to the horizontal reciprocation as described above, and may be any movement that effectively promotes stirring, including the action of the stirring bar 60. For example, it may be a rotational movement on the horizontal plane, a vertical movement, a movement inclined in a seesaw shape, or a movement in which these are combined.

  According to the above configuration, when the container 40 is swung by the swinging means 90, the liquid 11 inside the stirrer storage unit 40s is stirred together with the action of the stirrer 60 stored in the stirrer storage unit 40s. The entire liquid 11 inside the container 40 is agitated as an aggregate of the liquid 11 inside the plurality of divided stirrer storage portions 40s.

As described above, according to the droplet discharge device 100 according to the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
Even in a droplet discharge device that requires a long flow path, the liquid 11 in the stirrer storage unit 40s is sufficiently stirred by the movement of the stirrer 60 within a short distance in the stirrer storage unit 40s. The liquid 11 in the entire container 40 as the aggregate can be sufficiently stirred.
That is, even when the pigment is settling in the long flow path from the ink cartridge to the ejection head, the liquid 11 can be easily and efficiently stirred over the entire flow path. Therefore, according to the droplet discharge device 100 according to the present embodiment, it is possible to provide a simple means for suppressing the sedimentation of the dispersed particles in the long flow path and maintaining the dispersion uniformly within a certain range.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 3 is a side sectional view schematically showing a droplet discharge device according to the second embodiment.
The droplet discharge device 110 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to this drawing. In addition, about the component same as Embodiment 1, the same code | symbol is used and the overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted.

The droplet discharge device 110 is an ink jet printing apparatus having a configuration in which two flow path portions corresponding to the flow path portion 20 (FIG. 1A) shown in the first embodiment are connected in series. , The flow path portion 20w, the discharge head 30, and the like.
The flow path portion 20w has a configuration in which the flow path portion 20a and the flow path portion 20b are connected and communicated in series by a tube 70.

The flow path portion 20a includes a tube 70 connected to and communicating with the accommodating portion 10, a container 40a as a first container, a partition portion 50, a stirrer 60, a swinging means 90a as a first swinging means, and the like. Yes.
The flow path part 20b includes a container 40b as a second container, a partition part 50, a stirrer 60, a swinging means 90b as a second swinging means, a tube 70 connected to and in communication with the discharge head 30, and the like. Yes.
The containers 40a and 40b each have the same configuration as the container 40 in the first embodiment (FIG. 1B).

The swinging means 90a and 90b each have the same configuration as the swinging means 90 (FIG. 2) in the first embodiment.

  In addition, the number of the flow path parts which comprise the flow path part 20w is not limited to two of the flow path parts 20a and 20b, It can increase suitably according to the length and arrangement | positioning of the whole flow path part. The containers 40a and 40b do not need to have the same shape and length, and can be appropriately set according to the length and arrangement of the flow path portion 20w.

  According to the droplet discharge device 110 according to the present embodiment, the swinging means 90a and 90b can be swung without being synchronized. Furthermore, it can be swung in different directions. Therefore, in a long channel, the combination of the rocking part, movement, direction, strength, timing, etc. can be set more flexibly. Thereby, as illustrated below, the flow path portion 20w can be more effectively stirred.

  For example, it is effective when the flow path part 20w cannot be installed linearly from the storage part 10 to the ejection head 30 and must be routed with a bent part. Specifically, by dividing the flow channel portion 20w into the flow channel portion 20a and the flow channel portion 20b before and after the bent portion, the swing direction can be changed before and after the bent portion. Therefore, more effective stirring can be performed for each flow path. In consideration of the arrangement of the containers 40a and 40b, it is preferable to change the direction of rocking before and after the bent portion, but the present invention is not necessarily limited to this, and the rocking may be performed in the same direction. Also, different movements, that is, one may be swung by reciprocating motion, and the other may be swung by alternately tilting like a seesaw.

  Moreover, it is effective when the degree of sedimentation differs depending on the location in the flow path portion 20w. Specifically, the flow path part 20w is divided into the flow path part 20a, the flow path part 20b, and, if necessary, more flow path parts for each region where the degree of sedimentation is different, If necessary, it can be swung for the required length of time. As a result, useless rocking can be eliminated and effective stirring can be performed. For example, in the case where the difference in the degree of sedimentation depending on the part is known in advance depending on the time for which it is allowed to stand, use such as performing necessary swinging at a necessary part at the timing when the droplet discharge device 110 is moved. Is possible.

  Further, for example, when the degree of sedimentation in the flow path portion 20w can be sensed by a sensor or the like for each part, it is possible to use such as swinging of the part where a preset sedimentation state is sensed.

  In addition, for example, when the size and shape of the containers 40a and 40b differ depending on the location in the flow path portion 20w, it is possible to use settings such as setting the optimal oscillation cycle and oscillation amplitude according to them. .

  As described above, according to the droplet discharge device 110 according to the present embodiment, a plurality of containers including a swinging unit are provided. Therefore, in a long flow path, the swinging portion, movement, direction, strength, timing, and the like are determined. Since it can be set with more optimization, it is possible to more efficiently perform the sedimentation of the dispersed particles in the long flow path and maintain the dispersion uniformly within a certain range.

(Embodiment 3)
FIG. 4A is a perspective view schematically showing a droplet discharge device according to the third embodiment, and FIG. 4B is a plan view.
The droplet discharge device 120 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to this drawing. In addition, about the component same as Embodiment 2, the same code | symbol is used and the overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted.

4 (a) and 4 (b) is a line head ink jet type that uses four liquid droplet ejection units corresponding to the liquid droplet ejection apparatus 110 described above for four types of ink. It is a printing device.
In the case of the line head method, a discharge head having a length substantially the same as the width of a print medium such as printing paper is provided, a number of discharge nozzles are arranged in a line on the discharge head, and the discharge head is fixed while moving the print medium. Droplets are ejected onto the print medium. Therefore, in the case of the line head method, there is no carriage for moving the ejection head. In this embodiment, the line head type droplet discharge device 120 will be described.

The droplet discharge device 120 includes four droplet discharge units 121c, 121m, 121y, and 121b for four types of liquids 11c, 11m, 11y, and 11b, a paper supply / discharge mechanism 300, a control unit 310, and the like.
The liquids 11c, 11m, 11y, and 11b are printing inks containing a predetermined concentration of dispersed particles such as pigments.
The droplet discharge units 121c, 121m, 121y, and 121b have the same configuration, and are disposed substantially in parallel inside the droplet discharge device 120.
The paper supply / discharge mechanism 300 is a mechanism for moving the print medium by a desired amount.
The control unit 310 is a control unit that controls the operations of the droplet discharge units 121 c, 121 m, 121 y, 121 b and the paper supply / discharge mechanism 300.

Hereinafter, the configuration will be described using the droplet discharge unit 121c that discharges the liquid 11c as an example.
The droplet discharge unit 121c is composed of a storage portion 10v, a flow path portion 20v, a discharge head 30v, swinging means 90a and 90b, and the like. The liquid 11c is guided from the storage unit 10v to the ejection head 30v through the flow path unit 20v.
The container 10v is a container that stores the liquid 11c.
The flow path portion 20v includes a flow path that guides the liquid 11c from the storage portion 10v to the ejection head 30v, and includes the flow path portion 20va and the flow path portion 20vb.
The discharge head 30v includes a rectangular plate-shaped head body, a line including a distribution passage 24 formed at approximately equal intervals and discharge nozzles (not shown) arranged in a row connected to the tip of the distribution passage 24. Head. The liquid 11c is guided to the discharge nozzle from the flow path portion 20v through the distribution passage 24.

  The flow path portion 20va is a flow path in which the liquid 11c moves from the storage portion 10v to the flow path portion 20vb, and includes a container 40a, a tube 70, and the like. Further, a swinging means 90a that swings the container 40a, and a stirrer 60 are provided inside the container 40a.

The flow path portion 20vb is a flow path that is connected in series to the flow path portion 20va and guides the liquid 11c from the flow path portion 20va to the discharge head 30v. The flow path portion 20vb is substantially orthogonal to the flow path portion 20va and is disposed above the discharge head 30v. It arrange | positions along the discharge head 30v. The flow path portion 20vb is composed of three containers 40b that communicate in series with each other by a tube 70, and swinging means 90b that swings each container 40b, and a stirrer 60 inside each container 40b. I have.
The liquid 11c is guided to the distribution passage 24 by a tube (not shown) branched from the tube 70 nearest to the flow path portion 20vb that communicates the container 40b.

  The droplet discharge units 121m, 121y, and 121b have the same configuration as the droplet discharge unit 121c described above, and are arranged substantially in parallel with the droplet discharge unit 121c. The swinging means 90a and 90b are shared by the flow path part 20va and the flow path part 20vb of each of the droplet discharge units 121c, 121m, 121y, and 121b.

  According to the droplet discharge device 120 according to the present embodiment, the containers 40a and 40b constituting the flow path portions 20va and 20vb are swung by the swinging means 90a and 90b and stored in the liquids 11c, 11m, 11y, 11b is stirred. As a result, substantially the entire liquid 11c, 11m, 11y, 11b stored in the flow path portion 20v is agitated. Therefore, even if the ejection head 30v is a line head that does not have a movable part such as a carriage, the settling of dispersed particles in the long flow path from the ink cartridge to the ejection head 30v is suppressed, and the dispersion is made uniform within a certain range. A simple means of maintaining can be provided.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications and improvements can be added to the above-described embodiment. A modification will be described below. In addition, about the component same as Embodiment 1, the same number is used and the overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted.

(Modification)
FIGS. 5A, 5 </ b> B, and 5 </ b> C are plan views schematically showing a partition portion according to a modification.
In the droplet discharge device 100 according to the first embodiment, the partition unit 50 has been described as a substantially circular plate-like body having a cross-shaped slit 50s at the center, but FIGS. 5 (a), 5 (b), A form as shown in (c) may be sufficient.

  The partition 51 shown in FIG. 5A has a substantially circular shape having two slits 50s having the same cross shape as the partition 50, and slits 51s that are overlapped by rotating about 45 degrees in the same plane around the center. It is a plate-like body.

  The partition part 52 shown in FIG. 5B is a substantially circular plate-like body having a plurality of substantially circular holes 52s having a diameter dv2. In FIG. 5B, nine holes 52s are shown, but the number is not limited to nine. Moreover, the hole 52s may be single.

  In the partition 53 shown in FIG. 5C, a mesh 53s is formed by a lattice that intersects vertically and horizontally. In addition, in FIG.5 (c), although comprised by the vertical and horizontal grid | lattice, it is not limited to this, For example, a tortoiseshell type mesh may be sufficient.

  Note that, among the above-described modified examples, it is most preferable to configure the mesh 53s of FIG. As a result, it is possible to prevent the liquid from flowing in and out as much as possible and to suppress the stirrer 60 from moving from the existing stirrer storage part to the other stirrer storage part beyond the partition part. Become.

  As shown in this modification, the partition part forming the stirrer storage part 40s is appropriately selected and set in consideration of the shape and size of the stirrer 60, the flow path resistance with respect to the liquid 11, and the like. 40 can be configured appropriately. The gap lengths dv1, dv2 (diameter) and dv3 of the partition portions 51, 52 and 53 need to be set so that the stirrer 60 cannot easily pass through. Further, the present invention is not limited to the plate-like body that is molded and fixed separately from the container 40 as described above, and is molded as a protrusion that protrudes from the inner wall of the container 40 to the inside of the container 40 integrally with the container 40. It may be a thing.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Tubular surface, 2, 3 ... Side surface, 2e ... Inlet, 3e ... Outlet, 10 ... Accommodating part, 11 ... Liquid, 20, 20a, 20b, 20v, 20w ... Channel part, 24 ... Distribution channel, 30 , 30v ... discharge head, 40, 40a, 40b ... container, 50s ... slit, 60 ... stirrer, 70 ... tube, 90, 90a, 90b ... swing means, 91 ... pulley, 92 ... belt, 100, 110, 120 ... droplet discharge device, 300 ... feed / discharge mechanism, 310 ... control unit.

Claims (7)

A storage section for storing liquid;
An ejection head for ejecting the liquid;
The liquid is a liquid droplet ejection device including a flow path section that moves from the housing section to the ejection head,
The channel section is
A first container through which the liquid flows in and out;
A flow path body that connects and communicates the storage section, the first container, and the ejection head;
First rocking means for rocking the first container;
A plurality of stirrers housed in the first container and stirring the liquid;
A partition part that forms a movable range of the stirrer and in which a flow path of the liquid is secured;
A plurality of stirrer storage portions formed by the partition portion and the first container;
The droplet discharge device, wherein the stirrer is stored in each of the plurality of stirrer storage units. The channel section is
A second container through which the liquid flows in and out;
The stirrer housed in the second container;
The droplet discharge device according to claim 1, further comprising: a second swinging unit that swings the second container.   3. The droplet discharge device according to claim 2, wherein the second swinging unit swings the second container in a motion different from or different from that of the first swinging unit.   The partition portion is formed by a protrusion protruding from the inner wall of the first container to the inside of the first container and from the inner wall of the second container to the inside of the second container. The liquid droplet ejection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the liquid droplet ejection apparatus is a liquid ejection apparatus.   The droplet discharge device according to claim 1, wherein the partition portion is formed of a plate-like body having a communication hole.   The droplet discharge device according to claim 1, wherein the partition portion is formed in a mesh shape.   The liquid droplet ejection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ejection head is a line head.

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