JP2013166127A - Capsule production apparatus, capsule for medical use, method for producing capsule, and liquid ejecting apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a capsule production apparatus easily ejecting a droplet having an appropriate size regardless of the nature of liquids.SOLUTION: A capsule production apparatus includes a liquid ejecting part formed of: a pressurizing part 11 reciprocating in a predetermine direction; an elastomer 30 elastically deforming in the predetermine direction by being pressurized by the pressurizing part; and a liquid holding part 20 holding a core material including a liquid to be a raw material of a core of a capsule inside thereof and having a nozzle with a periphery surrounded by the elastomer at a bottom surface part. A droplet is formed by ejecting the core material from the liquid ejecting part, and a shell of the capsule is formed by coating the droplet of the core material by a shell material which is a liquid to be a raw material of the shell, and the shell in a state of being coated with the droplet of the core material is cured by contacting a shell curing material for curing the shell material with the shell.

Description

  The present invention relates to a capsule generation device, a medical capsule, a capsule generation method, and a liquid ejection device.

  There are capsules used for medical use and cosmetics. In particular, a microcapsule having a particle size of the order of micrometers is called a microcapsule (microsphere), and has been developed in recent years.

  When producing such capsules, a method of forming spherical droplets (capsules) using a liquid ejection device that ejects a minute amount of liquid as a raw material for the capsules is known. As an example of the liquid ejecting apparatus, by operating an energy generating element (ejector) such as a thermal resistor or a piezoelectric element, the liquid filled in the chamber is ejected from the nozzle portion by a predetermined amount to have a desired size. A liquid ejection apparatus capable of forming (capacity) droplets has been proposed (Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent No. 4526399

  In the liquid ejecting apparatus of Patent Document 1, the liquid ejection amount is controlled by changing the operation amount of the ejector. However, depending on the nature of the liquid, it may be impossible to accurately control the discharge amount, and droplets of an appropriate size may not be formed. For example, when the viscosity of the liquid to be discharged is high, the fluidity of the liquid is low, so that the liquid is not sufficiently filled in the chamber, and there is a possibility that a droplet having an appropriate size cannot be discharged. Moreover, when using a thermal resistor as an ejector, it is difficult to use a liquid whose components change when heat is applied.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a capsule generating apparatus that can easily discharge a droplet of an appropriate size regardless of the nature of the liquid.

The main invention for achieving the above object is to provide a pressurizing part that reciprocates in a predetermined direction, an elastic body that is elastically deformed in the predetermined direction by being pressurized by the pressurizing part, and a core of a capsule. A liquid holding part that holds a core material containing a liquid as a raw material inside and has a nozzle surrounded by the elastic body on a bottom surface part, and the elastic body is pressurized by the pressurizing part In this case, a liquid ejection unit in which a space other than the nozzle is closed is formed between the inner region of the elastic body, the pressure unit, and the bottom surface of the liquid holding unit, A part of the core material held inside the closed space is released from the nozzle by moving the pressurizing part in one of the predetermined directions and compressing the closed space. Discharged, the pressure part is opposite to the one direction A capsule generating apparatus comprising: a liquid discharge portion that moves in a direction to open the closed space so that the core material held inside the liquid holding portion flows into a region inside the elastic body Because
The core material is ejected from the liquid ejection part to form droplets, and the shell material is covered with a shell material that is a liquid that is a raw material of the capsule shell, thereby forming the shell, It is a capsule production | generation apparatus characterized by making the shell hardening material and the said shell which harden the said shell material contact, and hardening the shell of the state which coat | covered the droplet of the said core material.

  Other features of the present invention will become apparent from the description of the present specification and the accompanying drawings.

1A and 1B are schematic views of the liquid ejection apparatus 1. FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an operation when liquid is discharged using the liquid discharge apparatus 1. 3A and 3B are schematic views of a modified example of the liquid ejection apparatus 1. It is a figure explaining the operation | movement at the time of the liquid discharge in a modification. 5A and 5B are conceptual diagrams of capsules. It is a figure explaining the structure of the apparatus for producing | generating a capsule in 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure showing the flow of the capsule production | generation process of 2nd Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing of a sodium alginate. It is explanatory drawing which shows the intermediate | middle aspect which changes from sodium alginate to a calcium alginate gel. It is explanatory drawing of a calcium alginate gel. It is a figure explaining the structure of the apparatus for producing | generating a capsule in 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure showing the flow of the capsule production | generation process of 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure which illustrates roughly the operation | movement at the time of a shell being formed. It is the schematic showing the cross section of the apparatus for producing | generating a capsule in 4th Embodiment. It is a figure showing the flow of the capsule production | generation process of 4th Embodiment. It is a figure explaining operation | movement at the time of forming the shell which coat | covers a core and a core in 4th Embodiment. It is the schematic showing the cross section of the apparatus for producing | generating a capsule in 5th Embodiment. It is a figure explaining operation | movement at the time of forming the shell which coat | covers a core and a core in 5th Embodiment.

  At least the following matters will become clear from the description of the present specification and the accompanying drawings.

A pressurizing part that reciprocates in a predetermined direction, an elastic body that is elastically deformed in the predetermined direction by being pressurized by the pressurizing part, and a core material containing a liquid that is a raw material of the capsule core And a liquid holding part having a nozzle surrounded by the elastic body at a bottom surface, and when the elastic body is pressurized by the pressurizing part, a region inside the elastic body, A liquid discharge unit in which a space in which a portion other than the nozzle is closed is formed between the pressurizing unit and the bottom surface of the liquid holding unit, wherein the pressurizing unit is one of the predetermined directions. When the closed space is compressed by moving in the direction of, a part of the core material held inside the closed space is discharged from the nozzle, and the pressure unit is The closed space is opened by moving in the opposite direction. By being, a capsule generating apparatus comprising a liquid discharge portion, said core material held therein flows into the inner area of the elastic body of the liquid holding unit,
The core material is ejected from the liquid ejection part to form droplets, and the shell material is covered with a shell material that is a liquid that is a raw material of the capsule shell, thereby forming the shell, A capsule generating apparatus comprising: a shell curing material that cures the shell material; and the shell is brought into contact with the shell to cure the shell covered with the droplets of the core material.

  According to such a capsule generating apparatus, it is possible to efficiently generate capsules of a desired size by ejecting droplets of an appropriate size regardless of the properties of the liquid (core material). Since the liquid discharge unit can be configured as an integral unit of the pressurizing unit, the liquid holding unit, and the elastic body, and the cost of the apparatus itself is low, the liquid discharge unit can be disposable. Capsule production device with excellent properties.

In this capsule generating apparatus, the apparatus includes a liquid film holding unit that holds the shell material in a film shape, and the core material is discharged toward the liquid film of the shell material held by the liquid film holding unit. It is desirable to form droplets and coat the core material droplets with the shell material when the core material droplets penetrate the liquid film of the shell material.
According to such a capsule generating apparatus, it is possible to generate a capsule having a structure in which a core is covered with a shell. At that time, since the shell material is held as a liquid film, the core material and the shell material can be independently selected according to the use of the capsule to be produced, and can be applied to various fields such as medical and food. Capsules can be produced.

In this capsule generating apparatus, the liquid holding unit has a first nozzle surrounded by the elastic body on the bottom surface, and a first holding container for holding the core material therein, and the first nozzle And a second holding container arranged on the bottom surface so as to surround the outer wall of the first holding container, the first holding container and the second holding container A second holding container for holding the shell material between the first nozzle and the core material being discharged from the first nozzle into the liquid of the shell material held in the second holding container. It is desirable to form a droplet and to coat the droplet of the core material with the shell material when the droplet of the core material moves through the liquid of the shell material and is discharged from the second nozzle. .
According to such a capsule generating apparatus, it is possible to generate a capsule having a structure in which a core is covered with a shell. Further, since the shell material is not held as a liquid film but as a liquid phase, the shell material can be easily held and replenished, and capsules can be generated more efficiently.

In such a capsule generating apparatus, a bottom surface portion of the first holding container is formed of an elastically deformable member, surrounds the periphery of the first nozzle, and elastically deforms in the predetermined direction, A second elastic body that surrounds the periphery of the second nozzle and elastically deforms in the predetermined direction, and the bottom surface portion of the first holding container is pressed by the first elastic body that is pressurized by the pressure unit. The second elastic body is pressurized by applying pressure and the bottom surface of the pressurized first holding container is elastically deformed, so that the region inside the second elastic body and the bottom of the first holding container The space in which the portions other than the first nozzle and the second nozzle are closed is compressed between the bottom portion of the second holding container and the liquid of the core material covered with the shell material Drops are ejected from the second nozzle Desirable.
According to such a capsule generating apparatus, the shell material is discharged by applying pressure, so that the core material droplets can be easily covered with the shell material even when the viscosity of the shell material is high. Therefore, the material selectivity of the shell material becomes higher.

In this capsule generator, the shell material is an aqueous solution containing polysaccharides or proteins, the shell hardener is an aqueous solution containing a polyvalent metal salt, and the shell material and the shell hardener are in contact with each other. It is desirable to produce the capsules by a curing reaction that takes place.
According to such a capsule generating apparatus, it is possible to efficiently generate a capsule that is harmless to the human body and highly applicable to the medical field or the like. Moreover, since a capsule made of a hydrophilic gel can be formed, it is possible to produce a capsule having high water retention performance and easy adjustment of osmotic pressure with the external environment.

Moreover, the medical capsule produced | generated by this capsule production | generation apparatus becomes clear.
With such a medical capsule, the raw material component (for example, biological tissue) is altered by heat processing, and it is unlikely to cause danger when ingested into the human body because of its irregular shape and size. Capsules can be supplied. Moreover, since the yield of raw materials is high, waste of cost is suppressed, and it is environmentally friendly, the applicability to the medical field is increased.

  Further, by pressurizing an elastic body that elastically deforms in the predetermined direction by a pressurizing section that reciprocates in a predetermined direction, an inner region of the elastic body, the pressurizing section, and a raw material for the capsule core A space in which a portion other than the nozzle provided on the bottom surface portion of the liquid holding portion is closed is formed between the bottom surface portion of the liquid holding portion that holds the core material including the liquid to be formed, and the pressurization When the portion moves in one of the predetermined directions and the closed space is compressed, a part of the core material held inside the closed space is discharged from the nozzle. Forming the shell by covering the droplet of the core material with a shell material, which is a liquid that is a raw material of the shell of the capsule, and curing the shell material Hardener and said Contacting the E Le, capsules generation method with a curing the shell in a state of covering the droplets of the core material becomes apparent.

  A pressurizing unit that reciprocates in a predetermined direction; an elastic body that is elastically deformed in the predetermined direction by being pressurized by the pressurizing unit; and a liquid holding unit that holds liquid therein. A liquid holding portion having a nozzle surrounded by the elastic body at a bottom surface portion, and when the elastic body is pressurized by the pressurizing portion, an inner region of the elastic body and the pressurizing portion A space in which a portion other than the nozzle is closed is formed between the liquid holding portion and the bottom surface portion of the liquid holding portion, wherein the pressurizing portion is in one of the predetermined directions. When the closed space is moved and compressed, a part of the liquid held in the closed space is discharged from the nozzle, and the pressurizing unit is opposite to the one direction. The closed space is opened by moving in the direction Ri, the liquid held inside the liquid holding section to flow into the inner region of the elastic body, it becomes clear that a liquid discharge apparatus according to claim.

  In addition, a core material containing a liquid that is a raw material of the core of the capsule is discharged to form droplets, and the formed droplets of the core material and a curing material that hardens the core material are brought into contact with each other. A liquid ejecting apparatus characterized by curing droplets of the material becomes clear.

=== First Embodiment ===
<Configuration of liquid ejection device>
In the first embodiment, a liquid ejection apparatus 1 capable of ejecting a predetermined amount of liquid will be described. FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of the liquid ejection apparatus 1. 1A represents an XZ section of the liquid ejection device 1, and FIG. 1B represents an AA section of FIG. 1A. The liquid ejection device 1 includes a pressurizing unit 10, a liquid holding unit 20, an elastic body 30, and a control unit 90.

  For the sake of explanation, coordinate axes as shown in the figure are set. The Z axis is the vertical direction (the downward direction in FIG. 1A), and the X axis is the direction perpendicular to the Z axis. The Y axis is a direction perpendicular to the X axis and the Z axis.

(Pressure unit 10)
The pressurizing unit 10 repeatedly pressurizes an object by reciprocating in a predetermined direction. The pressure unit 10 of the liquid ejection device 1 includes a piston 11 and a power unit 15.

  The piston 11 reciprocates along the Z-axis direction in FIG. 1A and moves downward (assuming one direction) to pressurize and compress an elastic body 30 to be described later. And the elastic body 30 of the pressurized state is open | released by moving to an upper direction (direction opposite to one direction). The shape of the lower end portion of the piston 11 is a flat plate shape wider than the outer shape of the elastic body 30, and the elastic body 30 can be pressurized with an equal force by the flat plate portion. Further, since the piston 11 is in direct contact with the liquid to be discharged (see FIG. 1A), the piston 11 is formed of a material that does not cause a chemical reaction or the like even when in contact with the liquid.

  The power unit 15 is an actuator that generates power for reciprocating the piston 11. In this embodiment, the power unit 15 is connected to the upper end of the piston 11 and reciprocates in the Z-axis direction by applying power to the piston 11.

(Liquid holding part 20)
The liquid holding unit 20 is a container that holds a liquid, and holds the liquid to be discharged inside the container, as shown by the colored portion in FIG. 1A. In the figure, the liquid holding unit 20 is a cylindrical container, but the shape of the container is arbitrary as long as it can hold a predetermined amount of liquid. However, the bottom surface of the liquid holding unit 20 has a shape close to a plane and is formed of a member that is not easily elastically deformed. This is because it is necessary to prevent a gap from being generated between the bottom surface of the liquid holding unit 20 and the elastic body 30 when the elastic body 30 is compressively deformed.

  A nozzle for discharging liquid is provided on the bottom surface of the liquid holding unit 20. In FIG. 1B, one nozzle is provided at the center position of the liquid holding unit 20, but the installation position and the number of nozzles can be changed according to the use of the liquid ejection apparatus 1 and the like. Further, the diameter of the nozzle is determined according to the volume of the liquid to be ejected and the property of the liquid (for example, viscosity).

(Elastic body 30)
The elastic body 30 is a member that can be elastically deformed, and is disposed so as to surround the periphery of the nozzle provided on the bottom surface of the liquid holding unit 20, as indicated by the hatched portion in FIGS. 1A and 1B. In the liquid ejecting apparatus 1, the elastic body 30 is an annular ring (hereinafter also referred to as an O-ring) formed of an elastic body such as silicon or synthetic rubber, and by reciprocating movement of the piston 11 (pressurizing unit 10), Elastically deforms in the Z-axis direction. Although details will be described later, a closed space is formed between the inner region of the elastic body 30 (the region of the inner portion of the O-ring), the lower end portion of the piston 11, and the bottom surface portion of the liquid holding unit 20 during liquid discharge. The closed space becomes a pressure chamber, and the liquid is discharged from the nozzle. Therefore, the size of the elastic body 30 (the inner diameter of the O-ring and the thickness of the ring) is determined in consideration of the volume of the liquid to be discharged, the nature of the liquid (for example, viscosity), the balance with the nozzle diameter, and the like. .

  In FIG. 1B, the elastic body 30 has an annular shape. However, the elastic body 30 does not necessarily have an annular shape as long as a closed region having a predetermined size can be formed therein. It may be a shape or a polygon. In addition, the elastic body 30 is formed of a substance that does not cause a chemical reaction or the like even when in contact with the liquid to be discharged.

(Control unit 90)
The control unit 90 controls the operation of the pressurizing unit 10 (power unit 15) to appropriately reciprocate the piston 11. At that time, the amount of movement of the piston 11 during the reciprocating motion and the period of the reciprocating motion can be adjusted. Thereby, the compression amount of the elastic body 30 and the liquid discharge interval are adjusted.

<About liquid discharge operation>
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an operation when liquid is discharged using the liquid discharge apparatus 1. (A)-(d) of the figure is a cross-sectional view of the XZ plane showing an enlarged view of the vicinity of the nozzle inside the liquid holding unit 20 of the liquid ejection apparatus 1, and the piston 11 and the elastic body during the liquid ejection operation 30 states are shown in time series.

  (A) At the start of the liquid discharge operation, the piston 11 is positioned above the elastic body 30, and the two are not in contact with each other. At this time, the area inside the elastic body 30 (area inside the O-ring) is in a state filled with liquid. In this state, the piston 11 starts moving in the Z-axis direction.

(B) When the piston 11 moves in the Z-axis direction and the lower end portion comes into contact with the elastic body 30 (O-ring), pressurization of the elastic body 30 in the Z-axis direction is started. When the elastic body 30 is pressurized, the region inside the elastic body 30 is sandwiched between the lower end portion of the piston 11 and the bottom surface portion of the liquid holding portion 20 to form a space isolated from the inside of the liquid holding portion 20. . In other words, there is a space (hereinafter also referred to as a closed space) in which the inner region of the O-ring is separated from the outer region of the O-ring, and the portion other than the nozzle is closed as indicated by the hatched portion in FIG. It is formed.
When the volume (capacity) of the closed space at the time when the pressurization of the elastic body 30 is started is V1, the closed space is filled (held) with the liquid V1.

(C) The piston 11 continues to move in the Z-axis direction and pressurizes the elastic body 30 (O-ring). Thereby, since the elastic body 30 is compressed in the Z-axis direction, the closed space formed in the region inside the elastic body 30 is also compressed. When the piston 11 moves to the lowest position in the Z-axis direction, the volume (capacity) of the closed space is minimized. The volume of the closed space at this time is V2. (V1> V2).
Here, in the closed space, only the portion of the nozzle provided on the bottom surface of the liquid holding unit 20 is not closed from the outside. Therefore, the pressure generated by the compression of the closed space tends to escape out of the nozzle. Thereby, a part of the liquid held inside the closed space is discharged from the nozzle to the outside. In the figure, (V1-V2) of liquid is ejected in the Z-axis direction. The discharged liquid has a droplet shape as shown in the figure due to surface tension.

  (D) The piston 11 that has moved to the lowest position in the Z-axis direction starts moving in the opposite direction (upward direction of the Z-axis). As the piston 11 moves, the force applied to the elastic body 30 is relaxed, and the elastic body 30 attempts to return to its original shape. As a result, the compressed closed space gradually expands and finally returns to the volume V1. At this time, since the amount of liquid in the closed space is reduced by the amount (V1-V2) discharged in (c), the pressure in the closed space is the ambient pressure (inside the liquid holding unit 20 and O The pressure outside the ring). In addition, although the nozzle part is open | released by air | atmosphere, possibility that air will enter into closed space from the said nozzle part is low. This is thought to be due to the fact that the nozzle diameter is very small, resulting in a large pressure loss, and that air is difficult to flow in because the closed space is filled with viscous fluid.

When the piston 11 continues to move upward, a “gap” is generated between the upper end portion of the elastic body 30 and the lower end portion of the piston 11, and the closed space is opened. The surrounding liquid (liquid held in the liquid holding unit 20) flows into the inner region of the elastic body 30 from the “gap”, and the inner region of the elastic body 30 is filled with the liquid again. (A) Return to the state shown in the figure.
When the piston 11 reciprocates in the Z-axis direction, the operations (a) to (d) in FIG. 2 are repeated, and droplets are intermittently ejected.

<Effects of First Embodiment>
In a general liquid ejecting apparatus, when the viscosity of the liquid to be ejected is high, an appropriate amount of liquid is difficult to fill in the pressure chamber, and it may be difficult to eject a specified amount of liquid. In addition, a liquid ejection apparatus that ejects liquid using an element such as a thermal resistor cannot eject liquid with low heat resistance.

  On the other hand, in this embodiment, it is easy to supply a predetermined amount of liquid into the pressure chamber (closed space in this embodiment). For example, a “gap” formed between the upper end portion of the O-ring and the lower end portion of the piston 11 is formed widely over the entire circumference of the O-ring, which means that the inlet when the liquid flows into the pressure chamber is large. I mean. That is, even when the viscosity of the liquid is high, the liquid can easily flow into the O-ring. At the moment when the “gap” occurs, the pressure inside the O-ring is equal to or lower than the external pressure, so that it is easy to draw liquid from the outside to the inside. Thereby, a fixed amount of liquid is easily held (filled) in the closed space, and a stable amount of liquid can be discharged. Further, since the liquid is discharged by the reciprocating motion of the piston, there is little generation of heat and the type of liquid that can be discharged is not easily limited. That is, by using the liquid ejection device 1, it becomes easy to eject droplets of an appropriate size (appropriate amount of liquid) regardless of the properties of the liquid.

  In addition, since the number of components (liquid holding unit, elastic body, pressurizing unit) of the liquid ejection device is small, the device can be configured compactly and at low cost. Since the cost of the entire apparatus is low, the liquid holding unit, the elastic body, and the piston (pressurizing unit) may be integrated into one unit and replaced every time the liquid to be discharged is changed. For example, when a liquid containing medical biomaterials or the like is ejected, handling may be required to prevent different types of biomaterials from being mixed with each other. In such a case, if the discharge device (unit) can be replaced for each biomaterial, the work efficiency can be increased. It should be noted that convenience is increased if the exchangeable part can be freely selected, such as making only the liquid holding part and the elastic body exchangeable. In this way, it can be used as a liquid ejection device having excellent disposable properties.

<Modification>
In the above description, the elastic body 30 is provided on the bottom surface of the liquid holding unit 20 so as to surround the nozzle. However, the elastic body may be provided on the piston side. 3A and 3B are schematic views of a modified example of the liquid ejection apparatus 1. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an operation at the time of liquid ejection in the modification.

  In this modification, the point from which the elastic body 30 is attached to the lower end part of the piston 11 differs from 1st Embodiment. As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, four grooves are provided around the nozzles on the bottom surface of the liquid holding unit 20 along the X axis and the Y axis.

  The liquid discharge operation is basically the same as that of the first embodiment, but the operation when the liquid flows into the closed space is different.

  When the piston 11 reciprocates in the Z-axis direction, the elastic body 30 also moves with the piston 11. Then, when the elastic body 30 comes into contact with the bottom surface of the liquid holding unit 20, a space (closed space) in which a portion other than the nozzle is closed is formed in the region inside the elastic body 30 (FIG. 4). (A), (b)). As the piston 11 continues to move in the Z-axis direction, the elastic body 30 is compressed in the Z-axis direction, and a part of the liquid held in the closed space is discharged as a droplet ((c) in FIG. 4). ).

  When the piston 11 moves to the opposite side (upper side) in the Z-axis direction from this state, the closed space is opened. In the modification, a “gap” is generated between the elastic body 30 and the bottom surface of the liquid holding unit 20, and the liquid flows into the region inside the elastic body 30 from this gap ((d) in FIG. 4). At that time, the “gap” is increased by the groove provided in the bottom surface portion of the liquid holding unit 20, so that the liquid can easily flow into the region inside the elastic body 30. In FIG. 1B, four grooves are provided on the bottom surface of the holding portion 20, but the position, size, and quantity of the grooves are determined according to the properties (viscosity, etc.) of the liquid to be discharged.

  By repeating the operations of (a) to (d) in FIG. 4, a predetermined amount of liquid can be intermittently discharged.

=== Second Embodiment ===
In the second embodiment, capsules are generated by a capsule generating apparatus that includes the liquid discharging apparatus 1 of the first embodiment as a liquid discharging unit.

<About capsules>
5A and 5B are conceptual diagrams of capsules. In general, capsules are composed of a “core” (inclusion) as shown in FIG. 5A and a “shell” covering it, or a “matrix (corresponding to a shell) containing a plurality of cores as shown in FIG. 5B. There are capsules configured by In either case, the core has a structure covered with a shell (matrix).
Such capsules are used in various fields such as foods, quasi-drugs, and pharmaceuticals, and the size of capsules (capacity of inclusions) and the thickness of shells vary depending on the application. .

<Device configuration>
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of an apparatus for generating capsules in the second embodiment. The capsule generating apparatus according to the second embodiment includes the liquid ejection apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment and the liquid curing unit 40. By discharging liquid droplets (hereinafter also referred to simply as “core material”) including a core material that is a raw material of the capsule using the liquid discharge device 1, and curing the liquid droplets in the liquid curing unit 40, Capsules having a structure in which the core is covered by the matrix (see FIG. 5B) are generated.

(Liquid curing part 40)
The liquid curing unit 40 includes a container 41 that stores a liquid for curing the core material (hereinafter also referred to as “curing material”), and is installed directly below the nozzle of the liquid ejection apparatus 1 (Z-axis direction). . The liquid container 41 is a container having an upper opening as shown in FIG. 6, and droplets of the core material discharged from the liquid discharging apparatus 1 enter the container 41 from the upper opening and are stored in the container. Land in the hardened material. The container 41 is formed of a material such as glass that does not cause a chemical reaction even when it comes into contact with the curing material in order to store the curing material therein. Details of the hardener will be described later.
The liquid curing unit 40 also has a function as a capsule recovery unit for recovering the completed capsule.

<Capsule generation operation>
Next, an operation for generating a capsule in the second embodiment will be described. In FIG. 7, the flowchart of the capsule production | generation process of 2nd Embodiment is shown.

(S201: Droplet forming step)
First, droplets are formed by the core material discharged from the liquid discharge unit 10.
The amount of the core material discharged by one discharge operation is determined according to the size (capacity) of the capsule to be generated. In the present embodiment, the capsule is formed by curing the discharged core material droplets. Therefore, the size of the capsule to be generated can be freely set by controlling the amount of discharging the core material. The amount of the core material discharged from the liquid discharge unit 10 can be adjusted by changing the size of the elastic body (O-ring) and the amount of movement of the pressurizing unit (piston).

  This means that the yield of the core material is very high. That is, since the discharged core material forms a capsule as it is, the core material is hardly wasted. Therefore, the raw material cost of the capsule can be reduced. In particular, it is very effective when a very expensive substance has to be used as the core material (for example, when a medical material is used as a core when producing a capsule used for medical treatment). In addition, since the amount of liquid used can be optimized, the amount of discarded liquid is small, which is also effective from the viewpoint of environmental protection. Moreover, not only the medical capsule but also the cosmetic capsule and the food capsule can optimize the amount of the liquid material used as described above.

(S202: Droplet curing step)
The core material droplets discharged from the liquid discharge unit 10 land in the liquid layer of the hardened material stored in the liquid hardening unit 40. Then, when the core material and the curing material come into contact with each other inside the liquid curing unit 40, a curing reaction such as a chemical reaction or a cooling reaction occurs in the surface portion of the core material droplet, and the droplet becomes hard. Thereby, the capsule as described above is formed.

<About capsule generation materials>
A “core material” that is a material for generating capsules in the second embodiment and a “curing material” for curing the core material will be described. In this embodiment, the droplets of the core material are cured mainly by (A) chemical reaction, (B) cooling reaction, and (C) enzyme reaction. Hereinafter, each case will be described.

(A) Chemical reaction When the core material droplets are cured by a chemical reaction, a polysaccharide or protein (for example, sodium alginate, calcium alginate, potassium alginate, ammonium alginate, ethylcellulose, methylcellulose, pectin, gellan gum, A substance (aqueous solution) containing chitosan, collagen, etc. is used. Alginates are almost harmless to the human body and can be used as a core material to form capsules with a wide range of applicability in the medical field.

  The core material may contain an active ingredient (for example, hydroquinone, ceramide, bovine serum albumin, γ-globulin, lipiodol, bifidobacteria, vitamins, hyaluronic acid, IPS cells, etc.).

  On the other hand, as the hardener, a polyvalent metal salt having a gelation-inducing factor (for example, a calcium salt such as calcium chloride, calcium acetate, calcium nitrate, calcium citrate, calcium lactate, or calcium carbonate) Aluminum salts such as aluminum, aluminum nitrate, aluminum sulfate, aluminum acetate and aluminum phosphate; manganese salts such as manganese chloride, manganese nitrate, manganese acetate and manganese sulfate; magnesium salts such as magnesium chloride, magnesium nitrate, magnesium acetate and magnesium sulfate A substance (aqueous solution) containing iron salt such as ferrous phosphate and ferric phosphate).

  Then, the core material comes into contact with the curing material to cause a chemical reaction such as a cross-linking reaction, a polymerization reaction, or a polymer reaction, so that the core material is cured (gelled) from the surface portion of the core material droplet. Here, “curing (gelation)” includes a state in which the viscosity increases.

  As an example of the chemical reaction, a chemical reaction that occurs when a sodium alginate aqueous solution is used as the core material and a calcium chloride aqueous solution is used as the curing material will be described. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of sodium alginate. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing an intermediate state of changing from sodium alginate to calcium alginate gel. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a calcium alginate gel.

As shown in FIG. 8, sodium alginate (C ₆ H ₇ O ₆ Na) has monovalent sodium ions bound to alginic acid. When this sodium alginate comes into contact with an aqueous calcium chloride (CaCl ₂ ) solution, divalent calcium ions (Ca ²⁺ ) are replaced with sodium ions (Na ⁺ ) of sodium alginate (FIG. 9). ). At this time, the sodium ion (Na ⁺ ) is monovalent and the calcium ion (Ca ²⁺ ) is divalent, and therefore one calcium ion (Ca ²⁺ ) with respect to two sodium ions (Na ⁺ ). Is replaced. At this time, in the sodium alginate, two sodium ions (Na ⁺ ) are eliminated between the two sodium alginate and are replaced with one calcium ion (Ca ²⁺ ) which is a divalent metal ion (FIG. 10). . Then, cross-linking condensation that bridges the two alginic acids occurs and gels (hardens). Such a chemical reaction is also called a crosslinking reaction.

  Incidentally, FIG. 10 shows a region surrounded by a broken line. In the calcium alginate gel, water molecules move from the inside of the gel to the outside through the region surrounded by the broken line, or the water molecules move from the outside to the inside. In this way, the presence of water molecules in the area surrounded by the broken line realizes an elastic gel. The inflow and outflow of water molecules in the gel are balanced. In the present embodiment, by forming a gel-like shell having hydrophilicity, a capsule having high biocompatibility can be produced when ingested by the human body. Moreover, since it is a hydrophilic shell, there also exists an advantage that adjustment of the osmotic pressure through this shell becomes easy between a core and an external environment.

(B) Cooling reaction When the core material droplets are hardened by a cooling reaction, the core material is gelatin, agar, pectin or the like, which is liquid at room temperature (or at high temperature), but becomes gelled and hard when cooled. A material that becomes (gels) is used. The core material may contain an active ingredient. And the liquid which cools a core material is used as a hardening material. For example, cold water can be used. In addition, as long as the curing material can cool the core material without chemically reacting with the core material, it is possible to use a substance other than water, but the cost can be reduced by using water. It is safe as a fluid and easy to handle.

  In addition, when manufacturing a capsule, it is possible to adjust the hardness of a gel (capsule) by changing the temperature of the hardening | curing material used for cooling. In the present embodiment, the core material is cooled by maintaining the curing material at a predetermined temperature of 10 ° C. or lower. In addition, in order to make gelatin gelatinize stably, it is desirable that the temperature range of the hardened material is about 2 ° C to 6 ° C. Therefore, a cooling device for adjusting the temperature of the curing material may be provided in the liquid curing unit 40 (not shown). However, if the core material can be gelled, the temperature of the curing material can be higher than 10 ° C. The hardness of the gel (capsule) can also be adjusted by changing the gelatin concentration.

(C) Enzymatic reaction When the core material droplets are cured by an enzymatic reaction, a material that is liquid, such as fibrinogen, that becomes a gel and hardens by the enzymatic reaction is used as the core material. The core material may contain an active ingredient. A solution containing an enzyme is used as a curing material.
When manufacturing capsules, fibrinogen is gelled by bringing a core material (for example, a fibrinogen aqueous solution) into contact with a curing material (enzyme solution), thereby causing fibrinogen to undergo an enzymatic reaction. At that time, the hardness of the gel (capsule) can be adjusted by changing the enzyme concentration of the curing material. The hardness of the gel (capsule) can also be adjusted by changing the concentration of the core material (fibrinogen).

<Effects of Second Embodiment>
In the second embodiment, capsules are generated by bringing the core material droplets ejected from the liquid ejection device 1 into contact with the curing material and curing. Thereby, the capsule which can be applied to the medical field and the food field and whose size (volume) can be freely adjusted can be generated. Further, by using the liquid ejection device 1, it is possible to accurately eject a core material having a high viscosity and the like, so that capsules can be generated using various types of liquids.

=== Third Embodiment ===
In 3rd Embodiment, the capsule (refer FIG. 5A) of the structure where the core was coat | covered with the shell is produced | generated.

<Device configuration>
FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an apparatus for generating capsules in the third embodiment. An apparatus for manufacturing capsules in the third embodiment includes the liquid ejection device 1 of the first embodiment, a liquid curing unit 40, and a liquid film holding unit 50. The configurations of the liquid ejection device 1 and the liquid curing unit 40 are the same as those described with reference to FIG. 6 of the second embodiment, and thus the description thereof is omitted. Also, the coordinate axes are set as in FIG.
In this embodiment, the “curing material” stored in the liquid curing unit 40 is used to cure the “shell material” described later, not the “core material” droplets. That is, the “curing material” in the present embodiment is a “shell curing material”.

(Liquid film holding part 50)
The liquid film holding unit 50 is provided between the liquid ejection device 1 and the liquid curing unit 40, and is a liquid that is a frame that holds a liquid that is a raw material for forming a shell (hereinafter also referred to as “shell material”) in a thin film shape. A film holding frame 51 is provided. The shell material is surrounded by the liquid film holding frame 51 to form a liquid film having the liquid film holding frame 51 as an outer edge. The liquid film holding frame 51 can be made of any material as long as it can hold the liquid film. In the present embodiment, the liquid film holding frame 51 is made of metal (for example, stainless steel, aluminum, copper, gold, silver, brass, titanium, carbon steel, white steel). Etc.) or a liquid film holding frame made of resin (for example, acrylic, polyurethane, silicon resin, epoxy resin, melamine resin, phenol resin, polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, nylon, etc.) can be used. Moreover, as long as it can hold | maintain a liquid film, a shape is also free, and shapes other than a rectangle like FIG. 11 may be sufficient. The thickness of the liquid film holding frame 51 is determined in consideration of the thickness of the liquid film to be held.

<Capsule generation operation>
The capsule generation operation in the third embodiment will be described. FIG. 12 shows a flowchart of the capsule generating process of the third embodiment.

(S301: Core formation step)
The operation of the core forming process is the same as that of the core forming process (S201) described with reference to FIG. Specific details of the core material will be described later.

(S302: Shell formation step)
The core formed in S301 enters the liquid film (the liquid film of the shell material) held by the liquid film holding unit 50. And when a core penetrates a liquid film, a shell is formed by covering the core with a shell material. Specific details of the shell material will be described later.

  FIG. 13 schematically shows the operation when the shell is formed. (A)-(D) of a figure represent the mode when the droplet (core) of a core material penetrates the liquid film of a shell material in time series order. In the figure, it is assumed that the liquid drops vertically enter from the vertically upward direction with respect to the liquid film (shaded portion) held horizontally. The traveling direction of the liquid droplets is not limited to the vertical direction (Z-axis direction), and the liquid film may enter the liquid film in an obliquely downward direction from the upper direction.

  (A) First, a droplet (core) of a core material enters a liquid film formed by a shell material at a predetermined speed (speed that can penetrate the liquid film). (B) The core in contact with the liquid film continues straight ahead and tries to penetrate the liquid film. On the other hand, the liquid film is deformed so as to wrap the core. As a combination of the core material and the shell material, when liquids having different properties such as composition, specific gravity, viscosity, surface tension, etc. (for example, a combination of an aqueous liquid and a liquid that forms an interface such as an oily liquid) are selected, Even if they come into contact, they are not immediately mixed. (C) The core continues straight while being wrapped in the liquid film. At the stage where the core passes through the initial position of the liquid film, most of the core is covered with the liquid film (shell material). It should be noted that although the liquid film in the portion where the core has passed is in a state where a hole is opened, the second liquid moves from the periphery of the hole, thereby blocking the hole in the liquid film so that there is no hole. Try to return. (D) When the core completely penetrates the liquid film, the entire core is covered with the shell material, and the shell is formed so as to enclose the core. Further, the hole opened in the liquid film by the penetration of the core is closed by the second liquid.

  A shell covering the core is formed by the operations (A) to (D). Note that the thickness of the formed shell can be adjusted by changing the thickness of the liquid film. Thereby, a shell having a desired thickness can be formed.

(S303: Shell curing step)
After the shell covering the core is formed in S302, the shell is cured in the liquid curing unit 40. In the present embodiment, the liquid curing unit 40 is installed below the liquid discharge unit 10 and the liquid film holding unit 50 (see FIG. 11), and the core material discharged in the Z-axis direction (vertically downward) is the shell material. After penetrating the liquid film, it enters the container of the liquid curing unit 40 as it is. Then, the curing material stored in the container comes into contact with the shell (shell material) to cause a curing reaction, and the shell becomes hard.
Through such an operation, a capsule having a structure in which a core is covered with a shell is generated.

<About capsule generation materials>
The “core material”, “shell material”, and “curing material (shell cured material)”, which are materials for generating capsules in the third embodiment, will be described. Hereinafter, only the case of a chemical reaction will be described, but capsules can also be generated by the cooling reaction or the enzyme reaction described in the second embodiment.

  In the third embodiment, the core material is a liquid containing an active ingredient (for example, hydroquinone, ceramide, bovine serum albumin, γ-globulin, lipiodol, bifidobacteria, vitamins, hyaluronic acid, IPS cells, etc.).

  The shell material contains polysaccharides or proteins (for example, sodium alginate, calcium alginate, potassium alginate, ammonium alginate, ethyl cellulose, methyl cellulose, pectin, gellan gum, chitosan, collagen, fibrinogen, etc.) and is difficult to mix with the core material ( Use a liquid that can easily form an interface.

  The hardener (shell hardener) is a polyvalent metal salt having a gelation-inducing factor (for example, a calcium salt such as calcium chloride, calcium acetate, calcium nitrate, calcium citrate, calcium lactate, calcium carbonate) Aluminum salts such as aluminum chloride, aluminum nitrate, aluminum sulfate, aluminum acetate, aluminum phosphate, manganese salts such as manganese chloride, manganese nitrate, manganese acetate, manganese sulfate, magnesium chloride, magnesium nitrate, magnesium acetate, magnesium sulfate, etc. A liquid containing a magnesium salt, an iron salt such as ferrous phosphate, ferric phosphate, or the like) is used.

  The chemical reaction caused by the contact between the shell material and the curing material is the same as that described in the second embodiment.

<Effect of the third embodiment>
In the third embodiment, the shell is formed by covering the core material droplets ejected from the liquid ejection device 1 with the shell material. Thereafter, by hardening the shell, a capsule having a structure in which the core is covered with the shell can be generated. Since the material forming the core and the material forming the shell can be selected separately, a capsule that can be used for a wider range of applications can be generated.

=== Fourth Embodiment ===
In the fourth embodiment, a capsule having a structure in which a shell covers a core is generated without using a liquid film as described in the third embodiment.

<Device configuration>
FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram showing a cross section of an apparatus for producing capsules in the fourth embodiment. An apparatus for manufacturing a capsule in the fourth embodiment includes a liquid ejection device 1 and a liquid curing unit 40 that stores a curing material (shell curing material). In the present embodiment, the configuration of the liquid ejection apparatus 1 is different from the liquid ejection apparatus 1 described in each of the above-described embodiments. Also,

(Configuration of liquid ejection device)
The liquid ejection apparatus 1 according to the fourth embodiment includes a pressurizing unit 10, a liquid holding unit 20, an elastic body 30, and a control unit 90. Each configuration other than the liquid holding unit 20 is substantially the same as that of the liquid ejection device 1 described above. The liquid holding unit 20 of the present embodiment has a double structure constituted by the first holding container 21 and the second holding container 25. The first holding container 21 is the same container as the liquid holding unit 20 described in the first embodiment. On the other hand, the second holding container 25 is a container larger than the first holding container 21 and is disposed so as to surround the outer wall portion of the first holding container 21 as shown in FIG. And a liquid can be hold | maintained inside the 2nd holding container 25 (Namely, the space produced between the 1st holding container 21 and the 2nd holding container 25) (refer FIG. 14). In the present embodiment, a “shell material” is held inside the second holding container 25.

  A nozzle is provided on the bottom surface of the second holding container 25. Assuming that the nozzle provided on the bottom surface of the first holding container 21 is the first nozzle and the nozzle provided on the bottom surface of the second holding container 25 is the second nozzle, the first nozzle and the second nozzle have their respective central axes. The positional relationship is such that. Further, assuming that the nozzle diameter of the first nozzle is φd1 and the nozzle diameter of the second nozzle is φd2, the relationship is φd1 <φd2.

  Further, in the liquid holding unit 20 of the present embodiment, the interval h between the bottom surface of the first holding container 21 and the bottom surface of the second holding container 25 can be adjusted. This interval h corresponds to the thickness of the liquid film in the third embodiment, and the thickness of the capsule shell can be adjusted by changing the size of the interval h.

<Capsule generation operation>
FIG. 15 shows a flowchart of the capsule generating process of the fourth embodiment. Similar to the capsule generating operation in the third embodiment, the basic flow of the capsule generating operation is composed of three steps: a core forming step (S401), a shell forming step (S402), and a shell curing step (S403). . On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the core formation step (S401) and the shell formation step (S402) are performed as a series of operations.

  FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an operation when a core and a shell covering the core are formed in the fourth embodiment. (A)-(d) of the figure is a cross-sectional view of the XZ plane that shows an enlarged view of the vicinity of the first nozzle and the second nozzle inside the liquid holding unit 20, and the piston 11 and the elasticity during the liquid discharge operation. The appearance of the body 30 is shown in time series.

  The operation (S401) in which the core of the capsule is formed by the droplets of the core material is substantially the same as the operation described in FIG. That is, when the piston 11 descends and the elastic body 30 is pressurized and compressed, the closed space formed in the area inside the elastic body 30 is compressed and provided on the bottom surface portion of the first holding container 21. A droplet of the core material is discharged from the first nozzle ((a) to (c) of FIG. 16).

  In the present embodiment, the core material droplet (core) discharged from the first nozzle enters the liquid of the shell material held inside the second holding container 25 and moves in the Z-axis direction as it is. And discharged from the second nozzle provided on the bottom surface of the second holding container 25 to the outside. That is, the core is discharged so as to penetrate the shell material. At that time, a shell of the capsule is formed by covering the core with the shell material (S402). Therefore, the droplet after being discharged from the second nozzle has a capsule structure having a core and a shell covering the core, as shown in FIG. Since the nozzle diameter φd2 of the second nozzle is larger than the nozzle diameter φd1 of the first nozzle, the core material droplet covered with the shell material is caught in the nozzle opening of the second nozzle when the capsule is discharged. The possibility of clogging the two nozzles is low. Further, when the piston 11 rises and the closed space formed in the inner region of the elastic body 30 is opened, as shown in (d), the upper end portion of the elastic body 30 and the lower end of the piston 11 are formed. There is a gap between the parts. From this gap, the core material held inside the first holding container 21 flows into the region inside the elastic body 30, and the core material is filled again into the region inside the elastic body 30, and the state shown in FIG. Return to.

  In this way, while the piston 11 reciprocates once in the Z-axis direction, the core and the shell covering the core are formed and discharged from the liquid discharge device 1.

  The capsules discharged from the second nozzle enter the liquid phase of the shell hardening material stored in the container 41 of the liquid hardening unit 40, as in the third embodiment. Then, the shell is cured by contacting the shell (shell material covering the core) and the shell curing material inside the container 41 (S403). In the fourth embodiment, a capsule having a structure in which a core is covered with a shell is generated by such an operation.

<Effects of Fourth Embodiment>
In the fourth embodiment, a capsule is generated using a liquid ejection device in which the liquid holding unit 20 has a double structure of a first holding container 21 and a second holding container 25. A core material is held inside the first holding container 21, and a shell material is held inside the second holding container 25. Then, the droplet of the core material is discharged into the liquid of the shell material by the operation of the piston, and when discharged from the nozzle to the outside, the capsule of the core material is covered with the shell material.

  Since the shell material is not held as a liquid film but can be held as a liquid in the second holding container 25, the holding is easy and the material selectivity of the shell material is high. Further, the shell material can be easily replenished. Therefore, capsules can be generated more efficiently.

=== Fifth Embodiment ===
In the fifth embodiment, capsules are generated using a liquid ejection device that is partially different from the liquid ejection device described in the fourth embodiment.

<Device configuration>
FIG. 17 is a schematic view of an apparatus showing a cross-section for producing a capsule in the fifth embodiment.
The liquid ejection device 1 according to the fifth embodiment includes two types of elastic bodies. A first elastic body 31 is provided on the bottom surface of the first holding container 21, and a second elastic body 35 is provided on the bottom surface of the second holding container 25. The second elastic body 35 is a ring-shaped elastic body having substantially the same structure as that of the first elastic body 31, and can form a closed space in a ring-shaped inner region. The size of the ring is determined in consideration of the size of this enclosed space. The elastic modulus of the second elastic body 35 is determined according to the elastic modulus of the first elastic body 31. The relationship of the elastic modulus between the first elastic body 31 and the second elastic body 35 will be described later. Further, the bottom surface portion of the first holding container 21 is formed of a material that can be elastically deformed, and the bottom surface portion of the second holding container 25 is formed of a material that is not easily elastically deformed.

<Capsule generation operation>
The basic flow of the capsule generating operation in the fifth embodiment is the same as that in the fourth embodiment (see FIG. 16), but FIG. 18 differs in the operation during shell formation. The core and the core are covered in the fifth embodiment. It is a figure explaining the operation | movement at the time of forming the shell to perform. (A)-(e) of the figure is a cross-sectional view of the XZ plane showing the state in the vicinity of the first nozzle and the second nozzle in the liquid holding unit 20 in an enlarged manner. The operations of the first elastic body 31 and the second elastic body 35 are shown in time series.

  In (a) to (c), the operation of forming the core of the capsule by the droplets of the core material is substantially the same as the core forming operation in the fourth embodiment. That is, when the first elastic body 31 is pressurized and compressed in the Z-axis direction, a closed space (hereinafter also referred to as a first pressure chamber) formed in a region inside the first elastic body 31 is compressed, and the holding container A droplet of the core material is ejected from a first nozzle provided on the bottom surface portion of 21.

  In the present embodiment, the bottom surface of the first holding container 21 is pressurized via the first elastic body 31 by the movement of the piston 11. The pressed bottom surface portion is elastically deformed and pressurizes the second elastic body 35 in the Z-axis direction. As a result, the second elastic body 35 is compressed in the Z-axis direction as shown in FIG. 4D, and a closed space (hereinafter also referred to as a second pressure chamber) is formed in a region inside the second elastic body 35. . When the second elastic body 35 is compressed, the second pressure chamber is also compressed, and the core material droplets discharged from the first nozzle into the second pressure chamber are converted into the shell material as shown in FIG. At the same time, it is discharged from the second nozzle.

  18 illustrates an example in which the second elastic body 35 is compressed after the first elastic body 31 is compressed, the compression of the second elastic body 35 may be started first. . When the piston 11 is raised and the first pressure chamber and the second pressure chamber are opened, the core material is filled in the inner region of the first elastic body 31 as shown in FIG. 2 Shell material is filled in the area inside the elastic body 35.

  In the present embodiment, the second pressure chamber is formed by the second elastic body 35, and the core material droplet (capsule) covered with the shell material is further discharged by applying pressure to the shell material and discharging the shell material. It becomes easy. Therefore, the capsule can be accurately ejected from the second nozzle even when the core material droplet is unlikely to penetrate the liquid of the shell material filled in the second pressure chamber. For example, even when the interval h between the first holding container 21 and the second holding container 25 is large or the viscosity of the shell material is high, the core material droplets are difficult to penetrate the liquid of the shell material. , Easy to produce capsules.

  In this manner, while the piston 11 reciprocates once in the Z-axis direction, a capsule having a core and a shell covering the core is formed and discharged from the second nozzle.

<About the 1st elastic body 31 and the 2nd elastic body 35>
In the fifth embodiment, by appropriately selecting the elastic moduli of the first elastic body 31 and the second elastic body 35 according to the viscosity difference between the core material and the shell material used as the capsule generating material, the capsule is It is adjusted so that it can be discharged accurately. That is, by appropriately adjusting the balance of the elastic modulus of each elastic body, the order of which first functions as the pressure chamber between the first pressure chamber and the second pressure chamber is adjusted.

  For example, when the viscosity of the core material is higher than the viscosity of the shell material, the elastic modulus of the first elastic body 31 is set to be lower than the elastic modulus of the second elastic body 35. In this case, after the compression of the closed space (first pressure chamber) formed in the area inside the first elastic body 31 is started, the closed space (second area) formed in the area inside the second elastic body 35 is started. The compression of the pressure chamber is started. That is, after the core material having a high viscosity can be discharged from the first pressure chamber, the shell material having a low viscosity can be discharged. This causes a problem such that a droplet of a shell material having a low viscosity is discharged before a droplet of a core material having a high viscosity (that is, only a droplet of a shell material that does not contain a core is discharged). To suppress.

  Conversely, when the viscosity of the core material is lower than the viscosity of the shell material, the elastic modulus of the first elastic body 31 is set to be higher than the elastic modulus of the second elastic body 35. In this case, the closed space (first pressure chamber) formed in the inner region of the first elastic body 31 after the compression of the closed space (second pressure chamber) formed in the inner region of the second elastic body 35 is started. The compression of the pressure chamber is started. That is, after the shell material having a low viscosity is in a dischargeable state, the core material having a high viscosity is in a state in which the core material can be discharged from the first pressure chamber. This suppresses the occurrence of a problem that the core material droplets are ejected before the shell material is ready to be ejected and the core material droplets stay in the shell material liquid.

  Thus, by appropriately adjusting the balance of the elastic moduli of the first elastic body 31 and the second elastic body 35, it becomes easy to accurately generate a capsule having a structure in which the core material droplet is covered with the shell material. The above example is an index when the sizes of the first elastic body 31 and the second elastic body 35 are the same. Since the timing at which compression of the first elastic body 31 and the second elastic body 35 is started is also affected by the size of the elastic body, when the sizes of the two elastic bodies are different, the first elastic body 31 and the second elastic body 31 The above-described control is performed by adjusting the overall elastic force of the body 35.

<Effect of Fifth Embodiment>
In the fifth embodiment, a capsule is generated using a liquid ejection device in which two pressure chambers are formed by the first elastic body 31 and the second elastic body 35. By discharging the shell material by applying pressure, the core material droplets are covered with the shell material even when the viscosity of the shell material is high, and it becomes easy to accurately discharge from the nozzle. Therefore, material selectivity becomes higher and it becomes possible to produce capsules efficiently.

=== Other Embodiments ===
Although the liquid ejection apparatus as one embodiment has been described, the above-described embodiment is for facilitating understanding of the present invention, and is not intended to limit the present invention. The present invention can be changed and improved without departing from the gist thereof, and it is needless to say that the present invention includes equivalents thereof. Even the embodiments described below are included in the present invention.

<About capsule generation materials>
In each of the above-described embodiments, specific examples of the core material, the core curing material, the shell material, the shell curing material, and the like have been illustrated. However, capsules are generated using capsule generation materials other than those illustrated. Is also possible.

<Use of capsule>
In each of the above-described embodiments, the application to the medical field has been considered as the use of the capsule generated using the liquid ejection device, but the gel can be used for a wide range of uses other than those exemplified. For example, the use as cosmetics, the use as functional food, etc. can be considered.

1 liquid ejection device,
10 Pressurizing part, 11 Piston, 15 Power part,
20 liquid holding unit, 21 first holding container, 25 second holding container,
30 elastic body, 31 1st elastic body, 35 2nd elastic body,
40 Liquid curing unit, 41 Container 50 Liquid film holding unit, 51 Liquid film holding frame 90 Control unit

Claims (9)

A pressure unit that reciprocates in a predetermined direction;
An elastic body that is elastically deformed in the predetermined direction by being pressurized by the pressure unit;
A liquid holding part that holds a core material containing a liquid that is a raw material of the core of the capsule inside and has a nozzle surrounded by the elastic body on a bottom surface part;
And when the elastic body is pressurized by the pressurizing unit, a portion other than the nozzle is formed between the inner region of the elastic body, the pressurizing unit, and the bottom surface of the liquid holding unit. Is a liquid discharge part in which a closed space is formed,
The pressure member moves in one of the predetermined directions to compress the closed space, so that a part of the core material held in the closed space is the nozzle. Discharged from the
When the pressurizing unit moves in a direction opposite to the one direction and the closed space is opened, the core material held inside the liquid holding unit is placed inside the elastic body. A liquid discharger flowing into the region,
A capsule generating device comprising:
Droplets are formed by discharging the core material from the liquid discharge portion;
By covering the droplets of the core material with a shell material that is a liquid as a raw material of the shell of the capsule, the shell is formed,
A capsule generating apparatus comprising: a shell curing material that cures the shell material; and the shell is brought into contact with the shell to cure the shell covered with the droplets of the core material. The capsule generating apparatus according to claim 1,
A liquid film holding part for holding the shell material in a film shape,
Discharging the core material toward the liquid film of the shell material held by the liquid film holding unit to form droplets;
The capsule generating apparatus, wherein the core material droplets are covered with the shell material when the core material droplets penetrate the liquid film of the shell material. The capsule generating apparatus according to claim 1,
The liquid holding part is
A first holding container that has a first nozzle surrounded by the elastic body at a bottom surface and holds the core material inside;
A second holding container having a second nozzle having a central axis that coincides with the first nozzle on a bottom surface portion and disposed so as to surround an outer wall portion of the first holding container, the first holding container and the A second holding container for holding the shell material between the second holding container,
In the liquid of the shell material held in the second holding container, the core material is discharged from the first nozzle to form droplets,
Capsule generating apparatus, wherein the core material droplets are covered by the shell material when the core material droplets move through the shell material liquid and are discharged from the second nozzle. . The capsule generating apparatus according to claim 3,
The bottom portion of the first holding container is formed of an elastically deformable member,
A first elastic body surrounding the first nozzle and elastically deforming in the predetermined direction; and a second elastic body surrounding the second nozzle and elastically deforming in the predetermined direction;
The bottom portion of the first holding container is pressurized by the first elastic body pressurized by the pressure unit,
The second elastic body is pressurized by elastically deforming the bottom surface of the pressurized first holding container,
Between the region inside the second elastic body, the bottom surface portion of the first holding container, and the bottom surface portion of the second holding container, there is a space in which portions other than the first nozzle and the second nozzle are closed. By being compressed,
The capsule generating apparatus, wherein the core material droplets covered with the shell material are discharged from the second nozzle. It is a capsule production | generation apparatus in any one of Claims 1-4,
The shell material is an aqueous solution containing polysaccharides or proteins,
The shell curing material is an aqueous solution containing a polyvalent metal salt,
A capsule generating apparatus, characterized in that the capsule is generated by a curing reaction that occurs when the shell material and the shell cured material come into contact with each other.   The medical capsule produced | generated by the capsule production | generation apparatus in any one of Claims 1-5. By applying pressure to an elastic body that elastically deforms in the predetermined direction by a pressure unit that reciprocates in a predetermined direction, a liquid that is a raw material for the inner region of the elastic body, the pressure unit, and the core of the capsule A space in which a portion other than the nozzle provided on the bottom surface portion of the liquid holding portion is closed is formed between the bottom surface portion of the liquid holding portion that holds the core material including
The pressure member moves in one of the predetermined directions and the closed space is compressed, so that a part of the core material held inside the closed space is compressed into the nozzle. To form droplets by discharging from,
Forming the shell by coating droplets of the core material with a shell material that is a liquid that is a raw material of the shell of the capsule;
Bringing the shell into contact with a shell curing material that cures the shell material, and curing the shell in a state where the core material droplets are covered;
Capsule production method. A pressure unit that reciprocates in a predetermined direction;
An elastic body that is elastically deformed in the predetermined direction by being pressurized by the pressure unit;
A liquid holding part for holding a liquid therein, the liquid holding part having a nozzle surrounded on the bottom by the elastic body,
When the elastic body is pressurized by the pressurizing unit, a portion other than the nozzle is closed between the inner region of the elastic body, the pressurizing unit, and the bottom surface of the liquid holding unit. A liquid ejection device in which a space is formed,
When the pressurization unit moves in one of the predetermined directions and the closed space is compressed, a part of the liquid held in the closed space is discharged from the nozzle. And
When the pressurizing unit moves in a direction opposite to the one direction and the closed space is opened, the liquid held in the liquid holding unit is a region inside the elastic body. Flowing into the
A liquid discharge apparatus characterized by that. The liquid ejection device according to claim 8, wherein
A core material containing a liquid as a raw material for the capsule core is discharged to form droplets,
A liquid ejecting apparatus, wherein the formed droplets of the core material are brought into contact with a curing material that cures the core material to cure the droplets of the core material.