Liquid droplet forming apparatus
A liquid droplet forming apparatus capable of stably ejecting dispersion liquid, as liquid droplets, containing settling particles having constant concentration. A liquid droplet forming apparatus includes an ejection head that has a liquid chamber storing liquid containing settling particles and that ejects a liquid droplet of the liquid, stirrer for stirring the liquid held in the liquid chamber, posture controller for controlling a posture of the stirrer, and a control unit that controls operations of the ejection head, the stirrer, and the posture controller, in which the stirrer includes a tube-like member inserted into the liquid chamber, and a liquid feeding portion that sucks or discharges the liquid stored in the liquid chamber via the tube-like member, and the posture controller controls one or both of the position and the direction in which the stirrer sucks and discharges the liquid in the liquid chamber.
1 . A liquid droplet forming apparatus comprising:
an ejection head that has a liquid chamber storing liquid containing settling particles and that ejects a liquid droplet of the liquid;
a stirrer for stirring the liquid held in the liquid chamber;
posture control circuitry configured to control a posture of the stirrer; and
a control circuitry configured to control operations of the ejection head, the stirrer, and the posture control circuitry,
wherein the stirrer includes
a tube inserted into the liquid chamber, and
a liquid feeding portion that sucks or discharges the liquid stored in the liquid chamber via the tube, and
the posture control circuitry controls a direction in which the stirrer sucks and discharges the liquid in the liquid chamber,
wherein:
an opening portion of the tube on a tip side is open in a direction intersecting a central axis of the tube, and
the posture control circuitry changes an orientation of the opening portion in the liquid chamber in a circumferential direction of the central axis.
2 . The liquid droplet forming apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the posture control circuitry changes a position of the tube in the liquid chamber.
3 . The liquid droplet forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein:
the control circuitry causes the posture control circuitry to extract the tube from the liquid chamber before the liquid is ejected from the ejection head.
4 . The liquid droplet forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein:
the ejection head includes:
a liquid holding portion that holds the liquid, and
a film that includes an ejection outlet for ejecting the liquid droplet and that forms the liquid chamber together with the liquid holding portion, the liquid holding portion is cylindrically shaped, and an outer diameter of the liquid holding portion is 6 mm or less.
5 . The liquid droplet forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein:
the settling particles are cells.
6 . The liquid droplet forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein:
an outer diameter of the tube is ½ or less of an inner diameter of the liquid chamber.
7 . The liquid droplet forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein:
the control circuitry is further configured to cause the stirrer to move a tip of the tube to a position above a bottom surface of the liquid chamber by a distance equal to an inner diameter of the tube.
8 . The liquid droplet forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein:
the control circuitry is further configured to maintain a liquid level in the liquid chamber at a height equal to or higher than a height of the opening portion of the tube during suction.
9 . The liquid droplet forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein:
the posture control circuitry is further configured to move the tube to a plurality of equally spaced places in a circumferential direction within the liquid chamber to stir the liquid.
10 . The liquid droplet forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein:
the control circuitry is further configured to cause the liquid feeding portion to set a first discharge amount to be smaller than a first suction amount in an initial stirring operation to hold liquid in the tube.