Patent ID: 7387376

Claim:
A liquid droplet ejecting unit comprising: plural liquid droplet ejecting sub-units arrayed in a direction substantially perpendicular to a conveying direction of a recording medium, each of the liquid droplet ejecting sub-units being structured such that a liquid is fed thereto via a common liquid feed path and droplets of the liquid are ejected from nozzles onto the recording medium; and plural valves that connect the respective liquid droplet ejecting sub-units and the liquid feed path; wherein each of the valves comprises a valve body provided at an upper side with an inlet port into which the liquid flows from the liquid feed path and at a lower side with an outlet port from which the liquid that flows into the inlet port from the liquid feed path flows out to the liquid droplet ejecting sub-unit, the outlet port being larger in cross-sectional size than the inlet port, and a floating member that is larger in cross-sectional size than the inlet port and smaller in cross-sectional size than the outlet port and has a lower specific gravity that the liquid such that the floating member floats in the liquid in the valve body and is capable of closing the inlet port.