JPH11351967A - High viscosity liquid color measuring apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To measure a color of a liquid having a high viscosity such as an offset ink or the like in a liquid state immediately after the time of kneading the ink. SOLUTION: The high viscosity liquid color measuring apparatus comprises a transparent rotatable cylindrical cell 1, a rotatable metal cylinder 2 provided in parallel to be opposed to the cell 1, and a measuring nit 15 provided inside the cell so as to direct toward an ink film forming unit 14 formed between the cell 1 and the cylinder 2. The unit 15 has a light introducing unit 16 for introducing a light into contact with the unit 14 via a wall surface of the cell 1, a light condensing section 17 for condensing a reflected light reflected on the wall surface of the cylinder after being brought into contact with the unit 14, and a light guiding unit 19 for guiding the reflected light condensed by the condensing section to a spectrophotometer 18.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a colorimeter for a high-viscosity liquid such as offset ink.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, offset special color inks are prepared by a conventional method.
The color was measured in the printed and dried state, the ink was changed based on the result, and then the color was measured again in the printed and dried state, and this was repeated. However, printing the offset ink requires a so-called meat-thickening operation in which the ink is kneaded every time the ink is changed, which takes time and labor. Therefore, if offset inks and the like can be easily prepared and colorimetrically measured in a liquid state, colorimetry can be performed at the same time as preparation, and time and labor can be saved. The emergence of the device was strongly desired.

[0003]

As a method for measuring the color of an ink in a liquid state, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-300642 has been proposed.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 11 (1995) discloses a method in which two tanks are provided and overflowed from the tanks to obtain a stable liquid surface that is easy to measure color. Further, there is disclosed an apparatus in which a transparent object such as glass is brought into contact with a liquid to be measured, and the color is indirectly measured through the transparent object. Furthermore, there is also disclosed a device for measuring a color by inserting an optical fiber or the like into a liquid. However, all of them can measure color in the case of low-viscosity liquids such as gravure inks and paints, but cannot measure color with high-viscosity coloring materials such as offset inks.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above situation, and has as its object to provide a high-viscosity liquid capable of measuring the color of a high-viscosity liquid such as offset ink in the liquid state immediately after the preparation of the liquid. It is to provide a liquid color measuring device.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a liquid colorimeter for measuring a color of a highly viscous colored liquid in a liquid state based on reflected light. A transparent and rotatable cylindrical cell, a rotatable metal cylinder provided in parallel with the cylindrical cell, and an ink film formed between the cylindrical cell and the metal cylinder. A measuring unit provided inside the cylindrical cell so as to direct the light to the ink film forming unit through the wall surface of the cylindrical cell. An introduction section, a condenser section for condensing reflected light reflected on a wall surface of the metal cylinder after hitting the ink film forming section, and a light for guiding the reflected light condensed by the condenser section to a spectrophotometer. And a deriving unit.

According to the present invention, when the ink to be measured is supplied between the cylindrical cell and the metal cylinder which can rotate together, the ink is supplied between the cylindrical cell and the metal cylinder. The ink is introduced into a film forming section, where an ink film having a constant thickness is formed. Then, light is introduced into the ink film from the light introduction unit via the wall surface of the cylindrical cell so as to hit the ink film formation unit, and the introduced light is applied to the ink layer of the ink film formation unit. After hitting, the light is reflected by the wall surface of the metal cylinder, and the reflected light is collected by the light collecting unit. Then, the condensed reflected light is guided from there to a spectrophotometer via a light deriving unit, and is subjected to optical analysis.

The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that a group of rollers for ink kneading is arranged outside a side wall portion of the metal cylinder opposite to the cylindrical cell.

According to the present invention, since the ink for measurement is sufficiently kneaded by the roller for kneading ink, even if the ink for measurement is intermittently supplied, the ink for measurement is uniform. The state is leveled, and high-precision colorimetry can be expected.

The invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that an ink film forming unit interval adjusting means for adjusting an interval of the ink film forming unit between the cylindrical cell and the metal cylinder is provided. I do.

According to the present invention, the interval between the ink film forming portions can be set arbitrarily according to the type of ink and the properties such as viscosity, and the degree of freedom in colorimetry is increased.

In the invention according to claim 4, at least one of the metal cylinder and the cylindrical cell is provided with a pair of ring-shaped elastic bands spaced apart in the axial direction so as to sandwich the ink film forming portion. Characterized by being arranged in

According to the present invention, since the cylindrical cell and the metal cylinder are urged in a direction away from each other via a pair of ring-shaped elastic bands, the ink between the cylindrical cell and the metal cylinder is urged. When adjusting the distance between the film forming parts, backlash is eliminated, and the distance between the ink film forming parts can be easily adjusted.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a high-viscosity liquid colorimeter according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a plan view thereof. In these figures, reference numeral 1 denotes a rotatable cylindrical cell, and reference numeral 2 denotes a rotatable metal cylinder provided in parallel with the cylindrical cell 1. The cylindrical cell 1
A cylindrical body 3 made of a transparent material at the center, a pair of elastic bands 4A and 4B made of an elastic material such as rubber provided on both left and right sides thereof, and a gear portion 5 provided on one side thereof.
And is rotatably supported by a shaft 6 provided on the shaft core. A drive system (not shown) is connected to the gear unit 5, and the cylindrical cell 1 is rotated at an appropriate number of revolutions by a driving force introduced from the drive system.

The metal cylinder 2 comprises a central metal cylinder 8 and ring-shaped elastic bands 9A and 9B made of a pair of elastic members provided on both left and right sides thereof. Supported as possible. The ring-shaped elastic bands 9A and 9B provided on the metal cylinder 2 are provided so as to face the ring-shaped elastic bands 4A and 4B provided on the cylindrical cell 1, and furthermore, both ring-shaped elastic bands 9A are provided. , 9B, 4A, and 4B are set slightly larger in diameter than the central metal cylindrical body 8 and the cylindrical body 3, and both project radially outward. And as shown in FIG.
When the metal cylinder 2 and the cylindrical cell 1 are in a regular positional relationship, the two ring-shaped elastic bands 9A, 9B, 4A,
4B are in contact with each other, and the rotation of the cylindrical cell 1 is transmitted to the metal cylinder 2 via the two ring-shaped elastic bands 9A, 9B, 4A, and 4B in the contact state.

As shown in FIG. 2, the shaft 10 of the metal cylinder 2 approaches or approaches the cylindrical cell 1 while keeping the shaft 10 parallel to the axis of the cylindrical cell 1. There is provided an adjusting means 11 for adjusting in the separating direction, such as an air cylinder or a screw mechanism (FIG. 2).
reference). This adjusting means 11 is provided between the cylindrical body 3 of the cylindrical cell 1 and the cylindrical body 8 of the metal cylinder 2 to adjust the space between ink film forming units 12 described later. Functions as adjusting means.

The cylindrical cell 1 of the metal cylinder 2
On the outer side of the side wall portion opposite to the above, a group of rollers 13 for ink kneading is arranged so as to be in parallel with the metal cylinder 2 and to contact the ring-shaped elastic bands 9A, 9B of the metal cylinder 2. Are located. These roller groups 13 are provided so as to move integrally with the metal cylinder 2, and the metal cylinder 2 is moved by the adjusting means 11 into the cylindrical cell 1.
When the movement is adjusted in the direction of approaching or moving away from the metal cylinder 2, the movement moves integrally with the metal cylinder 2.

The gap between the cylindrical cell 1 and the metal cylinder 2 is an ink film forming section 14 (see FIG. 2).
That is, when the ink for color measurement is attached to the outer periphery of the metal cylinder 8 of the metal cylinder 2, the ink follows the rotating metal cylinder 2 and is carried to the ink film forming unit 12, and In the ink film forming section 12, an ink film having a constant thickness is formed. A measuring unit 15 is provided inside the cylindrical cell so as to face the ink film forming unit 12.

The measuring section 15 includes a light introducing section 16 for introducing light so as to impinge on the ink film forming section 12 through the transparent wall surface of the cylindrical cell 1, and a metal cylinder after hitting the ink film forming section 12. The light collecting unit 17 includes a light collecting unit 17 that collects the reflected light reflected by the second wall surface and a light guiding unit 19 that guides the reflected light collected by the light collecting unit 17 to a spectrophotometer 18.

The light introducing section 16 is composed of an optical fiber or a simple hollow part which becomes an optical path at the center of the shaft section 6 and is connected to the light source 20, and is introduced through the light introducing section 16. The light is bent or bent in the middle (the optical fiber itself is bent when an optical fiber is used, and bent using a prism or the like in the case of a simple hollow portion), and the light condensing portion 17 is bent. Constituting sphere 17
a side.

The use of the integrating sphere 17a is for performing diffused illumination and diffused light reception on a colorimetric object. If the integrating sphere 17a cannot be arranged in the cylindrical cell 1 due to space or the like, an optical fiber is fixed in the cylindrical cell 1, and reflected light is collected by the fixed optical fiber. It may be.

The light deriving section 19 is provided with an integrating sphere 17a.
What is necessary is to connect optically to the spectrophotometer 18 and, similarly to the light introducing section 16, it is composed of an optical fiber or a simple hollow part which becomes an optical path at the center of the shaft 6. The reason why the light receiving end 19a of the light guiding section 19 is bent by approximately 90 degrees with respect to the drawing end 16a of the light introducing section 16 is that light introduced from the light introducing section 16 directly enters the light guiding section 19. This is to prevent it.

For fixing the light source 20 and the integrating sphere 17a, for example, the cylindrical cell 1 is fixed to hollow shafts 6 on both sides, and the shafts 6 are supported by bearings such as bearings (not shown). The fixing is performed by fixing the light source 20 or the integrating sphere 17a to an arm (not shown) extending through the hollow portion of the shaft portion 6, but is not limited to such a structure.

Here, the material of the cylindrical body 3 of the cylindrical cell 1 is required to be quartz glass when color information up to the ultraviolet region is required, but it is necessary to use general glass, polyethylene terephthalate, polycarbonate or the like. A highly transparent plastic can also be used.

The material of the ring-shaped elastic bands 4A, 4B, 9A, 9B used in the cylindrical cell 1 and the metal cylinder 2 is not particularly limited, but nitrile rubber, silicon rubber, natural rubber, acrylic rubber, or the like is used. The hardness is selected according to conditions such as the optical density of the object to be measured.

As the light source 20, a tungsten lamp or a xenon lamp is preferable because the spectral analysis can be relatively broad, but an ultra-high pressure mercury lamp, a halogen lamp, or the like can also be used. Depending on the application, various types of metal lamps such as mercury lamps and sodium lamps can be used. These light sources 20 may be arranged outside the cylindrical cell 1 as in the present embodiment, or may be directly installed inside the cylindrical cell 1.

The spectrophotometer 18 uses a photomultiplier or a photodiode via a filter as an optical element. In addition, spectral distribution measurement in which light separated by a grating is measured while scanning with a photodiode can be applied. Furthermore, a CCD in which light separated by the grating is arranged in the wavelength direction
Light reception measurement can also be performed by an array. Note that a computer 18a is connected to the spectrophotometer 18 as necessary.

The cylindrical cell 1, the metal cylinder 2, and the roller group 13,... Rotate in conjunction with each other during the measurement, but the optical sources such as the light source 20, the measuring unit 15, and the spectrophotometer 18 are used. So that the liquid to be measured does not enter the system
A necessary portion of the cylindrical cell 1 is covered with a sealing member. Since the structure of the seal member is particularly required to be driven, it is preferable to be able to drive while shielding, and to be able to take out the power supply for the light source, the cable for receiving light and the optical fiber therefrom. It is not limited.
In FIG. 3, reference numeral 21 denotes a pad having a certain depth. Inside the pad 21, a part of the cylindrical cell 1, the metal cylinder 2, and a group of kneading rollers 13,. It is designed so that the colorimetric ink will not scatter around as much as possible.

Next, a description will be given of a measuring method using the high-viscosity liquid colorimeter having the above configuration. First, a driving force from a drive system (not shown) is introduced into the cylindrical cell 1 via the gear unit 5, and the cylindrical cell 1 is rotated. When the cylindrical cell 1 rotates, the metal cylinder 2 that is in contact via the ring-shaped elastic bands 4A and 4B rotates in a direction opposite to that of the cylindrical cell 1, and the ring-shaped elasticity of the metal cylinder 2 is similarly changed. Obi 9A, 9
, Which are in contact with B, also rotate.

As described above, with the cylindrical cell 1, the metal cylinder 2, and the roller groups 13,.
The ink to be measured is placed on a metal cylinder 2 and a roller group 1
3 or the roller group 13,... The attached ink is sufficiently stirred by the rotation of the rollers 13 to be kneaded in a uniform state. Then, the ink is introduced into the ink film forming section 14 between the cylindrical cell 1 and the metal cylinder 2, where an ink film having a constant thickness is formed.

Thereafter, when light is introduced from the light source 20 through the light introducing unit 16, the introduced light passes through the integrating sphere 17 a from the light introducing unit 16 and then further into the cylindrical body of the cylindrical cell 1. 3, hits the ink film forming unit 14 through the transparent wall surface, passes through the ink layer filled in the ink film forming unit 14, and forms the metal cylinder 8 of the metal cylinder 2.
While being reflected on the wall surface, it repeatedly scatters and absorbs, and a part of the reflected light again passes through the integrating sphere 17a, and is guided to the spectrophotometer 18 via the light guide 19 from there.

Then, the reflected light guided to the spectrophotometer 18 has its spectral distribution measured here. In addition, while the cylindrical cell 1 and the like are being rotated, colorimetry is performed sequentially while performing complementary colors of the ink, and preparation involving a change in color such as blending is performed on a monitor (not shown) attached to the spectrophotometer 18. Can be controlled. In addition, since ink preparation is performed not by vibrating movement but by rotating movement (rotating the cylindrical cell 1 and the metal cylinder 2), inertia can be used, so that a stable movement can be obtained, and variation Performs fewer color measurements. Also, with respect to the ink layer formed in the ink film forming section 14, a uniform layer can be obtained by reversing the rotation of the cylindrical cell 1 and the kneading roller group 13,.
In this case, another drive system for rotating the kneading roller group 13 is required.

During the color measurement, the preparation means 11
By moving the metal cylinder 2, the distance between the ink film forming portions 14 between the cylindrical cell 1 and the metal cylinder 2 can be arbitrarily changed, and in particular, it is possible to control even a narrow distance of 10 μm or less. Thus, color measurement with a film thickness close to that of actual printing becomes possible.

In addition, a cylindrical cell 1 and a metal cylinder 2
Are provided with ring-shaped elastic bands 4A, 4B, 9A and 9B, respectively, and are urged in a direction of separating from each other.
Backlash (return) in adjusting the distance between the ink film forming portion between the cylindrical cell and the metal cylinder is eliminated, and accordingly, the distance between the ink film forming portions 14 can be easily adjusted and high-precision control can be performed. Becomes possible.

In the above color measurement, the spectrophotometer 18
Is fed back, and based on this information, the drive of the preparation means 11 is controlled to change the interval of the ink film forming portion 14 between the cylindrical cell 1 and the metal cylinder 2. Is also good. Further, the measurement data for each ink film thickness can be obtained by sequentially changing the distance between the ink film forming portions.

The above-described device is merely an example, and the design can be changed as needed without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, in the above embodiment, the ink film forming section 14 between the cylindrical cell 1 and the metal cylinder 2 is provided by the preparation means 11 for moving the metal cylinder 2.
Are adjusted, but a structure in which the cylindrical cell 1 is moved and adjusted instead of the metal cylinder 2 may be adopted.

In the above embodiment, the cylindrical cell 1
Ring-shaped elastic bands 4 on both the
Although A, 4B, 9A, and 9B are provided, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be provided in only one of them.

[0037]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The cylindrical cell 1 and the metal cylinder 2 described in FIG. 1 are each set to a diameter of 20 cm, the length of the cylindrical cell 1 is set to 20 cm, and the length of the metal cylinder 2 is set to 10 cm. One cylindrical body 3 was made of glass having a thickness of 2 mm. The rotation speed of the cylindrical cell 1 and the metal cylinder 2 was set to 30 rotations / minute. A 100 W xenon lamp was used as the light source 20, and a 6 cm square integrating sphere 17 a was used in the cylindrical cell 1. FIG. 4 shows the results of actually measuring the color of the offset ink (magenta having different densities by changing the amount of the diluting liquid added) under the above settings.
The reflectance shown here is a relative value to a value obtained by a diffusion plate manufactured by OptoScience. As described above, by using the apparatus of the present invention, the reflectance can be measured even with a high-viscosity liquid such as offset ink, the variation is kept within 5%, and high-precision color measurement can be realized.

[0038]

The present invention has the following excellent effects. According to the first aspect of the present invention, reflection colorimetry of a liquid having a high viscosity, such as offset ink, which has been impossible with a conventional colorimetry method, has become possible. In addition, since the result of the measurement can be obtained immediately, it is possible to perform a process such as a combination affecting the color while observing the result. By performing colorimetry with a spectrophotometer, it is possible to combine a computer color matching system, measure the target color, or input the data of the previous liquid color to perform automatic compounding and further correct and mix at the same time. Become. Furthermore, since color can be measured immediately and continuously, it can be used for ink or lot acceptance inspection on a printing machine or a coating machine.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the ink for measurement is sufficiently kneaded by the roller for kneading ink, the ink for measurement is supplied intermittently. Are uniformed, and high-precision colorimetry can be expected.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the interval between the ink film forming portions can be arbitrarily set in accordance with the kind of ink and the properties such as viscosity, and the degree of freedom in colorimetry is increased.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the cylindrical cell and the metal cylinder are urged in a direction away from each other via the pair of ring-shaped elastic bands. In adjusting the distance between the ink film forming parts, the backlash is eliminated, and the distance between the ink film forming parts can be easily adjusted.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the schematic configuration.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the schematic configuration.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a spectral reflectance curve as a result of actual color measurement by the apparatus of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cylindrical cell 2 Metal cylinder 3 Cylindrical body 4A, 4B Ring-shaped elastic band 6 Shaft 8 Metal cylinder 9A, 9B Ring-shaped elastic band 11 Adjusting means (ink film forming part interval adjusting means) 13 Roller group 14 Ink film Forming part 15 Measurement part 16 Light introduction part 17 Light condensing part 17a Integrating sphere 18 Spectrophotometer 19 Light derivation part 20 Light source

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A liquid colorimeter for measuring a color of a highly viscous colored liquid in a liquid state based on reflected light, comprising: a transparent rotatable cylindrical cell; A rotatable metal cylinder provided in the, and a measuring unit provided inside the cylindrical cell so as to be directed to an ink film forming unit formed between the cylindrical cell and the metal cylinder. The measurement unit includes a light introducing unit that introduces light so as to impinge on the ink film forming unit via the wall surface of the cylindrical cell, and reflects on a wall surface of the metal cylinder after hitting the ink film forming unit. A high-viscosity liquid colorimetric device, comprising: a light-collecting unit that collects the reflected light to be reflected; and a light deriving unit that guides the reflected light collected by the light-collecting unit to a spectrophotometer. 2. The high-viscosity ink according to claim 1, wherein a roller group for ink kneading is disposed outside a side wall portion of said metal cylinder opposite to said cylindrical cell. Liquid color measurement device. 3. An ink film forming unit interval adjusting means for adjusting an interval of said ink film forming unit between said cylindrical cell and said metal cylinder is provided. The high-viscosity liquid colorimeter according to the above. 4. A pair of ring-shaped elastic bands are arranged on at least one of the metal cylinder and the cylindrical cell so as to sandwich the ink film forming portion at an axial interval. The high-viscosity liquid colorimetric device according to claim 1, wherein: