JP2002303571A - Moisture meter - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To heat a sample evenly or efficiently in comparison to a conventional moisture meter, particularly a heat drying type moisture meter. SOLUTION: A heating light source 13 is arranged in an internal space of a reflector 15 comprising at least a face opposing the sample and a wall surface extended to a sample side from the face, and a transparent plate material 22 is arranged on the light source side.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a moisture meter, and more particularly, to a heat-drying moisture meter. The present invention is to arrange a heating light source in the internal space of the reflector by at least a surface facing the sample and a wall surface extending from the surface facing the sample to the sample side, and by disposing a transparent plate on the light source side, Further, by holding the heating light source by the reflector and the transparent plate material so that the volatile component evaporating from the sample is hard to invade, the sample can be heated uniformly or efficiently as compared with the related art.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in food production management and the like,
Various types of moisture meters are used to measure the moisture content of food products and the like. In such a moisture meter, a so-called heat-drying moisture meter is configured to measure a moisture content by evaporating moisture by heating and measuring a change in mass, and a halogen lamp is used as a heat source for heating. , Infrared lamps, ceramic heaters and the like are used.

[0003] Such a heat-drying type heat source is required to dry the sample reliably in a short time, and therefore it is required to heat the sample uniformly and efficiently. For this reason, in this type of moisture meter, the outer shape of the sample dish on which the sample is placed is formed in a circular shape, and the heat source is configured with a shape corresponding to the outer shape of the sample dish.

Therefore, when a heat source is constituted by a halogen lamp, the halogen lamp is formed in a ring shape corresponding to a sample dish in the moisture meter. A reflector plated with gold or the like is arranged above the halogen lamp so that the sample can be efficiently heated. The reflector has an opening formed substantially at the center, and the opening allows moisture or the like evaporated from the sample to escape to the outside. In addition, a shielding plate is arranged on the sample side of the halogen lamp, and the sample is heated through the shielding plate. This prevents contamination of the tube surface of the halogen lamp, thereby lowering the performance and reducing the life due to the contamination. It is designed to prevent shortening.

[0005]

By the way, when the heat source is constituted by a halogen lamp, the temperature of the sample can be raised in a shorter time than when the heat source is constituted by a ceramic heater or the like. It is considered suitable for measurement.

However, a detailed study of a moisture meter using a conventional halogen lamp as a heat source revealed that it was still practically insufficient to heat the sample uniformly and efficiently.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to propose a moisture meter capable of heating a sample uniformly or efficiently as compared with the prior art.

[0008]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the present invention is applied to a moisture meter, and extends at least a surface facing the sample and a sample side from the surface facing the sample. A heating light source is arranged in the internal space of the reflector formed by the wall surface, and a transparent plate is arranged on the sample side of the heating light source.

In the invention of claim 2, claim 1
In the above configuration, the transparent plate member is disposed in the opening of the plate-shaped member disposed on the opening side of the reflector.

[0010] In the invention of claim 3, claim 1 is
Alternatively, in the configuration of claim 2, the heating light source is a lamp extending in a rod shape.

According to the invention of claim 4, in the configuration of claim 1, 2, or 3, a plurality of bars are arranged on the sample side of the transparent plate.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the configuration of the first, second, third or fourth aspect,
The shape of the surface facing the sample is a rectangular shape.

Further, in the invention according to claim 6, applied to a moisture meter, a reflector that reflects light from a heating light source, and a transparent plate material that shields the opening side of the reflector, a volatile component that evaporates from the sample. Keep the heating light source difficult to penetrate.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the heating light source is arranged in the internal space of the reflector at least by the surface facing the sample and the wall surface extending from the surface facing the sample toward the sample. By disposing the transparent plate on the sample side of the light source, the transparent plate disposed between the heating light source and the sample can function as an intermediate heating element, and the sample can be efficiently heated. That is, since the transparent plate is irradiated with light generated from the heating light source and the transparent plate is uniformly heated, the transparent plate becomes a secondary heating element, and the sample can be uniformly heated. Also, with this transparent plate, the degree of sealing of the heating light source can be increased,
Adhesion of the volatile components from the sample to the heating light source can be reliably prevented. Further, the temperature rise of the heating light source can be accelerated. Thus, for example, when a halogen lamp is used as the heating light source, the sample can be heated more efficiently than when the heating light source is used alone.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the configuration of the first or second aspect, the heating light source is a lamp extending in a rod shape, so that a highly versatile heating light source is used. Can be.

Further, according to the configuration of claim 4, claim 1,
In the configuration according to claim 2 or 3, by disposing a plurality of bars on the sample side of the transparent plate, it is possible to prevent such damage of the transparent plate.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, a volatilizer which is applied to a moisture meter and which reflects light from a heating light source and a transparent plate material which shields the opening side of the reflector, evaporates from the sample. Ingredients (on heating light source side)
By keeping the heating light source difficult to penetrate, the degree of sealing of the heating light source can be increased and the temperature rise of the heating light source can be accelerated. This makes it possible to apply a halogen lamp to the heating light source, for example. In addition, the sample can be efficiently heated as compared with the case where the heating light source is used alone. Further, it is possible to prevent the volatile component from the sample from adhering to the heating light source, thereby preventing performance degradation and the like.

[0018]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings as appropriate.

(1) Configuration of the Embodiment FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a moisture meter according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The moisture meter 1 includes a moisture meter main body 2 and a cover 3.

Here, the entire moisture meter body 2 is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and a display panel and an operation display unit 4 including various pressing operators are arranged on the near side. Further, in the main body 2 of the moisture meter, a measuring section 6 is arranged substantially at the center of the upper surface, and as shown by an arrow A, a sample dish 8 can be arranged on a mounting tool 7 arranged in the measuring section 6. . The moisture meter main body 2 includes a load detection unit that detects a load applied by the mounting device 7,
An operation processing unit that processes the detection result of the load detection unit, a heat source driving unit that drives and controls a heat source, which will be described later, a display driving unit that drives the operation display unit 4 based on the processing result by these, and the like are housed. By the operation of each of these parts in response to the operation, the mass and moisture content of the sample placed on the sample dish 8 are measured and can be displayed on the operation display unit 4.

The cover portion 3 is formed in a substantially cubic shape, and is connected to the moisture meter main body 2 via a rotation shaft provided on the back side of the moisture meter main body 2, thereby indicating by an arrow B. Thus, the moisture analyzer main body 2 is rotatably arranged. The cover part 3 is formed so as to completely cover the measuring part 6 when the whole is turned down to the near side.
The cover unit 3 is provided with a heat source driven by the heat source driving unit of the moisture meter main body 2, and in such a state that the measuring unit 6 is completely covered, the sample can be heated by driving the heat source. .

The cover 3 covers the measuring section 6 completely in this manner, and a gap is formed at a predetermined interval between the surface of the measuring section 6 and the lower end face. An outlet 11A (FIG. 1) for discharging the inflowing air is formed on the upper surface. The cover portion 3 has an air flow path formed by the gap and the discharge port 11A, whereby various volatile components and the like generated by heating the sample by the heat source can be quickly discharged to the outside.

The cover 3 has windows 3A formed on the lower side of the front surface, the lower side of the side surface, and the front side. Here this window 3
A is formed by arranging a transparent plate material such as tempered glass. In the moisture meter 1, the state of the sample placed on the sample dish 8 with the cover 3 closed with the window 3A can be observed. .

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing the structure of the cover 3 in detail. The cover unit 3 is configured by covering the heating unit 12 with the heater cover 11. Here, the heater cover 11 has the above-described discharge port 11A formed on the upper surface,
Further, a transparent plate constituting the window 3A is arranged on the side surface. The heating unit 12 is formed by arranging a halogen lamp 13 as a heating light source on a reflector 15 and then screwing the reflector 15 to a sample dish cover 14.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the reflector 15 viewed from the sample side. The reflector 15 holds the halogen lamp 13, reflects light from the halogen lamp 13 efficiently, and uniformly irradiates the sample with the light from the halogen lamp 13. That is, the reflector 15
3 is a bottom surface (hereinafter, referred to as a top plate) in FIG. 3 which is a surface facing the sample, and a wall surface extending from the periphery of the top plate toward the sample side, according to the size which is completely stored in the heater cover 11. Thus, a rib is formed at a predetermined position on the wall surface. Reflector 15
Is screwed to and held on the heater cover 11 by a columnar spacer (not shown) through a through hole formed in the collar.

Further, a notch is formed in the reflector 15 on the side opposite to the side where the collar is not formed, and a holding portion 15A for holding the halogen lamp 13 is formed in the notch. That is, the reflector 15
The notch is formed so as to be slightly wider than the halogen lamp 13 at a position slightly deviated from the center of the side surface, extend from the opening side to the top plate side, and then bend toward the center side. Each of the reflectors 15 has a holding portion 15A formed outside of the bent portion. On the other hand, the halogen lamp 13 has a length that the electrode 13A protrudes outside the cutout portion and has a rod-like shape.

The holding portion 15A is provided with a metal holding piece 15B outside a portion bent toward the center of the notch.
Is arranged, and as shown by an arrow C, the halogen lamp 13 is inserted into the notch and inserted into the holding bracket 15B, whereby the halogen lamp 13 is
To hold it from above and below. Thus, in the moisture meter 1, the halogen lamp 13 can be easily operated.
Have been made interchangeable. Also, the holding unit 15A
Is formed such that the contact piece 15C formed on the holding bracket 15B presses the end face of the halogen lamp 13, so that the halogen lamp 13 does not move in the tube axis direction in the moisture meter 1. In this embodiment, the notch is formed by cutting a plate material so as to hold the holding portion 15A, and disposing the shielding plate 15D inside the wall surface.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the sample dish cover 14 in comparison with FIG. In the sample dish cover 14, a rectangular opening 21A is formed in the center of a frame 21, which is a plate-like member facing the sample, and a transparent plate 22 that efficiently transmits the light of the halogen lamp 13 is disposed in the opening 21A. . In this embodiment, the frame 21 is
The transparent plate 22 is made of tempered glass or heat-resistant resin using an aluminum plate. The sample dish cover 14 is configured such that when integrated with the reflector 15, the light of the halogen lamp 13 does not leak except for the cutout of the reflector 15 and the portion where the transparent plate 22 is arranged. Light transmitted through the plate member 22 is directed to the sample. Here, the transparent plate member 22 is formed such that both surfaces are flat surfaces and have a uniform thickness.

Thus, in the moisture meter 1, by disposing the transparent plate member 22 in the opening 21A in this way, the whole is substantially closed and the temperature rise of the halogen lamp 13 is promoted. 13, the sample is efficiently heated. In addition, the rise in the temperature of the transparent plate 22 due to the rise in the temperature inside the reflector 15 causes the increase in the temperature of the transparent plate 22.
Functions as an intermediate heating element. Thus, the moisture meter 1 heats the sample uniformly and efficiently. In particular, by disposing the transparent plate 22, the halogen lamps 13 of various components evaporated from the sample are provided.
Of the halogen lamp 13 can be prevented.

Further, a protective plate 26 is formed on the sample side of the transparent plate 22 so that the sample dish cover 14 is in close contact with the transparent plate 22. Here, the protection plate 26 is formed such that a narrow beam extending so as to intersect with the halogen lamp 13 crosses the opening of the frame 21. Thus, in the moisture meter 1, the sample or the like disposed inside the sample dish cover 14 is prevented from accidentally colliding with the transparent plate 22. That is, the transparent plate 2
2 to protect the transparent plate member 22 from damage.

Further, the sample dish cover 14 has poles 24 in the form of a prism at the four corners of the frame 21.
The pole 24 is configured to come into contact with the plate 6A of the moisture meter main body 2 when the cover part 3 is tilted toward the moisture meter main body 2 side, thereby functioning as a stopper.

Further, in the pole 24, a groove is formed on each opposing surface, and a transparent plate 25 is arranged in the groove. Here, the transparent plate 25 is made of tempered glass, and thereby the window 3 formed in the heater cover 11 is formed.
The sample can be visually observed through A.

Further, the transparent plate 25 is formed so that a gap is formed up and down when the cover 3 is tilted toward the moisture meter main body 2 side.
The length in the height direction is set shorter than the height of the pole 24, and furthermore, the pole 24 is arranged at a predetermined distance from the frame 21. As a result, in the moisture meter 1, the transparent plate material 2 flows into the sample dish cover 14 from the lower gap of the heater cover 11, and
5, a flow of air discharged from the outlet 11A of the heater cover 11 is formed through the lower gap of the transparent plate member 25 and the upper gap of the transparent plate member 25, thereby forming an air flow inside the sample dish cover 14. Various components that evaporate are quickly discharged.

In the moisture meter 1 having such a configuration,
The halogen lamp 13, the reflector 15, the sample dish cover 14, the opening 21A, and the sample dish 8 are arranged so that their central axes coincide with each other, so that the sample can be efficiently heated.

(2) Operation of the Embodiment In the above configuration, in the moisture meter 1 (FIG. 2), after the sample to be measured is placed on the sample dish 8, the cover section 3 is turned down and the measuring section 6 is moved. Is exposed, the sample dish 8 is set on the placing tool 7 arranged on the measuring section 6, and then the cover section 3 is moved to the near side, whereby the preparation for measurement is completed. Thus, in the moisture meter 1, a change in the mass of the sample is measured while the sample is heated by the heating light source disposed on the cover unit 3 by operating the operation element disposed on the operation display unit 4, and the moisture content is measured. .

In heating the sample in this way, in the moisture meter 1, the reflector 15 disposed inside the cover 3 (FIGS. 2 and 3) extends the top plate and the sample side from the top plate. A box-shaped reflector 1 having a light source for heating by a halogen lamp 13 held in an internal space defined by a wall surface and thus constituted by a top plate and a wall surface
The sample is heated by irradiating the sample with light from the halogen lamp 13 from the opening side of the sample 5. Thereby, in this moisture meter 1, instead of heating by indirect light irradiation through a shielding plate or the like,
The sample can be heated by direct light irradiation, so that the sample can be heated more efficiently than before.

In the light of the halogen lamp emitted toward the sample from the opening side of the reflector 15 (FIG. 4), the frame 2 forming the sample dish cover 14
The light is transmitted through the transparent plate 22 disposed in the one opening 21A and is irradiated on the sample. Thereby, in this moisture meter 1,
The transparent plate member 22 functions as an intermediate heating element, which can further uniformly heat the sample.

According to the result of actually measuring the change in temperature, in the moisture meter 1, the temperature of the transparent plate 22 first rises, and the temperature of the sample rises following this temperature rise. If there is a discontinuous portion such as a hole in the transparent plate material 22,
The temperature distribution of the sample becomes uneven. Thus, in the moisture meter 1, although it appears that the sample is heated by direct irradiation of the sample with light emitted from the heating light source, in fact, most of the heat energy from the light source is transmitted to the transparent plate member 22.
It was found that the transparent plate 22 was functioning as an intermediate heating element. However, in any case, according to this embodiment, the transparent plate 22
Is arranged, and the sample can be heated significantly and more efficiently than in the past.

In addition, since the transparent plate 22 is disposed in the opening 21A in this manner, in the moisture meter 1, the transparent plate 22 is disposed between the light source and the sample, and the volatile component evaporating from the sample. Can be prevented from adhering to the halogen lamp 13. That is, the halogen lamp 1
No. 3 is susceptible to contamination of the tube surface, the performance is deteriorated due to the contamination of the glass tube surface, and the life is shortened. Thus, in the present embodiment, the adhesion of such volatile components is effectively avoided to prevent the performance from deteriorating, whereby the sample can be efficiently heated even after long-term use. In addition, shortening of the life can be effectively avoided.

In the moisture meter 1, the sample dish cover 14 having such a transparent plate 22 disposed in the opening 21A is disposed on the opening side of the reflector 15, so that the light source evaporates from the sample. A reflector 1 that functions as a light source holding member, so that volatile components are difficult to enter easily.
5. It is held by the transparent plate 22 and the frame 21.

As a result, the heating of the halogen lamp 13 is promoted, and the temperature can be raised efficiently.
As a result, the sample can be quickly warmed with little power. In addition, a reflector 15 other than the halogen lamp 13
It is also possible to prevent volatile components from adhering to the inside or the like, and accordingly, it is possible to prevent deterioration of performance due to adhesion of these components to sites where cleaning is difficult.

Thus, in the moisture meter 1, the sample in the sample dish 8 arranged under the transparent plate 22 arranged in this way is heated by the light of the halogen lamp 13,
As a result, the water content of the sample evaporates and a change in the mass of the sample is detected.

In the moisture meter in which the moisture or the like evaporates in this manner, external air is introduced from the lower gap of the transparent plate 25 surrounding the sample dish cover 14, and the upper gap of the transparent plate 25 is further introduced. The air inside is further discharged, and this air passes through the inside of the heater cover 11 and is discharged to the outlet 11A.
Is discharged from. With such an air flow path, the moisture meter 1
In this case, the moisture and the like evaporated from the sample can be quickly discharged to the outside, and the stain on the transparent plate 25 is reduced.

Further, in the moisture meter 1, a window 3A is formed in the heater cover 11 outside the transparent plate 25 so that the sample can be observed.

When measuring in this manner, the performance of a halogen lamp cannot be avoided due to its use.
This necessitates replacement as needed. In this case, in the moisture meter 1, after the heater cover 11 is removed to expose the heating unit 12, the reflector 15 is removed, and the halogen lamp 13 disposed on the reflector 15 is replaced.

In this embodiment, since the halogen lamp 13 is a so-called straight tube type having a rod shape, it is possible to use a very versatile product which is distributed in an extremely large number of markets. Also, when the halogen lamp 13 is attached to the reflector 15, the halogen lamp 13 can be attached by a simple operation of entering the notch and inserting the same into the holding bracket 15B. Thereby, in this embodiment, the maintainability can be remarkably improved as compared with the related art. In addition, since general-purpose products can be used, the cost required for manufacturing and the cost required for maintenance can be reduced correspondingly.

(3) Effects of the Embodiment According to the above configuration, the heating light source is arranged at least in the internal space of the reflector formed by the top plate facing the sample and the wall surface extending from the top plate toward the sample. By placing a transparent plate on the light source side, the sample can be made
And it can be heated efficiently.

By disposing a plurality of bars on the sample side of the transparent plate, it is possible to prevent the transparent plate from being damaged.

At this time, since a halogen lamp having a bar shape is used as the heating light source, a highly versatile heating light source can be used to improve the maintainability and the like.

(4) Other Embodiments In the above-described embodiment, the case where the top plate of the reflector has a rectangular shape has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Can be widely applied.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the heating light source is constituted by the halogen lamp has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when the heating light source is constituted by a xenon lamp or the like, various heating light sources may be used. Can be widely applied when used.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the light source is constituted by a rod-shaped lamp has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the light source may be constituted by various shapes as required. Can be applied.

In the above embodiment, the case where the frame is arranged on the opening side of the reflector and the transparent plate is arranged, and the case where the crosspiece is arranged on the sample side of the transparent plate has been described. The present invention is not limited to this, and these members may be omitted as necessary.

[0054]

As described above, according to the present invention, the heating light source is disposed in the internal space of the reflector, which is defined by at least the surface facing the sample and the wall extending from the surface toward the sample. By arranging a transparent plate on
In addition, by holding the heating light source in the light source holding unit so that the volatile components that evaporate from the sample do not easily enter, the sample can be uniformly or efficiently heated as compared with the related art.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a configuration of a cover section of a moisture meter according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a moisture meter by a cover part of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a reflector of the moisture meter of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a sample dish cover of the moisture meter of FIG. 2;

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Moisture meter, 2 ... Moisture meter body, 3 ... Cover part, 1
1 ... heater cover, 13 ... halogen lamp, 14
... Sample dish cover, 15 Reflector, 21 Frame, 22 Transparent plate, 26 Bar

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Masahiro Kanno 1-243 Asahi, Kitamoto-shi, Saitama A / D Co., Ltd.

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A moisture meter for measuring a moisture content of a sample based on a change in mass detected by heating the sample by irradiation of light emitted from a heating light source, wherein the moisture meter measures at least a surface facing the sample. The heating light source is arranged in an internal space of the reflector by a wall surface extending toward the sample side from the surface facing the sample, and a transparent plate is arranged on the sample side of the heating light source. Characteristic moisture meter. 2. The moisture meter according to claim 1, wherein the transparent plate is disposed in an opening of a plate-like member disposed on an opening side of the reflector. 3. The moisture meter according to claim 1, wherein the heating light source is a lamp extending in a bar shape. 4. The moisture meter according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of bars are arranged on the sample side of the transparent plate. 5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the surface facing the sample has a rectangular shape.
Or the moisture meter according to claim 4. 6. A moisture meter for heating a sample by irradiating light emitted from a heating light source to measure a moisture content of the sample based on a change in mass detected, wherein the light from the heating light source is measured. A moisture meter characterized by holding the heating light source by a reflector that reflects light and a transparent plate that shields the opening side of the reflector so that volatile components that evaporate from the sample are difficult to enter.