JP2010008230A - Crucible feeder mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inexpensive and miniaturizable crucible feeder mechanism with a simple configuration and the increased storage number of crucibles. <P>SOLUTION: In this crucible feeder mechanism, crucibles are placed in parallel on a tilted placing surface 311, and each crucible sliding down along the placing surface 311 is collected into a crucible moving mechanism 313 provided on an outlet 312a by a tapered guide surface 312b. The crucible moving mechanism 313 is equipped on a peripheral surface part 3131a with a storage recess 3131x for storing crucibles, and is rotated and moved between a reception position where the slid-down crucible is received and a supply position where the crucible is dropped down in communication with a crucible supply port 314. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention is an element for analyzing elements such as carbon (C), nitrogen (N), hydrogen (H), sulfur (S), oxygen (O) contained in measurement samples such as steel, non-ferrous metals, and ceramics. More particularly, the present invention relates to a crucible supply mechanism for supplying a crucible.

  In this type of elemental analyzer, for example, as shown in Patent Document 1, a measurement sample is accommodated in a crucible sandwiched between an upper electrode and a lower electrode, and a voltage is applied to heat the measurement sample in the crucible. Then, the gas generated thereby is analyzed to analyze the elements of the measurement sample. And this elemental analyzer is equipped with the crucible supply mechanism which supplies a crucible, and the crucible supplied by the said crucible supply mechanism is conveyed on a lower electrode by a conveyance mechanism.

  Conventionally, as shown in Patent Document 2, the crucible supply mechanism has a plurality of crucibles vertically stacked in a cylindrical accommodation space, and when supplying crucibles, an opening / closing port provided at the lower part of the accommodation space is provided. It is supplied by dropping the crucible with the opening.

However, this structure requires a holding mechanism such as an actuator for holding a crucible other than the falling crucible when the crucible is dropped by opening the opening / closing port. In addition, after the first row of crucibles is supplied, a rotation mechanism is required to rotate the accommodation space and move the other rows to the upper part of the opening / closing port in order to drop the crucibles from the other rows. A sensor is also required to detect that each column has been lost. If it does so, there exists a problem that a crucible supply mechanism will become structurally complicated, and manufacturing cost will also become high. Furthermore, the space occupied by parts other than the crucible, such as the installation space for the mechanism, becomes large, and the crucible supply mechanism becomes large, and there is a problem that the number of crucibles accommodated is small.
Japanese Patent No. 2949501 JP-T-2006-504070

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems all at once, and it is possible to increase the number of crucibles to be accommodated while simplifying the crucible supply mechanism, realizing low cost, and reducing the size. This is the main desired issue.

  That is, the crucible supply mechanism according to the present invention is a crucible supply mechanism used in an elemental analyzer that extracts and analyzes an element contained in a sample as a gas component by heating the sample placed in the crucible. An inclined mounting surface on which a plurality of crucibles are mounted in parallel, and an outlet is formed below the mounting surface in the inclination direction, and a crucible sliding down the mounting surface by its own weight is guided toward the outlet. A crucible moving mechanism that is provided between a guide member and an outlet of the guide member and a supply port for leading out the crucible and moves a crucible sliding down to the outlet to the supply port, and the crucible A moving mechanism is provided at the outlet of the guide member and receives a crucible moving body in which a housing recess for receiving a crucible for sliding down the mounting surface is formed in the peripheral surface portion, and receiving a crucible for sliding the receiving recess. And location, communicates the accommodating recess in the supply port, characterized in that it comprises a drive unit that moves between a supply position for dropping the crucible of the accommodating recess in the supply port.

  If it is such, since the crucible is mounted in parallel, the accommodation number of the crucible can be increased. In addition, the crucible that slides down the mounting surface by its own weight is guided to the outlet by the guide member, and the guided crucible slides down into the housing recess as it is and is conveyed to the supply port, thus simplifying the configuration of the crucible supply mechanism, Manufacturing costs can be reduced. Furthermore, the crucible supply mechanism can be reduced in size by simplifying the structure of the crucible supply mechanism and by placing the crucibles in parallel.

  In order to simplify and miniaturize the structure of the crucible supply mechanism by simplifying the structure of the crucible moving mechanism, the drive unit rotates the crucible moving body, and the crucible moving body is accommodated in the housing. In the state rotated from the position, it is desirable that the peripheral surface portion closes the outlet. If it is this, the mechanism which dams the crucible sliding down from the exit of a guide member can be made unnecessary.

  In addition, in order to prevent the crucible from clogging in the vicinity of the guide member outlet and not sliding down into the housing recess of the crucible moving body with a simple configuration, the crucible moving body is disposed between the housing position and the supply position. It is desirable to provide a protrusion that contacts the crucible near the outlet of the guide member during the movement of the guide member.

  In order to suitably prevent the crucible placed on the placement surface from falling and hindering the supply of the crucible, it is provided with a fall prevention structure for preventing the crucible placed on the placement surface from falling. The fall prevention structure is formed by a facing surface provided to face the mounting surface, and the distance between the mounting surface and the facing surface is smaller than the length of the longest diagonal line of the crucible. Is desirable.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the crucible supply mechanism can be simplified in structure and the cost can be reduced, and the number of crucibles accommodated can be increased while downsizing.

  Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of the elemental analysis apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the crucible supply mechanism 3, FIG. 3 is a front view of the crucible container 31, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a sectional view schematically showing the mechanism 313, FIG. 5 is a view showing the operation of the crucible moving body 3131, FIG. 6 is a partial perspective view mainly showing the vicinity of the crucible moving body 3131 and the outlet 312a of the guide member 312, and FIG. FIG.

<Device configuration>
The elemental analysis device 100 according to the present embodiment includes a metal sample contained in the crucible R by heating the metal sample (hereinafter also simply referred to as a sample) and analyzing the gas components generated at that time. The crucible supply mechanism that supplies the crucible R that is transported to the crucible transport mechanism 2 and the crucible transport mechanism 2 that transports the crucible R to the analyzer main body 1. 3 is provided. Each will be described below.

<< Analyzer body 1 >>
The analyzer main body 1 will be described below. On the front surface of the analyzer main body 1, as shown in FIG. 1, an upper electrode 12 and a lower electrode 11 are provided vertically apart from each other, and a sample is placed on the lower electrode 11. It is comprised so that the crucible R which accommodated can be mounted. The crucible position placed on the lower electrode 11 shown in FIG. 1 is the heating position P1. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 13 denotes a detection sensor (for example, a photoelectric sensor) that detects the presence or absence of a crucible on the lower electrode 11. The crucible R is made of graphite having a cylindrical shape with an open top, and the lower end has a tapered shape. In addition, the crucible R may have a circular groove formed on the outer periphery of the lower end portion, in addition to the lower end portion being tapered and tapered.

  At the time of analysis, the lower electrode 11 slides upward with respect to the crucible R placed at the heating position P <b> 1, and the crucible R is sandwiched between the upper electrode 12. In this state, when a sample is loaded into the crucible R from the sample loading port 12A provided above the upper electrode 12, a current is applied between the electrodes 11 and 12, and the crucible R generates heat to generate heat. The sample is heated. The gas generated from the heated sample is sent to an analysis unit (not shown) to measure the component, and the element originally contained in the sample is analyzed from the result.

  For example, when measuring the amount of oxygen in a sample, CO (carbon monoxide), which is a reaction product, is generated by heating the sample, and the CO is detected using, for example, a non-dispersive infrared detector that constitutes the analysis unit. Measure and calculate the amount of oxygen present in the sample based on the CO value. In addition, components such as hydrogen nitrogen can be measured by setting a reaction product and an analysis unit corresponding to the reaction product. After the analysis, the used crucible R is discarded together with the sample by the crucible transport mechanism 2.

<< Crucible transport mechanism 2 >>
As shown in FIG. 1, the crucible transport mechanism 2 transports a crucible R installed in a crucible installation section 33 to be described later to a heating position P1 in the analyzer main body 1, and a heating position P1 (lower electrode 11). The arm portion 21 is capable of moving forward and backward, a drive mechanism (not shown) for driving the arm portion 21, and a pair of gripping claws 22 attached to the tip of the arm portion 21. It is controlled by a command from a control device (not shown).

  A base end portion of the arm portion 21 is connected to a rotation shaft of a driving mechanism provided on the base 101, and the arm portion 21 is moved to a heating position P1 and a retracted position separated from the heating position P1 by the driving mechanism. Rotate between and move forward and backward. Here, the retracted position is located outside the crucible installation portion 33 with respect to the heating position P1. Further, at least one of the gripping claws 22 has, for example, a generally square shape. Each gripping claw 22 is slidably held on the arm portion 21 at the base end portion, and is slid so as to reduce the distance between the gripping claws 22 in response to a command from the control device. It is comprised so that the side peripheral surface of the said crucible R can be narrow-pressure-gripped between center parts.

  The operation of the crucible transport mechanism 2 will be described. During the crucible transport, the arm unit 2 rotates from the retracted position and reaches the crucible installation unit 33. Then, the gripping claws 21 grip the crucible R in the crucible installation part 33. Then, it rotates again and moves to the heating position P1, and the crucible R is placed on the heating position P1 (on the lower electrode 11). After placement, the arm unit 2 returns to the retracted position. Further, after the analysis, the arm portion 21 moves from the retracted position to the heating position P1, and the gripping claws 21 grip the crucible R on the lower electrode 11, transport it to a waste container (not shown), and discard it.

<< Crucible supply mechanism 3 >>
The crucible supply mechanism 3 automatically supplies the crucible R conveyed by the crucible conveyance mechanism 2, and as shown in FIG. 2, in particular, a crucible accommodating portion 31 capable of accommodating a plurality of crucibles R, and crucible accommodation. A guide path 32 for dropping the crucible R from the portion 31 by its own weight, and a crucible installation section 33 for receiving the dropped crucible R provided at the outlet 32b of the guide path 32 are provided.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the crucible housing part 31 forms an inclined mounting surface 311 on which a plurality of crucibles R are mounted in parallel, and an outlet 312a below the mounting surface 311 in the inclination direction. The guide member 312 that guides the crucible R sliding down the mounting surface 311 by its own weight toward the outlet 312a, the outlet 312a of the guide member 312 and the supply port 314 that supplies the crucible R to the guide path 32 are interposed. And a crucible moving mechanism 313 that moves the crucible R sliding down to the outlet 312a to the supply port 314. The supply port 314 is provided below the placement surface 311 of the flat plate 31x.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the mounting surface 311 is inclined with respect to the horizontal direction so that the crucible R falls down by its own weight without falling down, and is a flat plate provided inclined with respect to the horizontal direction. It is formed on the upper surface of 31x. This inclination angle is an angle at which the crucible R moved to the supply port 314 falls due to its own weight, and is specifically about 30 degrees.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the guide member 312 is provided so as to cover the periphery of the mounting surface 311 on the upper surface of the flat plate 31x. Specifically, the guide member 312 is erected on the left and right sides of the mounting surface 311 and below the inclined surface so as to open the upper portion of the mounting surface 311 and the upper portion in the inclined direction. An outlet 312a for sliding down the crucible R and guiding it to the outside is formed below the inclined direction. In addition, the guide member 312 of the present embodiment has a tapered guide surface 312b in which the width of the left and right facing surfaces gradually narrows toward the outlet 312a in order to collect the crucible R that slides down in the vicinity of the outlet 312a. It has. Note that the crucible R can be easily replenished by opening the upper side of the mounting surface 311 in the inclination direction.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the crucible moving mechanism 313 includes a crucible moving body 3131 in which a housing recess 3131 x that houses the crucible R that slides down the mounting surface 311 is formed in the peripheral surface portion 3131 a, and the housing recess 3131 x slides down. A drive for rotating and moving between a storage position S for receiving and storing the crucible R and a supply position T for allowing the storage recess 3131x to communicate with the supply port 314 and dropping the crucible R in the storage recess 3131x to the supply port 314 by its own weight. Part 3132.

  The crucible moving body 3131 is provided in the vicinity of the outlet 312a of the guide member 312 on the upper surface of the flat plate 31x. Moreover, the crucible moving body 3131 has a substantially rotating body shape, and in this embodiment, has a substantially cylindrical shape. The crucible moving body 3131 has a rotation axis RS at the center axis thereof, and is configured to be rotatable around one axis by the rotation axis RS.

  In addition, the peripheral surface portion 3131a of the crucible moving body 3131 is provided with an accommodation recess 3131x formed from the upper surface that is one end surface in the axial direction to the lower surface that is the other end surface along the axial direction. The accommodating recess 3131x has a size that can be accommodated by one crucible R, and the crucible R is located within a virtual circumscribed circle of the crucible moving body 3131 in a state where the crucible R is accommodated.

  The drive unit 3132 is provided on the back surface side of the flat plate 31x and is fixed to the apparatus main body side. As shown in FIG. 4, the driving unit 3132 rotates the crucible moving body 3131 around the rotation axis RS, and rotates the motor M and the rotation of the motor M to the rotation axis RS provided in the crucible moving body 3131. And a drive shaft DS for transmission to the vehicle. Note that the rotation axis RS of the crucible moving body 3131 extends through the through hole provided in the flat plate 31 x to the back side of the flat plate 31 x and is connected to the drive shaft DS of the drive unit 3132.

  In the present embodiment, the driving unit 3132 can be separated from the crucible moving body 3131 and the flat plate 31x (the placement surface 311 and the guide member 312). That is, the separation coupling mechanism 315 is provided between the rotation shaft RS connected to the crucible moving body 3131 and the drive shaft DS of the drive unit 3132. The separation coupling mechanism 315 includes a recess 315m provided on one of the rotation shaft RS or the drive shaft DS and a projection 315n provided on the other. The concave portion 315m and the convex portion 315n are detachable in the axial direction, and are configured to engage with each other so as not to rotate relative to each other when connected. By this separating and connecting mechanism 315, the crucible moving body 3131 and the flat plate 31x can be easily detached from the apparatus main body, and for example, the crucible moving body 3131 and the flat plate 31x can be easily cleaned.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the drive unit 3132 receives and accommodates the crucible R in which the accommodation recess 3131x slides down, and the accommodation recess 3131x communicates with the supply port 314. The crucible moving body 3131 is rotated in one direction so as to rotate between the supply position T (FIG. 5B) where the crucible R in the recess 3131x falls to the supply port 314 by its own weight.

  In the storage position S, the storage recess 3131x is located in the outlet 312a of the guide member 312 and faces upward in the tilt direction. The supply port 314 is provided on the moving circle when the accommodation recess 3131x is rotated about the rotation axis RS.

  Further, when the crucible moving body 3131 is rotationally moved from the accommodation position S by the drive unit 3132, the peripheral surface portion 3131 a closes the outlet 312 a of the guide member 312 until the accommodation position S is reached again (see FIG. 5). . Thereby, the crucible R sliding down from the outlet 312a can be dammed up. In addition, a mechanism for separately closing the outlet 312a of the guide member 312 can be eliminated.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 3, 5 and 6, the crucible moving body 3131 is in the middle of moving between the accommodation position S and the supply position T, and a projection 317 that contacts the crucible R in the vicinity of the outlet 312 a of the guide member 312. Is provided. The protruding portion 317 is provided on the peripheral surface portion 3131a of the crucible moving body 3131, and specifically, provided in the vicinity of the rotation direction of the housing recess 3131x. Accordingly, the crucible is in contact with the crucible R near the outlet 312a before the receiving recess 3131x reaches the outlet 312a of the guide member 312 while the receiving recess 3131x moves from the supply position T to the receiving position S. The clogging of R can be broken (FIG. 5C). As shown in FIG. 6, the guide member 312 is provided with a notch groove 312M through which the protrusion 317 passes in the outlet 312a so as not to hinder the movement of the protrusion 317.

  Furthermore, the supply port 314 of the present embodiment is provided on the lower side in the tilt direction than the rotation axis RS, and when the crucible R is rotated while being held in the housing recess 3131x, before moving to the supply port 314, There is a risk of falling from the housing recess 3131x to the outside of the peripheral surface portion 3131a. In order to prevent this fall, as shown in FIGS. 3, 5 and 6, a fall prevention wall 316 is provided around the crucible moving body 3131. The fall prevention wall 316 is provided at least along the lower side surface in the tilt direction of the crucible moving body 3131, and covers the opening on the peripheral surface portion side of the housing recess 3131x when the housing recess 3131x faces downward in the tilt direction. .

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 7, the crucible housing part 31 includes a fall prevention structure 6 that prevents the crucible R placed on the placement surface 311 from falling. The fall prevention structure 6 is formed by a facing surface 318 provided to face the mounting surface 311, and the distance between the mounting surface 311 and the facing surface 318 is longer than the length of the longest diagonal line of the crucible R. It is provided to be smaller. Specifically, the facing surface 318 is formed by a surface facing the placement surface 311 side of the cover body 31y provided detachably on the guide member 312. The cover body 31y can be attached to the guide member 312 on either the front or back side. And when the plate | board thickness part 31y1 is provided in one of the surface or the back surface, and the back surface side is attached (FIG. 7 (A)) and the case where the surface side is attached (FIG. 7 (B)), the mounting surface 311 The distance from the facing surface 318 is made different so that the function of the fall prevention structure 6 can be exhibited corresponding to the crucibles R of different sizes. Specifically, the graphite crucible whose lower end portion is tapered and the above-described graphite crucible, and the graphite crucible having an annular groove formed in the lower end portion used for hydrogen analysis or the like having a different length from that, etc. Corresponding to the crucible R, the function of the fall prevention structure 6 can be exhibited.
The cover body 31y is provided with a supply hole 319 for supplying the crucible R as shown in FIGS. The supply hole 319 is a through hole formed slightly larger than the outer diameter of the crucible R. In this case, the crucible R can be replenished at any time, and even if the crucible R is added from the replenishment hole 319, the replenished crucible R does not fall due to the fall prevention structure 6 (opposing surface 318). , Making replenishment easier.

  The guide path 32 drops the crucible R in a substantially vertical direction and guides it to the crucible installation portion 33. As shown in FIG. 2, one end is opened as an introduction port 32a for introducing the crucible R, and the other end An opening 32b for leading the crucible R is opened above the crucible installation portion 33. The guide path 32 of the present embodiment is formed in a substantially vertical direction by a guide tube 5 having a substantially cylindrical shape, and the introduction port 32 a of the guide path 32 communicates with the discharge port 312 of the crucible housing part 31.

  The guide path 32 is for dropping the crucible R introduced from the crucible housing part 31 in a vertically positive state, and when the crucible R falls, it has an inner diameter that does not turn upside down, for example, the longest of the crucible R. The inner diameter is smaller than the length of the diagonal.

  On the side wall of the guide tube 5, foreign matter other than the crucible R introduced from the supply port 314 (for example, fragments of the crucible R) is discharged outside the guide tube 5 without reaching the outlet (outlet port 32 b). For example, one or a plurality of slit-shaped through holes 5A are provided. Specifically, in the guide tube 5, a through hole 5 </ b> A is provided below the side wall of the bent portion 51 provided substantially perpendicular to the inclined surface 311. Thereby, the fragments are discharged out of the guide tube 5 through the through holes 5A by their own weight. Further, the clogging of the crucible R in the guide path 32 can be confirmed by the through hole 5A.

  Further, a tapered portion 321 for reducing the falling speed of the crucible R is formed in the vicinity of the exit of the guide path 32. The minimum diameter of the tapered portion 321 is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the crucible R, and the crucible R can pass through. Further, the downstream side of the tapered portion 321 in the guide path 32 has the same diameter as the minimum diameter of the tapered portion 321. If this is the case, the falling speed of the crucible R in the vicinity of the exit of the guide path 32 can be reduced, and damage to the crucible R when landing on the crucible installation portion 33 can be prevented. Moreover, the position shift of the installation position in the crucible installation part 33 can be prevented, and it can install accurately.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the crucible installation portion 33 is provided at the distal end portion of the drive shaft 341 of the elevating mechanism 34 formed of an air cylinder or the like provided on the base 101. The crucible installation unit 33 is connected to the guide path 32 and moves up and down between a receiving position Q1 that receives the crucible R that has fallen and a crucible transport position Q2 that is a spaced position spaced vertically downward from the receiving position Q1. It is something that moves.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the crucible installation portion 33 has a recess 331 x that can accommodate the crucible R, and is provided in the crucible receiving body 331 that receives the crucible R, and the recess 331 x of the crucible receiving body 331. And a mounting projection 332.

  The crucible receiving body 331 has a substantially bottomed cylindrical shape and is formed of a transparent resin that allows the inside to be visually recognized. The inner diameter of the concave portion 331x is larger than the outer diameter of the crucible R. A tapered surface 331t is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the upper end portion of the crucible receiving body 331. Then, as the crucible installation part 33 moves from the crucible transport position Q2 to the receiving position Q1, the crucible receiving body 331 is fitted with the tapered surface 5t provided on the outlet side end surface of the guide tube 5 forming the guide path 32. And the positioning function which positions the mounting protrusion 332 and the guide path 32 is exhibited (refer FIG. 2).

  The mounting protrusion 332 has a substantially cylindrical shape, and the diameter thereof is set to be slightly smaller than the opening diameter of the crucible R. The mounting protrusion 332 is provided coaxially in the recess 331x of the crucible receiving body 331. When the crucible R is installed in the vertical direction, the crucible R is placed on the substantially horizontal upper surface 332a. The On the other hand, the mounting protrusion 332 is accommodated in the crucible R when the crucible R is installed upside down. With this configuration, the height position of the crucible R in the crucible installation portion 33 differs between the case where the crucible R is installed in the upside down direction and the case where the crucible R is installed upside down.

  Further, the length of the mounting protrusion 332 is longer than any depth dimension in the various crucibles R used, and the size of the crucible R is not limited. That is, the length of the mounting protrusion 332 is a length that prevents the opening of the crucible R from coming into contact with the bottom surface of the recess when it is installed upside down. That is, the length of the mounting protrusion 332 is set such that a space is formed between the bottom surface of the recess and the opening end surface of the crucible R when installed in the upside down direction. Thereby, even if foreign matters such as fragments of the crucible R are accumulated in the recess 331x, the crucible receiving body 331 can accommodate the crucible R upside down.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the crucible supply mechanism 3 includes a crucible detection sensor 41 and constitutes the reversal detection mechanism 4 together with the crucible installation portion 33.

  The crucible detection sensor 41 uses light to detect the crucible R when the crucible R is installed on the mounting protrusion 332 in the vertical direction. Specifically, a photoelectric sensor is used, and the trajectory of the light L1 that exits the light emitting portion of the photoelectric sensor 41 and reaches the light receiving portion is the outer peripheral surface of the crucible R that is installed in the crucible installation portion 33 in the vertical direction. It is configured to reflect and reach the light receiving unit.

  With such a configuration, when the crucible R is installed vertically upward, the light L1 emitted from the light emitting unit is reflected by the side surface of the crucible R and received by the light receiving unit. On the other hand, when the crucible R is installed upside down, the light L1 emitted from the light emitting unit is not reflected by the outer peripheral surface of the crucible R and is not received by the light receiving unit. As described above, when the crucible R is not installed in the crucible installation unit 33, or when it is installed upside down even though it is installed, the light receiving unit does not receive the light L1. Inversion of the crucible R can be detected. Further, the detection signal of the light receiving unit is output to notifying means (not shown) so as to notify the operator with an alarm sound or the like. The crucible detection sensor 41 is not limited to the reflective type described above, and may be a transmissive type or a type using ultrasonic waves.

  <Effect of this embodiment>

  According to the elemental analyzer 100 according to the present embodiment configured as described above, since the crucibles R are placed in parallel, the number of crucibles R accommodated can be increased. Also, the crucible that slides down the mounting surface 311 by its own weight is guided to the outlet by the guide member 312, and the guided crucible slides down into the housing recess 3131x and is conveyed to the supply port 314. Therefore, the crucible supply mechanism 3 The configuration can be simplified and the manufacturing cost can be reduced. In particular, in the present embodiment, the crucible moving mechanism 3131 only needs to be rotated once, so that the crucibles R can be accommodated one by one and supplied to the supply port 314 of the crucible R. 3 can be configured. Thus, the crucible supply mechanism 3 can be reduced in size by simplifying the structure of the crucible supply mechanism 3 and placing the crucible R in parallel.

  <Other modified embodiments>

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. In the following description, the same reference numerals are given to members corresponding to the above-described embodiment.

  For example, the crucible moving body 3131 of the above embodiment is provided with one receiving recess 3131x in the peripheral surface portion 3131a. In addition, a plurality of receiving recesses 3131x are provided in the peripheral surface portion 3131a at predetermined intervals. May be.

  In addition to the graphite crucible, a ceramic crucible may be used. In this case, the analyzer main body includes a high-frequency heating furnace, and may analyze carbon or sulfur existing in the sample.

  Moreover, although the crucible moving mechanism 313 of the above embodiment is configured by a rotating mechanism, it may be configured by a slide mechanism as shown in FIG. In this case, the drive unit 3132 moves the crucible moving body 3131 ′ forward / backward, for example, in the direction along the tilt direction or in the direction perpendicular to the tilt direction with respect to the outlet 312a ′ of the guide member 312 ′. And a supply position T can be considered. In particular, when the crucible moving body 3131 ′ is moved in the direction along the inclination direction with respect to the outlet 312a ′ of the guide member 312 ′, the crucible R slides down from the outlet 312a ′ at a position away from the housing position S. It is conceivable to provide a closing mechanism 7 so as not to cause a failure.

  In addition, some or all of the above-described embodiments and modified embodiments may be combined as appropriate, and the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. .

The typical block diagram of the elemental analyzer which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. The longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the structure of the crucible supply mechanism in the same embodiment. The top view of the crucible accommodating part in the embodiment. The top view of a crucible moving body. The figure which shows operation | movement of the crucible moving body in the same embodiment. The partial perspective view which shows the crucible conveyance body and the exit vicinity of a guide member in the embodiment. Sectional drawing which shows a fall prevention structure. The figure which shows the crucible moving mechanism in deformation | transformation embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Element analyzer R ... Crucible 3 ... Crucible supply mechanism 311 ... Mounting surface 312 ... Guide member 312a ... Exit 314 of guide member ... Supply port 313 ... Crucible moving mechanism 3131 ... crucible moving body 3131x ... accommodation recess 3131a ... peripheral surface part S ... accommodation position T ... supply position 3132 ... drive part 6 ... fall prevention structure 318 ...・ An opposite surface

Claims (4)

A crucible supply mechanism used in an elemental analysis device for extracting and analyzing an element contained in a sample as a gas component by heating a sample placed in a crucible,
An inclined mounting surface on which a plurality of crucibles are mounted in parallel;
A guide member that forms an outlet below the inclination direction of the placement surface and guides the crucible that slides down the placement surface by its own weight toward the exit;
A crucible moving mechanism provided between the outlet of the guide member and the supply port for supplying the crucible and moving the crucible sliding down to the outlet to the supply port;
The crucible moving mechanism is
A crucible moving body provided at the outlet of the guide member and having a housing recess formed in the peripheral surface portion for housing the crucible for sliding down the mounting surface;
A drive unit that moves between a housing position that receives and houses the crucible in which the housing recess slides, and a supply position in which the housing recess communicates with the supply port and causes the crucible in the housing recess to drop to the supply port. And a crucible supply mechanism.   The crucible supply according to claim 1, wherein the driving unit rotationally drives the crucible moving body, and the peripheral surface portion closes the outlet when the crucible moving body is rotated from the accommodation position. mechanism.   The crucible supply mechanism according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the crucible moving body includes a protrusion that contacts a crucible in the vicinity of an outlet of the guide member while moving between the accommodation position and the supply position. It has a fall prevention structure that prevents the crucible placed on the placement surface from falling,
The fall prevention structure is formed by a facing surface provided to face the mounting surface,
The crucible supply mechanism according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the distance between the mounting surface and the facing surface is smaller than the length of the longest diagonal line of the crucible.