JP2014163896A - Absorbability automatic measuring means of granules - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide means for temporally measuring volume variation to time of a liquid naturally absorbed by an aggregate of granules by taking notice of an important factor when the granules are absorbed, to temporarily measure the volume variation to time of the liquid naturally absorbed by the aggregation of granules as precisely as possible, and to automatically perform the measurement from the beginning to the end without relying on human labor.SOLUTION: A measurement container filled with granules is arranged so as to contact a liquid, and a volume variation of the liquid naturally absorbed by an aggregate of granules to time is temporarily measured, and an absorption speed of the aggregation of granules or a change in the absorption speed or an absorption speed constant or an absorption volume or an absorption ratio are automatically calculated and recorded from this volume variation to time.

Description

  The present invention pays attention to the phenomenon in which the granular material naturally absorbs liquid, and the properties of the granular material are significantly manifested in the liquid absorption rate, the change in the liquid absorption rate, the liquid absorption rate constant, the liquid absorption amount, and the liquid absorption rate. It was made based on the knowledge of the above, and the collection of particles, which is an important key in deriving the liquid absorption rate, change in liquid absorption rate, liquid absorption rate constant, liquid absorption amount, liquid absorption rate, The present invention relates to a means for measuring a volume change with time of a naturally absorbed liquid over time.

Rice flour, an example of a powdered granule, has been used in traditional rice crackers such as dumplings, rice cakes, and rice crackers. In recent years, from the viewpoint of improving the food self-sufficiency rate, efforts have been made to promote consumption by developing new uses for rice flour. It has been.
Conventional rice flour has different flour characteristics depending on the production method, and there are various types of rice flour such as upper fresh powder and fallen rice flour depending on the purpose. In recent years, as a new application, attempts have been made to use rice flour for bread, confectionery, noodles and the like. However, conventional rice flour has a problem in that it cannot produce good quality bread because its particle size is too large. Therefore, the milling method has been improved, and it has become possible to make the particle size of rice flour smaller than before.
However, when the particle size is reduced, starch contained in the rice is damaged by frictional heat and physical impact caused by pulverization, and rice flour having a high degree of starch damage is easily prepared. It is said that the starch damage degree of rice flour is particularly concerned with bread-making suitability, and starch damage degree is an important factor as a characteristic of rice flour.

Under such circumstances, the invention described in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-185038) makes the rice flour contact with water so that the rice flour absorbs water, and the water content of the rice flour with respect to the elapsed time after the contact is increased. A first step of measuring the change, and a second step of determining the water absorption parameters a, K, n, b by fitting the elapsed time after the contact and the moisture content of the rice flour to an approximate expression and determining the water absorption parameters a, K, n, b The present invention relates to a method for predicting the degree of damage, and teaches the effective prediction of the degree of starch damage in rice flour.
However, the work at the time of data acquisition is the manual work of taking out the measurement container at regular intervals, wiping the measurement container with cloth, measuring the mass of the measurement container, and placing the measurement container on the pad again. There is a problem that it takes a great deal of labor and labor to repeat approximately 30 minutes until there is no change in the mass of the container.

Patent Document 2 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-85709) describes a measuring device for measuring the amount of water absorption of a water absorbent resin, and a water absorbent resin sprinkler 2 is provided on one side of a substantially U-shaped tube. In addition, the liquid level of the physiological saline W is set at an equal water level. Water-absorbing resin P is sprayed on water-absorbing resin spray base 2, and the amount of water absorption after 60 seconds is measured from the scale of the buret indicating the amount of decrease in the level of physiological saline W to obtain the water absorption rate per minute. Yes.
However, since this measuring device obtains the water absorption amount of the water-absorbing resin P based on the amount of decrease in the water level, the contact state between the water-absorbing resin P and the physiological saline W is reduced as the water level decreases with water absorption. Since it changes every moment, there was a problem in knowing the true water absorption. Moreover, there was a possibility that the amount of water absorption exceeding 60 seconds could not be measured.

Patent Document 3 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-98956) also describes a measuring device for measuring the amount of water absorption of a water-absorbing resin, and a cylinder (2) whose bottom is closed with a filter medium (1). ) And a cylinder (2), and a piston (4) having a liquid inlet (3) at the bottom. After the liquid-absorbing particles are placed on the upper surface of the filter medium (1), liquid is supplied from the liquid inlet (3) while being pressurized by the piston (4) loaded with the weight (5). The supply amount of liquid from 1) to leakage is measured.
However, this measuring device not only requires pressurization, but also the weight of the weight (5), the filtration area (S1) of the filter medium (1) and the opening area (S2) of the liquid injection hole (3). Since the characteristics change depending on the selection of the ratio (S1 / S2), there is a problem in knowing the true water absorption amount.

JP 2012-185038 A JP-A-8-85709 JP 2005-98956 A

  The present invention is made by paying attention to an important factor in liquid absorption of powder particles, and relates to a means for measuring a change in volume with respect to time of a liquid in which a collection of powder particles naturally absorbs liquid over time. The purpose of this is to measure the volume change over time of the liquid that has naturally absorbed liquid particles as accurately as possible and to automatically perform the measurement from the start to the end without relying on human hands. And

  The measuring means according to the present invention arranges the measurement container filled with the granular material so as to come into contact with the liquid, measures the volume change with time of the liquid that the aggregate of the granular material naturally absorbs, The main feature is to automatically calculate and record the liquid absorption rate or change in the liquid absorption rate, the liquid absorption rate constant, the liquid absorption rate or the liquid absorption rate from the volume change with time. .

  In addition, the measuring means according to the present invention is provided in the first open portion of the substantially U-shaped container when a predetermined amount of liquid is supplied to the approximately U-shaped container using the large capacity pump and the low capacity pump. When the first liquid level sensor detects the predetermined liquid level, the large-capacity pump is stopped and simultaneously the low-capacity pump is started. The second liquid level sensor detects the predetermined liquid level. At that time, the driving of the low-capacity pump is stopped, and then the measurement is started after placing the measurement container filled with the granular material in the other open portion of the substantially U-shaped container. Starts driving the low-capacity pump when the detection of the liquid level of the liquid level sensor is not detected, and repeats the operation of stopping and starting the driving of the low-capacity pump until there is no drop in the liquid level. The volume change with time of the liquid supplied by the operation of the low capacity pump With, characterized in that considered as a collection of the powder or granular material is volumetric change with respect to time of the liquid which naturally liquid absorption.

  In addition, the measuring means according to the present invention provides a powder to the other open portion of the substantially U-shaped container when a predetermined amount of liquid is supplied to the substantially U-shaped container using the large capacity pump and the low capacity pump. In a state where a measuring container filled with granules is placed, when taking a configuration in which a part of the measuring container is immersed in a liquid, the large capacity pump and the low capacity pump are used to form a substantially U-shaped container. When supplying a predetermined amount of liquid, a bottomed dummy measurement container of the same type as the measurement container is placed in advance on the other open portion of the substantially U-shaped container.

  Moreover, the measuring means according to the present invention is characterized in that the granular material is cereal powder.

  Moreover, the measuring means according to the present invention is characterized in that the granular material is rice flour.

The present invention is based on the knowledge that the properties of the powder and the liquid absorption rate, the change in the liquid absorption rate, the liquid absorption rate constant, the amount of liquid absorption, and the liquid absorption rate are significantly manifested. By measuring the volume change over time of the liquid in which the aggregate of the liquid naturally absorbed, the change in the liquid absorption speed or the liquid absorption speed, the liquid absorption rate constant, or the Since the liquid volume or liquid absorption rate is automatically calculated and recorded, it is derived from the fact that the desired data can be obtained automatically and efficiently without any manual labor for mass measurement. Thus, there is an effect that it is possible to efficiently perform the characteristic analysis of various powder particles one after another.
In addition, since the invention of the present application measures using a substantially U-shaped container, the one open part and the other open part of the container are divided into a part dedicated to the measuring instrument and a part dedicated to the device to be measured. Since the separation is performed, there is an effect that the open portions hardly interfere with each other even though the open portions communicate with each other and both liquid surfaces are kept at the same liquid level.
In addition, when adopting a configuration in which a part of the measurement container is immersed in the liquid, when the predetermined amount of liquid is supplied to the substantially U-shaped container using the large capacity pump and the low capacity pump, the measurement container If a bottomed dummy measuring container of the same type is placed on the other open part of the above substantially U-shaped container, the position of the liquid corresponds to the wettability of various powders. This has the effect of being able to perform a detailed analysis that uses energy.
In addition, if the powder is used for cereal flour, it can be easily started without human intervention in the analysis of the grains of crops that have not been used so much so far, so it is a useful crop that can sleep The effect that leads to re-recognition can be expected.
In addition, if applied to rice flour that has a granular material, there are a large number of varieties in Japan, and there are numerous varieties including foreign rice. Although it is not a translation, it can be expected to have the effect of being able to greatly contribute to the promotion of analysis by rice flour varieties and the promotion of the use of rice flour.

FIG. 1 is an overall view of an example of a measurement system used in the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of an example in which a measurement container is placed on a substantially U-shaped container used in the present invention. FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of another example in which a measurement container is placed on a substantially U-shaped container used in the present invention. FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of an example of the measurement container used in the present invention. FIG. 5 is an enlarged side view of an example showing the positional relationship among the large capacity tube, the low capacity tube, and the first liquid level sensor used in the present invention.

    As a form for carrying out the present invention, a measurement container filled with granular materials is arranged so as to come into contact with the liquid, and a change in volume with respect to time of the liquid in which the aggregate of the granular materials naturally absorbs liquid is measured over time. In addition, the liquid absorption rate or change in the liquid absorption rate, the liquid absorption rate constant, the liquid absorption amount, or the liquid absorption rate of the aggregate of particles is automatically calculated and recorded from the volume change with respect to this time. It can be used as a measuring means.

    As a mode for carrying out the present invention, when a predetermined amount of liquid is supplied to a substantially U-shaped container using a large-capacity pump and a low-capacity pump, it is installed in one open portion of the substantially U-shaped container. When the first liquid level sensor detects a predetermined liquid level, the driving of the large-capacity pump is stopped at the same time as the low-capacity pump is started, and the second liquid level sensor detects the predetermined liquid level of the liquid. At the time of detection, the driving of the low-capacity pump is stopped, and then measurement is started after placing the measurement container filled with the granular material in the other open portion of the substantially U-shaped container. When the liquid level sensor detects no liquid level, it starts driving the low-capacity pump and repeats the operation of stopping and starting the low-capacity pump until there is no drop in the liquid level. It has a volume change with time of the liquid supplied by operating the pump. , Measuring means as described in claim 1, characterized in that considered as a collection of the powder or granular material is volumetric change with respect to time of the liquid which naturally liquid absorption, that it is possible.

    As a mode for carrying out the present invention, when a predetermined amount of liquid is supplied to the substantially U-shaped container using the large-capacity pump and the low-capacity pump, the other open portion of the substantially U-shaped container is used. In a state where a measurement container filled with powder is placed, in the case where a part of the measurement container is submerged in a liquid, a substantially U-shaped container is used by using the large-capacity pump and the low-capacity pump. 3. When a predetermined amount of liquid is replenished, a bottomed dummy measurement container of the same type as the measurement container is placed in advance on the other open portion of the substantially U-shaped container. Measurement means.

    As a form for implementing this invention, it can be set as the measuring means as described in any one of Claims 1 thru | or 3 characterized by the above-mentioned granular material being grain flour.

    As a form for implementing this invention, it can be set as the measuring means described in any one of Claims 1 thru | or 3 characterized by the above-mentioned granular material being rice flour.

  FIG. 1 is an overall view of an example of a measurement system used in the present invention. When a command from the control device 5 is given to the large capacity pump motor 2 via the first wiring 6, the large capacity pump motor 2 is driven to operate the large capacity pump 1, and the liquid in the liquid storage tank 3 is driven. Is fed to the first open portion 21 of the substantially U-shaped container 20 through the large capacity tube 4. Similarly, when a command from the control device 5 is given to the low-capacity pump motor 11 via the third wiring 13, the low-capacity pump motor 11 is driven to operate the low-capacity pump 10, and the feeder tank 19 The liquid is fed to the first open portion 21 of the substantially U-shaped container 20 through the low volume tube 12. The volume change of the liquid sent to the substantially U-shaped container 20 through the low-capacity tube 12 with respect to time is measured by the flow meter 15 attached to the low-capacity tube 12, and the fifth wiring 16 over time is measured. To be sent to the control device 5 and stored. Further, a second liquid level sensor 9 is attached to the low-capacity tube 12, and when the second liquid level sensor 9 detects a predetermined liquid level, the detection signal is sent to the control device 5 via the fourth wiring 14. Sent. When the first liquid level sensor 7 detects a predetermined liquid level, a detection signal is transmitted to the control device 5 via the second wiring 8. The upper and lower positions of the large capacity pipe 4 and the low capacity pipe 12 for supplying liquid to the first open portion 21 of the substantially U-shaped container 20 can be adjusted up and down by an adjusting device (not shown). The first liquid level sensor 7 can also be adjusted in the vertical position. The large-capacity tube 4, the low-capacity tube 12, and the first liquid level sensor 7 are configured to be accommodated in the first open portion 21 of the substantially U-shaped container 20. Details of the configuration of the substantially U-shaped container 20 will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of an example in which the measurement container 24 is placed on the substantially U-shaped container 20 used in the present invention. The substantially U-shaped container 20 has a first open portion 21 and a second open portion 22 on the left and right, and the first open portion 21 and the second open portion 22 are connected by a communication path 23. ing. The first opening portion 21 and the second opening portion 22 are each formed by equal side walls rising from the periphery, and of course have a bottom wall. The shape of the first open portion 21 and the second open portion 22 as viewed from above is preferably circular, but does not exclude squares, ellipses, polygons, and the like. The shape of the communication path 23 is not limited to a circular pipe path, and may be a square path or the like. In the state of FIG. 2, after pouring the liquid into the substantially U-shaped container 20, the measurement container 24 is immersed in the liquid in a state where a predetermined amount of the granular material 26 is placed on the filter paper 28 set at the bottom of the measurement container 24 and tapped. Shows the state. At this time, the liquid indicates the liquid level 25.

  FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of another example in which a measurement container 24 is placed on a substantially U-shaped container 20 used in the present invention. Since the basic configuration is the same as that of FIG. 2, description of the same member is omitted, but a characteristic point is that a mounting table 27 is provided at an appropriate position of the second opening portion 22. The mounting table 27 has, for example, a net shape, and various materials including materials can be selected as long as the liquid can pass upward to mount the measurement container 24.

  FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of an example of the measurement container 24 used in the present invention. The measurement container 24 includes a side wall portion 30 that forms the outer periphery, and a stopper portion 31 that constitutes a part of the bottom portion and extends slightly inward. The stop 31 is not continuous in the circumferential direction. There are a plurality of cutouts 32 between the discontinuous stops, ensuring that the liquid quickly enters the bottom region of the measurement container 24. The filter paper 28 is placed on the notch 32, and a predetermined amount (typically, mass) of powder particles is placed on the tapped portion and tapped and measured. Alternatively, the stopper 31 and the notch 32 of the measurement container 24 may be left as they are, and only the side wall 30 may be slightly extended downward to form a footed container.

  FIG. 5 is an enlarged side view of an example showing the positional relationship among the large capacity tube 4, the low capacity tube 12, and the first liquid level sensor 7 used in the present invention. When the liquid is supplied from the large capacity pipe 4 and the first liquid level sensor 7 detects that the liquid level has reached the first liquid level 17, the signal is sent to the control device 5 to send the large capacity pump 1. At the same time, the driving of the low capacity pump 10 is started and the liquid is supplied from the low capacity pipe 12. Further, when the liquid level reaches the second liquid level 18, that is, the tip of the low-capacity pipe 12, the second liquid level sensor 9 attached to the low-capacity pipe 12 detects this, and a detection signal To the control device 5 and the driving of the low-capacity pump 10 is also stopped. The operation up to this point is a preparation stage, and the actual operation of absorbing the granular material will be described in detail in the following description of the operation.

Subsequently, the operation of an example of the measurement system will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings by dividing into liquid absorption using positional energy and liquid absorption not using positional energy.
When using potential energy, referring to FIG. 1, a bottomed dummy measurement container of the same type as the measurement container 24 is placed on the second open portion 22 of the substantially U-shaped container 20. In this state, when a preparation switch (not shown) of the control device 5 is closed, the large capacity pump motor 2 is driven via the first wiring 6 and the operation of the large capacity pump 1 is started. The liquid is poured into the first opening 21 of the substantially U-shaped container 20 through the large capacity tube 4. When the first sensor 7 detects the liquid level 17 as the liquid level rises, a detection signal is immediately sent to the control device 5, so that the control device 5 is connected to the large capacity pump motor 2 via the first wiring 6. Since the driving of the low-capacity pump motor 11 is started via the third wiring 13 at the same time as the driving is stopped, the low-capacity pump 10 causes the liquid in the feeder tank 19 to flow from the low-capacity pipe 12 to a substantially U-shaped container 20. Pour into the first opening 21 of the. When the liquid level rises and reaches the second liquid level 18, that is, when the liquid level reaches the tip of the low-capacity tube 12, the second liquid level sensor 9 detects the liquid level and sends a detection signal to the control device 5. . The control device 5 immediately stops driving the low-capacity pump motor 11 via the third wiring 13 based on this signal, so that the bottomed dummy measurement is performed from the second opening 22 of the substantially U-shaped container 20. The preparation phase is completed by removing the container.

  Next, the measurement work will be described. The measurement container 24 that has been tapped by placing a predetermined amount (mass) of the granular material 26 on the filter paper 28 set in advance at the bottom of the measurement container 24 is placed in the second open portion 22 of the substantially U-shaped container 20. The measurement switch (not shown) of the control device 5 is closed by leaving it stationary. This state means a state where the liquid touches the tip of the low capacity tube 12, that is, a state where the liquid shows the second liquid level 18. When the granular material 26 in the measurement container 24 begins to absorb liquid, the liquid level decreases with the absorption of the granular material 26, and the contact between the low-capacity tube 12 and the liquid surface is cut off. This is detected by the second liquid level sensor 9 attached to the tip of the low-capacity tube 12, and a detection signal is immediately transmitted to the control device 5. Upon receiving this detection signal, the control device 5 starts driving the low-capacity pump motor 11 via the third wiring 13. When the low-capacity pump motor 11 is started to operate, the low-capacity pump 10 is operated, and the liquid is poured from the feeder tank 19 through the low-capacity pipe 12 to the first open portion 21 of the substantially U-shaped container 20. . Since the flow meter 15 is in a state of starting the operation at the same time as the measurement switch (not shown) of the control device 5 is closed, the volume change with respect to time of the liquid flowing through the low-capacity pipe 12 is measured over time, and the fifth The data is transmitted to the control device 5 via the wiring 16. Since the control device 5 automatically calculates and stores the liquid absorption speed or the change of the liquid absorption speed, the liquid absorption speed constant, the liquid absorption amount or the liquid absorption rate from the volume change with respect to the time of the liquid measured and stored. is there. When the liquid level rises due to the operation of the low-capacity pump 10 and reaches the second liquid level 18, the second liquid level sensor 9 transmits a signal indicating the detection of the second liquid level 18 to the control device 5. The control device 5 stops driving the low-capacity pump motor 11 via the third wiring 13. When the second liquid level sensor 9 detects the lowering of the liquid level, the low-capacity pump 10 is operated again, and these operations are performed until the liquid absorption of the granular material 26 in the measuring container 24 is completed, that is, the second pump. This is repeated until there is no fluctuation in the liquid level 18.

  The case where the potential energy is not used will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the measurement container 24 in which a predetermined amount (mass) of the granular material 26 is placed on the filter paper 28 set at the bottom of the measurement container 24 and tapped is used as the second container of the substantially U-shaped container 20. It mounts on the mounting base 27 provided in the appropriate location of the open part 22. FIG. In this state, when a preparation switch (not shown) of the control device 5 is closed, the large capacity pump motor 2 is driven via the first wiring 6 and the operation of the large capacity pump 1 is started. The liquid is poured into the first opening 21 of the substantially U-shaped container 20 through the large capacity tube 4. When the first liquid level sensor 7 detects the liquid level 17 as the liquid level rises, a detection signal is immediately sent to the control device 5, so that the control device 5 is connected to the motor for a large capacity pump via the first wiring 6. Since the driving of the low-capacity pump motor 11 is started via the third wiring 13 simultaneously, the low-capacity pump 10 causes the liquid in the feeder tank 19 to flow from the low-capacity pipe 12 into a substantially U-shape. Begin pouring into the first opening 21 of the container 20. When the liquid level rises and reaches the liquid level where the liquid is in contact with the filter paper 28, that is, when the liquid level reaches the tip of the low-capacity tube 12 adjusted in the vertical direction, the second liquid level sensor 9 detects and controls the liquid level. A detection signal is sent to the device 5. Based on this signal, the control device 5 immediately stops driving the low-capacity pump motor 11 via the third wiring 13 to complete the preparation stage.

  Next, the measurement work will be described. A measurement switch (not shown) of the control device 5 is closed. When the granular material 26 in the measurement container 24 begins to absorb liquid, the liquid level decreases with the absorption of the granular material 26, and the contact between the low-capacity tube 12 and the liquid surface is cut off. This is detected by the second liquid level sensor 9 attached to the tip of the low-capacity tube 12, and a detection signal is immediately transmitted to the control device 5. Upon receiving this detection signal, the control device 5 starts driving the low-capacity pump motor 11 via the third wiring 13. When the low-capacity pump motor 11 is started to operate, the low-capacity pump 10 is operated, and the liquid is poured from the feeder tank 19 through the low-capacity pipe 12 to the first open portion 21 of the substantially U-shaped container 20. . Since the flow meter 15 is in a state of starting the operation at the same time as the measurement switch (not shown) of the control device 5 is closed, the volume change with respect to time of the liquid flowing through the low-capacity pipe 12 is measured over time, and the fifth The data is transmitted to the control device 5 via the wiring 16. Since the control device 5 automatically calculates and stores the liquid absorption speed or the change of the liquid absorption speed, the liquid absorption speed constant, the liquid absorption amount or the liquid absorption rate from the volume change with respect to the time of the liquid measured and stored. is there. When the liquid level rises due to the operation of the low-capacity pump 10 and reaches the second liquid level 18, the second liquid level sensor 9 transmits a signal indicating the detection of the second liquid level 18 to the control device 5. The control device 5 stops driving the low-capacity pump motor 11 via the third wiring 13. When the second liquid level sensor 9 detects the lowering of the liquid level, the low-capacity pump 10 is operated again, and these operations are performed until the liquid absorption of the granular material 26 in the measuring container 24 is completed, that is, the second pump. This is repeated until there is no fluctuation in the liquid level 18.

  As described above, according to these inventions, the liquid absorption characteristics of the aggregates of the powder particles can be automatically measured by the measuring means. Therefore, it is difficult to grasp the liquid absorption characteristics of various powder particles. It is expected to contribute from the measurement work to the promotion of grasping the characteristics of various powders, and to greatly contribute to the expansion of effective use of various powders.

1 Large capacity pump 2 Motor for large capacity pump 3 Liquid storage tank 4 Large capacity pipe
5 Control device
6 First wiring 7 First liquid level sensor
8 Second wiring 9 Second liquid level sensor 10 Low capacity pump 11 Low capacity pump motor 12 Low capacity pipe 13 Third wiring 14 Fourth wiring 15 Flow meter 16 Fifth wiring 17 First liquid level 18 Second liquid level 19 Feeder tank 20 Substantially U-shaped container 21 First open part 22 Second open part 23 Communication path 24 Measuring container 25 Liquid surface 26 Granule 27 Loading table 28 Filter paper 30 Side wall part 31 Stop 32 Notch

Claims (5)

  The measurement container filled with the powder is placed in contact with the liquid, and the volume change with time of the liquid that the aggregate of powder naturally absorbed is measured over time. A measuring means for automatically calculating and recording a liquid absorption speed or a change in the liquid absorption speed, a liquid absorption speed constant, a liquid absorption amount or a liquid absorption rate.   When a predetermined amount of liquid is supplied to the substantially U-shaped container using the large-capacity pump and the low-capacity pump, the first liquid level sensor installed at one open portion of the approximately U-shaped container When the liquid level is detected, the large-capacity pump is stopped and simultaneously the low-capacity pump is started. When the second liquid level sensor detects the predetermined liquid level, the low-capacity pump is stopped. Then, after placing the measurement container filled with the granular material in the other open portion of the substantially U-shaped container, the measurement is started, and the liquid level of the second liquid level sensor is not detected due to the liquid level drop. The low-capacity pump starts to be driven at the point of detection, and the operation of stopping and starting the low-capacity pump is repeated until the liquid level does not drop and the time of the liquid supplied by the operation of the low-capacity pump Liquid that has spontaneously absorbed by the aggregate of the above-mentioned particles with volume change Measuring means described in claim 1, characterized in that considered as a volume change versus time.   When a predetermined amount of liquid is supplied to a substantially U-shaped container using the large-capacity pump and the low-capacity pump, a measurement container filled with powder is placed in the other open portion of the substantially U-shaped container. In the state where a part of the measurement container is immersed in the liquid under the condition, a predetermined amount of liquid is supplied to the substantially U-shaped container using the large-capacity pump and the low-capacity pump. 3. The measuring means according to claim 2, wherein a bottomed dummy measuring container of the same type as the measuring container is placed on the other open portion of the substantially U-shaped container.   The measuring means according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the granular material is a cereal powder.   The measuring means according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the granular material is rice flour.

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