JP2560864Y2 - Scale with built-in radioactivity detector - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a foodstuff weighing scale for detecting the degree of contamination of radioactivity contained in foodstuffs and confirming the degree of safety.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The use of nuclear reactions such as nuclear fission and nuclear fusion to extract practical energy is called nuclear power, and atomic bombs and nuclear reactors are typical examples. One of the features of nuclear power is that a large amount of energy can be extracted with the consumption of a small amount of material. For example, a nuclear reactor with a thermal output of 1000 kilowatts can be operated for one day while consuming about 1 gram of uranium. Nuclear power generation generates steam by the heat generated by the nuclear fission chain reaction of the nuclear reactor, and rotates the steam turbine to generate power. Nuclear power generation was first commercialized in the United States in 1951 and succeeded in practical use one after another in the USSR, Britain, France, etc., and now spreads to the world as a leading power source not only in developed countries but also in developing countries. There is a tendency.

[0003] At present, various types are used in nuclear power reactors operating around the world.
Light water (ordinary water) for moderators and coolants used in nuclear reactors
And heavy water reactors using heavy water. The nuclear fuel materials used in the nuclear reactor include natural uranium, enriched uranium, depleted uranium, thorium, plutonium, uranium 235 and their compounds. Accumulation of fission products would have serious consequences if the reactor had an accident and some of it leaked out. Therefore, many safety devices are installed in the reactor and the operation is strictly controlled.However, in a complicated system such as a nuclear reactor, it is almost impossible to eliminate the possibility of failure or accident occurring. It is no exaggeration to say that it is possible. This means that accidents involving the release of radioactive materials outside of more than 1,000 nuclear reactors that have been built so far are far from rare.
Nuclear accident occurred on Three Mile Island in the United States in January
The accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the Soviet Union, which regretted the world in April 986, is new to memory. In particular, the Chernobyl nuclear accident was a serious accident unprecedented in nuclear power history. The reactor No. 4 that caused the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is an RBMK type with a power output of 1 million kilowatts developed by the Soviet Union. However, an operation error caused the reactor to run away, and a large amount of steam was suddenly generated, causing an explosion. In addition, a large amount of radioactive material was released due to a hydrogen explosion. The Chernobyl nuclear accident released about 5 million cuuries of radiation into the environment around the USSR, polluting various parts of Europe, and also partially reached the wind in Japan 8,000 kilometers away. did. In the Soviet Union, 31 people were actually killed and about 130,500 inhabitants 30 km away.
0 people were affected by radioactive contamination.

[0004] As described above, a reactor with a large output contains a large amount of radioactive material, so that even if a part of the reactor is released to the outside, it has a great effect on the environment. In particular, a major accident of the Chernobyl nuclear accident class will cause radioactive contamination not only in the surrounding area but also worldwide. Also, even if a nuclear accident does not occur, it is inevitable that a small amount of radioactive material will leak out during daily operation of the nuclear reactor. When such a small amount of radioactivity over a long period of time pollutes the ocean, organisms such as fish, shellfish and seaweed may accumulate radioactive substances in the body during the growth process. Vegetables in the soil can also be contaminated by air pollution and dead ash caused by the nuclear accident. Thus, the modern environment always carries the danger that food contaminated with radioactivity will be served on our table without being eliminated, and the radioactive material will be unknowingly taken into the human body. At present, it is unavoidable because of the serious problem that Therefore, it is hoped that a detector to check the exposure of foodstuffs that may have been contaminated by these radioactivity will be introduced.However, at present, the tuna ship of the pelagic fisheries can measure the degree of contamination of tuna caught near the bomb test. To find out, the Geiger counter simply measures the presence of radioactive material at sea.

[0005]

[Problem to be solved by the invention] However, since this Geiger counter only measures the number of gamma rays and beta rays, it is effective for finding the place where radioactive substances exist, However, there is a problem that it is not suitable for accurately measuring a radioactivity. There are also germanium semiconductor detectors that precisely measure and analyze fallout falling from the atmosphere due to a nuclear explosion or a major nuclear accident, but these are expensive devices and are not widely used in homes. There was also the problem that the reality was poor. Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and to provide a scale with a built-in radioactivity detector that can accurately detect the exposure level of foodstuffs at a cost that can be spread to ordinary households. The purpose is.

[0006]

According to the present invention, which has been made to achieve the above-mentioned object, as shown in FIG. 1, an upper surface on which an article is placed and a mass of the article placed on the upper surface are measured. A measurement unit for performing measurement, and an instruction unit for displaying a numerical value measured by the measurement unit. The instruction scale is a radiation detection unit M1 provided at a predetermined position on the upper surface of the upper surface, and is read from the radiation detection unit M1. The electronic control unit M2 outputs a warning signal when the signal from the radiation detection unit M1 is determined to be larger than the stored signal by comparing the signal with the signal stored in advance and the electronic control unit M2. The built-in radioactivity detector is provided with a warning unit M3 for issuing a warning in accordance with the output warning signal, and a radiation display unit M4 for displaying the intensity of radiation detected by the radiation detection unit M1. It is summarized as Ri.

[0007]

According to the scale with a built-in radioactivity detector of the present invention, first, when radioactive contaminants are placed on the top, the top radiation detecting means M1 measures the radiation intensity of the radioactive contaminants and electronically controls them. Output to M2. Then, the electronic control means M2
Determines that the read signal is larger than the stored signal, outputs a warning signal to the warning means M3, issues a warning, and displays the intensity of the radiation detected by the radiation detection means M1 on the radiation display means M4.

[0008]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a scale incorporating a radioactivity detector according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the entirety of the scale with a built-in radioactivity detector of this embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a system block diagram showing the internal structure of this embodiment. As shown in the figure, the scale with a built-in radioactivity detector according to the present embodiment has an upper surface 1 on which foods and the like are placed on the upper portion of the case body 1.
a and a well-known upper spring balance having a meter 1b on the front surface of the case body 1. The scale with a built-in radiation detector of the present embodiment is, as shown in FIG. An example is a GM tube), an electronic control circuit 3 that determines and processes signals detected by the radiation detection sensor 2 and outputs various signals to the actuator, and a meter 4 that displays the intensity of radiation based on signals from the electronic control circuit 3. An actuator 9 for outputting a drive signal, and an actuator 9 for selecting and lighting a predetermined lamp from among the safety lamp 6, the caution lamp 7, and the danger lamp 8 based on a signal from the electronic control circuit 3, and the electronic control circuit 3 And a power switch 12 that sounds a buzzer 10 on the basis of the signal. The electronic control circuit 3 includes a CPU 3a, an RO
This is a known microcomputer (a so-called microcomputer) including an M3b, a RAM 3c, an I / O port 3d, and a bus line 3e.

Next, the operation of the radioactivity detector built-in scale of the present embodiment will be described based on radioactivity detection processing executed by the electronic control circuit 3. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the operation of this embodiment, and FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the radioactivity detection process. First, after the power switch 12 of the case body 1 is turned on, when the object F is placed on the upper surface 1a, the upper surface 1a is lowered by the weight of the object F and the microswitch ( (Not shown) is turned ON. Then, the electronic control circuit 3 starts the radioactivity detection process and proceeds to step 100. At step 100, the CPU 3 a reads the signal detected by the radioactivity detection sensor 2 from the object F and proceeds to step 110.
In step 110, the CPU 3a determines whether the read radiation is smaller than 0.02 mR / h. If it is smaller, the CPU 3a proceeds to step 120 to turn on the safety lamp 6 and to measure the amount of radiation at that time. 4 and the process ends. On the other hand, when it is determined that the radiation read in step 110 is larger than 0.02 mR / h, the process proceeds to step 130. In step 130, it is determined whether the radiation is 0.04 mR / h or less. If it is determined that the radiation is 0.04 mR / h or less, the flow proceeds to step 140 to turn on the attention lamp 7. Then, the amount of radiation at that time is displayed on the meter 4 and the process is terminated. on the other hand. In step 130, the radiation is set to 0.
If it is determined that it is not less than 04 mR / h, step 150
To danger lamp 8 and step 1
The process proceeds to step 60, where the buzzer 10 is operated, and this process ends once.

As described above, the scale with a built-in radioactivity detector according to the present embodiment can easily determine whether or not foodstuffs have been exposed to radioactivity when weighing the foodstuffs.
As a result, not only exposed foods imported from the area where the nuclear power plant accident occurred, but also fish and shellfish that may have been exposed in the sea area near the nuclear power plant, and soil cultivated in the soil near the power plant By accurately and easily judging the subtle exposure of vegetables, it is possible to prevent foods contaminated with radioactive material before eating them, which is extremely beneficial to human health and The effects on mental health are immeasurable.

[0011]

As described in detail above, the scale with a built-in radioactivity detector according to the present invention is an indicating scale consisting of an upper surface, a measuring unit and an indicating unit, and is provided at a predetermined position on the upper surface of the upper surface. Electronic control for comparing the signal read from the radiation detecting means with a signal stored in advance and outputting a warning signal when it is determined that the signal from the radiation detecting means is larger than the stored signal. Means contaminated with radioactive material by having a warning means for issuing a warning in response to a warning signal output by the electronic control means, and a radiation display means for displaying the intensity of radiation detected by the radiation detection means. It is possible to prevent it before eating, which is a very innovative and innovative device that is very beneficial for human health and mental health.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a scale with a built-in radioactivity detector according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the entirety of a scale with a built-in radioactivity detector according to an embodiment to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 3 is a system block diagram showing the internal structure of the scale with a built-in radioactivity detector of the present embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the scale with a built-in radioactivity detector according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a radioactivity detection process performed by the scale with a built-in radioactivity detector according to the present embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Case main body 1a Upper surface 1b Meter 2 Radiation detection sensor 3 Electronic control circuit 4 Meter 5 Actuator 6 Safety lamp 7 Caution lamp 8 Danger lamp 9,11 Actuator 10 Buzzer 12 Power switch

Claims (1)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] 1. An instruction balance comprising: an upper surface on which an article is placed; a measuring unit for measuring the mass of the article mounted on the upper surface; and an instruction unit for displaying a numerical value measured by the measuring unit. A radiation detecting means provided at a predetermined position on the upper surface of the upper surface, a signal read from the radiation detecting means is compared with a signal stored in advance, and a signal from the radiation detecting means is stored. Electronic control means for outputting a warning signal when it is determined to be larger than the signal; warning means for issuing a warning in accordance with the warning signal output by the electronic control means; and radiation display for displaying the intensity of the radiation detected by the radiation detection means. A scale with a built-in radioactivity detector, characterized by comprising: