JP4468129B2 - Concentration measuring device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a concentration measuring apparatus, and more particularly to a concentration measuring apparatus that measures the concentration of a specific component in a liquid sample to be measured using light.

  Conventionally, methods for measuring the concentration of various hormones such as insulin, proteins, and organic substances such as blood sugar include measuring the voltage generated by the electrode reaction, and changing the color using a dye that reacts with the substance and is adsorbed. There is an optical density measurement method (for example, see Patent Document 1) in which measurement is performed by changing the amount of light such as laser light. This optical density measurement method has an advantage of high measurement resolution.

Hereinafter, this optical density measurement method will be briefly described. First, a liquid object to be measured is placed on a glass chip, and for example, a dye is reacted with the object to be measured so that incident light is absorbed according to the concentration of the object to be measured. Thereafter, a laser beam is guided into the glass chip, and the laser beam that has passed through the region where the object to be measured is placed is taken out of the glass chip to detect the light amount. The concentration of the object to be measured is calculated from the detected value of the light quantity.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-184381 (first page, FIG. 1)

  In the optical concentration measurement method described above, the light source and the detector are arranged at predetermined positions with respect to the glass chip, and the light emitted from the light source is incident in an optimum state on the region where the object to be measured is arranged. It was necessary to arrange the glass chip, the light source, and the detector with high accuracy.

  In addition, when the object to be measured placed on the glass chip is a liquid, the measurement work needs to be skillful because it may contaminate the light source and detector or adversely affect the electrical system during measurement. There was a point.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a concentration measuring apparatus with high measurement accuracy and high reliability.

  The first feature of the present invention is that the concentration is measured by irradiating the measurement object arranged on the optical waveguide substrate with light passing through the optical waveguide substrate and receiving the return light from the optical waveguide substrate. A measurement apparatus, which has a substrate placement region provided with substrate placement projections for supporting and placing an optical waveguide substrate at three or more locations, and is disposed on both sides of the substrate placement region. Positioning protrusions that can move only in a specific direction, a light exit path that communicates with the exit opening formed in the substrate placement area, and light that communicates with the entrance opening formed in the substrate placement area A light source module including a block in which an incident passage is formed, a light source that emits light for concentration detection toward the exit opening through the light exit passage, and return light from the optical waveguide substrate that enters the entrance opening, Receiving light through the light incident path A detector, a first positioning portion for positioning one end surface in a specific direction in the optical waveguide substrate placed in the substrate placement region, and pressing the other end surface in the specific direction in the optical waveguide substrate to The gist of the invention is that it includes a second positioning portion that performs positioning and a pressing portion that presses the optical waveguide substrate toward the block inside the contour that connects the substrate mounting protrusions.

  The second feature of the present invention is that concentration measurement is performed by irradiating the object to be measured disposed on the optical waveguide substrate with light passing through the optical waveguide substrate and receiving the return light from the optical waveguide substrate. A concentration measuring device for performing a substrate mounting region in which substrate mounting protrusions are provided to support and mount an optical waveguide substrate at three or more locations, and light guides are provided on both sides of the substrate mounting region. Positioning protrusions that allow the waveguide substrate to move only in a specific direction are projected, communicated with the light exit passage that communicates with the exit opening formed in the substrate placement region, and the entrance opening formed in the substrate placement region A light source module including a block formed with a light incident passage, a light source that emits light for concentration detection toward the exit opening through the light exit passage, and return light from the optical waveguide substrate that enters the entrance opening Through the light incident path. A light receiving detector, a first positioning portion for positioning one end face in a specific direction in the optical waveguide substrate placed in the substrate placement area, and pressing the other end face in the specific direction in the optical waveguide substrate. A second positioning part that performs positioning in a specific direction, a pressing part that presses the optical waveguide substrate toward the block inside the contour that connects the substrate mounting protrusions, and the optical waveguide substrate that is placed on the block The gist of the present invention is that the optical waveguide substrate includes a substrate carrier that is separated from the optical waveguide substrate by placing the optical waveguide substrate on the substrate mounting protrusion on the block.

  According to the present invention, the optical waveguide substrate can be directly positioned, and it is possible to provide a concentration measuring apparatus with high measurement accuracy by reliably supporting the optical waveguide substrate.

  Hereinafter, the details of the concentration measuring apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 is a perspective view showing an external appearance of a concentration measuring apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state before and after mounting a chip carrier as a substrate carrier on an apparatus block as a block. 3 is a perspective view showing a state where the chip carrier is placed on the apparatus block, FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 2, FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional explanatory view of a glass chip as an optical waveguide substrate, and FIG. FIG. 7 is a plan view of FIG. 6, and FIG. 7 is a plan view of FIG. 6, illustrating a state in which the first to third holding members are arranged on the device block 2 shown by cutting both sides of the region where the substrate placement region 12 is formed. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the substantial center of the substrate placement region 12 of FIG. 6 is cut in the direction of the arrow x.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the concentration measuring device 1 of the present embodiment includes a device block 2 and a device case 3 in which the device block 2 is built.

  The apparatus block 2 includes a plurality of light source modules 4 provided on one side surface and the same number of detectors 5 as the light source modules 4 provided on the other side surface. A chip carrier 8 that houses a glass chip 7 as an optical waveguide substrate is placed on the upper surface 6A of the apparatus block 2. On the apparatus case 3 side, as shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, a first holding member 50, a second holding member 60, and a third holding member 70 for positioning and holding the glass chip 7 on the apparatus block 2 are provided. It has been.

[Configuration of device block]
As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the device block 2 is formed by cutting a metal block having a substantially trapezoidal structure. Specifically, the outer shape of the device block 2 includes a rectangular upper surface 6A, a rectangular lower surface 6B parallel to the upper surface 6A, and both longitudinal ends indicated by arrows y in FIGS. A pair of trapezoidal side surfaces 6C and 6C which are parallel to each other, and a pair of tapered surfaces 9 and 10 which are located on both sides in the width direction indicated by an arrow x in the drawing. Note that the direction formed by the arrow x and the direction formed by the arrow y are orthogonal to each other in the same plane.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a rectangular substrate mounting surface 11 is formed on the upper surface 6A around the entire length of the apparatus block 2 in the center of the arrow x direction in the arrow y direction. It is formed slightly higher than. A plurality (eight in this embodiment) of substrate placement areas (surface areas on which the glass chips 7 are placed on the substrate placement surface 11) 12 are parallel to each other along the arrow y direction on the substrate placement surface 11. Are arranged adjacent to each other. In the concentration measuring apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, it is possible to simultaneously measure a plurality of glass chips 7 on the substrate placement region 12 and perform concentration measurement using the plurality of glass chips 7 at a time.

  On the substrate placement surface 11, the glass chips 7 housed in the chip carrier 8 are placed on the corresponding substrate placement areas 12. Further, the glass chip 7 is placed on the substrate placement region 12 so that the longitudinal direction thereof coincides with the arrow x direction.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the device block 2 is formed with a light emission passage 13 penetrating so as to connect a predetermined position in each substrate placement region 12 and a predetermined position of one tapered surface 9. Yes. On the taper surface 9 side of the device block 2, one opening 13 </ b> A of the light emission passage 13 to which the light source module 4 is attached is formed. In the vicinity of the opening 13A, the light source module 4 is disposed, so that the diameter is larger than that of the light emission path 13.

  The area on the light source module 4 side in each substrate placement area 12 is the other opening end of the light emission path 13 for allowing light to enter the glass chip 7 placed on the substrate placement area 12. An emission opening 13B is formed.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a light incident path 14 is formed between the surface of the substrate placement region 12 on the detector 5 side and the other tapered surface 10. The detector 5 described above is disposed and fixed on the tapered surface 10 of the light incident path 14 on the opening 14A side, and the light receiving surface of the detector 5 faces the opening 14A. The other opening end of the light incident path 14 is an incident opening 14B opened in the substrate placement region 12.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the non-detection light removal that penetrates to the lower surface 6B at the position between the exit opening 13B and the entrance opening 14B and adjacent to the exit opening 13B in the substrate placement region 12 is performed. A passage 15 is formed. The non-detection light removal passage 15 is configured to receive a reflection component that does not proceed into the glass chip 7 out of the light that exits from the emission opening 13B and enters the glass chip 7. The opening end of the non-detection light removal passage 15 in the substrate placement region 12 is a non-detection light incident opening 15A. Further, the other opening 15B of the non-detection light removal passage 15 is formed in the lower surface 6B. In the present embodiment, the non-detection light removal passage 15 is bent at an intermediate portion, and is formed so as to have a positional relationship in which the opening 14A cannot be seen from the opening end 14B.

  The inner wall surfaces of the light exit passage 13, the light entrance passage 14, and the non-detection light removal passage 15 described above are subjected to processing such as black coating so as to have light absorption.

  The optical axis of light emitted from the light source module 4 fixed to one tapered surface 9 of the device block 2 passes through the light emission path 13 and enters the lower surface of the glass chip 7 at a predetermined incident angle. Is set to In the present embodiment, by fixing the light source module 4 to the device block 2, it is possible to achieve an accuracy within ± 0.2 degrees of the predetermined incident angle to the glass chip 7.

  As shown in FIG. 4, on the substrate mounting region 12, a transparent protective glass (indicated by a one-dot chain line in the figure) 16 covering the emission opening 13B, the non-detection light incident opening 15A, and the incident opening 14B. Has been placed.

  Further, in each substrate placement area 12 of the substrate placement surface 11, four substrate placement projections 17 for placing the glass chip 7 at a predetermined height are provided so as to protrude upward. These substrate mounting projections 17 are disposed so as to surround the emission opening 13B, the non-detection light incident opening 15A, and the incident opening 14B formed in each substrate mounting region 12. That is, these substrate mounting projections 17 are arranged at positions where they do not interfere with the optical waveguide in the glass chip 7.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, in this embodiment, two pairs of substrate mounting protrusions 17 are arranged on opposite sides of the protective glass 16 in the arrow y direction. These substrate mounting projections 17 are obtained by fixing metal pins to the substrate mounting region (surface region) 12 of the apparatus block 2. Further, the upper end surfaces of the substrate mounting projections 17 are flattened so that the variation in height is within ± 50 μm by grinding, cutting, polishing, deburring, and the like.

  Further, on both sides of the substrate placement area 11 in the arrow y direction of the substrate placement area 11, the glass chip 7 is sandwiched from both sides in the width direction, and only a specific direction (arrow x direction) can be moved. Two pairs of positioning protrusions 18 that restrict movement in the y direction are provided so as to face each other. In the present embodiment, only two positioning protrusions 18 are disposed between the substrate placement regions 12 adjacent to each other, and are shared with each other.

  Further, carrier positioning pins 19 for positioning the chip carrier 8 are respectively provided on both sides of the plurality of substrate placement areas 12 in the arrow y direction on the substrate placement surface 11.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, liquid reservoir grooves 20 are respectively formed on both sides of the substrate mounting surface 11 in the arrow x direction on the upper surface 6 </ b> A of the apparatus block 2. A so-called submerged sheet 21 having a function of causing discoloration by containing moisture is disposed at the bottom of the liquid reservoir groove 20. With this submerged sheet 21, it is possible to easily recognize the liquid leakage of the liquid sample on the glass chip 7.

[Schematic configuration of light source module]
As shown in FIG. 4, the light source module 4 includes a semiconductor laser 22, a collimating lens 23, a sleeve 24 for fixing the semiconductor laser 22, a sleeve holder 25, a lens holder 26, and the like.

  The light source module 4 is set so that the optical axis of the emitted light from the semiconductor laser 22 passes through the substantially center of the light emitting path 13. The sleeve 24 for fixing the semiconductor laser 22 is provided so as to be movable and adjustable with respect to the sleeve holder 25 in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis. The collimating lens 23 and the semiconductor laser 22 are provided so as to be relatively movable in the optical axis direction.

  With the configuration described above, in the light source module 4, it is possible to finely adjust the optical axis of the light emitted from the semiconductor laser 22 and finely adjust the spread angle of the laser light traveling in the light emission path 13. . In the present embodiment, the spreading angle of the light incident on the glass chip 7 can be set to 0.5 degrees or less by the light condensing action of the collimating lens 23.

〔Detector〕
The detector 5 uses a photodiode that performs photoelectric conversion based on incident light as a light receiving element. This detector 5 is fixed so that the light receiving surface faces the opening end 14 </ b> A of the tapered surface 10 of the light incident path 14 in the apparatus block 2.

[Device Case]
The device case 3 has a rectangular recess 37 formed on the upper surface. A rectangular opening 38 for exposing the substrate placement area 12 of the apparatus block 2 is formed on one side of the bottom surface of the recess 37. As described above, the apparatus block 2 is built in the apparatus case 3, and the substrate mounting surface 11 in which the plurality of substrate mounting areas 12 on the upper surface of the apparatus block 2 is formed is exposed in the opening 38. It is like that. A chip carrier 8 is arranged on the substrate mounting surface 11.

  A lid plate 39 for opening and closing the recess 37 is rotatably supported on the upper surface of the device case 3. A pin 40 </ b> A that fits into a switch hole 40 </ b> B formed on the bottom surface of the concave portion 37 protrudes from the end of the lid plate 39. Furthermore, the inner side surface 39A of the cover plate 39 is painted black to impart light absorption.

  A limit switch 41 is disposed below the switch hole 40B of the device case 3, and the light source module 4 on the device block 2 side can be driven when the cover plate 39 is closed. A drive switch 42 for driving the light source module 4 and the detector 5 is provided on the upper surface of the device case 3. As described above, the drive switch 42 can be turned on only when the limit switch 41 is pushed by the pin 40A, that is, when the cover plate 39 is closed.

  Further, on the bottom surface of the recess 37, an operation lever 43 for driving the second holding member 60 and the third holding member 70 is provided so as to be slidable within a predetermined range in the direction indicated by the arrow B in FIG. It has been.

[Glass chip]
As shown in FIG. 5, the glass chip 7 is a rectangular glass substrate and is made of a light-transmitting material such as borosilicate glass. At the center of the upper surface of the glass chip 7, a sample placement portion 27 that accommodates a measurement object is formed. The sample placement portion 27 is surrounded by a jetty 28 made of, for example, ABS resin, and accommodates a liquid containing, for example, protein or the like as an object to be measured in an inner recess.

In addition, on the both sides of the sample placement portion 27 on the upper surface of the glass chip 7 (both sides in the longitudinal direction of the glass chip 7), an incident side grating 29A and an emission side grating 29B are formed. The incident side grating 29A and the emission side grating 29B are formed by, for example, patterning a titanium dioxide (TiO ₂ ) film in a stripe shape.

  In the glass chip 7 having such a configuration, as illustrated in FIG. 5, when the light L emitted from the light source module 4 is incident at a predetermined incident angle θ, the primary light L <b> 1 incident in the glass chip 7 is incident. The optical waveguide is formed by repeating reflection such that the light is diffracted by the side grating 29A and totally reflected on the lower surface side of the glass chip 7, and the reflected light is totally reflected on the upper surface of the glass chip 7. Then, the light that has passed through the sample placement portion 27 is diffracted by the emission side grating 29B, emitted from the lower surface side of the glass chip 7, and enters the light incident path 14.

  Note that the 0th-order light L0 first reflected by the lower surface of the glass chip 7 enters the non-detection light removal passage 15 of the apparatus block 2 and is eliminated.

[Chip carrier]
As shown in FIG. 2, the chip carrier 8 is a rectangular frame on which a plurality of (in this embodiment, eight) glass chips 7 are placed. The chip carrier 8 includes a pair of horizontal frames 30 and 30 that are parallel to each other, and a pair of vertical frames 31 and 31 that are parallel to each other and connect the ends of the horizontal frames 30 to each other. Positioning ribs 32 for positioning the glass chips 7 are formed at equal intervals on the inner edges of the horizontal frames 30 facing each other, with the glass chips 7 being disposed therebetween. A notch 33 is formed between the positioning ribs 32 adjacent to each other, and the end portion of the glass chip 7 is placed on the chip mounting portions 34 on both sides of the notch 33. The glass chip 7 placed on the chip carrier 8 is positioned with respect to the chip carrier 8 by the positioning rib 32 and the chip placement portion 34.

  A positioning hole 35 into which the carrier positioning pin 19 protruding from the substrate mounting surface 11 of the apparatus block 2 is fitted is formed in the middle portion of each vertical frame 31. In addition, an operation rod 36 for performing a transport operation protrudes from each vertical frame 31 of the chip carrier 8.

  When the chip carrier 8 is properly placed on the device block 2, the substrate placement protrusion 17 projecting from the substrate placement region 12 of the device block 2 enters the gap inside the chip carrier 8, The substrate mounting protrusion 17 is set so as to lift the glass chip 7 from the chip carrier 8.

  That is, the thickness of the chip carrier 8 is set so as to fall between the plane formed by the device block 2 in the substrate placement area 12 and the protruding end of the protrusion.

[First holding member]
As shown in FIG. 6, the first holding member 50 is disposed on the side of the emission opening 13 </ b> B side in the arrow x direction of each substrate placement region 12 on the apparatus block 2. The first holding member 50 is fixed in a state where the first holding member 50 is positioned around the opening 38 of the device case 3. The first holding member 50 includes an attachment portion 51 fixed to the apparatus case 3 side and a contact pin 52 fixed to the attachment portion 51 toward the emission opening 13B side.

  The contact pin 52 includes a compression coil spring (not shown) inside, and a slide pin 52A at the tip is provided so as to be able to protrude and retract with a predetermined stroke. The slide pin 52A is set to position the glass chip 7 in the most retracted state. 6 to 8 show a state in which the slide pin 52A is most retracted. In the initial state in which the glass chip 7 is placed on the substrate placement area 12, the tip of the slide pin 52A is set so as not to contact one side surface of the glass chip 7 facing the slide pin 52A. The slide pin 52 </ b> A is set so that the glass chip 7 is positioned by retreating to the attachment portion 51 side when the other side surface of the glass chip 7 is pushed by the second holding member 60.

[Second holding member]
As shown in FIG. 6, the second holding member 60 is disposed on the side of the incident opening 14 </ b> B side in the arrow x direction of each substrate placement region 12 on the apparatus block 2. The second holding member 60 includes a mounting portion 61 fixed to the operation lever 43 side described above, and a contact pin 62 provided on the mounting portion 61 so as to protrude toward the incident opening 14B side. Yes. The contact pin 62 includes a compression coil spring (not shown) inside, and a slide pin 62A at the tip is provided so as to be able to appear and retract. The tip of the slide pin 62A is set so as not to contact the other side surface of the glass chip 7 when the operation lever 43 is not driven to the apparatus block 2 side. Further, when the operation lever 43 is moved to the position closest to the device block 2 side, a margin is set for the slide pin 62A to retreat against the repulsion of a compression coil spring (not shown) toward the mounting portion 61 side. At this time, the force with which the side surface of the glass chip 7 is pressed by the first holding member 50 and the second holding member 60 is set to a load of 100 gf or less.

[Third holding member]
As shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, the third holding member 70 has a function of holding the upper surface of the glass chip 7 disposed on the substrate placement region 12 from above in conjunction with the operation lever 43. Yes. The third holding member 70 includes an interlocking arm portion 71 that interlocks with the operation lever 43, and a pressing pin 72 that protrudes downward from the lower surface of the distal end portion of the interlocking arm portion 71.

  The third holding member 70 advances and retreats in the direction of the arrow x together with the second holding member 60 according to the position of the operation lever 43, and the glass chip 7 is pressed by the slide pin 62A of the second holding member 60. After or after being pressed, the pressing pin 72 is lowered on the upper surface of the glass chip 7 so as to hold the glass chip 7 at a predetermined pressure (weight of 100 gf or less). The ascending / descending operation of the interlocking arm unit 71 can be performed by a cam mechanism or a separate drive source.

  In particular, the position where the pressing pin 72 abuts on the glass chip 7 is 4 that protrudes from the substrate placement area 12 when the glass chip 7 is positioned at an appropriate position by the slide pin 62A of the second holding member 60. It is set at a position outside the path of the light emitted from the light source module 4 inside a rectangular region formed by connecting the substrate mounting protrusions 17.

(Operation procedure and operation of the concentration measuring apparatus of the present embodiment)
First, a procedure for measuring the concentration of an object to be measured using the concentration measuring apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment will be described.

(A) An object to be measured such as a protein solution is dropped and placed on the sample placement portion 27 on the upper surface of the glass chip 7. In addition, depending on the object to be measured, a reaction treatment or addition of a dye is appropriately performed.

(B) Next, as shown in FIG. 2, the glass chip 7 is placed on the chip carrier 8. In FIG. 2, one glass chip 7 is shown, but a plurality (eight in the present embodiment) of glass chips 7 are placed on the chip carrier 8.

(C) Thereafter, the operator holds the chip carrier 8 on which the glass chip 7 is placed, holding the operation rod 36 and exposes the substrate of the device block 2 to the opening 38 of the device case 3 as shown in FIG. It is conveyed to the mounting surface 11. At this time, the carrier positioning pins 19 on the apparatus block 2 side are fitted into the positioning holes 35 formed in the chip carrier 8 to position the chip carrier 8. At this time, as shown in FIG. 3, the glass chip 7 is placed on the four substrate placement protrusions 17 projecting from the respective substrate placement areas 12. It is in a floating state. 3 shows a state where one glass chip 7 is placed, it is possible to place a plurality of glass chips 7 simultaneously as described above. At this time, the tip of the slide pin 52A fitted to the tip of the contact pin 52 of the first holding member 50 is not in contact with one side surface of the glass chip 7.

(D) Next, the operation lever 43 is held and moved to the device block 2 side. Along with the movement of the operation lever 43, the second holding member 60 and the third holding member 70 also move toward the glass chip 7 arranged at the corresponding positions. First, as the operation lever 43 moves, the tip of the slide pin 62A of the second holding member 60 comes into contact with the other side surface of the glass chip 7 and presses the glass chip 7 toward the first holding member 50 side. Then, the positioning of the glass chip 7 in the arrow x direction ends at a position where the slide pin 52A of the first holding member 50 cannot be retracted. Further, by moving the operating lever 43 to the maximum extent, the slide pin 62A of the second holding member 60 applies a pressing force to the glass chip 7 to hold the glass chip 7. Since the pressing force at this time is set to be a load of 100 gf or less as described above, it is possible to prevent the glass chip 7 from being bent. As described above, when the operation lever 43 is moved, the pressing pin 72 of the third holding member 70 descends so as to press the upper surface of the glass chip 7 when the pressing operation of the slide pin 62A ends or after the pressing operation. 7 is held. At this time, since the pressing pin 72 is positioned in the rectangular inner region formed by the four substrate mounting protrusions 17, the pressing pin 72 does not float when the glass chip 7 is flipped up.

(E) Next, the cover plate 39 of the device case 3 is closed, and the pin 40A is fitted into the switch hole 40B. As a result, the limit switch 41 is pushed by the pin 40A, and the drive switch 42 such as the light source module 4 can be turned on. When the drive switch 42 is turned on, light is emitted from the light source module 4, and incident light that has passed through the glass chip 7 can be detected by the detector 5. Thus, the concentration of the object to be measured placed in the sample placement portion 27 can be specified by detecting the amount of incident light with the detector 5.

(Operations and effects of the present embodiment)
In the concentration measuring apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, since the light source module 4 and the detector 5 are fixed to the apparatus block 2 made of a metal block, the optical axis of the light emitted from the light source module 4 is set. While improving accuracy, it can control that an optical axis shifts after setting. For this reason, in the present embodiment, the light is emitted to the glass chip 7 with an accuracy within ± 0.2 degrees with respect to a predetermined incident angle θ at which the light exiting the light exit passage 13 enters the lower surface of the glass chip 7. It becomes possible to hit.

  In addition, since the light emission path 13 and the light incident path 14 are formed in the device block 2, it is possible to prevent light from being irradiated in the wrong direction.

  Furthermore, by forming the non-detection light removal passage 15 in the apparatus block 2, the Fresnel reflection component reflected by the lower surface of the glass chip 7 can be effectively removed. That is, Fresnel reflection components that are not used for detecting the concentration of the object to be measured can be excluded from the non-detection light removal passage 15. For this reason, the detection accuracy of the concentration measuring apparatus 1 can be improved.

  Further, in the concentration measuring apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, the chip carrier 8 is placed on the substrate placement surface 11 in the apparatus block 2 so that the glass chip 7 can move only in one axis direction (arrow x direction). Thus, positioning is possible only by moving the operation lever 43. For this reason, in this Embodiment, a measurement operation becomes easy. Furthermore, since the pressing force of the first holding member 50, the second holding member 60, and the third holding member 70 on the glass chip 7 is set to a weight of 100 gf or less from the strength setting of the spring member or the like, the glass chip 7 is Deformation can be avoided and measurement accuracy can be further increased.

  Furthermore, in the concentration measuring apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, the exit opening 13B of the light exit passage 13, the entrance opening 14B of the light entrance passage 14, and the non-detection light removal passage that open on the substrate placement region 12 are provided. Since the 15 non-detection light incident openings 15A are covered with a single protective glass 16, even if a liquid object to be measured spills from the glass chip 7, the liquid reaches the light source module 4 or the detector 5. Thus, it is possible to prevent electrical and optical adverse effects such as failure and accuracy reduction.

  In addition, since the liquid storage groove 20 is formed on the substrate mounting surface 11 outside the substrate mounting region 12, it is possible to prevent the apparatus from being soiled with a liquid object to be measured. In addition, since the submerged sheet 21 that changes color due to contact with the liquid is disposed at the bottom of the liquid reservoir groove 20, it can be easily recognized that the object to be measured is leaking.

  Moreover, in the density | concentration measuring apparatus 1 which concerns on this Embodiment, since the glass chip 7 can be juxtaposed, work efficiency can be improved. And since the glass chip 7 will be in the state which floated from the chip carrier 8 when mounted in the board | substrate mounting area | region 12, there exists an advantage that the freedom degree of the shape of the chip carrier 8 becomes high.

(Other embodiments)
It should not be understood that the descriptions and drawings which form part of the disclosure of the above-described embodiments limit the present invention. From this disclosure, various alternative embodiments, examples and operational techniques will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the single opening of the protective glass 16 covers the emission opening 13B, the incident opening 14B, and the non-detection light incident opening 15A. These openings may be closed with two protective glasses. In this case, the planar shape is not limited as long as the opening can be closed. In addition, in the above-described embodiment, the surface of the protective glass 16 may be provided with an antireflection film.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the protective glass 16 is used, but a transparent material other than glass can also be used. In this case, what is necessary is just to be able to realize sufficient optical transparency with respect to light (laser light) emitted from the light source module 4 and surface accuracy capable of obtaining flatness of about the wavelength.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the liquid reservoir groove 20 is formed only on both sides of the substrate placement surface 11. However, the liquid reservoir groove may be formed so as to surround the substrate placement surface 11.

  In the above-described embodiment, the four substrate mounting projections 17 are provided in the substrate mounting region 12 so as to project, but at least three or more substrate mounting positions are provided at positions that do not interfere with the light path. Any structure may be used as long as the protrusion 17 is provided.

It is a perspective view which shows the density | concentration measuring apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the apparatus block and chip carrier of the density | concentration measuring apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the state which mounted the chip carrier in the apparatus block of the density | concentration measuring apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is AA sectional drawing of FIG. It is sectional explanatory drawing which shows the optical waveguide of a glass chip. It is a principal part perspective view which shows the state which cut | disconnected and took out the part in which one board | substrate mounting area | region was formed in the apparatus block of the density | concentration measuring apparatus which concerns on this Embodiment. FIG. 7 is an explanatory plan view of FIG. 6. FIG. 7 is an explanatory cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which substantially the center of the substrate placement region of FIG. 6 is cut along the light path.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Concentration measuring apparatus, 2 ... Apparatus block, 3 ... Apparatus case, 4 ... Light source module, 5 ... Detector, 7 ... Glass chip, 8 ... Chip carrier, 11 ... Substrate mounting surface, 12 ... Substrate mounting area, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 13 ... Light emission path, 13A ... Output opening part, 14 ... Light incident path, 14B ... Incident opening part, 15 ... Non-detection light removal path, 15A ... Non-detection light incident opening part, 16 ... Protective glass, 17 ... Board mounting Positioning projection, 18 ... Positioning projection, 20 ... Liquid reservoir groove, 21 ... Submerged sheet, 27 ... Sample placement part, 43 ... Operation lever, 50 ... First holding member, 52 ... Contact pin, 52A ... Slide pin, 60 ... 2nd holding member, 62 ... contact pin, 62A ... slide pin, 70 ... 3rd holding member, 72 ... pressing pin.

Claims (6)

A concentration measuring device that measures the concentration by irradiating light to pass through the optical waveguide substrate to the object to be measured disposed on the optical waveguide substrate and receiving return light from the optical waveguide substrate,
The optical waveguide substrate has a substrate placement region in which substrate placement projections are provided to support and place the optical waveguide substrate in three or more locations, and the optical waveguide substrate is placed in a specific direction on both sides of the substrate placement region. And a light projection path that communicates with an exit opening formed in the substrate placement area, and a light entrance that communicates with an entrance opening formed in the substrate placement area. A block in which a passage is formed;
A light source module comprising a light source that emits light for concentration detection toward the emission opening through the light emission path;
A detector that receives return light from the optical waveguide substrate incident on the incident opening through the light incident path;
A first positioning portion for positioning one end face in the specific direction in the optical waveguide substrate placed in the substrate placement region;
A second positioning part for positioning in the specific direction by pressing the other end surface of the optical waveguide substrate in the specific direction;
A pressing portion that presses the optical waveguide substrate toward the block inside the contour connecting the substrate mounting protrusions;
A concentration measuring apparatus comprising:   The concentration measuring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the exit opening and the entrance opening are closed with a light-transmitting protective glass.   The concentration measuring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a liquid storage groove is formed along an outer periphery of the substrate placement region.   The concentration measuring apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a member that changes color due to adhesion of liquid is disposed in the liquid reservoir groove.   The concentration measuring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the block includes a plurality of the substrate placement areas. A concentration measuring device that measures the concentration by irradiating light to pass through the optical waveguide substrate to the object to be measured disposed on the optical waveguide substrate and receiving return light from the optical waveguide substrate,
The optical waveguide substrate has a substrate placement region in which substrate placement projections are provided to support and place the optical waveguide substrate in three or more locations, and the optical waveguide substrate is placed in a specific direction on both sides of the substrate placement region. And a light projection path that communicates with an exit opening formed in the substrate placement area, and a light entrance that communicates with an entrance opening formed in the substrate placement area. A block in which a passage is formed;
A light source module comprising a light source that emits light for concentration detection toward the emission opening through the light emission path;
A detector that receives return light from the optical waveguide substrate incident on the incident opening through the light incident path;
A first positioning portion for positioning one end face in the specific direction in the optical waveguide substrate placed in the substrate placement region;
A second positioning part for positioning in the specific direction by pressing the other end surface of the optical waveguide substrate in the specific direction;
A pressing portion that presses the optical waveguide substrate toward the block inside the contour connecting the substrate mounting protrusions;
A substrate carrier that is placed on the block in a state in which the optical waveguide substrate is housed, and is separated from the optical waveguide substrate by placing the optical waveguide substrate on the substrate placing projection on the block. When,
A concentration measuring apparatus comprising:

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