JP6226505B1 - Liquid measurement device - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided is a technique that enables measurement with higher accuracy in measuring a liquid substance such as a viscosity, which allows simple and continuous measurement. A container for storing a liquid material, a vibration mechanism for applying vibration to the liquid material in the container, and a capacitance sensor disposed adjacent to the container and outputting a signal corresponding to a change in electric capacity. And a measurement value generating unit that generates a viscosity measurement value related to the viscosity of the liquid object based on the AC component of the signal output from the capacitance sensor, and the vibration mechanism has an inner wall size of the container And a liquid object measuring device that vibrates the surface of the liquid object at a natural frequency calculated from a capacity of the liquid object. [Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid object measuring apparatus.

  For example, the capillary viscometer disclosed in Patent Document 1, the rotational viscometer disclosed in Patent Document 2, the viscosity measuring method disclosed in Patent Document 3, or the vibration disclosed in Patent Document 4 As a method of measuring the viscosity of a liquid object like a type viscometer, a method of measuring the magnitude of resistance when stirring a liquid, a method of measuring a time of passing through a thin tube, and the like are known.

  In the method of measuring the magnitude of resistance when stirring these liquids or the method of measuring the time of passing through a narrow tube, it is necessary to directly contact the liquid object to be measured at the time of measurement, and remeasurement Due to the necessity of cleaning the appliances, repeated measurement becomes difficult, which sometimes hinders measurement of changes in viscosity over time.

  Therefore, the present inventors have aimed to provide a technique capable of easily and continuously measuring the viscosity of a liquid object, or have realized a viscosity measurement of a liquid object with a small device and have a wide measurement range. For the purpose of providing a technique that can be measured by the method, the liquid material measuring device disclosed in Patent Document 5 was invented. The liquid object measuring apparatus is a liquid object measuring apparatus that measures a value related to the viscosity of the liquid object, and is an inflow port through which the liquid material flows in and an outflow port from which the liquid material flows out, or an inflow through which the liquid material flows in and out. A container having an inflow / outflow port, a vibration mechanism that applies vibration to the surface of the liquid in the container, a capacitance sensor that is disposed adjacent to the container and outputs a signal corresponding to a change in electric capacity, and a capacitance sensor A measurement value generation unit that generates a measurement value based on the signal from

  Patent Document 6 discloses an oil deterioration detection device that can perform more appropriate oil deterioration determination. In Patent Document 6, the oil deterioration detection device measures the current that flows when an AC voltage is applied between two electrode plates by installing two electrode plates in parallel in the oil flow path with an ammeter. The signal processing unit measures the voltage between the plates with a voltmeter, obtains the oil conductivity and dielectric constant based on the measurement results of the ammeter and the voltmeter, and determines the oil conductivity based on the conductivity and dielectric constant. It is said that deterioration will be judged.

  Patent Document 7 discloses an optical oil diagnostic apparatus that can accurately detect the deterioration degree of oil and the fuel dilution rate in the oil with a relatively simple configuration. In Patent Document 7, the optical oil diagnostic apparatus includes a first transmitter / receiver unit whose transmitted light wavelength to engine oil is in the range of 660 nm to 680 nm, a second transmitter / receiver unit in the range of 880 nm to 900 nm, and 2370 nm to 2430 nm. A third transmitter / receiver in the range of 2500 nm to 2540 nm, and detects the degree of deterioration of the engine oil based on the outputs of the first and second transmitter / receivers, and based on the output of the third transmitter / receiver It is supposed to detect the fuel dilution rate in engine oil.

ここで、ωは固有角周波数、ｇは重力加速度、ｎは自然数（ｎ＝１，２，…）であり、ａは容器横断面における内壁間距離、ｈは容器底面から液体物表面までの距離である。 Non-Patent Document 1 discloses that the frequency of the wave generated by the liquid in the container due to external vibration is given by Equation (1).

Here, ω is a natural angular frequency, g is a gravitational acceleration, n is a natural number (n = 1, 2,...), A is a distance between the inner walls in the cross section of the container, and h is a distance from the bottom of the container to the surface of the liquid material. It is.

JP 2013-44643 A JP 2012-132856 A JP 2009-268981 A JP 2009-204318 A Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2014-142581 (Japanese Patent Application No. 2015-017361) JP 2009-2893 A JP 2010-145107 A

H. Norman Abramson, “The Dynamic Behavior of Liquids in Moving Containers”, NASA SP-106, 1966, p.18

  According to the liquid material measuring apparatus described in Patent Document 5, viscosity measurement is possible without touching the liquid material in the container, so that cleaning of the apparatus for each measurement is unnecessary, and simple and continuous viscosity measurement is possible. . However, the liquid object measuring device vibrates the surface of the liquid object in the container, detects the state of the wave of the surface of the liquid object due to the vibration by a dielectric constant sensor arranged outside the container, and estimates the viscosity. In order to perform more accurate viscosity measurement, it is necessary to increase the output from the dielectric constant sensor, that is, to increase the amplitude of the wave of the liquid surface generated by vibration.

  In addition, since the temperature of the liquid material affects the viscosity of the liquid material, in order to accurately specify the viscosity, temperature management of the liquid material or correction of the measurement value accompanying the temperature change of the liquid material is performed. Preferably it is done. Furthermore, when evaluating deterioration of a liquid material such as oil, it is preferable to evaluate the degree of deterioration in consideration of measurement values related to other physical properties in addition to measurement values related to viscosity.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a technique that enables measurement with higher accuracy in measuring a liquid substance such as a viscosity, which allows simple and continuous measurement. Another object of the present invention is to provide a technique that enables measurement without the influence of the temperature or temperature change of the liquid object in the liquid object measurement. Furthermore, the objective of this invention is providing the technique which can determine the deterioration degree of liquid things, such as oil, simply, continuously and correctly.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, in the first aspect of the present invention, a container for storing a liquid material, a vibration mechanism for applying vibration to the liquid material in the container, and a container adjacent to the container are disposed. A capacitance sensor that outputs a signal corresponding to a change in electric capacity; and a measurement value generator that generates a viscosity measurement value related to the viscosity of the liquid object based on an AC component of the signal output from the capacitance sensor. And a vibration measuring device that vibrates the surface of the liquid material at a natural frequency calculated from an inner wall size of the container and a storage amount of the liquid material.

但し、ωは固有角周波数、ｇは重力加速度、ｎは自然数（ｎ＝１，２，…）であり、ａは容器横断面における内壁間距離、ｈは容器底面から液体物表面までの距離である。 When the shape of the cross section of the container is a square, the natural frequency (f = ω / 2π) may be calculated using Equation 1.

Where ω is the natural angular frequency, g is the acceleration of gravity, n is a natural number (n = 1, 2,...), A is the distance between the inner walls of the container cross section, and h is the distance from the container bottom to the liquid surface. is there.

  The vibration mechanism is a container vibration mechanism that applies vibration to the container, and the vibration that the container vibration mechanism applies to the container is synchronized with a sine wave vibration of the natural frequency or a vibration of the natural frequency. Pulse vibration may be used. When the container has an inflow port and an outflow port or an inflow port for the liquid material, the vibration mechanism drops the liquid material from the inflow port onto the surface, and the dripping is performed at the natural frequency. In a first configuration performed at a timing synchronized with vibration, a second configuration in which the flow rate at the inflow or outflow of the liquid material is changed in synchronization with the vibration of the natural frequency, or the inflow or outflow of the liquid material, The configuration may be any one of the third configurations that generate a pulsating flow at a timing synchronized with the vibration of the natural frequency.

  A capacity measuring unit that measures the amount of the liquid substance accommodated in the container may be further included, and the amount measured by the capacity measuring unit in the calculation of the natural frequency may be used. A temperature adjustment mechanism for adjusting the temperature of the liquid object may be further included, and the liquid object whose temperature is adjusted by the temperature adjustment mechanism may be accommodated in the container. The container has a pair of electrodes that are in contact with the liquid object in a state in which the liquid object is accommodated, the conductivity of the liquid object is measured using the pair of electrodes, and the viscosity is based on the measured conductivity. You may further have a measured value correction | amendment part which correct | amends a measured value. A temporal data acquisition and recording unit that acquires and records temporal data of the viscosity measurement value, and a data estimation unit that estimates a predicted value of the viscosity measurement value in a thermal equilibrium state from a plurality of the temporal data recorded in the temporal data acquisition and recording unit And the predicted value may be output as the viscosity value of the liquid object. The measurement value generation unit further generates a dielectric measurement value related to a dielectric constant of the liquid object based on an average value of the signal output from the capacitance sensor, and based on the viscosity measurement value and the dielectric measurement value, You may further have the determination part which prejudices the performance of a liquid thing.

  It should be noted that the above summary of the invention does not enumerate all the necessary features of the present invention. In addition, a sub-combination of these feature groups can also be an invention.

1 is a conceptual diagram showing an outline of a liquid object measuring apparatus 100. FIG. It is the front view, top view, and side view of the container 112, (a) is a case where a container cross section is a square, (b) is a case where a container cross section is a rectangle. It is an output signal waveform of the capacitance sensor 130, and shows the case where the vibration frequency by the vibration mechanism 120 is 2.5 Hz, 3.1 Hz, 4.3 Hz, 5.4 Hz, and 7.3 Hz, respectively. 4 is a graph showing the average absolute difference (RAW) of the output signals shown in FIG. 3 as a function of the vibration frequency by the vibration mechanism 120. FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing an outline of a liquid object measuring apparatus 200. FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing an outline of a liquid object measuring apparatus 300. FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing an outline of a liquid object measuring apparatus 400. FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing an outline of a liquid object measuring apparatus 500. FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing an outline of a liquid object measuring apparatus 600. FIG. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the outline | summary of the liquid measurement apparatus 700. FIG. It is a graph which shows the time change of the average difference absolute value sum (RAW) at the time of measuring the liquid thing 114 of temperature higher than room temperature. 12 is a graph in which values of average deviation absolute value sum (RAW) in FIG. 11 are plotted against inclination. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing an outline of a liquid object measuring apparatus 800. FIG.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described through embodiments of the invention, but the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims. In addition, not all the combinations of features described in the embodiments are essential for the solving means of the invention.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing an outline of the liquid measurement apparatus 100. The liquid measurement apparatus 100 includes a container holder 110, a vibration mechanism 120, a capacity sensor 130, a measurement value generation unit 140, a display unit 150, and a housing 160. The casing 160 is a base of the liquid measurement apparatus 100, and the container holder 110, the vibration mechanism 120, the capacitance sensor 130, and the measurement value generation unit 140 are accommodated in the casing 160.

  The container holder 110 holds the container 112 and transmits the vibration from the vibration mechanism 120 to the container 112. The container holder 110 needs to have a degree of freedom of movement at least in the vertical direction with respect to the housing 160 because of the need to transmit vibration to the container 112, and it is preferable that the container holder 110 also has a degree of freedom in the left and right and front and rear directions. When the capacitance sensor 130 is disposed outside the container holder 110, the container holder 110 needs to be made of a dielectric so that the capacitance can be measured through the container holder 110. When the container holder 110 does not affect the capacity measurement, the material of the container holder 110 is not particularly limited. Note that the container holder 110 is not indispensable when directly applying vibration to the container 112 or when applying vibration to the surface of the liquid substance 114 by a method other than applying vibration to the container 112.

  The container 112 accommodates a liquid material 114 that is an object to be measured. The container 112 needs to have chemical stability and mechanical strength that can hold the liquid material 114. In addition, since the capacitance needs to be measured through the container 112, the container 112 needs to be a dielectric. In FIG. 1, the surface of the liquid substance 114 in the container 112 is indicated by a solid line or a broken line, the solid line indicates a state of being waved by vibration, and the broken line indicates a state at rest. Let h be the distance from the bottom surface of the container 112 to the surface of the liquid substance 114 at rest.

  FIGS. 2A and 2B are a front view, a top view, and a side view showing an example of the container 112. FIG. 2A shows a case where the container cross section is a square, and FIG. 2B shows a case where the container cross section is a rectangle. When the container cross section is square, the distance between the inner walls in the container cross section is the length a of one side of the square. When the container cross section is rectangular, the distance between the inner walls in the container cross section is the length of the short side of the rectangle. Or a long side length b. In FIG. 2, the broken line indicates the stationary surface of the liquid object 114 and also indicates the distance h from the bottom surface to the liquid object surface.

  The vibration mechanism 120 applies vibration to the liquid substance 114 inside the container 112. As a result of the vibration applied to the liquid material 114, a wave is generated on the surface of the liquid material 114, and the physical properties of the liquid material 114 such as viscosity can be measured by measuring the magnitude of the wave with the capacitance sensor 130.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the vibration mechanism 120 of the first embodiment is a vibration mechanism having an eccentric cam 122 and a motor control unit 124, and is a type that generates a wave on the surface of the liquid substance 114 through vibration of the container 112. It is a container vibration mechanism. The eccentric cam 122 is driven by a motor, and the rotation speed, that is, the vibration cycle is controlled by the motor control unit 124. In addition to the mechanism using the eccentric cam 122, the vibration generating mechanism 120 can use a known vibration generating mechanism.

  The capacity sensor 130 is disposed adjacent to the container 112 and outputs a signal corresponding to a change in electric capacity. Capacitance sensor 130 includes a capacitor electrode pair including detection electrode 132 and ground electrode 134, and C / V converter 136 that converts the capacitance value of detection electrode 132 into a voltage. When the surface of the liquid substance 114 in the container 112 undulates due to vibration, the capacitance value of the detection electrode 132 changes according to the state of the surface wave, for example, the wave height. The change in the capacitance value is output as a voltage change by the C / V converter 136. That is, the signal output from the capacitance sensor 130 reflects the wave (wave height) on the surface of the liquid substance 114. The vibration of the liquid surface can be modeled by a second-order linear differential equation with viscosity, surface tension, and density as parameters, and the vibration of the liquid surface depends on the viscosity under the condition that the surface tension and density do not change. become. Therefore, the viscosity can be estimated by measuring the vibration of the surface of the liquid object 114 by the change in capacitance. Note that the stray capacitance of the detection electrode 132 can be stabilized by the ground electrode 134, and the influence of the stray capacitance included in the output signal from the capacitance sensor 130 can be reduced.

  The C / V converter 136 can be configured by, for example, a capacitance-frequency conversion circuit that outputs a change in capacitance as a change in frequency and a frequency-voltage conversion circuit that converts a frequency into a voltage. The capacitance-frequency conversion circuit can be configured by appropriately combining, for example, a general LC resonance circuit and a NOT logic circuit.

  The measurement value generation unit 140 generates a viscosity measurement value related to the viscosity of the liquid object 114 based on the AC component of the output signal from the capacitance sensor 130. In the present embodiment, as the measurement value generation unit 140, a circuit including a bandpass filter 142, a rectifier circuit 144, and an integration circuit 146 is illustrated. The measurement value generation unit 140 is merely an example, and is not limited thereto.

  The output signal of the capacitance sensor 130 is removed from the direct current component through the bandpass filter 142 of the measurement value generation unit 140 and rectified by the rectifier circuit 144, and then the integrated circuit 146 outputs a value obtained by integrating the alternating current component for a predetermined period. Is done. The bandpass filter 142 removes the influence of stray capacitance and the like, and a signal resulting from the vibration of the liquid surface can be extracted. A minute signal is efficiently extracted by the integration circuit 146, or a signal including a plurality of frequencies is appropriately extracted. The output of the integration circuit 146 can be displayed on the display unit 150.

ここでＴ_{ｓｔａｒｔ}はサンプリング開始時刻、Ｔ_ｅｎｄはサンプリング終了時刻であり、適切なサンプリング間隔ΔＴとして信号周期の１／２より短い時間、たとえば信号周期の１／１０程度の時間が例示できる。サンプリング期間Ｔ＝Ｔ_ｅｎｄ−Ｔ_{ｓｔａｒｔ}は信号周期以上であることが好ましく、たとえば信号周期の数倍程度が例示できる。 In the above example, the band pass filter 142, the rectifier circuit 144, and the integration circuit 146 are illustrated as the measurement value generation unit 140, but the output signal from the capacitance sensor 130 is digitally processed to extract only the AC component. Signal processing may be performed. For example, if the output signal of the capacitance sensor 130 is repeatedly sampled at an appropriate sampling interval ΔT during the sampling period T, and each sampling value is x _i and the average of x _i is x _av , the AC component of the output signal is The average deviation absolute value sum RAW as shown in Equation 2 can be defined. A digital circuit that outputs RAW as a viscosity measurement value based on the AC component of the measurement value generation unit 140 may be configured.

Here, T _start is the sampling start time, and T _end is the sampling end time. As an appropriate sampling interval ΔT, a time shorter than ½ of the signal period, for example, about 1/10 of the signal period can be exemplified. The sampling period T = T _end −T _start is preferably equal to or longer than the signal period, and can be exemplified by several times the signal period.

  The housing 160 is fixed with respect to the displacement and movement of the container 112 and functions as an entity that provides a ground potential. For this reason, the housing 160 has a mass that does not move due to vibration, and is preferably a conductor. Further, it is preferable to minimize the influence of the disturbance electric field in the measurement of the capacitance by the capacitance sensor 130. From this point of view, it is preferable that the entire housing 160 is made of a conductor and surrounds the entire liquid measurement apparatus 100. An electrical shield can be formed by the housing 160 made of a conductor, and the capacitance measurement accuracy by the capacitance sensor 130 can be improved.

  In the liquid object measuring apparatus 100 of the present embodiment, the vibration mechanism 120 vibrates the surface of the liquid object 114 at a natural frequency calculated from the inner wall size of the container 112 and the amount of the liquid object 114 accommodated. By vibrating the surface of the liquid object 114 at the natural frequency, the amplitude (wave height) of the wave generated on the surface of the liquid object is increased, and the output of the capacitance sensor 130 can be increased.

  The natural frequency includes the harmonic frequency in addition to the fundamental frequency. Further, the concept of the natural frequency in the present invention is not limited to a value that exactly matches the fundamental frequency or the harmonic frequency derived by calculation, and is slightly different from the value obtained by the calculation. As long as a sufficiently high wave height is obtained on the surface of the liquid object even if the value is a certain value, it is assumed that it has a certain width including such a deviated value.

但し、ωは固有角周波数、ｇは重力加速度、ｎは自然数（ｎ＝１，２，…）であり、ａは容器１１２の横断面における内壁間距離、ｈは容器１１２底面から液体物１１４表面までの距離である。 When the shape of the cross section of the container 112 is a square or a rectangle as shown in FIG. 2, the natural frequency (f = ω / 2π) can be a value calculated using Equation 1.

Where ω is the natural angular frequency, g is the acceleration of gravity, n is a natural number (n = 1, 2,...), A is the distance between the inner walls in the cross section of the container 112, h is the surface of the liquid substance 114 from the bottom of the container 112. It is the distance to.

When n = 1 in Equation 1, it is the natural frequency of the fundamental wave, and Equation 3 is obtained. The vibration applied to the container 112 can be a sine wave vibration having a natural frequency or a pulse vibration synchronized with the vibration having a natural frequency.

  FIG. 3 is an output signal waveform of the capacitance sensor 130, and shows a case where the frequency of vibration by the vibration mechanism 120 is changed to 2.5 Hz, 3.1 Hz, 4.3 Hz, 5.4 Hz, and 7.3 Hz, respectively. . It can be seen that the amplitude of the sensor output waveform is the largest at 5.4 Hz. FIG. 4 is a graph showing the average absolute difference (RAW) of the output signals shown in FIG. 3 calculated and shown as a function of vibration frequency. It can be seen that there is a RAW peak near 5 Hz. The data shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 is data when the distance a between the inner walls in the cross section of the container 112 is 0.03 m, and the distance h from the bottom surface of the container 112 to the surface of the liquid material 114 is 0.02 m. Yes, when the fundamental frequency (frequency) using the values of a and h is calculated using Equation 3, f = 5.02 Hz, and the RAW peak frequency and the fundamental natural frequency are almost the same. It can be confirmed that there is.

  As described above, the vibration on the surface of the liquid object 114 by the vibration mechanism 120 is substantially the same as the natural frequency calculated from the inner wall size of the container 112 and the amount of the liquid object 114 accommodated. The amplitude (wave height) of the generated wave can be increased, and the output of the capacitive sensor 130 can be increased. As a result, it is possible to perform measurement with higher accuracy in the measurement of liquids such as viscosity, which allows simple and continuous measurement.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram showing an outline of the liquid measurement apparatus 200. The liquid measurement apparatus 200 includes a container holder 110, a vibration mechanism 120, a capacitance sensor 130, a measurement value generation unit 140, a display unit 150, and a casing 160 similar to those of the liquid measurement apparatus 100. The description of the same configuration as that of the liquid object measuring apparatus 100 is omitted.

  The container 112 in the liquid measurement apparatus 200 has an inlet 202 through which the liquid substance 114 flows in and an outlet 204 through which the liquid substance 114 flows out. A measurement value is generated by the measurement value generation unit 140 while all or a part of the liquid substance 114 in the container 112 is exchanged via the inflow port 202 and the outflow port 204 or through the inflow / outlet port. Therefore, the viscosity of the liquid substance 114 can be continuously measured without washing the container 112 or the like.

  In the second embodiment, an example in which the inflow port 202 and the outflow port 204 are separately provided is shown. However, the inflow port 202 and the outflow port 204 may be replaced with one inflow / outflow port through which the liquid material 114 flows in and out. The container 112 may be provided with a pressure adjusting port for adjusting the pressure inside the container. For example, an opening that makes the pressure outside the container the same as the pressure inside the container may be provided as a pressure adjustment port. In this case, the opening can be provided with a filter that prevents dust and the like from being mixed. In addition, the pressure adjusting opening can serve as the outflow inlet of the liquid material 114.

  The vibration mechanism in the second embodiment drops the liquid 114 from the inflow port 202 to the surface outside the vibration mechanism 120 by the eccentric cam 122 and the motor control unit 124, and synchronizes the dripping with the vibration at the natural frequency. A mechanism that performs at timing can be exemplified. In this case, it is not necessary to vibrate the container 112 itself, and the entire apparatus can be downsized as well as the container 112. Further, as the vibration mechanism 120, a mechanism for changing the flow rate at the inflow or outflow of the liquid substance 114 in synchronization with the vibration of the natural frequency can be exemplified. In this case as well, the device can be miniaturized similarly to the mechanism for dropping the liquid material 114. Further, as the vibration mechanism 120, a mechanism that generates a pulsating flow at a timing synchronized with the vibration of the natural frequency in the inflow or outflow of the liquid substance 114 can be exemplified. Similarly, the apparatus can be miniaturized.

  As described above, by providing the inlet 112 and the outlet 204 in the container 112, the viscosity of the liquid substance 114 can be continuously measured without washing the container 112 or the like. As a result, it is possible to perform measurement with higher accuracy in the measurement of liquids such as viscosity, which allows simple and continuous measurement.

(Embodiment 3)
FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram showing an outline of the liquid measurement apparatus 300. The liquid measurement device 300 includes a container holder 110, a vibration mechanism 120, a capacitance sensor 130, a measurement value generation unit 140, a display unit 150, and a housing 160 similar to those of the liquid measurement device 100. Also have.

  The capacity measuring unit 310 measures the amount of the liquid substance 114 stored in the container 112. Further, the amount of accommodation measured by the capacity measuring means 310 is used in the calculation of the natural frequency. The capacity measuring unit 310 includes a weight sensor 312 and a weight scale 314, and can calculate a storage amount from the measured weight. By measuring the capacity by the capacity measuring unit 310 and calculating the natural frequency using this, the more accurate natural frequency can be calculated, and the output signal of the capacity sensor 130 can be increased.

  As another example of the capacity measuring means, a liquid supply amount measuring means 410 as shown in FIG. 7 can be exemplified. FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram showing an outline of the liquid material measuring device 400, and the liquid supply amount measuring means 410 includes a liquid material supply device 412 and a supply path 414. The liquid material supply device 412 can measure the supply amount of the liquid material, and can calculate the storage amount of the liquid material 114 from the integrated supply amount.

(Embodiment 4)
FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram showing an outline of the liquid measurement apparatus 500. The liquid measurement device 500 includes a container holder 110, a vibration mechanism 120, a capacitance sensor 130, a measurement value generation unit 140, a display unit 150, and a housing 160 that are the same as those of the liquid measurement device 100. Also have. The temperature adjustment mechanism 510 includes a liquid material supply device 512, a cold warmer 514, and a supply path 516. The cooler / heater 514 cools or heats the liquid material 114 supplied from the liquid material supply device 512 in the middle of the supply path 516. The liquid substance 114 cooled or heated by the temperature adjustment mechanism 510 is accommodated in the container 112.

  According to the liquid object measuring apparatus 500 described above, even when the temperature of the liquid object 114 is higher than room temperature, it is cooled by the temperature adjusting mechanism 510 at the time of measurement, and is hardly affected by the temperature drop. . As a result, it is possible to eliminate or reduce the influence of the temperature of the liquid object 114 in the liquid object measurement. Further, even when the liquid substance 114 is solidified at room temperature, the measurement can be performed by being heated by the temperature adjustment mechanism 510 during the measurement and maintaining the liquid state.

(Embodiment 5)
FIG. 9 is a conceptual diagram showing an outline of the liquid measurement apparatus 600. The liquid measurement device 600 includes a container holder 110, a vibration mechanism 120, a capacitance sensor 130, a measurement value generation unit 140, a display unit 150, and a housing 160 similar to those of the liquid measurement device 100, and a conductivity measurement mechanism 610. And a measurement value correction unit 620.

  The conductivity measuring mechanism 610 includes a pair of electrodes 612 and a conductivity measuring unit 614. The pair of electrodes 612 is disposed at a position where the container 112 contacts the liquid object 114 in a state in which the liquid object 114 is accommodated, and the conductivity measuring unit 614 uses the pair of electrodes 612 to configure the liquid object 114. Measure conductivity. The measured conductivity is sent to the measurement value correction unit 620, and the measurement value correction unit 620 corrects the viscosity measurement value based on the received conductivity.

  According to the liquid material measuring apparatus 600 described above, the electrical conductivity of the liquid material 114 is measured by the electrical conductivity measuring mechanism 610, and the viscosity measurement value is corrected using the measured electrical conductivity. Therefore, more accurate viscosity is measured. can do. For example, when the temperature of the liquid object 114 is higher or lower than the assumed temperature, the change due to the temperature can be corrected using the conductivity, and the influence of the temperature of the liquid object 114 can be eliminated or reduced in the liquid object measurement. .

(Embodiment 6)
FIG. 10 is a conceptual diagram showing an outline of the liquid material measuring apparatus 700. The liquid measurement apparatus 700 includes a container holder 110, a vibration mechanism 120, a capacitance sensor 130, a measurement value generation unit 140, a display unit 150, and a casing 160, which are the same as those of the liquid measurement apparatus 100. 710 and a data estimation unit 720 are further included.

  The temporal data acquisition recording unit 710 includes a data acquisition unit 712 that acquires temporal data of viscosity measurement values, a data recording unit 714 that records the acquired data, and a timer 716 that controls the data acquisition timing of the data acquisition unit 712. Have. The data estimation unit 720 estimates the predicted value of the viscosity measurement value in the thermal equilibrium state from a plurality of time-lapse data recorded in the data recording unit 714. The predicted value estimated by the data estimation unit 720 is output to the display unit 150 as the viscosity value of the liquid object 114.

  FIG. 11 is a graph showing the change over time of the average difference absolute value sum (RAW) when the liquid substance 114 having a temperature higher than room temperature is measured. FIG. 12 is a graph showing the average deviation absolute value sum (RAW) in FIG. It is the graph which plotted the value against the slope. From FIG. 11, it can be seen that the RAW has decreased with the passage of time, that is, the temperature. That is, the RAW of the liquid object 114 that has not passed a sufficient time (the temperature has not dropped) is observed to be higher than the RAW at the time of thermal equilibrium, and is low when calibrated as the liquid object 114 at the time of thermal equilibrium. It will be displayed as a viscosity value. Therefore, for accurate viscosity measurement, it is necessary to wait for the measurement until the liquid material 114 is sufficiently cooled.

  However, when there are a plurality of measured values in the cooling process, it is possible to estimate a RAW value with a slope of 0 (thermal equilibrium) using the plot of FIG. The temporal data acquisition / recording unit 710 according to the sixth embodiment acquires data for creating the plot, and the data estimation unit 720 estimates the RAW value at the time of thermal equilibrium from the slot. Thereby, an accurate viscosity value can be obtained at an early stage without waiting for the thermal equilibrium to be reached. As a result, the influence of the temperature change of the liquid material 114 can be eliminated or reduced.

(Embodiment 7)
FIG. 13 is a conceptual diagram showing an outline of the liquid measurement apparatus 800. The liquid measurement apparatus 800 includes a container holder 110, a vibration mechanism 120, a capacitance sensor 130, a display unit 150, and a housing 160 similar to those of the liquid measurement apparatus 100. However, the measurement value generation unit 140 is different from the measurement value generation unit 140 and further includes a determination unit 820.

  The measurement value generation unit 810 of the liquid measurement apparatus 800 further generates a dielectric measurement value related to the dielectric constant of the liquid object 114 based on the average value of the signal output from the capacitance sensor 130 in addition to the viscosity measurement value. The determination unit 820 determines the performance of the liquid object 114 based on the viscosity measurement value and the dielectric measurement value. An example of the performance of the liquid material 114 is the degree of deterioration of the oil.

  The measurement value generation unit 810 includes a low pass filter 812 and a smoothing circuit 814 in addition to the band pass filter 142, the rectifier circuit 144, and the integration circuit 146. The viscosity measurement value is generated by the band pass filter 142, the rectifier circuit 144, and the integration circuit 146, and the average value of the output signal of the capacitance sensor 130 is extracted by the low pass filter 812 and the smoothing circuit 814 to obtain the dielectric constant of the liquid object 114. Further generate associated dielectric measurements.

Note that the measurement value generation unit 810 is merely an example, and is not limited thereto. For example, the output signal from the capacitance sensor 130 may be digitally processed to perform signal processing that extracts an average value. For example, an average x _av can be calculated from the sampling values x _i and x _{i described} above, and this can be used as a dielectric measurement value.

  According to the liquid material measuring apparatus 800 described above, the characteristics of the liquid material 114 can be evaluated from both measured values of the dielectric measurement value and the viscosity measurement value related to the dielectric constant. Simple, continuous and accurate determination.

  As described above, in the embodiments, the present invention has been described as a liquid object measuring device. However, the liquid object measuring device of the present invention can be grasped as a liquid object measuring method and a program that realizes such an apparatus, method, or function. Is possible.

  Further, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiment. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications or improvements can be added to the above-described embodiments. It is apparent from the scope of the claims that the embodiments added with such changes or improvements can be included in the technical scope of the present invention. For example, the measurement value generation unit 140 can generate the amplitude of the signal as a measurement value. In addition, each of the above-described first to seventh embodiments can be implemented by arbitrarily combining the components as long as there is no unreasonableness in the configuration of the invention.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Liquid substance measuring apparatus, 110 ... Container holder, 112 ... Container, 114 ... Liquid object, 120 ... Excitation mechanism, 122 ... Eccentric cam, 124 ... Motor control part, 130 ... Capacitance sensor, 132 ... Detection electrode, 134 ... Ground electrode, 136 ... C / V converter, 140 ... measured value generation unit, 142 ... band pass filter, 144 ... rectifier circuit, 146 ... integration circuit, 150 ... display unit, 160 ... housing, 200 ... liquid measurement device, 202 ... Inlet, 204 ... Outlet, 300 ... Liquid material measuring device, 310 ... Volume measuring means, 312 ... Weight sensor, 314 ... Weight meter, 400 ... Liquid material measuring device, 410 ... Liquid supply amount measuring means, 412 ... Liquid material supply device, 414 ... supply path, 500 ... liquid material measuring device, 510 ... temperature adjustment mechanism, 512 ... liquid material supply device, 514 ... cold warmer, 516 ... supply path, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 00 ... Liquid measuring device, 610 ... Conductivity measuring mechanism, 612 ... Electrode, 614 ... Conductivity measuring part, 620 ... Measurement value correction | amendment part, 700 ... Liquid substance measuring device, 710 ... Temporal data acquisition recording part, 712 ... Data Acquisition unit, 714... Data recording unit, 716... Timer, 720 .. data estimation unit, 800... Liquid substance measuring device, 810... Measurement value generation unit, 812.

Claims (9)

A container for storing a liquid object;
An excitation mechanism for applying vibration to the liquid in the container;
A capacitance sensor arranged adjacent to the container and outputting a signal corresponding to a change in electric capacitance;
A measurement value generation unit that generates a viscosity measurement value related to the viscosity of the liquid object based on the AC component of the signal output from the capacitance sensor;
The liquid object measuring device, wherein the vibration mechanism vibrates the surface of the liquid object at a natural frequency calculated from an inner wall dimension of the container and a storage amount of the liquid object. The shape of the cross section of the container is square,
The liquid object measuring device according to claim 1, wherein the natural frequency (f = ω / 2π) is calculated by using Equation 1.

Where ω is the natural angular frequency, g is the acceleration of gravity, n is a natural number (n = 1, 2,...), A is the distance between the inner walls of the container cross section, and h is the distance from the container bottom to the liquid surface. is there. The vibration mechanism is a container vibration mechanism that applies vibration to the container;
The liquid object measuring device according to claim 1, wherein the vibration applied to the container by the container vibration mechanism is a sine wave vibration of the natural frequency or a pulse vibration synchronized with the vibration of the natural frequency. . The container has an inlet and an outlet of the liquid material, or an inlet and outlet;
A first configuration in which the vibration mechanism drops the liquid material from the inflow port onto the surface and performs the dropping at a timing synchronized with the vibration of the natural frequency, the flow rate at the inflow or outflow of the liquid material, Any one of a second configuration that changes in synchronization with the vibration of the natural frequency, or a third configuration that generates a pulsating flow at a timing synchronized with the vibration of the natural frequency in the inflow or outflow of the liquid material. The liquid object measuring device according to claim 1 or 2. Further comprising a capacity measuring means for measuring the amount of the liquid substance accommodated in the container;
The liquid object measuring device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a storage amount measured by the capacity measuring unit is used in the calculation of the natural frequency. A temperature adjusting mechanism for adjusting the temperature of the liquid material;
The liquid object measuring device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the liquid object whose temperature is adjusted by the temperature adjusting mechanism is accommodated in the container. The container has a pair of electrodes in contact with the liquid object in a state of containing the liquid object;
The measurement value correction | amendment part which measures the electrical conductivity of the said liquid thing using the said pair of electrode, and correct | amends the said viscosity measurement value based on the measured electrical conductivity is further provided in any one of Claims 1-6. The liquid object measuring apparatus described. A time-lapse data acquisition recording unit for acquiring and recording the time-lapse data of the viscosity measurement value;
A data estimation unit that estimates a predicted value of a viscosity measurement value in a thermal equilibrium state from a plurality of the time data recorded in the time data acquisition recording unit,
The liquid object measuring device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the predicted value is output as a viscosity value of the liquid object. The measurement value generation unit further generates a dielectric measurement value related to a dielectric constant of the liquid object based on an average value of the signal output from the capacitance sensor;
The liquid measurement apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, further comprising a determination unit that determines the performance of the liquid object based on the viscosity measurement value and the dielectric measurement value.

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