JP6558315B2 - Bubble diameter distribution measuring apparatus and bubble diameter distribution measuring method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a bubble diameter distribution measuring apparatus and a bubble diameter distribution measuring method for measuring the bubble diameter distribution of fine bubbles contained in a fine bubble-containing medium.

  In recent years, research and use of fine bubbles such as micro bubbles and ultra fine bubbles have been actively conducted. For example, fine bubbles are fine bubbles having a bubble diameter of 100 μm or less, those having a bubble diameter of 1 μm or more are called microbubbles, and those having a bubble diameter of less than 1 μm are called ultrafine bubbles.

  Fine bubbles are expected to have various effects such as a cleaning effect and a sterilizing effect. For example, if various facilities are cleaned using fine bubbles in factories, plants, public toilets, etc., the amount of detergent used can be reduced. Therefore, a cleaning method using fine bubbles has attracted attention as a new environmentally friendly cleaning method.

  The relationship between the characteristics and effects of such fine bubbles depends on the bubble diameter and bubble amount (concentration) of the fine bubbles. Therefore, a technique for measuring the bubble size distribution (particle size distribution) of fine bubbles using a laser diffraction / scattering type particle size distribution measuring apparatus or the like has been proposed.

  In addition to fine bubbles, the liquid to be measured (fine bubble-containing medium) includes foreign particles (contamination) such as solid particles such as dust or soil, and liquid particles such as oil or emulsion. There is a case. In order to cope with such a case, a technique for measuring the bubble diameter distribution of fine bubbles after identifying fine bubbles and contaminants has also been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1 below).

  In the particle size distribution measuring apparatus described in Patent Document 1, a sample solution (stock solution) is irradiated with laser light, and first light intensity distribution data representing the intensity distribution of diffracted / scattered light is acquired. In addition, the fine bubble generator causes the sample solution (stock solution) to contain fine bubbles, irradiates the fine bubble-containing medium (stock solution and fine bubbles) with laser light, and represents the intensity distribution of diffraction / scattered light. Two light intensity distribution data are acquired. The fine bubble-containing medium contains fine bubbles and contamination, and the stock solution contains only contamination. And in this particle size distribution measuring device, the particle size distribution is calculated by using the data obtained by subtracting the first light intensity distribution data obtained from the stock solution from the second light intensity distribution data obtained from the fine bubble-containing medium. The bubble size distribution of only fine bubbles is measured.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-48185

  When the above-described conventional apparatus is used, it is necessary to measure both a stock solution containing no fine bubbles and a fine bubble-containing medium containing fine bubbles in the stock solution. However, for example, the bubble size distribution of fine bubbles contained in a fine bubble-containing medium that occurs in nature may be measured. In this case, a fine bubble-containing medium can be prepared, but it is difficult to prepare a stock solution that does not contain fine bubbles. Therefore, in such a case, that is, when the bubble size distribution of fine bubbles contained in the fine bubble-containing medium is measured only from the fine bubble-containing medium, the measurement using the above apparatus is not suitable.

  Therefore, it is conceivable to take an image of particles in the fine bubble-containing medium and identify whether or not each particle is a fine bubble based on the taken image. With such a method, it is possible to discriminate between fine bubbles and contamination contained in the fine bubble-containing medium by viewing the captured image.

  However, in such a method, since only a part of the fine bubble-containing medium is captured, the number of samples is small, and the bubble size distribution of the fine bubbles is calculated based only on the identification result. The accuracy of the bubble diameter distribution is extremely low.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and uses only a fine bubble-containing medium, and a bubble diameter distribution measuring apparatus and a bubble capable of accurately measuring the bubble diameter distribution of fine bubbles contained in the fine bubble-containing medium An object is to provide a diameter distribution measuring method.

(1) A bubble diameter distribution measuring apparatus according to the present invention includes an image capturing unit, a light intensity measuring unit, a particle size distribution measuring unit, a fine bubble identifying unit, a bubble size determining unit, and a bubble size distribution measuring unit, Is provided. The image photographing unit photographs an image of a fine bubble-containing medium in which fine bubbles are contained in a stock solution. The light intensity measurement unit irradiates the fine bubble-containing medium with laser light and acquires light intensity distribution data representing the intensity distribution of diffracted / scattered light. The particle size distribution measuring unit calculates particle size distribution data of particles contained in the fine bubble-containing medium based on the light intensity distribution data. The fine bubble identifying unit identifies fine bubbles from particles contained in the fine bubble-containing medium based on the image photographed by the image photographing unit. The bubble size determining unit determines the size of the fine bubble identified by the fine bubble identifying unit. The bubble diameter distribution measuring unit removes data of particle diameter sections other than the particle diameter section including the size of the fine bubbles determined by the bubble size determining unit from the particle diameter distribution data, so that bubbles of fine bubbles are obtained. Obtain diameter distribution data.

  According to such a configuration, from the particle size distribution data calculated by the particle size distribution measuring unit, data of particle size sections other than the particle size section including the fine bubble size determined by the bubble size determining unit is removed. As a result, the bubble diameter distribution data of the fine bubbles is acquired by the bubble diameter distribution measuring unit.

Therefore, even if the fine bubble-containing medium contains contamination, data relating to contamination can be removed from the bubble diameter distribution data.
As a result, the bubble diameter distribution of the fine bubbles contained in the fine bubble-containing medium can be accurately measured using only the fine bubble-containing medium.

(2) The bubble size distribution measuring apparatus may further include a foreign matter identifying unit, a foreign matter size determining unit, a particle number counting unit, and a ratio calculating unit. The foreign matter identifying unit identifies foreign matter other than fine bubbles contained in the fine bubble-containing medium based on the image photographed by the image photographing unit. The foreign matter size determination unit determines the size of the foreign matter identified by the foreign matter identification unit. The particle number counting unit counts the number of fine bubbles and the number of foreign substances included in the image captured by the image capturing unit. The ratio calculation unit calculates a ratio between the number of fine bubbles and the number of foreign substances counted by the particle number counting unit. The bubble diameter distribution measuring unit, when the particle size section including the fine bubble size determined by the bubble size determining unit includes the size of the foreign substance determined by the foreign particle size determining unit, the particle You may acquire the bubble diameter distribution data by which the data in a diameter area were correct | amended based on the ratio calculated by the said ratio calculation part.

According to such a configuration, in the bubble diameter distribution data, even if the particle size section including the size of the fine bubble includes the size of the foreign substance, the data in the section is converted into the number of fine bubbles and the number of foreign objects. Can be corrected based on the ratio.
Therefore, the bubble size distribution of fine bubbles contained in the fine bubble-containing medium can be measured with higher accuracy.

(3) The image photographing unit may photograph an image of the fine bubble-containing medium at a constant period. The fine bubble identifying unit may sequentially identify fine bubbles for each image captured at a constant period. The bubble diameter distribution measurement unit may acquire fine bubble bubble size distribution data based on the image in which the fine bubble is identified by the fine bubble identification unit until the fine bubble is identified for the next image.

According to such a configuration, when an image of the fine bubble-containing medium is captured by the image capturing unit while continuously acquiring the bubble size distribution data of the fine bubbles by the bubble size distribution measuring unit, the latest Fine bubbles are identified from the image of the above, and the bubble diameter distribution data of the fine bubbles can be acquired by the bubble diameter distribution measurement unit based on the latest identification result.
Therefore, the bubble size distribution of fine bubbles contained in the fine bubble-containing medium can be measured in real time.

(4) The bubble diameter distribution measuring method according to the present invention includes an image capturing step, a light intensity measuring step, a particle diameter distribution measuring step, a fine bubble identifying step, a bubble size determining step, and a bubble diameter distribution measuring step. including. In the image photographing step, an image of a fine bubble-containing medium in which fine bubbles are contained in the stock solution is photographed. In the light intensity measurement step, the fine bubble-containing medium is irradiated with laser light to obtain light intensity distribution data representing the intensity distribution of diffracted / scattered light. In the particle size distribution measurement step, particle size distribution data of particles contained in the fine bubble-containing medium is calculated based on the light intensity distribution data. In the fine bubble identifying step, fine bubbles are identified from particles contained in the fine bubble-containing medium based on the image photographed in the image photographing step. In the bubble size determination step, the size of the fine bubble identified in the fine bubble identification step is determined. In the bubble diameter distribution measurement step, fine bubble bubbles are removed from the particle diameter distribution data by removing data of particle diameter sections other than the particle diameter section including the fine bubble size determined by the bubble size determination step. Obtain diameter distribution data.

(5) The bubble diameter distribution measuring method may further include a foreign matter identification step, a foreign matter size determination step, a particle number counting step, and a ratio calculation step. In the foreign matter identifying step, foreign matter other than fine bubbles contained in the fine bubble-containing medium is identified based on the image photographed in the image photographing step. In the foreign matter size determination step, the size of the foreign matter identified in the foreign matter identification step is determined. In the particle number counting step, the number of fine bubbles and the number of foreign matters included in the image photographed in the image photographing step are counted. In the ratio calculating step, a ratio between the number of fine bubbles and the number of foreign matters counted in the particle number counting step is calculated. In the bubble diameter distribution measurement step, when the particle size section including the fine bubble size determined in the bubble size determination step includes the size of the foreign object determined in the foreign particle size determination step, the particle Bubble diameter distribution data in which data in the diameter section is corrected based on the ratio calculated in the ratio calculation step may be acquired.

(6) In the image photographing step, an image of the fine bubble-containing medium may be photographed at a constant period. In the fine bubble identification step, fine bubbles may be identified sequentially for each image photographed at a fixed period. In the bubble diameter distribution measuring step, the bubble diameter distribution data of the fine bubble based on the image in which the fine bubble is identified in the fine bubble identifying step may be acquired until the fine bubble is identified for the next image.

  According to the present invention, among the particle size distribution data calculated by the particle size distribution measuring unit, the data of the particle size interval other than the particle size interval including the fine bubble size determined by the bubble size determining unit is removed. Thus, the bubble diameter distribution data of fine bubbles is acquired by the bubble diameter distribution measuring unit. Therefore, even if the fine bubble-containing medium contains contamination, data relating to contamination can be removed from the bubble diameter distribution data. As a result, the bubble diameter distribution of the fine bubbles contained in the fine bubble-containing medium can be accurately measured using only the fine bubble-containing medium.

It is the block diagram which showed the structural example of the bubble diameter distribution measuring apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is the figure which showed schematically the example of a structure of an image pick-up part and a light intensity measurement part. It is the block diagram which showed the specific structure of the control part of a bubble diameter distribution measuring apparatus, and its peripheral member. It is the flowchart which showed an example of the process by a control part. It is the figure which showed roughly the image image | photographed by the image imaging part. It is the figure which showed an example of the bubble diameter distribution data in which the data regarding a contamination are contained. It is the figure which showed an example of the bubble diameter distribution data after deleting the data regarding contamination from the data of FIG. 6A.

1. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a bubble diameter distribution measuring apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. This bubble diameter distribution measuring apparatus 1 is an apparatus for measuring a bubble diameter distribution of fine bubbles contained in a fine bubble-containing medium, with a fine bubble-containing medium containing fine bubbles as a measurement target.

  The fine bubble-containing medium is, for example, a fine bubble-containing medium that occurs in the natural world, and includes fine particles and foreign particles (contamination) such as solid particles such as dust or soil, and liquid particles such as oil or emulsion. ing. The fine bubble-containing medium is a medium in which an arbitrary liquid such as alcohol or oil is used as a stock solution in addition to water, and fine bubbles are contained in the stock solution. Specifically, the fine bubble-containing medium includes fine bubbles made of fine bubbles having a bubble diameter of 100 μm or less, for example. More specifically, at least one of ultrafine bubbles having a bubble diameter of less than 1 μm and microbubbles having a bubble diameter of 1 μm or more is contained in the stock solution as gas particles. The gas constituting the gas particles may be air or, for example, a gas other than air, such as ozone or hydrogen.

  The bubble diameter distribution measuring apparatus 1 includes a pump 2, an image photographing unit 3, a light intensity measuring unit 4, a data processing device 5, and the like. In the bubble diameter distribution measuring apparatus 1, the fine bubble-containing medium is sequentially supplied to the image capturing unit 3 and the light intensity measuring unit 4 by driving the pump 2. The fine bubble-containing medium after being supplied to the light intensity measurement unit 4 is drained to the outside. Further, the data processing device 5 is electrically connected to the image photographing unit 3 and the light intensity measuring unit 4, and signals from these are appropriately input.

  The image photographing unit 3 is configured to photograph the supplied fine bubble-containing medium. Specifically, the image capturing unit 3 captures particles in the fine bubble-containing medium.

  The light intensity measurement unit 4 irradiates the fine bubble-containing medium with light (laser light), and measures the intensity distribution of diffracted / scattered light (laser diffraction / scattered light) from the fine bubble-containing medium. Thereby, the light intensity measurement unit 4 acquires light intensity distribution data representing the intensity distribution of diffracted / scattered light from the fine bubble-containing medium. Light intensity distribution data obtained by measurement in the light intensity measuring unit 4 is input to the data processing device 5.

  The data processing device 5 is for processing data when measuring the bubble size distribution of fine bubbles contained in the fine bubble-containing medium, and is constituted by a personal computer, for example. The data processing device 5 includes a control unit 51, an operation unit 52, a display unit 53, a storage unit 54, and the like.

  The control unit 51 includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and each unit such as an operation unit 52, a display unit 53, and a storage unit 54 is electrically connected. The operation unit 52 is configured to include, for example, a keyboard and a mouse, and an operator can perform an input operation and the like by operating the operation unit 52.

  The display unit 53 can be configured by, for example, a liquid crystal display, and the operator can perform work while confirming the display content of the display unit 53. The storage unit 54 can be configured by, for example, a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), a hard disk, and the like.

2. Detailed Configuration of Image Shooting Unit and Light Intensity Measuring Unit FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration example of the image capturing unit 3 and the light intensity measuring unit 4.
(1) Image Shooting Unit The image shooting unit 3 includes a light source 31, a flow cell 32, a camera 33, and the like.
The light source 31 is configured to emit light toward the flow cell 32.

  The flow cell 32 is supplied with a fine bubble-containing medium to be measured. The fine bubble-containing medium after being supplied to the flow cell 32 is supplied to the flow cell 45 of the light intensity measurement unit 4 described later. That is, the flow cell 32 and the flow cell 45 described later are arranged in series in the inflow direction of the fine bubble-containing medium.

  The camera 33 is disposed on the opposite side of the light source 31 with the flow cell 32 in between. The camera 33 faces the flow cell 32. The camera 33 receives light from the light source 31 and takes an image of the fine bubble-containing medium in the flow cell 32 at a constant period. The camera 33 is configured to output a signal related to the captured image to the data processing device 5.

(2) Light intensity measuring unit The light intensity measuring unit 4 is configured by a laser diffraction / scattering particle size distribution measuring apparatus. That is, in this embodiment, using a particle size distribution measuring device for measuring the particle size distribution of solid particles or liquid particles, the bubble size distribution (particle size) of fine bubbles (gas particles) contained in the fine bubble-containing medium. Distribution) is measured.

  The light intensity measurement unit 4 includes a light source 41, a condensing lens 42, a spatial filter 43, a collimator lens 44, a flow cell 45, a condensing lens 46, a photodiode array 47, a side sensor 48, a plurality of rear sensors 49, and the like. It has been. The flow cell 45 is supplied with a fine bubble-containing medium that is a measurement target and that has passed through the flow cell 32.

  The light source 41 is composed of, for example, a laser light source, and the laser light emitted from the light source 41 is converted into parallel light by passing through the condenser lens 42, the spatial filter 43, and the collimator lens 44. The laser light thus converted into parallel light is applied to the flow cell 45, diffracted or scattered by a particle group (including contamination and fine bubbles) contained in the fine bubble-containing medium in the flow cell 45, and then condensed. Light is received by the photodiode array 47 through the lens 46.

  The photodiode array 47 is disposed in front of the flow cell 45 as viewed from the light source 41 (on the side opposite to the light source 41). Thus, the plurality of light receiving elements provided in the photodiode array 47 constitute a front sensor 471, respectively. The photodiode array 47 constitutes a detector for detecting diffracted / scattered light (diffracted light or scattered light) from the fine bubble-containing medium in the flow cell 45.

  The photodiode array 47 in the present embodiment includes a plurality of (for example, 64) front sensors 471 formed with ring-shaped or semi-ring-shaped detection surfaces having different radii, and the optical axis of the condenser lens 46 as the center. The ring detector is configured by concentrically arranging as described above, and light having diffraction and scattering angles corresponding to the respective positions is incident on each front sensor 471. Therefore, the detection signal of each front sensor 471 of the photodiode array 47 represents the intensity of light at each diffraction / scattering angle.

  On the other hand, the side sensor 48 is disposed on the side of the flow cell 45 when viewed from the light source 41 side. In this example, the flow cell 45 is formed of a thin hollow member, and the thickness direction D is arranged so as to be parallel to the optical axis L of the laser light incident from the light source 41. The side sensor 48 is arranged with respect to the flow cell 45 in a direction orthogonal to the thickness direction D, for example.

  In FIG. 2, the side sensor 48 is disposed above the flow cell 45. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and an arbitrary surface in the plane orthogonal to the thickness direction D of the flow cell 45, such as below, right, and left of the flow cell 45. It may be arranged at the position. Thereby, the side sensor 48 can receive the diffracted / scattered light in the direction orthogonal to the thickness direction D. However, the side sensor 48 is not limited to a configuration that receives diffracted / scattered light in a direction of 90 ° with respect to the thickness direction D, but is 70 ° to 110 ° with respect to the thickness direction D, and more preferably 80 °. It may be configured to receive diffracted / scattered light in the direction of ° to 100 °.

  The plurality of rear sensors 49 are respectively disposed behind the flow cell 45 (on the light source 41 side) when viewed from the light source 41 side. Accordingly, each rear sensor 49 can receive diffracted / scattered light backward from the side sensor 48. Each rear sensor 49 is arranged at a different angle with respect to the flow cell 45, thereby receiving diffracted / scattered light incident at different angles. In this example, the two rear sensors 49 are provided. However, the configuration is not limited thereto, and for example, one or three or more rear sensors 49 may be provided.

  The detection signals of the front sensors 471, the side sensors 48, and the rear sensors 49 of the photodiode array 47 are converted from analog signals to digital signals by an A / D converter (not shown), and then the data processor 5 To be input. Data input to the data processing device 5 is light intensity distribution data. As a result, the received light intensity of each sensor 471, 48, 49 is input to the data processing device 5 in association with the element number of each sensor 471, 48, 49.

  When measuring the bubble size distribution of fine bubbles contained in the fine bubble-containing medium, the fine bubble-containing medium after passing through the flow cell 32 of the image photographing unit 3 is supplied to the flow cell 45 of the light intensity measuring unit 4. . Then, based on the light intensity distribution data obtained by the light intensity measuring unit 4, the control unit 51 of the data processing device 5 performs calculation to generate particle size distribution data. When generating the particle size distribution data, the relationship of the following formula (1) can be used.

ここで、ｓ、ｑ及びＡは、下記式（２）〜（４）で表される。

Here, s, q, and A are represented by the following formulas (2) to (4).

The s is light intensity distribution data (vector). Each element s _i (i = 1, 2,..., M) in s is a detection intensity in each front sensor 471, side sensor 48, and each rear sensor 49 of the photodiode array 47.

The q is particle size distribution data (vector) expressed as a frequency distribution%. When the particle size range to be measured (maximum particle size is x ₁ , minimum particle size is x _{n + 1} ) is divided into n and each particle size interval is [x _j , x _{j + 1} ], each element q _{j in} q above (J = 1, 2,..., N) is the amount of particles corresponding to each particle diameter section [x _j , x _{j + 1} ].
Usually, a volume standard is used, and normalization is performed so that the following formula (5) is satisfied, that is, the total of each element q _j is 100%.

A is a coefficient matrix for converting the particle size distribution data q into light intensity distribution data s. Each element a _{i, j} (i = 1, 2,..., M, j = 1, 2,..., N) in A is a unit belonging to each particle diameter section [x _j , x _{j + 1} ]. This is the detected intensity at the i-th element of light diffracted and scattered by a particle group having a particle amount.

The value of each element a _{i, j in} A can be theoretically calculated in advance using the refractive index as one of the parameters. At this time, the value of each element a _{i, j} may be calculated using the refractive index of the gas constituting the fine bubble (gas particle). The value of each element a _{i, j} is calculated using Fraunhofer diffraction theory or Mie scattering theory. For example, when the particle diameter is sufficiently larger than the wavelength of the laser beam from the light source 41 (for example, 10 times or more), the value of each element a _{i, j} can be calculated using Fraunhofer diffraction theory. On the other hand, when the particle diameter is about the same as or smaller than the wavelength of the laser light from the light source 41 _, the value of each element a _{i, j} can be calculated using Mie scattering theory.

Thus, if the value of each element a _{i, j in} A is obtained, the particle size distribution data q can be obtained by the following equation (6) based on the equation (1). Where ^AT is a transposed matrix of A.

  In the present embodiment, the fine bubble-containing medium after passing through the flow cell 32 of the image capturing unit 3 is supplied to the flow cell 45 of the light intensity measuring unit 4. Then, the light intensity measurement unit 4 calculates light intensity distribution data.

  Specifically, the bubble size distribution of fine bubbles contained in the fine bubble-containing medium is measured by calculating the particle size distribution data q using the light intensity distribution data s obtained by the above formula (2). The

  Here, as described above, the fine bubble-containing medium contains contaminants in addition to the fine bubbles. Therefore, the light intensity distribution data s measured by the light intensity measurement unit 4 includes data corresponding to contamination in addition to data corresponding to fine bubbles. If the bubble diameter distribution is measured based on the data as it is, the measurement data of the bubble diameter distribution of the fine bubbles is lowered because the data related to contamination is included in the bubble diameter distribution. Therefore, in this embodiment, the bubble size distribution of fine bubbles is measured by the following configuration and method.

3. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a specific configuration of the control unit 51 of the bubble diameter distribution measuring apparatus 1 and its peripheral members.
As described above, the bubble diameter distribution measuring apparatus 1 includes the image capturing unit 3, the light intensity measuring unit 4, the control unit 51, and the display unit 53.

  When the CPU executes the program, the control unit 51 performs fine bubble identification unit 511, bubble size determination unit 512, foreign object identification unit 513, foreign object size determination unit 514, particle number counting unit 515, ratio calculation unit 516, particle diameter. It functions as a distribution measurement unit 517, a bubble diameter distribution measurement unit 518, a display control unit 519, and the like.

  The fine bubble identifying unit 511 detects fine bubbles from particles contained in the fine bubble-containing medium based on the image captured by the image capturing unit 3, that is, based on a signal from the camera 33 of the image capturing unit 3. Identify.

The bubble size determination unit 512 determines the size of the fine bubble identified by the fine bubble identification unit 511.
The foreign matter identifying unit 513 is based on the image photographed by the image photographing unit 3, that is, based on a signal from the camera 33 of the image photographing unit 3, and a foreign matter other than fine bubbles contained in the fine bubble-containing medium (contamination). Identify

The foreign matter size determination unit 514 determines the size of the foreign matter (contamination) identified by the foreign matter identification unit 513.
Based on the identification result of the fine bubble identification unit 511 and the identification result of the foreign substance identification unit 513, the particle number counting unit 515 includes the number of fine bubbles included in the image photographed by the camera 33 of the image photographing unit 3 and the foreign substance. Count the number of (contamination).

The ratio calculation unit 516 is counted by the particle number counting unit 515 based on the determination result of the bubble size determination unit 512, the determination result of the foreign substance size determination unit 514, and the number of particles counted by the particle number counting unit 515. The ratio of the number of fine bubbles and the number of foreign matters (contamination) is calculated.
The particle size distribution measuring unit 517 calculates the particle size distribution data of the particles contained in the fine bubble-containing medium based on the signal (light intensity distribution data) from the light intensity measuring unit 4.

The bubble size distribution measuring unit 518 is configured to detect fine bubbles contained in the fine bubble-containing medium based on the processing results of the bubble size determining unit 512, the foreign substance size determining unit 514, the ratio calculating unit 516, and the particle size distribution measuring unit 517. Obtain bubble size distribution data.
The display control unit 519 performs processing for causing the display unit 53 to display the bubble size distribution of fine bubbles based on the bubble size distribution data acquired by the bubble size distribution measurement unit 518.

4). Control Operation by Control Unit FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of processing by the control unit 51.
In the measurement in the bubble diameter distribution measuring apparatus 1, first, a fine bubble-containing medium is supplied to the flow cell 32 of the image capturing unit 3. Then, in the image photographing unit 3, the fine bubble-containing medium in the flow cell 32 is photographed with a constant period by the camera 33. That is, in the image photographing unit 3, the fine bubble-containing medium in the flow cell 32 is photographed every time a certain time elapses after the measurement in the bubble diameter distribution measuring apparatus 1 is started (Yes in Step S101) (Step S101). S102: Image photographing step).

  FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing an image photographed by the image photographing unit 3 (camera 33). In the example of FIG. 5, the image 311 captured by the camera 33 includes a plurality of fine bubbles 312 and a plurality of contaminants 313 that are particles other than the fine bubbles 312.

The fine bubble 312 has a spherical shape. Each fine bubble 312 is not uniform in size (diameter), and is formed with various dimensions (sizes).
The contamination 313 is a non-spherical shape, and is, for example, a flat shape in which the dimension in the width direction (lateral direction) is larger than the dimension in the orthogonal direction (vertical direction) orthogonal to the width direction. Each contamination 313 is not uniform in size, and is formed with various dimensions (sizes).
Such an image 311 is captured by the image capturing unit 3.

  After step S102 of FIG. 4, the fine bubble identifying unit 511 of the control unit 51 identifies the fine bubble 312 from the particles included in the image 311 (see FIG. 5) captured by the camera 33 of the image capturing unit 3. (Step S103: Fine bubble identification step). Specifically, the fine bubble identifying unit 511 identifies the fine bubble 312 based on the image 311 because the fine bubble 312 is a spherical particle. As described above, the fine bubble 312 has various sizes.

  Then, the bubble size determination unit 512 determines each bubble size (fine bubble size) of the fine bubble 312 identified by the fine bubble identification unit 511 (step S104: bubble size determination step).

  Such identification of fine bubbles is possible for both ultra fine bubbles and micro bubbles. However, if the number of pixels of the camera 33 necessary for determining whether or not the particles are spherical is considered, the micro bubbles can be identified. This is particularly effective for identifying bubbles. When identifying extremely small gas particles such as ultrafine bubbles, Brownian motion occurs in the gas particles, and therefore it is preferable to apply a centrifugal force to the liquid sample.

  Further, the foreign substance identifying unit 513 identifies a contaminant 313 that is a foreign substance from particles included in the image 311 photographed by the camera 33 of the image photographing unit 3 (step S105: foreign substance identifying step). Specifically, the foreign substance identification unit 513 identifies the contamination 313 based on the image 311 because the contamination 313 is not a spherical particle. The contamination 313 has various sizes as described above.

The foreign matter size determination unit 514 determines the size (foreign matter size) of the contamination 313 identified by the foreign matter identification unit 513 (step S106: foreign matter size determination step). For example, as shown in FIG. 5, when the vertical dimension of each contaminant 313 is L1 and the lateral dimension is L2, the diameter L of the contaminant 313 can be calculated by the following equation (7). Thus, the diameter of the contamination 313 can be determined by calculating the average value of the dimensions of the identified contamination 313 in a plurality of directions.
L = (L1 + L2) / 2 (7)

  The fine bubble-containing medium after passing through the flow cell 32 of the image photographing unit 3 is supplied to the flow cell 45 of the light intensity measuring unit 4. Then, the light intensity measurement unit 4 irradiates the fine bubble-containing medium in the flow cell 45 with laser light, and obtains light intensity distribution data representing the intensity distribution of diffracted / scattered light (step S107 in FIG. 4: light intensity). Measurement step).

  Then, the particle size distribution measuring unit 517 calculates the particle size distribution data of the particles contained in the fine bubble-containing medium as described above based on the light intensity distribution data acquired by the light intensity measuring unit 4 (step S108). : Particle size distribution measurement step).

The bubble diameter distribution measuring unit 518 calculates bubble diameter distribution data based on the particle size distribution data calculated by the particle size distribution measuring unit 517.
FIG. 6A is a diagram illustrating an example of bubble diameter distribution data including data regarding the contamination 313. FIG. 6A shows data P1 when the particle size distribution data calculated in step S108 is directly used as the bubble size distribution data.

In the data P1, the amount of particles in each particle diameter section is shown by a graph. This data P1 includes data Q1, Q2, Q3 related to the contamination 313.
In FIG. 6A, data Q3 represents the data of contamination 313 when fine bubble 312 and contamination 313 data coexist in a certain particle diameter section. Specifically, in the measurement in the bubble diameter distribution measuring apparatus 1, the size (diameter) of the fine bubble 312 determined by the bubble size determination unit 512 and the contamination 313 of the above formula (7) calculated by the foreign substance size determination unit 514. The diameter may be included in the same particle diameter section. Data Q3 represents the data of contamination 313 in such a case.

The bubble diameter distribution measurement unit 518 and data regarding such contamination 313 are removed as follows to calculate bubble diameter distribution data (step S109: bubble diameter distribution measurement step).
FIG. 6B is a diagram showing an example of the bubble diameter distribution data (P2) after data related to the contamination 313 is deleted from the data P1 in FIG. 6A.

  Specifically, the bubble diameter distribution measuring unit 518 is other than the particle diameter section including the size of the fine bubble 312 determined by the bubble size determining unit 512 from the particle size distribution data calculated by the particle size distribution measuring unit 517. Remove the particle size interval data. In this example, the bubble diameter distribution measuring unit 518 has data Q1 which is data of a particle diameter section other than the particle diameter section including the size of the fine bubble 312 determined by the bubble size determining unit 512 from the data P1 shown in FIG. 6A. And Q2.

  If the particle size section including the fine bubble size determined by the bubble size determination unit 512 includes the size of the foreign matter determined by the foreign matter size determination unit 514, the particle number counting unit 515 The number of fine bubbles 312 and the number of contaminants 313 in the diameter section are counted. The ratio calculation unit 516 calculates the ratio between the number of fine bubbles 312 and the number of contaminants 313 counted by the particle number counting unit 515.

  In this case, the bubble diameter distribution measurement unit 518 corrects the data in the particle diameter section including the size of the foreign matter in the particle diameter distribution data based on the ratio calculated by the ratio calculation unit 516, and the bubble diameter distribution data. And Specifically, the bubble diameter distribution measurement unit 518 performs processing to remove a portion of the ratio of the contamination 313 from the data in the particle diameter section including the size of the foreign matter in the particle diameter distribution data. In this example, the bubble diameter distribution measuring unit 518 performs a process of removing the data Q3 of the contamination 313 occupying a certain ratio from the data P1 shown in FIG. 6A, and calculates the data P2.

As described above, the bubble size distribution measurement unit 518 can obtain the particle size distribution data based on the ratio calculated by the ratio calculation unit 516 even when the data regarding the fine bubble 312 and the contamination 313 are mixed in the same particle size section. By correcting, bubble diameter distribution data (P2) of only fine bubbles shown in FIG. 6B is calculated.
The bubble diameter distribution is monitored by being displayed on the display unit 53 (step S110).

  The processes in steps S101 to S110 as described above are executed in real time until the measurement by the bubble diameter distribution measuring apparatus 1 is completed (Yes in step S111).

  In this process that is continuously performed, as described above, the image photographing unit 3 photographs the fine bubble-containing medium 311 at a constant period. Further, the fine bubble identifying unit 511 sequentially identifies fine bubbles for each image 311 captured by the image capturing unit 3 at a constant cycle, and the foreign matter identifying unit 513 is configured to capture each image captured by the image capturing unit 3 at a constant cycle. Contamination is sequentially identified for 311.

  At this time, if the process is within a certain period (before a certain period of time has elapsed) (No in step S101), the processes in steps S107 and S106 are performed without performing the processes in steps S102 to S106. Further, the processing performed in step 109 is executed based on the latest image 311 captured by the image capturing unit 3. That is, since the processing of steps S102 to S106 takes a certain amount of time, the bubble diameter distribution measurement unit 518 acquires the bubble size distribution data of fine bubbles based on the image 311 in which the fine bubbles are identified by the fine bubble identification unit 511. This is repeated until a fine bubble is identified for the next image 311. When a new image 311 is captured by the image capturing unit 3, the bubble size distribution measuring unit 518 acquires fine bubble bubble size distribution data based on the latest image 311.

5. Action Effect (1) In the present embodiment, in the bubble diameter distribution measuring apparatus 1, the bubble size distribution measuring unit 518 is determined by the bubble size determining unit 512 among the particle size distribution data calculated by the particle size distribution measuring unit 517. The data of the particle diameter sections other than the particle diameter section including the size of the fine bubbles (for example, data Q1 and Q2 in FIGS. 6A and 6B) are removed, and the bubble diameter distribution data of the fine bubbles is acquired (step S109). : Bubble diameter distribution measurement step).

Therefore, even if the fine bubble-containing medium includes the contamination 313, the data regarding the contamination 313 can be removed from the bubble diameter distribution data.
As a result, the bubble diameter distribution of the fine bubbles contained in the fine bubble-containing medium can be accurately measured using only the fine bubble-containing medium.

(2) In the present embodiment, in the bubble diameter distribution measuring apparatus 1, the size of the foreign matter determined by the foreign matter size determination unit 514 is included in the particle diameter section including the fine bubble size determined by the bubble size determination unit 512. Is included, the bubble diameter distribution measurement unit 518 corrects the data in the particle diameter section including the size of the foreign substance based on the ratio calculated by the ratio calculation unit 516 in the particle size distribution data. Use distribution data. Specifically, the bubble size distribution measuring unit 518 includes a ratio portion of the contamination 313 in the particle size distribution data including the size of the contamination 313 in the particle size distribution data (for example, the data in FIGS. 6A and 6B). Q3) is removed.

That is, in the bubble diameter distribution measuring apparatus 1, even if the bubble diameter distribution data includes the size of the contamination 313 in the particle diameter section including the size of the fine bubble 312, the data in the section is used as the number of fine bubbles. And correction based on the ratio of the number of foreign substances.
Therefore, the bubble size distribution of fine bubbles contained in the fine bubble-containing medium can be measured with higher accuracy.

(3) In the present embodiment, in the bubble diameter distribution measuring apparatus 1, the image capturing unit 3 captures the fine bubble-containing medium 311 at a constant period (step S102). Further, the fine bubble identifying unit 511 sequentially identifies fine bubbles for each image 311 photographed at a fixed period by the image photographing unit 3 (step S103: fine bubble identifying step). Then, the bubble diameter distribution measurement unit 518 acquires the bubble diameter distribution data of the fine bubble based on the image 311 in which the fine bubble is identified by the fine bubble identification unit 511 until the fine bubble is identified for the next image 311. (Step S109: Bubble diameter distribution measurement step). When a new image 311 is captured by the image capturing unit 3, the bubble size distribution measuring unit 518 acquires fine bubble bubble size distribution data based on the latest image 311.

For this reason, when an image of the fine bubble-containing medium is captured by the image capturing unit 3 while continuously acquiring the bubble size distribution data of the fine bubbles by the bubble size distribution measuring unit 518, the fine image is recorded from the latest image. Bubbles are identified, and the bubble diameter distribution measuring unit 518 can acquire the bubble diameter distribution data of the fine bubbles based on the latest identification result.
As a result, the bubble size distribution of fine bubbles contained in the fine bubble-containing medium can be measured in real time.

6). Modification In the above embodiment, the bubble diameter distribution measuring apparatus 1 has been described as using a fine bubble-containing body that occurs in nature as the fine bubble-containing medium. However, the bubble diameter distribution measuring apparatus 1 may be provided with a fine bubble generator, and the fine bubble generator may generate a fine bubble-containing body by containing fine bubbles in the stock solution. In this case, it is preferable that the fine bubble generator is feedback-controlled based on the bubble diameter distribution data acquired by the bubble diameter distribution measuring unit 518.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Bubble diameter distribution measurement apparatus 3 Image photographing part 4 Light intensity measurement part 51 Control part 511 Fine bubble identification part 512 Bubble size determination part 513 Foreign substance identification part 514 Foreign substance size determination part 515 Particle number count part 516 Ratio calculation part 517 Particle diameter distribution Measurement unit 518 Bubble diameter distribution measurement unit 519 Display control unit

Claims (6)

An image capturing unit that captures an image of a fine bubble-containing medium containing fine bubbles in the stock solution;
A light intensity measurement unit that irradiates the fine bubble-containing medium with laser light and acquires light intensity distribution data representing the intensity distribution of diffraction / scattered light; and
Based on the light intensity distribution data, a particle size distribution measuring unit that calculates particle size distribution data of particles contained in the fine bubble-containing medium,
Based on the image photographed by the image photographing unit, a fine bubble identifying unit for identifying fine bubbles from particles contained in the fine bubble-containing medium,
A bubble size determination unit that determines the size of the fine bubble identified by the fine bubble identification unit;
The bubble diameter for obtaining the bubble diameter distribution data of the fine bubbles by removing the data of the particle diameter sections other than the particle diameter section including the fine bubble size determined by the bubble size determination unit from the particle size distribution data A bubble diameter distribution measuring apparatus comprising: a distribution measuring unit. Based on the image photographed by the image photographing unit, a foreign matter identifying unit for identifying foreign matter other than fine bubbles contained in the fine bubble-containing medium,
A foreign matter size determination unit for determining the size of the foreign matter identified by the foreign matter identification unit;
A particle number counting unit that counts the number of fine bubbles and the number of foreign substances included in the image captured by the image capturing unit;
A ratio calculating unit that calculates a ratio of the number of fine bubbles and the number of foreign substances counted by the particle number counting unit;
The bubble diameter distribution measuring unit, when the particle size section including the fine bubble size determined by the bubble size determining unit includes the size of the foreign substance determined by the foreign particle size determining unit, the particle The bubble diameter distribution measuring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the bubble diameter distribution data obtained by correcting the data in the diameter section based on the ratio calculated by the ratio calculation unit is acquired. The image capturing unit captures an image of the fine bubble-containing medium at a certain period,
The fine bubble identification unit sequentially identifies fine bubbles for each image photographed at a fixed period,
The bubble diameter distribution measuring unit acquires bubble size distribution data of a fine bubble based on an image in which a fine bubble is identified by the fine bubble identifying unit until a fine bubble is identified for a next image. The bubble diameter distribution measuring apparatus according to claim 1 or 2. An image capturing step for capturing an image of a fine bubble-containing medium containing fine bubbles in the stock solution;
A light intensity measurement step of irradiating the fine bubble-containing medium with laser light to obtain light intensity distribution data representing the intensity distribution of diffraction / scattered light,
Based on the light intensity distribution data, a particle size distribution measuring step for calculating particle size distribution data of particles contained in the fine bubble-containing medium,
Fine bubble identification step for identifying fine bubbles from particles contained in the fine bubble-containing medium based on the image photographed in the image photographing step;
A bubble size determination step for determining the size of the fine bubble identified by the fine bubble identification step;
Bubble diameter for acquiring bubble diameter distribution data of fine bubbles by removing data of particle diameter sections other than the particle diameter section including the fine bubble size determined by the bubble size determination step from the particle diameter distribution data A bubble diameter distribution measuring method comprising: a distribution measuring step. A foreign matter identifying step for identifying foreign matter other than fine bubbles contained in the fine bubble-containing medium based on the image photographed in the image photographing step;
Foreign matter size determination step for determining the size of the foreign matter identified by the foreign matter identification step;
A particle number counting step for counting the number of fine bubbles and the number of foreign substances included in the image photographed by the image photographing step;
A ratio calculating step of calculating a ratio of the number of fine bubbles and the number of foreign substances counted by the particle number counting step;
In the bubble diameter distribution measurement step, when the particle size section including the fine bubble size determined in the bubble size determination step includes the size of the foreign object determined in the foreign particle size determination step, the particle The bubble diameter distribution measuring method according to claim 4, wherein the bubble diameter distribution data obtained by correcting the data in the diameter section based on the ratio calculated in the ratio calculating step is acquired. In the image photographing step, images of fine bubble-containing medium are photographed at a constant cycle,
In the fine bubble identification step, fine bubbles are sequentially identified for each image photographed at a fixed period,
In the bubble diameter distribution measuring step, fine bubble bubble diameter distribution data based on the image in which the fine bubble is identified in the fine bubble identifying step is acquired until the fine bubble is identified for the next image. The bubble diameter distribution measuring method according to claim 4 or 5.

Images