JP7014458B1 - Liquid viscosity calculation system and liquid product manufacturing equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a liquid viscosity calculation system 1 capable of calculating the viscosity of a liquid efficiently, automatically and stably in real time. SOLUTION: A circulation pipe 4 in which an upstream / downstream end is connected to a tank 2 for storing a liquid so that the liquid can be circulated and connected, and a liquid feeding means for sending the liquid to a flow path in the circulation pipe 4. 5 and two pressure measuring means 6 for measuring the pressure of the liquid flowing in the measuring basin 4a, which are arranged apart from each other in the upstream and downstream directions in the measuring basin 4a formed in the circulation pipe 4 over a certain length. It is provided with a control unit 8 that calculates the viscosity of the liquid based on the pressure loss obtained from the two pressure measuring means 6 and the flow rate of the liquid sent to the circulation pipe 4. [Selection diagram] Fig. 1

Description

The present invention relates to a liquid viscosity measuring system capable of automatically calculating the viscosity of a liquid during manufacturing and processing, and a liquid product manufacturing apparatus using the same .

In the manufacturing process of liquid products such as foods, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics, the viscosity characteristics of the products are important factors that determine the quality of the products (see Patent Document 1). Therefore, conventionally, the manufacturer extracts and separates a liquid sample from a tank or the like, puts it in a viscosity measuring device, and finishes the product with a desired viscosity while measuring offline (Patent Document 2).

Here, examples of liquids having various viscous properties (viscosities) include Newton fluids (eg, water), and non-Newton fluids include suspicious plastic fluids (eg, shampoo liquid, rinse liquid), and Bingham fluids (eg, example). Mayonnaise, ketchup), dilatant fluid (eg, a mixture of kataguri powder and water) can be exemplified.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2012-139194 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 6-219920 (paragraph 0032) Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2020-16604

The viscosity of the extracted and separated liquid sample is often measured using a rotational viscometer because it is relatively small, does not require special equipment, and is inexpensive. However, since this method using a rotational viscometer is to measure a static small amount of liquid sample by applying a fixed change (constant vibration, shear, etc.), it is a real-time liquid during manufacturing. It is not possible to correctly grasp the nature of.

In addition, the viscosity measurement work is a batch work, which requires manual labor, is inefficient, and is difficult to manage.

In some cases, liquids containing solid substances (ingredients), such as dressings and sauces, cannot be measured stably due to contact with a stylus.

In the specification regarding the filling device shown in Patent Document 3 above, the applicant of the present application automatically measures the viscosity of the liquid by using a viscosity measuring means while driving the filling device, and sets the filling conditions based on the measurement result. The invention that can be adjusted and changed is disclosed. This viscosity measuring means is provided in the middle of the liquid piping from the tank to the filling nozzle, and measures the viscosity of the liquid supplied by adjusting the flow rate in advance. Therefore, the viscosity measuring means is simply taken out. , It is not possible to measure the viscosity of a liquid in a stored state in a manufacturing process or the like performed on the liquid.

The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and is a liquid viscosity calculation system capable of calculating the viscosity of a liquid efficiently, automatically, and stably in real time, and quality using the system. It is an object of the present invention to provide a liquid product manufacturing apparatus capable of manufacturing a stable liquid product .

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the viscosity calculation system of the present invention has a circulation pipe in which the upstream and downstream ends are connected to a tank for storing the liquid so that the liquid can be circulated, and the circulation is driven by a servomotor. A linearly acting uniaxial piston pump as a liquid feeding means capable of sending liquid into a pipe and a measurement basin formed in the circulation pipe over a certain length are arranged so as to be separated from each other in the upstream and downstream directions, and the measurement is performed. The viscosity of the liquid is calculated based on the two pressure measuring means for measuring the pressure of the liquid flowing in the basin, the pressure loss obtained from the two pressure measuring means, and the flow rate of the liquid sent to the circulation pipe. The control unit is characterized by controlling the drive of the servo motor and adjusting the flow rate of the liquid in a plurality of stages during the calculation of the viscosity of the liquid.

According to this liquid viscosity calculation system, it is possible to calculate the viscosity of a liquid in real time in-line without using an external viscometer without the trouble of separating and extracting the liquid sample. The viscosity of the calculation result can be known by the user, for example, by displaying it on an external display means.

The liquid product manufacturing apparatus of the present invention is a liquid product manufacturing apparatus that manufactures a liquid product by executing a manufacturing process using at least one manufacturing means for adjusting the viscosity of the liquid in the tank, and the tank has the liquid product manufacturing apparatus. A circulation pipe in which the upstream and downstream ends are connected so that the liquid can be circulated , a linearly acting uniaxial piston pump as a liquid feeding means capable of sending the liquid into the circulation pipe by driving a servomotor, and the above. Two pressure measuring means for measuring the pressure of the liquid flowing in the measuring basin and the two pressure measuring means arranged in the circulation pipe so as to be separated from each other in the upstream and downstream directions in the measuring basin formed over a certain length. A control unit for calculating the viscosity of the liquid based on the pressure loss obtained from the means and the flow rate of the liquid sent to the circulation pipe is provided, and the control unit controls the drive of the servo motor. It is characterized in that the liquid is always sent during the manufacturing process and the flow rate of the liquid is adjusted in a plurality of stages during the calculation of the viscosity of the liquid.

According to this liquid product manufacturing equipment, the viscosity of the liquid in real time in the operating environment is calculated in-line without using an external viscometer, and based on this viscosity, the user can manually or automatically manufacture and process the liquid. By executing the process and adjusting the viscosity, it becomes possible to easily obtain a liquid product having a desired viscosity.

As described above, according to the liquid viscosity calculation system of the present invention, it is possible to stably calculate the viscosity of a liquid containing a solid substance (ingredient) in real time, efficiently and automatically. According to the liquid product manufacturing apparatus using the system, it is possible to easily manufacture a liquid product having stable quality.

Explanatory drawing which shows one Embodiment of the liquid viscosity calculation system of this invention Graph showing the relationship between the piston movement of a uniaxial piston pump and the amount of liquid sent

First, an embodiment of the liquid viscosity calculation system 1 according to the present invention will be described together with the liquid product manufacturing apparatus 10 equipped with the liquid viscosity calculation system 1.

The liquid product manufacturing apparatus 10 equipped with the liquid viscosity calculation system 1 of the present embodiment shown in FIG. 1 includes a tank 2 for storing a liquid that is manufactured and processed to become a product. The liquid product manufacturing apparatus 10 further charges the stored liquid into the liquid product manufacturing apparatus 10, liquid, powder, or solid material, agitates the liquid, heats or cools the liquid product, and the like. The manufacturing means 11 capable of carrying out at least one step of the manufacturing process of the above is arranged. Further, the upstream end of the take-out pipe 12 is connected to the bottom of the tank 2, and the inside of the tank 2 is opened and closed by opening and closing the first valve 3a as the flow path opening / closing means 3 arranged in the middle portion of the take-out pipe 12. It is said that the liquid can be discharged to the outside of the tank 2 from the downstream end of the take-out pipe 12.

Here, the tank 2 also constitutes the liquid viscosity calculation system 1. The liquid viscosity calculation system 1 of the present embodiment includes a circulation pipe 4 that circulates the liquid in the tank 2 so as to be routed outside the tank 2 and then returned to the inside of the tank 2.

In the present embodiment, the circulation pipe 4 is configured to share the upstream end of the take-out pipe 12 and is connected to the bottom of the tank 2, and the downstream end thereof is a ceiling covering the liquid level in the tank 2. It is configured to discharge the circulating liquid from above into the tank 2 which is connected to the portion and returns to the tank 2. In the present embodiment, the second flow path opening / closing means 3 is arranged in the middle of the circulation pipe 4. The liquid in the tank 2 is configured to pass through by opening and closing the 2 valve 3b and the 3rd valve 3c. The first valve 3a, the second valve 3b, and the third valve 3c as the flow path opening / closing means 3 are solenoid valves capable of electromagnetic control, and the opening / closing control is performed by the control unit 8 described later.

Further, the liquid viscosity calculation system 1 includes a liquid feeding means 5 for feeding the liquid to the flow path in the circulation pipe 4. Specific examples of the liquid feeding means 5 include a pressure feeding tank and a pump, but by using a pump, a controlled flow rate can be created in the circulation pipe 4. It is important that the pump has less pulsation, and a mono pump, a sine pump, etc. are desirable.

In the present embodiment, a uniaxial piston pump (ball screw or the like) including a cylinder communicating with the circulation pipe 4 and a piston (both not shown) that can be reciprocally slid in the cylinder by driving a drive source is used. (Structure in which the rotational motion of the motor as a drive source is changed to linear motion to operate the piston) 5a is arranged in the circulation pipe 4 and used as the liquid feeding means 5, and a layered basin over a certain length is formed in the circulation pipe 4. Control so that the drive is continuous as much as possible. When the uniaxial piston pump 5a is used as in the present embodiment, the moving speed of the piston is kept constant by using a drive source with good controllability such as a servomotor, and the flow rate supplied by the piston is kept constant without pulsation. It becomes possible to keep it constant.

In the case of the uniaxial piston pump 5a, the two steps of suction and discharge are repeated. Therefore, the supply of the liquid to the take-out pipe 12 becomes intermittent. In this case, by operating a plurality of single-screw piston pumps in conjunction with each other and changing the operation timing (changing the discharge and suction timings of each pump), it is possible to perform measurement continuously to some extent. Further, by changing the flow rate supplied from the liquid feeding means 5 as needed, it is possible to change the flow velocity in the take-out pipe 12, change the shear rate, and measure the viscosity change depending on the shear rate. ..

As the uniaxial piston pump 5a repeats the two steps of suction and discharge, in the present embodiment, the second valve 3b is arranged on the upstream side of the uniaxial piston pump 5a, and the third valve 3c is uniaxial. It is necessary to arrange it on the downstream side of the piston pump 5a and control the opening and closing of the valve as described later.

A part of the area of the circulation pipe 4 is a measurement flow path 4a for measuring the pressure and the flow rate of the liquid flowing in the circulation pipe 4. In the measuring flow path 4a, as a pressure measuring means 6 for measuring the pressure of the liquid in the measuring flow path 4a, a first pressure sensor 6a and a second pressure sensor 6b are separated by a certain dimension L in the upstream and downstream directions. It is arranged. In FIG. 1, the first pressure sensor 6a and the second pressure sensor 6b are provided in the measurement flow path 4a in which the circulation pipe 4 of the straight pipe is horizontally arranged. In this way, by obtaining the pressure loss in the horizontally arranged measurement flow path 4a, the viscosity of the liquid can be calculated more easily.

It is also possible to detect the viscosity by using the piping portion that is inclined and upright with respect to the horizontal plane (the piping portion other than the horizontal) as the measurement flow path 4a, but in that case, the first pressure sensor 6a and the second pressure sensor 6a. Since the weight of the liquid existing in the circulation pipe 4 between the pressure sensors 6b affects the measured pressure, the viscosity may be calculated by correcting the pressure addition value due to this weight.

It is desirable that the measurement flow path 4a is a straight tube because only a direct loss with the circulation pipe 4 appears as a pressure loss. When using bent piping, it is necessary to consider the loss due to bending. Further, it is desirable that the pipe itself is a smooth circular pipe, but even a pipe having irregular shapes or irregularities can be used if this loss is taken into consideration.

Further, the circulation pipe 4 is provided with a flow rate sensor 7a as a flow rate measuring means 7 for measuring the flow rate of the liquid flowing in the circulation pipe 4. It is desirable that the flow sensor 7a is provided upstream of the first pressure sensor 6a or downstream of the second pressure sensor 6b because it does not affect the pressure loss in the measurement flow path 4a, but it affects the pressure loss of the measurement flow path 4a. If the flow sensor 7a is of an ultrasonic type or the like, it may be provided between the first pressure sensor 6a and the second pressure sensor 6b.

When the uniaxial piston pump 5a is used as the liquid feeding means 5 as in the present embodiment, the flow rate can be accurately calculated from the amount of extrusion of the piston, so that the flow rate sensor 7a can be omitted. There is a merit that becomes. However, in the case of a special liquid such as compressible, it is desirable to use the flow rate sensor 7a. When the flow rate sensor 7a is omitted, the flow rate of the liquid is based on the set value of the flow rate of the liquid feeding means 5 such as the pump 5a.

Further, even when the uniaxial piston pump 5a is used, pulsation occurs in the flow rate during acceleration / deceleration of piston movement or immediately after acceleration. Therefore, in the case of the present embodiment, stable measurement is performed by using the measured value immediately before the deceleration of the piston moving speed at which the flow rate is most stable. Note that FIG. 2 shows a time range in which the moving speed of the piston becomes constant in the uniaxial piston pump 5a.

Then, the liquid viscosity calculation system 1 determines the pressure loss obtained from the first pressure sensor 6a and the second pressure sensor 6b in the circulation pipe 4 to which the liquid is sent, and the flow rate of the liquid to be sent to the circulation pipe 4. Further, a control unit 8 for calculating the viscosity of the liquid in consideration of the pipe diameter of the circulation pipe 4 is provided.

As described above, when the uniaxial piston pump 5a is used as the pump 5a, the first is in the time range in which the moving speed of the housed piston becomes constant, specifically, in the time immediately before the deceleration of the piston moving speed. The viscosity of the liquid is calculated based on the pressure (pressure loss) obtained from the pressure sensor 6a and the second pressure sensor 6b, the flow rate of the liquid obtained from the flow sensor 7a provided in the circulation pipe 4, and the pipe diameter.

Here, depending on the viscosity of the liquid to be calculated, it is necessary to change the pipe diameter of the circulation pipe 4 so that pressure loss is clearly generated. Therefore, it is desirable that the circulation pipe 4 has a structure that can be easily replaced by the liquid to be calculated and the pipe diameter can be changed.

Further, the control unit 8 includes a storage unit (not shown) that stores preset drive conditions, an appropriate liquid viscosity range, and the like, and also has a drive unit such as a motor of the uniaxial piston pump 5a and a first valve. It is possible to control the driving operation of the 3a, the second valve 3b, the third valve 3c, the first pressure sensor 6a, and the second pressure sensor 6b. Further, in the present embodiment, it is also possible to control the driving operation of the driving unit of the manufacturing means 11 capable of executing at least one step of manufacturing and processing of the liquid product.

The liquid viscosity calculation system 1 of the present embodiment has input / output means (not shown) for setting the drive conditions and the like of the liquid product manufacturing apparatus 10 and confirming the drive conditions and the drive status.

Hereinafter, a method of manufacturing a liquid product while calculating the viscosity of the liquid by the liquid viscosity calculation system 1 in the liquid product manufacturing apparatus 10 equipped with the liquid viscosity calculation system 1 having the above-described configuration will be described.

In the state where the liquid in the process of manufacturing the liquid product is stored in the tank 2, the first valve 3a is first closed to block the drainage route. Then, in this state, the second valve 3b is opened to secure the liquid circulation path. Next, the uniaxial piston pump 5a is driven, and the second valve 3b and the third valve 3c are alternately opened and closed according to the reciprocating motion of the piston to send the liquid into the circulation pipe 4. Specifically, when the liquid is sucked into the uniaxial piston pump 5a from the upstream side, the second valve 3b is opened and the third valve 3c is closed, and when the liquid is discharged from the uniaxial piston pump 5a to the downstream side. Closes the second valve 3b and opens the third valve 3c.

Then, in the liquid viscosity calculation system 1, the viscosity of the liquid is measured in the measurement basin 4a of the circulation pipe 4. In the present embodiment, the control unit 8 suppresses pulsation when the moving speed of the piston of the uniaxial piston pump 5a is constant, and the first pressure sensor 6a is used for the liquid sent to the measurement basin 4a. And the second pressure sensor 6b are controlled to measure the pressure respectively. Further, the flow rate sensor 7a is controlled to measure the flow rate of the liquid within this predetermined time.

The control unit 8 is provided in the pressure loss obtained from the first pressure sensor 6a and the second pressure sensor 6b and the circulation pipe 4 in a time range in which the moving speed of the piston housed in the uniaxial piston pump 5a is constant. The viscosity of the liquid is calculated as follows based on the flow rate of the liquid obtained from the flow sensor 7a and the inner diameter of the circulation pipe 4.

When the distance between the first pressure sensor 6a and the second pressure sensor 6b is L and the inner diameter φ of the circulation pipe 4 is d, the flow velocity V in the circulation pipe 4 is the flow rate of the liquid measured by the flow sensor-7a. It can be calculated by the inner diameter d of the circulation pipe 4. Note that P ₁ and P ₂ are pressures detected by the first pressure sensor 6a and the second pressure sensor 6b, respectively.
Assuming that the viscosity of the liquid is μ, according to Hagen-Poiseuille's law,
P ₁ -P ₂ = 32 μLV / d ² (Equation 1)
Is established,
Viscosity μ = (P ₁ − P ₂ ) d ² /32LV (Equation 2)
Can be calculated. In some cases, corrections are made to calculate the accurate viscosity in consideration of the liquid type and measurement environment.

The viscosity of the liquid thus obtained can be output (displayed) to the input / output means so that the user can visually confirm it, or the viscosity information can be obtained from the input / output means using a communication means (not shown) such as wireless. To be output to the outside.

The measured viscosity of the liquid is an index of work performance in the manufacturing process. For example, when the viscosity of the liquid is not a specified value, the necessary manufacturing means 11, for example, a device capable of charging a specified amount of material into the tank 2 or heating or cooling the liquid in the tank 2. It is possible to carry out the necessary manufacturing and processing steps such as additional charging of the material, heating, cooling, and stirring by using a device for the purpose, a device for stirring the material charged in the tank 2, and the like.

In the liquid product manufacturing apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, the control unit 8 is the above-mentioned various apparatus capable of executing at least one step of manufacturing and processing of the liquid product in order to incorporate the viscosity measuring system 1 as a management control device of the manufacturing line. Since the drive of the manufacturing means 11 is also controllable, the drive of the manufacturing means 11 can be controlled by outputting the viscosity calculation result from the control unit 8, and the liquid production line can be easily managed. become.

In the liquid product manufacturing apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, the liquid used for calculating the viscosity flows downstream of the circulation pipe 4 and returns to the tank 2. The uniaxial piston pump 5a is continuously operated not only when trying to measure the viscosity of the liquid but also during the manufacturing process. The liquid in the circulation pipe 4 is constantly replaced with the liquid in the tank 2, and the liquid in the circulation pipe 4 (measurement flow path 4a) and the liquid in the tank 2 are the same. This makes it possible to continue measuring the viscosity of the liquid in the tank 2 in real time.

Then, when the liquid adjusted to the desired viscosity is recovered from the tank 2, the driving of the liquid viscosity calculation system 1 is stopped, the second valve 3b is closed to block the liquid circulation path, and the first valve 3a is closed. Open and take out the liquid and collect it from the pipe 12.

In this way, if it is possible to measure the viscosity of the liquid while the liquid viscosity calculation system 11 is being driven (in-line), it is not necessary to collect a liquid sample, and the viscosity of the liquid under manufacturing processing can be obtained from the liquid sample. It can be grasped more reliably and easily than the conventional method of measuring the viscosity.

Even for liquids whose viscosity may change depending on the manufacturing process, such as dressings mixed with solids, by constantly monitoring the viscosity, the timing of the manufacturing process can be measured and various conditions can be set. It is also possible to change it.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, the pump is operated continuously, but when the pump is operated intermittently, when the viscosity of the liquid becomes desired to be measured, the liquid in the tank 2 and the measurement flow are measured. It may be operated until the liquid in the path 4a is sufficiently replaced. Even in that case, the liquid can be automatically taken out from the tank 2 being manufactured and measured, so that the batch work is eliminated.

Further, due to the pump structure, a slight pulsation may occur in the flow rate. In such a case, the control unit 8 is based on the pressure loss in a predetermined time range and / or the moving average value of the flow rate of the liquid. The viscosity of the liquid will be calculated. By calculating the viscosity and flow rate of the liquid in the control unit 8 using the moving average of the measured values for a certain range of time, it is possible to eliminate the influence of pulsation and perform correct measurement. By processing as a moving average in this way, it is possible to display real-time measured values.

Further, in the above embodiment, the pump 5 is provided upstream of the first pressure sensor 6a to push the liquid into the measurement flow path 4a, but the arrangement position thereof can ensure a stable flow of the liquid. For example, it may be downstream of the second pressure pump sensor.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the uniaxial piston pump 5a is used as the liquid feeding means has been described, but depending on the pump adopted as the liquid feeding means, the third valve 3c may be arranged or during the liquid feeding. The control of opening and closing the second valve 3b according to the drive of the pump can be omitted.

1 Liquid viscosity calculation system 2 Tank 3 Flow path opening / closing means 3a 1st valve 3b 2nd valve 3c 3rd valve 4 Circulation piping 4a Measuring flow path 5 Liquid feeding means 5a Pump (1-axis piston pump)
6 Pressure measuring means 6a 1st pressure sensor 6b 2nd pressure sensor 7 Flow measuring means 7a Flow sensor 8 Control unit
10 Liquid product manufacturing equipment 11 Manufacturing means 12 Extraction piping

Claims (4)

A circulation pipe in which the upstream and downstream ends are connected to the tank for storing the liquid so that the liquid can be circulated.
A linearly acting uniaxial piston pump as a liquid feeding means capable of feeding liquid into the circulation pipe by driving a servomotor, and
Two pressure measuring means for measuring the pressure of the liquid flowing in the measuring basin, which are arranged in the circulation pipe so as to be separated from each other in the upstream and downstream directions in the measuring basin formed over a certain length.
A control unit that calculates the viscosity of the liquid based on the pressure loss obtained from the two pressure measuring means and the flow rate of the liquid sent through the circulation pipe.
Equipped with
The control unit controls the drive of the servomotor, and adjusts the flow rate of the liquid in a plurality of stages during the calculation of the viscosity of the liquid. A liquid product manufacturing apparatus that manufactures a liquid product by performing a manufacturing process using at least one manufacturing means in which the viscosity of the liquid is adjusted in the tank.
A circulation pipe in which the upstream and downstream ends are connected to the tank so that the liquid can be circulated.
A linearly acting uniaxial piston pump as a liquid feeding means capable of feeding liquid into the circulation pipe by driving a servomotor, and
Two pressure measuring means for measuring the pressure of the liquid flowing in the measuring basin, which are arranged in the circulation pipe so as to be separated from each other in the upstream and downstream directions in the measuring basin formed over a certain length.
A control unit that calculates the viscosity of the liquid based on the pressure loss obtained from the two pressure measuring means and the flow rate of the liquid sent through the circulation pipe.
Equipped with
The control unit controls the drive of the servomotor, constantly sends the liquid during the manufacturing process, and adjusts the flow rate of the liquid in a plurality of stages during the calculation of the viscosity of the liquid. Liquid product manufacturing equipment. The liquid product manufacturing apparatus according to claim 2 , further comprising a flow rate measuring means for measuring the flow rate of the liquid in the measurement basin. The liquid product manufacturing apparatus according to claim 2 or 3 , wherein at least one manufacturing means for which the viscosity is adjusted is automatically controlled in driving based on the calculation result of the viscosity.

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