JP7350579B2 - Coolant liquid management device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a coolant liquid management device, and for example, to coolant liquid management that manages the concentration of the coolant liquid.

In factories, coolant fluid (cutting oil) is used as a coolant or lubricant in machining processes such as cutting processes and polishing processes. This coolant liquid includes water-soluble and water-insoluble coolants, and water-soluble coolants are used after being diluted approximately 5 to 20 times. The diluted coolant is in a state where the coolant stock solution is mixed with water in an emulsified state. In addition, coolant diluted to an appropriate concentration is set to have an alkaline pH of about 8 to 9, which is effective in preventing rust and the growth of bacteria.

In factories, a circulation system is usually constructed in which coolant liquid is stored in a coolant tank, and when it is used, it is sent to the processing chamber through piping by a supply pump, and after use, it is returned to the coolant tank through recovery piping. This allows factories to reuse coolant over long periods of time. However, as the coolant is used for a long period of time, it becomes contaminated with cutting debris and sliding oil that cannot be removed by filters. In addition, water-soluble coolant liquid may become concentrated due to evaporation of moisture due to heat generated during machining, or conversely, coolant components may adhere to cutting chips and the like and be removed together with the removal filter, resulting in thinning of the concentration. If such changes in coolant concentration are left unaddressed, the original machining performance (cooling performance, lubricity) may not be obtained, or the coolant may become discolored, cloudy, or rot due to rust or bacteria generation due to separation or pH drop. , the formation of sludge occurs. Such a change in the coolant liquid is said to be a deterioration of the coolant liquid, and it not only reduces machining performance but also causes deterioration of the environment within the factory.

For this reason, in order to use coolant while maintaining machining performance, factories routinely control the concentration of coolant. Therefore, as a method of controlling the coolant liquid, there is a method of controlling the concentration of the coolant liquid using a refractometer (for example, a BRIX concentration meter). Concentration control using this BRIX concentration meter involves pumping up the coolant liquid about once a week, measuring the concentration, and adjusting the concentration of the coolant liquid so that it reaches the prescribed concentration based on the results. In addition, other items such as turbidity and odor are checked visually and olfactory. Therefore, there is a problem that requires a great deal of effort and experience to manage the concentration of the coolant liquid. Therefore, another example of a method for measuring the concentration of a solution is disclosed in Patent Document 1.

The carbonate salt concentration measuring device described in Patent Document 1 includes a data acquisition unit that acquires information regarding the refractive index of the alkaline developer, information regarding the amount of conductivity of the alkaline developer, and information regarding the absorbance of the alkaline developer, respectively; A carbonate-based salt concentration acquisition unit that obtains information regarding the concentration of carbonate-based salts in the alkaline developer based on the information regarding the refractive index, the information regarding the amount of conductivity, and the information regarding the absorbance.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2011-128455

In Patent Document 1, the concentration of carbonate salts in an alkaline developer is obtained based on the refractive index, electrical conductivity, and absorbance of the alkaline developer. However, although the refractive index (BRIX concentration) of the coolant fluid changes due to the difference in the mixing ratio (concentration) of the stock solution and water, the change in absorbance due to cutting waste and hydraulic oil is unrelated to the refractive index. Furthermore, if the coolant fluid deteriorates due to increased contamination with cutting debris and hydraulic oil, refractive index measurement becomes inaccurate or impossible. Therefore, with the method described in Patent Document 1, a problem arises in that the BRIX concentration of the coolant cannot be stably and correctly measured and calculated over a long period of time.

The coolant liquid management device according to the present invention provides a voltage obtained from the electric field generated in the secondary side toroidal transformer due to the action of a circular current loop generated in the coolant liquid when an electric field is applied to the primary side toroidal transformer immersed in the coolant liquid. an electromagnetic induction type conductivity meter that measures the amount of conductivity of the coolant liquid based on the difference; and a calculation unit that applies the amount of conductivity to a predetermined conversion formula to calculate a BRIX concentration corresponding to the amount of conductivity. , and an output section that outputs the BRIX concentration to the outside.

The coolant liquid management device according to the present invention can calculate the BRIX concentration based on the amount of conductivity of the coolant liquid.

According to the coolant liquid management device according to the present invention, the BRIX concentration of the coolant liquid can be continuously monitored.

1 is a diagram illustrating the appearance of a coolant liquid management device according to a first embodiment; FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a coolant liquid management device according to a first embodiment. FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a conductivity meter of the coolant liquid management device according to the first embodiment. 7 is a graph illustrating the correlation between the amount of electrical conductivity and the coolant concentration when using the first conversion formula example of the coolant liquid management device according to the first embodiment. 7 is a graph illustrating the correlation between the amount of electrical conductivity and the coolant concentration when the second conversion formula example of the coolant liquid management device according to the first embodiment is used. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a coolant liquid management device according to a second embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a temperature correction table used in the coolant liquid management device according to the second embodiment. FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a coolant liquid management device according to a third embodiment. 12 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the coolant liquid management device according to the third embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the appearance of a coolant liquid management device according to a fourth embodiment. FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a coolant liquid management device according to a fourth embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating output characteristics of an odor sensor of a coolant liquid management device according to a fourth embodiment. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of an odor sensor box of a coolant liquid management device according to a fourth embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of an optical sensor section of a coolant liquid management device according to a fourth embodiment.

Embodiment 1
For clarity of explanation, the following description and drawings are omitted and simplified as appropriate. Further, in each drawing, the same elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant explanation will be omitted as necessary.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram illustrating an overview of a coolant liquid management device 1 according to a first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, in the coolant liquid management device 1 according to the first embodiment, two boxes, a control box 10 and a sensor box 20, are connected by a hanging wire Wi and a connecting jig. The control box 10 is also provided with a display section IND. Further, the coolant liquid management device 1 is connected to a weight Wt by a hanging wire Wi placed on a pulley. By moving the hanging wire Wi up and down, the coolant liquid management device 1 moves up and down in the coolant tank.

The sensor box 20 is equipped with various sensors for measuring the electrical conductivity of the coolant while immersed in the coolant. Note that in the first embodiment, the sensor box 20 is equipped with a conductivity meter. The control box 10 controls various sensors installed in the sensor box 20, and is also equipped with a communication interface for communicating with the outside. Further, the control box 10 is provided at a position where it will not be immersed in the coolant even when the sensor box 20 is immersed in the coolant.

Next, the internal configuration of the coolant liquid management device 1 according to the first embodiment will be explained. Therefore, FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of the coolant liquid management device 1 according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the control box 10 includes a power supply section 11, a calculation section 12, a communication interface 13, an external communication interface 14, and a display section IND. The sensor box 20 also includes a power supply section 21 , a calculation section 22 , a control signal generation section 23 , a conductivity meter 24 , an analog-to-digital conversion circuit 25 , a memory 26 , and a communication interface 27 .

The power supply section 11 distributes power supplied from an externally provided AC adapter to each processing block of the control box 10 (not shown). Further, the power supply section 11 also supplies power to the power supply section 21 of the sensor box 20. The power supply unit 21 distributes power supplied to each processing block of the sensor box 20 (not shown).

The calculation unit 12 is, for example, a calculation unit such as a microcontroller that can execute a program. The calculation unit 12 controls, for example, a measurement sequence of a coolant liquid BRIX concentration measurement process executed in the coolant liquid management device 1. Further, the calculation unit 12 performs control regarding communication processing via the communication interface 13 and external communication interface 14, and information display processing on the display unit IND. The communication interface 13 is an interface circuit that performs specific communication processing for the arithmetic unit 12 and the arithmetic unit 22 to communicate via the communication interface 27 on the sensor box 20 side. The external communication interface 14 is an interface circuit for communicating with a host system (in-house server, cloud server, etc.) by wire or wirelessly. The display unit IND is for displaying the operating status of the coolant liquid management device 1, measurement information, and the state of the coolant liquid.

The calculation unit 22 is, for example, a calculation unit such as a microcontroller that can execute a program. The calculation unit 12 includes, for example, a BRIX concentration calculation process that calculates the BRIX concentration based on the value of the conductivity obtained from the conductivity meter 24, and a conductivity calculation process that converts the signal obtained from the conductivity meter 24 into a specific numerical value. Performs calculation processing, etc. Details of this BRIX concentration calculation process will be described later. Further, the calculation unit 22 gives an instruction to the control signal generation unit 23 as to whether or not to operate the conductivity meter 24.

The control signal generation section 23 gives specific instructions for operation to the conductivity meter 24 based on instructions from the calculation section 22 . The conductivity meter 24 measures the conductivity of the coolant while being immersed in the coolant. The analog-to-digital conversion circuit 25 converts the output signal having an analog value outputted from the conductivity meter 24 into a signal having a digital value. The memory 26 stores information necessary for the operation of the calculation unit 22, such as the conductivity-BRIX conversion formula used in the BRIX concentration calculation process performed by the calculation unit 22. The communication interface 27 is an interface circuit that performs specific processing for the calculation unit 22 to communicate with the calculation unit 12.

Next, the conductivity meter 24 of the first embodiment will be explained in detail. Therefore, FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of a conductivity meter of the coolant liquid management device according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, the conductivity meter 24 includes a sine wave generator 30, an amplifier 31, a primary toroidal transformer 32, a secondary toroidal transformer 33, a low noise amplifier 34, and a signal amplitude detector 35.

The sine wave generator 30 receives an instruction from the control signal generator 23 and outputs a sine wave signal for operating the primary toroidal transformer 32 . The amplifier 31 converts the sine wave signal provided from the amplifier 31 into differential signals having phases different from each other by 180° C., and drives the primary side toroidal transformer 32 . The primary side toroidal transformer 32 generates an electric field based on the differential signal given from the amplifier 31. In the conductivity meter 24, a current loop that passes through the inner circumferences of the primary toroidal transformer 32 and the secondary toroidal transformer 33 is generated in the coolant based on the electric field generated in the primary toroidal transformer 32.

The secondary toroidal transformer 33 outputs an output signal corresponding to the electric field generated by the current loop generated by the primary toroidal transformer 32 to the low noise amplifier 34. The low noise amplifier 34 amplifies the output signal of the secondary side toroidal transformer 33 and supplies it to the signal amplitude detector 35 . The signal amplitude detector 35 detects the amplitude of the signal given from the low noise amplifier 34 and outputs the detected signal to the analog-to-digital conversion circuit 25 as a measurement result.

In the coolant liquid management device 1 according to the first embodiment, the BRIX concentration is calculated using the amount of conductivity acquired by the amount of conductivity meter 24. Therefore, the method for calculating the BRIX concentration in the first embodiment will be explained in detail.

First, the BRIX concentration will be explained. BRIX concentration is a physical quantity used mainly in the food industry as sugar content to measure the content of so-called sugars such as sucrose, fructose, invert sugar, and glucose. The BRIX value is determined as a value corresponding to the mass percentage of a sucrose solution at 20°C. When 100 g of an aqueous solution containing only 1 g of sucrose as a solute is measured with a Brix refractometer, the Brix value will be 1%.

On the other hand, since the amount of conductivity is completely different from the value measured by the refractometer, in the coolant liquid management device 1 according to the first embodiment, the amount of conductivity is converted from the amount of conductivity using the conductivity-BRIX concentration conversion formula. Calculate the BRIX concentration. In the following example, a first conversion formula example and a second conversion formula example are shown, but the conversion formula is not limited thereto. In addition, in the following explanation, we will discuss multiple samples that differ in concentration, actual usage period, amount of cutting chips and sliding oil mixed in, etc. for coolant liquid made by diluting a specific soluble type stock solution. A correlation graph created by plotting the results measured by the refractive index type BRIX concentration measuring device and the coolant liquid management device 1 according to the first embodiment is shown. Furthermore, in each correlation graph, the concentration of 0% is when tap water is measured.

First, the first conversion formula example is expressed by equation (1), where y represents the BRIX concentration and x represents the amount of conductivity.
y= ^ax2 +bx+c...(1)
FIG. 4 shows a graph illustrating the correlation between the amount of conductivity and the concentration of the coolant when formula (1) is used. In the example shown in FIG. 4, a=0.01117, b=0.32043, and c=-0.17462. Referring to FIG. 4, it can be seen that the measured concentrations roughly follow the curved shape calculated using the first conversion formula example, and a high correlation of 99.8% is obtained.

Next, a second conversion formula example will be explained. The second example of the conversion equation is expressed by equation (2) when the BRIX concentration is expressed by y and the amount of conductivity is expressed by x.
y=dx+e...(2)
FIG. 5 shows a graph illustrating the correlation between the amount of conductivity and the coolant concentration when using this equation (2).

In FIG. 5, three graphs are shown. In the graph at the top of FIG. 5, the coefficients d and e are calculated so that the correlation is the strongest for all of the measured BRIX concentrations starting from the measured concentration of 0%. Specifically, in the graph at the top of FIG. 5, d=0.54410 and e=-1.04794. In the graph at the top of FIG. 5, the correlation is 98.1%.

The middle graph in FIG. 5 has a narrower range for ensuring correlation than the top graph. Specifically, the middle graph shows the coefficient d of equation (2) in the range excluding 0% concentration. , e are calculated. The middle graph is for d=0.62029 and e=-2.06612. In the middle graph of FIG. 5, the correlation is 99.7%.

The lower graph in FIG. 5 is a graph in which the range for ensuring correlation is narrower than the uppermost graph. Specifically, the lower graph shows the coefficient d of equation (2) in the range excluding high concentrations, This is the calculated value of e. In the lower graph, d=0.44966 and e=-0.29951. In the lower graph of FIG. 5, the correlation is 99.1%.

From the correlation graph in FIG. 5, it can be seen that even when the second conversion formula example is used, high correlation can be obtained by narrowing the range in which correlation is ensured. In the coolant liquid management device 1 according to the first embodiment, the coefficients used in equation (1) or (2) are calculated using a coolant liquid of a known concentration, and a conversion formula including the calculated coefficients is calculated. It is stored in the memory 26 as a conductivity-BRIX concentration conversion formula.

From the above description, in the coolant liquid management device 1 according to the first embodiment, the BRIX concentration is calculated from the conductivity amount obtained from the conductivity meter. Here, the conductivity meter 24 used in the coolant liquid management device 1 according to the first embodiment measures the conductivity of the coolant liquid using a toroidal transformer. Therefore, as long as the toroidal hole is not blocked in the coolant, it will not be affected by dirt from cutting chips or hydraulic oil, so it is possible to measure the conductivity of the coolant without performing continuous maintenance for a long time. I can do it. As described above, it is difficult to continuously measure the BRIX concentration in the coolant for a long period of time because the refractometer cannot avoid the influence of dirt on the surface of the prism that comes in contact with the coolant.

Furthermore, in the coolant liquid management device 1 according to the first embodiment, the BRIX concentration of the coolant liquid can be determined without going to the coolant tank by transmitting the measurement results to the host system using the external communication interface 14 in the control box 10. can be grasped.

Embodiment 2
In the second embodiment, a coolant liquid management device 2 that is another form of the coolant liquid management device 1 according to the first embodiment will be described. Note that in the description of the second embodiment, the same components as those described in the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 6 shows a block diagram of a coolant liquid management device according to the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 6, the coolant liquid management device 2 according to the second embodiment is obtained by adding a temperature sensor TS to the sensor box 20 of the first embodiment. The temperature sensor TS measures the temperature of the coolant while being immersed in the coolant.

In the coolant liquid management device 2 according to the second embodiment, when calculating the BRIX concentration, the calculation unit 22 corrects the conductivity amount acquired by the conductivity meter 24 based on the temperature of the coolant liquid acquired by the temperature sensor TS. Alternatively, the calculated BRIX concentration is corrected. Therefore, in the coolant liquid management device 2 according to the second embodiment, a temperature correction table indicating the relationship between temperature and correction amount is stored in the memory 26 used by the calculation unit 22. This temperature correction table is created in advance externally and stored in the memory 26 before the coolant liquid management device 2 starts operating.

Therefore, the temperature correction table will be explained. FIG. 7 shows a diagram illustrating an example of a temperature correction table used in the coolant liquid management device according to the second embodiment. In FIG. 7, two examples are shown as temperature correction tables. Note that in the example shown in FIG. 7, the reference temperature is 25°C.

The first example (upper table in FIG. 7) is a temperature-correlation concentration correspondence table showing the correspondence between temperature and correlation concentration (calculated BRIX concentration). When using the temperature-correlation concentration correspondence table, the calculation unit 22 calculates a corrected BRIX concentration by applying a correction coefficient corresponding to the calculated BRIX concentration to the calculated BRIX concentration.

Further, the second example (table in the lower part of FIG. 7) is a temperature-conductivity correspondence table showing the correspondence between temperature and conductivity. When using the temperature-conductivity correspondence table, the calculation unit 22 applies a correction coefficient corresponding to the conductivity obtained from the conductivity meter 24 to the conductivity obtained from the conductivity meter 24 to obtain the corrected conductivity. calculate. Thereby, the calculation unit 22 can calculate a result equivalent to the corrected BRIX concentration calculated using the temperature-correlation concentration correspondence table.

As described above, in the coolant liquid management device 2 according to the second embodiment, by providing the temperature sensor TS, it is possible to correct the BRIX concentration corresponding to the temperature of the coolant liquid. Thereby, the coolant liquid management device 2 according to the second embodiment can improve the accuracy of the calculated BRIX concentration compared to the coolant liquid management device 1 according to the first embodiment.

Embodiment 3
In the third embodiment, a coolant liquid management device 3 that is another form of the coolant liquid management device 2 according to the second embodiment will be described. In the description of the third embodiment, the same components as those described in the first and second embodiments are given the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 8 shows a block diagram of a coolant liquid management device according to the third embodiment. As shown in FIG. 8, the coolant liquid management device 3 according to the third embodiment has a concentration meter 28 added to the sensor box 20 of the second embodiment. The concentration meter 28 is a refractometer that measures the BRIX concentration of the coolant while being immersed in the coolant. In the following description, the BRIX concentration acquired by the densitometer 28 will be referred to as a BRIX measurement value or a BRIX measurement value.

In the coolant liquid management device 3 according to the third embodiment, the coefficients of the conductivity-BRIX concentration conversion formula are updated using the BRIX measurement value obtained from the concentration meter 28. Therefore, the operation of the coolant liquid management device 3 according to the third embodiment will be described below. FIG. 9 shows a flowchart explaining the operation of the coolant liquid management device 3 according to the third embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 9, in the coolant liquid management device 3 according to the third embodiment, when the coolant liquid is replaced (step S1), a coolant liquid replacement notification signal is given to the coolant liquid management device 3 (step S2). This coolant liquid replacement notification signal is given to the coolant liquid management device 3 by the administrator during the work of replacing the coolant liquid. The coolant liquid management device 3 according to the third embodiment acquires the conductivity amount from the conductivity meter 24 and the BRIX measurement value from the concentration meter 28 in response to being given the coolant liquid replacement notification signal. , obtains temperature information from the temperature sensor TS (step S3). Then, the calculation unit 22 recalculates the coefficients of the conductivity-BRIX concentration conversion formula stored in the memory 26 using the acquired values (step S4). Here, in the recalculation of the coefficients in step S4, the conductivity amount given to the equation is corrected using, for example, the temperature-conductivity correspondence table shown in FIG. 7. Once the new coefficient has been calculated, the conductivity-BRIX concentration conversion formula is updated by applying the calculated new coefficient (step S5).

Then, the coolant liquid management device 3 according to the third embodiment periodically calculates the BRIX concentration using the conductivity-BRIX concentration conversion formula updated in step S5. More specifically, the coolant liquid management device 3 according to the third embodiment acquires the amount of conductivity from the conductivity meter 24 and acquires temperature information from the temperature sensor TS (step S6). Note that the BRIX measurement value may be obtained from the densitometer 28 in this step S6. Next, the calculation unit 22 calculates the BRIX concentration by applying the conductivity and temperature information acquired in step S6 to the conductivity-BRIX concentration conversion formula and performing correction using the temperature correction table (step S7 ). Moreover, the coolant liquid management device 3 stores each numerical value acquired in step S6 and the BRIX concentration calculated in step S7 in the memory 26 in association with the acquisition time of each numerical value (step S8).

After that, if the BRIX concentration exceeds a specified value, indicating the timing for replacing the coolant, the coolant management device 3 will prompt the administrator to replace the coolant, and manage the A person or the like replaces the coolant (steps S9 and S1). On the other hand, if the coolant liquid management device 3 according to the third embodiment has not yet reached the timing for replacing the coolant liquid, the BRIX concentration and various measured values are Accumulation is performed (step S10). Note that the accumulated data can be read out by a management terminal (for example, a personal computer) of the coolant liquid management device 3, a cloud server, or the like.

As described above, in the coolant liquid management device 3 according to the third embodiment, the coefficient of the conductivity-BRIX concentration conversion formula can be updated every time the coolant liquid is replaced. As a result, in the coolant liquid management device 3 according to the third embodiment, even if the type of coolant liquid is changed, a conductivity-BRIX concentration conversion formula can be created each time according to the characteristics. It is possible to realize a coolant liquid management device 3 that can handle the following coolant liquids.

In addition, if you use a refractometer that is easily affected by dirt only when it is time to replace the coolant and clean the sensor box at that time, you can create an accurate conductivity - BRIX concentration conversion formula, and after that it is resistant to dirt. Since the BRIX concentration is calculated using a conductivity meter, it is possible to realize a coolant liquid management device 3 that is highly resistant to dirt.

Embodiment 4
In Embodiment 4, a coolant liquid management device 4 that is another form of the coolant liquid management device 3 according to Embodiment 3 will be described. Note that in the description of the fourth embodiment, the same components as those described in the first to third embodiments are given the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 10 shows a diagram illustrating the appearance of the coolant liquid management device according to the fourth embodiment. As shown in FIG. 10, in the coolant liquid management device 4 according to the fourth embodiment, blower pipes P1 and P2 are attached to the control box 10. This is because in the coolant liquid management device 4 according to the fourth embodiment, an odor sensor is attached to the control box 10, and the flow of air is used to control the gas supplied to the odor sensor. Air sent to the blower pipes P1 and P2 is supplied from an air pump (not shown). Furthermore, in the coolant liquid management device 4 according to the fourth embodiment, an optical sensor section is added to the sensor box 20.

Therefore, FIG. 11 shows a block diagram of a coolant liquid management device according to a fourth embodiment. As shown in FIG. 11, the coolant liquid management device 4 according to the fourth embodiment is obtained by adding an odor sensor 16 to the control box 10 of the third embodiment. In the control box 10 according to the fourth embodiment, a control signal generation section 15, an analog-to-digital conversion circuit 17, and an air flow rate control section 18 are added in addition to the odor sensor 16. Further, the calculation unit 12 has an additional function of controlling the odor sensor.

The control signal generation unit 15 gives specific operation instructions to the odor sensor 16 in response to instructions from the calculation unit 12. The analog-to-digital conversion circuit 17 converts the measurement result having an analog value output by the odor sensor 16 into a digital value. The air flow control unit 18 controls an air pump (not shown) according to instructions from the calculation unit 12 to control the flow of air into the odor sensor box in which the odor sensor 16 is stored. One of the features of the coolant liquid management device 4 according to the fourth embodiment is the odor sensor box in which the odor sensor 16 is provided, so the details of the odor sensor box will be described later.

Further, as shown in FIG. 11, the sensor box 20 of the coolant liquid management device 4 according to the fourth embodiment is the sensor box 20 of the third embodiment in which an optical sensor section 29 is added. The optical sensor unit 29 measures at least the liquid level height of the coolant liquid and the hue of the coolant liquid. The details of the configuration of this optical sensor section 29 will be described later.

Here, the odor sensor 16 and odor sensor box according to the fourth embodiment will be explained. First, the measurement of odor by the odor sensor 16 will be explained. Although the odor sensor 16 outputs a voltage that changes in response to odor, it is difficult to determine the odor level based only on the magnitude of the output voltage. Therefore, in the coolant liquid management device 4 according to the fourth embodiment, a period in which the odor sensor 16 is exposed to cleaning air and a period in which it is exposed to odor are created, and the difference in the output voltage of the odor sensor 16 obtained between the two periods is It is used to judge the strength of odors based on

Therefore, FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating the output characteristics of the odor sensor of the coolant liquid management device according to the fourth embodiment. As shown in FIG. 12, in the coolant liquid management device 4 according to the fourth embodiment, by replacing the gas that fills the air chamber in which the odor sensor 16 is attached in the odor sensor box, the voltage OD1 corresponding to the odor and the cleaning A voltage OD2 corresponding to air is created. Then, the calculation unit 22 creates information for determining the odor level based on the ratio of the voltages OD1 and OD2. Further, it is assumed that the odor sensor 16 outputs a higher voltage when the odor of the gas is stronger.

Next, the structure of the odor sensor box will be explained. FIG. 13 shows a schematic diagram of the odor sensor box of the coolant liquid management device according to the fourth embodiment. As shown in FIG. 13, the odor sensor box according to the fourth embodiment has a first air chamber (for example, inflow gas switching box 40) and a second air chamber (for example, odor box 42).

The inflow gas switching box 40 is provided with an odor communication hole H1, a first air inlet 41, and an odor valve 44. The odor communication hole H1 is provided on the lower surface of the inflow gas switching box 40. The first air inlet 41 is provided on the side surface of the inflow gas switching box 40 . The odor valve 44 is attached to the surface where the odor communication hole H1 is attached. Then, the odor valve 44 exclusively closes the first air inlet 41 that allows cleaning air to flow into the inflow gas switching box 40 and the odor communication hole H1. This odor valve 44 is rotatably attached to the surface of the inflow gas switching box 40 on which the odor communication hole H1 is provided by means of a hinge, and closes the odor communication hole H1 by the force of the cleaning air. Furthermore, when the inflow of cleaning air is stopped, the odor valve 44 tilts due to its own weight to close the first air inlet 41 and open the odor communication hole H1.

The odor box 42 is equipped with an odor sensor 16 and an exhaust hole H3. The odor box 42 and the inflow gas switching box 40 are connected through the inter-box communication hole H2. Further, an exhaust path is provided along the surface where the exhaust hole H3 is provided. The discharge path is provided with a second air inlet 43 on one side, and discharge air flows in from the second air inlet 43 so as to skim the exhaust communication hole H3. Further, the inter-box communication hole H2 is provided at a position away from the straight line connecting the odor communication hole H1 and the exhaust communication hole H3. Thereby, in the odor sensor box, the gas can be sufficiently circulated within the odor box 42 and the odor box 42 can be sufficiently filled with the gas to be filled.

Further, in the odor sensor box, the odor valve 44 is moved only by its own weight and the force of cleaning air without using an electrical mechanism. Thereby, electrical failure caused by the odor valve 44 can be prevented.

FIG. 13 also shows the relationship between the air supply state and the odor valve 44 during odor filling, in which the odor box 42 is filled with odor, and during cleaning, in which the odor box 42 is filled with cleaning air. During odor filling, the supply of cleaning air is stopped. As a result, the odor valve 44 tilts due to its own weight to close the first air inlet 41 and open the odor communication hole H1. As a result, the odor containing the odor of the coolant fluid flows into the path from the odor communication hole H1 to the exhaust communication hole H3 through the odor communication hole H2. At this time, exhaust air is supplied. When the exhaust air passes through the exhaust hole H3, the gas inside the odor box 42 is drawn out due to the venturi effect. The odor is pulled up from the coolant tank via the odor communication hole H1 according to the force with which the gas in the odor box 42 is extracted by the exhaust air.

Further, during cleaning, since cleaning air is supplied, the odor valve 44 is pushed by the force of the cleaning air and closes the odor communication hole H1. Further, the cleaning air flows toward the exhaust communication hole H3 via the inter-box communication hole H2. At this time, although the exhaust air is not flowing, the cleaning air is forced to flow in, so the odor box 42 is filled with cleaning air even without the exhaust air.

Next, the configuration of the optical sensor section 29 will be explained in detail. Therefore, FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the optical sensor section 29 of the coolant liquid management device 4 according to the fourth embodiment. As shown in FIG. 14, the optical sensor section 29 is composed of a plurality of optical sensors. Specifically, the optical sensor unit 29 includes a first block sensor (for example, block sensor B0), a second block sensor (block sensor B1), a third block sensor (for example, block sensor B2 (90S), B2(S)) and a fourth block sensor (for example, block sensor B3). Note that the block sensor itself or a block including the block sensor may also be referred to as a sensor block.

The block sensor B0 includes a light emitting element B0 (90S) that emits light in a direction perpendicular to the liquid surface of the coolant liquid, and a light emitting element B0-1 (90S) that is arranged in the depth direction of the coolant liquid with the liquid surface of the coolant in between. S) to B0-6(S) and light receiving elements B0-1(R) to B0-6(R) arranged at positions facing the light emitting elements B0-1(S) to B0-6(S). have The block sensor B0 measures the amount of scattering on the liquid surface using the light emitting element B0 (90S) and the light receiving elements B0-1 (R) to B0-6 (R). In addition, the block sensor B0 detects the presence or absence of bubbles generated on the liquid surface by the light emitting elements B0-1 (S) to B0-6 (S) and the light receiving elements B0-1 (R) to B0-6 (R). (and the height of the bubbles) is detected as a change in the amount of transmission through each element. Further, in the block sensor B0, the change in the amount of light scattering may be detected using the light emitting element B0 (90S) and the light receiving elements B0-1 (R) to B0-6 (R).

Block sensor B1 is arranged such that light emitting element B1 (S) and light receiving element B1 (R) face each other at a first distance. Furthermore, the block sensor B2 is arranged such that the light emitting element B2 (S) and the light receiving element B2 (R) face each other at a second distance that is longer than the first distance. In this way, by using pairs of light-receiving elements and light-emitting elements arranged at different distances, it becomes possible to measure coolants having different amounts of transmission. Specifically, the transparency of transparent coolant liquid and milky coolant liquid differs greatly, but even for coolants with such a large difference in transparency, optical sensors with different distances between the light-receiving element and the light-emitting element are used. This makes it possible to obtain a difference value between measurement results, making it possible to measure any coolant liquid.

Block sensor B2 includes a light emitting element B2 (90S) that outputs light in the depth direction of the coolant liquid (for example, a direction perpendicular to the direction from light emitting element B2 (S) to light receiving element B2 (R)). Then, the block sensor B2 measures the amount of light scattered by the light emitting element B2 (90S) and the light receiving element B2 (R). Further, the block sensor B3 includes a light receiving/emitting element B3 (SR) which is a pair with a light receiving element that emits light in the depth direction of the coolant liquid and receives light reflected from the depth direction of the coolant liquid. . The block sensor B3 measures the amount of light scattered by the light receiving/emitting element B3 (SR). In this way, by measuring the amount of light scattering at different angles, it is possible to measure coolant liquids having different light scattering characteristics, from coolant with little dirt to coolant with a lot of dirt.

Note that each of the block sensors B1, B2, and B3 includes a sensor corresponding to the three primary colors of red, blue, and green light, and an optical sensor corresponding to infrared light. For example, at least one of the optical sensors is a pair of a light emitting element and a light receiving element that correspond to wavelength λ1 (e.g., red light, 650 nm), and at least one other light sensor transmits and receives light of wavelength λ2 (e.g., blue light, 470 nm). By measuring the amount of transmission or scattering at each wavelength, it is possible to detect changes in the hue of the coolant.

However, the combination of optical sensors is not limited to this example. For example, block sensor B2 and block sensor B1, exemplified by light-emitting element B2 (S) and light-receiving element B2 (R), are compatible with at least two of the three primary colors red, blue, green, and infrared light. The light emitting element and the light receiving element can be configured to include a light emitting element and a light receiving element. Furthermore, for example, block sensor B2 and block sensor B3 exemplified by light-emitting element B2 (90S) and light-receiving element B2 (R) can be used for at least two or more of the three primary colors red, blue, green, and infrared light. It can be configured to include a light emitting element and a light receiving element corresponding to the above.

From the above description, the coolant liquid management device 4 according to the fourth embodiment includes the odor sensor 16, so that it is possible to remotely confirm the odor of the coolant liquid, which was conventionally confirmed by a person's sense of smell. In addition, the coolant liquid management device 4 according to the fourth embodiment includes the optical sensor section 29, so that it is possible to remotely check the turbidity, color, etc. of the coolant liquid, which was conventionally checked visually by a person. It is possible.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and can be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit.

1 to 4 coolant liquid management device 10 control box 11 power supply section 12 calculation section 13 communication interface 14 external communication interface 15 control signal generation section 16 odor sensor 17 analog-to-digital conversion circuit 18 air flow rate control section 21 power supply section 22 calculation section 23 control signal Generation section 24 Conductivity meter 25 Analog-to-digital conversion circuit 26 Memory 27 Communication interface 28 Concentration meter 29 Optical sensor section 20 Sensor box 30 Sine wave generation section 31 Amplifier 32 Primary side toroidal transformer 33 Secondary side toroidal transformer 34 Low noise amplifier 35 Signal amplitude Detector 40 Inflow gas switching box 41 First air inlet 42 Odor box 43 Second air inlet 44 Odor valve H1 Odor communication hole H2 Communication hole between boxes H3 Exhaust communication hole B0 to B3 Block sensor TS Temperature sensor IND Display Department

Claims (11)

Electricity flow in the coolant based on the voltage difference obtained from the electric field generated in the secondary toroidal transformer due to the action of a circular current loop generated in the coolant when an electric field is applied to the primary toroidal transformer immersed in the coolant. An electromagnetic induction conductivity meter that measures conductivity , which is an indicator of ease of use ,
a calculation unit that calculates the BRIX concentration by applying the conductivity to a conversion formula that converts the conductivity to a BRIX concentration corresponding to the conductivity ;
an output unit that outputs the BRIX concentration to the outside ,
The conversion formula was obtained by actually measuring the correlation between the BRIX concentration of the coolant liquid measured using a refractive index type BRIX concentration measuring device and the conductivity amount of the coolant liquid using the conductivity meter. is an approximate expression that has an approximate relationship with the correlation plot point group and uses the amount of conductivity as a variable,
Each time the coolant liquid is replaced, the calculation unit multiplies or adds the conductivity amount in the conversion formula using the BRIX concentration of the coolant liquid provided from the outside and the conductivity amount obtained from the conductivity meter. A coolant fluid management device that updates at least one coefficient . It has a thermometer that measures the temperature of the coolant liquid and outputs temperature information,
The coolant liquid management device according to claim 1, wherein the calculation unit corrects the BRIX concentration or the conductivity amount based on the temperature information to calculate a corrected BRIX concentration. a refractometer that obtains a BRIX measurement value that is a measurement value of the BRIX concentration of the coolant liquid based on the refractive index of the coolant liquid;
a storage unit that stores the BRIX concentration and the BRIX measurement value;
The coolant liquid management device according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the calculation unit stores the BRIX measurement value in the storage unit in association with the calculated BRIX concentration. The coolant liquid management device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , further comprising an odor sensor that measures the odor of the coolant liquid and outputs odor information. a first air chamber into which either cleaning air or an odor containing the odor of the coolant liquid flows;
a second air chamber to which the odor sensor is attached;
an odor communication hole provided in the first air chamber and through which the odor flows;
an inter-box communication hole connecting the first air chamber and the second air chamber;
an exhaust communication hole provided in the second air chamber;
an exhaust passage through which exhaust air passes through the exhaust communication hole;
The coolant liquid management device according to claim 4 , wherein the inter-box communication hole is provided at a position off a line connecting the odor communication hole and the exhaust communication hole. an odor valve that is provided in the first air chamber and that exclusively closes a first air inlet that allows the cleaning air to flow into the first air chamber and the odor communication hole;
The odor valve is rotatably attached to the wall of the first air chamber by a hinge, and closes the odor communication hole by the force of the cleaning air, and in a state where the inflow of the cleaning air is stopped. The coolant liquid management device according to claim 5 , wherein the coolant liquid management device tilts due to its own weight to close the first air inlet and open the odor communication hole. a first block sensor including a plurality of optical transmitting and receiving elements arranged in a depth direction of the coolant liquid across the liquid level of the coolant liquid;
Any one of claims 1 to 6 , wherein the calculation unit generates liquid level information for determining the state of the coolant liquid by referring to a plurality of pieces of reception status information obtained from each of the plurality of optical transmitting and receiving elements. The coolant liquid management device according to item 1. a second sensor block in which a light emitting element and a light receiving element are arranged to face each other at a first distance in the coolant liquid;
8. The sensor block according to claim 1, further comprising a third sensor block in which a light emitting element and a light receiving element are arranged at a second distance that is longer than the first distance in the coolant liquid. Coolant liquid management device as described. 9. The coolant liquid management device according to claim 8 , wherein the second sensor block and the third sensor block include a light emitting element and a light receiving element that correspond to at least two or more of three primary colors of light and infrared light. a fourth sensor block in which a light emitting element and a light receiving element are arranged at mutually orthogonal positions in the coolant liquid;
A fifth sensor block comprising a light emitting element and a light receiving element arranged so that the light receiving element can detect backscattered light of an optical signal emitted from the light emitting element in the coolant liquid. 9. The coolant liquid management device according to any one of 9 . 11. The coolant liquid management device according to claim 10 , wherein the fourth sensor block and the fifth sensor block include a light emitting element and a light receiving element corresponding to at least two types of light, three primary colors of light and infrared light.

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