JPH02251763A - Automatic analyzing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To completely automate measurement of viscosity and the like by constructing an inspection sample vessel of the main body of the vessel being put in and removed from a through hole of a turntable, in a positioned state, by a robot for analysis and of a cap. CONSTITUTION:An inspection sample vessel 303 is constructed of the main body 330 of the vessel shaped in a bottomed cylinder and a cap 331 covering an opening 306 of this main body 330. A chuck plate 360 to be chucked by a robot for analysis is erected on the top surface of the cap 331, and a bar code label 361 is fitted removably on this plate 360 with a holding element 362, in a state that the flat surface thereof is maintained. When the vessel 303 is conveyed in rotation intermittently by a turntable apparatus, it is positioned, at a chuck position of the robot for analysis, by a positioning groove and a projection with a guide formed at a through hole of a turntable. Therefore the removal of the cap 331 and the putting-in and removal of the main body 330 of the vessel can be performed by the robot for analysis.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an automatic analyzer for liquid resin, and more specifically, the present invention relates to an automatic analyzer for liquid resin, and more specifically, the viscosity (hereinafter abbreviated as "rVis" as necessary), Pl+, and non-volatile content, which are indicators for specifying the quality of liquid resin. (
Also called evaporation residue, solid content, and resin content. The present invention relates to an apparatus for automatically analyzing rNVJ (hereinafter abbreviated as rNVJ if necessary). [Prior Art] In general, manufacturers of liquid resins adopt the Via value, PH, and MV value as indicators to specify the quality of the liquid resin, and the manufacturers themselves analyze and determine the index values1.
Quality is often specified. The JIS method is an analytical method for determining the above index value. For example, the general test method for adhesives is JIS 6833.
p) l is defined in JISK811.
33B, 2, the viscosity is defined in JIS 88338.3, and the nonvolatile content is defined in JIS K 88338.4. However, since the quality of the liquid resin only needs to be determined on a regular basis, index values obtained using a simple analysis method may be acceptable depending on the user. Index values obtained using a simple analysis method are acceptable. However, when looking at the individual analyzes of the three index values of Vis value, pH, and NV value that have traditionally been performed in the field of liquid resin production, most of them are performed manually, whether by the JIS method or the simplified method. , and there have been few attempts to automate it. In recent years, attempts have been made to automate devices that individually analyze each of the Vis value, pH, and NV value. For example, JP-A No. 81-28849 describes pH measurement. [Problem to be solved by the invention] As mentioned above, in the field of liquid resin production, Vis.
Automatic analysis of index values such as pH, pH and NV values is extremely slow, and most rely on complicated manual operations.
Furthermore, although some automatic analysis of index values has been carried out, there are still many parts that require manual operations, and it cannot be said that the problems of the complexity and high cost of each task have been solved to a great extent. In view of the above, the present inventors attempted to introduce an analytical robot for the purpose of completely automating liquid resin analysis. After silently conducting various experiments, we found that if we tried to automatically analyze multiple measurement items, especially Vis values, PH, and NV values during a series of movements of an analysis robot, it would be difficult to analyze them using commercially available analyzers or known analyzers. Simply combining methods may require additional analysis time due to the specificity of the analysis target or analysis items, unexpected troubles may occur, requiring additional manual operations, and data reproducibility may not be obtained. It turns out that there is. Furthermore, as a conventional test sample container, for example, there is one that uses a small container, which is rotated and transported by a turntable device, and the test sample is sampled through a suction nozzle during transport for the desired analysis. Ta. However, since such test sample containers are not configured to be moved from the turntable device by an analytical robot, analysis is limited to sampling and analysis on the turntable, and therefore viscosity measurements etc. performed by dipping the rotor are limited. The problem was that it was impossible. Therefore, the present invention has been made with attention to the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to fully automate viscosity measurement, etc. using a test sample container that can be handled by an analytical robot. Our goal is to provide an automatic analyzer that can. [Means for Solving the Problems] The automatic analyzer of the present invention that achieves the above object analyzes the viscosity, pH, and nonvolatile content of a liquid resin in a test sample container that is intermittently rotated and conveyed by a turntable device. In an automatic analyzer that performs automatic analysis by a robot, the test sample container has a container body that is attached to and removed from a through hole in a turntable while being positioned by an analysis robot, and a container body that is positioned at the opening of the container body by an analysis robot. It is characterized by consisting of a lid that can be attached and detached depending on the condition. Also according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. ■The container body has protrusions or grooves corresponding to the positioning grooves or protrusions formed in the through hole of the turntable, and has a pair of upper and lower gripping protrusions on both sides of the outer periphery of the opening;
The lid has a notch corresponding to the gripping protrusion of the container body, and has a gripping plate on the top surface.

[Effect]

The test sample container is intermittently rotated and conveyed by the turntable device, but at the second analysis robot gripping position, it is positioned by the positioning groove formed in the through hole of the turntable and the protrusion with a guide, so the analysis robot You can remove the lid and attach/detach the container body. As a result, the test sample container can be removed from the turntable device by the analytical robot and held immersed in, for example, a set rotor, making it possible to automate viscosity measurement. Therefore, the above problem is eliminated. The analysis items by the automatic analyzer of the present invention are 2 viscosity (Vis
), PM, and non-volatile content (Nv).Although analysis of only two of these items is also effective in determining the quality of liquid resin, the apparatus of the present invention can be used. included in. [Examples] The present invention will be explained below using examples shown in the drawings. Figures 1J and 4A are plan views showing an automatic analyzer according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the control system of the equipment, and Figure 3
The figure is a flowchart showing the automatic analysis system, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the analysis robot and turntable device. In FIG. 81, l is an analysis robot placed approximately at the center of the analysis stage N2. In the operating range around the analytical robot l, there are a turntable device 31, an autometric robot hand station 4, an NV measurement device 5. Vacuum device8. Vis measurement device W17. pH measuring device 8
, cleaning device 1t9. Storage device 10, barcode reader 1
1 is placed. Further, a computer unit [2] is arranged outside the operating range of the analysis robot 1. The computer unit) 12 mainly includes a CPU (central processing unit) 121, a CRT (screen) 122, and a keyboard 12.
3° printer 124. It is composed of a floppy disk device 125, and performs important functions such as bar code management, analysis robot management, sequencer communication 2 real-time data check management, and analysis data net pass reanalysis management, which will be described later. In this embodiment, as means for realizing the control system of the computer unit 12, as shown in FIG. A network controller 15 and a sequencer 18 are provided. The above-mentioned analytical robot 1 may be a cylindrical coordinate robot, a polar coordinate robot, a rectangular coordinate robot, an articulated robot, etc., but in this embodiment, a cylindrical coordinate system is used. The length is 800s+w, the operating radius is 320I, the vertical operating distance is up to 340mm, and the maximum operating speed is? 8mm#ec, 90 degree rotation/3 seconds. As shown in FIG. Two vertical axes 102. Arm 103° Grip hand 104. It is constituted by a finger portion 105. The analytical robot) 1 is an analytical robot controller 13.
2 The analysis robot controller 13
The specifications are that the maximum number of control axes is 3 at the same time, the path control method is a servo motor method, the control method is a semi-closed loop method using a rotary encoder, 1 position setting is a teaching method, and the speed is 0.1 to 1. It is variable in lO steps of .0, and has 8 inputs and 8 outputs. The analysis stage 2 may be a commonly used laboratory analysis table, and is preferably configured so that the analysis robot and various peripheral devices can be set (fixed, etc.) thereon.
In order to simplify the task of accurately arranging the various instruments in accordance with the operating range of the analysis robot, it is preferable to set the set positions of the various instruments in advance for the above-mentioned analysis. It is also preferable that the surface of the analysis table is processed with irregularities, etc. so that the equipment can be set in a detachable manner.It is also preferable that the entire system be set on the analysis stage □n 2 so that it can be treated as a system product. , therefore the first
It goes without saying that it is not necessary to locate the computer unit 12 separately as shown. The turntable device 3 has a constant temperature bath 30 as shown in FIG.
1 and a turntable 302 rotatably provided within the constant temperature bath 301. Water is filled in the constant temperature bath 301, and the temperature is controlled at approximately 25°C. Although the temperature control means is not particularly limited, it is convenient to use circulating hot water. The turntable 302 may have one stage, but it is preferable to have three stages spaced apart by a predetermined interval. In that case, the upper and middle turntables are provided with transparent panels for setting the test sample container 11.303. A hole 304 is provided, and the through hole 304 is further provided with a positioning groove 305 for determining the set position (direction) of the container 303. The lower turntable functions as a support plate to prevent the container 303 from falling when the container 303 is set, and a small hole (not shown) may be provided at a position where it contacts the container 303. Preferred turntable 302
The direction of rotation is not particularly limited, but in this embodiment, it is rotated clockwise. The NV measurement device 5 is a device for measuring non-volatile content. M
The V value is determined by heating and drying the test sample at a predetermined temperature with a heater until it reaches a constant weight. In this embodiment, two measuring devices are provided in order to improve the reliability of the analysis values. The device 5 has a weighing table inside the main body and a heater on the inner surface of the lid. It also has an automatic opening/closing mechanism to automatically open and close the lid. The vacuum device 6 includes a suction machine (for example, a vacuum cleaner), a suction hose, and unused and used trays for mounting a tray (aluminum plate) for holding a test sample into the NV measurement device during NV measurement. It consists of a tray loading section that is housed in a container. A filter paper is placed on the tray to uniformly diffuse the test sample. Vis measurement measuring device 7 The fi Vis value is measured based on the viscosity of the test sample by the rotation of the rotor, and the device consists of a main body and a rotor for rotating the rotor. Since the viscosity varies depending on the type of test sample, it is desirable to select an appropriate rotor, and for this reason, rotor selection and attachment/detachment are performed automatically. A one-touch coupling (Autore, India) is preferable because the rotor is attached and detached by an analytical robot.It is preferable to interpose a universal joint between the rotor and the device body to prevent rotor eccentricity. For some large objects, it is advisable to make the rotor hollow internally to reduce weight in order to prevent it from falling off when transferred to an analytical robot.Since viscosity changes depending on temperature, when rotating the rotor, It is necessary to measure the temperature at the same time, and a temperature sensor such as a thermocouple or a thermistor is preferable as such temperature measuring means. As the pH measuring device 8, a reprinted pH sensor can be used. The cleaning device 9 is a device for washing off test samples adhering to the surfaces of the PR electrode, the Vig measurement rotor, and the temperature sensor. The cleaning means is not particularly limited, but if the viscosity of the test sample is high, a configuration using a pair of rotating brushes is preferred. The storage device IO is a device for storing the via rotor and the p)l electrode, and it is preferable that the pH electrode be stored immersed in water at a predetermined temperature, and the rotor may be stored in an environment at a predetermined temperature. More preferably, it is stored together with the pH electrode. The storage temperature may be room temperature, but is preferably controlled to be equal to the analysis temperature (for example, 25°C). The configuration of the storage device is not particularly limited, but may include a rotor suspension mechanism and a thermostatic water tank.
It is preferable that the H-electrode immersion part be accommodated, and the rotor suspension mechanism is preferably a one-touch coupling (auto joint) so that it can be easily attached and detached by an analytical robot. When the rotor is stored immersed in water, it is preferable to provide a device that can wash the rotor with methanol in order to remove water droplets that have adhered to the rotor in advance during subsequent V's measurements. 11 - Busy Man The automatic analysis system of the present invention will be explained based on the drawings. When the number n of test samples is input into the computer 121, the program of the automatic system is started. (Selection of robot hand for analysis) Robot hand for analysis (rHAN [l
J) has GP FIAND and syringe HAND.
CP )IAND has sizes "Large" and "
There are ``medium'' and ``small,'' but the one used in this example is ``medium.''
・[Small] OP IAND and “Syringe) IANDJ
It is. First, select "GP HANI". In FIG. 2, reference numeral 401 is a chip rack on which chips are placed. (Checking the number of specimens) If the number of specimens exceeds the number input from the computer 121, the process ends. If it is within the input number, proceed to the next step. (Barcode reading) The barcode (hereinafter referred to as "BC" as necessary) reader 11 and BC sensor 110 read the barcode information of the test sample. The turntable automatically rotates by one test sample amount. If the BC reading is normal, proceed to the next step shown below; if it is abnormal, add 1 to n and return. (Open the lid of the NV measuring device 5 and move the tray (aluminum plate) 503 using the vacuum device 6 to do). Next, open the lid of the test sample container 303, change )IAND from "medium" to "syringe", attach a tip (dropper-like thing for aspirating the test sample) to the tip of the syringe HAND, and test sample amount is 1! Next, the lid of the MV measurement device 5 is opened, and the sample is dropped onto the glass fiber filter paper in the aluminum tray at 9 locations in total, including the 1WIi location in the center and 8 locations equally spaced around it. In this embodiment, the amount of test sample sucked is 1.2 g. Next, close the lid of the MV; Change from "syringe" to "small" and store it!
From step 110, a rotor suitable for the test sample is selected based on instructions from the computer unit. Next, in order to dry the water droplets attached to the rotor, the rotor is immersed in a container 101 containing methanol and dried at room temperature in a dryer 102 maintained at room temperature.
Automatic tray on the rotating shaft of measuring device 7. Let India. The temperature sensor is set near the viscometer included in the Via measuring device 7. Next, P)IAND is changed from "small" to "medium", the test sample container in the turntable device 3 is set in the viscometer, and the viscosity is measured. In addition, in FIG. 2, 700 is a viscometer controller. This viscosity and temperature are displayed graphically on the CR1 screen 122. At this time, data processing (data acquisition comparison) is performed. (pH measurement) Set the PH sensor included in the pH measuring device 8 into the test sample container, measure and display the graph on the CR1 screen 122 (
p) I and temperature), and at this time data processing (data acquisition comparison) is performed simultaneously. (Cleaning/storage session completed) The pH sensor is cleaned using the cleaning device 9. pH in cleaning device 9
After setting the sensor, the cleaning device 9 is automatically activated. That is, the rotating brush rotates and the cleaning liquid automatic supply and drainage system starts. Next, the test sample container 303 is returned to the turntable device 3, and the test sample container 303 is covered. The GP HAND was changed from "Medium" to "Small", the rotor was removed from the Vis measuring device 7, and the rotor was cleaned with the cleaning device 9 while operating the cleaning liquid automatic supply and drainage system in the same way as the PH sensor to inspect for adhesion. After removing the sample, return it to the storage device 1O 6 Next, the temperature sensor is cleaned in the cleaning device 9 while operating the cleaning liquid automatic supply and drainage system in the same way as the p) I sensor, and returned to the storage device 210. Next, change GP HAND from "small" to "medium". Process data and check NV completion 0 then MV
The lid of the measuring device is opened, and the tray (aluminum plate) inside the MV measuring device 5 is taken out and processed using the vacuum device 6. 5th rl! J is an exploded perspective view showing a test sample container according to the present invention. The test sample container 303 is a container body 3 having a cylindrical shape with a bottom.
3G and a lid 3 that covers the opening 306 of the container body 330.
It consists of 31. A gripping plate 380 is erected on the top surface of this lid 331 to be gripped by an analytical robot (l), and a barcode label 3111 is removably attached to this gripping plate 360 via a clamping part 382 in a flat state. . Specifically, the container body 330 has a protrusion 332 with a guide portion 308 formed on its outer peripheral wall, and a positioning groove 3 formed in the through hole 304 of the turntable 302.
05 for positioning. Furthermore, a pair of upper and lower gripping protrusions 334 are formed on both sides of the outer periphery of the opening of the container body 330, respectively, and are oriented in a direction perpendicular to the direction of the protrusion 332. A lid 331 that intersects with the longitudinal direction of a gripping plate 360 that is gripped by the analysis robot 1 between a pair of upper and lower gripping protrusions 334 to allow attachment and detachment of the test sample container 303.
A notch 333 is formed at the outer edge of the container body 330, and when the lid is closed, the opening 30B of the container body 330 is fitted with the protrusion 334.
It is now possible to position the Next, in the above configuration, the test sample container 303 is intermittently rotationally conveyed by the turntable device 3, but at the analysis robot gripping position. Since the position is determined by the positioning groove 305 formed in the through hole 304 of the turntable 302 and the protrusion 332 with a guide, the analysis robot 1 removes the lid 331 and opens the container body 3.
30 attachments and detachments can be performed. Therefore, the analysis robot 1 moves the turntable device 3 to the test sample container 3.
03 can be removed and held in a state immersed in, for example, a set rotor, making it possible to automate viscosity measurement. Note that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments.
For example, in this embodiment, a positioning groove is formed in the through hole of the turntable, and a corresponding protrusion is formed on the container body, but the invention is not limited to this. Positioning may be performed by forming a positioning groove in the container body. [Effects of the Invention] According to the present invention, a test sample container includes a container body that is attached to and removed from a through hole of a turntable while being positioned by an analytical robot, and a container body that is attached to and removed from an opening of the container body while being positioned by an analytical robot. Since it has a structure consisting of a lid and a
Analysis robots can handle test sample containers. Therefore, it is possible to achieve the effect that viscosity measurement and the like can be completely automated.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an automatic analyzer according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a control system of the same device, and FIG.
The figure is a flow chart showing the automatic analysis system, Figure 4 is a perspective view showing the robot and turntable device, and Figure 5 is a perspective view showing the robot and turntable device.
The figure is an exploded perspective view showing the test sample container. 1: Robot 2: 3= 4: 5: 8= 7= 8: 3: lO: 11: 12: 303: 330: 331: 332: 333= 334= Analysis station turntable device Robot hand station NV measurement device Vacuum device Viscosity measuring device pH measuring device Cleaning device Storage device Barcode league Computer unit Inspection sample container Container body Lid protrusion Notch gripping protrusion l2 Fig. Fig. Fig.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. In an automatic analyzer in which an analytical robot automatically analyzes the viscosity, pH, and nonvolatile content of a liquid resin in a test sample container that is intermittently rotationally conveyed by a turntable device, the test sample is The automatic analysis is characterized in that the container consists of a container body that is attached to and removed from a through hole of a turntable in a positioned manner by an analytical robot, and a lid that is attached to and removed from the opening of the container body while being positioned by an analytical robot. Device. 2. A claim characterized in that the container body has a protrusion or groove corresponding to a positioning groove or protrusion formed in the through hole of the turntable, and a pair of upper and lower gripping protrusions on both sides of the outer periphery of the opening. The automatic analyzer according to item 1. 3. The lid has a notch corresponding to the gripping protrusion of the container body,
The automatic analyzer according to claim 1, further comprising a gripping plate on the upper surface.