JPH04287680A - Image pick-up device of very small substance in liquid - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain an excellent static image even in a liquid in a fluidized state by setting a magnifying optical means and a TV camera in a stationary waterproof box, laying an illuminating means in a moving waterproof box and sampling part of liquid between both the waterproof boxes. CONSTITUTION:A moving waterproof box 10B is reciprocated by a mobile driving gear 22 and part of liquid is sampled between an observation window 14B and an observation window 14A of a stationary waterproof box 10A. The box 10A has a built-in magnifying optical lens 19 and a TV camera 10 and the box 10B has a built-in illuminating means 18.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an imaging device for minute substances in liquid that can continuously and automatically observe minute substances in liquid.

0002

[Prior Art] Microbial utilization processes mix and stir microorganisms and culture media or microorganisms and water to be treated, and are widely used in fluidized conditions to produce useful substances, propagate and culture the microorganisms themselves, and decompose and remove specific substances. There is. In these microbial utilization processes, it is important to maintain microorganisms in an appropriate state.

For example, in sewage treatment plants, a large amount of air is supplied to a variety of microorganisms called activated sludge to remove and purify inflowing sewage from pollutants. In order to maintain this purification function with high efficiency, it is necessary to appropriately control the types of microorganisms that appear and their concentrations. This is because when only a specific type of microorganism grows excessively, an abnormal phenomenon specific to that type occurs, the quality of the treated water deteriorates, and it takes a long time to recover. For this reason, there is an increasing need to quantify the types of microorganisms and their abundance online, and to conduct operational management that also reflects this information.

[0004] Application of image processing technology is being considered on a daily basis as one of the operational management means that takes into consideration information on the types of microorganisms that appear and their concentration. However, to achieve this, a prerequisite is the establishment of an imaging device that can continuously and automatically observe microorganisms. In this case, it is important to obtain accurate information on activated sludge by imaging the microorganisms without changing their aggregation state or their environment. For this purpose, an imaging device that can be directly immersed in liquid to observe microorganisms is required. Direct immersion type imaging devices are disclosed in JP-A-52-89942, JP-A-63-41639, and JP-A-1-312992.
No. 2, etc. have been invented.

[0005]

[Problem to be solved by the invention] Among the above conventional methods,
JP-A-52-89942, JP-A-63-41639, and JP-A-1-312992 disclose an illumination means, an enlarging optical means, and a means for converting an enlarged optical image obtained by the enlarging optical means into an electrical signal ( For example, a television camera) is placed horizontally, and the sample chamber is formed in the direction of gravity. With this method, microorganisms that tend to settle due to gravity move downward even after they are taken into the sample chamber, making it difficult to obtain still images. This still image is an important function of the imaging device in observing the appearance of microorganisms. In particular, this is an essential condition when using image processing to quantify filamentous microorganisms with a thickness of approximately 1 μm and motile protozoa that frequently appear in activated sludge. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an in-liquid microscopic substance imaging device that can always obtain good still images even in a flowing liquid.

[0006]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has two waterproof casings that can be immersed, one of which is a pedestal fixed to a structure that holds a liquid to be immersed. A means is provided on the pedestal that is fixed to the connected support rods and can adjust the vertical position of the support rods, and the other waterproof casing is of a plunger type movable with respect to the fixed casing, An observation window glass is installed in the casing in a part facing the plunger, and a magnifying optical means and a television camera are built in to image the sample liquid outside the liquid contact window. A recessed observation window glass is installed in a portion facing the liquid window, a lighting means is built in to illuminate the observation window glass including this recessed part, and a means for suppressing the flow of the liquid to be immersed is provided between the two waterproof casings. Arrange.

[0007]

[Operation] In the above means constituting the present invention, the plunger repeatedly approaches and moves away from the fixed waterproof casing. The approaching motion takes in the microbial mixture to obtain an observation image, and the gap between the fixed waterproof casings is adjusted to 150 μm or less, and the leaving action adjusts the gap to a maximum of several to tens of mm in order to replace the taken-in mixed solution. be done. The flow suppressing means installed between the waterproof casings prevents the flow of the external fluid from directly hitting the sample chamber formed in the recess between the casings, at least when the plunger approaches. With these configurations, the sample liquid can be completely retained even in a rapidly flowing mixed liquid, and a still image can be obtained. For this reason, it is possible to measure the feature quantities of not only non-motile microorganisms but also mobile microorganisms through image processing. Furthermore, the ability to always obtain stable still images has the effect that the operator can directly observe the photographed images and grasp the state of microorganisms.

[0008]

[Embodiment] An embodiment of the present invention will be explained below with reference to FIG. Figure 1 shows an example of the application of activated sludge to sewage treatment equipment.
First, the processing function will be briefly explained. Sewage discharged from homes, factories, etc. is led to the aeration tank 1 after coarse impurities are removed in a pretreatment process (not shown). The sewage 3 that has flowed into the aeration tank 1 is mixed with a microorganism group 5 called activated sludge, which is returned from the settling tank 2 located behind the aeration tank 1.
becomes. The inflowing sewage 3 contains impurities that were not removed in the pretreatment process. This foreign material may be, for example, earth and sand, fruit seeds, wood chips, etc., and may have a size of several millimeters to several tens of millimeters. The mixed liquid 9 is stirred at a flow rate of several meters per second by a large amount of air 4 injected from the aeration pipe 8 installed at the bottom of the aeration tank 1, and oxygen is supplied, so that the pollutants in the liquid are absorbed by the action of activated sludge. Processed by For example, organic matter is converted to carbon dioxide gas and water, ammonia nitrogen is oxidized to nitrate or nitrite nitrogen, and activated sludge itself multiplies. During this process, phosphorus is also taken up. The activated sludge of the mixed liquid 9 flowing out from the aeration tank 1 is settled by gravity in the settling tank 2, and the supernatant liquid is treated as treated water 7 and is then discharged into a river or the sea after undergoing sterilization treatment. On the other hand, the precipitated activated sludge has a high concentration, and most of it is recycled to the aeration tank 1 as return sludge 5, and a part corresponding to the multiplication is transferred to surplus sludge 6.
It is discharged outside the system as waste and processed through processes such as dehydration and incineration.

[0009] In such water treatment facilities, management of activated sludge is one of the important operational tasks. In particular, maintenance and management to form activated sludge with good settling properties is required. Deterioration of the settling properties of activated sludge is called bulking, which not only increases the risk of sludge flowing out from the settling tank, but also imposes a heavy burden on the aeration processing function and sludge processing function. If sludge with good settling properties can be maintained, the above concerns will not occur. This bulking is thought to be caused by the abnormal proliferation of filamentous microorganisms among the wide variety of microorganisms that live in activated sludge. In addition to bulking, many abnormal phenomena caused by specific microorganisms occur in water treatment facilities that use activated sludge. Therefore, by understanding the types and abundance of microorganisms,
By determining the properties of activated sludge, it is possible to detect abnormal phenomena early and take preventive measures. For this purpose, an online imaging device that can continuously observe microorganisms in activated sludge is essential. In view of this, the present invention provides an imaging device that can stably obtain still images even in a liquid mixture that is forced to flow, and the details thereof will be described below.

Reference numeral 10 denotes an imaging device for observing the mixed liquid 3, the detailed structure of which is shown in FIG. The imaging device 10 includes a fixed waterproof housing 10A connected to a fixed support rod 12, and a fixed waterproof housing 10A.
It consists of a movable waterproof casing 10B that can reciprocate based on , and a connecting rod 11 that connects these two waterproof casings, and the whole is immersed in the aeration tank mixed liquid 9. In Figure 2, connecting rod 1
Although only one No. 1 is shown, it is preferable to install a plurality of No. 1. The connecting rod 11 is fixed to the movable waterproof housing 10B and can reciprocate along guides 13, 13' fixed to the fixed waterproof housing 10A. The two waterproof casings 10A and 10B are arranged vertically, and an observation window 14A is provided in a part of the opposing area.
, 14B are installed. The observation window is made of a transparent material such as glass, and at least one side has a concave structure.

The movable waterproof housing 10B has built-in illumination means 18 for illuminating the mixed liquid 9 between the observation windows through the observation window 14B. The illumination means 18 has a light source installed outside the imaging device 10, and, for example, illuminates the observation window 1 through a light guide.
4B may be irradiated, but as shown in FIG. 2, a light source section may be directly installed. In this case, the condenser lens is
If placed in front of 8, parallel light can be obtained, improving image quality.

The fixed waterproof housing 10A includes a magnifying optical lens 19 that focuses on the liquid mixture 9 outside the observation window 14A, and a television camera 20 that receives the optical image of the magnifying optical lens 19 and converts it into an electrical signal. , a moving drive device 22 for reciprocating the movable waterproof housing 10B, and a wiper drive device 34 for operating the wiper 32. The movable waterproof housing 10B is moved in conjunction with a transmission rod 25 that moves in the vertical direction by a moving drive device 22. Moreover, the wiper drive device 34 of the wiper 32 is activated to clean the observation windows 14A and 14B when the movable waterproof housing 10B moves downward (see FIG. 3). Further, a deterrent plate 30 is installed on the surface where the observation window 14A is installed.

Next, the function of the restraining plate 30 will be explained with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. In FIG. 3, the movable waterproof housing 10B is positioned downward and the space between the observation windows 14A and 14B is widened, and the liquid mixture 9 freely passes between the observation windows by its own flow 9a. By widening the space between the waterproof casings in this manner, the liquid mixture between the observation windows is naturally exchanged, and there is also an effect that deposits on the observation windows 14A and 14B are washed away by the action of the flow 9a. Further, by operating the wiper 32, deposits on the window surface can be forcibly washed away and the mixed liquid 9 can be completely replaced. The distance between observation windows in this case varies depending on the size of the wiper, but is several meters.
m to several tens of mm. This means that activated sludge is several meters long.
There are some that form a size of m, and this is to observe the exact sludge. FIG. 4 shows that after replacing the mixed liquid 9, the movable waterproof housing 10B is moved upward and the observation windows 14A, 14 are
This is the state in which B is in contact with it. Microorganisms can be observed at this point. The mixed liquid 9 to be observed is taken into a sample chamber in a recess formed by two observation windows in contact with each other. The depth of this sample chamber is 15 mm when recognizing filamentous microorganisms with a thickness of approximately 1 μm, which requires a magnification of several hundred times.
A clear image can be obtained by setting it to 0 μm or less. However, it is difficult to bring the observation windows 14A and 14B into perfect contact with each other, and a slight gap appears. For example, minute contaminants such as earth and sand are suspended in the liquid mixture 9, and these contaminants are mixed between the observation windows 14A and 14B, and a portion thereof is sandwiched between the observation windows to form a gap. The external liquid mixture 9 with a flow 9a disturbs the inside of the sample chamber through this gap, so that a still image cannot be obtained. The deterrent plate 30 has at least two observation windows 14
It is made higher than the surface where A and 14B are in contact to prevent the mixed liquid flow 9a from directly hitting the sample chamber. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the wiper arm 33 is installed outside the operating range of the wiper arm 33 on the upstream side of the observation window 14A. By providing such a deterrent plate 30, it is possible to eliminate the influence of the mixed liquid flow 9a and obtain good still images of microorganisms at all times.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 50 denotes an on-site operation panel for setting the illumination means 18 of the imaging device 10, the means for adjusting the moving drive device 22, the wiper drive device 34, and the imaging conditions for the magnifying optical lens 19 and the television camera 20. A means 70 for observing a captured image is installed. Furthermore, 60 is a remote control panel that can perform the same operations as the on-site control panel 50 at a remote location. It is preferable that either the on-site operation panel 50 or the remote operation panel 60 function to switch the operation to prevent confusion.

In the embodiment, the deterrent plate 30 is installed on the observation window 14A, but it may be placed on the observation window side of the observation window 14B, that is, on the movable waterproof housing 10B. Furthermore, the present invention does not limit the installation position of the deterrent plate 30, nor its size or shape. FIG. 6 shows an example where it is installed on the outer periphery of the imaging device 10, and FIG. 7 shows how it is attached to the aeration tank 1. A one-sided swirling flow system is widely used in which air 4 is blown into the aeration tank 1 from an aeration pipe 8 installed on one side wall. Therefore, the mixed liquid 9
The flow 9a shows unidirectionality. The deterrent plate 30 is used during observation (
It is intended to alleviate this unidirectional flow 9a (when the observation window is in contact with the observation window), and may be installed at least between the housings. This also applies when the mixed liquid 9 is mechanically stirred. Note that the restraining plate 30 may be provided around the entire circumference. This is a double-sided swirl flow system.
This is effective when using a full-surface aeration system or a multidirectional flow 9a using a submersible pump. Furthermore, the present invention is also applicable to an imaging device in which the imaging optical system is arranged laterally.

[0016]

According to the present invention, the liquid to be imaged can be held without moving even in a fluid state, and good still images of minute substances can always be obtained. Therefore, when microorganisms are measured using image processing or the like, even microorganisms with delicate shapes or motile microorganisms can be quantified with high accuracy, and highly reliable microorganism information can be obtained.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of an imaging device for explaining the configuration conditions of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the function of the deterrent plate.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the function of the deterrent plate.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the arrangement of restraining plates.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of another arrangement of the restraining plate.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of the installation situation of the imaging device.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Aeration tank, 9... Mixed liquid, 9a... Mixed liquid flow, 10... Imaging device, 10A... Fixed waterproof housing, 10B... Movable waterproof housing,
14A, 14B...Observation window, 30...Suppression board.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. Means for sampling a part of the liquid by immersing it in a flowing liquid containing minute substances such as microorganisms, means for suppressing the flow of the sampled liquid by an external liquid, and applying light to the sampled liquid. a means for irradiating;
A microscopic substance imaging device in liquid, comprising means for enlarging the irradiated microscopic substance in the liquid, and means for receiving an enlarged image of the microscopic substance and converting it into an electrical signal. 2. According to claim 1, the liquid is composed of two waterproof casings, and means for sampling a part of the liquid is provided between the casings, and the flow suppressing means is provided between the waterproof casings. Microscopic substance imaging device in liquid. 3. The in-liquid minute substance imaging device according to claim 2, wherein the flow suppressing means is disposed in one direction of the sampling means.