JPH04310849A - Spectrophotometer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable raw unhulled rice grains to be subjected to spectral analysis in a short time by providing a light-projecting portion for emitting a flux of measurement light and a light-reception portion for receiving a flux of transmission light from the other cutting surface on one cutting surface of the unhulled rice whose both edges are cut opposingly at a support portion which supports a blade for cutting both edge portions of the unhulled rice. CONSTITUTION:A flux of light for measurement is projected to a cutting surface S1 from a light-projecting portion 9 which is provided at a position corresponding to one cutting surface S1 of a sample S out of a support portion 8 in an operation state where the left and right both edge portions of the sample S are cut by a pair of blades 8A and 8B which are supported by the supporting portion 8 for a raw sample S where a middle portion is held by a retention portion 7. A flux of transmission light which passes the sample S is received by a light-reception portion 10 which is provided at a position corresponding to the other cutting surface S2 of the sample S out of the support portion 8. Constituent analysis of the sample S is performed by the flux of irradiation light and the flux of transmission light. Since constituent analysis can be made immediately without going through any machining process, an accurate measurement can be made in a short time.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a spectrometer used, for example, in analyzing the components of grains.

0002

[Prior Art] This type of spectrometer is used for drying,
There are methods that use crushed grains as samples (described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 1-49890), such as component analysis using near-infrared spectroscopy of rice, which shows a high correlation between protein/amylose content and taste. It is used in

0003

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] 1 However, the above-mentioned conventional technology has the drawbacks that not only does it take time to prepare the sample, but also that the analytical results lack accuracy when compared to raw grains. Ta. For example, when analyzing the components of rice, preparing a sample requires multiple steps of drying, hulling, polishing, and pulverizing the polished rice, and requires a long time of over 30 hours, which has the disadvantage of being complicated. Moreover, since it goes through a drying process, it also has the disadvantage that the moisture content cannot be detected accurately. On the other hand, in order to meet the diversification of consumer tastes and the demand for good-tasting rice, it is necessary to immediately classify raw paddy collected after harvest according to quality before entering the drying process. This is because if raw paddy is not dried within one day after harvesting, its quality will rapidly deteriorate. but,
When spectroscopically analyzing unhulled rice through the paddy, the amount of transmitted light decreases, making it impossible to analyze accurately, and there is no measuring device that can perform component analysis in a short time that would enable classification in such a short time. , there was a desire for a device that would make this possible. An object of the present invention is to eliminate the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks.

0004

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve this object, the spectrometer according to the present invention has a characteristic configuration including: a light projection unit that irradiates a measurement light beam onto a sample supported by a support device;
A spectroscopic measuring device is provided with a light receiving section that receives a transmitted light beam that passes through the sample, and the supporting device is connected to a holding section that holds an intermediate portion of the sample, and the sample held by the holding section. a pair of blades that cut both ends of the sample in parallel or nearly parallel; and a support part that supports the pair of blades movably in the cutting direction; The light projecting section that irradiates a beam of light for measurement onto one cut surface of the sample and the light receiving section that receives a beam of transmitted light coming out from the other cut surface of the sample are provided to face each other. be. Furthermore, it is preferable that the pair of blades, the light projecting section, and the light receiving section are arranged side by side in a direction of relative movement with respect to the sample to be cut.

[0005]

[Operation] A raw sample whose middle part is held between the holding parts is cut at both left and right ends by a pair of blades supported by the supporting part. A light beam for measurement is irradiated onto the cut surface from a light projecting section provided at a position corresponding to one cut surface, and a light beam for measurement is also provided at a position corresponding to the other cut surface of the sample in the supporting section. A light receiving section receives a transmitted light beam that passes through the sample. A component analysis of the sample is performed from the irradiated light beam and the transmitted light beam.

[0006]

[Effects of the Invention] Therefore, according to the present invention, the components of the sample after harvest can be analyzed directly without any processing steps, which simplifies the work process and enables accurate measurements in a short time. Not only has it become possible to provide a spectroscopic measurement device that allows It is now possible to provide a measuring device that allows classification according to quality.

[0007]

[Example] Sample S of unhulled rice, which is an example of the present invention, is shown below.
A spectroscopic measurement device will be explained below. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the spectrometer includes a support device 6 for the sample S,
A transport device 1 that aligns and transports the samples S one by one to a support device 6
, a light source L for irradiating the sample S in the support device 6 with a measurement light beam;
It is composed of a near-infrared spectrometer 11 that analyzes and outputs the components of , a computer 12 that statistically processes the spectroscopic results, and the like.

The conveyance device 1 is composed of a hopper 2 into which the sample S is placed, and a conveyor 3 which aligns and conveys the sample S falling from the lower end of the hopper 2 one by one toward the support device 6. The conveyor surface 4 of the conveyor 3 is formed with a recess 5 for holding each grain of the sample S in a posture perpendicular to the transport direction in the longitudinal direction, and the recesses 5 correspond to blades 8A and 8B, which will be described later. Notches 5A and 5B are formed at the positions to allow the blades 8A and 8B to escape.

The support device 6 includes a presser 7 as a holding portion that moves freely toward and near the sample S from above and holds the longitudinal middle portion of the sample S between it and the recess 5 of the conveyor 3. , Blades 8A and 8B are provided at both ends of the holding tool 7 and move independently of the holding tool 7 to freely approach and approach the sample S from above to cut both ends of the sample S held in the clamped state. It consists of a support part 8 provided at the tip. The support section 8 includes a light projecting optical fiber 9 as a light projecting section that irradiates a beam of light for measurement onto one cut surface S1 of the sample S when the sample S is cut, and a light projecting optical fiber 9 that serves as a light projecting section that irradiates one cut surface S1 of the sample S with a beam of light for measurement. A light-receiving optical fiber 10 is provided as a light-receiving section that receives the transmitted light beam from the cut surface S2. The light emitting optical fiber 9 constitutes an optical path for guiding the light beam from the light source L to the sample S, and the light receiving optical fiber 10 constitutes an optical path for guiding the light beam to the spectrometer 11.

That is, the transport device 1 stops when the sample S reaches the location where the support device 6 is located. Figure 2
As shown in FIG. 3, the presser 7 of the support device 6 approaches from above and clamps the sample S between it and the conveyor 3. The support part 8 descends from above and cuts both ends of the sample with a pair of blades 8A and 8B provided at the tip. In the cut state, a beam of light for measurement is irradiated onto the sample S from its cross section S1 via the light emitting optical fiber 9, and a beam of light transmitted through the sample S is focused through the light receiving optical fiber 10. Then, the spectroscopic device 11 performs the measurement.

[0011] The spectroscope 11 separates the transmitted light beam and detects the intensity of each specific wavelength corresponding to components such as water, protein, and amylose in the endosperm, and inputs the detection output to the computer 12. By performing averaging processing, etc., the average quality of each lot is identified.

[Another Embodiment] Another embodiment of the present invention will be described below. In the previous embodiment, an optical fiber was used for the light projecting section and the light receiving section, but a light source may be provided directly on the support section as the light projecting section, or a light source may be provided directly on the support section as the light receiving section. The structure may be configured by providing elements, or they may be combined as appropriate. In the previous embodiment, the sample was described as being unhulled rice, but the sample is not limited to unhulled rice, and may be any grain. In the previous embodiment, each particle of the sample S is held and transported with the longitudinal direction perpendicular to the transport direction, but the transport orientation is not limited to this, and the longitudinal direction may be perpendicular to the transport surface. , the sample S may be transported with its longitudinal direction parallel to the transport direction. In this case, the blades 8A, 8 of the support device
The mounting position of B can be adjusted accordingly. By using this spectrometer to determine the frequency distribution of the proportions of each component of paddy in one ear of rice, it can be useful for research such as determining the degree of ripening and improving breeds. Although the spectroscopic device 11 is one that targets near-infrared wavelengths, it is not particularly limited and may be one that targets any wavelength. Further, the configuration of the spectroscopic device 11 is not limited, and may be any configuration such as one using a prism or a diffraction grating. Incidentally, although reference numerals are written in the claims section for convenient comparison with the drawings, the present invention is not limited to the structure shown in the accompanying drawings.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

[Figure 1] Schematic configuration diagram of the spectrometer

[Figure 2] Cross-sectional view of the support device before measurement

[Figure 3] Cross-sectional view of the support device during measurement

[Explanation of symbols]

6 Support device 7 Holding part 8 Support part 8A blade 8B blade 9 Light projecting section 10 Light receiving part S Sample

Claims (2)

[Claims] Claim 1: A sample (S) supported by a support device (6).
), a light projecting section (9) that irradiates a light beam for measurement onto the sample (S), and a light receiving section (10) that receives a transmitted light beam that passes through the sample (S).
), the support device (
6) with a holding part (7) that holds the middle part of the sample (S).
) and the sample (S) held by its holding part (7).
) with a pair of blades (8
A), (8B) and a support part (8) that supports the pair of blades (8A), (8B) movably in the cutting direction, and both ends are attached to the support part (8). The light emitting unit (9) irradiates one cut surface (S1) of the cut sample (S) with a light beam for measurement, and the light beam comes out from the other cut surface (S2) of the sample (S). A spectroscopic measuring device in which the light receiving section (10) that receives a transmitted light beam is provided facing each other. 2. The pair of blades (8A), (8B), the light projecting section (9), and the light receiving section (10) are arranged side by side in a direction of relative movement with respect to the sample (S) to be cut. The spectrometer according to claim 1.