JPH061218B2 - Automatic color measurement method and its equipment by liquid film formation - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial field of application) The present invention relates to various kinds of paints for automobiles, automobile repairs and the like, and toning raw materials, varnishes and solvents used for producing these various paints. The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for forming a liquid film and automatically measuring the color of various liquid materials such as, dyes, inks, adhesives, and various other aqueous solutions.

(Prior Art) As a method of color-matching a paint to a given color sample,
Today, CCM (Comput using computer)
er Color Matching) method is becoming mainstream. JP-A-53-100852, "Paint color adjusting method", JP-A-58-204066, "Paint preparing method and apparatus", JP-A-62-22870, "Coloring material color adjusting method and color adjusting auxiliary apparatus". , Etc., various methods have been proposed. However, in the conventional method, it is generally necessary to measure the color of the paint in a dry state where the paint is colored on the plate.Therefore, even if the composition is determined using a computer, it takes a long time to make a sample of the paint plate. After all, there was a drawback that the efficiency did not increase so much.

Further, as described in JP-A-58-154628, "Method for inspecting coated surface", the inspection of the coated surface becomes inaccurate due to the difference in reflectance of the coated surface, the difference in spectrum between light sources and the like. It is also known.

The applicant has previously made a liquid film under predetermined conditions and measured the spectral reflectance with a non-contact type spectrophotometer as a "color matching method for coloring liquid" disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-104900. Then, a method was proposed in which the color liquid is color-matched with a sample color whose spectral reflectance of the liquid film is known by the CCM method. However, it was found that when the liquid contained in the container was stirred to make it uniform, bubbles remained in the liquid due to the influence of the bubbles, and the measured values varied due to the influence of the bubbles.
The present invention relates to the improvement.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) An object of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus for executing a colorimetric work quickly and automatically by omitting a complicated process of preparing a coated plate. .

Another object of the present invention is to provide a colorimetric method and apparatus capable of accurately measuring a colorimetric value even if bubbles remain in the liquid.

Yet another object of the present invention is the supply, metering, mixing of liquids,
An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic color measurement device that can be easily incorporated into a line for automating a series of processes such as stirring and color matching.

(Means for Solving Problems and Actions Thereof) The aforementioned object of the present invention is, in the first aspect thereof, a method for automatically measuring the color of a liquid contained in a container, The step of inserting a rod-shaped substrate into the inside from the liquid inlet provided on the upper surface of the container, the step of pulling up the substrate upward, and the scraping blade contacting the substrate to move them relative to each other This is achieved by an automatic colorimetry method by liquid film formation, which includes a step of forming a liquid film and a step of bringing a non-contact type spectrophotometer close to the liquid film to measure a spectral reflectance.

Based on such a method, according to the automatic colorimetric method of the present invention,
The liquid adheres to the substrate by inserting and pulling up a rod-shaped substrate from the liquid injection port of the container, and then a scraping blade is brought into contact with the substrate to move it relative to form a liquid film on the substrate. The colorimetric work can be performed by bringing the measurement sensor of the spectrophotometer close to. Thus, the conventional process of preparing a coated plate is not required, and the color measurement process is significantly speeded up. Further, by scraping with a scraping blade, air bubbles are removed from the liquid film, and color measurement can be performed without the influence of stirring remaining. Since each step in the method of the present invention can be automatically performed by using a cylinder, a motor, etc., it can be easily incorporated into an automation line.

In a second aspect thereof, the present invention is an apparatus for automatically measuring the color of a liquid contained in a container, which is a pedestal for holding the container, a rod-shaped base, and a pedestal supported on the pedestal. A lifting mechanism for inserting the base into a liquid injection port provided on the upper surface of the container, a scraping blade capable of contacting the base, and a colorimetric sensor positioned adjacent to the base. Provided is an automatic colorimetric device for producing a liquid film, which comprises a contact spectrophotometer. According to such an apparatus, the process of forming the liquid film and measuring the color can be automatically executed as described above.

In a third aspect of the present invention, a cleaning mechanism for cleaning the substrate and the scraping blade is provided, and the cleaning mechanism includes a cleaning tank containing a cleaning solvent and a cleaning brush. As a result, it becomes possible to automatically clean the substrate and the scraping blade, and it is possible to successively measure the color of the liquid in the container which is continuously fed, and the efficiency is remarkably improved.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description with reference to the embodiments of the accompanying drawings.

(Embodiment) FIG. 1 shows an automatic color measuring device 10 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
Represents the whole of. In this embodiment, the columnar can containing 18 is taken as an example of the affiliated container for containing the liquid, but the present invention can be similarly applied to the drum containing 200.

In FIG. 1, an automatic color measuring device 10 includes a pedestal 16 that receives and holds the container 12, a rod-shaped base 18 that extends in the vertical direction at substantially the center of the gantry 16, and the base 18 provided on the upper surface of the container 12. An elevating mechanism 20 that is inserted from the liquid injection port 14 into the inside, a scraper (scraping blade) 30 that can come into contact with the base 18, a cylinder 31 that moves the scraper back and forth, and a position adjacent to the base 18. A non-contact type spectrophotometer 40 having a color measurement sensor 41, for example, a CMS-500 type spectrophotometer manufactured by Murakami Color Research Laboratory is provided.

An elevating mechanism 20 is supported on an upper part of the pedestal 16, and a cylinder 21 thereof is operated to move a bracket 22 up and down along a guide rod 23 by a stroke S to raise and lower the base 18. Further, a pulse motor 25 for finely adjusting the base body 18 up and down is attached to the bracket 22.

A scraper 32 for removing an unnecessary sample on the rear surface of the substrate and a cylinder 33 for moving the scraper 32 back and forth are arranged facing the scraper 30 for scraping the liquid. Both the cylinder 31 and the cylinder 33 described above are supported by the mount 16.

The cleaning mechanisms 50 and 60 and their transport mechanisms are arranged below the pedestal 16, and the first cleaning mechanism 50 has a cleaning tank 51 containing a rough cleaning solvent inside and a centrally projecting inside of the tank. Cleaning brush 52 and tank lid 5
3, a cylinder 54 that opens and closes the lid 53, and a cylinder 55 that moves the tank forward and backward in the horizontal direction. The cleaning tank 51 is placed on the conveying roller 56 and is sent to the standby position 51A, and is placed on the fork 56, and the cylinder 58 is operated to operate the cleaning position 51.
Pushed up to B.

Similarly, the second cleaning mechanism 60 opens and closes the cleaning tank 61 containing the cleaning solvent inside, the cleaning brush 62 projecting toward the center inside the tank, the lid 63 of the tank, and the lid 63. It is composed of a cylinder 64 and a cylinder 65 that moves the tank forward and backward in the horizontal direction. The cleaning tank 61 is placed on the transport roller 66 and sent to the central standby position, and is placed on the fork 56 and pushed up to the cleaning position by operating the cylinder 58.

The container 12 containing the liquid is fed horizontally from the standby position 12A by the cylinder 71 and stopped at the color measurement operation position P by the action of the transport roller 72 and the stoppers 73 and 74. It is sent to the process.

The colorimetric sensor 41 is driven by the pulse motor 42 and is moved forward and backward toward the base 18. A calibration plate 44 for performing calibration at the start of color measurement and a cylinder 45 for moving it up and down are arranged adjacent to and above the color measurement sensor 41. Further, a distance detecting sensor (not shown) is attached to the head portion 47 driven by the pulse motor 42 to accurately detect the distance to the base 18. Thus,
The pulse motor 42 serves to precisely finely adjust the distance between the colorimetric sensor 41 and the sample liquid film or the calibration plate.

Adjacent to the sides of the scrapers 30 and 32, a dripping tray 76 that can rotate in a horizontal plane and project horizontally and a cylinder 77 that rotates the dripping tray 76 are arranged. When the substrate 18 is at the highest position shown in FIG.
By protruding so as to intersect the extension line of the base body 18, it is possible to catch drops falling from the base body 18 and the scrapers 30, 32.

FIG. 2 shows a method of scraping off the liquid adhering to the surface of the substrate 18 with the scraper 30 to form a liquid film.
There are two methods as shown in A and B. The method shown in A is a method in which the groove 36 is formed on the scraper 30 side and the liquid film 38 is created by moving the scraper 30 while contacting the substrate 18, and the method shown in B is formed the groove 36 in the substrate 18 side. Is a method of forming the liquid film 38. The reason why color measurement is performed after forming such a liquid film is that when the substrate is immersed in the liquid and pulled up, the liquid film contains bubbles and accurate color measurement cannot be performed. .

The shape of the scraper is flat or wedged, and a liquid film is created by either method A or B. If the sample liquid is not attached to the liquid film creation part before scraping,
It was found that the effect of bubbles appeared. The depth of the groove is set so that the bubbles are completely disappeared and the liquid is completely filled. As a result of considering the above, it was found that it is desirable to form a liquid film by the method B. As an example, a concave groove having a depth of 0.3 mm and a groove width of 20 mm is formed on a stainless steel substrate, and the effective liquid adhesion portion is set to 120 mm. Experiments have yielded favorable results.

The apparatus according to the present invention is configured as described above, and the series of operations is the mode I for forming a liquid film, the mode II for performing color measurement of the calibration standard plate executed in parallel with the mode I,
Mode III for measuring the color of the liquid film by referring to the results of Mode I and Mode II, and Mode I for cleaning the substrate and scraper
Composed of V and. The operating procedure in each mode is as follows.

(Mode I) First, after the container 12 with the cap removed from the liquid injection port is set at the inlet side standby position 12A, the cylinder 71 contracts and the container 12 moves to the color measurement operation position in the pedestal 16 of the apparatus 10. Be drawn to P. The container 12 is fed on the conveying roller 72 and fixed at the operation position P by the stoppers 73 and 74. The cylinder 21 operates to lower the substrate 18, and the upper surface of the container 12 enters the liquid injection port 14. Cylinders 31 and 33 extend and scrapers 30 and 3
2 is pressed on both front and back surfaces of the base 18. Here the substrate 18
Is increased by the distance (primary stroke S1) required for liquid film formation. At this time, the pulse motor 25 is operated as needed to perform fine adjustment. The cylinder 77 operates to insert the dripping tray 76 below the substrate 18. Cylinder 3
1, 33 contract and the scrapers 30, 32 are retracted.

(Mode II) The cylinder 45 is extended to lower the calibration standard plate 44 to the primary measurement position, and stopped in front of the sensor 41. The pulse motor 42 starts and the sensor 41 moves to the standard plate 4
Proceed toward 4. The pulse motor 42 is controlled to finely adjust the distance between the sensor 41 and the standard plate 44 and stop. Here, the primary color measurement of the standard plate 44 is performed. Subsequently, the standard plate 44 is lowered to the second measurement position, and the second color measurement is performed. After the color measurement is completed, the sensor 41 is retracted and the standard plate 44 is raised to the highest position.

(Mode III) The substrate 18 on which the liquid film is formed is raised by the distance (secondary stroke S2) required for measurement. At this time, the pulse motor 25 is operated as needed to perform fine adjustment. The sensor 41 advances toward the base 18. The pulse motor 42 is controlled to finely adjust the distance between the sensor 41 and the substrate 18 and stop. Here, color measurement of the liquid film formed on the substrate 18 is performed. This color measurement is performed within a short time of about 10 seconds after forming the liquid film. After the color measurement is completed, the sensor 41 is retracted. The stoppers 73 and 74 of the container 12 are released, the cylinder 71 is extended, and the container 12 is pushed out of the pedestal 16 and transferred to the next step.

(Mode IV) The cylinder 54 of the first cleaning mechanism 50 operates to open the lid 53 of the cleaning tank 51. The cylinder 55 operates to feed the cleaning tank 51 to the standby position 51A in the pedestal 16. The cylinder 77 is operated to retract the dripping tray 76 to the reference position shown in FIG. The cylinder 21 is operated to lower the substrate 18 to the lowest position. Cylinder 3
1, 33 extend to press the scrapers 30, 32 against both sides of the base 18. Here, the cylinder 58 is actuated, and the cleaning tank 51 mounted on the fork 57 is moved to the cleaning position 5
Push up to 1B. As a result, the substrate 18 and the scrapers 30, 32 are immersed in the cleaning tank 51, so that the cylinder 21 is operated to repeatedly move the substrate 18 up and down during the stroke S1. After cleaning, cylinder 58
To lower the cleaning tank 51, and the cylinder 55
Is operated to return it to its original position, and the cylinder 54 is operated to close the lid 53. As a result, the rough cleaning step is completed, and then the precise cleaning step is performed.

The cylinder 64 of the second cleaning mechanism 60 operates to open the lid 63 of the cleaning tank 61. The cylinder 65 operates to feed the cleaning tank 61 to the standby position inside the gantry 16. Here, the cylinder 58 is actuated to push the washing tank 61 mounted on the fork 57 up to the washing position.
As a result, the substrate 18 and the scrapers 30, 32 are immersed in the cleaning tank 61, so that the cylinder 21 is operated to repeatedly move the substrate 18 up and down during the stroke S1. After the cleaning is completed, the cylinder 58 is operated to lower the cleaning tank 61, the cylinder 65 is operated to return to the original position, and the cylinder 64 is operated to close the lid 63.
Close. This completes the precise cleaning step. Here, the scrapers 30 and 32 are retracted, and the cleanly washed substrate 18 is raised to the highest position. This completes a series of steps.

FIG. 3 is a system diagram for computer controlling the device of the present invention. An input device 81, an output device 82, and an input / output interface 83 are connected to the control computer 80. The interface 83 includes a cylinder 21 for raising and lowering the base body and a pulse motor 2 for fine adjustment.
5, calibration plate lifting cylinder 45, spectrophotometer 40, sensor forward / backward pulse motor 42, scraper forward / backward traveling cylinders 31, 33, liquid drop receiving / inserting motor 77,
Cleaning tank lifting cylinder 58, container transfer cylinder 7
1. Cylinders 54 and 64 for opening and closing the lid of the cleaning tank, and cylinders 55 and 65 for transferring the cleaning tank are connected to operate by air or electricity upon receiving a signal from the computer 80. Signals from various sensors (not shown) are input to the input device 81 via an interface.

(Experimental Example) Using a baking dry type paint Olga Select (manufactured by Nippon Paint Co., Ltd.), a paint prepared by mixing white and cyanine blue in a ratio of 97: 3 was used as a sample to be measured, and a liquid film was prepared by the apparatus of the present invention. Colorimetry was performed.

The liquid film is a stainless steel sample rod set in the vertical direction (groove depth 0.3 mm, groove width 22 mm, effective liquid adhesion part 120).
mm) was immersed in the sample, and the sample liquid adhering to the sample was scraped off with a wedge-shaped scraper, and the color was measured 10 seconds after the liquid film was formed. Non-contact spectrophotometer CMS500 for measurement
(Murakami Color Research Laboratory), and the colorimetric value is Hunter 2
O Field of View D Source.

After weighing the primary colors, lab disper (blade diameter 40 mm, rotation speed 1
The liquid in the container is stirred at 200 rpm), and after the stirring is completed, the first continuous measurement is performed in a state where the sample contains bubbles,
After the bubbles of the sample disappeared, the second continuous measurement was performed.

Table 1 shows the experimental results of colorimetric reproducibility when the sample contains air bubbles, and Table 2 shows the colorimetric reproducibility when the sample does not contain air bubbles. Table 3 shows the difference in color reproducibility.

From the above results, according to the automatic color measuring device of the present invention, since the influence of bubbles is not exerted, the reproducibility ΔE is 0.03 with respect to the tolerance value 0.1 of the hue difference ΔE in the field. It turns out that good data of is obtained.

(Effects of the Invention) As described in detail above, according to the automatic colorimetric method of the present invention, the complicated process of preparing a coated plate can be omitted, and the colorimetric work can be executed quickly and automatically. In particular, it is possible to measure an accurate colorimetric value even if bubbles remain in the liquid. Furthermore, the device of the present invention is provided with a liquid supply,
Its technical effects are extremely remarkable, such as the fact that it is easy to incorporate it into a line that automates a series of processes such as weighing, mixing, stirring, and color matching, and that a system suitable for computer control is provided.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view in which a part of an automatic color measuring device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown in section, FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing a method of forming a liquid film, and FIG. 3 is a system showing a computer control system. It is a figure. 10 ... Colorimetric device 12 ... Container 14 ... Liquid injection port 16 ... Stand 18 ... Base 20 ... Lifting mechanism 21 ... Cylinder 30, 32 ... Scraper 40 ... -Spectrophotometer 41 ... Sensors 50, 60 ... Washing mechanism 51, 61 ... Washing tank 52, 62 ... Washing brush 76 ... Drip receiver P ... Color measurement operation position.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A method for automatically measuring the color of a liquid contained in a container, comprising the step of inserting a rod-shaped substrate into the interior from a liquid inlet provided on the upper surface of the container, A step of pulling the substrate upward, a step of bringing a scraping blade into contact with the substrate and moving the blade relatively to form a liquid film on the substrate, and bringing a non-contact type spectrophotometer close to the liquid film to perform spectroscopy. An automatic color measurement method by forming a liquid film including the steps of measuring reflectance. 2. A device for automatically measuring the color of a liquid contained in a container, comprising: a pedestal for holding the container; a rod-shaped base; and a base supported on the pedestal for supporting the base of the container. A non-contact spectrophotometer having an elevating mechanism that is inserted into a liquid injection port provided on the upper surface, a scraping blade that can come into contact with the base, and a colorimetric sensor that is positioned adjacent to the base. An automatic colorimetric device for preparing a liquid film that comprises and. 3. The apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a cleaning mechanism for cleaning the substrate and the scraping blade, the cleaning mechanism including a cleaning tank containing a cleaning solvent and a cleaning brush.