JPH0743370A - Elevating/lowering gripper for sample container - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a gripper which automatically supplies sample containers from a turn table into a moisture measuring unit and returns the sample container onto the turn table upon finish of the measurement. CONSTITUTION:The gripper comprises a mechanism 41 having a pair of claws 42 for gripping a sample container held by an elevating/lowering unit, and a mechanism 51 for opening/closing the pair of gripping claws 42 at a measuring position as the elevating/lowering unit operates. Each cam follower 53 of the mechanism 51 butts against the cam face 45b of each gripping claw 42 to actuate the opening/closing operation. Each gripping claw 42 is urged in the gripping direction by means of a spring 44. Each gripping face 42b of each gripping claw 42 copies the surface profile at the gripping part of the sample container 10.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a lifting and lowering gripping device for a sample container for measuring moisture, and more specifically, it heats a sample to be measured contained in the sample container to vaporize the moisture, In a moisture measuring operation device for carrying out the Karl Fischer moisture determination method for measuring the amount of moisture contained, a sample container for moisture measurement applied for raising and lowering and supplying a sample container in the moisture measuring operation device by an elevating operation device The present invention relates to the lifting gripping device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in a moisture measuring apparatus using the Karl Fischer moisture determination method, a sample to be measured is stored in a dry-purged sample container, and the inside of the sample container is connected to a measuring section. Then, this is heated from the outside to vaporize the moisture, and the vaporized moisture is introduced into the measurement section by the carrier gas to measure the amount of the moisture.

That is, in the case of this type of conventional moisture measuring apparatus, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1-216226, the sample to be measured is stored in a sample container which has been previously dry-purged. At the same time, the opening is hermetically sealed by the cover of the lid member, and with respect to the sample container in which the sample to be measured is hermetically stored under the dry purge in this way, the lid member is removed and opened immediately before the heating vaporization process. And, the opened sample container is moved to the measurement position of the device, and again sealed by the interposition of the O-ring, and thereafter,
The operation is processed and measured as described above.

However, in the above-mentioned conventional moisture measuring apparatus, in the measurement using the sample container in which the sample to be measured is stored, first, the lid member is removed immediately before the heating and vaporizing treatment, and the lid is once opened. Since it is moved to the measurement position and sealed again, the inside of the sample container in which the sample to be measured is hermetically stored under the dry purge should be opened once and then sealed again. In the meantime, even if it is a small amount, moisture invades from the ambient atmosphere, and the moisture content of the sample to be measured cannot be measured accurately and exactly. It has a fatal defect.

Therefore, the present inventors have previously proposed the following means for sealing and sealing the sample container.

[0006] That is, in the proposed new means, a thin film sheet-like lid piece that is incapable of infiltration of moisture from the outside is used to store the sample to be measured in the sample container under dry purge and to open the sample container. This thin film sheet-like lid piece is adhesively sealed to a part and sealed with a lid. According to the sample container configured as described above, the thin film sheet is used when measuring the water content of the sample to be measured. By directly inserting a communication needle or the like into the lid-shaped piece from the outside, the vaporized water of the sample to be measured can be easily taken out to the measurement section through the communication needle without opening the sample container again. Can be done.

[0007]

The water content measuring method using a sample container, which has been proposed by the present inventors, in which the opening of the sample container body is hermetically sealed with a thin film sheet-like lid piece, As a moisture measuring operation, a moisture measuring operating device having a gas introducing needle and a vaporized moisture discharging needle protruding from the inside is provided, and a sample container is supplied into the moisture measuring operating device, so that the gas introducing needle and the vaporized moisture can be removed. The thin film sheet-like lid piece is directly pressed against the lead-out needle to pierce the lead-out needle, which keeps the inside of the sample container in communication with the outside through each gas lead-in needle and vaporized water lead-out needle. A method to evaporate the moisture content of the sample to be measured stored in the sample container by heating, and then to measure the vaporized water content by using the carrier gas introduced from the gas introduction needle to extract the vaporized water content. It is taken.

[0008] Here, the problem in carrying out this moisture measuring method is how to effectively supply the sample container to the inside of the moisture measuring operation device, and the object of the present invention. The object of the present invention is to provide a lifting device for lifting and lowering a sample container for moisture measurement that can solve such problems.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a sample container lifting / lowering device according to a first aspect of the present invention comprises a thin film sheet having an opening of a sample container body containing a sample to be measured. Using a sample container that is hermetically sealed with a lid-shaped lid,
Push the sample container fed to the measurement corresponding position on the turntable device into the moisture measurement operating device, and insert a thin film sheet into the gas introducing needle and the vaporized moisture extracting needle projecting inside the moisture measuring operating device. After the lid piece is pressed and pierced, the moisture content of the sample to be measured is vaporized by external heating, and then the carrier gas is introduced from the gas introduction needle to derive the vaporized water content from the vaporized water content extraction needle. In the case of performing the moisture measurement by using a moisture measuring device including an elevating and lowering device for raising and lowering the sample container in the moisture measuring operation device, the elevating and lowering device includes a pair of openable and closable grips for holding the sample container. While holding the gripping claw mechanism with the claws arranged,
A gripping pawl opening / closing mechanism for opening / closing the pair of gripping pawls at the measurement corresponding position is provided in association with the lifting / lowering operation of the elevating / lowering operation device.

A second invention of the present invention is the holding device for raising and lowering a sample container according to the above-mentioned structure, wherein one of the holding claw mechanisms is provided.
The opening / closing operation of the pair of gripping pawls is performed by the contact of each cam follower of the gripping pawl opening / closing mechanism with the cam surface formed on each gripping pawl.

A third invention of the present invention is the gripping device for lifting and lowering a sample container according to the above-mentioned structure, wherein
The sample container is held by the pair of holding claws by a spring that elastically presses each of the holding claws in the holding direction.

A fourth invention of the present invention is the holding device for raising and lowering a sample container according to the above-mentioned structure, wherein the holding claw mechanism is
Each gripping surface of the pair of gripping claws is formed according to the surface shape of the portion of the sample container corresponding to the gripped portion.

[0013]

Therefore, in the sample container lifting / lowering device according to the first aspect of the present invention, the pair of gripping claws of the gripping claw mechanism are provided for the sample container fed to the measurement corresponding position by the turntable device. The sample container is grasped and supplied into the moisture measuring operation device from the measurement corresponding position in association with the raising operation of the elevating operation device, and the sample container is placed on the turntable device from the moisture measuring operation device in association with the descending operation. Return to the measurement corresponding position.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the sample container lifting / lowering device having the above structure, each cam follower of the gripping claw opening / closing mechanism that abuts on the cam surface of the pair of gripping claws of the gripping claw mechanism. With the cam action, the respective holding claws are closed and the sample container is held by the raising operation of the elevating and lowering device, and the respective holding claws are opened and the sample container is released according to the lowering operation.

According to a third invention of the present invention, in the sample container lifting / lowering device having the above-mentioned structure, each gripping claw that is elastically pressed by the spring of the gripping claw mechanism as the lifting / lowering device is lifted. As a result, the gripped state of the sample container is secured.

Further, according to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the sample container raising / lowering gripping device having the above-mentioned structure, the sample container is formed following the surface shape of the portion of the sample container corresponding to the gripped claw mechanism. The gripping posture of the sample container is accurately held by each gripping surface of the pair of gripping claws.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a sample container lifting / lowering device according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS.

FIGS. 1 (a) and 1 (b) show a sample container in which a sample to be measured is sealed in a moisture measuring apparatus according to the present invention, and a gas for a thin film sheet-like lid piece for sealing the sample container. It is each cross-sectional explanatory drawing which shows the penetration state of the introduction needle and the vaporized water extraction needle, respectively.

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a schematic structure of an elevating device in a moisture measuring and operating device to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied, and FIG. 3 shows a main part of the elevating and lowering device in the same embodiment. An enlarged vertical sectional view and FIG. 4 are plan views of the same.

First, in FIGS. 1A and 1B, as the sample container 10 according to this example, a heat-resistant sample container body 11 having an opening 11a is used.
In the state in which the inside of 1 is dry-purged, the sample 12 to be measured is stored inside the container, and a thin film sheet-like lid in which moisture or the like from the outside cannot enter the opening edge portion 11b including the opening portion 11a. A piece, here, an aluminum foil film sheet piece (hereinafter referred to as an aluminum sheet piece) 13 is adhered to the entire surface to hermetically seal.

Thus, the sample container 1 thus constructed
No. 0 directly penetrates the aluminum sheet piece 13 that hermetically seals the opening 11a with the gas introduction needle 23 and the vaporized moisture derivation needle 24 provided in the moisture measuring operation device 22 described below, and The sample 12 contained in the container is controlled and heated from the outside to vaporize the water content, and the detailed explanation of the measuring action is omitted here, but the carrier supplied from the gas introduction needle 23 is omitted. The vaporized water of the sample 12 to be measured vaporized inside the container is taken out from the vaporized water lead-out needle 24 by the gas, and the amount of contained water is measured.

2 to 4, the moisture measuring apparatus 20 to which the present embodiment is applied intermittently feeds the sample container 10 accommodating and sealing the sample 12 to be measured to a measurement corresponding position. It has a turntable device 21 and a moisture measurement operating device 22 which is arranged above the measurement corresponding position and receives the sample container 10 from the lower opening 22a. A gas inlet needle 23 and a vaporized water outlet needle 24, which communicate with a gas supply source and a measuring unit, which are not shown in FIG.
A sample container pushing mechanism 25 is provided.

The apparatus for raising and lowering the sample container for moisture measurement to which this embodiment is applied is arranged in parallel and in parallel between the measurement corresponding position on the turntable device 21 and the moisture measurement operation device 22. The lifting and lowering operation device 30 is provided with the lifting and lowering operation device 30. The lifting and lowering operation device 30 is equipped with the gripping claw mechanism 41 which constitutes a part of the lifting and lowering gripping device 40 according to the present embodiment, and The other part is configured by the grip claw opening / closing mechanism 51.

In this case, the extruding mechanism 25 for the sample container serves to push out the sample container 10 pushed into the moisture measuring operation device 22 after the measurement operation is completed. Is not directly related, so its explanation will be kept to a minimum.

As is apparent from FIG. 2, the elevating and lowering device 30 is arranged between a pair of upper and lower machine boards 27 and 28 in the moisture measuring device to constitute an elevating and lowering mechanism, for example. , A vertical axis 31 such as a ball screw and a guide axis 32.
1, the upper and lower shafts are bearings 31a, 31
The guide shaft 32 is pivotally supported by b and is controlled and rotated by a drive mechanism (not shown) via a drive gear 31c fixed to the lower end shaft portion, and the latter guide shaft 32 is fixed by a fixing screw 32a.

Further, an elevating member 33 such as a ball nut is screwed onto the elevating shaft 31 so as to be able to move forward and backward in a vertical direction, that is, an elevating operation is possible. For example, a linear ball is fitted to the guide shaft 32 so as to be slidable in the vertical direction.

At the tip of the lifting member 33,
A fork-shaped lifting piece 34 that can pass through the turntable device 21 in the vertical direction at the measurement corresponding position and that can lift and lift, ie, lift, the sample container 10 fed to the measurement corresponding position. A gripping claw mechanism 41, which is provided in a protruding manner and which forms a part of the lifting gripping device 40, is attached to the lifting piece 34, and a gripping claw opening / closing functioning as another part of the lifting gripping device 40 is opened and closed. The mechanism 51 is arranged on the lower machine board 28 at the lower limit position of the elevating member 33.

Here, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the gripping claw mechanism 41 which constitutes one of the lifting gripping devices 40 is on the lifting piece 34, and the gripping step portion 42.
a and 42a are formed, and gripping surfaces 42b and 42b are formed in accordance with the surface shape (for example, a circular cross section) of the portion to be gripped of the sample container 10 (similarly, if the cross sectional shape is circular, A pair of grip claws 4 formed on arc surfaces having the same radius)
It has 2, 42. Then, each of these gripping claws 4
2 and 42 are shaft pins 4 between the tip forks of the lifting piece 34.
3, 43 are pivotally supported so that they can be opened and closed in the gripping direction with each other, and are urged by springs 44, 44 intervening downward in a direction to be closed at all times. Upper cam surfaces 45a, 45a and steeply inclined lower cam surfaces 45b, 45b are formed.

Further, the grip claw opening / closing mechanism 51 constituting the other of the lifting / lowering gripping device 40 is provided with the lower machine board 28.
Has a pair of support plates 52, 52 secured in parallel,
The elevating member 33 is provided between each of the support plates 52, 52.
Of the pair of gripping claws 42, 42 on the lower cam surfaces 45b, 45b of the pair of gripping claws 42, 42 at the start of rising and the end of falling, that is, at the gripping position and the returning position of the sample container 10 with respect to the turntable device 21. Are brought into contact with each other to automatically open and close each of the gripping claws 42, 42,
In the lower limit position (standby position), the upper cam surfaces 45a, 4a,
5a is abutted to pivot a pair of cam followers 53, 53 which keep the gripping pawls 42, 42 open. The pair of gripping claws 42, 42 are closed by the springs 44, 44 in order to be released from the cam action during the ascent and descent positions of the elevating member 43.
That is, the gripped state is maintained.

Therefore, in the sample container lifting / lowering device 30 including the gripping device 40, the lifting / lowering member 33 starts to lift from the lowering limit position shown in FIG. 2 by the controlled rotary drive of the lifting / lowering shaft 31 in the ascending direction. However, at this time, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the grip claws 42, 42 of the grip claw mechanism 41 are connected to the upper cam surfaces 45a, 45a of the cam followers 53, 53 of the grip claw opening / closing mechanism 51. The sample container 10 is maintained in the open state by the contact, and in this state, the sample container 10 placed and held on the turntable device 21 is fed to a predetermined measurement corresponding position.

First, in the above-mentioned state, when the elevating member 33 starts to move up with the gripping claw mechanism 41, the gripping step portions 42a, 42a of the pair of gripping claws 42, 42 are located at the bottom of the sample container 10. When approaching, each cam follower 5
Since the contact with 3, 53 shifts from the upper cam surfaces 45a, 45a side to the lower cam surfaces 45b, 45b side, the grip claws 42, 42 are closed by the pressing force of the springs 44, 44. Is biased to the gripping surfaces 42b, 4b of the gripping claws 42, 42, respectively.
2b and each grip step 42a, 42a
The bottom side of each of the gripping surfaces 42b, 42b
As a result, the gripping posture of the sample container 10 is accurately regulated, and as a result, the moisture measuring and operating device 2 at the upper limit is reached.
The two will be matched in shape when they are pushed in.

That is, the sample container 10 is thus lifted from the turntable device 21 to the upper limit, and the moisture measuring and operating device 22 is pushed at the upper limit while urging the pushing mechanism 25 under pressure. Pressurized within and perform the required moisture determination operation as described above.

Next, after waiting for the end of the measurement operation, when the control rotation drive of the elevating shaft 31 in the descending direction is started, the elevating member 33 remains with the grasping pawl mechanism 41 in the reverse order of the above. Starting to descend, the pressure applied to the sample container 10 received in the moisture measuring operation device 22 is released, and at this point, the pushing action of the pushing mechanism 25 in the pressure-urging state is also added to measure the moisture. The sample container 10 is automatically pushed out from the operation device 22, and the grip claw mechanism 41 that holds the sample container 10 is lowered.

Subsequently, the gripping claw mechanism 4 which is in the process of descending
When the sample container 10 that is still being gripped by 1 approaches the return position on the turntable device 21, the grip claw mechanism 41
Lower cam surfaces 45b, 4 of the grip claws 42, 42 in
5b is brought into contact with each cam follower 53, 53,
The gripping claws 42, 42 are opened to each other as the descent progresses, and the sample container 10 released from the gripped state in this way is returned to the return position on the turntable device 21. Furthermore, at the end of the descent, the gripping claws 42, 42 are maintained in the open state again by the contact of the respective upper cam surfaces 45a, 45a with the respective cam followers 53, 53, so that the next repeating operation is prepared. is there.

[0035]

As described above in detail with reference to the embodiments,
According to the sample container lifting / lowering gripping device of the first aspect of the present invention, the sample container in which the opening of the sample container body containing the sample to be measured is hermetically sealed with the thin film sheet lid piece is used. Push the sample container fed to the measurement corresponding position on the table device into the moisture measurement operating device, and thin film sheet-like lid piece against the gas introduction needle and vaporized moisture derivation needle projecting inside the moisture measurement operating device. After pressing and piercing, vaporize the water content of the sample to be measured by heating from the outside, and then introduce the carrier gas from the gas introduction needle to extract the vaporized water from the vaporized water outlet needle. In the case of measuring water content, in a water content measuring device equipped with an elevating and lowering device for elevating and lowering a sample container in a water content measuring operation device, a grip claw mechanism in which a pair of openable and closable gripping claws for gripping the sample container is arranged in the elevating and lowering device Hold In addition, since the lifting claw opening / closing mechanism is provided to open / close each gripping claw at the measurement corresponding position according to the lifting / lowering operation of the lifting / lowering operation device, the turntable device measures the position corresponding to the measurement with the lifting operation of the lifting / lowering operation device. The sample container fed to the can be grasped by a pair of grasping claws of the grasping claw mechanism, and in this grasping state, the sample container can be supplied from the measurement corresponding position into the moisture measuring operation device, and the sample container is lowered. Along with the operation, the sample container can reach the position corresponding to the measurement on the turntable device from the inside of the moisture measurement operating device, and the grip can be released to restore the sample container. , The operation of supplying the sample container for moisture measurement from the turntable device to the moisture measurement operating device, and from the moisture measurement operating device after the measurement to the turntable device. An excellent feature that the return operation of the charge container may be performed automatically and easily.

According to the second aspect of the present invention,
In the sample container lifting / lowering device having the above-described configuration, the opening / closing operation of the pair of gripping claws of the gripping claw mechanism is performed by the contact of each cam follower of the gripping claw opening / closing mechanism with the cam surface formed on each gripping claw. Therefore, due to the cam action generated between each cam surface and each cam follower, with the ascending operation of the elevating and lowering device, the respective gripping claws can be closed to grip the sample container, and with the descending operation, The sample container can be released by opening each of the grip claws, so that the sample container can be easily gripped by the grip claw mechanism.

According to the third aspect of the present invention,
In the gripping device for raising and lowering a sample container having the above-mentioned configuration, when the sample container is gripped by the pair of gripping claws of the gripping claw mechanism,
Since each of the gripping claws is elastically pressed in the gripping direction by the spring, the gripped state of the sample container after gripping can be ensured very easily, and thereby the moisture measuring operation after gripping can be favorably performed.

Further, according to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the sample container lifting and lowering gripping device having the above-mentioned configuration, the gripping claw mechanism has a pair of gripping claws having a shape of each gripping surface. Since it is formed in accordance with the surface shape of the portion to be gripped, the gripping posture of the sample container by each gripping surface can be accurately regulated when gripping the sample container, and thereby the pressing into the moisture measurement operation device can be performed accurately. obtain.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 (a) and 1 (b) are a sample container in which a sample to be measured in a moisture measuring apparatus according to an example of the present invention is stored and sealed, and gas is introduced into a sealing thin film sheet-like lid piece of the sample container. It is each cross-sectional explanatory view which shows the piercing state of a needle and a vaporized water extraction needle, respectively.

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of an elevating device in a moisture measuring operation device to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged vertical sectional view showing a main part of the lifting and lowering gripping device in the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the same.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Sample container 11 Heat-resistant sample container body 11a Opening part of sample container body 11b Opening edge part of sample container body 12 Sample to be measured 13 Aluminum sheet piece (thin film sheet-like lid piece that water cannot penetrate) 20 Moisture measuring device 21 Turntable device 22 Moisture measurement operation device 22a Lower opening 23 Gas introduction needle 24 Vaporized moisture extraction needle 25 Extrusion mechanism 27, 28 A pair of upper and lower machine boards 30 Elevating actuator 31 Elevating shaft 31a, 31b Bearing 32 Guide shaft 32a Fixed Screw 33 Elevating member 34 Elevating piece 40 Gripping device 41 Gripping claw mechanism 42 A pair of gripping claws 42a A pair of gripping step portions of a pair of gripping claws 42b A pair of gripping surfaces of a pair of gripping claws 43 Axial pin 44 Spring 45a Upper cam surface 45b Lower cam surface 51 Gripping claw opening / closing mechanism 52 1 set of support plates 53 1 pair of cam followers

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification number Reference number within the agency FI Technical display location // G01N 1/22 Y (72) Inventor Takashi Jonoguchi 370 Enzo, Chigasaki-shi, Kanagawa Mitsubishi Kasei Chigasaki Plant, Inc. (72) Inventor Nihon Ito, 370 Enzo, Chigasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture Mitsubishi Kasei Corp., Chigasaki Plant

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A sample container to be fed to a measurement corresponding position on a turntable device, using a sample container in which an opening of a sample container body containing a sample to be measured is hermetically sealed with a thin film sheet lid piece. With the thin film sheet-shaped lid piece pressed against the moisture measuring operating device and pressed against the gas introducing needle and the vaporized water extracting needle protruding from the inside of the moisture measuring operating device, from the outside. After evaporating the water content of the sample to be measured by heating, the carrier gas is introduced from the gas introduction needle to evaporate the evaporating water from the evaporating water derivation needle to measure the water content. In a moisture measuring apparatus having an elevating and lowering device for raising and lowering the inside thereof, the elevating and lowering device holds a grasping pawl mechanism having a pair of openable and closable grasping pawls for grasping the sample container, and the elevating and lowering operation is performed. With the lifting operation of the device, the measurement corresponding position in elevating the gripping device of the sample container, characterized by being configured to provide a gripping claw opening and closing mechanism for opening and closing the gripping claws of the pair. 2. The opening / closing operation of the pair of gripping pawls of the gripping pawl mechanism is performed by abutting each cam follower of the gripping pawl opening / closing mechanism against a cam surface formed on each of the gripping pawls. The gripping device for raising and lowering a sample container according to claim 1. 3. The sample container according to claim 1, wherein the gripping of the sample container by the pair of gripping claws of the gripping claw mechanism is performed by a spring that presses each gripping claw in a gripping direction. Lifting and holding device. 4. The gripping surface of each of the pair of gripping claws of the gripping claw mechanism is formed according to the surface shape of the portion of the sample container corresponding to the gripped part. A gripping device for raising and lowering a sample container.