JPH11142313A - Method for quantifying concentration of matter, device for detecting concentration of matter, and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a device for measuring the concentration of matter capable of detecting the concentration of matter with high accuracy in a practical measurement time. SOLUTION: The elapsed time since the start of measurement is divided into a predetermined number of time zones so that the changes in the output values of a sensor may be minimized. Information on relational expressions for predicting the concentration of mater to be measured from the output value of the sensor in each divided time zone is retained in a coefficient memory part 15. In the case that the elapsed time since the start of measurement and the output value of the sensor at this time are given from a data acquiring part 13, etc., a concentration determining part 16 retrieves the information on relational expressions corresponding to a time zone to which the given elapsed time belongs from the coefficient memory part 15 to calculate the concentration of the matter.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a technique for measuring a substance present in the atmosphere, for example, a substance that emits an odor (hereinafter referred to as an odor substance). An improved technique for quantifying.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The use of a chemical reaction to selectively detect an odor-causing substance, for example, an inactive high molecular weight substance represented by acetone or ethanol, is different from an active low molecular weight substance. Is difficult. for that reason,
Conventionally, in order to detect and quantitatively analyze a high molecular weight substance, a film of an organic substance is formed on the surface of a sensor including a surface oscillator such as a quartz oscillator (hereinafter simply referred to as a sensor), and the substance is applied to the film. Attempts have been made to detect a change in the mass of the vibrator caused by the adsorption phenomenon as a change in the oscillation frequency.

FIG. 7 is a graph showing how the oscillation frequency of each sensor changes when four sensors are used. Here, the x-axis direction of the graph is a reaction time (elapsed time from the start of measurement) between the sensor and the substance, and the y-axis direction is a change amount of the oscillation frequency of each sensor at that time, that is, a specific substance. The state of adsorption to the vibrator (adsorption amount) is shown. In the example of this graph, the response waveform (change amount of the oscillation frequency) of each sensor monotonically increases along the time axis, and the slope becomes 0 after a certain time has elapsed. That is,
The amount of the high molecular weight substance adsorbed on the sensor increases with time, and is saturated (equilibrium state) after a certain time.

Conventionally, when the time derivative of the frequency change becomes zero, that is, when the saturation point is reached, the change in the oscillation frequency is grasped as the amount of substance adsorbed on the sensor (saturated adsorption: concentration). doing. That is, the sensor (vibrator)
Assuming that the relationship between the change amount of the oscillation frequency and the concentration of the substance is uniquely determined, the relation between the change amount of the oscillation frequency and the concentration of the substance in the measurement region is obtained in advance for each substance,
The concentration of the substance was quantitatively analyzed according to the change amount of the oscillation frequency.

[0005]

However, when trying to quantitatively analyze the substance concentration by the conventional method, the amount of the substance adsorbed on the sensor depends on the diffusion speed of the molecules of the substance in the phase. It takes a lot of time to reach, and may not reach the saturation point within a practical measurement time.
FIG. 5 shows an example in which the response waveform of the sensor does not reach the saturation point. Even after 120 minutes from the start of the measurement, the response waveform from each sensor shows a monotonically increasing tendency, and the response waveform does not reach the saturation point. Recognize. In addition, the sensor oscillation frequency is greatly affected by other measurement environment factors, such as temperature and humidity, so if these environmental factors change over time, the sensor response also changes greatly. I do. That is, it is difficult to stably and accurately quantify the concentration of the substance.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a method for quantifying a substance concentration which can quantify the substance concentration with high accuracy in a practical measurement time. Another object of the present invention is to provide a recording medium on which a program for causing a general-purpose computer to execute the method is recorded, and a concentration quantifying device suitable for implementing the method.

[0007]

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a first method for quantifying a substance concentration, which comprises the following steps. (1-1) The measurement time of the substance concentration is time-divided into a plurality of time sections until a predetermined time elapses after the start of the measurement, and the response output of the sensor for detecting the target substance and the substance concentration of the target substance for each time section Is stored in a predetermined memory area in association with relational expression information for deriving
2) When a response output from the sensor that has detected the target substance is received, the relational expression information corresponding to the time section to which the reception time belongs is retrieved from the memory area, and the relational expression information and the input response are input. Quantifying the substance concentration of the target substance based on the output.

Further, there is provided a second method for quantifying the concentration of a substance, the method including the following steps. (2-1) The measurement time of the substance concentration by the plurality of sensors for detecting the target substance is time-divided into a plurality of time sections until a predetermined time elapses after the start of the measurement, and each of the individual sections for detecting the target substance in each time section. The response output of the sensor is used as an explanatory variable, and a regression coefficient obtained by a multiple regression analysis using a substance concentration of the time section measured in advance as an objective variable is obtained, and a standard regression coefficient corresponding to the explanatory variable is obtained for the objective variable. It is obtained as the contribution of the explanatory variable, and can contribute to the substance concentration prediction of the target substance according to the contribution.
Or determining a plurality of sensors; (2-2) when a response output from the sensor is received, the response output from the sensor determined for the time section to which the reception time belongs and the time section to which the reception time belongs Determining the substance concentration based on a regression coefficient corresponding to.

In each of the quantification methods, the time interval is time-divided at different intervals according to the amount of change in the response output in a transient state before the response output of the sensor reaches a steady state. The section is characterized by being a section that can be identified by predetermined identification information.

A recording medium according to the present invention for solving the above-mentioned other problems has a program for causing a computer to execute the processing in each stage of the first and second quantification methods, which is recorded in a computer-readable form. It is.

A first substance concentration detecting apparatus according to the present invention for solving the above-mentioned other problems is provided with the following function realizing means. (3-1) data acquisition means for acquiring a response output from a sensor that detects a specific type of substance, (3-2) timer means for measuring an elapsed time after the sensor has started responding, (3--2)
3) time-division of the time measured by the sensor into a plurality of time intervals in advance, the time intervals and the elapsed times are stored in the first memory area in association with each other, and the substance concentration is derived from the response output. Data storage means for storing relational expression information in the second memory area in association with each of the time sections;
(3-4) a time section to which the elapsed time belongs when the response output of the sensor that has detected the target substance is received from the data acquisition unit and the elapsed time after the response start of the sensor is received from the timer unit. Concentration determining means for retrieving the relational expression information associated with the time section from the second memory area and determining the concentration of the target substance using the relational expression information. .

A second substance concentration detecting apparatus according to the present invention for solving the above-mentioned other problems is provided with the following function realizing means. (4-1) data acquisition means for acquiring response outputs of a plurality of sensors for detecting a specific type of substance, (4-2) timer means for measuring an elapsed time after the start of response of each sensor,
(4-3) The time measured by each sensor is divided in advance into a plurality of time sections, each time section is associated with the elapsed time and stored in the first memory area, and the substance concentration is obtained from the response output. The relational expression information for deriving is stored in the second memory area in association with each time section, and
Data holding means for holding information on the selection or combination of sensors according to the type of the target substance in the third memory area; (4-4) the response of the sensor specified from the data acquisition means through the third memory area When the output is received and the elapsed time after the start of the response of the sensor is received from the timer means, the time section to which the elapsed time belongs is retrieved from the first memory area and is associated with the time section. Concentration determining means for retrieving the relational expression information from the second memory area and using the relational expression information to determine the concentration of the target substance.

The sensor includes, for example, a vibrator having a surface formed with an odor-sensitive film for selectively adsorbing an odorant which emits an odor when mixed in a medium.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to detect the concentration of an odor substance (hereinafter simply referred to as a substance) will be described.

In the present embodiment, the concentration of a substance to be measured is quantified by using response outputs (adsorption amounts of substances increasing with time, hereinafter, sensor output values) of a plurality of sensors each detecting a specific substance. . The sensors may all be of the same type or of different types.
It is also possible to arrange a plurality of sensors at different locations in order to collect data at different locations in the measurement space or the measurement liquid. As each sensor, it is preferable to use a sensor including a surface oscillator such as a crystal oscillator having a surface formed with an organic material that selectively adsorbs a specific type of substance. In this case, since the sensor output value is generally an analog signal that changes with time, it is continuously or intermittently sampled and digitized for subsequent processing. In the present specification, how much the sensor output value has been sampled after the start of the measurement, that is, how much time has elapsed since the start of the measurement, will be described as a sampling point in this specification.

In this embodiment, the elapsed time after the start of the measurement of the substance concentration is time-divided into a plurality of time sections. That is, the response characteristic of the sensor is subjected to time division processing with respect to the reaction time. Then, a section number is assigned to each time section. In this time interval, it is preferable to measure the relationship between the substance concentration and the response waveform of the sensor over a sufficient time, plot the response waveform over the entire measurement time, and then output the sensor output value in each individual time interval. Is time-divided so that the change in is as small as possible. For example, as shown in FIG. 6 of the response characteristic corresponding to FIG. 5, the sensor output value is set to be fine in a place where the change is sharp, and to be a rough interval in a place where the change is gentle. The number of time divisions is also selected to an appropriate number according to the response waveform of the sensor, and the maximum measurement time length is appropriately selected according to the sensor response waveform. Thus, even if the response from the sensor does not reach the steady state, the target concentration can be obtained at an arbitrary time if the reception time (sampling point) of the output value from the sensor in the transient state is known. .

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a substance concentration detecting apparatus suitable for implementing the above embodiment. The substance concentration detecting device 10 outputs a section number of a time section to which the sampling point belongs based on the sampling point and the substance specifying information, and a section determining unit 11 and a section determining unit 1.
1; a section index memory unit 12 referred to by 1; a data acquisition unit 13 that passes only a specific one of a plurality of sensor output values; a sensor selection index memory unit 14 referenced by the data acquisition unit 13; It comprises a concentration determining unit 15 for quantifying the substance concentration based on the output sensor output value and the section number, and a coefficient memory unit 15 referred to by the concentration determining unit 15.

In the section index memory section 12, FIG.
As shown in (1), sampling points and section numbers corresponding to the sampling points are stored for each type of a substance to be measured (target substance). For example, when the target substance is acetone, a sampling point between 0 minute and 2 minutes corresponds to “section 1”, and a sampling point between 2 minutes and 5 minutes corresponds to “section 2”. Similarly, Sk to Sk + 1 minutes are “section k”,
120 minutes or more correspond to “section M”. When the substance is ethanol, 0 to 1 minute corresponds to “Section 1”, 1 to 3 minutes corresponds to “Section 2”, and similarly, 100 minutes or more corresponds to “Section M”. The same applies to other substances.

FIG. 3 shows an example of the contents of the coefficient memory unit 16. Substance concentration detection device 10 of the present embodiment
Then, the concentration of the substance to be measured is obtained by substituting the sensor output value into constant relational expression information. In this case, if the relational expression information is such that the substance concentration can be determined deterministically from the sensor output value at a certain point in time, it is determined based on theoretical estimation or based on learning data obtained by actual measurement. Empirical,
It does not matter whether it is statistically required. In the present embodiment, relational expression information obtained based on learning data is used.

Specifically, learning data obtained by actual measurement is collected for each time interval, and explanatory variables x _i : N output values of the sensor (i is the number of the sensor) Object variable y: the target substance A multiple regression analysis is performed at an accurate concentration to obtain a regression coefficient of the multiple regression equation given by the following equation (1), and this is stored in the coefficient memory unit 16. This regression coefficient is associated with a substance type and a section number.

[0021]

[Number 1] _{y = a 0 + Σx i ·} a i ··· (1)

The regression coefficient can be obtained as follows. Now, for the substance j concentration y _q, sensor i, the sampling point k, the adsorption amount of number of repetitions ^{p x (i) jqp (k} ) ( where, k is 1 to K, i is 1 to N, j
Are 1 to J, p is 1 to P, and q is 1 to Q). The number of repetitions p means the amount of adsorption collected under the same conditions. Since the amount of adsorption changes with the passage of time, the total measurement time is divided into M as shown in FIG.

The number of data in the M time sections is represented by MN
_m (where m is 1 to M), and the starting sampling point of section number m is S _m , and MN _m × P
* Q data strings are defined as follows.

Explanatory variables: N adsorption amounts x ⁽ⁱ⁾ jqp ^(k) (where S _m ≦
k <S _{m + 1} ) Objective variable: y _q (where q = 1 to M) (2)

Then, for each of the M sections, a variance-covariance matrix SS _jm (j = 1 to J; m) of N explanatory variables and objective variables
Are 1 to M). Using the variance-covariance matrix SS _jm , the average of each explanatory variable (bar x ⁽ⁱ⁾ jqp ^(k) ), and the average of the objective variable (bar y _q ), the constant term a _{0 in the} above equation (1).
And coefficient terms a ₁ , a ₂ ,. . . , A _N. The constant term a ⁽⁰⁾ thus obtained for each substance j and section number m
_jm and coefficient terms a ⁽¹⁾ _jm , a ⁽²⁾ _jm,. . . , A ^(N) _jm as regression coefficients to be held in the coefficient memory unit 16.

Regardless of the above example, a person who intends to use the present invention arbitrarily determines whether to use the multiple regression equation of equation (1) or other relational equation information as relational equation information. Is what you can do. Also, multiple regression analysis
This is used only when there are a plurality of explanatory variables (sensor output values), and when the number of sensors is one, a known regression analysis technique is used.

Next, the sensor selection index memory unit 1
4 will be described. The sensor selection index memory unit 14 stores identification information for identifying a sensor that is optimal for measurement for each type of target substance and for each time section to which the sampling point belongs. That is, specific information based on various factors such as the type and number of sensors, spatial arrangement method, response characteristics, and the like can be searched for according to the type and time interval of the target substance.

FIG. 4 shows an example of the contents of the sensor selection index memory section 14. The illustrated example is an example in which the total number of sensors is eight (N = 8). If the target substance is acetone, the sensor specified in “section 1” is (1,
3, ..., m ₁ or the identification number is assigned as 8),
In “section 2”, m ₂ corresponding sensors are specified, and in “section M”, m _M corresponding sensors are specified. In the figure, "-" indicates that there is no corresponding sensor. That is, the sensors required for detecting the concentration of ethanol in “Section 2” are (2, ...,
7) (m ₂ -1) in total.

The sensor selection index memory section 14
The procedure for storing the specific information in, for example, the substance detection device 1
8 by the main control means (programmed CPU) of FIG.
Is performed in the following procedure. Here, specific information for specifying a sensor (explanatory variable) that can contribute to the prediction of the target variable (substance concentration y) of the multiple regression equation is handled.

First, relation data between a sensor output value and a substance concentration is obtained (step S101). Then,
The data is standardized so that the explanatory variable x ⁽ⁱ⁾ jqp ^(k) and the objective variable y _q of the equation (2) have an average of 0 and a variance of 1 (step S102), and a multiple regression analysis of the standardized data is performed. Perform (Step S103). The obtained regression coefficient for each explanatory variable (standardized sensor output value), that is, the standard regression coefficient, is defined as the contribution to the determination of the concentration of each sensor output value (step S104). A sensor that gives a degree of contribution equal to or more than a certain value is specified (step S105). Then, the degree of contribution of each explanatory variable is calculated for each type of the target substance and each time interval, and the number of the selected sensor determined based on a certain reference is stored in the sensor selection index memory unit 14 (step S106).

The sensor selection index memory unit 1
The specification of the sensor using 4 is not necessarily required when only one sensor is used. When it is sufficient to provide only the function of switching the sensor according to the type of the target substance as the function of the substance concentration detection device 10, it is not necessary to use the specific function of the sensor.

The contents of the other components 11, 13, and 15 of the substance detection apparatus 10 of the present embodiment are as follows. The section determination unit 11 performs the operation when the sampling point and the specific information of the substance are input. The section index memory section 12 is referred to to determine which time section the sampling point belongs to. The determined time section is output to the data acquisition unit 13 as a section number.

The data acquisition unit 13 acquires at least one of the sensor output values (# 1 to #N) from the N sensors (not shown), the section number, and the substance specific information, and also acquires these information. And sensor selection index memory unit 1
4 to identify a suitable sensor or a combination thereof. Then, only the sensor output value of the specified sensor is passed.

The density determination unit 15 receives the sensor output value and the section number from the data acquisition unit 13, acquires corresponding relational information from the coefficient memory unit 16 based on the received information, and acquires the acquired relational expression information. Is used to determine the substance concentration.

The section determining unit 11 and the data obtaining unit 1
3. The density determining unit 15 is also used when storing the section number in the section index memory unit 12, the sensor identification information in the sensor selection index memory unit 14, and the relational expression information in the coefficient memory unit 16, respectively. Function block.

These functional blocks 11, 13, 15,
Each of the memory units 12, 14, and 16 is formed by reading a predetermined program into a general-purpose computer having a storage device such as a hard disk or the like, which has a built-in operating system (OS). Also,
For the timer means, for example, a known time measuring function by an OS can be used. This program is usually stored in the program recording area of the storage device and used at any time. However, a storage medium distributed separately from the computer, for example, a CD-ROM or a flexible disk ( The storage device may be a portable storage medium such as FD) or a fixed storage medium such as a program server connected to a local network together with a computer, and may be read into the storage device when used.

Next, by actually arranging the sensor in the gas phase (atmosphere or the like) or the liquid phase (solvent or the like) and substituting each sensor output value into the relational expression information, the substance existing in the gas phase or the liquid phase is obtained. An example of the operation of the density detecting device 10 for detecting the density of the image will be described with reference to FIG. Here, the output values of the N sensors at the sampling point t [min] are: x
(T) = (x ⁽¹⁾ (t), x ⁽²⁾ (t),..., X
⁽ⁱ⁾ (t), ..., x ^(N) (t)). It is assumed that the substance to be measured at this time is, for example, acetone, and this is known in advance. The sampling point t is 1 [min] for convenience.

The section determination unit 11 receives information that the sampling point t is 1 [min] and the target substance is acetone (step S 201), and refers to the section index memory unit 12. In the example of FIG. 2, since the target substance is acetone, the time interval is determined to be “interval 1”, and this information is passed to the data acquisition unit 13 (step S2).
02). The data acquisition unit 13 specifies a sensor combination pattern (1, 3,..., 8) useful for density detection with reference to the sensor selection index memory unit 14 having the contents shown in FIG. 4 (step S203). .

The data acquisition unit 13 outputs an output value from the specified sensor (1, 3,..., 8): x ′ (t) = (x
⁽¹⁾ (t), x ⁽³⁾ (t),..., X ⁽⁸⁾ (t)) are selectively output to the density determination unit 15 (step S204). The density determining unit 15 having received the sensor output value x ′ (t) and the information of “section 1” obtains the constant term (a ⁽¹⁾ 10) and the coefficient term ( a ⁽¹⁾
₁₁ , a ⁽¹⁾ ₁₂ ,. . . , A ⁽¹⁾ _{1 (m1)} ), the substance concentration c (t) at the sampling point t [min] is obtained from the following equation (2) (steps S205 and S20).
6).

[0040]

C (t) = a ⁽¹⁾ ₁₀ + Σ (x ′ (t) × a (1)) (2)

The data of the substance concentration c (t) is output to a subsequent processing means, for example, a display device (not shown) (step S207). Thereby, the substance concentration is displayed on a display device or the like, and the operator can visually grasp the substance concentration. In addition, this substance concentration is applied to quality control in a product manufacturing / inspection process and control of toxic gas detection and the like.

As described above, the substance concentration detecting device 1 of the present invention
In the case of 0, when determining the substance concentration from the sensor output value, the relational expression information defined for the time section corresponding to the sampling point t from the time section previously divided in time is used, so that the conventional method is used. It is not necessary to wait until the sensor response reaches an equilibrium state, and furthermore, the concentration can be quantified using a sensor effective for concentration detection according to the type of substance and the sampling point t,
The reliability of the detected concentration is increased. Thereby, stable quantitative analysis can be performed in a practical measurement time, and the conventional problem is solved.

[0043]

As is clear from the above description, according to the method for quantifying a substance concentration of the present invention, the substance concentration can be correctly quantified even before the response of the sensor reaches an equilibrium state. Will be possible. In addition, by using the regression analysis, which is one of the statistical methods, reflecting the type of substance and the response tendency inherent to the sensor for each divided time interval, the substance concentration can be detected stably. .

Further, if the substance concentration detecting device of the present invention is used, it is possible to analyze the concentrations of various substances quickly and quantitatively instead of humans. In this case, manual intervention can be reduced. In addition, there is also a unique effect that early detection of toxic gas and determination of the degree of danger are facilitated.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing a configuration example of a substance concentration detection device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view showing an example of contents of a section index memory unit according to the embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a view showing an example of the contents of a coefficient memory unit according to the embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a view showing an example of contents of a sensor selection index memory unit according to the embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a response waveform of a sensor using a vibrator to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a method of time-dividing a response waveform of a sensor using a vibrator.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a response waveform of a sensor using a vibrator.

FIG. 8 is a procedure explanatory diagram showing one method for determining the contents of the sensor selection index memory unit according to the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating the operation procedure of the substance detection device according to the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Substance concentration detection apparatus 11 Section determination part 12 Section index memory part 13 Data acquisition part 14 Sensor selection index memory part 15 Concentration determination part 16 Coefficient memory part

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A substance concentration measurement time is time-divided into a plurality of time intervals until a predetermined time elapses after the start of measurement, and a response output of a sensor for detecting a target substance and a substance concentration of the target substance for each time interval. And retaining the relational expression information in a predetermined memory area in association with the relational expression information for deriving, and when a response output of the sensor that has detected the target substance is received, the step corresponds to the time section to which the reception time belongs. Retrieving relational expression information from the memory area and quantifying the substance concentration of the target substance based on the relational expression information and the input response output. 2. The relational expression information includes a regression coefficient obtained by a regression analysis using the response output for each time interval as an explanatory variable and a substance variable of the time interval measured in advance as an objective variable. The quantification method according to claim 1, wherein: 3. A method for dividing a substance concentration measurement time by a plurality of sensors for detecting a target substance into a plurality of time sections until a predetermined time elapses after the start of measurement, and for each time section, an individual detecting the target substance. The response output of the sensor is used as an explanatory variable, and a regression coefficient obtained by multiple regression analysis using a substance concentration in the time section measured in advance as a target variable is obtained.
Further, a standard regression coefficient corresponding to the explanatory variable is obtained as a contribution of the explanatory variable to the objective variable, and one or a plurality of sensors that can contribute to the substance concentration prediction of the target substance are determined according to the contribution. And when the response output from the sensor is received, the substance concentration is determined based on the response output from the sensor determined for the time section to which the reception time belongs and the regression coefficient corresponding to the time section to which the reception time belongs. Determining the concentration of the substance. 4. The time section is time-divided at different intervals in accordance with the amount of change in the response output in a transient state before the response output of the sensor reaches a steady state, and is identified by predetermined identification information. The quantification method according to claim 1 or 3, wherein the section is a possible section. 5. The quantification method according to claim 1, wherein the target substance is an odor substance that emits an odor when mixed in a medium. 6. A data acquisition unit for acquiring a response output from a sensor that detects a specific type of substance, a timer unit for measuring an elapsed time after the response of the sensor has started, and a measurement time by the sensor in advance for a plurality of time intervals. The time division is performed, and each time section and the elapsed time are associated with each other and held in the first memory area, and relational expression information for deriving the substance concentration from the response output is associated with each time section. (2) data storage means for holding in a memory area, when the response output of the sensor that has detected the target substance is received from the data acquisition means, and when the elapsed time since the response start of the sensor is received from the timer means, A time section to which time belongs is retrieved from the first memory area, and relational expression information associated with the time section is retrieved from the second memory area. A concentration determining means for determining the concentration of the target substance using the relational information. 7. A data acquisition means for acquiring response outputs of a plurality of sensors for detecting a specific type of substance, a timer means for measuring an elapsed time after the start of response of each sensor, and a plurality of measurement times for each sensor in advance. Is divided into time sections, and each time section is associated with the elapsed time in the first time section.
In the memory area, the relational expression information for deriving the substance concentration from the response output is stored in the second memory area in association with each of the time intervals. Or data holding means for holding sensor specific information in a third memory area; receiving a response output of the sensor specified through the third memory area from the data acquisition means; and starting a response of the sensor from the timer means. When the elapsed time is received, the time section to which the elapsed time belongs is retrieved from the first memory area, and the relational expression information associated with the time section is retrieved from the second memory area. A substance concentration detecting device comprising: concentration determining means for determining the concentration of the target substance using formula information. 8. The sensor according to claim 6, wherein the sensor includes a vibrator having a surface formed with an odor-sensitive film that selectively adsorbs an odorant that emits an odor when mixed in a medium. The substance concentration detecting device according to the above. 9. A measurement time of a substance concentration is time-divided into a plurality of time intervals until a predetermined time elapses after the start of the measurement, and a response output of a sensor for detecting a target substance and a substance concentration of the target substance for each time interval. A process of associating relational information for deriving the target substance with a predetermined memory area, and when receiving a response output of a sensor that detects the target substance, the relation corresponding to a time section to which the reception time belongs. A program for causing a computer to execute a process of retrieving formula information from the memory area and quantifying the substance concentration of the target substance based on the relational formula information and the input response output is the computer-readable form. Recording medium recorded in. 10. A substance concentration measuring time by a plurality of sensors for detecting a target substance is time-divided into a plurality of time sections until a predetermined time elapses after the start of the measurement, and each of the individual sections for detecting the target substance is detected for each time section. The response output of the sensor is used as an explanatory variable, and a regression coefficient obtained by a multiple regression analysis using a substance concentration of the time section measured in advance as an objective variable is obtained, and a standard regression coefficient corresponding to the explanatory variable is obtained for the objective variable. Calculated as the contribution of the explanatory variable,
A process of determining one or more sensors that can contribute to the substance concentration prediction of the target substance according to the degree of contribution. When a response output from the sensor is received, a determination is made for a time section to which the reception time belongs. A recording medium in which the program for causing a computer to execute a process of determining the substance concentration based on a response output from a sensor and a regression coefficient corresponding to a time section to which the reception time belongs is recorded in the computer-readable form.