JPH11337485A - Sensor part for whiteness degree meter for powder and grain - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a sensor part in which an area near a light irradiation face to a sample can be reduced and in which the degree of freedom of an arrangement place is increased by a structure, wherein a standard plate is installed in the upper part of a measuring part and the measuring part is turned. SOLUTION: In a sensor part for a whiteness degree meter, for powders and grains, which evaluates the whiteness degree of a sample 5 such as grains of rice or the like, a measuring part 1 to which light sources 2 such as LEDs or the like and a light receiving sensor 3 are attached is provided, and a standard plate 6 which is installed on the opposite side of the side of the sample 5 regarding the measuring part 1 is provided. Then, in a measurement, beams of light from the light sources 2 are incident on the sample 5 through a glass 4, and beams of reflected light according to its whiteness degree are detected by the light receiving sensor 3. The intensity of the standard plate 6 is obtained in such a way that the measuring part 1 is turned by a driving device 7, that the standard plate 6 is irradiated with the beams of light from the light sources 2 and that the beams of reflected light are detected. The whiteness degree of the sample 5 is computed on the basis of a quantity of received light in the measurement of the sample 5 and on the basis of the sensitivity of the standard plate 6. Since an optical part including the standard plate 6 is dustproof by a dustproof case 9 and by the glass 4 as a sample irradiation window, the maintenance property of the sensor part is enhanced.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a whiteness meter used for producing a product having a desired whiteness which increases the commercial value in the processing of milling rice, barley, wheat or buckwheat, etc. About.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, whiteness of rice grains and the like is measured by irradiating a sample surface with light and measuring reflected light.
The measured value changes due to a temporal change or a secular change of the light emission intensity of the light source, a sensitivity change due to a temperature change of the light receiving sensor, or a temporal change in the sensitivity. Therefore, a white glass with a defined whiteness value is prepared as a standard plate, light is applied as appropriate, the reflected light is detected, it is stored as the sensitivity of the standard plate, and the sensitivity is adjusted by software during sample measurement. ing. The standard plate is not usually built in the whiteness meter main body, but is usually prepared separately.However, in a device that continuously measures the whiteness of powders online, the standard plate is used. Some have built-in. In this method, a standard plate is moved by a solenoid drive in front of a light irradiation surface of a sample.

[0003]

If the standard plate is not built-in, the sensitivity is adjusted by manually inserting the standard plate into the measuring unit. Therefore, both dust-proofing of the measuring unit and keeping the standard plate clean are required. And a cumbersome operation of insertion and removal is also required. Further, in the case where the standard plate is built in, since a place for storing the standard plate must be provided at the time of measuring the sample, the plane of attachment to the sample portion needs to be about twice the light irradiation surface. The size of the light-irradiated surface is important for obtaining the representativeness of the sample.
A certain area is required and cannot be reduced, but the area around it should be as small as possible to reduce the restrictions on the installation location of the sensor and the restrictions on the form of contact with the sample.

[0004]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
A standard plate is provided on the upper part of the measurement unit, and the area near the light irradiation surface on the sample is reduced as a structure in which the measurement of the standard plate can be automatically performed by rotating the measurement unit. According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the entire sensor is dust-proofed by the glass and the case provided on the light irradiating portion to the sample.

[0005]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, a measuring section incorporating a standard plate of a whiteness meter according to the present invention will be described in detail. FIG.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a whiteness sensor unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. A light source 2 such as an LED and a lamp and a light receiving sensor 3 are attached to a measuring unit 1. A standard plate 6 has a glass 4 and a sample 5, The measurement unit 1 is provided on the opposite side. When measuring the whiteness of the sample, light from the light source 2 enters the sample 5 through the glass 4, and reflected light corresponding to the whiteness is detected by the light receiving sensor 3.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the whiteness meter sensor unit at the time of measuring the standard plate. The driving unit 7 such as a motor or a solenoid drives the driving unit 7 to rotate the light from the light source 2 of the measuring unit 1 via the transmission device 8. The light illuminates the standard plate, and the reflected light
And stored as the sensitivity of the standard plate.

The standard plate needs to be measured frequently when the light source is unstable after the power is turned on. However, after the light source is stabilized, the measurement may be performed as appropriate. The whiteness of the sample is calculated as
It is obtained by (sensitivity of standard plate) × (whiteness value of standard plate).

[0008]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the sample contact surface can be made smaller by arranging the sample measuring surface, the measuring section, and the standard plate in a row, so that the degree of freedom of the arrangement place is increased. Further, according to the second aspect of the present invention, since the optical portion including the standard plate has a dustproof property, maintenance is improved. As a whiteness sensor probe, it can easily be used for online measurement. Further, a new usage method can be adopted in which a whiteness sensor is pressed against the upper surface of a sample placed in a small container for measurement.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a whiteness meter sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the whiteness meter sensor unit according to the embodiment of the present invention when measuring a standard plate.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Measurement part 2 Light source 3 Light-receiving sensor 4 Glass 5 Sample 6 Standard plate 7 Driving device 8 Transmission device 9 Case

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A sensor unit of a whiteness meter which can measure a sample and measure a standard plate by rotating a measuring unit having a light source and a light receiving sensor. 2. The sensor unit of the whiteness meter according to claim 1, wherein the sensor unit is covered with a glass window for irradiating the sample with light and a dustproof case.