JPS59199540A - Cubic glass cell for liquid analyzer and its manufacture - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide the titled cell having excellent plane accuracy and light transmittance, free from the occurrence of capillary phenomenon, and obtained by placing a pair of side wall plates opposite to each other, welding a pair of light transmission plates to both ends of the wall plates, and attaching a bottom plate at the lower ends of the plates, wherein each side wall plate is furnished with protrusions having curved or tapered inner face at both ends. CONSTITUTION:The glass cell 10 is composed of the side wall plates 11, the optically polished light-transmission plates 12, and the bottom plate 13 attached to the lower end of the plates. The side wall plate 11 is furnished integrally with the protrusions 14 at the inner face of both ends, and the protrusion 14 has tapered (15) or curved (16) inner face. The pairs of opposing side wall plates 11 and the light-transmission plates 12 are placed parallel to each other, and the side wall plates 11 and the light-transmission plates 12 are integrated with each other by welding. The side wall plate 11 is welded to the inner face of the light-transmission plate 12, and the end face 17 of the light-transmission plate 12 is made to be nearly in the same plane as the outer face 11 of the side wall plate 11. Since the cell is constructed by welding the light- transmission plate, the plane accuracy of the light-transmission plate can be made high, and the light-transmission of the cell can be improved. Furthermore, since the inner face of the corners of the cell has tapered or curved form, the rise of the specimen can be prevented and the cell can be cleaned completely.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a rectangular glass cell used in a chemical analysis device, and particularly relates to a rectangular glass cell for a liquid analyzer used in liquid analysis such as body fluids in water quality and clinical chemistry. be.

Conventionally, optical sensors have been used in most commonly used liquid analyzers, and these spectrophotometric sensors can be broadly classified into transmitted light photometry (absorbance), reflected light photometry, and scattered light photometry. Transmitted light photometric sensors measure the reaction process or reaction results of a sample by transmitting light and determine the amount of absorption, while reflected light photometric sensors use a method that irradiates the sample with light and analyzes the reflected light with an analyzer. A scattered light photometric sensor is a method that uses light scattering to detect the amount of turbidity in a sample caused by a reaction. In these analytical methods, a rectangular glass cell is generally used to irradiate the sample with light.

That is, to explain the principle of the above method using FIG. 1, a sample 2, which is a specimen, is placed in a rectangular glass cell 1, and light 4 from a light source 3 disposed on the other side is transmitted through the sample inside the cell. This is a method in which the transmitted light 4 is detected by a detector 5 and analyzed, and the amount of light, reflected light, etc. when the light passes through the sample is detected.

In this way, a square glass cell is used in a chemical analysis device using an optical sensor. This square glass cell 1 is
As shown in Figure 2, when light is irradiated from the direction of the arrow,
The transparent plate 1a and the transparent plate 1b must be completely parallel to each other to prevent refraction of light, and the distance between the transparent plate 1a and the transparent plate 1b must be constant. Also,
There should be no scratches, cloudiness, etc. on the transparent plates 1a and 1b.
The inner surface must be smooth. Furthermore, the width W of cell 1
In order to achieve miniaturization, it is desirable that the size be the minimum size that allows the amount of transmitted light to be detected.

In order to satisfy the above conditions, the rectangular glass cell 1 is formed into a rectangular shape by a welding method in which plate glasses are bonded together, and therefore, the inner surface angles r of the four corners are configured to be 90 degrees. When such a glass cell is filled with a liquid, which is a sample, the liquid rises on the inner surfaces of the four corners due to capillary action, making the sample unstable. Furthermore, even when the sample is vacuumed and discharged for cleaning, there is a problem in that the four corners cannot be completely cleaned and some residue remains.

In order to solve this problem, a cell in which projections are provided on the inner surfaces of the four corners, and a cell in which the inner surfaces of the four corners are rounded as shown in FIG. 4 have been proposed. However, in the former case, although capillarity can be prevented, there are problems such as sample filling, discharging, cleaning, etc. not being carried out smoothly. moreover,
The latter one-piece cell with rounded inner surfaces at the four corners can be obtained by, for example, inserting a rectangular jig with rounded outer surfaces at the four corners inside a circular glass pipe, heating it from the outside to maintain the flexibility of the glass, and The inside is suctioned to bring the glass pipe into close contact with the external shape of the jig and deform it, and then it is cooled and the jig is drawn and formed.

In the case of shaping using this manufacturing method, the inner surfaces of the four corners can be rounded, which prevents capillary phenomena, but the inner surfaces cannot be optically polished, resulting in poor planar precision, and also at extremely high temperatures. Due to heating, a devitrification phenomenon peculiar to glass may occur, and when this devitrification phenomenon occurs, the surface becomes cloudy and light transmittance deteriorates when cleaning with an alkaline solution, etc., resulting in poor long-term use. The problem is that I can't stand it.

As explained above, each of the conventional rectangular glass cells has advantages and disadvantages, and a solution to these problems has been desired.

This invention was made in view of the current situation, and it solves the conventional problems, has the characteristics of a laminated type with good planar precision and excellent light transmittance, and has a rectangular shape that does not cause capillary phenomenon. The present invention aims to provide a glass cell and a method for manufacturing the same.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes a side wall plate having protrusions with rounded or tapered inner surfaces protruding from both ends thereof, which are opposed in parallel with the protrusions facing inward, and both ends of the side wall plate are Two separately formed transparent plates are welded together to form a rectangular glass cell with a rectangular cross section and a bottom at the lower end.

The manufacturing method is as follows: First, the outer surfaces of the four corners are made into tapered or rounded surfaces, and the columnar jig is deformed along the outer surface shape to form an intermediate cell with the inner surfaces of the four corners made into rounded or tapered surfaces. The structure is manufactured by cutting off the opposing side wall plates leaving rounded or tapered surfaces at the four corners of the intermediate cell to open the sides, and then welding a separately formed transparent plate to the openings. be.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on illustrated embodiments.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show plan views of a rectangular glass cell according to the present invention. The glass cell 10 consists of a side wall plate 11 and an optically polished transparent plate 12, and has a bottom portion 13 at its lower end. Furthermore, 1, there are protrusions 1 on the inner surfaces of both ends of the side wall plate 11.
4 are integrally formed, and the inner surface of the projection 14 is a tapered surface 15 or a rounded surface 16. 2 facing each other
The side wall plates 11 and the transparent plates 12 are arranged parallel to each other, and the side wall plates 11 and the transparent plates 12 are integrated by welding. The side wall plate 11 is welded to the inner surface of the transparent plate 12, and the end surface 17 of the transparent plate 12 is attached to the outer surface 1 of the side wall plate 11.
It is said that it is almost the same surface as 8.

The cell 10 according to the present invention is constructed by forming projections having tapered surfaces 15 or rounded surfaces 16 on the inner surfaces of both ends of the side wall plate 11 as described above, and welding optically polished transparent plates 12 to both ends of the side wall plate 110. , the inner surfaces of the four corners are tapered or rounded.

Note that the protrusions at both ends of the side wall plate 11 may be integrally molded, or may be formed by welding the protrusions.

Next, a method for manufacturing a rectangular glass cell having the above structure will be explained with reference to FIGS. 7 to 11.

First, using a jig with tapered outer surfaces at the four corners, a glass pipe is deformed along the outer shape of the jig to form a rectangular pipe 20 with tapered inner surfaces 22 at the four corners.
(See Figure 7). At this time, the angle R of the tapered surface 22 is approximately 45 degrees. Next, as shown in FIG. 9, the lower ends are connected by drawing or by bonding a bottom plate to form the bottom part 21.

As shown in FIG. 7, the intermediate cell 23 formed in this way is cut off by cutting off the opposing side walls 24 leaving the tapered surface 22 and making the end surface 25 perpendicular to the outer surface 26.
Finish with optical polishing. Next, a separately molded transparent plate 12, both sides of which have been optically polished, is attached to the end face 25 to complete the process. The transparent plates 12 are bonded together by welding.

Furthermore, to explain the method for manufacturing the intermediate cell 23, one method is to create a vacuum inside the glass pipe and deform the glass pipe in close contact with the outer surface of the jig. One end of the glass pipe 30 is sealed with a cover plate 31, and an iron jig 33 with four outer corners tapered is inserted through the opening 32 and placed on the upper end surface 34 of the jig 33.
The opening 32 is fitted into the groove 35 of the jig 33 and sealed. The jig 33 has a suction hole 36 penetrating through the upper end surface 34.

The glass pipe 30 mounted on the jig 33 in this way is placed in the heating furnace 37 and heated, and when the glass pipe 30 has a certain degree of flexibility, if the air inside is sucked through the suction hole 36, a vacuum is created. In this state, the glass pipe is placed in jig 33.
(See Figure 14). Next, when the jig 33 is pulled out from the heating furnace 37 and cooled, a slight gap is created on the outer surface of the jig 33 because iron shrinks faster than glass.

If you pull out the jig 33 when this gap is created, the lid plate 3
It is possible to form an intermediate cell 23 with 1 as the bottom portion 2I. The jig 23 is not limited to iron, as long as it shrinks faster than glass when cooled.

The intermediate cell 23 formed in this way is as described above.
The opposing side walls 24 may be cut off leaving the tapered surface 22 to open the side surface, and the transparent plate 12 may be bonded to this opening (see FIGS. 7, 10, and 12).

Two methods of manufacturing the intermediate cell 23 are shown in FIGS. 16 to 18.
As shown in the figure, a jig 40 having tapered outer surfaces at its four corners is placed in a heating furnace 41 . Next, the jig 40 is inserted into the glass pipe 30, the lower end of the glass pipe 30 is closed by drawing, and the hook 42 is formed. Furthermore, by heating the glass pipe 30 in the heating furnace 41 and slowly lowering it by hanging a weight on the hook, the pipe in the heating furnace is stretched and becomes thinner while contracting in diameter, and the outer surface of the jig 40 is heated. Since it descends in close contact with the jig, it can be deformed along the external shape of the jig.

If this is done continuously, a rectangular pipe 20 with tapered inner surfaces at the four corners can be formed.

The intermediate cell 23 can be formed by cutting this into an appropriate length, closing one end by drawing, or bonding a bottom plate. The tapered surface 22 of the intermediate cell 23 formed in this way is left behind, and the opposing side wall 24 is cut off to open the side surface, and the transparent plate 12 is pasted to this opening (FIGS. 7 and 10). (See Figure 12) In the above embodiment, the case where the inner surfaces of the four corners of the cell are tapered surfaces has been described, but when the inner surfaces of the four corners are rounded surfaces, the outer surfaces of the four corners of the jig are replaced with tapered surfaces and rounded surfaces. And it is sufficient.

Furthermore, this invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and the size of the tapered surface or rounded surface can be changed as appropriate, and other modifications and changes are possible as long as the gist of this invention is not changed. .

Since this invention is configured as described above, it can produce the following specific effects.

(ti) Since the transparent plate is formed separately and welded together, both sides of the transparent plate can be optically polished, and the devitrification phenomenon caused by high-temperature heating can be prevented, resulting in ideal light transmittance. can be obtained.

(2) Since the inner surfaces of the four corners of the cell are tapered or rounded, the sample does not rise from the four corners due to capillary action, and can be completely cleaned.

(3) Since the welding method is used to bond the light-transmitting plates, the planar accuracy of the light-transmitting plates can be maintained, and furthermore, the dimensional accuracy such as parallelism can be accurately formed.

(4) The tapered or rounded surfaces at the four corners of the cell are deformed along the external shape of the jig, and the tapered or rounded surfaces of the intermediate cell are left and the opposing side walls are cut off. Since a flat or rounded surface is molded, a tapered or rounded surface can be easily molded, and high-quality rectangular glass cells with uniform dimensions can be provided.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a diagram explaining the principle of an optical sensor using a rectangular glass cell, Fig. 2 is a plan view of a rectangular glass cell formed by a welding method, Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the capillary phenomenon, and Fig. 4 is a jig. 5 and 6 are plan views of a rectangular glass cell according to the present invention, and FIG. 7 is a plan view of an intermediate cell, and FIGS. 8 and 9 are The figure is a sectional view, FIG. 10 is a plan view with the opposing side walls cut away, FIG. 11 is a perspective view, and the first
Fig. 2 is an exploded plan view, Figs. 13 to 15 show the method for manufacturing the intermediate cell, Fig. 13 is a plan view, Fig. 14 is a cross-sectional view, and Fig. 15 shows the deformation of the glass pipe in close contact with the jig. 16 to 18 are a plan view and a longitudinal sectional view showing another method of manufacturing the intermediate cell. lO...Cell 11...Side wall plate 12...
・Translucent plate 13...Bottom part 14...Protrusion part
15...Tapered surface 16...Rounded surface
20... Square pipe 21... Bottom 22...
Tapered surface 23...Intermediate cell 24...
Side wall 30... Glass pipe 31... Lid plate
32... Opening 33... Column jig 34...
・Top end surface 35...Groove 36...Suction hole 3
7...Heating furnace 40...Column jig 41.
... Heating furnace 42 ... Hook Patent Applicant Japan Cell Co., Ltd. Representative Patent Attorney Mitsuru Sekine 256 Fig. 10 2426 Fig. 11\ 1 Fig. 12 Fig. 13\ De Fig. 15 Fig. 16 Fig. 17 Figure 18

Claims (1)

[Claims] +11 A protrusion is provided at both ends of the side wall plate, and the inner surface of the protrusion is continuous with the side surface as a tapered or rounded surface, and the side wall plate is placed with the protrusion facing inward. A rectangular glass cell for a liquid analyzer, characterized in that the side wall plates are opposed in parallel and further have a transparent plate welded to both ends to form a rectangular shape, and a bottom is provided at the lower end. (2) A square pipe is formed by deforming the columnar jig with the outer surfaces of the four corners tapered or rounded to fit the outer surface shape, then one opening is closed to form an intermediate cell, and then , is characterized in that it is manufactured by cutting off the opposing side wall plates leaving tapered or rounded surfaces on the inner surfaces of the four corners of the intermediate cell to open the sides, and welding a separately formed transparent plate to the openings. A method for manufacturing a rectangular glass cell for a liquid analyzer.