JP6846809B2 - Moisture content measuring machine - Google Patents

Description

The present invention is a water content measuring machine and a water content measuring method for measuring the water content of an absorbent article such as a diaper that has absorbed a liquid.

Conventionally, when researching, developing, and manufacturing absorbent articles such as diapers with excellent absorbency and comfort, a liquid was dropped on the absorbent article as an index for evaluating the selection and arrangement of appropriate absorbent materials. The water content at the time is measured.

For example, the moisture measuring device described in Patent Document 1 irradiates a moisture layer remaining on the surface of a test piece, which is an absorbent article such as omelet, with light to generate scattered light, and the scattered light is converted into a photoelectric converter. A surface moisture measuring device has been proposed that measures the moisture remaining on the surface of a test piece by converting it into a voltage and detecting it.

In the conventional measuring device, an absorbent article such as a diaper is attached to the outer surface of the cartridge, and the water absorption rate of the absorbent article is measured through the cartridge by a sensor provided inside the cartridge.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 1-134231 (Patent No. 2812440)

Since the cartridge used in the conventional measuring device has an absorbent article such as a diaper attached to the outer peripheral surface and measured by a sensor arranged inside the cartridge, it has to be detected through the cartridge. Since the cartridge is molded from a resin material, measurement without using the cartridge has been required in order to perform more accurate measurement.

Moisture content measuring apparatus of the present invention, the absorbent article for the surface of the absorbent article adjacent to the outer surface of the curved configuration of the cartridge, measuring the moisture content in the interior of the cartridge simulating a human hip shape A water content measuring device including a sensor that detects in a non-contact state, the cartridge has an opening opened on the lower surface, and the sensor is formed by connecting a sensor body and an attachment, and the attachment. Is a tubular shape fixed to the lower surface of the sensor body, and has a hollow portion having a hollow inside, a thick portion having a predetermined wall thickness around the hollow portion, and the cavity on the upper surface side of the attachment. It has a stopper that protrudes inward to fix the sensor body, and the attachment is in contact with the outer edge of the opening of the cartridge and has a gap between it and the absorbent article. It is a feature.

Further, it is preferable that the cartridge is provided with waterproof means for preventing water from entering the inside of the cartridge by welding the contact portion between the opening and the attachment.

Further, in the method for measuring the water content according to the present invention, after arranging the absorbent article adjacent to the outer surface of the cartridge having a curved shape imitating the shape of the buttocks of the human body, a predetermined amount is applied to the absorbent article. A water content measuring method in which water is supplied and the water content of the absorbent article is measured by a sensor arranged inside the cartridge , wherein the cartridge has an opening opened on the lower surface, and the sensor is a sensor. The sensor body and the attachment are connected to each other, and the attachment has a tubular shape fixed to the lower surface of the sensor body, and has a hollow portion having a hollow inside and a predetermined wall thickness around the hollow portion. The thick portion and the upper surface side of the attachment have a stop portion that protrudes inward of the cavity portion to fix the sensor body, and the attachment contacts the outer edge of the opening of the cartridge and absorbs the sensor body. a gap between the sexual article, the sensor and the attachment, in a state in which a non-contact with the absorbent article, and characterized by detecting the moisture content of the absorbent article through the front KiHiraki opening Is what you do.

According to the water content measuring machine and the water content measuring method according to the present invention, more accurate measurement is possible by detecting the water content by a sensor through the opening. Further, by having a gap, the sensor and the absorbent article can be kept in a non-contact state, and the natural water content of the detection position can be measured.

It is a front sectional view which shows an example of the water content measuring machine of the water content measuring machine of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows an example of the cartridge of this invention, and is shown by cutting out the surface on the front side. An example of the sensor of the present invention, the sensor main body and the attachment are shown, (a) is an exploded perspective view in which both are separated, and (b) is a bottom view in a state where both are attached. It is a partially enlarged sectional view which shows an example of a state in which a sensor is attached to a cartridge. It is a partially enlarged sectional view which is another embodiment of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the whole example of the moisture content measuring apparatus including the moisture content measuring machine which concerns on this invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the content rate measuring machine and the measuring method according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The absorbent article W exemplifies a diaper that absorbs water (or an absorbent body such as an absorbent pad provided around the inseam such as a diaper or sanitary shorts).

As shown in FIG. 6, the water content measuring device including the water content measuring machine according to the present embodiment includes a water content measuring machine 100 for measuring the water content absorbed in the absorbent article W and the water content measuring machine 100. A liquid supply unit 101 for supplying liquid to the water content measuring machine 100 and a control unit 102 capable of controlling the water content measuring machine 100 and the liquid supply unit 101 are provided, and the water content measuring machine 100 is in a state in which the absorbent article W is curved. It has a mounting table 103 to be mounted in the above, and a cartridge 1 to be installed in a state where the absorbent article W is in contact with the mounting table 103 from above. In the present embodiment, the water content measuring machine 100 having the cartridge 1 inside and the control unit 102 and the like are separated, but these may be integrated.

In the content rate measuring machine 100, the supply pipe 104 is connected to the liquid supply unit 101 arranged inside the cartridge 1, and the supplied liquid is supplied to the surface of the absorbent article W. It has sensors 11 and 11 for measuring a state in which the dropped liquid and water are absorbed by the absorbent article W.

The sensors 11 and 11 are of an optical type so that they can be appropriately measured in the cartridge 1, and are fixed around the supply pipe 104 and arranged in the vicinity of a predetermined position which is a measurement position of the water content. Will be done. The sensor 11 is a light source mainly composed of an infrared diode that irradiates two types of infrared rays having wavelengths of 1.3 μm and 1.45 μm, and a photodiode that detects reflected light on the surface of the absorbent article W due to the infrared rays radiated from the light source. It is provided with a detection unit mainly composed of. Of these two types of infrared rays, the wavelength of 1.3 μm is measured as reference light that is not absorbed by water to remove noise, and the reflected light with a wavelength of 1.45 μm that is absorbed by water is measured. It measures the water content of. In the present embodiment, an optical sensor is used, but a sensor other than the optical sensor may be used as long as the sensor detects the absorbent article W to be detected in a non-contact state.

It is preferable that at least two or more of the sensors 11 and 11 are arranged in parallel in order to measure the water content around the supply pipe 104 more accurately. The parallel state is one in which one is directed directly downward and the other is tilted by about 15 degrees (see FIG. 4), or one in which one is directed directly below and the other is tilted by about 30 degrees. (See FIG. 5) is preferable, but both may be tilted at a predetermined angle (see FIG. 1), and one sensor 11 may be used. Note that FIGS. 4 and 5 omit the supply pipe 104.

FIG. 1 shows the water content measuring machine 100. The cartridge 1 includes a supply pipe 104 for supplying a liquid to the surface of the absorbent article W, sensors 11 and 11 for measuring the water content of the absorbent article W, and a water amount confirmation sensor for confirming the amount of water to be supplied. It consists of a box body.

As shown in FIG. 2, the shape of the box-shaped cartridge 1 has a rectangular flat surface on the upper surface, a circumferential surface on the lower surface 1a, and side surfaces having a predetermined width on both sides. It has a smooth convex curved shape facing downward. By adopting this downwardly convex curved shape, in order to reproduce the state of being worn by the wearer, the shape of the buttocks and the like of the human body is simply imitated. It is necessary to have an area that can come into contact with at least an absorbent article W such as a diaper.

This cartridge 1 has a form in which an infant diaper is an absorbent article W. For example, when an elderly diaper is an absorbent article W (not shown), the length in the height direction is increased. However, it is possible to use a shape having a substantially acute-angled tip at the lower side, which has a substantially inverted triangular shape that is smooth when viewed from the front.

The cartridge 1 has openings 2 and 2 which are open through the lower surface of the cartridge 1 at the arrangement positions A and A which are the lower surfaces 1a of the cartridge 1 and are the positions where the sensors are arranged. That is, the openings 2 and 2 shown in FIG. 2 are the arrangement positions A and A. In the present embodiment, the openings 2 and 2 are provided at two places, but as another embodiment, the openings 2 and 2 may be one opening or three or more openings. As will be described later, the outer edges of the openings 2 and 2 are determined according to the form of the sensor 11, and at least in the present embodiment, it is necessary to provide a hole that penetrates the infrared irradiation position of the sensor.

As shown in FIG. 1, the absorbent article W is arranged adjacent to the surface of the lower surface 1a which is the outer peripheral surface of the cartridge 1. The absorbent article W may be fastened so as to be hooked on the cartridge 1 and may be mounted with a gap between the cartridge 1 and the mounting table 103, or may be sandwiched between the cartridge 1 and the mounting table 103. After that, liquid and water are supplied from the supply pipe 104, and the water content is measured by the sensors 11 and 11.

Next, a specific form of the sensor 11 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 3A, the left back side will be referred to as the upper side, and the right front side will be referred to as the lower side. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the upper side is the upper side and the lower side when the sensors 11 and 11 are attached to the cartridge 1, and the sensor 11 attached at an angle is attached to the cartridge 1. The side to be grounded is the lower side.

As shown in FIG. 3A, the sensor 11 of the present embodiment is a sensor body 12 and an attachment 13 connected to each other. The attachment 13 is required depending on the performance such as the infrared irradiation distance of the sensor main body 12, and some sensor main bodies 12 may have no attachment 13 and may consist only of the sensor main body 12.

The attachment 13 connects the sensor main body 12 to the upper side, and passes the screws 14 and 14 from the lower side of the attachment 13 to fix the lower surface of the sensor main body 12 and the upper surface of the attachment 13. The attachment 13 has a tubular shape having a hollow portion 13a made of a resin material and having a hollow inside, and has thick portions 13c and 13c having a predetermined wall thickness around the hollow portion. Further, as shown in FIG. 2B, stopping portions 13b and 13b are formed on the upper surface side of the attachment 13 so as to protrude inward of the cavity portion 13a. The sensor body 12 and the attachment 13 are fixed by passing the screws 14 and 14 through the screw holes formed in the stoppers 13b and 13b and the screw holes formed in the sensor body 12.

In this way, the sensor 11 including the sensor body 12 and the attachment 13 joins the sensor body 12 and the attachment 13, and the cavity portion 13a of the attachment 13 is provided in the irradiation direction of the irradiation lens 12a of the sensor body 12, so that the attachment is attached. Through 13, it becomes possible to inspect the inspection object without any obstacle.

The lower surface of the attachment 13 is inclined or curved according to the shape of the cartridge 1 to be installed. The attachment 13 shown in FIG. 3A is formed so as to be curved from one side to the other side, but the shape is not limited to this, and the curvature and angle are increased according to the shape of the cartridge to be installed. It is preferable to change such as appropriate.

As shown in FIG. 4, the sensors 11 and 11 are installed in the openings 2 and 2 which are the installation positions A and A of the lower surface 1a from the inside of the cartridge 1. The outer edge of the opening 2 in this embodiment is the same as the outer edge of the cavity 13a of the attachments 13 and 13 of the sensors 11 and 11. Therefore, the thick portions 13c and 13c on the lower surface of the attachment 13 come into contact with the outer portion of the outer edge of the opening 2.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the outer edges of the openings 2 and 2 of the lower surface 1a of the cartridge 1 may be the same as the outer edges of the attachments 13 and 13 themselves. In this case, the thick portions 13c and 13c of the attachment 13 are inserted into the openings 2 and 2, and the lower side surface of the attachment 13 comes into contact with the outer edges of the openings 2 and 2.

The attachments 13 of the sensors 11 and 11 and the absorbent article W have gaps 2a and 2a in order to maintain a non-contact state. That is, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, since the outer edges of the openings 2 and 2 of the cartridge 1 coincide with the outer edges of the hollow portions 13a13a of the attachments 13 and 13, the thick portions 13c and 13c of the attachments 13 and 13 Is in contact with the inner surface of the cartridge 1, and the attachment 13 and the absorbent article W are not in direct contact with each other. In this case, the openings 2 and 2 of the cartridge 1 coincide with the gaps 2a and 2a. Further, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, since the outer edges of the openings 2 and 2 of the cartridge 1 coincide with the outer edges of the attachments 13 and 13, the attachment 13 can be inserted into the opening 2, but it is completely inserted. Instead, it is fixed at a position where gaps 2a and 2a are formed between it and the absorbent article W.

By having gaps 2a and 2a between the attachments 13 and 13 and the absorbent article W, it is possible to measure the absorbed state in a natural state without applying any pressure to the absorbent article W. It becomes possible to carry out a more precise inspection.

A waterproof treatment is applied between the attachments 13 and 13 and the inner peripheral surface of the cartridge 1. Specifically, by performing a welding process on the contact portion between the attachments 13 and 13 and the cartridge 1, it is possible to prevent the moisture and liquid of the absorbent article W from flowing into the cartridge 1.

1 ... Cartridge, 1a ... Bottom surface, 2 ... Opening (installation position A), 2a ... Gap, 11 ... Sensor, 12 ... Sensor body, 13 ... Attachment, 100 ... Moisture content measuring machine

Claims (3)

A sensor in which the surface of an absorbent article is adjacent to the outer surface of a curved cartridge that imitates the shape of the buttocks of the human body, and the inside of the cartridge is detected in a non-contact state for measuring the water content. It is a water content measuring device equipped with
The cartridge has an opening on the underside and has an opening.
The sensor is formed by connecting the sensor body and the attachment.
The attachment has a tubular shape fixed to the lower surface of the sensor body, and has a hollow portion having a hollow inside, a thick portion having a predetermined wall thickness around the hollow portion, and an upper surface side of the attachment. It has a stop portion that protrudes inward of the cavity portion and fixes the sensor body.
A water content measuring machine characterized in that the attachment is in contact with the outer edge of the opening of the cartridge and has a gap between the attachment and the absorbent article. Cartridge, the water content measuring machine according to claim 1, characterized in that a waterproof means for preventing water entry into the cartridge interior by welding the contact portion between the opening and the attachment. After arranging the absorbent article adjacent to the outer surface of the curved cartridge that imitates the shape of the buttocks of the human body, a predetermined amount of water is supplied to the absorbent article and the absorbent article is arranged inside the cartridge. It is a water content measuring method for measuring the water content of the absorbent article with a sensor.
The cartridge has an opening on the underside and has an opening.
The sensor is formed by connecting the sensor body and the attachment.
The attachment has a tubular shape fixed to the lower surface of the sensor body, and has a hollow portion having a hollow inside, a thick portion having a predetermined wall thickness around the hollow portion, and an upper surface side of the attachment. It has a stop that protrudes inward of the cavity and fixes the sensor body.
The attachment contacts the outer edge of the opening of the cartridge and has a gap between it and the absorbent article.
The sensor and the attachment, in a state in which a non-contact with the absorbent article, the water content measuring method characterized by detecting the moisture content of the absorbent article through the front KiHiraki opening.

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