JP6979017B2 - Measurement cell structure and optical analyzer - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a measurement cell structure having a removable measurement cell and an optical analyzer using the measurement cell structure.

Conventionally, when controlling the component concentration of a chemical solution used in a flat panel display (FPD) manufacturing process, a semiconductor manufacturing process, or the like, the component concentration is measured from the absorbance of the chemical solution.

As shown in Patent Document 1, the analyzer used for this is a measurement cell provided in a chemical solution line in a manufacturing process or a sample line connected to the chemical solution line, a light source for irradiating the measurement cell with light, and a light source. It is equipped with a photodetector that detects the light that has passed through the chemical solution in the measurement cell.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2010-60364

In this analyzer, the inventor of the present application intends to make the measuring cell removable and to facilitate the work of attaching and detaching the measuring cell to improve usability.

Specifically, the inventor of the present application considers a measurement cell structure having a cell holder that holds the measurement cell so that it can be inserted and removed. This cell holder has an accommodating portion for accommodating the measurement cell. Then, the inventor of the present application considers a configuration in which the measuring cell is inserted into the accommodating portion and attached, and the measuring cell is pulled out from the accommodating portion to be removed.

However, from the viewpoint of the dimensional tolerance of the measuring cell and the dimensional tolerance of the accommodating portion of the cell holder, there is rattling between the accommodating portion and the measuring cell in the state where the measuring cell is accommodated in the accommodating portion of the cell holder. Displacement) will occur. If this rattling is large, the positional relationship between the light source and the photodetector and the measurement cell is not determined and is displaced, which adversely affects the measurement result. On the other hand, if the rattling between the accommodating part and the measuring cell is strictly set by the dimensional tolerances of the accommodating part and the measuring cell, the contact area between the accommodating part and the measuring cell becomes large at the time of insertion and removal due to those dimensional tolerances, and as a result, , Friction resistance becomes large, it becomes difficult to insert and remove, and workability deteriorates.

Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems at once, and it is intended to facilitate the work of attaching and detaching the measuring cell, improve the usability, and improve the accuracy of the mounting position of the measuring cell. This is the main intended issue.

That is, the measurement cell structure according to the present invention is provided between the measurement cell into which the sample is introduced, the cell holder that holds the measurement cell so that it can be inserted and removed, and the measurement cell and the cell holder. The measuring cell is provided with a slide mechanism for sliding and moving the measurement cell with respect to the cell holder in the insertion / extraction direction, and the slide mechanism includes a recess formed in one of the measurement cell or the cell holder and the measurement cell or the said. It is formed on the other side of the cell holder and is characterized by having a convex portion corresponding to the concave portion.

In such a case, since it has a slide mechanism that slides and moves the measurement cell with respect to the cell holder in the insertion / extraction direction, it is possible to facilitate the installation / removal work of the measurement cell and improve usability. .. Further, by adjusting the gap between the concave portion and the convex portion, the accuracy of the mounting position of the measurement cell can be improved.

In particular, in a state where the measurement cell is inserted into the cell holder, the displacement (rattling) of the measurement cell with respect to the cell holder is set by the gap formed between the concave portion and the convex portion. Therefore, the concave portions and the convex portions come into contact with each other, and the rattling of the measurement cell with respect to the cell holder is restricted. This makes it possible to improve the accuracy of the mounting position of the measuring cell while reducing the contact area between the measuring cell and the cell holder. Here, since the contact area between the measurement cell and the cell holder is small, the frictional resistance between the measurement cell and the cell holder at the time of inserting and removing the measurement cell is small, and the workability of the insertion / removal work is not deteriorated.

As a specific configuration of the cell holder, it is conceivable that the cell holder has an accommodating portion that is open on at least one surface to accommodate the measurement cell. Then, the measurement cell is to be accommodated and held in the accommodating portion so as to be insertably inserted through the opening.
In this configuration, it is desirable that the concave portion or the convex portion is formed on each of the two opposite outer surfaces of the measurement cell. In this case, a slide mechanism is provided on each of the outer surfaces of the measurement cells facing each other, and it is possible to improve the accuracy of the mounting position with respect to the cell holder while reducing the contact area of the measurement cell with respect to the cell holder. can.

It is conceivable that the measuring cell has a cell space inside in order to facilitate its manufacture. Then, in order to simplify the configuration of the measurement cell, a light introduction portion is formed on one of the two opposite outer surfaces of the measurement cell, and a light lead-out portion is formed on the other side, and the other facing each other. It is desirable that the sample introduction portion is formed on one of the two outer surfaces and the sample extraction portion is formed on the other side.
Here, in the configuration in which the concave portion or the convex portion is provided on the outer surface where the light introduction portion and the light extraction portion are formed, the optical path length of the cell and the distance from the light source or the photodetector outside the measurement cell become large. It can affect the measurement optical system.
In order to adequately solve this problem, it is desirable that the concave portion or the convex portion is formed on the outer surface on which the sample introduction portion or the sample extraction portion is formed.

Specifically, on the outer surface on which the sample introduction portion is formed, the concave portion or the convex portion is formed on either the light introduction portion side or the light extraction portion side of the sample introduction portion. On the outer surface on which the sample lead-out portion is formed, it is desirable that the concave portion or the convex portion is formed on the other side of the light introduction portion side or the light lead-out portion side than the sample lead-out portion.
With this configuration, the measurement cell is held diagonally to the cell holder, and the measurement cell can be stably held.

In order to fix the measurement cell held by the cell holder in the insertion / extraction direction, a cover body provided so as to cover the cell holder is further provided, and the cover body holds the measurement cell in the insertion / removal direction. It is desirable to have a pressing portion that presses toward the body.

According to the present invention configured as described above, since the measuring cell has a slide mechanism for sliding and moving the measuring cell with respect to the cell holder in the insertion / removal direction, the measurement cell can be easily attached and detached, and usability is improved. be able to. Further, by adjusting the gap between the concave portion and the convex portion, the accuracy of the mounting position of the measurement cell can be improved.

It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of the analyzer of this embodiment. It is sectional drawing of the measurement cell of the same embodiment. It is a front view of the cell holder of the same embodiment. It is a front view of the state which removed the cover body which shows the structure of the analyzer of the same embodiment. It is a vertical sectional view schematically showing the structure of the analyzer of the same embodiment. It is a schematic diagram which shows the detail of the slide mechanism of the same embodiment. It is a schematic diagram which shows the state before and during the insertion of the filter member of the same embodiment.

100 ... Optical analyzer 2 ... Measurement cells 2a to 2d ... Outer surface 21 of the measurement cell ... Light introduction unit 22 ... Light derivation unit 23 ... Sample introduction unit 24 ... Sample Derivation unit 3 ... Light source 4 ... Optical detector 7 ... Cell holder 71 ... Accommodating unit 71a to 71d ... Each side wall portion of the accommodating unit 8 ... Slide mechanism 81 ... Recessed portion 82 ... Convex part 10 ... Cover body 11 ... Pressing part

Hereinafter, an embodiment of an analyzer using the measurement cell structure according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

The analyzer 100 according to the present embodiment is an absorbance analyzer that measures the component concentration of a chemical solution used in, for example, a flat panel display (FPD) manufacturing process or a semiconductor manufacturing process.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, the analyzer 100 has passed through a measurement cell 2 into which a chemical solution as a sample is introduced, a light source 3 that irradiates the measurement cell 2 with a single wavelength light, and a measurement cell 2. It is equipped with a photodetector 4 that detects light. In this embodiment, an optical member 5 such as a half mirror for detecting the reference light and a photodetector 6 for the reference are also provided.

The measurement cell 2 is an in-line type provided in a chemical solution line in the manufacturing process or a sample line connected to the chemical solution line.

Specifically, the measurement cell 2 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape having a cell space 2S inside. A light introduction section 21 is formed on one of the two outer surfaces 2a and 2b facing each other in the measurement cell 2, and a light lead-out section 22 is formed on the other side. In the present embodiment, the light introduction unit 21 for introducing the light from the light source 3 is formed on the right side surface 2a, and the light extraction unit 22 for guiding the light from the measurement cell 2 to the photodetector 4 is formed on the left side surface 2b. It is formed.

The light introduction unit 21 and the light extraction unit 22 are composed of, for example, a disk-shaped optical window member 201 and, for example, an annular fixing member 202 for fixing the optical window member 201 to the measurement cell 2. There is. The inner surface of the optical window member 201 is a surface for partitioning the cell space 2S. Further, from the viewpoint of processing accuracy, the main body portion of the measurement cell 2 to which the optical window member 201 and the fixing member 202 are attached is preferably made of a metal such as stainless steel. From the viewpoint of reducing the processing cost, it may be made of resin.

Further, the sample introduction section 23 is formed on one of the other two opposite outer surfaces 2c and 2d in the measurement cell 2, and the sample lead section 24 is formed on the other side. In the present embodiment, the sample introduction unit 23 for introducing the sample into the cell space 2S is formed on the lower side surface 2c, and the sample derivation unit 24 for deriving the sample from the cell space 2S is formed on the upper side surface 2d.

A pipe H constituting a part of the chemical solution line or a part of the sample line is connected to the sample introduction unit 23 and the sample derivation unit 24.

Then, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the analyzer 100 is provided between the cell holder 7 that holds the measurement cell 2 so that it can be inserted and removed, and the measurement cell 2 and the cell holder 7. It is provided with a slide mechanism 8 that slides the measurement cell 2 with respect to the cell holder 7 in the insertion / extraction direction.

The cell holder 7 has an accommodating portion 71 that is open on one surface (front surface) to accommodate the measurement cell 2. The accommodating portion 71 has an opening shape that is substantially similar to the external shape of the measurement cell 2 in the front view and is slightly larger than this. That is, the accommodating portion 71 is formed of the left and right side wall portions 71a and 71b and the upper and lower side wall portions 71c and 71d facing the left and right side surfaces 2a and 2b and the upper and lower side surfaces 2c and 2d of the measurement cell 2. From the viewpoint of processing accuracy, the cell holder 7 is preferably made of a metal such as aluminum. From the viewpoint of reducing the processing cost, it may be made of resin.

Here, the right side wall portion 71a is formed with an incident side passing window 71a1 for guiding the light from the light source 3 to the measurement cell 2, and the left side wall portion 71b is formed with the light passing through the measurement cell 2. A transmission side passing window 71b1 for guiding to the detector 4 is formed. Further, the lower side wall portion 71c is formed with the sample introduction portion 23 of the measurement cell 2 and the notch portion 71c1 for passing the pipe H connected to the sample introduction portion 23, and the upper side wall portion 71d is formed with the sample of the measurement cell 2. A notch portion 71d1 for passing the lead-out portion 24 and the pipe H connected to the lead-out portion 24 is formed. The measurement cell 2 is retractably accommodated and held in the accommodating portion 71 configured in this way through the opening on the front surface.

Further, a light source 3, a photodetector 4, an optical member 5, and a reference photodetector 6 are housed inside the cell holder 7. Specifically, a light source accommodating space 7S1 accommodating a light source 3, an optical member 5, and a reference photodetector 6 is formed on the right side wall portion 71a side of the cell holder 7. Further, a detector accommodation space 7S2 for accommodating the photodetector 4 is formed on the left side wall portion 71b side of the cell holder 7.

Further, the accommodating portion 71 of the cell holding body 7 is formed so as to be inclined so that the light introduction portion 21 and the light derivation portion 22 of the measurement cell 2 are slightly inclined and accommodated with respect to the optical axis of the light source 3. There is. That is, the inner surface of the right side wall portion 71a and the inner surface of the left side wall portion 71b of the accommodating portion 71 are inclined, and the bottom surface 71e of the accommodating portion 71 is inclined.

The cell holder 7 configured in this way is housed in the housing 9. The housing 9 has an opening on one surface (front surface) and has a mounting portion 91 for mounting on an external structure. The opening of the housing 9 is closed by the cover body 10.

Further, the slide mechanism 8 is provided along the insertion / removal direction on one of the inner peripheral surface of the accommodating portion 71 (inner surface of each side wall portion 71a to 71d) or the outer peripheral surface 2a to 2d of the measurement cell 2 facing the inner peripheral surface. It is composed of a concave portion 81 formed and a convex portion 82 formed along the insertion / extraction direction on the other side of the inner peripheral surface of the accommodating portion 71 or the outer peripheral surfaces 2a to 2d of the measurement cell 2 facing the inner peripheral surface. ing.

In the present embodiment, the recess 81 is formed on the outer surfaces 2a to 2d of the measurement cell 2. Specifically, the recess 81 is formed on the lower side surface 2c and the upper side surface 2d of the measurement cell 2 from the front surface 2e to the rear surface 2f.

Here, two recesses 81 are formed in the measurement cell 2, and one recess 81 is formed on the light introduction portion 21 side on the outer surface (lower side surface 2c) where the sample introduction portion 23 is formed. The other recess 81 is formed on the outer surface (upper side surface 2d) on which the sample lead-out portion 24 is formed, on the light lead-out portion 22 side. That is, the two recesses 81 are provided diagonally on the measurement cell 2.

Further, the convex portion 82 is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the accommodating portion 71 at a position corresponding to the concave portion 81 formed on the outer surface 2a to 2d of the measurement cell 2. Specifically, the convex portion 82 is formed on the inner surface of the lower side wall portion 71c facing the lower side surface 2c of the measurement cell 2 and the inner surface of the upper side wall portion 71d facing the upper side surface 2d of the measurement cell.

As a specific shape of the convex portion 82 and the concave portion 81, as shown in FIG. 6, the tip portion 821 of the convex portion 82 has a rectangular cross section, and the bottom portion 811 of the concave portion 81 has a tip portion on the convex portion 82. It has a rectangular cross section corresponding to 821. In the present embodiment, since the base end portion 822 of the convex portion 82 has a divergent shape from the viewpoint of machining and strength, the opening portion 812 of the concave portion 81 does not interfere with the base end portion 822 of the convex portion 82. It is chamfered.

In the slide mechanism 8 configured in this way, when the measurement cell 2 is attached to the cell holder 7, the gap formed between the concave portion 81 and the convex portion 82 is outside the measurement cell 2 other than the concave portion 81. It is configured to be smaller than the gap formed between the side surfaces 2a to 2d and the inner peripheral surface of the accommodating portion 71 other than the recess 81. That is, in a state where the measuring cell 2 is inserted into the accommodating portion 71 of the cell holding body 7, the displacement (rattling) of the measuring cell 2 with respect to the cell holding body 7 due to the gap formed between the concave portion 81 and the convex portion 82. Amount) is set. As a result, when the measuring cell 2 rattles in the accommodating portion 71, the concave portions 81 and the convex portions 82 come into contact with each other, and the outer surfaces 2a to 2d of the measuring cell and the inner peripheral surface of the accommodating portion 71 other than the above. Will not touch. Therefore, the concave portion 81 and the convex portion 82 come into contact with each other, and the rattling of the measurement cell 2 with respect to the cell holder 7 is restricted. Here, since the main body portion of the measuring cell 2 and the cell holding body 7 are made of metal, the processing accuracy thereof is good, so that the gap between the concave portion 81 and the convex portion 82 can be adjusted accurately.

More specifically, the tip surface of the convex portion 72 provided on the inner surface of the lower side wall portion 71c and the bottom surface of the concave portion 81 provided on the lower side surface 2c of the measurement cell 2 face each other and are provided on the inner surface of the upper side wall portion 71d. By facing the front end surface of the convex portion 72 and the bottom surface of the concave portion 81 provided on the upper side surface 2d of the measurement cell 2, the rattling of the measurement cell 2 in the vertical direction with respect to the cell holding body 7 is restricted.

Further, the left and right outer surfaces of the tip portion 821 of the convex portion 82 and the left and right inner surfaces of the bottom portion 811 of the concave portion 81 face each other, so that the rattling of the measurement cell 2 in the left-right direction with respect to the cell holder 7 is restricted.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the inner surface of the cover body 10 covering the opening of the housing 9 accommodating the cell holding body 7 is in contact with the front surface 2e of the measuring cell 2 in a state of being fixed to the housing 9. Therefore, a pressing portion 11 for pressing the rear surface 2f of the measuring cell 2 against the bottom surface 71e of the accommodating portion 71 of the cell holding body 7 is provided. The pressing portion 11 is formed of an elastic material such as silicon. By pressing the measuring cell 2 against the bottom surface 71e of the accommodating portion 71, the pressing portion 11 regulates the backlash of the measuring cell 2 with respect to the cell holder 7 in the front-rear direction.

Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the cover body 10 is formed with an insertion hole 10a for inserting the filter member 14 for calibration. The insertion hole 10a is formed at a position corresponding to the filter member insertion portion 71b2 (see FIGS. 3 and 4) formed in the left side wall portion 71b of the cell holding body 7. The filter member insertion portion 71b2 is formed between the detector 4 and the transmission side passage window 71b1 on the left side wall portion 71b. Further, the insertion hole 10a is closed by the shutter member 12 (see (A) in FIG. 7). The shutter member 12 is provided on the inner surface of the cover body 10 and is urged to the closed position by an elastic body 13 such as a spring. When the filter member 14 is inserted into the insertion hole 10a from the outside of the cover body 10, the filter member 14 pushes the shutter member 12 away in the opening direction (see (a) in FIG. 7), while the filter member 14 is a cell holding body. It is inserted into the filter member insertion portion 71b2 of 7.

<Effect of this embodiment>
According to the analyzer 100 of the present embodiment configured in this way, since the slide mechanism 8 for sliding and moving the measurement cell 2 with respect to the cell holder 7 in the insertion / extraction direction is provided, the measurement cell 2 is attached or detached. Work can be facilitated and usability can be improved.
In particular, since the concave portion 81 and the convex portion 82 are in contact with each other to regulate the rattling of the measuring cell 2 with respect to the cell holding body 7, the contact area of the measuring cell 2 and the cell holding body 7 is reduced while the contact area of the measuring cell 2 is reduced. The accuracy of the mounting position can be improved. Here, since the contact area between the measurement cell 2 and the cell holder 7 is small, the frictional resistance between the measurement cell 2 and the cell holder 7 at the time of inserting and removing the measurement cell 2 becomes small, and the workability of the insertion / removal work is deteriorated. There is no.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.

For example, in the above embodiment, the concave portion is formed in the measurement cell and the convex portion is formed in the cell holder, but the convex portion may be formed in the measurement cell and the concave portion may be formed in the cell holder. Both the concave portion and the convex portion may be formed in each of the measurement cell and the cell holder.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the cell holder is an integral product, but it may be composed of a plurality of parts. In this case, it is conceivable that the width of the accommodating portion of the cell holder can be expanded or contracted. In this case, it is possible to construct a cell holder corresponding to various measurement cells having different optical path lengths. Specifically, the cell holder has first and second division elements configured by dividing the accommodating portion into two, and by adjusting the spacing between the first division element and the second division element. , It becomes possible to correspond to various measurement cells having different optical path lengths. In this case, two concave portions or convex portions are formed diagonally on the measurement cell, correspondingly, a concave portion or a convex portion is formed on the first dividing element, and a concave portion or a convex portion is formed on the second dividing element. It is desirable to form. By forming the concave portion or the convex portion in each dividing element in this way, it is possible to regulate the rattling even when various measuring cells are held.

Further, although the analysis device of the above embodiment has been described as an application example of the single wavelength absorption analyzer, it can also be applied to other absorption analyzers.

In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it goes without saying that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

According to the present invention, it is possible to facilitate the work of attaching and detaching the measuring cell, improve usability, and improve the accuracy of the mounting position of the measuring cell.

Claims (6)

The measurement cell into which the sample is introduced and
A cell holder that holds the measurement cell so that it can be inserted and removed,
A slide mechanism for sliding the measurement cell with respect to the cell holder in the insertion / removal direction is provided.
The cell holder has an accommodating portion that opens on one surface when viewed from the insertion / extraction direction and surrounds and accommodates the outer surface of the measurement cell.
The slide mechanism faces a recess formed in one of the inner peripheral surface of the accommodating portion or the outer peripheral surface of the measuring cell facing the inner peripheral surface, and the inner peripheral surface or the inner peripheral surface of the accommodating portion. It is formed on the other side of the outer surface of the measurement cell and has a convex portion corresponding to the concave portion.
A measurement cell structure in which a concave portion or a convex portion is formed on each of two opposite outer surfaces of the measurement cell along the insertion / removal direction. The first aspect of the present invention, wherein in a state where the measuring cell is inserted into the cell holding body, the displacement of the measuring cell with respect to the cell holding body is set by a gap formed between the concave portion and the convex portion. Measurement cell structure. A light introduction portion is formed on one of the two opposite outer surfaces of the measurement cell, and a light extraction portion is formed on the other side.
A sample introduction section is formed on one of the other two opposite outer surfaces of the measurement cell, and a sample lead section is formed on the other side.
The measurement cell structure according to claim 1, wherein the concave portion or the convex portion is formed on an outer surface on which the sample introduction portion or the sample lead-out portion is formed. On the outer surface on which the sample introduction portion is formed, the concave portion or the convex portion is formed on either the light introduction portion side or the light extraction portion side of the sample introduction portion.
The measurement according to claim 3, wherein the concave portion or the convex portion is formed on the outer surface on which the sample derivation portion is formed, on the other side of the light introduction portion side or the light derivation portion side than the sample derivation portion. Cell structure. A cover body provided so as to cover the cell holder is further provided.
The measurement cell structure according to claim 1, wherein the cover body has a pressing portion that presses the measurement cell toward the cell holder. The optical analyzer having the measurement cell structure according to claim 1.

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