JPH0349066B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a calorimeter, and more particularly to a calorimeter for measuring the amount of heat that changes during the growth and reaction of various microorganisms.

Conventionally, in this type of calorimeter, a constant temperature body that is maintained at a predetermined temperature by constant-temperature circulating water is housed in a box protected by a heat insulating material, and a sample container is placed in a cell provided in this constant temperature body, and the sample is It measures the growth of microorganisms in the container and the thermal changes (temperature changes) associated with the reaction.

However, in the above-mentioned calorimeter, there is only one cell in the constant temperature body that holds the sample container.
For this reason, it takes a lot of time to measure the calorific value of a large number of microbial samples. It is possible to install multiple cells in a constant temperature body and measure the calorific value of multiple samples at the same time, but simply installing multiple cells will affect the thermal changes of the samples in adjacent cells, making it difficult to accurately measure the heat. Unable to measure change.

This invention eliminates the drawbacks of the conventional methods as described above, makes it possible to measure the thermal changes of multiple microbial samples simultaneously, and furthermore, it is possible to measure the thermal changes of multiple microbial samples at the same time. The purpose is to provide a constant temperature body in a calorimeter that can offset the effects and measure accurate thermal changes.

That is, the calorimeter of the present invention is provided with a comparison cell accommodating a comparison sample container in a constant temperature body, and a plurality of measurement cells accommodating measurement sample containers;
The method is characterized in that the triangle with one measurement cell and one comparison cell as vertices forms an equilateral triangle, so that even if thermal changes in the sample affect each other between adjacent measurement cells, Thermal changes in each measurement cell have the same effect on the comparison cell as they do on each other, so it is important to measure the temperature difference between the sample in each measurement cell and the sample in the comparison cell. This makes it possible to measure substantial thermal changes (temperature changes) that eliminate the influence of samples in adjacent measurement cells.

This invention will be described with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings.

In FIG. 1, 1 is a main body of a calorimeter according to the present invention, and the main body 1 includes a box body 3 having a lid 2, and the lid 2 and the box body 3 are protected by a heat insulating material. There is. There is a lid 14 inside the box body 3.
A constant temperature bath 5 made of copper or the like with high thermal conductivity is housed, a pipe 6 made of copper or the like is spirally wound around the outer periphery of the constant temperature bath 5, and a heat conductive cement layer 4 is further provided to cover the pipe 6. It is formed.
One end of the pipe 6 is connected to a supply pipe 12 of a constant temperature water circulation tank (not shown), and the other end is connected to a return pipe 1.
3, and by circulating constant temperature water in the pipe 6, the constant temperature bath 5 is maintained at a predetermined temperature. 15 is an intermediate lid.

A constant temperature body 7 maintained at a predetermined temperature by the constant temperature bath 5 is housed in the constant temperature bath 5.
The block is made of aluminum or other material with high thermal conductivity. As shown in FIG. 2, a comparison cell 8r is provided in the constant temperature body 7 at approximately the center position when viewed from above, and a plurality of (six in this example) measurement cells are provided at positions surrounding the comparison cell 8r. 8a to 8f are bored, and the measurement cells 8a to 8f are the comparison cell 8.
The triangle located at the apex of a regular hexagon centered on r, and thus connecting the centers of two adjacent measurement cells 8a to 8f and the comparison cell 8r, is an equilateral triangle. 19 is a cell lid.

At the inner bottom of the measurement cells 8a to 8f and the comparison cell 8r, there is a sample plate 9 having a thermocouple 10 at the lower end.
The lower end surface of each thermocouple 10 is maintained at that temperature by a constant temperature body 7, and the upper end surface is adapted to detect temperature changes within the sample container 11 placed on the sample plate 9. . Each thermocouple 10 sends a signal to the lead wire 1 according to the thermoelectromotive force based on the temperature difference between the upper and lower end surfaces.
The recorder 16 and the microvoltmeter 17 record the electromotive force of the thermocouple in the comparison cell 8r and the electromotive force of the thermocouples in the measurement cells 8a to 8f. The difference in power, that is, the temperature difference, is selectively displayed and recorded by sequentially switching a rotary switch (not shown) for each measurement cell 8a to 8f.

Next, the operation of the above-mentioned device will be explained along with the usage conditions.

Constant temperature water at a predetermined temperature is circulated in the pipe 6, the constant temperature bath 5 is maintained at that temperature, and the entire constant temperature body 7 is maintained at that temperature by heat conduction.

Six sample containers containing measurement materials and maintained at the same temperature as the constant temperature body 7 are inserted into the measurement cells 8a to 8f, and a standard sample, for example, a certain amount of liquid paraffin, is inserted into the comparison cell 8r. Insert the sample container containing the After a certain period of time has passed after the samples are set in this way, slight thermal changes begin to occur due to the growth and reaction systems of the microorganisms contained in each sample, and these changes occur within the measurement cells 8a to 8f. This is displayed and recorded on the recorder 16 and the microvoltmeter 17 as a temperature difference between the sample in the cell 8r and the sample in the comparative cell 8r.

Samples in each of the measurement cells 8a to 8f that are adjacent to each other influence thermal changes, but the temperature difference between the samples in the measurement cells 8a to 8f and the sample in the comparison cell 8r is measured. This makes it possible to eliminate the influence of adjacent objects. For example, if we explain the sample in the measurement cell 8b, this sample is affected by the thermal changes of the samples in the measurement cells 8a and 8c;
a, 8b and a triangle with the comparison cell 8r as vertices, the measurement cells 8b, 8c and the comparison cell 8r
Both triangles with vertices are equilateral triangles,
Since the distances between adjacent measurement cells 8a to 8c and the distances between measurement cells 8a to 8c and comparison cell 8r are all equal, the sample in measurement cells 8a and 8c is the same as the sample in measurement cell 8b. The degree of influence exerted on the sample in the measurement cells 8a and 8c is equal to the degree of influence exerted on the sample in the comparison cell 8r, and therefore, the degree of influence between the sample in the measurement cell 8b and the comparison cell 8r is the same. By measuring the temperature difference, it is possible to know the temperature change of the sample in the measurement cell 8b, which eliminates the influence of the samples in the measurement cells 8a and 8c. In this case, the sample in the comparison cell 8r is influenced by the samples in all the measurement cells 8a to 8f. However, the amount of heat transferred by thermal conduction is proportional to the temperature difference, and since the constant temperature body 7 having the comparison cell 8r and the measurement cells 8a to 8f is constantly exchanging heat with the constant temperature circulating water in the pipe 6, The temperature that the sample in the comparison cell 8r actually receives from the sample in the measurement cells 8a to 8f is the same as that of the measurement cells 8a to 8f.
The temperature is not the sum of the heat conducted from the thermostatic body 7, but is an averaged temperature that includes the entire constant temperature body 7 as one system, and this averaged temperature is the temperature of the sample detected by the comparison cell 8r. Become. In addition, in the above, the temperature of the sample in the measurement cell 8b is the same as that of the measurement cell 8a.
Even if the temperature is higher than that of the sample in the measuring cell 8,
a has the same effect on the measurement cell 8b as it has on the comparison cell 8r. The same applies to the samples in other measurement cells, and by measuring the temperature difference with the comparison cell 8r, it is possible to know the temperature change that eliminates the influence of the sample in the adjacent measurement cell. Note that when heat is transferred within the constant temperature body 7, the temperature gradient decreases exponentially with distance, so when considering the influence of the samples in the measurement cells 8a to 8f, it is only necessary to consider adjacent ones. is sufficient.

3 and 4 show another embodiment, in which a comparison cell 8r made of a cylindrical body and a plurality of measurement cells 8a to 8f are fixedly mounted on the upper surface of a constant temperature body 7. .

The number of measurement cells is not limited to 6 as in each of the above embodiments, but may be 2 to 5 or a plurality that satisfies the requirements of the claims.

This invention is as described above, and a constant temperature body incorporated in a calorimeter is provided with a comparison cell for accommodating a comparison sample container and a plurality of measurement cells for accommodating measurement sample containers, and two measurement cells are provided. Since the triangles with the measurement cell and comparison cell as vertices form an equilateral triangle, even if the thermal changes of samples in adjacent measurement cells influence each other, the difference from the sample in the comparison cell can be taken. This eliminates the influence, making it possible to accurately measure thermal changes in a plurality of samples and shortening measurement time.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a plan view of the constant temperature body, FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view showing another embodiment, and FIG. 4 is a plan view of the same. 3... Box body, 5... Constant temperature chamber, 7... Constant temperature body, 8a-8
f...Measurement cell, 8r...Comparison cell, 10...Thermocouple, 11...Sample container.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A calorimeter in which a constant temperature body whose temperature is maintained by constant temperature circulating water is disposed in a box body having heat insulation properties, comprising: a comparison cell in which a comparison sample container is housed in the constant temperature body; and a plurality of measurement cells for accommodating measurement sample containers, and a triangle having two adjacent measurement cells and a comparison cell as vertices forms an equilateral triangle. .