JPH0520135B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a liquid preparation device for preparing various liquids, particularly inks, paints, cosmetics, etc. (ranging from 2 to 3 poise to several hundred poise). ) This invention relates to a high viscosity liquid preparation device suitable for preparing high viscosity liquid substances.

BACKGROUND ART In recent years, in the field of chemical testing and analysis and the field of inks, paints, and dyes, various proposals have been made to automate the preparation work of samples or raw materials, which was conventionally done manually, using microcomputer control.

For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 55-122068 discloses that a liquid path such as a pipe is provided between a raw material tank storing various dye solutions and a liquid preparation container, and a dispensing device placed in the middle of the liquid path. An automatic liquid preparation device is disclosed in which a desired amount of each raw material is supplied to a liquid preparation container by controlling the container according to instructions from a microcomputer.

Furthermore, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 159342/1983 discloses a method in which a change in the weight of the stock solution supplied from the stock solution container to the receiving container through the outflow pipe is detected, and a valve provided in the outflow pipe is controlled by a microcomputer. An automatic dye liquor mixing device is disclosed.

Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 57-66171 discloses an automatic dye bath adjusting device in which a plurality of dispensers are fixedly arranged around a table as necessary.

In addition, the applicant of the present application previously filed a patent application filed in 1983.
No. 147352 (Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. 1983-41533) and Patent Application No. 1983-
No. 154272 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 60-52668) discloses an automatic liquid preparation device that uses a pipettor to suck raw materials from a raw material tank and pours them into a receiving container.

Problems to be solved by the invention However, JP-A-55-122068 and JP-A-59
-The device disclosed in Publication No. 159342 has a supply system such as piping, dispensers, or valves for each raw material, which makes the device structure complicated, making it difficult to take out the container, and the raw materials inside the piping. There are problems such as adhesion and cleaning which is difficult and troublesome, and the high viscosity of the liquid makes it difficult to transfer and measure. Furthermore, although the device disclosed in JP-A-57-66171 is provided with a dispenser, this device has the same inconvenience as pipe piping when taking in and out the liquid preparation container, and has the same problems as the above-mentioned invention. has. Furthermore, in the devices disclosed in JP-A-60-41533 and JP-A-60-52668,
Although there were no problems with piping, since it was invented with the assumption that it would be used for dyeing operations, it was not possible to efficiently prepare high-viscosity liquids. In other words, when the liquid preparation device is used to prepare printing ink, etc., which has a higher viscosity than dye liquid, the cleaning operation takes time and requires a large amount of cleaning liquid, so it is not sufficient in terms of workability and economy. Nakatsuta. Furthermore, when preparing printing ink, the specific gravity differs depending on the color, and liquid preparation has traditionally been done by weight, so when using the liquid preparation device described above, it is necessary to convert weight into volume, which is even more time-consuming. It was hot. The present invention was made in order to solve the problems of the conventional technology, and an object of the present invention is to provide a high-viscosity liquid preparation device that can accurately and quickly prepare even high-viscosity liquids. .

Means for Solving the Problems Therefore, the high viscosity liquid preparation device according to the present invention has a plurality of raw material tanks and a removable pipettor attached to each raw material tank. Note: Receive the raw material tank and pipetter holding and moving device to be moved to the work device, and the pipettor attached to the raw material tank and pipettor holding and moving device, suck up the raw material, and pour it out into the respective receiving containers, and after completing the pouring work. , a dispensing device that returns the pipettor to the raw material tank/pipette holding and moving device, a receiving container moving device that holds multiple receiving containers so that they can move up and down and moves them to the dispensing work position, and a receiving container moving device that moves them to the dispensing work position. A weighing device that lifts the loaded receiving container from the receiving container moving device and sends a weighing signal of the poured raw material to the control unit; Selecting and moving the raw material tank and pipettor; Transferring the pipettor of the dispensing device; and a control device for controlling the selection and movement of the receiving container, and for controlling the pouring amount based on the weighing signal from the weighing device.

Examples Examples of the present invention will be described in detail below.

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a plan view. The raw material tank/pipette holding and moving device 100, the receiving container moving device 300, and the weight measuring device 400 are connected to the liquid preparation table 1.
It is installed in Further, the dispensing device 200 is attached to the fixed wall 2. The control device 500 is installed on a stand different from the liquid preparation stand (not shown). FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a specific configuration example of a part of the raw material tank/pipetter holding and moving device. The raw material tank/pipetter holding and moving device 100 mainly includes a raw material tank table 110, a raw material tank 120,
pipettor table 130, pipettor 140,
Table moving mechanism 150, raw material tank lifting mechanism 1
It consists of 60 pieces.

The raw material tank table 110 is circular, and near the outer periphery of the table there is an index 113 for detecting the position. Raw material tank table 1
No. 10 has multiple holes 111, and holes 11
1 is attached with a removable tank receiving tray 112 that is large enough to accommodate a raw material tank 120. The tank tray 112 is adapted to fit into the hole 111 so that it does not slip down even when the raw material tank table 110 rotates, and the raw material tank table 120 can be placed on top of it to prevent it from sliding down. ing. The raw material tank 120 has a double lid, and as shown in FIG. 3, the inner lid 121 is directly attached to the raw material tank 120. Inner lid 1
21 is circular with a small hole 122 in one place,
An inverted conical liquid cutting piece 123 made of rubber or the like is attached to the small hole 122. The small hole 122 and the liquid piece 123 allow the nozzle 143 of the pipettor 140 to close the liquid piece 12 when the raw material tank 120 rises.
Provided in a position where it can pass through the interior of 3 without any hindrance. The outer cover 124 is constructed by attaching an outer cover support rod 125 directly to the raw material tank table 110 near the tank receiving tray 112, and attaching the outer cover 124 to the upper end of the outer cover support rod 125 with a hinge 126 or the like. be. It opens when the raw material tank 120 goes up and closes when it goes down. If necessary, for example, a magnetic stirrer 171 may be provided as a stirring member at the lower part of the raw material tank table 110 where raw material tanks 120 located at positions other than the raw material tanks used for liquid preparation are placed. Referring again to FIG. 1, the same rotating shaft 101 is mounted on the upper part of the raw material tank table 110.
There is a pipettor table 130 that is attached to and moves simultaneously with the raw material tank table 110. In the initial state, the pipetters 140 corresponding to the raw material tanks 120 are all attached to the pipettor table 130 via holding parts 132, respectively. An electromagnet 133 is attached to the holding portion 132 in order to accurately transfer the pipettor 140. (See Figure 4). The sensor 1 is attached to the holding part 132.
34 is attached to detect the transfer of the pipettor 140.

The pipettor 140 consists of a cylinder 141, a piston 142, a nozzle 143, and a piston head 144, and an iron piece 145 is attached to the outer periphery of the cylinder 141. Referring to FIG. 1, the raw material tank table 110, which is the lower part of the pipettor 140 in the initial state, has a moisturizing member installation stand 172.
are provided with moisturizing material 1 such as a sponge so that the tip of the pipette nozzle 143 slightly touches it.
73 has been installed. The moisturizing member 173 is moistened with water or other wetting liquid.

A table moving mechanism 1 consisting of a drive motor 151 is attached to a rotating shaft 101 to which a raw material tank table 110 and a pipettor table 130 are attached.
50 is attached, thereby connecting the raw material tank table 110 and the pipette table 130.
rotates.

There is a raw material tank lifting mechanism 160 at the bottom of the raw material tank table 110 on which the raw material tank 120 in the injection work position is placed. It consists of a support stand 163 supported by. Support stand 162
is the hole 11 made in the raw material tank table 110
1, and when sucking the raw material, the support base 163 can be raised until the nozzle 143 of the pipettor 140 reaches a predetermined depth within the raw material tank. A sensor 164 is attached to the part of the liquid preparation table 1 that comes into contact with the support table 163 (see FIG. 3).
3 has reached the bottom.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of the dispensing device.

The dispensing device 200 mainly includes a pipettor moving mechanism 210, a holding piece drive mechanism 220, and a piston drive mechanism 230.

Regarding the pipettor moving mechanism 210, a drive motor 212 for moving the holding piece drive mechanism 220 is mounted on the fixed wall 2 (see FIG. 2).
The drive motor 212 rotates the drive screw 213 and the sliding part 215 guided by the guide rod 214.
The holding piece drive mechanism 220 is attached to the sliding portion 215 (see FIG. 2). A holding piece driving device 222 is attached to the sliding portion 215, and the holding piece driving device 222
A pair of left and right holding pieces 224 are attached to the. An electromagnet 225 is attached, which is electrically coupled to the iron piece 145 attached to the pipettor 140 during liquid preparation, and magnetically demagnetized when the pipettor 140 is returned to the pipettor table 130. The holding piece 224 attached to the holding piece driving device 222 is configured to hold a portion of the cylinder that is not held by the holding part 132 attached to the pipettor table 130. As a result, when transferring the pipettor 140, the holding piece 2
24 and the holding part 132 can grip or release the pipettor 140 without interfering with each other. A sensor 226 is attached to the holding piece operating device 223 and detects transfer of the pipettor 140.

The piston drive mechanism is a stepping motor 23
1, a drive screw 232 rotated by a stepping motor 231, a piston drive section 235 that is threaded onto the drive screw 232 and guided by guide rods 233 and 234, and a joint attached to the piston drive section 235. It consists of 236. Joint part 236
is composed of an electromagnet, which conducts current when the piston 142 moves up and down, and is magnetically coupled to the piston head 144. The drive screw 232 is installed so that the piston 142 does not come off the cylinder 141 and can be pushed down to the lowest end.
Adjust. Position sensors 237 and 238 are configured, for example, as limit switches, and detect when the piston drive unit 235 has reached the uppermost and lowermost positions, respectively, and send detection signals to the control device 500 (not shown).

Referring to FIG. 2, the receiving container moving device 3
00 is the drive motor 301 and the drive motor 30
Drive screw 302 and drive screw 302 rotated by 1
A receiving container transporting stage 305 that is screwed together and guided by guide rods 303 and 304, and a receiving container 30 placed on the receiving container transporting stage 305.
6 (see Figure 1). The receiving container transport stage 305 has a plurality of holes 307 into which receiving containers 306 having an inverted truncated cone shape are fitted.

The weight measuring device 400 includes a motor 401, a drive screw 402 rotated by the motor 401, a fixed base 403 into which the drive screw 402 is screwed together, and a drive screw 4.
A scale support stand 404 attached to the upper end of the scale support stand 404 and a scale support stand 407 placed on the upper part of the scale support stand 404 and guided up and down by, for example, two guide rods 405 and 406 are placed at the top. It is composed of position sensors 408 and 409 that detect when the upper end position and the lowermost end position have been reached, and a scale 410 installed on the scale mounting table 407. In the initial state, the scale is 410.
is at the lowest position, and when measuring weight, the scale 410
is raised, the receiving container 306 is separated from the receiving container transport stage 305, and the entire weight of the receiving container 306 is applied to the scale 410. The weight value signal is sent to the control section.

In the example, a case is shown in which the raw material tank and pipettor are held on a rotating table, but
It may also be held and moved by other moving means such as a belt conveyor. Alternatively, the material tank and pipettor may be fixed, and the dispensing device moves to a predetermined pipettor holding position and receives the pipettor. In short, structural changes are possible if the raw material tank, pipettor, and dispensing device can move relative to each other, receive the intended pipettor, and dispense the raw material into the receiving container. be. In addition, for stirring raw materials, an example of a magnetic stirrer was shown, but rotating blades for stirring are installed in each raw material tank, and a rotary blade for stirring is installed in a place not used for liquid preparation. The raw material can also be stirred by engaging the shaft of the rotary blade with the drive motor.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of devices constituting the control device.

The control device 500 includes a control section 5 that performs arithmetic processing, etc.
01, a storage device 502 storing a liquid preparation program for instructing a series of liquid preparation operations, and an input device 503 consisting of a keyboard. A microcomputer 504 is used for the control unit 501, storage device 502, and input device 503, and a required number of parallel interfaces 506 are attached to the input/output ports 505 of the microcomputer 504 to connect with the sensors and motor control devices of each device.

6 and 7 show flowcharts of various programs for controlling the operation of the high viscosity liquid preparation device according to the present invention. Next, the operation of the high viscosity liquid preparation apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 to 5 will be explained with reference to these flowcharts.

In input processing 1 (FIG. 6A), information regarding raw materials and liquid preparation is input to the input device 50 according to the raw material tank number.
3 and loaded into the storage device 502 (steps S1 to S4). The input information is used as raw material information during liquid preparation, and used for raw material selection, remaining amount management, etc. Even when the remaining amount of raw materials is insufficient, raw material information is re-input using this input process 1.

In input processing 2 (FIG. 6B), information regarding the liquid preparation, such as the raw material tank number and the liquid preparation amount, is input from the input device 503 according to the receiving container number, and is loaded into the storage device 502 (step S10-
S20).

When the input is completed, the remaining amount of raw materials to be used is calculated and compared with the amount used, and if the remaining amount is insufficient, an alarm is issued.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the overall flow of the liquid preparation work. As shown in this figure, the control program consists of multiple control program modules that control the operation of each part of the device and a main control program (MAIN) that centrally manages them. done in parallel.

First, when the task that executes MAIN is started, initial values of parameters used in each task are set (step S30), and then the control program
Task that executes TNKCTRL1 (TNKCTRL1
task) is started (step S31). this
The TNKCTRL1 task stirs the raw materials at regular intervals if the liquid preparation operation is not performed for a long time.

Next, it is checked by input processing 2 (FIG. 6B) whether information to be prepared is stored (step S32), and if it is stored, the TNKCTRL1 task is terminated, and the control program RCUPCTRL is
Tasks that execute TNKCTRL2 and PPPETCTRL (RCUPCTRL, TNKCTRL2,
PETCTRL task) (step S33)
−S35). These tasks control the operations of the receiving container moving device 300, the raw material tank/pipette holding and moving device 100, and the dispensing device 200, respectively.

When the RCUPCTRL task is activated, the receiving container moving device 300 is activated to move the empty receiving container to the position of the scale 410 (step S56).Then, the weighing device 400 is activated and the empty receiving container is moved to the position of the scale 410.
and reset the weight of the empty container to zero. When the reset is completed, it passes a reset completion signal to the PPTCTRL task and enters a waiting state until the next operation instruction is received.

When the TNKCTRL2 task is activated, the raw material tank table 130 is rotated and the raw material tank to be prepared is moved to the raw material suction position. (step
S40) When the movement is completed, send the completion signal
Pass it to the PPTCTRL task and enter the waiting state until the next operation instruction.

When the PETCTRL task is activated, the pipettor moving mechanism 210 is activated to move the pipettor holding drive mechanism 220 to the pipettor delivery position (step S42). Once the move is complete, the
After confirming the raw material tank movement completion signal from the TNKCTRL2 task (step S43), the pipettor 140 is delivered (step S44). When the transfer is completed, the amount of raw material remaining in the pipettor is calculated and compared with the amount of prepared liquid (step S45), and if there is a shortage, the raw material in the raw material tank 120 is aspirated (step S46). After that, the pipettor moving mechanism 210 is operated again, and the pipettor 140 is moved to the scale 41.
As well as moving to the 0 position (step S50),
Release the waiting state of the TNKCTR2 task.

When the waiting state is released, the TNKCTRL2 task checks whether all liquid preparation schedules have been completed. If they have been completed, the TNKCTRL2 task is terminated (step S47), and if not, the next formulation is scheduled. The raw material tank to be mixed is moved to the stirring position by rotating the raw material tank table 130. (Step S48) After stirring for a certain period of time, the raw material tank table 130 is rotated again and returned to its original position (Step S49), and the TNKCTRL2 task is ended.

In the PETCTRL task, when the pipettor 140 completes moving the scale 410 (step S50)
After confirming that the zero reset signal is sent from the RCUPCTRL task, (step S51)
The piston drive mechanism 230
is activated to dispense (step S52). The poured raw material is placed in a receiving container, its weight is measured by a scale 410, and the measurement signal is sent to the control unit 5.
The control unit 501 via the input/output port 505 of 00
sent to.

When the dispensing of the raw material reaches the desired amount, the piston drive mechanism 230 is stopped and the pipettor moving mechanism 2 is started again.
10 is activated, and the pipettor 140 is returned to the pipettor delivery position (step S53). Also,
At this time, the waiting state of the RCUPCTRL task is released.

When the pipettor 140 returns to the pipettor delivery position (step S54), the pipettor 140 is returned to the pipettor table 130 (step S55).
End the PPTCTRL task.

When the RCUPCTRL task is released from the waiting state, it is checked whether all the formulations have been completed (step S59), and if not, it puts its own task into the waiting state again. If it has been completed, the weight/light device 400 is activated to lower the scale 410 (step S60). When the lowering is completed, it is checked whether the liquid preparation work for all receiving containers has been completed, and if it has not been completed, the RCUPCTRL task is ended (step S61). If the receiving containers have been completed, the receiving container moving device 300 is activated to return all receiving containers to their original positions (step S62) and end the RCUPCTRL task.

The MAIN task is the TNKCTRL2 task,
The execution of the PPTCTRL task is in a standby state until it is completed (step S36). When the above two tasks are completed, it is checked whether all the blending has been completed, and if not, the TNKCTRL2 and PETCTRL tasks are activated again for blending the next raw material (step S37). If it's finished
The process waits until the RCUPCTRL task is completed (step S38), and then it is checked whether or not the formulation for all receiving containers has been completed. If the process has not been completed, the RCUPCTRL task is activated again to start liquid preparation for the next receiving container (step S39). When the preparation for all receiving containers is completed, return to step S31 again and set TNKCTRL.
1 Start a task.

In this way, the MAIN task manages the other four tasks, and each task uses processing confirmation signals (flags, etc.) to synchronize and perform each operation in parallel. The efficiency and speed of liquid preparation work will be increased.

Effects of the Invention By using the liquid preparation device configured as described above, even highly viscous liquids can be prepared accurately and quickly. In other words, liquid preparation using the high viscosity liquid preparation apparatus according to the present invention uses a pipettor for each raw material tank, so there is no need for cleaning during liquid preparation, and even if necessary, it can be done easily and quickly. can. Even if raw materials with different specific gravities are used, accurate quantitative determination is possible because the amount of raw materials dispensed is detected by weight.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figures 1 and 2 are general views of a high viscosity liquid preparation device according to an embodiment of the present invention, where Figure 1 is a side view, Figure 2 is a plan view, and Figure 3 is a raw material tank and pipettor. FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a specific configuration example of a part of the holding and moving device, FIG. 4 is a side view showing a specific configuration example of the dispensing device, and FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing devices constituting the control device. , and Figure 6A
7A and 7B are flowcharts of a program for controlling input processing operations in the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and FIGS.
3 is a flowchart of a control program for liquid preparation work in the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A raw material tank that holds a plurality of raw material tanks and removable pipettes attached to each raw material tank, and moves the raw material tanks and pipettes to a dispensing work position. a pipettor holding and moving device; a dispensing device that receives the pipettor attached to the device, aspirates the raw material, dispenses it into each receiving container, and returns the pipettor to the device after the dispensing operation is completed; and a plurality of receiving containers. A receiving container moving device holds the container so that it can move up and down, and moves it to the dispensing work position.The receiving container that has been moved to the dispensing work position is lifted from the receiving container moving device, and the dispensed raw material is weighed and weighed. A weighing device that sends signals to the control unit, controls the selection and movement of raw material tanks and pipetters, transfer of the pipettor of the dispensing device, and selection and movement of receiving containers, and also controls the weighing signals from the weighing device. A high viscosity liquid preparation device, comprising: a control device for controlling the pouring amount based on the amount of water to be poured.