JP4726280B2 - Measuring system and measuring instrument - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a measuring system and a measuring instrument applied to a particle size distribution measuring apparatus for measuring the size and distribution state of a particle diameter.
[0002]
[Prior art]
The particle size distribution measuring apparatus is widely used for quality control in the field of handling powders such as ceramics, polymer chemistry, and food. For example, in a laser diffraction / scattering type particle size distribution measuring apparatus, measurement is performed by using the fact that the scattering mode when a particle is irradiated with laser light changes depending on the size of the particle. That is, when the particle size is large, the proportion of scattered light forward becomes relatively large, and as the particle size becomes small, the proportion of scattered light relatively sideward and backward becomes large. Calculate particle size distribution based on theory.
[0003]
Such a particle size distribution measuring apparatus is generally used in combination with a computer such as a PC (personal computer). The computer includes measurement software and a display such as a CRT (cathode ray tube) or a liquid crystal. The operator performs various operations for measurement on the screen of the display. Based on the operated content, the computer causes the measuring device to perform measurement according to the procedure of the measurement software. Data obtained as a result of the measurement is sent from the measuring instrument to the computer and displayed on the display screen in the form of numerical values or graphs.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the measurement system as described above, in order to meet the demands of various users, many functions have been incorporated into the software built in the computer, and its operation has been increasingly complicated. ing. However, the operators who perform the measurement work are not necessarily limited to those who are proficient in the operation of the computer, and there are some who are completely inexperienced in the operation of the computer. For such a person, it is extremely difficult to perform complicated operations on a computer display while operating a mouse, a keyboard, and the like. In addition, the computer display displays a wide variety of data measured by the measuring instrument. Extracting the necessary data from such detailed data is also not recommended for those who are not familiar with computers. It's not easy.
[0005]
Therefore, in view of the above points, the present invention has an object to enable an operator who is not used to using a computer to easily perform a measurement operation by a simple operation.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problems, in the present invention, a computer connected to a measuring instrument is provided with a display as in the conventional case, and detailed operations for measurement and detailed display of measurement results are performed on the screen of this display. . On the other hand, the measuring instrument is equipped with a touch panel to select only the necessary operations from the detailed operations and only the necessary ones from the measurement results displayed on the display. Simple measurement results are displayed on the touch panel screen. On the screen of the touch panel, for example, an operation button and a display column for measurement results are displayed.
[0007]
By doing so, an operator who is proficient in a computer can perform complex and advanced operations using a display as usual, or can display detailed data, and can be used according to various needs. . For operators unfamiliar with computers, it is only necessary to perform operations using a touch panel that displays simple contents, so that it is free from complicated operations using a mouse, keyboard, etc., and measurement can be performed efficiently with simple operations. Can do.
[0008]
In the present invention, the content displayed on the screen of the touch panel may be arbitrarily set on the computer side. In this case, display contents set by the computer may be stored in a setting file and displayed on the touch panel screen according to the contents of the setting file. According to this, the type and arrangement of buttons displayed on the touch panel can be customized using a computer. Therefore, compared to the case where a mechanical push button switch is provided in place of the touch panel, the display content can be freely added or changed with one touch panel, and a large number of switches are added to the measuring instrument. There is no need to incorporate it, and there is an advantage that the cost can be reduced.
[0009]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a measurement system according to the present invention. In the figure, 100 is a PC (personal computer) which is one form of the computer of the present invention, 200 is a measuring instrument such as a particle size distribution measuring apparatus connected to the PC 100, and 10 is a printer connected to the PC 100. . The PC 100 includes a known keyboard 1a, mouse 1b, and CRT display 6. The display is not limited to a CRT, and may be a display such as a liquid crystal display. The measuring instrument 200 is provided with a small touch panel 14 that serves as both an input device and a display device.
[0010]
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the measurement system. First, the configuration of the PC 100 will be described. In the PC 100, 1 is an input unit composed of the keyboard 1a and mouse 1b described above, 2 is a storage unit composed of ROM and RAM, and a hard disk, and 3 is a CPU that controls the entire PC. A print control unit 4 performs print control for the externally attached printer 10. A display control unit 5 performs display control on the CRT display 6 and the touch panel 14. The display control unit 5 is composed of a dual display compatible video card. The video card is a so-called expansion board, one output (connector) of which is connected to the CRT display 6 and the other output is connected to the touch panel 14. Reference numeral 7 denotes a recording medium reading device for reading a recording medium 8 such as an FD (flexible disk) 8a or a CD-ROM 8b. In this recording medium 8, a display program to be described later is recorded. Reference numeral 9 denotes an interface when connecting to the measuring instrument 200.
[0011]
Next, the configuration of the measuring device 200 will be described. In the measuring instrument 200, 11 is an interface for connection with the PC 100, 12 is a CPU for controlling measurement, and 13 is a storage unit including a ROM and a RAM. 14 is a touch panel described above, which has a known structure in which a menu screen is displayed through a transparent panel, and the menu of the pressed part is selected and converted into an electric signal by pressing the panel with a finger. Is. A measurement unit 15 includes a laser, an optical system, a scattered light detector, a signal processing circuit, and the like necessary for measuring the particle size distribution.
[0012]
In addition, the touch panel 14 here is not limited to a touch panel in a narrow sense, but may be a touch screen used by being placed on a display screen, or a tablet that performs input using a pen or the like. In short, any device that generates a signal corresponding to a selected portion by selecting a menu displayed on the screen by a pressing operation may be used. Is included.
[0013]
3 and 4 show an example of a display screen on the CRT display 6 on the PC side. FIG. 3 is a screen on which the measurement result is displayed, and FIG. 4 is an operation screen at the start of measurement or a screen on which data during measurement is displayed. In the measurement result screen 20 of FIG. 3, 21 is an icon (picture symbol) provided corresponding to various operations, and 2 is an operation button operated when performing measurement stop, measurement screen display, automatic measurement, or the like. . The icon 21 and the operation button 22 are clicked by operating the mouse 1b (FIG. 1). 23 is a data display column for displaying measured data as numerical values. Here, the specific surface area, median diameter (average particle diameter), arithmetic average diameter, arithmetic standard deviation, coefficient of variation, and mode diameter relating to the size of the particle are indicated. Is displayed. Reference numeral 24 denotes a graph display field for displaying measurement data in a graph, in which the particle size distribution is displayed in a bar graph format. Reference numeral 25 denotes a graph display field, in which the measurement result of the sample measured in the past is displayed. As described above, the CRT display 6 displays detailed measurement results including various data and graphs.
[0014]
On the other hand, in the measurement screen 30 of FIG. 4, 31 is an icon provided corresponding to various operations, 32 is an operation button operated when stopping measurement, displaying a measurement result, performing automatic measurement, and the like. 3 and 21 and 22 are the same. Reference numeral 33 denotes a graph display field in which data being measured is displayed in a graph format, and includes a particle size distribution display unit 34, a scattered light intensity display unit 35, and a transmittance display unit 36. In the particle size distribution display unit 34, the particle size distribution is displayed in real time at intervals of 1 second, for example. The scattered light intensity display unit 35 displays the scattered light intensity for each channel (the number of a plurality of detectors constituting the detector). Reference numeral 37 denotes an operation button that is operated at the start of measurement, and is used to perform a series of operations including pre-processing such as optical axis adjustment, drainage, and air venting performed prior to measurement.
[0015]
FIG. 5 shows an example of the display screen 40 on the touch panel 14. The display screen 40 includes a measurement start button 41 that is operated when measurement is started, a measurement stop button 42 that is operated when measurement is stopped, and a preprocessing button 43 that is operated when the above-described pretreatment is performed on the sample. An operation button 44 is arranged. The measurement stop button 42 is drawn with a broken line, which indicates that the measurement stop button 42 cannot be used. The stop button 42 is not displayed or lightly displayed at the end of measurement, and cannot be operated.
[0016]
The display screen 40 is provided with a message display field 45 for guiding the current state of the measuring instrument 200 and an operation to be performed next to the operator, and a measurement result display field 46 for displaying the measurement result data in numerical values. It is done. Here, since it is assumed that the required data is the median diameter, the measurement result display column 46 displays the median diameter value. You may display a particle diameter. Further, not only numerical data but also a simple graph can be displayed.
[0017]
Such a display screen 40 of the touch panel 14 is arranged by selecting only necessary items from the menu of the CRT display 6 on the PC 100 side, and the display contents are only buttons and display fields. It is a very easy-to-understand GUI (Graphical User Interface). The menu is not deleted on the PC side, and the same menu on the PC side as that on the measuring instrument side can be selected and the same operation can be performed from both sides.
[0018]
Further, the type, arrangement, size, and the like of the operation buttons 44 and display fields 45 and 46 displayed on the touch panel 14 can be arbitrarily set on the CRT display 6 on the PC side, and can be customized. . For example, when the measurement result is printed by the printer 10, the print button 47 may be added to the display screen 40 as shown in FIG.
[0019]
In the measurement system as described above, an operator who is familiar with the PC performs the measurement work using the PC 100 as before. That is, when an operation of sequentially clicking predetermined operation buttons 37 on the measurement screen 30 in FIG. 4 is performed by the mouse 1b of the input unit 1, this command is sent from the CPU 3 to the CPU 12 on the measuring instrument side via the interfaces 9 and 11. Then, the CPU 12 causes the measurement unit 15 to perform preprocessing and measurement work according to the command.
[0020]
Data measured by the measurement unit 15 is sent from the CPU 12 to the CPU 3 on the PC side via the interfaces 11 and 9. The CPU 3 stores the measurement data in the storage unit 2 and then the CRT display via the display control unit 5. 6 is displayed as shown in FIGS. In this case, a complicated graph such as a 3D (three-dimensional) graph can be displayed. Further, in response to a print command from the input unit 1, the CPU 3 causes the printer 10 to print measurement data via the print control unit 4.
[0021]
On the other hand, an operator unfamiliar with the PC performs measurement using the touch panel 14 of the measuring instrument 200. That is, when the preprocessing button 43 is first pressed on the display screen 40 of FIG. 5, a preprocessing command signal is sent from the display control unit 5 to the CPU 12 via the CPU 3 and the interfaces 9 and 11, and the CPU 12 receives this command. Then, the measurement unit 15 is caused to perform preprocessing such as optical axis adjustment, drainage, and air venting in a predetermined sequence. Here, a series of pre-processing is automatically executed by operating the pre-processing button 43, but a plurality of buttons corresponding to individual processing included in the pre-processing are sequentially performed according to the sequence. You may make it switch and display.
[0022]
When the preprocessing is completed, the operator then presses the measurement start button 41. When this button 41 is pressed, a measurement start command signal is sent from the display control unit 5 to the CPU 12 via the CPU 3 and the interfaces 9 and 11, and the CPU 12 receives this command and measures the particle size to the measurement unit 15. Let it run. If the stop button 42 is pressed during measurement, the measurement is stopped.
[0023]
When the measurement is completed, the measurement unit 15 sends measurement data from the CPU 12 to the CPU 3 on the PC side via the interfaces 11 and 9. After the measurement data is stored in the storage unit 2, the CPU 3 displays a message indicating that the measurement is completed and a next necessary operation guide in the message display field 45 of the touch panel 14 via the display control unit 5. Further, the measurement result display field 46 displays the measurement date, sample name, and median diameter. Further, when the print button 47 is pressed on the screen of FIG. 6, a print command signal is sent to the CPU 3 via the display control unit 5, and the CPU 3 drives the printer 10 by the print control unit 4 and displays it on the touch panel 14. Print the data contents.
[0024]
As described above, an operator who is proficient with a PC can perform advanced measurements using the various functions of the software by using the CRT display 6 and performing the same detailed operations as before. Detailed measurement results can be displayed. On the other hand, an operator unfamiliar with the PC can use the touch panel 14 to perform a measurement limited to only a necessary function by a simple operation by simply pressing the operation button 44, and the measurement result can also be obtained. Only necessary items can be displayed easily. This eliminates the need for complicated operation of the PC, reduces the possibility of unnecessary operations and erroneous operations, and allows the work to be performed quickly and efficiently. In addition, the measurement operation can be easily performed. In addition, for an operator who is wearing work gloves during work, the touch panel 14 can be operated while wearing the gloves, so that workability is improved. Of course, an operator who is familiar with the PC may perform measurement work using the touch panel 14 as necessary.
[0025]
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the display method in the system. First, the PC 100 and measuring instrument 200 are turned on (step S1). Then, the display program is subsequently started (step S2). Steps S3 to S9 are the contents of the display program and show the procedure executed by the CPU 3 of the PC 100.
[0026]
The CPU 3 checks whether or not the measuring instrument 200 is operating normally based on a signal sent from the CPU 12 of the measuring instrument 200 after the power is turned on (step S3). If the measuring device 200 is not operating normally (step S3; NO), a message to that effect is displayed on the screen of the CRT display 6 to warn (step S4). If the measuring device 200 is operating normally (step S3; YES), it is next determined whether or not the video card currently in use is compatible with the dual display (step S5). If the video card is not a dual display compatible video card (step S5; NO), the initial screen is displayed on the CRT display 6 as usual (step S9).
[0027]
If the video card is compatible with dual display (step S5; YES), it is next determined whether or not the system is a system using a measuring instrument with a touch panel (step S6). At the time of manufacturing the measuring instrument, “Yes” or “No” of the touch panel can be set by a jumper or the like on the board, so in step S6, determination is made based on this setting information. Alternatively, the setting information may be stored as a file at the time of software installation, and the determination may be performed by reading the contents of the file.
[0028]
As a result of the determination, when a measuring instrument with a touch panel is not used (step S6; NO), an initial screen is displayed on the CRT display 6 as in the past (step S9). On the other hand, when a measuring instrument with a touch panel is used (step S6; YES), a setting file stored in the storage unit 2 is read (step S7). The setting file is a file describing the display content and display location of the screen of the touch panel 14. As described above, the display screen of the touch panel 14 can be arbitrarily set on the PC 100 side, and can be freely changed or added on the screen of the CRT display 6 by a customization menu or the like. In this case, the set contents are automatically saved in the setting file.
[0029]
Next, the CPU 3 displays the operation buttons 44 and the display fields 45 and 46 as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 on the touch panel 14 according to the contents of the read setting file (step S8). Thereafter, an initial screen as shown in FIG. 4 is also displayed on the CRT display 6 (step S9). Accordingly, display is performed on both the touch panel 14 and the CRT display 6. Thereafter, the measurement work is performed according to the procedure described above.
[0030]
Incidentally, a display program is stored in the recording medium 8 of FIG. The display program is a program that causes a computer (PC 100 in this case) to execute the series of steps S3 to S9 described above. This display program may be incorporated in a measurement program for causing the measuring instrument 200 to perform preprocessing or measurement, or may be an independent program different from the measurement program.
[0031]
8 and 9 are diagrams showing the recording contents of the recording medium 8 in a table. FIG. 8 shows an example in which the display program is an independent program, and the display program 51 and the measurement program 52 are stored together in one recording medium 8. FIG. 9 shows an example in which a display program is incorporated in the measurement program, and the measurement program 53 including the display program is stored in the recording medium 8.
[0032]
Such a recording medium 8 is inserted into the recording medium reader 7 (FIG. 2). The recording medium reader 7 includes an FD drive, a CD-ROM drive, or the like according to the type of the recording medium 8. The program stored in the recording medium 8 is read by the recording medium reader 7 and installed in the hard disk of the storage unit 2. The PC 100 executes the above-described display and measurement operations according to the installed program.
[0033]
The display program and the measurement program may be preinstalled in the storage unit 13 on the measuring instrument 200 side in advance. Alternatively, when the PC 100 is connected to the Internet, the program can be downloaded from the server of the measuring instrument manufacturer. In addition to the FD and the CD-ROM, various media such as an MO (magneto-optical disk) or a memory card can be used as the recording medium 8.
[0034]
In the above embodiment, the case where the display is performed on the screen of the CRT display 6 when the display is performed on the screen of the touch panel 14 is taken as an example, but in the state where one screen is displayed, the other is displayed. The screen may not be displayed. Alternatively, depending on the setting on the PC 100, a case where display is performed only on the touch panel 14, a case where display is performed only on the CRT display 6, and a case where display is performed on both the touch panel 14 and the CRT display 6 may be used separately. .
[0035]
In the above-described embodiment, the particle size distribution measuring device is exemplified as the measuring instrument 200. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to, for example, a metal analyzer, an X-ray analyzer, etc. A measuring device can be targeted.
[0036]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, a touch panel is provided on the measuring instrument separately from the computer display so that complicated operations and displays are performed on the display as usual, and only simple operations and displays are performed on the touch panel. Even an unfamiliar person can easily and efficiently perform measurement work. On the other hand, those who are proficient in computers can use it in accordance with various needs by making full use of conventional functions. Therefore, a system that satisfies the requirements of both users can be realized.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a measurement system according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a measurement system.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a measurement result screen on a CRT display.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a measurement screen on a CRT display.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen on the touch panel.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing another example of a display screen on the touch panel.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a procedure of a display method according to the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing recording contents of a recording medium in a table.
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing another example of recorded contents of a recording medium in a table.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Input unit 2 Storage unit 3 CPU
5 Display Control Unit 6 CRT Display 8 Recording Medium 12 CPU
14 Touch Panel 20 Measurement Result Screen 23 Data Display Field 24 Graph Display Field 25 Graph Display Field 30 Measurement Screen 32 Operation Button 37 Operation Button 40 Display Screen 44 Operation Button 45 Message Display Field 46 Measurement Result Display Field 51 Display Program 100 PC (Personal Computer) )
200 measuring instrument

Claims (5)

A measuring system comprising a measuring instrument and a computer connected to the measuring instrument,
The said computer, together with the detailed operation when the measurement by the measuring device is carried out, the measurement result display is provided that is displayed in detail,
The measuring instrument is operated by a simple operation in which only necessary ones are selected from the detailed operations when measuring with the measuring instrument, and also necessary from the measurement results displayed on the display. A touch panel is provided to display simple measurement results of selecting only
A measurement system characterized by that.   The measurement system according to claim 1, wherein an operation button and a measurement result display field are displayed on the screen of the touch panel.   The measurement system according to claim 1, wherein display contents of the screen of the touch panel can be arbitrarily set on a computer.   The measurement system according to claim 3, wherein display contents set by a computer are stored in a setting file, and are displayed on a touch panel screen in accordance with the contents of the setting file. A measuring instrument that is connected to a computer and performs detailed measurement and detailed display of measurement results on a display screen provided in the computer , wherein the detailed operation when measuring is performed . A touch panel is provided that allows simple operations to be performed by selecting only necessary ones from among them , and displays simple measurement results by selecting only necessary ones from the measurement results displayed on the display . Measuring instrument.

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