JP5782742B2 - Analysis system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an analysis system including a device that sends a command and a device that executes a specific process in response to the command.

  In the present invention, the analysis system includes devices of all configurations and forms having a function of measuring a physical quantity of a sample to be measured.

  An analysis system such as a liquid chromatograph analysis system receives signals output from a detector and a control device that controls the analytical device, as well as an analytical device that includes analytical equipment such as a liquid feeding unit, a column, and a detector. It is generally configured by combining a plurality of devices such as a data processing device that performs analysis processing, creates a chromatogram with the elapsed time on the horizontal axis and the relative signal intensity on the vertical axis (for example, Patent Document 1).

  In this way, not all devices are integrated, but maintenance of each device can be easily performed by combining devices that are independent of each other. Further, since different types of devices can be combined relatively freely, there is also an advantage that the form of the product can be easily changed and provided according to the user's needs. Furthermore, as long as they are connected to each other, it is also possible to arrange the devices constituting the analysis system at physically different locations.

  When a plurality of devices are included in the analysis system and they cooperate to perform some processing, one device among them serves as a command device and the other device serves as an execution device to perform cooperative processing. For example, in a fractionation system that fractionates a sample separated by a chromatograph by component, a detector that detects a sample component eluted from the chromatograph, and receives the detection signal to instruct the fractionator to execute fractionation. The fractionation process is performed by the cooperation of the control device and the like. In addition, in the overlap injection data collection system that injects the next sample during the analysis of one sample by chromatograph, the detector that detects the sample component eluted from the chromatograph, the peak detection by receiving the detection signal A data processing device that performs data processing such as analysis and a control device that instructs the chromatograph to inject a sample work together.

JP 2004-101198 A

  In any conventional analysis system, a device that issues a command sends the command to the execution device when the execution device executes a process related to the command. For example, in the former example of the sorting system, the control device sends a fractionation start signal or a fractionation end signal to the sorting device when the sorting device starts or ends fractionation. In the example of the latter overlap injection data collection system, when the next sample is injected into the chromatograph, the data processing device receives a data processing start signal from the chromatograph and starts data processing relating to this sample. .

  However, there are various problems in the command transmission at the execution time. For example, in the example of the sorting system among the above, the control device receives the detection signal from the detector, determines the time to start / end the fractionation based on the level of the detection signal, the shape of the up / down slope, etc. Send instructions. At this time, since the time required for receiving the detection signal from the detector and delivering the processing command to the sorting device is not constant due to the control of the entire system and the degree of communication, starting the fractionation in the sorting device / The end may not be executed at the correct time (the time when the component reaches the preparative device).

  In the example of the overlap injection data collection system, the data processing apparatus performs a series of data processing such as data file creation, data collection, data file storage, data analysis, and report output for one sample. However, if data processing of the next sample is started while the above data processing is being performed on a certain sample, the processing flow becomes complicated and a large load is applied to the CPU.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides an analysis system including a command device that sends a command and an execution device that receives the command and executes a process. A shift time that is a difference between a predetermined base time and an execution time of a process commanded to the execution device is calculated, and the calculated shift time is sent together with a command related to the process, and the execution device shifts the shift time from the base time. A process related to a command received together with the shift time is executed at a time before or after the time.

  In the analysis system according to the present invention, the command device instructs the execution of the process by specifying a relative time (shift time) to the execution device. The shift time may be positive or negative. The execution device is instructed after calculating the time when the shift time is added to the time as the base point (after the base time when the shift time is positive, and before the base time when it is negative) The process is executed at that time.

  Thus, by determining the execution time of the process in the execution device by the shift time from the time when the execution device is the base point, the execution device is instructed by the execution device even if the time of the instruction device and the execution device is not synchronized. The execution time can be set accurately. Further, if the shift time is set sufficiently large, there is no possibility of being affected by signal transmission delay or the like.

  In the analysis system according to the present invention, a processing command is issued by designating a time to the execution device, so that various processes in the execution device can be distributed and executed. As a result, the load on the CPU of the execution device is reduced.

  According to the analysis system of the present invention, the command device designates a relative time to the execution device and commands the execution of the process. Therefore, even if the times of the command device and the execution device are not synchronized, The execution time of the processed process can be set accurately. In addition, the influence of signal transmission delay and the like can be eliminated, and various processes in the control device and the data processing device can be executed in a distributed manner. This increases the degree of freedom in system design.

The figure which shows schematic structure of the principal part in 1st Example of the analysis system which concerns on this invention.

  The analysis system according to the present invention can be applied to various analysis systems. As a specific embodiment, an example in which the analysis system according to the present invention is applied to a sorting system and an overlap injection data collection system will be described.

FIG. 1 schematically shows a main part of the sorting system 1 of the present embodiment.
In this fractionation system 1, as a unit for performing fractionation, a liquid feed pump 11 that sucks a mobile phase from a mobile phase container 10 and feeds it at a constant flow rate, and a predetermined number of liquid samples prepared in a rack. The sample is selected and collected in order, and after performing pretreatment such as concentration as necessary, the autosampler 12 injected into the mobile phase fed by the liquid feed pump 11 and the liquid sample fed together with the mobile phase Column 13 for separating the components for each component, column oven 14 for controlling the temperature of the column 13, a detector 15 for detecting each component in the sample separated by the column 13, and each component detected by the detector 15 A sorting unit 16 for fractionating into different containers is provided. Each of these units is controlled by a controller 18 based on a command from a personal computer (PC) 20.

  As a characteristic configuration of the present embodiment, a pipe 17 is provided between the detector 15 and the sorting unit 16 to delay the arrival of the sample component from the detector 15 to the sorting unit 16 by a predetermined time. ing. Further, the controller 18 holds a time as a base point in the processing for the sorting unit 16, and based on the time as the base point and shift time data added to the sorting start / end processing command from the PC 20. And an execution time calculation unit 19 that calculates the execution time of the sorting start / end process in the sorting unit 16.

  Operation control and data processing of each unit via the controller 18 are achieved by executing a dedicated data processing / control program installed in the PC 20. In the sorting system 1 of the present embodiment, the PC 20 functions not only as a function block for data processing and operation control that is normally performed, but also as a delay time calculation unit 21, a peak detection unit 22, and a shift time calculation unit 23. . Specific operations of these units will be described later.

  The PC 20 is connected to an input unit 24 composed of an input device such as a keyboard and a mouse, and a display unit 25 composed of a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube), LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) and the like.

Hereinafter, the operation of the sorting system 1 of the present embodiment will be described.
Before starting the fractionation, the user inputs various parameters such as the column temperature and the pump flow rate to the PC 20. In this case, in the fractionation system 1 of this embodiment, the capacity of the pipe 17 is also used as a parameter. Let them enter. The delay time calculation unit 21 calculates the time required for the sample component to reach the sorting unit 16 from the detector 15 based on the pipe capacity and the flow rate of the pump. Hereinafter, the arrival time calculated by the delay time calculation unit 21 is ta.

  When all parameters for sorting are input and the start of sorting is input from the user to the PC 20, the PC 20 instructs the autosampler 12 to inject a sample via the controller 18. In response to this, the autosampler 12 performs a predetermined pretreatment and injects the sample into the mobile phase. Then, when the sample is injected into the mobile phase, this is notified to the controller 18.

  The controller 18 measures the elapsed time from the time when the sample is injected into the mobile phase (hereinafter, this time is referred to as “sample injection time”) as the holding time, and the detection sent from the detector 15 every moment. The data of the holding time is added to the signal data, and then transmitted to the PC 20. Further, the execution time calculation unit 19 holds the sample injection time as a base time. Hereinafter, this sample injection time (base time) is assumed to be Ts.

  The peak detector 22 of the PC 20 creates a chromatogram based on the detection signal sent from the controller 18 and the retention time data, and the peak is detected based on the level value of the detection signal, the shape of the up / down slope, and the like. Find the retention time. Hereinafter, it is assumed that the rising edge (starting point) of the peak is detected at the holding time tb.

The shift time calculation unit 23 adds the arrival time ta calculated in advance by the delay time calculation unit 21 to the holding time tb. Ie
tb '= ta + tb
Is calculated. Since tb ′ is a relative time that does not depend on the time measurement in the PC 20 with the time of the holding time 0 (sample injection time) as a base point, these are directly used as the shift time of the execution time of the sorting start process in the sorting unit 16. It can be.

  The PC 20 adds the shift time tb ′ to the fraction start processing command and sends it to the controller 18.

When the controller 18 receives a fractionation start processing command from the PC 20, the execution time calculation unit 19 adds tb ′ that is a shift time to the held sample injection time Ts,
Tsb = Ts + tb '= Ts + ta + tb
Is set to the execution time of the fraction start process in the sorting unit 16. The controller 18 waits for the processing until the set execution time is reached, and causes the fractionation unit 16 to execute the fractionation start processing when the execution time is reached.
Instead of waiting for processing on the controller 18 side, the fractionation start process may be instructed to the sorting unit 16 in advance after specifying the execution time.

  The procedure related to the fraction start process has been described above, but the fraction end process can be performed in the same procedure.

  In the sorting system 1 of the present embodiment, the PC 20 gives the execution time of the fraction start / end processing to the controller 18 in relative time, so even if time synchronization is not performed between the PC 20 and the controller 18, The controller 18 can accurately set the execution time of the fraction start / end process in the sorting unit 16. Further, if the arrival time of the sample component set by the pipe 17 is made sufficiently longer than the delay time due to the signal transmission delay or the like, this delay time can be absorbed, so that the apparatus can be accurately timed. Can cooperate.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Sorting system 10 ... Mobile phase container 11 ... Liquid feed pump 12 ... Autosampler (sample injection part)
13 ... Column (separator)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 14 ... Column oven 15 ... Detector 16 ... Sorting part 17 ... Piping 18 ... Controller 19 ... Execution time calculation part 20 ... Personal computer (PC)
21 ... Delay time calculation unit 22 ... Peak detection unit 23 ... Shift time calculation unit 24 ... Input unit 25 ... Display unit

Claims (3)

In an analysis system including a command device that sends a command, and an execution device that performs processing in response to the command and has a chromatograph,
The command device calculates a shift time that is a difference between a predetermined base time in the execution device and an execution time of a process commanded to the execution device, and sends the calculated shift time together with a command related to the process,
The execution unit, at a later time only the said shift time duration from the base time, performs processing relating to commands received together with the shift time,
An analysis system characterized by that. A sample injection part for injecting the sample into the chromatograph;
A detector for detecting sample components separated by the chromatograph;
A fractionation device as the execution device for fractionating sample components into different containers for each component;
A control device as the command device for controlling the sorting device;
Piping for reaching the sample components from the detector to the sorting device at a predetermined arrival time;
The control device determines a holding time during which a peak is detected from a chromatogram created based on detection data from the detector, and sets the time obtained by adding the arrival time to the holding time as the shift time. And the fractionation device uses the time when the sample injection unit injects the sample into the chromatograph as a base time, and the time obtained by adding the shift time to the base time as the start time or end time of the fractionation. The analysis system according to claim 1.   The capacity of the piping is given to the control device as a parameter, and the control device calculates the arrival time based on the capacity and the carrier flow rate of the chromatograph. Analysis system.

Images