A photocatalyst suspension sedimentation detection device with an anti-interference isolation structure

Abstract

This invention relates to the field of optical analysis and testing instrument technology, specifically to a photocatalyst suspension sedimentation detection device with an anti-interference isolation structure. The device includes a housing, inside which are a fixed base and a driving mechanism. A test tube is vertically placed within the fixed base, and a partition plate in the center of the test tube divides its interior into two independent chambers, one for holding reference pure water and the other for holding the suspension to be tested. A detection component is mounted on the driving mechanism, with a through hole at its center and a non-contact gap between the inner wall of the through hole and the outer wall of the test tube. A light source component and a receiver are respectively located on either side of the detection component. By using a non-contact detection component and a test tube with two independent chambers, the problems of photocatalyst powder interfering with the static state of the sample during sedimentation detection and the inability of a single-optical-path system to perform long-term real-time dynamic calibration are solved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of optical analysis and testing instrument technology, specifically to a photocatalyst suspension sedimentation detection device with an anti-interference isolation structure. Background Technology

[0002] In the research and performance evaluation of photocatalytic materials, accurately measuring the dispersion stability and natural sedimentation rate of powders in liquid media is a core evaluation indicator. Since photocatalytic powder particles are mostly in the micron or even nanometer scale, their natural sedimentation process is extremely slow, and a complete test cycle often takes tens of hours or even several days.

[0003] Existing sedimentation detection methods mostly employ automated optical scanning sensors. The basic principle is to use a stepper motor to drive an optical probe to perform vertical scanning measurements along the walls of a test tube containing suspension. Sedimentation curves are plotted by recording the transmittance at different heights over time. This method initially solves the fundamental problem of large errors in manual visual observation and achieves continuous automated monitoring. However, when dealing with extremely slow particle sedimentation tests, existing sedimentation detection equipment typically has a rigid physical connection between the guide rail mechanism driving the probe and the base holding the test tube, and the probe is often guided close to the test tube wall. During the long testing period, the micro-vibrations of the high-frequency stepper motor and the physical disturbances generated by the reciprocating friction of the probe are directly transmitted to the test tube, inducing weak convection and ripples within the liquid. This completely destroys the extremely fragile natural static sedimentation environment of ultrafine powders. Furthermore, tests lasting tens of hours place stringent requirements on the stability of the light source, but light sources (such as LEDs or lasers) inevitably experience thermal decay and aging as the power-on time increases. Existing single-path probes cannot distinguish whether a decrease in transmittance is due to an increase in the concentration of the suspension itself or a dimming of the instrument's light source, leading to serious errors in the long-term tracking data of the clear-turbidity interface. If the test tube is removed midway for manual calibration by replacing it with pure water, the physical insertion and removal action will thoroughly disturb the already settled and stratified sample again. Summary of the Invention

[0004] To address the aforementioned issues, a photocatalyst suspension sedimentation detection device with an anti-interference isolation structure is provided. By setting up a non-contact detection component and a test tube with two independent chambers, the problems of interference with the static state of the sample during the sedimentation detection scanning process of photocatalyst powder and the inability of a single optical path system to perform long-term real-time dynamic calibration are solved.

[0005] To address the problems of existing technologies, this invention provides a photocatalyst suspension sedimentation detection device with an anti-interference isolation structure, comprising a housing, inside which is a fixed base and a driving mechanism capable of reciprocating along the height direction of the housing; a test tube is vertically placed inside the fixed base, and a partition plate is provided in the center of the test tube, dividing the interior of the test tube into two independent chambers, one for holding reference pure water and the other for holding the suspension to be tested; a detection component is mounted on the driving mechanism, and the detection component has a through hole in its center for the test tube to pass through, with a non-contact gap between the inner wall of the through hole and the outer wall of the test tube; a light source component and a receiver are respectively arranged on both sides of the detection component, and the measuring light emitted by the light source component passes through the through hole and the test tube and is received by the receiver; during unidirectional sliding, the detection component can sequentially acquire the transmittance data of the upper and lower chambers of the test tube.

[0006] Preferably, the detection component includes a first light-shielding shell and a second light-shielding shell, which are interlocked and nested to form a closed cavity that can be adjusted relative to each other and does not leak light at the joint; an adjustment element is provided between the first light-shielding shell and the second light-shielding shell for adjusting the diameter of the through hole and the size of the non-contact gap.

[0007] Preferably, the inner wall of the through hole is provided with a light-absorbing coating or an extinction structure for absorbing stray light and reflected light within the through hole.

[0008] Preferably, a collimating lens for shaping light into a parallel beam is provided on the front optical path of the light source assembly; and a slit aperture is provided on the front optical path of the receiver.

[0009] Preferably, the light source component is a near-infrared light source, and the energy of its emission wavelength is lower than the excitation band gap of the photocatalytic powder to be tested.

[0010] Preferably, the mounting base is supported inside the housing by a damping shock-absorbing pad.

[0011] Preferably, the fixing seat has an internal clamping layer made of elastic flexible material for centrally clamping the outer wall of the test tube.

[0012] Preferably, the partition plate is made of an opaque material; both ends of the test tube are provided with sealing plugs.

[0013] Preferably, the system further includes a signal processing unit configured to extract the upper chamber transmission data as a real-time reference during a single continuous scan of the detection component, and to dynamically compare and calibrate the lower chamber transmission data accordingly to offset the attenuation error of the light source component.

[0014] Preferably, the interior of the housing also integrates a thermostat module for maintaining a constant temperature within the housing cavity.

[0015] The advantages of this invention compared to the prior art are:

[0016] 1. This invention, by leaving a non-contact gap between the central through-hole of the detection component and the outer wall of the test tube, completely eliminates the mechanical friction and motor vibration transmission path during probe movement in existing technologies, providing an absolutely static physical sedimentation environment for the liquid to be tested. Simultaneously, the use of a test tube with two independent chambers allows the detection component to continuously acquire the reference transmittance of the upper pure water and the test transmittance of the lower suspension with only one smooth unidirectional slide. This structure utilizes the same light source and the same receiver to complete extremely rapid differential comparison within the same time slice, completely eliminating long-term testing errors caused by light source aging and environmental noise from a physical standpoint, and requiring no manual movement of the test sample throughout the entire process.

[0017] 2. This invention, through the interlocking and nesting structure of a first and second light-shielding shell, coupled with an adjustable component capable of adjusting the diameter of the through-hole, can dynamically fine-tune the center aperture of the detection probe according to the minute tolerances of different batches of test tubes used in the experiment. This structure, while ensuring that the detection component never touches the glass tube wall during its vertical sliding motion, compresses the non-contact gap to its limit, constructing a dynamic, locally leak-proof dark chamber, achieving a precise balance between mechanical anti-vibration interference and ultimate optical shielding.

[0018] 3. This invention creates a highly efficient physical light trap by setting a light-absorbing coating or an extinction structure on the inner wall of the detection component. This trap absorbs all the specular reflection light, refracted light, and parasitic stray light from the environment that are excited by the measurement beam penetrating the cylindrical glass tube surface within the narrow gap. This ensures that the receiver picks up only the pure, straight-line penetrating effective signal, thus guaranteeing the device's high-resolution tracking capability for the ultra-slow, ultra-fine particle settling process. Attached Figure Description

[0019] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a three-dimensional structure of a photocatalyst suspension sedimentation detection device with an anti-interference isolation structure. Figure 1 .

[0020] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the internal three-dimensional structure of the shell of a photocatalyst suspension sedimentation detection device with an anti-interference isolation structure. Figure 1 .

[0021] Figure 3 yes Figure 2 Enlarged view of point A in the middle.

[0022] Figure 4A schematic diagram of the internal three-dimensional structure of the shell of a photocatalyst suspension sedimentation detection device with an anti-interference isolation structure. Figure 2 .

[0023] Figure 5 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the detection components and test tubes in a photocatalyst suspension sedimentation detection device with an anti-interference isolation structure.

[0024] Figure 6 An explosion of the detection components and test tubes in a photocatalyst suspension sedimentation detection device with an anti-interference isolation structure. Figure 1 .

[0025] Figure 7 An explosion of the detection components and test tubes in a photocatalyst suspension sedimentation detection device with an anti-interference isolation structure. Figure 2 .

[0026] Figure 8 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the receiver in a photocatalyst suspension sedimentation detection device with an anti-interference isolation structure.

[0027] Figure 9 This is a schematic cross-sectional view of the detection components and test tubes in a photocatalyst suspension sedimentation detection device with an anti-interference isolation structure.

[0028] Figure 10 yes Figure 9 Enlarged view of point B in the middle.

[0029] Figure 11 A schematic diagram of a three-dimensional structure of a photocatalyst suspension sedimentation detection device with an anti-interference isolation structure. Figure 2 .

[0030] The following are the labels in the diagram: 1. Shell; 11. Test tube; 111. Divider plate; 112. Chamber; 113. Sealing plug; 12. Fixing base; 121. Damping and shock-absorbing pad; 122. Clamping layer; 13. Drive mechanism; 131. Detection component; 1311. Through hole; 1312. Light source component; 13121. Collimating lens; 1313. Receiver; 13131. Slit aperture; 1314. First light-shielding shell; 1315. Second light-shielding shell; 1316. Adjustment component; 14. Temperature control module. Detailed Implementation

[0031] To further understand the features, technical means, and specific objectives and functions achieved by the present invention, the present invention will be described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0032] like Figure 1 , Figure 2 , Figure 3 , Figure 4and Figure 9 As shown: A photocatalyst suspension sedimentation detection device with an anti-interference isolation structure includes a housing 1. Inside the housing 1 is a fixed base 12 and a driving mechanism 13 capable of reciprocating along the height direction of the housing 1. A test tube 11 is vertically placed inside the fixed base 12. A partition plate 111 is provided in the center of the test tube 11, dividing the interior of the test tube 11 into two independent chambers 112, one for holding reference pure water and the other for holding the suspension to be tested. A detection component 131 is mounted on the driving mechanism 13. The detection component 131 has a through hole 1311 at its center for the test tube 11 to pass through, and a non-contact gap is left between the inner wall of the through hole 1311 and the outer wall of the test tube 11; a light source component 1312 and a receiver 1313 are respectively arranged on both sides of the detection component 131. The measuring light emitted by the light source component 1312 passes through the through hole 1311 and the test tube 11 and is received by the receiver 1313; during the unidirectional sliding process, the detection component 131 can sequentially acquire the transmittance data of the upper and lower chambers 112 of the test tube 11.

[0033] In the research and performance evaluation of photocatalytic materials, the natural sedimentation process of extremely fine powders is extremely slow, with a complete test cycle often lasting tens of hours or even several days. Under normal laboratory conditions, existing optical sedimentation detection equipment mostly uses probe-to-wall scanning or direct physical contact measurement. This contact structure inevitably transmits high-frequency mechanical vibrations to the sample during motor operation or probe sliding, directly causing slight sloshing of the liquid surface and internal thermal convection, completely disrupting the extremely fragile natural sedimentation state of the powder. In addition, long-cycle testing faces fatal systematic errors such as the aging and dimming of the 1312 light source component and ambient temperature drift. Traditional single-path equipment cannot distinguish whether the decrease in transmittance is due to turbidity of the suspension or baseline attenuation of the instrument itself, resulting in severely distorted sedimentation data in the final output.

[0034] To fundamentally isolate these physical interferences and achieve real-time self-calibration of the optical system, the internal structure of the housing 1 of this device adopts a static-dynamic separation and dual-reference layout within the same tube. A test tube 11 is vertically placed inside the mounting base 12. A partition plate 111 is located in the center of the test tube 11, dividing its interior into two independent chambers 112, one for holding reference pure water and the other for holding the suspension to be tested. To accommodate the unavoidable physical clamping blind spot at the bottom of the mounting base 12, the axial length of the lower chamber 112 can be designed to be significantly greater than that of the upper chamber 112, ensuring that the suspension to be tested in the lower chamber has sufficient effective sedimentation observation travel. In terms of operational logic, the drive mechanism 13 drives the detection component 131 to reciprocate along the height direction of the housing 1. The drive mechanism 13 can be a precision ball screw slide or a linear motor module. Because the detection component 131 has a through hole 1311 at its center for the test tube 11 to pass through, and a non-contact gap is left between the inner wall of the through hole 1311 and the outer wall of the test tube 11, the frictional vibration transmission path between the moving part and the stationary sample is completely cut off in physical space. When the detection component 131 slides unidirectionally under the drive of the drive mechanism 13, the light source component 1312 and the receiver 1313 arranged on both sides of the detection component 131 can sequentially penetrate the pure water area and the suspension area. Since the data of these two areas are continuously acquired within the same extremely short sliding slice, the temperature of the light source component 1312 and the circuit noise floor experienced by both are completely consistent, thus providing an absolutely accurate physical premise for subsequent real-time differential calibration. Furthermore, regarding the smoothness control of the drive mechanism 13's motion, its underlying control system incorporates a flexible acceleration and deceleration algorithm, such as an S-curve acceleration and deceleration motion control algorithm. This limits the rigid impact and acceleration abrupt changes generated by the detection component 131 during transient start-up or sudden stop, ensuring that it maintains a smooth, uniform cruising state during unidirectional sliding of the detection component 131. This avoids the aerodynamic turbulence that would cause micro-vibrations in the test tube 11 caused by the rapid movement of the detection component 131 within the non-contact gap. Simultaneously, to prevent mechanical tension or frictional vibration from occurring during the dragging of the follower cable, the wiring harness connecting the detection component 131 and the main control board is laid within a silent drag chain with a very small bending radius or uses flexible printed wiring (not shown in the figure), ensuring constant cable deformation tension and safeguarding the ultimate stability of the non-contact scanning.

[0035] like Figures 2 to 7 and Figure 9 As shown: The detection component 131 includes a first light-shielding shell 1314 and a second light-shielding shell 1315. The first light-shielding shell 1314 and the second light-shielding shell 1315 are inserted and nested together to form a closed cavity that can be slidably adjusted and does not leak light at the joint. An adjusting member 1316 is provided between the first light-shielding shell 1314 and the second light-shielding shell 1315 for adjusting the aperture of the through hole 1311 and the size of the non-contact gap.

[0036] The inner wall of the through hole 1311 is provided with a light-absorbing coating or an extinction structure for absorbing stray light and reflected light within the through hole 1311.

[0037] After establishing the foundation for non-contact scanning, to address the issue of external light contamination caused by gaps, the detection component 131 incorporates a dynamic light trap design. The detection component 131 includes a first light-shielding shell 1314 and a second light-shielding shell 1315, which are interlocked and nested to form a closed cavity that allows for relative sliding adjustment and prevents light leakage at the joint. Operators can finely adjust the aperture of the through-hole 1311 and the size of the non-contact gap using an adjustment mechanism 1316 located between the two shells, such as a differential adjustment screw, a rack and pinion dial, or a precision cam mechanism, based on the actual outer diameter tolerance of the current batch of test tubes 11. This allows the probe to reach the optimal critical state where it neither causes mechanical interference nor misses the tube wall. Furthermore, the inner wall of the through-hole 1311 is provided with a light-absorbing coating or an extinction structure, such as spraying with carbon nanotube black paint, attaching black flocked cloth, or machining micron-level extinction threads. This completely absorbs stray light that diffusely reflects within the gap, ensuring that the receiver 1313 only picks up the effective signal that penetrates the test tube 11 in a straight line.

[0038] like Figures 2 to 10 As shown: a collimating lens 13121 for shaping light into a parallel beam is provided on the front optical path of the light source assembly 1312; a slit aperture 13131 is provided on the front optical path of the receiver 1313.

[0039] The light source component 1312 is a near-infrared light source, and the energy of its emission wavelength is lower than the excitation band gap of the photocatalytic powder to be tested.

[0040] The precision of the optical channel directly determines the resolution of particle concentration. Due to the physical characteristics of a cylindrical glass tube, light passing through the curved surface will experience severe cylindrical lens scattering. Therefore, a collimating lens 13121 is provided in the front optical path of the light source assembly 1312 to forcibly confine and shape the originally divergent light into an extremely fine parallel beam. Simultaneously, a slit aperture 13131 is provided in the front optical path of the receiver 1313, allowing only photons traveling in an absolutely straight line to enter the photosensitive target surface, completely filtering out the refracted and scattered light generated at the interface between the test tube 11 wall and the air. More importantly, for the photocatalytic powder, a particularly sensitive medium, the light source assembly 1312 is specifically selected as a near-infrared light source, such as an 850nm infrared LED or a 940nm infrared laser diode. According to the band structure theory of semiconductor physics, the energy of such long-wavelength, low-frequency photons is far lower than the excitation band gap of conventional photocatalytic powders such as titanium dioxide. Therefore, when the high-frequency measurement beam penetrates the suspension, only physical blocking and transmission occur, without triggering photogenerated electron transitions or photochemical reactions on the powder surface, ensuring the absolute stability of the sample's physicochemical properties. Furthermore, in sedimentation tests at extremely low concentrations, to prevent dark current drift in the photoelectric sensor and ambient stray DC light from becoming low-frequency noise that drowns out the effective signal, the light source assembly 1312 and receiver 1313 employ high-frequency modulation and demodulation technology at the electrical drive level. The light source assembly 1312 emits modulated measurement light at a specific high frequency under the control of the drive circuit. The center frequency of the filter circuit at the back end of the receiver 1313 is strictly locked to the emission frequency of the light source assembly 1312, thereby completely filtering out ambient stray light interference and low-frequency thermal noise from the circuit, thus improving the signal-to-noise ratio of the detection assembly 131 for weak concentration gradients.

[0041] like Figures 1 to 4 As shown: The fixed base 12 is supported inside the housing 1 by a damping shock-absorbing pad 121.

[0042] The fixing base 12 has a clamping layer 122 made of elastic and flexible material inside, which is used to centrally clamp the outer wall of the test tube 11.

[0043] To cope with low-frequency ground vibrations caused by the operation of heavy instruments or personnel movement in the laboratory environment, the equipment's seismic resistance system extends to the bottom layer. The fixed base 12 is supported inside the housing 1 by damping shock-absorbing pads 121, such as polyurethane composite shock-absorbing blocks, low-frequency air springs, or silicone dampers. This suspended base arrangement cuts off the rigid vibration transmission loop between the housing 1 frame and the fixed base 12. On the direct contact surface between the fixed base 12 and the test tube 11, the fixed base 12 has a clamping layer 122 made of elastic flexible material, such as medical-grade silicone corrugated sleeves or polytetrafluoroethylene flexible claws. This clamping layer 122 not only provides non-destructive centering clamping to the outer wall of the test tube 11, ensuring that the optical axis of the test tube 11 is absolutely perpendicular to the detection component 131, but also acts as a secondary filter buffer to absorb extremely high-frequency micro-vibrations caused by airborne acoustic wave coupling. In terms of structural positioning details, in addition to the clamping layer 122, the cavity of the fixed base 12 can also be equipped with a V-shaped positioning groove (not shown in the figure). When the test tube 11 is inserted downwards, under the joint constraint of the positioning groove and the flexible clamping layer 122, the axis of the test tube 11 will be automatically corrected and held tightly to the absolute geometric center of the fixing seat 12, ensuring that the optical measurement axis of the test tube 11 and the transmission light path of the detection component 131 are perfectly orthogonal.

[0044] like Figure 2 , Figure 4 , Figure 7 and Figure 9 As shown: the partition plate 111 is made of opaque material; both ends of the test tube 11 are provided with sealing plugs 113.

[0045] The settlement detection device also includes a signal processing unit, which is configured to extract the transmission data of the upper chamber 112 as a real-time reference during a single continuous scan of the detection component 131, and to dynamically compare and calibrate the transmission data of the lower chamber 112 accordingly to offset the attenuation error of the light source component 1312.

[0046] In the automated closed-loop control, the partition plate 111 inside the test tube 11 is made of an opaque material, such as inlaid black quartz glass or an internally laminated light-shielding plate. Combined with the sealing plugs 113 at both ends of the test tube 11, this not only achieves physical isolation and prevents evaporation of the liquid in the upper and lower chambers 112, but also artificially creates a precipitous signal blind zone on the optical curve. When the signal processing unit, such as an ARM architecture microprocessor or a DSP digital signal processor, receives continuous scan data, it uses the zero-transmittance drop point caused by the opaque partition plate 111 as a natural segmentation anchor point to accurately segment the transmission data of the upper chamber 112 as a real-time benchmark. This benchmark is then used as the denominator to dynamically compare and calibrate the subsequently acquired transmission data of the lower chamber 112. This algorithm directly offsets the attenuation error of the light source component 1312 and environmental noise at the underlying logic level.

[0047] like Figure 10 As shown: The interior of the housing 1 also integrates a thermostat module 14 for maintaining a constant temperature inside the housing 1.

[0048] Finally, considering the extreme sensitivity of fluid viscosity and particle settling resistance to temperature, a temperature control module 14 is also integrated inside the housing 1, such as a TEC semiconductor cooling chip combined with a miniature temperature-equalizing fan or a PTC ceramic heating element. This temperature control module 14 can maintain a constant temperature air bath environment without heat convection inside the housing 1, completely eliminating the microcirculation of liquid inside the pipe caused by diurnal temperature differences.

[0049] The above embodiments only illustrate one or more implementations of the present invention, and their descriptions are relatively specific and detailed, but they should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present invention. It should be noted that those skilled in the art can make various modifications and improvements without departing from the concept of the present invention, and these all fall within the protection scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention should be determined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A photocatalyst suspension sedimentation detection device with an anti-interference isolation structure, comprising a housing, characterized in that, The housing is equipped with a fixed base and a drive mechanism that can reciprocate along the height direction of the housing. A test tube is vertically placed inside the fixed base. A partition plate is provided in the center of the test tube, which divides the interior of the test tube into two independent chambers, which are used to hold standard pure water and the suspension to be tested, respectively. A detection component is mounted on the drive mechanism. The detection component has a through hole at its center for the test tube to pass through, and a non-contact gap is left between the inner wall of the through hole and the outer wall of the test tube. A light source component and a receiver are respectively provided on both sides of the detection component. The measuring light emitted by the light source component passes through the through hole and the test tube and is received by the receiver. During the unidirectional sliding process, the detection component can sequentially acquire the light transmittance data of the upper and lower chambers of the test tube.

2. The photocatalyst suspension sedimentation detection device with an anti-interference isolation structure according to claim 1, characterized in that, The detection component includes a first light-shielding shell and a second light-shielding shell, which are interlocked and nested to form a closed cavity that can be adjusted relative to each other and does not leak light at the joint; an adjustment component is provided between the first light-shielding shell and the second light-shielding shell for adjusting the diameter of the through hole and the size of the non-contact gap.

3. The photocatalyst suspension sedimentation detection device with an anti-interference isolation structure according to claim 2, characterized in that, The inner wall of the through hole is provided with a light-absorbing coating or an extinction structure for absorbing stray light and reflected light within the through hole.

4. The photocatalyst suspension sedimentation detection device with an anti-interference isolation structure according to claim 1, characterized in that, The light source assembly has a collimating lens in its front optical path for shaping light into a parallel beam; the receiver has a slit aperture in its front optical path.

5. The photocatalyst suspension sedimentation detection device with an anti-interference isolation structure according to claim 4, characterized in that, The light source component is a near-infrared light source, and the energy of its emission wavelength is lower than the excitation band gap of the photocatalytic powder to be tested.

6. The photocatalyst suspension sedimentation detection device with an anti-interference isolation structure according to claim 1, characterized in that, The mounting base is supported inside the housing by a damping shock-absorbing pad.

7. The photocatalyst suspension sedimentation detection device with an anti-interference isolation structure according to claim 6, characterized in that, The fixing base has an internal clamping layer made of elastic and flexible material for centrally clamping the outer wall of the test tube.

8. The photocatalyst suspension sedimentation detection device with an anti-interference isolation structure according to claim 1, characterized in that, The partition plate is made of opaque material; both ends of the test tube are equipped with sealing plugs.

9. The photocatalyst suspension sedimentation detection device with an anti-interference isolation structure according to claim 8, characterized in that, It also includes a signal processing unit configured to extract the transmission data of the upper chamber as a real-time reference during a single continuous scan of the detection component, and to dynamically compare and calibrate the transmission data of the lower chamber accordingly, so as to offset the attenuation error of the light source component.

10. A photocatalyst suspension sedimentation detection device with an anti-interference isolation structure according to any one of claims 1-9, characterized in that, The shell also integrates a thermostat module for maintaining a constant temperature inside the shell cavity.

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