Sample introduction device and water quality analyzer

Abstract

The utility model relates to the technical field of analysis, and provides a sampling device and a water quality analyzer with the sampling device, which can more accurately judge the liquid inlet condition in a container and prevent the chromaticity or turbidity of a sample and the transparency of a pipe wall from influencing the judgment on the liquid inlet of the container. The sampling device comprises a container, a liquid inlet unit, a temperature sensor and a control unit, wherein the liquid inlet unit is communicated with the container and used for supplying liquid into the container, and the temperature sensor is coupled with the container and used for detecting the temperature of the container. And the control unit is electrically connected with the liquid inlet unit and the temperature sensor and is configured to judge whether the liquid inlet unit actually supplies liquid to the container or not according to the temperature variation detected by the temperature sensor before and after the liquid inlet unit is started.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of analysis, in particular to a sampling device and a water quality analyzer with the sampling device. Background Art

[0002] For some liquid sample analysis instruments, it is necessary to clearly know whether the liquid sampling has actually been completed to avoid empty sampling or insufficient sampling, which may cause huge deviations in the detection results of the analysis instrument.

[0003] Currently, a common sampling detection device includes a light emitter and a light intensity sensor, which are positioned on either side of a transparent container. Light emitted by the light emitter passes through the container. When the liquid level inside the container reaches the light level, the convex lens-like focusing effect formed by the liquid and the transparent container wall causes the intensity of the light passing through the container, received by the light intensity sensor, to change. This light intensity change is used to identify whether the liquid level has reached the container, thereby achieving liquid metering. However, this solution is affected by the liquid being measured. Different liquids have significantly different chromaticity and turbidity, which weaken the light intensity. This weakening effect offsets the increase in light intensity caused by the focusing effect, thereby confusing empty and full tubes and seriously affecting metering reliability. Furthermore, since only the intensity change is detected, determining the threshold value is difficult when the intensity change is not particularly large, which reduces the probability of measurement misjudgment. Furthermore, this detection method places high demands on the transparency and uniformity of the container wall and can lead to misjudgment due to rough tube walls or liquid sticking to the wall. Utility Model Content

[0004] In response to the above problems, the utility model provides a sampling device and a water quality analyzer with the sampling device, which can more accurately judge the liquid filling situation in the container and avoid the influence of the color or turbidity of the sample itself and the transparency of the tube wall on the judgment of the liquid filling in the container.

[0005] In one aspect, the present invention provides a sample injection device comprising: a container, a liquid inlet unit, a temperature sensor, and a control unit. The liquid inlet unit is in communication with the container and is configured to supply liquid into the container. The temperature sensor is coupled to the container and measures the container's temperature. The control unit is electrically connected to the liquid inlet unit and the temperature sensor, respectively, and is configured to determine whether the liquid inlet unit has actually supplied liquid into the container based on temperature changes detected by the temperature sensor before and after the liquid inlet unit is opened.

[0006] According to the technical solution of the present invention, a control unit controls the liquid inlet unit to supply liquid into the container. If a liquid sample actually enters the container, the liquid sample will change the container's temperature through heat transfer, causing the temperature sensor's detection result to change, indicating that the container contains the liquid sample supplied by the liquid inlet unit. If the temperature sensor's detection result remains unchanged after a specified period of time, it is determined that the container does not contain the liquid sample supplied by the liquid inlet unit. By using the temperature sensor's detection result to determine the liquid sample's entry into the container, the influence of the liquid sample's color or turbidity and the transparency of the tube wall on the determination result can be avoided, allowing for a more accurate determination of the actual liquid entry into the container.

[0007] As a preferred technical solution of the present invention, the sample injection device further includes a heating portion, which is in contact with the container.

[0008] According to this preferred technical solution, existing liquid analysis devices, such as water quality analyzers, often require heating liquid samples for analysis. Therefore, placing the heating unit in contact with the container can maintain continuous heat preservation of the container while also amplifying the temperature change caused by the entry of the liquid sample. As a result, when the liquid sample enters the container and submerges the temperature sensor, the heat exchange between the liquid sample and the container causes a significant drop in the temperature detected by the temperature sensor, indicating the presence of a liquid sample.

[0009] As a preferred technical solution of the present invention, the heating part is a heating wire, and the heating wire is wound around the outer wall of the container within a height range from the bottom to the highest liquid level.

[0010] According to this preferred technical solution, by winding the heating wire around the outer wall of the container within a height range from the bottom to the highest liquid level, it can be further ensured that the temperature of the container before sampling is more uniform, avoiding the risk of changes in the detection temperature of the temperature sensor due to uneven heating of the heating part, and improving the accuracy of the judgment of the sampling situation in the container.

[0011] As a preferred technical solution of the present invention, the temperature sensor is arranged at the bottom of the container.

[0012] According to this preferred technical solution, a temperature sensor is provided at the bottom of the container. When the liquid inlet unit supplies a liquid sample into the container, once the liquid sample enters the container, it can exchange heat with the bottom of the container, changing the temperature of the bottom of the container, thereby changing the detection result of the temperature sensor. This preferred technical solution can quickly detect the liquid inflow situation in the container.

[0013] As a preferred technical solution of the present invention, the temperature sensor is arranged at a height corresponding to the highest liquid level of the container.

[0014] According to this preferred technical solution, a temperature sensor is set at the height corresponding to the highest liquid level of the container. When the liquid level of the liquid sample in the container reaches a certain height, the detection result of the temperature sensor is significantly changed. Therefore, when the detection result of the temperature sensor changes, it can be reflected that the liquid level height of the liquid sample is basically close to or has reached the maximum liquid level height. Furthermore, the control unit can also control the liquid inlet unit to close according to the detection result and stop sampling into the container.

[0015] As a preferred technical solution of the present invention, the control unit controls the heating part to be turned on before controlling the liquid inlet unit to be turned on.

[0016] According to this preferred technical solution, the container is first heated by the heating part to ensure that the temperature of the container is maintained at a relatively high state, so that after the liquid sample enters, the detection result of the temperature sensor changes more significantly and is easier to be accurately detected.

[0017] As a preferred technical solution of the present invention, if the control unit determines that the liquid inlet unit does not supply liquid into the container, it controls the liquid inlet unit to open again.

[0018] According to this preferred technical solution, when the liquid inlet unit is opened for a period of time, if the detection result of the temperature sensor remains unchanged, it can be determined that no liquid has entered the container, and the liquid inlet unit is controlled to be opened again and liquid is introduced for the second time, further ensuring that liquid sample enters the container.

[0019] As a preferred technical solution of the present invention, the control unit further includes an alarm. If the control unit determines that the liquid inlet unit does not supply liquid into the container, the alarm is turned on.

[0020] According to this preferred technical solution, when the liquid inlet unit is opened for a period of time but the detection result of the temperature sensor does not change, it can be determined that the liquid inlet unit does not actually supply liquid into the container. At this time, turning on the alarm can prompt the user to check whether the liquid inlet unit is faulty.

[0021] As a preferred technical solution of the present invention, the alarm is a loudspeaker and / or an LED light.

[0022] According to this preferred technical solution, the user can quickly notice abnormal liquid inflow through sound / light prompts.

[0023] A second aspect of the present invention provides a water quality analyzer, comprising a sample injection device as in any of the above technical solutions. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] Figure 1 It is a structural schematic diagram of a sample injection device provided in an embodiment of the present utility model.

[0025] Figure 2 It is a structural schematic diagram of a sample injection device provided in another embodiment of the present invention.

[0026] Figure 3 Another embodiment of the present invention provides a sample injection device with a heating part.

[0027] Figure 4 The utility model provides a sample injection device with an alarm.

[0028] Reference numerals: 1 - container; 2 - liquid inlet unit; 3 - temperature sensor; 4 - control unit; 5 - heating unit; 6 - alarm. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the embodiments described are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative efforts are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0030] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a sample injection device provided by the present invention. Figure 1 As shown, the sample injection device includes: a container 1, a liquid inlet unit 2, a temperature sensor 3 and a control unit 4.

[0031] The container 1 in this embodiment can be of any shape, without limitation. The accompanying drawings illustrate a cylindrical test tube with a closed bottom, but this is not intended to be limiting. Furthermore, the material of the container 1 is also not limited; it can be transparent or opaque, without affecting the sampling device's ability to determine the actual liquid inflow into the container 1. Preferably, the container 1 can be made of a material with improved heat transfer properties. In embodiments where the temperature sensor 3 is disposed on the outer wall of the container 1, the temperature sensor 3 can promptly capture temperature changes in the container 1, thereby enabling more timely determination of the actual liquid inflow into the container 1.

[0032] The liquid inlet unit 2 is connected to any position of the container 1 and is used to supply liquid into the container 1. Preferably, the liquid inlet unit 2 can be connected to the bottom of the container 1 to reduce splashing of liquid droplets during liquid inlet and also reduce bubbles in the liquid sample. The liquid inlet unit 2 can be composed of a liquid sample source and a liquid pump. The liquid sample source can be natural water or experimental reagents. The liquid pump can draw the liquid sample from the liquid sample source into the container 1 for mixing.

[0033] The temperature sensor 3 is coupled to the container 1, for example, they are arranged in contact with each other. The temperature sensor 3 can be an instrument such as a thermocouple, a thermistor, etc. that detects temperature through direct contact. Taking the thermocouple as an example, the thermocouple can be set on the inner wall of the container 1 or the outer wall of the container 1. By directly contacting the wall of the container 1, the detection result of the thermocouple can more accurately reflect the temperature change in the container 1. Taking the infrared temperature detector as an example, the infrared temperature detector can be set at a distance from the container 1 to measure the intensity and wavelength of the infrared light emitted from the surface of the container 1, thereby detecting the temperature of the container 1. All of the above belong to the protection scope of the present utility model.

[0034] In addition, the location and number of the temperature sensor 3 are also not limited. Figure 1 The example in which there is only one temperature sensor 3 and it is arranged at the bottom of the container 1 is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this.

[0035] Figure 2 A preferred arrangement of the temperature sensor is shown. Figure 2 As shown, the temperature sensor 3 can be preferably disposed at the bottom of the container 1, or at a height corresponding to the highest liquid level in the container 1. Positioning the temperature sensor 3 at the bottom of the container 1 allows the liquid sample to enter the container 1 once the liquid inlet unit 2 supplies the liquid sample. Once the liquid sample enters the container 1, it will submerge above the height of the temperature sensor 3, allowing for rapid detection of liquid inflow into the container 1. Positioning the temperature sensor 3 at a height corresponding to the highest liquid level in the container 1 allows the liquid sample to submerge above the height of the temperature sensor 3 when the liquid level in the container 1 reaches a certain level. Thus, a change in the detection result of the temperature sensor 3 indicates that the liquid sample level has substantially approached or reached the highest liquid level. Furthermore, the control unit 4 can control the liquid inlet unit 2 to shut down based on this detection result, halting sample inflow into the container 1. Positioning the temperature sensor 3 at the bottom of the container 1 and at a height corresponding to the highest liquid level allows for more comprehensive detection of the actual liquid inflow into the container 1, both in terms of whether the solution has entered the container 1 and whether the solution has reached a predetermined height.

[0036] Of course, those skilled in the art will understand that setting the temperature sensor 3 alone at the bottom of the container 1, setting the temperature sensor 3 alone at the height corresponding to the highest liquid level of the container 1, or setting multiple temperature sensors 3 at different height positions in the container 1 do not exceed the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0037] The control unit 4 is electrically connected to the liquid inlet unit 2 and the temperature sensor 3, respectively. The control unit 4 can be a hardware device with computing and processing capabilities. The hardware device can be set in the analytical instrument where the sample injection device is located, or it can be set in an external computer. The control unit 4 is configured to determine whether the liquid inlet unit 2 has actually supplied liquid to the container 1 based on the temperature change detected by the temperature sensor 3 before and after the liquid inlet unit 2 is turned on. For example, the control unit 4 may include a memory and a processor, the memory storing control instructions and a preset temperature change threshold. The processor is capable of receiving the temperature detection result transmitted by the temperature sensor 3, and comparing the temperature detection result after the liquid inlet unit 2 is turned on with the temperature detection result before the liquid inlet unit 2 is turned on, calculating a temperature change value, and then comparing the temperature change value with the preset temperature change threshold stored in the memory. When the temperature change value is not less than the preset temperature change threshold, a judgment result is generated that the liquid inflow into the container 1 is poor.

[0038] Among them, in some preferred embodiments, the control unit 4 can also adopt a secondary liquid inlet control method to ensure the supply of liquid to the container 1. Specifically, when the control unit 4 determines that the liquid inlet unit 2 does not supply liquid to the container 1, it controls the liquid inlet unit 2 to open again.

[0039] Specifically, the control unit 4 first controls the liquid inlet unit 2 to open, specifically by sending a command to the liquid inlet unit 2 to control its operation. If the command is successfully executed, the liquid inlet unit 2 will supply liquid into the container 1. In some scenarios, even though the control unit 4 sends a command to the liquid inlet unit 2, the liquid inlet unit 2 may not be able to perform the liquid inlet operation due to reasons such as pipeline blockage or mechanical failure. The sample injection device provided in this embodiment can accurately determine whether sample injection has actually occurred in the container 1.

[0040] After the control unit 4 sends a command to the liquid inlet unit 2, or a specified time after the control unit 4 sends a command to the liquid inlet unit 2, or after the control unit 4 receives feedback from the liquid inlet unit 2 indicating that the liquid inlet action has been performed, or a specified time after the control unit 4 receives feedback from the liquid inlet unit 2 indicating that the liquid inlet action has been performed, the control unit 4 reads the detection result of the temperature sensor 3. The specified time can be set to be longer or shorter. For example, in some embodiments, when the coupling position of the temperature sensor 3 and the container 1 is at the highest liquid level, the specified time can be set to be longer, while when the coupling position of the temperature sensor 3 and the container 1 is at the bottom of the container 1, the specified time can be set to be shorter. After the control unit 4 begins reading the detection result of the temperature sensor 3, the temperature sensor 3 can remain on and continuously collect the detection results in real time. When the temperature changes significantly, a determination result of successful liquid inlet can be promptly obtained.

[0041] After sending the instruction, if the liquid inlet unit 2 operates normally, the liquid sample submerges the height of the temperature sensor 3, and the detection result of the temperature sensor 3 changes, the control unit 4 determines that the container 1 contains the liquid sample actually supplied by the liquid inlet unit 2.

[0042] After the instruction is sent, if the liquid inlet unit 2 does not operate normally and the detection result of the temperature sensor 3 remains unchanged, the control unit 4 determines that there is no liquid sample supplied by the liquid inlet unit 2 in the container 1 .

[0043] In this embodiment, the sample filling condition in the container 1 is judged by the detection result of the temperature sensor 3, which can avoid the influence of the color or turbidity of the liquid sample itself and the transparency of the tube wall on the judgment result, and the actual liquid filling condition in the container 1 can be judged more accurately and at a low cost.

[0044] Figure 3 A sample injection device with a heating part is shown in FIG. Figure 3 As shown, since existing liquid analysis devices often need to heat liquid samples for analysis, such as water quality analyzers. Therefore, in some preferred embodiments, the sampling device also includes a heating part 5 in contact with the container 1, and the heating part 5 can be any structure that can generate heat continuously and stably, such as an electric heating block, an electric heating wire, or a constant temperature water heating pipeline, which is not limited here. In some preferred embodiments, the heating part 5 can be a hollow electric heating block that is sleeved and wrapped around the outer wall of the container 1, or, in other preferred embodiments, the heating part 5 can also be a heating wire wrapped around the outer wall of the container 1, all of which do not exceed the protection scope of the present utility model. Among them, preferably, Figure 3 , the example shows a case where the heating part 5 is a heating wire, and the heating wire is wound around the outer wall of the container 1 .

[0045] Specifically, in this preferred embodiment, the heating unit 5 is placed in contact with the container 1, thereby continuously maintaining the temperature of the container 1 and improving the detection accuracy of the analytical instrument. Furthermore, the constant high temperature environment provided in the container 1 can also amplify the temperature change caused by the entry of the liquid sample. For example, the temperature in the container 1 can be maintained at 40°C by the heating unit 5, and the liquid sample supplied by the liquid inlet unit 2 is generally 20°C. As a result, when the liquid sample enters the container 1 and does not exceed the height of the temperature sensor 3, the detected temperature of the temperature sensor 3 will drop significantly, indicating that a liquid sample has entered the container 1.

[0046] Further preferably, a heating wire can be wound within the height range from the bottom to the highest liquid level of the container 1. In particular, when the temperature sensor 3 is arranged at the bottom and / or the height corresponding to the highest liquid level, by winding the heating wire around the outer wall of the container 1 within the height range from the bottom to the highest liquid level, it can be further ensured that the temperature in the container 1 from the bottom to the highest liquid level before injection is uniform and stable, thereby reducing the risk of changes in the detection temperature of the temperature sensor 3 due to uneven heating of the heating part 5, and improving the accuracy of the injection device's judgment on the injection situation in the container 1.

[0047] Figure 4 A sample injection device with an alarm is shown in FIG. Figure 4 As shown, the control unit 4 also includes an alarm 6. If the control unit 4 determines that the liquid inlet unit 2 has not supplied liquid to the container 1, the alarm 6 is turned on. When the liquid inlet unit 2 is turned on for a period of time, but the detection result of the temperature sensor 3 has not changed, it can be determined that the liquid inlet unit 2 has not actually supplied liquid to the container 1. At this time, turning on the alarm 6 can prompt the user to check whether the liquid inlet unit 2 is faulty. In particular, the alarm 6 can be turned on in conjunction with the secondary liquid inlet control method of the control unit 4. That is, when the control unit 4 determines that the liquid inlet unit 2 has not supplied liquid to the container 1, the liquid inlet unit 2 is controlled to be turned on again. When the control unit 4 still determines that the liquid inlet unit 2 has not supplied liquid to the container 1 for the second time, the alarm 6 is turned on, thereby improving the alarm efficiency and reducing the probability of false alarms.

[0048] The alarm 6 can be any device that can attract the user's attention, and is not limited to this. Preferably, it can be a speaker and / or an LED light, which can quickly alert the user to abnormal liquid inflow through sound / light prompts. In some embodiments, the alarm 6 can also be a communication device that sends alarm information to the cloud.

[0049] The sample injection device in this embodiment can be used in a water quality analyzer to accurately control the amount of sample entering the water quality analyzer, avoid empty injection, and improve the analysis accuracy of the water quality analyzer.

[0050] The water quality analyzer, for example, is a continuous online water quality analyzer that continuously uploads the detected water quality analysis results to the cloud for monitoring. As long as there is a difference between the sample water temperature and the temperature of container 1, the solution provided in this application can be used to more accurately determine whether the sample has actually been injected. In some embodiments, if the sample water temperature and the temperature of container 1 do not differ, the sample water can be pretreated by heating or cooling it to a temperature different from that of container 1; or container 1 can be pretreated by heating or cooling it to a temperature different from that of container 1.

[0051] The above are only preferred embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent replacements and improvements made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included in the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A sampling device, characterized in that: include: container; a liquid inlet unit, connected to the container and configured to supply liquid into the container; a temperature sensor coupled to the container to measure the temperature of the container; A control unit is electrically connected to the liquid inlet unit and the temperature sensor, and is configured to determine whether the liquid inlet unit actually supplies the liquid into the container based on the temperature changes detected by the temperature sensor before and after the liquid inlet unit is turned on.

2. The sample injection device according to claim 1, characterized in that Also includes: The heating portion is in contact with the container.

3. The sample injection device according to claim 2, characterized in that The heating part is a heating wire, and the heating wire is wound around the outer wall of the container within a height range from the bottom to the highest liquid level.

4. The sample injection device according to claim 2, characterized in that The temperature sensor is arranged at the bottom of the container.

5. The sample injection device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The temperature sensor is arranged at a height corresponding to the highest liquid level of the container.

6. The sample injection device according to claim 2, characterized in that The control unit controls the heating unit to be turned on before controlling the liquid inlet unit to be turned on.

7. The sample injection device according to claim 1, characterized in that If the control unit determines that the liquid inlet unit does not supply the liquid into the container, the control unit controls the liquid inlet unit to open again.

8. The sample injection device according to claim 1, wherein The control unit further includes an alarm. If the control unit determines that the liquid inlet unit does not supply the liquid into the container, the alarm is turned on.

9. The sample injection device according to claim 8, characterized in that The alarm is a speaker and / or an LED light.

10. A water quality analyzer, characterized in that: The method comprises the sampling device according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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