Spectrophotometer

• US 9,829,430 B2
• Filed: 07/22/2013
• Issued: 11/28/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 08/20/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi High-Tech Company Limited (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Inventors: Wakui, Takayuki, Tobe, Hayato, Nakamura, Koichi, Yamamoto, Koji
• Primary Examiner(s): Ton, Tri
• Assistant Examiner(s): Underwood, Jarreas C
• Application Number:
  US14/422,276
• Publication Number:
  US 20150247793A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,590 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/0291 Housings; Spectrometer accessories; Spatial arrangement of elements, e.g. folded path arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/42 Absorption spectrometry; Double beam spectrometry; Flicker spectrometry; Reflection spectrometry beam switching arrangements G01J3/08
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/01 Arrangements or apparatus for facilitating the optical investigation
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/274 Calibration, base line adjustment, drift correction
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/31 Investigating relative effect of material at wavelengths characteristic of specific elements or molecules, e.g. atomic absorption spectrometry G01N21/72 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2201/0253 Switches mounted at the casing
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2201/062 LED's
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2201/126 Microprocessor processing

Abstract

A spectrophotometer includes: a sample-chamber lid capable of opening and closing an opening portion of a sample chamber for setting a sample and a reference sample; and sample-chamber lid opening-closing detecting means for detecting an opening-closing state of the sample-chamber lid, and the spectrophotometer is capable of controlling a measurement of a xenon flash tube as a light source, a spectroscope, a detector, an amplifier, an AD converter, a processor, a storage device, and a data display part. In the spectrophotometer, the light source is turned on after a state of the lid changing from an opening state to a closing state is detected in a sample-setting instruction state by the sample-chamber lid opening-closing detecting means; absorbancy, transmissivity, reflectivity, a sample-side energy value, or a reference-side energy value is measured; and a measurement result is displayed on the data display part.

Claims

1. A spectrophotometer comprising:

a sample-chamber lid configured to open and close an opening portion of a sample chamber for setting a sample and a reference sample;

a sample-chamber lid opening-closing detector configured to detect an opening-closing state of the sample-chamber lid;

a xenon flash tube as a light source;

a spectrometer;

a detector configured to detect transmitted light;

an amplifier and an analog to digital (AD) converter;

a processor coupled to a storage device storing predetermined stability determination conditions; and

a display,

wherein the spectrometer, the light source, the detector, the amplifier, the AD converter, and the display are coupled to the processor, the processor configured to;

upon detecting that a state of the lid changes from an opening state to a closing state based on detection signals from the sample-chamber lid opening-closing detector, control the light source to emit light at a predetermined wavelength and control the detector to detect transmitted light, and simultaneously measure absorbance values at regular time intervals based on detection signals transmitted by the detector and amplified and converted by the AD converter,

determine whether the predetermined stability determination conditions are satisfied based on the measured absorbance values at the regular time intervals,

upon determining, based on the measured absorbance values at the regular time intervals, that the predetermined stability determination conditions are satisfied, control the light source to continue to emit light at the predetermined wavelength and control the detector to detect transmitted light and measure at least one of absorbency, transmissivity, reflectivity, and a sample-side energy value, based on detection signals transmitted by the detector and amplified and converted by the AD converter, to obtain a measurement result of the sample, and

control the display to display the measurement result.

2. The spectrophotometer according to claim 1,

wherein the measurement of the absorbance values is interrupted after a state of the lid changing from a closing state to an opening state is detected.

3. The spectrophotometer according to claim 1,

wherein an upper limit and a lower limit of absorbance values of the predetermined stability determination conditions are stored in the storage device,

wherein the processor is configured to determine whether the predetermined stability determination conditions are satisfied based on whether the measured absorbance values at the regular time intervals are within the upper limit and the lower limit.

4. The spectrophotometer according to claim 3,

wherein the processor is configured to determine whether the predetermined stability determination conditions are satisfied based on whether a difference of the measured absorbance values at the regular time intervals at a current measured point and a previous measured point of are within the range between the upper limit and the lower limit of the stability determination conditions.

5. The spectrophotometer according to claim 3,

wherein the processor is configured to whether the predetermined stability determination conditions are satisfied based on whether a time when a standard deviation from the previous measured points to the current measured point the standard deviation is acquired within a predetermined range.

6. The spectrophotometer according to claim 1, wherein an LED is used as a light source.