Patent ID: 8872133
Filing Date: 2014-10-28
Classification: G01N

Abstract:
1. A method for fluorescent spectroscopic in-line determination of the protein content of a medium containing milk, comprising the steps of: illuminating the medium by radiation from a radiation source; guiding a part of the radiation from said radiation source by a beam splitter to a reference receiving element that detects the source intensity of said radiation source; detecting an emission intensity of a medium radiation emitted by the medium based on fluorescence with an emission-receiving element; detecting a scattering intensity of the medium radiation scattered by the medium in a range of the absorption of the radiation of the radiation source caused by fluorescence with a scattering-receiving element; measuring the temperature of the medium; measuring the temperature of at least one of the receiving elements; compensating the respective detection of radiation by the at least one of the receiving elements for an effect of the measured temperature of the least one of the receiving elements; and converting the detected emission intensity, in combination with the detected scattering intensity, and in combination with a compensation for an effect of the measured temperature of the medium on the fluorescence of the medium, into a concentration value of fluorescent parts of the medium, wherein said radiation source, said beam splitter, and said reference receiving element are commonly arranged on a holding device such that a main receiving direction of said reference receiving element and a main direction of the radiation of said radiation source are at a 90° angle to one another, and wherein the main direction of radiation of the radiation source is parallel to a main receiving direction of said emission-receiving element and to a main receiving direction of said scattering-receiving element.