A METHOD OF EFFECTING NIR-ANALYSES OF SUCCESSIVE MATERIAL SAMPLES, AND A SYSTEM FOR CARRYING OUT THE METHOD

Abstract: An NIR-analysis of a material sample is based on a very small sample in a test cup being brough into close engagement with a special optical unit, which will detect a radiation reflection from the surface area of the sample and thereby provide information as to the contents of relevant components such as water and protein. Under usual laboratory conditions both the test cup and the optical unit should be cleaned very effectively between successive operations for obtaining reliable results. With the invention the NIR-technique is utilized for a fully automatic on-line analysing of successive samples, viz. with the use of a test chamber (6) which is built together with the optical unit (12) and is open towards this unit through a restricted side opening (26). The test chamber (6) has a volume which is much larger than that of the known test cups, whereby the remnant-pollution of the following sample can be kept at an acceptable low level, without the test chamber having to be totally cleaned each time. A particularly critical area, however, is the material area just next to the optical unit (12, 64), and remnants at this place must by necessity be removed. The invention provides for a complete avoidance of such remnant deposits, in that between the side opening (26) of the test chamber and the optical unit (12, 64) there is placed a transparent, thin separation film (20), which between the successive operations is advanced for removal of the last used film area and for delivery of a new and entirely clean film area to the critical area.

Description: A method of effecting NIR-analyses of successive material samples, and a system for carrying out the method. The present invention relates to a method of carry¬ ing out analyses of materials by the NIR-principle or corresponding principles of analysis. NIR stands for Near Infrared geflection and designates a method of analysis, in which the contents of various components of materials, e.g. water and protein, can be determined by a guite brief infrared irradiation of a sample portion of a few grams of the material. NIR analysis devices for general laboratory applications, e.g. in feedstuff fac¬ tories or mixing establishments, have already been de¬ veloped. In the use of such devices a homogenized sample of a few cubic centimetres is placed in a particular test cup, which is then mounted against a quartz disc on an analyzer head of the device, from which the surface of the sample is irradiated; the reflected rays are picked up by a particular detector which supplies electrical signals representative of the various components of the material. Before the next analysis the eguipment must be cleaned carefully, usually by washing with spirit, as remnants of the material sample in the test cup or on the quartz disc may cause the next analysis to be inac¬ curate. Said method is very advantageous compared to con¬ ventional methods, but like these it has hitherto not been suited for a still more advantageous application, i.e. in connection with automatic on-line sample analy¬ sis and automatic process control. The invention aims at providing a method and an associated equipment, which makes just such an application possible, whereby it will be possible to perform analyses in rapid succession in a fully automatic manner. According to the invention use of the small test cup is abandoned and instead a considerably larger test chamber is used in front of the analyzer head, it being realized beforehand that in the desired manner of opera¬ tion it will be unrealistic to perform washings with spirit or corresponding complete clean-up's between the analyses. Instead, by use of a larger chamber it may be aimed at making the possible remnants from a preceding sample so proportionally insignificant that the inaccu¬ racy caused thereby can be kept within practically ac¬ ceptable limits. It must be possible to introduce the material in and discharge it from the test chamber in such a manner that successive samples can be analyzed with a reasonab¬ ly high frequency and so that the least possible remnant of each sample is left. Particularly in case of non-ho¬ mogeneous solid substances a suitable homogenization must be provided, that is in such a manner that a suc¬ cessively used homogenizer ahead of the test chamber is not effective to retain essential remnants of the treated material, which could cause a considerable pol¬ lution of the subsequent sample portion or portions. In connection with the invention it has been realized that under these circumstances it will hardly be possible to operate with a real homogenization or fine grinding of the material, but also that the problem can be solved in another way which is to be mentioned in the following. The radiation used in the analysis is reflected mainly from the surface of the sample material, but the rays have a certain depth of penetration into the mate¬ rial so that the area essential to the analysis will be the surface layer bearing against the quartz disc of the analyzer head, the thickness of said layer being larger or smaller depending upon the nature of the material; however, it is a question about only a few millimetres, which accounts for the fact that it has been possible to use quite small samples. At the same time, however, this also accounts for the fact that just the use of a rela¬ tively large test chamber, in which the thickness or depth of the material sample opposite the analyzer head is considerably increased, aims at securing that a pos¬ sible remnant of the preceding sample portion at the rear wall in question of the test chamber opposite the analyzer head becomes of little or no importance for the result of the subsequent analysis. In return the problem remains that deposited rem¬ nants of the preceding sample portion on the very quartz disc or window will manifest themselves strongly as a source of pollution during the analysis of the next sample, and it is not to be repeated that this pollution may be accommodated within acceptable tolerances of the result of the analysis. Consequently such a pollution must necessarily be avoided, and according to the inven¬ tion this is obtained in that the window is a double layer window, of which the layer facing the test chamber is exchangeable with a new and clean layer after each discharge of a sample portion. Appropriately a thin, transparent film is used for this purpose, as the film can be made to lean on the quartz disc and besides may be advanced stepwise as part of an automatically con¬ trolled cycle operation of the entire equipment. It is noted that the provision of a new and clean wall area by advancing a film across an opening in an analysis cham¬ ber is not moved per se, cf. US-A-3,677,652, which, how¬ ever, deals with occasional exchange of a window area of a gas analysis chamber where the analysis is carried out on the entire quantity of gas. In handling finely cut solid matter material prob¬ lems with respect to separation adjacent the measure window may arise; to overcome the analysis errors caused thereby, use may be made, according to the invention, of a particular "measure face homogenization" by means of a rotating arm which promotes a local mixing of the mate¬ rial at that area. The invention will be explained in more detail in the following with reference to the drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a schematic picture of an analysis system for solid substances, Fig. 2 a corresponding picture of a system for analysing samples of viscous materials, Fig. 3 a schematic, perspective picture of the system shown in Fig. 1, Fig. 4 a perspective picture of a ho ogenizator used in the system. Fig. 5 a vertical sectional picture of the same, Fig. 6 a cross section of the system shown in Fig. 3, Fig. 7 a more detailed perspective picture of the same , and Fig. 8 a sectional picture of the analysis area of the system. In Fig. 1 a supply line 2 for granulated or fibrous solid matter material to a comminution unit 4 is shown, from which the material is delivered to a homogenizer 5 and then to a test container 6 having a bottom outlet 8 for successive discharge of material samples from the container 6. A side area of said container is provided with a measurement opening, which is connected with an analysing unit 10 through an analyzer head 12 thereon. By means of a suitable valve arrangement provision is made for admitting material samples to and discharging them from the container in as rapid succession as pos¬ sible, each sample being subjected to an analysis by means of the unit 10. Fig. 2 shows a corresponding system for successive analysis of a viscous substance which is conveyed through a pipe 12. This pipe has a branch pipe 14 lead- ing to the test chamber 6, wherein in this embodiment a piston 16 can be moved up and down by means of an oper¬ ating cylinder 18. Thus, by operating said cylinder material can be pulled up from the pipe 12 for filling of the chamber 6 and pushed back to the pipe 12, respec¬ tively, whereby analyses of the viscous material con¬ veyed through the pipe 12 can be performed at short intervals. As shown in Fig. 3 a transverse film 20 may be fitted between a side opening in the test container 6 and the adjacent analyzer head 12, which film can be advanced between takeup and pay-off reels 22 and 24, which preferably are coupled together in a cassettelike fashion so as to be easily exchangeable. The comminution unit 4 is preferably a cutting unit in the form of a cylindrical flow-through chamber, in which a knife rotor is fast rotating. In principle a beater drum might be used, but it is desirable that as minimal remnants as possible of the individual sample portions are retained in the unit. The homogenizer 5 is shown in a preferred embodi¬ ment in Figs. 4 and 5. It consists of a double rotor chamber with a bottom shutter 7 and contains a pair of substantially plate shaped wing rotors 9 which are phase displaced 90° from each other and rotate in partial mesh with each other as shown in Fig. 5, whereby they can homogenize the entire sample portion effectively, before this portion is discharged through the bottom to flow down into the test container 6. It appears from Fig. 6 that a piston 28 is mounted in the wall of the chamber opposite the measurement aperture designated 26, which piston can be operated to push the material towards the area of the measurement opening, and that the chamber is provided with a shutter 30 at the bottom. At the top the supply of material to the chamber takes place through a pipe 32 from the cut- ting device 4. This is provided with fast rotating knives which are able to cut the material to a degree of fineness sufficient for a correct NIR-analysis of the material. Thus, as the material is cut, but not ground, the unit 4 can be so arranged, that it does not retain essential remnants of the delivered sample portions. However, as indicated by slanting lines in Fig. 6, finely cut material, which is filled into the chamber 6, is deposited so as to form a certain stratification in the chamber, the material being not completely homoge¬ neous, so that a curtain separation between finer and coarser components occurs. It has appeared that this stratification, even if it may be quite fine, can affect the accuracy of the analysis result adversely; therefore it is desirable to counteract or eliminate the stratifi¬ cation. This might be effected by a simple agitation, but thereby other separation problems may arise. Accord¬ ing to the invention it has been found that the strati¬ fication can be broken by a surface or "face of measure¬ ment" homogenization in that an agitation wing 34 with an only slightly upturned outer portion 36 is rotated with low velocity by a shaft 38 which is simultaneously slowly elevated, so that the ends of the agitating wings move helically upwards through the material area next to the measurement aperture 26, the material being current¬ ly slightly raised locally and subsequently dropped behind the wing. By this means the desired homogeniza¬ tion can be obtained without the occurrence of further separation problems. Accordingly, as shown in Fig. 6, a motor 40 for driving the shaft 38 is mounted on a bracket 42, which in turn is mounted on a motor driven spindle 44 for vertical movement of the system 40, 38, 34. As soon as the wing 34 has reached its upper position opposite the top edge of the measurement opening 26, the piston 28 may be actuated and the analysis performed. If desired the wing may be elevated all the way up by switching to fast operation of the spindle 44. In Fig. 7 a more detailed example of an applicable guide of the film 20 is shown. This film passes through an arc along the smooth, curved wall of the test chamber 6 about the measurement opening 26, and along the free runs of the film between this area of contact and the reels 22 and 24 pairs 50 of clamping jaws are posi¬ tioned, which are operable to clamp and release the film. Around and outside the edge area of the measure¬ ment opening and outside the contact area of the film a thrust plate 52 is mounted, whose side facing the cham¬ ber 6 is shaped so as to correspond exactly to the sur¬ face shape of the chamber, said thrust plate having a central aperture 54 opposite the measurement opening 26, whereas the outer side of the plate 52 is quite flat. The thrust plate 52 is provided with a pair of opposite¬ ly extending side arms 56, which are connected to actu¬ ating cylinders 58 for pressing the plate against the wall of the test chamber. Just outside said plate the analyzer head 12 is positioned. The mechanism for step- wise advance of the film is indicated by a pair of driv¬ ing rollers 59. These rollers are operatively coordi¬ nated with such a control of the clamping jaws 50 and the thrust plate 52 that in each cycle of operation the film can be advanced freely and thereafter clamped. In the embodiment of Fig. 7 clamping of the jaws 50 is first effected, whereupon a thrust beam 60 is posi¬ tioned between said area of contact of the film and one set of clamping jaws is actuated to thereby push the film path out as shown in stippled lines. As the thrust plate 52 is not actuated, a length stretching of the entire film path between the pair of clamping jaw sets 50 will take place. The film having preferably a thick¬ ness of only about 0.05 mm is readily stretchable; how¬ ever, being not supported opposite the measurement open- ing 26 it will here - as shown in Fig. 8 - be caused to bulge inwardly into said opening. Thereupon the thrust plate 52 is actuated to effectively clamp the film against the chamber wall all the way around the measure¬ ment opening 26. Said bulging of the film is desirable because the homogenizer wing 36 is then able to rotate freely in the test chamber, but still in the most critical area reach all the way out to the surface layer of the material at the measurement opening 26, the wing ends being enabled to "lick" across the bulged film under slight local pressing out of the film, in any case at the central area of the bulge. The measurement opening may have a diameter of about 50 mm, but the area of measurement will typically be a circular, central area with a dia¬ meter of 10-22 mm, i.e. a good "measurement face homo¬ genization" will be obtainable in any case in this im¬ portant area. Incidentally the active optic head of the analyzer unit is shown in stippled line by 62 in Fig. 8. When the homogenizer wing 36 has been removed and the piston 28 (Fig. 6) is actuated, the sample material will push the film bulge outwards, i.e. now out through the aperture 54 in the thrust plate 52 into engagement with the quartz disc 64, Fig. 8, of the analyzer head, whereby a reliable analysis can be performed. When thereafter the piston 28 is withdrawn and the material discharged from the chamber 6, the film 20 may be advanced one step; however, this advance should be delayed as much as possible, so that dust from the sample portion has time to fall down, before the new, clean film area is supplied to the measurement opening. This also applies, if in connection with or after the discharge of material a comporessed-air flushing of the test chamber and the wing system 36, 38 is effected by means of " appropriately shaped and positioned nozzles not shown. The thrust plate 52 secures against leaking out of sample material between the inner side of the film and the outer side of the test chamber and hence against pollution caused thereby of the measurement area of the next sample portion; otherwise such pollution might very well occur during the advance of the film. As mentioned the thrust plate must be movable to clamp and release the film, which movability will require a certain addi¬ tional spacing between the wall of the test chamber and the quartz disc 64. In systems, where this spacing tends to be undesirable large, it will be possible to make the test chamber and the entire analyzer 10 so mutually movable that they can be approached to each other after the film advance; it may even be desirable to have the thrust plate 52 firmly mounted on the analyzer. As to the system shown in Fig. 2 particularly re¬ ferring to pumpable media, which will usually be fully or for the analysis sufficiently homogenized, it will normally be unnecessary to use the particular homoge¬ nizer wing 36, so that there will be no associated need of producing the mentioned film bulging through the measurement opening. Still, a certain bulging in will be desirable after the short period of analysis, in which the pressure of the material produces a bulging out of the film against the quartz disc 64, in as much as control of the pres¬ sure so as to cause subsequent bulging in of the film will bring along the effect that the piston 16 during a return movement for bringing the sample portion back to the pipe 12 will scrape downwards across the material adhering to the film; thus during the next film advance there will be a substantially reduced quantity of adher¬ ing material, which by being carried away from the area in connection with the film advance may be deposited at the side edge of the measurement opening and possibly give rise to a pollution of the succeeding sample por- tion. It will be understood that the piston 16 should be very accurately adapted to the test chamber 6, so that it can effect a practically complete discharge of all parts of the sample material from the chamber 6 in order to avoid pollution of the succeeding sample, including of course particularly an effective scraping clean of the inner wall of the test chamber and preferable also an extensive scraping off of just the material which is deposited in the measurement opening 26 itself outside the periphery of the piston 16. It will be understood that the invention is not restricted to the embodiments shown, as the detailed described arrangements can be equated in many other ways. Likewise, it is not crucial to the invention that the applied analysis equipment operates just in accord¬ ance with the NIR-principle, as also other kinds of analysis are possible. Thus, it will be an obvious pos¬ sibility to use transilluminate of the material instead of or in addition to reflection irradiation; thus, an opening for the admission of crosswise radiation through the material can be provided diametrically opposite the measurement opening 26, in which case the additional opening should be covered by an advanceable film or possibly by a rotable disc which can be turned stepwise for successive supply of new, clean areas of faces of separation, possibly of the areas of said disc previous¬ ly turned away from the area of measurement. In using such a technique the measurement opening should prefer¬ ably be formed in a flat side portion of the test cham¬ ber. It is noted the thrust plate 52 must not necessari¬ ly be movable by means of the cylinder 58, as particu¬ larly in connection with handling of solid materials it may be sufficient that the thrust plate is urged inwards against the outer side of the chamber or container 6 by means of suitable compression springs, not shown. In this case the spring force acting on the film needs not be too strong for the film to be advanced across the clamping area behind the thrust plate 52. The volume of the test container may be for example 2-10 litres.

Claims: C L A I M S ! 1. A method of carrying out analyses of successive samples of solid or viscous material by the NIR-prin¬ ciple or corresponding principles of analysis based on radiation, wherein a sample portion is supplied to a test chamber, a surface area of which sample portion is brought in position against a window of an analyzer head and is analysed by cooperation with said head, whereupon the chamber is emptied and the chamber and the window are cleaned to a required degree, after which the cham¬ ber is made to receive a new sample portion to be ana¬ lysed, characterized by the use of a test chamber, which is substantially stationary with respect to the analyzer head and has a much larger volume than the volume of material necessary for the execution of the analysis, and which chamber has a wall opening positioned imme¬ diately opposite the window of the analyzer head and spaced from both ends of the test chamber, a double layer window being used, of which the layer facing the test chamber is exchangeable and closely pressable against the outer side of the chamber around the wall opening; sample portions of very large volume in rela¬ tion to the volume of material, which in its position just inside the wall opening is necessary and sufficient for the execution of the analysis, are introduced suc¬ cessively into the test chamber, whereupon the analysis is carried out, and then the respective sample portion is discharged from the test chamber, after which, and before the introduction of the succeeding sample por¬ tion, said layer facing the test chamber of the double layer window is consistently exchanged with a new and clean window layer using an automatically operating exchange mechanism. 2. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that concerning the exchangeable window layer use is made of a separating film known per se of radiation transparent material, which film is controlled automa¬ tically to advance stepwise between each pair of suc¬ ceeding analysis operations. 3. A method according to claim 2, characterized in that such a stretchable separating film is used, that the film, while being clamped against the outer side of the edge area of the wall opening by means of a thrust ring and under the influence of a pressure effect from the sample material, can bulge outwards through the opening of the thrust ring for direct engagement with the window of the analyzer head. 4. A method according to claim 2, characterized in that a roll film is used, which after each step of ad¬ vance is clamped outside both sides of the wall opening and thereafter is stretched to produce a bulging in of the film through the wall opening. 5. A method according to claim 3, characterized in that the pressure effect of the sample materials, when this is a finely granulated material, is produced by movement of a piston through the test chamber towards the wall opening. 6. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that solid materials to be analyzed are adapted to the analysis by being carried through a fine cutting device with fast rotating knives, from which they flow down into the test chamber, in which the finely cut material is "measurement face homogenized" by means of a slowly rotating wing, the outer endportions of which produce a slight elevation of the material followed by falling down behind the wing, said wing being displaced axially while rotating for working up of the entire belt of material next to the wall opening and hereby preferably sweeps a portion of the separating film bulging inwards through the wall opening. 7. A method according to claim 6, characterized in that immediately before being introduced in the test chamber, each sample portion is subject to a "total homogenization" by being carried through a portion homo¬ genizer, in which the finely cut sample portion is agi¬ tated effectively, preferably by means of mixer wings rotating in a vertical plane. 8. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that in case of fluid or viscous material the sample material is supplied to the test chamber by movement of a piston closely fitting therein, and that the chamber is emptied by an oppositely directed, wall scraping movement of the piston, optionally across the inner side of a portion of the separating film bulging in through the wall opening. 9. A system for the execution of the method accord¬ ing to claim 1, characterized in that a substantially stationary test chamber is placed adjacent to a window in the analyzer head of an analyzer of the NIR-type or corresponding type, which test chamber has a very large volume in relation to the volume of material, which is necessary and sufficient for the execution of the ana¬ lysis, and a side opening immediately opposite the ana¬ lyzer head, said test chamber being adapted to receive and deliver successive material samples of relatively large volume, which by means of the analyzer head are subjected to an analysis during the temporary stay in the test chamber, and that the window of the analyzer head is a double window, the portion which facing the test chamber is consistently exchangeable between suc¬ cessive analysis operations, the system being provided with automatic control means for bringing about said exchanges. 10. A system according to claim 9, characterized in that in the wall of the test chamber one or more nozzles are provided for injection of cleaning air against areas, in which sample material may be retained at the discharge of sample material from the test chamber. 11. A system according to claim 9, characterized in that the test chamber is exactly cylindrical and con¬ tains a piston, which is displaceable for filling and emptying the chamber in case of viscous materials, the piston being adapted to effect a clean scraping of the cylindrical chamber wall at emptying. 12. A system according to claim 9, characterized in that the inlet for the sample portions to the test cham¬ ber is provided with partly a finely cutting device, partly a subsequent homogenizing device with mixer wings rotating about respective horizontal axes.

Inventors: JOHNSEN ERIK HUUS, JOHNSEN, ERIK, HUUS
Applicants: JESMA MATADOR AS, JESMA-MATADOR A/S
Application year: 1989
Main classification: G01N21
IPC codes: G01N21