VISCOSITY AND ELASTICITY MEASURING APPARATUS AND METHOD THEREFOR

• Main Authors: SAKAI KEIJI, HIRANO TAICHI, SHIMOKAWA YUJI
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; Japanese
• Published: 12.03.2015
• Subjects: INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIRCHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES; MEASURING; PHYSICS; TESTING

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a small and simple viscosity and elasticity measuring apparatus which needs a small amount of sample in comparison to a conventional one, and uses an inexpensive and disposable container for storing a material to be detected, and to provide a method therefor.SOLUTION: A viscosity and elasticity measuring apparatus includes: a rotor of which part or the entirety is constituted by a material having conductivity and of which part or the entirety is constituted by a diamagnetic material; a container in which a sample whose viscosity is detected is put and the rotor is arranged in a state of being in contact with the sample; a buoyancy application magnet which is arranged on the lower part of the container and applies force toward the vertical upper side to the rotor with the diamagnetism of the rotor; a dynamic magnetic field application magnet which applies a temporarily-varying magnetic field to the rotor; a rotation control part which applies a rotation magnetic field to the rotor by driving the dynamic magnetic field application magnet, inducing the induction current in the rotor, and rotates the rotor with the Lorentz interaction between the induction current and the magnetic field applied to the rotor; a rotation detection part which detects the rotation number of the rotor; and a viscosity detection part which detects viscosity and elasticity of the sample brought into contact with the rotor from the rotation number. 【課題】試料の量が従来例に比較して少なく、検出対象の物質を入れる容器を安価なものとして使い捨てを可能とした小型で簡易な粘性・弾性測定装置及びその方法を提供する。【解決手段】本発明の粘性・弾性測定装置は、一部或いは全体が導電性を有する材料によって、かつ一部或いは全体が反磁性の材料で構成された回転子と、粘性を検出する試料が入れられ、試料に接触した状態で回転子が配置された容器と、容器の下部に配置され、回転子の有する反磁性で回転子に鉛直上方への力を及ぼす浮力印加磁石と、回転子に時間変動する磁場を印加する動磁場印加磁石と、動磁場印加磁石を駆動して回転子に回転磁場を加え、回転子内に誘導電流を誘起し、誘導電流と回転子に印加される磁場とのローレンツ相互作用で、回転子を回転させる回転制御部と、回転子の回転数を検出する回転検出部と、回転数から、回転子に接する試料の粘性・弾性を検出する粘性検出部とを有する。【選択図】図１