JPH04204376A - liquid chromatograph - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a liquid chromatograph equipped with various devices such as a pump, a detector, and a column opener, as well as a control section that centrally controls these devices. Prior Art) A liquid chromatograph called a modular liquid chromatograph is shown in FIG.

It includes various devices such as liquid pumps 4a and 4b, an autoinjector 6° column open 8, and a detector 10, and a control unit (personal computer or dedicated system controller) 2 that centrally controls these devices. The operator determines which of the various devices connected to the control section 2 is to be used by inputting from a DIP switch or a keyboard. During initialization after the power is turned on, the control section 2 automatically determines which devices are connected and determines the system configuration.

There are various system configurations for liquid chromatographs, and there are multiple types of liquid pumps and detectors, and the control value range and control content also differ depending on the type of liquid pump and detector. .

In addition, it is an analysis system that centrally controls each device such as a liquid chromatograph's liquid pump and detector using a control unit.For example, taking a liquid pump as an example, when operating a liquid pump for the purpose of maintenance or adjustment. It is more convenient to operate from the operation panel of the liquid pump than to operate remotely from the control unit. For this reason, for example, some liquid pumps are designed to be able to switch between remote (a mode in which the pump is remotely operated from a control unit) and local (a mode in which the liquid pump is operated from an operation panel) as an operation mode. When this switching is set to the remote side, the liquid pump operates according to the signal from the control unit, but when set to the local side, the liquid feeding pump ignores the signal sent from the control unit and operates according to the input from the liquid pump operation panel. become.

Not only the liquid pump but also some detectors and other devices are provided with switching means in the same way.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) In a liquid chromatograph, the system configuration is determined by detecting the connection status of each device set by the operator only at the initialization stage after the control unit is powered on. There is a restriction that the device must be powered on before the control section, or at the latest at the same time as the control section. Another problem is that once the system is up and running, it is difficult to change it. For example, after starting up the system, if you try to start up other devices, such as other liquid pumps, it is necessary to reconfigure the system or start up the control unit again. This is because it is difficult to turn on and off the individual devices.

In addition, if the equipment connected to the control unit includes a device that can be switched between remote and local operating modes, for example, if the liquid pump is switched to the local mode for maintenance or adjustment, If you start analysis using a signal from the control unit without noticing this, the liquid pump will not operate under the desired flow rate and other conditions set in the control unit, but will operate under the conditions set on the liquid pump operation panel. This causes the problem that correct analysis results cannot be obtained.

An object of the present invention is to provide a liquid chromatograph whose system configuration can be easily set and changed even after system startup.

In addition, the present invention provides that when a device such as a liquid pump that can be switched to operate or not according to a signal from the control section is connected, the device is set to a state in which it does not operate according to the signal from the control section. The object of the present invention is to provide a liquid chromatograph that can prevent mistakes such as performing measurements without changing the measurements.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In the present invention, the control unit that centrally controls each device such as the pump, detector, column open, etc. automatically and constantly detects the connection status of each device, regardless of operator settings. A connection detection means is provided to detect the connection.

In the present invention, when a device such as a liquid feeding pump is included, which is equipped with a switching means for determining whether or not to accept a signal from the control section, the present invention also provides a state notification means for sending information about the setting state of the switching means to the control section. In addition, the control section is provided with a display means for displaying when the switching means is set not to accept the signal from the control section.

(Function) When the control unit is equipped with a connection detection means, the control unit constantly detects which devices, such as liquid pumps, are connected, for example, at regular intervals, and configures the system according to the detection results. If there is information to be sent, such as setting conditions, to the connected device, that information is sent to control the operation.

When a device such as a liquid pump is equipped with a means of switching whether or not to accept signals from the control section,
When the switching means is set to not accept signals from the control section, this is displayed on the control section, so the operator can check the display and control the state of the device using the signals from the control section. After switching to the state, you can move on to measurement work.

(Embodiment) Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing the connection state detection and system configuration determination portion of an embodiment that has a function of constantly detecting the connection state of devices, and Fig. 3 shows the control unit and system configuration part of the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the liquid feeding pump portion of the stand, and a flowchart showing an example of the operation of this embodiment.

In FIG. 2, a connection detection means 2 automatically detects the connection status of each device at all times without depending on operator settings;
14 is a timer for determining that the device is in a disconnected state when the connected state is not detected for a certain period of time;
Reference numeral 16 denotes a system configuration determining means that determines the system configuration based on the detected connection state of the device. Signals and data are exchanged between the connection detection means 12 and each device via a transmission line.

In FIG. 3, the control unit 18 includes a CPU 20, a ROM 22, which stores a program for controlling the operation of the liquid feeding pump and other devices, and a program for detecting the connection state of each device in the present invention, and a ROM 22 for devices such as the liquid feeding pump. A RAM 24 in which conditions for controlling the control are stored, a display device 26, a keyboard 28, a transmission controller 30, and the like are connected via path lines. Transmission controller 3
A line switching unit 32 is connected to the control unit 18 for constantly detecting the connection status of a plurality of devices connected to the control unit 18 at regular intervals. They are connected by a transmission line 50. The transmission line 50 is, for example, R3-232C or GP.
It is a digital transmission line like IB.

In the embodiment shown in FIG.
Processing as shown in FIG. 4 is performed on each device at regular intervals via the.

In FIG. 4, when a certain device is connected to a control unit via a transmission line, information about what type of device it is is sent back from the device in response to a connection command sent from the control unit. As a result, the device is added to the system configuration (steps S1 to SS).

When it is detected that a certain device is connected to the control section, the control section usually sends parameters or requests actual measured values of each device. If there is a response from that device, it is in a connected state (steps 86 to s
9) For example, if the device does not respond due to power off or trouble, the control section will determine that the device is in a disconnected state due to a timeout after a certain period of time, and the control section will Remove the device from the system configuration (steps s6-88, SIO
, 5ll).

The control unit may have a function that enables operation and display corresponding to a certain device only when it detects that the device is in a connected state.

In addition, if a connected device has a function that determines that it has become disconnected when there is no response for a certain period of time, if the response of each device is made sufficiently fast, the time required to determine that it has timed out can be reduced. Can be shortened. Therefore, when most of the channels (transmission line 50) are empty, even if the process of determining the disconnection status is performed for each channel in this way, the execution time is short and the operation of the entire liquid chromatograph system is reduced. It has little effect on the rate.

Conditions for controlling the operation of liquid pumps and other devices are set in the control section, but the conditions can be set in advance even if the device for which the conditions are to be set is not in an air condition. Good too.

An embodiment in which a device such as a liquid pump is provided with a function of switching whether or not to accept a signal from a control section will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 7.

Figure 5 schematically shows the part that displays on the control unit whether or not the device is in a remote control mode using signals from the control unit, and the part that sends the conditions set in the control unit to the device. FIG. 2 is a block diagram shown in FIG.

The display means 52 of the control section displays when the connected device is in a mode in which it does not operate according to a signal from the control section. 54 is a setting means in which conditions for controlling the apparatus are set.

On the device side, such as a liquid pump, there is a switch that allows the device to switch between remote mode, which is a mode in which the device is controlled by signals from the control unit, and local mode, which is a mode in which the device operates according to conditions set on the device side. Means 62 are provided. The setting state of the switching means 62 is sent to the control side by the state notification means 64 at regular intervals, for example, every few seconds. Further, only when there is a change in the state of the switching means 62, the information may be sent to the control unit by the state notification means 64.

The device side is also provided with a setting means 60 for storing conditions set from the operation panel of the device, and an input section 58 for inputting control information sent from the setting means 54 of the control section. .

The control section 56 of the device controls the operation of the device according to the signal sent from the control section via the input section 58 when the switching means 62 is set to the remote side, and when the switching means 62 is set to the local side. When there is a setting means 60
The operation of the device is controlled according to the conditions set in the device.

When the display means 52 of the control unit receives information from a certain device indicating that the mode of that device is set to the local side, the display means 52 of the control unit displays the contents according to the program.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a liquid pump as an example of a control section and a device corresponding to the embodiment of FIG. 5.

The control section has CPtJ70. ROM72, RAM
74, a keyboard 78, and a display 76 are provided,
A transmission interface 80 is provided for exchanging signals and data with each device.

In the liquid pump, CPU82, ROM84, RAM
In addition to 86, there is also an operation panel 88 for controlling the operation of the liquid feeding pump, switching the operation mode between remote and local sides, and setting conditions, and a motor swing for parking the liquid feeding pump 92. A transmission interface 94 is provided for exchanging signals and data between the circuit 90 and the control section.

The switching means 62 and other parts on the apparatus side in FIG. 5 are realized by the CPU 82 and other parts on the apparatus side in FIG. 6.

FIG. 7 shows the procedure for detecting whether the switching state between remote mode and local mode is in a device such as a liquid pump and displaying it on the control section.

The CPU of the device reads the settings of the switching means, and if it is on the remote side, it accepts the signal from the control unit and controls the operation, but when it is set on the local side, it sends that information to the control side. The control section displays a message to that effect on the display.

In this way, even if the operator tries to start analysis using the control unit after, for example, switching the liquid pump to the local side and performing adjustment work, a message will appear indicating that the liquid pump is not set to the remote side. Therefore, the operator is prompted to return the liquid pump to the remote side.

(Effects of the Invention) The present invention automatically and dynamically detects the connection state of the liquid pump, etc. connected to the control unit.
There is no need for the operator to set the system configuration and there is no chance of error. Even if you turn off and turn on the power to a device such as a liquid pump for maintenance or because it is no longer in use, the connection status is automatically inspected by the control unit each time. Maintenance and cutting operations can be performed freely.

Since the connection state is constantly detected, there is no need to worry about the order in which the power is turned on when starting up the system.

Furthermore, in the present invention, it is possible to constantly check on the control unit whether or not the device connected to the control unit can be controlled, which prevents the failure of performing analysis while the device is still set to the local side. I can do it.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing a modular liquid chromatograph, Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing functions in one embodiment, Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing one embodiment, and Fig. 4 is the operation of the same embodiment. 5 is a block diagram showing the functions of another embodiment, FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the same embodiment, and FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing the operation of the same embodiment. 12...Connection detection means, 14...Timer, 16...System configuration determination means, 18.
...Control unit, 34...Liquid pump, 52...Display means, 62...Remote/local switching means, 64...Status notification means . Patent applicant Shimadzu Corporation

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) In a liquid chromatograph equipped with various devices such as a pump, a detector, and a column opener, and a control unit that centrally controls these devices, the control unit can control the connection status of each device regardless of operator settings. A liquid chromatograph characterized by being equipped with a connection detection means that automatically detects the connection at all times. (2) In a liquid chromatograph equipped with various devices such as pumps, detectors, and column openers, and a control section that centrally controls these devices, whether or not the devices controlled by the control section accept signals from the control section. and a state notification means for sending information on the setting state of the switching means to a control section, and the control section includes a state notification means for transmitting information about the setting state of the switching means to a control section, and the control section has a state notification section in which the setting of the switching means does not accept a signal from the control section. A liquid chromatograph characterized by being provided with a display means for displaying when a setting has been made.