Shimadzu Corporation

Other

Iwate University

Shimadzu Co.

Motoo Kinoshita

Junichi Kita

Hiroshi Nakano

Hisamitsu Akamaru

Kunihiko Okubo

Keiso Kawamoto

Masayuki Okada

Kunihiko Ohkubo

Jun-ichi Kita

Ryutaro Oda

Takanori Mochizuki

Mitsuyoshi Yoshii

Masao Miyazaki

An odor evaluation device, including: a gas chromatograph including a separation column configured to temporally separate a plurality of components contained in an odoriferous analysis-target gas; a timing detector configured to detect, for each of the plurality of components, a timing at which the component exits from the separation column; a gas collector configured to collect, into a sample bag, a gas containing all or some of the components exiting from the separation column when the analysis-target gas is passed through the separation column; a timing setter configured to allow a setting of a timing at which a component contained in the gas to be collected into the sample bag exits from the separation column; and a gas introducer configured to introduce a dilution gas into a passage connecting the separation column and the sample bag.

Odor evaluation device, odor evaluation method and device for preparing gas for odor evaluation

An olfactory examination apparatus includes: an odor generating unit having an odorant generating mechanism that stores an odorant and generates an odorous gas having a defined concentration or an defined intensity and an odorless gas generating mechanism; a gas supply unit configured to alternately supply an odorous gas or an odorless gas having a defined concentration or a defined intensity of the odor from the odorant generating mechanism and the odorless gas generating mechanism to an examinee through an odor presentation mechanism placed on a nostril portion of the examinee, and a reply unit that allows the examinee to express an answer when smelling the odorant in order to examine an olfactory function.

Olfaction test device

An odor discriminating apparatus includes: a measurement chamber including multiple pieces of odor sensors; a gas introducer for introducing a sample gas into the measurement chamber; concentration adjuster for diluting or condensing the sample gas before introducing the sample gas into the measurement chamber; a vector length computation unit for plotting, in a multidimensional space formed by axes corresponding to detection signals generated by each piece of odor sensors, a measurement point representing a measurement result of the sample gas and for computing a vector length of an odor vector directed from an origin of the multidimensional space to the measurement point; and a controller for feedback-controlling the concentration adjuster so that the vector length computed by the vector length computation unit reaches a predetermined target value.

Odor discriminating apparatus

An isotope gas measuring apparatus for measuring concentrations of components in a sample gas includes two sample cells through which the sample gas passes; a control cell filled with a gas having no absorbance at a wavelength of infrared light to be measured; a light source irradiating infrared light to the sample cells and the control cell; an optical coupler for coupling light permeated from the sample cells and the control cell; a first interference filter disposed between one sample cell and the optical coupler; a second interference filter disposed between the other sample cell and the optical coupler; and an optical detector for detecting infrared light from the optical coupler. The apparatus can minimize an influence of drift, and have a simple structure.

Isotope gas measuring apparatus

An odor measuring device has a collector tube containing an adsorbent which adsorbs sample components with odor at normal temperatures and desorbs them when heated. Flow routes for a sample gas containing sample components to be detected and an inactive gas are connected through valves to this collector tube. Initially, a sample gas containing sample components with odor is introduced into the collector tube at normal temperature such that the sample components to be detected are adsorbed to the adsorbent. Thereafter, the valves are switched such that the inactive gas is introduced into the collector tube while its temperature is increased by a heater, causing the sample components to be desorbed into the inactive gas and to be transported into an odor sensor. If odor sensors requiring oxygen for detection are used, an oxygen-containing gas such as air is mixed into the inactive gas after the latter has passed through the collector tube such that deterioration of the adsorbent by oxidation can be prevented.

Devices and methods for measuring odor

A device for measurement of an odor component in a sample gas prepares many target gases to be actually measured by a plurality of sensors with different response characteristics, each containing the odor component at a different concentration. Detection signals from these sensors are analyzed by a method of multivariate analysis such as the principal component analysis, and the odor component is characterized on the basis of such an analysis. For preparing the target gases, the sample gas containing the odor component is passed through a collector tube containing an adsorbent which adsorbs this odor component at normal and subnormal temperature and desorbs it when heated. After a specified amount of the odor component is adsorbed to the adsorbent, the tube is heated and an inert gas serving as carrier gas is passed through such that the desorbed odor component is carried to the detectors as a target gas. The concentration of the odor component in such a target gas is controlled by the manner of flow of the carrier gas. In order to obtain a dependable result from such an analysis, response characteristics of each of the sensors may be analyzed by examining the relationship between the outputted detection signal and the concentration of the odor component in the target gas. Only those of the sensors which show a monotonically varying or linear response characteristics may be considered trustworthy and only the detection signals from such trustworthy detectors may be used for the analysis.

Growing community of inventors

Kyoto, Japan

Motoo Kinoshita