the pulse height analyzer. I consulted with Mr. Masayoshi Kobayashi (former General Sales Manager), who was in charge of sales at the time. He intro-duced me to Mr. Tamio Hoshina (for-mer General Technical Manager), who agreed to work with me. I think we could have made the pulse height ana-lyzer ourselves at our laboratory, but we had a deadline to meet for the grant and needed to build it quickly. So we decid-ed to ask Rion for their assistance. e development period, I recall, was about six months.”It’s important to be able to measure ve particle sizes at the same time. e environment changes over time. If we have to switch between dierent chan-nels during the measurement, we can’t make accurate assessments of the environment.“We used this device to make mea-surements at various hospitals. The results of that research became the theme of my doctoral dissertation.”Consulted on the price of the KC-01As mentioned above, the KC-01 could take measurements of ve particle sizes simultaneously.“Simultaneous multi-particle size measurement using the KC-01 was most likely based on the technology for pulse height analyzers. I think they provided a ne-tuning function for the sensors to ensure the consistency of particle sizes. Some eort was required to convert the intensity of the scattered light into volt-ages because intensity is proportional to the sixth power of particle size.”Dr. Fujii stresses he was not directly involved in the development of the KC-01.“I believe Dr. Shigeru Nakae (ali-ated with the Electrotechnical Some proposals during his association with RionEven aer the commercial introduction of the KC-01, Dr. Fujii remained in con-tact with Rion. Currently, the Japan Air Cleaning Association holds study group meetings once a month on contamina-tion control. Before the study group was formed, technology exchange meetings had been held once a month in Prof. Hayakawa’s laboratory.“The study group focused on exchanging technologies related to air purication, especially those for clean-rooms. Mr. Hoshina from Rion was a regular participant. I’d begun research on remote measurement of particles and was studying methods for captur-ing scattered light as images using lasers. I remember talking to Rion then about the possibility of building a remote-controlled particle counter.”He had presented a proposal to Rion for the development of a technology for making in situ measurements without Laboratory at the time) (Note 2), who had been doing research on atmospheric particle counts, was deeply involved in the development of the sensor for the KC-01. When I became a research asso-ciate at my laboratory, before the com-mercial introduction of the KC-01, I was contacted by Mr. Kobayashi, the sales representative. He wanted me to take a look at a particle counter Rion had developed on its own.”e conversation, he says, focused on the price of the KC-01.“e particle counters available at that time from all other manufacturers, including those available in foreign countries, weren’t capable of measuring multiple particle sizes simultaneously. e KC-01 became the rst instrument capable of doing that, although it was somewhat lacking in terms of ow rate. I told Mr. Kobayashi the price shouldn’t be set too high because it had so many potential applications. I also mentioned that since the instrument would be used in many hospitals to monitor particu-lates and microbes, it should be priced within the reach of ordinary hospitals. At the time, it was easier to secure a budget if the price was below 1 million yen, so I remember telling Mr. Kobayashi the price should be below that.”And that’s how Dr. Fujii’s idea of combining Climet’s particle counter with Rion’s pulse height analyzer became an actual product. e KC-01’s simultaneous multi-particle size mea-surements, which introduced this tech-nology in a commercial product, dierentiated it from US-made particle analyzers. e KC-01 was widely dis-tributed. Drawing on the element tech-nology established by Dr. Fujii and sensor development by Dr. Nakae, Rion introduced a particle counter with a sig-nicant impact on society.The KC-01’s displayThe KC-01 used a bright gas discharge tube (Nixie tube) for its display, making it easy to read outdoors.Structure of the sensor portion of the white light OPC with side scattering methodThe structure of the side-scattered optical particle sensor (with white light source), also used in the KC-01. With the side scattering method, the optical axis of the irradiated light and the optical axis of the scattered light are positioned perpendicular to each other to prevent obstructive light from entering the sensor. OPC stands for optical particle counter.(Note 2) Shigeru Nakae (1934-2007): former professor at the Tokyo University of Science and former senior researcher at the Electrotechnical Laboratory. Spe-cializing in atmospheric environ-mental science, he is a leading researcher on airborne particu-lates. He drew on his expertise in this field to contribute to the development of Rion’s airborne particle counter.4
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