Supporting structures for preparative chromatography columns
AssigneeBio-Rad Laboratories, Inc.
InventorsDaniel M. Bailey, Philippe Vernot, Sebastien Lefebvre
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The plunger used as the upper enclosure in a preparative chromatography column is suspended by one or more rods that are supported by a frame through coupling connections on the frame that can fix the position of the rod(s) relative to the frame, while the position of the rod(s) is controlled by a motorized drive system that is suspended above the column. The drive system is mounted either to the column lid or to a functional plate positioned a short distance above the column lid. These constructions allow the plunger to be raised and lowered so that the column and its parts can be exchanged, all without the need for a hoist or crane.
Claims7
A column support for a preparative chromatography column, said column support comprising:
- an upper ring and a lower ring aligned along a common axis and joined to each other by peripheral spacing means to define a column space to receive a chromatography column between said rings;
- a plate detachably joinable to said upper ring in parallel relation therewith to define a gap between said plate and said upper ring;
- a rod movably joined to said plate along said axis, said rod passing through said plate and terminating in a plunger that extends into said column space when said plate and said upper ring are joined;
- drive means for moving said rod along said axis and thereby moving said plunger within said column space and between said column space and said gap when said plate and said upper ring are joined;
- and
- means for suspending said plate from a frame to allow a first upper and lower ring combination sized for a chromatography column of a first diameter that is joined to said plate through said upper ring to be detached from said plate, removed and replaced by a second upper and lower ring combination sized for a chromatography column of a second diameter different from the first, without changing said plate.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.