US 6,012,488 A · Segmenting valve

Abstract

A valve that receives sample and solvent streams, and delivers slugs of different fluid samples separated by slugs of the solvent, to a detector. The valve includes a stator (140) having a central hole (40) and a circle of sample holes (51-54) and solvent holes (91-94). The valve also includes a rotor (150) with a first groove (162) that connects one of the sample or solvent holes to the central hole to flow to the detector. The first groove is wide enough and the space between adjacent supply holes is small enough, that as the first groove moves from one hole of the circle to the next, the groove becomes partially open to the next hole before it leaves the last hole to minimize the sudden increase in pressure along the flow to the detector. The stator face has a waste recess (144) and the rotor has one or more waste grooves (171-177) that extend between the first circle and the waste recess, so when a sample from a sample hole is not flowing as a slug toward the detector, the sample instead flows to the waste recess for disposal, to minimize the sudden increase in pressure at the sample holes.

Claims14

Dependent claims

A valve comprising:

a stator having a plurality of sample inlets for receiving pressured sample flows, said stator having a solvent inlet for receiving pressured solvent, and said stator having a valve outlet for delivering sample slugs that each comprise a quantity of a selected sample followed by a quantity of solvent;
said stator having an axis, and having a stator face with a center hole lying on said axis and connected to said valve outlet, and having a plurality of supply holes lying on a first circle that is concentric with said axis with said supply holes including a plurality of sample holes each connected to one of said sample inlets and a plurality of solvent holes each connected to said solvent inlet, with said sample holes circumferentially alternating with said solvent holes;
a rotor which is pivotable about said axis with respect to said stator, said rotor having a rotor face that lies facewise against said stator face, said rotor face having a first groove with an inlet end lying on said first circle and an outlet end lying at said axis to open to said center hole.

A valve having a plurality of sample inlets for receiving pressured sample flows, said valve having a solvent inlet for receiving pressured solvent, and said valve having an outlet for delivering sample slugs that each comprise a quantity of a selected sample followed by solvent, comprising:

a stator having an axis, said stator having a stator face with a center hole lying on said axis and connected to said outlet, and said stator having a plurality of supply holes lying on a first circle that is concentric with said axis with said supply holes including a plurality of sample holes each connected to one of said sample inlets and a plurality of solvent holes each connected to said solvent inlet, with said sample holes circumferentially alternating with said solvent holes;
a rotor which is pivotable about said axis with respect to said stator, said rotor having a rotor face that lies facewise against said stator face, said rotor face having a first groove with an inlet end lying on said first circle and an outlet end lying at said center hole;
said stator has a waste recess with portions lying on a second circle that is concentric with but of different diameter;
said rotor has at least one waste groove that includes an inlet end lying on said first circle and an outlet end lying on said second circle, with said waste groove being angularly spaced from said first groove.

1 more element

A method for delivering to a detector, fluid sample slugs from each of a plurality of different sample-holding conduits, with pairs of sample slugs separated by a fluid solvent slug from a solvent-holding conduit, comprising:

connecting each of said sample-holding conduits to a different one of a plurality of spaced sample holes that lie on a first circle in a face of a stator, where said first circle is centered on an axis;
connecting said solvent-holding conduit to each of a plurality of solvent holes that lie on said first circle, where said solvent holes lie between pairs of said sample holes;
turning about said axis, a rotor that has a rotor face lying facewise against said stator face where said rotor has a first groove in said rotor face and where said first groove has an inlet end lying on said first circle and said first groove has an outlet end coupled to said detector to flow fluid from one of sample holes into said first groove toward said detector and then to flow fluid from one of said solvent holes into said first groove toward said detector, and to then flow fluid from another sample hole into said first groove toward said detector, as said rotor turns, to thereby alternately flow a different sample slug and a solvent slug to said detector.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Segmenting valve

Life of this patent

Segmenting valve

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims14