Patent
Gas burst injection valve
| العنوان: | Gas burst injection valve |
|---|---|
| Patent Number: | 8,944,102 |
| تاريخ النشر: | February 03, 2015 |
| Appl. No: | 13/414210 |
| Application Filed: | March 07, 2012 |
| مستخلص: | Valve assemblies are described that provide bursts of gas between fluids to furnish separation between the fluids. A valve assembly includes a first valve member having ports configured to connect to an external loop, an output, and a vent, and ports configured to receive a first fluid, a second fluid, and a pressurized gas. The valve assembly further includes a second valve member coupled adjacent the first valve member having channels configured to connect the external loop to the second fluid for charging the external loop with the second fluid, and to connect the external loop to the output for supplying the second fluid from the external loop to the output. The second valve member also has one or more channels for receiving a burst of the pressurized gas via a port of the first valve member and supplying the pressurized gas to the output and/or to the external loop. |
| Inventors: | Wiederin, Daniel R. (Omaha, NE, US); Saetveit, Nathan (Omaha, NE, US) |
| Assignees: | Elemental Scientific, Inc. (Omaha, NE, US) |
| Claim: | 1. A valve assembly comprising: a first valve member having a first plurality of ports configured to connect to an external loop, an output, and a vent and a second plurality of ports configured to receive a first fluid, a second fluid, and a pressurized gas; and a second valve member coupled adjacent the first valve member, the second valve member having a plurality of channels configured to connect the external loop to the second fluid in a first orientation for charging the external loop with the second fluid and to connect the external loop to the output in a second orientation for supplying the second fluid from the external loop to the output, and a channel configured to connect to the pressurized gas in at least one of the first orientation or the second orientation for receiving a portion of the pressurized gas and to connect to at least one of the external loop or the output in a third orientation between the first orientation and the second orientation for supplying the portion of the pressurized gas to the at least one of the external loop or the output. |
| Claim: | 2. The valve assembly as recited in claim 1 , wherein the first valve member comprises a stator and the second valve member comprises a rotor coupled adjacent the stator. |
| Claim: | 3. The valve assembly as recited in claim 1 , wherein the external loop comprises a sample loop, the output comprises a nebulizer, the first fluid comprises a carrier fluid, and the second fluid comprises a sample fluid. |
| Claim: | 4. The valve assembly as recited in claim 1 , wherein the first valve member comprises a channel leg configured to connect to the channel of the second valve member in the at least one of the first orientation or the second orientation to connect the channel to the pressurized gas. |
| Claim: | 5. The valve assembly as recited in claim 1 , wherein the second valve member further comprises a second channel configured to connect to the pressurized gas in at least one of the first orientation or the second orientation for receiving a second portion of the pressurized gas and to connect to the other of the at least one of the external loop or the output in the third orientation for supplying the second portion of the pressurized gas to the other of the at least one of the external loop or the output. |
| Claim: | 6. The valve assembly as recited in claim 5 , wherein the first valve member comprises a three-legged channel configured to connect to the channel of the second valve member and the second channel of the second valve member in the at least one of the first orientation or the second orientation to connect the channel of the second valve member and the second channel of the second valve member to the pressurized gas. |
| Claim: | 7. The valve assembly as recited in claim 6 , wherein each leg of the three-legged channel extends radially adjacent the second valve member. |
| Claim: | 8. The valve assembly as recited in claim 1 , wherein the first valve member further comprises a port connected to one of the first plurality of ports connected to the output to furnish online dilution of at least one of the first fluid or the second fluid. |
| Claim: | 9. A valve assembly comprising: a first valve member having a first port configured to connect to an external loop, a second port configured to receive a first fluid, a third port configured to connect to an output, a fourth port configured to connect to the external loop, a fifth port configured to receive a second fluid, a sixth port configured to connect to a vent, and a seventh port configured to receive a pressurized gas; and a second valve member coupled adjacent the first valve member, the second valve member having a first channel configured to connect the second port to the third port in a first orientation for charging the external loop with the second fluid and to connect the first port to the second port in a second orientation for supplying the second fluid from the external loop to the output, a second channel configured to connect the fourth port to the fifth port in the first orientation and to connect the third port to the fourth port in the second orientation, a third channel configured to connect the sixth port to the first port in the first orientation and to connect the fifth port to the sixth port in the second orientation, and a fourth channel configured to connect to the seventh port in at least one of the first orientation or the second orientation for receiving a portion of the pressurized gas and to connect to at least one of the first port or the third port in a third orientation between the first orientation and the second orientation for supplying the portion of the pressurized gas to at least one of the external loop or the output. |
| Claim: | 10. The valve assembly as recited in claim 9 , wherein the first valve member comprises a stator and the second valve member comprises a rotor coupled adjacent the stator. |
| Claim: | 11. The valve assembly as recited in claim 9 , wherein the external loop comprises a sample loop, the output comprises a nebulizer, the first fluid comprises a carrier fluid, and the second fluid comprises a sample fluid. |
| Claim: | 12. The valve assembly as recited in claim 9 , wherein the first valve member comprises a channel leg configured to connect to the fourth channel of the second valve member in the at least one of the first orientation or the second orientation to connect the fourth channel to the seventh port of the first valve member. |
| Claim: | 13. The valve assembly as recited in claim 9 , wherein the second valve member further comprises a fifth channel configured to connect to the seventh port in at least one of the first orientation or the second orientation for receiving a second portion of the pressurized gas and to connect to the other of the at least one of the first port or the third port in the third orientation for supplying the second portion of the pressurized gas to the other of the at least one of the external loop or the output. |
| Claim: | 14. The valve assembly as recited in claim 13 , wherein the first valve member comprises a three-legged channel configured to connect to the fourth channel of the second valve member and the fifth channel of the second valve member in the at least one of the first orientation or the second orientation to connect the fourth channel of the second valve member and the fifth channel of the second valve member to the seventh port of the first valve member. |
| Claim: | 15. The valve assembly as recited in claim 14 , wherein each leg of the three-legged channel extends radially adjacent the second valve member. |
| Claim: | 16. The valve assembly as recited in claim 9 , wherein the first valve member further comprises an eighth port connected to the third port to furnish online dilution of at least one of the first fluid or the second fluid. |
| Claim: | 17. A method comprising: receiving a carrier fluid, a sample fluid, and a pressurized gas at a valve assembly; connecting a sample loop to the sample fluid via the valve assembly in a first orientation for charging the sample loop with the sample fluid; connecting the sample loop to a nebulizer via the valve assembly in a second orientation for supplying the sample fluid from the sample loop to the nebulizer; connecting a channel of the valve assembly to the pressurized gas in at least one of the first orientation or the second orientation for receiving a portion of the pressurized gas; and connecting the channel of the valve assembly to at least one of the sample loop or the nebulizer in a third orientation between the first orientation and the second orientation for supplying the portion of the pressurized gas to the at least one of the sample loop or the nebulizer. |
| Claim: | 18. The method as recited in claim 17 , further comprising: connecting a second channel of the valve assembly to the pressurized gas in at least one of the first orientation or the second orientation for receiving a second portion of the pressurized gas; and connecting the second channel of the valve assembly to the other of the at least one of the sample loop or the nebulizer in the third orientation for supplying the second portion of the pressurized gas to the other of the at least one of the sample loop or the nebulizer. |
| Claim: | 19. The method as recited in claim 18 , wherein the valve assembly comprises a three-legged channel configured to connect to the channel of the valve assembly and the second channel of the valve assembly in the at least one of the first orientation or the second orientation to connect the channel of the valve assembly and the second channel of the valve assembly to the pressurized gas. |
| Claim: | 20. The method as recited in claim 17 , further comprising receiving a diluent at a diluent port of the valve assembly for supplying the diluent to the nebulizer to furnish online dilution of at least one of the carrier fluid or the sample fluid. |
| Current U.S. Class: | 13762/546 |
| Patent References Cited: | 4729876 March 1988 Hennessy et al. 4926702 May 1990 Stephens et al. 5255568 October 1993 del Valle et al. 6382035 May 2002 Nichols 6672336 January 2004 Nichols 6874354 April 2005 Cueni et al. 8286663 October 2012 Kallback et al. 8322197 December 2012 Koster et al. |
| Primary Examiner: | Fox, John |
| Attorney, Agent or Firm: | Advent, LLP |
| رقم الانضمام: | edspgr.08944102 |
| قاعدة البيانات: | USPTO Patent Grants |
| الوصف غير متاح. |