Fractions collector

Abstract

The utility model relates to the technical field of chromatography, in particular to a fraction collector which comprises a collector body, and the collector body comprises a container containing area, a gas inlet and a gas outlet. A dispensing head located above the container placement area; the moving assembly is used for driving the distribution head to move in the horizontal direction; the collector comprises a plurality of collector bodies, and the plurality of collector bodies are stacked in the vertical direction, so that the plurality of container placing areas are formed in the vertical direction. Therefore, the containers can be placed in the container placing areas with different heights and do not need to be placed in the same horizontal plane, so that the occupied area of the fraction collector can be reduced when the same number of containers are accommodated.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of chromatography techniques, particularly fraction collectors. Background Art

[0002] Chromatography is a process for identifying and quantifying components in a solution. In this process, the components in the solution are separated from each other. The fractions of the components can be collected in a series of separate containers by means of a fraction collector.

[0003] Known fraction collectors include a dispensing head (sometimes also called a nozzle) for dispensing fractions into containers. The dispensing head can be arranged on a moving assembly (such as a movable arm). The moving assembly can be an X-Y arm for translation in two directions perpendicular to each other in a horizontal plane, or the moving assembly can be a rotating arm for rotation in a horizontal plane around a vertical axis. By the movement of the moving assembly, the dispensing head can be moved above containers at different positions.

[0004] In the case of large-capacity collection, the number of required containers is large, and these containers are arranged in a horizontal plane, so that the fraction collector requires a relatively large floor area. Summary of the Utility Model

[0005] The object of the present disclosure is to provide a fraction collector that does not have the above-mentioned defects.

[0006] To achieve this object, the fraction collector of the present disclosure includes:

[0007] A collector body, the collector body including: a container placement area; a dispensing head located above the container placement area; and a moving assembly for driving the dispensing head to move in a horizontal direction;

[0008] Wherein, there are multiple collector bodies, and the multiple collector bodies are stacked in a vertical direction so as to form multiple container placement areas in the vertical direction.

[0009] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effect of the present disclosure is that: multiple collector bodies are stacked in a vertical direction, thereby forming multiple container placement areas in the vertical direction. Containers can be placed in the container placement areas at different heights and do not need to be placed in the same horizontal plane. Therefore, the floor area of the fraction collector can be reduced when accommodating the same number of containers. Description of the Drawings

[0010] Figure 1 A perspective view of the fraction collector provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0011] Figure 2 A front view of the fraction collector provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0012] Figure 3 An exploded view of the fraction collector provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0013] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the second collector body provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0014] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the liquid pipeline of the fraction collector provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0015] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of the collection process of the fraction collector provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0016] Reference numerals:

[0017] 1. First collector body; 11. First container placement area; 12. First distribution head; 13. First moving assembly; 14. First bottom plate; 141. First groove; 15. First housing; 16. First waste liquid container; 17. First waste liquid outlet;

[0018] 2. Second collector body; 21. Second container placement area; 22. Second distribution head; 23. Second moving assembly; 24. Second bottom plate; 241. Second groove; 25. Second housing; 26. Second waste liquid container; 27. Second waste liquid outlet;

[0019] 3. Support member;

[0020] 4. First valve; 41. First input end; 42. First output end; 43. Fifth output end;

[0021] 5. Second valve; 41. Second input end; 42. Second output end; 43. Third output end;

[0022] 6. Third valve; 51. Third input end; 52. Fourth output end; 53. Sixth output end. Detailed implementation manners

[0023] The technical solutions of the present disclosure will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and through specific implementation manners. It can be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the present disclosure, rather than limiting the present disclosure. In addition, it should be noted that for the convenience of description, only parts related to the present disclosure are shown in the drawings, rather than all of them.

[0024] Some orientation words are defined in the present disclosure. Without contrary explanations, the orientation words such as "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "inner", and "outer" are used for convenience of understanding, and thus do not constitute a limitation to the protection scope of the present disclosure.

[0025] In this disclosure, unless otherwise clearly specified and defined, the first feature being "on" or "under" the second feature may include the direct contact between the first and second features, or may include the situation where the first and second features are not in direct contact but in contact through additional features therebetween. Moreover, the first feature being "above", "over" and "on top of" the second feature includes that the first feature is directly above and obliquely above the second feature, or simply means that the horizontal height of the first feature is higher than that of the second feature. The first feature being "under", "beneath" and "underneath" the second feature includes that the first feature is directly below and obliquely below the second feature, or simply means that the horizontal height of the first feature is lower than that of the second feature.

[0026] In the description of this disclosure, unless otherwise clearly specified and defined, the terms "connected", "joined" and "fixed" shall be understood in a broad sense. For example, it may be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or integrated; it may be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it may be directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, and may be the internal communication between two components or the interaction relationship between two components. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in this disclosure can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0027] Figure 1 The perspective view of the fraction collector provided by the embodiment of this disclosure is shown. Figure 2 The front view of the fraction collector provided by the embodiment of this disclosure is shown. As Figure 1 and Figure 2 shown, the fraction collector includes a first collector body 1 and a second collector body 2 stacked in the vertical direction. It should be noted that the number of collector bodies is only exemplary. In embodiments not shown, the number of collector bodies may be greater than two, such as three, four, etc. In other words, the fraction collector in this disclosure includes a plurality of collector bodies stacked in the vertical direction.

[0028] As Figure 1 and Figure 2 shown, the first collector body 1 includes a first container placement area 11, a first distribution head 12 located above the first container placement area 11, and a first moving assembly 13 for driving the first distribution head 12 to move in the horizontal direction.

[0029] Similarly, the second collector body 2 includes a second container placement area 21, a second distribution head 22 located above the second container placement area 21, and a second moving assembly 23 for driving the second distribution head 22 to move in the horizontal direction.

[0030] In other words, each collector body includes a container placement area, a distribution head located above the container placement area, and a moving assembly for driving the distribution head to move in the horizontal direction.

[0031] The container placement area is used to place containers, which can be test tubes, reagent bottles, etc. The containers can be directly placed in the container placement area or indirectly placed in the container placement area 13 through a bracket. The bracket is, for example, a deep well plate or other structure with grooves for accommodating the containers, and the bracket can be detachably placed in the container placement area.

[0032] The dispensing head is used to dispense liquid into the container. The liquid is, for example, the fraction evaporated from a chromatographic device. The chromatographic device is, for example, a protein purifier. The axis of the dispensing head usually extends in the vertical direction, and the outlet of the dispensing head usually faces downward so as to dispense the liquid from the opening at the top of the container into the container.

[0033] The moving component can be an X-Y moving arm to drive the dispensing head to move in two mutually perpendicular directions in the horizontal plane, which is advantageous when the containers are arranged in a matrix because the dispensing head can accurately move above each container. The moving component can also be a rotating arm to drive the dispensing head to rotate around the vertical axis in the horizontal plane. In addition, the moving component can also be a combination of an X-Y arm and a rotating arm. Whatever the moving component is, it belongs to the prior art, and the specific structure will not be elaborated in this embodiment.

[0034] According to the fraction collector of the present disclosure, a plurality of container placement areas can be formed in the vertical direction, so that the containers can be placed in the container placement areas at different heights. In the case of the same floor area, more containers can be placed.

[0035] In this embodiment, the plurality of collector bodies can be separated from each other. For example, the second collector body 2 can be separated upward from the top of the first collector body 1 to form two independent collector bodies.

[0036] As Figure 1 and Figure 2 shown, the first collector body 1 further includes a first bottom plate 14 that defines the first container placement area 11, and a first housing 15 provided on the first bottom plate 14. The upper surface of the first bottom plate 14 can, for example, be provided with a first groove 141, and the first groove 141 serves as the first container placement area 11. The size of the first groove 141 is adapted to the size of the bracket so that the bracket can be detachably mounted in the first groove 141. The first housing 15 is at least partially hollow to accommodate at least part of the first moving component 13 inside the first housing 15. The second bottom plate 24 of the second collector body 2 is detachably provided on the first housing 15 of the first collector body 1. For example, the second bottom plate 24 of the second collector body 2 is placed on the top of the first housing 15 of the first collector body 1, and the center of gravity of the second collector body 2 falls within the first housing 15 to ensure the stability of the second collector body 2.

[0037] Similar to the first collector body 1, the second collector body 2 may include a second bottom plate 24 and a second housing 25. The second bottom plate 24 may have a second groove 241, and the second groove 241 may define a second container placement area 21.

[0038] Figure 3 Fig. shows an exploded view of the fraction collector provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. As Figure 3 shown, one or more support members 3 may be provided between the first collector body 1 and the second collector body 2, and the bottom plate 24 of the second collector body 2 is supported by the support members 3. The support members 3 are, for example, support columns, support plates, etc.

[0039] The support member 3 may be detachable. For example, the upper end and the lower end of the support member 3 may be respectively connected to the bottom plate 14 of the first collector body 1 and the bottom plate 24 of the second collector body 2 through fasteners.

[0040] As Figure 3 shown, the collector body 1 may simultaneously have a support member 3 and a first housing 15. The first housing 15 may be provided on one side of the first bottom plate 14, and the support member 3 may be provided on the other side of the first bottom plate 14. The top of the support member 3 and the top of the first housing 15 may be flush with each other, so that the second bottom plate 24 of the second collector body 2 can be supported by the support member 3 and the first housing 15 simultaneously.

[0041] As Figure 3 shown, the first housing 15 of the first collector body 1 and the second housing 25 of the second collector body 2 may be located on different sides, so as to make the bottom of the fraction collector be in overall force balance.

[0042] Both the first collector body 1 and the second collector body 2 are provided with liquid pipelines to convey the liquid from the chromatographic equipment to their respective distribution heads. In this embodiment, the liquid pipelines of the first collector body 1 and the second collector body 2 are interconnected, and the on-off of certain positions in the liquid pipelines can be controlled by valves, so as to realize conveying the liquid to the distribution heads at corresponding positions.

[0043] As Figure 2 and Figure 4 shown, the fraction collector further includes a first valve 4, a second valve 5 and a third valve 6. As an example, the first valve 4 may be installed in the first collector body 1, and the second valve 5 and the third valve 6 may be installed in the second collector body 2. However, in an embodiment not shown, it may also be that the first valve 4 is installed in the second collector body 2, and the second valve 5 and the third valve 6 are installed in the first collector body 1. Generally speaking, the first valve 4 and the third valve 6 are located in different collector bodies 1, and the second valve 5 may be located in any one of the two adjacent collector bodies.

[0044] Figure 5 The figure shows a schematic diagram of a fraction collector provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. As Figure 5 shown, the first valve 4 has a first input end 41 and a first output end 42, and the first input end 41 and the first output end 42 are selectively communicated. The first input end 41 is used to input liquid. When the first input end 41 and the first output end 42 are communicated, the liquid input from the first input end 41 can flow out from the first output end 42.

[0045] Optionally, the first valve 4 may further include a fifth output end 43, and the fifth output end 43 is selectively communicated with the first input end 41. Usually, at the same moment, only one of the first output end 42 and the fifth output end 43 is communicated with the first input end 41. The fifth output end 43 is communicated with the waste liquid container 18 of the first collector body 1, so as to convey the unnecessary liquid to the first waste liquid container 16.

[0046] Optionally, in the standby state, the fifth output end 43 remains communicated with the first input end 41, and only in the collection state, the first output end 42 remains communicated with the first input end 41.

[0047] Optionally, the first valve 4 may be an electromagnetic valve, especially a two-position three-way electromagnetic valve.

[0048] As Figure 5 shown, the second valve 5 has a second input end 51, a second output end 52 and a third output end 53. The second input end 51 and the second output end 52, and the second input end 51 and the third output end 53 are respectively selectively communicated. The second input end 51 is communicated with the first output end 42 to receive the liquid output from the first output end 42. The second output end 52 is communicated with the first distribution head 12, so that when the second output end 52 is communicated with the second input end 51, the liquid can be conveyed to the first distribution head 12 to distribute the liquid in the container of the first collector body 1. The third output end 53 is connected to the third valve 6.

[0049] Optionally, in the collection state, the second output end 52 remains communicated with the second input end 51. For example, when the container in the first collector body 1 is filled with liquid, the third output end 53 needs to remain communicated with the second input end 51.

[0050] Optionally, the second valve 5 may be an electromagnetic valve, especially a two-position three-way electromagnetic valve.

[0051] As Figure 5As shown, the third valve 6 has a third input end 61 and a fourth output end 62, and there is a selectable communication between the third input end 61 and the fourth output end 62. The third input end 61 communicates with the third output end 53 to receive the liquid from the second valve 5. The fourth output end 62 communicates with the second distribution head 22. Thus, when the fourth output end 62 communicates with the third input end, the liquid can be distributed into the container of the second collector body 2.

[0052] Optionally, the first valve 4 may further include a sixth output end 63, and the sixth output end 63 has a selectable communication with the third input end 61. Usually, only one of the sixth output end 63 and the fourth output end 62 communicates with the third input end 61 at the same time. The sixth output end 63 communicates with the second waste liquid container 26 of the second collector body 2 to convey the unnecessary liquid into the second waste liquid container 26.

[0053] Optionally, in the standby state, the sixth output end 63 remains in communication with the third input end 61, and only when the second collector body 2 is in the collection state, the fourth output end 62 remains in communication with the third input end 61.

[0054] Optionally, the third valve 6 may be a solenoid valve, especially a two-position three-way solenoid valve.

[0055] As Figure 1 and Figure 2 shown, the first collector body 1 further includes a first waste liquid outlet 17, and the first waste liquid outlet 17 communicates with the first waste liquid container 16 to facilitate the discharge of the waste liquid in the first waste liquid container 16. The first waste liquid outlet 17 and the first waste liquid container 16 may be interconnected by a pipeline.

[0056] Similarly, the second collector body 2 further includes a second waste liquid outlet 27, and the second waste liquid outlet 27 communicates with the second waste liquid container 26 to facilitate the discharge of the waste liquid in the second waste liquid container 26. The second waste liquid outlet 27 and the second waste liquid container 26 may be interconnected by a pipeline.

[0057] Figure 6 Shows a schematic diagram of the collection process of the fraction collector provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure. As Figure 6 shown, in an exemplary embodiment, brackets are placed on both the first collector body 1 and the second collector body 2. The brackets have an array of holes, and the containers can be accommodated in the holes. In use, the first distribution head 12 of the first collector body 1 distributes the liquid into the containers. When the containers of the first collector body 1 are full, by controlling the second valve 5 and the third valve 6, the liquid is conveyed into the second distribution head 22 of the second collector body 2, and the distribution of the liquid is realized in the second collector body 2.

[0058] The foregoing is a description of the embodiments of the present disclosure. Through the above description of the disclosed embodiments, those skilled in the art can implement or use the present disclosure. Various modifications to these embodiments will be obvious to those skilled in the art. The general principles defined herein can be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the present disclosure will not be limited to the embodiments shown herein, but will be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A fraction collector, characterized in that: The fraction collector comprises: A collector body, the collector body comprising: a container placement area; a distribution head located above the container placement area; and a moving assembly driving the distribution head to move in a horizontal direction; There are multiple collector bodies, and the multiple collector bodies are stacked in a vertical direction to form multiple container placement areas in the vertical direction.

2. The fraction collector according to claim 1, characterized in that The plurality of collector bodies can be separated from each other.

3. The fraction collector according to claim 1, characterized in that The collector body also includes: A bottom plate defining an area for placing the container; and a housing disposed on the base plate, wherein the moving assembly is at least partially disposed within the housing; The bottom plate of the collector body located at the top can be detachably arranged on the shell of the collector body located at the bottom.

4. The fraction collector according to claim 1, characterized in that The collector body also includes: A bottom plate defining an area for placing the container; and One or more support members disposed on the base plate; The bottom plate of the collector body located above can be detachably arranged on the supporting component of the collector body located below.

5. The fraction collector according to claim 4, characterized in that The supporting member may be detachably disposed on the bottom plate.

6. The fraction collector according to claim 4, characterized in that The top of the support component is flush with the top of the shell, and the support component and the shell together provide support for the collector body located above.

7. The fraction collector according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that The fraction collector also includes: a first valve, the first valve having a first input end and a first output end, the first input end being used to input liquid; a second valve having a second input end, a second output end and a third output end, the second input end being in communication with the first output end, the second output end being in communication with a dispensing head of one of the collector bodies; and The third valve has a third input end and a fourth output end, wherein the third input end is communicated with the third output end, and the fourth output end is communicated with a distribution head of another collector body.

8. The fraction collector according to claim 7, characterized in that The collector body also includes a waste liquid container, The first valve further comprises a fifth output end, the fifth output end being communicated with a waste liquid container of one of the collector bodies, The third valve further includes a sixth output end, and the sixth output end is communicated with a waste liquid container of another collector body.

9. The fraction collector according to claim 8, characterized in that The first valve is located on one of the collector bodies, and the third valve is located on the other collector body.

10. The fraction collector according to claim 8, characterized in that The collector body also includes a waste liquid outlet, which is communicated with the waste liquid container.

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