A multi-gas-path automatic gas supply device for chromatographic and spectroscopic instruments

Abstract

The embodiment of the present invention discloses a multi-gas-path automatic gas supply device for chromatographic and spectroscopic instruments, which relates to the field of detection equipment and includes a gas path replacement device, which includes a housing, a first baffle, a second baffle and a pneumatic sealing valve plate, the pneumatic sealing valve plate includes a rotating plate and a sealing plate, the edge of the sealing plate is provided with a sealing ring, the lower edge of the rotating plate is hinged to the bottom of the housing through a pin, and the upper edge of the rotating plate is hinged to the lower edge of the sealing plate through a pin; the side wall of the housing is provided with a first air inlet and a second air inlet respectively connected to the cavity. The multi-gas-path automatic gas supply device for chromatographic and spectroscopic instruments of the embodiment of the present invention solves the problem that a single gas path cannot meet complex experimental requirements and causes an increase in detection costs; at the same time, it can realize continuous gas supply and automatic replacement of the gas path without affecting the gas flow through pneumatic control, thereby reducing the manpower and time costs of manually replacing the gas source and the gas path having to be shut down.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The embodiments of the present invention relate to the field of detection equipment, and in particular to a multi-gas-path automatic gas supply device for chromatographic and spectroscopic instruments. Background Art

[0002] The spectral detection equipment inductive plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS) is used for the detection of inorganic elements. It uses high-purity argon (Ar) as the reaction gas and carrier gas. The amount used during detection is large, and the gas consumption is 15L / min~20L / min. Laboratories generally use Dewar tanks or cylinder argon as the gas source of the instrument. If a Dewar tank is used for gas supply, although the Dewar tank has the advantage of large gas storage capacity and can be used continuously for about a week, its price is high, and when not in use, the liquid argon in the tank evaporates and releases pressure due to the heat absorption of the tank body, and it will be exhausted within 1 month. In actual detection work, for small batches of samples, using Dewar tanks for gas supply will cause waste. If a cylinder argon is used for gas supply, although there is no gas loss when not in use, a bottle of gas can only be used for 3 to 4 hours. For large batches of samples, the use of cylinder argon needs to be frequently replaced, causing the instrument to shut down, the use efficiency to decrease, and the gas cost to increase. Laboratories usually use a single gas supply. No matter which method is used for gas supply, the gas cost will be high. There is also no solution for how to replace gas cylinders while maintaining an uninterrupted gas supply. Summary of the invention

[0003] To this end, an embodiment of the present invention provides a multi-gas-path automatic gas supply device for chromatographic and spectroscopic instruments to solve the problem that the existing gas supply method cannot reasonably utilize the gas source, resulting in high gas cost.

[0004] In order to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, an embodiment of the present invention provides a multi-gas-path automatic gas supply device for a chromatographic and spectroscopic instrument, wherein the multi-gas-path automatic gas supply device for a chromatographic and spectroscopic instrument comprises a gas path replacement device, wherein the gas path replacement device comprises a shell having a cavity, a first baffle, a second baffle and a pneumatic sealing valve plate arranged in the middle of the cavity, wherein the pneumatic sealing valve plate comprises a rotating plate and a sealing plate, wherein a sealing ring is arranged at the edge of the sealing plate, wherein the lower edge of the rotating plate is hinged to the bottom of the shell through a pin shaft, and the upper edge of the rotating plate is hinged to the lower edge of the sealing plate through a pin shaft; A first air inlet and a second air inlet are provided which are respectively connected to the cavity, the first air inlet and the second air inlet are respectively located on both sides of the pneumatic sealing valve plate, the first air inlet is provided with a first air valve, the second air inlet is provided with a second air valve, and an air supply interface which is connected to the cavity is provided on the top of the shell; the first baffle and the second baffle are respectively symmetrically arranged in the cavity, the first baffle and the second baffle are respectively located on both sides of the pneumatic sealing valve plate, and are sealed with the side wall and the bottom of the shell; the sealing plate is used for sealingly cooperating with the first baffle or the second baffle respectively.

[0005] Furthermore, the multi-gas-path automatic gas supply device for chromatography and spectroscopy instruments also includes a first pressure regulating valve and a second pressure regulating valve, wherein the gas outlet of the first pressure regulating valve is connected to the first gas valve via a pipeline, and the gas outlet of the second pressure regulating valve is connected to the second gas valve via a pipeline.

[0006] Furthermore, the multi-gas-path automatic gas supply device for chromatography and spectroscopy instruments also includes an alarm device, which includes a three-way connector and an alarm, and the three interfaces of the three-way connector are respectively connected to the gas supply interface, the alarm, and the detection equipment through pipelines.

[0007] Furthermore, the detection equipment is an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer, a gas chromatograph, a gas chromatography-mass spectrometer, a gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometer or a high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometer.

[0008] Furthermore, the alarm is a gas pressure alarm or a combustible gas alarm.

[0009] Furthermore, the top of the shell is also provided with an upper exhaust port connected to the cavity, and the bottom of the shell is provided with a lower exhaust port connected to the cavity. The upper exhaust port and the lower exhaust port are respectively provided with a sealing plug or a safety valve.

[0010] Furthermore, the shell is in the shape of a hemisphere or a semi-cylinder.

[0011] Furthermore, the first blocking piece and the second blocking piece are both in a C-shape or a concave shape.

[0012] The embodiments of the present invention have the following advantages: the multi-gas-path automatic gas supply device for chromatographic and spectroscopic instruments of the embodiments of the present invention is suitable for providing a multi-gas-path and selectable gas-path gas supply device for various chromatographic and spectroscopic analysis instruments such as inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS), gas chromatograph (GC), gas chromatography and mass spectrometer (GC-MS), and is suitable for other devices that use argon, helium, hydrogen, nitrogen, and air as carrier gas or reaction gas; it solves the problem that a single gas path cannot meet complex experimental requirements and causes an increase in detection costs; at the same time, pneumatic control can be used to achieve continuous gas supply and automatic replacement of the gas path without affecting the gas flow, thereby reducing the manpower and time costs of manually replacing the gas source and the need to shut down the gas path. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] In order to more clearly illustrate the implementation methods of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for the implementation methods or the description of the prior art. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only exemplary, and for ordinary technicians in this field, other implementation drawings can be derived from the provided drawings without creative work.

[0014] The structures, proportions, sizes, etc. illustrated in this specification are only used to match the contents disclosed in the specification so as to facilitate understanding and reading by persons familiar with the technology. They are not used to limit the conditions under which the present invention can be implemented, and therefore have no substantial technical significance. Any structural modification, change in proportion or adjustment of size shall still fall within the scope of the technical contents disclosed in the present invention without affecting the effects and purposes that can be achieved by the present invention.

[0015] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of a multi-gas-path automatic gas supply device for a chromatographic and spectroscopic instrument provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0016] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the structure of a gas path replacement device provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0017] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the structure of the gas path replacement device when the sealing plate and the second baffle are in sealing cooperation with each other provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0018] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the structure of an alarm device provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0019] Figure 5 A schematic structural diagram of a multi-gas-path automatic gas supply device for a chromatographic and spectroscopic instrument when a sealing plate and a first baffle are in sealing cooperation with each other provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0020] Figure 6 A schematic structural diagram of a multi-gas-path automatic gas supply device for chromatographic and spectroscopic instruments when a sealing plate and a second baffle are in sealing cooperation with each other provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 7 A schematic structural diagram of a gas path replacement device provided in a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0022] Explanation of the reference numerals in the accompanying drawings: 100, gas circuit replacement device; 200, first pressure regulating valve; 300, second pressure regulating valve; 400, alarm device; 500, first gas source; 600, second gas source; 700, detection equipment; 10, first baffle; 11, second baffle; 12, pneumatic sealing valve plate; 13, shell; 41, alarm; 42, three-way connector; 121, rotating plate; 122, sealing plate; 123, first pin shaft; 124, second pin shaft; 131, first air inlet; 132, second air inlet; 133, first air valve; 134, second air valve; 135, air supply interface; 136, upper exhaust port; 137, lower exhaust port. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] The following is a description of the implementation of the present invention by specific embodiments. People familiar with the art can easily understand other advantages and effects of the present invention from the contents disclosed in this specification. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0024] like Figure 1As shown, the multi-gas-path automatic gas supply device for chromatography and spectroscopy instruments includes a gas path replacement device 100, a first pressure regulating valve 200 and a second pressure regulating valve 300. The gas path replacement device 100 includes a shell 13, a first baffle 10, a second baffle 11 and a pneumatic sealing valve plate 12. The shell 13 is hemispherical, and the interior of the shell 13 has a cavity, and the cavity is also hemispherical. The side wall of the shell 13 is provided with a first air inlet 131 and a second air inlet 132 respectively connected to the cavity. The first air inlet 131 and the second air inlet 132 are symmetrically arranged and are respectively located on both sides of the pneumatic sealing valve plate 12. The first air inlet 131 is provided with a first air valve 133, and the first air valve 133 is used to control the opening and closing of the first air inlet 131. The second air inlet 132 is provided with a second air valve 134, and the second air valve 134 is used to control the opening and closing of the second air inlet 132. The initial states of the first air valve 133 and the second air valve 134 are both closed. The top of the shell 13 is provided with a gas supply interface 135 and an upper exhaust port 136 connected to the cavity, and the bottom of the shell 13 is provided with a lower exhaust port 137 connected to the cavity. In this embodiment, the upper exhaust port 136 and the lower exhaust port 137 are respectively provided with sealing plugs. The upper exhaust port 136 and the lower exhaust port 137 are used to release pressure when the pressure in the cavity is too high and to change the type of gas for exhaust. The gas supply interface 135 is used to output gas to the detection device 700. The detection device 700 is an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer, a gas chromatograph, a gas chromatograph and a mass spectrometer, a gas chromatograph-tandem mass spectrometer, a high performance liquid chromatograph-tandem mass spectrometer, etc., which need to use gas as a carrier gas or a reaction gas chromatographic or spectroscopic analysis instrument.

[0025] like Figure 2 As shown, the pneumatic sealing valve plate 12 includes a rotating plate 121 and a sealing plate 122. The sealing plate 122 is semicircular, and the radius of the sealing plate 122 is slightly smaller than the radius of the cavity. A sealing ring is provided on the edge of the sealing plate 122. The lower edge of the rotating plate 121 is hinged to the bottom of the housing 13 through a first pin 123, and the upper edge of the rotating plate 121 is hinged to the lower edge of the sealing plate 122 through a second pin 124. The first baffle 10 and the second baffle 11 are both C-shaped. The first baffle 10 and the second baffle 11 are symmetrically arranged in the cavity. The angles between the first baffle 10 and the second baffle 11 and the bottom of the shell 13 are both 45°. The first baffle 10 and the second baffle 11 are respectively located on both sides of the pneumatic sealing valve plate 12. The first baffle 10 and the second baffle 11 are at the same distance from the pneumatic sealing valve plate 12. The first baffle 10 and the second baffle 11 are respectively welded to the side wall and the bottom of the shell 13. Of course, an integral molding design can also be adopted. The sealing plate 122 is used to seal with the first baffle 10 or the second baffle 11, so that the first air inlet 131 is isolated from the cavity or the second air inlet 132 is isolated from the cavity.

[0026] The first pressure regulating valve 200 and the second pressure regulating valve 300 are used to adjust the gas pressure to meet the instrument usage conditions. The air outlet of the first pressure regulating valve 200 is connected to the first gas valve 133 through a pipeline, and the air inlet of the first pressure regulating valve 200 is connected to the first gas source 500 through a pipeline. The first gas source 500, the first pressure regulating valve 200, the first gas valve 133 and the pipeline constitute a first gas supply line. The air outlet of the second pressure regulating valve 300 is connected to the second gas valve 134 through a pipeline, and the air inlet of the second pressure regulating valve 300 is connected to the second gas source 600 through a pipeline. The second gas source 600, the second pressure regulating valve 300, the second gas valve 134 and the pipeline constitute a second gas supply line.

[0027] Furthermore, if Figure 1 and 4 As shown, the multi-gas-path automatic gas supply device for chromatography and spectroscopy instruments also includes an alarm device 400, which includes a three-way connector 42 and an alarm 41. The three interfaces of the three-way connector 42 are respectively connected to the gas supply interface 135, the alarm 41, and the detection equipment 700 through pipelines. In this embodiment, the alarm 41 is a gas pressure alarm.

[0028] Working principle: Figure 6 As shown, when the same gas is used for gas supply, the upper exhaust port 136 and the lower exhaust port 137 are first sealed with a sealing plug. The carrier gas of the inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS) is argon (Ar). A cylinder argon is used as the first gas source 500. The cylinder argon is generally 40L, the pressure is 13Mpa, and the storage argon is about 5200L (under normal pressure). A liquid argon tank is used as the second gas source 600. The mass of the liquid argon tank is generally 231kg. The density of gaseous argon under normal pressure is 1.78kg / m 3 , the amount of stored argon is about 129800L (under normal pressure). When the number of test samples is small, the test time is several hours, and the cylinder argon can meet the demand, and the use of liquid argon tanks will be a waste. Therefore, the gas supply of the first gas supply line is selected. First, the first pressure regulating valve is adjusted from 200 to 700Kpa. This pressure value is slightly lower than the upper limit of the use pressure of the detection equipment 700, and the first gas valve 133 is opened; at this time, because the air pressure on the left side of the pneumatic sealing valve plate 12 is greater than the air pressure on the right side, the pneumatic sealing valve plate 12 is biased to the right side of the cavity under the action of air pressure, and the rotating plate 121 rotates 90° to the right around the first pin 123 from the neutral vertical position to coincide with the bottom of the shell 13. At the same time, the sealing plate 122 rotates 45° to the right from the neutral vertical position to abut against the second baffle 11, and is sealed with the second baffle 11. At this time, the first gas supply line is opened, the second gas supply line is closed, and the detection equipment 700 uses the cylinder argon of the first gas supply line for gas supply.

[0029] like Figure 3 , 5As shown, when the number of test samples is large, the first gas source 500 cannot meet the needs of instrument use. When the argon gas in the cylinder of the first gas supply line is almost exhausted, it is necessary to automatically change to the first gas supply line for gas supply. At this time, the specific method is to adjust the second pressure regulating valve 300 to 600Kpa of the second gas supply line when the first gas supply line is supplying gas. This pressure is in the middle position of the gas pressure use range of the detection equipment 700, and is lower than the pressure of the first pressure regulating valve 200 of 700Kpa. The alarm threshold of the gas pressure alarm is adjusted to 550Kpa, which is close to the lower limit of the gas pressure of the detection equipment 700 and lower than the pressure of the second pressure regulating valve 300 of 600Kpa. The second gas valve 134 is opened. Since the pressure on the left side of the pneumatic sealing valve plate 12 is higher than the pressure on the right side, the sealing plate 122 continues to seal with the second baffle 11 under the action of air pressure. As the gas is continuously consumed until it is almost exhausted, the gas in the gas source of the second gas supply line is insufficient to maintain the detection. The gas pressure of the equipment 700 is 700Kpa, and the pressure on the left side of the pneumatic sealing valve plate 12 gradually decreases. When it decreases to 600Kpa, which is equal to the pressure on the right side, the sealing plate 122 is pushed open by the gas and separated from the second baffle 11, and the second gas supply line is automatically opened. As the gas pressure on the left side continues to drop, the pneumatic sealing valve plate 12 deviates to the left side of the cavity under the action of the gas pressure, and the rotating plate 121 rotates 90° to the left around the first pin shaft 123 from the neutral vertical position to coincide with the bottom of the shell 13. At the same time, the sealing plate 122 rotates 45° to the left from the neutral vertical position to abut against the first baffle 10, and is sealed with the first baffle 10. At this time, the first gas supply line is closed, and the second gas supply line is in an open state. The detection equipment 700 starts to use the liquid argon tank of the second gas supply line to supply gas. In order to prevent the detection device 700 from being shut down and damaged due to exhaustion of gas, the gas pressure alarm will sound when the gas pressure drops to a value close to the lower limit of the gas pressure of the detection device 700, 550Kpa, so that the operator can immediately shut down the detection device 700 or replace the gas to prevent damage to the detection device 700. The internal space of the cavity can store a certain amount of gas, which ensures continuous and uninterrupted gas supply and does not affect the gas flow during the automatic replacement of the gas path, and also ensures that there is sufficient time to shut down the detection device 700 when an alarm sounds.

[0030] Further, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, Figure 7As shown, the upper exhaust port 136 and the lower exhaust port 137 use safety valves instead of sealing plugs. For a gas chromatograph (GC), different types of gases, nitrogen (N2) and helium (He), can be used as carrier gases. When the first gas supply line and the second gas supply line provide different types of gases, a safety valve with a venting pressure greater than the first pressure regulating valve 200 and the second pressure regulating valve 300 is installed. When replacing the gas circuit, first close the first gas valve 133 or the second gas valve 134 of the gas circuit to be replaced. After the automatic gas circuit replacement is completed, adjust the gas pressure of the first pressure regulating valve 200 or the second pressure regulating valve 300 to a pressure higher than the safety valve, and the safety valve automatically opens to release gas. When the gas in the replaced gas circuit is emptied, adjust the gas pressure of the first pressure regulating valve 200 or the second pressure regulating valve 300 again to be lower than the safety valve, and complete the gas circuit replacement. If nitrogen replaces helium, because the density of nitrogen is greater than that of helium, nitrogen sinks in the cavity, and the safety valve of the upper exhaust port 136 is used to discharge helium from the upper part of the shell 13. If helium replaces nitrogen, the opposite is true. This not only completes the automatic gas line replacement, but also ensures that the gas purity is not affected.

[0031] Furthermore, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the alarm 41 is a combustible gas alarm. The gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer (GC-MS) can use helium (He) and hydrogen (H2) as carrier gases. When hydrogen is used as a carrier gas, the combustible gas has a certain degree of danger, so a combustible gas alarm is used instead of a pressure gas alarm to warn of potential leakage hazards at the joints of the device and instruments, thereby improving the safety of the gas supply device.

[0032] Furthermore, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the shell 13 is a semi-cylindrical shape, and the cavity inside the shell 13 is also a semi-cylindrical shape. In this embodiment, the rotating plate 121 and the sealing plate 122 are both rectangular plate structures, the first baffle 10 and the second baffle 11 are both concave plate structures, and the other components of the air supply device are the same as the above embodiment.

[0033] Although the present invention has been described in detail above by general description and specific embodiments, it is obvious to those skilled in the art that some modifications or improvements can be made to the present invention. Therefore, these modifications or improvements made without departing from the spirit of the present invention all belong to the scope of protection claimed by the present invention.

Claims

1. A multi-gas-path automatic gas supply device for chromatographic and spectroscopic instruments, characterized in that: The multi-gas-path automatic gas supply device of the chromatography and spectroscopy instrument comprises a gas-path replacement device, which comprises a shell having a cavity, a first baffle, a second baffle and a pneumatic sealing valve plate arranged in the middle of the cavity, the pneumatic sealing valve plate comprises a rotating plate and a sealing plate, a sealing ring is arranged on the edge of the sealing plate, the lower edge of the rotating plate is hinged to the bottom of the shell through a pin shaft, and the upper edge of the rotating plate is hinged to the lower edge of the sealing plate through a pin shaft; the side wall of the shell is provided with a first air inlet and a second air inlet respectively connected to the cavity. Two air inlets, the first air inlet and the second air inlet are respectively located on both sides of the pneumatic sealing valve plate, the first air inlet is provided with a first air valve, the second air inlet is provided with a second air valve, and the top of the shell is provided with an air supply interface connected with the cavity; the first baffle and the second baffle are respectively symmetrically arranged in the cavity, the first baffle and the second baffle are respectively located on both sides of the pneumatic sealing valve plate, and are sealed and connected with the side wall and the bottom of the shell; the sealing plate is used to seal with the first baffle or the second baffle respectively; The multi-gas-path automatic gas supply device for chromatography and spectroscopy instruments further comprises a first pressure regulating valve and a second pressure regulating valve, wherein the gas outlet of the first pressure regulating valve is connected to the first gas valve through a pipeline, and the gas outlet of the second pressure regulating valve is connected to the second gas valve through a pipeline; The top of the shell is also provided with an upper exhaust port communicating with the cavity, and the bottom of the shell is provided with a lower exhaust port communicating with the cavity, and the upper exhaust port and the lower exhaust port are respectively provided with a sealing plug or a safety valve; The shell is in the shape of a hemisphere or a semi-cylinder.

2. The multi-gas-path automatic gas supply device for chromatography and spectroscopy instruments according to claim 1, characterized in that: The multi-gas-path automatic gas supply device for chromatography and spectroscopy instruments also includes an alarm device, which includes a three-way connector and an alarm. The three interfaces of the three-way connector are respectively connected to the gas supply interface, the alarm, and the detection equipment through pipelines.

3. The multi-gas-path automatic gas supply device for chromatography and spectroscopy instruments according to claim 2, characterized in that: The detection equipment is an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer, a gas chromatograph, a gas chromatography-mass spectrometer, a gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometer or a high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometer.

4. The multi-gas-path automatic gas supply device for chromatography and spectroscopy instruments according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that: The alarm is a gas pressure alarm or a combustible gas alarm.

5. The multi-gas-path automatic gas supply device for chromatography and spectroscopy instruments according to claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that: The first blocking piece and the second blocking piece are both in a C-shape or a concave shape.

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