Air filtration device for small-aperture cone of triple quadrupole mass spectrometer

Abstract

The present invention provides an air filtering device applied to a pinhole cone of a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer, comprising an air curtain cone, a support frame, a filter and a shielding assembly, wherein the inner ring of the first end of the air curtain cone is sealed and connected to the periphery of a ceramic disk of the mass spectrometer, the inner ring of the ceramic disk is provided with a pinhole cone, and the pinhole cone is provided with an air vent, the inner ring of the second end of the air curtain cone is provided with one end of a shielding assembly, the periphery of the shielding assembly is fixedly connected to the periphery of the filter through the support frame, and the other end of the shielding assembly is connected to the air outlet end of the filter. The air filtering device applied to the pinhole cone of a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer described in the present invention seals the pinhole cone through the shielding assembly, and filters and intercepts particulate matter and moisture in the air through the filter, thereby reducing the density of polluted particles leaking from the pores to the air in the inner cavity of the mass spectrometer, effectively eliminating problems such as quadrupole contamination and multiplier aging, extending the service life of components, and reducing the maintenance cost of the instrument.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention belongs to the field of detection equipment, and in particular relates to an air filtering device applied to a small-aperture cone of a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer. Background Art

[0002] The triple quadrupole mass spectrometer is an important tool for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of substances in the current R&D departments of pharmaceutical companies, university laboratories and hospitals. A quadrupole is a module composed of four metal rods arranged in parallel or at a certain angle. A triple quadrupole mass spectrometer is composed of several such modules connected in series. According to the Matthew equation, by applying the corresponding DC voltage and RF voltage to the quadrupole, ions with a specific mass-to-charge ratio can be screened out, while ions with other mass-to-charge ratios will deviate from their orbits and collide with the quadrupole. The selected ions with a specific mass-to-charge ratio make a spiral forward motion in the quadrupole until they pass through four quadrupoles connected in series and hit the detector at the rear end to form a signal. Commonly used detectors include electron multipliers. During the experiment, the compound is ionized and enters the cavity, first entering Q0. The main function of Q0 is to guide the ions into Q1, and Q1 can screen the ions with a specific mass-to-charge ratio. The screened ions enter Q2, where they are broken into several daughter ions and then enter Q3. Q3 has the same function as Q1, which is to screen ions with a specific mass-to-charge ratio to pass through. The ions passing through Q3 enter the electron multiplier to obtain signals, so that the compounds can be qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed.

[0003] The triple quadrupole mass spectrometer is a high-end precision analytical instrument with complex components and high price. It requires high professional skills for operators and maintenance personnel. Even so, in the face of some emergencies or failures, for example, the nitrogen generator is used as the gas source to provide nebulizer gas (GS1), heating auxiliary gas (GS2), source exhaust, air curtain gas (Cur), and collision gas (CAD) for the normal operation of the mass spectrometer. When the nitrogen generator fails to operate or the gas path is damaged, the mass spectrometer will be paralyzed, and the high vacuum environment of the mass spectrometer cavity will force air to enter the instrument from the small hole cone and directly contact with the quadrupole, detector and other components. In this way, there is a significant problem: the untreated air has a high content of particulate matter and high humidity. Long-term contact will lead to quadrupole contamination, multiplier aging and other problems, which will seriously reduce the analytical performance (sensitivity, resolution) of the mass spectrometer and increase the cost of use. Summary of the invention

[0004] In view of this, the present invention aims to propose an air filtering device applied to the small-hole cone of a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer, so as to solve the problem that when the nitrogen generator fails to operate and the mass spectrometer is maintained, the high vacuum environment of the mass spectrometer cavity will force air to enter the instrument through the small-hole cone and contaminate the internal parts of the instrument.

[0005] To achieve the above object, the technical solution of the present invention is achieved as follows:

[0006] An air filtering device for a small-hole cone of a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer comprises an air curtain cone, a support frame, a filter and a shielding assembly, wherein the inner ring of the first end of the air curtain cone is sealed and connected to the periphery of a ceramic disk of the mass spectrometer, the inner ring of the ceramic disk is provided with a small-hole cone, and the small-hole cone is provided with air holes, the inner ring of the second end of the air curtain cone is provided with one end of the shielding assembly, the periphery of the shielding assembly is fixedly connected to the periphery of the filter through the support frame, and the other end of the shielding assembly is connected to the air outlet end of the filter.

[0007] Furthermore, an annular groove is provided in the inner circle of the first end of the air curtain cone, and a plurality of mounting holes are radially provided on the periphery of the ceramic disk. A top bead is provided in each mounting hole, and the periphery of each top bead is elastically connected to the mounting hole and slidably connected to the annular groove, and the first end of the air curtain cone is sealed and connected to one end of the ceramic disk through a first sealing ring.

[0008] Furthermore, the air curtain cone is a hollow truncated cone structure, the small hole cone is located inside the air curtain cone, and a gap is provided between the outer periphery of the small hole cone and the inner circle of the air curtain cone.

[0009] Furthermore, the shielding assembly includes a top sleeve, a transfer tube and a shielding plate, a vent hole is provided in the middle of the top sleeve, the first end of the top sleeve is sealed and connected to the second end of the air curtain cone, the second end of the top sleeve is located inside the air curtain cone, and the second end of the top sleeve is fixedly installed with the shielding plate, the inner ring of the top sleeve is fixedly connected to one end of the transfer tube, the other end of the transfer tube is fixedly connected to the air outlet end of the filter, the small hole cone is located on one side of the shielding plate, and the transfer tube is located on the other side of the shielding plate.

[0010] Furthermore, the material of the shielding plate is any one of nitrile film and hard rubber.

[0011] Furthermore, an outer edge of one side of the shielding plate is bonded to the second end of the top sleeve, and the other end of the shielding plate is in contact with and connected to one end of the small hole cone, and the shielding plate covers the air holes of the small hole cone.

[0012] Furthermore, a plurality of first through holes are radially arranged on the periphery of the top sleeve, and the air outlet end of the filter is connected to the air hole of the small hole cone through the inner ring of the top sleeve, the first through holes and the gap in sequence.

[0013] Furthermore, one end of the small hole cone is located in the top sleeve, and one end of the small hole cone is top-connected to one side of the baffle plate.

[0014] Compared with the prior art, the air filter device applied to the small-aperture cone of a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer according to the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0015] (1) The air filter device for the pinhole cone of a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer described in the present invention seals the pinhole cone by a shielding component. Due to the influence of the vacuum inside the mass spectrometer, the shielding component cannot completely seal the pores of the pinhole cone, and there will be a certain amount of leakage. The filter is used to filter and intercept particulate matter and moisture in the air, thereby reducing the density of polluted particles leaking from the pores into the air in the inner cavity of the mass spectrometer, preventing untreated air from entering the cavity and directly contacting the quadrupole, detector and other components, effectively eliminating the problems of quadrupole contamination and multiplier aging, extending the service life of the components, and reducing the maintenance cost of the instrument.

[0016] (2) The air filter device for the small-hole cone of a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer of the present invention is easy to use, has a simple structure, and is easy to disassemble and replace parts. The nitrile membrane used to seal the small-hole cone and the filter element for filtering air can be replaced at any time, which greatly improves the performance of the device. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] The accompanying drawings constituting a part of the present invention are used to provide a further understanding of the present invention. The exemplary embodiments of the present invention and their descriptions are used to explain the present invention and do not constitute an improper limitation of the present invention. In the accompanying drawings:

[0018] Figure 1 It is a structural schematic diagram of an air filtering device applied to a small-aperture cone of a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0019] Figure 2 A cross-sectional view of an air filter device applied to a small-aperture cone of a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0020] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the explosion structure of the air curtain cone according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the exploded structure of the shielding assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 5 It is a cross-sectional view of the shielding assembly described in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0023] Description of reference numerals:

[0024] 1-ceramic disc; 11-mounting hole; 12-top bead; 2-small hole cone; 3-support frame; 4-filter; 5-shielding assembly; 51-top sleeve; 52-transfer tube; 53-shielding plate; 6-air curtain cone; 61-first sealing ring; 62-ring groove. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] It should be noted that, in the absence of conflict, the embodiments of the present invention and the features in the embodiments may be combined with each other.

[0026] In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside" and the like indicate positions or positional relationships based on the positions or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as limiting the present invention. In addition, the terms "first", "second", and the like are only used for descriptive purposes, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Thus, features defined as "first", "second", and the like may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features. In the description of the present invention, unless otherwise specified, "multiple" means two or more.

[0027] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installed", "connected", and "connected" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection, or it can be indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, or it can be the internal communication of two components. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood by specific circumstances.

[0028] The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and in conjunction with embodiments.

[0029] like Figure 1-5 As shown, an air filtering device applied to a small-hole cone of a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer comprises an air curtain cone 6, a support frame 3, a filter 4 and a shielding component 5. Taking the mass spectrometer API4000 of the prior art as an example, when a nitrogen generator fails and the equipment needs to be repaired, the inner ring of the first end of the air curtain cone 6 is sealed and connected to the periphery of the ceramic disk 1 of the mass spectrometer, the inner ring of the ceramic disk 1 is provided with a small-hole cone 2, and the small-hole cone 2 is provided with an air vent, the inner ring of the second end of the air curtain cone 6 is installed with one end of the shielding component 5, the periphery of the shielding component 5 is fixedly connected to the periphery of the filter 4 through the support frame 3, and the shielding component 5 is The other end is connected to the air outlet end of the filter 4. When the nitrogen generator fails to operate or the gas path is damaged, the filtering device can seal the small hole cone 2 through the shielding component 5. Due to the influence of the vacuum inside the mass spectrometer, the shielding component 5 cannot completely seal the pores of the small hole cone 2, and there will be a certain amount of leakage. The filter 4 filters and intercepts particulate matter and moisture in the air, thereby reducing the density of polluted particles that leak from the pores to the air in the inner cavity of the mass spectrometer, and preventing untreated air from entering the cavity and directly contacting the quadrupole, detector and other components, thereby effectively eliminating the problems of quadrupole contamination and multiplier aging.

[0030] An annular groove 62 is provided on the inner circle of the first end of the air curtain cone 6, and a plurality of mounting holes 11 are radially provided on the periphery of the ceramic disk 1. A top bead 12 is provided in each mounting hole 11, and the periphery of each top bead 12 is elastically connected to the mounting hole 11 and slidably connected to the annular groove 62. The first end of the air curtain cone 6 is sealed and connected to one end of the ceramic disk 1 through a first sealing ring 61. The sliding engagement between the top bead 12 and the annular groove 62 facilitates the staff to disassemble and assemble the filter device to the ceramic disk 1 of the mass spectrometer, thereby reducing the hard collision of the filter device on the mass spectrometer during disassembly and assembly. The operation is portable and the reliability is high.

[0031] The shielding assembly 5 includes a top sleeve 51, a transfer tube 52 and a shielding plate 53. A vent hole is provided in the middle of the top sleeve 51. The first end of the top sleeve 51 is sealed and connected to the second end of the air curtain cone 6. The second end of the top sleeve 51 is located inside the air curtain cone 6, and the shielding plate 53 is fixedly installed on the second end of the top sleeve 51. The inner ring of the top sleeve 51 is fixedly connected to one end of the transfer tube 52, and the other end of the transfer tube 52 is fixedly connected to the air outlet end of the filter 4. The small hole cone 2 is located on one side of the shielding plate 53, and the transfer tube 52 is located on the other side of the shielding plate 53.

[0032] The material of the baffle plate 53 can be any one of a hard support plate or a soft nitrile membrane and hard rubber. When the soft nitrile membrane and rubber are selected, the outer edge of one side of the baffle plate 53 is bonded to the second end of the top sleeve 51, and the other end of the baffle plate 53 is in contact with and connected to one end of the small hole cone 2, and the baffle plate 53 covers the pores of the small hole cone 2. Taking the selection of soft nitrile membrane as an example, the nitrile membrane is fixed to one end through an adhesive process, and the nitrile membrane contacts the top of the small hole cone 2 to cover the pores of the small hole cone 2, thereby achieving the purpose of shielding and sealing the pores, thereby improving the vacuum degree of the mass spectrometer cavity and reducing the amount of air entering. During implementation, the transfer tube 52 is selected from a PU tube, and the PU tube sealing ensures that the connection between the filter 4 and the top sleeve 51 is tight and reliable, effectively preventing unfiltered air from entering the device from the gap between the components.

[0033] The air curtain cone 6 is a hollow truncated cone structure, the small hole cone 2 is located inside the air curtain cone 6, and a gap is provided between the outer periphery of the small hole cone 2 and the inner ring of the air curtain cone 6. The outer periphery of the top sleeve 51 is provided with a plurality of first through holes in the radial direction, and the air outlet end of the filter 4 is connected to the air hole of the small hole cone 2 through the inner ring of the top sleeve 51, the first through holes and the gaps in sequence. In this embodiment, the filter 4 is an industrial-grade filter 4 of the prior art, including a filter housing and a filter element. Among them, the filter element is a composite filter material structure such as glass fiber reinforced polyamide, with a low filtration pressure difference, which can effectively intercept particulate matter in the air and filter out moisture in the air. The filtered air passes through the PU tube and the first through hole to be connected to the gap, and enters the cavity from the gap between the nitrile membrane and the small hole cone 2. Since the structure of the small hole cone 2 is relatively fragile, this design greatly reduces the amount of air entering the cavity from the small hole cone 2, and the air intake is also treated air, which prevents untreated air from entering the cavity and directly contacting the quadrupole, detector and other components, effectively eliminating the problems of quadrupole contamination, multiplier aging, etc., extending the service life of the components and reducing the maintenance cost of the instrument.

[0034] During implementation, in order to reduce the amount of air leakage between the baffle plate 53 and the small hole cone 2, one end of the small hole cone 2 can be set in the top sleeve 51 according to the usage situation, and one end of the small hole cone 2 can be connected to one side of the baffle plate 53. At this time, the baffle plate 53 uses a soft nitrile film, and the nitrile film is deformed when pushed by the axis of the small hole cone 2. The nitrile film always has a restoring elastic stress, so that the baffle plate 53 fits the small hole cone 2 and reduces the amount of air leakage.

[0035] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present invention should be included in the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An air filter device for a small-aperture cone of a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer, characterized in that: The invention comprises an air curtain cone (6), a support frame (3), a filter (4) and a shielding assembly (5); the inner ring of the first end of the air curtain cone (6) is sealed and connected to the periphery of a ceramic disk (1) of a mass spectrometer; a small hole cone (2) is arranged on the inner ring of the ceramic disk (1), and the small hole cone (2) is provided with an air hole; one end of the shielding assembly (5) is installed on the inner ring of the second end of the air curtain cone (6); the periphery of the shielding assembly (5) is fixedly connected to the periphery of the filter (4) through the support frame (3); and the other end of the shielding assembly (5) is connected to the air outlet end of the filter (4); An annular groove (62) is provided on the inner ring of the first end of the air curtain cone (6); a plurality of mounting holes (11) are provided on the outer periphery of the ceramic disk (1) in a radial direction; a top bead (12) is provided in each mounting hole (11); and the outer periphery of each top bead (12) is elastically connected to the mounting hole (11) and slidably connected to the annular groove (62); and the first end of the air curtain cone (6) is sealed and connected to one end of the ceramic disk (1) via a first sealing ring (61); The air curtain cone (6) is a hollow truncated cone structure, the small hole cone (2) is located inside the air curtain cone (6), and a gap is provided between the outer periphery of the small hole cone (2) and the inner circle of the air curtain cone (6).

2. The air filter device for a small-aperture cone of a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer according to claim 1, characterized in that: The shielding assembly (5) comprises a top sleeve (51), a transfer tube (52) and a shielding plate (53); a vent hole is provided in the middle of the top sleeve (51); a first end of the top sleeve (51) is sealedly connected to a second end of an air curtain cone (6); the second end of the top sleeve (51) is located inside the air curtain cone (6); the shielding plate (53) is fixedly mounted on the second end of the top sleeve (51); an inner ring of the top sleeve (51) is fixedly connected to one end of the transfer tube (52); the other end of the transfer tube (52) is fixedly connected to an air outlet end of a filter (4); the small hole cone (2) is located on one side of the shielding plate (53); and the transfer tube (52) is located on the other side of the shielding plate (53).

3. The air filter device for a small-aperture cone of a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer according to claim 2, characterized in that: The material of the shielding plate (53) is any one of nitrile film and hard rubber.

4. The air filter device for a small-aperture cone of a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer according to claim 3, characterized in that: One outer edge of the shielding plate (53) is bonded to the second end of the top sleeve (51), the other end of the shielding plate (53) is in contact with and connected to one end of the small hole cone (2), and the shielding plate (53) covers the air hole of the small hole cone (2).

5. The air filter device for a small-aperture cone of a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer according to claim 4, characterized in that: A plurality of first through holes are radially arranged on the periphery of the top sleeve (51), and the air outlet end of the filter (4) is connected to the air hole of the small hole cone (2) through the inner ring of the top sleeve (51), the first through holes and the gap in sequence.

6. The air filter device for a small-aperture cone of a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer according to claim 4, characterized in that: One end of the small hole cone (2) is located in the top sleeve (51), and one end of the small hole cone (2) is connected to one side of the shielding plate (53).

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