Assembled signal smoothing device

Abstract

The invention discloses an assembled signal smoothing device which comprises an air inlet connector and an air outlet connector, an air inlet channel is arranged on the air inlet connector, an air inlet pipeline is arranged at the air inlet end of the air inlet channel, an air outlet channel is arranged on the air outlet connector, and an air outlet pipeline is arranged at the air outlet end of the air outlet channel. A plurality of smooth mechanisms are arranged between the air inlet connector and the air outlet connector, a smooth channel is arranged in each smooth mechanism, the smooth channels of the smooth mechanisms are sequentially connected in a sealed mode, the air inlet channel and the smooth channels are connected in a sealed mode, and the smooth channels and the air outlet channel are connected in a sealed mode. The Hg removal effect is considered, and meanwhile, a laser ablation signal is better smoothed; through a detachable structure, the laser smoothing effect is ensured while cleaning is facilitated; the signal smoothing effect is adjusted by changing the number of the smoothing mechanisms, and compatibility of different laser ablation systems is achieved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of solid sample analysis, and particularly relates to an assembled signal smoother. Background Art

[0002] The basic principle of laser ablation analysis technology is to focus the laser energy on the surface of the analysis sample through a laser ablation system. Due to the high energy of the laser, in-situ ablation of the material is generated. The aerosol particles generated by the ablation are transported to an analytical instrument such as a mass spectrometer through an aerosol transport pipeline.

[0003] Since the laser acts on the sample surface in a pulsed and discontinuous manner, the signal obtained by the mass spectrometer is composed of several pulse intervals, rather than an absolutely continuous signal. The pulsed signal shows inconsistent signal fluctuations on the mass spectrometer. When the laser ablation frequency is small, the pulse interval is larger, and the signal fluctuation of the mass spectrometer is larger. The mass spectrometry signal with large fluctuations is not conducive to quantitative analysis, and it is impossible to obtain good mass spectrometry analysis accuracy. In some specific analysis scenarios, only a low laser frequency (1 - 3 Hz) can be used, and traditional direct injection cannot obtain accurate analysis results. Therefore, an on-line smoothing device is required to smooth the pulsed signal. Currently, the existing laser ablation smoothing devices can smooth the laser ablation signal, but there are still the following problems: 1. The aerosol generated by ablation is usually purged to the mass spectrometer by an inert gas as a carrier gas. These inert gases usually contain trace amounts of Hg, and 204 Hg will 204 cause spectral line interference of isobars to Pb, and it is impossible to obtain an accurate Pb isotope ratio. Most of the existing laser ablation smoothing devices cannot effectively remove Hg, and most of the technologies that can remove Hg cannot effectively smooth the pulsed signal, and it is impossible to achieve both; 2. The existing laser smoothing technology has poor effects, with a large amount of sample residue, which will lead to cross-contamination of the sample, loss of part of the sample will cause loss of the mass spectrometry signal, and it is not conducive to trace quantitative analysis; 3. The existing laser ablation smoothing device cannot be effectively cleaned, thus affecting the subsequent laser smoothing effect; 4. For different laser ablation systems, the gas flow rates are also different. Therefore, the existing signal smoothing devices cannot effectively be compatible with different laser ablation systems and cannot customize the adjustment of the smoothing degree; 5. The existing laser smoothing technology has low aerosol transmission efficiency, manifested as slow signal response, obvious signal tailing after ablation, and additional cleaning time is required to purge the pipeline to analyze the signal to return to the baseline level. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In view of the above deficiencies of the prior art, the present invention provides an assembled signal smoother, which can achieve better smoothing of the laser ablation signal while taking into account the Hg removal effect; through a detachable structure, it is convenient for cleaning while ensuring the laser smoothing effect; by changing the number of replaceable smoothing mechanisms to adjust the gas flow rate, it is compatible with different laser ablation systems.

[0005] To achieve the above invention purpose, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is as follows: Provide an assembled signal smoother, including an air inlet joint and an air outlet joint. An air inlet channel is provided on the air inlet joint, and an air inlet pipe is provided at the air inlet end of the air inlet channel. An air outlet channel is provided on the air outlet joint, and an air outlet pipe is provided at the air outlet end of the air outlet channel; several smoothing mechanisms are provided between the air inlet joint and the air outlet joint. A smoothing channel is provided in each smoothing mechanism, and the smoothing channels of several smoothing mechanisms are sequentially sealed and connected. The air inlet channel is sealed and connected to the smoothing channel, and the smoothing channel is sealed and connected to the air outlet channel.

[0006] Further, the smoothing mechanism includes a smoothing joint, a flow dividing cone, and a rectifying cone; the smoothing joint is sequentially provided with a communicating transmission pipe, a primary mixing chamber, and a limiting chamber from bottom to top, and the flow dividing cone and the rectifying cone are sequentially installed in the primary mixing chamber; the flow dividing cone includes a downwardly convex flow dividing cone head and a solid baffle fixedly connected to the flow dividing cone head. Several hollow slots are provided on the solid baffle, and the hollow slots communicate the secondary mixing chamber above the flow dividing cone head with the primary mixing chamber; the rectifying cone includes a downwardly convex rectifying cone head, an outlet pipe is provided on the rectifying cone head, and a guiding chamber matching the hollow slots is provided on the side of the rectifying cone head; the transmission pipe, the primary mixing chamber, the hollow slots, the guiding chamber, the secondary mixing chamber, and the outlet pipe are sequentially connected to form a smoothing channel.

[0007] Further, a limiting connection boss is provided at the bottom of the smoothing joint, which is inserted and matched with the top of the limiting chamber.

[0008] Further, an axial sealing groove is provided on the side of the rectifying cone, and a first sealing ring is provided in the axial sealing groove; an end face sealing groove is provided on the top of the rectifying cone, and a second sealing ring is provided in the end face sealing groove.

[0009] Further, a first-level homogenizing chamber matching the smoothing mechanism is provided at the air outlet end of the air inlet joint, and the first-level homogenizing chamber is bowl-shaped.

[0010] Further, the inner wall surface of the smoothing channel is smooth.

[0011] Further, a gold plating layer is provided on the inner wall surface of the smoothing channel.

[0012] Furthermore, a sealed housing is provided outside the intake connector, the smoothing mechanism, and the outlet connector. The housing includes a main cylinder and two end caps. The two ends of the main cylinder are respectively threadedly connected to the two end caps, and through holes for mating with the intake pipe and the outlet pipe are respectively provided on the two end caps.

[0013] Furthermore, an outer housing sealing groove for mating with the end cap is provided on the main cylinder, and a third sealing ring is provided in the outer housing sealing groove.

[0014] Furthermore, an intake sealing groove for mating with the end cap is provided on the intake connector, and an outlet sealing groove for mating with the end cap is provided on the outlet connector. Fourth sealing rings are provided in both the intake sealing groove and the outlet sealing groove.

[0015] The beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows: The signal smoother of the present invention is a multi-stage smoothing mechanism. The smoothing channels in the smoothing mechanism are designed without dead ends, smoothing the pulse signal as much as possible and reducing fluctuations. The smoothing device of the present invention has no dead ends, does not retain samples, does not cross-contaminate, does not lose signals, and maintains a high signal-to-noise ratio. The present invention can efficiently smooth the fluctuations of the signal. Even for a pulse signal as low as 1 Hz, a stable signal needs to be obtained.

[0016] The signal smoother of the present invention is composed of an intake connector, an outlet connector, and several smoothing mechanisms. A detachable housing is provided outside, and all are detachable, enabling regular cleaning, maintaining high cleanliness and low background, which is beneficial for trace analysis.

[0017] The signal smoother of the present invention is detachable. By setting different numbers of smoothing mechanisms according to requirements, the smoothing stage can be customized to achieve compatibility with laser ablation systems with different gas flow rates.

[0018] The signal smoother of the present invention is generally cylindrical, smoothing signals in multiple stages, and can effectively smooth the fluctuations of the signal, improving the analysis accuracy. While effectively smoothing the signal, the signal smoother of the present invention has a gold-plated layer in the smoothing channel. The gold-plated layer can absorb Hg, efficiently removing Hg in the sample or gas, which is beneficial for the analysis of Pb isotopes.

[0019] The signal smoother of the present invention can not only smooth the signal fluctuations but also effectively mix the sample particles, greatly simplifying the pipeline system and reducing costs.

[0020] The signal smoother of the present invention integrates the functions of aerosol mixing and pulse signal smoothing into one device, reducing the complexity of the pipeline and the cost. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the present invention; Figure 2Front view of the present invention; Figure 3 is Figure 2 the sectional view taken along line A-A in Figure 4 exploded view of each stage of the smoothing mechanism; Figure 5 sectional view of each stage of the smoothing mechanism; Figure 6 sectional view of the smoothing joint; Figure 7 structural schematic of the flow splitting cone Figure 1 ; Figure 8 structural schematic of the flow splitting cone Figure 2 ; Figure 9 structural schematic diagram of the flow straightening cone; Figure 10 front and back comparison diagram of the smoothed 1Hz laser ablation signal of the present invention (taking 57 Fe as an example); Figure 11 front and back comparison diagram of the smoothed 2Hz laser ablation signal of the present invention (taking 57 Fe as an example); Figure 12 front and back comparison diagram of the smoothed 3Hz laser ablation signal of the present invention (taking 57 Fe as an example); Explanation of the symbols of the main components in the figure is as follows: 1. End cover; 2. Intake joint; 21. Intake sealing groove; 22. Intake pipeline; 23. Primary homogenization chamber; 3. Outlet joint; 31. Outlet pipeline; 32. Outlet sealing groove; 4. Main cylinder body; 41. Outer shell sealing groove; 5. Smoothing mechanism; 51. Smoothing joint; 511. Transmission pipeline; 512. Primary mixing chamber; 513. Limiting chamber; 514. Limiting connection boss; 52. Flow splitting cone; 521. Flow splitting cone head; 522. Secondary mixing chamber; 523. Hollow groove; 524. Solid baffle; 53. Flow straightening cone; 531. Flow straightening cone head; 532. Flow guiding chamber; 533. Outlet pipeline; 534. Axial sealing groove; 535. End face sealing groove. Specific embodiments

[0022] The following describes the specific embodiments of the present invention to facilitate those skilled in the art of this technology to understand the present invention. However, it should be clear that the present invention is not limited to the scope of the specific embodiments. For those of ordinary skill in the art of this technology, as long as various changes are within the spirit and scope of the present invention defined and determined by the appended claims, these changes are obvious, and all inventions and creations using the concept of the present invention are within the scope of protection.

[0023] As Figure 1 ,2 As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the assembled signal smoother is mainly used in the aerosol transmission pipeline after the generation of aerosol particles by laser ablation, specifically after ablation and before the analysis by the mass spectrometer. The assembled signal smoother includes an air inlet joint 2 and an air outlet joint 3. The air inlet joint 2 is connected to the aerosol transmission pipeline, and the air outlet joint 3 is connected to the mass spectrometer. An air inlet channel is provided on the air inlet joint 2, and an air inlet pipe 22 is provided at the air inlet end of the air inlet channel. An air outlet channel is provided on the air outlet joint 3, and an air outlet pipe 31 is provided at the air outlet end of the air outlet channel. A number of smoothing mechanisms 5 are provided between the air inlet joint 2 and the air outlet joint 3. In this embodiment, 9 smoothing mechanisms 5 are preferably provided. Smooth channels are provided in all 9 smoothing mechanisms 5, and the smooth channels of the 9 smoothing mechanisms 5 are sequentially sealed and connected. The air inlet channel is hermetically connected to the smooth channel, and the smooth channel is hermetically connected to the air outlet channel. By setting different numbers of smoothing mechanisms 5, different gas flow rates can be obtained, so as to be compatible with different laser ablation systems. The assembled signal smoother is made of stainless steel or aluminum alloy as a whole.

[0024] As Figure 4 and 5 shown, the smoothing mechanism 5 includes a smoothing joint 51, a shunt cone 52 and a rectifying cone 53.

[0025] As Figure 6 shown, the smoothing joint 51 is sequentially provided with a communicating transmission pipe 511, a primary mixing chamber 512 and a limiting chamber 513 from bottom to top. The shunt cone 52 and the rectifying cone 53 are sequentially installed in the primary mixing chamber 512. A limiting connection boss 514 is provided at the bottom of the smoothing joint 51 and is in plug-in fit with the top of the limiting chamber 513. Adjacent smoothing mechanisms 5 are fixedly connected by plugging the limiting connection boss 514 into the top of the limiting chamber 513, so as to facilitate the connection of adjacent smoothing mechanisms 5.

[0026] As Figure 7 and 8 shown, the shunt cone 52 includes a shunt cone head 521 protruding downward and a solid baffle 524 fixedly connected to the shunt cone head 521. A number of hollow slots 523 are provided on the solid baffle 524, and the hollow slots 523 communicate the secondary mixing chamber 522 above the shunt cone head 521 with the primary mixing chamber 512.

[0027] As Figure 9 shown, the rectifying cone 53 includes a rectifying cone head 531 protruding downward. An outlet pipe 533 is provided on the rectifying cone head 531. A diversion chamber 532 cooperating with the hollow slots 523 is provided on the side of the rectifying cone head 531. An axial sealing groove 534 is provided on the side of the rectifying cone 53, and a first sealing ring is provided in the axial sealing groove 534. An end face sealing groove 535 is provided on the top of the rectifying cone 53, and a second sealing ring is provided in the end face sealing groove 535. The first sealing ring and the second sealing ring are preferably O-rings.

[0028] The transmission pipeline 511, the primary mixing chamber 512, the hollow groove 523, the diversion chamber 532, the secondary mixing chamber 522, and the outlet pipeline 533 are connected in sequence to form a smooth channel. Smooth curvature transitions are adopted at the corners of the assembled smoother. The inner wall surface of the smooth channel is smooth, and a gold plating layer is provided on the inner wall surface of the smooth channel.

[0029] At the air outlet end of the air inlet joint 2, a primary homogenization chamber 23 that cooperates with the smoothing mechanism 5 is provided, as well as a limiting portion for installing the flow splitting cone 52 and the rectifying cone 53. The primary homogenization chamber 23 has the same structure as the primary mixing chamber 512, and the limiting portion has the same structure as the limiting chamber 513. The primary homogenization chamber 23 is bowl-shaped. When the smoothing mechanism of the first stage at the bottom is connected to the air inlet joint 2, the flow splitting cone 52 and the rectifying cone 53 of the first-stage smoothing mechanism can be directly installed on the air inlet joint 2 to complete the connection between the first-stage smoothing mechanism and the air inlet joint 2.

[0030] The air inlet joint 2, the smoothing mechanism 5, and the air outlet joint 3 are externally provided with a sealed outer shell, which can provide a better sealing environment for the smooth channel. The outer shell includes a main cylinder body 4 and two end covers 1. The two ends of the main cylinder body 4 are respectively threadedly connected to the two end covers 1. Through holes that cooperate with the air inlet pipeline 22 and the air outlet pipeline 31 are respectively provided on the two end covers 1. An outer shell sealing groove 41 that cooperates with the end cover 1 is provided on the main cylinder body 4. A third sealing ring is provided in the outer shell sealing groove 41. The third sealing ring is preferably an O-ring. The third sealing ring can improve the sealing effect between the main cylinder body 4 and the end cover 1.

[0031] An air inlet sealing groove 21 that cooperates with the end cover 1 is provided on the air inlet joint 2, and an air outlet sealing groove 32 that cooperates with the end cover 1 is provided on the air outlet joint 3. Fourth sealing rings are provided in both the air inlet sealing groove 21 and the air outlet sealing groove 32. The fourth sealing ring is preferably an O-ring. The fourth sealing ring can improve the sealing effect between the air inlet joint 2 and the end cover 1, and between the air outlet joint 3 and the end cover 1. The first sealing ring, the second sealing ring, the third sealing ring, and the fourth sealing ring can also adopt Y-shaped sealing rings, V-shaped sealing rings, or U-shaped sealing rings.

[0032] Working principle and its process: The carrier gas purges the aerosol through the intake pipe 22, the primary homogenization chamber 23, and the transfer pipe 511 and enters the primary mixing chamber 512. The primary mixing chamber 512 is semi-circular with a smooth inner surface, aiming to smoothly guide the gas flow without creating dead corners or leaving sample particles remaining; the gas is first split by the split cone head 521 of the split cone 52, dispersing the originally constrained and compressed aerosol particles to make their distribution more dispersed; due to the pressure effect, a part of the aerosol particles is blocked by the solid baffle 524 of the split cone 52, thus forming a gas reflux in the primary mixing chamber 512, and further mixing the aerosol particles evenly. Subsequently, under the pressure effect, it enters the rectifying cone part 53 through the hollow slot 523. The inner wall of the rectifying cone 53 is a smooth circular arc shape, aiming to provide good flow guidance without leaving residues; the split gas carries the aerosol particles and is transported to the rectifying cone head 531 through the diversion chamber 532. The rectifying cone head 531 diverts the originally dispersed gas and aerosol particles to the secondary mixing chamber 522 of the split cone 52. The secondary mixing chamber 522 is conical. Under the pressure effect, the air flow swirls in this mixing chamber 522, thus forming a vortex to further mix and homogenize the aerosol particles; it should be noted that the vortex formed in the present invention does not affect the transmission of the gas and aerosol particles. The vortex is real-time and has no residues; after being mixed and homogenized again in the mixing chamber, it is transported to the next-level smoothing part through the transfer pipe 533 of the rectifying cone 52. The split cone 53 is placed inside the smooth joint 51, and the split cone is limited by the limiting cavity 513 to play a fixing role; the rectifying cone 53 is placed behind the split cone 52, and the rectifying cone 53 is sealed by a sealing ring in the axial sealing groove 534 to prevent gas from entering the outside of the cavity; the rectifying cone 53 is connected to the next-level smoothing mechanism, and the gap between the two levels is isolated by the sealing ring in the end face sealing groove 535 to prevent gas leakage. Through this solution, it is mixed, homogenized, and smoothed at each subsequent level; finally, it is transported to the external pipeline through the outlet pipe 31 of the outlet joint 3. Subsequently, the mixed and homogenized aerosol is transported to the mass spectrometer, and the mass spectrometer obtains a stable and smooth signal.

[0033] As Figure 10 , 11 and shown in Figure 12, they are all signal response diagrams (time-resolved mode) of a laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer for analyzing typical geological samples. Here, taking the 57 Fe element in geological samples as an example, the smoothing effect of the laser ablation signals with different frequencies of the present invention and the comparison before and after smoothing the signals were investigated. The signal fluctuations caused by laser ablation are directly affected by the ablation frequency. Generally, the higher the frequency, the smaller the signal fluctuations, and the lower the frequency, the greater the signal fluctuations. When the laser ablation frequency is 1 Hz, the unsmoothed 57 Fe signal fluctuates violently, with the signal fluctuating between 50000 cps and 200000 cps, and the change amplitude is extremely large; while after using the present invention to smooth in the ablation system, a relatively stable 57The Fe signal fluctuates between 50,000 cps and 60,000 cps, and both the signal change amplitude and change frequency are very low. Figure 11 and Figure 12 Similarly, before smoothing, 57 the Fe signal fluctuates greatly. After smoothing with the present invention, a stable signal with almost no fluctuation can be obtained, which is beneficial to mass spectrometry analysis. It should be noted that as Figure 11 and Figure 12 shown, when using the present invention for signal smoothing, it does not affect the signal response and tailing. It can be found that the peak emergence time almost overlaps with that without installing the smoother; this proves the high transmission efficiency of the invention; in addition, after laser ablation, the peak shapes before and after smoothing still overlap, which indicates that after ablation with the present invention, the signal can quickly return to the baseline level without sacrificing additional cleaning time and without signal tailing, greatly saving the analysis time and purge cleaning cost. In summary, the beneficial effects of the present invention are obvious.

Claims

1. An assembled signal smoother, characterized in that, It includes an air inlet joint (2) and an air outlet joint (3). An air inlet channel is provided on the air inlet joint (2), and an air inlet pipe (22) is provided at the air inlet end of the air inlet channel. An air outlet channel is provided on the air outlet joint (3), and an air outlet pipe (31) is provided at the air outlet end of the air outlet channel; A number of smoothing mechanisms (5) are provided between the air inlet joint (2) and the air outlet joint (3). A smoothing channel is provided in each smoothing mechanism (5). The smoothing channels of the number of smoothing mechanisms (5) are sequentially and sealingly connected. The air inlet channel is sealingly connected to the smoothing channel, and the smoothing channel is sealingly connected to the air outlet channel.

2. The assembled signal smoother according to claim 1, characterized in that, The smoothing mechanism (5) includes a smoothing joint (51), a flow splitting cone (52) and a rectifying cone (53); The smoothing joint (51) is sequentially provided with a communicating transmission pipe (511), a primary mixing chamber (512) and a limiting chamber (513) from bottom to top. The flow splitting cone (52) and the rectifying cone (53) are sequentially installed in the primary mixing chamber (512); The flow splitting cone (52) includes a downwardly protruding flow splitting cone head (521) and a solid baffle (524) fixedly connected to the flow splitting cone head (521). A number of hollow slots (523) are provided on the solid baffle (524). The hollow slots (523) communicate the secondary mixing chamber (522) above the flow splitting cone head (521) with the primary mixing chamber (512); The rectifying cone (53) includes a downwardly protruding rectifying cone head (531). An outlet pipe (533) is provided on the rectifying cone head (531). A guiding chamber (532) matching with the hollow slots (523) is provided on the side of the rectifying cone head (531); The transmission pipe (511), the primary mixing chamber (512), the hollow slots (523), the guiding chamber (532), the secondary mixing chamber (522) and the outlet pipe (533) are sequentially connected to form a smoothing channel.

3. The assembled signal smoother according to claim 2, characterized in that, A limiting connection boss (514) that is inserted and matched with the top of the limiting chamber (513) is provided at the bottom of the smoothing joint (51).

4. The assembled signal smoother according to claim 2, wherein An axial sealing groove (534) is provided on the side of the rectifying cone (53), and a first sealing ring is provided in the axial sealing groove (534); an end face sealing groove (535) is provided on the top of the rectifying cone (53), and a second sealing ring is provided in the end face sealing groove (535).

5. The assembled signal smoother according to claim 1, characterized in that, An air outlet end of the air inlet joint (2) is provided with a first-stage homogenizing chamber (23) that cooperates with the smoothing mechanism (5), and the first-stage homogenizing chamber (23) is bowl-shaped.

6. The assembled signal smoother according to claim 1, wherein, The inner wall surface of the smoothing channel is smooth.

7. The assembled signal smoother according to claim 1, wherein, A gold plating layer is provided on the inner wall surface of the smoothing channel.

8. The assembled signal smoother according to claim 1, wherein The air inlet joint (2), the smoothing mechanism (5) and the air outlet joint (3) are externally provided with a sealed outer shell. The outer shell includes a main cylinder body (4) and two end covers (1). The two ends of the main cylinder body (4) are respectively threadedly connected to the two end covers (1). Through holes matching with the air inlet pipe (22) and the air outlet pipe (31) are respectively provided on the two end covers (1).

9. The assembled signal smoother according to claim 8, wherein, An outer shell sealing groove (41) matching with the end cover (1) is provided on the main cylinder body (4), and a third sealing ring is provided in the outer shell sealing groove (41).

10. The assembled signal smoother according to claim 8, characterized in that, An air inlet sealing groove (21) for cooperating with the end cover (1) is arranged on the air inlet joint (2), an air outlet sealing groove (32) for cooperating with the end cover (1) is arranged on the air outlet joint (3), and a fourth sealing ring is arranged in each of the air inlet sealing groove (21) and the air outlet sealing groove (32).

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