Sealing device for lunar soil vacuumizing

Abstract

The invention belongs to the technical field of deep space exploration and extraterrestrial celestial body sample treatment, and particularly relates to a sealing device for lunar soil vacuumizing, a main body structure comprises a vacuum box and a plurality of linkage sealing mechanisms, the vacuum box is provided with a cover plate with a through hole, the side wall is provided with an air exhaust interface, and the linkage sealing mechanisms are slidably arranged in the through hole of the cover plate in a penetrating manner; the device comprises a connecting rod, a screw, a nut, a plug and a sample clamp placed on a sample from top to bottom, the connecting rod can be operated outside a cabin to press downwards to drive the plug to independently press the sample clamp in a unified vacuumizing state of a vacuum box, in-situ independent sealing in a vacuum environment is achieved, and the sealing effect is good. Overall exposure and cross contamination during split charging and taking are avoided, and dust pollution is avoided through a pure mechanical structure. The device is compact in structure, portable and easy to carry, and greatly facilitates cross-equipment safe circulation of precious extraterrestrial samples.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of deep space exploration and extraterrestrial body sample processing technology, specifically relating to a sealing device for vacuuming lunar soil samples, which performs in-situ sealing during vacuuming of lunar soil samples. Background Technology

[0002] With the continuous development of human deep space exploration technology, obtaining soil and rock samples (such as lunar soil) from extraterrestrial bodies such as the Moon and Mars has become an important part of planetary science research. Lunar soil samples are in an environment of ultra-high vacuum, no water, no oxygen, and strong radiation on the lunar surface for a long time. After being brought back to Earth, in order to maintain their original physicochemical properties and prevent oxidation, deliquescence, or contamination by oxygen, moisture, and particles in the Earth's atmosphere, they must be stored, divided, and prepared (such as making thin sections for microscopic analysis) under extremely strict vacuum or inert gas protection environments.

[0003] Currently, researchers typically rely on large vacuum glove boxes or complex vacuum operating chambers when processing precious extraterrestrial samples such as lunar soil. For example, Chinese Patent 202423169307.2 discloses an adjustable dual-position vacuum glove box, including a support frame. A glove box body is fixedly mounted on the top of the support frame. An adjustment assembly is installed inside the glove box body, and two glove clamping assemblies are provided on the outer wall of the glove box body for clamping and fixing the gloves. The adjustment assembly includes two placement trays, each with a rotating shaft fixedly mounted at its bottom end. Both rotating shafts are rotatably connected to the bottom end of the inner wall of the glove box body. The glove clamping assembly includes two glove mounting cylinders. An external gear ring and a rotating disk are rotatably mounted on the outer wall of each glove mounting cylinder, and the external gear ring and rotating disk are fixedly connected to drive the rotating disk to rotate. A fixing disk is fixedly mounted on the outer wall of the glove mounting cylinder, and a set of limiting grooves is formed through the outer wall of the fixing disk. Each set of limiting grooves has an arc-shaped clamping plate on its inner wall. The two rotating shafts... The bottom end of the device penetrates through the bottom end of the glove box body and through the bottom end of the support frame. Worm gears are fixedly installed at the bottom ends of the two rotating shafts. A dual-axis motor is fixedly installed at the bottom end of the support frame. Worms are fixedly installed on the two output shafts of the dual-axis motor. The two worms are respectively meshed with two worm gears to drive the worm gears to rotate. A set of arc-shaped grooves is opened through the outer wall of the rotating disk. A set of movable slide rods are slidably connected to the inner wall of the set of limiting slide grooves. A set of movable slide rods are respectively fixedly connected to a set of arc-shaped clamps. A set of movable slide rods are respectively movably inserted into the inner wall of the arc-shaped grooves. An electric push rod is fixedly installed on one side of the outer wall of the glove box body. A rack is fixedly installed at the output end of the electric push rod. The rack is respectively meshed with two external gear rings to drive the external gear rings to rotate. Four glove mounting cylinders are fixedly connected to the glove box body. A sealed box door is provided on one side of the outer wall of the glove box body. Chinese Patent 202020029059.4 discloses a fully transparent robotic arm vacuum operating box, including a partition, with an operating box and a transition chamber on both sides of the partition. The partition has a through hole for connecting the operating box and the transition chamber, and a sealing door for closing the through hole. A robotic arm is installed inside the operating box, and a support is installed inside the transition chamber. A support base is vertically inserted into the upper end of the support. A horizontally sliding plate is installed inside the operating box, with a support plate at its upper end. A drive support base is installed on one side of the support plate near the transition chamber to lower the support base. The fork plate and support base include spaced-apart support plates and drive plates. The upper ends of the support plates and drive plates extend beyond the upper end of the support base, and the lower ends of the support plates and drive plates are connected to the base plate. A spring is installed between the base plate and the bottom of the support base. A baffle is installed on the side wall opposite to the fork plate in the transition chamber. The lower end of the fork plate is angled to one side of the support base. A screw and guide post are horizontally installed inside the operating box, passing through the sliding plate. The screw is connected to the motor drive and threadedly connected to the sliding plate. The operating box and transition chamber are made of transparent material, and a limiting push rod is installed inside the transition chamber. However, in actual laboratory operation and sample transfer, the following significant defects exist:

[0004] One challenge is the conflict between batch processing and individual sealing. When conducting experiments on lunar soil, samples from the same batch typically need to be packaged into multiple tiny carriers (such as sheet containers) for distribution to different research teams or for testing different subjects. Current technologies often employ a large-cavity sealing method, requiring the entire container to be opened when one sample is retrieved. This disrupts the vacuum environment maintained within the cavity, exposing the remaining unused samples and subjecting them to significant risks of cross-contamination and environmental damage.

[0005] Secondly, in-situ mechanical seals are difficult to implement. To seal multiple small containers individually in a vacuum environment, current techniques require complex robotic arms or electric actuators inside the cavity. This not only significantly increases the size, manufacturing cost, and maintenance difficulty of the equipment, but also, due to the large number of moving parts, easily generates tiny particles that can contaminate lunar soil samples.

[0006] Third, they are bulky and inconvenient to transfer. Most of the existing high-vacuum sealing devices are large in size and are usually installed in the laboratory as fixed equipment, which makes it difficult to meet the needs of portable and safe transfer of multiple small samples loaded between different laboratories or different testing equipment (such as electron microscopes, energy dispersive spectrometers, etc.).

[0007] Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop and design a compact and easy-to-operate sealing device for vacuuming lunar soil, so as to achieve reliable physical compression and sealing of multiple independent micro sample containers in one place under uniform vacuum conditions through simple external mechanical linkage. Summary of the Invention

[0008] The purpose of this invention is to overcome the shortcomings of existing technologies and to develop and design a sealing device for vacuuming lunar soil, thereby solving the problem of maintaining vacuum during the packaging, storage and transfer of lunar soil samples.

[0009] To achieve the above objectives, the main structure of a sealing device for evacuating lunar soil according to the present invention includes a vacuum chamber and several sets of linkage sealing mechanisms connected thereto.

[0010] The vacuum chamber is used to hold samples to be vacuumed. It is equipped with a cover plate that can be detachably placed on the top of the vacuum chamber to seal it.

[0011] The linkage sealing mechanism slides through the cover plate and includes at least a connecting rod and a sample clamp connected by a plug.

[0012] Furthermore, the bottom surface of the vacuum chamber is provided with several grooves for limiting the sample clamps, and the side wall is provided with an air extraction port. The shape of the grooves includes bone-shaped and dumbbell-shaped. Several through holes are provided through the cover plate, and the number and position of the through holes correspond one-to-one with the grooves.

[0013] Furthermore, the cover plate has several mounting holes around its perimeter, and the top perimeter of the vacuum chamber has threaded holes corresponding to the mounting holes. The two are connected by fasteners, and the top of the vacuum chamber, which contacts the cover plate, is provided with a sealing ring around its edge, ensuring a tight seal.

[0014] Furthermore, the connecting rod has a hollow tubular structure with two symmetrical truncated planes on the upper outer wall and a through-hole at the lower end. The plug has a connecting through-hole at the upper end that matches the connecting through-hole, a protruding polygonal truncated pyramid in the middle, and a stepped snap-fit ​​end at the lower end. The lower end of the connecting rod is connected to the upper end of the plug by a screw and a nut. The lower end of the plug is connected to the sample holder, and the top of the sample holder has a snap-fit ​​interface. Specifically, the upper end of the plug is inserted into the inner hole at the lower end of the connecting rod, the screw passes through the aligned connecting through-hole and the connecting through-hole, the nut is tightened on the other side, and the snap-fit ​​end of the plug is inserted into and fixed in the snap-fit ​​interface of the sample holder, thereby fixing the connecting rod and the plug together. The connection between the plug and the sample holder allows the external operating force to be transmitted downwards without loss.

[0015] The specific process of using a sealing device for lunar soil vacuuming according to the present invention includes the following steps:

[0016] In use, place the thin slice containing the lunar soil sample in the sample holder and then into the sample slot of the main container; close and lock the cover, keeping the linkage sealing mechanism in the open state without being pressed down; then, evacuate the accommodating cavity of the main container uniformly through the evacuation port; while maintaining the vacuum, move the external operating connecting rod downwards to drive the plug down and close the opening of the sample holder, thereby achieving in-situ, independent physical sealing of multiple lunar soil samples in a vacuum environment.

[0017] Compared with existing technologies, the main structure of this invention includes a vacuum chamber and several sets of linkage sealing mechanisms. The vacuum chamber is equipped with a cover plate with through holes and a vacuum port on the side wall. The linkage sealing mechanism slides through the through holes in the cover plate and includes, from top to bottom, a connecting rod, screws and nuts, a plug, and a sample holder for placing the sample. Under the condition of uniform vacuuming of the vacuum chamber, the connecting rod is pressed down from outside the chamber, which drives the plug to independently press the sample holder. This not only achieves in-situ independent sealing in a vacuum environment, avoiding overall exposure and cross-contamination during dispensing and handling, but also avoids micro-dust contamination through a purely mechanical structure. Its compact structure and portability greatly facilitate the safe transfer of valuable external samples across devices. Attached Figure Description

[0018] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the main structure principle of the present invention.

[0019] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the usage state of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0020] The present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0021] Example 1:

[0022] The main structure of a sealing device for lunar soil vacuuming involved in this embodiment is as follows: Figure 1 As shown, it includes a cover plate 1, mounting hole 2, through hole 3, vacuum chamber 4, sealing ring 5, threaded hole 6, groove 7, air extraction port 8, sample clip 9, handle 10, snap-fit ​​interface 11, plug 12, snap-fit ​​end 13, truncated pyramid 14, connecting through hole 15, connecting rod 16, connecting through hole 17, cut edge plane 18, screw 19 and nut 20;

[0023] The cover plate 1 of the rectangular plate structure has several mounting holes 2 evenly spaced around its perimeter, six through holes 3 on its surface, and a downwardly extending boss on its bottom surface.

[0024] The vacuum box 4 with a hollow top has a sealing ring 5 at the top opening, several threaded holes 6 evenly spaced along the edge, six grooves 7 at the bottom, and an air extraction port 8 on the side wall.

[0025] The sample holder 9 has a handle 10 on its side, a card interface 11 on its top, and is embedded in a groove 7 at its bottom. The top is connected to the plug 12 through the card interface 11. The bottom of the plug 12 has a card end 13 that matches the card interface 11. The middle part has a polygonal truncated pyramid 14. The top has a connecting hole 15. The top of the plug 12 passes through the bottom of the hollow tubular connecting rod 16. The bottom of the connecting rod 16 has a connecting through hole 17 with the same diameter as the connecting through hole 15. The top extends out of the through hole 3 and has a cut edge plane 18 for easy instrument clamping. The connecting through hole 15 is aligned with the connecting through hole 17 and a screw 19 passes through it. The end of the screw 19 has a nut 20.

[0026] Fasteners secure the cover plate 1 to the vacuum chamber 4 through mounting holes 2 and threaded holes 6. At this time, the edge of the cover plate 1 presses against the sealing ring 5, and the boss is embedded in the opening of the vacuum chamber 4, thereby ensuring the initial airtightness of the vacuum chamber.

[0027] In this embodiment, the sealing ring 5 is an O-ring;

[0028] The air extraction port 8 is an internally threaded hole, including a 1 / 2 Rc threaded hole, for connecting an external vacuum pump;

[0029] The card interface 11 and the card connector 13 are matched in size, and the card connector 13 can be inserted into and tightly block the card interface 11 to achieve a physical seal;

[0030] The cut-edge plane 18 makes it easy for operators to use tools such as wrenches to clamp and rotate the connecting rod 16 for positioning.

[0031] This embodiment relates to a sealing device for vacuuming lunar soil, capable of processing six lunar soil samples simultaneously. The specific operation process includes the following steps:

[0032] I. Loading

[0033] Place the six thin slices containing the lunar soil sample into the sample holder 9 one by one, and place the six open sample holders 3 into the bone-shaped grooves 7 at the bottom of the vacuum chamber 4 to complete the positioning.

[0034] II. Pre-closure

[0035] Cover the vacuum chamber 4 with the cover plate 1 and install the fasteners. Pull the connecting rod 16 upward to lift the plug 12, so that the snap-fit ​​end 13 at the lower end of the plug 12 is kept at a certain distance from the snap-fit ​​interface 11 of the sample clip 9.

[0036] III. Air extraction

[0037] An external vacuum pump is connected to the evacuation port 8 on the side wall of the vacuum chamber 4 to evacuate the chamber. Since the sample holder 9 is not sealed, the internal gas is also extracted, and the lunar soil sample is in a high vacuum environment.

[0038] IV. In-situ sealing

[0039] While maintaining the operation of the vacuum pump or the pressure, pressure is applied directly downwards from outside the cover plate 1 to operate each connecting rod 16. The connecting rod 16 moves downwards, causing the plug 12 to be pressed down, so that the snap-fit ​​end of the plug 12 is forcefully pressed into the snap-fit ​​interface 11 of the corresponding sample clip 9. Through pure mechanical clamping force, the independent sealing of the six soil sample clips 9 is completed in the vacuum box 4.

[0040] V. Remove

[0041] After sealing is complete, disconnect the vacuum pump to release the vacuum in the vacuum chamber 4 (restore normal pressure), remove the cover plate 1, and you can take out the six sample clips 9 that have been kept in a high vacuum sealed state inside the vacuum chamber 4, which will facilitate subsequent transfer and distribution.

[0042] This embodiment relates to a compact and portable sealing device for vacuuming lunar soil. The device has a compact square box-like structure, small size, high integration, and low manufacturing cost, which greatly facilitates the transfer of samples across devices. It can meet the actual needs of safe and high-vacuum transfer of precious samples such as lunar soil between different laboratories and testing equipment, and solve the problem of inconvenient sample transfer. It not only makes it convenient for researchers to perform the initial filling operation in the glove box, but also allows the sample to be easily carried and safely transferred to different laboratories after being sealed independently, or directly connected to high-precision testing equipment such as electron microscopes and energy dispersive spectroscopy, which greatly improves the efficiency of scientific research flow.

[0043] The simplified purely mechanical linkage structure, without complex internal moving or friction parts, fundamentally reduces the generation of micro-dust particles and greatly reduces the risk of secondary micro-dust contamination. In view of the extremely high cleanliness requirements of precious extraterrestrial samples, it abandons the complex robotic arms or electric push rods in traditional vacuum chambers. Through a simple external purely mechanical linkage structure, it uses screws 19 for fixing with connecting rod 16, connecting through hole 15 and connecting through hole 17, and a plug 12 with stepped snap-fit ​​end 13 to achieve pure linear mechanical force transmission without loss from outside to inside the chamber, and complete the pressing and sealing action. It solves the problem of complex mechanical seal structure and easy contamination in vacuum, and protects the original purity of lunar soil samples to the greatest extent.

[0044] It achieves independent in-situ sealing under high vacuum, eliminating cross-contamination. After a single overall vacuuming, it can reliably seal multiple sample holders loaded with samples one by one in a vacuum environment. It innovatively adopts a design that combines unified evacuation of the main container (vacuum chamber 4) with independent sealing of the small containers (sample holders 9). After the vacuum chamber 4 completes overall vacuuming, the operator can physically and independently press and seal the six soil sample slices in the vacuum chamber 4 one by one without disrupting the current vacuum environment by using the external linkage sealing mechanism (pressing down the connecting rod 16). This effectively avoids the risk of other samples in the same batch being exposed to the atmosphere and becoming damp or oxidized when a single small sample is subsequently distributed or taken out, and solves the problem of the difficulty in balancing batch vacuuming and independent sealing.

[0045] In terms of overall sealing, the sealing ring 5 at the top edge of the vacuum chamber 4 and the protrusion on the lower surface of the cover plate 1 form a precise fit and compression, ensuring the initial high vacuum of the vacuum chamber 4. In terms of local sealing, the specially designed bone-shaped / dumbbell-shaped groove 7 at the bottom of the vacuum chamber 4 forms a perfect limit for the sample clip 9, preventing it from shifting during vacuuming or pressing. Combined with the precise pressing of the top linkage, it ensures that each sample clip 9 is subjected to uniform force and is tightly sealed. The combination of multiple positioning and sealing design ensures extremely high airtightness and operational reliability.

Claims

1. A sealing device for vacuuming lunar soil, characterized in that, The main structure includes a vacuum chamber and several sets of linkage sealing mechanisms connected to it, with the linkage sealing mechanisms sliding through the vacuum chamber.

2. The sealing device for vacuuming lunar soil according to claim 1, characterized in that, The linkage sealing mechanism includes at least a connecting rod and a sample clamp connected by a plug.

3. A sealing device for vacuuming lunar soil according to claim 2, characterized in that, The lower end of the connecting rod is connected to the upper end of the plug by screws and nuts. The lower end of the plug is connected to the sample holder, and the top of the sample holder has a locking interface.

4. A sealing device for vacuuming lunar soil according to claim 3, characterized in that, The connecting rod has a hollow tubular structure with two symmetrical cut-edge planes on the upper outer wall and a through connecting hole at the lower end. The upper end of the plug has a connecting through hole that matches the connecting through hole, the middle part has an outwardly protruding polygonal truncated pyramid, and the lower end has a stepped snap-fit ​​end.

5. A sealing device for vacuuming lunar soil according to claim 4, characterized in that, The upper end of the plug is inserted into the inner hole at the lower end of the connecting rod. The screw passes through the aligned connecting hole and aligns with the connecting through hole. The nut is tightened on the other side of the screw. The snap-fit ​​end of the plug is inserted into and fixed in the snap-fit ​​interface of the sample holder, thus fixing the connecting rod and the plug together. The plug is connected to the sample holder, and the external operating force is transmitted downwards without loss.

6. A sealing device for vacuuming lunar soil according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, The vacuum chamber is used to hold samples to be vacuumed and is equipped with a cover that can be detachably attached to the top of the vacuum chamber.

7. A sealing device for vacuuming lunar soil according to claim 6, characterized in that, The bottom of the vacuum chamber has several grooves that limit the position of the sample clamps, and the side wall has an air extraction port. The grooves are shaped like bones or dumbbells. The cover plate has several through holes, and the number and position of the through holes correspond one-to-one with the grooves.

8. A sealing device for vacuuming lunar soil according to claim 7, characterized in that, The linkage sealing mechanism slides through the cover plate.

9. A sealing device for vacuuming lunar soil according to claim 8, characterized in that, The cover plate has several mounting holes around its perimeter, and the top perimeter of the vacuum chamber has threaded holes corresponding to the mounting holes. The two are connected by fasteners, and a sealing ring is provided around the edge of the top face of the vacuum chamber that contacts the cover plate.

10. A sealing device for vacuuming lunar soil according to claim 9, characterized in that, When using: First, place the thin slice containing the lunar soil sample in the sample holder and then place it into the sample slot of the main container; Then, close and lock the cover plate to keep the linkage sealing mechanism in the open state without being pressed down; Subsequently, the main container's accommodating cavity is uniformly evacuated through the evacuation port; Finally, while maintaining the vacuum, the external operating connecting rod is moved downwards, causing the plug to press down and close the opening of the sample holder, thus performing in-situ, independent physical sealing of multiple lunar soil samples under vacuum conditions.

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