Automatic spray flow path control system of a multi-channel parallel concentration instrument

Abstract

This invention provides an automatic spray flow path control system for a multi-channel parallel concentrator, belonging to the technical field of parallel concentrator equipment. It includes core components such as a nitrogen source, proportional valve, pressure gauge, two-position three-way gas-liquid switching valve, integrated gas path drain valve, solvent switching six-way valve, injection pump, integrated flow path drain valve, liquid storage pipe, and spray heads. The two-position three-way gas-liquid switching valve enables gas-liquid reuse within the same path, overcoming the drawbacks of traditional equipment such as separate gas-liquid flow paths, complex structure, and low integration. This invention effectively solves the problems of severe sample residue adhesion, low recovery rate, excessive manual intervention, poor versatility, and low level of intelligence in traditional concentration equipment. It features high structural integration, good spray uniformity, excellent cleaning effect, strong adaptability, and high degree of automation, making it suitable for parallel concentration processing of multiple samples in various fields such as food, environment, and biomedicine.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention provides an automatic spray flow path control system for a multi-channel parallel concentrator, belonging to the technical field of parallel concentrator equipment. Background Technology

[0002] Multichannel parallel concentrators are core equipment in the field of sample pretreatment. They primarily use nitrogen purging to concentrate multiple sample solutions in parallel, and are widely used in industries such as food testing, environmental monitoring, biomedicine, and chemical analysis. During the concentration process, sample solutions continuously adhere to the inner wall of the concentration tube, forming residue. Traditional concentration equipment relies solely on a single nitrogen purging mode to complete the concentration, making it impossible to clean and recover the sample residue on the tube wall. This easily leads to sample loss and significantly reduces sample recovery rate and detection accuracy.

[0003] Currently, some concentration devices with spray cleaning functions on the market suffer from problems such as dispersed flow path systems, independent gas-liquid pathways, complex piping, low integration, large space occupation, and high failure rate. Furthermore, existing spray control systems cannot achieve multi-channel synchronous isobaric spraying, resulting in significant differences in solvent delivery and spray pressure between channels, leading to inconsistent cleaning effects and poor parallelism for each test tube. Moreover, the spray process is mostly manually operated, failing to achieve automated cyclic operation. Manual intervention is required for spraying, replenishment, and purging, resulting in low efficiency, large human error, and difficulty in meeting the demands for high-precision, high-throughput sample concentration and detection.

[0004] Furthermore, existing equipment suffers from poor versatility in its solvent switching, fluid delivery, and channel control structures, making it unsuitable for different solvents and spray dosages. Its single spray mode is ineffective at rinsing stubborn wall residues, and it lacks an intelligent trigger control mechanism. The fixed spray mode cannot adapt to the concentration rates of different samples, resulting in low adaptability and intelligence. (Summary of the Invention) The purpose of this invention is to overcome the defects of the prior art and provide an automatic spray flow path control system for a multi-channel parallel concentrator. This system solves the technical problems of existing concentrators, such as gas-liquid flow path separation, low integration, poor uniformity of multi-channel spraying, low degree of automation, poor cleaning effect of wall residue, and weak equipment versatility. It enables gas-liquid path reuse, multi-channel synchronous isobaric spraying, and fully automatic cyclic operation, thereby improving sample recovery rate and detection parallelism.

[0005] To solve the above problems, the present invention proposes the following technical solution: an automatic spray flow path control system for a multi-channel parallel concentrator, comprising a nitrogen gas source, multiple nitrogen blowing needles, a solvent switching six-way valve, an injection pump, a liquid storage pipe matching the number of channels, and spray heads.

[0006] The nitrogen gas source is connected to the inlet of the proportional valve, and the outlet of the proportional valve is connected to the pressure gauge and the three ports of the two-position three-way gas-liquid switching valve. One port of the two-position three-way gas-liquid switching valve is connected to the inlet of the integrated gas passage valve, and the other port of the two-position three-way gas-liquid switching valve is connected to the two inlets of the integrated gas passage valve.

[0007] The common port of the solvent switching six-way valve is connected to the injection pump. The six valve ports of the solvent switching six-way valve can be connected to four different spray solvent storage tanks respectively. One port is connected to a waste liquid storage tank, and the other port is connected to the inlet of the integrated flow path drain valve.

[0008] Each outlet of the integrated gas path drain valve is connected to a nitrogen blowing needle, and each outlet of the integrated flow path drain valve is connected to a liquid storage pipe. A spray head is installed at the end of each liquid storage pipe.

[0009] This system achieves gas-liquid reuse through a two-position three-way gas-liquid switching valve. In nitrogen blowing mode, high-pressure nitrogen is delivered to the nitrogen blowing needle to purge the sample via an integrated gas path exhaust valve. Simultaneously, nitrogen blowing is used to quantitatively extract the spray solvent and pre-charge it to each storage tube via an injection pump. In spray mode, the switching valve opens the nitrogen to push the solvent in the storage tube through the spray head to rinse the inner wall of the concentration tube.

[0010] Furthermore, the integrated gas path drain valve one and integrated gas path drain valve two adopt an equal flow resistance integrated distribution structure to ensure that the nitrogen blowing pressure and spray solvent delivery volume of all channels are uniform and consistent.

[0011] Furthermore, the injection pump can accurately extract 0.5 to 10 mL of single-channel spray solvent, pre-fill the corresponding channel storage tube to complete quantitative storage, and rely on nitrogen gas to instantaneously push all channels of solvent to achieve isobaric spraying during spraying.

[0012] Furthermore, the system is equipped with an automatic cycle control program, which presets the spray interval, single spray volume, and number of sprays, and automatically cycles through the nitrogen blowing concentration—solvent pre-charging—high-pressure spray wall washing process, without any manual intervention throughout the entire process.

[0013] Furthermore, the two-position three-way gas-liquid switching valve can be replaced with a combination of a normally closed solenoid valve and a check valve. The check valve is directed to flow from the nitrogen side to the main pipeline, thus achieving the same gas-liquid switching function.

[0014] Furthermore, the solvent switching six-way valve can be replaced with two three-way solenoid valves, one controlling the injection pump and solvent storage tank passage for liquid extraction, and the other controlling the injection pump and integrated flow path drain valve passage for liquid delivery.

[0015] Furthermore, the injection pump can be replaced with a peristaltic pump with a metering ring structure. The metering ring enables precise metering of the sprayed solvent, while the peristaltic pump completes the solvent extraction and delivery.

[0016] Furthermore, the integrated flow path valve can be disassembled into multiple independent micro solenoid valves, with each micro solenoid valve individually controlling the solvent delivery of a single channel liquid storage tube.

[0017] Furthermore, the spray mode adopts pulse segmented spray control logic, with each spray consisting of 2 to 3 pulses of nitrogen gas push, which enhances the flushing impact force on the pipe wall residue.

[0018] Furthermore, the system is equipped with a liquid level-triggered spray control module. An infrared liquid level sensor is installed above the concentration tube. When the liquid level drops to the set height, the spray process is automatically triggered, replacing the fixed timed spray mode.

[0019] Due to the adoption of the above technical solution, the beneficial effects of the automatic spray flow path control system for a multi-channel parallel concentrator of the present invention are as follows: 1. This invention achieves gas-liquid reuse by setting a two-position three-way gas-liquid switching valve, breaking the structural drawbacks of independent gas-liquid flow paths in traditional equipment, greatly simplifying the equipment pipeline structure, improving system integration, reducing equipment size, reducing pipeline failure probability and maintenance costs, and simultaneously enabling nitrogen blowing concentration and solvent pre-charging to operate simultaneously, effectively shortening the operation cycle and improving sample concentration efficiency.

[0020] 2. This invention adopts an integrated gas path valve structure with equal flow resistance, which can ensure that the nitrogen blowing pressure and spray solvent delivery volume of all channels are completely uniform, solving the problems of large deviation of operating parameters and poor parallelism of traditional multi-channel equipment, greatly improving the consistency of multi-sample concentration and cleaning operations, and ensuring the accuracy of sample detection data.

[0021] 3. This invention achieves precise quantitative liquid extraction within a wide range of 0.5 to 10 mL using an injection pump, and enables multi-channel isobaric spraying with instantaneous and synchronous nitrogen delivery. It features high solvent metering accuracy and stable spraying pressure, and can precisely adapt to the cleaning needs of different samples and test tube sizes. It effectively washes away residues adhering to the inner wall of the test tube, significantly improving the sample recovery rate.

[0022] 4. This invention is equipped with a fully automatic cycle control program, which allows for customization of spray interval, spray volume, and spray frequency. It automatically completes the entire cycle of nitrogen blowing concentration, solvent pre-charging, and high-pressure spray wall washing without any manual intervention, achieving unmanned operation of the equipment, significantly reducing human error and improving work efficiency.

[0023] 5. This invention has multiple structural replacement options. The gas-liquid switching structure, solvent switching structure, fluid transport structure, and flow path distribution structure can all be flexibly replaced. It can adapt to equipment modification and production needs with different costs, precision, and working conditions, and the equipment has extremely strong versatility and adaptability.

[0024] 6. This invention innovatively adopts pulse segmented spray control logic, which enhances the spray impact force through 2 to 3 pulsed nitrogen pushes, which can efficiently remove stubborn residues on the inner wall of the test tube and significantly improve the cleaning effect; at the same time, it is equipped with an infrared liquid level sensor trigger module, which can adaptively trigger the spray according to the sample liquid level, replacing the traditional fixed timed spray mode, adapting to different sample concentration rates, and having a higher degree of intelligence. Attached Figure Description

[0025] The accompanying drawings are provided to further illustrate the invention and form part of the specification. They are used in conjunction with embodiments of the invention to explain the invention and do not constitute a limitation thereof. In the drawings: Figure 1 This is a spray pattern diagram of the automatic spray flow path control system of a multi-channel parallel concentrator according to the present invention.

[0026] Figure 2 This is a nitrogen blowing mode diagram of the automatic spray flow path control system of a multi-channel parallel concentrator according to the present invention.

[0027] In the picture: 1. Nitrogen gas source; 2. Nitrogen injection needle; 3. Pressure gauge; 4. Two-position three-way gas-liquid switching valve; 5. Solvent switching six-way valve; 6. Injection pump; 7. Waste liquid storage tank; 8. Solvent storage tank; 9. Integrated gas path drain valve one; 10. Integrated gas path drain valve two; 11. Liquid storage pipe; 12. Spray head; 13. Proportional valve; 14. Integrated flow path drain valve; 15. Check valve. Detailed Implementation

[0028] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0029] Example 1: Basic Preferred Example This invention discloses an automatic spray flow path control system for a multi-channel parallel concentrator, such as... Figure 1 As shown, it includes a nitrogen gas source 1, multiple nitrogen blowing needles 2, a solvent switching six-way valve 5, an injection pump 6, a liquid storage tube 11 matching the number of channels, and a spray head 12.

[0030] Nitrogen source 1 serves as the system's power source, connected to the inlet of proportional valve 13. Proportional valve 13 precisely regulates the nitrogen output pressure. The outlet of proportional valve 13 is connected to the three ports of pressure gauge 3 and two-position three-way gas-liquid switching valve 4. Pressure gauge 3 monitors the system pipeline pressure in real time, ensuring stable and controllable operating pressure. The two working ports of the two-position three-way gas-liquid switching valve 4 are respectively connected to the inlets of integrated gas path drain valve 1 (9) and integrated gas path drain valve 2 (10), enabling switching control of the gas path.

[0031] The common port of the solvent switching six-way valve 5 is connected to the syringe pump 6, serving as the power structure for solvent extraction and delivery. The six independent valve ports of the solvent switching six-way valve 5 are respectively connected to six different spray solvent storage tanks 8, allowing for switching between different cleaning solvents according to sample processing requirements. At the same time, one valve port is connected to the waste liquid storage tank 7 to discharge residual waste liquid in the pipeline, avoiding cross-contamination of solvents. The remaining valve ports are connected to the inlet of the integrated gas exhaust valve 10, enabling the connection and conduction of nitrogen and solvent flow paths.

[0032] Both integrated gas path drain valve 19 and integrated gas path drain valve 210 adopt an integrated distribution structure with equal flow resistance, eliminating differences in pipe length and diameter. This ensures consistent nitrogen output pressure and uniform solvent delivery flow across all channels, completely resolving the parallelism deviation problem in multi-channel operations. Each outlet of the integrated gas path drain valve is connected to a nitrogen purging needle 2, enabling simultaneous purging of multiple nitrogen paths. Each outlet of the integrated flow path drain valve 14 is connected to a liquid storage pipe 11, with a spray head 12 fixedly mounted at the end of each liquid storage pipe 11, enabling independent liquid storage in a single channel and simultaneous spraying operations across multiple channels.

[0033] The core control logic of the system is gas-liquid co-processing, and the operation is divided into a synchronous pre-filling stage and a spray cleaning stage. During nitrogen blowing concentration, the two-position three-way gas-liquid switching valve 4 opens the gas path. The high-pressure nitrogen output from the nitrogen source 1 is stabilized by the proportional valve 13 and then distributed to each nitrogen blowing needle 2 through the integrated gas path exhaust valve to perform parallel nitrogen blowing concentration on the sample in the concentration test tube. At the same time as the nitrogen blowing operation, the system controls the solvent switching six-way valve 5 to switch the corresponding solvent path. The syringe pump 6 accurately draws 0.5 to 10 mL of single-channel spray solvent and pre-fills the solvent into the corresponding liquid storage tube 11 of each channel to complete quantitative storage. This realizes that nitrogen blowing and solvent pre-filling are carried out simultaneously, which greatly improves the operation efficiency.

[0034] Once the preset spraying conditions are met, the system switches to the two-position three-way gas-liquid switching valve 4, and high-pressure nitrogen is introduced into the upstream pipeline of the liquid storage tube 11. The instantaneous high pressure of nitrogen pushes the quantitative solvent inside all the liquid storage tubes 11. The solvent is evenly sprayed out through the spray head 12 to perform high-pressure rinsing on the wall residue of the concentrated test tube, thus completing the automatic wall washing operation.

[0035] The system is equipped with a fully automatic cycle control program. Operators can preset the spray interval, single spray volume, and number of sprays. The equipment can automatically cycle through the complete process of nitrogen blowing concentration, solvent pre-filling, and high-pressure spray wall washing. No manual start-up, shutdown, liquid replenishment, or intervention is required throughout the process, achieving automated continuous operation.

[0036] Example 2: Gas-Liquid Switching Structure Replacement Example This embodiment optimizes and replaces the gas-liquid switching structure based on Embodiment 1. The original two-position three-way gas-liquid switching valve 4 is replaced with a combination structure of a normally closed solenoid valve and a one-way valve 15. Figure 2 As shown in the diagram, the one-way valve 15 is configured to flow from the nitrogen side to the main pipeline and to cut off in the reverse direction, completely replacing the original switching valve's gas switching and gas-liquid isolation functions. Under normal conditions, the solenoid valve is closed, blocking the pipeline path; in nitrogen blowing mode, the solenoid valve is open, allowing normal nitrogen delivery; in spray mode, the one-way valve 15 ensures that nitrogen pushes the solvent in one direction, preventing solvent backflow into the nitrogen pipeline. While simplifying the valve structure and reducing equipment costs, it achieves the same gas-liquid switching and gas-liquid reuse performance, with stronger structural stability and a lower failure rate.

[0037] Example 3: Solvent Switching Structure Replacement Example This embodiment optimizes the solvent switching and delivery structure based on Embodiment 1 by replacing the six-way solvent switching valve 5 with two independent three-way solenoid valves. The first three-way solenoid valve connects the injection pump 6 to each solvent storage tank 8 and waste liquid storage tank 7, and is specifically used to control the system's liquid extraction path, enabling the extraction of different solvents and the discharge of waste liquid. The second three-way solenoid valve connects the injection pump 6 to the integrated flow path drain valve 14, and is specifically used to control the system's liquid delivery path, delivering a fixed amount of solvent to each storage pipe 11. Compared to the six-way valve structure, this dual-solenoid valve separate control mode has simpler control logic, faster path switching response, and lower maintenance and replacement costs, making it suitable for the production needs of small and medium-sized simplified concentration equipment.

[0038] Example 4: Replacement Example of Solvent Quantitative Delivery Structure This embodiment, based on Embodiment 1, replaces the solvent metering delivery structure by replacing the original syringe pump 6 with a peristaltic pump combined with a metering ring. The fixed volume of the metering ring enables precise metering of the sprayed solvent, avoiding the flow error inherent in a single peristaltic pump operation. The peristaltic pump handles automatic solvent extraction, pipeline delivery, and replenishment, accurately matching metering requirements from 0.5 to 10 mL. While ensuring metering accuracy, this reduces the procurement cost of high-precision pumps, improves equipment cost-effectiveness, and adapts to mass production.

[0039] Example 5: Improved Example of Multi-channel Independent Liquid Control This embodiment optimizes the diversion structure based on Embodiment 1, splitting the integrated flow path valve 14 into multiple independent micro-solenoid valves. Each micro-solenoid valve individually controls the solvent delivery and on / off of a single channel of the liquid storage tube 11. This structure enables independent start / stop of spraying and independent liquid control for a single channel. It can also independently control the cleaning operation according to the concentration progress of a single channel sample, breaking the limitations of traditional multi-channel synchronous operation and adapting to the differentiated operational needs of multiple samples and different concentration progresses, thus broadening the equipment's adaptability.

[0040] Example 6: Optimization of Sprinkler Control Mode This embodiment optimizes the spray control logic based on Embodiment 1, adopting a pulse segmented spray control mode. The system breaks down a single complete spray operation into 2-3 pulsed nitrogen pushes. Through intermittent high-pressure nitrogen impact, the solvent in the storage tube 11 is sprayed in segments. Compared with a single spray, the instantaneous impact force of the pulsed spray is stronger, which can effectively break up and wash away stubborn residues on the inner wall of the test tube, greatly improving the tube wall cleaning effect of high viscosity and high concentration samples, and further improving the sample recovery rate.

[0041] Example 7: Improved Implementation of Intelligent Triggered Spraying This embodiment, based on Embodiment 1, adds an intelligent liquid level trigger control module. An infrared liquid level sensor is installed above each concentration tube. The sensor collects real-time data on the sample liquid level in the tube and transmits it to the system controller. When the sample is concentrated to the preset liquid level, the system automatically triggers the spray process, initiating solvent pre-filling and high-pressure spray washing. It eliminates the need for a fixed timing program and can adaptively adjust the spray timing according to the concentration rate of different samples, avoiding solvent waste from premature spraying and sample drying residue from late spraying. This significantly improves intelligence and accuracy.

[0042] The present invention and its embodiments have been described above. This description is not restrictive. In short, if a person skilled in the art is inspired by this description and designs a similar structure and embodiment without departing from the spirit of the present invention, such design should fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An automatic spray flow path control system for a multi-channel parallel concentrator, comprising a nitrogen gas source (1), multiple nitrogen blowing needles (2), a solvent switching six-way valve (5), an injection pump (6), a liquid storage pipe (11) matching the number of channels, and spray heads (12), characterized in that: The nitrogen gas source (1) is connected to the inlet of the proportional valve (13), and the outlet of the proportional valve (13) is connected to the pressure gauge (3) and the three ports of the two-position three-way gas-liquid switching valve (4); one port of the two-position three-way gas-liquid switching valve (4) is connected to the inlet of the integrated gas passage valve one (9), and the other port of the two-position three-way gas-liquid switching valve (4) is connected to the inlet of the integrated gas passage valve two (10); The common port of the solvent switching six-way valve (5) is connected to the injection pump (6). The six valve ports of the solvent switching six-way valve (5) can be connected to four different spray solvent storage tanks (8), one port is connected to the waste liquid storage tank (7), and the other port is connected to the inlet of the integrated flow path drain valve (14). Each outlet of the integrated gas path valve is connected to a nitrogen blowing needle (2), and each outlet of the integrated flow path valve (14) is connected to a liquid storage pipe (11). Each liquid storage pipe (11) is equipped with a spray head (12) at its end. The system achieves gas-liquid co-processing through a two-position three-way gas-liquid switching valve (4). In the nitrogen blowing mode, high-pressure nitrogen is delivered to the nitrogen blowing needle (2) via an integrated gas path exhaust valve to purge the sample. Simultaneously, the nitrogen blowing is quantitatively extracted by the injection pump (6) and pre-charged to each storage tube (11). In the spray mode, the switching valve opens the nitrogen to push the solvent in the storage tube (11) through the spray head (12) to rinse the inner wall of the concentration tube.

2. The automatic spray flow path control system for a multi-channel parallel concentrator according to claim 1, characterized in that: The integrated gas passage valve one (9) and integrated gas passage valve two (10) adopt an integrated distribution structure with equal flow resistance to ensure that the nitrogen blowing pressure and spray solvent delivery volume of all channels are uniform and consistent.

3. The automatic spray flow path control system for a multi-channel parallel concentrator according to claim 1, characterized in that: The injection pump (6) can accurately extract 0.5 to 10 mL of single-channel spray solvent, pre-fill the corresponding channel storage tube (11) to complete quantitative storage, and rely on nitrogen gas to instantaneously push all channel solvents to achieve isobaric spraying during spraying.

4. The automatic spray flow path control system for a multi-channel parallel concentrator according to claim 1, characterized in that: The system is equipped with an automatic cycle control program, which presets the spray interval, single spray volume, and number of sprays. It automatically cycles through the nitrogen blowing concentration, solvent pre-charging, and high-pressure spray wall washing process without any manual intervention.

5. The automatic spray flow path control system for a multi-channel parallel concentrator according to claim 1, characterized in that: The two-position three-way gas-liquid switching valve (4) is replaced by a combination of a normally closed solenoid valve and a one-way valve (15). The one-way valve (15) is directed to flow from the nitrogen side to the main pipeline, thus achieving the same gas-liquid switching function.

6. The automatic spray flow path control system for a multi-channel parallel concentrator according to claim 1, characterized in that: The solvent switching six-way valve (5) is replaced by two three-way solenoid valves. One valve controls the flow path between the injection pump (6) and the solvent storage tank (8) for liquid extraction, while the other valve controls the flow path between the injection pump (6) and the integrated flow path drain valve (14) for liquid delivery.

7. The automatic spray flow path control system for a multi-channel parallel concentrator according to claim 1, characterized in that: The injection pump (6) is replaced by a peristaltic pump with a metering ring structure. The metering ring is used to achieve accurate metering of the sprayed solvent, and the peristaltic pump completes the extraction and delivery of the solvent.

8. The automatic spray flow path control system for a multi-channel parallel concentrator according to claim 1, characterized in that: The integrated flow path valve (14) can be disassembled into multiple independent micro solenoid valves, and each micro solenoid valve controls the solvent delivery of a channel liquid storage tube (11) individually.

9. The automatic spray flow path control system for a multi-channel parallel concentrator according to claim 1, characterized in that: The spray mode adopts pulse segmented spray control logic, with each spray consisting of 2 to 3 pulses of nitrogen gas push to enhance the flushing impact of residual gas adhering to the pipe wall.

10. The automatic spray flow path control system for a multi-channel parallel concentrator according to claim 1, characterized in that: The system is equipped with a liquid level-triggered spray control module. An infrared liquid level sensor is installed above the concentration tube. When the liquid level drops to the set height, the spray process is automatically triggered, replacing the fixed timed spray mode.

Images