Automatic sampler of gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer

Abstract

The utility model relates to the technical field of detection equipment, in particular to an automatic sampler of a gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer. Comprising a base, a rotary feeding mechanism, a material disc, a sample bottle and a sample injection mechanism, the sample injection mechanism comprises a mounting plate, an air cylinder, a movable plate, an abutting ring, a sliding arm, a connecting pipe, a sample injection needle, an in-place switch, a locking block, a descending device and a locking device, the descending device acts to drive the sample injection arm to descend so that the sample injection needle can descend to be inserted into the sample bottle, and then extraction equipment is started; the control system controls the descending device to act to drive the sample injection needle to move upwards to be separated from the sample bottle, at the moment, the abutting ring keeps abutting against the top of the sample bottle, so that the sample bottle cannot be taken away from the material disc when the sample injection needle moves upwards, and then the air cylinder acts after the sample injection needle moves upwards and resets; the movable plate is pushed to move upwards, then the locking device is reset, and the rotary feeding mechanism continuously feeds the sample, so that the sample bottle can be prevented from being taken out of the sample injection mechanism by the sample injection needle during sample injection.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of detection equipment technology, and in particular to an automatic sampler for a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) instrument. Background Technology

[0002] A gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) instrument combines the functions of a gas chromatograph and a mass spectrometer. GC-MS is widely used for the separation and identification of complex components. It combines the high resolution of GC with the high sensitivity of mass spectrometry, making it an effective tool for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of drugs and metabolites in biological samples. Currently, it is widely used in environmental protection, electronics, textiles, petrochemicals, fragrances and flavors, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, and food safety.

[0003] Currently, in order to reduce manual operation, most gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) instruments use autosamplers for automatic sampling. However, when the autosampler is withdrawn from the sample vial, the sample vial is often pulled out of the sample tray, which can damage the autosampler. Utility Model Content

[0004] The purpose of this invention is to provide an autosampler for a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) instrument, which aims to prevent sample vials from being carried out of the injection mechanism by the injection needle.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, this utility model provides an automatic sampler for a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) instrument, including a base, a rotary feeding mechanism on the left side of the base, a material tray fixed on the top of the rotary feeding mechanism, a plurality of sample vials arranged in a ring on the material tray, and an injection mechanism.

[0006] The sample injection mechanism includes a mounting plate, a cylinder, a moving plate, a contact ring, a sliding arm, a connecting tube, an injection needle, a position switch, a locking block, a descending device, and a locking device. The mounting plate is fixed to the right side of the base. The cylinder is fixed to the mounting plate, and its output end is connected to the moving plate. The contact ring is integrally formed on the side of the moving plate away from the cylinder. The contact ring can move vertically and abut against the top of the sample vial. The sliding arm slides with the guide rod of the moving plate and is located on the side of the descending device. The connecting tube is fixed to the injection arm, which is located below the descending device and above the contact ring. The top of the connecting tube is connected to the extraction device through a movable pipe. The injection needle is threaded to the connecting tube and is located at the bottom of the connecting tube, and can be inserted into the sample vial. The position switch is located on the side of the mounting plate near the locking block. The locking block is fixedly connected to the material tray and is evenly spaced in a ring. The locking device is located on the left side of the rotary feeding mechanism and near the locking block.

[0007] The descending device includes a support frame and an actuation component. The support frame is fixed on the base and located above the injection arm. The actuation component is disposed on the side of the support frame near the injection arm.

[0008] The actuation component includes a servo electric cylinder and a guide member. The servo electric cylinder is fixed to the top of the support frame, and its output end is connected to the injection arm. The guide member is disposed on the side of the support frame near the injection arm.

[0009] The locking device includes a positioning plate, a drive assembly, and a pin. The positioning plate is fixedly connected to the base and is located on the left side of the base, close to the rotary feeding mechanism. The drive assembly is disposed on the positioning plate. The pin is connected to the output end of the drive cylinder of the drive assembly and is slidably inserted into the locking block.

[0010] The gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) autosampler also includes a stabilizing mechanism, which includes an ear plate and a connecting plate. The ear plate is bolted to the housing of the cam divider of the rotary feed mechanism and is symmetrically arranged. One end of the connecting plate is welded to the ear plate, and the other end is bolted to the positioning plate.

[0011] This invention relates to an automatic sampler for gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). During injection, the control system controls the rotation of the rotary feeding mechanism to achieve sample vial rotation and positioning. Then, after the positioning switch detects the signal of the locking block, the locking device activates to lock the vial. A cylinder then actuates, pulling the moving plate downwards so that the abutment ring can abut against the top of the sample vial for limiting its position. A descending device then moves the injection arm downwards, allowing the connecting tube and injection needle to descend. The injection needle is inserted into the sample vial, and the extraction device is activated to extract the sample. The extracted sample is then transported to the GC-MS instrument for analysis. The control system then controls the descending device to move the injection needle upwards to detach from the sample vial. At this point, because the abutment ring remains abutting against the top of the sample vial, the sample vial is not pulled off the tray during the upward detachment of the injection needle. After the injection needle returns to its original position, the cylinder actuates, pushing the moving plate upwards. The locking device then resets, and the rotary feeding mechanism continues to deliver the sample, thus preventing the sample vial from being pulled out of the injection mechanism by the injection needle during injection. Attached Figure Description

[0012] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application or the prior art, the accompanying drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below.

[0013] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the autosampler for a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) instrument according to the first embodiment of this utility model.

[0014] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the movable plate according to the first embodiment of this utility model.

[0015] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the autosampler for a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) instrument according to the second embodiment of this utility model.

[0016] In the diagram: 101 - base, 102 - rotary feeding mechanism, 103 - material tray, 104 - sample bottle, 105 - mounting plate, 106 - cylinder, 107 - moving plate, 108 - abutment ring, 109 - sliding arm, 110 - connecting pipe, 111 - injection needle, 112 - position switch, 113 - locking block, 114 - injection arm, 115 - support frame, 116 - servo electric cylinder, 117 - guide component, 118 - positioning plate, 119 - drive assembly, 120 - pin, 201 - ear plate, 202 - connecting plate. Detailed Implementation

[0017] The embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below. Examples of the embodiments are shown in the accompanying drawings. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and intended to explain the present invention, but should not be construed as limiting the present invention.

[0018] Example 1:

[0019] like Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, where Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the autosampler for a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) instrument. Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the moving plate 107. This utility model provides an automatic sampler for a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) instrument: it includes a base 101, a rotary feeding mechanism 102, a material tray 103, a sample vial 104, and an injection mechanism. The injection mechanism includes a mounting plate 105, a cylinder 106, a moving plate 107, an abutment ring 108, a sliding arm 109, a connecting pipe 110, an injection needle 111, a position switch 112, a locking block 113, a descending device, and a locking device. The descending device includes a support frame 115 and an actuation assembly. The actuation assembly includes a servo electric cylinder 116 and a guide member 117. The locking device includes a positioning plate 118, a drive assembly 119, and a pin 120. This design prevents the sample vial 104 from being pulled out of the injection mechanism by the injection needle 111 during injection. It is understood that this design prevents the sample vial 104 from being pulled out of the injection mechanism by the injection needle 111 when the injection needle 111 moves upward to reset.

[0020] In this embodiment, a rotary feeding mechanism 102 is provided on the left side of the base 101. A material tray 103 is fixed on the top of the rotary feeding mechanism 102, and multiple sample bottles 104 are arranged in a ring on the material tray 103. The rotary feeding mechanism 102 consists of a cam divider and a drive motor, and the material tray 103 is mounted on its top output shaft by positioning pins and bolts. Multiple placement seats are provided on the material tray 103 for placing the sample bottles 104 directly. In this application, the equipment control system adopts a control PLC, and the sample extraction equipment used in conjunction can directly adopt existing technology, such as the extraction equipment disclosed in CN 220104957U. The corresponding equipment belongs to the prior art, and its working principle can be directly obtained from the product manual and operation manual, and will not be described in detail here.

[0021] The mounting plate 105 is fixed to the right side of the base 101. The cylinder 106 is fixed to the mounting plate 105, and its output end is connected to the moving plate 107. The moving plate 107 has an integrally formed abutment ring 108 on the side away from the cylinder 106. The abutment ring 108 can move vertically and abut against the top of the sample bottle 104. The sliding arm 109 slides with the guide rod of the moving plate 107 and is located on one side of the downward device. The connecting pipe 110 is fixed to the injection arm 114. The injection arm 114 is located on the... Below the downward device and above the abutment ring 108, the top of the connecting tube 110 is connected to the extraction device through a movable pipe. The injection needle 111 is threadedly connected to the connecting tube 110 and is located at the bottom of the connecting tube 110, and can be inserted into the sample bottle 104. The positioning switch 112 is located on the mounting plate 105 near the locking block 113. The locking block 113 is fixedly connected to the material tray 103 and is evenly spaced in a ring. The locking device is located on the left side of the rotary feeding mechanism 102 and near the locking block 113. The mounting plate 105 is L-shaped and fixed at the bottom by positioning pins and bolts. The cylinder 106 is a double-rod cylinder and is fixed by bolts. Two magnetic switches are provided on the cylinder body of the cylinder 106 to detect the movement position of the internal piston. The magnetic switches are used to provide signal feedback during automatic control. The moving plate 107 is connected to the output end of the cylinder 106 by bolts. The abutment ring 108 is integrally formed on the end of the moving plate 107 away from the cylinder 106. The abutment ring 108 is slightly larger than the size of the annular neck at the top of the sample bottle 104, but can pass through and abut against the stepped end face at the top of the sample bottle 104. A T-shaped linear sliding bearing is installed on the sliding arm 109 to slide with the guide rod on the moving plate 107. The bottom of the connecting tube 110 passes through the through hole of the injection arm 114, and the upper limiting plate is fixed by bolts. The top of the connecting tube 110 is connected to the extraction device through a movable pipe. The extraction device extracts the sample and then transports the extracted sample to a gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer for analysis. The external threaded end of the injection needle 111 is directly installed in the threaded mounting cavity at the bottom of the connecting tube 110. When using the equipment, it is necessary to check whether the injection needle 111 is loose. It can only be used if it is not loose. The fixing bracket of the position switch 112 is fixed to the mounting plate 105 by bolts. The position switch 112 is a CDD-40N infrared photoelectric switch used to sense the position of the locking block 113. Since the locking block 113 corresponds one-to-one with the placement seat on the material tray 103, the position of the locking block 113 can be detected to determine whether the sample bottle 104 to be sampled is in the sampling position.The locking block 113 is fixed by bolts and has a vertical through hole. The locking device is used to further lock the tray 103 after it is in place.

[0022] Secondly, the support frame 115 is fixed on the base 101 and located above the injection arm 114; the actuation component is disposed on the side of the support frame 115 near the injection arm 114. The support frame 115 is Z-shaped and fixed at the bottom by positioning pins and bolts. The actuation component is used to drive the injection arm 114 to move vertically, thereby realizing the vertical movement of the injection needle 111.

[0023] Then, the servo electric cylinder 116 is fixed to the top of the support frame 115, and its output end is connected to the injection arm 114; the guide member 117 is disposed on the side of the support frame 115 near the injection arm 114. The servo electric cylinder 116 is fixed to the top of the support frame 115 by bolts, and its output end is connected to the injection arm 114 by bolts. The guide member 117 consists of a circular guide rod and a T-shaped linear sliding bearing. The T-shaped linear sliding bearing is fixed on the support frame 115, and the bottom threaded end of the circular guide rod is directly installed on the injection arm 114 and slides in cooperation with the T-shaped linear sliding bearing. The guide member 117 is used to improve the linear stability of the vertical movement of the injection arm 114.

[0024] Finally, the positioning plate 118 is fixedly connected to the base 101 and located on the left side of the base 101, close to the rotary feeding mechanism 102; the drive assembly 119 is disposed on the positioning plate 118; the pin 120 is connected to the output end of the drive cylinder of the drive assembly 119 and is slidably inserted with the locking block 113. The positioning plate 118 is L-shaped, and the bottom is fixed by positioning pins and bolts. The drive assembly 119 consists of a drive cylinder and a stabilizing guide rod. The drive cylinder is a double-rod cylinder and is fixed by bolts. Two magnetic switches are provided on the cylinder body of the drive cylinder to detect the internal piston movement position. The magnetic switches are used to realize signal feedback during automatic control. The output end of the drive cylinder is connected to the rectangular plate of the pin 120 by bolts. The stabilizing guide rod is disposed at the bottom of the rectangular plate of the pin 120 and slides with the T-shaped linear sliding bearing installed on the positioning plate 118. During operation, when After the PLC controls the drive motor of the cam divider of the rotary feeding mechanism 102 to rotate, the material tray 103 can rotate one station and stop. Then, the position switch 112 will detect the signal again when the material tray 103 rotates. At this time, the drive cylinder of the drive assembly 119 will be activated, pushing the pin 120 upward and sliding it into the mating hole of the locking block 113 to lock the material tray 103. When the rotary feeding mechanism 102 is activated again, the drive assembly 119 needs to be activated in advance to drive the pin 120 downward to the position.

[0025] When using this invention to prevent the sample vial 104 from being pulled out of the injection mechanism by the injection needle 111 during sample injection, during operation, after the drive motor of the cam divider of the rotary feeding mechanism 102 is rotated by the control PLC, the material tray 103 can rotate one station and stop. Then, the position switch 112 will detect the signal again when the material tray 103 rotates. At this time, the drive cylinder of the drive assembly 119 is activated, pushing the pin 120 upward and sliding it into the mating hole of the locking block 113 to lock the material tray 103. Then, the cylinder 106 is activated to pull the moving plate 107 downward, so that the abutment ring 108 can abut against the sample vial. The top of 104 is limited, and the servo electric cylinder 116 drives the injection arm 114 downward, thereby realizing the downward movement of the connecting tube 110 and the injection needle 111. The injection needle 111 is inserted into the sample bottle 104, and then the extraction device is turned on to extract the sample. The extracted sample is then transported to a gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer for analysis. After sampling, the control system controls the downward device to move, first driving the injection needle 111 upward to detach from the sample bottle 104. At this time, because the abutment ring 108 will remain abutting the top of the sample bottle 104, the sample bottle 104 will not be taken away from the tray 103 when the injection needle 111 moves upward to detach. Then, after the injection needle 111 moves upward and resets, the cylinder 106 actuates, pushing the moving plate 107 upward. Then, the drive assembly 119 actuates, driving the pin 120 downward and resetting. The rotary feeding mechanism 102 continues to feed the sample, sending the next sample vial 104 to the sampling point, thereby preventing the sample vial 104 from being carried out of the injection mechanism by the injection needle 111 during injection.

[0026] Example 2:

[0027] like Figure 3 As shown, where Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of an autosampler for a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) instrument. Based on the first embodiment, this utility model provides an autosampler for a GC-MS instrument, which further includes a stabilizing mechanism, comprising an ear plate 201 and a connecting plate 202.

[0028] The ear plate 201 is bolted to the housing of the cam divider of the rotary feeding mechanism 102 and is symmetrically arranged. One end of the connecting plate 202 is welded to the ear plate 201, and the other end is bolted to the positioning plate 118. The ear plate 201 is directly welded to both sides of the right end of the connecting plate 202, and the ear plate 201 is fixed by bolts. The end of the connecting plate 202 near the positioning plate 118 is fixed by bolts.

[0029] In this embodiment, the structure of the connecting plate 202 and the ear plate 201 can help improve the working stability of the positioning plate 118.

[0030] The above-disclosed embodiments are merely one or more preferred embodiments of this application and should not be construed as limiting the scope of this application. Those skilled in the art can understand that all or part of the processes for implementing the above embodiments and equivalent changes made in accordance with the claims of this application still fall within the scope of this application.

Claims

1. A gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer automatic sample injector, comprising a base, a rotary feeding mechanism is arranged on the left side of the base, and a tray is fixed on the top of the rotary feeding mechanism, and a plurality of sample bottles are arranged in a ring on the tray, characterized in that: It also comprises a sample feeding mechanism; The sample feeding mechanism comprises a mounting plate, a gas cylinder, a moving plate, an abutment ring, a sliding arm, a connecting pipe, a sample needle, a position switch, a locking block, a descending device and a locking device, the mounting plate is fixed on the right side of the base, the gas cylinder is fixed on the mounting plate, and the output end thereof is connected with the moving plate, the moving plate is integrally formed with the abutment ring on the side end away from the gas cylinder, the abutment ring can be vertically moved to abut on the top of the sample bottle, the sliding arm is in sliding fit with the guide rod part of the moving plate and is arranged on one side of the descending device, the connecting pipe is fixed on the sample feeding arm, the sample feeding arm is arranged below the descending device and above the abutment ring, the connecting pipe is connected with a pumping device through a movable pipe on the top, the sample needle is in threaded connection with the connecting pipe and is located at the bottom of the connecting pipe and can be inserted into the sample bottle, the position switch is arranged on the side of the mounting plate close to the locking block, the locking block is fixedly connected with the tray and is arranged in a ring and uniformly spaced, and the locking device is arranged on the left side of the rotary feeding mechanism and close to the locking block.

2. The gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer automatic sample injector according to claim 1, characterized in that: The descending device comprises a support frame and a motion assembly, the support frame is fixed on the base and located above the sample feeding arm, and the motion assembly is arranged on the side of the support frame close to the sample feeding arm.

3. The gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer automatic sample injector according to claim 2, characterized in that: The motion assembly comprises a servo electric cylinder and a guide member, the servo electric cylinder is fixed on the top of the support frame and the output end thereof is connected with the sample feeding arm, and the guide member is arranged on the side of the support frame close to the sample feeding arm.

4. The gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer automatic sample injector according to claim 1, characterized in that: The locking device comprises a positioning plate, a driving assembly and a latch, the positioning plate is fixedly connected with the base and located on the left side of the base and close to the rotary feeding mechanism, the driving assembly is arranged on the positioning plate, and the latch is connected with the output end of the driving cylinder of the driving assembly and is in sliding fit with the locking block.

5. The gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer automatic sample injector according to claim 4, characterized in that: The gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer automatic sample injector further comprises a stabilizing mechanism, the stabilizing mechanism comprises ear plates and a connecting plate, the ear plates are connected with the housings of the cam dividers of the rotary feeding mechanism through bolts and are symmetrically arranged, one side end of the connecting plate is welded with the ear plates, and the other side end is connected with the positioning plate through bolts.

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