Sampling device and method for taking samples

Abstract

The invention relates to a sampling device (1) comprising a sampler (2) which has a sampler housing (3) on which a sample outlet (6) is formed which can be optionally opened or closed by a valve element (32). A sample vessel (16) to be filled with a sample can be attached to the sampler (2) with the interposition of an adapter / plug unit (47) consisting of a vessel adapter (23) and a closure plug (43). By attaching the closure plug (43) of the mounted adapter / plug unit (47) to the valve element (32), a vessel interior (17) of the sample vessel (16) can be accessed by actuating the valve element (32) in order to introduce a sample and then closed again. The adapter / plug unit (47) can be removed from the sampler (2) together with the sample vessel (16) while securely enclosing a sample, with it functioning as a closure cap (22) for the sample vessel (16). The invention also relates to a preferred method of sampling using the sampling device (1).

Description

[0001] Sampling device and sampling method

[0002] The invention relates to a sampling device, in particular for sampling from a containment area, with a sampler which has a sampler housing which delimits a sample collection space for receiving a sample to be taken and which has a sample inlet communicating with the sample collection space for introducing a sample to be taken and a sample outlet communicating with the sample collection space for discharging the sample contained in the sample collection space into a sample vessel which is fixed to the sampler and delimits a vessel interior.

[0003] The invention further relates to a method for taking samples, in particular from a containment area, using a sampling device of the aforementioned type, wherein the sampler, when in a position of use, is connected with its sample inlet to a media container which contains a flowable, in particular granular or powdery, medium from which a sample is to be taken.

[0004] Chemical or pharmaceutical production processes often involve processing fluid media in the form of granules or powder. For example, tablets are pressed from granules of varying composition, which are prepared using fluidization equipment, particularly fluidized bed equipment. Components of the processed media are not uncommonly toxic in nature, so contamination of the process environment must be avoided at all costs. The processes therefore usually take place in a containment area, which means that protective measures are taken to minimize the risk of the process media spreading, but also, conversely, of external contamination of the process media. Containment is usually ensured through the use of closed systems.Nevertheless, the processes require occasional access to the processed media in order to, for example, regularly check the material composition and / or ensure compliance with certain quality standards. This is done by so-called sampling using a suitable sampling device. According to the applicant's internal knowledge, a sampling device can have a sampler that is stationary or, if necessary, attached to a media container containing a medium to be examined, for example granules with active medicinal substances. The sampler defines a sample collection space into which a quantity of the medium to be examined can be introduced from the assigned media container by briefly opening a dispensing opening in the media container.The sample is then transferred to a sample container that can be attached to the sampler, and then used for subsequent testing. These processes always involve a relatively large amount of effort to reliably meet the desired containment requirements.

[0005] The object of the invention is to provide a sampling device that enables containment-safe sampling while being cost-effective and easy to handle. Furthermore, an efficiently implementable method for sampling using the sampling device is to be proposed.

[0006] To achieve this object, a sampling device is provided according to the invention which, in conjunction with the features mentioned at the outset, is characterized in that

[0007] - that the sampler has a valve member which is movable relative to the sampler housing for selectively opening or closing the sample outlet by performing valve member movements, which has a closure section which, in a valve member closed position, tightly closes the sample outlet and, in a valve member open position, is displaced into the sample collection chamber and releases the sample outlet for a sample to pass through,

[0008] - that the sampling device has a sleeve-shaped vessel adapter which can be attached or is attached to the sample vessel when assuming a vessel position in the region of a vessel opening and which is axially penetrated by an adapter opening which is connected to the vessel interior in the vessel position,

[0009] - that the sampling device has a closure plug which can be brought into a plug-closed position when inserted into the adapter opening and thereby tightly closing the adapter opening, as well as into a plug-open position when pulled out of the adapter opening and thereby releasing the adapter opening, wherein the vessel adapter and the closure plug together form an adapter-plug unit in the plug-closed position,

[0010] - that components of a plug-connecting device are arranged on the valve member and on a fastening section of the closure plug, by means of which the closure plug can be releasably fastened to the valve member in a plug-coupling position in which the closure plug follows the valve member movements of the valve member,

[0011] - and that components of an adapter connection device are arranged on the sampler housing and on the vessel adapter, by means of which the vessel adapter can be releasably fastened to the sampler housing in an adapter coupling position in which the adapter opening is connected to the sample outlet,

[0012] - whereby, while the valve member assumes the valve member closed position, the closure plug can be brought into the plug coupling position attached to the valve member and the vessel adapter can be brought into the adapter coupling position attached to the sampler housing, forming the adapter-plug unit, so that the adapter-plug unit is attached to the sampler on the one hand via the sampler housing and on the other hand via the valve member,

[0013] - wherein the adapter opening, with the adapter-plug unit attached to the sampler, can first be opened and then closed again by valve member movements of the valve member due to the closure plug moving with the valve member, so that a sample contained in the sample collection chamber can be transferred into a sample vessel arranged on the vessel adapter and enclosed therein,

[0014] - wherein the adapter-plug unit can be removed from the sampler in the valve member closed position of the valve member while maintaining the plug closed position of the closure plug by releasing both the adapter connecting device and the plug connecting device together with a sample vessel attached to the vessel adapter.

[0015] The object is further achieved by a method for sampling in which, in conjunction with the measures mentioned at the outset, a sampling device designed in the above-mentioned sense is used with the following method steps:

[0016] - Providing a sample vessel, a vessel adapter and a sealing plug, - Positioning the valve member of the sampler in the valve member closed position,

[0017] - manually fastening the closure plug in the plug coupling position to the valve member in the valve member closing position by means of the plug connecting device,

[0018] - subsequent manual fastening of the vessel adapter in the adapter coupling position in the area of ​​the sample outlet of the sampler housing using the adapter connection device, whereby the pre-assembled sealing plug is inserted into the adapter opening of the vessel adapter to assume the plug-closing position, so that the adapter opening is closed by the sealing plug, forming the adapter-plug unit,

[0019] - Attaching the sample vessel to the vessel adapter before or after it is fixed in the adapter coupling position,

[0020] - Transferring a sample introduced into the sample collection chamber from the sample collection chamber into the sample vessel fixed to the sampler housing via the vessel adapter, by first opening the adapter opening by valve member movements of the valve member as a result of the closure plug following the valve member movements and then closing it again, so that the sample contained in the sample collection chamber is transferred through the opened adapter opening into the sample vessel and enclosed in its vessel interior,

[0021] - Removing the sample vessel from the sampler together with the adapter-plug unit, which now functions as a closure lid, in the valve member closed position of the valve member by loosening both the adapter connecting device and the plug connecting device while maintaining the plug closed position of the closure plug. The sampling device according to the invention allows regular sampling from a containment area with a high level of security against contamination of the environment and against impurities in the medium to be tested. The sampling device has a sampler which, during use, is attached to a media container with a sample inlet and assumes a use position. The medium contains a flowable and, for example, granular medium that is to be taken out in portions for testing.A dispensing device on the media container or on the sampler, for example formed by a shut-off valve, allows the desired amount of medium to be dispensed as a sample into a sample collection chamber of the sampler defined by a sampler housing. This media dispensing can take place when the sample collection chamber is hermetically sealed. This is ensured by a sample outlet communicating with the sample collection chamber being tightly closed by a valve member of the sampler positioned in a valve member closed position. A sample vessel provided for receiving this sample can be detachably fastened to the sample outlet in the area of ​​the sample outlet by means of a fastening element referred to as a vessel adapter. For this purpose, the sampler housing and the vessel adapter are equipped with coordinated components of a connecting device referred to as an adapter connecting device.For ease of identification, the position assumed by the vessel adapter when attached to the sampler housing is referred to as the adapter coupling position. The vessel adapter is sleeve-shaped and has an adapter opening running axially through it, allowing access to the interior of the sample vessel attached to the vessel adapter. A closure plug, which is also part of the sampling device, is assigned to this adapter opening and can be inserted into the adapter opening when the plug is in the closed position, or arranged outside the adapter opening when the plug is in the open position. When the closure plug is inserted into the adapter opening, it closes the adapter opening and, together with the vessel adapter, forms a uniformly manageable unit, which is referred to as the adapter-plug unit.The closure plug has a fastening section by means of which it can be detachably fastened to the valve member using a connecting device referred to as the plug connecting device. The position assumed by the closure plug when fastened to the valve member is referred to as the plug coupling position for ease of differentiation. When the valve member is moved to open or close the sample outlet, the closure plug, fixed to the valve member in the plug coupling position, always directly follows the valve member movements.In order to transfer a sample located in the sample collection chamber into the sample vessel in a containment-safe manner, the vessel adapter and the closure plug can be attached to the sampler housing or to the valve member in the closed position in such a way that the adapter-plug unit is present, i.e. the sample vessel is attached to the sampler housing via the vessel adapter and the closure plug currently closing the adapter opening is attached to the valve member. Subsequently, valve member movements of the valve member can be induced, in particular manually or automatically, by which the valve member is first moved from the closed position to the open position and then back to the closed position. Since the closure plug follows these valve member movements, the adapter opening is released when the valve member is in the open position.This allows the sample poured into the sample collection chamber or already contained in it to flow through the now open adapter opening into the sample vessel. The valve member can be maintained in the open position until the entire sample has flowed out of the sample collection chamber or been removed. After the valve member has been moved back into the closed position, the adapter-plug unit is once again present, with the sealing plug having closed the adapter opening again. The transferred sample is thus safely contained in the sample vessel and sealed off from the environment.By subsequently loosening both the adapter connector and the plug connector, the adapter-plug unit can be removed from the sampler together with the sample container without the interior of the sample container or the sample collection chamber of the sampler coming into contact with the environment. The removed adapter-plug unit now functions as a closure lid for continued containment-safe handling of the sample until its intended use.

[0022] The sampling method provides, in particular, that the medium to be sampled is filled into the sample collection chamber with the valve member in the closed position, before or after the adapter-plug unit is attached to the sampler. However, it is also possible to fill the sample into the sample collection chamber with the valve member in the open position, after the adapter-plug unit has been attached to the sampler. In this case, the sample then passes through the sample collection chamber without being retained therein. Advantageous developments of the invention are set out in the subclaims.

[0023] The closure section of the valve member is expediently designed in a plug-like manner. Thus, when the valve member is in the closed position, the closure section can be immersed in the sample outlet and radially seal against an inner circumferential surface surrounding the sample outlet. This ensures a particularly high sealing quality with a radial sealing force independent of external influences.

[0024] Preferably, the plug connection device and the adapter connection device are designed such that they can be released simultaneously to remove the adapter-plug unit from the sampler. This facilitates handling. In particular, removal can be carried out as part of a uniform, manually induced release movement of the adapter-plug unit. In principle, however, a design would also be possible in which, for example, the connection of the closure plug to the valve member is released first and only then the connection between the vessel adapter and the sampler housing.

[0025] It is also advantageous if the adapter-plug unit can be detached from both the sampler housing and the valve member by simply actuating the vessel adapter to release it. In this case, the closure plug is mechanically coupled to the vessel adapter in such a way that no direct manipulation is possible to detach it from the valve member. The closure plug is actuated here by the vessel adapter. Both the plug connecting device and the adapter connecting device could, for example, be designed as a connecting device functionally based on latching or another type of locking. However, a design as a screw connecting device is regarded as particularly cost-effective and process-reliable.In this case, the plug connecting device has a first plug thread formed on the closure plug and a complementary second plug thread formed on the valve member. Furthermore, the adapter connecting device has a first adapter thread formed on the vessel adapter and a complementary second adapter thread formed on the sampler housing. By turning the closure plug, the first and second plug threads and by turning the vessel adapter, the first and second adapter threads can be brought into or out of engagement with one another, depending on the direction of rotation, in order to establish or cancel the associated screw connection.

[0026] The adapter-plug unit, consisting of the vessel adapter and the closure plug inserted into the vessel adapter, has a central longitudinal axis with respect to which the vessel adapter and the closure plug are arranged coaxially. Preferably, the two plug threads and the two adapter threads are also arranged coaxially with the central longitudinal axis of the adapter-plug unit.

[0027] It is advantageous if the first plug thread is an internal thread and the second plug thread is an external thread. For example, the second plug thread can be formed as an external thread on a fastening bolt of the valve member, onto which the closure plug can be screwed. The second plug thread has a fastening hole with an internal thread that allows the insertion of the fastening bolt. The interaction between the fastening bolt and the fastening hole can also achieve a centering effect for the precise alignment of the closure plug.

[0028] It is advantageous if the two plug threads have the same thread pitch as the two adapter threads. This allows the two plug threads and the two adapter threads to be simultaneously disengaged with a uniform loosening and rotating movement of the adapter-plug unit, thus unscrewing the adapter-plug unit from the sampler.

[0029] Advantageous handling of the screw connection measures is possible if the adapter-plug unit has a freewheel device. The freewheel device is designed in particular such that, on the one hand, the vessel adapter can rotate freely relative to the fastening section of the closure plug when a torque is introduced into the vessel adapter in a fastening direction for screwing it onto the sampler housing. This allows the vessel adapter to be fastened to the sampler housing via the adapter connection device independently of the closure plug already screwed onto the valve element.On the other hand, the freewheel device causes the vessel adapter to drive the sealing plug when a torque is applied that is oriented in a direction opposite to the fastening direction of rotation. This causes the screw connections of the adapter connection device and the plug connection device to be released simultaneously. The freewheel device thus transmits torque in only one of the two possible directions of rotation, which, on the one hand, allows the vessel adapter to be tightened without being hindered by the pre-assembled sealing plug, and, on the other hand, allows the sealing plug to be unscrewed together with the vessel adapter.

[0030] In one possible embodiment, the freewheel device operates between the vessel adapter and the closure plug. First and second locking elements of the freewheel device are located on the vessel adapter and on the closure plug and, depending on the direction of rotation, effect the transmission or non-transmission of torque between the two components. This freewheel design requires very few components and is therefore very cost-effective to implement.

[0031] Alternatively, it is possible to integrate the freewheel device either into the vessel adapter or into the closure plug. In this case, the component equipped with the freewheel device, i.e. either the vessel adapter or the closure plug, has a first freewheel element and a second freewheel element that can be rotated in relation to it, which are equipped with first and second locking elements that can be locked and unlocked depending on the direction of rotation. Depending on the design of the closure plug or the vessel adapter, a driver structure is additionally effective between the second freewheel element and the component that does not have a freewheel device, which driver structure causes the second freewheel element to rotate in both directions of rotation when the component that does not have a freewheel device rotates.

[0032] If, in a preferred embodiment, the closure plug is equipped with the integrated freewheel device, the first freewheel element expediently has the fastening section which can be used to fix the closure plug to the valve member and the second freewheel element is coupled to the vessel adapter in both directions of rotation via the aforementioned driver structure in a torque-transmitting manner.This means that when the vessel adapter is screwed onto the sampler housing, the freewheel function is effective, whereby the vessel adapter and the second freewheel element can rotate together relative to the already screwed-on fastening section, while when the vessel adapter is unscrewed, the second freewheel element, which is in turn driven, is coupled to the first freewheel element and accordingly also to the fastening section in a torque-transmitting manner, so that the fastening section and thus the entire sealing plug can be unscrewed together with the vessel adapter.

[0033] Preferably, the first locking elements are formed by a toothed structure that is radially immobile with respect to the above-mentioned central longitudinal axis of the adapter-plug unit, while the second locking elements are formed by locking elements that are radially resiliently movable with respect to the central longitudinal axis of the adapter-plug unit. This arrangement can also be reversed. For example, the locking elements are made of a resiliently deformable metal or plastic.

[0034] The use of the plural in naming the locking elements and the latching elements is intended to include the possibility of providing only one of these elements.

[0035] The adapter-plug unit is held together particularly securely when the closure plug is releasably locked to the vessel adapter in the plug-closed position. The locking is preferably achieved by means of an annular seal, such as an O-ring, which is provided for sealing between the closure plug and the vessel adapter. This seal is preferably formed on the closure plug and engages in an annular groove in the vessel adapter, or vice versa.

[0036] It is advantageous if the closure plug has a sealing surface on the end face facing the valve member in the plug-coupling position, which sealing surface rests axially on the closure section of the valve member in the plug-coupling position and thus prevents the end face of the closure section from coming into contact with the sample in the valve member's open position. This protective function can be fulfilled particularly reliably if the end-face sealing surface is concave, thus creating a particularly high surface pressure on the outer edge region of the sealing surface.

[0037] The valve member is preferably provided with an actuating rod which carries the closure section and projects from the sampler housing, to which an actuating force can be introduced manually or by motor in order to bring about the valve member movements. The actuating rod has a longitudinal section which extends into the sample collection chamber and which is expediently enclosed by a rubber-elastic, deformable sealing sleeve which reliably prevents material from escaping between the sampler housing and the actuating rod. The sealing sleeve is axially and tightly fastened on the one hand to the closure section and on the other hand to the sampler housing and expediently has a bellows structure.

[0038] The sampler has an imaginary vertical axis with respect to which the sample outlet is expediently arranged coaxially and which is preferably aligned at least substantially vertically in a position of use of the sampler, so that the sample located in the sample collection chamber is reliably transferred into the attached sample vessel by gravity when the sample outlet is opened.

[0039] The sampler housing is conveniently equipped with a gas-tight viewing window, made of transparent glass or plastic, for example, which allows for a view into the sample collection chamber from the outside. This allows a visual inspection of the media fill level in the sample collection chamber and whether the entire sample has reliably left the sample collection chamber after the sample outlet has been opened.

[0040] For easier handling, it is advantageous if the valve member is assigned a locking device which makes it possible to releasably fix the valve member in the valve member open position or in the valve member closed position and preferably in both of these positions.

[0041] The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the attached drawing. It shows:

[0042] Figure 1 is a side view of a preferred first embodiment of the sampling device according to the invention, wherein a media container equipped with the sampling device is only indicated schematically,

[0043] Figure 2 shows the sampling device from Figure 1 in a longitudinal section with the valve member in its valve member closed position,

[0044] Figure 3 shows the section III framed in dash-dotted lines in Figure 2 in an enlarged view, Figure 4 shows a cross-section of the sampling device according to section line IV-IV in Figures 2 and 3,

[0045] Figure 5 shows a further longitudinal section of the sampling device, wherein the valve member is shown in its valve member open position,

[0046] Figure 6 shows in section an exploded view of the area illustrated in Figure 3 of the first embodiment of the sampling device,

[0047] Figure 7 is a detailed view of the closure plug of the sampling device of the first embodiment in a viewing direction according to arrow VI I in Figure 8, wherein, to clarify the driver function of the driver structures, the vessel adapter enclosing the closure plug in the plug-closed position is additionally indicated by dash-dotted lines,

[0048] Figure 8 shows the sealing plug from Figure 7 in a side view looking in the direction of arrow VI II,

[0049] Figure 9 shows a longitudinal section of the sealing plug according to section line IX-IX in Figures 7 and 12,

[0050] Figure 10 shows a cross-section of the sealing plug according to section line XX in Figures 7, 8 and 9,

[0051] Figure 11 is an axial front view of the closure plug, viewed in the direction of arrow XI in Figures 7 and 8,

[0052] Figure 12 is a rear view of the closure plug viewed in the direction of arrow XI I in Figures 7 and 8, Figure 13 is a perspective individual view of the vessel adapter of the first embodiment of the sampling device viewed from its front side,

[0053] Figure 14 is a side view of the vessel adapter from Figure 13,

[0054] Figure 15 shows a longitudinal section of the vessel adapter according to section line XV-XV in Figure 14,

[0055] Figure 16 is a front view of the vessel adapter viewed in the direction of arrow XVI in Figure 13,

[0056] Figure 17 is an exploded view corresponding to Figure 6 of components of a second embodiment of the sampling device according to the invention, which differs from the first embodiment only in the design of the vessel adapter and the closure plug, so that apart from that the structure of this sampling device corresponds in particular to that shown in Figures 1, 2 and 5, wherein the longitudinal section of the illustrated closure plug corresponds to the section line XXVI Ib-XXVI Ib from Figures 26 and 27 and wherein in Figure 17 the closure plug and the vessel adapter are also illustrated again in the configuration assembled as an adapter-plug unit in a dash-dotted frame,

[0057] Figure 18 is a side view of the adapter plug unit of the second embodiment, viewed in the direction of arrow XVI II in Figure 17, Figure 19 is a front view of the adapter plug unit, viewed in the direction of arrow IX in Figure 18,

[0058] Figure 20 is a rear view of the adapter plug unit viewed in the direction indicated by arrow XX in Figure 18,

[0059] Figure 21 is an isometric detail view of the vessel adapter of the second embodiment,

[0060] Figure 22 is a front view of the vessel adapter viewed in the direction of arrow XXI I in Figure 21,

[0061] Figure 23 is a side view of the closure plug of the second embodiment of the sampling device, viewed in the direction of arrow XXI II in Figures 17 and 24,

[0062] Figure 24 is a further side view of the closure plug viewed in the direction of arrow XXIV in Figure 23,

[0063] Figure 25 shows a cross-section of the sealing plug according to section line XXV-XXV in Figure 23,

[0064] Figure 26 is a front view of the closure plug viewed in the direction of arrow XXVI in Figure 23, and

[0065] Figure 27 is a rear view of the closure plug viewed in the direction indicated by arrow XXVI I in Figure 23.

[0066] The sampling device 1, illustrated in the drawing in several embodiments, is suitable for sampling from containment areas due to its properties, but can also be used for sampling where lower safety requirements apply. The sampling device 1 has an apparatus, preferably designed as a uniformly handleable unit, referred to as a sampler 2. The sampler 2 has a sampler housing 3 which encloses an interior space functioning as a sample collection chamber 4 and which has two openings, one of which forms a sample inlet 5 and the other a sample outlet 6.

[0067] The sampler 2 extends along an imaginary vertical axis 7, the axial direction of which is referred to as the height direction 7a. In its preferred position of use, the sampler 2 is arranged with a vertically aligned vertical axis 7. The sample outlet 5 is located on an underside 8 of the sampler housing 3, which underside points downwards in the height direction 7a. In the aforementioned position of use of the sampler 2, the sample inlet 5 is located at a higher level than the sample collection chamber 4 and the sample outlet 5.

[0068] The sampler housing 3 is provided with a fastening structure 11, preferably designed as a fastening flange, by means of which the sampler 2 is fastened to a media container 12 (only indicated schematically) when it is in its use position. The media container 12 contains a flowable medium, for example a powder or granules, which can be intended for any desired process, for example, for the production of tablets in the pharmaceutical sector. The medium referred to as a sample can be withdrawn in portions from the media container 12 via the sampler 2 for process monitoring.The media container 12, which may be, for example, a fluidization apparatus and, in particular, a fluidized bed apparatus, is equipped with a dispensing device 13, designed, for example, in the manner of a shut-off valve, via which the sample to be tested can be dispensed as required and can be filled into the sample collection chamber 4 through the sample inlet 5.

[0069] The sampler housing 3 has a housing wall 14 which encloses the sample collection chamber 4 and which is made of metal or plastic, for example, and is preferably at least predominantly opaque. However, a section of the housing wall 14 is expediently designed as a viewing window 15 which is made of a gas-impermeable and at the same time transparent material and is formed, for example, by a glass pane. The viewing window 15 is preferably oriented horizontally in the position of use of the sampler 2 so that a person standing next to the sampler 2 can easily look into the sample collection chamber 4 through the viewing window 15. The viewing window 15 allows a visual inspection of the sample collection chamber 4, in particular for verifying the presence or absence of a sample or sample residues.

[0070] The sampling device 1 expediently contains a sample container 16 , the purpose of which is to receive the sample taken from the medium for transport to a test location, for example in a laboratory.

[0071] The sample vessel 16, which is designed, for example, as a bottle or beaker, delimits a vessel interior 17 which is provided for receiving the sample and which is accessible through a vessel opening 18 and can be filled or emptied accordingly. In the region of the vessel opening 18, the sample vessel 16 is equipped with a first component 21a of a lid-connecting device 21 which makes it possible to detachably attach a closure lid 22 to the sample vessel 16 in order to hermetically close the vessel opening 18. Figure 2 shows a sample vessel 16 closed by an attached closure lid 22 in an individual representation framed by a dash-dotted line. The closure lid 22 has a second component 21b of the lid-connecting device 21 which is complementary to the first component 21a, these two components 21a, 21b engaging with one another.Preferably, the two components 21a, 21b of the lid-connecting device 21 are designed as screw threads, with the first component 21a located on the sample vessel 16 being designed as an external thread, and the second component 21b located on the closure lid 22 being designed as an internal thread. The threads can be conventional screw threads or bayonet connection structures.

[0072] In order to fill it with the sample located in the sample collection chamber 4, the sample vessel 16 is fastened to the sampler housing 3 in the region of the sample outlet 6 in such a way that the vessel opening 18 is aligned coaxially with the sample outlet 6. However, in both exemplary embodiments, the sample vessel 16 is not fastened to the sampler housing 3 directly, but indirectly via a sleeve-shaped intermediate piece referred to as vessel adapter 23. The vessel adapter 23 is axially penetrated in the center by a through-opening referred to as adapter opening 24, which opens out at both an axial front side 25a and an axial rear side 25b of the vessel adapter 23.

[0073] The vessel adapter 23 has, in the region of its rear side 25b, a vessel fastening structure 26 with which it can be fastened to the sample vessel 16 by interacting with the first component 21a of the lid connecting device 21, assuming a vessel position as shown in Figures 1 to 3 and 5. The vessel fastening structure 26 corresponds in its design to the second component 21b of the lid connecting device 21 explained further above, wherein, in accordance with the illustrated embodiments, the vessel adapter 23 is expediently a component of the closure lid 22 and thus the vessel fastening structure 26 is formed directly by the first component 21a of the lid connecting device 21.

[0074] For example, the vessel adapter 23 can be screwed onto the sample vessel 16 to assume the vessel position while being coaxially aligned with the vessel opening 18. A sealing ring 27 ensures a tight connection between the vessel adapter 23 and the sample vessel 16.

[0075] In a non-illustrated embodiment, the vessel adapter 23 is permanently attached to the sample vessel 16, so that it virtually forms an integral part of the sample vessel 16. Such a configuration is particularly suitable for plastic vessels, while for glass vessels, the illustrated separate adapter solution is preferably used.

[0076] The vessel adapter 23 can be detachably fastened to the sampler housing 3 in a position referred to as the adapter coupling position in the region of the sample outlet 6 in a coaxial arrangement. The adapter coupling position can be seen, for example, in Figures 1, 2, 3 and 5. The attachment is effected by means of an adapter connecting device 28, which has a first component 28a formed on the vessel adapter 23 and a complementary second component 28b formed on the sampler housing 3. In the adapter coupling position, the adapter opening 24 is aligned with the sample outlet 5 and is connected or connectable to the same.The adapter connection device 28 is expediently designed as a screw connection device according to the illustrated embodiment and has, as a first component 28a, a first thread 31a formed in the region of the front side 25a on the vessel adapter 23 and a second thread 31b complementary thereto formed in the region of the sample outlet 6 on the sampler housing 3, these threads 31a, 31b being referred to as first and second adapter threads 31a, 31b for easier differentiation. By way of example, the first adapter thread 31a formed on the vessel adapter 23 is an external thread and the second adapter thread 31b is an internal thread formed on the inner circumference of the sample outlet 6.

[0077] A sealing ring 30 arranged within the sample outlet 6 on the sampler housing 3 ensures a fluid-tight connection between the vessel adapter 23 and the sampler housing 3 in the adapter coupling position.

[0078] The sampler 2 is equipped with a movable valve member 32, by means of which the sample outlet 6 can be optionally closed or opened. In a valve member closed position, as can be seen in Figures 2 and 3, the sample outlet 6 is closed and accordingly also the sample collection chamber 4, so that a sample filled via the sample inlet 5 is retained in the sample collection chamber 4 while being hermetically shielded from the environment. In a valve member open position, as can be seen in Figure 5, the valve member 32 releases the sample outlet 6 and thereby enables the sample located in the sample collection chamber 4 to be transferred through the sample outlet 6 and the adapter opening 24 into the vessel interior 17.The valve member 32 has a drive section 33 located outside the sample collection chamber 4, into which drive forces can be introduced in order to drive the valve member 32 selectively to an opening valve member movement 34a or a closing valve member movement 34b. The valve member movements 34a, 34b take place, for example, in the vertical direction 7a, wherein the valve member 32 expediently has an elongated shape and also extends in the vertical direction 7a, protruding from the sampler housing 3 on a housing top side.

[0079] By way of example, the valve member 32 has, at an inner end region, a closure section 35 arranged in the sampler housing 3, which is arranged on an actuating rod 36 which passes through the sample collection chamber 4 and a bearing section 37 of the sampler housing 3 and has the drive section 33 at an outer end section located outside the sampler housing 3. The bearing section 37 provides a displaceable guide for the actuating rod 36, so that the valve member movements 34a, 34b can be carried out as precise linear movements.

[0080] The drive section 33 is designed, for example, for manual operation and, in particular, as an actuating knob. However, it can also be designed for motorized operation and, for example, cooperate with a valve member drive, for example an electric motor drive, attached to the sampler housing 3.

[0081] For sealing in the area of ​​the bearing section 37, the longitudinal section of the actuating rod located within the sample collection chamber 4 is enclosed, for example, by a rubber-elastic, deformable, in particular bellows-like sealing sleeve 38, which is attached with a front end to the closure section 35 and with an opposite rear end in the area of ​​the bearing section 37 to the sampler housing 3 in a sealed manner. The rubber elasticity and / or bellows structure of the sealing sleeve 38 allows its axial compression and expansion when the valve member movements 34a, 34b are executed.

[0082] The closure section 35 of the valve member 32 is expediently designed like a plug, which is the case in the illustrated embodiments. In the valve member closed position, the plug-like closure section 35 dips into the sample outlet 6 according to Figures 2 and 3 and lies radially against an inner circumferential surface 41 formed on the sampler housing 3, which radially delimits the sample outlet 6 on the outside, in a sealed manner. By way of example, the closure section 35 consists of a rubber-elastic material so that it can directly form a sealing function with respect to the inner circumferential surface 41. Alternatively, the closure section 35 could be designed in several parts and have a rigid component equipped with a sealing ring. Annular grooves 39 on the outer circumference of the closure section 35 can support the elastic deformability and / or sealing.

[0083] In the valve member open position, the closure section 35 is pulled out of the sample outlet 6 and moved into the sample collection chamber 4, wherein the distance to the sample outlet 6 is sufficiently large to allow unhindered passage of the medium to be taken as a sample.

[0084] The sampler 2 is expediently equipped with a locking device 42 that can be actuated from outside the sampler housing 3 and that allows the valve member 32 to be releasably and immovably locked in the valve member's closed position and in the valve member's open position. For example, the locking device 42 is implemented by means of a clamping screw screwed into the sampler housing 3 and clamped to the actuating rod 36. An alternative design provides a locking device with a locking slide that can be moved or pivoted for its actuation.

[0085] The sampling device 1 has as a further component a closure plug 43 which serves to releasably close the adapter opening 24 of the vessel adapter 23. The closure plug 43 is capable of carrying out linear movements relative to the vessel adapter 23, referred to as plug movements 44 and illustrated in Figures 6 and 17 by a double arrow. In this case, the closure plug 43 is always arranged coaxially to the vessel adapter 23. As part of the plug movements 44, the closure plug 43 can be positioned either in a plug closed position as shown in Figures 2, 3, 7 and 17 (shown in the right-hand illustration therein) or in a plug open position as shown in Figures 5, 6 and 17 (shown in the exploded illustration therein).

[0086] In the plug-closed position, the closure plug 43 penetrates into the adapter opening 24 from the front side 25a and rests with an annular seal 45 with a radial sealing effect against an inner circumferential surface 46 of the vessel adapter 23 radially delimiting the adapter opening 24. In this way, the adapter opening 24 is tightly closed. In the plug-open position, the closure plug 43 is pulled out of the adapter opening 24 so that the latter is open and no longer closed. In the plug-open position, the closure plug 43 assumes a position in front of the front side 25a of the vessel adapter 23 at a distance in the height direction 7a.

[0087] When the closure plug 43 is positioned in the plug-closing position, it forms, together with the vessel adapter 23 coaxially enclosing it, a uniformly manageable unit, which is referred to as the adapter-plug unit 47. The adapter-plug unit 47 is shown, for example, in Figures 2, 4, 7, and 17 (right-hand illustration).

[0088] The adapter-plug unit 47 is expediently prevented from accidental disintegration by releasable locking. This locking is achieved by the fact that the rubber-elastic, deformable seal 45 of the closure plug 43, in the plug-closed position, engages in an annular groove 48 formed in the inner circumferential surface 46 of the vessel adapter 23. When the closure plug 43 is pressed into the adapter opening 24 as part of a plug movement 44, the annular seal 45 releasably snaps into the annular groove 48. However, with little effort, the resulting holding forces can be overcome, and the closure plug 43 can be pulled out of the adapter opening 24 again if necessary.

[0089] The closure plug 43 has a fastening section 51 which comprises a first component 52a of a plug-connecting device 52 which enables a detachable fastening of the closure plug 43 to the valve member 32. For this purpose, the valve member 32 is equipped with a second component 52b of the plug-connecting device 52 which is complementary to the first component 52a. For ease of differentiation, the position assumed by the closure plug 43 when fastened to the valve member 32 is referred to as the plug-coupling position. It is clearly visible in the drawing in Figures 2, 3 and 5.

[0090] In the plug coupling position, the closure plug 43 is releasably attached to the valve member 32 in the region of a valve member front side 53 facing the sample outlet 6.

[0091] The closure plug 43 has an axial front side 54a facing the valve member 32 in the plug coupling position and an axially opposite rear side 54b facing away from the valve member 32. In the plug coupling position, the closure plug 43 expediently rests with its front side 54a against a front end face 55 of the closure section 35 facing it, with axial sealing contact. On the front side 54a of the closure plug 43, an axially oriented sealing surface 56 is expediently formed, the outer contour of which sealing surface is identical to the outer contour of the front end face 55 of the closure section 35, so that this front end face 55 and the sealing surface 56 cover one another in the plug coupling position.

[0092] In particular, it can be seen from the enlarged view of Figure 3 that the end-face sealing surface 56 of the closure plug 43 is expediently designed to be concave. In this way, in the plug-coupling position, a strong surface pressure results in the outer edge region of the closure section 35 and the closure plug 43, which reliably prevents the penetration of any type of media, so that in the plug-coupling position, contamination of the front end face 55 of the closure section 35 and the end face of the closure plug 43 opposite it, located on the front side 54a, is effectively prevented. Additionally or alternatively, the front end face 55 of the closure section 35 can also be designed to be concave.

[0093] The plug connecting device 52, like the adapter connecting device 28, is expediently designed as a screw connecting device, which applies to the illustrated embodiments. The two components 52a, 52b are designed as threads and are referred to as plug threads for easier differentiation, with a first plug thread 57a forming the first component 52a being located on the fastening section 51 of the closure plug 43 and a second plug thread 57b complementary thereto, formed by the second component 52b, being located on the valve member 32.

[0094] The first plug thread 57a is expediently designed as an internal thread which is formed on the inner circumference of a fastening bore 58 which extends coaxially in the fastening section 51 and opens out onto the front side 54a. The fastening bore 58 can be machined or, for example, formed during injection molding of the fastening section 51. The second plug thread 57b in this context is an external thread which is formed on the outer circumference of a fastening bolt 61 which represents a threaded bolt and which projects coaxially away from the closure section 35 on the valve member front side 53. The fastening bolt 61 is preferably formed by an axial end section of the actuating rod 36.

[0095] To fix the plug in the coupling position, the closure plug 43 can be screwed with the internal thread of its fastening bore 58 onto the external thread of the fastening bolt 61. It is advantageous if, in addition to the screw connection, centering is also achieved through the interaction between the fastening bolt 61 and the fastening bore 58. This is achieved, for example, in that the fastening bolt 61 has a threadless centering extension 61a adjoining the second plug thread 57b, which, when the closure plug 43 is screwed on, engages with mutual radial support in a threadless centering recess 58a of the fastening bore 58 adjoining the first plug thread 57a.

[0096] When the closure plug 43 assumes the plug coupling position, it forms a movement unit with the valve member 32 and always makes its valve member movements 54a, 54b directly synchronous with .

[0097] Conveniently, the closure plug 43, like the vessel adapter 23, simultaneously represents a component of the closure lid 22. For example, the closure lid 22 is composed of the vessel adapter 23 and the closure plug 43 arranged thereon in the plug-closed position. In other words, the adapter-plug unit 47 forms the closure lid 22 when the sample vessel 16 is arranged on the vessel adapter 23.

[0098] The two plug threads 57a, 57b, for example, have the same thread pitch and the same direction of rotation. They are therefore designed either as left-hand threads with the same pitch or as right-hand threads with the same pitch. This offers the advantage that the plug threads 57a, 57b and the adapter threads 31a, 31b can in principle be brought into engagement with or disengaged from one another with a uniform rotary movement of the adapter-plug unit 47 arranged on the sampler 2. Of particular relevance to the invention is the possibility of simultaneous disengagement within the framework of a loosening-rotating movement, so that in a uniform unscrewing process the vessel adapter 23 can be unscrewed from the sampler housing 3 and the closure plug 43 can be unscrewed from the valve member 32 at the same time.

[0099] A preferred sampling procedure is described below. This procedure assumes that the sampler 2 is attached to a media container 12 in its operating position according to Figures 1 and 2.

[0100] At the beginning of sampling, the valve member 32 is positioned in the valve member closed position. This position results either from a previous sampling process or from an explicit actuation of the valve member 32 by introducing a corresponding drive force into the drive section 33.

[0101] A provided closure plug 43 is then manually mounted in the plug coupling position on the closure section 35 using the plug connecting device 52. For this purpose, the closure plug 43 is screwed onto the fastening bolt 61 with its fastening bore 58.

[0102] Then, a sample vessel 16 already equipped with the vessel adapter 23 is attached to the sampler housing 3 via the vessel adapter 23 using the adapter connecting device 28. The vessel adapter 23 is manually moved into the adapter coupling position. This is done, for example, by screwing the vessel adapter 23 into the sample outlet 6. Alternatively, the vessel adapter 23, which is not yet attached to the sample vessel 16, can first be mounted alone in the adapter coupling position, after which the sample vessel 16 is attached to the vessel adapter 23 using the vessel fastening structure 26.

[0103] When mounting the vessel adapter 23 on the sampler housing 3, the previously mounted closure plug 43 dips into the adapter opening 24 and thereby reaches the plug closing position in which it tightly closes the adapter opening 24.

[0104] This now provides the adapter-plug unit 47, which consists of the closure plug 43 and the vessel adapter 23. At this point, this acts as the closure lid 22, which keeps the vessel interior 17 closed.

[0105] In a further step, the sample collection chamber 4, closed by the valve member 32, is filled with the sample to be taken by actuating the dispensing device 13. Alternatively, this filling process can also be carried out with the sample outlet 6 closed, even if the vessel adapter 23 and / or the closure plug 43 are not yet installed.

[0106] Subsequently, the valve member 32 is moved into the valve member open position by force introduction in the drive section 33 while executing the opening valve member movement 34a, whereby the closure plug 43 attached to the valve member 32 is taken along and consequently pulled out of the adapter opening 24 and moved into the sample collection chamber 4. The closure plug 43 is now in its plug open position. As a result, the sample lying ready in the sample collection chamber 4 is transferred by gravity into the sample vessel 16 through the opened sample outlet 6 and the aligned and also open adapter opening 24.

[0107] In an alternative procedure, the sample outlet 6 and the adapter opening 24 are opened by displacing the valve member 32 before a sample has been poured from the media container 12 into the sample collection chamber 4. In this case, the sample taken from the media container 12 is not retained in the sample collection chamber 4, but passes directly through the sample collection chamber 4 into the sample vessel 16 mounted by means of the vessel adapter 23 without any flow stop.

[0108] After the sample has been poured into the sample vessel 16 - if necessary, the complete emptying of the sample collection chamber 4 can be monitored through the viewing window 15 - the valve member 32 is moved back into the valve member closed position by executing a closing valve member movement 34b, whereby at the same time the concomitantly moved closure plug 43 returns to the plug closed position and closes the adapter opening 24 and thus the vessel interior 17, forming the adapter-plug unit 47. The sample is now hermetically sealed in the sample vessel 16.

[0109] At the end of the sampling process, the sample vessel 16 is removed from the sampler 3 together with the adapter-plug unit 47 while maintaining the valve member 31 in the closed position. The adapter-plug unit 47 fixed to the sample vessel 16 takes over the function of the closure lid 22. During this removal process, both the adapter connecting device 28 and the plug connecting device 52 are released. In the illustrated embodiments, removal is carried out by unscrewing the vessel adapter 23 and the closure plug 43 in such a way that both components 23, 43 are unscrewed simultaneously, which is made possible in principle by the fact that the existing screw threads have the same thread pitch and the same thread rotation direction.

[0110] Due to a special design of the adapter-plug unit 47, the illustrated embodiments offer the advantageous possibility of detaching the adapter-plug unit 47 from the sampler housing 3 and simultaneously also from the valve member 32 by simply releasing the vessel adapter 23. Therefore, only manual access to the vessel adapter 23 is required and necessary in order to remove not only the vessel adapter 23, but also the closure plug 43 from the sampler 2. During the release process, the vessel adapter 23 functions as an actuating element that cooperates with the closure plug 43 so that this too is unscrewed.To remove the adapter-plug unit 47, a preferred procedure involves manually applying a loosening torque to the vessel adapter 23, which is then transferred from the vessel adapter 23 to the closure plug 43, so that both components 23, 43 are subjected to a loosening torque. The closure plug 43 does not need to be directly actuated manually.

[0111] Responsible for the functionality described above is, for example, a freewheel device 62 integrated into the adapter-plug unit 47. It enables, on the one hand, unhindered screwing on of the vessel adapter 23 despite the closure plug 43 already pre-assembled in the plug-coupling position, and, on the other hand, subsequent joint unscrewing of the vessel adapter 23 and the closure plug 43 by solely manually applying pressure to the vessel adapter 23.

[0112] In the first embodiment of Figures 1 to 16, the freewheel device 62 is integrated into the closure plug 43. An alternative embodiment in which the freewheel device 62 is integrated into the vessel adapter 23 instead of the closure plug 43 is not illustrated. The embodiment of Figures 17 to 27 pursues a further implementation path in which the freewheel device 62 is designed and arranged such that it acts between the vessel adapter 23 and the closure plug 43.

[0113] Starting with the second embodiment of Figures 17 to 27, here the closure plug 43, as a component of the adapter plug unit 47, is rotatable relative to the vessel adapter 23 about a central longitudinal axis 63 of the adapter plug unit 47. When the adapter plug unit 47 is fixed to the sampler 2, the central longitudinal axis 63 is aligned coaxially with the vertical axis 7. Due to the freewheel device 62 present, the rotatability is unidirectional, dependent on the direction of rotation, i.e. it is present in only one direction of rotation, while rotation is blocked in the opposite direction.

[0114] The freewheel device 62 contains a plurality of first blocking elements 64 arranged on the radial outer circumference of the closure plug 43 and distributed around the circumference of the closure plug 43, and furthermore a plurality of second blocking elements 65 arranged on the inner circumference of the sleeve-shaped vessel adapter 23 and distributed in the circumferential direction thereof. The arrangement between the first and second blocking elements 64, 65 is clearly visible in Figure 20. According to Figure 17, they are at the same height in the axial direction of the central longitudinal axis 63 and overlap in the radial direction with respect to the central longitudinal axis 63.

[0115] The first locking elements 64 are formed by a tooth structure 66 which, for example, is radially immobile with respect to the central longitudinal axis 63 and is composed of a plurality of teeth distributed around the outer circumference of the closure plug 43 and projecting radially outwards. The second locking elements 65 arranged on the vessel adapter 23 are formed by locking elements 67 which are resiliently movable relative to the vessel adapter 23 in the radial direction with respect to the central longitudinal axis 63. These locking elements 67 are designed in particular as locking pawls which, starting from the inner circumferential surface 46 of the vessel adapter 23, project obliquely radially inwards so that, in addition to the radial directional component, they have a directional component in the circumferential direction of the central longitudinal axis 63. The locking elements 67 are resiliently preloaded against the tooth structure 66.

[0116] In order to screw the vessel adapter 23 onto the sampler housing 3 when the closure plug 43 is already screwed onto the valve member 32, it is rotated manually in a fastening direction of rotation 68 by introducing a torque. For this purpose, it can be gripped on a handling structure 69 formed on its radial outer circumference, in particular one with a polygonal contour. The first and second locking elements 64, 65 are designed such that in this fastening direction of rotation 68 a free-running state exists, in which the spring-elastic locking elements 67 can slide over the tooth structure 66 without a locking function, so that the vessel adapter 23 can be screwed on regardless of the closure plug 43 already fastened.If, however, with the adapter-plug unit 47 mounted on the sampler 2, the vessel adapter 23 is rotated in a loosening direction 71 opposite to the fastening direction 68, the locking elements 67 wedge into the tooth structure 66, resulting in a locking state through which torque is transmitted from the vessel adapter 23 to the closure plug 43. As a result, the closure plug 43 is also rotated, and the entire adapter-plug unit 47 can be unscrewed from the sampler 2 by simply loosening the vessel adapter 23.

[0117] In the embodiment of Figures 1 to 17, the closure plug 43, apart from the optional seal 45, can be formed cost-effectively in one piece. The same applies to the vessel adapter 23.

[0118] It is understood that the assignment of the first and second blocking elements 64, 65 to the closure plug 43 and to the vessel adapter 23 can also be reversed.

[0119] 1 to 16, the closure plug 43, as in the first embodiment, has a closure plug longitudinal axis 74 which, when the adapter-plug unit 47 is assembled, coincides with its central longitudinal axis 63. However, here the closure plug 43 is divided into two elements which are coaxial with respect to the closure plug longitudinal axis 74 and which enclose one another and are referred to as the first freewheel element 72 and the second freewheel element 73. The two freewheel elements 72, 73 are inserted into one another such that the first freewheel element 72 is enclosed radially on the outside by the second freewheel element 73. The first freewheel element 72 has the fastening section 51 on which the first component 52a of the plug-connecting device 52 is formed.The two freewheel elements 72, 73 can be rotated relative to one another about the longitudinal axis 74 of the closure plug, but only unidirectionally in one of the two possible directions of rotation. The reason for this is the first locking elements 64 formed on the outer circumference of the first freewheel element 72 and the second locking elements 65 formed on the inner circumference of the second freewheel element 73. The same explanations apply to the design and arrangement of the first and second locking elements 64, 65 as for the exemplary embodiment in Figures 17 to 27, so that reference is made thereto to avoid repetition. In any case, the first and second locking elements 64, 65 effect a locking of the two freewheel elements 72, 73 depending on the direction of rotation.In a first direction of rotation of the second freewheel element 73, the freewheel state exists in which no torque is transmitted, and in a second direction of rotation of the second freewheel element 73 opposite to this, a blocking state exists in which the second freewheel element 73 is coupled to the first freewheel element 71 in a torque-transmitting manner.

[0120] Between the second freewheel element 73 and the vessel adapter 23 enclosing the closure plug 43, a driver structure 75 is effective, which is composed, for example, of a plurality of first drivers 76 formed on the inner circumferential surface 46 of the vessel adapter 23 and projecting radially inwards, and of a plurality of second drivers 77 formed in the region of the outer circumference on the second freewheel element 73. For example, the first and second drivers 76, 77 are each present in pairs, diametrically opposite one another, but they can also easily be present in just one. In any case, the arrangement is such that the first and second drivers 76, 77 overlap in the radial direction with respect to the central longitudinal axis 63.The driver structure 75 has a driving effect in both possible directions of rotation of the vessel adapter 23, so that the second freewheel element 73 is driven in any direction of rotation of the vessel adapter 23. However, an idle movement occurs between the two driving positions, which is determined by the circumferential distance between the first and second drivers 76, 77.

[0121] When the vessel adapter 23 is manually rotated in a fastening direction of rotation 68 to screw it tightly onto the sampler housing 3, the second freewheel element 73 of the closure plug 43 pre-assembled on the valve member 32 is driven in the first direction of rotation, in which the non-blocking freewheel state of the freewheel device 62 is present. In this way, the vessel adapter 23 can be screwed tight regardless of the fact that the closure plug 43 with its fastening section 51 was previously fastened to the valve member 32 in the plug-coupling position. When the vessel adapter 23 is rotated in an opposite loosening direction of rotation 71 to unscrew it from the sampler housing 3, it again drives the second freewheel element 73 along, but now in the second direction of rotation, in which the blocking state of the freewheel device 62 is present.As a result, the first freewheel element 72 having the fastening section 51 is also rotated, whereby the closure plug 43 is unscrewed from the sampler 2 together with the vessel adapter 23.

[0122] The naming of the first and second blocking elements 64, 65 in the plural should be understood in all embodiments to mean that they can each also be present in the singular. According to the illustrated embodiments, it is advantageous if the fastening section 51 is disk-shaped and has the annular seal 45 in the region of its radial outer circumference. In the plug closed position, the end-face sealing surface 46 formed thereon expediently runs flush with the front side 25a of the vessel adapter 23 pointing in the same direction. The components of the freewheel device 63 are preferably arranged on the side of the fastening section 51 axially opposite the end-face sealing surface 56.

[0123] In the first embodiment of Figures 1 to 16, the second freewheel element 73 expediently has an annular head portion 78 on which the radially inwardly projecting second locking elements 65 are arranged. Two diametrically opposed arms 82 expediently project freely from the annular head portion 78 in the direction of the rear side 54b, each of which forms one of the two second drivers 77.

[0124] The annular head section 78 of the second freewheel element 73 preferably has a plurality of coaxial and axially spaced annular grooves 81 on its radial outer circumference, which can develop a sealing effect in the plug-closing position of the closure plug 43 by interacting with the inner circumferential surface 46 of the vessel adapter 23 surrounding them.

[0125] The first freewheel element 72 expediently has a disc-shaped head portion 83 forming the fastening portion 51, which is positioned in front of the annular head portion 78 of the second freewheel element 73 toward the front side 54a. The two head portions 78, 83 jointly define, for example, an annular groove-shaped receiving recess 84 in which the annular seal 45 (not shown in Figures 7 to 12) is held. From the disc-shaped head section 83, a central extension 85 of the first freewheel element 71, which has a flat shape at least at its end region and passes through the annular head section 78, expediently projects between the two arms 82 in the direction of the rear side 54b, which forms a manual actuation section 89 and can be easily grasped with the fingers of one hand in order to screw the closure plug 43 onto the valve member 32.

[0126] In the second exemplary embodiment of Figures 17 to 27, the closure plug 43 expediently has a disk-shaped head section 86 which forms the fastening section 51 and which has an annular groove-shaped receiving recess 87 on its radial outer circumference, in which the annular seal 45 (not shown in Figures 23 to 27) is held. A central extension 88, which has a flat shape at least at its end region, expediently projects from the disk-shaped head section 86 in the direction of the rear side 54b, which forms a manual actuation section 89 and can be easily grasped with the fingers of one hand in order to screw the closure plug 43 onto the valve member 32.

Claims

Claims 1. Sampling device, in particular for sampling from a containment area, with a sampler (2) which has a sampler housing (3) which delimits a sample collection chamber (4) for receiving a sample to be taken and which has a sample inlet (5) communicating with the sample collection chamber (4) for introducing a sample to be taken and a sample outlet (6) communicating with the sample collection chamber (4) for dispensing the sample contained in the sample collection chamber (4) into a sample vessel (16) which is fixed to the sampler (2) and delimits a vessel interior (17), characterized in that - that the sampler (2) has a valve member (32) which is movable relative to the sampler housing (3) for selectively opening or closing the sample outlet (6) by performing valve member movements (34a, 34b), which has a closure section (35) which, in a valve member closed position, tightly closes the sample outlet (6) and, in a valve member open position, is displaced into the sample collection chamber (4) and releases the sample outlet (6) for a sample to pass through, - that the sampling device (1) has a sleeve-shaped vessel adapter (23) which can be attached or is attached to the sample vessel (16) by assuming a vessel position in the region of a vessel opening (18), which is axially penetrated by an adapter opening (24) which is connected to the vessel interior (17) in the vessel position, - that the sampling device (1) has a sealing plug (43) which can be brought into a plug-closing position inserted into the adapter opening (24) and thereby tightly closing the adapter opening (24) as well as into a plug-opening position pulled out of the adapter opening (24) and thereby releasing the adapter opening (24), wherein the vessel adapter (23) and the closure plug (43) together form an adapter-plug unit (47) in the plug-closing position, - that components of a plug-connecting device (52) are arranged on the valve member (32) and on a fastening section (51) of the closure plug (43), by means of which the closure plug (43) can be releasably fastened to the valve member (32) in a plug-coupling position in which the closure plug (43) follows the valve member movements (34a, 34b) of the valve member (32), - and that components of an adapter connection device (28) are arranged on the sampler housing (3) and on the vessel adapter (23), by means of which the vessel adapter (23) can be releasably fastened to the sampler housing (3) in an adapter coupling position in which the adapter opening (24) is connected to the sample outlet (6), - wherein, while the valve member (32) assumes the valve member closed position, the closure plug (43) can be brought into the plug coupling position fastened to the valve member (32) and the vessel adapter (23) can be brought into the adapter coupling position fastened to the sampler housing (3) to form the adapter-plug unit (47), so that the adapter-plug unit (47) is attached to the sampler (2) on the one hand via the sampler housing (3) and on the other hand via the valve member (32), - wherein the adapter opening (24) is closed by valve member movements (34a, 34b) of the valve member (32) due to the adapter plug unit (47) attached to the sampler (2) a closure plug (43) which moves along with the valve member (32) can first be released and then closed again, so that a sample contained in the sample collection chamber (4) can be transferred into a sample vessel (16) arranged on the vessel adapter (23) and enclosed therein, - wherein the adapter-plug unit (47) is removable from the sampler (2) in the valve member closed position of the valve member (32) while maintaining the plug closed position of the closure plug (43) by releasing both the adapter connecting device (28) and the plug connecting device (52) together with a sample vessel (16) attached to the vessel adapter (23).

2. Sampling device according to claim 1, characterized in that the closure section (35) of the valve member (32) is designed in the manner of a plug, wherein in the valve member closed position it dips into the sample outlet (6) and, in order to close the sample outlet (6), rests radially against an inner circumferential surface (41) formed on the sampler (2) and enclosing the sample outlet (6) in a sealing manner.

3. Sampling device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the plug connecting device (52) and the adapter connecting device (28) are designed such that they can be released simultaneously for removing the adapter plug unit (47) from the sampler (2), in particular within the framework of a uniform, manually evoked release movement of the adapter plug unit (47).

4. Sampling device according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the adapter-plug unit (47) for removal from the sampler (2) by a sole release operation of the vessel adapter (23) from both the sampler housing (3) and the valve member (32).

5. Sampling device according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the plug connecting device (52) and the adapter connecting device (28) are each designed as a screw connection device, wherein the plug connecting device (52) has a first plug thread (57a) formed on the closure plug (43) and a second plug thread (57b) complementary thereto formed on the valve member (32), and wherein the adapter connecting device (28) has a first adapter thread (31a) formed on the vessel adapter (23) and a second adapter thread (31b) complementary thereto formed on the sampler housing (3), wherein by rotating the closure plug (43) the first and second plug threads (57a, 57b) and by rotating the vessel adapter (23) the first and second adapter threads (31a, 31b) are brought into or out of mutual engagement depending on the direction of rotation. can be brought.

6. Sampling device according to claim 5, characterized in that the first plug thread (57a) and the second adapter thread (31b) are each designed as an internal thread and the second plug thread (57b) and the first adapter thread (31a) are each designed as an external thread.

7. Sampling device according to claim 5 or 6 in conjunction with claim 4, characterized in that the two plug threads (57a, 57b) have the same thread pitch and the same direction of rotation as the two adapter threads (31a, 31b), so that the two plug threads (57a, 57b) and the two adapter threads (31a, 31b) can be simultaneously disengaged from one another with a uniform loosening rotational movement of the adapter plug unit (47).

8. Sampling device according to one of claims 5 to 7, characterized in that the adapter-plug unit (47) has a freewheel device (62) which, on the one hand, when a torque is introduced into the vessel adapter (23) in a fastening rotational direction (68), enables the vessel adapter (23) to rotate relative to the fastening section (51) of the closure plug (43) about a central longitudinal axis (63) of the adapter-plug unit (47), so that the vessel adapter (23) can be fastened to the sampler housing (3) via the adapter connecting device (28) independently of the closure plug (43), and which, on the other hand, when a torque is introduced into the vessel adapter (23) in a release rotational direction (71) opposite to the fastening rotational direction (68), enables the vessel adapter (23) to rotate while driving the closure plug (43).so that the adapter-plug unit (47) on the adapter connecting device (28) and on the plug connecting device (52) can be detached simultaneously from the sampler housing (3) and the valve member (32).

9. Sampling device according to claim 8, characterized in that the freewheel device (62) is effective between the vessel adapter (23) and the closure plug (43).

10. Sampling device according to claim 9, characterized in that first and second locking elements (64) of the freewheel device (62) are arranged on the vessel adapter (23) and on the closure plug (43) and can be locked and unlocked depending on the direction of rotation.

11. Sampling device according to claim 8, characterized in that the freewheel device (62) is integrated into the closure plug (43) or into the vessel adapter (23).

12. Sampling device according to claim 11, characterized in that the freewheel device (62) has a first freewheel element (72) and a second freewheel element (73) which is rotatable relative to it and which are equipped with first and second locking elements (64, 65) which can be locked and unlocked depending on the direction of rotation, wherein a driver structure (75) is effective between the second freewheel element (73) and the closure plug (43) or vessel adapter (23) which does not have a freewheel device (62), which driver structure causes the second freewheel element (73) to be rotated in both directions of rotation when the closure plug (43) or vessel adapter (23) which does not have a freewheel device (62) rotates.

13. Sampling device according to claim 12, characterized in that the freewheel device (62) is integrated in the closure plug (43), wherein the first freewheel element (72) has the fastening section (51) of the closure plug (43) and the second freewheel element (73) is coupled via the driver structure (75) to the vessel adapter (23) in both directions of rotation thereof in a torque-transmitting manner.

14. Sampling device according to one of claims 8 to 13, characterized in that the first locking elements (64) are formed by a tooth structure (66) which is radially immovable with respect to the central longitudinal axis (63) of the adapter-plug unit (47) and the second locking elements (65) are formed by a tooth structure (66) which is radially immovable with respect to the central longitudinal axis (63) of the adapter-plug unit (47) are formed by radially resiliently movable locking elements (67), or vice versa.

15. Sampling device according to one of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that the closure plug (43) is releasably locked to the vessel adapter (23) in the plug-closed position, expediently by engagement of an annular seal (45) provided for sealing between the closure plug (43) and the vessel adapter (23) in an annular groove (48).

16. Sampling device according to one of claims 1 to 15, characterized in that the closure plug (43) in the plug coupling position with an expediently concavely shaped end-side sealing surface (56) sealingly bears against a front end face (55) of the closure section (35) of the valve member (32) facing it, wherein expediently the diameter of the sealing surface (56) and the diameter of the front end face (55) of the closure section (35) are identical.

17. Sampling device according to one of claims 1 to 16, characterized in that the valve member (32) has an actuating rod (36) carrying the closure section (35) and projecting from the sampler housing (3), which actuating rod has a longitudinal section extending in the sample collection chamber (4) and is enclosed by a rubber-elastic deformable sealing sleeve (38) which is axially tightly fixed at one end to the closure section (35) and at the other end to the sampler housing (3).

18. Sampling device according to one of claims 1 to 17, characterized in that the sampler (2) has a high- axis (7) with respect to which the sample outlet (6) is arranged coaxially and which is expediently aligned vertically in a position of use of the sampler (2).

19. Sampling device according to one of claims 1 to 18, characterized in that the sampler housing (3) has a viewing window (15) allowing a view into the sample collection chamber (4).

20. Sampling device according to one of claims 1 to 19, characterized in that the valve member (32) is assigned a locking device (42) for the immovable, releasable locking of the valve member (32) in the valve member open position and / or in the valve member closed position with respect to the sampler housing (3).

21. Method for sampling, in particular from a containment area, using a sampling device (1) according to one of claims 1 to 20, wherein the sampler (2) is connected with its sample inlet (5) to a media container (12) when in a position of use, which contains a flowable, in particular granular or powdery, medium from which a sample is to be taken, characterized by the following method steps: - providing a sample vessel (16), a vessel adapter (23) and a closure plug (43), - Positioning the valve member (32) of the sampler (2) in the valve member closed position, - manually fastening the closure plug (43) in the plug coupling position to the valve member (32) assuming the valve member closed position by means of the plug connecting device (52), - subsequent manual fastening of the vessel adapter (23) in the adapter coupling position in the area of the sample outlet (6) of the sampler housing (3) by means of the adapter connecting device (28), wherein the already pre-assembled closure plug (43) is inserted into the adapter opening (24) of the vessel adapter (23) to assume the plug-closing position, so that the adapter opening (24) is closed by the closure plug (43) to form the adapter-plug unit (47), - Attaching the sample vessel (16) to the vessel adapter (23) before or after its fastening in the adapter coupling position, - transferring a sample introduced into the sample collection chamber (4) from the sample collection chamber (4) into the sample vessel (16) fixed to the sampler housing (3) via the vessel adapter (23), in that the adapter opening (24) is first opened and then closed again by valve member movements (34a, 34b) of the valve member as a result of the closure plug (43) following the valve member movements (34a, 34b), so that the sample contained in the sample collection chamber (4) is transferred through the opened adapter opening (24) into the sample vessel (16) and enclosed in its vessel interior (17), - Removing the sample vessel (16) from the sampler (2) together with the adapter-plug unit (47) now functioning as a closure lid (22) in the valve member closed position of the valve member (32) by releasing both the adapter connecting device (28) and the plug connecting device (52) while maintaining the plug closed position of the closure plug (43).

22. Method for sampling according to claim 21, characterized in that the filling of the medium to be taken as a sample into the sample collection chamber (4) at in the valve- valve member closed position before or after the adapter-plug unit (47) is attached to the sampler (6) or when the valve member (32) is in the valve member open position after the adapter-plug unit (47) is attached to the sampler (6).

23. A method for sampling according to claim 21 or 22, characterized in that the closure plug (43) and the vessel adapter (23) are moved into and out of the plug coupling position and adapter coupling position by screwing operations, wherein a freewheel device (62) of the adapter-plug unit (47) for attaching the adapter-plug unit (47) to the sampler (2) enables an unhindered rotational movement of the vessel adapter (23) relative to a fastening section (51) of the previously screwed closure plug (43) in a fastening rotational direction (68) and for removing the adapter-plug unit (47) from the sampler (2) during a rotational movement of the vessel adapter (23) in a loosening rotational direction (71) opposite to the fastening rotational direction (68), a rotational drive of the closure plug (43) for jointly unscrewing the vessel adapter (23) and the sealing plug (43).

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