Mobile phase delivery system and mobile phase delivery method

Abstract

To ensure that replenishment of solvent for a solvent container is done easily and at an appropriate time.SOLUTION: A mobile phase pumping system includes a solvent container 12, an additional solvent container 14, and a liquid delivery pump 10, a connecting channel 18 having one end and the other end, the one end being inserted from above into the solvent container 12, the other end being inserted from above into the additional solvent container 14, a channel structure 16 having a suction channel 20 connected to the connecting channel 18 between the one end and the other end of the connecting channel 18, and a channel opening / closing mechanism 22 for opening and closing the suction channel 20 of the channel structure 16. Both one end and the other end of the connecting channel 18 of the channel structure 16 are immersed in a solvent. When the inside of the connecting channel 18 is in a state of being filled with the solvent, the solvent flows in the connecting channel 18 due to a relationship between the surface height of the solvent in the solvent container 12 and the surface height of the solvent in the additional solvent container 14. Thereby, the solvent is provided from the additional solvent container 14 to the solvent container 12 in accordance with the decrease of the solvent in the solvent container 12.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a mobile phase liquid delivery system and a mobile phase liquid delivery method.

Background Art

[0002] A chromatography analysis system for performing liquid chromatography analysis or supercritical fluid chromatography analysis injects a sample into a mobile phase flowing toward a separation column, guides the sample to the separation column to temporally separate a plurality of components in the sample, and detects each component eluted sequentially from the separation column with a detector. In such a chromatography analysis system, one or more solvents are pumped from their respective solvent containers by a liquid delivery pump and delivered as a mobile phase (see Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] When performing continuous analysis of a plurality of samples using a chromatography analysis system, a large amount of solvent is required because the mobile phase continues to flow for a long time. On the other hand, the amount of solvent that can be continuously delivered depends on the capacity of the solvent container that stores the solvent, and when the solvent in the solvent container runs out, the solvent container must be replenished with solvent. Although the analyst needs to manually perform the solvent replenishment work, the solvent container is often installed at a high position, and there is also a risk that the solvent may splash on the analyst when replenishing the solvent. Therefore, it is desirable that the solvent container can be easily replenished with solvent at an appropriate timing.

[0005] This invention has been made in view of the above problems, and aims to enable the easy and timely replenishment of solvent in a solvent container. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The mobile phase delivery system according to the present invention comprises a solvent container containing a solvent which is the mobile phase, an additional solvent container provided separately from the solvent container and containing the solvent, a solvent supply channel fluidly connected to the solvent container, a delivery pump for pumping the solvent from the solvent container through the solvent supply channel and delivering it, a connecting channel having one end and the other end inserted into the solvent container from above and the other end inserted into the additional solvent container from above, and a flow path structure having a suction channel fluidly connected to the connecting channel at a position between the one end and the other end of the connecting channel, and a flow path opening and closing mechanism for opening and closing the suction channel of the flow path structure. The flow channel structure is configured such that the state in which the connecting flow channel is filled with the solvent is maintained by closing the suction flow channel with the flow channel opening / closing mechanism when the connecting flow channel is filled with the solvent, and both the one end and the other end of the connecting flow channel of the flow channel structure are immersed in the solvent, and when the connecting flow channel is filled with the solvent, the solvent flows through the connecting flow channel due to the relationship between the liquid level of the solvent in the solvent container and the liquid level of the solvent in the additional solvent container, thereby supplying the solvent from the additional solvent container to the solvent container in response to the decrease in the solvent in the solvent container.

[0007] The mobile phase delivery method according to the present invention is a method for delivering a mobile phase in which a solvent is pumped up from a solvent container containing a solvent using a delivery pump, and comprises: a container preparation step of preparing an additional solvent container containing the solvent separately from the solvent container; a flow path structure preparation step of preparing a flow path structure having a connecting flow path having one end and the other end, and a suction flow path fluidly connected to the connecting flow path at a position between the one end and the other end of the connecting flow path; a flow path structure arrangement step of arranging the flow path structure such that the one end of the connecting flow path is inserted into the solvent container from above, and the other end of the connecting flow path is inserted into the additional solvent container from above; and the one end of the connecting flow path and the suction flow path The system comprises a solvent filling step in which fluid suction force is applied simultaneously to both ends of the connecting channel to simultaneously draw the solvent from one end and the other end of the connecting channel, thereby filling the connecting channel with the solvent; a filling state fixing step in which the suction channel is closed after the solvent filling step to fix the connecting channel in a state where it is filled with the solvent; and a mobile phase delivery step in which the solvent in the solvent container is delivered as a mobile phase by the liquid delivery pump after the filling state fixing step, wherein during the execution of the mobile phase delivery step, the solvent is supplied from the additional solvent container to the solvent container through the connecting channel of the channel structure in response to the decrease in the solvent in the solvent container.

[0008] In other words, the mobile phase delivery system and mobile phase delivery method according to the present invention uses a flow channel structure configured such that the connecting flow channel between the solvent container and the additional solvent container is filled with the solvent, and utilizes the principle of siphon to supply the solvent from the additional solvent container to the solvent container through the connecting flow channel when the amount of solvent in the solvent container decreases. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] In the mobile phase delivery system according to the present invention, the flow channel structure is used such that the connecting flow channel between the solvent container and the additional solvent container can be filled with the solvent. By the principle of siphon, when the amount of solvent in the solvent container decreases, the solvent from the additional solvent container is supplied to the solvent container through the connecting flow channel, so that the solvent in the solvent container can be easily replenished at an appropriate time.

[0010] In the mobile phase delivery method according to the present invention, a channel structure is used that is configured such that the connecting channel between the solvent container and the additional solvent container is filled with the solvent. By utilizing the principle of siphon, when the amount of solvent in the solvent container decreases, the solvent from the additional solvent container is supplied to the solvent container through the connecting channel. This allows for easy and timely replenishment of the solvent in the solvent container. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0011] [Figure 1] This is a schematic diagram showing one embodiment of a mobile phase delivery system incorporated into a liquid chromatography analysis system. [Figure 2] This is an example of a three-way tube that can be used as a flow channel structure in the same embodiment. [Figure 3] This diagram illustrates the flow path configuration when filling the connecting channel with solvent in the same embodiment. [Figure 4] This diagram illustrates the flow path configuration for transferring solvent within a solvent container. [Figure 5] This is a flowchart illustrating an example of a liquid delivery method using the mobile phase delivery system of the same embodiment. [Figure 6] This is a schematic diagram illustrating another embodiment of the fluid delivery system. [Figure 7] This is a schematic diagram illustrating yet another embodiment of the fluid delivery system. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0012] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the mobile phase delivery system and mobile phase delivery method according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0013] Figure 1 shows an example of a mobile phase delivery system incorporated into a liquid chromatography analysis system.

[0014] The liquid chromatography analysis system comprises a mobile phase delivery system 2, an injector 4, a separation column 6, and a detector 8. The mobile phase delivery system 2 is a system that delivers the mobile phase towards the separation column 6. The injector 4 injects the sample into the mobile phase flowing toward the separation column 4. The separation column 6 is for separating the multiple components contained in the sample injected into the mobile phase by the injector 4 from each other over time. The detector 8 is fluidly connected to the outlet of the separation column 6 and detects each component eluting from the separation column 6.

[0015] The mobile phase delivery system 2 comprises a delivery pump 10, a solvent container 12, an additional solvent container 14, a flow path structure 16, a switching valve 22, and a control unit 26. The delivery pump 10 pumps the solvent from the solvent container 12 through the solvent supply flow path 24 and delivers it as a mobile phase to the separation column 6. The additional solvent container 14 contains the same solvent as the solvent container 12. In this embodiment, the additional solvent container 14 is positioned higher than the solvent container 12. This configuration is intended to facilitate the supply of all the solvent in the additional solvent container 14 to the solvent container 12 by the siphon principle.

[0016] The flow path structure 16 has a connection flow path 18 and a suction flow path 20. The connection flow path 18 has one end and the other end. One end is inserted into the solvent container 12 from above and immersed in the solvent in the solvent container 12, and the other end is inserted into the additional solvent container 14 from above and reaches the bottom surface or near the bottom surface in the additional solvent container 14. One end of the connection flow path 18 is arranged at a lower height than the other end. The suction flow path 20 of the flow path structure 16 is fluid-connected to the connection flow path 18 at a position between one end and the other end of the connection flow path 18. The tip of the suction flow path 20 is connected to one port of the switching valve 22.

[0017] 8>The switching valve 22 can be switched to either a first state (the state in FIG. 1) in which the suction flow path 20 is closed while fluid-connecting the sample supply flow path 24 to the liquid feed pump 10, or a second state (the state in FIG. 3) in which the fluid connection between the sample supply flow path 24 and the liquid feed pump 10 is blocked while fluid-connecting the suction flow path to the liquid feed pump 10. The switching valve 22 functions as a flow path opening / closing mechanism for opening and closing the suction flow path 20.

[0018] As shown in FIG. 2, the flow path structure 16 can be realized by a three-way tube in which three tubes 18a, 18b and 20 extending in three directions are connected to each other at one location. In this case, the connection flow path 18 is realized by two tubes 18a and 18b. Note that the flow path structure 16 is not limited to the one shown in FIG. 2, and any structure may be used as long as it has a connection flow path 18 and a suction flow path 20.

[0019] The control unit 26 is incorporated as a part of the components of the mobile phase liquid feed system 2. In addition to controlling the operations of the liquid feed pump 10 and the switching valve 22 of the phase liquid feed system 2, it may be a control device for overall operation management of the liquid chromatography analysis system that controls the operation of the injector 4. The control unit 26 is realized by a computer device installed with dedicated control software.

[0020] When the solvent in the solvent container 12 decreases due to the liquid delivery of the mobile phase by the liquid delivery pump 10, the mobile phase delivery system 2 has a function of automatically replenishing the solvent in the solvent container 12 with the solvent in the additional solvent container 14 according to the principle of siphon. In order to enable the automatic solvent replenishment function, before starting the liquid delivery of the mobile phase by the liquid delivery pump 10, it is necessary to ensure that the connection channel 18 in the flow path structure 16 is filled with the solvent.

[0021] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, by switching the switching valve 22 to the second state to fluidly connect the suction channel 20 to the liquid delivery pump 10 and driving the liquid delivery pump 10, a fluid suction force acts simultaneously on one end and the other end of the connection channel 18 through the suction channel 20, and the connection channel 18 is filled with the solvent. At this time, by switching the flow path configuration of the injector 4 so that the flow path on the outlet side of the liquid delivery pump 10 is fluidly connected to the drain, the filling of the solvent into the connection channel 18 can be performed in a short time. After the connection channel 18 is filled with the solvent, by switching the switching valve 22 to the first state (the state in FIG. 4) to close the connection channel 18, the state where the connection channel 18 is filled with the solvent is maintained thereafter.

[0022] When the connection channel 18 is filled with the solvent, the principle of siphon is established between the solvent container 12 and the additional solvent container 14 fluidly connected by the connection channel 18. Due to the principle of siphon, the difference in the gravity of the solvent in the connection channel 18 that tends to fall towards the liquid level in the solvent container 12 and the gravity of the solvent in the connection channel 18 that tends to fall towards the liquid level in the additional solvent container 14, and the difference in the atmospheric pressure acting on the liquid level of the solvent in the solvent container 12 and the atmospheric pressure acting on the liquid level of the solvent in the additional solvent container 14, the solvent flows from the container with the higher liquid level of the contained solvent to the container with the lower liquid level. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, when starting the liquid delivery of the mobile phase by the liquid delivery pump 10 in the state where the connection channel 18 is filled with the solvent, when the solvent in the solvent container 12 decreases and the liquid level height of the solvent in the solvent container 12 becomes lower than the liquid level height of the solvent in the additional solvent container 14, the solvent is supplied from the additional solvent container 14 to the solvent container 12 through the connection channel 18.

[0023] To enable the above-mentioned automatic solvent replenishment function automatically, the control unit 26 can be configured to switch the switching valve 22 to the second state at a predetermined timing before the liquid delivery pump 10 starts delivering the mobile phase, thereby driving the liquid delivery pump 10 to fill the connection channel 18 with solvent, and then switch the switching valve 22 to the first state to start delivering the mobile phase.

[0024] The above embodiment assumes that the connection channel 18 is filled with solvent using a liquid delivery pump 10 for delivering the mobile phase, but the present invention is not limited thereto. A fluid suction element, such as a syringe pump, may be provided separately from the liquid delivery pump 10, and this fluid suction element may be fluidly connected to a suction channel 20. Before starting the delivery of the mobile phase, the solvent may be drawn into the connection channel 18 using this fluid suction element. In this case, a cock (channel opening / closing mechanism) for closing the suction channel 20 may be provided in the suction channel 20. Alternatively, the suction channel 20 may be substantially closed by not moving the fluid suction element while the connection channel 18 is filled with solvent. In this case, the fluid suction element itself functions as a channel opening / closing mechanism.

[0025] The relationship between the heights of the solvent container 12 and the additional solvent container 14, and the relationship between the heights of one end and the other end of the connecting channel 18 of the channel structure 16 in the above embodiment are merely examples. As described above, the movement of the solvent by the siphon principle is due to the difference between the gravity of the solvent in the connecting channel 18 that tries to fall toward the liquid surface in the solvent container 12 and the gravity of the solvent in the connecting channel 18 that tries to fall toward the liquid surface in the additional solvent container 14, and the difference between the atmospheric pressure acting on the liquid surface of the solvent in the solvent container 12 and the atmospheric pressure acting on the liquid surface of the solvent in the additional solvent container 14. Therefore, the relationship between the heights of the solvent container 12 and the additional solvent container 14, and the relationship between the heights of one end and the other end of the connecting channel 18 of the channel structure 16 can be anything as long as the relationship allows the siphon principle to function.

[0026] An example of a mobile phase delivery method using the mobile phase delivery system 2 will be explained using the flowchart in Figure 5, along with Figure 1.

[0027] First, prepare the solvent container 12 and another additional solvent container 14 (step 101), and then prepare a flow channel structure 16 having a connecting channel 18 and a suction channel 20 (step 102). Then, insert one end of the connecting channel 18 of the flow channel structure 16 into the solvent container 12 from above, and insert the other end of the connecting channel 18 into the additional solvent container 14 from above, thereby fluidly connecting the inside of the solvent container 12 and the inside of the additional solvent container 14 via the connecting channel 18 (step 103).

[0028] Next, a fluid suction force is applied simultaneously to one end and the other end of the connecting channel 18 from the suction channel 20 side of the flow channel structure 16, drawing the solvent into the connecting channel 18 and filling the connecting channel 18 with solvent (step 104). After that, the suction channel 20 is closed and the delivery of the mobile phase by the delivery pump 10 is started (step 105). When the delivery of the mobile phase by the delivery pump 10 is started, the amount of solvent in the solvent container 12 decreases, and the liquid level of the solvent in the solvent container 12 drops (step 106). Each time the liquid level of the solvent in the solvent container 12 drops, due to the siphon principle, solvent is supplied from the additional solvent container 14 to the solvent container 12 through the connecting channel 18, based on the relationship between the liquid level of the solvent in the solvent container 12 and the liquid level of the solvent in the additional solvent container 14 (step 107).

[0029] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 6, an additional solvent container 28 can be provided to supply solvent to the additional solvent container 14. A flow channel structure 30 having a structure equivalent to the flow channel structure 16, namely a connecting flow channel 32 and a suction flow channel 34, can be used so that the supply of solvent from the additional solvent container 28 to the additional solvent container 14 is performed automatically by the siphon principle. One end of the connecting flow channel 32 of the flow channel structure 30 is inserted into the additional solvent container 14 from above, and the other end is inserted into the additional solvent container 28 from above.

[0030] In the embodiment shown in Figure 6, the liquid transfer pump 10 is configured to be selectively connected to either the solvent supply channel 24, the suction channel 20, or the suction channel 34 by switching valves 22 and 40, and the suction channel 20 and the suction channel 34 can be filled with solvent using the liquid transfer pump 10. Alternatively, as shown in Figure 7, the suction channel 34 of the channel structure 30 may be merged with the suction channel 20, and the suction channel 20 and the suction channel 34 may be configured to be simultaneously fluidly connected to the liquid transfer pump 10 via the switching valve 22. With this configuration, the liquid transfer pump 10 can be used to simultaneously draw solvent into the suction channel 20 and the suction channel 34.

[0031] The embodiments described above are merely examples of embodiments of the mobile phase delivery system and mobile phase delivery method according to the present invention. Embodiments of the mobile phase delivery system and mobile phase delivery method according to the present invention are as follows.

[0032] In one embodiment of the mobile phase delivery system according to the present invention, the system comprises a solvent container containing a solvent which is the mobile phase, an additional solvent container provided separately from the solvent container and containing the solvent, a solvent supply channel fluidly connected to the solvent container, a delivery pump for pumping the solvent from the solvent container through the solvent supply channel and delivering it, a connecting channel having one end and the other end inserted into the solvent container from above and the other end inserted into the additional solvent container from above, and a flow path structure having a suction channel fluidly connected to the connecting channel at a position between the one end and the other end of the connecting channel, and a flow path for opening and closing the suction channel of the flow path structure. The flow path structure comprises an opening / closing mechanism, and is configured such that the state in which the connecting flow path is filled with the solvent is maintained by closing the suction flow path with the flow path opening / closing mechanism when the connecting flow path is filled with the solvent, and both one end and the other end of the connecting flow path of the flow path structure are immersed in the solvent, and when the connecting flow path is filled with the solvent, the solvent flows through the connecting flow path due to the relationship between the liquid level of the solvent in the solvent container and the liquid level of the solvent in the additional solvent container, thereby supplying the solvent from the additional solvent container to the solvent container in response to the decrease in the solvent in the solvent container.

[0033] In the first embodiment of the mobile phase liquid delivery system according to the present invention, one end of the connecting channel is positioned at the same height as the other end or lower than the other end.

[0034] In the first embodiment described above, the additional solvent container may be positioned at the same height as the solvent container or higher than the solvent container, and the other end of the connecting channel may reach the bottom surface of the additional solvent container. With this configuration, almost all of the solvent in the additional solvent container can be supplied to the solvent container. Note that "the other end of the connecting channel reaches the bottom surface of the additional solvent container" does not require that the other end of the connecting channel completely reaches the bottom surface of the additional solvent container, but rather that the other end of the connecting channel "substantially" reaches the bottom surface of the additional solvent container so that almost all of the solvent in the additional solvent container can be supplied to the solvent container. In other words, "reaching the bottom surface" includes "reaching the vicinity of the bottom surface".

[0035] In a second embodiment of the mobile phase delivery system according to the present invention, the flow path opening / closing mechanism is configured to selectively switch between a first state in which the suction flow path is closed while the solvent supply flow path is fluidly connected to the delivery pump, and a second state in which the suction flow path is fluidly connected to the delivery pump while the fluid connection between the solvent supply flow path and the delivery pump is interrupted. The flow path opening / closing mechanism is set to the second state and the delivery pump is operated while both the one end and the other end of the connecting flow path are immersed in the solvent, so that the connecting flow path is filled with the solvent. In this embodiment, the connecting flow path can be filled with the solvent using the delivery pump for delivering the mobile phase, so there is no need to newly provide a dedicated pump mechanism for filling the connecting flow path with the solvent. This second embodiment can be combined with the first embodiment.

[0036] In the second embodiment described above, the control unit that controls the operation of the flow path opening / closing mechanism and the liquid delivery pump can be configured to fill the connecting flow path with the solvent by setting the flow path opening / closing mechanism to the second state and operating the liquid delivery pump before starting the delivery of the solvent in the solvent container by the liquid delivery pump, and then switching the flow path closing mechanism to the first state to start the delivery of the solvent in the solvent container. This makes it possible to automate everything from filling the connecting flow path with the solvent to delivering the mobile phase.

[0037] In a third aspect of the above embodiment of the mobile phase liquid delivery system according to the present invention, the flow path structure is a three-way tube in which tubes extending in three directions are connected at one point. This third aspect can be combined with the first, second, and / or third aspects described above.

[0038] One embodiment of the mobile phase delivery method according to the present invention is a method for delivering a mobile phase in which a solvent is pumped up from a solvent container containing a solvent using a delivery pump, and comprises a container preparation step of preparing an additional solvent container containing the solvent separately from the solvent container; a flow path structure preparation step of preparing a flow path structure having a connecting flow path having one end and the other end, and a suction flow path fluidly connected to the connecting flow path at a position between the one end and the other end of the connecting flow path; a flow path structure arrangement step of arranging the flow path structure such that the one end of the connecting flow path is inserted into the solvent container from above, and the other end of the connecting flow path is inserted into the additional solvent container from above; and the one end of the connecting flow path through the suction flow path The system comprises a solvent filling step in which a fluid suction force is simultaneously applied to both the one end and the other end of the connecting channel to simultaneously draw the solvent from both ends of the connecting channel, thereby filling the connecting channel with the solvent; a filling state fixing step in which the connecting channel is fixed in a state of being filled with the solvent by closing the suction channel after the solvent filling step; and a mobile phase delivery step in which the solvent in the solvent container is delivered as a mobile phase by the liquid delivery pump after the filling state fixing step, wherein during the execution of the mobile phase delivery step, the solvent is supplied from the additional solvent container to the solvent container through the connecting channel of the channel structure in response to the decrease in the solvent in the solvent container.

[0039] In a specific embodiment of the mobile phase delivery method according to the present invention, one end of the connecting channel is positioned at the same height as the other end or lower than the other end.

[0040] In the above specific embodiment, the additional solvent container can be positioned at the same height as the solvent container or higher than the solvent container, and the other end of the connecting channel can reach the bottom of the additional solvent container. With this configuration, almost all of the solvent in the additional solvent container can be supplied to the solvent container. [Explanation of symbols]

[0041] 2. Mobile phase liquid delivery system 4 Injectors 6 Separation columns 8 detectors 10. Liquid transfer pump 12 Solvent containers 14,28 Additional solvent containers 16,30 Flow channel structure 18,32 Connecting channel 20,34 Suction channel 22, 24, 40 changeover valve 26 Control Unit

Claims

1. A solvent container that contains the solvent, which is the mobile phase, An additional solvent container is provided separately from the aforementioned solvent container and contains the solvent inside, A solvent supply channel fluidly connected to the solvent container, A liquid pump for pumping the solvent from the solvent container and delivering it through the solvent supply channel, A flow channel structure having a connecting channel having one end and the other end, the one end of which is inserted into the solvent container from above and the other end of which is inserted into the additional solvent container from above, and a suction channel fluidly connected to the connecting channel at a position between the one end and the other end of the connecting channel, The device comprises a flow path opening / closing mechanism for opening and closing the suction flow path of the flow path structure, The flow channel structure is configured such that the state in which the connecting flow channel is filled with the solvent is maintained by closing the suction flow channel with the flow channel opening / closing mechanism when the connecting flow channel is filled with the solvent. A mobile phase delivery system configured such that, when both one end and the other end of the connecting channel of the flow channel structure are immersed in the solvent and the connecting channel is filled with the solvent, the solvent flows through the connecting channel due to the relationship between the liquid level of the solvent in the solvent container and the liquid level of the solvent in the additional solvent container, thereby supplying the solvent from the additional solvent container to the solvent container in response to a decrease in the solvent in the solvent container.

2. The mobile phase liquid delivery system according to claim 1, wherein one end of the connecting channel is positioned at the same height as the other end or lower than the other end.

3. The mobile phase delivery system according to claim 2, wherein the additional solvent container is positioned at the same height as or higher than the solvent container, and the other end of the connecting channel reaches the bottom surface inside the additional solvent container.

4. The flow path opening / closing mechanism is configured to selectively switch between a first state in which the suction flow path is closed while the solvent supply flow path is fluidly connected to the liquid delivery pump, and a second state in which the suction flow path is fluidly connected to the liquid delivery pump while the fluid connection between the solvent supply flow path and the liquid delivery pump is interrupted. A mobile phase delivery system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the flow path opening / closing mechanism is set to the second state and the liquid delivery pump is operated while both the one end and the other end of the connecting flow path are immersed in the solvent, so that the inside of the connecting flow path is filled with the solvent.

5. The system includes a control unit that controls the operation of the flow path opening / closing mechanism and the liquid transfer pump, The mobile phase delivery system according to claim 4, wherein the control unit is configured to set the flow path opening / closing mechanism to the second state and operate the flow path pump to fill the connecting flow path with the solvent before starting to deliver the solvent in the solvent container by the delivery pump, and then switch the flow path opening / closing mechanism to the first state to start delivering the solvent in the solvent container.

6. The mobile phase liquid delivery system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the flow channel structure is a three-way tube in which tubes extending in three directions are connected at one point.

7. A method for transporting a mobile phase, comprising pumping the solvent from a solvent container containing the solvent inside using a liquid transfer pump, A container preparation step involves preparing an additional solvent container to contain the solvent, separate from the aforementioned solvent container. A step of preparing a flow channel structure, which includes a connecting flow channel having one end and the other end, and a suction flow channel fluidly connected to the connecting flow channel at a position between the one end and the other end of the connecting flow channel, The process includes a step of arranging the flow channel structure such that one end of the connecting flow channel is inserted into the solvent container from above, and the other end of the connecting flow channel is inserted into the additional solvent container from above, A solvent filling step in which a fluid suction force is simultaneously applied to both one end and the other end of the connecting channel through the suction channel to simultaneously draw the solvent from one end and the other end of the connecting channel, thereby filling the connecting channel with the solvent; A filling state fixing step is performed by closing the suction channel after the solvent filling step, thereby fixing the connection channel in a state where it is filled with the solvent. The process includes, after the filling state fixing step, a mobile phase delivery step in which the solvent in the solvent container is delivered as a mobile phase by the liquid delivery pump, A mobile phase delivery method comprising supplying the solvent from an additional solvent container to the solvent container through the connecting channel of the flow channel structure in response to a decrease in the solvent in the solvent container during the execution of the mobile phase delivery step.

8. The mobile phase delivery method according to claim 7, wherein one end of the connecting channel is positioned at the same height as the other end or lower than the other end.

9. The mobile phase delivery method according to claim 8, wherein the additional solvent container is positioned at the same height as the solvent container or higher than the solvent container, and the other end of the connecting channel reaches the bottom of the additional solvent container.

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