Automatic Timer Valve for Sampling Apparatus
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional sampling systems face challenges in confined spaces, including difficulty in obtaining representative samples due to long sampling tubes, adsorption of compounds on tube walls, and potential contamination from previous samples, which can lead to inaccurate concentration measurements and reduced sample volume.
Innovation Solution
A sampling system with an automatic timer valve that includes a rotational device with apertures, allowing for delayed initiation and controlled intermittent sampling, reducing the need for pumps and minimizing contamination by ensuring fluid communication only when the aperture aligns with the inlet tube, thereby providing reproducible sampling periods and preventing flow when not aligned.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of moving object
If a remote sampling tube is used to sample in confined spaces, then the sampling can be performed at a distance, but the tube length increases causing difficulty in determining complete purging, adsorption of compounds on tube walls, and contamination from previous samples
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the long sampling tube from the system by placing the sampling bag directly at the remote location. The sampling bag system includes an automatic control valve and inflation mechanism that eliminates the need for long tubing, thereby preventing adsorption issues and contamination while maintaining the ability to sample at a distance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a sampling bag as an intermediary device between the sampling location and the analysis system. The sampling bag serves as a self-contained collection vessel that can be inflated to draw samples directly at the remote location, acting as a mediator that eliminates the problematic long tube while enabling distant sampling.
2Quantity of substance
If a volumetric pump is used with a long sampling tube, then sampling can be performed, but the tube resistance reduces the sample volume drawn into the sensing device
Solution Approach 1:
The sampling bag system is self-inflating and self-sampling. The bag automatically inflates to draw the sample through its own expansion, eliminating the need for external volumetric pumps and long tubes. This self-service mechanism ensures adequate sample volume is collected without the resistance problems associated with long tubing and complex pumping systems.
3Quantity of substance
If sampling is performed continuously, then adequate sample volume is obtained, but contamination from previous samples and tube wall adsorption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the sampling process into discrete, controlled phases using the automatic control valve. The valve regulates when the sampling bag is connected to or disconnected from the sampling environment, allowing for controlled intermittent sampling that prevents continuous exposure to contamination sources while still obtaining adequate sample volume over time.
Solution Approach 2:
The sampling bag system performs preliminary actions by being pre-positioned and pre-prepared at the remote location before sampling begins. The automatic control valve is pre-configured to control the sampling sequence, ensuring that the bag is ready to collect samples without requiring long tubes that would be continuously exposed to contamination risks.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution enables accurate and representative sampling in confined spaces by ensuring that the sampling process is initiated only when the inlet is correctly positioned, reducing contamination and ensuring that the sample collected is representative of the environment, while also allowing for extended sampling periods without the need for auxiliary vacuum equipment.
Implementation Method 1
conventional indirect sampling systems use a vacuum to expand the sampling bag to draw a gas to be sampled into the sample container
Data Source
AI summary
Sampling systems provide apparatuses for obtaining and assessing the composition of a fluid, typically air. Sampling systems allow industrial hygienists to assess the risks and determine the protective equipment that should be worn by personnel entering a specific environment. In one embodiment, a sampling system comprises a sampling container that draws air into its inner volume and the sampling periods are controlled by an automatic timer valve. The automatic timer valve may comprise a rotating disk or plate that provides fluid communication from the area to be sampled to the inner volume of the sample bag when apertures are aligned with inlet tube.