Plug unit and connection system for connecting capillary tubes, especially for high-performance liquid chromatography

• US 10,444,205 B2
• Filed: 09/19/2016
• Issued: 10/15/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 05/22/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dionex Softron GmbH (Thermo Fisher Scientific Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Dionex Softron GmbH (Thermo Fisher Scientific Incorporated)
• Inventors: Hochgraeber, Hermann, Satzinger, Adolf, Buerger, Daniel, Unger, Andreas
• Primary Examiner(s): Hewitt, II, James M
• Application Number:
  US15/269,239
• Publication Number:
  US 20170003255A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,121 Days
• CPC Class Codes: F16L 25/0018 Abutment joints
• CPC Class Codes: F16L 37/02 in which the connection is maintained only by friction of the parts being joined F16L37/22 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2030/027 Liquid chromatography
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 30/6026 Fluid seals

Abstract

A plug unit for connecting capillary tubes includes a plug housing that has an axial borehole, a plug capillary tube that projects through the axial borehole, and a sealing element that surrounds the plug capillary tube. The front end of the plug capillary tube is sealed by an elastic and/or plastic deformation of the sealing element against the capillary tube receptacle opening of a bushing unit. A hollow cylindrical pressure piece is provided that surrounds the sealing element in an axial region facing away from the end surface of the plug capillary tube, and the pressure piece has a rearward end side that faces away from the end surface of the plug capillary tube and that can be loaded by the plug housing with an axial pressure force when the plug unit and bushing unit are connected.

Claims

1. A plug unit for connecting a plug capillary tube, the plug unit including:

(a) a plug housing;

(b) the plug capillary tube projecting axially through the plug housing;

wherein the plug unit is adapted to be connected to a bushing unit, which comprises a capillary tube receptacle opening which transitions into a receptacle opening for the plug housing, the receptacle opening having a greater inner diameter than the capillary tube receptacle opening;

(c) wherein the plug unit further includes an annular sealing element, in which a front end surface of the annular sealing element projects in an axial direction past a front end surface of the plug capillary tube;

(d) wherein the plug housing is adapted to connect to the bushing unit;

(e) wherein the plug unit further includes a pressure piece configured to receive a rear portion of the annular sealing element;

(f) wherein the pressure piece and the annular sealing element are both connected rigidly to the plug capillary tube so as to prevent relative movement between the pressure piece, the annular sealing element, and the plug capillary tube, wherein the pressure piece and the annular sealing element are also both connected rigidly to the plug capillary tube so as to avoid detachment of the annular sealing element from the plug capillary tube when dismounting the plug unit; and

(g) wherein a front end region of the plug capillary tube, the annular sealing element, and the pressure piece are configured to be inserted into a fully inserted position in the capillary tube receptacle opening of the bushing unit when the plug housing is placed in a connected position where the plug housing applies an axial force to the pressure piece, the annular sealing element, and the plug capillary tube so as to press at least the front end surface of the annular sealing element against a floor wall of the capillary tube receptacle opening of the bushing unit, wherein the annular sealing element is configured to receive and surround the front end region and the front end surface of the plug capillary tube so that the front end surface of the plug capillary tube resides within a volume defined by the annular sealing element.

2. The plug unit of claim 1, wherein the front end region of the plug capillary tube has a hollow cylindrical construction with a constant cross section.

3. The plug unit of claim 1, wherein the annular sealing element is formed from an elastic material so that the annular sealing element surrounds the plug capillary tube with a biasing tension when mounted on the front end region of the plug capillary tube.

4. The plug unit of claim 1, wherein the pressure piece and the annular sealing element are both connected rigidly to the plug capillary tube by a friction fit or by the friction fit and a positive fit.

5. The plug unit of claim 1, wherein the pressure piece is connected through a crimped connection to the plug capillary tube and at least a region of the pressure piece having a radial plastic change in shape.

6. The plug unit of claim 1, wherein the pressure piece is connected through a crimped connection to the annular sealing element and the plug capillary tube.

7. The plug unit of claim 1, wherein the plug capillary tube has at least one outer jacket layer at least in an axial sub-region that is encompassed by the pressure piece and wherein a crimped connection between the pressure piece and the plug capillary tube is formed in the axial sub-region.

8. A connection system for connecting a plug capillary tube, the connection system including:

(a) a bushing unit;

(b) a plug unit including;

(i) a plug housing;

(ii) the plug capillary tube projecting axially through the plug housing;

(iii) an annular sealing element, in which a front end surface of the annular sealing element projects in an axial direction past a front end surface of the plug capillary tube;

(iv) wherein the plug housing is adapted to connect to the bushing unit; and

(v) a pressure piece configured to receive a rear portion of the annular sealing element;

wherein the bushing unit has a capillary tube receptacle opening which transitions into a receptacle opening for the plug housing, the receptacle opening having a greater inner diameter than the capillary tube receptacle opening, the capillary tube receptacle opening including a floor wall and a bushing capillary tube opening located in the floor wall;

(c) wherein the pressure piece and the annular sealing element are both connected rigidly to the plug capillary tube to prevent relative movement between the pressure piece, the annular sealing element, and the plug capillary tube, wherein the pressure piece and the annular sealing element are also both connected rigidly to the plug capillary tube so as to avoid detachment of the annular sealing element from the plug capillary tube when dismounting the plug unit; and

(d) wherein a front end region of the plug capillary tube, the annular sealing element, and the pressure piece are configured to be inserted into a fully inserted position in the capillary tube receptacle opening when the plug housing is placed in a connected position where the plug housing applies an axial force to the pressure piece, the annular sealing element, and the plug capillary tube so as to press at least the front end surface of the annular sealing element against the floor wall of the capillary tube receptacle opening, wherein the annular sealing element is configured to receive and surround the front end region and the front end surface of the plug capillary tube so that the front end surface of the plug capillary tube resides within a volume defined by the annular sealing element.

9. The connection system of claim 8, wherein when the front end region of the plug capillary tube, the annular sealing element, and the pressure piece are inserted into the fully inserted position in the receptacle opening, the front end of the pressure piece reaches at least up to the capillary tube receptacle opening or extends into the capillary tube receptacle opening.

10. The connection system of claim 8, wherein outer diameter of the pressure piece corresponds to the inner diameter of the capillary tube receptacle opening, in which an inner wall of the receptacle opening includes a thread and an outer wall of the plug housing includes corresponding threads to the receptacle opening.

11. The connection system of claim 8, wherein the annular sealing element is formed from an elastic material so that the annular sealing element surrounds the plug capillary tube with a biasing tension when mounted on the front end region of the plug capillary tube.

12. The connection system of claim 8, wherein the pressure piece and the annular sealing element are both connected rigidly to the plug capillary tube by a friction fit or by the friction fit and a positive fit.

13. The connection system of claim 8, wherein the pressure piece is connected through a crimped connection to the plug capillary tube and at least a region of the pressure piece having a radial plastic change in shape.

14. The connection system of claim 8, wherein the pressure piece is connected through a crimped connection to the annular sealing element and the plug capillary tube.

15. The connection system of claim 8, wherein the plug capillary tube has at least one outer jacket layer at least in an axial sub-region that is encompassed by the pressure piece and wherein a crimped connection between the pressure piece and the plug capillary tube is formed in the axial sub-region.

16. A plug unit for connecting a plug capillary tube, the plug unit including:

(a) a plug housing;

(b) the plug capillary tube projecting axially through the plug housing;

(c) an annular sealing element, in which a front end surface of the annular sealing element projects in an axial direction past a front end surface of the plug capillary tube;

(d) wherein the plug housing is adapted to connect to a bushing unit;

(e) a pressure piece configured to receive a rear portion of the annular sealing element;

(f) wherein the pressure piece and the annular sealing element are both connected rigidly to the plug capillary tube so as to prevent relative movement between the pressure piece, the annular sealing element, and the plug capillary tube, wherein the pressure piece and the annular sealing element are also both connected rigidly to the plug capillary tube so as to avoid detachment of the annular sealing element from the plug capillary tube when dismounting the plug unit;

wherein the pressure piece is connected through crimping to the plug capillary tube and at least a region of the pressure piece has a radial plastic change in shape; and

(g) wherein a front end region of the plug capillary tube, the annular sealing element, and the pressure piece are configured to be inserted into a fully inserted position in a receptacle opening of the bushing unit when the plug housing is placed in a connected position where the plug housing applies an axial force to the pressure piece, the annular sealing element, and the plug capillary tube so as to press at least the front end surface of the annular sealing element against a floor wall of a capillary tube receptacle opening of the bushing unit, wherein the annular sealing element is configured to receive the front end region of the plug capillary tube so that the front end surface of the plug capillary tube resides within a volume defined by the annular sealing element.

17. The plug unit of claim 16, wherein the annular sealing element is configured to surround the front end region of the plug capillary tube.

18. The plug unit of claim 16, wherein the front end region of the plug capillary tube has a hollow cylindrical construction with a constant cross section.

19. The plug unit of claim 16, wherein an outer diameter of the pressure piece corresponds to the inner diameter of the capillary tube receptacle opening, in which an inner wall of the receptacle opening includes a thread and an outer wall of the plug housing includes corresponding threads to the receptacle opening.

20. The plug unit of claim 16, wherein the annular sealing element is formed from an elastic material so that the annular sealing element surrounds the plug capillary tube with a biasing tension when mounted on the front end region of the plug capillary tube.

21. The plug unit of claim 16, wherein the pressure piece and the annular sealing element are both connected rigidly to the plug capillary tube by a friction fit or by the friction fit and a positive fit.

22. The plug unit of claim 17, wherein the annular sealing element is also configured to surround the front end surface of the plug capillary tube.