Manifolds and methods and systems using them

• US 10,691,143 B2
• Filed: 01/15/2019
• Issued: 06/23/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 09/21/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: PerkinElmer Scientific Canada ULC
• Original Assignee: Perkinelmer Health Sciences Incorporated (Perkinelmer Incorporated)
• Inventors: Chan, Brian, Badiei, Hamid, Botelho, James
• Primary Examiner(s): Reid, Michael R
• Application Number:
  US16/248,603
• Publication Number:
  US 20190250644A1
• Time in Patent Office: 525 Days
• Field of Search: 137872, 1376255, 1376254, 13756533, 13762527, 13762548
• CPC Class Codes: F16K 11/044 with movable valve members positioned between valve seats
• CPC Class Codes: F16K 11/0655 with flat slides
• CPC Class Codes: F16K 41/10 with diaphragm, e.g. shaped as bellows or tube
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 7/03 with auxiliary non-electric power G05D7/005 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 137/87788 With valve or movable deflector at junction

Abstract

Certain embodiments described herein are directed to manifolds that comprise a moveable, internal sealing member that can be used to engage one or more ports of the manifold and prevent or reduce fluid flow from the engaged port into the manifold. In certain examples, the manifold can be used in a mass spectrometer to control fluid flow from an interface and a turbomolecular pump.

Claims

1. A vacuum manifold system comprising:

a housing comprising a first port configured to provide fluidic coupling between a sampling interface line and the manifold;

a second port on the housing that is configured to provide fluidic coupling between a backing line of a turbomolecular pump and the manifold;

a third port on a housing that is configured to provide fluidic coupling between a mechanical roughing pump and the manifold;

a moveable sealing member in the housing, in which the moveable sealing member comprises a first position effective to permit fluid flow between the first port and the third port and effective to block fluid flow from the second port, in which the moveable sealing member comprises a second position effective to permit fluid flow between the second port and the third port and effective to block fluid flow from the first port, in which the moveable sealing member further comprises a third position effective to permit fluid flow between the first port, the second port and the third port; and

a processor configured to monitor a current draw of the turbomolecular pump to control incremental movement of a head of the moveable sealing member away from the first port.

2. The vacuum manifold system of claim 1, in which the moveable sealing member comprises a sealing device configured to engage the second port in the first position of the moveable sealing member to provide a substantially fluid tight seal between the sealing member and the second port.

3. The vacuum manifold system of claim 2, in which the sealing device is configured to engage the first port in the second position of the moveable sealing member to provide a substantially fluid tight seal between the sealing member and the first port.

4. The vacuum manifold system of claim 3, in which the sealing device comprises a first O-ring that is between the sealing device and the second port when the sealing member is in the first position, and a second O-ring that is between the sealing device and the first port when the sealing member is in the second position.

5. The vacuum manifold system of claim 1, further comprising an actuator coupled to the moveable sealing member.

6. The vacuum manifold system of claim 5, in which the actuator comprises a motor.

7. The vacuum manifold system of claim 5, in which the sealing member comprises a plunger coupled to the actuator.

8. The vacuum manifold system of claim 7, in which the plunger comprises a longitudinal shaft coupled to the actuator and a disk coupled to the longitudinal shaft in an orthogonal direction to the longitudinal shaft, the disk configured to engage an interior housing surface adjacent to the first port in the second position of the moveable sealing member to provide a substantially fluid tight seal between the plunger and the first port to block fluid flow into the housing from the sampling interface line, in which the disk is further configured to engage an interior housing surface adjacent to the second port in the first position of the moveable sealing member to provide a substantially fluid tight seal between the plunger and the second port to block fluid flow into the housing from the pump backing line.

9. The vacuum manifold system of claim 7, in which the plunger comprises a first longitudinal shaft of a first outer diameter coupled to the actuator and a second longitudinal shaft of a second outer diameter, greater than the first outer diameter, coupled to the first longitudinal shaft, in which an end of the second longitudinal shaft is configured to engage an interior housing surface adjacent to the first port in the second position of the moveable sealing member to provide a substantially fluid tight seal between the plunger and the first port to block fluid flow into the housing from the sampling interface line, in which an opposite end of the second longitudinal shaft is configured to engage an interior housing surface adjacent to the second port in the first position of the moveable sealing member to provide a substantially fluid tight seal between the plunger and the second port to block fluid flow into the housing from the pump backing line.

10. The vacuum manifold system of claim 9, in which the second outer diameter is selected to be at least 5% greater than a diameter of the first port.

11. The vacuum manifold system of claim 7, in which the plunger comprises a longitudinal shaft coupled to the actuator and a barbell end coupled to the longitudinal shaft, in which a first surface of the barbell end is configured to engage an interior housing surface adjacent to the first port in the second position of the moveable sealing member to provide a substantially fluid tight seal between the engaged first surface and the first port to block fluid flow into the housing from the sampling interface line, in which a second surface of the barbell end is configured to engage an interior housing surface adjacent to the second port in the first position of the moveable sealing member to provide a substantially fluid tight seal between the engaged second surface and the second port to block fluid flow into the housing from the backing line.

12. The vacuum manifold system of claim 1, in which the third position of the sealing member is selected to position a terminal end of the sealing member closer to the first port of housing than to the second port of the housing.

13. The vacuum manifold system of claim 1, in which the third position of the sealing member is selected to provide a selected fluidic conductance.

14. The vacuum manifold of system claim 1, in which the sealing member comprises an actuator coupled to a longitudinal shaft, and a disk coupled to the longitudinal shaft in an orthogonal direction, in which the longitudinal shaft comprises a bellows effective to provide a substantially fluid tight seal between the housing and a site of the housing where the longitudinal shaft of the sealing member enters the housing.

15. The vacuum manifold system of claim 14, in which the actuator comprises a motor.

16. The vacuum manifold system of claim 15, in which the second position of the sealing member is provided after a fixed amount of steps using the motor.

17. The vacuum manifold system of claim 1, in which the sealing member comprises a substantially inert material.

18. The vacuum manifold system of claim 17, in which the substantially inert material is a plastic, a stainless steel, polytetrafluoroethylene, aluminum, titanium or an Inconel alloy.

19. The vacuum manifold system of claim 1, in which the sealing member is configured for use with an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer system, in which the sealing member is configured to be in the first position when a vacuum is off and the plasma is off, in which the sealing member is configured to be in the second position when the vacuum is on and when the plasma is off, and in which the sealing member is configured to be in the third position when the plasma is on.

20. The vacuum manifold system of claim 1, in which the housing is configured as a valveless housing.