Sample collector and components thereof

• US 20070261430A1
• Filed: 05/09/2006
• Published: 11/15/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/09/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Teledyne Instruments Incorporated (Teledyne Technologies Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Teledyne Isco, Inc. (Thermo Fisher Scientific Incorporated)
• Inventors: Nabity, Frederick, Fiedler, Robert, Walters, Henry
• Granted Patent: US 8,883,090 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 62/448
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 19/02 plug-in type
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 23/00 General constructional features F25D21/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 31/006 specially adapted for cooling receptacles, e.g. tanks
• CPC Class Codes: F28F 2280/04 Means for preventing wrong assembling of parts
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 5/2451 Incremental encoders G01D5/2454 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 5/2458 with incremental and absolute tracks on separate encoders
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 5/3473 Circular or rotary encoders
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 1/42 Low-temperature sample treatment, e.g. cryofixation
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2035/00425 Heating or cooling means associated with pipettes or the like, e.g. for supplying sample/reagent at given temperature
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2035/0491 Position sensing, encoding; closed-loop control
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 35/1011 Control of the position or alignment of the transfer device
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49 Method of mechanical manufacture
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49359 Cooling apparatus making, e.g., air conditioner, refrigerator
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/53113 Heat exchanger

Abstract

To provide a protective coat on a refrigerated sample collector for a corrosive environment a unitary frame includes a support unit with condenser and evaporator coils mounted to the support unit and an orifice connecting the condenser and evaporator coils. The evaporator coils, condenser coils and a restrictor are powder coated after being connected, whereby an effective seal is provided for the restrictor, condenser coils and evaporator coils after they are assembled to the support. The unitary frame can be easily removed or connected as a unit to the sample collector. The bottle rack for the sample collector is made by injection molding two halves of the rack each of which has a matching surface and a bottle positioning surface. The matching surfaces are fastened together by placing the matching surfaces together back to back whereby locating members are spaced apart a sufficient distance.

Claims

1. A unitary frame for connection to a refrigerated system, comprising:

a support unit adapted to be mounted to the refrigerated system;

condenser and evaporator coils mounted to the support unit;

a restrictor mounted to the condenser and evaporator coils to permit communication there between while maintaining a pressure differential;

said restrictor being mounted to said support unit;

fastening means for connecting said condenser and evaporator coils to a compressor and for connecting a compressor to the support unit;

means for moving the support unit with the attached condenser and evaporator coils and restrictor easily as a unit and for fastening the support unit to a refrigerated sampler to close the refrigerated sampler as a final closure.

2. The unitary frame of claim 1 in which the restrictor is an orifice restrictor.

3. A unitary frame in accordance with claim 1 in which the evaporator and condenser coils, the restrictor and connectors connecting them are powder coated after they have been mounted to the support unit.

4. A unitary frame in accordance with claim 1 in which the compressor is mounted to the support unit.

5. A unitary frame in accordance with claim 4 in which the compressor is coated with a protective coating prior to being connected to the support unit.

6. A unitary frame in accordance with claim 5 in which the compressor is coated with a protective coating after being mounted to the support unit.

7. A refrigerated sampler, comprising:

a refrigerated compartment adapted to receive sample bottles;

a distributor adapted to supply samples in an orderly manner to the sample bottles;

a pump for pumping samples through the distributor;

a cooling compartment adapted to receive a unitary frame;

said unitary frame including at least a support member, evaporator coils mounted to the support member, condenser coils mounted to the support member, a condenser providing communication between the evaporator coils and the condenser coils with a pressure differential;

said evaporator coils, condenser coils and a restrictor being connected and mounted in the unitary frame prior to being powder coated, whereby an effective seal is provided for the restrictor, condenser coils and evaporator coils.

8. A refrigerated sampler in accordance with claim 7 in which the condenser coils, the restrictor and the evaporator coils have been coated with a special protective coat after being connected to each other.

9. A refrigerated sampler in accordance with claim 7 in which the restrictor is a capillary restrictor.

10. A refrigerated sampler in accordance with claim 7 in which the restrictor is an orifice restrictor.

11. A refrigerated sampler in accordance with claim 7 in which a compressor is coated with a special protective coat prior to being mounted to the unitary frame and connected to the evaporator and condenser coils.

12. A refrigerated sampler in which connections between a compressor and a condenser and evaporator coils are coated with a special protective coat after being connected.

13. A refrigerated sampler in which a unitary frame includes a final closure.

14. A method of fabricating a unitary structure, comprising the steps of:

assembling condenser coils, evaporator coils, a restrictor and support members on a unitary frame;

powder coating the unitary frame with the condenser coils, the evaporator coils, the restrictor and the support members on it;

mounting a compressor on the unitary frame and connecting the condenser coils and the evaporator coils to the compressor;

sealing the connections between the compressor and the evaporator coils and the condenser coils; and

mounting the uniform frame to an apparatus to provide a final closure.

15. The method of claim 14 in which the step of assembling condenser coils, evaporator coils, a restrictor and support members comprises the step of mounting an orifice restrictor between the evaporator coils and the condensor coils.

16. The method of claim 15 in which the step of assembling condenser coils, evaporator coils, a restrictor and support members includes the step of mounting a compressor having a special protective coat on it to the unitary frame and connecting the compressor to the evaporator and condenser coils;

and

sealing the connections between the compressor and the evaporator and condenser coils with a special protective coat.

17. A method of servicing a refrigerated sampler, comprising the steps of:

unfastening a unitary frame from the refrigerated sampler;

pulling the unitary frame from the refrigerated sampler;

performing service operations on components of the unitary frame; and

pushing the unitary frame back into the refrigerated sampler and fastening it into place to provide a final closure.

18. A method of using a refrigerated sampler, comprising the steps of:

inserting the refrigerated sampler in a corrosive environment;

drawing at least one sample into the refrigerated sampler with a peristaltic pump and depositing the at least one sample in at least one sample bottle within a refrigerated compartment; and

cooling the refrigerated compartment with a refrigeration unit wherein components of the refrigeration unit are coated with a special protective coat.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the step of drawing at least one sample into the refrigerated sampler includes the substeps of:

pumping at least one sample into tubing that is part of a distributor arm;

stepping the distributor arm from position to position over sample bottles in accordance with a program;

the step of stepping the distributor arm from position to position over sample bottles includes the substeps of sensing the position of the distributor arm;

moving the distributor arm to the zero reference point;

reading a desired position for the distributor arm from memory;

moving the distributor arm to the desired position and activating a pump.

20. The method of claim 18 wherein the step of drawing at least one sample into the refrigerated sampler includes the substeps of:

pumping at least one sample into a distributor arm;

stepping the distributor arm from position to position over sample bottles in accordance with a program;

the step of stepping the distributor arm from position to position over sample bottles includes the substeps of sensing the position of the distributor arm;

reading the desired position from memory;

comparing the sensed position with the position in memory and depositing a sample when the sensed position corresponds to the position in memory.

21. A method in accordance with claim 19 wherein the step of sensing the position of the distributor arm includes the substeps of:

rotating an index disk with the distributor arm wherein the index disk has code characters separated by code indicators along the periphery of the index disk;

a plurality of unique locations on the index disk having at least one code indicator positioned to identify at least one code character;

each of said at least one code characters identified by an identification character forming a code indicating a unique position on said index disk;

sensing the identification characters and code characters to generate a code in which the at least one code characters define a unique position on the periphery of the index disk;

using the generated code to move the index disk to a programmed position with respect to the sample bottles; and

depositing at least a portion of sample into the bottle.

22. A method in accordance with claim 21 in which code characters are wide openings and the wide openings are sensed and represented by a number of pulses equal to the width of the opening, the identification characters are smaller openings and the smaller openings are sensed to represent a number of pulses corresponding to the smaller openings, and the wider openings form a code consisting of at least one wider opening.

23. A method of making a bottle rack, comprising the steps of:

forming a first half of the rack;

the first half of the rack including a matching surface and a bottle positioning surface, with the distance between the bottle positioning surface and the matching surface being one half of a stability design distance;

forming a second identical rack half;

placing matching surfaces together back to back whereby locating members are spaced stability design apart for holding bottles.

24. A method in accordance with claim 23 in which the step of forming a first half of the rack is formed by molding comprising the steps of forming a bottle half by injection molding in a mold that forms a rectangular base as with the matching surface on it with an opening in the center and a cylindrical ring of the bottle positioning surface surrounding the opening in the center, whereby bottles will be positioned in bottle positioning members to extend the opening in the center of the rectangular base with a surface against two aligned bottle positioning members separated by a stability design distance.

25. A method in accordance with claim 23 in which the bottle positioning surface is mounted to a cylindrical supporting and positioning wall.

26. A method of drawing samples, comprising the steps of:

placing a first bottle rack half against a second bottle rack half;

the step of placing a first bottle rack half against a second bottle half rack comprising the steps of molding two identical bottle rack halves and utilizing one of the two identical bottle rack halves as the first bottle half rack and the other as the second bottle rack half;

the step of placing a first bottle rack half against a second bottle rack half comprising the steps of mounting a base of the first bottle rack half against a base of the second bottle rack half with bottle holding and positioning members extending from their respective bottle rack halves;

placing a bottom on one of the bottle rack halves spaced from the base of the bottle rack half by the bottle holding and positioning members, placing bottles in the bottle rack with their bottoms against the bottle rack bottom and the top extending upwardly so that it engages the bottle holding and positioning members at two locations so as to hold the bottles in place;

mounting the bottle rack with the bottles in it within a sampling device;

drawing samples and inserting them in at least one of the bottles; and

removing the bottle rack with samples in the bottles and shipping for analysis.

27. A method in accordance with claim 26 in which the step of placing bottles in the bottle rack comprises the step of placing bottles in at least two locations with locating members that determine the location and placing the bottles between the at least two locations adjacent to each other so that each bottle is in a fixed position with respect to the locating members.

28. A method in accordance with claim 27 wherein the step of drawing samples and inserting them in at lest one of the bottles includes the step of moving a distributor arm over a bottle.

29. A method in accordance with claim 28 wherein the step of moving the distributor arm includes the substeps of:

rotating an index disk with the distributor arm wherein the index disk has code characters separated by code indicators indicating the location of the code characters along the periphery of the index disk with the code characters and the code indicators indicating unique positions on said index disk;

sensing the code indicators and code characters to generate a code in which the code characters define a unique position on the periphery of the index disk;

using the generated code to move the index disk to a desired location with respect to the sample bottles; and

depositing at least a portion of sample into the bottle.

30. A method in accordance with claim 29 in which code indicators are narrow light passing slots and the code characters are wide slots, the wide slots are sensed and represented by a number of pulses equal to the width of the opening, the smaller slots are sensed to represent a number of pulses corresponding to the smaller slots, the smaller slots being on each side of a location designation comprising at least one wide slot wherein the index disk generates a number of pulses corresponding to the wide slots and a code representing a unique position for the distributor arm.

33. The bottle rack of claim 30 in which the cylindrical wall has an opening in the center to which the bottles extend.

34. The bottle rack of claim 30 in which at least two bottle positioners are mounted to the cylindrical wall to position the bottles against tangentially slanting.

31. A bottle rack comprising a central member adapted to be mounted horizontally;

said central member having two identical members positioned back to back and bottle holding and positioning surfaces extending outwardly from the two identical members;

a bottle rack bottom positioned to close off one of the extending cylindrical members, whereby bottles may rest on the bottom and extend upwardly to opposite cylindrical wall.

32. The bottle rack of claim 31 in which two symmetrical members are held together by screws, whereby they may be molded separately in a single cavity mold.

35. An index disk;

indicia along the periphery of the index disk;

said indicia including code characters and code identifiers;

said code characters forming a code indicating a unique position on said index disk.

36. The index disk of claim 35 in which said code characters and code identifiers are light passing portions separated by opaque portions of the disk and the light passing portions forming code characters are of different widths from each other and wider than the code identifiers.

37. An index disk in accordance with claim 36 in which said opaque portions and said light passing portions are formed lithographically.

38. An index disk in accordance with claim 36 in which said opaque portions and said light passing portions are stamped.

39. A disk in accordance with claim 35 in which said light passing portions are openings in the disk.

40. An index disk in accordance with claim 36 in which the indicia along the periphery of the disk indicate specific locations;

said specific locations being represented by at least one wide opening indicating a code character;

the at least one code character indicating one numerical value;

the numeric values corresponding to successive code characters that are not separated by identifiers forming a code indicating a specific location.

41. A sensor and a member with the member and the sensor being movable with respect to each other;

a plurality of code locations spaced apart on said member;

said sensor including means for sensing the code locations, whereby the location of the member with respect to the sensor may be determined;

each of said code locations including a combination of three spaced apart locations which may be individually sensed;

a center location in each of said code locations indicating a first value;

a first side indicia on one side of said first location indicating a second value;

a second indicia on a second side of said first location indicating a third value;

said first value being larger than said second and third values;

said second and third values differing from each other;

said first value being sufficiently different in magnitude from said second and third values as to be identifiable as a first value;

the sum of said first value and second value indicating the location of said location point;

the sum of the first magnitude and the third magnitude indicating the same location point;

the sum of said first value and second value being different than the sum said first value and third value whereby the direction of movement between said sensor and a coded member being indicated by the differences in the combinations of the first value with the second value from combinations of the first value with the third value.

42. A position indicating system including a motor;

a drive shaft driven in synchronism with said motor;

said drive shaft positioning an object;

an index disk rotating in synchronism with said motor drive shaft and item;

said index disk having light passing portions and opaque portions;

a sensor for sensing said opaque portions and light passing portions;

said light passing portions and opaque portions indicating the position of said index disk and thereby the position of said item.

43. A positioning system in accordance with claim 42 in which said motor moves in discrete steps.

44. A positioning system in accordance with claim 43 in which said item is a sample distributing arm and the positions of a distributor arm outlet controlled by said index disk are the locations of sample bottle openings.

45. A positioning system in which an index disk has a code formed of light passing portions and opaque portions in its periphery and a sensor to sense said light passing portions and opaque portions whereby a code is generated indicating the position of the said positioning system.

46. A positioning system in accordance with claim 45 wherein:

the indicia along the periphery of the index disk indicate specific locations;

said specific locations being represented by a wide opening with smaller openings on each side of it;

a combination of the width of a wider opening combined with the width of a narrow opening on one side indicating one numerical value and a combination of the width of the wider opening with the narrow opening on the other side indicating a different numerical value;

each of the two numeric values indicating the specific location.

47. A sensor and a member with the member and the sensor being movable with respect to each other;

a plurality of code locations spaced apart from each other on said member;

said sensor including means for sensing the code locations;

each of said code locations including a combination of at least one code indicating character and at least one code character which may be individually sensed;

at least one of said code characters indicating a value;

said code indicating characters on at least one side of said code characters indicating the location of code characters;

said code characters indicating a unique location.

48. A peristaltic pump, comprising:

a peristaltic pump tube;

a roller paddle;

a metal pump band;

said metal pump band having a hook on one end;

a keeper mounted to the peristaltic pump and positioned to engage said hook; and

a hook guide which extends over said keeper and blocks said hook from passing above said keeper.

49. A peristaltic pump, comprising:

a peristaltic pump tube;

a roller paddle;

the peristaltic pump having contoured tube guides communicating with a raceway;

one of said contoured tube guides being deeper in a base than the other and gradually rising from a position lower than the raceway to a position substantially equal with the raceway;

the other of said contoured tube guides starting at a position above said raceway and moving lower to a position substantially equal to said raceway;

said contoured tube guides being arranged to reduce movement of said peristaltic pump with the raceway as said roller paddle rotates.

50. A control system, comprising:

a microcontroller;

a motor;

code means for indicating the location of a distributor;

an input device for programming said microcontroller;

said motor moving an index position sensor with respect to an index disk whereby said microcontrollor receives signals indicating the position of a distributor outlet.

51. A control system in accordance with claim 50 wherein:

the indicia along the periphery of the disk indicate specific locations;

said specific locations being represented by a wide opening with smaller openings on each side of it;

a combination of the width of a wider opening combined with the width of a narrow opening on one side indicating one numerical value and a combination of the width of the wider opening with the narrow opening on the other side indicating a different numerical value;

each of the two numeric values indicating the specific location.

52. A sensor and a member with the member and the sensor being movable with respect to each other;

a plurality of code locations spaced apart on said member;

said sensor including means for sensing the code locations, whereby the location of the member with respect to the sensor may be determined;

each of said code locations including a combination of at least three spaced apart locations which may be individually sensed;

at least one center location in each of said code locations indicating a first value;

a first side indicia on one side of said first location indicating the presence of at least one center location;

a second indicia on a second side of said first location indicating the presence of at least one center location.

53. A cooling system adapted to cool a confined space comprising:

a compressor;

said compressor including a motor for driving said compressor;

said motor including a motor winding;

at least one condenser coil;

at least one evaporation coil positioned to remove heat from said confirmed space;

said compressor being in communication with said at least one condenser coil and at least one evaporation coil to compress fluid to release heat in said condenser coil whereby expanding fluid in said evaporation coil absorbs heat within said area;

a motor-winding heating-current control circuit;

said at least one ambient temperature sensor positioned to sense ambient temperature; and

said at least one ambient temperature sensor being electrically connected to said motor-winding heating-current control circuit to apply current through said winding of said compressor motor to warm said compressor sufficiently to enable said compressor motor to start under cold ambient conditions.

54. A cooling system in accordance with claim 53 wherein said motor-winding heating-current control circuit receives power from the same power source as said compressor control and said cooling system includes means for altering said power to provide a current that does not start said compressor motor.

55. A cooling system in accordance with claim 54 wherein said compressor motor has a means for altering said power includes an attenuator have a value sufficient to reduce voltage from said power source to a level below a starting level of said compressor motor.

56. A cooling system in accordance with claim 55 in which the cooling system is a refrigeration unit of a sample collector.

57. A cooling system in accordance with claim 55 wherein said motor-winding heating-current control circuit is connected to the compressor control circuit to receive a signal indicating the operating condition of said compressor and includes a circuit to activate said heating current control circuit to apply a heating current to the windings of said compressor motor only when said compressor motor is in its rest state.

58. A system for warming a compressor to a starting temperature during cold weather comprising:

a motor-winding heating-current control circuit adapted to receive an ambient temperature signal and an electrical voltage from a refrigeration system;

said motor-winding heating-current control circuit including a circuit for developing a voltage incapable of starting a compressor motor but capable of generating heat when applied to coils of a compressor motor and a control circuit for applying said voltage to windings of a compressor motor upon receiving an ambient temperature signal below a predetermined value.

59. A method of warming a compressor to a start-up temperature, comprising the steps of:

measuring an ambient temperature;

sensing when a compressor motor is not running;

applying a current from a compressor motor power source to motor windings of the compressor to heat the compressor when the compressor motor is not running and the ambient temperature is below a predetermined temperature.