Autosampler mechanism

• US 4,478,095 A
• Filed: 03/09/1981
• Issued: 10/23/1984
• Est. Priority Date: 03/09/1981
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Thermo Instrument Systems, Inc. (Thermo Fisher Scientific Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Spectra-Physics Incorporated (MKS Instruments Incorporated)
• Inventors: McCall, Thomas J., Miller, Leslie A., Bradley, Martin P. T., Middlebusher, Duane L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Swisher, S. Clement
• Application Number:
  US06/241,810
• Time in Patent Office: 1,324 Days
• Field of Search: 73/864.21, 73/864.22, 73/864.23, 73/864.24, 73/864.25, 422/63, 422/64, 422/65, 422/67, 422/100, 436/47, 436/48, 436/49
• US Class Current: 73/864.21
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2035/00752 bar codes
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2035/041 lifting items out of a rack for access
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 35/1079 with means for piercing stoppers or septums
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 436/113332 with conveyance of sample along a test line in a container or rack

Abstract

A sampler for taking samples from multiple sources has a fixed, non-moving needle at a sampling station. A sample vial is lifted from a tray at the sampling station. The needle pierces the septum of the vial and enters the sample as the vial is lifted toward the needle. The sample vial is also rotated as it is lifted, and a bar code reader makes a number of spaced apart, helical reads on a bar code label attached to the vial for label identification of the sample. The needle includes an inner, sample needle and an outer, gas-pressurization needle. The sample is withdrawn by the positive displacement of a syringe connected to the sample needle. The combination of the gas pressurization within the vial and the positive displacement of the syringe insures movement of the sample and accurate control of the volume removed independent of the viscosity of the sample. The vial tray mechanism for carrying the sample vials to and from the sample station includes a rotatable platter and four planetary trays carried by and rotatable on the platter. A clutch and brake drive permits the entire tray assembly to be rotated as a unit and also permits rotation of the planetary trays relative to the main platter so that any sample vial can be positioned at the sample station in any desired sequence with respect to the other sample vials.

Claims

1. A sampler mechanism for automatically taking samples from multiple vials containing the samples and of the kind having septums closing the tops of the vials, said sampler mechanism comprising,

a sample station,

needle means fixed in position at the station for taking a sample from a sample vial,

vial transport means at the sample station for moving a sample vial in a first direction with respect to the fixed needle means to cause piercing of the vial septum and insertion of the needle means into the sample within the vial and for moving the vial in a second direction with respect to the fixed needle means to withdraw the needle from the vial after the sample has been taken,

rotatable tray means for automatically conveying individual ones of the multiple sample vials to and from the sample station by rotation of the tray means,

said rotatable tray means having an open top and a plurality of slots for holding the sample vials,

drive means for automatically rotating the tray means to position individual ones of the sample vials at the sample station,

a tower assembly at the sample station and mounting the fixed needle means above the rotatable tray means,

and wherein the vial transport means include a lift mechanism movable through a slot at the sample station to automatically lift a vial out of a slot and to move the vial upwardly into the tower assembly to cause the needle means to pierce said vial septum while the rotatable tray means remain in a fixed axial position.

4. The invention defined in claim 1 including pressurizing means for pressurizing the fluid within the sample vial at the sample station after the needle means have been inserted within the fluid sample.

6. The invention defined in claim 1 including bar code reading means for reading bar code labels on the sample vials, said bar code reader means including a plurality of generally cylindrically shaped sample vials, a bar code label attached to the outer cylindrical surface of each vial with the bar codes extending generally parallel to the cylindrical axis of the vial, sensor means mounted at a fixed location for reading the bar codes on the label, and wherein the vial transport means rotate the sample vial with attached bar code label in front of the sensor means.

2. A sampler mechanism for taking samples from multiple vials containing the samples, said sampler mechanism comprising,

a sample station,

needle means fixed in position at the station for taking a sample from a sample vial,

vial transport means at the sample station for moving a sample vial in a first direction with respect to the fixed needle means to cause piercing of the vial septum and insertion of the needle means into the sample within the vial and for moving the vial in a second direction with respect to the fixed needle means to withdraw the needle from the vial after the sample has been taken,

tray means for conveying individual ones of the multiple sample vials to and from the sample station and

wherein the vial transport means rotate the sample vial while moving the sample vial longitudinally with respect to the needle means.

3. A sampler mechanism for taking samples from multiple vials containing the samples, said sampler mechanism comprising,

a sample station,

needle means fixed in position at the station for taking a sample from a sample vial,

vial transport means at the sample station for moving a sample vial in a first direction with respect to the fixed needle means to cause piercing of the vial septum and insertion of the needle means into the sample within the vial and for moving the vial in a second direction with respect to the fixed needle means to withdraw the needle from the vial after the sample has been taken,

tray means for conveying individual ones of the multiple sample vials to and from the sample station and

including a tower assembly within which the fixed needle means are mounted, a crosshead axially movable within the tower assembly, vial cap stabilizer means mounted for rotation within the crosshead, a vial return spring within the tower assembly and engagable with the crosshead for biasing the vial cap stabilizer means into contact with the septum of a sample vial, said crosshead and vial cap stabilizer means having an opening for the needle means to permit movement of the crosshead and vial cap stabilizer means with respect to the needle means.

5. A sampler mechanism for taking samples from multiple vials containing the samples, said sampler mechanism comprising,

a sample station,

needle means fixed in position at the station for taking a sample from a sample vial,

vial transport means at the sample station for moving a sample vial in a first direction with respect to the fixed needle means to cause piercing of the vial septum and insertion of the needle means into the sample within the vial and for moving the vial in a second direction with respect to the fixed needle means to withdraw the needle from the vial after the sample has been taken,

tray means for conveying individual ones of the multiple sample vials to and from the sample station and

including syringe means associated with the needle means for controlling the amount of sample withdrawn by the positive displacement of the syringe means.

7. A sampler mechanism for taking samples from multiple vials containing the samples, said sampler mechanism comprising,

a sample station,

needle means fixed in position at the station for taking a sample from a sample vial,

vial transport means at the sample station for moving a sample vial in a first direction with respect to the fixed needle means to cause piercing of the vial septum and insertion of the needle means into the sample within the vial and for moving the vial in a second direction with respect to the fixed needle means to withdraw the needle from the vial after the sample has been taken,

tray means for conveying individual ones of the multiple sample vials to and from the sample station and

wherein the tray means include a main, circular platter mounted for rotation about an axis extending through the center of the platter, a plurality of individual planetary trays each carried by the main platter and each rotatable with respect to the main platter, each of said planetary trays having a plurality of sample vial holders located in a circle in the periphery of the planetary tray, and drive means operable in a first mode for rotating the main platter while the planetary trays are prevented from rotating with respect to the main platter and operable in a second mode for rotating each of the planetary trays concurrently and at the same rate of rotation while the main platter is held against rotation so that any sample vial in any planetary tray can be conveyed to the sample station.

8. Apparatus for withdrawing a fluid sample from a sample vial of the kind which has a septum sealing one end of the vial, said apparatus comprising,

needle means for piercing the septum and for insertion within the body of the fluid sample within the vial,

said needle means comprising a first hollow needle having an opening for the passage of the fluid sample into the interior of the needle and a second needle surrounding a portion of the length of the first needle and having an inner diameter larger than the outer diameter of the first needle to provide a passageway between the first and second needles,

pressurizing means for supplying pressurized fluid through said passageway to pressurize the sample within the vial,

first conduit means connected to the interior of the first needle,

syringe means connected to the first conduit means and having a movable plunger which is retractable to withdraw a positively controlled amount of the sample during retraction of the plunger, and

valve means in the first conduit means movable to block flow of fluid sample back to the sample vial and to permit injection of the liquid sample within the first conduit means to a sample using device, such as, for example, a liquid chromatograph.

9. The invention defined in claim 8 including second valve means located between the first valve means and the syringe means, a flush solvent reservoir, and second conduit means associated with the second valve means to enable the portion of the first conduit means between the first valve means and the syringe means to be completely filled at all times with solvent to thereby minimize contamination by different samples.

10. The invention claimed in claim 9 including loop means associated with the first conduit means and the first valve means to permit either entire or partial filling of the loop on the retraction stroke of the syringe plunger for subsequent injection into the sample using device.

11. A tray mechanism for carrying multiple sample vials while permitting any one of the sample vials to be conveyed to a sample station in any desired sequence with respect to the other sample vials, said tray mechanism comprising,

a main, circular platter mounted for rotation about an axis extending through the center of the platter,

a plurality of same-size individual planetary trays each carried by the main platter and each rotatable with respect to the main platter about an axis extending parallel to the axis of the main platter with each planetary-axis tray located at the same radial distance from the axis of rotation of the main platter,

each of said planetary trays having a plurality of sample vial holders located in a circle in the periphery of the planetary tray at the same distance from the axis of rotation of the tray as the circle of vial holders of each of the other planetary trays, and

drive means operable in a first mode for rotating the main platter while the planetary trays are prevented from rotating with respect to the main platter and operable in a second mode for rotating each of the planetary trays concurrently and at the same rate of rotation while the main platter is held against rotation so that any sample vial in any planetary tray can be conveyed to the sample station.

12. The invention defined in claim 11 including slot identification means for identifying the location of each sample vial holder in each of the planetary trays.

13. A method of withdrawing a fluid sample from a sample vial of the kind which has a septum sealing one end of the vial, said method comprising,

piercing the septum with a first needle and inserting the first needle within the body of the fluid sample within the vial,

piercing the septum with a second needle which has an inner diameter larger than the outer diameter of the first needle so as to provide a passageway between the first and second needles,

pressurizing the sample within the vial by supplying pressurized fluid through said passageway between the needles,

connecting a first conduit to the interior of the first needle,

withdrawing a positively-controlled amount of the sample under pressure in the vial by exerting a controlled suction on the first conduit, and

blocking the flow of the fluid sample back to the sample vial while injecting the sample from the first conduit into a sample-using device, such as, for example, a liquid chromatograph.