Idex Health & Science LLC

Rheodyne, LLC

Innovadyne Technologies, Inc.

Jon A Nichols

Carl W Sims

Carl M Servin

Michael Keller

Audrey Schrock

Marc D Foster

Carl Hermann Poppe

Quan Liu

Neil Robert Picha

Jeremy Hayes

James E Johnson

Daniel M Hartmann

Michael R Straka

James Smyth

Mark Tschann

Jim Smyth

Burney L Baron

Darren Lewis

Valve with multi-piece stator assembly for use with liquid chromatography or other analytical systems. A separate and removable stator plate is provided with a mounting device to provide a multi-piece stator assembly. The mounting device is adapted on one side to engage and contact the stator plate, and on the other side includes a plurality of ports for fluidic connections which are in fluid communication with fluid passageways in the stator plate. By making the stator face a separate component, the overall costs of the valve can be reduced, different materials can be used for the mounting device and the stator, and the valve can be used for ultra-high pressure applications, including in liquid chromatography and other analytical instrument systems.

High pressure valve with multi-piece stator assembly

A rotary shear valve having a rotor device and a stator device both with planar faces. The stator face includes a central port located at a common rotational axis, a second port radially spaced a radius Rfrom the central port, and a third port spaced at radius R. The second and third ports are in general linear alignment with the central port. The rotor face includes a first rotor groove extending radially outward from the common rotational axis to a position at radius Rfrom the central port. The rotor device is rotatably mounted to the stator device for rotation thereof about the axis, providing fluid-tight, selective relative rotation therebetween between two or more discrete rotor positions. When in a discrete first rotor position, the first rotor groove is oriented in radial alignment with, and fluidly connects, the central port and the second port with the third port.

Multi-position, micro-fluidic valve assembly with multiple radial grooves to enable individual or combined flows

A liquid sampling system includes a liquid sampling valve for transferring a liquid sample from a primary stream to a secondary stream. The liquid sampling valve includes a rotor having a movable shuttle that is in selective fluid communication with the primary stream or the secondary stream. The rotor shuttle passes through a discharge station prior to completion of the valve cycle to discharge contaminants prior to re-exposure to the primary stream.

Liquid sampling valve

A multi-path selector valve used in liquid chromatography and other analytical methods for directing fluid along alternate paths of a flowstream. The selector valve has a stator and a rotor. The dynamic face of the stator has a plurality of openings arranged along an inner ring, a plurality of openings arranged along an outer ring, and an annular collection groove formed in the dynamic face. The inner ring, outer ring, and annular collection groove are concentric circles. The rotor's dynamic face is configured to mate with the rear face of the stator, and has two fluid flow paths. One fluid flow path has one end at a rotational center of the rotor and another end of the fluid flow path is configured to be aligned with a stator opening along the inner ring. The second fluid flow path has one end that is configured to be aligned with the annular collection groove and another end that is configured to be aligned with a stator opening along the outer ring.

Multi-path selector valve

While a large primary stream () of analytes flow from a chromatographic column () to containers of a receiver (), small samples of the analytes are diverted for flow to a mass spectrometer () for analysis, by use of a transfer module (). The transfer module includes a stator () and a rotor or shuttle (). The shuttle has an aliquot passage () that initially lies in a first position where the primary stream flows through it so the aliquot passage receives a small sample. The shuttle then moves to a second position where the aliquot passage (at) is aligned with a pump () that pumps fluid out of the aliquot passage to the mass spectrometer.

Mass rate attenuator

A multi-position micro-fluidic valve system that includes an actuator assembly with a housing and a drive shaft rotatably disposed in the housing for rotational displacement about a drive axis thereof. One end of the drive shaft is configured to couple to a drive motor for selective rotation of the drive shaft about the drive axis. One of at least two different multi-position fluid valve devices can be removably mated to the actuator assembly. Each valve device is configured for rotational movement of a corresponding valve shaft about a valve rotational axis thereof between a plurality of discrete fluid distribution positions. A coupling device selectively and removably mounts the valve shaft of the respective valve device to the drive shaft of the actuator assembly. This enables selective positioning of the multi-position fluid valve device at a discrete one of the plurality for discrete distribution positions.

Coupled drive multi-position fluid valve apparatus and method

A multi-function, random access, dual, three-way valve for use with fluid switching and the like is provided, whereby a first fluid flow to the valve is selectively placed in fluid communication with a first or a second outlet passage from the valve for selectively transferring the first fluid flow and a second fluid flow to the valve is, independent of the flow path of the first fluid, selectively placed in fluid communication with a third or a fourth outlet from the valve for simultaneously transferring the second fluid flow. A rotor element rotatably movable relative to a stationary stator element to at least four discrete angular positions actuates to multi-function switching capabilities of the valve when the rotor element is selectively placed in one of the at least four discrete positions. The valve directs the first fluid flow to one of two alternate outlet passages and, simultaneously and independently, directs the second fluid flow to one of at least two different outlet passages.

Dual random access, three-way rotary valve apparatus

A rotary fluid switching valve has facewise adjacent rotor and stator faces of materials that result in an exceptionally long lifetime. One face is of a fluorocarbon-containing polymer, while the other face is Tungsten Carbide/Carbon (WC/C). The WC/C coating is preferably on a metal stator which has machined ports to accept tubing fittings that connect to stator passages that extend to the interface of stator and rotor.

Long lifetime fluid switching valve

A wash system for a fluid handling system that permits simultaneous washing of a plurality of parallel fluid channels is disclosed. In one aspect of the invention, a specialized rotary wash valve is described. In another aspect of the invention a system which incorporates wash and selector valves is described which permits a plurality of separate fluid lines emerging from the selector valve to be washed simultaneously.

Rotary wash valve

A multi-function valve apparatus for use with a Probe-In-Loop (PIL) architecture sample injection assembly which enables both Partial-Fill and Complete-Fill injections. The rotor element is rotatable about a rotation axis relative the stator between: a Load Position, an Overfill Position, and an Injection Position. In the Load Position, a first bridge channel fluidly couples a metering syringe to the sample loop assembly enabling the probe to aspirate one of a discrete volume of sample into the probe, during a Partial-Fill Mode, and a second volume of sample into the probe, during a Complete-Fill Mode. In the Overfill Position, in the Complete-Fill Mode, a second bridge channel fluidly couples a downstream loop portion to a waste port, and the first bridge channel fluidly couples the metering syringe to an upstream loop portion of the sample loop assembly. This enables the metering pump to dispense the sample from the probe into the downstream loop portion and out the waste port to completely fill the downstream loop portion and the second bridge channel with a substantially precise known volume. In the Injection Position, the second bridge channel fluidly couples the downstream loop portion to the analyzing device to inject the sample into the analyzing device, in either the Partial-Fill Mode or and the Complete-Fill Mode.

Multi-valving sample injection apparatus

A valve that receives sample and solvent streams, and delivers slugs of different fluid samples separated by slugs of the solvent, to a detector. The valve includes a stator (140) having a central hole (40) and a circle of sample holes (51-54) and solvent holes (91-94). The valve also includes a rotor (150) with a first groove (162) that connects one of the sample or solvent holes to the central hole to flow to the detector. The first groove is wide enough and the space between adjacent supply holes is small enough, that as the first groove moves from one hole of the circle to the next, the groove becomes partially open to the next hole before it leaves the last hole to minimize the sudden increase in pressure along the flow to the detector. The stator face has a waste recess (144) and the rotor has one or more waste grooves (171-177) that extend between the first circle and the waste recess, so when a sample from a sample hole is not flowing as a slug toward the detector, the sample instead flows to the waste recess for disposal, to minimize the sudden increase in pressure at the sample holes.

Growing community of inventors

Forestville, CA, United States of America

Jon A Nichols