Axial sample conveyer

Details Axial sample conveyer Axial sample conveyer

2000-11-30

2002-07-02

Arana, Louis (Department: 2862)

Electricity: measuring and testing

Particle precession resonance

Spectrometer components

C324S318000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06414491

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention in general relates to systems and methods for analyzing samples, and in particular to an axial sample conveyer for inserting sample tubes into an NMR spectrometer.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometers typically include a superconducting magnet for generating a static magnetic field B
0
, an NMR probe positioned in a longitudinal bore of the magnet, and a longitudinal guide structure for guiding individual samples of interest into and out of the probe. The direction of the static magnetic field B
0
is commonly denoted as the z-axis, while the plane perpendicular to the z-axis is commonly termed the x-y or &thgr;-plane. The terms “longitudinal” and “axial” are used to refer to the z-direction, while the term “transverse” is used to refer to the &thgr;-direction.
Conventional NMR spectrometers typically employ an air-driven system for inserting and ejecting samples in and out of the NMR probe. For a description of a prior art air-driven ejector see for example U.S. Pat. No. 3,512,078, “Gyromagnetic Resonance Spectrometer Employing Air Pressure for Ejecting Samples from the Magnet,” by Hall. Such conventional systems can be limited in their sample throughputs.
Improved throughputs for inserting samples into analysis devices can be of use in analysis applications other than NMR spectroscopy, such as for example IR and UV spectroscopy.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer including: a magnet for applying a magnetic field to a plurality of nuclear magnetic resonance samples; a nuclear magnetic resonance probe positioned in a bore of the magnet, for performing nuclear magnetic resonance measurements on the samples; an axial multi-sample conveyer coupled to the probe, for transferring a plurality of sample containers containing the samples into the probe; and a driving device coupled to the conveyer, for controlling the motion of the sample containers through the conveyer.
The axial sample conveyer includes: a plurality of input apertures for receiving the sample containers; a plurality of output apertures positioned opposite the input apertures and transversely aligned with the plurality of input apertures, for sequentially transferring the sample containers to the probe; an axially-rotatable auger positioned between the input apertures and the output apertures, for axially constraining a motion of the sample containers between the input apertures and output apertures; and a plurality of axial sample guides positioned facing the auger between the input apertures and the output apertures and transversely aligned with the input apertures and the output apertures, for transversely constraining the motion of the sample containers.


REFERENCES:
patent: 3512078 (1970-05-01), Hall
patent: 5150054 (1992-09-01), Dupree
patent: 5773296 (1998-06-01), Montalbano et al.
patent: 5885530 (1999-03-01), Babson et al.

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