Establishing fluidic connections between chromatography components

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12222339-B2
Application number	US-202318491132-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 20, 2023
Priority date	Apr 29, 2020
Publication date	Feb 11, 2025
Grant date	Feb 11, 2025

Abstract

A clamp assembly includes a rail extending along the length and configured to receive a first fluidic assembly, and a carriage movably attachable to the rail such that the carriage moves along the rail, the carriage configured to receive a second fluidic assembly, the carriage including an actuator and a stop mechanism. The stop mechanism is configured to selectively prevent and allow movement of the carriage relative to the rail. The stop mechanism is configured to be independently operable from the actuator assembly, and the actuator is configured: to move a chromatography column received by the clamp assembly relative to the rail to create a first fluid tight seal between the chromatography column and the first fluidic assembly, and move the second fluidic assembly relative to the carriage body to create a second fluid tight seal between the second fluidic assembly and the chromatography column.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A column enclosure for a chromatography column comprising:
a column housing extending along a length;
a rail extending along the length within the column housing;
a carriage movably attachable to the rail such that the carriage moves along the rail, the carriage including an actuator and a stop mechanism;
a first fluidic assembly configured to be moved by the actuator into engagement with a chromatography column received within the column housing; and
a second fluidic assembly located proximate an end of the rail;
wherein the stop mechanism is configured to selectively prevent and allow movement of the carriage relative to the rail, wherein the stop mechanism is configured to be independently operable from the actuator, and wherein engaging the actuator is configured to simultaneously establish two fluid tight seals including:
a first fluid tight seal between the first fluidic assembly and the chromatography column, wherein the engaging the actuator is configured to operably move the first fluidic assembly into engagement with the chromatography column to create the first fluid tight seal; and
a second fluid tight seal between the second fluidic assembly and the chromatography column, wherein the engaging the actuator is configured to simultaneously push the chromatography column into the second fluid tight seal with the second fluidic assembly.

2. The column enclosure for a chromatography column of claim 1 , wherein the stop mechanism includes a projection on the carriage keyed to a plurality of separate locations along the rail, each of the plurality of separate locations corresponding to standard lengths of chromatography columns.

3. The column enclosure for a chromatography column of claim 2 , wherein the rail is a guide rod and wherein the carriage includes a bore through which the guide rod extends,
wherein the carriage is configured to be rotated about the guide rod to move the carriage into and out of the plurality of separate locations along the rail.

4. The column enclosure for a chromatography column of claim 1 , wherein the actuator is a hand operated cam loaded lever.

5. The column enclosure for a chromatography column of claim 1 , wherein the rail includes a first plurality of teeth arranged along the length, and wherein the stop mechanism includes a first lock pawl that is configured to engage the teeth of the rail, thereby to inhibit movement of the carriage relative to the rail.

6. The column enclosure for a chromatography column of claim 5 , wherein the rail includes a second plurality of teeth arranged along the length on an opposite side of the first plurality of teeth, and wherein the stop mechanism includes a second lock pawl on an opposite side of the carriage as the first lock pawl, wherein the first and second lock pawls are each configured to engage the teeth of the rail, thereby to inhibit movement of the carriage relative to the rail.

7. The column enclosure for a chromatography column of claim 6 , wherein a spring extends between each of the first and second lock pawls to maintain locking of the stop mechanism.

8. The column enclosure for a chromatography column of claim 7 , wherein the lock pawls are configured to be squeezed by hand to release the stop mechanism from the first and second plurality of teeth of the rail and thereby allow movement of the carriage with respect to the rail.

9. The column enclosure for a chromatography column of claim 1 , wherein the column enclosure accommodates chromatography columns having at least one of various column lengths and various column diameters.

10. A clamp assembly comprising:
a rail extending along the length and configured to receive a first fluidic assembly; and
a carriage movably attachable to the rail such that the carriage moves along the rail, the carriage configured to receive a second fluidic assembly, the carriage including an actuator and a stop mechanism,
wherein the stop mechanism is configured to selectively prevent and allow movement of the carriage relative to the rail, wherein the stop mechanism is configured to be independently operable from the actuator assembly, and wherein engaging the actuator is configured to simultaneously establish two fluid tight seals by:
moving a chromatography column received by the clamp assembly relative to the rail to create a first fluid tight seal between the chromatography column and the first fluidic assembly, wherein the engaging the actuator is configured to operably move the first fluidic assembly into engagement with the chromatography column to create the first fluid tight seal, and
moving the second fluidic assembly relative to the carriage body to create a second fluid tight seal between the second fluidic assembly and the chromatography column, wherein the engaging the actuator is configured to simultaneously push the chromatography column into the second fluid tight seal with the second fluidic assembly.

11. The clamp assembly of claim 10 , wherein the stop mechanism includes a projection on the carriage keyed to a plurality of separate locations along the rail, each of the plurality of separate locations corresponding to standard lengths of chromatography columns.

12. The clamp assembly of claim 11 , wherein the rail is a guide rod and wherein the carriage includes a bore through which the guide rod extends, wherein the carriage is configured to be rotated about the guide rod to move the carriage into and out of the plurality of separate locations along the rail.

13. The clamp assembly of claim 10 , wherein the actuator is a hand operated cam loaded lever.

14. The clamp assembly of claim 10 , wherein the rail includes a first plurality of teeth arranged along the length, and wherein the stop mechanism includes a first lock pawl that is configured to engage the teeth of the rail, thereby to inhibit movement of the carriage relative to the rail.

15. The clamp assembly of claim 14 , wherein the rail includes a second plurality of teeth arranged along the length on an opposite side of the first plurality of teeth, and wherein the stop mechanism includes a second lock pawl on an opposite side of the carriage as the first lock pawl, wherein the first and second lock pawls are each configured to engage the teeth of the rail, thereby to inhibit movement of the carriage relative to the rail.

16. The clamp assembly of claim 15 , wherein a spring extends between each of the first and second lock pawls to maintain locking of the stop mechanism.

17. The clamp assembly of claim 10 , wherein the lock pawls are configured to be squeezed by hand to release the stop mechanism from the first and second plurality of teeth of the rail and thereby allow movement of the carriage with respect to the rail.

18. The clamp assembly of claim 10 , wherein the carriage accommodates chromatography columns having at least one of various column lengths and various column diameters.

19. A method of establishing fluid tight seals comprising:
receiving a first chromatography column by a clamp assembly;
moving a carriage along a rail of the clamp assembly into a first position that corresponds to a length of the first chromatography column, the carriage including an actuator and a stop mechanism;
preventing movement, by the stop mechanism of the carriage, relative to the rail at the first position;
after the preventing movement, engaging the actuator of the carriage;
by the engaging of the actuator, simultaneously establishing two fluid tight seals including establishing a first fluid tight seal between th

Assignees

• Waters Technologies Corp

Inventors

• Leveille Wade P
• Michienzi Joseph D
• Antocci Joseph D
• Musacchio Jeffrey

Classifications

• G01N30/6047 Primary

  with supporting means; Holders · CPC title

• G01N30/6026 Primary

  Fluid seals · CPC title

• G01N30/6091

  Cartridges · CPC title