Mass spectrometer

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9281169-B2
Application number	US-201514643899-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 10, 2015
Priority date	Jun 4, 2012
Publication date	Mar 8, 2016
Grant date	Mar 8, 2016

Abstract

Provided is a mass spectrometer capable of easy exchange of a measurement sample and suppressing a carryover. The mass spectrometer includes a mass spectrometry section, an ion source the internal pressure of which is reduced by a differential pumping from the mass spectrometry section and the ion source ionizes the sample gas, a sample container in which the sample gas is generated by vaporizing the measurement sample, a thin pipe that introduces the sample gas generated in the sample container into the ion source, an elastic tube of openable and closable that connects the sample container and the thin pipe, a pair of weirs that closes or opens the elastic tube so as to sandwich the elastic tube, and a cartridge that integrates the sample container, the thin pipe, and the elastic tube, and is detachable in a lump from a main body of the mass spectrometer.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A mass spectrometer comprising:
a mass spectrometry section that separates an ionized sample gas;
an ion source that has an internal pressure thereof reduced by differential pumping from the mass spectrometry section and ionizes the sample gas;
a sample container in which a measurement sample is placed and the sample gas is generated by vaporizing the measurement sample;
a thin pipe that introduces the sample gas generated in the sample container into the ion source;
an elastic tube that is openable and closable, that connects the sample container and the thin pipe;
at least one weir that closes or opens the elastic tube by pinching or releasing the elastic tube; and
a cartridge that integrates the sample container, the thin pipe, and the elastic tube, and is detachable in a lump from a main body of the mass spectrometer.

2. The mass spectrometer as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the at least one weir is a pair of weirs that moves intermittently away from each other, and opens intermittently the elastic tube.

3. The mass spectrometer as set forth in claim 2 , wherein
one of the pair of weirs is fixed to the cartridge in the proximity of the elastic tube, and detached together with the cartridge when the cartridge is detached, and
the other of the pair of weirs moves close to or away from the fixed weir in the attachment state of the cartridge, and remains on the main body of the mass spectrometer and is apart from the cartridge when the cartridge is detached.

4. The mass spectrometer as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the sample container is detachable from the cartridge in the detachment state of the cartridge.

5. The mass spectrometer as set forth in claim 1 , further comprising
a heating unit for heating the measurement sample in the sample container during the attachment state of the cartridge, wherein
the heating unit remains on the main body of the mass spectrometer and is apart from the cartridge when the cartridge is detached.

6. The mass spectrometer as set forth in claim 1 , comprising:
a gas chamber which is provided on the cartridge and connected to the sample container and the elastic tube;
a through hole which is provided on the cartridge and communicated to the gas chamber from the outside of the cartridge; and
a pressure reduction unit which is connected to the through hole and reduces the pressure in the sample container via the through hole and the gas chamber in the attachment state of the cartridge, wherein
the gas chamber and the through hole are detached integrally with the cartridge when the cartridge is detached, and
the pressure reduction unit remains on the main body of the mass spectrometer and is apart from the cartridge when the cartridge is detached.

7. The mass spectrometer as set forth in claim 6 , comprising a gas filter which is provided in the through hole and absorbs the sample gas in the through hole, and is detached integrally with the cartridge when the cartridge is detached.

8. The mass spectrometer as set forth in claim 1 , comprising:
a gas chamber which is provided on the cartridge and connected to the sample container and the elastic tube; and
a gas heating unit which is provided on the cartridge and heats the sample gas in the gas chamber during the attachment state of the cartridge, wherein
the gas chamber and the gas heating unit are detached integrally with the cartridge when the cartridge is detached.

9. The mass spectrometer as set forth in claim 1 , comprising:
a gas chamber which is provided on the cartridge and connected to the sample container and the elastic tube; and
a dilution unit for diluting the sample gas by introducing a fluid into the gas chamber during the attachment state of the cartridge, wherein
the gas chamber is detached integrally with the cartridge when the cartridge is detached, and
the dilution unit remains on the main body of the mass spectrometer and is apart from the cartridge when the cartridge is detached.

10. The mass spectrometer as set forth in claim 9 , comprising
a fluid heating unit for heating the fluid in the dilution unit in the attachment state of the cartridge, wherein
the fluid heating unit remains on the main body of the mass spectrometer and is apart from the cartridge when the cartridge is detached.

11. The mass spectrometer as set forth in claim 1 , wherein
the ion source increases the internal pressure thereof by introducing the sample gas from the thin pipe, and ionizes the sample gas when the inner pressure is approximately 100 Pa to approximately 10,000 Pa, and
the mass spectrometry section separates the ionized sample gas when an internal pressure thereof, which has been increased in association with an increase of the internal pressure in the ion source, turns to drop and decreases to approximately 0.1 Pa or less.

12. The mass spectrometer as set forth in claim 1 , comprising:
an insertion hole which is provided on the ion source and connects the thin pipe and the ion source while sealing a gap between the thin pipe and the insertion hole by inserting the thin pipe through the insertion hole, and disconnects the thin pipe from the ion source by removing the thin pipe; and
an on-off valve for opening or closing the insertion hole, wherein
when the thin pipe and the on-off valve approach each other in accordance with a forward movement of the thin pipe to be inserted to the insertion hole and the distance between the thin pipe and the on-off valve is shortened to a first predetermined distance, the on-off valve starts opening to pass the thin pipe through the insertion hole, and
when the thin pipe is removed and away from the insertion hole in accordance with a backward movement of the thin pipe to be removed from the insertion hole and the distance between the thin pipe edge and the insertion hole surface is lengthened to a second predetermined distance, the on-off valve closes the valve completely.

Assignees

• Hitachi High Tech Corp

Inventors

• Morokuma Hidetoshi
• Ishiguro Koji
• Kumano Shun

Classifications

• H01J49/0422

  for gaseous samples (interfaces to gas chromatographs G01N30/7206) · CPC title

• H01J49/04

  Arrangements for introducing or extracting samples to be analysed, e.g. vacuum locks; Arrangements for external adjustment of electron- or ion-optical components · CPC title

• H01J49/005

  by collision with gas, e.g. by introducing gas or by accelerating ions with an electric field · CPC title

• H01J49/0409

  Sample holders or containers (containers for retaining a material to be analyzed, B01L3/50, for DNA, C12Q1/6834, for biological materials, G01N33/543) · CPC title

• H01J49/0495

  Vacuum locks; Valves (valves per se F16K) · CPC title