US3597978A

US3597978A - Device for sampling liquids from vacuum operating equipments

Info

Publication number: US3597978A
Application number: US884244A
Authority: US
Inventors: Francesco Siclari; Franco Magnoni; Battista Morandi
Original assignee: SNIA Viscosa SpA
Current assignee: SNIA Viscosa SpA
Priority date: 1968-12-30
Filing date: 1969-12-11
Publication date: 1971-08-10
Anticipated expiration: 1988-08-10
Also published as: ES375039A1; DE1963539B2; JPS4832755B1; IE33680L; IE33680B1; DE1963539C3; NL6903262A; FR2027324A1; BE743280A; DE1963539A1

Abstract

A device for sampling liquids from reaction equipments and particularly from vacuum operating reaction equipments, comprising a body fixedly secured to the bottom of the equipment and having an outlet duct fitting with a check valve, which movable component is kept closed by the atmospheric pressure. A movable assembly, comprising a sampling container and a feeding duct therefor, may be sealingly connected with said body in such a manner as to mechanically control the engagement of said check valve movable component with a related seat, means being provided to reach a given vacuum value in said container and said feeding duct.

Description

United States Patent inventors Appl. No. Filed Patented Assignee Priority Francesco Sidari;

Franco Magnoni; Battista Morandi, all of Cesano Maderno, Milan, Italy Dec. 1 1, i969 Aug. 10, I97 1 Snh Viscose Societa Nazionale lndustria Applicazioni Viscosa Milan, Italy Dec. 30, 1968 Italy DEVICE FOR SAMPLING LIQUIDS FROM VACUUM OPERATING EQUIPMENTS 7 Claims, 4 Drawing Figs.

0.8. CI. 73/422 R Int. Cl. G0ln 1/14 Field of Search 73/422 R, 421 B [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,844,964 7/1958 Guibert 73/422 3,308,669 3/1967 Grise et al 73/422 Primary Examiner- Louis R. Prince Assistant Examiner-William A. Henry, ll Attorney-Wenderoth, Lind and Ponack ABSTRACT: A device for sampling liquids from reaction equipments and particularly from vacuum operating reaction equipments, comprising a body fixedly secured to the bottom of the equipment and having an outlet duct fitting with a check valve, which movable component is kept closed by the atmospheric pressure. A movable assembly, comprising a sampling container and a feeding duct therefor, may be sealingly connected with said body in such a manner as to mechanically control the engagement of said check valve movable component with a related seat, means being provided to reach a given vacuum value in said container and said feeding duct.

Patented Aug. 10, 1971 FRANCESCF) SICLART FRANCO MAK NONI a:-

Attorr :ys

' DEVICE, FOR SAMPLING LI UIDs FROM VACUUM OPERATING EQUIPMENTS .BAckoRoUND This inventionconcerns a device adapted to be structurally and v operatively associated with vacuum or low-pressure operating equipments, for sampling liquid products or compounds contained, or even processed therein.

The device according to the invention is particularly adapted to be associated with polymerization reaction vessels and like equipments of the chemical industry, any other suitable application being however foreseen, under conditions conand even temporarily reset the atmospheric pressure in the environment must be excluded. 1

Such sampling operations have been heretofore carried out with difficulty by means ofso-called syringes or by means of expensive and complex devices, wherein is very difficult to maintain a vacuum higher than that existing in the processing environment downstream the passage through which the liquid is sampled. Moreover, theuse of check valves, which automatically open when a given vacuum value is attained at the downstream, side, is often inadequate, since the valve movable components open by themselves, owing to gravity forces or other reasons, before a vacuum higher than that exlsting at the upstream side is attained at the downstream side.

SUMMARY An object this invention is to provide a device, having an unusually simple design, adapted to operate under the most convenient working conditions and wherein the restrictions and drawbacks of the heretofore known devices are, obviated. More detailedly, this invention concerns a device for sampling liquids from equipments that. operate at a subatmospheric pressure and practically under a high vacuum, comprising a component adapted to be permanently secured to said equip ment, in particular but not necessarily to the bottom of the vacuum processing environment and including a valve system having a movable component preferably in the form of a ball,. I j which operates to sealingly engage a seat formed at the end of xponent and designed to act as a control member, operable from the outside,'by which the valve ball can be released from -said seat and 'the outlet passage can be opened when the required pressure conditions upstream and downstream said passage are attained.

DRAWINGS FlG. l is an exploded side view of'the main components of the device.

FIG. 2 is a side view, partly in a section on its symmetry plane, of'the device. as already fitted to the related equipment, and preset for carrying out the first evacuation step at the downstream side.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary longitudinal section of the device having a passage through which the sample is taken out, in its open conditions.

FIG. 4 is a cross section, taken on the plane lV-lV of FIGS. 1 and 2, ofthe removable portion of device.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT As shown in the drawings, the device comprises essentially three main assemblies, individually outlined in FIG. 1, i.e., a first assembly 10, that can be permanently secured, e.g., by screw means, to the bottom wall 11 of a polymerization vessel or like equipment; a second assembly 12, that can be engaged with said first assembly under the conditions as stated later on; and a container 13, wherein the sample can be collected, that in the considered example is in the form of a small beaker or cup, made of a preferably transparent material and showing a wall strength sufficient to stand against the pressure of the outer atmosphere, the

latter components

12 and 13 being able to cooperate with anyone of various assemblies 10, located e.g., in different positions, and/orjoined with different equipmerits.

Said assembly 10 comprises a firmly secured body 14, having a suitable pipefitting or connector 15, by which it can be fastened to said wall 11 and through which a passage 16 is provided, having one end permanently in communication with the inside of the equipment, while its opposite end leads into a small chamber 17, wherein a metal ball 18 is situated. Said ball defines a valve movable component and sealingly cooperates with a supporting annular seat, that is formed on said end 19 (FIG. 3) of the passage 16, leading into the chamber 17. The best tight sealing conditions are thus ensured by the above arrangement, since a seal is obtained by a tight contact across a practically monodimensional circular line, whatever the orientation of the ball 18 may be.

An outside threaded portion 21 of a movable member 22 can be screwed into an inside threaded connector 20, as formed on the bottom of said'chamber 17. A noncircularly, e.g., polygonally shaped, portion 23 of said movable member 22 extends below the fixed body 14, as it can be seen in FIG. 1.

A throughout passage 24, as formed inside the movable member 22 extends upwardly through a-plurality of narrow channels 25 leading into said chamber 17, the upper end of said member 22 acting as a rest means for the ball 18, which can be thereby firmly forced against the seat 19 of the passage 16 by screwing upwardly said movable piece 22, as shown in FIG. 2. On the contrary, by loosening said member 22 relative to the fixed body 14., e.g., as shown in FIG. .3, the ball 18 is lifted out of the seat 19 and the

passages

16 and 24 can communicate with each other.

The member 12 consists of an essentially tubular body, which upper end is formed with a flange 26 abutting against the bottom of the fixed body l4, said flange being externally shaped, e.g., with opposed facets 27, in such a manner as to allowa gripping action-therein for a rotational movement control, e.g., by a wrench. A tubular extension 28 depending from said flange is formed with a flanged lower end 29, against which the upper edge 31 of a 'beaker 13 can be sealingly abutted, preferably by means of an annular packing 30. Said bottom flange 29 is on turn preferably formed with a passage 32, having a pipe duct 33, through which the whole device can be connected to a vacuum pump, or other means adapted to maintain a high vacuum below said flange and thus in the beaker 13. The

components

12 and 13 will be kept firmly engaged with each other as in FIG. 2 as soon as a given vacuum value is attained through thepassage 32. 4

As shownin particular in FIG. 4, a ring 34 is secured inside the upper end of the component 12, said ring comprising an inner wall shaped in such a manner as to allow its engagement like a female wrench with said portion 23 of the movable member 22 that .forms apart of thefixed assembly 10. Accordingly, when the different components are mutually engaged as'shown in FIG. 2, by acting from the outside, i.e., by

turning the component 12, a similar rotary motion can be imparted to the member 22, which is enclosed within the device, either to release the ball 18 from its valve seat (FIG. 3), or to sealingly engage the same against said seat, at the end of the passage 16.

The operation of the device according to the invention and the advantages thereof become apparent from a consideration of the above description and a comparative examination of the figures. When a sample is to be taken out, then the

components

12 and 13 are engaged with the stationary assembly 10, as shown in FIG. 2, whereafter the beaker 13 and thus all other components of the device located downstream the outlet of tee passage 16, are evacuated through the passage 32 until a vacuum higher than that existing within the equipment is attained. At this time, the valve ball 18 is removed from its seat by loosening the component 12, whereby the liquid flows through the

passages

16, 25, 24, and the sample is collected into the sampling beaker 13.

The liquid flowing-off can be stopped by screwing the component 12 into the fixed assembly 10, until the ball is sealingly forced against its seat 19. Then, the beaker 13 is vented to the atmosphere (or put in communication with a source of a gas not affecting the sampled liquid), whereafter the

components

12 and 13 can be removed from the fixed assembly and the sample can be taken out for a test.

Obviously, the ball 18 may be released even before a vacuum is applied to beaker 13. In such a case, said ball acts like the movable component of a check valve, and automatically opens when the downstream pressure is reduced down to a value sufficient to allow the ball 18 to fall downwardly under the combined action of the gravity force and of the upstream pressure. It is possible to conveniently follow said procedure, when a not too high vacuum is maintained within the equipment; obviously, the sample flowing-off will begin only when the downstream vacuum is higher than the upstream one.

The device according to the invention has been previously described under the most typical operating conditions, i.e., for sampling liquids contained inside of vacuum operated equipments, which obviously are those requiring the overcoming of greatest difficulties and the solution of specific technical problems.

However, the above-stated conditions do not represent a limitation of the range of application ofsaid device, which can be advantageously utilized also for sampling liquids from equipments operating at an atmospheric pressure, or even under pressure. Obviously, a great importance is to be attributed to this latter feature, which results in a greatly extended application range of said device, e.g., for taking out samples in any moment, in the course of processing wherein widely variable pressure conditions may exist, during the different steps thereof.

Thus, when samples are to be taken out from pressure operating equipments, an efficiently controlled valve is formed by the components of the assembly 10, since the ball 18, firmly pressed against the seat 19 at the outlet of the passage 16, will ensure a tight sealing even under remarkably high pressures. By acting on the component 23, the valve can be opened to allow a sample flowing through the

passages

25 and 24 and into the sampling container.

When the sampling is to carried out in a suitably conditioned environment, e.g., in a nitrogen atmosphere or the like, then the different components as shown'in FIG. 1, or other equivalent ones, may be associated e.g., as shown in H0. 2, in order to previously create and maintain the nitrogen or other gas atmosphere in the passages and in the sampling container.

It is to be understood that the device according to the invention has been described and shown as a nonrcstrictive example only, and therefore it may be carried out by means ofdifferent structural solutions.

Thus, e.g., the sampling container 13, instead ofa beaker, as shown, might be in the form of a round-bottomed flask, preferably having a cone-shaped frosted neck. Such flask should be adapted to tightly engage a tapered male connector formed e.g., by an extension of the component 28, or also by the same component 28, which in this case is lacking the flange 29. The

connector

32, 33 through which the air is evacuated and the required atmosphere in the sampling container is created, may be secured to the upper end of the component 28, or it may be integral with the round-bottomed flask or other sampling container.

Moreover the device may be completedwith other means, when necessary or convenient, e.g., for heating some or all its components, e.g., for sampling products requiring to be kept at a given temperature for ensuring a liquid condition thereof. The heating means may be in the form e.g., of electric resistances, pipe coils through which a heating liquid or gas is circulated and the like, and such means may be structurally associated and embodied in said components, when the particular application of device requires a permanent or prevalent heating thereof.

It is therefore intended that all such changes, modifications and integrations of device are covered by the present invention, in particular as defined into one or more of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A device for sampling liquids from vacuum operating equipments, comprising: a fixed assembly, designed to be permanently secured to the equipment and in particular to the bottom of the reaction environment wherefrom the samples are to be taken out and having a passage fitted with a check valve provided with a valve movable component arranged in such a manner as to spontaneously, sealingly engage a related seat when the downstream pressure exceeds by a given, small value the upstream pressure inside the environment; a movable assembly, having a container wherein the sample is collected, connection means for evacuating said container down to a vacuum higher than that existing within said environment, means by which a tight connection with said seat in said fixed assembly passage can be established, and means by which a mechanical engagement with a member of said fixed assembly is provided and by which said valve movable component can be engaged with or released from said related seat, whereby when said assemblies are engaged with one another, said check valve can be opened and closed from the outside in order to control the start and the end of the sample flowing into said container.

2. A device according to claim 1, wherein said valve movable component is in the form ofa metal valve ball and said related seat is formed by a circular edge, whose diameter is smaller than that of said ball.

3. A device according to claim 1, wherein said fixed as sembly comprises a movable components, in particular a screw-threaded component, which is connected with the fixed portion wherein said valve seat is formed and abuts said valve movable component in order to force the same against said valve seat, said components being formed with a noncircularshaped outer part adapted to torsionally engage a similarly shaped component, secured to said connection means of the movable assembly, whereby said valve movable component can be engaged and released by turning at least one component ofsaid movable assembly.

4. A device according to claim 3, wherein said movable assembly comprises a tubular components having a flanged upper end tightly abutting against a stationary component of said fixed assembly, said tubular component comprising means to establish a mechanical engagement with said movable component designed to engage and release said valve movable component, while the lower end of said tubular component is formed with a second flange against which the upper edge of a beaker or other sample collecting container can be tightly abutted.

5. A device according to claim 4, wherein said second flange is formed with a passage leading below the same into said beakeror other container, said passage being fitted with a pipe connection to a vacuum pump or other suitable means adapted to produce a vacuum, within said beaker or con- .t'ainer higher :ment. w

sembly is formedwith'an axially directed passage leading into said processing environment and into a space wherein said valve movable component is fitted. said assembly, below said space, being formed with an inner threaded part that engages with an outerthreaded part as formed insaid movable component designed to engage andrelease said valve movable components in respect of the outlet ofsaid passage,

said movable component is polygonally-shaped,-the upper end 'of said nio'vable assembly .tubu lar component comprising a ring which inneriside is correspondingly polygonally shaped, .whereby to act like a wrench .when engaged with said polygonally shaped lower end of said-movable component,

' thus allowing a rotational movement of said movable componentby turning said movable assembly from outside.

7. Adevice accordingto claim 6, wherein theil o wer end of

Claims

2. A device according to claim 1, wherein said valve movable component is in the form of a metal valve ball and said related seat is formed by a circular edge, whose diameter is smaller than that of said ball.

3. A device according to claim 1, wherein said fixed assembly comprises a movable component, in particular a screw-threaded component, which is connected with the fixed portion wherein said valve seat is formed and abuts said valve movable componeNt in order to force the same against said valve seat, said component being formed with a noncircular-shaped outer part adapted to torsionally engage a similarly shaped component, secured to said connection means of the movable assembly, whereby said valve movable component can be engaged and released by turning at least one component of said movable assembly.

4. A device according to claim 3, wherein said movable assembly comprises a tubular component having a flanged upper end tightly abutting against a stationary component of said fixed assembly, said tubular component comprising means to establish a mechanical engagement with said movable component designed to engage and release said valve movable component, while the lower end of said tubular component is formed with a second flange against which the upper edge of a beaker or other sample collecting container can be tightly abutted.

5. A device according to claim 4, wherein said second flange is formed with a passage leading below the same into said beaker or other container, said passage being fitted with a pipe connection to a vacuum pump or other suitable means adapted to produce a vacuum, within said beaker or container, higher than that existing in the processing environment.

6. A device according to claim 3, wherein said fixed assembly is formed with an axially directed passage leading into said processing environment and into a space wherein said valve movable component is fitted, said assembly, below said space, being formed with an inner threaded part that engages with an outer-threaded part as formed in said movable component designed to engage and release said valve movable component in respect of the outlet of said passage.

7. A device according to claim 6, wherein the lower end of said movable component is polygonally shaped, the upper end of said movable assembly tubular component comprising a ring which inner side is correspondingly polygonally shaped, whereby to act like a wrench when engaged with said polygonally shaped lower end of said movable component, thus allowing a rotational movement of said movable component by turning said movable assembly from outside.