초록 ▼

A method and apparatus for controlling flows of fluids, suspensions, gases, aerosols, and for sorting individual particles, flowing in transporter ducts of a flow-through duct system, using for control of the flow and hence, for dispensing and sorting processes, a pressure increase for a short time

A method and apparatus for controlling flows of fluids, suspensions, gases, aerosols, and for sorting individual particles, flowing in transporter ducts of a flow-through duct system, using for control of the flow and hence, for dispensing and sorting processes, a pressure increase for a short time interval, at the entrances of preselected ducts having a value so that the flow of the fluid or gas to be dispensed comes to a stop at these entrances and is thus constrained together with the particle to flow into ducts where the pressure increase does not take place during the same dispensing/sorting phase. The momentary pressure increase is caused at the ducts either by injection of another fluid or gas through the injection duct, corresponding to these ducts, or by generation of a gas bubble or vapor between electrodes situated at the entrance of these ducts. Buffer cavities, situated between the fast fluctuating part of the system and already processed fluid, itself flowing slowly in the drainage tubes, assure very fast, reliable and stable operation for dispenser/sorter system since through the buffering effect, each dispensing flow configuration is independent from previous configurations. The density of the processed suspension is increased during processing inside the system by special filtering/collector cavities of the same kind. The possible uses of the invention include cell sorting in the fields of cytology and cancer research, accurate, environmentally friendly dispensing of any fluid or gas, i.e., in pharmaceutical chemistry, combustion research and the distribution of very dangerous fluids and gases.

대표청구항 ▼

A method for fast and reliable control of the flow of fluid substances and fluid volume elements carrying individual particles of a suspension, flowing in a hole-like, environmentally friendly, duct flow system having inlets and outlets, under the effect of pressure differential existing between the

A method for fast and reliable control of the flow of fluid substances and fluid volume elements carrying individual particles of a suspension, flowing in a hole-like, environmentally friendly, duct flow system having inlets and outlets, under the effect of pressure differential existing between the inlets and outlets of the system, the duct flow system having one mode of operation in which control of the flow of the fluids is used for dispensing the fluid substances through a number of outlets of the system with a preselected dispensing format, and a second mode of operation in which control of the flow of the fluid substance is used for dispensing volume elements, containing at least one particle, in accordance with at least one individual physio-chemical property of the particles, so as to sort these particles out of their original suspension into a plurality of partial suspensions, and where a combined multi-parameter compensating process assures fast and reliable achievement of each of a number of preselected flow configurations, defined by the distribution of the flow of the substance in the various outlets of the system, whereby through said compensating process, each of the flow configurations is achieved independently from the other flow configurations during the whole operation of the system, wherein said method comprises the steps of: (a) transporting said fluid substances in at least one transporting duct towards a duct branching zone [while analyzing the individual particles in the ducts, in the second mode, in accordance with at least one of their properties], and subsequently determining a flow configuration of the substance in the various outlets of the flow system [while, in the first mode, the flow configuration is determined without analyzing the particles]when said system is in said first mode without analyzing said particles, and when in said second mode analyzing for at least one of their properties; (b) creating a corresponding flow configuration for said duct branching zone, where not only at least one transporting duct enters but also a multitude of dispensing ducts branch out radially in space, by discontinuously injecting a fluid control medium, at the entrance of a number of dispensing ducts of the multitude of dispensing ducts where the substances to be dispensed are not to enter, with a force and at a place of injection so that the substances are forced to enter into other dispensing ducts of the multitude of dispensing ducts, while the control medium flows into that duct into which it was injected, the discontinuous injecting causing a small mass of the control medium and the substances to rapidly fluctuate; (c) providing a buffer cavity at the end of each dispensing duct; (d) transporting the dispensed substances in their dispensing ducts toward respective corresponding buffer cavities, and transporting the control medium in its ducts towards buffer cavities corresponding to the control medium ducts; (e) decoupling the rapidly fluctuating small mass of the substances and the control medium, flowing from the dispensing ducts into the corresponding buffer cavities, from the fluid flowing in the dispensing ducts, which is of a larger mass or amount which slowly out of the buffer cavities since each of these cavities has a fluid-free volume which is substantially larger than that of the whole duct flow system, whereby a very fast fluctuation of the small amount of the substances to be dispensed is possible and from where the very fast operation of the system also follows; (f) buffering, simultaneously in the buffer cavities, the pressure, which is caused partly by a fluctuating influx of the control medium into these cavities, and selectably separating the control medium from the processed substance when the control medium is of a gaseous nature and the processed substance is of a liquid nature by forcing the gaseous control medium, through the effect of buoyancy, to leave the cavities through a gas outlet hole, situated at the upper part of the cavity, and simultaneously letting the dispensed substance leave the cavity through an outlet hole, situated at the bottom of the cavity, and causing, through this type of buffering, the exact return of the pressure and flow conditions in the dispensing part of the system to a steady flow state where no control medium is injected, whereafter, the system is ready for another prescribed and completely independent dispensing phase; and (g) directing the dispensed fluids through a two-position multiple-tube value selectively leading to corresponding filtering/collector means for separating the sorted particles from most of the suspending fluid, so that a very highly concentrated suspension is obtained, and into a waste container, the obtained end result then being transferred manually to other containers.