초록 ▼

A remote slit impact air sampler for recovering viable air borne organisms from a known volume of ambient air. The remote sampler is employed with a sealed sample chamber within which a test plate upon a turntable is rotated beneath a slit type sample inlet. During operation, air passing through the

A remote slit impact air sampler for recovering viable air borne organisms from a known volume of ambient air. The remote sampler is employed with a sealed sample chamber within which a test plate upon a turntable is rotated beneath a slit type sample inlet. During operation, air passing through the sample slit is accelerated to a velocity that insures impingement of particulate matter from the sampled air volume onto the surface of a nutrient growth medium located within the test plate. Particulate matter and associated bacterial organisms within the sampled air volume are retained upon the surface of the test plate while the sampled air volume is evacuated from the sample chamber through an air outlet, and is then exhausted away from the critical environment at the controller means. Following sampling, the test plate is incubated for a predetermined period of time following which bacterial colony forming units may be quantified. As the volume of air sampled per period of time is known, the density of bacterial organisms per volume of air can then be determined. Moreover, as the rotational speed of the turntable is known, the time of organismal capture may also be determined. The remote sampler is employed with streamline structure allowing it to be placed and operated in a variety of controlled environments, while having negligible disruptive effects on laminar airflow or operations performed therein. Also, the base, below the sealed sample chamber, housing turntable elevation and rotational means, is employed with means to seal its interior from the external environment in a substantially air tight manner, whereby disallowing contaminant ingress and egress which might jeopardize the environment in which it is utilized. Further, the device is constructed of substantially non-particulate shedding or harboring materials that allow for complete routine chemical sanitization with negligible degradation. Additionally, the device utilizes standard 100 mm test plates to greatly reduce the cost of operation.

대표청구항 ▼

[ The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:] [1.] A remote slit impact air sampler for collecting viable air borne bacterial organisms comprising the combination of:a dome sandwiching a dome-to-base seal atop a base forming a seal

[ The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:] [1.] A remote slit impact air sampler for collecting viable air borne bacterial organisms comprising the combination of:a dome sandwiching a dome-to-base seal atop a base forming a sealed sample chamber, with an air outlet located within said sealed sample chamber;a turntable positioned within said sealed sample chamber and mounted upon a turntable shaft;a turntable drive mechanism mounted within a hollow interior of said base attached to said turntable shaft for rotating said turntable shaft and said turntable at a predetermined rotational speed;a sample conduit with a sample slit projecting through an opening in the top surface of said dome creating an inlet into said sample chamber, with said sample conduit and a sample slit located above said turntable, with means for the flow of air into said sample chamber through said sample slit and out of said air outlet, with further control means for controlling the rate of the air flow;a test plate located on said turntable within said sealed chamber onto which particles drawn through said sample conduit and said sample slit may be impinged;a turntable adjustment means employed for vertical adjustment of said turntable, whereby the surface of a medium residing within said test plate, located atop said turntable, can be vertically adjusted to a predetermined distance from the exterior bottom of said sample slit;a distance indicator employed to accurately measure said predetermined distance between the surface of said medium residing within said test plate and the exterior bottom of said sample slit;said base employed with sealing means with which to seal said hollow interior cavity from the surrounding environment, in a substantially air tight manner, at all entrance points made from the exterior of said base into said hollow interior for utility, whereby contaminant ingress and egress is restricted.