JP3491386B2 - Gas chromatograph mass spectrometer - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a gas chromatograph / mass spectrometer (hereinafter, referred to as GC / MS), and more particularly to connection of a GC / MS interface unit. 2. Description of the Related Art A GC / MS is an apparatus for performing analysis by combining a gas chromatograph apparatus which is excellent in component separation and a mass spectrometer which is excellent in structural analysis of components. It is an analyzer that can exhibit excellent power for analyzing a sample. FIGS. 1 and 2 show the configuration of a conventional GC / MS. In the GC / MS, an interface unit (I / F unit) 30 connects a gas chromatograph unit (GC unit) 10 in a preceding stage and a mass spectrometric unit (MS unit) 20 in a subsequent stage as shown in FIG. It has a structure that
The sample introduced from the sample introduction unit 11 of the GC unit 10 is subjected to component separation when passing through the column 12 installed in the column oven, and the component-separated sample is connected to the piping and the I / F in the GC unit 10. MS line 20
Is sent to an ion source chamber 22 in a vacuum vessel 21 and is ionized there, and only specific ions are selectively passed through a mass spectrometry chamber (not shown) and detected by reaching an ion detection unit (not shown). Is done. [0003] Here, the I / F unit 30 is provided with a temperature control unit or the like because it is necessary to keep the components eluted from the column of the GC unit 10 and must be adjusted occasionally.
In addition, it is necessary to perform cleaning when the sample is contaminated, and the I / F unit 30 may need to be removed for maintenance work. [0004] Conventional GC / MS
Since the GC unit, the MS unit, and the I / F unit are unitized, the GC unit, the MS unit, and the I / F unit are individually assembled at the time of assembly, and finally, the GC unit, the I / F unit, and the I / F unit are finally assembled. /
The F section and the MS section are connected. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG.
The connection between the MS unit 20 and the I / F unit 30 is made by connecting the MS unit 20 to the vacuum container 21 and connecting the I / F unit 30 to the / F unit 30. They are connected by a flange 31 with an O-ring or gasket interposed so as to maintain a vacuum. In addition, the connection between the piping following the GC unit 10 and the I / F unit 30 is also connected by a dedicated fastener (such as a capillary joint) for the piping so that the gaseous sample does not escape from the connection portion.
Here, the connection between the piping of the GC unit 10 and the I / F unit 30 is as follows.
Since this connection portion is inside the column oven, opening and closing the column oven door 13 makes it possible to relatively easily attach and detach the column oven. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1, the connection between the MS section 20 and the I / F section 30 is made by fastening the outer wall surface of the vacuum vessel 21 constituting the MS section 20 and the flange 31 surface of the I / F section 30 with bolts. It has become so. In order to remove such an I / F unit 30 from the MS unit 20 for maintenance, it is not only necessary to remove the decorative cover 40 that covers the entire apparatus, but also to remove the interface between the GC unit 10 and the MS unit 20. The work was difficult because a jig (spanner or the like) for loosening the fastening component had to be inserted into the narrow space. In order to facilitate the work of loosening the fastening parts, it is necessary to increase the working space between the GC unit 10 and the MS unit 20, and the device cannot be designed to be compact. In addition, as an even more important problem, after loosening the fastening parts, it was necessary to move either the GC unit 10 or the MS unit 20 slightly to remove the I / F unit 30. However, both the GC unit 10 and the MS unit 20 have a considerable weight, which is troublesome and has a safety problem. In addition, it is necessary to return to the original position after the work is completed, so that the alignment of the heavy device is difficult. The present invention solves the above-described problems, and provides an I / F unit 30.
GC that can be easily maintained without moving the GC unit 10 or the MS unit 20 when removing the GC
/ MS. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a gas chromatograph mass spectrometer configured to connect a gas chromatograph unit and a mass spectrometer unit via an interface unit. In the above, a fastening portion between the interface unit and the mass spectrometer unit is provided inside the vacuum container of the mass spectrometer unit to which the interface unit is to be connected, and the opening / closing lid of the vacuum container is pulled by the interface unit.
On the extraction side, and the gas chromatograph
Pull out from the lid while maintaining the arrangement of the
It is characterized by being pulled out . Hereinafter, how the GC / MS works will be described. In the GC / MS of the present invention, a fastening portion for connecting the interface section (I / F section) to the vacuum vessel of the mass spectrometer section (MS section) is provided in the vacuum vessel. . Therefore, when attaching / detaching the I / F unit, the vacuum container side of the MS unit is opened, the fastening part is loosened, the I / F unit is pulled out to the vacuum container side, or is easily attached / detached by inserting from the vacuum container side. can do. When the maintenance of the I / F unit is performed, the inside of the vacuum container is always returned to the atmospheric pressure. Therefore, the maintenance is usually performed simultaneously with the I / F unit. . In addition, since there is no need to move the GC unit and the MS unit during attachment and detachment, the work can be performed safely, and the alignment at the time of assembly after maintenance can be easily performed. An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 3 shows a GC / MS I / F showing an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a connection portion between a part and an MS part. 1 and 2 shown as conventional examples are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted. [0010] As shown in FIG.
The left side of the flange 31 serving as the fastening portion is the MS portion 20.
Can be attached to the inner wall of the vacuum vessel 21 with an O-ring interposed therebetween. The MS ion source chamber 22 can be attached to and detached from the right side of the flange 31. One surface of the vacuum vessel 21 is detachable as a lid 23. In this GC / MS, when the maintenance of the I / F unit 30 is performed, first, the column oven door 13 of the GC unit 10 is opened to disconnect the connection between the piping of the GC unit and the I / F unit 30. . Next, the decorative cover on the MS side of the MS unit 20 is removed, and the lid 23 of the vacuum vessel 21 is opened.
Subsequently, after removing the ion source chamber 22, the flange 31 is removed.
Loosen the bolts that are fastened. Then, the I / F unit 30
Can be removed by pulling it out toward the vacuum vessel. After adjusting the temperature control unit and cleaning the pipeline, reassemble in the reverse order of removal. By doing so, the I / F unit 30 can be removed without moving the GC unit 10 or the MS unit 20 itself, and the operation can be performed safely, and the alignment becomes easy. In the present embodiment, the fastening portion is formed by the flange connection. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention can be implemented as in the previous embodiment as long as the fastening member is for vacuum. FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of the present invention.
4 uses an I / F / ion source chamber 35 in which the I / F section 30 and the ion source chamber 22 in FIG. 3 are integrally formed. In this case, by removing the lid 23, the ion source chamber and the I / F section can be removed at the same time, which further facilitates the work. Further, by integrating not only the I / F unit 30 and the ion source chamber 22 but also the lid 23, the work is further facilitated. In this case, the vacuum vessel 2
By applying a biasing force to a part of the bellows 2 as a bellows flange 24 as shown in FIG. 4, vacuum sealing can be performed. The following is a summary of another embodiment of the present invention. (1) In a gas chromatograph mass spectrometer configured to connect a gas chromatograph section and a mass spectrometer section via an interface section, the interface section and the ion source chamber of the mass spectrometer are formed as an integrated structure, A gas chromatograph mass spectrometer, wherein a fastening portion for connecting a structure to a mass spectrometer is provided inside a vacuum vessel of the mass spectrometer. (2) In a gas chromatograph mass spectrometer configured to connect a gas chromatograph unit and a mass spectrometer unit via an interface unit, the interface unit, the ion source chamber of the mass spectrometer, and the vacuum of the mass spectrometer are used. A gas chromatograph mass spectrometer characterized in that a part of the container is formed as an integrated structure, and the integrated structure is connected to the remaining vacuum container part of the mass spectrometer for fastening. As described above, the GC / M according to the present invention is used as described above.
In S, since the fastening section between the I / F section and the MS section is provided inside the vacuum vessel of the MS section, the I / F section can be removed without moving the GC section or the MS section itself. Can be performed safely, and positioning can be facilitated. This eliminates the need to consider the working space between the GC unit and the MS unit, allows a compact device, and increases the degree of freedom in designing the device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a conventional GC / MS. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a connection between an I / F unit and an MS unit of a conventional GC / MS. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the connection between the I / F unit and the MS unit of the GC / MS according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the connection between the I / F unit and the MS unit of the GC / MS according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Description of Signs] 10: Gas chromatograph unit (GC unit) 20: Mass spectrometry unit (MS unit) 21: Vacuum container 22: Ion source chamber 23: Lid 30: Interface unit (I / F unit) 31: Flange

Claims (1)

(57) [Claim 1] In a gas chromatograph mass spectrometer configured to connect a gas chromatograph unit and a mass spectrometer unit via an interface unit, an interface unit and a mass spectrometer unit are provided. Is provided inside the vacuum vessel of the mass spectrometer section to which the interface section is to be connected, and the opening / closing lid of the vacuum vessel is pulled by the interface section.
On the extraction side, and the gas chromatograph
Pull out from the lid while maintaining the arrangement of the
A gas chromatograph mass spectrometer characterized by being pulled out .