Patent · US Expired

Automated mass spectrometer analysis system

US4314156A · kind A · utility

19Cited by
2References
28Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateOct 6, 1979
Grant dateFeb 2, 1982
Priority date
Expiry dateOct 6, 1999

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH01J49/022
  • WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

An automated mass spectrometer analysis system is disclosed, in which samples are automatically processed in a sample processor and converted into volatilizable samples, or their characteristic volatilizable derivatives. Each volatilizable sample is sequentially volatilized and analyzed in a double focusing mass spectrometer, whose output is in the form of separate ion beams all of which are simultaneously focused in a focal plane. Each ion beam is indicative of a different sample component or different fragments of one or more sample components and the beam intensity is related to the relative abundance of the sample component. The system includes an electro-optical ion detector which automatically and simultaneously converts the ion beams, first into electron beams which in turn produce a related image which is transferred to the target of a vilicon unit. The latter converts the images into electrical signals which are supplied to a data processor, whose output is a list of the components of the analyzed sample and their abundances. The system is under the control of a master control unit, which in addition to monitoring and controlling various power sources, controls the automat…

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.