Patent ID: 8119065
Filing Date: 2012-02-21
Classification: G01N

Abstract:
1. An active sampler for liquids, comprising: an inlet; an outlet; a sampling unit positioned between said inlet and outlet, said sampling unit comprising a plurality of sampling chambers housing a sampling media therein, each sampling chamber being selectively alignable with a flow path that extends from the inlet, through the sampling unit, to the outlet, the sampling chambers substantially fluidly sealed relative to one another, the flow path including a first flow path section and a second flow path section, the first flow path section extending between the inlet and one end of the aligned sampling chamber, the second flow path section extending between the outlet and another end of the aligned sampling chamber, the sampling chamber interfacing with the first and second flow path sections via resilient sealing members so as to substantially seal the aligned sampling chamber in the flow path from the other sampling chambers; a pump configured to pump liquid selectively through said flow path and the aligned sampling chamber; and an actuator configured to selectively align the flow path and one of the sampling chambers with each other and take the flow path and another of the sampling chambers out of alignment with each other, wherein each of the first and second flow path sections is configured to have minimal flow restrictions such that the pump can produce a flow rate of at least about 10 ml/min through the aligned sampling chamber while drawing generally on the order of about 250 mW of power, thereby increasing the operating time of the sampling unit for a given battery charge.