Support system for a gas sampler

A support system for a gas sampler for collecting samples of gas from a plurality of laterally arranged ports and including a support rail extending outwardly from the ports to support the gas sampler for movement toward and away from said ports, an auxiliary support for the outer end of the supporting rail, a pair of laterally extending tracks and slidable couplings connecting the ends of the rail and auxiliary support to the tracks to facilitate moving the gas sampler from port to port.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to gas samplers of the type used for collecting 
samples of gas from ports in furnaces, smokestacks and industrial gas 
conduits, and more particularly to a novel support system for a gas 
sampler to permit it to be moved toward and away from a port and to be 
moved laterally from one port to another. 
Gas samplers of this type have been used in air pollution control for 
periodically checking and analyzing the pollution materials and pollution 
content of gases released to the atmosphere. The collection of gas samples 
is particularly difficult in the case of high stacks which vary greatly in 
size, altitude and location. To facilitate taking gas samples from the 
ports of tall stacks, the operator must rig the support system from 
whatever platform is available at the site. 
The support systems heretofore available have included a track for 
supporting the gas sampler for movement toward and away from a port from 
which the sample is taken and various means for supporting the track, 
including an angular brace, a depending leg suport and an overhead guy 
wire. The track and the guy wire or brack have been mounted directly to 
the stack. Frequently the testing procedure requires taking samples from a 
plurality of laterally arranged ports and this requires setting up and 
taking down the support system at each port. 
The object of the present invention is to provide an improved support 
system which can be easily and quickly set up and taken down and, when set 
up, can be utilized to take samples from a plurality of laterally spaced 
ports, thereby making the testing procedure more efficient and less 
hazardous. 
The support system of the present invention includes a support rail 
extending outwardly from the surface accommodating the ports to support 
the gas sampler for movement toward and away from the ports, an auxiliary 
support for the outer end of the supporting rail, a pair of laterally 
extending tracks mounted to the wall accommodating the ports and slidable 
couplings connecting the ends of the rail and auxiliary support to the 
tracks to facilitate moving the support rail and auxiliary support from 
port to port. The support system of the present invention can be set up 
and shifted from port to port to take a plurality of samples before the 
support system is taken down.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings, a gas sampling device 10 is 
shown supported by the support system of the present invention on the side 
of a smokestack 11 containing a plurality of ports 12 spaced laterally 
along a side of the stack. A probe 13 of the gas sampling device is 
introduced seriatim into the ports to collect samples of the gas at each 
location so that these samples can be analyzed for pollutant materials. 
The sampler and probe are conventional devices which do not constitute 
part of the present invention. 
The support system of the present invention includes a support rail 14 
extending outwardly from the wall for supporting the gas sampler for 
movement toward and away from the wall, a pair of laterally extending 
tracks 15 and 16 mounted to the wall, a slide coupling 17 connecting the 
inner end of the supporting rail for lateral movement along the track 16, 
an auxiliary supporting guy wire 18 connecting the outer end of the rail 
14 to the track 15 and a slide coupling 19 for moving the upper end of the 
guy wire laterally along the track 15. 
The rail 14 is a channel-like member accommodating therein a rolling 
trolley 20 from which the sampler 10 is suspended. 
The upper and lower laterally extending tracks 15 and 16 are also 
channel-like members which permit lateral adjustment of the slide 
couplings 17 and 19 to permit the sampler to be moved from port to port. 
The tracks 15 and 16, as best shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, are connected by 
bolts 21 to the wall of the smokestack. 
The coupling 17 includes bolts 22 having enlarged heads 23 retained within 
the channel and a plate 24 through which the bolts 22 pass so that the 
plate can be locked against the outside of the channel by nuts 25. The 
outer surface of the plate 24 carries a support 26 for the inner end of 
the support rail 14, and the support 26 and support rail are preferably 
permanently welded together. When the nuts 25 are loosened the coupling 
can be slidably moved along the track 16 from one port to the next and 
then locked in place by tightening the nuts. 
The coupling 19 includes a rolling trolley 27 accommodated within the 
channel 15. The trolley carries an eyebolt 28 for connecting the guy wire 
18 to the trolley. 
An alternative embodiment of the support system of the present invention is 
shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 in which a gas sampler 10 is shown supported from 
each leg 31 and 32 of a Y-shaped stack 30. By virtue of the angle of each 
leg of the stack, the laterally arranged ports 33, which are equally 
spaced from the discharge ends of the stacks, are also at different 
heights. The support system for use in this application includes a support 
rail 34 extending outwardly from the wall of the stack, a pair of 
laterally extending tracks 35 and 36 extending laterally along the wall, a 
slide coupling 37 connecting the inner end of the supporting rail 34 for 
lateral movement along the lateral track 36, an auxiliary guy wire support 
38 connecting the outer end of the rail 34 to the upper laterally 
extending track 35 and a slide coupling 39 connecting the guy wire support 
to the laterally extending track 35. The slide couplings 37 and 39 are the 
same as the corresponding couplings 17 and 19. 
The sampler 10 is supported from a pulley wheel system 40 carried by a 
trolley 41 which travels longitudinally along the rail 34. The sampler is 
suspended from a flexible cable 42 which loops around the pulley system 
and is connected with a counterweight 43 at the opposite end thereof to 
enable the sampler to be adjusted as to height. 
In the utilization of the support system of the present invention, the 
laterally extending tracks 15 and 16 in the embodiment illustrated in 
FIGS. 1 through 4 of the drawings and the laterally extending channel 
tracks 35 and 36 in the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6 of the 
drawings are permanently mounted to the stack walls above platforms 
accessible to the operator. The sampler, the supporting rail and the guy 
wire can be carried to the platform or some or all of these components can 
be stored on the platform. The operator can readily set up the supporting 
system relative to one port, and after taking a gas sample, he can easily 
adjust the slidable couplings for the sampler support and the guy wire to 
an adjacent port for the next sampling. In the case of the embodiment 
illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6 of the drawings, the operator can also 
readily adjust the height of the sampler for each port from which a sample 
is to be taken. 
The invention has been shown in preferred forms and by way of example only, 
and many modifications and variations may be made therein within the 
spirit of the invention. For example, the support system of the present 
invention is shown applied to a rectangular stack, but it can be used with 
various shapes of stacks. The invention, therefore, is not to be limited 
to any particular form or embodiment except in so far as such limitations 
are set forth in said claims.