Patent Publication Number: US-2012043450-A1

Title: Attachment arrangement for a column holder

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a filing under 35 U.S.C. §371 and claims priority to international patent application number PCT/SE2010/050454 filed Apr. 23, 2010, published on Nov. 4, 2010 as WO 2010/126433, which claims priority to application number 0950284-0 filed in Sweden on Apr. 28, 2009. 
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to an attachment arrangement. Furthermore the present invention relates to a column holder comprising such an attachment arrangement. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     For example in a chromatography system there can be a number of columns of different seizes that need to be securely hold and preferable they should be replaceable in an easy way. Usually columns are mounted in some kind of more or less unwieldy holder. Especially for small columns that need to be moved or replaced often there is a need for a more easily handled holder. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     One object of the invention is to provide an attachment arrangement that can be attached easily and be kept firmly in place. This is achieved with an attachment arrangement according to claim  1 . Hereby the attachment arrangement can be easily attached in a T-groove. Because of the resilient arms pointing away from each other the attachment arrangement is also kept firmly in place in the T-groove and the attachment arrangement can easily be removed from the T-groove by just pressing the resilient arms together again and twist the attachment arrangement and remove it from the T-groove. 
     A further object of the invention is to provide a column holder that holds the column firmly in place and which can be easily removed from the system. This is achieved by a column holder according to claim  3 . Hereby the column holder can be easily attached in a T-groove and also removed. Furthermore, as discussed above, the column holder will be held firmly in place in the T-groove when the resilient arms are released in the T-groove. 
     Suitably the whole column holder together with the attachment arrangement is injection moulded in one piece. 
     Further suitable embodiments of the invention are described in the depending claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic view of the attachment arrangement according to one embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 2   a - 2   d  is a schematic view of the attachment arrangement according to the embodiment shown in  FIG. 1  when it is being inserted into a T-groove. 
         FIG. 3  shows one embodiment of a column holder provided with an attachment arrangement according to the invention. 
         FIG. 4  shows another embodiment of a column holder provided with an attachment arrangement according to the invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     According to the invention an attachment arrangement adapted to fit into a T-groove is provided. Also according to the invention a column holder provided with such an attachment arrangement is provided. 
       FIG. 1  is a schematic view of the attachment arrangement according to one embodiment of the invention. It comprises two resilient arms  1   a,    1   b.  In this embodiment the resilient arms  1   a,    1   b  are curved such that a first end  3   a,    3   b  of the respective resilient arms  1   a,    1   b  are positioned close to each other and a respective second end  5   a,    5   b  of the resilient arms  1   a,    1   b  are pointing away from each other. The first ends  3   a,    3   b  of the resilient arms  1   a,    1   b  are connected to whatever should be attached. Below is an example of a column holder. However it could be any kind of holder or it could also be attached directly to the thing to be hold. A locking part  7   a,    7   b  is further provided at the second end  5   a,    5   b  of each respective resilient arm  1   a,    1   b.  This locking part  7   a,    7   b  is T-shaped and adapted to fit into a T-groove where the attachment arrangement should be attached. The T-shape of the locking part is more clearly shown in  FIGS. 2   b ,  3  and  4 . According to the invention the two locking parts should be forced together and fit into the T-groove together as will be described in more detail below in relation to  FIGS. 2   a - 2   c.    
     In another embodiment the two resilient arms are not curved but they are provided close to each other in one end and pointing away from each other in the other end. Hereby they can be forced together during the insertion into the T-groove. 
       FIG. 2   a - 2   d  is a schematic view of the attachment arrangement according to the embodiment of the invention shown in  FIG. 1  when it is inserted into a T-groove.  FIG. 2   a  shows a typical T-groove  11  into which the attachment arrangement according to the invention can be inserted and secured.  FIG. 2   b  shows schematically how the two resilient arms  1   a,    1   b  are pressed together and oriented such that the T-shape of the locking parts  7   a ,  7   b  can be inserted into the T-groove  11 . In  FIG. 2   c  it is shown how the attachment arrangement is turned vertically inside the T-groove and in  FIG. 2   d  it is shown how the pressure on the resilient arms  1   a,    1   b  is released and that the second ends  5   a,    5   b  of the resilient arms  1   a,    1   b  then are pointing away from each other again. However the shape of the T-groove will limit the possibility for the second ends  5   a,    5   b  of the resilient arms  1   a,    1   b  to point away from each other. Hereby the T-shaped looking parts  7   a,    7   b  will press against the T-groove and provide a locking and securing feature to the attachment arrangement. I.e. the attachment arrangement is hold securely in place in all directions due to the pressure from the resilient arms. 
       FIG. 3  shows one embodiment of a column holder provided with an attachment arrangement according to the invention. The same reference numbers as used in  FIG. 1   a  are used for the attachment arrangement of the column holder shown in  FIG. 3 . This is here called a column holder but of course any kind of cylindrical objects can be hold by this device. The part of the column holder that is holding the column comprises two column grip arms  15   a,    15   b.  The column grip arms  15   a,    15   b  have a respective first end  17   a,    17   b  where they are attached to each other and where also the attachment arrangement is provided. In this embodiment the first ends  17   a,    17   b  of the column grip arms  15   a,    15   b  are connected to each other through a bend  19 . The column grip arms  15   a ,  15   b  are hereby pointing in the same direction and that is essentially the opposite direction to the direction in which the resilient arms  1   a,    1   b  of the attachment arrangement are pointing. The column grip arms  15   a,    15   b  further have a respective second end  21   a,    21   b . These second ends  21   a,    21   b  are the column gripping part of the column grip arms  15   a ,  15   b,  i.e. between the second ends  21   a,    21   b  of the column grip arms  15   a,    15   b  a column is supposed to be provided. The column grip arms  15   a,    15   b  are resilient and therefore the second ends  21   a,    21   b  of the column grip arms  15   a,    15   b  should be forced apart when a column is provided to the holder and then, when the force is removed the second ends  21   a ,  21   b  of the column grip arms  15   a,    15   b  will press against the column and thereby hold it firmly. This design will allow the holding of different seizes of columns. Furthermore different seizes of column holders can also be provided in order to allow even more ranges of column seizes to be hold. In this design shown in  FIG. 3  the column grip arms  15   a,    15   b  are designed to comprise an intermediate part  23 . This intermediate part  23  is provided to allow for a greater range of different column seizes and to minimize any deformation of the column gripping part, i.e. second ends  21   a,    21   b.  In another embodiment of the invention however this intermediate part  23  can be omitted. 
     Suitably said column holder according to the first embodiment is injection moulded in one piece. 
       FIG. 4  shows another embodiment of a column holder provided with an attachment arrangement according to the invention. The same reference numbers as used in  FIG. 1   a  are used for the attachment arrangement of the column holder shown in  FIG. 4 . The column holder comprises also here two column grip arms  27   a,    27   b.  In this embodiment each of the column grip arms  27   a,    27   b  is connected and suitably moulded in one piece together with one each of the resilient arms  1   a ,  1   b  of the attachment arrangement. Hereby, in this embodiment the column holder together with the attachment arrangement is comprised of only two pieces which can preferably each be injection moulded in one piece. The two parts are held together by a rubber hinge  29 . The column grip arms  27   a ,  27   b  are designed in their column gripping parts  31   a,    31   b  opposing the attachment arrangement to grip a column  33 , i.e. they are slightly curved such that a column can fit in between the two column gripping parts  31   a,    31   b.  The rubber hinge  29  is provided such that the two column gripping parts  31   a,    31   b  can be forced to open up during insertion of columns and then grip the column after releasing. Furthermore columns of slightly different seizes can be hold by this column holder. 
     The material of the attachment arrangement and the column holder should preferably be resilient and not be weakened after long time deflection. This could for example be spring steel or plastics that are fatigue resistant. 
     Whilst the present invention has been described in connection with various embodiments, those skilled in the art will be aware that many different embodiments and variations are possible. All such variations and embodiments are intended to fall within the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.