Patent ID: 6896797

Claim:
A simulated moving bed chromatographic device connected with a sample supply apparatus, the sample supply apparatus, comprising: a plurality of sample supply vessels each having a sample liquid passageway; a sample liquid-amount management vessel which stores a sample liquid to be supplied from one of the plurality of the sample supply vessels through one of the sample liquid passageways and which supplies the sample liquid stored therein to the simulated moving bed chromatographic separation device and which is arranged to vary an amount of the sample liquid stored therein in accordance with an amount of the sample liquid to be supplied from the sample supply vessel; a sample liquid supply path connecting said sample liquid-amount management vessel to said simulated moving bed chromatographic separation device; a sample liquid-amount detection means for detecting an amount of the sample liquid within the sample liquid-amount management vessel; a sample liquid passageway opening-closing means for realizing an opened state and a closed state of each of the sample liquid passageways in such a manner that only one of the sample liquid passageways assumes an opened state for the sample liquid-amount management vessel while the other sample liquid passageway or passageways assumes or assume each a closed state therefor; and a control means for controlling the sample liquid passageway opening-closing means in such a manner that one of the sample liquid passageways is opened while the other sample liquid passageway or passageways is or are closed by operating the sample liquid passageway opening-closing means disposed in the sample liquid passageways equipped in the sample supply vessels in response to a detection signal to be outputted from the sample liquid-amount detection means when the sample liquid-amount management vessel is judged as having a critical sample amount of the sample liquid.