Patent ID: 6860162

Claim:
A sampling apparatus for obtaining samples of liquid product from a vessel, comprising: a sampler including a body having a longitudinal bore with forward and rearward openings to said bore, an elongate probe in said bore and having a longitudinal passage with a forward inlet to and a rearward sample outlet from said passage, means for opening and closing said probe passage inlet, and means for reciprocating said probe in said bore to extend said probe out of and to retract said probe into said bore forward opening; and a connecting device for being mounted to the vessel, wherein said sampler is attachable to and detachable from said connecting device and said connecting device is operable between open and closed states to respectively place said sampler into and to take said sampler out of communication with liquid product in the vessel, said sampler being detachable from said connecting device, without escape of liquid product from the vessel, when said connecting device is in said closed state, said reciprocating means, when said connecting device is in said open state, being operable to extend said probe forward through said sampler body bore forward opening and said connecting device into the vessel to a sampling position of said probe, relative to said body, where said probe passage inlet is in liquid product in the vessel, and to then retract said probe from the vessel and through said connecting device and sampler body bore forward opening, and said opening and closing means being operable to close said probe passage inlet while said reciprocating means extends said probe forward to said probe sampling position, to open said probe passage inlet while said probe is in said sampling position for flow of a sample of liquid product from the vessel into said probe inlet and through said probe passage to said sample outlet, and to then close said probe inlet while said probe is retracted.