Patent ID: 8555733

Claim:
A system for preparing a refrigerant sample for analysis comprising: (i) a pressure regulator assembly including a pressure regulator and a means for heating a refrigerant sample contained within an interior region of the pressure regulator, said pressure regulator defining an inlet through which the refrigerant sample is delivered from a refrigerant sample container and an outlet through which the refrigerant sample is expelled; (ii) a filter assembly having: (a) a fluid passageway defined between an inlet of the filter assembly and an analyzer outlet of the filter assembly, wherein the inlet of the filter assembly is fluidly connected to the outlet of the pressure regulator to receive the vaporized refrigerant sample from the pressure regulator, (b) a plurality of filters for removing contaminants from the refrigerant sample that are positioned in series within the fluid passageway of the filter assembly between the inlet of the filter assembly and the analyzer outlet of the filter assembly, and (c) a plurality of filter outlets that are each fluidly connected with and positioned downstream of a respective filter of the plurality of filters; (iii) a refrigerant analysis system that is fluidly coupled to the analyzer outlet of the filter assembly for analyzing the composition of the refrigerant sample; (iv) a vacuum source that is coupled to each of the filter outlets of the filter assembly for drawing the refrigerant sample out of the filter assembly; and (v) a venting container that is fluidly coupled to each of the filter outlets of the filter assembly for receiving and storing the refrigerant sample from the filter assembly wherein the venting container is separate from the refrigerant sample container and the vacuum source.