Patent ID: 8802035

Claim:
A device for performing a multi-step process, said multi-step process having a first step and at least one next step, in which each step is performed in a step period and the performance of the steps over time is the total process time, said device for performing the steps in parallel, the device comprising: a rotor assembly including two rotor valve surfaces, and a plurality of vessel stations; each vessel station having at least one conduit, said conduit having a working inlet for placing fluid in a work vessel at the vessel station and a working outlet for taking fluid out of a working vessel at the vessel station, said conduit having a rotor inlet port on a first of the two rotor valve surfaces and rotor outlet port on a second of said two rotor valve surfaces for each vessel station; a stator assembly including two stator valve surfaces and two end caps, wherein each of said two end caps includes a recessed cavity having an inner surface whereby the inner surface of said each end cap is one of the two stator valve surfaces, said stator assembly rotatably receiving said rotor assembly for rotation between a plurality of rotor positions, said rotor positions comprising at least one non-working position for each vessel station and at least one working position for each step of said process; and two seals, wherein each of said two seals is affixed in the recessed cavity of one of the two end caps and is disposed between one of the two rotor valve surfaces and one of said two stator valve surfaces of said one end cap, each of said two seals being formed from a flexible resilient material and having seal openings for fluid communication between said one stator valve surface and said one rotor valve surface, said seal openings of each of said two seals including extended passages formed on only a first face of said each seal, wherein the extended passages formed on only the first face extend on an arc corresponding to the rotation of the rotor valve surface to limit the time period of the at least one non-working position, wherein, for each of said two seals, an elevated surface of said each seal is elevated with respect to a surface of the first face of said each seal and wherein the extended passages formed on the first face are formed in the elevated surface of said each seal which concentrates compressive force on an area immediately surrounding the seal openings, wherein, in said at least one non-working position, each of the two stator valve surfaces is not in fluid communication with the conduit, wherein, in said at least one working position, for each working position, said conduit is in communication with a fluid source via the two seals and the two stator valve surfaces, and wherein said rotor assembly is operable to rotate each of said vessel stations to each work position such that all the steps of said process are performed at each of said vessel stations during the total process time and such that each step in the multi-step process is performed during at least one step period.