Patent ID: 7718058

Claim:
Apparatus for preparative chromatography comprising: (a) a column laterally enclosed by a lateral wall and terminating at its base in a filter plate with an upper surface, (b) an aperture in said lateral wall substantially level with said upper surface, and (c) a valve comprising (i) a bore that opens into said aperture and has a bore axis, (ii) a valve body that comprises a shell and a hollow tube within said shell and coaxial with said bore, (iii) a sleeve slidably retained with said bore and surrounding said tube with a closure at one end, wherein said bore is shaped to restrict movement of said sleeve to a range of motion parallel to said bore axis, said range of motion extending from a closed position in which said closure is substantially flush with the inner surface of said column wall thereby closing said aperture, to an open position in which said closure is recessed within said bore thereby leaving said aperture open, and (iv) first and second ports in said valve body, said first port being in said shell and transverse to said bore axis, and said second port being an open end of said tube, said ports positioned such that both ports are open to said bore when said sleeve is in said closed position, thereby allowing flow communication between said first and second ports through said bore, and such that said first port is also open to said bore when said sleeve is in said open position, thereby allowing flow communication between said first port and said column through said bore and said aperture.