Patent ID: 7797989

Claim:
A device for feeding samples to a separating device and for collecting sample fractions generated by means of the separating device, especially for high-performance liquid chromatography, the device comprising: (a) a first switch valve unit, which has at least eight ports and two switch positions, (i) wherein, in a first switch position, first selected pairs of the ports are interconnected, and (ii) wherein, in a second switch position, second selected pairs of the ports that are not interconnected in the first switch position are interconnected; (b) a dosing device for feeding a sample to the first switch valve unit, which is connected to a suction port of the first switch valve unit, and (c) which is adapted to interact with a removal and discharge device for removing a sample from at least one sample-holding container and for discharging a fraction into one of several fraction-holding containers, the removal and discharge device being connected to a suction and discharge port of the first switch valve unit; (d) wherein a solution feed port of the first switch valve unit is adapted to be connected to a feed line for a first solution; (e) wherein a first separating device transfer port of the first switch valve unit is adapted to be connected to an input port of the separating device, and a second separating device transfer port of the first switch valve unit is adapted to be connected to an output port of the first separating device; (f) wherein a first port of a sample reservoir is connected to a first sample reservoir port of the first switch valve unit, and a second port of the sample reservoir is connected to a second sample reservoir port of the first switch valve unit; (g) wherein a waste port of the first switch valve unit can be connected to a container for waste of the first switch valve unit; and (h) wherein the ports of the first switch valve unit are assigned so that (i) in the first switch position, the suction port and the first sample reservoir port are interconnected, the solution feed port and the first separating device transfer port are interconnected, the second sample reservoir port and the suction and the removal and discharge port are interconnected, and also the second separating device transfer port and the waste port are interconnected; and (ii) in the second switch position, the first sample reservoir port and the solution feed port are interconnected, the first separating device transfer port and the second sample reservoir port are interconnected, the suction and discharge transfer port and the separating device transfer port are interconnected, and also the waste port and the suction port are interconnected.