A sanford

Claim 1

A METHOD OF CHROMATOGRAPHICALLY ANALYZING A GASEOUS MIXTURE BY MEANS OF A PACKED CHROMATOGRAPHIC COLUMN, COMPRISING DETECTING CHANGES INT HE TEMPERATURE OF SAID COLUMN AT LEAST AT ONE POINT THEREIN INTERMEDIATE THE INLET AND OUTLET ENDS OF SAID COLUMN, FLOWING A STREAM CONSISTING OF SAID GASEOUS MIXTURE ONTO SAID COLUMN VIA THE INLET END THEREOF UNTIL A PREDETERMINED AMOUNT OF SAID GASEOUS MIXTURE HAS BEEN CONCENTRATED IN SAID COLUMN IN AN ADSORPTION ZONE THE FRONT OF WHICH IS LOCATED IN SAID COLUMN AT A POINT REMOTE FROM THE OUTLET END OF SAID COLUMN, TERMINATING SAID FLOW OF GASEOUS MIXTURE WHEN SAID AMOUNT HAS BEEN THUS CONCENTRATED IN SAID COLUMN, FLOWING AN ELUTING GAS INTO SAID COLUMN VIA THE INLET END THEREOF TO ELUTE AND SEPARATE AT LEAST ONE TRACE COMPONENT FROM THE FRONT OF SAID ADSORPTION ZONE, DETECTING THE PRESENCE OF SAID SEPARATED TRACE COMPONENT IN THE EFFLUENT OF SAID COLUMN, FLOWING PURGE GAS INTO THE OUTLET END OF SAID COLUMN TO SUBSTANTIALKLY PURGE THE BALNCE OF THE GASEOUS MIXTURE FROM SAID COLUMN, TERMINATING SAID FLOW OF PURGE GAS WHEN SAID BALANCE OF GASEOUS MATERIAL HAS BEEN THUS PURGED FROM SAID COLUMN, AND AUTOMICALLY IN ACCORDANCE WITH SAID DETECTED CHANGES IN TEMPERATURE CONTROLLING AT LEAST ONE OF SAID STEPS OF FLOWING SAID GASEOUS MIXTURE ONTO SAID COLUMN AND FLOWING PURGE GAS INTO SAID COLUMN SO AS TO TERMINATE THE FORMER STEP WHEN SAID PREDETERMINED AMOUNT OF SAID GASEOUS MIXTURE HAS BEEN CONCENTRATED IN SAID COLUMN AND TERMINATE THE LATTER STEP WHEN SAID COLUMN HAS BEEN SUFFICIENTLY PURGED.