Apparatus for recovering minute quantities of volatile compounds from inert solids

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR EXTRACTING ENTRAPPED VOLATILE COMPOUNDS FROM SOLID SAMPLES, SUCH AS WELL BORE CUTTINGS AND THE LIKE, COMPRISING: (A) A METALLIC BLOCK, SAID BLOCK HAVING THEREIN A PLURALITY OF SAMPLE INJECTION PASAGEWAYS, AIR EVACUATION PASSAGEWAYS, A PASSAGEWAY FOR CONDUCTING AN INERT CARRIER GAS INTO SAID BLOCK AND A PASSAGEWAY FOR DISCHARGING SAIDS INERT CARRIER GAS FROM SAID BLOCK; (B) MEANS EMBEDDED IN SAID BLOCK FOR VARYING THE TEMPERATURE OF SAID BLOCK AS DESIRED; (C) A SAMPLE HOLDING CHAMBER ADJACENT THE BLOCK AND CONNECTED TO ONE SAID SAMPLE INJECTION PASSAGEWAYS; (D) A COLD TRAP CONNECTED TO ANOTHER OF SAID SAMPLE INJECTION PASSAGEWAYS AND TO ONE OF SAID SAMPLE INJECTION PASSAGEWAYS AND TO ONE OF SAID AIR EVACUATION PASSAGEWAYS; AIR EVACUATION PASSAGEWAYS; AND (F) VALVE MEANS IN SAID BLOCK FOR APPLYING A VACUUM THROUGH SAID COLD TRAP TO SAID SAMPLE HOLDING CHAMBER BY SELECTIVE INTERCONNECTION OF SAID PASSAGEWAYS AND, ALTERNATELY, FOR CONNECTING SAID COLD TRAP BETWEEN SAID PASSAGEWAY FOR CONDUCTING AN INERT CARRIER GAS INTO SAID BLOCK AND SAID CARRIER GAS DISCHARGE PASSAGEWAY.