Automatic control of analytical distillation apparatus

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING THE OPERATION OF A FIRST DISTILLATION COLUMN AND FOR DETERMINING THE DISTILLATION PROPERTIES OF A PRODUCT SAMPLE FROM SAID FIRST COLUMN WHICH APPARATUS COMPRISES: MEANS FOR WITHDRAWING A PRODUCT SAMPLE CONTAINING A MIXTURE OF LIQUIDS HAVING DIFFERENT BOILING POINTS FROM SAID FIRST COLUMN; A TEST COLUMN MEMBER; A PLURALITY OF LIQUID-RETAINING TRAYS SPACED APART VERTICALLY WITHIN SAID TEST COLUMN; A LIQUID SAMPLE CONTAINER POSITIONED BELOW SAID TEST COLUMN AND IN FLOW COMMUNICATION WITH THE BOTTOM-MOST PORTION OF SAID TEST COLUMN; MEANS FOR RECEIVING SAID WITHDRAWN PRODUCT SAMPLE AND INTRODUCING A KNOWN AMOUNT OF SAID PRODUCT SAMPLE INTO SAID CONTAINER; MEANS FOR VAPORIZING LIQUID SAMPLE INTRODUCED INTO SAID CONTAINER; VAPOR RISER MEANS FOR PASSING VAPORS FROM THE LOWER PORTION OF SAID TEST COLUMN UPWARDLY THROUGH SAID TEST COLUMN TO INTIMATELY CONTACT LIQUID RETAINED ON SAID TRAYS; CONDENSING MEANS COMMUNICATING WITH THE UPPER END OF SAID TEST COLUMN TO CONDENSE ALL THE VAPORS RISING FROM THE UPPER-MOST OF SAID TRAYS; MEANS FOR RETURNING THE RESULTING CONDENSATE TO THE UPPERMOST OF SAID TRAYS; MEANS FOR MAINTAINING THE TEST COLUMN PRESSURE AT A SUBSTANTIALLY CONSTANT PRESSURE DURING A RUN; MEANS FOR MAINTAINING A PRE-SELECTED LEVEL OF LIQUID ON SAID TRAYS; TEMPERATURE SENSING MEANS TO SENSE THE TEMPERATURES AND PRODUCE A TEMPERATURE SIGNAL INDICATIVE THEREOF OF EQUILIBRIUM VAPORS ABOVE THE TRAYS IN SAID TEST COLUMN; MEANS FOR RECEIVING SAID TEMPERATURE SIGNAL AND CORRELATING THE SENSED TEMPERATURES WITH THE DISTILLATION PROPERTIES OF A KNOWN PRODUCT SAMPLE OF APPROXIMATELY THE SAME COMPOSITION AS SAID SAMPLE BEING RUN AND PRODUCE ON OUTPUT SIGNAL RELATIVE TO SAID CORRELATION; AND MEANS FOR RECEIVING SAID OUTPUT SIGNAL AND ADJUSTING THE CONTROL PARAMETERS OF THE FIRST COLUMN IN ACCORDANCE WITH SAID OUTPUT SIGNAL.