Patent · US Expired

Gas detector

US5184500A · kind A · utility

37Cited by
39References
23Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateMar 20, 1990
Grant dateFeb 9, 1993
Priority date
Expiry dateMar 20, 2010

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG01N27/122
  • WIPO fieldMeasurement
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

A battery-powered gas detector comprises a gas sensor coupled to a current source and a power supply. The power supply generates a relatively high voltage when the gas sensor is warming up and a relatively low voltage after the sensor has warmed up. The gas sensor, which is responsive to the presence of a gas, is coupled to an amplifier having a variable sensitivity circuit. The amplifier is connected to a microprocessor that determines the concentration of the sensed gas and provides a visual indication of the concentration on a display. The gas detector can sense the presence of a variety of different gases. The gas concentration of the sensed gas is determined based upon the magnitudes of a gas sensing signal generated by the amplifier, a calibration signal generated during a calibration routine when the detector is in a controlled environment, and an error signal generated when the detector is in a no-gas environment.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.