Environmental sensor and method therefor
US5489988A · kind A · utility
69Cited by
3References
28Claims
0Family size
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 3, 1995 |
| Grant date | Feb 6, 1996 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 3, 2015 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG02B6/4214
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A sensor (10,30,40,50,70) for detecting chemicals and changes in the surrounding environment utilizes a sol-gel sensor element (14,16,17,54,56,57) containing a chemical indicator. Grooves (12,13,24,52,53) are formed in a substrate (11,51). The grooves are filled with a sol-gel material having a chemical indicator, and the sol-gel is cured to adhere to the substrate (11,51). The grooves (12,13,24,52,53) are formed to facilitate optically coupling a fiber optic cable (46) to the sol-gel sensor element. Light is coupled from the fiber optic cable (46) to the sol-gel sensor element (14,16,17,54,56,57).
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.