Apparatus for on-line monitoring quality/condition of fluids
US7030380B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 21, 2005 |
| Grant date | Apr 18, 2006 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 21, 2025 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01N21/552
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
An apparatus for on-line optical monitoring of the quality and/or chemical condition of a fluid; in particular, a hydrocarbon-based fluid used in transportation and industrial applications. The apparatus includes an IR-transparent internal-reflectance-element (IRE) that has at least one essentially flat surface and at least one convex surface, and at least two IR light paths of uniquely determined central-frequency and bandwidth with light from a source entering a flat surface of the IRE, internally reflecting at least once from at least one convex surface of the IRE that can contact a fluid, exiting a flat surface of the IRE, and being received at a detector. The apparatus also includes electronics to power the source and receive output from the detector of each light path. The apparatus can be controlled to independently monitor the IR light reflected within the IRE at the uniquely determined frequency of each path, and to communicate information relevant to the IR light detected.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.