Methods and systems for remote detection of gases
First Claim
1. A system for remotely detecting at least one constituent of a gas, comprising:
- a spectrally sensitive receiver positioned at a receiver location, said receiver including an optical component defining a field of view; and
a first source of broadband infrared radiation positioned at a first source location separated from the receiver location, the first source comprising a surface and a heating component thermally coupled to the surface;
wherein the heating component is configured to heat the surface to a temperature above ambient temperature; and
wherein the first source and the receiver are oriented such that at least a portion of the surface of the first source is in the field of view;
wherein the receiver is operable to collect spectral infrared absorption data representative of a first gas present between the first source and the receiver.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Novel systems and methods for remotely detecting at least one constituent of a gas via infrared detection are provided. A system includes at least one extended source of broadband infrared radiation and a spectrally sensitive receiver positioned remotely from the source. The source and the receiver are oriented such that a surface of the source is in the field of view of the receiver. The source includes a heating component thermally coupled to the surface, and the heating component is configured to heat the surface to a temperature above ambient temperature. The receiver is operable to collect spectral infrared absorption data representative of a gas present between the source and the receiver. The invention advantageously overcomes significant difficulties associated with active infrared detection techniques known in the art, and provides an infrared detection technique with a much greater sensitivity than passive infrared detection techniques known in the art.
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Citations
76 Claims
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1. A system for remotely detecting at least one constituent of a gas, comprising:
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a spectrally sensitive receiver positioned at a receiver location, said receiver including an optical component defining a field of view; and
a first source of broadband infrared radiation positioned at a first source location separated from the receiver location, the first source comprising a surface and a heating component thermally coupled to the surface;
wherein the heating component is configured to heat the surface to a temperature above ambient temperature; and
wherein the first source and the receiver are oriented such that at least a portion of the surface of the first source is in the field of view;
wherein the receiver is operable to collect spectral infrared absorption data representative of a first gas present between the first source and the receiver. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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35. A system for remote monitoring of a gas, comprising:
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a plurality of spectrally sensitive receivers positioned at separate receiver locations, each of said receivers including an optical component defining a field of view;
at least one source of broadband infrared radiation positioned remotely from each of said receivers, each of said sources comprising a surface and a heating component thermally coupled to the surface;
wherein the heating component is configured to heat the surface to a temperature above ambient temperature;
wherein each receiver is positionable such that at least a portion of a source surface is in its field of view; and
wherein each of said receivers is operable to collect spectral infrared absorption data representative of a gas present between the receiver and the source; and
a processing subsystem coupled to each of said receivers, the processing subsystem operable to compare data from each receiver to information stored in the subsystem to provide comparison results to an operator. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37)
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38. A method for remotely analyzing a gas, comprising:
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providing a spectrally sensitive receiver at a receiver location, the receiver including an optical component defining a field of view;
providing a first extended source of broadband infrared radiation at a first source location separated from the receiver location by a first distance, the first source comprising a surface and a heating component thermally coupled to the surface;
wherein the heating component is configured to heat the surface to a temperature above ambient temperature; and
wherein the first source and the receiver are oriented such that at least a portion of the surface of the first source is in the field of view;
collecting spectral infrared absorption data with the receiver, the data being representative of a first gas present between the first source and the receiver; and
comparing the data representative of the first gas to known gas infrared absorption information to determine at least one characteristic of the first gas. - View Dependent Claims (39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72)
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73. A method for remotely analyzing a gas, comprising:
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obtaining spectral infrared absorption data from a spectrally sensitive receiver, the data being representative of a gas present between the receiver and a remotely positioned extended source of broadband infrared radiation; and
comparing the data to known infrared absorption spectra to determine at least one characteristic of the gas;
wherein the source includes a surface thermally coupled to a heating component, the heating component configured to heat the surface to a temperature above ambient temperature;
wherein the receiver includes an optical component defining a field of view; and
wherein the receiver is oriented such that at least a portion of the surface is in the field of view. - View Dependent Claims (74, 75)
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76. A method for remotely analyzing a gas, comprising:
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providing a spectrally sensitive receiver at a receiver location, the receiver including an optical component defining a field of view;
providing an extended source of broadband infrared radiation at a source location separated from the receiver location by a distance of at least about 5 meters, the source comprising a surface and a heating component thermally coupled to the surface;
wherein the source and the receiver are oriented such that at least a portion of the surface is in the field of view; and
wherein the heating component is configured to heat the surface to a temperature at which the surface emits sufficient infrared radiation in the MWIR region of from about 1850 to about 2300 cm−
1 to produce a detectable signal in the MWIR region when a gaseous compound that absorbs radiation in the MWIR region is present;
collecting spectral infrared absorption data with the receiver, the data being representative of a gas present between the source and the receiver; and
comparing the data representative of the first gas to known gas infrared absorption information to determine at least one characteristic of the first gas.
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Specification