Particle sampling preconcentrator
First Claim
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1. An apparatus for detecting trace amounts of substances of interest comprising:
- an inlet for accommodating an air flow containing particles to be tested;
at lease one outlet offset from said inlet for accommodating and diverting at least low inertial components of the air flow through the inlet;
at least one porous impactor at least partly aligned with the inlet for impaction by particles in the air flow having sufficiently high inertial characteristics; and
a detector disposed for communicating the impactor for identifying particles of interest on the impactor.
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Abstract
An apparatus is provided for identifying trace amounts of substances of interest in an air flow. The apparatus includes an inlet for receiving the air flow and an outlet for exhausting major portions of the air flow. The outlet is offset from the inlet. A porous impactor is disposed in alignment with the inlet and is impacted by particles entrained in the air flow. The porous impactor is heated sufficiently to vaporize particles impinging thereon. A detector communicates with the porous impactor and is operative for identifying substances of interest in the vaporized particles.
19 Citations
19 Claims
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1. An apparatus for detecting trace amounts of substances of interest comprising:
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an inlet for accommodating an air flow containing particles to be tested;
at lease one outlet offset from said inlet for accommodating and diverting at least low inertial components of the air flow through the inlet;
at least one porous impactor at least partly aligned with the inlet for impaction by particles in the air flow having sufficiently high inertial characteristics; and
a detector disposed for communicating the impactor for identifying particles of interest on the impactor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. An apparatus for detecting trace amounts of at least one substance of interest comprising:
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a walk-through portal for accommodating a human pedestrian;
an inlet disposed gravitationally above the portal for receiving at least portions of an air flow generated by a human convection plenum substantially surrounding the human pedestrian;
an outlet communicating with the inlet and offset from said inlet;
an air pump communicating with the outlet for generating a sample exhaust flow rate substantially matching a flow rate of air in the human convexion plenum;
at least one porous impactor substantially aligned with the inlet, said porous impactor being dimensioned and disposed for being impacted by particles entrained in portions of the human convection plenum flowing through the inlet;
a heater for heating the porous impactor sufficiently for vaporizing particles impinging thereon;
a plenum communicating with a side of the porous impactor opposite the inlet; and
a detector communicating with the plenum for receiving and analyzing vaporized particles that have impinged on the porous impactor. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16)
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17. A method for detecting at least one substance of interest in an air stream, said method comprising:
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receiving an air flow substantially along a first axis;
exhausting the air flow along a second axis offset from the first axis;
providing a porous impactor substantially along the first axis for impaction by particles entrained in the air flow;
continuously heating the porous impactor sufficiently to vaporize particles impacted thereon;
transporting the vaporized particles from the porous impactor to a detector; and
substantially continuously operating the detector for identifying any substances of interest among the vaporized particles. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19)
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Specification