Gas sensitive apparatus

• US 20060108220A1
• Filed: 09/29/2005
• Published: 05/25/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 10/07/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (Corteva, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (Corteva, Inc.)
• Inventors: Betsill, Harry Edwards
• Granted Patent: US 8,236,246 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 204/412
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 27/125 Composition of the body, e.g. the composition of its sensitive layer
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 27/128 Microapparatus

Abstract

Disclosed herein is a gas sensitive apparatus that is useful in view of its applicability to the detection or quantitative determination of individual gases present in a gas mixture, and is advantageous in view of its compact size, and its low power consumption.

Claims

1. A gas sensitive apparatus that may be passed through a circle having a diameter of no more than about 100 mm;

and that comprises (a) four or more sensor elements, and (b) two or more electrodes that each contacts two or more sensor elements.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1 that comprises three or more electrodes that each contacts two or more sensor elements.

3. An apparatus according to claim 2 wherein each electrode contacts different sensor elements.

4. An apparatus according to claim 1 that comprises four or more electrodes that each contacts two or more sensor elements.

5. An apparatus according to claim 4 wherein each electrode contacts different sensor elements.

6. An apparatus according to claim 1 that comprises five or more electrodes that each contacts two or more sensor elements.

7. An apparatus according to claim 1 that comprises six electrodes that each contacts two or more sensor elements.

8. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein one or more electrodes each contacts three or more sensor elements.

9. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein two or more electrodes each contacts three or more sensor elements.

10. An apparatus according to claim 1 that comprises three or more electrodes wherein each electrode contacts three or more sensor elements.

11. An apparatus according to claim 1 that comprises four or more electrodes wherein each electrode contacts three or more sensor elements.

12. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein an electrode contacts at least four sensor elements.

13. An apparatus according to claim 1 that comprises first and second surfaces, wherein both the first and second surfaces comprise electrodes, and there are at least twice as many electrodes on the first surface as there are on the second surface.

14. An apparatus according to claim 13 wherein there are at least three times as many electrodes on the first surface as there are on the second surface.

15. An apparatus according to claim 1 that comprises six or more sensor elements.

16. An apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising a heater.

17. An apparatus according to claim 1 that is a unitary body.

18. An apparatus according to claim 1 that is a multi-layer laminate.

19. An apparatus according to claim 1 that has a plurality of surfaces, and wherein sensor elements are located on more than one of the surfaces.

20. An apparatus according to claim 19 wherein at least four sensor elements are located on each of two surfaces.

21. An apparatus according to claim 19 wherein electrodes are located at least one of the surfaces.

22. An apparatus according to claim 19 wherein no surface contains an electrode.

23. A gas-sensitive apparatus comprising (a) four or more sensor elements, (b) a first electrode that contacts at least one member of a first group of sensor elements, and (c) a second electrode that contacts at least one member of the first group of sensor elements and at least one member of a second group of sensor elements, wherein no member of the first group of sensor elements is a member of the second group of sensor elements.

24. An apparatus according to claim 23 wherein the first electrode contacts more than one member of the first group of sensor elements.

25. An apparatus according to claim 23 wherein the first electrode contacts each member of the first group of sensor elements.

26. An apparatus according to claim 23 that comprises a third group of sensor elements wherein the second electrode contacts at least one member of the third group of sensor elements.

27. An apparatus according to claim 26 wherein no member of the first group of sensor elements is a member of the third group of sensor elements.

28. An apparatus according to claim 26 wherein no member of the second group of sensor elements is a member of the third group of sensor elements.

29. An apparatus according to claim 23 further comprising a third electrode that contacts at least one member of the second group of sensor elements.

30. An apparatus according to claim 29 wherein the third electrode contacts more than one member of the second group of sensor elements.

31. An apparatus according to claim 29 wherein the third electrode contacts each member of the second group of sensor elements.

32. An apparatus according to claim 26 further comprising a fourth electrode that contacts at least one member of the second group of sensor elements, and at least one member of the third group of sensor elements.

33. An apparatus according to claim 26 further comprising a fifth electrode that contacts at least one member of the third group of sensor elements.

34. An apparatus according to claim 33 wherein the fifth electrode contacts more than one member of the third group of sensor elements.

35. An apparatus according to claim 33 wherein the fifth electrode contacts each member of the third group of sensor elements.

36. An apparatus according to claim 26 that comprises a fourth group of sensor elements wherein the second electrode contacts at least one member of a fourth group of sensor elements, and no member of the first group of sensor elements is a member of the fourth group of sensor elements.

42. An apparatus according to claim 23 that comprises at least 6 sensor elements.

43. An apparatus according to claim 23 that comprises at least 8 sensor elements.

44. An apparatus according to claim 23 that is a unitary body.

45. An apparatus according to claim 23 that is a multi-layer laminate.

46. An apparatus according to claim 23 that has a plurality of surfaces, and wherein sensor elements are located on more than one of the surfaces.

37. An apparatus according to claim 37 wherein no member of the second group of sensor elements is a member of the fourth group of sensor elements.

38. An apparatus according to claim 37 wherein no member of the third group of sensor elements is a member of the fourth group of sensor elements.

39. An apparatus according to claim 37 further comprising a sixth electrode that contacts at least one member of the fourth group of sensor elements.

40. An apparatus according to claim 40 wherein the sixth electrode contacts more than one member of the fourth group of sensor elements.

41. An apparatus according to claim 40 wherein the sixth electrode contacts each member of the fourth group of sensor elements.

47. An apparatus according to claim 47 wherein at least four sensor elements are located on each of two surfaces.

48. An apparatus according to claim 47 wherein electrodes are located at least one surface.

49. An apparatus according to claim 47 wherein no surface contains an electrode.