Method and system for diffusion attenuated total reflection based concentration sensing
First Claim
1. A system for measuring light absorption levels for a liquid for use in a ink jet printing system, the system comprising:
- a light source operable to provide a light beam;
a container adapted to receive a liquid, the container including an opening to provide access to the liquid, the liquid including a light absorption level;
a prism disposed over the opening, the prism being operable to direct at least a first portion of the light beam toward the opening to the liquid such that the at least a portion of the first portion of the light beam is reflected back from the liquid forming an attenuated beam;
a detector operable to measure at least one of at least a portion of the attenuated beam and a second portion of the light beam, the detector being operable to produce at least one of a liquid measurement signal that is related to the light absorption level of the liquid from the portion of the attenuated beam and a reference signal from the second portion of the light beam; and
a device operable to compute a ratio of the liquid measurement signal to the reference signal to determine a signal ratio, wherein the signal ratio is related to the light absorption level of the liquid.
9 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system for measuring light absorption levels includes a light source providing a light beam and a container for a liquid. The container includes an opening to provide access to the liquid. A prism is disposed over the opening and is operable to direct at least a first portion of the light beam toward the opening to the liquid such that the at least a portion of the first portion of the light beam is reflected back from the liquid forming an attenuated beam. A detector is operable to measure at least one of a portion of the attenuated beam and a second portion of the light beam. The detector is operable to produce at least one of a liquid measurement signal and a reference signal. A device is operable to compute a ratio of the liquid measurement signal to the reference signal to determine a signal ratio.
-
Citations
17 Claims
-
1. A system for measuring light absorption levels for a liquid for use in a ink jet printing system, the system comprising:
-
a light source operable to provide a light beam;
a container adapted to receive a liquid, the container including an opening to provide access to the liquid, the liquid including a light absorption level;
a prism disposed over the opening, the prism being operable to direct at least a first portion of the light beam toward the opening to the liquid such that the at least a portion of the first portion of the light beam is reflected back from the liquid forming an attenuated beam;
a detector operable to measure at least one of at least a portion of the attenuated beam and a second portion of the light beam, the detector being operable to produce at least one of a liquid measurement signal that is related to the light absorption level of the liquid from the portion of the attenuated beam and a reference signal from the second portion of the light beam; and
a device operable to compute a ratio of the liquid measurement signal to the reference signal to determine a signal ratio, wherein the signal ratio is related to the light absorption level of the liquid. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
-
-
11. A method of measuring light absorption levels for a liquid for use in a ink jet printing system, the method comprising:
-
providing a light beam using a light source;
providing a container adapted to receive a liquid, the container including an opening to provide access to the liquid, the liquid including a light absorption level;
providing a prism disposed over the opening;
directing at least a first portion of the light beam using the prism toward the opening to the liquid such that the at least a portion of the first portion of the light beam is reflected back from the liquid forming an attenuated beam;
measuring at least one of at least a portion of the attenuated beam and a second portion of the light beam using a detector;
producing at least one of a liquid measurement signal that is related to the light absorption level of the liquid from the portion of the attenuated beam and a reference signal from the second portion of the light beam using the detector; and
computing a ratio of the liquid measurement signal to the reference signal to determine a signal ratio, wherein the signal ratio is related to the light absorption level of the liquid. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
-
Specification