Analytical sensor system for field use
First Claim
1. A piezoelectric analytical sensor system comprising:
- a piezoelectric crystal having a surface, said crystal having a base oscillation frequency responsive to an analyte;
a crystal resonator in mechanical communication with said crystal;
an electronic circuit for measuring a vibrational frequency of said crystal and relating the vibrational frequency relative to the base oscillation frequency to a quantity of the analyte in contact with the surface; and
a modular interface in electrical communication with said electronic circuit, said interface adapted to engage an electronic device and derive power from said electronic device.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A piezoelectric analytical sensor system is provided that includes a piezoelectric crystal having a sensing surface. The piezoelectric crystal is driven at a base oscillation frequency that is responsive to an analyte interacting with the sensing surface of the crystal. A crystal resonator in mechanical communication with the crystal drives the crystal at the base oscillation frequency. An electronic circuit is provided for measuring a vibrational frequency of the crystal and relating the vibrational frequency to a quantity of the analyte in contact with the sensing surface of the piezoelectric crystal. A modular interface in electrical communication with the electronic circuit is provided to engage an electronic device and derive power from that electronic device.
66 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A piezoelectric analytical sensor system comprising:
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a piezoelectric crystal having a surface, said crystal having a base oscillation frequency responsive to an analyte;
a crystal resonator in mechanical communication with said crystal;
an electronic circuit for measuring a vibrational frequency of said crystal and relating the vibrational frequency relative to the base oscillation frequency to a quantity of the analyte in contact with the surface; and
a modular interface in electrical communication with said electronic circuit, said interface adapted to engage an electronic device and derive power from said electronic device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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6. The system of clam 1 wherein said electronic circuit is in a format selected from the group consisting of:
- compact flash and PCMCIA.
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14. A process for operating a piezoelectric analytical sensor system to determine an analyte mass comprising:
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driving a piezoelectric crystal having a surface at base oscillation frequency responsive to the analyte mass;
exposing said piezoelectric crystal to an analyte for sufficient time for the analyte mass to adhere to the surface;
sampling the oscillation frequency for a first time interval to yield a first analog pulse count;
converting the first analog pulse count to a first digital signal;
sampling the oscillation frequency for a second time interval to yield a second analog pulse count;
converting the second analog pulse count to a second digital signal;
calculating the analyte mass as a fit between the first digital signal defined as a number of overruns of said counter bit capacity and a first remainder and the second digital signal defined as a number of overruns of said counter bit capacity and a second remainder. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification