Instrument, system and method for automated low cost atmospheric measurements
First Claim
1. ) An apparatus for measuring ozone in the atmosphere, comprising:
- (a) a fiber optic cable having a first end and a second end;
(b) a collimating lens having narrow field of view coupled to the first end of the fiber optic cable, wherein light from a Sun is capable of being funneled into the fiber-optic medium and is transmitted through the fiber optic cable, wherein the narrow field of view is in the range of from about 1°
to about 45°
;
(c) a spectrometer having a ultra-violet/visible light (“
UV/VIS”
) channel coupled to the second end of the fiber optic cable;
(d) an optical bandpass filter coupled to the fiber optic cable interposing the first end and the second end of the fiber optic cable; and
(e) a pan-and-tilt positioning unit having a pan-axis capable of tracking an azimuth angle of the Sun, and a tilt-axis capable of tracking an elevation angle of the Sun, wherein pan-and-tilt positioning unit further comprises a means for mounting the collimating lens.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus and method for measuring ozone in the atmosphere. The apparatus utilizes a fiber optic cable connected to a collimating lens located outdoors and a spectrometer that is located indoors. A pan-and-tilt positioning unit having a pan-axis capable of tracking an azimuth angle of the Sun, and a tilt-axis capable of tracking an elevation angle of the Sun, is utilized for automatically pointing the collimating lens directly at the Sun and taking readings for column ozone determination on any given day of the year. The apparatus and method utilizes a computer that is in electrical communication with the spectrometer and the pan-and-tilt unit.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. ) An apparatus for measuring ozone in the atmosphere, comprising:
-
(a) a fiber optic cable having a first end and a second end;
(b) a collimating lens having narrow field of view coupled to the first end of the fiber optic cable, wherein light from a Sun is capable of being funneled into the fiber-optic medium and is transmitted through the fiber optic cable, wherein the narrow field of view is in the range of from about 1°
to about 45°
;
(c) a spectrometer having a ultra-violet/visible light (“
UV/VIS”
) channel coupled to the second end of the fiber optic cable;
(d) an optical bandpass filter coupled to the fiber optic cable interposing the first end and the second end of the fiber optic cable; and
(e) a pan-and-tilt positioning unit having a pan-axis capable of tracking an azimuth angle of the Sun, and a tilt-axis capable of tracking an elevation angle of the Sun, wherein pan-and-tilt positioning unit further comprises a means for mounting the collimating lens. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. ) A method for measuring ozone in the atmosphere, comprising:
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(a) initializing an outdoor pan-and-tilt positioning unit having a pan-axis capable of tracking an azimuth angle of a Sun, and a tilt-axis capable of tracking an elevation angle of the Sun, wherein the outdoor pan-and-tilt positioning unit comprises a mounted collimating lens that is coupled to an indoor spectrometer through a fiber optic cable, and the outdoor pan-and-tilt positioning unit is in electrical communication with a computer capable of controlling the pan-axis and the tilt-axis using software through an interface;
(b) using the software for calculating the azimuth angle of the Sun and the elevation of the Sun for a date, time, and location, creating a calculated azimuth angle and a calculated elevation angle of the Sun;
(c) pointing the mounted collimating lens toward the Sun by controlling the pan-axis and the tilt-axis with the computer using software through the interface, wherein mounted collimating lens is pointed toward the calculated azimuth angle and the calculated elevation angle of the Sun, (d) fine-positioning the collimating lens toward the Sun by programing a series of fine movements of the pan-axis and the tilt-axis until the light intensity striking the collimating lens has a maximum signal of about 330 nm for a filtered spectrum of sunlight having a range of about 260-340 nm;
(e) gathering spectrometer data for calculating column ozone base upon Lambert-Beer-Bouguer Law, and calculating column ozone, forming a calculated column ozone value;
(f) averaging the calculated column ozone value for each time step (e) is completed, forming an average column ozone value;
(g) repeating step (b) at least once before proceeding to step (h); and
(h) recording the average column ozone value. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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Specification