INFRARED GAS DETECTION SYSTEMS AND METHODS
First Claim
1. A gas monitoring system including a TPIR detector, operatively arranged for a sensing operation comprising any of:
- (a) sensing of a multicomponent gas to determine a concentration of a component therein other than a component detectible by the TPIR detector;
(b) sensing of gas in a cell having a multiplicity of zones therein defined using fiber optic cables to provide a multiplicity of gas sensing paths within the cell;
(c) sensing with a modulated infrared radiation source switched in on/off cycles;
(d) sensing of a fluid sampled from a supply package to verify identity of fluid contained within said supply package;
(e) sensing of effluent from an environment after treatment to remove contaminants therefrom; and
(f) sensing of effluent from a cold trap system to determine when a cold trap has been loaded and requires regeneration.
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Abstract
Thermopile-based detection and monitoring/control systems are described, in applications such as inferring concentration of a multicomponent gas by sensing a tracer gas therein, utilizing fiber optic cables to provide multiple sensing paths in a cell, utilizing a modulated IR source switched in on/off cycles, verifying chemical reagent identities, and sensing of effluent following discharge from a contamination removal 8 element or cold trap. A thermopile infrared (TPIR) detector of highly compact character is described for such applications, and permits monitoring of species that may be problematic or otherwise deleterious in such environments. In one implementation, light source modulation and signal processing techniques are employed to improve signal to noise ratio and minimize calibration and complexity of the TPIR detector.
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Citations
32 Claims
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1. A gas monitoring system including a TPIR detector, operatively arranged for a sensing operation comprising any of:
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(a) sensing of a multicomponent gas to determine a concentration of a component therein other than a component detectible by the TPIR detector;
(b) sensing of gas in a cell having a multiplicity of zones therein defined using fiber optic cables to provide a multiplicity of gas sensing paths within the cell;
(c) sensing with a modulated infrared radiation source switched in on/off cycles;
(d) sensing of a fluid sampled from a supply package to verify identity of fluid contained within said supply package;
(e) sensing of effluent from an environment after treatment to remove contaminants therefrom; and
(f) sensing of effluent from a cold trap system to determine when a cold trap has been loaded and requires regeneration. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 32)
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15. A method of gas sensing comprising any of:
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(a) sensing of a multicomponent gas to determine a concentration of a component therein other than a component detectible by the TPIR detector;
(b) sensing of gas in a cell having a multiplicity of zones therein defined using fiber optic cables to provide a multiplicity of gas sensing paths within the cell;
(c) sensing with a modulated infrared radiation source switched in on/off cycles;
(d) sensing of a fluid for verification of identity thereof in a supply package containing such fluid;
(e) sensing of effluent from an environment after treatment to remove contaminants therefrom; and
(f) sensing of effluent from a cold trap system to determine when a cold trap has been loaded and requires regeneration, wherein the sensing comprises thermopile detection of radiation in an infrared spectral regime. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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Specification