SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR AUTOMATICALLY ADJUSTING GAS SENSOR SETTINGS AND PARAMETERS

• US 20120192623A1
• Filed: 01/31/2011
• Published: 08/02/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Teledyne Detcon, Inc. (Teledyne Technologies Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Scott Technologies, Inc. (3M Company)
• Inventors: Adami, Fatos, DeBlasio, Nicholas Anthony, McLendon, Byron Eugene, Mealy, Stephen Edwin Jr., Merkel, Keli Chalfant, Propst, Edward Russell Jr.
• Granted Patent: US 9,075,029 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 73/31.05
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 18/002 Automatic recalibration G01D18/008 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 4/004 Remote reading of utility meters to a fixed location
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/0006 Calibrating gas analysers
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/0009 General constructional details of gas analysers, e.g. portable test equipment G01N1/22 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/0031 comprising two or more sensors, e.g. a sensor array electrochemical electrode arrays G01N27/27
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/007 Arrangements to check the analyser calibrating G01N33/0006

Abstract

A system and method are disclosed including an automatic sensor excitation voltage adjustment feature, a multi-range concentration feature, and a single calibration feature. The automatic sensor excitation voltage adjustment feature may include a transmitter having an associated microprocessor that provides an initial voltage to an associated sensor. The sensor may include a microprocessor, and as the voltage changes a correction signal may be relayed from the sensor microprocessor to the transmitter microprocessor. The correction signal may be used by the transmitter microprocessor to adjust the voltage applied to the sensor. The multi-range concentration sensor feature may include an amplifier associated with the sensor/microprocessor to create gain settings used to optimize sensor resolution by changing a gain value associated with the sensor. This, in turn, enables a single sensor to be used for a variety of different concentration ranges, as desired by a user. The single calibration feature enables a sensor to be calibrated at a single gas concentration value, and thereafter be used for a variety of different concentration range applications. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

Claims

1. A system for detecting the presence of a gas, comprising:

a transmitter portion;

a sensor portion; and

a variable voltage supply associated with the transmitter portion and the sensor portion, the transmitter portion to receive information from the sensor portion regarding a received voltage, the transmitter portion to adjust the supplied voltage in response to the information received from the sensor portion.

2. The system of claim 1, the variable voltage supply comprising at least one potentiometer.

3. The system of claim 2, comprising a plurality of potentiometers to enable coarse and fine voltage adjustment.

4. The system of claim 1, the transmitter portion for transmitting information received from the sensor portion to a wired or wireless network.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the transmitted information includes an identity of at least one sensed gas, and a concentration of the at least one sensed gas.

6. The system of claim 2, comprising a processor associated with the transmitter to set at least one of the plurality of potentiometers to a default value.

7. The system of claim 6, comprising a processor associated with the sensor to communicate to the transmitter processor a value of a voltage required by the sensor.

8. A method for adjusting sensor excitation voltage, comprising:

providing, at a transmitter portion, an operating voltage to a sensor portion;

receiving, at the transmitter, a signal from the sensor portion indicating a voltage required for operation of the sensor portion; and

adjusting, at the transmitter, the operating voltage provided to the sensor portion.

9. The method of claim 8, comprising adjusting the operating voltage using a variable voltage supply.

10. The method of claim 9, the variable voltage supply including at least one potentiometer.

11. The method of claim 10, the at least one potentiometer comprising first and second potentiometers, the first potentiometer for coarse voltage adjustment and the second potentiometer for fine voltage adjustment.

12. The method of claim 11, comprising transmitting information received from the sensor portion to a wired or wireless network.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the transmitted information includes an identity of at least one sensed gas, and a concentration of the at least one sensed gas.

14. The method of claim 10, comprising setting at least one of the plurality of potentiometers to a default value.

15. A universal gas sensor/transmitter unit, comprising:

a sensor portion including a sensor kernel and a processor configured to read a received excitation voltage; and

a transmitter portion having a recess configured to engage the external surface geometry of the sensor, the transmitter including a transmitter processor and at least one power supply circuit for providing adjustable power to the sensor when the enclosure is engaged with a recess of the transmitter;

the adjustable power supply circuit including at least one potentiometer controllable by the processor to adjust a power supplied to the sensor portion.

16. The universal gas sensor/transmitter unit of claim 15, the sensor portion including a sensor processor having an associated memory, the memory including a value representative of an excitation voltage of the sensor kernel.

17. The universal gas sensor/transmitter of claim 16, the sensor processor operable to transmit the value representative of an excitation voltage of the sensor kernel to the transmitter processor.

18. The universal gas sensor/transmitter of claim 17, the transmitter processor operable to determine a power supplied from the transmitter unit, compare a value of the supplied power to the value representative of an excitation voltage of the sensor kernel, and to make adjustments when the supplied power is different from the value representative of an excitation voltage of the sensor kernel.

19. The universal gas sensor/transmitter of claim 16, the memory containing operational history information for the sensor portion.

20. The universal gas sensor/transmitter of claim 15, the external surface geometry of the sensor portion having a recess for receiving a seal member to seal the external surface geometry of the sensor portion to the recess of the transmitter portion.

21. A method for calibrating a sensor, comprising:

setting an original zero offset and a spanning of a sensor at a first gain setting;

obtaining a zero offset at a second gain setting;

obtaining a ratio of the original zero offset to the zero offset at the second gain setting; and

scaling a calibration factor by the ratio to enable operation of the sensor in an operating range associated with the second gain setting.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the spanning represents 50% of a full scale range of the sensor.

23. The method of claim 21, wherein said scaling a calibration factor comprises re-ranging the sensor and scaling a calibration of the sensor.

24. A method for providing replacement guidance for a sensor, comprising:

determining a reduction of sensitivity for a sensor,

trending said reduction of sensitivity over time, and

adjusting a gain parameter associated with said sensor to compensate for said reduction of sensitivity.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein adjusting comprises selecting a gain value from a table of gain values.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein adjusting gain parameters comprises automatically selecting a gain value from said table.

27. The method of claim 25, wherein adjusting gain parameters comprises a user selection of a gain value from said table.

28. A method for adjusting an operating range for a sensor, comprising:

providing an amplifier associated with said sensor;

providing a table of gain settings for said amplifier; and

selecting a gain setting from said table to optimize a resolution in an analog to digital converter associated with the sensor;

wherein selecting a gain setting adjusts the sensor to one of a plurality of pre-determined operating ranges.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein selecting a gain setting sets the sensor for operation in a discrete operating range.

30. The method of claim 28, wherein selecting a gain setting is performed in response to a user input.