ALCOHOLIC BREATH SIMULATOR

• US 3,854,319 A
• Filed: 10/16/1972
• Issued: 12/17/1974
• Est. Priority Date: 10/16/1972
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Alcohol Countermeasure Systems Corp.
• Original Assignee: James E. Burroughs, Joseph P. Hoppesch
• Inventors: Hoppesch, Joseph P., Burroughs, James E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Swisher, S. Clement
• Application Number:
  US05/298,082
• Time in Patent Office: 792 Days
• Field of Search: 73/1R 23/232R,253R 261/95,96,94
• US Class Current: 73/1.03
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/0006 Calibrating gas analysers
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/4972 Determining alcohol content for vehicle safety devices B60K28/06

Abstract

A breath sample, having a fixed known alcohol content, is useful for calibrating or checking the performance of an alcoholic breath analyzer. Such a standard alcoholic breath sample may be simulated by blowing non-alccoholic breath through an elongated enclosure maintained at a given temperature and containing alcohol vapor continuously generated from an abosrbent material impregnated with an alcohol-water solution. The breath produced at the enclosure'"'"''"'"'s outlet will constitute a simulated breath sample having a known alcohol concentration.

Claims

1. A device useful in simulating alcoholic breath to calibrate breath analyzers, comprising:

a disposable, elongated sealed enclosure containing an absorbent material which has been impregnated with a solution including ethyl alcohol to produce a concentration of alcohol vapor within said enclosure, the alcohol-impregnated absorbent material substantially filling said enclosure but providing ample air passages to permit the free flow of breath through the enclosure under normal breath pressures, the ends of said enclosure being pierceable in order that a simulated breath sample, having a known alcohol concentration, will evolve from one end of said enclosure in responSe to blowing of alcohol-free breath at normal breath pressures into the other end when said enclosure is maintained at a given temperature, the alcohol-free breath displacing the alcohol vapor produced by the alcohol-impregnated absorbent material.

2. An alcoholic breath simulator comprising:

a disposable, sealed enclosure containing an absorbent material which has been impregnated with a solution including ethyl alcohol to produce a concentration of alcohol vapor within said enclosure, the alcohol-impregnated absorbent material substantially filling said sealed enclosure but providing ample air passages to permit the free flow of breath through the enclosure under normal breath pressures; and

means for piercing said sealed enclosure at two different locations and providing an inlet at one location and an outlet at the other location, blowing of alcohol-free breath at normal breath pressures into said inlet resulting, when said enclosure is maintained at a given temperature, in the displacement of the alcohol vapor and the development and delivery at said outlet of a standard alcohol-gas sample to provide a simulated breath sample having a known alcohol concentration.

3. An alcoholic breath simulator according to claim 2 in which said sealed enclosure is an elongated tube, in one end of which said inlet is inserted while said outlet is inserted in the outer end.

4. An alcoholic breath simulator according to claim 2 in which said inlet and said outlet each includes a pointed metallic tube for piercing said sealed enclosure.

5. An alcoholic breath simulator according to claim 2 in which said enclosure is a cylindrical glass tube the ends of which are sealed with plastic films which are pierceable to permit the insertion of said inlet at one end and said outlet at the other.