Wave shape chemical analysis apparatus and method
First Claim
1. An apparatus for measuring the concentration of a chemical in a test sample, said apparatus comprising:
- electromagnetic waveform generation means for generating an electromagnetic signal having a periodic waveform of known shape;
antenna means coupled to said waveform generation means for transmitting said electromagnetic signal into the test sample and for receiving a corresponding periodic electromagnetic signal having a waveform with a shape changed from said known shape as a result of propagation of said electromagnetic signal through the test sample; and
detection means coupled to said antenna means and responsive to the transmitted and received electromagnetic signals for quantifying the change in shape of said received electromagnetic signal with respect to said known shape of said transmitted electromagnetic signal, said detection means further being formed to determine the concentration of the chemical in the test sample by correlation of the magnitude of the change in shape relative to a known concentration of the chemical from calibration test samples.
6 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus and method for measuring the concentration of a chemical substance in a test sample based on a technique of waveform distortion analysis is disclosed. The apparatus includes a waveform generator that generates a periodic signal, an antenna probe that transmits the signal into the test sample and receives from the test sample a corresponding periodic signal, the waveform of which has been distorted or otherwise transformed by the chemical, and a detector circuit that quantifies the transformation of the signal to determine the concentration of the chemical in the test sample. The waveform shape and frequency are selected so that the transformation is particularly responsive to the presence of a selected chemical substance, so that the magnitude of the distortion or transformation of the signal is directly related to the concentration of the selected chemical substance.
54 Citations
21 Claims
-
1. An apparatus for measuring the concentration of a chemical in a test sample, said apparatus comprising:
-
electromagnetic waveform generation means for generating an electromagnetic signal having a periodic waveform of known shape; antenna means coupled to said waveform generation means for transmitting said electromagnetic signal into the test sample and for receiving a corresponding periodic electromagnetic signal having a waveform with a shape changed from said known shape as a result of propagation of said electromagnetic signal through the test sample; and detection means coupled to said antenna means and responsive to the transmitted and received electromagnetic signals for quantifying the change in shape of said received electromagnetic signal with respect to said known shape of said transmitted electromagnetic signal, said detection means further being formed to determine the concentration of the chemical in the test sample by correlation of the magnitude of the change in shape relative to a known concentration of the chemical from calibration test samples. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
-
-
9. An apparatus for measuring the concentration of sodium chloride in a test sample, said apparatus comprising:
-
waveform generation means for generating an electromagnetic signal having a periodic substantially square waveform and a frequency selected with reference to sodium chloride in order to enhance the magnitude of the change in shape of said waveform during propagation in the test sample; antenna means coupled to said waveform generation means for transmitting said electromagnetic signal into the test sample and for receiving a corresponding periodic electromagnetic signal from the test sample, wherein the waveform of said electromagnetic signal is changed in shape by said sodium chloride as said electromagnetic signal propagates through the test sample; and detection means responsive to the transmitted and received electromagnetic signals for quantifying the change in shape of said electromagnetic received signal with respect to said transmitted electromagnetic signal to determine the concentration of sodium chloride in the test sample, wherein the magnitude of the change of shape is related to the concentration of sodium chloride in the test sample. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12)
-
-
13. An apparatus for measuring the presence of a chemical in a test sample, said apparatus comprising:
-
electromagnetic signal generation means formed for generating an electromagnetic signal having a periodic waveform and a shape and frequency selected with reference to the chemical to be measured; electromagnetic signal transmission means coupled to said electromagnetic signal generation means for transmitting said electromagnetic signal into the test sample; electromagnetic signal receiving means spaced apart from said transmission means for receiving said electromagnetic signal after it has propagated through the test sample for distortion of the shape of said electromagnetic signal upon the presence of the chemical in the test sample; and detection means responsive to the transmitted and received electromagnetic signals for detecting the distortion of the shape of said electromagnetic signal upon the presence of the chemical in the test sample and indicating the presence of the chemical upon detecting distortion of the shape of said electromagnetic signal.
-
-
14. A method for detecting the presence of a chemical in a test sample, said method comprising the steps of:
-
generating an electromagnetic signal having a periodic waveform and transmitting said electromagnetic signal through a portion of the test sample; receiving said electromagnetic signal after it has passed through the test sample; and detecting any change in shape of said electromagnetic signal, as a result of passing through the test sample and correlating said transformation of the shape to the presence of the chemical in the test sample. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16)
-
-
17. A method for tuning an apparatus for measuring the concentration of a chemical in a test sample, wherein said apparatus includes electromagnetic waveform generation means for generating an electromagnetic signal having a periodic waveform of known shape, includes antenna means coupled to the waveform generation means for transmitting the electromagnetic signal into the test sample and for receiving from the test sample a periodic electromagnetic signal having a changed shape from said known shape that results from the electromagnetic signal propagating through the test sample, and includes detection means responsive to the transmitted and received electromagnetic signals for quantifying the change in shape of the electromagnetic signal, said method comprising the steps of:
-
inserting the antenna means into a test sample containing a representative amount of the chemical; monitoring the amount of change in shape of the received electromagnetic signal with respect to the transmitted electromagnetic signal while varying the frequency of the transmitted electromagnetic signal through a range of frequencies; selecting for use as the frequency of the transmitted electromagnetic signal in using the apparatus to measure the concentration of the chemical that frequency which causes the greatest amount of change in shape of the signal due to the presence of the chemical in the test sample; and monitoring the amount of change of shape of the received electromagnetic signal with respect to the transmitted electromagnetic signal while varying the waveform shape of the transmitted electromagnetic signal, and selecting for use as the waveform shape of the transmitted electromagnetic signal in using the apparatus to measure the concentration of the chemical that waveform shape which causes the greatest amount of change of shape of the electromagnetic signal due to the presence of the chemical in the test sample.
-
-
18. A method for measuring the concentration of sodium chloride in a test sample comprising the steps of:
-
generating an electromagnetic signal having a periodic waveform of known shape and a frequency of between about fifteen and nineteen megahertz; transmitting said electromagnetic signal through a portion of said test sample; receiving said electromagnetic signal after it has passed through said test sample; detecting changes in shape of the received electromagnetic signal as compared to said known shape; and quantifying said changes in shape and correlating the quantified changes in shape with a concentration of sodium chloride. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21)
-
Specification