Portable controlled air sampler
First Claim
1. Apparatus for obtaining gas samples from a monitored environment during differing time intervals comprising plural sample holders, means for drawing gas from the environment, valve means for supplying the drawn gas to the different sample holders at mutually exclusive times, andmeans for programming the valve means on a chronological basis, said programming means including means for independently controlling for each of the different sample holders the time when said valve means starts supplying drawn gas to the sample holder, the time when said valve means stops supplying drawn gas to the sample holder, and the sample interval between when said valve means starts and stops supplying said drawn gas to the sample holder.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A portable analyzer for obtaining samples from a monitored environment during different time intervals includes a pump energized by a rechargeable battery pack for drawing gas from the environment selectively into plural sample holding bags and an impact filter. The pump is programmed to control the time when the gas is drawn from the environment and for controlling the flow to the sample holders so that different ones of the sample holders are responsive to the materials at the same or different times. The pump may respond to electric pulses, causing pulses of air to be supplied to the sample holding bags. The pump derives pulses having a rate directly proportional to the number of pump cycles. The pump may also operate continuously with sampling of the gases being controlled electronically. Operation of the pump is prevented in response to the battery pack voltage dropping to a level such that the voltage is less than a predetermined value, necessary to provide a predetermined flow rate per pump cycle. Operation of the pump is also prevented if the gas flow rate drops below a predetermined level. These prevent features can be manually overridden.
45 Citations
26 Claims
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1. Apparatus for obtaining gas samples from a monitored environment during differing time intervals comprising plural sample holders, means for drawing gas from the environment, valve means for supplying the drawn gas to the different sample holders at mutually exclusive times, and
means for programming the valve means on a chronological basis, said programming means including means for independently controlling for each of the different sample holders the time when said valve means starts supplying drawn gas to the sample holder, the time when said valve means stops supplying drawn gas to the sample holder, and the sample interval between when said valve means starts and stops supplying said drawn gas to the sample holder.
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2. A portable device for obtaining samples from a monitored environment during differing time intervals comprising a rechargeable battery pack, means energized by the battery pack for drawing gas from the environment, plural sample holders for materials in the drawn gas, one of said sample holders being for particulates in the environment, others of said sample holders being for gases in the environment, and
said gas drawing means including programmed means for controlling the time the gas is drawn from the environment and for controlling the flow to the sample holders so that different ones of the sample holders are responsive to the materials at different times, said programmed means including means for independently controlling for each of the different sample holders the time when said drawing means starts supplying drawn gas to the sample holder, the time when said drawing means stops supplying drawn gas to the sample holder, and the sample interval between when said drawing means starts and stops supplying said drawn gas to the sample holder.
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26. Apparatus for obtaining gas samples from a monitored environment during differing time intervals comprising plural sample holders, means for drawing gas from the environment, means for filtering particles from the drawn gas, valve means for supplying the drawn gas to the different sample holders, and
means for programming the valve means on a chronological basis, said programming means including means for independently controlling for each of the different sample holders the time when said valve means starts supplying drawn gas to the sample holder, the time when said valve means stops supplying drawn gas to the sample holder, and the sample interval between when said valve means starts and stops supplying said drawn gas to the sample holder.
Specification