Portable fluid screening device and method
First Claim
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1. A portable fluid screening device, comprising:
- a hand-held sized portable housing;
a sensor operatively coupled to the housing for holding the fluid;
circuitry within the housing and operatively coupled to the sensor for measuring a dielectric property of the fluid at each of a plurality of discrete frequency ranges, wherein at least two of the plurality of discrete frequency ranges are in the audio frequency band;
processing means within the housing for determining a condition of the fluid based on the dielectric property of the fluid measured at the plurality of discrete frequency ranges; and
a display within the housing which displays information indicative of the determined condition of the fluid.
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Abstract
This invention relates to a fluid screening device, comprising: an impedance sensor including a cavity for holding a fluid to be screened, an impedance of the impedance sensor being affected by conditions of the fluid; an impedance measuring circuit for measuring the impedance of the impedance sensor with respect to at least one frequency; a processor for processing impedance data taken by the impedance measuring circuit for purposes of determining a condition of the fluid; and a connector which operatively couples the impedance sensor to the impedance measuring circuit, the connector allowing the impedance sensor to be selectively detached from the impedance measuring circuit.
104 Citations
30 Claims
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1. A portable fluid screening device, comprising:
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a hand-held sized portable housing; a sensor operatively coupled to the housing for holding the fluid; circuitry within the housing and operatively coupled to the sensor for measuring a dielectric property of the fluid at each of a plurality of discrete frequency ranges, wherein at least two of the plurality of discrete frequency ranges are in the audio frequency band; processing means within the housing for determining a condition of the fluid based on the dielectric property of the fluid measured at the plurality of discrete frequency ranges; and a display within the housing which displays information indicative of the determined condition of the fluid. - View Dependent Claims (4, 9, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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2. A method of screening a fluid for contaminants, comprising the steps of:
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using the fluid as a dielectric; measuring a dielectric property of the fluid in each of a plurality of discrete frequency ranges, wherein the measuring step further comprises; measuring the dielectric property of the fluid at a frequency within a first discrete frequency range, wherein the first discrete frequency range is in the audio frequency band; measuring the dielectric property of the fluid at a frequency within a second discrete frequency range wherein the second discrete frequency range is in the audio frequency band and is different than the first discrete frequency range; determining a condition of the fluid based on the dielectric property of the fluid measured at the plurality of discrete frequency ranges; and displaying information indicative of the determined condition of the fluid. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24)
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3. A fluid screening device, comprising:
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a hand-held sized portable housing; an impedance sensor operatively coupled to the housing and including a cavity for holding a fluid to be screened, an impedance of the impedance sensor being affected by conditions of the fluid; an impedance measuring circuit within the housing and operatively coupled to the impedance sensor for measuring the impedance of the impedance sensor at a plurality of discrete frequencies, wherein at least two of the plurality of discrete frequencies are in the audio frequency band; a processor within the housing for processing impedance data taken by the impedance measuring circuit and determining a condition of the fluid; and a display within the housing for displaying information indicative of the determined condition of the fluid. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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25. The method of claim wherein measuring the dielectric property of the fluid at each of the plurality of discrete frequency ranges comprises:
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placing the fluid in a capacitive-type sensor, wherein the fluid forms the dielectric of the capacitive-type sensor and contributes to a capacitance thereof; coupling the capacitive-type sensor to an oscillator circuit, wherein the capacitance of the capacitive-type sensor influences an oscillation frequency of the oscillation circuit; and identifying the oscillation frequency of the oscillation circuit in each of the plurality of discrete frequency ranges. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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Specification