Vehicle particulate sensor system
First Claim
1. An apparatus for measuring particles in a gas, comprising:
- (A) a transmitter adapted to provide a source of ultraviolet radiation, the source of radiation being a laser, the radiation traveling through the gas and impinging on the particles in the gas generating a backscattered radiation, the radiation being terminated by a beam terminus, the transmitter generating a timing signal;
(B) a receiver located in proximity of the transmitter, the receiver adapted to receive the backscattered radiation and to generate a backscattered signal indicative of the quantity of particles entrained in the gas; and
(C) a data system connected to the receiver, the data system adapted to receive the timing signal and the backscattered signal as an input and to calculate a quantity of particles in the gas at a location from the transmitter.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus for measuring particles in an exhaust gas of a vehicle. A transmitter is adapted to provide a source of ultraviolet radiation. The radiation travels through the gas and impinges upon the particles in the gas generating a backscattered radiation. The transmitter also generates a timing signal. A receiver is located in proximity of the transmitter. The receiver is adapted to receive the backscattered radiation and to generate a backscattered signal indicative of the quantity of particles entrained in the gas. A data system is connected to the receiver, the data system is adapted to receive the timing signal and the backscattered signal as an input and to calculate a quantity of particles in the gas at a location from the transmitter.
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Citations
30 Claims
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1. An apparatus for measuring particles in a gas, comprising:
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(A) a transmitter adapted to provide a source of ultraviolet radiation, the source of radiation being a laser, the radiation traveling through the gas and impinging on the particles in the gas generating a backscattered radiation, the radiation being terminated by a beam terminus, the transmitter generating a timing signal;
(B) a receiver located in proximity of the transmitter, the receiver adapted to receive the backscattered radiation and to generate a backscattered signal indicative of the quantity of particles entrained in the gas; and
(C) a data system connected to the receiver, the data system adapted to receive the timing signal and the backscattered signal as an input and to calculate a quantity of particles in the gas at a location from the transmitter. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
(A) a telescope to collect the backscattered radiation;
(B) an aperture mounted adjacent the telescope to adjust the field of view of the telescope;
(C) a filter mounted adjacent the aperture to remove unwanted wavelengths of the backscattered radiation; and
(D) a photomultiplier tube mounted adjacent the filter, the photomultiplier tube receiving the backscattered radiation and generating the backscattered signal.
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6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the data system further comprises:
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(A) an analog to digital converter adapted to convert the backscattered signal and the timing signal to digital signals;
(B) a processor connected to the analog to digital converter, the processor adapted to perform calculations on the digital signals.
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7. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:
- a protection system, the protection system comprising;
(A) a pair of optical gates mounted on each side of the transmitter; and
(B) a pair of reflectors mounted on each side of the beam terminus, the optical gates forming an optical path between the reflector and the optical gate, the optical gate turning off the transmitter when the optical path is blocked.
- a protection system, the protection system comprising;
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8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus is mounted adjacent a road with the radiation traveling across the road, the apparatus adapted to measure the particles in an exhaust gas of a vehicle passing on the road.
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9. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein a first measurement of particles is performed prior to the vehicle passing the apparatus and a second measurement of particles is performed after the vehicle passes the apparatus, the first measurement indicative of an ambient density of road dust, the second measurement indicative of the density of particles in the exhaust gas and the density of the road dust.
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10. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the second measurement is subtracted from the first measurement to obtain the density of exhaust particles.
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11. The apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising a carbon dioxide detector, the carbon dioxide detector measuring the concentration of carbon dioxide in the exhaust gas of the vehicle.
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12. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the concentration of carbon dioxide is used to calculate a ratio of the density of exhaust particles to a volume of fuel consumed by the vehicle.
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13. A system for measuring particles from an exhaust gas of a vehicle, the system comprising:
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(A) a laser adapted to provide a source of ultraviolet light, the light passing through the gas, the light impinging upon particles in the gas and generating a backscattered light;
(B) a beam terminus adapted to terminate the light, the beam terminus located along a linear path traveled by the light;
(C) a receiver located adjacent the laser, the receiver adapted to receive the backscattered light and to provide a backscattered light signal that is proportional to the number and size of the particles; and
(D) a data system communicated with the receiver, the data system adapted to receive the backscattered light signal as an input and to provide at least one particle parameter as an output. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A method of measuring particle density in an exhaust gas of a vehicle comprising:
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A) measuring an ambient particle density prior to the vehicle passing a measurement location;
B) allowing the vehicle to pass the measurement location;
C) measuring a first particle density after the vehicle passes; and
D) calculating the particle density of the exhaust gas by subtracting the ambient particle density from the first particle density. - View Dependent Claims (24)
(A) measuring a carbon dioxide level at the measurement location;
(B) calculating a volume of fuel associated with the carbon dioxide level; and
(C) calculating a ratio of particle density per volume of fuel.
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25. A method of measuring particles from an exhaust gas of a vehicle comprising:
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(A) transmitting an ultraviolet light across a vehicle path, the ultraviolet light impinging upon the particles generating a backscattered light;
(B) generating a timing signal;
(C) terminating the ultraviolet light;
(D) receiving the backscattered light;
(E) generating a backscattered signal proportional to the backscattered light; and
(F) calculating a density of particles from the exhaust gas using the timing signal and the backscattered signal. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28)
(A) transmitting the ultraviolet light across the vehicle path prior to the vehicle passing;
(B) calculating an ambient particle density;
(C) transmitting the ultraviolet light across the vehicle path after the vehicle passes;
(D) calculating a first density of particles, the first density of particles being a combination of the ambient particle density and the particle density of the exhaust gas; and
(E) calculating the density of particles of the exhaust gas, the density of particles of the exhaust gas being the difference between the first density of particles and the ambient particle density.
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28. The method according to claim 27, further comprising:
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(A) measuring a carbon dioxide level;
(B) calculating a volume of fuel associated with the carbon dioxide level; and
(C) calculating a ratio of the density of particles in the exhaust gas per the volume of fuel.
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29. A system for measuring particles from an exhaust gas of a vehicle, the system comprising:
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(A) a laser adapted to provide a source of ultraviolet light, the light passing through the gas, the light impinging upon particles in the gas reducing the intensity of the light;
(B) a beam terminus adapted to terminate the light, the beam terminus located along a linear path traveled by the light, the beam terminus generating a reflected light;
(C) a receiver located adjacent the laser, the receiver adapted to receive the reflected light and to provide an electrical signal that is proportional to the number and size of the particles; and
(D) a data system communicated with the receiver, the data system adapted to receive the backscattered light signal as an input and to calculate a density of particles. - View Dependent Claims (30)
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Specification