On-site analyzer
First Claim
1. A method of regularizing a sample spectrum of a fluid sample generated by a spectrometer having a pair of electrodes, the method comprising the steps of:
- (A) defining a background spectrum having a plurality of spectral features indicative at least in part of the composition of the electrodes;
(B) selecting at least a first background spectral feature from said plurality of spectral features wherein the first background spectral feature has a predetermined wavelength value associated therewith;
(C) determining a measured wavelength value of the at least first background spectral feature in the sample spectrum; and
, (D) translating the sample spectrum with respect to wavelength in accordance with said predetermined wavelength value, said measured wavelength value, and a predetermined translation strategy.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus (10) for analyzing lubricant oils and functional fluids includes an optical emission spectrometer (OES) (26) having a substantially continuously valued wavelength versus intensity output (140). The OES (26) analyzes light captured from a spark emission stand (58) through which the fluid sample is flowed. An expert system (160-172) operates according to a set of Rules, and generates diagnostic text (174) for an operator based on the information about the fluid sample provided by the OES (26) and other measurement devices. The apparatus (10) is reduce in size, weight and cost.
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Citations
5 Claims
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1. A method of regularizing a sample spectrum of a fluid sample generated by a spectrometer having a pair of electrodes, the method comprising the steps of:
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(A) defining a background spectrum having a plurality of spectral features indicative at least in part of the composition of the electrodes;
(B) selecting at least a first background spectral feature from said plurality of spectral features wherein the first background spectral feature has a predetermined wavelength value associated therewith;
(C) determining a measured wavelength value of the at least first background spectral feature in the sample spectrum; and
,(D) translating the sample spectrum with respect to wavelength in accordance with said predetermined wavelength value, said measured wavelength value, and a predetermined translation strategy. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
selecting a plurality of emission lines from the background spectrum wherein each selected emission line has a respective predetermined wavelength value associated therewith.
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3. The method of claim 2 wherein step (C) is performed by the substeps of:
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identifying the plurality of selected background emission lines in the array of values; and
,determining a respective measured wavelength value of the identified emission lines in the array.
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4. The method of claim 3 wherein step (D) is performed by the substeps of:
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determining a respective wavelength offset between the predetermined wavelength values and the measured wavelength values;
converting the wavelength offsets into a composite wavelength offset for the sample spectrum;
determining a pixel shift number as a function of the composite wavelength offset; and
,shifting the spectral intensities of the array of values by the pixel shift number to thereby regularize the sample spectrum with respect to wavelength.
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5. The method of claim 1 wherein the fluid sample comprises one of used lubricating oil and used functional fluid, and step (A) includes the substeps of:
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exciting a new sample of said one of lubricating oil and functional fluid corresponding in type and grade to the used sample to spectroemissive levels to thereby generate radiation;
acquiring a background spectrum responsive to the radiation; and
,storing the background spectrum for subsequent use.
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Specification