Method and apparatus for measuring concentration of a chemical component in a gas mixture
First Claim
1. A chemical concentration detecting system for determining a concentration of a first chemical component in a gas mixture, comprising:
- sensing means responsive to changes in the concentration of the first chemical component in the gas mixture, said sensing means including a capacitor having first and second conducting elements exposed to the gas mixture, wherein said gas mixture comprises a dielectric therebetween, said capacitor having an electrical property that varies according to the concentration of the first chemical component in the gas mixture;
a memory for storing a set of data including (a) property values associated with the electrical property and (b) concentration values corresponding with said property values that are indicative of the relative concentration of the first chemical component in the gas mixture; and
processing means receiving data from the sensing means and determining the relative concentration of the first chemical component in the gas mixture by accessing the set of data stored in the memory.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A chemical concentration detecting system for determining the relative concentration of a chemical component in a gas mixture. The gas mixture may include chemical components that are antimicrobial chemicals, as well as chemical components that are base chemicals, acting as a diluent for the antimicrobial chemical, or as a vehicle or carrier for the antimicrobial chemical. A capacitor is exposed to the gas mixture, wherein the gas mixture acts as a dielectric between the plates of the capacitor. Permittivity of the dielectric is affected by the relative concentrations of the chemical components, and thus a measurement of the capacitance is used to determine the relative concentration levels of the chemical components in the gas mixture.
63 Citations
31 Claims
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1. A chemical concentration detecting system for determining a concentration of a first chemical component in a gas mixture, comprising:
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sensing means responsive to changes in the concentration of the first chemical component in the gas mixture, said sensing means including a capacitor having first and second conducting elements exposed to the gas mixture, wherein said gas mixture comprises a dielectric therebetween, said capacitor having an electrical property that varies according to the concentration of the first chemical component in the gas mixture;
a memory for storing a set of data including (a) property values associated with the electrical property and (b) concentration values corresponding with said property values that are indicative of the relative concentration of the first chemical component in the gas mixture; and
processing means receiving data from the sensing means and determining the relative concentration of the first chemical component in the gas mixture by accessing the set of data stored in the memory. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method for determining a concentration of a first chemical component in a gas mixture, comprising:
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exposing a capacitor, having first and second conducting elements, to the gas mixture, wherein said gas mixture comprises a dielectric therebetween, said capacitor having an electrical property that varies according to the concentration of the first chemical component in the gas mixture;
pre-storing data including electrical property values associated with said electrical property of said capacitor and concentration values corresponding with said electrical property values that are indicative of the relative concentration of the first chemical component in said gas mixture determining an electrical property value associated with the capacitor; and
accessing said memory using said electrical property value to determine the relative concentration of the first chemical component in the gas mixture. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A method for determining a concentration of a first chemical component in a gas mixture including at least two antimicrobial chemicals, comprising:
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exposing a capacitor, having first and second conducting elements, to the gas mixture, wherein said gas mixture comprises a dielectric therebetween, said capacitor having an electrical property that varies according to the concentration of the first chemical component in the gas mixture;
pre-storing data including electrical property values associated with said electrical property of said capacitor and concentration values corresponding with said electrical property values that are indicative of the relative concentration of the first chemical component in said gas mixture determining an electrical property value associated with the capacitor; and
accessing said memory using said electrical property value to determine the relative concentration of the first chemical component in the gas mixture. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31)
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Specification