Segmented fiber optic sensor and method
First Claim
1. An analyte sensing apparatus comprising;
- a segmented optical fiber assembly comprising;
an elongate optical fiber carrier portion having an exposed surface portion adapted to carry on said surface portion a plurality of optical fibers lengthwise according to a selected spaced distribution on said surface portion; and
a segmented optical fiber analyte set portion comprising a plurality of optical fibers carried lengthwise on the said surface portion of the optical fiber carrier portion according to said selected spaced distribution on said surface portion, each optical fiber comprising a distributed intrinsic chemical fiber optic sensing segment of selected length and at least one lead portion, wherein each distributed intrinsic chemical fiber optic sensing segment of the segmented optical fiber analyte set portion senses the same analyte and wherein the lengthwise relationship of the distributed intrinsic chemical fiber optic sensing segments of the segmented optical fiber analyte set portion isoffset, whereby the distributed intrinsic chemical fiber optic sensing segments of the plurality of optical fibers are disposed sequentially lengthwise to be either adjacent or overlapping to provide a continuous sensing length.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A fiber optic sensor for sensing the presence of an analyte has a plurality of optical fibers each of which has at least one analyte sensing segment and one or more low loss lead portion, where the optical fibers are disposed on the periphery of a fiber carrier. The analyte sensing segments may be disposed in an offset relationship to provide continuous detection over a desired distance or they may be spaced apart to provide detection at selected locations. More than one set of optical fibers with sensing segments may be combined to provide detection of multiple analytes. Multiple fiber carriers allow each segment or the grouped sets of segments to be coupled together over a distance either in offset relationship or in spaced apart relationship.
13 Citations
43 Claims
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1. An analyte sensing apparatus comprising;
a segmented optical fiber assembly comprising; an elongate optical fiber carrier portion having an exposed surface portion adapted to carry on said surface portion a plurality of optical fibers lengthwise according to a selected spaced distribution on said surface portion; and a segmented optical fiber analyte set portion comprising a plurality of optical fibers carried lengthwise on the said surface portion of the optical fiber carrier portion according to said selected spaced distribution on said surface portion, each optical fiber comprising a distributed intrinsic chemical fiber optic sensing segment of selected length and at least one lead portion, wherein each distributed intrinsic chemical fiber optic sensing segment of the segmented optical fiber analyte set portion senses the same analyte and wherein the lengthwise relationship of the distributed intrinsic chemical fiber optic sensing segments of the segmented optical fiber analyte set portion is offset, whereby the distributed intrinsic chemical fiber optic sensing segments of the plurality of optical fibers are disposed sequentially lengthwise to be either adjacent or overlapping to provide a continuous sensing length. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 37, 38, 39, 40)
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24. A method for making a sensing apparatus for sensing the presence of one or more analytes, the method comprising;
providing a plurality of elongate fiber carriers wherein each fiber carrier has a central axis and an exposed surface portion adapted to carry on said surface portion a plurality of optical fibers lengthwise according to a selected spaced distribution on said surface portion; disposing on said surface portion of the optical fiber carrier portion according to said selected spaced distribution on said surface portion optical fibers comprising a segmented optical fiber analyte set, each optical fiber of said set comprising a distributed intrinsic chemical fiber optic sensing segment of selected length and at least one lead portion wherein each distributed intrinsic chemical fiber optic sensing segment of the segmented optical fiber analyte said portion senses a same analyte and wherein the lengthwise relationship of the distributed intrinsic chemical fiber optic sensing segments of the segmented optical fiber analyte set portion is offset, whereby the distributed intrinsic chemical fiber optic sensing segments of the plurality of optical fibers are disposed sequentially lengthwise to be either adjacent or overlapping to provide a continuous sensing length. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 41, 42)
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31. The method as claimed in claim wherein the number of optical fibers in the plurality of optical fibers equals N and the desired distance equals L and each distributed intrinsic chemical fiber optic sensing segment has a length equal to L/N.
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32. An analyte sensing apparatus comprising;
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a plurality of optical fibers disposed lengthwise adjacently on a surface of one or more fiber carriers, each optical fiber of the plurality of optical fibers comprising; one or more analyte responsive distributed intrinsic chemical fiber optic sensing segments and one or more lead portions; means for providing optical energy to the optical fibers; and means for detecting optical energy propagating within the optical fibers, wherein the analyte responsive distributed intrinsic chemical fiber optic sensing segments are disposed at desired locations and wherein the one or more fiber carriers comprise one or more fiber carriers having slots extending on said surface lengthwise on the one or more fiber carriers and wherein at least one analyte responsive segment of at least one distributed intrinsic chemical fiber optic sensing segment is disposed in one slot of at least one fiber carrier and at least one lead segment of another optical fiber is disposed in another slot of the at least one fiber carrier. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36)
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43. An analyte sensing apparatus for surveillance for the presence of an analyte along a length comprising;
a plurality of optical fibers disposed along a common length, L each of said optical fibers having a distributed intrinsic chemical fiber optic sensing segment along a portion of its length which is a fraction of the length L and said distributed intrinsic chemical fiber optic sensing segments having an offset lengthwise relationship whereby the distributed intrinsic chemical fiber optic sensing segments of the plurality of optical fibers are disposed sequentially lengthwise to be either adjacent or overlapping to provide a continuous sensing length.
Specification