Plastic particle detector for detection of biological aerosol and other fluorescent materials
First Claim
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1. A particle detector, comprising:
- a excitation region, comprising a first plastic housing and an excitation source for generating light to excite particles passing though the particle detector;
a interrogation region for producing an emission beam from one or more particles excited by light from the excitation source, comprising a second plastic housing; and
a detection region for receiving the emission beam, comprising a third plastic housing and one or more optical detectors configured to determine light scattering and fluorescence properties of particles, andwhere the plastic in said first, second, and third plastic housings is a polyamide 66 resin with glass and carbon black fill.
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Abstract
A plastic particle detector for detecting biological and other fluorescent materials is disclosed. The detector detects the fluorescence and scattering signals from these materials using deep UV excitation. The detector is fabricated using plastic materials and exploits the properties of lower manufacturing costs, lower materials costs, light weight, ruggedness and assembly ease offered by plastics, while eliminating stray fluorescence signals ordinarily generated by plastic materials.
20 Citations
24 Claims
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1. A particle detector, comprising:
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a excitation region, comprising a first plastic housing and an excitation source for generating light to excite particles passing though the particle detector; a interrogation region for producing an emission beam from one or more particles excited by light from the excitation source, comprising a second plastic housing; and a detection region for receiving the emission beam, comprising a third plastic housing and one or more optical detectors configured to determine light scattering and fluorescence properties of particles, and where the plastic in said first, second, and third plastic housings is a polyamide 66 resin with glass and carbon black fill. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A particle detector, comprising:
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a excitation region, comprising; a first plastic housing; an excitation source in one end of said housing; one or more lenses to collect light from the excitation source fitted into said first housing adjacent to the excitation source; and one or more filters fitted into the opposite end of the first housing from the excitation source to remove stray light; an interrogation region, comprising; a second plastic housing operatively coupled to said first housing; and a cavity in which one or more particles are excited by light from the excitation source; and a detection region, comprising; a third plastic housing operatively coupled to the second housing perpendicularly to said first housing; a first optical detector configured to determine radiation scattering properties of particles passing through the particle detector; and a second optical detector configured to determine fluorescence properties of the particles passing through the particle detector, and wherein the plastic in said first, second, and third plastic housings is a polyamide 66 resin with glass and carbon black fill. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method of manufacturing a plastic particle detector, comprising the steps of:
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forming a first housing from plastic, said first housing including molded structures to hold an excitation source and one or more optical devices for focusing light from the excitation source on a particle; forming a second housing from plastic, said second housing including molded structures wherein said focused light from said excitation source intersects with said particle and generates an emission beam, said first housing operatively coupled to one side of said second housing; and forming a third housing from plastic, said third housing operatively coupled to said second housing perpendicularly to said first housing, said third housing receiving the emission beam and including molded structures for attaching two or more optical detectors; and wherein said first, second and third plastic housings comprise a polyamide 66 resin with glass and carbon black fill and contain embedded fasteners so that the housings can be assembled to form the particle detector without additional hardware, glue or welding. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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Specification