Axillary infrared thermometer and method of use
AssigneeExergen Corporation
InventorsFrancesco Pompei, Janus Ternullo
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A radiation detector for axillary temperature measurement comprises a wand having an axially directed radiation sensor at one end and an offset handle at the opposite end. The radiation sensor is mounted within a heat sink and retained by an elastomer in compression. The radiation sensor views a target surface through an emissivity compensating cup and a plastic film. A variable reference is applied to a radiation sensor and amplifier circuit in order to maintain full analog-to-digital converter resolution over design ranges of target and sensor temperature with the sensor temperature either above or below target temperature.
Claims20
A radiation detector comprising:
- a radiation sensor which provides an output as a function of difference between target temperature and sensor temperature over a design range of target temperatures and a design range of sensor temperatures;
- an amplifier in circuit with the radiation sensor which amplifies the sensor output;
- an analog-to-digital converter which generates a multibit digital output from the amplified output over a voltage range of the amplified sensor output;
- and
- a variable reference to maintain analog-to-digital converter resolution over the design ranges of target and sensor temperatures, the resolution being greater than would be obtained with a fixed reference over a full design range of target temperature and a design range of sensor temperatures.
A method of detecting temperature comprising:
- amplifying the output of a radiation sensor with an amplifier and applying the amplified output to an analog-to-digital converter;
- and
- varying a reference to maintain analog-to-digital converter resolution over design ranges of target and sensor temperatures, the resolution being greater than would be obtained with a fixed reference over a fall design range of target temperatures and design range of sensor temperatures.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.