Sniffing leak-detection device with a semiconductor gas sensor and method for sniffing leak detection

Abstract

A sniffing leak-detection device (10) with a measuring-gas inlet (28) for taking in measuring gas at a measuring location, wherein the measuring gas is to be investigated for the presence of a possible leakage gas at the measuring location, a reference-gas inlet (30), different from the measuring-gas inlet (28), for taking in reference gas from the surroundings of the measuring location, a gas-feeding pump (16), feeding the gas taken in through the measuring-gas inlet (28) and through the reference-gas inlet (30), a switching valve (20), which is connected to the gas-feeding pump (16) by a gas-conducting path (22) and is connected in a gas-conducting manner to the reference-gas inlet (30) and to the measuring-gas inlet (28) and formed in such a way that, dependent on the switching state of the switching valve (20), the gas-feeding pump (16) takes in gas through the measuring-gas inlet (28) and/or through the reference-gas inlet (30), and a gas sensor (18) for analyzing the gas taken in by the gas-feeding pump (16), characterized in that the gas sensor (18) has a gas-sensitive sensor area (42) with at least one physical property which changes dependent on the gas contacting the sensor area (42) and can be measured, wherein the sensor area (42) is arranged in such a way that at least some of the gas fed by the gas-feeding pump (16) is passed along the sensor and thereby contacts the sensor area (42) in order thereby to change the measurable property.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.