Optical temperature sensors
AssigneeSmiths Industries Public Limited Company
InventorsLaurence N. John, Neil A. Corner
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An optical temperature sensor has an outer probe with a sapphire element at its forward end within a stagnation chamber through which hot gas flows and heats a thermally-emissive coating on the element. A lens focusses radiation emitted by the coating onto one end of a fibre-optic cable that extends within the rear of the probe. A gas passage along the probe enables cooling gas to flow from an inlet at the rear end, around the fibre optic cable, lens and through an outlet rearwardly of a transparent thermal barrier which protects the sapphire element from the cooling gas.
Claims9
An optical temperature sensor comprising an outer elongate probe having an optically-transparent element within and exposed close to a forward tip of the probe to a temperature to be measured, an optical radiation guide extending within the probe means for focussing radiation from said optically-transparent element onto said optical radiation guide, a gas passage along the length of said probe, means for supplying cooling gas to said gas passage, and an optically-transparent thermal barrier between a forward end of said optical radiation guide and said optically-transparent element so arranged that said radiation guide and said optically-transparent barrier are exposed to the cooling gas and the optically-transparent element is protected by said optically-transparent barrier from the cooling gas.
A sensor according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the sensor includes an inlet for cooling gas towards a rear end of the probe and an outlet for the cooling gas located forwardly of said inlet and rearwardly of the optically transparent element.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.