Gas sensing system
OwnerRobert Anthony Marsh, Rodney Edward Smith +3inventors
InventorsRobert Anthony Marsh, Rodney Edward Smith, Roger Kevin Starnes, John Wilfred Scarott, Colin Edwin Turner
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A gas sensing system is provided for the detection of gas concentrations in a flowable medium. The gas sensing system has a gas permeable membrane structure to separate the flowable medium from a chamber where a gas sensor is positioned for detecting the gas concentration in the chamber. The sensor has predetermined environmental operating ranges and the system has a heat drain with a heat sink to maintain the temperature of gas in the chamber within the operating ranges, together with gas nozzles leading into the chamber to purge gas in the chamber and to maintain the gas concentration from exceeding the sensor operating range.
Claims15
A gas sensing system for the detection of gas concentrations emanating from a flowable medium which comprises a membrane structure permeable to said gas and disposed between said flowable material and a chamber, said membrane structure being impervious to said flowable material;
- a gas sensor exposed to said chamber for the detection of concentration of said gas therein, wherein the gas sensor has an operational temperature limitation less than a predetermined temperature, wherein temperature control means are provided in the chamber for withdrawing heat from the chamber and said gas to reduce the gas temperature within the chamber to below the predetermined temperature.
A method of determining the concentration of the gas emanating from a flowable medium using a gas sensor, comprising the steps of separating and isolating the gas from the flowable medium and adjusting the physical characteristics of the said isolated gas in order that the gas is compatible with the predetermined operating ranges of the sensor;
- whereby the gas is separated from the flowable medium by placing a membrane structure that is permeable to the gas and impermeable to the flowable medium between the flowable medium and an isolated chamber to allow the gas to defuse into the isolated chamber;
- and where the sensor has an operational temperature limitation less than a predetermined temperature whereby heat is withdrawn from the isolated gas according to temperature control means provided within the isolated chamber to reduce the temperature of the gas to below the predetermined temperature.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.