Environmental sensor including a baffle
AssigneeVenturedyne, Ltd.
InventorKevin John Imre
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A baffle for use with an environmental sensor such as a particle counter. The environmental sensor includes a housing and an inlet. The inlet has an axis and defines a first cross-sectional area with respect to the axis. The baffle includes a bullet configured to be positioned adjacent to the inlet along the axis. The bullet has a second cross-sectional area with respect to the axis that is between about seventy-five percent smaller than the first cross-sectional area and about three-hundred percent larger than the first cross-sectional area. In some constructions, the baffle substantially reduces interference from external light sources without substantially inhibiting the transport of particles entrained in the fluid to be analyzed by the environmental sensor.
Claims31
A baffle for use wit a particle counter, the particle counter including a housing supporting an interior chamber, a light source configured to provide illumination to the interior chamber, a light detector configured to detect a light characteristic within the interior chamber, and an inlet configured for the directional passage of airborne particles from outside of the housing to the interior chamber, the inlet having an inlet axis and defining a first cross-sectional area with respect to the inlet axis, the baffle comprising a bullet configured to be positioned adjacent to the inlet of the particle counter and having a bullet axis oriented substantially co-linearly along the inlet axis, the bullet having a second cross-sectional area with respect to the bullet axis that is between about seventy-five percent smaller than the first cross-sectional area and about three-hundred percent larger tan the first cross-sectional area.
A particle counter comprising:
- a housing;
- an interior chamber supported by the housing;
- a radiation source to provide radiation to the interior chamber;
- a radiation detector configured to detect a characteristic relating to the radiation within the interior chamber;
- an inlet configured for the directional passage of airborne particles from outside of the housing to the interior chamber, the inlet having an inlet axis and defining a first cross-sectional area with respect to the inlet axis;
- and
- a baffle including a bullet positioned adjacent to the inlet and having a bullet axis oriented substantially co-linearly along the inlet axis, the bullet having a second cross-sectional area with respect to the bullet axis that is between about seventy-five percent smaller than the first cross-sectional area and about three-hundred percent larger than the first cross-sectional area.
An environmental sensor comprising:
- a housing;
- an interior chamber supported by the housing;
- a radiation source configured to irradiate a portion of the interior chamber;
- a radiation detector configured to detect a radiation characteristic within the interior chamber;
- an inlet configured for the directional passage of a gas from outside of the housing to the interior chamber, the inlet having an inlet axis and defining a first cross-sectional area with respect to the inlet axis;
- and
- a baffle including a bullet positioned adjacent to the inlet and having a bullet axis oriented substantially co-linearly along the inlet axis, the bullet having a second cross-sectional area with respect to the bullet axis that is between about seventy-five percent smaller than the first cross-sectional area and about three-hundred percent larger than the first cross-sectional area.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.