Multichannel IR gas sensor that is compensated against mechanical disturbances
Inventors
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Assignees
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Hamilton Medical Inc.Hamilton Medical is focused on the development, manufacturing, and training for advanced respiratory support technologies. The company provides intelligent ventilation systems, high flow oxygen therapy, noninvasive ventilation, and educational platforms for healthcare professionals. Their offerings emphasize patient safety, data-driven decision making, and regulatory compliance across intensive care, transport, neonatal, and emergency settings.
Hamilton Medical is focused on the development, manufacturing, and training for advanced respiratory support technologies. The company provides intelligent ventilation systems, high flow oxygen therapy, noninvasive ventilation, and educational platforms for healthcare professionals. Their offerings emphasize patient safety, data-driven decision making, and regulatory compliance across intensive care, transport, neonatal, and emergency settings.
Publication Number
US-12529653-B2
Publication Date
2026-01-20
Expiration Date
Abstract
A multi-channel infrared gas sensor including a beam splitter arrangement, which splits an infrared beam into four infrared partial beams, four bandpass filters and four infrared sensors, respectively one for each infrared partial beam at a first used signal wavelength. The directions of propagation of the four infrared partial beams differ from one another in pairwise fashion. A first and second infrared used signal sensor are arranged so that respective used signal sensor detection areas have a symmetric orientation with respect to a used signal sensor plane of symmetry situated between the detection areas. A first and second infrared reference signal sensor are arranged so that respective reference signal sensor detection areas have a symmetric orientation with respect to a reference signal sensor plane of symmetry situated between the reference signal sensor detection areas. No signal sensor detection area is orthogonal to its respective signal sensor plane of symmetry.
Core Innovation
The invention describes a multi-channel infrared gas sensor for non-dispersive infrared gas measurement that splits an incoming infrared beam into at least four infrared partial beams and evaluates different wavelength channels. The channels include infrared useful signal sensors with band filters having transmission maxima at predetermined useful signal wavelengths, and infrared reference signal sensors with band filters having transmission maxima at predetermined reference signal wavelengths different from the useful wavelengths. By using reference and useful channels together, the sensor determines useful information about a gas from measurement signals corresponding to the incoming infrared beam.
To compensate inaccuracies caused by mechanical disturbances, the useful signal sensing surfaces and the reference signal sensing surfaces are arranged symmetrically with respect to respective useful signal sensor symmetry planes and reference signal sensor symmetry planes. The useful sensor sensing surfaces are not oriented orthogonally to the useful signal symmetry plane, and the reference sensor sensing surfaces are not oriented orthogonally to the reference symmetry plane. The useful sensors are arranged so that their sensing surfaces are tilted towards each other about a virtual useful signal tilt axis, while the reference sensors are arranged so that their sensing surfaces are tilted towards each other about a virtual reference signal tilt axis different from the useful signal tilt axis.
The described sensor is integrated into a ventilation device and is packaged with a sensor housing split into an optics/sensor compartment and a remote IR-source compartment. A measuring cuvette is received by a detachable measuring cuvette arrangement through a receiving formation between the compartments. In the wavelength/channel design, useful filters are associated with useful signal wavelength ranges and reference filters are associated with reference signal wavelength ranges, thereby supporting separate non-dispersive sensing using corresponding band-filtered infrared partial beams.
Claims Coverage
The independent claim is clm-00001. It specifies a multi-channel infrared gas sensor with at least four infrared partial beams, useful/reference wavelength channels selected by band filters, and a symmetric non-orthogonal sensor-surface arrangement with distinct tilt axes for useful and reference sensors (two useful sensors and two reference sensors).
Multi-channel infrared beam splitting into at least four partial beams with useful and reference wavelength channels
A beam splitter assembly adapted to split the incoming infrared beam along a predetermined irradiation axis into at least four infrared partial beams, with a first and second infrared partial beam path pair having different useful and reference signal wavelengths, and a third and fourth infrared partial beam path pair having predetermined useful and reference signal wavelengths.
Separate band-filtered useful and reference sensors in different beam paths
A first band filter and first infrared useful signal sensor arranged behind the first band filter in a first beam path, and a second band filter and first infrared reference signal sensor arranged behind the second band filter in a second beam path different from the first beam path, with a third band filter and second infrared useful signal sensor, and a fourth band filter and second infrared reference signal sensor located behind the corresponding band filters in different beam paths.
Symmetric, non-orthogonal useful and reference sensing surface orientation around respective symmetry planes
The directions of the first, second, third and fourth beam paths are different from each other in pairs, with the useful signal sensing surfaces arranged symmetrically with respect to a useful signal sensor symmetry plane located between the useful signal sensing surfaces, and the reference signal sensing surfaces arranged symmetrically with respect to a reference signal sensor symmetry plane located between the reference sensing surfaces, wherein no useful sensing surface is oriented orthogonally to the useful signal symmetry plane and wherein no reference sensing surface is oriented orthogonally to the reference signal symmetry plane.
Distinct virtual tilt axes for useful and reference sensor surface tilting towards each other
The first infrared useful signal sensor and the second infrared useful signal sensor are arranged such that their respective useful signal sensing surfaces are tilted towards each other about a virtual useful signal tilt axis, and the first infrared reference signal sensor and the second infrared reference signal sensor are arranged such that their respective reference sensor sensing surfaces are tilted towards each other about a virtual reference signal tilt axis different from the useful signal tilt axis.
Claim clm-00001 covers a multi-channel infrared gas sensor that separates at least four infrared partial beams into useful and reference wavelength channels using band filters and corresponding sensors, and it further defines a symmetric, non-orthogonal sensor-surface geometry with separate symmetry planes and distinct virtual tilt axes for useful versus reference sensing surfaces.
Stated Advantages
Compensates inaccuracies from mechanical disturbances by using determination-identical pyroelectric IR useful/reference sensors arranged with symmetric, non-orthogonal sensor surface orientation relative to symmetry planes.
Reduces directional mechanical-shock components by cancellation using paired sensor signals.
Documented Applications
Integration into a ventilation device for non-dispersive infrared gas sensing using a sensor housing split into optics/sensor and remote IR-source compartments and a measuring cuvette received by a receiving formation between compartments.
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