Portable electronic device and vapor sensor card

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9702840-B2
Application number	US-201314415079-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 23, 2013
Priority date	Aug 2, 2012
Publication date	Jul 11, 2017
Grant date	Jul 11, 2017

Abstract

A portable device includes an outer housing including an inlet port and a outer slot adapted to receive a vapor sensor card; an operating circuit disposed at least partially within the outer housing; a sensor holder at least partially disposed within the outer housing. The sensor holder includes: an inner housing including a gas intake chamber in downstream fluid communication with the inlet port. The gas intake chamber has a gas outlet in fluid communication with an inner slot retaining a sensor card socket for engaging the vapor sensor card. The sensor holder further comprises an electrical heater element, a fan, and a turbulent-flow-inducing member. The vapor sensor card comprises a sensor housing and a capacitive sensor element.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A portable device comprising:
an outer housing including an inlet port and an outer slot adapted to receive a vapor sensor card;
an operating circuit disposed at least partially within the outer housing;
a sensor holder at least partially disposed within the outer housing, wherein the sensor holder comprises:
an inner housing including:
a gas intake chamber in downstream fluid communication with the inlet port, wherein the gas intake chamber has a gas inlet and a gas outlet;
an inner slot retaining a sensor card socket adapted to engage the vapor sensor card, wherein the inner slot is in fluid communication with the gas inlet through the gas intake chamber, and wherein the sensor card socket engages a vapor sensor card, the vapor sensor card comprising:
a sensor housing having upper and lower housing members, the upper housing member defining a longitudinal through-opening; and
a capacitive sensor element received within the sensor housing, sandwiched between the upper and lower housing members, wherein the capacitive sensor element comprises:
a conductive base electrode disposed on a support member;
a conductive porous electrode, wherein the conductive porous electrode comprises a surface portion exposed outside through the longitudinal through-opening of the upper housing member to form a longitudinal channel, the longitudinal channel extending through the outer slot of the outer housing to provide an outlet for gas, and wherein the surface portion of the conductive porous electrode forms at least a portion of an outer surface of the vapor sensor card; and
a dielectric detection layer comprising a sorbent material disposed between the conductive base electrode and the conductive porous electrode; and

a first conductive pathway in electrical communication with the conductive base electrode and extending outside the sensor housing; and
a second conductive pathway in electrical communication with the conductive porous electrode and extending outside the sensor housing,
wherein the capacitive sensor element is in downstream fluid communication with the gas inlet.

2. The portable device of claim 1 , wherein the conductive base electrode and the conductive porous electrode comprise metal layers.

3. The portable device of claim 1 , wherein the conductive porous electrode comprises a porous gold electrode.

4. The portable device of claim 1 , wherein the sorbent material comprises a sulfonated fluoropolymer.

5. The portable device of claim 1 , wherein the sorbent material comprises a polymer of intrinsic microporosity containing dibenzodioxane linkages between monomeric units that are rigid, contorted, or rigid and contorted.

6. The portable device of claim 1 , further comprising an electronic display communicatively coupled to the operating circuit.

7. The portable device of claim 1 , further comprising at least one manually operable control for controlling the operating circuit.

8. The portable device of claim 1 further comprising:
an electrical heater element in electrical communication with the operating circuit and in thermal communication with the sensor card socket;
a fan disposed such that it a directs gas from the inlet port to the gas outlet; and
a turbulent-flow-inducing member adjacent to and extending across at least a portion of the gas outlet.

9. The portable device of claims 1 , further comprising an attachment member affixed to the outer housing.

10. The portable device of claim 1 , wherein the inner housing comprises:
a first inner housing member including the gas inlet, and
a second inner housing member including the gas outlet, wherein the second inner housing member engages the first member to form the gas intake chamber.

11. The portable device of claim 8 , wherein the fan is disposed at least partially within the gas inlet.

12. A vapor sensor card comprising:
a sensor housing having upper and lower housing members, the upper housing member including a longitudinal through-opening; and
a capacitive sensor element sandwiched between the upper and lower housing members, wherein the capacitive sensor element has an upper surface portion exposed outside through the longitudinal through-opening of the upper housing member to form a longitudinal channel, and wherein the capacitive sensor element comprises:
a conductive base electrode disposed on a support member;
a conductive porous electrode, wherein the conductive porous electrode comprises the upper surface portion as a bottom surface of the longitudinal channel such that the upper surface portion of the conductive porous electrode forms at least a portion of an outer surface of the vapor sensor card; and
a dielectric detection layer comprising a sorbent material disposed between the conductive base electrode and the conductive porous electrode; and

a first conductive pathway in electrical communication with the conductive base electrode and extending outside the sensor housing; and
a second conductive pathway in electrical communication with the conductive porous electrode and extending outside the sensor housing.

Assignees

• 3M Innovative Properties Co

Inventors

• Palazzotto Michael C
• Gryska Stefan H
• Tungjunyatham Justin
• Erickson Ryan D
• Willoughby Jaime B

Classifications

• G01N33/0009

  General constructional details of gas analysers, e.g. portable test equipment (devices for withdrawing samples in the gaseous state G01N1/22) · CPC title

• G01N33/0004

  Gaseous mixtures, e.g. polluted air · CPC title

• G01N27/22 Primary

  by investigating capacitance · CPC title

• G01N27/226

  Construction of measuring vessels; Electrodes therefor · CPC title

• G01N27/223 Primary

  for determining moisture content, e.g. humidity (rain detectors on vehicle windows B60S1/0825) · CPC title