Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 8
Claim 1
Independent Claim
112 words
A method for calibrating a gas analysis apparatus having one or more gas analyzers, comprising the steps of: providing a compression bottle having at least one valve; pressurizing the compression bottle with calibration gas of known composition; opening the valve such that the calibration gas is abruptly expelled from the compression bottle with a flow rate and pressure profile over its outflow from the compression bottle similar to an exhaled human breath; measuring the calibration gas with the one or more gas analyzers; sensing the flow rate of the calibration gas out of the compression bottle; and calculating a set of calibration constants; and storing the calibration constants in a computing means.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
112 words
A method for calibrating a gas analysis apparatus having one or more gas analyzers, comprising the steps of: providing a compression bottle having at least one valve; pressurizing the compression bottle with calibration gas of known composition; opening the valve such that the calibration gas is abruptly expelled from the compression bottle with a flow rate and pressure profile over its outflow from the compression bottle similar to an exhaled human breath; measuring the calibration gas with the one or more gas analyzers; sensing the flow rate of the calibration gas out of the compression bottle; and calculating a set of calibration constants; and storing the calibration constants in a computing means.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
114 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein the measuring step further comprises the steps of measuring the time t 1 at which the calibration gas is introduced into the test station, measuring the time t 2 at which each gas analyzer first detects a change in gas concentration, and measuring the response time t 3 for each gas analyzer; and wherein the calculating step further comprises the steps of determining the difference between time t 1 and each time t 2 to obtain the delay time D for each gas analyzer and determining the difference between time t 2 and each time t 3 to obtain the rise time R for each gas analyzer.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
72 words
The method of claim 2 , further comprising the steps after the measuring the time t 3 step of measuring steady-state gas concentration for a fixed period of time after outflow of the calibration gas from the compression bottle is substantially completed, individually averaging the gas concentration sensed by each gas analyzer in the last second of that fixed period of time, and storing that averaged gas concentration for each gas analyzer.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
67 words
The method of claim 2 , further comprising the steps before the opening step of purging the test station with ambient air, measuring steady-state gas concentration for a fixed period of time after purging is substantially completed, individually averaging the gas concentration sensed by each gas analyzer in the last second of that fixed period of time, and storing that averaged gas concentration for each gas analyzer.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
116 words
The method of claim 2 , further comprising the step after the measuring the time t 3 step of calculating the slope and offset for each gas analyzer with the equations: SlopeGas=ReGas−Baseline)/(SignalAGas−SignalBGas) OffsetGas=Baseline−SlopeGas*SignalBGas=RefGas−SlopeGas*SignalAGas, where RefGas is the known concentration within the calibration gas of the gas measured at that gas analyzer; Baseline is the known concentration in ambient air of the gas measured at that gas analyzer; SignalAGas is the average steady-state percentage of the gas measured at that gas analyzer present at that gas analyzer at the end of calibration; and SignalBGas is the average steady-state percentage of the gas measured at that gas analyzer present in that gas analyzer at the end of purging.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
96 words
The method of claim 5 , wherein the measuring the time t 1 step occurs when the flow measurement means detects outflow from the compression bottle above a preset threshold level, wherein the measuring the time t 2 step occurs for each gas analyzer when the concentration of calibration gas within it rises above a preset threshold level, and further comprising the step after the calculating a slope and offset step of interpolating the actual values of t 1 and t 2 for each gas analyzer utilizing the corresponding calculated SlopeGas value for that gas analyzer.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step before the opening step of purging the gas analysis apparatus with ambient air.