Optical sensor constituting a light transmissive medium with lum

Radiant energy – Photocells; circuits and apparatus – Optical or pre-photocell system

Patent

Rate now

  [ 0.00 ] – not rated yet Voters 0   Comments 0

Details

250231R, 250231P, 2504861, 250577, 73293, G01D 526, G02B 600

Patent

active

046509925

ABSTRACT:
An optical sensor is made of light transmissive material and has luminescent particles distributed throughout its volume. The luminescent particles are excited by a suitable type of energy, preferably light. As they return to their original state, they emit light uniformly in all directions. Depending upon the relationship of the index of refraction of the sensor body material to that of a test medium abutting a boundary surface of the sensor body, part of the luminescent light is reflected, the remainder passing into the test medium with a change in direction (refraction). When the test medium is optically less dense than the sensor medium luminescent light incident on the boundary surface at an angle exceeding the critical angle undergoes total reflection. For an elongated sensor body, this totally reflected part is transmitted to the end faces of the sensor, where its intensity constitutes a desired measure of a physical quantity. The sensor is effective for any physical characteristic which can change the index of refraction of the surrounding medium or that of the sensor itself. In addition, the quantity of totally reflected light can be varied also by changing the quantity of primary light applied to the sensor. Possible applications of a sensor of this type include measurements of liquid level in a container, the measurement of concentrations of a given component in a solution, temperature and pressure measurements of gases, monitoring of the boiling point of a liquid at very low temperatures, measurements of humidity, and a variety of position and length measurements. The sensor can also be used as a unit in a keyboard.

REFERENCES:
patent: 4443699 (1984-04-01), Keller
patent: 4569570 (1986-02-01), Brogardh et al.

LandOfFree

Say what you really think

Search LandOfFree.com for the USA inventors and patents. Rate them and share your experience with other people.

Rating

Optical sensor constituting a light transmissive medium with lum does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.

If you have personal experience with Optical sensor constituting a light transmissive medium with lum, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Optical sensor constituting a light transmissive medium with lum will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

     

Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-1789861

  Search
All data on this website is collected from public sources. Our data reflects the most accurate information available at the time of publication.