Claims
- 1. An apparatus for inspection of a fluid, comprising:
a fluid analysis cell having a cavity therein for measuring light transmittance of a sample; an upper and lower light transmitting window enclosing opposite ends of the cavity; a spacer member fixedly positioned in said cavity between said upper and lower viewing windows providing a fluid chamber where fluid flows between said windows; and inlet and outlet channels connected in fluid communication with said fluid chamber to enable fluid to flow into and out of said fluid chamber.
- 2. The apparatus of claim 1 in which a light source and a spectrophotometer are associated with the fluid analysis cell for directing light to the fluid analysis cell and detecting light therefrom, respectively, to measure color parameters of the fluid passing through the viewing windows by transmittance.
- 3. The apparatus of claim 2 in which the spectrophotometer is a single beam spectrophotometer and the light source is a tungsten halogen lamp.
- 4. The apparatus of claim 2 which further includes:
a purged explosion-proof enclosure for containing all electrical/electronic components, as well as the light source for the instrument; an automatic pneumatically-controlled sample system for delivery of the sample to the fluid analysis chamber; and, an explosion-proof gear pump for high pressure delivery of cleaning solvent to the fluid analysis chamber for rapid cleaning of said chamber.
- 5. The apparatus of claim 2 in which a camera lens interfaces with the spectrophotometer to gather light from diffuse as well as specular directions.
- 6. The apparatus of claim 2 in which the light source also preferably includes photometric filters to vary the intensity of light reaching the detector, allowing the detector to operate in its optimum condition, without saturation by high intensity light, or lack of resolution with low intensity light.
- 7. The apparatus of claim 2 in which the flow of fluid through the fluid analysis chamber is unidirectional and laminar at a uniform shear.
- 8. The apparatus of claim 2 in which the windows are of borosilicate glass and the spacer member is of brass.
- 9. The apparatus of claim 2 in which the fluid analysis cell is cylindrical.
- 10. The apparatus of claim 2 in which an integrating sphere integral with the light source for diffuse illumination of the sample is juxtapposed between the light source and the cell for diffuse as well as specular illumination, in the case where the measured fluid possesses more than negligible light scattering capability.
- 11. The apparatus of claim 10 which also includes a controlled black trap and white reflector sliding mechanism for illuminating the sample with either solely diffuse light or diffuse and specular light for analysis of samples possessing scatterers.
- 12. A method of measuring a color property of a wet fluid comprising supplying a sample volume of liquid to a transmission cell, allowing the fluid to pass through the cell at a fixed pathlength and zero bypass through two viewing windows enclosing each end of the cell, and measuring the color property of the sample volume by light transmittance while the sample is flowing in the cell.
- 13. The method of claim 12 in which the flow of the sample is unidirectional and laminar.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 from U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/276,991 (filed Mar. 19, 2001), which is incorporated by reference herein for all purposes as if fully set forth.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60276991 |
Mar 2001 |
US |