Patent attributes
The invention is concerned with a method and apparatus for real time analysis of gas mixtures, e g determination of air quality, including at least one resonator (1, 11), means for gas transportation to and from the resonator (1, 11), e g by diffusion or transit flow via openings (5) means for activation (2) and detection (3) of an acoustic signal within the resonator (1, 11), at least one means (7) for measurement of the temperature within the resonator (1, 11), and at least one means (4) for the determination of both the resonance frequency and the quality factor of the resonator (1,11) in real time. These entities are related to the average molecular mass and viscosity or thermal conductivity, respectively, of the gas mixture. The resonator (1, 11 may include a compliant element, e g a constricted volume (6) and an inertial element, e g ist opening (5) or may support standing acoustic waves, in which the sound wavelength is related to a physical dimension of the resonator (1, 11). The determination of resonance frequency and quality factor is preferably based on phase detection within a phase locked loop and is thereby independent of magnitude. In addition to self oscillations at a frequency determined by the resonance frequency, a repetitive frequency modulation is being generated by which a quantity representing the quality factor of the resonator (1, 11) is being generated in real time. Furthermore, means (7) for compensation of temperature or pressure dependence of the resonance frequency or quality factor are included. By an arithmetic-logical unit, e g a microprocessor (9, 17), measured values related to air quality, e g carbon dioxide concentration, relative humidity and temperature are being made available.
