Breath Sensor Module With Controlled Flow Sampling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing breath acetone sensors struggle with accuracy and repeatability when used outside a controlled laboratory setting due to variables like breath velocity, vapor pressure, and oxygen concentration, and are often expensive and poorly suited for controlled mass flow applications.
Innovation Solution
A breath capture and sampling system that includes a substrate with a slot for a sensor, a printed circuit board with a fluid channel, and a pump assembly to provide a controlled and repeatable breath sample to the sensor, ensuring consistent exposure and improved measurement accuracy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If sensors are exposed to breath samples in a controlled laboratory setting, then measurement accuracy is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a sampling system with a pump, flow controller, and standardized interface as an intermediary between the breath sample source and the sensor. This mediator controls the breath sample flow rate, exposure time, and mixing ratio, enabling accurate measurements without requiring the entire system to be complex laboratory equipment.
Solution Approach 2:
The sampling system is divided into separate functional modules: a breath collection component, a pump-driven flow control system, a mixing chamber, and a sensor interface. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently and simplifies the overall system architecture while maintaining measurement accuracy.
2Ease of operation
If live breath samples are analyzed outside the lab using direct sensor exposure, then ease of operation is improved, but measurement repeatability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system controls critical parameters including breath sample flow rate (via pump speed), exposure duration (via flow control), and air mixing ratio (via chamber design). By standardizing these parameters, the system achieves repeatable measurements while maintaining portable, easy operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates flow sensors and control logic that monitor and adjust the breath sample flow in real-time. This feedback mechanism ensures consistent exposure conditions regardless of variations in user breathing patterns, maintaining measurement repeatability.
3Ease of manufacture
If standard TO-5 headers are used for sensor packaging, then ease of manufacture is improved, but suitability for controlled mass flow applications deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a specialized sampling interface and flow distribution chamber as an intermediary between the standard TO-5 packaged sensor and the breath sample source. This mediator adapts the limited exposure geometry of the TO-5 header into an effective controlled flow measurement configuration.
Solution Approach 2:
The system compensates for the limited exposure area of the TO-5 sensor by extending the measurement in another dimension - using a longer exposure path through a flow cell or by increasing the residence time of the breath sample over the sensor surface.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system achieves accurate and repeatable detection of breath components, such as acetone, by controlling the breath sample flow and exposure, enhancing the reliability of breath analysis in non-lab settings and reducing sensor costs.
Implementation Method 1
a pump assembly to provide a controlled and repeatable breath sample to the sensor
Implementation Method 2
A sensor is operably mounted to the printed circuit board in fluid connection with the fluid circuit
Data Source
AI summary
A sensor module includes a substrate with a slot formed therein. A sensor is mounted to the substrate and spans the slot. A first cover is disposed on a first side of the substrate and covers at least a portion of the slot. The first cover comprises a first aperture and a second aperture in fluid communication with the slot. The sensor is disposed between the first and second apertures.