General Kinetics, Incorporated

George E Dyche

Charles A King

The reader apparatus includes a clamp colocated with a photoelectric cell and lamp. A scale, e.g. calibrated in millimeters extends laterally from the photoelectric cell/lamp axis. A gas detector tube whose column of test particles is stained from one stain-starting end to a region part way therealong is clamped in the reader with its starting end of stain juxtaposed with the scale. The tube is manually moved axially until a portion of the lightest-in-color region is directly between the photoelectric cell and lamp. The transmitted light indicator is adjusted to align with one extreme on its scale. Then the tube is manually moved axially until a portion of the darkest-in-color region is directly between the photoelectric cell and lamp. The transmitted light indicator is adjusted to align with the other extreme on its scale. Finally the tube is slid axially until the indicator coincides with a preselected intermediate tick-mark, e.g. indicating a light transmittance value half-way between the two extremes. With the tube clamped at that location, the length of stain is read from the scale, by noting the site of juxtaposition of the starting end of stain on the scale. Accordingly, the more pronounced reading is made by the human and the measure that is harder for a human to make consistently is uniformly made by the device. A particular clamp construction is disclosed, wherein fiber optics lead light from the lamp through one clamp jaw directly to the gas detector tube and from a diametrically opposed site on the tube through the other clamp jaw to the photoelectric cell.

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Centreville, VA, United States of America

George E Dyche