Appeal No. 1997-3930
Application 08/394,596
the specification, Appellants disclose that Fig. 1 discloses a
fiber optic sensor 10 which is made from a silver halide fiber
optic. The refractive index of the silver halide is 2.2.
About 10 cm of the fiber without a cladding is placed in a
trough 12 containing a petroleum sample 14. The proximal end
16 of the fiber optic 10 is connected to a spectrometer 18.
Light is transmitted through the fiber optics to and from the
sample. The spectrometer obtains an evanescent spectrum of
the hydrocarbon sample from the non-cladded portion. On page
8 of the specification, Appellants disclosed that the
evanescent spectrum is a fingerprint of the sample, and the
fingerprint is compared to a library of evanescent spectra to
determine the identity of the sample.
Independent claim 1 is reproduced as follows:
1. A fiber optic sensor for the detection of
hydrocarbons which comprises:
a metal halide fiber optic having a refractive index
greater than the refractive index of the hydrocarbons to be
detected, the fiber optic characterized by a non-cladded
portion;
means to place the non-cladded portion in a sample
containing hydrocarbons;
2
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007