US 12,461,010 B2
Systems and methods for reducing false positive particle detection events in a particle detector
Joseph Thomas Cilke, Boulder, CO (US); Brett Haley, Boulder, CO (US); Scott Maclaughlin, Boulder, CO (US); Brian A. Knollenberg, Boulder, CO (US); Benjamin Martinez, Boulder, CO (US); and Clayton Ellinwood, Boulder, CO (US)
Assigned to Particle Measuring Systems, Inc., Boulder, CO (US)
Filed by Particle Measuring Systems, Inc., Boulder, CO (US)
Filed on Nov. 14, 2024, as Appl. No. 18/947,333.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/599,873, filed on Nov. 16, 2023.
Prior Publication US 2025/0180460 A1, Jun. 5, 2025
Int. Cl. G01N 15/1429 (2024.01); G01N 15/14 (2006.01)
CPC G01N 15/1429 (2013.01) [G01N 2015/1402 (2013.01); G01N 2015/1486 (2013.01)] 27 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method for reducing false-positive particle detection events of an optical particle detector, the method comprising:
flowing a particle-containing fluid through a detection region;
exposing the fluid in the detection region to a beam of electromagnetic radiation, wherein interaction between particles of the particle-containing fluid and the beam of electromagnetic radiation generates scattered or emitted electromagnetic radiation from the particles;
directing at least a portion of the scattered or emitted electromagnetic radiation from the particles onto a photodetector;
generating raw particle count data via the photodetector, wherein the raw particle count data includes a plurality of channels, each channel being correlated to a different particle size bin;
filtering the raw particle count data to produce filtered particle count data, wherein the filtering comprises:
temporarily storing the raw particle count data for a buffering time period;
segmenting the raw particle count data into a series of elemental data intervals;
examining each elemental data interval for a noise signature;
identifying a noise signature in the segmented raw particle count data;
in response to the identified noise signature, flagging one or more sequential elemental data intervals as corresponding to a noise event; and
removing the one or more flagged elemental data intervals from the raw particle count data to produce the filtered particle count data, and/or generating replacement data and substituting the replacement data for the one or more flagged elemental data intervals to produce the filtered particle count data;
periodically reporting a particle measurement output to a user at a reporting interval, wherein the particle measurement output is based on the filtered particle count data; and
wherein the reporting interval has a greater time duration than that of the elemental data intervals.