US 12,480,831 B2
Method for operating a group of pressure sensors
Bernhard Andreaus, Rapperswil (CH); Rolf Enderes, Malans (CH); Christian Berg, Stäfa (CH); and Martin Wüest, Malans (CH)
Assigned to INFICON AG, Balzers (LI)
Appl. No. 18/030,430
Filed by INFICON AG, Balzers (LI)
PCT Filed Oct. 14, 2020, PCT No. PCT/EP2020/078937
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Apr. 5, 2023,
PCT Pub. No. WO2022/078594, PCT Pub. Date Apr. 21, 2022.
Prior Publication US 2023/0375428 A1, Nov. 23, 2023
Int. Cl. G01L 27/00 (2006.01)
CPC G01L 27/002 (2013.01) 13 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method for operating a group (1) of pressure sensors (1′, 1″) which are arranged to measure the pressure in a common measurement volume (2),
wherein the group of pressure sensors comprises at least a first pressure sensor (1′) having a first pressure measurement range (4′) and a second pressure sensor (1″) having a second pressure measurement range (4″), wherein the first and second pressure measurement ranges overlap in an overlap pressure measurement range (6),
wherein the first pressure sensor (1′) is based on a first indirect pressure measurement principle exploiting a first pressure-dependence of a physical quantity other than pressure and is adapted to output a first measurement signal calibrated to a reference gas (Gref), wherein the second pressure sensor (1″) is based on a second indirect pressure measurement principle exploiting a second pressure-dependence of a physical quantity other than pressure and is adapted to output a second measurement signal calibrated to the reference gas, and
wherein the method comprises:
a) providing (101) gas-type-specific first calibration data (K1[Gi]) for the first measurement signal and gas-type-specific second calibration data (K2[Gi]) for the second measurement signal, wherein the first and second calibration data describe a dependence of the first and second measurement signals, respectively, on an effective pressure (peff) and on a gas type in the common measurement volume for a list of gas types comprising at least one first gas type (G1) which is different from the reference gas;
b) simultaneously recording (102) a first measured value (p1) of the first measurement signal and recording a second measured value (p2) of the second measurement signal;
c) determining (103) a resultant gas type (G*) as that gas type in the list of gas types which best matches a combination of the recorded first measured value (p1) and the recorded second measured value (p2), taking into account the first and second calibration data;
o1) outputting the resultant gas type; and/or
o2) determining the pressure in the common measurement volume based on the resultant gas type and outputting the determined pressure.