Patent ID: 11885786
Assignee: SIGMA SCIENTIFIC LLC
Field: Measurement (Instruments)
Classification: CPC G | IPC G

Claim 14:
15. A method for operating an olfactometer comprising the steps of:
a) inserting and releasing an organism test subject into an olfactometer enclosure comprising a floor, wall and lid, which together define an enclosed space containing gaseous fluid,
b) causing the organism test subject to enter a background odor zone within the enclosure,
c) generating two or more discrete odor zones within said enclosed space, by means comprising an inlet to deliver a gaseous fluid and an outlet to remove said gaseous fluid, for each of the discrete odor zones, wherein said inlet and outlet for each discrete odor zone is positioned so that each discrete odor zone is spatially separated from every other discrete odor zone within said enclosed space by at least a portion of a background odor zone within the space,
wherein at least one of said inlets for delivering gaseous fluid comprises an inner pipe, and at least one of said outlets to remove said gaseous fluid comprises an outer pipe having a greater diameter than the inner pipe, and wherein the inner pipe extends within and protrudes through the outer pipe,

d) controlling gas flow through the inlet and outlet port for each of the one or more discrete odor zones, including composition and rate of gas flow, so that at least one of said discrete odor zones contains a gaseous fluid comprising a composition believed to be detectable as an odorant, and
e) observing and recording behavior indicative of sensory response by the organism test subject to one or more of the discrete odor zones.