Patent ID: 6828808
Filing Date: 2004-12-07
Classification: G01N

Abstract:
A conductivity sensor system comprising:a sensor housing having an enclosing wall that defines an interior volume and that has an aperture through said wall; a pair of electrodes in contact with a medium surrounding said sensor housing; and conductivity sensing electronics contained within said sensor housing interior volume and operatively connected through said aperture to said pair of electrodes, said conductivity sensing electronics comprising: a galvanostat operatively connected to said electrodes for inducing a discrete constant current pulses between said electrodes creating a transient voltage signal between said electrodes; and a high-speed voltmeter/A-D converter operatively connected to said electrodes for measuring, between said electrodes, a difference between (i) a maximum of the transient voltage signal occurring during the induced current pulse, and (ii) a minimum voltage occurring after the induced current pulse when the transient voltage signal is fully attenuated, the transient voltage signal being a function of the conductivity of the medium surrounding said sensor housing.