Patent ID: 6842244

Claim:
An apparatus for estimating the quantity of particles collected by a suction extractor through an output fluid carrying line provided thereon, comprising: a capturing element handling assembly including first and second stationary elements disposed in a spaced relationship to define a gap therebetween, said stationary elements being provided with respective sets of main apertures disposed in alignment with each other to define a corresponding set of channels extending through the gap, a movable element interposed within the gap and being provided with a plurality of holders capable of receiving a plurality of filter-type particle capturing elements, and an actuator operatively coupled to the movable element for providing controlled movement of the movable element relative to the stationary elements, wherein one said main aperture on the first stationary element defines a first inlet in fluid communication with the output fluid carrying line and one corresponding said aligned main aperture on the second stationary element defines a first outlet for fluid communication with the output fluid carrying line through a corresponding said channel; an optical sensing device disposed in alignment with a secondary aperture provided on the first stationary element and extending therethrough to communicate with the gap, for inspecting a selected one of said particle capturing element to generate a measurement signal representative of optical characteristics of the collected particles as captured by the selected element; a data processor for analyzing said measurement signal to generate an estimation of the quantity of particles captured by the selected element; and a controller operatively connected to the actuator to selectively displace the movable element from a first position wherein one of said two holders is aligned with the first inlet and outlet so that correspondingly received said particle capturing element captures the particles during a first predetermined period of time, to a second position where said one holder having the selected capturing element received therein is aligned with the secondary aperture so as to be inspected upon operation of the optical sensing device.