Patent ID: 8636883

Claim:
A hydrogen detector apparatus, comprising: a thin card structure comprising a top sheet with a window opening united with a bottom sheet; a hydrogen sensor device mounted and sandwiched between the top sheet and the bottom sheet of the thin card structure in a position that exposes the hydrogen gas sensor device to the window opening in the top sheet, said hydrogen gas sensor device comprising a thin layer of chemo-electric material that varies in electrical resistivity in response to exposure to hydrogen, at least two electrically conductive contacts in physical contact with the thin layer of chemo-electric material and spaced apart from each other by the intervening thin layer of chemo-electric material, and a catalyst layer disposed on a surface of the intervening thin layer of chemo-electric material; a detector circuit mounted and sandwiched between the top sheet and the bottom sheet and connected to the at least two electrically conductive contacts of the hydrogen sensor device in a manner that is capable of applying a voltage across the thin layer of chemo-electric material between the at least two electrically conductive contacts and detecting resistivity of the thin layer of chemo-electric material between the at least two electrically conductive contacts that is indicative of the thin layer of chemo-electric material being exposed to hydrogen and of generating a signal in response to such detection, said detector circuit comprising an RC circuit that includes a capacitor in series between the hydrogen sensor device and a ground to convert resistance in the hydrogen sensor device to time, and a microcontroller connected to the RC circuit programmed to measure a time required to discharge the capacitor through the hydrogen sensor from a threshold voltage level to a lower reference value and to compare such measured time to a time value that is indicative of a hydrogen concentration, and to generate the signal; and a transceiver circuit mounted and sandwiched between the top sheet and the bottom sheet, wherein said transceiver circuit is connected electrically to the detector circuit to receive the signal generated by the detector circuit and includes a transmitter which transmits information indicating presence of hydrogen at the hydrogen sensor device to a remote receiver in response to the signal generated by the detector circuit.