Patent ID: 8470248

Claim:
A gas identifying apparatus configured to identify a gas to be identified, said apparatus comprising: a gas detecting device configured so as to identify the gas to be identified in accordance with a color of a reagent which has chemically reacted with the gas to be identified; a database storing, in advance, gas identifying information which corresponds to a gas, and color information which corresponds to a color of a reagent chemically reacted with the gas, in relation to each other; a detector detecting the color of the reagent chemically reacted with the gas to be identified in said gas detecting device; and a controller identifying the color information which is most similar to the color detected by said detector, from the color information stored in said database, and reading the gas identifying information related to the identified color information from said database, wherein said reagent chemically reacts with the gas to be identified when the reagent flows into a medium that is held in contact with the gas to be identified in said gas detecting device, wherein said databases, as said color information, color change information representing a change from a color of said medium before said reagent flows into said medium to a color of said medium after said reagent flows into said medium and chemically reacts with the gas, wherein said detector detects the color of said medium before said reagent flows into said medium and the color of said medium after said reagent flows into said medium and chemically reacts with the gas, wherein said controller comprises: a color change detector detecting a change in the color of said medium in accordance with detected results from said detector; and a gas identifier identifying color change information, which is most similar to the change in the color of said medium which is detected by said color change detector, from the color change information stored in said database, and reading the gas identifying information related to the identified color change information said database, wherein said detector comprises: a light-emitting element applying light to said medium; an emitted-light guiding optical fiber guiding the light which is applied from said light-emitting element to said medium; a photodetector; and a light guided guiding the light, which is applied from said light-emitting element and then reflected from said medium, to said photodetector, said light guide including; an elliptical mirror; and reflected-light guiding optical fiber disposed at a focal position of the elliptical mirror, and wherein said photodetector is disposed at another focal position of said elliptical mirror.