Patent ID: 6978657

Claim:
A chemical detection device, comprising: a) a case; b) a chemical detector disposed within the case; c) a slot, disposed in the case, for receiving a substrate holder holding a porous metallic substrate contaminated with one or more target chemicals; d) electric heating means, disposed within the case, for resistively heating a porous metallic substrate held inside of a substrate holder that has been inserted into the detection slot, by causing electric current to flow through the substrate, whereby the flowing electricity directly heats the substrate by electric resistance heating; and e) means, disposed within the case, for moving a detection gas through a contaminated porous metallic substrate held inside of a substrate holder that has been inserted into the detection slot; and f) a substrate holder comprising: i) a pair of electrically-insulated, opposed panels pivotally connected to each other along one edge by a hinge, with panel latching means for clamping and tightly holding a porous metallic substrate between the panels, the substrate being electrically insulated from the panels; and ii) a pair of spaced electrical contacts mounted on the panels such that when the substrate is clamped and tightly held by the holder, the contacts touch the substrate and make good electrical contact; wherein the flow of detection gas is perpendicular to the substrate; and whereby target chemicals desorbed from the substrate are entrained into the detection gas and carried to the chemical detector for detection and analysis.