Granted Patent B2

US 12,352,910 · App. 18/967,633 · Granted Jul 8, 2025

Inventor: Rune Shim Jacobsen (Skanderborg, DK)

Assignee: Jacobsen Scientific ApS

G01T1/244G01T1/178G01T1/245

Abstract

Claims (22)

1. An apparatus configured to measure decay(s) from Radon progeny, the apparatus comprising:

an air moving device configured to create an airflow;

a filter;

a pathway configured to guide the airflow through the filter, wherein the filter is configured to collect at least part of the Radon progeny in the airflow;

a semiconductor detector configured to detect alpha radiation from the Radon progeny collected by the filter, the semiconductor detector being configured to spectrally resolve the alpha radiation and output a detector signal indicative of two or more respective energy levels of the detected alpha radiation;

wherein the apparatus comprises or is connectable to electronic circuitry configured to interpret the detected alpha radiation to thereby perform a Radon measurement;

wherein the apparatus comprises or is connectable to an output device configured to output an equivalent equilibrium Radon concentration and/or to output a Radon concentration; and

wherein the semiconductor detector has an active area less than 225 mm 2 , wherein the filter is supported by a filter holder, and wherein the filter holder is fixedly positionable in the apparatus.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the active area of the semiconductor detector is less than 120 mm 2 .

3. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the filter is permanently attached to the filter holder, wherein at least part of the filter holder defines a periphery of the pathway and wherein the filter holder comprises at least one bulk rigid material.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the filter holder comprises at least one bulk rigid material with a Youngs modulus in a range between 0.1 Gpa and 600 Gpa.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the filter holder comprises at least one bulk rigid material with a Youngs modulus in a range between 0.1 Gpa and 200 Gpa.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the filter is a mechanical filter.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the filter is permanently built into the apparatus.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the filter is replaceable via one or more specialized tools.

9. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein a distance between the filter and said semiconductor detector is 2 mm or less.

10. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the semiconductor detector is on a PCB board, and wherein at least part of the electronic circuitry is also on the PCB board.

11. The apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising an air pressure sensor configured to sense a pressure associated with the airflow, wherein the apparatus is configured to use the sensed pressure to establish an airflow rate and/or an air volume that passes through the filter during the Radon measurement, and wherein the Radon measurement incorporates the airflow rate and/or the air volume.

12. The apparatus according to claim 11 , further comprising a dedicated choke in the pathway to induce a pressure difference measurable by the air pressure sensor.

13. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the apparatus comprises or is connectable to a persistent memory configured to store a number of remaining Radon measurements and/or measurement time that the apparatus can carry out using the filter.

14. The apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising at least one relative airtight pressure chamber in the pathway that guides the airflow, wherein at least one side of the pressure chamber comprises at least part of a PCB board.

15. A method performed using the apparatus according to claim 1 , comprising performing a Radon measurement using the apparatus in a place where air movement is unlikely due to limited ventilation.

Assignments (1)

Priority Claims (1)

Continuity (1)

References Cited (44)