Packet personal radiation monitor

Patent · Sat Dec 31 23:00:00 EST 1988

OSTI ID:867075

Phelps, James E ^[1]

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1. Knoxville, TN

A personal radiation monitor of the chirper type is provided for detecting ionizing radiation. A battery powered high voltage power supply is used to generate and apply a high voltage bias to a G-M tube radiation sensor. The high voltage is monitored by a low-loss sensing network which generates a feedback signal to control the high voltage power supply such that the high voltage bias is recharged to +500 VDC when the current pulses of the sensor, generated by the detection of ionizing radiation events, discharges the high voltage bias to +450 VDC. During the high voltage recharge period an audio transducer is activated to produce an audible "chirp". The rate of the "chirps" is controlled by the rate at which the high voltage bias is recharged, which is proportional to the radiation field intensity to which the sensor is exposed. The chirp rate sensitivity is set to be approximately 1.5 (chirps/min/MR/hr.). The G-M tube sensor is used in a current sensing mode so that the device does not paralyze in a high radiation field.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN
• Assignee: United States Department of Energy (Washington, DC)
• Patent Number(s): US 4857739
• OSTI ID: 867075
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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/250/
450
500
activated
apply
approximately
audible
audio
battery
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battery powered
bias
chirp
chirper
chirps
control
controlled
current
current pulse
current pulses
current sensing
detecting
detecting ionizing
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device
discharges
events
exposed
feedback
feedback signal
field
field intensity
g-m
g-m tube
generate
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generates
intensity
ionizing
ionizing radiation
low-loss
mode
monitor
monitored
network
packet
paralyze
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personal
personal radiation
power
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powered
produce
proportional
provided
pulses
radiation
radiation event
radiation events
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rate
recharge
recharged
sensing
sensitivity
sensor
set
signal
supply
transducer
tube
type
vdc
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voltage bias
voltage power