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1. AVA SONIGVSY H3H IH LX3N SNIHVd3tid 3SV31d 004 zl TIOHOS AWIASIC Sheet 8 of 11 5 303 575 Apr 19 1994 U S Patent 8 vie ves 218 2 134 LYOHS 018 068 330 HOLWALOV 1091400 15 NOLLOY 808 828 928 58 SNIGV3ti 1S3H9IH 039015 vcs S3A ONIGVAY LSSHOIH 3HO1S 18 S3A ne gt 1132 1304 0Y3H NO HOLVYALOV 2 3n3N3dO 13013 NV319 1815 U S Patent Apr 19 1994 Sheet 9 of 11 5 303 575 3 900 PRINTER PRINTER READY CALIBRATE NOW START CALIBRATE ROUTINE END PRESS SHOW METER FIG 9 DISPLAY 902 1SEC DISPLAY 904 1 SEC 906 908 DISPLAY CONTINUOUSLY DISPLAY WHILE REPORT 15 PRINTING DISPLAY 1SEC PRINT CANCELLED PRINT ZEROED EXCEPT TOTAL USAGE TOTAL SALES DISPLAY CONTINUOUSLY PRINT COMPLETE START 1 U S Patent Apr 19 1994 Sheet 10 of 11 5 303 575 CLEAN FUEL CELL 1000 SHORT FUEL CELL 1002 1004 PLEASE WAIT 10 SEC DELAY 1006 OPEN FUEL CELL 1008 SENSOR CLEANING 2 SEC DELAY DISPLAY 10 SEC DISPLAY 10 SEC 1010 READ FUEL CELL 1012 lt 5 ng or lt OOS BAC YES 1014 SHORT FUEL CELL 1016 DISPLAY 1 READY 16 10 U S Patent Apr 19 1994 Sheet 11 of 11 5 303 575 DISPLAY 2 SEC DI
2. S3A X 1531 8 ly N EEn EEA NYO oly Apr 19 1994 Luya SJA 1931 8 90 235 1531 3383 33V1NI oep 00 1531 3383 U S Patent 5 303 575 Sheet 5 of 11 Apr 19 1994 U S Patent Luvd 1531 088 Hivaua 8 9 1132 1374 LYOHS 9 8 NWA JAYS SJA 90 1132 1304 bes ONIZATWNY ATISNONNILNOD 864 AW1dSI0 NO HOLYNLOV JIdNVS 966 1132 N3dO ves Luvd ces 1531 035 13 6914 800935 5 oes ON 3455344 235 NIVOV AHL H3WI1 2358136 2351 ATNVISNOO 2350 S3A 815 ON AISNONNILNOD MON MOJA 935 zig Hivaue 2350 2351 016 NI OIOH 805 MVHIS 2351 AV1dSIQ 1V931 90S vsn NYO 205 t 08 AN 1931 A L LUVd 00S 1931 Sheet 6 of 11 5 303 575 Apr 19 1994 U S Patent r Lud 1531 SNIT1V3 51 13A31 YNOA dl 01 313Su nOA 153139 N3H1 SALANIW St NINO LON OG 002 30 WAWIXVN V SAV1dSIG HASAIWHLV3U8 SIHL 3NH0 LON OQ 1931 ti3AO 08 LINN 17931 059 25 14510 55 450 9701 WLOL 5 3 OL NWA GAY SIVA ANA
3. warn 29 Claims 11 Drawing Sheets 20 U S Patent Apr 19 1994 Sheet 1 of 11 5 303 575 FIG 1A FIG 1B Sheet 2 of 11 5 303 575 Apr 19 1994 U S Patent 6 27914 OS 82 WSINVHOSN NIOD HOLIMS olany 06 JYNSSaud 96 i ZZ 08 2 I 72 ndo N oz 9 HOSN3S GZ Tae SE 1 86 S3HOLIMS AV1dSIG SIOHLNOO NOlldO L Z cL LZ 8c 99 v9 9 Sheet 3 of 11 5 303 575 Apr 19 1994 U S Patent 1 19 1531 ATSNONNELNOO 913 SSA 55354 W313 MOHS Sax 3iv allvo 0355399 1 2 918 ple ON e57 lt 03193NNOO H31NItid OLE SBA ON NIOO 1HV1S 01 1H3SNI NOA 380438 MO SSIONWHO SVL AHM 1531 YNOA 380338 HLNOW JOHOOT 35 SL1NS3Y 1538 3 1HV1S OL NIOO LY3SNI NOA 340438 SSA IWHLV3US A18ISNOdS3H 3SV31d L LYV 008 1415 1514 vy Old 3NILNOW 1531 HIV3ua 5 303 575 1 4 92 MVULS 3371 5 05 MON MOTE 9 ON a
4. ing how they are functionally interconnected FIG 3 is a flow chart showing the main operating routine of the method of the present invention FIG 4 is a flow chart showing the free test routine of the method of the present invention FIG 5 is a flow chart showing the breath testing portion of the routine of the method of the present invention FIG 6 is a flow chart showing a second portion of the breath testing portion of the routine of the method of the present invention FIG 7 is a flow chart showing the cleaning portion of the breath test routine of the method of the present invention FIG 8 is flow chart showing the calibrate routine of the method of the present invention FIG 9 is a flow chart showing the printer routine of the method of the present invention FIG 10 is a flow chart showing the fuel cell cleaning routine of the method of the present invention and FIG 11 is a flow chart showing the coin meter rou tine of the method of the present invention Reference will now be made to FIGS 1A and 1B which show a preferred embodiment of breath testing apparatus according to the present invention as indi cated by the general reference numeral 20 in use The breath testing apparatus 20 comprises a robust cabinet 5 303 575 7 21 that is adapted to withstand potential abuse that might be received from an intoxicated person who has been informed by the apparatus that he is over the legal blood alcohol limi
5. last servicing and print out and the number of each test that have fallen into each of the categories PASS WARN and FAIL are then set to zero The routine then circulates in a small loop as defined as boxes 920 922 thearrow going from box 922 tobox 920 while waiting for the printer to be disconnected At box 920 PRINT COMPLETE message is displayed on the alphanumeric display means 28 At box 922 it is deter mined whether the printer 79 is connected If the printer 79 is still connected then the routine goes to box 920 to continue to display the PRINT COMPLETE mes sage Once the printer 79 is disconnected the routine falls through the decision box 922 and passes to the end of the PRINTER routine where it returns to the start of the MAIN routine at box 300 as indicated by box 924 The CLEAN FUEL CELL routine will now be described with reference to FIG 10 which starts at box 1000 The alcohol concentration sensor 32 is first elec trically closed by deactivating shorting 41 as shown at box 1002 A PLEASE WAIT message is displayed on the alphanumeric display means 28 for a period of about ten seconds in order to allow all of the electrochemical potential of the alcohol concentration sensor 32 to be exhausted The alcohol concentration sensor 32 is then electrically opened by activation of shorting relay 41 in order that the electrical potential of the alcohol concentration sensor 32 can b
6. where it is reacted in a conventional manner so as to produce an analogue voltage proportional to the amount of alcohol molecules reacted During the time that the alcohol concentration sensor 32 is reacting the testing sample that has been drawn from the breath sample the alphanumeric display means 28 displays a WAIT ANALYSING message as shown at box 538 in order to inform the individual user 22 that nothing else is to be done and that he or she will have to wait for the results to be displayed The CPU 30 then accepts a reading from the alcoho concentration sensor 32 as shown at box 540 and thereafter deter mines whether this is the highest reading that has been taken by comparing this reading to a previous reading If the latest reading is the same as or lower than the previous reading then it is determined that the previous reading is the highest reading and this highest reading is saved in computer memory as shown at box 544 The reading of the alcohol concentration sensor 32 and the determination whether this is the highest reading boxes 540 and 542 are done on a continuous basis until the highest reading is achieved as indicated by the routine path from the box 542 back to the box 540 After the highest reading value has been saved at box 544 the alcohol concentration sensor 32 is then electrically closed by de activation of shorting relay 41 which in actuality means that it is shorted out so that a potential volta
7. display means one of either 1 the category corresponding to said numeric value as being one of pass warn and fail and 2 said numeric value derived from said measurement value 11 The method of claim 10 further comprising the Step of 45 50 55 60 65 0 displaying to said individual user by way of said alphanumeric display means the other one of 1 the category corresponding to said numeric value as being one of pass warn and fail and 2 said numeric value derived from said mea surement value 12 The method of claim 11 wherein step a further comprises the step of instructing said individual user by way of said alpha numeric display means as to how to initiate inter facing with the apparatus in order to commence the subsequent testing sequence 13 The method of claim 11 wherein the first step of said method comprises the step of informing said individual user by way of said alpha numeric display means of the legal limits of a driv er s blood alcohol content level 14 The method of claim 13 further comprising the step of k where i said category is pass a displaying to said individual user by way of said alphanumeric display means a message to encourage said individual user to perform a retest after a first specified length of time in the event that said individual user consumes additional alcohol ii said catego
8. elapsed the routine returns to box 524 to check again whether the gauge pressure of the individ ual user s 22 breath sample has dropped below the threshold value gauge pressure If at box 530 it is deter mined that three seconds have elapsed by checking the timer that was set at box 520 then the routine advances to the BREATH TEST part 2 as indicated at box 532 0 20 35 55 60 16 Essentially the routine remains within the two loops defined by boxes 514 through 528 until the individual user 22 provides a breath sample at or above the thresh old value gauge pressure for three seconds or greater or unless the manual inject button 66 is pressed The BREATH TEST routine part 2 which starts at box 532 first electrically opens the alcohol concentra tion sensor 32 that is used to convert the captured alco hol molecules into an analog electrical signal by activat ing the shorting relay 41 as shown at box 534 The alcohol concentration sensor 32 is electrically closed before this point in time by way of deactivation of the shorting relay 41 in order to ensure that it is starting from a zero voltage reference The sample actuator is then turned on as shown at box 536 which causes a small sample of the individual user s 22 breath to be taken immediately after the predetermined length per iod of time A testing sample of the individual user s 22 breath sample then enters the alcohol concentration sensor 32
9. for about one second as shown at box 506 The individual user 22 is then instructed as to how to initiate interfacing with the breath testing apparatus 20 Specifically the indi vidual user 22 is instructed to take a straw hold the straw in the input 26 to take a deep breath and to blow now as shown in boxes 508 510 512 and 514 respec tively The messages in boxes 508 510 and 512 are each displayed for about one second The blow now message is displayed continuously until it is determined that the individual user 22 is blowing properly as will be de scribed subsequently If the manual inject button 66 is pressed the routine goes to the start of the BREATH TEST routine part 2 as shown by box 532 This is because a breath sample is not required and the sample that is manually injected is merely to be tested by the breath testing device 20 If the manual inject button 66 is not pressed the rou tine monitors the gauge pressure of the individual user s 22 breath sample in order to determine whether the gauge pressure is at or above a threshold value as shown at box 518 If the pressure is not above the threshold value gauge pressure then the routine returns to box 514 and again instructs the individual user 22 to blow now If it is determined that box 518 that the gauge pressure of the individual user s 22 breath sample is at or above a threshold value gauge pressure then it is necessary to determine whether the gauge pressur
10. of the CPU 30 will be discussed subsequently The alcohol concentration sensor 32 has a metering valve 34 mechanically operatively connected thereto The metering valve 34 controls the flow of fluid a testing sample into the alcohol concentration sensor 32 The metering valve 34 has set button 35 that is depressed during the time when a testing sample is not required and released when a testing sample is required A solenoid controlled activating mechanism 38 is spring biased by a biasing spring 39 to depress the set button 35 when a testing sample is not required which is most of the time When a testing sample is required the sole noid controlled activating mechanism 38 pulls back against the biasing spring 39 thereby releasing the set button 35 of the alcoho concentration sensor and caus ing a testing sample of about 1 5 cc to be captured by the alcohol concentration sensor The solenoid con trolled activating mechanism 38 is activated by the CPU 30 in conjunction with the pressure switch 36 becoming electrically closed The electrical output 33 of the alcohol concentration sensor 32 which provides a direct current analogue signal proportional to the alcohol concentration of the sample that has been drawn thereinto is connected in electrically conductive relation to an operational ampli fier 40 The operational amplifier 40 amplifies the signal from the output 33 of the alcohol concentration sensor 32
11. self administered breath testing devices do not make provision for informing an individ ual user of the proper procedure for providing a testing sample It has been found that presently available self administered breath testing devices generally lack a sufficient and proper operating methodology necessary for permitting the easy and proper use by an untrained individual user in an unsupervised setting Further an individual user must know how to cor rectly interpret the results that are displayed and also how to use these results in a safe and appropriate man ner An individual user should know what the legal limit of alcohol is must be informed of whether he or she is over this legal limit should be informed if he or she is only slightly below the legal limit and should be advised to perform retest in certain situations such as when he or she is only slightly below the legal limit as it is extremely important in this situation to determine whether an individual user s blood alcoho content is rising or falling The individual user should also be advised if the measured alcohol content is extremely high and that such a high reading might also indicate that the test has not been performed properly It has been found that presently available prior art self administrable breath testing devices generally lack a sufficient and proper operating methodology neces sary to provide such information in its entirety in a sufficiently usef
12. so as to be at a suitable level for input to a peak detector circuit 44 The peak detector circuit 44 receives the analogue voltage from the operational amplifier 40 A potentiom eter 42 is connected from the output of the peak detec tor circuit 44 to the input of the A D converter 46 to allow the signal level to be adjusted as will be described subsequently with reference to the CALIBRATION routine as shown in FIG 8 The peak detector circuit 44 is adapted to monitor this voltage and to produce a output voltage corresponding to the peak voltage re ceived from the operational amplifier 40 This output voltage is a measurement value of the alcohol content of the testing sample that is the representative portion of the individual user s 22 breath sample When this peak voltage is realized the peak detector circuit 44 passes this peak voltage to its output 45 In this manner the alcohol concentration sensor 32 the operational ampli fier 40 and the peak detector circuit 44 are the means for effecting an automated electrochemical analysis of the breath sample provided by the individual user 22 The output 45 of the peak detector circuit 44 is elec trically connected to an analogue to digital A D con verter 46 The peak voltage obtained from the opera 5 303 575 9 tional amplifier 40 as determined by the peak detector circuit 44 is passed to the analogue to digital A D converter 46 which converts this peak voltage to an 8 bi
13. standard computer pro gramming flow charts that incorporate decision boxes in the form of a rhombus subroutine boxes in the form of a rounded rectangle start boxes in the form of a rounded rectangle and message boxes in the form of a squared rectangle Each of the boxes in FIGS 3 11 is labelled with a three or four digit number with either the first one or two digits as appropriate indicating the Figure number and the last two digits indicating the box of the respective Figure For example in FIG 3 the first box is labelled 300 and the last box is labelled 332 with the boxes in between labelled 302 304 306 328 and 330 In FIG 10 the first box is labelled 1000 and the last box is labelled 1018 with the boxes in be tween labelled 1002 1004 1006 1014 and 1016 This numbering system has been employed for ease of refer ence between the text and drawings herein Reference will now be made to FIG 3 which shows the main operating routine hereinafter referred to as the MAIN ROUTINE of the method of the present invention of conducting a blood alcohol content level test on an individual user and subsequently calculating and displaying a meaningful test result as carried out by the device 20 just described with reference to FIGS 3 through 11 After electrical power to the breath testing device 20 is turned on the method starts at box 300 which leads into an initial message being displayed by the alphanu meric displ
14. the free test mode the routine diverts to the FREE TEST routine as will be discussed in greater detail subsequently with reference to FIG 4 The purpose of the FREE TEST routine is to attract individual users to the breath testing device 20 If it is determined at box 306 that coins are required then the routine continues to box 310 where it is deter 10 15 20 25 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 12 mined whether the printer is connected If the printer is connected the PRINTER routine is performed as indi cated by box 312 and as is shown in detail in FIG 9 The PRINTER routine basically allows the information stored within the computer memory of the breath test ing device 20 to be printed out by a temporarily con nected printer If the printer is not connected the routine continues to box 314 which determines whether the calibrate button 62 has been pressed in which case the CALI BRATE routine is performed as indicated by box 316 and as shown in more detail in FIG 8 The CALI BRATE routine will be described in greater detail sub sequently with reference to FIG 8 If the calibrate button 62 is not pressed the routine continues to box 318 where it is determined whether the show meter button 64 is pressed If the show meter button 64 is pressed then the routine goes to the show meter box 320 and the routine goes to the COIN METER routine as will be described in greater detail subsequently w
15. 12 is then displayed that indicates that the device is preparing for a next test and cleaning the sensor and that it may require up to two minutes This message keeps people who are waiting for the machine from thinking that the machine might be malfunctioning since it is not available to be used during this time Again the alcohol concentration sensor 32 is electri cally opened by activating the shorting relay 41 and read as shown at boxes 714 and 716 Again the reading value is determined at decision box 718 If the value is now less than 5 the routine proceeds to box 708 to electrically close the alcohol concentration sensor 32 by deactivating the shorting relay 41 as described previ ously Again the routine proceeds from box 708 as described previously If the value is determined to be 5 or greater at deci sion box 718 then the alcohol concentration sensor 32 is electrically opened by activating the shorting relay 41 before the routine subsequently proceeds to the CLEAN FUEL CELL routine as shown at box 722 The CLEAN FUEL CELL routine will be described in greater detail subsequently with reference to FIG 10 When the CLEAN FUEL CELL routine is finished the routine returns to this point and then proceeds to the decision box 724 to determine whether coins are re quired or whether the breath testing device 20 is in its FREE TEST mode as shown at box 726 The appro priate test is then proceeded with Reference will now b
16. 5 20 25 30 35 24 said gauge pressure is at or above a threshold value gauge pressure c determining whether said gauge pressure of said individual user s breath sample remains at or above said threshold value gauge pressure for a predeter mined length of time instructing said individual user by way of said alphanumeric display means to wait and blow again in the event that said gauge pressure does not remain at or above said threshold value for said predetermined length of time e performing steps c and d until said individual user provides a breath sample at or above said threshold value for said predetermined length of time f capturing a testing sample that is a representative portion of said individual user s breath sample sub sequent to said individual user providing a breath sample at or above said threshold value for said predetermined length of time g effecting an automated electrochemical analysis of said breath sample so as to produce a measure ment value of the alcohol content of said represen tative portion of said individual user s breath sam ple h obtaining said measurement value resulting from said automated electrochemical analysis i calculating a numeric value derived from said Measurement value said numeric value thereby being related to said individual user s blood alcohol content level and G displaying to said individual user by way of said alphanumeric
17. R routine is in operation The manual inject button 615 used inorder to allow the portion of the routine being processed by the CPU that requires a person to provide a proper breath sample to be skipped Skipping of this portion of the routine al lows for calibration to be performed as will be de scribed subsequently with reference to FIG 8 and also allows for the breath testing apparatus 20 to be demon strated or tested by using a suitable aerosol spray can that delivers a gas having a known alcohol concentra tion 20 25 35 40 45 50 60 65 10 A number of option switches that are used to control the operation of the apparatus 20 are also mounted on the main board A free test option switch 71 is used to put the apparatus into a free test mode which allows tests to be performed for free and which will be de scribed subsequently with reference to FIG 4 A coins required option switch 72 is used to select the required number of coins that must be entered in order to start the normal operating routine of the breath testing appa ratus 20 thereby allowing the price of using the appara tus 20 to be selectable A format option switch 73 allows the apparatus 20 to be switched between Canadian and U S formats in the preferred embodiment or other formats as necessary which controls some information and perimeters that are subsequently displayed The option switches 71 72 73 are preferably standard dip swit
18. SPLAY 2 SEC START 1 FREE TEST FIG 11 5 303 575 1 APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CONDUCTING AN UNSUPERVISED BLOOD ALCOHOL CONTENT LEVEL TEST FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to electronic based devices for automatically conducting an unsupervised chemical analysis test and more particularly to electronic based devices for testing the blood alcohol content of an indi vidual user and meaningfully displaying the results of such a test Further this invention relates to the method of conducting such unsupervised chemical analysis tests used in conjunction with such devices BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or at least being in the situation of wanting to operate a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol is a widespread problem in modern society While some individual users are not generally con cerned about operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol others are genuinely concerned about doing so because of the potential adverse conse quences It is sometimes difficult for an individual user to be able to objectively judge whether they have ex ceeded the threshold for obeing able to legally operate a motor vehicle particularly as objective judgment is impaired as alcohol is consumed A very common threshold value of blood alcohol content level for deter mining whether an individual user is able to legally operate a motor v
19. ST routine over If it is determined at box 460 that the gauge pressure of the individual user s 22 breath sample has not dropped below the threshold value gauge pressure then the routine continues to decision box 466 to determine whether three seconds have elapsed since the three second timer was set at box 456 If three seconds have not elapsed then the routine back to box 460 to again check the gauge pressure of the individual user s 22 breath sample If three seconds have elapsed the indi vidual user 22 has been able to provide a breath sample at or above a threshold value gauge pressure for at least three seconds and the routine exits to the BREATH TEST routine part 2 as shown at box 468 which will be described in greater detail subsequently Reference will now be made to FIG 5 which shows the BREATH TEST routine parts 1 and 2 with the part 1 of the BREATH TEST routine starting at box 500 The BREATH TEST routine instructs the individ ual user 22 on the proper procedure for providing a suitable breath sample At box 502 the appropriate format option switch 73 is checked to determine 5 303 575 15 whether the device is in Canadian or U S format If the device is in Canadian format an alphanumeric message that the legal limit is 80 milligrams per 100 ml of blood is displayed for about one second as shown at box 504 and if the device is U S format an alphanumeric mes sage that the legal limit is 0 080 is displayed
20. United States Patent Brown et al 54 75 73 21 22 51 52 58 56 APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CONDUCTING AN UNSUPERVISED BLOOD ALCOHOL CONTENT LEVEL TEST Inventors Gordon R Brown Toronto Gerald H Herlinger Bolton both of Canada Assignee Alcotech Research Inc Mississauga Canada Appl No Filed Int 5 0 8 Field of Search 69 862 Jun 1 1993 G01N 33 497 73 23 3 364 497 422 84 436 900 73 23 3 340 576 128 719 422 84 436 900 364 497 499 413 02 413 03 413 08 413 09 References Cited U S PATENT DOCUMENTS 3 338 087 8 1967 3 764 270 10 1973 3 858 434 1 1975 3 877 291 4 1975 4 093 945 6 1978 4 132 109 1 1979 4 300 384 11 1981 4 592 443 6 1986 4 749 553 6 1988 4 868 545 9 1989 4 926 164 5 1990 Moberg et 73 23 3 Collier et al Hoppesch et al Hoppesch et al Collier et al Vandersyde Wiesner et al Simon Lopez et al JONES Porter et 340 576 Primary Examiner Hezron Williams Assistant Examiner Joseph W Roskos 22 US005303575A Patent Number 5 303 575 455 Date of Patent 19 1994 Attorney Agent or Firm Patrick J Hofbauer 57 ABSTRACT An automated unsupervised apparatus
21. ZNSYONI 23501 ONITIV4 SI ek AV1dSIG W1LOL STIV T3A311OHO21TV YNOA 4 393H3 OL 935 0 6 OL SUV 1 5 153139 N3H1 5 St TOHOOT LON OQ a IN3W3YONI JAYO LON OQ LINN 1V931 069 08 LINK 1V931 5 45 1 3 St 819 13 31 31 OL 313SH OA 153139 S31nNIW SI NING LON OG W931 3tiV NOA 3AIHG LON 08 1V931 5 14610 1101 NYVM OL 1N3W3tONI SJA OA l XXX SSVd 5 23501 olg 80 OL3nTVA135 SSHODLMS SNOILdO lt 09 1 101 SSVd OL 3NA GAY 5355 4 ANANAYONI SXNINO ti31 JV 3135 0 1S3S3ti 08 LINN 1V931 TIOHOS AV1dSIQ 1 4 919 9 1531 Sheet 7 of 11 5 303 575 Apr 19 1994 U S Patent 922 gzz Z 914 SNIOD SJA vel ANILNOY 1139 1139 1304 LHOHS col 814 90 914 1139 1303 1139 1305 LYOHS 2 1130 1305 toz PLZ 1139 1905 NadO 1130 13035 N3dO 0 p LYVd 318ISSOd 51 1531 LXAN 3HOdd8 1531 12 HOSNAS 5 OL dN
22. at the output 33 of the alcohol concentration sensor After the peak electrical potential value is realized and ultimately captured by the peak detector circuit 44 the shorting relay 41 is deactivated so as to again short out the output 33 of the alcohol concentration sensor 32 concurrent with the depression of the set button 35 A conventional coin mechanism 50 which accepts coins through its coin input 52 is electrically connected to the CPU 30 by way of an output line 54 and an input line 6 When a coin is inserted through the coin input 52 the coin mechanism 50 signals the CPU 30 by way of its output line 54 The coin mechanism 50 is controlled by the CPU 30 by way of its input line 56 such that coins may be accepted only at certain times as designated by the CPU 30 A number of user controls which are preferably push buttons are also mounted on the main circuit board In the preferred embodiment there is a calibrate button 62 a show meter button 64 and a manual inject button 66 These push buttons are electrically con nected to appropriate inputs of the CPU 30 The cali brate button 62 is used to invoke the calibrate routine for calibrating the breath testing apparatus 20 The show meter button 64 is used to invoke the coin meter routine which displays the number of tests that have been conducted and other information related thereto The show meter button 64 is also used to start a printer 79 printing when the PRINTE
23. ay means 28 as shown in box 304 which message encourages an individual user to use the ma chine for safety reasons to insert a coin to start and also instructs the individual user 22 to rinse any alcohol from his or her mouth before preforming the test When box 304 is reached for the first time this message in box 304 is displayed on the alphanumeric display means 28 The entire message cannot fit at one time on to the alphanu meric display means 28 in the preferred embodiment and thus only the first 16 characters letters or spaces or symbols are displayed On each pass through the rou tine between boxes 300 and 306 when box 304 is reached the message is scrolled by one character A small timing loop can be used if necessary in order to set the speed of the scrolling of the characters In the preferred embodiment the message box 304 is PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY BREA THALYSE BEFORE YOU DRIVE INSERT COIN TO START FOR BEST RESULTS RINSE ALCO HOL FROM MOUTH BEFORE YOUR TEST WHY TAKE CHANCES BLOW BEFORE YOU GO INSERT COIN TO START After the initial message is displayed or scrolled the routine checks to see whether a coin is required as shown at box 306 The routine thereby determines whether the device is in its free test mode which free test mode is set by way of the free test option switch 71 which is located inside the breath testing device 20 and is accessible to the service operator only In
24. c display means 28 at a rate that is readable by a slightly intoxi cated individual user until the entire message has been displayed After each of the message in boxes 614 626 638 and 648 have been fully displayed the routine passes to the respective one of boxes 616 628 640 and 650 which causes the information regarding results of the test to be stored in computer memory Specifically the total number of PASSES WARNINGS and FAILS results are incremented as appropriate thus allowing statistics to be retrieved from the device Such Statistics are important in verifying the usefulness of such breath testing devices in drinking establishments and the like It is also possible to store the actual numerical result in computer memory and subsequently retrieve a distri bution of the accumulated results Further each time the test is_performed a counter value in the computer random access memory RAM 74 is incremented so that the operator of the breath testing device will know how many tests have been performed In the preferred embodiment the number of tests performed since the device was last serviced is stored and numbers related to this number of tests such as money generated money allotted to the proprietor of the drinking establishment tax money to be forwarded to the government and so on can be stored in computer memory for subsequent printing out The PRINTER routine will be described in greater detail sub
25. c value derived from the mea surement value the numeric value thereby being related to the individual user s blood alcohol con tent level and j displaying to the individual user by way of an alphanumeric display means one of either 1 the category corresponding to the numeric value as being of pass warn and and 2 the numeric value derived from the measurement value Other objects features and characteristics of the pres ent invention as well as methods of operation and func tions of the related elements of the structure and the combination of parts and economies of manufacture will become more apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description and the appended claims with reference to the accompanying drawings all of which form a part of this specification DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Introduction to the Drawings FIG 1A is a perspective view of a preferred embodi ment of a breath testing apparatus according to the present invention in situ with a user about to blow through a straw into the breath testing unit so as to provide a breath sample FIG 1B is a front elevational view of the breath testing device of FIG 1A displaying the results of the analysis of the test performed on the breath sample of the individual user shown in FIG 1A FIG 2 is a pictorial schematic view of the compo nents of the apparatus of the present invention illustrat
26. ccordingly it is not suitable for unsupervised use by an untrained individual user U S Pat No 4 093 945 to Collier et al discloses a breath testing system suitable for direct installation in an automobile This system indicates when it is ready to be used when it is actually testing and whether the results of the test are pass or fail These indications are all presented by way of small lights or light emitting di odes This system has all of the shortcomings of the prior art device described above except that it can be used in an unsupervised manner This is because an individual user would need to instruct himself in the proper operation of this device if it was installed in an individual user s car failing which the car would be rendered inoperable Such would not be the case with a device installed in a licensed drinking establishment One desirable aspect of testing for an individual user s blood alcohol content level is to re test an individual user whose first test indicates that he she is near the maximum legal blood alcoho content level but not over it If only one test is performed it is not known whether that individual user s blood alcohol content level is rising or falling The desirability of this feature is shown in U S Pat No 4 926 164 to Porter et al wherein a vehicle breath monitoring device is adapted to require a retest after 8 minutes if a blood alcohol content level slightly below the legal limit is r
27. ches which are commonly used in the industry for such purposes The function and operation of the option switches 71 72 73 will be described in greater detail subsequently In the preferred embodiment 2 kilobytes of computer memory in the form of non volatile random access memory RAM 74 are connected in electrically con ductive relation by way of a common computer bus 75 with the CPU 30 This random access memory RAM 74 is used to store data regarding test results produced by the breath testing apparatus 20 such as the number of tests performed the aggregate of the numeric values calculated the number of numeric values in each of the categories PASS WARN and FAIL and the amount of money input into said apparatus These data may include the number of tests performed the aggre gate of the numeric values calculated the number of numeric values in each of the categories PASS WARN and FAIL and the amount of money input into said apparatus These results and related data subsequently be printed out on the printer 79 which is electrically connected to the CPU 30 by way ofa conventional RS232 communications port 78 Pref erably some of the stored data is cleared from com puter random access memory after being printed by the printer In this manner the data relates to the number of tests conducted since the last time the data in breath testing apparatus 20 were printed out which would
28. cohol concentration sensor 32 as shown at box 812 This reading is amplified and input into the peak detector circuit 44 and the peak reading that is realized is passed to the CPU 30 through the analogue to digital converter 46 and then is displayed on the alphanumeric display means 28 as shown by box 814 This peak reading is then stored in the computer ran dom access memory RAM 74 A small waiting loop is set up at box 816 where the routine waits for the value 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 65 20 to be received from the peak detector circuit 44 and converted to a digital that can be used Once the deter mination has been made at box 816 that the highest reading is available then the routine continues to box 818 which causes the reading to be held in computer random access memory 74 The routine then proceeds to decision box 820 which determines whether a period of ten seconds has elapsed Basically this is for timing purposes in order to allow the service operator performing the CALIBRATION routine a time of ten seconds in which to finish the calibration of the breath testing device 20 During the ten second period the loop in the routine defined by the boxes 820 822 824 and 826 and the loop that goes from box 826 back to box 820 repeatedly causes the held value of the alcohol concentration sensor 32 which was stored in random access computer memory 74 at box 818 to be read and the measured level of t
29. display means for instructing the indi vidual user to wait and blow again in the event that the gauge pressure does not remain at or above the 5 10 threshold value for the predetermined length of 5 time means for capturing a testing sample that is a repre sentative portion of the individual user s breath sample subsequent to the individual user providing a breath sample at or above the threshold value for the predetermined length of time means for effecting an automated electrochemical analysis of the testing sample means for producing a measurement value of the alcohol content of the testing sample and microprocessor means for calculating a numeric value derived from the measurement value the numeric value thereby being related to the individ ual user s blood alcohol content level wherein said alphanumeric display means also dis plays to the individual user one of either 1 the category corresponding to the numeric value as being one of pass warn and fail and 2 the numeric value derived from the measurement value In accordance with another aspect of the present invention there is provided an automated method of conducting a blood alcohol content level test on an individual user through the use of an unsupervised ap paratus and subsequently discerning and displaying a meaningful test result The method comprises the steps of a i instructing the individual user by way of an alphanum
30. e made to FIG 8 which shows the CALIBRATE routine starting with box 800 The CALIBRATE routine is used to ensure that the breath testing device 20 is properly calibrated so as to produce accurate measurement of the blood alcohol content level in subsequent tests and is performed by a qualified and authorized service operator For calibration pur poses an aerosol spray can not shown containing alcohol molecules is used The relative concentration of alcohol molecules that would be produced by this spray can has previously been tested in a factory setting and this value is indicated on the can The breath testing device 20 must be calibrated so as to indicate this num ber in the following manner The alphanumeric display means 28 prompts the operator to inject the sample of the gas and alcohol molecules from the aerosol spray can at box 804 The service operator then sprays a sam ple into the input 26 and then presses the manual inject button 66 so that the sample is taken immediately with out the necessity of a threshold value gauge pressure to be realized The alcohol concentration sensor 32 is then electrically opened by activation of the shorting relay 41 so that a potential voltage corresponding to the con centration of alcohol molecules received by the alcohol concentration sensor 32 can be produced at its electrical leads as shown at box 808 The sample actuator is turned on as shown as box 810 and a sample is captured into the al
31. e of the individual user s 22 breath sample remains at or above this threshold value gauge pressure for a prede termined length period of time which predetermined length period of time in the preferred embodiment is three seconds The routine continues to box 520 at which box 520 a three second timer is set The individ ual user 22 is then instructed by way of an alphanumeric message to KEEP BLOWING as shown at box 522 This alphanumeric message in box 522 is displayed con tinuously until the gauge pressure of the individual user s 22 breath sample drops below the threshold value gauge pressure or until three seconds have lapsed This can be seen at boxes 524 and 530 Box 524 is a decision box that determines whether the gauge pressure of the individual user s 22 breath sample has dropped If the gauge pressure of the individual user s 22 breath sample has dropped the message WAIT TRY AGAIN as shown in box 526 and the message BLOW CON STANTLY as shown in box 528 are each displayed for about one second The routine then returns to box 514 in order to instruct the individual user 22 to BLOW NOW At box 524 if the gauge pressure of the individual user s 22 breath sample has not dropped below the threshold value gauge pressure then it is determined at box 530 whether the predetermined length period of time of three seconds has elapsed If this predetermined length period of time of three sec onds has not
32. e read as shown at box 1006 Another message is displayed as shown at box 1008 that indicates the alcohol concentra tion sensor 32 is being cleaned The value of the electri cal potential of the alcohol concentration sensor 32 is then read as shown at box 1010 The determination is made whether this reading is less than 5 milligrams of alcohol per 100 ml of blood at decision box 1012 ifit is not less than 5 the routine returns to box 1002 to per form the cleaning operation again If it is determined at box 1012 that the reading from the alcohol concentra tion sensor 32 is less than 5 milligrams per 100 ml then the alcohol concentration sensor 32 is electrically closed by de activation of the shorting relay 41 so as to not build up any electrical potential as indicated at box 1014 A READY message is then displayed for about one second as indicated by box 1016 and the end of the CLEAN FUEL CELL routine is then reached as indi cated at box 1018 Reference will now be made to FIG 11 in order to describe the COIN METER routine starting a box 1100 The COIN METER routine displays the number of sales that have been made and the commission for the owner of the establishment as shown at boxes 1102 and 1104 A determination is then made a decision box 1106 whether coins are required If it is determined that coins are not required then the routine jumps to the FREE TEST routine as indicated by box 1110 If it is deter mined that co
33. ealized upon a first test The device only beeps after the 8 min ute period in order to indicate that a retest should be done Again specific knowledge of the operation of the device must be had by an individual user using the device in order to use it properly It is also known to provide an electronic digital dis play of the blood alcohol level as taught in U S Pat No 4 749 553 to Lopez et al This patent also teaches the use of digital electronics to perform the testing operation and also to store the results of the test in random access computer memory for later use It does not however provide adequate instructions for the proper operation of the device Another important aspect of properly and accurately testing for blood alcohol content level by way of cap turing and analyzing an individual user s breath sample is informing that individual user that the test results might be inaccurate if the test results are very high 20 35 45 which high test results may be caused by the presents of 59 alcohol in the individual user s mouth It is necessary to inform the individual user that the test should be per formed again after the individual user s mouth has been rinsed Such instructions are not provided by the vari ous devices disclosed in the prior art It has been found that it is common for individual users to not test for their blood alcohol content level upon leaving a licensed drinking establishment even tho
34. ehicle is 80 milligrams of alcohol per liter of blood or otherwise expressed 0 08 blood alcohol content In order to make it possible for an individual user who has been consuming alcohol to make a proper and objective judgment as to whether he might be in a con dition to legally operate a motor vehicle it is necessary to test for that individual user s blood alcohol content in some manner While it is possible to directly test an individual user s blood alcohol content level by way of taking a blood sample and analyzing that sample this method is generally unsatisfactory for self administra tion and may raise legal issues when administered by others since it involves the invasion of an individual user s body by a needle It is also possible to relatively accurately discern an individual user s blood alcohol content level in an indirect manner by analyzing a sample of an individual user s breath that has been ob tained from the bottom portion of the individual user s lungs which sample is hereinafter referred to as a test ing sample Many establishments that serve alcohol have testing devices located within their premises that allow an individual user to attempt to discern his or her blood alcohol content level in this manner Various types of such testing devices utilizing differ ent operating mechanisms are known Each type how ever receives an individual user s breath sample and ultimately produces by way of an elec
35. ently with several messages displayed in proper sequence to com pletely instruct the individual user 22 on the proper use of the breath testing device 20 of the present invention Further subsequent results and interpretation of these results are displayed as shown in FIG 1B In FIG 1B the individual user 22 performing the test has completed the portion of the test where a breath sample is pro vided As shown on the display means 28 the individual user 22 has a blood alcohol content level of about 30 mg 100 ml of blood which is well below the normally recognized legal limit of 80 mg ml of blood The alpha numeric display means 28 correspondingly displays the results of the test in the form PASS 30 Reference will now be made to FIG 2 which shows the components of the breath testing apparatus 20 and the functional interconnection of these components The overall operation of the apparatus 20 is controlled by a CPU 30 which is preferably a standard Motorola 6803 CPU or may be any other standard suitable CPU Indirectly connected to and controlled by the CPU 30 as more fully described below is an alcohol concen tration sensor 32 which is adapted to effect automated electrochemical analysis of the testing sample of the individual user s 22 breath sample Preferably the alco hol concentration sensor 32 is in the form of a fuel cell A suitable fuel cell is manufactured by and available from Lion Laboratories Limited o
36. er in an unsupervised setting It is a further object of the present invention to pro vide an apparatus for conducting an unsupervised test of the level of blood alcohol content of an individual user which apparatus informs the individual user how to correctly interpret the test results It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for conducting an unsupervised test of the level of blood alcohol content of an individ ual user which apparatus informs the individual user in the event that the test has not been performed properly It another object of the present invention to provide an automated method for conducting an unsupervised test of the level of blood alcohol content of an individ ual user which method allows that individual user to accurately and objectively determine his her blood alcohol content level It is a further object of the present invention to pro vide an automated method for conducting an unsuper vised test of the level of blood alcohol content of an individual user which method makes provisions for informing that individual user on an interactive basis about the proper procedures for providing a testing sample It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide an automated method for conducting an unsu pervised test of the level of blood alcohol content of an individual user which method provides instructions to permit the easy and proper use thereof by an untrained i
37. erein is then displayed on the alpha numeric display means 28 along with the category of PASS WARN or FAIL These results are dis played for a period of ten seconds after which related messages as shown in FIG 6 at boxes 614 616 626 628 638 640 648 and 650 are displayed on the alpha numeric display means 28 The breath testing apparatus 20 then cleans the alcohol concentration sensor 32 be fore it ends that particular test sequence and returns to its initial waiting stage where the original prompting message as shown in box 304 is again displayed while the breath testing apparatus 20 waits for another indi vidual user to insert coins and perform the test We claim 1 An automated unsupervised apparatus for conduct ing a blood alcohol content level test on an individual user and subsequently discerning and displaying a meaningful test result said apparatus comprising alphanumeric display means for instructing said indi vidual user to commence blowing into said appara tus so as to provide a breath sample pressure switch means for monitoring the gauge pres sure of said individual user s breath sample in order 5 303 575 23 to determine whether said gauge pressure is at or above a threshold value gauge pressure timer means for determining whether said gauge pres sure of said individual user s breath sample remains at or above said threshold value gauge pressure for a predetermined leng
38. eric display means to commence blowing into the apparatus so as to provide a breath sample b monitoring the gauge pressure of the individual user s breath sample in order to determine whether the gauge pressure is at or above a threshold value gauge pressure c determining whether the gauge pressure of the individual user s breath sample remains at or above the threshold value gauge pressure for a predeter mined length of time d instructing the individual user by way of an alpha numeric display means to wait and blow again in the event that the gauge pressure does not remain at or above the threshold value for the predeter mined length of time performing steps until the individual user provides a breath sample at or above the threshold value for the predetermined length of time f capturing a testing sample that is a representative portion of the individual user s breath sample sub sequent to the individual user providing a breath sample at or above the threshold value for the predetermined length of time 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 6 g effecting an automated electrochemical analysis of the breath sample so as to produce measure ment value of the alcoho content of the represen tative portion of the individual user s breath sam ple h obtaining the measurement value resulting from the automated electrochemical analysis 1 calculating numeri
39. erly understand and use the test results The routine first passes to box 606 where it is determined whether the value is from 0 to 49 which indicates a level significantly below the legal limit The routine passes to boxes 608 610 and 612 which display the word PASS and the actual numeric result in the appropriate format either Canadian or U S format as decided at box 608 for a period of about ten seconds The routine then passes to box 614 where the individual user 22 is reminded that the legal limit is 80 so that they may compare their score to the legal limit and also suggests that the individual user 22 perform a retest in the event that further alcoholic drinks are con sumed preferably after a first specified length of time of fifteen minutes If the test value is above the range of 0 to 49 the routine passes from box 606 to box 618 which isadeci sion box that checks to see whether the value is between 50 and 79 inclusive If the value is in this range the routine passes to boxes 620 622 and 624 which display the message WARN and the actual numeric result in the appropriate format either Canadian or U S format as decided at box 620 for a period of about ten seconds The routine then passes to box 626 where the legal limit of 80 is again displayed so that the individual user 22 can compare his score with that legal limit Further the individual user 22 is warned not to drive as they are approaching the lega
40. ermined whether the show meter button 64 has been pressed If the show meter button 64 has been pressed the routine proceeds to print out the report as shown at box 914 which displays a PRINTING RE PORT message on the alphanumeric display means 28 If the SHOW METER button has not been de pressed the routine proceeds to decision box 910 where it is determined whether a printer is connected If there is no printer connected then a PRINT CAN CELLED message is displayed for about one second as shown at box 912 and the routine then proceeds to the end of the PRINTER routine where it jumps to the Start of the main routine which is box 300 in FIG 3 as shown in box 924 If the printer is connected by the determination at box 910 then the alphanumeric display means 28 displays that a report is printing as shown by box 914 and the information stored in computer mem ory is printed out by the connected printer one charac ter at a time After printing each character the routine determines whether the print out is complete by detect ing a null value at the end of the print out string of information as shown at box 916 If the print out is not 5 303 575 21 complete the routine returns to decision box 909 If the print out is complete the routine continues to box 918 which shows that the data that have been stored in computer random access memory RAM 74 such as the number of tests that have been performed since the
41. es an alcohol concentration sen sor 5 The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said means for effecting an automated electrochemical analysis of said breath sample further comprises an operational ampli fier a peak circuit detector and an analogue to digital convertor 6 The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said alcohol concentration sensor is a fuel cell 7 The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said means for capturing a testing sample that is a representative por tion of said individual user s breath sample comprises a metering valve operating in conjunction with said alco hol concentration sensor 8 The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising com puter random access memory for storing data related to said calculated numeric values 9 The apparatus of claim 8 further comprising a printer electrically connected to said microprocessor said printer for printing out said data stored in said computer random access memory 10 An automated method of conducting a blood alcoho content level test on an individual user through the use of an unsupervised apparatus and subsequently discerning and displaying a meaningful test result said method comprising the steps of a i instructing said individual user by way of an alphanumeric display means to commence blowing into said apparatus so as to provide a breath sam ple b monitoring the gauge pressure of said individual user s breath sample in order to determine whether 5 10 1
42. f Barry United King dom and is in common use throughout the world in various breath monitoring systems This fuel cell and its operatively related co operating components are fully described in the LION ALCOLMETER SL 2 TECH NICAL SERVICE MANUAL published by Lion Laboratories Limited which document is hereby incor porated by reference The alcohol concentration sensor 32 is connected in fluid communication to a feed tube 27 which is in turn 0 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 8 connected in fluid communication to spitrap baffle 25 The spitrap baffle 25 is connected at its input end to the input 26 of the apparatus 20so as to be in fluid commu nication with the straw 24 which is used by the individ ual user 22 to provide a breath sample A portion of the breath sample is directed into the feed tube 27 which is in fluid communication with the alcohol concentration sensor 32 The feed tube 27 is also in fluid communica tion with a pressure switch 36 by way of an auxiliary tube 37 An increase in the pressure in the feed tube 27 causesa corresponding increase pressure at the input of the pressure switch 36 The pressure switch 36 be comes electrically closed when the air pressure at its input reaches a threshold value gauge pressure When the pressure switch is electrically closed a circuit in the CPU 30 is completed so as to signal the closure of the pressure switch 36 The resultant action
43. for conducting a blood alcohol content level test on an individual user and subsequently discerning and displaying a meaning ful test result is disclosed The apparatus comprises an alphanumeric display for instructing the individual user to blow into the apparatus so as to provide a breath sample A pressure switch is used to monitor the gauge pressure of the individual user s breath sample in order to determine whether the gauge pressure is at or above a threshold value for a predetermined length of time typically three seconds The alphanumeric display in structs the individual user to wait and blow again in the event that the gauge pressure does not remain at or above the threshold value for the predetermined length of time A testing sample of the individual user s breath sample is captured in a fuel cell type alcohol concentra tion sensor The alcohol concentration sensor in con junction with an operational amplifier a peak circuit detector and an analogue to digital convertor effects an automated electrochemical analysis of the testing sam ple A measurement value of the alcohol content of the testing sample is produced and introduced into a micro processor where a numeric value derived from the measurement value and related to the individual user s blood alcohol content level is calculated The alphanu meric display displays this numeric value and the cate gory corresponding to the numeric value as being one of pass
44. g received from the pressure switch 36 which indicates whether the gauge pressure of the individual user s 22 breath sample is at or above a threshold value gauge pressure This threshold value gauge pressure must be realized in order to be able to assume that the individual user 22 is blowing hard enough to have the air in the bottom of his lungs blown into the breath testing device The routine for determining whether the gauge pres sure of the individua user s 22 breath sample remains at or above the threshold value for a predetermined length of time which is necessary to ensure that the air from the bottom of the individual user s 22 lungs is expelled and therefore be available to be sampled as will be discussed subsequently If the individual user 22 is not blowing hard enough it is assumed that the individual user 22 is not blowing at all The reason that the deci sion boxes 404 and 408 are included is to check whether the manual inject button 66 has been pressed or whether the individual user 22 is blowing at or above a threshold value gauge pressure before the individual user 22 is instructed to take a straw is because it must be consid ered that during a free test the individual user 22 might take a straw and commence blowing into the machine at any time It is preferable that there is no delay or at least minimal delay between the time the individual user 22 blows into the breath testing device 20 and the realization by
45. ge cannot develop across its leads as shown at box 546 The sample actuator is then turned off as shown at box 548 which leads to the BREATH TEST routine part 3 as shown at box 550 The BREATH TEST routine part 3 will now be described in detail with reference to FIG 6 which Starts at box 600 Immediately after box 600 is decision box 602 which checks that the highest reading value saved in box 544 of FIG 5 is less than 10 milligrams of alcohol 100 ml of blood If this valueisless than 10 the value is reset to 0 milligrams of alcohol per 100 ml of blood as shown in box 604 The reason for this reset is that residual amounts of alcohol in the alcohol con centration sensor 32 might cause a low reading to be realized even if the individual user 22 performing the test has no alcohol in his breath sample Displaying a non zero result when the individual user 22 has not consumed alcohol would give the appearance that the machine is inaccurate and the individual user 22 might construe that the result however is not meaningful It is acceptable however to have the apparatus 20 pro duce a zero value result when the individual user 22 has 5 303 575 17 a very low blood alcohol level below 10 milligrams of alcohol 100 ml of blood The remaining portion of the BREATH TEST rou tine part 3 as shown in FIG 6 is merely for displaying the alphanumeric messages that allow the individual user 22 performing the test to prop
46. ge pressure for a period of three seconds the actual test is then proceeded with A signal from the CPU 30 causes the solenoid 38 to release the set button 35 on the metering valve 34 to thereby allow a testing sample to be drawn from the feed tube 27 into the alcohol concentration sensor 32 The analogue volt age from the output 33 of the alcohol concentration sensor 32 is fed through the operational amplifier 40 and into the peak detector circuit 44 As the alcohol molecules are reacted by the alcohol concentration sensor 32 the signal reaching the peak detector circuit 44 increases correspondingly When the signal reaching the peak detector circuit 44 reaches a maximum a cor responding voltage is sent to the analogue to digital converter 46 The converted digital value from the analogue to digital converter 46 is fed into the CPU 30 which takes this value and compares it to numeric stan dards which have been previously stored within the EPROM 76 These predetermined values are typically 50 which represents 50 milligrams per 100 ml of blood and is typically considered a threshold between the categories PASS and WARN and 80 which rep resents 80 milligrams per 100 ml of blood and is the value that is typically used by law to determine whether a person is above the legal limit for operating a motor vehicle The actual numeric value as determined by the breath testing apparatus 20 operating according to the routine described h
47. he blood alcohol content to be displayed As indicated at box 826 the calibrate control in the form of potentiometer 42 must be adjusted until the reading shown in box 824 matches the calibration number on the aerosol spray can Once the ten second period has elapsed as deter mined at decision box 820 the routine passes to box 828 which turns the sample actuator off and then passes to box 830 wherein the alcohol concentration sensor 32 is electrically closed by de activation of shorting relay 41 The alcohol concentration sensor 32 is then cleaned by way ofthe CLEAN FUEL CELL routine as shown at box 834 in order to purge any residual alcohol mole cules from the alcoho concentration sensor 32 The CALIBRATION routine is then ended as shown at box 836 Reference will now be made to FIG 9 which shows the PRINTER routine starting at box 900 The PRINTER routine is invoked by way of the printer 79 being electrically connected to the RS232 communica tions port 78 The alphanumeric display means 28 dis plays a message that the printer 79 is ready as shown at box 902 for a period of about one second and then displays an instruction to calibrate the device now as shown at box 904 for a period of about one second The routine then jumps to the CALIBRATE routine as shown at box 906 and returns to instruct the service operator to press the show meter button 64 as shown at box 908 and then progresses to decision box 909 where it is det
48. informs the individual user 22 that he is over the legal limit and should not drive The message further informs the individual user 22 that a retest should be taken after a third specified length of time of fifteen minutes without consuming alcohol in the in terim If the level as determined at box 630 is not within the range of 80 to 199 inclusive then it is by process of elimination assumed that the level is at least 200 milli 20 25 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 18 grams of alcohol per 100 ml of blood or higher and a value of 200 is assumed The routine passes to boxes 642 644 646 which display the alphanumeric message FAIL and the numeric value of 200 in the appropri ate format for Canada or the U S depending on the determination made at decision box 642 The routine then passes to box 648 where the individual user 22 is then reminded that the legal limit is 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 ml of blood and that he is over the legal limit and should not drive The individual user 22 is further informed that the maximum reading of 200 of the device has been exceeded and that a retest should be performed after a fourth specified length of time of fifteen minutes without drinking alcohol in the interim The boxes 614 626 638 and 648 which each display lengthy explanatory messages which explanatory mes sages have been detailed in the preceding paragraphs scroll these messages across the alphanumeri
49. ins are required then the routine jumps to the start of the routine at box 300 as indicated by box 1108 The overall operation of the breath testing apparatus 20 by the individual user 22 will now be described The individual user 22 stands in front of the breath testing apparatus 20 and reads the message as shown in box 304 of FIG 3 This message in part prompts the individual user 22 to insert a coin to start the breath testing appara 20 25 30 40 45 50 60 65 22 tus 20 so that a test may be performed The individual user 22 then inserts one or more coins as required which coins are counted by the portion of the routine represented by boxes 322 332 as shown in FIG 3 Once the required number of coins have been inserted the alphanumeric display means 28 prompts the individ ual user 22 to TAKE A STRAW to HOLD IN INTAKE to TAKE DEEP BREATH and to BLOW NOW The BLOW NOW message is dis played continuously until the individual user 22 is blow ing at or above a threshold value gauge pressure If this threshold value gauge pressure is not maintained for three seconds the messageS WAIT TRY AGAIN and BLOW CONSTANTLY are each displayed on the alphanumeric display means 28 for a period of one second The message BLOW NOW is thereafter again displayed continuously on the alphanumeric dis play means 28 If the blow pressure remains at or above the threshold value gau
50. ith reference to FIG 11 The routine then continues to the decision box 322 which determines whether a first coin has been entered into the coin input 52 of the breath testing device 20 and subsequently received by the coin receiving mechanism not shown The coin receiving mechanism is inter faced in electrically operative relation with the com puter portion of the breath testing device 20 and can therefore be easily checked automatically If there is not a coin in the coin receiving mechanism the routine returns to box 304 where the message therein is scrolled by one character If a first coin has been re ceived the routine increments to a value of 1 in com puter memory the number of coins received as shown at box 324 This number of coins received is then dis played on the alphanumeric display means 28 in the format COINS IN 1 shown at box 326 It is estimated that in some situations such as where dollar coins are in popular use only one coin will be neces sary In other situations it may be necessary to have more than one coin inserted such as four 25 cent pieces Therefore it is necessary to determine whether the required number of coins have been entered into the breath testing device 20 The required number of coins can be set by way of the coins required option switch 72 which is located internally in the breath testing device 20 Box 328 shows that the number of coins entered which number is stored in com
51. l limit The individual user 22 is also advised to not drink alcohol for a second specified length of time of fifteen minutes and then to retest him self in order to determine whether the blood alcohol content level is rising or falling Such a determination is important because if the blood alcohol content level is rising the individual user 22 may indeed be over the legal limit within a short period of time This cannot be determined merely by one test The level of 50 milli grams per liter of blood which acts as the threshold value between PASS and a WARN is somewhat arbitrary but coincides with the level used by most law enforcement agencies and which is commonly associ ated with an increase in accidents If the blood alcohol content level value is at or above 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 ml of blood then the routine passes to decision box 630 which decides whether the value is between 80 and 199 inclusive If the value is within this range of 80 to 199 inclusive then the routine passes to boxes 632 634 and 636 which display the alphanumeric message FAIL and the actual numeric result in the appropriate format either Canadian or U S format as determined by decision box 632 for a period of about ten seconds Theroutine then passes to box 638 where the individual user 22 is again reminded that the legal limit is 80 so that the individual user 22 can compare his level to that legal limit The message also
52. ndividual user in an unsupervised setting It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide an automated method for conducting an unsu pervised test of the level of blood alcohol content of an individual user which method informs the individual user how to correctly interpret the test results It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide an automated method for conducting an unsu pervised test of the level of blood alcohol content of an individual user which method informs the individual user in the event that the test has not been performed properly SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with one aspect of the present inven tion there is also provided an automated unsupervised apparatus for conducting a blood alcohol content level test on an individual user and subsequently discerning and displaying a meaningful test result The apparatus comprises 5 303 575 5 alphanumeric display means for instructing the indi vidual user to commence blowing into the appara tus so as to provide a breath sample pressure switch means for monitoring the gauge pres sure of the individual user s breath sample in order to determine whether the gauge pressure is at or above a threshold value gauge pressure timer means for determining whether the gauge pres sure of the individual user s breath sample remains at or above the threshold value gauge pressure for a predetermined length of time alphanumeric
53. normally be done during a routine service call by quali fied service personnel The routines that are processed by the CPU 30 and which are used to run the breath testing apparatus 20 of the present invention are stored in an EPROM 76 which is electrically connected to the CPU 30 by way of bus 75 The EPROM 76 32 Kilobytes in capacity is a standard means for storing programs for execution by a microprocessor and various suitable forms are very well known in the art In the preferred embodiment there is also provided an audio output circuit 80 electrically connected to the CPU 30 with a small speaker 82 electrically connected to the output of the audio output circuit 80 The audio output circuit 80 and the small speaker 82 are used to generate sounds as necessary to catch the attention of the individual user 22 or the operator of the breath testing apparatus 20 usually when there is a change in the information displayed by the alphanumeric display means 28 A complete explanation of the method of the present invention which method is used in the operation of the breath testing device 20 so as to sufficiently and prop erly guide an individual user 22 using the breath testing 5 303 575 11 device 20 and thereby enable that individual user to easily use the breath testing device 20 and to understand and have confidence in the results that are ultimately presented will now be described with reference to FIGS 3 11 FIGS 3 11 are
54. od of claim 16 further comprising the step of instructing said individual user by way of said alpha numeric display means to first take a deep breath before blowing 18 The method of claim 16 further comprising the step of a ii displaying an alphanumeric message for in structing said individual user to continue blowing when said gauge pressure reaches a threshold value 19 The method of claim 18 further comprising the step of 15 40 30 55 65 26 where iv said category is fail and said blood alcohol level is above an extremely elevated level a informing said individual user by way of said alphanumeric display means that his blood alcohol content is above said elevated level and cannot be properly determined b displaying to said individual user by way of said alphanumeric display means a message to encourage said individual user to perform a retest after a fourth specified length of time without consuming alcohol in the interim c cautioning said individual user not to drive 20 The method of claim 19 wherein said extremely elevated level is 200 milligrams of alcohol per 100 ml of blood 21 The method of claim 14 wherein said first speci fied length of time is about fifteen minutes 22 The method of claim 14 wherein said second specified length of time is about fifteen minutes 23 The method of claim 14 wherein said third speci fied length of time is about fifteen min
55. puter memory is compared with the required number of coins in order to determine whether enough coins have been entered If not enough coins have been entered then the routine continues to decision box 330 where it is determined whether another coin has been received If another coin has been received the routine returns to boxes 324 326 and 328 subsequently to show that another coin has been entered and to again determine whether enough coins have been entered When enough coins have been entered the routine exits out of decision box 328 and into the subroutine box 332 which directs the routine to the BREATH TEST part routine which will be dis cussed in greater detail with reference to FIG 5 Reference will now be made to FIG 4 which shows the FREE TEST routine which starts at box 400 The message FREE TEST is displayed by the alphanu meric display means 28 for about one second as indi cated by box 402 The routine then passes to box 404 where it is determined whether the manual inject button 66 has been pressed If the manual inject button 66 has 5 303 575 13 been pressed the routine then goes to box 406 which is a subroutine box that sends the program to the BREATH TEST part 2 routine which will be de scribed in greater detail subsequently with reference to FIG 5 If the manual inject button 66 has not been pressed the routine continues to decision box 408 where the CPU 30 determines whether the signal bein
56. rmat the message LEGAL LIMIT 80 80 milligrams alcohol per 100 ml of blood is displayed for about one second If the format is determined to be in U S format then the message LEGAL LIMIT 0 080 0 080 grams of alcohol in 100 ml of blood is displayed for about one second as shown in box 414 Again the routine checks at box 416 to see whether the manual inject button 66 has been pressed and exits to 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 14 the BREATH TEST routine part 2 at box 418 if it has been pressed If the manual inject button 66 has not been pressed the routine again determines this time at box 420 whether the individual user 22 is blowing at or above the threshold value gauge pressure as described above If a breath sample at or above the threshold value gauge pressure is still not being provided thus indicating that the individual user 22 is still not blowing at all or at least still not blowing at or above the thresh old value gauge pressure then the alphanumeric display means 28 displays a TAKE STRAW message as shown in box 422 The next instructional message to be displayed if the manual inject button 66 has not been pressed and if a breath sample has not been provided at or above the threshold value gauge pressure is to hold the straw into the intake 26 as shown at box 430 Subsequently box 438 shows that the next similar message instructs the individual user 22 to
57. ry is warn 5 303 575 25 a displaying to said individual user by way of said alphanumeric display means a message to encourage said individual user to perform a retest after a second specified length of time without consuming alcohol in the interim iii said category is fail a displaying to said individual user by way of said alphanumeric display means a message to encourage said individual user to perform a retest after a third specified length of time without consuming alcohol in the interim 15 The method of claim 14 further comprising the step of k where ii said category is warn b informing said individual user by way of said alphanumeric display means to determine whether his blood alcohol content level is rising or falling c cautioning said individual user not to drive in the event that blood alcohol content level appears to be rising iii said category is fail b informing said individual user by way of said alphanumeric display means to determine whether his blood alcohol content level is rising or falling c cautioning said individual user not to drive 16 The method of claim 15 further comprising the step of instructing said individual user by way of said alpha numeric display means to stop blowing when said individual user provides a breath sample having a gauge pressure at or above said threshold value for said predetermined length of time 17 The meth
58. sequently with reference to FIG 9 Reference will now be made to FIG 7 which shows the BREATH TEST routine part 4 starting at box 700 The BREATH TEST routine part 4 ensures that the alcohol concentration sensor 32 has no more than a negligible amount of residual alcohol molecules remain ing in it and is resultingly providing a zero or near zero electrical output The alcohol concentration sensor 32 is first electrically opened as shown at box 702 by acti vating the shorting relay 41 so that the electrical output value of the alcohol concentration sensor 32 may be read at box 704 If the Value is less than 5 as determined at decision box 706 then the routine passes to box 708 where the alcohol concentration sensor 32 is electri cally closed by de activation of the shorting relay 41 Basically this means that a value of less than 5 is consid ered near zero and is acceptable for performing another test The routine then continues to box 724 which is a decision box that determines whether coins are re quired in other words whether the routine is in its FREE TEST mode or not If the value as determined at decision box 706 is 5 or greater then the alcohol concentration sensor 32 is 5 303 575 19 electrically closed by de activation of the shorting relay 41 which again causes the electrical potential generated by the alcohol concentration sensor 32 to be dissipated at least to a small degree A message as shown at box 7
59. t digital value that is a numeric value derived from the measurement value of the alcohol content of the testing sample of individual user s 22 breath sample This numeric value is then passed into the CPU 30 where it is used as will be described subsequently This 8 bit digital value is representative of the alcohol con centration in the individual user s 22 breath sample and is therefore also representative of the blood alcohol content of the individual user 22 Also electrically connected tothealcohol concentra tion sensor 32 is a shorting relay 41 which is also con trolled by the CPU 30 The shorting relay 41 operates in conjunction with tne solenoid controlied activating mechanism 38 as previously mentioned When a testing sample is not required the shorting relay 41 is in its resting state such that the shorting relay 41 shorts out the output 33 of the alcohol concentration sensor 32 so as to preclude a build up of electrical potential across its output 33 When a testing sample is required it is neces sary to 1 remove the short circuit across the output 33 of the alcohol concentration sensor 32 by activating the shorting relay 41 and concurrently 2 release the set button 35 which release causes a testing sample to be drawn into the alcohol concentration sensor 32 Result ingly the electrical potential that is caused by the subse quent reaction of the alcohol molecules in the testing sample is allowed to build up
60. t for driving Further the compo nents of the apparatus 20 including the computer cir cuitry are of very high quality so as to minimize the chance of malfunction of the breath testing apparatus 20 and also to reduce the amount of maintenance re quired In FIG 1A an individual user 22 is using the breath testing apparatus 20 to analyze his blood alcohol con tent level The individual user 22 has placed a straw 24 into the input 26 of the breath testing apparatus 20 and is about to blow through the straw 24 in order to pro vide a breath sample A testing sample is ultimately obtained from this breath sample as will be described subsequently An alphanumeric display means 28 on the breath testing apparatus 20 displays various instructions mes sages and the results of each blood alcohol content level test that is performed As shown the display means 28 is a sixteen character alphanumeric display preferably either a conventional liquid crystal display or a light emitting diode display At this point in the test the alphanumeric display means 28 is displaying an instruc tion to the individual user 22 that reads BLOW NOW which instruction is one of a series of complete step by step instructions that guide the individual user 22 through the steps that define the method of the pres ent invention When the individual user 22 starts to blow another alphanumeric message will be displayed to further instruct such user 22 subsequ
61. take a deep breath and box 446 instructs the individual user 22 to blow now If after reaching the end of these instructional messages in boxes 402 412 or 414 422 430 438 and 446 the indi vidual user 22 has not blown at or above a threshold value gauge pressure nor has the manual inject button 66 been pressed then the routine passes to box 454 which causes the routine to exit to the beginning of the MAIN routine at box 302 on FIG 3 The routine then is in the MAIN routine as shown in FIG 3 until it gets to decision box 306 which again determines that no coins are required and the routine then again exits to the FREE TEST routine as shown at box 308 If it is determined at any of boxes 408 420 428 436 444 or 452 that the individual user 22 is providing breath sample at or above a threshold value gauge pressure then the routine goes to box 456 which indicates that a three second timer is started An instructing message KEEP BLOWING as shown at box 458 is then displayed on the alphanumeric display means 28 for about one second The gauge pressure of the individual user s 22 breath sample is again monitored to determine whether it is at or above a threshold value gauge pres sure as shown at box 460 If it has dropped below the threshold value gauge pressure the messages WAIT TRY AGAIN at box 462 and BLOW CONSTANTLY at box 464 are displayed and the routine then returns to box 402 to start the FREE TE
62. th of time wherein said alphanumeric display means also in structs said individual user to wait and blow again in the event that said gauge pressure does not re main at or above said threshold value for said pre determined length of time means for capturing a testing sample that is a repre sentative portion of said individual user s breath sample subsequent to said individual user providing a breath sample at or above said threshold value for said predetermined length of time means for effecting an automated electrochemical analysis of said testing sample means for producing a measurement value of the alcohol content of said testing sample and microprocessor means for calculating a numeric value derived from said measurement value said numeric value thereby being related to said indi vidual user s blood alcohol content level wherein said alphanumeric display means also dis plays to said individual user one of either 1 the category corresponding to said numeric value as being one of pass warn and fail and 2 said numeric value derived from said measurement value 2 The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said alphanu meric display means is a sixteen character display 3 The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said timer means is a routine operating within said microprocessor 4 The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said means for effecting an automated electrochemical analysis of said breath sample compris
63. the machine that the individual user 22 is blOWing into the machine Groupings of boxes that are the same as and that are joined in the same manner as decision boxes 404 and 408 and subroutine box 406 exist throughout the FREE TEST routine Specifically these groupings involve boxes 424 426 and 428 boxes 432 434 and 436 boxes 440 442 and 444 and boxes 448 450 and 452 In each of these groupings if it is deter mined that the manual injection button is pressed the routineexits tothe BREATH TEST routine part 2 If it is determined that the individual user 22 is blowing at or above a threshold value gauge pressure then the routine goes to box 450 which will be described subse quently If it is determined at any of the decision boxes 408 420 428 436 444 and 452 that the individual user 22 is not blowing at or above a threshold value gauge pressure then the routine continues to display another message to properly instruct the individual user 22 on how to perform the test These displayed instructions will be described in greater detail subsequently A message regarding the legal limit of blood alcohol content below which a motor vehicle can be legally operated is displayed on the alphanumeric display means 28 as shown at boxes 410 through 414 In order to do this a format option switch 73 is sensed to deter mine whether the breath testing device 20 is in Cana dian or U S format as shown at box 410 If it is in Canadian fo
64. trochemical reac tion an electrical output signal that is representative of the blood alcohol content level of the individual user Various means are then used in the testing devices to convert the electrical output signal from the electro chemical operating mechanisms to an output that is properly representative of the blood alcohol content level of the individual user being tested This output might be the actual numeric value of the individual user s blood alcohol content level or might be for ex 15 20 30 40 45 50 55 60 65 2 ample a categorization of that level as either pass warn fall As mentioned previously in order to receive reli able representative testing sample from an individual user s breath sample it is necessary to obtain the testing sample from the air at the bottom of the individual user s lungs Accordingly in order to provide such a testing sample the individual user must 1 wait until the testing device is ready 2 take a deep breath 3 blow exhale at a certain threshold rate which can be measured as a gas pressure and 4 maintain at least this threshold gas pressure for a predetermined length of time generally considered to be at least three seconds The testing sample should not be taken until after this predetermined length of time has expired but does not need to last for more than about one half second thereaf ter Presently available
65. ugh the individual users might be unsure of whether their blood alcohol content level is within a threshold range for legally operating a motor vehicle In many cases the deficiencies of prior art blood alcohol content level testing devices installed in these drinking establish ments do not provide adequate enough information on the use of the device nor do they provide full and com plete information about the test results assistance on how to correctly interpret the test results and how to use the test results in a safe and appropriate manner 55 60 65 4 It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for conducting an unsupervised test of the level of blood alcohol content of an individual user which apparatus allows that individual user to accu rately and objectively determine his her blood alcohol content level It is another object of the present invention to pro vide an apparatus for conducting an unsupervised test of the level of blood alcohol content of an individual user which apparatus makes provisions for informing that individual user on an interactive basis about the proper procedures for providing a testing sample It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for conducting an unsupervised test of the level of blood alcohol content of an individ ual user which apparatus provides instructions to per mit the easy and proper use thereof by an untrained individual us
66. ul manner One example of a prior art device can be found in Canadian Patent No 997 585 to Hoppesch et al which patent discloses a breath tester for supervised use The breath tester disclosed therein has an analog meter that indicates the alcohol level from an individual user s breath and also has three light emitting diodes that signal pass warn or fail In order to use this device it is necessary to know that the analog meter must be in a near 0 condition at the start of the test which indicates that the detector unit has been suffi ciently purged of alcohol and is providing a null electri cal output Further this device does not indicate when to blow how long to blow nor does it test for how hard the individual user is blowing nor does it inform the individual user ifhe or she is not blowing hard enough Further no instructions as to retesting are provided in the event that the individual user s blood alcohol con tent level is near the legal threshold in order to help the individual user determine whether his or her blood alcohol content level is rising or falling The unit does however indicate when an individual user must wait to use it and when it is ready to be used and also when it is in its testing mode It is not possible to properly use 5 303 575 3 this device without specific knowledge of how to use the device which would be gained by either previous experience or specific instruction A
67. utes 24 The method of claim 14 wherein said fourth specified length of time is about fifteen minutes 25 The method of claim 10 further comprising the step of displaying an alphanumeric message for instructing said individual user to blow constantly when said individual user has blown above said threshold value of said gauge pressure for a length of time less than said predetermined length of time 26 The method of claim 10 further comprising the step of storing data in computer random access memory said data related to said calculated numeric values 27 The method of claim 26 wherein said data include the number of tests performed the aggregate of the numeric values calculated the number of numeric val ues in each of the categories PASS WARN and FAIL and the amount of money input into said appa ratus 28 The method of claim 26 further comprising the step of printing said stored data by way of a printer 29 The method of claim 28 further comprising the step of clearing at least some of stored data are printed the stored data after said

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