System and a method for the efficient scanning of objects

• US 10,261,177 B2
• Filed: 01/23/2015
• Issued: 04/16/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 01/23/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rohde & Schwarz GmbH & Company KG
• Original Assignee: Rohde & Schwarz GmbH & Company KG
• Inventors: Ahmed, Sherif Sayed, Ostwald, Olaf, Evers, Christian
• Primary Examiner(s): Pham, Timothy X
• Application Number:
  US14/917,973
• Publication Number:
  US 20160216371A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,544 Days
• Field of Search: 342 22
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/867 Combination of radar systems with cameras
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/887 for detection of concealed objects, e.g. contraband or weapons
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/89 for mapping or imaging
• CPC Class Codes: G01V 8/005 operating with millimetre waves, e.g. measuring the black losey radiation

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for scanning objects and persons, for example, persons in security gates, by means of microwave radiation. Such a system includes an arrangement of several panels between which an angled walk-through passage is formed.

Claims

1. A system for scanning persons and/or objects by means of microwaves or millimeter waves with the use of at least one panel with transmitting units and/or receiving units, comprising:

an arrangement including several panels between which an angled walk-through passage is formed,

wherein the walk-through passage comprises an entrance and an exit which are each formed between two panels of the arrangement, and the angled walk-through passage extends in an angled manner between entrance and exit, and

wherein the arrangement is formed with the entrance disposed frontally opposite to one of the panels, and the walk-through passage turns in front of this panel.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of panels are provided which are arranged offset at an angle relative to one another.

3. The system according to claim 2, wherein three panels are provided which are arranged with a specified angular offset relative to one another.

4. The system according to claim 3, wherein:

the angular offset, which is formed between normals disposed perpendicular to the surface of the panels, is approximately 360°

/n, wherein n is the number of panels,

wherein with the three panels, the specified angular offset is disposed between 100° and

140°

.

5. The system according to claim 4, wherein the specified angular offset is disposed between 110°

and 130°

.

6. The system according to claim 4, wherein the specified angular offset is approximately 120°

.

7. The system according to claim 1, wherein a spacing distance between transmitting and/or receiving arrays of two adjacent panels corresponds to the length of a base line of the transmitting and/or receiving arrays of the panels.

8. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a sensor device for detecting a body position and/or a body posture of a person.

9. A method for scanning a person and/or an object, comprising:

scanning the person and/or object by means of microwaves or millimeter waves with an arrangement of panels between which an angled walk-through passage is formed, the arrangement of panels including transmitting units and/or receiving units;

wherein the angled walk-through passage comprises an entrance and an exit which are each formed between two of the panels of the arrangement, and the angled walk-through passage extends in an angled manner between the entrance and exit,

wherein the arrangement of panels is formed with the entrance disposed frontally opposite to one of the panels, and the angled walk-through passage turns in front of this panel, and

wherein each of the panels of the arrangement receives at least transmitted signals of its own transmitting units, and these are evaluated as an intra-panel scan.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein a first panel receives the transmitted signals of the transmitting units of a second panel of the system, wherein the transmitted signals are evaluated as an inter-panel scan.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein in order to acquire several inter-panel scans, an assignment of transmitting and receiving panels is continued in a cyclical manner along the arrangement of the panels in such a manner that each panel receives the transmitted signals of precisely one other panel.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein a view of the person and/or of the object through a virtual aperture is reconstructed on the basis of at least one inter-panel scan of a panel pair.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein in a first acquisition phase during the passage of a person through the angled walk-through passage, and in a separate, second acquisition phase, one and the same panel is provided for the acquisition of at least one scan in each case.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the first acquisition phase is triggered in the case of an entry into the walk-through passage in order to acquire intra-panel scans, and the second acquisition phase is triggered in the case of a leaving of the walk-through passage in order to obtain further intra-panel scans.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein inter-panel scans are acquired additionally in at least one of the acquisition phases.