Radiation source detection by recording spectral records at different times or locations and collating the spectral records
First Claim
1. A method of detecting an unknown local radiation source in an environment where other radiation sources constitute significant levels of background noise, the method comprising:
- operating a radiation receiving device at different locations within a site of interest to obtain plural spectral records, each such spectral record recording a spectrum of radiation present at a respective location from the different locations; and
collating the spectral records for the site of interest to distinguish spectral features associated with a specific location from the different locations within the site from features generally present throughout the site.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
In an apparatus and method for detecting radiation transmitters (such as "bugs" or leaky data cables), spectral records are recorded at different times and/or locations. The records are displayed graphically and compared to identify transmitters. Spurious signals, for example as caused by taxi radio transmissions, can be eliminated since these will not appear in all records. A local transmitter of the type to be detected will appear in all records for a given location, but not in records for other locations. The strength of the transmitter signal varies as the reciprocal of the distance squared, and the presence of the transmitter and its position can be located by moving the recorder and detecting the rise or fall of the displayed graphical signal.
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Citations
41 Claims
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1. A method of detecting an unknown local radiation source in an environment where other radiation sources constitute significant levels of background noise, the method comprising:
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operating a radiation receiving device at different locations within a site of interest to obtain plural spectral records, each such spectral record recording a spectrum of radiation present at a respective location from the different locations; and collating the spectral records for the site of interest to distinguish spectral features associated with a specific location from the different locations within the site from features generally present throughout the site. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A radiation monitoring method comprising:
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operating a radiation receiving device to obtain plural spectral records, each record comprising a spectrum of radiation present at a given time and location; collecting the spectral records in a computer-based analysis apparatus having a display; and operating the analysis apparatus to select and display superimposed in a graph one or more subsets of said spectral records, so as to allow direct visual comparison of the spectrum present at different times or locations.
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16. A radiation monitoring method comprising:
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operating a radiation receiving device to obtain plural spectral records, each record comprising a spectrum of radiation present at a given time and location; collecting the spectral records in a computer-based analysis apparatus having a display; and operating the analysis apparatus to select and display in a graph data from one or more subsets of said spectral records, so as to allow direct visual comparison of the radiation levels present at a given frequency in the radiation spectrum at different times or different locations.
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17. A radiation monitoring method comprising:
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operating a radiation receiving device to obtain plural spectral records, each record comprising a spectrum of radiation present at a given time and location; collecting the spectral records in a computer-based analysis apparatus having a display; and operating the analysis apparatus to select and display in a three-dimensional graph data from one or more subsets of said spectral records, so as to allow direct visual comparison of at least a part of the radiation spectrum at different times or at different locations, the three-dimensional graph having a first axis representing radiation frequency, a second axis representing radiation strength, and a third axis along which the different records are separated. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19)
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20. An analysis apparatus for use in detecting an unknown radiation source in an environment where other radiation sources constitute significant levels of background noise, the apparatus comprising:
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a receiver for receiving plural spectral records obtained by a radiation receiving device operated at different locations within a site of interest, each spectral record recording the spectrum of radiation present at a respective location; and a collator for collating the spectral records for the site of interest to distinguish spectral features associated with a specific location within the site from features generally present throughout the site. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 41)
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33. A radiation monitoring method, comprising the steps of:
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operating a radiation receiving device to obtain plural spectral records, each such record comprising a spectrum of radiation present at a given time and location; collecting the spectral records in a computer-based analysis apparatus having a display; and operating the analysis apparatus to select and display data from a plurality of said spectral records, so as to allow direct visual comparison thereof. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36)
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37. An analysis apparatus for use in monitoring radiation, comprising:
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a receiver for receiving plural spectral records, each record comprising a spectrum of radiation recorded by a radiation receiving device at a given time and location; a store for storing the spectral records in accordance with time and location of recording; and a selector for selecting data from a plurality of the spectral records for display so as to allow direct visual comparison thereof. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40)
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Specification