Threat image projection system

• US 6,899,540 B1
• Filed: 07/30/1998
• Issued: 05/31/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 07/30/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: United State Of The Government Of Transportation
• Original Assignee: The United States of America As Represented By The Secretary of Agriculture
• Inventors: Fobes, James L., Neiderman, Eric C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Rovnak, John Edmund
• Application Number:
  US09/126,385
• Time in Patent Office: 2,497 Days
• Field of Search: 434/219, 434/262, 434/269, 434/221, 434/226, 378/1, 705/13
• US Class Current: 434/219
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 19/00 Teaching not covered by other main groups of this subclass teaching or practice apparatus for gun-aiming or gun-laying F41G3/26
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 7/00 Electrically-operated teaching apparatus or devices working with questions and answers mechanically operated G09B3/00; computing arrangements G06F

Abstract

A means for training and testing baggage screening machine operators. The invention is a computer system which causes the baggage screening monitor to show computer-generated (i.e. simulated) contraband items in a piece of baggage. This can be done in one of two ways: the image of the contraband item can be superimposed on the image of an actual piece of baggage being screened so that it appears to be within the piece of baggage, or the image of an entire piece of baggage containing a contraband item can be displayed. The invention allows the operator'"'"'s proficiency in spotting contraband items to be evaluated and it can be used for training a new operator as well as for providing continued proficiency training and evaluation.

Claims

1. A means for testing and training baggage screening equipment operators comprising baggage screening equipment including a monitor on which the image of a piece of baggage being screened appears, means for intentionally causing said screening equipment to show the presence of simulated items in baggage being screened, and means for checking to see that said simulated items fit within the piece of baggage being screened.

2. Means for testing as in claim 1 wherein said means for intentionally causing said screening equipment to show simulated items comprises a computer.

3. Means for testing as in claim 2 wherein said computer contains images of said simulated items.

4. Means as in claim 3 including means for causing said computer to project said images onto said monitor.

5. Means as in claim 4 including the capability of overlaying the image of a simulated item on the image of an actual piece of baggage appearing on said monitor.

6. Means as in claim 4 including the capability of inserting a predetermined simulated image of an entire piece of baggage on said monitor rather than the image of actual baggage being screened.

7. Means as in claim 4 including the capability of tracking operator training progress by recording the numbers of correct and incorrect identifications of said images.

8. Means as in claim 7 for providing reports based on said tracking of operator training progress.

9. Means as in claim 4 for varying the rate at which said images are interspersed with images of baggage not containing said images.

10. In a baggage screening system including a monitor the improvement which comprises means for intentionally causing said monitor to show images of simulated items in selected items of baggage being screened and means for checking to see that simulated items fit within said selected items of baggage being screened.

11. The system of claim 10 further including means for varying the rate at which said images are shown.

12. The system of claim 11 further including a computer.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein said computer contains said images of simulated items.

14. The system of claim 13 including means for causing said computer to show said images on said monitor.

15. The method of training baggage screening system operators which comprises providing a baggage screening system including a monitor, providing means for projecting onto said monitor simulated images of contraband onto the image of a piece of actual baggage in said system, providing means for varying the rate at which said images are projected, and providing means for checking to see that said simulated image fits within said piece of actual baggage in said system.

16. The method of claim 15 further including means for determining the accuracy of the operator of said system in detecting said contraband.