Methods and systems for active non-intrusive inspection and verification of cargo and goods
First Claim
1. A method for verifying contents of a container, comprising:
- a) obtaining a first elemental signature of said contents;
b) obtaining a second elemental signature of said contents, comprising information about an isotopic or elemental composition of said contents determined after the container has been transported and/or stored at least in part by measurements of effective atomic number made by comparing scattering from said contents in a first energy region with scattering from said contents in at least one additional energy region;
c) comparing the first elemental signature and the second elemental signature; and
d) verifying the said contents upon the comparison of the first elemental signature and the second elemental signature passing a predetermined test.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Systems and methods are disclosed herein for the non-intrusive inspection and/or verification of cargo. In an exemplary embodiment, an elemental signature is determined at a first point in a supply chain and transmitted to a second point in the supply chain. When the goods arrive at the second point, the elemental signature of the goods may be measured and verified against the original elemental signature. In another embodiment, an elemental signature may be measured to verify the origin or identity of the goods. In some embodiments such elemental signatures are inherent to the shipped goods and/or their packaging. In other embodiments, elemental signatures are applied to the shipment as tag materials.
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Citations
13 Claims
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1. A method for verifying contents of a container, comprising:
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a) obtaining a first elemental signature of said contents; b) obtaining a second elemental signature of said contents, comprising information about an isotopic or elemental composition of said contents determined after the container has been transported and/or stored at least in part by measurements of effective atomic number made by comparing scattering from said contents in a first energy region with scattering from said contents in at least one additional energy region; c) comparing the first elemental signature and the second elemental signature; and d) verifying the said contents upon the comparison of the first elemental signature and the second elemental signature passing a predetermined test. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 12)
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6. A method for analyzing contents of a container, comprising:
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a) obtaining a first elemental signature of said contents; b) obtaining a second elemental signature of said contents, comprising information about an isotopic or elemental composition of said contents determined after the container has been transported and/or stored at least in part by at least one of Nuclear Resonance Fluorescence imaging, measurements of effective atomic number, and X-ray transmission; and c) comparing the first elemental signature and the second elemental signature; wherein the occurrence of a predetermined environmental condition is detected by a sensor during transport and/or storage, and based upon the detection of the said predetermined environmental condition during transport and/or storage, the spatial distribution of the contents in the container is altered, and wherein the comparison of the first elemental signature and the second elemental signature detects whether the said contents have experienced the said predetermined environmental condition during transport and/or storage. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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13. A method for verifying contents of a container, comprising:
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a) calculating or predicting a first elemental signature of said contents, based at least in part upon an isotopic or elemental composition of the said contents, without Nuclear Resonance Fluorescence imaging measurements of the contents or measurements of effective atomic number of the contents; b) obtaining a second elemental signature of said contents, comprising information about the isotopic or elemental composition of said contents determined after the container has been transported and/or stored at least in part by at least one of Nuclear Resonance Fluorescence imaging, and measurements of effective atomic number made by comparing scattering from said contents in a first energy region with scattering from said contents in at least one additional energy region; c) comparing the first elemental signature and the second elemental signature; and d) verifying the said contents upon the comparison of the first elemental signature and the second elemental signature passing a predetermined test.
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Specification