Remote detection of explosive substances
First Claim
1. Apparatus for detecting nitrogen or other substances of interest within a remote target and for locating the target, comprising:
- a thermal neutron source;
a mount for supporting the thermal neutron source on a vehicle;
a first neutron shield which encloses the thermal neutron source and defines a first aperture through which a thermal neutron beam is directed at the remote target, the first neutron shield being movably supported relative to the mount so that the thermal neutron beam projecting through the first aperture can be scanned across a wide search area;
a gamma ray detector configured to detect gamma rays produced by interaction of the thermal neutron beam with nitrogen or other substances of interest within the target and to collect data relating to the detected gamma rays;
a first sensor associated with the first neutron shield and configured to determine the position of the first aperture; and
a detection processing module operatively coupled to the first sensor and the detector and which associates the determined position of the first aperture at the moment the collected data indicates nitrogen or other substances of interest within the target so as to spatially locate the target.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Apparatus and method for detecting and locating hidden explosive substances. The detection apparatus includes a thermal neutron beam generator, a gamma ray detector, data collection module and sensors, and a detection processing module. The thermal neutron beam generator includes a fast neutron source, a neutron moderator to slow the fast neutrons to thermal neutrons, and a rotatable neutron shield enclosing the generated thermal neutrons. The rotatable neutron shield has an aperture through which a thermal neutron beam is projected at a remote target. Gamma rays radiating from hidden explosives in the remote target are detected by the gamma ray detector, while the associated detection processing module spatially locates the target based at least in part on the position of the aperture in the rotatable neutron shield.
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Citations
71 Claims
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1. Apparatus for detecting nitrogen or other substances of interest within a remote target and for locating the target, comprising:
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a thermal neutron source; a mount for supporting the thermal neutron source on a vehicle; a first neutron shield which encloses the thermal neutron source and defines a first aperture through which a thermal neutron beam is directed at the remote target, the first neutron shield being movably supported relative to the mount so that the thermal neutron beam projecting through the first aperture can be scanned across a wide search area; a gamma ray detector configured to detect gamma rays produced by interaction of the thermal neutron beam with nitrogen or other substances of interest within the target and to collect data relating to the detected gamma rays; a first sensor associated with the first neutron shield and configured to determine the position of the first aperture; and a detection processing module operatively coupled to the first sensor and the detector and which associates the determined position of the first aperture at the moment the collected data indicates nitrogen or other substances of interest within the target so as to spatially locate the target. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. A method of detecting nitrogen or other substances of interest within a remote target and locating the target, comprising the steps of:
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generating thermal neutrons with a thermal neutron generator; shielding some of the generated thermal neutrons with a first shield; directing some of the thermal neutrons through a first aperture in the first shield to form a thermal neutron beam projected at the remote target; producing gamma rays by interaction of the thermal neutron beam with nitrogen or other substances of interest within the target; detecting the gamma rays with a detector spaced from the first shield; collecting data related to the detected gamma rays; movably supporting the first shield relative to the detector so that the thermal neutron beam projecting through the first aperture can be scanned across a wide search area; determining the position of the first aperture with a first sensor; and processing the determined position of the first aperture at the moment the collected data indicates nitrogen or other substances of interest so as to spatially locate the target. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71)
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Specification