Illumination and detection architecture

• US 7,750,802 B1
• Filed: 02/13/2006
• Issued: 07/06/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 02/11/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Warren G. Parish
• Original Assignee: Warren G. Parish
• Inventors: Arion, Tim, Parish, Warren G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen; Tai T
• Application Number:
  US11/352,800
• Time in Patent Office: 1,604 Days
• Field of Search: 340/540, 340/541, 340/550, 340/545.6, 340/539.17, 340/539.26, 340/539.2, 250/390.04, 250/370.01, 260/370.01
• US Class Current: 340/540
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/64 Fluorescence; Phosphorescence
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2201/0221 Portable; cableless; compact; hand-held

Abstract

An illumination and detection architecture that illuminates a target for detecting a material of interest. The architecture includes an illumination component that illuminates the target using a predetermined light wavelength known to energize and thereby cause a detectable change in the desired chemical and/or compounds associated with the target in a particular way. The change is then captured by an image capture system and processed to determine the presence or absence detected of the desired material of interest at the target.

Claims

1. A system that facilitates detection of a target material, comprising:

an illumination component for directing photon energy of a predetermined wavelength at a target object, which target object is associated with a material of interest, and which photon energy causes a detectable change in light frequency to occur in the material of interest at or near the target object; and

a detection component for detecting the change in light frequency by imaging change data and facilitating notification of the detected change to a user.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the illumination component includes a laser tuned to the predetermined wavelength.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the illumination component includes at least one of a filter or a diffuser for processing target photons returned from the target object.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the illumination component is sufficiently powerful to impose the photon energy on the target object from at about five kilometers.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the illumination component and the detection component are an integral unit that is handheld.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the material of interest is associated with a vapor plume that exhibits the detectable change in light frequency when energized by the photon energy.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the material of interest is associated with particulate present on or near a surface of the target object and which exhibit the detectable change in light frequency when energized by the photon energy.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the material of interest is an explosive material that includes an element related to N,N-dimethylnitrosamine, nitromethane, nitrobenzene, TNT, and cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine (RDX) or RDX compositions.

9. The system of claim 1, further comprising a geographic location component wherein at least one of the illumination component or the detector component can be located geographically.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein data associated with a presence of the material of interest is processed to trigger additional processes that include transmitting at least one of an alert or a notification to a remote system.

11. The system of claim 1, further comprising a motion processing subsystem for compensating for motion in the illumination component.

12. The system of claim 1, further comprising a range finding system for computing a distance to the target object.

13. A system that facilitates detection of a target material, comprising:

an illumination component for directing photon energy of a predetermined wavelength at a target, which target is associated with a material of interest, and which photon energy causes a detectable change in light frequency to occur in the material of interest at or near the target, the illumination component further comprising,

a laser source for illuminating the target with a photon beam at the predetermined wavelength; and

a diffuser subsystem for controlling dispersion of the beam; and

a detection component for receiving data representative of the change in light frequency in the material of interest, the detection component further comprising,

an image capture subsystem for receiving the data and capturing the data as an image; and

an image processing subsystem for analyzing and processing the image, and facilitating detection of a presence or absence of the material of interest at the target.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the change in light frequency is detected by at least one of a fluorescence characteristic or a phosphorescence characteristic.

15. The system of claim 13, further comprising a positioning control subsystem for directing the beam onto the target under servo control.

16. The system of claim 13, wherein the material of interest is associated with an atmospheric and/or surface absorbed energetic nitrocompound.

17. The system of claim 13, further comprising a geographic location component wherein at least one of the illumination component or the detector component can be located geographically.

18. The system of claim 13, further comprising a baseline processing control component for initializing the image capture subsystem for ambient lighting conditions.

19. The system of claim 13, further comprising a shutter control subsystem for prohibiting light input to the image capture subsystem.

20. A system that facilitates detection of a target material, comprising:

means for illuminating a target object with light;

means for outputting the light at a predetermined wavelength associated with detecting a material of interest;

means for capturing light representing change information returned from the target object;

means for processing and analyzing the change information to determine presence of the material of interest and means for generating a human perceptible indicator to a user indicating change in light frequency by imaging change data.