Method and apparatus for tracking and locating explosives and explosive materials worldwide using micro RF transponders

• US 8,072,337 B2
• Filed: 02/23/2009
• Issued: 12/06/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/23/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: RadioFIDO LLC
• Original Assignee: BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration Incorporated (BAE Systems Plc)
• Inventors: Zank, Paul A., Buchanan, David W., Julien, Jason C., Brommer, Karl D., Fredette, Walter J Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): La, Anh V
• Application Number:
  US12/390,970
• Publication Number:
  US 20100231389A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,016 Days
• Field of Search: 340/572.1, 340/572.8, 340/10.42, 340/505, 340/539.13, 340/539.22, 340/693.5
• US Class Current: 340/572.8
• CPC Class Codes: G01V 15/00 Tags attached to, or associated with, an object, in order to enable detection of the object record carriers for use with machines having a detectable tag or marker G06K19/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0701 at least one of the integrated circuit chips comprising an arrangement for power management
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07735 the record carrier comprising means for protecting against electrostatic discharge
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07749 the record carrier being capable of non-contact communication, e.g. constructional details of the antenna of a non-contact smart card
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07758 arrangements for adhering the record carrier to further objects or living beings, functioning as an identification tag

Abstract

Stolen or lost explosives are detected by fixing micro RF transmitters in the form of RFID tags to the explosive packaging or embedding them in the explosive material itself. Moreover, the subject microradio transponders may be contained in an adhesive binder or slurry. The identity of the explosive, its place of manufacture and ownership is detectable by RFID tag interrogators strategically located along commonly used roads or railways in which the RFID tags scavenge energy from interrogation beams, with the RFID tags indicating the identity of the explosive and its origin.

Claims

1. A method for detecting and identifying explosives during the entire lifecycle of the explosive, comprising the steps of:

affixing a microradio transponder of nearly invisible submicroscopic size to the explosive at the time of manufacture such that the transponder is placed discretely at the explosive during manufacture or is integrating into the explosive material itself, the microradio transponder having a rectifier including a final capacitor and a hysteretic switch to allow the final capacitor in the rectifier to charge up for a relatively long period of time to permit a foreshortened antenna to be nearly invisible, the antenna including a thread dipole antenna that is of nearly invisible submicroscopic size and including coding to indicate at least the place of manufacture of the explosive;

irradiating an area suspected to contain explosives with an interrogating beam; and

,

detecting radiation from the microradio transponder and the information contained therein at long ranges due to the hysteretic switch despite the small nearly invisible size of the antenna, thereby to trace the explosive manufacturer for providing worldwide tracking and detection of explosives.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the explosive includes explosive material and wherein the microradio transponder is embedded in the explosive material.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the coding additionally includes one of explosive type, date of manufacture, the identity of the manufacturer and serial number.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the microradio transponders are located within shipping labels.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the microradio transponders are affixed to blasting caps.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the microradio transponders are affixed to spooled energetics.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the spooled energetics include detonator cords.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the microradio transponder is affixed to a booster.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the microradio transponder is affixed to a PBX sheet.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the microradio transponder is attached to or within a plastic explosive.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the microradio transponder is affixed to a shock tube.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the microradio transponder is affixed to a drawstring of a bag.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the microradio transponder is affixed to a detonation cord.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the microradio transponder is affixed to or contained within a sealing ring.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein microradio transponders are affixed to packaging for explosives.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the packaging is non-conductive.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the packaging includes a metallic substrate.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the microradio transponder is spaced from the metallic substrate by a dielectric material.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the dielectric material includes a dielectric adhesive.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein a metallic substrate is taken from the group of labels consisting of a packaging label, a holographic label and a reflective label.

21. The method of claim 17, wherein a metallic substrate includes a metallic hinge.

22. The method of claim 1, wherein the microradio transponder is entrained in an adhesive.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the adhesive is conductive and wherein the microradio transponder includes an antenna electrically isolated from the conductive adhesive.

24. The method of claim 22, wherein the adhesive is sprayed onto a substrate.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the substrate is non-metallic.

26. The method of claim 24, wherein the substrate is metallic.

27. The method of claim 1, wherein the microradio transponder includes a rectenna circuit for boosting the power output thereof.

28. The method of claim 1, wherein the microradio transponder includes a modulator for modulating the signal therefrom in accordance with the information to be transmitted.

29. The method of claim 1, wherein the microradio transponder is activated only upon the receipt of a predetermined code carried by the interrogating beam, thereby to permit selecting a predetermined microradio transponder for poling.

30. The method of claim 1, and further including the step of providing an alarm when an explosive has been detected.

31. The method of claim 1, and further including the step of providing an alarm when explosive material has been detected.

32. The method of claim 1, wherein the interrogating beam is provided by a terrestrially based interrogator.

33. The method of claim 1, wherein the interrogating beam is generated from an airborne location.

34. The method of claim 32, wherein the interrogating beam is generated from a satellite.