Method and apparatus for detecting and classifying explosives and controlled substances
First Claim
1. An apparatus for detecting explosives and controlled substances in an object, comprising:
- an enclosure;
a shield layer disposed within the enclosure;
a cavity disposed within the shield layer, said cavity comprising one or more turns which preclude a straight line trajectory through the cavity;
a source/detection array disposed within the cavity, the source/detection array comprising a plurality of neutron sources and a plurality of gamma detectors;
a transport mechanism for moving objects through the cavity and past the source/detection array; and
a means for;
activating the plurality of neutron sources to irradiate an object with neutron particles to cause the object to generate gamma rays,analyzing gamma counts associated with the gamma rays detected by the plurality of gamma detectors to determine whether an explosive or controlled substance is present in the object, andactivating the plurality of neutron sources to pulse sequentially if it is determined that an explosive or controlled substance is present in the object.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system for detecting and classifying small amounts of explosives and other controlled substances while rejecting confounders, including a source/detector array formed of a plurality of sources and a plurality of detectors, a signal processor coupled to the source/detector array for processing data received from the detectors, a classifier coupled to the signal processor for classifying data received from the signal processor according to a plurality of algorithms, a maximal rejection classifier coupled to the classifier; and a declarative decision module coupled to the maximal rejection classifier for rendering an accurate decision regarding the contents of the object is provided. The apparatus includes an enclosure, a shield layer disposed within the enclosure, a cavity disposed within the shield layer, a plurality of neutron sources and a detection array disposed within the cavity, and a transport mechanism for moving objects through the cavity past the sources and detection array. The cavity has one or more turns which preclude a straight line trajectory through the cavity. The shield layer is water-filled to prevent stray radiation from exiting the enclosure. The use of multiple lower power neutron sources and the particular geometry of the enclosure provide a compact, relatively lightweight explosive detection system which is practical for use in airports and other public locations.
17 Citations
21 Claims
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1. An apparatus for detecting explosives and controlled substances in an object, comprising:
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an enclosure; a shield layer disposed within the enclosure; a cavity disposed within the shield layer, said cavity comprising one or more turns which preclude a straight line trajectory through the cavity; a source/detection array disposed within the cavity, the source/detection array comprising a plurality of neutron sources and a plurality of gamma detectors; a transport mechanism for moving objects through the cavity and past the source/detection array; and a means for; activating the plurality of neutron sources to irradiate an object with neutron particles to cause the object to generate gamma rays, analyzing gamma counts associated with the gamma rays detected by the plurality of gamma detectors to determine whether an explosive or controlled substance is present in the object, and activating the plurality of neutron sources to pulse sequentially if it is determined that an explosive or controlled substance is present in the object. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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Specification