Multi-sensor explosive detection system
US5078952A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 10, 1990 |
| Grant date | Jan 7, 1992 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 10, 2010 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10S706/933
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A nuclear detection system and method efficiently detects explosives in checked airline baggage or other parcels with a high probability of detection (PD) and a low probability of false alarms (PFA). The detection system detects the presence of nitrogen and its rough density distribution within the object under investigation by performing a nuclear-based analysis of the object. The detection system includes a source of thermal neutrons; an array of gamma ray detectors; a neutron detector; means for irradiating the object being examined to neutrons from the neutron source, which neutrons interact with the atomic nuclei of one or more specific elements, e.g., nitrogen, chlorine, or hydrogen present within the object so as to cause elemental-specific gamma rays to be emitted; means for capturing and counting the elemental-specific gamma rays and determining their approximate origin within the object, thereby providing a rough measure of the density distribution of these specific elements within the object; and means for detecting neutrons that pass through the object without substantially interacting with atomic nuclei, thereby providing an image of the atomic density distribution of …
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.