General Electric Company

Ion Track Instruments

Other

Jenkins, Anthony

Anthony Jenkins

William Joseph McGann

Kevin Joseph Perry

Joseph D Napoli

Peter W Stephens

William J Mcgann

A detector for the detection for trace vapors and particles in the air that includes a housing; a well formed in the housing; a heated filter positioned across the well; a source delivering sampled air substantially perpendicular to the open end of the well on a first side of the filter; a source to supply dry air across the first side of the filter; a detector line in communication with the at least one well on a second side of the filter; and a second dry air source for supplying air to the second side of the filter at a pressure below atmospheric pressure. An automatic inspection station that includes a vibrator for vibrating articles to be inspected. An automatic inspection station that includes a heating element positioned below an upper surface of the floor and an inlet positioned above the floor.

Systems for the detection of trace vapors and particles in air

System for the detection of trace vapors and particles in air

A security checkpoint includes a personal scanning portal, a parcel scanning portal and a controller for ensuring substantially simultaneous scanning of a person and the parcel associated with the person. The controller also adjusts the level of scrutiny at each portal based on scanned data received at the other portal and based on information in a database relating to the specific person at the security checkpoint.

Security checkpoint

A portal trace detection apparatus is provided for detecting minute particles of interest, such as traces of narcotics, explosives and other contraband. The apparatus includes a portal through which a human suspect will pass. A detection apparatus is disposed at least partly in the ceiling of the portal, and hence above the human subject in the portal. Particles of interest will be entrained in the human thermal plume that exists in the boundary layer of air adjacent the suspect, and will flow upwardly from the suspect to the detection apparatus in the ceiling of the portal. The portal includes a plurality of vertically aligned arrays of air jets. The air jets are fired sequentially from bottom to top to produce short bursts of air sufficient to disturb the clothing of the suspect and to dislodge particles of interest from the clothing. The dislodged particles of interest are entrained in the air in the human thermal plume and are transported upwardly to the detector.

Portal trace detection systems for detection of imbedded particles

An apparatus is provided for detecting whether substances of interest are present in a sample of air. The apparatus includes a detector, such as an ion trap mobility spectrometer. The detector is operated at a high drift voltage and then is switched to a low drift voltage. Spectra are collected at the high and low field strengths and are compared with standard spectra at those strengths to determine whether materials of interest are present.

Ion mobility spectrometers with improved resolution

A detector requires a stream of dry air for transporting particles to the detector. The detector then operates to determine whether the dry air has transported any particles of interest. Continuous operation of the detector is permitted by providing first and second dryers that can be operated alternately for drying air that is to be directed to the detector. The dryer that is not being operated is recharged. Air is directed alternately between the first and second dryer to ensure that neither dryer is operated after reaching saturation.

Materials and apparatus for the detection of contraband

An ion trap mobility spectrometer is provided. The ion trap mobility spectrometer employs algorithms to simultaneously detect and analyze both positive and negative plasmagrams. Selectivity is improved by detecting the presence of peaks in both spectra and setting logic filters which require the presence or absence of certain peaks in both spectra. Selectivity is improved by looking for two peaks in the two spectra.

Enhancements to ion mobility spectrometers

An ion trap mobility spectrometer is provided with a reaction chamber and a drift chamber. Ions are produced in the reaction chamber by high voltage electronic pulses. More particularly, the ions are formed periodically and are allowed to thermalize in a field-free environment of the reaction chamber. The ions then react with molecular species in the gas phase in the reaction chamber. After a short period, the ions are pulsed into the drift section and are collected on a collector electrode disposed at the end of the drift chamber remote from the reaction chamber. The reaction period may be varied to sample the ion population at different intervals. This enables the ion-molecule reactions to be monitored as the ion population approaches equilibrium. The monitoring results can be used to determine differences between reacting species because the molecular ion population varies at different time points approaching equilibrium. This in turn provides improved identification of target materials.

Ion mobility spectrometer

Sample traps or wipes are provided for a detection system for detecting contraband materials. The sample trap is formed from an open weave glass fabric coated with a thin layer of Teflon and roughened to cut through the surface of Teflon and to break some of the glass fibers. Alternatively, the sample trap is non-woven felt fabric made of high temperature polyamide fiber. The sample traps are used in a detector, such as an ion trap mobility spectrometer. The detector includes a desorber which feeds dry air from a manifold above and below the sample trap through a series of holes along the mouth of the desorber. The dry air passes through the trap and purges out unwanted atmospheric constituents that could otherwise affect the performance of the detector. The purged air passes to the outside atmosphere, thus creating a dry curtain at the entry to the desorber.

An ion trap mobility spectrometer (ITMS) and method of operation are provided for enhanced detection of narcotics in an air sample. The air sample is transported by a carrier gas with a low concentration of a dopant that has a basicity between the relative basicity of said carrier gas and the narcotic.

Ion trap mobility spectrometer and method of operation for enhanced

An ion mobility spectrometer is provided which employs an electron capture process. A sample gas stream is irradiated to produce positive ions and electrons in an ionization chamber. An open grid electrode is employed in the ionization chamber to maintain a field-free space that allows ion population to build up in the ionization chamber. However, a high electric field is periodically generated across the ionization chamber for periods of less than one millisecond to cause most ions of one polarity in the ionization chamber to be swept out and into a drift chamber. Ions of opposite polarity are discharged on the walls of the ionization chamber. The ions entering the drift chamber travel at drift velocities dependant on their respective charge and mass. A collector electrode is provided for sequentially collecting ions of differing mass, and the collected ion current is transmitted to a signal processing means for measuring intensity and arrival times for the collected ions. A potential can be maintained between the drift chamber and the ionization chamber for preventing ions from traveling down the drift chamber. However, this potential between the drift chamber and the ionization chamber may periodically be switched synchronously with the generation of the field across the ionization chamber to enable ions to pass into the drift chamber during the switching.

Ion mobility spectrometers

An apparatus and method is provided for detecting terrorist bombs. The apparatus is operative to detect small amounts of low volatility atmospheric vapors which are emitted into the surrounding air from the bomb. The apparatus includes a heated inlet nozzle which delivers the air to a silicone membrane. A pair of identical capillaries are disposed downstream from the membrane, with one capillary being polarized, and the other being non-polarized. The heating of the inlet nozzle is periodically increased rapidly to cause extremely low volatility explosive vapors to evaporate and diffuse through the membrane. Detectors disposed downstream from the capillaries detect the presence of the vapors impinging thereon. Differences in the signals generated by the two detectors is indicative of the presence of an explosive. A microprocessor is provided to recalibrate the detectors after each heating cycle.

Method and apparatus for detecting low volatility atmospheric vapors

An inspection system for detecting the presence of selected crystalline materials, such as explosives or drugs, utilizing an x-ray source and a collimated array of detectors to sense radiation scattered by the objects being inspected. A signal processing system compares the measured signal with selected spectra to determine whether specific materials are present within the inspected object.

X-ray diffraction inspection system

A portal vapor detection system for sampling air proximal to the bodies of individuals in which air sampling tubes positioned within movable panels convey a gas flow into an analyzing system. Low vapor pressure materials such as plastic explosives or illicit drugs carried by individuals can be detected thereby enabling the prevention of their transport into aircraft or secured areas.

Growing community of inventors

North Reading, MA, United States of America

Anthony Jenkins