The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Dec. 19, 1995
Filed:
Jul. 29, 1994
Stephen E O'Brien, Bolton, MA (US);
David H Fine, Sudbury, MA (US);
Freemand W Fraim, Lexington, MA (US);
Thermedics Inc., Woburn, MA (US);
Abstract
Disclosed is a method of rapidly checking surfaces for the presence of traces of specific compounds such as certain explosives and drugs. A hand-covering such as a cotton glove is used to wipe surfaces to pick up particles of the specific compound which may indicate the presence of larger amounts or previous contact of a surface by a person who has handled the compound. The particles are transferred--unheated--to collection surfaces of a hand-held sample probe by vacuuming of the gloved hand by the battery-operated probe. Heat is then supplied by a source external to the probe to vaporize the particles, and the vapors are analyzed by a suitable technique such as high speed gas chromatography. The method permits checking of surfaces for explosives at processing rates of up to several samples per minute.