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:
Mar. 11, 2003
Filed:
Mar. 14, 2001
Mau-Song Chou, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA (US);
John C. Brock, Redondo Beach, CA (US);
TRW Inc., Redondo Beach, CA (US);
Abstract
A system for the remote detection and analysis of trace chemical agents in the air. A beam of electromagnetic radiation is used to radiate a cloud. The radiation energy that is absorbed by the cloud is thermalized by collisional energy transfer between the molecules that absorb the radiation. Increases in the cloud temperature increase the emission intensity of the molecules against the background, resulting in improved detection of the target molecules. A tracking telescope is used to collect the thermal emissions generated by the radiation beam. A spectrometer is used to resolve the emissions from the cloud and generate an emissions spectrum. The wavelength of the electromagnetic radiation can be selected to be in resonance with the absorption lines of water or oxygen molecules in the cloud, or to be in resonance with absorption lines of known target molecules in the cloud to generate the heat.