WO2016048216A1 - Dispositif de criblage d'emballage - Google Patents

Dispositif de criblage d'emballage Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2016048216A1
WO2016048216A1 PCT/SE2015/050920 SE2015050920W WO2016048216A1 WO 2016048216 A1 WO2016048216 A1 WO 2016048216A1 SE 2015050920 W SE2015050920 W SE 2015050920W WO 2016048216 A1 WO2016048216 A1 WO 2016048216A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
unit
package
sensor unit
air
sensors
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/SE2015/050920
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Bernt BÖHMER
Original Assignee
Tellusecure Ab
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Tellusecure Ab filed Critical Tellusecure Ab
Publication of WO2016048216A1 publication Critical patent/WO2016048216A1/fr

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Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
    • G01N1/00—Sampling; Preparing specimens for investigation
    • G01N1/02—Devices for withdrawing samples
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
    • G01N1/00—Sampling; Preparing specimens for investigation
    • G01N1/02—Devices for withdrawing samples
    • G01N1/22—Devices for withdrawing samples in the gaseous state
    • G01N1/2226—Sampling from a closed space, e.g. food package, head space
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
    • G01N33/00—Investigating or analysing materials by specific methods not covered by groups G01N1/00 - G01N31/00
    • G01N33/0004—Gaseous mixtures, e.g. polluted air
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
    • G01N1/00—Sampling; Preparing specimens for investigation
    • G01N1/02—Devices for withdrawing samples
    • G01N2001/022—Devices for withdrawing samples sampling for security purposes, e.g. contraband, warfare agents
    • G01N2001/025—Devices for withdrawing samples sampling for security purposes, e.g. contraband, warfare agents postal items

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a detection system for screening packages, such as personal baggage, packets, parcels, letters and other type of articles intended to carry or contain something.
  • the present invention is related to a high-speed detection system intended to read, detect or save a specific content(s) measure or more from a sample of a package, surface, person or animal, clothing or other form of material.
  • One possible specific use according to the present invention is also for detecting a specific content(s) measure from a sample of a package and alarming if the same contains dangerous matter or material, such as explosives, chemicals, narcotics, etc.
  • contaminating aerosols indicative of a hazard or a benefit, where the contaminating aerosols are chemical, radiological, biological, toxic, or infectious in character.
  • an explosive detection screening system used for the detection of explosives and other controlled substances such as drugs or narcotics.
  • the screening system detects the vapor and/or particulate emissions from the aforementioned substances and reports that they are present on an individual or object and the concentration of each substance detected.
  • the screening system comprises a sampling chamber for the collection of the vapor and/or particulate emissions, a concentration and analyzing system for the purification of the collected vapor and/or particulate emissions and subsequent detailed chemical analysis of the emissions, and a control and data processing system for the control of the overall system.
  • EP0169057 there is disclosed a method of detecting contraband substances in freight cargo containers in which the container is agitated to disturb particulates therein, and air containing such particulates is then sampled and the particulates collected.
  • the collected particulates include naturally occurring particulates which have adsorbed vapors of the contraband substance during the entire time that the container has been closed, and also include particulates of the contraband substance itself.
  • the collected particulates are heated to drive off vapors indicative of the contraband substance and the vapors are analyzed in a mass analyzer.
  • the present invention is directed to providing an improved detection system which provides inter alia a high measurement reliability and as such a high level of control, also when a relatively high belt speed is used.
  • the sensor unit comprises one or more tin oxide sensors, polymer sensors, sensors directed to gas chromatography, mass spectrometry, ion spectrometry, ion trap spectrometry or combinations thereof.
  • the system is a system which is easy to place as a plug-in to any conventional high-speed conveyor belt.
  • the system according to the present invention may have a design like a U shaped frame which is placed over and around a transportation band.
  • the conveyor belt, roller(s) or other form of transporting unit is transporting or moving a package with speeds of up to 2 m/s, typically from 0.5 to 1 .0 m/s. It may further be said that that the system according to the present invention typically does not comprise the conveyor belt as such, even if this may be the case. Instead, the transporting unit may be seen as the environment in which the present invention should be used.
  • the system is intended to be able to be used for many different types of high-speed conveyor belts, both as a permanent and temporary solution.
  • the collecting unit in fact may be a unit which comprises the sensor unit.
  • the collecting unit comprises hoses.
  • Such hoses may e.g. be arranged to be attached to an over-bar, and then hang down from the over- bar and suck up the air around the package which has just been compressed.
  • the collecting unit is a funnel. This funnel may be arranged to be positioned below or in connection with the transporting unit.
  • US 2004/0045342 there is disclosed a system for detecting contaminants in or on objects, comprising a movably mounted container for holding objects and having a plurality of perforations and an entrance opening through which objects may be placed into said container; a housing enclosing said container and forming a barrier to ambient air and having a sealable opening for inserting and removing objects from said container; means for moving said container within the housing to move objects therein for emitting particles which are in or on such object; means providing an air stream for moving air through said housing and container to entrain any emitted particles into the air stream; and a sensor for sensing contaminants in the air stream and providing a signal when a contaminant is sensed.
  • the sensors disclosed in US 2004/0045342 are aerosol or particle sensors. None of the sensors possible to be included in the sensor unit according to the present invention are disclosed or hinted in US 2004/0045342.
  • US 2004/0020266 there is disclosed a system for detecting contaminated objects comprising a closed chamber defining a cavity, said chamber having a sealable inlet to accept at least one object into said cavity; a pinching subsystem operably connected to said cavity for receiving said at least one object, said pinching subsystem capable of compressing said at least one object and releasing particles associated with said at least one object into air within said cavity to form cavity air; a cavity air processing subsystem operably connected to said cavity for receiving said cavity air, said cavity air processing subsystem capable of subjecting said cavity air to at least one test; and a means for providing an indication of results obtained from said at least one test, wherein based upon said indication, a decision can be made with respect to further handling of said at least one object.
  • the sensors disclosed in US 2004/0020266 are aerosol or particle sensors, in fact the same type as discussed in
  • the unit for exposing the package to compression is a unit directed to a stroking, vibrating or pressing operation on the package. As understood from above, this compression may be exerted by different means.
  • the system also comprises some form of pressuring device, which pressuring device e.g. may press on two opposite sides of a package to compress the package and evacuate air from the package in about the same way as with a vibration.
  • both the type and their frequency range may vary.
  • One possible type of interest is eccentric vibrators.
  • several vibrators operating within different frequency ranges may be used.
  • the unit for exposing the package to compression is a unit operating with vibration in the range of 5-15 Hz.
  • the unit for exposing the package to compression is a unit operating with vibration in the range of 8-12 Hz. This range may be of particular interest for certain technical applications of the present invention. Smaller and larger packages have different resonance frequency.
  • one, two or several vibrators may be used to cover packages of different size.
  • other devices may be used to excite with other wave forms containing the frequency ranges according to above. This may also be a combination according to the present invention to ensure to cover all kinds of package sizes.
  • the length of stroke is typically from 0.05 mm up to max about 1 cm, where the latter level should be considered very high. According to one specific embodiment of the present invention, the length of stroke is chosen in the range of 0.5 mm - 3 mm.
  • the unit for exposing the package to compression is a unit providing a calibrated drop of the package.
  • the system may comprise a belt for receiving and transporting the package, which belt then provides a drop of the package onto the regular conveyor belt.
  • the actual fall may be from 1 to 20 cm, such as 5-10 cm.
  • this provides a compression to the package.
  • Another alternative according to the present invention is to use a device, such as a sandbag or the like, which is dropped like a weight onto the package to create the compression.
  • the weight is typically in the range of from 1 to 3 kg.
  • a sandbag according to the present invention may have large advantages if the package or other item intended to be compressed is uneven. In fact, a sandbag functions on all different types of shapes. This is not the case when using rollers, such as in US 2004/0020266.
  • the present invention facilitates the handling of any type of package shape, which is a great advantage.
  • a sandbag may provide a compressing effect also on sides of a package not being the top side of the package. This is also why uneven packages may be analyzed so effectively in the system according to the present invention when being compared with other systems.
  • the sandbag may have a cloth wound up on a roller. The height of the package being analyzed may be measured before the detection. The software or program used may then alter the final position for the sandbag to be dropped to, based on the height of the package. It may further be said that the hoses, which may be part of the collecting unit, should be positioned close to the compression position for a sandbag which has been dropped onto a package.
  • the collecting unit is provided with positive or negative voltage to attract ions.
  • the hoses or the funnel of the collecting unit mentioned above may be provided with high voltage, both positive and negative, to attract ions.
  • the voltage of the electrodes may be in the range of 0-10 kV, such as 3-7 kV, e.g. around 5 kV.
  • the collecting unit is provided with heating capability to heat up particles. This may be of interest to evaporate molecules with a low vapour pressure at room (ambient) temperature.
  • the temperature provided by the heating unit providing the heating capability is normally in the range of from 100 to 500°C, such as typically from 150 to 250°C, according to the present invention.
  • the sensor unit according to the present invention may comprise different possible components based on different technique.
  • the sensor unit comprises one or more tin oxide sensors, polymer sensors, sensors directed to gas chromatography, ion spectrometry, or combinations thereof.
  • the sensor unit of the present invention comprises several sensors from the ones disclosed above and where at least some of them are of different type. To use different techniques may have the advantage that different interest areas may be possible to detect.
  • humidity and/or temperature sensors arranged in the system. This is in view of the fact that the detection data has a relationship with these parameters.
  • These humidity and/or temperature sensors are in such a case arranged inside of the air chamber in proximity to the sensors. By measuring these parameters the system may be calibrated so that the detection data is adjusted based on these parameters. It is of course important to ensure that the response time constant for these sensors correlate with the gas detection sensor's temperature and humidity response time constant so there is correlation between sets of data points.
  • the sensor unit comprises one or more tin oxide sensors which are heated by heating elements and cooled by flowing air.
  • the tin oxide sensors may operate at a constant heating of a heating element of the sensor.
  • the sensors may at the same time be cooled by flowing air.
  • the sampling time may be decreased considerably when compared to a cycling approach when the heating element is turned on and off.
  • the air streams around the tin oxide sensor may also have a direct effect on the measurement possibilities.
  • the air stream(s) is directed straightly towards the sensor surface where there is an opening directly to the tin oxide granulate.
  • the cooling may be more effective, and this can affect the measuring cycles. Therefore, a cooling air stream directly "into" the sensor is preferred.
  • the sensor unit comprises several tin oxide sensors operating at different temperature ranges. By using different temperature ranges for the tin oxides sensors the actual temperature range covered by the measurement may be increased.
  • system of the present invention may also be
  • the device also comprises a valve and a subsequent ventilator.
  • the device comprises a suction system intended for sucking air into the sensor unit / sensor compartment. Furthermore, according to one
  • the suction system comprises a fan and a valve.
  • the suction system used to suck air into and through the sensor compartment can be made up of a traditional radial or axial fan combined with a high speed valve to switch the airflow on and off.
  • the valve opens and the under pressure built up by the fan sucks air in through the sensor unit / compartment. The airflow cools down the sensors and the valve is closed when enough air has been sucked in through the senor
  • the sensor substance sampling cycle starts when the inhalation phase commences and stops typically a half second up to 30 seconds after.
  • the device comprises a noise reducer between the suction system and the sensor unit.
  • the filter improves the sensitivity of the system but significant noise still remains.
  • the suction system is a bellow.
  • the bellow allows more precise control of the amount of air sucked through the sensor unit / compartment as well as provides a significant lower noise level. It improves the sensitivity through reduced noise levels and provides the additional benefit of reducing the sensitivity of the whole suctions system to variations in flow resistance.
  • the bellow creates a very high under pressure if the flow is obstructed compared to a fan that has not at all the same steep flow versus pressure relation as the bellow. The bellow improves the stability of the system and sensor operation.
  • the device comprises parallel suction systems intended for sucking air into the sensor unit.
  • the flow can be adjusted to provide a cooling down effect of the sensors equaling the cooling down effect created by a sampling cycle. Then the system can always be ready to perform a sampling cycle whenever a parcel arrives at the sensors on the conveyor or any another type of external event requires that a sampling cycle takes place.
  • air flowing into the sensor unit / compartment is pre-heated.
  • a pre-heating before the air enters into the sensor unit / compartment to a temperature between 25-100°C is conceivable with a preferable range being 40-60°C.

Landscapes

  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Pathology (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Analytical Chemistry (AREA)
  • Biochemistry (AREA)
  • General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Immunology (AREA)
  • Molecular Biology (AREA)
  • Biomedical Technology (AREA)
  • Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
  • Food Science & Technology (AREA)
  • Medicinal Chemistry (AREA)
  • Sampling And Sample Adjustment (AREA)

Abstract

La présente invention concerne un dispositif conçu pour le criblage d'emballages, ledit dispositif comprenant une unité pour exposer un emballage à une compression et libérer ainsi un échantillon d'air de l'emballage ; une unité de collecte pour collecter l'échantillon d'air ; et une unité de capteur pour lire, détecter, alarmer et/ou sauvegarder une mesure d'un ou plusieurs contenus spécifiques de l'échantillon d'air, et l'unité de capteur comprenant un ou plusieurs capteurs d'oxyde d'étain, capteurs polymères, capteurs orientés vers une chromatographie en phase gazeuse, une spectrométrie de masse, une spectrométrie d'ions, une spectrométrie de piège à ions, ou des combinaisons de ces derniers.
PCT/SE2015/050920 2014-09-24 2015-09-02 Dispositif de criblage d'emballage WO2016048216A1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
SE1451125 2014-09-24
SE1451125-7 2014-09-24

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO2016048216A1 true WO2016048216A1 (fr) 2016-03-31

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Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
PCT/SE2015/050920 WO2016048216A1 (fr) 2014-09-24 2015-09-02 Dispositif de criblage d'emballage

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Citations (8)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP0169057A2 (fr) * 1984-07-17 1986-01-22 British Aerospace Public Limited Company Procédé et dispositif pour détecter une substance de contrebande
WO1992017773A1 (fr) * 1991-04-05 1992-10-15 British Gas Plc Detecteurs de gaz en oxyde d'etain
US5162652A (en) * 1991-08-07 1992-11-10 Pcp, Inc. Method and apparatus for rapid detection of contraband and toxic materials by trace vapor detection using ion mobility spectrometry
US5942699A (en) * 1997-06-12 1999-08-24 R.A.Y. Buechler Ltd. Method and apparatus for sampling contaminants
US20020124664A1 (en) * 1998-11-13 2002-09-12 Mesosystems Technology, Inc. Robust system for screening mail for biological agents
US20030113922A1 (en) * 2001-12-19 2003-06-19 Pitney Bowes Inc. Method and system for detecting biological and chemical hazards in networked incoming mailboxes
US20040020264A1 (en) * 2001-10-31 2004-02-05 Lockheed Martin Corp., A Maryland Corporation System and method for detecting bio-hazardous particulates in mail handling systems
WO2004063697A2 (fr) * 2003-01-15 2004-07-29 Tracetrack Technology Ltd. Systeme de balayage d'agents contaminants

Patent Citations (8)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP0169057A2 (fr) * 1984-07-17 1986-01-22 British Aerospace Public Limited Company Procédé et dispositif pour détecter une substance de contrebande
WO1992017773A1 (fr) * 1991-04-05 1992-10-15 British Gas Plc Detecteurs de gaz en oxyde d'etain
US5162652A (en) * 1991-08-07 1992-11-10 Pcp, Inc. Method and apparatus for rapid detection of contraband and toxic materials by trace vapor detection using ion mobility spectrometry
US5942699A (en) * 1997-06-12 1999-08-24 R.A.Y. Buechler Ltd. Method and apparatus for sampling contaminants
US20020124664A1 (en) * 1998-11-13 2002-09-12 Mesosystems Technology, Inc. Robust system for screening mail for biological agents
US20040020264A1 (en) * 2001-10-31 2004-02-05 Lockheed Martin Corp., A Maryland Corporation System and method for detecting bio-hazardous particulates in mail handling systems
US20030113922A1 (en) * 2001-12-19 2003-06-19 Pitney Bowes Inc. Method and system for detecting biological and chemical hazards in networked incoming mailboxes
WO2004063697A2 (fr) * 2003-01-15 2004-07-29 Tracetrack Technology Ltd. Systeme de balayage d'agents contaminants

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