| US 7,483,511 B2 | ||
| Inspection system and method | ||
| Joseph Bendahan, San Jose, Calif. (US); William Joseph Kelly, Coronado, Calif. (US); and Forrest Frank Hopkins, Cohoes, N.Y. (US) | ||
| Assigned to GE Homeland Protection, Inc., Newark, Calif. (US) | ||
| Filed on Feb. 05, 2007, as Appl. No. 11/671,042. | ||
| Claims priority of provisional application 60/811211, filed on Jun. 06, 2006. | ||
| Prior Publication US 2007/0280416 A1, Dec. 06, 2007 | ||
| Int. Cl. G01N 23/04 (2006.01); H01G 1/64 (2006.01) | ||
| U.S. Cl. 378—57 [378/98.9] | 29 Claims |
| 1. A method of determining a presence of items of interest within a cargo container, the method comprising:
obtaining information from an initial radiation scan of at least one of the cargo container and contents therein, the obtaining
comprising:
transmitting a screening radiation beam along a screening portion of the cargo container at a screening scan rate;
detecting radiation received in response to the transmitting the screening radiation beam; and
analyzing the detected radiation received in response to the transmitting the screening radiation beam to develop information
regarding the initial radiation scan;
identifying a target portion of the cargo container in response to the information obtained, wherein the screening portion
is larger than the target portion;
transmitting a target radiation beam along the target portion of the cargo container at a target scan rate, the target scan
rate being different than the screening scan rate;
detecting radiation received in response to the transmitting;
analyzing the detected radiation for a presence of items of interest; and
in response to the analyzing, generating a first signal indicative of the presence of the items of interest, or generating
a second signal indicative of an absence of the items of interest.
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