Devices, systems and methods relating to high speed postal monitoring
Inventors
Assignees
Interested in licensing this patent?
MTEC can help explore whether this patent might be available for licensing for your application.
Publication Number
US-12055466-B1
Publication Date
2024-08-06
Expiration Date
Abstract
Systems, devices and methods, etc., that overcome one or more problems associated with high-speed monitoring of large numbers/volumes of postal articles of postal articles for dangerous materials and contaminants. Such monitoring can be more economic, practical, efficient and/or effective. The monitoring systems, methods, etc., herein provide positive pressure clean air passing through an interrogation zone in interrogation zone housing, through which suspect postal articles are pass to provide sampled air, which in turn is analyzed optically to detect dangerous materials such as illicit biologicals or chemicals and to identify the source envelope (or other postal article) to within a few envelopes.
Core Innovation
The invention is directed to a high-speed mail sorting machine having an interrogation zone to assay for potentially dangerous postal articles. The machine includes a high-speed postal article transfer system that rapidly transmits postal articles through a postal article interrogation zone located within an interrogation zone housing, and the interrogation zone housing comprises an input clean air end that receives purified air from an outside source and transmits the input clean air through a sampling zone contained within the interrogation zone housing to provide sampled air.
The sampled air is transmitted to an optical analysis section that identifies within less than about 5 seconds potentially dangerous particles from the postal articles via optical scanning. The optical analysis section includes an optical emitter excitation light of less than about 350 nm and detects fluorescence from aerosol/biological fluorophores, and the optical analysis section can also detect a scattered-light signal from aerosol particles.
Software performs optical threshold determination to make alarm decisions based on predetermined fluorescence threshold and/or predetermined scattered light threshold or a combined threshold level. In disclosed embodiments, alarm decisions use threshold logic with a rapid level-1 warning based on fluorescence rate-of-change and a level-2 confirmation integrating over an additional time window, and when confirmation occurs, the machine stops processing and/or diverts suspect articles from remaining articles.
Claims Coverage
The document includes one independent claim (clm-00001). The main claim set covers a high-speed mail sorting machine with purified air delivered through a sampling zone to provide sampled air for optical scanning identification of potentially dangerous particles in less than about 5 seconds, with further inventive features refining air handling, optical sensing, and threshold-based alarm decision logic.
Rapid transfer through an interrogation zone housing with sampled air
A high-speed mail sorting machine comprises a high-speed postal article transfer system that rapidly transmits the postal articles through a postal article interrogation zone located within an interrogation zone housing. The interrogation zone housing comprises an input clean air end that receives purified air from an outside source and transmits the input clean air through a sampling zone contained within the interrogation zone housing to provide sampled air that is transmitted to an optical analysis section.
Optical scanning identification within less than about 5 seconds
The interrogation zone housing provides sampled air to an optical analysis section that identifies within less than about 5 seconds potentially dangerous particles from the postal articles via optical scanning.
Clean air to sampled air flow-rate ratio constraint
The high-speed mail sorting machine includes an interrogation-zone housing where the clean air entering the interrogation zone housing has a higher airflow rate than a sampled airflow rate by at least a 1.25:1 ratio.
Sub-350 nm excitation fluorescence threshold determination
The optical analysis section emits excitation light of about 350 nm or less into sampled air and detects fluorescence from fluorophores, and software determines whether the detected fluorescence exceeds a predetermined threshold level.
Dual-channel fluorescence and scattered-light threshold alarm decisions
The optical analysis section includes an optical emitter that emits excitation light of about 350 nm or less to sampled air, and a dual-channel optical detector that separately detects fluorescence from aerosol fluorophores and scattered excitation light from aerosol particles. Software monitors the detected fluorescence and scattered light signals and makes alarm decisions using predetermined fluorescence and/or scattered light threshold levels or a combined threshold level.
Sampling-time defined threshold level range
The first predetermined threshold level is determined based on a sampling time for sampled air of about 0.1 to 0.5 seconds.
Stopping high-speed processing and diverting suspect articles
When the second predetermined threshold level is exceeded, high-speed processing of postal articles is stopped and suspect postal articles are diverted from the remaining postal articles being examined.
Across the independent claim and its refinements, the central claim coverage combines high-speed mail transfer through an interrogation zone housing with purified input clean air routed through a sampling zone to supply sampled air to an optical analysis section for optical scanning identification in under about 5 seconds. Dependent inventive features add purified-air handling constraints, sub-350 nm fluorescence sensing with threshold determination, dual-channel fluorescence-versus-scattered-light alarm decisions using predetermined or combined threshold levels, sampling-time-defined threshold level determination, and stopping or diverting suspect articles upon exceeding a second threshold.
Stated Advantages
Enables identification of potentially dangerous particles from postal articles within less than about 5 seconds.
Reduces false positives and minimizes downtime relative to prior approaches described as hourly PCR.
Uses reporting of unexpectedly short intense aerosol events and reduced computation/latency compared with the prior hourly PCR approach.
Documented Applications
Monitoring and assay of potentially dangerous postal articles in a high-speed mail sorting machine using an interrogation zone with optical scanning and alarm decisions to divert or stop processing of suspect articles.
Optionally follow-on chemical detection or other assays after optical monitoring.
Interested in licensing this patent?