IP Library Granted Patent US 12,372,480
Granted Patent B1
US 12,372,480 · App. 18/936,500 · Granted Jul 29, 2025

RF-based special material detection system with secure multi-dimensional authentication

Inventors: Robert J. Short, Jr. (Stuart, FL); Lee Duke (Stuart, FL); John Cronin (Stuart, FL); Michael D'Andrea (Stuart, FL); Harrison Grant (Stuart, FL)
Assignee: QUANTUM IP, LLC
G01N22/00G06V40/172
View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,372,480
App. No.
18/936,500
Granted
Jul 29, 2025
Kind
B1
Abstract

A method includes accessing a material database associating each of a plurality of materials with one or more corresponding resonance frequencies; for each material of at least a subset of the plurality of materials in the material database: transmitting, via an RF transmitter, an RF signal into a target at a first resonance frequency for each material; receiving, via an RF receiver, a response signal from the target; and analyzing the response signal for resonance characteristics that indicate a presence of each material in the target; generating a report of each material in the target indicated by the resonance characteristics; and integrating the report with at least one of: a timestamp; image or video data from a camera; or geolocation data from a geolocation sensor.

Claims (46)

1. A machine-implemented method for detecting and identifying materials within a target object located at a distance from a material detection and identification system including at least one processor, a radio frequency (RF) transmitter, and an RF receiver, the machine-implemented method comprising:

accessing, via the at least one processor, a material database storing previously obtained data associating each of a plurality of materials with one or more corresponding resonance frequencies at which the plurality of materials when exposed to RF signals the one or more corresponding resonance frequencies produce response signals with detectable resonance characteristics, wherein the material database is previously created by transmitting the RF signals into known materials at various frequencies and storing frequencies at which resonance characteristics are detected for the known materials;

for each material of at least a subset of the plurality of materials in the material database:

transmitting, via the RF transmitter, an RF signal into the target object at a first resonance frequency specified in the material database for each material;

receiving, via the RF receiver, a response signal from the target object in response to the RF signal; and

analyzing, via the at least one processor, the response signal for the resonance characteristics that indicate a presence of each material in the target object; and

generating, via the at least one processor for display on a graphical display screen, a report of each material in the target object indicated by the resonance characteristics detected in a corresponding response signal,

wherein generating includes at least one of:

obtaining a timestamp from the at least one processor and including the timestamp in the report;

obtaining image or video data from a camera in communication with the at least one processor and including the image or video data in the report; or

obtaining previously unknown geolocation data from a geolocation sensor in communication with the at least one processor and including the previously unknown geolocation data in the report.

2. The machine-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:

encrypting the report using a first encryption method.

3. The machine-implemented method of claim 2 , further comprising:

transmitting the encrypted report to at least one of a security network or one or more third parties.

4. The machine-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein generating the report further comprises including, in the report, data obtained from one or more additional sensors in communication with the at least one processor, the one or more additional sensors including one or more of a motion sensor, a temperature sensor, a microphone, a thermal imager, a radar device, a lidar device, an ultrasound device, a speaker, or a wearable device.

5. The machine-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the report includes at least one of a signal strength of the response signal, as measured by the RF receiver, or a confidence level of identification, as calculated by the at least one processor.

6. The machine-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the material database indicates a priority of detecting each material of the at least the subset of the plurality of materials for one or more applications, and wherein transmitting includes transmitting into the target object the RF signal at the first resonance frequency for each material in order of the priority for a specific application.

7. The machine-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the at least the subset of the plurality of materials is selected by a user.

8. The machine-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising, if no materials are identified or ambiguous resonance characteristics are detected, repeating the transmitting, receiving, and analyzing using a second resonance frequency for one or more of the materials in the material database.

9. The machine-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:

performing facial recognition on the image or video data; and

if a person is positively identified by the facial recognition, storing personal details of the identified person in a security database.

10. The machine-implemented method of claim 9 , wherein, if the identified person is included in a list of individuals, the method further includes initiating an alarm or another automatic action.

11. A material detection and identification system for detecting and identifying materials within a target object located at a distance, comprising:

an interface configured to access a material database storing previously obtained data associating each of a plurality of materials with one or more corresponding resonance frequencies at which the plurality of materials when exposed to radio frequency (RF) signals at the one or more corresponding resonance frequencies produce response signals with detectable resonance characteristics, wherein the material database is previously created by transmitting the RF signals into known materials at various frequencies and storing frequencies at which resonance characteristics are detected for the known materials;

an RF transmitter configured to, for each material of at least a subset of the plurality of materials in the material database, transmit into the target object an RF signal at a first resonance frequency specified in the material database for each material;

an RF receiver configured to receive a response signal from the target object for each RF signal; and

at least one processor configured to:

analyze each response signal for the resonance characteristics that indicate a presence of each material in the target object; and

generate a report for display on a graphical display screen listing each material in the target object indicated by the resonance characteristics in a corresponding response signal,

wherein generating the report includes at least one of:

obtaining a timestamp from the at least one processor and including the timestamp in the report;

obtaining image or video data from a camera in communication with the at least one processor and including the image or video data in the report; or

obtaining previously unknown geolocation data from a geolocation sensor in communication with the at least one processor and including the previously unknown geolocation data in the report.

12. The material detection and identification system of claim 11 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to encrypt the report using a first encryption method.

13. The material detection and identification system of claim 12 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to transmit the encrypted report to at least one of a security network or one or more third parties.

14. The material detection and identification system of claim 11 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to include, in the report, data from one or more additional sensors in communication with the at least one processor, the one or more additional sensors including one or more of a motion sensor, a temperature sensor, a microphones, a thermal imager, a radar device, a lidar device, an ultrasound device, a speaker, or a wearable device.

15. The material detection and identification system of claim 11 , wherein the report includes at least one of a signal strength of the response signal or a confidence level of identification.

16. The material detection and identification system of claim 11 , wherein the material database indicates a priority of detecting each material of the at least the subset of the plurality of materials for one or more applications, and wherein the RF transmitter is configured to transmit into the target object the RF signal at the first resonance frequency for each material in order of the priority for a specific application.

17. The material detection and identification system of claim 11 , wherein the at least the subset of the plurality of materials is selected by a user.

18. The material detection and identification system of claim 11 , further comprising, if no materials are identified or ambiguous resonance characteristics are detected, the at least one processor is further configured to repeat the transmitting, receiving, and analyzing using a second resonance frequency for one or more of the materials in the material database.

19. The material detection and identification system of claim 11 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

perform facial recognition on the image or video data; and

if a person is positively identified by the facial recognition, store personal details of the identified person in a security database.

20. The material detection and identification system of claim 19 , wherein, if the identified person is included in a list of individuals, the at least one processor is further configured to initiate an alarm or another automatic action.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Nov 4, 2024
From: SHORT, ROBERT J., JR.; DUKE, LEE; CRONIN, JOHN; D'ANDREA, MICHAEL; GRANT, HARRISON
To: QUANTUM IP, LLC
Reel/Frame 069130/0960 →
Continuity (1)
Provisional Application 63668633 · Jul 8, 2024
References Cited (134)
US 2116717A · Hans · 1938 [cited by applicant]
US 3725917A · Sletten et al. · 1973 [cited by applicant]
US 3983558A · Rittenbach · 1976 [cited by applicant]
US 4132943A · Gournay et al. · 1979 [cited by applicant]
US 4217585A · Fishbein et al. · 1980 [cited by applicant]
US 4296378A · King · 1981 [cited by applicant]
US 4514691A · De Los Santos et al. · 1985 [cited by applicant]
US 4897660A · Gold et al. · 1990 [cited by applicant]
US 5227800A · Huguenin et al. · 1993 [cited by applicant]
US 5233300A · Buess et al. · 1993 [cited by applicant]
US 5592083A · Magnuson et al. · 1997 [cited by applicant]
US 5745071A · Blackmon et al. · 1998 [cited by applicant]
US 6297765B1 · Frazier et al. · 2001 [cited by applicant]
US 6359582B1 · MacAleese et al. · 2002 [cited by applicant]
US 6967612B1 · Gorman et al. · 2005 [cited by applicant]
US 7251310B2 · Smith · 2007 [cited by applicant]
US 7288927B2 · Nutting et al. · 2007 [cited by applicant]
US 7405692B2 · McMakin et al. · 2008 [cited by applicant]
US 7825648B2 · Nutting et al. · 2010 [cited by applicant]
US 8138770B2 · Pechmann et al. · 2012 [cited by applicant]
US 8188862B1 · Tam et al. · 2012 [cited by applicant]
US 8242447B1 · Chawla · 2012 [cited by applicant]
US 8242450B2 · Gaziano · 2012 [cited by applicant]
US 8502666B1 · Tam et al. · 2013 [cited by applicant]
US 8890745B2 · Wahlquist et al. · 2014 [cited by applicant]
US 9182481B2 · Bowring et al. · 2015 [cited by applicant]
US 9500609B1 · Zank · 2016 [cited by applicant]
US 9915727B1 · Reznack et al. · 2018 [cited by applicant]
US 10204775B2 · Brown et al. · 2019 [cited by applicant]
US 10229328B2 · Nikolova et al. · 2019 [cited by applicant]
US 10268889B2 · Brown et al. · 2019 [cited by applicant]
US 10816658B2 · Frizzell · 2020 [cited by applicant]
US 10890656B2 · Heinen · 2021 [cited by applicant]
US 11280898B2 · Morton · 2022 [cited by applicant]
US 11422252B2 · Bowring et al. · 2022 [cited by applicant]
US 11493494B2 · Wilson et al. · 2022 [cited by applicant]
US 12248062B1 · Short et al. · 2025 [cited by applicant]
US 20020008655A1 · Haj-Yousef · 2002 [cited by applicant]
US 20030196543A1 · Moser et al. · 2003 [cited by applicant]
US 20040039713A1 · Beck · 2004 [cited by applicant]
US 20040125020A1 · Hendler et al. · 2004 [cited by applicant]
US 20040232054A1 · Brown et al. · 2004 [cited by applicant]
US 20040252062A1 · Tracy et al. · 2004 [cited by applicant]
US 20050081634A1 · Matsuzawa · 2005 [cited by applicant]
US 20050200528A1 · Carrender et al. · 2005 [cited by applicant]
US 20050230604A1 · Rowe et al. · 2005 [cited by applicant]
US 20060008051A1 · Heaton et al. · 2006 [cited by applicant]
US 20070074580A1 · Fallah-Rad · 2007 [cited by examiner]
US 20070115183A1 · Kim et al. · 2007 [cited by applicant]
US 20070188377A1 · Krikorian et al. · 2007 [cited by applicant]
US 20080283761A1 · Robinson et al. · 2008 [cited by applicant]
US 20090085565A1 · Fullerton · 2009 [cited by applicant]
US 20090195435A1 · Kapilevich et al. · 2009 [cited by applicant]
US 20090262005A1 · McNeill et al. · 2009 [cited by applicant]
US 20100046704A1 · Song et al. · 2010 [cited by applicant]
US 20100079280A1 · Lacaze et al. · 2010 [cited by applicant]
US 20100128852A1 · Yamamoto et al. · 2010 [cited by applicant]
US 20100134102A1 · Crowley · 2010 [cited by examiner]
US 20100164831A1 · Rentz et al. · 2010 [cited by applicant]
US 20100182594A1 · Carron · 2010 [cited by applicant]
US 20110050241A1 · Nutting et al. · 2011 [cited by applicant]
US 20110233419A1 · Norris · 2011 [cited by applicant]
US 20120248313A1 · Karam et al. · 2012 [cited by applicant]
US 20120256779A1 · Nguyen et al. · 2012 [cited by applicant]
US 20150160181A1 · White et al. · 2015 [cited by applicant]
US 20160011307A1 · Casse et al. · 2016 [cited by applicant]
US 20160047757A1 · Kuznetsov et al. · 2016 [cited by applicant]
US 20160124071A1 · Baxley · 2016 [cited by examiner]
US 20160166843A1 · Casse et al. · 2016 [cited by applicant]
US 20160195608A1 · Ruenz · 2016 [cited by applicant]
US 20160223666A1 · Kim et al. · 2016 [cited by applicant]
US 20160274230A1 · Wu et al. · 2016 [cited by applicant]
US 20160327634A1 · Katz et al. · 2016 [cited by applicant]
US 20170011255A1 · Kaditz · 2017 [cited by examiner]
US 20170350834A1 · Prado et al. · 2017 [cited by applicant]
US 20180067204A1 · Frizzell · 2018 [cited by applicant]
US 20190137653A1 · Starr et al. · 2019 [cited by applicant]
US 20190154439A1 · Binder · 2019 [cited by applicant]
US 20190208112A1 · Kleinbeck · 2019 [cited by examiner]
US 20190219687A1 · Baheti et al. · 2019 [cited by applicant]
US 20200166634A1 · Peleg · 2020 [cited by applicant]
US 20200173970A1 · Wilson et al. · 2020 [cited by applicant]
US 20200264298A1 · Haseltine et al. · 2020 [cited by applicant]
US 20200333412A1 · Nichols et al. · 2020 [cited by applicant]
US 20200371227A1 · Malhi · 2020 [cited by applicant]
US 20210041376A1 · Ashiwal et al. · 2021 [cited by applicant]
US 20210096240A1 · Padmanabhan et al. · 2021 [cited by applicant]
US 20210312201A1 · Hastings et al. · 2021 [cited by applicant]
US 20210373098A1 · Fraundorfer · 2021 [cited by examiner]
US 20220171017A1 · McFadden et al. · 2022 [cited by applicant]
US 20220265882A1 · Lemchen · 2022 [cited by applicant]
US 20220311135A1 · Guo et al. · 2022 [cited by applicant]
US 20220365168A1 · Amizur et al. · 2022 [cited by applicant]
US 20220408643A1 · Somarowthu et al. · 2022 [cited by applicant]
US 20230243761A1 · Somarowthu et al. · 2023 [cited by applicant]
US 20230375695A1 · Tan · 2023 [cited by applicant]
US 20240036166A1 · Geng et al. · 2024 [cited by applicant]
US 20240372600A1 · Schreck et al. · 2024 [cited by applicant]
CN 107102325 · 2017 [cited by applicant]
CN 117091456 · 2023 [cited by applicant]
JP 2014095625 · 2014 [cited by applicant]
WO WO2024091157 · 2024 [cited by applicant]
WO PCTUS2024039348 · 2024 [cited by applicant]
U.S. Appl. No. 18/921,840, US, Robert J. Short Jr., RF-Based Material Detection Device That Uses Specific Antennas Designed for Specific Substances, filed Oct. 21, 2024. [cited by applicant]
U.S. Appl. No. 18/922,682, US, Robert J. Short Jr., Enhanced Antenna Materials For Low-Frequency Detection of Materials, filed Oct. 22, 2024. [cited by applicant]
U.S. Appl. No. 18/922,693, US, Robert J. Short Jr., Dynamic Phased Array Resonator Systems and Methods for Determining a Material Substance, filed Oct. 22, 2024. [cited by applicant]
U.S. Appl. No. 18/923,518, US, Robert J. Short Jr., Currency RF-Based Verification Device, filed Oct. 22, 2024. [cited by applicant]
U.S. Appl. No. 18/922,702, US, Robert J. Short Jr., Enhanced Material Detection and Frequency Sweep Analysis Of Controlled Substances Via Digital Signal Processing, filed Oct. 22, 2024. [cited by applicant]
U.S. Appl. No. 18/922,729, US, Robert J. Short Jr., RF-Based Detection Device for Material Identification Using a Smart Frequency Selection Method, filed Oct. 22, 2024. [cited by applicant]
U.S. Appl. No. 18/929,189, US, Robert J. Short Jr., RF-Specific Material Detection Device for an Application-Specific Device, filed Oct. 28, 2024. [cited by applicant]
U.S. Appl. No. 18/782,964, US, Robert J. Short Jr., RF-Based Material Identification Systems and Methods, filed Jul. 24, 2024. [cited by applicant]
U.S. Appl. No. 18/934,569, US, Robert J. Short Jr., Networked RF Material Devices for Substance Detection Via Opposed Perimeter Sensors, filed Nov. 1, 2024. [cited by applicant]
U.S. Appl. No. 18/939,132, US, Robert J. Short Jr., RF Material Detection Device With Smart Scanning Multiple Axis Gimbal Integrated With Haptics, filed Nov. 6, 2024. [cited by applicant]
U.S. Appl. No. 18/938,584, US, Robert J. Short Jr., RF Transmit and Receiver Antenna Detector System, filed Nov. 6, 2024. [cited by applicant]
U.S. Appl. No. 18/936,177, US, Robert J. Short Jr., Method and System for Detecting and Quantifying Specific Substances, Elements, or Conditions Utilizing an AI Module, filed Nov. 4, 2024. [cited by applicant]
U.S. Appl. No. 18/942,906, US, Robert J. Short Jr., RF-Specific Material Detection Device Integrated Into Application-Specific Drone Device, filed Nov. 11, 2024. [cited by applicant]
U.S. Appl. No. 18/938,691, US, Robert J. Short Jr., RF-Based AI Determination of Materials by Cycling Through Detection Patterns for Specific Applications, filed Nov. 6, 2024. [cited by applicant]
U.S. Appl. No. 18/946,014, US, Robert J. Short Jr., RF-Based Special Material Detection Securing Entry Points and Access, filed Nov. 13, 2024. [cited by applicant]
PCT Application No. PCT/US2024/039348, International Search Report and Written Opinion dated Oct. 17, 2024. [cited by applicant]
U.S. Appl. No. 18/922,693, Non-Final Office Action dated Nov. 26, 2024. [cited by applicant]
U.S. Appl. No. 18/922,729, Non-Final Office Action dated Dec. 16, 2024. [cited by applicant]
U.S. Appl. No. 18/929,189, Non-Final Office Action dated Jan. 24, 2025. [cited by applicant]
U.S. Appl. No. 18/782,964, Non-Final Office Action dated Dec. 6, 2024. [cited by applicant]
U.S. Appl. No. 18/939,132, Non-Final Office Action dated Dec. 26, 2024. [cited by applicant]
U.S. Appl. No. 18/936,177, Non-Final Office Action dated Jan. 21, 2025. [cited by applicant]
U.S. Appl. No. 18/946,014, Non-Final Office Action dated Jan. 16, 2025. [cited by applicant]
Erricolo et al., “Machine Learning in Electromagnetics: A Review and Some Perspectives for Future Research,” 2019 International Conference on Electromagnetics in Advanced Applications (ICEAA), Granada, Spain, 2019, pp. … [cited by applicant]
Ibrahim et al., “A Subspace Signal Processing Technique for Concealed Weapons Detection,” 2007 IEEE International Conference on Acoustics, Speech and Signal Processing—ICASSP '07, Honolulu, HI, USA, pp. II-401-II-404, d… [cited by applicant]
Itozaki et al., “Nuclear Quadrupole Resonance for Explosive Detection,” International Journal on Smart Sensing and Intelligent Systems, vol. 1, No. 3, Sep. 2008. [cited by applicant]
U.S. Appl. No. 18/921,840, Non-Final Office Action dated Feb. 28, 2025. [cited by applicant]
U.S. Appl. No. 18/922,693, Final Office Action dated Mar. 17, 2025. [cited by applicant]
U.S. Appl. No. 18/938,584, Non-Final Office Action dated Feb. 24, 2025. [cited by applicant]
U.S. Appl. No. 18/922,693, Non-Final Office Action dated Jun. 4, 2025. [cited by applicant]
U.S. Appl. No. 18/929,189, Final Office Action dated Jun. 23, 2025. [cited by applicant]
Cited By (6)
US 12,451,217 US 12,455,332 US 12,517,066 US 12,601,833 US 12,613,331 US 12,625,089