Patents by Inventor Ain A. Sonin

Ain A. Sonin has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 5753832
    Abstract: In a contact-type vapor and particle sampling apparatus for collecting vapor or particles from a moving subject, a wand having a plurality of sampling holes is oriented so that the holes extend in the direction of movement of the subject. The external width of the wand is less than a characteristic dimension of the contour of the surface of the subject being sampled, and a central fluid flow passage in the wand is sufficiently wide to prevent substantially all particles of on the order of about 10 microns in diameter from colliding with the wall of the wand as they enter the passage. A collector for use with the apparatus includes a gas impermeable material having a high binding affinity for explosives vapor exposed on a surface of a filter woven to trap explosives particles.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 1997
    Date of Patent: May 19, 1998
    Assignee: Thermedics Detection Inc.
    Inventors: Edward E. A. Bromberg, George B. Jarvis, Karen E. LeBlanc, Gregory J. Wendel, Carlton Wong, Ain A. Sonin
  • Patent number: 4909089
    Abstract: Disclosed is a walk-in inspection apparatus for active production of air samples containing vapors of explosives, drugs, or other substances carried by a person. The apparatus includes a U-shaped booth with an open end through which a person walks past walls which may contain a metal detector, then stands facing a vertical end wall. In the collection of an air sample a blower outside the booth sucks a large volume of air around the person and horizontally through a vertical array of shaped funnels in the end wall and through ducts connected to a collection manifold for subsequent analysis. Infrared heaters in the end wall heat the clothing and skin of the person during sampling, and many small nozzles extending through the end wall direct low volume, high momentum pulsed jets of puffs of air at the person to dislodge vapors, expel air from beneath clothing, and disrupt stagnant boundary layers of air near the person.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 1988
    Date of Patent: March 20, 1990
    Assignee: Thermedics Inc.
    Inventors: Eugene K. Achter, Edward J. Burke, Gabor Miskolczy, Ain A. Sonin
  • Patent number: 4896547
    Abstract: Disclosed is a walk-in inspection apparatus for active production of air samples containing vapors of explosives, drugs, or other substances carried by a person. The apparatus includes a U-shaped booth with an open end through which a person walks past walls which may contain a metal detector, then stands in front of a mesh screen facing a vertical end wall containing a vertical array of shaped funnels. Light-transmissive wall sections near the end wall help encourage entry of the person into the booth, and the light colored mesh screen draws attention of a person in the booth away from the darker funnels. In the collection of an air sample a blower outside the booth sucks a large volume of air around the person and horizontally through the funnels in the end wall and through ducts into a collection manifold for subsequent analysis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 1988
    Date of Patent: January 30, 1990
    Assignee: Thermedics Inc.
    Inventors: Michel D. Arney, Gianfranco Zaccai, Eugene K. Achter, Edward J. Burke, Gabor Miskolczy, Ain A. Sonin