Abstract: Some embodiments of the invention provide a mobile cargo inspection system mounted on a vehicle chassis type which does not include rails that extend from near the front of the vehicle to near the back. As such, detection components may be placed between the front and rear axles of the vehicle without penetrating radiation having to pass through a chassis rail before reaching the cargo to be inspected. As a result, the weight of the vehicle-mounted cargo inspection system may be more evenly distributed from the front of the vehicle to the back, and from one side of the vehicle to the other, thus making the system easier to operate, safer, and less costly to maintain than conventional systems.

Abstract: A magnetic tracking aid for use with a hand held optical scanner is disclosed. It consists of a magnetic flat substrate having a hinged magnetic flap at its top edge to form a clip board configuration. An individual sheet or page of a bound volume is aligned with the top edge of flat substrate, and a magnetic strip, hinged to the top edge, is rotated onto the page to lock it into the aligned position. A second magnetic strip is used to keep the aligned page locked into position when the first strip is raised to enable scanning of the top portion of the page. Alternate rows of north and south pole lines are formed on the flat substrate. A small sheet magnet is adhered to the bottom of the scanner which has identical rows of north and south pole lines so that the opposite poles are attracted to those on the flat substrate to assist in maintaining the orientation of the scanner while it is being moved by a blind user to scan a swath of printed text.