This application is related to: U.S. Pat. No. 6,995,353 issued on Feb. 7, 2006, entitled TAMPER-PROOF CONTAINER; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/496,029, filed Jul. 28, 2006, entitled TAMPER DETECTION SYSTEM and which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,608,812 on Oct. 27, 2009; U.S. Pat. No. 7,211,783 issued May 1, 2007, entitled TAMPER-PROOF CONTAINER; U.S. Pat. No. 7,098,444 issued Aug. 29, 2006, entitled TAMPER PROOF CONTAINER; U.S. Pat. No. 7,332,728, issued Feb. 19, 2008, entitled TAMPER PROOF CONTAINER; U.S. Pat. No. 7,394,060 issued Jul. 1, 2008, entitled TAMPER DETECTION SYSTEM HAVING A PLURALITY OF INFLATABLE LINER PANELS WITH OPTICAL COUPLERS; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/796,130 filed Apr. 26, 2007, entitled CARGO CONTAINER SECURITY SYSTEM COMMUNICATIONS which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,482,924 on Jan. 27, 2009 and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/070,194, filed Feb. 15, 2008, entitled INTEGRATED OPTICAL NEUTRON DETECTOR which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,619,226 on Nov. 17, 2009.
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Security systems are shown and described in the related U.S. Patents and applications identified above for protection of containers, enclosures, fences and other objects which utilize one or more sheets having a signal path extending across at least a portion of the sheet. The signal path is monitored for a change such as a loss or reduction of continuity in an electrical or optical characteristic of the signal path. Typically the signal path is composed of an optical fiber disposed across substantially the entire area enclosing the protected space. If in an attempt to breach or intrude upon the protected space, one or more portions of the optical path are broken or altered, causing a detectable change in the optical path that can be used to trigger an alarm such as an annunciator or to cause a notification signal to be sent to a monitoring station via any of a wide variety of existing networks or communication links. A break in the optical path will affect the light transmission and the cessation of this transmission is used to provide a detectable change to trigger an alarm. Alternatively, radiation can reduce or alter the light transmittance of the optical path, and a detected change in the optical path transmission can be used to trigger an alarm.
In alternative implementation, a thin electrical wire or conductive path can be utilized rather than the optical fiber. An electrical signal or energy source and electrical detector are employed to detect a break in the conductive path in order to trigger an alarm condition.
One major use for the security systems thus described are for the protection of shipping or cargo containers. The signal path is provided within liner sheets disposed in the interior of the container adjacent to each of the container sides or walls. The security system can also be embodied in a variety of other containers which can be of any shape and size to enclose a protected space or object therein.
It would be desirable to have a security system similar to the type described above for the protection of pipelines and other similar structures.
The present invention provides a security system for a pipeline, such as an oil, gas or water pipeline, or other tubular, elongated or other structures used to convey various other liquid, gaseous or fluent materials. The invention is also useful in protecting a tunnel such as a vehicular tunnel.
In accordance with the present invention, a flexible and wrappable sensor sheet is provided having an optical fiber or electrical wire disposed therein in a zigzag or other pattern which covers substantially the entire area of the sheet. The sheet can be a fabric material in which the optical fiber or electrical wire fiber is woven or otherwise disposed, or can be of other types of flexible woven or non-woven material containing the optical fiber or electrical wire. The sensor sheet containing the fiber or wire is wrapped around the outer surface of a pipeline or other structure, and provides a covering of substantially the entire outer surface of a predetermined length of the pipeline. Similar sheets can be employed on adjacent pipeline sections to provide protection of any intended length of the pipeline, which may include the entire effective pipeline length. The sheet can contain or have added thereto a resin or other material which can be hardened or rigidized after the pipe is wrapped with the sensor sheet to act as a protective covering and to retain the sheet about the outer surface of the pipe.
The individual sensor sheets can be interconnected to provide one continuous optical or electrical path through the adjacent sensor sections for the entire pipeline length or any part thereof. A light or current source is provided at one end of the continuous path to introduce light or current into the path. A light or current detector is coupled to the other end of the path to sense light or electrical current from the path. Alternatively each sensor section can have its own light or current source and its own light or current detector for sensing a signal from the respective paths.
By use of the invention, a pipeline or other protected structure or item can be monitored in order to detect an attempt to breach the pipeline wall in order to thwart terrorism, vandalism or theft of the contents of a pipeline or other structure. A break in the signal path will cause cessation of the signal and provide a detectable change to trigger an alarm. In the case of an optical fiber used to define the signal path, the presence of radiation within or outside of the pipeline or other structure can reduce or alter the light transmittance of the optical fiber and cause a detectable change in the optical path transmission which can be used to trigger an alarm.
The invention will be further described in the following detailed description, in conjunction with the drawings, in which:
The disclosure of the above noted U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,995,353, 7,211,783, 7,098,444, 7,332,728, 7,394,060, and co-pending applications U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 11/496,029, filed Jul. 28, 2006, 11,796,130 filed Apr. 26, 2007 and 12,070,194, filed Feb. 15, 2008, are incorporated by reference herein.
A sensor sheet in accordance with the invention is illustrated diagrammatically in
In one embodiment, the sensor sheet is made of a flexible rollable material. The sheet is rolled up prior to installation on the pipe or other elongated object to be protected. The sheet is unrolled during installation and wrapped around the pipeline or section thereof to provide a sensor which covers the entire intended area of the pipeline surface.
The individual sensor sheets can be interconnected to provide one continuous optical or electrical path through the adjacent sensor sections. Alternatively, each sensor section can have its own independent light or current source and its own light or current detector.
In one embodiment, the optical fiber can be woven into the fabric as it is made such that a long web of fabric can be manufactured and rolled onto a reel for shipment to an installation site. The fabric can be unrolled and extended along a section of pipeline and secured thereto to substantially cover the outer surface of the pipeline section. Similar fabric webs can be wrapped about adjacent sections of the pipeline such that the entire length of the pipeline or an intended extent of the pipeline is covered by the sensor fabric. Optical connectors or couplers are provided at respective ends of the web sections and which are interconnected to provide a continuous optical path through the adjacent web sections which cover the pipeline. This method allows any resolution for detection of even a small breach of the pipeline.
Light from a suitable source is introduced into one end of the sensor sheet or web and an optical sensor or detector is disposed at the other end of the sensor sheet or web to detect light emanating from the continuous optical path. The light detector is coupled to signal processing circuitry which is operative to provide an alarm signal in the event of failure of the detected light or diminishment of detected light below a predetermined threshold. A breach at any point in the optical path of the optical fiber will cause a disconnection in the light signal, and the absence of light at the light detector will trigger an alarm condition. Radiation near the sensor sheet from within or outside of the pipeline reduces the optical transmissibility of the optical fiber. The optical fiber core and/or its cladding constitute a large size physical radiation detector and integrates the radiation over time and/or over the length and volumetric mass of the fiber, making the fiber sensitive to even low level radiation. Local environmental background radiation can be measured to offset the detection level designated to trigger an alarm. The optical fiber is monitored for a change in its transmissibility and a reduction in the transmissibility below a threshold level can trigger an alarm. The alarm can be in the form of an annunciator and/or can be the sending of a message that can include information about the time or location of the breach.
Any size pipeline can be wrapped with liner made of fabric or other flexible material that can be wrapped over the outer surface of the pipeline. Any suitable material such as polymer resins can be employed that can structurally and functionally hold optical fiber or electrical wire placed in any geometrical pattern, with any space resolution between optical fibers or electrical wires. Each optical fiber or electrical wire forms a single continuous optical or electrical pathway for any designated section such as shown in
The sensor sheets can be installed on site at a pipeline or other structure to be protected. Alternatively, the sensor sheet could be integrated onto pipeline sections during assembly of a pipeline or other structure.
The invention is also useful for the protection of tunnels such as tunnels for automobiles, trucks, trains or other vehicles and tunnels for other purposes such as construction and utility tunnels. For this purpose, the sensor sheets can be wrapped around inner and/or outer surfaces of the tunnel and interconnected as described above to provide one or more continuous signal paths for detection of a break in the path which will trigger an alarm or for detection of a decrease in signal strength, in the embodiment wherein a optical fiber provides the signal path which is sensitive to incident nuclear radiation as described above.
The invention inherently provides a fail/safe system since any loss of optical or electrical signal whether by actual intrusive damage failure of a power supply or other components will automatically cause an alarm signal to be sent in the absence of detection of a continuous light or electrical signal being constantly detected by the system. Additionally, the system can be turned on and off on a random or periodic basis to provide a “heartbeat” signal indicating that the system is functioning properly.
The invention described herein can also be employed for other tubular or elongated objects or for objects having curved surfaces around which the sensor sheet can be wrapped and secured. Such objects include tanks of cylindrical or other shapes and other items which can be accommodated by the flexible and wrappable sensor sheets. Therefore, the invention is not to be limited by the embodiments shown and described and is to embrace the full scope and spirit of the appended claims.
This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/993,310, filed on Sep. 11, 2007.
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