US3964294A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Technique and system for coding and identifying materials
Assignee: California Institute of Technology
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Filing: 1974-11-01
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Granted: 1976-06-22
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Expires: 1994-11-01
Abstract
Abstract Microencapsulated spheroids containing a coded, volatile electron absorbing substance are dispersed into a material to be regulated such as crude oil in a tanker. Samples of the material such as an oil spill are collected and the source of the material is determined by electron capture gas chromatographic detection of the electron absorbing substance.
Inventors
- 👤 Frederick H. Shair
- 👤 Peter G. Simmonds
- 👤 Robert B. Leighton
- 👤 Peter J. Drivas
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-01 14:50
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06K; G06K19/00; G06K19/06; G01; G01N; G01N30/00; G01N30/02; G01N30/62; G01N30/64; G01N30/70; G06K2019/06215; G06K2019/06234; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S252/00; Y10S252/965; Y10T; Y10T436/00; Y10T436/13; Y10T436/24
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 18
Claim 1
Independent Claim
104 words
A method of tagging a material for future identification, said material being selected from the group consisting of petroleum crude oil and refined liquid products thereof, comprising the steps of adding to said material microcapsules encapsulating a detectable amount of a readily analyzable coded substance not normally present as a component of said material, dispersing said microcapsules uniformly throughout said material, said microcapsules having low solubility in said material and low permeability to said substance, collecting a sample of said material containing said microcapsules dispersed therein, concentrating said microcapsules, releasing said tag substance from said microcapsules and analyzing said substance by electron-capture gas chromatography.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
104 words
A method of tagging a material for future identification, said material being selected from the group consisting of petroleum crude oil and refined liquid products thereof, comprising the steps of adding to said material microcapsules encapsulating a detectable amount of a readily analyzable coded substance not normally present as a component of said material, dispersing said microcapsules uniformly throughout said material, said microcapsules having low solubility in said material and low permeability to said substance, collecting a sample of said material containing said microcapsules dispersed therein, concentrating said microcapsules, releasing said tag substance from said microcapsules and analyzing said substance by electron-capture gas chromatography.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
55 words
A method according to claim 1 in which the material is an oil spill on surface water, the sample is removed from the spill the microcapsules are concentrated by centrifugation and filtering and the substance is released from the microcapsules by heating the microcapsules in the presence of a flowing stream of inert carrier gas.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
50 words
A method according to claim 1 further including the steps of comparing the response of the electron-capture detector to a set of calibration peaks, identifying each peak and component of the substance and comparing the peaks to a reference to identify the tag and the source of the oil spill.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
151 words
A composition of matter comprising a material to be identified in the future containing a dispersion of microcapsules encapsulating a coded, active tag substance consisting essentially of a compound not normally present as a component of the material and being readily detectable and analyzable when released from said microcapsule, wherein said material is selected from crude petroleum oil and refined liquid products thereof, said material contains no more than 10.sup. -8 parts of said substance and said substance is a mixture of electron absorbing compounds each containing at least one electrophore selected from --CO.sup.. CO--, --CO.sup.. CH:CH--CO--, quinone, --NO 2 and halogen, each of said compounds having a specific response to electron capture-gas chromatographic detection, and wherein said microcapsules have a wall thickness between 0.5 and 2 microns and a well characterized particle size between 5-50 microns, and said microcapsules have a density between 0.9 and 1.5 grams per cubic centimeter.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
151 words
A composition of matter comprising a material to be identified in the future containing a dispersion of microcapsules encapsulating a coded, active tag substance consisting essentially of a compound not normally present as a component of the material and being readily detectable and analyzable when released from said microcapsule, wherein said material is selected from crude petroleum oil and refined liquid products thereof, said material contains no more than 10.sup. -8 parts of said substance and said substance is a mixture of electron absorbing compounds each containing at least one electrophore selected from --CO.sup.. CO--, --CO.sup.. CH:CH--CO--, quinone, --NO 2 and halogen, each of said compounds having a specific response to electron capture-gas chromatographic detection, and wherein said microcapsules have a wall thickness between 0.5 and 2 microns and a well characterized particle size between 5-50 microns, and said microcapsules have a density between 0.9 and 1.5 grams per cubic centimeter.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
36 words
A method according to claim 4 in which the mixture is formed of telomers of the formula: SF.sub.5 (CF.sub.2).sub.n Z where n is an integer from 0-25 and Z is selected from F, Br or I.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
137 words
A composition of matter comprising a material to be identified in the future containing a dispersion of microcapsules encapsulating a coded, active tag substance consisting essentially of a compound not normally present as a component of the material and being readily detectable and analyzable when released from said microcapsule, wherein said material is selected from crude petroleum oil and refined liquid products thereof, said material contains no more than 10.sup. -8 parts of said substance and said substance is a mixture of electron absorbing compounds each containing at least one electrophore selected from --CO.sup.. CO--, --CO.sup.. CH:CH--CO--, quinone, --NO 2 and halogen, each of said compounds having a specific response to electron capture-gas chromatographic detection, and wherein said microcapsules have a particle size between 5-500 microns and a density between 0.9 and 1.5 grams per cubic centimeter.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
137 words
A composition of matter comprising a material to be identified in the future containing a dispersion of microcapsules encapsulating a coded, active tag substance consisting essentially of a compound not normally present as a component of the material and being readily detectable and analyzable when released from said microcapsule, wherein said material is selected from crude petroleum oil and refined liquid products thereof, said material contains no more than 10.sup. -8 parts of said substance and said substance is a mixture of electron absorbing compounds each containing at least one electrophore selected from --CO.sup.. CO--, --CO.sup.. CH:CH--CO--, quinone, --NO 2 and halogen, each of said compounds having a specific response to electron capture-gas chromatographic detection, and wherein said microcapsules have a particle size between 5-500 microns and a density between 0.9 and 1.5 grams per cubic centimeter.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
36 words
A composition according to claim 6 in which the mixture is formed of telomers of the formula: SF.sub.5 (CF.sub.2).sub.n Z where n is an integer from 0-25 and Z is selected from F, Br or I.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
106 words
A method of tagging a plurality of separate quantities of a material for future identification comprising the steps of preparing a plurality of separate quantities of encoded, detectable amounts of readily analyzable, volatile, electron absorbing, tag materials, each said tag material differing from every other tag material by the presence or absence of a selected number of substances having specific responses to electron capture-gas chromatographic detection, encapsulating each separate quantity of tag material in separate pluralities of microspheres, adding each separate plurality of microspheres to each separate quantity of material to be tagged, and dispersing said microspheres substantially uniformly throughout each said separate quantity of material.
Claim 12
Independent Claim
106 words
A method of tagging a plurality of separate quantities of a material for future identification comprising the steps of preparing a plurality of separate quantities of encoded, detectable amounts of readily analyzable, volatile, electron absorbing, tag materials, each said tag material differing from every other tag material by the presence or absence of a selected number of substances having specific responses to electron capture-gas chromatographic detection, encapsulating each separate quantity of tag material in separate pluralities of microspheres, adding each separate plurality of microspheres to each separate quantity of material to be tagged, and dispersing said microspheres substantially uniformly throughout each said separate quantity of material.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
36 words
A method as recited in claim 8 wherein each separate quantity of said tag materials contains an electrophore group selected from the group consisting of --CO.sup.. CO--, --CO.sup.. CH:CH.sup.. CO--, quinone, --NO 2 , and halogen.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
76 words
A composition of matter comprising a material to be identified in the future containing a dispersion of microcapsules encapsulating a coded, active tag substance, said material having no more than 10.sup. -8 parts of said substance, said substance comprising a mixture of electron absorbing compounds each containing at least one electrophore selected from --CO.sup.. CO--, --CO.sup.. CH:CH--CO--, quinone, --NO 2 , and halogen, each of said compounds having a specific response to electron capture-gas chromatographic detection.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
76 words
A composition of matter comprising a material to be identified in the future containing a dispersion of microcapsules encapsulating a coded, active tag substance, said material having no more than 10.sup. -8 parts of said substance, said substance comprising a mixture of electron absorbing compounds each containing at least one electrophore selected from --CO.sup.. CO--, --CO.sup.. CH:CH--CO--, quinone, --NO 2 , and halogen, each of said compounds having a specific response to electron capture-gas chromatographic detection.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
37 words
A composition according to claim 10 in which the tag substance is formed of telomers of the formula: SF.sub.5 (CF.sub.2).sub.n Z where n is an integer from 0-25 and Z is selected from F, Br or I.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
51 words
A composition of matter comprising a material to be identified in the future containing a dispersion of microcapsules encapsulating a coded, active tag substance which is formed of telomers of the formula: SF.sub.5 (CF.sub.2).sub.n Z where n is an integer from 0-25 and Z is selected from F, Br or I.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
51 words
A composition of matter comprising a material to be identified in the future containing a dispersion of microcapsules encapsulating a coded, active tag substance which is formed of telomers of the formula: SF.sub.5 (CF.sub.2).sub.n Z where n is an integer from 0-25 and Z is selected from F, Br or I.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1979-06-22 | 1979-12-22 | 1980-06-22 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1983-06-22 | 1983-12-22 | 1984-06-22 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1987-06-22 | 1987-12-22 | 1988-06-22 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |