Device and method for detecting insects in structures

A device for detecting the presence of insects in a structure, comprising:

• a housing having an end positionable adjacent to a portion of a structure being tested for insects;
• a plurality of transceivers arranged in a linear array within said housing, each of said plurality of transceivers generating microwave signals and receiving reflected signals from the portion of the structure being tested;
• a plurality of antennas, each of said plurality of antennas being connected to a corresponding one of said transceivers, each of said plurality of antennas transmitting the microwave signals generated by its said corresponding one of said transceivers, and each of said plurality of antennas receiving the reflected signals received by its said corresponding one of said transceivers, said plurality of antennas being mounted a preselected distance from said end of said housing, said distance being selected such that the portion of the structure being tested lies within a far field of said antennas;
• shielding means for shielding said plurality of antennas such that said antennas are shielded from one another and from signals other than the reflected signals, thereby reducing interference between the microwave signals transmitted by each of said antennas and between the reflected signals received by each of said antennas and signals other than the reflected signals;
• switching means, electrically connected to said plurality of transceivers, for sequentially activating said transceivers and for sequentially deactivating said transceivers, such that said transceivers are activated and deactivated in succession by said switching means;
• and
• processing means for processing reflected signals received by each of said plurality of transceivers so as to provide output signals that indicate the presence or absence of insects in the portion of the structure being tested.

A method for detecting the presence of insects in a structure, comprising the steps of:

• providing a plurality of transceivers for generating microwave signals and receiving reflected signals from a portion of a structure being tested;
• providing each of said transceivers with an antenna, each antenna being adapted to transmit the microwave signals generated by its corresponding transceiver and to receive the reflected signals to be received by its said corresponding transceiver;
• positioning said plurality of transceivers a preselected distance from the portion of the structure being tested, said distance being selected such that the portion of the structure being tested lies within a far field of said antennas;
• sequentially activating and sequentially deactivating said plurality of transceivers such that said transceivers are activated and deactivated in succession;
• processing the reflected signals received by said plurality of transceivers in order to identify a positive signal which is indicative of the possible presence of insects in the portion of the structure being tested;
• and
• comparing all of the reflected signals received by said plurality of transceivers to each other in order to determine whether substantially all of the transceivers have received signals substantially similar to said positive signal to thereby indicate the false presence of insects in the portion of the structure being tested.