Tray for use in assessing the threat status of an article at a security check point

A tray for holding an article while the article is being subjected to penetrating radiation, the tray comprising:

• a) a surface on which the article can be placed while subjected to penetrating radiation;
• b) the surface having:
• i) a first area and a second area, the first and second areas characterized by first and second signatures, respectively when exposed to penetrating radiation, wherein the first signature is different from the second signature, the second area corresponding to a reference material having a reference signature;
• ii) a third area characterized by an X-ray signature that is distinct from the X-ray signatures of the first area and of the second area;
• c) the tray including a wall defining the first area, wherein the wall includes a plurality of recesses therein, one of the recesses holding an insert defining the second area and another one of the recesses holding an insert defining the third area.

A method for performing security screening at a security checkpoint, comprising:

• a) placing a liquid product in a tray which has a plurality of reference areas, each reference area having a different X-ray signature that matches an X-ray signature of a reference liquid product;
• b) performing an X-ray inspection of the tray holding the liquid product;
• c) comparing the X-ray signature of the liquid product to the X-ray signatures of the reference areas;
• d) determining if the liquid product is a security threat based at least in part on results obtained by comparing the X-ray signature of the liquid product to the X-ray signatures of the reference areas.

A security screening system suitable for determining if an article presents a security threat, the screening system comprising:

• a) an input for receiving image data conveying an image of the article and of a reference area produced when the article and the reference area are subjected to penetrating radiation;
• b) a logic module for:
• i) deriving a nominal signature of the reference area to penetrating radiation, wherein deriving the nominal signature includes reading the nominal signature from a machine readable indicia in the image data;
• ii) processing the image data to derive an observed signature to penetrating radiation of the reference area;
• iii) comparing the nominal signature to penetrating radiation to the observed signature to penetrating radiation;
• iv) processing the image data at least in part based on results obtained in iii) to assess if the article poses a security threat.

A security system for implementation at a check point to screen hand carried baggage for articles that potentially pose a security threat, comprising:

• a) a set of trays for receiving the hand carried baggage of passengers as the passengers arrive at the check point;
• b) an X-ray apparatus including:
• i) a screening area;
• ii) a conveyor belt on which the trays with hand carried baggage are placed, the conveyor belt being movable to advance the trays with hand carried baggage through the screening area where the trays and the hand carried baggage are subjected to X-rays;
• c) at least one of the trays in the set of trays having a reference area characterized by a nominal X-ray signature;
• d) the X-ray apparatus further including a logic module for:
• i) processing image data of the at least one tray to derive from the image data an observed X-ray signature of the reference area;
• ii) performing a comparison between the observed X-ray signature and the nominal X-ray signature and processing the image data of the at least one tray at least in part based on results of the comparison to assess if hand carried baggage contains articles that pose a security threat.