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This is really great! 41,621 shares traded. The price $2.70.
Up 26,900 percent. They said we wouldn't trade. HA!
This is really great! 41,621 shares traded. The price $2.70.
Up 26,900 percent. They said we wouldn't trade. HA!
We are trading, look!
CEDX INC CL A - : CEXI
Real-time ECN Quote*
Last Change (%) After Hours Chg (%)** Trade Time Bid Ask
Exchange QuoteLast Change (%) Trade Time Bid (size) Ask (size)
2.60 2.59 (25900.00) 13:06 0 (0) 0 (0)
Latest Ticks Prev Close Open Low High
-==+ 0.01 0.25 0.25 2.60
Day Volume Avg Day Vol VWAP 52 Wk Low 52 Wk High
21,768 N/A 2.0498 N/A N/A
# of Trades Last Size Avg Trade Size P/E Ratio Market Cap (mil)
45 2,000 484 0 0
1:30:59 PM EDT - Friday, May 21, 2004- Exchange quote is delayed at least 15 minutes.
We are trading, look!
CEDX INC CL A - : CEXI
Real-time ECN Quote*
Last Change (%) After Hours Chg (%)** Trade Time Bid Ask
Exchange QuoteLast Change (%) Trade Time Bid (size) Ask (size)
2.60 2.59 (25900.00) 13:06 0 (0) 0 (0)
Latest Ticks Prev Close Open Low High
-==+ 0.01 0.25 0.25 2.60
Day Volume Avg Day Vol VWAP 52 Wk Low 52 Wk High
21,768 N/A 2.0498 N/A N/A
# of Trades Last Size Avg Trade Size P/E Ratio Market Cap (mil)
45 2,000 484 0 0
1:30:59 PM EDT - Friday, May 21, 2004- Exchange quote is delayed at least 15 minutes.
We are trading, look!
CEDX INC CL A - : CEXI
Real-time ECN Quote*
Last Change (%) After Hours Chg (%)** Trade Time Bid Ask
Exchange QuoteLast Change (%) Trade Time Bid (size) Ask (size)
2.60 2.59 (25900.00) 13:06 0 (0) 0 (0)
Latest Ticks Prev Close Open Low High
-==+ 0.01 0.25 0.25 2.60
Day Volume Avg Day Vol VWAP 52 Wk Low 52 Wk High
21,768 N/A 2.0498 N/A N/A
# of Trades Last Size Avg Trade Size P/E Ratio Market Cap (mil)
45 2,000 484 0 0
1:30:59 PM EDT - Friday, May 21, 2004- Exchange quote is delayed at least 15 minutes.
uxjh, thanks for the link that you posted also. I believe we are on the verge of a huge success story.
I believe we are right on course. Go Cdex/CEXI!
The uxjh, I would love to manage this board. His pathetic attempts to undermine Cdex/CEXI, are unprecidented! His motives are totally questionable. When the stock starts tarding,and is successful we will all be very happy. This is my belief.
I also believe that MP is the right man for the job. The attacks against him from the person you referred to, are completely out of line. MP has hung in there and brought this company through an amazing journey. Not yet completed, but soon to be. He has stayed the course, and salvaged a disaster for the shareholders. I thank him for his huge effort, we all should.
I look forward to managing this board. Thank you.
Here are a few links.
http://www.cdex-inc.com/
http://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?company=cdex&CIK=&filenum=&State=&SIC=&o....
http://quotes.freerealtime.com/rt/frt/M?IM=quotes&symbol=CEXI&type=Quote&SA=quotes/Quote
http://www.pinksheets.com/quote/quote.jsp?symbol=cexi
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?d=t&s=CEXI.PK
CEXI.PK is what you would pull it up on Yahoo with. It has no value because it hasn't begun to trade yet. As for a new symbol, this is there first symbol! I assume it was assigned to them by the SEC. Check Freerealtime under just CEXI, they appear to have a different designation.
Welcome to the CEXI message board. The company name is Cdex-Inc. Check the website below for an overview of Cdex. Good fortune to all. This will a civil message board. Thank you for your cooperation. Viking65
www.cdex-inc.com
Here is another good link for information!
http://www.pinksheets.com/quote/quote.jsp?symbol=cexi
Here is another good link for information!
http://www.pinksheets.com/quote/quote.jsp?symbol=cexi
This link should be helpful when Cdex (CEXI) starts trading.
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=cexi.pk+
This should be helpful when Cdex (CEXI) starts trading!
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=cexi.pk+
SEC link for all CDEX filings. Check out the May 5th filing!
http://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?company=cdex&CIK=&filenum=&State=&SIC=&o....
SEC link for all CDEX filings. Check out the May 5th filing!
http://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?company=cdex&CIK=&filenum=&State=&SIC=&o...
MASTER ENGINEERING SERVICES AGREEMENT
This Master Engineering Services Agreement ("Agreement") is made and
entered into this 23rd day of February, 2004 (the "Effective Date") by and
between (i) CDEX, Inc., a Nevada corporation with its principal place of
business at 1700 Rockville Pike, Suite 400, Rockville, Maryland 20852 ("CDEX"),
and (ii) Catalina Tool & Mold, an Arizona corporation with its principal place
of business at 6230 S. Country Club Road, Tucson, Arizona 85706 ("Company"),
who, intending to be legally bound, agree as follows:
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. CDEX wishes to develop and market one or more products, each based on
its proprietary chemical detection technology, that require further development,
refinement and/or testing in preparation for manufacturing production, and
Company has the capacity to, and can provide design, prototyping and testing
services as well as a suite of related services for products of the type CDEX
wishes to bring to market.
1.2. The parties wish to enter into this Agreement to specify the terms
under which Company will provide such design, prototyping, testing services
and/or other complementary services for CDEX's prospective product(s), and under
which CDEX will pay for the services it engages Company to provide.
2. SERVICES
2.1. DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES. Company will provide to CDEX the services
more specifically described in one or more statements of work ("Statements of
Work") issued from time to time under this Agreement in accordance with the
procedure set forth in Section 2.2 below (the "Services"). The Services may
include, without limitation, the following types of services: (a) non-recurring
engineering services, including but not limited to product design, creation and
modification of bills of materials, engineering drawing packages, work
instructions, manufacturing specifications, fabrication documents and drawings,
and survey documents; (b) prototyping services, including but not limited to
development and testing of product prototypes; and (c) other related design and
manufacturing services tailored to meet CDEX's needs.
2.2. STATEMENTS OF WORK. CDEX may, from time to time, request Company to
provide Services to CDEX pursuant to this Agreement. To request Services, CDEX
will prepare and submit to Company a Statement of Work describing the scope of
the requested Services, the schedule requirements, the required deliverables,
applicable rates and other charges, whether such work will be performed on a
time and materials basis, fixed price basis, or some other basis, and such other
details as are reasonably required for Company to perform the requested
Services. Each Statement of Work shall become effective when executed by
authorized representatives of each party. Notwithstanding the preceding, the
parties hereby approve the initial Statement of Work set forth in EXHIBIT A-1.
Subsequent Statements of Work shall be included in this Agreement as Exhibits
A-2, A-3, etc.
2.3. GOVERNING TERMS. Once executed by both parties, each Statement of
Work shall become effective and shall be governed by the terms of this Agreement
and the terms in such Statement of Work. In the event of a conflict or ambiguity
between the terms of this Agreement and the terms of any Statement of Work, the
terms of the Statement of Work shall control, but only with respect to that
Statement of Work. CDEX shall have no obligation or liability to Company as a
result of any work performed by Company (i) prior to the effective date of a
Statement of Work, or (ii) outside the scope of work specified in the Statement
of Work, without CDEX's prior written approval.
2.4. ACCEPTANCE. All Services shall be subject to acceptance by CDEX,
based on its reasonable satisfaction and approval of such Services. In addition,
to the extent any Statement of Work provides for Company to prepare any
deliverables for CDEX ("Deliverables"), such Deliverables shall be subject to
the following acceptance procedures. During the initial phase of any such
Statement of Work, the parties will develop and mutually agree in writing upon
the acceptance tests and/or other acceptance criteria ("Acceptance Criteria")
that will be used to determine whether the Deliverables to be provided under
such Statement of Work are acceptable to CDEX. Company shall submit each
Deliverable to CDEX when it has been completed, along with written notification
to CDEX that such Deliverable is ready for acceptance testing. CDEX shall have a
reasonable time after receipt of such notice to inspect and test the Deliverable
to determine whether it meets the applicable Acceptance Criteria. Upon
completion of such inspection and testing, CDEX shall notify Company of any
defects in the Deliverable which have been identified. Company shall have a
reasonable period of time in light of the work scope thereafter to correct such
defects and to resubmit the corrected Deliverable to CDEX for further acceptance
1
testing. In this regard, both parties understand and agree that the corrections
of the defects must be made expeditiously and not in the normal course of work
of the company. The foregoing procedure shall be repeated as necessary until all
such defects have been corrected, at which point CDEX shall accept the
Deliverable in writing. Notwithstanding the preceding, if Company fails to
correct all defects in any Deliverable within two such correction cycles, CDEX
may terminate the affected Statement of Work for cause by written notice to
Company and pursue its available remedies.
2.5. CHANGE ORDERS. The parties acknowledge and agree that the services
required by CDEX may be subject to change at any time and from time to time.
CDEX may request changes to any Statement of Work prepared in accordance with
SECTION 2.2 in writing, and Company shall promptly advise CDEX of the time
within which the requested change can be implemented and any change in price
and/or the scheduled completion dates for the Services. Any such change must be
mutually agreed upon in writing by the parties before it shall become effective.
Company shall thereupon implement the mutually agreed upon changes to the
Statement of Work.
3. PAYMENTS
3.1. SERVICE CHARGES. In consideration for Company's performance of the
Services, CDEX shall pay to Company the amounts set forth in the applicable
Statement of Work, as follows: For work performed on a time and materials basis,
CDEX will pay Company for such work on a monthly basis, based on the hourly
rates set forth in the applicable Statement of Work. For work performed on a
fixed price basis, upon Company's successful completion of each payment
milestone set forth in the applicable Statement of Work, CDEX shall be obligated
to pay to Company the associated milestone payment amount as set forth in such
Statement of Work.
3.2. TAXES. All amounts payable in accordance with SECTIONS 3.1 are
exclusive of all federal, state, municipal or other governmental excise, sales,
value-added, and use taxes (but excluding any tax based on the net income of
Company) now in force or enacted in the future and, accordingly, the amount of
all payments hereunder is subject to an increase equal to the amount of any such
tax that Company may be required to collect or pay in connection with this
Agreement.
3.3. PAYMENT TERMS. Company shall invoice CDEX for all amounts due in
accordance with this SECTION 3, and CDEX shall remit all payments to Company
within thirty (30) days after the date of CDEX's acceptance of Company's
invoice, such acceptance to be based on Company meeting the invoicing
requirements set forth in this Agreement and the Statement of Work, such
acceptance which shall not be unreasonably withheld. In addition to information
routinely contained in Invoices, each Invoice must (1) allocate all costs to
milestones or work scope items/tasks, (2) provide the running financial status
against budget of each such milestone or work scope item/task, (3) include
reasonable supporting back up for all expenditures over $25.00 and (4) provide
detailed hourly time records broken down by milestone or work scope item for
individuals working on the project. At the start of each project, Company shall
contact CDEX to obtain its policies regarding invoicing, accounting support, and
acceptable expense costs (e.g., mileage). Absent written agreement otherwise,
Company shall comply with those policies.
4. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
4.1. DEFINITION. "Intellectual Property" shall mean (i) all patents,
copyrights, technology, business methods, techniques, know-how, processes, trade
secrets, inventions, proprietary data, formulae, computer software,
documentation, creative works of authorship, and research and development data,
(ii) all trademarks, trade names, service marks and service names, (iii) all
registrations, applications, recordings, licenses and common-law rights relating
thereto, all rights to sue at law or in equity for any infringement or other
impairment thereto, including the right to receive all proceeds and damages
therefrom, and all rights to obtain renewals, continuations, divisions or other
extensions of legal protections pertaining thereto, and (iv) all other United
States, state and foreign intellectual property.
4.2. CDEX INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY. CDEX shall own all right, title and
interest in and to any of its pre-existing and independently developed
Intellectual Property ("CDEX Intellectual Property").
4.3. COMPANY INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY. Company shall own all right, title and
interest in and to any of its pre-existing and independently developed
Intellectual Property ("Company Intellectual Property").
4.4. DEVELOPED MATERIALS. CDEX shall own all right, title and interest in
and to any Intellectual Property developed by Company in connection with its
performance of this Agreement ("Developed Materials"), and all such Developed
Materials shall be deemed to be "works made for hire" under the U.S. Copyright
laws. To
2
the extent that any such Developed Materials are not deemed to be "works made
for hire", then Company hereby assigns to CDEX all right, title and interest in
and to any such Developed Materials. Company hereby agrees to execute any
documents or instruments reasonably necessary to enable CDEX to secure or
perfect any proprietary rights that are assigned to CDEX hereby. CDEX hereby
grants to Company, during the term of each applicable Statement of Work, a
nonexclusive, non-transferable, paid up license in any CDEX Intellectual
Property and Developed Materials, in either case, to the extent necessary to
enable Company to perform its obligations under such Statement of Work.
4.5. INDEMNIFICATION BY COMPANY. Company shall indemnify and defend CDEX
against, and otherwise hold CDEX harmless from, any and all costs, liabilities,
damages, losses and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out
of any claim that any Developed Materials or any Company Intellectual Property,
or the use thereof, infringes any patent, copyright, trade secret or other
proprietary right of any third party.
4.6. INDEMNIFICATION BY CDEX. CDEX shall indemnify and defend Company
against, and otherwise hold Company harmless from, any and all costs,
liabilities, damages, losses and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees)
arising out of any claim that any CDEX Intellectual Property, or the use
thereof, infringes any patent, copyright, trade secret or other proprietary
right of any third party.
4.7. CONDITIONS TO INDEMNIFICATION. Each party's obligations under this
SECTION 4 are conditioned upon (a) receipt by the indemnifying party of prompt
written notification from the party claiming indemnification of any claim to
which this indemnification may apply (provided that failure to provide prompt
notification shall only excuse the indemnifying party to the extent it is
materially prejudiced thereby), and (b) cooperation by the indemnified party, at
the indemnifying party's request and expense, with efforts to defend or settle
the claim. The indemnifying party shall have sole control of the defense and
settlement efforts subject to the indemnified party's right to participate
therein at its own expense.
5. CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION
That certain Non-Disclosure and Confidentiality Agreement between the
parties dated as of the Effective Date of this Agreement and contained herein as
Exhibit B (the "NDA") will govern any and all Confidential Information (as
defined therein) that are exchanged between the parties pursuant to this
Agreement, and such NDA shall be deemed to be an integral part of this
Agreement.
6. TERM AND TERMINATION
6.1. TERM. The term of this Agreement shall commence upon the Effective
Date and shall remain in effect until terminated in accordance with SECTION 6.2
OR 6.3.
6.2. TERMINATION FOR CAUSE. Either party may terminate any Statement of
Work issued hereunder, or this Agreement in its entirety (including all
Statements of Work then currently in effect), in the event that the other party
has not performed any material obligation or has otherwise breached any material
term of such Statement of Work or of this Agreement upon the expiration of
thirty (30) days (or any longer cure period authorized by the nonbreaching party
with respect to any individual breach) after receipt of written notice thereof
if the breach has not then been cured.
6.3. TERMINATION WITHOUT CAUSE. CDEX may terminate any Statement of Work
or this Agreement in its entirety (including all Statements of Work then
currently in effect) for its convenience at any time upon thirty (30) days'
prior written notice to Company. In the event of any such termination, Company
shall cease all Services on the effective date of termination, and CDEX shall
remain obligated to pay Company for reasonable Services rendered prior to the
effective date of termination, but such termination shall otherwise be without
liability.
6.4. EFFECT OF TERMINATION. Within thirty (30) days after termination of
this Agreement, the receiving party shall promptly return to the disclosing
party or destroy (at the disclosing party's election) all Confidential
Information of the disclosing party then currently in the receiving party's
possession. Within thirty (30) days after termination of this Agreement, Company
shall promptly deliver to CDEX all CDEX Intellectual Property and all Developed
Materials then currently in Company's possession, whether or not such materials
have been completed.
3
7. WARRANTY
7.1. SERVICES. Company warrants that all Services provided under this
Agreement shall be performed in a professional and workmanlike manner,
consistent with prevailing industry best practices. Company shall, at its
expense, re-perform any Services that are not performed in compliance with such
warranty.
7.2. DELIVERABLES. Company warrants that, for a period of ninety (90) days
following the date of CDEX's acceptance thereof, each Deliverable provided under
this Agreement shall perform in accordance with its applicable specifications
and shall be free from defects in material and workmanship. Company shall, at
its expense, repair or replace any non-conforming Deliverable brought to its
attention within the applicable warranty period.
7.3. DISCLAIMER. EXCEPT AS OTHERWISE EXPRESSLY PROVIDED FOR IN SECTION 7
ABOVE, NEITHER PARTY MAKES ANY WARRANTY TO THE OTHER PARTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS
OR IMPLIED, IN RELATION TO THIS AGREEMENT OR ITS SUBJECT MATTER, AND EACH PARTY
EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A
PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR OTHERWISE.
8. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
IN NO EVENT SHALL EITHER PARTY BE LIABLE TO THE OTHER PARTY FOR LOSS OF
PROFITS OR INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES
INCURRED BY THE OTHER PARTY AND ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THIS
AGREEMENT FOR ANY CAUSE OF ACTION OF ANY KIND, WHETHER BASED UPON BREACH OF
CONTRACT OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), EVEN IF THE OTHER PARTY HAS BEEN
ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. IN NO EVENT SHALL EITHER PARTY'S
TOTAL LIABILITY TO THE OTHER PARTY ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THIS
AGREEMENT FOR ANY CAUSE OF ACTION OF ANY KIND, WHETHER BASED UPON BREACH OF
CONTRACT OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE) EXCEED THE TOTAL AMOUNTS CDEX OWES TO
COMPANY FOR WORK UNDER THIS AGREEMENT.
9. GENERAL PROVISIONS
9.1. ASSIGNMENT. Neither this Agreement nor any rights granted hereby may
be assigned by either party (by operation of law or otherwise) without the prior
written consent of the other party. Notwithstanding the preceding, CDEX may
assign its rights and obligations under this Agreement without such consent to
an affiliate of CDEX or to any successor in interest of CDEX arising through any
merger, acquisition, combination, reorganization or sale of all or substantially
all of the assets or business of CDEX. Any attempt by either party to assign any
rights, duties or obligations without the requisite consent of the other party
shall be void and without force or effect.
9.2. MODIFICATION. This Agreement can only be modified by a written
amendment duly signed by persons authorized to sign agreements on behalf of
Company and of CDEX respectively, and any variation from the terms and
conditions of this Agreement in any oral or written notification given by either
party shall be of no force or effect.
9.3. SEVERABILITY. If any provision of this Agreement shall be held to be
invalid, illegal or unenforceable for any reason, the validity, legality and
enforceability of the remaining provisions shall not in any way be affected or
impaired thereby.
9.4. RELATIONSHIP OF THE PARTIES. For purposes of this Agreement, CDEX and
Company will be and shall act as independent contractors, and neither party is
authorized to act as an agent, partner or joint venturer of the other party for
any reason. Neither party by virtue of this Agreement shall have any right,
power, or authority to act or create any obligation, express or implied, on
behalf of the other party.
9.5. EXPORT. Each party and its employees and agents shall comply fully
with all applicable laws, rules and regulations, including, but not limited to,
the United States Export Administration Act, any regulations promulgated
thereunder by the U.S. Department of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets
Control, or the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Export Administration,
and any other regulations of the U.S. Government, relating to the export or
reexport of items relevant to this Agreement including any related technical
data.
4
9.6. NOTICES. All notices, except as stated below with respect to Section
6, shall be in writing and shall be deemed to be delivered when deposited with a
recognized courier service, or when sent by facsimile transmission promptly
confirmed by return transmission. With respect to Section 6, Notice is deemed to
be delivered upon actual receipt by the other party. All notices shall be
directed to CDEX or Company at the respective addresses first set forth above or
to such other address as either party may, from time to time, designate by
notice to the other party.
9.7. GOVERNING LAW. This Agreement, and any and all claims (whether in
contract, tort or otherwise) that may arise out of or in connection with this
Agreement, and the Services will be governed by the laws of the State of
Maryland, excluding its conflicts of law principles.
9.8. NO COMPETE. Company acknowledges and agrees that CDEX may disclose to
Company in connection with the Services details regarding CDEX's proprietary
information which are highly sensitive, and that it will be difficult if not
impossible to determine whether such disclosure may lead to unauthorized use.
Consequently, Company hereby agrees that, for a period of three years from
completion of any Statement of Work issued under this Agreement, Company agrees
not to offer, sell or otherwise commercialize any fluorescence-based product or
technology, or any service utilizing any fluorescence-based product or
technology that, in any such case, are competitive with CDEX's
fluorescence-based products, technology or services.
9.9. FORCE MAJEURE. Neither party shall be liable for any damages or
penalty for any delay in performance of, or failure to perform, any obligation
hereunder or for failure to give the other party prior notice thereof when such
delay or failure is due to the elements, acts of God, delays in transportation,
governmental acts, or other causes beyond that party's reasonable control.
9.10. NO WAIVERS. No express or implied waiver by either party of any
event of default hereunder shall in any way be, or be construed as, a waiver of
any future or subsequent event of default.
9.11. SURVIVAL. The respective rights and obligations of the parties under
Sections 4, 5, 6.4, 7, 8, 9.3, 9.4, 9.6, 9.7, 9.9, 9.10, 9.11, 9.12, and 9.13
shall survive the termination of this Agreement.
9.12. TITLES AND CAPTIONS. Titles and captions contained in this Agreement
are inserted for convenience or reference only, shall not be deemed to be a part
of this Agreement for any other purpose, and shall not in any way define or
affect the meaning, construction or scope of any of the provisions hereof.
9.13. COUNTERPARTS. This Agreement may be executed in two or more
counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original, but all of which
together shall constitute one and the same instrument.
9.14. ENTIRE AGREEMENT. The parties acknowledge that this Agreement
(including the NDA), together with any Attachment hereto that is executed by
both parties, sets forth the final, complete, exclusive and integrated
understanding of the parties which supersedes all proposals or prior agreements,
oral or written, and all other prior communications between the parties relating
to the subject matter of this Agreement.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Agreement as of
the date first above written.
CDEX, INC. (CDEX) CATALINA TOOL & MOLD (COMPANY)
By: _____________________________ By: _____________________________
Title: __________________________ Title:___________________________
Date: ___________________________ Date:____________________________
5
EXHIBIT A
STATEMENT OF WORK
6
EXHIBIT B
NON-DISCLOSURE AND CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENT
This Non-Disclosure and Confidentiality Agreement (the "Agreement"), made
effective as of February 23, 2004 (the "Effective Date"), by and between
CDEX Inc., a Nevada corporation (the "Company"), and Catalina Tool & Mold,
an Arizona corporation (the "Consultant").
WHEREAS, there exist certain confidential and proprietary information and
intellectual property rights which are important to the success of the
Company, and as an express condition for the Company's agreement to
discuss with Consultant items of mutual interest and to provide Company
with access to the said confidential and proprietary information and
intellectual property rights, the Consultant has agreed that it would keep
confidential and not disclose the Company's said confidential and
proprietary information and intellectual property rights, and would
execute this confidentiality and non-disclosure agreement to that effect.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the above, the rights and obligations
set forth herein, and other valuable considerations, the receipt and
sufficiency of which the parties hereby acknowledge, the parties hereby
agree as follows:
1. CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION. The term "Confidential Information" as used
herein means trade secrets, confidential business or commercial
information, customer lists, vendor lists, technical information,
know-how, inventions, patents, discoveries (whether or not patentable),
copyrights, trademarks, service marks, techniques, data, systems, methods,
processes, improvements, developments, enhancements, and modifications,
and other proprietary rights, whether oral or written, or in recorded
form, tangible or intangible, that are from time to time owned or
possessed by or on behalf of the Company or any entity related by
ownership to the Company.
2. NO LICENSE. All Confidential Information disclosed to the Consultant, or
which is or may be available to the Consultant, shall be held in trust and
confidence by the Consultant for the Company. No interest or license of
any right respecting the Confidential Information, other than as expressly
set out herein, is granted to the Consultant under this Agreement by
implication or otherwise.
3. THE PURPOSE. The Consultant shall not use the Confidential Information in
any manner except as is reasonably required for the performance of the
Services Agreement between Consultant and CDEX dated January 26, 2004.
Such use shall be referred to herein as the "Purpose".
4. PROTECTION OF CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION. The Consultant shall use his or
her best faith efforts to protect the Company's interest in the
Confidential Information and to keep it confidential, using a standard of
care no less than the degree of care that the Consultant would reasonably
be expected to employ for its own similar confidential information. In
particular, the Consultant shall not, directly or indirectly, disclose,
allow access to, transmit or transfer the Confidential Information to a
third party without the Company's prior written consent. The Confidential
Information shall not be copied, reproduced in any form or stored in a
retrieval system or database by the Consultant without the prior written
consent of the Company. The Consultant shall promptly notify the Company
of any unauthorized disclosure, release, or transfer of the Confidential
Information and shall provide reasonable assistance to terminate such
unauthorized use or disclosure.
5. RETURN OF CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION. The Consultant shall, upon request of
the Company immediately return to the Company or destroy, as the Company
shall select, the Confidential Information and all copies thereof in any
form whatsoever under the possession, power or control of the Consultant.
Upon request, the Consultant shall provide the Company with a destruction
certificate.
7
6. EXCEPTIONS. The obligations of the Consultant under Sections 1, 2, 3, 4,
and 5 herein shall not apply to Confidential Information which at the time
of disclosure is, or thereafter becomes, available to the trade or the
public without restriction other than through the fault, negligence, or
other acts of the Consultant. The Consultant understands that public
availability, or the availability from a third party, of the individual
parts of the Confidential Information does not release his obligation of
confidence for Confidential Information that is not already publicly
available.
7. VIOLATION OF AGREEMENT. Any violation or attempted violation of any
provision of this Agreement by the Consultant is an unauthorized use of
the Confidential Information and shall be deemed to be a material breach
of this Agreement. The Consultant hereby agrees to indemnify, defend and
hold harmless the Company from any and all claims, losses, actions,
injuries, damages, fines, penalties, or other liabilities, including but
not limited to loss of profits and other economic losses, attorneys' fees
and court costs, resulting from or related to the breach of this Agreement
by the Consultant. Without prejudice to the rights and remedies otherwise
available, the Company shall be entitled to equitable relief, such as for
an injunction or specific performance, without the need to post any bond
or surety, if the Consultant should breach or threaten to breach any of
the provisions of this Agreement. In the event that any enforcement action
is taken by either party hereunder, including filing an action in court or
in arbitration, the prevailing party shall be entitled to recover from the
losing party its costs and expenses, including its reasonable attorneys'
fees and court costs.
8. TERM. The term of this Agreement shall commence as of the Effective Date
and shall continue until five (5) years after the termination of the
related Engineering Services Agreement associated with this Agreement.
9. ARBITRATION. Any failure to perform, controversy or claim arising out of
or relating to this Agreement or the breach, termination or validity
thereof, other than an action by the Company for injunctive relief or
specific performance, shall be determined exclusively by arbitration in
accordance with the rules of the American Arbitration Association for
arbitrating commercial matters. The arbitration shall be held in
Washington, D.C., the surrounding metropolitan area of Maryland, or such
other location as the parties shall mutually agree. The arbitrators shall
base their award on applicable Maryland law and judicial precedent, and
shall accompany their award with written findings of fact and conclusions
of law. All expenses and fees of the arbitrator and expenses for hearing
facilities, stenographers, including attorneys' fees and the costs of
expert witnesses, and other expenses of the arbitrators shall be borne by
the prevailing party; provided, however, that the arbitrators may allocate
a portion of such expenses to the other party if the arbitrators believe
such a measure is justified by the conduct of the parties during the
arbitration.
10. MISCELLANEOUS. This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the
parties hereto with respect to the subject matter hereof. There are no
representations, warranties, terms, conditions, undertakings or collateral
agreements, express, implied or statutory, between the parties respecting
the subject matter hereof other than as expressly set forth in this
Agreement. The Section and subsection headings contained in this Agreement
are inserted for convenience of reference only, shall not be deemed to be
a part of this Agreement for any purpose, and shall not in any way define
or affect the meaning, construction or scope of any of the provisions
hereof.
8
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Consultant and the Company have executed this
Non-Disclosure and Confidentiality Agreement as set forth below as of the date
given above.
CDEX-INC.
By: /s/ Malcolm H. Philips, Jr. (SEAL)
----------------------------------------
Malcolm H. Philips, Jr.
----------------------------------------
Printed Name
CATALINA TOOL & MOLD.
By: /s/ Wayne Lundeberg (SEAL)
----------------------------------------
Wayne Lundeberg
----------------------------------------
Printed Name
9
</DOCUMENT
This wouldnt be happening if we had nothing!
MASTER ENGINEERING SERVICES AGREEMENT
This Master Engineering Services Agreement ("Agreement") is made and
entered into this 23rd day of February, 2004 (the "Effective Date") by and
between (i) CDEX, Inc., a Nevada corporation with its principal place of
business at 1700 Rockville Pike, Suite 400, Rockville, Maryland 20852 ("CDEX"),
and (ii) Catalina Tool & Mold, an Arizona corporation with its principal place
of business at 6230 S. Country Club Road, Tucson, Arizona 85706 ("Company"),
who, intending to be legally bound, agree as follows:
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. CDEX wishes to develop and market one or more products, each based on
its proprietary chemical detection technology, that require further development,
refinement and/or testing in preparation for manufacturing production, and
Company has the capacity to, and can provide design, prototyping and testing
services as well as a suite of related services for products of the type CDEX
wishes to bring to market.
1.2. The parties wish to enter into this Agreement to specify the terms
under which Company will provide such design, prototyping, testing services
and/or other complementary services for CDEX's prospective product(s), and under
which CDEX will pay for the services it engages Company to provide.
2. SERVICES
2.1. DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES. Company will provide to CDEX the services
more specifically described in one or more statements of work ("Statements of
Work") issued from time to time under this Agreement in accordance with the
procedure set forth in Section 2.2 below (the "Services"). The Services may
include, without limitation, the following types of services: (a) non-recurring
engineering services, including but not limited to product design, creation and
modification of bills of materials, engineering drawing packages, work
instructions, manufacturing specifications, fabrication documents and drawings,
and survey documents; (b) prototyping services, including but not limited to
development and testing of product prototypes; and (c) other related design and
manufacturing services tailored to meet CDEX's needs.
2.2. STATEMENTS OF WORK. CDEX may, from time to time, request Company to
provide Services to CDEX pursuant to this Agreement. To request Services, CDEX
will prepare and submit to Company a Statement of Work describing the scope of
the requested Services, the schedule requirements, the required deliverables,
applicable rates and other charges, whether such work will be performed on a
time and materials basis, fixed price basis, or some other basis, and such other
details as are reasonably required for Company to perform the requested
Services. Each Statement of Work shall become effective when executed by
authorized representatives of each party. Notwithstanding the preceding, the
parties hereby approve the initial Statement of Work set forth in EXHIBIT A-1.
Subsequent Statements of Work shall be included in this Agreement as Exhibits
A-2, A-3, etc.
2.3. GOVERNING TERMS. Once executed by both parties, each Statement of
Work shall become effective and shall be governed by the terms of this Agreement
and the terms in such Statement of Work. In the event of a conflict or ambiguity
between the terms of this Agreement and the terms of any Statement of Work, the
terms of the Statement of Work shall control, but only with respect to that
Statement of Work. CDEX shall have no obligation or liability to Company as a
result of any work performed by Company (i) prior to the effective date of a
Statement of Work, or (ii) outside the scope of work specified in the Statement
of Work, without CDEX's prior written approval.
2.4. ACCEPTANCE. All Services shall be subject to acceptance by CDEX,
based on its reasonable satisfaction and approval of such Services. In addition,
to the extent any Statement of Work provides for Company to prepare any
deliverables for CDEX ("Deliverables"), such Deliverables shall be subject to
the following acceptance procedures. During the initial phase of any such
Statement of Work, the parties will develop and mutually agree in writing upon
the acceptance tests and/or other acceptance criteria ("Acceptance Criteria")
that will be used to determine whether the Deliverables to be provided under
such Statement of Work are acceptable to CDEX. Company shall submit each
Deliverable to CDEX when it has been completed, along with written notification
to CDEX that such Deliverable is ready for acceptance testing. CDEX shall have a
reasonable time after receipt of such notice to inspect and test the Deliverable
to determine whether it meets the applicable Acceptance Criteria. Upon
completion of such inspection and testing, CDEX shall notify Company of any
defects in the Deliverable which have been identified. Company shall have a
reasonable period of time in light of the work scope thereafter to correct such
defects and to resubmit the corrected Deliverable to CDEX for further acceptance
1
testing. In this regard, both parties understand and agree that the corrections
of the defects must be made expeditiously and not in the normal course of work
of the company. The foregoing procedure shall be repeated as necessary until all
such defects have been corrected, at which point CDEX shall accept the
Deliverable in writing. Notwithstanding the preceding, if Company fails to
correct all defects in any Deliverable within two such correction cycles, CDEX
may terminate the affected Statement of Work for cause by written notice to
Company and pursue its available remedies.
2.5. CHANGE ORDERS. The parties acknowledge and agree that the services
required by CDEX may be subject to change at any time and from time to time.
CDEX may request changes to any Statement of Work prepared in accordance with
SECTION 2.2 in writing, and Company shall promptly advise CDEX of the time
within which the requested change can be implemented and any change in price
and/or the scheduled completion dates for the Services. Any such change must be
mutually agreed upon in writing by the parties before it shall become effective.
Company shall thereupon implement the mutually agreed upon changes to the
Statement of Work.
3. PAYMENTS
3.1. SERVICE CHARGES. In consideration for Company's performance of the
Services, CDEX shall pay to Company the amounts set forth in the applicable
Statement of Work, as follows: For work performed on a time and materials basis,
CDEX will pay Company for such work on a monthly basis, based on the hourly
rates set forth in the applicable Statement of Work. For work performed on a
fixed price basis, upon Company's successful completion of each payment
milestone set forth in the applicable Statement of Work, CDEX shall be obligated
to pay to Company the associated milestone payment amount as set forth in such
Statement of Work.
3.2. TAXES. All amounts payable in accordance with SECTIONS 3.1 are
exclusive of all federal, state, municipal or other governmental excise, sales,
value-added, and use taxes (but excluding any tax based on the net income of
Company) now in force or enacted in the future and, accordingly, the amount of
all payments hereunder is subject to an increase equal to the amount of any such
tax that Company may be required to collect or pay in connection with this
Agreement.
3.3. PAYMENT TERMS. Company shall invoice CDEX for all amounts due in
accordance with this SECTION 3, and CDEX shall remit all payments to Company
within thirty (30) days after the date of CDEX's acceptance of Company's
invoice, such acceptance to be based on Company meeting the invoicing
requirements set forth in this Agreement and the Statement of Work, such
acceptance which shall not be unreasonably withheld. In addition to information
routinely contained in Invoices, each Invoice must (1) allocate all costs to
milestones or work scope items/tasks, (2) provide the running financial status
against budget of each such milestone or work scope item/task, (3) include
reasonable supporting back up for all expenditures over $25.00 and (4) provide
detailed hourly time records broken down by milestone or work scope item for
individuals working on the project. At the start of each project, Company shall
contact CDEX to obtain its policies regarding invoicing, accounting support, and
acceptable expense costs (e.g., mileage). Absent written agreement otherwise,
Company shall comply with those policies.
4. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
4.1. DEFINITION. "Intellectual Property" shall mean (i) all patents,
copyrights, technology, business methods, techniques, know-how, processes, trade
secrets, inventions, proprietary data, formulae, computer software,
documentation, creative works of authorship, and research and development data,
(ii) all trademarks, trade names, service marks and service names, (iii) all
registrations, applications, recordings, licenses and common-law rights relating
thereto, all rights to sue at law or in equity for any infringement or other
impairment thereto, including the right to receive all proceeds and damages
therefrom, and all rights to obtain renewals, continuations, divisions or other
extensions of legal protections pertaining thereto, and (iv) all other United
States, state and foreign intellectual property.
4.2. CDEX INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY. CDEX shall own all right, title and
interest in and to any of its pre-existing and independently developed
Intellectual Property ("CDEX Intellectual Property").
4.3. COMPANY INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY. Company shall own all right, title and
interest in and to any of its pre-existing and independently developed
Intellectual Property ("Company Intellectual Property").
4.4. DEVELOPED MATERIALS. CDEX shall own all right, title and interest in
and to any Intellectual Property developed by Company in connection with its
performance of this Agreement ("Developed Materials"), and all such Developed
Materials shall be deemed to be "works made for hire" under the U.S. Copyright
laws. To
2
the extent that any such Developed Materials are not deemed to be "works made
for hire", then Company hereby assigns to CDEX all right, title and interest in
and to any such Developed Materials. Company hereby agrees to execute any
documents or instruments reasonably necessary to enable CDEX to secure or
perfect any proprietary rights that are assigned to CDEX hereby. CDEX hereby
grants to Company, during the term of each applicable Statement of Work, a
nonexclusive, non-transferable, paid up license in any CDEX Intellectual
Property and Developed Materials, in either case, to the extent necessary to
enable Company to perform its obligations under such Statement of Work.
4.5. INDEMNIFICATION BY COMPANY. Company shall indemnify and defend CDEX
against, and otherwise hold CDEX harmless from, any and all costs, liabilities,
damages, losses and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out
of any claim that any Developed Materials or any Company Intellectual Property,
or the use thereof, infringes any patent, copyright, trade secret or other
proprietary right of any third party.
4.6. INDEMNIFICATION BY CDEX. CDEX shall indemnify and defend Company
against, and otherwise hold Company harmless from, any and all costs,
liabilities, damages, losses and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees)
arising out of any claim that any CDEX Intellectual Property, or the use
thereof, infringes any patent, copyright, trade secret or other proprietary
right of any third party.
4.7. CONDITIONS TO INDEMNIFICATION. Each party's obligations under this
SECTION 4 are conditioned upon (a) receipt by the indemnifying party of prompt
written notification from the party claiming indemnification of any claim to
which this indemnification may apply (provided that failure to provide prompt
notification shall only excuse the indemnifying party to the extent it is
materially prejudiced thereby), and (b) cooperation by the indemnified party, at
the indemnifying party's request and expense, with efforts to defend or settle
the claim. The indemnifying party shall have sole control of the defense and
settlement efforts subject to the indemnified party's right to participate
therein at its own expense.
5. CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION
That certain Non-Disclosure and Confidentiality Agreement between the
parties dated as of the Effective Date of this Agreement and contained herein as
Exhibit B (the "NDA") will govern any and all Confidential Information (as
defined therein) that are exchanged between the parties pursuant to this
Agreement, and such NDA shall be deemed to be an integral part of this
Agreement.
6. TERM AND TERMINATION
6.1. TERM. The term of this Agreement shall commence upon the Effective
Date and shall remain in effect until terminated in accordance with SECTION 6.2
OR 6.3.
6.2. TERMINATION FOR CAUSE. Either party may terminate any Statement of
Work issued hereunder, or this Agreement in its entirety (including all
Statements of Work then currently in effect), in the event that the other party
has not performed any material obligation or has otherwise breached any material
term of such Statement of Work or of this Agreement upon the expiration of
thirty (30) days (or any longer cure period authorized by the nonbreaching party
with respect to any individual breach) after receipt of written notice thereof
if the breach has not then been cured.
6.3. TERMINATION WITHOUT CAUSE. CDEX may terminate any Statement of Work
or this Agreement in its entirety (including all Statements of Work then
currently in effect) for its convenience at any time upon thirty (30) days'
prior written notice to Company. In the event of any such termination, Company
shall cease all Services on the effective date of termination, and CDEX shall
remain obligated to pay Company for reasonable Services rendered prior to the
effective date of termination, but such termination shall otherwise be without
liability.
6.4. EFFECT OF TERMINATION. Within thirty (30) days after termination of
this Agreement, the receiving party shall promptly return to the disclosing
party or destroy (at the disclosing party's election) all Confidential
Information of the disclosing party then currently in the receiving party's
possession. Within thirty (30) days after termination of this Agreement, Company
shall promptly deliver to CDEX all CDEX Intellectual Property and all Developed
Materials then currently in Company's possession, whether or not such materials
have been completed.
3
7. WARRANTY
7.1. SERVICES. Company warrants that all Services provided under this
Agreement shall be performed in a professional and workmanlike manner,
consistent with prevailing industry best practices. Company shall, at its
expense, re-perform any Services that are not performed in compliance with such
warranty.
7.2. DELIVERABLES. Company warrants that, for a period of ninety (90) days
following the date of CDEX's acceptance thereof, each Deliverable provided under
this Agreement shall perform in accordance with its applicable specifications
and shall be free from defects in material and workmanship. Company shall, at
its expense, repair or replace any non-conforming Deliverable brought to its
attention within the applicable warranty period.
7.3. DISCLAIMER. EXCEPT AS OTHERWISE EXPRESSLY PROVIDED FOR IN SECTION 7
ABOVE, NEITHER PARTY MAKES ANY WARRANTY TO THE OTHER PARTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS
OR IMPLIED, IN RELATION TO THIS AGREEMENT OR ITS SUBJECT MATTER, AND EACH PARTY
EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A
PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR OTHERWISE.
8. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
IN NO EVENT SHALL EITHER PARTY BE LIABLE TO THE OTHER PARTY FOR LOSS OF
PROFITS OR INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES
INCURRED BY THE OTHER PARTY AND ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THIS
AGREEMENT FOR ANY CAUSE OF ACTION OF ANY KIND, WHETHER BASED UPON BREACH OF
CONTRACT OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), EVEN IF THE OTHER PARTY HAS BEEN
ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. IN NO EVENT SHALL EITHER PARTY'S
TOTAL LIABILITY TO THE OTHER PARTY ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THIS
AGREEMENT FOR ANY CAUSE OF ACTION OF ANY KIND, WHETHER BASED UPON BREACH OF
CONTRACT OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE) EXCEED THE TOTAL AMOUNTS CDEX OWES TO
COMPANY FOR WORK UNDER THIS AGREEMENT.
9. GENERAL PROVISIONS
9.1. ASSIGNMENT. Neither this Agreement nor any rights granted hereby may
be assigned by either party (by operation of law or otherwise) without the prior
written consent of the other party. Notwithstanding the preceding, CDEX may
assign its rights and obligations under this Agreement without such consent to
an affiliate of CDEX or to any successor in interest of CDEX arising through any
merger, acquisition, combination, reorganization or sale of all or substantially
all of the assets or business of CDEX. Any attempt by either party to assign any
rights, duties or obligations without the requisite consent of the other party
shall be void and without force or effect.
9.2. MODIFICATION. This Agreement can only be modified by a written
amendment duly signed by persons authorized to sign agreements on behalf of
Company and of CDEX respectively, and any variation from the terms and
conditions of this Agreement in any oral or written notification given by either
party shall be of no force or effect.
9.3. SEVERABILITY. If any provision of this Agreement shall be held to be
invalid, illegal or unenforceable for any reason, the validity, legality and
enforceability of the remaining provisions shall not in any way be affected or
impaired thereby.
9.4. RELATIONSHIP OF THE PARTIES. For purposes of this Agreement, CDEX and
Company will be and shall act as independent contractors, and neither party is
authorized to act as an agent, partner or joint venturer of the other party for
any reason. Neither party by virtue of this Agreement shall have any right,
power, or authority to act or create any obligation, express or implied, on
behalf of the other party.
9.5. EXPORT. Each party and its employees and agents shall comply fully
with all applicable laws, rules and regulations, including, but not limited to,
the United States Export Administration Act, any regulations promulgated
thereunder by the U.S. Department of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets
Control, or the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Export Administration,
and any other regulations of the U.S. Government, relating to the export or
reexport of items relevant to this Agreement including any related technical
data.
4
9.6. NOTICES. All notices, except as stated below with respect to Section
6, shall be in writing and shall be deemed to be delivered when deposited with a
recognized courier service, or when sent by facsimile transmission promptly
confirmed by return transmission. With respect to Section 6, Notice is deemed to
be delivered upon actual receipt by the other party. All notices shall be
directed to CDEX or Company at the respective addresses first set forth above or
to such other address as either party may, from time to time, designate by
notice to the other party.
9.7. GOVERNING LAW. This Agreement, and any and all claims (whether in
contract, tort or otherwise) that may arise out of or in connection with this
Agreement, and the Services will be governed by the laws of the State of
Maryland, excluding its conflicts of law principles.
9.8. NO COMPETE. Company acknowledges and agrees that CDEX may disclose to
Company in connection with the Services details regarding CDEX's proprietary
information which are highly sensitive, and that it will be difficult if not
impossible to determine whether such disclosure may lead to unauthorized use.
Consequently, Company hereby agrees that, for a period of three years from
completion of any Statement of Work issued under this Agreement, Company agrees
not to offer, sell or otherwise commercialize any fluorescence-based product or
technology, or any service utilizing any fluorescence-based product or
technology that, in any such case, are competitive with CDEX's
fluorescence-based products, technology or services.
9.9. FORCE MAJEURE. Neither party shall be liable for any damages or
penalty for any delay in performance of, or failure to perform, any obligation
hereunder or for failure to give the other party prior notice thereof when such
delay or failure is due to the elements, acts of God, delays in transportation,
governmental acts, or other causes beyond that party's reasonable control.
9.10. NO WAIVERS. No express or implied waiver by either party of any
event of default hereunder shall in any way be, or be construed as, a waiver of
any future or subsequent event of default.
9.11. SURVIVAL. The respective rights and obligations of the parties under
Sections 4, 5, 6.4, 7, 8, 9.3, 9.4, 9.6, 9.7, 9.9, 9.10, 9.11, 9.12, and 9.13
shall survive the termination of this Agreement.
9.12. TITLES AND CAPTIONS. Titles and captions contained in this Agreement
are inserted for convenience or reference only, shall not be deemed to be a part
of this Agreement for any other purpose, and shall not in any way define or
affect the meaning, construction or scope of any of the provisions hereof.
9.13. COUNTERPARTS. This Agreement may be executed in two or more
counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original, but all of which
together shall constitute one and the same instrument.
9.14. ENTIRE AGREEMENT. The parties acknowledge that this Agreement
(including the NDA), together with any Attachment hereto that is executed by
both parties, sets forth the final, complete, exclusive and integrated
understanding of the parties which supersedes all proposals or prior agreements,
oral or written, and all other prior communications between the parties relating
to the subject matter of this Agreement.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Agreement as of
the date first above written.
CDEX, INC. (CDEX) CATALINA TOOL & MOLD (COMPANY)
By: _____________________________ By: _____________________________
Title: __________________________ Title:___________________________
Date: ___________________________ Date:____________________________
5
EXHIBIT A
STATEMENT OF WORK
6
EXHIBIT B
NON-DISCLOSURE AND CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENT
This Non-Disclosure and Confidentiality Agreement (the "Agreement"), made
effective as of February 23, 2004 (the "Effective Date"), by and between
CDEX Inc., a Nevada corporation (the "Company"), and Catalina Tool & Mold,
an Arizona corporation (the "Consultant").
WHEREAS, there exist certain confidential and proprietary information and
intellectual property rights which are important to the success of the
Company, and as an express condition for the Company's agreement to
discuss with Consultant items of mutual interest and to provide Company
with access to the said confidential and proprietary information and
intellectual property rights, the Consultant has agreed that it would keep
confidential and not disclose the Company's said confidential and
proprietary information and intellectual property rights, and would
execute this confidentiality and non-disclosure agreement to that effect.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the above, the rights and obligations
set forth herein, and other valuable considerations, the receipt and
sufficiency of which the parties hereby acknowledge, the parties hereby
agree as follows:
1. CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION. The term "Confidential Information" as used
herein means trade secrets, confidential business or commercial
information, customer lists, vendor lists, technical information,
know-how, inventions, patents, discoveries (whether or not patentable),
copyrights, trademarks, service marks, techniques, data, systems, methods,
processes, improvements, developments, enhancements, and modifications,
and other proprietary rights, whether oral or written, or in recorded
form, tangible or intangible, that are from time to time owned or
possessed by or on behalf of the Company or any entity related by
ownership to the Company.
2. NO LICENSE. All Confidential Information disclosed to the Consultant, or
which is or may be available to the Consultant, shall be held in trust and
confidence by the Consultant for the Company. No interest or license of
any right respecting the Confidential Information, other than as expressly
set out herein, is granted to the Consultant under this Agreement by
implication or otherwise.
3. THE PURPOSE. The Consultant shall not use the Confidential Information in
any manner except as is reasonably required for the performance of the
Services Agreement between Consultant and CDEX dated January 26, 2004.
Such use shall be referred to herein as the "Purpose".
4. PROTECTION OF CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION. The Consultant shall use his or
her best faith efforts to protect the Company's interest in the
Confidential Information and to keep it confidential, using a standard of
care no less than the degree of care that the Consultant would reasonably
be expected to employ for its own similar confidential information. In
particular, the Consultant shall not, directly or indirectly, disclose,
allow access to, transmit or transfer the Confidential Information to a
third party without the Company's prior written consent. The Confidential
Information shall not be copied, reproduced in any form or stored in a
retrieval system or database by the Consultant without the prior written
consent of the Company. The Consultant shall promptly notify the Company
of any unauthorized disclosure, release, or transfer of the Confidential
Information and shall provide reasonable assistance to terminate such
unauthorized use or disclosure.
5. RETURN OF CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION. The Consultant shall, upon request of
the Company immediately return to the Company or destroy, as the Company
shall select, the Confidential Information and all copies thereof in any
form whatsoever under the possession, power or control of the Consultant.
Upon request, the Consultant shall provide the Company with a destruction
certificate.
7
6. EXCEPTIONS. The obligations of the Consultant under Sections 1, 2, 3, 4,
and 5 herein shall not apply to Confidential Information which at the time
of disclosure is, or thereafter becomes, available to the trade or the
public without restriction other than through the fault, negligence, or
other acts of the Consultant. The Consultant understands that public
availability, or the availability from a third party, of the individual
parts of the Confidential Information does not release his obligation of
confidence for Confidential Information that is not already publicly
available.
7. VIOLATION OF AGREEMENT. Any violation or attempted violation of any
provision of this Agreement by the Consultant is an unauthorized use of
the Confidential Information and shall be deemed to be a material breach
of this Agreement. The Consultant hereby agrees to indemnify, defend and
hold harmless the Company from any and all claims, losses, actions,
injuries, damages, fines, penalties, or other liabilities, including but
not limited to loss of profits and other economic losses, attorneys' fees
and court costs, resulting from or related to the breach of this Agreement
by the Consultant. Without prejudice to the rights and remedies otherwise
available, the Company shall be entitled to equitable relief, such as for
an injunction or specific performance, without the need to post any bond
or surety, if the Consultant should breach or threaten to breach any of
the provisions of this Agreement. In the event that any enforcement action
is taken by either party hereunder, including filing an action in court or
in arbitration, the prevailing party shall be entitled to recover from the
losing party its costs and expenses, including its reasonable attorneys'
fees and court costs.
8. TERM. The term of this Agreement shall commence as of the Effective Date
and shall continue until five (5) years after the termination of the
related Engineering Services Agreement associated with this Agreement.
9. ARBITRATION. Any failure to perform, controversy or claim arising out of
or relating to this Agreement or the breach, termination or validity
thereof, other than an action by the Company for injunctive relief or
specific performance, shall be determined exclusively by arbitration in
accordance with the rules of the American Arbitration Association for
arbitrating commercial matters. The arbitration shall be held in
Washington, D.C., the surrounding metropolitan area of Maryland, or such
other location as the parties shall mutually agree. The arbitrators shall
base their award on applicable Maryland law and judicial precedent, and
shall accompany their award with written findings of fact and conclusions
of law. All expenses and fees of the arbitrator and expenses for hearing
facilities, stenographers, including attorneys' fees and the costs of
expert witnesses, and other expenses of the arbitrators shall be borne by
the prevailing party; provided, however, that the arbitrators may allocate
a portion of such expenses to the other party if the arbitrators believe
such a measure is justified by the conduct of the parties during the
arbitration.
10. MISCELLANEOUS. This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the
parties hereto with respect to the subject matter hereof. There are no
representations, warranties, terms, conditions, undertakings or collateral
agreements, express, implied or statutory, between the parties respecting
the subject matter hereof other than as expressly set forth in this
Agreement. The Section and subsection headings contained in this Agreement
are inserted for convenience of reference only, shall not be deemed to be
a part of this Agreement for any purpose, and shall not in any way define
or affect the meaning, construction or scope of any of the provisions
hereof.
8
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Consultant and the Company have executed this
Non-Disclosure and Confidentiality Agreement as set forth below as of the date
given above.
CDEX-INC.
By: /s/ Malcolm H. Philips, Jr. (SEAL)
----------------------------------------
Malcolm H. Philips, Jr.
----------------------------------------
Printed Name
CATALINA TOOL & MOLD.
By: /s/ Wayne Lundeberg (SEAL)
----------------------------------------
Wayne Lundeberg
----------------------------------------
Printed Name
9
</DOCUMENT
Ryan check www.cdex-inc.com.
: : REGISTRATION UPDATE
On February 2, 2004, we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) an SB-2 to register 2,632,840 shares of our Class A Common Stock on behalf of certain of our shareholders. CDEX will not receive any proceeds from the sale of shares under the SB-2. We did not include in the SB-2 shares which can be sold under Rule 144 once we become a reporting company or which are already freely tradable by virtue of having been distributed by court order in conjunction with the Loch Harris litigation. We anticipate comments on the SB-2 from the SEC within approximately 30-45 days and plan on responding to those comments as quickly as practicable. If the SEC is satisfied with our responses to comments (which may take several rounds of questions), the filing will be allowed to become effective. If it becomes effective, we intend to complete registration under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and do not anticipate CDEX Class A Common Stock will be eligible for trading for four to five months, at the earliest. However, depending on the extent and nature of any comments from the SEC, it could potentially take longer.
United States Patent Application 20030128804
Kind Code A1
Poteet, Wade M. ; et al. July 10, 2003
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
System and method for adapting a software control in an operating environment
Abstract
A system and method for detecting a substance using x-ray fluorescence is disclosed. The detected substances may be explosives or controlled substances that have a specific chemical fluorescent signature. An energy source transmits an x-ray beam at a target. The target may be in a container or under a surface. The beam interacts with the target to produce fluorescent energy. An x-ray detector is at an angle relative to the energy source and gathers the fluorescent energy. The angle differs according to the physical configuration of the system. A portable embodiment will have a different angle than a stationary embodiment. A cooling mechanism cools the x-ray detector. The fluorescent energy is analyzed and processed by a multichannel analyzer and a computer. The computer determines whether the fluorescent energy from the target matches known fluorescent energies of specific substances. If the substance is detected, appropriate indications are made to prevent damage or acceptance of the substance.
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Inventors: Poteet, Wade M.; (Tucson, AZ) ; Cauthen, Harold K.; (Sonoita, AZ) ; Shriver, Timothy D.; (Tucson, AZ)
Correspondence Name and Address: HOGAN & HARTSON LLP
IP GROUP, COLUMBIA SQUARE
555 THIRTEENTH STREET, N.W.
WASHINGTON
DC
20004
US
Assignee Name and Adress: CDEX, Inc.
Serial No.: 268678
Series Code: 10
Filed: October 11, 2002
U.S. Current Class: 378/44
U.S. Class at Publication: 378/44
Intern'l Class: G01T 001/36
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Claims
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What is claimed is:
1. A system for detecting a substance, comprising"an energy source to transmit an x-ray beam at a target to produce fluorescent energy; an x-ray detector to detect said fluorescent energy from said target, wherein said x-ray detector is at an angle relative to said energy source; a multichannel analyzer to receive said fluorescent energy from said x-ray detector; and a computer coupled to said multichannel analyzer to determine whether said fluorescent energy corresponds to said substance.
2. The system of claim 1, further comprising a controller coupled to said energy source, wherein said controller provides power and control to said energy source.
3. The system of claim 1, further comprising a display to indicate status to a user of said detection system, wherein said display is coupled to said computer.
4. The system of claim 1, further comprising a shielded enclosure around said energy source.
5. The system of claim 1, wherein said angle is about 45 degrees to about 65 degrees.
6. The system of claim 1, wherein said substance is an explosive.
7. The system of claim 1, wherein said substance is a controlled substance having certain chemical properties.
8. A portable system for detecting a substance under a surface, wherein said system includes a detection module and a support module, comprising: an energy source within said detection module to transmit an x-ray beam at a surface location, wherein said energy source is mounted on an equipment support; an x-ray detector within said detection module to detect fluorescent energy from a vapor plume corresponding to said surface location, wherein said x-ray detector is at an angle relative to said energy source and mounted on said equipment support; a portable multichannel analyzer within said support module to receive said fluorescent energy; a computer within said support module coupled to said portable multichannel analyzer to determine whether said fluorescent energy corresponds to said substance; and a battery within said support module to supply power to said detection module and said support module.
9. The portable system of claim 8, wherein said support module is a backpack.
10. The portable system of claim 8, further comprising a readout box coupled to said support module to display information.
11. The portable system of claim 8, wherein said substance under said surface is an explosive.
12. The portable system of claim 8, wherein said angle is about 25 degrees to about 40 degrees.
13. A method for detecting a substance, comprising: directing an x-ray beam at a target from an energy source; interacting said target with said beam to produce fluorescent energy; detecting said fluorescent energy from an x-ray at an angle from said energy source; analyzing said fluorescent energy to determine whether said fluorescent energy corresponds to said substance.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein said analyzing includes comparing said fluorescent energy to a signal spectrum of known substances.
15. The method of claim 13, further comprising indicating whether said target is said substance.
16. The method of claim 13, further comprising processing said fluorescent energy with a multichannel analyzer.
17. A method for detecting a substance, comprising: providing power to an energy source to transmit an x-ray beam; producing fluorescent energy from an item in response to said x-ray beam; detecting said fluorescent energy over an integration period at an x-ray detector; processing said fluorescent energy; and determining whether said item is said substance according to said fluorescent energy.
18. The method of claim 17, further comprising moving said item on a conveyor belt.
19. The method of claim 17, further comprising cooling said x-ray detector.
20. The method of claim 17, further comprising adjusting said x-ray beam using a controller coupled to said energy source, to compensate for background noise.
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Description
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CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claim benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/344,787 entitled "Method and Apparatus for Substance Detection, Inspection, and Classification Using X-ray Fluorescence," filed Jan. 7, 2002, which is hereby incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to substance and material identifying, including detection, inspection, and classification. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and system operating in the x-ray portion of the electromagnetic spectrum to identify specific elements and unique mixtures of elements that are components in controlled substances.
[0004] 2. Discussion of the Related Art
[0005] Detection of explosives and controlled substances is increasing in importance. Whether at the airport, a building, or in military applications, quick and confident detection is needed for safety and convenience. Detection techniques are preferable to random searches that require one to make their selves and bags available for visual searches. Plus, detection techniques may be employed for a higher confidence level that everyone or everything has been subjected. Current detection techniques may include neutron activation analysis, x-ray absorption and scattering, resonance fluorescence directly on nuclei in the substance, quadrupole resonance with the nucleus of atoms, and various chemical sensors.
[0006] Neutron activation may require a large energy source, such as an accelerator, that consumer high power to be capable of measuring the ratios of atomic constituents directly, such as hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon. X-ray absorption and scattering may require complex predictive software, which may result in a high false alarm rate. Resonance fluorescence may require a large, complex energy source for operation. Quadrupole resonance techniques may suffer from a short range of reliable detection. Chemical sensors may have a slow response and a short range, and may not operate reliably under certain environmental conditions, such as high humidity.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a method and system for identifying substances using x-ray fluorescence. Substances may include explosives or controlled substances. These substances may have certain chemical properties that make them identifiable. The disclosed embodiments may include a low power system having increased reliability that is capable of operating at large, safe standoff distances from suspected substances without a large energy source, predictive software, or high power consumption. Unattended operation may be possible, and a decreased response time provides identification of suspect substances in a quicker and more reliable manner.
[0008] The disclosed embodiments may be advantageous in numerous settings to detect substances using a thorough and non-intrusive manner. The disclosed embodiments may be incorporated into processes, systems, and apparatuses desiring remote, non-invasive sensing of multiple elements in complex mixtures. For example, the disclosed embodiments may be utilized for high explosive monitoring and detection, land mine explosive constituent detection, and controlled substance detection in secured buildings, areas, and the like. Further, the disclosed embodiments may be utilized to control internal and external perimeter pollution and contaminant at industrial plant sites, to monitor effluent from nuclear plants and test sites, to monitor and control waste dump sites, to monitor nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons by-products and hazardous emissions, and the like. By using x-rays, the disclosed embodiments may enhance the detection and removal of buried land mines, unexploded ordinance, and other explosive devices.
[0009] Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description that follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.
[0010] According to the disclosed embodiments, a system for detecting a substance is disclosed. The system includes an energy source to transmit an x-ray beam at a target to produce fluorescent energy. The system includes an x-ray detector to detect the fluorescent energy from the target. The x-ray detector is at an angle relative to the energy source. The system includes a multichannel analyzer to receive the fluorescent energy from the x-ray detector. The system includes a computer coupled to the multichannel analyzer to determine whether the fluorescent energy corresponds to the substance.
[0011] According to the disclosed embodiments, a portable system for detecting a substance under a surface is disclosed. The portable system includes a detection module and a support module. The portable system includes an energy source within the detection module to transmit an x-ray beam at a surface location. The energy source is mounted on an equipment support. The portable system also includes an x-ray detector within the detection module to detect fluorescent energy from a vapor plume corresponding to the surface location. The x-ray detector is at an angle relative to the energy source and mounted on the equipment support. The portable system also includes a portable multichannel analyzer within the support module to receive the fluorescent energy. The portable system also includes a computer within the support module coupled to the portable multichannel analyzer to determine whether the fluorescent energy corresponds to the substance. The portable system also includes a battery within the support module to supply power to the detection module and the support module.
[0012] According to the disclosed embodiments, a method for detecting a substance is disclosed. The method includes directing an x-ray beam at a target from an energy source. The method also includes interacting the target with the beam to produce fluorescent energy. The method also includes detecting the fluorescent energy from an x-ray at an angle from the energy source. The method also includes analyzing the fluorescent energy to determine whether the fluorescent energy corresponds to the substance.
[0013] According to the disclosed embodiments, a method for detecting a substance is disclosed. The method includes providing power to an energy source to transmit an x-ray beam. The method also includes producing fluorescent energy from an item in response to the x-ray beam. The method also includes detecting the fluorescent energy over an integration period at an x-ray detector. The method also includes processing the fluorescent energy. The method also includes determining whether the item is the substance according to the fluorescent energy.
[0014] It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings:
[0016] FIG. 1 illustrates an x-ray fluorescence detection system according to the disclosed embodiments.
[0017] FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of an x-ray fluorescence detection system according to the disclosed embodiments.
[0018] FIG. 3 illustrates an x-ray fluorescence detection system for detection of concealed substances and explosives buried in the ground or hidden beneath a surface in accordance with disclosed embodiments.
[0019] FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram of a portable x-ray fluorescence detection system according to the disclosed embodiments.
[0020] FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart for detecting substances using x-ray fluorescence according to the disclosed embodiments.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0021] Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
[0022] X-ray fluorescence has been used to characterize elements and compounds. Both concentration and species may be deduced from de-convolving the spectra. X-ray beams from the excitation source may be directed toward a target area using, for example, capillary optics or collimators to define or concentrate the photons. Photoelectric interactions with the target material produce wavelength-shifted emissions that may be at longer wavelengths, or lower energies, than the absorbed excitation x-rays. The incident x-rays of the appropriate energies may be absorbed by the first or second shell orbital electrons surrounding the atom that causes the electrons to break free of the nuclear attraction.
[0023] The electrons may be in unique energy environments that are different for each element. Electrons from higher orbital energy states may drop down and fill the vacancies left by the ejected electrons. Discreet energies lost in this process of dropping down may result in emission of characteristic x-rays that are unique in energies for each element. The spectra of return photon flux for these unique energies are detected with a sensor, and analyzed with a multichannel analyzer for energy discrimination. Each different material in the target area produces a unique spectrum that is stored for comparison during the identification process that takes place when viewing an unknown sample. The excitation source characteristics are important to maximize the sensitivity of the process. The source flux preferably is variable to optimize the incident flux for photoelectric absorption without exciting unwanted constituents. The energy continuum may be slightly above the highest characteristic x-ray to be excited in order to optimize the absorption cross-section.
[0024] The disclosed embodiments may use preferred values for the maximum transmission of long-wavelength x-rays in air at various pressures and path lengths. The disclosed embodiments use theoretical path lengths of 3 meters at MSL that may be supported with a mean transmission of about 30%. The scattering from the materials in the x-ray path, such as air and dust, however, may limit the practical operating distance to about 1 to about 2 meters.
[0025] The disclosed embodiments also may have to account for clutter. Clutter may be defined as any unwanted x-ray flux reaching the detector that does not contribute directly to the identification of a material of interest. For example, in the case of buried landmine detection, clutter may arise from exciting certain metals in the target area, exciting materials close to the detector/emitter region, return flux from plant parts, exciting discarded cans or shell casings, scattering from the air or dust in the x-ray path. Because the disclosed embodiments are capable of discriminating between the various constituents of the return signal, clutter removal may be performed in software using appropriate algorithms.
[0026] The disclosed embodiments also may be subjected to theoretical sensitivity limits that depend on several factors. The factors include source energy available at the target of interest, cross-section for photoelectric absorption, path length, detector collecting area, detector energy resolution, detector geometrical characteristics, integration time, detector noise limit, and the like. For example, a preferred embodiment may use a microfocus tungsten target continuous output source. The output available at full power is 101 R/min, about 19% may be collected by an appropriate optic and directed at the target area. The expanding beam from the source may be concentrated using a collimating optic to provide an illumination spot of about 200 mm at about 1 meter standoff from the target. Cross-section for photoelectric absorption may be optimized for each material type in the sampling program by rapid computer controlled adjustment of source accelerating potential and flux. A number of quick exposures may be taken for the excitation energies of interest from a database of known materials that are likely to be in the target region.
[0027] The preferred implementation detector collecting area is in the range of about 200 mm.sup.2 to about 1018 mm.sup.2 with no optic. This area allows for a reliable detection range for explosives of about one to about two meters depending on the material species and the concentration. The detector may be a commercial germanium detector that is modified for long wavelength, or low energy, application, and may have the following preferred values:
[0028] Energy resolution (eV)--about 190 to about 300
[0029] Collecting area (mm.sup.2)--about 200 to about 1018
[0030] Noise @ gain=100 (counts rms) of +/-0.7
[0031] Integration times of about 5 to about 45 seconds per species at a maximum of about two meters standoff may be used to provide the system computer with sufficient data for accurate identifications. A lead collimator or optic attached near the front of the entrance window may provide a reliable geometrical beam for the detector. The beam may be limited to about 200 mm.sup.2 at a standoff of about one meter.
[0032] Referring to FIG. 1, an x-ray fluorescence detection system 100 is depicted according to the disclosed embodiments. Detection system 100 may be configured for detection of controlled and other dangerous substances located in containers or suitcases. Detection system 100 includes an x-ray shielded enclosure 102 to minimize exposure to radiation by personnel. Detection system 100 also includes an energy source 104 fitted with a collimator 106 and optic 108. In an alternative embodiment, optic 108 may be removed. An angle A may exist between the central axes of energy source 104 and x-ray detector 122. Preferably, angle A is about 45 degrees to about 65 degrees. More preferably, angle A is about 57 degrees.
[0033] X-rays are directed from source 104 through collimator 106 and optic 108 along source beam 110 towards a container 112. Container 112 may be luggage, suitcase, box, briefcase, bag, or any container suspected of containing controlled material 114. Intervening material 116 may be present in container 112 as well. Controlled material 114 may be explosives, chemicals, controlled substances, and the like. Intervening material 116 may be any material or items that are not being searched for, such as clothes, papers, and the like.
[0034] Intervening materials 116 and controlled material 114 are excited by the appropriate energy from source 104 via source beam 110 to produce fluorescent energy components. Detector beam 118 is comprised of the produced energy components. Detector collimator 120 captures detector beam 118 to deliver to x-ray detector 122. Cooling mechanism 124 cools x-ray detector 122 its preferred operating temperature. Cooling mechanism 124 may be passive, using liquid nitrogen, or active, using a mechanical refrigerator assembly.
[0035] During an integration period, detection system 100 gathers x-rays for a period of time. Container 112 may be stationary for the integration period. Preferably, the integration period is from about 5 seconds to about 45 seconds. Multiple detectors 122 may be used to increase area coverage and to shorten the integration period. Container 112 is maneuvered into source beam 110 and detector beam 118 by conveyor 130. Conveyor 130 may move in either direction and may be controlled by conveyor controllers 132 and 134. The disclosed embodiments enable the x-rays to penetrate container 112 and to excite fluorescence directly in controlled material 114 without effluent or plume.
[0036] The preferred components for energy, or x-ray, source 104 are disclosed below. The excitation source may be a small filamentary solid target x-ray tube integrated with a high voltage power supply into a single unit, or source 104. Air cooling and low operating power are features of source 104. The target is tungsten and may produce a source spot size of about 0.25 mm.times.about 0.45 mm. A thin about 0.13 mm Beryllium window is located near the source target. Extensive shielding around the exit window and nearby structure may be sufficient to ensure that leakage is less than about 0.5 mR/hour, measured about 1 inch away from source 104, except directly in front of the window. Illumination angle may be 35 degrees. Thus, collimator 106 and optic 108 may be close to the exit window to capture as much energy as possible, and to re-direct the energy to container 112 and controlled material 114.
[0037] The preferred components for x-ray detector 122 are disclosed below. Detector 122 may be a high purity germanium crystal or any x-ray detector whose length is selected for the energy range used for the explosive constituent measurement. Energy resolution and response time may be enhanced through an ultra-thin contact arrangement. Detector 122 may be cooled to 77 degrees Kelvin using a small pour-filled liquid nitrogen dewar or a mechanical refrigerator in cooling mechanism 124. Alternatively, any known component used for cooling may be utilized by cooling mechanism 124. Energy resolution is disclosed in greater detail below. A portable self-contained liquid nitrogen system may provide sufficient coolant for daily fills during field operations.
[0038] X-ray detector 122 may pass through an annealing process, as disclosed below. An annealing process enhances the low energy performance of detector 122 at the expense of higher energies. Low energy may be defined as about 2 keV to about 10 keV, while high energy may be defined as about 15 keV to about 200 keV. The annealing process may be implemented on a commercial pure Germanium detector crystal. The annealing process may be used without dismounting detector 122 from its commercially received package. The electronic components, however, may be removed for the annealing process. The annealing process may execute, as follows:
[0039] 1. Set max temperature to about 365 degrees Fahrenheit
[0040] 2. Set nom temperature to about 312 degrees Fahrenheit
[0041] 3. Introduce nitrogen gas flow through the oven, wherein the nitrogen gas may be an effluent from a liquid nitrogen container
[0042] 4. Place detector in an oven and anneal for about 24 hours
[0043] 5. Cycle temperature down at a rate of about 20 degrees Fahrenheit per hour until room temperature is achieved while maintaining flow of nitrogen gas
[0044] 6. Cool detector to 77 degrees Kelvin
[0045] 7. Repeat steps 1 through 6, preferably at least once
[0046] 8. Replace crystal detector electronics, re-evacuate crystal detector housing
[0047] 9. Measure detector risetime after bias stabilization to verify <about 0.5 microseconds
[0048] 10. Repeat anneal if risetime has not been achieved
[0049] FIG. 2 depicts a block diagram of an x-ray fluorescence detection system 200 according to the disclosed embodiments. Detection system 200 may correlate to detection 100 depicted in FIG. 1. Power is supplied to detection system 200 through external power supply 202, or any local power source. Power from external power supply 202 is used by power supply 204 to furnish appropriate voltages and currents to system controller 206 and system monitoring subsystem 208. Additional power may be routed to cooler controller 210 through controller 206.
[0050] X-ray source 212 receives power and control from controller 206. The status of x-ray source 212 is reported to system monitor 208 for formatting and routing to local computer 250. Cooler controller 210 provides coolant flow to cooling mechanism 214 via coolant lines 216. Cooler controller 210 reports its condition and status to system monitor 208. Power for x-ray detector 220 is supplied through system monitor 208. Data from x-ray detector 220 is routed through multichannel analyzer 224 to local computer 250 for display, processing, and the like. Local computer may be any device or component having a processor coupled to a memory, wherein the memory stores instructions to execute on the processor. Local alarms 230 indicate detection of certain materials. Data may be transmitted simultaneously through transmission link 242 to a remote monitor and display 240. Transmission link 242 may include, but is not limited to, the internet, hard wiring, optical links, radio frequency links, virtual networks, local area networks, wide area networks, coaxial cables, and the like. Remote monitor and display 240 may be located in a security office or a manufacturer's facility in order to provide diagnostics and updates to detection system 200.
[0051] FIG. 3 depicts an x-ray fluorescence detection system 300 for detection of concealed substances and explosives buried in the ground or hidden beneath a surface 360 in accordance with disclosed embodiments. Detection system 300 preferably is mounted on equipment support 302 that allows portability to the site of suspected substances, such as explosives. Detection system 300 contains an energy source 304 fitted a source collimator 306 and optic 308. Alternatively, detection system 300 may not include optic 308. X-rays are directed from energy source 304 through collimator 306 and through optic 308 along source, or x-ray, beam 310. Source beam 310 is directed toward a vapor plume 312 that arises from a buried or concealed substance 314 underneath surface 360.
[0052] Materials within vapor plume 312, at or near surface 360, including concealed substance 314, are excited by the appropriate energy from energy source 304 to produce fluorescent energy components into detector beam 320. Detector beam 320 passes through detector collimator 322 to x-ray detector 324. Cooling mechanism 326 cools X-ray detector 324 to its appropriate operating temperature. Cooling mechanism 326 may be passive using liquid nitrogen, or active using a mechanical refrigerator. Detector 324 gathers x-rays for a period of time known as an integration period. Components of detection system 300 should remain stationary for the integration period. The integration period may be about 5 to about 45 seconds. Multiple detectors 324 may be used to increase are coverage and shorten the integration period.
[0053] Readout, or control, box 328 may initiate the detection process and display the result of the detection process, for example, by activating appropriate lights or indicators on a display panel. Control, power, and data analysis may be provided by components in backpack 330. Backpack 330 may be toted, carried, or worn on an operator's body. Preferably, the components of backpack 330 have a weight that allows it to be carried comfortably by the operator. Detection system 300 also should be portable, and preferably is contained on one device used to detect concealed substance 314.
[0054] Thus, detection system 300 may be carried on a person, with source 304, detector 324, collimator 322, and cooling mechanism 326 coupled to backpack 330. Detection system 300 may be used as minesweeper, or mine detector. Alternatively, detection system 300 may be used by personnel within a building to detect controlled substance, explosives, and the like, underneath floors, or other surfaces.
[0055] FIG. 4 depicts a block diagram of a portable x-ray fluorescence detection system 400 according to the disclosed embodiments. Detection system 400 correlates to detection system 300 disclosed above. Detection system 400 includes backpack 402. Backpack 402 may contain various components of detection system 400, as disclosed below. Power may be supplied to detection system 400 from sealed battery 404, or any other local power source. Power controller 406 regulates and distributes power to the appropriate subsystems. Additional power may be routed to portable multichannel analyzer 408, and to provide voltages and currents to x-ray detector 416.
[0056] Energy, or x-ray, source 410 receives power from battery 404 and control from readout, or control, box 412. Status of detection system 400 may be reported to system monitor 420 for formatting and routing to local computer 422. Data from x-ray detector 416 may be routed through portable multichannel analyzer 408, system monitor 420, and data interface 424 to local computer 422. Local computer 422 may be any device or component having a processor coupled to a memory, wherein the memory may store instructions to be executed on the processor. Alternatively, local computer 422 may be a processor itself.
[0057] Detector collimator 414 collects energy components to deliver to x-ray detector 416. X-ray detector 416 may be cooled by cooling mechanism 418. Cooling mechanism 418 may be stand-alone.
[0058] Beam 110 and beam 310 are disclosed above. These beams are transmitted from energy sources within the disclosed embodiments. Beams used by the disclosed embodiments may have the following characteristics. The x-ray source spot size may be about 0.25 mm.times.0.45 mm. The beam may expand by 35 degrees including angle. The disclosed embodiments may utilize several types of optics, including nested grazing incidence types and polycapillary arrays. One difficulty in trying to collimate x-rays may result from not deflecting well in high-index media. Reflection may work efficiently at grazing incidence angles less then about 1.5 degrees. Nested grazing incident surfaces may be fabricated and evaluated, but alignment and surface properties may be critical and time-consuming to implement. Polycapillary optics are preferred for their simplicity and ease of use and may be composed of many capillaries bent slightly to reflect the x-rays along the interior of the capillaries. Typical concentrations of energy on a target are of order 10 compared to an uncollimated beam. A collimated beam of 200 mm FWHM at about 2 meters standoff may be realized with the disclosed embodiments.
[0059] Referring back to FIG. 4, data from x-ray detector 416 may be captured by portable multichannel analyzer having about 8000 (max) channels at 12 .mu.s/channel. Spectra from analyzer 408 may be sent to computer 422, or a similar device, to be computed to the database of elements and mixtures known to be contained in various substances. An immediate indication, such as a display with lights or screen, may be presented to an operator. Further, the data may be stored for archiving and future analysis within computer 422, or another location.
[0060] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 3, energy source 104 and energy source 304 may be placed in specific locations according to the disclosed embodiments. Energy source 104 may be mounted beside detector 122, as depicted in FIG. 1. The preferred angle between detector 122 and the field of view from the central axis of energy source 104 may be about 57 degrees. Energy source 304 may be mounted below detector 324, as depicted in FIG. 3. The preferred angle B between detector 324 and the field of view from the central axis of energy source 304 may be about 25 degrees to about 40 degrees. More preferably, angle B is about 34.5 degrees. Physical balance and ease of shielding may be considerations for the configuration depicted in FIG. 3.
[0061] Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, components depicted in FIG. 3 comprise a detection module for the disclosed embodiments. The detection module may be connected to the support module, or backpack 330, with a single wire bundle 332. Multichannel analyzer 408, computer 422, controller 406, and battery 404 of FIG. 4 may be located remotely in the support module, and carried by the operator. The modular construction may allow quick replacement of any of the components in the field by non-experienced or untrained personnel. Self-calibration and internal subsystem function checking by computer 422 may assure accurate and complete operation in the field and after any component replacement.
[0062] Personnel should be shielded from the x-rays from energy source 304, or energy source 110, to a level below 0.5 R/hr within any location except directly in the source, or transmit, beam, such as source beam 310. A thin-sheet lead shielding may provide the shielding placed behind source 110 between the source tube area and the operator. In FIG. 3, personnel should not be in front of the equipment during operations because suspected explosive devices may be present. Source bleed through to x-ray detector 324 may be kept below the detection threshold with a thin lead sheet placed on the mount plate between energy source 304 and the entrance aperture of detector collimator 322. Without this shielding, various materials may be excited by source beam 310 in the vicinity of the aperture for detector collimator 322. Some of the excited photons may enter the active portion of the assembly of detector 324 and degrade the signal to noise performance of detection system 300. Further, scattered x-ray energy from soils, suitcases, air, and other substances in front of the instrument may be evaluated and mitigated on a case-specific basis with regard to personnel dose. The appropriate shielding or operational procedure then may be implemented.
[0063] In order to automate the disclosed embodiments for field operation, a step-scan platform may be utilized. The step-scan platform may be under the control of a computer, such as computer 422 in FIG. 4. An instrument is stepped to a new position horizontally, or in the "x" direction when an exposure is complete for an about 200 mm wide region in the area of interests. This process may be repeated until the disclosed embodiments scans a path horizontally, for example, + or - about 1 meter. The disclosed embodiments then may be stepped in the "y" direction by an amount slightly less than the active beamwidth and the "x" scan may be repeated. The process may be made rapid, and may continue until a substantial area, for example, about 4 square meters, are scanned. The operator then may physically move the instruments of the disclosed embodiments to the adjacent area for scanning. Because the instrument detection module of the disclosed embodiments weighs less than 15 kilograms, operations may allows personnel to perform a large area clearing on a continuous basis for long periods.
[0064] The disclosed embodiments may include customized proprietary software that determines the presence of explosives, distinguishes between explosive types, and translates the determinations into visual outputs that may be displayed on a computer screen, such as computer 422, or a display module, such as monitor and display 240. The software architecture may accommodate any controlled or desired substances.
[0065] According to the disclosed embodiments, a computer screen may display the proprietary preset adjustable parameters, such as multichannel analyzer channel ranges, the resultant spectra, and the results of the explosive determination. The explosive determination may identify if a certain class of explosive is present. Further, the explosive determination may identify the general type of explosive, such as RDX, TNT, C4, and the like. The computer, such as computer 250 or computer 422, also may act as the controller to the disclosed embodiments by providing the capability to customize all the various parameters for a given terrain, field conditions, luggage types, and the like. The disclosed embodiments also may be capable of providing "what-if" scenarios by retrieving and evaluating previous data under different selected test conditions or test parameters.
[0066] The disclosed embodiments may include analysis software written in Microsoft.RTM. Visual Basic. The analysis software may compare detector counts in one or more channel ranges to a selectable set of references ranges to determined measured count differences greater than a set of selectable differences. Previously obtained data for each substance may be used to determined the channels and ranges. Operating conditions, such as background values and scattered x-ray counts, may be used to determine the compared values for a "detect" or "no detect" condition.
[0067] A preferred embodiment may use a customized display module that presents the results of an explosive determination through the use of illuminated light-emitting diodes ("LEDs"). The display module may be designed to indicate "all clear" if no explosive or controlled substances are present, "explosive" if one of the pre-selected explosive types are identified, "re-shoot" if the software embodiments are uncertain in determining the presence of explosives or controlled substances, or "iron" if an unusually high iron content is present which indicates a potential metal casing for an explosive, such as a metal land mine. In addition, the display module may provide a visual display of the status of the disclosed embodiments by indicating "fault" if a monitored parameter is not functioning properly, "ready" if the system is ready to acquire another data point, or "acquiring" if the system is in the process of acquiring another set of data points.
[0068] Calculated detection sensitivity for the disclosed embodiments may be 10 parts per million ("ppm") with a spatial resolution of 0.1 meter using a 200 second integration time. The present invention is not limited to those portions of the electromagnetic spectrum covered by the disclosed embodiments. For example, higher energy detection systems may be capable of detecting elements that fluorescence at higher energies using the disclosed embodiments.
[0069] FIG. 5 depicts a flowchart for detecting substances using x-ray fluorescence according to the disclosed embodiments. The flowchart may correspond with the processes and methods disclosed above. Step 502 executes by directing energy, such as x-rays, to a target from an energy excitation source. The target may be a container that does or does not contained controlled substances, explosives, and the like. Step 504 executes by interacting the energy with the target substance that causes fluorescence. Step 506 executes by receiving the fluorescent energy given off by the substance at a detector. Preferably, the fluorescent energy is x-ray energy.
[0070] Step 508 executes by processing the detector signal from the detector with electronics and algorithms. Step 510 executes by analyzing the signal spectrum with the software embodiments disclosed above. Step 512 executes by displaying results that indicate presence or absence of a specific substance.
[0071] The disclosed embodiments provide a detection system and method that achieves advantages over known systems and methods for detecting substances, such as controlled substances, explosives, and the like. Features of the disclosed embodiments may include a unique system physical configuration and critical component placement. Another feature may be using the unique energy signatures of landmines and explosive to detect and classify these items. Another feature of the disclosed embodiments may be the methods of energy tuning the energy, or x-ray, source. Another feature may be a software data analysis method and graphical user interface to communicate results from the detection processes disclosed herein. Another feature may be the application of x-ray fluorescence to controlled or dangerous substances, or explosives. Another feature may be the annealing process of the x-ray detector, as disclosed above.
[0072] Thus, according to the disclosed embodiments, an operator may aim the energy source at a container, luggage, an area on a surface, and the like. A beam of x-rays may illuminate the area or item. The beam energy interacts with the substance, thereby giving off fluorescent energy. The operator does not need to open the container or surface to complete analysis testing. The time or effort to open or access the substance is reduced. Further, costs in terms of damaged items or injury to personnel is reduced.
[0073] The disclosed embodiments may include an x-ray fluorescent detector that includes a platform with an x-ray generator and a detector within a specific range of angles relative to each other. The x-ray generator may have a collimator and x-ray optics to define an energy, or x-ray, beam directed at a target. The target may be a controlled, dangerous, or explosive substance. The substance is irradiated to induce fluorescent x-ray energy. An x-ray detector produces an output signal in response to the induced fluorescent x-ray energy from constituents in the target substance. The disclosed embodiment also may include a controller that adjusts the beam voltage and current in the x-ray generator. The controller causes the output signal to be presented to a multichannel analyzer for a period of time known as an integration time.
[0074] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the wheel assembly of the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover the modifications and variations of this invention provided that they come within the scope of any claims and their equivalents.
From the CDEx website: REGISTRATION UPDATE
On November 17 we posted an update on our progress related to registering CDEX's stock on a public exchange. CDEX anticipated filing within 45 days from November 17. CDEX is continuing to move forward in this process in as timely a manner as possible, however despite our efforts and the tremendous support we continue to receive from our lawyers and accountants, delays have been encountered. We are working through these delays in good order, and anticipate filing shortly.
From the CDEx website: REGISTRATION UPDATE
On November 17 we posted an update on our progress related to registering CDEX's stock on a public exchange. CDEX anticipated filing within 45 days from November 17. CDEX is continuing to move forward in this process in as timely a manner as possible, however despite our efforts and the tremendous support we continue to receive from our lawyers and accountants, delays have been encountered. We are working through these delays in good order, and anticipate filing shortly.
CDEx shares are in my account. I expect news about when and what exchange we will be trading on should follow.
sito, try 45.2986 shares of loch to 1, as a conversion rate.
What a post edge, that clears up a lot of misinformation.
Raiderman thanks for the truth.
Wallstone what if you are wrong? I believe you are!
Thanks, yet again Rio!
RIO, THANK YOU FOR THE GOOD NEWS!
Clinton. Hopefully the shares will be distributed soon. Like this week coming.
Does anybody have any idea when the Cdex website will be updated?
By: milchip
24 Sep 2003, 03:42 PM EDT
Msg. 425 of 466
Jump to msg. #
TO ALL:
I have just talked with Atty Cantor and there only a few minute details left to be taken care before the submission to the Court.
Finally, he has confirmed that the spinoff ratio, taking into account the CDEX reverse split will be VERY close to 45:1--pre split VERY close to 9:1.
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Great link, thanks Diamond Dave. That plus the CDEx website, makes me feel real confident in my investment. The wait will be worth it.
DAVES CAVE has anybody been there? True CDEx Longs. Lots of good people, whose only adgenda is a shared success in CDEx. Ufta