Patent ID: 6881381

Claim:
An apparatus for assisting in the identification of a marked liquid, the liquid comprising a plurality of markers miscible with the liquid and present in a predetermined pattern of relative concentrations, the apparatus comprising: a detector for detecting the plurality of markers and for generating signals indicative of relative concentrations of each of the markers, the signals defining a measured concentration ratio; and a data processor connected to the detector comprising: a receiver to receive the signals from the detector and determine therefrom a measured concentration ratio of the markers; a look-up table storing a plurality of known concentration ratios, each concentration ratio corresponding to the signal from a specific combination of the plurality of markers at predefined relative concentrations; and a ratio comparison element capable of comparing the measured concentration ratio with known concentration ratios of identified liquids, the known ratios being accessible, via the look up table, to the ratio comparison element, so as to permit the identification of the marked liquid.