Patent ID: 8017912

Claim:
A method of classifying an electromagnetic-energy emitting source event as one of (i) a first class event, (ii) a second class event and (iii) a third class event, the method comprising: selecting first, second and third electromagnetic-energy sub-ranges such that each sub-range includes wavelengths whose average length is disparate from the average length of the wavelengths included in each of the other two sub-ranges; defining first, second and third classes of emitting source events; measuring the relative intensity of detectable energy emitted from the emitting source event within each of the first, second and third energy sub-ranges and associating with, respectively, the first, second and third energy sub-ranges, first, second and third relative-energy values, each relative-energy value corresponding to the intensity of energy measured in the energy sub-range with which that relative-energy value is associated; comparing to one another a first selected set of two of the relative-energy values and rendering a first eliminating determination that the emitting source event is not within a selected one of the first, second and third event classes based on whether a selected one of the relative-energy values included in the first selected set of two relative-energy values is one of (i) greater in magnitude and (ii) lesser in magnitude than the other of the relative-energy values included in the first selected set of two relative-energy values by at least a predetermined first threshold amount, the first eliminating determination yielding two remaining-candidate event classes; and comparing to one another a second selected set of relative-energy values including the relative-energy value not selected for inclusion in the first selected set of two relative-energy values and one of the relative-energy values selected for inclusion in the first selected set of two relative-energy values, and rendering a second eliminating determination that the emitting source event is not within a selected one of the two remaining-candidate event classes based on whether a selected one of the relative-energy values included in the second selected set is one of (i) greater in magnitude and (ii) lesser in magnitude than the other of the relative-energy values included in the second selected set by at least a predetermined second threshold amount.