Portable device for quantifying thermochromatic coating signatures

• US 10,184,840 B2
• Filed: 01/07/2015
• Issued: 01/22/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 01/07/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Original Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Inventors: Safai, Morteza, Georgeson, Gary E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Epps, Georgia Y
• Assistant Examiner(s): Williams, Don
• Application Number:
  US14/591,348
• Publication Number:
  US 20160195470A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,476 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 5/28 using photoemissive or photovoltaic cells
• CPC Class Codes: G01K 11/00 Measuring temperature based upon physical or chemical changes not covered by groups G01K3/00, G01K5/00, G01K7/00 or G01K9/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01K 11/12 using changes in colour, translucency or reflectance

Abstract

A portable device for quantification of thermochromatic coating signatures is provided. The portable device includes a directing component configured to direct light to a target having a thermochromatic coating. Additionally, the portable device includes a conditioning component configured to condition reflected light from the target, the reflected light including thermochromatic coating signatures. The portable device also includes an image detector configured to generate images from the conditioned reflected light, and a processor configured to receive and analyze images from the image detector and identify at least one portion of the target that has exceeded a predefined temperature or predefined temperature variance based on the analyzed images.

Claims

1. A portable device for quantification of thermochromatic coating signatures, said portable device comprising:

a directing component configured to direct light to a target having a thermochromatic coating;

a conditioning component configured to condition reflected light from the target, the reflected light including thermochromatic coating signatures;

an image detector configured to generate images from the conditioned reflected light; and

a processor configured to;

receive and analyze images from the image detector;

compare, from the images, at least one of a color or an intensity of the thermochromatic coating signatures on at least one portion of the target to a reference color or a reference intensity; and

identify the at least one portion of the target that has exceeded a predefined temperature or predefined temperature variance based on the comparison.

2. The portable device of claim 1, wherein said emitter device is configured to emit ultraviolet light.

3. The portable device of claim 1, wherein said conditioning component includes a band-pass filter.

4. The portable device of claim 1, wherein said conditioning component includes a polarization filter.

5. The portable device of claim 1, wherein said conditioning component includes an entrance aperture.

6. The portable device of claim 1, wherein the image detector includes a linear array detector.

7. The portable device of claim 1, further comprising a display device, wherein said processor is further configured to visually indicate that the at least one portion has exceeded the predefined temperature.

8. The portable device of claim 1, further comprising a display device, wherein said processor is further configured to:

visually indicate cross hairs; and

display a read-out of a color and an intensity of the target in the cross hairs.

9. The portable device of claim 1, further configured to transmit the images to a computing device wirelessly.

10. The portable device of claim 1, further comprising a memory storing a lookup table of reference temperatures associated with reference colors and reference intensities, wherein said processor is further configured to determine a temperature associated with the at least one portion by retrieving a reference temperature associated with the color and the intensity detected by the image detector.

11. A method for use in quantifying thermochromatic coating signatures, said method comprising:

directing, by a directing component included in the portable device, light towards a target having a thermochromatic coating;

conditioning, by a conditioning component in the portable device, reflected light from the target, the reflected light including thermochromatic coating signatures;

generating, by an image detector in the portable device, images from the reflected light;

receiving and analyzing, by a processor in the portable device, images from the image detector;

comparing, from the images, at least one of a color or an intensity of the thermochromatic coating signatures on at least one portion of the target to a reference color or a reference intensity; and

identifying, by the processor, the at least one portion of the target that has exceeded a predefined temperature or predefined temperature variance based on the comparison.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising displaying, by a display device included in the portable device, a visual indication that the at least one portion has exceeded the predefined temperature.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

displaying, by a display device included in the portable device, cross hairs; and

displaying, by the display device, a read-out of a color and an intensity of the target in the cross hairs.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

storing, in a memory of the portable device, a lookup table of reference temperatures associated with reference colors and reference intensities; and

determining, by the processor, a temperature associated with the at least one portion by retrieving, from the lookup table, a reference temperature associated with the color and the intensity detected by the image detector.

15. The method of claim 11, further comprising filtering the reflected light using a band-pass filter included in the conditioning component.

16. The method of claim 11, further comprising filtering the reflected light using a polarization filter included in the conditioning component.

17. The method of claim 11, further comprising transmitting the images from the portable device to a computing device.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein transmitting the images further comprises transmitting the images wirelessly.

19. The method of claim 11, wherein directing the light further comprises directing the light at one or more of a battery, a battery cell, and a battery container.

20. The method of claim 11, further comprising filtering out ambient light by the conditioning component.