Portable radiometry and imaging apparatus

• US 20060081778A1
• Filed: 01/31/2005
• Published: 04/20/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/11/1998
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Teledyne FLIR LLC (Teledyne Technologies Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: FLIR Systems, Inc. (Teledyne Technologies Incorporated)
• Inventors: Warner, Charles C., Krivoy, Raul, Burke, Michael W., Rae, John R., Evans, Stewart W., Foster, Scott A.
• Granted Patent: US 7,411,193 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 250/330
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0112 comprising device for genereting colour display
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0118 comprising devices for improving the contrast of the display / brillance control visibility
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0123 comprising devices increasing the field of view
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0138 comprising image capture systems, e.g. camera
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 23/125 head-mounted
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/017 Head mounted

Abstract

An infrared (IR) camera and associated electronics including power are integrated into portable, self-contained, vision-enhancement apparatus useful in environments of dense air-borne particulate and thermal extremes such as encountered in fire fighting situations, in accordance with the invention. The IR camera is integral with a self-contained power supply so that the system is portable and requires no umbilical cord or other external connections. The camera includes an imager that is preferably an un-cooled focal plane array, and associated imaging, storing, processing and displaying electronics that are cooled in the extreme thermal environment using an integral plural phase heatsink.

Claims

1. A method of representing a thermal image in a portable device, comprising:

generating an electronic signal representative of a scene adjacent a user using an infrared camera;

identifying selected portions of the electronic signal that represent portions of the scene that are within an identified temperature range; and

mapping the electronic signal to display an image of the scene, wherein the selected portions of the electronic signal are mapped to the image in a color range that is visually distinct from all other portions of the image.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the portions of the electronic signal that do not represent the selected portions are mapped to the image in a neutral color range.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the neutral color range is monochrome.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the neutral color range is shades of gray.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the selected portions of the electronic signal are displayed in at least one color, and the portions of the electronic signal that do not represent the selected portions are displayed in monochrome or a relatively fixed color markedly different from the at least one color, such that a user viewing the image can readily distinguish the portions of the scene that are within the identified temperature range.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of mapping includes:

producing a multicolor signal representative of the image; and

emphasizing at least one color of the multicolor signal.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the multicolor signal is an RGB signal.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the step of mapping further includes de-emphasizing other colors of the multicolor signal so that the relative luminance of the selected portions of the image remain approximately equivalent to the relative luminance of portions of the image that represent portions of the scene that are near to the identified temperature range.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the identified temperature range includes temperatures between about 25°

C. and about 100°

C.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the identified temperature range includes temperatures higher than about 550°

C.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the identified temperature range includes temperatures that correspond to excessive heat.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the portable device is a firefighting device.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising adding a numerical temperature readout capability to the portable device.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the scene is in front of the user.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the infrared camera generates pixel data representative of the temperature of corresponding points in the scene.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the system has a thermal dynamic range and the identified temperature range covers less than half of this range.

17. Portable apparatus for infrared imaging, comprising:

an infrared camera for detecting and imaging a scene; and

a display operatively connected to the camera for producing an image representing a detected and imaged scene, wherein the image is color coded to represent those portions of the scene that are within an identified temperature range in a color that is visually distinct from all other portions of the image.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the image is color coded such that the all other portions of the image are displayed in a neutral color range.