PHOTOGRAPHING MEANS

• US 3,690,233 A
• Filed: 07/29/1970
• Issued: 09/12/1972
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/1970
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: James D. Billingsley
• Original Assignee: James D. Billingsley
• Inventors: Billingsley, James D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Horan, John M.
• Application Number:
  US05/059,223
• Time in Patent Office: 776 Days
• Field of Search: 95/11 250/65
• US Class Current: 396/180
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/054 photographing overspeeding vehicles

Abstract

A detecting means is responsive to a passing car to produce an indicating signal. A camera and a flash lighting unit positioned down the road from the detecting means are activated simultaneously to illuminate and photograph the oncoming car. The illumination lies primarily in a spectrum including the visible deep red, the near infra-red and the intermediate infra-red. Only the visible deep red and the near infra-red radiations are able to penetrate the infra-red filtering windshield and then reflect back to the camera through an optical filter which passes only said visible deep red, near the infra-red and the small amount of intermediate infra-red radiations that pass back through the windshield. Thus the glare from ambient light is eliminated. A film sensitized to the visible deep red and to the near infra-red radiations is employed in the camera. The aforementioned system provides an identifiable photograph of the driver'"'"''"'"'s facial features either during the day or at night and without causing impairment of his vision.

Claims

1. In a traffic monitoring system for obtaining an identifiable photograph of the facial features of a driver of a vehicle having a windshield, the combination comprising:

detecting means responsive to the presence of a passing vehicle to produce a signal indicating the presence of such vehicle;

a camera comprising a shutter and loaded with a film which is sensitive to the visible deep red and the near infra-red portions of the electromagnetic spectrum;

actuating means connected to receive said signal and responsive thereto for operating the shutter;

flash illuminating means for producing a beam of radiant energies consisting substantially of radiations of frequencies no higher than that of the visible deep red frequencies and for directing the beam along a first line of sight wherein some of said raDiant energies pass through the windshield onto the driver'"'"''"'"'s face and are reflected therefrom to the camera, the flash illuminating means being positioned where it is ahead of the vehicle when said signal occurs and being energizable for producing said beam of radiant energies, and the camera being positioned to receive radiant energies of said beam reflected from the driver'"'"''"'"'s face at the time of said operation of the shutter;

energizing means responsive to actuation of the camera shutter for energizing the flash illuminating means; and

filtering means for blocking from entry into the camera substantially all radiations of frequencies higher than that of visible deep red light.

2. A combination in accordance with claim 1 in which said camera is positioned near said flash illuminating means but along a second line-of-sight having an angle of divergence from said first line-of-sight for minimizing the amount of reflection of radiation from said flash illuminating means from the retinas of said driver and along the second line of sight.

3. A combination in accordance with claim 1 in which said camera is positioned near said flash illuminating means but along a second line of sight in relation to the facial features of the driver at the time of occurrence of said indicating signal, said second line of sight being at an angle to said first line of sight that is no smaller than approximately 1.8*, whereby there is minimized the amount of reflection of radiation from said flash illuminating means from the retinas of said driver and to the camera.

4. An image recording system for obtaining an identifiable photograph of an object positioned behind a sheet of transparent material having the characteristic of filtering out major portions of the infra-red spectrum having frequencies lower than that of near infra-red, said system comprising:

illuminating means positioned in front of said sheet of transparent material and operative for illuminating said object through said sheet of transparent material with radiant energy including the visible deep red and near infra-red portions of the electromagnetic spectrum and for obtaining reflection, from said object, of some of said radiant energy back through the sheet of transparent material;

filtering means for filtering out substantially all of the visible light of frequency above the visible deep red from energies reflected from said object and for passing the visible deep red, the near infra-red, and the adjacent, lower-frequency radiations of the electromagnetic spectrum;

a camera positioned to receive said reflected, filtered radiant energy and loaded with a film which is sensitive to the visible deep red and the near infra-red portions of the electromagnetic spectrum, the camera having a shutter;

means for actuating said shutter; and

means for coordinating the operation of said illuminating means with the actuation of said shutter.

5. In a traffic monitoring system, means for obtaining an identifiable photograph of the facial features of a driver of a vehicle having a windshield, said means comprising:

a camera placed ahead of the vehicle and positioned to receive radiant energy reflected from the face of the driver of said vehicle, the camera having a shutter actuable for opening and closing and the camera being loaded with a film that is sensitive to visible deep red and near infra-red radiant energies;

flash illuminating means for supplying, to the camera, radiant energy at least some of which passes, along a first line of sight, through the windshield of the vehicle to the face of the driver and is reflected therefrom to the camera while the camera is ahead of the vehicle;

filtering means for filtering out of the radiant energy passing from the flash illuminating means to the camera via the driver'"'"''"'"'s face substantially all light of frequency above that of visible deep red light, the filtering means being operative for passing therethrough radiations including Visible deep red and near infra-red radiations; and

means for coordinating the operation of the flash illuminating means with opening of the shutter of the camera.

6. A means for obtaining an identifiable photograph in accordance with claim 5 in which said camera is positioned along a second line of sight extending to said driver'"'"''"'"'s face and displaced from said first line of sight by an angle no smaller than approximately 1.8*, whereby there are minimized the reflections of the radiation from said flash illuminating means from the retinas of the driver'"'"''"'"'s eyes and to said camera.

7. A means for obtaining an identifiable photograph in accordance with claim 5 in which said filtering means comprises at least one filter located between the flash illuminating means and the face of the driver.

8. A means for obtaining an identifiable photograph in accordance with claim 5 in which said filtering means comprises at least one filter located between the camera and the face of the driver.

9. A means for obtaining an identifiable photograph in accordance with claim 5 in which said filtering means comprises at least one filter positioned between the flash illuminating means and the driver'"'"''"'"'s face and at least one filter positioned between the camera and the driver'"'"''"'"'s face.

10. A method for obtaining, of a radiation-reflective object and through a sheet of transparent material having the characteristic of filtering out major portions of the infra-red spectrum having frequencies lower than that of near infra-red, a photograph which is clear and free of the deleterious effects of glare, said method comprising the steps of:

flooding said object, through said sheet of transparent material, with radiation including the visible deep red and near infra-red portions of the electromagnetic spectrum to obtain reflection of some of the radiations from the object and back through the sheet of transparent material;

filtering the radiation reflected back through the sheet of transparent material from said object and radiations reflected directly from said sheet of transparent material through a filter which passes only the visible deep red, the near infra-red, and lower-frequency portions of said infra-red spectrum; and

recording the image of said object modulated on said filtered radiation on film which is sensitive to visible deep red and near infra-red radiations.

11. A method for obtaining, of a vehicle and the driver thereof, a photograph which is clear and free of the deleterious effects of glare, the portion of which photograph that depicts the driver being taken through a windshield of the driver'"'"''"'"'s vehicle, which windshield has the characteristic of filtering out a major portion of the infra-red spectrum having frequencies lower than that of near infra-red, said method comprising the steps of:

detecting the presence of an oncoming vehicle;

supplying to a camera radiations including the visible deep red and near infra-red frequencies and which originate from a light source and are reflected, from the driver and from the front of the detected vehicle, to the camera, the radiations reflected from the driver to the camera passing through the windshield and the step of supplying the above-said radiations to the camera including filtering the radiation reflected from the driver through a filter which passes only the visible deep red and lower-frequency radiations; and

recording, in the image-recoding means, the image of said driver modulated on said reflected and filtered radiations.

12. A method of obtaining, through the windshield of a vehicle, a photograph of a driver of the vehicle which is clear and free of the deleterious effects of glare, said method comprising the steps of:

detecting the presence of an oncoming, driven vehicle;

reflecting visible deep red and near infra-red radiations from the detected vehicle and the driver thereof, along a second line of sight wherein such radiations reflected from the driVer pass outwardly from the vehicle through the windshield, by directing on the front of the vehicle, including the windshield thereof, a beam of radiant energies containing visible deep red and near infra-red radiations and passing along a first line of sight extending at an angle to the second line of sight of no less than approximately 1.8*, whereby reflections from the driver'"'"''"'"'s retinas along the second line of sight are minimized;

filtering, from radiation passing from the driver and vehicle along the second line of sight, visible light of frequency ranges higher than that of the visible deep red; and

photographically recording the image of the vehicle and driver modulated on the reflected and filtered radiations passing along the second line of sight.

13. A method for obtaining, of a driver of a vehicle, a photograph which is clear and free of the deleterious effects of glare, which photograph of the driver is taken through a windshield of the vehicle, which windshield has the characteristic of filtering out a major portion of the infra-red spectrum having frequencies lower than that of near infra-red, said method comprising the steps of:

detecting the presence of an oncoming, driven vehicle;

supplying to an image-recording means radiations including the visible deep red and near infra-red frequencies and which originate from a light source and are reflected from the driver to said means, the radiations reflected from the driver to said means passing through the windshield and the step of supplying the above-said radiations to the image-recording means including filtering the radiation reflected from the driver through a filter which passes only the visible deep red and lower-frequency radiations; and

recording, in the image-recording means, the image of said driver modulated on said reflected and filtered radiations.

14. A method for obtaining a photograph of a person, for monitoring traffic and without significantly impairing the vision of such person, through a windshield having the characteristic of filtering out major portions of the infra-red spectrum having frequencies lower than that of near infra-red, said method comprising the steps of:

flooding the face of such person, through said windshield, with radiations restricted to frequencies including and no higher than that of the visible deep red portion of the electromagnetic spectrum to obtain reflection of some of the radiations from the face of such person and back through the windshield; and

recording the image of said face of such person modulated on said reflected radiations on film which is sensitive to visible deep red and lower-frequency radiations.

15. A method of obtaining, of a vehicle having a windshield and, through the windshield, of a driver of the vehicle, a photograph which is clear and free of the deleterious effects of glare, said method comprising the steps of:

detecting the presence of an oncoming, driven vehicle;

reflecting visible deep red and near infra-red radiations from the detected vehicle and the driver thereof, along a second line of sight wherein such radiations reflected from the driver pass outwardly from the vehicle through the windshield, by directing on the front of the vehicle, including the windshield thereof, a beam of radiant energies containing visible deep red and near infra-red radiations and passing along a first line of sight having an angle of divergence from the second line of sight for minimizing reflections from the driver'"'"''"'"'s retinas along the second line of sight;

filtering, from radiation passing from the driver and vehicle along the second line of sight, visible light of frequency ranges higher than that of the visible deep red; and

photographically recording the image of the vehicle and driver modulated on the reflected and filtered radiations passing along the second line of sight.