PICTURE GENERATING UNIT OF SCANNING TYPE

• US 3,869,565 A
• Filed: 03/17/1971
• Issued: 03/04/1975
• Est. Priority Date: 03/26/1970
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Tore Bertil Reinhold Olsson
• Original Assignee: Tore Bertil Reinhold Olsson
• Inventors: Olsson, Tore Bertil Reinhold
• Primary Examiner(s): Britton, Howard W.
• Application Number:
  US05/125,126
• Time in Patent Office: 1,448 Days
• Field of Search: 178/DIG.8,DIG.37,DIG.34,6.8 250/333
• US Class Current: 348/25
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 2005/0077 Imaging
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 5/02 Constructional details
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 5/025 Interfacing a pyrometer to an external device or network; User interface
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 5/07 Arrangements for adjusting the solid angle of collected radiation, e.g. adjusting or orienting field of view, tracking position or encoding angular position optical collimating elements G01J5/0806
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 5/08 Optical arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 5/48 Thermography; Techniques using wholly visual means
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/33 Transforming infrared radiation cameras or camera modules for generating image signals from infrared radiation H04N23/20; circuitry of SSIS for transforming infrared radiation into image signals H04N25/20

Abstract

A scanning device such as an IR camera generates horizontal and vertical scanning signals to direct a detector over a viewing field. The detector then emits information signals in accordance with the amplitude of a property, such as temperature, at points within the viewing field. The information signals are fed via a video channel to a display device to give a visual indication of the temperature distribution of the viewing field. In addition a selective device through the agency of the scanning signals controllably selects a portion of the viewing field for detailed study. The selective device feeds signals to the display device to visually demarcate the selected area and also selects the information signals in that area for amplitude measurement. The measure of the amplitude is converted to a form suitable to control the black level of information signals passing through the video channel.

Claims

1. In combination with a scanning camera which generates scanning signals for controlling the scanning of a viewing field and generates amplitude modulated information signals related to the amplitude of the radiation at points within the viewing field, a video channel which receives the information signals and includes threshold establishing means for establishing a threshold level of signals transmitted therefrom, and a scanning display means for visually displaying the information signals transmitted from the video channel and being synchronized to said scanning camera by said scanning signals, apparatus for automatically controlling said establishing means to establish a threshold level related to the amplitude of the radiation at a particular area of the viewing field of the scanning camera comprising selective means receiving said scanning signals for generating selection signals occurring at particular times after the start of said scanning signals related to said particular area, sampling means responsive to the occurrence of said selection signals for sampling the information signals then being transmitted, means for generating a threshold control signal related to the amplitude of the sampled information signals and means for transmitting the threshold control signal to the threshold establishing means so that a threshold level for the entire viewing field is established which is dependent on the amplitude of the radiation in said particular area.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said selective means includes manually operable means for controllably selecting the duration of said selection signals.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said selective means includes manually operable means for controllably selecting the particular times when the selection signals occur.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said scanning signals are trigger pulses and said manually operable means includes delay means for delaying the transmission of said trigger pulses and means connected to said delay means and responsive to said trigger pulses for generating said selection signals.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising means for generating further information signals derived from said selection signnals and means for transmitting the further information signals to the scanning display means to demarcate on the visual display said particular area of the viewing field.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said means for generating further information signals generates signals such that peripheral portions of said particular area are demarcated.

7. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said means for generating further information signals generates signals such that the entire particular area is demarcated.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said means for generating a threshold control signal includes a signal peak detector means for generating a signal related to the maximum radiation in said particular area.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 further comprising means for storing the signal generated by said signal peak detector means.

10. The apparatus of claim 8 further comprising means for filtering the signals transmitted to said signal peak detector means.