Imaging and temperature monitoring system
First Claim
1. A system for monitoring the temperature of select regions of an area of interest, said system comprising:
- imaging means for receiving radiation from the area of interest and producing an image output that represents an image of the area;
display means, responsive to said image output, for displaying an image of the area;
selection means for allowing at least one select region of the area to be selected on the image displayed by said display means;
temperature-sensitive means for receiving radiation from the at least one select region and producing a temperature output that represents the temperature of the selection region; and
control means, responsive to said selection means, for controlling which of the at least one select regions radiation is received from by said temperature-sensitive means.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An imaging and temperature monitoring system (10) is disclosed for displaying an image of an environment (E), along with information regarding the temperature of select regions (R) within the environment. The system includes a sensor head (12) equipped with a video imager (26) for producing a video image of the environment. The sensor head also includes a pyrometer (22) mounted on a computer-controlled translation stage (24), which allows the pyrometer to directly collect temperature information from the various regions. The combined imaging and temperature monitoring functions are advantageously achieved without tradeoffs in the performance of either function.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. A system for monitoring the temperature of select regions of an area of interest, said system comprising:
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imaging means for receiving radiation from the area of interest and producing an image output that represents an image of the area; display means, responsive to said image output, for displaying an image of the area; selection means for allowing at least one select region of the area to be selected on the image displayed by said display means; temperature-sensitive means for receiving radiation from the at least one select region and producing a temperature output that represents the temperature of the selection region; and control means, responsive to said selection means, for controlling which of the at least one select regions radiation is received from by said temperature-sensitive means. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method of collecting information about an area of interest that emits radiation and includes a plurality of regions, said method comprising the steps of:
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supporting a pyrometer relative to a video imager in a predetermined relative alignment; receiving the radiation emitted by the area with the video imager to produce a video output that represents an image of the area; receiving the radiation emitted by one region of the area with the pyrometer to produce a temperature output that represents the temperature of the region; and adjusting the predetermined relative alignment between the pyrometer and video imager to allow the pyrometer to receive radiation from a different one of the plurality of regions. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15)
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16. An imaging and temperature measuring system for producing an image of an area and for measuring the temperature of select regions within the area, said system comprising:
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optical imaging means for producing an optical image of the area; video imaging means for receiving the optical image and producing a video image; temperature measurement means for receiving a limited portion of the optical image corresponding to a select region of the area and producing a direct temperature measurement in response to the limited portion of the optical image; adjustment means for adjusting the limited portion of the optical image received by said temperature measurement means to allow the temperature of different select regions of the area to be measured; and display means for receiving the video image and direct temperature measurement and displaying a visible image of the area and the temperature of a select region.
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17. A system for producing a visible image of an area that is emitting radiation and for measuring the temperature of one or more select regions included within the area, said system comprising:
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optical image collection means for receiving radiation emitted by the area and producing an optical image of the area; optical image splitting means for splitting the optical image of the area into a first part and a second part; video imaging means for receiving the first part of the optical image and producing a video image, representative of the entire area, in response thereto; a pyrometer for receiving a limited portion of the second part of the optical image, representative of a limited portion of the area, and producing a temperature output in response thereto; translation means for movably supporting said pyrometer relative to the second part of the optical image to adjust the limited portion of the second part of the optical image received by the pyrometer; selection means for producing a selection output representative of a select region of the area whose temperature is to be measured; control means for receiving the selection output and providing a control signal to said translation means to adjust the limited portion of the second part of the optical image to correspond to the select region; processing means for receiving the temperature output of said pyrometer and producing a regional temperature output indicative of the temperature of the select region; and display means for receiving the video output, selection output, and the regional temperature output and displaying a visible image of the area, identifying the select region on the visible image, and displaying the absolute temperature of the select region.
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Specification