Apparatus and method to evaluate an illuminated panel

• US 7,167,197 B2
• Filed: 03/22/2002
• Issued: 01/23/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/22/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: BAE Systems Controls Incorporated (BAE Systems Plc)
• Original Assignee: BAE Systems Controls Incorporated (BAE Systems Plc)
• Inventors: Burns, Robert, Cook, Stephen P., Hill, Richard Duane, Lipko, Thomas J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Dastouri; Mehrdad
• Assistant Examiner(s): REKSTAD, ERICK J
• Application Number:
  US10/104,671
• Publication Number:
  US 20030179296A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,768 Days
• Field of Search: 348/130, 348/181, 348/222, 348/180, 348/189, 345/102, 345/89, 364/551.01
• US Class Current: 348/130
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 17/04 for receivers

Abstract

An apparatus to evaluate an illuminated panel comprises a camera to acquire a real-time digital color image of the illuminated panel and a stored digital color image of a standard illuminated panel. A monitor is provided to alternately display the real-time image and the stored image to detect any differences in the illuminated panel.

Claims

1. An apparatus to evaluate an illuminated panel, comprising:

a camera to acquire a real-time digital color image of the illuminated panel;

a stored digital color image of a standard illuminated panel;

a monitor to alternately display the real-time image and the stored image for detection of any differences in the illuminated panel; and

a second camera to acquire a real-time monochromatic digital image of the illuminated panel, wherein the monochromatic digital image and the color digital image are used to evaluate the panel under different, predetermined lighting conditions.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the predetermined lighting conditions comprise sun light, night-time, and night vision goggle conditions.

3. An apparatus to evaluate an illuminated panel, comprising:

a first camera to acquire a real-time digital color image of the illuminated panel to evaluate the panel in a spectrum between about 400 nM and about 700 nM;

a stored digital color image of a standard illuminated panel;

a monitor to alternately display the real-time image and the stored image for detection of any differences in the illuminated panel; and

a second camera to acquire real-time digital monochromatic images of the illuminated panel to evaluate the panel in a spectrum between about 700 nM and about 1100 nM.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the second camera is a monochromatic video camera and further comprising an overlay grabber coupled to the second camera to capture one of the real-time monochromatic images, wherein the one real-time monochromatic image is used to align the first and second cameras relative to the illuminated panel by superimposing the one real-time monochromatic image with a stored monochromatic image of the standard panel.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, further comprising a monochromatic frame grabber coupled to the second camera to capture at least one other real-time monochromatic image to detect light leaks from the illuminated panel.

6. The apparatus of claim 3, further comprising a red, green and blue (RBG) frame grabber coupled to the first camera and wherein the first camera is a color video camera.

7. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the real-time digital color image and the stored digital color image are alternately displayed at a predetermined frequency to cause any differences between the images to standout to the human eye.

8. The apparatus of claim 3, further comprising a light blocking enclosure, wherein the first and second cameras and the illuminated panel are contained in the light blocking enclosure when the digital images are acquired.

9. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein at least one of the digital cameras and the illuminated panel are mounted to an adjustable fixture to align the digital cameras relative to the illuminated panel.