System and method for passive remote detection of gas plumes
First Claim
1. A system for imaging a target gas comprising:
- a movable filter, positioned along a line-of-sight to the target gas, for receiving energy from the target gas,the movable filter including at least two filter segments, one filter segment passing energy corresponding to an on-line wavelength of the target gas, and another filter passing energy corresponding to an off-line wavelength of the target gas, andan imager for sequentially imaging the energy passed through the one filter segment, corresponding to the on-line wavelength of the target gas, and the other filter segment, corresponding to the off-line wavelength of the target gas;
wherein the movable filter includes at least two sets of filter segments,a first set including an on-line filter segment and an off-line filter segment, anda second set including another on-line filter segment and another off-line filter segment, andthe first set passes an on-line wavelength and an off-line wavelength of a first target gas during a first interval of time, andthe second set passes an on-line wavelength and an off-line wavelength of a second target gas during a second interval of time.
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Abstract
The present invention includes systems and methods for quantitative and qualitative imaging of gases, vapors, fumes, and the like. In one embodiment, the system uses a moving, or a rotating filter for alternately capturing on-line and off-line images of a scene that potentially includes the target gas of interest. The moving, or rotating filter includes at least two filter segments for transmitting (a) wavelengths corresponding to a spectroscopic absorption feature for on-line elements of the target gas, and (b) nearby wavelengths not corresponding to a spectroscopic absorption feature for off-line elements of the target gas. An image processor executes an algorithm for transforming the collected on-line and off-line data, corresponding to different pixels in the imaging array, into an image map of path-integrated concentration, or concentration path lengths (CPLs). The systems and methods of the invention do not use active light sources to illuminate the target gas. Instead, imaging and processing is done entirely using passive received energy from the target gas.
19 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A system for imaging a target gas comprising:
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a movable filter, positioned along a line-of-sight to the target gas, for receiving energy from the target gas, the movable filter including at least two filter segments, one filter segment passing energy corresponding to an on-line wavelength of the target gas, and another filter passing energy corresponding to an off-line wavelength of the target gas, and an imager for sequentially imaging the energy passed through the one filter segment, corresponding to the on-line wavelength of the target gas, and the other filter segment, corresponding to the off-line wavelength of the target gas; wherein the movable filter includes at least two sets of filter segments, a first set including an on-line filter segment and an off-line filter segment, and a second set including another on-line filter segment and another off-line filter segment, and the first set passes an on-line wavelength and an off-line wavelength of a first target gas during a first interval of time, and the second set passes an on-line wavelength and an off-line wavelength of a second target gas during a second interval of time. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A system for imaging a target gas comprising:
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a movable filter, positioned along a line-of-sight to the target gas, for receiving energy from the target gas, the movable filter including at least two filter segments, one filter segment passing energy corresponding to an on-line wavelength of the target gas, and another filter passing energy corresponding to an off-line wavelength of the target gas, and an imager for sequentially imaging the energy passed through the one filter segment, corresponding to the on-line wavelength of the target gas, and the other filter segment, corresponding to the off-line wavelength of the target gas; wherein the movable filter includes an etalon for filtering the received energy including white light, the etalon is configured for tilting between a first angle and a second angle, and the etalon is configured to provide an on-line comb filter when tilted to the first angle, and provide an off-line comb filter when tilted to the second angle. - View Dependent Claims (8)
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9. A system for detecting gas emission comprising:
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a movable filter for receiving passive energy from the gas, the movable filter including a first segment for passing energy from the fugitive gas characterized by an on-line wavelength corresponding to an absorption feature of the gas, the movable filter including a second segment for passing energy from the gas characterized by an off-line wavelength corresponding to a non-absorption feature of the gas, and an imager for imaging the energy sequentially passed from the first segment and the second segment; wherein the movable filter includes an etalon for filtering the received energy, the etalon is configured for moving between a first angle and a second angle, and the etalon is configured to provide an on-line comb filter when moved to the first angle, and provide an off-line comb filter when moved to the second angle. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A passive system for imaging a target gas comprising:
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a movable filter, positioned along a line-of-sight to the target gas, for passively receiving energy from the target gas, the movable filter including at least two filter segments, one filter segment passing energy corresponding to an on-line wavelength of the target gas, and another filter passing energy corresponding to an off-line wavelength of the target gas, and an imager for sequentially and passively imaging the energy passed through the one filter segment, corresponding to the on-line wavelength of the target gas, and the other filter segment, corresponding to the off-line wavelength of the target gas, wherein the movable filter includes a side-by-side filter partitioned into an on-line filter segment and an off-line filter segment, and the on-line filter segment passes the on-line wavelength during a first interval of time, and the off-line filter segment passes the off-line wavelength during a second interval of time. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification