Moisture meter with non-contact infrared thermometer

• US 8,727,608 B2
• Filed: 08/20/2007
• Issued: 05/20/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/04/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Teledyne FLIR LLC (Teledyne Technologies Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: FLIR Systems, Inc. (Teledyne Technologies Incorporated)
• Inventors: Blakeley, Gerald W. III
• Primary Examiner(s): KAPLAN VERBITSKY, GAIL
• Application Number:
  US11/841,036
• Publication Number:
  US 20080259993A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,465 Days
• Field of Search: 374/16, 374 17- 20, 374 27- 28, 37410012-121, 374130-131, 374/161, 374/163, 374/183, 374/141, 374/45, 374/109, 374/208, 374/185, 374/14, 374/142, 73/73
• US Class Current: 374/16
• 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 5/0265 Handheld, portable ear thermometers G01J5/049
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 5/04 Casings
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 5/064 Ambient temperature sensor; Housing temperature sensor; Constructional details thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 5/08 Optical arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 5/0846 having multiple detectors for performing different types of detection, e.g. using radiometry and reflectometry channels
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 5/0896 using a light source, e.g. for illuminating a surface
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 5/06 using rotation of vanes measuring speed of rotating shafts G01P3/00

Abstract

A moisture meter with non-contact temperature measurement capability having a housing, a moisture-detecting device coupled to or contained at least partially in the housing, and having an output related to measured moisture parameters, a non-contact, optically-based temperature sensing device coupled to the housing, having an output related to sensed temperature, an output display contained in the housing, for displaying measurements to a user, and circuitry contained in the housing for processing both the moisture-detecting device output and the non-contact temperature sensing device output, and transmitting the processed outputs to the output display. The moisture-detecting device can be either one or both of a contact-type moisture-detecting device such as a pad on the rear side of the housing, and a pin-type moisture-detecting device in a hand-held probe, and electrically coupled to the circuitry in the housing through a cord.

Claims

1. A moisture meter with non-contact temperature measurement capability, comprising:

a housing;

a moisture-detecting device for measuring moisture in solid materials selected from the group consisting of a contact-type moisture-detecting device and a pin-type resistivity-based moisture-detecting device, the moisture-detecting device being coupled to or contained at least partially in the housing, and having an output related to measured moisture parameters;

a non-contact, infrared sensor temperature-sensing device internal to or coupled to the housing, having an output related to a sensed temperature;

a laser-aiming device coupled to the housing, to assist a user in aiming the non-contact, infrared sensor temperature-sensing device at a location on an object made of solid material whose temperature is to be measured, and to assist the user in using the moisture-detecting device to measure moisture in the object near said location on the object;

an output display contained in the housing, for displaying measurements to the user; and

circuitry contained in the housing for processing both the moisture-detecting device output and the non-contact temperature-sensing device output, and for transmitting the processing outputs to the output display.

2. The moisture meter with non-contact temperature measurement capability of claim 1, in which the moisture-detecting device comprises the contact-type moisture-detecting device.

3. The moisture meter with non-contact temperature measurement capability of claim 2, in which the housing has a rear side, and the contact-type moisture-detecting device comprises a pad on the rear side of the housing.

4. The moisture meter with non-contact temperature measurement capability of claim 1, in which the moisture-detecting device comprises the pin-type moisture-detecting device disposed in a hand-held probe, and is electrically coupled to the circuitry in the housing.

5. The moisture meter with non-contact temperature measurement capability of claim 4, in which the pin-type moisture-detecting device comprises a moisture-sensing device that is mounted in an enclosure that is separate from the housing and is connected to the housing by a cord.

6. The moisture meter with non-contact temperature measurement capability of claim 1, further comprising:

an ambient temperature sensor having an output related temperature; and

circuitry contained in the housing for processing the ambient temperature sensor output and transmitting the processed output to the display.

7. The moisture meter with non-contact temperature measurement capability of claim 6, in which the ambient temperature sensor is located in a probe that extends from the housing.

8. The moisture meter with non-contact temperature measurement capability of claim 7, in which the housing has an end, and the probe extends from and is fixed to the end of the housing.

9. The moisture meter with non-contact temperature measurement capability of claim 1, in which the non-contact temperature-sensing device further comprises a lens, proximate the infrared sensor, for filtering entering radiation and for focusing entering radiation onto the infrared sensor.

10. The moisture meter with non-contact temperature measurement capability of claim 1, in which the non-contact temperature-sensing device defines a sense axis that is fixed relative to the housing.

11. The moisture meter with non-contact temperature measurement capability of claim 1, in which the laser-aiming device comprises a diode laser device.

12. The moisture meter with non-contact temperature measurement capability of claim 1, further comprising a switch for switching at least some of the circuitry between the moisture-detecting device output and the non-contact temperature-sensing device output.

13. The moisture meter with non-contact temperature measurement capability of claim 1, further comprising a user-operable electrical device for selectively routing the temperature-sensing device output to the circuitry.

14. The moisture meter with non-contact temperature measurement capability of claim 1, further comprising a user-operable electrical device for selectively holding the sensed non-contact temperature.