Thermal infrared imager device
By combining the image processing module and the coprocessing module, and using a low-power fast-start chip and a built-in microcontroller, the high cost and high power consumption of infrared thermal imagers are solved, realizing a fast-start and low-power infrared thermal imager, and improving battery life and task processing speed.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202520031834.2
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Utility models(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2025-01-07
- Publication Date
- 2026-01-20
- Estimated Expiration
- 2035-01-07
AI Technical Summary
Existing image processing solutions for infrared thermal imagers suffer from high cost and high power consumption. In particular, system-on-a-chip solutions that integrate dedicated thermal imaging image processing units and software-based solutions that use high-performance central processing units for direct processing limit the overall battery life of the device.
The system employs a combination of an image processing module and a coprocessing module. The image processing module maintains low power consumption during normal preview, while the coprocessing module is activated when needed to handle tasks such as taking photos and recording videos. It utilizes a low-power fast-start chip and a built-in microcontroller and main control chip to achieve rapid startup and task processing.
It effectively reduces the cost and power consumption of infrared thermal imager devices, ensures rapid startup and timely task processing, improves battery life, and maintains similar image capture speed and video recording capabilities as integrated thermal imaging dedicated image processing unit solutions.
Smart Images
Figure CN223815160U_ABST
Abstract
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The utility model relates to infrared optical imaging technical field, especially relate to an infrared thermal imager device. BACKGROUND
[0002] The infrared thermal imaging detector is different from the traditional visible light data, and the original data of each point is the analog-to-digital conversion sampling of current temperature. The scheme for directly processing the infrared thermal imaging original data usually supports: a dedicated image processing chip scheme, a system-level chip scheme integrated with a thermal imaging dedicated image processing unit and a software direct processing scheme using a high-performance central processing unit.
[0003] The current general scheme has the following problems:
[0004] 1) The system-level chip scheme integrated with a thermal imaging dedicated image processing unit has high cost and high chip power consumption, which seriously affects the whole machine endurance. The single-chip power consumption of this scheme is about 4 times the power consumption of the dedicated image processing chip in a typical use scenario.
[0005] 2) Limited by the chip performance, the dedicated image processing chip scheme needs to be connected with a general system-level chip to process media (photographing, video recording, streaming, etc.) services. The dedicated image processing chip + general system-level chip scheme keeps the system-level chip in a working state, and the overall power consumption is also high.
[0006] 3) The software direct processing scheme using a high-performance central processing unit has the highest cost and the worst power consumption. UTILITY MODEL CONTENT
[0007] The utility model aims at solving one of the technical problems in the prior art, and provides an infrared thermal imager device, which adopts an image processing module and a coprocessing module scheme, so that the cost and power consumption of the thermal imager control part can be effectively reduced.
[0008] The technical scheme of the utility model is as follows: the utility model discloses an infrared thermal imager device, which comprises an image processing module and a coprocessing module, the input end of the image processing module is electrically connected with an infrared detector, the output end of the image processing module is electrically connected with a display module, and the image processing module is electrically connected with the coprocessing module.
[0009] Further, the image processing module is connected with the coprocessing module through an image interface, and the coprocessing module and the image processing module also communicate through a general input and output port and a serial port.
[0010] Further, the coprocessor module has a first image input interface, a first general input / output port and a first serial port, the image processing module has a second image input interface, a first image output interface, a second image output interface, a second general input / output port and a second serial port, the second image input interface of the image processing module is electrically connected with the infrared detector, the first image output interface of the image processing module is electrically connected with the display module, the second image output interface of the image processing module is electrically connected with the first image input interface of the coprocessor module, the second general input / output port of the image processing module is electrically connected with the first general input / output port of the coprocessor module, and the second serial port of the image processing module is electrically connected with the first serial port of the coprocessor module.
[0011] Further, the coprocessor module comprises a power management module for supplying power for the coprocessor module itself, and the power management module is electrically connected with the second general input / output port of the image processing module.
[0012] The image processing module is used for sending a wake-up signal to the power management module through the general input / output port to start the power management module to supply power for the coprocessor module.
[0013] Further, the image processing module adopts an image processing chip.
[0014] Further, the coprocessor module is internally provided with a single-chip microcomputer and a master control chip, and the master control chip communicates with the single-chip microcomputer.
[0015] Further, the coprocessor module adopts a low-power quick start chip.
[0016] Further, the coprocessor module is connected with a quick start chip audio input circuit, an input end of the quick start chip audio input circuit is connected with an audio signal input device, and an output end of the quick start chip audio input circuit is connected with an audio input pin of the coprocessor module.
[0017] Further, the infrared thermal imager device of the utility model further includes wireless network module, wireless network module and coprocessor module electricity is connected.
[0018] Further, the infrared thermal imager device of the utility model further includes memory, memory and coprocessor module electricity is connected.
[0019] The infrared thermal imager device has at least the following beneficial effects: the infrared thermal imager device provided by the utility model adopts an image processing module + coprocessor module, so that only the image processing chip of the thermal imager typical use scene control end is in a working mode, and the chip power consumption is greatly reduced compared with other schemes.
[0020] And the co-processing module built-in single-chip microcomputer and the main control chip independent operation, single-chip microcomputer start speed is very fast, in the system, application has not started to complete when already catch picture complete, ensure the timeliness of catch picture.Cold start snapshot time of co-processing module can be done within 100 milliseconds, system start time 380 milliseconds within, start video time 600 milliseconds within, catch picture speed and use experience and integrated thermal imaging special image processing unit system level chip scheme difference is not big, but cost, power consumption is greatly reduced. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0021] Figure 1 The schematic diagram of the infrared thermal imager device is provided for an embodiment of the utility model;
[0022] Figure 2 The interaction schematic diagram of the low-power fast-start chip internal single-chip microcomputer and the main control chip is provided for an embodiment of the utility model;
[0023] Figure 3 The interaction schematic diagram of the low-power fast-start chip internal single-chip microcomputer and the main control chip is provided for an embodiment of the utility model;
[0024] Figure 4 The circuit diagram of the first part circuit of the low-power fast-start chip is provided for an embodiment of the utility model;
[0025] Figure 5 The circuit diagram of the second part circuit of the low-power fast-start chip is provided for an embodiment of the utility model;
[0026] Figure 6 The circuit diagram of a part of the peripheral circuit of the low-power fast-start chip is provided for an embodiment of the utility model;
[0027] Figure 7 The circuit diagram of another part of the peripheral circuit of the low-power fast-start chip is provided for an embodiment of the utility model;
[0028] Figure 8 The circuit diagram of the fast-start chip audio input circuit is provided for an embodiment of the utility model. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0029] In order to make those skilled in the art better understand the technical scheme of the utility model, the utility model is further described in detail below in combination with the drawings and specific embodiments.
[0030] Unless otherwise defined, technical terms or scientific terms used in the present application shall have the ordinary meaning as understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art to which the present application pertains. The terms "first", "second", and similar terms used in the present application do not denote any order, quantity, or importance, but are used to distinguish different components. In the description of the present application, unless otherwise specified, the meaning of "a plurality of", "several" is two or more. Similarly, "one", "an" or "the" and similar terms do not denote a quantity limitation, but mean that at least one exists. The terms "include" or "contain" and similar terms mean that the elements or objects before the term encompass the elements or objects listed after the term and their equivalents, and do not exclude other elements or objects. The terms "connected" or "connected" and similar terms are not limited to physical or mechanical connections, but can include electrical connections, whether direct or indirect. "Up", "down", "left", "right" and the like are only used to represent relative positional relationships, which may change accordingly when the absolute position of the described object changes.
[0031] In the various drawings, the same elements are denoted by similar reference numerals. For the sake of clarity, not all parts of the drawings are drawn to scale. In addition, some parts that are well known may not be shown in the drawings.
[0032] Many specific details of the present application are described below, such as the structure, material, size, processing process and technology of the components, in order to more clearly understand the present application. However, as those skilled in the art can understand, the present application can be implemented without these specific details.
[0033] Referring to Figure 1 The present application discloses an infrared thermal imager device supporting low-power quick start and image grabbing, comprising an image processing module and a coprocessing module, the input end of the image processing module is electrically connected with an infrared detector, the output end of the image processing module is electrically connected with a display module, and the image processing module is electrically connected with the coprocessing module.
[0034] The infrared thermal imager device disclosed by the present application adopts an image processing module + coprocessing module. During normal preview, the coprocessing module is in shutdown mode, and only the image processing module is in working state, so as to save power consumption and improve endurance time. When the coprocessing module needs to process tasks such as photographing, video recording and streaming, the image processing module will wake up the coprocessing module.
[0035] Further, the image processing module is connected with the coprocessing module through an image interface, and the coprocessing module and the image processing module also communicate through a general input / output port and a serial port.
[0036] Further, the co-processing module has a first image input interface, a first general input / output port and a first serial port, the image processing module has a second image input interface, a first image output interface, a second image output interface, a second general input / output port and a second serial port, the second image input interface of the image processing module is electrically connected with the infrared detector, the first image output interface of the image processing module is electrically connected with the display module, the second image output interface of the image processing module is electrically connected with the first image input interface of the co-processing module, the second general input / output port of the image processing module is electrically connected with the first general input / output port of the co-processing module, and the second serial port of the image processing module is electrically connected with the first serial port of the co-processing module.
[0037] The co-processing module is used to receive the image data output by the image processing module through the image interface, when the co-processing module needs to process the media task, the image processing module is used to send a wake-up signal to the co-processing module through the general input / output port, the co-processing module is used to receive the wake-up signal sent by the image processing module through the general input / output port, wake up from the sleep state, and start processing the media task, when the media task processing is completed, the co-processing module is used to notify the image processing module that the media task processing is completed through the serial port, and the image processing module is used to receive the notification information sent by the co-processing module, and control to turn off the power supply of the co-processing module, so that the co-processing module is powered off or in a low-power mode.
[0038] Further, the co-processing module includes a power management module for supplying power to the co-processing module itself, and the power management module is electrically connected with the second general input / output port of the image processing module. The second general input / output port of the image processing module is electrically connected with the enable end of the power management module, and the image processing module is used to send a wake-up signal (high level or low level) to the enable end of the power management module through the general input / output port, so as to start the power management module to supply power to the co-processing module.
[0039] Further, the co-processing module is built-in with a single-chip microcomputer and a master control chip, and the master control chip communicates with the single-chip microcomputer. The master control chip is an ARM chip.
[0040] Further, the co-processing module adopts a low-power fast start chip.
[0041] The low-power fast start chip can adopt, but is not limited to, low-power fast start chips of models such as RV1126.
[0042] Figures 4 to 7 A circuit diagram of a low-power fast start chip and a circuit diagram of a peripheral circuit thereof are disclosed.
[0043] In some embodiments, the low-power quick start chip is connected with a quick start chip audio input circuit, an input end of the quick start chip audio input circuit is connected with an audio signal input device, and an output end of the quick start chip audio input circuit is connected with an audio input pin of the low-power quick start chip.
[0044] Referring to Figure 8 In some embodiments, the quick start chip audio input circuit comprises a plurality of resistors and capacitors, the audio signal input device is connected with one end of a resistor R21, one end of a capacitor C47, one end of a capacitor C45 and one end of a transient suppression diode V4 respectively, the other end of the transient suppression diode V4 is grounded, the other end of the capacitor C47 is grounded, the other end of the capacitor C45 is connected with one end of a resistor R22, the other end of the resistor R22 is connected with one end of a capacitor C46 and the audio input pin of the low-power quick start chip respectively, the other end of the resistor R21 is connected with one end of a capacitor C44 and one end of a resistor R604 respectively, the other end of the capacitor C44 is grounded, and the other end of the resistor R604 is connected with a bias voltage.
[0045] Further, the image processing module adopts an image processing chip. The image processing chip can be a special chip supporting processing of 14bit thermal imaging data, and a specific model is selected according to needs.
[0046] Further, the infrared thermal imager device also comprises a wireless network module, and the wireless network module is electrically connected with the coprocessing module.
[0047] Further, the infrared thermal imager device also comprises a memory, and the memory is electrically connected with the coprocessing module.
[0048] The main process of the utility model is as follows:
[0049] As Figure 1 shown: infrared adopts image processing chip access as main control, infrared data is divided into two, one way to screen display, one way through the image interface connection low-power quick start chip is used for taking pictures, recording, streaming and other operations. Low-power quick start chip as "coprocessor", when needing low-power quick start chip to process media task, image processing chip wakes up low-power quick start chip (through general input and output port controls low-power quick start chip power supply to realize); Normal preview, low-power quick start chip is in shutdown or low-power mode, and the control end only has image processing chip in work, so as to save power consumption and improve the endurance time. When the low-power quick start chip normally works, the minimum subsystem power consumption thereof should be smaller and smaller.
[0050] The function of the low-power quick start chip can be defined as connecting a camera in YUV format. The infrared data has been processed by the image processing chip, and the image processing unit in the low-power quick start chip does not need to process the effect, so as to effectively reduce the power consumption of the infrared thermal imager device in use.
[0051] As shown in Figure 2 , in order to ensure the immediacy of the photographing response, the low-power quick start chip needs to quickly output images when it is woken up from the low-power mode or shut down and cold starts. The low-power quick start chip is composed of a built-in single-chip microcomputer and a single-core master control chip. The single-chip microcomputer mainly serves as a hardware acceleration auxiliary unit. In the quick start stage, the single-chip microcomputer assists in completing the following tasks:
[0052] Initializing the camera and the video input component, and quickly capturing a frame of picture to the memory;
[0053] Loading and hardware decompressing the memory resources;
[0054] After the single-chip microcomputer completes the capturing, it transmits the information to the kernel of the master control chip through memory sharing. After the master control chip system starts, it obtains the information and encodes the captured image.
[0055] In order to facilitate the quick start of the system, all tasks unrelated to image output need to be delayed. Therefore, the necessary components are packaged into the memory file system partition using the memory file system, and the master control chip system directly starts from the memory file system.
[0056] As shown in Figure 3 , after the system starts, the background application is started first, the single-chip microcomputer capturing information is extracted and encoded and saved to the memory, then the memory is initialized in another thread, and the script continues to execute the root file system mounting, wireless network device mounting and other drive mounting. When the script execution is completed and the memory mounting is completed, the application system is notified that the preparation is completed. Then, whether the photographing (copying the capturing image in the memory to the storage directory), video recording, and streaming are needed can be determined through the serial port instruction.
[0057] When the media task processing is completed, the low-power quick start chip notifies the dedicated image processing chip through the serial port to turn off the power of the low-power quick start chip to save power consumption.
[0058] It can be understood that the above embodiments are only exemplary embodiments adopted for illustrating the principles of the present application, but the present application is not limited thereto. Those skilled in the art can make various modifications and improvements without departing from the spirit and essence of the present application, and these modifications and improvements are also regarded as the protection scope of the present application.
Claims
1. An infrared thermal imager device, characterized by: The image processing module and the coprocessor module are included, the input end of the image processing module is electrically connected with the infrared detector, the output end of the image processing module is electrically connected with the display module, and the image processing module is electrically connected with the coprocessor module.
2. The infrared thermal imager device of claim 1, wherein: The image processing module is connected with the coprocessor module through an image interface, and the coprocessor module and the image processing module are further communicated through a general input and output port and a serial port.
3. The infrared thermal imager device of claim 2, wherein: The coprocessor module has a first image input interface, a first general input and output port and a first serial port, the image processing module has a second image input interface, a first image output interface, a second image output interface, a second general input and output port and a second serial port, the second image input interface of the image processing module is electrically connected with the infrared detector, the first image output interface of the image processing module is electrically connected with the display module, the second image output interface of the image processing module is electrically connected with the first image input interface of the coprocessor module, the second general input and output port of the image processing module is electrically connected with the first general input and output port of the coprocessor module, and the second serial port of the image processing module is electrically connected with the first serial port of the coprocessor module.
4. The infrared thermal imager device of claim 3, wherein: The coprocessor module includes a power management module for supplying power for the coprocessor module itself, and the power management module is electrically connected with the second general input and output port of the image processing module.
5. The infrared thermal imager apparatus of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein: The image processing module adopts an image processing chip.
6. The infrared thermal imager apparatus of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein: The coprocessor module is built-in with a single-chip microcomputer and a main control chip, and the main control chip and the single-chip microcomputer are communicated.
7. The infrared thermal imager device of claim 6, wherein: The coprocessor module adopts a low-power quick start chip.
8. The infrared thermal imager device of claim 1 or 7, wherein: The coprocessor module is connected with a quick start chip audio input circuit, the input end of the quick start chip audio input circuit is connected with an audio signal input device, and the output end of the quick start chip audio input circuit is connected with an audio input pin of the coprocessor module.
9. The infrared thermal imager device of claim 1, wherein: Further, a wireless network module is included, and the wireless network module is electrically connected with the coprocessor module.
10. The infrared thermal imager device of claim 1, wherein: Further, a memory is included, and the memory is electrically connected with the coprocessor module.