Thermal Imager Multi-Sensitivity Display
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current thermal imaging cameras face challenges in maintaining scene contrast and detail due to the need to switch between high and low sensitivity modes, leading to loss of information and user confusion from different transfer functions.
Innovation Solution
An imaging system with a detector having multiple sensitivity levels that can switch between them repetitively, a processor to select appropriate sensitivity levels based on preset threshold criteria, and a color adder to convert gray scale data into color images, allowing simultaneous display of pixels with differing sensitivity levels.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the detector is biased for high sensitivity, then it is able to convert scenes with low temperature difference into electrical signals with sufficient magnitude, but the maximum temperature before saturation decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The detector dynamically switches between high sensitivity and low sensitivity modes based on the thermal radiation intensity being measured. This allows the system to adapt to varying temperature ranges in the scene, maintaining optimal measurement precision across both low-contrast and high-temperature scenarios without being constrained by a fixed sensitivity setting.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the sensitivity parameter of the detector based on the measured thermal radiation levels. By adjusting the sensitivity parameter dynamically, the system resolves the contradiction between achieving high measurement precision for low temperature differences and avoiding saturation at high temperatures.
2Measurement precision
If the detector accumulates electrical signals for long periods, then it is able to convert scenes with low temperature difference into electrical signals with sufficient magnitude, but the maximum temperature before saturation decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The integration time is dynamically adjusted based on the thermal radiation intensity. For scenes with low temperature differences, the system uses longer integration times to accumulate sufficient signal. For high-temperature scenes, the integration time is reduced to prevent saturation, thereby resolving the contradiction between measurement precision and temperature range.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the integration time parameter dynamically according to the measured thermal radiation levels, allowing optimal signal accumulation for low-contrast scenes while preventing saturation in high-temperature scenarios.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the camera switches between sensitivity levels, then it can view both high and low temperature details, but information is lost during switching and user confusion occurs from different transfer functions
Solution Approach 1:
The detector continuously switches between high and low sensitivity modes in a repetitive cycle, ensuring that both high-temperature and low-temperature details are captured without interruption. This continuous switching eliminates information loss that would occur during discrete mode transitions, as the system maintains uninterrupted observation of the thermal scene.
Solution Approach 2:
The system employs periodic switching between sensitivity levels, cycling through high and low sensitivity modes in regular intervals. This periodic action ensures comprehensive coverage of both high and low temperature details while maintaining continuous operation, preventing information loss associated with single-mode operation.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables continuous viewing of thermal images with improved contrast and reduced loss of detail by displaying pixels with varying sensitivity levels in color, enhancing user interpretation and maintaining uninterrupted video processing.
Implementation Method 1
The detector 2 may be of any known type and normally currently comprises a two-dimensional planar bolometric array which converts changes in temperature to a change in resistance or polarisation
Data Source
AI summary
An imaging system, particularly a thermal imager, has a detector operating in at least two sensitivity modes. The detector is read on a pixel-by-pixel basis in each of at least two modes and output therefrom is substantially simultaneously displayed so that a wide range of thermal sensitivities are simultaneously displayed. The detector is, preferably, read out at maximum and minimum sensitivity levels at least half the field rate and, advantageously, at the field rate of a display. In a preferred embodiment, color is added to the normally provided gray scale output from the detector ranging from black for the coolest object through white and yellow to red for the hottest object.