Welding Helmet HDR Imaging for Parallax-Free Arc Visualization
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The welding industry faces a shortage of skilled welders due to a retiring workforce and slow training pace, and existing automated systems are costly, cumbersome, and limited in application, with current visualization systems being inaccurate and requiring frequent filter replacements, leading to loss of image details.
Innovation Solution
A welding mask/helmet system that splits incoming light into multiple optical paths with different light levels using beam splitters, employing high and low f-number lenses and neutral density filters to capture and fuse images from multiple cameras, providing enhanced real-time visualization and assistance with high dynamic range and 3D representation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If filters are used to provide images with different dynamic ranges, then dynamic range enhancement is achieved, but the filters are not durable and require frequent replacement
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical filters with a digital image processing system. Multiple cameras capture images simultaneously at different exposures, and a processor digitally combines these images to create high dynamic range images. This eliminates the need for physical filters that wear and require replacement.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates multiple copies of the welding scene using multiple cameras with different exposure settings. Instead of using a single camera with filters, the system captures simultaneous copies of the same scene at different light levels, then digitally combines them to achieve high dynamic range without physical filters.
2Reliability
If camera images are simply combined to produce expanded dynamic range images, then dynamic range is enhanced, but details from each image are lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the exposure parameters of multiple cameras to capture the same scene at different light levels. The processor then analyzes these images with different exposure parameters and selectively combines regions from each image based on their quality, preserving details from the optimally exposed regions in the final high dynamic range image.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses multiple cameras capturing the same scene, which is more than a single camera would provide. This excessive capture of redundant information at different exposures allows the system to select and combine only the useful portions from each image, ensuring no detail is lost in the final composite.
3Productivity
If automated/robotic welding devices are used, then skilled welder shortage is addressed, but equipment cost and setup complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a welding assistance system that can be worn by any welder regardless of skill level, making the technology universally applicable. The head-mounted display provides real-time guidance and visualization assistance that benefits both novice and experienced welders, eliminating the need for expensive automated robotic systems in many applications.
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
The system enables clear, detailed, and parallax-free visualization of welding environments, allowing users to maintain focus in varying light conditions, improving depth perception and reducing the need for frequent filter replacements, thus enhancing welding performance and efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
a beam splitter splitting incoming light from the welding environment into at least a first optical path and a second optical path having different light levels
Implementation Method 2
the at least first and second optical paths each comprising a respective imaging sensor
Data Source
AI summary
A method, apparatus and system for enhanced welding visualization include splitting incoming light from the welding environment into at least a first optical path and a second optical path having different light levels using at least one beam splitter. Images of the split light having different light levels are captured using a respective imaging sensor. The images from the respective imaging sensors are fused to create a left-eye fused image and a right-eye fused image. The left-eye fused image is displayed on a display at a location of a left eye of a user and the right-eye fused image is displayed on a display at a location of a right eye of the user to provide a parallax-free, high dynamic range, representation of the welding environment.