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US 11,448,600 B1Granted
Multi-camera pipe inspection apparatus, systems and methods
AssigneeSeescan, Inc.
InventorsMark S. Olsson, Eric M. Chapman, Nicholas A. Smith, Alexander L. Warren
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Camera heads including multiple imaging elements with overlapping Fields of View (FOV) for inspecting pipes or cavities are disclosed.
Claims10
A camera system for inspecting small pipes, comprising:
- a camera head assembly including:
- a compact waterproof housing comprising:
- a metallic dome shaped front housing element of a first diameter and having a plurality of non-overlapping apertures disposed therein, the non-overlapping apertures having diameters less than the first diameter divided by the number of apertures;
- and
- a cylindrical-shaped rear housing element mechanically coupled to the front housing element with a waterproof seal;
- a plurality of video imaging sensors disposed inside the housing behind ones of the plurality of apertures, wherein each video imaging sensor is fixedly positioned within the housing to cover a field of view that at least partially overlaps with the field of view of at least another one of the plurality of video imaging sensors, and wherein each video imaging sensor simultaneously captures and provides its own video imaging sensor video output signal corresponding to its covered field of view;
- an electronic circuit for receiving each of the video imaging sensor video output signals and generating a composite video output signal based on the simultaneously captured video imaging sensor video output signals of two or more of the plurality of video imaging sensors;
- and
- a wireless link for receiving the composite video output signal from the electronic circuit and wirelessly sending the composite video output signal to a communicatively coupled device.
6 more elements
A camera system for inspecting pipes or cavities, comprising:
- a camera head assembly including:
- a compact waterproof housing comprising:
- a metallic dome shaped front housing element of a first diameter and having a plurality of non-overlapping apertures disposed therein, the non-overlapping apertures having diameters less than the first diameter divided by the number of apertures;
- and
- a cylindrical-shaped rear housing element mechanically coupled to the front housing element with a waterproof seal;
- a plurality of video imaging sensors disposed inside the housing behind ones of the plurality of apertures, wherein each video imaging sensor is fixedly positioned within the housing to cover a field of view that at least partially overlaps with the field of view of at least another of the plurality of video imaging sensors, and wherein each video imaging sensor simultaneously captures and provides its own video imaging sensor video output signal corresponding to its covered field of view;
- an electronic circuit for receiving the video imaging sensor video output signals and generating a composite video output signal based on the video imaging sensor video output signals of two or more of the plurality of video imaging sensors;
- and
- a display device operatively coupled to the electronic circuit for receiving the composite video output signal and rendering the composite video output signal thereon.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.