Thermal imaging camera for infrared rephotography
AssigneeFluke Corporation
InventorsJohn E. Neeley, Thomas J. McManus, Peter A. Bergstrom, Kirk R. Johnson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Thermal imaging cameras for use in retaking infrared images and methods of retaking thermal images with thermal imaging cameras and possibly employing computational rephotography on a visible light image taken concurrently with an original thermal image to help guide the camera back to the position where the original thermal image was captured.
Claims18
A portable, hand-held thermal imaging camera comprising:
- an infrared (IR) lens assembly having an associated IR sensor for detecting thermal images of a target scene;
- a visible light (VL) lens assembly having an associated VL sensor for detecting VL images of the target scene;
- a display adapted to display at least a portion of the VL image or at least a portion of the IR image;
- a memory adapted for storing a first VL image of a target scene captured concurrently with a first IR image of the target scene at a first position, the memory adapted for storing a second VL image of the target scene and a second IR image;
- and
- a processor programmed with instructions to capture the first VL image concurrent with the capture of the first IR image at the first position and at a first point in time, the processor programmed with instructions to capture the second VL image at a second position and at a second point in time, the second point in time being after the first point in time,
- the processor programmed with instructions to compare the first VL image to the second VL image and, based on the comparison, to determine the camera motion needed to move the camera toward the first position,
- the processor programmed with instructions to signal the user with instructions how to reposition the camera toward the first position, the processor programmed with instructions to capture the second IR image when the camera is repositioned approximately in the first position.
The camera of 1, wherein the processor is programmed with instructions using computerized rephotography algorithms on the first VL image and the second VL image to rephotograph the first IR image.
A method of retaking an infrared (IR) image of a scene comprising:
- selecting a first visible light (VL) image of the scene, wherein the first VL image was captured simultaneously with a first IR image of the scene by a first thermal imaging camera in a first position at a first point in time;
- obtaining a live VL image of the scene at a second point in time using a second thermal imaging camera;
- comparing the first VL image to the live VL image and, based on the comparison, determining the camera motion needed to move the second thermal imaging camera toward the first position;
- receiving instructions from the second thermal imaging camera indicating how to reposition the second thermal imaging camera toward the first position;
- and
- capturing a second IR image when the second thermal imaging camera is repositioned to approximately in the first position,
- wherein the first and second thermal imaging cameras may be the same camera or may be different cameras.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.