Integrated thermal imaging system

A thermal imager system comprising:

• (i) a system housing having an evacuated enclosure and a window for receiving radiation corresponding to a scene to be imaged;
• (ii) detector means disposed inside said enclosure for detecting incident radiation and producing a detector signal;
• (iii) focusing optical element means comprising a concave mirror disposed inside said enclosure for focusing radiation corresponding to at least a portion of a scene onto said detector;
• (iv) scanning mirror means disposed inside said housing at the center of said concave mirror for receiving radiation from said window and scanning said radiation, said scanning mirror means directing scanned radiation toward said concave mirror, said concave mirror forming an image at a curved surface;
• (v) corrector lens means disposed in the optical path between said window and said focusing optical element means, said corrector lens means having concentric surfaces, said scanning mirror means being aligned with the center of said concentric surfaces;
• and
• (vi) drive means for scanning said scanning means.

A thermal imager system comprising:

• (i) a system housing having an evacuated enclosure and a window for receiving radiation corresponding to a scene to be imaged;
• (ii) detector means disposed inside said enclosure for detecting incident radiation and producing a detector signal;
• (iii) detector support means within said housing to support said detector means, said detector support means comprising a curved arch support;
• (iv) focusing optical element means comprising a concave mirror disposed inside said enclosure for focusing radiation corresponding to at least a portion of a scene onto said detector means;
• (v) scanning mirror means disposed inside said housing at the center of said concave mirror for receiving radiation from said window and scanning said radiation, said scanning mirror means directing scanned radiation toward said concave mirror and said concave mirror forming an image at a curved surface;
• (vi) drive means for scanning said scanning means.

A thermal imager system comprising:

• (i) a system housing having an evacuated enclosure and a window for receiving radiation corresponding to a scene to be imaged;
• (ii) detector means disposed inside said enclosure for detecting incident radiation and producing a detector signal;
• (iii) focusing optical element means comprising a concave mirror disposed inside said enclosure for focusing radiation corresponding to at least a portion of a scene onto said detector means;
• (v) scanning mirror means disposed inside said housing at the center of said concave mirror means for receiving radiation from said window and scanning said radiation, said scanning mirror means directing scanned radiation toward said concave mirror and said concave mirror forming an image at a curved surface;
• (vi) detector support means within said housing to support said detector means, said detector support means providing a substantially curved detector surface defined by a polygon surface, said detector means further comprising a plurality of detector segments disposed on said polygon surface;
• and
• (vi) drive means for scanning said scanning means.

A thermal imaging system comprising:

• (i) a system housing having an evacuated enclosure and a window for receiving radiation corresponding to a scene to be imaged, said window being a corrector lens;
• (ii) scanning means disposed inside said enclosure for scanning radiation received from said corrector lens;
• (iii) focusing means disposed inside said enclosure for focusing radiation scanned by said scanning means at an image surface, said focusing means comprising a spherical mirror for forming said image at a curved image surface;
• (iv) detector means for detecting at least a portion of said radiation focused by said focusing means;
• and
• (v) means for cooling said detector means.

A thermal imaging system comprising:

• (i) a system housing having an evacuated enclosure and a window for receiving radiation corresponding to a scene to be imaged, said window being a corrector lens;
• (ii) scanning means disposed inside said enclosure for scanning radiation received from said corrector lens;
• (iii) focusing means disposed inside said enclosure for focusing radiation scanned by said scanning means at an image surface;
• (iv) detector means for detecting at least a portion of said radiation focused by said focusing means;
• (v) a curved strip mirror for receiving radiation from said focusing means and directing said radiation toward said detector means;
• and
• (vi) means for cooling said detector means.

A thermal imaging system comprising:

• (i) a system housing having an evacuated enclosure and a window for receiving radiation corresponding to a scene to be imaged;
• (ii) focusing optical element means disposed inside said enclosure for focusing radiation corresponding to at least a portion of a scene at a curved image surface;
• and
• (iii) detector means disposed inside said enclosure for detecting radiation focussed by said focusing optical element means.

A thermal imager system comprising:

• (i) a system housing having an evacuated enclosure and a window for receiving radiation corresponding to a scene to be imaged;
• (ii) focusing optical element means comprising a spherical mirror disposed inside said enclosure for focusing radiation corresponding to a scene;
• and
• (iii) detector means disposed inside said enclosure for detecting radiation focused by said focusing optical element means.

A thermal imager system comprising:

• (i) a system housing having a window for receiving radiation corresponding to a scene to be imaged;
• (ii) detector means disposed inside said housing for detecting incident radiation and producing a detector signal;
• (iii) focusing optical element means comprising a concave mirror disposed inside said housing for focusing radiation corresponding to at least a portion of a scene onto said detector;
• (iv) corrector lens means disposed in the housing in the optical path of said radiation, said corrector lens means having concentric surfaces;
• (v) scanning mirror means disposed at the center of said concave mirror and said corrector lens means concentric surfaces for receiving radiation corresponding to a scene to be imaged and performing a linear scan thereof, said scanning mirror means directing scanned radiation toward said concave mirror;
• and
• (vi) drive means for actuating said scanning means.