Interferometric oil-spill detection system
OwnerYen-Chieh Huanginventor
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Abstract
An automatic, oil-spill-detection system, which employs thin-film and wavefront-splitting interference techniques to determines the existence of surface oil or oil drops in water is disclosed. Two independent automatic, decision-making systems are disclosed, which provide a reliable means for oil spillage detection. A computer code and a image extraction system are employed to discern and monitor the interference fringes generated from oil slicks. The computer-based imaging system can be further replaced by a compact and low-cost imaging circuit that functions reliably in a buoy with relatively low power consumption.
Claims19
An interferometric oil-spill detection system for detecting the existence of oil spillage on a body of water by interferometric techniques, comprising:
- a light source for providing an incident light to said oil-spilled body of water;
- an interference-fringe recording device for receiving the reflected light from said oil spillage and said body of water and recording the interference fringes;
- and
- an interference-fringe processing device connected to said interference-fringe recording device for determining whether said oil spillage exists according to said interference fringes.
A method for detecting the existence of oil spillage on a body of water and transmitting a warning signal to dispatch a rescue effort for repair by using an oil-spill detection system comprising a light source, and image extraction device and an image process device, comprising the steps of:
- sending an incident light from said light source to said oil-spilled body of water;
- receiving the reflected light from said oil spillage and said body of water,
- and recording the interference fringes by said image extraction system;
- and
- processing said interference fringes to determine whether said oil spillage exists and checking whether the specific interference parameters are above the threshold values by said image process device, and thereby transmitting a warning signal to dispatch a rescue effort for repair when said specific interference parameters are above the threshold values.
An oil-spill detection system for detecting the existence of oil spillage on a body of water by interferometric techniques, comprising:
- a light source for providing an incident light to said oil-spilled body of water;
- an interference-fringe discerning medium, said interference-fringe discerning medium having an image sensor for receiving the reflected light from said oil spillage and said body of water, and a logic circuit connected to said image sensor for processing the interference fringes formed by said reflected light determine whether said oil spillage exists according to said interference fringes.
The method for detecting the existence of oil spillage on a body of water and transmitting a warning signal to dispatch a rescue effort for repair by using an oil-spill detection system comprising a light source and a discerning medium, wherein said discerning medium has an image sensor and a logic circuit, comprising the steps of:
- sending an incident light form said light source to said oil-spilled body of water;
- receiving the reflected light from said oil-spill and said body of water by said image sensor of said discerning medium;
- and
- processing the interference fringes formed by said reflected light to determine whether said oil spillage exists and checking whether the specific interference parameters are above the threshold values by said logic circuit of said discerning medium, and thereby transmitting a warning signal to dispatch a rescue action for repair when said specific interference parameters are above the threshold values.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.