Video recording device for a welder's helmet
AssigneeIllinois Tool Works Inc.
InventorsWilliam Joshua Becker, Eric Sommers, Kenneth S. Dobson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A weld recording system mounted in or on a welding helmet is provided. The weld recording system includes a camera assembly unit, a power supply unit, a processor, and removable memory. The weld recording system interfaces with lens control circuitry, an optical sensor, a welding power supply, and a helmet position sensor. Logic is provided for the triggering and recording of video and audio signals, which are eventually stored in a file for future reference. Transmission of signals from one or more welders to a monitoring station for eventual display is presented. An image processing algorithm is provided to combine multiple images with varied exposure times into a visual image of the weld and its surroundings.
Claims29
A system for video capture of a welding operation comprising:
- a welding helmet;
- a lens disposed in the welding helmet through which a welder views the welding operation, wherein the lens is configured to filter light from the welding operation to produce filtered light suitable for viewing by the welder;
- and
- a video camera disposed in the helmet behind the lens for imaging a welding operation, wherein the video camera is configured to receive the filtered light.
A system for video capture of a welding operation comprising:
- a welding helmet including a lens through which a welder views the welding operation, wherein the lens is configured to filter light from the welding operation to produce filtered light suitable for viewing by the welder;
- a video camera disposed in the helmet behind the lens for imaging a welding operation, wherein the video camera is configured to receive the filtered light;
- and
- a storage device for storing a data file including video data representative of the welding operation and from which the data file can be retrieved after termination of the welding operation.
A method for video capture of a welding operation comprising:
- automatically starting or stopping video capture of a welding operation via a video capture system including a camera mounted in a welding helmet behind a lens configured to filter light from the welding operation to produce filtered light suitable for viewing by a welding operator, wherein the camera is configured to receive the filtered light;
- and
- storing video signals representative of the welding operation.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.