Pipe mapping system
AssigneeSeescan, Inc.
InventorsMark S. Olsson, David A. Cox
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A pipe inspection system employing a camera head assembly incorporating multiple local condition sensors, an integral dipole Sonde, a three-axis compass, and a three-axis accelerometer. The camera head assembly terminates a multi-channel push-cable that relays local condition sensor and video information to a processor and display subsystem. A cable storage structure includes data connection and wireless capability with tool storage and one or more battery mounts for powering remote operation. During operation, the inspection system may produce a two- or three-dimensional (3D) map of the pipe or conduit from local condition sensor data and video image data acquired from structured light techniques or LED illumination.
Claims27
A pipe mapping system for mapping a pipe under inspection, the system comprising:
- a camera head assembly including an image sensor and one or more local condition sensors, wherein each sensor includes an output for producing a corresponding sensor data signal;
- a semi-rigid push-cable coupled to the camera head assembly for urging the camera head assembly along the interior of the pipe under test;
- a processor for producing a GUI image data signal representing conditions in the pipe under inspection responsive to a local condition sensor data signal;
- and
- a display coupled to the processor for displaying to an operator, at a predetermined video resolution, a GUI image responsive to the GUI image signal.
A pipe mapping system for mapping a pipe under inspection, the system comprising:
- a camera head assembly including an image sensor;
- a semi-rigid push-cable coupled to the camera head assembly for urging the camera head assembly along the interior of the pipe under test;
- a processor connected to the image sensor for generating low resolution images when the camera head assembly is in a first motion state and high resolution images when the camera head assembly is in a second motion state;
- and
- a display coupled to the processor for displaying to an operator the low and high resolution images.
A method for mapping a pipe under inspection in a pipe mapping system including
- a camera head assembly having an image sensor with a field of view (FOV) and an output for producing an image sensor data signal representing a FOV image, and
- one or more local condition sensors, wherein each local condition sensor includes an output for producing a corresponding sensor data signal;
- and
- a sensor for producing a sensor data signal representing the camera head assembly velocity along the longitudinal axis of the pipe under inspection;
- the method comprising the unordered steps of:
- (a) moving the camera head assembly through the pipe under inspection;
- (b) repeatedly calculating a camera motion vector representing the length and direction of the camera head assembly movement over a predetermined interval responsive to one or more sensor data signals;
- and
- (c) concatenating a plurality of the motion vectors to produce a 3D spatial map of the pipe under inspection.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.