System for producing enhanced thermal images

Abstract

An imaging device has a thermal sensor to remotely measure respective temperatures of regions within an imaging field and to generate temperature information signals. A motion tracking system tracks motion of the thermal sensor and generates position information signals representing positions of the thermal sensor during the temperature measurements. An image construction processor uses the position and temperature information signals to generate a two-dimensional image representative of the imaging field including respective temperature indications at different locations within the two-dimensional image, and stores the two-dimensional image within a memory. The two-dimensional image may be used as an output image for display to a user.

1 . A handheld imaging device, comprising:
 a thermal sensor with optics operative to receive signals from a thermal sensor imaging field and to generate a corresponding thermal sensor output signal;   a visible sensor with optics operative to receive signals from a visible sensor imaging field and to generate a corresponding visible image output signal, the visible sensor imaging field containing and being larger in extent than the thermal sensor imaging field, the thermal and visible sensor imaging fields being of known spatial registration with respect to each other; and   an image construction processor operative to:
 (1) collect thermal sensor and visible sensor output signals in a series of time slots, the thermal sensor and visible sensor imaging fields varying between time slots due to human movement, the visible sensor imaging fields having an overlapping region between time slots; 
 (2) use a time interval between time slots, the visible sensor imaging field, and the varying of the visible sensor imaging field to generate a thermal sensor effective spatial resolution, and process the output thermal sensor output signals into a two dimensional thermal image using the effective thermal sensor spatial resolution; and 
 (3) display the two dimensional thermal image. 
   
     
     
         2 . The imaging device of  claim 1 , wherein the thermal sensor is an infrared point thermometer. 
     
     
         3 . The imaging device of  claim 1 , wherein the thermal sensor is a two-dimensional thermal imaging sensor. 
     
     
         4 . The imaging device of  claim 1 , wherein the two dimensional thermal image represents a field of view exceeding the thermal sensor imaging field. 
     
     
         5 . The imaging device of  claim 1 , wherein the thermal sensor imaging field in one time slot of the series of time slots has an overlapping region with the thermal sensor imaging field in a second time slot in the series of time slots. 
     
     
         6 . The imaging device of  claim 5 , wherein the thermal sensor signals from the thermal sensor overlapping region are temporally averaged to improve signal to noise ratio in the two dimensional image. 
     
     
         7 . The imaging device of  claim 5 , wherein the thermal sensor signals from the overlapping region are processed to improve spatial resolution in the two dimensional image 
     
     
         8 . The imaging device of  claim 5 , wherein the thermal sensor signals from the overlapping region are processed to improve image uniformity in the two dimensional image. 
     
     
         9 . The imaging device of  claim 1 , wherein the device provides an indication to a user of future motion of the device. 
     
     
         10 . The imaging device of  claim 9 , wherein the indication of future motion is based on position information signals. 
     
     
         11 . The imaging device of  claim 1 , wherein the two dimensional thermal image contains visible sensor imaging field information. 
     
     
         12 . The imaging device of  claim 1 , wherein the two dimensional thermal image comprises non-overlapping thermal sensor imaging fields. 
     
     
         13 . The imaging device of  claim 1 , wherein the two dimensional thermal image comprises overlapping thermal sensor imaging fields.