JPS594652B2 - thermography equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to improvements in thermographic devices.

Thermography devices have recently begun to be used in the medical and industrial fields as a means of observing surface temperatures of objects.

The device comprises an optical scanning mechanism including a single infrared detector and horizontal and vertical scanning mirrors, and a display 10 device, such as a cathode ray tube, into which signals from the detector are introduced and synchronized with the optical scanning mechanism. Since a two-dimensional surface temperature distribution image in a desired area of the object can be obtained on the display device, various knowledge about the object can be obtained.For example, when a thermography device is used as a blast furnace monitoring camera, 15 Accurate temperature patterns on the top surface of the furnace are obtained, providing important information regarding the success or failure of the operation.
However, the temperature distribution image in such devices is usually divided into multiple parts and each is displayed in a different color or brightness, so-called temperature display by zone. It is not possible to tell from the image where the temperature is or the relative or absolute value of its temperature.

Particularly in the case of controlling the operation of the blast furnace mentioned above, information on the maximum temperature and its position is extremely important, but this information cannot be obtained with conventional devices. Therefore, the present invention displays a mark indicating the highest temperature position in the temperature distribution image,
The present invention also provides a thermography device that displays the temperature at that location on the same screen.

30 and below will be described in detail according to the embodiments shown in the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an outline of the present invention, in which 1 indicates a subject and 2 indicates an optical scanning mechanism. The optical scanning mechanism is composed of an infrared condenser lens, horizontal and vertical scanning mirrors, respective driving devices, a fixed mirror, and an infrared detector having a single minute detection surface.
By mechanically scanning a vertical scanning mirror, the image of the detector is two-dimensionally scanned over the object, and the infrared rays emitted from the surface of the object are sequentially incident on the detector to generate an infrared image (temperature) signal. It has gained. The signal from the detector is amplified by an amplifier 3 and then sent to a signal processing circuit 4.
In the signal processing circuit, the temperature signal from the detector is converted into a plurality of level signals according to its value, and the value is introduced into the scan converter 5 and stored. Reference numerals 6 and 7 indicate a horizontal scanning signal generation circuit and a vertical scanning signal generation circuit synchronized with the scanning of the horizontal and vertical scanning mirrors, the output signals of which are sent to the scan converter 15 and the temperature signal from the signal processing circuit 4. is stored in correspondence with the position of the subject 1.

8 is a maximum temperature value and maximum temperature position detection circuit, and amplifier 3
Horizontal and vertical gate signals generated in gate signal generation circuits 9 and 10 based on the temperature signal from 1 and the outputs from horizontal and vertical scanning signal generation circuits 6 and 7 are introduced.

The maximum temperature signal and maximum temperature position signal from the detection circuit are introduced into the aforementioned scan converter 15. Reference numeral 11 denotes a synchronizing signal generating circuit for the scan converter 5 and the television display device 12.

FIG. 2 shows the maximum temperature value and maximum temperature position detection circuit 8.
A specific example is shown in which 13 is an AD converter for converting the temperature signal from the amplifier 3 in FIG. 1 into a digital signal.

The converter converts temperature signals at 100 points into digital values per horizontal scan. Accordingly, if per screen, 200
If there is a horizontal scan line (raster) of a book, then the A
-20,000 digital signals are obtained from the -D converter 13 during one screen scan. The digital signal is sent to, for example, an 8-bit memory 14 and stored therein. The signal in the memory 14 is immediately read out and applied to one terminal of the digital comparator 15. A digital signal from the A/D converter 13 is introduced into the other terminal of the comparator, and is compared with the signal value stored in the memory 14. 16 is a memory command circuit;
The gate signal from the vertical gate signal generation circuit 10 and A-D
A timing signal from the converter 13 is sent,
If the signal value directly introduced from the A-D converter 13 is larger than the signal value stored in the memory 14 in the comparator 15, a memory command signal is sent to the memory 14 to store the large A-D converted signal. work for

Therefore, the largest signal is always stored in the memory 14 during scanning. 17 and 18 are counters for measuring horizontal and vertical positions;
Clock pulses corresponding to the number of digital signals to be converted in the converter, ie 100 clock pulses per horizontal scan, are introduced and counted.

A signal is sent from the gate signal generating circuit 9 so that the counter 17 operates during the period of horizontal scanning, and the counter is reset for each horizontal scanning. Clock pulses corresponding to the number of horizontal scanning lines, ie, 200 pulses per screen, are sent to the counter 18. The counter 18
is controlled by a vertical gate signal from circuit 10 and continues counting during one vertical scanning period. Memories 19 and 20 respectively store the count values of counters 17 and 18 based on instructions from the memory command circuit 16.

21 and 22 are D-A converters, which convert the count values finally stored in the memories 19 and 20 into analog signals and send them to adder circuits 23 and 24.

The analog-converted signal values correspond to the X and Y coordinate values of the highest temperature position. 25 is a fluctuating signal source that generates, for example, a sawtooth wave or a sine wave, and the fluctuating signal is sent to the adder circuit 2.
3 and 24, and added to the analog signal from the DA converter.

In other words, a signal that fluctuates within a relatively narrow range with the analog signal at its center level is superimposed. The analog signal having this variation is sent to gate circuits 26 and 27. A gate signal with a narrow width is sent to both gate circuits from a timing circuit not shown, and the adder circuits 23 and 24 are sent only during that time.
A signal from the scan converter 5 is introduced as a position signal into the scan converter 5. Reference numeral 28 denotes a character signal generation circuit including a character generator, which converts the signal finally stored in the memory 14 into a character signal for temperature display, and inputs and stores it into the scan converter 15.

In the above configuration, when scanning is started, the first information on the screen is temporarily stored in each memory 14, 19, and 20 without any condition. That is, the first temperature signal is converted into a digital signal by an AD converter and stored in the memory 14.
The counter 17 also receives the first clock pulse for horizontal scanning, which is counted and stored in the memory 19. Additionally, a clock pulse indicating the first scan line is entered into counter 18 and introduced into memory 20. At this time, if the scanning positions are Yl and Xl, the memory 19 stores the position information of X1, the memory 20 stores the position information of Y1, and the memory 14 stores the temperature information at Xl and Yl. . Then the scan moves to the next position, that is, Yl
, X2, a second pulse is input to the counter 17, and this is counted. On the other hand, a second digital temperature signal is generated from the A/D converter 13, and this signal is sent to the memory 14 and the comparator 15. In the converter 1, the temperature signal at Yl, X2 and the temperature signal at Yl, Xl stored in the memory 14 are compared, and if the subsequent signal, that is, the signal at Yl, is comparator 15
emits a signal, and based on this signal, a store pulse is sent from the memory command circuit to each memory 14, 19, and 20, and new information (information on Yl, X2) is stored in place of the previous information. Also, if the temperature signal of Y,,X2 is Yl,X2
When the temperature signal is equal to or smaller than the temperature signal of
and 20 are retained as they are. Therefore, Yl
, X3, and if the temperature signal at this time is large, the temperature signal is stored in the memory 14, and the temperature signal is stored in the memory 19 for X3 that counted three pulses.
A signal indicating the position of is stored. The information of Y1 is still stored in the memory 20. In this way, when one horizontal scan (from Y,,X, to Yl,xn) is completed, the next horizontal scan (from Y2, An eye pulse is introduced. In this way, when one screen scanning up to Yn and Xn is completed, the highest temperature signal in one screen is stored in the memory 14, and the X and Y coordinate values at that time are stored in the memories 19 and 20. That will happen. Then, the signal stored in the memory 14 is read out, converted into a character signal by the character conversion circuit 28, and then introduced into the scan converter 5, whereupon the maximum temperature value is stored. Also memory 19 and 20
reads out the signals stored in the DA converters 21 and 2.
2 into an analog signal, and adder circuits 23 and 24
After that, the gate circuits 26 and 27
If the temperature is sent to the scan converter 5 via the , the position information indicating the maximum temperature can be stored. After the above storage in the scan converter 5 is completed, the commercial television frequency scanning signal from the synchronization signal generation circuit shown in FIG.
reading out the signal stored in the scan converter;
When sent to the display device 12, a mark 31 is displayed at the highest temperature position in the temperature distribution image 30 as shown in FIG. 3, and the temperature at that point is displayed on the same screen as shown at 32. The length of the mark 31 in the X and Y directions corresponds to the amplitude of the signal from the fluctuating signal source 25 in FIG. With the configuration described in detail above, even if the temperature distribution image is displayed by zone, it is possible to accurately know the position of the highest temperature and its temperature value, further increasing the knowledge obtained from the image, and It is extremely effective for controlling the operation of

Note that the above is only one example of the present invention, and various modifications are possible in practice.

In particular, in the above embodiment, each piece of information is once stored in the scan converter 15, and then read out and displayed.
It is also possible to supply a signal to. Furthermore, the shape of the mark 31 is not limited to that shown in the drawings. Further, the maximum temperature may not be displayed on the same screen, but may be displayed using another display device.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the circuit configuration of the main part, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of an image obtained by the present invention. In FIG. 1, 1 is the subject, 2 is the optical scanning mechanism, and 4 is the subject.
5 is a signal processing circuit, 5 is a scan converter, 6 is a horizontal scanning signal generation circuit, 7 is a vertical scanning signal generation circuit, 8 is a maximum temperature value and position detection circuit, 9 is a horizontal gate signal generation circuit, and 10 is a vertical gate signal A generating circuit, 11 is a synchronizing signal generating circuit, and 12 is a display device.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a device that optically scans a subject to detect infrared rays from the subject and reproduces a surface temperature distribution image of the subject based on the detection signal, the maximum temperature that determines the maximum value of the detection signal. and a position detecting means for detecting a position in the surface temperature distribution image occupied by a point having the maximum value detected by the maximum temperature detecting means, and based on a position signal from the position detecting means. A thermography apparatus characterized in that a mark indicating a maximum temperature position is displayed in the surface temperature distribution image, and the maximum temperature is displayed based on a detection signal from the maximum temperature detection means.