Flir Systems, Incorporated

Robert G Benson

Paul A Czerepuszko

Thomas J Scanlon

Charles H Mammen

An infrared camera system is provided to detect absorption of infrared radiation in a selected spectral bandwidth. In one example, an infrared camera system includes a lens adapted to receive infrared radiation from a survey scene comprising one or more gasses. The infrared camera system also includes a focal plane array comprising a plurality of quantum well infrared photo detectors (QWIPs). The QWIPs are tuned to detect a limited spectral bandwidth of the infrared radiation corresponding to at least a portion of an infrared absorption band of the one or more gasses. The infrared camera system also includes an optical band pass filter positioned substantially between the lens and the focal plane array. The optical band pass filter is adapted to filter the infrared radiation to a wavelength range substantially corresponding to the limited spectral bandwidth of the QWIPs before the infrared radiation is received by the focal plane array.

Thermography camera tuned to detect absorption of infrared radiation in a selected spectral bandwidth

A system can include a camera configured to mount to a firearm and a scope configured to mount to the firearm. A display can be configured to show an image from the camera. The scope can be configured to view the display. The image from the camera can be electronically movable relative to scope and camera to facilitate compensation for bullet drop and windage. Moving the image can allow use of higher scope magnification and/or electronic camera zoom.

Ballistic sight system

A portable camera system () includes a lens () for forming a focused image of a survey scene () onto a focal plane array (). The focal plane array () comprises a cooled two dimensional array of quantum well infrared photo detectors, (QWIP) having a peak spectral responsivity in the wavelength range of 10.4 to 10.8 &#x3bc;m. The camera includes a cooled band pass optical filter () having a peak spectral transmittance approximately centered at a wavelength of 10.57 &#x3bc;m and a full width half maximum spectral transmittance bandwidth of approximately 10.3 to 10.7 &#x3bc;m. The camera system () is usable to detect an invisible gas plume in a video image of a survey scene if the gas plume contains sulfur hexafluoride (SF), ammonia, (NH), Uranyl Fluoride (UOF), or any other gas having an absorption band that that at least partially falls within the wavelength band 10.3 to 10.8 &#x3bc;m.

Thermography camera configured for leak detection

Systems and methods are disclosed herein to provide infrared camera systems and infrared camera calibration techniques in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present invention. For example in accordance with an embodiment, a method of calibrating an infrared camera includes capturing video images of a calibration vessel having one or more chambers filled with a gas; displaying the video images from the capturing; and adjusting settings of the infrared camera such that colors of the displayed video images of the one or more chambers approximately match predetermined colors of one or more corresponding sections of a video overlay.

Infrared camera calibration systems and methods

A portable thermography camera system () renders a video image of a survey scene over a narrow spectral bandwidth corresponding with an absorption band of a gas to be detected in the video image. The camera system forms a scene image onto a focal plane array () and generates a corrected image signal () corresponding with irradiance values at a plurality of locations of the scene image. The camera system further generates a temporally filtered image signal () corresponding with a temporal characteristics of the image signal () over a selected number of prior image frames. A difference block () reduces the temporally filtered image signal () by a scaling factor and produces a difference image by subtracting the scaled temporally filtered image signal from the corrected image signal (). The displayed difference signal improves the visibility of the gas to be detected.

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New Ipswich, NH, United States of America

Robert G Benson