The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Feb. 24, 2004
Filed:
Oct. 31, 2000
Mark S. Olsson, La Jolla, CA (US);
David A. Cox, San Diego, CA (US);
Jeffrey A. Prsha, San Diego, CA (US);
Michael E. Turgeon, San Diego, CA (US);
DeepSea Power & Light Company, San Diego, CA (US);
Abstract
An elongate rugged cylindrical metal housing encloses rotatable forward looking and side looking video cameras for inspecting bore holes of water, oil and natural gas wells. A ring-shaped array of white LEDs is mounted on a PC board at the forward end of the housing. The ring-shaped array of LEDs surrounds, and is spaced rearward of a flat sapphire window through which the forward looking video camera views down the bore hole. The array of forward looking LEDs is encased behind a dome-shaped acrylic window which protects the forward looking LEDs from physical impacts and also functions as a light pipe. A side looking video camera is mounted in an inner tube rotatable by a motor drive within the outer housing about a longitudinal axis of the outer housing. The side field of view of the second video camera can be aligned with a predetermined circumferential region of a side wall of the bore hole for locating and inspecting defects in a well casing. A stationary cylindrical array of white LEDs is mounted in the exterior housing, surrounding the inner rotatable tube, slightly rearward of the second video camera. A light bending film with tiny Fresnel prisms is mounted just inside a cylindrical window of the housing and maximizes the amount of illumination that strikes the predetermined circumferential region. Switch mechanisms and circuitry are provided so that one or more sixty-degree circumferential segments of the cylindrical side facing array of LEDs which are adjacent the field of view of the side looking video camera are energized in order to minimize power consumption and heat dissipation. The forward and side illumination design minimizes the common illuminated volume and maximizes the resolution of the forward and side video images.