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:
Apr. 01, 2014
Filed:
Jul. 27, 2011
Applicant:
David W. Gardner, Colorado Springs, CO (US);
Inventor:
David W. Gardner, Colorado Springs, CO (US);
Assignee:
FLIR Systems, Inc., Wilsonville, OR (US);
Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
H04N 5/225 (2006.01); H04N 9/64 (2006.01); G03B 13/00 (2006.01); G01J 5/02 (2006.01);
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
Abstract
In one embodiment, a camera is provided that includes: an image sensor configured to provide an image signal; an automatic gain control (AGC) unit configured to determine an AGC control signal for controlling a gain applied to the image signal; a cooler configured to cool the image sensor; and a thermal control circuit configured to compare the AGC control signal to a threshold, wherein the thermal control circuit is further configured to turn on the cooler if the comparison indicates that the AGC control signal exceeds the threshold.