JPH036429A - Thermography apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable execution of long-distance transmission without being affected substantially by noise by using an optical fiber as a cable for transmitting a signal from the detector side onto the converter side and also by digitizing the signal transmitted from the detector side. CONSTITUTION:A detector 2 which detects infrared rays radiated from a substance 1 to be measured and converts the same into light signals, a converter 4 which receives the light signals, converts the same into electric signals and processes them and an optical fiber 5 which is connected between the detector 2 and the converter 4 and transmits the light signals outputted from the detector 2 to the converter 4, are provided. The detector 2 detects the infrared rays radiated from the substance 1 to be measured, converts the same into the light signals and outputs them. Next, the light signals outputted from the detector 2 are transmitted to the converter 4 through the optical fiber 5. Then, the converter 4 receives the transmitted light signals, converts the same into the electric signals and processes them. In this way, long-distance transmission can be executed without being affected substantially by noise.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a thermography device that measures the temperature distribution of an object to be measured by detecting infrared rays emitted from the object, such as the skin of a human body. It is.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, as a thermography apparatus that transmits temperature data from a detector to a converter, the one shown in FIG. 4 is known.

This thermography apparatus includes a detector 2 including a sensor 6 and an amplifier 14, a converter 4 including an A/D converter 7,
It consists of a cable 15 that connects the detector 2 and the converter 4.

The infrared rays emitted from the object to be measured 1 are converted into a temperature data signal as an analog signal by the sensor 6, and then sent to the amplifier 1.
It is amplified by 4. This amplified temperature data signal is transmitted to the converter 4 via the cable 15 and converted into a digital signal by the A/D converter 7 provided in the converter 4. This digitized temperature data signal is further processed by an external processing circuit 3.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the above-mentioned thermography apparatus, since the signal transmitted from the detector side is an analog signal, it is susceptible to noise and is not suitable for long-distance transmission.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to enable long-distance transmission without being affected by noise when transmitting signals from the detector side to the converter. An object of the present invention is to provide a thermography device.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, a thermography apparatus according to the present invention includes a detector 2 that detects infrared rays emitted from an object to be measured 1 and converts it into an optical signal, A converter 4 that receives, converts and processes an electrical signal, and is connected between the detector 2 and the converter 4 and transmits the optical signal output from the detector 2 to the converter 4. It is characterized by being equipped with an optical fiber 5.

[Operation] The detector detects infrared rays emitted from the object to be measured, converts it into an optical signal, and outputs it. The optical signal output from the detector is transmitted through an optical fiber to a converter. The converter then receives the transmitted optical signal, converts it into an electrical signal, and processes it.

[Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a thermography apparatus according to the present invention.

The thermography apparatus according to this embodiment includes a detector 2 that detects infrared rays emitted from an object to be measured 1 and converts it into a temperature data signal, and a detector 2 that converts the temperature data signal output from the detector 2 into a predetermined signal. It is roughly composed of a converter 4 that processes signals with a processing circuit 3, and an optical fiber 5 that connects the detector 2 and the converter 4.

The detector 2 has a sensor 6, an A/D converter 7, and a parallel/
It is composed of a serial conversion circuit 8 and an E10 converter 9 (electrical/optical converter), and the sensor 6 detects infrared rays emitted from the object to be measured 1 and converts the temperature data signal to an A/D converter. Output to 7.

The A/D converter 7 converts the temperature data signal, which is an analog signal output from the sensor 6, into a digitized parallel temperature data signal, and then outputs this signal to the parallel/serial conversion circuit 8. The parallel/serial conversion circuit 8 converts the parallel temperature data signal output from the A/D converter 7 into a serialized temperature data signal using the synchronous clock output from the synchronous clock generation circuit 12, and converts it into a serialized temperature data signal. Output to 9. Also, the synchronous clock signal from the synchronous clock generation circuit 12 is also output to E1 at the same time.
0 converter 9.

The E10 converter 9 converts the temperature data signal, which is an electrical signal output from the parallel/serial conversion circuit 8, and the synchronous clock signal from the synchronous clock generation circuit 12 into optical signals.

The interface part of the converter 4 with the detector 2 is O/E.
It is composed of a converter (optical/electrical converter) 10 and a shift register 11. The O/E converter 10 converts a temperature data signal, which is an optical signal, transmitted from the detector 2 side via the optical fiber 5 into a temperature data signal, which is an electrical signal, and outputs it to the shift register 11. In addition, this O/E converter 1
0 converts the synchronous clock signal transmitted via the optical fiber 5 at the same time as the temperature data signal into an electrical temperature data signal and outputs it to the shift register.

The optical fiber 5 transmits the temperature data signal and the synchronized clock signal converted into optical signals by the E10 converter 9 to the converter 4.
The light is transmitted to the O/E converter 10 on the side.

Next, the operation of the thermography apparatus having the above-described configuration will be explained.

The infrared rays emitted from the object to be measured 1 are detected by the sensor 6 and converted into a temperature signal which is an analog signal.
/D converter 7. The temperature data signal, which is an analog signal, is converted into a digital temperature data signal by the A/D converter 7 and then output to the parallel/serial conversion circuit 8 . Then, the parallel temperature data signal is converted into a serial temperature data signal by the parallel/serial conversion circuit 8 using the synchronous clock output from the synchronous clock generation circuit 12, and is further converted into a serial temperature data signal by the E10 converter 9.
The signal is converted into an optical signal and transmitted to the converter 4 via an optical fiber. Further, the synchronous clock signal output from the parallel/serial conversion circuit 8 is also converted into an optical signal and transmitted to the converter 4 side, similarly to the temperature data signal.

The temperature data signal and the synchronized clock signal, which are optical signals, transmitted to the converter 4 side are converted by the O/E converter 10 into a temperature data signal and a synchronized clock signal, which are electrical signals, respectively, and then sent to the shift register 11. input and converted into parallel, synchronized temperature data signals. Furthermore, this converted parallel synchronized temperature data signal is input to an external processing circuit.

Therefore, in the embodiment described above, the signal transmitted from the detector 2 side is digitized, and the optical fiber 5 is used as a cable for transmitting the signal from the detector 2 to the converter 4.
, it is possible to perform stable long-distance transmission without being affected by noise.

By the way, in the embodiment described above, the serialized temperature control signal and the synchronous clock signal are separately output from the parallel/serial conversion circuit 8, and the two E10 converters 9
is converted into an optical signal by the converter 4 using two optical fibers.
As shown in FIG. 2, a synchronous clock signal is superimposed on the temperature data signal outputted from the parallel/serial conversion circuit 8 and outputted to the E10 converter 9. After converting into an optical signal, the signal may be transmitted to the converter 4 through one optical fiber 5.

As a result, the number of E10 converters 9 and O/E converters 10 can be reduced, and since the temperature data signal and the synchronized clock signal are simultaneously transmitted to the converters as one optical signal, the number of E10 converters 9 and O/E converters 10 can be reduced. Only one wire is required, and the overall configuration is simplified.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 3, the detector 2 is provided with an E10 converter 9 which is provided with a synchronized clock and a number of bits corresponding to the number of bits of the parallel temperature data signal output from the A/D converter 7. , 07E converter 10 equipped with the same number of human power as the output number of E10 converter 9 is provided in converter 4, and E10
If the configuration is such that each input/output of the converter 9 and the O/E converter 10 is connected by an optical fiber 5, a parallel temperature control signal is transmitted from the E10 converter 9 to the O/E converter 10 through the optical fiber 5. Since the temperature data signal can be processed through the latch circuit 13, it is not only less susceptible to noise as in the embodiment described above, but also can perform high-speed processing of the temperature data signal.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, in the thermography apparatus according to the present invention, an optical fiber is used as a cable for transmitting signals from the detector side to the converter side, and the signals transmitted from the detector side are Since it is digitized, it has the advantage of being less susceptible to noise and can be transmitted over long distances.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a thermography apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block configuration diagram showing a second embodiment of the same apparatus, and FIG. 3 is a block configuration diagram showing a third embodiment of the same apparatus. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a conventional thermography apparatus. 1... Object to be measured, 2... Detector, 4... Converter,
5...Optical fiber. 0

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] A detector that detects infrared radiation emitted from an object to be measured and converts it into an optical signal; a converter that receives the optical signal and converts it into an electrical signal for processing; the detector; A thermography apparatus comprising: an optical fiber connected between the converter and the converter for transmitting an optical signal output from the detector to the converter.