KR20200083037A - Thermal imaging apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

A disclosed thermal imaging device comprises: a sensor unit having one or a plurality of temperature sensors; a pinhole member having one or a plurality of pinholes and arranged to direct light passing through one or the plurality of pinholes from an object to the one or the plurality of the temperature sensors; a distance adjustment unit configured to move one of the sensor unit and the pinhole member to adjust a distance between the one or the plurality of temperature sensors and the pinhole member; a scan driving unit integrally moving the sensor unit and the pinhole member within a preset shooting angle to scan the object; and a processor controlling the sensor unit, the distance adjustment unit, and the scan driving unit and processing information obtained from the sensor unit. Therefore, costs for mounting and maintaining a lens may be reduced.

Description

Thermal imaging apparatus

The present disclosure relates to a thermal imaging device, and more particularly, to a thermal imaging device employing a pinhole member.

A thermal imaging device is a device that measures the surface temperature of an object based on the measurement of thermal infrared radiation emitted from an object and converts it into an image that can be perceived by a person. Thermal imaging devices have been widely used to detect and diagnose thermal infrared-based singularities in various fields such as industry, medicine, and military.

Infrared sensors such as bolomemters and thermopiles are used to form the thermal image. These infrared sensors have a spatial resolution relationship that is inversely proportional to the square of the shooting distance, and commercial products have supplemented this by applying an expensive zoom lens or a telephoto single lens with a fixed focal length when long distance shooting is required depending on the application. However, in the case of a zoom lens, maintenance is difficult from a long-term point of view, and a measurement error due to aberration of lenses applied multiple for telephoto is large, and due to the characteristics of the machine structure, the aperture and drive motors There is a disadvantage that the endurance comes. In the case of a telephoto single lens, the resolution of the sensor is impaired due to the fixed focal length, and there is a disadvantage that it is impossible to form a perceptible image of a nearby object. In addition, when the distance from the object increases, the thermal infrared rays are attenuated according to the distance, and even when a telephoto lens is used, the value of the measured temperature lost through a separate correction is large.

In addition, in the case of the conventional bolometer-based imaging system, investment of an astronomer amount is required according to the sensor integration and the resolution accordingly, and due to the basic low-resolution characteristics, only an image with a resolution of 1/10 or less can be calculated compared to a conventional general camera. . In addition, the bolometer series is not suitable for continuous monitoring due to a very expensive sensor on the market. In addition, in the case of the above-described thermopile, as the degree of integration for the bolometer is low and new technology development has only recently been made, there is a difficulty in wide application.

The present disclosure is intended to provide a thermal imaging apparatus capable of presenting a meaningful indoor and outdoor long-term thermal imaging analysis technique.

A thermal imaging device according to one aspect of the invention,

A sensor unit having one or a plurality of temperature sensors;

A pinhole member having one or a plurality of pinholes and arranged to direct light passing through the one or more pinholes from an object to one or a plurality of temperature sensors;

A distance adjusting unit that moves any one of the sensor unit and the pinhole member to adjust the distance between the one or more temperature sensors and the pinhole member;

A scan driving unit that moves the sensor unit and the pinhole member integrally within a preset shooting angle to scan an object; And

It includes; a processor for controlling the sensor unit, the distance adjusting unit, and the scan driving unit, and processing information acquired by the sensor unit.

The pinhole member is positioned such that the rear angle of view of each of the pinholes of the pinhole member corresponds one-to-one to the detection surfaces of the temperature sensors of the sensor unit.

The distance adjusting unit may move any one of the sensor unit and the pinhole member so that the size of the rear spot formed on each sensor unit of the pinhole member is within 0.5 to 2 times the size of the detection surface of each temperature sensor of the sensor unit. .

The pinhole member may include a transparent ceramic panel and an opaque film applied to at least one of both surfaces of the transparent ceramic panel except for areas of one or a plurality of pinholes.

The pinhole member includes a plurality of pinholes, and the plurality of pinholes can be arranged on a plane. Alternatively, the pinhole member includes a plurality of pinholes, and the plurality of pinholes may be arranged on a curved surface.

The one or more temperature sensors may be any one sensor or sensor array selected from the group including a thermopile sensor, a microbolometer sensor, a pyroelectric sensor, and a carbon nanotube sensor.

The plurality of temperature sensors are arranged in two dimensions on the first array surface, the plurality of pinholes are arranged in two dimensions on the second array surface, and the second array surface may be parallel to the first array surface.

The plurality of temperature sensors are arranged in two dimensions on the first array surface, the plurality of pinholes are arranged in two dimensions on the second array surface, and the second array surface can be inclined on the first array surface. In this case, the thermal imaging device may further include an inclination angle adjusting unit that adjusts an inclination angle between the second array surface and the first array surface.

The housing includes a first substrate on which the sensor unit is installed, a second substrate on which the pinhole member is installed, and a support frame that supports the second substrate to be movable linearly with respect to the first substrate, and the distance adjusting unit is second. It may be a linear actuator that causes the substrate to move linearly from the first substrate.

The thermal imaging device may further include a distance meter that measures a distance between the object and the pinhole member.

The processor may perform correction of thermal infrared energy based on the distance measured from the distance meter and the distance between the pinhole member and the sensor unit.

The thermal imaging device may further include a non-thermal imaging unit that photographs a non-thermal image of the entire monitoring area of the solar panel.

The processor may convert the collected temperature information into a thermal image of a specified resolution through a predetermined RGB color gamut.

The processor uses the collected temperature information, the set infrared ray emissivity, the shooting angle of view information, and the time information to link the highest temperature, the lowest temperature, the median temperature, and the average temperature per shooting with the shooting angle information according to the driving of the scan driver. By doing so, the position of the high-temperature abnormal region can be converted into an overlapping layer that can be marked on the thermal image.

The thermal imaging device may further include a communication unit that transmits information processed by the processor to the external device and receives a control command from the external device.

The thermal imaging device according to the disclosed embodiments can maintain focus only by adjusting the mechanical structure, such as the distance between the pinhole member and the sensor unit, and thus does not require a separate mechanically engineered aperture device or lens.

The thermal imaging apparatus according to the disclosed embodiments uses software to accurately measure the exact temperature of a subject through a correction technique of thermal infrared energy that can be calculated based on information about a distance measured through a range finder and a distance adjusted through a distance adjuster. Can be corrected.

The thermal imaging apparatus according to the disclosed embodiments can reduce lens mounting and maintenance costs for separate optical performance.

1 schematically shows a thermal imaging apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 schematically shows a configuration diagram of a temperature detection unit of the thermal imaging device of FIG. 1.
3 schematically shows an example of the pinhole member of the temperature detection unit of FIG. 2.
4 schematically illustrates an example of a sensor unit of the temperature detection unit of FIG. 2.
5 schematically shows an example of a temperature sensor of the sensor unit of FIG. 4.
Figure 6 shows the relationship between the pinhole member and the sensor unit in an embodiment of the present invention.
7 shows a relationship between an angle of view and a thermal infrared incident area that can be calculated through a pinhole in an embodiment of the present invention.
8 schematically shows an example of a solar panel.
9 is a view for explaining the operation of the thermal imaging apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
10 schematically shows a configuration diagram of a temperature detection unit in a thermal imaging apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
11 shows a relationship between a pinhole member and a sensor unit in an embodiment of the present invention.
12 illustrates a relationship between a pinhole member and a sensor unit in a thermal imaging apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
13 schematically shows the appearance of a temperature detection unit of a thermal imaging apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 14 shows a state in which the temperature detector of FIG. 13 operates for focus adjustment.
15 is a block diagram of a hardware configuration of a thermal imaging apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
16 illustrates an algorithm block diagram of data input/output to a thermal imaging device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Advantages and features of the present invention, and methods for achieving them will be clarified with reference to embodiments described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but may be implemented in various different forms, and only the embodiments allow the disclosure of the present invention to be complete, and common knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention pertains. It is provided to fully inform the holder of the scope of the invention, and the invention is only defined by the scope of the claims. Throughout the specification, the same reference numerals refer to the same components, and the size or thickness of each component in the drawings may be exaggerated for clarity. In addition, in order to clearly describe the present invention, parts not related to the description are omitted.

Terms used in the specification will be briefly described, and the present invention will be described in detail.

The terminology used in the present invention has been selected from the general terms that are currently widely used as possible while considering the functions in the present invention, but this may vary depending on the intention or precedent of a person skilled in the art or the appearance of new technologies. In addition, in certain cases, some terms are arbitrarily selected by the applicant, and in this case, their meanings will be described in detail in the description of the applicable invention. Therefore, the term used in the present invention should be defined based on the meaning of the term and the entire contents of the present invention, not a simple term name. For example, the term "thermal image" may include a temperature profile or a temperature map expressed in two or three dimensions, as well as a temperature image of the subject converted into a visible image.

When a certain part of the specification "includes" a certain component, this means that other components may be further included instead of excluding other components unless otherwise specified.

1 schematically shows a thermal imaging apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the thermal imaging apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment includes a temperature detection unit 110, a range finder 150, and a scan driving unit 170.

The temperature detection unit 110 measures the surface temperature of the object O based on the detection of the thermal infrared ray 111 emitted from the object O. The one measurement area 112 of the temperature detection unit 110 is an area defined by the angle of view of the temperature detection unit 110, and the one measurement area on the surface of the object O by moving the opening of the temperature detection unit 110 112 may be moved. The detailed configuration of the temperature detection unit 110 will be described later.

The range finder 150 may be a commercial laser range finder. The laser range finder measures the distance between the object O and the range finder 150 by emitting laser light and receiving the laser light reflected from the object O. As the distance measuring method, a known method can be employed. For example, the distance can be obtained by measuring the distance using the time taken to emit the pulsed laser light and detect the reflected laser light, or modulate the continuous-oscillation laser. By placing the reference position of the distance measurement of the distance measuring device 150 on the temperature detection unit 110 (especially, the pinhole member (120 in FIG. 2)), the distance between the object O and the pinhole member 120 can be known. . Further, the distance information measured by the range finder 150 may be used to specify the position of the one measurement area 112 being measured by the temperature detection unit 110 in conjunction with the driving amount information of the scan driving unit 170. .

The temperature detection unit 110 and the range finder 150 are mounted on the housing 160 to be integrally moved by the scan driving unit 170.

The scan driving unit 170 allows the temperature detection unit 110 to scan the entire monitoring area of the object O. For example, the scan driving unit 170 may include a two-axis driving servo module to sequentially scan the entire monitoring area of the object O in the longitudinal direction A and the transverse direction B. The two-axis driving servo module may include a first servo 171 driving one axis in the longitudinal direction A and a second servo 172 driving one axis in the transverse direction B. The first and second servos 171 and 172 may each include a step motor that rotates at a predetermined angular interval. The amount of movement per step of the first and second servos 171 and 172 may be set such that one measurement area 112 of the object O by the temperature detection unit 110 continues or continues to overlap a predetermined amount. have.

2 schematically shows a configuration diagram of a temperature detection unit 110 according to an embodiment. Referring to FIG. 2, the temperature detection unit 110 includes a pinhole member 120, a sensor unit 130, and a distance adjusting unit that adjusts a distance d between the pinhole member 120 and the sensor unit 130. 140).

The pinhole member 120 has a plurality of pinholes 121 arranged in two dimensions. The sensor unit 130 has a plurality of temperature sensors 131 arranged in two dimensions. The plurality of pinholes 121 and the plurality of temperature sensors 131 may correspond to each other one-to-one. The pitch P ₁ of the pinhole 121 may be equal to or greater than the pitch P ₂ of the temperature sensor 131.

The distance adjusting unit 140 may be, for example, a linear actuator in which the shaft 141 moves linearly, but is not limited thereto, and known means may be employed. Although the example shown in FIG. 2 illustrates a case where the shaft 141 is connected to the pinhole member 120, it goes without saying that the shaft 141 can be connected to the sensor unit 130.

3 schematically illustrates an example of the pinhole member 120 of the temperature detection unit 110 according to the present embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 3, the pinhole member 120 has a plurality of pinholes 121 on the flat plate 122 as a transmissive area.

The plate material 122 may be coated with an opaque film on a transparent ceramic panel having a thickness of 2 mm or less, and a region where the opaque film is not applied may be formed of a plurality of pinholes 121. As another example, the plate member 122 may be formed of an opaque material, and may be formed with a plurality of pinholes 121 by drilling holes. The pinhole 121 is preferably formed in a circular shape, but is not limited thereto.

4 schematically shows an example of the sensor unit 130 of the temperature detection unit 110 according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 5 is an example of the temperature sensor 131 of the sensor unit 130 according to the present embodiment. Shows schematically.

4 and 5, the sensor unit 130 may be formed by arranging nine temperature sensors 131 in a 3 x 3 matrix on the substrate 132. For example, FIG. 4 illustrates a case where the sensor unit 130 is 3 x 3 temperature sensor units, but is not limited thereto.

The temperature sensor 131 has a light receiving surface 133 on which a thermal infrared ray 111 is detected on one surface of the packaging frame 134. The temperature sensor 131 may be a thermopile sensor. The thermopile sensor has a structure in which a plurality of thermocouples are arranged, and the hot and cold junctions are thermally separated because the thermocouples are located at the intersection of the hot region and the cold region. (thermal isolation). In general, the cold junction is positioned on a silicon substrate for an efficient heat sink, and a black body absorbing infrared rays is formed in the hot junction. Two different thermoelectric materials are placed in series on a thin diaphragm with low thermal conductance and low thermal capacitance, when a constant infrared radiation is input to the thermopile sensor. The resulting electromotive force appears in proportion to the difference in temperature between the low and high temperature parts. These thermopile sensors have been widely used as temperature sensor elements, such as a continuous thermometer, instead of mercury thermometers, and measure the temperature inside the car due to the precise measurement of temperature and the quick response speed and the advantage of being able to measure without directly touching the heat source. And the application range is rapidly expanding to various fields such as temperature measurement of household appliances. This embodiment has been described as an example in which the temperature sensor 131 is a thermopile sensor, but is not limited thereto. Of course, the temperature sensor 131 may be a microbolometer sensor, a pyroelectric sensor, or a carbon nanotube sensor.

Figure 6 shows the relationship between the pinhole member 120 and the sensor unit 130 in one embodiment of the present invention, Figure 7 is an angle of view and heat that can be calculated through the pinhole 121 in an embodiment of the present invention Shows the relationship of the infrared incident area.

6 and 7, the thermal infrared energy transmitted to the light receiving surface 133 of each temperature sensor 131 is allocated through each pin hole 121 of the pin hole member 120. The thermal infrared energy emitted from the subject, which is allocated through each pinhole 121 of the pinhole member 120, is directly detected by each temperature sensor 131 of the sensor unit 130, and at this time, the temperature sensor 131 The amount of thermal infrared rays allocated to the light-receiving surface 133 is converted into a temperature value according to the electromagnetic energy converted by the temperature sensor 131.

The size of the object-side spot 113 of the thermal infrared ray 111 emitted from the surface of the object O and incident on the pinhole 121, and the light-receiving surface 133 of the temperature sensor 131 through the pinhole 121 The size of the spot on the sensor side of the thermal infrared ray 111 reaching to satisfies Equation 1 below.

Here, R represents the radius of the object-side spot 113 of the thermal infrared 111, r represents the radius of the sensor-side spot of the thermal infrared 111, and the distance L is the object O and the pinhole member 120 Denotes a distance between f and f denotes a distance between the pinhole member 120 and the sensor unit 130. The distance L can be measured through the range finder 150. The distance f may be adjusted through the distance adjusting unit 140.

On the other hand, the sensor side spot of the thermal infrared ray 111 passing through the pinhole 121 and reaching the light receiving surface 133 of the temperature sensor 131 is preferably reached within the light receiving surface 133 of the temperature sensor 131 as much as possible. It is preferred for the side. For example, the spot on the sensor side of the thermal infrared ray 111 may be formed to have a size that inscribes the light receiving surface 133 of the temperature sensor 131. As another example, considering the tolerance, the sensor-side spot of the thermal infrared ray 111 is slightly smaller than the size of the light-receiving surface 133 of the temperature sensor 131 (for example, the direct spot of the sensor-side spot of the thermal infrared ray 111 is It may be formed in the range of 80 to 99% of the diameter of the light receiving surface (133).

Since the size of the object-side spot 113 of the thermal infrared ray 111 is the pixel size of the thermal image generated by the thermal imager 100, it is related to the resolution of the thermal imager 100. Accordingly, when the distance between the pinhole member 120 and the object O is changed, by adjusting the focal length f between the pinhole member 120 and the sensor unit 130, the light receiving surface 133 of the temperature sensor 131 is adjusted. It is possible to satisfy the size and the requested resolution. This relationship, when the pinhole member 120 is interpreted as a lens, the distance f between the pinhole member 120 and the sensor unit 130 can be regarded as a rear focal length of the pinhole member 120. Hereinafter, the term'focus distance' means a distance f from the pinhole member 120 to the sensor unit 130 unless otherwise specified.

For example, the diameter of the inscribed circle of the light receiving surface 133 of the temperature sensor 131 is about 3.5 mm, the diameter of the object (O) side spot is 1.7 m, the distance between the object (O) and the pinhole member (120). Considering the case where L is 20 m and 5 m respectively, the thermal infrared ray 111 starting from the surface of the object O enters the light receiving surface 133 of the temperature sensor 131 through one pinhole 121. If it is desired to enter the size of the tangent circle, the focal length f for this can be calculated as 41.2 mm and 10.3 mm, respectively, based on the proportional equation.

For the size of the pinhole 121, the calculation formula of John William Strut Rayleigh is used, which is the same as Equation 2 (Strutt, JW, On Pin-hole Photography, Phil. Mag., v. 31, pp. 87-99 , 1891).

Here, d is the diameter of the pinhole 121, λ is the wavelength of the thermal infrared ray 111 to be sensed, f is the focal length, and represents the distance between the pinhole member 120 and the sensor unit 130.

Since the wavelength of the detectable thermal infrared ray 111 exists between about 8 μm and 15 μm, the results calculated according to Equation 2 above are suitable for the 8 μm wavelength and the 41.2 mm and 10.3 mm focal lengths, for example. The diameter d of the pinhole 121 is calculated in the range of 0.57 mm to 1.15 mm and 0.29 mm to 0.57 mm, respectively. The size of the pinhole 121 is according to the range of 1 to 2, which is a range of the correction constant c according to the empirical formula, and is a range when it is necessary to obtain an optimal resolution for photographing and the like. Therefore, according to the embodiment of the present embodiment using the measurement of the amount of energy incident on the individual temperature sensor 131, the restriction of the opening size of the pinhole 121 according to the focal length f can be greatly alleviated. That is, in the above case, the diameter d of the pinhole 121 is fixed to 0.57 mm, the median value of the anode end, and the object is independent of the distance from the object O through the distance adjustment between the sensor unit 130 and the pinhole member 120. It is possible to measure the electromagnetic energy for a certain area of. In addition, when observing an object farther than 20 m, it may be smaller than the optimal pinhole diameter derived by the empirical formula, resulting in an interference pattern due to a diffraction effect, but in this case, empirical correction based on distance information through the distance meter 150 This is possible.

By using the pinhole member 120, the thermal imaging device 100 of this embodiment maintains focus only by adjusting the mechanical structure such as the distance f (ie, the focal length) between the pinhole member 120 and the sensor unit 130. It is possible, so there is no need for a separate mechanical iris device or lens. Furthermore, the correct temperature of the subject is software-compensated through a correction technique of thermal infrared energy that can be calculated based on the distance information of L measured through the distance meter 150 and f adjusted through the distance control unit 140. In that it can be done. In addition, there is an advantage in that it is possible to reduce lens mounting and maintenance costs for separate optical performance.

Since the relationship between the focal length and the diameter of the pinhole 121 increases in a square root or logarithmic function, the use of the pinhole 121 increases when the focal length is very short. Accordingly, when the focal length is about 10 cm or less, the diameter of the pinhole 121 is not greatly affected by the increase in the focal length. In addition, since the aperture of the pinhole 121 is sufficiently large, it is not affected by diffraction of the infrared wavelength. For example, a typical object, that is, the maximum radiated emission emission wavelength existing at room temperature of about 300 K is about 10 μm. If the diameter of the pinhole 121 is greater than about 0.1 mm, the diffraction of the infrared wavelength at the pinhole 121 is Can be ignored.

In this way, it is possible to observe the electromagnetic wave energy for a certain area of the object O regardless of the distance L from the object O, but the radiation flux due to the fluctuation of the angle of view observed by the temperature sensor 131 Decreases with increasing observation distance (ie, distance L). The temperature sensor 131 converts the total energy amount of the electromagnetic wave incident to a predetermined solid angle into temperature information using the Stefan-Boltzmann law. Therefore, when the distance between the temperature sensor 131 and the pinhole 121 changes and the observed stereoscopic angle decreases or increases, the total amount of energy of the incident electromagnetic wave also decreases or increases, so the amount of incident energy is geometrically calculated for accurate temperature information estimation. It needs to be corrected. In the case of the temperature sensor 131 designed with an angle of view of 10 degrees, the corresponding stereoscopic angle is about 0.024 steradians (sr). The plane angle for the size 0.57 mm of the pinhole 121 from the temperature sensor 131 is about 0.80 degrees and about 3.17 degrees respectively for the focal lengths 41.2 mm and 10.3 mm, and the spatial angles thereof are 0.000153 steradians and 0.0024 steradians, respectively. . Therefore, about 4% of the focal length is 0.64% and 10% of the energy is incident on 10.3 mm, and based on this, the temperature information estimated from the thermopile can be corrected according to the Stefan-Boltzmann law. In addition, since the temperature information is corrected by the above law, a separate correction constant c may be different depending on the thermopile manufacturer and the sensor diameter, and is allocated to the internal algorithm in a function form through manual calibration associated with real temperature measurement. However, in practice, the focal length that can be measured through one fixed-diameter pinhole basically has a certain range rather than a fixed value, which can be calculated as shown in the following table according to the empirical formula. Therefore, the correction through the correction constant is applied only when it is in violation of Table 1 below. Table 1 below shows the calculation of the focal length according to the subject distance and the pinhole diameter (Rener, E., “Pinhole photography”, 1999).

Pinhole diameter Distance to the subject (m) (mm) 0.25 0.5 One 2 5 10 20 0.1 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 0.15 12 12 11 11 11 11 11 0.2 22 21 21 20 20 20 20 0.25 36 34 33 32 32 32 32 0.3 56 50 48 47 46 46 45 0.35 82 71 66 64 63 62 62 0.4 119 96 88 84 82 81 81 0.45 173 129 114 108 104 103 103 0.5 255 169 144 135 130 128 127 0.55 393 220 180 165 158 155 154

8 schematically shows an example of a solar panel, and FIG. 9 is a view for explaining the operation of the thermal imaging apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 8, a plurality of solar cell cells C converting light energy of sunlight into electrical energy form a solar cell module M, and these solar cell modules M are arranged in two dimensions to form a single It forms a solar panel (P). Typically, when the solar cell (C) itself is broken, it is possible to replace the solar cell module (M) to which the failed solar cell (C) belongs. For example, the size of a single solar cell module (M) is 1 m x 1.985 m in the case of 300 W class, and several to tens of these solar cell modules (M) form a unit of photovoltaic panel (P).

Referring to FIG. 9, the thermal imaging device 100 may be used to monitor the presence or absence of a failure of the solar panel P as described above.

The temperature detection unit 110 sequentially collects temperature information in the monitoring area of the solar panel P. The temperature detector 110 measures the emissivity of the thermal infrared ray 111 in the measurement region 112 of the solar panel P once, and converts the measured emissivity of the thermal infrared ray 111 into temperature to measure the temperature. . The measurement area 112 once includes a plurality of object-side spots 113 corresponding to the plurality of temperature sensors 131. On the other hand, the position information of the measurement area 112 at which the temperature is measured is obtained through the driving information of the scan driving unit 170 and the distance information obtained from the range finder 120. When the temperature measurement for the one measurement area 112 of the solar panel P is completed, the scan driving unit 170 rotates the temperature detection unit 110 at a predetermined driving angle in the longitudinal direction A to thereby detect the temperature ( 110) is to measure the temperature of the adjacent area of the one-time measurement area 112 of the solar panel (P). Subsequently, the neighboring area to be detected may not overlap with or partially overlap with the previously detected one-time measurement area 112. By sequentially performing such an operation, temperature information for one column in the longitudinal direction A including the one measurement area 112 of the monitoring area of the solar panel P is obtained. Next, the scan driving unit 170 rotates the temperature detection unit 110 at a predetermined driving angle in the lateral direction B to sequentially perform such an operation. The driving angle of the scan driver 170 may be a constant constant or a value that varies depending on an angle of view and a distance from the solar panel P as a subject.

By operating as described above, temperature information is sequentially obtained throughout the monitoring area of the solar panel P.

For example, as shown on the left side of FIG. 9, only the high-temperature abnormal panel region, such as regions 114 and 115, which are determined to be high-temperature abnormalities over a predetermined temperature using the measured temperature information, is applied to the solar panel P. It can be converted into a thermal image. Of course, the entire monitoring area can also be converted into an RGB thermal image.

10 schematically shows a configuration diagram of a temperature detection unit 110 of a thermal imaging apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 11 shows a relationship between a pinhole member and a sensor unit in an embodiment of the present invention.

The thermal imaging apparatus according to the present embodiment and the above-described embodiment except that the pinhole member 220 of the temperature detection unit 210 is disposed to be inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the sensor unit 230 at a predetermined angle (b ₁ ). It is practically the same.

It is preferable that the surface where the temperature sensor 231 of the temperature detection unit 210 is arranged is as perpendicular to the measurement surface of the object O as possible. However, due to the limited installation space of the thermal imaging device, such an arrangement is often difficult. For example, when the measurement surface of the object O is very inclined or is a bottom surface, when the thermal imaging device is located on the side of the measurement surface of the object O, the temperature sensor 231 of the temperature detection unit 210 is arranged. The surface becomes largely inclined with respect to the measurement surface of the object O. In this case, as in the present embodiment, the inclination angle (b ₂ ) of the measurement surface of the object (O) where the pinhole member 220 of the temperature detection unit 210 faces the inclination (b ₁ ) with respect to the sensor unit 230 It can be set in response to.

12 shows a relationship between the pinhole member 320 and the sensor unit 130 in the thermal imaging apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The thermal imaging apparatus according to the present embodiment is substantially the same as the above-described embodiment except that the surface (hereinafter referred to as the pinhole surface) on which the pinhole 321 is arranged in the pinhole member 320 of the temperature detection unit is a curved surface. The curvature of the pinhole surface can be designed to offset the size ratio of the monitoring device which increases by the relationship between the object O corresponding to the sensor surface and the spot diameter D. The pinhole member 320 may be formed of a rigid material, but is not limited thereto. The pinhole member 320 may be formed of a flexible material, and the curvature of the pinhole surface of the pinhole member 320 may be varied according to the distance O between the object O and the thermal imaging device.

13 schematically shows the appearance of the temperature detection unit 410 of the thermal imaging device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 14 shows the appearance of the temperature detection unit 410 of the thermal imaging device according to an embodiment of the present invention Shows schematically.

The case 460 of the temperature detection unit 141 may include a pinhole side case 461 and a temperature sensor side case 462. The pinhole side case 461 and the temperature sensor side case 462 are hollow, and the surface facing the temperature sensor side case 462 in the pinhole side case 461 is removed. The pinhole-side case 461 is provided with a pinhole member 420 and a distance meter 450 on its outer surface. A sensor unit 430 is disposed on an inner surface of the temperature sensor side case 462.

The overall appearance of the case 460 may have a rectangular parallelepiped shape. A linear actuator 441 and a linear shaft 441 may be provided between the pinhole side case 461 and the temperature sensor side case 462. The linear actuator 441 moves the pinhole side case 461 in the longitudinal direction 443 to adjust the distance between the pinhole side case 461 and the temperature sensor side case 462. The linear shaft 441 supports the pinhole side case 461 to move in the longitudinal direction 443. Of course, the linear actuator 441 can move the case 462 on the temperature sensor side.

15 is a block diagram of a hardware configuration of a thermal imaging device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 16 is an algorithmic block diagram of data input and output to the thermal imaging device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The thermal imager of the present embodiment may include a sensor unit 520, a distance adjusting unit 530, a distance measuring unit 540, a processor 550, and a memory 560.

The processor 550 controls the sensor unit 520 and the scan driving unit 570 to sequentially collect temperature information in the monitoring area of the object O. The sensor unit 520 measures the emissivity of the thermal infrared ray A of the measurement region 112 of the object O once, and converts the measured emissivity of the thermal infrared ray into temperature to measure the temperature. The temperature conversion of the measured emissivity of the infrared rays may be performed by the processor 550. On the other hand, the position information of the region 112 where the temperature is measured is obtained through the driving information of the scan driving unit 570 and the distance information obtained from the distance meter 540. When the temperature measurement for the one measurement region 112 of the object O is completed, the scan driving unit 570 rotates the temperature detection unit including the sensor unit 520 at a predetermined driving angle in the longitudinal direction A to sense the sensor. The unit 520 is configured to temperature-measure the neighboring area of the measurement area 112 of the object O once. By sequentially performing such an operation, temperature information for one row in the longitudinal direction A including the one measurement area 112 of the monitoring area of the object O is obtained. Next, the scan driving unit 570 rotates the sensor unit 520 at a predetermined driving angle in the transverse direction B, and then sequentially performs such an operation. The driving angle of the scan driving unit 570 may be a constant constant or a value that varies depending on the angle of view and distance from the object O.

Meanwhile, the processor 550 may perform an operation of converting the collected temperature information into a thermal image of a specified resolution through a predetermined RGB color gamut. For example, as shown on the right side of FIG. 9, only the high temperature abnormal regions 114 and 115 may be converted into a thermal image of the object O using the measured temperature information. Of course, the entire monitoring area can also be converted into an RGB thermal image.

Furthermore, the processor 160 converts the collected temperature information, preset thermal infrared emissivity, photographing angle of view information, into an overlapping layer that can be displayed on the thermal image, and (if there is a non-thermal image camera) a non-thermal image, By using the thermal time information, the location of the high temperature abnormal region is imaged by linking the highest temperature, the lowest temperature, the median temperature, and the average temperature per shooting with the viewing angle information according to the driving of the scan driver 570, and The region position layer may be superimposed and converted into a final thermal image.

As described above, the input data for temperature measurement are the measurement temperature, a predetermined emissivity constant, a driving angle for recording angle of view information with a subject each time the servo is operated, and a non-thermal image for initial shooting. Thermal infrared image that displays the thermal image data according to the set RGB color gamut, initial shooting non-thermal image and thermal image image for the user who superimposes the thermal image data, the highest and lowest temperatures, the median temperature, the average temperature, the driving angle And the high temperature region temperature and position data calculated from the infrared temperature measurement.

The output data as described above is transmitted to an external device through a communication unit. The external device may be a server of the control center. Alternatively, the external device may be a relay that connects to the server of the control center through a network.

The output data as described above may be repeatedly and continuously generated, thereby allowing the user to monitor the object O in real time.

The hardware as described above may be configured as an integrated module 510. In order to adjust the device angle and the measurement angle associated with each measurement of the angle of view, the servo drive unit 570 including one servo motor in the longitudinal and lateral directions is applied, and bidirectional communication is performed inside the integrated module 510. For the communication unit 590 and the antenna 591 may be built. The thermal imaging device including the integrated module 510 includes, for example, a waterproof and dustproof housing (160 in FIG. 1) that exceeds IP67 rating. In addition, the thermal imaging device may further include a built-in power source 580 such as an emergency lithium polymer battery in case the power supply is always interrupted.

Referring to FIG. 16, according to an embodiment, the thermal image measurement measures or adjusts the thermometer side 610, the subject distance measurement 620, the driving system adjustment 630, and the driving measurement angle 540, and the distance therefrom. Calibrate and measure temperature. The distance correction and processing algorithm 650 is as follows.

[1] Declaration of the angle of view setting of the measurement image according to user input, and the declaration of the temperature storage array

[2] Loop Start

[3] distance measurement, temperature measurement

[4] Temperature correction according to distance measurement value (function calculation and correction constant calculation)

[5] temperature loop start

[6] After detecting abnormal temperature, store it if it is normal and re-measure if it is abnormal

[7] Stop above or below critical temperature; Send warning message

[8] End of loop

[9] Transmit the temperature storage array data to the image and send it to the server

In addition, the driving repetition loop 660 is created in connection with the distance correction and processing algorithm 650, and is as follows.

[1] Initialize to the origin of the drive system, declare the variable for setting the angle of view of the measured image according to user input

[2] Calculation of the final number of measurements, setting the drive system and calculating the angle of view per drive according to the number of measurements

[3] loop start

[4] Measuring transverse to the end of transverse direction

[5] Lateral measurement in the opposite direction under 1 click (1 angle of view) from the lateral end

[6] Judging when to end

[7] End of loop

The measurement direction and order of the drive system are determined according to the logic, which may be represented by, for example, a black arrow in FIG. 9 according to the progress of temperature measurement starting from the upper left corner of the object O.

The above-described thermal imaging device of the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiment shown in the drawings to aid understanding, but this is only an example, and various modifications and equivalent other embodiments can be obtained from those skilled in the art. You will understand that it is possible. Therefore, the true technical protection scope of the present invention should be defined by the appended claims.

100: thermal imaging device
110, 210: temperature detection unit
111: thermal infrared
112: one measurement area
120: pinhole member
121: pinhole
130: sensor unit
131: temperature sensor
133: light receiving surface
134: packaging frame
140: distance control
141: shaft
150, 450: range finder
160: housing
170: scan driver
460: case
P: Solar panel

Claims (17)

A sensor unit having one or a plurality of temperature sensors;
A pinhole member having one or a plurality of pinholes and arranged to direct light passing through the one or more pinholes from an object toward the one or more temperature sensors;
A distance adjusting unit that moves any one of the sensor unit and the pinhole member to adjust a distance between the one or more temperature sensors and the pinhole member;
A scan driving unit that integrally moves the sensor unit and the pinhole member within a preset shooting angle to scan an object; And
And a processor which controls the sensor unit, the distance adjusting unit, and the scan driving unit, and processes information acquired by the sensor unit. According to claim 1,
The pinhole member is a thermal imaging device, characterized in that the rear angle of view of each of the pinholes of the pinhole member corresponds to the detection surface of each of the temperature sensors of the sensor unit. According to claim 2,
The distance adjusting unit of the sensor portion and the pinhole member so that the size of the rear spot on the sensor portion of each pinhole of the pinhole member is within 0.5 to 2 times the size of the detection surface of each temperature sensor of the sensor portion. A thermal imaging device characterized by moving any one. According to claim 1,
The pinhole member includes a transparent ceramic panel and an opaque film applied to at least one side of both sides of the transparent ceramic panel except for areas of the one or more pinholes. According to claim 1,
The pinhole member includes a plurality of pinholes, and the plurality of pinholes are arranged on a flat surface. According to claim 1,
The pinhole member includes a plurality of pinholes, and the plurality of pinholes are arranged on a curved surface. According to claim 1,
The one or a plurality of temperature sensors is a thermopile sensor, a microbolometer (microbolometer) sensor, a pyroelectric sensor (pyroelectric sensor), and any one sensor or sensor array selected from the group comprising a carbon nanotube sensor, characterized in that Thermal imaging device. According to claim 1,
The plurality of temperature sensors are arranged in two dimensions on the first array surface,
The plurality of pinholes are arranged in two dimensions on the second array surface,
And the second array surface is parallel to the first array surface. According to claim 1,
The plurality of temperature sensors are arranged in two dimensions on the first array surface,
The plurality of pinholes are arranged in two dimensions on the second array surface,
The second array surface is a thermal imaging device, characterized in that inclined to the first array surface. The method of claim 9,
And an inclination angle adjusting unit that adjusts an inclination angle between the second array surface and the first array surface. According to claim 1,
The housing further includes a first substrate on which the sensor unit is installed, a second substrate on which the pinhole member is installed, and a support frame that supports the second substrate to be movable linearly with respect to the first substrate,
The distance adjusting unit is a thermal imager, characterized in that the linear actuator to move the second substrate linearly from the first substrate. According to claim 1,
And a distance meter for measuring the distance between the object and the pinhole member. The method of claim 12,
The processor performs thermal infrared energy correction based on the distance measured from the distance meter and the distance between the pinhole member and the sensor unit. According to claim 1,
A thermal imaging device further comprising a non-thermal imaging unit that photographs a non-thermal image of the entire monitoring area of the solar panel. According to claim 1,
The processor converts the collected temperature information into a thermal image of a specified resolution through a predetermined RGB color gamut. According to claim 1,
The processor uses the collected temperature information, the set thermal infrared ray emissivity, the shooting angle of view information, and the time information to determine the highest temperature, the lowest temperature, the median temperature, and the average temperature per shooting, according to the driving of the scan driver. Thermal image device, characterized in that in conjunction with and converting the location of the high temperature abnormal region to an overlapping layer that can be marked on the thermal image. According to claim 1,
And a communication unit transmitting information processed by the processor to an external device and receiving a control command from the external device.

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