Thermal imaging system with integrated thermal chopper
US5486698A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 19, 1994 |
| Grant date | Jan 23, 1996 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 19, 2014 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04N25/671
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A thermal imaging system (10) contains a focal plane array (14) including a plurality of thermal sensors (50) mounted on a substrate (52). The focal plane array (14) generates both a reference signal which represents the temperature of the substrate (52) and a biased signal corresponding to the total radiance emitted by a scene (11). Electronics (16) process the reference signal and the biased signal to obtain an unbiased signal representing radiance differences emitted by objects in the scene (11). A thermoelectric cooler/heater (38) may be provided to optimally adjust the temperature of the substrate (52) to improve overall image quality. Each thermal sensor (50) contains an electrode (66 and 68) that electrically couples the thermal sensor (50) to the substrate (52) and also allows the thermal sensor (50) to deflect, contact, and thermally shunt with the substrate (52).
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.