JPH0515973B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a thermography apparatus that displays temperature changes over time at a specific point in a temperature distribution image on the same screen as the temperature distribution image.

Generally, in a thermography device, infrared rays generated from each point within the field of view are scanned and focused, introduced into an infrared detector, and the obtained temperature signal is sent as a brightness signal to a cathode ray tube to distribute the temperature distribution of the subject within the field of view. I'm getting a statue. With such thermography equipment, it is easy to observe the temperature distribution at a certain moment, but it is not easy to examine the temperature change over time at a specific point. I needed to take a photo.

The present invention has been made in view of this point,
Means for extracting and storing temperature signal values at specific points in the temperature distribution image at predetermined intervals is provided, and the temperature signal values stored in the storage means are developed numerically and chronologically in the order in which they were extracted, and the temperature is calculated. The object of the present invention is to provide a thermography device that displays a distribution image on the same screen. An embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, in which 1 is an infrared detector, 2 is an optical scanner for forming an image of the detector on a subject and performing raster scanning, and 3 is a reference blackbody for allowing reference infrared rays to enter the detector every time the optical scanner 2 scans horizontally. Infrared rays from the field of view are sequentially incident on the detector 1 based on raster scanning by the optical scanner 2, and the obtained detection signal is sent via the amplifier 4 to the processing circuit 5 having an absolute temperature reproducing circuit, a linearizer, etc. , is converted into a temperature signal corresponding to the absolute temperature of the subject. The temperature signal is converted into a digital signal by the AD converter 6, and then sent to the image memory 8 via the write control circuit 7 and stored therein.

9 is a temperature range setting circuit that calculates the temperature range to be displayed based on the signal a specifying the center temperature and the signal b specifying the temperature width; 10 is a setting circuit that reads pixel data stored in the image memory 8; 9, the data of the extracted pixels is transferred to the display image memory 12 in a form that falls within the gradation range of the monitor cathode ray tube display device 11. is stored in The pixel data stored in the memory 12 is stored in the display device 11.
is read out in synchronization with the television scanning of D-A.
The signal is sent to the monitor cathode ray tube display device 11 via the converter 13, level shift circuit 14, and television signal conversion circuit 15. Further, the character information pattern data stored in the character display memory 16 and the cursor data stored in the cursor memory 17 are read out at the same time, and the data are added by the OR circuit 18 and then sent to the level shift circuit 14. In order to increase the brightness for that period, the screen of the display device 11 displays a temperature distribution image Z and information regarding the image Z, such as CT (center temperature) and TW (temperature width), as shown in FIG. The value and a cursor consisting of two orthogonal lines L1 (horizontal cursor) and L2 (vertical cursor) are displayed in a superimposed manner.

19 is a synchronization signal generation circuit that generates standard television synchronization signals H and V to be supplied to the television signal conversion circuit 15; 20 is a pixel clock signal that divides one raster into 256 pixels based on the synchronization signal H; 21 is a counter that counts the clock signal to generate a horizontal scanning signal; 22 is a counter that counts the synchronizing signal H and generates a vertical scanning signal. Data is read from the memories 12, 16, and 17 based on horizontal and vertical scanning signals from the two counters and sent to the display device 11.

23 is a cursor setting circuit for writing a cursor pattern in the cursor memory 17; 24 is for reading out from the memory 8 a pixel designated as the intersection of the cursor based on the cursor position data sent from the setting circuit 23; , a conversion circuit for converting the position data into an address specifying the corresponding pixel in the memory 8, 25 a gate circuit for turning ON/OFF the supply of position data from the setting circuit 23 to the conversion circuit 24, and 26 a conversion circuit. A shift register 27 stores temperature data of a designated pixel read out from the memory 8 based on an address signal from the circuit 24, and a shift register 27 reads out all data in the shift register and stores the temperature data in the character display memory. 1
3, and 28 is a frame detection circuit that generates a frame end signal f every time one frame ends.

In the above configuration, the image memory 8 has 256 pixels in the horizontal direction and 256 pixels in the vertical direction, as shown in FIG.
A storage area of 240 lines and, for example, 12 bits is set in the depth direction, and the temperature data of each pixel obtained by horizontally and vertically scanning the detector image with the optical scanner 2 is stored in the 12-bit dynamometer. Stored in the corresponding location in the Mitsu Clean range. The data is sequentially rewritten with new data every time one screen is scanned. The image display memory 12 also has a storage area of 256×240 pixels, just as in FIG. 3, but the depth is 6 bits (64 gradations of black and white). Furthermore, the character display memory 16 and the cursor display memory 17 are also set with storage areas for 256 x 240 pixels, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, but both memories have It is 1 bit (2 gradations of white and black).

Now, due to signal a, the center temperature (CT) is 35.0℃,
If the temperature range (TW) is specified as 3.00°C by signal b, the temperature range setting circuit 9 will set CT±
Calculate TW/2 and specify the lower limit temperature (33.5°C) and upper limit temperature (36.5°C) to the read selection circuit 10.
The readout selection circuit 10 extracts pixels from all pixels stored in the image memory 8 that are 33.5°C or higher and lower than 36.5°C, classifies them into 62 levels from 1 to 62 within the temperature range of 3°C, and calculates the numerical value. Write to the corresponding position in the image display memory 12. Note that "0" (black level) is assigned to pixels whose temperature is less than 33.5 degrees Celsius, and "63" (white label) is assigned to pixels whose temperature is 36.5 degrees Celsius or higher, making a total of 64 gradations.

Further, the character writing circuit 27 controls the character generator based on the signal a specifying the center temperature and the signal b specifying the temperature range, and the character display memory 16
At the top of the 256 x 240 storage area is the “CT35.0
TW3.00'' is written in the form of a 5 x 7 dot matrix, for example, as shown in FIG. 4. In this case, since it is sufficient to indicate the presence or absence of a pattern, the memory 16 only needs to have one bit in the depth direction.

Further, the cursor setting circuit 23 sends position data inputted from a keyboard or the like to the memory 17 to designate the positions to display the horizontal and vertical cursors.
A cursor pattern consisting of a horizontal cursor _L1 and a vertical cursor _L2 is written at the specified position in the memory 17 as shown in FIG. In this case as well, since it is sufficient to indicate the presence or absence of a pattern, the memory 17 only needs to have one bit in the depth direction.

The image data, character data, and cursor data written separately in the memories 12, 16, and 17 in this way are horizontal,
The image data is read out simultaneously in synchronization with the screen scanning of the display device 11 by a vertical scanning signal, and the image data therein is
Since the temperature is sent to the display device 11 via the -A converter 13 and the conversion circuit 15, a temperature distribution image Z as shown in FIG. 2 is displayed on the screen. Furthermore, after the character data and cursor data are added in the OR circuit 18, they are sent to the level shift circuit 14, and the level shift circuit 14 sends the data to the television signal conversion circuit 15 only when a cursor pattern or a character pattern exists. In order to forcibly shift the level of the video signal to the white level, the text "CT35.0 TW3.00" and the cursors L ₁ and L ₂ are displayed on the screen of the display device as shown in Figure 2, indicating the temperature distribution. It is displayed superimposed on image Z.

In the present invention, when an image, character data, and a cursor are displayed in this way, the temperature value at a specific point P designated as the intersection of the cursor is sampled, for example, every frame, and the temperature value is displayed in a time series. It is characterized by being displayed.

That is, the frame detection circuit 28 detects when one frame is completed based on the vertical synchronization signal from the optical scanner 2.
When the writing of new image data to the image memory 8 is completed, a frame end signal f is generated and sent to the gate circuit 25. The gate circuit 25 and the address conversion circuit 24 are connected to the image memory 8 in the following manner.
The temperature value at a specific point P is sampled from . In synchronization with the frame end signal f, the gate circuit 25 is turned ON for a predetermined period, and the address conversion circuit 25 uses the cursor position signal at that time as the position signal of point P.
send to The conversion circuit 24 converts the pixel in the image memory 8 corresponding to the intersection point P of the cursor in the image Z based on the cursor position signal sent every frame.
An address signal specifying Dp is generated, and the address signal is sent to the image memory 8 for each frame. The temperature data for each frame of point P read (sampled) from the memory 8 based on the address signal is sent to the shift register 26 and stored in order. The character writing circuit 27 reads out in parallel all the temperature data stored in the shift register in chronological order, and stores the data in the memory 16, for example, on the right side in the vertical direction as shown in FIG. Since the patterns are written in sequential order, the patterns are read out and displayed on the screen of the display device 11.
The temperature value of the point P for each frame is displayed in a time-series manner, superimposed on the temperature distribution image Z. As for this temperature value, the oldest data is sent downward in order, and data that exceeds the capacity that can be stored in the shift register 26 is discarded one by one, so the newest value is always displayed at the top. .

As mentioned above, in the present invention, the temperature of a specific point specified with a cursor is displayed in chronological order, so not only the current temperature of the specific point but also the temperature change up to that current temperature can be immediately displayed. can be read. If the temperature data at point P is sampled at a longer period than in one frame,
Needless to say, it is possible to grasp the temperature change at point P over a longer period.

Note that in the above-mentioned embodiments, in order to facilitate understanding, a device composed of individual blocks was illustrated.
In reality, it is possible to replace the functions of the cursor position setting circuit 23, address conversion circuit 24, temperature range setting circuit 9, etc. with a computer, and it is better to use one memory for both the memory 16 and the memory 17. It's practical.

Furthermore, in the above-described embodiments, the present invention is applied to a thermography apparatus in which the temperature signal is temporarily stored in the image memory 8 and displayed, but even if the apparatus is not equipped with the image memory 8 for temporarily storing the temperature signal, the present invention can be applied, for example. Tokukai Akira
As disclosed in Publication No. 52-72267, a timing signal corresponding to the specified position is created by comparing the position signal from the position specifying means with horizontal and vertical scanning signals, and based on this timing signal, the latest Sampling the temperature signal can be easily done and thus the invention can be implemented.

Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the position is specified at the intersection of the horizontal cursor and the vertical cursor, but the position is not limited to this, and may be specified using, for example, a bright spot marker.
It goes without saying that other methods may also be used.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the display state of the screen, FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the pixel arrangement in the image memory 8, and FIGS. 4 and 5 1 is a diagram for explaining storage areas in memories 16 and 17. FIG. 8: Image memory, 9: Temperature range setting circuit, 1
0: readout selection circuit, 11: cathode ray tube display device for monitor, 12: image display memory, 13: D-A converter, 14: level shift circuit, 15: television signal conversion circuit, 16: character display memory, 17: Cursor display memory, 18: OR circuit, 19: Synchronization signal generation circuit, 20: Pixel clock oscillator, 2
1, 22: Counter, 23: Cursor setting circuit,
24: Address conversion circuit, 25: Gate circuit, 2
6: Shift register, 27: Character writing circuit, 2
8: Frame detection circuit.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An image display memory that stores temperature signals obtained by repeatedly scanning and condensing infrared rays from a subject and introducing them into an infrared detector and detecting the same, and whose memory contents are sequentially rewritten in response to repeated scanning, and the image display. display means for displaying a temperature distribution image of the subject based on the temperature signal read from the memory for the camera; a position specifying means for specifying an arbitrary position on the screen of the display means; sampling means for extracting the latest temperature signal value corresponding to the position at fixed intervals; means for sequentially storing the sampled temperature signal values; and a character display memory;
writing means for chronologically developing the sampled temperature signal values stored in the storage means in the order in which they were taken and writing them as a character pattern into the character display memory; reading means for reading out the temperature signal from the image display memory in a synchronous relationship, the read character pattern signal being sent to the display means together with the temperature signal read from the image display memory; 1. A thermography apparatus characterized in that, by transmitting the temperature distribution image, information on temperature over time is displayed numerically and in a chronologically expanded form on the same screen as the temperature distribution image.