Infrared image system with a plurality of infrared radiation emitting reference sources positioned near the object

Claim 1

A THERMAL INFRARED IMAGE SYSTEM FOR TEMPERATURE MEASUREMENT OF AN OBJECT OR OBJECTS IN ITS FIELD OF VIEW COMPRISING IN COMBINATION (A) AN INFRARED DETECTOR, (B) OPTICAL MEANS FOR FOCUSING A FIELD OF VIEW ON SAID INFRARED DETECTOR, (C) SCANNING MEANS FOR SCANNING SAID INFRARED DETECTOR OVER A PREDETERMINED FIELD OF VIEW, THEREBY APPLYING RADIATION FROM SUCCESSIVE POINTS IN SAID PREDETERMINED FIELD OF VIEW OF SAID INFRARED DETECTOR, TO PRODUCE SIGNALS FROM SAID INFRARED DETECTOR IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE RECEIVED RADIATION, (D) MEANS FOR CONVERTING THE SIGNALS PRODUCED BY SAID INFRARED DETECTOR INTO VISUAL FORM THEREBY PROVIDING A VISUAL DISPLAY OF THE PREDETERMINED FIELD OF VIEW OF SAID INFRARED DETECTOR, (E) A GRAY SCALE MEANS POSITIONED EXTERNALLY FROM SAID INFRARED DETECTOR, SAID SCANNING MEANS AND SAID OPTICAL MEANS AND IN THE FIELD OF VIEW OF SAID INFRARED DETECTOR NEAR THE OBJECT OR OBJECTS WHOSE TEMPERATURE IS TO BE MEASURED BY THE THERMAL IMAGE SYSTEM WHEREBY A THERMAL IMAGE OF SAID GRAY SCALE MEANS IS DISPLAYED ON SAID VISUAL DISPLAY ADJACENT THE THERMAL IMAGE OF THE OBJECT OR OBJECTS WHOSE TEMPERATURE IS TO BE MEASURED, (F) SAID GRAY SCALE MEANS HAVING A PLURALITY OF INFRARED RADIATION EMITTING REFERENCE SOURCES OF DIFFERENT KNOWN TEMPERATURES IN A PREDETERMINED TEMPERATURE RANGE WHEREBY A GRAY SCALE REPRESENTING GRADIATIONS OF GRAY IN ACCORDANCE WITH INFRARED RADIATION RECEIVED BY SAID INFRARED DETECTOR FROM SAID INFRARED RADIATION EMITTING REFERENCE SOURCES APPEARS AS A THERMAL IMAGE ADJACENT THE THERMAL IMAGE OF THE OBJECT OR OBJECTS ON SAID VISUAL DISPLAY.