1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a thermal detecting device and a thermal detecting method, in particular, to a thermal detecting device and a thermal detecting method that may be used in cooperation with a portable electronic device.
2. Description of Related Art
The infrared thermometers in the prior art only have the function of measuring temperature. When a user intends to measure the temperature of an object, there is a need to aim the infrared sensor on an infrared thermometer to the object for obtaining the current temperature of the object. The measured temperature will be displayed on the screen of the infrared thermometer.
However, in the use of the above thermometer, the previous measured temperature will be replaced by the temperature measured afterward during a continuous measurement. In addition, even if the infrared thermometer in the prior art has a data storing unit arranged therein, the data storing unit may only record the temperature that has been measured, rather than the object that has been measured.
In addition, the existing portable electronic devices (such as smart phones or tablets) have more and more functions, for instance, these portable electronic devices may be used to capture images (such as taking pictures or recording videos) and are able to perform imaging processing technique (such as panorama or image overlapping technique). Therefore, incorporating the infrared thermometers into the portable electronic devices may increase the efficiency of the electronic devices and expand the application of the infrared thermometers.
In sum, the problem that needs to be solved is to provide a thermal detecting device and a thermal detecting method that may be used in cooperation with portable electronic devices for overcoming the above disadvantages.
The problem to be solved by the instant disclosure is to provide a thermal detecting device and a thermal detecting method that may be used with portable electronic devices.
To solve the above problem, an exemplary embodiment of the instant disclosure provides a thermal detecting system comprising a temperature measuring device and a portable device. The temperature measuring device includes a temperature measuring unit, a processing unit electrically connected to the temperature measuring unit, a moisture sensing unit electrically connected to the processing unit and a measurement information transmitting unit electrically connected to the processing unit. The portable electronic device is connected to the temperature measuring device through wire or wireless connection, the portable electronic device includes a signal transmitting unit, a controlling unit electrically connected to the signal transmitting unit and an image capturing unit electrically connected to the controlling unit. The temperature measuring unit measures the temperature of an object for providing a signal measurement value to the processing unit to output a measurement information corresponding to the signal measurement value, the measurement information is transmitted to the signal transmitting unit through the measurement information transmitting unit. The image capturing unit captures an image including the object, the controlling unit displays the measurement information of the object on the image to form a picture or a scene including the measurement information of the object.
Another exemplary embodiment of the instant disclosure provides a thermal detecting method comprising the steps of: measuring the temperature of an object by a temperature measuring device for obtaining a measurement information of the object; capturing the object by a portable electronic device for obtaining an image including the object; transmitting the measurement information to the portable electronic device; and attaching or storing the measurement information to the image.
Yet another exemplary embodiment of the instant disclosure further provides a thermal detecting method comprising the steps of: sequentially measuring the temperatures of a plurality of objects by moving a temperature measuring device for obtaining a plurality of measurement information of the plurality of objects respectively, and simultaneously emitting a marking light aiming or surrounding the objects for sequentially targeting the plurality of objects; driving a portable electronic device to timingly capturing an image including the plurality of objects for obtaining a plurality of images; transmitting a plurality of measurement information to the portable electronic device; attaching or storing a plurality of measurement information to the plurality of images respectively; and combining the plurality of images for presenting a picture or a scene including the plurality of measurement information.
The advantages of the instant disclosure is that, in the thermal detecting system and thermal detecting method, by utilizing the signal connection in wired or wireless form between the temperature measuring device and the portable electronic device, the measurement information detected by the temperature measuring device may be transmitted to the portable device; and by capturing the image of the measured object by the imaging capturing unit in the portable device and overlapping the image and the measurement information by the portable device, a picture or a scene is able to be presented including both the measurement information and the image. In addition, by image synthesis technique, a plurality of images are able to be combined including a plurality of measurement information into a picture or a scene to obtain a picture including the measurement information of each object. A temperature distribution curve may be present at the same time.
In order to further understand the techniques, means and effects of the instant disclosure, the following detailed descriptions and appended drawings are hereby referred to, such that, and through which, the purposes, features and aspects of the instant disclosure can be thoroughly and concretely appreciated; however, the appended drawings are merely provided for reference and illustration, without any intention to be used for limiting the instant disclosure.
The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the instant disclosure, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate exemplary embodiments of the instant disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the instant disclosure.
Reference will now be made in detail to the exemplary embodiments of the instant disclosure, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts.
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In addition, preferably, the temperature measuring device 1 further includes a laser unit 14 electrically connected to the processing unit for emitting a marking light 141 (such as a laser light 141 generated by the laser unit 14) aiming or surrounding the object. The marking light 141 may also be used to explicitly show the detecting area to be measured. For instance, the path of the marking light 141 may be substantially parallel to the sensing path of the temperature measurement unit 11 for targeting the detecting area to be measured. In other words, the laser unit 14 may emit a single laser beam or a plurality of laser beams, and the single marking light 141 may aim at the object to be measured by moving the temperature measuring device 1. In addition, in other embodiments, a plurality of marking light beams may be output by arranging a plurality of laser units 14 or by arranging a spectroscope in combination with a laser unit 14, and the plurality of marking light 141 surround a detecting area. In other words, the detecting area is substantially the area being currently measured by the temperature measurement unit 11. It is worthwhile to mention that in other embodiments, the range of the detecting area could be more definite by arranging more marking light beams. Furthermore, in another embodiment, the laser unit 14 may be substituted by other light sources to form the corresponding marking light 141.
When the user presses on an activation unit 17 electrically connected to the processing unit 12 in the temperature measuring device 1, a driving measurement signal may be initiated and transmitted to the processing unit 12, and the processing unit 12 may transmit a measurement activation signal to the infrared sensing unit 111 according to the driving measurement signal. The infrared sensing unit 111 performs the infrared signal temperature measurement according to the activation signal for transforming infrared light into a voltage signal. The voltage signal is amplified by the amplifier 112, then transformed into a measurement information digital signal (for example, infrared signal measurement information) by the analog-to-digital converter 113, and transmitted to the processing unit 12. Next, the measurement information may be transmitted to the portable electronic device 2 by the measurement information transmitting unit 13.
In addition, in other embodiments, the temperature measuring device 1 may further include a relative humidity sensor 15 electrically connected to the processing unit 12. For instance, the relative humidity sensor 15 may be used to detect a dry bulb temperature, a wet bulb temperature, a dew point temperature or a relative moisture. Therefore, the dry bulb temperature, the wet bulb temperature, the dew point temperature or the relative moisture may be transmitted to the portable electronic device 2 through the measurement information transmitting unit 13. In other words, the measurement information is not limited to a temperature measurement value, and may further comprise a dry bulb temperature value, a wet bulb temperature value, a dew point temperature value or a relative moisture value.
In addition, the temperature measuring device 1 may further include a display unit 16 that may be electrically connected to the processing unit 12 for displaying the temperature currently measured by the temperature measuring unit 11. In addition, the display unit 16 can be used to show other information such as moisture information. In other words, the measurement information can be displayed on the display unit 16 of the temperature measuring device 1, and can be transmitted to the portable device 2.
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Next, the image capturing unit 23 captures an image I (predetermined capturing range) including an object, i.e., the image I is an image that is captured by the image capturing unit 23 and shown on the screen of the portable electronic device 2. Next, the controlling unit 22 shows the measurement information of the object on the image I captured by the image capturing unit 23 for forming a picture P (or scene) including the measurement information of the object. In other words, the temperature measuring device 1 does not include the image capturing unit 23. The image is captured by the image capturing unit 23 on the portable electronic device 2. The specific thermal detecting method will be discussed later.
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Next, as shown in step S102, capturing the object A by a portable electronic device 2 for obtaining an image I (predetermined capturing range) including the object A. The image capturing unit 23 on the portable electronic device 2 may be used to capture the image that may be captured by the image capturing unit 23 and may be displayed on the screen of the portable electronic device 2. In other words, the image capturing unit 23 may be a camera module in the portable electronic device 2.
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When the user presses on the activation unit 17, the temperature measuring device 1 may be initiated and start to measure the temperature of the object A to obtain measurement information of the object A. During the same time, the portable electronic device 2 may capture an image I including the object A. In addition, the laser unit 14 can emit the marking light 141 after the user presses on the activation unit 17, and measure the temperature of the object A while emitting the marking light 141 to obtain the measurement information. The image I is captured by the image capturing unit 23 at the same time. In other words, the step of measuring the temperature of the object A by the temperature measuring device 1 and the step of capturing the object A by the portable electronic device 2 are performed simultaneously. However, the instant disclosure is not limited thereto. For instance, in other embodiments, a marking light 141 may be first emitted, and after a predetermined time, the temperature of the object A may be measured and the image I may be captured when the user targets the area to be measured.
Next, as shown in step S104, transmitting the measurement information to the portable electronic device 2. For instance, using the signal transmitting unit 21 in the portable electronic device 2 and the measurement information transmitting unit 13 to transmit the measurement information measured by the temperature measuring device 1 to the portable electronic device 2. Therefore, the information transmitting unit 13 may transmit the measurement information to the controlling unit 22 of the portable electronic device 2 for further processing.
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The step of attaching or storing the measurement information to the image I is able to perform the image processing technique by the controlling unit 22 in the portable electronic device 2, i.e., identifying the captured image I by the controlling unit 22 or the application in the portable electronic device 2 to judge the position of the marking light 141 in the image I first, and positioning the measurement information (such as temperature or moisture information) adjacent to the marking light 141 or the detecting area Z, or in the detecting area Z. In addition, in the step of attaching or storing measurement information to image I, the measurement information does not have to be directly displayed in the image, i.e., the measurement information and the image I are overlapped with each other. In addition, the measurement information and the image may be stored as digital information in a digital manner, i.e., instead of directly displaying the measurement information in the image I, the measurement information may be attached or stored in the image I by data communication. In addition, the date, time, etc. of the current measurement can be added into the image I to record the object being measured and the date and time of the measurement. Afterward, the picture P (or scene) being presented may be stored in the storing unit (not shown) in the electronic device 2 for further use.
Furthermore, if the marking light 141 is emitted in a flicking manner during which the marking light 141 is on and off under a predetermined frequency, the shutter time of the image capturing unit 23 may be adjusted, and hence, the image capturing unit 23 will continuously capture the image I. In other words, the image capturing unit 23 may capture images in which a marking light 141 is or is not projected on the object A. Therefore, the image processing process performed afterward could be easier.
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To be specific, the thermal detecting method provided by the third embodiment includes the following steps. As shown in step S200, measuring the temperatures of a plurality of objects (A1, A2, A3) by moving (or rotating) a temperature measuring device 1 for obtaining a plurality of measurement information (of each object) of the plurality of objects (A1, A2, A3), and simultaneously emitting a marking light 141 aiming or surrounding the objects (A1, A2, A3) for sequentially targeting the plurality of objects (A1, A2, A3). To be specific, when switching to an adequate measuring mode, the user may continuously press on the activation unit 17 on the temperature measuring device 1 to generate a driving measurement signal and continue measuring. Meanwhile, while continuously pressing on the activation unit 17, the user moves the temperature measuring device 1 to measure the temperatures of the plurality of objects (A1, A2, A3) respectively. During the process of measuring the temperatures of the plurality of objects (A1, A2, A3), the time for generating the two adjacent measurement data may be spaced from each other for a predetermined time interval which is predetermined by the temperature measuring device 1 or may be set by the user.
Next, as shown in step S202, timingly capturing images (I1, I2, I3) continuously (there is a predetermined time interval between capturing each image by the image capturing unit 23) including a plurality of objects (A1, A2, A3) by driving a portable electronic device 2 for obtaining a plurality of images (I1, I2, I3) of the plurality of objects (A1, A2, A3). The portable electronic device 2 may continuously take the images (I1, I2, I3) in a predetermined range, i.e., the images (I1, I2, I3) comprising an image area including the objects (A1, A2, A3) to be measured. In addition, capturing the objects (I1, I2, I3) continuously means that there is a predetermined time interval between capturing each image by the image capturing unit 23, in which the predetermined time interval may be set by the user through the application or may be a predetermined time set in advance by the portable electronic device 2, for example, the predetermined time interval may be the shutter time of the portable electronic device 2.
Preferably, the step (S200) of sequentially measuring the temperatures of a plurality of objects (A1, A2, A3) by moving the temperature measuring device 1 for obtaining a plurality of measurement information of the plurality of objects (A1, A2, A3) respectively, and simultaneously emitting a marking light 141 aiming or surrounding the objects (A1, A2, A3) for targeting the plurality of objects (A1, A2, A3), and the step (S202) of driving the portable electronic device 2 to timingly and continuously capturing the images (I1, I2, I3) including the plurality of objects (A1, A2, A3) for obtaining a plurality of images (I1, I2, I3) are performed simultaneously. In addition, in the third embodiment, the image capturing unit 23 will not move with the temperature measuring device 1. In other words, the temperature measuring device 1 is a movable member and the portable electronic device 2 is a fixed member.
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In addition, for ensuring that the image capturing unit 23 captures the objects (A1, A2, A3) to be measured, the image capturing unit 23 is able to adjust the shutter time during capturing the images (I1, I2, I3), i.e., to adjust the predetermined interval between capturing each image (I1, I2, I3) for capturing more images. In other words, the number of images captured by the image capturing unit 23 is determined by the moving speed of the temperature measuring device 1 in a predetermined moving distance (rotating distance) carried out by the user. The slower the temperature measuring device 1 is moved, the more images that may be captured. In contrast, the faster the temperature measuring device 1 is moved, the fewer images that may be captured. In addition, for performing the image processing step (image synthesis), the first image I1, the second image I2 and the third image I3 include substantially the same content and only differ from each other in that each image (I1, I2, I3) includes the marking light 141 projected at different positions for forming different detecting areas (Z1, Z2, Z3).
Next, as shown in step S204, transmitting a plurality of measurement information to the portable electronic device 2. To be specific, the temperature measuring device 1 may separately transmit the measurement information of the first object A1 (the 30° C. shown in the figure), the measurement information of the second object A2 (the 25° C. shown in the figure) and the measurement information of the third object A3 (the 20° C. shown in the figure) to the portable electronic device 2. In addition, for instance, the plurality of measurement information may be transmitted to the portable electronic device 2 at the moment that they are obtained, i.e., the measurement information of the first object A1 may be transmitted to the portable electronic device 2 immediately. In addition, the measurement information may be stored in the temperature measuring device 1 until the objects to be measured (A1, A2, A3) are measured, and all of the measurement information is transmitted to the portable electronic device 2. However, the instant disclosure is not limited thereto. In other words, in case all of the measurement information is transmitted to the portable electronic device 2 at once after all the objects to be measured (A1, A2, A3) are measured, when the user releases the activation unit 17 (ending the measuring mode), a stopping measurement signal may be sent to the processing unit 12 and the processing unit 12 may transmit all of the measurement information to the portable electronic device 2 according to the stopping measurement signal.
Next, as shown in step S206, attaching or storing a plurality of measuring information to the plurality of images (I1, I2, I3). To be specific, since each object (A1, A2, A3) has its own measurement information, the controlling unit 22 may attach the measurement information of each object to the corresponding images (I1, I2, I3). The means for attaching or storing the measurement information to the images are described in the second embodiment, and are not described again here.
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In addition, although the temperature measuring method of the third embodiment is carried out by moving the temperature measuring device 1 without moving the portable electronic device 2, the temperature measuring device 1 and the portable electronic device 2 may be moved concurrently in other embodiments, and a plurality of images may be connected by performing image processing by the applications in the portable electronic device 2 on the captured images, i.e., the captured images may be connected with each other by the panorama mode in the camera module of the portable electronic device 2.
In addition, if the marking light 141 is a flickering marking light 141, during the flickering (the marking light 141 is on and off under a predetermined frequency), the image capturing unit 23 will capture the image I continuously, i.e., the image capturing unit 23 may capture the object A having the marking light 141 projected thereon and the object A without the marking light 141 at the same position. The above means is benefit to the follow-up image processing procedure. In other words, in other embodiments, the controlling unit 22 may select the image without the marking light 141 projected on the object A and hence, there is no marking light 141 being displayed in
In summary, the thermal detecting system S and the thermal detecting method provided by the embodiments of the instant disclosure utilizes the signal connection in wired or wireless form between the temperature measuring device 1 and the portable electronic device 2 and hence, the measurement information detected by the temperature measuring device 1 may be transmitted to the portable device 2. Furthermore, by capturing the image I of the measured object A by the imaging capturing unit 23 in the portable device 2 and overlapping the image I and the measurement information by the portable device 2, the picture P (or a scene) is able to be presented including both the measurement information and the image I. In addition, by performing the image synthesis technique, a plurality of images (I1, I2, I3) is able to be combined, including a plurality of measurement information into a picture P (or a scene) to obtain a picture including the measurement information of each object (A1, A2, A3). A temperature distribution curve may be present at the same time.
The above-mentioned descriptions represent merely the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, without any intention to limit the scope of the instant disclosure thereto. Various equivalent changes, alterations or modifications based on the claims of the instant disclosure are all consequently viewed as being embraced by the scope of the instant disclosure.