US 12,488,498 B1
Thermography measurements in heating process using pseudocalibration of thermal images
John Stevenson, Oakville (CA); Gregory Michael Cooke, Burlington (CA); Cameron Serles, Oakville (CA); and Patricio F. Mendez, Edmonton (CA)
Assigned to XIRIS AUTOMATION INC., Burlington (CA)
Filed by XIRIS AUTOMATION INC., Burlington (CA)
Filed on Aug. 15, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/887,631.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/235,342, filed on Aug. 20, 2021.
Int. Cl. G06K 9/00 (2022.01); G01J 5/48 (2022.01); G01N 25/02 (2006.01); G06T 7/13 (2017.01); G06T 7/73 (2017.01); G06V 10/22 (2022.01); G06V 10/44 (2022.01); G06V 10/62 (2022.01); G01J 5/00 (2022.01)
CPC G06T 7/74 (2017.01) [G01J 5/48 (2013.01); G01N 25/02 (2013.01); G06T 7/13 (2017.01); G06V 10/22 (2022.01); G06V 10/44 (2022.01); G06V 10/62 (2022.01); G01J 2005/0077 (2013.01); G06T 2207/10048 (2013.01)] 22 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A heating process method comprising:
applying heat to a substrate using a heat tool that is moving relative to the substrate,
receiving, by at least one processor of a computer system, a single thermal image of a weld bead on the substrate, wherein the single thermal image captures a temperature gradient along the weld bead resulting from a relative motion between the weld bead and the heating tool;
identifying, by the at least one processor, within the single thermal image:
a first pixel set in the weld bead having a first pixel set intensity corresponding to a first temperature T1;
a second pixel set in the weld bead having a second pixel set intensity corresponding to a second temperature T2; and;
determining, by the at least one processor, a pixel distance between the first pixel set and the second pixel set;
determining, by the at least one processor, a cooling rate of the weld bead based on using the first temperature T1, the second temperature T2, a known pixel speed of the substrate relative to the heat tool measured in pixels per unit time, and the pixel distance between the first pixel set and the second pixel set in the single thermal image to determine, wherein the cooling rate represents a time for the weld bead to cool from the first temperature T1 to the second temperature T2, wherein the heating process is monitored based on the determined cooling rate to evaluate the substrate; and
adjusting a parameter of the heating process based on the cooling rate.