FLIR PathFindIR LE User Manual

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User Manual

334-0001-00-10-LE, rev. 100
May ’08

334-0001-00-10-LE, rev. 100 May ’08 i

AMERICAN

TECHNOLOGIES

NETWORK

CORP.

1341 San Mateo Avenue,

South San Francisco,

CA 94080, USA
800-910-2862,
650-989-5100,

FAX [phone]

European Office:

44-(0)870-0111286,

FAX [phone]

The Following Countries can

use our Toll Free Number:

00800 9102-8620

Austria, France, Germany,

Holland, Italy, Spain,
Sweden, Switzerland

www.atncorp.com

E-mail: [e-mail],

[e-mail]

Warnings and Cautions

1234567

8

Introduction

Getting Started

Caring for your PathFindIR LE

Options and Accessories

Technical Data

Installation

Infrared Technology

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iv May ’08 334-0001-00-10-LE, rev. 100

1 Warnings and Cautions

1.1 Cautions .................................................................................1

1.2 General Information .................................................................2

2 Introduction

2.1 Overview .................................................................................3

2.2 Thermal Imaging Driver Vision Enhancement System ..................3

2.3 What is Thermal Imaging? ........................................................ 5

2.4 Vehicles that use PathFindIR LE ...............................................5

2.5 Part Numbers ..........................................................................6

3 Getting Started

3.1 Using your PathFindIR LE ........................................................7

3.2 Initial System Startup ..............................................................7

3.3 Heater Element .......................................................................8

3.4 Automatic Shutter ...................................................................8

3.5 In Case of Difficulty .................................................................8

3.6 Troubleshooting .......................................................................9

4 Caring for your PathFindIR LE

4.1 Product Cleaning ...................................................................11

4.2 Temperature ......................................................................... 11

4.3 Maintenance .........................................................................11

5 Options and Accessories

5.1 Accessories ...........................................................................13

5.1.1 PathFindIR Interface Cable ...........................................13

5.1.2 PathFindIR LE Vision Enhancement Kit ..........................14

6 Technical Data

6.1 Performance Specification ...................................................... 15

6.1.1 Side View ....................................................................16

6.1.2 Side View, Additional Dimensions ..................................17

6.1.3 Front View ...................................................................18

7 Installation

7.1 PathFindIR LE Installation .....................................................19

7.2 Preparation ...........................................................................19

7.3 Installation ........................................................................... 20

7.4 Installation Guidelines and Precautions ...................................20

7.5 Installation Assistance ...........................................................21

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7.6 Mounting Assistance ..............................................................21

8 Infrared Technology

8.1 History of Infrared ................................................................ 23

8.2 How do Infrared Cameras Work? .............................................. 27

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1 Warnings and Cautions

1.1 Cautions

Caution! This guide uses the term Caution to indicate a potentially

hazardous situation, which, if not avoided, may result in injury, damage
to the vehicle or PathFindIR LE, or other property damage.

Do not operate any function that takes your attention away from safely driving
your vehicle.

Any function that requires your prolonged attention should only be
performed after coming to a complete stop. Always stop the vehicle in a
safe location before performing these functions. Failure to do so may
result in an accident.

Consult your local and state driving regulations prior to installation.

In many states using active monitors in view of the driver is prohibited.
Consult your local and state driving regulations for laws and guidelines.
User assumes all risks and indemnifies the manufacturer from any
liability.

Minimize display viewing while driving.

Viewing the display may distract the driver from looking ahead and may
result in an accident. The PathFindIR LE thermal imaging system should
not be used as a substitution for head lamps or head lamp assisted human
vision during vehicle operation.

Use this product for mobile 12VDC applications.

Use for other applications may result in excess heat, fire, and equipment
malfunction.

When installing the PathFindIR LE, do not block the vehicle’s vents or radiator
panels.

Doing so may result in heat buildup, equipment breakage, and/or fire.

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1 – Warnings and Cautions

1 – Warnings and Cautions

1.2 General Information

Caution! The PathFindIR LE thermal imaging system is not intended to

be used as the primary navigation system. The PathFindIR LE should not
to be used as a substitution for head la mp s o r h ea d l amp assisted human
vision during vehicle operation. It should be used only as an aid to
cautious night-time driving.

Do not open the camera body for any reason. Disassembly of the camera
(including removal of the cover) can cause permanent damage and will
void the warranty.

Operating the camera outside of the specified input voltage range or the
specified operating temperature range can cause permanent damage.

Do not image extremely high intensity radiation sources, such as the sun,
lasers, arc welders, etc.

The camera is a precision optical instrument and should not be exposed to
excessive shock and/or vibration. Refer to paragraph 6.1 “Performance
Specification” on page 15 for detailed environmental requirements.

Great care should be used with your camera optics. They are delicate and
can be damaged by improper cleaning. Refer to Chapter 4 “Caring for your
PathFindIR LE” on page 11.

All thermal imaging systems are subject to export co ntrol. Please
contact FLIR for export compliance information concerning your
application or geographic area.

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2 Introduction

PathFindIR LE - See More, Be Safer!

2.1 Overview

Congratulations! You have purchased one of the most sophisticated and
important instruments you will have on your vehicle. The FLIR
ThermoVision
that will provide you with excellent night visibility and situational
awareness, even in absolute darkness.

The PathFindIR LE system is designed for simple, intuitive operation. The
PathFindIR LE camera is a sophisticated thermal sensor that converts
thermal content (heat) of a scene into a 2-dimensional image for display
on a video monitor inside your vehicle.

®

PathFindIR LE is a state-of-the-art thermal imaging system

2.2 Thermal Imaging Driver Vision Enhancement System

The FLIR Systems, Inc. PathFindIR LE camera is a high performance,
rugged, thermal imaging camera designed to provide driver vision
enhancement in adverse weather conditions and better situational
awareness than with traditional head lamps.

Many serious accidents occur at night because the driver is not able to see
the cause of the accident in time to prevent the collision. PathFindIR LE
directly addresses this problem, allowing drivers to see farther ahead on
nighttime roadways and identify potential problems earlier. The majority of
trucking accidents occur in rural areas, where visibility is severely reduced
at night. Humans and other warm blooded animals offer significant
thermal contrast to driving backgrounds and are easy to spot with the
PathFindIR LE. The system allows drivers to see without any additional
lighting and provides real-time imaging at any speed.

Different than visible light cameras, thermal imagers do not display
reflected light as seen with human eyes. Rather, thermal imaging cameras
only 'see' temperature differences which are converted into shades of grey,
from black to white. The PathFindIR LE camera displays cold objects as
black and hot objects as white.

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2 – Introduction

Figure 2-1: PathFindIR Makes the Difference

2 – Introduction

When using a thermal imager in darkness, the image is created based on
temperature differences of objects in the field of view, rather than
reflected light from headlights.

Furthermore, because thermal imaging cameras only 'see' heat sources
and not reflected light, they are ideal to assist with driver vision and
situational awareness for oncoming obstructions such as animals, people,
and other vehicles

.

The above images show a comparison of typical night time driving
compared to using the PathFindIR LE thermal imager. The image on the
left is from an ordinary digital camera and shows the amount of visible
light as illuminated by headlights; the image on the right is a thermal
image created by the PathFindIR LE thermal imaging camera. Note the
PathFindIR LE camera is sensitive to warm objects, such as the deer, and
provides visibility over a much greater distance.

Some of the objects that are most critical for a driver to avoid are people
and animals. Because these objects are naturally warm, they are
particularly easy to see with the PathFindIR LE and clearly stand out in the
video image.

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2 – Introduction2 – Introduction

Although adverse conditions such as heavy fog will affect any driver vision
enhancement system, thermal imaging cameras such as the PathFindIR
LE have been shown to continue to provide useful information in
conditions of reduced visibility, such as haze and smoke. While the
PathFindIR LE can assist drivers with detection of obstructions in the
vehicle’s path, thermal imagers should not be used as the sole vision
method of the driver.

PathFindIR LE is specifically designed to withstand a harsh environment,
with a hermetically-sealed external housing resistant to rocks, sand, salt,
and under-hood contaminants. Additionally, the wide operating
temperature range allows the PathFindIR LE to maintain high performance
in severe weather conditions.

2.3 What is Thermal Imaging?

With our eyes, we see visible light. With a thermal imager, we can see
infrared - a form of light just beyond the visible spectrum. Thermal
imagers show subtle differences in temperature; warm objects appear
white and cooler objects appear black.

In addition to driver vision enhancement, FLIR's thermal imaging cameras
are used in a wide variety of applications, including fire fighting, security,
maritime, industrial and medical applications. They continue to be used
by militaries worldwide to navigate at night and in battlefield conditions.
Over the last few years, volume production of these systems has allowed
FLIR to offer the same high performance cameras designed for military use
to the commercial market.

2.4 Vehicles that use PathFindIR LE

PathFindIR LE can increase the detection time for hazards and reduce the
probability of an accident - providing confidence and saving lives and
property. PathFindIR LE provides improved situational awareness often
necessary when performing investigations and when responding to
emergencies.

Emergency vehicles - Emergency vehicles' high speeds and degraded
stopping distances increase the chance of an accident - PathFindIR LE
improves hazard detection at high speeds.

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