Patent ID: 9255880
Filing Date: 2016-02-09
CPC Classification: G01J,G01N

Claim Text:
1. An apparatus configured to evaluate a charged power transmission conductor at a distance, comprising: (a) a telescope assembly configured to transmit light to the conductor and receive a reflected light, in response to the transmitted light, from the conductor, the telescope assembly including: (b) control electronics connected to the telescope assembly and configured to analyze the reflected light and determine a ratio of reflectance of the first frequency to the second frequency, wherein the ratio is correlated with levels of iron oxide corrosion to confirm the presence of oxides that have leached through strands of the conductor, the control electronics including: (i) first and second lock-in amplifiers configured to produce a near DC output signal, the first lock-in amplifier being connected to the first photodetector and the second lock-in amplifier being connected to the second photodetector; (ii) first and second modulation controllers configured to modulate the infra-red and red lasers, the first modulation controller being connected to the infra-red laser and the second modulation controller being connected to the red laser; and (iii) a microprocessor connected to the first and second lock-in amplifiers and the first and second modulation controllers, the microprocessor configured to control the apparatus and perform processing of the reflected light.