Patent ID: 7687776

Claim:
A gas imaging system for remotely detecting gas emissions by passive images of infrared radiation, comprising: an explosion proof housing structure configured to contain explosive conditions within the housing structure so as to not ignite a surrounding environment in which the gas imaging system is installed, the housing structure including an optical window fabricated of a mechanically strong, infrared transmissive material mounted on the housing structure to pass infrared radiation into the housing structure; an optical system having a field of view and including a lens, an optical filter system for filtering light passed through the lens, and a photosensitive array located in a fixed position at the focal plane of the optical system to produce multi-spectral infrared image data of a scene under observation; a multi-spectral image processing system configured for processing the image data produced by the photosensitive array to detect hazardous gas emissions and to discriminate against infrared radiation emitted by false alarm sources; and wherein the optical system and image processing system are disposed within the explosion proof housing structure.