{"schema_version":"1.0","canonical_url":"https://patentable.app/patents/US-8494220","patent":{"patent_number":"US-8494220","title":"Temporal thermal imaging method for detecting subsurface objects and voids","assignee":null,"inventors":[],"filing_date":"2011-02-01T00:00:00.000Z","publication_date":"2013-07-23T00:00:00.000Z","cpc_codes":["G06V"],"num_claims":22,"abstract":"A temporal thermal survey method to locate at a given area whether or not there is a subsurface object or void site. The method uses thermal inertia change detection. It locates temporal heat flows from naturally heated subsurface objects or faulty structures such as corrosion damage. The added value over earlier methods is the use of empirical methods to specify the optimum times for locating subsurface objects or voids amidst clutter and undisturbed host materials. Thermal inertia, or thermal effusivity, is the bulk material resistance to temperature change. Surface temperature highs and lows are shifted in time at the subsurface object or void site relative to the undisturbed host material sites. The Dual-band Infra-Red Effusivity Computed Tomography (DIRECT) method verifies the optimum two times to detect thermal inertia outliers at the subsurface object or void border with undisturbed host materials."},"analysis":{"summary":null,"layman_explanation":null,"technical_analysis":null,"business_analysis":null,"faqs":null,"topics":[],"tech_cluster":null},"seo":{"title":"Temporal thermal imaging method for detecting subsurface objects and voids","description":"A temporal thermal survey method to locate at a given area whether or not there is a subsurface object or void site. The method uses thermal inertia change detection. It locates temporal heat flows fr","keywords":[]},"attribution":{"source":"Patentable","source_url":"https://patentable.app","canonical_url":"https://patentable.app/patents/US-8494220","license":"CC-BY-4.0-like","license_terms":"AI-generated analysis on this page (summary, layman_explanation, technical_analysis, business_analysis, faqs) may be reused with attribution and a visible link back to the canonical URL above. Patent abstracts, claims, and bibliographic data are USPTO public domain.","required_link":"https://patentable.app/patents/US-8494220","citation_suggestion":"Patentable. \"Temporal thermal imaging method for detecting subsurface objects and voids\" (US-8494220). https://patentable.app/patents/US-8494220","copyright_holder":"Nomic Interactive Technology LLC"},"links":{"html":"https://patentable.app/patents/US-8494220","json":"https://patentable.app/api/llm-context/US-8494220","site":"https://patentable.app","llms_txt":"https://patentable.app/llms.txt"},"generated_at":"2026-05-30T21:22:08.281Z"}