Moisture measurement device with thermal imaging capabilities and related methods

1. An apparatus comprising:

an infrared (IR) imaging module configured to capture thermal images of a scene;

a moisture sensor configured to detect a moisture parameter associated with an external article;

a housing configured to be hand-held by a user and at least partially enclosing the IR imaging module;

a display fixed relative to the housing and configured to display user-viewable thermal images; and

a logic device configured to:

freeze a user-viewable thermal image on the display;

overlay information regarding a value of the moisture parameter to indicate a first detection of the moisture parameter onto the frozen user-viewable thermal image on the display; and

update the overlaid information to indicate a second detection of the moisture parameter.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , the logic device further configured to:

generate the information indicating the first detection of the moisture parameter;

generate updated information indicating the second detection of the moisture parameter; and

update the overlaid information with the updated information.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein:

the moisture parameter comprises a presence and/or amount of moisture; and

the moisture sensor is configured to detect the presence and/or the amount of moisture in the external article.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the moisture sensor is configured to detect the presence and/or the amount of moisture by generating an electrical field and sensing a change in the electrical field due to the presence and/or the amount of moisture in the external article.

5. The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the moisture sensor comprises a plurality of contact pins and is configured to detect the presence and/or the amount of moisture by sensing a change in electrical resistance between the contact pins contacting the external article due to the presence and/or the amount of moisture.

6. The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the moisture sensor comprises an external pin-type moisture sensor configured to transmit via wired or wireless connection a signal indicative of the presence and/or the amount of moisture.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the logic device is further configured to process the thermal images captured by the IR imaging module to generate the user-viewable thermal image.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the IR imaging module comprises an array of microbolometers.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a memory, wherein the logic device is further configured to capture a displayed image comprising the frozen user-viewable thermal image on the display and the overlaid information and store the captured image in the memory.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a laser pointer configured to emit a beam line, wherein the logic device is further configured to overlay a crosshair image aligned with the beam line onto the user-viewable thermal image on the display.

11. A method comprising:

capturing a thermal image of a scene;

generating a user-viewable thermal image based on the thermal image;

displaying the user-viewable thermal image;

freezing the user-viewable thermal image;

determining a first measurement of a moisture parameter associated with an external article;

overlaying information regarding a value of the moisture parameter to indicate the first measurement onto the frozen user-viewable thermal image;

determining a second measurement of the moisture parameter associated with the external article; and

updating the overlaid information to indicate the second measurement.

12. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:

generating the information indicating the first measurement; and

generating updated information indicating the second measurement;

wherein the updating comprises updating the overlaid information with the updated information.

13. The method of claim 11 , wherein:

the moisture parameter comprises a presence and/or amount of moisture; and

the determining of the first measurement and the determining of the second measurement each comprises detecting the presence and/or the amount of moisture in the external article.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the detecting of the presence and/or the amount of moisture comprises generating an electrical field and sensing a change in the electrical field due to the presence and/or the amount of moisture in the external article.

15. The method of claim 13 , wherein the detecting of the presence and/or the amount of moisture comprises sensing a change in electrical resistance between contact pins contacting the external article due to the presence and/or the amount of moisture.

16. The method of claim 11 , further comprising processing the thermal image to generate the user-viewable thermal image.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the processing of the thermal image comprises indicating a thermal anomaly in the user-viewable thermal image by a distinguishable shade or color.

18. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:

determining a first measurement of a physical parameter and/or another moisture parameter associated with the external article; and

determining a second measurement of the physical parameter and/or the other moisture parameter associated with the external article;

wherein the overlaying of the information is further to indicate the first measurement of the physical parameter or the other moisture parameter onto the frozen user-viewable thermal image, and wherein the updating of the overlaid information is further to indicate the second measurement of the physical parameter and/or the other moisture parameter.

19. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:

capturing a displayed image comprising the frozen user-viewable thermal image on the display and the overlaid information; and

storing the captured image in a memory.

20. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:

emitting a beam line; and

overlaying a crosshair image aligned with the beam line onto the user-viewable thermal image on the display.