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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 8290357 | Auto-exposure technique in a camera An image processor, which determines appropriate exposure parameters for a shutter assembly in a camera. The image processor may computationally determine a region of interest in a scene sought to be captured, and set the parameters to ensure that the exposure param... | 10/16/2012 |
| 8285135 | Method and device for adjusting weighting values in light metering A method for adjusting weighting values in light metering is provided. An input image is divided into multiple metering zones. The input image includes a number of pixel data, and the metering zones correspond to a number of exposure weighting values. It is determin... | 10/09/2012 |
| 8121473 | Imaging apparatus An imaging apparatus includes a photometry unit dividing a subject into a plurality of regions and performing a photometry, a first calculating unit calculating a first control value based on a photometry result of the photometry unit, a comparing unit comparing the... | 02/21/2012 |
| 7848632 | Image sensing apparatus and method of controlling same It is so arranged that the portion of the image of a subject that is a face takes on an appropriate brightness. The image of the subject is obtained by imaging the subject. The subject image is subjected to face detection processing and an area construed as being th... | 12/07/2010 |
| 7725022 | Dynamic automatic exposure compensation for image capture devices Techniques are described for dynamic automatic exposure compensation within image capture devices. The techniques include dynamically adjusting a default target brightness for a scene to compensate an exposure value (EV) selected by an automatic exposure process. A ... | 05/25/2010 |
| 7676149 | System for backlight detection using brightness values of subareas in focus area and method therefor A system for backlight detection using the brightness values of the subareas in a focus area and method therefor are provided, which are applicable to an image capture device. The focus area is divided into a plurality of subareas and the brightness values of each o... | 03/09/2010 |
| 7653299 | Imaging apparatus An image of appropriate exposure is obtained in a short period of time. A controller and timing generator performs photometric measurement by use of an image signal acquired from a CCD, and determines appropriate light exposure. The CCD is divided into a plurality o... | 01/26/2010 |
| 7650068 | Camera and method of imaging A camera includes a photometry section, an exposure calculating section, and a correction calculating section. The photometry section obtains photometry values at a plurality of positions of a subject. The exposure calculating section obtains an exposure value when ... | 01/19/2010 |
| 7570883 | Image pickup method and apparatus with ISO sensitivity setting variable An image pickup apparatus includes an automatic exposure controller automatically controls ISO sensitivity in response to the output signal of an exposure metering circuit, and controls the exposure so that exposure setting is determined based on the brightness valu... | 08/04/2009 |
| 7548689 | Image processing method In a method for processing an image, a scene to be captured is divided into multiple zones and statistical values for a plurality of the multiple zones are obtained. In addition, a short-exposure time and a long-exposure time from the statistical values of the plura... | 06/16/2009 |
| 7474848 | Method for achieving correct exposure of a panoramic photograph A method is disclosed for achieving correct exposure, focus, or both in a panoramic photograph that is stitched together from component photographs. In one example embodiment, a camera user sweeps the camera across the scene to be photographed, at least two measurem... | 01/06/2009 |
| 7430371 | Mobile communications terminal for compensating automatic exposure of camera and method thereof A method for compensating an automatic exposure of a camera in a mobile communication terminal. The method includes determining a presumptive error value based on an average luminance value of an input current image frame and a particular target luminance value, sel... | 09/30/2008 |
| 7398016 | Backlight compensation using threshold detection A method and circuit for excluding regions from an exposure calculation is described. The method includes obtaining pre-image data representing an image of a scene and dividing the image into a plurality of regions. Regions that contain a predetermined number of bri... | 07/08/2008 |
| 7339606 | Image capturing apparatus, main subject position determination method, and computer-readable medium storing program An image capturing apparatus for accurately determining a position of a main subject on an image. The image capturing apparatus for capturing a subject includes an image pick-up unit for capturing a preliminary image and a final image; a main subject recognition uni... | 03/04/2008 |
| 7340159 | Image taking device and personal identification system In order to perform personal identification by matching a first body image that is obtained in advance by an image taking process with a second body image that is obtained when the identification is performed, an image taking device (1) for obtaining the seco... | 03/04/2008 |
| 7336307 | Camera having accumulation operation in the period between the time of fully opening a leading shutter and the time of starting of a trailing shutter Disclosed is a camera including: an image-taking device; a shutter unit having a first shutter member that travels from a position where a shutter opening is closed to a position which is retreated from the opening, and a second shutter member that travels from the ... | 02/26/2008 |
| 7173558 | Charge comparator with low input offset A Direct Current (DC) charge comparator that provides low input offset by feeding complimentary plus and minus charge inputs to a single amplification path via an alternate input path switch. Multiple sample and hold circuits at the output of the amplification path ... | 02/06/2007 |
| 7164856 | Distance measurement and photometry sensor device In a distance measurement and photometry sensor device in which sensors are arranged on the same plane to be formed in the form of a semiconductor chip, a photometry sensor is arranged such that its sensor center is deviated by a predetermined distance in a directio... | 01/16/2007 |
| 7133571 | Automated cropping of electronic images The present invention relates to the automated and semi-automated cropping of electronic images, and in particular to an apparatus and a method of using an electronic camera to capture and crop such electronic images. An electronic imaging processing device (1 | 11/07/2006 |
| 7092018 | Image signal processor and deficient pixel detection method A deficiency candidate detection circuit detects a deficient pixel candidate by comparing the image signal of a target pixel with the image signals of peripheral pixels, and address information of the deficient pixel candidate is stored in a position memory circuit.... | 08/15/2006 |
| 7075578 | Digital camera with flash emission control A plurality of photosensors are provided as light measuring elements at respectively different positions within a space between an optical unit and an image sensor so as to be outside the optical path of the direct light from a photographic subject entering through ... | 07/11/2006 |
| 7053954 | Process for regulating the exposure time of a light sensor This invention relates to a process for regulating the exposure time of a light sensor, characterized in that it comprises the following steps: a) setting the exposure time of the sensor to a value selected in a first range of M pr... | 05/30/2006 |
| 7027726 | Camera having proper exposure controlling function A camera includes a luminance distribution detecting unit, a changing point determining unit, and an exposure controller. The luminance distribution detecting unit detects distribution of brightness in a photographing picture. The changing point determining unit det... | 04/11/2006 |
| 7024108 | Image pickup apparatus with precise exposure value, exposure decision method, program, and storage medium The object of this invention is to increase the precision of an exposure value in a scan AE scheme. To achieve this object, an image is picked at a plurality of exposure values. Screen-split brightness values and exposure value differences are obtained for the respe... | 04/04/2006 |
| 7023484 | Exposure control apparatus and method thereof The exposure control apparatus comprises screen divider which divides the screen into a many areas, and high luminance decider which decides, for each area of the screen, whether a main subject having a high luminance exists within that area. Further, average lumina... | 04/04/2006 |
| 7019775 | Image sensing apparatus and control method thereof An image sensing apparatus capable of operating in at least a single-shot mode and a sequential mode, includes: an image sensor that outputs charge signals from a plurality of divided areas. A plurality of image processing units which respectively process the charge... | 03/28/2006 |
| 7020391 | Sensor device A camera is disclosed which is provided with a sensor device that includes: a substrate having formed thereon which first and second line sensors that are arranged a fixed baseline length apart from each other and a third sensor for receiving light from a field whic... | 03/28/2006 |
| 7009642 | Method and apparatus for detecting the presence of artificial illumination in a scene A method and apparatus for detecting the presence of artificial illumination in a scene powered by alternating current by sampling the light in a scene at a periodic rate. ... | 03/07/2006 |
| 6999126 | Method of eliminating hot spot in digital photograph A method of eliminating a hot spot of a digital photograph. A light recording area for receiving a light reflected from a scene to be photographed is segmented into a grid of a plurality of squares. Each of the squares is identified with a coordinate. An exposure va... | 02/14/2006 |
| 6975355 | Multiple sampling via a time-indexed method to achieve wide dynamic ranges An architecture for a digital pixel sensor is disclosed in which the dynamic range of the sensor is increased by taking samples of a subject to be recorded, where each sample is taken over an interval of a different duration than the other samples. In the preferred ... | 12/13/2005 |
| 6973265 | Solid state image pick-up device and image pick-up apparatus using such device In order to realize a photometry/ranging solid state image pick-up device having high performance AE and multi-point functions by a single chip, a plurality of ranging photoelectric conversion element columns 1A to 7A and 1B to 7B for mul... | 12/06/2005 |
| 6973262 | Camera and wide-angle field distance-measuring camera A camera includes a sensor array which can detect a brightness signal of a subject and has a plurality of segments for focal point detection, a first photometry unit for calculating the brightness signal of the subject on the basis of an output of one segment or out... | 12/06/2005 |
| 6970199 | Digital camera using exposure information acquired from a scene A method of improving a digital image captured by a digital camera includes using the digital camera to capture a first image of a scene and having a display to display the first captured image; identifying a portion of the displayed image of the first captured imag... | 11/29/2005 |
| 6958778 | Iris control method and apparatus for television camera for controlling iris of lens according to video signal, and television camera using the same An image frame of a long-time exposure video signal from a solid stage imaging device outputting the long-time exposure video signal and a short-time exposure video signal on a time division basis is divided into a plurality of predetermined areas, and a first area ... | 10/25/2005 |
| 6956612 | User selectable focus regions in an image capturing device An image capturing device includes a focusable lens apparatus, an image sensor comprising a plurality of pixel elements, and an electronically actuatable shutter device including a plurality of individually addressable and actuatable shutter elements. A shutter elem... | 10/18/2005 |
| 6944398 | Photometric device and camera A photometric device according to the present invention performs the steps of: performing photometry in a first area of an overall area where photometry can be performed; performing photometry in a plurality of second areas, each included in the first area; and when... | 09/13/2005 |
| 6940556 | Electronic still camera and information recording appartus An electronic still camera is provided with a photographic image capturing device that outputs image data by capturing a subject image passing through a taking lens, an analytic image capturing device provided at a position adjacent to the position that is conjugate... | 09/06/2005 |
| 6931208 | Camera with an exposure control function A camera is provided which includes a backlight judgment section which determines whether the photographic scene is backlit by comparing the average luminance of the entire photographic screen obtained by photometry with the luminance of the main subject at a distan... | 08/16/2005 |
| 6920286 | Camera having proper exposure controlling function A camera includes a luminance distribution detecting unit, a changing point determining unit, and an exposure controller. The luminance distribution detecting unit detects distribution of brightness in a photographing picture. The changing point determining unit det... | 07/19/2005 |
| 6906753 | Image processing unit and image processing method with simplified exposure, gain and white balance control An image processing unit is provided which can solve a problem of a conventional image processing unit in that the control for coding image data is complicated and its circuit scale is large. The image pickup apparatus picks up an image of a subject and converts it ... | 06/14/2005 |
