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Class 348/297 - Accumulation or integration time responsive to light or signal intensity


Subclass of Class 348 - Television
Definition: Subject matter wherein the photo conversion period (i.e.,
No. of patents: 372
Last issue date: 01/31/2012


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NumberTitleIssue Date
8106981Image photographing apparatus and method using different intensity sensors
An image photographing apparatus and method, and more particularly, an image photographing apparatus and method that may divide each unit sensor of an image sensor into a high-sensitivity sensor and a low-sensitivity sensor and sense an incident optical signal using...
01/31/2012
8077237Method and apparatus for controlling dual conversion gain signal in imaging devices
A image-sensing device includes an array of light-sensing pixels arranged in rows, a readout circuit, and a control logic coupled to the rows of pixels. Each of the pixels has a respective conversion gain that changes to a respective second value from a respective f...
12/13/2011
8063960Solid-state imaging device and apparatus with an increased speed of analog to digital conversion
A solid-state imaging device includes a reference-signal generating unit that generates plural kinds of reference signals for converting an analog pixel signal into digital data, a reference-signal selecting unit that selects any one of the plural kinds of reference...
11/22/2011
8054357Image sensor with time overlapping image output
An image sensor system with an image sensor that generates a first image and a second image. The first and second images are transmitted to a processor in a time overlapping manner. By way of example, the images may be transferred to the processor in an interleaving...
11/08/2011
8018513Adapted piecewise linear processing device
A piecewise linear processing device applies different amplification rates according to a general environment and a low luminance environment where much noise exists. The piecewise linear processing device includes a knee point storing unit configured to store a use...
09/13/2011
7990451Optical pixel and image sensor
A photosensitive pixel includes a photosensor and an externally loadable flag. The photosensor outputs a signal indicative of an intensity of incident light. The externally loadable flag indicates the pixel reset state, and is preferably stored in an in-pixel memory...
08/02/2011
7956912Active pixel sensor with mixed analog and digital signal integration
An active pixel sensor includes mixed analog and digital signal integration on the same substrate. The analog part of the array forms the active pixel sensor, and the digital part of the array does digital integration of the signal. ...
06/07/2011
7956913Image sensor and pixel that has positive transfer gate voltage during integration period
A pixel and image sensor formed in accordance with the present invention has two modes of operation: a normal mode and a low light mode. The present invention switches from a normal to a low light mode based upon the amount of illumination on the image sensor. Once ...
06/07/2011
7948538Image capturing apparatus, image capturing method, exposure control method, and program
An image capturing apparatus includes: an image capturing unit configured to generate a long-exposure image signal and a short-exposure image signal on the basis of light transmitted from a subject and output the long-exposure image signal and the short-exposure ima...
05/24/2011
7889253Wide dynamic range image sensor
The present invention relates to a CMOS image sensor having a wide dynamic range, which permits favorable imaging even in cases where a bright portion and a dark portion exist simultaneously. The dynamic range can be widened by preventing the saturation of op...
02/15/2011
7884869Assignment of pixel element exposure times in digital camera modules and mobile communication devices
A method and digital imaging device, such as a digital camera module, is provided for digital imaging. The method includes the step of determining a signal-to-noise ratio associated with a first pixel location of a plurality of pixel locations and a signal-to-noise ...
02/08/2011
7884868Image capturing element, image capturing apparatus, image capturing method, image capturing system, and image processing apparatus
An image capturing element having an electric shutter function of controlling exposure time for each frame includes: a photoelectric converter that has a plurality of photoelectric conversion elements arranged in a matrix each of which converts light into charge and...
02/08/2011
7872682Eclipse elimination by monitoring the pixel signal level
An anti-eclipse circuit for an imaging sensor monitors the photo signal level output by a pixel to determine whether the photo signal corresponds to the pixel being operated at a saturated state. If so, there is a risk that the pixel may be susceptible to an eclipse...
01/18/2011
7830435Image sensor and image capture system with extended dynamic range
An image sensor includes a plurality of pixels; a color filter pattern spanning at least a portion of the pixels, wherein the color filter pattern forms a color filter kernel having colors in a predetermined arrangement; and a mechanism for controlling integration t...
11/09/2010
7825971Low noise image sensing system and method for use with sensors with very small pixel size
The image sensing system includes integrating charge in an image sensor array; transferring the charge out of the image sensor array; converting the charge to a digital signal; combining the digital signal with digital data stored in a memory device to form an integ...
11/02/2010
7825972Processing method device and system to produce a focused image signal from an unfocused image
A method and apparatus are disclosed for forming an image signal by receiving a flux of photons at a convex photodetector such as a hemispherical photodetector. The convex photodetector includes a plurality of photosensors. Each photosensor has a different orientati...
11/02/2010
7808536Solid-state imaging device for high-speed photography
A solid-state imaging device for high-speed photography includes an imaging element area in which a plurality of pixel portions having photodetectors for photography are disposed in a matrix form. The solid-state imaging device generates image data by capturing pixe...
10/05/2010
7800670Image pickup apparatus and image pickup method
An image pickup apparatus is disclosed which can remove noise with certainty from an image pickup signal while a high resolution of the image pickup signal is assured regardless of a reading out method of the image pickup signal and achieve reduction of the cost. A ...
09/21/2010
7791663Image sensor and pixel that has positive transfer gate voltage during integration period
A pixel and image sensor formed in accordance with the present invention has two modes of operation: a normal mode and a low light mode. The present invention switches from a normal to a low light mode based upon the amount of illumination on the image sensor. Once ...
09/07/2010
7746398Wide dynamic range active pixel with knee response
A pixel circuit, and a method for operating a pixel circuit, to provide a multiple knee response characteristic. In one embodiment a pixel circuit comprises a photoconversion device for accumulating charge during a first integration period and second integration per...
06/29/2010
7738020Method and apparatus for saturation detection and electronic shutter in a solid state image sensor
An imaging system includes a photocell circuit. The photocell circuit includes a photodetector circuit. The photodetector circuit includes an input configured to receive incident light. A first terminal communicates with a sample node. A second terminal communicates...
06/15/2010
7738019System and method for providing automatic gain control in an imaging device
A system and method of providing automatic gain control (AGC) in an imaging device uses accumulated signals stored in active pixels of an image sensor during an exposure period to derive a shutter value for subsequent image capture. ...
06/15/2010
7659931Apparatus for imaging objects of changing luminance
In an imaging apparatus, a function whose value increases in time is used as a threshold electric-signal level, and an electric-signal level of a photoreceptor element is compared with the threshold electric-signal level. Even if a light received by the photorecepto...
02/09/2010
7643075Image pickup device
When a saturation flag of HDR-RAW data accumulated in a BRAM data accumulating section 19 is “1” and a saturation flag of HDR-RAW data accumulated in an input data accumulating section 18 is “0,” i.e., when a pixel being in a saturated state no...
01/05/2010
7623170Amplification type image pickup apparatus and method of controlling the amplification type image pickup apparatus
An image pickup apparatus comprising an array of unit cells, vertical signal lines, and a control circuit. The unit cells are arranged in rows and columns. Each unit cell has a light-receiving device for receiving light and generating an electric charge correspondin...
11/24/2009
7612813Auto exposure for digital imagers
An apparatus and method for performing automatic exposure control based on current measured luminance of an image and dynamic/modifiable target luminance levels. Exposure adjustments and/or adjustments to the dynamic/modifiable target luminance windows are based on ...
11/03/2009
7605852Real-time exposure control for automatic light control
An imager and a method for real-time, non-destructive monitoring of light incident on imager pixels during their exposure to light. Real-time or present pixel signals, which are indicative of present illumination on the pixels, are compared to a reference signal dur...
10/20/2009
7602428Image pick-up apparatus and image pick-up method
At a controller 5, pixel values that a CCD 3 outputs are evaluated. On the basis of the evaluation result, exposure times with respect to a light receiving surface of the CCD 3 in a shutter 2 constituted with, e.g., DMD (Digital Micromirr...
10/13/2009
7593048Method and apparatus for saturation detection and electronic shutter in a solid state image sensor
Imaging system having a sensor array with photocells that permit the monitoring of light levels while the sensor is exposed to a scene, and the ability to accurately avoid saturation on a per column, row, or array basis. The sensor array supports variable dynamic ra...
09/22/2009
7583305Extended dynamic range imaging system
A method for decreasing integration time of saturated paxels within an imager; wherein the method includes decreasing the integration time of the saturated paxels within an imager according to scene data from a captured image. ...
09/01/2009
7561196Method and apparatus for preventing image artifacts
A pixel sensing subsystem for a solid state image sensor includes frame timing logic that produces a frame timing signal indicative of an end-of-frame time and a beginning-of-frame time and reset logic that produces a reset signal for a charge accumulator of pixel s...
07/14/2009
7557845Solid state imaging device incorporating unwanted electric charge discharging channel and method of driving the same
A solid state imaging device comprises a substrate, a photoelectric conversion element, an accumulation well, a modulation well, a modulation transistor, a transfer control element, and an unwanted electric charge discharging control element. The photoelectric conve...
07/07/2009
7554588Dual exposure for image sensor
A method of capturing an image of a scene using an image capture device having an array of pixels arranged into a plurality of rows includes, for a first duration, capturing a first portion of the scene with a first plurality of the rows and, for a second duration t...
06/30/2009
7477305Imaging device and imaging method
At a controller 5, pixel values that a CCD 3 outputs are evaluated. On the basis of the evaluation result, exposure times with respect to a light receiving surface of the CCD 3 in a shutter 2 constituted with, e.g., DMD (Digital Micromirr...
01/13/2009
7474345System and method to facilitate time domain sampling for solid state imager
A time domain sampling technique for a CMOS imager enables a wide dynamic range and flexibility by employing up to two-degrees of freedom during such sampling. Two degrees of freedom can be achieved by making one or both of an integration time and a reference (e.g.,...
01/06/2009
7460163Line sensor spatially compressing charge distribution
The line sensor 100 comprises an image pick-up part 10, charge integrator 20 and charge output part 30. The image pick-up part comprises an N pixel parts 111 to 11N arranged in one direction, an nth pix...
12/02/2008
7436444Radiation image pick-up apparatus having reading element, drive circuit for driving reading element, and control circuit for controlling drive circuit
A radiation image pick-up apparatus includes a conversion element, accumulation element, read element, detection element, driving circuit, and controller. The conversion element converts radiation into an electrical signal. The accumulation unit accumulates the elec...
10/14/2008
7433093Method and apparatus for increasing signal to noise ratio
A method for increasing signal to noise ratio is disclosed. The method can automatically detect saturation output voltage of the photosensors via adjusting exposure time or illumination intensity so as to obtain optimum output voltage of the photosensors as well as ...
10/07/2008
7428010Photosensor system and drive control method for optimal sensitivity
A photosensor system includes a photosensor array constituted by two dimensionally arraying a plurality of photosensors, an image reading section which reads a subject image at a predetermined image reading sensitivity by using the photosensor array, a sensitivity a...
09/23/2008
7420154Pixel circuit with non-destructive readout circuit and methods of operation thereof
A pixel cell allows both correlated double sampling (CDS) and automatic light control (ALC) operations through a non-destructive, parallel readout. An image sensor may include an array of pixel cells, some or all of which include a photosensor with two readout circu...
09/02/2008
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