Abstract: The subject matter of the invention is an active pixel dental radiological image sensor, with integrated X-ray occurrence detection, which uses the pixels of the matrix to detect the start of an X-ray flash, by detecting the current produced by all the photodiodes in the matrix. A switching circuit MUX1 thus allows, in a first phase of detecting the start of an X-ray flash, a common connection node NC to be connected that corresponds to the drain of a photodiode initialisation transistor M1 at the input of a current-voltage conversion detection circuit DTX1, which provides as output a signal for detecting the start of an X-ray flash when the current produced by all the photodiodes of the matrix exceeds a predetermined threshold. The switching circuit MUX1 is then controlled to connect the common connection node NC of the pixels to a photodiode re-initialisation voltage source, VRS.

Abstract: A CMOS image sensor for a code reader in an optical code recognition system incorporates a digital processing circuit that applies a calculation process to the capture image data as said data acquired by the sequential readout circuit of the sensor, in order to calculate a macro-image from the capture image data, which corresponds to location information of code(s) in the capture image, and transmit this macro-image in the image frame following the capture image data, in the footer of the frame.

Abstract: Device for generating analogue signals comprises a digital-to-analogue converter comprising at least one digital input and one analogue output, a circuit for generating a first clock signal of frequency fs, and a digital register configured so as to receive at the input and to store N bits representative of an analogue output signal of the converter, N being an integer greater than or equal to 1, and for receiving the first clock signal, the register comprising, for each bit, two complementary digital outputs.

Abstract: An image sensor includes a pixel structure which pair-wise vertically shares at least one read node, and further comprises a memory node for storing charges. A vertical transfer control line commands charge transfer from the photodiode to the memory node of a given column. The vertical transfer control rows apply two different exposure times, a first to the even columns and a second to the odd columns. The pixels and the read circuit perform one read operation per vertical pair of pixels over the exposure time associated with the column of the pair. A processing block is configured to calculate, for each vertical pair of pixels, an interpolated digital value. A periodic pattern of colored filters creates an HDR-mode color image sensor.

Abstract: The invention provides a method for acquiring an image of a target code, which allows the CMOS sensor, after the reader has been triggered to acquire a target code, to rapidly determine, and internally, a desirable exposure-time value Topt for the image capture of this code.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for synchronizing digital data sent in series by a transmitter to a receiver, and to a device allowing such a method to be implemented. The invention aims to provide a method for synchronizing serial digital data without using a FIFO memory. The invented is based on the use of a single clock, in particular that of the receiver.

Abstract: The invention provides a method for acquiring an image of a target code, which allows the CMOS sensor, after the reader has been triggered to acquire a target code, to rapidly determine, and internally, a desirable exposure-time value Topt for the image capture of this code.

Abstract: In an active pixel sensor comprising a photodiode Dp, a memory node MN and a readout node SN, the memory node being provided to contain the charge generated by the photodiode at the end of an integration period allowing an integration in global shutter mode and a correlated double sampling, it is envisaged to carry out, in each integration period, at least one transfer {circle around (2)} of charge from the photodiode to the memory node followed by clipping {circle around (3)} of the amount of charge contained in the memory node at an intermediate voltage t1 after the start of the integration period but before a last transfer of charge {circle around (4)} to the memory node at the end of the integration period. The pixels are subsequently read out, row by row, by correlated double sampling CDS.

Abstract: The invention relates to the processing operation of interpolating the colours of a Bayer mosaic image sensor. A first elementary matrix filter, which is a bilinear interpolation filter, of size m×m, m being an odd number larger than or equal to 3, a low-pass matrix filter of size n×n, n being an odd number larger than or equal to 3, and a high-pass matrix filter, complementary to the low-pass filter, of size n×n, are defined. The first matrix filter is convoluted with the low-pass filter, resulting in a low-frequency interpolation filter of size (m+n?1)×(m+n?1), and the first matrix filter is convoluted with the high-pass filter, resulting in a high-frequency interpolation filter of size (m+n?1)×(m+n?1). The matrix of digital signals arising from the pixels is filtered separately, using the pixels of each colour, by the low-frequency interpolation filter. The complete matrix of signals is filtered using the high-frequency interpolation filter.

Abstract: The invention provides a linear sensor including a row 100 of N regularly spaced pixels that are formed in a semiconductor substrate, and a circuit for reading out the N pixels, which delivers an output signal for each of the N pixels of the row, characterized in that the N pixels comprise image-capturing pixels that have a useful photosensitive area in the shape of a rectangle R that is higher than it is wide, where the width is in the direction of the row and the height is in the perpendicular direction, and at least two spaced-apart pairs of alignment-detecting pixels PPL, PPR, wherein the detecting pixels of each pair are pixels P1, P2 that are adjacent in the row 100 of pixels and the useful photosensitive area DT1, DT2 of the detecting pixels has a width that varies monotonically in the height direction, but in opposite directions for the two detecting pixels of a given pair.

Abstract: An intra-oral dental radiological image sensor is mechanically reinforced by two front RA and rear RB mechanical reinforcing plates each inserted between a respective face of an image capture module and a respective front 20A and rear 20B shell bottom of a casing. The front reinforcing plate is a solid plate, made of material transparent to X rays, covering the photosensitive front face (scintillator) of the module, and harder than the front shell. The rear plate, less thick than the front plate, is harder than the rear shell and comprises an opening O provided to surround, without covering them, components present on the rear face of the module, under a rear shell dome.

Abstract: In a sensor comprising active pixels including a photodiode PHD, a memory node MN and a read-out node SN, the memory node being provided to hold the charge generated by the photodiode at the end of an integration period enabling integration in global-shutter mode and a correlated double sampling read-out, provision is made for the charge-storage capacity of the memory node to be at least N times higher than the charge-storage capacity of the photodiode (N being an integer higher than or equal to 2) and provision is made to carry out, in each integration and read-out cycle, during the integration duration Tint(i), N transfers Tri1, Tri2, Tri3 of charge from the photodiode to the memory node, the N transfers being equally distributed over the integration duration. The dynamic range of the sensor is improved under high light levels.

Abstract: A medical radiology system comprises an external x-ray source (1) and a CMOS image sensor (2) that is connected via a USB link (4) by way of USB peripheral of a device (3) for digitally processing the image data of the sensor. A tracking device is placed on the USB link (4) in order to continuously read and decode the data transmitted over this link in a way that is transparent to the device and to the sensor, and to detect, in the transmitted data stream, one particular datum (XAMC=1) representing a signal indicating detection, by the sensor, that a sufficient dose of radiation has been received. On detection of this particular datum, the tracking device sends an electrical signal Stop-X to the radiation source, in order to stop the emission of the radiation. The system is especially suitable for taking dental radiology images with an intra-oral CMOS sensor.

Abstract: In a hermetic integrated-circuit package, the peripheral wall that bounds the cavity 2 containing the integrated circuit has, all the length of the peripheral wall, a surface containing a relief, which is defined by a raised planar zone z1, on the side inside the package of the cavity, and a recessed zone z2, on the exterior of the raised planar zone. The planar zone makes direct contact with the closing plate 6 of the package, without interposition of adhesive, over the entire length of the peripheral wall, except where planarity defects prevent the contact. The recessed zone does not make direct contact with the closing plate, and contains an adhesive bead that joins the closing plate and the upper portion of the peripheral wall over all the peripheral length of the latter. The adhesive bead 9 has a surface Se in open air between the closing plate and the recessed zone, on the exterior side of the package.

Abstract: A circuit (300) for detecting the appearance of x-rays with a view to triggering a radiological image capture, comprising a set (301) of photodiodes that is connected to a ground (GD), an amplifying circuit (302) and a capacitor (C2), the amplifying circuit (302) comprising an amplifier (AMP) and a voltage source (GEN) and being connected, via a first input, to the output of the set (301) of photodiodes, the capacitor (C2) being connected between the ground (GD) and a second input of the amplifier (AMP), the detecting circuit (300) being characterized in that the amplifying circuit (302) is configured to carry out in succession the steps of: Charging the capacitor (C2) with a reference voltage (Vref) generated by the voltage source (GEN); Isolating the second input of the amplifier (AMP) from the voltage source (GEN); and Integrating the current generated by the set (301) of photodiodes.

Abstract: In an architecture for processing data comprising a control unit and converters CNj to be synchronized to an active front of a common reference clock CLK, the synchronizing method makes provision for the converters to be arranged in at least one series chain, and for a procedure for synchronizing the converters by propagating a synchronizing signal SYNC-m emitted by the control unit, said signal being retransmitted as output OUT by each converter, after resynchronization to a clock active front, to a synchronization input IN of a following converter in the chain. Each converter comprises a synchronization configuration register REG containing at least one polarity parameter Sel-edgej that sets the polarity of the reference-clock front for reliable detection of a synchronizing signal received via the input of the converter.

Abstract: To eliminate image defects produced by high-energy particles passing through a time delay integration image sensor, upstream detection is effected on the digital values supplied by the pixels of the same rank that have successively observed the same scene point. This detection makes it possible to ignore or to correct values from corrupted pixels in establishing the digital signal representing the luminance of an observed scene point. Detection is based on the calculation of the difference between a first digital value pi,a(t1) and a second digital value pi,b(t2) supplied by two pixels Pxi,a and Pxi,b that have observed the same scene point, subtracting the second value from the first, and comparing it to a predetermined threshold k. If this difference is above the threshold, the first value is too high, the first value is ignored in the summation ??i effected to establish the luminance of the scene point, replacing this value with the second value to which it has been compared.

Abstract: In a sensor comprising active pixels including a photodiode PHD, a memory node MN and a read-out node SN, the memory node being provided to hold the charge generated by the photodiode at the end of an integration period enabling integration in global-shutter mode and a correlated double sampling read-out, provision is made for the charge-storage capacity of the memory node to be at least N times higher than the charge-storage capacity of the photodiode (N being an integer higher than or equal to 2) and provision is made to carry out, in each integration and read-out cycle, during the integration duration Tint(i), N transfers Tri1, Tri2, Tri3 of charge from the photodiode to the memory node, the N transfers being equally distributed over the integration duration. The dynamic range of the sensor is improved under high light levels.

Abstract: The invention relates to color-image sensors. To benefit both from a good luminance resolution and a color accuracy that is not excessively degraded by the sensitivity of silicon to near-infrared radiation, the invention proposes to produce a mosaic of pixels comprising colored pixels (R), (G), (B), coated with color filters, which are distributed in the matrix, with white pixels (T) not coated with color filters and which are distributed in the matrix. The colored pixels include photodiodes constructed differently from the photodiodes of the white pixels, the different construction being such that the photodiodes of the colored pixels have a lower sensitivity to infrared radiation than the photodiodes of the white pixels.