Patents Examined by Ahmed A Berhan
  • Patent number: 11044432
    Abstract: An imaging device comprises a first pixel. The first pixel includes a photoelectric conversion element to convert incident light into electric charge, and a first transfer element and a second transfer element to transfer the electric charge. The first transfer element is coupled between the photoelectric conversion element and the second transfer element. The first pixel includes a reset element coupled to the second transfer element, a floating diffusion, and an amplification element coupled to the floating diffusion to amplify a voltage of the floating diffusion. The floating diffusion is coupled between the second transfer element the amplification element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 22, 2021
    Assignee: Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation
    Inventor: Shin Kitano
  • Patent number: 11039051
    Abstract: An integrated image sensor and lens assembly comprises a lens barrel holding camera lenses coupled to a lens mount. The lens mount is further coupled to an image sensor substrate that has an image sensor lying on an image plane. The optical distance between lenses and the image sensor is tuned such that the focal plane of the lenses coincides with the image plane. Due to thermal expansion, this optical distance may vary thereby to cause the focal plane of the lenses to shift away from the image plane. The integrated image sensor and lens assembly further comprises spacers that couple one or more lens elements to the lens barrel. The spacers and the lens elements are configured such that the optical distance is maintained to be constant or substantially constant.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 15, 2021
    Assignee: GoPro, Inc.
    Inventor: Emilio Graff
  • Patent number: 11039052
    Abstract: The present invention provides a camera module and a molding circuit board assembly, circuit board and application thereof, the circuit board comprising a digital circuit unit, an analog circuit unit and a substrate. The digital circuit nit and the analog circuit unit are respectively formed on the substrate, and the digital circuit unit and the analog circuit unit are conductively connected to each other, wherein at least one part of the analog circuit unit has a safe distance from the digital circuit unit, so as to prevent an electromagnetic wave generated by a circuit of the digital circuit unit from interfering with an electrical signal transmitted and processed by the analog circuit unit, thereby improving the stability and reliability of the transmission and the processing of the electrical signal by the circuit board.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 5, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 15, 2021
    Assignee: NINGBO SUNNY OPOTECH CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Mingzhu Wang, Duanliang Cheng, Fengsheng Xi, Bojie Zhao, Takehiko Tanaka, Zhen Huang, Zhenyu Chen, Nan Guo
  • Patent number: 11032484
    Abstract: An image processing apparatus includes a processor configured to divide a captured image into a plurality of regions, calculate first white balance related information based on a pixel value of each of the plurality of regions, acquire second white balance related information set by a user for the captured image, and decide a priority region for which a condition of a dynamic range expansion process to be performed on the captured image is set based on brightness of the priority region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 2, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 8, 2021
    Assignee: FUJIFILM Corporation
    Inventor: Yuya Nishio
  • Patent number: 11025832
    Abstract: An imaging device includes a pixel including a photoelectric converter, where the pixel captures first data in a first exposure period and captures second data in a second exposure period different from the first exposure period, the first exposure period and the second exposure period being included in a frame period. A sensitivity of the photoelectric converter in the first exposure period is different from a sensitivity of the photoelectric converter in the second exposure period, and the imaging device generates multiple-exposure image data including at least the first data and the second data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 5, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 1, 2021
    Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoshiaki Satou, Yasuo Miyake, Yasunori Inoue, Tokuhiko Tamaki
  • Patent number: 11019318
    Abstract: A display device includes (a) a non-volatile memory containing corrective data for compensating input image data received; (b) display hardware receiving control and data signals for displaying an image; and (c) an image processing circuit that retrieves the corrective data from the non-volatile memory to generate the data signals for the display hardware, after applying the corrective data to each color component of each pixel in the input image data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 25, 2021
    Assignee: CapsoVision Inc.
    Inventors: Kang-Huai Wang, Gordon C. Wilson
  • Patent number: 11012631
    Abstract: The present invention has an object to enable an improvement in accuracy of face detection and obtain an optimum image in which focus and exposure are adjusted in conformity with a detected face. An image capture processing device (50) of one mode of the present invention includes: a face detection section (40) configured to perform face detection so as to detect a face from an image of a subject, the image being captured by an auxiliary image capture section 20 which captures the image of the subject; and a control section (30) configured to control, on the basis of a result of the face detection, a main image capture section (10) to capture an image of the subject.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 18, 2021
    Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Hidenori Fujisawa, Shigefumi Urata, Junki Asai
  • Patent number: 11011569
    Abstract: An image sensor includes a pixel group comprising a plurality of photodiodes configured to produce photocharges produced in response to light incident on the plurality of photodiodes, a floating diffusion region configured to receive and accumulate the photocharges produced by the plurality of photodiodes, a plurality of transfer transistors coupled to the plurality of photodiodes, respectively, each of the plurality of transfer transistors configured to transfer the photocharges produced by the corresponding photodiode, and a common transfer transistor coupled between the plurality of transfer transistors and the floating diffusion region and configured to transfer the photocharges produced by the plurality of photodiodes to the floating diffusion region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 18, 2021
    Assignee: SK hynix Inc.
    Inventor: Jae Won Lee
  • Patent number: 11006067
    Abstract: An electronic apparatus includes: an input unit that inputs data for imaging conditions for each of a plurality of imaging regions included in an image capturing unit, different imaging conditions being set for each of the imaging regions; and a recording control unit that correlates the data for imaging conditions inputted from the input unit with the imaging regions and records correlated data in a recording unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 11, 2021
    Assignee: NIKON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yoshiaki Miyakawa, Naoki Yamagata
  • Patent number: 11006059
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to an imaging device, a driving method, and an electronic apparatus that can capture an image with a higher dynamic range. The imaging device includes a pixel region in which pixels are arranged, the pixels each including a photoelectric conversion unit that converts incident light into electric charges through electric conversion and stores the electric charges, and two or more charge storage units that store the electric charges transferred from the photoelectric conversion unit; and a drive unit that drives the pixels. The drive unit drives each pixel to cause the photoelectric conversion unit to repeatedly transfer electric charges with different exposure times to the two or more charge storage units during the light reception period of one frame. The present technology can be applied to an imaging device capable of capturing an HDR image, for example.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 7, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 11, 2021
    Assignee: SONY SEMICONDUCTOR SOLUTIONS CORPORATION
    Inventor: Isao Hirota
  • Patent number: 10999520
    Abstract: The present technology relates to an image capture device, a method of image capture, a signal processing device, a method of signal processing, and a program capable of capturing reliably a blinking image capture target. A predetermined image capture timing of an image capture unit is controlled so that image capture is performed N times during an exposure time in which at least a part of a turn-on period in which an image capture target is on overlaps with an exposure time of image capture of at least one time at a timing of dividing a blinking cycle in which the image capture target to be captured by the image capture unit configured to perform image capture at the image capture timing blinks into N equal parts where N represents more than one. The present technology is applicable to, in one example, a camera unit or the like used to capture an image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 4, 2021
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Makoto Koizumi, Hiroyuki Tanaka, Jun Ono, Daisuke Kawamata, Masakatsu Fujimoto
  • Patent number: 10992897
    Abstract: A pixel circuit including a photodiode, a first storage capacitor and a second storage capacitor is provided. The first storage capacitor discharges to a first output voltage in a first exposure time and to a third output voltage in a third exposure time. The second storage capacitor discharges to a second output voltage in a second exposure time and to a fourth output voltage in a fourth exposure time. The first and second exposure times are included in a first frame period. The third and fourth exposure times are included in a second frame period. The second frame period is a next frame period of the first frame period. In the first frame period, the first exposure time is subsequent to the second exposure time. In the second frame period, the third exposure time is prior to the fourth exposure time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 21, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 27, 2021
    Assignee: PIXART IMAGING INC.
    Inventors: Kwai-Lee Pang, Swee-Lin Thor
  • Patent number: 10986266
    Abstract: A camera input expansion unit includes a camera-setting-information storage, a camera expansion processor, an image-recorder, and an image capture interface. The camera-setting-information storage stores setting information on the camera including the conditions of the image capture trigger. The camera expansion processor generates an ON/OFF signal for defining the image capture trigger based on the setting information of the camera. Based on the ON/OFF signal as the image capture trigger, the camera expansion processor acquires the image data which is generated by the camera. The image-recorder records the image data acquired by the camera expansion processor. The image capture interface is provided between the camera expansion processor and the camera. The image capture interface has an image-capture-trigger line propagating the ON/OFF signal to the camera and an image communication line propagating the image data generated by the camera to the camera expansion processor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 6, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 20, 2021
    Assignee: KEYENCE CORPORATION
    Inventor: Ryosuke Tsujikawa
  • Patent number: 10979606
    Abstract: An embodiment of the present invention relates to a camera module comprising: a housing comprising a through hole; a lens module disposed in the through hole; a connector penetrating the housing and extending to an outside from an inside of the housing; a first substrate unit located inside the housing and having an image sensor mounted thereon; a second substrate unit disposed inside the housing and connected to the connector; and a flexible substrate for electrically connecting the first substrate and the second substrate unit, wherein the flexible substrate is coupled to a lower surface of the first substrate unit and a side surface of the second substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 13, 2021
    Assignee: LG INNOTEK CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Jae Wook Ahn, Sun Min Hwang, Je Kyung Park, Kyung Mok Yoon, Chul Ho Lee, Jong Chul Choi
  • Patent number: 10979625
    Abstract: A method for editing an image based on artificial intelligence and an artificial intelligence device are disclosed. In the method for editing an image based on artificial intelligence, a recommended photographic composition is created by applying an image acquired by a camera to a pre-trained composition recommendation model, and the image is corrected based on the created recommended photographic composition, whereby it is possible to capture and edit an image at the same time without the trouble of correcting the image after capturing it. One or more of an artificial intelligence device of the present disclosure can be associated with artificial intelligence modules, drones (unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)), robots, augmented reality (AR) devices, virtual reality (VR) devices, devices related to 5G service, etc.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 13, 2021
    Assignee: LG ELECTRONICS INC.
    Inventors: Kyuho Lee, Jaewoong Jeong, Seunghyun Hwang, Youngman Kim, Sangjun Oh
  • Patent number: 10979611
    Abstract: A method of assembling a vehicular camera includes providing a metallic front housing member, a metallic rear housing member, a lens assembly and a circuit board. The front housing member has a lens receiving portion and a circuit board attachment portion. An imager is disposed on a first side of the circuit board and a connector is disposed on a second side of the circuit board. With the circuit board attached at the front housing member and with the lens assembly disposed at a lens receiving portion of the front housing member, images are focused at an imaging plane of the imager by adjusting the lens assembly relative to the imager. With the images focused at the imaging plane of the imager, the lens assembly is retained relative to the front housing member via an ultra-violet (UV) curable adhesive. The front housing member and the rear housing member are attached.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 30, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 13, 2021
    Assignee: MAGNA ELECTRONICS INC.
    Inventors: Steven V. Byrne, Ben Stickler, Richard Rieden, Matthew C. Sesti, Brian D. Brasier
  • Patent number: 10976645
    Abstract: A spherical camera is disclosed. The camera includes an imaging unit. A base of the camera includes a track. A spherical housing includes a first housing part for containing the imaging unit. A second housing part includes a dove tail shaped to be slidably received within the track of the base. A loop is positionable around a periphery surface of the base, the loop being tightenable from a first position wherein the spherical housing is tiltable along the track to a second position wherein the spherical housing is locked in position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 5, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 13, 2021
    Inventors: Luke William Bingleman, Thomas W. Holbrook, Sudeep Mohan, Hsin-Chin Lee, Eric Little, Nigel Geoffrey Taylor, Colin Paul Janssen
  • Patent number: 10971152
    Abstract: An imaging control method includes acquiring a device identifier of an imaging device; acquiring voice information; performing information comparison on content data included in the voice information based on the device identifier; analyzing the voice information to identify control information in response to the content data including matching information that matches the device identifier; generating a control command based on the control information; and transmitting the control command to the imaging device to control the imaging device to capture an image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 14, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 6, 2021
    Assignee: SZ DJI Technology Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Dan Wu
  • Patent number: 10965879
    Abstract: An imaging device includes: an imaging unit having an imaging element; a first video signal processing unit that generates a first video signal of a first dynamic range from a pixel signal obtained by the imaging unit; and a second video signal processing unit that generates an information signal of a high-pass luminance change component of at least a high luminance portion from the first video signal, reduces a luminance value of a high luminance portion of the first video signal to generate a luminance reduction video signal of a second dynamic range narrower than the first dynamic range, and adds the generated luminance reduction video signal to the information signal of the luminance change component to generate a second video signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 30, 2021
    Assignee: SONY CORPORATION
    Inventors: Koji Kamiya, Masato Izawa
  • Patent number: 10958824
    Abstract: An imaging apparatus and an image processing method capable of increasing correction accuracy of a phase difference detection pixel even in a case where the phase difference detection pixel is densely arranged in an imaging element in order to secure AF performance are provided. An imaging element includes normal pixels of RGB and first and second phase difference pixels of which opening portions are adjacently arranged to face each other in a horizontal direction and in which a G filter is arranged. A pixel value addition unit (64) generates an addition pixel corresponding to a virtual G pixel at a pixel position between the first and second phase difference pixels by adding pixel values of the pair of the first and second phase difference pixels.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 6, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 23, 2021
    Assignee: FUJIFILM Corporation
    Inventors: Koichi Tanaka, Seiji Tanaka, Makoto Kobayashi, Tomoyuki Kawai