Abstract: When an object image is to be recorded, a blur of the object image is optically corrected. When an object image is to be displayed without being recorded, a blur of the object image is corrected not optically but by image signal processing.

Abstract: A horizontal contour signal generation circuit in a single chip color camera comprises a first horizontal contour signal generation circuit provided in a stage succeeding a first horizontal low-pass filter, a second horizontal contour signal generation circuit provided in a stage succeeding a second horizontal low-pass filter, and a selection circuit for adaptively selecting and outputting the first horizontal contour signal generated by the first horizontal contour signal generation circuit and the second horizontal contour signal generated by the second horizontal contour signal generation circuit on the basis of chroma information for each predetermined area calculated on the basis of a color difference signal, the first horizontal low-pass filter having the property of passing a higher frequency component, as compared with the second low-pass filter.

Abstract: A continual-image processing device comprises a liquid crystal display panel, on which an image read from a PC card is displayed. By operating a jog dial, the displayed image can be changed and selected as the image to be printed. When continual photographing data is contained in a continual-image flag attached to the image, it is determined that the image was obtained by a continual photographing operation. When the image is obtained by the continual photographing operation, other images having the same continual-image flag are selected, and pixels are thinned from the image data of each selected image, so that the thinned image data are stored in a memory. The series of images obtained by the continual photographing operation are displayed on a liquid crystal display device in a form of a multi frame.

Abstract: A method and system for incorporating textual and audio material into a JPEG file in a manner allowing both a photograph and the textual material to be stored as one unit and transferred as one unit. The textual materials stored in various photograph tag markers which become part of the JPEG file. The JPEG file including the textual material can be transferred to an authorized user who could edit the file based upon password security. The textual materials can appear around any of the borders of the photographs or can be directly embedded into the photograph.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method and apparatus for increasing the frame acquisition rate of an frame transfer CCD sensor by triggering the charge transfer signal TR, which controls the shift of the electrical charges from the light-sensitive cells into the vertical shift register, more than once per frame period, so that more than one image is acquired in the same frame, one above the other. The apparatus is used primarily for surface geometry inspection of high-speed moving objects, wherein acquired CCD images are thin, substantially horizontal profile lines.

Abstract: An intelligent flash system for a digital camera having components including an image optical pickup, an interface circuit, a flash unit and a processor. Upon activation of the camera, ambient lighting conditions are evaluated and if flash energy is required, a first low energy pre-flash is radiated, the reflected light received by the optical pickup having a multiplicity of pixels, and the output of the pixels converted to image intensity data by the interface circuit. The processor samples the image intensity data, weighing the center image area more heavily, and creates a histogram plot of quantity of pixels v.s. intensity, and separates the plot into a bar graph from which a determination of exposure is obtained. The histogram is then used to calculate a multiplicative scaling factor used to multiply the first flash energy to an estimate of a flash energy for correct exposure. Conditions of extreme over and under exposure result in the activation of a second flash at an adjusted energy level.

Abstract: A digital video camera is coupled with an image processing station by a tether that has a bandwidth. The processing station has a memory with a program that executes instructions. When application software on the station requests a driver on the station to operate the camera at a specific frame rate, the program determines whether the requested frame rate is higher than permitted by the tether bandwidth. If that is so, the program computes a maximum permitted frame rate and an integration time of the pixels of the camera. The integration time causes the camera to produce output video frames at a rate commensurate with the computed bandwidth constrained frame rate, instead of the requested frame rate. The program then adjusts the gain accordingly.

Abstract: An electronic imaging system includes a CCD image sensor arrangement having a two dimensional array of pixels. The pixel array converts light incident thereon to an electric signal. The pixels are arranged in a plurality of horizontal rows or lines, the lines being arranged vertically. A control arrangement selectively controls operational modes of the system. One mode provides for sequential scan reading out of pixel signals for entire lines of the CCD for still picture recording. Another mode provides for reading out pixel signals concerning k (k is a positive integer) vertically continuous lines of the CCD for still picture recording or dynamic image processing. Thus it is possible to provide a high pixel density solid-state image sensor output at a high frame rate without use of any high drive frequency.

Abstract: An automatic gain controlling circuit controls a gain of a video signal from an imager having an electronic shutter function according to a gain control signal. An average detecting circuit detects an average level of a luminance signal of the video signal. An automatic exposure controlling circuit generates the gain control signal according to the luminance average level in response to a mode signal indicative of the cycles per second of the ac line and generates a timing signal corresponding to the ac line and a shutter speed control signal together with electronic shutter control signal generation circuit at a unit of the voltage variation cycle of the ac line according to the luminance average level such that a shutter interval of the imager is changed stepwise and each of the shutter intervals is an integer times the voltage variation cycle of the ac line.

Abstract: A camera device in which the location of a dark distribution is determined, and a dark distribution histogram ratio is calculated. The location of a bright distribution is determined, and a high-brightness slice set value is set. A determination is made as to whether or not a subject is in a backlighted state. The subject is determined to be in a backlighted state when a dark_ratio falls within a particular range. When the subject is not in a backlighted state, the high-brightness slice set value is used unchanged. On the other hand, when the subject is in a backlighted state, the dark_ratio is normalized so that, for example, backlight correction is carried out so that a high-brightness component limiter value of an integration signal of a peak-value-detected output is decreased.

Abstract: To reduce the amount of data that should be stored on a memory-built-in timing generator for generating timing pulses for use to drive a solid-state imaging device, V- and H-counters, three ROMs, V- and H-comparators and combinatorial logic circuit are provided. The V- and H-counters perform a count operation responsive to vertical and horizontal sync signal pulses as respective triggers. One of the ROMs stores time-series data representing a logical level repetitive pattern of an output pulse train. The other two ROMs store edge data representing at what counts of the V- and H-counters control pulses should change their logical levels. The V- and H-comparators and the combinatorial logic circuit change the logical levels of the control pulses when the counts of the V- and H-counters match the edge data. The comparators and logic circuit also output, as the timing pulses, results of logical operations performed on the output pulse train, represented by the time-series data, and the control pulses.

Abstract: In a CMOS-type image sensor, a plurality of pairs of light-detecting elements (LDEs) are arranged in rows and columns to generate analog signals proportional to the intensity of light impinging on respective one of the LDEs. First and second photo sensing means in each pair of LDEs are coupled in parallel, in the column direction, at a floating sensing point through first turn-on means. The first and second photo sensing means in adjacent pairs of LDEs are coupled in parallel in the column direction through second turn-on means. The first turn-on means are enabled by first control lines and the second turn-on means are enabled by second control lines coupled thereto, respectively. Analog signals acquired in the first and second photo sensing means of one pair or of adjacent pairs are present at the floating sensing point in response to the enabling of the first or second control lines, respectively.

Abstract: An image pickup apparatus, an external device and an image pickup method enabling provision of an open area in an image memory by performing automatic transfer operation of a digital image signal without requiring a user to cancel a photography preparation instruction or a picture taking instruction are provided. A digital camera or the image pickup apparatus is arranged to transfer to a computer a digital image signal accumulated in a RAM when the digital camera is in a photography preparation state or in a photography execution state, when an image already saved to a storage medium exists in the RAM, and when the RAM is full and a new digital image signal cannot be accumulated.

Abstract: A circuit and method for increasing the dynamic range of CMOS image sensors designed with a thin gate oxide layer. The circuit includes a high voltage supply circuit and a high voltage level shifter circuit. The high voltage supply circuit is configured to supply a voltage to the shifter circuit. The voltage has a voltage level higher than the maximum supply voltage of the associated fabrication process. The shifter circuit is configured to output a high reset signal based on a reset signal generated to reset a pixel circuit of a pixel array. Instead of the reset signal, the high reset signal is coupled to a gate of the reset transistor in the pixel circuit. The high reset signal allows the reset transistor to maintain a gate to source potential less than the maximum supply voltage even when the high reset signal is greater than the maximum supply voltage.

Abstract: Apparatus and methods are provided for obtaining high dynamic range images using a low dynamic range image sensor. The image of a scene is captured with an image sensor using a spatially varying exposure function. The spatially varying exposure function can be implemented in a number of ways, such as by using as an optical mask with a fixed spatial attenuation pattern or by using an array of light sensing elements having spatially varying photosensitivities. The captured image is then normalized with respect to the spatially varying exposure function. The normalized image data can be interpolated to account for pixels that are either saturated or blackened to enhance the dynamic range of the image sensor.

Abstract: An image sensor device includes an image sensor chip and an image sensor array formed on a top surface of the image sensor chip. The image sensor chip is mounted on a substrate and encapsulated by a dam wall formed on the substrate surrounding the periphery of the image sensor chip and a transparent lid member affixed to the upper edges of the dam wall. A barrier is formed on the surface of the chip extending along at least a substantial part of at least one side of the sensor array between the sensor array and the dam wall. The barrier is preferably formed with a height of at least three microns and surrounds the sensor array. The barrier may be formed during fabrication of the sensor chip. Where the sensor chip is a color image sensor including a mosaic of color filter material overlying the image sensor array, the barrier may be formed from the color filter material with the formation of the mosaic. The barrier prevents resin bleeding from the dam wall onto the surface of the sensor array.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a camera (102) with strobe flash illumination (116) for capturing an image of an object (6), and to a document scanning system (101) and method of using such a camera (102) to capture an image of a document (6). The camera (102) comprises an image capture means, an objective lens (114) with a field of view (118) to image optical radiation (119) from an object plane (8) onto the image capture means (52), a strobe flash (116) for illuminating the object plane (8), electronic pulse circuitry to pulse the strobe flash (116) at a rate which is sufficiently quick that the illumination appears to a user of the camera (102) to be substantially steady owing to persistence of vision, and a shutter means (104) to synchronize the capture of one or more images by the image capture means, each image being captured with at least one pulse from the strobe flash.

Abstract: In a method having an image sensor capable of selectively sensing an image in progressive scanning method and in interlace scanning method, when performing an image sensing operation using an electronic flash, if the image sensing operation is performed in the progressive scanning method, the electronic flash is controlled to flash once for each frame, and if the image sensing operation is performed in the interlace scanning method, the electronic flash is controlled to flash twice for each frame, once for each field.

Abstract: An objective lens 3 for taking a photograph of a subject is arranged on one end surface of a generally cylindrical electronic camera body 1. A display device 2 for displaying the taken image is arranged on another end surface. Zoom switches 5 and 6 for operating the electronic camera, and a shutter 7 are arranged in a position out of the center in a longitudinal direction of the side. Further, when carrying the camera, a strap 9 can be fixed to a strap fixing parts 8, and the camera can be carried by suspending from the neck. Therefore, there is provided an electronic camera which, even when the camera is miniaturized so as to be suitable for carrying, does not cause erroneous operations and is convenient to use.

Abstract: A single-canister underwater stereocamera system with a distance measurement function. In the camera system, a camera drive unit, holding two cameras on its camera base, is set in a parallel space defined between two support plates, and is operable by a motor unit, thus being movable along with the two cameras to the front or back. A lens drive unit, holding two lenses on two lens bases, is set in the parallel space to be operable by the motor unit so as to laterally move the two lenses to the left or right under the guide of a linear guide bearing. The motor unit controls the focus length of each of the two cameras and the moving distance of the two lenses at the same time. In the camera system, the actual distance of an underwater target object from the system is measured by sensing a rotated position of the encoder of the motor unit, taking advantage of the fact that the actual distance of the target object has a functional relation of 1:1 with the focus length of each of the cameras.