Patents Examined by Gary L Solomon
  • Patent number: 6914632
    Abstract: An apparatus for panning and scaling a window in CMOS image sensor is described. The apparatus comprises a pixel array having a plurality of unit pixels, a row driving part, an analog-digital converting part, an address generating part for generating a row address and a column address for the panning and scaling, and a line buffering part for receiving the digital pixel data outputted from the analog-digital converting part and outputting a pixel data according to the column address. According to the apparatus, CMOS image sensor can directly extract a pixel data of a desired resolution and scale offset.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 1999
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2005
    Assignee: Hyundai Electronics Industries Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Hyun-Eun Kim
  • Patent number: 6859229
    Abstract: An image pickup apparatus comprises a plurality of openings for taking in external light at different positions, a filter(s) for extracting from external light taken in from the plurality of openings, predetermined wavelength components of subject light correspondingly to the plurality of openings, respectively, and a plurality of image pickup portions for receiving the predetermined wavelength components extracted by the filter correspondingly to the plurality of openings, respectively.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 2000
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2005
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yasuo Suda
  • Patent number: 6833872
    Abstract: A progressive all-pixel scanning type solid-state image sensor adapted for curtailing the power consumption therein by lowering its read voltage with another advantage of reducing the pixel size. The image sensor comprises pixels arrayed to form a matrix, vertical transfer registers corresponding respectively to individual columns of the pixels, read gates formed correspondingly to the individual pixels for reading out signal charges from the pixels to the vertical transfer registers, and a means for applying phase-shifted read pulses respectively to plural kinds of read gate electrodes in the read gates.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 1999
    Date of Patent: December 21, 2004
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventor: Shinji Nakagawa
  • Patent number: 6833871
    Abstract: A method for controlling the exposure of an active pixel array electronic still camera includes the steps of: integrating photocurrent in each pixel during an integration time period; collecting overflow charge from all pixels in the array during the integration time period; developing an overflow signal as a function of the overflow charge; and terminating the integration time period when the overflow signal exceeds a preset threshold level selected to represent a desired reference exposure level.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 16, 2001
    Date of Patent: December 21, 2004
    Assignee: Foveon, Inc.
    Inventors: Richard B. Merrill, Carver A. Mead, Richard F. Lyon
  • Patent number: 6784940
    Abstract: The present invention is to provide a high-speed image pickup apparatus, which can easily obtain the same image quality as that of the standard-speed image pickup by simply converting a high-speed video signal into a plurality of standard-speed video signals. Since the video camera system comprises a video camera for outputting a video signal by picking up an object at a high speed, a transmitting path for transmitting the video signal and a CCU for signal-processing the transmitted video signal, and divides the high-speed video signal into a plurality of standard-speed video signals directly or by providing a blank field as an additional period by the video camera, transmits the plurality of standard-speed video signals by the transmitting path, and arranges and outputs the plurality of standard-speed video signals at every unit period T by the CCU.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 1999
    Date of Patent: August 31, 2004
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Syuichi Takazawa, Yoshiro Nitta
  • Patent number: 6750911
    Abstract: A digital camera includes a CCD imager mounted at a front with a primary color filter. An optimal shutter speed is calculated based on a camera signal outputted from the CCD imager upon a pre-exposure. Where a calculated optimal shutter speed is low, a timing generator drives the CCD imager by a pixel-mixing scheme. Charges are first read out of part of the light receiving elements and transferred in a vertical direction. When the charges are transferred by a predetermined distance, the remaining part of the light receiving elements are read out. As a result of this, the charges of a same color of color components are mixed together. That is, a filtering process is effected within the CCD imager to remove aliasing components.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 1999
    Date of Patent: June 15, 2004
    Assignee: Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Akio Kobayashi, Hidefumi Okada