Patents Examined by Mark Monk
  • Patent number: 8199230
    Abstract: A signal processing apparatus includes a synchronization processing unit for processing image pickup signals including three kinds of signals and luminance signals output from an image pickup device. The synchronization processing unit is used to interpolate other color signals than the above-mentioned respective color signals at pixel positions where the three kinds of signals respectively exist. This processing includes a luminance use estimating processing which estimates color signals to be interpolated at the above-mentioned pixel positions using not only the same kinds of color signals as the above-mentioned color signals to be interpolated but also the above-mentioned luminance signals respectively existing around the above-mentioned pixel positions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 2008
    Date of Patent: June 12, 2012
    Assignee: Fujifilm Corporation
    Inventor: Tetsu Wada
  • Patent number: 8174587
    Abstract: The present invention is applied to imaging apparatuses including video cameras for recording moving pictures, electronic still cameras, monitoring devices and such. An image pickup means 3 and an image compressing means 5 are connected integrally by a wiring layer formed on a surface of the image pickup means 3 opposite a light-receiving surface of the image pickup means 3. The image pickup means 3 provides processing units of image data S1 relating to an image compressing process sequentially. Image data on a partial area in an effective image area is compressed to detect a code amount in advance. A data compressing ratio is determined on the basis of the code amount, and the image data is compressed at the image compressing ratio.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 22, 2005
    Date of Patent: May 8, 2012
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Takahiro Fukuhara, Tadakuni Narabu
  • Patent number: 8164637
    Abstract: An X-axis driving mechanism section as one of driving sources of a driving apparatus including: a transducer for generating an elliptical vibration on a driving section in response to application of a predetermined frequency voltage signal; a bottom case having a holding section for holding the transducer; a pressing mechanism arranged on the bottom case to press the driving section of the transducer; and a rod relatively driven by the elliptical vibration of the transducer while being pressed by the pressing mechanism and with a moving direction being restricted by a guiding section of the holding member; wherein a weight is fixed to an end portion of the rod. The X-axis driving mechanism section constitutes the driving apparatus which is small and provides a large driving force, is capable of stable driving with higher efficiency without producing audible noise, and can retain the rod position and has high responsiveness with high accuracy.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 24, 2009
    Date of Patent: April 24, 2012
    Assignee: Olympus Imaging Corp.
    Inventor: Sumio Kawai
  • Patent number: 8164662
    Abstract: A digital image-processing device with a Bayer sensor and an image memory is provided in which the image data of the sensor is written into an image memory, and from this image memory, image data in the Bayer format with a length L and a width B is written continuously into a data buffer, and in which the sample values are combined by means of a computational device with the help of adders, in each case symmetrically to a central point of one or more (2n+1)×(2n+1) neighborhoods, and one or more (n+1)×(n+1) matrices are derived by means of the computational device, and from this (n+1)×(n+1) matrix or these matrices, with the help of additional adders, at least one n×n matrix is formed, and a first color component is in each case calculated from this by means of an adder network.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 17, 2007
    Date of Patent: April 24, 2012
    Assignee: Baumer Optronic GmbH
    Inventors: Ingo Rueckert, Oliver Vietze, Joachim Ihlefeld
  • Patent number: 8159572
    Abstract: An image pickup apparatus, an apparatus and a method for processing information, a program, and a program recording medium that can provide a user with an image optimum for the user are provided. A recording medium 4 records a large-size image and a playback parameter thereon. The large-size image has an angle of view wider than that of a normal image that a user intends to be captured and a resolution higher than that of the normal image, where the entirety of an area of a scene captured in the normal image is captured in the large-size image. The playback parameter includes information indicative of a region of the large-size image in which the area of the scene captured in the normal image is captured. An image extracting unit 22 extracts a partial image from the large-size image on the basis of the playback parameter and outputs the extracted image to a display unit 3 as an extraction image. The display unit 3 displays the extraction image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 2006
    Date of Patent: April 17, 2012
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventor: Tetsujiro Kondo
  • Patent number: 8144227
    Abstract: The present invention is applied to an image pickup device with a CMOS solid-state image pickup element, in which an analog-to-digital conversion circuit is disposed in a surface on an opposite side from an image pickup surface in a semiconductor chip 2.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 17, 2005
    Date of Patent: March 27, 2012
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventor: Seiji Kobayashi
  • Patent number: 8120696
    Abstract: Methods, apparatuses and systems are disclosed for accelerating the operation of the automatic functions of an imager, e.g. a camera system. The automatic functions may, for example, include one or more of auto-focus, auto-exposure and auto-white balance. A special “windowing mode” is implemented in which information is acquired from only a subset of defined windows from the full pixel array area in order to set image capture parameters of the imager in accordance with current scene conditions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2006
    Date of Patent: February 21, 2012
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventor: Dmitri Jerdev
  • Patent number: 8115834
    Abstract: An image processing device for performing color conversion processing on a VS (video signal obtained from a color CCD) includes a region defining section, which estimates an amount of noise of the VS, according to an ISO-sensitivity and a white-balance-coefficient, and, based on the estimated amount of noise, defines an AR (achromatic region) of a color space to which the video signal belongs as a region centered on an achromatic axis where saturation is 0, and a color conversion section, which determines whether or not the VS belongs to the AR, and does not perform color conversion processing or performs projection of the video signal onto the achromatic axis if the video signal does not belong to the AR, or performs color conversion processing so that the numerical error between a target color signal and a color signal after color conversion processing is minimized if the video signal belongs to the AR.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 22, 2009
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2012
    Assignee: Olympus Corporation
    Inventor: Hiroshi Suzuki
  • Patent number: 8111312
    Abstract: A solid-state imaging device includes: a plurality of pixels which are arranged in a matrix; a sequential scanning device that selects each row of pixels; and an analog-to-digital conversion unit having a first analog-to-digital converter that is connected to a vertical signal line to which a pixel signal is supplied from the pixel and performs a first bit-length analog-to-digital conversion on an output signal from the vertical signal line or a pixel output signal obtained by sampling the output signal, and a second analog-to-digital converter that, when the first analog-to-digital converter completes the conversion operation, subtracts an analog signal corresponding to the first bit-length from the pixel output signal and then performs a second bit-length analog-to-digital conversion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 1, 2007
    Date of Patent: February 7, 2012
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventor: Hiroki Sato
  • Patent number: 8081252
    Abstract: The image displaying apparatus of the present invention provides a first display mode in which a first display region for one screen image is formed in a display screen, with the short side direction of the display screen aligned with the vertical direction; and a second display mode in which a first display region and a second display region for two screen images are formed in the display screen, with the long side direction of the display screen aligned with the vertical direction, and the first display region and the second display region formed such that they are arranged up and down. According to this configuration, when images are displayed in a double screen, each image can be displayed as large as possible.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 12, 2007
    Date of Patent: December 20, 2011
    Assignee: Panasonic Corporation
    Inventors: Shinji Furuya, Akira Yamada, Akihito Murai, Kiyoshi Kitagawa, Yuichi Suzuki
  • Patent number: 8077251
    Abstract: This invention allows measuring the spectral state of an object more accurately even at low luminance, and implementing high-precision focus detection. A photometry apparatus includes a diffusing optical member which is inserted in the optical path of a photographing lens and has a diffusing surface, and a light unit which receives diffused light having passed through the diffusing surface, and has a first light receiving portion, and a second light receiving portion whose receivable light energy is smaller than that of the first light receiving portion. The first and second light receiving portions are so arranged as to make the parallax of the second light receiving portion with respect to the optical axis of the photographing lens smaller than that of the first light receiving portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 10, 2007
    Date of Patent: December 13, 2011
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Ryo Yamasaki
  • Patent number: 8077237
    Abstract: 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 first value within a settling time when a control signal is applied to the pixel. The readout circuit is coupled to the array of pixels and samples the rows of pixels once in an array sampling process. The control logic applies the control signal to the pixels of at least one row after sampling of the pixels in at least one other row of the array has begun but at least the settling time before the at least one row is sampled.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 16, 2007
    Date of Patent: December 13, 2011
    Assignee: Aptina Imaging Corporation
    Inventor: Xiangli Li
  • Patent number: 8068152
    Abstract: Systems and methods are provided that facilitate mitigating pixel or column fixed pattern noise in a CMOS imaging System-on-Chip (iSoC) sensor. Pixel or column fixed pattern noise can be recognized by gating a pixel array without firing a transfer signal (TX). Inhibiting the transfer signal can cause zero input to be provided to pixels in the pixel array; thus, the sampled output from the pixels under such conditions can be a function of noise. Calibration and correction can thereafter be effectuated. Additionally or alternatively, pixel or column fixed pattern noise can be managed by controlling a frame rate; thus, the frame rate can be reduced under low light conditions to enable integrating incident light for longer periods of time as well as providing reference frames of pixels generated from zero input that can be utilized for calibration and correction of pixel or column fixed pattern noise associated with other frames.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2011
    Assignee: AltaSens, Inc.
    Inventor: Laurent Blanquart
  • Patent number: 8063970
    Abstract: An image recording/reproduction apparatus reads image data from a recording medium storing plural image data to display the read image data on a TV monitor or the like, and selects image data of a same aspect ratio to simultaneously index display plural small images of thus selected image data on the TV monitor. Reduced images of an aspect ratio of 4:3 and 16:9 are formed respectively from image data of an aspect ratio of 4:3 and 16:9, and the number of displayed small image is changed according to the aspect ratio, thereby displaying a larger amount of information within a limited display space in an easily recognizable manner.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 16, 2006
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2011
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Tomohiro Sekiguchi
  • Patent number: 8063951
    Abstract: An information processing apparatus has a plurality of recording media, and includes an imaging unit operable to capture an image of a subject, and a recording unit operable to record image data of the captured image onto the recording media such that the amounts of recorded image data differ between the recording media. The same image data is recorded onto at least a first recording medium built in the apparatus and a second recording medium removable from the apparatus such that the amount of data recorded on the first medium is smaller than that recorded on the second medium. In this information processing apparatus, a user can view images captured previously with more ease because image data recorded on the first recording medium is sorted by date and is provided to the user in this state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 2006
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2011
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Kenji Tsushio, Yasufumi Suzuki, Chihiro Motono, Tetsuya Uemura, Simon Currie, Hiroyuki Takahashi
  • Patent number: 8045010
    Abstract: An imaging apparatus including a lens unit and an image pickup unit. The lens unit includes an optical system that projects a subject image onto an imaging device, the imaging device that converts the subject image into an electric signal, an imaging device driving part that drives the imaging device, an signal processing device that converts the electric signal from the imaging device into a digital signal, and a first connection part that connects the lens unit to the imaging pickup unit mechanically and electrically. The imaging pickup unit includes an electric power supply part, a second connection part that connects the lens unit to the imaging pickup unit mechanically and electrically, voltage supply lines that supply output voltage to the lens unit, and a voltage generating circuit that generates the output voltage supplied to the voltage supply lines.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 2007
    Date of Patent: October 25, 2011
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd
    Inventor: Akihiro Yoshida
  • Patent number: 8045021
    Abstract: This disclosure describes an organizational scheme for memory that is useful for image processing. A memory controller architecture is also described, which takes advantage of the organizational scheme. The organizational scheme and controller architecture is particularly useful for high performance, high quality image processing of images that form a video sequence, but may also be applied in other image processing settings. The described techniques and organizational structure of the memory also allows the memory to be shared for other storage applications of a video device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 5, 2006
    Date of Patent: October 25, 2011
    Assignee: QUALCOMM Incorporated
    Inventors: Joseph Cheung, Stephen Molloy
  • Patent number: 8040410
    Abstract: A camera capable of compensating for facial field of a person to a proper brightness, and maintaining the luminance scale of the background, comprising an imaging portion for generating the picture data of the person; a gamma compensator for performing gamma compensation for the picture data; a facial field detecting portion for detecting a facial field from the picture data; a photometric portion for exposure metering value of the facial field detected by the facial field detecting portion; an exposure controlling portion for calculating a target exposure amount in response to the output of the photometric portion and controlling exposure depending on the target exposure amount; and a gamma compensation controlling portion for determining a luminance scale characteristic in accordance with the target exposure amount, wherein the gamma compensating portion is controlled on the basis of the luminance scale characteristic determined by the gamma compensation controlling portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 2009
    Date of Patent: October 18, 2011
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Yuko Arai, Haruhiko Miyao, Tsutomu Usui, Haruhiko Higuchi
  • Patent number: 8035728
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for applying exposure compensation to an image. Exposure correction limits inclusion of, but does not ignore, image highlights and lowlights.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 2008
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2011
    Assignee: Aptina Imaging Corporation
    Inventors: Igor Subbotin, Ilia Ovsiannikov
  • Patent number: 8031249
    Abstract: An active pixel sensor (APS) comprises a regular repeating pattern of geometrically similar pixel regions, active pixels of which have photodiodes formed therein. A remainder of the geometrically similar regions has electrical components shared amongst neighboring photodiodes, such as for collecting and amplifying signals from the photodiodes. A 4-way sharing arrangement is shown, with four active pixel regions aligned in a column and the shared electrical components in a pixel region, the pixel region being shaped and sized similarly to the active pixel regions, in an adjacent column.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 8, 2008
    Date of Patent: October 4, 2011
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventor: Jeffrey A. McKee