Abstract: An image sensor may include an image sensor pixel array, row control circuitry, and column readout circuitry. The column readout circuitry may include analog-to-digital converter (ADC) circuitry. The ADC circuitry may have a first portion that selectively converts pixel signals associated with a low light or high conversion gain operating environment and a second portion that converts any pixel signals. As an example, the first portion may be a ramp ADC and the second portion may be a successive approximation register (SAR) ADC.
Abstract: The dynamic range of a pixel is increased by using selective photosensor resets during a frame time of image capture at a timing depending on the light intensity that the pixel will be exposed to during the frame time. Pixels that will be exposed to high light intensity are reset later in the frame than pixels that will be exposed to lower light intensity.
Abstract: A correlated double sampling (CDS) circuit, an operating method thereof, and an image sensor including the CDS circuit are disclosed. The CDS circuit includes a first comparator configured to operate based on a first bias current, and compare, with a ramp signal, a pixel voltage that is output from a pixel, during a first period and a fourth period during which the pixel operates in a low conversion gain (LCG) mode, a second comparator configured to operate based on a second bias current, and compare, with the ramp signal, the pixel voltage output from the pixel, during a second period and a third period during which the pixel operates in a high conversion gain (HCG) mode, the second period being after the first period, the third period being after the second period, and the fourth period being after the third period.
Abstract: In some examples, an apparatus comprises an array of pixel cells, and processing circuits associated with blocks of pixel cells of the array of pixel cells and associated with first hierarchical power domains. The apparatus further includes banks of memory devices, each bank of memory devices being associated with a block of pixel cells, to store the quantization results of the associated block of pixel cells, the banks of memory devices further being associated with second hierarchical power domains. The apparatus further includes a processing circuits power state control circuit configured to control a power state of the processing circuits based on programming data targeted at each block of pixel cells and global processing circuits power state control signals, and a memory power state control circuit configured to control a power state of the banks of memory devices based on the programming data and global memory power state control signals.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
May 19, 2021
Date of Patent:
November 21, 2023
Assignee:
META PLATFORMS TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
Inventors:
Andrew Samuel Berkovich, Shlomo Alkalay, Hans Reyserhove
Abstract: Systems and apparatus for sensing and video capture include at least one camera with an optical sensor that captures video image data of a first sampling rate. An auxiliary sensor captures auxiliary data at a second sample rate. A processor is communicatively connected to the optical sensor and auxiliary sensor. The processor transmits video image data captured at the first sample rate auxiliary sensor data captured at the second sampling rate across a data connection to a centralized computer that receives the video image data and the auxiliary sensor data and operate to present the video image data and the auxiliary sensor data on a graphical display.
Abstract: A camera module is provided, which includes a camera housing, a camera assembly including a lens, the camera assembly being rotatable about a first axis and a second axis substantially perpendicular to an optical axis of the lens with respect to the camera housing, and a guide plate connected to the camera assembly and the camera housing. The camera assembly further includes a first corner area and a second corner area substantially facing a direction of the first axis and facing each other, and a third corner area and a fourth corner area substantially facing the second axis and facing each other. The fourth corner area includes a chamfer area. The guide plate includes a first portion and a second portion rotatably connected to the camera assembly about the first axis, and a third portion and a fourth portion rotatably connected to the camera housing about the second axis.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
September 30, 2022
Date of Patent:
October 31, 2023
Inventors:
Chanyoung Moon, Yeonhak Kim, Hyungjin Rho
Abstract: A solid-state imaging device includes: pixels disposed in a matrix of pixel rows and pixel columns; control wires provided for the pixel rows or the pixel columns, and each connected to at least two pixels out of the pixels, the at least two pixels being included in one of the pixel rows or the pixel columns for which the control wire is provided; drive circuits that are provided for the control wires, each include buffer elements in at least two stages, and each output a control signal to one of the control wires for which the drive circuit is provided, the buffer elements in the at least two stages being connected in series; and a first wire that short-circuits output wires of the buffer elements in one of the at least two stages in at least two of the plurality of drive circuits.
Abstract: A smartphone may be freely moved in three dimensions as it captures a stream of images of an object. Multiple image frames may be captured in different orientations and distances from the object and combined into a composite image representing an image of the object. The image frames may be formed into the composite image based on representing features of each image frame as a set of points in a three dimensional point cloud. Inconsistencies between the image frames may be adjusted when projecting respective points in the point cloud into the composite image. Quality of the image frames may be improved by processing the image frames to correct errors. Reflections and shadows may be detected and removed. Further, optical character recognition may be applied. As the scan progresses, a direction for capturing subsequent image frames is provided to a user as a real-time feedback.
Abstract: An image stabilization control apparatus includes a signal processing unit, a control unit, and an overflow preventing unit. The signal processing unit controls image stabilization based on a second image stabilization target value in aiming at an object in preparation for still image exposure, and controls the image stabilization based on a first image stabilization target value during still image exposure. The overflow preventing unit prevents a calculation overflow of the first image stabilization target value while the control unit controls the image stabilization based on the second image stabilization target value.
Abstract: Various embodiments described herein provide implementations for controlling flicker, for example caused by a plurality of light sources, in a multi-sensor environment. Various embodiments provided utilize a broadest illuminator source for capturing image data objects for processing. The broadest illuminator source minimizes the number of activation changes required between the various illuminator sources. One example embodiment includes activating a broadest illuminator source of a plurality of illuminator sources; determining, based on a plurality of image sensors and an sensor activation sequence, a chosen image sensor of the plurality of image sensors for an image processing operation; and activating a chosen illuminator source of the plurality of illuminator sources, the chosen illuminator source associated with the chosen image sensor.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
June 17, 2022
Date of Patent:
October 17, 2023
Assignee:
Hand Held Products, Inc.
Inventors:
Tao Xian, Ka Man Au, David M. Wilz, Gennady Germaine, Patrick Anthony Giordano, Erik Van Horn, Michael Vincent Miraglia, Benjamin Hejl, Thomas A. Sweet
Abstract: A lens moving apparatus, including a bobbin; a first coil mounted at an outer circumference of the bobbin; a first magnet moving the bobbin in a first direction parallel to an optical axis by interaction with the first coil; a housing supporting the first magnet; an upper elastic member disposed at a top surface of the bobbin and at a top surface of the housing; a lower elastic member disposed at a bottom surface of the bobbin and at a bottom surface of the housing; and first and second winding protrusions disposed with being opposite to each other, the first coil being wound on the first and second winding protrusions.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
August 31, 2021
Date of Patent:
October 10, 2023
Assignee:
LG INNOTEK CO., LTD.
Inventors:
Jae Hong Cho, Seung Taek Shin, In Jae Yeo, Jin Suk Han
Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a solid-state imaging device, a signal processing method therefor, and an electronic apparatus enabling sensitivity correction in which a sensitivity difference between solid-state imaging devices is suppressed. The solid-state imaging device includes a pixel unit in which one microlens is formed for a plurality of pixels in a manner such that a boundary of the microlens coincides with boundaries of the pixels. The correction circuit corrects a sensitivity difference between the pixels inside the pixel unit based on a correction coefficient. The present disclosure is applicable to, for example, a solid-state imaging device and the like.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
August 10, 2021
Date of Patent:
September 26, 2023
Assignee:
SONY GROUP CORPORATION
Inventors:
Youji Sakioka, Masayuki Tachi, Hisashi Nishimaki, Taishin Yoshida
Abstract: An imaging element of the present disclosure includes an analog-to-digital converter configured to convert multiple analog pixel signals that are acquired under multiple imaging conditions different from each other and that are output from a pixel, to multiple digital pixel signals, a threshold setting unit configured to set, on an input side of the analog-to-digital converter, a threshold that is randomly varied, a comparison unit configured to use, as a comparison threshold, the threshold set by the threshold setting unit and compare the comparison threshold with one of the multiple analog pixel signals, and a selection unit configured to select and output, on the basis of a result of comparison from the comparison unit, one of the multiple digital pixel signals that are output from the analog-to-digital converter.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
October 19, 2020
Date of Patent:
September 19, 2023
Assignee:
SONY SEMICONDUCTOR SOLUTIONS CORPORATION
Abstract: A step of forming an on-chip lens of a phase difference pixel is simplified. An imaging element includes a pixel array unit, an individual on-chip lens, a common on-chip lens, and an adjacent on-chip lens. In the pixel array unit, pixels that performs photoelectric conversion according to incident light components, a plurality of phase difference pixels that is included in the pixels, is arranged adjacent to each other, and detects a phase difference, and phase difference pixel adjacent pixels that are included in the pixels and are adjacent to the phase difference pixels are arranged two-dimensionally. The individual on-chip lens is arranged for each of the pixels and individually condenses the incident light components on corresponding one of the pixels. The common on-chip lens is commonly arranged in the plurality of phase difference pixels and commonly condenses the incident light component.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
September 12, 2022
Date of Patent:
September 19, 2023
Assignee:
SONY SEMICONDUCTOR SOLUTIONS CORPORATION
Inventors:
Sachio Nishi, Hironobu Fukagawa, Hideaki Kato, Akimitsu Sato
Abstract: A vision sensor including a plurality of pixels configured to sense intensity of incident light, and to output request signals representing an occurrence status of an event; and an event detection circuit configured to generate event data including information about a pixel at which the event occurs, based on the request signals, wherein each pixel of the plurality of pixels includes: a photoelectric conversion device configured to generate a current corresponding to the incident light; a current-to-voltage converter configured to generate a voltage corresponding to the current; an amplifier configured to amplify a variation amount of the generated voltage to generate an output voltage; an event storage configured to generate an event signal corresponding to a comparison between the output voltage and a threshold voltage, and to hold the event signal using cross-coupled transistors; and an output logic configured to output a request signal based on the event signal.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
October 5, 2021
Date of Patent:
September 19, 2023
Assignee:
SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
Inventors:
Seungnam Choi, Jongwoo Bong, Junseok Kim, Yunjae Suh
Abstract: A pixel circuit includes a transfer transistor is coupled between a photodiode and a floating diffusion to transfer the image charge from the photodiode to the floating diffusion. A lateral overflow integration capacitor (LOFIC) includes an insulating region between a first metal electrode and a second metal electrode that is coupled to a first reset transistor and selectively coupled to the floating diffusion. A second reset transistor and a bias voltage source are coupled to the first metal electrode. During an idle period, the first reset transistor is configured to be on, the second reset transistor is configured to be off, and the bias voltage source is configured to provide a first bias voltage to the first metal electrode to reverse bias the LOFIC. The first bias voltage is less than a reset voltage provided from the reset voltage source.
Abstract: A circuit, e.g., a CMOS sensor, with individually addressable transfer transistors and individually addressable reset transistors is described. Through the individually addressable transistors, pixels within different regions of interest, of the same or different size and/or the same or different exposure times, can be efficiently processed. Different regions of interest may be exposed concurrently and read out independently.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
November 19, 2020
Date of Patent:
September 12, 2023
Assignee:
PerkinElmer U.S. LLC
Inventors:
Charles Adams Schneider, Jr., Brian Klembara, Rafael Domínguez Castro, Jesús Ruiz Amaya, Jose Angel Segovia de la Torre, Bruno Gili, Ana González Márquez
Abstract: Reference clock CMOS input buffer with self-calibration and improved ESD performance. In one embodiment, a reference clock input buffer of an image sensor includes a Schmitt trigger configured to generate a clock signal having a falling edge and a rising edge. The falling edge and the rising edge are separated by a hysteresis voltage. The Schmitt trigger includes a plurality of output switches and a plurality of voltage control switches that are individually coupled to individual output switches [M2-i] of the plurality of output switches. Voltage of the falling edge signal or the rising edge signal of the Schmitt trigger is adjustable by selectively switching at least one voltage control switch of the plurality of voltage control switches.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
September 2, 2021
Date of Patent:
September 5, 2023
Assignee:
OMNIVISION TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
Inventors:
Charles Qingle Wu, Yanying He, Weiyi Zhang
Abstract: A pixel circuit includes a transfer transistor coupled between a photodiode and a floating diffusion. A lateral overflow integration capacitor (LOFIC) includes an insulating region disposed between a first metal electrode coupled to a bias voltage source, and a second metal electrode selectively coupled to the floating diffusion. A multifunction reset transistor includes a gate, a drain, a first source, and a second source. The drain, the first source, and the second source are coupled to each other in response to a multifunction reset control signal turning the multifunction reset transistor on. The drain, the first source, and the second source are decoupled from one another in response to the multifunction reset control signal turning the multifunction reset transistor off. The drain is coupled to a reset voltage source, the first source is coupled to the first metal electrode, and the second source is coupled to the second metal electrode.
Abstract: Presenting an image of a scene may include capturing an image of a scene by a camera of an electronic device, wherein the electronic device comprises the camera and a display, and wherein the camera and the display have a first spatial relationship, determining a second spatial relationship between a viewpoint and the display of the electronic device, warping the image to obtain an image of a first portion of the scene based on the first spatial relationship and the second spatial relationship, and presenting the warped image on the display, wherein, from the viewpoint, the image of the first portion of the scene is substantially contiguous with a second portion of the scene visible outside an edge of the electronic device.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
February 14, 2022
Date of Patent:
August 8, 2023
Assignee:
Apple Inc.
Inventors:
Brett D. Miller, Minwoong Kim, Ricardo J. Motta