Abstract: A method of driving a solid-state imaging device to increase the dynamic range of a CCD image sensor is described. The imaging device has a plurality of light receiving members arranged in a matrix in horizontal and vertical directions. In addition, a plurality of columns of vertical CCD registers associate with the light-receiving members for storing signal charges received from a plurality of light receiving members. A row of horizontal CCD registers is disposed and connected with one end of each columns of vertical CCD registers to transfer the signal charges received from those vertical CCD registers to an output circuit member. The method comprises receiving the signal charges from an object by those light-receiving members for a time period Cs firstly in a normal fashion in BLANKING “high” period.

Abstract: An adaptive piece-wise approximation method for gamma correction is disclosed. The method includes an adaptive way for segmenting the brightness intensity input range and after the segmentation, a set of selected sampling points is taken. A simplified gamma correction circuit is then designed to omit the subtraction and the division calculation in the gamma correcting function by choosing the segmentation points appropriately. The improved gamma correction circuit comprises a multiplexer, a subtractor, an offset block, a multiplier, a division block, and an adder. An intensity signal at the set of selected input points is sampled and the sampled values are stored in providing a top value and a bottom value for the video intensity value to be gamma corrected. The video intensity value is then sent into the gamma correction circuit to get a gamma corrected data word representing pixel intensity for its respective input video intensity value.