Patents by Inventor Craig M. Smith
Craig M. Smith has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
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Patent number: 11284034Abstract: Signals representative of total photocharge integrated within respective image-sensor pixels are read out of the pixels after a first exposure interval that constitutes a first fraction of a frame interval. Signals in excess of a threshold level are read out of the pixels after an ensuing second exposure interval that constitutes a second fraction of the frame interval, leaving residual photocharge within the pixels. After a third exposure interval that constitutes a third fraction of the frame interval, signals representative of a combination of at least the residual photocharge and photocharge integrated within the pixels during the third exposure interval are read out of the pixels.Type: GrantFiled: April 27, 2020Date of Patent: March 22, 2022Assignee: Rambus Inc.Inventors: Jay Endsley, Thomas Vogelsang, Craig M. Smith, Michael Guidash, Alexander C. Schneider
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Patent number: 11012649Abstract: A control pulse is generated a first control signal line coupled to a transfer gate of a pixel to enable photocharge accumulated within a photosensitive element of the pixel to be transferred to a floating diffusion node, the first control signal line having a capacitive coupling to the floating diffusion node. A feedthrough compensation pulse is generated on a second signal line of the pixel array that also has a capacitive coupling to the floating diffusion node. The feedthrough compensation pulse is generated with a pulse polarity opposite the pulse polarity of the control pulse and is timed to coincide with the control pulse such that capacitive feedthrough of the control pulse to the floating diffusion node is reduced.Type: GrantFiled: July 3, 2019Date of Patent: May 18, 2021Assignee: Rambus Inc.Inventors: Michael Guidash, Jay Endsley, John Ladd, Thomas Vogelsang, Craig M. Smith
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Publication number: 20200351463Abstract: Signals representative of total photocharge integrated within respective image-sensor pixels are read out of the pixels after a first exposure interval that constitutes a first fraction of a frame interval. Signals in excess of a threshold level are read out of the pixels after an ensuing second exposure interval that constitutes a second fraction of the frame interval, leaving residual photocharge within the pixels. After a third exposure interval that constitutes a third fraction of the frame interval, signals representative of a combination of at least the residual photocharge and photocharge integrated within the pixels during the third exposure interval are read out of the pixels.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 27, 2020Publication date: November 5, 2020Inventors: Jay Endsley, Thomas Vogelsang, Craig M. Smith, Michael Guidash, Alexander C. Schneider
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Patent number: 10798322Abstract: A pixel array within an integrated-circuit image sensor is exposed to light representative of a scene during a first frame interval and then oversampled a first number of times within the first frame interval to generate a corresponding first number of frames of image data from which a first output image may be constructed. One or more of the first number of frames of image data are evaluated to determine whether a range of luminances in the scene warrants adjustment of an oversampling factor from the first number to a second number, if so, the oversampling factor is adjusted such that the pixel array is oversampled the second number of times within a second frame interval to generate a corresponding second number of frames of image data from which a second output image may be constructed.Type: GrantFiled: September 25, 2018Date of Patent: October 6, 2020Assignee: Rambus Inc.Inventors: Craig M. Smith, Frank Armstrong, Jay Endsley, Thomas Vogelsang, James E. Harris, John Ladd, Michael Guidash
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Patent number: 10659715Abstract: Signals representative of total photocharge integrated within respective image-sensor pixels are read out of the pixels after a first exposure interval that constitutes a first fraction of a frame interval. Signals in excess of a threshold level are read out of the pixels after an ensuing second exposure interval that constitutes a second fraction of the frame interval, leaving residual photocharge within the pixels. After a third exposure interval that constitutes a third fraction of the frame interval, signals representative of a combination of at least the residual photocharge and photocharge integrated within the pixels during the third exposure interval are read out of the pixels.Type: GrantFiled: July 3, 2019Date of Patent: May 19, 2020Assignee: Rambus Inc.Inventors: Jay Endsley, Thomas Vogelsang, Craig M. Smith, Michael Guidash, Alexander C. Schneider
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Patent number: 10652493Abstract: A sequence of control voltage levels are applied to a control signal line capacitively coupled to a floating diffusion node of a pixel to sequentially adjust a voltage level of the floating diffusion node. A pixel output signal representative of the voltage level of the floating diffusion node is compared with a reference voltage to identify a first control voltage level of the sequence of control voltage levels for which the voltage level of the floating diffusion node exceeds the reference voltage.Type: GrantFiled: November 20, 2018Date of Patent: May 12, 2020Assignee: Rambus Inc.Inventors: John Ladd, Michael Guidash, Craig M. Smith, Thomas Vogelsang, Jay Endsley, Michael T. Ching, James E. Harris
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Publication number: 20200036926Abstract: Signals representative of total photocharge integrated within respective image-sensor pixels are read out of the pixels after a first exposure interval that constitutes a first fraction of a frame interval. Signals in excess of a threshold level are read out of the pixels after an ensuing second exposure interval that constitutes a second fraction of the frame interval, leaving residual photocharge within the pixels. After a third exposure interval that constitutes a third fraction of the frame interval, signals representative of a combination of at least the residual photocharge and photocharge integrated within the pixels during the third exposure interval are read out of the pixels.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 3, 2019Publication date: January 30, 2020Inventors: Jay Endsley, Thomas Vogelsang, Craig M. Smith, Michael Guidash, Alexander C. Schneider
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Publication number: 20200007804Abstract: A control pulse is generated a first control signal line coupled to a transfer gate of a pixel to enable photocharge accumulated within a photosensitive element of the pixel to be transferred to a floating diffusion node, the first control signal line having a capacitive coupling to the floating diffusion node. A feedthrough compensation pulse is generated on a second signal line of the pixel array that also has a capacitive coupling to the floating diffusion node. The feedthrough compensation pulse is generated with a pulse polarity opposite the pulse polarity of the control pulse and is timed to coincide with the control pulse such that capacitive feedthrough of the control pulse to the floating diffusion node is reduced.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 3, 2019Publication date: January 2, 2020Inventors: Michael Guidash, Jay Endsley, John Ladd, Thomas Vogelsang, Craig M. Smith
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Patent number: 10362256Abstract: Signals representative of total photocharge integrated within respective image-sensor pixels are read out of the pixels after a first exposure interval that constitutes a first fraction of a frame interval. Signals in excess of a threshold level are read out of the pixels after an ensuing second exposure interval that constitutes a second fraction of the frame interval, leaving residual photocharge within the pixels. After a third exposure interval that constitutes a third fraction of the frame interval, signals representative of a combination of at least the residual photocharge and photocharge integrated within the pixels during the third exposure interval are read out of the pixels.Type: GrantFiled: September 20, 2016Date of Patent: July 23, 2019Assignee: Rambus Inc.Inventors: Jay Endsley, Thomas Vogelsang, Craig M. Smith, Michael Guidash, Alexander C. Schneider
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Patent number: 10356350Abstract: Photocharge is accumulated within an image sensor pixel array during a first exposure interval. At conclusion of the first exposure interval, accumulated photocharge is discarded from a first subset of the pixels to emulate absence of incident light with respect to those pixels. After discarding accumulated photocharge from the first subset of the pixels, first and second readout signals are generated, the first readout signals corresponding to respective pixels not included in the first subset and indicative of photocharge accumulated therein, and the second readout signals corresponding to respective pixels included in the first subset.Type: GrantFiled: July 31, 2018Date of Patent: July 16, 2019Assignee: Rambus Inc.Inventors: Michael Guidash, Jay Endsley, John Ladd, Thomas Vogelsang, Craig M. Smith
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Publication number: 20190166321Abstract: A sequence of control voltage levels are applied to a control signal line capacitively coupled to a floating diffusion node of a pixel to sequentially adjust a voltage level of the floating diffusion node. A pixel output signal representative of the voltage level of the floating diffusion node is compared with a reference voltage to identify a first control voltage level of the sequence of control voltage levels for which the voltage level of the floating diffusion node exceeds the reference voltage.Type: ApplicationFiled: November 20, 2018Publication date: May 30, 2019Inventors: John Ladd, Michael Guidash, Craig M. Smith, Thomas Vogelsang, Jay Endsley, Michael T. Ching, James E. Harris
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Patent number: 10306169Abstract: A pixel in an integrated-circuit image sensor is enabled to output, throughout a sampling interval, an analog signal having an amplitude dependent, at least in part, on photocharge integrated within a photosensitive element of the pixel. A plurality of samples of the analog signal are generated during an initial portion of the sampling interval that is shorter than a settling time for a maximum possible level of the analog signal.Type: GrantFiled: February 2, 2016Date of Patent: May 28, 2019Assignee: Rambus Inc.Inventors: Michael Guidash, Craig M. Smith, Jay Endsley
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Patent number: 10277843Abstract: In a pixel array within an integrated-circuit image sensor, each of a plurality of pixels is evaluated to determine whether charge integrated within the pixel in response to incident light exceeds a first threshold. N-bit digital samples corresponding to the charge integrated within at least a subset of the plurality of pixels are generated, and then applied to a lookup table to retrieve respective M-bit digital values (M being less than N), wherein a stepwise range of charge integration levels represented by possible states of the M-bit digital values extends upward from a starting charge integration level that is determined based on the first threshold.Type: GrantFiled: May 8, 2017Date of Patent: April 30, 2019Assignee: Rambus Inc.Inventors: Craig M. Smith, Michael Guidash, Jay Endsley, Thomas Vogelsang, James E. Harris
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Publication number: 20190082125Abstract: A pixel array within an integrated-circuit image sensor is exposed to light representative of a scene during a first frame interval and then oversampled a first number of times within the first frame interval to generate a corresponding first number of frames of image data from which a first output image may be constructed. One or more of the first number of frames of image data are evaluated to determine whether a range of luminances in the scene warrants adjustment of an oversampling factor from the first number to a second number, if so, the oversampling factor is adjusted such that the pixel array is oversampled the second number of times within a second frame interval to generate a corresponding second number of frames of image data from which a second output image may be constructed.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 25, 2018Publication date: March 14, 2019Inventors: Craig M. Smith, Frank Armstrong, Jay Endsley, Thomas Vogelsang, James E. Harris, John Ladd, Michael Guidash
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Publication number: 20190045149Abstract: Photocharge is accumulated within an image sensor pixel array during a first exposure interval. At conclusion of the first exposure interval, accumulated photocharge is discarded from a first subset of the pixels to emulate absence of incident light with respect to those pixels. After discarding accumulated photocharge from the first subset of the pixels, first and second readout signals are generated, the first readout signals corresponding to respective pixels not included in the first subset and indicative of photocharge accumulated therein, and the second readout signals corresponding to respective pixels included in the first subset.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 31, 2018Publication date: February 7, 2019Inventors: Michael Guidash, Jay Endsley, John Ladd, Thomas Vogelsang, Craig M. Smith
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Patent number: 10178329Abstract: In an integrated-circuit image sensor having a pixel array, a first subframe readout policy is selected from among a plurality of subframe readout policies, each of the subframe readout policies specifying a first number of subframes of image data to be readout from the pixel array for each output image frame and respective exposure durations for each of the first number of subframes of image data, wherein a shortest one of the exposure durations is uniform for each of the subframe readout policies. Each of the first number of subframes of image data is read out from the pixel array following the respective exposure durations thereof while applying a respective analog readout gain. The analog readout gain applied during readout of at least a first subframe of the first number of subframes is scaled according to a ratio of the shortest one of the exposure durations to the exposure duration of the first subframe.Type: GrantFiled: May 21, 2015Date of Patent: January 8, 2019Assignee: Rambus Inc.Inventors: Thomas Vogelsang, Craig M. Smith
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Patent number: 10165209Abstract: A sequence of control voltage levels are applied to a control signal line capacitively coupled to a floating diffusion node of a pixel to sequentially adjust a voltage level of the floating diffusion node. A pixel output signal representative of the voltage level of the floating diffusion node is compared with a reference voltage to identify a first control voltage level of the sequence of control voltage levels for which the voltage level of the floating diffusion node exceeds the reference voltage.Type: GrantFiled: July 23, 2015Date of Patent: December 25, 2018Assignee: Rambus Inc.Inventors: John Ladd, Michael Guidash, Craig M. Smith, Thomas Vogelsang, Jay Endsley, Michael T. Ching, James E. Harris
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Patent number: 10154220Abstract: Multiple image data subframes corresponding to respective portions of an exposure interval are generated within a sensor device of an image system. Depending on whether the exposure interval exceeds one or more exposure time thresholds, data representative multiple image data subframes are output from the image sensor device in one of at least two formats, including a first format in which each of the subframes of image data is output in its entirety, and a second format in which a logical combination of at least two of the subframes of image data is output instead of the at least two of the subframes of image data such that the total volume of image data output from the image sensor device is reduced relative to the first format.Type: GrantFiled: March 31, 2016Date of Patent: December 11, 2018Assignee: Rambus Inc.Inventors: Thomas Vogelsang, Jay Endsley, Michael Guidash, Craig M. Smith
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Patent number: 10136090Abstract: An image sensor architecture with multi-bit sampling is implemented within an image sensor system. A pixel signal produced in response to light incident upon a photosensitive element is converted to a multiple-bit digital value representative of the pixel signal. If the pixel signal exceeds a sampling threshold, the photosensitive element is reset. During an image capture period, digital values associated with pixel signals that exceed a sampling threshold are accumulated into image data.Type: GrantFiled: March 14, 2014Date of Patent: November 20, 2018Assignee: Rambus Inc.Inventors: Thomas Vogelsang, Michael Guidash, Song Xue, Maxim Smirnov, Craig M. Smith, Jay Endsley, James E. Harris
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Patent number: D906578Type: GrantFiled: July 11, 2018Date of Patent: December 29, 2020Assignee: SIGNIFY HOLDING B.V.Inventors: Craig M. Smith, Eric C. Nace