Patents by Inventor Eric R. Fossum

Eric R. Fossum 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).

  • Patent number: 6906745
    Abstract: Automatic exposure adjusting device considers the image on a pixel-by-pixel basis. Each pixel is characterized according to its most significant bits. After the pixels are characterized, the number of pixels in any particular group is counted. That counting is compared with thresholds which set whether the image is over exposed, under exposed, and can optionally also determine if the image is seriously over exposed or seriously under exposed. Adjustment of the exposure is carried out to bring the image to a more desired state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 1999
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2005
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Eric R. Fossum, Alexander I. Krymski, Roger A. Panicacci, Christopher Clark
  • Patent number: 6888122
    Abstract: A cascaded imaging storage system for a pixel is disclosed for improving intrascene dynamic range. Charges accumulated in a first capacitor spill over into a second capacitor when a charge storage capacity of the first capacitor is exceeded. A third capacitor may also be provided such that charges accumulated by said second capacitor spill over into the third capacitor when the charge storage capacity of the second capacitor is exceeded.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2002
    Date of Patent: May 3, 2005
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventor: Eric R. Fossum
  • Patent number: 6873363
    Abstract: An active pixel sensor (APS) that includes circuitry to eliminate artifacts in digital images. The APS includes a comparator for comparing a signal level from a pixel to an adjusted saturation voltage to determine if the pixel is saturated. If the pixel is saturated, an associated saturation flag is stored and used to replace the signal from the pixel with a maximum value corresponding to a brightest pixel in the image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 16, 2000
    Date of Patent: March 29, 2005
    Assignee: Micron Technology Inc.
    Inventors: Sandor L. Barna, Eric R. Fossum
  • Patent number: 6863405
    Abstract: An automatically dimming mirror includes a dimming element having variable reflectivity, the degree of reflectivity based on a control signal. An ambient light sensor is positioned to receive light from a region generally in front of the vehicle. The ambient light sensor outputs a discrete ambient light signal based on the amount of light incident on the ambient light sensor over an integration period. A glare sensor is positioned to view the scene generally behind the vehicle operator. The glare sensor outputs a discrete glare signal based on the amount of light incident on the glare sensor over an integration period. A dimming logic determines an ambient light level based on the ambient light signal. The glare integration period is determined based on the ambient light level. The glare signal resulting from the glare integration period determines a mirror glare level used to set the dimming element control signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 2004
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2005
    Assignee: Gentex Corporation
    Inventors: Jon H. Bechtel, Joseph S. Stam, Robert R. Turnbull, Robert H. Nixon, Eric R. Fossum
  • Patent number: 6838653
    Abstract: A shared photodetector active pixel sensor uses a single photodetector between two different active pixels. The photodetector has a number of connection portions, which allow connecting to the different photodetector portions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 2003
    Date of Patent: January 4, 2005
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Scott Patrick Campbell, Eric R. Fossum
  • Patent number: 6825059
    Abstract: An active pixel cell includes electronic shuttering capability. The cell can be “shuttered” to prevent additional charge accumulation. One mode transfers the current charge to a storage node that is blocked against accumulation of optical radiation. The charge is sampled from a floating node. Since the charge is stored, the node can be sampled at the beginning and the end of every cycle. Another aspect allows charge to spill out of the well whenever the charge amount gets higher than some amount, thereby providing anti blooming.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 26, 2002
    Date of Patent: November 30, 2004
    Assignee: California Institute of Technology
    Inventor: Eric R. Fossum
  • Publication number: 20040222359
    Abstract: Light sensors having a wide dynamic range are used in a variety of applications. A wide dynamic range light sensor includes an exposed photodiode light transducer accumulating charge in proportion to light incident over an integration period. Sensor logic determines a light integration period prior to the beginning of integration and the charge is reset. Charge accumulated by the exposed light transducer over the light integration period is measured and a pulse having a width based on the accumulated charge is determined.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 18, 2004
    Publication date: November 11, 2004
    Inventors: Robert H. Nixon, Eric R. Fossum, Jon H. Bechtel
  • Publication number: 20040218074
    Abstract: An imager has first and second photosensitive sites and an interpolator located in a semiconductor substrate. The first photosensitive site is configured to receive light having a spectral component, and the second photosensitive site is configured to measure the level of the spectral component in light received by the second photosensitive site. The interpolator is configured to estimate the level of the spectral component in the light received by the first photosensitive site based on the measurement by the second photosensitive site.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 10, 2004
    Publication date: November 4, 2004
    Inventor: Eric R. Fossum
  • Publication number: 20040218277
    Abstract: An automatically dimming mirror includes a dimming element having variable reflectivity, the degree of reflectivity based on a control signal. An ambient light sensor is positioned to receive light from a region generally in front of the vehicle. The ambient light sensor outputs a discrete ambient light signal based on the amount of light incident on the ambient light sensor over an integration period. A glare sensor is positioned to view the scene generally behind the vehicle operator. The glare sensor outputs a discrete glare signal based on the amount of light incident on the glare sensor over an integration period. A dimming logic determines an ambient light level based on the ambient light signal. The glare integration period is determined based on the ambient light level. The glare signal resulting from the glare integration period determines a mirror glare level used to set the dimming element control signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 28, 2004
    Publication date: November 4, 2004
    Inventors: Jon H. Bechtel, Joseph S. Stam, Robert R. Turnbull, Robert H. Nixon, Eric R. Fossum
  • Publication number: 20040195592
    Abstract: A two-transistor pixel of an imager has a reset region formed adjacent a charge collection region of a photodiode and in electrical communication with a gate of a source follower transistor. The reset region is connected to one terminal of a capacitor which integrates collected charge of the photodiode. The charge collection region is reset by pulsing the other terminal of the capacitor from a higher to a lower voltage.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 20, 2004
    Publication date: October 7, 2004
    Inventor: Eric R. Fossum
  • Patent number: 6801258
    Abstract: An imager that is better suited for low-light detection capability. In accordance with a preferred embodiment, the imager may be easily configured to provide an imager having multi-resolution capability where SNR can be adjusted for optimum low-level detectibility. Multi-resolution signal processing functionality is provided on-chip to achieve high speed imaging, as well as low power consumption. The imager architecture employs an improved pixel binning approach with fully differential circuits situated so that all extraneous and pick-up noise is eliminated. The current implementation requires no frame transfer memory, thereby reducing chip size. The reduction in area enables larger area format light adaptive imager implementations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 16, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2004
    Assignee: California Institute of Technology
    Inventors: Bedabrata Pain, Zhimin Zhou, Eric R. Fossum
  • Patent number: 6794214
    Abstract: A lock in pinned photodiode photodetector includes a plurality of output ports which are sequentially enabled. Each time when the output port is enabled is considered to be a different bin of time. A specified pattern is sent, and the output bins are investigated to look for that pattern. The time when the pattern is received indicates the time of flight.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 29, 2001
    Date of Patent: September 21, 2004
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Vladimir Berezin, Alexander Krymski, Eric R. Fossum
  • Patent number: 6787749
    Abstract: An image sensor operable to vary the output spatial resolution according to a received light level while maintaining a desired signal-to-noise ratio. Signals from neighboring pixels in a pixel patch with an adjustable size are added to increase both the image brightness and signal-to-noise ratio. One embodiment comprises a sensor array for receiving input signals, a frame memory array for temporarily storing a full frame, and an array of self-calibration column integrators for uniform column-parallel signal summation. The column integrators are capable of substantially canceling fixed pattern noise.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 23, 2000
    Date of Patent: September 7, 2004
    Assignee: California Institute of Technology
    Inventors: Zhimin Zhou, Eric R. Fossum, Bedabrata Pain
  • Publication number: 20040169209
    Abstract: A new kind of pixel is formed of two floating diffusions of different sizes and different conductivity type. The two floating diffusions have different image characteristics, and hence form a knee-shaped slope.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 16, 2004
    Publication date: September 2, 2004
    Inventors: Vladimir Berezin, Eric R. Fossum
  • Publication number: 20040165088
    Abstract: A number of different elements are added together in a staggered way to avoid the total loss of resolution caused by the binning process. The circuit for doing this includes a variable gain. In a second circuit for carrying this out, to fixed pattern noise reduction circuits are used.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 10, 2004
    Publication date: August 26, 2004
    Inventors: Sandor L. Barna, Eric R. Fossum
  • Publication number: 20040160522
    Abstract: An imaging device formed as a monolithic complementary metal oxide semiconductor integrated circuit in an industry standard complementary metal oxide semiconductor process, the integrated circuit including a focal plane array of pixel cells, each one of the cells including a photogate overlying the substrate for accumulating photo-generated charge in an underlying portion of the substrate, a readout circuit including at least an output field effect transistor formed in the substrate, and a charge coupled device section formed on the substrate adjacent the photogate having a sensing node connected to the output transistor and at least one charge coupled device stage for transferring charge from the underlying portion of the substrate to the sensing node.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 12, 2003
    Publication date: August 19, 2004
    Applicant: California Institute of Technology
    Inventors: Eric R. Fossum, Sunetra Mendis, Sabrina E. Kemeny
  • Patent number: 6765613
    Abstract: A number of different elements are added together in a staggered way to avoid the total loss of resolution caused by the binning process. The circuit for doing this includes a variable gain. In a second circuit for carrying this out, to fixed pattern noise reduction circuits are used.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 21, 1999
    Date of Patent: July 20, 2004
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Sandor L. Barna, Eric R. Fossum
  • Patent number: 6755542
    Abstract: An automatically dimming mirror includes a dimming element having variable reflectivity, the degree of reflectivity based on a control signal. An ambient light sensor is positioned to receive light from a region generally in front of the vehicle. The ambient light sensor outputs a discrete ambient light signal based on the amount of light incident on the ambient light sensor over an integration period. A glare sensor is positioned to view the scene generally behind the vehicle operator. The glare sensor outputs a discrete glare signal based on the amount of light incident on the glare sensor over an integration period. A dimming logic determines an ambient light level based on the ambient light signal. The glare integration period is determined based on the ambient light level. The glare signal resulting from the glare integration period determines a mirror glare level used to set the dimming element control signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 2002
    Date of Patent: June 29, 2004
    Assignee: Gentex Corporation
    Inventors: Jon H. Bechtel, Joseph S. Stam, Robert R. Turnbull, Robert H. Nixon, Eric R. Fossum
  • Patent number: 6750485
    Abstract: A lock in pinned photodiode photodetector includes a plurality of output ports which are sequentially enabled. Each time when the output port is enabled is considered to be a different bin of time. A specified pattern is sent, and the output bins are investigated to look for that pattern. The time when the pattern is received indicates the time of flight.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 12, 2003
    Date of Patent: June 15, 2004
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Vladimir Berezin, Alexander Krymski, Eric R. Fossum
  • Patent number: 6744084
    Abstract: A two-transistor pixel of an imager has a reset region formed adjacent a charge collection region of a photodiode and in electrical communication with a gate of a source follower transistor. The reset region is connected to one terminal of a capacitor which integrates collected charge of the photodiode. The charge collection region is reset by pulsing the other terminal of the capacitor from a higher to a lower voltage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2002
    Date of Patent: June 1, 2004
    Assignee: Micro Technology, Inc.
    Inventor: Eric R. Fossum