Semiconductor Components Industries, LLC

Aptina Imaging Corporation

Kai Yau Mok

Sheng Lin

Marko Mlinar

Adam Zerwick

Chi-Wen Chang

An image sensor may perform hybrid pixel binning. In pixel binning, pixel values from multiple pixels are combined into a single representative binning value. In a hybrid pixel binning scheme, different pixel groups may be binned in different ways in a single image sensor. When the range of values in a pixel group is low (indicating a flat surface), a mean or median binning scheme may be used. When the range of values in a pixel group is high (indicating an edge), a spatial weighting binning scheme may be used. When a pixel group has an intermediate range, a blend of the median/mean and spatial weighting may be used to avoid undesired blinking in the binning output. The hybrid binning scheme may reduce noise while still preserving high-frequency detail.

Image sensor with hybrid binning

An imaging system may include an image sensor and an image encoder that encodes images from the image sensor with fixed output sizes and frame rates. The image encoder may encode images from the image sensor into an image format such as a Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) format. The image encoder may insert padding data between image blocks in the encoded data to compensate in real time for variations in the encoded size of an image. The amount of padding data inserted by the encoder may be calculated to ensure the encoded image has a file size close to, but not greater than, the required fixed output size. If needed, the encoder may add additional padding data after the image blocks are encoded in a blanking period before a subsequent image is encoded so that the final size of the encoded image is equal to the required output size.

Growing community of inventors

Cupertino, CA, United States of America

Kai Yau Mok