Nuvoton Technology Corporation Japan

Panasonic Corporation

Mayu Nishikawa

Seiji Nakamura

Masahiro Ogawa

Toshinobu Hatano

Keiichi Mori

Haruka Takano

Masahiko Nishimoto

Kunihiro Imamura

Toru Yamada

A drive controller in a distance-measuring imaging device generates an exposure control signal having first to third exposure control pulses based on output timings of corresponding ones of emission control pulses. The difference between output starting time of the third exposure control pulse and output starting time of one of the emission control pulses is greater than the difference between output starting time of the second exposure control pulse and output starting time of one of the emission control pulses. The difference between output starting time of the second exposure control pulse and output starting time of one of the emission control pulses is greater than the difference between output starting of the first exposure control pulse and output starting time of one of the emission control pulses. The imager outputs first to third exposure signals indicating amounts of charge generated through exposure by the first to third control pulses.

Distance-measuring imaging device

A distance measuring device includes: a light emitter which emits light from a light source to a target object; a light receiver which receives reflected light in a group of pixels two-dimensionally disposed, the reflection light being generated through reflection of the light emitted from the light emitter on the target object; a synthesizer which generates a synthesized signal by synthesizing pixel signals read from pixels exposed at different exposure intervals to generate a synthesized signal; and a distance arithmetic operator which calculates a value of distance to the target object based on the synthesized signal and the difference in time between emission and reception of the light. The synthesizer generates the synthesized signal by the first synthesis processing when a pixel signal of a pixel exposed at a first exposure interval has a signal level higher than a predetermined saturation level, and generates the synthesized signal by second synthesis processing the pixel signal of the pixel exposed at the first exposure interval has a signal level lower than the predetermined saturation level.

Distance measuring device and distance image synthesizing method

Suppress deterioration in picture qualities while achieving expansion in a dynamic range. An image sensor readout method that reads out, from an area sensor where a plurality of image pickup elements are arranged in matrix, signal charges that are accumulated in the image pickup elements is constituted as follows. First, plural kinds of exposure time different in length from each other are set, and the exposure time is then individually allocated to each line of the area sensor. Next, the signal charges accumulated in the image pickup elements in the allocated exposure time are read out through a line unit of the area sensor. Then, the read out signal charges are synthesized through a screen unit of the area sensor.

Method for reading out signal charges from an image sensor having different exposure times

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Osaka, Japan

Mayu Nishikawa