Panasonic Corporation

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Rosnes Corporation

Takahiro Iwasawa

Keiichi Tsumura

Kunihiro Imamura

Kenji Nakamura

Takahiko Murata

Takumi Yamaguchi

Toshiya Fujii

Toshinobu Hatano

Makoto Kawakami

Kazuyuki Inokuma

Toshiyuki Nakashima

Takahiro Yamamoto

Katsumi Tokuyama

Nobuyuki Minakata

Yoshihisa Shimazu

Yoshimitsu Sasaki

Hiroki Hachiyama

Takeshi Hirayama

Masakazu Tsuji

Mitsunori Morimoto

Koujirou Yoneda

Kouzirou Yoneda

Masakatsu Yoshida

Masanori Ohmae

A solid-state image pickup device includes a pixel array having a plurality of photodiodes that are disposed in a matrix, electric charge transfer gates, and a floating diffusion (FD), and further includes a reset transistor and an amplifier transistor each shared by the four adjacent photodiodes. In the solid-state image pickup device, the photodiodes include first to fourth photodiodes. In a state where the amplifier transistor is activated, electric charge transfer gates connected respectively to the first to fourth photodiodes are sequentially turned ON and electric charges accumulated in the photodiodes are sequentially read out through the FD. Accordingly, a readout blanking period can be minimized to and signal charges can be read out at high speed. Moreover, readout signal lines need only to be provided for every two columns of the photodiodes, so that openings of the photodiodes can be increased in size.

Solid-state image pickup device

An image input device according to the present invention comprises an optical lens, an image sensor, a color filter disposed between the optical lens and the image sensor, a memory for temporarily memorizing the imaging signal from the image sensor, a color temperature measuring circuit for measuring a color temperature of the imaging signal read from the image sensor for each of measurement areas into which an entire area of the image sensor is optionally divided, a measurement result storing circuit for temporarily memorizing a result of the color temperature measurement obtained by the color temperature measuring circuit, and a color temperature circuit for inputting the imaging signal from the memory and the color temperature measurement result from the measurement result storing circuit and the color temperature of the imaging signal for each of divided correction areas based on a result of the per-area color temperature measurement.

Image input device having color temperature measuring and correcting circuits

In a video signal processing apparatus for generating a video signal in a prescribed format by capturing output of a solid-state imaging element that is driven by corresponding to each timing of horizontal scanning and vertical scanning, a first signal processing circuit generates a first video signal by performing the first signal processing on an analog video signal that is continuously outputted from the solid-state imaging element by a horizontal-line unit. An A/D converter circuit generates the first video data by converting the first video signal to digital information. A memory circuit stores the first video data at least by one horizontal-line unit, and reads out the first video data with a delay of a prescribed delay period. A second signal processing circuit generates the second video data by performing the second signal processing on the first video data that is read out from the memory circuit.

Video signal processing apparatus for generating a video signal from output of a solid-state imaging element and digital camera including the same

An image processing device for performing image processing for an image signal output from an image sensor and outputting the results, including: an internal memory having line memories for storing an image by row or column; an image processing section for performing the image processing using the internal memory; and a CPU for controlling the image processing section. The image processing section includes a plurality of processing circuits each performing predetermined processing as the image processing. At least one of the plurality of processing circuits is configured to allow use of an external memory provided outside the image processing device as required.

Image processing device and camera including CPU which determines whether processing performed using external memory

From horizontal and vertical coordinate values HC and VC of a pixel, a distance operation unit calculates a distance value RV indicating the distance from an optical-axis position to the pixel. A correction-data operation unit receives the distance value RV, and calculates correction data CD for the pixel by referring to an approximation function indicating relation between distance values and correction data. The approximation function is divided into a plurality of segments, and in each segment represented by a quadratic function defined by a predetermined number of sample points.

Shading correction method and system and digital camera

A camera system comprising an imaging unit scanned by means of an X-Y address method, horizontal and vertical scanning units for scanning the imaging unit by means of the X-Y address method, a main scanning direction control signal generating unit for generating a main scanning direction control signal for designating a main scanning direction of the imaging unit, a main scanning direction control unit for controlling the horizontal and vertical scanning units so that the main scanning direction coincides with a direction instructed by the main scanning direction control signal, and an output unit for outputting an image signal read in consequence of scanning the imaging unit using the horizontal and vertical scanning units.

Camera system

An image processing device for performing image processing for an image signal output from an image sensor, including: a preprocessing circuit for generating a correction signal based on the image signal from the image sensor; a signal processing circuit for correcting the image signal using the correction signal and converting the corrected signal to a luminance signal and a color-difference signal; and a control block. The control block performs either first processing in which the signal processing circuit uses the correction signal generated based on an image of a frame preceding the frame of an image currently supplied to the signal processing circuit, or second processing in which the image signal obtained from the image sensor is stored in an external memory, the stored image is read and supplied to the signal processing circuit, and the signal processing circuit uses the correction signal generated based on the image of the same frame as the supplied image.

Image processing device and camera

In order to reduce the capacity of a line memory when converting image data that are input in a raster scan order into pixel block data such as 8&#xd7;8 pixels for JPEG compression and the like, data on the first 0th to 7th lines is written in an 8H line memory in a raster scan order. Next, while performing block reading, the writing of the next 8th to 15th lines is performed so as to follow the part that has been read. The block reading of the 8th to 15th lines is performed in an order from the area where the data on the 0th line was first stored to the area where the data on the 1st, 2nd . . . lines was stored. For this reason, the writing of the 16th to 23rd line that is performed simultaneously with the block reading of the 8th to 15th lines can be performed in the same manner as the writing of the first 0th to 7th lines. Therefore, block conversion can be performed using an 8H line memory capacity corresponding to 8 lines, whereas that corresponding to 16 lines has been conventionally required.

Pixel block data generating device and pixel block data generating method

A pixel area of a megapixel solid-state color imaging device is divided into unit areas for pixel adding and all the pixels for the same color are added together in each unit area. Accordingly, the percentage of utilized pixels is raised to 100% and aliasing noise to low frequencies in a high-frequency video signal is greatly suppressed by a spatial LPF (low pass filter) effect of the pixel addition in the area units.

Solid-state color imaging apparatus capable of reducing false signals with regard to both luminance and chrominance

An image pickup apparatus includes a lens, and a solid-state image sensor for converting light which passes through the lens into an electric signal. A signal processing circuit serves to process the electric signal outputted from the solid-state image snesor. A Gray code counter serves to count pulses of a first clock signal and to generate Gray codes in response to the first clock signal. A latch device functions to feed a second clock signal and a synchronizing signal to the solid-state image sensor and the signal processing circuit in response to the Gray codes generated by the Gray code counter respectively. The Gray code counter circuit includes n-bit counting stages where n denotes a predetermined natural number, and a plurality of logic decoders for feeding logic outputs to input terminals of the respective counting stages, the logic outputs being equivalent to a product of a first logic output of a (k-1)-th-bit counting stage and second logic outputs of a (k-2)-th-bit counting stage and lower-bit counting stages where k denotes a natural number between 3 and n.

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Kyoto, Japan

Takahiro Iwasawa