Panasonic Corporation

Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.

Nuvoton Technology Corporation Japan

Miraxia Edge Technology Corporation

Takuya Asano

Toshiya Fujii

Junichi Matsuo

Sei Suzuki

Yuki Minami

Takuya Nohara

Takamasa Ando

Yoshiaki Kato

Shinzo Koyama

Nobukazu Teranishi

Shigeru Saitou

Mitsuhiko Otani

Haruka Takano

Tohru Yamada

Akira Tsukamoto

Masanori Hirofuji

Yasuyuki Shimizu

Tomohiko Kanemitsu

Seigo Suguta

Nobutaka Nakamae

Seiji Matsui

Wataru Matsumoto

Naoya Tomoda

Fumihito Nakajima

Norihiro Imanaka

A ranging device includes: a pulse generator; a controller that controls the pulse generator according to n (n is an integer greater than or equal to 4) types of packet generation codes indicating whether or not to expose or emit light in each of unit segments corresponding to distance segments into which a ranging range is divided; a light source; a solid-state image capturer; and a distance calculator that calculates the distance based on n types of signal values per unit segment obtained from the solid-state image capturer.

Ranging device and ranging method

An imaging device includes: a solid-state image sensor that is exposed to reflection light from an object and accumulates signal charges; and a control arithmetic device that controls irradiation by an infrared light source and exposure of the solid-state image sensor. The solid-state image sensor includes: photoelectric converters that convert the reflection light from the object into the signal charges; and charge accumulators that accumulate the signal charges. The imaging device performs, within one frame period, m types of exposure sequences (m is an integer greater than or equal to four) for controlling the irradiation and the exposure; assigns the charge accumulators exclusively to the m types of exposure sequences; accumulates, into the charge accumulators, the signal charges obtained from n (n is an integer greater than or equal to three) of the photoelectric converters in at least one type of exposure sequence among the m types of exposure sequences.

Imaging device

A monitoring system includes an arithmetic processor. The arithmetic processor receives captured image information representing a captured image obtained by capturing an image of a subject and generates notification information representing a particular notification content depending on a condition of the subject. The arithmetic processor includes a first arithmetic processor and a second arithmetic processor. The first arithmetic processor obtains a condition quantity by quantifying the condition of the subject by reference to the captured image information and based on a parameter about a human activity status. The second arithmetic processor selects, according to the condition quantity, the particular notification content from contents of notification classified into N stages, where N is an integer equal to or greater than three.

Monitoring system and non-transitory storage medium

An imaging apparatus includes: an infrared light source; and a solid-state imaging device. The solid-state imaging device includes: light receivers that convert incident light from the subject to signal charges; a signal storage that stores the signal charges; a signal drain into which the signal charges are discharged; microlenses disposed on the light receivers; and openings through which the incident light enters the light receivers. The solid-state imaging device reads and discharges the signal charges in response to a signal drain voltage being switched between on and off. Each microlens is disposed such that the center of the microlens is displaced toward the center of the pixel array from the center of the corresponding light receiver, as the position of the microlens is closer to the perimeter of the pixel array. The openings have different shapes according to the positions of the openings in the pixel array.

Imaging apparatus and solid-state imaging device used therein

Read electrodes are provided to drain signal charge of pixels from photoelectric conversion units provided in the pixels separately to a vertical transfer unit. During a first exposure period during which an object is illuminated with infrared light, signal charge obtained from a first pixel, and signal charge obtained from a second pixel adjacent to the first pixel, are added together in the vertical transfer unit to produce first signal charge. During a second exposure period during which the object is not illuminated with infrared light, signal charge obtained from the first pixel, and signal charge obtained from the second pixel adjacent to the first pixel, are transferred without being added to the first signal charge in the vertical transfer unit, and are added together in another packet to produce second signal charge.

Image capture device

Provided is an a imaging device that acquires a distance image excluding influence of background light in one frame scanning period and acquires a visible image in a separate frame from a single imaging sensor, and includes an infrared light source that emits infrared light, and a solid state imaging device including a plurality of first pixels and a plurality of second pixels, which respectively include vertical overflow drains, and are arranged in a matrix on a semiconductor substrate, the plurality of first pixels converting the infrared light into signal charges, and the plurality of second pixels converting visible light into signal charges. The solid state imaging device outputs a first signal obtained from the plurality of first pixels in an irradiation period of infrared light, and a second signal obtained from the plurality of first pixels in a non-irradiation period of infrared light, in a first frame scanning period, and outputs a third signal obtained from the plurality of first pixels and a fourth signal obtained from the plurality of second pixels, in a second frame scanning period.

Solid state imaging device and imaging device and driving method thereof

A solid-state imaging device includes: a plurality of photoelectric conversion units arranged in rows and columns in a pixel region; a plurality of vertical transfer units arranged for corresponding columns of the photoelectric conversion units, and transfer, in a column direction, the signal charges read from the corresponding columns of the photoelectric conversion units; a first and a second horizontal transfer units arranged in parallel, and transfer, in a row direction, the signal charges transferred by the vertical transfer units; and a first and a second output units which (i) include floating diffusion units each formed in a region adjacent to an output end of a corresponding one of the first and the second horizontal transfer units and (ii) output, as electric signals, the transferred signal charges, wherein the floating diffusion units are disposed at greater intervals than adjacent ones of the horizontal transfer units.

Solid-state imaging device having floating diffusion units disposed at greater intervals than adjacent ones of horizontal transfer units

A solid-state imaging device includes photoelectric conversion units, vertical transfer units including vertical transfer electrodes, a horizontal transfer unit, a distribution transfer unit including distribution transfer electrodes, and first light-shield layers and second light-shield layers provided on the vertical transfer units and the distribution transfer unit. The first light-shield layers and the second light-shield layers are conductive. The first light-shield layers are provided in a layer different from a layer in which the second light-shield layers are provided. At least one of the first light-shield layers serves as an interconnect electrically connected to the vertical transfer electrodes included in the same row, and at least one of the first light-shield layers on the distribution transfer unit serves as an interconnect electrically connected the distribution transfer electrodes. The first light-shield layers are disposed so as not to overlap with the horizontal transfer unit.

Solid state imaging device

In a device for controlling a focus to an optical disc having a land section and a groove section, the control is performed so as to avoid a focus step difference at a land-area/groove-area switching point. When performing write-in or readout of data to an optical disc on which a land area and a groove area are continuously formed, using an optical pickup, there are provided a land learning unit () for determining a focus position in the land area, a groove learning unit () for determining a focus position in the groove area, and a focus position calculation unit () for determining a focus position in an area where the land area and the groove area are switched, and the focus position of the optical pickup is moved so that it is located at the third focus position when the switching signal is inverted according to the switching between the land area and the groove area.

Focus control device, and optical disc device

Growing community of inventors

Hyogo, Japan

Takuya Asano