The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Oct. 11, 2011
Filed:
May. 22, 2008
LI Liu, Cortland, NY (US);
Jeffrey Jon Zarnowski, McGraw, NY (US);
Ketan Vrajlal Karia, Cortland, NY (US);
Thomas Poonnen, Cortland, NY (US);
Michael Eugene Joyner, McGraw, NY (US);
Li Liu, Cortland, NY (US);
Jeffrey Jon Zarnowski, McGraw, NY (US);
Ketan Vrajlal Karia, Cortland, NY (US);
Thomas Poonnen, Cortland, NY (US);
Michael Eugene Joyner, McGraw, NY (US);
Panavision Imaging, LLC, Homer, NY (US);
Abstract
Improving the dynamic range of captured images is disclosed by using sub-pixel arrays to capture light at different exposures and generate color pixel outputs for an image in a single frame. Each sub-pixel array can include multiple sub-pixels. The sub-pixels that make up a sub-pixel array can include red (R) sub-pixels, green (G) sub-pixels, blue (B) sub-pixels, and in some embodiments, clear sub-pixels. Those sub-pixel arrays having clear sub-pixels effectively have a higher exposure level and can capture low-light scenes (for dark areas) better than those sub-pixel arrays without clear sub-pixels. Each sub-pixel array can produce a color pixel output that is a combination of the outputs of the sub-pixels in the sub-pixel array. Each sub-pixel in a sub-pixel array can have the same exposure time, or in some embodiments, individual sub-pixels within a sub-pixel array can have different exposure times to improve the overall dynamic range even more.