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:
Sep. 23, 2014
Filed:
Oct. 31, 2011
Failsafe image sensor with real time integrity checking of pixel analog paths and digital data paths
Applicant:
Per Olaf Pahr, Lier, NO;
Inventor:
Per Olaf Pahr, Lier, NO;
Assignee:
Aptina Imaging Corporation, George Town, KY;
Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
G01C 25/00 (2006.01); G06F 19/00 (2011.01); H04N 17/00 (2006.01); G01R 31/28 (2006.01); H04N 5/374 (2011.01); H04N 5/3745 (2011.01);
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
G06F 19/00 (2013.01); H04N 17/002 (2013.01); G01R 31/2829 (2013.01); G01R 31/2856 (2013.01); H04N 5/3742 (2013.01); H04N 5/3745 (2013.01);
Abstract
A method of testing analog and digital paths of a pixel in a row of an imager, includes the following steps: (a) injecting first and second charges into the analog path of the pixel, wherein the first charge is in response to a light exposure, and the second charge is in response to a built-in test; (b) sampling the first and second charges to form an image signal level and a test signal level, respectively; and (c) converting, by an analog-to-digital converter (ADC), the image signal level and the test signal level to form image data and test data, respectively. The method then validates the image data based on the test data.