Digital cameras with direct luminance and chrominance detection

• US 10,148,927 B2
• Filed: 03/18/2016
• Issued: 12/04/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 08/25/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intellectual Ventures II LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Callahan Cellular LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Olsen, Richard Ian, Gates, James, Sato, Darryl L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Sohn, Seung C
• Application Number:
  US15/074,275
• Publication Number:
  US 20160205374A1
• Time in Patent Office: 991 Days
• Field of Search: 2502081, 25055908, 250226, 348262, 3482231, 348280, 348297, 348308
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 3/0031 Replication or moulding, e.g. hot embossing, UV-casting, injection moulding
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 3/0043 Inhomogeneous or irregular arrays, e.g. varying shape, size, height
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 3/0062 Stacked lens arrays, i.e. refractive surfaces arranged in at least two planes, without structurally separate optical elements in-between
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 3/0075 characterized by non-optical structures, e.g. having integrated holding or alignment means
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 9/12 having three components only
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/14618 Containers
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/14621 Colour filter arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/14625 Optical elements or arrangements associated with the device
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/14634 Assemblies, i.e. Hybrid structures
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/14645 Colour imagers
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/14652 Multispectral infrared imagers, having a stacked pixel-element structure, e.g. npn, npnpn or MQW structures
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/00 Indexing scheme for arrangements or methods for connecting or disconnecting semiconductor or solid-state bodies as covered by H01L24/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/0002 Not covered by any one of groups H01L24/00, H01L24/00 and H01L2224/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 31/0232 Optical elements or arrangements associated with the device H01L31/0236 takes precedence; for photovoltaic cells H01L31/054; for photovoltaic modules H02S40/20
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 31/02325 the optical elements not being integrated nor being directly associated with the device
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2209/049 having three pick-up sensors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/11 for generating image signals from visible and infrared light wavelengths
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/13 with multiple sensors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/16 Optical arrangements associated therewith, e.g. for beam-splitting or for colour correction
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/51 Housings
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/54 : Mounting of pick-up tubes, electronic image sensors, deviation or focusing coils
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/71 : Circuitry for evaluating the brightness variation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/73 : by influencing the exposure time
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/843 : Demosaicing, e.g. interpolating colour pixel values
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/88 : for colour balance, e.g. white-balance circuits or colour temperature control
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/00 : Circuitry of solid-state image sensors [SSIS]; Control thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/134 : based on three different wavelength filter elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/41 : Extracting pixel data from a plurality of image sensors simultaneously picking up an image, e.g. for increasing the field of view by combining the outputs of a plurality of sensors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/53 : Control of the integration time
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/531 : by controlling rolling shutters in CMOS SSIS
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/33 : Transforming infrared radiation cameras or camera modules for generating image signals from infrared radiation H04N23/20; circuitry of SSIS for transforming infrared radiation into image signals H04N25/20

Abstract

Digital camera systems and methods are described that provide a color digital camera with direct luminance detection. The luminance signals are obtained directly from a broadband image sensor channel without interpolation of RGB data. The chrominance signals are obtained from one or more additional image sensor channels comprising red and/or blue color band detection capability. The red and blue signals are directly combined with the luminance image sensor channel signals. The digital camera generates and outputs an image in YCrCb color space by directly combining outputs of the broadband, red and blue sensors.

Claims

1. A device comprising:

a first channel including a first optics component and a first image sensor, wherein the first channel is dedicated to an infrared spectrum;

a second channel including a second optics component and a second image sensor, wherein the second channel is dedicated to a visible spectrum and wherein the second image sensor in configured to directly acquire luminance data; and

a processing component coupled to the first and second channels and configured to combine outputs of the first and second channels to generate an image without interpolation of RGB data.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the first image sensor, the second image sensor, and the processing component are attached to different substrates and coupled together.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the second channel is further configured to generate blue chroma data through combination of blue color band data with luminance data.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein the second optics component is configured to directly detect YCbCr signals.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein the second optics component is configured to directly detect luminance and chrominance without detection of RGB signals.

6. The device of claim 1, further comprising presenting the image on a non-camera display.

7. The device of claim 1, wherein the first optics component is configured to detect low light signals.

8. The device of claim 1, wherein the processing component is configured to determine a first integration time for the first image sensor and a second integration time for the second image sensor for a frame.

9. The device of claim 8, wherein the first integration time is different than the second integration time.

10. The device of claim 8, wherein the processing component is configured to simultaneously determine the first integration time and the second integration time.

11. The device of claim 1, wherein the image is associated with a first frame, and wherein the processing component is configured to determine a first integration time for the first image sensor and a second integration time for the second image sensor for a second frame, wherein the first integration time and the second integration time are based at least in part on an image signal level of the image.

12. The device of claim 1, wherein the first optics component has a first field of view, and wherein the second optics component has a second field of view that is different than the first field of view.

13. The device of claim 1, wherein the first optics component has a first focal length, and wherein the second optics component has a second focal length that is different than the first focal length.

14. The device of claim 1, wherein the processing component is configured to simultaneously control data acquisition by the first channel and the second channel.

15. A method comprising:

generating, by a first channel of a digital camera that includes a first optics component and a first image sensor, infrared data;

generating, by a second channel of the digital camera that includes a second optics component and a second image sensor, visible spectrum data, wherein the second image sensor directly acquires luminance data; and

generating, by a processing component of the digital camera, an image by combining outputs of the first channel and the second channel without interpolation of RGB data.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising detecting luminance and chrominance without detection of RGB signals.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising determining a first integration time for the first image sensor and a second integration time for the second image sensor, wherein the first integration time is different than the second integration time.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the first integration time and the second integration time are simultaneously determined by the processing component.

19. A tangible computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, the instructions comprising:

instructions to generate infrared data with a first channel of a digital camera, wherein the first channel includes a first optics component and a first image sensor;

instructions to generate visible spectrum data with a second channel of the digital camera, wherein the second channel includes a second optics component and a second image sensor, and wherein the second image sensor is configured to directly acquire luminance data; and

instructions to generate an image by combining outputs of the first channel and the second channel without interpolation of RGB data.

20. The tangible computer-readable medium of claim 19, further comprising instructions to detect luminance and chrominance without detection of RGB signals.