Control circuit for image array sensors
First Claim
1. An imaging system, comprising:
- an image sensor comprising an array of pixel sensors;
a controller operative to generate instructions for the imaging system;
a serial bus coupled to the controller; and
a control system in communication with the sensor, the control system coupled to the controller through the serial bus, the control system responsive to the instructions that are received from the controller through the serial bus to determine row and column address control signals for the array of pixel sensors.
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Abstract
A control system is disclosed for controlling an image array sensor and controlling communication between the image array sensor and a microcontroller by way of a serial communication interface. The control system is able to efficiently control various aspects of the image array sensor such as windowing, mode of operation, sensitivity as well as other parameters in order to reduce the data throughput. An important aspect of the invention relates to the fact that the control circuit can be rather easily and efficiently configured in CMOS with relatively few output pins which enables the control circuit to be rather easily and efficiently integrated with CMOS based image array sensors and even the microcontroller to reduce the part count and thus, the overall cost of the system.
120 Citations
38 Claims
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1. An imaging system, comprising:
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an image sensor comprising an array of pixel sensors;
a controller operative to generate instructions for the imaging system;
a serial bus coupled to the controller; and
a control system in communication with the sensor, the control system coupled to the controller through the serial bus, the control system responsive to the instructions that are received from the controller through the serial bus to determine row and column address control signals for the array of pixel sensors. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. An imaging system comprising:
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an image sensor comprising an array of pixel sensors;
a controller operative to generate instructions for the imaging system;
a serial bus coupled to the controller; and
a control system in communication with the sensor and coupled to the controller through the serial bus, the control system comprising;
a bi-directional interface for providing a bi-directional serial communication interface with the controller through the serial bus for sending and receiving data from the controller, means for controlling the sensor, and means for receiving serial instruction words from the controller for controlling the mode of operation of the sensor. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. An imaging device adapted to receive instructions from a controller via a serial bus, said imaging device comprising:
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an image sensor comprising an array of pixel sensors; and
a control system in communication with said image sensor and coupled to the controller through the serial bus, said control system comprising;
a bi-directional interface for providing a bi-directional serial communication interface with the controller through the serial bus for sending and receiving data from the controller, means for controlling said image sensor, and means for receiving serial instruction words from the controller for controlling the mode of operation of said image sensor. - View Dependent Claims (27)
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28. An imaging device adapted to receive instructions from a controller via a serial bus, said imaging device comprising:
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an image sensor comprising an array of pixel sensors; and
a control system in communication with said image sensor, said control system coupled to the controller through the serial bus, said control system responsive to the instructions that are received from the controller through the serial bus to determine row and column address control signals for said array of pixel sensors. - View Dependent Claims (29)
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30. An imaging system, comprising:
a control system configured to receive a nine byte instruction and further configured to generate an image sensor control signal that is a function of said instruction. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
Specification