IMAGE SENSOR WITH INTERLEAVED IMAGE OUTPUT

• US 20040090540A2
• Filed: 09/06/2002
• Published: 05/13/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 01/05/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Candela Microsystems Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Candela Microsystems Incorporated
• Inventors: Tay, Hiok Nam
• Granted Patent: US 7,233,350 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/231.99
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32358 using picture signal storage, e.g. at transmitter H04N1/17 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32475 Changing the format of the data, e.g. parallel to serial or vice versa
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32491 alternate storage in and retrieval from two parallel memories, e.g. using ping-pong buffers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/40 Picture signal circuits H04N1/387 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0081 Image reader H04N2201/0091 - H04N2201/0094 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3292 of one or two complete lines
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/84 for processing colour signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/587 acquired sequentially, e.g. using the combination of odd and even image fields
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/616 involving a correlated sampling function, e.g. correlated double sampling [CDS] or triple sampling
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/64 Circuits for processing colour signals H04N9/77 takes precedence; camera processing pipelines for processing colour signals H04N23/84
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/642 Multi-standard receivers

Abstract

Abstract of the Disclosure

An image sensor with a light reader circuit coupled to a pixel array. The light reader circuit retrieves a first image and a second image generated by the pixel array. The image sensor may also include a memory controller and/or data interface that transfers the first and second images to an external device in an interleaving manner.

Claims

1. 21.(New)An image sensor that is connected to an external device, comprising:

a pixel array that generates a first image and a second image; and

,

a memory controller that is coupled to said pixel array and transfers the first and second images to the external device in a time overlapping manner.

10. 30.(New)An image sensor that is connected to an external device, comprising:

pixel array means for generating a first image and a second image; and

,

memory controller means for transferring the first and second images to the external device in a time overlapping manner.

19. 39.(New)A method for transferring a first image and a second image, comprising:

generating a first digitized image from a pixel array of an image sensor;

generating a second digitized image from the pixel array; and

,

transferring the first and second digitized images from the image sensor to an external device in a time overlapping manner.

21. 41. (New)An image sensor that is connected to an external device, comprising:

a pixel array that generates a first image and a second image; and

,

a data interface that is coupled to said circuit and transfers digitized data to the external device in a time overlapping manner.

2. 22.(New)The image sensor of claim 21, further comprising an image buffer that is coupled to said pixel array and said memory controller.

4. 24.(New)The image sensor of claim 21, wherein the first and second images are transferred to the external device in an interleaving manner.

5. 25.(New)The image sensor of claim 21, wherein said memory controller is connected to a bus and provides arbitration between an external processor and an external memory.

6. 26. (New)The image sensor of claim 21, wherein said memory controller is connected to a first bus that is coupled to an external processor and a second bus that is coupled to an external memory.

7. 27. (New)The image sensor of claim 21, further comprising a light reader circuit coupled to said pixel array and said memory controller.

25. 45.(New)An image sensor that is connected to an external device, comprising:

pixel array means for generating a first image and a second image; and

,

data interface means for transferring the first and second images to the external device in a time overlapping manner.

29. 49. (New)An image sensor, comprising:

a pixel array; and

,

a memory controller coupled to said pixel array.

33. 53.(New)An image sensor that is coupled to an external device, comprising:

pixel array means for generating an image; and

,

memory controller means for transferring the image to the external device.

16. 36. (New)The image sensor of claim 33, further comprising reader circuit means for retrieving the first and second images from said pixel array means.

37. 57.(New)A method for combining data on an image sensor, comprising:

transferring a first image from an image sensor to an external memory;

retrieving the first image from the external memory to the image sensor;

combining the first image with a second image; and

,

transferring the combined first and second images to an external device.

41. 61.(New)An image sensor, comprising:

a pixel array; and

,

a resolution conversion circuit coupled to said pixel array.

3. 23.(New)The image sensor of claim 22, further comprising a combiner coupled to said memory controller and said image buffer.

8. 28. (New)The image sensor of claim 22, wherein said image buffer converts a resolution of a first image and a second image retrieved from said pixel array.

22. 42.(New)The image sensor of claim 41, further comprising an image buffer that is coupled to said pixel array and said data interface.

24. 44.(New)The image sensor of claim 41, further comprising a light reader circuit coupled to said pixel array and said memory controller.

50. 70.(New)An image sensor, comprising:

pixel array means for generating an image; and

,

resolution conversion means for converting a resolution of the image.

55. 75.(New)A method for converting image data, comprising:

generating an image at a pixel array of an image sensor;

storing the image in an image buffer of the image sensor; and

,

converting a resolution of the image on the image sensor.

59. 79.(New)An image sensor coupled to an external device, comprising:

a pixel array that generates a first image and a second image;

a light reader circuit that retrieves the first and second images; and

,

a memory controller that is coupled to said light reader circuit and transfers the first and second images to the external device in a time overlapping manner, the transfer of the first and second images to the external device occurring during periods when said light reader circuit is not retrieving the first or second images from said pixel array.

63. 83.(New)An image sensor that is coupled to an external device, comprising:

pixel array means for generating a first image and a second image;

light reader means for retrieving the first and second images; and

,

memory controller means for transferring the first and second images to the external device in a time overlapping manner during a period when the light reader means is not retrieving the first or second images from said pixel array means.

9. 29.(New)The image sensor of claim 27, wherein said memory controller transfers data when said light reader circuit is not retrieving an output signal.

27. 47. (New)The image sensor of claim 46, wherein said image buffer means converts a resolution of a first image and a second image.

44. 64.(New)The image sensor of claim 63, further comprising a combiner coupled to said memory controller.

46. 66.(New)The image sensor of claim 63, wherein said memory controller is connected to a bus and provides arbitration between an external processor and an external memory.

47. 67. (New)The image sensor of claim 63, wherein said memory controller is connected to a first bus that is coupled to an external processor and a second bus that is coupled to an external memory.

67. 87.(New)A method for generating and transferring image data, comprising:

generating a first image from a pixel array of an image sensor;

retrieving the first image from the pixel array;

generating a second image from a pixel array;

retrieving the second image from the pixel array; and

,

transferring the first and second images from the image sensor to an external device in a time overlapping manner during a period when the first or second images are not being retrieved from the pixel array.

68. 88.(New)An image sensor system, comprising:

a memory device; and

,

an image sensor that is coupled to said memory device and has a power down pin connected to said memory device.

70. 90.(New)An image sensor system, comprising:

a memory device; and

,

an image sensor that contains means for powering down said memory device.

34. 54. (New)The image sensor of claim 53, further comprising light reader means for retrieving the image from said pixel array.

35. 55.(New)The image sensor of claim 53, wherein said memory controller means is connected to a bus and provides arbitration between an external processor and an external memory.

36. 56. (New)The image sensor of claim 53, wherein said memory controller means is connected to a first bus that is coupled to an external processor and a second bus that is coupled to an external memory.

51. 71.(New)The image sensor of claim 70, wherein said resolution conversion means buffers the image.

52. 72.(New)The image sensor of claim 70, further comprising memory controller means for transferring the image to an external device.

53. 73. (New)The image sensor of claim 70, wherein said resolution conversion means reduces a data rate of the image.

54. 74. (New)The image sensor of claim 70, further comprising light reader means for retrieving the image from said pixel array means.

72. 92.(New)A method for powering down an external memory coupled to an image sensor, comprising:

transferring data between the image sensor and the external memory; and

,

reducing the power of the external memory when data is not being transferred between the image sensor and the external memory.

73. 93.(New)An image sensor system, comprising:

an image sensor that generates a first image and a second image;

a memory device; and

,

a DMA controller that controls a transfer of the first and second images from said image sensor to said memory device in a time overlapping manner.

75. 95.(New)An image sensor system, comprising:

an image sensor that generates a first image and a second image;

a memory device; and

,

DMA controller means for transferring the first and second images from said image sensor to said memory device in a time overlapping manner.

20. 40.(New)The method of claim 39, wherein the first and second digitized images are transferred in an interleaving manner.

38. 58.(New)The method of claim 57, further comprising transferring the second image to the external memory and transferring the second image from the external memory to the image sensor for combination with the first image.

39. 59.(New)The method of claim 58, further comprising transferring the first and second images in an interleaving manner.

40. 60. (New)The method of claim 58, further comprising transferring the first and second images in an interleaving manner.

56. 76.(New)The method of claim 75, wherein a data rate of the image is reduced.

57. 77.(New)The method of claim 75, further comprising transferring the converted image to an external memory.

58. 78.(New)The method of claim 75, wherein the image converts the resolution within the image buffer.

77. 97.(New)A method for transferring a first image and a second image from an image sensor to a memory device, comprising:

generating a first image and a second image within an image sensor; and

,

transferring data from the image sensor to a memory device in a time overlapping manner through control of a DMA controller.

79. 99.(New)An image sensor system, comprising:

an image sensor that contains a memory controller and a data interface;

a memory device coupled to said memory controller; and

,

a processor coupled to said data interface.

11. 31.(New)The image sensor of claim 30, further comprising image buffer means for storing the first and second images retrieved from said pixel array means.

12. 32.(New)The image sensor of claim 31, further comprising combiner means for combining data of the first and second images.

13. 33.(New)The image sensor of claim 30, wherein the first and second images are transferred to the external device in an interleaving manner.

14. 34.(New)The image sensor of claim 30, wherein said memory controller means is connected to a bus and provides arbitration between an external processor and an external memory.

15. 35. (New)The image sensor of claim 30, wherein said memory controller means is connected to a first bus that is coupled to an external processor and a second bus that is coupled to an external memory.

17. 37. (New)The image sensor of claim 31, wherein said buffer means converts a resolution of a first image and a second image.

18. 38. (New)The image sensor of claim 30, wherein said memory controller means transfers data when said light reader means is not retrieving images from said pixel array means.

23. 43. (New)The image sensor of claim 42, wherein said image buffer converts a resolution of a first image and a second image retrieved from said pixel array.

26. 46.(New)The image sensor of claim 45, further comprising image buffer means for storing the first and second images generated by said pixel array means.

28. 48. (New)The image sensor of claim 45, further comprising light reader circuit means for retrieving the first and second images from said pixel array means.

30. 50.(New)The image sensor of claim 49, further comprising a light reader circuit coupled to said pixel array and said memory controller.

31. 51.(New)The image sensor of claim 49, wherein said memory controller is connected to a bus and provides arbitration between an external processor and an external memory.

32. 52. (New)The image sensor of claim 49, wherein said memory controller is connected to a first bus that is coupled to an external processor and a second bus that is coupled to an external memory.

42. 62.(New)The image sensor of claim 61, wherein said resolution conversion circuit includes an image buffer.

43. 63.(New)The image sensor of claim 61, further comprising a memory controller coupled to said resolution conversion circuit.

45. 65.(New)The image sensor of claim 61, further comprising a data interface that is coupled to said resolution conversion circuit and which transmits data in an interleaving manner.

49. 69. (New)The image sensor of claim 61, further comprising a light reader circuit coupled to said pixel array and said resolution conversion circuit.

60. 80. (New)The image sensor of claim 79, wherein the first and second images are transferred in an interleaving manner.

61. 81.(New)The image sensor of claim 79, wherein said memory controller is connected to a bus and provides arbitration between an external processor and the external memory.

62. 82. (New)The image sensor of claim 79, wherein said memory controller is connected to a first bus that is coupled to an external processor and a second bus that is coupled to the external memory.

81. 101. (New)An image sensor, comprising:

a pixel array;

a first image buffer coupled to said pixel array; and

,

a second image buffer coupled to said pixel array.

91. 111.(New)An image sensor, comprising:

a pixel array;

first image buffer means for storing the first image; and

,

second image buffer means for storing the second image.

92. 112.(New)The image sensor of claim 111, wherein said first and second image buffer means each include a first line buffer and a second line buffer.

93. 113.(New)The image sensor of claim 111, further comprising memory controller means for transferring the first and second images from said first and second image buffers to an external device.

74. 94.(New)The image sensor system of claim 93, further comprising an image processing unit coupled to said DMA controller and said memory device.

94. 114.(New)The image sensor of claim 113, further comprising combiner means for combining the first and second images.

95. 115.(New)The image sensor of claim 111, further comprising data interface means for transferring the first and second images from said first and second image buffer means to an external device in a time overlapping manner.

76. 96.(New)The image sensor system of claim 95, further comprising an image processing unit coupled to said controller means and said memory device.

96. 116.(New)The image sensor of claim 113, wherein said memory controller means arbitrates between an external processor and an external memory.

97. 117. (New)The image sensor of claim 113, wherein said memory controller means transmits the first and second images to a first bus that is coupled to an external processor and the first image to a second bus that is coupled to an external memory.

78. 98.(New)The method of claim 97, further comprising transferring the first and second images from the memory device to an image processing unit through control of the DMA controller.

98. 118. (New)The image sensor of claim 115, wherein said data interface transfers the first and second images to a bus that is coupled to an external processor.

99. 119. (New)The image sensor of claim 111, wherein said first and second image buffer means convert a resolution of the first and second images.

80. 100. (New)The image sensor system of claim 99, wherein said memory controller transfers data to said memory device in a time overlapping manner and said data interface transfers data to said processor in a time overlapping manner.

100. 120.(New)The image sensor of claim 114, further comprising light reader means for retrieving the first and second images.

101. 121.(New)A method for transmitting a first image and a second image from an image sensor, comprising:

generating a first image at a pixel array of an image sensor;

storing the first image in a first image buffer of the image sensor;

transferring the first image from first image buffer to an external memory;

generating a second image at the pixel array;

storing the second image in a second image buffer of the image sensor.

48. 68. (New)The image sensor of claim 65, wherein said data interface is connected to a bus that is coupled to an external processor.

64. 84. (New)The image sensor of claim 83, where the first and second images are transferred in an interleaving manner.

65. 85.(New)The image sensor of claim 83, wherein said memory controller means is connected to a bus and provides arbitration between an external processor and an external memory.

66. 86. (New)The image sensor of claim 83, wherein said memory controller means is connected to a first bus that is coupled to an external processor and a second bus that is coupled to an external memory.

82. 102.(New)The image sensor of claim 101, wherein said first and second image buffers each include a first line buffer and a second line buffer.

83. 103.(New)The image sensor of claim 101, further comprising a memory controller coupled to said first and second image buffers.

85. 105.(New)The image sensor of claim 101, further comprising a data interface coupled to said first and second image buffers and which transmits data from said first and second image buffers in a time overlapping manner.

89. 109. (New)The image sensor of claim 101, wherein said first and second image buffers convert a resolution of a first image and a second image retrieved from said pixel array, respectively.

102. 122.(New)The method of claim 121, further comprising retrieving the first image from the external memory, combining the first and second images and transferring the combined images to an external device.

103. 123.(New)The method of claim 121, wherein the first and second image buffers each have a pair of buffers that sequentially store and transfer separate lines of data from the pixel array.

71. 91.(New)The image sensor system of claim 90, wherein said means includes a memory controller connected to said memory device.

84. 104.(New)The image sensor of claim 103, further comprising a combiner coupled to said memory controller and said second image buffer.

86. 106.(New)The image sensor of claim 103, wherein said memory controller is connected to a bus and provides arbitration between an external processor and an external memory.

87. 107. (New)The image sensor of claim 103, wherein said memory controller is connected to a first bus that is coupled to an external processor and a second bus that is coupled to an external memory.

90. 110.(New)The image sensor of claim 103, further comprising a light reader circuit coupled to said pixel array and said first and second image buffers.

104. 124.(New)The method of claim 121, wherein the first and second image buffers convert the resolution of the first and second images.

105. 125.(New)The method of claim 121, further comprising transferring the second image from the second image buffer to the external memory.

69. 89.(New)The image sensor system of claim 88, wherein said power down pin is connected to a memory controller of said image sensor.

88. 108. (New)The image sensor of claim 105, wherein said data interface is connected to a bus that is coupled to an external processor.

106. 126.(New)The method of claim 121, wherein the first and second images are transferred to the external memory in a time overlapping manner.