Digital imaging apparatus
First Claim
1. A digital imaging apparatus, comprising:
- an optical sensor capable of converting an object image into a detected image;
an analog-to-digital converter coupled to the optical sensor, the analog-to-digital converter capable of converting the detected image to digital image information;
a plurality of computational elements, a first computational element of the plurality of computational elements having a first fixed architecture and a second computational element of the plurality of computational elements having a second fixed architecture, the first fixed architecture being different than the second fixed architecture; and
an interconnection network coupled to the plurality of computational elements and to the analog-to-digital converter, the interconnection network capable of providing a processed digital image from the digital image information by configuring the plurality of computational elements for performance of a first imaging function of a plurality of imaging functions in response to first configuration information, and by reconfiguring the plurality of computational elements for performance of a second imaging function of the plurality of imaging functions in response to second configuration information, the first imaging function being different than the second imaging function.
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Abstract
The present invention provides a digital imaging apparatus having an optical sensor, an analog-to-digital converter, a plurality of computational elements, and an interconnection network. The optical sensor converts an object image into a detected image, which is then converted to digital image information by the analog-to-digital converter. The plurality of computational elements includes a first computational element having a first fixed architecture and a second computational element having a second, different fixed architecture. The interconnection network is capable of providing a processed digital image from the digital image information by configuring and reconfiguring the plurality of computational elements for performance of a plurality of different imaging functions. The invention may be embodied, for example, as a digital camera, a scanner, a printer, or a dry copier.
126 Citations
54 Claims
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1. A digital imaging apparatus, comprising:
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an optical sensor capable of converting an object image into a detected image;
an analog-to-digital converter coupled to the optical sensor, the analog-to-digital converter capable of converting the detected image to digital image information;
a plurality of computational elements, a first computational element of the plurality of computational elements having a first fixed architecture and a second computational element of the plurality of computational elements having a second fixed architecture, the first fixed architecture being different than the second fixed architecture; and
an interconnection network coupled to the plurality of computational elements and to the analog-to-digital converter, the interconnection network capable of providing a processed digital image from the digital image information by configuring the plurality of computational elements for performance of a first imaging function of a plurality of imaging functions in response to first configuration information, and by reconfiguring the plurality of computational elements for performance of a second imaging function of the plurality of imaging functions in response to second configuration information, the first imaging function being different than the second imaging function. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 54)
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10. The digital imaging apparatus of claim 10, wherein the second memory is synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM).
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27. A digital imaging apparatus comprising:
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an optical sensor capable of converting an object image into a detected image;
an analog-to-digital converter coupled to the optical sensor, the analog-to-digital converter capable of converting the detected image to a plurality of digital image information data packets;
an input pipeline register coupled to the analog-to-digital converter, the input pipeline register capable of receiving the plurality of digital image information data packets;
a first memory capable of storing the plurality of digital image information data packets;
a hardware task manager capable of processing a plurality of imaging tasks and determining that a first imaging task from the plurality of imaging tasks is capable of being performed and that a second imaging task from the plurality of imaging tasks is capable of being performed, the first imaging task being different than the second imaging task;
a data distributor coupled to the input pipeline register, to the first memory, and to the hardware task manager, the data distributor capable of distributing the plurality of digital image information data packets to the first memory;
an adaptive execution unit coupled to the hardware task manager and to the first memory, the adaptive execution unit capable of configuring to perform the first imaging task and capable of performing the first imaging task using the plurality of digital image information data packets, the adaptive execution unit further capable of reconfiguring to perform the second imaging task and capable of performing the second imaging task, the adaptive execution unit further capable of generating a corresponding plurality of processed digital image data packets from the performance of the first imaging task and the second imaging task;
a data selector coupled to the hardware task manager, to the adaptive execution unit and to the first memory, the data selector capable of determining routing for the corresponding plurality of processed digital image data packets; and
an output pipeline register coupled to the data selector, the output pipeline register capable of receiving the corresponding plurality of processed digital image data packets. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48)
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49. A digital imaging apparatus, comprising:
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focusing means capable of providing an object image;
an optical sensor capable of converting the object image into a detected image;
an analog-to-digital converter coupled to the optical sensor, the analog-to-digital converter capable of converting the detected image to a plurality of digital image information data packets;
a plurality of computational elements, a first computational element of the plurality of computational elements having a first fixed architecture and a second computational element of the plurality of computational elements having a second fixed architecture, the first fixed architecture being different than the second fixed architecture;
an interconnection network coupled to the plurality of computational elements and to the analog-to-digital converter, the interconnection network capable of providing a plurality of processed digital image data packets from the plurality of digital image information data packets by configuring the plurality of computational elements for performance of a first imaging function of a plurality of imaging functions in response to first configuration information, and by reconfiguring the plurality of computational elements for performance of a second imaging function of the plurality of imaging functions in response to second configuration information, the first imaging function being different than the second imaging function;
a digital output interface coupled to the interconnection network, the digital output interface capable of selecting a plurality of processed digital image data words from the plurality of processed digital image data packets and assembling the plurality of processed digital image data words to form a processed digital image. - View Dependent Claims (50, 51, 52, 53)
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Specification