Image-capturing apparatus

• US 20050231618A1
• Filed: 03/30/2005
• Published: 10/20/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 04/02/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Sugiyama, Toshinobu
• Granted Patent: US 7,746,394 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/273
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 11/12 using electromagnetic waves other than radio waves
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/667 Camera operation mode switching, e.g. between still and video, sport and normal or high- and low-resolution modes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/00 Circuitry of solid-state image sensors [SSIS]; Control thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/133 including elements passing panchromatic light, e.g. filters passing white light
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/134 based on three different wavelength filter elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/76 Addressed sensors, e.g. MOS or CMOS sensors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/767 Horizontal readout lines, multiplexers or registers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/77 Pixel circuitry, e.g. memories, A/D converters, pixel amplifiers, shared circuits or shared components
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 3/1512 for MOS image-sensors, e.g. MOS-CCD H04N3/1581 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/03 Circuitry for demodulating colour component signals modulated spatially by colour striped filters by frequency separation

Abstract

An image-capturing apparatus includes a pixel array including pixels. Each of the pixels includes a transducer for generating signal charge according to the intensity of an incident light beam. The image-capturing apparatus further includes an output circuit for outputting a pixel signal outside the pixel array at a frame rate depending on the pixel position in the pixel array, based on the signal charge; and an output-controlling unit for controlling the operation of the output circuit.

Claims

1. An image-capturing apparatus comprising:

a pixel array including pixels, each of the pixels including a transducer for generating signal charge according to the intensity of an incident light beam;

an output circuit for outputting a pixel signal outside the pixel array at a frame rate depending on the pixel position in the pixel array, based on the signal charge; and

an output-controlling unit for controlling the operation of the output circuit.

2. The image-capturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pixels are classified into a plurality of groups, each group constituting a pixel matrix, and the frame rate depends on the pixel position in the pixel matrix.

3. The image-capturing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising color filters corresponding to the pixels, wherein the pixel position in the pixel matrix corresponds to a color component of the color filters.

4. The image-capturing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising color filters corresponding to the pixels, wherein the pixels are classified into a first type of pixel having no color filter or having a color filter without wavelength-selectivity and a second type of pixel having a color filter, and the pixel position in the pixel matrix corresponds to one of these types.

5. The image-capturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each pixel is controlled through a control line corresponding to the frame rate.

6. The image-capturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the output circuit outputs the pixel signal through a signal line corresponding to the frame rate.

7. The image-capturing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the pixels are classified into a first type of pixel capturing natural images and a second type of pixel detecting an infrared light beam, and the pixel position in the pixel matrix corresponds to one of these types.

8. The image-capturing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the pixels are classified into a first type of pixel capturing natural images and a second type of pixel detecting the resulting reflected light beam from an emitted probe light beam in a light-section method, the output circuits for the first type of pixel and the second type of pixel simultaneously output the pixel signals, and the pixel position in the pixel matrix corresponds to one of these types.

9. The image-capturing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the pixels are classified into a first type of pixel capturing natural images and a second type of pixel detecting an optical signal generated by changing light intensity, the output circuits for the first type of pixel and the second type of pixel simultaneously output the pixel signals, and the pixel position in the pixel matrix corresponds to one of these types.

10. The image-capturing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the pixels detects various types of optical signals generated by changing light intensity, and the pixel position in the pixel matrix corresponds to one of these types.

11. The image-capturing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the natural images are read out from the pixel array in a column-parallel mode through a plurality of output signal lines.

12. The image-capturing apparatus according to claim 7, 8, or 9, wherein the natural images are read out from the pixel array in a pixel-by-pixel mode.

13. An image-capturing apparatus comprising:

a pixel array including pixels, each of the pixels including a transducer for generating signal charge according to the intensity of an incident light beam;

an output circuit for outputting a pixel signal outside the pixel array, based on the signal charge;

an output-controlling unit for controlling the operation of the output circuit; and

a signal-processing unit including;

signal-processing circuits, a predetermined signal-processing circuit depending on the pixel position in the pixel array processing the pixel signal.

14. The image-capturing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the pixels are classified into a plurality of groups, each group constituting a pixel matrix, and the predetermined signal-processing circuit depends on the pixel position in the pixel matrix.

15. The image-capturing apparatus according to claim 14, further comprising color filters corresponding to the pixels, wherein the pixel position in the pixel matrix corresponds to a color component of the color filters.

16. The image-capturing apparatus according to claim 14, further comprising color filters corresponding to the pixels, wherein the pixels are classified into a first type of pixel having no color filter or having a color filter without wavelength-selectivity and a second type of pixel having a color filter, and the pixel position in the pixel matrix corresponds to one of these types.

17. The image-capturing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein each pixel is controlled through a control line corresponding to the predetermined signal-processing circuit.

18. The image-capturing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the output circuit outputs the pixel signal through a signal line corresponding to the predetermined signal-processing circuit.

19. The image-capturing apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the pixels are classified into a first type of pixel capturing natural images and a second type of pixel detecting an infrared light beam, and the pixel position in the pixel matrix corresponds to one of these types.

20. The image-capturing apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the pixels are classified into a first type of pixel capturing natural images and a second type of pixel detecting the resulting reflected light beam from an emitted probe light beam in a light-section method, and the pixel position in the pixel matrix corresponds to one of these types.

21. The image-capturing apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the pixels are classified into a first type of pixel capturing natural images and a second type of pixel detecting an optical signal generated by changing light intensity, and the pixel position in the pixel matrix corresponds to one of these types.

22. The image-capturing apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the pixels detects various types of optical signals generated by changing light intensity, and the pixel position in the pixel matrix corresponds to one of these types.

23. An imaging module comprising:

an image-capturing portion having a pixel array including pixels, each of the pixels including a transducer for generating signal charge according to the intensity of an incident light beam;

an output circuit for outputting a pixel signal outside the pixel array at a frame rate depending on the pixel position in the pixel array, based on the signal charge;

an output-controlling portion for controlling the operation of the output circuit; and

a signal processing portion for processing the pixel signals output from the pixel array at different frame rates.