Image pickup apparatus and synchronization signal generating apparatus

• US 20060013507A1
• Filed: 07/16/2004
• Published: 01/19/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 07/18/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Kaneko, Katsumi, Tsuchiya, Takashi
• Granted Patent: US 7,557,834 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/312
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/90 Arrangement of cameras or camera modules, e.g. multiple cameras in TV studios or sports stadiums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/00 Circuitry of solid-state image sensors [SSIS]; Control thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/265 Mixing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/272 Means for inserting a foreground image in a background image, i.e. inlay, outlay
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/772 the recording apparatus and the television camera being placed in the same enclosure
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/013 the incoming video signal comprising different parts having originally different frame rate, e.g. video and graphics

Abstract

An image signal generation portion 11 generates an image signal of a variable frame-rate picked-up image. A signal generation control portion 24 drives the image signal generation portion 11 and generates image pick-up setting information IF to generate an image signal that is frame-synchronized with a generated image signal DVd. The generated image signal DVd is output in condition where the image pick-up setting information IF is inserted in it. When supplied with image pick-up setting information IFex, the signal generation control portion 24 controls the driving operations of the image signal generation portion 11 based on the image pick-up setting information IFex, to frame-synchronize the generated image signal with an image signal of a reference variable frame-rate picked-up image of a source that has supplied the image pick-up setting information IFex. If a plurality of image pick-up devices capable of varying a frame rate is used, the image signals can be frame-synchronized with each other.

Claims

1. An image pick-up device comprising:

image signal generation means for generating an image signal of a variable frame-rate picked-up image;

drive-and-control means for driving and controlling the image signal generation means;

setting information generation means for generating image pick-up setting information to generate an image signal which is frame-synchronized with the image signal generated by the image signal generation means; and

output means for outputting the image signal generated by the image signal generation means and the image pick-up setting information.

2. The image pick-up device according to claim 1, wherein the output means outputs the image signal with the image pick-up setting information being inserted into a blanking interval thereof.

3. The image pick-up device according to claim 1,

wherein the image pick-up setting information generated by the setting information generation means includes frame rate information;

and

wherein the drive-and-control means drives and controls the image signal generation means, staring from a frame of the variable frame-rate picked-up image that is given first after the image pick-up setting information is output, by setting a frame rate indicated by the frame rate information contained in the output image pick-up setting information as a frame rate of the variable frame-rate picked-up image.

4. The image pick-up device according to claim 1, wherein the setting information generation means makes information of a scan line position and a pixel position of an image signal included in the image pick-up setting, said information being generated by the image signal generation means information.

5. The image pick-up device according to claim 1, comprising holding means for holding a frame rate alteration pattern,

wherein when reading the frame rate alteration pattern held in the holding means and instructing a frame rate in accordance with this read frame rate alteration pattern to vary a frame rate of the variable frame-rate picked-up image, the setting information generation means makes information indicating the read frame rate alteration pattern included in the image pick-up setting information;

and

wherein the drive-and-control means drives and controls the image signal generation means, starting from a frame of the variable frame-rate pricked-up image that is given first after the image pick-up setting information is output, by setting the instructed frame rate as a frame rate of the variable frame-rate picked-up image.

6. The image pick-up device according to claim 1, comprising:

a plurality of frame rate instruction means each for instructing a frame rate of the variable frame-rate picked-up image; and

operation control means for setting priority sequence to the plurality of frame rate instruction means, to set a frame rate instructed by the frame rate instruction means that has the highest priority as a frame rate of the variable frame-rate picked-up image,

wherein the setting information generation means generates image pick-up setting information which is used to generate an image signal that is frame-synchronized with an image signal having the set frame rate of the variable frame-rate picked-up image.

7. An image pick-up device comprising:

image signal generation means for generating an image signal of a variable frame-rate picked-up image; and

drive-and-control means for receiving image pick-up setting information to generate an image signal that is frame-synchronized with the image signal of a reference variable frame-rate picked-up image, and controlling a driving operation of the image signal generation means based on this image pick-up setting information, thereby frame-synchronizing the image signal generated by the image signal generation means with the image signal of the reference variable frame-rate picked-up image.

8. The image pick-up device according to claim 7, wherein, if the image pick-up setting information contains frame rate information indicating a frame rate of the reference variable frame-rate picked-up image, the drive-and-control means drives the image signal generation means, starting from a frame of the variable frame-rate picked-up image that is given first after this image pick-up setting information is input, by setting a frame rate indicated by the frame rate information contained in the input image pick-up setting information as a frame rate of the variable frame-rate picked-up image.

9. The image pick-up device according to claim 7, wherein, if the image pick-up setting information contains information of a scan line position and a pixel position, the drive-and-control means synchronizes an image signal generated by the image signal generation means with the scan line position and the pixel position.

10. The image pick-up device according to claim 7, comprising holding means for holding a frame rate alteration pattern,

wherein, if the image pick-up setting information includes information which is used to read the frame rate alteration pattern, the holding means reads the frame rate alteration pattern indicated by this information and instructs a frame rate in accordance with this read frame rate alteration pattern;

and

wherein the drive-and-control means drives the image signal generation means, starting from a frame of the variable frame-rate picked-up image that is given first after the image pick-up setting information is input, by setting the frame rate instructed by the holding means as a frame rate of the variable frame-rate picked-up image.

11. The image pick-up device according to claim 7, comprising:

frame rate instruction means for instructing a frame rate of the variable frame-rate picked-up image; and

operation control means for setting priority sequence to the frame rate instructed by the frame rate instruction means and the frame rate based on the image pick-up setting information, to set the frame rate that has higher priority as the frame rate of the variable frame-rate picked-up image,

wherein the drive-and-control means drives the image signal generation means by using the frame rate of the variable frame-rate picked-up image as the frame rate that is set by the operation control means.

12. The image pick-up device according to claim 11, wherein, if input of the image pick-up setting information is stopped when higher priority is set to a frame rate based on the image pick-up setting information than a frame rate instructed by the frame rate instruction means, the operation control means sets a frame rate set before the input of the image pick-up setting information as the frame rate of the variable frame-rate picked-up image.

13. The image pick-up device according to claim 11, wherein, if input of the image pick-up setting information is stopped when higher priority is set to a frame rate based on the image pick-up setting information than a frame rate instructed by the frame rate instruction means, the operation control means sets a frame rate at the time when the input of the image pick-up setting information is stopped, as the frame rate of the variable frame-rate picked-up image.

14. The image pick-up device according to claim 7, comprising output means for outputting an image signal generated by the image signal generation means and the input image pick-up setting information.

15. A synchronization-signal-generating device for supplying a synchronization signal to an image pick-up device having image signal generation means for generating an image signal of a variable frame-rate picked-up image, comprising:

setting information generation means for generating image pick-up setting information which is used to frame-synchronize the image signal generated by the image signal generation means of the image pick-up device with a reference frame;

synchronization signal generation means for generating the synchronization signal that corresponds to the reference frame;

synchronization signal output means for outputting the generated synchronization signal with the generated image pick-up setting information being inserted thereinto; and

control means for setting the reference frame.

16. The synchronization-signal-generating device according to claim 15, wherein the synchronization signal output means inserts the generated image pick-up setting information into a synchronization signal at a position of a blanking interval.

17. An image pick-up device comprising:

an image signal generation portion that generates an image signal of a variable frame-rate picked-up image;

a controller driving and controlling the image signal generation portion;

a setting information generation portion that generates image pick-up setting information to generate an image signal that is frame-synchronized with the image signal generated by the image signal generation portion; and

an output portion that outputs the image signal generated by the image signal generation portion and the image pick-up setting information.