High-sensitivity infrared color camera

• US 20070145273A1
• Filed: 12/22/2005
• Published: 06/28/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Sensata Technologies Incorporated (Sensata Technologies Holding Plc)
• Original Assignee: Sensata Technologies Incorporated (Sensata Technologies Holding Plc)
• Inventors: Chang, Edward
• Application Number:
  US11/317,129
• Publication Number:
  US 20070145273A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 250/338.100
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2209/047 using multispectral pick-up elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/11 for generating image signals from visible and infrared light wavelengths
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/12 with one sensor only
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/133 including elements passing panchromatic light, e.g. filters passing white light
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/135 based on four or more different wavelength filter elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/33 Transforming infrared radiation cameras or camera modules for generating image signals from infrared radiation H04N23/20; circuitry of SSIS for transforming infrared radiation into image signals H04N25/20

Abstract

A method in a high-sensitivity infrared color camera includes selectively passing visible spectral energy and non-visible spectral energy through a color filter array, generating a color image corresponding to a spatial distribution of the visible and non-visible spectral energy from the color filter array, and mapping the spatial distribution of the visible and non-visible spectral energy to a spatial distribution of visible spectral energy in a corrected color image.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

means for detecting infrared energy; and

software means for filtering the infrared energy.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising means for increasing sensitivity of the apparatus using the detected infrared energy.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a color filter coupled to the means for detecting infrared energy, wherein the color filter has a pattern comprising 2×

2 blocks of pixels composed of one red, one blue, one green and one transparent pixel.

4. An apparatus, comprising:

a color filter array to selectively pass visible spectral energy and infrared spectral energy;

an imaging array, optically coupled with the color filter, to capture a color image corresponding to a spatial distribution of the visible and the infrared spectral energy from the color filter array and to generate signals corresponding to the distribution; and

a processing device, coupled with the imaging array, to apply a mapping function to map the signals corresponding to the distributions of the visible and infrared spectral energy to signals corresponding to a distribution of visible spectral energy in a corrected color image.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the processing device is configured to select a mapping function based on ambient lighting conditions.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the ambient lighting conditions comprise one of incandescent lighting, fluorescent lighting, natural lighting and low-level lighting.

7. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the color filter comprises blocks of pixel filters, and wherein each block comprises:

a first color pixel filter to pass spectral energy in a first color band and an infrared energy band;

a second color pixel filter to pass spectral energy in a second color band and the infrared energy band;

a third color pixel filter to pass spectral energy in a third color band and the infrared energy band; and

a transparent pixel to pass spectral energy in the first color band, the second color band, the third color band and the infrared energy band.

8. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the imaging array comprises blocks of panchromatic pixel sensors corresponding to the blocks of pixel filters of the color filter.

9. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the mapping function is one of a linear mapping function, a piecewise linear mapping function and a non-linear mapping function.

10. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the mapping function mimics a monochrome camera response.

11. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein each block of pixel filters comprises a red filter, a blue filter, a green filter and a transparent filter.

12. A method, comprising:

selectively passing visible spectral energy and non-visible spectral energy through a color filter array;

generating a color image corresponding to a spatial distribution of the visible and non-visible spectral energy from the color filter array; and

mapping the spatial distribution of the visible and non-visible spectral energy to a spatial distribution of visible spectral energy in a corrected color image.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein mapping the visible and non-visible spectral energy comprises:

generating signals corresponding to the spatial distribution of the visible and non-visible spectral energy; and

applying a mapping function to the signals; and

generating signals corresponding to a distribution of visible spectral energy in the corrected color image.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the mapping function is based on ambient lighting conditions.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the ambient lighting conditions comprise one of incandescent lighting, fluorescent lighting, natural lighting and low-level lighting.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the color filter array comprises blocks of pixel filters, and wherein selectively passing the visible spectral energy and the non-visible spectral energy through the color filter comprises, in each block:

passing spectral energy in a first color band and a non-visible energy band through a first color pixel filter;

passing spectral energy in a second color band and the non-visible energy band through a second color pixel filter;

passing spectral energy in a third color band and the non-visible energy band through a third color pixel filter; and

passing spectral energy in the first color band, the second color band, the third color band and the non-visible energy band through a transparent pixel filter.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the mapping function is one of a linear mapping function, a piecewise linear mapping function and a non-linear mapping function.

18. The method of claim 12, wherein the mapping function is selected to mimic the response of a monochrome camera.

19. An article of manufacture comprising a machine-accessible medium including data that, when accessed by a machine, cause the machine to perform operations comprising:

generating a color image from visible spectral energy and non-visible spectral energy; and

correcting the color image for the non-visible spectral energy while retaining the non-visible spectral energy in a corrected color image.

20. The article of manufacture of claim 19, wherein the machine-accessible medium further includes data that cause the machine to perform operations comprising:

compensating the corrected color image for a plurality of ambient lighting conditions.