ONE CHIP IMAGE SENSOR FOR MEASURING VITALITY OF SUBJECT

• US 20100245826A1
• Filed: 10/07/2008
• Published: 09/30/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/18/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: optoLANE Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Siliconfile Technologies Incorporated (SK Hynix Inc.)
• Inventors: Lee, Byoung-Su
• Granted Patent: US 8,222,603 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 356/425
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/84 for processing colour signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/131 including elements passing infrared wavelengths
• 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

Provided is a one-chip vitality measuring image sensor. The image sensor includes one chip where a plurality of IR pixels and a plurality of visible pixels are alternately disposed, IR pass filters which are disposed on the IR pixels, and color pass filters which are disposed on the visible pixels. In the image sensor, IR strength and color strengths are obtained from light which is incident to the IR pixels and the visible pixels, and a vitality of a subject is measured by comparing the IR strength with the color strengths.

Claims

1. A method of measuring a vitality of a subject by using an image sensor, comprising:

receiving light reflected on the subject through a lens to an image sensor;

obtaining IR strength and color strengths from the light which is incident to a plurality of IR pixels and a plurality of visible pixels which are alternately disposed on the image sensor; and

measuring a vitality of the subject by comparing the IR strength with the color strengths.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the obtaining the IR strength and the color strengths comprises:

obtaining the IR strength from IR light which is incident to the IR pixels; and

obtaining the color strengths from visible light which is incident to the IR pixels.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the obtaining the IR strength and the color strengths comprises:

obtaining the color strengths from red light which is incident to the visible pixels; and

estimating the IR strength from the color strengths.

4. A method of measuring a vitality of a subject by using an image sensor, comprising:

receiving light reflected on the subject through a lens to an image sensor;

obtaining IR strength and color strengths from the light which is incident to a plurality of white pixels and a plurality of visible pixels which are alternately disposed on the image sensor; and

measuring a vitality of the subject by comparing the IR strength with the color strengths.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the obtaining the IR strength and the color strengths comprises:

obtaining the color strengths from visible light which is incident to the visible pixels; and

obtaining the IR strength of an arbitrary white pixel from a difference between a white strength of the arbitrary white pixel and the color strength of visible pixels adjacent to the arbitrary white pixel.