IMAGE PICKUP APPARATUS

• US 20140313381A1
• Filed: 04/17/2014
• Published: 10/23/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 04/19/2013
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Isobe, Shingo
• Application Number:
  US14/255,022
• Publication Number:
  US 20140313381A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/297
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/443 by reading pixels from selected 2D regions of the array, e.g. for windowing or digital zooming
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/47 Image sensors with pixel address output; Event-driven image sensors; Selection of pixels to be read out based on image data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/745 Circuitry for generating timing or clock signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/75 Circuitry for providing, modifying or processing image signals from the pixel array
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/78 Readout circuits for addressed sensors, e.g. output amplifiers or A/D converters

Abstract

An image pickup apparatus includes: an interest area setter configured to input a signal in order to set plurality of interest areas within an image pickup area of an image sensor; a readout area setter configured to set a readout area to read out an image signal from the image sensor so as to maintain shapes of the respective interest areas in an image formed by an image signal to be output; a sensor readout controller configured to control readout of a pixel signal of the readout area from the image sensor; and an output signal generator configured to generate the image signal to be output based on the pixel signal read out by the sensor readout controller.

Claims

1. An image pickup apparatus, comprising:

a readout area setter configured to set a readout area from which an image signal is read out from the image sensor to maintain shapes of respective interest areas of a plurality of interest areas within an image pickup area of an image sensor in an image formed by an image signal to be output;

a sensor readout controller configured to control readout of a pixel signal of the readout area from the image sensor; and

an output signal generator configured to generate the image signal to be output based on the pixel signal read out by the sensor readout controller.

2. An image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the readout area setter sets, as the readout area, an area surrounded by a minimum and maximum X-coordinate values and a minimum and maximum Y-coordinate values, from respective coordinates of the plurality of interest areas in a predefined orthogonal XY coordinate system.

3. An image pickup apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the readout area setter sets, as the readout area, an area excluding:

an area in which an X-coordinate value is outside an X-coordinate range of any of the plurality of interest areas; and

an area in which a Y-coordinate value is outside a Y-coordinate range of any of the plurality of interest areas.

4. An image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a pixel signal memory configured to store a pixel signal of each of the plurality of interest areas from among pixel signals read out from the image sensor;

wherein the output signal generator generates an output image signal such that the shapes of the respective interest areas are maintained, based on the pixel signal stored in the pixel signal memory.

5. An image pickup apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the output signal generator generates, based on the pixel signal stored in the pixel signal memory, the output image signal such that the shapes of the respective interest areas are maintained, and such that a size of the image formed based on the generated output image signal becomes a minimum.

6. An image pickup apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the output signal generator generates, based on the pixel signal stored in the pixel signal memory, the output image signal such that images corresponding to interest areas containing mutually overlapping ranges become independent and non-mutually overlapping images for each of the interest areas.

7. An image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an interest area setter configured to input a signal in order to set the plurality of interest areas.