Solid state color imaging apparatus

• US 4,567,510 A
• Filed: 05/20/1985
• Issued: 01/28/1986
• Est. Priority Date: 02/15/1980
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Hashimoto, Seiji, Kuwayama, Tetsuro, Tanaka, Nobuyoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Murray, Richard
• Application Number:
  US06/736,410
• Time in Patent Office: 253 Days
• Field of Search: 358/44, 358/163, 358/213
• US Class Current: 348/273
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/84 for processing colour signals
• 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

Abstract

There is disclosed a solid-state color imaging apparatus which comprises an imaging device composed of a solid-state charge-coupled device having a plurality of cells each of which has at least two potential wells and a color filter having a combination of color filter elements which are positioned corresponding to the two potential wells in such a manner as to provide different spectral sensitivities to the two potential wells.

Claims

1. An imaging apparatus comprising:

imaging means for converting an optical image into an output electrical signal, said imaging means including a solid-state image sensor and having a predetermined saturation level;

detecting means for detecting an excess of at least one portion of an output electric signal level of said imaging means above a predetermined level related to the saturation and for producing an output representing the detection; and

limit means for limiting one part of the output electric signal of said imaging means in response to the output of said detecting means, said limit means limiting the output electric signal of said imaging means to a predetermined fixed level.

2. An imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said limit means nullifies a part of the output of said imaging means.

3. An imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said limit means suppresses a portion of the output of said imaging means.

4. An imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said limit means limits the output of said imaging means related to color information of said optical image.

5. An imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said limit means limits the output of said imaging means related to the luminance information of said optical image.

6. An imaging apparatus comprising:

an imaging frame for converting a two-dimensional image into an electric signal;

means for reading out information of said imaging frame scanned in horizontal and vertical directions;

operation means for operating on at least three predetermined horizontal scanning outputs read out by said read out means to obtain a signal suited for a television system.

7. An imaging apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said operation means includes means for operating each of said at least three horizontal scanning outputs by a predetermined coefficient.

8. An imaging apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said coefficient to be operated by each horizontal scanning output is selected to be symmetric in relation to the vertical direction of said imaging frame.

9. An imaging apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the sum of said coefficient to be operated by each horizontal scanning output is selected to be zero.

10. An imaging apparatus comprising:

imaging means for converting an optical image into an electrical signal, said imaging means comprising a solid-state image sensor and having a predetermined saturation level;

forming means for forming a luminance component signal and a plurality of color component signals from the electrical signal output by said imaging means;

detecting means for detecting an excess in the level of at least one portion of the luminance component signal relative to a predetermined level related to the saturation; and

process means for setting the level of each of the plurality of color component signals to a corresponding predetermined level in response to the detection of an excess by said detecting means.

11. An imaging apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the saturation level is the same for each of the plurality of color component signals.

12. An imaging apparatus according to claim 11, wherein said process means includes adding means for adding a corresponding predetermined signal to each of the plurality of color component signals in response to the detection of an excess by said detecting means.

13. An imaging apparatus according to claim 12, wherein said process means sets each of the plurality of color component signals to the saturation level by clipping each such signal after the corresponding predetermined signal has been added thereto by said adding means.

14. An imaging apparatus comprising:

a solid-state imaging device for converting an optical image into an electrical signal, said device having a predetermined saturation level and including a plurality of photoelectric converting elements, each for producing an output signal and being arranged in the form of a matrix composed of lines and rows;

an optical system for causing incident light having predetermined spectral characteristics to be incident on said plurality of photoelectric converting elements;

process means for forming color information in response to the output signal produced by each of said photoelectric converting elements of said solid-state imaging device;

detecting means for detecting at least a part of output signals of said solid-state imaging device out of a predetermined level related to the saturation and for producinan output representing the detection; and

control means responsive to the output of said detecting means for controlling said process means so as to form predetermined color information.

15. An imaging apparatus according to claim 14, wherein said solid-state imaging device includes a charge-coupled device.

16. An imaging apparatus according to claim 15, wherein said optical system includes a plurality of different kinds of color filters having a mosaic pattern.

17. An imaging apparatus according to claim 14, wherein said control means controls said process means so as to form information corresponding to white in accordance with the output of said detecting means.

18. An imaging apparatus according to claim 14, wherein said process means forms a plurality of color signals and said control means controls each color signal to have a predetermined level when the output of said detecting means is obtained.

19. An imaging apparatus comprising:

a solid-state imaging device for converting an optical image into an electrical signal, said device including a plurality of photoelectric converting elements having a matrix pattern composed of lines and rows;

an optical system for causing light having predetermined spectral characteristics to be incident on said plurality of photoelectric converting elements corresponding thereto, respectively, each for producing an output signal;

correlation process means for obtaining correlative color outputs from the output signals of said photoelectric converting elements in a plurality of rows; and

inversion control means for inverting the correlative color outputs of the correlation process means at a predetermined period.

20. An imaging apparatus according to claim 19, wherein said plurality of kinds of color filters are arranged in a predetermined repetition pattern.

21. An imaging apparatus according to claim 20, wherein the repetition pattern of said filters and the inversion period determined by said inversion control means have a predetermined relation.

22. An imaging apparatus according to claim 21, further comprising horizontal correlation process means for effecting a horizontal correlation process in accordance with the output signal produced by said photoelectric converting elements adjacent the row direction of said solid-state imaging device.

23. An imaging apparatus according to claim 19, further comprising filter means for reducing the high-frequency components of the correlative color outputs of the correlation process means inverted by said inversion control means.

24. An imaging apparatus comprising:

(a) a solid-state imaging device for converting an optical image into an electrical signal, said device including a plurality of photoelectric converting picture elements, each for producing an output signal; and

(b) color filter means, said means comprising a region for causing incident light having predetermined spectral characteristics to be incident on said plurality of photoelectric converting picture elements, the predetermined spectral characteristics of the light which is caused to be incident on said picture elements being different for respective ones of said picture elements, and a region for causing incident light having spectral characteristics common to a boundary portion of adjacent picture elements to be incident thereon.

25. An imaging apparatus according to claim 24, wherein said common spectral characteristics are substantially green spectral characteristics.

26. An imaging apparatus according to claim 24, wherein said picture element are arranged in the form of a matrix composed of lines and rows.

27. An imaging apparatus according to claim 26, wherein said region for causing incident light having the common spectral characteristics to be incident covers the boundary portion of adjacent picture elements in a plurality of rows.

28. An imaging apparatus according to claim 24, wherein said solid-state imaging device includes a charge-coupled device.

29. An imaging apparatus according to claim 24, wherein said color filter means comprises a plurality of color filters arranged in the form of a mosaic.

30. An imaging apparatus comprising:

(a) a solid-state imaging device for converting an optical image into an electrical signal, said device including a plurality of photoelectric converting picture elements, each for producing an output signal; and

(b) color filter means, said color filter means comprising a plurality of color filter parts for filtering respective colors different from one another and including a common color filter part covering the boundary of a plurality of said picture elements adjacent in a predetermined direction.

31. An imaging apparatus according to claim 30, wherein said common color filter part is a substantially green color filter.

32. An imaging apparatus according to claim 30, wherein said picture elements are arranged in the form of a matrix composed of lines and rows.

33. An imaging apparatus according to claim 32, wherein said common color filter part covers the boundary of picture elements adjacent along the row direction of sald solid-state imaging device.

34. An imaging apparatus according to claim 30, wherein said solid-state imaging device includes a charge-coupled device.

35. An imaging apparatus comprising:

a solid-state imaging device for converting an optical image into an electrical signal, said device having a predetermined saturation level and including a plurality of photoelectric converting elements, each for producing an output signal and being arranged in the form of a matrix composed of lines and rows;

an optical system for causing incident light having predetermined spectral characteristics to be incident on said plurality of photoelectric converting elements, respectively;

process means for forming a color information signal by operating on the output signals of said photoelectric converting elements;

detecting means for detecting at least a part of the output signals of said solid-state imaging device over the predetermined level and for producing an output representing the detection; and

control means responsive to the output of said detecting means for controlling said process means so as to limit the value of the color information carried by the color information signal.

36. An imaging apparatus according to claim 35, wherein said process means forms a color information signal by operating a plurality of line signals.

37. An imaging apparatus according to claim 35, wherein said control means limits the color information value to a value corresponding to a signal having a level above the predetermined level.