Electronic picture camera with reduced memory capacity

• US 4,758,883 A
• Filed: 10/12/1983
• Issued: 07/19/1988
• Est. Priority Date: 10/13/1982
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Nikon Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nippon Kogaku KK (Nikon Corporation)
• Inventors: Kawahara, Atsushi, Kuroiwa, Toshihisa, Ota, Tadashi
• Primary Examiner(s): Groody, James J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): NOT, DEFINED
• Application Number:
  US06/541,014
• Time in Patent Office: 1,742 Days
• Field of Search: 358/41, 358/43, 358/44, 358/133, 358/160, 358/310, 358/312, 358/314, 358/331, 358/332, 358/333, 358/334, 358/335, 358/336, 358/340, 358/342, 358/345, 358/347, 358/348 , 358/906, 358/209, 358/212, 358/213, 358/305, 358/260, 358/285, 358/293, 358/294, 358/296, 358/302, 358/75, 358/76, 358/78, 358/80, 358/12, 358/13, 358/909, 360/9.1, 360/10.1, 360/10.3, 360/24, 360/32, 360/33.1, 360/35.1, 360/38.1
• US Class Current: 348/222.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/648 Transmitting or storing the primary (additive or subtractive) colour signals; Compression thereof H04N1/642 - H04N1/646 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/50 using predictive coding H04N19/61 takes precedence

Abstract

A completely electronic color camera for electronically recording an image of an object. The image signals from a solid-state image sensor having color filters are converted to digital form so that the digitized image signals are applied to the same number of coding compression circuits, e.g. differential pulse code modulation circuits, as the kinds of colors of the color filters per scanning line, are subjected to a color separation coding processing and are then stored directly in a memory without performing any additional processing. Error detecting and correctng circuits are provided. Error detecting and correcting data and lens setting data are added to the image data and recorded. The camera is reduced in size, is low in power consumption and requires a reduced memory capacity per frame.

Claims

1. A system including an electronic camera for electronically storing an image of an object, and an apparatus for reproducing the object image stored in the electronic camera,

(a) said electronic camera comprising:

(i) pickup means for performing a horizontal scanning operation with respect to said object image to divide said object image into a given number of picture elements and to generate an output signal indicative of each picture element of said object image,

(ii) coding means for coding the output signals of said pickup means and generating coded signals,

(iii) first decoding means for decoding one of said coded signals corresponding to an output signal of said pickup means indicative of a final picture element in one of a plurality of horizontal scanning lines formed by said horizontal scanning operation performed by said pickup means and generating at least one first decoded signal,

(iv) a first storage means, and

(v) means for writing said coded signals and said at least one first decoded signal into said first storage means, and

(b) said reproducing apparatus comprising;

(i) means for reading said coded signals and said at least one first decoded signal from said first storage means,

(ii) second decoding means for decoding said read coded signals and generating second decoded signals, and

(iii) comparison means for comparing said at least one first decoded signal with one of said second decoded signals which corresponds to said final picture element in said one of said plurality of horizontal scanning lines.

2. A system according to claim 1, wherein said coding means comprises means for converting the output signals of said pickup means to digital signals, and means for subjecting said digital signals to differential pulse code modulation.

3. A system according to claim 1, wherein siad comaprison means comprises means for detecting that said at least one first decoded signal is different from said one of said second decoded signals and outputting a detection signal.

4. A system according to claim 3, wherein said reproducing apparatus further comprises a second storage means, means for writing some of said second decoded signals corresponding to said one of said plurality of horizontal scanning lines into said second storage means and means responsive to said detection signal to write some of said second decoded signals corresponding to another of said plurality of horizontal scanning lines into said second storage means instead of said some of said second decoded signals corresponding to said one of said plurality of horizontal scanning lines.

5. An electronic camera including a color filter for separating an image of an object into a plurality of colors and a solid-state image sensor for scanning the object image through said color filter to detect the object image picture element by picture element and to generate an image signal formed by a plurality of horizontal scanning lines, each of which includes a plurality of picture elements, said electronic camera comprising:

(a) means for converting said image signal to digital signals, each of which corresponds to a respective one of said picture elements;

(b) coding means for separating said digital signals into a plurality of channels and thereafter coding said separated digital signals;

(c) storage means; and

(d) means for writing said coded signals into said storage means;

wherein said coding means is provided with modulation means for subjecting said digital signals of each of said channels to differential pulse code modulation, each of said modulation means having latching means for latching a value therein, subtracter means for computing a differnce between said value latched in said latching means and the value of one of said digital signals and outputting an output signal indicative of said difference, first discriminating means for discriminating the one of a plurality of predetermined groups to which the value of the output signal of said subtractor means belongs, second discriminating means for converting the output signal of said subtractor means into an output signal indicative of a value typical of values within said one of said predetermined groups to which the value of the output signal of said subtracter means belongs, and adder means for calculating a sum of the value of the output signal of said second discriminating means and said value latched in said latching means and generating an output signal of the basis of said sum, said latching means replacing said value latched therein with the value represented by said output signal of said adder means, said adder means comprising means for outputting an output indicative of zero when said sum is negative and outputting an output signal indicative of said sum when said sum is positive, and further comprising means for writing a final value latched in said latching means for each of said plurality of horizontal scanning lines into said storage means.

6. An electronic camera including a color filter for separating an image of an object into a plurality of colors and a solid-state image sensor for scanning the object image through said color filter to detect the object image picture element by picture element and to generate an image signal formed by a plurality of horizontal scanning lines, each of which includes a plurality of picture elements, said electronic camera comprising:

(a) means for converting said image signal to digital signals, each of which corresponds to a respective one of said picture elements;

(b) coding means for separating said digital signals into a plurality of channels and thereafter coding said separated digital signals;

(c) storage means; and

(d) means for writing said coded signals into said storage means;

wherein said coding means is provided with modulation means for subjecting said digital signals of each of said channels to differential pulse code modulation, each of said modulation means having latching means for latching a value therein, subtractor means for computing a difference between said value latched in said latching means and the value of one of said digital signals and outputting an output signal indicative of said difference, first discriminating means for discriminating the one of a plurality of predetermined groups to which the value of the output signal of said subtractor means belongs, second discriminating means for converting the output signal of said subtractor means into an output signal indicative of a value typical of values within said one of said predetermined groups to which the value of the output signal of said subtractor means belongs, and adder means for calculating a sum of the value of the output signal of said second discriminating means and said value latched in said latching means and generating an output signal on the basis of said sum, said latching means replacing said value latched therein with the value represented by said output signal of said adder means; and

further comprising means for writing a final value latched in said latching means for each of said plurality of horizontal scanning lines into said storage means.

7. In a system including an electronic camera for producing an image signal indicative of an image of an object and storing said image signal, and an apparatus for reproducing said image signal stored in the electronic camera,

(a) said electronic camera comprising:

(i) pickup means for performing a horizontal scanning operation with respect to said object image to divide the object image into a plurality of picture elements which have a given number of colors in such a manner that each of said plurality of picture elements has only one of said given number of colors and that ones one of said picture elements adjoining in a direction of said horizontal scanning operation differ in color from each other, said pickup means producing output signals each of which represents a light intensity of a respective one of said plurality of picture elements,

(ii) storage means, and

(iii) writing means for writing said output signals into said storage means, and

(b) said reproducing apparatus comprising;

(i) means for reading said output signals written into said storage means, and

(ii) interpolation means for producing, a plurality of interpolation signals for a selected one of said plurality of picture elements, each of said interpolation signals corresponding to a different one of said given number of colors other than the color of said selected picture element and being produced on the basis of the one of said read output signals corresponding to said selected picture element and ones of said read output signals corresponding to ones of said picture elements which are in the vicinity of said slected picture element and which have said different one of said given number of colors.

8. A system according to claim 7, wherein said pickup means comprises a plurality of color filters for dividing said object image into said given number of colors, and a solid-state image sensor for picking up said object image divided by said color filters.

9. A system according to claim 7, wherein said writing means comprises means for converting the output signals of said pickup means to digital signals;

and means for subjecting said digital signals to differential pulse code modulation.