Color video signal generating device using monochrome and color image sensors having different resolutions to form a luminance signal

• US 4,823,186 A
• Filed: 12/18/1987
• Issued: 04/18/1989
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/1986
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Fujifilm Corporation (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fuji Photo Film Co Limited (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Muramatsu, Akira
• Primary Examiner(s): NOT, DEFINED
• Assistant Examiner(s): Svihla, Randall S.
• Application Number:
  US07/134,748
• Time in Patent Office: 487 Days
• Field of Search: 358/41, 358/43, 358/44, 358/48
• US Class Current: 348/236
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/843 Demosaicing, e.g. interpolating colour pixel values
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/11 Arrangement of colour filter arrays [CFA]; Filter mosaics

Abstract

A video signal generating device with which a video signal of high resolution is produced while significantly suppressing the generation of color Moire disturbance. The received optical image is split into two beams and applied to respective color and monochrome image sensors. The optical beam applied to the color sensor is optically filtered to limit it in spatial frequency to a band below that applied to the monochrome sensor. A high frequency luminance signal is produced from an output of the monochrome sensor, a low frequency luminance signal is produced from the output of the color sensor, and a composite luminance signal is formed from the combination of the high and low frequency luminance signals. The overall resolution of the device is determined by the monochrome signals produced by the monochrome sensor.

Claims

1. A device for generating a video signal, comprising:

means for splitting an optical image from an image pickup system into first and second images;

a monochrome image sensor which scans said first image in a horizontal direction and which has a first Nyquist spatial frequency band in said horizontal direction to produce a monochrome signal;

a color image sensor having a color filter array on a surface thereof which scans said second image in a horizontal direction and which has a second Nyquist spatial frequency band in said horizontal direction which is lower than said first Nyquist spatial frequency band to produce color-separated signals;

optical low-pass filter means for limiting said second image to a spatial frequency band lower than said first Nyquist spatial frequency band prior to scanning by said color image sensor;

low frequency luminance signal forming means for forming a low frequency luminance signal in response to said color-separated signals;

high frequency luminance signal forming means for forming a high frequency luminance signal in response to said monochrome signal;

a matrix circuit for forming a luminance signal in response to said low frequency and high frequency luminance signals and for forming color difference signals in response to said low frequency luminance signal and selected ones of said color-separated signals; and

means for generating said video signal in response to said luminance signal and said color difference signals formed by said matrix circuit.

2. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said color filter array comprises stripe-shaped red, green and blue filters.

3. The device as claimed in claim 2, wherein said red, green and blue filters are arranged at equal intervals.

4. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said high frequency luminance signal forming means comprises a low-pass filter for extracting a low frequency component of said monochrome signal;

and

a subtraction circuit for subtracting said low frequency component from said monochrome signal to form said high frequency luminance signal.

5. The device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising sample-and-hold circuits coupled to said color image sensor for sampling-and-holding said color-separated signals in synchronism with the scanning of said color image sensor.

6. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said means for splitting comprises a half-silvered mirror.