High speed imaging apparatus

• US 5,412,422 A
• Filed: 11/13/1992
• Issued: 05/02/1995
• Est. Priority Date: 12/12/1991
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Photron
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Photron
• Inventors: Yamada, Shigeru, Mitsui, Kenji, Tsuji, Masataka
• Primary Examiner(s): Britton, Howard W.
• Assistant Examiner(s): AU, AMELIA MEGAN
• Application Number:
  US07/976,334
• Time in Patent Office: 900 Days
• Field of Search: 358/105, 358/213.27, 348/302, 348/304, 348/218, 348/61, 348/218, 348/169, 348/699
• US Class Current: 348/218.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/40 Extracting pixel data from image sensors by controlling scanning circuits, e.g. by modifying the number of pixels sampled or to be sampled

Abstract

A high speed imaging apparatus comprises an imaging sensor composed of a multiplicity of photoelectric converting elements which are two-dimensionally arrayed, the imaging sensor being sectioned into a plurality of blocks by effecting predetermined splitting in a vertical row direction and in a horizontal column direction and the blocks including photoelectric converting element groups, vertical and horizontal scanning circuit capable of parallel-reading of the photoelectric converting element groups of the respective blocks in vertical and horizontal direction, and a drive circuit for driving the vertical and horizontal scanning circuit so as to sequentially selecting one or plurality of the blocks within said imaging sensor which are then read and scanned. The imaging apparatus may further comprise an operation sensor for detecting a moving direction of an object, a control unit for calculating the blocks to be selected and a reading order of the selected blocks in response to a signal from the operation sensor, and a block selection address generation circuit through which an output signal from the control unit is inputted to the drive circuit so as to sequentially change over the blocks of the imaging sensor in accordance with the moving direction of the object.

Claims

1. A high speed imaging apparatus comprising:

an imaging sensor composed of a two-dimensional array of photoelectric converting elements arranged in horizontal rows and vertical columns;

defining means for dividing the imaging sensor into defined blocks of the photoelectric converting elements within the two-dimensional array by designating a horizontal block definition address including a starting row and an ending row, and vertical block definition address including a starting column and an ending column for each of the defined blocks;

selecting means for selecting one of the defined blocks;

horizontal scanning means for activating columns of the photoelectric converting elements within the selected one of the defined blocks;

vertical scanning means for activating rows of the photoelectric converting elements within the selected one of the defined blocks; and

reading means for reading parallel outputs from the photoelectric converting elements within activated columns of activated rows,

wherein, after the photoelectric converting elements forming the selected one of the defined blocks have been read, said selecting means performs one of the functions of (1) reselecting the selected one of the defined blocks and (2) selecting a subsequent one of the defined blocks.

2. A high speed imaging apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

an operation sensor for detecting a direction in which an object to be imaged is moving; and

control means for determining which of the defined blocks is to be selected by said selecting means and for determining an order in which the defined blocks are to be selected, in response to a signal from the operation sensor,

wherein said selecting means includes a block selection address generation circuit for receiving an output signal from said control means and for sequentially supplying vertical block definition addresses of the defined blocks to be selected to said vertical scanning means and horizontal block definition addresses of the defined blocks to be selected to said horizontal scanning means in response to the output signal from said control means.

3. A high speed imaging apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said control means is a central processing unit.

4. A high speed imaging apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said control means controls said defining means to define and redefine blocks of the photoelectric converting elements in response to the signal from the operation sensor.

5. A high speed imaging apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

an amplifying circuit operatively connected to said imaging sensor;

an analog-to-digital converter connected to the amplifying circuit; and

a picture image record memory, connected to the analog-to-digital converter, for recording and storing image data representing a field of view imaged by said imaging sensor,

wherein a part of said field of view stored in said picture record memory in which a picture variation has subsequently occurred, is replaced with a block portion of a subsequently imaged field of view corresponding to at least one of the defined blocks selected by said selecting means.

6. A high speed imaging apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising:

a frame memory, connected to said picture image record memory, for storing frames of the imaged field of view to be displayed;

a digital-to-analog converter, connected to said frame memory, for converting digital image data stored in the frame memory into analog image data; and

a display for displaying an image represented by the analog image data supplied by said digital-to-analog converter.

7. A high speed imaging apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising clock means for transmitting a signal driving said vertical scanning means and said horizontal scanning means.

8. A high speed imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said vertical scanning means includes a vertical counter and said horizontal scanning means includes a horizontal counter.

9. A high speed imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said horizontal scanning means sequentially activates each column of the photoelectric converting elements within the selected one of the defined blocks, said vertical scanning means activates all the rows of the photoelectric converting elements within the selected one of the defined blocks, and said reading means reads the parallel outputs from the photoelectric converting elements within the activated rows for each of the sequentially activated columns of the selected one of the defined blocks.