Image capture apparatus for selectively causing a stepped reduction in video image signal values
First Claim
1. Image capture apparatus for producing video image signals, comprising:
- image sensor means for producing video image signals having voltage levels representative of radiation intensities incident on respective areas of said image sensor means;
means for identifying those respective areas of said image sensor means at which the incident radiation intensity exceeds a predetermined intensity and for producing a control signal representative thereof; and
means responsive to said control signal for selectively causing a reduction in the voltage levels of said video image signals corresponding to said respective areas, which reduction is equivalent to applying a negative offset to said video image signals.
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Abstract
An image capture apparatus (eg. a video camera) for producing video image signals includes an image sensor for producing image signals having signal values representative of radiation intensity incident on respective positions of the sensor. The apparatus is able to identify an area of the sensor at which the incident intensity exceeds a predetermined intensity and to cause a stepped reduction in the image signal values corresponding to said area. The apparatus enables a range of intensity levels above a predetermined maximum to be translated or shifted to within a range which can be accommodated, for example by a broadcast television system, in a manner equivalent to applying a negative pedestal to that range of intensity levels. Preferably, for detecting an area of the sensor at which the incident intensity exceeds a predetermined intensity, a sense array additional to the image sensor is provided for producing sample signals representative of the radiation incident on the sensor at corresponding image positions. Various specific examples of the apparatus are described.
33 Citations
27 Claims
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1. Image capture apparatus for producing video image signals, comprising:
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image sensor means for producing video image signals having voltage levels representative of radiation intensities incident on respective areas of said image sensor means; means for identifying those respective areas of said image sensor means at which the incident radiation intensity exceeds a predetermined intensity and for producing a control signal representative thereof; and means responsive to said control signal for selectively causing a reduction in the voltage levels of said video image signals corresponding to said respective areas, which reduction is equivalent to applying a negative offset to said video image signals. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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Specification