Digital camera capable of converting a progressive scan signal into an interlace scan signal

• US 6,356,306 B1
• Filed: 02/20/1998
• Issued: 03/12/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 02/28/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sanyo Electric Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sanyo Electric Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Kobayashi, Akio
• Primary Examiner(s): HO, TUAN V
• Application Number:
  US09/027,056
• Time in Patent Office: 1,481 Days
• Field of Search: H04/N.5335, 348/207, 348/220, 348/222, 348/223, 348/231, 348/232, 348/233, 348/272, 348/273, 348/281, 348/282, 348/311, 348/320, 348/321, 348/322, 348/323, 348/324, 348/451, 348/904
• US Class Current: 348/322
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/0044 for image preview or review, e.g. to help the user position a sheet
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/2112 using still video cameras
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/2137 with temporary storage before final recording, e.g. in a frame buffer
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/63 by using electronic viewfinders
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/843 Demosaicing, e.g. interpolating colour pixel values
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/00 Circuitry of solid-state image sensors [SSIS]; Control thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/134 based on three different wavelength filter elements

Abstract

A digital camera includes a CPU. The CPU releases a bus according to a bus-release request from a memory control circuit, and supplies a bus grant signal to the memory control circuit. Accordingly, the image data from a first signal processing circuit is written into a VRAM according to DMA. When the writing of the image is ended, the memory control circuit cancels the bus release request. The CPU accesses to the VRAM through the bus, to utilize the VRAM as a working memory.

Claims

1. A digital camera adapted to convert a progressive scan signal as an image signal into an interlace scan signal, comprising:

a signal generator for outputting a progressive scan signal;

a memory for storing the progressive scan signal;

a bus for connecting said signal generator and said memory;

a controller for outputting a request signal that requests a release of said bus;

a CPU operative in response to the request signal to output a grant signal that grants a release of said bus;

a writer for responding to the grant signal to write the progressive scan signal into said memory; and

a reader for reading, out of said memory, an odd-numbered field related signal related to an odd-numbered field and an even-numbered field related signal related to an even-numbered field, wherein said memory includes a plurality of locations each of said locations having a plurality of bits, an input port for inputting the progressive scan signal and an output port for outputting the odd-numbered field related signal and the even-numbered field related signal.

2. A digital camera according to claim 1, wherein said writer writes an odd-numbered line of the progressive scan signal into one of higher-order bits and lower-order bits of one of said memory locations, and an even-numbered line of the progressive scan signal into the other of the higher-order bits and the lower-order bits of the one memory location.

3. A digital camera according to claim 2, wherein said reader simultaneously reads image signals written in the higher-order bits and the lower-order bits of-said memory to obtain 1 line of the odd-numbered field related signal or the even-numbered field related signal.

4. A digital camera according to claim 3, further comprising an image sensor having a same color arrangement repeated on every 2 lines;

and an RGB signal creator for creating an RGB signal based on the 1 line of the odd-numbered field related signal or the even-numbered field related signal.

5. A digital camera according to claim 1, further comprising a non-volatile RAM, wherein said bus connects said CPU and said non-volatile RAM, said CPU accessing said memory through said bus to create a compressed luminance signal and a compressed chrominance signal based on the image signal stored in said memory, and writing the compressed luminance signal and the compressed chrominance signal into said non-volatile RAM.

6. A digital camera according to claim 5, wherein said CPU reads, out of the non-volatile RAM, and expands the compressed luminance signal and the compressed chrominance signal and stores a resulting expanded luminance signal into one of the higher-order bits and the lower-order bits of said memory and a resulting expanded chrominance signal to the other of the higher-order bits and the lower-order bits.

7. A digital camera according to claim 6, further comprising a pseudo frame signal creator for creating a pseudo frame signal based on the expanded luminance signal and the expanded chrominance signal read out of said memory.

8. A digital camera adapted to convert a progressive scan signal as an image signal into an interlace scan signal, comprising:

a signal generator for outputting a progressive scan signal;

a memory for storing the progressive scan signal;

a bus for connecting said signal generator and said memory;

a controller for outputting a request signal that requests a release of said bus;

a CPU operative in response to the request signal to output a grant signal that grants a release of said bus;

a writer for responding to the grant signal to write the progressive scan signal into said memory; and

a reader for reading, out of said memory, an odd-numbered field related signal related to an odd-numbered field and an even-numbered field related signal related to an even-numbered field, wherein said writer writes the progressive scan signal at a first high-speed clock rate, that is more than twice a reference clock rate, into said memory, and said reader separately reads the odd-numbered field related signal and the even-numbered field related signal at a second high-speed clock rate, that is more than twice the reference clock rate, from said memory.

9. A digital camera according to claim 8, wherein said memory includes a frame memory having memory locations each having a plurality of bits.

10. A digital camera according to claim 9, wherein said writer writes an odd-numbered line of the progressive scan signal into one of a first half and a latter half of the plurality of bits, and an even-numbered line of the progressive scan signal into the other of the first half and the latter half of the plurality of bits.

11. A digital camera according to claim 10, further comprising a first line memory having a capacity of 1 line, wherein said writer writes the progressive scan signal inputted at the reference clock rate into said frame memory through said first line memory.

12. A digital camera according to claim 9, wherein said reader reads 2 lines of the progressive scan signal at one time from said frame memory to obtain one of the odd-numbered field related signal and the even-numbered field related signal.

13. A digital camera according to claim 12, further comprising a second line memory having a capacity of 2 lines, wherein said reader outputs the odd-numbered field related signal and the even-numbered field related signal at the reference clock rate through said second line memory.

14. A digital camera according to claim 8, wherein the progressive scan signal has one color component for each pixel, said digital camera further comprising a color interpolator for subjecting the odd-numbered field related signal and the even-numbered field related signal to color interpolations.

15. A digital camera according to claim 14, further comprising a multiplier for multiplying the output of said color interpolator by a coefficient depending upon the odd-numbered field or the even-numbered field.

16. A digital camera according to claim 8, wherein the odd-numbered field related signal and the even-numbered field related signal are a same signal.

17. A digital camera according to claim 8, wherein the first high-speed clock rate and the second high-speed clock rate are a same rate.

18. A digital camera according to claim 8, wherein said frame memory has a single port, the progressive scan signal being inputted through said port, and the odd-numbered field related signal and the even-numbered field related signal being outputted through said port.

19. A digital camera, comprising:

an image sensor;

an image data generator for outputting image data based on an image signal from said image sensor;

a memory having a plurality of memory locations each configured by a plurality of bits, and an input port and an output port correspondingly connected to a writing bus and a reading bus;

a CPU;

an interconnection bus for connecting an output of said image data generator, said writing bus and said CPU;

a memory controller for outputting a bus release request to said CPU to write the image data from said image data generator through said interconnection bus to said memory; and

an output circuit for processing the image data outputted from said reading bus; and

wherein;

said image data generator outputs 1 frame of image data including an odd-numbered line and an even-numbered line;

one of the odd-numbered line and the even-numbered line of the image data being stored into higher-order bits of one of said memory locations and the other of the odd-numbered line and the even-numbered line of the image data being stored into lower-order bits thereof; and

the image data in the higher-order bits and the lower-order bits of said one memory location being simultaneously read out and supplied through said reading bus to said output circuit.

20. A digital camera according to claim 19, wherein

said image sensor has a color filter having a same color arrangement repeated on every two lines; and

said output circuit has an RGB signal creating circuit for creating an RGB signal by utilizing the image data of the odd-numbered line and the even-numbered line simultaneously applied thereto.

21. A digital camera according to claim 19, further comprising a non-volatile RAM connected to said CPU, wherein said CPU accesses said memory through said interconnection bus so as to create and write compressed luminance data and compressed chrominance data based on the image data into said non-volatile RAM.

22. A digital camera according to claim 21, wherein said CPU reads out, from the non-volatile RAM, and expands the compressed luminance data and the compressed chrominance data and stores expanded luminance data into one of the higher-order bits and the lower-order bits of the one memory location and expanded chrominance data into the other of the higher-order bits and the lower-order bits thereof;

and

said output circuit has a pseudo frame signal creator for creating a pseudo frame signal based on the expanded luminance data and the expanded chrominance data read out of said memory through said reading bus.