Self-illuminating imaging device

• US 6,717,560 B2
• Filed: 10/03/2002
• Issued: 04/06/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 05/15/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Global OLED Technology LLC (LG Display Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
• Inventors: Williams, David J., Cok, Ronald S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Mengistu, Amare
• Assistant Examiner(s): Dharia, Prabodh M.
• Application Number:
  US10/264,050
• Publication Number:
  US 20030048239A1
• Time in Patent Office: 551 Days
• Field of Search: 345/81-85, 345/156, 356/71, 356/343, 359/295, 385/31, 392/45, 600/322, 365/106
• US Class Current: 345/82
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/484 with sequential colour illumination of the original
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/74 by influencing the scene brightness using illuminating means
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 39/32 Organic image sensors
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 65/00 Integrated devices, or assemblies of multiple devices, comprising at least one organic light-emitting element and at least one organic radiation-sensitive element, e.g. organic opto-couplers organic image sensors integrated with organic light-emitting devices H10K39/34; OLED displays integrated with photosensors H10K59/13

Abstract

A self-illuminating solid-state color image capture device, includes: an array of light emitting elements and light sensing elements formed on a common substrate; the light emitting elements including first color elements adapted to emit light of a first color and second color elements adapted to emit light of a second color, and the light sensing elements being responsive to all emitted colors; and electronics coupled to the light emitting and light sensing elements for sequentially causing the first and second color elements to emit light and sensing the light reflected from a scene being captured with the light sensing elements.

Claims

1. A self-illuminating solid-state color image capture device, comprising:

a) an array of light emitting elements and light sensing elements formed on a common substrate;

b) the light emitting and light sensing elements being arranged in groups, each group including a single light sensing element surrounded by a plurality of light emitting elements in a pattern that is repeated over the image capture device, the light emitting elements including a first color element adapted to emit light of a first color and a second color element adapted to emit light of a second color, and the light sensing element being responsive to all emitted colors; and

c) electronics coupled to the light emitting and light sensing elements for sequentially causing the first and then the second color light emitting elements in all of the groups to simultaneously emit light and for causing the sensing elements in all of the groups to sequentially sense the first colored light and then the second colored light reflected from a scene being captured with the image capture device.

2. The color image capture device claimed in claim 1, wherein the light sensing and light emitting elements are organic light emitting diodes.

3. The color image capture device claimed in claim 1, wherein the first color elements are infrared emitting.

4. The color image capture device claimed in claim 1, wherein the first color elements are ultraviolet emitting.

5. The color image capture device claimed in claim 1, wherein the light emitting and light sensing elements are arranged in rows and columns.

6. The color image capture device claimed in claim 2 wherein the organic light emitting diodes are deposited on a single-crystal Silicon substrate.

7. The color image capture device claimed in claim 2 wherein the organic light emitting diodes are deposited on a glass substrate having a pattern of conductive oxide and amorphous, polycrystalline, or continuous grain silicon material.

8. The color image capture device claimed in claim 1, further comprising an optical element to transport light to and from the scene to be captured.

9. The color image capture device claimed in claim 1, wherein the control electronics sequentially causes subsets of the light emitting elements of a color to emit light, whereby the resolution of the image capture device is improved.

10. The color image capture device claimed in claim 1, wherein the control electronics sequentially causes subsets of the light sensing elements to sense light, whereby the resolution of the image capture device is improved.

11. The color image capture device claimed in claim 1 wherein the electronics further includes means for modulating the light emitting elements and means for processing the signals produced by the light sensing elements to obtain additional information about the scene.

12. The color image capture device claimed in claim 11, wherein the additional information about the scene is distance information to objects in the scene.

22. The system claimed in claim 1, wherein the array of emitter elements and sensor elements are as shown here together with any reflection or rotation of the arrangement

where R, G, and B represent red, green, and blue emitters respectively, and S represents a sensor.

23. The system claimed in claim 1, wherein the array of emitter elements and sensor elements are as shown here together with any reflection or rotation of the arrangement

where R, G, and B represent red, green, and blue emitters respectively, and S represents a sensor.

24. The system claimed in claim 1, wherein the array of emitter elements and sensor elements are as shown here together with any reflection or rotation of the arrangement

where R, G, and B represent red, green, and blue emitters respectively, and S represents a sensor.

25. The system claimed in claim 1, wherein the array of emitter elements and sensor elements are as shown here together with any reflection or rotation of the arrangement

where R, G, B, and f represent red, green, and blue and infrared emitters respectively, and S represents a sensor.

13. A method of capturing a color image of a scene, comprising the steps of:

a) providing an array of light emitting elements and light sensing elements formed on a common substrate, the light emitting and light sensing elements being arranged in groups, each group including a single light sensing element surrounded by a plurality of light emitting elements in a pattern that is repeated over the image capture device, the light emitting elements including a first color element adapted to emit light of a first color and a second color element adapted to emit light of a second color, and a light sensing element responsive to light of the first and second colors; and

b) sequentially causing the first and then the second color light emitting elements in all of the groups to simultaneously emit light; and

c) sequentially sensing the first colored light and then the second colored light reflected from the scene being captured with the light sensing elements.

14. The method claimed in claim 13, wherein the scene is a two dimensional image.

15. The method claimed in claim 13, wherein the scene includes three dimensional objects.

16. The method claimed in claim 14, wherein one of the colors is invisible, and wherein the two dimensional image includes an invisible layer of information.

17. The method claimed in claim 15, further including the steps of modulating the light emitting elements and processing the signals produced by the light sensing elements to obtain additional information about the scene.

18. The method claimed in claim 13, further comprising the steps of sequentially causing subsets of the light emitting elements of a color to emit light, whereby the resolution of the image capture method is improved.

19. The method claimed in claim 13, further comprising the step of sequentially causing subsets of the light sensing elements to sense light, whereby the resolution of the image capture method is improved.

20. The method claimed in claim 13, further including the step of modulating the light emitting elements and processing the signals produced by the light sensing elements to obtain additional information about the scene.

21. The method claimed in claim 20, wherein the additional information about the scene is distance information to objects in the scene.

26. A self-illuminating solid-state color image capture device, comprising:

a) an array of light emitting elements and light sensing elements formed on a common substrate;

b) the light emitting and light sensing elements being arranged in groups, each group including a single light sensing element surrounded by a plurality of light emitting elements in a pattern that is repeated over the image capture device, the light emitting elements including a first color element adapted to emit infrared light and a second color element adapted to emit light of a second color, and the light sensing element being responsive to all emitted colors; and

c) electronics coupled to the light emitting and light sensing elements for sequentially causing the first and then the second color light emitting elements in all of the groups to simultaneously emit light and for causing the sensing elements in all of the groups to sequentially sense the infrared light and then the second colored light reflected from a scene being captured with the image capture device.

27. A method of capturing a color image of a scene, comprising the steps of:

a) providing an array of light emitting elements and light sensing elements formed on a common substrate, the light emitting and light sensing elements being arranged in groups, each group including a single light sensing element surrounded by a plurality of light emitting elements in a pattern that is repeated over the image capture device, the light emitting elements including a first color element adapted to emit infrared light and a second color element adapted to emit light of a second color, and a light sensing element responsive to the infrared light and the second colored light; and

b) sequentially causing the first and then the second color light emitting elements in all of the groups to simultaneously emit light; and

c) sequentially sensing the infrared light and then the second colored light reflected from the scene being captured with the light sensing elements.