Imaging device and imaging apparatus

• US 6,803,955 B1
• Filed: 03/03/2000
• Issued: 10/12/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 03/03/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Original Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Inventors: Yosida, Hideaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Garber, Wendy R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ye, Lin
• Application Number:
  US09/518,706
• Time in Patent Office: 1,684 Days
• Field of Search: 348/272, 348/273, 348/278, 348/277, 348/276, 382/167, 382/260, 358/515, 358/517, 257/440
• US Class Current: 348/272
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2209/045 using mosaic colour filter
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/70 Circuitry for compensating brightness variation in the scene
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/84 for processing colour signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/135 based on four or more different wavelength filter elements

Abstract

An imaging device having an imaging pixel array formed as a two-dimensional periodic array of N-pixel (N being 5 or a greater natural number) arrays as unit arrays is disclosed. Also, the color imaging apparatus comprises a CCD imaging device, which have pixels arranged in a 6-color random color coding array. The array meets an array prescription that the pixels adjacent to the four sides and the four corners of a pixel number attention includes pixels of five different colors other than the color of the pixel under attention at least one pixel each. The 6-color random color coding array has six colors with two thereof constituting each of three original colors while being different in sensitivity. The color imaging apparatus further comprises a digital processing circuit for executing a color separating process on output signal of the color imaging device on the basis of the random color coding array, and a memory means constituted by a masked ROM or an EEPROM for storing data concerning the random coding array.

Claims

1. An imaging device having an imaging pixel array formed as a two-dimensional periodic array of 6-pixel arrays as unit arrays, wherein of the six pixels, arranged from a 1-st pixel to a 6-th pixel, constituting each unit array, the 1-st to 3-rd pixels have different color characteristics, and the 4-th to 6-th pixels are different in the sensitivity from and the same in color characteristic as the 1-st to 3-rd pixels, respectively.

2. The imaging element according to claim 1, wherein the three different color characteristics are three original colors R, G and B to be additively mixed.

3. The imaging device of claim 1 wherein the different color characteristics are relative spectral sensitivity characteristics.

4. The imaging device of claim 1 wherein the sensitivity is an absolute sensitivity.

5. An imaging apparatus comprising an imaging device having an imaging pixel array formed as a two-dimensional periodic array of unit arrays each constituted by six pixels, arranged from a 1-st pixel to a 6-th pixel, the 1-st to 3-rd pixels having different color characteristics, the 4-th to 6-th pixels being different in the sensitivity from and the same in the color characteristic as the 1-st to 3-rd pixels, respectively, and an image signal generating means for generating an image signal having a predetermined form according to the 1-st to 6-th pixel data signals obtained in correspondence to the 1-st to 6-th pixels in the imaging device, wherein:

the different sensitivities of the 1-st and 4-th pixels, as well as the 2-nd and 5-th pixels and the 3-rd and 6-th pixels in the imaging device are set such that the effective luminance range of the 1-st, as well as 2-nd and 3-rd pixel data signals have common range with the 4-th, as well as 5-th and 6-th pixel data signals, respectively.

6. The imaging apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the image signal generating means includes a level compensating means for compensating a signal level difference between the 1-st, as well as 2-nd and 3-rd, pixel data signal and the 4-th, as well as 5-th and 6-th, pixel data signal with respect to the same brightness scene.

7. The imaging apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the image signal generating means includes a pixel data extrapolating means for executing, in the case of effective luminance range deviation while data signals of neighbor pixels of different sensitivities and the same color are not deviating the range in the pixel data signal processing, extrapolation with the data signals of the different sensitivity, same color neighbor pixels.

8. The imaging apparatus of claim 5 wherein the different color characteristics are relative spectral sensitivity characteristics.

9. The imaging apparatus of claim 5 wherein the sensitivity is an absolute sensitivity.

10. A color imaging device having a pixel group of a plurality of pixels constituted by photoelectric converting elements, wherein the pixels are arranged in a 6-color random color coding array meeting an array prescription that the pixels are arranged in a 6-color random color coding array meeting a requirement that the pixels adjacent to the four sides and the four corners of a pixel under attention includes pixels of five different colors other than the color of the pixel under attention at least one pixel each.

11. The color imaging device according to claim 10, wherein the 6-color random color coding array has six colors with two thereof constituting each of three original colors while being different in sensitivity.

12. A color imaging apparatus comprising a color imaging device according to claim 10, and further comprising a color separating means for executing a color separating process on output signal of the color imaging device based on the random color coding array of the color imaging device.

13. The color imaging apparatus according to claim 12, which further comprises a memory means for storing array data concerning the random color coding array of the color imaging device, the array data being stored for the execution of the color separating process in the color separating means.

14. The color imaging apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the memory means is constituted by a masked ROM.

15. The color imaging apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the memory means is constituted by an EEPROM.