Image sensor with interleaved image output

• US 7,880,775 B2
• Filed: 05/04/2007
• Issued: 02/01/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 01/05/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Candela Microsystems Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Candela Microsystems Incorporated
• Inventors: Tay, Hiok Nam
• Primary Examiner(s): HO, TUAN V
• Application Number:
  US11/800,346
• Publication Number:
  US 20070211156A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,369 Days
• Field of Search: 348311-312, 348320-324, 348/294, 34823199-2316
• US Class Current: 348/231.99
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32358 using picture signal storage, e.g. at transmitter H04N1/17 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32475 Changing the format of the data, e.g. parallel to serial or vice versa
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32491 alternate storage in and retrieval from two parallel memories, e.g. using ping-pong buffers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/40 Picture signal circuits H04N1/387 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0081 Image reader H04N2201/0091 - H04N2201/0094 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3292 of one or two complete lines
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/84 for processing colour signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/587 acquired sequentially, e.g. using the combination of odd and even image fields
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/616 involving a correlated sampling function, e.g. correlated double sampling [CDS] or triple sampling
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/64 Circuits for processing colour signals H04N9/77 takes precedence; camera processing pipelines for processing colour signals H04N23/84
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/642 Multi-standard receivers

Abstract

An image sensor with a light reader circuit coupled to a pixel array. The light reader circuit retrieves a first image and a second image generated by the pixel array. The image sensor may also include a memory controller and/or data interface that transfers the first and second images to an external device in an interleaving manner.

Claims

1. An image sensor, comprising:

a pixel array, the image sensor has a configuration to generate a first image from a plurality of photodetectors in said pixel array; and

,

a memory controller, said memory controller has an operation mode to control a transmission of the first image to a memory and a reception of the first image from the memory into a buffer in the image sensor in such a way that the reception begins after the transmission begins and that the transmission and the reception are executed in an interleaving manner in which the first image is transmitted in a first plurality of parts of data of the first image and is received in a second plurality of parts of data of the first image and in which the parts of the first plurality alternate in time domain with the parts of the second plurality.

2. The image sensor of claim 1, further comprising a first buffer that is coupled to said pixel array to receive the first image and that is coupled to said memory controller which under the operation mode will transmit the first image to the memory at a memory data rate.

3. The image sensor of claim 1, further comprising a data combiner coupled to said memory controller, the image sensor has an operation mode to start generating a second image from the plurality of photodetectors between a beginning and an ending of the transmission and to start generating between the beginning and the ending a third image by using the data combiner to combine the first image received from the memory with the second image.

4. The image sensor of claim 1, wherein the memory is an external memory connected to the image sensor via a bidirectional memory bus across which the transmitting and the receiving are to be executed under the operation mode and said memory controller has a configuration to connect to an external processor via a separate processor bus across which an image related to the first image is to be transmitted from the image sensor to the external processor starting between a beginning and an ending of the transmission.

5. The image sensor of claim 1, further comprising a light reader circuit coupled to effect a retrieval of an output signal from said plurality of photodetectors, said transmission being inactive during said retrieval.

6. The image sensor of claim 1, the memory being an external memory and the transmission and the reception being across an external bus connected to the external memory.

7. The image sensor of claim 1, wherein the memory is an external memory, further comprising:

a power control pin to power-down said external memory.

8. The image sensor of claim 1, wherein the first image has a negligible exposure relative to a reset noise within the first image.

9. A method, comprising:

generating a first image from a plurality of photodetectors of a pixel array of an image sensor; and

,

transmitting the first image from the image sensor to a memory; and

,

receiving the first image into a buffer in the image sensor from the memory in such a way that said receiving begins after said transmitting begins and that said transmitting and said receiving are executed in an interleaving manner in which the first image is transmitted in a first plurality of parts of data of the first image and is received in a second plurality of parts of data of the first image and in which the parts of the first plurality alternate in time domain with the parts of the second plurality.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

generating a second image from the plurality of photodetectors, said generating of the second image starting between a beginning and an ending of said transmitting.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

combining the first image from the receiving with the second image using a data combiner in the image sensor, said combining begins before said transmitting ends.

12. The method of claim 9, said transmitting and said receiving being across an external bus that connects the memory to the image sensor.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the first image has a negligible exposure relative to a reset noise within the first image.

14. An image capture system, comprising:

a memory; and

,

an image sensor that includes;

a pixel array that comprises a plurality of photodetectors, said image sensor has a configuration to generate a first image from said plurality of photodetectors; and

,

a memory controller, said memory controller has an operation mode to control a transmission of the first image from said image sensor to said memory and a reception of the first image from said memory back to said image sensor in such a way that the reception begins after the transmission begins and that the transmission and the reception are executed in an interleaving manner in which the first image is transmitted in a first plurality of parts of data of the first image and is received in a second plurality of parts of data of the first image and in which the parts of the first plurality alternate in time domain with the parts of the second plurality.

15. The image capture system of claim 14, wherein said image sensor has an operation mode to start generating a second image from the plurality of photodetectors between a beginning and an ending of the transmission and to start generating between the beginning and the ending a third image by using a data combiner to combine the first image received from said memory with the second image.

16. The image capture system of claim 14, wherein said image sensor further comprises a light reader coupled to effect a retrieval of an output signal from the pixel array, the transmission not occurring during said retrieval.

17. The image capture system of claim 14, further comprising:

a bus, the transmission and the reception to take place across said bus, said bus connects said memory to said image sensor.

18. The image capture system of claim 17, further comprising:

a processor; and

,

a processor bus that couples said image sensor to said processor, said image sensor has an operation mode to transmit an image related to the first image from said image sensor to said processor across said processor bus between a beginning and an ending of the transmission.

19. The image capture system of claim 14, further comprising:

a connection from said image sensor to said memory to cause a power-down of said memory.

20. The image capture system of claim 14, wherein the first image has a negligible exposure relative to a reset noise within the first image.

21. An image sensor, comprising:

a pixel array, the image sensor generates a first image from a plurality of photodetectors in said pixel array; and

,

a memory controller, said memory controller controls a transmission of the first image to a memory and a reception of the first image from the memory into a buffer in the image sensor in such a way that the reception begins after the transmission begins and that the transmission and the reception are executed in an interleaving manner in which the first image is transmitted in a first plurality of parts of data of the first image and is received in a second plurality of parts of data of the first image and in which the parts of the first plurality alternate in time domain with the parts of the second plurality.

22. An image capture system, comprising:

a memory; and

,

an image sensor that includes;

a pixel array, the image sensor generates a first image from a plurality of photodetectors in said pixel array; and

,

a memory controller, said memory controller controls a transmission of the first image from said image sensor to said memory and a reception of the first image from said memory into a buffer in the image sensor in such a way that the reception begins after the transmission begins and that the transmission and the reception are executed in an interleaving manner in which the first image is transmitted in a first plurality of parts of data of the first image and is received in a second plurality of parts of data of the first image and in which the parts of the first plurality alternate in time domain with the parts of the second plurality.