Imaging apparatus capable of reducing deterioration of an image even when the gain increased

• US 7,932,935 B2
• Filed: 01/29/2007
• Issued: 04/26/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/14/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Takei, Hirofumi
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, LUONG TRUNG
• Application Number:
  US11/668,284
• Publication Number:
  US 20070188634A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,548 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 348/241
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/81 for suppressing or minimising disturbance in the image signal generation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/772 the recording apparatus and the television camera being placed in the same enclosure
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/775 between a recording apparatus and a television receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/781 on disks or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/85 on discs or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/907 using static stores, e.g. storage tubes or semiconductor memories H04N5/91 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8042 involving data reduction

Abstract

An imaging apparatus includes an imaging unit configured to image an object, a gain adjustment unit configured to adjust a gain for an image signal output from the imaging unit, a signal processing unit configured to process the image signal, the signal processing unit including a first noise reduction unit to reduce a particular noise included in the image signal, an image compression unit configured to compress an image signal output from the signal processing unit, the image compression unit including a second noise reduction unit to reduce the particular noise included in the image signal output from the signal processing unit, and a control unit configured to set one of the first and second noise reduction units into an operative state and another unit into an inoperative state according to a gain adjustment by the gain adjustment unit.

Claims

1. An imaging apparatus comprising:

an imaging unit configured to image an object;

a gain adjustment unit configured to adjust a gain for an image signal output from the imaging unit;

a signal processing unit configured to process the image signal, the signal processing unit including a first noise reduction unit to reduce a particular noise included in the image signal;

an image compression unit configured to compress an image signal output from the signal processing unit, the image compression unit including a second noise reduction unit to reduce a particular noise included in the image signal output from the signal processing unit; and

a control unit configured to, when the gain adjustment unit is increasing the gain for the image signal output from the imaging unit, transmit a control signal to both the first and second noise reduction unit, and one of (i) set the first noise reduction unit into an operative state and the second noise reduction unit into an inoperative state and (ii) set the second noise reduction unit into an operative state and the first noise reduction unit into an inoperative state.

2. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the first and second noise reduction units include at least a three-dimensional filter processing unit.

3. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the first and second noise reduction units include at least a spatial filter processing unit.

4. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the first and second noise reduction units include at least a three-dimensional filter processing unit and a spatial filter processing unit.

5. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a setting unit configured to define a setting for the gain adjustment unit,

wherein the gain adjustment unit determines whether to adjust the gain according to the setting defined by the setting unit.

6. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an external output unit configured to output the image signal output from the signal processing unit to an external.

7. An imaging apparatus comprising:

an imaging unit configured to image an object;

a gain adjustment unit configured to adjust a gain for an image signal output from the imaging unit;

a signal processing unit configured to process the image signal, the signal processing unit including a first noise reduction unit to reduce a noise included in the image signal;

an image compression unit configured to compress an image signal output from the signal processing unit, the image compression unit including a second noise reduction unit to reduce a noise included in the image signal output from the signal processing unit; and

a control unit configured to, when the gain adjustment unit is increasing the gain for the image signal output from the imaging unit, transmit a control signal to both the first and second noise reduction unit, and set the second noise reduction unit into an inoperative state according to the gain increase and set the first noise reduction unit into an operative state.

8. The imaging apparatus according to claim 7, wherein at least one of the first and second noise reduction units include at least a three-dimensional filter processing unit.

9. The imaging apparatus according to claim 7, wherein at least one of the first and second noise reduction units include at least a spatial filter processing unit.

10. The imaging apparatus according to claim 7, wherein at least one of the first and second noise reduction units include at least a three-dimensional filter processing unit and a spatial filter processing unit.

11. The imaging apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising a setting unit configured to define a setting for the gain adjustment unit,

wherein the gain adjustment unit determines whether to adjust the gain according to the setting defined by the setting unit.

12. The imaging apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the setting unit is configured to further define a setting for the first noise reduction unit, and

wherein the first noise reduction unit determines whether to execute a noise reduction according to the setting defined by the setting unit.

13. The imaging apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising an external output unit configured to output the image signal output from the signal processing unit to an external.

14. An imaging apparatus comprising:

an imaging unit configured to image an object;

a gain adjustment unit configured to adjust a gain for an image signal output from the imaging unit;

a signal processing unit configured to process the image signal, the signal processing unit including a first noise reduction unit to reduce a noise included in the image signal;

an image compression unit configured to compress an image signal output from the signal processing unit, the image compression unit including a second noise reduction unit to reduce a noise included in the image signal output from the signal processing unit; and

a control unit configured to transmit a control signal indicating one of enabling and disabling to the gain adjustment unit, the first noise reduction unit, and the second noise reduction unit respectively,

wherein, when the gain adjustment unit is increasing the gain for the image signal output from the imaging unit in response to a control signal indicating enabling, the first noise reduction unit is set into an operative state in response to a control signal indicating enabling, and the second noise reduction unit is set into an inoperative state in response to a control signal indicating disabling.

15. The imaging apparatus according to claim 14, wherein at least one of the first and second noise reduction units include at least a three-dimensional filter processing unit.

16. The imaging apparatus according to claim 14, wherein at least one of the first and second noise reduction units include at least a spatial filter processing unit.

17. The imaging apparatus according to claim 14, wherein at least one of the first and second noise reduction units include at least a three-dimensional filter processing unit and a spatial filter processing unit.

18. The imaging apparatus according to claim 14, further comprising a setting unit configured to define a setting for the gain adjustment unit,

wherein the gain adjustment unit determines whether to adjust the gain according to the setting defined by the setting unit.

19. The imaging apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the setting unit is configured to further define a setting for the first noise reduction unit, and

wherein the first noise reduction unit determines whether to execute a noise reduction according to the setting defined by the setting unit.

20. The imaging apparatus according to claim 14, further comprising an external output unit configured to output the image signal output from the signal processing unit to an external.

21. An imaging apparatus comprising:

an imaging unit configured to image an object;

a gain adjustment unit configured to adjust a gain for an image signal output from the imaging unit;

a signal processing unit configured to process the image signal, the signal processing unit including a first noise reduction unit that selectively executes a plurality of noise reduction processes having different methods to the image signal;

an image compression unit configured to compress an image signal output from the signal processing unit, the image compression unit including a second noise reduction unit that selectively executes the plurality of noise reduction processes having different methods to the image signal output from the signal processing unit; and

a control unit configured to, when the gain adjustment unit is increasing the gain for the image signal output from the imaging unit, transmit a control signal to both the first noise reduction unit and the second noise reduction unit, and set the noise reduction process executed by the first noise reduction unit within the plurality of noise reduction processes to the first noise reduction unit and set the noise reduction process not executed by the first noise reduction unit within the plurality of noise reduction processes to the second noise reduction unit.