Vehicle-mounted imaging device

• US 8,022,985 B2
• Filed: 09/29/2006
• Issued: 09/20/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/04/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Semiconductor Solutions Co., Ltd. (Winbond Electronics Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Fujii, Toshiya, Miyakoshi, Ryuichi, Inokuma, Kazuyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Maung; Zarni
• Application Number:
  US12/066,472
• Publication Number:
  US 20090128626A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,817 Days
• Field of Search: 348113-118
• US Class Current: 348/118
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 1/00 Optical viewing arrangements; Real-time viewing arrangements for drivers or passengers using optical image capturing systems, e.g. cameras or video systems specially adapted for use in or on vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/8046 for replacing a rear-view mirror system
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/001 Texturing; Colouring; Generation of texture or colour inpainting G06T5/77
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0891 Video recorder in combination with video camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/84 for processing colour signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/11 Arrangement of colour filter arrays [CFA]; Filter mosaics
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources

Abstract

Color signals that have passed through a multilayer film filter and been photoelectrically converted are inputted into an image processing LSI. A color signal processing section of the image processing LSI corrects the color signals on a color matrix. The color matrix is divided into a plurality of regions corresponding to the color signals, and the correction is made for each of the regions.

Claims

1. A vehicle-mounted imaging device having a plurality of unit pixels arranged on a chip, comprising:

a photoelectric conversion element for photoelectrically converting incident light for each of the unit pixels;

a multilayer film filter placed above the photoelectric conversion element for selectively transmitting only part of wavelengths of the incident light to separate a color component; and

an image processing section for performing image processing for color signals that have passed through the multilayer film filter and been photoelectrically converted,

wherein the image processing section is configured to correct the color signals on a color matrix divided into a plurality of regions corresponding to the color signals, the correction being made for each of the regions.

2. The vehicle-mounted imaging device of claim 1, wherein the image processing section is configured to correct the color signals by multiplying the color signals by constants different among the color signals in the respective regions.

3. The vehicle-mounted imaging device of claim 1, wherein the regions corresponding to the color signals comprises at least four regions.

4. The vehicle-mounted imaging device of claim 1, wherein the image processing section is configured to calculate the difference in color signal between a specific unit pixel and a pixel surrounding the specific unit pixel, compare the calculation result with a preset threshold and perform noise reduction based on the comparison result.

5. The vehicle-mounted imaging device of claim 4, wherein the image processing section is configured so that the strength of the noise reduction is adjusted with a change in setting of the threshold.

6. The vehicle-mounted imaging device of claim 4, wherein different thresholds are set among levels of the color signal.

7. The vehicle-mounted imaging device of claim 4, wherein the image processing section is configured to calculate the differences in color signal between the specific unit pixel and at least eight surrounding pixels.