Digital camera with non-uniform image resolution
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A system for isolating digital data representative of a plurality of parts of a field of view, the system comprising:
- an array of sensor cells adapted to provide a frame having a plurality of digital representations corresponding to at least a portion of the field of view, the digital representations being distributed uniformly;
a selector adapted to isolate a non-uniformly distributed subset of the plurality of the digital representations provided by the array; and
a buffer for holding simultaneously a single digital image with at least two subsets of the isolated digital representations, the at least two subsets having different resolutions;
wherein the selector isolates the non-uniformly distributed subset according to a determination that is made before the sensor cells provide the digital representations.
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Abstract
The invention provides a system for isolating digital data representative of portions of a field of view. The system, which may be provided in the form of a digital camera, includes an array of sensor cells adapted to provide digital representations corresponding to at least a portion of the field of view, and a selector adapted to isolate a non-uniformly distributed subset of the digital representations provided by the array. The isolation may be performed based upon a set of values programmed in a programmable lookup table. A buffer is provided for holding the isolated digital representations.
34 Citations
32 Claims
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1. A system for isolating digital data representative of a plurality of parts of a field of view, the system comprising:
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an array of sensor cells adapted to provide a frame having a plurality of digital representations corresponding to at least a portion of the field of view, the digital representations being distributed uniformly; a selector adapted to isolate a non-uniformly distributed subset of the plurality of the digital representations provided by the array; and a buffer for holding simultaneously a single digital image with at least two subsets of the isolated digital representations, the at least two subsets having different resolutions; wherein the selector isolates the non-uniformly distributed subset according to a determination that is made before the sensor cells provide the digital representations. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A system for isolating digital data representative of a plurality of parts of a field of view that changes over time, the system comprising:
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an array of sensor cells adapted to provide a frame having a plurality of digital representations corresponding to at least a portion of the field of view at a given moment in time, the digital representations being distributed uniformly; and a programmable selector adapted to isolate a non-uniformly distributed subset of the plurality of the digital representations provided by the array at given moments in time, the isolation being performed based upon a set of values programmed in a programmable lookup table; wherein the set of values in the programmable lookup table are programmed before the given moment of time that the sensor cells provide the digital representations. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method of acquiring a digital image with a non-uniform resolution, the method comprising the steps of:
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providing an array comprising uniformly spaced photoelectric sensor cells, the spacing of the sensor cells representing the inverse of a maximum resolution of the array; exposing the array, causing the array to provide a frame having a digital representation for each of the uniformly spaced photoelectric sensor cells; selecting from a first region of the array a first subset of the digital representations for the sensor cells within the first region, wherein the first subset has a first average resolution over the first region that is less than the maximum resolution; selecting from a second region of the array a second subset of the digital representations for the sensor cells within the second region, wherein the second subset has a second average resolution over the second region, and wherein the first average resolution is not equal to the second average resolution; wherein a single acquired digital image includes the first subset of digital representations and the second subset of digital representations; and wherein the selecting of the first and second subsets of digital representations is made according to a determination that is made before the array provides the digital representations.
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20. A method of acquiring a digital image with a non-uniform resolution using a moving element and a linear array comprising a plurality of uniformly spaced photoelectric sensor cells, the array adapted to provide a digital representation of light incident upon each sensor cell, the method comprising the steps of:
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moving the moving element, thereby causing a field of view to become incident on the linear array over time; acquiring a frame made of a plurality of sets of values from the array while the element is moving and causing the field of view to become incident on the linear array, each set of values comprising a quantity of digital representations which is less than the number of uniformly spaced photoelectric sensor cells of the linear array; and wherein at least two of the plurality of sets of values from the array comprise digital representations of light incident upon different sets of sensors and the at least two of the plurality of sets of values are elements of the same digital image, which has a non-uniform resolution; and wherein the sets of values acquired from the array are acquired according to a determination that is made before the acquisition begins. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A method of acquiring a digital image with a non-uniform resolution using a two dimensional array comprising a plurality of uniformly spaced photoelectric sensor cells in each of a plurality of columns and in each of a plurality of rows, the method comprising:
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reading from the array a representation of light incident upon each photoelectric sensor cell; digitizing each of the representations of light to make a digital frame; and selecting from the digital representations before they are ever stored, a set of values representative of a field of view, the set of values comprising a quantity of digital representations which is less than the number of uniformly spaced photoelectric sensor cells of the two dimensional array, wherein the set of values contains a digital representation of at least one sensor cell in a given one of the plurality of columns and a given one of the plurality of rows, and wherein the set of values does not contain a digital representation of at least one sensor cell in the given one of the plurality of columns in a different one of the plurality of rows; and wherein the selecting of the set of values representative of a field of view is made according to a determination that is made before the reading from the array.
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29. A digital camera comprising:
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at least one sensor adapted to provide a digital representation of a portion of a field of view; an optical system causing a plurality of locations within the field of view to become incident on the at least one sensor, the plurality of locations being distributed uniformly; a mask having a programmable value corresponding to each of the plurality of locations, wherein the value may be programmed to be an accept value or a reject value; a selector adapted to accept a digital representation if the value corresponding to the location is programmed to be an accept value, and to reject a digital representation before it is ever stored if the value corresponding to the location is programmed to be a reject value; and a buffer for storing each accepted digital representation, wherein the accepted digital representations represent locations within the field of view that are not uniformly spaced from each other; wherein the values in the mask are programmed before the at least one sensor provides the digital representation. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32)
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Specification