Control device, control method, and control system with multiple dynamic ranges

• US 9,438,815 B2
• Filed: 10/31/2014
• Issued: 09/06/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/25/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Oda, Katsunari, Yamaguchi, Motoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Haskins, Twyler
• Assistant Examiner(s): Garces-Rivera, Angel L
• Application Number:
  US14/529,393
• Publication Number:
  US 20150181102A1
• Time in Patent Office: 676 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/71 Circuitry for evaluating the brightness variation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/73 by influencing the exposure time
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/741 by increasing the dynamic range of the image compared to the dynamic range of the electronic image sensors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/76 by influencing the image signals

Abstract

There is provided a control device including a setting unit configured to set a first control value used for performing exposure control of a first pixel group and a second control value used for performing exposure control of a second pixel group, the first pixel group and the second pixel group being disposed in a single imaging surface. The setting unit sets the first control value and the second control value to different values before a predetermined photometric process is executed.

Claims

1. A control device comprising:

setting circuitry configured to set a first control value used for performing exposure control of a first pixel group and including a first gain, and a second control value used for performing exposure control of a second pixel group and including a second gain, the first pixel group and the second pixel group being disposed in a single imaging surface,

wherein the setting circuitry sets the first control value and the second control value to different values before a predetermined photometric process is executed, and

wherein the setting circuitry sets the first gain and the second gain to different values before the predetermined photometric process is executed.

2. The control device according to claim 1,

wherein the setting circuitry changes the settings of the first control value and the second control value in accordance with a set aperture value.

3. The control device according to claim 1,

wherein the predetermined photometric process is a photometric process in an initialization process of an automatic-exposure control function,

wherein the first control value includes a first exposure time,

wherein the second control value includes a second exposure time, and

wherein when the control device is activated, the setting circuitry sets the first exposure time and the second exposure time to different values and changes the settings of the first control value and the second control value based on at least one of detection values respectively acquired from the first pixel group and the second pixel group after setting the first exposure time and the second exposure time.

4. The control device according to claim 1,

wherein the first pixel group is a photographic pixel group, and

wherein the second pixel group is a phase-difference pixel group.

5. The control device according to claim 4,

wherein the second gain is set to be lower than the first gain.

6. The control device according to claim 5,

wherein the predetermined photometric process is a photometric process in an initialization process of an automatic-exposure control function, and

wherein when the control device is activated, the setting circuitry sets the first gain and the second gain to different values and changes the settings of the first control value and the second control value based on at least one of detection values respectively acquired from the first pixel group and the second pixel group after setting the first gain and the second gain.

7. The control device according to claim 6,

wherein the first control value further includes a first exposure time,

wherein the second control value further includes a second exposure time, and

wherein the setting circuitry sets the first exposure time and the second exposure time to different values.

8. The control device according to claim 7,

wherein the second exposure time is set to be shorter than the first exposure time.

9. The control device according to claim 5,

wherein the predetermined photometric process is a photometric process in a light control process,

wherein the control device further comprises light-emission-quantity determining circuitry that determines a light emission quantity in main light emission,

wherein the setting circuitry sets the first gain and the second gain to different values before pre-light emission, and

wherein the light-emission-quantity determining circuitry determines the light emission quantity based on at least one of detection values respectively acquired from the first pixel group and the second pixel group after the pre-light emission.

10. The control device according to claim 9,

wherein the setting circuitry further sets an exposure time and an exposure timing for each of the first pixel group and the second pixel group such that the exposure time and the exposure timing match.

11. The control device according to claim 10,

wherein if the detection value acquired from the first pixel group is larger than a predetermined percentage with respect to a saturation signal amount, the light-emission-quantity determining circuitry determines the light emission quantity based on the detection value acquired from the second pixel group.

12. The control device according to claim 11,

wherein, among a plurality of detection values acquired from the first pixel group, if the number of detection values larger than the predetermined percentage with respect to the saturation signal amount is larger than a predetermined number, the light-emission-quantity determining circuitry determines the light emission quantity based on the detection value acquired from the second pixel group.

13. A control method comprising:

setting a first control value used for performing exposure control of a first pixel group, the first control value including a first grain;

setting a second control value used for performing exposure control of a second pixel group to a value different from the first control value, the second control value including a second gain, the first pixel group and the second pixel group being disposed in a single imaging surface, the first control value and the second control value being set before a predetermined photometric process is executed; and

setting the first gain and the second gain to different values before the predetermined photometric process is executed.

14. A control system comprising:

setting circuitry configured to set a first control value used for performing exposure control of a first pixel group and including a first gain, and a second control value used for performing exposure control of a second pixel group and including a second gain, the first pixel group and the second pixel group being disposed in a single imaging surface,

wherein the setting circuitry sets the first control value and the second control value to different values before a predetermined photometric process is executed, and

wherein the setting circuitry sets the first gain and the second gain to different values before the predetermined photometric process is executed.

15. The control system according to claim 14,

wherein the first pixel group is a photographic pixel group, and

wherein the second pixel group is a phase-difference pixel group.

16. The control system according to claim 14,

wherein the second gain is set to be lower than the first gain.

17. The control system according to claim 14,

wherein the setting circuitry further sets an exposure time and an exposure timing for each of the first pixel group and the second pixel group such that the exposure time and the exposure timing match.

18. The control system according to claim 14,

wherein the predetermined photometric process is a photometric process in an initialization process of an automatic-exposure control function, and

wherein when the control device is activated, the setting circuitry sets the first gain and the second gain to different values and changes the settings of the first control value and the second control value based on at least one of detection values respectively acquired from the first pixel group and the second pixel group after setting the first gain and the second gain.

19. The control system according to claim 14,

wherein the first control value further includes a first exposure time,

wherein the second control value further includes a second exposure time, and

wherein the setting circuitry sets the first exposure time and the second exposure time to different values.

20. The control system according to claim 19,

wherein the second exposure time is set to be shorter than the first exposure time.