REAL-TIME EXPOSURE CONTROL FOR AUTOMATIC LIGHT CONTROL
9 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An imager and a method for real-time, non-destructive monitoring of light incident on imager pixels during their exposure to light. Real-time or present pixel signals, which are indicative of present illumination on the pixels, are compared to a reference signal during the exposure. Adjustments, if necessary, are made to programmable parameters such as gain and/or exposure time to automatically control the imager'"'"'s exposure to the light. In a preferred exemplary embodiment, only a selected number of pixels are monitored for exposure control as opposed to monitoring the entire pixel array.
3 Citations
62 Claims
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1-46. -46. (canceled)
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47. An image sensor comprising:
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an array of pixels comprising a plurality of rows and columns; a plurality of comparison circuits, each comparison circuit receiving a reference signal and being coupled to a respective column, each comparison circuit comparing a pixel signal to the reference signal and having an output indicative of a result of the comparison; a first circuit connected to and counting the results output from the comparison circuits, said first circuit having a first output; and a logic circuit connected to the first output, wherein during an exposure period said logic circuit uses the first output and a current exposure time to perform automatic light control for the exposure period. - View Dependent Claims (48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57)
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58. An imager system comprising:
an image sensor, said image sensor comprising; an array of pixels comprising a plurality of rows and columns; a plurality of comparison circuits, each comparison circuit receiving a reference signal and being coupled to a respective column, each comparison circuit comparing a pixel signal to the reference signal and having an output indicative of a result of the comparison; a first circuit connected to and counting the results output from the comparison circuits, said first circuit having a first output; and a logic circuit connected to the first output, wherein during an exposure period said logic circuit uses the first output and a current exposure time to perform automatic light control for the exposure period. - View Dependent Claims (59)
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60. (canceled)
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61. A swallowable pill comprising:
an image sensor, said image sensor comprising; an array of pixels comprising a plurality of rows and columns; a plurality of comparison circuits, each comparison circuit receiving a reference signal and being coupled to a respective column, each comparison circuit comparing a pixel signal to the reference signal and having an output indicative of a result of the comparison; a first circuit connected to and counting the results output from the comparison circuits, said first circuit having a first output; and a logic circuit connected to the first output, wherein during an exposure period said logic circuit uses the first output and a current exposure time to perform automatic light control for the exposure period.
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62-70. -70. (canceled)
Specification