Method and apparatus for controlling pixel sensor elements

• US 6,888,568 B1
• Filed: 02/02/2000
• Issued: 05/03/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 08/19/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Youliza Gehts BV LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Dialog Semiconductor GmbH (Renesas Electronics Corporation)
• Inventors: Neter, Sarit
• Primary Examiner(s): Garber, Wendy R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Henn, Timothy J.
• Application Number:
  US09/496,364
• Time in Patent Office: 1,917 Days
• Field of Search: 348/272, 348/273, 348/280, 348/281, 348/282, 348/283, 348/220.1, 348/222.1, 348/305, 348/333.1
• US Class Current: 348/222.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/843 Demosaicing, e.g. interpolating colour pixel values
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/134 based on three different wavelength filter elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/46 by combining or binning pixels
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/63 applied to dark current
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/633 by using optical black pixels
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/75 Circuitry for providing, modifying or processing image signals from the pixel array
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/76 Addressed sensors, e.g. MOS or CMOS sensors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/21 Circuitry for suppressing or minimising disturbance, e.g. moiré or halo

Abstract

An imaging method and system that flexibly accesses light sensor elements and processes imaging signals. The imaging system comprises an array of pixel sensor cells, an array controller and a readout control circuit.

Claims

1. A flexible pixel sensor element control system to process a plurality of pixel sensor elements, the system comprising:

an array of pixel sensor elements; and

a readout and processing circuit wherein the readout and processing circuit reads out and averages a first analog value readout from a pixel sensor element of a first color with a second analog value readout from a pixel sensor element of a second color to produce an average readout value;

a first analog line storage unit, the first analog line storage unit been adapted to store a first line readout from the array; and

a second analog line storage unit, the second analog line storage unit being adapted to store a third line readout from the array, wherein the readout and processing circuit averages a second consecutive line readout from the array with the first line readout stored in the first analog line storage unit to produce a first red-green-blue (RGB) triplet, and wherein the readout and processing circuit averages a fourth consecutive line readout from the array with the third line readout stored in the second analog line storage unit to produce a second RGB triplett.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the readout and processing circuit is adapted to read a plurality of pixel sensor elements in parallel.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the pixel sensor elements form a portion of a charge coupled device.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the pixel sensor elements form a portion of a complementary metal oxide semiconductor device.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the pixel sensor elements are organized in a rectangular matrix.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein said line readouts are performed using a full resolution readout mode.

7. The system of claim 1, said line readouts are performed using a sub-sampling readout mode.

8. The system of claim 1, said line readouts are performed using a window readout mode.

9. The system of claim 1, further comprising a color filter overlaying at least a portion of the pixel sensor elements.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the color filter includes the colors of red, blue and green in a predefined pattern.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the color filter includes the colors of yellow, cyan and magenta in a predefined pattern.

12. The system of claim 9, where in the color filter comprises a Bayer color pattern.

13. The system of claim 1, further comprising a micro-lenses layer.

14. The system of claim 1, further comprising amplifiers adapted to amplify the analog values readout and processed by the readout and processing circuit.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the amplifiers are implemented as a separate stage.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the amplifiers are contained within a pixel circuitry of the array.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein the amplifiers are within a plurality of column buffers.

18. The system of claim 1, wherein a first gain amplifier amplifies a first analog color component a first amount and a second amplifier amplifies a second analog color component a second amount, the first and second analog color components being readout by the readout and processing circuit.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the amplifiers are programmable gain amplifiers adapted to be adjusted by a controller.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein the first gain amplifier provides a first transfer function for the first color component and the second gain amplifier provides a second transfer function for the second color component.

21. The system of claim 14, wherein at least one of the amplifiers is a summing amplifier that sums the analog values of two or more pixel sensor elements.

22. The system of claim 1, further comprising a television coupled to said readout and processing circuit.

23. The system of claim 1, further comprising a personal computer coupled to said readout and processing circuit.

24. The system of claim 1, further comprising a display coupled to said readout and processing circuit.

25. The system of claim 1, further comprising a camera coupled to said readout and processing circuit.

26. A flexible pixel sensor element control system that processes of a plurality of pixel sensor elements, the system comprising:

an array of pixel sensor elements; and

a control circuit, wherein the control circuit reads out and averages a first analog value readout from a pixel sensor element of a first color with a second analog value readout from a pixel sensor element of a second color to produce an average readout value wherein the control circuit is adapted to read a plurality of pixel sensor elements in parallel;

a first analog line storage unit, the first analog line storage unit been adapted to store a first line readout from the array; and

a second analog line storage unit, the second analog line storage unit being adapted to store a third line readout from the array, wherein the readout and processing circuit averages a second consecutive line readout from the array with the first line readout stored in the first analog line storage unit to produce a first red-green-blue (RGB) triplet, the readout circuit and processing averaging a fourth consecutive line readout from the array with the third line readout stored in the second analog line storage unit to produce a second RGB triplett.

27. The system of claim 26, wherein the control circuit reads out and averages the analog values on-the-fly.

28. The system of claim 26, further comprising gain amplifiers amplifying the average readout value.