Image sensor incorporating saturation time measurement to increase dynamic range
US6069377A · kind A · utility
51Cited by
15References
11Claims
0Family size
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 13, 1999 |
| Grant date | May 30, 2000 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 13, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04N25/78
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A semiconductor based image sensor having a timer that is associated with each photosite in the image sensor; and measuring the integration period of that photosite using the timer. Additionally, an imager sensor that does not require an A/D converter but instead uses a comparator circuit to determine when a predetermined threshold has been reached, thus reading as discrete amounts of stored charge which converts directly into a digital representation.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.