Digital image capture having an ultra-high dynamic range
US7973846B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 6, 2008 |
| Grant date | Jul 5, 2011 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 23, 2029 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04N25/589
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An image capture method in a digital image sensor implements a continuous sampling technique with a massively parallel thermometer-code analog-to-digital conversion (ADC) technique to generate pixel data having an intrinsic to an ultra-high dynamic range. In one embodiment, the method includes, after an initial exposure period, sampling pixel intensity values at the pixel elements of an image sensor at multiple sampling intervals within a snapshot of a scene; providing an analog reference voltage corresponding to a decrementing digital count value; and comparing the pixel intensity values to the analog reference voltage at each of the multiple sampling intervals. If the pixel intensity value of a first pixel element is less than the analog reference voltage at a first exposure time, an output signal having a first value is generated and the digital count value is recorded as pixel data associated with the first pixel element.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.