Facsimile and static presentation processing – Facsimile – Recording apparatus
Patent
1996-06-06
1998-05-05
Wong, Peter S.
Facsimile and static presentation processing
Facsimile
Recording apparatus
3589091, 396661, H04N 121, G03B 1500
Patent
active
057483264
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to a hand-held electronic imaging camera and, more particularly, to an electronic camera capable of recording an image of a scene and thereafter electronically manipulating the image and producing a hard copy print on a paper sheet. The electronic camera is designed to be operated by a child, and captures the image with a charge coupled device (CCD). The hard copy printout is preferably produced with a thermal printer.
Electronic imaging cameras capable of recording an image of a scene and providing a hard copy printout using a thermal printer are known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,074,324 to Barrett discloses an instant electronic camera which focuses an image on a CCD having a planar array of photosensors. Signals from the CCD are digitized and placed in a shift register memory. The contents of the shift register memory are then output to a dot matrix printer having heat-sensitive paper. Other electronic cameras with printer devices are shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,262,301 to Erlichman, published European Patent Application No. 574,581 to King Jim Co., published PCT Application No. WO 92/11731 to Eastman Kodak Co., and published European Application No. 398,295 to Minolta Camera.
In a typical electronic camera of this type, the camera optical system focuses an image on a conventional CCD chip having an array of photosensors. The photosensors produce analog signals proportional to the intensity of incident light. These analog signals are digitized by an analog-to-digital converter and stored in a random access memory. The capture, conversion and storage of the image is normally controlled by a microprocessor. The microprocessor can then control the print head of an associated printer mechanism to provide a hard copy of the captured image. Optional software for the microprocessor can process the image stored in the random access memory to enhance the quality of the printed image or to produce special effects such as an outline image.
Electronic cameras of this type have several disadvantages. Because the CCD array operates at a relatively high speed, and the printer typically operates at a relatively low speed, it is often necessary to store the entire captured image in the random access memory. A typical conventional CCD array can capture 80,000 or more picture elements (pixels), each of which is stored in memory. This requires a relatively large memory which adds to the cost of the camera. The system described in PCT Application No. WO 92/11731 attempts to overcome this disadvantage by coupling the CCD array directly to a printer. However, this system introduces additional disadvantages and limits the available options.
For many applications, it is not necessary to capture 80,000 or more pixels to produce a satisfactory image quality. For example, for a child's electronic camera, a CCD device with a 160.times.160 array of photosensors (25,600 pixels) or a 190.times.160 array of photosensors (30,400 pixels) may provide sufficient picture resolution. Using a lower resolution CCD array can save costs for both the CCD chip and the random access memory.
To produce a satisfactory printed image quality, it is necessary to produce the appearance of shades of gray in the hard copy print out. However, a thermal printer is only capable of producing black or white dots. As a result, the microprocessor must manipulate the data in the random access memory to produce the appearance of shades of gray in the printout. Algorithms for producing this effect, known as dithering techniques, are known in the art. A typical dithering technique would operate on a block of pixels one line wide and two or three lines high. Thus, to create the first line of the printed image, the microprocessor needs to operate on only the first two or three lines of the captured image. Therefore, if a system could be arranged so that only two or three lines of data had to be stored in the random access memory at a given time, the size of the random access me
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Beadman Michael Andrew
Cane Michael Roger
Ciganko David J.
Love Stephen John
Priestman Paul Diminic
Fisher-Price Inc.
Toatley , Jr. Gregory J.
Wong Peter S.
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