Television – Camera – system and detail – Swing driven
Reexamination Certificate
1997-07-09
2001-05-22
Garber, Wendy R. (Department: 2612)
Television
Camera, system and detail
Swing driven
C348S273000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06236430
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a color still image sensing apparatus and method using a solid-state image sensing device.
Conventionally, the following color image sensing apparatus systems using solid-state image sensing devices such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device), and the like are available.
(1) Three-plate Type Color Camera
Incident light is separated into three primary colors with an optical system (prism), and the separated three components of colors are respectively received with three solid-state image sensing devices. With the three-plate type color camera, since the three color components can be extracted at the same time, and an independent processing system is used for each color component, ideal image sensing characteristics can be obtained.
However, with this type of color camera, three solid-state image sensing devices are required, the color-separation optical system is complex, and the three solid-state image sensing devices require high attachment precision, resulting in an expensive system.
(2) Single-plate Type Color Camera
In a camera of this type, color filters are attached to the individual pixels (photoelectric conversion elements) of a solid-state image sensing device to obtain color information from a single solid-state image sensing device. The color filters normally used have a mosaic or stripe pattern in which primary colors or complementary colors are arranged in correspondence with the individual pixels. In this single-plate type color camera, no special color-separation optical system is required unlike in the three-plate type, and only one solid-state image sensing device is required, resulting in an inexpensive system.
However, since information extracted from one pixel pertains to a single color, and insufficient color information is compensated for using information of the neighboring pixels, such compensation may cause production of false colors (moiré) or a low resolution.
(3) Color Filter Switching Single-plate Type Color Camera
In this camera, a single solid-state image sensing device is used, and color filters inserted in the optical path from the object to the solid-state image sensing device are switched in turn in synchronism with the charge transfer timings of the solid-state image sensing device, thereby extracting color information. A color still image is obtained by accumulating and synthesizing the extracted color information. In this case, a technique of improving the resolution by a pixel shift method is available (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-181546).
In this color filter switching type, image quality as high as that of the three-plate type can be obtained by a single plate. However, since relatively large color filters are, for example, rotated to sequentially convert the colors of light entering the solid-state image sensing device, image sensing input requires a long time, and the apparatus becomes bulky.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been made in consideration of the above situation, and has as its object to provide a color still image sensing apparatus and method, which can obtain image quality as high as a three-plate type with cost as low as a single-plate type, and can prevent the input time from becoming redundant.
In order to achieve the above object, a color still image sensing apparatus according to the present invention is characterized by a solid-state image sensing device having an image sensing surface made up of a large number of photoelectric conversion elements arranged in a matrix, a color filter fixed to a front surface of the image sensing surface of the solid-state image sensing device and having different color component regions in correspondence with arrangement intervals of the photoelectric conversion elements, driving means for displacing the solid-state image sensing device and incident light with respect to the solid-state image sensing device relative to each other along the image sensing surface in units of arrangement intervals of the photoelectric conversion elements so as to change an irradiation position of the incident light with respect to the solid-state image sensing device, storage means for recording image data of the solid-state image sensing device sensed at a plurality of positions corresponding to the irradiation positions changed by the driving means, and processing means for reading out the image data stored in the storage means and synthesizing the readout image data into an image.
Preferably, the driving means is adapted to displace the solid-state image sensing device and the incident light a plurality of number of times, so that an irradiation region of the incident light having a size corresponding to a size of the photoelectric conversion element moves to all types of adjacent color component regions of the color filter of the solid-state image sensing device.
In order to further improve the resolution, the driving means is adapted to displace the solid-state image sensing device and the incident light relative to each other by ½ of the arrangement interval of the photoelectric conversion element, and displaces the solid-state image sensing device and the incident light relative to each other therefrom in units of arrangement intervals of the photoelectric conversion elements so as to change the irradiation position of the incident light with respect to the solid-state image sensing device.
As a preferred arrangement, the driving means has a support device for supporting the fixed image sensing device to be movable in a first direction and a second direction which makes a right angle with the first direction, and the support device has first and second plate members each of which has a support plate portion which defines a surface perpendicular to an optical axis of the incident light, upright portions formed at right angles on both sides of the support plate portion, and attachment plate portions formed at end portions of the upright portions on both sides, and extending parallel to the support plate portion, and is integrally formed by bending a thin plate having elasticity. Rigidity in bending of the first and second plate members is preferably reduced at bent portions.
Also, in order to achieve the above object, a color still image sensing method according to the present invention is characterized by using a solid-state image sensing device which has an image sensing surface made up of a large number of photoelectric conversion elements arranged in a matrix, and to a front surface of the image sensing surface of which a color filter having different color component regions in correspondence with arrangement intervals of the photoelectric conversion elements is fixed, and changing an irradiation position of incident light with respect to the solid-state image sensing device by displacing the solid-state image sensing device and the incident light with respect to the solid-state image sensing device relative to each other along the image sensing surface in units of arrangement intervals of the photoelectric conversion elements, and synthesizing image data of the solid-state image sensing device sensed at a plurality of changed positions into an image.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4998164 (1991-03-01), Endo et al.
patent: 5245416 (1993-09-01), Glenn
patent: 5315411 (1994-05-01), Blanding
patent: 5373322 (1994-12-01), Laroche et al.
patent: 5382976 (1995-01-01), Hibbard
patent: 5402171 (1995-03-01), Tagami et al.
patent: 5834761 (1998-11-01), Okada et al.
patent: 6133953 (2000-10-01), Okada
Kitagawa Hiroshi
Suzuki Fuminori
Watanabe Satoshi
Garber Wendy R.
Techno Media Co., Ltd.
Townsend and Townsend / and Crew LLP
Wilson Jacqueline
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