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US 10,097,799 B2Granted
Image sensor device with macropixel processing and related devices and methods
AssigneeSTMicroelectronics International N.V.
InventorsMahesh Chandra, Brejesh Lall
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An image sensor device may include an array of image sensing pixels with adjacent image sensing pixels being arranged in macropixel, and a processor coupled to the array of image sensing pixels. The processor may be configured to receive pixel signals from the array of image sensing pixels, and arrange the received pixel signals into macropixel signal sets for respective macropixels. The processor may be configured to perform, in parallel, an image enhancement operation on the received pixel signals for each macropixel signal set to generate enhanced macropixel signals, and transmit the enhanced macropixel signals.
Claims20
An image sensor device, comprising:
- an array of image sensing pixels comprising a plurality of macropixels, wherein each macropixel comprises contiguous image sensing pixels;
- and
- a processor coupled to the array of image sensing pixels, the processor being configured to:
- receive data from the array of image sensing pixels;
- convert the data into a plurality of macropixel signal sets, wherein a respective macropixel signal set corresponds to a respective macropixel of the array of image sensing pixels, each macropixel signal set comprising a plurality of individual signals;
- serially feed the plurality of macropixel signal sets as a sequence of macropixel signal sets into a plurality of sequential image enhancement operations;
- and
- perform, for a given macropixel signal set of the sequence of macropixel signal sets, the plurality of sequential image enhancement operations on the plurality of individual signals of the given macropixel signal set to produce enhanced macropixel signals, wherein a given operation of the plurality of sequential image enhancement operations operates in parallel on the plurality of individual signals of the given macropixel signal set.
5 more elements
An electronic device comprising:
- a processing unit;
- a memory coupled to the processing unit;
- and
- an image sensor device coupled to the processing unit, the image sensor device comprising:
- an array of image sensing pixels comprising a plurality of macropixels, wherein each macropixel comprises contiguous image sensing pixels;
- and
- a processor coupled to the array of image sensing pixels, the processor being configured to:
- receive data from the array of image sensing pixels;
- convert the data into a plurality of macropixel signal sets, wherein a respective macropixel signal set corresponds to a respective macropixel of the array of image sensing pixels, each macropixel signal set comprising a plurality of individual signals;
- serially feed the plurality of macropixel signal sets as a sequence of macropixel signal sets into a plurality of sequential image enhancement operations;
- and
- perform, for a given macropixel signal set of the sequence of macropixel signal sets, the plurality of sequential image enhancement operations on the plurality of individual signals of the given macropixel signal set to produce enhanced macropixel signals, wherein a given operation of the plurality of sequential image enhancement operations operates in parallel on the plurality of individual signals of the given macropixel signal set.
9 more elements
A method, comprising:
- receiving data from an array of image sensing pixels, the array of image sensing pixels comprising a plurality of macropixels, wherein each macropixel comprises contiguous image sensing pixels;
- converting the data into a plurality of macropixel signal sets, wherein a respective macropixel signal set corresponds to a respective macropixel of the array of image sensing pixels, each macropixel signal set comprising a plurality of individual signals;
- serially feeding the plurality of macropixel signal sets as a sequence of macropixel signal sets into a plurality of sequential image enhancement operations;
- and
- performing, for a given macropixel signal set of the sequence of macropixel signal sets, the plurality of sequential image enhancement operations on the plurality of individual signals of the given macropixel signal set to produce enhanced macropixel signals, wherein a given operation of the plurality of sequential image enhancement operations operates in parallel on the plurality of individual signals of the given macropixel signal set.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.