Light valve systems and methods
AssigneeNBCUniversal Media, LLC
InventorArley Christopher Seeger
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A clipping mitigation circuitry includes a light valve configured to reduce an amount of light captured by a camera and a controller configured to receive sensor feedback indicative of a light levels of an image captured by the camera, identify potential clipping in the image based on the light levels, and adjust the light valve based on the potential clipping to reduce the amount of light captured by the camera.
Claims18
A clipping mitigation circuitry comprising:
- a light valve configured to be directly coupled to a sensor assembly configured to provide sensor feedback indicative a plurality of light levels of an image captured by a camera;
- and
- a controller comprising a processor and a memory, wherein the processor is configured to:
- receive the sensor feedback from the sensor assembly;
- determine a maximum light level of the plurality of light levels;
- identify one or more locations of potential clipping within the image based on the one or more locations having the maximum light level of the plurality of light levels;
- determine that the maximum light level exceeds a threshold value;
- and
- in response to determining that the maximum light level exceeds the threshold value, adjust the light valve to reduce an amount of light captured by the camera at the one or more locations.
A method for controlling a light valve configured to reduce an amount of light captured by a camera, the method comprising:
- receiving an indication of a plurality of light levels of an image captured by the camera;
- receiving a user input indicative of an intended viewing device, an intended viewing method, whether the image is part of a video or is a still image, or any combination thereof;
- determining a Just Noticeable Difference (JND) as an amount of clipping in the image that is noticeable while viewing the image, and wherein the JND is determined based on the user input;
- identifying one or more locations of potential clipping within the image based on the plurality of light levels and the JND;
- and
- adjusting the light valve to reduce the amount of light captured by the camera at the one or more locations to compensate for the JND.
A camera assembly comprising:
- a sensor assembly configured to detect light entering the camera assembly;
- and
- light-blocking circuitry configured to block light directed toward the sensor assembly, wherein the light-blocking circuitry is configured to receive a command indicative of an adjustment to block light entering the camera assembly to prevent potential clipping in an image captured by the camera assembly based at least in part on a user input indicative of an intended viewing device, an intended viewing method, or both, and wherein the light-blocking circuitry is coupled to the sensor assembly and configured to be disposed between a lens of the camera assembly and the sensor assembly.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.