Method and apparatus for processing image signals
AssigneeCanon Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorTOSHIKAZU YANAI
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Abstract
Charges in the pixels of a solid state image pickup device, which senses an object via a color filter, are processed by: first selecting a group of pixels in two horizontal lines from a group of at least three lines; adding together the charges in those corresponding pixels of the two horizontal lines which are diagonally adjacent to each other; and adding together the charges in those corresponding pixels of the two horizontal lines which are vertically adjacent to each other.
Claims14
A method of reading charges in an image pickup apparatus which includes a color filter array and a solid state image sensing device having sensing pixels arranged in horizontal lines, said method comprising the steps of:
- reading charges from pixels in each of two lines in a group of n horizontal lines, where n is an integer equal to or greater than 3;
- adding together the charges of diagonally adjacent 2 k pixels, wherein k is an integer equal to or grater than 1;
- and
- adding together the charges of vertically adjacent 2 k pixels.
An image pickup apparatus comprising:
- an array of color filters;
- a solid state image sensing device having pixels arranged in horizontal lines and vertical columns, each pixel being covered by one of said color filters;
- means for reading charges from pixels in each of two lines in a group of n horizontal lines, where n is an integer equal to or greater than 3;
- means for adding together the charges of diagonally adjacent 2 k pixels, wherein k is an integer equal to or greater than 1;
- and
- means for adding together the charges of vertically adjacent 2 k pixels.
An image pickup apparatus comprising:
- a solid state image sensing device including pixels arranged in horizontal lines and vertical columns;
- an image display device, also including pixels arranged in horizontal lines and vertical columns, the number of pixels in the vertical columns of said image display device being smaller than the number of pixels in the vertical columns of said solid state image sensing device;
- control means for controlling said solid state image sensing device so that it outputs signals corresponding to pixel charges from less than all of its horizontal lines;
- and
- a signal processing circuit for processing the signal output from said solid state image sensing device and supplying the resultant processed signal to said image display device.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.