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US 4,065,785 AGranted
Single sensor time encoded color imaging system
AssigneeTexas Instruments Incorporated
InventorsWillis A. Adcock, Frank L. Skaggs
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Light from an object to be imaged is optically filtered by a striped optical filter and encoded into a series of electrical pulses by a matrix image sensor. The electrical pulses from the image sensor are then time decoded by a decoder circuit to produce three color information signals.
Claims31
A method of producing three color information signals representative of the shape and color of light received from an object, said method comprising:
- a. selectively filtering a first primary color from all but a first part of said light and selectively filtering a second primary color from all but a second part of said light, said first and second primary colors being filtered from a third part of said light, whereby said third part includes light of a third primary color;
- b. encoding the selectively filtered light into an electrical signal using a matrix image sensor, said electrical signal being representative of the light of said first, second and third primary colors received by said image sensors;
- and
- c. decoding said electrical signal produce a first color information signal representative of the light of said first primary color, a second color information signal representative of the light of said second primary color and a third color information signal representative of the light of said third primary color.
1 more element
An electrical imaging system in which light, including three primary colors, is received from an object, said system comprising:
- a. a striped filter having a plurality of first stripes for filtering a first primary color from said light, a plurality of second stripes for filtering a second primary color from said light, and a plurality of third stripes for filtering said first and second primary colors from said light;
- b. a matrix image sensor responsive to light received from said object and passed through said striped filter for producing an output signal in response thereto;
- and
- c. a decoder circuit responsive to said output signal for producing a first color information signal representative of the light of said first primary color, a second color information signal representative of the light of said second primary color and a third color information signal representative of the light of a third primary color in response to the output received from said image sensor.
1 more element
A method of producing three-color information signals representative of the light received from an object, said method comprising:
- a. selectively filtering a first primary color from all but a first part of said light and selectively filtering a second primary color from all but a second part of said light, whereby the selectively-filtered light further includes a third part corresponding to at least a third primary color;
- b. encoding the selectively-filtered light into an electrical signal using a matrix image sensor, said electrical signal being representative of light of said first, second and third primary colors received by said image sensor;
- c. sampling segments of said electrical signal produced by the light of said third part to produce a third color information signal at least representative of said third primary color;
- d. sampling segments of said electrical signal produced by the light of said first part and comparing therewith sampled segments of said electrical signal produced by the light of said third part to produce a first color information signal being the arithmetic difference of the amplitude of segments of said electrical signal produced by the light of said first part and of the amplitude of segments of said electrical signal produced by the light of said third part;
- e. sampling segments of said electrical signal produced by the light of said second part and comparing therewith sampled segments of said electrical produced by the light of said third part to produce a second color information signal being the arithmetic difference of the amplitude of segments of said electrical signal produced by the light of said second part and of the amplitude of segments of said electrical signal produced by the light of said third part.
2 more elements
A color charge transfer imager system comprising:
- a. a charge transfer imaging array having a plurality of rows and columns of charge transfer elements forming an image receiving surface;
- b. a color filter adjacent to the image receiving surface of said array, said filtering having a plurality of regions, first ones of said regions passing red plus green light, second ones of said regions passing blue plus green light and third ones of said regions passing green light;
- c. means for translating each row of charge signals shifted out from said array into an electrical signal representative of the amplitude and color of light impinging said image receiver surface through said filter;
- and
- d. decoder circuit means responsive to said electrical signal for producing a plurality of color information signals.
2 more elements
A color charge transfer imager device comprising, in combination:
- a. a charge transfer imaging array having an image receiving surface;
- and
- b. a color filter disposed adjacent to the image receiving surface of said array, said filter having a plurality of regions, first ones of said regions passing two primary colors of light, second ones of said regions passing another two primary colors of light and third ones of said regions only one primary color of light.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.