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US 4,635,126 AGranted
Image pick-up system
AssigneeCanon Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorTakao Kinoshita
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An image pick-up system in which the accumulation time of accumulation type image pick-up elements and the gain of an amplifier for amplifying the output of the pick-up elements are controlled through an accumulation time and gain control device on the basis of the brighness of the image light received by the pick-up elements. In a preferred embodiment, the control device has a predetermined accumulation time and gain control program and controls the accumulation time and the gain according to the program.
Claims24
A radiation sensing system comprising:
- (A) accumulation type radiation sensing means which produces an electrical output corresponding to the accumulation of received radiation over a controlled accumulation time;
- (B) processing means for processing the output of said sensing means, said processing means having a variable gain element;
- (C) intensity detecting means for detecting the intensity of said radiation received by said sensing means, said intensity detecting means producing an electrical output indicative of the detected radiation intensity;
- (D) control means for controlling the accumulation time of said sensing means and said variable gain element in said processing means on the basis of the output of said intensity detecting means;
- dark current detecting means for detecting the level of a dark current generated in said sensing means, said dark current detecting means producing an electrical output indicative of the detected dark current level;
- and
- limit means for controlling, on the basis of the output of said dark current detecting means, the upper limit of the controllable accumulation time of said control means.
4 more elements
A radiation sensing system comprising:
- (A) accumulation type radiation sensing means which produces an electrical output corresponding to the accumulation of received radiation over a controlled accumulation time;
- (B) processing means for processing the output of said sensing means, said processing means having a variable gain element;
- (C) intensity detecting means for detecting the intensity of said radiation received by said sensing means, said intensity detecting means producing an electrical output indicative of the detected radiation intensity;
- (D) control means for controlling the accumulation time of said sensing means and said variable gain element in said processing means on the basis of the output of said intensity detecting means;
- temperature detecting means for detecting the ambient temperature, said temperature detecting means producing an electrical output indicative of the detected ambient temperature;
- and
- limit means for controlling, on the basis of the output of said temperature detecting means, the upper limit of the controllable accumulation time of said control means.
4 more elements
A radiation sensing system comprising:
- (A) accumulation type radiation sensing means which produces an electrical output corresponding to the accumulation of received radiation over a controlled accumulation time;
- (B) processing means for processing the output of said sensing means, said processing means having a variable gain element;
- (C) intensity detecting means for detecting the intensity of said radiation received by said sensing means, said intensity detecting means producing an electrical output indicative of the detected radiation intensity;
- (D) control means for controlling the accumulation time of said sensing means and said variable gain element in said processing means on the basis of the output of said intensity detecting means;
- wherein said control means has a plurality of predetermined accumulation time and gain control programs different in the controllable longest accumulation time and controls the accumulation time and the variable gain element according to selected one of said programs;
- dark current detecting means for detecting the level of a dark current generated in said sensing means, said dark current detecting means producing an electrical output indicative of the detected dark current level;
- and
- selection means for selecting one of said programs in said control means on the basis of the output of said dark current detecting means.
5 more elements
A radiation sensing system comprising:
- (A) accumulation type radiation sensing means which produces an electrical output corresponding to the accumulation of received radiation over a controlled accumulation time;
- (B) processing means for processing the output of said sensing means, said processing means having a variable gain element;
- (C) intensity detecting means for detecting the intensity of said radiation received by said sensing means, said intensity detecting means producing an electrical output indicative of the detected radiation intensity;
- (D) control means for controlling the accumulation time of said sensing means and said variable gain element in said processing means on the basis of the output of said intensity detecting means;
- wherein said control means has a plurality of predetermined accumulation time and gain control programs different in the controllable longest accumulation time and controls the accumulation time and the variable gain element according to selected one of said programs;
- temperature detecting means for detecting the ambient temperature, said temperature detecting means producing an electrical output indicative of the detected ambient temperature;
- and
- selection means for selecting one of said programs in said control means on the basis of the output of said temperature detecting means.
5 more elements
A radiation sensing system comprising:
- (A) accumulation type radiation sensing means which produces an electrical output corresponding to the accumulation of a received radiation over a controlled accumulation time;
- (B) intensity detecting means for detecting the intensity of said radiation received by said sensing means, said intensity detecting means producing an electrical output indicative of the detected radiation intensity;
- (C) control means for controlling the accumulation time of said sensing means on the basis of the output of said intensity detecting means;
- (D) dark current detecting means for detecting the level of a dark current generated in said sensing means, said dark current detecting means producing an electrical output indicative of the detected dark current level;
- and
- (E) limit means for controlling, on the basis of the output of said dark current detecting means, the upper limit of the controllable accumulation time of said control means.
3 more elements
A radiation sensing system comprising:
- (A) accumulation type radiation sensing means which produces an electrical output corresponding to the accumulation of a received radiation over a controlled accumulation time;
- (B) intensity detecting means for detecting the intensity of said radiation received by said sensing means, said intensity detecting means producing an electrical output indicative of the detected radiation intensity;
- (C) control means for controlling the accumulation time of said sensing means on the basis of the output of said intensity detecting means;
- (D) temperature detecting means for detecting the ambient temperature, said temperature detecting means producing an electrical output indicative of the detected ambient temperature;
- and
- (E) limit means for controlling, on the basis of the output of said temperature detecting means, the upper limit of the controllable accumulation time of said control means.
3 more elements
An image pick-up system comprising:
- (a) accumulation type image pick-up means which produces an electrical signal corresponding to the accumulation of received image light;
- (b) brightness detecting means for detecting the brightness of an image;
- (c) control means for controlling the amount of the electrical signal formed at said image pick-up means in dependence upon the output of said brightness detecting means;
- (d) dark current detecting means for detecting the level of a dark current generated at said image pick-up means;
- and
- (e) changing means for changing the control condition of said control means on the basis of the output of said dark current detecting means.
3 more elements
An image pick-up system comprising:
- (a) accumulation type image pick-up means which produces an electrical signal corresponding to the accumulation of received image light;
- (b) brightness detecting means for detecting the brightness of an image;
- (c) control means for controlling the amount of the electrical signal formed at said image pick-up means in dependence upon the output of said brightness detecting means;
- (d) temperature detecting means for detecting the ambient temperature;
- (e) changing means for changing the control condition of said control means on the basis of the output of said temperature detecting means.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.