White balance controller for an image pick-up apparatus including an abnormality detector

A white balance controller for an image pickup apparatus having image pickup means for providing an output indicative of an image, color separation means responsive to the output of the image pickup means for producing a luminance signal and a plurality of color signals therefrom, gain control means for controlling a gain of at least two color signals of the plurality of color signals separated by the color separation means, and means for generating color difference signals from at least one of a color signal and luminance signal, the white balance controller comprising:

• white/achromatic detecting means for detecting at least one of a white and achromatic portion within an image picked up by the image pickup means in accordance with at least the color difference signals;
• means for detecting an abnormality of white balance within the picked up image, the abnormality detecting means supplying an output thereof to an input of the white/achromatic detecting means and for controlling a gain of the gain control means in accordance therewith for enabling white adjustment;
• and
• means for changing an operating range of the white/achromatic detecting means so that the white/achromatic detecting means detects the white portion as white in accordance with a color temperature of lighting utilized for imaging.

A white balance controller for an image pickup apparatus having image pickup means for providing an output indicative of an image, color separation means responsive to the output of the image pickup means for producing a luminance signal and a plurality of color signals therefrom, gain control means for controlling a gain of at least two color signals of the plurality of color signals separated by the color separation means, and means for generating color difference signals from at least one of a color signal and luminance signal, the white balance controller comprising:

• white/achromatic detecting means for detecting at least one of a white and achromatic portion within an image picked up by the image pickup means in accordance with at least the color difference signals;
• and
• means for detecting an abnormality of white balance within the picked up image, the abnormality detecting means supplying an output thereof to an input of the white/achromatic detecting means and for controlling a gain of the gain control means in accordance therewith for enabling white adjustment;
• wherein the color separation means provides a red (R), blue (B) and luminance (Y) signal, and the color difference signal generating means provides a Y, R-Y, and B-Y signal;
• and
• wherein the abnormality detecting means includes means for supplying an output indicative of a color difference signal of R-B to an input of the white/achromatic detecting means for enabling control of an operating range of the white/achromatic detecting means in a first direction.

A white balance controller for an image pickup apparatus having image pickup means for providing an output indicative of an image, color separation means responsive to the output of the image pickup means for producing a luminance signal and a plurality of color signals therefrom, gain control means for controlling a gain of at least two color signals of the plurality of color signals separated by the color separation means, and means for generating color difference signals from at least one of a color signal and luminance signal, the white balance controller comprising:

• means for detecting a white portion within a picked up image utilizing the luminance signal and for enabling acceptance of a portion within the picked up image having relatively high luminance as white;
• means for generating an average luminance level signal in accordance with the luminance signal as a comparison-threshold value for determining whether a portion has high luminance;
• and
• amplifier-controller means for receiving at one input the luminance signal and at another input the average luminance level signal from the generating means and for providing an output to the detecting means.